Visiting the Cousins

While we were in Florida we drove up to my sister's house to visit them. My Dad and MJ(mom) came down with all the Christmas presents for her family since they weren't able to make it home to Indiana this year for Christmas. Jaykeb LOVES playing with Sydney as you can see above. They were playing dress up in Sydney's room. The other little boy is Christian...Drue's girlfriend's little boy. Jayke had the best time playing with all these kids and my sister's dogs. He has never met a dog he didn't like. We were also treated to some entertainment while we were there...
Drue and Sydney performing for us to some VERY loud music.
It is a little strange to see all those Christmas presents in the background especially since 2 days before it was Valentine's day. Santa even had more presents for Jayke so he wouldn't feel left out.

Here is one of the gifts Gavin and Sydney got for their Christmas on Valentine's...The Giga Ball! It took forever to get the thing blown up then we headed down the road to the ditch where there was a hill. The kids loved that thing! Even Jayke took a turn going down the hill in it. The dogs had to have their fun too so everyone took turns running them back and forth across the field until poor little wags and Jaykeb were about to drop.



When everyone else was ready to go Jaykeb, of course, wasn't so P'pa stayed with him to play a little longer.

The Chauffeur

Grammy had a chauffeur while shopping at Target. Maybe I will try this next time we go. Cruise the aisles in style. It was funny because we could hear them beeping through the store even though we couldn't see them then they would come cruising around the corner. Grammy was going to sit in the car and wait for us until I told her they had those carts and she had to go in with us and that Jayke would ride with her. It worked out well, they rode around while my mom and I shopped...got her out of the car and in to be able to look around and kept Jayke totally content to wait for us to finish our browsing. They only crashed into things a couple of times and narrowly missed other customers only occasionally...no law suits were filed so all in all it was a success!

Beach Boy

This was one of our days at the beach. It was a little windy so we put the umbrella up to block the wind from Grammy a little. It didn't slow Jayke down though. He was busy with his truck and the sand. Pretty soon we were walking along the water and he was soaking wet. Soon after that I was soaking wet. He wasn't afraid of the water at all which leads me to believe his fits in the bath about washing his hair are not really about the water so much.
Shortly after getting soaked we took off the wet clothes and a second later he dove into the sand to make "sand angels". He was covered with sand and running all over the beach chasing sea gulls. Pretty soon he told us he needed a new diaper because his had "pepper" in it.
Here he is on the first day at the beach testing the water. It was pretty cold but didn't seem to bother him.
Jayke and Oma looking for treasures on the beach.
Making sandcastles.
On the boardwalk in Venice.

I Made It!

I'm back! We got back yesterday evening. I have lots of pictures to post and things to tell about but it will have to wait a little longer because I still have my mom and Grandma here and tomorrow I am having my other grandparents and Jim's sister come to visit so I am busy! Okay...actually my mom is busy and I am trying to get rid of a migraine I woke up with.

I did manage to survive 2 weeks without my blog, which is amazing! I did peek at it once while visiting my sister in Tarpon Springs though...I don't really count that. I am ready to get back to it though and get back to reading everyone else's. Check back later for great pics of my child LOVING the beach!

Bye for Now

We are off to Florida this morning. I won't be able to post until I get back or find a computer I can get on. I don't know how I will survive without my blogs to read but I will try.

Roses are Red...

Kristine wants us to post a picture of something red for our SPF today. This is actually a Christmas wreath but I left it out for Valentine's Day this year. I love my table top wreath holder but this and a halloween wreath are the only thing I have to hang on it so I thought I would recycle the Christmas as Valentine's.

....and just for good measure I am throwing in a picture of The Boy on his RED four wheeler.

Did you play?

Star Gazing

At the end of the month George Clooney and Renee Zellweger will be filming a movie here in Anderson, SC. Leatherheads is the name of the movie and they will be filming in an old hotel that is being refurbished. Think I will start hanging out around Anderson...see if I can spot them anywhere. You can find the story here.

