Poor Brian!

Brian e-mailed me the other day. He got the results from his promotion test. He sat for the Technical Sergant test in Feb(?). (Brian is currently a Staff Sergant which is an E-5) Yes...it always takes this long to find out. This was his third time taking the test. He missed it by 24.07 points. This really sucks! Selfish of me...I really wanted him to make it because it would have been a huge pay increase. Not only would his base pay have goine up, so would have our housing allowance. So we'll be studying really hard when he gets back. Maybe fourth time's the charm?

Not In Our House

It seems to me that one of the most inevitable quirks of childhood is the emergence of the all to familiar imaginary friend. (Do you like the use of that impressive vocabulary?) I have been waiting for Houston to introduce me to a new "friend" for some now. I really thought that it would happen after Paisley was born since he had to entertain himself more often. Sadly that has never happened. I was kind of looking forward to imaginary friends. But we got a much better surprise instead. Yesterday while Houston, Paisley and I were waiting for Lorelei to finish therapy Houston ducked into a corned and told me that he needed to to talk to God in private. This is a frequent occurence for us. So he turns his back to me and I hear him say, "Ok God, here's the plan" What the plan was I will never know since he never said that part out loud. Then he proceed to play imaginary basketball with God. Who needs imaginary friends when you've got real ones?

The Secret Life of Children

I was watching the kids playing today and wanted to capture it on video without them knowing. Lorelei was playing on the back porch with Houston's cars. She was lining them up in two lines facing eachother and have the most engaging conversation with them. I couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but it was sweet none the less.

Later Houston was entertaining Paisley after he and Lorelei got done playing in the wading pool.

So Pretty!

A few weeks ago we got a box in the mail from Jeremy and Kassy. Inside were presents for the kiddos. Kassy made the cutest robe for Lorelei and monogramed washclothes for the girls. Houston screamed ridiculously loud when he saw his gift. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle soap. The funnest gift was the really cute set of purple hair ties/bows/clips/ect for Lorelei. Her hair is finally long enough to put a mini-tail in. By the time you get the tie in her hair tight enough the tail sticks almost straight out, but it's still really cute.

Vacation Bible School

June 9-13 was VBS week for our church. This year Houston was finally old enough to attend. (ages are 4 through completing the 6th grade) He was super excited when I told him that he got to go this year...he just about went through the roof when he found out what the theme was. "The Pirates Who Don't do Anything...A VeggieTales VBS" He was on could nine and then he found out that his teacher was Miss Lisa! (his best friend's mother) I volunteered to help out in whatever area they needed me so long as I could bring the girls with me. So for three days I helped iron-on the VeggieTales transfers onto t-shirts. Lorelei was a little frustrated with me. She used to pretty much having free reign at church (between church services, PWOC, and other chapel events we spend A LOT of time there and everyone knows my kids) and this time she couldn't. She either had to sit in the stroller or stay in about a 10foot square area by the ironing table. She did learn a valuable lesson though. She learned that it is prudent to listen to mommy...she doesn't say things just for fun! Lorelei was told repeatedly to stay away from the iron. Can you see where this is going? Yep, she reached up and touched it burning her thumb and finger. Not too bad. After a few minutes holding it under cold running water they were hardly even red. The other mom's laughed at her a little bit. I told her that I hard time feeling bad for her since she didn't listen. All in all it was a good week. Closing ceremonies were fun. The kids all sang together and then Houston started crying out of the blue. Too much excitement. He didn't understand that VBS was all week. Every morning when he got out of bed I told him that he had to get ready for VBS and he would look at me, "Again?!" He's already looking forward to next year.

Hello!!

House Tag

I decided to be brave and took some fairly honest pictures of my house. I was tempted to wait a week to do this post so that I could deep clean my house and have it looking immaculate. This way everyone would be jealous and go "oh Jessica...what a wonderful house you have! How do you do it with 3 kids and a husband who is always gone?" BTW, that is one phrase that I am getting a little sick of hearing...but that is a rant for another day.

So...here we go.

1) My kitchen sink

No, we do not have a dishwasher. I don't even have room for a portable one like Jen's so, lucky me, I get to do dishes the old fashioned way. That had to be one of the best treats when mom and grandma were here in October. They did the dishes for me! The other downside to this picture? That is all my counter space for the kitchen. You want a good cooking challenge...cook a large meal in my kitchen. It can be done! I have cooked 2 15+pound turkeys.

