A New Blog...

Memory Bound, the store I work at, now has a blog...you have to check it out!

http://memorybound.blogspot.com/

Leaky Prayers...

Unfortunately, we have several leaks in our house. We have had terrible ice dams and Jason has spent several hours on the roof, trying to get rid of snow and ice. This winter has been brutal and it is bound to happen! The other day, we discovered a new leak, then later on I heard the boys talking to the "head guy" in the hopes of getting a break with all the snow...

Dear God,
Please make it rain and rain and rain every day so the snow will get ushy and gushy. And then the sun will come out and all the ushy and gushy stuff will go away.
Amen
(Jack)

God,
This is Sam again. Can you please make it sunny for awhile because there is too much snow. There is so much snow that we have leaks in our house. And if it keeps snowing, then our house will be all wet. So please make the sun come out and make all the snow melt.
Amen.
Thanks, God.

Hope they work...not sure if I want to get rain for days, but Jack's heart was in the right place! :)

Hello Copic Cards...

I have been teaching classes at Memory Bound using the "new" Copic markers. The markers are alcohol based, so you can blend the colors. When I first started using the markers, I really didn't like them. But, now that I have played around with them, I really enjoy "coloring" with the markers. These are a few of my cards from the class I will be teaching in may...

From moms to their little ones...

Thought this video was very cool...why a mother must love and does love their little ones so furiously...

http://www.becreative-everyday.com/2010/02/what-you-domatters.html

Loved the part, "I love you this furiously so you can carry it in your body and pass it on..."

Forts...

We have had to think of all sorts of things that the boys can do or be doing, just due to the fact that they have not been able to get outside. So, this weekend, we built a fort in Jack's room that the boys could hang out and sleep in. We drug Sam's mattress into Jack's room and hung two big blankets from the top bunk to some chairs (from the kitchen.)

Sam, otherwise known as Gray Man, and Jack hanging out in their fort.

Jack showing us where he slept. (much more comfortable than Sam's closet~ which lasted 1 1/2 nights.)

Oh, there is also a fort in the sun room. It includes a plant, for that true jungle feeling, and some books on which to hang your hat. I am sure another fort will pop up in somewhere!

A Perfect Bed...

This is Jacks bed. A perfect bed for him...he could sleep on the top or on the bottom, depending on his mood. (haven't picked out a color for Jack's walls yet.)

This is Sam's bed. Perfect for Sam. Notice Sam's closet to the right.

This is a close up of Sam's closet. And yes, Jack's bedding is in Sam's closet. For some reason, Jack insists on sleeping in Sam's closet!!

When Jack fell asleep the first night, Jason pulled him out and had him sleeping on Sam's floor. Jack woke up in the middle of the night and crawled back into the closet!! I don't know why he insists on sleeping in the closet..but, has slept thre for FOUR nights - that was his plan. My mom told me with kids, you just have to go with it sometimes...I have to just go with the flow a lot with this little guy!

More Snow...

This is a picture of the first snow...way back on December 7, 2009. The boys were so excited that Jack ate snow off the chair (gross!)

This is a picture of the same table at the beginning of January. The spots are the Christmas tree reflecting off the windows.

And this is from Saturday morning. It snowed 4 inches on Friday and it is suppose to snow 6-12 inches today. We have not seen the bottom of these chairs for over TWO MONTHS!!

We are now at the 4th snowiest winter! I hope that we get the record. I would hate to come up 2 or 3 inches short. All that snow and no pay off ~that just would not be fair!

Update on today's (Sunday) winter storm:

Yesterday morning, we were already under a winter storm watch with the expectation that it would change into a winter storm warning. Snow was to start at 12:00am Sunday morning and go through 6 am Monday morning. 6-12 inches was forecast.

Then this am, Sunday, we woke up and the weather had changed to a winter weather advisory with 2-5 inches excepted through the day.

Well, nothing has happened (thank goodness)...there is no warnings, advisories or anything, for anywhere in Iowa! Guess they missed that one...again!

Racoon Proof...

