My new kitchen

Okay - here are the pictures I promised you!

A reminder: This is the "whole" kitchen...(I've posted this picture before!)


We put in a new sink! It's GINORMOUS! Just a single tub w/ a garbage disposal in it - and a tall - tall faucet - so I can stack the dishes really high! This is a granite sink - it must actually be composite? It's not heavy like granite...but it's guaranteed not to scratch, chip or stain! NO JOKE! With hard water in AZ - I'm very excited to have it as part of my home!


Next, we added roll-out shelves/drawers - this gives me extra room on the top of the cabinets for the rest of my pots & pans!

Even above the fridge - where it goes so far back, you'd never get back there - so I have drawers I can bring the back of the cabinet to ME - and I labled them - so I don't forget what I have back there!!

oh - and since I have a picture of my fridge, there, this is almost twice the size of my last one - see how easily it holds 8 gallons of milk?! (and a gallon of water - bet you can't even see them all!!)


also my garbage! All tucked away in a cozy place - the garbages themselves are about 1/2 the size of my other garbages so we're emptying them more often, but they're not in my pantry!

Speaking of pantry - this is what I've gone to - which is about a third the size of my last pantry -

So Ross got me THIS - which is tucked nicely in a secondary coat closet (like we even use the PRIMARY coat closet w/ an average annual temperature of 80?)


This is the new cook top that I put in - the other one was "fine" but this one is gas on glass - which translates to EASY CLEANING - just look how there are no "food catchers" under my gas burners! FLAT - like a flat top stove, but with the benefits of gas!


And so far that is what I've been working on - Tomorrow I will paint a decorative niche & put a fountain in it! Will post before/after pictures then!

It's official

I need photography help! I went & bought (a few years ago) the latest & the greatest - it's still pretty good & rates pretty high among digital cameras - and Kiersten became interested in it - so because I didn't want her to mess up my camera - I bought her one of her own for Christmas - it was a "nice" one as they go - a cheap one - 6 megapixels - $80 - it seems to have all the bells & whistles that my $700 camera has! BUT - here's what she does with hers:
the corner of our back yard -


The grapevine

the summer desert weeds


the last rose of summer

Brynn eating


And the quality of pictures *I* take:

No, I'm not jealous of her - I just SOOO want to be a good picture taker - I guess I'll have to settle for being a good typer?

We're "mostly" in!

I still have cabinets that have stuff in them, in the "old" kitchen - my laundry room, the pantry, the fridge/freezer/deep freeze, master closet...a trail in the bathrooms (you know - cleaning stuff & toilet paper!) but that's it! I still have to shampoo those carpets, too.

Okay - so the last week - it's been a crazy one. The last day of school party lasted all week for the kids - and of course - each one needed $5 for their pizza party and $5.50 for their Shrek the Third movie they went to see - as well as another $2 for a teacher present - and another couple bucks for the water party. (the "big" water slide)
and the wet t-shirt contest:

By the end of the week - my account has been drained almost 100 dollars for EDUCATION - why do they even go to school? You walk in to bring the obligatory "my kid is cool" cupcakes and they're watching SHREK II on the classroom TV (no, I didn't sign a permission slip for that filthy movie to be shown to my daughter - I mean - how many wooden puppets do you know that wear girls underwear?) But I digress...

Here's a picture of my own Steve Nash - ready to head out to his graduation festivities:

Our wonderful PTO paid for the kindergarten caps.
I do want to say how nervous I was - I wasn't sure they were going to let Howie graduate because - well, he didn't really turn in any of his homework during the entire school year - so he must have graduated kindergarten by the skin of his teeth.

What do you like to do?

Had an interesting conversation w/ a new neighbor. He asked - "What do you like to do?" I said - uh - uh - uh - hmmm, what an interesting question that made me ponder!

So what do I like to do?

I like to have a clean house...does that mean I like to clean? I don't think so - but I do when I have free time...

I like to talk to people. Is that really a hobby?

I like to hang out on the computer - LOSER!!!!

'nuther hit.

Got someone coming in tomorrow morning at 9 to look at the house - this is the first viewing of an empty house - of course, most of the cabinets are full still - and I have a washer/dryer here - my desk & computer - pictures on the walls, etc - but most everything else is empty - I need to shampoo the carpets - maybe tomorrow - or maybe after I pack everything - either way - I'm ready to sell it.

I miss it already - but I need to sell it so I have closure so I can start enjoying my new gorgeous home.

Moving tonight!

After fighting to stay with my pool, I've given in to the kids - we're moving tonight. Part of my reason is - tonight is father/son campout - and quite frankly - if my husband goes on another campout - I'll SPIT!

