Boys and Story Hour

Yesterday, we went to the last Story Hour. They got to decorate cookies, listen to stories, and have a picnic lunch outside. Then Bronson came home with us. I stopped by Aunt Joanna's to see if a dress that her daughter used to wear would fit Emma for Miss Pioneer days. Yep, it'll work...a little small. Maddie was there, so Emma got to go home and play with her. A nice treat!


The boys thought they were being jipped, not going to Maddie's house, so they got to put the sprinkler on the trampoline. Loads of fun!

They also spent HOURS in the sandbox making ponds and such. I wish I could have taped their conversation, they were too funny. A glimpse into the future.

The walls

The south side
The front side....you can see the front door and a window to the left.
The north side and my two huge windows:)
Mud, imagine that!
These are the pictures from yesterday. Kelly didn't work today, so I have no new news to report.

5 days left....with the friend.

Well, I am pooped today...literally:) I don't have much to report. I ordered an awesome comforter set for our new bedroom today, very excited about that. Also, went to the farm and checked out the progress. There is OSB board on the North, South, and West sides. Makes the rooms look more like rooms from the inside. Not sure what tomorrow will bring. I have pics, but the camera is outside in the car and I'm way too tired to walk out there.
Vance went and got the kids tonight and was home just long enough to drop them off and grab something to eat. I'm glad I had made something for him to eat, but after cooking, cleaning it up, and giving baths I'm all wiped out. I was glad to see them though. I bet I heard "Guess what...." a million times as their stories spilled over each other.
Gotta thank great friends....Bree hung out with me and my friend last night, bringing me supper and watching a movie. She also brought me lunch today. She even offered to drive me to Bible Grove to get the kids. Thanks Bree, I appreciate it.
Tomorrow we're going to the last Story Hour at the library and then the kids want to see the progress at the farm. It's suppose to be really hot for the rest of the week, yuck.

So Excited!!!

I just ordered a comforter set for my bedroom! I am so excited and glad it's done after I pushed that final "confirm order" button. Whew....nerve racking....am I making a good decision, will I regret it? But now that it's done I am really glad. I ordered the kid's sets about 6 months back and am glad I did it b/c paint choosing will be alot easier.

On another note, did not go to Curves this morning. I could not sleep at all and finally dozed off around 3. Plus I woke up this morning with a TERRIBLE stomach ache. Yuck...post surgery issues. I tried sending a text to Bree but that savvy techno stuff still evades me:)

I also had a nice long chat with a cousin this morning. We talked for a long time and it was nice to catch up. Well off to pick out door knobs and then do absolutely nothing:)

Been trying to upload a pic for you to see, but once again the techno savvy stuff......:(----never mind got it!

6 days left....with the friend

Our rafters....
The garage...two doors...8 foot tall.
You can see the top line that is the floor joists for Emma's room.
Another angle....
Today, I woke up LATE b/c I did not sleep at all last night. That storm was bad and I was more worried than usual about Vance's safety. Not sure why, over active imagination:) Bree and I decided to go to lunch together and our husbands both got to come b/c they had worked all night. After that, Vance unclogged our drain so the basement would drain and then we went over to the farm. Kelly and the guys had braved the mud to work. They got the garage walls up, and the floor joists for Emma's room. Tomorrow....rafters? I hope so. We're thinking we'll have to paint the floor on Emma's room tomorrow, along with going to get the kiddos. I have been bored stiff today with no kids. I don't have enough energy to do anything productive, so I just wander about.
Tomorrow, I'm going to give Curves a shot. Probably just walk the boards and maybe do a few of the arm machines. Work my way back to my old routine. It's annoying how a 1 1/2 hour surgery can smack you way back in the energy/strength dept. Wish me luck!

VBS

My kids got invited to go to the Methodist Church's VBS last week. They enjoyed it a lot! It was a good old fashion VBS with kid music, crafts, lesson, and games. Like when I was a kid. It took me back to when we would all meet out on the steps and go into the church singing songs like: Walking on Heaven's Road, Peace Like a River, God Loves a Cheerful Giver, etc. We would then go to our lesson, make a craft, have a snack, and play a game.

