Under the Weather

I must be because I actually cleaned out the van today (this included dusting and vacuuming). I even put a tub in the back to hold various kid gear. I also did some stuff around the house. The house is of course still in disarray, but since we are getting new carpet soon I'm even more lax. Plus why bother dusting when putting in new carpet will kick up dust anyway! Not sure what my excuse for the rest of the house is. Still haven't won the we need to have a housecleaner argument with Steve....

I survived the extremely long, cold, windy, whiny (Emma) that were baseball pictures on Saturday for both kids. I was in a slightly foul mood as well since I drove all the way into town before that for E's soccer only to find out it was canceled once I got there. At $3.45/gallon for a gas that was not sweet!

I even got their bags and gear packed up for school tomorrow and their activities. Crazy night on Monday and I'm actually prepared!

Thoughts on BB: Since day 1 I kind of figured he would win. It's like I have a 6th sense about stupid stuff like that. If I could only use these super powers for good? I was sooooo tired of Sheila whining about money and about Adam all season. She didn't deserve to be in the final 2 anyway. She hadn't done a darn thing! Besides be carried by Adam. Even if she'd been in the final 2 she wouldn't have won anyway. I thought it was funny Ryan only got 1 vote. One reality show down, one to go (Survivor). Although I have been watching reruns of Top Chef and have to admit I'm hooked. I won't admit to some other reality shows that have caught my eye....too embarassing to admit.

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow!

Emma has been mentioning for the last couple weeks she wants her hair cut. She was in desperate need of a trim, but she wanted to get her hair cut like mommy. (Shoulder length). Mommy is actually in desperate need of a cut too. Anyway, we haven't had time to get in. We did try on Wednesday, but there was a 45 minute wait (we go to Cost Cutters..plus the kids love that they get a toy there), so today Steve was able to get her in. He was home this afternoon and I told him if they did go take pics. He did! I didn't get the greatest post cut pics tonight (she kept striking different poses including some with a flower, so I had a hard time getting a regular hair shot), but all I can say is wow, she looks a lot older. I was afraid of that happening. She tends to look older anyway...now people are really going to be thinking I have a set of twins! She was so proud of herself for getting it cut. Even though Mommy was a little sad on the inside, I have to admit it's very cute! Plus with summer coming it will feel 10 lbs lighter for her. Also included one of all the missing hair. We looked into Locks of Love, but her hair wasn't long enough.

Baseball is now in full swing including team pics tomorrow. Tis the season for chaos!

The Night the Lights Went Out In Georgia

The Hansens were awakened by the thunderstorm this morning. Actually I probably would have slept thru it...but everyone else woke up so I guess I was awake then too. Then about 5:30am Steve realizes the electricity is off. I knew Parker would figure this out in a few minutes. He is obsessed with the clock in his room (we tell him he can't get up before 6:00 most days), so of course when he woke up and it was dark, he came in to let us know. Shortly after that Emma starts screaming. "I don't have a nightlight!" So at 5:30 we were all awake. I am NOT a morning person. They laid in bed with me for about 5 minutes before they got bored. They start talking about Cooper and how he can see in the dark (Cooper seems much better btw) and Parker says very seriously, "I wish I was a cat so I could see in the dark. Then I would be a famous Half Human!" Emma then says she would need to be a grey cat if she was a Half Human. They quickly get bored and head downstairs and then play with flashlights and eat unheated waffles. They loved that there wasn't any electricity. As Steve said - they haven't figured out that every morning it's this dark if you don't turn the lights on! I was waiting to see if I would be going to work or not (yes I could shower, but the rest of me would be disheveled) but alas around 7:00 the lights came back on. The kids were disappointed. So was mommy!

I forgot to mention on Sunday afternoon since the weather was so nice the kids decided to have a "fiesta" outside. They asked if they could have snacks at it and I said sure. Next thing I know they have every snack box out there. Not sure how much junk they ate, but hey it's a fiesta! We had also opened up Squawkers the parrot (got him on clearance for $12, originally $50 - thanks Roni!) so he was the main guest at the fiesta. Of course then the weather yesterday was yucky which meant today (after the storm) it was nice again.

