Pictures for Grandma and Grandpa Phelps

Thanks for the new Christmas outfits!

Black Friday Deals

I started the morning at 4:17 when I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, threw my hair in a ponytail, and headed out the door. Kohl's was my first stop since I knew it would be crazy there, and I had quite a bit on my list. I picked up a kids' digital camera for $25, Candyland, Memory, and Hi-ho-cherrio for $4 each, some bathrugs and towels for ridiculously cheap prices, and other odds and ends that I picked up while in the line for an hour snaking through the store.

Next, I headed to Michael's. I walked in the door expecting a mob but was pleasantly surprised to see it not busy at all. The cashier assured me that it was crazy the night before. I picked up some scrapbook organizers at 55% off and quite a few rolls of the 70% off christmas ribbon, as well as a couple other little items.

We have another craft store in town just down from Michael's called Craft Warehouse. I went there for a couple odds and ends just as they were opening up at 7 am.

My next mission was at Lowe's. Brad spotted some nice garage shelves in the ad for almost half price. Since he was planning to buy some anyway, we might as well get them while they're on sale. I found them pretty easily but there was no sign. Pretty soon a store employee came over, assured me they were the ones on sale, and carried them to the checkout and out to the car for me. 10 minutes!

Next I headed to Shopko where I picked up a couple barstools for $25, some cute track suits for the kids at 60% off (princesses for Catie, Thomas the train for Nick), a Sleeping beauty doll ($10!), a double pack Mr and Mrs Potato head for $15, a few $5 movies, and a set of Pyrex storage bowls for $14.

On my way back home, I noticed that Toys R Us didn't look completely crazy, so I stopped in only to find that everything on my list was already gone. Oh well.

I came home on a shopping high but now I'm pooped! Shopping for 4 1/2 hours and home by 9 AM. Is it naptime yet?

Happy Turkey Day!

Dumb, dumb, dumb

A person should make sure that the top of the relish container is firmly in place before shaking said relish jar.
PS How do you get relish out of the toaster?

Insert creative "Idaho" title here

The kids have colds again, so on Sunday we decided to keep them out of the church nursery and take a drive. It was overcast all day. I had to really fuss with that first picture to make it look like that. :) So, I didn't take many, but you'll have to believe me when I say it's a beautiful 2 1/2 hour drive from Richland, WA to Lewiston, ID. The mountains are so smooth, like blankets over knees.

Lewiston is a town right on the border next to Clarkston, WA. Get it? Louis and Clark. We didn't do much once we got there except eat lunch and drive around saying, "Wouldn't this be nice if everything wasn't closed?"

I can't remember the name of the town, but isn't this a neat building? It was across the street when we stopped for gas.

I guess that's it. :) I can't wait until we move into our new house.

Random Dozen

I keep thinking that I need to write a blog post, but I can't get anything out of my head except, "I can't wait to move into our new house." So, I decided now is the perfect time to take part in this meme (a game for bloggers) from another blog that I read regularly. Here are the random dozen for this week and my answers:

1. If you could master one sport, what would it be?
When I was younger I probably would have said volleyball, but now I would love to be good at bowling. I think it's so much fun, but it would be even more fun if I could break a 75.

2. When you make a major purchase, do you go with your gut instinct, or do you do research to make an informed decision?
We do a little of both. We look and look and look, but as soon as we find the right one, we jump on it. When we bought our last couch, I was so concerned about finding the right one for the right price, but when we found "the one" I was embarrassed to realize I hadn't paid any attention to the price at all.

3. There is an old kids' game that says you can find out what your movie star name would be by using your middle name as your first name and the name of the street you grew up on as your last. What is your movie star name?
Brooke Lemans (Leh-mahnz) Sexy, huh?

4. Would you rather give up your favorite music or your favorite food?
Seeing as the current requests in my van are "Choo Choo Soul" and Mickey Mouse, I think I could give up music for a little while.

5. There are two types of banana preferences. One is pristine yellow, almost to the point of being green; the other is spotty and more ripe. Which is your preference?
Definitely the almost unripe pristine yellow one. Brown bananas are only good for banana bread.

6. Your favorite tree is?
This is a tough one. I think it's a big maple tree with plenty of shade and beautiful fall color.

7. On a scale of 1-10, how tech savvy are you?
I give myself a 7. Just enough knowledge to be dangerous.

8. Has H1N1 touched your family?
Fortunately, no. Catie and Nick have had the first dose of the vaccine.

9. Are you an analytical person, or do you just accept things the way they are without questioning or scrutinizing?
I'm a problem solver. I'm always looking for a better way to do things.