As you can see, this week's theme was cowboys which suited my children. Emma went first and then lured Colby in with her theatrical stories after every night. On Friday, they had a little family night, where the kids got up and sang the songs they had learned throughout the week. Emma's favorite was Be Careful Little Eyes what you See. She was pumped after every evening.

Sometimes the same old, same old is comforting:)

I'm Here

Well, I made it. It wasn't pleasant and I never want to go through it again, but I'm glad it's over. Won't bore you with the details, but went in Friday morning and didn't come home til Saturday morning due to some LOW blood pressure 86/68! and other hurdles. I have my friend strapped to my leg for the next 10 days, which is WAY more embarassing than I ever thought it would be. I thought I could just laugh it off, but it makes you feel very disgusting and hugely unattractive. I'm just going to try to get through the week as quickly as possible and you will probably see me in the same clothes over and over.
During my stay in the hospital, I had some great nurses and some not so great. What is it about being a nurse that makes some think they are better than you. I have the same feelings and needs. Ughhh...frustrating. The worst nurse I had was the overall supervisor! Another funny, here I am dealing with all of my female woes, left my husband at home so he didn't have to deal with it and two of my nurses are very YOUNG guys. I bet God was laughing at his sense of humor during that night!
I have to remember my limitations during my recovery. I feel great and overdo it and then end up with a HUGE headache, dizziness and I sleep like the dead for two hours. I did that this morning, but I'll try not to push so hard this week. My kids are at the in-laws for the next two days, which will be a nice, peaceful way to catch up on rest. Thank goodness for that. It's also a blessing, b/c Vance went on call this morning and I have seen him for a whole 1 hour all day. He buzzes in tries to get me what I need and then buzzes back out. Hopefully, he will get to catch up on rest tomorrow too!
Thanks to everyone who thought about me and to my mom who went with me. Also, thanks to Vance who kept the homefires burning!

P.S. The storm knocked out Army Wives and I'm totally peeved!!!

A Little Princess

My friend, Sara, just had a baby girl. Abigail Joy....after two boys. She will be well protected with two older brothers. Sara lives in Washington on a Navy base. Her husband is currently deployed and not with her. I commend her for being pregnant with two boys and then having her baby without her husband. I won't say she's alone b/c her mom is out there and she knows we are all rooting for her around the U.S. Plus...she has many great friends near by too. Congratulations Sara and Welcome Abilgail Joy!

Surgery

Just a quick note to tell you that my surgery got moved to Friday. Thanks for the well wishes.

A Tour

We have all of the interior walls finished on the main level of our house. They include: mud room, half bath, master bedroom/closet/bathroom, stairway, greatroom/dining room/kitchen. I am very excited to see the house take shape and imagine what it will be like to walk through it everyday.
This is a picture of the great room. You can see the front door on the left and a window on the right. We hope some day to put a fireplace in the corner.
This is also part of the great room and the dining room. You can see those HUGE windows again.
This is our walk-in-closet!!!

This is the mudroom coming into it from the garage. Kind of hard to see.

Today, I went to Bloomfield and walked through the Harris house, that's the house that Kelly is still working on. It is beautiful. The owner did lots of neat things. She is a wonderful artist. I am excited about putting some of my own touches on our house.

Tomorrow, I have surgery to remove a cyst. Not too excited about it, but glad to get it done. It has caused me to have lots of UTI's. Wish me luck!

P.S. Happy 1st Birthday LEVI!!...tomorrow:)

Here's Your Sign

Don't meant to sound rude, but I probably will. I went into the Health Dept. to get my daughter's birth cert. I have never gotten it....I know bad mom, don't pass judgement:) Anyway, this lady came in with 7 kids. I'd say the ages were 8 and under. I don't know if they were all hers, but most of them resembled each other. So, as she walks by like a mama duck and her ducklings the back of her shirt says and I quote: "Zero to Horny in 2.5 Beers." Here's your sign!!!! I don't think she needs much help in the horny dept.:)

Packing and Always thinking....

