The Horrible, Terrible Thanksgiving

by Benjamin T. Olsen

I know what you're thinking; how could Thanksgiving be horrible? Well, if you're a turkey it is horrible. It all started last thanksgiving. I was eating feed when I heard the front door slam. I looked up and saw Mr. Hobbs greeting his family. I knew that in a matter of time he would come out and get one of us. I was not that afraid; there were lits of turkeys, so I knew he would not single me out. But I was wrong. He came out with his Winchester rifle and started to shoot at me! I was running everywhere and squawking up a storm. All the other turkeys just watched. One turkey was yelling, "Run! Run! Get away!"
I said, "Thanks" in a sarcastic tone.

I tried to hide in the trees but then he started to shoot at the trees (and let me say, with all those trees falling, I'm positive he'll have enough firewood). I hid in a tree. That owl was not happy. I got down and started to walk home. When I got there - no turkeys. I knew where they had gone: Turkey Cave - a place where turkeys hide during Thanksgiving. I went there; it was packed with turkeys. I squeezed in with the rest of them. That's when the farmer came in. It was panic!

All the turkeys ran in all directions. I ran to the chicken coupe to hide. I acted like a chicken and no, I'm not a chicken. Wouldn't you be scared if a bloodthirsty farmer was after you?

Well all the turkeys made it on that Thanksgiving, but I'm sorry for the deer.

Lost Without You!

My phone has given up the ghost. I haven't even had it a whole year. I guess that's what happens when you drop it several times. It was looking really rough! The good news is that it in under warranty, the bad news is that I have lost all my pictures. I had all of our beach vacation pictures on there. I know, you would never have know I had beach pics because I have not taken the time to blog about that! :) I didn't realize how much I used my phone until today. I guess this is good practice for when we have no electricity and have to walk thousands of miles. Although, I AM on a computer... Oh, well, I tried.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!

Today is the day. Although, we have been celebrating for about a week now. Today Miss Caitlyn turns 5. You, my dear, are a ball of spirit wrapped up in tights and a tutu.



I love you, to the moon and back. Even on the days you make me want to rip my hair out. Thank you for bringing a bit (OK, a LOT) of pink into my life!

My life in a nutshell

I want to post something, but I am having the worst writer's block. I am hoping that opening up a new post will pull something out of my head.

The boys have been in school for a month now, time is flying. Homework, in general, is a huge pain in my backside. This year I have 2 with homework and it is like I am re-living school all over again. I strongly dislike 5th grade math. Ben seems to be doing pretty well. Matthew is LOVING school. He is always excited about something, and can't wait to tell me about his day as soon as he gets in the van. Both of the boys have great teachers. It is such a huge blessing, I stress out about teachers every year. Caitlyn's 3rd day of pre-k is tomorrow. Yes, she's already had a 'rough day'. She is so stubborn! If she doesn't want to do it then she doesn't, the end. She is one of only 3 girls in her class, which is really unusual. I am sure the boys won't know what hit them!

They are all playing soccer, every Saturday you can find us at the soccer complex, usually with a sunburn! Ben is really hustling after the ball. Matthew is one fantastic goalie! Caitlyn is 1 of 2 "Katies" on her team. They have become fast friends on the field. They wait for each other and run down the field holding hands. They help each other up if someone 'knocks them over'. It is adorable to watch. Cait even scored a goal in one of their scrimmages. She was beyond excited! I have pictures that I will add later.

My mom (Nana) was here at the end of the month for a short visit. We loved it and begged her not to leave. She got to run around with me as I played taxi, dropping off and picking up and getting from here to there. We got to go shopping one day, she wore me out! She attempted to teach me how to sew and read a pattern. We'll see how that goes. She also got to see the kids at their Primary activity.

On August 28th, we had a Primary Talent show. We had a concession stand , red carpet and a marquee. The idea was that we were in a theater. Ben did some jokes with his friends and then he and Matt displayed some of their Lego creations. Caitlyn sang "Teardrops On My Guitar" and Spencer played guitar for her. I was running around 'backstage' and sweating. It was hot back there! I have to say I am glad it's over.

On Sept 3rd we headed on down to Orange Beach, AL for our 1st EVER family vacation!! It was great, but that's another post. Hopefully, one I get to write tomorrow.

It worked, I have successfully posted something new. Now if I could just get the hang of adding pictures!

So Sad

I guess they no longer have the monkey background for my blog. Too bad because it was perfect. I will be playing around with it to find us a new look. (if I can remember how I did it to begin with.) I know I haven't blogged in quite a while. I don't feel like there is much to say.

