Can you see them!?

But first, a sad note. The first caterpillar I found has gone missing :( I don't know what happened, but I went out to check on him, and the plant he had been on was kinda pushed over, and he was gone :( I'm really sad. I hope he's okay!! But, for the good news! I found two more this morning!!

I'm guessing from their sizes that the one on the left is about 2-3 days old, and the one on the left hatched sometime yesterday. Can you believe how small they are!?

I couldn't get a good shot :( It was really windy, so i couldn't hold the camera still enough. But I'll keep trying!

Lisa, The Nature Nut apparently!

It HATCHED!!!!!

One of my eggs has hatched!! I can NOT believe how wee they are!!

This is on Day One. See that little hole? that's what he ate that day :)

Found another egg! :)

Day Two!! Notice how much more he's eaten? There's two holes in the leaf now!!

If you click on the picture you'll get to see the Awesome detail!! the pics are huge though!

Lisa

Right under my nose!

So, I was in the back yard with the kids the other day...as we are most every day now that the nice weather is here! I looked over into one of the gardens, and thougt to myself "Hmmm...that looks an awful lot like a Milkweed Plant." Sure enough, when I broke off one of the leaves and the white fluid seeped out, I knew for sure that it was!! Why is this so exciting you ask? Well! remember last summer? When we raised butterflies?! And I told you that the only thing Monarch butterlfies eat is Milkweed?! Well, I have some!!!

So then I thought to myself, "Hmmm....I saw Monarchs in North Bay and one here the other day, I wonder if they are laying eggs yet?" So, off I went to investigate. And I found about 7 of these little beauties!! Right in my own back yard!!

I can't believe how teeny tiny they are!! I'm so excited to be able to watch the process from pretty much day one! The caterpillars shed their skin a few times before finally turning into a Chrysalis...and I missed all that with the other ones we had last year.

So, stay tuned for updates!!!

Lisa

What a wonderful weekend!!

Everything went sooo smoothly!! The kids were great for my Dad and Marilyn, the drive up and home was perfect, the weather was amazing, the wedding was gorgeous, and SOOO much fun. But you know what the very best part was? Being back there.

The college smelled exactly like I remembered. Which is important to me, because I am addicted to smells :) The form a lot of my memories, and if the smell doesn't match the place, it gets kinda ruined for me. So when we walked in to Canadore, and it smelled so perfect, my weekend was set.

Despite thinking that I wouldn't have much fun, because we wouldn't know anyone, I was wrong!! We knew the Matron of honour, and one of the other bridesmaids...and had a BLAST with them and their husbands!! We were pretty much the last ones to leave :) And the Bride could DANCE!! I never knew that about her, but am thrilled to know, since, despite the fact that I have the rythym of a white girl (HA!), I LOVE to dance. I love all kinds of music. Actually, Al and I laughed ourselves silly over the number of crazy lyrics we both know :) My kids are like that too. I often catch them singing songs I wouldn't imagine them knowing :) I love it! But I digress.

So, we took two very important pictures while we were there. First, this one....

This is where it all began. I came through those doors, up the stairs, and that's where Al hugged me. Out of the blue. It was like magic being there again. I almost cried as we were leaving, I don't know if we'll ever be back. I hope to take the kids one day to show them where Al and I met...but that will probably be more for me than them :) We'll see. So, to commemorate the occasion, we took this one(that totally needs some serious photo editing since it's so dark :( )...

It was just like old times. Only better :)

So, that was all the mushy stuff...now for the wildlife adventures! I never knew we would see so many animals on our trip!! It started out with the family of groundhogs under our house...

There were 5 babies in all. SO cute, they would just lay on the path in the sun until someone came by.

Then at the wedding we saw a couple dozen Canadian Geese, and a Beaver! Sorry, so pictures though. After that we hit a lull, until the next morning, when we met this little guy...

Tiniest Squirrel EVER! There were two of them running around. Just after we took this, a chipmunk ran right behind our friend. Like literally right behind his feet! The same chipmunk had previously visited the Brides father and brother in the house they were staying in!! Like, right in the kitchen, and in one of the bedrooms! Yeah, classy joint this college residence!!

