why a grown woman like me had to crawl in bed with her mommy

the other day i started cleaning out the garage so i could start packing my crap 

and start a pile, when i noticed a long, i mean  l    o     n      g  black snake 

slithering along a ledge on the wall.

now, i have no problem with snakes; as long as they are not in my living space. 

the garage? your living space? you ask? well, this story wouldn't be so bad, except that this long, nasty, evil serpent of satan crawled right into a small hole leading to the attic.  another reason this story gets worse is that the attic shares a wall with my bedroom! that's right.

i couldn't believe my eyes, or my luck. my room was no longer my place of refuge, but a hell hole of fear. i couldn't walk in without looking around the ground and imagining this snake making babies across the wall and them crawling through my vent into my bed.

SO, i called animal control, but they wouldn't go in attics, so i called pest control guys and they wanted to charge me 200 bones! so i had to live like this all week. my world was not the same i tell you! the first night, i couldn't sleep, so i snuck into my momma's bed. the next couple nights, i was a little braver and slept in my own bed, but with light on!

 how pathetic.

so today as i was opening the garage door i see the little sucker hiding under a pile of wood and call animal control again. they rejected me again, so i called my small neighborhood police department. the lady was nice, and said she'd send someone out right away. so i stood there. 

                                        and stood there, 

                                                                     and stood there,

                                                                                                   and paced back and forth, 

without moving my eyes from this wood pile. then it dawned on me that i should cover the snake's passageway to the attic. this was my feeble attempt:

first i tried plastic bags... no good.

then a hoe... no good.

then a flip flop... no good.

then a noodle... no good.

i gave up.

so after 30 minutes of pacing i call the police chick back and ask what the deal is. she says they were busy with a disturbance call so she doesn't know when they'll get to me.

this is when i take matters into my own hands.

 i google "how to catch a snake" (i don't know what i would do without this trusty internet friend.)

i call annette to see if she's in on my snake catching plan. no luck... the poor girl just couldn't oblige.

so it's just the mom and me; each with gardening gloves on and a broom in our hands. the big trash can is lying down on its side with the lid off. we start moving wood away looking for this evil thing. as we do so, my prayers are answered! i hear a beat up old chevy truck roar up the driveway and out come an old rugged man with a pack of ciggies in his shirt pocket. he brings a shovel and without speaking much, starts moving the wood like it was nothing. i hear another car, and it is ANNETTE exclaiming that she felt so bad that she turned me down! (could she be any sweeter?) the answer is no.  

my hero eventually finds the snake and pushes him into the trash can with a stick. my life is back to normal. i can breathe again!

before he leaves, i ask where he lives so i can bake him cookies since he saved 

my sanity (and life). he mumbles something and leaves with the snake and our trash can. (he returns it later.)

cAN you believe:

A.  that i almost did that myself?

B. how big that bad boy is? i swear at least 4 feet long!

yeah. me neither.

her ears

this little miss had tubes put in her ears this morning.

i was terrified, but she did great.

she's already back to her normal self and

 hopefully she'll have a lot less ear infections.

yellow

our first summer squash from the garden.

yellow squash is one of my favorite veggies so i was so 

excited to see it in our garden.

i do have to thank my mom, because she does most of the work.

it was so yummy to cook up and taste for dinner. 

SO, speaking of yellow, here are a few things 

i'm proud of lately:

check out this gorgeous retro cookie jar.

i scored it at an estate sale with jennifer last weekend!

it was such a fun find and even more fun was the price:

$4!!!!!

for reals.

and

this feminine headband i made with rosettes:

i love it!

and 

of course

my new yellow project:

i can't wait to see this triangle quilt finished.

i might just keep it for myself.

i'm noticing yellow is becoming a reoccurring theme 

in my life these days.

maybe it's a happy sign,

or maybe it's becoming my favorite color.

my sailor man

so the graduation went well.