We are down to a few more days of summer break. I thought I would be more excited but I think I am actually going to miss my kids! Weird, I know. Overall, we have had a great summer, and I have enjoyed spending time with them. Now, talk to me at the end of this week (Spencer is out of town) and see if I feel the same by Friday!

So what have we done all summer? We have been swimming, watching movies, staying up late, playing games, sleeping in and just hanging out together. It has been very relaxed.

I do need to do a post on Ben's birthday party. I can NOT believe I have a child in the double digits!! 1-0!! UGH! He had a great birthday so I need to get that on here.

I also got all the kids signed up for soccer. Caitlyn is VERY excited! This will be her 1st extra-curricular activity. She has been watching the boys play and just could not wait until it was her turn. In true Cait fashion she has planned her outfit. She wants matching bows for her hair and a tu-tu to wear over her soccer shorts. I thought she would throw a stink when we were told her soccer shorts had to be black (she wanted pink) but she surprised me and said OK. We will see if she takes the shirt color as well.

School registration was last Friday and Matthew is going to be a 1st grader! He seems to be the one changing the most. I am more sad about that than anything else.

They are all growing up so fast! I know, I know people tried to tell me but, I didn't believe them! I thought the day would never come and now it's here. I seem to get more and more reminders that my kids are not babies anymore. Even shoe shopping, I was looking at all the adorable little sizes and felt sad. I was so looking forward to the day ALL the kids were in school and now I think I am going to be a basket-case next year when Caitlyn starts kindergarten.

I guess I am just trying to say, it does go by more quickly than you realize. So, I will miss my babies but they are becoming fantastic little people. I am going to enjoy all that I can, and look forward to what comes next.

Back in the 'Boro

Well, we are back in Murfreesboro. Our year long stint in the country is officially over. I have mixed emotions about it. I think that I would eventually like to live out a bit from town, with some land. It is a lot of work but it was also really peaceful. I had a total 'A-HA' moment the other day when I realized that I could go anywhere I wanted and still get back home within minutes, not hours. In Manchester the nearest Dairy Queen is in McMinnville 30 minutes away. We went for ice cream last weekend and we were home in 15 minutes. It was AWESOME! I am loving the house we found to rent, it has plenty of room and it is really open. The kids love having a long driveway and a Cul-de-sac for bike riding. They have already made friends with one of the neighbors. And the best thing of all...I have only had to fill the van up with gas twice in the last 2 weeks!! AMAZING!! We would normally be on #7. Now, if I could just convince Spencer that we could use the savings in gas for Caitlyn to take dance class, I would be a super-happy mama!

Ben has had Cub Scout day camp this week. He is loving it, but man is he beat when he gets home. I volunteered to help out Thursday and Friday. (I love to torture myself!) I do not think I have sweat that much ever!! It was a good day, but a hot one and I have the sunburn to prove it. I went today and they already had 3 leaders so I graciously bowed out and let them take it. I know, I am so giving!! :) My kids weren't too happy with me. Ben wanted me to stay with him, and the other 2 have been in 'sprout camp' and had been having a really good time. I convinced them it was better not to have an over-baked mom.

And lastly, we have the honor of washing machine shopping tomorrow, Can't wait! I really hope we can find one on the cheap, because a future of 3 kids at the laundry mat is enough to make me want to pull my hair out. And the alternative of the fam running around naked just isn't good for anyone!

Now, if you will excuse me, I was actually able to buy ice cream at the grocery store, which I haven't done in a year and I hear it calling my name!

The Official Caitlyn to English Translator

We have been so busy trying to get ourselves ready to move. Before EVERYTHING is packed, I wanted to give you all a quick lesson in Cait-ese...

Monster-ella = Mozzerella, preferably in cheese stick form

Missles = Molars, as in "Mom, I made sure I brushed my missles really good."

Papajohn = Parmesan, especially good on spaghetti dinners

Tater-totter = Teeter-totter, "at recess Logan and I went on the tater-totter and I went up mega-high!"

Concentrated = Constipated, "Mom, my tummy hurts! I think I am concentrated!"

And this concludes our first lesson in Cait-ese. Don't forget to practice.

Lucky #13?

Well, it is officially official! We put down a deposit today for a house back in Murfreesboro! I am super excited about moving back into town! I am going to save so much time NOT being in my van! I am going to be making up some lost time with my cricut. This will be our 13th move since Spencer and I were married. We are on par for one move a year. I can't lie, I am so sick of moving. I am really hoping that this is going to be "the one". Not all the moves were by choice, we have had some really crazy stuff happen.

