I'm so excited, I just can't hide it

Our house is SO close to being ready for move in! We're scheduled to close on July 10th and we just locked in our interest rate. We went to visit it this morning and discovered that the front yard had been put in. It looks like a real home now! Let me show you.




This is what you see when you walk through the front door. See our art niche? We don't own art.




Here's the kitchen. Makes me want to cook something right now.




This is the view from the kitchen looking out into the dining/living room. Makes me want to live in it right now.



I wonder if I'll finally feel like a grown up when we sign those papers. First time home owner at the age of thirty nine. Grown ups can still blow bubbles and play with play doh, right?

You try thinking of a title for this

Oh, the pressure to blog! I keep trying to think of something interesting to write about but the only thing I can think of are ways to lower my body temperature. Right now, I'm debating between emersing myself in a tub full of ice water or eating my weight in ice cream. I'll let you know what I decide. It is one hundred and freaking five degrees here today. I think I have the vapors. Anyhow, when words fail why not put up some pictures of these cute faces?

Emma found her feet today.





Jake found a pack of wild dogs to play with.




I found a doe with two fun, frisky fawns. Look at that alliteration people. Even the heat can't stop that.

Let them eat ketchup

This recession or whatever it is we're in right now is really starting to take its toll. We didn't have much in our IRA to begin with but now we have even less. About half as much to be exact. I'm not exactly sure how this whole stock market thing works, but it seems sort of like going to Vegas and watching the slot machines take all your nickels one by one. At some point, you just have to leave the slots behind and go to the nearest buffet. So even though all of the experts say not to worry about things and to just leave your money where it is, I have to wonder if this is bogus advice. Here's a thought.

Dear T. Rowe Price,

I want my money back.

Sincerely, Kim

It seems all sectors of the private market have been hit hard by this recession. Last week we decided to take our Jeep in to get the oil changed. Now, Mike is perfectly capable of doing this but we wanted to save him the time and effort so he took the car to Jiffy Lube. They had a sign out front spouting oil changes for just $24.99. Imagine my hubby's shock when they told him at check out that he owed them $44.99! He patiently explained to the guy behind the desk that he wanted the "special" oil change that only cost $24.99. But the guy behind the desk informed him that the special doesn't apply to bigger cars that take more oil. Mike told him he felt like that was false advertising so the guy generously took $8 off of the total price. Hmm.

Dear Jiffy Lube,

Please stop trying to stick it to the little people. I know we are evil because we drive an SUV, but that doesn't mean that we deserve to pay $20 more than people in smaller cars. Especially, when your sign out front says oil changes for one price. That, my friends, is false advertising or some sort of oil changing entrapment scheme you've got going there. You should have had another sign that said "If you drive a large vehicle, don't bother coming to us because we will rip you off."

Angrily yours, Little Mama

Lastly, we found out last week that one of our childhood icons is also feeling the pinching of pennies in these hard times. We went through the drive through at McDonald's and ordered our standard burger and fry meal. When we got up to the window Mike asked the cashier for some Hot Mustard Sauce for the fries because that's how we roll. She begrudgingly gave him one packet. Now, we like a lot of dipping sauce so he asked for two or three more packets. And she told him no because the hot mustard sauce is only for people ordering chicken nuggets. So Mike said something like what if I like to dip my fries in it and she told him that's what ketchup is for. Hold up, McDonald's lady. Drop the attitude please. She then informed him that we could buy hot mustard packs for only 11 cents a pop. I thought I saw steam coming out of my husband's ears. I could see he needed him some hot mustard and even though I thought it was ridiculous I dug up a quarter and gave it to him to pay her off with. So she gave us two more packs and kept the change.

Dear McDonald's,

I find it hard to believe that you need to charge your customers for sauce in order to make a profit. It's not like we asked for twenty hot mustards. I feel the golden arches are sadly tarnished right now. I don't think your greed in this situation portrays the spirit of kindness that Ronald McDonald has come to exemplify around the world. I'm sure he's rolling over in his circus tent right now. However, if you really need our extra 11 cents then I hope you will invest it into some good customer service training classes for your employees.

