Me: Hello?
Phone: Hello, is this Mrs. Neerings?
Me: Yes (wow, who says "Mrs." anymore).
Phone: This is Mr. Flanagan (real name) from the Elementary School.
Me: Hi, Mr. Flanagan. (Hmm, the V. Principal calling. I wonder if anything is wrong? Nah, he's probably just calling about PTA stuff).
Phone: So, I have your son down here in my office.
Me: Uh-oh (Oh, crap! What has happened? Did Carter get in a fight or something?????).
Phone: It's pretty serious.
Me. UUUHH-OOHHHH (AAAHH! Did he give someone a black eye? Say the F word? Did he bring a gun to school??? Is he expelled?? )
Phone: Yeah, we have Carter down here to recognize him for being the best behaved kid in his class. His teacher chose him.
Me (catching my breath to recover from the previous visions of my juvenile delinquent son): Wow! (And to tell me thanks, you decided to give me early-onset heart failure!!!! Gee. thanks.)
Phone: Well, thanks for your time.
Me: Uh. . . . thanks for . . . . ???
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday's Favorites - He's my guy!
Happy Friday!! The last week or so has been filled with a little TOO much adventure, leaving me feeling a little buried and overwhelmed. Blah. I do not enjoy times like that.
So, it is with happiness that I say, "Hellllllooooo Friday!!!!!!" Sure, I've got another weekend with way too much packed in to actually enjoy any of it, but hey - I can have my moment, right?
Today's Friday's Favorites post is inspired by my previous Friday's event - the anniversary of 9 years married to "my guy." A little 3-year-old-blonde-haired girl in our household claims that he is HER guy, but I have news for you, honey . . .
HE'S TAKEN.
Here is a picture of him looking ruggedly handsome, as usual.
And I couldn't be happier. Here are some of the things I love about my hubby & best friend:
He's brave.
He puts first things first.
He's amazingly creative.
He does things because he feels good about it, not because of what anyone thinks.
Everything he does, he does very well.
He is completely trustworthy.
He is very handsome.
He knows how to have fun.
He never has fun at the expense of others.
He takes all of his responsibilities to heart.
He wrestles with the kids every day, even when he doesn't have an ounce of energy left.
He always feels a little sheepish when he beats someone at something.
He is not afraid of doing the right thing.
He can design & build anything.
He knows exactly how to make me feel loved.
He took me bowling for our anniversary - sweet!
He knows how to work hard.
He knows how to play hard.
He knows how to laugh hard.
He knows when I need to have a little more fun in my life.
He knows how to put a smile on my face.
I've concluded that a good man is hard to find these days, and so I feel like the luckiest girl on earth.
I love you Mike.
P.S. Please, please come home from your brave, fun, rugged bear hunt in Idaho safely tomorrow. I want to do something even more fun than bowling for our tenth.
So, it is with happiness that I say, "Hellllllooooo Friday!!!!!!" Sure, I've got another weekend with way too much packed in to actually enjoy any of it, but hey - I can have my moment, right?
Today's Friday's Favorites post is inspired by my previous Friday's event - the anniversary of 9 years married to "my guy." A little 3-year-old-blonde-haired girl in our household claims that he is HER guy, but I have news for you, honey . . .
HE'S TAKEN.
Here is a picture of him looking ruggedly handsome, as usual.
And I couldn't be happier. Here are some of the things I love about my hubby & best friend:
He's brave.
He puts first things first.
He's amazingly creative.
He does things because he feels good about it, not because of what anyone thinks.
Everything he does, he does very well.
He is completely trustworthy.
He is very handsome.
He knows how to have fun.
He never has fun at the expense of others.
He takes all of his responsibilities to heart.
He wrestles with the kids every day, even when he doesn't have an ounce of energy left.
He always feels a little sheepish when he beats someone at something.
He is not afraid of doing the right thing.
He can design & build anything.
He knows exactly how to make me feel loved.
He took me bowling for our anniversary - sweet!
He knows how to work hard.
He knows how to play hard.
He knows how to laugh hard.
He knows when I need to have a little more fun in my life.
He knows how to put a smile on my face.
I've concluded that a good man is hard to find these days, and so I feel like the luckiest girl on earth.
I love you Mike.
P.S. Please, please come home from your brave, fun, rugged bear hunt in Idaho safely tomorrow. I want to do something even more fun than bowling for our tenth.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Weekend Recap
Just a few highlights from last weekend. A sampler of sorts. :)
Friday: Carter and Grandma Neerings enjoy a special V.I.P. day at his school. Grandma even got to eat school lunch - yum!
