Let it snow! Let it snow! Why did it only snow here?

So, this morning, Craig and I were discussing whether or not we should take the Camry or the Ford to the car show in Portland. We weren't sure how the weather would turn out. It rained here all night, I could here it on the skylight in the bathroom. So when it was quiet, I just assumed that it had stopped raining. So, we watch the news, to see what's going to happen, and they are out and about at various places, and the weather looks fine. So we decide to take the Camry, since it is easier to park in the garage at the convention center. Craig has a Ford f-350 diesel pickup that has an extended cab (well, it has four doors, I have no idea what they call it) and the truck is all jacked up with these huge, pain in the butt tires, and it has an eight foot bed. So you have huge truck, with already a huge cab, and a long bed, that is hard to get into, so it is not the best vehicle to take into a parking garage. It's like driving a land yacht. I refuse to drive the thing. So, here we are, set on the car, and I go out to the kitchen at 7:00 am to open curtains, and lo and behold, everything is white! So we had to switch our plan a little. We did end up taking the truck, but there was only snow in about a ten mile radius around us. So odd. Nothing anywhere else, but three inches at our house. We did manage to park ok in the parking garage, they have one side that has a higher clearance, but going around tight corners in there was a little tricky! Not to mention people in Portland look at you oddly when you are driving this huge vehicle, and they are all driving hybrids! Hey, at least it's diesel. It's not a COMPLETE fuel hog. We don't drive it that often, Craig uses the old Camry for commuting. We had fun though, and the kids came home and there was still plenty of snow for Chloe and Koben to build a snowman.

I did get to sit in the car I want when the old Camry dies. (you know, when I sweetly let Craig have the red Camry, and I take the new car =P) 2008 Honda Accord v-6 coupe. Of course, my husband thinks I'm crazy to want a two door car. I had Chloe sit in the back, she was fine! What's his problem? Ok, ok, so it's probably a little snug. Chances are good, we will go with a Camry or Avalon the next time around. If it aint broke, don't fix it. This is Toyota number four, and we still love them. I did sit in the Nissan Altima, and I also love it. I miss my Altima. I loved that car, and was bummed when it got unjustly totalled. However, Toyota seems to have a better track record than Nissan right now. We have had three Nissans, and I will say, stupid little things go wrong with them at the five year mark. Radio, rear defrost, door locks, window controlls. Irritating, and sometimes spendy things, where as, my Toyotas, go and go and go, and nothing ever seems to go wrong with them. Knock on wood. Guess we'll wait and see. The old Camry has surpassed it's 100 thousand mile mark, and is still going strong, mechanically anyway. We have obviously had to have some work done on it, but nothing too major. Physically, it is kind of a tired car, but it doesn't seem to mind that as it makes the trek everyday from Molalla to Gresham. It's a work horse!

Really, you have got to be kidding me.....

Ok, ok, so I finally get back on my treadmill yesterday, since everyone in the house is well again, and I THINK the creepy crawlies have gone away. They last came out the Friday before Christmas, and it was supposed to be fixed. We have been working on the treadmill since October. Originally it just needed it's yearly maintenance. Then it was supposedly the motor and some other part, then they determine that it was never the motor, it was some sort of belt. So it's supposed to be 100%. Everything mechanical was supposed to have been replaced. So why does it stop when I get on it? (Let me tell you, that does not bode well when you are overweight. I am still wigging out to Craig, is it me? Is it me? and he keeps telling me, honey, it is not you. You are way under the weight limit, and why would it be you anyway? Your way lighter now then you were when we got it, and it's been working perfect for almost two years.) Ok, so it's not me. Is it the yahoo's at Sears? How can it go from perfect, to completely unusable? So, I call them, and yet again, I will have to leave work early to meet them, because I am in an outlining area, and they can't come to Molalla on Tuesday, which is my day off. I have used four days of vacation time on these buggers last year. Do they not understand? This is the fifth time they have come out. And you know what is going to happen? I do. They are going to diagnose the problem, and then I will have to wait two weeks for the part to come in, and then miss another afternoon of work so they can fix it. Jeesh. This weight loss thing stinks. If they can't fix it this time, I will have to get nasty and ask for a new treadmill. I don't have time to go to the gym, nor can I probably afford it since Craig would want to go also. I like the idea of the L.A. weight loss and all that jazz. But lets be honest, if you are going to make me show up every week to get weighed and discuss where I am at in my program. I will not go. It's got to be super convenient for me. Isn't there an online program I can do, where I don't have to weigh in every week? Who has time for that? I live in the boonies for cryin out loud. Oh well, I'm sure I will figure it out. It's these darn sugar withdrawls that are getting to me! Why can't chocolate be fat free?

