Wordless Wednesday

Well, it's a bittersweet Wordless Wednesday here in Drosche Land.  Why, you ask?  Well, As you might recall I participated in the Sunday Snapshot (seen here) on Sunday that relates to and links to our absolute favorite blog (again other than our own!).  I really enjoyed this and honestly see no reason to do 2 separate picture posts a week.  I mean honestly, things get busy here and it can often be difficult to find a new picture just once, much less twice.  So I have, after much thought, decided to stop Wordless Wednesday and continue on with the Sunday Snapshot.  It's really just a shift in the way we do things.  The same idea, only on a different day and linked to a fabulous blog.  Plus, Sundays gives me the weekend to take, find, organize, and have fun with pictures for the Sunday Snapshot, something I do not have the time to do during the middle of the week.  So, with the pictures below from Jack's birthday sleepover (there were just so many fun ones they are spilling over into 2 week's worth of phot posts!) I bid a fond farwell to Wordless Wednesday.  It was fun, but let's face it, as the length of this post shows, I am clearly not gifted at the "wordless" portion of said post.  Sunday Snapshot is far more up my alley!  Enjoy and I'll have more pictures on Sunday!

All is well, goodbye to Wordless Wednesdays, in Drosche Land.

All the cousins ready for the sleepover!

Jack cuddling with his panda named Kung Foo.  He got him from Build-A-Bear and he growls.  If that's not Jack I don't know what is!

 At the zoo Braeden surprisingly enjoyed the reptile house, I honestly would not have picked him for a fan of this place but he was excited to point out all the snakes and lizards!

Creative Cramming

My name is Dusty and I am a pack rat (Hi Dusty).  Yes, it's true.  I have trouble getting rid of things.  Magazines.  The kids' art work/school work.  Pens.  Miscellaneous things.  It's a sickness I know, but it's ok because I can admit it.  Right?  In all honesty I have gotten better about this (stop laughing Amy).  I'm hoping that this new adventure of moving will kick my rehab into high gear.  We'll see.  

Yesterday we began working on the back yard.  We are by no means finished, but we are getting somewhere.  Today, we began what I refer to as creative cramming.  You know what I mean.  Finding a temporary place to hide something.  It could be something that you normally keep out but suddenly need to put away to de-clutter (toaster), something that doesn't have a specific place so you just keep it out (the kid's money jars), or just something that you use so frequently that it's just easiest to have it out and handy (too many pens).  Regardless of what it is or why it's out, apparently it has no place within eyesight when you are selling your house.  Which brought to my mind an interesting thought.  People buy a house so they have a place to put all of their things.  Once you get it you spend forever and a day finding a place for everything and keeping it looking tidy.  However, when you go to sell or buy a house no one wants any of said stuff out, better to pretend it doesn't exist.  Ironic huh?  On a side note I love me some Alanis Morissette and now that song will be stuck in my head (and maybe yours too?).  Anyways, I digress.

So this evening we began on the kitchen.  Putting things away where they never have been, but now are.  Clearing off the counters so that our already large amount of counter space now seems vast.  However, the best part has to be Braeden's reaction to it all.  See, during all of this cramming, er cleaning, the boys were in the back yard playing (thank you beautiful weather!).  One of the things we cleaned was the refrigerator.  Off came the assorted magnets, art work, doctor's appointment reminders, prescriptions, pictures, etc.  It now sits naked, reflecting everything and everyone.  Anyway, Braeden comes in and stops dead in his tracks.  Eyes wide he exclaims, "Wow!  We got a new refrigerator?!"  HA!  So, you know you fridge is cluttered when your children don't recognize it once the clutter is removed.  Mind you, we've had this fridge now for 3 years (paid off in November, thanks Dave!).  Ahhhh, out of the mouths of babes huh?

So, the kitchen now is bare, or is it just clean?  I guess depends on your outlook.  All I know is that it (hopefully) is ready to meet the realtor on Sunday.  That and I can now use it as a mirror in the mornings on my way out the door.  Tomorrow who knows what we will clean, organize, de-clutter, or otherwise alter.  So far this new adventure hasn't been too bad, but then again we aren't too far into it yet.  I guess for now I will just continue to find hiding/storage places for our belongings and enjoy the easy start to this adventure.

All is well, hidden in drawers, cabinets, and elsewhere, in Drosche Land.   