Another part of the reason is - next week is the last week of school - like I want the master un-cleaners here 24/7? I don't think so -

We'll still come by to swim, though. I'm going to miss my home - but I'm excited to go make more memories in the next step!

Soooo - I'll be away for a while till I get everything unpacked/organized, etc.

How do I hate the Post Office....let me count the ways...

1 - Last month - okay - maybe it was 2 months ago - I got a roll of 100 39 cent stamps. We use them pretty fast, I think - and we were out. The rates just increased, so I figured I'd be able to use them all before they went up again.

2 - I forgot I got the roll of 100 and remembered that I needed to get stamps and bought another 100 39 cent stamps.

3 - I have 188 -- 39 cent stamps. Postage, as you know just went up.

4 - I went to the post office to buy 188 -- 2 cent stamps, not really my purpose, but I had to get my new house set up so they'd deliver mail.

5 - They said I'd need my deed, any papers I had w/ my name & the address on it so that they could verify this was really my house - I understand - no big problem - although I only remember to go to the post office when I'm already out & about - and don't carry those particular papers with me...SOOOOOOOOO I had to make a special effort to obtain said papers from the vaults of Ross and bring them to the PO, since he was a little miffed we've had the house for over a month and I haven't set that up yet.

5.5 - I stood in line at 9:00 in the morning -- behind 7 people - and one employee - just before me went on break - WHY? On your FEET too long? What about me? I was standing in line long before I saw the whites of his eyes standing there at his post!!!

6 - When I walked up to the window for the opening of the mail box in the new house - the lady took my address from me and my name - and didn't ask for the big stack of papers I made a special effort to have with me at that particular trip.

7 - I got the stuff I thought I needed and then left. On the way out I thought it would be a good idea to buy 200 of those "forever" stamps...you know - pay 41 cents and they will work no matter what price? I figure I'd get a book once in a while & then when they went up, I'd have them stock piled and never have to buy stamps again.

8 - not wanting to stand back in line - I went to the vending machine & bought my stamps - I know they dispense $1 coins, which is nice for the tooth fairy - so I put my $20 in the slot, said I wanted a book of forever stamps - and VIOLA - there were my stamps and the sound of the jackpot. But I don't get enough change back for a $20 bill - THEN I read the fine print "Machine will not dispense more than $5 in change" YEP, very small - on a scrolling marquis...which you have to sit in front of for about 2 minutes to read the whole thing -

9 - I have to stand in line at the vending machine to read a marquis - and my 41 cent "forever" stamps cost me 58 cents each. To make this truly worth the price I paid, I shouldn't techinically use this book of forever stamps until I'm 114 years old.

I hate the post office.

Insomnia Anyone?

I got up this morning at 3:58> I couldn't fall back to sleep? So I got up and cleaned the dinner mess from last night, which my family so kindly left for me< I made German Pancakes with buttermilk syrup AND Ana's quiche% They were BOTH a huge hit - although I think the kids ate too much pancakes & didn't have enough room for quiche - which is fine because all the more for me! Pete loved it too*

I've lost something, it's been missing for a few days$ Left it out of my post, too@ what to do what to do? Kris said I should go to the dollar store, but I'm askeerd!

It's the monthly post

I'm on the verge of a headache. I know I'm going to yell at someone tonight for putting their clean and freshly folded clothes in the dirty hamper, and I might as well go for the trifecta of anticipating how much weight I'm going to gain after buying a bag of M&Ms, circus penuts AND Heath mini bars in anticipation of correcting the upcoming monthly seratonin dip...

Ross pulled the chocolate supply out last night AND with a large glass of icy cold milk started eating it like it was pop-corn while we watched Ocean's 12 on DVD - so of course, sensing my chocolate supply was going to hit a dangerous all time low - I raced him to the bottom of the bag. I'm sick - I'm headache ridden and I'm out of chocolate when I really need it.

Mother's day!

No, it's not staged! This is how I found them when I came to take Brynn to bed. She loves crawling in with them, but she's such an egg beater - she'll fly off the bed within the first hour of falling asleep!

Of course when you're younger, mother's day is all about your mom, but when you're a mom, it has magically become all about YOU. For years and years, I've dreaded mother's day. Probably since I was 16? When I would read those mother's day cards & cry cause my mom was NOT anything like it - and I clearly was being ripped off as a youth.

Then when I became a mom, I dreaded it even more - I mean - the FIRST mother's day was terrific - we blessed Rossi - and my sweet husband had flowers sent to me - but then after that - the gifts stopped coming and MY DAY turned awful.