On the drive home we saw these....

Two White-Tailed Deer! We kept inching the car forward until they ran back up the hill, hopefully they didn't decide to try to cross again, that's a pretty busy stretch of highway.

And then to top it all off...

Funny eh?

So, that was our weekend. SO much fun. And, we get to go to my cousins' wedding this weekend!!! Another night without the kids, full of fun and dancing. I can't wait!!

Lisa

Looking forward to this weekend. And feeling pretty good.

Friends of our from college are getting married this weekend. And I am SO excited!!! Not so much about the wedding and reception, because I'll only know about 4 people there, and not very well...but because of the location!! They are getting married at our college!!! AND!! Al and I are staying in one of the residence townhouses!!! It's going to be Such a trip down memory lane!

And when I say Al and I, I totally mean NO KIDS!!! My Dad and step-Mom are coming tomorrow morning to pick the kids up, and then Al and I are on our way to North Bay! I am soooo looking forward to a weekend away.

Although, on the other hand, I am TOTALLY dreading it. I've never left Mason over night before. And Jenna and Aidan only once. I'm thinking that might sound a little sad and pathetic, but I just feel more at peace knowing that I'm in the same house with them. I'm hoping that being at my Dad's, breathing in the fresh air, and having them run around outside for HOURS will tire them out so much that they don't fuss over bedtime. Jenna has a hard time going to sleep in anyone else's house, even when I am there. And Mason...well, we all know how well Mason sleeps. HA! Aidan will just follow in Jenna's lead until he tuckers out and goes to sleep. I'm not as worried about him. But still. It's my job to worry about the what-ifs right!?

Now, on to the feeling good part! When Jenna got home today, I emptied her backpack like usual, but this time, there was a little card inside. At first I thought it was an invitation to a party for one of Jenna's classmates...but no! When I turned it over, the front said "In appreciation of Mrs. McAlendin" I was invited to the Volunteer tea! I'm feeling pretty damn special!! I'm not sure I'm going to go, since I don't know if any of the other Mom's I know will be going, but still, it was nice to be asked!

And then!! remember the lady across the street that went after Mason when he escaped? Well, I got a thank-you card, and made the Banana Bread(I love you JJBB!!), and took them over the next day. Today, her husband came over with my container, and inside were three little bags of gummy bears for the kids! How nice is that?! And all these years I've been calling her the crazy neighbour. LOL. Not anymore!! her husband was super funny, and told me that his wife didn't get any of the loaf, because he ate it all!! He said that because she's always on some crazy diet, and since he's a diabetic, he never gets that kind of thing :) I guess Mason escaping wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Well, I guess I'd better get back to my packing. I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Love and Hugs!

Lisa

I'm such a bad blogger/blogger friend!

So, I'm totally hooked on Facebook. Like, totally. I'll be sitting at work, and out of nowhere a name will pop into my head, and I think to myself, OH! I totally have to facebook that person! It's crazy!!



So, because of that, I've been neglecting my blog, and your blog and everyone elses blog too :( I've read you all a few times, but haven't posted a comment in far too long, and for that I appologize.



I'm going to try really hard over the next few days to get all caught up on everyone!!! Promise!!



Love and hugs,


Lisa

Today is NOT my day!!!

So, my day started out pretty good. I wasn't late, I even managed to fit in time to grab a coffee on the way to work. Henry had a GREAT morning, and all seemed fine. Until I got home. You see, Al installed a new deadbolt and door handle with lock last night. Well, Apparently, the door handle locks itself when you leave. But only when you have decided that since you're walking to get the kids, you don't need to bring your purse and keys. ARGH!! We have a Really safe house. Short of breaking a window, there is no way in when all the windows are closed! Luckily for me, we had forgotten to close the livingroom window, and I have a skinny 3 year old. That's right. Also lucky that no one has come to take away Ken's old fridge. And that I let the kids on the deck at the little plastic table last night. Are you getting the picture here? Yeah, I moved the fridge over to under the window, moved the table in front of that, put my stool (Which was outside and I don't know or care why) on top of the table and then climbed onto the fridge. Then i got Aidan up there with me, and squeezed him through the window, which last year I had so smartly put a screw into the track of so it wouldn't open all the way so he wouldn't fall OUT of!!! OY!!

