Only when Brandon is gone

Although I have never mentioned it before, I feel that recent events warrant me to talk about the irony of certain events. For the last several months Brandon has been working two audits shifts at a local hotel. For those of you who are unfamiliar with hotels, this is the graveyard shift, starting at 11pm. So for two night a week it is me, the kids, and the dog in the house. And it is the only two nights a week ANYTHING will happen. For example, when Eric has the stomach flu and was up all night, Brandon was at work. When Josh was up all night with an ear infection, the same. And that is just a bit of it. So this last Friday night when Brandon was at work and of course I had a problem. Katie got me up at 1:30am and this is what I walked into...

This is my very wet kitchen, I am not sure if you can see the several inches of standing water on the floor, but believe me, it was there. And it was not only in my kitchen, but also in my living room. Because it is just our luck to NOT have the water confine itself into one room.

As you can see, we had a VERY large mess on our hands. It took several hours of a wet/dry shop vac to get it passable and the a few more hours of a Bissel carpet cleaner, a lot of fans, and a lot of time to get it dry. Today, Sunday, we are back into our living room. The carpet is mostly dry, with just one little spot that it damp. "What caused this mess?" you ask?

This lovely dishwasher. The water hose had come off of it. I had turned it on before I went to bed around 11:30. So there were two hours of the water running everywhere before Katie got me up. Thank you Katie for sleeping so bad! If you had slept longer who knows what we might have had on our hands!

Here are a few more pictures of what happened that night! I am happy to report that the only apparent damage was to the back of a picture that I had yet to hang. Other than that everything was fine. I also wanted to share that Brandon did work again last night and all was well.

Where is Katie?

I was running around today, cleaning, and somehow I misplaced Katie. I knew that she was safe because I had blocked off all of the dangerous parts of the house, but I still couldn't find her. Finally I did. Look what she had done...

She was quite happy as you can see.

This week in pictures

Here is a little bit of what went on in our house this week through pictures.


Eric had a game this week. He did really well.


And this is him messing around at Josh's game.


Josh looks so cute in his uniform!

He insisted that I take this picture of him with his ball (which he loves!) before...

... he would let me take this picture of the two of us!

Katie and Brandon! WOW! Brandon never lets me take his picture!

Josh sharing his ring pop with Katie.

Too cute to not share!

Look Mom! No Hands!

Yeah, I think that picture speaks for it's self. She sure looks happy doesn't she? Katie can't get into this position on her own yet, she need to have someone, like a wonderful bigger brother, to prop her up, or a piece of furniture. But when she does stand she gets very excited about her accomplishment. Then she falls, quite gracefully I might add.

He wants vs I want

My husband wants one of these...

...an iPod classic. You can listen to your music on them, watch a video or TV show, and some will come with an FM tuner if you choose.

I want the following done around my house:

1. hang the boys curtain rods
2. hang the clock
3. fix the dresser drawer
4. fix the drawer on the TV stand
5. switch the washer and the dryer and put the door back on.
6. remove the box from upstairs (to heavy for me)
7. tighten the bolts on Katie's crib (don't worry, still safe, just she likes to shake it!)
8. build Joshua's new bed
9. hang the mirror and the votive holders above our bed
10. finish cleaning the backyard

Negotiations will begin when the list is complete. I will keep you posted on his progress.

Spring season

It has started. Spring that is, and all that comes with it. In our house that means BASEBALL! With both boys playing we are in for a very busy spring.

Josh is playing t-ball (Phillies) and Eric (Dodgers) machine pitch. They love to play and have so much fun! It is fun to watch them play and learn the art of the game. And I guess that I shouldn't complain to much. Because of my work schedule, Brandon will be doing most of the driving to and fro. Stay turned for more pictures of the games.

Selt-Portrait Tuesday

This weeks challenge...

