ina nutshell

• Speed clean house for showing and vacate
• Breakfast - bagel and coffee at 'bucks
• Meet Jamie at Target, Justin eats popcorn, we leave empty handed {does that ever happen when one goes to Target?}
• Go to Home Goods
• Take Justin on a MAX ride
• Go to Ikea
• Get frustrated
• Find a Bank of America for Jamie
• Drive to North Portland, meet Scott, Jamie gets a cool new {used} china cabinet
• Load Jimmy in the car
• Go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner {steak was too well done}
• Go home, Justin had to poop
• Jamie takes {borrows} my boxes
• Load boys into car, head to Dairy Queen for icecream
• Hang at Jamie's
• Watch Wheel of Fortune
• Play on the internet for a bit
• Go to Freddies
• Justin is very grumpy {tired}
• Drive home, take bath, bed
  

warm fuzzy boots are calling my name

Here is Justin trying on the UGG boots that I am currently coveting {the brown ones - not the flower print - ewww}. Why can't money just grow on trees, darn it?!

cold hard cash

Child support money from Jason - which will all go directly to the daycare provider tomorrow.

playing with a box

this is what...

...progress looks like!

I have been able to get about 6 scrapbooks pages done in the past 4 days! I am a little more than half way done with Jutin's 1st year book! The book is already over 4 inches thick, but I am determined to have a very complete "snapshot" of his first year. I have had a good time looking at his baby pictures and realize that is now more little boy than a baby.

It was also back to work and school {daycare} for us today. Justin is still feverish, snotty, coughy - but I can tell he is on the mend. Tonight he was acting much more like himself. He has started this new "ha ha" bit. He will do something kinda naughty or bratty and then say "ha ha" - I try not to laugh and encourage him, but it is really quite funny. Glad he is feeling better!!!

What killin' time looks like

I kept Justin home again today - his cold is just awful! He slept until noon, when my phone woke him. It was a realtor wanting to look at the house. I was hesitant, but figured we couldn't pass up an opportunity for a showing. Justin was totally up for going out, but we really had no where to go. We went to Target, walked around and then killed time with an icee and carmel machiato. Today I am beaking the rules and posting two pictures. I snapped a shot of Justin and he snapped my {horrible} picture.

cold, cold - go away!

Turn about is fair play!

I am really tired of hearing Justin cough and suck snot back up his nose! I just want him better. He is in good spirits, but his cough is just horrible. Today we went to Costco, which on a Sunday was {of course} a zoo. The latest coupon book had a lot of things on sale that we were running low on {dish soap, laundry soap, toilet wands}. Our cart was loaded - and hopefully we won't have to go back for quite awhile. As much as I love Costco, it can put a dent in the pocketbook real fast.

not kid friendly

I made some Stout Chocolate Cupcakes dipped in Ganache with Bailey's Buttercream! Yum! Yum! But so not kid appropriate. I did let Justin have a taste of the buttercream {which he loved} but it is loaded with irish cream {the hard stuff}. I wanted a picture of my masterpiece to post, so I put the cupcake on the bench in front of the sliding glass door to take advantage of the natural light, but as you can see... Justin wanted more of that oh so good frosting! Little Monster!

stopping to smell the tulips

I needed {wanted} some spring in my house. So I picked up a few tulips at the store. I put them down in front of the window to snap a shot of these spring beauties and Paxil had to take a whiff!

I kept Justin home from daycare today. Justin has had a fever since Wednesday and is coughing and full of snott. I thought a day of rest at home would help him. It was a beautiful day out today - lots of sunshine - felt like spring. Justin spent some time on the back deck playing and I got some scrapbooking done. I hope he gets over this cold soon.

spin spin spin

Three notable but vauge things about my Thursday:
1. A final nail may have been driven
2. A new opportunity may be seized
3. True colors displayedThree things about this picture:
1. A stuffy nose, fever and nasty cough can't keep a boy from dancing
2. The dance floor is free of toys and stuff because there was a home showing today
3. Justin's oufit - he picked it

that which beckons me

scrapbook paper oh I love thee

I would really like to find some time to scrap

I would really like to have an organized crafting/scrapping area

I would really like to catch up with all my crafty/creative projects

I would love to be able to buy more scrap paper and supplies

kickin' back on a Tuesday evening

choas and disorganization

I spend a lot of time feeling frustrated due to the disorganization and messiness of my house and car. I am not super tidy, but I do think life runs a bit more smoothly if things are simple, clean and somewhat chaos free. One area that has suffered from disorganization is my desk. Ever since Justin became mobile he has loved getting in the desk drawers and messing them up. I pretty much gave up keeping the drawers organized and then when the house went on the market a whole new dynamic was added. At a moments notice I would have to spruce, tidy, unclutter and vacate my house. So if something was left out it quickly would get swept into the nearest drawer, closet or cupboard - even if it didn't belong there. And after a quick spruce for a showing on Saturday I become really disgusted with the state of my desk. So all the contents of the drawers got put into a pile on the floor and I went about sorting trash from recycling from supplies, to whatever else you would find in a desk. {Hence the mess on the floor - and that is just form 3 of 7 drawers}! It didn't take long for Justin to loose interest in wathcing Sponge Bob on the computer and try to "help". So I didn't get too far. The kid has a knack of undoing everything I organize. But I did make some progress and hopefully by the end of the week this will be done and I can move onto the next thing that need attention, my purse - it is out of control!

turned my frown upside down

some sunshine

lots of smiles

swings

a good movie {Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist}

a great comfort food dinner

friends & fun conversation

Happy Valentines Day!

