A beautiful Fall day

So yesterday was so nice out and NOT WET that we went outside and enjoyed the weather and the leaves. It seems like we haven't been out that often this fall, and that's probably my fault, but we went out and the boys had a ball. They really enjoyed jumping in the leaves. We, or should I say I, raked and raked and made a mountain of leaves for them to jump in. Kaleb wasn't really impressed with the leaves at first, but then they grew on him. He actually started crying when Blake threw some leaves on him.

You should have seen the boys run, jump, and play. It was great. A couple of times I actually caught Luke "swimming" through the leaves. I filmed a little bit of it. I'll try to see if I can get it posted, so you can watch the video. (but only if you don't make fun of me laughing on the video.)

Ebay

I've been ebaying lately, and for once.....I haven't been buying. I've been selling. In the past week, I've made over $200!!!!! YAY!! Too bad I undercharged for shipping, and had to pay out of pocket. Oh well...lesson learned! Poor kids though, I've been selling toys. Obviously, I'm selling the old toys to make room for the new toys that are coming for Christmas. This was just the first sweep of toys. I need to make at least one other sweep and maybe two sweeps to ebay a little more!!!

Pregnant moment already

Some of you might be saying that it's a little early, but I seriously had a pregnant moment last Thursday. In fact, I'm still recovering from the whole ordeal.

It all started when I decided that we should go to Costco and get a pizza. I figured that since I had a $3 off coupon that it would be the same price as fixing something at home, and I was all for it since I wouldn't have to cook or clean up. Eric was supposed to meet us there at 6:30 which turned into 7:00 because of traffic. The boys and I walked around Costco passing the time which only caused the boys to be a little unruly. It was getting closer to 7:00, so we went to order the pizza.

Now, let me clarify things: the only reason we came to Costco was to use the coupon that we had for the pizza! I had had the coupon since the beginning of August. It was in the same spot this whole time. I ordered our food, reached into the spot where the coupon was, grabbed the coupon, grabbed my cash, and started to hand the guy my money. As I was about to hand the guy my money I realized that my coupon wasn't there anymore. (You must realize that I had had it in my hand less than 10 seconds before!) I had lost the coupon between getting it out of my purse and grabbing my cash. I searched my purse frantically. I couldn't find it anywhere. There was a guy behind me sighing patiently as I comb through my purse. The boys are running wild, and I'm furious because NOTHING seems to be going right.

I had just had that stupid coupon. Where could it have been. It wasn't in my pocket, my wallet, or my front pocket of my purse. ARGH!!!! So finally I give up because the guy waiting for my money probably thinks I'm psycho at this point. I pay the guy, yell at the kids to come with me, and sit down and wait for Eric. All the while, I'm still checking pockets, wallets, and my purse. That stupid coupon must have gotten up and walked away because I never did find it.

As I was venting to Eric, I had it....the almost pregnant moment....when I was trying to explain what happend. I was pretty upset at this point which got me extremely mad and emotional, and I almost broke down in pregnant tears.

(By the way: even Eric couldn't find the coupon. I'm telling you. I think the guy at the register took it to play a very mean joke on me. )

Conversation with Jakeb, my 3 year old

Mom: "Wow, Jakeb, you have a snotty nose!"

Jakeb: "Yeah, Mom, it's tickling my nose!"

Mom: " Oh yeah?"

Jakeb: "Yeah, it's tickling my nose. And my eyeballs are tickling my eyes!"

Mom: "Really?"

Jakeb: " Yeah, and I have snakes in my hair, and they're tickling me too."

Mom: "Snakes?"

Jakeb: "Yeah, snakes, but I like them there!"

Don't you ever just wonder what little kids are thinking?

Big NEWS!

