LG

The Messes

This is the mess that the kids made this morning
while I was half asleep on the couch.

It didn’t phase me at all.
I have seen hundreds if not thousands exactly like this.

The funny twist today is this:

My husband came home for a quick lunck break this afternoon; he walked in on me when I was loudly persuading (alright…maybe, yelling)Abigail and Sophia to pick up the mess. You see, we have a problem at our house; probably the same problem in most households with children. The problem: my kids love to MAKE the MESS, but the absoultely loathe cleaning them up.

Well, we decided to try something new. We gave them a half hour to pick up the mess. We told them if they cleaned it up they would get 50 cents [that is the reason I needed that 50 cents from Wendy’s so bad…(read on if you don’t get it)] and if they didn’t, we would put their toys in a trashbag and they couldn’t have them for a whole week.

Well, you can guess how that turned out….yes, I will be the one tortured all week as they beg for their toys. LG says it will be better for me in the long run. Why is it that children can punish their mothers more than their fathers?

Nightgowns

Abigail, Bella, and Sophia
Sophia is wearing one of her new nightgowns

All little girls love nightgowns. Why didn’t I know this before I bought so many pairs of cotton pants and tops? Between my three daughters, we probably own 50 pairs of pajamas. [25 are being stored waiting for someone to fit into them] I rotate according to size and yes, the poor younger two get mostly hand-be-downs.

Well, about two months ago Sophia decided that she would wear nothing to bed but the one nightgown that she owned. After about three weeks of “Mommy torture”. Sophia would beg for her nightgown every night. I would explain it was dirty. It would have to be washed sometime. Sophia would cry and cry and sometimes throw temper tantrums (she is 3). I would try and convince her to wear one of dad’s cool T-shirts or her pretty p’j’s with the flowers or, better yet, her new ones from Christmas. Usually, nothing would work.

After dad witnessed this enough times, he gave me permission to buy her another nightgown. I was elated. We went to Wal-Mart that day to see what we could find. I tried to sell Sophia on the $5 after -Chrismas-specials, but she wanted nothing but the pretty Princess and the Pauper one. I told her that she could have the P&P nightgown or 2 TWO 2 of the other ones that were on sale. She only wanted the P&P. So, I let her get it. Well, now Abigail was jealous and she wanted a P&P. I caved and let her have one of the $5 deals, thinking I was pretty nice, since she already had three nightgowns at home and we weren’t even shopping for her.

Well, on with the saga, that night, Abigail starts having a coniption fit because she doesn’t have the nightgown. We sat her down and explained that she was lucky to have a new nightgown at all and that it was Sophia’s turn to have something new. We can’t afford to buy all the girls a nightgown. [this may sound mean, but trust me when I say that our girls have plenty]. We told Abigail that she could do extra chores around the house and buy herself a nightgown. Did she ever pick up one toy, NO! And to this day, I am still reminding her that if she will pick up some toys she could get a nightgown.

The saga continues….LG has been encouraging me for quite some time to become familiar with E-bay. He wants us to start a business there. I thought that this was a perfect oppportunity. I bought Sophia a few more gowns, and when they started coming in the mail, Abigail was crushed. Then I bought Abigail a few and when they were delivered Sophia was crushed. Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I think that kids will be kids.

When it comes to nightgowns….we just can’t WIN!

The Fireworks Display

This is the thermostat that sparked
like a fireworks display.

Alright, so you know how we are remodling our bathroom. Well, last night, I took a shower after getting my haircut. Then LG got in. While he was in the shower, I decided to tackle this old heating thermostat. NOT A GOOD IDEA. I figured it was all disconnected…who knows how long it has been since it has been used…..I was wrong. I got a pretty good scare, but it was quite entertaining to see LG jump out of the shower. We pulled some fuses out of our ancient fuse box and we think it isn’t getting any power for now. Cross your fingers, not your wires.

The Pink Tile

The shower and removing the wallpaper

Ever since we have moved into this house, we have affectionately called the bathroom that we are remodeling, the Barbie Bathroom. Our three daughters prefer this bathroom. Of course, it is so feminine. It also stays a whole lot warmer than the other bathroom.