2) The toilet

Why someone would want to see my toilet is beyond me, but there it is.

3) The Fridge

Because my kitchen is so teeny-tiny we have had to get creative with our storage. Above the fridge are my iced tea maker, my ulitmate chopper with blender attachment, and some oversized cookwear. Now inside the freezer are some goodies. I was very excited the other day to find frozen corn-fritters that you can bake in the oven. Mmmmm...fried and slightly sweet batter with corn niblets in them. Yummy! If you look closely you will also see that I have three ice cube containers. (dad thought this was pretty funny the first time he saw them) one is for small round ice, one for large cube ice and the third is very plainly marked "dog cubes" You do not want to grab these for your drink. This one is full of frozen beef boullion cubes for Shiloh.

4) The laundry room

I will always remember Jennifer telling me that you know you are a grown-up when you get excited about buying appliances. I was so excited to buy our very first washer and dryer when we moved to Ark. I have a maytag neptune which I just love love love! The pile of clothes and whatnot are opposite of the washer and dryer. Don't be alarmed...it's really not that big of a pile. There is a large chest under there where we keep the beding. And I am in the middle of doing laundry. I am taking a break for the day. Tomorrow I will finish up. I use my clothes-line in the summer to help save on our electric bill so laundry takes a little bit longer to finish.

5)What the kids are doing now.

What did you expect? It's 10:45pm! Of course they're sleeping!!

6)My favorite room.

This changes all the time. Somedays it will be my bedroom...when the floor is freshly mopped and there is freshly laundered bedding on the bed....or it may be the living room...right now Houston's room is my favorite. For two reasons, one it is currently the cleanest room in the house and two I just painted it myself today. The color is called "King Trident" The wall art is leftover props from VBS.

7) My closet

The right side is mine and the left is Brian's. We share the shelves in the middle. There is also a shelf on the very top. That is storage for sweatshirts, odds and ends, and our 9mm.

8) The dirties room

For everyone who was feeling bad about their dirtiest rooms, you have nothing on mine.

The previous owners enclosed the one car garage and it has beome our storage room. I am standing in front of the laundry room portion to take this picture.

9) Self-portrait.

You are so lucky that I am even putting this on here.

10) My dream vacation.

If money were no object I would rent the most awesomest RV and do a summer long road trip. I would leave Arkansas, drive up to Nebraska, then to Alaska, then to Washington, then to Utah, then to Kansas, then to Arkansas. I would see all of my family. But I wouldn't take highways for the most part. I would take the "scenic route"

I tag anyone who wants to do this.

Say What???

I was watching VH1 the other night and saw one of the funniest shows. They were doing a countdown of the dumbest celebrity quotes. Here are some of my favorites.



"I think that the film "Clueless" was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness." -Alicia Silverstone

"I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman." -Arnold Schwarzanegger

"So, where's the Cannes Film Festival being held this year?" -Christina Aguilera

"I find it a bid sad that there is no photo of me at the museum at Checkpoint Charlie." -David Hasselfhoff

"If we don't succed, we run the risk of failure." -Dan Quayle

"Fiction writing is great. You can make up almost anything." -Ivana Trump

"You guys, line up alphabetically by height" -Bill Peterson (FL state football coach)

"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that but not with all those flies and death and stuff" -Mariah Carey

"They misunderestimated me." George W. Bush

"It isn't pollution that is hurting the environment, it's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it" -Dan Quayle

"I've never really wanted to go to Japan. Simply because I don’t like eating fish. And I know that's very popular out there in Africa." -Brittany Spears

"I love California, I practically grew up in Phoenix." -Dan Quayle (poor Dan! He just can't get ti right!)

"For NASA, space is still a high priority." -Dan Quayle

"I'm not anorexic. I'm from Texas. Are there people from Texas that are anorexic? I've never heard of one. And that includes me." -Jessica Simpson

She's Back!!!

This week Lorelei got to work with our favorite therapist again. (Not that we think everyone else sucks...we love everybody at Playtime!) Becky has worked with Lorelei since November of 2006. But since January she has been on maternity leave (her baby, Jacob, is sooo cute!) Anyway, Lorelei saw Becky Tuesday and Thursday and just lit up when she saw her...ran over to her with arms outstretched. We missed you, Becky! Rumor has it that Becky is only back part time for now and is only taking on Lorelei and one other patient. That just makes us feel even more special. (I stole the picture from Becky's blog...I didn't have one)

What's In A Name?

