The cat

Our cat, affectionately known as "Baby Jaguar" or when I'm ticked off at him, "CAT!", is about to find a new home this weekend. My niece is severely allergic and since they are now less than 4 hours away :), it is time for him to go so she can come and visit. Well, I had a few misgivings about where the cat should go and we really were looking for a great place for him, but hubby wanted him to go back to his mom's house in MI. The only problem with that being the ordeal of getting him up there and then because she is moving into a new place she wouldn't be "cat ready" until November at the earliest. She also has 3 other cats and adding another to that makes her go from the lady with a few cats to the "CAT LADY!" (Which once upon a time was what everyone thought I would grow up to be....Thanks for the support, family.) She was very sweet to offer though, but we have finally found other arrangements.
A few weeks ago, I was at a friends house who lives in the country and I had mentioned we needed to get rid ("find a great home for") of baby Jag. She said that we could bring him there. I didn't give much thought about it until we couldn't find any other place for him. See, he would be an outside day cat and and inside night cat. She has a few other cats and they are all very good mousers. So, I was a little leary given the fact that he doesn't get outside much and he is a pretty pampered cat. Well, we had been praying about it and for peace about it and yesterday God answered our prayers pretty clearly. We were moving the grill around the back when I spotted a very "sweet offering" by our back porch door. What it really was.....a dead torn apart bird!!! Oh, it made me really want to vomit! Baby Jaguar had managed not only to kill it, but then thought it would be a great idea to eat part of it. Feathers were everywhere, blood was sprinkled here and there...and I am still a little queasy when I think about it. Lucky for hubby, he was home and got to take care of that. But it was an answer to prayer because now we both know he will be fine and will have fun out there. Ever since then though, he really wants to go back outside and I'm not letting him. I really don't want anymore "old-testament sacrifices" in my yard.

A few pictures

We are over in San Angelo this weekend visiting my sister and she had a few pictures from last time. A few of them are pretty good. The matching truck pictures are from the Haugen's farm in ND. We took them at the end of Aug, right before we left to go back to TX. The rest are from Kyra's birthday. Ryland was dressing up as a pirate and Collin was breaking the pinata. This weekend was fairly busy for me and the kids. They played dress up, built tracks, shot nerf guns, played with balloons (which are driving me crazy, but they made Brayden happy after his injury) and went to class at church where my nephew almost joined the ranks of stitches before age 3, but was saved by the wonders of skin glue! Very exciting and an answer to prayers. He fell at church and hit the train table. Darrah was called out, then me and on the way out I said, "Pray that glue will be able to be used and not stitches!" Well, they must have prayed right away because they got to the ER and quick as can be, glue was used and they were out of there and on the way to Sonic for sympathy slushes. They played in the sprinkler/mud today and Kyra and Ry did school together. The boys both got haircuts too. While all of that was going on, we sewed curtains, figured out a fantastic product named "No Sew", watched the new Wolverine movie, celebrated Richard's birthday, hung a few more pictures, and picked out a new dining room table. All in all, a very fun and productive weekend.

ER

So, my husband just called to say that he was on his way to the ER in Dallas. What!!!? He went down there with a friend on Friday night because the Rangers were playing the Mariners. The biggest reason--to see Griffey play. He is my hubby's all time favorite baseball player and he has never seen him play. Well, Friday night they got rained out. So they drove back and they couldn't get refunds on their tickets, so they left to try again today. The game was supposed to start at 2:05 or something like that and he called me at 3:52 because he was breaking out in hives and the Benedryl they gave him at the First Aid station wasn't working and they wanted to call an ambulance to take him to the ER. He did NOT want to go by ambulance, but they wanted him to. So off he went. What!!!? Well, I have just spoken to him again and the dr thinks it was something he ate and they gave him steroids and it seems to be working. SO, I guess they are going back to the game because it started right after they took him away and he really wants the chance to see Griffey play! WHAT?!!?

So the pictures go like this...

The ball field where the Rangers are supposed to play the Mariners...The only problem....RAIN!

The burger from Fuddruckers that they think did him in! It was a monster guac burger or something like that.

There is my hubby being strapped in and taken to the ER. Luckily, he still had his sense of humor.

