Been Awhile...

Wow! I think it's been close to 2 weeks since I last posted. The fam has just been hangin' out enjoying summer. Here's a quick recap of the last week:

• Monday: Austin started basketball camp out at Columbia Central with his cousin Anna. He was so psyched! Each of the kids got their very own b-balls and a tee shirt. His illustrious path to an NBA career has begun! We grilled out and the kids played all nite in the backyard~ a classic summer evening.
  
  

• Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I worked~ blah!


• Wednesday after dropping Austin off at camp, the girls and I headed over to my grandpa and grandma's. We hung out for the morning and even scored an amazing breakfast. My grandma is an amazing cook, but this time we enjoyed my grandpa's cooking. My mom went with me to pick up Austin and we stopped at a local farm to visit with 9 adorable golden retriever puppies. The kids thought they were great!



• Thursday was the last day of b-ball camp. Austin received a trophy for being "free throw champ" of the K-2nd grade boys. He was absolutely thrilled. Can ya tell?
  

  

• Friday began the start of my 4 day weekend. This time, I was the one who was psyched! I'm trying to find a toddler bed for Lexi so I've been searching the garage sale ads. I stopped at a couple of promising sales with no luck. I did get Hungry Hippos and Don't Spill the Beans, a porcelain tea set for Audrey and Lexi, and a turtle sandbox.


• Saturday Tom and I picked up a surprise for the kids from my aunt and uncle. A full size air hockey table. The thing is a beast but we managed to wrestle it into... the dining room. So much for the Pottery Barn inspired "look" I was going for. This is only its temporary resting place, because as soon as I have my garage sale, we'll have room in Tom's man room for it.


• Sunday we went to church and enjoyed a potluck dinner. Austin and Audrey headed straight for the sandbox as soon as we got home and we ended up spending the whole day outside. Tom and I got some much needed yard work done and the kids had a blast running back and forth between their pool, swing set, and sand box. We grilled for dinner and ate on the deck so the kids didn't come in till bath time at 7:30. I put the kids to bed and headed downstairs to organize my scrapbook room (pics on that to come later=)

So that was our week in review. It feels like we're slowly starting to settle into our summer routine (as we should since July is tomorrow!)

Good News/ Bad News

The good news is we have air again- just in time for the much cooler week ahead~ hah! Turns out, the unit only needed a minor repair so we got out rather cheaply. Believe me, after not sleeping well for a whole week because the house had oven-like temperatures, I was prepared to max out the credit card to restore the air; so $200 isn't too bad.

The bad news is our dryer is now sitting in pieces in the laundry room. Tom attempted to diagnose/repair the thing and hasn't gotten very far in between his last week of class and the both of us tag-team parenting. I told him we either have to get it fixed or buy a new one/have it delivered within the next couple of days or it's gonna look like the Garden of Eden around here. *an embarrassing sidenote~ of course the ac repairman would have to go into the laundry room to look at the furnace to check the airflow, etc. and of course my pile of laundry is now more like Mt. Hosmerville, and of course he literally had to climb over it to reach the furnace.*

The worst news is I was 2 1/2 hours late for work today (actually, that wasn't so bad;) because Tom and I spent 5 hours in the ER with Austin because his asthma was attacking him. We had a rough nite last nite but to be perfectly honest the thought of spending the wee hours of the morning in an ER waiting room with a bunch of race drunks didn't seem really appealing so we didn't take him in until this morning when it became very apparent that we couldn't do anything more to ease his discomfort. He had 2 breathing treatments, his first dose of oral steroids, chest x-rays, orange popsicles, and blue Gatorade before we were finally able to get his discharge papers and head home. The good news is the x-rays showed no pneumonia and he didn't have to be admitted for an extended stay.

So now I'm trying to use the last few precious hours of the weekend to recharge for a busy week. I'm going to attempt ~once again~ to have my garage sale this weekend. The weather is looking better and I'm not feeling quite so overwhelmed now. I have 3 days off this week so I'm definitely looking forward to some quality family time. Have a great week everyone!

Three Strikes... The Electricity Is Out!