So, you know the other day when I said I was sick. I think it was a sinus infection. But I need to tell you something......I accidentally lied. I didn't know, so I don't think that it counts as a lie, but I'm publicly apologizing for it now by telling everyone that...............We're PREGNANT with Baby #5. I took a test the next day and, well.........I think you can see the results. I go to the doctor in a couple of weeks to find out a due date! Yay!!! I was a little shocked when I found out I was pregnant, but now I'm getting more and more excited. Eric was completely in shock. It took me 24 hours to tell him, and when I did....I had Jakeb tell him that "Mommy's gonna have a new baby." Eric rolled over (he was still in bed), looked at me, and said, "You're pregnant?" And that was it at first because he was in such shock. Now he's just as excited as I am. He told all of his buddies and I yelled at him because all his buddies are going to tell their wives before I get a chance too. It's all good cause we're having a baby!!!! yay!!!

Here's what I wrote the day I found out:

I'm pregnant! I'm in shock! I mean, how did this happen? Of course, I know how this happened, but....let me put it this way. I knew the chances of us having another baby was there, but I really thought that it just wouldn't happen. I just assumed that God was done with us having babies, but i guess not. I haven't told anyone yet, because I'm not quite ready to tell anyone, but I think I might be excited. I need to tell Eric.

1+1=2

This morning my mother-in-law called to tell me something. Well, actually, I have to start at the very beginning, so let's rewind a little:
Last Monday, Eric came home with a new set of Postal stamps. They were super heroes, and for anyone who knows Blake, we all know that he loves super-heroes. So he quickly decided that he need to write a letter to T-Rex, his Grandpa. So off he went, and next thing Eric knows he brings a envelope with the words T-Rex written on it, and a stamp already on the envelope. SO Eric finished addressing the letter, and it went out on Tuesday in the mail.

So now fast forward to Friday:
Rex gets his letter in the mail, briefly tells Marilyn about it, and that's that. I talk to Marilyn on the phone yesterday, and she mentions the letter but says that she didn't really get a chance to look at it because she was at work. So that night when she got home at about midnight, she opens up the letter to find an tablet paper with 1+1=2 and 100+1=101 and some picture that was drawn and then she sees it: a condom. MY SON SENT HIS GRANDFATHER A WRAPPED CONDOM IN THE MAIL!!!!!!!

I was mortified and hysterical all at the same time. Seriously, I almost peed in my pants. I have no idea where he found it, but I guess he figured it was a nice little treat wrapped up that his grandpa could enjoy! Of course, Blake had no memory of what he put in the envelope for the longest time, and finally he remembered that it was square shaped with gray with white words on it. He said......that he found it under our bed.....but I don't know about that! I have no idea what he was thinking either, however he did write 1+1=2, so maybe he knows more than what he's letting on.

PS. Rex did say: "Sarah in the Bible had a child at a much older age than Marilyn, so you never know!"

Look where I found the little guys!

So, I was washing dishes/cooking lunch when I hear Luke scream, "Mom, Kaleb's all wet!" My first thought was that he had been playing the toilet which always makes me want to puke. I go out to the dining room and look at him, and I find Kaleb soaked from head to toe with who knows what. I slowly march into the bathroom where I find Jakeb wet along with the floor, the rug, the towels, the toilet paper, and anything else in the bathroom. Who knows how long they were in there. It was starting to look like a swamp in there.

Of course, I had to snap some pictures because it was "almost funny." (NOTE: the toilet seat lid is down which means none of it was toilet water. They had the sink water running, so that was a slight relief.) Then off they were sent to their bedrooms where they awaited their punishment! (I know, I know, I probably caused a lot of confusion with the whole pictures then a spanking, but it was kinda funny. But don't worry! They definitely understood later on in the day when they got in big trouble for unrolling an entire roll of new toilet paper and putting it in the toilet!)

Note: the puddle of water, and the white thing on the floor next to the toilet.....that would be a roll of toilet paper completely soaked and squished.


Note: kaleb's soaking wet hair.

I'm sick!!!!

No, I'm not the pregnant sick: puking or anything, but I have a cold. I knew it was happening last night when my throat started to hurt. Then when I woke up this morning, my nose is running and my throat hurts. It's not very cool. I haven't been to the grocery store since a week before my Gatlinburg trip. I need to finish getting caught up on my laundry. And my house needs to be cleaned. Not to mention I need to homeschool the boys. I can't be sick. I don't have time to be sick. Plus I just found out that Karen Kingsbury's new book, Family, from the Firstborn series is out, and I don't even feel like going to get it. I have church tonight, and have to work tonight and blah,blah, blah. I DON'T WANT TO BE SICK!!!!