Early Saturday: Mike goes to Home Depot and purchashes several sharp objects that I'm sure will cause his demise. He uses them like this and claims they are tools:
Later Saturday: Mike completely de-limbs this approximately 40 foot pine tree in 90 minutes flat. Can you spy him here?
Here is the tree after the said 90-minute "trim."
Carter has his first "privelige" of using the clippers to help dad cut up limbs. "Privelige" is a special word used for tricking kids into things they wouldn't normally do.
Saturday and Sunday: The kids get to hang out in their special "Reverence Tent" for watching General Conference on TV. This is also a secret way of tricking our kids into thinking that can be reverent AND have fun at the same time. Heh, heh.
And finally, a cameo appearance from Monday: Carter's face gets introduced to the pavement for the first time. OUCH!
P.S. - It had nothing to do with tree limbs or sharp objects from Home Depot. :)
Friday: Carter and Grandma Neerings enjoy a special V.I.P. day at his school. Grandma even got to eat school lunch - yum!
Early Saturday: Mike goes to Home Depot and purchashes several sharp objects that I'm sure will cause his demise. He uses them like this and claims they are tools:
Later Saturday: Mike completely de-limbs this approximately 40 foot pine tree in 90 minutes flat. Can you spy him here?
Here is the tree after the said 90-minute "trim."
Carter has his first "privelige" of using the clippers to help dad cut up limbs. "Privelige" is a special word used for tricking kids into things they wouldn't normally do.
Saturday and Sunday: The kids get to hang out in their special "Reverence Tent" for watching General Conference on TV. This is also a secret way of tricking our kids into thinking that can be reverent AND have fun at the same time. Heh, heh.
And finally, a cameo appearance from Monday: Carter's face gets introduced to the pavement for the first time. OUCH!
P.S. - It had nothing to do with tree limbs or sharp objects from Home Depot. :)
Friday, March 27, 2009
Have you hugged your dishwasher today?
Well, it's Friday. As usual, I really need somthing to celebrate to help me ring in the weekend after a looooong week. So, what could be better than spending a moment recognizing the most fabulous thing in my house:
My *dishwasher* (insert romantic sigh).
Now I am one of those people who can say I REALLY appreciate my dishwasher. Sure, we had a couple of apartments during our early married years that didn't have a dishwasher. But we were child-less and so in love that first of all, we hardly had any dishes, and second of all, washing dishes together seemed like a romantic getaway (pathetic, I know).
So, when we bought this house almost 2 years ago, and it didn't have a dishwasher, these were my thoughts:
"No dishwasher . . . Hmmm. Are you kidding me? I'm just so glad we have a house!!! An actual house with a yard and walls and 2 levels. Who needs a dishwasher? The pioneers didn't even have running water. Dishwashers have only been around for a few years. My in-laws STILL don't have a dishwasher, and they get along perfectly fine washing all their dishes. In fact, I think I will be BETTER off without a dishwasher. Maybe dishwashers are only for the weak of spirit. Dishpan hands are considered a sign of character. Take THAT, dishwashers of the world!!!"
Yeah, that lasted about 2 weeks.
When my husband finally got tired of listening to my whining about how I spent a precious one hour of each day washing dishes for a family of 4, who cook and eat EVERY meal at home, and blaming EVERYTHING wrong in my life on not having a dang dishwasher, he came up with these amazing words:
"Babe, I can put a dishwasher in for you . . . . "
What? Give up my spartan hand-washing spirit???
Okay!
We had $500 bucks to work with, thanks to my sweet Grandma Litster and parents who generously gave us that money when she passed away. So we found the dishwasher, and a sink/faucet online, each for $50 bucks, and then Mike set in to work. He demolished the entire kitchen, rebuilt the entire lower cabinet, installed the countertop, dishwasher, and sink, and viola! - my life was wonderful again!!!!!!
Anytime I'm feeling sorry for myself, I look at my dishwasher and think, "My life is perfect. Sigh."
And if you don't have a dishwasher yet, be glad for clean running water and indoor plumbing.
Seriously.
My *dishwasher* (insert romantic sigh).
Now I am one of those people who can say I REALLY appreciate my dishwasher. Sure, we had a couple of apartments during our early married years that didn't have a dishwasher. But we were child-less and so in love that first of all, we hardly had any dishes, and second of all, washing dishes together seemed like a romantic getaway (pathetic, I know).
So, when we bought this house almost 2 years ago, and it didn't have a dishwasher, these were my thoughts:
"No dishwasher . . . Hmmm. Are you kidding me? I'm just so glad we have a house!!! An actual house with a yard and walls and 2 levels. Who needs a dishwasher? The pioneers didn't even have running water. Dishwashers have only been around for a few years. My in-laws STILL don't have a dishwasher, and they get along perfectly fine washing all their dishes. In fact, I think I will be BETTER off without a dishwasher. Maybe dishwashers are only for the weak of spirit. Dishpan hands are considered a sign of character. Take THAT, dishwashers of the world!!!"
