To to Moon!

During Spring Break we took a family field trip to the Moon Marble Company in Bonner Springs, Ks. Highly recommend this for families with kids of all ages, especially if you like toys. This place is a ginormous toy store full of educational toys and some not so educational....of the novelty/unique/gag gift type. FUN! We managed to spend two hours there and the girls are still playing with their marbles they picked out for souvenirs. It is a free field trip and only costs money if you chose to spend it.

Kate would have stayed and played with this Marble Works contraption for hours.

Jane bowling with marbles

Ernie the marble maker.
Choosing their souvenir marbles....it was like a candy store, minus the candy, plus marbles.

The girls and their take home tubes of marbles..all carefully choosen.

Marble moustaches

Playing Marble Works at the store inspired an entire evening devoted to marbles

Manic Monday

1. Last week was spring break for the girls. It rained every day. Didn't stop us from celebrating the days off from school. I took off Thursday and Friday and the Martens family enjoyed some quality time. We took a family field trip one of the days. Stay tuned for a blog post later this week with pictures! The week went by quickly and the girls were ready to go back today. They looked a bit zombie like for the first 20 minutes after they woke up this morning but quickly remembered the routine.

2. Both of Jane's knees are scraped up and will stay that way till Fall.......love shorts weather!

3. Royals on radio has replaced music on my drive home from work. Did you hear? THIS IS OUR YEAR! Get on the bandwagon now people, it is going to get crowded here pretty soon.

4. With Spring time comes new Spring clothes in stores. Trying to save money is seriously cramping my shopping addiction. It is really testing my willpower to walk around stores and not pick up some new Spring duds.

5. We have offically decided to build a house. Good news is that we have a builder we trust and a house plan we can afford. Bad-ish news is that we need to save our pennies for a while longer and selling this house would greatly help. Initially it seeems like it will be forever and a day before we get anything started. Reality is that we just started thinking about building in January so we can't expect everything to happen without some work and "suffering" through the process. The house we want is worth waiting for....WE are worth waiting for this house.

6. Does it make me weird that when I see someone or meet eyes with someone I immediately start trying to memorize their appearance? After I pass by them I start testing myself to see if I can remember their clothing, their facial features, etc. NO, I am not kidding. I really do this.

7. Rock Chalk Jayhawk! enough said. I hope next Monday I am blogging about a championship game.

8. My brother "coached" a Roasterie Cafe employee in a cupping contest in Chicago this weekend. This is coffee business talk for pouring a fantastic cup of coffee. I don't know what all was involved but the guy got third place in the region which is evidently fantastic for his first competition. I am pretty sure it had something to do with the coaching. Congrats to Andrew and my bro, John.

9. These days I am showing a lot of white, doughy, flesh while wearing shorts. Makes me feel blechy and I totally regret not working out for the last three months. Who am I kidding? I hate working out. But I guess I hate being flabby more. I ran tonight on the treadmill and it actually felt pretty good. Is it pathetic that one of my favorite workout songs is "Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen? don't answer that.

10. So glad I did not cave under the pressure to let Tess read "The Hunger Games" book. Even more glad that she won't be seeing the movie any time soon. Movie reviewers this weekend commented on how it is not for children and that it should have been rated R, for the violence and the theme of kids killing kids. (their words, not mine. I have neither read the book yet or seen the movie. I have simply asked others who have and read about it online) The reviewers point was that if a movie gets an R rating for language and sex, then violence in this movie should have earned it an R also. My gut instinct was on point with this I think.

But

We have had three showings (already!) in the 10 days our house has been on the market. Here are the comments we received from the "lookers" on a response form they completed after each showing.

"nice home, clean and well cared for. like the open space behind the home, like the floor plan. feel like the deck neeeds a little tlc. It's on the top three list though. thanks!"

"this is a nice home and shows well. thank you for the sellers disclosure statements. The buyer has found one home they like better at this point. thank you."

"my client's decided they don't like this floor plan. The home showed beautifully and honestly had some really nice features."

There are four other questions they ask regarding the property meeting buyers criteria, the opinion of the condition of the property, the opinion of the selling price, and the overall interest of the buyer. We are getting all positive feedback with those questions too but no buyer.

We totally agree with the "deck needs some tlc" comment but it is early March and we just haven't had the time. And couple #2 tracked mud all over the carpet (causing Andy to almost stroke out in anger)....probably why they found a house they liked better at that point. It had cleaner carpets! Two of the three showings have happened in the pouring down rain, and Andy has had to bring the ambulance (and the EMT driver) home with him twice because we found out about the showings after I went to work and he was at the fire station. Luckily the worst they had to do was change a light bulb, empty the dishwasher, and turn on the Scentsy warmers.

Overall a positive ten days. It is great to get the feedback saying nice things about the house, because the self doubt is toxic. Sometimes I wish someone would just say something negative so we would know what to work on, but then that would make me almost stroke out.

You should see the other guy.......

Andy plays in a men's basketball league through Liberty Parks and Rec on Sunday evenings. It is a perfect chance for him to get some exercise, have some fun, and apparently get assaulted.