We started out with our 1st apartment in Independence, Missouri we paid $425 for a one bedroom with a fireplace (that I don't remember EVER using!) It was a nice apartment on the 3rd floor. We 'thought' we needed more space, even though looking back it was foolish, so we moved within the same complex into a 2 bedroom. We didn't even have any children yet! I still want to kick myself for that one! Next, we moved into my younger sister's basement. We stayed with them for awhile until I found out I was pregant! (Hooray!) Then we moved into a duplex in Lee's Summit, MO. I have very fond memories of that house! We loved it! Then Spencer was offered a job, making more money, which was good, because I had stopped working to begin my stay at home career! Again, we made a stupid decision and decided to move closer to his work. So we packed up our little family and moved out to Lawrence, Kansas! It was quite the college town. We loved our new ward (church) and it was good, for a short-lived time. Spencer was "let go" with less than a year under his belt. we later learned that that particular company was notorious for hiring people to finish projects and then firing them. OHHHH, so that's why we had that gut-wrenching, spirit-screaming feeling not to move out there until December! We are stubborn people!

If I haven't lost you yet we are at move #5 and mistake #2

Next, since we are unemployed and all we move in with my mother and father in-law, back to Independence. We stayed with them for a year. (Thanks Mom and Dad for putting up with us that long!) We finally find a full time job and decide to rent a house. I think we should have looked around a bit more, but we were anxious to get on with our lives. We brought Matthew home to this house. Then the housing boom came and we decided, "What the heck let's see if we could get approved for a house" and we did. So we bought our 1st house. It was an OK house but needed A LOT of cosmetic work. We pulled up carpet and stripped layer after layer of wallpaper off the walls, and did lots of painting. All this work just in time to welcome Caitlyn to our family. And to have a job that sporadically decided to pay us.

Spencer happened to mention that he might be looking for a new job to one of his clients. The man jokingly asked what it would take to get him to move to Tennessee? As soon as Spencer told me about the exchange I knew we were moving.

Move #8, mistakes thus far 4

We moved into a townhouse in Murfreesboro. We had never been here and we did not know a soul! This was seriously one of the biggest Faith-leaps of my life. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it was still scary. See, by this time I had learned to pray before I leap! (patting myself on the back) We lasted all of 10 months before there was an assault and gun play in the parking lot- RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR DOOR! This mama said "No way" and pushed for move #9. we found a perfect house on craigs list and moved in right before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the situation with the home owner did not go as planned and 4 short months later they told us they needed to move back into their house. I was seriously in shock!! She was very sympathetic and apologetic and whatever other 'tic' you could think of. She had even arranged our next move into the house right behind her. That house was fantastic. It took us a while to get used to it but, so far it was our best move. We were happy there and had even started to talk to the owners about buying the house. Bam! Tornado. Even when it seems like a hopeless situation ther Lord is looking out for you. We were provided a very generous place to live and spend our year 12.

Whether you read it or not that is my moving story and I am sticking to it! I just hope that one day the number of years married will be greater than the number of moves!

When I Grow UP

We have been on the hunt for a house to rent for the better part of this week. We have had MORE time in the car together. (Just what I wanted :[) It hasn't been too bad but, it is time consuming. This made me laugh the other day and I wanted to share.

Caitlyn is singing in her seat, "Daddy, do I sing good?"
Spencer "You sound great!"
C- "That's good because, when I grow up I am going to be a super-star!"
S- "Whatever makes you happy honey. You will make a great super-star."
Caitlyn starts to sing again, then stops and is quiet for awhile.

C- "So, daddy, what is the point of being a super-star?"

Just Call Me Holly, Holly Homemaker!!

I was going to say I have no idea what has gotten into me, but I realized that it is Spring!! When the weather turns nice my creativity starts to flow. I have no control over myself!! :) So far today I have made some homemade gifts for a bunch of friend that have birthdays all within days/weeks of each other. (haha, no pics until you get them!) Made bread, homemade strawberry jelly, (1st attempt we will see what happens) and finished a bunch of laundry. Yesterday, I mowed all 5 trillion acres of the lawn, mended a dress, and sewed on a few buttons. I also went to Hancock last Saturday because I got a bee in my bonnet to make, get this, pantaloons!, for Caitlyn. Heaven help me!! Then I found out they had all their patterns on sale! Simplicity's were only a dollar and the others were 40% off. So I ended up with a 'few' patterns. Have a mentioned that I have NEVER sewed an article of clothing in my entire life! I can mend, hem but I have not tried actual pattern sewing. Wish me luck!!