Yeah, that lasted about 2 weeks.
When my husband finally got tired of listening to my whining about how I spent a precious one hour of each day washing dishes for a family of 4, who cook and eat EVERY meal at home, and blaming EVERYTHING wrong in my life on not having a dang dishwasher, he came up with these amazing words:
"Babe, I can put a dishwasher in for you . . . . "
What? Give up my spartan hand-washing spirit???
Okay!
We had $500 bucks to work with, thanks to my sweet Grandma Litster and parents who generously gave us that money when she passed away. So we found the dishwasher, and a sink/faucet online, each for $50 bucks, and then Mike set in to work. He demolished the entire kitchen, rebuilt the entire lower cabinet, installed the countertop, dishwasher, and sink, and viola! - my life was wonderful again!!!!!!
Anytime I'm feeling sorry for myself, I look at my dishwasher and think, "My life is perfect. Sigh."
And if you don't have a dishwasher yet, be glad for clean running water and indoor plumbing.
Seriously.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Friday's Favorites - 2 days late . . .
So, I'm already late on my second installment of Friday's Favorites. Eeeeek!! Remember how I said that if I didn't post on a Friday, I was probably having a bad day? Yeah, well I had the stomach flu. Blech.
However, despite the puking, Friday was a GLORIOUS day. Why? One word: S.P.R.I.N.G.
Friday was the first day of Spring, and I LOVE Spring. Here's a list of the reasons why:
The weather gets warmer.
It's no longer cold.
The temperature rises.
The snow melts.
The air feels balmy.
Winter is over.
When you go outside, you are not freezing.
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Sure, the flowers, green-ing grass, Easter and all that stuff are nice. But pretty much it boils down to: I. Hate. Cold.
Guess that makes Spring pretty much awesome in my book. Even on a throwing-up day.
However, despite the puking, Friday was a GLORIOUS day. Why? One word: S.P.R.I.N.G.
Friday was the first day of Spring, and I LOVE Spring. Here's a list of the reasons why:
The weather gets warmer.
It's no longer cold.
The temperature rises.
The snow melts.
The air feels balmy.
Winter is over.
When you go outside, you are not freezing.
Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Sure, the flowers, green-ing grass, Easter and all that stuff are nice. But pretty much it boils down to: I. Hate. Cold.
Guess that makes Spring pretty much awesome in my book. Even on a throwing-up day.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Happy St. Patty's!!
To celebrate St. Patrick's Day this year, I wanted to share with all of you a picture of our family in our Irish garb. I mean, do we look festive or what?
Fake story about this picture:
I am very organized and on the ball. So organized and on the ball, in fact, that I always schedule a professional family picture for each holiday (including President's day and Arbor Day) in color coordinated outfits. I always schedule these photo shoots far enough in advance that I can use the pictures to their full potential in relation to the holiday. I also have hundreds of scrapbooks containing these calendar-correct photos.
True story about this picture:
This is the ONLY family picture we have had taken since Ashley was born. And although I enjoy an occasional splash of green now and then, I am not quite as exuberant about the color it as the picture may communicate. My parents and siblings were having a large family picture taken, and we thought each family could wear a different solid color, so that in the group picture it would be easy to distinguish who was who (yes, our family really is that big). So, a few months before, I settled on brown and cleared it with my sisters/Mom. Unfortunately, someone else had ALSO selected brown and cleared it with my sisters/Mom. Dang.
So, about a month before the picture, I decided we could do a nice earthy/sagey green color, and went to the mall to get some shirts. And then another mall. And then another. And then I realized that they don't make solid color "sage-y" shirts for 2 year old girs. So I went to more malls to find ANY shade of green shirt for a tiny girl. And then I came home shouted at my unsuspecting husband. And then I took anything that was any shade of green and removed it from my house so that I would never see green again. And then I spent $32 on a bright kelly green tank top from baby GAP for my daughter. $32 was more than I spent on her entire wardrobe last summer (thanks to great yard sales and cute hand-me-downs from cousins).
And then I went to another mall. And another mall. And another mall. I found shirts for the rest of us in the same color, and tried to look on the bright side:
We would all have REALLY great clothes for St. Patrick's Day this year.
Happy green day!!!!!!!!
Fake story about this picture:
I am very organized and on the ball. So organized and on the ball, in fact, that I always schedule a professional family picture for each holiday (including President's day and Arbor Day) in color coordinated outfits. I always schedule these photo shoots far enough in advance that I can use the pictures to their full potential in relation to the holiday. I also have hundreds of scrapbooks containing these calendar-correct photos.
