Clutter Crazy

I DO NOT know how I have accumulated so much stuff! Honestly, how can we possibly stuff this much stuff into a 1400 sq ft house!! We don't even have that much in the garage!! I am seriously overwhelmed by the amount of crap we have! Crap. Crap. Crap. Not kidding.
I have been in process of getting rid of and de-cluttering this entire week. My mom brought me home around 12 boxes, which were filled by the next day- I though that would be enough- yeah, not even close! And this is stuff I want to keep?! I don't get it, either.
Our bathtub was re glazed on Thursday, and I was so busy that I didn't take any before/after pics- but believe me it is stunning! Well worth the cost! It alone makes my small bathroom look amazing! Yesterday I was the "caulking queen"- while I talked to Kim on the phone, I carried the caulk gun throughout the house and caulked everywhere I thought needed it- it took a while- but I was occupied with talking and the time flew! Things are shaping up here. The closets are done and today Dana sorted through his clothes and now we officially have 10- 13 gallon trash bags for Goodwill. This feels great!
So why are we doing all this?! Well, our house goes on the market on the 23rd- now whether we sell it or not- that is an entirely different story- but we are going to try anyway...most days I feel optimistic...it doesn't hurt either way. I will have pics of it all next week- for now it is still disastrous in certain places- we are working on that- but it is coming along...quicker than I thought, which is why this blog is boring and without pics and I haven't even read all that I want to of yours!
So that is that- I promise to add some pics so you can see my progress- and whether or not we sell this, at least it is less cluttered, and less crazy- well, it will still be crazy, I do have 3 crazies, lest we forget them!

Spring Start

Losing an hour of my day hasn't been too bad, actually...getting some sleep has been. My kids and I have all gone through the stomach virus this past weekend, and it hasn't been pretty...but nonetheless the weather has been! We enjoyed some nice play outside time over the weekend, and are looking forward to another semi-warm day tomorrow, despite the rain! Here are some pics of the kiddos playing outside on Friday:
Thanks to Jennifer for the rice box that my kids play in every time outside!
Leah rides her scooter she got for Christmas for the first time this year!
Celeste couldn't wait to get in her car and drive!

Alex is sad that he only has his scooter to ride, since his one bike is broken and the other one is too small for him...so sad...he's fine.

The kids got out the chalk and began master pieces...so funny that they were so into their drawings and when it rained, they were sort of sad!
Celeste was covered in chalk after only 5 minutes.
Look at the people she drew- isn't that cute?!
Leah drew Grandma and Grandpa with such precision.
Friday night was Alex's Upward Awards night- by the way, it started at 9pm!! Crazy, huh?! Anyway, the girls were in bed, so just he and I went. They had a juggler/unicyclist for the entertainment- he was really great! Must be a hit- my niece's Upward night had a different guy who juggled and uni cycled too! Anyway, he juggled fire and rode 3 different unicycles- I was impressed. Alex was somewhat impressed, but happier when it was over, to be honest. He got a cool backpack, but is now not happy with it because it isn't big enough to carry to school...he is getting harder and harder to please!

He was kind of funny...he did tons of fun juggling tricks and really worked the audience.

Only 4 kids from his team showed up, but it was really packed in the gym.

I though the juggling fire was really cool-he even put it in his mouth!

On Sunday we got together for my mom's birthday- nearly a week late- sorry I missed blogging about her special day and how much I love her. She is the best mother, more important to me than words can say...I just love her dearly. Hope she knows that and knows that will never change. Here are some pics from Saturday.

My kids are climbing the tree that I climbed when I was their age-I love that.

So there's a recap of our spring start week- I hope the busyness slows down a bit but the warmness stays.

Just Can't Get Enough

I just can't get enough of this girl of mine....

She was loving this impromptu photo op- just stood in front of the closet door and started making faces and trying to smile with her eyes open...I couldn't take them fast enough- she would run over in between shots and want to see it then run back and do it over again...she is just too much!

On Saturday, Leah went to Sophie's birthday party at the House of Bounce! What fun! She had a blast and it was super fun for me since I got to hang out with Cindy, Claire and Carle- my friends from when Leah took dance 2 years ago- we still keep in touch, but it gets harder and harder to hang out! Hate that. Well, for 2 hours, while the girls bounced, we chatted and loved it too!

Leah and Emma wait in line for the slide.

All the kids make silly faces for the group shot!
Leah went down this slide more times than I can count. All the moms joined in except me, since I didn't have socks...darn! (lucky me, I probably would've chucked afterward!)

Birthday girl, Sophie, Leah, Emily and Emma- good little girlfriends.

I love this one of her-the fun of bouncing!

On Friday, Leah had to say goodbye to the teacher who taught the first half of the year- since the actual teacher was coming back from a year off after having twins! Leah has a special love for Miss Groh and we have very much appreciated all she has done with Leah during this very important school year! She will be greatly missed- Leah cried most of Thursday night...this is Friday, she is better for the moment, but lost it again later...such a softie!

