Really? I'm Getting Old?

Ah ~ A Young 26



I've been making progress on the mud room and unpacked about 5 boxes or so just within the last couple of days and will be working on some more hopefully today if I can get to it after my chores.

One of the boxes I unpacked had all of our photo's in it and it was like Christmas here in the cabin! I LOVE looking at photo's and not just my own, but my friends and anyone else who'll share. So my sweet hubby and I spent the afternoon looking back on all our memories. Us when we started dating, hanging out with friends BK ( before kids) and enjoying adult spirits, of our wedding day, and then many of our boys ~ their births, first years, birthdays, and holidays! It was like visiting with an old dear friend and my hubby was so sweet to play along, though I know by the end he was getting a little bored. Thanks for bearing with it babe. But then the sad part started to kick in and has lingered around ~ sad being, man am I getting OLD! Inside I still feel 26, but when I have a chance to really look in the mirror I do not look it. But today I'm going to kick that sad right back! To heck with you! I may look old, but that's because I'm soon to be 38, and I've had some really great and not so great times during those soon to be 38 years. I've made some really great friends through those years and happy to say the ones who are important to me are still with me. I've fallen in love and married my best friend and have made it through the good and the bad, and he still makes me laugh like no other. I've made, carried, and given birth to two beautiful boys who like to push me to the very end of my rope, but also shower me with sweet kindness and love. I've had loved ones die, that cause my heart to break, but then have healed by prayer, and wonderful memories. So with every wrinkle, failing eyesight, sagging skin, and scars I'm now going to wear them with pride because "Heck yeah", I'm growing old and I hope to add some more wrinkles to my collection and keep enjoying life!




The Look of a Life Well Lived So Far

Have You Had Your Coffee Yet?

I'm in need of a cup ~ BADLY!



Hope you have a ghoulishly, frightening, safe Halloween!

Panic in Seattle

Yesterday was a day of all days for me. My very first trip driving to Seattle all by myself to purchase Boys Scout Uniforms for 9 & 6. What I really wanted to do was go with my hubby, but we kinda waited till the last minute so it was up to me ~ Super Kristie!! Hubby had emailed me directions when he got to work in the morning, and wrote " Just follow these direction and you will be fine my love. And to go home just back track EXACTLY." Seriously he wrote exactly all in caps because he knows what an absolute goofball I am. I always, always get mixed up when going somewhere new all by myself, but I though " I got directions, I can do this!"
So after my shower I got all gussied up, grabbed Fritz (our German Shepherd) who is now my partner in crime, and headed out the door. Uh, hello! Aren't you forgetting something? Dang! I left the directions inside! Figures! Grabbed the directions and off we went!
First stop, get some gas! I don't know about you but I hate to get gas for some reason. I always try to time it perfectly that I will need to get gas when hubby is off work. Isn't that bad! So anyway, following the directions we took off. Now most of the way I was totally familiar with because I had been in the area with hubby over the 11 months that we have been here, and I do try to take a look around. So I felt very confident still thinking " I can totally do this!" But then getting closer to my destination, I was getting closer to Seattle, and closer to traffic, "Yikes" and getting a little bit nervous. Then.... you guessed it, I took the wrong exit. I was suppose to exit off to I-90E heading toward Spokane, and well with all the traffic and my nerves I saw "Spokane" on an exit and took it. OH, MY, GOODNESS!!! I knew immediately that I had totally screwed myself and panic totally set in. I grabbed my phone as I was driving over the West Seattle bridge, no way of turning back, and called hubby. Of course he didn't answer! The nerve! Didn't he know his little, helpless wife was driving to nowhere land and would be needing his help! "Okay, I can still do this!?!" My heart was leaping out of my chest, but I made it across the bridge, took the first right I could and turned around. Back over the bridge I went "back tracking" like hubby suggested. Got back on the I-5 going south now, and realizing that the exit I should be taking is further north on the 5! Soooo, I exited again on the nearest exit I could praying to God that it would be so simple to get back on the 5 north. Thankfully again, I was in an area that hubby and I had been in maybe 6 months ago. Back on 5 north, took the right exit this time "Yippee" and got to the area I needed to go.
It took a while, and another turn around and I found the BSA store. Got some help because the Pack did not give us a list of what to get, paid $180, and out the door I went. "Get me the heck out of here!" "Back track, back track" I was saying over, and over in my head. Uh, no way to get back on the I-90 w any where close by. Here we go again!
I finally made it back to my area, pulled over and got Fritz and I some lunch. Then, because I was so distraught, I had to do a little retail therapy to calm my nerves at the local thrift store.
When I got home, I sent my hubby and lovely, caring, "Thank you so much", email and basically told him "Next time you send your wife to an area she's never driven before, keep your phone close by." "Fritz and I are so frazzled we're taking a nap"! And I did! And you want to know what! After getting to the Cub Scout meeting that evening ~ None of the new kids had their uniforms yet. Figures!

