Creepy!

Rob and I went out for a late evening walk today, and THIS is what was greeting us as we walked out onto our front porch...

I grabbed a fork to photograph beside this THING, to get a proper persepective of how disgustingly hugely GROSS this THING was!

Rob took the other two pictures, this was as close as I would get to IT.

Good thing for having some of this close at hand. And a calm husband who continued to persue the THING as it hissed and screeched and ran until it came to it's ultimate resting place. Talk about gross! I informed Rob that if I ever find one of THOSE inside of my house I will pack up the kids and I'm not coming home until we've been visited by the exterminator!

Our Weekend Can Be Summed Up By One Word

IKEA!!!

Little Slugger

Titus has quite an arm. He likes to throw his food--especially his Cheerios-- onto the floor, but he also likes to throw them up onto the table and across the room near the couch. He's quite proud of his good aim. He also likes to throw toys. Today, I was sitting on the stairs about 2 or 3 steps down from him and he turned around, threw his toy car and pinged me right smack dab in the middle of the forehead. It hurt! Rob scolded him, but did note that he's proud of his little slugger's good aim!

On another note, I took Titus in to have him weighed today. Fully clothed he weighed in at... drum roll please... 20 pounds!

Yes folks, that's the size of an average 1 year old, nevermind the fact that he's turning 20 months old 2 days from now! Still snuggly in his 6-12 month clothes. He is his parents' child!

Little Sicky #2

Yup, it's Titus's turn...

And the biggest bummer is that we were talking about going to IKEA today. Maybe another time?

"Hey Mom!"

Leeann and I were driving in the car today and we passed Steamers... you know, my favorite place to get coffee.

Well, we passed by it and Leeann loudy exclaimed, "Hey mom, you forgot to get your coffee!" Okay, you know that's when it's bad! In all reality, I typically go once every week or two... but I definately devote a little bit of my allowance to it when ever I get "paid". They're sooo yummy!

Happy IKEA Grand Opening

The IKEA store in Portland opens today! Happy Day!

We have a more important event to attend today, the official adoption of our friend's daugther Desiree, so we won't be going today. BUT, Rob did tell me he'd take a day off to spend the day with me at IKEA, and I'm sure I'll take him up on that soon!

Little Sicky

My poor sweet little daughter woke up feeling sick this morning. I've emptied "the bucket" four or five times now. I feel so bad for her! I wish I could just make all of the ickies go away.

As much as I'm enjoying the quietness of two resting kiddos (Suzy and the boys are at a momradory play-date that we are obviously not going to get to go to today!) I'd rather have my perky little girl bouncing at my side. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day though...

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

As previously mentioned, I LOVE Big Train blended mocha's. The only place in town that I am aware of that uses this mix is Steamers, and I've been very pleased with their service. When I'm in the mood for a pick-me-up, Steamers it is! Downside though, it's drive through, so if I want to sit down with my Big Train and read or go out a with a girlfriend, or my hubby... it's not an option.

Second choice, Starbucks. It's the best of both worlds. Good drinks (though not as good as the Big Train) but you can sit down in a great environment. Downside, Starbucks is usually too cold for me, especially when I'm getting a cold drink.

Third choice, Java Network. It's got a great location, within walking distance of my house and it has a great atmosphere... it usually isn't too busy and it's got a fire place so I can control the temperature for the most part. Downside, mediocre blended mochas. So, I go there to meet people or to work sometimes, but I get a drink out of obligation, not because I actually like them.

Well, the other day at Java Network we were having a staff meeting and I got a delicious blended mocha. I thought maybe it was just the way that specific girl made it... but it was surprisingly delicious! I went back that night to meet some friends (and I got a cookie, two mochas in one day is no good!) and I asked if they changed their drink mix by chance. Lo and Behold, they are now using Big Train! The best of all worlds-- good environment, just down the street and Big Train mochas. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!

We're going to Cinderella's House!

I started to write a blog post about this some time ago, but I never ended up finishing it. It's too exciting not to share with the world though...

We're going to Cinderella's House! And Snow White's, and Aurora's, and Jasmine's and Ariel's! That's right folks, we're going to Disneyland! Yippee!!!

One of Rob's best friends is getting married in L.A. in August, and we were originally just going to fly him down for the weekend to be in the wedding. But, considering how much we'd be spending just on airfare, we started to toy around with the idea of driving down there, and all of us going. After all, all I could think about during my surprise trip to Disneyland in February was how magical it would be for Leeann to meet the REAL princess!

Then we decided to see if Mee Maw (Rob's Mom) would potentially be interested in going down with us if we were to go. I don't know who is more excited, Mee Maw or Leeann! Anyway, it didn't take long for us to decide that this was something we needed to do. So... we're going to Disneyland!

We'd always said we would take our kids when they were 48 inches tall, but let's be honest, that could be a long, long while! Besides, they may not be able to ride all of the rides now, but it will be extremely magical for them at this age. Well, Leeann especially... and Mee Maw too of course!