After that adventure, we went to Rona to get a new tap for outside because the guys broke mine while making the deck. Aidan was playing with my keys and LOCKED ME OUT OF THE CAR!! It was about 2 annoying minutes before he finally pushed the right button to let me back in.

SO! (Are you still with me?) We get home. Finally. I put the boys in the back yard and run down to Ken's to turn off the water so that I can be super mom and change the tap so the kids can play in the sprinkler when Jenna gets home from school. I couldn't get the damn thing to turn so figure it's time to give up. As I come up the stairs, Aidan is shouting for me, and ringing the front doorbell. Where he is NOT supposed to me. Oh my God you Guys! He was there to tell me that Mason was running away. I didn't know where to run first. Until I saw my neighbour, who I always thought was a grouchy lady and never have spoken to once, on the sidewalk of the main road that T's onto my street. Heading towards Jenna's school. Oh Man. When I think of what COULD have happened, I just feel so sick. I was only gone for about 2-3 minutes. But that's a hell of a long time to a toddler! I am NOT looking forward to telling Al.

I guess I should have known when I was locked out that I should jus give up on my plans. I guess there are a lot of Should Have's in my day isn't there.

Do you think a Thank-You card would be appropriate for my neighbour? After all, if it wasn't for her...who knows right? Thoughts??

The new deck!!

We've been busy all weekend with the construction of our NEW DECK! WOOT WOOT! I love love love it!!

My Dad has the before pictures on his camera, but here are the afters!!

Julie Q!

LMAO! I completely forgot about this until I was looking for another photo! Check out Mason last November.

Oh how I miss those curls :)

~Lisa~

Nothin' New.

I keep thinking I outta have SOMETHING to blog about. But I don't really.

Mother's Day was fine. Pretty low key. Al saved me from a bunch of Mason's meltdowns, and really, all I wanted was a day off...so it was great. I also bought myself some cute new shoes and a BBQ veggie griller thing (JJBB...How do I use it!?). go me. I was supposed to go and get my hair cut, but that didn't work out. Oh well.

We're hopfully starting construction of our new deck this weekend. I say hopefully, because stupid me forgot to call the call before you dig people until yesterday, and I was supposed to call last week. Stupid. I can't say I'm overly excited about the deck. It's going to be really great, and much safer than the broken iron steps we have at the side door now, but still. I was told I would be getting a new kitchen this year. Not going to happen. Then I was told I would be getting all new windows this year. Only getting half. I was told laminate would be Great in the living room this year. Also not happening apparently. I KNOW we have a budget to stick to. I am fully aware, and gladly accept that fact. My whole life revolves around the budget. I just wasn't expecting a deck. Oh well, when it's all said and done, I know I will Love the deck.

I'm getting a Little Tykes basketball net from a freecycler today :) I can't wait to give it to Aidan :) Ever since he was wee he's liked playing basketball. I'm thinking though, that I will probably take a trip out to Wal-Mart to get THREE basketballs for it. I'm not stupid ALL the time :)

See? Nothing to blog about. boring. blah. :) Oh well, sometimes Mundane is a good thing.

~Lisa~

Mason Update

Mason's doing a bit better. He's sleeping much better, which is a huge relief!! He's still waking up between 4-6 to come cuddle in our bed, but that's fine with me, if it means I've had all those other middle of the night hours to sleep!!

Now I just need to work on his screaming/tantrum issues. I swear, I have never seen a toddler throw so many tantrums!! I think that's probably the most tiring thing in the world for me. Getting through all the tantrums in a day. I think his speech is a bit delayed (And compared to Jenna and Aidan, significantly delayed), so I can understand some of his frustration, but dude!! The screaming is outta control! And he is the master of making himself go limp so I can't hold him or pick him up off the floor/driveway/sidewalk. I'm sure the neighbours must think he's regularly beaten :( He's not. It's been tempting, and he's gotten a few swats on the bum, but really, they don't accomplish anything, so why bother right?

