projects part 2

I'm pretty sure the concrete being poured for our driveway this week should be made of diamonds and pearls for what it is costing...yikes. But it will be so nice!! We were only going to do half of the drive, but it's amounting to almost 2/3 I'd say. We aren't sure if we'll finish it in concrete or asphalt next year. The kids will be able to play basketball, use chalk, ride scooters & bikes...things they haven't done in forever. And little rocks and pebbles won't be all over the house from the formerly gravel driveway! I can't believe how huge the driveway looks! It's crazy. Looks like a basketball court. 1/3 done yesterday, 2/3 of the way to go...

Also Mike has been working on the porch (the past couple months really). It is all white now! Just need to finish the stairs/railings and some trim, and we need to put the white criss-cross trellis stuff below the porch. He even built some little planters at the top of the stairs!

The to do list goes on and on for outside stuff...but it's looking like that might be it for summer completed projects : (

We have a relatively new marble reward system in the house...it has been working great. We are still working out some kinks, like what each one will be worth, what they can trade them in for, or what they can save them up for. The kids and I cleaned all day Monday--and everyone was eager to help! We made a chart of jobs and rooms to be cleaned. Too bad we haven't even tackled 1/3 of them. And too bad poor Maddie puked all over the freshly cleaned dining room floor late last night! Thankfully she is feeling much better today.

In other news, I got an email from our principal at school...registration packets are being mailed out soon!! I love seeing the school supplies in stores. Love it. How I love school supplies. Not becauce I am eager to start another school year, I really do love school supplies!! Ask my sister & cousins about how I made them play school ALL the time, and only I could be the teacher : )

a crafty project

While it has been entirely too long since I've gotten a chance to scrapbook, this past Friday my neighbor friend and I got together (childless!) for a 5 hour crafty day. She sewed, and I scrapped. So I've been working on this mini album of Sadie since October...pathetic, I know. It's not quite complete; there's many notebook-like journaling pages inside that I have to fill yet as well as a handful of pictures. Morgan, I'm using all those October Afternoon goodies : )

This past week...

Sadie is at the terrible "I can sit up perfectly, but that's not so cool anymore, so when you sit me on the floor, I will probably lean over and try to crawl but won't go anywhere yet" stage. Which then results in an angry baby on her belly. It won't be long till she's a crawling machine. She manages to get around just by wiggling, or when on her belly she'll use her arms and "crawl" in a circle. She gets on all 4's, but hasn't quite mastered the real moving yet. Legos are upstairs in preparation for this!! Next to be moved: polly pockets and littlest pet shop.

The weekend of the 4th was crazy, but being that it is probably my favorite holiday (seriously!) that's okay. We went to see the waterski show in Muskego (remember our friend who is on the team?). Then stayed for those fireworks with Mike's parents. We ran into SO many people from church, it was fun. Love this small town atmosphere where everywhere we go we run into people we know. On Sunday after church, we last minute decided to do a parade (I do love parades!) but unfortunately we were at the very end of the parade, so it was so long and drawn out at that point that it wasn't even fun. And no one was throwing candy, either. We left after an hour and a half; hot, candyless, and tired. We then went swimming at Oma's, followed by cookout and more fireworks. Note to self: Greendale fireworks were totally lame this year, must do Franklin or good ole Big Bend next year. Hope y'all had a great 4th!

Thanks for the feedback! I feel much better about it all. My kids, my rules. I think part of the problem also is that parents are so bent on doing what's hot right now, even if it's not age appropriate (like the 5 year olds going to see Justin Bieber/Sean Kingston....REALLY?!?!?!) That goes for fashion, too. (The 10 year olds dressed like 21 year olds. I know the 10 year olds aren't out buying their own clothes...so who is?) The 11 year old with the iphone (who does the 11 year old really need to text?!?!). Technology, fashion, etc...it all goes together. And it's all on the parents. Kids grow up fast enough, why push it along any faster?

Now I must delete pictures--I have no room on my computer to finish uploading any more from this past weekend! Time for a computer with more memory!

sound off on movies

I know I am protective, maybe even extreme, when it comes to my kids. I am especially a nut when it comes to movies. I NEVER ever ever have even seen a horror movie (and don't want to anyways). My parents were picky when it came to what we could or couldn't watch, and I am thankful for that. I don't think it's a bad thing to keep your kids from seeing unnecessary things. I know I could likely be in the minority on this, but I don't care. Mike thinks I'm crazy for being so extreme when it comes to movies, but I don't care. PG-13 are not allowed in my house. There are even a handful of PG I won't allow. One off the top of my head--"Monster House". A cartoon, yes. A movie for kids under the age of 12, no. Ratings are there for a reason in my opinion. And the way they rate things these days...ridiculous. When I was little, I guarantee alot of the now PG-13 would've been R then.

So this Twilight phenomenon...I am totally not into it, I don't get it at all. No offense to those who do, I am probably the only one who hasn't read or seen any of them : ) SO you love the movies, the books, BUT, would you take your eight year old to see the new Twilight movie? I think you know my answer.

can I get a break??

So this past week, we were on the go ALL day every day. Or so it seems. From not having power and running around all over, Vacation Bible School, to Summer School, to grocery store trips, Target trips, baseball games, and playdates. I am a professional taxi driver. And much to my dismay, Mike went to help a friend do work on friend's house last night. This had been planned for months, to put on a new garage door for his friend. Since his friend lives 45 minutes away, he spent the night to finish up the work today. I played Supermom.

Yesterday the girls and I went to a family's house from our church. They have six daughters (5 are in school with our kids). Each daughter invited a friend from school, and Maddie and Kaycey were invited. While Cal was invited to come along, he was not interested in hanging out with 12+ girls, so he had a fun day with Auntie (my sister). Their house was quite a bit further away than I expected (not a big deal--just adds to my in the car time for the week!) After the swimming fun, we had to pick Cal up and race home, because he was having a friend stay over. They had a blast, as always. Apparently this is sleepover #28 for them (I really don't think they've had that many, but I'm not going to argue with them!) Baseball, baseball stats, nintendo, and giggles is all I heard till about 12:30am. Today they played baseball and decided to go swimming. Sadie and I sat outside by the pool and watched the fun. The fun came to an abrupt halt when Cal's friend slipped off the top step of the ladder, backwards to the ground. He hurt his hand, and I had a hunch that his arm was broken. His mom, who was at a tournament for his older brother, came to pick him up to take him for xrays. And yes, turns out he broke his arm. Not the break I was looking for : ( I feel so awful!! Please tell me I'm not the only one who has had someone get hurt in their care and it wasn't their own kid????