the aftermath....

We did it!

Those speak for themselves, don't they?

Happy new year!

xox,

e

Guess....

who is getting a haircut on Saturday??? ....................

now...guess how sad this makes the momma......

What a day......

Uh-Oh...
erika stayed up super late last night watching reruns from a certain show that is premiering January 3rd....
erika slept in....
erika didn't answer the phone...
erika listened to the message...
it was from the realtor...
they were going to show the house at 1pm...
erika almost stopped breathing....
erika cleaned...
and cleaned...
and cleaned....
it was a caffeine adrenaline induced cleaning frenzy....
12:30...erika and boys were out the door....
only to return at 4pm...
to a message saying...
"Your 1pm appointment was cancelled"
erika was not happy.

ok, I'll stop w/ the third person..
it's annoying me.
SO, needless to say...I have not had a very good day...
on the bright side...
my house is clean.
really clean.

ok, so go here to see cuteness....
http://www.childishclothing.com/hotmammaphotos/photo/1/23oto/1/23
well, cuteness from a couple years ago...
the hair length is always an age indicator w/ that one ;)

I leave you with funny emails from my husband from the past few weeks....
the man is cracking me up....

from yesterday
"almost quittin' time. Good bloggage by the way. I like having the opportunity to re-laugh at our kids. I don't understand how Jared could look like a girl to anyone though. Still funnny however. Can't wait to rub your feet and watch the barker's. bwahahaha, wtf?"

from the 15th, (regarding why jared wouldn't believe me when i told him Ronaldinho's number)
"cuz I have a pen!$. That means I know everything about sports.If you really want to know what I think. He should be number 21. That is landon donavan's number who is left footed. It is also my number. But he can go with Beckham...cuz his mom thinks he is cute."

also from the 15th
"Good Morning. I am still recovering over the major let down from LOST last night. I slept with Natasha Bedingfield last night. Well actually she is just staying in the same hotel as me. There is a concert in town and all music stars are staying in the hotel I am in. Yippee. Talk to you later. Love, Colin"

heeeheee...he's a dork..
but I love him ;) xe

ps. the margarita scrub....LOVE it...you should all try some....smells amazing.

Sooooo.....

Exciting news...
I know you were all waiting on pins and needles to hear...
Travis and Shanna Barker in fact had their baby on Christmas Eve....
a girl baby named what else but...
Alabama Luella.
*don't forget....January 3rd....mark your calendars ;)

Ok, I know...contain your excitement while I share stories...
of less monumental significance...

SO, we found a new house...
we're renting though...
why do you ask?
well...because THIS house hasn't sold...
oooh yeah....so that's two, count them...two houses e will have.
Do I need two houses?
nooooo....
Can I afford two house payments?
NOOOOOOOOOOO.....
So, anyone looking for a fabulous, newly painted, four bedroom...
look no further..
i've got one.
let's make a deal ;)
I'll throw in some fantastic goodies...
yes, I will.

