Busy Busy Weekend

Well, I haven't logged in much the last few days because I have been very very busy. Friday afternoon Dwayne called to let me know that his compensation check finally came in. So I convinced him to take a few hours off early and run around to go shopping with me and the kids. It was fun to shop for the most part but Evie is at a stage where she is not behaving very well lately. She is our stubborn girl and gets extremely upset when she can't have things her way. Which of course is just about all the time because of her age. So despite all the screaming and fussing we were able to get some new clothes for all of us at Kohls and price a small plastic shed at Home Depot. We also decided to go ahead and purchase a small refurbished lawnmower for about $100. I'm extremely happy with the $20 lawnmower we bought on Craigslist but decided that since we could afford something a little nicer we would go ahead and get it. So now I'm going to post the lawnmower on Craigslist for $40 and see if we can make a few bucks off of it. After all, it does run, it just looks bad. LOL.

Saturday we woke up and did a mad dash through the house cleaning things up as Dwayne's parents were coming up to visit. Dianne and Terry came up with all the expected gifts, we made spaghetti for lunch, and had a really nice visit overall. They left around 2:30 in the afternoon.

Dwayne was expected to work in the nursery at church that night so I convinced him to take the kids and let me go off shopping on my own. I've been eyeballing the new Nintendo Wii for a while now and decided to go to GameCrazy. I spent way too much money and bought a used Wii with extra controllers and the new Wii Fit. I'm hoping that since the exercises are done in a game format I will get up and move more. Let me tell you those mini-games on Wii Fit are tough!

Sunday, we went to the butchers and stocked up on some more meat and then I had Dwayne go to Home Depot to get the shed. I stayed home with the kids as I didn't think Evie would behave well. He came home and we put together the shed. It was a Rubbermaid thing and it went together really really easy. What is great about it is that it will pull apart again really well also so if and when we have to move we will be able to take it with us. The new lawnmower's handle folds down and it just fits in the shed. We couldn't have had it work out better if we tried. I'm grateful that it works so well. After cleaning up all the mess we still had the rest of the afternoon off so I suggested that we try to find a geocache (more on that in a second) and then go scrounge our last little bit of money for a couple games for the Wii. After unsuccessfully finding the cache we went back to GameCrazy, bought MarioCart and SuperMarioGalaxy, and finished with a nice dinner at DairyQueen. We had dinner early enough that I let the kids have some ice cream. It was pretty neat to see their faces. Evie didn't want anything to do with it unless she could feed herself and then thought it was pretty neat. I let Sam have his first official ice cream cone. (I'm not a big one for messes, so I wanted to make sure he would be coordinated enough to eat it.) He thought it was great fun. He let mom help clean up his drips (by licking em up of course....tee hee,) but really thought the "cookie" was the best part. Evie was pretty good most of the afternoon too and didn't throw half as many fits as she has been doing lately. And now, the compensation check is completely gone but it was fun while it lasted.

Now about geocaching. I read about this new trend recently called geocaching that sounded very interesting to me. It was an inexpensive way for families to get out and about on a "treasure" hunt and discover new hidden places. Using a handheld GPS unit, you punch in some coordinates for a hidden cache and try to find it. Once you find it, you write your name on the paper found there and can see who else has found the cache before you. Some caches have a little trinket in them that you can take but you are expected to leave something for the next person with the same or greater value. What is great is that when you do some research you discover that there are caches hidden all over the world! It has really turned into this global treasure hunt. They are super easy to super difficult depending on how hard you want to work to find one. The are stashed all over towns, countrysides, or even at the end of a long hike if you really want an adventure. This sounded like so much fun to me. When I was little, I loved hiking, and thought treasure hunts were great fun. I also thought that this would be a great family tradition to start. It is an inexpensive way for us to get out of the house and enjoy each other as a family. So I used some of our bonus money and bought a small GPS unit at Target. It cost about $150 and the reviews I read on this unit were that it was a great unit to start out with and good for beginners. You can, of course, spend a lot more for one that has better detailed maps, colors, and all kinds of extras. But I decided to start the simple route to see if this is even something we would do. http://www.geocaching.com is the place to find information all about this new sport and once you make an account you can easily have access to the thousands of coordinates of hidden caches, log your finds, and even post your pictures.