Wow what a weekend! I know it's already Thursday, but I feel as if I'm still trying to get my week started. Let's start with last Friday. I was supposed to have a mammoth garage sale. I even signed on to be a part of the neighborhood sale, but the enormity of the task proved to be a bit overwhelming. Really, I was afraid that it would start storming (which it did) and I would have nowhere to put all my crap since my spot in the garage is currently being occupied by my BIL's car~ not that I'm bitter or anything. But since my house was already on the neighborhood map, I set up a few card tables of books, dishes and maternity clothes. I also dragged out a bunch of the old yard/outside toys that my kids have lost interest in. The best sale of the day came early on. My mom and I had literally just set Austin's Little Tykes race card bed down in the drive when a lady pulled up and dropped $90 on the bed, 2 Little tykes hoops and some miscellaneous junk! I sold about $200 total, not bad for a one day haul. So my basement is still full and now I'm just waiting for a decent weekend to set up the real treasures.

Saturday nite I arrive home from work to an oven, yup, the central AC conveniently decided to conk out on the first real hot weekend of the summer. I grew up without AC but we have had it in every home we have lived in since we've been married so now I'm a bit spoiled. We put getting the unit fixed at the top of our weekly to-do list. *Update~ we STILL do not have AC, someone will be arriving tomorrow, ugh!*

So, back to Saturday nite. I started getting the kids clothes around for church the next morning and discovered that Austin has no clean shorts. This really shouldn't have came as a surprise since I neglected to do any laundry all week, instead focusing my energy on preparing for the sale that didn't happen. Anyways, by now it's midnite. I'm tired, I'm sweaty, wah, wah, wah. I decide that I'll throw a load of clothes into the washer and then dry his shorts first thing while we're getting ready in the morning so that they'll be dry by the time we leave for church. That was the plan anyways. When will I ever learn Hosmerville rule #101: things in this household never go according to plan. Because, you see, when I put the clothes in the dryer and turned it on, it started but the drum wouldn't rotate. Yup, AC and dryer are broken.

It's now 9 am, we have to leave in an hour and Austin does not have a clean pair of bottoms~ no khakis, no basketball shorts, no jeans shorts, no jeans. Nothing but corduroy pants and it's already feeling like 80* outside. I had no other choice: Austin put on his shirt, his underwear, his socks, and his shoes and we left for church. No, I didn't take him to church in his skivees. what I did do was stick his wet church shorts out the van window so they could air dry at 70 mph on the highway. For the most part they were dry by the time we got to Michigan Center and we all walked in looking clean and presentable.

Skip forward to Sunday nite. I'm heading to bed and the power goes out. What the heck! It wasn't even storming. But the power was out and stayed out. I didn't sleep well in our now very primitive dwelling~ no AC, no power~ and thinking about all our food in the fridge and freezers going bad. By 9am Monday, the fridge was on its way to warm and the ice cream in the freezer was feeling soft. I made a trip out to Brooklyn to borrow space in my grandma's fridge and freezer and to take a shower. The AC repairman wasn't called because he can't fix it if we don't have power to run it. Tom called Consumers that nite and was told we'd have power by 11pm... Wednesday nite. We made plans to stay at his parents, left the kiddies there and headed for an adult-only dinner at Outback with friends who were visiting from Dallas. We swung by the house before heading out to Clarklake and lo and behold, the power was on~ ta da!!!

So here I am Thursday morning, playing catch up from the weekend and being ever so thankful for all of our modern day conveniences. how was your weekend?

Eight years later and he's still the one! Happy anniversary, TJ, I love you!

9th Place Sucks!

First off, let me say I am so totally proud of K and all of her accomplishments this season. In no way am I upset with her performance today because I know that she stepped on the track ready to put forth 110% effort. With that being said, let me vent some of my frustration.

K's goal all season has been to run a 2:20 at the state meet and win the 800 title. Because today was all about her (she wasn't racing for the team, she wasn't racing for me, she was racing for her, for her dream) I totally encouraged her to go for it. She wanted to run 1:10/1:10 and she was doing it... for the first lap. She got into the 8th spot and held her position until the very freakin' end when a late kick by #9 runner moved her out of medal position. Ugh! The 9th place is the worst place to finish! So close, yet no medal, no state honors.

K's time wasn't her best. She battled a strong wind and no doubt an even stronger case of nerves. To top it off, the time she ran on Tuesday would have given her a 5th place finish today.