Legos

We played Legos for 5 hours this morning and after nap I can see the trend continuing. It has been a really relaxing way to spend the time. We built a house. Or I should say, I built the house and the boys "modified" it. They had fun anyway. They have 2 lego guys named "Lego Collin" and "Lego Ryland" How clever. So Collin was playing with Lego Collin and he (Lego) says "Oh I have to go pee! Where is the bathroom? It is not ready yet? Okay, I'll go outside on the grass" So he moves Lego Collin to the "lawn" and pees. Then he grabs Lego Ryland and says "Lego Collin, we don't pee on the grass. We pee in the toilet." So then he takes them both inside to the "bathroom" Pretty good times!
Ryland has been busy making a skateboard ramp off the roof for the Lego family. Then he puts them on their skateboards and off they go~
Pictures will come later. I took them...it shouldn't be so hard to get them...I am a smart person....today, the computer is smarter.

Today

So we have had a few late nights recently and it is really showing in all our attitudes. There were late nights at Aunty Darrahs, then a late night at Cooper's, then the boys had a guy's night on Tuesday and last night it was Awanas. Now, it is not that all of these things ended so late, usually around 8, but because we give in to the demands of I can't go to bed without a bath (which I will admit is very important to me), one more story, one more drink, I need a snack...
And tonight R has soccer practice, but we will be trying a little harder to make bed happen by 8. We all need it.
Today we went to the gym only to turn around because they were having a tornado drill and they had already been sitting in the locker room for half an hour. Last time we got caught and had to do it, we were allowed to leave after 45 min ONLY because Little Munch had wet his pants and my change of clothes for him was in the car. I had to sign a paper stating that I chose to go and will take the blame for being caught out and about during the drill. And when I did go outside, everyone was driving around like nothing was happening because NOTHING was happening. They had just forgotten to give the gym the all clear. I think it was along the same lines today because they didn't tell me about it at the gate, people were out walking and doing whatever when I pulled up and it pretty much looked like only the gym was once again participating. It is good that they take things seriously, but she told me about it at the door and I turned around and walked out. I just really didn't want to play today.
We headed over to Heather and Matt's house and just happened to catch them on the one day they are home this month. The boys had a great time building a tent and scaring each other with a dead "water beetle" It looked like a cockroach to me, but Matt didn't think it was. I also managed to score some lefse they brought back from Minnesota! Yum! Then we were off to the park for awhile. The boys played, I read, and then we came home for lunch and nap. We are all in dire need of a little down time. Hopefully we will pop back up renewed and rejuvinated. It's amazing what a little sleep can do.

Even better deals

Because I have nothing else to do at 11:00pm and for some strange reason am not ready to go to bed, I figure I can blog and fill up the night pretty quickly. We had a great Labor Day weekend. We went down to San Angelo to see my sister's new house and pretty much spent the weekend shopping for house stuff. I love spending other people's money! It is so much fun because it doesn't come with guilt! No, really, we found some pretty great deals on things and I came back in a car filled to the brim. The best part about it was most of it was free! Ahhh, I love having family close that I can take all of their stuff! No, we really did get great deals. I bought 8 blinds in Nantucket natural wood for the windows. They were originally $59.99 and I got them for $2.50 a piece. The only bad part is only one actually fit my windows and the rest are too big or too small, so they have to go back to the store. I am pretty bummed about that, but I like the one I put up. It adds a little organic touch to the living room. I also bought a curved shower rod for the main bath and it says it only adds 6", but what a difference that makes! It opens up the whole bathtub. Pretty snazzy. I got a really great deal on some clothes at Maurices too. (What is spending a whole weekend shopping with your sister for if you don't find some clothes too)
It was also my niece's bday. She actually turns 5 tomorrow, but we had a great time celebrating with her and her pinata named Pedro. He was a donkey made in Mexico. And now she is Tinkerbelled out! (And now my boys like Tinkerbell! Yikes!)
On our way back from San Angelo, Hubby got a speeding ticket. I knew as soon as I saw the police on the other side, we were in for it. We had just passed a turnaround for them and they had plenty of time to catch up to us. I was looking for a small town to get lost in, but no such luck. It was still 4 miles away so we slowed down and there they were bearing down on us in the rearview mirror. They were really nice about it though. They just gave hubby his ticket so we could "be on our way" and gave the boys each a sticker. R thought it was pretty neat and wanted to know where we were on the TX shaped sticker they gave him. He also wanted to know why they were stopping us, so we explained (as all great parents do) how daddy was going too fast and they wanted to remind him to be safe and drive slower. They are just doing their job of protecting and serving.... They also questioned us about "Guns, knives and illegal drugs." Because if you had them, you would be sure to say yes. Well, actually, I probably would, but most people, not really. If you have them you are probably used to lying/running from the law. So off we went with the cruise set at 70. No more speeding in TX. I told hubby about the guy in Minot who says his tickets are just "surcharges for driving the way he wants" and that seemed to put him in a better mood though. (Probably due to the difference between a $27 North Dakota speeding ticket and a $210 Texan one for the same speed)
So we got home and headed over to see the boys' best friend (as long as Little Munch isn't hitting him and making him want to go home) We had a BBQ for supper and that was the best Labor Day weekend I have had EVER! I didn't cook once the whole weekend. It has to be some kind of record...oh wait, I really didn't cook all summer....I love summer.