Miss Groh is a great young teacher and I hope to run into her again- perhaps when I teach again...hopefully in a year or two- we shall see....if our Levy fails, it may be sooner than later- will keep ya posted on that!

Wolfman

Alex received his Wolf badge last night at our Blue and Gold Banquet! He was very happy to finish his book and even happier to get the actual badge!! He is already bugging me to start on the Bear! He really loves Scouts and we have a really great pack here- some great boys that he enjoys spending time with and fantastic leaders who go above and beyond in more ways than I know...I am so grateful for all they do with him- teaching him things and helping him celebrate his accomplishments. Here he is receiving his award from his Cubmaster:
Our theme last night was "All American"- so we had lots of things up to decorate, like suitcases, flags, the map, pics of Presidents and of course, Red, White and Blue stuff. We ate hot dogs, hamburgers, mac and cheese and cake- pretty much all american foods...
They played games where we had to learn about the states and their capitols and overall had a really fun night. Here are some pics of the games they played: This is Celeste's new look- a dress and leggings- not tights, leggings...she is adamant about it, and by the way, she wore flip flops too!

Super Sillies

Last night I thought it would be fun to take some silly pics of the kids since it has been a long winter, all cooped up in the house....we have played a lot of Wii and performed many a talent show, but taking pictures of that is just not that fun...so here are my kids being their super silly selves...
They loved it, by the way.

Just goes to show you that it has not been a very exciting month for us...busy, but not that exciting- luckily it doesn't take much to make my kids happy- this did it!

Can't Touch This....

Okay, it's 1992 and MC Hammer sings the song of the year- It's "You Can't Touch This", and us 7 girls are totally rockin it! We are teenagers of the 90's and life is good!

Okay, so really it's 17 years later and though we don't rock out to that song anymore, we still are girls of the 90's who haven't spent much time together since those days- until last night...thanks to Facebook, we have reconnected on the Internet, and now in person! I cannot really say how much I looked forward to hanging out with these ladies...it was super fun and more laughing than I thought possible!

Renee, Angie and Wendy and I get together regularly, and I see Christy every once in a while- we talk on the phone more often, and even that is not that much. But none of us had seen Jenifer or Kim since those days of MC Hammer! Seeing them and hanging out last night caught us up on their lives and we can't wait to do it again! Both of them actually live here, and Kim only lives a few miles from my house! Funny how we hung out nearly every day of our childhood, from the time we were 4 or so (she lived down the road from my grandparents), until we graduated, but after graduation in 1993, we never saw each other again! She is wonderful, exactly as wonderful as she ever was- it saddens me that we didn't keep up our friendship all these years...I know from now on, I will be a regular in her life whether she likes it or not! I just love these friends, and taking a trip down memory lane was just what I needed yesterday...here we all are - and yes, we all look much like we did 17 years ago, but BETTER!

I must explain that Angie said we all look slimmer if we put one leg out while standing to pose- so we all tried,..Oh, and you can tell it's winter- we are all pale, except for Renee who still goes tanning! She is always looking like it's summer!!

From left to right: Kim, me, Renee, Angie, Christy, Wendy and Jenifer. Oh, and there were 4 cameras going at once, so some people are looking other directions...this is the best you get!

Is it not hilarious that we are all wearing cute shoes and jeans?! Some of us even had our hair done for the night...hey, it's been a while since we'd seen each other- we had to look our best!! Funny thing...we don't even go anywhere- this is at Renee's house!!

I know that we will have more of these nights in the near future- it was just too fun! Thanks girls!

LOOK what I got TODAY....!!!!

Yesterday I received the letter from the courts with the scheduled date of Mediation between myself and the plumbers...it was for next Thursday...and Today, I received this letter with a check!! I am over- the -moon excited, happy, ecstatic and overjoyed at this moment!! I can hardly contain myself and the smile on my face is starting to hurt!
It is an end to a very long principle fight that I was adamant was worth fighting for...it is the little things that bother me the most, and in the grand scheme of life, this fight was probably not huge, BUT to me, it is the princple of it all- you cannot damage someone's property and then refuse to pay for it. It is just not right...I know there are many injustices in life and 99% of them are far worse than this...it is simply that it is unfair to take advantage of people, and if we don't learn this lesson as children, we will grow up to think in this way...I just can't sit back and let that happen, if I can control it...so I fought...and I WON! Go me!!
I thought about going out and shopping to celebrate...that's me, really, but I remembered that I bought this cute pair of shoes yesterday, so I will count that as my victory purchase!! Aren't they cute?! I love the price even better- $7!

Boys and Bluejackets

Dana took Alex to a Bluejackets game last week (thanks to a generous friend). They had a lot of fun- partly because the seats are amazing- right behind the goalie- up about 4 rows- so close that when it was televised and we paused it, you could actually see them on tv- if you look very close, of course!! I sent them with the camera, and these are the shots they took:

The Bluejackets won that night- that's all I know!

I love that the boys get to do boy stuff- because I know how much they enjoy it and how much I, in turn enjoy girl stuff with my girls! It was a nice break in the mundane weeks of winter!