Tuesday is generally our activity-free night, so the kids got their bikes out tonight. Parker has been without his wheels for awhile and to be honest it scares me a little how fast he can go. Emma insisted she didn't need wheels either. This meant Steve did a lot of pushing tonight! She is starting to figure it out so she was uber excited. I attached a video of one of her runs. Of course there was a couple of crashes, but she got right back on. Poor thing. Her rash came back today and was all over her arms. Luckily school pics were done yesterday! It basically looks like hives. It can last up to 2 weeks and is aggravated by sun and heat. I have some skin cream that seems to be helping with the itching.

Forgot to comment on my reality TV from last week - BB and Survivor were actually good last week. I was so glad to see Natatas and Ozzie go!

Pleading the Fifth

It seems there has been a constant stream of health-type notes going home in the kids back backs all winter. The flu season is finally over, strep throat has hit pretty hard and then there are always the lice scares. The latest now is Fifth's Disease. Well Miss E has it. (I'm glad to report we've missed the throat and lice stuff!) Fifth's sounds way worse than it is. She came home Friday with extremely blotchy cheeks. (They say Fifth's is also called slapped-cheek disease and judging from the way her cheeks looked, I totally agree). Of course guess who has school pictures tomorrow??? By this afternoon it was mostly gone, but this morning when she sang at the Sunday School program she was super blotchy. She isn't contagious, basically by the time they kids get the red cheeks they aren't contagious anymore. We'll see if P gets it. He's been battling a sore nose. I wouldn't say it's a cold or anything, I'm guessing it's allergies and it's making his nose look pretty gross. Luckily his school pics were a few weeks ago.

The sickies are also affecting Steve (the usual head/nose/sinus stuff) and poor Mister Cooper. I didn't see him till after 5 today...which for Cooper that's even a long time to stay hidden/napping. He's 13 years old and so he's not a youngster anymore. I'm thinking he maybe has an infected tooth or gum problem. We'll get him into the vet to see. He was very snuggly tonight though, but I don't think he's eating a whole lot....probably because it hurts. Of course this will mean that we'll need to "drug" him before he goes...since he has panic attacks issues at the vets office. I've actually been very healthy most of the winter, besides my moody back and neck. And even that lately has been cooperating for the most part. Sorry this post ended up being a medical report!

Yesterday was cold and dreary and E had soccer and tball back to back in the morning. With it being damp and dreary I figured she'd be a handful, but she actually did great. I couldn't get her to keep her sweatshirt sleeve out of her mouth, but at least she wasn't whining. In the pics she's in the grey outfit and of course you can't miss the hair. Soccer is 4 and 5 year olds (there was a lot of crying which was starting to irritate her) and tball is 5 and 6 year olds. She's the token girl.

They had their Sunday School program this morning. Poor P woke up with a bad stomache (he never complains about feeling sick so I knew it was for real. Miss E had a tummy ache the day before but with her everyday is an ache or pain so hard to tell) and after he slept a little longer he woke up and felt better so we were able to get in for the program after all. In the movies Emma is in the pink on the right and Parker is in the white/blue shirt on bottom row in the middle. Peyton is nearby in the blue shirt.

That ends this evenings report on the boring details of the Hansen family...Good night!

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

Well at least we haven't had snow in almost a week...of course that means rain instead. I still haven't taken the time to find my umbrella so the Care Bear one has been filling in. I look so glamorous...plus pink is my favorite color! I take Parker into TKD tonight for his promotion ceremony (where he officially gets his orange belt) and while trying to get out of the van and get the rock star umbrella open my brand new Creating Keepsakes and Scrapbooks Etc magazines proceed to fall right into a huge puddle. Well actually only one fell and then when I bent down to pick it up without smashing the umbrella, the other one slid right out...dang I'm good! In the mags defense, they must have some strong back covers on those things. They didn't get ruined at all!