He's getting good at taking me by the hand to show me what he wants, so language wise he's doing good...but he doesn't have many words..not labels like most kids his age. He says things that are really unusual. Like clear as day, he can say Thank You, and he's trying to say You're Welcome, but it comes out Me Ma. Which is pretty cool :) But he doesn't label the basics, like Juice, truck, ball etc. I'm probably just over-reacting :) Yesterday he said Sorry (After he whacked me in the face and I pretended to cry) and I'm pretty sure he said Slide after he and I went down one together...so it's coming.

But he's still the funniest, cutest thing :) And he dances like a black man :) Really, the boy has Rhythm!!

So, that's that. He's trying, but I love him :)

Nice

So, I was off today. It was a pretty good day. I went to school with Jenna this morning. Then I came home to clean before I had to get the boys from daycare. I will be the first to admit that my house is alway messy. I just can't keep up. Well, that's not true. I could keep up just fine if I never sat down, and never played with the kids or left the house for any reason. I choose to stay sane thanks :) Anyway, today my house was past messy. It was actually bordering on dirty. Which REALLY bothers me!!!

So, as I set about to mop my kitchen floor, I decided to call my Mom for a bitch-fest. She's awesome, she understood completely about the un-wiped up juice splatters. And the Laundry strewn about. And the kitchen becomming the garage. She even gave me some good advice about it all :) I love her. So, after I got off the phone cleaned some more, then picked up the boys. Mason must have noticed the clean floor, because he immediately spilled an entire (Sealed!) cup of juice! I just took a deep breath and mopped it up.

After all that, we went to pick-up Jenna from school. She walked it, dropped her things by the front door (In the middle of the hall of course) and went into the kitchen. Where she promptly made my day :)

Here's how the conversation went:

J: Wow! you've been busy Mom!

M: Thanks Jenna! That makes me feel better!

J: Why!? Were you upset?

M: Well, I was a little because everything was such a mess, and no one was helping out. but now that you noticed that I worked hard today, I feel better.

J: I'm happy you're feeling better. Thanks for working so hard today.

Seriously!!!! I guess it's moments like that that keep humans from eating their young :) She's awesome that girl of mine :)

~Lisa~

Jumped the gun on that one!

I'm really glad I gave in and made a Doctor's appointment for Mason. It sounds awful, but I'm really happy that he is sick! At least now I have a reason for all this weird behaviour. Just as I suspected, he's got an ear infection. So, hopefully by the end of today, when he's had 24 hours of anti-biotics in him we can get past all this craziness. He only woke up once last night, at 4:30! And, I don't think it was because of the pain. He was just looking for his blankie.

I feel like a somewhat normal person this morning, thank god, because seriously. I was losing it :) I think my doctor saw that, he told me yesterday to "go home and have a few drinks! Doctor's Orders!" I love my doctor, don't you!? He's so funny, when I was describing Mason's moods and symptoms, he laughingly said, "Hmm...Sounds like depression to me" I shot back with "If this doesn't stop soon I'M going to be depressed!" I guess he figured the drinks would help with that :) I didn't have any, too damn tired, and we rarely have any alcohol in the house. I may just stop by the liquor store on my way home tonight to get a bottle of wine. yeah, that sounds pretty good :)

Thanks for all your support. Julie, I am definitely planning on taking you up on your offer of a girls night...just have to figure out when :) Maybe in a couple weeks :)

Oh and about Al, he was much nicer last night. And this morning too. He can be a bine head sometimes, but when it comes right down to it, I love him anyway :)

Have a Great day!!

~Lisa~

Going through a rough patch.

Mason isn't sleeping. Again. Still. Whatever. He's not. Monday night he was up every 3 hours. Tuesday night every 1-2 hours. Last night was better, only up twice. But I am drained. I'm starting to get sick, I have NO patience, no drive, no nothing. I've resorted to sleeping on the couch with Mason. Not my idea of fun. Our couches SUCK!

