House Hunting

May 31st...

I was sitting relaxing this afternoon (I am trying to make it sound like I hadn't been doing that all day...I guess I washed the dishes so thats one point for me.) The kids were napping, the laundry was put away (two points...) so I thought I was entitled to have a snack and watch Sweet Home Alabama (which I had recorded off OXYGEN! Yep, I still have it! and NO I'm not paying for it!) When all of the sudden a weight watchers commercial came on, out of nowhere. Why they feel the need to ruin movies with commercials...I am not sure, and why I didn't just fast forward, I am equally not sure, BUT nonetheless this weight watchers commercial came on and this girl says "I never thought I would ever be one to need a weight loss program, but I looked at myself one day I realized I had become a serious couch potato...) I stopped, I looked at my surroundings, and I thought to myself "my goodness..." There I was sprawled out on the couch (and let's be honest, the laundry was already folded, so putting it away took 3 minutes, tops. And the dishes were done by 9 am...I had been there the majority of the day, if you add it all together) I had a Mt. Dew on the end table and a bag of tortilla chips sitting next to me. Go figure huh? If the TV wasn't trying to tell me "GET UP" then my name isn't Darci!

So I finished the movie...would you have done any different? Josh Lucas is so cute.

But I promised myself that when the kids woke up we would go for a walk! And that is exactly what we did! I had hoped we would discover a little park that had been magically put in at the end of our street since the last time we walked that way, but no. There was, however, more progress done on the housing development being built and that is always exciting. There are about 6 or 7 houses already built and they are supposed to line the entire street by the time they are done. The street ends in a cul-de-sac so it should look very nice. It also means there is enough room for my entire family to move down here...we could own that street! They would change it to Bruner Street (since we were here first :)) and we would all be one big happy right next to each other family. The house I had originally picked out for my parents is already taken but I am not above threatening those people. I'm sure when they saw the rest of us all move in to neighboring houses on the same day they would get scared anyway and leave willingly. There are a lot of us. And yes Joyce, I mean you and Brad too! We seriously could take the entire street.

Jo seemed to have our house picked already, but I don't love the small backyard. Ironically the house I like the best is the one pictured that is still being worked on and it has NO backyard! Those trees go right up to the back of the house. Very pretty...but very ticky too I'm sure.

We didn't go inside any of them, even though some didn't have doors and they seemed welcoming enough. I would rather wait and teach Cael how to trespass when he is a little older and can run and save himself if the cops come. Averi is still little, they would be easy on her.

Well anyway, that was my day in a nutshell. Now I am going to go sit back down on the couch and watch The Big Bang Theory :)

Long lost buds! Well...not that long lost...

May 30th...

The kids and I headed over to Faith's house today for some BBQ burgers and hot dogs, Amber and her family were there too and we had a lot of fun hanging out. Cael was so excited that Brayden was going to be there that the whole drive all I heard was "Eeee Heee" (Clearly, that means Brayden) and lucky for him, Brayden was excited to see him too. They ran laps around Faith's house (which I am sure she appreciated) Played fetch with each other, since the dog, Isabella, didn't want to play, and mastered the art of not listening to their mothers and sliding down the stairs on their bums. They also decided for some unknown reason to switch mannerisms at the dinner table. Cael ate his entire hot dog AND Brayden's entire hot dog before he even touched his chips...while Brayden ate his chips and decided he was done. Silly boys, Cael never eats all his food!

After we all ate dinner we broke out the games and put in a movie for the boys, and it was so cute to see them share the big chair and watch Shrek. Of course it didn't last...they ended up switching movies about 18 times before migrating to the table with us and making Cranium just THAT much harder to play! It ended up being a late night, and I felt especially bad for Averi who could not fall asleep...she wanted to soak up everything the boys were doing, and she was pretty determined...but in the end sleep won, and whatever she missed out on by skipping bed time, she made up for this morning! I only wish Cael had done the same thing, he squeezed in an extra hour this morning, but I would have definitely be Ok with more! It's worth it though, I will always get up with my kids, no matter how early, and still be grateful for the day and that I have them in my life. Sleep is nothing compared to these two amazing little ones, and a great group of friends to play games with!

My Table

May 29th...