The game was exhausting to watch and even more so, I guess, to play. Neither team could buy a basket and there was a lot of physical contact.....a lot. Bodies were flying everywhere, and I can be quoted as saying "I hope if he gets injured it's bad enough to file an AFLAC claim!" Not my most shining moment as a wife, I know.

Anyway, Andy's worst injury was an elbow to the eye causing a beautiful rainbow of colors and the sympathy of those that notice.

The other team did not fair so well. The received the worst type of injury....to their pride. This was the only undefeated team left in the league and our guys won the game on a buzzer beater jump shot. It was FANTASTIC.
and yes, the crowd did go wild.

Manic Monday

This girl is my mini-me. She thinks like me, acts like me, worries like me, looks like me (all but the legs!) The last two weeks, Tess has had the opportunity to spend the night somewhere that picked her up right after school without coming home first. Both times Tess needed to run over the "plan" so she could ease her troubled mind. The logistics of how she, and her luggage, was going to get from point A to point B, was causing her to worry. I love that she is organized and cares, but I also see the stress it causes her and I know how it feels...Did I mention that SHE IS JUST LIKE ME?!?
This blog is to brag about my kids. Kate can officially cross her eyes. So proud.
We were all exhausted after the Purdue basketball game. I felt like I had played the game right along with them. The Jayhawks were lucky to win. Seriously. I almost felt bad for that Hummel kid and Purdue's team. almost.
Jane got out of the bath tub yesterday evening, looked at her hands and said "Eww, they look like grandma hands!" This picture does not do the wrinkle-ness justice. They were pretty frightening. Not that grandma hands are frightening....anyway...
Artwork by our youngest daughter "NEAL".....pretty sure the backwards signature is a sign of her genius and not her future dyslexia diagnosis. I am blown away by how much this kid knows. We spend such less time with her than we did with the older two girls, due to lack of time and outright laziness, yet she still learns. Thank you Joyful Noise Preschool. Jane has been sleeping on hand me down Dora sheets since we got her this bed. Poor kid rarely gets new things, most belonged to an older sister first. Did I mention that she also thinks Dora is lame? She asked for My Little Pony sheets and that is what she got. Listening to her thanking us for her new "Pony bed" melted my heart. She even slept in late this morning. Bonus!

Manic Monday

It is barely still Monday, but I can't sleep, so figured I might as well knock this off my To Do list.

1. Why am I still up so late? Because Andy and I had a chance to sit and talk late into the night....alone.....about important things......and some not so important things. THIS NEVER HAPPENS. And now I am wide awake at midnight because, unlike him, I can't just stop talking and shut my brain off for the night.
2. See post from yesterday. AAAHHHHH
3. This weather is a-mazing. The time change? not so much. Yes, I like it not being dark at 6pm, but I also miss it being light when I wake up in the morning. And my kids going to bed on time.
4. Bought the girls Easter dresses this weekend. They all three have such distinct personalities and desires in a dress. My only desire is that the dresses in Tess's age range not look like they were made for a whore. We found two. They all three rate the "twirl factor" in a dress. Meaning, if I spin, does the skirt twirl out around me. If it doesn't score at least an 8, it is a waste of time.
5. Still doing my Lent readings. Every Sunday they give a "catch up" day for any scripture that didn't get read during the week. It's good to know that there are other schmucks like me that need a mulligan every once in a while.
6. The Big 12 tourney was a disappointment as a Jayhawk fan and this fan didn't bother to watch much of the championship game on Saturday. I have to admit, I will take a loss to Baylor in the semi-finals then a potential loss to Missouri in the championship. No way could I let the Tigers have a 2-1 game advantage when they leave this conference. This Friday is a big deal. BIG deal. Rock Chalk Jayhawk, Go KU.
7. So sick of hearing people bitch about Barack Obama. Seriously. Anyone who thinks they can blame this country's troubles on one presidency has lost their minds. We didn't get into financial trouble in four years and we aren't going to fix it in the next four. I don't care WHO wins the presidency. And if I hear one more person complain about paying taxes.....whoowee do NOT get me started. Feel free to go live in a country without all the luxuries you have come to love and expect in America....like paved roads and police/fire departments and yes, WELFARE. Trust me, I see PLENTY of people that abuse the welfare system every damn day of my life. BUT I also see a gazillion more that are trying to feed families of 4+ on $9 an hour...if they can even find a job. Suck it up and pay your taxes people. How else do you expect things to get paid for?
8. Both of my grandmothers have officially crossed the border into dementia land. Thankfully one grandma is being "cared" for in a nursing home, but the other is driving(yikes) around her small town and living alone in her big house. Both of them have similar histories....married 50+ years and have been widowed now for more than 10 years. Both live(d) alone in their original marital homes, are over 80 years old, and deaf as doornails even with hearing aids in. The mind is such an amazing organ, but can really get out of whack quickly. Both grandmas now hear and see things that are not there. Breaks. My. Heart. One grandma thinks that a family with young kids is living in her house and jump on her bed and write all over her arms with a magic marker. The other claims a family, that lived above her first floor apartment, ground up her wedding china and used it to make crack cocaine. I love the brain. I HATE the confusion it can cause with cute little old ladies named Carol and Helen.
9. Finally getting over my cold. Thank you Jesus. My co-workers are still sickly and not recovering very quick. They have a cough, congested heads and chests, and no energy. Just the way a person wants to feel when the weather is 70 degrees.
10. It is officially Tuesday morning, I am still not that tired, and now Jane is coughing. super.