I had breakfast to make, diapers to change, chocolate pudding faces to clean, finger-painted liquid soap to dispel, it was just an AWFUL "me" day. Until I realized. Without them, I wouldn't be a mom. The day would be boring. I may or may not get my mom something -and dote on her - or not - I may or may not get something for my mother in law...depending on if I remember...

After that realization - Mother's day - no matter how many diapers I had to change, no matter how many meals I had to make, no matter how many times I had to do the dishes - it was going to be all about being a mom - and that's what mom's do. Not that I'm the best mom by a LONG shot, but I figure maybe ONE day out of the year, I can try my best to be a perfect mom.

So mothers days are every day for me.

Yesterday I came out of the shower to a cookie sheet full of breakfast - all my kids walked into the bathroom with the cookie sheet of eggs, toast, orange juice and cereal (that had been sitting in the milk since, well, I think the littler ones made the cereal for me - just before the older ones started cooking the eggs!) I'm not a big breakfast person - in fact, my breakfast consists of a little bowl of "Flax Plus" (about 1/2 cup) and that's it - till I'm fully awake - around noon!!!

Then we went to church. The new ward. Everyone got hand addressed cards of sorts & a mesh bag of Dove chocolate...(except me - because the people passing those out didn't recognize me after only 3 weeks?) I did get the token flower - because Rossi was in charge of passing those out...which the girls swiftly snatched up and carried off to sunday school class. No matter. I wouldn't be a mom without them.

So off to take the Bryncess to nursery - she can't be in there without me - 21 months old now, and has only had me in there since she was 15 months old (hello I was the nursery leader!) She sat on my lap the whole time.

Then we came home --- ohhh - how I was looking forward to my Sunday afternoon nap. I can do that now since we switched wards - I no longer LEFT at 1:00 for church, but come home at NOON! YAY!

I get stripped down to the coolest clothes I own - and slipped into my cold sheets - my cell phone started crying as soon as my head hit the pilla! It's the realtor - someone wants to come by at 2:30. ON MOTHERS DAY? JERK!! So I slowly crawled out of bed - told the kids they had 1 1/2 hours to get their stuff perfect - so we meandered around the house picking up this and that - when the phone rang again - yep, realtor - he said that they were going to be here in 1/2 hour.

So we meandered a little faster - in fact, we went into morph speed - the dishes were sprawled out all over - I had to stack them nicely and shove them in the dishwasher - it was an all out mad rush...we packed a laundry basket full of food & staples to cook at the new house - after all - just the day before, we installed the new gas on glass cooktop!

We left the house at 1:15 - they were supposed to be there in 15 more minutes. I hate cutting it that close because some times people show up earlier than they think they will. So we rushed out - leaving a few things undone - LAUNDRY for one.

Got to the new house - had one more ceiling fan to install - and toward the end - as I was still dreaming of the cool sheets & fluffy pilla - I got a call from the other realtor. He's on his way now. ARUGHHGHG! I totally could have pinched in an hour nap on my cold pilla. So we waited around another hour...went home & I took a 4:00 afternoon nap. Which was not good - since that's when the 105 degree sun shines through my windows! I hate hot naps.

I got up and watched America's Funniest Video's with the kids. Till I got my eyefull of crotch accidents and people falling off things and hitting their heads - how is that funny?

And one last thing...Why do they make piano benches out of balsa wood? Okay - I'll blame it on the kids who were tipping back on it...but LOOK - I don't think you can fix something like that! Can you?

Something's wrong with the Windex....

I cleaned the mirrors in the loo
The Windex made them shine right through
I smiled a humble smile that day
But my reflection knew she wouldn't stay.

The back slider with little prints
A life chapter told by my little imps
We saw the dog-sneeze spittle-spray
Slowly dissapear, the Windex way.

Yet more, the entry window called toward me
The children-visitors left nose prints to see
If it was okay to come jump in the pool
Because it was hot and I'm so cool...

With my trusty sidekick, "Blue-juice"
Nose-prints surrendered; they called a truce!
My towel was getting ragged and tired
As I stood around my glass and admired

What was known then only as "done"
Till the kids came home one by one.
The glass knows the boss who gives it affection
Now the windex will sit by my side in detention.

May is:

National Mental Health Awareness Month. Anyone else find it peculiar that they squeeze Mothers Day into the same month? How about why do teachers get a whole week to be appreciated and Mothers only a day?

Is it because mothers need to be more aware of their mental health? Or is it because we have no mental health of which we are aware? Can I send sympathy to those of you who have chosen to be wed in the same month as National Mental Health Awareness? For me, I prefer national artichoke day.

