Spiders

OK, I'm not sure how Don's going to react to my posting today, but it was a pretty entertaining story, so I had to share!

Yesterday, Don was home from work not feeling well. When he finally got up, I was in the laundry room doing laundry. Both machines were running, and I often think I'm hearing someone talk when I'm down there alone (maybe Ariel leaves her music on, or it's just the way that all of the 'odd' sounds in the house work together). I thought I heard something, but didn't react as I was in the middle of something, and all of the kids were gone (so, how much of an emergency could it be, right?).

About 5 minutes later, Don came into the laundry room and said, 'You didn't hear me call you?' Of course I hadn't, or I'd have gone to see what was up, silly man. He said, 'There was a SPIDER, and you didn't come.' I giggled (he knows I find the fear of a tiny spider kind of comical for a 6'4" man!). He said, 'I had to kill it myself.' And then proceeded to explain how difficult this process can be.

He saw the spider near his closet door opening, and backed off to yell for me, of course, we know that I didn't answer him. So, he thought to himself, 'What would Tracy do?'. He grabbed a shoe...and threw it at the spider...OK, so my wonderful husband is no baseball player, he never claimed to be...and he missed it. The spider proceeded to run into the corner (self preservation at it's best). Don couldn't figure out how to get his size 13 shoe squished into the corner to kill it, so he takes out his Leatherman (multi-tool thing he keeps on his hip at all times). He opened it to it's full size, extended the longest blade and kept the Leatherman splayed open (I think it would have been close to a foot long at this point), and he proceeded to stab at the spider. Of course, the spider ran from this big metal 'stick', which panicked Don slightly. He moved the Leatherman to block the spider's escape along the floorboard. The spider doubled back for the corner, and Don blocked it's escape once again! I'm not sure what he thought he'd do once he had it stopped, but he says he played this game with the spider while it ran back and forth 5 or 6 times. Then, he got close enough that he managed to mangle a few legs, and the spider hurried itself around in a circle for a moment while Don figured out where the shoe that he had thrown earlier went to. Eventually, Don won, and the spider was dead!!

He had come to the laundry room to find me so that I could go get rid of the body! LOL

Well, that wasn't the end of spiders for him yesterday...poor guy! All of the rain must have had them searching for dry space. That wonderful flooring we just installed made it much easier for DJ & Jr to identify a spider as it crawled along the wall (it's not like these things march out into the middle of the room, announce themselves, and then challenge you to a game of dodge ball!). They came to find me...they have long understood that mommy kills the spiders, daddy gets rid of snakes and flying thingies. I went in to see this 'huge' spider, and called Don in to look at it to see if it was the same 'huge' spider that had 'attacked' him this morning. He identified it from across the room as a likely cousin to the one he had dispensed of this morning all on his own. He remained while I took a discarded piece of flooring and squished it against the wall. I threw the piece of flooring back into the garbage and Don wouldn't let me leave the room. 'Get rid of the carcass!' He said. LOL I tried to retrieve the tangled mass of legs, only to find that the piece of flooring was not going to do it. I pulled out the vacuum cleaner and sucked it up. Only then did Don let me leave the room, with a smug smile on his face.

New Floor!!

Yippee!! We've made another step in our home improvements! We finally emptied the 'master bedroom' (upstairs) completely, and Don took up most of the carpet while I helped out his sister (I ran to the store for her 'cuz she and 2 out of 3 of their little ones are sick...poor gal!). Then, we put down the new floor for the 'office'. We left about 3 feet of carpet in front of the closet so that we can still use the bathroom as a 'master bathroom', and have 'bathroom' space for ourselves. I totally LOVE sticky back flooring! Doesn't this look incredible??!! That tiny head you see part of is Jr...cute pony tails she allowed me to put in her hair today! :)

Homecoming Follow Up

WE WON!!! 

CONCORD WON THEIR HOMECOMING GAME!!!! 

GO CONCORD!!!!