Okay, enough bellyaching! I'll be fine. It's no big deal as long as I am the only person in the house who gets sick because otherwise I have to be the nurse too. I'm not a very patient nurse, especially when I'm sick!

A new collection

I've decided to start a new collection. I love I Love Lucy! I have a few books, postcards, a mug, picture frames, calendar, and now I've decided to start collecting I Love Lucy. I just recently found the dolls. Those really make me smile. I really like the operetta one. (Oh my word, even Walmart and ToysR'Us carry some of these. I could slowly build my collection!.....Must stop searching the internet....must stop looking....must not buy any now..)









I just really love that show. I love the relationship the Ricky and Lucy have. I love the relationshiop that Lucy and Ethel have. And I think that the relationship that Fred and Ethel have is absolutely hilarious. I've always loved the show for as long as I can remember. Unlike everyone who loves the Vitaminagavin one or the chocolate face-stuffing one, I have a favorite that's makes me laugh everytime I think about. I mean, I actually remember lying there on the floor in front of the TV laughing hysterically at Lucy trying to be a ballerina.

My goal one of these days is to own each season on DVD. My scrapbook room has some I Love Lucy pictures already, so i just need to keep adding! I don't know....she just makes me smile....a lot! It's kinda like a Friends episode. It doesn't matter how many times I watch Friends, I laugh like it's the first time. And I it's like that with I love Lucy too. I love it when Ricky says, "Lucy, you have some'splaining to do!" Or when she makes that "crap, I got caught!" sound, "EEEWWWWWRRRR!"

Know what I love....?????

I thoroughly enjoy it when someone I don't know knocks on my door. NOT! Because every time it's someone I don't know, I'm pretty sure that I still know who it is or should I say....what they want. I mean, seriously, it's nine times out of ten...they all want the same thing. They want me to buy new windows. And of course, that makes me feel so good.

I mean, picture it: Their job is scout out neighborhoods and sell windows. They get in their cars in the morning, pick a neighborhood, and then just drive up and down streets until they find it: The old house with old nasty windows. And unfortunately, and inevitably, it's always my house on the street. I'm not kidding. I would say that easily once a month, I have some window company salesperson come to my house trying to sell me windows. I would personally like to scream, "Yes, I know my house is from the 1950's, and yes, I know my windows are most likely the original ones. Yes, I know that they are ratty looking, and the trim around them is peeling, but for crying out loud! Leave me ALONE!!!!!!"

Now, that's what I would like to yell, but I don't. I stand there, and let them go on and on about how they are looking for a few homes in my neighborhood that need some new windows, and how the labor and installation is free, and they will even give me a discount too. All I need to do is set up an appointment for some person to come out and measure my windows and give me a free estimate.....blah, blah, blah! (Actually, it was quite funny today because the lady was standing underneath the leaky gutter, and it kept dripping ON HER FACE while she was talking. She would be talking and then all of a sudden it would drip, and she wouldn't even pause or wipe it away. I had to keep looking away and pretend to laugh at something my kids did in the house.) So after I listen to their spiel I try to calmly tell them that we can't afford new windows right now, but I will gladly talk it over with my husband and give them a call if he's interested. "No, you may not have my number, but we will call you if we're interested." And off they go sulking because they didn't get their commission.

Now you might be wondering why do I answer the door? Believe me, I don't every time. Sometimes, I tell the boys to be really quiet and wait till they go away. Sometimes, we're downstairs when I hear the doorbell, and I just don't bother going to check. But every now and then, they trick me like today. Today I saw a black car in front of my house, and I thought it was my neighbor's or someone's from church because normally they don't give you the wonderful privilege of insulting you by directly parking in front of your house. Normally they park down the street and you see them walking around, but no, not today......right in front of the house. The kind lady wanted me to know once again....that we need new windows. Bless her little heart! Not only did she not get her commission, but she kept getting dripped on resulting in smeared make-up on her face and dropmarks on her shirt.

I forgot!

