I checked out some Thursday Thirteeners here and found an idea of what to write about from Fertile Fredette. I'm in a writing funk and needed help. This idea fit perfectly with my thoughts this morning ...extra cash...whenever that will be.

13 ways I would spend extra cash...I'm not sure how much cash I have, but here are some ideas of what I'd like.

1) Go to Goodwill and have a fun shopping spree.
2) Go to Pizzeria Uno for datenight.
3) Buy new sandals for myself and the kids
4) Get my hair cut
5) Buy the books, "Lean Mean Thirteen" and the last Harry Potter book next month
6) Take the kids on a whale watch adventure...okay I could probably afford to take 1 kid :-)
7) Buy fold up chairs for summer lounging, parades, and other activities
8) See Dan Zanes at a local theater
9) Take the kids to a movie
10) Print photos for scrapbooks and my photo album that I am 2 years behind on!
11) CDs...not sure which ones, but I could go for some new music to listen to on the rare occasions I am alone to listen to them.
12) Take the kids to a restaurant
13) Extra gas money for the adventures we'd like to go on

FYI

Zoe and Emily have updated their blogs.

Wordless Wednesday

Work update

Matt did my work for me last night since he had to get his palm pilot to hot sync to the computer...or something like that. So I went to bed when I got home from my Mom's and Matt continued to work. Kate fell asleep on the way home and slept all night long :-)

First day of work

It's a new day, a new work week, and Matt is self-employed...again. He moved into his new office this past weekend. He is sharing office space with another attorney. We have been thinking about this self-employment for a few weeks now and we are both excited and feeling good about this decision. We learned a lot of what not to do from his last self-employment so we are starting out wiser this time and Matt has a lot more cases to start with. Part of the plan is for me to keep track of Matt's hours and to do the billing. So my first day of work starts this evening...after I go over to my Mom's for a Visiting Teaching night with the gals in our area. I'm sure I'll be holding a crying Kate or a sleeping Kate or feeding Kate while I work, so it will be challenging, but the result of getting paid from my work (and Matt's work too of course) will motivate me to do it!

Update

Here's a brief update of what has been going on...

Right now I am babysitting, so I have 5 kids here ages 5 and under :-)

Eleanor had her first dentist appointment yesterday. She was very cooperative and had a great visit. She has a cross bite, so they will keep an eye on that...may result in a trip to the orthodontist in the future.

I pulled a tick off from Zach yesterday.

Eleanor had her 4 year picture taken last night. She had fun modeling. The photographer loved taking her picture!

Our hummingbird feeder is up so we have enjoyed watching the hummingbirds. A deer came by yesterday as I was watching the birds.

My parents have been on vacation this week, so we spent the day with them on Wednesday. Mom and I took Eleanor, Zach, and Kate to storytime.

Zoe and Emily had portfolio night on Wednesday. I went into their classrooms to see some of the work they have been doing this year. They have been working hard!

I finished book 11 of the Stephanie Plum series and am patiently waiting...okay trying to patiently wait to read book 12 (it is currently being read by other family members first...no hurry really, if I read it too quick I won't have it to look forward to).

I better get back to the 5 children now...quiet is not always a good sign when children are around.

Wordless Wednesday

Google Search

Joey needs...

to quit his job...tempting, but not going to happen. (I expected to be referred to as a man and wasn't disappointed!)

a red headed, cute, and funny version of himself...huh?

to start a blog...I'm ahead of ya!

sleep pics.

more light than a window can offer...actually I have too much light coming through the kitchen window during dinner time.

a new program distributor.

to take a trip further away from mama kangaroo.

to seek headlines elsewhere.

to move to the East coast.

to lose weight...I hear ya!

a lot of attention but more importantly, a lot of love.

to dance.

a mentor.

a haircut...I agree with that.

to survive...I'm trying!

Check out PJ's list here

Wow!

The Penobscot Narrows Observatory opened today. Matt, Kate, and I were one of the first 1000 people to go up. We took a bus from the high school to the observatory. Kate was very excited! She's thinking she'll probably be the youngest person to go up today.

Here's the entrance to the observatory.

And here's the top half.

It's a long way up, are we sure we want to do this?

Yes! The views are worth it...even on a cloudy day. At least Kate and I thought so. Here we are chillin', enjoying the views.

And here's Matt feeling not so comfortable.

Here is a shot of the bridge and the other pylon.

The town of Bucksport.

Verso mill.

Bucksport/Orland with the Verona Island bridge in sight.

Penobscot Narrows.

I would go back up in a heartbeat. It will be awhile before Matt goes up again...maybe never. I'm glad we were able to take this free ride up on opening day together.