Hot under the collar, LM

Wordless Wednesday

Apparently, I need to go on TV's What not to Wear

This morning as I was getting ready to leave the house I realized that the two pairs of pants I own that fit me right now were both dirty. So, I opted for a skirt. It had to be a skirt with an elastic waistband because let's just say I have a few more baby pounds to lose. Also, my abs need to be retrained in the art of sucking themselves in. Oh, six pack of abs, I miss you so. Now my tummy looks more like a 2 liter bottle that has expanded to the point of bursting. But I'm not bitter.

So, I found the only elastic waist banded skirt in my closet and paired it with what I hoped was an age appropriate shirt. I won't say that I thought I looked cute, but I will say that I thought I was presentable.

In walks Jake. He took one look at me and said in no uncertain terms "No, no, no, NO Ma'am. (yes, that's ma'am, not mama. not sure where he picked that up) You can't wear this. TAKE THIS OFF RIGHT NOW!" I had no idea he had such clear opinions on clothing. He did scream at me once when I tried to put a pink t-shirt on him. He kept saying it was Emma's shirt for some reason. But generally speaking this is a child who will wear anything I put on him. And he has never commented on my apparel before. I have to say it made me a little uncertain about my outfit. I would have changed if there had been anything to change in to. As luck would have it, my friend Leslie came over a few minutes later and assured me that I looked fine. I decided to trust her opinion over the toddler. I do, however, appreciate his concern. On the upside, maybe this means that when I found him peeking in the girls' dressing rooms at the mall the other day, he was just checking out their fashion choices.

Jakers

I just realized that as of today we officially have a two and a half year old. I remember when I was young just how important that half year thing was. I thought I would write about some of the cute things Jake has been doing lately to celebrate this momentous occasion. So, please if hearing (or reading) about other people's kids makes you sick then do yourself a favor and stop reading right now!

The thing I've noticed most about Jake is what a creature of routine he is. I knew that babies need routine. It seems that toddlers do too. Who are we kidding here. I still like routine for the most part. Anyways, what tickles me right now about Jake is that as soon as I go in to get him in the morning it's like watching that movie Groundhog Day over and over. I know exactly what he's going to say. He starts off by jumping out of bed and saying "OH HI MAMA!" Then he looks at his sippy cup from the night before (yes, I know we shouldn't let him have a cup in bed) and proclaims "THAT ONE YUCK! I BUY A NEW ONE!"

As we head downstairs together he gives me a running commentary on who is awake and who is asleep. And you better believe this includes all of his toys. We also discuss the fact that daddy is at work which for some reason Jake associates with donuts. I guess because on the days when Mike is off from work he often takes Jake to get donuts. So Jake will say "Daddy at work. He getting DONUTS!"

At the bottom of the stairs he will look at me and tell me who he wants to watch on TV. We usually start with a little Elmo and go from there. It's usually around this time when he will look down at his hands and realize that he has Mr. Crab in them. His voice is filled with sheer delight when he tells Crabby "OH HI PABBY! I SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!! LOOK AT HIM. PABBY SO CUTE!"

I just love this little boy. He is so happy to see Emma when she wakes up and lavishes her with hugs and kisses. Yes, he still has his two year old moments. I'm utterly sick of the words NO, MINE and I DON'T WANT TO. But I see his little heart softening towards people and his mind working vigorously all day long. In a sense, he's becoming very independent. He wants to do things all by himself so much more now. He also is becoming a problem solver. The other day when his ball rolled under the bed to where he couldn't reach it, he went and found an object long enough to stick under the bed to roll the ball out with. I think he's got his daddy's knack for fixing things.

Okay, two more little Jake stories and we're done. Yesterday, we took him to his friend's third birthday party. It was a pool party. Now, apparently we've been watching way too much Finding Nemo around here because when he saw the pool he told his daddy that there was a shark in it that might get him. The sharks' name was Bruce just like in the movie. Fearless as he is, he didn't let the possibility of a shark attack keep him out of the water. He even jumped off the edge of the pool into Mike's arms a few dozen times. Such fun!

Lastly, I keep thinking of our family outing to the mall a few weeks ago. My niece and I were looking at clothes when I looked up to see Jake bent down with his head underneath one of the dressing room doors looking up at whoever was in there. Seriously? It starts this young? I think I might tell him he should stay out of girls dressing rooms because there are sharks in there that could get him. Think that will work?

