big time crime

Perhaps the last docket goody?

Two 20-year-old females were charged with petty theft Tuesday after a deputy found a "mowing ahead" sign in the trunk of the vehicle they were driving on Hancock County 172.

A gaggle of geese was running loose Tuesday in the 19000 block of Hancock County 17. The animals' owner returned them to their barn after speaking with a deputy.

Oh geese. Heehee!

things i will miss

I'm sitting on my deck, watching the sun go down.

I love this backyard.

I loved this backyard in the tundra like conditions of Ohio in late November, when we were house shopping and I was dreading moving back to this little city. Something about the frozen grass, big deck and mature trees felt so welcoming; the icing this house, and that move, needed so that I would feel like everything was going to work out just fine. Then in the spring I discovered the moss that thrives in the yard, the lichen on those big old trees that the builder left instead of clear cutting before developing the land.

There is a brown picket fence surrounding the back. I actually thought we would tear it down(!), I'm so glad we didn't get to that project. It's so sweet to see the squirrels running from picket to picket. And it does an excellent job of corralling the kids, making my job so much easier.

I'm not sure what my new backyard will bring...

eight days

In eight days the moving truck will arrive.

I'm starting to freak out a little (okay, a lot!).

Can we start with the fact that I have not actually been to our new home???

deep breathing

Add in two-ish weeks at Camp Grammy and Papa...and a baby that really only likes to sleep in his crib in his room.

can you see me doing yoga poses?

And then starting over in a state that I have hardly visited.

pass the chocolate.

But it will all be worth it, because we all miss J very very much.

I can't wait for us all to be under the same roof.

do you remember....

Do you remember Magic Bars?

Ooey, gooey, sugary goodness?

nom nom nom!

I don't ever remember my mom making these, but I do remember them being a staple lunchtime treat in McNair Hall.

In 8 more minutes I will be pulling a batch out of my oven...and then counting the minutes until they cool enough to eat.

I made this poor little guy wait until after lunch to have a bar...I'm so mean!

These are super easy to make - melt, mix, pat, sprinkle and bake.

I took the recipe right off of the back of the Eagle Brand Milk.

If you are looking for something yummy and full of chocolate and peanut butter, you need to make these bars that Vanessa highlighted last week.

So good. Probably too good.

Definitely not swimsuit-season friendly.

But completely necessary.

Noms!

conversations with jj

Talking to our 7 year old neighbor boy.

JJ: You love your mommy very very much?
7: Yes.
JJ: She keep away the bad guys and play toys and give lots of kisses?
7: Yes.
JJ: That is sooo awesome. (nods head emphatically)

moving updates

Last week was a big week.

We all went to Milwaukee to house hunt, I brought my sister Susie to help with kiddos, especially because J and I were driving separately. She stayed with JJ while I house hunted with our realtor and Mr. Max.

Probably the best thing to happen was that we accepted an offer on our house on Mon evening. Another 7 day sale! Woohoo! I'm planning on doing a tour of our house, mostly for posterity, but also to show how I staged it. Just like every other time we move, once I clear out the daily bits of clutter I love our home so much more. But I do miss having family pictures all around.

On Wed J and I put in an offer for our favorite house. It was great, 4 bedrooms upstairs, second floor laundry, big finished basement with egress windows and 2 guest rooms and a full bath, 3 car garage, big yard. It was going to be perfect.

On Thurs evening we found out that there was already a primary buyer for the house, but with a home sale contingency.

Crap.

And by the time we found out I was already back in Ohio and J was somewhere on the Indiana turnpike.

Double crap.

We received a counter offer and then countered back very quickly, the sellers kept moving really slowly. And it was making me crazy and nervous. I kept envisioning my family living in a storage unit (see, totally crazy thinking).

Fri night we chose to walk away from that house. We were still at least a week away from an accepted offer, and then the primary buyers would have a decent chunk of time to decide if they would set a closing date and buy the house or walk away and let us have it. We needed to stay sane.

So yesterday J walked through 5 more houses and then went through one of them a second time and took a nausea-inducing video for me (way too rocky to share with all of you). And we placed an offer.

