Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day, I've got a wonderful feeling, everything's going my...oh wait, I forgot this is my life!

So far this morning...

Got up late. (no shower)
Dog saw cat while taking his morning pee & ran off. (maybe he'll get cold & come back)
Welcomed an extra kid. (babysitting all day)
Played pioneer. (chopped wood for fire)
Took a call from the city. (about dog, what a surprise)
Bundled kids for a trek to the garage. (to find dog)
Dug out drift in front of garage. (about 2 ft deep)
Wrestled van onto driveway. (took a few tries)
Found dog. (who did NOT want to get in the van)
Took 5 tries to get up driveway. (and actually made it into garage)
Un-bundled kids. (me first, I have ice in my boot, mom help)
Fixed 2 boo-boos. (band aids go fast in this house)
Rescued extra kid from my kids. (she's 3 & they play very rough)
Discovered daughter cutting up my brush. (took the bristles right off)
Scolded boys for riding old crib mattress down stairs. (miraculously nobody was hurt)

And all this before 9:30!

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Interesting Sam pronunciation:

Sam "hey mom, a question mark means a question & a es-qu-ash-kon (exclamation) mark means a question too!"
Mom "gotta work on that buddy."

I had to have him repeat that a bunch of times before I could figure out how to spell it. And I'm so not correcting him...it's just too cute for that!

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I have recently learned to be grateful that Chris is working in Ellensburg. At first I was very resentful & angry. I mean, we just moved away from there to be closer to work & now he's working right back where we came from! But the general contractor at this particular job is tarping & heating the job which means they can work all winter, even in extreme temperatures. Chris found out last week that they are the only crew working right now. All the other jobs are shut down due to nasty weather. So once again, God knows what He's doing & I haven't a clue.
Go figure :)

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Yesterday I finally finished decorating the house for Christmas. Now I just have to finish the gifts I'm making & wrap everything. Every year I plan on getting it all done early & every year I go right down to the wire. Nothing like a little added stress to spice up my everyday life.
We are getting up early on Christmas morning to open our gifts & have breakfast together. Then we will make the trek to my sister's house in Richland & spend 2 days with the rest of my family. Should be a blast & a little deja-vu, to see all our kids playing together, just like we did with our cousins when we were kids. You see, my sister bought my Grandparents old house & we spent many-a Christmas playing in the basement. Now it's come full circle & we're the boring adults talking upstairs.

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I introduced my kids to the movie Rudolph yesterday & naturally they loved it. It was so much fun to see them enjoying what I've loved for so long. Today I'm going to see if I can find A Charlie Brown Christmas online for them. I just love sharing all the old traditions with them & knowing they will pass them on to their kids someday. The best part though is sharing the real reason for the season, our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. We've always told them a bible story every night before bed but at this time of year we linger on the story of His birth. I want them to understand from an early age that Christmas has nothing to do with santa & getting lots of stuff. It's about celebrating the King of Kings & what He came here to do for us.
So we talk a lot about how santa is a character & it's fun to pretend he's real but he's not really real. And when you see santa at the store or he comes to your school party he's just a man dressed up in a costume like at Halloween. But I also make sure to tell them not to ruin it for other kids who might think santa is real.

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We took our annual trek to see the Christmas lights Saturday night. As usual we got started too late & didn't get to finish our list. But we did see some beautiful houses in parts of Spokane we hadn't been to before & it was magical for the kids. We can't afford to put up much by the way of lights so it's fun to check out the families who can keep the power companies happy.

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Random recipe:
I made some yummy waffles for breakfast the other day. I use the recipe from the better homes and gardens cookbook (aka red & white book) but I use half whole wheat flour & I add a scoop or 2 of wheat germ so I can pretend it's good for us. I also make my own syrup which tastes so much better than that crap from the store...well, unless you buy the real thing which of course, is fabulously yummy. To make syrup you just boil 2 parts sugar & 1 part water with a little vanilla & maple flavoring until it's slightly thickened (emphasis on the slightly, if you boil it too long you'll end up with sugar-crystal'y syrup.) What made these waffles so great was that his time I didn't know I had run out of maple flavoring. I improvised & threw a couple of cinnamon sticks in & it turned out so good I don't know if I'll make it any other way.

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Hey I blogged today, can you believe it?
Have a wonderful day & enjoy your snow if you have it :)

Weekend events

Hey y'all, hope ya had a good & restful labor day weekend.

