Stuwowpid!

One of our children (and I won't tell you who) used to have a brilliant vocabulary. Suddenly, however, it has completely dwindled down to two words: "Wow" (with much sarcasm) and "Stupid" (with no sarcasm).

Therefore, the parental units in this family have decided that we might as well save further time by combining those words as well. Thus, the new family favorite word: Stuwowpid
prounounced: stew-wow-pid
language of origin: sassy pre-teen
part of speech: interjection
definition: stupid and wow at the same time

New Schedule

So Bill has this new job. It isn't anything fancy, but it is work - and in today's economy, we are grateful that he is working. The biggest "WOW!" is that we are both working Monday - Friday, during the day! We haven't had the same schedule for a good three years, so this is spectacular. We have weekends and evenings together - and with our kids!! Can you say, "WOW!" I will say it for you. WOW!

However, Bill's schedule is a bit early. He leaves home at 5:15. I decided that I really wanted to be on his schedule. I'd rather learn to get up early and write and exercise and have time with God in the FIRST part of my day - instead of when I'm about to drop dead at the end. I would prefer to learn to go to bed BEFORE all the great shows come on at night, so I'm not wasting time in less productive ways.

We didn't get off to the best start. We had a late night in Spokane last night and didn't get to bed until 11:00, but I was determined to get up anyway. I had a great time in the Word, but my exercising was sabataged by a broken DVD player and a PS2 that wouldn't read my disk.

So I made chocolate chip cookies - a double batch. Now, it really isn't as bad as it sounds. They weren't for me. Today is a certain someone's 10th birthday, and he requested to bring cookies to school as his treat. Since I was so busy getting to bed early last night, I didn't get them made. Do you realize that a double batch of Betty Crocker's chocolate chip cookies takes an entire box of butter? Like I said, they aren't for me. Why a double batch? well....

This brings up the point of classroom size. Don't schools know that it would be much more convenient for moms if they gauged the classroom size by dozens? so you didn't have to buy 30 of something for a class of 22 or 36 of something for a class of 26? Just sayin'!

....and don't worry. I know how to do sit ups without a DVD. I think that I shall attempt that between switching out cookie sheets.

Food Frenzy

We have a lot going on this week: two work parties (involving potlucks), Hayden's turn to bring snacks to school, and two family birthdays. I really needed to go shopping, so I arranged my whole day with the express purpose of getting to the store before Bill got home with the boys from school. That way, I didn't have to take anyone, explain to anyone why I wasn't taking anyone, or deal with the guilt of peeling children off my body because I wasn't taking anyone.

It worked!

Howbeit, I did forget that it was the 1st of the month, and everyone else and their pet chihuahua would be at the store. My cart was completely overflowing, so the checker had to go get a different cart to load the bagged groceries in because I wasn't getting them unloaded quickly enough. I then realized that their can be one benefit to bringing strong boys with you to the store....pushing the second cart. Much to the amazement of my checker, I did get it all back into one cart.

The whole process only took THREE HOURS!! Are you kidding me? I came home exhausted and with a headache of course - which isn't the best thing to combine with four boys jumping up and down excited to see what all came home. They opened the back hatch to the van and the apple butter rolled out on the pavement, but it survived the fall and didn't brake. It did NOT, however, survive the second dropping in the kitchen. So while Bill was cleaning up apple butter and glass, I tried to clear a path in our "one butt kitchen" (as my friend Julie affectionately calls it). I directed the apple butter dropper to the table where he could carry cans down to the cold cellar. Moments later I hear another yell. Yes, the apple butter dropper has now dropped the apple juice. The lid has broken, and 1/3 of a 64 oz. bottle has spilled on the floor and splashed up the filing cabinet and under the filing cabinet and all over the post board stored beside the filing cabinet. Is this for real?

I wish I could say that I handled it all calmly like I did yesterday when a glass got broken and I simply called out "watch your feet! Go get shoes!" But this was not one of my prouder mom moments. Needless to say, I had some apologizing to do.

But the fridge is cram packed. There is no way anything else will fit, and I am officially ready to begin my "no more free nights, five holiday events in five days" week....oh, after I go take advantage of five hours of sleep. Sigh.

May

The last six weeks have kind of been like trying to drink from a fire hose! I've been continuously scrambling to get the basics done from early in the morning to way late at night, usually still forgetting one very important thing each day. I've now downed two cups of coffee and spent about two hours uploading photos and trying to catch up this thing. So enjoy!

Here's a little peak into what we've been up to besides cleaning and watering plants and doing loads and loads of laundry and replacing the dryer motor twice and picking up dried up, dead frogs from the tile and working, etc.

Hanging with friends (My friend and boss, Heather and daughter Ashlyn)

Happy Spider

Sad Spider

Mowing

Playing with Taylor and Ashley

Golfing

Jonathan flipping pancakes at the annual Dive Team Fundraiser

Being Silly

Watching divers in the dive tank

Watching the deer come back out

Drooling over my relaxation station (and hoping to use it someday)

Watching butterflies and smelling lilacs

Mom 4 Life staff (minus Anica)

Silly boys with grapes

How Bill helps himself to brownies

Riley at art walk field trip

Last Day of school (Ian, Mrs. Weymouth, Danielle)

Coming and Going

The site of a moving truck at our barn usually means two things:

1. Our barn is getting cleaned out a little more (yeah!!)
2. Someone else is leaving (not yeah)

This month we said goodbye to Anthony. It has been so fun to have him around the last several months. He was living with Jonathan and Michelle, and we spent so much more time together. He recently bought a new scooter, enrolled at Boise State, and is headed off for new adventures.

A couple of weeks later, Taylor came home from Boise State for a short visit. He is spending his summer there working and says he is pretty much there to stay. Sniff! Sniff! He brought Ashley with him, so we got to finally meet the wonderful woman that has won his heart and taken him from the "I'm never going to have a girlfriend" stage to a "when we have a house of our own, we will..." stage.