3 Stooges

Diaper Cake

Being that I am WAY into crafts right now...I saw this over on this blog and LOVED it! I wish I knew someone to throw a shower for so I could make this for them. I thought I would put it on here so Angi could see it...just in case she ever has to give another shower.
You can get the details off of the blog I found it on. The mom gets to keep all the diapers and stuff. Great idea! With the hub's 40th coming up maybe I will make him one out of Depends! Ha!

Looking at the Thermometer and Laughing Wickedly!

It was beautiful here today! I don't know what the official temp was but I do know it was middle to upper 60s and sunny! The picture above was taken on our outing this afternoon. I would love to have a house built with this view out my back door. This is down the road from my house...you can see the mountains on the road leading to my house but not actually when you are in my yard because there are too many trees. In the summer you can't see them very well most days because it is too hazy.

It was nice enough for Jaykeb to get to play outside this afternoon with his friend, Micah. They took turns driving each other around on Jayke's four wheeler. I got some pictures emailed to me today of the snow in Indiana. My father-in-law wanted to know if I missed it...um, let me think...NO!

More Sleeping Boy

He wanted to be near the cat and just fell asleep I guess.

Note: I took a bunch of pictures on the same day and posted them on different days...he really doesn't wear the same jammies all the time.

Cupid Has Struck!

Tiny Socks Clogging Things Up

My washer is fixed! Turns out one of The Boy's little socks was stuck in the pump. No, I didn't ask how that happened for those of you(Jim) who are going to ask since 3 of you already have. I didn't even think to ask. I just want things fixed and I don't care how they work or what was wrong...just fix it, please. I also was so happy that I wasn't going to have to wait for a part that the inner workings...or not workings...didnt' concern me at the time...just fix it. Thank you.

Random Stuff

I've spoken via email a couple of times with the lady in charge of The Mom's group I posted about earlier. When I get back from Florida I will be joining the Anderson chapter. Looking forward to it. Mom go back to the previous post about it and look at the website. Also...Mom...you might want to read THIS ARTICLE I found over on this blog. I didn't read the whole thing but it looked like something that might interest you right now.

Welcome to Bloggerland!

Made a blog for AJ tonight. You can check it out Here. Drop by and leave her a comment!

Adam Monday Too!

Because I think he is my new favorite player!

Uh oh!

Jim asked me to install Windows Live on my computer yesterday but wouldn't tell me why. When I got it on there and started poking around on it I was suddenly staring at his face as he was talking to me on the phone. He informed me that he bought me a webcam too and was sending it down with my mom day after tomorrow so they can actually see their Boy while talking to him.(Who cares about me?) I don't know how I feel about having to share my computer with someone, even if it is my darling Boy. This also means I will have to shower more often and wear different clothes everyday...what is MY world coming to?!?

Commercials

Miss any of the Superbowl commercials? If you did, you can watch them HERE and vote for your favorite!

Peyton Manning Monday!

After the first play of the game I had to go hide on my blog and came back to the tv after the 1st quarter was over. I called my friends in Indiana after the game to celebrate by way of telephone with them. Angi was on the phone with her cousin who was in line at JCPennys to get them all Colts Superbowl Champ t-shirts. JC Pennys was actually staying open until midnight so people could get their shirts...I guess to wear to work tomorrow. The whole time I talked to Angi on one phone, Jen was on the other in line. I bet they were open past midnight. I hung up before she got the shirts so I will have to find out later if she got them and how long she had to wait. Good thing it is so incredibly cold up there...they put the schools on two hour delays so all those kiddies who stayed up past their bedtime to watch Peyton and his Colts get to sleep in tomorrow(and all their parents who drank too much can recover). Jaykeb didn't make it to the end of the game. Poor kid. He waited all day long in his Colts shirt to watch "The Big Game" then went to bed around half time. He wanted "The Big Game" turned off so he could watch The Good Night Show.

Giving credit where credit is due...got the "Manning Monday" over at C4U.

Are you Ready?

Some Football Stuff

Thanks for the shirts, Oma!!