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, But Not in Drosche Land

So, the first step in our moving adventure was to contact the bank.  Check.  The next step was to contact a realtor and begin the process of listing the house.  Check.  Sort of.  Last night Amy and I decided to go the route of using Dave Ramsey's ELP program in order to find one.  We figured since we have had such great success with his program and the fact that we are able to even consider moving right now is largely due to his program (and Amy's super gazelle intensity) we would throw him some props and business.  So I visited his website and 10 minutes later we received our first phone call!  Flash forward to today, a couple of calls and emails later and we have our first meeting with a realtor this Sunday!

That excitement was short-lived however once we realized everything we would have to do to get the house ready for the real estate agent, not to mention what he would recommend we do to ready it for listing!  So the list-making began!  I love me a good list, but this is one that (although exciting) is quite daunting!  Tonight the work began with the back yard.  Namely mowing and cleaning up.  I am sad to report though, our beloved nectarine tree, first mentioned here, is gone.  It was doing so well this past spring, but didn't survive throughout the summer.  I'm not sure what happened, heat, a bad wind storm that resulted in its slanting, or just bad luck, but it is now no longer part of our yard.  I mean, who wants to buy a house with a huge nectarine stick "growing" in the back yard?  Yeah, that's what we thought too.  Oh well.  We will revisit the fruit tree experience in the new house.  I have to give credit where credit is due on this one though.  Amy was the one who removed said tree from the yard and she is also the one who knew it was dead long before I was willing to admit that sad fact.  I just kept hoping it would spring leaves and blossoms again.  Today I was proved wrong.  Nope, just a giant dead stick.  On a side note the lemon tree is doing quite well and we have 3 big, although still green, lemons on it!  Sadly though my little lemon tree will most likely stay with the house to provide its future owners with citrus as I'm nearly positive that trying to transplant it again will bring it to a fate similar to that of the nectarine tree.

Thus begins our work.  Although tonight we were able to cross one thing off of our list.  So that's something positive.  This week, and especially Saturday, will be filled with frantic cleaning, rearranging, de-cluttering, and otherwise fixing up.  Hopefully our work will pay off and Mr. Realtor will give us positive feedback!

All is well, with one less tree, in Drosche Land.

Sunday Snapshot

Well, I'm trying something new here this week.  An idea courtesy of our favorite blog here in Drosche Land (outside of our own of course).  One we've found amazing, inspiring, and wonderful.  This picture, played with of course by yours truly, is my favorite from this weekend's trip to the zoo.  My Jack, and it sums him up perfectly.  Definitely a keeper!  Enjoy!

All is well, trying new things, in Drosche Land.

Babies? What Babies?

So today was Jack's 3rd birthday.  I believe I've mentioned it a few times huh?  Well, this is the rare occasion that I am posting more than once in a day.  I just can't get over the fact that he is 3.  No more babies, just kids here in Drosche Land.  Don't even try to call him "Baby" either, as a term of endearment or not.  He will firmly tell you he is a "big boy", and rightfully so.  

It is sad to watch him grow up, but happy at the same time.  Braeden has been the big brother for so long that it seems as though he was never a baby.  But my Jack-Jack, that's another story.  This is the little one that I would fall asleep with in the recliner after his middle of the night bottle.  The one that perfected his "mad face" before he could walk.  The one that has spent the last 3 years trying to convince the rest of us that he is in charge here!  My baby that I woke up with every night for what seems like forever to give him a bottle, get him his binky, cover him up, or whatever else he beckoned to me for.  Yes, he has me wrapped around his little finger.  One sly look and he knows he has won me over.  One smile to momentarily mask the underlying naughtiness!  That ever-present twinkle of mischievousness in the eyes.  All still there, as it has been from the very beginning, only now older.  The face of a kid, not a baby.  

We have lots of different ways to refer to him.  Jack-Jack, Jack, Jackson, special, independent, strong-willed, sneaky, goofy, a ham, and handful.  The list goes on.  Now we have one more description - big boy.  :)  :(  

All is well, and baby-less, in Drosche Land.

  My Birthday Boy, with his special sly grin!

Strength in Numbers

So, this has been a big weekend here in Drosche Land.  Today is Jack's birthday!  I can't believe that he is already 3!  With this birthday it has become official, we have no more babies.  I'm not quite sure how I feel about this sudden realization.  On one hand I am happy because they are growing, changing, and developing so much it is fascinating to watch them.  Yet, on the other hand I miss them needing me so much and being so little.  Independence is a double-edged sword I guess.  Such is the life of a parent I guess.  But now I've once again gone off on a tangent, this was not the original intention of this post, as is evident by the title.  But then I guess you are used to that with me huh?  Anyways, on to the planned topic!