Emma at three months

Little Emma is three months old today! This is the milestone I couldn't wait to reach because everyone always says things start getting easier around three months. I think this is true. We're adjusting to one more member in the family and Emma is starting to fall into some sort of routine now. It's easier to get both her and Jake out the door but poor little girl still HATES the car seat. So traveling is not so nice. Here are some of the things she's up to these days:

- Sits in her bouncy seat and watches her toys

- Holds her little hands.

- Coos, gurgles and smiles at us a ton!

- Wakes up very cranky (just like her mama)

- Sleeps for 7 or 8 hour stretches at night now

- Takes three good naps every day

- Enjoys bath time

- Watches EVERYTHING Jake is doing (I can tell that she can't wait until she can take off after him.)

- Flips from her tummy to her back and is close to going from back to tummy

- Makes us smile everyday

Here's Emma's three month picture and some we took of Jake when he was three months old.

Our House

We couldn't be prouder of our little house. The closing date is still set for July 10th and things are moving along pretty quickly. We go to visit it every week. This week they are working on all of the electrical stuff which completely bores me. I mean I like electricity but I'm not that interested in seeing wires or light switches when we go visit the house. I was VERY interested last week though to see that the countertops, marble and tile had been put in. Yeah! It looks like a house on the inside now as well as the outside. Here are some pictures on the progress they've made the last few weeks. We went from bare walls, to texture, to paint and have all of our counters in place.

Wordless Wednesday

Seriously, I'm tired of creepy crawly things

Last night I went into the kitchen to chop up some veggies to put in a salad for dinner. That's right, I said veggies. We eat them every now and then. I picked a cutting board up off of the counter only to find a little, brown scorpion looking at me. Well, you can bet we won't be having vegetables again anytime soon. Not if these guys like hanging out around cutting boards. I bet scorpions never hide in cookie jars or ice cream cartons. This is the third scorpion we've seen since we moved in here and the fact that it was still alive and in our KITCHEN really freaked me out.

I still maintain the position that scary little creatures are cool to look at outside but if they're found inside then they must die. Mike, being my knight in shining armor, took off his flip flop and crushed the poor little bugger.

I can't wait until we move into our own house with our own set of bugs. I was thinking we would not waste the money on having the new house sprayed for buggies, but now I see the foolishness in that decision. Sign me up ABC pest control. I don't want to see anything that should be outside, inside. Unless it's something like a coyote or a fox. That would be cool.

So without any further adieu, here is my top ten list for this Tuesday.

Top Ten Reasons I Hate Arachnids

1.) They have eight legs which means they're faster than me

2.) They are hairy

3.) They can bite/sting me

4.) They are creepy

5.) They are silent which just increases the creepiness factor

6.) They are masters of camoflage so I can't see them until I've just about stepped on them

7.) They have the ability to eat you from the inside out

8.) They spin their webs right in front of our door so every morning I walk through them and end up picking spider web off of myself the rest of the day

9.) They sometimes crunch when your husband squashes them

10.) When I was little, one of them found his way into my bowl of Post Toasties

Let's hear it for the girls

You should all know by now that when Mike and I found out we were having another baby we both prayed it would be another boy. There were practical reasons behind these prayers. We already had tons of little boy clothes and little boy toys. And we figured we could just raise baby number two the same way we raised baby number one. Except that we could fix the mistakes we made with number one and make number two even better.

But the main reason we wanted another boy is that we both felt that girls are just harder. Scary even. I should know seeing as how I am one. They have crevices that almost call for a special tool to get the poop out when they're little. They need much bigger closets than boys. They need skin products. They have hormones. At some point in life they will look at their mama, roll their eyes and say "Whatever." They will talk non-stop on the phone from the age of 11 to 21. They will be mean to other girls or other girls will be mean to them. They will start bringing home boys. The list goes on and on and on.

However, about 13 years ago I met one little girl that I just fell in love with. My niece, Katie. We formed a special bond seeing as how we are both the youngest child in our families. I got to spend a lot of time with her and with my nephew Tom when they were little. Katie was a little spitfire with lots of energy and sometimes she couldn't seem to stay out of trouble. We had many a discussion on how life isn't fair to the youngest person in the family. I don't know what her first words were, but I know the first words I remember her saying were "Tim (cause she couldn't say the K sound yet) pick my up!" I loved it.

