well, in 3 hours we will be on the train! Ean woke me up at 5, peering at me over the edge of the bed and whispering excitedly "mommy, today is the day!" I shooed him away, but ended up getting up before 6.

darn kid. :p

We do not know when I will be home, but probably 2 weeks. It all depends on if we buy B a truck or me a new car... or if I have to ride the train home. There is the chance that I will be updating my twitter from time to time, but we will see.

omg! yay! see ya!

and while I am sitting here doing nothing I will talk about MJ, lol, because everyone is and I want to be cool too. :p

Unlike most kids of my generation I dint really dig michael's music that much... and I do not have a great memory about roller skating to thriller or my first kiss being to an mj song.

In fact MJ is only in one memory from my childhood.... and that was from the 3d movie Captain Eo at disney. It was our very first 3d movie, I was 8 and Ivy was 5. I can still see her reaching for Eo's little puff ball flying friend and dad whispering to her to take off her glasses for a min to see that they were not real.

So thank you MJ for making Disney even more memorable. :)

Things that i have finished so far:
packed!
house cleaned!
cat box emptied!
critter food put where dad will find it!
no laundry waiting for us when we come home!
laid out our clothes for tomorrow!
gathered up shoes!
tada!

left to do:
go to walmart to get the cats new collars and tags... they have both lost them in the last few weeks... agrh...
bank!
something fast for dinner
clean out the fridge
take the trash out and move the can to the alley
shave my legs! (lol, first time in 2 months... fun.)

*bounces giddily*

I can not even number the things I have yet to finish around here. I havent even packed our bag! today is going to be a busy one... cleaning, packing, shopping and general errands.

rock.

but it will be worth it because then I get on the train to see my husband!!

I can not put into words how much I need this.

yay!

I have mad skills. really! I do!
While we are on vacation my biggest worry is that one of the cats will get stuck outside after my dad stops by to water and feed all the critters. Since we rent I really couldnt put a cat door on one of the doors so I needed a window mounted cat door. after searching the internets for a cheapish(under 50 bucks) one and finding nothing in my budget, I decided I would have to figure out something else.

So this morning I used a power saw for the first time ever (i think it is called a skill saw... maybe) and cut a hole in a 1x12, cut it to size to wedge in the window. Then I mounted the cat door in the hole, got everything wedged in the boy's window, secured everything as well as I can and TADA! cat door!

and I didn't loose a finger OR have supervision!

for some reason it was really important to all the kids (eli, ean and tillie) to go over to tillies to play, even though they had been playing here for a few hrs. Tillie called dad and tina and they said it was fine, so dad came by and picked them all up! The boys hadnt eaten dinner yet, but dad said that they could eat over and tina would bring them home later. Who knows when that will be!

first alone time for 2 months for the win!

yay! I get to see my hubby! It has been 2 months today since he left, and boy do I miss him.

more than anything I miss having backup... some one who the boys will actually listen too. It gets so very very old arguing with the boys, eli especially, over every little thing. with b they *do as they are told* 90% of the time... with me I have to get screaming mad for them to take me seriously. At the very least instructions need to be repeated 3 times.

shakes head

I know that part of it is eli acting out because B is away. We have both had very grownup conversations on why daddy has to go away for work, and while he understands (i have heard him explain it to friends) emotionally he is just not *there* yet...

I wish I could explain his attitude better... he is a lot like my brother luke was... he fights his sensitive side by being a jerk. plain and simple thats what it works out to. Any time he gets his feelings hurt he acts out by saying something snide or all out disobeying. And since his feelings are always hurting pining for his dad, he is always a grump.

aggghhhh...


I ordered Ean's curriculum for next year, but I havent yet for eli. We are fence sitting. Eli wants to go to school next year. I want him to home school at least next year so we can go to disney when this job gets over (sometime between end of nov and begin of jan) and not have to make up school. I also want us to be free enough to go see B when we can. Right now Eli is *deciding*. I have always been straight up with him that if he wants to go to public school we would do what we needed to do it, but once he is in public school there is no switching back and forth. Once he starts he needs to see it through.

later this summer I need to teach him cursive if he decides to go though. lol, his print is HORRIBLE so imagine that this will be a blast.

who knows... Sept may see me sending my kid to school for the first time. weird.