Great day for a bike ride with a friend!

poo poo balloons

Justin loves balloons. So I came up with the "poo poo balloon" reward to encourage him to poop in the potty. This "disposable" tank o'helium was $19.99 at Target and came with 30 balloons. Justin was so excited to get a balloon he actually pooped in the potty at Target and another 2 times at home! Thus earning him 3 poo poo balloons! I hate to say it, but I think the kid has me all figured out!

Cozy

Where will I find the time?

My wish list on amazon.com was growing so I decided to put a dent in it and buy a few books I have been wanting to read. All of my books and a bunch I borrowed from my mom are currently boxed up {and have been for a year} due to the house being on the market. I can't wait to start reading these. But first I have to do my taxes, clean the house, organize paperwork for the mortgage company, work, tend to Justin, feed the cats, take out the trash.....

He must be three.

Justin dressed himself today.

mismatched mittens

baseball t-shirt

car pajama bottoms

and under the boots - green camo socks!

Stylin'!!!

It snowed off and on today, but didn't really stick {yay}

so I guess the snow boots were a good choice :)

Getting on my own nerves.

I was running late this morning {didn't want to get out of bed}, but ended up having a decent Monday.

Found out today when we got home that someone tried to break into our neighbor's house. That sucks! Since I don't have a stick in our sliding glass door, and since I swear the thing could be lifted right out of the frame, I took apart the swiffer and used the poll to "secure" the sliding glass door. I tried other things, but the swiffer poll was the perfect fit, who knew?

We had dinner. Mac again. And then, the dishwasher needed loading {of course}... and one of my pet peeves... not being able to get every dish in the sink and on the counter squeezed in. I hate leaving a sink full of dirty dishes behind.
And that mess on the counter is getting on my nerves. My own messes are bothering me. I don't put things away like I should. The hammer on the counter should be in the garage. I took it out to hang something yesterday and never put it back in the toolbox where it belongs. The scissors, should be put away in the drawer, but I can't be bothered to do it {apparently} and the piece to the swiffer - well, I don't know what to do with that, since the rest of it has been promoted to security duty.

Chocolate chip cookies were made {from frozen pre-made dough} and eaten - and all is right with the world.

The weekend can't be over yet! I am not ready!

A little factoid about me: I like {love} to rearrange my living room furniture. So that is what I did today. Along with laundry, dishes, grocery shopping - the usual Sunday routine.

The next American Idol

Justin belting out "99 Red Balloons"

Great Saturday today. Jamie and I left the boys with Scott {he was a Saint and volunteered} and then we went shopping at Pier 1, had lunch at Sonic {bacon cheeseburger toaster and cherry limeade - YUM} and then went to "He's Just Not That Into You". It was so nice! The movie was awesome, so funny and I am so beyond grateful that I was able to have that moment! My little entertainer is simply amazing, but a momma needs some fun girl time every once in awhile :)

And for your viewing pleasure... I am adding this little gem of a video to accompany the picture from today.

Addiction

Currently in love with and addicted to
toasted chonga bagels with cream cheese
from Starbucks.
And you can never go wrong with a
grande vanilla latte.
Yum, yum, yum!

Justin loves the bagels too, but this one is all for me.

Looking forward

Snapped this picture before leaving work tonight. The clock says 5:36. Over the past 2 weeks I have noticed that it is staying light outside longer and longer. The sky wasn't quite a bright as the picture shows, but it still is lighter than it has been - and that makes me happy. I hate getting home and have it be dark out. It is just depressing... things are looking up and Spring will be here before we know it!

trying to focus on the positive

Justin took today's picture.

Today was a pretty good day, although I am currently experiencing a moment of frustration and miscommunication with Jason. We are trying to sort through all the tax paperwork and decide who is claiming the house, and other things from last year. I am getting stressed out and annoyed in a more complicated way than I care to explain or even fully understand. I am trying to restrain myself from slamming my head into the desk!

trifecta

I went to grab my camera to take a picture of something for today's post - I had nothing specific in mind and then I see...

...a mess... yes... but I also see my three kitties. Three kitties scattered in different locations, but with some slanting of the camera I was able to get them all in the same shot! Cool! And now I think I must go clean up the coffee table - what slobs we are :)

Googles

Always wear eye protection when working with power tools.

I won!

The Super Bowl pool at work!

$80!!

{a $70 profit, seeing as it cost me $10 to play}
I am so happy and I soooo could use the extra cash!

Justin had a ball playing this evening with a microphone, he is incredibly entertaining!

Today was a very good Sunday! I had big plans to get my house clean and organized, and although I did get the pantry cleaned and organized and a big basket of clothes folded and the dishwasher loaded - there is still a ton to do! The best part of the day came from the surprise that I will actually be getting a nice sized tax return this year! I feel a huge weight is off my back - at least for awhile anyway!