money bags

i love it when laundry day becomes payday:)

hello lani's shave ice shack.

we're comin'!!!

spinach garage

my garage is broken.
i am sad.
but i now know how to manually open and close it.
i've always wondered.
have you ever wondered if kids really like spinach?
me too.
and now i know.
max does.
straight from the bowl.
she is going to turn into a vegetable.
with a sucker in one hand.
and spinage in the other.
seeing as i've done the same things with brennan and her i don't think i can take credit for it, but i guess i'll try.

lately, this is how it's been going...

lately, this is how it's been going...
when someone is completely out of pajamas or underwear
OR if someone poops {pee can dry and be left in the laundry room longer--this is my theory},
i decide it's time to do laundry.
at which point it will take the entire first half of the morning/day to motivate myself to carry the chosen white or dark load down the stairs and place it in the washing machine.
it may or may not take several hours for the load to be started depending on what my two small children decide to do in the time it takes me to walk to the laundry detergent.
sometimes we get lucky.
today we did not.
today brennan pooped in his underwear during that time and laundry was put off to deal with that lovely issue.
two hours later when i remembered to start the laundry machine it finally got going.
the afternoon and evening are spent trying to motivate myself to put the now wet laundry into the dryer.
i usually think about it four or five times from 2pm-10pm before i do anything about it.
the wet laundry in the washing machine.
this process is drawn out longer if it is the dark load because i hang dry most of the darks.
and i am embarrassed to say i even dry most of my kid's clothing.
it lasts longer and looks better.
that is why.
and i've done it for my clothes since i was 14.
then finally around 10pm i consider leaving the wet clothes in the washing machine over night and running it again the next day.
then i imagine the same process and being in the same place at 10pm tomorrow night with no pajamas and no underwear and get to moving the clothes into the dryer.
and sometime after we are all asleep i am sure it finishes drying b/c i wake up the next morning to a dryer full of...
wait for it...
DRY CLOTHES:)
heaven bless the washer and dryer.
said dry clothes will remain left in the dryer for several days until someone is completely out of pajamas or underwear
OR until someone poops.
and the process will begin all over again.
this is starting to remind of the "if you give a mouse a cookie" books...
no?

i also got my flu shot today.
my arm still hurts.
but i'm so proud.
i wanted a sticker.
they did not have stickers.

Multiple offers.

At the dinner table last night, over a batch of hot taco soup Brennan argued with me over the fact that I told him he had two arms.
"no treeeeee!!!!"
No, you have two arms.
See?
One.
Two!
"nooooooo treeeeeee!!!!!"
Aliens have three arms.
Brennan has two.
"noooooooo !!!!!!!!"
After complete distress, we agreed that he could grow a third.
I'd like another as well.
Then we put another offer in on the best house we've seen so far.
Then the scout master's computer broke.
Us: zero
Computers: 2
Then our realtor called us to say there are multiple offers.
So we made another offer.
And went to sleep feeling like we were going to ace our final exam.
And slept like babies.
For the first time in a month.
And so did the kids.
It's gonna be a great day.

is this heaven? no, it's iowa.

we got max napping, sunscreened ourselves, shoed ourselves, watered ourselves, and readied ourselves to go outside.
only to find it was raining.
it was warm and humid.
i figured we would either get drenched on the way out and i'd totally regret going,
or it would sprinkle heat.
it sprinkled heat.
good thing, b/c i hate it when i'm wrong.
brennan ran around in the rain.

and i sat under the pavilion playing with my phone.
it was the first time the entire week that i actually enjoyed the humidity. there was thunder.
loud thunder.
sun.
and 5 minutes of torrential downpour.
i felt like i was in iowa.
"is this heaven?"
"no, it's iowa."
but iowa is pretty close.
and so is utah.

brennan became royally soaked.
and then max woke up.
i pulled him back to our house in a red metal wagon,

with wobbly wheels and chipping paint.
broiled salmon.

steamed some "trees" and rice.

had family night.
oh happy day.

the pork loin thought it was free refills.

it took a lot of explaining and bribery to get him to understand that you only get the one cup that you paid for.

b/c when mommy says, "all gone,"

she means the ice cream in your cup that she paid for is gone.

which is the same thing as, "completely gone."
and the ever flowing frozen yogurt fountains don't work like the milk in our fridge.

is this heaven?

no, it's my life.

same thing;-)

ball point pen

the scout master arrived home from camp with a sunburned face and an exhausted self.
i spent the better part of the early evening attending to his every need---
errrrrr, talking on the phone and booking airline tickets.
to make it up to him i whipped up a home cooked meal---
errrrrr, went through the drive though at taco bell.
i love their straws.
during this time, the pork loin was left unattended with a ball point pen.
i think the outcome was low risk at best.i'm happy it wasn't our walls again.
or better yet,
my freshly mopped floors.

throwing his spoon full of oatmeal.

i don't know why i make such a big deal out of mopping.
i used to make a big deal out of cleaning the bathroom.
i still make a big deal out of cleaning my tub.
when i say "big deal," i mean that i put it off in my head as this huge surmounting task that is going to take all of my time and energy.
but when i actually do it, it doesn't take that long.
and i feel great after.
so i finally mopped last night.
i can't wait to see what ends up on my floors today.
there goes brennan spoon of oatmeal.
no, i'm not kidding.
he really just threw it down.
and i just went over and really wiped it up with a sponge.
give it a few days and i'll be looking the other way to spills.
the only nice thing about a clean floor is feeling great that my floor is clean.
for a day or two.
but the really great thing about a dirty floor is feeling great that i don't care that my son is acting 2.
and throwing his spoon full of oatmeal on my floor.
let's get it dirty again.
in a few days...

