The Egg Drop Flop

Do you see that little speck in the middle of this picture? That's the helicopter that dropped thousands of eggs for an Easter Egg hunt. It sounded like such a fun idea ... Brandy's church puts it on each year and it looked like a fun time. So, Jen & Hailey, Brandy & Evan (and Matt, the hubby), and my family were going to go have a blast.

Well, you remember that picture of the helicopter ... that's about as close as we got. We missed the whole thing because I believe about 2% of the entire population of Illinois decided to go. We made it to the entrance of the parking lot just as the helicopter dropped the eggs, so we determined it was best just to drive on.


It's times like this that I'm actually happy Lubbock doesn't understand most of what's going on. I'm sure if he were a year older and I had hyped up a helicopter and Easter egg hunt ... he would have been angry we hadn't made it in time (and rightfully so).


Instead of being angry, though, he took an early nap. That'll show, Mom ... put me in a car in stand still traffic for over an hour! Ha! I'll just take my nap now so that she won't get her break later this afternoon.

For information on how the egg drop went for those that made it on time ... you can see Jen's blog.

What we have decided, however, is that for next year ... we'll locate a CD of helicopter noises, send one of our dear hubbies onto the roof and just launch the eggs from there. No traffic to fight. No kids stealing your eggs. No early naps to deal with.

Just the possibility of a husband rolling off a roof. Maybe throwing them out a second story window would be a better idea!

The Green Party

Last month, I missed the first Scrapbooking Night put together by my friend, Beth. But, I volunteered to host this month's get-together. Not knowing what happened last time, I was concerned about how much or how little to put into it. I've never been known to go over the top with anything. (I can't believe I typed that without spitting my wine on the laptop screen.)


One thing I learned ... you can never have enough table! I don't scrapbook (probably a shocking statement to those who know how I enjoy expressing my creative side). I tried it my freshman year of college. I started to scrapbook all my pictures from high school. I got two pages done. That was the end of that.


But, since I don't scrapbook, I didn't realize just how much space this can take up. The pages are 12" x 12" and there's typically two of them out at any one time. Plus the "stuff." But, it was still a total blast.

We got to see all the cool tools we all had and tried each other's glues and cutting machines. I find card makers and scrapbookers have much to learn from each other. They are two totally different art forms!



What was the theme, Nata-Leigh? I'm glad you asked. It was "Cuttlebug Green." I had a green bucket with Izze soda, some green cups with Nutella scooped in the bottom and pretzels for dipping, and some handmade wine charms to write your name on (yes, all in "Cuttlebug Green").


So, I've cleaned up enough to feel okay about going to bed and I really should since tomorrow, we're going to Brandy's church's Easter Egg Drop (out of a helicopter!) and then a Dinosaur Jr. concert with Lauren and Kevin. Both events should be a blast.

The Quick Plan

I really didn't intend on doing much today because this weekend is promising to be super busy.

But, it cracks me up how easily plans can be created. I emailed Hailey's mom to see what color Crocs she intended on purchasing this summer. Just to make sure we didn't get the same pair at the outlet store.

Jen (Hailey's mom) said they got orange and blue thongs. (Yah! since I plan on getting the orange original pair.) But she also planned on going to the outlet mall this morning anyway. Do I want to go?

Um ... go window shopping? Sure! I was so proud of myself ... I spent fifty cents! For the fire truck ride for Hailey and Lubbock (a.k.a. photo op). Of course ... I accepted the coffee Jen picked up on the way there. Thank you so much!

And can they be any cuter?

The Note, the Water, and the Boys

This morning, I received a special delivery package in my mailbox from Meredith. She had a recent birthday party and invited Lubbock and I to "chaperon." I couldn't believe it. I'm old enough for that? For someone to entrust me with the lives of five tweenagers? Surely she must have meant to ask someone else. But, it was true. All went well. I started and ended with the same number of girls and we won the scavenger hunt contest!

