Heard at My House...

Not sure why but today is a perceptive day for HT.

H told CT that his friend Grant can tie shoes. CT asked if Grant was 4 or 5. HT said 5. CT said, "ah" (keep in mind HT is 4). HT looked puzzled for a minute and then replied "Well, You're almost & and cant tie".

H said he figured out why turtles move so slow - he said their shells are just too heavy for them to move any faster.

H said, " I dont know where Max & Ruby's parents are. Maybe they are on vacation.'
I said, "yeah maybe"
He then said, "maybe they're dead. There is a picture hanging up of them but we never saw them"

With so much to be thankfull for...

... I still can't help but think of what I dont have lately.

Houses. I see these houses and I get all weepy inside. I try not to as we picked out what was best for our family with what we could afford. I love my house, I do. We don't NEED it any bigger but I do want it bigger. I know I should be happy to have a house at all, I get that, but I still get all sad inside. Maybe if I could actually paint this one, or have a nice outside, maybe I'd care more about the house I actually live in!

Kids. Tom was SURE he was done. So sure, he got snipped, without making sure I was 100% with it. I was probably about 90% when he had it done. It's a few years later and I am way less than 90% sure now. I would love more kids even though they drive me nuts a lot. They are my pride & my joy and my world. I should be happy that I have 3 very healthy, very active boys. We have our health and how can you be sad about that? You cant! I know, Tom can get reversed if we want.... Yeah, he would never want to do such a thing! He can BARELY handle the 3 we have, another is not even a second thought for him. Besides, I'm getting older and each day adds more of a chance of something being wrong with a new baby. Maybe one day we can adopt/foster.  I still have so much love in my heart and I would love to love on as many hearts as I could!

Friends. I think I touched enough on this before but I wish I had people here that would stay here to share their lives with my family's lives. Oh well.

I am sure I can go on but I have to pick up HT.

I am thankful for my health, for being in love, for having food & shelter, for having 3 incredible boys, for having my family, and for each day.

KidAround Kid Sale at the Factory in Wake Forest

This was my 1st time consigning. I did all white tags which means I could shop as one of the 1st people.
It was a huge size but to be honest, people were too high on their pricing on the clothes and I was VERY disappointed at the clothing selection -  i started with 4T and looked up to size 16 all in boys. 

 

The above pictures dont do the size of this justice but there was a HUGE "room" full of toys ad non-clothes. 

The other room was all clothes and shoes.

I went to a consignment sale last year downtown at a Baptist Church. It was half the size of this but checkout was more organized. They had handheld scanners and they scanned each item like they do at Target. I labeled each one of my items with barcodes but they didnt scan anything. I have no clue how they do the stuff at this one, but I am curious since I'd love to track my sales. I did see a lady carrying my wooden Melissa & Doug Garage up to check-out so I know I sold at least 1 thing. 

That being said, I priced too low I think. After looking through the clothes and seeing what they asked for things, My stuff should go in a heartbeat. It's all PERFECT condition (practically new) Gymboree or babyGAP. I couldnt believe what they were selling. Circo brand denim pull on shorts for $5.00! Are you serious? NEW they are that price and I always scored them on sale for no more than $2.49 a pair! What sort of drugs are these consignors on? 

Again, highly disappointed at the clothes. I got more at the other sale. As for toys, I passed over table after table since we didnt need much. I went to the puzzles and art stuff. I picked up a new puzzle that was sealed. They were asking 4.00 for it and they sell it right now in Target for 3.99. Yeah, I dont think so! There were a lot of higher priced stuff and I REALLY know my prices so I know what I can get it for other places or new or when I snag things on sale.

I was kinda tight with my money but I did score a few great items.

Melissa & Doug NEW SEALED USA Floor Puzzle.
We wanted to buy this for CT for Christmas. he loves the US and puzzles.
I paid $4.00 and you can buy it at a store right now for more than double that.

Size 10 so still a bit too big for O but they are so cute and you can see the bottom of the one shoe, they are virtually new.
Not sure if they kid ever wore them outta the house. Not a tiny scratch or scuff anywhere.
I paid $3.00

Size 4 yellow outfit for O.
It was brand spankin' new.
I paid $4.00 for it.

CT likes clothes that are simple and look like a college kid. His words not mine.
This is SUPER soft and will go great with navy shorts.
I paid $1.00

Might still be too big for CT (since he is REALLY skinny) but these are size 8 GAP kids shorts.
They are in awesome condition!
Paid $2.00

Size 9/10 which are too big for O and too small for HT.
They are super cute, great condition and I paid $1.00

just like I write, this is just like new!
We have gone through a bunch of these and they aren't cheap, new!
I scored this one for $2.00 and its the big size!!

How could I pass this up?
I couldn't and I didnt!
I paid $2.00 for this.

Melissa & Doug new Responsibility chart.
It normally comes as a set with a calendar but that's ok b/c we dont need the calendar.
It still had the plastic attached and in tact. Not a single knick or anything. PERFECT!
Paid $5.00 for this. 

So for all those keeping track, that is $24.00 for all that stuff! Not too bad! I wish I got more... I didnt need anything but I feel like I didnt buy enough! HA! In hindsight, I should have bought 2 more responsibility charts so I had 1 for each kid.

St. Patrick's Day Fun

It's comfirmed...

P is moving.She'll be outta here before we hit mid-June. Her hubby will leave in a few weeks to head down to GA. Plus side? I always wanted to go to the aquarium down there and explore Atlanta so we'll have a place to crash if/when we go. I am gonna miss my "bestie."

Family times..

You can't put a price on things like this.
Carriage ride through downtown Raleigh... and yes, C & H are driving (we're moving not sitting in this picture).

Our house, is a very, very, very fine house...

