Pool Fun

I wanted to post some recent pics of the kids. I am pretty good about updating my facebook albums, but slack about putting pics up on my blog! These are from this past Sunday.

So I wont be wining the Mother of Year Award...

A few days ago I opened a bill from our pediatrician’s office, thinking that it was strange we even got a bill. I figured maybe there was going to be a small fee for lab work on one of the kids many visits the last month. Ha. It was a bill for over $1,000. Clearly, something was wrong. We still have insurance, and the kids hadn’t had anything done that crazy…. I looked closer at it, and apparently our insurance company needed us to update our Coordination of Benefits. Basically, wanting to make sure we didn’t have another insurance out there, and to figure out if they were still primary. We have our insurance through Dave’s work, and he had gotten some notices to update the COB, and of course because he’s man he didn’t.
So I called Anthem today to do it myself at work. I was explaining to the woman the situation, and then she wanted to have my kids names and their DOB’s. Remember I have three kids that are all super close in age…I rattled off Laura’s with no problem, but got stuck on Rachel’s birthday, and then fumbled on Emily’s name. I got totally embarrassed but started giggling because it is kinda funny. The Anthem lady was not impressed, and just remained silent. I am sure she is questioning my mothering skills.

The Goods...

I bought these dresses today with my 30% off coupon from the Loft today. I'm going to wear the blue one and hold my arm like that on my head for the coolness factor.

Ann Taylor Loft Coupon

It's Friends and Family Time again and I have a coupon for 30% and if you go online and spend $100 you get free shipping too. But regardless you can get 30% off whatever you buy at their stores. If you don't have one send me your email and I can forward it to you. The sale starts tomorow and runs though Sunday.

I heart their clearence racks. You can always find a great deal at their stores, and they have such cute stuff.

The Great Garage Clean-up of 2009

Remember my great garage clean up of 2008 when I was 2 weeks away from having Emily? For a re-cap click here http://mommagiles.blogspot.com/2008/09/laboring-on-labor-day.html

Yeah well the garage got all tore up from the floor up again. Seriously, my husband just wallows like a pig out there or something... Think Sanford and Son's....The house projects we have had have given Dave a reason to dirty up the garage and god forbid he ever clean up behind him self. Jesus the shop vac is out there for a purpose. So I busted my butt again, only this time I wasn't 9 months pregnant, and I did it by myself while the kids played outside. Ugg I want to kill him. I used the shop vac, filled the garbage can, and dumped some crap on the sidewalk to be disposed up, and organized until lunch time. Snaps for me for getting my car to fit back in it. My next project is to organize the massive tool box. He just dumps everything on top of the tool box, and you can never find anything... he did make an effort to buy this liner stuff for the tool box drawers, (7 months ago) but of course its still in a bag lol. When the kids wake up from nap time, I am going to make that tool box mine. My next project to take place maybe next weekend is to disassemble some POS excuse for shelving that he got from someones trash pile, and put up some new shelving.

Sigh... I am going to break out the baby pool later and just collapse in it.

Car drama...

We have three cars in our household. The husband has a big manly truck, then we have the big Expedition as our family car, and then we have a Pontiac that I bought from my granny when she stopped driving. I bought the Pontiac back in 2004 as I had a pretty long commute, and I thought it would be nice to have a car that was good on gas that I could just drive until it was busted. Though, I have changed work locations since, and have a smaller commute, getting the Pontiac has been great for our family, cause I am keeping miles off the family car, and saving on gas. Plus, it’s great to have an extra car around when things come up.

Early this week the family car’s ac/heating was talking to me. Seriously, I was convinced I had a ghost in my car. We took it in, and thankfully it was still under warranty so I did a little happy dance about that. I got the car back Tuesday night. Well, yesterday when I was driving home in the Pontiac, I discovered that my driver side window was barely cracked, and it wouldn’t go up. I pushed the down button, and I heard this awful crunching noise and the window went down, but still wouldn’t go up and now it was just stuck down, and a freaking thunder storm was coming. Craptastic. Dave wouldn’t answer his phone as he was having a busy work day, so I handled things maturely by texting him and telling him that my window had shattered and I was covered in glass. I know, totally inappropriate but I got his attention. He didn’t appreciate me giggling when he called all concerned. Hopefully Karma will let that one slide. Of course even though I got his attention, obviously I had a problem and had to deal with it asap because of impending storm. I took it to the shop and had my dad meet me up there to give me a ride home. I can always count on my dad at a moments notice.