Tying Up Loose Ends - Part 2

I had also mentioned a trip from home and wanted to highlight a visit from Spencer's youngest brother, our sister-in-law, and niece, Maggie. They came down the first part of March. I am always excited to have visitors! Unfortunately, I had pictured a more fun visit. I had been really sick the week before and my house had fallen apart. It was not as organized as usual when they came down and that always puts me out of whack. We did get to see the Confederate Cemetery off of exit 97. And we took them to Stone's River Battlefield. Bo is a big Civil War buff (I guess Ben has it in his genes) so we wanted to take advantage of the history of the area. We had also planned to visit either the zoo or the aquarium. It was pretty cold that weekend so the zoo was out. I don't think the kids would have lasted very long. I have been dying to check out the aquarium in Chattanooga. We decided to give it a go. It was doomed before it ever got off the ground. First, we packed a lunch but I needed some paper plates and silverware so we headed to Wal-Mart (GRRR). We get to WM, it is on the way, no big deal, I have forgotten my debit card in my jeans from pumping gas the day before! I am VERY bad at not putting it away, just ask Spencer! He would like to wring my neck sometimes :) So we have to head back home, WM is not that close, it is a good 20-30 minutes away from the house. We were supposed to leave at 9 am so we could be there when it opened, I don't think we left until after 12. I have a recurring nightmare about not being able to get out of - 'just enter whatever here, sometimes it's a box or a tight place or a city or whatever'. I was actually living my nightmare. I was very frustrated.

We are finally on the road and are within site of the aquarium when Cait starts to complain that her stomach hurt. Not 2 seconds later she vomits ALL OVER the van, herself and her booster seat. UGH! Nasty! We pull into a parking lot and proceed with the clean up. It takes awhile and I have no extra clothes for her. (Side note: While at home grabbing my debit card I had a thought to grab extra clothes for her. I ignored it thinking 'Why on Earth would she need extra clothes, she's been potty trained for 2 years now'. Lesson learned!) We have to find a Wal Mart (GRR) to go buy her new clothes. By the time I exit I am feeling so nauseous. I haven't felt that bad since I was pregnant with Matthew. You know, I may be stubborn and spoiled but, I know when I have lost. I throw in the towel and proclaim the trip cancelled. I feel so sick! I felt really guilty too because I know my family came down to have a good time, and I was just not up to it. We get back home and Matt starts to get sick as well. 3 family members down 2 more to go! Bo and Andrea came home a bit later, they stopped at a firework store. Bo, Andrea, Spencer and the kids set those off that night. Of course the kids threw-up and felt better immediately but, I get to just feel like death and not get any relief for 2 days! In those moments I swore I would never get pregnant again! I will never deliberately feel like that again. It was awful! The visit it a blur, I had some sort of 'sick hangover' for the whole thing, from not being over being sick before they came and then from the stomach virus. I promise it isn't always like that here. I just hope they attempt another visit and I can prove how fun I really am. Oh, well, some things just can not be helped!

Tying Up Loose Ends - Part 1

As was looking back at a few posts and remembering that I was supposed to go private, I realized that I had a few loose ends that needed to be dealt with. First, I am not going private just yet. I am pretty sure I was reacting out of shock. Spencer has tightened up our security and I am going to wait and see if anything else weird happens to our blog. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Secondly, I promised a post about a farm expansion. In our elementary school 4-H involvement is mandatory. Ben has has art work at the fair, done projects, and given speeches. The latest to come home was the Sheep Project. Of course, he just HAD to get a sheep. (That enthusiasm hasn't lasted.) I read and re-read the letter and was seriously considering letting him participate. When else would we we able to do that. We are all set up for live stock out here. I want my children to experience all types of different things. I was going over the details one day and realized that even though we could keep a few sheep and were more than able to care for them, how in the world were we going to get them to the various showing and fairs?! I think that a truck and trailer purchase is going above the call of duty for a 4th grade 4-H project. Don't you? I also don't think the sheep would be too fond of being strapped into the extra seat belt in the mini-van. (Every time I picture that I laugh!) So, although I honestly had every intention of turning Benjamin into Farmer Ben, I really don't think it is going to happen. I am actually a little disappointed, go figure!

Happy Birthday To Matthew!!

Matthew Evan Olsen was born at 8:05pm 6 years ago today! Evan was Spencer's grandfather's name. He has very fond memories of him and we knew we wanted to honor him by carrying on his name. His first name was really hard for us. I really liked Noah and Jacob, but nothing seemed right. Honestly, I was driving by a Catholic church one day when I was about 8 months pregnant, St Matthews. It clicked Matthew Evan! It is so amazing that we named him after Spencer's side of the family and he is so much like his dad! Same mannerisms, same sense of humor, same facial expressions, even the same build. I am sure he was up in heaven hamming it up with his namesake. He did take my coloring, poor kid sunburns like his mama!