So, we're looking at houses, and Greenville is a college town,
(ECU, no idea) anyway, college town rentals translate to .....
crappy run-down slums....
which with three kids is not exactly what I had in mind.
(I lived in them in college w/ one kiddo.....that was enough :)
So when we found this cUte little brick ranch in an older neighborhood...
within walking distance to what are suppose to be good schools..
we jumped on it.
....
now I have to figure out, without so much hyperventilation,
how to sell my house is 0 minus 30 days.
But,
my new house...
OMG I'm rambling.....
RachelC is laughing at me right now...
My "new" house is soooooo charming...
with some hardwood floors, and a little sunroom....
and a fenced in yard....
it's substantially smaller, and there is no garage (just a carport)
so I'm not really sure what to do w/ about half of our schtuff.
I'm thinking simple...
declutter....
simplify a la ali edwards.....
It's just a completely overwhelming thought right now.
Thankfully I have this sister.....who has a four bedroom house....
who might out of the goodness of her heart store some of my chit for me.
.....
Side note...
Missy, if you lived closer....
have I got some rescue heros for mister connor...
oooh boy.
I'm thinking next summer...
when you're on your way to the beach....
you stop in to see me and the gab....
and get yourself some boylietoylies ;)
......
ok,
Funny stories from last week.
(aka why I win the bad mother of the year award....again)
We are looking at houses....
We get out of the truck to meet the realtor...
My boys are all wearing hoodies and jeans.
Jared's has hockey on it, Coltens is navy blue, and Jack's has baseball on it.
The lady comes over and says "OOOOOOOOOh look, we have miss hockey, miss baseball, and little mister cool."....she then looks back at my oldest, and says "And isn't she pretty."
At this point, I can't make eye contact w/ the realtor because I know I'm going to start laughing uncontrollably.....Do I correct her? nooooo...
Does my husband? noooo...
So, Jared is bright red....
Jack is so use to being called a girl, he just blows it off...although I could tell he was relishing the fact that his brother had been mistaken as well.
We go inside and the first bedroom has this girlie arched window...
the woman turns to Jared, who now I can't look at either because I'm giggling...
and says "I bet I can guess whose room THIS will be" :)
OMGOSH....
When we finally left.....Jared was not only planning a haircut, but listing reasons why we would not be living in that house we'd also not be using that realtor....
I couldn't stop laughing......
bad mommy, bad mommy.
.....
Colten fell asleep on the way back to the hotel,
getting out of the truck, he grabbed what he thought was his red coat..
it was actually his dad's swim trunks...
he put his head through the leg opening, and then said....
"Mom, I can't get my coat on...."...
I of course burst out laughing yet again.
.....
There were a few other amusing things but I'll spare you..., it was a fun week.
We swam, and swam, and swam....
Well, I swam some and read magazines by the side of the pool some....
it was nice.
My boys will all be enrolling in swim lessons after we move....
yikes...
can you say doggie paddle....
not good...
hard to believe their mother actually was on swim team, certified as a lifeguard, and scuba dived......perhaps her boys should know an actual stroke?!?! HA!

Christmas was lovely.
The grinch tried to bring the stomach flu Christmas Eve...
but I held tight to the aerosol can of Clorox.....and only Jared succumbed.
Poor guy.
We were all well for the big morning though,
and the boys were spoiled....
Jack did not receive an IPOD, but did get a gameboy DS,
along with his brothers, so that more then made up for it.
He also got a furby which is mildly amusing for all....
Gabby, Mike and Maxwell came for dinger...
DELISH....
brought some fab gifts for all of us...
all in all a very nice day :)
Their gift to jack....an electronic basketball hoop....
Is it wrong that my husband and I drank and played fisher price ESPN basketball last night?!? HA!!!

I got some very comfy striped jammy pants, and some furry white slippers that look like muppets on my feet that I'm still wearing as I type this at what ....1:30pm....
WHOOPSIE :)
Christmas break rocks!
xxxe

***This is ridiculously long...I apologize....

Because my sister said so...

I've been tagged, so before it just becomes ridiculously past Christmas ;)
here goes....

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? hot chocolate...with whipped cream...yum

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wraps all of them....

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White on the house (when we put them out...whoops, not this year!), colored on the tree.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, but i just might.....I like those mistletoe balls...cuuuute.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Right after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? OOOOH, it's all yummy. Scalloped potatoes and carrots, and the mushrooms in cream sauce.....delish.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Um....probably just the anticipation....the butterflies in the tummy, the excitement.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't really remember a "moment", probably when one of my parents bought a "santa" gift when I was with them ;)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, Colin and I don't, but my boylies get jammie pants, and a book. This year jammie pants, and a gingerbread house kit ;)

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Sugar cookies (and milk), also we normally leave carrots for the reindeer, however this year mommy choked and there were nooo carrots, Jack wrote a letter for Santa though explaining, it was adorable....don't worry, I'm scrapping it ;)

11. Snow love it or dread it? LOVE it. Wish we'd get some...just don't love driving in it....nope, not at all...

12. Can you ice skate? Heck yeah, I dated a hockey player in high school ;)

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? As a child? or now? My lens for my camera last year was way up there....