Send me some good vibes that we can come to an agreement quickly!

docket fruit

I haven't been stalking the docket lately, but I found ths one today and it made me chuckle.

I'm going to miss this little town...

"A rural man was expected to be cited after firing a rifle Sunday from N. Main St. Charges may include firing across a roadway, inducing panic of those nearby who heard the shot, and hunting groundhogs without a license."

Groundhogs!

wedding outfits

In case you were all just absolutely sitting on pins and needles worrying about what I wore to my BIL's wedding...

I wore the black linen tunic and capris to the rehearsal, and the teal dress with nude open-toe pumps to the wedding.

And I can't remember if I took a pic of myself in either outfit.
And I killed the camera.
So yeah...

I kept the yellow floral print dress and will wear it to my boys' Baptism and another family wedding in May - the votes were split pretty evenly between the two dresses.

Thanks for helping me decide!

Staging the Great Room

big news!

Last Tuesday J asked if we wanted to move to Milwaukee.

I asked him to show me the offer.

Offer was good - we are headed to Brew City!

I'll keep you all posted while I house hunt :)


alanna rose

need a diversion?

Life has been really heavy lately.

Help me pick my outfits for J's brother's wedding this weekend!

Rehearsal Dinner

A

B

Wedding

A

B

Please note that J took these pictures, and he cannot figure out how to take a flattering picture of me. I have tried to help him, many many times, and he just can't do anything with a camera but hold it up and click the shutter. He has zero finesse with zoom or camera angle.

He totally does not understand that down shots hide my double chin.

But I still love him, so I'll just have to deal with it ;)

And can we also pretend that I have on makeup and am not rocking a greasy side pony?

Thanks.

ETA - J is standing in the wedding, and I know they will take family pictures, so think of me standing with a bride, 4 guys in tuxes, my MIL in a classic MOG dress and my adorable SIL, who always looks fab (and then my boys and nephews, who will most likely steal the show anyway)

fun new toy!

So, my super husband left work a few minutes early the other week, and stood in line at Best Buy to get me an iPad2.

He must love me, or something ;)

At any rate, we have been having lots of fun with it, and although it is mine (it has a pink cover!), I did notice a new basketball app installed... And JJ is sort of into Angry Birds...




alanna rose

these sippy cups are killing me

On Saturday I am hosting a Super Hero Birthday Extravaganza.
I should be sewing super hero capes (complete with lightning bolt monogram).

My town is slowly recovering from some pretty awful flooding.
I should be making meals for my water-logged friends.

Instead I am dealing with this.



Because a sippy cup full of milk leaked on the couch in my office.
And then it sat.

The cushion has a down top.

Mega GROSS.

I'm hoping I can resurrect the cushion, and that the cover will dry quickly. But all sippy cups have now been banished (well, I'm hiding away two for long car trips). He's turning three - he'll just have to make do with real cups, and learn to sit at the table when he wants a drink.

He'll probably deal with this change better than the next one I'm planning...

bye, bye binky

a little sunshine

It's snowy and cold today.

My neighbor took care of our sidewalk! I shall pay him in baked goods! (take that, other neighbor who prefers to watch me shovel during nap time. no treats for you!)

I finished a project, it's making me happy :)

ooh, bunting!

Heather inspired me.

And I was totally going to make little fabric roses, but my goal was to use yarn from my stash, and when I finished wrapping the wreath form, I felt like bunting was more appropriate.

Plus, I can do this:

all decked out for Valentine's Day

Next week we have a birthday at our house - I'm thinking a pic of the birthday boy will be pretty fantastic pinned to the wreath, and a shamrock after that, etc...

Happy Friday! Hope you've found your sunshine!

I'm linking up at Amanda's!

 I'm joining the Wreath Party at The Nesting Place!

the current state of my mantle

Don't laugh.

please excuse the duplos, and umm, everything else

Yep, that is totally my mantle.

The real one. In my living room. The one visitors see.

Surprisingly? I sort of dig it.