God's already provided in really cool ways for this trip to happen, and we're really, really excited. We are looking forward to it with great anticipation. From time to time Leeann will perk up and proudly exclaim, "I just can't wait to go to Cindegrella's house!"

Me too Leeann, me too!

These are a few of my favorite things...

First and foremost... a 16 oz. German Chocolate Blended Mocha from Steamers... no whip cream. They make them from a mix called Big Train, which is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted! Lucky us, we found out where they sell it, we bought some, and now we can make it at home for a fraction of the cost. Frugal Buhl's, right here! Though I think a high-powered ice crushing new blender may have to be in our future... no scrimping there. Frugality has it's limits! Yummy!
Not quite as delectable, but nearly as delicious... the 16 oz double chocolate chip blended creme with no whip. Delightful! This one is great to have on standby for those times when I'm out of town, or can't quite make it to Steamers. Even better is the half vanilla bean, half double chocolate chip blended creme. It's the best of both worlds, but I usually feel funny asking for it!

On days where the thermostat reads 106.9 degrees in the sun... I'm thankful for the central air-conditioning that my house adorns. Ah, I don't feel the least bit uncomfortable today! Priceless!

"I made a stake"

This is one of Leeann's cute little sayings, "I made a stake!" She uses it instead of "mistake" but it's just too cute to correct at this stage!

Leeann disappears on a regular basis these days too. She'll just get this wild look in her eyes and proudly proclaim that Leeann got a big big owie and now she's at the doctor. Then she puts her british accent on and becomes Lola. I'm still Charlie, but Rob has become "Mauve" (Marve) and Titus is now Sizzle. These are all characters from a DVD Leeann loves called Charlie and Lola. She plays make believe really well.

Last night, after she got out of bed to go to the bathroom, which is typical of her trying to avoid bed time, Rob caught her in the bathroom talking. Rob asked who she was talking to and she said that she was talking to the baby animals drinking water from the toilet! How cute is that? Welcome to the wonderful world of make believe!

Cool Pool!

We spent the day at the Cool Pool in celebration of Independance Day. It was the perfect way to spend a 90 degree day with the family! Eroica and her family and Suzy and the boys all came too. Now we're home relaxing, gearing up for our evening activities!




That's Weston, shooting water at Rob and Leeann

More Cool Pictures

Pa Pa!

Titus's new favorite word is Pa Pa! Which he proudly exlaims when Rob walks into a room, or when he hears Rob come home. It's sooooo cute! He also uses it to describe other things at times, including Suzy and myself... but he definately uses it specifically for his Pa Pa.

He's been a little late in the word development game, but he's also saying uh-oh, "o", mama, owe, and more. He also talks in full baby sentences (you know, those ones where he knows exactly what he's talking about, though nobody else in the world understands him?) and he's copying sounds quite a bit too.

He's a happy boy, cute as can be. Oh, and some of you may be happy to know that he's doing a significantly larger amount of snuggling and hugging and kissing. Much to the delight of the recipients of his kisses, he's learned to do such with his mouth closed!

He's got a scratch on his chin, a burn on his finger and he had numerous falls on the cement yesterday. He likes to climb on chairs and stand up on things he's not supposed to. He loves to yell, bang and throw stuff. It's amazing any of these creatures reach adulthood. Yes folks, we're raising a boy!

81 minutes and 16 seconds

Yup, that's how long I spent on the phone with a Dell Customer Support person today. Unforntunately, this is the 3rd time since I bought my lap top less than 3 months ago! Have I ever told you that Windows Vista is not my friend? Well, if I failed to mention that, now you know!

I also learned that someone's listening in on your conversations even when you're on hold. Or at least, I'm thinking that's the case.

After about 20 minutes the support tech asked if he could put me on hold for 2 to 4 minutes while he researched this problem. As soon as the cheesy elevator music came on I lamented to Suzy that I think this was the same guy I got last time who I could barely understand. He spoke English well, but had a really thick accent, and I'm somewhat hard of hearing as it is.

Anyway, as soon as he got back on he asked me if he could clarify whether or not I could understand him okay, and he encouraged me to let him know if he needed to speak slower or more clearly. I felt so embarrassed, because I'm sure someone was listening in on my conversation!

In the end, my video card was corrupted and it was uninstalled and reinstalled by the Dell tech support guy. I don't know if you've ever called for computer support, but you can let them hack into your computer and access everything. They are able to do all of the work from their computers. Now, isn't that just crazy?

On top of that, all four kids were extra irritable today, which made for an extra irritable mommy too. I used to think I wanted four kids. Two is nice!

Speaking of, Suzy's working and Rob's at a meeting and it's bedtime. We'll see how this goes. Logan and Weston go to bed spledidly most of the time. Titus is hit and miss. Leeann on the other hand, I can't put her to sleep for the life of me. It's daddy's job and mommy just doesn't suffice! Here goes nothing though...