So, today, we're chilling. I'm listening to Luke read to me for school while Blake is doing some school work too. Kaleb and Jakeb are watching Backyardigans. I suddenly look at the clock which states very clearly 9:58, and get this really strange feeling that I'm supposed to be somewhere RIGHT NOW. And then I remembered! Blake and Luke have a doctor's appointment at 10:00! ARGH!!! They even called and reminded me yesterday, and yet I still forgot. I scream at the boys, "Get your socks and shoes on!" Then I realize that Blake is still in his pajamas, I am still in my pajamas, and Kaleb is halfway still in his pajamas. No one has shoes on or anything.

So Blake runs to get dressed. Luke runs to get his socks and shoes on. As I'm running to my room, peeling off my clothes as I go, I grab the phone and dial the doctor's office to make sure that I'm not overreacting. Of course, I'm not. I told a little "white lie," and told them that we live 10 minutes away, and that we could leave in about 2 minutes because I didn't want to reschedule. Surprisingly enough, they said that was fine. I throw the phone on my bed, throw my shoes on, and grab the younger boys' shoes and socks.

Oh crap! I forgot that Kaleb still has his pajama shirt on, and his pants from yesterday...not to mention that Jakeb has his shirt on from yesterday too. (Eric put them to bed last night, and he usually just lets them sleep in their clothes.) What to do! What to do! AHHHH!! I decided that there was no way on earth that they could have gotten that dirty yesterday, and grab a regular shirt for Kaleb that was stained with ink! I put their shoes on and jackets on, and we bolt out the door. (SO I went over the 2 minutes that I told the doctor by only about 3 minutes.) By the way, I managed to grab my coffee while running out the door.

So we get everyone buckled, exceed the speed limit a little, cut a few people off, and end up being only about 13 minutes late. I was quite proud of myself. And then would you believe it....we ended up waiting anyway! What in the world? However, I did get the joy of showing my sons how to pee in a cup (for the doctor) today. They thought that was pretty cool. They also got a hearing test and a vision test. All the while this is going on, I'm wondering why this seemed like a first time to me to do all this. We didn't do all this stuff with Blake last year. So I couldn't figure out why. Then the doctor came into the room and was checking when he had seen Blake last, and informed me that it was back in September of 2004! I had totally skipped his 5 year old check-up last year. (I don't think the doctor was too impressed with that.) I felt horrible.

The doctor then informed me that both boys should see a speech therapist, and to check out the one at the local school, and that we needed to watch what Luke ate, and that I was doing a great job with the boys. Oh, and that they would both be getting 4 shots today which called Blake to go ballistic. (Did I mention that he was already pretty traumatized because for the check up he had to take off his shirt? He had just recovered from that to find out about the 4 shots.) I tried to calm him down, but it was not happening. I did the bribery thing, "You'll get a prize if you do a good job with the shots!" Nope that didn't work either! All the while, Luke is calm and collective....until he sees Blake get the shots. Blake barely cried when he got the shots. He was so worked up, that you would have thought that we were going to hang him by his toenails and torture him, and then he got the shots, he was like, "Oh, that didn't hurt to bad. There was one that caused him to cry a little.

So then I look at Luke, and he has this whipped puppy look on his face that is slowly turning into a holding my breath, starting to cry look. The lady had to leave to go get his shot stuff, so he was now quietly crying and hanging on me. Try having a 64 pound kid hang on you while you're trying to keep 3 other kids calm from being in a small doctor's office room too long. So finally he's calm. The lady comes back in, and gets him ready for the finger prick to check his iron levels. The kid screams bloody murder when she does it. We calm him down; he starts to whimper again as we lie him down; the nurse puts alcohol on his leg to prep it; the whimper gets a little louder. And then it happens, a blood curdling scream. I look at the lady and she's placing a band aid on Luke's leg, and he's still screaming. I mean almost going into convulsions. I thought he was going to roll of the table. And then it happens again.......and again. The nurse is trying to calm him down, and guess what I'm doing........I'm so bad.....I'm turning my head away and laughing because it was so funny. He was so overreacting. It cracked me up.

SO basically I have one child who completely over-reacts before the problem my 47 pound, 46 inch tall six year old)........and then I have the complete opposite child who totally over-reacts after the problem (my 64 pound, 46 1/2 inch tall 5 year old)!

