24 Hours Without the Kids!

We had a 30th Birthday party to go to on Friday night, so we asked David's mom to watch the kids. She offered to keep them for most of the day on Saturday as well. We had a great time at the party- most of David's friends don't have kids, and quite a few aren't even married yet! So, needless to say, they are still crazy party animals. I did quite well at not being too intoxicated. I get nasty hangovers that last the whole next day, so I kept myself fairly under control.

Normally when we have free time, we spend the day working on the never-ending to do list that comes with being home-owners. Not this time! At the party, we made plans to meet up the next day (Saturday) and spend the day at Farwell lake. First, we slept in- until about 8:30, yes, that's right for those of you without children, sleeping in means 8:30. Then we went out for breakfast, stopped at some garage sales and went home to change.

We got to the lake at 11:30 and spent 5 wonderful hours in the sun. I haven't spent 5 consecutive hours in the sun since I've had kids, and why I thought I wouldn't burn is beyond me. I hurt bad. I didn't put a lick of sunscreen on.

There is a sandbar at the lake that people anchor the boats on, and spend the day swimming, drinking, and well, partying. I felt like I was back at college. We played frisbee, read People magazines, swam, ate munchies, and RELAXED!!!

This is what people do who don't have kids yet! They still party like they are 21 year olds!

It was fun to be a little wild and crazy. A break from the same old routine. It was nice to miss the kids and have a taste of freedom, lol.

Goodies at the Garage Sale

I've never been much into garage sales. I've been to a few, and I always feel weird walking up to someones house and looking at their stuff. Most of it was junk anyway, and then I feel like I have wasted my time.

My sister and I have had 3 garage sales. One at her old house in Dearborn, one in Concord, and one in Kalamazoo. They are a lot of work. Especially since I've had to haul my stuff to a different location each time. I like the sale day though, because it feels like I have my own store. I love to watch the different people that show up and see what they choose to buy. The most recent one we had in Kalamazoo, it rained for most of the morning and we only had the sale for 1 day. I only made $130.00 dollars and I had a van full of stuff to bring home.

Some other houses in my sisters neighborhood had some sales, and when it was slow, I wandered over to them. I scored this mirror for $7.00 bucks!

I've always loved painting old furniture, so when I found this dresser in my dad's office, I hauled it home and went to work.
And here it is after.

So, I got this idea, that this summer I would find some cheap furniture at garage sales, paint it and sell it. I need a hobby and I need some money. I can work on the furniture in the garage while the kids play, or at night after they are in bed.

This past weekend, my mom and I headed to Grass Lake for the community garage sale to find some furniture. I've only been to Grass Lake one other time, so we didn't know exactly where to go. We drove around stopping at the ones we saw. I didn't find much furniture which was a bummer, but I did find some other goodies. Like this:

It's a castle and tunnel from Ikea, that I scored for $10.00. I also got a Richard Scarry book for .75 cents, two soccer goal nets for .50 cents, and this cute plate for .50 cents.

It's all luck in what you find, and you have to be fast. There were a ton of people looking for treasures to buy. I was trying to decide if I should buy this beautiful antique trunk that was only $20.00 and before I had a chance to buy it, it was gone. They only bad part about garage sales are you come home with more stuff. I spent the last couple weeks going through my junk and getting rid of stuff, only to haul more back in. But it is so cheap, you can't pass it up, and you never know what you are going to find! That is the best part. And when I go to sell this stuff again, I won't care that I only sold it for a quarter, because I only paid fifty cents anyway!

What are some garage sale goodies you have found?

The Bikes and the Garage Sale

Last October, I bought some "gently" used, rusty bikes from craigslist. Not the best, but they worked. For Tylers "potty present" I picked up a bike for him at Meijers. He adores it, and rides it every day.

Originally, I was looking for a bike trailer thing for Tyler to ride in, but he wants to be just like Jake, and I was afraid he would get bored, plus he needs some exercise too! So, now we are all set for summer riding on the bike trail. We took the boys for the first time a few weeks ago, and they loved it. We saw lots of deer and Tyler rode 2 miles!

Last week, David and I had a "date night" and we hit the trail again and rode for 6 miles. It was nice to break away from the dinner and a movie routine for dates. Not that we go on that many anyway, but we had a nice time being able to talk. Or complain. Both times we went on the trail, David b*tched about his bike, and how it doesn't shift, or the seat, or the suspension.....blah,blah. I was getting ready to have a garage sale with my sister the following weekend in Kalamazoo, so David suggested I sell the bikes and we would get new ones. BIG MISTAKE. How did I let him talk me into it? Maybe it was so I wouldn't have to listen to him complain everytime we took a bike ride.