My long term readers/friends may remember this happened before with the same car when Dave had it when I was a million months pregnant with Emily, so for a few hours I thought all was well in the world thinking since it happened again within a year maybe it would be under warranty for the part or something…. No such luck, it was a freaking different window…

Spring Swap

Semi- Slacker mom was kind enough to host a Spring Swap! My partner was Bama Girl, Semi-Slacker knew what she was doing when she paired us, cause thankfully both of us were slacking a little with getting our stuff mailed out to each other lol. This worked out fine though for us as we communicated well with each other, etc. I was super excited to check out my stuff today that was on my door step. The above that I have on my counter is what she sent me, which was all in a cute straw beach bag, that I couldn't get to sit up nice for the pic. My fav item is the cook book, which I am plan to look at tonight. She did really good and picked out some cute stuff- I love everything! Thanks Whit!

I also tried to include in the picture the red paint we have going on in the kitchen now and my new plantation shutters which I am in love with. I want those suckers on every freaking window now. Anyone want to fund that for us? Forget college savings plans, I need a plantation shutter savings plan...

Guess who's playing Cornhole in her backyard soon??

I can calm down again because I have found someone to make me a cornhole game. I actually had posted something on facebook about cornhole, and one of my old baseball friends messaged me and told me not to buy one from online, (he says he's seen a lot in person that most are cheaply made) and that he could hook me up with a guy that sells them locally. I figure since my friend also makes cabinets for a living he knows his wood, (and apparently cornhole boards). It's also cheaper then buying them off ebay, etc, AND he custum paints them... so now I have to figure out how I want mine to look. Of course Dave says he wants one painted in Virginia Tech colors. We didn't even go to school there, and he was a huge UVA fan until Michael Vick made fame. Bandwagon fan all the way! I could care less if Michael Vick even plays freaking tag football, much less for the NFL again. I don't mind Virginia Tech though seriously. I just like to tease the husband.

I would like mine to be painted like a baseball field, or just hot pink and then I could put a big 'ole decal on it or something for my name. Decisions, decisions.... Maybe we can get one board painted the way Dave wants it, and then I can get mine painted like I want it. You need two to play anyways.

Tonight I have softball games (my first games of the season) if they don't get rained out. I am excited but then again bummed that they are so late at night. We play double headers and our first game is at 8:30pm! That's way to late for this chica. But given the talent I saw on the field the other day at practice, there's a chance the slaughter rule will speed things up a bit!

In other random news I am itching to get home because we had the kitchen and dining room painted today. If anyone local needs a awesome and also cheap painter let me know. You will be so happy your mouth will hurt from smiling when he's done. I went with red for the kitchen and this super pale blue color for the dining room. Tuesday the plantation shutters get installed in the kitchen and then I can sit back and smile, and not boss my husband around for a while.

I am addicted....

Today I had kickball which turned into batting practice for softball, and playing cornhole. I have an awesome farmers tan now. I have never played cornhole before or ever heard of it. BUT, it's fun as crap. Guess who will be proud cornhole board owners soon? If nothing else my kids will be champs at bean bag toss one day.

**Edit, stole this picture off google, these aren't my cornhole friends, but with that being said I think the guy in the white hat is hawwwt.**

So I was watching TV and there was a infomerical on this detox cleanse thing. I'll admit it, I am curious. I'll do anything to promote weight loss. I was looking through my Costco coupon book and I found a coupon for the one the TV was talking about, so I might be attempting it. Any thoughts or experiences out there from others I need to know about? I'm not going to wind up in the hospital from this am I?

I heart TJmaxx even a little more then Costco...

I have a confession to make. I have been going TJmaxx/Marshall's crazy this past week. It all started last week when on a whim I popped in and found a cute Lilly P polo in my size. I love Lilly P stuff, but I don't own any that fit me. All the Lilly stuff I have is for the kids. Mostly from consignment and Costco (my Costco has the dresses again this year for kids but same prints as last year) I had heard urban legends about Lilly P in Tjmaxx, so I was excited to find stuff this year. Sadly, I just can't wear much of their stuff as I can't pull it off. You have to be super duper thin for most of the looks to work, or be a child. To buy them in the actual Lilly stores, you have to be ready to spend some serious bucks. I mean seriously, some of their stuff costs as much as I paid for my wedding gown.

I about stroked out though when I found heaps of the stuff in the kiddo section of Tjmaxx. I seriously grabbed everything they had that would fit my kids. I even bought a cute dress that wont fit anyone for 2-3 years lol, but it was sooo cute and cheap I just had to have it. So then I started wondering if the other TJ's had Lilly stuff in stock, and so I ventured out to all my local stores. I was only let down at the Hampton location. Today I went to Marshall's and hit the jackpot again. They even had lots of stuff for ladies, but again it was all stuff that would make me look as wide as I am tall, or look like I should be riding the short bus.