Jeff's birthday is also this month and it is a big one - 40!  So, Amanda made special plans for them to get away for the weekend.  Awwwww.  Long story short, their babysitting plans fell through and provided us with a fun adventure for Jack's birthday.  So, we picked up Jared, Austin, and Audrey last night and had a sleepover!  5 kids + birthday fun = craziness!  All went well though, and they had a blast.  We made a huge pallet on the floor out of some old comforters and they watched a movie (The Squeakquel) in the loft.  Then they all slept out there amid a mixed pile of blankets, stuffed animals, and pillows.  The best thing - everyone slept through the night.

This morning we all packed up water and snacks and headed to the Zoo!  5 kids + a trip to the zoo = craziness!  (Are you sensing a theme here?)  Once again lots of fun.  I took tons of pictures (I'm thinking Wordless Wednesday!).  The funniest thing about taking them all out was that, theoretically, to the untrained eye we would look like one big family.  Jared is almost 8, Austin 5, Braeden 4, and Jack and Audrey are 3 (and could totally pass as twins).  I'm sure people thought that too by the looks we got, 2 younger adults and 5 kids who all have the same hair and similar facial features!  HA!  But it got us thinking, we could do 5.  Granted it would be crazy, but isn't is crazy with the 2 we have now?  (YES!)  It has just secured the fact between Amy and I that our family may not be finished yet.  We are looking forward to and continuing to work toward the adoption, but who's to say we will stop at just 3?  But that's a shocking subject for another post.  Those of you with gaping mouths close them and continue to read on.  In talking about it last night and then again today on the way home from the Zoo it did occur to us though that there are some things we have learned in this short 24 hours with 5 kids.  I'm sure there are a zillion other things we would learn but below are some realizations and observations we have made recently.  

-  5 kids means there are 10 feet, each of which needs to have a shoe that needs to be tied or velcroed.
-  Someone is always whining, crying, or (gasp!) both.
-  Someone is always mad about something.
-  Someone is always laughing.
-  It is never quiet.  Ever.
-  If it is quiet, even for a second, you'd better check on them.
-  When you think that they are all asleep you are wrong.  At least one is still awake.
-  They are never all listening to you at the same time.
-  The dish washer, washing machine, or (more likely) both are always running.
-  Something is always dirty.
-  There is no difference between and even or odd number of children.
-  When in public people seem to naturally move out of the way when they see you and your brood coming.
-  The way you define "clean" has changed.
-  Someone is always calling your name.

So, what does this mean for our future?  Who knows?  Right now everything is focused on beginning the process of getting our house listed and moving.  We're just going to live life  one (ok, maybe two or three) adventures at a time!

All is well, with an open-ended population, in Drosche Land.    

Wordless Wednesday

Last Saturday we celebrated Jack's 3rd birthday.  A week early, but we wanted him to have his own day.  He always ends up sharing with something or someone, so we figured it best to give him the day he deserves.  It was a good choice too, because he had a blast.  That is of course before he got sick and ended up down and out for 3 days with strep, but he had a kickin' party!  Below are some of my favorite shots from the day, plus one I played around with a bit.  This weekend on his actual birthday we are planning a trip to the zoo!  I'm sure that will provide me with countless candidates for next week's Wordless Wednesday!  Enjoy!

 My birthday boy!

His football cake, from Costco of course!

 My boy loves him some sweets (wonder where he gets that from?)!

You can't go wrong with a Toy Story gift!

 His new Batman bedding!  By far his favorite super hero!

Done

So, it's official.  The Drosches are tired of living out in Egypt and making the 65 mile round trip every day to work and home again.  So, as if our plates weren't full enough with our Masters courses, Amy's new Scentsy business (which is soaring off!), planning and working toward our adoption, and everything else, we have decided to add moving into the mix.  You know Amy and I, when we decide to do something we jump, head first, into it without looking back (think building this house, buying a van, and countless other decisions!).

We have been mulling over the idea for a few weeks now.  As the area we live in grows the traffic getting home is growing as well.  It now takes us at least an hour to get home, regardless of when we leave (up from about 50 minutes at most) and at least 50 minutes to get to work (up from 40-45 minutes).  With the boys getting older, and getting closer to nightly homework, we realize there is no way our family can continue to make the drive in.  There is too much strain on our schedule.  We love us some Cypress, but it has just gotten about 15 miles too far away from everything. 

