Ooompa, Doompa, Doopity Doo

So this is my kitchen on a normal day.  Ha ha, okay, just without the chocolate sauce everywhere.  I was on the phone with Eric when the bowl of sauce Katie was sitting next to on the counter somehow tipped.  Katie caught the bowl, and about half the sauce on her lap.  Phoebe didn't know what hit her!  She just kept licking, but didn't know how to get the sauce from her head into her mouth. I'm surprised I didn't loose my temper.  We wiped it all up and the kids all watched me bathe Phoebe.  You would have thought we were having a party, they were laughing so hard!  It must be a "Splash" season in my cleaning life.  So far I've had grape juice splashed across my living room, the chocolate sauce splashed all over the chair and cupboard, and the day after that happened, I dropped a bucket of stain on my kitchen counter and that splashed across my messy counter on everything!  So now when you see my next blog on my clean kitchen, you'll understand why I'm so happy about it.

Ready, Set, Clean

So you will either hate me or thank me for giving you a little push to get your life in order. Not like I am a pro and my house always looks like the clean kitchen in the picture. Yes, it's my kitchen as of this moment, just minutes after I picked up a few things off of it to document this monumental accomplishment in my life. Yeah for me!!! It took me a month of starting, stopping, getting lost in the piles that had overgrown the edges of the island. But I finally did it. And while on Oprah's website today, I saw my favorite declutter guy (Peter Walsh) on there with more awesome information to help all of us busy people get our lives under control. He said "Clutter is Decisions Delayed". How true. Sometimes those delays are valid. There are too many reasons to list as to why we delay, but they are real challenges and sometimes cleaning the house comes in last for good reason. It's boring, aweful, and just not on the top of our priority list unless something is stinking. SO, after I had my victory today, I wanted to help out my friends with a little challenge.



After talking to my wonderful sister-in-law about how much we hate unloading the dishwasher and folding laundry (1 dark load), we decided to keep track of how many minutes it actually took us to do that particular job. Then maybe it wouldn't seem so bad. It was kind of funny when I actually was timing myself, trying to do it "normally" so I'd have an acurate idea. No rushing! So guess what? It only takes me about 5 minutes to do each of those. Try this and see how long it takes you!

So why was I complaining so much? Is 5 minutes really that bad to do something I don't like? I realize that delaying my decisions (like returning the wrapping paper to the basement, taking clothes up to the laundry room, etc) all only take minutes, and sometimes seconds.
I hope you realize I totally understand those days, months, or years when this is so not what you're interested in hearing. But if this is something you are wanting to work on improving, try timing yourself! I'd love to find out how long it takes you and whether it helps you to conquer those jobs we don't look forward to. Share your ideas, thoughts, things that work for you, etc. I hope you enjoy seeing my pile of unfolded laundry as proof that I have that waiting for me as I'm writing to you to do this. I look forward to hearing what you think of all this and would love to help each other out!

Family Pictures

Photo Class 101

Well I think these pictures turned out mighty fine if I do say so myself! These were taken at a local neighborhood just minutes away, and it was a last minute decision before the sun went down. My other camera would have been a much better choice, but the battery was dead. I wish the faces weren't light, but hey, I saved tons of money by doing these on my own. I'm excited to do some effects on a photo program for our Christmas prints for family which is why I did my own this year.
Enjoy!

Can we fit in another Holiday?

In our house, we know that October marks the beginning of the holiday rush.  Well, actually the birthday rush would be more accurate.  After the 3 October birthdays, we move right into Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  So we thought, why not try to squeeze all of those in October?  I mean, we're already busy anyway, the house is getting mass cleaned to put on a front that this is what it always looks like, and well Eric is leaving in a few weeks so we thought that was a good-enough reason.  :)  We are trying to think happy thoughts, so we won't go into that right now.

My birthday in September was awesome.  Eric and I went to a Celine Dion concert.  I let the kids do my cake, so Morgan took that task on right away.  I loved my gifts and really can't explain the childish glee I get when I wind up the little clock that reminds me of the days at my Grandma and Grandpa Robinson's house when we were little.  Target sells remakes of old toys that are just the best!  

Katie and Morgan had a party the same day, back to back.  It was fun craziness that felt like 4 hours were condensed into 30 minutes.  I only regret not getting better pictures of the cakes, but you get an idea.  We rented a big bouncy house this year and that was well worth the money.

The next week we moved right on to Christmas.  What a fun morning with just the kids, Eric and I.  While it was a rushed weekend, it was much more simple than the full Christmas.  It was special to really enjoy our time together and soak up as much love from each other as possible.  It's been funny though because we have our tree up.  It's normal to me now but when people come over and see the decorated tree, the look on their face is priceless!  I actually feel a wave of relief that I have a big head start on my Christmas decorations.  Not to mention we have cooked, somewhat eaten, deboned, and froze our leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  This will definitely be a year to remember.

So next post when you see my kids dressed up in Halloween costumes in front of the Christmas tree enjoying Joey's Birthday cake, you'll know why.

A day with Margaret "The Perfect Picture"

For our church monthly Chocolate Chick Group my friend Margaret hosted this fun girl's day called "The Perfect Picture" so we could share our photo albums with each other, and also to chronicle our love for Chocolate through these pictures.  It was so fun to learn more about her and all the wonderful things she has done in her life so far.   What an outgoing person she is who loves to get out and do things.   

There is something special that happens when women get together.  We share experiences and stories that bond us together, making connections that is so important for our need to feel connected.  At least that is how I feel about it!  So what better way than to enjoy some really good treats while we talk!  