It turns out there was a cache just down the road from us so we set out to find it. We found where it was supposed to be but didn't have any luck finding the cache itself. We forgot to pack a flashlight because we think it is hidden in one of the dark crevices under the bridge. It could also have been hidden somewhere more deeply in the rocks but Dwayne and I didn't have time to really search as the kids thought the icky dirty runoff creek was fun to play in. Now that we know where it is supposed to be though we will be back with the right tools and hopefully have a better solution to our first attempt at a find. We are hoping to do this almost every weekend especially while the weather is nice. Even if we go down to Oregon, we will bring our "cache bag" with us because literally you can geocache anywhere. There are hundreds of coordinates all over the place. I'll keep you posted on how well we are doing on our treasure hunts.

Nothing New

The last few days have been rather boring. Nothing new and exciting. No major life changes. Just same-o same-o in the house. As a celebration for ourselves Dwayne and I decided to risk an extra $15 a month on our entertainment. He decided to up our Netflix to 2 movies at a time versus the one we've had and I've opted to expand our cable just slightly. Now I'll get Animal Planet and Disney again! (Very exciting!) I'm so excited to reintroduce the kids to Little Einsteins and Mickey again. PBS is starting to get pretty boring around here. He didn't get a raise with his job but I think we'll make it. At least we are happier and so much more stress free.

In fishy news, it looks like we had 5 babies survive the cannibalism of the other fish. They are big enough to be swimming with the big ones now. That makes our grand total of fish in our tiny 5 gallon tank to be 10. No idea what sex they are yet but they all look to be silver in color so we know who the culprit mother is. LOL

Oops, gotta go already. Need to break up the kids' fighting yet again.

Our first Craiglist Purchase?=Success!

So we have finally ventured into the world and domain of Craigslist. Since we now know that we are going to stay in this home for a while we decided that we needed to find a way to take care of our lawn. Especially since the residents were given "notice" that dandelions would not be tolerated. I looked at my poor yard and wondered if the dandelions could somehow be disguised as grass. We needed a lawnmower badly. I've checked craigslist from time to time but people haven't been doing too much yardwork apparently because I have been having a hard time finding one. Well, I checked one last time before we decided to go to HomeDepot to buy the cheapest one we could, and I saw an ad for an old lawnmower for $20.00. $20? Are you kidding me? I figured it didn't run but I had Dwayne email the guy anyway. Saturday morning right before we took off to hunt garage sales we received an email with pictures. Dwayne emailed him back with our phone number and told him that we are interested but he would need to call us as we are out and about. While out garage sailing, we got a call! He told us it even runs! (Always a plus.) The only bad thing is he did live out in Pe Ell. Well, it was a nice day and that was a part of Washington we hadn't discovered yet so decided to go out there and get it. Especially since we can't beat the price. We had a lovely drive with the kids and went to get the lawnmower.

Since I decided we were going to be doing yardwork anyway, we decided to swing by HomeDepot on the way home. I got flowers for my flowerbox, 3 types of tomatoes, and some strawberries, plus all the paraphanelia needed to have a small garden. Dwayne finally got a ladder. We got home and still had several hours left in the afternoon to get things done so Dwayne immediately tackled the lawn and I decided the vehicles really really needed to get cleaned out. 3 hours later we fell on the couch exhausted. After all, we are both couch potatoes and this is the most excercise we've had in a while. Sad but true. The lawnmower is old and ugly but it seems to be doing the job and I can't complain about the pricetag.

This morning I got up early and planted the tomatoes and strawberries. The person who lived here previously had a small garden and also did a lot of mulching so we have some perfect patches all ready to go with rich soil. The only problem? The patches have been neglected quite a while. We had some weeding to do. While I started that, Dwayne went on the roof and cleaned out the gutters and pulled some moss then came down to help me. We finished in time for lunch and I feel so productive! I'm really excited to have my own tomatoes and strawberries this year and intend on learning how to can to help with food costs. I thought I would start small and maybe add more varieties of vegetables next year but I'm thinking I might go ahead and get a couple bellpeppers too. We'll see if my excitement lasts.

Where's Evie's Cage?

Well, after the high of the last couple of days, we were hit with more bad news yesterday. Melody called and let us know that she is now going to be the one laid-off. She has until the end of July. What is really frustrating is that her position was not cut. What happened was their was a higher position that got cut and that person was given the option to boot someone out of a lower position and still retain a job. That is one thing I hate about government positions. So much is relied on your seniority and not how well you actually do your job. What sucks also, is Melody now has the opportunity to do it to someone else. The unfortunate part is the position she can boot is only a part-time position and that just won't cut it with her current living situation and financial need. I'm not sure what she is going to do. So please direct all your prayers her way now.