True story about this picture:
This is the ONLY family picture we have had taken since Ashley was born. And although I enjoy an occasional splash of green now and then, I am not quite as exuberant about the color it as the picture may communicate. My parents and siblings were having a large family picture taken, and we thought each family could wear a different solid color, so that in the group picture it would be easy to distinguish who was who (yes, our family really is that big). So, a few months before, I settled on brown and cleared it with my sisters/Mom. Unfortunately, someone else had ALSO selected brown and cleared it with my sisters/Mom. Dang.
So, about a month before the picture, I decided we could do a nice earthy/sagey green color, and went to the mall to get some shirts. And then another mall. And then another. And then I realized that they don't make solid color "sage-y" shirts for 2 year old girs. So I went to more malls to find ANY shade of green shirt for a tiny girl. And then I came home shouted at my unsuspecting husband. And then I took anything that was any shade of green and removed it from my house so that I would never see green again. And then I spent $32 on a bright kelly green tank top from baby GAP for my daughter. $32 was more than I spent on her entire wardrobe last summer (thanks to great yard sales and cute hand-me-downs from cousins).
And then I went to another mall. And another mall. And another mall. I found shirts for the rest of us in the same color, and tried to look on the bright side:
We would all have REALLY great clothes for St. Patrick's Day this year.
Happy green day!!!!!!!!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Introducing . . . . Friday's Favorites!!!
Drum roll please.
You are all about to encounter something that will change your life.
I am introducing a regularly scheduled blog topic to NeerlyFabulous. Friday's Favorites. Every Friday that I am mentally sound, I will post about one of my favorite things, people, places, foods, (etc.), and tell you how absolutely wonderful it is. Why, you might ask? Because FRIDAYS ARE AWESOME!!! This is my little way to say to Friday, "I have waited long for you, and now I want to embrace you and tell you something fabulous. "
And if I don't post on a Friday, please call me and cheer me up. I'm probably having a bad day.
Now, I have thought long and hard about what the first Friday's Favorites topic should be. There were several considerations, including family members, footwear, and of course products made with dark chocolate. Don't worry, all those topics will be forthcoming.
But this week I had to choose something REALLY special.
Are you ready????
SUPER GLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And now I will write an original poetic piece: Ode to Super Glue
Oh, Super Glue, how faithful you have been
In the time we have spent together.
For many years now, you have been right by my side,
Picking up the broken pieces of my life and
Mending them seamlessly.
You have worked many miracles.
Angry children have been calmed.
Wardrobes have been rescued.
Even the blind have received sight.
So many doubt your strength and power.
So many wonder if you can really fix their lives
As you have fixed mine.
To them I say: doubt not.
Those who doubt the strength of Super Glue have ways of being punished.
There have been times that I resented your bonding power.
It seemed you were mocking me, wielding your strength in places I did not intend for it to fall.
But the wooden nativity star eventually came off of my thumb.
And I realized it was for my own good.
For I would never doubt your strength again.
Oh, Super Glue. You amaze me.
You are all about to encounter something that will change your life.
I am introducing a regularly scheduled blog topic to NeerlyFabulous. Friday's Favorites. Every Friday that I am mentally sound, I will post about one of my favorite things, people, places, foods, (etc.), and tell you how absolutely wonderful it is. Why, you might ask? Because FRIDAYS ARE AWESOME!!! This is my little way to say to Friday, "I have waited long for you, and now I want to embrace you and tell you something fabulous. "
And if I don't post on a Friday, please call me and cheer me up. I'm probably having a bad day.
Now, I have thought long and hard about what the first Friday's Favorites topic should be. There were several considerations, including family members, footwear, and of course products made with dark chocolate. Don't worry, all those topics will be forthcoming.
But this week I had to choose something REALLY special.
Are you ready????
SUPER GLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And now I will write an original poetic piece: Ode to Super Glue
Oh, Super Glue, how faithful you have been
In the time we have spent together.
For many years now, you have been right by my side,
Picking up the broken pieces of my life and
Mending them seamlessly.
You have worked many miracles.
Angry children have been calmed.
Wardrobes have been rescued.
Even the blind have received sight.
So many doubt your strength and power.
So many wonder if you can really fix their lives
As you have fixed mine.
To them I say: doubt not.
Those who doubt the strength of Super Glue have ways of being punished.
There have been times that I resented your bonding power.
It seemed you were mocking me, wielding your strength in places I did not intend for it to fall.
But the wooden nativity star eventually came off of my thumb.
And I realized it was for my own good.
For I would never doubt your strength again.
Oh, Super Glue. You amaze me.
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