So sad.....=(

I was saddened today to hear that Heath Ledger is dead. Not that I was a huge fan or anything. I honestly can't think of a lot that he was in. It makes me sad though that someone so young, and with so much fame, just can't be happy. Shows you money and fame are not all that make the world go round. I was in the car with the kids when I heard, and I was kind of blown away, like we always are, when someone famous is killed. Chloe asked me what had happened, so I told her, and she says to me "Well, that's why you don't do drugs, you keep telling me that." Which I have to say, I patted myself on the back for. Of course, she is only eight, and who knows what she will be telling me when she is 16. Seems like times are very different. Then again, maybe they aren't, and I am just older. I'm not stupid or blind, I know who was doing drugs when I was a kid. Of course, there were some, who I learned about later, that did sort of surprise me. Which just shows you, it can affect anyone. I was reading an article in People magazine, about how teenage pregnancy is on a rise again. Of course, it has been in a very steady decline, so we have to look at the facts, not just the tabloids. Thanks to that Jamie Lynn girl, it's all over the news now, so everyone is coming out about how the teenage girls think it's cool to get pregnant. Not that it shoud matter, since all the schools have daycare! Ugh, I'm just not sure how to feel about all of this. It is hard to be a parent. I want my kids to have friends, and be well liked, but I also want them very sheltered. It's the dorky kids that turned out well, right? The really cool, popular kids are all putzing along somewhere, right? Of course, there are some that slipped through that crack, and are very successful and irritatingly well off. So how do we protect our kids? I don't want my daughter pregnant, or on drugs. At this point in her life, she enjoys watching cops with Craig, because she thinks the people are all morons. When I am honest, and expose it to her, she understands that it is dangerous. How will she feel eight or ten years from now? This part of the game gets scary, as our kids get older. Just this morning, she tried to pull up the Nickelodeon website, and she spelled it wrong. So on this page is websites she can log onto for Nickelodeon games, and on the right hand side, where they place all of the advertising, is three topless girls, with an advertisement for finding local girl entertainment. Of course, Chloe being so young, and seeing her own parents streak through the house at times, she really didn't think anything of it. She is so young, she didn't even realize that it was bad for that to be online. So I explain it to her, and then I call Craig to vent. The internet can really tick me off. Yes, she is supervised, but my lord, she is old enough to get on her websites on her own, but my gosh, one slip of spelling, and she's in a whole other world. Nerve wracking. The internet will absolutely NOT be in my childrens bedrooms, and the computer stays in the dining room where we can see what's going on. I'm even on the fence about t.v.'s in there rooms, and cellphones, man, I'm still on the fence with that one too. Guess I'll take it one day at a time. I still have time, right? Of course, my 8 year old has the mind of a 25 year old. =) And Koben, my little precious angel, well, I'm keeping him in a closet. j/k =P

My son will work in an office.

Koben goes to work with Craig three days a week. He has ever since I went back to work when he was just two months old. Since Craig is involved in the family business, they have a large office space, so it is just him and his two brothers, his sister, and one other employee. So Koben has full run of the place. So, that being said, my son is an excellent stapler, pencil sharpener, and paper shuffler. Anything that has to do with office work, and he is enthralled. Koben gets evaluated regularly through the program he is involved in with his hearing. So, as we are discussing his progress, my son is sitting at this little table with paper and crayons, coloring. Then he gathers all of his papers up, straightens them, taps them, and then uses a block to "SMACK" staple them together on the table. Then he straightens them up again, makes the edges perfect, and lines them up onto the edge of the table, sits the block/stapler next to the paper, and lines his crayons up neatly next to everything else. Craig works with goverment documents, so everything has to be PERFECT. Perfectly lined up, perfectly even, perfectly stapled in just exactly this spot. So, I think Koben is picking up on this. (of course, everyone at the meeting thought this was hilarious) I only bring this up, because Koben is standing next to me right now, sharpening a pencil and "cleaning" (in his way of course) my desk. He is so darn cute. My little man turned three on Friday, and I am feeling very morose about seeing my baby grow. He is my last, and will always be my cuddly little baby. Of course, now, he is my 43 pound little baby. Oh well. Koben had a great birthday. I threw a little party Friday night with just the four of us, and last night he had a party at the Tonsagers house, and tonight is his party at the Schlack house. Gee, I didn't get three parties when I was a kid. Lucky little guy. Happy Sunday!

The creepies crawly, but will they go away?

