Thursday Thirteen

Here are thirteen things I love about my morning schedule.
1. quiet time before the kids wake up
2. getting the kids their breakfast (I've made them breakfast menus and we play restaurant (this is the only meal they get a choice in))
3. putting away the morning dishes (I love my kitchen sink being clean)
4. making all the beds (This is my favorite, I'm weird)
5. opening all the blinds to get ready for the day
6. getting the kids off on the bus
7. listening to Curious George as I start laundry
8. straightening up the living room and kitchen before I leave
9. taking Garrett to preschool
10. Seeing grown-ups to talk to at Garrett's preschool
11. coming back to the house to work on a project, go to MOPs or help at Robyn's school
12. Thinking of some new area of the house to organize or clean
13. The feeling of relief that everything is on schedule

Is this a sad and pathetic list or what? I have to admit that as more days go on I enjoy being on a schedule, having everything in its place and organizing. I'm turning into an old fart and I'm only 30! The real challenge is to have Doug home after traveling so much. It throws off my schedule and its like having another child.

Wordless Wednesday Pic from 2004 and meme

I've been tagged by KC
1. What time did you get up this morning? 5:15, I like to exercise and shower before the kids get up
2. Diamonds or pearls? DIAMONDS
3. What was the last film you saw in the cinema? Wild Hogs
4.What is your favorite tv show? The Office
5. What did you have for breakfast? Waffles and Juice
6. What is your middle name? Ann
7. What is your favorite cuisine? Chinese
8. What foods do you dislike? Liver, Lima beans, peas(these were KC's answers but I have to agree)
9. What are your favorite chips? sour cream or BBQ
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I don't listen to whole CDs or buy them
11. What kind of car do you drive? Chevy Venture Van
12. Favorite sandwich? Chicken Teriaki with green peppers, lettuce and sweet onion sauce on Italian Herbs and Cheese Bread from Subway.
13. What characteristics can't you stand? dishonesty
14. What are your favorite clothes? The perfect Tee from Old Navy, capris
15. If you could go anywhere on vacation where would it be? Disney World
16. Wore at sixteen? I don't remember
17. Where would you want to retire? Some where warm but not too crowded
18. Favorite time of day? morning
19. Where were you born? In PA
20. Favorite events to watch? I don't know I get bored too easy
21. Coke or Pepsi? Coke
22. Beavers or Ducks? Ducks
23. Are you a morning person or night owl? morning person
24. Pedicures or manicures? Pedicures
25. What did you want to be when you were little? a pediatrician, a vetrinarian, a scientist (all the same things my daughter wants now)
26. What is your best childhood memory? Way to many to pick from
27. Ever been to Africa? No
28. Ever been toilet papering? no
29. Been in a car accident? yes
30. Favorite day of the week? Saturday and Sunday because I get to sleep later and relax more.
31. Favorite flower? daisy
32. Favorite restaurant? Four Seasons in Philly
33.Favorite ice cream? Cotton Candy
34. Favorite fast food restaurant? Wendy's
35. How many times did you fail your driver's test? written passed 1st time, driving failed 5 times :( If you can drive faster through the serpentine doesn't it mean you are a BETTER driver?
36. From whom did you get your last e-mail? Heather
37. What store would you like to max out your credit card? Target or Kohl's
38. Last person you went to dinner with? husband
39.What are you listening to right now? Clifford the Big Red Dog
40. What is your favorite color? yellow
41. How many tattoos do you have? one
42. How many are you sending this e-mail to? Anyone who reads my blog
43. What time did you finish this blog entry? 8:58am
44. Favorite magazine? don't have one
45.Coffee or tea? tea
46. Do you tan easily or burn? burn, real bad
47. Do you color your hair? not anymore
48. What is the first car you ever purchased without your parents assistance?
1998 Ford Escort ZX2 in forest green
49. What is your most dreaded household chore? cleaning the tub and shower
50. Who do you tag to do this meme? I'll pick Heather

Tackle it Tuesday

Here is the project I worked on Monday and Tuesday. This bathroom looked awful with the blue especially because the wall was so beat up. We struggled to get wallpaper down in there two years ago. I finally fixed the holes and painted it white. Not my first choice but our toilet is blue, our sink is blue and the counter top is white and blue marble-like. At this point I just want everything to look neat and clean when we try to sell the house. Next is the flooring in that bathroom and my husband will be doing that! Two bathrooms done in two weeks!! That inspires me to fix our basement bathroom up too but I'm tired of being in the bathroom.