10. Is your personality more like that of a dog, cat, or Koala?
I think I'm a cat that acts a lot like a dog. :)

11. Do you keep in touch with friends you made years ago?
I am terrible about keeping in touch with friends. I wish I were better, but I can always pick up where I left off with my best friend, Angela.

12. You are checking out at a grocery store. In the express lane, there are more people than the regular lanes, but of course, their load is less than those in the regular lanes. Which lane do you choose (assuming you qualify for the express lane) and why?
The wrong one. It's the Phelps Law of Grocery Line Length. The length of a grocery line does not matter when a Phelps family member enters it. It will always be at least twice as slow as all the other lines around it. Additionally, as soon as said Phelps family member decides to move to another line, all other shoppers in the vicinity will converge upon the checkout.
It's a curse. I accept it. I just choose a line, stick to it, and try to be patient.

Conversation with a 3 year old

Catie: Mommy, Mommy! I need help!

Me: What are you trying to do?

Catie: I'm trying to get more help!

craft projects

I found this idea online a months and months ago, and I bookmarked it because I loved it, but I wasn't sure I would ever be able to do it. It's pretty modern looking for our traditional house, but in our new house I'm going to have a craft room that I can decorate however I want!

So, this morning, the kids and I painted these canvases and pressed their handprints. They loved it! Catie wasn't so sure about getting her hands in the paint, but she enjoyed watching it wash off in the sink.

Wondering what the paintings are sitting on? Here's my newest Craigslist buy. $50! Brad and I are going to paint it black and replace the hardware.

I've been spending all my free time thinking about how I'm going to decorate our new house. I can't wait!

Doctor Visit

Yesterday I took the twins for their 3 year check up. We're getting to be old pros at this "new doctor" thing. We spent an hour with the doctor going over our family history (again), the twins' birth story and subsequent NICU stay (again), and the twins' general health (again) only to spend about 5 minutes on what they're doing right now. Hopefully we won't have to do that again for a long, long time.

The doctor caught the fact that they were given their 3rd Hepatitis B vaccine too early, so we had to give it again so that it won't cause problems when we enroll them in school eventually. We also gave them the first dose of the H1N1 nasal spray.

Catie was up first. I explained to her that the doctor was going to put some medicine in her arm and it would hurt a little, and that he was going to spray some more medicine in her nose. She was a little surprised by the pain, and cried pretty loudly.

Meanwhile, Nick's dancing around at my feet saying, "I want in the arm and up the nose! I want in the arm and up the nose!"

Needless to say, he was not pleased when he found out why Catie was crying. We had to hold him down to get the spray up his nose.

Everyone stopped crying, however, at the prospect of candy. And, after a few licks of a sucker, they both danced out of the doctor's office.

Here are the stats:
Catie 30 lbs, 36.25 inches
Nick 31 lbs, 37.25 inches

Both are slightly below average, in the 40-50th percentile.

According to the BabyCenter height predictor, Catie will be 5'2" and Nick will be 5'10" at age 18. :)

Like Cats and Dogs

"Hmmm...what's brother got in his bucket?"

Look at him sweetly smiling while she steals his candy.
"Oh, man. It's just a piece of paper."

"Look what I just stole from brother's bucket!"

The Inspection

The inspection is done. The house looks great--no issues at all. Brad took a few pictures for me. It's a little messy since the renters were in the process of moving out. Good news for us though because we might be able to close a few days sooner and get in before Thanksgiving!
I have a view of this mountain from the kitchen sink and the master bedroom.

When you walk in the front door, there's a formal living/dining room on your left and a den (our playroom) on your right with the stairs directly in front of you. (That's our real estate agent on the stairs.) The doorway to the left of the stairs leads to the kitchen. The hallway to the right goes to the half bath, laundry room and garage and the family room.

Here's the view from the top of the stairs.

This is the master bedroom.

And the kitchen.And the family room.

So, that's pretty much it. There's three other bedrooms upstairs, but it's hard to get a good picture. Once we get settled, I take more pictures. I'd rather not post a picture of the front of the house for safety reasons.

We're getting really excited!

Happy Halloween!

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Starring my mom as the Mad Scientist

Nick as Frankenstein's Monster

Catie as the Bride of Frankenstein

my dad as a werewolf

baby Wesley as Dracula

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