So, here is what my house looks like ALL the time. Boxes, boxes, boxes. I pack them during the day and then take them to the shed at night. We have over 40 boxes over there already. The kids won't need Christmas presents b/c they won't have seen some of their toys for so long!

This is Emma's comforter. It is reverisible so the next picture is the other side. I like the dots with stripes side the best. Bree and I were talking and I think I will paint 1 wall pink. Emma really wants pink, but it could be too much of a good thing.

Colby's comforter is my favorite. Camo b/c that's his thing right now, but reverses into stripes for a more mature Colby some day. We're going to paint his room to match one of the greens in the camo. Can't wait!

My Little Diva

Emma Joyce LOVES to have her hair cut. Here's a picture a few weeks ago for a monthly cut. Janet gives her the royal treatment with blowdrying and "special spray." Colby's hair grows a lot faster, so he has to have more cuts and Emma gets upset when I don't take her too. At home, we have started playing the "Janet Game." Emma is Janet and I am the customer. She sprays, pulls, combs, barrettes, etc my hair. She asked if she could use the scissors and I said absolutely not. Well......

Sunday I went to put her hair in a ponytail for the church softball game and their was a huge chunk missing. She had played the Janet Game and not followed the rules. So, off to Janets for a fix. Emma is very sad that she cut her hair b/c 1. she does NOT like her new haircut 2. people keep commenting and she has to explain what she did 3. one of her punishments was no makeup/crowns/dress-up for 5 days!Now she looks like I'm copying Suri Cruise's haircut, which is funny b/c I've had strangers comment that she looks like Suri. Vance thinks that should mean he looks like Tom Cruise. I think not!

A Good Old Fashion Wall Raising!

Today, THE WALLS! Vance called and said Kelly needed to discuss somethings with me. The kids and I went over and reconfigured the master bathroom and they said they would have the outer walls finished today! YAY! Waiting for Vance to come home so we can go over. My sister Lauren asked if she could have the kids for the night and tomorrow, so they're already gone. A night with no kids.....YES! I love my kids, but need a break. It's also nice when someone asks to watch them without me asking first. Tomorrow, if Kelly works at our site, he will start on the interior walls. He might go to the other house to lay the countertop. I have mixed feelings about him working at the other site. I want him to get finished there and be done, but also want him working at our house everyday!

So far, this whole experience has been surreal. I can't believe it's actually happening. To all of you out there contemplating building a house, start planning now! Go in every new house you can. I have shamelessly asked people who have built in the last 3 years if I can tour their house. Most are proud to let others in to look. I ask questions and examine the small details. Vance can't believe I even notice some of the things I do. Right now we are picking out a door knob for the front door and I told Vance that the two new houses on our road both have a long door handle. Hmmm...he said. Yeah, I'm weird. Onto planning, we've had our plumber and contractor lined up for 3 years! We've always said the spring of 08 and it worked! It's never too early to start dreaming/planning!

The painted foor, isn't it beautiful?

The first wall. It's the biggest.

Setting the first wall up, kind of boring, but we are excited:)

The house from the east. The big whole will be a patio door looking into the dining room.

The view from the South. They didn't finish this wall today, maybe tomorrow.

Another view from the East.

View from the North. The two holes are my favorite...huge windows. 6 feet tall by 6 feet wide! The one on the right is for my HUGE Christmas Tree. Can't wait:)!!!

Can you say: TORTURE CHAMBER?!!!

So, Tuesday night we had another guy interested in our house. He came and looked at it, called Vance, quoted a price, and we could have picked up the down payment check on Wednesday. Sooooo....we called the other guy interested in our house and told him to get it in gear...did he want it or not? He called back YES he was going to buy the house, o.k. sounds good. We called the second guy back and said thanks, but no thanks, we accepted the offer from the first guy. Today, our buyers banker came and took measurements/notes and I guess said he wouldn't loan the money for this house. AHHHHHHH, no buyer. I have been furiously packing/cleaning...yes Jenn they do go hand in hand. Vance called the second guy back and he is still interested and will buy our house. WHEW!! I was getting worried that he would be mad and say no way. The nice thing is we don't have to go through a banker with this guy, and we can live here rent free until November 1. So, even though I've been doing heavy duty packing, we get to stay for a few more months.
Not sure what we'll do when November rolls around and our house is not finished. I guess go live with Bree:) Until then, more packing and blogging house progress EVERYDAY!

