my free moment

alright. I finally convinced myself to buy new knives today. I've had them on my "want" list for several years and they moved to my "need" list recently.
They were certainly a "need"... especially since the steak knives never even made a mark on L when he attempted to cut things, and missed.
(guess that's a good thing. it saved us from several emergency room visits).
And the poor kitchen shears didn't even cut open a bag of chicken. (I guess I probably shouldn't have used them to prune bushes and plants). hmmm.
So.... I made special trip out to buy some new and shiny knives. They aren't the "top of the line" but possibly "mid-line". A huge improvement on the ones we currently own.
I was SO excited to bring them home, wash them, and display them nicely on the counter.
I eagerly opened the box only to find that the shiny black (and chrome) counter block.... was chipped!!!!! Argh.
So I have the box of knives ready to go BACK to the store. Maybe I'll venture out tonight. I sure would love to have those shiny things in use soon.

The boys visited the Awana program at a local church last week... and LOVED it!! It is so encouraging to see them actually interested in something!! :-) They were very anxious to go back tonight.
They both talked at length about the fun games and all of the things that they were able to participate in.
They are required to complete a small booklet in order to become a "member" of the club. D "studied" his booklet all week :-) AND he learned the first memory verse, John 3:16, in a FLASH!!
It is SO cool to see him motivated and eager to learn from the Bible. I had been praying that D would become more interested in biblical things...and this may very well be the ticket. I am looking forward to helping him with his lessons and memory verses as well.

I was not involved with Awana as a child but this program seems to be really cool. From what I can tell, it is very organized and challenging for the kids but very fun. Designed well and very age appropriate.
So.... now that my boys are involved with Awana on Wednesday nights, I shall call myself an "Awana mama" while I am enjoying a few hours of peace and quiet at home :-)

L has been asking, just about daily, when the snow is supposed to come. He (along with several other kids I know) expected snow on Christmas day... and we all know that didn't happen. He doesn't understand why the snow doesn't fall on really cold days as well.

Good News:
The snow started while were in the church this morning and coated everything within the hour. The roads were slippery on the way home and things looked perfect for sledding.

Bad News:
L and D are spending the weekend in L'burg with their grandparents! And L'burg is enjoying a day of rain and sleet.
I can't believe that my guys are missing out on the fun. Poor guys.
I'm really hoping that the snow will stick around until they get home tomorrow.

It was my first Monday night off, and free, in probably a year. nice.

The kids were crazy from the day and they were in bed by 7pm!
I settled in for an evening of tv. Turns out that I haven't missed anything in over a year. Television shows are so lame these days. I suppose that I will try my best to scrapbook or do something productive with my free time. I was able to enjoy a bowl of icecream that seemed to add onto my guilt of slothy television watching. If I kept up these evening activities I would gain 20 pounds.
Not even mentioning the 11 pounds I've gained already. ugh. feeling chubby.
so... no more tv. I don't even want to get started with that stuff.

I'm heading into another free day with plans for grocery shopping and bonding with that cute kid of mine. We are going to make "Eve's Apple Crumble" this afternoon.
Watch out... you may know the next Tyler Florence or Food Network star.... L loves to cook.

maybe.

Last night was my LAST night at Target.
It was so freeing to think, "this is the last time I'll have to fold this towel. This is the last time I have to move this sheet set. This is the last time I'll have to fold this rug. This the last time I'll have to pick up after strangers. This is the last time I'll feel the need to throw away litter from Starbucks."
You get the picture :-)
It was rather refreshing.

I am looking forward to my newfound time at home. (I know that I'll be going nuts by next week) BUT I'm hoping that I'll appreciate the little things that I missed while I was out working. It'll be nice to spend some more evening time with D... since he's away at school all day.
We'll see how it goes.
so far, so good.
Pray that I keep my sanity and that plenty of social opportunities will arise to keep me in line.

(nope... not pregnant. and won't be)

BUT!! T got a promotion at work. It's a pretty big deal for him professionally. He is moving up to a manager position at his company :-) He will be the Manager of Quality Assurance (I think that's what it's called... he'll probably be disgusted if I am inacurate with my readers). He even has a secretary. ha. poor gal.
I should get him to write up a brief (really brief) blog about what he'll be doing. for those of you who are interested. I'll see what I can come up with...

