fortune cookie says:

This was a fortune in Mike's cookie at dinner tonight. We laughed until we cried. That one will be saved....for sure. I love irony. We both needed a good laugh, and this totally fits US.


Speaking of.... this is life right now. Boxes. Lots and lots of boxes.

What a crazy week. Something was wonky with my computer, and I was without internet most of the week. Which may be just as well since I really didn't have time to be on it much anyway. Still packing....still getting things ready.

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So today was the kids' last day of school at the schools they have been going to since moving to Kentucky. Us moving again and switching schools, this was one thing that I hoped to avoid, but it didn't happen and we are moving forward. We're a good, strong family and we all know this is temporary. Megan is actually kind of excited, I know anxious as well, but she is used to switching schools since Arizona and moving here. She looks at it with a view of having fun being the new kid, the one that everybody wants to figure out and meet. She feels that she gets to reinvent herself each time. She also still keeps in touch with her friends in Phoenix on a daily basis with her cell phone so she just collects people and maintains friendships, and she has already collected phone numbers to keep in touch with friends from here. (Plus in reality, we're only moving 4 miles away.) So she sees this move as a good thing and being able to meet even more people. Plus there are a couple of girls that she already knows in her new school. They moved last year, so that will only help too.

Matthew.... that boy faces everything he does with gusto. He's more excited about not having to deal with the principal at his current school. Not that he's ever been to the office....but that seems to be giving him much joy lately being able to say SO LONG. (I'm not a fan of the principal either, so I kind of agree with the boy. In fact when the name was brought up at bunco a week ago, 12 people all rolled their eyes and sighed in unison. I'm guessing this principal is not a favorite to many.) He's the same way as Megan, he is loyal to his friends he has already but is looking forward to a change and meeting new people.

Trevor. Trevor has always been my cautious one. Let's just say that he likes routine, doesn't like going out on a limb and will probably never jump out of an airplane. He's cautious, but so easy going. It's a good mix, and what draws people to him. He's having a harder time dealing with this than the others. I expected it. Last night I was up with him as he was crying and realizing today was his last day.

I got a phone call from the woman at the office at school that Trevor was having a difficult day and was near tears all day. His best friend - a girl down the street - not to be called a girlfriend...but he wouldn't mind marrying her someday because she's cute - was by today and was crying. Those two were inseparable this summer, and play together all the time still. They were so excited to be in the same class this year. But we'll be able to keep in touch. Again, it's not that far away. Just not as easy and convenient as running down the street and disappearing for hours during the day.

So that's my day, my week. This weekend is the move. I'll be without internet for a few days. Until then..... I'm deciding whether or not to bring this (pictured below) with us. Bad girl ate a package of salami. No matter how far I put things back on the counter, she's quite the counter surfer. I swear I was only gone for a split second too. Who's a bad dog??? But.... she's still darn cute.

Bad dog.

Your call is very important to us.....

(New kit from the fabulous Karla Dudley!) On the phone waiting for a doctor.... figured I'd take a break from packing and cleaning for a bit! This layout came about early early this morning. Most of it was done before taking the photo and writing the journaling. It's one of my 365 pages. This is why I love this project.... I knew I had a page about Matthew and his monkey bowl from January 2008. Some things never change, and that monkey bowl is one of them. I hope that thing lasts forever.

Back to work. I'm finally off hold!

I'm getting to be good at this....

It's looking pretty bare in there!

We are moving! Long story short..... we found another place. It's not far from where we are now, but the process is starting! My living room is full of boxes, and I've started 'de-personalizing' the house. For some reason one of the first things I do whenever we move is start to take pictures and my favorite decor items down. I don't want it to feel like home anymore because I guess my personality is once I know the task at hand I want to jump in and get it done. Look forward. (Except I just noticed that my favorite Queen Mary print is still up. That's my absolute favorite.... so it always goes last. I can see it from several angles in the house too, so it makes me happy to always peek at it throughout the day.)

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This is also why I haven't been in touch or blogging much the past few days. I'm still keeping up on the 365 project. It figures, past years I have started it and stopped with less going on in the day to day of my life. This year though, with being busy from the time I wake up until the time I crash at night.... I've still managed to keep up. Maybe because it feels normal. I hate not taking photos. So eventually I'll get those 365 photos posted. It may be more fun to look back on them after a bit of time has passed anyway.

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Random:

The other day before school when the boys were eating breakfast Matthew looks up at me and says, "I miss Billy Mays." He just makes me laugh sometimes.

Hell's Kitchen and my love for hulu

I don't hide the fact that I LOVE reality TV. Go ahead....count me as one of the millions across the world who is responsible for the downfall of television. haha. I love it. It started with Survivor, and I still look forward to each season (New one starting soon!!!)

How I missed an ENTIRE season of Hell's Kitchen is beyond me! I watched season 6 and knew that I had missed one since one of the chefs was back that had to leave for a medical reason....but oh my gosh....thank the Lord for hulu.com. Mike and I have been enjoying for an hour a night.... catching up with season 5. He can hook up his laptop into our big TV, so we watch it like normal TV.

My heart belongs to hulu. If you miss any of your shows, they are all right there. Makes for a happy Kerry. I enjoy my downtime. Which isn't even always downtime since I'm usually doing laundry during my 'downtime.' My mom is a multitasker, so I come by it innocently. It's genetic.

Where is this going? Well.... I am spoiled. Mike has always been a great cook. I missed his cooking so much when he was gone last year and knew that his flatmates were probably feeling like they won the lottery by having somebody who could cook like he can.

Mike's work schedule right now has made it to where he is home at night for dinner. The best thing? We watch Hell's Kitchen the night before, and whatever they are making I CRAVE. Mmm...that risotto looked good. Mmm....beef wellington? Can you just whip up dinner like that?