(PS. For those of you people who think I'm awful...Kaleb got a shot last week. The same nurse did it. As she gave him the shot, he opened his mouth ready to cry, let out a small wail, and then completely stopped, totally sucked it up.)

Last Soccer Game

So, it was their last game today, and after their game they had a pizza party. We got their team pictures back finally, and they got cute little bobble head trophies. The boys are pictured here with their Coach Dave.

Luke's Birthday!

Today is Luke's birthday. He's five years old. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Let's see what all have we done today so far. We went to story time at Berean Christian, played at the indoor park at the mall, went to Johnny's toys where they got to open the castle and get a present, went to Walmart and Subway, and then went back to watch OVER THE HEDGE. It was a pretty cute movie. I really had no idea what it was about. It definitely had a lot of funny parts, and I do like Bruce Willis! (Would you believe that I forgot my camera for all of this??)

Tonight after eating at Wendy's, we went to the family birthday favorite....Chuck E. Cheese! Oh yay! The boys enjoyed it. We also stopped by Costco where Luke lucked out and got a Darth Vader Mr. Potato Head that came with three Mr. Potato Head that dressed up like 3 characters from Star Wars. Then we came home and had cake and opened presents. By the way, he decorated his own cake.

He seemed to have lucked out this year. He received:
1. A Build-A-Bear and Fur Real Panther from Grandma Alma and T-Rex
2. Fusion Spin Crew, 101 Dalmation, and a bug book from Niki
3. Fusion CREW from Baba
4. V-Smile Pocket from mom and Dad
5. Fusion crew guys from mom and dad
6. Larry-Boy and the Bad Apple DVD from mom and dad
Happy Birthday Luke!

Stampin' up party tonight!

I had a good time at my stampin up party tonight. I went with my friend Shanique to the "stampin up club" party. We're joining and we have to spend $15 every month, and eventually the party comes around to us. This was party of my "scrapbooking resolution," so don't think you can get $5 from me for this. Anyways, it was good to see some old friends from my old church. Here's the Halloween cards that we made! They're too cute.

My Flower Garden

I can't believe that I, Marshan Alma, still have flowers. I mean, who would have thought that they would still be blooming. Some have definitely died already, note that is why there are only pictures of individual flowers, not the whole garden! But that's besides the point. Some of my flowers are beautiful. I have been waiting all summer for the one in the top left to bloom. (Obviously, it was a "autumn" flower.) And I think the one in the bottom right is just a great flower. Then we have Luke's cute little pink flower snug in the middle. You must realize that this is our first attempt at a flower garden, and only one plant actually keeled over and died, okay make that two. I forgot about the hanging plant that we kept forgetting to water.

But still, here are the survivors: the winners who outplayed, outwitted, and outlasted in the Alma's first tournament of the garden of Survivors. (Wow, that was pretty corny, huh?)

Jericho

Well, I watched a new show last night. I had been seeing the previews on TV, and it looked intriguing. I was surfing the web, and went to CBS.com and realized that you could watch the latest episodes online. Whoo-hee!! It's like having a DVR again. (Which by the way, in my opinion, is one of the greatest inventions ever made.) So anyways, I had the options of watching all three episodes that have already been on, and now I'm hooked. I was completely intriguied, waiting patiently for next episode. Problem is...it's on Wednesday night at 8:00.....oh wait, that' s not a problem anymore because I can just watch it online now!!! YAY!!!! And CBS has fewer online commercials than ABC does. Cbs' commercials last less than 10 seconds while ABC's go one for about 30 seconds. It's amazing how many shows you can watch online now.

Well, anyway..back to Jericho. let me give you the scenarion. Some of America's major cities have been hit by nuclear/hydrogen bombs. Jericho is a small town that is doing everything they can to keep their people alive. They have very little information about anything beyond their town because electricity and phone lines aren't working. They have sent men out in all four directions to see if they can find out anything. Meanwhile, there is one "suspicious" character, or so you think. Let's see...who is in it? The bald guy from Simon and Simon is in it. He's the mayor, and man, does he look old now! And Skeet Ulrich is in it to.