Dear Matt,
I want you to know how much you are loved. I wanted to have another baby very badly. I needed to heal my heart after I lost your brother. What an enormous job for such a little baby to accomplish. You did a great job. I remember how happy everyone was for us, and for you. It was a huge celebration! I am so glad you came to our family. You have kept me hopping from the day I brought you home. I had to figure out how to juggle 2 little boys. I wondered how women were ever able to have more that one child! I think we caught on eventually! You are my snuggler, I loved that you always wanted me to lay down with you for nap. You would bring me your blanket and binkie and say "pat back, pat back" as you tried to pat your own back, I was worried people would think I spanked you because it looked like you were spanking your butt. I have Monsters Inc memorized because you always wanted to watch it until you fell asleep. You are my runner. Always running away no matter where we were. I knew I was in for it when you would look at me and giggle and then take off as fast as you could. I love your laugh, some children lose that really deep down belly laugh, I still hear yours every once in a while. It is a contagious laugh, I can't help smiling when I hear it. You are so kind, everyone is your friend. I don't think I have ever met a kid as liked as you are. Thanks for coming here to be with me and your dad. We love you! Happy Birthday!

Best Noise Ever

Earlier this evening we were in line at the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Cait. She had been to see her favorite doctor this morning. The poor thing has bronchitis. (I know! Will my family EVER be well again!) I have been calling her Kyle because she sounds like a raspy man! (Yes, I am a mean mom, and No, not to her face.)

Well, I started to hear the oddest noise coming from behind my seat. This was her 3rd nap today. That alone lets me know she really isn't feeling well. you could knock me down with a feather if I ever got her to take a nap anymore.

Random Farm Funnies

My children L-O-V-E to build things. Legos, Kinnex, Magnets, you name it they build things. It is not unusual to find Kid K'nex in weird places around the house. (right next to the Nerf darts) The other day Ben had created a headset with the K'nex so that he and Matt could use them to 'radio' one another. Then he had to make one for Cait, so she could 'call' her friends. We are on our way up to Murfreesboro to pick Spencer up from work and I hear Caitlyn say, while still wearing her headset,
"Welcome to Slushie Burger. We have good food and good taste. May I take your order?" Hmm, maybe too many drive-thru dinners for that one...

Spencer recently taught our boys how to play "Bang", which is a Spaghetti Western card game. It is really fun to play. It can get a bit crazy and you have to keep track of a lot of cards. The boys are in heaven, they love playing with their dad. I was pretty amazed at how quickly they caught on. Matthew is a natural and will kill you very quickly! The other night we played as a family, Cait and I were a team. It came down between Matthew and her and I. It was pretty intense! (You will just have to take my word for it.) There are these cards called 'bang' cards that allow you to shoot your opponents, there are also 'duel' cards in which you have to play bang cards back and forth. Ben was trying to help Matt finish me off and suggested that he play his duel card.
"Play this one Matt, she doesn't have anymore bang cards!"
To which Matthew loudly whispered back,
"Neither do I"
I guess we still need to work on his 'poker-face'!

Still Alive

Just thought I would at least check in with our blog. I can not believe a month has gone by since my last post! Time is just flying by. I find it really interesting that I can be so busy and still don't have anything to talk about. "I have been busy doing nothing." I guess that isn't totally true it just feels that way sometimes. SO... what has been going on at the farm? Let's see...

I have had enough snow to last me the rest of my life. I am so glad the sun is out today. The weather really affects my mood. (Just ask my family.)

Ben invented a game for MTSU's Invention Convention, called Revere's Ride. As you can see from the name it is all about Paul Revere's ride from, oh snap, I can not even remember! I helped work on it and now my mind is a blank! Boston? Anyway, he won 1st place in his class and then got to go to MTSU last Thursday to compete with the entire area. I guess I need to go play the game and refresh my Revolutionary War memory! :)

Matthew has lost both of his front teeth. He looks so cute!! He was so excited to get money from the Tooth Fairy! Funny story about that. The Tooth Fairy (TF) does not usually have cash on her, she runs on a debit card, mostly. She had to make a stop at the convenience store on the way home that night. The ATM provided a 20 and she was forced to make change. The clerk asked if she wanted quarters after finding out what the TF was up to, no a few singles would be fine, she replied. That made the TF wonder if she is paying the Olsen children a higher premium for their teeth? Quarters?! Is she only supposed to give them a quarter? She has been paying $2 a tooth. So now I am curious, what is the going rate for the TF? Please let me know what your kids get or got or will get for their teeth. Do you pay more for a 1st tooth or a molar?

