easter

Well, it's time to finally post our Easter pictures and videos. I hadn't done anything yet since we had Nana and Grandpa visiting us this past week. So here they are!

So here is a quick video recap from each of the kids on how much fun they had looking for Easter eggs. Isaac was more interested in eating candy than saying much, Eli just wanted to look for more eggs and Shailey was being her usual silly self. :o)

how many colors can you name in five minutes?

I was able to name 36. I almost had 37 but kept typing a color wrong as the last few seconds ran out. I won't mention the color because then it would give you all a freebie! Since I can't seem to successfully post the tag for the website you can just click here to find out how many colors you can think of.

where are you from?

Okay...I don't get how they came up with midland but when I read the part about having a good voice for TV or radio then I was okay with it. :o)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
Boston
North Central
The South
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have?

another project and the spaceship dentist

I've been looking for a chair for awhile now to replace the glider rocker that we never used. (Don't get me wrong--I loved the rocker when I was pregnant but I don't think anyone has used it since.) I have been searching craigslist for something inexpensive that I could possibly reupholster. Since I had never attempted upholstery before I didn't want to get something too mind blowing for my first try.

Anyway, I finally found a pretty basic chair. I liked the simple design of it and loved how the arms of the chair mimicked the curves on the arms of our new sofa. So I spent a whopping $10 on one butt-ugly brown chair! I know--you're thinking, "Why would anyone buy something so repulsive??" Believe me, the picture does not do it justice. It was pretty gross.

Then I went to JoAnne's and found another bargain--khaki colored cotton twill fabric for $0.75 a yard!! Honestly, can you get a better deal than that? I bought what they had left which cost me about $2.00.

Finally it was time to disassemble and try and figure out how the heck this chair was upholstered in the first place. After pulling out a gazillion (okay I'm exaggerating--probably only a bazillion) staples I was finally able to start taking the pieces apart.

Next was (for me) the fun part--sanding and painting. Okay, well maybe not the sanding part. But I love painting! It's like vacuuming--instant gratification. Okay, you all probably think I'm a weirdo. Anyway, I liked this part because the chair really started to transform. Oh, and Isaac was helping as usual. :o) I don't know why he was showing off his gut.

After the paint dried, it was the part I dreaded. I was worried that after all my efforts my inexperience in upholstery was going to make the chair look really crappy. But I took it one piece at a time and I think it turned out pretty good! :o) I used some leftover material that I had used to make throw pillows for the sofas to make a new pillow for my chair. I'm really pleased with the results on both the chair and the pillow. And all I spent was $12 for the chair and about $3 for the pillow! I love bargains.

In other news--

Shailey and Eli went to the dentist today to get their teeth cleaned. There is a really cool dentist office here for kids with an entire "spaceship theme". They do everything that they can to make going to the dentist fun. You can check them out here.

Shailey and Eli both got new toothbrushes, floss, toothpaste, a plastic tumbler and a timer so they can be sure that they are brushing long enough. And the best part (for me) was no cavities! I wish they had such a cool dentist when I was a kid. Maybe I wouldn't dislike going to the dentist so much.

And one last thing--we finally got a new dining room table set! Our old set was getting too small as it could only seat four people and in case nobody noticed we are a family of five. :o) Anyway, we got it for a great deal. I was a little worried about the fabric on the seats. I mean, really? Cream colored fabric and three kids? Really? So we tried to remedy that potential problem with a whole can of Scotch Guard. For any other moms out there with messy eaters (honestly what mom doesn't have a messy eater?) who isn't sold on Scotch Guard yet--you have to buy this stuff!! We spent about $5 or $6 on a can and already I have been able to clean up spaghetti, pizza sauce and chocolate with ease. Well worth the money! Anyway, here's our new table.

tagged again!

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

Okay, I think I covered this the last time that I was tagged...basically I was working my butt off so that I could graduate high school on time. You are all probably thinking that I was a slacker or something. What happened is that I tried home schooling for a couple of years and then wanted to go back to public school. Unfortunately they wouldn't apply the two years I had done at home so I was two years behind! So while most of my friends had half days their senior year I had not only a full day but I also had independent studies and night school! (Night school--now that's a story for another day...very interesting, night school...). And in fact, after graduation I still had to take a summer school class before I technically "graduated". I think the class was four weeks long and I had finished the curriculum in the first three days--not because I'm super smart. They just made it ridiculously easy. I spent the rest of the time (yes, I was still required to show up even though I had finished all the work) reading books and drawing pictures.



2. Five things on my to-do list today.

Well considering it's nearly 11:00pm this will be for tomorrow. Ummm...get up, take a shower, get breakfast for my family, get everyone dressed for church, maybe leave the house to make it on time for church, go to church, come home, make dinner, relax, get the kids in to bed, relax some more, go to bed. I know. It's daunting just looking at that "to do" list, right? :o)



3. What snacks do I enjoy?

I like popcorn, chips, and candy.



4. What would I do if I were suddenly a billionaire?

I would pay tithing, pay off all our debts, buy a house, buy a new mini van, invest a ton of money, buy lifetime passes to Disneyland (if those existed, that is), fly my family down to visit us whenever they wanted, fly up to visit my family whenever I wanted, travel to dozens of countries that I've always wanted to see, have more kids (hey, if money's not an issue and we have a big house, why not??), buy myself a new wardrobe (I wouldn't go crazy--it would just be nice to have something that hasn't been stained or colored on by the kids), buy Danny and the kids new clothes, set up college savings/mission funds for the kids, put myself through school (I've always wanted to), help people out anonymously (Danny and I have always thought this would be cool!)...this list could really go on and on so I'd better stop here.



5. Three bad habits

Three?? Ummm.....

1. I tend to read or use the computer when I should really be cleaning the house.

2.Video games--although I've actually been better with this one lately...I haven't played in a couple of months.

3. I mentioned this the last time I was tagged--my nasty habit of biting the dry skin around my finger nails. So gross but I totally can't stop doing it either!



6. Five places that I have lived

Okay...

Springfield, Oregon

Marcola, Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Fort Worth, Texas

And where we live now--California!



7. Five jobs I have had.

At Home (my aunt and uncle's company of imported goods--I worked in the warehouse and retail at two separate times so this counts as two jobs...he he he!)

Pretzelmaker (I really do miss those pretzles...mmmm.)

Selco Credit Union (Oh yeah Mandy! Go Selco!)

Full time stay-at-home mom--by far the hardest job in the world!!



8. Five things people don't know about me.

Wow, five must be the magic number here. Ummm...

1. I signed up for the army right after I turned 18 but soon after realized it was a huge mistake so my parents helped me falsify my birth certificate so I was only 17 making my commitment nonbinding.

2. I did a summer internship with the Peace Corps in Tibet. I worked with indigenous farmers to successfully breed llamas.

3. I absolutely love to exercise! A year ago I purchased an exercise bike that stores energy from my workout which then feeds back into our home's electrical system. In one workout I can power nearly half the lights in our house all day!

4. I find hypnotism fascinating. I read some books on hypnotism and learned how to do it. I'm getting pretty good! Every few weeks I hypnotize Danny to make him to do all the chores that I ask him to do but he never does.

5. I'm really good at making up lies when I'm asked to tell "Five Things People Don't Know About Me". :o)

Sucka!!