So anyway, he loaded both bikes on top of the van and sort of tied them on with rope. (The garage sale requires it's own separate post). So, I drive the hour to Kalamazoo, down I-94, hoping the bikes don't come off the top of the van. Getting them off the van when I arrived at my sisters was FUN too. So on garage sale day, I'm out scrubbing the rusty bikes with SOS pads hoping someone will buy them so I don't have to tie them to the roof again. A woman offers me 15.00 a bike and they are sold!

Now, we have no bikes, and I'm out 20.00 bucks, because I paid 25.00 and sold them for 15. Do we have $200.00 dollars a piece for new bikes? No. If I had $400.00 would I go buy new bikes? No. I have a looong list of things I would much rather spend $400.00 dollars on, and at the top is a Dyson vacuum.

So much for riding the bike trail this summer.

Best Birthday, Ever!!!

Jake kept saying this to me today, which melted my heart, and made me laugh at the same time. Considering he's only had 4 to choose from, none of which he can remember. He woke up at 6:30 ready to dive into those presents. I diverted him for awhile with The Cars movie while I drank my coffee and read blogs, my morning ritual. Then I jumped in the shower and fed the boys breakfast. Now we were ready for presents and it was only 8:00am. Hello long day!! I can tell from the pictures I took which presents were his favorites and it was obvious this was a winner.
It is a Star Wars gun he's been saving his allowance for. He also got a soccer ball, Leapster Tag, 3 Automoblox mini's, a Eco-truck loader, and some Legos I ordered from E-Bay which I am disappointed in. I was hoping to get some fun pieces for him to built airplanes and race cars without having directions. I didn't want a kit, or a basic set. The E-bay description said various 100 piece airplane pieces, and 100 piece racecar pieces. Well, Legos are tiny and 100 pieces to amount to much, especially the random stuff this dude sent me. Waste of money!!

By 9:00, we didn't have much to do. I was trying to spent time with Jake, but I couldn't stand the messy house. I started playing around with his Leapster Tag which required downloading crap on the computer. Of course, it didn't work correctly, which pisses me off because we just bought our computer a few months ago. In the meantime, the phone is ringing off the hook with people wishing Jake a Happy Birthday and then I've got Tyler saying "help me, Momma" every 2 seconds. He is a needy child. Everytime I turn around he's asking me for something.

So, at 10:00 I'm having an anxiety attack. I've got Geoffrey the giraffe on the phone, Tyler needing his behind wiped, and a messy house. I started getting frustrated with the kids, and Jake starts saying "bad Birthday". That made me feel even worse.

Thankfully I had to feed the kids lunch early, and be out the door by 11:30 so we could meet Jessy and Harrison for putt-putt. I just needed to get out of the house, and hang out with a friend. Things were a lot better then. The boys had fun running around and they burned off some energy at the park chasing around a model airplane some guy was out flying at the park.

When we got home, Ty napped and Grandma Dar brought the best present ever. Thanks for the idea, Jessy! It is the Fisher Price Turbo Blaster squirt gun. It is the coolest idea ever. A little pricey, but worth the cost. I've been on the market for outdoor toys the boys could play together and this was just the thing.

I let Jake request dinner, which was Tacos. Last year he requested meatloaf and baked potatoes with chives. I like this tradition, it is fun to see what his favorite meal is each year.

For his dessert, I made cupcakes. I'm saving his birthday cake for his party on Sunday.

If anyone is still reading at this point, refill your coffee beacause this is a long post.

After dinner, David went outside with the boys to try out the squirt guns-even though it was freakin cold. The boys had a ball. David plays with the kids so much better than I do. Must be the maturity level. It was so fun to watch them play. Tyler was hilarious. He kept making this funny face.

Although it's sad to see my little guy grow up, having a five year old is so much easier and fun than a toddler. Jake can actually help with things and is a lot more apprecative. I was so impressed with his manners today. Telling everyone thank-you and telling me how much he liked everything. He is self-sufficent- doesn't need bathroom help, can buckle himself in the car, gets his own snacks, doesn't need naps, gets dressed by himself. It's fun to take him places and see him learn. He's almost like a mini adult at times which is weird. I love hanging out with him, and I am sad to see him grow up, because that means school in the fall.

Happy Birthday, Jake!