i don't have one specific tale to tell, so let's do this random thing. here goes.

1. my mom and my seven-year-old niece were here for five days. we had a great time. my biggest goals were to make it fun so they both can't wait to come back again and also to make sure the niece stayed safe so her parents ALLOW her to come back again. it's hard to keep a girl safe with the j boys rolling around, especially when that little girl is up for anything her older cousins suggest. she survived hiking, skating, sledding, jumping off stairs and nerf wars without a scratch. the night before she left, i went to pick up the boys from hockey and came home to find her laying on my couch with ice cubes on her cheek. WHAT? apparently she tripped and wiped out on a table. her cheek was all bruised and scabbed for the trip home. argh.
maybe her mom and dad haven't noticed?


2. when we moved, we brought our white dishwasher from the old house, which doesn't match the new black appliances we bought for the new house. so, the husband spray painted the whole front black (it actually worked pretty well). but, we're talking the whole front, including the buttons. for the past two years, i have had no idea what cycle it's on. it conked out on us while my mom was here and i am the happy owner of a new dishwasher. you can see all the buttons and everything. it's the little things.

3. the giant, massive bathroom mirror in the boys' bathroom fell off the wall on its own accord and shattered all over the bathroom, the hallway and even into my dining room and kitchen. i am still finding glass in wierd places. fortunately, the boys weren't brushing their teeth while it happened. i can't even imagine.

4. little j is going to a slumber party tonite. i am convinced the mom is on drugs. i saw the list of boys invited. she couldn't have gotten a louder crew. the agenda is video games (skylander), pop, movies, pizza and cake. i hope her house is still standing in the morning. we warned little j about trying to pull the all-nighter. pretty sure it went in one ear and out the other. sigh. he's going to be a piece of work tomorrow.

5. all you doubters will be happy to know i have completely kicked the mountain dew habit. not a drop since superbowl weekend.

6. that's all the random time i have. it's going to be a crazy next two weeks...tons of work and getting ready for the annual montana trek. i need to start the official countdown!

happy weekend