OK...so the score was 58 to 7...and the other team scored in the last 5 minutes of the game (we had our 'second string' in for at least the last quarter). The game would have been more exiting if the score had been closer, but I'm sure that the team was pleased with such an incredible win for their homecoming game.

It DID rain, but only very lightly...and it was still 71 degrees as we headed home (at 10pm), so it wasn't too bad to sit through. I'm sure it made it a bit more difficult for the players to hold onto the ball, but they did an exceptional job if you ask me.

Now, we're looking forward to more games 'cuz 

CONCORD IS UNDEFEATED!!!

Today is just house stuff, but we get to start moving Don's office into it's new space today!! Soon, I will be designing and putting together a room for DJ!! Look for pictures in a week or so!

Staying Home Ramblings

Ok, everyone asked me what I was going to do once the kids were in school all day and I had the day 'to myself'. I always told them that, the first thing I was doing is going back to bed and sleeping until my body woke me up! I was tired of waking up and going on someone else's body's schedule (it starts when you're pregnant, and never seems to end!). I kept thinking that it wouldn't be any problem to sleep for an hour or two (or three, or four), and be up and going by the time the kids got home. Well...it's incredibly hard to fall asleep when you actually WANT to fall asleep (and you have already been awake, and dressed, for at least 2 hours anyway)! Darn body gets going and doesn't think to shut down right away, I guess. So, have I gone back to sleep yet? Well, by mistake twice so far...the reason I woke up, then, is because we have the TV settings so that any show with a rating above PG has to have our code put in...and the TV went quiet! Funny how the quiet can wake me up now! So, what DO I do now that I'm home, alone, for 8 hours every day? Well, I already listed out a typical day for you, so let me tell you a bit about how I feel and react during the day.

Let this be fair warning to anyone who calls me during the day: I tend to keep people on the phone far longer than is needed as I don't have anyone to talk to all day. Once you finally hear another person's voice in the middle of the overwhelming quiet of a day alone, it triggers something. I always apologize to anyone who I chat with for too long, and they laugh it off with me. I could call to find out the time of a meeting, and end up on the phone for 45 minutes talking about school, kids, canning, or any number of other 'odd' topics!

I find myself thinking about my family a lot more. I don't just mean my husband and kids. I miss having my sisters around here quite a bit. We really get to enjoy each other now that we're 'older and wiser' (NO, girls, I'm NOT calling you old...that would mean I was old, and I am SO NOT old!). I laugh so much more with them here, we tell stories and talk about our lives now and just generally enjoy picking on each other. With Jennie here, we never lacked for GOOD homemade foods, and Leslie can do laundry like no one's business! She got mine caught up (after counting out 11 loads every day for a week, I think, she finally got to the end of it!); not to mention, she is probably the funniest of the 3 of us (she has an advantage with story telling 'cuz she teaches kindergarten--a never-ending supply of funny stuff happens there!). I completely enjoyed having my family here this summer, and wish we'd all been able to hang out longer. Next year I'm inviting everyone to our house for a big party at the end of June or beginning of July!! Yes, everyone who reads this is invited (assuming you're reading it 'cuz I invited you to!). I'll clear out more of the house so that there's more space to just sit around and visit and have fun. The reason for the get together: Ariel turns 16 next June, and DJ will turn 8, and will be baptized (literally fulfilling a dream of Don's). I want to just have a big open house type 'party' with the backyard open for kids and fun, and the inside of the house set up for easy chatting and enjoying each other's company.