"we've all heard that *mom*-like expression: "i've got eyes in the back of my head" (usually delivered as some sort of warning.) do you ever wonder what you would see if you actually DID have eyes in the back of your head??

when you are cleaning the kitchen, or sitting on the playground, driving the carpool, browsing through target...what's going on behind you? something funny? colorful? disturbing? tempting?

this week, the challenge is to look past the "self" in the self-portrait, and focus on what's going on behind you. this is a great opportunity to practice using those eyes in the back of your head!"

I learned from this challenge that the "eyes" in the back of my head do not work as well as they should. Mostly I find the things that they have been doing after it was to late. I have to say, though, that I have great kids. They things that they did were not awful in any way, just kid stuff.

Eric is well know for the nasty look when I am not looking.

Joshua is still a master mess maker, and loves to invent things with my vacuum. I have caught him several times with it completely apart!

Katie will take any moment an adult is not looking to go for the stairs. She loves to climb them. Can you imagine why I don't like this?

Well, this is my house (on a smaller scale) when my back is turned. I need to get better at using those eyes in the back of my head. Oh, and by the way, we do have a gate to stop Katie from going on the stair, but occasionally (mostly when my husband is home) it gets taken down.

Getting to know... ME!

Just a fun quiz that a friend sent to me. I thought that it was fun and good for my blog. I am tagging the following people to respond: Steph, Windy, Jennifer, and Kristi. Have fun!

1. What is your occupation? Mom/Customer Service Supervisor
2. What color are your socks right now? To hot to wear socks
3. What are you listening to right now? Josh making Katie laugh
4. What was the last thing that you ate? homemade meatballs
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yes
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? red
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Jeanne
8.Do you like the person who sent this to you? ABSOULTELY!!!
9. How old are you today? 32
10. Favorite drink? Milkshakes
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? My boys baseball
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes
13. Pets? One dog, Jazmin
14. Favorite food? Homemade spaghetti and meatballs
15. Last movie you watched? Alvin and the Chipmuncks
16. Your Favorite day of the year? My kids birthdays.
17. What do you do to vent anger? Take a time out!
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? Craft activities
19. What is your favorite season? Fall
20. Hugs or kisses? Hugs
21. Cherry or Blueberry? Cherry
22. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes!
23. Who is most likely to respond? Joslin
24. Who is least likely to respond? Elissa
26. When was the last time you cried? Not sure
27. What is on the floor of your closet? Scrapbook and sewing stuff
28. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? A tie between Emily, Elissa, Lisa, Libbi, Kris, & Janell
29. Who is the friend you have had the shortest that you are sending this to? Jennifer
30. Favorite smells? Any new baby smell
31. Who inspires you? My kids, my husband
32. What are you afraid of? Something happening to those I love
33. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese
34. Favorite car? Hyundai Entourage
35. Favorite cat breed? none
36. Number of keys on your key ring? 2
37. How many years at your current job? I was hired in Nov 1997, but since I came back from having Katie, 4 months
38. Favorite day of the week? Sunday
39. How many states have you lived in? 8 states, I think.
40. Do you think you're funny? I think that I might be funny looking!

Self-Portrait Tuesday

... on Thursday. I have just been to busy (and grumpy) to make an attempt to do this earlier.

The challenge ...

...for next week, a simple challenge. take a few moments to take a great self-portrait. fix your hair, freshen your lipstick, wear your favorite shirt. get outside, or stay inside, but take the time to find a shot that you love. i want to see beautiful photos of my beautiful friends, something to remember you all by as i wade through the next few months.

Really, not to fun for me. I was avoiding taking a picture without a child in it to distract you from seeing me. In fact, when I did finally take it I was wearing hardly any make-up! I could have definitely used some help from Cover Girl, at least some lip-gloss! But after I took it and looked at it for a few minutes I realized that you will be looking at the real me. I rarely get dressed up when I am at home. Sadly, I usually look better going to work then I do for my beloved husband and wonderful children. Maybe they would like to see Mom dressed up more?

I thought that I should mention that I do like something about this picture. I like my eyes. I have always liked the color. I think that the green really stands out.

Great April Fool's joke, Lelly. I think that you fooled just about everyone!