Twas the day before moving...

Twas the day before moving, and all through the house, there was chaos and messes and boxes about. And despite the chores that need taking care of, I decided to brave the stores for the deals I was aware of.
Okay, enough of my sad attempt at rhyming, my brain is way too tired. I got up early today to try and save my family a little bit of money and hit a few of the sales. However, I must say, I am not one of those crazy people who camped out at the stores last night to be the first in line. Are they insane? Unless I was promised 30 seconds to grab whatever I could and it would be free, you would not find me camping out for a sale. And it turns out that the places I went really weren't that busy, and I found everything I wanted and didn't have to wait in line at all. The only long line I hit was at Starbucks, and let me tell you there were some tired looking people in that line. Between coupons and sales I ended up saving over $50.00 on stuff this morning, not bad, right? Although now I am exhausted and the task of moving tomorrow seems incredibly daunting. Do you think if I wish really hard tonight when I go to sleep that I will wake up in the morning and everything will have magically placed itself in the right spot in the new house already? What, don't you believe in almost Christmas miracles?
Anyway, I will be off of Internet and phone for the next few days. Possibly longer depending on how long it takes me to figure out how to re-set everything up. So, worst case scenario, I will talk to you all in the New Year :)

Happy Tuesday

Happy Tuesday to you all! I am still recovering from a weekend of birthday fun. Despite the fact that I am older, with more wrinkles and white hair, a quickly dwindling brain, and weakening eyesight, I had a great birthday. I am so thankful for all of my family and friends who did so much to make my weekend special! Although I spent far too much time eating this weekend and am now paying for it! Fortunately all the take-home boxes and leftovers are finally gone, but I guess since Thursday is Thanksgiving I won't have too much time to recover.
I had a friend send the following, so I am dutifully filling it out to share :)
1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No, but I do know my dad wanted to name me Sophie

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? yesterday

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? usually, it depends on the pen

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? salami

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? yes, 3, but we refer to them as monkeys

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? depends on the day

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? umm, no, never...really

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? no

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Yes

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Frosted Flakes

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? no, especially since they usually don't have ties

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yes

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? java chip or chocolate fudge brownie

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? smile

15. RED OR PINK? Red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? trust me you don't want to go there

17. Who do you MISS THE MOST? My sister Michelle and her family, I wish we could live closer!

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Not sending it to anyone else :(

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? pink

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? left-over tri tip

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? my kids watch a video

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Blue

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Kendall's hair after it's washed, yummy candles, fresh flowers

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? my landlord

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? football, gymnastics, ice skating

27. HAIR COLOR? Blond

28. EYE COLOR? blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Italian

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? HAPPY ENDINGS!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Nim's Island

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? black

34. SUMMER OR WINTER Summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Both

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Yes

37. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Amazing Grace by Francine Rivers

38. FAVORITE SOUND? my kids laughing, rain on the roof

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? neither

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? The Caribbean

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can tie a cherry stem with my teeth :)

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Santa Barbara, CA

Sheep and Cows and Pilgrims...oh my!

So, for those of you who read a couple of days ago you know that Bennett will be playing the part of a cow in the school Christmas play. We received notice today that KJ will be playing a sheep. Which means I now have 2 costumes to make, hooray for me! I am actually really excited to see them, and hopefully whatever I put together won't cause them too much embarrassment.
On the subjects of costumes, this Friday is "dress like a Native American or Pilgrim" day at school. When we first received the notice, Matt and I privately joked that we should send Bennett in a loin cloth and see what happens. Talk about breaking the christian school dress code! I know, we are horrible. I didn't really think my kids would care about dressing up, but boy was I wrong. Bennett asked me tonight what he could wear. Another costume, are you kidding me? He said he wanted to be a Native American, and I chose not to bring up the loin cloth option. I asked him what he thought he should wear as a Native American. That is when Kendall joined the conversation and said,"Mommy, Native Americans wear red, white, and blue." Umm...what?!?! Apparently the "American" part of Native American caused KJ to think that they wore flags. In her defense we did just celebrate Veterans Day and the kids all wore red, white, and blue in honor of our Veterans. Anyway, so far all I have gotten out of Bennett is that he wants to wear feathers. So...I'm thinking a big bird costume? Just kidding, hopefully I can come up with something that is both creative and school code appropriate in the next 24 hours. Wish us luck!