(besides the fact that i was throwing my guts up in the bathroom)

david was elected honor recruit for his division of 80 sailors,

so this is him up front being introduced.

i got VIP seating (what what?) and got to be escorted out before the

rest of the crowd to finally see my man!

he was waiting in the hallway with the biggest grin on his face.

after meeting all the captain big wigs

we then got to spend only an hour together outside before i had to go

check out of my hotel and he was rushed off to the airport.

he was such a perfect sailor.

hot and yummy and respectful.

he wouldn't even let me touch his butt in his uniform!!!

flying and driving and eating gross food for 24 hours straight

was worth hugging him for 1 hour.

every 60 minutes of it!

monkeys and skinny jeans

just a few pics from my phone at the park yesterday.

off i go

tomorrow i am packing a small suitcase and a

backpack with my laptop.

i will also be packing:

a polka dot dress

red shoes

and

red lipstick.

i am off to see MY MAN graduate from navy boot camp.

i'm leaving on a jet plane,

and will be back within 24 hours.

i'm so excited to see him for the first time in 9 weeks.

and to hug that man,

and kiss him,

and squeeze his toosh.

all in the 30 minutes i get to spend with

him around hundreds of

other girlfriends, wives, and proud parents.

but i shant complain,

for i DO get to see him.

i cannot wait!

i HAVE to write this down

the boy with "tony the turtle"

so we are playing out in the backyard with all of the 

boy's cousins. i notice he has poop in his diaper 

(because he refuses to potty train.)

i tell him we need to go inside to change his poops and 

he puts up a fight.

after a while of going back and forth i finally throw 

my hands up and say..

"fine. do you really want to sit in your own poop? go ahead?!"

the boy nods his head.

i go back to the bench where i was sitting and talk to carlos.

a few minutes later...

"mom! watch me, watch me!"

as he stands at the top of the slide.

he then turns around and slides down the 

slide on his stomach, feet first.

he stands up and screams,

"look mommy, i'm not sitting in my own poop because i slide down on my tummy!

wow. 

pretty smart kid.

the boy with our first carrot of the summer.

never say never

i've had my life planned out for a while now.

i always said that i would NEVER:

get married before the age of 24.

HA!

MARRIED AT AGE 20.

have kids before being married for a couple years 

and having my degree.

HA!

THE BOY BORN 16 MONTHS LATER.

THE GIRL BORN 21 MONTHS AFTER THAT.

marry a man in the military.

HA!

DAVID JOINS THE NAVY 3 MONTHS AGO.

move my family around A LOT.

HA!

WE'VE LIVED IN 4 DIFFERENT PLACES IN 4 YEARS...

AND IT'S ABOUT TO BE 5!

contrary to my original plan to stay here for the next year 

and a half to finish nursing school, i have decided to join 

david in monterey!

i have debated and pondered this for quite some time now and it was a hard decision to make; but now that it is made, i feel silly for doubting it at all. school is so important to me and i know that i WILL be a nurse eventually. but what could be more important than keeping my family together? school doesn't trump that. 

nothing does. we've missed david so much while he's been in boot camp. my kids need their daddy, and i need him too.

so, yeah. my life hasn't exactly gone as planned so far, but looking back, these are my proudest decisions. these are when i was listening to my heart the most. i wouldn't change any of them, and i'm sure i won't regret finishing nursing school later to keep this little family together. besides, CALIFORNIA? how could i not?

i'm going to miss this place though:

        

addicted

this:

has turned into this:

and badly needs to be finished.

this:

still needs this:

(binding)

but all i want to do is make:

THIS

and then she was gone

back to texas she goes.

to do another rotation for PT school.

we miss you already noelie.

love, shay, 

mom, 

kavi boy, 

and paisy girl 

(your angel of love)

she's all yours jen.

#3

this is noel sleeping.

this is noel with her new quilt.

this is noel's sister explaining how she made 

the quilt for noel.

this is noel with her new quilt and her sister.

this is noel sleeping happily ever after on her new quilt.

the end

p.s. these are two sisters who love each other very much.

how it all went down

our fourth of july started with the annual 

lake winnebago 5k fun run at 7 am.

noel was a trooper and ran with me. annette had my 

kids out on the driveway near 

the finish line which was super gratifying.

then we watched the ski show with overcast weather.

cole robert was the first act and dressed 

up as his uncle mark (navy SEAL).

he knee boarded by and waved at the audience 

the whole time. so cute!

paisley enjoyed clapping away while the boy wouldn't leave uncle dick alone!

then there was food. 

brandon rocked it on the bbq with his 

famous lemon-pepper chicken.

isn't he a charmer?

dad bird watched.

the boys were mischievous.

then there was the boat ride.

check out my hot momma, aunt, and sister.

i missed the fireworks because paisley has an ear infection, but the rest of the family watched from the boat. this neighborhood is perfect for this holiday!

the next sunday:

so happy to be with family during this blessed holiday. 

i enjoyed watching cousin kara in loveland 

daydreaming about her man,

and aunt noelie playing with my kiddos.

hope your 4th was just as magical!