It feels great to be home!

I really enjoyed my vacation, we had a blast. We did a lot more than I expected and came home completely exhausted. I need a vacation from my vacation. I have dirty laundry to wash, the house to CLEAN, a yard sale to get ready for and a birthday party to plan.

As I said though, vacation was great. I was a little nervous though because both of my sisters had car troubles while we were there, I was afraid we'd end up broken down on the way home. One of my sister's cars broke down while we were in Gettysburg, they got it to a mechanic but had to rent a car and wait until the following day before they could get their car back. My other sister's suburban got hit while we were in Ephrata at an AMAZING flea market (The Green Dragon). The people who hit it didn't even leave a note or anything! that same sister was towing their pop up and about 10 miles down the road from the campground the pop up came off the hitch and went down the hill and crashed into the ditch. Luckily they have the blue advantage and not much damage was done!

Lexi was a beautiful flower girl, although she was quite a pain, I ended up having to leave the room with her because she was being too loud. She was VERY disobedient the whole time we were gone which made us evaluate our parenting skills. We've decided some things have to change with us to help her be better. Caylee had a lot of rough nights, I don't know if it was the air mattress or what, but I didn't get much sleep. Hopefully we can get some things done around here and change some things around so we can actually sleep and have peaceful days!

UGH STUPID CAT!!!

I think I've mentioned before that the lady who lived in this apartment before us left her cat. At first I felt really bad for it (I still do sometimes) but then I just started getting really irritated with it.

It constantly tries to get in our apartment, it scratches up our bench that sits outside, it begs for food. If we go outside it tries to rub against us and get us to pet it which I guess wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't nasty and covered in fleas. It needs a good bath and a bunch of Frontline or something. We have thought about calling animal control, but I think that the neighbor is feeding it now and I'd hate to take it away if it's become a 'pet' to her. When we first moved in I tried to get rid of it on craigslist, it got flagged and removed. I tried to freecycle it and got the same rejection.

I just don't know what to do because this stupid cat is getting on my nerves.

Ink Is Contageous

I got my first tattoo when I turned 18. I was home from college on Christmas break and I convinced my boyfriend to drive me from Greene, ME to Augusta, ME to this little tattoo shop in the middle of a snow storm. Yah, I wanted a tattoo that bad. From the time I knew what a tattoo was I wanted a small cross on my ankle. No one in my family approved of tattoos, but I could find nothing in the Bible, aside from an Old Testament verse that talked about tattooing yourself for the dead. and I the reason I wanted a tattoo had nothing to do with the dead. Anyway, my college didn't even allow tattoos, but it was one of those rules that was being ignored by a lot of people, so I justified "breaking" the rule by saying I techincally wasn't "at" college when I got it.

So we drove to Augusta, follwed directions and found this guys house. He had a small shop in his basement. It was VERY neat and clean, and he scheduled my appointment around picking up his daughter from school. made me feel very comfortable. I picked out a cross that I liked, and about 15 minutes later I had my first ink. I immedietly wanted more.

People looked at me crazy when I said I wanted more. and people still look at me crazy when I say it didn't hurt much. there were a few spots that hurt for a second or two, but nothing really painful. A few years later I convinced my husband to go get his first tattoo. We got matching Jesus Fishes on the middle of our backs, between our shoulders. It was corny. Looking back now I've learned a lot about tattoos and would change both of mine if I could. I feel bad that I convinced him to get that, he liked the idea, it's not like I twisted his arm, but man, it's not a "real" tattoo. I don't consider either of mine "real" I want something awesome and designed specifically for me.

Yes, I want more. I just don't know what. When I convinced my husband to get that tattoo I started his addiction too. But he has passed me. He has "real" tattoos. One designed by a tattoo artist in Florida while he was on the tour, and one he designed and got about two years ago. The one he designed is a barcode, with a cross in the middle and the words "Jesus Christ" under it (instead of 'proof of purchase') I love the meaning behind it, people often ask him about it because at first glace it could look a little off. But when he explains to people that it means Jesus Christ bought and paid for his soul through His Blood everything is clear. People often ask us if a barcode scanner will read it, and we've tried it a bunch, but they don't. :)

I wish tattoos weren't such an expensive addiction. :)

Busy week!

