I think the house painting will be done tomorrow too — so that will be nice.  The painters are nice and all but I don’t like having people lurking around the house all day.  I was a little worried about my color choices at first but now that it’s more of a finished product I think I am happy with it.  I’m guessing that all of my neighbors with their drab light blue, tan, or brown perfect vinyl siding are probably cringing at the very sunny yellow paint job.  Oh well – too bad for them!

So the roof is done and the paint will be done.  They just need to finish the gutters, the broken window and the deck steps.  Everything should be in order for my Labor Day picnic.  Woohoo!

I got my newish 2010 Kia Sedona on Monday night.  A steal of a deal.  Still working on the the paperwork with the credit union.  I have to say I love my credit union – they let me get the car and they pay the dealer and I haven’t even signed loan papers yet!  They are awesome!

I did decide to turn the twinnies car seats around.  There were 3 requirements:

• Over 22 pounds – CHECK
• Over 1 year old – CHECK
• Over 34 inches – FAIL — but all my kids are short, I’m short… I find this rule insulting!

Ellie and Marcus LOVE it!  They can see Mom & Dad in the front of the car, they can see out the windows and they have way more leg room!  I actually feel like the seats are locked in better than they were when they were rear-facing.  So, I think it’s all good!

Progressive is not awesome.  They are being dicks about paying my GAP policy.  So… guess what? (Chicken butt!) They are cancelled!  Switched my auto insurance to the same company doing my house insurance (Allstate).  Not really any cheaper but it’s the principal of the thing.  Too bad cause I really like Flo.

2 minutes to the new episode of Futurama – so that’s all for now folks!

Current Mood: *Wink* & Aaarrggghhh!!!!! & Busy & Hey there!

Since Marcus didn’t weigh over 25 pounds we will not be turning the car seats around.  Maybe at their 18-month checkup. 

The kids both got vitamin drops with flouride because we have well water, we’ll be starting that tomorrow. 

TODAY we started using cups instead of bottles and it’s actually going better than I’d expected.  I’d been giving them cups randomly over the last few months but today I got rid of the bottles and decided it was time to switch over.  (Next summer is potty training – woohoo!)

They would not cooperate for a picture today while we were in the waiting room…

In other news, Progressive is coming to pickup the van on the 6th so I may be without a car for a while until I find something else.

Current Mood: Baby! & Ellie & Marcus

The car actually got the worse beating.  Taking that in a few minutes to have the insurance guy give me the rundown.  The windshield needs to be replaced.  The Auto-Glass guy was out last week and told me it couldn’t be patched.  The passenger side got pummelled more so than the driver’s side.  It’s amazing what a little ice can do!

The assessor for the house insurance is going to be out on Wednesday.  I had a roofing pro take a look the day after it happened and he thinks the roof needs to be replaced to include all the soffits and some of the siding as well.  Oi vey!  Not sure how that one is going to play out.  I could see the damage he was talking about when he explicitly pointed it out but I would not have found that myself.  The damage to my car was way more obvious (at least to me).  Guess that’s something I’ll have to learn being a new home owner.

In other news… trying to work with the local school district to make sure Austin doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.  I don’t want him repeating basic math when he took Pre-Algebra last year.  Spoke with the middle-school principal today and I think it is worked out.  Guess I’ll know for sure when I get a copy of his schedule in a couple weeks.

Also… helping my cousin, Sarah, with her 1st Annual 5K Walk\Run to Help End Domestic Abuse.  (I’m helping with the website.)  For more info please check it out! HEDA

The twinnies get their 15-month check-up on Friday after which I will likely (finally) turn their car seats around.  Probably seems insignificant to some of my readers but for us it’s a bit of a milestone. 

Next week I will be in a training class working towards my CCAA (Citrix Certified Advanced Asministrator) – I take the test the following Tuesday.  So – if I don’t answer your call or e-mail next week it’s because I’m in training and trying to pay attention and actually learn something!  (-:

Well… that’s all for now.  Have a good rest of the week!

Current Mood: Busy & Hey there! & Seahorsey! & Thinking! & Weird

Ellie has been walking for at least 4 months and Marcus only started really walking on his own in June.  So, this is a big milestone for him.  He’s also part mountain goat (if I haven’t mentioned that before) – he climbs on EVERYTHING!  He seemingly has no fear.  So, I’m guessing the playpen will be useless by the end of summer. 

 Ellie isn’t much of a climber but she loves to run, especially if I let her go outside — she’ll be all over yard in no time.  Marcus still doesn’t go to far in the yard because he doesn’t like the grass – so he usually stays in the driveway. 

Marcus finally being mobile has introduced a new game between the twins.  Chasing.  They now chase each other around and cackle like little crazy people when they catch one another.  I was laughing so hard the first time I saw them doing it I was almost in tears.

Today they were playing out on the deck getting some much needed fresh air & sunshine and they were having a wonderful time just taking the toys out of the pool and then putting them back in.  Then Ellie thought it would be a good idea to throw the toys over the edge of the deck.  So, somewhere in the bushes below the deck there is a little red ball… I’ll have to make Austin find that this week! 

