Making Ourselves at Home

Service Call by Licensed Electrician: $90
New wire and splicer: $69
Two Hours Labor for Two Electricians: $120

Not electrocuting yourself when you drill a hole through the dining room wall into the back of the main power supply of your BRAND NEW HOUSE: priceless

Weekend In Review

This weekend was Jason's 31st birthday. On Friday, Claire and I made a strawberry cake (Claire cracked all three eggs by herself and Mommy fished the shells out with a fork) and wrapped Daddy's presents. Even though his birthday wasn't until Saturday, Claire couldn't wait for Jason to open his gift, so we cheated and let him open it a day early. Plus, since Claire told him what it was as soon as he walked in the door from work, waiting seemed kind of silly.

Look out, Ace of Cakes, my cake making skills will give you a run for your money.

On Saturday, we celebrated the big day by going to see the Razorbacks get beat by Kentucky. Don't think that Jason didn't take the loss personally, because he did. At least we had our BFFs in town to help soften the blow of the defeat.

Sunday, we went to Jason's mom's after Church to have a birthday lunch in Jason's honor (we like to draw our birthday celebrations out as long as humanly possible). No pictures from that, but trust me, Claire had a big time hanging with Jason's teenage cousins and Arden ran around like a wild child, scavenging food from whoever was nearby.

Monday, we went to the park with Claire's good buddy, Ian. They rode their bikes on the trail, played on the playground and had a picnic lunch (well, if you consider "lunch" a cheese stick and a juice box, because that's about all either one of them ate).

After naptime yesterday, Claire decided to dress-up as a rock star and put on a little show for us. If I can figure out how to upload (download?) the video of it, I'll try to put in on here later today. In the meantime, here's a picture of my future rock star.

Does This Mean I'm One of the Cool Kids Now?

OK, so I got "tagged" by Cori. This is my first time to get tagged, and I have to say, I feel sort of cool right now. Here are the rules...



1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.

2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (if you don’t have a blog, email me)

4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.



1. I am a big fan of "The Hills". There. I said it. Yes, I do realize it's a show about 20 year olds and that it airs on MTV. I also realize that I'm 31 and that admitting this will immediately remove me from being one of the Cool Kids, but I can't help myself.


2. I drink at least 3 cups of coffee every morning and prefer that I drink it out of my favorite red mug. I get a little sad when that mug is in the dishwasher and I have to use one of my back-ups.


3. My nickname growing up was "Merf". About half of my family still calls me that.


4. I have a very real (irrational) fear of all bugs, especially spiders. I don't like killing them because I don't want my hands or feet to be in direct contact with them. If I see one on the floor, I will usually put a huge plastic cup over it until Jason comes home and disposes of it. If I see one on the wall or ceiling, I try to spray it with something (hairspray, windex, whatever's handy).


5. My favorite dessert of all time is a cookie cake from the Cookie Company. The more white icing on it, the better.


6. When I'm running, I tap each finger on my left hand against my thumb and chant in my head "Every mile is a blessing. Every mile is a blessing. Every mile is a blessing..." I have no idea why I started doing this, but it keeps me focused (usually).

7. All of the food in my pantry is arranged by type--labels out. I recognize that this makes me sort of like Julia Robert's creepy husband in "Sleeping With the Enemy," but I can't help myself. I also make sure my towels are hanging the same length and that the stripes at the bottom are lined up.

8. I love to read. Once I start a new book, I'm pretty much out of commission until I've finished reading it. Some of my recent favorite books are: "My Sister's Keeper," "19 Minutes," "Kite Runner," and "A Thousand Splendid Suns."

OK, so that's my eight random facts. Now I get to "tag" some friends. Cortney, Staci, Summer, Kristi, Lisa, Ashley and Rachel--you're it!

The Many Faces of 15 Months

The "Say Cheese!" Face.

The "Good Morning! I love my paci!" Face.

The "I'm Totally Going to Run Off This Gazebo" Face.

The "This Park is the Most Fun Place Ever!" Face.

The "Bath Time is My Favorite Time of the Day" Face.

The "I Finally Mastered That Front Step" Face.

The "My Sister is SOOOOO Funny" Face.

Here are a few Arden Facts:
1. Nutrigrain bars are no longer her favorite breakfast. She has moved on to Eggos and pancakes, just like sister.

2. She has mastered stepping down the front step and thinks she's pretty hot stuff now. Once she figured out how to do it, she seriously did it over and over for about twenty minutes.

3. She says no, a lot. And it's not just a simple "No". It comes out more like "Nnnnnn-yo."

4. She loves to dance and can get pretty low. I think she'll be great at the Limbo someday.

5. She loves it when Claire chases her around the room and laughs the entire time.

6. Her favorite time of the day is bathtime and she prefers to stand in the tub rather than sit.

7. She loves my Dad and if he's around, he better be holding her or else he's going to hear about it.

8. She hates to have her diaper changed.

9. She will not sit still long enough to listen to a book, not even "Goodnight, Moon," which takes about 60 seconds to read.

10. She likes to carry around baby dolls.

11. If you leave the pantry door open, she'll sneak inside and you'll find her a few minutes later, carrying around a package of hot dog buns or a container of sprinkles.

12. She loves phones.

13. She still uses her left hand for eating and pointing.

14. She's a big eater and usually eats at least twice as much as Claire.

15. She's as wild as ever, but so much fun!

Claire Needs a Bigger Calendar

This past week has been a whirlwind of activities so I thought I'd recap with a lot of pictures.

On Wednesday, Claire had her first dance class. It's a combination ballet/tap and I have to say, it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen. It's better than gymnastics because the girls are engaged the whole time (ie, not sitting in their hula hoops waiting their turn on the bars). Claire was totally into to it and I caught her checking herself out in the mirrors several times.

On Thursday, we had Claire's first day of school.

To my great relief, she was excited to go and didn't fuss one bit (so different from last year). Her teacher said she had a great day and was "best best friends" with a new little girl named Kate. Apparently, they had a big time playing cell phones together.

On the way home from school, I asked her a barrage of questions, which she reluctantly answered. What was your snack? Graham crackers and juice. Who did you play with? Kate and Izzy and Bo and Elizabeth is not there because she goes to a new school and her is not at my old school anymore. What was your craft? Stamps and I scissored with these two fingers ALL. BY. MY. SELF. What did you talk about in circle time? Silence. Did you have circle time? Silence. Did you learn anything today? Silence. Did you do the days of the week? Oh, yeah we did the calendar. What was your favorite part of the day? Recess.

On Friday, Aunt Ashley and Uncle Thad came into town for a visit, bearing gifts of course. Real scrubs for Claire and a puzzle for Arden. Claire has worn her scrubs every day since and has forced me to be her patient, giving me shots and listening to my temperature. She has a few things to learn about medicine.

On Saturday, Claire had her first soccer game. I thought dance was cute, but let me tell you, there is nothing cuter than three and four year olds playing soccer. Here are some pictures to prove it.

Is it weird that my three year old has more social commitments than I do? Yeah, I kind of thought so...

Rejoicing Comes in the Morning

The world got a little dimmer yesterday as we laid to rest my Grandad Ed. He was a man of faith, integrity and honor, serving his country as a Paratrooper in WWII and his God in both his job as a preacher and in his daily life.

I couldn't have asked for a better example of a life of faith and service. His devotion to my grandmother and our family was unmatched. He truly was one of a kind.

We knew he wouldn't live for ever, but we sure wish he could have.

Grandad Ed, we rejoice knowing that you're in Heaven, but we sure will miss you.