While Ivory was gone the boys took to sleeping in our detached garage. There are mattresses in there, a tv, 3000 of their 10000 toys and the dog. It locks on the alley side and latches on the inside. In reality they are as safe and secure in there as they are in the house.

Up until tonight the boys have had to both sleep in there for either of them to. Ean really wanted to stay out there tonight, but Eli really didn't. I told Ean that he would have to stay in the house and he started in on the saddest *you always treat me like a baby* argument of his life....

And you know what? its true... I do treat him like a baby. in my defense though, he is my baby.

but, I put on my big girl panties and agreed that he should be allowed to sleep out in the garage all by himself.

because he really isnt a baby anymore.

I win at life today!

Laundry? finished!
dishes? all clean and put away
floors? swept!
kids? pretty tolerable!
CHERRY PIE? FREAKING FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I made a cherry pie from scratch! like as from scratch as I can get without churning butter and grinding wheat. :) I picked 6 cups of tart pie cherries from my little back yard tree, and even made a crust from scratch! omg YUM! and it wasn't nearly as hard as us modern gals have been led to believe. I had to fudge with the recipes I had due to a lack of this and a lack of that (for instance i had to use butter instead of shortening in the crust and I had to use cake rounds as I broke my pie plates.. . ) but everything managed to turn out just right. :)

I love it when my kitchen chemistry works out!

I should have made my tickets for this weekend. I am so ready to see brandon. If it wouldnt crush the boys I would love to leave them here with dad and tina and go see him alone.

sigh.

I am still sick.... this crud will just not let go.

I havent folded a single piece of laundry in about a month.... all of the laundry baskets are crammed full of clean clothes... 90% of which will need to be ironed or tossed back in the dryer to knock the wrinkles out... oops. today my only goal is to get everything washed and put away.

god, i feel so bitch and moan-y. I have been sitting here trying to think of something to write that wouldnt be whining but I just cant find anything to not whine about. see Im even whining about how whiny I am!

I think that hearing Ean whine for the last 2 months straight has finaly cracked me.

whines.

and I wonder where he gets it from.

train tickets have been purchased to go see B. :) yay!

We leave on the 27th via train, and get there only 16 hours later. :)

I luff the train and am a bit disappointed that it is such a short train ride. :p

I will either get to bring my own car home (hope.hope.hope that B buys a truck) or rent a car to come home the week after the 4th.

:) I cant wait!!!!

Even though B will be working every day we are there except for the 4th, but it will be nice to see him in the evenings and such. :)

He is currently working with a ton of people who knew me as an under 10 year old (how weird hu? its a small small world in the construction field...) so its sure to be a memorable excursion. :p

I have been awake for 20 mins and I am already done with today...

still sick, but now with extra loud children.

and Tillie is coming over around 3 to spend the night.

shoot me now.

I am freaking sick.

fever- check
cough- check
sore throat- check
runny nose- check
feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest- check

last night I took nyquil and it made me so loopy that I was sure i would quit breathing in my sleep. I even made sure to leave my phone where my kids would find it if I died. It would have been horrible if the boys found their mom dead and couldnt even find her cell phone.

good news, I didn't die in my sleep.

Today I took dayquil and i got the shakes. I havent decided if the shakes were from the dayquil or the fact that I hadnt eaten in 20 hours.

I ate and still feel weird and shitty...but at least I can breath through my nose and I'm not coughing every other breath.

sick sucks the most when I am the only parent.

I am going to fix the boys some food and take a nap.

lets hope the boys dont burn the house down while I sleep...

there are quite a few more pics on my flicr of Ivys visit, but this one is by far my fave.

We had such a wonderful time just having her and the girls here. Every year I am so sad when we have to part again. :(

( mostly we just hung out at the house, blowing bubbles. :) )
see you next year little sister!!