I was at a point yesterday when I just felt myself turn off. Mason was crying again, and I just didn't care. Didn't want to hear it anymore, didn't want to help him to feel better, didn't want to even be near him. How Awful is that?! I'm his mommy! It's my JOB to care, and soothe and be there for him. But I wasn't. I left. (Al was home, no worries!!) I went to the grocery store. I bought cake :) (And milk!! In my defense!) I truly didn't want to come home. I wanted to keep driving until I ran out of gas, and then walk away from there. I stayed out as long as I dared, figuring Al would need a break I came back.

But no. He didn't need a break, because as far as I could tell, the whole time I was gone, he just played with his tools. I felt guilty about leaving, and came home to a disaster, and still I felt guilty about leaving!! Aidan had been playing with Play-Doh when I left. At the table, where he knows is the ONLY place I allow playdoh. I HATE the stuff, except the homemade stuff, because at least I can get it out of the carpet and clothes. Well. When I walked into the living room, the first thing I saw was playdoh on the couch. When I looked a little farther, I nearly cried. There was playdoh bits all over my carpet. Aidan was sitting right in th middle of it all, and Jenna was Very quick to lay the blame on him...even though she is well aware of the playdoh rule.

I didn't say much. Just asked what they were thinking, and then got out the vacuum. Al finally woke up, and said to Aidan, "I thought I told you to put that away! That's it, throw it in the garbage!" And then went back to playing with some tools while I vacuumed, tidied and started the dishes from dinner.

Now, in Al's defense, he's usually pretty good. Normally if he knows I've been having a bad day he'll help out a whole lot more. So I just don't understand where his head was last night. All I wanted to do was come home, give the kids a bath, put them to bed, watch ANTM, eat my cake and go to bed myself. But no. Instead I had to scrape playdoh out of my carpet. Ugh.

I made an appointment for Mason with our doctor. He felt a little warm this morning, so I'm wondering if he has another ear infection. If not, I am seriously considering Melatonin. He falls asleep just fine, but won't stay asleep. He'll be 2 in a few months, I figure enough is enough. I read somewhere that new mothers lose approximately 700-900 hours of sleep during a baby's first year. That's almost 1400 hours of sleep I haven't gotten since he was born. I guess it's no wonder I'm a little bit looney. No wonder I was considering asking for Depression meds. But then, when my thoughts turned that way, I realized it's probably not depression, just sleep deprevation, which can't be helped until Mason is sleeping.

I don't know. I'm just tired of being tired. And tired of complaining about being tired.

~Lisa~

A little boost :)

When I was at work today I was commenting to Jenny that I had noticed a big drop in Henry's enthusiasm lately. He's guessing at answers, making up answers, and just not trying. It's so frustrating, especially when I KNOW that he is capable of so much more (man, what parent/Teacher hasn't said that!?). We discussed the possible reasons for awhile, and decided to increase his iron, and start giving his fish oils again. And I'm going to take him out more, rather than keep him at the table so much. Yay, Fun! I was wondering if the new programs + learning every day + new teaching strategies have tossed him for a loop, and tired him out.

So then, after we figured all that out, Jenny gave me a great boost. She said that her and Scott (dad) had both noticed that Henry is more conversational with me then anyone else they know. Including family that he see frequently...including his own parents. I was so shocked to hear that. He is a chatty kid at times, but I don't get to see him around others very often. But then, when I got to thinking about it, I had to admit that it's probably true. I'm often surprised that a story Henry told me a couple hours before loses about 75-90% of it's steam when he tells it to someone else. Like today, he was telling me about how he went somewhere with a friend this weekend, they walked horses and got to pet a donkey, and then when he was walking away, the donkey started braying(LOL, not his word!!), because the donkey didn't want him to leave! So funny. But then, when I dropped him off at school this weekend, the only part of the story I could coax out of him for his EA was that the donkey didn't want him to leave.

Anyway, it was a nice boost that I could take a boy from wanting to scratch my face off, from telling me I was too Expensive and needed to leave, to being willing to tell me so much about his world.

