Look, Mama, What I Got!

Have you ever seen a Bible cover so cute?!?!  Really?!?!

Tracy and I went shopping today.  Like real girls.  I honestly can't remember the last time I spent so much money just on myself.  (I bought more than the Bible cover!)

And lovely norCo hit the 90s today ~ it was beautiful!

Nashville Flood

Thanks for sharing, Dad.

Jaws

So you may or may not recall but I have previously posted on this blog more than once queries about mopping, the Shark, grout cleaning, etc.  It has been one of those cleaning dilemmas I have had, literally for almost three years now, but haven't really come across a good remedy.

Recently I went ahead and bought the Shark steam pocket mop.  I don't know if it's any easier per se than a regular mop with the exception of not having to return back and forth to the bucket or sink of ever-increasingly dirty water, but it's certainly more fun, and we had pretty good results with it over all.  (It just mops, though; it does not do anything for the grout.)

But then, based on the testimonials of a few friends, I bit the bullet and bought the Shark handheld steam cleaner, primarily to try on my grout, but it also works for a kazillion (I counted) other chores.

I knew that steam is a fantastic cleaner (do you already know about cleaning your microwave with the steam from a coffee cup of water?) so this Shark has always intrigued me.  Since I got excited reviews by three different friends, I went ahead and got it.  One of the things that impresses me is that you can also use it to steam your garments and do a lot of other cleaning.  Just like I say with my unspecified business endeavor tools, versatility adds value to a product.

But I digress.  I know you want to know about my grout.  Here you go.  The left side is un-Sharked, and the right has been Sharked.  What do you think?!

It still isn't perfect but it is so, so, so much better than it's ever looked.  The down side is that I'm too old and fat to be on my hands and knees doing this very often - all of our kitchen, eating area, dining room, and front receiving room are tiled like this, so I still have many hours ahead of me to clean the grout.  But no pain, no gain, right?  I think I've heard that before somewhere.

And the other downside is that I now check the filthiness of the grout everywhere I go.  Except in my friends' homes, of course.  But like at stores, in public restrooms - yuck.  I keep thinking their maintenance people need to Shark their tile.  But yeah, I struggle sometimes with believing that what's good for me is best for everybody. 

But that's another post for another day.

So Since You Asked...

(Otherwise entitled The iPhone Saga)

So, if you haven't heard, the amazing Aunt Deb dangled a pretty big carrot in front of Christianne last fall and and rewarded Chris with an iPhone at Christmastime for meeting certain academic goals.  The carrots I had been dangling were apparently not worth working for, but she certainly liked the variety Aunt Deb offered. 

All has been going well with that and Christianne has been enjoying unlimited texting and e-mail and the countless other iPhone features so much (and maintaining a pretty good academic record)... until about 6 weeks ago.

To make a very, very, long story shorter (I hope), Christianne came home from school one Wednesday afternoon pretty devastated that her phone was gone.  Being that she hadn't had it out of her eyesight for nearly 4 months, I was actually kind of surprised.  She thought that it had fallen out of her pocket at school.   (Now with the information we have, she believes differently.)

We looked everywhere for the phone.  Every time we called it, it went straight to voice mail.  We assumed that it hadn't been turned back on then and was just lost, perhaps kicked under some furniture or something.  We went to the school and looked, every day, for weeks.  We put up posters, offering first a $50 reward and then a $100 reward.  We placed ads both on Craigslist and in the local newspaper.  We prayed - a lot!  Although Deb got a pretty good deal on the phone originally, to replace it we would have to pay nearly 5 times as much ~ and given that she was under contract with AT&T... the thought was pretty depressing.

Well, God does answer prayer, and always in His timing.  A couple of Fridays ago (3?), just as school was getting out, we got a call from the dean that she had Christi's phone and would actually be giving it to the police on Monday because there was a criminal matter involved.

Lots of phone calls and messages ensued.  A police report was made, people were interviewed, yada yada yada.  We were told not to expect the phone back for up to 3 months because it was being held as evidence.  I couldn't imagine what could be so big that it required the actual phone to be kept for so long... actually, I could imagine some things and I think that bothered me even more... but we never really got any definitive answers from anyone as to what was going on.

Eventually I was connected with the boy who turned in the boy who had the phone and got him his reward money.  He was a great kid, very honest, and never even asked for the money.  His grandfather was there with him and sure looked proud.

After he left, I spoke with the dean.  I wanted to know what the deal was or else were going to drop our complaint (since we didn't even know what the actual complaint was!) and get the phone back.  She hemmed and hawed and gave me the same runaround the PO gave me - "it's a serious matter."  I told her I didn't need details; I just needed general information to determine the severity of the matter - regardless of the offense, we are talking about a 13yo boy here ~ and some offenses may merit serious criminal pursuit, but others don't.

Finally she coughed up that the boy had been using Christi's cell and one other stolen phone (it was now stolen and sold to someone for $50 and the details get fuzzy here) to deal drugs all over northern Colorado and as far away as Denver.

So yeah - drug dealing by a 13yo in my daughter's middle school.

