LeAnn & Laundromats

Today is my cousin LeAnn's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEE!

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What did the boys and I do while Sophie was at preschool yesterday? We went to the laundromat. I needed to wash the big comforter because the cat got sick on it (which made me threaten to put her into kitty foster care, but I later decided that she's worth her weight in gold--story in a minute). A new laundromat was built near my office recently, so we took the comforter there. This place is incredible! They have two Little Tikes playgrounds (pictured below), WiFi, at least 6 big flat screen TVs on the walls, a small lounge area with a couch and bar tables, it's super clean and it's HUGE! More washers/dryers than I've ever seen. The boys had a blast! Where were laundromats like this when I needed them on a weekly basis??

Now for the value of our cats... The babysitter said she saw a 'big' (her word, not mine) spider downstairs recently but couldn't catch it. (She told Brent about it, and he begged her not to tell me.) She found another one (maybe the same one??) on Wednesday and caught/killed it, so she thought it was safe to tell me so I could talk to the exterminator (we just had him here to spray a couple of weeks ago). Well...tonight the cats had another 'big' (my word now) one cornered in the kitchen. So now I'm thinking that I'll deal with washing the comforter every now and then as long as they continue to patrol for spiders. (But I'm still calling the exterminator again tomorrow--this place can glow with toxicity if necessary, but get the spiders out of here!!) I feel like things are crawling on me right now...sorry if reading this is doing the same thing to you...

Sophie's first day of preschool!

Today was the big day! The boys and I took Sophie to preschool, and she was convinced that we were staying with her. She got nervous and antsy when I told her we couldn't stay, but once she saw her teachers she ran right in to her classroom and said "Ok, mommy--you can go on! I'll stay here with them!" That was an awesome weight off of my mind--she's such a well-adjusted girl!

Here's the big preschooler in front of the house (like the bow on her shirt?? My handiwork!):

Her big girl backpack! (Embroidered by my friend Laura--cute, eh?!):

At the church in front of the banner. The boys kept trying to hop in all of her pictures, so Sophie let them in this one:

Sophie and Ryan! The best of friends!

She loved preschool! She reported that they went outside, played with friends and had snacks ('wands and candy' she said). She's already looking forward to next week!

GratiWednesday & a 'September blog challenge'

I'm letting the blogging slip again! I'm challenging myself to blog every day in September, and if you're a blogger, I extend the same challenge to you. Happy September 1st!

This week we have a LOT to be thankful for:

1. Our friend Karie who rescued me last week when our babysitter called in sick. She ran over from her kids' bus stop to watch our kids until Brent could get home. Friends you can call at the crack of dawn are the real deal!!!


2. Our sitter Becky who covered that same afternoon so I could leave work to take Blake to his surgeon appointment. (Called her at the crack of dawn, too!)


3. The staff at Wesley Hospital for being so nice to us when Blake was having surgery for a hernia repair.


4. Kelly for going to the hospital with me and calming my nerves while Blake was in surgery.


5. Our neighbor Lucille for making us a huge chocolate sheet cake, a pan of mac-n-cheese, chicken croissants and ice cream cups for the kids. Yum!


6. My cell phone pooped out, and my friends Laura and Shannon came to my rescue! It's a perfect picture of 'old & new friends'--I've known Shannon since grade school, and Laura is one of my newest friends. They are both priceless. Shannon's phone arrived in the mail today, and Brent is upstairs setting it up for me as I blog. Kudos for him being so good at that sort of thing!


7. I had a Pampered Chef party to celebrate my friend Caryn's new business, and we had a great turnout of ladies to show their support. It was fun (& yummy!), and Caryn is on her way to being a top-notch consultant.


8. My boss might be the best thing ever. I had to be off work quite a bit this week for Blake's surgery and appointments, and my boss has been so flexible with me.


9. Sophie met her preschool teachers last night, and they are both so warm! Sophie had a top-notch FIT before we left, and was adamant that she was NOT going to 'playschool'. The staff and teachers were all so kind and fun that it was hard to get her to leave!


10. Roger, Becky & Aaron watched the boys while Sophie and I were at the preschool. We walked in and Aaron was playing ABCs on his guitar for them!

Now for some pictures of Blake on surgery day:

Playing in the play room before surgery--

Reading a Nemo book he borrowed the sweet nurse--

Still reading the book, but he was noticably 'loopy' from the medication they gave him before surgery. This was the most comical part of the day!!

When we got home, I had him arranged in our room to recover for the day. Sophie insisted on making lunch for him, so she took him a PB&J sandwich cut into dinosaur shapes, grapes and Goldfish crackers. SUCH a sweet big sister.