Watching her younger years only confirmed my suspicions that girls were harder to raise than boys. Her brother has always been a very laid back, calm, obedient guy. And Katie has always been spirited. She just turned thirteen and I have to say that I hope Emma grows up as well as Katie has. I'm hoping they'll be friends of sorts despite the age difference. And I'm hoping watching Katie's parents raise her will help us with some of the scary girl stuff in the future. Here's some pictures of my two favorite girls. I like them lots. I'm not sure why Emma always has the crazy red eye in her pictures. Kind of goes along with the scary thing though.

Wordless Wednesday

Okay, a few words. As of late, Jake has taken to getting his diaper rash cream or any lotion he can find and rubbing it on his boo boos to make them feel better. The other day I found him not only doctoring himself but Mr. Crab as well. He's such a good friend to inanimate objects.

Top Ten Tuesday

I love alliteration. I told Mike I would do a top ten list every week and I was all set to do the top 10 cleaning products of all time today. But then something happened last night that changed my life forever. I watched "I'm a Celebrity, Get me out of Here!" And then I spent the rest of the night fighting the urge to gauge my eyeballs out and hurl a brick through our TV set.

Honestly, this was the biggest waste of an hour and a half I have ever spent. And that includes anytime I spend an hour and a half just staring into space or picking lint off of my clothes. With the exception of Lou Diamond Phillips and maybe Stephen Baldwin, what qualifies any of these people to be celebrities? And really Stephen Baldwin is only a celebrity because of his brother Alec. Anyway, this is seriously the worst television show I have ever sat through. Unfortunately, we were not able to NOT watch it. It was like a train wreck. You don't want to look, but you find yourself doing it anyway.

So here are my top ten things about last nights show that really, really bothered me.

1. Sanjaya's hair
2. Heidi and Spencer
3. Spencer and Heidi
4. Speidi
5. The eating of the tarantula
6. Heidi constantly spraying her "dry shampoo product" all over herself
7. Heidi constantly spraying her "dry shampoo product" all over Spencer
8. Heidi and Spencer constantly praying to Jesus (only because, could it have been more insincere?)
9. Spencer constantly losing his temper, cussing and then praying to Jesus
10. Spencer telling the producer of the show that he and Heidi were too rich and too famous to be on the show and that the other celebrities were so NOT famous that it was hurting Spencer and Heidi's famousness. Geesh!

Three hairy spiders, two scary scorpions and a squirrel in a tree

Meet Harold. He's part of the reason I love living out here in the "country." We're surrounded by green grass, loads of trees and bunches of animal life. Go Nature! The main thing I miss about living in California is getting out in nature. I enjoyed going hiking there and of course I lOVED going out on the boat to see what we could find. Now, there are a lot of beautiful things to see right here in Texas. It's just that it is way too hot to go out and see them. Oh, well. Now I can see them from the comfort of my air conditioned kitchen.

For some reason we just have the one squirrel. I don't know if he's a nerd and the other squirrels don't want to play with him or if he's like the Godfather of squirrels and the other squirrels are afraid of him or what. One thing is certain about Harold though. He can climb. Every morning he goes jumping from tree to tree outside. Then we hear a big thunk and look up to see Harold climbing the outside walls of the house to get up on the roof. I really think he should join Cirque de Solei or something.

Here's my favorite. We have several deer that come to graze on the grass in the early mornings. So beautiful. Plus, they don't run away immediately when Brady tries to play with them. Yes, I said play with, not chase them away. I believe he thinks they are really big dogs.













The only bad thing about the nature part of living in the "country"? Spiders. The other night as Mike and I were giving Emma her bath, I looked down to see just the biggest, hairiest spider EVER running across the kitchen floor. I would have taken his picture but with all of the screaming and running away going on I couldn't grab the camera. Once I calmed Mike down I told him that spider had to die. Usually, I'm all about the relocation program when it comes to outside things being inside. So please don't go getting all PETA on me. I just couldn't take a chance on this thing getting back in the house if we just captured him and put him outside. I'm confident that even if we had driven him miles away to a different locale that he would have found his way back here and sauntered into our air conditioned home on his eight hairy, long legs. And I just couldn't have that happen. I knew I had made the right decision when Mike informed me that said spider actually made a crunching sound when he killed it. People. Spiders don't have bones. They should not crunch when you squash them. Hey, nature? Please stay outside where you belong from now on. I love looking at you through my windows and I'm not afraid to take you out if you come inside.