Caitlyn has been going to preschool. She loves it and almost all of the kids in her class. She is not too fond of one of the boys but, overall loves her 'friends'. She has however been in the director's office a few times. *Sigh* What can I say, I love my Spunky Cait, she will keep everyone on their toes! One of the times she was sent down to Ms. Ella's office was for licking another girl on the face. What?! Did I just hear you correctly? Licked? It really does not help the poor child when all her parents want to do is laugh. What possessed you to even WANT to do that? I really am curious as to how her mind works.

I am, of course, sick, again! I have probably taken enough antibiotics to have prevented the Bubonic Plague!! Can I please change this body in for a newer model? I have not been to church in 2 weeks and that is just a recipe for disaster. I feel yucky and I feel isolated. Not a good combination. I do feel better today and so I will pretend I am feeling hopeful for a better week. :)

Spencer, I was going to skip over because, the man just works. Where is the entertainment in that? I do, however, owe him a HUGE THANK YOU. He has taken care of everything for the last week and half while Mom was out of sorts. mmmwhaa!

There you are - an almost current Farm Update. Stay tuned because I held a few things back. Here are a few hints, 'a trip from home' and 'farm expansion'.

Be Careful What You Wish For

This past Thursday was my 1st day in awhile that all 3 of my Little Monkeys were in school. I daydreamed of all the things I was going to get finished. I have been falling behind on some house cleaning because of all of our recent snow days. I was thinking it would be an awesome time to get my carpets shampooed. I don't know about everyone else but I am starting to feel like my house is stale, I guess that is the best word for it. I need some fresh Spring air!! Well, it never happened. -I know you are shocked!

This morning, it's Saturday (my birthday weekend!! Happy Birthday Weekend to me! oops sorry...where was I...) Monkey #2 was crying, DO NOT tell anyone I told you. He is very sensitive and tender-hearted but he does not like crying in front of anyone! This was a HUGE warning flag that he was not feeling well. He came in to my bedroom and proceeded to tell me his stomach hurt really bad. And...then...he...puked...from...one...end...of...the...house...to...the...other!! So guess what? I got my carpets shampooed after all!

Snow Day...Schmow Day

Ugh! We are nearing the end of our 7th snow day for January. This is our 3rd one in this set of days off. I am so beyond bored! I have had it with cleaning. I have tried crafting, but I have way too many 'helpers' to do much in that area. I just want to curl up and sleep until Spring. I am most certainly in a Winter Funk. My kids have watched so much TV that I feel guilty, and played so much WII that Matt claimed to have a 'WII eye', because it hurt. I just got a text that school WILL be open tomorrow. I just hope we can regroup and get back into some sort of routine.

Update: 2-4
I was publishing some comments on this post when I realized that I had said we were still in January. I guess that just proves that I have lost all track of time AND reality!!

Are You Kidding ME!!

I get pretty excited about my birthday! It is in 11 days, by the way. Ya betta mark your calendars * Feb 8 * the bestest day evah! Isn't February wonderful!!
Oh, wait, sorry I got side tracked...

Spencer and I were headed to the bank and he mused that he hoped it wasn't a bank holiday. The last time I tried to actually go to the bank, it was closed.
I said, "No, it shouldn't be, MLK was last Monday and my birthday isn't for another 2 weeks."

"Your birthday isn't a bank holiday! Who do you think you are?!"

"Queen of Everything." Now you know where Caitlyn gets it from.

Fast forward to this morning...
We are in the car headed to school and the kids start asking how old I was when Caitlyn was born (29, in case you wanted to know.) What year they were all born, and lots of other year and age related questions. They finally asked what year I was born. 1976, I answered.
Ben "So, you were born right after WWII."
Matt "Were you on the Titanic?"

Yep, Matt I am the sole-survivor of the Titanic. (said dripping with sarcasm)
Ben- Mom, there were actually 706 survivors.

I am not so excited for my birthday anymore.

Realization

I had the weirdest phone call today. Apparently, a certain company that was mentioned in the previous post came across my blog post. I don't think they took too kindly to it. A supervisor called me to talk about my service call. It made me realize that even though we have our blog pretty well locked down people, (strange people), can still stumble upon it. I don't feel like defending what I write. This is OUR blog. That being said I think it is time to go private. So, you know the drill...if you want to be invited to the chaos that is my life, leave your email address in the comment section. I have disabled the comments for this post and they WILL NOT show. I will make sure we have grandparents and aunties and uncles. I just need to know which email you want me to approve. If any of this sounds confusing to you. I know a great computer guy that can help us all out :)
Oh, and, my giant dishwasher is going to be hauled away, free of charge.

Irony, And I Am Not Talking About Laundry!

Before Dirt to December,2009

My dishwasher died a very sudden death the 1st week of December. Although considering how old it was I guess I really should have known it wouldn't last much longer. May he rest in piece, you have been missed terribly!