The raccoon FINALLY left Thursday night. It stayed in there for 2 days! Those things must eat ANYTHING, because I am NOT a good cook and it liked my leftovers for 48 hours! On Friday night, Jason went out to Raccoon proof our garbage can. But, first he had to make sure the little fur ball had not climbed back into the can. (it did snow 5 inches on Friday and he might have gotten cold.) So, Jason took a pitch fork out with him and slowly and carefully opened the lid of the can. He had a pitchfork in case the raccoon would try to attack him. Then he slowly and carefully peered into the garbage can to see if there was a visitor. There wasn't, so the last "test" was picking up a few of the garbage sacks. All clear, so he was good to go and bungee cord our garbage shut. Garbage is picked up on Monday. With our luck, we will unbungee the can for the garbage collectors and the little guy will get back in!!

Going to the Resort...

What could 3 boys possibly be looking at so intently...

...a new video game!! We got the boys (and Jason) Wii Resort for Valentine's day. It is a lot like Wii sports, but includes all sorts of water sports and games. The three of them spent a majority of the day checking out the different events, while I got caught up on important computer work! It was a good day!

Jason did some water skiing...

Sam and Jack played a laser game...the person that was hit the most, fell off the platform and into the water....

what great fun for boys....

Raccoon Update...

Last night Jason went to throw the garbage away in our outside garbage can and had a little "critter" looking up at him. He threw the garbage into the can and ran into the house!! (I feel so safe!) Then he thought, "Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me." So he went and got a flashlight and looked in the garbage can and sure enough, there was a little fur ball in there.

Jason left the lid open over night, so the little guy could get out, or his family could join him! Unfortunately, this morning, he was still in there. He had just dug himself further into the garbage and slept warmly all night! (ate some left over chicken and brownies for dessert) So, now the garbage can is moved away from the house and we are just waiting until the raccoon decides to exit.

I do wonder, though, how did it get in the garbage can in the first place??? That takes talent!

Phone Time...

This is how the boys have been talking to their grandparents...because all 5 of them (including great-grandma) are in Arizona...where it is 72 degrees!!!

When talking with my mom, Jack asked her if she has seen any cowboys or cactus in Arizona. He also told her that we are going to Arizona for Spring Break and he is going to stay there until all the snow is gone here!!! I officially think it has been a long winter if the boys are tired of the snow!!

Sam talks with my mom and maps out her route and discusses her plans and destinations. He reminds her the fastest way to one place from another is a straight line and flying may have been easier than driving. He loves doing that kind of stuff!

A Rabid? Little Visitor...

The Story (and it is long):
Jason and Jack leave to go to Jack's BB game. I am going to drop Sam off at a birthday party and then go to Jack's game. Jason thought I was leaving right after him, so he left the garage door open. Sam and I get ready to go about 20 minutes later and Sam heads to the car - I am grabbing last minute items in the house, including my camera. Sam comes running back in, slams the door shut and states, "I think I need to shut the garage door. There is a raccoon on the garbage can." (which, luckily, is outside the garage.) I bolt past him and close the garage door while thinking to myself, "SHOULD I shut the door? What if his has a friend and it's inside the garage???" Well, Sam and I run to the car and shut the doors. While getting to the car, I notice little raccoon footprints in the garage..(choice words said in my mind) and then wonder if it is the little one on the garbage can footprints or a different raccoon that is in my garage. Well, I am not up to being Sherlock Holmes, so I go ahead and open the garage door. The entire time I am watching the raccoon through the door in case it makes a move (thinking: what am I going to do if it does make a charge) So, my answer, I decide to honk my horn the entire time I am backing out of the garage.

That is when the above happens, the raccoon crawls down behind the can and hangs on the garbage can handles...like a little acrobat! Sam exclaims, "HE"S HIDING!" Thank goodness, I get the garage door shut, while still laying on the horn and thinking, he's not hiding, he is going to flip himself into the garage!! Well, the door shuts and the little guy crawls up on to of the can and gives us these cute puppy dog eyes....

So, we head off and all I could think of is the story the previous owners of the house told us. Two raccoons got trapped in the garage and caused 2000 dollars worth of damage. So in my head, I am thinking that one raccoon, if it is trapped in the garage, will cause about 1000 dollars worth of damage. (great rationalization skills!) Anyway, we get home and no damage, and no raccoon.