We went for a brief visit to my sister M, who lives in the tri-cities - about a 2 hour drive South of us. It was a fun time, we arrived Sunday afternoon so M could watch the kids while we went to a party hosted by the foreman on Chris's current job site.

Their house was insane - big, beautiful & perfect for entertaining. We were waaaaay out of our element! They throw a party like this every year & invite co-workers, friends & their kids friends. The booze was flowing freely & a live band was set to play later in the evening.

But back to the house. 3 br 2 ba, huge kitchen with all stainless steel appliances, double oven, ceramic cook top...pretty much anything you could ask for in a kitchen, they had it. The house also had a great room, office, formal dining & living rooms, 2 car garage & a 2 car/RV garage/shop with all the toys big boys want. They had parking for about 100 cars (extended their driveway across the front of the shop & combined with the neighbor.) The patio was flawlessly landscaped with 2 fountains flowing down rocky mounds, a gazebo with a koi pond inhabited by 2 huge koi & beyond that a ginormous lawn.

We had fun but knew few people there. Actually only Chris knew any of them, I didn't know anyone until after we arrived. Bricklayers are an interesting bunch & Chris told me our host (a very charming & friendly guy) has a completely different vocabulary when he's on the job. I got ticked off at one of the guys. Chris really likes working with him & says he makes his kids top priority & all, but he was wearing this shirt. This shirt with a big-breasted-perfect-body model on the back, wearing a barely-there string bikini. Every time he turned around I cringed & what really got me was there were little kids there!!! Maybe I'm judgemental but I don't think that's appropriate attire around children. Luckily I was able to keep my big mouth shut & I was very glad our kids weren't around to see it!

We didn't stay long, just enough to mingle a bit & eat dinner - we aren't into watching a bunch of drunk people try to dance -been there, done that & over it thankyouverymuch!

After we got back to M's house we hung out with her boys & watched a movie. Monday morning M made positively sinful Cinnamon rolls for breakfast - we each had 2 & paid for it with tummy aches later - can't eat that much butter without repercussions! Then M took me over to the salon she works at & cut my hair - we took about 4 inches off & gave me bangs again. I'm not used to it yet but I like it. My hair has been growing for too long & it was time to chop! Next time I'll go shorter...have to take it gradually for the hubby's sake, he's a die-hard long hair lover & does not like change. I'll post a pic in a few days...gatta get the hang of drying & styling again.

The kids were all mad we had to leave, as they always are. They think M hung the moon & have a great time playing with their older cousins & uncle. But once they calmed down we had a nice drive home & got there in plenty of time to get ready for the week ahead.

Chris only has 2 days left at this job site & the next one should be closer to home. Only 1 hour away instead of 2+. He might have some energy left for us at the end of the day - amazing!!

Well, I hope you all had a great weekend...I'll be around to visit everyone later today or tomorrow.

Thank you, thank you & a million thanks to you!

Oh you guys are great, thanks so much for praying. It took me 4 hours to do all my running around but I was able to get our account into positive territory again & our financial butt is saved. I love the Ellensburg WAMU branch - they actually called & offered to waive the fees if I could bring it positive yesterday. We would have had over 200 in fees so now we actually have enough for gas the rest of the week - yay!

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In the middle of all the money hoopla yesterday I got a call that put another urgent item on my list. I am part of a community group in Sprague & recently inherited the responsibility of the blog. It's been on the back burner, I actually have not touched it until yesterday's call. I found out that the blog is more important than I thought. Turns out that our group needed me to post on a couple of new things in the community for a grant. A grant that must be completed today! Oh fiddlesticks!!

I had no idea the blog was that important, I wish the lady that passed it on to me had let me know that the grant writers used it - I would have done this weeks ago!

Oh well, it's done now & if you want to check out the Sprague Horizons Community Blog you can see what took me a ridiculous amount of time to do.

I had never messed with slide shows & was not sure what site to use. I knew the other lady used Flickr for pictures so I worked for a long time uploading & editing there...only to find I couldn't make a slide show using the free service. Then I checked my notes & found she used Slide to do the shows. Girrr! At that point, it was time for Chris to get up for work (that would be 2:30 in the morning folks) he gave me a good scolding & sent me to bed.

I had to finish this morning so first thing I made myself about a gallon of coffee & got going. I'm so glad to have the weight of it off my shoulders, from now on I'm posting there more often!