So,now that I have done a horrible review of it, you still have go and watch it on CBS.com and give it a whirl. It might possibly be one of my top five favorite shows on right now!

3 Things for Christmas

The 2Peas challenge for today was.....If you could have anything 3 things for Christmas what would they be?

Unrealistically:
1. a new bedroom suit
2. a new dishwasher along
3. a new kitchen

Realistically:







1. The Creative Companion 2 by Becky Higgins
2. Around the Block Paper Tagger
3.ALIAS season 5 on DVD

I'm sure there is a ton more I could add to my list, and in fact, I probably would want to change my list next week, but for now....this would be the top three. But shoot, my birthday is coming up first, so I would take this stuff for my birthday too! See, pretty easy ERIC!

Build-A-Bear

I've always wanted to build a bear in the Build-A-Bear Workshop. I've just thought it would be cool. So, since Luke is into stuffed animals, I thought he might like it too. So when his grandparent's sent his b -day money, off we went on a date...to Build-a-Bear! We got there, and Luke picked out a dog, and I was thinking about doing a monkey. I picked it up, and then put it back. Luke then said that if I didn't do one, he wouldn't do one. I tried putting it back 2 or 3 times, and each time Luke put his back too. So in the end, we left Build-a-Bear with a monkey and a dog. The dog for Luke, and the monkey for me. I had always wanted to build one, so I was pretty excited.
For those of you who have never been there, you go in and pick out the shell of the animal. Of course, Luke thought it was broken and wanted the stuffed one already. After explaining that he would stuff it, we proceeded to the spot where you stuff it, and placed a heart in it. Luke wanted to put a voice box in his too, so he picked the barking dog one.
After stuffing it, you take it over to get a bath in the little bathtub/shower they have. It basically just blows out air, but it sure was cute. and then pick out some clothes for it.
That was a hard decision for both of us. They had all types of outfits from occupations like a firefighter, policeman, or a doctor to Halloween costumes like Buzz Lightyear, Eyore, or Batman. Then they even had just cute matching everyday outfit. I was overwhelmed, and I have such a hard time making little decisions like this which is probably where Luke gets it from. He changed his mind quite a few times. I wanted to get a girly outfit, but wasn't allowed by Luke. He ended up getting Superman, and I got a soccer outfit, and of course I had to splurge and buy the cleats too.
After getting dressed, you had to go and fill out a birth certificate for them. Luke named his dog Krypto, and I named my monkey Bluke (after Blake and Luke). After this you pay an ungodly amount of money for one animal,but it was so well worth it. We had a really good time. Then they box it up in a little house, so that you can carry it around the mall. Isn't the box cute? They have a little home where they can sleep which is what the lady told Luke because he did not want to put it in the box.
After Build-A-Bear, we went to McDonald's and to ToysR'Us where we finished his birthday shopping. It was a really fun time, some good quality one-on-one time with Luke.

Hootennanny

Our church had a HootenNanny banquet which was like a hillbilly showdown. It was for all the workers in the church. We were all supposed to dress up like hillbillies. I thought we were supposed to dress up like farmers, but I still managed to fit in okay. They had a corn on the cob eating contest, a corn husking contest, a best costume contest, and a best dessert contest. We weren't going to be able to make it because we didn't have a baby-sitter, but we found one at the last minute. Since I don't have a car to go shopping for the perfect costume, we had to make do with what we had at home. I think we did pretty good. But some of the other costumes were fantastic. One guy looked so unlike himself that we had to do a double take at who is was. And then there were the fake "Bubba" teeth! They were cracking me up, especially the women who wore them. So funny!

Anyways, it was such a good time, and the food was AWESOME. We had fried chicken, barbeque ribs, potatoes, corn, green beans, and salad; not to mention the desserts people brought! YUMMY!

So I'm going to leave you with this picture of Eric and me. Doesn't Eric look great in his hat? Enjoy!

oooooo....I forgot to mention the great bag that we got. It full of gardening tools, but it has such great little pockets on the sides that I'm gonna use it for the Ladies' Card Ministry to carry my stamps in and other tools. It's great!