So, yesterday Amy was at home with a sick Jack (think back to the last post found here).  We took him to the doctor yesterday and found out he had strep.  So we have him on medicine and I stayed home with him today.  Luckily the fever is gone and he will be returning to school tomorrow.  But i digress.  Anyway, Amy was at home with Jack and called Bank of America, who has our home loan now, to ask about what we could qualify for.  We got great news!  While we can't get a loan right now, due to no down payment, we could get a great loan, for the amount we were hoping for, at an incredible interest rate, far better than what we have now!  Long story short, we can afford a more expensive house (a must since we are moving in) and will actually pay less than we do for our house now!  Hold your applause, really!  We owe it all to Dave Ramsey and his Financial Freedom program!  Well, and Amy too for kicking into high gear with our debt snowball and knocking so much debt out!  So, we will divert debt snowball money into a down payment savings and should have our amount saved up by the end of this year!  Then we will be able to fully proceed with looking for a house!  

So, until we have that money we are cutting back on all extras, what little ones we have since we have been so strict with our program.  I will forgo my Starbucks and iTunes allowances (let me get a tissue) and we will begin to tighten the purse strings even more.  But we can do it!  The next step is to get our house listed and put up for sale.  We pray that we will be able to just break even, we have no high hopes for making money off of the house.  I also hope we don't have to do too much to get the house ready.  The biggest thing I'm worried about is the boys' bathroom.  But I mean who doesn't want a bright yellow bathroom with orange and blue dots?  All you naysayers grab a brush and head on over!  But if paint we must to I'll roll up my sleeves and do it.  I also know some work will need to be put into the back yard to get it more presentable.  But it is all worth it if we can squeeze every penny we can out of this house!

Since we  are moving before we originally planned we can't afford the neighborhood we really love, but that is ok.  We have been doing quite a bit of research and have found several ones that have great houses, needing minimal updating, in our price range!  It is exciting to begin the process even knowing that we may not be moving anytime in the near future.  Best/worst case scenario is our house sells before we can buy a new one and we have to either rent an apartment or move in with parents.  But that would be a minor inconvenience that would allow us to save more money.  So, time will tell.  For now we are excitedly beginning another adventure here.  Busy busy busy as ever, but that's how we roll!  Buckle up and get ready for the next ride!  Here we go!

All is well, movin' on up, er in, in Drosche Land.

 

What. A. Day.

So, I'm going to post about today now in the hopes that doing so will calm it down a bit.  To say the day was eventful is an understatement.  Seriously.  We began the day at the butt-crack of dawn as usual, despite the fact that it was a late night for all of us  after Amy's Scentsy party.  But that's ok, we had plenty of work to do anyway with the impending party.  So I began brewing coffee and we started getting ready.  The dryer repairman was scheduled to come some time between 8 and 11, Amy had to make a trip to the bank (to deposit her Scentsy income), we had to clean the house (ok, just tidy really), prepare the food, etc.  Not too bad.  So the ARS man comes and does his magic, all $307 worth of it.  On a side note, turns out that just below the lint filter you empty and clean after every load (which I do religiously) there is a larger area that lint can get stuck in.  The purpose of this area I am not aware of.  Apparently it functions to catch huge wads of lint so the heating element in the dryer overheats and gives out.  I think it's a conspiracy.  One thought of between the dryer manufacturers and vacuum manufactures because it turns out I can purchase a handy dandy vacuum attachment to go past the filter area and suck out said lint.  Hmpf, that would have been nice to know 3 or so weeks ago.  But I digress.

Our ARS hero fixes the dryer and leaves.  The dryer though is working crazy well now, guess all that built up lint wad did some damage!  So onto the party.  People arrive and the boys get all crazy and excited.  Visitors, presents, a ginormous chocolate cake, it'll do that to you!  The party went well though and Jack deemed it his "best birthday ever" so all is well!  He got some good stuff too.  Pictures will be forthcoming (Wednesday duh!).  Everyone left and we unloaded tons of food on them as parting gifts.  We thought (wrongly) that the day would slow down.  

And it seemed to, until just recently.  The boys were bathed and ready to watch a little football before heading to bed.  Then apparently an imaginary football game between the two of them went bad.  A tackle, fumble, or some other football term I can't define occurred and both slammed heads.  Tears ensued.  Then Jack threw up.  Crap.  Then he threw up more.  Double crap.  Meanwhile, Braeden's still crying and holding his head.  Amy's shuffling Jack (amid the heaving) to the bathroom.  Me?  I'm running around (maybe like a headless chicken) grabbing towels, cleaner, and wipes.  Jack makes it to the bathroom where he keeps going.  Triple and quadruple crap.

Luckily I was just starting a load of laundry before this happened so that was convenient.  Amy gets him calmed down.  We begin scrubbing.  Carpet, floors, Jack.  You name it, we scrubbed it.  Our minds immediately go to concussion.  He has a red spot/bruise above his eye from the impact so who knows?  He hadn't been sick at all and has no fever.  So we wait.  Now of course he's fine.  Totally himself.  But we wait, just to be safe.