This morning I took Evelyn to the doctor for her 18 month check-up. I am so grateful that she only needed one shot this time. I actually remembered to dose her with Tylenol before we left and it made the whole difference in the world. She didn't cry at all! I'm still in shock since the last visit was such a trial. She is measuring 95th percentile for her weight (29 lbs 11 oz!), 90th percentile for her height, and 92nd percentile for her head. So she is a big girl but at least she is proportioned. Everything else was routine and she is looking good.

I had been telling Sam all morning that we would be taking Evie to the doctor. He repeated it for a while and then over breakfast looked very seriously at me and asked, "Where is Evie's cage?" I busted up laughing again because the last time we went to the doctor it was to take Bubba to the vet. I had told him we were taking kitty to the doctor at that time and had to be put into a cage. So he made the connection that if we go to the doctor then you have to have a cage. It is amazing the connections these young one's can make.

Praise the Lord!

Yesterday, Dwayne was offered the position. I am so unbelievably relieved. It has been extremely stressful not knowing what our course of action is going to be. Now I know. I get to stay here and make this new place I love our home for a while. He is going to be at the same pay rate he is now so we are still going to be living pretty tight but at least he has a job! And unfortunately, there won't be a second position so the stress level will be a little high. I think that will ease significantly once the transition is complete and he is allowed to refocus on his new job. It still feels a little unreal at the moment. We have been so keyed up about what is going to happen for so long that I think it will take a few days for reality to sink in and we can start moving forward again instead being on "pause." I still kind of feel like it is going to be taken away and I need to chill out and just accept what is. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. I really feel God's hand in this and I know that he hears our prayers.

Now to go and take care of a sick hubby. He has been fighting a cold for several days and was hit really bad today. It will be nice to have him around sick or not today.

No News and Easter

Ok, well we were supposed to find out if Dwayne has the position or not today and guess what? No news yet. Rodney told Dwayne that he is still waiting on final word regarding the other position before he releases the name(s?) of the person he is hiring. He is hoping to have an answer tomorrow. Of course, that is what he said Friday too.......



In other news, Easter was really nice. Mom, Melody, and Aiden came up to stay with us over the weekend. Melody came Friday night and Mom Saturday night as she is still taking classes. Our church was having an Easter egg hunt for the first time this year so we took the kids to that Saturday morning. The toddlers were the first group and it only started to rain at the very end of the hunt. There was also a bouncehouse, giant slide, several characters, and a schoolbus on monster wheels. The kids had a great time. Sam couldn't get enough of the slide but didn't want to have anything to do with the characters. We kept pointing out Spiderman and Elmo and he would nod that he sees them but did NOT want to get any closer or say Hi. He didn't cry or anything but would grip my hands unbelievably tight and would walk behind me everytime a character came close. He was so funny. Now Evie on the other hand couldn't get enough of them. Everytime we turned around she had disappeared and we would find her next to Elmo or the Easter Bunny giving them high fives and hugs. She interrupted many different families' photo ops with the characters. It was so funny.









Saturday night we went to Easter service. It was crammed full but nice. The pastor didn't just talk about what Easter is but also the proof beyond just blind faith that the resurrection was real. One of the best lines that I'll remember the rest of my life was in regards to the difference between Christianity and religion. "People die for their gods. My God died for me."



Handsome kids for Easter. (We can never get them to look at the camera. This was the best we could do. :)




Sunday was pretty laid back as the weather was crummy. I finally got to open my presents for my birthday. Dwayne got me a CD that I had been wanting, Sheri gave me a beautiful puzzle of a wolf, and Mom and Melody got me a sponsorship to WolfHaven International. It is a local wolf sanctuary. I would have never thought of something like that and it is perfect. My wolf that I'm sponsoring is an old fellow named BlackHawk. You can find out more about the sanctuary and my wolf at http://www.wolfhaven.org/ We then spent the rest of the day by alternating playing with the kids and having all 4 of us on MapleStory at once. Overall it was a great weekend.

Job Update

I've been a little busy at the end of this week and I'm typing this up quickly as my Mom and sister are up visiting this weekend for birthday/Easter. Dwayne's interview went well. But, of course, he just doesn't know. We are supposed to know something Monday. Rodney did tell Dwayne that he is waiting on word from corporate on his request/demand for the second position. This past week he had gotten word that he was only allowed one position. Which, of course, makes this position all the more in demand. But Rodney is saying that there is no way that two people can do what corporate wants them to do and wants the third position back. Depending on what corporate says will determine who gets the position, which of course we aren't sure about yet. We can only hope everything will be settled one way or another Monday. Anyway, off to entertain my guests. I'll post something again soon once the weekend is over.