Staying dry

This has been one long rainy week. Lucky for me, I have a baby that likes to cuddle and eat often, which gives me an excuse to sit down, put my feet up, and read :-)

Thirteen sayings I have written down that Zoe said when she was a toddler...

1) Zoe took a book away from Emily and said, "Don't eat it, read it!"

2) Zoe was a procrastinator when it came to going potty. I would tell her it was time to go potty and she would say, "I'll do it tomorrow", I told her she was going today and she would say, "I'll go Friday", I told her that it WAS Friday and she said, "I'll go next year!"

3) Sometimes Zoe would talk like she was reading a book. One day she dropped a toy and said, "Oh no, he cried"

4) Zoe was looking at a scrapbook page I had done for her and said, "Oh Sweetie, this is a good one. That's nice."

5) "I want a fruitsnack sandwich!"

6) After watching her Daddy use his pocketknife she asks, "Can I have a Blue's Clues knife?"

7) While I was driving through a yellow light Zoe says quite distressed, "Mom! You need to wait for the green light!"

8) "Mommy, candy makes us feel better."...She and Emily had colds.

9) One day when I was tired and getting annoyed at everything, Zoe says to me, "Turn back into a happy lady!"

10) On the potty..."I think the poop is shy of me. It wants to stay in my body. It's afraid to come out."

11) She called Happy from the Seven Dwarfs "Happy Man".

12) "Mommy, remember when Grammie had squiggly hair?...Looking at pictures of her Grammie with curly hair.

13) As we were walking to our Jeep Zoe says, "Oh my hell"...I asked her what she said and she replied, "Nothing, I was talking to Elmo."

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Birthday Eleanor!

You are 4 today! You have a habit of sneaking into my bed at night, so I was able to sing Happy Birthday to you when you woke up beside me this morning. That made you smile. Everyone woke up early this morning, so we had time to watch you open some presents from Grandma & Grandpa before getting ready for the day. Zoe was in charge of the camera since I was feeding Kate. She took some great pictures!



Grandma made you a fun card for your birthday!


You wanted to play with your new Dora magnetic doll toy first and then we opened your play foam that we bought for you. I had fun on Saturday looking through the toy store in Ellsworth for a gift for you! You love to play with play-doh, so I figured you would love the play foam, too. I think Zoe, Emily, and Zach love it just as much! You are having fun playing with your new toys this morning. We were going to have "the gang" over today to play, have lunch, and eat cupcakes, but since you and Zach are sneezing snot out of your nose every few minutes and I have a sore throat, I thought it best to postpone your party. Fortunately, you are still at an age that a day with me and your new toys sounds just as fun. When Daddy and Grammie get here after work, we will have pizza, you can open the rest of your presents, and we'll have cake and ice cream. You've already had a cupcake and you would love to dive into your cake, but we'll wait. I think we could all use a nap today don't you think?...no, I didn't think you would.

Enjoy your day!

In the paper

Can you pick out Zach and the 2 pictures of Eleanor?


I hope all of you Moms had a great Mother's Day! I received lots of cards, my Mom bought herself and me a cake, so we had the kids and Matt sing "Happy Mother's Day" to us before we ate it, and Zoe brought me home a Zinnia seed packet from school with a cup full of dirt...obviously her teacher doesn't know that the only thing we're successful at growing around here are trees and weeds! Here's a photo of the flower gift...

There's a sweet poem behind Zoe's picture that says:
Roses are red
Violets are blue
You are my Mom and-
I love you

It's great to be loved!

Confession

So, a few of you would like to know what I am reading...I hesitate to confide in case you start reading the first book and wonder how I can tolerate such language and crude topics. I should have stayed away from the books when I was told that they were pretty clean. But I am hooked and I tend to read the entire series and then be done with this author. So, read at your own risk...the risk of being corrupted and the risk of getting hooked and not being able to function without your nose in a book.

Author: Janet Evanovich
"One for the money" is the first book in the series of Stephanie Plum.

Happy blogging...I'm off to read, read, read my life away.

Thirteen things I should be doing instead of reading a crime fiction series I am now addicted to! (I'm on book 3 of 11)...

1. Sort through the magazines, mail, and school papers piling up on my counter
2. Housework...there's always cleaning to do!
3. Preparing my Sharing Time
4. Sort through and organize summer clothes
5. Scrapbook
6. Make cards for Mother's Day
7. Send a duplicate gift back to the American Doll company for a different item
8. Pay bills
9. Exercise
10. Sort through and organize our books
11. Shop for Eleanor's birthday
12. Clip my toenails
13. Get to bed earlier at night

Wordless Wednesday

Getting better

I am recovering from Mastitis which occurred sometime Saturday night while I was sleeping. My flu-like symptoms are going away, but I'm still sore. I slept on and off from yesterday afternoon until 6am this morning. Kate was good and slept all that time too!

