This sounds familiar....

New Year's Eve 2007:

• Lincoln working; Diane home with the kids.
• Substantial snowfall expected.
• Medical Flex Spending money not yet spent.
• Jake jumps down the stairs, splits his head open.
• Diane spends 3 hours in the ER with Jake (Lincoln arrives for last hour)
• Every last penny of Medical Flex Spending now spent.

New Year's Eve 2008:

• Lincoln working; Diane home with the kids.
• Substantial snowfall expected.
• Medical Flex Spending money not yet spent.

Let's hope the last few items on the 2007 list don't happen tonight. I really don't want to spend another New Year's Eve in the ER.

Like a red flag in front of a bull

Me: I'm going to take the back roads home instead of getting on the highway.

Link: Sounds good but you can't turn left out of here.

Me: Hmm...

Link: You're taking that as a challenge, aren't you?

Procrastination + Pack Rat Tendencies = Success

Five years ago I was at this store in Boston and found these really cool bookends. They've been gathering dust for the past 5 years but I was determined that someday I would use them and therefore they've never been sold or thrown away. Well guess what! I finally found a place to display them!!! See, it may take me awhile to use the things that I buy but eventually they find a home.

I want my Mommy!

Last October my mom and dad came to visit to help me get the house organized after we swapped out the office and Hannah's room. My Mom is insanely organized - and better yet - a woman who likes a very clean house. After a week of them being here my house was insanely clean and organized. My Dad even built shelves in the basement and put my paperback books back into my bookcase for me - IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER!!! I have to admit, the first time I went in to get a book after they left I started crying at the thought of what a kind, considerate man my father is. How many fathers would take the time to alphabetize a bookcase full of romance novels? Great pieces of literature maybe....but romance novels? Not many.

Not only do they clean and organize my house they help me decorate it. It's usually when they come to visit that pictures that I've meant to hang up for years actually make it up on my walls. Last year for Thanksgiving I begged them to come out to visit because I knew my house would actually get decorated for Christmas. Last year we decorated using all six totes of Christmas decorations that we own and our house looked great for the holiday season. This year we put up the tree and put out one decorative holiday house display that I own.

I'm doing great on the organizing projects during my time off. The new office, gym, and master bedroom look great so far. We completely rearranged our bedroom and it looks so much bigger now. I'm also going to redecorate our room with pictures from our trip to Greece along with some beautiful figurines and other decorations we purchased over there. Here's where I need my Mommy....she's a great decorator. She's great at thinking of where to put things and coming up with ideas of how I should display items. I know that if she were here everything would look fantastic. As it is, I wouldn't doubt it if the items from Greece become one of those things that I keep meaning to put up but never get around to.....until Mom and Dad come to visit, of course!

Jake's idea of giving everyone choices they can agree on

Jake: Hannah, do you want to watch Star Wars, play Star Wars, or think about Star Wars? Those are your choices.

Jakey Conversations

Me: Did you get caught up on my blog today?

Link: Yep.

Me: Lot of Jakey conversations, huh?

Link: Well, he does talk a lot.

Moving day....part 2

Today we're finishing up the new office and we turned the old office into a gym complete with the treadmill, rowing machine, stationary bike, and pilates bench. My bookcases, which are always overflowing, are also kept in that room and I had to unload boxes of books into the bookcase today. They had been up in the attic from when we swapped the old office and Hannah's bedroom earlier this summer.

Me: You have got to stop letting me buy hardcover books.

Link: Ha! I don't let you buy anything.