Spider for Breakfast?

Today started out pretty well. Both Dwayne and I didn't get a whole lot of sleep knowing that the interview was today but woke up in pretty good spirits. He left for work, I got the kids up, fed, distracted with Sesame Street and sat down to have my own breakfast. About half way through my bowl of Cheerios a spider plops down in the middle of my book. Needless to say I was very startled and jumped out of my chair pretty fast. After getting the courage to take care of this menace to my breakfast, I couldn't find the little bugger. I finally found him sitting under the front flap of my book and managed to squish and dispose of him before I lost my nerve. He wasn't the biggest spider I have ever had to deal with but he interrupted my very precious quiet and alone time and so had to die.

In other news, Dwayne's interview went pretty well as far as I can tell. He is a typical man and not a big fountain of information. But he says it had good points and bad points. He sounded a little stressed when it was all said and done but was back to himself this afternoon. The position will be filled by Monday so thank goodness we don't have to wait long to find out. I'll let everyone know when we know something.

Where's My Bra?

Ok, I had to share something really funny. The last couple of days Sam has noticed that I have breasts. I'm not too concerned. I figured this would be coming some day. We were reviewing all the different body parts and naming them to each other. He spontaneously reaches out and touches my breast and says "What's that?" Well, the first thing out of my mouth is "boobs." Oops. I wish I had said breasts because now they are officially labled boobs in his head and that is what he keeps calling them. Oh well, I'll keep trying. Well, after I told him that, he promptly pulls at my shirt and touches my bra and says, "What's that?" I tell him that is a bra. He then pulls up his shirt all concerned and says, "Where's my bra?" I busted up laughing. He was so worried that he didn't have a bra. I told him that boys don't need bras and decided it was time to distract him a bit from that conversation. I can't help but laugh every time I think of that conversation though. I know this is just the beginning and hopefully all of his observations can be dealt with humor. I love my little 3-year old!

Sunshine!

This is the dress Dianne made that I absolutely love. She looked so darling in it at church Saturday night.

We had such a nice weekend. It was sunny and warm (for the NW anyway) all weekend. Saturday, we took a walk with the kids down to the gradeschool and let them play on the slides and swings. They had a great time and both kids love love love the swing. However, I couldn't seem to get Sam to figure out how to swing his legs so he could swing himself. Oh well, next time.

Evie never really had an opportunity to go on a slide before and she wasn't sure at first. But after that first time she has decided she loves to slide as well. As we were walking home, I looked up in the sky and saw a bald eagle flying over the house! That was a nice reminder that I really love living a little away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I feel so comfortable letting the kids run around in the road (with my supervision of course) and taking walks in the neighborhood without being scared of running into anyone too weird or being run over by all the traffic. When we finally got Evie down for her nap, Dwayne went outside with Sam to let him ride his tricycle around. We are going to have to adjust the seat and handlebars again. He's grown since last time we tried. He still hasn't figured out how to do it on his own. Dwayne pretty much had to push him the whole time but I don't think it will be long before he has it figured out. We then had a wonderful time at church Saturday night. We are really enjoying having a Saturday night service available. We do all our chores, errands, church etc. on Saturday and that really leaves us Sunday as a family day/day of rest. We spent all of Sunday in our PJ's and hung out as a family. It was so nice to just chill for a day. Especially since I was fighting a tremendous headache. I'm not sure where it came from but I woke up this morning feeling better and back to my old self again.

Today looks like another nice day of sunshine. Since we need milk, I think I'll take the kids for a walk this afternoon and walk to the grocery store. It is a perfect day for it and we all need to become a little more active I think.

Interview!

We have an interview scheduled folks! I'm very excited and it is a lovely birthday present. Even if it doesn't go the way we want, at least we will be moving forward. His interview is scheduled for Wednesday April 8th at 10:00 am. Your prayers are and have been appreciated. Dwayne is pretty confident but also a bit nervous as he found out that 3 certified accountants will be applying for the position too. Dwayne doesn't have a degree but has been doing the job for the last 2 years and his supervisor is finally figuring out how much Dwayne has been doing during this transition so we hope these factors will give him a "leg up." Keep your fingers, toes, and eyes crossed. :)