I scored Lilly dresses, skirts, shirts, pull overs, bathing suits, shorts, and even some Vineyard Vines stuff. The girls are going to look so cute this summer, and I didn't break the bank. I am dying to get to the Va Beach TJ to see what I can find there.

I just love Tjmaxx in general. It's like a treasure hunt every time cause new stuff comes in every freaking day. I always see something I like. Don't even get me started on the homegoods section.

**in other random happenings in my life, I was attempting to make up a yoga pose on the floor in the den thinking I was all cool and creative and Dave told me I should name it the retarded dolphin...guess I shouldn't bust out that move at the yoga studio in front of everyone...

Easter recap

I thought Easter was really nice this year. The weather was really pretty, and it was just a fun day. Dave ended up taking off this weekend which was a nice surprise for me as he was supposed to work. We went to an egg hunt Saturday and played at the park. Sunday we got up, checked out what the bunny left, and then ventured to church. Yes, church. We have never gone to church as a family before. I know, I know. It's just hard, and I wont lie, I look forward to my weekend to relax and get house stuff done. It's hard to fit it in. It went well. The church we went to is the one Dave's family belongs to, and the one we got married at, etc. I did not grow up in a church. You can pray for soul if you want if you think I am going to hell because of that.

Anyways, the kids were clearly confused by this whole church outing. Emily went to the nursery, and we attempted to take Laura and Rachel to the kiddy room. Rachel was fine, and began checking out the toys, and the other kids. Laura was cool until she realized we were leaving her there. Instead of leaving her scared we just took her with us. She did fine during the service, so that worked out. Funny enough they had the kids in the daycare area do a little parade in the sanctuary during service. Emily and Rachel were so confused poor things. They had Emily in a wagon, and Rachel was shaking some noise maker thing. It was cute. We had a good time though, so I will try to go back more. I even found out they have Yoga class, so hey, maybe I might fit in.

We had lunch at my parents house, and then went to a local park to play and let the kids burn off all the candy they had consumed with Dave's brother's family. It was just a perfect day.

Happy Easter!

I had my first softball team practice yesterday. I am playing on a co-ed slow pitch team this year. I always get nervous with the first practice after not playing for a while. The worst was a few years ago when I first played after not playing since high school. Girlfriend thought she was going to have a panic attack and be laughed at by old high school buddies on the team. Last night I wasn’t as nervous, but hesitant, and it went fine. My teammates seem very nice. Not everyone on there is exactly coordinated, but hey, it’s all about having fun and just being active. Last night was the first time in a long time that I have been playing when I got this feeling. I don’t think I can really describe it, but it was just a feeling of excitement and love for the game, and feeling fearless. It’s like my drive for softball was back or something. I used to play a lot in highschool and what not, and be all aggressive and pumped up about it. Seriously I was a nut about the sport and just a different person on the field. I never cared about getting hurt or looking like a nut. When I started playing back in 2007 I was happy to be on the field again, and liking it, but my edge was gone. I was scared of the ball somewhat, scared of being hurt, feeling out of shape, timid, and I ‘ll admit I prayed the entire time the ball wouldn’t come my way. I don’t know what occurred last night, but my drive for the game is back. All I want to do now is going play catch or some crap. I am such an idiot for not going out for the team in college. What the hell was I thinking.
In other active news, I got asked to play on a kick ball team. Seriously. Not. Even. Kidding. I busted out laughing at the very thought, but I did agree as I think it will be fun. I used to enjoy it in grade school at least. Maybe I should scope out some elementary kids for some pointers or something. Oh well, it’s active. I need something to help burn off all these Reese Eggs I am stuffing my face with. Seriously, I bought a package of 6 the other day that I planned on putting in my kids easter baskets… umm yeah… they ended up in my belly before the end of the day…all six of them…

The Scrappy Links...

I figured it would be easier if I just showed you how I even figured out the CM program will work with any other digital downloads. I am still in amazement, and was up a lot last night downloading scrapbooking kits from various websites. This is the blog post I ran across that shows you the CM program, and explains how to download the stuff, and what sites to go to for cool freebies. A lot of the scrapbook magazines websites also have some freebies. So check out THIS POST I personally liked the shabby princess site the best....

scrap tastic

Holly Crap. I just discovered that I can use the Creative Memories Story Book Creator Plus digital program with other stuff, rather then pay for Creative Memories stuff... the CM program does come with a ton of free stuff, but they try to get you to pay for add on kits... Like hell I will do that now that I know you can download free ones from other blogs/websites and use them on the same program. THERE ARE MILLIONS OF FREE PAPERS AND EMBELLISHMENTS OUT THERE. Seriously, I dont' remember the last time I have ever been this excited.