It's difficult as a coach to see your athlete fail at reaching a goal she's worked so hard for all season. Immediately after the race I started second guessing my coaching abilities. Maybe I had her rest too much this week. Maybe she peaked too early. What could I have done differently? In the end, I cried for her. Not because I'm disappointed in her but because I'm disappointed for her. The loss is still very fresh but I'm hoping that in a couple of days she'll be able to look forward to her senior season next year and use this experience to ultimately reach her goals on the track. Awesome job today, K, I'm so very proud!

Queen Bee

We were heading back from our errands earlier today and I was talking to the kids and during the course of the convo I called Audrey "Audge" (her nickname from Austin shortly after she was born). She cut me off and holtly informed me from her car seat throne, "I'm not Audge, I'm the queen!" Where the heck did that come from!? Sure, she knows about princesses, but queen? In Hosmerville, there's only one queen, so excuse me, Little Miss Queen, but mommy's not quite ready to give up her castle. And when I do, we are definitely in trouble.

There's No Place Like Home

I've been looking forward to this day all week! GR, here we come! I woke up early to finish some chores around the house and enjoy the quiet of the morning all to myself. Austin was the first one up at 9:30. Once the girls woke up we left for some last minute errands. We made a quick stop to Target where I picked up a few of the basic tees and strappy tanks that were on sale this week. I rationalized the purchase because I DID clean out my closet for the upcoming garage sale and I needed to fill up the newly empty space. I also found a cute tote to take for the weekend and the kids were thrilled because I allowed them to each pick out something from the dollar spot. Then we were off to Meijer to stock the pantry with lots of junky goodies for the kids this weekend- frozen pizza, Ben and Jerry's, Fruity Pebbles, and Starbucks for this saint who arrived promptly at 2pm to be "mommy" for the weekend. The kids love "Windsey" and she was barely through the door before Audrey was asking to see her purse and all the treasures inside.

We arrived in GR shortly after 4 and headed straight to the track for a quick workout. It's funny, but every time we travel to the GR area it makes me fell like we're coming "home". I got that feeling again today as we were passing familiar spots. There are so many good memories here. Why did we ever move away? Oh yeah, family, yeah, yeah, yeah.

After checking in here, we headed for dinner here. Now we're just relaxing in our room, enjoying the free wireless and the Pistons game. Go Pistons!

I'm really excited for tomorrow. K has been working so hard all season, she has amazing devotion and drive to reach her goals. She ran in the Selby Classic at Jackson High on Tuesday and lowered her PR to 2:26. It was her most perfect race so far- she ran smart and she ran perfect 1:13/1:13 splits. I know that she couldn't prepare herself anymore than what she already has for her race tomorrow. I can't wait to see her run!

Oh, and kudos to the person in charge of hotel reservations this year! Very nice! Let's just say that last year's overnite stay in GR for the state meet left much to be desired. Flip flops for the shower, anyone?

The Mother Of All Garage Sales

I'm gearing up for the biggest garage sale of the 21st century. It's been 2 years since I've had such a glorious event. Couple that with 2 grandmas who over-indulge plus all of the basic necessities that go into raising 3 kids and our home is bursting at the seams. I can't wait to clear out the clutter and roll in the cash.

I've postponed having this sale until this summer because I want to sell all of the baby stuff together, but Lexi is still sleeping in the crib. However, she is 21 months now and right around the age when we put Austin and Audrey in their big kid beds. So now I'm trying to score a bargain and find a white toddler bed to replace the crib. I'd love to get a good one at a garage sale but I'm going to be pretty picky about the style and condition. Whether or not I find one, the crib will be gone in less than 2 weeks. My biggest fear? Both Austin and Audrey went down easily for bedtime until we moved them to their toddler beds, then the battles began. I'm afraid we're in for the same struggles with Lex. And now I'm working at least 3 nites a week. Let's face it, everyone around Hosmerville knows that momma wears the pants when it comes to routines and consistency and with Tom-the-softee in charge (and unsupervised) for so many bedtimes... whew... pray for us. Any suggestions on how to make staying in her own bed appealing to a toddler with new found freedoms?

Of course I could always put off having the sale until later in the summer when Lexi's a little closer to 2 (there's no way in heck I'll go thru another year with so much junk... um, I mean treasures, taking up precious space in our home. But some lady from the neighborhood is organizing a neighborhood sale for the first weekend in June. I figure I might as well bite the bullet and get it done with now.

