Blogging just to blog

Eeeks....it's been a while since I've blogged huh? Guess I really haven't had any inspiration or anything too exciting to blog about. How about some boring randomness?

-Levi has been sick since Tuesday night. He came down with a really high fever, then got a nasty, nasty cough. For 3 nights, he only slept 10-15 minutes at a time and had to be held all night. Needless to say, neither Jeremy or I got much sleep those nights. Jeremy was awesome though-- he took Levi for half the night every night so I could get sleep too. :-) Levi slept better last night but was up at 5 am this morning. Maybe tonight will be better!

-The kitchen is completely put together and I have put all my stuff away again. YAY. The only things left to do are some trim around the windows, a light above the sink, and some other minor trim work. Once that is all done I will get some pictures up. It is looking gorgeous!!!!!!

-Remember my resolution to lose weight? I've lost 8 lbs so far. Doesn't seem like much, and I have a loooong way to go, but at least it's something, right?

-My lovely, lovely sister has moved back to AR. I'm glad to have her out of my hair, really....but she still owes us money. I wonder if we'll ever get it all. She left a nice big mess for me too...she was renting our rental house and left several bags of trash, all kinds of junk, dishes, food, furniture I'll have to do something with, and dirt/mess everywhere. I'm glad she was so grateful for everything we did for her. :-p :-p :-p I have most definitely learned my lesson about helping people out.
Oh, and when I griped at her tonight for leaving a mess I was going to have to clean up, she tried to say "It's not that bad" and she "didn't have time" to clean it up. Then she told me, "Oh, you need to get out of your house sometimes and do something different anyway." What a @#$%#!

-When we put the dishwasher back in the kitchen and I ran it the first time, it puked water everywhere. Then I attemted to run it again, and it did the same thing again. We have had trouble with that dishwasher right from the start....and have only had it 3 years!! It's time to take it to the dump. It was even a Maytag...I thought they were supposed to be a good brand?? Now we get to spend more money on a dishwasher. :-p (I insisted that Jeremy not get me another one, and we just wait a while to spend that kind of money, but he's insisting that he gets me one, so he ordered it last night. I think my husband spoils me.)
Since we've been married, we've had a washing machine die (in a rental house, so it didn't belong to us), a dryer, a vacuum cleaner, an upright freezer, and a dishwasher all die. I hate appliances!!

-Right now on the left armrest of my chair, the kitty is asleep. On the right armrest, Dolly is asleep. It's very cute. :-)

What a Boy!

I haven't bragged on blogged about my sweet son for a while, so it must be time. :-)

I think it is so funny to see how he is "all boy" right from the get-go. It doesn't take any encouraging or teaching for a little boy to be a little boy. ;-) He's all about trucks, cars, (anything with wheels!), tools, hats, and noise. Without any help, he started making truck/car/motor sounds and he makes that sound over and over at the first sight of anything with wheels. He loves to watch the races on TV, look at tool or farming catalogs with daddy, and haul things in the back of his toy trucks.

He's a little behind when it comes to gross motor skills (walking, crawling) so he is currently doing physical therapy once a week. I've already seen an improvement too. He gets around ok in his own way, and is very happy and content, but I'd still like to see him progress and catch up to where he's supposed to be.
Levi is really smart, and the p.t. lady comments on this every week. He mimics everything, and figures things out so quickly. He can point out his head, nose, and ears. He can say the sounds for lions, bears, tigers, cats, and monkeys, and can identify those animals.
His vocabulary consists of "mama" "daddy" "puppy" and "baby", as well as lots of babbling and asking questions we can't understand.
He has turned into quite the little socialite too. *Everyone* he meets gets a big, cheesy grin from him, and even the cranky-looking people in Wal-Mart can't help but smile and laugh when they see him. :-)
He has the cutest little gestures! If you head towards him in silliness saying "I'm gonna get you!" he covers his eyes with both hands and squeals. If something surprises him, like the other day when the toys started "avalanching" out of the cabinet, he'll make an "o" with his mouth, cover his mouth with his hands, and his eyes get all big. Soooooo cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He'll also pucker his lips and make smacking sounds when you blow him kisses, and he loves to surprise me sometimes by leaning in and giving me big sloppy kisses on the face.

Look closely:



Cousins:

The Mailbox Adventure

Yesterday after lunch, I went outside to do what I thought would be a simple task: get the mail. When I opened the mailbox, I see we've received a priority mail package.