I'm on top of the world today :)

~Lisa~

7 Things about me!

1. I'm thinking of getting a tummy tuck! Seriously. Al and I were talking about it the other day, and when our loan is paid off, I'm really thinking of using that money to get a tummy tuck. There's no way diet and exercise are ever going to fix it, my c-section belly hang-over is crooked, and I am REALLY self conscious about it. I hate it. Hate.

2. I've never been able to BBQ very well. I think I must always try to rush it. But! This season, the skill seems to have come over me. I made chicken the other night on the grill....And it tasted GOOD! Not over cooked!! Not as good as Al's always is, but in my defence, I was also watching all three kids in the back yard while trying not to ruin yet another dinner on the BBQ! I'm so proud of myself!!

3. I've lost a grand total of 13 pounds!! only 3 more pounds and Jenny has to babysit for me!!! Which actual makes me a little nervous, because dude, Mason can be a Brute, and I am terrified of coming home to find him still awake, and Jenny losing her hair :) But, I'll try not to think of that, and enjoy my night OUT!

4. I hate being in a room without a clock. I swear I have some kind of tic when I don't have the option of looking up to see what time it is. Am I crazy? Don't answer that.

5. I also have a little bit of OCD when it comes to doing the dishes. I like to wash them in a certain order, and stack them in a certain order. Al laughs at me. He also thinks it's Hilarious to throw things into the sink out of order, just to annoy me. It transfers to the dishwasher too. I like that loaded a certain way, and will actual change the placement of things if Al has done it 'wrong'. Although, this isn't an option right now...because my dishwasher is broken :(

6. I have a favourite child. I'm not going to say who, because it's possible that it may change one day, but it's true. I feel guilty about it though. Very guilty.

7. I hate my hair. All the hair on my body. The hair on my head can't decide if it's curly or straight. the hair on my chin keeps getting dark. The hair under my arms is a b---ch to shave. And the hair on my legs is Very dark, Very thick and grows in Super fast. I hate it all :)

So, there you go. 7 things you may or may not have known about me. 7 things you maybe didn't ever want to know but HAHA! now you do. Tag to anyone that hasn't done this yet!!

Lisa

Outside fun!

I think we saw more of our back yard than the inside of the house all weekend. It was so awesome out there! I even managed to snap a few good pics of the kids! The one of Jenna is Amazing at its full size :) I don't know what caused that bright spot on the side though :( and I wish her hat wasn't coming apart right in the front like that. I really need Photoshop...and some lessons on how to use it :) Doesn't Mason look like he's totally up to no good!? He was. He climbed the ladder up to the monkey bars, and then let go :( that was pretty awful :( But he's okay, and climbed the ladder again shortly after. He'll be the one I spend a lot of time in the ER with, getting stitches and casts :) I could barely get Aidan to look up from the sandbox to get his picture :) He's such a busy kid :) Anyway, enjoy :)! I do!!

~Lisa~

OH what a day...and night :)

I had quite the day yesterday!

I started out by rushing around in the morning to get the house cleaned up and then raced out the door to make my 9:30AM appointment to donate blood. I got there in good time, and relaxed. Here's where I provide you with a very helpful public service announcement. Never ever rush before you're about to donate blood. ever. Because what will happen is this, you'll get there, and you'll get through the screening process, then climb into the big cushy chair, and relax. Your body will slow down in such a hurray, that it will forget to stop slowing down. Which results in cold sweats, nauseousness, dizzyness and a tendancy to lose focus. Luckily, as I started feeling like that, I took a few deep breaths and got everything to settle long enough to get the whole litre out! YAY! 3 lives saved :) As the nurse was coming over to look at my progress and tell me that I was done, she looked up at me and asked if I was okay. I said i didn't think so, heard her say she needed help, and then everything went a little grey for a moment. SO scary!! I have NEVER passed out in my whole life. Ever! Luckily the nurses were AWESOME! They wiped me down with cool cloths, and got a fan on me right away. It was only a few minutes before I felt like myself again. But wow. I do NOT want to feel like that again!