Have you every hated your name? I mean loathed it so much that you wanted to dis-own your parents because of their lack of common sense when picking out your name? Probably not to that degree...however here are some people that at some point in their lives have felt, or will feel, that way.

This is list of celebrities and the really insane/bizare names they came up with for their children.

Matt Lauer
Thijs

Jason Lee
Pilot Inspektor

Penn
Moxie CrimeFighter, Zolten

Drea deMatteo
Alabama Gypsy Rose

Shannon Sossamon
Audio Science

Jamie Oliver
Daisy Boo, Dixie Dot, Poppy Honey

Forest Whitaker
Ocean, Sonnet, True Isabella Summer

Robert Rodriguez
Rebel, Racer, Rocket, Rogue

Paula Yates (with Bob Geldof)
Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom, Little Pixie

Paula Yates (with Michael Hutchence)
Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily

Lance and Mary jane Henriksen
Alcamy

Vanilla Ice
Dusti Raine
Keele Breeze

Frank Zappa
Dweezil, Moon Unit, Diva Muffin

Aren't you really loving your own name right at this moment?

Redneck Style

How much more redneck do you think I could possibly get? Well, let's do a small tally and see where I stand in your minds. For starters, I think mountain oysters are pretty darn tasty! For those of you who don't know what they are, just do a google search and you will learn more about them than you ever wanted to know. Back to the list...Houston and I have watched Bambi together and several occasions. Both 1 and 2. We both really like the movies! After the movie (or even during) I can ask him if he likes Bambie. "Yes" "Do you like deer "Yes" "Houston, what are deer/moose good for?" "For eating" Interject and cuddly cartoon animal in their at will. We can be talking about Otis the Cow from a cartoon show he likes, but he knows that hamburger is basically cow-butt. And the Wilbur (from Charlotte's Web) is where hot dogs come from. Now, I don't do this anymore. In fact, I haven't done this since Brian and I were married, but back in the day I could out-drink any of the guys that he worked with in Alaska. But...I think that these next pictures seal my redneck fate.
Yes, that really is me bathing my children in the swimming pool. It's just too darn convienent!! They're already in the water. It also keeps my water bill in check. On nights that they play in the pool before bedtime, I just give them a quick soap-down. This way I'm not filling up my bathtup as much. It kind of evens out so that my water bill doesn't go up. Besides, with the way gas prices are you gotta save your money somewhere! :) (for any shocked people...I don't bath them this way all the time...it's only about once a week, maybe twice)

Stayin' Cool

Or trying to anyway. We finally got around to getting wading pool. (One of the things I needed Brian's help with before he left...to load and unload from the van) This year we managed to wait until June to set it up. A big change for us since two year ago, we had it set up in April. I'm pretty sure my neighbors thought I lost my mind. Houston had a blast. Got in some good quality time with Dad. He had some more quality one-on-one time later, but that is for another post. I was the designated picture-taker, so I'll take my turn in the pool another time. Paisley was taking her nap so that's why you don't see her. Not a bad thing, either. She got to miss the first time in the pool frenzies. Next time we'll invite her along.

100%

Lorelei is back to her old self. That means a big ol' pain in my bootie! After seeing her doctor it was just a steady improvement. By Friday night she had rubbed it enough that she slightly bruised and broke blood vessels in the surrounding tissue. That little bit of color was just what we needed to see two tiny white dots in her eyebrown line. Yep, they would be bug bites. By Sunday, you couldn't even tell there was anything wrong with her.

Locks Of Love

I have been wanting to do this for a while now. But Brian said please wait until he leaves for the desert so that it has time to grow some before he gets back. What is "it" you ask? My hair! I made a ponytail and Brian cut it off. I am mailing my 12 inch 'tail to Locks Of Love. I originally thought to donate since Pantene is doing their Million Inch campaign with Hillary Swank. But then I came across Locks of Love. I chose to donate to them since they only give their hairpieces to kids under 18. They require a minimum of 10 inches and it takes 6-10 ponytails to make one hairpiece. They can take my layered hair (since the longest layer is at least 10 inches) and will use what they can. The shorter layers they sell to a manufacturer to help offset their costs. Check them out!!

http://www.locksoflove.org

Say Cheese!!