Here are his pics from tonight. Can you tell he's a little bit proud?

FYI: No Parker was not going to the TKD studio they busted here in town - it was ran by a man who bilked a bunch of people out of money on the East Coast who then went to jail, then went into the witness relocation program because he had been associated with the mob and testified against them and then bilked a bunch of people out of money around here. In our little town, who'd a thunk? Although it's a sealed indictment, but so far that's what's been in the paper.

PSA: Do not cross the street in front of my building at work...city buses keep running people over...no I'm not kidding! I'm sticking with the skywalks and yeah for being in the parking garage!

Well Since It Snowed Saturday...

*Card removed for publication in Cards Magazine - December 2008.

I'll go ahead and post some seasonal stuff. I made some things this weekend for some current calls, so ignore the fact that some of them don't make sense since it's April! I'm not sure if I'm loving a couple of the cards, but they are done so we'll see what happens!

Back from a whirlwind of childrens' activities tonight. Off to veg...the laundry will always be there tomorrow!

O-R-A-N-G-E....or is that M-O-U-S-E??

It's official...he's an orange belt! Steve and I were in awe to watch him. He's one of the youngest ones there and he is so intense. He has been waiting for his test all week. The promotion ceremony is next Thursday so I'm hoping to get some pics. I posted a couple mini videos I took on my digital camera (he's in the middle on the left). Of course I took a bunch more that were better, but I forgot and held my camera vertically so you'd have to tip your head sideways to them! Whatever activity he's in he really does try his best. And he's loved everything he's ever done. I was thinking by this age he'd start not liking some things, so we could start weeding out some of the activities, but apparently that isn't the case yet. He is type A like me though and I think he likes being active.

Took Miss Noodle this morning for her dance pics. Of course I misjudged how long it'd take for us to get ready so we raced to the studio like a couple of crazy people. We were still 10 minutes early so not sure why I ended up getting so spazzed to get there. Her baton costumes are adorable - pink and grey mice, complete with ears and a tail. Of course she wouldn't let me take her pic, so I'll post what I did manage to get. From what I can tell all her professional pics turned out good. Her tumbling outfit is pretty basic since you really can't somersault with animal ears! (to see bigger pics, double click on them)

I must say I'm one lucky mom. They put up with my craziness, they are the best of friends, love to play together and watch out for each other. They are two great kids!

April Showers Bring May Flowers???

Sigh.... well at least the snow has stopped (I guess there was a touch of it last week), but not the rain has taken it's place. Of course on my way home yesterday it starts downpouring and I can't see anything. By the time I get home the sun is coming out. Baseball practice was cancelled tonight and tomorrow, a game was cancelled and their opening ceremonies tomorrow were cancelled. This did lighten up the load tomorrow, but the poor kids aren't getting to do much at all yet with Little League. Tomorrow we have E's baton/tumbling pics in the morning (of course I'm starting to stress about getting her hair to look decent in a pony tail and hoping she'll be in a good mood) and P has his orange belt test for TKD tomorrow afternoon. He is beyond excited! I'm pretty sure he'll pass, I know he'll be crushed if he doesn't.

Tonight is Friday Fun Night. Often Fun Nights happen when daddy is gone, because Mommy is a lot more lax on things. Today he is home, but we're still being lax! This involved favorite foods for supper (pizza, mac/cheese) on their TV trays in front of the TV while they watch Sponge Bob. Later they'll probably have a sleep over in one of their rooms. For an "appeteazer" (to quote Michael from The Office) Emma had bologna/celery/apple chops and Parker had carrot/chesse/apple chops. "Chops" are something Emma came up. She like to get things cut up small and then all mixed together. Celery chops are her favorite.

Didn't realize I hadn't blogged all week. Can't even remember what happened, but I know we were busy with the usual. I did get an email today from Paper Crafts and had 3 cards picked up for their Card Creations Vol. 6 that will be out later this year. I was just hoping for one...so I'm very excited! There are some other calls ending next week so we'll see if I get any more love. March was pretty loveless! This CREATE sign I made earlier this week using some more of my Rusty Pickle Pirate Princess. I'm not sure if I'm totally in love with how this came out...I'm not loving the jewels and buttons I put on the e's, so we'll see if I change it a bit. Sorry for the poor quality photo...with all this rain...can't get outside to take a pic!