It's Baaaaack

We woke up yesterday morning---no sign.
Two hours later we were leaving the house--sign.
freaky.

This is an anxious, exciting, scary, hopeful time for our family. Once again we are trying to sell our house, and once again I have bittersweet feelings. I will miss this house and our family across the street SO MUCH.

I remember several years ago, we had only been in our house a couple years, when a FOR SALE sign appeared in our yard as a prank. We laughed about it and wondered how it got there, but that didn't change the unsettling feeling it made inside. The sign in the yard brings questions and wonder and change.....change is scary!
Keeping my house clean 24/7 is scarier.

Pray for us. We don't need a new house, but we want one. I hope God has this plan figured out. Thankfully He didn't give us what we wanted last summer.....I think we still would be overhauling that house. Probably overworked and overbudget too.
God knew what He was doing then, and we have to trust that He knows what to do now.

What The ???? Wednesday

I skipped Manic Monday, went right on through Low Tolerence Tuesday and bring you What the ???? Wednesday.....

1. Friday night was Jane's Joyful Noise Preschool Carnival Extravaganza!!!! It was three hours of running from one end of the church to the other trying to win prizes, jump in the bounce houses, get faces painted, sit in the photo booth and eat candy. I was in charge of a bounce house for 30 minutes. Longest 30 mins of my life. Good thing I have no problem disciplining other people's children.

2. I have been trying to get sick for the last week. Just feel crappy enough to need some help sleeping at night and usually a nip, or three, of the nasal spray to help me breathe. People at work are getting SICK, so I am just laying low and trying to be thankful mine is some minor congestion. Nasal spray addiction is no joke though.

3. This Sunday was the first one that my in laws officially attended as potential members in waiting. This was also the Sunday our beloved pastor, Fred, announced he was "retiring from the ministry" and moving on up the corporate ladder to be a district superintendent of churches. He moves in June. I couldn't believe it, and feel pretty bad that Loren and Linda were excited to be a part of Fred's future at our church. He is such a dynamic presence. I am pretty sure this isn't a deal breaker for them, but understand their disappointment.

4. After church we invited my parents and Andy's parents over for what we hope to be a monthly tradition. I have had this dream of hosting a family lunch at our house on the second Sunday of the month...."Second Sunday lunches" I want to call them. Initially I had thought we needed to wait until we had a bigger house. I hate waiting. So this week was impromptu, but I hope to continue with the rest of the immediate family in May (April is Easter Sunday and is at Aunt Pam's). Missy and Ben, you will be getting your formal invite/explanation in an email. Family is such a blessing and MY family is the super duper bestest blessing in my life.

5. We are officially in house selling mode. This weekend we painted our kitchen, painted the downstairs bathroom, and fixed some wall spots in our bedroom. I also purged Jane and Kate's closet of clothing and the hallway closet has some empty shelves now. Feels good, but also feels overwhelming. I have to keep reminding myself that potential lookers know someone lives in the house, I don't have to try and remove every trace of life.....hoping to have the sign in the yard next week sometime.

6. I gave Kate and Jane haircuts Monday night. Kate got a trim of dead ends and bangs and looks older for some reason. Not the outcome I was going for. After seeing Kate getting the salon treatment, Jane decided she would like a haircut. Knowing that this mood wouldn't last long I quickly started cutting. Halfway through she says "Mom! I didn't want it cut shorter, I wanted it cut longer!" My mistake. Anyway, her cute little above shoulder bob is a-dorable.

7. I have a problem with people updating their status to advise the FB world of their every move. I don't care.

8. We have CARF surveyors here at work this week and the whole place is on high alert. These are the people that make or break our funding to serve the population we serve. We cleaned, we painted, we triple checked every chart, we studied our handbook to know where every fire extinguisher is located. You get the picture. Everyone is doing their best to avoid these people in a face to face interview, because nobody wants to be the one that says the wrong thing. Guess who got interviewed by the surveyors........yours truly. Thankfully it was about a topic I know about and I have some previous experience talking to Joint Comission when working at the hospital. One thing I will always use as good advice is to "never give up more information than they ask for...." I was told I did a great job. I'm sure there will be something extra in my next paycheck.....

9. Tess got her braces off yesterday. I wish I had a picture to post, maybe later. She got balloons, a water bottle, and a bunch of ooey gooey treats that she wasn't supposed to eat with braces on. She is to wear a retainer for 2 years or until all her baby teeth come out. I encouraged her to pick a brightly colored retainer to decrease the chances of her losing it..she picked black with daisys on it. Perfect. We were told it was $450 to replace. She knows that she will make $200 if she keeps track of it for the entire time. Money well spent by us, money well earned by her. Her smile is still pretty crooked but the doctor said he was thrilled with the results thus far. We haven't paid him enough to be thrilled so I guess he is being genuine.