So, never a dull moment here.  Of course if we got hold of one I'm not sure we would even know what to do with it!  But all in all, it was a good day.  You know busy and crazy, a totally normal day!  At least we're consistent!  :)

All is well, crazy as ever, in Drosche Land. 

Success

Tonight was the official launch of Amy's Scentsy business.  Her first party.  As you can tell from the title of this post, it went very well.  A lot of people showed up, a fun time was had by all, and orders were placed.  I didn't actually attend the party myself, instead I hung out with the boys and Audrey in the back bedroom at Amy's Mom's house.  They played and watched cartoons while I did some work and played around on looking at houses.  We are thinking about moving again, but that's a post for another time!  

Right now Amy is placing all the orders and getting everything organized.  Aside from the orders from the party, she also had several from coworkers today that weren't able to make the party.  All in all she is super excited and I am very proud of her.  She is doing well, not that I ever questioned the fact that she would.  I mean, come on, she is Amy after all.  Is there anything she doesn't do well?  But I guess I'm slightly biased on this matter.  :)  She's already beginning to think about her next party and is in talks about some friends hosting some soon.  So, it looks like her business is a hit!  It's a great product and people love it once they experience it.  If you haven't tried it out (shameless plug alert) you really should.  Amy got a warmer for me to put in my classroom and the Thunderstorm fragrance.  Man, I loved it.  Not only is it pleasant and smells wonderful, but it does an excellent job combating that "recess smell" my little darlings get and bring into the classroom!

So, something else to add to her list if awesome titles.  Mother, wife, Director, Financial Guru, and now: Awesome Scentsy Consultant.  Maybe I'll get her a plaque, I think she'd like that!  :)

All is well, enjoying the sweet smell of success, in Drosche Land.

Wordless Wednesday

This week's Wordless Wednesday centers on Amy!  The house has been a flurry of excitement about her new Scentsy business.  Packages have been coming, full of fun surprises and materials.  Her first party is this Friday night and she has been busy getting everything organized and ready.  I have to admit, I am loving it because she is so excited and happy.  As you can see from some of the pictures below, the boys are also loving it.  They love smelling all 80, yes 80!, fragrances and deciding which is their favorite.  So, below are the pictures documenting the beginning of the new adventure about to take place, in just 2 days, in Drosche Land!

 The first delivery, containing all of the start-up materials!

 She is so excited!

 Her ingenious idea for making samples to carry sound and hand out! 

Samples, ready to go and get the word and enthusiasm out!

 Want a sample?  You know you do!

Diagnosis

Well, we finally had a repairman out today to look at the dryer.  We went with ARS because our families have used them many times before and they were able to meet our main need of evening appointments.  We left work a little early to meet him at the house at 4 and he called just as we were getting home, convenient huh?   

He set to work on the dryer while Amy and I unpacked from the day and I began working on dishes.  The boys, Jack in particular, would wander in and out of the laundry room, curious about this man we let in to our house.  After about 10 minutes the verdict was in.  It was not what we had wanted to hear.  We had wishes and prayers for a blown fuse or something else that would be inexpensive and easy.  But such was not in the cards for us at this time.  The diagnosis?  The heating element was kaput.  The cost?  $307.  The part?  On order, to be delivered and installed in a few days.  Oh well.  Although far more than we wanted to pay it was still cheaper than a new dryer.  Especially since Amy and I have grandiose dreams/plans to get a top-of-the-line washer/dryer set with an accoutrement of bells and whistles.  But that is long into the future.  If this $307 part will get us another 5 years out of our basic (and I mean newly-wed, no money basic) dryer all is well.  

Once again I will preach the glories of Dave Ramsey and his Financial Freedom Plan.  Thanks to Mr. Ramsey and his genius we do have some money built up in our Emergency Fund for an instance such as this.  While not convenient, it is also not the end of the world.  Because we are smart.  We are dumping debt.  We are working toward (thanks to Amy's financial genius) Financial Freedom!

So, still without a dryer for a bit, hopefully it will be fully repaired by the time the weekend comes so I won't have to rely again (for a 3rd weekend) on good weather to dry my laundry.  Hmmmmm.  That reminds me, I have a load of kitchen towels in the washer I need to go hang up.  Then I need to check this weekend's forecast, just in case!

All is well, on the road to Financial Freedom and dryer repair, in Drosche Land.