I will be shocked if I ever scrapbook the "regular way" again.

When I have some time I will post links to these cute kit downloads, in the mean time go get this CM program asap.

She's growing up way to fast....

Emily had some updated pics taken at our house Thursday. She woke up cranky, and wasn't too excited about pictures, and later on spiked a fever. It was the weirdest thing, all three kiddos had about one day of high fever and no other symptoms. Anyways, the photographer offered to come back out and re-shoot if we wanted to, but I think despite her not feeling well and being cranky they turned out cute, so we will just pick some to order, and I guess he will come back when she's 9 months. If you want to see the pics follow this link . CLICK HERE
Despite the title she's still just 6 months, I feel the need to correct this as I don't want time to rush by any faster then it already is!

Copy Cat

Becca made some cute lamp shades to sell on her Etsy, I posted her link to her shop a week or so ago, and recently I have attempted to make my own for the fun of it. I think it will look cute in the playroom with the zebra curtains. It's pretty funky!

Super Social Workers

March was Social Work month. Yeah don't worry noone else remembered either. Don't feel sorry for me though as I took a ridiculous long lunch one day and browsed the TJMMaxx nerby to celebrate.
I did receive this cute fax from a co-worker and it made me smile.

You Might be a Renal Social Worker if…
1. You think $50,000 a year is a really great salary
2. You don’t really know what it’s like to work with men
3. You can name a dozen high potassium foods right now
4. You’ve started a sentence with “So what I hear you saying is…”
5. You’ve had 2 or more jobs at once time just to pay the bills
6. You tell people what you do, and they say, “that’s so noble!”
7. You have had to explain what social workers do to fellow staff members
8. You use the words “Medicare, Medicaid, and transportaion” daily
9. You spend 3/4 of your day documenting and doing paperwork
10. You think nothing of talking about blood over dinner
11. People have said to you “I don’t know how you do what you do”
12. You have never been on a business trip or had an expense account
13. You know a lot of other social workers who have left the profession for another
14. Staying at a job for 2 years is a long time
15. Your phone number is unlisted for good reason
16. Your professional newletters always have articles about self advocacy
17. You’re very familiar with the term budget cut
18. You can can’t imagaine working at a bank or crunching numbers all day
19. You’ve had patients who liked you just a little too much
20. Having lunch is a luxury many days (not this social worker, I never miss lunch)
21. You’ve been cursed at or threatened… and it doesn’t bother you
22. Your job orientation has included how to avoid infection
23. You have the best stories at any cocktail party
24. Your spouse doesn’t know half of the stuff you’ve had to do at your job
AND
25. You secretly thank the Lord every time you have to pee.

Kitchen Pics...

Backsplash photos as promised. Yes, there is a Dunkin Doughnuts box on the counter, no we didn't buy them as we are attempting to diet, but my parents brought them over this am because they are evil. My counter is super messy looking as Dave finished the project last night and arranged all the kitchen crap himself. I am really happy with the job he did on the backsplash. My kitchen feels all special now.

I guess next up for house projects is we still need to paint the kitchen and kitchen nook, and paint the living room, and wait patiently for our plantation shutters to be installed...They said it could take up to 5 weeks for them to come out, and I think we are on week 3 now, so we are getting close.

Must be blonder...

I am in process of trying to grow my hair out long again, and since I just need a trim here and there I refuse to spend major bucks going to a nice hair place. Let me tell you, it was strange going into a Super Cuts and having them ask me if they wanted me to blow dry once they were done with the trim. Meaning it's a little extra on your tab if they do that. Guess they can't have their power bill get all crazy. Recently I went to a privately owned salan near my house that doesn't have the jacked up prices like most places. I got a wash, cut, and blow dry and it was even cheaper the my Super Cuts experience, and I didn't feel like I was slumming it. I think I might be staying at the local place for trims.

My hair needs some highlights, and I am a little nervous about going somewhere new and not knowing if I will like it, and at the same time I don't want to pay $100 to have it done by someone I trust. I need to just suck it up and pay, but I am sure I will in a a few months once I get my hair the length I want it, but in the mean time I am going to put on a brave face and highlight it myself.

I did this a lot in college my freshman year and it went ok, so I am telling myself I wont die. Guess if I totally make my head a science project, I can always attempt to get someone to fix it. What I am not looking forward to again is those damn caps and having to pull out hair through the holes. I always feel like pin head when that happens, and I wish I could be super cool and do the foil method myself.

Pray for me, and remind me in the future to just suck it up and go somewhere nice.