It just doesn't feel like mine and i think I figured out why.
Nothing here represents me.
I tried to paint but couldnt afford to finish (and without any help, it took a long time).
Still lack a lot of furniture and while I love what we do have, it's old now and we need new stuff. We dont have a dining room table, our kitchen table doesnt suit or needs. Our couches are comfy but breaking in a slouchy-kind-of-way. I could go on and on but dont worry, I wont.
I have frames to hang up but my printer kind of sucks now and well, I dont have pictures to go in the frames.
The outside is crap since very time I try to garden, I breakout in bad hives or oozing welts from the bushes. They all (front, sides, and back) look yicky and are totally not me.
The house is just a house.
It's not really a home until I can put my mark all around it the way the kids have.
I know I shodul be thankful we own our home and have a place to live.
I know I shoudn't want for anything. I feel wrong when I do, but it feels like something is missing here and I wish I could fill that void.

Friendship....

It's been a long time and I am sorry. This post isn't about any excuses to me not writing, so I'm just going to leave it as, sorry it's been so long, my friend.

This post is about friendship and any lack thereof.

I can honestly say, God has blessed me with many "internet friends". People whom I have never met in real life. People who know me only by the words I type and the pictures I share. Some of these people know me really well. So well, that I can say something like, "doin' some thinkin'" and they know exactly what I am thinking about about and they make sure I am okay. If I dont show up online, I have people who actually care and worry. I have people who had found out how monetarily in a hole we were a few times and even thought they we're struggling themselves, they found a way to get a few dollars to me so I could buy milk and so I could put gas in my car to get kids to and from school. My husband has these friends to. Someone who will send toy cars to our kids. Someone who sends him comic things he likes. Someone who lent Tom money to be paid right back (waiting for something to clear). People who dont expect anything back other than gratitude. My hubby gets it since he has similar friends.

Many people don't understand how someone you've never met in person can be an actual friend, but MY internet friends, just prove that love knows no bounds. I honestly some some of these girls whom I have never met. I know they have my back and they know I have theirs. I wish many of them lived closer so our families could bond and be as close as we are. Instead they are scattered around: some up in New England, in the heartland of the US, in sweaty Florida, up in the cold of Canada, and across oceans like England and Australia. Doesnt matter how many miles are between us, our hearts are bound together and tight.

I dont have many real life friends. You know the ones... Friends that are here. Ones you can call to cry to and they can run over with a Frappaccino or an ine cream. The ones with a  real physical shoulder to cry on. Someone to just veg out with or someone to scoop you up and make you do something you normally dread.

I never really had good friends when I look back on things. I had a few in my tight, small circle and lots of people who wanted to be my friend for other reasons. This was all my life until we moved from NY to NC.

We knew no one here in NC (besides my family). I had no car initially. I had no job (I had a brand new baby and a toddler so I wanst looking for one anyway). Just no way to meet people which was okay in that i hated meeting people. I wanted friends though. So, I had joined a moms group years ago looking for some sort of friends. I made friendships I hoped were tighter then they are. Some gals claim we're friends but they go and hang out together and never even think to invite me or my family. I feel like a puppy dog begging for their attention - 'come on, play with me, please???' I kind of gave up on all of them. I'm better than just waiting for my cell to go off. I'm always the odd-man out. I am kind of used to it after all these friggin' years.

I did make 2 close friends but here is the dilemma. I made a close friend, P, but she inevitably would move as she hadn't stayed anywhere for more than a year. It's been close to 2 years now and i know time will run up soon. I hated to let myself get close to someeone who will leave but it happened. Our families got close too. But, this isnt her home. She likes it here, but this is not where she wants to be and her husband's job will take them somewhere else whenever. *sigh*

Then another person, N, whom I get along with very well, well, she might be gone in a few months.... It's inevitable for them too. Next step for her hubby is a move to Chicago. It could be years or it could be really, REALLY soon that he will go. It's not an if, it's a when. Events have possibly moved the whole move thing to to the front burner so, my heart, it's a bit achey.

I am already feeling heartbroken and alone again.. in real life. I know when I'm sad and crying, like I am now, I can go online and in a few clicks, I can have a virtual shoulder and mounds of comments to make me feel better.

So what's the point to this all? The point is, I love my LLB girls (all over). I love my former-bestie, Bits (who is in MD). I love my Ellie (MD). I love you all. I love P & N who are Wakefield moms who one day whether tomorrow or in a few years, will leave to move their families and whom I will probably never see in real life again.

Sorry for my 1st post in a while to be a somber one, but just had to vent/rant/cry/get-it-out. I even tried a drink (Firefly & Lemonade) and it made me feel worse. Anyway, Thanks for reading!

You have been given a stack of cash to start a restaurant. What type of restaurant do you start? What do you serve? What's the decor like? Where is it located? What is the name of the restaurant?

Oh - you asked me the right question!

Now If I had a stack to finance anything my dream can hold, then here we go...

It's a restaurant with a nice bar. Serving comfort foods and GOOD beers. Very family-friendly. Their desserts would be off-the-hook amazing - half very kid-friendly, the other half adult-friendly made with things like Guinness or Irish Cream. It'd be located near where we live. The name would be Halligans (and teh Bar inside woudl be the Halligan Bar). It is a fireman's tool. It fits the theme of the restaurant which is decorated in the emergency services stuff.. stuff from local fire/police departments and EMS crews. We'd deliver to firehouses for free and offer either a discount/free dessert for those who serve. AND, it'sd be a great place for a kids party but more importantly, holiday and other parties/meetings for the local departments.

As you can see, we have it all planned. We honestly do. Tom & I planned this 10+ years ago and we still aspire to have this one day!

Now if we could only get a financier, we could open before we turn old and gray!

Ask me anything