My score at Toys R US

On Saturday, I took the boys to Toys R Us to do a little shopping. R had saved tons of money this summer in his goal to buy Blue's Little Brother and Indiana Jones Legos. So we were on our way to find them. We got there and right off the bat, R's plans changed...Mega Block Cars toys to complete his collection!! It was even on clearance! 50% off. He didn't know what a great deal that was, only that he had enough money to buy it. As we continued around the store, R continued to fill the basket. While we were looking, I spotted the deal of the century. I had been keeping my eye out for a table and chairs for R to do his school work on and they had a dark pine set on clearance for $49. (down from $89) Well, that is a good deal, but the best part was yet to come. I had a $10 off $50 and a $8 gift card and a $3 gift card and and a $5 toys r us rewards bucks. So I got the set for $23!!! What a deal! It is a really nice set and is solid wood so that is just great. Now, let me finish R's buying trip. Well, when we were done going through the store, he had 4 things in the cart. The Cars legos, a Cars tunnel/tent, Geo tracks and a SuperWhy toy. He looked at it all and he said, "I don't want to spend all of my money. I am just going to get one toy." And that was with no prompting from me! So he looked at them all and decided to just keep the Cars legos and put the rest back! Pretty impressive. It made me want to buy the other toys for him. (I guess I could learn a few things about impulsive buying from my 5 year old.) He is going to be just like his Uncle Dayton who used to charge my sister and I interest on the money we borrowed from him. (I'm talking like 30% interest!) And he always had money because he was a tightwad! And I always needed money because I like shopping!

Trip is complete...

Well, we have been back in TX for a week now and things are finally starting to get put in order. The chaos that comes with traveling seemed to multiply when we were dumped off at our house, our stuff was thrown on the lawn and my sister zoomed off to San Angelo (and her new life)...
And that really makes it sound much worse than it was. We had talked on the way down that if we got to Wichita Falls early enough Darrah was going to keep on going. And we got here around 7 pm and she wanted to set off and I didn't want my niece in the house for very long (cat allergies) and I wanted to get her back on the road and the lawn was a great place to unload everything and go through everything because our stuff was all intermingled and still is (I guess we weren't that thourough), but that's alright because she is now only 3 and 1/2 hours away!!! I am really excited about this! We are heading down there this weekend for Kyra's bday party. It is so great that we are able to do things like that!
The trip was pretty uneventful, which was nice. We stopped in Fargo to see my brother and the kids had a great time there roasting hotdogs, golfing and playing at the great dinosaur land in the mall. It was pretty nice of him to give up his room to sleep on the couch in the living room with a guy who just showed up and is living with them until the apartment upstairs is vacant....A little weird if you ask me. But the "new" roomie seemed nice. Then we set off 4 hours down the road to some other town, either in Iowa or South Dakota, the consensus wasn't agreeable to my way of thinking, where we stopped for the night just for the fun of it and because my sister had a free room thanks to her husband who shoveled people out of said hotel last winter. Worked out pretty nice on my end. And from there we came to TX and have spent the last 7 days going through each room and closet and reorganizing and downsizing. Finally we are done and 2 big trash cans later, we are 150 lbs lighter. And we have no more broken toys, games, stained clothing, broken desks.... it is looking pretty good here. AND that means it is time for the projects to begin...
The garage doors are going to be painted and sanded.
The kitchen walls are going to be textured. (and then repainted the same colors)
The backsplash in the kitchen is going to be put up.
The leg for the counter is going to be made and stained.
The couches are going to get legs and when the cat is gone, are going to be recovered.
AND for now, that's about that. I am sure when this list is done, there will be more, but for now, that is the current plan. Sounds like fun. Anyone want to come visit?