The beast is silent.

When I get restless, I often refer to my restlessness as a beast that's woken up inside of me. Well, that beast has been terribly loud lately especially when is comes to my car. Since I had Spencer, the little Mazda5 has been like a sardine can especially when you try to fit a stroller or groceries. My other big complaint is the lack of rear air. When it gets hot, we cannot even put the air on full blast and be comfortable. So with the summer heat, growing children, and road trips in the near future, I started looking at minivans (for fun). The Odyssey and Sienna topped my list because quite frankly, I've never had the pleasure of owning one of the highly favored vehicles. So yesterday (for fun), I stopped by the Honda dealership, found an AFFORDABLE car I liked and talked numbers with the sales guy (for fun). Unfortunately, I didn't feel that great about the age and high mileage of the vehicle and prepared myself to walk away. Desperate to close their books for the month of May, they pulled the PRIZE out of the back and offered me a screaming deal on a van with less miles and more options. So, I called Mark to come down for the approval and drove away in this baby. It's an older model but YES that is leather and a DVD player you see. So farewell restless beast, I am loving my new minivan!

Too Poor to be Bored

The economy is bad. We are supposed to be focused on saving, budgeting, food storage, life insurance, etc., etc., etc. Why is it I can't stop thinking of ways to spend money I don't have. I have every excuse in the book to run out and buy one of these...

Really, my refrigerator is on its last leg and far from being energy star certified--saving on electricity is good right?

Or a nice pair of these...

Again--energy star--and think of all the laundry I could get done in these babies.

But here's the big ticket item I really "want"...

I'm ready to trade the Mazda5 for something bigger, newer and more exciting (Yes, I think a minivan sounds very exciting right now). I always buy a new car with the intention to keep it forever but the truth is, I like car shopping, haggling, and driving away in something that is new and wonderful. Sadly, the novelty wears off and I get bored much sooner than I expect. I get that from my dad. But, I swear, if I get a minivan, I will be happy forever!

Moving on

A lot has happened this past week. Wednesday was Avery's last day of Preschool. It was bittersweet. She is excited to ride the bus and go to kindergarten next fall but she is very sad to leave her teachers and friends. Here are pictures from her first and last day of school. I cannot believe how much she has grown!
First Day

Last Day


That night she had her graduation ceremony.

They performed a lot of songs for us and received a special scrapbook from their personal buddies.


We had cake and punch afterwards. Sarah and Spencer tried really hard to be good for about five minutes. We spent a lot of time with them out in the hall.

We were all tired and grumpy by the time we got home.

We went to the zoo with some friends on Thursday. Its been a long time since our last trip there. I don't know why, but I always enjoy seeing the monkeys the most. All the animals are just, well, "animals". They eat and sleep and pace around. The monkeys are fun to watch because they interact and cuddle. The biggest male orangutan pressed his face right against the glass where all the children were standing and just stared at them. Then he crawled into a large cardboard box and started rolling around. We were totally pooped by the time we left.





Here are some other random pictures from our week. Spencer sometimes gets his leg stuck in the crib.

Avery jamming an entire Cici's cinnamon roll in her mouth. Sometimes I am just too tired to cook. Thank goodness for Cici's.

Cool!

It has been burning hot here for the past few weeks--shorts, t-shirts and lots of sweat. Well, we got a nice rain storm that finally cooled us off a bit. Yesterday the weather was perfect and breezy. After our Sunday naps, the kids and I decided to go for a walk around our community lake. We saw the ducks and pretty birds. We saw duck eggs and puppies. We just took our time and explored the world. Afterwards, we headed out back to enjoy what was left of the sun. Spencer has decided he loves Sarah's swing. I think I am going to have to invest in another one.

Dear Season,

I think we should learn how to make these bows next.
They are so cute on. http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/2009/05/fabric-flower-tutorials.html



I finally hung up the bow holders. Thanks for the idea!

Today is the Day!

Thursday May 14, 2009--Sarah recovers completely from her second broken leg in 8 months. It's wonderful to see a real leg again. She had learned to use her cast as a weapon. We all learned to steer clear of that thing when she got angry. Also, it took the paint and finish off of the kitchen chairs, my bed and their bed. I am surprised there are no holes in the wall. You know it's bad when Avery's first reaction to Sarah getting her cast off is, "Oh good. Now you can't kick me anymore!"

Tuesday May 5, 2009--My sister comes to relieve me from my temporary nanny position. Can you imagine what it must have been like to take care of seven children for four weeks--three of those were my own? It was a great learning experience for me but definitely one-time only.

SIDE NOTE (don't worry it's related)--I graduated from college with a psychology major I intended to use to work with children with behavior problems. I worked in lots of jobs that required me to work with children. Then, I got married and had my own children. That's when I learned I did not want to work with children. Why does life keep bringing me back to that profession?

First and Last weeks of April 2009--I worked for my Mom in Jackson, MS. Let's just say I was so busy, I managed to lose a lot more of this baby weight.

Saturday April 29, 2009--Moved Spencer into his own room and had to accept the fact he is growing up. I think he's absolutely the cutest boy I've ever seen. He's at a perfect age.

Update

Finally, Life is beginning to slow down just a touch. I have some cute pictures of Spencer to post. I have some catching up to do soon.