This is no shock; Jeremy has been getting at least 1 box pretty much every day for a couple weeks. I casually reach in and grab the box...nothing happens. It doesn't budge. I tug some more, it moves a quarter inch. Is it frozen down? (We did just have snow and ice recently) No, it's only been here a few minutes; that's impossible. I reach in with both hands and tug, realizing it really is that heavy. As I jerk it out of the mailbox, I, with package in hand, stumble to the (cold, icy) ground. Note: As we are out in the country, the mailbox is several yards away from the house and right on the side of the road. So here I stand on the edge of the road, struggling to pick up the box, fearing any moment traffic will be coming and I will get splattered. I finally get it in my arms again and stagger, step by staggering step, up our driveway. Thoughts are running through my head: "Am I really this pathetic? Am I so wimpy I can't carry a box the size of a shoebox?" Every muscle in my arms, back and stomach is straining and aching as I carry the box in both arms in front of me. I finally make it to the door and drop the box on the bench beside our door. I open the door and gasp, "Help me!"
Jeremy: "What's wrong?"
Me: (laughing and gasping) "Take this box inside please!"
Jeremy casually grabs it and then he himself staggers under the weight. Exclaiming over how heavy it is, he carries it into the office and sets it down as we laugh and wonder how a box so small can be so heavy. Then he looks at the postage tag and realizes this box weights 70 lbs. 70 HONKIN' POUNDS, people!!!!!! No wonder it felt heavy. How on earth do you get 70 lbs in a priority mail flat rate box? Well, pretty easy when you fill it with lead bullets. :-p
Now, Jeremy tells me that's only one of the boxes he ordered and the other one will probably be here Tuesday.
I think I'll let him get the mail Tuesday.

Not Me! Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

--I did not sulk, gripe, and pout as I lost a board game to my husband. And I definitely did not do that 2 nights in a row. No, not me….I’m not that immature.

--I am not refusing to face the fact that my son apparently wants to give up his morning nap. No, not at all… and I do not look forward to his nap times with great pleasure because it gives me a break and “me time”. So I certainly haven’t spent every morning struggling with him to get him to go to sleep, wasting more time than I would gain if he actually went to sleep.

--I did not give my son a “supper” of club crackers and raisins one night because we got home late and it was already his bedtime. No, I know that’s not healthy and I would never do that.

--I have most certainly not been letting the dirty dishes pile up all weekend because I don't have a kitchen sink. There's no way I just keep putting it off and watching the pile grow. Not me!

This Week...

So, things are going a little slower than hoped and planned with our kitchen, but that's kind of the way it goes with any remodeling project. One thing leads to another, to another, and to another. Last week finished one side of the kitchen as far as paint and cabinet installation. At the beginning of this week, Jeremy started tackling the tearing down of the old cabinets on the sink side of the kitchen:






Only to discover these cabinets were in fact the originals to this house, and had been built INTO the wall and ceiling, with sheetrock added around them.

The wall behind the cabinets was plaster and lathe, which was so old and damaged it crumbled with the slightest tap. Which led Jeremy to tear everything out and start all over from the studs:
Notice, there was NO insulation in this wall:







Starting (almost) from scratch. I've been without a sink or dishwasher since Tuesday.



This is what it looks like today. All the sheetrock is up and Jeremy's been working on putting plaster in the seams and filling holes, which is a very slow tedious process.




In between applications of plaster today he is working on the plumbing for the new sink, since we needed to replace ALL the pipes there.

In case you're wondering where all the "stuff" I took out of the kitchen is being stored, here's your answer:






What a mess!!!!!!!! :-)

So, this is where we stand as of this weekend. There is still quite a bit to do, including:

-Finish the plumbing
-Paint and border the remaining walls
-Paint the ceiling
-Install new cabinets and sink
-Cut and install countertops
-Tear out old carpet
-Put in new floor
-Trim the windows

-plus some other stuff I'm probably forgetting.

Shutting Detroit Down

I don't care if you're a country music fan....this song is awesome!!!!!



If you don't want to watch the video, here are the lyrics:

Shuttin' Detroit Down

My daddy taught me in this country everyone's the same.
You work hard for your dollar and you never pass the blame when it don't go your way.
Now I see all these bigshots crying on my evening news.
'Bout how they're losing billions and it's up to me and you to come running to the rescue.
Well, pardon me if I don't shed a tear.
'Cause they're selling make-believe and we don't buy that here.

chorus:
In the real world, they're shuttin' Detroit down.
While the boss-man takes his bonus pay and jets on out of town.
And D.C.'s bailing out them bankers as the farmers auction ground.
Yeah, while they're living it up on Wall Street in that New York City town.
Here in the real world they're shuttin Detroit down.
Here in the real world they're shuttin' Detroit down.

Well my granddaddy worked hard in that plant most all his life.
Now his pension plan's been cut in half and he can't afford to die.
And it's a crying shame. 'Cause he ain't the one to blame.
And when I look down and see his calloused hands.
Well, let me tell you friend it gets me fighting mad.

chorus:
In the real world, they're shuttin' Detroit down.
While the boss-man takes his bonus pay and jets on out of town.
And D.C.'s bailing out them bankers as the farmers auction ground.
Yeah, while they're living it up on Wall Street in that New York City town.
Here in the real world they're shuttin Detroit down.
Here in the real world they're shuttin' Detroit down.

Look Alikes?

A friend of mine has mentioned 2 or 3 times that she thinks Levi looks like the baby on the movie "Ice Age". I haven't seen the movie so I had to google a picture and see for myself. I guess I can see a slight resemblance...maybe. What do you think?