Anyhoo, we are still unpacking, rather, I am still unpacking.  We got an air conditioner for upstairs which is working very nicely – definitely helping.  I think if I could get just one day to focus on unpacking I could probably tackle everything but I can’t be in 2 places at once.  So if anyone wants to volunteer to twin-sit so I can get stuff done I’d appreciate it!

 TTFN

Current Mood: Amused & Happy & Marcus

Summer is always hectic because of not having a real schedule for the kids. It was 90 here yesterday – yuck – thought I lived in Wisconsin not Florida! I still don’t feel like I’ve gotten into a pattern or settled in yet. Hopefully that will be better once everything is unpacked and school starts.

There’s still a ton of repairs to do and they aren’t really happening. I bought a ladder yesterday and some other stuff.

I’m taking Katey & Austin to see the Avatar (Last Airbender) movie this afternoon and then tomorrow is Mom’s birthday.

I have Monday off but it’s already shaping up to be a long day since I haveto drive Katey back to her Dad’s.

Anyhoo… that’s all folks!

Current Mood: Weird & Writing

I tried to move a bookshelf from the garage into the living room but it wasn’t meant to be. I got the stupid thing all the way upstairs and then tripped and fell. The bookshelf fell apart landing on my back and one of the shelves landed on my head. A nail cut my arm. I took a beating but the bookshelf definitely lost as it is now laying in peices outside. It scared the twins and they cried for 15 minutes- then I decided it was time to take a coffee break. So we went into town for coffee (and milk). That made everyone feel better.

Back at work for a week after being off a week. I think I’m mostly caught up. Much of my stuff right now is drawn out so that it’s hard to get behind on it but it’s sometimes easy to forget about it! I try to go down my list every Monday morning and Friday afternoon just to see where I’m at with everything. Seems to be a pretty good system for me and it keeps the boss happy so that’s what matters.

Austin starts summer school tomorrow and summer band practice next week. He said he’s nervous but I think it will good for him to meet some of his classmates in a more relaxed atmosphere. He’s taking Tae Kwon Do, Guitar, and a class called Castles & Catapults. It will also give him a chance to get to know the school he’ll be in come fall.

I’ve decided I don’t care for the arrangement of my desks and computers but I haven’t decided yet on a better way to put everything. Definitely a to-do on my very long list of things to get done this summer.

I found a neighbor kid with a riding mower to cut the lawn today too. That was a big bonus because I haven’t been able to find any cheap used mowers and Austin & Jonny were being lazy with the pushmower and weed whacker. Hopefully the lawn will be cut tomorrow — if it doesn’t rain again.

Speaking of rain, I’m happy to report that thus far I’ve found no leaks. Considering all the other repairs that need to be done this is a real win!

Anyhoo…. I still don’tthink I can go to sleep but that’s about all there is to say at the moment. Everyone is sleeping like little angel-butts. Wish I was!

Goodnight, world!

Current Mood: Meh & Tired

May 1st – May 27th — packing, packing, packing

Friday, May 28 — packing the kitchen & bathrooms and the other last minute items & rooms.

Saturday, May 29th –Two 26 foot U-haul trucks, two minivans, my Dad’s truck & Joe’s car loaded driven 3 hours then unloaded!  About a 14 hour day for those of us on both ends of the trip.  Thanks to everyone who helped it was very much appreciated!!

Sunday, May 30th — Unpacking & moving things & more unpacking & trying to find things.  I still can’t find the can opener!

Monday, May 31st — Back to Wausau to clean the house and turn over the keys.

Tuesday, June 1st til now (and probably for weeks to come) — Unpacking, organizing,tryingto find things, moving furniture around.  Still haven’t found the box with my silverware in it!

Thursday, June 3rd — Finally got back online and got TV (no more watching the same Nick Jr DVD over and over).

There’s still a ton of stuff to unpack & put away.  Lots of organizing and repairs to do.   It will certainly be weeks (to months) before there is some sense of being done.  But, we have the basics in order, bedrooms are setup, kitchen is usable, bathrooms are good, TV & internet are live and my office is functional; so we’ve got what’s needed until we sort the rest out.

I’m hoping things will start to feel normal again next week when I return to work but I suppose that may take a while too.  Anyhow, that’s all for now.  It’s time for some much needed relaxation then a shower & bedtime!

Good-night all!

Current Mood: Busy & Happy & Tired & Yeah! Yippee! & yes yes yessssss!!!!

Twinnies 1 year plus 22 days check-up
Stats	Ellie	Marcus
Height	2 ft 5.75 in	2 ft 4.5 in
Weight	23 lbs 4 oz	20 lbs 7 oz
Head Circumference	47.2 cm	46.8 cm
*Head circumference-for-age	93.18/td>	57.95
*Weight-for-age	77.56	12.37
*Length-for-age	62.54	8.05
*Weight-for-length	86.35	64.04
1 Year B-day Pics taken 4/14/10
*Percentage of growth percentile
Both babies passed all their developmental markers.  They also had 4 immunizations, ouch!

Current Mood: Ellie Kisses & Happy & Happy Babies! & Happy Birthday! & I Love You! & Sweet Marcus & Twinnies