I asked my mom if Derrick and I could take my Grandparents' table when we moved, it's a lot nicer than the one we had before which had been splattered with paint by just about every grandbaby in the family. I figured it would look nice in our new house, which it does, and we were going to TRY and start eating at the table for dinner every night, so it would get a lot of use. The dinner thing was working out great...until Derrick left. Then the table became a big what's what of junk mail, purse innards and toys. I have tried to keep it clean, but Cael and I don't have a very concrete dinner routine down yet and it's hard to stay motivated. Lucky for me this table is now getting way more use than I ever thought it would! It has kind of become a staple for all the game nights we have been having. It makes me feel good that even though it's just a piece of furniture, my Grandma can rest assured up there in Heaven, that I brought a part of her with me to Tennessee and it's getting a lot of use and a lot of love.

Lightning...a little too close to home!

May 28th...

Scrapbooking day! My friends Sandra and Tiffany came over today, it was so nice to hang out and get some scrapbooking done while the kids played! Leah and Jacob really get along well with Cael and I think it was good for him to have kids over. Leah was terrified of Jo for the first hour or so and then something happened and she couldn't get enough of her! When it was time for them to go home I told Cael to give his friend a hug and Jacob didn't want one so he started running circles around Jo...Cael followed him for about 20 laps or so with his arms out!

While we were scrapbooking this insane storm started raging outside, side ways rain, side ways trees, everything was going crazy! Thunder so loud we could feel it and lightning was making our power flicker! As I was turning on Nemo (for the third time thanks the power going out) we heard a SNAP, it sounded like the biggest light bulb in the world burnt out. I jumped about a foot and a half off the floor, as did everyone else, and just like that, my bedroom lights were out! Only the bedroom and my bathroom, nothing else! I was waiting to smell smoke or something, but nothing else happened. We flipped the breaker and they came back on...but I am pretty sure I got hit by lightning! Of course...I had never been struck by lightning before...so maybe I didn't, who knows!

In other news, someone took that old rained out box of stuffed animals today! They are going to a local charity yard sale that is trying to make money for a driver's ed program somewhere...so at least they might go to a good home! Someone also came and got my rocking chair! Heck ya, $15! Good day when it comes to selling random stuff :)

Hello, my name is Darci...

May 27th...

...and I am a campbellyardsales aholic,. Yeah, I went a little crazy today. I found this toy shelf that I thought would be great for Averi's room, and after I got an email back saying it was mine, I went a little crazy. I thought it was necessary to run through the house at ultra fast speed snapping pictures of everything I could bear to get rid of. I put on a rocking chair...and then I was stumped. Nothing else can really go yet, not until I get something to replace it. So I made my way out to the truck full of useless junk that was SUPPOSED to go to Good Will or the dump until it got rained on, and then rained on again...and again...and then flooded...and then some more rain. I put on a box of bears that could be saved if someone wanted to wash them, and some computer parts, for free. We'll see how that goes. I also put on some of Averi's old baby clothes for free and MAN was I popular! Apparently giving away baby clothes isn't all that common, I felt like a saint! Maybe come tomorrow the other things on there will be gone and I will have a few dollars in my pocket...

Strawberry Shortcake

May 26th...

The 26th? Really? Where did May go? As early as the kids get me up every morning, you'd think I would be acutely aware of how long each and every day is...but surprisingly they are just zipping by. I can only hope they are zipping by for Derrick too. I know it has to be hard to watch your daughter grow up in pictures, especially because she is going to change so much in this first year of her life. She was a peanut when he had to go, and she will be a little girl when he returns. I am just trying my very best to make sure he doesn't miss anything. She is getting so big, 4 front teeth are breaking through as we speak, and I think she will be able to chomp down on a steak as soon as tomorrow. I can't believe she is even remotely content with those monsters coming in, I swear they look like adult teeth. Poor thing isn't going to be able to close her mouth I am afraid. It's always a strange feeling when teeth come in because it's impossible to picture them any different than they look at the moment. I can't see her with a whole mouthful of teeth, which is what she is going to have in just a day or two.

