A few random shots to share.

My dad's family: The Stauns. We all gathered in NYC (3 Aug 08) for my cousin's wedding. As you can see, I am 1 of 32 cousins, and I have 22 aunts and uncles. And, not everyone made it; yikes!

My son walks in my heels better than I do. He sure makes his daddy proud!

USMA RAH RAH, USMA RAH RAH, ARMY RAH, TEAM TEAM TEAM! He is doing the Army Rocket! What a cutie.

Alright...last random posting, I swear! My sister sent this to me, and I thought it was worth posting. Have a Happy Labor Day!

Progress in the backyard.

So here is what the patio is looking like so far. I hope it dries and looks all the same. Ok, quick blog note as JMS is climbing up the barstool I am sitting on. (PS. Kim he is looking for new Zoe "baby" posts. )

Sick little boy.

My day has been spent wiping a little runny nose, and cuddling with my sick little boy. He just cried and cried since he woke up, which fueled his congestion, and triggered his wheezing. He didn't want to be put down and just looked miserable.

I was hopeful that he was coming out of it when he ate his blueberries, juice, and some hamburger bits for lunch. But that opinion all changed when we both ended up wearing his lunch.

He fortunately fell asleep on me while watching children's television programming, and transferred easily into his crib.

Now, I leave him to my husband and get ready to go to work. Yes, I am closing tonight! Nothing like being a working mom. :)

My little trouble maker(s)...

JMS is now 19 months old. He has outgrown the itty bitty I only just lay there and coo toys. And, he is now interested in little boy toys: cars, trucks, books, balls, and did I mention cars. So, I made a comment to my husband as we were picking up the toys in the toy room a few nights ago. I said, we should go through and eliminate some of the toys he has outgrown before Christmas. And the response I got was, "What if our daughter wants to play with them?" I said, "Is there something you're not telling me? Are you pregnant?" Guess who wants another baby??? This guy right here....my other trouble maker. :) Don't they both just give off that "sweet and innocent" appearance?

What I am reading.

Yes, I have found time to read (adult books) as a mother of a toddler! Can you believe?

I am stuck in the Janet Evanovich Numbers Series. I started with #8. I initially didn't like the author; her writing was crude and full of slang. What do you expect when all the characters are from Trenton, New Jersey? (no offense) However, I became quickly addicted to the characters. The main character, Stephanie Plum, is just not lucky in love or in life and it gave me a humorous escape from reality. Well, I have quickly polished off #9, 10 and 11! I began book #12 last night. My husband asked me, "what happens when you read #14 (her last book in the series, currently)?" I said, "I guess I'll have to go back and read 1 through 7. Hopefully that will give her a chance to write #15....when will it stop, and if it does, we need to talk about how to handle withdrawal.

So I work in retail...

I think it would be creative to make a list of everything that customer's were looking for in our store today, but couldn't find without asking for help.
Today's list: Neutrogena body scrub, new Tiger Woods Golf Wii game, 19" TV, mini three prong binders (index size), 3 shelf bookcase, hair gel, napkin holder, microwave, As Seen On TV swivel rolling vacuum, two drawer rolling cart, roach spray, photo frames, under bed storage tote, flashlights, light bulbs, adhesives for the bottom of furniture legs, and Nascar car window shades. I knew where all of this product was in our store...whoo hoo, go me. But, FYI...we do not carry mini three prong binders, paint products, or guns. :)
And, on a similar note, the most common thing customer's are looking for in our store when asked (drum roll please) their spouse/significant other/the person that came to the store with them, and the front check lanes. (How do you get lost in a store and not know where the front door is???)

I know better.

I've had a dog for oh, six years now...and today I decided to let him outside after a torrential downpour. What was I thinking? I laid old towels down in front of the dog door and then left to go get my son from the babysitter. Hm....why was I so surprised to see big muddy dog paw prints circling around my couch and kitchen?

One hour later...the dog has received a bath, and I'm still breathing Spot and Stain Remover as I'm scrubbing the carpets. When will I learn?

Landscape Photos as of 8/25

The magnolia tree is up close by the house. We are waiting on 4 more Laurel bushes to join it. The flowering pear tree is in the middle of this shot. And, you can also see where the gravel is laid for the extension of the patio. JMS was enjoying playing in the dirt.

Here are the 14 Arborvitae. As you can see our lawn was trampled in the process quite a bit. They planted English Ivy randomly in the multch; that should be helpful with weed control. I wish these would grow overnight to block the yard behind us. I guess they think I am equally nosey!

Current Project

I never feel like I can just sit back and relax. I always find that when I sit down I see the next project. So the relaxation part never really happens. So for example, 19 months ago when I was on maternity leave (yep, JMS is really that old) I envisioned rearranging the living room at the time and decided at that point it was time to go back to work.

Well, now that I am back to work, and still raising a toddler my mind is not at rest. Unfortunately, for my husband that means he doesn't get to rest much either. Our current undertaking is landscaping the backyard. Well, we did hire a landscaper because this time my ideas were bigger than what we could do (comfortably) ourselves. Several weeks later...we now have 14 privacy trees planted along our fence line, a magnolia and an aristocrat pear tree up by the house, and they are coming to pour the extended concrete patio tomorrow! Yippee, pray that the weather cooperates.

Addicted to Others Blogs

So, several of my friends blog daily, and for me it is my morning newspaper. I want to know what they have done in the last 24 hours. Since none of us live within a 5 minute drive, this is how I keep up with them. However, I find that my husband and I are constantly debating why others need to post and vent all over the internet. Is the information they are sharing everyone's business to know? Well, I've decided that I must at least give this a shot, because if I'm getting a daily dose of their lives, shouldn't they be allowed a daily dose of mine? Good, bad, and the ugly...right?!?