totally justified

The person who was attacked by a shark off of Maui last week just passed away.  I feel totally justified in not going snorkeling. 

Far too long again!

Alright, once again it has been far too long since I have blogged.  Here's what's happened . . .

• I got married on August 1.
• We went to Hawaii for our honeymoon and our trip happened to coincide with Shark Week.  This led to my decision to NOT go snorkeling.  Come to find out, shortly after we were there, a snorkeler had his arm bitten off about an hour from where we were staying.  Call it silly paranoia or the still, small voice . . . all I know is I still have all my limbs.
• The day we got back from Hawaii, the kids arrived home from the fair with three rabbits.  Their names have changed about 50 times since the day we got them, but I believe they are called Oreo, Sherbet and Stormy.  Or something like that.  All I know is if Oreo/Wild Thing escapes and has to be chased down one more time, we're having rabbit stew for dinner.  I have no problem with the other two and as they are all boys, we will probably be getting some females so they can breed like rabbits.
• Fixing up the house is moving right along.  My goal is to have it ready in the next week and a half so the kids can move in before school starts on September 4.  Here's what's left to do:
• Come up with flooring for our bedroom.  (This can wait.)
• Put the french doors back up that go into our bedroom so that people don't immediately see where the magic happens when they walk in the front door. 
• Paint the ceiling in the living room.  (This can wait.)
• Finish the trim in the kitchen.
• Finish painting the kitchen cabinet doors.
• Come up with flooring for the hallway and babies' room.  (This can wait.  We'll get some throw rugs.)
• Paint the ceiling in the babies' room and kitchen.  (This can wait.)
• Paint the laundry room.
• The bathroom is still a shiz-hole.  Too much to do in here to list.
• Decide what to do about the floors in the basement.  We pulled up the disgusting carpeting and pads and now it's just a cement floor. 
• Sanitize and paint the downstairs.
• Finish unpacking.
• Hook up the internet and tv.  (This cannot wait!)
• My mother-in-law's job ends today, so she'll be able to help me get things whipped into shape.  
• Things are going well with the kids.  When we got back from our honeymoon, they all immediately started calling me mom.  Do all kids preface everything they say with Mom?  "Mom, watch this."  "Mom, did you see that?"  "Mom, can I have a drink?"  "Mom, I have to go to the bathroom."  "Mom, Mom, Mom!"  They did it before too with my actual name, but I guess since I'm not used to being called Mom yet, it's more noticeable.  Stop saying my name and just speak, child!
• Tyler's parent's dog is preggers, so we'll be getting a puppy soon.  I'm also stealing one of their cats, who also happens to be pregnant.  Plus, since I didn't want a puppy, we're still going to get a nice, housebroken dog from the shelter.  Add in the rabbits and their inevitable babies, and we're well on our way to having a farm.  I don't know when we'll get the chickens-we need to fix up the hen house first.
• When I started out with these kids, I wanted them to watch as little tv as possible.  Now I have realized the value of tv and movies.  I choose carefully what they watch, though.  Meaning, they are only allowed to watch what I also want to watch.  I've introduced them to all sorts of stuff from my childhood . . . The Neverending Story, The Princess Bride, Faerie Tale Theater, The Gnome Mobile, etc.  
• I have started sneaking vegetables into their food.  I made meatloaf the other night and added pureed bell peppers to it.  I also added finely chopped cauliflower to their stroganoff.  This seems to be the only way to get them to eat something other than just corn.  Speaking of which, changing corn-filled diapers is nasty.