I don't think I've sat down at my computer for more than 15 minutes at a time this week. That's highly unusual for me, I am one who likes to be online all the time. We've been running around getting stuff done before we leave. Tonight we had a board meeting for a ministry we are involved in. It's called The Upper Room. It's a great ministry, we love being a part of it. I love to get more and more involved, but I think I might need to get my computer up to date to be able to handle the involvement! My computer is really slow and doesn't like a bunch of things open at once. I think I might need to order some ddr3 or something, try to speed it up.

We are leaving tomorrow and I have a list of things I still have to do, some are around the house, some are around town, some involve making phone calls. And we have yet to even START packing. Did I mention we leave tomorrow? and we'll have a lot to do pack. Maybe I should be doing something other than writing blogs? :)

Oh where are my keys.. oh where are my keys...

oh where, oh where, oh where, oh... there are my keys.

My keys have been missing for a week or so. I kept looking in the diaper bag for them and thinking "oh, they must be in the car." I finally decided I needed to really find my keys, so yesterday we started searching. I emptied the diaper bag (which needed cleaned out anyway, I found a lot of garbage in there!) but not my keys. Then we searched the car, they weren't there either.

We started getting creative, checking the toy baskets, the washer, under the refrigerator. We asked Lexi (who by the way had a list of places that they 'were') but we didn't find them anywhere. After two days I figured they were gone for good. I called some stores that I often go into without my husband, which means I would have my keys. but they hadn't been turned in anywhere. I even called Target. We had been there recently looking at stuff, including their REALLY marked down patio furniture, but my keys had not been found at target.

Finally today I decided I would glance around one.last.time. Just in case they happened to show up. and I looked in the front pocket of the camera case because I felt something lumpy. and there they were. YAY for keys! The most amusing part of the whole story was when I found them I shouted "I found them!!!" and my husband asked "where were they?" I said "in the camera case" he put his head down and said... "oh yah... I put them there." Gee, thanks hun. :)

I think I need a bigger car

or make that a mini van please. I started packing for our trip today. I have NO CLUE how we will get all of this stuff plus the four of us in the car. We have stuff for dressing up for the wedding, toys and movies to keep the kids busy, tents and other camping supplies. Luckily we do not have a pet, so there are no dog supplies to try to fit in the car. I'm pretty sure we are going to have to strap something to the roof.

We thought about getting a roof top carrier until we remembered what happened last time we used one. When Lexi was just a few weeks old we took a trip with my mom and step dad. They swung through from Texas and picked us up and we drove up to NJ, then continued up to Maine a few days later. They had a 4 door family car, and there were 5 of us plus all of the stuff we needed for two weeks crammed in that car. Did I mention we had an infant? Do you know how much junk is needed for an infant?! They go through about 6 outfits a day! Well, mom and Rick bought a roof top carrier to fit some of our stuff in. The only problem was they didn't have a roof rack which meant they had to strap it down directly to the car. Not a problem, the bags are meant for that. Well... it rained the WHOLE time up to New Jersey and where the straps came in the car leaked. We all were REALLY wet by the time we made it up to my grandma's house. It's a funny story now, but then it was cold and wet! :)

Just around the corner

is our vacation. YES, I am excited. it is much needed. I've mentioned before the things going on and where we are going. The only bad part is of course the drive up. We like to drive and would some day like to rent or borrow an RV and take a nice road trip, however I think that will wait until our kids are teens or at least old enough to entertain themselves for the most part.

Once we get home we'll start planning Lexi's birthday party, I can't believe she's going to be 3. I guess technically we've already started planning, since we know the date, time and most of the location. We also know who Lexi wants to invite. I'm hoping to get the invitations out before we leave, since we'll be coming home about 5 days before the party! We're not going crazy with her party, just a simple party, simple decorations, and of course a cake made by me. What did my daughter request for her cake? Sid The Science Kid. yes dear, I'll get right on that. he he. It does make for fun games and activities to do with the kids though!