6 Random Things about me

Okay, I've been tagged on this post but I would seriously lose if this were a real tag game because I am slow and cumbersome!

The rules are:
* Link to the person who tagged you (Kim)
*Post the rules on your blog
*Write six random things/unspectacular quirks about yourself
* Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them
* Let each person you have tagged know by leaving a comment on their blog
* Let the tagger know when your entry is posted

I am freaked out by things without eyes:
We once bought this cool wicker angel but I just couldn't take her sightless gaze a minute longer so I used a sharpie marker to give her little black dot eyes. I felt much better after that. I did a little Girls Camp Rehab with this problem one year when our theme revolved around a fabulous artist who drew cool, funky women without faces. After reading her explanation of why that was significant, I loved the drawings. I think I might be on my way to recovering since I can now handle having the Willow Tree figurines in my house without turning their faces to the wall. I even bought a nativity plaque with no eyes and it is ok.

I can't hang my feet off the edge of my bed in the dark:
Dan teases me because I can only hang my bare feet off the edge for a few seconds before I have to jerk them back. Old memories of watching a Piranha movie(why did a kid watch that?) haunt me. At least I don't jump onto the bed from 5 feet away like I did for years when I was a kid. The smart, logical, adult side of my brain does know that piranhas live in water in a jungle somewhere not under my bed but some things are embedded forever.

The sound of a homemade ice cream maker drives me nuts:
Not just the "I'm sort of annoyed" kind of nuts but the "put me in a straight jacket" kind of nuts. Something about the repetitive sound puts me so on edge that I am a terrible person for the entire time it is on. We finally figured this out a few years ago and now my homemade ice cream lovin' family takes it outside away from the crazy mom. Included in this quirk is that I can't stand the TV and Radio to be playing in the same room either.

I try to make store cashiers smile:
Okay, I know it is not my job but I like to see if I can make an indifferent, grumpy or just non-smiley person flash a big pearly grin. This especially applies if I go to a store often and notice a cashier that doesn't ever smile. Sometimes, I will even wait in a longer line so I can have a crack at the unsuspecting grump. There has only been one occasion I can remember where I just had to admit defeat after many attempts.

Okay it's not six and I'm sure there are more quirks but I am done! I can tag Jenny and Stacey since I can't think of anyone else with a blog!

The new "Dorm".

I was reading a friend's blog and loved all of her "Thankful" Posts. I am thinking of doing that too but right now I am just going to do a quick video of our new "Dorm", for which I am very thankful!

Halloween Fun

Happy Halloween! I am so glad that my kids still love dressing up and going trick or treating. I don't know at what age the older kids costumes get a little sparse and they come to the door looking like they are facing a horrible ordeal, but I hope Katie continues to trick or treat happily for several more years!!!

Our costumes this year were so easy and fun. Dan's cousin Stacey lent the girls Chinese dresses and parasols that she brought back when she adopted her girls. They looked so beautiful and very authentic! I mentioned to Chas a few weeks ago that I had seen a picture in a magazine of someone dressed up like Michael Phelps and he was sold! All of my kids watched the Olympics feverishly this year and because they love to swim themselves, especially Michael Phelps. It was easy to do and a big hit with all who saw him! He was preening and showing off his muscles(balloons) all night. I didn't think about how funny it was that the girls were Chinese Dancers and Chas was the King of the Beijing Games until we started taking pictures of them. I had the girls pucker up and it turned out great!

Another week flies by.

It has been a busy time around here and I will gladly use that as an excuse for the slow blogging!

We started our first improvement project at our new house. We are putting up a dividing wall in our fourth bedroom to give the girls their own space. It is going to be so cool. We are also adding a closet to that room. Dan and I know our own limitations and have paid a contractor to do all the framing. He is also busting a hole in a downstairs wall to put a storage closet under the stairs.
Dan did all the sheetrocking and since he is busy this week. I decided in my great wisdom that I could start the taping and mudding for him. Hmmmmm....maybe not a good idea. This is a problem of mine, that I think I can do anything. We will see if it really will be okay after the last coat of mud and primer/paint. If not, Dan can fix anything!

Other happenings include Chas turning 7 years old, wow! He is such a big kid now and he still makes us laugh everyday. Of course, he also makes me pull my hair out but at least he could never be called boring! The picture is of him putting sprinkles on the brownies he and I made to take to school.

And here Chas is wrapped up in the awesome blanket my Friend Kim sent me for our new baby girl. It is a beautiful rag quilt that is going to be perfect for bringing a little girl home from the hospital in late December! Brrrrr! Thanks Kim, for knowing me so well and for taking the time and effort to find such a great gift.

Please notice the great new dining room table too. We finally replaced our old table. (yeah, I know Donnie!) This one is so fabulous! It has a mechanical leaf that flips up or down to move from a 6 person table to seating 8 pretty comfortably. It is also counter height which I have wanted ever since I saw my friend Jessica's table years ago! The extra chairs slide up to the counter when the table isn't extended. Dan has been making fun of me because I love it so much. Who knew a table could bring such joy! Thanks Dan!

I also had a chance to drive up to Bellevue on a rainy Friday to go to the Seattle Temple. The grounds were so beautiful in their fall colors. I can't believe I am saying it but I really enjoy the rainy days. Maybe it is just pure appreciation after a few years of drought in GA. It was strange to just take off on my own (me and Tom Tom) and go. It is times like those that I really miss my GA buddies! I'm sure we could have found a great lunch place near there!

Dahlia Delight

The first week I was here in WA, a lady from church came to visit and brought me flowers. I found out that they were dahlias and that there was a farm near here. Every since then I have wanted to go check it out. Well today I was missing Dan and my friends and even my kids were at school and the day was seeming kind of long, so I decided to go and find the dahlia farm.(Not that I don't have plenty of work to do but...)

I was talking to Kristi on the phone when I caught my first glimpse of the farm. It was beautiful and I'm sure I sounded a little bemused. There were rows and rows of amazing, vivid flowers, some as big as dinner plates. As stated before, my camera was in my van(I knew I left it in there for a reason) but unfortunately the batteries were dead! So tomorrow, I am going to take the real photographer and the kids to the farm and post them later.

I can't get over how cheap the flowers are, $5 for a huge bunch! Woo Hoo! Nothing like flowers to make a girl like me feel better. I made a cool arrangement with a pumpkin but I can't decide if it is too small for the table. I'll post those pictures and you all can give me your opinion! The flowers below are actually the coolest orange color, but again, not the photo pro.

Okay, okay, okay!

After much delay, I am finally starting my own blog so I can ramble all I want! I am currently trying to figure out how to add a countdown ticker to the blog for this pregnancy. I just found out that we have 97 days left, weird. I also need to bring my camera in from the car so I can post pictures. It has been in there since I drove across the country 4 weeks ago! Sad, I know. I have taken lots of pictures on Dan's camera but most of them are in raw(a special fancy mode) that my computer can't read. I'll have to swipe some off of his Smug Mug site.

Is it really only Tuesday? Dan is traveling in Atlanta this week and that seems strange to me. Maybe WA will start to feel like home when he returns from this first trip. Right now it kind of feels like we are on a big, extended vacation that has dragged on a little too long.

Here is a cool video of our baby girl coming in December. We had this ultrasound a few weeks ago. She still looks a little like a character from the Nightmare Before Christmas but we ooohed and aaawed over her like she was a beauty queen.