Menu Monday

This should be an exciting menu since the hubby is gone all week. We usually are more casual and go with easy meals during those times. I haven't gotten my act together yet and put the prices there but I'm getting better!



Monday: Crispy Chicken (recipe from Heather)and corn
Tuesday: Soup, grilled cheese and carrots
Wednesday: Fish Sticks (we would never get away with this with my husband around), smileys and green beans
Thursday: BBQ Boneless Chicken, rice and applesauce
Friday: Chicken Nuggets, carrots and apples

Bathroom repairs

Here are pictures from all the hard work my father-in-law and mother-in-law put into our bathroom this week. Since we are probably selling the house in the summer we really wanted to put a wall surround in and get rid of the pink but we decided to be more practical and just repair the tile so we could work on other areas. I have to say that the work they did was fabulous and it looks so much cleaner in there. I will hopefully be much more excited to clean now that you can actually see a difference when you do it. I'm sure my husband still wants to paint the tile since he found a way to do it. He hates pink even more than I do!

Thankful Thursday!

I am keeping up with my blog!!! I had a very thankful Thursday at my house. My father-in-law and mother-in-law came to the door with tools prepared to work on my bathroom tile issues. I was so excited. Its one of the many jobs that needs to be taken care of before we sell this house. He took out the soap dish that was falling out and the loose tile around it. He was able to get the tile set up and just has to put the soap dish back in tomorrow and he will be touching up the poor grout. Its going to look brand new, still pink, but brand new! Next he is going to fix our leaking shower and toilet in the master bath. My dad will be coming out to visit in a few weeks and he is going to look at fixing my basement issues with my father-in-law. I'm so thankful that all our problems are being taken care of and that I have such a supportive family. It has been rough with Doug in the training and not being around much but they really stepped in and helped us when we needed it. I have pictures of the work but I'll save those until I can show the after pictures too.

Here is my list of thirteen things I am thankful for:
1. Jesus
2. supportive family
3. friends
4. house
5. 8:00pm bedtimes for the kids!
6. iPod
7. computer
8. car
9. growing patience
10. dry, warm days
11. my dog when she is lethargic
12. tennis
13. my kids being through the diaper stage

Was that the most exciting list you have ever seen or what?

Wordless Wednesday from Feb '01

Good Things, Bad Things

The kids and I were eating dinner tonight and chatting about different things. I can't remember what we were talking about but Robyn then replied that "when bad things happen, good things happen." I thought it was a silly statement at first but then I started thinking about it. How often do bad things happen to us only to be followed by some miracle? Here is a perfect example. Last week Doug's cousin was in a terrible accident and was life flighted to Toledo. It seemed hopeless then, out of no-where, things were improving and now he is at home walking and talking. On top of that my father-in-law had the opportunity to witness to him and his friends, now their lives may change forever. I guess it can be summed up best by a 7 year old, "when bad things happen, good things happen."

Wordless Wednesday

Five Reasons I Blog

I was tagged by Heather for this so here it goes.

1. Most of my family and friends live far away and blogging helps to keep everyone informed.

2. Its the only kind of scrapbooking I can tolerate because there is no cutting of pictures.

3. I needed a place to post pictures of my cute little babies (They will always be my little babies!).

4. I like to post funny and strange things that happen to us.

5. I am a former computer geek and still love to do things on the computer when I can.

After reading everyone else's meme I feel like I put such short answers. I guess I have a case of the blogger's block lately.