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Celebrating Christ's birth, and being surrounded by loved ones.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? fudge (and sugar cookies)

16. What's your favorite Christmas tradition? Spoiling my boys, and spending the evening with my family

17. What tops your tree? An angel

18. Which do you prefer? Giving or receiving? Well, everyone loves receiving gifts right?
I think giving is the BEST though...

19. What is your favorite Christmas carol? O Holy Night....love it.

20. What's the best thing to do with candy canes? Stick 'em in hot chocolate!!! <-- Hanni is so right on this one!! <---I'm w/ Gabbby and Hanni on this one ;)

21. How many of your Christmas gifts are you hand making? 2 or 3....Gabby's coffee mug...does that count? and some frames for my MIL and SIL.....only if I get it done before they come though, otherwise 1.

Ok, My hubby is still home, so I will write more tomorrow when I'm bored and husbandless.
Hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas ;) xxxe

Merriest of Christmases to you....

May you enjoy all
of your gifts this year ;)




...and
be surrounded
with love.

When I return I will tell you all about my new house...and share some funny hotel stories...
xerika

ps...or happiest of Hanukkahs to you....whatever the case may be...be Merry and Happy, and I'll be back next week!

Happy 2nd Birthday Connor.....

Hope your birthday was filled w/ lots of yummy fun....
I didn't get a chance to post this on 2peas...
but I'm sending lots of love to you and your sweet family.
I adore you Missy, and your son is just a dollbaby...

Ok all....
I'm outta here...
Be back Thursday or Friday, I'm going to go "live" in the hotel w/ my husband so he's not alone the week before Christmas...
The boys are excited to SWIM! :)
I'll miss you all...
xxe

ps...please note there is really noooo red behind the tag....my scanner just hated the wing ;)

Nonsense...

Ok, before I begin this post
I feel it necessary to say that I'm on a verge of a nervous breakdown...
nah...i keed....i keed....
i say that when my kids are making me crazy...
"MOMMY is going to have a nervous breakdown!"
Usually makes people either laugh, or nod empathetically....like ohhh, yeah, we remember that feeling....
Jack has been playing pinball for a good 30 minutes...and it's noisy....oh my gosh...
SO FLIPPING NOISY.

SO, I'm SUPER excited....and about to admit something so dorky...
I can't believe I'm doing it....
MY SHOW IS BACK JANUARY 3rd!!! YAY ME!
What show you ask? heehee...
ok, that's the dorky part...
I am so w/ my CJ buddy Laura (Charmer) who has admitted a love for MTV reality shows...
currently I believe it's the Gauntlet 2....
I watched Nick and Jessica...I'll admit it.
I watched Laguna....yes, I did...
and as of January 3rd....I'll be watching season 2 of MEET THE BARKERS!
HUGE dork am I.... heehee....
Love it....
Laura probably doesn't even stoop to what my husband coins as beyond bad reality tv...
BUT I DO!
YEP...
Where do we think Colten got the idea for a mohawk from?!!? hmm?
oh yes, thank you Travis Barker .....
So excited ;)
Dork...
I know...

I'd like to say that Christmas Vacation IS my all time FAVORITE...
however, I think we've been watching it just a tad toooo much...
my four year old woke up and said...
not "good morning mommy"...
nope..
he said "the shitters full".....
WHOOOPSIE.

Lastly...
I'm working on a layout,
which has caused me to realize....
I mean really acknowledge that I completely suck at writing....
OH YEAH...I mean I knew I did...
I'm not a writer...
not at all...
in fact I would be the opposite of a writer...
Horrible...
I love to read...so that's not it..
My husband doesn't read anything, except Sports Illustrated, and yet his vocabulary is immense....
(So is Gabbys....me : "ur, Gabby WTF did you just say? I have NOO idea what that word means..." yep, she giggles and gives me synonyms and uses the word in several sentences....)
Why I ask....
when I was in school....
did my parents insist that I would use geometry...and chemistry...and other subject I have yet to use...but never insisted I read the dictionary (like April), or pick up a thesaurus...hmm??!??! See...THAT i would've used...
words...
hmf....annoying...
So, I doubt I'll ever be a real strong writer .....which is fine w/ me....
most of the time.....
I'm just not sure it'll fly w/ what I'm working on right now...
NOT good.
perhaps more mtv, not good for the e....hmm...?
perhaps not....
I apologize for the bad writing you are STILL reading.......xxxe