It took me a week to get in touch with the owner of the house, I really didn't want to bother him right before the holidays. I finally sucked it up and called. It was under warranty and he had the home warranty company call me. I was stoked! Maybe I would have it fixed before Christmas, I was putting off the holiday baking due to serious lack of wanting to wash all the mess by hand. Plus we had been sick. I had planned on giving the neighbors something and I might be able to accomplish my goal.

A rep called and left a message on my phone, it took me 2 days of calling him back before I got fed up and just spoke with someone else. I should have known this was not a good sign! After setting up a claim, and being given a repair company phone number, I hung up and awaited my call from Mr. Appliance. At the end of the week I had not heard a thing. It was now the week of Christmas. I called 'Mr. Appliance' and asked if they had me on a call list. They did not have a claim for me. I said to myself, 'self this CAN NOT be happening!' But it was. Brian, as we are now on a first name basis, was very helpful and contacted the Home Warranty company and had them send the claim over. Apparently, it was just sitting in a wait pile!! URGH!

He came over the next day and took about 5 minutes to look at the dishwasher. Then he looked at me and said this is so old no one is going to be willing to put the money into fixing it. The HWC is probably going to get you a new one. Great! A brand new dishwasher. Um, am I gonna get that before Christmas? He laughed at me. Again, I should have seen the signs.

A lady from said HWC called me the next day and offered a new dishwasher and said she was trying to get the order in before the holiday week (Christmas and NY). I looked up the model, called the landlord to get an OK, and immediately called her back. The order was in.

The week of New Years a delivery truck presents me with a brand, spankin' new dishwasher...and then leaves it in the carport. What am I gonna do with this? It isn't going to install itself! I call Brian (Mr. Appliance) Sooo, are you coming back to install the new DW? He has had no contact from the HWC, are you surprised? At this point, I'm not.

I call HWC and ask if they are supposed to pay for the install. The rep confirms that they are paying for it and that the delivery man was supposed to have done it. Self, there is no way that man was equipped to install anything. That would be like Fed Ex coming over to hook up your cable. I tried to explain this to the lady on the phone. She insisted that I call the delivery company. I felt like an idiot, but I did it. If nothing else than to have done EVERYTHING they have asked my to do.

I call her back. She has to investigate. OMGravy!! I am going to be stuck with dishpan hands for the rest of my life!! Guess what? She NEVER calls me back.

I call the HWC again and speak to a man this time who is more than willing to get someone out here for me. That easy, this is too good to be true. It was. They called Mr. Appliance and were told that they didn't install DW's, What!!? They assign it to another company, who NEVER calls me. I call him, we set up an appointment for last Thursday. He never showed, never called.

I am seriously about to install the frickety-frack thing myself!! I call the HWC once more. I BEG them to PULEASE!! call Mr. Appliance again and tell them that Roxann, on Petty Road needs her DW installed. Done. Brian calls to let me know they can't get here until Wednesday, because the old mama-jama is so darn heavy it would take 2 men to get it out of the house. Well, I've waited this long what's 2 more days.

Yesterday, the long-awaited, blessed day arrived!! I was so giddy, like I am right before Christmas or my birthday (hint, hint)!! The sun was shining, the birds were singing. It was going to be a great day! They call me at 9 am, right on time. I wait with bated breath to hear when they will be here. Between 2-4. CRAP!! That is not going to work, I have kids to pick up from school. I leave at 2:15 and do not get home until 3. They say, no problem we will schedule you between 3 and 4. OK.

I am in line to pick up the boys and my phone rings. It is the guys from Mr. Appliance. "Roxann we are at your house, and no one is home." I told you idiots that I would not be home until 3. I didn't say 'idiot' to him but the rest was pretty blunt. I will be there, at 3 just like I told you at 9 this morning. Deal with it. (Admittedly, I drove home extra slow, it was the principal of the thing.) I pulled into the drive way exactly at 3.

The install took about an hour. I have a pretty, new dishwasher in my fab kitchen! I am happy.

Now here is the irony...I have spent literally HOURS in front of the sink, washing dishes by hand. Scalding my hands to make sure they were clean and sanitary. Dealing with those stupid yellow gloves, that do not match a thing I wear.

I have not even had to run ONE, SINGLE, SOLITARY LOAD!! There is not even a spoon in the sink. The kids have had poptarts for b-fast and have been eating finger foods for the last day.

Oh, and I now have the Godzill of dishwashers in my carport. They took it out of the house, but didn't take it with them. What am I supposed to do with it!!

I find that sad, just plain sad.

The L-O-N-G-E-S-T Weekend

Well, I am just about certifiably insane! We are having our 3rd snow day today and it really has been a VERY long weekend.