Free at Last!

YES!!! This last week marked "Back, back, back, to school Week, week, week"!!! The boys started school and the first time in months my hubby and I had sometime alone to have some fun, and well just reconnect as husband and wife. It was WONDERFUL!

So Monday will mark the first time since we moved up to Washington that I will be totally alone. I have such grand plans of what I will do with my time and I sure hope that I stay on track and succeed. I'm going to start exercising at home in the mornings to help lower my cholesterol, and then tackle that good ole mud room once and for all! I already started last week and yesterday we took three large boxes, and one bag of clothes to GW. It felt soooo good! Send some positive juju my way please ~ I will get this done I swear. I will also be tackling the painting of the furniture. I've already picked up some paint to play with and I'm really excited to get this cabin lighted up since fall is right around the corner and things are going to start getting some what dreary here in October.

So with that said I do love my boys to death, but I could also tell that they were completely happy to get back to school, away from one another for 8 hours, and I'm sure away from their lovely mother who was ready for a break. Completely pathetic I know, but remember I was a full time working mom not too long ago and never spent a full summer with my boys. With all the bickering, and fighting between the two, and no matter how frustrated I got in the back of my mind I knew it was a blessing and I would never be able to get those moments back again. I love my lil men!

I Had a Little Shaun White and Didn't Even Know It!

Yesterday 6 bangs were so in his eyes that I decided to give him a little trim. Boy did I botch it up! I had even trimmed his bangs dry since his hair is curly and knew when wet it would shrink. He still looks cute in my eyes even though it looks a little Lloyd Christmas.

Later on in the day the boys were playing down by the river and there were a group of tubers going by. Seriously ~ as soon as we hit warm, sunny weather, the tubers have been non stop floating down the river. One guys shout "Hey little Shaun White ~ You're a little Shaun White!" It never even occurred to me ~ but wadda ya think? Lol! He may resemble Mr. White with the curls and red hair, but he will always be my lil pickle!

A Stranger Among Us ~ Continued

More like "strangers"!!

Yes ~ You read it correctly!

Hubby got home and was able to move out the mattresses out of the closet while I stood there holding the flashlight. Tucked back in the corner of the closet was our little friend. He was not very big, and I could hardly imagine something so small could smell so bad! I moved the little bugger with the dust pan trying to some how scoop it up and hubby came to the rescue with a bag a took the smelly guy away. I proceeded to spray almost a whole can of Lysol to disinfect, and help eliminate the smell ~ it was SO rank!I was proud of my man ~ he was able to hold his breath, not gag, and take care of business. "You rock babe!"

Later that evening I could still smell the decaying aroma. Did another spray down and closed the door in hopes that the smell would magically disappear.....

The next morning the smell still lingered. I decided to search the internet for solutions. It stated it would take a few hours for the smell to go away after the mouse was removed (Hello! We are on the second day here!), and to speed up the process place a bowl of un~brewed coffee grounds, which I did immediately and closed the door. I felt like I was going crazy, because even with the closet door shut, I could not get the smell out of my nose. All day long, I could smell the nastiness! Hubby couldn't smell it, 9 said he could smell it off and on, but seriously, was my mind playing tricks on me?!? Was I scarred for life, by witnessing and smelling my first decaying mouse?!? How could something so little continue to stink up the cabin!

Friday I was out of the house really early to meet my bestie for a girls day in Port Townsend ~ beach combing, and pub burgers. While bestie and I were at the gas station getting gas before making our way hubby called.

"Hey babe."
"Hey ~ I found the other mouse."
"You did!!"
"Yeah ~ it's raining and I went to look for my rain jacket in the closet and the smell was even worse than before. There was a mouse that had built a nest on the shelve in the corner."
"Oh God!" (various sounds coming out of my mouth ~ gasping, gagging, closing my eyes)
"Yeah ~ it built a nest out of that jacket (I forgot to mention in my original post that a sweater jacket my grandmother had made that was hanging in the closet and looked like the collar had been chewed or eaten up) and the nest was the size of half a volley ball. The mouse was about five times bigger than the mouse we found below. I think that must have been a baby."
"Oh God!" (Again ~ I made various sounds, closing my eyes, covering my mouth with my hand, while my bestie looked at me wondering what was going on. I hadn't even had the chance yet to tell her of our discovery a few days before, but she caught on REALLY quick)
"I didn't examine it really well, but it was pretty bloated, moving, (gasp, gag,) and there were lumps in the nest."
"So there must have been more babies?"(gag)
"Probably, but I wasn't about to pull the nest apart".
"Oh God!"
"Just wanted to let you know that it's all taken care of and the smell is all gone. I vacuumed up all the droppings on the shelve and sprayed the shelve down really well to disinfect it. 6 and I are now heading out to get some breakfast." (brave man)
"Okay babe ~ you rock! I'm so glad you found it ~ I thought I was losing my mind!"
"You guys have fun!"
"I love you"
"I love you too!"


