"Just a mom"

a couple of years ago at my parents house, we started talking about how we define ourselves. I believe it was my brother-in-law William that called me "just a mom" in front of my mom. Well needless to say my mom who was a Stay-at-home mom didn't like the term "just a mom" because moms "do it all" in her mind. They clean, cook, take care of the children and their husband all while taking care of themselves right. Well I personally have no problem telling people I'm "just a mom" because in today's society being a mom is recongnized as a BIG job.

I guess today I'm feeling rather good about being a mom because my children are actually behaving and being fun to be around. They are almost always fun to be around but I got my main living area clean so I'm able to enjoy them better. It helped that Phil took both kids to Home Depot for 2 hours so I could get the house cleaned.

My point in writing today was to tell you more about what the kids are up to. Erik is enjoying pre-school. He is a little behind (according to his teacher) so we are practicing things at home like cutting, coloring and writing letters. I am guessing by next Spring he will be about par with the rest of his class. He can't wait for Halloween. He doesn't understand the true meaning of Halloween so it is fun to listen to him talk about dressing up and going trick or treating. I got his costume out tonight to let him play with it and the look on his face was so awesome. It's like he had never seen it before.
I felt bad for him, he split his lip open this afternoon outside. Phil was washing the windows (yes, I know I'm keepin' him), anyway Erik had just said "I love outside, it's my best" which is his way of saying his favorite thing to do, well then he slipped off a rock and went face first into a ceramic planter. Luckily he is ok although he milked the situation so he could watch scooby doo.

Sarah is doing good. She is 8 months old and starting to think about crawling. We don't put her on her tummy enough because she is happier sitting up, but we are starting to lay her down more. I think in her head she understands but can't get her body to listen. She wiggles but only goes backwards. It's quite cute but she gets mad when she can't reach whatever we put in front of her. She also discovered a new friend. That is, her reflection in the window at night. She waves to her new friend and talks to her and it's amazing, her friend has a mommy that looks just like hers! I don't think she realizes the baby is her. I love watching another human being discover what most all of us take for granted.
If you have children and grandchildren please don't take them for granted. They will show you amazing things about life if you let them, no matter how young or old they are! Remember they lived a completly different life than you did. Let them teach you as much as you teach them.

We have a new house!

Ok, we don't actually have a new house but we do have a new roof and a new paint job on the outside of our house. We have been putting off the roof for a few years. Partly because so many people told us to wait (because it wasn't that bad) and also because of money and not wanting to do it period. After a couple years of a leak in the laundry room and then the main bathroom, we decided to paint the house then do the roof. We started the process of painting the house in August when it was warm, because that is when you are SUPPOSE to paint a house. Well long story short, we took a break from that in the middle of September because that is when our parents were able to come help with the roof. We thought we'd be done with the painting by then but we were not even close. So before my parents and Phil's dad came we (phil and I and thankfully some friends) tore off the old roof. My parents showed up and the next day Phil's dad came. Phil unfortuantly had to work 10-12 hour days at the Dam so he wasn't able to help us except in the evenings. I didn't think we would get it done in a week (which is how long we had the help) but with 3 of us on the roof (Two dads and me) we were able to get it done about 3 hours before the rainstorm hit. It was hard work but fun. I ran the nailing gun and also helped tear off old boards.
We did have 3 people fall through the roof as we were taking off the old boards. Phil almost landed on the refrigerator. I fell in up to my waist and our 76 year old neighbor fell in up to his thigh. Yeah, I was a little worried about that one.
So, after 1 1/2 weeks after tearing off the 1st shingle, we have a brand new roof.
So does that mean we can stop and breath. Nooooo. We have to paint the house now. So after hours of Phil sanding and scraping we were ready for paint (almost). We decided to at a little texture to the house by doing what is called batton on board. We added verticle boards to the siding. It took us 4 hours to prime because of this and 1 hour to paint the entire house. (Thanks to aunt lisa for the use of your paint sprayer).
So I think I've gone on long enough. I will try to update more often. It's hard with the two kids and a house with a million and one projects.