Nice title, eh? Anyone figured it out yet? Lots of fun going on at our house. Craig got sick the weekend after New Years, and I worked all weekend doing the bridal show in Salem. Sunday night, our hot water heater decided to take a dump (literally) all over our laundry room. Monday Craig stays home from work to get the new water heater installed. I think, oh, it's just a water heater, it can't get any worse, right? I say this, because I knocked over a full length mirror when we were cleaning up our booth at the show, and broke it into a million pieces. Now, I'm not superstitious, but I have to say, when we were mopping up the laundry room, and sucking out the closet the hot water heater was in at 10 pm, I was starting to wonder. Tuesday morning, I look at Chloe's hair, because she says it's itchy. Low and behold, everyone hold their breath.........yup...........lice............let out your breath, eeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww. Ok, so this is my first time dealing with this, and I am totally grossed out and hyperventalating. So, I take her to school early, so they can confirm my worst nightmare. And of course, they are correct. So first thing that peeves me off, is that the school had checked all the kids six days prior, but the gal never had Chloe take her hair out of the pony tail. Gee, I sure could have gotten a jump on things had I known. So, I am completely wigging out and bawling, because I'm thinking of all the housework ahead of me, and I hadn't had a day off in over a week, and I was really just going to veg a bit Tuesday with Koben, and now I have a mountain of laundry, vacuuming, and "nit picking" ahead of me. So, it takes me seven hours to treat and pick out her hair, doing it all by hand, because the eggs are smaller then the comb that comes with the shampoo. Eventually I get the house vacuumed and sprayed, and the laundry relatively caught up. So now, every night, I go thru her hair which takes anywhere from two to three hours. Barrel of fun, let me tell you. I am finally to the point where I am not finding a whole lot. Mostly eggs that are obviously old, because they are farther down her hair shaft. Let me tell you, I would hope I was a lice expert after reading everything I could find online, but let me say, the internet is full of crap, and it's really hard to figure out exactly what you should do. Use the shampoo, don't use the shampoo. Use the spray, don't use the spray. Don't poison your kids. Pesticides, insecticides. Use vaseline, use olive oil. Use this, use that, this is non toxic to your child, but will kill this cricket. Tee tree oil will damage your liver. Bag her linens, bag her whole room, from anywhere from 10 days, to a full month. My lord, my head hurt. Hopefully I am finally getting down to the end. I retreat her on Tuesday, and I only found seven eggs today, and no little itty bitty baby bugs like I found a couple days ago, which I learned are nymphs, and don't lay eggs for seven days, at which time, I'm hoping the poisonous shampoo I slather her head with will demolish the little @&*!$&'s. And I consider myself non violent. =) Not to mention my husband thinking I am completely psychotic because I am convinced I am infested even though he checks me everyday, and I even had both my hairdressers (who are in the same building as us) check me, and I'm clean. I'm itching though, even as I type this. Must be because I treated myself also, the same day as Chloe (just in case) and we are all using Paul Mitchells tee tree oil shampoo, which did prevent Chloe (I think) from catching this a couple summers ago when Bryan was fighting it. I think we will all make it. I wish I knew where this came from. I wish the school checked the kids a little better. When I called the gal in the office (who on the day I took Chloe in, checked her head, and told me that I must have already got the only two eggs on her head, in which I later that day found 70 more eggs, and five live bugs, including the big female causing all this damage) she told me that they fought it year round (understandable, seeing all the coats piled in the lost and found) and she also told me that they were taping record sized bugs to paper and bringing them into the office saying "Oh my, look at this, I have never seen one this big!" When I told my daycare gal that, who has several kids she watches in chloe's school, not to mention, her two daughters, I thought she would pass out or throw up on me. So, I'm thinking someone is dropping the ball somewhere. Maybe I have just been oblivious all these years since I haven't had a problem, but let me tell you, there will be regular checks at our house from now on. Has anyone ever seen the amount of hair chloe has? I was afraid I would have to shave her head. She has three times as much hair as I do, and I have thick hair! Ugh. Koben's is really thick also, but I keep it really short. If he gets it, he will get a head shave! Fun, eh? Guess I'll go make dinner...yum...anyone hungry?? =) It is amazing how you get into a routine, and adjust yourself to this after six days now. But I certaintly don't want to do this any longer! Have a good night!

2008!!!!

Wow, we all have to get used to writing 2008. It always takes me awhile to get it properly imprinted into my brain.

We had a great party last night! We are all very tired this morning. There was only thirteen of us, but our living room was definitely full. We had a lot of fun just hanging out, and playing games. Our friends love Scene it, and we are a mighty competitive crowd, so when you team up the boys against the girls, look out! A friend of ours also purchased an Xbox 360 for her husband for Christmas, and they brought it over, along with the new Rockband game. It was funny to see everyone playing guitar and drums in our living room. Looked too hard for me! I'll pass. I definitely wasn't bold enough to sing, even in my own living room. Maybe if I was alone! =) Most of our guests left around one or one thirty. Our close friends Matt and Connie, and their twin girls (who are 12) spent the night with us, which Chloe loved!! They stayed up until after two with us, they were all a little wired! Koben crashed about 10:30 and actually slept until 8:30 this morning, so I will say, overall, it was a hit! Hope you all had a fabulous New Years!