BUT, now I am worried that he has rabies...because raccoons are nocturnal...aren't they??? I have heard that if possums come out during the day that they are probably sick and to stay away from them..is that the same with coons? Do raccoons attack if they are sick?? Do I need to put out bird feed so the deer will come and they will scare off the raccoons??? I was so excited about moving out here to experience nature. Right now, I am not so excited about nature anymore... And do I dare say, I would take a rabbit any day over a rabid raccoon or a bird feed eating deer....

To all the Grandparent Snowbirds...

Jason's parents headed to Arizona in November. My parents took off last week for Arizona. I thought I would post some pictures I took around town this weekend, just so they can feel good about being south and not up here in the Artic. We had more snow last weekend and a "measurable" snow is expected for this weekend....ick.

Look familiar Grandma Sharon?

These are the snow piles in front of the City of Ankeny Building.

In front of the Dog Groomer's on Grandma Sharon's corner.

In front of Mercy North...

Check out the cross walk button on the stoplight...shows how big the drift is at this corner!

This is at the entrance of an apartment complex.

I am leaving Hy-Vee parking lot, heading west, Parkview Middle School is on the left.

This is the snowbank at Terrace Elementary. You can see the top of a car on the far right side of the photo.

To all our friends and relatives that are in the warmer South, enjoy!!

KC...there we were!

On Feb. 6th, the owners of the Scrapbook Store I work at, took us to Kansas City to visit different scrapbook stores. It was our Christmas gift to us! (Isn't that just the best!) One of the stores that we stopped at had an enormous selection of stamps...and she blogged about us!

http://stampersink.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/02/iowa-came-to-us-today.html

Check out me on the bus...front row, with my seat buddy, so I won't get car sick!! Imagine that!!!

Side story:
She mentions on her blog how she stamped "Riley" the moose, on our passports. Well, she stamped "Riley" the moose on the wrong page of my passport. She stamped the Curious Sofa page instead of the Stampers Ink page. (yes, it was an accident.) BUT, then she proceeded to try to rip the pictures of the Curious Sofa off the page, that she incorrectly stamped, so I could put her picture images on the page instead. Needless to say, that didn't please me. I kept telling her, "Don't worry about it. I can fix it later." She finally stopped, but not before she did a little damage to that passport page. So, when she got on the bus to take the photo, that is on her blog, I tried to wave my hand as fast as possible, so her picture would be blurry...yes i am juvenile, but she upset me.

PS: Mom, doesn't that remind you of the time I made a gingerbread house at work (I was about 20 years old) and you picked it up and stuck your finger through it and I actually sat there and pouted!! Some things just never seem to go completely away!

Time for a Change...

Started playing around with the layout of my blog and wa-la it's all new! What I eventually would like is a blog that I can post more then 4 pictures at a time and that the pictures can be larger. Not there yet, but am exploring my options. I am satisfied with the new colors, but not too excited about the dark background, which was one thing you cannot change. Hope the newness caught your attention!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Valentine's...

The boys sat down to do their Valentine's on Sunday. Sam was done with his in about 30 minutes...signing his name, sealing them, putting on a sticker and then candy. Not a problem for him. Jack, on the other hand, has worked on his Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. All he has to do is sign his name and he still is not done. He has even asked me and Sam to sign them for him...I hope this isn't a look into the future school life of Jack!

Jack has been fighting a cold. He had a low fever on Sunday...while trying to take pictures, Jason thought THAT would be the perfect time to take Jack's temperature...seriously....

Forts...

Last week, when we had no furniture in our sun room, the boys thought it would be a great time to build some forts.

Jack's house was built by the steps, included carpet samples, a basket, and an open umbrella. The umbrella totally stressed me out - 7 years of bad luck!

Sam's house was strategically placed facing the TV, included several big, soft pillows and nice fleece blankets. Needless to say, I lived at Sam's and visited Jack's. :)

New Carpet!

I took a break from Internet world last week...but I am back!
Last Friday, we got new carpet in our sun room. You can see the before and after pictures below...

Interesting how everything is out of the room, except the TV and 2 important recliners!

The carpet we chose is a brown-carmel. It really warms up the room and the gold color walls look even better!