Luckily the day got better from there! My Dad and step-mom came over to meet with yet another window company. Good news!! We're Finally getting new windows!!!!!! How excited am I!! All new windows upstairs! Right now the windows are wood frames, totally falling apart and with an R factor of about -98. Not good. :) The house is going to look so pretty when we're done :) I bet Al and I stand at the windows feeling for air leaks for days after they're installed :) Al says it's going to be so quiet in here that we won't be able to sleep :) I might even forget about my plan to give the nieghbours yappy dog a poison steak for barking all damn night! Just kidding...i would never!

After my Dad left, we went down to the back yard to have a BBQ with our tenant and his fiancee! I'm liking them more and more. I think because they remind me so much of Al and I when we were just starting out :) And they're totally sarcastic and teasers like me :)

After dinner we sat around and gabbed for awhile and laughed at Aidan as he pretended to be Spiderman and hung from my lilac bush :) Karen came over and invited C and I for drinks later. So I hurried and put the kids to bed and off we went :) Man...I laughed SO hard the whole time we were there. Especially as I tried to explain over and over what my attraction to House was about. I don't think they got me...but whatever, I'm still in lust with him :) I had way too much drink, and an awesome time. And decided C is totally awesome :) I'm not the best at making new friends, but this was just easy :) She's great. And so close! :)

So that was my Saturday :) Pretty awesome. Hope yours was too!

~Lisa~

I need an idea...

So, on the mornings that I can't walk Jenna to school, her best friend's mom walks her. I drop Jenna off about 20 minutes before school starts, and D makes sure she's safe and entertained. We've had this arraginement for nearly the entire school year. It's awesome for me, and I love D. She's a great Mom, and just one of those people you know understands just what life is really like. I've offered to pay her for her time and energy etc. a few times, but she always flat out refuses.

So, I was thinking, that with the end of the year coming up, I'd love to give her a gift. But I haven't a Clue as to what kind of gift would be appropriate for this. I don't know her on a level where I would know many of her interests, music/movie/book tastes. I DO know that she likes to cook and bake. I know that she's an early to bed early to rise kind of person, and that because of an illness she has, she often has days where it's hard to get going, and she tires easily.

She has three incredible kids, whom I know she loves to bits, and a husband who works out of town and is often away most of the week.

I really want to do something for HER. I've offered to watch her kids any time she needs me to, but her oldest is 11, and is the most responsible 11 year old I know, and is very capable of watching her siblings. I was thinking of taking over a meal...but it doesn't seem like enough. Then I considered doing up a basket for a family movie night, with a Blockbuster gift card, popcorn, candy, the whole shabang...but I don't know if it's enough for HER. I could get movie theatre tickets for her and her husband, and free babysitting...but again, I know she goes to bed really early, and she's said before that when her and S were dating, she used to fall asleep at the movies. So, maybe not right?

I considered a spa card, but some people aren't really into that...and with her illness, I worry that she could have allergies, and wouldn't be able to have the creams and lotions used at the spa. So, out goes that AND the bubble bath gift basket idea too.

She said yesterday that she would LOVE to have a housekeeper (God, wouldn't we all!?) So I thought it might be cool to get her one for a month or something...but would that be like saying her house is a disaster (It's soooo not!!!)??

See my dilemma? What do I get D?! I need to say thank you in the kindest most thoughtful way, and my brain can't get past the basics :(

Help me out here!? Please? And Thank you in the kindest most thoughtful way :)

~Lisa~

Look what we made!!

I was so sick and tired of my closet being crammed with clothes. There was just one metal bar going from end to end and a shelve. Just your average closet. I wanted MORE! So, I drew out a picture for Al of what it was that I really wanted in our closet, and he made it the next day!! and it ROCKS!!!! No more shoving Al's stuff out of the way to get to my things, no more losing my pants in the mess. Just pure, organized bliss :) I LOVE IT!! I know it's a little hard to see from the picture, but there are a lot of clothes packed in there...the closet extends another almost 2 feet each side past the doors :)

I think I'm going to find a couple new laundry baskets to put on the floor in there, so I can get that mess out of my living space too! WOW! I am Just on a ROLL!

Just had to share, and brag about how handy my husband is :)

~Lisa~