As of today it has been about 4 days since I have talked to my husband. I know he is OK, because of friends who have been able to talk to their own, but it's still a scary feeling. Yesterday we heard the news of PFC Chris Barton who lost his life fighting in Afghanistan. My heart goes out to him and his family as they absorb this news and I hope they always know what he died for. He was fighting for us, as are the rest of our husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. The reality of what's happening is something that I should be aware of by now. I joined the army myself, and have been a devoted soldier for the past 6.5 years. I should know how serious this all is, and it pains me to say this, but it took having someone I care about and love with all of my heart and soul to realize how scary a situation we are in. I have yet to be deployed, and with my kids at home...I hope I never go. I know I joined in a time of war, and I know what I signed up to do. If I get called I will suck it up and do it, of course, but if I don't...if I spend my last year and half here at home, I will never regret my duty as a soldier in this Army. I have every respect for the men and women over there and it breaks my heart to hear that some of them have fallen. I hope no other lives get lost in Afghanistan. Send them all home.

Swimming!

May 25th...

The kids and I went to visit Eryn today to hang out and go for a little dip in the pool! Of course (just like every day I plan to go swimming) the sky was gray and overcast and threatening rain showers, but we were not going to be stopped! We went to Eryn's any way and to our excitement, the sky cleared up after lunch and the sun threatened to burn us all! The kids did great in the pool, Cael stayed afloat in his Rhino floaty thing so Eryn and I could be in the pool at the same time with the babies. Sonia was hilarious drinking the water and burping loud enough to make Cael say "Sonia!" They both really liked it! Averi kicked with her feet, Sonia splashed with her hands and they both got dunked without crying! I love introducing water to the kids, I pretty much lived in the water as a kid so it's fun to share that. Someday we will live on the ocean and have a pool in our backyard...in a perfect world!

Back at the house, Faith and Joe came over for game night (which is pretty much every night!) and we had a blast as usual. My game collection is growing rapidly now that I have people to play with. I love having them come over, it's nice to just let loose and have fun. Maybe 2:30 was a little late to got o bed with 2 early bird kids...but I'm alive right? That makes it ok :)

Frustration...I am seeing Red!

May 24th...

I have been holding my breath for weeks now and today when I got a letter in the mail from HealthNet, I knew it was either going to be dancing all over the house, or screaming in fury. Unfortunately, the screaming won. Averi's helmet got denied AGAIN and now I am feeling a little drained. The one person I really NEED to talk about this with has been MIA for a few days (not literally! I know he is safe, he just hasn't been able to be on the computer) so instead I have been talking to my family and friends. I have a million different suggestions on what to do and I am going to try them all, whatever it takes. I feel like before I can make any calls I need to get my head on straight and let the initial shock wear off so I can talk a good game. I just don't understand why they won't cover this, and that's not something they were willing to tell me in the letter either. It doesn't even qualify as a letter if you ask me, just jibberish. I doubt a human being even touched it, it just got printed off. It's number and acronyms...that's about it. Jerks. In the end, if it comes out of pocket, it comes out of pocket, that's just the way it is and I am not upset about that at all. I will gladly run our bank account into the ground if it will benefit my kids, I just wish humans worked for insurance agencies instead of hardened robots. How do you say no to a baby?

Oh Oxygen...

May 23rd...

My TV decided that it loves me today and decided to up my monthly package! Maybe it has been feeling guilty because it has been canceling random recordings for the past week or so, and feared for it's life. I wouldn't doubt, I have been threatening to throw it out the back door for days. I had big plans today to clean and re organize the house, clean my scrapbooking area so it looks like I still have a bedroom in there...important things! But nooooo, I turned on the TV today just to see if anything good was on to watch while Averi and Cael ate breakfast and there was Snapped on Oxygen! I don't have the Oxygen channel, never have. I set them to record just in case the channel mysteriously vanished...but it didn't! And the more I got to looking, I have the whole upgraded package! East and West Nickolodeons (because who doesn't love to watch Dora x 3?) the Chiller movie channel (which will get NO use this year I am alone, I have sworn off scary movies because I get '911' trigger happy when I'm scared...) and a million more! Maybe I will take back my excitement when I get my next bill and realize they really did upgrade me...and I really am paying for it. We shall wait and see.

Snapped reminds me of being at home, staying at my parents house and just having it on all morning long while mom and I hung out. I knew I was going to miss certain things along with missing my entire family when I moved away...but it's funny what things really stick out. I know they are all missing the kids right now and I hope they know we are missing them too, but I am still happy I am where I am. I need to support my husband while he supports everyone else. Even if it means I go from an avid scary movie lover, to treating them like they have the plague :)

So much to do

May 22nd...