Meredith, being the most graciously raised child I know, wrote a thank you note and included a few pictures from the scavenger hunt and some perfectly coordinating bottle cap magnets for my desk (all pictured on my cookie sheet message boards). In case you can't read the note, she calls me "helpful," "smart," "responsible," and "gorgeous." (Okay, I made up the last one.)

This helped start my day in such a special way. Prior to getting the package, I had forced myself out of bed by way of singing C&C Music Factory's "Here We Go" ... you know ... "You all want this party started? Right? You all want this party started ... quickly! Right?" Admit it ... you liked them, too. Anyway, I started bopping (in my head) and took a shower, got dressed, ate breakfast, and had coffee all before Lubbock woke up.

When he woke up, he ate breakfast, took a bath, and got dressed with enough time for me to do a quick wipe down of the bathroom (with his towel, thanks for the suggestion FlyLady), and made my bed before the water guy came to complete the installation. Verdict on the morning: success! I received a thoughtful note and had a smooth running morning.

Verdict on the water: pending. He said you have to run some water through the filters before you can drink it. I've run it through twice ... Kevin drank it and said it was fine. I'll wait for one more flush before trying it. Fingers still crossed.

I can't think of a good transition ... so ...

There is a family that lives two houses down. They have three teenage boys (poor Mom). These boys have so much energy that I believe the parents must send them outside to burn it off five times a day. They have a trampoline that has been the recent tool of choice. It is also a complete fascination of Lubbock's. He loves to watch the boys and when he notices them jumping, he climbs up on our dining room table and just points and yells at them (can you see the boys in the photo? Not close enough for them to hear Lubbock, for sure!).

I've spoken with the oldest boy and he promised when the weather got warmer that they'd invite Lubbock over. Oh, boy! I'm not sure I'm ready for another trip to the emergency room just yet!

The Vote and the Sink

Today was one of the few days I brought home the bacon. Kevin indulges me in my "career" as an Election Judge. What a career this is. I've worked two whole days. And by whole ... I do mean whole. I worked from 5a to 7:30p. And by worked ... I do mean ... sat on my butt.

Of course, I couldn't have expected as great a turnout as the Presidential Election produced, but the turnout wasn't enough to keep everyone busy. We rotated all duties and even had a "break" position. We just sat between two people who worked and if they ran out of stickers, we replaced them.

I was able to read a huge portion of my latest self-help book, Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley. The basics of her system is that you come up with a routine, you spend a short amount of time everyday cleaning, and you de-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter (you can't organize or clean clutter). I've mentioned this in passing before ... Marla is FlyLady. As I researched her system online, I found it to be a really complex website to navigate. Sure, you get the gist, but in order for me to map it out on my own, I found the book to be a more concise version of her plan. Perhaps this is on purpose ... I did buy the book, after all!

Tomorrow, I am welcoming a handyman into my home to finish the reverse osmosis water treatment system. We've made this investment based on the hope for drinkable well water. We spend about $50 a month for water delivery. At that rate, the water system will pay for itself in just about a year. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the water is drinkable.

I am hosting a playgroup and serving lunch to my lovely friends. I don't know what I'll cook, but I've got plenty in the freezer ... I really should pull it out before I to bed to start thawing in the fridge.

I have a dentist appointment to determine if there is a non-surgical way to fix my bite ... I don't have one and this has caused some jaw pain. I used to sleep with a night guard, but when I was pregnant, my teeth got so loose, the night guard no longer fits. So, the result may just be a new guard.

Then, we are going to Brandy's for dinner. I still feel horrible for missing New Year's Eve at her place (even though I had the "death," as Kevin calls it). We're going to look at her dining room chairs to see if I would like them in my dining room as a temporary substitute for what I really want. Of course, there's what I would really get, too. My kitchen is so bright and colorful and I'm tired of the dark wood furniture. It's really lovely, but just doesn't flow with the rest of the house. Not like my favorite table would!