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We are leaving on vacation tomorrow, hopefully right after Sam gets out of summer school. That's the goal anyway, with all my detours yesterday we'll see if I can get ready in time. I've been really looking forward to this vacation, it's a family reunion & I haven't been to one on that side of the family since I was in High School. I'm going to find a lot of changes!

Here is a picture of the founding members of this reunion...

(L to R) Uncle Bruce, Aunt Ruth, Grampa M, Grama M, & Aunt Jane.

They have all gone to be with the Lord & are all greatly missed, this picture is of the last reunion they were together (and the last one I attended) in the late 80's. We have had them every 3 years for as long as I can remember.

So I'm very excited to get out of town & have fun with a whole lotta 1st, 2nd, 3rd and who knows how many other cousins. It's going to be loud & crazy & above all fun, fun, fun!

We are going to Wallowa Lake Resort in NE Oregon & I hope to have a lot of pics for you next week.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone & thanks again!!

For which I am feeling guilty

Ok so it's been like for-freakin-ever since I've posted.
Shame. On. Me.
It has been busy in the Michels madhouse lately. Between visiting, t-ball, visitors & husbands-who-hog-the-computer-on-weekends, I have had no chance to write a thing. I've managed to check blogs from time to time but to write? I can't concentrate long enough to get a decent sentence out. (Not that I was good at that anyway...)
So.
What's new with me? Not much. Running around to t-ball practice & games, chasing kids & the dog, dealing with my hubby not getting home until bedtime. Oh, I haven't told you about that? Well I'll just have to fill you in now, won't I?
Chris is working at a new jobsite & its a 2 hour drive (that's one way folks) to work.
Y.u.c.k.
He now gets home just in time to get the kids to bed & then go to sleep himself. The good thing is that he's only working 4 days a week (10 hour days) so we get 3 day weekends. But I really need miss him at dinnertime, those days are v.e.r.y l.o.n.g...
I'm fighting off depression because of it. Not as bad as my usual monthly attack but still hard to deal with. I'm doing great right now but I think that's due to the weekend. We shall see.
We had a GREAT day today. The sun was out, 70+ degrees & we worked/played outside almost the whole day. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer & I'm welcoming the change. O'course, next month I'll be groaning about how hot it is but for now, I'm one happy gal.

So I hope y'all had a dandy weekend, I shall blog tomorrow about the momentous occasion that occurred in our household Saturday.
Tootles for now, have a fabulous Monday everyone!!

Random thoughts & and an Eli'ism

I made ravioli a few days ago for dinner & this is the conversation I had with Eli about it.
"What you makin Mom?"
"I'm making ravioli, rrrrrrrravioli." (rolling the r's)
"Can you say that Eli, rrrrrrrrravioli?"
"Llllllllllllllllabilowie!"
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Over the weekend we went to my sisters to visit for a night & get our hair cut. My kids love seeing their older cousins, in their eyes B & L are the coolest kids on the planet. L is almost 12, B is 9 & they are both boys so there was lots of rough & tumble. They played basketball, ran around the backyard & pretty much blew up the basement.
I got my hair trimmed & my highlights fixed. The kids all got trimmed. The boys now look like boys instead of wild animals & Adah looks "so prrrreaty" after being sprinkled with aunt Margaret's princess glitter. She was in heaven!
I love to visit with Margaret & Trevor. Margaret & I hated each other most of our childhood & I used to beat her up on a regular basis. Come adulthood, Margaret & I are like best friends. We talk on the phone at least once a week & visit each other as often as we can. Trevor & I have a lot in common, so I very much enjoy hanging out with him & giving him a hard time.
Good family, good times.
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It's raining today & I love it! This weekend was very warm. I'm told it was about 75 here, at my sister's it was 85 & I'm not ready for that yet! I grew up in Kirkland, across the lake from Seattle & had lots of rainy days. I don't miss having them for months on end, don't get me wrong, but I love me a good gloomy, rainy day every now & then. Great time to curl up with a blanket & a book, all cozy in my home.
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List of things to do today.
Take a shower.
Call to get prescriptions refilled
Find an eye doctor & get Chris an appt.
Find a dentist. Been putting this off for a loooong time.
Make appt with vet for Gihli - he's been funny about his ears lately.
Do 43 loads of laundry.
Clean the kitchen.
Figure out what the heck to make for dinner.
Plan my menu for this week.
And the most important...read blogs :)
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Have a great day y'all!!