Hey check this out, I am remembering to blog tonight! Way to go Darci.

I am not even looking forward to tomorrow, not one bit. I have 3 full sets of dishes and 2 of them are from grandparents of mine and of Derrick's so you know they have like 14 place settings each instead of just 4. Yeah....every single bowl is dirty. Every one! I don't know how it happened, I swear I did the dishes the day before yesterday...pretty sure...

Not to mention the laundry, I don't even know what is in the washer, what does that tell you? Tomorrow is going to be a clean clean clean type of day. No breaks, no chit chat, no face book (yeah right!) I could do it tonight, at least the dishes but I really don't want to. I may regret this decision in the morning, but I will live.

Today was a good day. After nap time (which I included myself in) we set up the slip and slide and played out in the backyard for a very long time. Than we came inside, had dinner, and covered the floor with blankets and pillows and watched Avatar. For the first half hour or so Cael sat next to me with a piece of bread in his hand from his sandwich. He was so engrossed in the movie that his fingers were pushing all the way through his bread and it was threatening to fall into the mouth of a very patient dog. During an action scene he actually started screaming at the top of his lungs "Tica! Tica! Mo! Mooooooooo! Momma, Momma, TICA!" Mo, for those of you who don't get daily updates on my son's language, is No. And Tica is my parent's horse. I had to try and convince him that the creatures being chased in the movie were not being chased by "normal" horses. Tica was safe and sound at Nana and Papa's house, not hurting anyone. I don't know if he understood, or believed me, but it was so hilarious that I got up to get the video camera in case he got the into it again. Of course he didn't, after about another 5 minutes or so he went off and found something else to do. But it was really cute while it lasted!

Come back weather!

May 21...

We had some awesome weather there for a while and it is starting to feel like maybe that was summer and it flew by. From what I hear, summer here hasn't even started yet and it is going to warmer here than Washington has probably ever seen, but it's been so rainy and gloomy it's hard to imagine anything else at this point. Regardless I went and bought Cael and Averi a slip and slide yesterday so as soon the sun comes back out and decides to stick around we will be playing out in the back yard! I can't wait. This yard was the number 1 think on my wish list when it came to looking for a house and I am excited to really get to use it. My lawn mower guy gave me the name of some stuff from Lowes that should kill all my ticks and ants, which will be awesome...hopefully if they are dying in the yard, there won't be any left to come in the house. (Ants I mean, you would all hear my screams of disgust if I start finding ticks in here...) They baby powder technique worked just fine for the living room, but apparently the "bathroom species" of little ants is immune to the scare tactics of powder. I am pretty sure they laughed at me as they continued to eat Jo's dog food. There was one lone ant in Cael's room yesterday and he thought it was the coolest thing in the world. Great. He's going to be the kind who brings things home. I can only hope he tells me at the door before I let him in!

Twice Baked Potatoes!

May 20th...

Ok so I have been thinking a little more and I might be doing some blog entries without pictures...and I think I am OK with that. The idea of this whole thing was to take a picture everyday, not blog everyday...but I kind of twisted it a little. I am still going to try and take a picture every day, although I might get way off track without HAVING to. Oh well, we will see how this goes. This just seems a little safer to me I guess.

I made the most delicious dinner ever tonight! Pork chops and twice baked potatoes! The pork chop was alright nothing to write home about, but the potatoes were awesome! Just like my mother in law makes them! I was nervous because when I was at the store getting groceries this last time, they had individually wrapped potatoes near the produce. I don't cook enough to justify buying a whole bag of them so I figured these would be great! So as I decide to make my potatoes tonight for dinner I take a closer look at them and they are microwave potatoes...whoops! All is well though they turned out exactly like normal baked potatoes, but only took 12 minutes. Big plus. The peels were like wet paper though and ripped all over the place while I scooped out the goods, so they looked a little sad by the time I re-filled them...good thing looks don't affect taste because they were de-lish!