Splish Splash

Thursday, Cindy and her girls plus Quinn, Charlotte Cohagan and her 2 kids, and myself and my two plus Bronson went to THE BEACH in Ottumwa. We had loads of FUN! and the kids were wonderful! I am very proud of their manners, commen sense, and kindness. The listened to the rules, ALWAYS told me where they were going, and were nice to others. The only pictures I took were at the otter slide in the kiddie area b/c my camera was safest there. We also spent lots of time in the wave pool where every child wore a life jacket and we relaxed at the indoor water slide. That was nice b/c they can do that one all on their own, if the short ones wear a lifejacket so they don't have to be caught when them come down the slide. It took some convincing but Bronson finally accepted being short at that time! Afterwards, we all enjoyed happy meals from McDonalds. That is a special treat for my kids b/c I HATE happy meal toys. It was definitely a fun day.

Emma and Haley
going down the slide
Miss Emma
Colby down the slide.
Bronson, apparently that pose makes him go faster:)

What hunks!

Rachel and Quinn

Not afraid of child labor!

After we hit the beach, the kids and I headed to the farm to paint the floor. Kelly said this would help keep rain from seeping in. I forgot to take a picture of it but I will today. It was beautiful, let me tell you. The kids LOVED helping. Thought they were big stuff. After that, they cleaned rollers, carried boards, etc., etc. Helping kids are the best kind. On Monday, Kelly is supposed to put up the outer walls. I think that will be exciting. I hope things really get rolling now.
On another note, our house is SOLD! We don't have money and haven't signed papers, but I hope it really happens. Not sure what to do, heavy duty packing....just chill and wait for the date we have to be out? The kids and I worked on the basement today. Colby was a great help. He carried totes to the van and had them stacked so well. I was very, very proud of him and his help. Emma...well...hmmm..in between lipstick applying and hair combing she did make an appearance once in awhile. After I gushed all over Colby for his stupendous help, she kicked in to a higher gear. She wanted that praise too! Gotta love reverse psychology!
I'm going to continue to muck out the basement. Wish me luck!


I forgot to mention that Bronson was one of the "kids." Surprised?

SOLD, PRETTY LADY

Our house is SOLD! Let the chaos begin:)

Floor Joists

Yesterday Kelly and the guys came and worked and they put in all of the floor joists. Next step is the OSB floor. Tonight we have to paint the floor to help protect it from rain and warping. It shouldn't be too hard, it's not like we have to be careful:) Kelly has 3 more days worth of work at the other house and then he is all ours! YAY!

For the last week we have been crazy busy. Monday, I took the kids to the pool in Bloomfield and then they stayed the night with Jenn. Tuesday, I had a meeting in KV for school, started home and Vance calls and asked me to rake hay. I've raked hay lots of times for my day, but he always hooked it up, pointed me in the right direction, and put it in gear. I had to do all of those things myself, but I felt really good about accomplishing it! After I finished, I went to Bloomfield and got the kids and then headed back to the hayfield. Vance had lots of help, so I just watched and rode along. Then yesterday, I took the kids to story hour at the library....Bronson too. Cindy kindly offered to watch my kids while I raked more hay. She fed them lunch and let them go swimming. After I picked them up, I went home and mowed part of the yard, did laundry, and cleaned b/c someone was coming to look at our house. Last night, I went to my mom and dad's b/c it was my dad's birthday. We had supper and cake and homeade ice cream. YUM.

Today, we are going to the Ottumwa Beach. We are meeting Cindy and the Cohagans, and taking Bronson of course! Hope this weekend slows down a little!