One day in Heaven….
Tom Brady died tragically one day. When he got to heaven st peter showed him his house, a good sized place with patriots flags and colors... then tom looked at another house that was an enormous mansion, had a blue garage, blue windows, a colts flag flying in the front yard, it looked like it had about 50 rooms. Tom was upset so he asked God, "God, i have won several championships, MVP's, lead my team to many 4th quarter comebacks, and I'm not trying to be ungrateful, but why is Peyton Mannings house so much bigger and better then mine? he hasn't even won a championship (yet)" God turned and looked at the house, turned back to Tom and said, "thats not Peytons house, thats mine."

Mom's Club

Mom--you will be over the moon about this...I am joining this club. They are sending me the information. Looks like fun...I hope.

Only Two?

It has been a long time since I've been in a laundromat, but I got to reacquaint myself with one yesterday since the washing machine is broken and won't be fixed at least until Tuesday. Since I'm new to the area I had no idea where I could even find a laundry so I looked in the phone book...turns out they have two. Only two? I was already dreading it. I picked the one I had some idea how to get to and started out with the back end of the Durango loaded with dirty clothes and soaking wet clothes that I finally managed to get out of the broken-down, locked, and full of water washer. The Boy was quite excited about his first trip to the laundromat. "What's a laundromat, Mommy?" I finally managed to find one by just driving around. I thought I better run in and make sure I had enough change to be able to wash the ton of clothes in the back end. I saw on the sign it said "coin-less" laundry. Great! I had dug all those quarters out of The Boy's piggy bank for nothin!(I replaced them with a $10 bill before you yell at me) The attendant on duty must have seen the confusion on my face as I stood and stared at the machine where you were to stick your money in and get an "easy card" in return. I also must have looked over whelmed by the range of washing machines that started at a double load and went all the way up to a dump truck load. Wonder how many lbs of clothing that would be? A triple load machine holds 25lbs...who knew? Since I forgot to stop by the scale with my umpteen bags of clothes on the way out the door I had no idea which machine I would want to use or how much money I needed to put on my "easy card"...which really isn't so easy after all. I was quickly given a lesson on the use of the "easy card" and a refresher course on properly washing your garments. Nice lady...just talked a lot. I was all set so I rounded up my assistant and away we went...in and out...in and out...in and out...what a pain! As you can see below my assistant, as always, was a big help and we managed to get it all done and loaded back in the car.

The Boy's favorite part was pushing the cart back and forth to the car. I'm glad someone had fun. I did meet a nice girl who had also only lived here a year. She was from Minnesota so we talked about and laughed at the response to the "cold" weather here. Nice to have an adult conversation for a change. Maybe I should start hanging out at the laundromat to make some friends or, at the very least, have adult conversation from time to time.

Turns out Mike came looking for us to help us but we had just left. He had no idea where we were but since there are only two laundromats in town(Only two?)he decided to look at both. I think he must have just missed us. He told me when we got home that it is a good thing I didn't go to the other one...it was in a not-so-nice part of town and looked like a dump. Surely he knew I wouldn't have gone there then!

Help me Obi Wan Kenobi!

Mike and I have had this ongoing argument since we got married! I've gotten up an looked though and he has had all the blanket many times! Now we use separate blankets...much better!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Phil Says Spring is Right Around the Corner!
Phil's official forecast as read 2/2/07 at 7:28 a.m. at Gobbler's Knob:
El Nino has caused high winds, heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the west.Here in the East with much mild winter weather we have been blessed.
Global warming has caused a great debate.This mild winter makes it seem just great.
On this Groundhog Day we think of one thing.Will we have winter or will we have spring?
On Gobbler's Knob I see no shadow today.I predict that early spring is on the way.

Spf Buttons

SPF--Buttons...today's assignment.

The most important buttons in my life! The phone...how I keep in touch with my family and friends I moved 600 miles away from last year. This one apparently needs charged though.


Buttons on my mouse...extremely important since I discovered blogging! Even before the blog I spent a bunch of time on the computer emailing, surfing, and surveying!

Buttons I push every day...the remote control. Both for the TV and the DVR which I have decided is one of the best inventions EVER! I can record all the shows I want to watch and watch them after Jayke goes to bed so there are no interuptions and I can give him the attention he needs before bed. I can also watch programs without commercials so it doesn't take as long.