Wishateria

As you may have surmised, and correctly so, by this post's title our dryer is still not working.  I have to admit though that I was hoping and praying it was a fluke.  That the dryer needed a staycation, a time to rest and rejuvenate itself.  As I began a load of laundry today I started the dryer too, just to see if it would work.  Fingers crossed, prayers and wishes said I waited, a whole 10 minutes or so.  However, the above was not the case, it was still not working.  Needless to say I proceeded with the laundry by hanging it up to dry outside.  On a positive note though we are being very green and saving energy, even if by force.  Oh, and I have become quite adept at maximizing the surface area of the drying rack and camp chairs to fit as much wet laundry on them as possible.  So I guess this adventure it not without its silver linings.

Right now we are in a laundry quandary (how awesome and appropriate is that rhyme!).  To repair or not to repair.  Not as dramatic as Shakespeare, but relevant nonetheless.  Thanks to Dave we have an Emergency Fund ready to assist us in fixing this problem, but if we choose that option we have no guarantee or warranty that the dryer will not quite again in the near future, or (GASP!) that the washing machine would follow suit!  However, our Emergency Fund is not padded enough to afford a new dryer.  Plus, when we do have to by new we want a top-of-the-line set that does everything but fold the laundry for you (however by the time our Debt Snowball is paid off and we've saved up enough it might do that also!).

So, until then we are stuck in our laundry quandary (HA!  Love it!), hanging our clothes out to dry.  But I'm not letting the dryer off that easy.  Once the clothes are dry I bring them in a put them on the "Air Fluff" cycle with a dryer sheet to perk and freshen them up a bit.  Take that dryer!  We continue to weigh our options and pray that the rain keeps to the weekdays and not the weekends!  HA!  But again I must say, that with our new outlook on money and our quest for Financial Freedom, we have remained quite easy going about the whole situation.  We are slaves to no lenders!  Take that Home Depot and Conn's, yeah we don't need your credit!  

All is well, green and conserving energy (yeah that's a positive spin (HA  get it?  Spin?!) on the situation), in Drosche Land.    

Follow Your Nose!

For those of you about to read this, all ready to hear about Froot Loops or cereal in general, I'm sorry to disappoint you.  Maybe I will blog about that later, you should already know my favorite cereal anyway.  But I digress.

I'm not one to toot my own horn, but technically this blog is about Amy not me, so AOOGA  (come on, you know that sound!)!  We were recently turned onto a fabulous product called Scentsy (thanks Taryn!).  For those of you wondering what it is, it is a "wickless candle".  Scented wax really, but it's so much more than just that.  First of all it is totally family friendly because it had a special low-temp melting point so it doesn't burn if/when you touch it.  Trust me on this, Jack has already proven this to be true. More than once.  Seriously.  Like 3 times (he's a slow learner!).  Secondly, they have a bazillion (maybe not that many, but A LOT) of fragrances that last forever.  So, enough plugging of this fabulous product and onto the plugging of Amy!

So, our dear friend Taryn gave us one as a gift and we were hooked immediately.  After falling totally in love with it Amy began mulling the idea of selling it.  See, it's only available via direct sales (think Avon or Pampered Chef).  She has always wanted to try something like this for fun, but hasn't really felt 110% behind any product enough to sell.  Well folks, the wait is over.  Amy has become a Scentsy consultant and she is getting ready to host her first party next Friday!  I am super excited for her because she is so excited and I know that she will do wonderfully at it because that's how she rolls.  One of the best parts is, you can order over the Internet because she has her own website (visit it here).  Oh, there is also a link to her website off of the main page of the blog just in case you are ever so inclined to visit and/or order.  After her gift she immediately ordered some product, prior to joining the team, and it was delivered today!  So, as I blog I am enjoying the wonderful aroma of the "Lucky in Love" scent!  Ahhhhhh, I love me a nice-smelling house!  

So, yet another fun adventure for the Drosches to begin and boy are we excited.  There has been great pre-party response to Amy's new adventure so we are very excited!  Woo hoo!  Let the awesome new ride begin!

Oh, for those of you who began hoping for a cereal post, my all-time favorite is Frosted Mini Wheats although I have been on a serious Lucky Charms kick lately!  :)

All is well, Scentsational actually (HA!  Get it!), in Drosche Land.

Wordless Wednesday

Ok eager fans of the goings-on in Drosche Land!  Here are the pictures of Braeden's first homework!  I am super proud of him and he was rightfully proud of himself!   When I went to pick him up today his project was displayed on the wall in the hallway and my heart swelled with happiness, pride, and love!  He is amazing, I hope he never loses his love of learning and eagerness to get to school each and every morning!  Enjoy!