With the changes in his job, he'll also have lots of stress and extra hours while he muddles through the mess of the last manager guy.
And since he'll be putting in more hours at work, it would conflict with my set hours at Target. Therefore, I have put in my notice at Target. My last day will be Sat. the 13th. I'll be put back into the night hours at home and hopefully enjoy seeing the kids more often. And possibly even having a social life again. It will be neat to see how things pan out.
I am really looking forward to having weekends free again. It'll be nice to travel or do family things on a saturday night. yay!

That's the latest.
Pray for us as we adjust to the new schedule, work hours, etc.
AND for us while T is involved with the crunch time for our new church building. He is in charge of getting all sound equipment things ready. including sound booth, stage, wiring , just to name a few. (again, he'd be upset with my lack of real knowledge about his responsibilities) But it's so much to keep up with! :-)
We are scheduled to have the service at our new building on Jan. 28th.

Also pray for traveling safety as he heads to Spain on the 15th.
I'm such a slacker about getting my passport. This is the second overseas trip that I've missed this year!!
Maybe next time.

Don't get a hotel room on New Years Eve and expect to sleep.

Don't get me wrong. We had a great New Year's Eve while we were traveling home from SC.

But... we settled for a cheap hotel. You know, the ones with the doors and windows on the outside of the building. (and it was still about $70!)
The boys love to jump on the beds and make a ruckus in hotel rooms. :-)
We started off the evening with Pizza and popcorn in the room while we watched shows on Animal Planet. All of us stayed up until 11pm and then we called it a night.

Unfortunately the night was just starting for our hotel neighbors. At 11:45pm, they were on the balcony, drinks in hand, having a party.
It sounded like they were in OUR room!! So... I called the office and asked that they take care of the party next door. Either tell them to move inside or go away.
The security guy came along and acted buddy-buddy with these folks. (I'm looking out the peep hole and listening). He explained that there had been a call about the noise level and that he wasn't sure why. He went on to explain that it must have been us (pointing to our door).... and that the lady in the office had "made room for some people with kids." (Ugh).
The party people invited him to join them after his shift ended at 3am. (idiots)
Things settled briefly, they went inside, rang in the new year, etc.
Then around 12:40 I had to make another call to the office.
This time most people left around 1am....saying that they would be back around 3....
Did this mean that they were just waiting for the rent a cop to go home??

So....from 1-3 all was quiet.
then from 3-5:30 I woke about every 30 minutes as people were coming, going, and chatting outside of their door.
T plans to write a "nice" letter to the manager.

I know, I know... it was New Years Eve and people party. But I strongly believe that management has a responsibility to keep things under wraps. Especially after several complaint calls.
what do you think?

Even with our colorful neighbors, we had a great time. The kids slept through the party and we were on our way home the next day.

Now we are back in the swing of things and enjoying our own quiet house. (well...atleast it's quiet when the kids are sleeping).

I have SO missed the blogging thing. My stupid computer is ready for the dump. But hubby says that it just needs a little love. I'm starting to wonder which would be easiest. The trash bin is looking tempting.
anywho. I've been keeping lists of little life stories that I want to blog about when I get computer access.
So... here's the first one! Enjoy.

We were eating at Applebees several weeks ago. Just me, T and D. I excused myself to the restroom. While "sitting on the pot" (is there a nicer way to say that?) I thought to myself , "I wonder if people ever think they are in the wrong restroom??... I will need to ask T is he has ever wondered about being in the wrong restroom... Wouldn't that be weird."
I washed my hands, dried, and opened the door to leave the restroom. And to my surprise I look across the hall to see "LADIES" written on the opposite door!!!! Can you imagine!
Wow! Talk about funny. I gave a little laugh to myself as I looked around to see if anyone saw me. I think I was in the clear.
I rushed over to tell T about my big mistake. His first question was, "Didn't you see the urinal right beside the sink?!"
NO, I hadn't.
I'm starting to wonder what was in my drink.
I still get tickled thinking about it. Thank goodness that no guys came in to relieve themselves. That would be a whole 'nother story.
:-)