So far I have had every one of my craving whims taken care of. Tonight for example is his awesome version of Macaroni Grill's chicken scallopini. All it took was the mention of capers on Hell's Kitchen the other night for me to get that dish in my mind. So tonight....chicken scallopini, ceasar salad and rosemary bread....and the Hell's Kitchen finale. Life is good.

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No snow day today! We are supposed to get a snow shower later this afternoon and then it is supposed to warm up this week. After being promised another week of cold temps and snow last week. The kids aren't really excited about that updated forecast. lol.

more snow....

What can I say? More snow. Chores are futile.

snow day #3

Another snow day! We were pretty sure of it, so it didn't come as much of a surprise when we saw our school on the closures crawl on TV last night. I'm totally spoiled by being able to sleep in again. The big storm went through, but we are still getting constant flurries. It's nice. It's so pretty with the sun out and watching them fall. They sparkle.


Matthew got out today, but didn't last for more than a couple of hours. Not only did his asthma start to bother him a bit, but since he's so pale and almost transparent in the first place, his skin was not happy about being out there for long. He had bright red cheeks when he came in. He did have fun while he was out though, and had his first experience with a sled. He loved it.


Megan was trying to be a good big sister and take him for a few tandem rides with her, but this was the result of the first try. Honestly, our neighbor has one tree.....and they found it. The kids that have been over using our hill have managed to flatten out some pretty good grooves to the LEFT of the tree. I don't know how these two got so off course, but it made for a good picture. Especially because the only reason I have this photo is because Megan was wanting me to watch this amazing sled dismount that she kept bugging me to watch. - That's some dismount there Megan. haha.

I am loving hearing the screams of kids as they slide down the hill. I made a pot of hot chocolate that is simmering on the stove for hot chocolate breaks. Winter is cool.

Snow day #2 1/2... more photos.....

The second half of the day I didn't see Megan and Trevor at all. They spent hours outside. Our front yard has a great hill so some of their friends came over and played in the yard. Luckily they all came with sleds since we don't have one. One of them brought over their dad's old sled. It just looked awesome! It wasn't one of the fastest, compared to the molded plastic ones, but it was so cool. It did work well on the street where the snow had been smushed down by cars all day.

All of the kids shared the faster ones and rode in tandem, so everybody had a great time. There really are great kids in this neighborhood. - Trevor came inside with the reddest cheeks I've seen on him.

Even Piper got out for awhile. She had been sitting by the window watching the kids for a long time. I let her out and she tore down the hill, spun around and came running up the hill. She did circles, lept through the air and plowed her nose in the snow. She's a dork. She LOVES the snow.
I think she enjoyed the attention being out with all of the kids too.

That is snowday #2. I'm pretty sure tomorrow will be another one since it is nonstop, and actually even blowing sideways out there right now. I love snow days. :)

Matthew says that he will get out and play tomorrow. He was content inside with me today. He spent a lot of time with Legos, Youtube (watching Legos!) and Lego.com.

snow day #2!

Wednesday is a big night in our house. The kids LOVE The Middle, and it's become our family show of the week. Last night was even better because we watched carefully at the scrolling words on the bottom *fingers crossed* to see if school would be closed tomorrow.

Yesterday we went to fill up the car and to the grocery store just in case we are snowed in for a few days. It is supposed to be a big storm, and according to an article I read, one of the coldest winters for the United States since 1985. Bring it on. We're ready.

I live in an area with a lot of people. We have grocery stores.... lots of them. I mean Kroger has its headquarters here. We're not hurting for Krogers. But I always think that the days before a big storm hits people go into weird panic mode. I am not kidding that I went to grab one of our staples - bananas - and there were FOUR green ones left. Not even attached, but four single, green bananas left on the display. Between this and the empty shelves where there are usually hundreds of loaves of bread, you'd think the end of the world was near. Luckily, I had bought two loaves of bread the day before. I should sell them on the interstate off ramp to make a few dollars.

Sure enough, this morning the phone rang at 5:30 and schools were closed. If you are lucky enough to be inside, today is a beautiful day. It has been snowing nonstop since around 6:00 this morning. Our street is usually one of the first ones to get plowed and salted, and as of 2:30 they still haven't done it yet. Which means it's pretty bad out there in other areas. I'm sure it is fine with the ton of kids that are out using the hill as a snowboarding hill, sledding or the one guy that I have seen drive up and down in his little tractor thingie pulling kids on sleds. People know how to make the best of a snow day.

The boys and I are inside today. They didn't want to go out and have been playing with Legos all day. Megan has braved the weather and went over to a friends house. Mike should be coming home from work soon. I'm catching up on housework and other things. That's our day today, and tomorrow is honestly looking like another snow day. More snow in the forecast. Good thing I have my four bananas.

SNOW DAY!

The phone rang around 5:30 this morning with the recorded call....."Due to inclement weather....all ******** County schools are closed." Mike was already up for WORK so this meant that I didn't have to drive him, and I went back to sleep. I love it when the kids come in all freaked out later in the morning, thinking that I overslept, and I get to say, "Snow day." I'd say a snow day face is better than any excited face on Christmas morning.

An added bonus was that I had made lunches the night before, so they know if they get hungry they already have a meal ready to go if they don't want to make their own.

The boys have been outside for most of the day (Trevor especially has been running around the neighborhood with a bunch of boys) while Megan and I stayed inside making cider, doing normal everyday chores, and her sitting on the couch near the fire on her laptop. The big talk burning up the lines on her cell phone is that more snow is expected later this week!

I'm giving the - project 365 photo a day - thing a try again this year. So far so good on taking them, just not on posting them. I'll get to that later. This week has been crazy busy...and it's only Tuesday.

Peace out. Stay warm.