Angela and I drove up to Margaret's house, which was only a 15 minute drive North of the church.  We are all CRAZY about chocolate and try to sample it whenever we can. :)

I wish I had pictures of all the Chocolate Chick Groups we've had up to this point, but at least I can try to remember them by journaling them and trying from now on.  I hope to include more pictures in the future.  

Insane for McCain!!!

So who knew John McCain was going to have such a huge, surprising, such talked about convention right here in DAYTON, OHIO??!!! We didn't know how big this was until it happened. First, I have to start from the beginning. Eric had mentioned us going to it and asked if I wanted to go. I hummed and avoided answering, knowing it would require me to get a babysitter and arrange a day to be at a political event I wasn't sure would be worth it. I know, complain complain. Well Eric had flown to Georgia for a conference, and when he came home, he was the most focused person on this Earth to go pick up his tickets before the office closed that day. To me, it was impossible that he would make it, and we thought he missed his chance. Well later that evening he came home with 2 tickets he got from another office. SO, The next day, we hurry out to the convention. Joey went with us (camera got left at home :( we were sitting to the left of the band ) and we got in our seats just after 9am. Well, after an hour of preparations and prespeakers from local offices, we finally get to hear the announcement that John McCain is here. We wait, the band plays a song, and another song, and another. Finally, someone comes up to announce he is stuck in traffic. I laughed thinking it was a joke. No. We waited some more. Well at last, he comes out with his wonderful family and the cheering and flag waving fills the stadium. It was amazing how much we all support him. So I'll cut to the end though where he announces his running mate and vice president choice, Sarah Palin from ALASKA!!! We went crazy! She is so young, and has a baby, and as pointed out by several men we overheard, she is even pretty! I guess that matters quite a bit. :) What a shock, and how fun it was for us to hear her speak to everyone, but that day, in the Nutter Center Stadium, she was speaking to us. What an experience we will never forget. I'll be voting for the first time this year. I'm embaressed to admit that, but oh well, if it makes anyone else feel better because you haven't either, now you know you're not the only one. I see our politicians as regular people, like you and me, who are doing amazing things for our country. Hopefully for the betterment of it though. Hopefully we'll get a chance to see how Gov. Palin will clean house in our nation's capital as VICE PRESIDENT!

Joey's Medical Update

In June Joey went to Children's Hospital to do his yearly tests, measuring his kidney size and amount of reflux. He looked so cute in the little gown I had to snap a picture, even though it wasn't the funnest appt for him. The Drs are so nice and we're happy to live only 10 minutes from this hospital. He always goes away with cool stickers and toys, like his indoor/outdoor sunglasses. Anyway, after finding his right kidney is still quite large, the Dr recommended performing his surgery on Sept 8th to reimplant the tubes that are allowing backflow into the kidneys. It should completely fix the problem if all goes well, allowing him to not require his daily dose of antibiotics.


What gives me comfort is that Joey is young enough that I don't think he'll remember the surgery. That and we will be praying for him and giving him anything to make him comfortable. He is a healthy and very active 3-year-old and I am thankful we have wonderful Drs who can perform these miraculous surgeries that help us. Keep him in your prayers if you could!

Lots to do in Dayton

We got to go see a Dayton Dragons baseball game and LOVED it!  I really enjoyed sitting on the lawn!  No restrictions to a seat or bothering people around us with our pom poms.  The kids got to walk around and bit and we made sure to load up on food and ice cream, and of course we wore it too.  They had a kids area where you can buy a ticket for your child to hop in a bouncy room or a big maze.  The Dragons played well and won!  We took Eric's sister, KRISTYNE RUDOLPH, bowling on the Wright Patterson lanes.  It takes forever for our family to get through a game, so by the second one we're spent and the staff is announcing they are closing in 15 minutes.  

If you haven't been to Rollandia/Magic Castle off of the Wilmington Pike exit of I675, it is worth a trip.  They have an arcade with tons of fun games, a soft-playground for kids and parents, a batting cage, mini golf, water war area, and it's next to a larger golf course for the more serious players.  It's worth looking for coupons or becoming a VIP card-holder since the money seems to run out quickly; as always.  

A Summer in Utah

So I am still needing to play around with this Blog enough to know how to fix pictures and add links, but I hope I keep up with this as a way to keep in touch with friends and family.  This summer flew by since we stayed a month with my Mom and Dad in Utah.  The cousins got to play a lot and the tree was the hang out for the kids that were tall enough to get up in it's branches.  Samantha and Morgan volunteered to paint all the kids faces for the 4th of July and Finn's belly was included in the artwork.  The fire works were a BLAST and were sorry Mom and Dad Hardy couldn't stay and see it.  However, we are all glad they were with the Edwards in California to help Leslee and the family through her surgery.  So, while I can't include everything we did, this is a few shots of our fun time there.  

Is it really this easy??

So it took me like 1 minute to actually sign up for this blog. I spent all evening thinking of a name and when I finally decided-Ta da!-it's there! This is so fun, and I know I'll have to figure out how to do all the cute and fun things that will give me a way to avoid cleaning my house. BUT, I did take away some motivation from my friend's blog when she said she is enjoying her clean house now that she's moving. Thanks Deena, it's funny how we forget those things quickly.

Here are some pictures from Carriage Hill down at the creek during Spring Break. The kids can play for hours in the water. On this particular day when we were leaving we happened to notice that a cow was giving birth! It was amazing! We stayed for a while hoping to see this amazing event, but had to leave at 6:30 or so when the kids were hungry and hot. They were not happy that the penny-candy store was closed. So we're planning to go back this week to see the new calf and buy candy we don't really need but it's fun. :)

Now my Spring Break is starting. Back to my cleaning routines and making progress while the kids are at school.