having not mopped.

every day this week i've told myself that i was going to sweep and mop my floors the second children are down for naps or asleep for the night.
but every day milk spills, taco meat falls, or water drips from swim suits and i think,
"i'm so glad i didn't take the time to mop!"
i thought about that as i was on my hands and knees tonight picking up cheese and meat from underneath the chairs.
i felt so smart,
having not mopped:-)

money laundrier

I'M RICH!!!

doing the laundry really does pay.

yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

i have a feeling it's scout camp money,

but for the next 8 hours until the scout master comes home,

i'm going to pretend it's mine.

i'm leaving it out on the counter, just feeling rich and lucky.

and planning what i could buy with it.

snap is not working.

i keep doing the mary poppin's snap,
but nothing is cleaning itself up.
maybe i'm doing it wrong.
is there a you tube video for that???
i watched a baby break dancer yesterday on there.
it was neat.

an all time HIGH/LOW...or something.

we decided late last night
that the tv watching had reached an all time high.
or low.
whichever.
30 min of george this morning and off the ol' tube went.
it's going AWESOME.
can't you tell?????
it's like an addict at rehab.
do you think it will take 30 days???

another one bites the dust

i wake up.
i open my front door.
i see:

it's like i should leave a sign.

"come on in! we'll even leave the key in the door for you!"

umphf.

...

also...

over the weekend,

another one bites the dust.

dang it UNGA!

ironing-itis

this is where my iron and ironing board sit for 361-364 days out of the year.
i don't iron.
i have.
probably 5 times in the last 6 years.
i'm not exaggerating.
ask sean.
i avoid buying and wearing clothes that would require an iron.
if i have something that wrinkles, it goes in the dryer for 10 minutes.
wrinkles don't bother me that much.
much less than the process of having to work in the time to iron before i get dressed.
i'm already "pressed" for time without ironing.
sean's white dress shirts are the wrinkle free ones.
bless you nordstrom's.
and bless you sandie and grandma joi for buying them:-)
you are thoroughly supporting my habit of NOT ironing.
i thank you.
WE thank you:-)
if i do have a skirt that needs ironing, it is most likely for church.
at which point i beg sean to do it for me.
and then i make sure not to get it too dirty during the 3 hour services.
that way i can wear it at least 1 more time (or more--don't judge) before needing to wash and iron it again.
i used the iron and board when i made brennan's quilt and my apron.
i "pressed" them.
which means "iron," in case you were wondering.
i didn't know this at first.
it was a rather embarrassing event, standing there pressing the fabric with my hands trying to figure out why the directions would have me do something that did absolutely NOTHING.
only to call my mom and have her laugh for hours.
it really was funny.
i still don't understand why they couldn't just say "iron."
...
the pork loin has mastered the zipper.
the stud enjoys showing off his chest while sleeping.
he's THAT vain.
and then he peed through his diaper this morning.
curse you kirkland diapers.
i think i'm finally going to cave and try the huggies overnighters.
i'm so glad i have a washer and dryer at my house.

rainy day & 2 kids

what a rainy day and 2 kids looks like.
with absolutely nowhere to go.

the teacher in me was feeling sorry for our movie/tv overloaded selves.

so i got really ambitious and read books to both kids under the baby gym for an hour. this of course was only possible b/c the toddler was compliant.

thought this was interesting.

in my hall for 4 days.

this right here folks.

this is the ONLY reason i dislike the cold weather.

my dang drying rack sits out for 4 days.

in my hall.

for 4 days.

b/c the clothes won't dry in the cooler air.

i'd still rather have the cold.

i just want my clothes to figure out a way to dry faster,

so that my toddler doesn't break my drying rack.

he loves to make it sway.

snap crackle pop

brennan was eating his afternoon snack.
i opened my closet and found it to be abnormally quiet in my house.
quiet enough to notice a snap, crackle, pop buzzing sound from inside my closet.
my eyes looked left (this helps me listen better).
i got a sick feeling in my stomach.
at first i thought, "oh no, a soda exploded in the mini-fridge."
i knew the mess would be a dousy.
hindsight,
i would have LOVED an exploded soda.
can you hear the sound in your head?
i opened the fridge.
all sodas were closed and accounted for.
and then my eyes rose to the bag of corn i had used for christmas presents this past year.
"oh no."
i almost swore.
i think i did swear inside my head.
as i looked closer around the bag i saw 20-30 black bugs, beetle like, with long snouts crawling around my mini fridge.
i quickly opened the bag of corn.
the sound amplified.
THOUSANDS.
TENS OF THOUSANDS.
of little gross, disgusting bugs were feasting.
huge gasp of air in, and then i grabbed the sack and ran with it outside.
i spent the next 30 min. vacuuming up every bug i could find left behind,
while the pork loin screamed in his high chair.
the vacuum scares him.
i dare you to click on the picture to see the bugs that are visible on top.
remember, there were enough to sound like an exploding bottle of soda.
snap

crackle

pop.

i'll never eat rice crispies again.

i'm still itching all over.

at least i figured out where all of the bugs were coming from...