Well...this would be longer, I could ramble on about Cael peeing on my bed skirt and THEN telling me he had to go...or the laughter that filled the house as Cael did an awesome job at entertaining his little sister while I cooked...but Averi is screaming bloody murder in her crib and I need to try and rock her a little. 5 teeth coming in...I was just waiting for the irritation and pain to get to her, of course it's at bedtime. Gotta go make my little princess feel better and fall asleep!

Cool Clouds

May 19th...

So pictures taken while driving don't always turn out the best, and this does nothing to show how pretty the clouds were actually looking in the sky. I am putting it on here anyway (as my part of my new picture guidelines) because I think it's still a cool shot. We have been having such crazy/angry weather off and on these past couple of weeks, it's almost like the clouds are up there just pacing back and forth with rage, waiting to explode again. They move so fast across the sky, and even now as I write this, I can hear the thunder booming outside. Threatening us with another wet and stormy day. I like it here, I think it's gorgeous...but it sure is wet these days!

My blog is changing...

May 18th...

My goodness, I cannot believe I missed the past TWO days!! It's really May 20th right now and I am just trying to catch up. I was doing so good up until now and I'm a little bummed with myself, but I will try to get back into the swing of things. I have to be completely honest though, I'm starting to wonder if this blog is a good idea...I am watching last night's Criminal Minds and it is really starting to creep me out, I realize it is a TV show, but there is a lot of information we post about our personal lives on the internet for everyone and their mother to see. I know this blog can be read by anyone and it makes me wonder what on earth I was thinking in posting such personal information about my house and kids. I am going to keep my blog going because I told myself I would...but I think I am done posting pictures. I will keep them off of here unless they are completely unrelevant to my family. Really, all that is going to do is inspire me to take cooler pictures! Now I know I need to get out of the house more and get more experimental with my photography! So...we will see how this goes. I don't know what to do about everything I have already posted...delete it? I will have to think about it a little more. I am probably over reacting, but who knows what creep-o's live out and about and I really don't feel comfortable having a picture of my house on the internet anymore...

Learning A Lesson...

May 17...

We spent the day at a friends house today with a very sweet and loving dog...unless you sit on her tail! I kept warning Cael all day long, "leave her alone bud, she doesn't want to play anymore! You are starting to drive her crazy!" Well...maybe he should have listened to me huh? She didn't get him hard, and he had completely forgotten about it less than five minutes later (he started holding his ice pack on the wrong side of his head, so I knew he was OK) but lesson leanred! Sometimes when you don't leave doggies alone...you will get snapped at! It's not her fault she doesn't live with a 2 year old like Jo! In fact Jo probably is the reason Cael thinks EVERY dog wants to be sat on and used as a road!

*Faith - Sorry I used this as my daily picture, please don't think it upset me! She was just protecting herself, and Cael is perfectly fine now! He is a tough cookie and he forgot all about it. I'm sorry if he caused her any distress though!

I Like This Picture

May 16...

I don't have a whole lot to say today, it's been one of those long, un-eventful, un-motivated type of days and I am just glad it's over. One a good note, I did get to talk to my husband today and he gave me some more pictures from over in Afghanistan. I really liked this one, he is with a soldier from the ANA: Afghanistan Army. He is a soldier as well and it makes me feel just a little bit better knowing that not EVERYONE over there is hating us. They are there to help and although I think it is past time that they all come home, pictures like this make me proud of him even more. That soldier is fighting on the good side of a war in his own country, and I thank my lucky stars that we aren't.

Tornado Warnings...

May 15th...

Well today was a mix between being scared off my rocker and feeling that awesome feeling of seeing phenomenal weather firsthand. Tornadoes are very scary, and no joke really, as well as the flooding that happened earlier this month, but at the same time you can't help but feel impressed with mother nature (if not terrified...) and her ability to make such insane things happen.

