Stitch FREE!

Today Evan got his stitches out and, as expected, he was a "big brave dog" (that's a long standing phrase in our family...from and old episode of Rugrats!). Isabella sat there near Evan and said that her legs felt funny (guess she's not so good with medical stuff) and Jonah decided he didn't think he wanted to eat lunch (after he took several CLOSEUPS of the stitches!). Evan did great though and hopefully these are the last stitches we'll see for a very long time!

Pre-stitch removal...yup his eyes are really that blue!

All is well again! Tomorrow we're off to Busch Gardens!

Junior

It's really bad when your kids start naming the millions of geckos scurrying around your yard! This little guy, who they've named Junior for obvious reasons, is shedding and the kids are convinced that they see him...the exact same one...in all different parts of our yard. Yeah...him and his 8 trillion brothers and sisters! The day we moved in, Evan caught one and it nipped his finger ,so he hasn't been so anxious to catch them, but I think he's forgotten and now he's back to critter-catching. Isabella prefers to wear her geckos!

Evan has always loved critters! His stitches come out tomorrow ...and you know there will be a blog post to follow!

Jonah is so funny...he talks to the geckos!

Marriage Math

Given the damage that was done shopping today, I thought I'd share a post from Sue over at Happy Meals and Happy Hour! Not that I have ever done any of this stuff...but when Bruce read it, he just chuckled.

I scored lots of stuff on sale and the following is just a sample! Spent a good hour wandering the aisles and taking in the loveliness that is Kohls. Can you believe I couldn't find any fabric I liked at JoAnn etc?? At least not any fabric that I was willing to pay for! The Home Goods in Brandon ROCKS! I had to laugh at all the men (and trust me I use that term loosely...) scouring the place while on their cell phone, sharing decorating ideas with whoever was on the other end. Found a nice big palm tree that I'll show you when I finish the living room! Then it was on to Target...can we say major summer clearance ??? I have been looking since spring for new pj's and finally found a bunch...on CLEARANCE! I'm of the mind that you scoop up what you can while you can and decide what you're going to keep when you get home. Finally, I hit Marshalls and TJ Maxx but only scored some back to school essentials for the kids.

Now, on to Marriage Math...

To my husband: Nothing to see here, Honey, just us girls talking about, you know, cramps and stuff. Move along.....Look! the U.S. Open is on!

OK. This is for all the newlywed girls out there. Remember how your fiancé was all involved and excited about helping you pick out stuff to register for? That's because he was spending other people's money. Now that you're married you need to master the 3 Marriage Math Moves.

Move #1: "The Round-Down".
So, let's say you buy a rug for $179. Your husband asks how much it cost. You answer:
A) $179
B) $170
C) "about $140"

The answer is C, "about $140". He's going to get the credit card bill eventually, no need to aggravate him twice. It's all about softening the blow. Because you care.

Move #2: "The Save"
You buy a patio set for $275. Your husband asks how much it costs. You answer:
A) $275
B) $270
C) "the same set in the Pottery Barn catalog was $700 and this was only $275".

The answer is C. Shift the focus from spending money to saving money. You have just saved him $425. You are thrifty and thoughtful and you rock.

Move #3: "The Bagless Shop".
You go shopping and come home with several shopping bags of awesome stuff. You
A) Bring all the bags right in and dump them in the kitchen
B) Shout "Hey Honey! look what I got!"
C) Wait to move your purchases in until he's not around. Then dispose of the bags.

Answer: C. The "woman holding several shopping bags" visual is genetically programmed to send the male's alarm bells off. No evidence = everybody's happy.

So good luck girls, happy shopping and remember the answer to "Is that new?" is always: "This? Nah".

Never A Dull Moment...

Two posts in one day! You know something must be happening at the Ferbers...you're right! Evan was hanging out at Caitlin's house with Jonah when I got a frantic call from her brother, Jerid.

"Ummm Mrs. Ferber???...Evan hit his head...and he's bleeding...really badly...and I think he might pass out...and I don't think he can walk home..."

I rushed across the street to find Evan sitting on the floor with his head in his hands. When he looked up at me, his face and glasses were covered in blood and he was extremely pale. It was hard to tell exactly what kind of injury he had so I tried to wipe away some of the blood to figure it out. Gaping wound on eyebrow? Check. Time to leave for Urgent Care. We drove to the very nearby Urgent Care, but because I was having a hard time keeping Evan awake, they told us to go straight to the ER, where they would probably do a CaT Scan. It's only a few miles away, but it's down a road with a very strict 35 mph speed limit...which I did not obey and got honked at and lights flashed at, but too bad. They were so nice there and we got in relatively quickly. Evan, despite being nearly unconscious, flooded me with a barrage of questions, especially when he heard we were going to the ER..."am I going to have surgery? ...will I have to spend the night??...what's a CaT Scan??" Fortunately he didn't have to have a CaT Scan.