Lets just go through a list of a few "special" days that our nation wants us to be aware of this month:
1st: National Anxiety Disorders Screening Day
15-19th: National Dog Bite Prevention Week
4th: Mother's Day Comes Early for Too Many of Our Nation's Teens
5th-10th: National Mental Health Counseling Week
6th: National Tourist Appreciation Day
10th: National Third Shift Worker's day
5th: Melanoma Monday
12-18th: National Stuttering Awareness Week

Other things the nation wants us to be aware of this month:
Asthma & Allergy Awareness Month
Better Hearing & Speech Month
Better Sleep Month
Breathe Easy Month
Correct Posture Month
Hepatitis Awareness Month
National Neurofibromatosis Month
National Drinking Water Month
Older Americans Month
Tuberous Sclerosis Awareness Month

The list goes on & on - the fun part is that there are actually some worth-while awareness projects happening that month...My only request is that they make a National Nap Day.

Why compete - she said it all!

Here's a good recap of the weekend - thank you Kris!! so many beads... so little time...: I am so lucky... AND Mel's done an excellent job, too! Thanks for pointing that out, Kris!

Things I learned over the weekend:

I learned that:
-(sing with me) "Sometimes the snow comes down in MAY" (changing the month)

- People don't like to wait around while I'm trying to decide what to buy.

- Slush is a very good driver, especially on Sundays when we let her go up and down the driveway

- Page is roudy when she gets tired

- Dana needs a new nickname from me (she's jealous of my slush girl)

- Angela is a quick shopper.

- Roberta sleeps on the floor.

- Kris doesn't like crumbs in the truck.

- Ana watches too many soap operas...and maybe should act in one.

- Kaily - if pushed off the roof - would float down like a feather.

- Jenne is quieter in person than on the board.

- Mel is a pseudonym for Gina Davis (pronounced GEEEEnah - not Jigh-nah) and she only lies when she's in the maffia - which is what you're supposed to do

- Shauna is only good at bunco when she's playing as my partner

- Crysty is a buy now, ask questions later, kind of a person

- Staci is still lactating

- Cherie is a good direction giver

- Shayla is a good game organizer - and while she knows how to play bunko, she can't roll a 4 to save her life

- V has a phone sex voice and don't fight her for a spoon, you'll lose.

- Venisa can fall asleep while everyone around her is playing mafia - and if you wake her up - she'll act like a two year old "I'm AWAKE, stop picking on me" and - her boobs get uneven without Sam...

- If you walk into a mexican restraunt on cinco de mayo and no one is there, it's best to walk out - but even as nasty as it was, it's still fun to be there with friends

- it is possible to go all weekend with no sleep

- Even though you aren't there to run your house, the house still runs while you're gone.

Do you ever wait till the last possible minute

or find yourself in a rush to get out the door for whatever reason - and leave with the clothes on your back?

Welp...that happened to me last night. We needed both milk and bread - and lemon juice because dear spoiled child #6 can't live without it in his morning smoothie - SOOOO I found myself looking at the clock last night at 8:15 as I was tucking the nippers into bed...realizing that costco would close in 15 minutes.

Luckily I live right around the corner from Costco...a soft 4 minutes (because the speed limit is residential - at 25 mph)

Now rewind a minute to understand I was at a field trip all day w/ Kiersten yesterday at the Challenger space center. She was the communications officer on a Mission to Mars with her class - (here's the class)

Here's Kiersten coordinating efforts with the MTV communicating officer;

Here she is at her post!

We had a ton of fun!

But my point was that I wasn't home all day - Brynn missed me, Rossi didn't do any school work and no one was around to clean up breakfast mess (or lunch or snack, for that matter) and I needed to catch up when I got home.

SOOO - I kicked my shoes off - put on a pair of "worlds softest socks" (I don't like walking around bare-foot on our tile - it's cold!!) Then as I was running around the house picking things up here & there, I came across a pair of Kiersten's baby blue crocs - so I wanted to put them away, but my hands were full, so I slipped them on my feet - surprised at how unexpectedly comfortable they were, I left them on & went about my business.

So here it is 8:15, and I realize I need to RUN to Costco to get Bread, Milk & Lemon juice - might as well grab some eggs while I'm there & save one of my unplanned twice daily costco trips...that's forward thinking, right?!

Until I got out of the car at costco and looked down...this, coupled with my glow in black light WHITE legs, brown shorts & orange button-up dress shirt - How do you walk around unnoticed in this?!

I'm so glad people are either used to me there or too polite to laugh in front of me. Or thankfully I'm not educated enough to eves drop in on someones Spanish conversation to hear what they're saying about me. And who cares, really - I got my milk & lemon juice & bread at an outstanding price - not to mention 2% of my purchase will come back in the form of a check come next February. I love my costco!