This and That

Zoe made this May basket for me during Achievement night last month. She gave it to me on May 1st.


Emily and I had a night out last night (with Kate of course). Emily had her 6 year picture taken at Walmart and then we went over to the mall to have her ears pierced!

She was very brave and didn't cry at all, although she kept telling me how much it hurt! She likes her star earrings. We went to McDonalds to celebrate and to spend her gift card she got for her birthday.

Zoe brought me homework do to this weekend.

I sent in a note to Zoe's teacher to see if I could help her in any way here at home, so she called me to see if I would grade math papers. Sure. Now I have a new appreciation for neat penmanship! Zoe's teacher shared a joke with me that Zoe had told her...
Zoe: "My new name should be lightbulb."
Zoe's teacher, "Why is that?"
Zoe: "Because I'm so bright!"
Ha Ha Ha
Zoe's teacher has said more than once that she is going to miss Zoe and her sense of humor when the year is over.

I stood in a line this morning with Kate and some friends to get free tickets to go up to the observatory on the new bridge on May 19th. Each person could only get 2 tickets, so Matt and I will be going up with Kate (who we assume won't need a ticket).

My friends and I went for a walk along the waterfront before heading back to our families. It was fun!
Matt and the kids were home making a campsite..."Camp Bravo".


I made a spur of the moment decision to bring the kids to a children's fair. The fair is for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers to show that getting ready for school begins at birth. Here are the activities the kids enjoyed...


Blocks

Bubbles with Emily's current and Zoe's past Kindergarten teacher.

Coloring while watching a video about taking care of your teeth.

Eleanor played in the sand while the other kids listened to music and played instruments. It took Zach awhile to warm up to the music lady. She would try to get him to play different instruments, but he would just shake his head no. But he never took his eyes off her as she sang and played the guitar. He finally played the xylophone and held onto it until it was time to leave. He helped the music lady clean up before we left.


Eleanor ended at the puzzle table.

We brought home a bunch of balloons that I knew would cause someone to cry...and I was right. Eleanor wouldn't share the balloons with Zach, so I threatened to bring the balloons outside to float into the sky. Well Eleanor thought that sounded fun so she released her balloons into the sky herself...and cried when they didn't come back.

Birthday update

It was so cute to see Emily get off the bus yesterday afternoon with her friends. Emily was all smiles and acting silly. I've never seen her so hyper! They played inside more than I thought they would. They created a game of bugging Zoe and trying to get up to her bed on the top bunk. Zoe had the opportunity to go to our neighbor's house where Eleanor and Zach were, but she wanted to stick around. This ended up being good because Zoe's friend came over with her sister who is in Emily's class (and they have been our friends since before Zoe started school). Their Mom brought me this adorable brick cat.


Emily opened her presents and then they went outside to play for awhile. It was interesting to observe Emily and her friends. One girl wanted to be outside more than the others so she played outside with Zoe and her friend while the rest of the girls were inside. When this girl was inside with everybody she was content to play by herself. I could tell who Emily favored because she stuck with one girl through most of the party. Another friend seemed not to care for this friend Emily favored, but would play with Emily during the rare moment Emily wasn't with her favored friend. Then there was a girl who Emily rides the bus with, but she isn't in Emily's class so she doesn't know the other friends too well. Her grandmother stayed during the party and the girl found comfort in a familiar face. She got more comfortable the longer she was here.
We ate pizza and cupcakes. I had them go outside to eat the cupcakes. I think some of the girls thought that was weird, but the less I had to clean up the better!
Matt and my Mom got home just as the last friend was leaving. This girl left crying because her Dad said he would pick her up, but her Step-Dad was the one to actually come and get her. It was sad. We brought Eleanor and Zach home and then Emily opened her gifts from us and my Mom. Emily loved the toys she got and tolerated the clothes and other non-toy gifts. She received a gift card to get her ears pierced, which is a gift she requested, so she is excited to do that. Matt told her she could get her nose pierced instead, but she and Zoe laughed and said that you get your ears pierced NOT your nose...duh!
The adults ate pizza while the kids played and then we sang to Emily and ate cake. When I asked Emily what the best part of her day was she said, "Having my friends over!" Then it was worth the stress of having them over.











Have fun being 6 Emily!