I watch my kids growing up so fast and can't believe how the time has gone by! I'm sure that those of you who have older kids understand, and even those with younger kids get the idea. Time used to drag when I was single...now, I can't figure out where the days and weeks went, let alone than hours. I don't exactly miss having babies around to spit up on me and everything within 3 feet of them, or changing diapers, or picking up messes every few minutes. I don't exactly miss potty training, and car seats. I can't say that I miss teething all that much...though I'm absolutely NOT the one to come to when a tooth is loose, it makes me cringe! I find it hard to imagine that I'll someday miss the 'play-by-play' in 'real time' from the girls after school; but I suspect I will eventually. Do I look forward to DJ playing football (or whatever he chooses, 'cuz he's likely going to choose at least one sport with his build!)? No, after having been at a game where a kid was taken to the ER before I got there and another down with an obviously broken arm (I have to assume it was obvious 'cuz the ref was yelling that they had a broken arm on the field)...I'm not exactly excited about my kid being out there on that field. But, am I looking forward to shopping for wedding dresses, cake tastings and baby showers? NOT ON YOUR LIFE!! As much as I want my kids to grow up and be out of the house some days, I can't even imagine life without them here with me! They'd better go to college nearby!! Just kidding, they are free to make their own choices, I've always accepted that part. But, I do feel a bit more appreciation for my parents apprehension when I moved out to Utah when I was barely over 20? Absolutely.

Any thoughts from those of you out there who have felt time slipping away from them? Please, leave a comment so that we can share our experiences!

Football ramblings

Ok, so, Don and I have begun 'following' HS football the past few weeks. Ariel insisted we attend one of the very first games for her HS, but not to see the football team...to see the band members that she knows! Don and I enjoyed ourselves so much that we continued to attend with Ariel and the friend(s) she invited along with us. Does Ariel love football and scream her lungs out in support of her school? Nooo...she spends the time either texting with the friend she brought (yes, the one sitting right next to her!), or talking with said friend. To be fair, if Don and I react loudly, she'll clap and yell with us (not that she knows what's going on, but we DO tell her about the exciting parts and explain it to her...and YES, I CAN explain most of the game now!). Concord is currently undefeated, and homecoming is tomorrow!!

So, regardless of the fact that rain is predicted, we'll be out at the football field tomorrow! Ariel will be helping out with face painting and other activities for homecoming, and Tori is stuck babysitting. 

However, Tori has her own interest now...she is working the concession stand for the Jr HS football games. She's very excited (they get free popcorn, candy and drinks...so she's in Heaven! LOL). I plan to attend at least the last half of each home game she is working at (I still have responsiblity to have dinner on the table for the family, and these games start around 4pm). It's not as exciting as HS football, but it doesn't lack for excitement. For instance, today 2 players were taken off the field injured...one before I got there (with his arm wrapped up with ice on it, and Tori said they were headed for the ER), and the other while I was there. The referee called time out and shouted for help on the field because there was a broken arm! The score was tied, with 40 seconds left, and Concord was on approximately the 2 yard line!! I didn't stay thru' the end 'cuz dinner was already cooked at home and waiting, and we had already waited 10 minutes for the last 40 seconds to play out!! I'll have to get the score tomorrow.

Am I willing to sit in the pouring rain, in 50 degree weather to cheer on the Minutemen? Not on your ever-livin' life! But, we are really enjoying the time out and together with others in the community!

I'll let you know how homecoming goes! Wish us luck!!

Our bedroom...so far

Ok, the redo of our bedroom is about 90% done now. But, I have some good pictures to share with those of you who are anxious to see what we're doing. If you know my house at all, the room is the basement room that is 'L' shaped (the kids have usually occupied this room). I'm really pretty happy with how things have turned out.

Yes, we have exercise equipment in our bedroom...it's our way of reminding ourselves that we need to do something good for ourselves. If you can't tell, the other machine is a treadmill. There is more to the room, you can sort of see it past the treadmill, but there isn't anything in there to show off yet. Don wants an electric drum set, and that's his planned spot for it.

Wilsons thru' the camera lense of a 7-year old

Ok, this blog is a series of pictures that were, apparently, taken by DJ recently.
So...here we are, unprepared and unaware (for the most part).

I had no idea he had used the camera, but when I was getting pictures of our bedroom off of the camera, these were there and the other kids told me it was DJ who took them.

Ok, so the girls enjoyed their moment with the camera as well...here are their offerings:

Cute kids, huh? :)