I am so thankful that I have a sister that can come to my house and basically sit around for 2 weeks and we can all have a great time. I can not think of once that there was any more drama than is normal for my household, and I realize that not every one has that. :)

My sister left last night/this morning. :( pouts. It was so nice to have her here.

in the next few days I will post a run down and pictures.... hopefully. :p

Ean stayed the night over at papa's, so this morning has been an extra quiet one her for eli and myself. lol, our house population went from 6 to 2 over night, and we are the quiet ones anyways, so very very quiet. Im kinda surprised that Tina hasnt dropped Ean off yet... perhaps they will keep him. ;p

I think the boys and I are going to make a trip out to kansas next week to see B. Nothing is set in stone yet, and we still lack a truck so I will not be bringing my car home, but we miss B and it wold be fun to get a way for a week or so. :)

some people like to talk about themselves. I like to talk about where I have lived. :)

1:1980: Born in Tulsa ok and brought home to Catoosa
2:1981: moved to Tulsa OK
3:1983: moved to an old farm house in Skiatook OK
4:1985: lived in a mickey mouse trailer in Klameth Ca
5:1985: back in Skiatook, same farm house
6:1986: back in klameth, different place, a loft over a garage
7:1986: back to the farm house in skiatook OK
8:1987: Back in klameth cali. this time in the *laundromat house*... a laundry that had been renovated into a house
9:1988: Middle of no where Burbank Ok, clay's house
10:1989: The big house in Burbank
11:1991: little house in Fairfax ok
12:1992:little rat house in skiatook, ok
13:1992: nicer house in skiatook, ok
14:1993: condos in Waikaloa HI
15:1995: back to the big house in Burbank OK
16:1996: Mine st. house in Leavenworth, WA
17:1996: bigger house in Leavenworth wa
18:1997: the manhiem's house in skamania landing, wa
19:1998: for 2 months I lived in an old motel in downtown Camas wa
20:1998: the old frat house in choudrant LA
21:1999: The Vancouver ave house in Stevenson wa
22:2000-2005: the little house in stevenson
23:2005-2009: Casa Grande az
24:2009: montrose CO!

so yeah, ive moved a LOT! My favorite was the old farmhouse in Skiatook. for some reason that one always seemed like home. least favorite was Casa Grande.... I just couldnt leave that place soon enough.....

:) We have been enjoying having my sister and her girls here. It has been raining since she got here though! today we may go check out the little childrens museum here in town, but other than that our plans have been sparse.

My sister is coming! My sister is coming!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!

She left this AM and should be here tomorrow night.... yayay!

and she has presents for me! yayayay! :p

yay. :)

agh. I have been a hormonal wreck for the last 2 days. If I listed every little thing that has made me tear up you guys would call the men in the white coats to come and get me. *shakes head* It is like a manic cycle in fast forwards. 5 or 6 tmes a day I have surges of extreme joy followed by tearing up over random bull shit (like dog food ads or what I imagine Alice's blanket is going to look like or how many dishes are in the sink).

agh. I am blaming it on PMS + a slightly manic high trying to push through the PMS funk + I havent been keeping up with all my vitamins and supplements for about 2 months now... and they really did help with my pms... guess I should restart them.

as Ean would say: *wha-whaaaaaaaaaaaa*

and I really miss B now. I must admit the first week I was glad I didn't have to pick up after him, the second I missed the convenience of having him and the car around. Last week I started missing him and now I really really do. *pouts*

In other news today I have to set up our other fish tank (35gallon) because one of the blue gouramis has gotten much bigger than the others and is starting to bully them. We had a mysterious death to a small tetra too the other day so it is time to separate him. Ean is bummed because he wanted that tank for a lizard, but I do not think that is going to happen... at least until the little ones catch up to the mean one in size and I can move him back into the big aquarium.

good news about setting up a new tank? I get to go fish shopping! I'm just going to get a few guppies I think to go in the new tank with the gouramii and maybe a breeding divider for the tank so he doest eat up the babies that will eventually come from guppy ownership. :)

This is my absolutely favorite blog.

5 days and no post. I think that says something.... that I have nothing worth writing.

Tillie came over on Friday for dinner and stayed the night.

Thursday we met up with Brenda and her boys at the park.

Eans voice is driving me nuts. He talks non-stop. Really. NONSTOP. As I write this he is standing at my shoulder explaining the entire episode of *suite life of zach and cody* that we just watched together. Please, try not to envy me.

A bright spot in my week is Ivory is coming to see me sometime this week (or maybe later, lol, in the next 2 weeks anyways). :) yay!

I gutted the boys' room yesterday and sorted all the toys out and unpacked the boxes labeled *KIDS* that were stacked in the corner. Now Ivy and the girls have somewhere to sleep. :) Ean is trying to convince me that he should sleep in the garage (we have it set up as a playroom) since there is a spare mattress in there. I am thinking that I will let him try it, but $5 says he gets too scared to sleep out there.