Clark made this....

or at least it appears that way....

this made me giggle when i picked it up today...
all i could think was NLChristmas Vacation...
CLARK??!?!
well,
it's suppose to say "Jack"....
heehee...
poor scary looking reindeer...

I've come to the conclusion....

that, while I do not know how to IM...I think that Jack does in fact know how...
and is IM'ing April for holiday gift ideas....
Colin and I were in the garage yesterday staining a bench...
the Jack was cruising around on his scooter...
Colin asks Jack "Hey buddy, what do you want for Christmas?"...
Jack, while making figure eights around the wet bench, not skipping a beat...
says...."Ah, a laptop"
I take it back...my child has no problem asking for things for Christmas....I lied.
(at least about him)
AT least he has good taste if he's talking to April....
her list is quite awesome, I may just have to send my husband over to view it....and say DITTO for me babe ;)

Laid back weekend....
Got about 12 inches of my hair cut off....
whoa. ok, not that much....but a lot.
watched bad movies, ate good food, saw my husband and my sister...
and now it's....
Monday....
sigh....
xe

Whoever....

invented caramel hershey kisses...
i hate them.
my butt hates them too.
urgh....

SO, i updated my blog yesterday...
like it?
what?!? you're saying...
there is no update e...
ah, yes...you are correct...
this is because blogger hates me...
and lost my post.
when i saw it was gone..
instead of patiently going back and fixing it...
i said FORGET IT.
and now i'm updating, or attempting to update yet again....
THIS is why i don't have a cell phone...
technology, while i see the benefits,
is just way to annoying to deal w/ for me...

So i posted this layout today that makes me giggle...
why?
because it's for this "contest" at my lss..
my lss is very, very small...
but the people that own it are very nice,
so i go in to pick up the monthly "kit" for this contest-thinga-ma-bob....
and she gives me three sheets of paper, some brads, some ricrac, and an embelly that says "thankful for you" or something....
as i'm leaving she says...
"ooooh, and the rules are...."
RULES?!?!? RULES?!?!? ugh...i hate rules.
"the rules are you can only use these items. you can ink, tear and stamp though"...
SO, because i'm me...
the whole time i was making the layout...
i was thinking of all the things i'd like to use on the page...
things i couldn't...
because of the rules.
did i mention...i hate rules.
Anyway, that's what i came up w/...
notice it's just the paper....heehee....
it was suppose to be thanksgiving themed...
but being me (still)....
i didn't take thanksgiving pictures this year, because of the broken lens situation..
gabby took them,...
and being related to me...
we managed to lose that roll of film :) whoooopsie!
So, i used last years photo...
there is another layout i'm doing,
using the wishbone photo that's below.....
...i'm sure i've officially freaked the scrapbook store owner out though sufficiently w/ my crazy style...sooo perhaps i should just leave it at one page turned in...hmm...?!? ;)

We "Christmased" our house this weekend.
(last year jack would say "we need to christmas our house" instead of decorate our house)
The photos turned out like caca though...
two rolls of caca....
flotilla pictures..
oh, yes, big caca...
But here is one of a little tree the jack made at school...
i took more yesterday of our BIG tree and will get them developed soon ;)
and post for my erin....
promise.
film camera.....remember....
see discussion about technology and erika above...