Amy's brilliant idea to trace his arm & hand as his tree!

 

He enjoyed using the glue stick, who doesn't really though?!

He wrote all the names himself!  To get to the top he had to climb on the table so he could reach!

 

Amy took this and it's my favorite, see how he's looking at me!!!  Melt your heart or what!

A very proud Pre-K student!

Voila!

 

Homework

So, Braeden had his very first homework assignment this week!  I know I am a mega-nerd, but I was super excited about it!  I have been looking forward to it ever since I heard that he would be getting homework at Back to School Night.  I can't explain what it is about it all that excites me.  I know it's odd (really I do).  I mean, it should be sad, or at least melancholy, because it means he is growing up.  You'd think I'd be all misty-eyed at the idea.  But strangely I'm not.  Ok, so I did get a little teary because I was so proud of him, but more on that later.

"What homework can a Pre-K student have?" you ask?  Well, a family tree of course!  He has all week to finish it and turn it in, we got the assignment last Friday.  But we finished tonight - no late work for us!  I'll save my procrastination for my M.Ed. coursework thank you very much!  So of course I got teased by everyone that I would be one of those crazy parents who can't let go and does the work for him.  But I wasn't, I promise!  Seriously, ask Amy if you don't believe me.  I totally don't like it when parents do that, so I definitely wasn't going to become one of those.  I did help though.  I like to think of myself as more of a facilitator.  Hmmmm, that sounds nice, maybe I'll get myself a plaque.  But I digress.  

We started this weekend when I explained the assignment to him and then he listed the people he wanted to include, totally unaided and unprompted by me!  Then we looked on the computer for pictures of the chosen people.  Again, I did not choose, he proudly hand-picked each and every photo he wanted.  I did however place the order to pick the pictures up from Walgreens.  I mean really, that's an adult job any way.  So that was Day 1.  Then we didn't do anything yesterday.  Tonight on the way home we stopped and I got the pictures and a poster board.  After dinner we began to work.  The only work I did was to help trace his arm for the tree (SUPER CUTE (but all Amy's idea!)) and cut out the pictures.  He colored, glued the pictures down, and labeled all the names.  I know what you're thinking, "Shut the front door, he did not write all the names!"  Well, I am here (with the pictures to prove) that he did.  Of course I helped with spelling, but come on he's 4.  Other than that it was all his project!

I will admit it was an exhausting job to finish tonight and I kept asking if he wanted to stop and finish later, but he just kept saying, "No, I want to finish all my homework tonight!".  Cute huh, how could I argue?  So we pressed forward and 45 minutes later we were finished!  I, of course, took lots of pictures to document this momentous occasion (stay tuned to tomorrow's Wordless Wednesday post!).  

So, my little boy is growing up and doing homework.  He loves school so much and he had a blast doing it.  I am so proud of him too, he did a wonderful job.  Although I will admit I'm all worried that we did it wrong or I misread/misunderstood the instructions!  But I'm trying to push that anxiety aside and bask in the joy that is the first homework assignment.  I know in 10 years I will be reading this with a totally different outlook on homework.  Probably after fussing, fighting, and arguing with them to finish their homework.  HA!  But this post will allow me to reminisce about simpler times when everything was new and exciting and we were all blissfully naive about homework.  Ahhhhhh, savor it while it lasts!  :)

All is well, homework complete, in Drosche Land. 

 

Old School

So it's the Labor Day weekend.  Time for rest, relaxation, and fun.  Right?  Well yeah.  And that's how ours was going until this morning when the dryer decided to celebrate Labor Day by not working.

Flashback to yesterday.  The cousins came over.  We grilled brats and hot dogs.  All the kids ran around, splashed, and played in the back yard.  All was right with the world, and with the holiday.

Snap back to today when the only thing happening in the back yard is me drying clothes.  The old fashioned way.  Well, not completely.  I don't have a clothesline or anything fancy like that.  Just a drying rack, a couple of camp chairs, and two loads of wet laundry.  I must say though that God can dry clothing a lot faster than Frigidaire can.  Who knew?  

This morning I stayed at home with the boys rather than trying to wrangle the boys through 3 church services since Amy had to give the Children's Sermon at the 8:15 and 11:00 services.  No big deal.  I'd get all the laundry done that I didn't do yesterday because of the party.  Right.  2 loads in and 2 left to go and the dryer throws in the towel.  Or rather just tosses it around, sans heat.  It was quite uneventful too.  I filled the dryer and set it to go.  An hour later I came back to check and the clothes were still wet.  Uh oh!  I had no clue it was going to happen.  There was no warning, no sound, smell, or explosion.  I guess I'm grateful for the lack of any major dryer catastrophe though now that I think about it.

