It's finally here!

Jorden Michelle is FINALLY 13!! I kept hoping if I just ignored it, it would go away. Low and behold, Aug. 28th arrived. It was 13 LONG years ago, at 10:30am, that Jorden arrived. My first born is now a teenager, and I can deny it no longer! Man, where did the time go? I made her fave baked potato soup (thank you Guthries/Passeys). I think it actually tasted like it was supposed to this time...ha! After dinner, I took her to see Mamma Mia. We were supposed to see it a month ago, but things kept coming up. Although, I was enjoying the barrage of previews over the last few mos., as I'm a HUGE Abba fan! Have been since I was a little girl. Jorden thought it was a little cheesy. It was your typical musical, but I must say, I did like the play a lot better. I'll still buy it when it comes out, just because I love all of the songs, and I'm a big Meryl Streep fan, too. Oh yah, if you're a Pierce Brosnan fan, don't get your hopes up!

Mike picked Jorden up for lunch from school, and signed her out for the rest of the day. She was pretty stoked! My brother Shad also came over tonight with gifts from Abercrombie & Fitch, so she's really on Cloud 9 now! Plus, she has a slumber party at her dad's tmrw, so she's excited for that! I'll be trying to score her some Jonas Bros. tics in the next few wks, that's our gift to her. They have a concert in Oct. and I really hope I can find a good deal. I'm a Craigslist stalker though, so I'm not worried about it! Ask (or stalk) and you shall receive, that's my mantra!

Ok, off to bed. Quicker this day is over the better, as the depression/realization has set in!!

Wow....I'm old!!

So for those of you who know my age, good for you! For those of you who don't, good for you! I can't believe that Jorden is approaching 13! Wow! I realize I'm probably outing my age by announcing that, but oh well. I am still in shock that my baby is now a teenager...yikes! What joys will the upcoming years bring me, I ask? Do I even want to think about it? Am I ready for the sassy, back-talking years? I don't think I am! I was talking to my mom tonight (she's leaving for Aruba on Fri, lucky dog) and she said "I hope your guns are loaded", referring to the life ahead of me. Thanks mom, I appreciate the heads up! Honestly, I'm really not worried about Jordie causing me any trouble. She's a good kid. She definitely has her moments lately, but nothing compared to what most parents go through, I'm sure. I think she KNOWS she better tow the line...or else! That much I can say I'm responsible for...ha! Now Bella on the other hand, may send me over the edge! Let's cross that bridge at a later date....WAY later!

I'll have 3 teenagers at my house this wknd, for an early bday sleepover. I think I'll ship them off to the movies (half the battle is won). Then when they return, I'll order them some pizza and send them out to the pool (score again)!

I am getting up at the crack of dawn Sat. morning for a garage sale. Out with the old, in with the new! Everything that we've been replacing during our remodel, has been sitting in our garage. Time to be rid of it ALL, even if I have to give it away! Mike claims he's getting up with me at 5am, this is yet to be seen!

P.S. Thanks for all of the prayers for my niece Abigail. She doing well on her medication and to date is seizure free. I am now babysitting her two days a week so she doesn't have to be in daycare. I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening and her waking up around strangers. Granted they are CPR certified, but so am I. I just feel much more comfortable this way. She's a sweetie. I'll have to post pics of her and Bella playing together and bossing each other around...it's hilarious!

REmodeling....REthink it!!

our remodeling adventure was fun in the beginning, but has since been very frustrating and brought out the worst in us! we wanted to do it ourselves, #1 to save $ and #2 for the sake of saying we did it ourselves! don't get me wrong, i love to learn new things and i'd like to be a little 'renovation savvy' if you will, so when i really need to reference what i've learned, i will be able to w/out any problems. you never know when you'll need to fix something at the drop of a hat. WAY later on down the line, anyway! it is really nice to work hard and see the benefits, which is what we were experiencing in the beginning. now, we've seen the worst of things. it took us 3 full days (and by full i mean 16hr days), trying to put our french doors in! the "free" doors that we scored, actually cost us $200, miscellaneous parts we didn't think of. if you threw in labor, we'd be in the $1000's range! after that was squared away, we moved onto the kitchen sink/faucet. what you would think was pretty easy, right? WRONG!! we keep forgetting that our house is 22yrs old. every time we turn around, something is breaking and we have to replace it w/a newer part or something that should come off easily, even after using every tool in the book, is practically welded on because it's been in the same place for so long. no bueno! so after a long week of dealing w/a stinkin' sink, our kitchen is finally finished (minus the paint, of course)! oh yah, bought the sink from craigslist for $50 and ended up costing over $100 to put in!

so when they say "how strong is your marriage?", when you ask "how hard can it be to remodel a few things here and there"...that's what they mean!! it's been a struggle for mike and i because dealing w/everyday stress is hard enough, let alone throw in a bunch of dust, tools, drywall and paint chips EVERYWHERE, "let's do it this way, no, let's do it that way", you get the picture!!

nonetheless, we're movin' on to the bathrooms. hopefully they'll go a lot smoother...ha! keep in mind, we're still pulling for a september deadline...keep you posted.