So I'm tucking the boys in last night...
and jack says "mom...i fought of my free things i want for cwistmas....."
"ok..hit me jack"
"I want twister, and a shirt."
"A SHIRT? ah...any specific kind of SHIRT?"
"yes, one wif army guys on it maybe?"
"ooh, ok...anything else?"
"Yeah....an IPOD....goodnight mom"
from the other bedroom jared's voice pipes in...."OH, I want an IPOD too"
"NONE of you are getting IPODS....GOODNIGHT...I LOVE YOU BOYS!"
see,
i'd take the request for a slushy maker....
yep.
heehee...
they want legos, rollerskate shoes (can you say broken ankles?)
and jared wants a brazil nat'l jersey (soccer)
and coley wants a real madrid jersey
(....ahhh...beckham....good boy ;) )
i am really lucky though, because they just don't ask for things... not unless i ask them what they want...
and even then...
it's just a few things... (expensive things...but few in number) :)

SO, next year.....because i'm great at thinking of things last minute, and way too late....
Lets do an ornament exchange!
Then i can send everyone beachy ornaments... ;)
funfun....xxxe

i wish.............

........my husband and my sister were not GONE!!!
major suck, times two...

Anyway....
SOooo, i meant to (on my last post) ask what everyone w/ kiddos was getting said kids for Christmas...and then i saw Jen's post asking what everyone wants for Christmas...and had to giggle... great minds think alike, eh?
Sooooooooooo.....What's everyone getting their kids for Christmas?!?!
(If you don't have kids feel free to tell me what you're asking for, or I'll just check out Jen's blog later!!!)
My boys don't ask for anything....
and when i say this....i'm not being funny...i am totally serious...
"what do you guys want for Christmas?"
"uh...."
"er....."
"ah...."
Yep.
I believe this is due to them HAVING TOOOOO MUCH STUFF!
(Gabby thinks it's sweet...they have her fooled! HA!) :)
Ok, so that's my question of the day.
I really am clueless...and only 20days left....xe

***Happy Birthday wishes to one of my VERY favorite peas...and a most talented artist....Miss Amber Nichole!!!!!! make it wonderful Muah!!!....xxxe *************************************************

My day in a nutshell...just not a peanut one ;)

Did we learn NOTHING from having to wear Aunt Gabby's pink boxers?!?!?
Waiting TOO long to go pee...
it's NOT a good thing.....

I pick Jack up from school.
We go to the grocery store.
Not my usual Wallyworld run...noooo....
No, we go to the froofroo grocery,
because it's on the way home.
So Jack, Coley and I get all of our much need food....and start heading to check out....
Jack who has been oblivious to the world...playing his gameboy in the cart...
announces (loudly) "I HAVE TO PEE! WEALLY BAD!"...
Of course you do..because you've now waited to the last possible second so you could keep playing your game...
soooo I speed to the front of the store when I hear....
"OOOOOOOOOh nooooooooo! I'm SOWWY MOMMY!"
Fanfreakingtastic...
Jack is now crying....
Colten is laughing...
I'm thinking about how I'd REALLY like to ditch the cart and make a run for it....
because lord knows at that exact moment w/ my luck I'm certain to run into Jill and baby Paris... (long story for another day)
So I run into the bathroom to assess the damage...
he's soaked.
I remove his shirt, tie it around his waist...put his coat back on....and confidently march back out to check out....praying i run into no one I know..
thankfully I didn't...
and we made it home.

Where...
after lunch I decide to actually GO to the post office,
instead of just thinking about it.
So I'm boxing up the circle journal to mail Erin (which btw Erin the whole time I was thinking....damn..If I were a nice friend I'd be sending some fabulous ornament or scrappy delight....but instead, just the cj...I suck, sorry)....
boxing up the circle journal my son is doing....
and low and behold I find a box (always the struggle in mailing for me..the boxing up)
to FINALLY for the love of all things good.....mail Missy her CD...
please don't get excited Missy...
keep reading....
SO I'm getting ready to put the CD in the box...
and think....
would it not be in typical e fashion to send her the wrong freaking CD...
HAHA...I think..
I'm not THAT dumb...
I open the CD cover...
and there is the CD, w/ all the stampage...."HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISSY LOVE ERIKA"
ahhh, so cute.
I decide to put it on, because I've forgotten what's on it...Its been THAT long...
The first song..
wow....
I don't remember putting anything this heavy on it..
next...
er...
next...
uh-huh....
OOOOH YEAH, and with that I give you typical e....
I STAMPED MY HUSBANDS HEAVY METAL CD w/ ....
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISSY LOVE ERIKA" ...oh yes, I did.
Can I find missy's cd?
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....
Do I know how to burn another?
nooooooooooooooooooooooooo....
(please refer to the previous post regarding my computer illiteracy)
OMG! At this point I'm laughing outloud...
So, MISSY...I swear....someday....You will get your CD.
I am going to have to include a logan echolls t-shirt as a bonus gift ...