Evan was soo brave! He had 3 stitches inside the cut and I think I counted 6 on the outside...and he talked non-stop through the whole procedure because he wanted a running commentary of what was happening. After a stop at Starbucks for his favorite Java Chip Frappacinno, Evan asked if he could go bike riding when he got home!..ummmm NO! I did tell him he needed to come up with a better story for how he got his stitches than he hit his head on the bed footboard!

If you're so inclined, below are more pictures (that he asked me to take with my cell phone) of the procedure. These pics are mostly for the VeStrand boys...although they've all been there/done that! Hard to believe that out of seven children, this is only the second time we've had to get stitches? Adrienne got stitches in high school during color guard practice when she tossed her rifle and caught it with her lip...

Evan wanted me to be sure to let you all know that he was WIDE AWAKE during the stitches, but he just had to keep his eyes closed.

Bruce arrived just as the doctor was finishing up

Is it really bad that I was composing a blog post on my drive home?

A Whole Lotta Nuthin...

This weekend, we'll be doing just that. The past few weekends have been spent exploring the beaches and parks, but this weekend we're just going to putter around and get a few things done here, enjoying our pool and maybe a cookout with neighbors. Bruce has the always fun job of putting the car top carrier on to make sure it fits on the new car for our vacation.
I'm not staying home tomorrow...I've pretty much had it with the shopping here. With gas prices the way they are, I hate when I have to drive all over God's southern creation just to hit a few key stores. Who knew I should have been more appreciative of the shopping mecca that is Frederick County, MD? So, I'll take a drive north to kiss the feet of my beloved Kohls (oh how I've missed you!), JoAnn Fabrics (the Wal-Mart fabric department is pitiful to say the least) and, be still my heart...a MALL! with TWO LEVELS!! that I can safely go to even if the sun sets!!! ok, so you're probably not as excited as I am (I know my husband is not excited but I DO have a wallet full of gift cards!).
And can I also say how much I hate the library system here? I know I was totally spoiled having the public library less than ten minutes from my house in MD and I apologize to the people I secretly laughed at in Costco who paid actual money for books when there were libraries everywhere! There are NOT libraries everywhere in Florida...and the ones that are here should be ashamed to call themselves libraries. Overdue fines are TWENTY FIVE FREAKIN CENTS A DAY! The selection on the shelves is laughable...the wait time for requested books unbearable...and when said requested and reserved books become available, you have a mere three days to haul your sorry self the twenty minute drive to pick them up or they vanish! So, I now too have become one of the masses who pays money for books. Bargain hunter that I am though...I shop on eBay, and half.com first, read the books then resell them. If MD had palm trees and a beach and year round GOR-GEE-OUS weather...I might consider returning!

and one more thing, ponder this...

Why does the freezer get dirty? Everything in there is sealed or frozen for crying out loud!!
...borrowed with permission from DogsandJeans

Haircut Day!

Today the kids went for their back-to-school haircuts...a little early, but we leave for the beach in a few weeks and then school starts right after we get back! We went to a place called Shaggy's, which the boys informed me sounded like a dog grooming place (appropriate for my two animals???). Anyway, the boys look a few pounds lighter, but basically the same. Isabella got several inches cut off and grew up quite a bit with her haircut...don't you think?

and finally...just in case you wanted to check out Isabella's tonsils!

Shark Teeth!

On Sunday, we went to Manasota Beach, about a 45 minute drive from home to collect shark teeth. Most people go to Venice Beach, a little north of Manasota Beach, to collect shark teeth, but our friend, Ali ( we knew her when we attended Harvest Wind Church in MD years ago and now she lives in Sarasota) told us about Manasota Beach. There were fossilized shark teeth EVERYWHERE! We borrowed a neighbor's "Florida snow shovel" to sift through the sand and shells to find the teeth, but we also found many of them just walking down the beach! It was kind of funny to see so many people stooped over and sifting through the sand, but we all had the same idea! I gathered quite a few really colorful shells for my shell jar too. This beach was especially cool because it wasn't rocky like Venice Beach, so we could also swim when we got too hot. We had a really fun day... despite one very tired (and cranky) little six year old who went to bed late and was up early at a sleepover birthday party...and two brothers who initially were very competitive in the shark-teeth-collecting department! We have done something new and interesting nearly every single weekend since we moved here!