Now, the only thing that remains of Barbie, is the shower tile. We have even removed the whole top layer of the pink flowered wallpaper.

We have decided to leave the pink shower tile for just a little while, as to not place too much change on the girls all at once, and because we can’t afford another project right now.

The Love of My Life

Dollywood’s newest roller coaster
left to right: logan, tyler, jordan, & LG

This is a great pic. of LG. I thought that I better put a picture of him up here because I haven’t yet. Isn’t he so cute? I love his smile and I love this picture because you can tell that he really is having the time of his life…..having any kind of fun is a considerable accomplishment when you are in law school with a wife and three kids. This was taken at one of the best attractions in East TN, Dollywood.

LG took this picture at Christmastime ’04. In the back are his brothers. Logan and Jordan, and our brother-in-law, Tyler, he is a pilot in the AirForce; he flies the F-16 (cool huh?)…Tyler also clogs like you can’t believe, even though he is from Utah. I don’t think that his airforce buddies know about his clogging talent. Flying an F-16 is probably the more amazing talent of the two…depending on who you talk to, I guess.

Well, if I can get my stupid digital camera to download to my PC, I have some more jewels for you later.

News through IM

He’s in!

lgee_97: hey

lgee_97: I’m in class

alice_goldenchild: hi…we got a letter from the mba program. would you like me to open it now

lgee_97: yeah

alice_goldenchild: it isn’t big, but kind of thick

lgee_97: open it

alice_goldenchild: so far, a leather UT MBA coaster…..looking promising

alice_goldenchild: first word…..CONGRATULATIONS!

lgee_97: cool

alice_goldenchild: in hand writing at the bottom….CONGRATS LEGRAND…SEE YOU HERE NEXT FALL DONNA

alice_goldenchild: I am SO PROUD OF YOU

lgee_97: she’s who I interviewed with

lgee_97: Donna

lgee_97: yeah, yeah

alice_goldenchild: what a relief…i thought that you would bottom out, if you didn’t make it

alice_goldenchild: really…that is awesome…other peopel can’t even get in and you got in while attending law school

alice_goldenchild: i have to take credit for my essays though

alice_goldenchild: did you tell jeremy already

lgee_97: yes you do

lgee_97: he’s not in this class

alice_goldenchild: YOu have to go

alice_goldenchild: I want you to

alice_goldenchild: so, you could still IM

lgee_97: we’ll talk about it

alice_goldenchild: alright..i am blogging about penelope…check it out in a few

lgee_97: he’s not online right now

alice_goldenchild: did you know that the perkins paid $750 for their wills to be written

alice_goldenchild: man, we could have made some money

alice_goldenchild: I LOVE YOU>>>>>>CONGRATS HON>>>>NO one deserves it more

lgee_97: thanks

alice_goldenchild: news over IM….this could be an entry on my blog i should cut and paste

alice_goldenchild: except I would have to take out the part about ….. (which I did)

lgee_97: you’re so funny

alice_goldenchild: i’m going to do it

Open mouth, insert Penelope

Who names their daughter Penelope?

Shortly after my husband and I were married, he was fortunate to get a glimpse at the excitement that he would have the rest of his life…and I am not talking about the honeymoon. I am talking about a most entertaining encounter we had with a few old guy friends of mine.

We went into an ice-cream joint with my brother and his wife. As we were about to sit down, I spotted these three friends of mine. They were sitting at the table with another guy that I didn’t know and his wife and baby. She was just a few months old. Now, for the background, you have to know that these guys were the biggest jokesters…..i like hanging out with people of my own kind.

I introduced my husband, they introduced their friend, his wife, and then one of them said, “And this is their daughter, Penelope.” I instantly started cracking up, thinking that they had come up with a pretty good joke on the spot. I said, “Yeah right, who would name their daughter Penelope.” The joke was on me; her name really was Penelope. Poor LG, he could have died right there on the spot.