Now we wait.  The next step is to call a repairman to come and check it out.  Hopefully it is something simple that can be easily (and dare I say inexpensively) replaced or repaired!  Lucky for us, we have Emergency Fund set up for incidents like this (thanks Dave Ramsey).  It's times like this when we are reminded why we are working so hard to become debt free!  It's true what Dave says though, instead of being a major event that we are totally unprepared for, this is now just a small frustration we must deal with.  It was amazing how stress-free the dryer going out was.  Let's hope the process of fixing it remains that way!   Amy gets major props too for being the Drosche Financial Wizard.  I think she'll like that title, maybe I'll get her a plaque.

So, until the repairman comes and diagnoses the dryer I'm kickin' it old school.  Luckily I didn't have sheets in the washer, or towels.  I'm also thankful that today was not sweltering with 150% humidity.  Ahhhhh, the joys of life.  Well, excuse me but I've got to go check the laundry.  No buzzer.  Just a peek out the back door!

All is well, hung out to dry, in Drosche Land. 

Where Did He Go Now?

Jack loves to play hide and seek.  It's possibly his favorite game.  The only problem is that most times the rest of us don't know there is a game going on.  That is until we realize that the littlest member of the family is nowhere to be found.

This isn't really something new, he has been doing it for a while now.  However, he is getting slightly more creative in his hiding places.  So much so that the other day Amy did have to have a conversation that went something like this:

Amy - "Jack?  Jack?  Where are you?  Are you hiding again?"
Jack - silence
Amy - "Jack?"
Jack - silence
Amy finally finds him in his favorite spot, the boys' closet.
Jack - "Ha ha.  I was hiding!"
Amy - "HA!  Yes you were, again.  Listen, Jack when you hide and you hear Mommy calling you, then you need to come out ok?"
Jack - "Um, ok."

Yeah, his answer doesn't sound too promising right?  I think it might be the toddler equivalent of "Whatever"!  He is always so proud of himself for hiding that it is hard to bet frustrated with him.  Luckily he seems to be content with keeping his hiding at home and not in public places, yet (I type with crossed fingers!).  I will give him credit though, he does know how to pick a spot.  Well, sometimes.  Like I said before his favorite spot now is getting in Braeden's side of their closet and closing the door.  Sounds easy right?  Well, yeah, until you realize that Braeden's side of the closet is where we keep the toy drawers so there actually isn't any floor space at all.  He manages to cram himself in between the closed door and the drawers!  However, he does have his moments when he just stands there with his hands over his face, hiding.  It's hilarious.  "Jack, I can still see you!"  "No you can't, I'm hiding!"  HA!  He is something else.  This new hiding fun is just another way he likes to ham it up and get a laugh!  It's a good thing too because he ensures that he is just cute enough to cover up his naughtiness!  :)

I've included some pictures below, showing him in all his hiding glory!  The first picture was from last night.  His best spot yet.  It took us a few minutes to find him, hidden behind the laundry basket in the linen closet in the boys' bathroom, with the closet door shut!  The second picture is from this morning when he hid behind the doors of the snack cabinet at TLCC!  That's my boy!

All is well, lost and found, in Drosche Land.

His best spot yet!

Not the most creative, but cute!

Wordless Wednesday

Wow, September already!  Can you believe it?  The year is flying by!  Crazy.

So I know you have been wondering, "Where are the pictures Dusty???"  Well, I know the picture taking has fallen a bit behind with school starting back up.  But, as always, I have once again made the personal goal/promise/wish to take more pictures of the boys.  Not just for the blog (but yeah that too!) but because I LOVE taking pictures!  So, let's see how long I can keep up with this new yet old goal!  Enough talking.  Onto the "wordless" portion of the post.

So, Braeden, my ever growing son, has gained a sudden love for board games!  He gets it from me!  About a week ago Amy and I actually gave in and let him play his first real game - Disney Sorry!  He teamed up with me and we played against Amy and Jack.  Though, truth be told, Jack was more interested in moving around the little pieces and playing with them rather than the actual game.  But, I am proud to announce that (with a little help from me) Braeden legitimately won the game!  Oh was he ever proud!  Amy and I, albeit bittersweet at this new "big boy" victory, were very happy for him.  The picture below documents this major achievement and the beginning of a lifelong love affair with board games!  Oh well, so much for wordless (not a shock coming from me though)!  Enjoy the picture!  :)

How can you not love that victory grin!