My family would surely starve to death without these buttons. The microwave buttons which I push every day to make our meals.

Buttons I have to use every night before bed. The buttons on the fridge door to get Jayke his "cold water with ice in it!" Yes, he calls it that every time he asks for water.

Buttons I should use more often...treadmill.

Broken Buttons...my washing machine, but the guy comes Tuesday to look at it. It will probably take weeks to order the part he needs though.

Did you play?
See other SPF posts over at Random and Odd

Tiny Bubbles

He's a Rock Star! He even has a back-up dancer!

Feline Lovin

I always thought he would be a "dog person" but now I'm not sure. He LOVES his cat! I wake up in the morning and Jaykeb has already gotten out of bed and gone and let Jesse in. I'm sure the dogs are enjoying there time off while the cat is center of attention! Check out that wild hair, on The Boy not the cat! Ever since the last hair cut we can't get the back to lay down and he kind-of rexembles a Puffin bird.

More Driving For Me

I understand the reasoning behind this, but I don't know if it makes me feel any better about it.

Found Here

Great Plan

Muncie to celebrate 'Super Blue Friday'
THE STAR PRESS 5 Comments
MUNCIE — A Super Blue Friday celebration will held at Muncie City Hall in honor of the Indianapolis Colts going to the Super Bowl for the first time.Mayor Dan Canan will turn the river blue at noon Friday, and a Super Blue dessert sale will be conducted at 11 a.m. after judging of the best blue dessert starting at 10 a.m. First prize wins free tickets to Mardi Gras. Proceeds go to The Star Press Children’s Charities.The first 100 people who donate canned goods also will receive goody bags. Donations will benefit Muncie Mission.

Why would they do this on a week day during school hours? I would like to see the river turn blue though. Will those wonky-looking geese that live right there turn blue too? If they do will someone send me a picture? The best blue desert wins free tickets to a night of debauchery...I mean Mardi Gras. Wonder what is in those goody bags...

Wow!

6 hours of LIVE news coverage because of our couple of inches of snow this morning!

I was amused and entertained by this.

Buyer Beware!

I'm sure there are plenty of people who have these and are perfectly happy with them but let me warn anyone who is considering buying this brand of washer/dryer(Mom) DON'T DO IT!



Although I love how my clothes look after being washed in this washer, I have a laundry list of issues with this machine that largely outweighs the positives.

1. The handle, made of cheap plastic, broke off about a year after we got the machine.
2. After the handle broke Mike repeatedly tried to contact Whirlpool about the issue and 4 years later has yet to get an answer.
3. The washer literally "eats" socks, underwear, washclothes, and other small items. You've heard people say their machine ate the missing sock...well, mine acutally does. I found said sock along with a couple pairs of my underwear, a bunch of Jayke's socks, and a couple of washclothes stuck up under the rubber gaurd around the door that keeps the water from running out. How long they have been there I have no idea. Let's just say it had been a while. The socks were now grey and ruined.
4. Because of the clothing that was "lost" in the door, the washer began to have a musty smell that would sometimes transfer to the clothes.
5. Occasionally the machine would just stop working and a print out would come up on the screen that said "sud". Now put the same amount of soap and clothing in that I always do so it shouldn't have a problem.
6. The final issue on my list is the stupid thing is now totally broken. It won't run and the door is locked with a load of clothing sitting in the washer full of water! The hubs beat on it for a while last night but nothing happened so now I have to decide whether to get the beast fixed or just give up on the heap and buy a new one.

Whirlpool Duet owners beware! This could happen to you! I'm just glad it waited to conk out after I got my underwear washed! I'm good for a week now.

Happy February 1st Snow Day!

I took these pictures real quick this morning so I could show Mom. I hope to get some better ones later depending on what the weather decides to do.


Had to take the pictures from the door because you can bet your sweet bippy I wasn't going out in that first thing in the morning! All the neighbors are out taking pictures and playing in the white stuff they so seldom get to see. You would think this was my first time seeing it too. The woods behind my house is really pretty with the snow all over it!