So I'm seriously not exaggerating when I say this... our 1300 square foot basement is FILLED with stuff for the sale. Like, filled as in you have to walk sideways through the mess to get to the laundry room. Where I find the time to organize and price everything is another question in its self, but my question for you is this... Do you have any creative ways to put everything out to sell? I'm figuring I'll need at least 10 full-sized banquet tables to display everything from home decor and dishes to toys and baby stuff as well as foldable clothes. I think I can get a couple tables from our church and we have a couple card tables but that still leaves me really short. I'm also going to have a ton of clothes that would look nicer and probably sell better if I hung them up. Any suggestions on how to construct a make shift clothes rack? Perhaps I could rent a clothes rack or something like that? Anybody have any ideas?

Dear Purse Snatcher,

You are a thievin' piece of crap! I can't believe I'm about to devote an entire post to you, but I have to vent somehow. You see, while my family and I were peacefully sleeping last nite, you cruised around our middle-class subdivision (no doubt with a low life friend or two) and invaded my privacy and my sense of security. You walked up my driveway and broke into my van and not only took my purse but rifled thru the glove box as well.

So while I should have been spending the hour I had in between dropping Austin off at preschool and getting on the bus with my team to Hillsdale having quality girly time with my girls, I instead had to spend it on the phone canceling accounts and calling the police. When the police arrived to take a report they said you got away with over $1500 worth of stuff from my neighbor's garage and car; and that I was the 3rd person to report stolen items on my block this afternoon.

Too bad you didn't know beforehand that I'm dirt a** poor. Too bad you didn't know beforehand that my fabulous Prada bag only looks like the real thing and only contained a beat up cellphone, a coupon holder, various tubes of lip gloss and my super cute Kate Spade wallet. Too bad you didn't know that I don't carry my credit cards anymore so that I won't spend money I don't have. That the only thing of value in my wallet was a lone crumpled $10 bill. I hope you get satisfaction from knowing that that was my birthday money and I was planning on treating my tired out tootsies to a well-deserved pedi.

I am freaking mad at you that I have to drag 3 kids with me to the Secretary of State to renew my now-stolen driver's license. I'm so angry that this picture won't be nearly as good as the last pre-baby tanned face picture I had taken for said license. But man, where's the decency!?! You took my favorite purse! Do you think you could at least have the courtesy of tossing it back on my lawn when you realize you didn't get nothin' from me? Every time I have to flash my driver's license I would be much obliged.

And Then There Was One

One lone runner. Only one of my seven girls to qualify for the state meet. Bummer. I had high expectations for my girls going into tonite's regional meet at Bath. But my high jumper didn't jump... very well, that is. And my miler had a brutal race to the finish and was temporarily disqualified until I went down to the scorer's table and showed them who's boss- ha;) Even after the official ruled in her favor, her 6th place finish and time wasn't quite good enough to advance her to the state meet.

I debated all week whether or not to run K in both the 400m & 800. This girl has amazing talent and I have no doubt that she could have qualified for both events. She was leaning toward only running the 800; I was pushing for the double. However, I felt that if I made the decision to run her and heart wasn't in it, it wouldn't be to her advantage, so in the end I let her call the shots. She went for just the 800 and put in a qualifying time of 2 minutes 28 seconds which means.... we're going to states, baby!

For the past couple of years the state tournament has been held in the Grand Rapids area. The division 4 tournament will be held at Forest Hills. We have ran here the past 2 years and I love their facilities. Having the girls run against the best high school athletes in the state is definitely an honor, but I have to admit that there is a little selfish ambition on my part in pushing them to excel at this level. After having lived in GR for 5 years, going for the state meet is like going home! Plus this little "mini vacation" is financed entirely by the school. We go up Friday for check in and practice at the track. We take the kids to dinner at Olive Garden (pasta=carbs=good the nite before a big race), stay overnite at a nice hotel, have a full day at the track before enjoying a nice dinner on the way back to J-town. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that babysitting plans, aka grandma, don't fall thru so I can take Tom with me and we can enjoy our 8th anniversary weekend together. He has attempted to go with me the past 2 years and has had to stay home both times last minute when such plans didn't work out.

So, thank you, K, for running your heart out tonite, for qualifying for states, and for my weekend vay-cay! Let the good times roll in GR!