So needless to say, we will be placing Decon in the mud room and in the kitchen in case any more visitors decide to make our house their house to. I cannot forget that I live in a rural area, on five acres of land, and that Spring apparently around here is the time that all the field mice like to come inside. I certainly DO NOT want to go through that again, but I have a feeling it will not be that last time. Too bad life is not like a Disney movie where all the little creatures are cute, clean, and help you by cleaning your house, making you an outfit, or cooking you up a fabulous meal....

A Stranger Among Us

I can't even describe what I have been feeling all day! In my hall closet something lies..... rotting..... waiting.....

For that last two weeks here at the cabin we've been trying to catch a mouse ~ I pray to God it is only one (please lord, please). We've put out traps ~ starting with peanut butter, which the little, vile, creature ate, and then cheese, which was never touched. Nothing happened ~ no new droppings (gag) ~ nothing, poof, and he was gone! 6 had mentioned that he heard some squeaking sounds from the hall closet ~ I thought it was his imagination, because why would the mouse go in there? No chance to find any food in there...... but last night 9 opened the hall door, and said "Mom I think the mouse was in the closet.... and I think it's dead". Hubby was already asleep in bed, and I was NOT going to check it out in the middle of the night. NO WAY!! I decided to check it out this morning ~ opened the door, and yep it's dead ~ or least it smells like it's dead! ( gag, nasty, disgusting, my skin is creeped out all over) I immediately shut the door and called my hubby at work, all the while gasping for fresh air.

"Hi." (opening up the kitchen window)
"Hi honey."
"Babe, I think I found the mouse ~ it's in the hall closet, and it's dead." (fear in my voice)
"Did you get it out?"
"I can't do it ~ you're going to have to do it. I'm so freaked out!" (still fear in my voice)
"But it's dead! Are you afraid that the dead mouse will jump out at you?"
"I know, but the air mattress is in there, and it's heavy, and I'm really afraid there might be some creepy crawlies in there too.!" (panic in my voice is rising ~ I am SO afraid of spiders..... so very, very afraid)
"So you're going to make me, with my weak stomach, go in there to get it out?" (hubby has such a weak stomach for fowl smells ~ he has thrown up more than once while changing 6's poopie diapers, cat litter duties while I was pregnant, and a woman at his work has such bad breath that he has to leave the room or he will literally gag)
"Babe I'll help you anyway I can ~ I just can't, won't touch the mattress....."
With a chuckle " That's fine.... I'll do it when I get home".
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"Bye."

Praise the Lord!

I wonder if he'd be willing to pick up pizza for dinner on his way home?

To be continued......

A Good Laugh

So last week on Facebook was celebrity look a like week ~ or perhaps it was the week before and I was totally way behind! Anyway, I had no idea who I even looked like and asked my hubby for advice so I could play along. "You totally look like Elizabeth Perkins" was his reply instantly. She's cute and my hubby has this thing for older women ~ He LOVES Diane Lane, Dana Delaney... you get my drift. I was hoping for Audrey Hepburn, or Natalie Portman, but Elizabeth is cute. Now you have to imagine me with my long hair again and no glasses. Do you see it? One of my friends on FB had stated that she had gone on website to find her look a like by actually downloading a photo for comparison ~ so late night I was feeling good and completely bored and took a shot at it. I did multiple photo's (the website suggested it and said "see who keeps coming up and that's your celebrity twin). Giddy with anticipation.... my celebrity twin was JAMES SPADER! AHH HAHA HA! LOVED IT! We do look quite alike no? It's terribly funny to me too, because I think he's pretty hot, not now, but especially back in his Pretty in Pinks days, and my hubby thinks he's pretty gross! I can't wait to share this info with him today. He'll now know HE'S SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY!!!! So give yourself a giggle today and go to myheritage.com and try it out and let me know who your celebrity look a like is. Hope you have a good laugh!