It all started with the rumors of snow coming on Thursday. It is all the school/teachers/news talked about since last Tuesday. I think my boy's teachers were really working it with the kids! Last Wednesday, I asked Matthew's kindergarten teacher how I would know if the Coffee County schools would be closed. The news here mostly covers Nashville which is now a good hour and 45 minutes North of us. I was concerned it would not report the rural schools this far South. She informed me of a local Manchester radio station and showed me the link to their website. Awesome! Now I could sign up to have a text go to my phone if our school was going to be closed. So, Thursday dawned, too early, as always, and I went straight to the window to see how much snow had been dumped on us overnight. none. It was actually warmer in our house than normal and I, once again, felt silly for actually believing the weathermen. I even felt a bit let down. I don't mind the snow, it makes the world look beautiful and magical. So I go look for my phone to double check that school would be in session. There was a text. It said that the Murfreesboro City Schools were closed, no mention of our county. OK, time to get the kids up and moving. I will save you the details of the horror that is involved in getting my children out the door on time.

We make it to the school with 10 minutes before the final bell. I am so proud of us. We come in from the back of the school, so you can't see the front at all until you pull into the front 'parking lot' (I use this term loosely here. It is more of a pothole infested piece of what I can only assume used to be asphalt.) THERE IS NOT A SOUL IN SIGHT! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! That's why that neighbor kid gave me the crazy-look as we pulled in! The kids are ecstatic, no school!! I am confused, it is 20 degrees warmer today than it has been all week and there is not one single snowflake in sight. Granted it is still only in the 20's but it usually is like 3 degrees outside when we get up in the morning.

We head back home and have a really good day together. We play Wii, bake and frost cookies, do puzzels, and read books. Great day! All the while I do not see one single solitary snowflake!

The snow finally starts. The 6 inch blizzard, amounts to a dusting on the grass and covered sidewalks and streets. It does snow the rest of the day but it does not seem to be sticking. School is canceled for Friday (I am pretty sure that was the plan since Tuesday.) We have an OK day on Friday, I beg my children to please sleep in until 8. I for one do not think it is too much to ask. It didn't work. Ben needs to be seen at the doctors and I figured this was as good a day as any. So we ended up running errands from 11:30 until about 5:30. It was a tiring day.

Saturday was nice and lazy. It is just too cold to be out. We all stay in our PJ's for the whole day. I get to play on my Cricut and do some crafting. I also made some yummy banana bread and muffins and a few pumpkin pies. No, we don't need it but I am starting to go stir crazy by the afternoon.

Sunday, church, primary, whatever. That sounds bad but, it was uneventful. Which is good because we normally have drama. Oh, we did have a bit of drama on the way to church in that the roads have iced over! I would have said back roads but ALL the roads here are back roads. We got on some doozies and had to back track to get to a main road -and- safety. That was fun. We were late to church even though we left on time. When we got home we had yummy chicken tacos! I heart my crock pot!! Especially when you are on the late shift for church and live 45 minutes to an hour and a half away, depending on the roads! Oh, and more drama, Caitlyn has a half bath connected to her room. We have been affectionately referring to it as the 'icebox'. No one will use it, they are afraid their backsides will freeze to the toilet! Anyway, pretty sure the pipes froze. Spencer had to run to Wal-mart to buy another heat lamp and a heater for her room/bath. FUN! We have already had to put heat lamps under our house for the kitchen and the well, both of which froze last week. So, strike that about Sunday being uneventful. I should have said church was uneventful, except for the burning spirit that stayed with me through the whole meeting! :)

I triple-quadruple checked on school, Sunday night. It's out. Black ice on the roads. I am not going to fight that one since I experienced it firsthand on Sunday. I woke up this morning freezing, our house was only 60 degrees. That doesn't sound too bad 60 is not that cold, right? No way. It feels drafty, and I am always cold. I think it has something to do with being so spread out from other houses. You are literally on your own when the wind starts to blow. The heater didn't seem to be working. Spencer checked to see if we still had propane, we do. I guess it is just so cold the heater can only do so much. Spencer moved some furniture in the living room so we could test a heater that is in the wall. I didn't know all this was going on as I was still under my 4 blankets in bed. He gets in the shower and I start to smell burning. Oh. Great. Now the house is on fire. At least I will finally thaw my bones! The house isn't on fire it is just the old heater that hasn't been used in ? your guess is as good as mine. I am happy to report that the heater is no longer smelly and seems to be working just fine.

So, if you actually made it through to this point, congratulations! Maybe I should have titled this The Longest Post.

UPdate No school tomorrow, Tuesday the 12. I would appreciate your thoughts as I pick out which mental institution I am going to check myself into. Spencer please come home!!