This is how we spent most of the day!

Jonah got really good with the "Florida snow shovel!"

The boys worked together really well! We also used a colander to sift the sand.

SUCCESS!

Memories!

I'm being a copy cat and following what everyone else is doing.

Here's the deal...

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that we have together. Even if you've only known me for a short time or a lifetime. Or you could leave a memory that you have with Bruce or the kids. Big or small, just for fun!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see what memories people have of you. It'll be fun to see the responses. Comment away...

It Starts to Feel Like Home...

...when you run into people you know! Yesterday I took the kids, along with Caitlin and her brother, Jerid to Adventure Island in Tampa and just as we got there, we ran into our realtor, Michele and her daughter, Olivia and a friend. We've run into Michele and her husband, Charlie a few times since we've been here but never an hour away from home! We ended up spending the day with them and closing the park down! Olivia is Evan's age so the kids all got along really well...and Isabella got very brave and went on lots of slides she hadn't gone on before, which was cool because then Michele and I could chat and catch up. Bruce says I always run into people I know everywhere we go (mostly true!) but it really makes it feel like we belong when it happens!



Today Bruce is taking the boys here and it looks like it will be really interesting! If you click on the link, be sure to check out the crazy sketches of the entries! Isabella and I will hang out at home since she has a birthday party later this afterrnoon. Tomorrow we're hoping to head to the beach...again...YAY!

*UPDATE*
Flugtag was a bust...it was so crowded that the boys couldn't get close enough to see anything! They drove an hour there and walked around but just couldn't see anything...next year they'll go MUCH earlier! Check back to the flugtag website I linked...they'll be posting videos and photos.



One more thing...HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY COLLIN!



Hard to believe my "little buddy" is all grown up! He just graduated from high school, is driving and working on rebuilding is truck and heading to college in the fall. Can't wait to see you at the beach Collin...WE LOVE YOU!!

This Is Sand!

Found this timewaster...I mean cool website through another blog and the boys have been having a lot of fun creating masterpieces! Try it yourself HERE! Just click on the little grey square in the corner to get started!

Jonah's first attempt...

Getting better!

MASTERPIECE!

Master Bedroom and Bathroom

Here are a few pics of the master bedroom and bathroom...do the colors look familiar? They're the same colors I had in MD, but I really liked them so I just went with the same color palette here. The saying the in the bathroom is also the same one I had in the kitchen (in Italian) at the old house, but I loved it so much, I wanted to do it here too. I really like having two seperate sink areas in the bathroom, though probably not as much as Bruce does since, in the old house, his side was always sparkling and my side was always...well...not sparkling. I also love the big walk in shower. The closet is to the right of the sink with the vanity and it's nice and roomy too!

The saying says "Live in such a way that those who know you but don't know God will come to know God because they know you"

The furniture in the bedroom is brand new and we really really love it! We had Bruce's grandparents furniture for a long long time and were ready for something new so again, after HOURS of internet searching and store browsing we found this set, which we then found out was discontinued...and then found a store who could get it for us...but then found out they wouldn't deliver it south of the Florida panhandle...but then found a trucking company who would pick it up in MD and drive it to Florida for us...so now it's ours! I have to say I was VERY nervous before it arrived because we had only seen it online (I had seen other bedroom furniture from this company so I knew the quality was good) but considering all the hoops we had to jump through to get it, I was praying it was something we would love...and we DO! Not sure what I'm going to do in that little sitting area. It looks out over the pool, which is convenient when I'm keeping an eye on the kids while they're swimming. I'm thinking about doing some built-in shelving or a desk area for scrapbooking.

The plaque above the bed says "And they lived happily ever after"

A New Friend!

We met a family up the street who is actually newer to Florida than we are! Caitlin, who is 12 and her 15 year old brother Jerrod, just moved here from Minnesota and are the nicest kids ever! I think I may just adopt Caitlin! She's an awesome athlete so she and the boys have been playing lots of basketball, but she's also very sweet (and happens to love the Jonas Brothers as much as Isabella!) and hangs out with Belle too! Today she went to Anna Maria Island with us and as usual, another awesome day at the beach was had by all! We were sure it was going to rain before we even got there because of the big black clouds looming in the distance (it never did until we got home). When we got there, the waves were huge...I mean huger than I've ever seen on the Gulf...like East coast beach huge! Usually there are little or no waves on the Gulf so this was big fun! They were so big that the kids only lasted a little while because they kept getting knocked over and under! So we took a walk down the beach to collect shells (and chase birds) then had some lunch and by then the waves had calmed down quite a bit, though they were still big enough to boogie board and body surf!