Seriously....
what is wrong w/ me?!?!?...heehee...
major dork.

Also I'd like to thank you for your sweet words about Jack and his allergies...
but please don't stop eating peanut butter.....
I swear the peanut growers association is going to come after me....
I just meant....if there was a child with an allergy in your child's class....be aware..
don't actually quit eating it...
although Jack sends his warmest regards for offering :)

My house is clean....my husband is on his way home....
happy happy weekend to you all! xxxe

E-YER-GIC

So, Jack is allergic (or "E-yer-gic" in jackspeak) to almost everything God created.
Ok, that's an overstatement....but he's got some interesting ones...
lettuce for instance...
who knew you could even be allergic to lettuce?
not i....
His main allergens are peanuts, shellfish, and pork.
As far as allergies go I'm lucky because milk and wheat would be much more difficult...
for me anyway.
SO, I realize I've learned a lot about allergies having the jackman....but common sense would dictate that allergies can be life threatening.
This is why we have the epipen....

So this morning...
(yes, that was a lead in for a very exciting "e's bored story"....hold on to your seats)
I'm in the shower...the phone rings...the machine gets it..
I get out....(can't leave the exciting details of the story out)...
and there is a message from one of the moms on my son's soccer team...

"Hi Erika...hey, my mom called me today to tell me this story that was on the news about this sixteen year old girl who had a peanut allergy. Her boyfriend ate a peanut butter sandwich 3 hours earlier, and then kissed her, well, like four hours later she died. I just never realized that food allergies could be that severe, just thought i pass that along....Talk to you later".

WELLLL....Good morning to e!
Thanks for sharing...

Yes, I'm aware of these stories...
Yes, It doesn't actually help the hypochondriac...
Yes, I'm nervous when I'm not with him.
Yes, I'm blessed his teacher HAS a food allergy, and ALWAYS errs on the side of caution when giving Jack food.
Yes, It ticks me off when I'm at a crop and a woman find the need to go on (and on and on and on...) about how UNFAIR it is that some child's mom want to make the room her child's in at school peanut free...how it shouldn't be allowed...how inconvenient it is for HER...
NICE.

I'm actually glad my friend called, I'm glad she's more aware now....
So my public service announcement for the day is be aware, be thoughtful, be educated.
Jack is lucky, so far, (knock on wood)....his allergens have to be ingested,
but some kids react from touching the allergen or breathing them in.
So, if your child has a pb sammy for lunch and then touches the same table a child w/ a peanut allergy touches...even hours later....
they could have a serious, even anaphylaxic reation.
If a child in your kids class HAS a food allergy...
ask if there is a safe treat you can bring in for birthdays, etc.
Jack has yet to be included in a birthday celebration at school.
It's frustrating...
but at least I can try to make people understand, that a little inconvenience on your part,
could be the difference in my child's health...
or anothers.

Sorry, I'm done now ;)
heehee...sorry, I'm not angry...rereading that...I think I sound angry...
I swear I'm not.
I am cold though, so I'm off to put a sweatshirt or sum-thin on...
Thanks Rachel for the page fix ;) heehee..
I gave it to my friend this morning...in frame, and she liked...
which made me HAPPY.
she also told me a story about her husband, her cat, and a clothes dryer.
(***Do not worry, the cat lived...this was a "did I ever tell you the story of..." happened years ago type thing)
Of course ....now, I want to scrap THAT!
is that wrong?
probably yes, I'll refrain.
TOMORROWS FRIDAY!!!!! YAY!!!! xxe