I think John Cusack is kind of dreamy

Jenny posted an interesting discussion about being overexposed to design. I have to say I feel it, and I'm not even a real designer. I really want my mom to put up lovely Ikat drapes in her bedroom, but I keep thinking -

"Is Ikat over?" If we do that, then in 2 years will I look at the drapes and say "Wow, that is so 2010."

But if Mom loves it, then does it really matter?

So does it really matter that my mantle is currently decorated with our gag-gift presents from Christmas?

I say nope. These things make me laugh, so they are staying for now. We'll call it Frat Chic - an eclectic assortment of items you might typically find in a frat house (although much cleaner). Who knows, maybe I'll add to the "collection," maybe I'll start thenextbigthing (yeah right), maybe I'll find proper homes for these items (GW box?) before our next party.

I still love that kitty oil painting.

m

he's pretty perfect

even though he still won't even attempt to sleep through the night


he's teething - always...5 teeth and counting

cruising along the furniture

crawling so fast that I lose him multiple times every day

drooling and chewing on everything


obsessed with the oven's warming drawer (just like his big brother)

has an incredible amount of blonde hair

I just trimmed it so he can see,
we aren't calling it a haircut, though;
he's just not old enough for one yet.

expert snuggler

looks just like daddy, but he belongs to mommy

wants to be just like his big brother


we love him

the problem with bowling

J is a bowler.

Like, I think he seriously would really enjoy being a pro bowler (I know - I'm thinking I wouldn't fit in very well with the pro-bowler wives). He's in two leagues (at one point he was in three), and his name shows up pretty regularly in the sports section of our local paper.

Yes, they print high bowling scores in the local paper.

Anyway, the problem is that the 6 or 7 nights a month that he does bowl, I am not happy. He leaves for work and then he comes home after bowling. So I take care of the bebes all day without reprieve (super fun when they decide to tag-team their naps) and handle bedtime by myself. I have to say it's easier now that it was when Max was a few months old - that was really tough.

I go back and forth on how I feel about this. I want him to have time to enjoy something, but I feel like bowling is inferior to a whole bunch of activities.

It's not even aerobic.

Today I decided that one of the main issues I have with bowling is that I am alone all day with our little guys, and once I get them both in bed I have maybe 30 min to myself before he comes home.

And 30 min is nothing. I barely finished folding a basket of laundry before he came home - I had big plans to blog, and vacuum, and dust, and polish my nails and take a super long shower. I'm beginning to think I should tell him to stay out longer, but I think that plan will backfire.

And that is the problem with bowling.

there's a hole in the ceiling

When we bought this house, 4 years ago (I know! I can't believe it's already been 4 years!), there was one thing I really wanted to change.

The skylight in our entry. Specifically the shaft because it was lined with plywood (instead of drywall) and when it was painted the grain rose and looked really bad.

J said he would fix it. No problem.

Well, it's been four years. The skylight itself has been replaced (we had that done when the roof was replaced in 2007), but the shabby-shaft remained.

swede in a hole

But now it. is. gone.

There is a giant hole in the ceiling, because no project is ever as easy at it seems, but there is progress.

And it makes me happy.

friday randomness

First: how do we feel about my green polish?

Sew Psyched by essie

The only opinion I could get around here is from JJ. He said "Cool mommy. Like a army guy."

* Muffin Friday! - I threw the boys in the car and we got drive-thru muffins from Biggby for breakies. And coffee, of course coffee!

* I got to dress up for an actual business meeting this week - I felt like a grown up!

* JJ just convinced me to paint one of his nails - he thinks it's pretty special.

* I think I'm going to merge my two blogs, the other one is sort of blah. I think I'll just stick it in here. Maybe that way I'll update more often.

Probably not ;) but maybe.

* I'm out of dish soap, and I have no desire to take the kids to the store. I think it's a pretty excuse to not do dishes today.

* I have a lot of stuff to do today, but I really just want to clean and organize the house...

* JJ is starting preschool in the fall. I have issues with this, and yet, I love it!

* Someone keeps stealing my camera and taking pictures (and touching the lens).

at my house

this guy loves prunes

this guy still loves building rockets

and these two have still got it
(ps - j does not have a double chin,
he just does that every time we take self portraits)