The Joys of Moving

I am surrounded by mess, piles of boxes, and general chaos. None of these things fit well with my personality. Growing up I lived in the same house for basically my entire life. In the past 13 years of marriage we have moved 4 times, this will be the 5th. I am praying that we can stay put for a little while! The last time we moved I thought we did a really good job of clearing out unnecessary items, do you know how much stuff our family has accumulated over the past year and a half? I can't tell you how many school papers and happy meal toys I have thrown out this week. It is actually really sad how many happy meal toys we have found, I swear I did some cooking in the past year. Oh, and we have also uncovered several black widows while packing. Gross, yuck, scary, why did God create these death filled spiders? Aren't spiders in general bad enough without adding poisonous venom to them? I refuse to pack anything else in the garage for fear I will find more; and whenever Matt goes in there I always make sure I have the phone in my hand just in case I need to call 911.
To top it off, Camden locked himself in the bathroom today. I immediately had flashbacks to when we lived in Buellton and Bennett locked himself in his bedroom and we had to remove the door to get him out while he cried hysterically from his room. Fortunately, Camden remained calm enough that I could talk him through unlocking it from the other side of the door. I can't help but wonder what other mini adventures my kids will have in the next week while we are occupied with packing.

Soccer Season Is Over!

Last night marked the end of our first soccer season - hooray! And while I thought it was also the end to our last soccer season, KJ announced joyfully last night that she was ready to play again. I am not sure if it was the cupcakes, the cool soccer dvd that they watched of themselves, or the trophy that convinced her. She also scored her only goal of the season in our last game on Saturday! I am not sure who was more excited, her or me :)
Bennett was also very supportive throughout the season, but I think he is glad that soccer is over and the attention will be a little more evenly dispersed throughout our family. He did star in his first play on Friday at school. He was a "friend" who was on the Mayflower with the pilgrims. I would attach a picture but his part was over so quickly my camera caught only a blur. Even though it was only a small part he was really excited to participate in it, and he is looking forward to the Christmas play now. Apparently some of daddy's theatre genes made their way to Bennett. He gets to be a cow in the manger for the Christmas play, and he told me tonight that he wants his costume to be brown with white spots. So, when I make this costume, do I add udders even though he is a boy? If not, how will they tell that he is a cow and not a dog? And what do cow ears look like? I am telling you, they need more parent prep classes for second grade!

Catching Up

Yes, I am still alive. I have been having computer issues lately. Not the virus kind, more the every time I sit down to write my inbox is flooded and my kids decide to go crazy thing. We have just over 2 weeks left before we move, so we are in that awkward what do we pack that we can live without for 2 weeks because we have to get something done stage. Notice all the run on sentences? That is my brain lately, one looonnnnnggg run on sentence that never seems to stop. In the midst of the craziness I also have made my first attempt to sell things on Craigslist. Probably not the best choice on my part. I had an amazing friend help me, but I am horrible at this whole process. I don't like bartering, and I don't like having strangers in my home - why did I think this was a good idea?

Anyway, onto more fun things. Below is a very late attachment of the kids at Halloween. They had a great time, we STILL have candy in our house, and Camden has now decided he wants a baseball party for his birthday. Apparently he has inherited his mommy's "plan way ahead" gene :)

The Votes Are In

I am so glad that election day is over! While I appreciate the right to vote, I am so over this election. I saw people putting away their signs today and shouted for glee, I am so sick of seeing all that stuff. Our neighbors, who had like 10 in their yard that showed us that they were our complete opposite in regards to their political views, have yet to take down all of theirs. They will probably leave them there until we move. And it is so nice to turn on the television and not see a political ad on every channel. Do the people running actually watch these things? They are horrible! On both sides! Please tell me that we are smart enough to make decisions based on things other than poorly made television commercials and a slew of posters strung around town. Apparently some people decide that way, otherwise why would they spend the money to continue to do it? Although it is fun to see things/people you support on bumper stickers or lawn signs, and I do admit I loved the Sarah Palin skits on SNL. But now it is over, and hopefully we can all move forward and enjoy the regular graffiti and crappy commercials that are on television.