There had been thunder all day long, and it was loud, I could tell it definitely meant business. Out of nowhere, maybe around 3:30 or 4 it started raining and the thunder continually got closer and closer. I turned the TV to the local channels, but nothing was coming up so I figured we were ok...until I was sitting at the computer right next to the window and I could hear a siren way off in the distance. It was so quiet I thought I might have imagined it, so I put on my shoes and stepped outside. 2 seconds later I had confirmed to myself that the siren was in fact sounding and I ran back inside the house like a crazy person and snatched up my camera! I had to hold my sweatshirt over my camera so it wouldn't get ruined, but there was so much rain I really couldn't prevent it getting wet. I could hardly see! The clouds in the sky were moving so fast, I could almost imagine them starting to swirl together...but they weren't. At least not that I could see from where I was standing. It was enough to scare me though, I came inside and got on facebook (because that's what you do when you think your life is about to end right? make sure you read all your comments...) I asked if anyone else was hearing the sirens as well, but before I could get an answer the power went out and I knew it was time to hide in the closet. I told Cael we were going camping and grabbed the most important things I could think of at the time (a beanbag chair, his blanket, his new buzz and woody stuffed animals, his daddy doll, the turtle nightlight, my cell phone, camera and a bottle for Averi) In hindsight...there could have been more important things like water and food just in case we got trapped, but I just wanted to make sure Cael and Jo were comfortable in there. After I thought I had everything ready I remembered a dream I had the last time we had a tornado warning, and in it, I was trying really hard to hold on to both kids as our roof was being ripped apart...so to make sure that didn't happen in real life I had to put my sweatshirt and shoes back on and ran out to the car to grab Cael's monkey back pack! It has a long tail that is supposed to help him from running off in the grocery store (I found we cause a little more havoc with it than without) but in this scenario it made me feel better having him wear it. He was perfectly fine with it too, had he been a little older and wanted to know why, I hate to admit that I probably would have had a lot of fun explaining to him that he would be like my little human kite...not that it would be anything but terrifying if it happened, but the thought makes me chuckle a little.

We were in the closet for about 30 seconds when I realized I should have turned the air conditioner on. When Jo is scared she breathes like a maniac so not only was I burning up in there...but we were also having to smell her dog breath and there was no escaping it. I am claustrophobic on top of that, so that just seemed to make it more hot. I think now I am going to clean out the closet in our bedroom to use instead, it's a little bigger!

After a few minutes the thunder stopped and we ventured back out into the house, you would not believe the sunshine coming through the windows! It was so bright in here I had to actually go around and shut some of the curtains so we could all stop squinting. And not more than 5 minutes after the storm, there were kids skate boarding down the street! The whole thing was unreal to me, and a very large part of me wants to never go through it (or anything worse) again, for the sake of my babies. The other small part of me thought it was kind of awesome and would like to try and get better pictures next time!

Hi Jo!

May 14th...

Averi and Jo really got to know each other today. It was adorable. I remember when my niece Kamryn was born back in 1996, my sisters dog Jazmine would always lay with her. She was an amazing "baby" dog and there is a picture of them both laying on a blanket on the floor with Jaz's nose on Kamryn's forehead. Seeing them like this today really reminded me of that picture. Jo may not be a picture perfect dog when it comes to other dogs...or delivery men...or garbage...but she is a great dog with kids! She loves them so much, and even though when she gets excited she doesn't watch where she is stepping, I know she would never intentionally hurt them. She stayed cool calm and collected while Averi figures out what the heck those lips feel like!

Ice Cream!

May 13th...

Av got to try ice cream tonight! I had no idea there was a ColdStone Creamery here in Clarksville, until Tiffany mentioned it today and we decided we needed some! Averi, Cael and I all shared a mint mint chocolate chocolate chip...it was....chocolate-y! The kids both went a little crazy for it and when we were done we went directly to the bathtub! Now it's time for survivor, and my latest netflix movie. I am getting the hang of this "being alone" thing...as long as I have a friend over to keep me company! :)

Exploring

May 12th...

Exploring the world as a two year old, is a lot like moving to a new place as an adult. Not only a new place, but a completely new lifestyle. We are going through the same motions, even if the knowledge we are gaining pertains to completely different things. Cael didn't know you could pull leaves off of a tree, heck he probably didn't even know he could reach them! Or that they don't always come off in one piece. All he knew was that he wanted to try it for himself. I could learn from him. There are so many things down here that I have to see for myself before I can know if they even apply to me or not. In this kind of life, everyone has advice for you. There is always someone who has done it before, whatever 'it' may be. Good advice, bad advice...there is no way to know until you try it for yourself. I am encountering that a lot, and I have been content to just accept the information I am given and assume it would work the same for me too, with most cases anyway. But I have no real way of knowing for sure until I try it for myself. I guess that's how the world is supposed to work, everyone is different...so everyone is going to experience things differently.