Last Friday we actually did get the phone back.  The DA kept the SIM card and returned the phone.  The phone was actually in pretty great condition although the case was missing.  Went to the AT&T store and they replaced the SIM card for us for free. 

And now we continue to wait... for a police report, more information, the kid's name, etc.

So there you go - The iPhone Saga.

Fixed...

... the pictures in the Dancing post from last week.  She got to go again today and absolutely loves it.  Looking forward to the performance on the 7th!

So Tell Me...

Here is a typical scenario of an average day. This past weekend we decided to go as a family to The Melting Pot. If you're not familiar with it, it's a fondue restaurant that is upscale and takes quite awhile to enjoy. We had explained our expectations to the kids prior to going, and sure enough, while we were there, we had a wonderful time. Other than the fact that Grace got tired and antsy (we were there 2 1/2 hours, and right at naptime), no one argued, glared, rolled eyes, sighed heavily, or complained. It was wonderful.

And then we got in the car to go home.

And the snipping began. Number one snipping at number three. Number two making some sort of offensive noise to number one. Number one snipping at number two. Number three snipping at number one...

You get the picture.

This is typical for us. My three precious kids - who I actually like! - wear me out with their constant bickering and agitating and blah blah blah.

And even the 3yo is part of it! Actually, she's a big part of it!

Be glad you don't have to ride to church with us each week.

"Will you guys knock it off? We're on our way to church, for Pete's sake! Straighten up and act like you love each other."

And then I become the referee, the nagger, and eventually the one who gets really sick of it all and blows up.

And in just a matter of days, summer begins. Three months of my kids swinging from good friends to bitter enemies as quickly as our Colorado springtime goes from sunshine to snow.

So tell me, oh wise ones... what's a mother to do?

I want to be battle-ready because I don't want to spend the whole summer dealing with conflict. I want to come out strong, with a plan, so hopefully we can nip all this fighting in the bud.

Should I make them write standards? Take laps? Do extra chores?

Should I ignore it and let them work it out themselves? (Yikes!)

Should I just keep us so busy there's no time to argue? (Ugh.) Should I ship them off to military camp somewhere?

So tell me. I'm a'listenin'.

Little Mermaid Dancing

Ahem.

Here's what I got for Mother's Day.

Go ahead.  Ask me why they're sitting on my living room floor instead of hanging on the front porch.  Go ahead, ask me!

I'll tell you why.

BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW ALREADY AND PARTS OF OUR AREA ARE IN A WINTER STORM WARNING.

Will someone please tell Mother Nature about global warming?

Or that it's spring?!

All Right, I'm Here

Gosh, only 10 days since my last post. Every time I think about posting I get overwhelmed by everything that has been going on, and I just choose something else to do. May is such a busy season for us - it's birthday season here and the end of school - and on top of that we've had middle school cell phone drama, car break-down drama, chores and homework drama, unspecified business endeavor and church stuff... yeah. Yada yada yada.

If I could find my camera, I would show you some fun pictures of what Miss Grace has taken on - but right now I'm not even sure where to look. Stay tuned for that...

In the meantime, you should know that I'm freezing. After several beautiful spring-like days, it's cold again today with a chance of that awful four-letter word: snow. It has been a curl-up-and-escape kind of day and I dug in and finished another book. I've discovered a new author who I've been loving reading - check her out: Her name is Mindy Starns Clark and she writes contemporary Christian mysteries. I have read the first of her Jo Tulip Series and her Million Dollar series, but my favorite book was one set in Cajun country called Whispers in the Bayou - I absolutely loved it.

I think I really need to take a break from her fiction writing though and go see about The House that Cleans Itself, because, clearly, this house needs some cleaning.

Much has happened since my last post... I'll try to bring you up to speed quickly.

1. My beloved had a birthday. It was spent working, then dealing with a broken-down car and AAA, and then going to church for a training meeting. The next day we had a family dinner, but I still feel he got cheated for his birthday.

2. My number two turned yo-'leven. He had a sleepover with three boys, went to see Ironman 2 at the drive-in with his dad and said boys, enjoyed a fab birthday/Mother's Day lunch combo at The Melting Pot, and attended a local high school's performance of Clue: The Musical with our family. For the first time ever, I neglected to take birthday photographs. Ro got one of the boys fast asleep and we got some crappy cell pics at the restaurant, but mostly, I blew it. :(

3. Mother's Day was beautiful. Great weather, fun family time, pampering, and relaxation. I am very blessed to not only have three incredible children, but a loving and giving husband as well.

4. Kids are out of school next week. Thus we're in a rush of field trips, projects, concerts, parties, and more. I'm just ready to be done. I don't know why - the kids out of school just means more arguments to referee. Maybe this summer I can keep them busy enough to leave each other alone.

And frankly, my people, I'm tired. Too tired to detail the cell phone drama and all else. So can we consider ourselves all caught up from here? ;) I hope you're enjoying beautiful weather and a drama-free afternoon.

xoxo

Do You Know What Day it Is?

Besides May Day, Lei Day, Save the Rhino Day, and Mother Goose Day, it is one of the most important holidays of the year:

National Scrapbook Day.

Let's get croppin'.

May you have a day full of creativity and productivity, relaxation and joy.

xoxo
b.