He's healing well, but complains of discomfort sometimes. I'm hoping by the weekend he'll be feeling more comfortable. What a little trooper!!

GratiTuesday

Happy GratiTuesday! This week we're thankful for:

1. My friend Serena and her awesome photography/editing skills. It's humbling to personally know someone that God has so amazingly gifted. We got the other photos back, and I'll be posting them on here as the week progresses.
2. Kelly who went to the photo shoot with me, and sat in a McDonald's playroom afterward with me while the kids 'celebrated' how well they did having their pictures taken.
3. Friends who came to the rescue with their old cell phones to help me in the interim since my phone pooped out. We're trying to decide whether or not to stay with AT&T since our contract is up, and this way I can get by with a borrowed phone until we decide. (Side note: Remember how convicted I was about not wanting an iPhone? I'm eating those words now. I want one BADLY.)
4. The ER doctors and staff who bumped Blake to the head of the line last Thursday night. He has a follow-up doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I'll post about our 'experience' after that.
5. My friend Melissa who came over for a 'tutu tutorial' Sunday and didn't seem to mind the three extra pairs of helping hands!
6. Our friends Tammy and Rob who (again) amazed us with their generosity this week. Brent went over to look at a small ladder they had, hoping to find out the brand so he could buy one for us, and they GAVE it to him. What an awesome surprise!

Teaser photo...

We had the kids' pictures taken on Saturday, and this is the "teaser photo" we got. I love it!! I'll post more as I get them!

Happy GratiWednesday!

So much to be thankful for, and it's been a long time since our last "Grati" post. I know I'm forgetting to add a lot, but here are a few:

1. We found a great sitter for the Fall! We are losing our sweet Tara (she's graduating this semester), so she'll just be able to watch the kids as her school schedule allows. We changed gears and actually found someone who nannies professionally, and we're hoping we don't burn her out! She started this week and (knock on wood) we think it will be great.
2. Fun birthdays! We celebrated our sitter Becky's 21st birthday this week, and (of course) Brent's birthday yesterday. Brent's birthday ended with a great dinner at the new Mongolian grill (Genghis) and a movie ("Expendables" with Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin...you get the picture). He had a great birthday! (& yes, for those of you keeping score, it WAS complete Hell for me. He totally paid me back for making him watch "Letters to Juliet" on my birthday.)
3. Tara brought the kids all kinds of fun goodies last night when she babysat for us--dress-up necklaces, magnets, butterfly tattoos and more--and the kids had so much fun playing with her.
4. Air conditioning! Mercy, the AC has worked its tail off.
5. Average bill payment for electricity (for #4 above). I'm sure we'd pass out if we had to *guess* how much to budget for electricity. Woooo, last month's was a doozy!
6. The last FPU class ended a couple of weeks ago, and we still have a couple of weeks "off" before the next one starts. It's nice to get a break, but I'm anxious to meet our new classmates for the next session.
7. The kids' pediatrician for filling out the necessary forms for Sophie's preschool without making us come in for an office visit. She's the best!
8. Kelly helped me take the boys for their 'big boy' haircuts at the salon! This was their second time getting 'real' haircuts (Mommy's been doing it at home), but we wanted a good haircut for their upcoming pictures. The boys did amazingly well! (Side note, we won't be going back to that salon--Kelly and I almost fainted when the total was $18 EACH! For toddlers??)
9. My friend Laura and her daughter Jaiden invited us to a movie last weekend. We saw "How to Train Your Dragon" and the kids were really good. I was surprised that it held their interest for so long!
10. Mucinex and Vicks. I'm battling a summer cold this week and the 'Vicks + socks' bedtime routine is a lifesaver!

So many more that I'm forgetting right now--I'll have to add more to next week's list.

As promised, here are some pictures of the kids!

After the boys' haircuts--you can see the slight "spikiness" of the front of their bangs. Cute!

At the movie with Jaiden:

Purely for blackmail later (their favorite movie right now is Cinderella--you should see them ballroom dance!):

More pics to come as the week progresses!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRENT!!!!!!

We celebrated with doughnuts this morning--candles and all. Here are the kids singing to their Daddy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRENT!!!

We made a Happy Birthday sign, and Sophie was thrilled with the results. She couldn't wait for Brent to see it--she stumbled out of bed barely awake this morning saying "C'mon brothers, look at Daddy's sign!" Graham saw it and said "TA DA!!" Classic Graham--such a showman!

We're back in blogworld now after a not-so-brief hiatus. Somehow there haven't been enough hours in the day for the past few weeks. I'll be posting a GratiWednesday post tomorrow along with pictures and updates on the kids.