Fundraising Blurb: I think most of you that read the blog I've already emailed, but she is selling pizza cards for her baton school. It's Casey's pizza and if you buy a large you get a medium 1 topping free. There are 10 punches for this"deal" and it's $10, so basically the medium pizza costs you $1 (10 medium pizzas for $10 total). If anyone is interested let me know. Thanks!

God Given Talents

The other night I overheard Parker and Emma talking. Emma says, "Look Parker. I can burp whenever I want to." I listen and yes she can! She is going to make some boy very happy one day! Parker says, "That's not fair. I can't burp like that." Emma says, "Don't worry Parker, we all have different talents. You can fart and I can't." So he gets all excited and proceeds to do the hand/cheek fart over and over and gives Emma suggestions. It's so nice they are there for each other!

Been really busy with kid stuff and it's only going to get worse now that baseball is starting. He's got a couple more TKD classes before he tests for the orange belt. I was trying to decide if he was ready, but he's doing a lot of the stuff better than the current orange belts, so I think we'll go ahead. Of course the test is on Saturday in DM, when we also have a tball game, dance pictures, Emma's tball practice and opening ceremonies for both of their baseball teams. Waiting to hear when the test is, but logistically I think we'll be ok. We just won't be home on Saturday!

Emma rocked it at her dance camp recital on Friday night. I've included some mini videos I took of the camera. (she's on the left, 2nd one back with all the hair) I was busy doing that so I didn't get much for still pics. (I also included a pic from P's cub scout banquet the other week)Later after it was over I was talking with a friend of mine and Emma disappeared. Finally found her out in the middle of the gym with a few other kids rocking it to the music that was blaring over the speakers. It's a little scary how a 5 year can already shake her booty like that. I hope Steve didn't see much of it!

Happy to report that Bosco didn't eat my latest package I got from Paper Crafts. It also helps that we were home when it came...lol. Even got a few extra scrap goodies in the package including some new Zach's bike and other cool goodies I know I'll use.

The weather warmed up this weekend so the kids got to spend some time outside. I debated with sunscreen, but ended up not putting any on them. I am paranoid with the sunscreen and so I felt bad when P ended up with some pink on his neck and E had pink hands. The weird part is their faces were still pasty white...not sure how that works? It wasn't a bad burn or anything, but apparently it's already time to start lathering up.

You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile!

Parker is a "bit" of a serious child. Once he warms up he can be silly and goofy and his teachers said he is so funny and laughs alot. But when he doesn't know people or someone is trying to be funny and he doesn't understand he can get a pretty stern look on his face when people talk to him. Last night he was worked up that someone named Cooper (meow!) on the bus or at the bus stop (I think it's an adult helper) keeps telling him to smile. He said, "Mom, I didn't want to smile and he keeps telling me too." I could tell it was bothering him. I figure it's not call-the-school worthy though...what do you say? Excuse me, but quit telling my kid to smile! He also very serious during his TKD, but there you are supposed to be, so I guess half the time in life he's right on the money!

Miss E is busy with dance camp after school this week. It's pre-k thru 6th grade so I imagine it's pretty much mass chaos. The big performance is on Friday. I feel so bad that she missed cheer camp when she was sick, so I'm glad she's getting to do this. She's pretty excited. She also got 2 high fives today (it's a little award for being helpful, nice, etc) and so she got something out of the treasure box. A cool little black and pink wallet. It matches the black and pink baseball shoes I just bought her...also very adorable :-) She put her childsafe ID, a movie rental card, an old insurance card and some bill dollars in there so she is ready to take on the world! She also informed me that I shouldn't call Parker honey, because that is what I call her and that I should call him Bud. That way she won't get confused about who I'm talking to...duly noted!