Oh, table ... how do I live without you?

The Office and the Dining Room

I've moved! Not really, but kind of. We purchased a brand, new shiny laptop and I promptly closed down the "study" in the front room. This left me with a challenge, though. I could be extremely mobile with the laptop, but I still needed a "home." I think that's why I've been so bad at sending pictures to grandparents and updating my blog. It's easy to do something quick (like update your facebook status to say "we're gonna make like bears and hibernate"), but much more difficult to stand and expound on the daily grind of the life of me.

So, I've set up shop in the dining room. Due to my successful decluttering, we were able to get rid of a large piece of furniture in the dining room (it didn't really match anyway and mostly housed large machines and liquor). I purchased a bar height table (two feet by four feet) and a stool. I love having my office located in the dining room!

The kitchen and dining room area of our home is always the busiest. Both Kevin and I love to cook and what better place to be than within feet of each other.

As I'm sure you're aware ... everything in my life has a theme ... so, the theme for the desk is "kitchy kitchen." I found a pretty pink colander to use as a junk drawer, a super cool measuring cup to house my pens and pencils, two baking sheets to put my notices on, and I'm on the hunt for a napkin holder to use as my mail sorter.

I do have a small open filing system to keep medical, tax, and course catalogs. It took a while to decide what to do with my paper shredder. I'm not very good at shredding things if the shredder isn't close at hand. I finally determined that it had to go downstairs. But, I have one file folder specifically for things to be shredded. I haven't used the shredder since it went downstairs, but my folder isn't over-flowing yet!

My household notebook is also taking up residence on my desk. Easy access will hopefully make for a more smooth operation around here.

I do have some really super cute pictures of Lubbock that need to be loaded, but as he just awoke from his nap ... I'm going to go pay attention to him. I love being able to do that. And I find as I am keeping up with the housework, there is more time for me to enjoy him.

I love my job (and my new desk).

The Month My Brain Quit

I believe last month was a busy month for my brain. Have you ever had a list of to do's and they were mostly brain-heavy activities? Last month was full of those.

Research the possibility of refinancing the house ... our house is worth what!?!?!?

Restructure the monthly budget so that the 1st and 15th of the month expenditures aren't so lop-sided. This is, of course, because I don't have the self-control to not spend the 'extra' money we have on the 15th.

Research ways to reduce costs around here. I hear about people finding ways to reduce their electricity bills to $25 a month and then see my $125 bill come in and think ... how is that done?

All money issues. It makes me tired thinking about it. Why does the brain working on overtime wear me out?

Anyway, I think I'm going to try to get away from thinking as much as possible this month! More blogging, less stressing.

So, what else have I been up to?

I went to a card making party last night at Jen's. I took my camera, but failed to take pictures ... that would have required brain function. We did have a total blast, though. We made 8 cards and spent about 4 hours away from kids and husbands. Cell phones rang left and right and husbands seemed to be completely incapable of remembering what to do when kids awoke from naps (change the diaper, give them a snack), but they survived.

We visited the SciTech Kid's Museum in Aurora last week. I did take a few pictures there. I can't decide if I would recommend going there. For children above age 3, I think it would be more enjoyable, but then you have to pay for them, making the trip more expensive. Overall, I think the kids had fun running around and we almost had the whole place to ourselves. They do have a lunch room that you are allowed to bring your own food into, so that helps reduce costs.

And I let Lubbock play in the kitchen sink. I pulled a chair up to the sink, and let him go crazy. He was so wet and so sad when I decided we had had enough fun for the afternoon. It kept him busy while I made dinner and overall ... it wasn't messy fun ... just wet. Very wet. And now, he keeps pushing the chair from the dining room to the sink. We've done it a few more times. I'm happy when I find things he enjoys doing. I find it hard at this age to do activities with him. He enjoys eating crayons and putting playdough up his nose. I don't. So, we can both enjoy playing with the water in the sink and there's not much of a mess to clean up. Bonus!