BUSTED!

A friend of mine came over the other day with a house warming gift......and it led to her seeing our new home.  REALLY, I will let you have a tour FOR FREE - you don't need to feel like you have to bring over a gift to "get your foot in the door!"  :)

So, I took her into the Laundry Room.

Here it is:

She looked at those upper cabinets for a while and admired them.....She commented that it would be nice to have some in her own laundry room.....Then she stalled a bit....Then she asked if she could open them and take a look inside to see if I was obsessed with laundry detergent and had filled them all up with a 12 yr. supply of it what I stored in there.  I agreed.  After all, I'm a pretty curious person, myself.  So, she opened it, and that's when I remembered my little "stash" I have in there.....

It was right at her eye level -- and she DID NOT miss it!  Ooops!  How embarrassing.

Here, have a closer look:

Hey! Sometimes, a girl's gotta do whatever it takes to get through and cope with the laundry that a family of 7 produces!!!  ;)

BUT, just for the record, those are from my JUNK BOX I got for my birthday, which was Sept. 14th, so I have made them last more than 2 months! 

Blog Post Flashback

I'm sick.

I'm reminded of what I posted 4 years ago.  {Have I been doing this blog 4 YEARS?!?}

Moments when it's okay to say, "OH CRAP!"

The only thing that made me feel better about it 4 years ago, was I told myself,

It'll all be over in 4 years.  
(There's NO WAY he could get elected again, right?!?)

wrong.

I'm sick.

I Found out How Many Days it Takes to Build a House

FINALLY.....now that we've been in our home for 2 1/2 months....[OK it'll be 3 months in 3 days], I'm posting the final House Time Lapse.

{I'm real on-the-ball like that.}

In case you missed it:

Part 1 here
Part 2 here
Part 3 here

DAY 137

Paint started

Steps in the Garage

DAY 138

Stucco Prep

DAY 147

Final stucco

Driveway Beginnings

Hardwood Floors

Kitchen Cabinets

Laundry Room Counter

Purple Painted Walls in Haylee's Bedroom

Patio

DAY 152

Indoor Lights

A Toilet! ( in half bath)

Laundry Room Sink

Basement Bathroom Sink, Faucet, and Granite Counter Tops

DAY 161

Kitchen Appliances (some cabinet drawers/doors still missing)

Carpet

"Playhouse"

Finished Stairway (banisters, ballisters, carpet)

Mudroom Lockers

DAY 166

Front of House (with House Number, Walkway & Sidewalk...and my brother in the left corner!)

Fireplace

DAY 167

It's OFFICIAL - We Closed!  

(In all our no-shower-last week's make up-SWEATY glory from working non-stop to get out of the old home by 5:00 p.m. this day!

 

The house was OURS, but we weren't moved in yet.

Who knew our entire 2400 sq. ft. home could fit into our new garage?

(We weren't allowed in the house until it was recorded)

Guess what we did for the next several weeks?  ;)

So, there's the answer.

167 days to build a house.

And AT LEAST as many head aches!!! 

{although there were some little things that they still needed to take care of - so maybe it's not DONE?  I should still be counting?}

Kids Say the Darndest Things - Oct. '12 Edition

Taken from the Sidebar...

At the end of General Conference, our prophet, President Monson, got up to speak.Me: "Brookelle, who's that?"
(she looks at the pulpit for a moment, thoughtful)Brookelle: "Heavenly Father." 10/12

Cruel, Harsh Reality

LAST WEEK
   


This Week 

Living Life one Cruise at a Time

I was hooked the moment I first stepped foot into the ship's lobby and the Cruise Staff formed a line on both sides of the entrance for us to walk through while the lead guy announced loudly, "Disney Cruise Line welcomes The Brenchley Family!" and the others applauded and smiled at us as we passed by.

And the royal treatment never ceased the rest of the week, either.

I decided then that cruising was the way to vacation!

Disney Cruise, Western Caribbean ~ March 2005 

Holland America Cruise, Alaska ~ August 2007 

Princess Cruise, Mexican Riviera ~ February 2010 

And now I get to go with these favorite people of mine! 

For a Disney Cruise ENCORE.

BON VOYAGE!

A New Chapter

Hey.....Can you HEAR that?

...Listen... 

It's QUIET.

Absolutely no one is home except for me.  This has not been the case for over 16 1/2 years!  Since becoming a mom, I have always had a child(ren) home with me.

And now, somehow the years went by, my babies grew up,  and my youngest "Baby" goes to preschool 3X a week for 2 1/2 hours.

Admittedly, I have dreamed of this day; when I could be free to run errands and go to appointments without a child in tow or having to find someone else to watch them for me.  I always said IT WOULD BE SO NICE....

....And now the day is here...and it is weird!

I won't deny that it IS nice, but it is definitely weird - I think I feel a little bit lost. 

I find myself wondering what I should do.

NOT because I don't have anything to do -- believe me, I DO!

It's just that, up until now, someone ELSE (my babies) have always controlled and dictated WHAT I would do.

Make a snack
Change a diaper
Fill up their sippy cup
Reach something that is too high
Watch them attempt a somersault
Put on a band-aid
Make lunch
Clean off their messy face
Change their clothes
Put them down for a nap
Call or walk them to a friend's house
Put on a band-aid
Wipe their bum
Find their shoes
Get gum out of their hair
Pull the finger out that got stuck in the drawer
Put on a band-aid
Get a fruit snack for them
Wash their hands
Set up the Play-dough
Put the Play-dough away
Open the door
Put on a band-aid

....And NOW....I CHOOSE WHAT I will do.

I was even at Wal-mart recently in the checkout line with a v-e-r-y SLLOOOOW checker, but I was okay with it - I didn't have a tantrum-throwing child with me, after all.   The gal behind me DID and she had to be at another engagement in 20 minutes, so she was stressing, checking her watch, and scoping out alternative checkout lines that might possibly be shorter/faster (there weren't any) the whole time.  I was actually in a position to offer her to go in front of me in line because I am free and I wasn't in a rush!

It's a very NEW concept for me.

So many choices, so little time!  2 1/2 hrs. in not very long!  Especially when I work during her preschool time twice a week. 

But, just so you know, don't be at all surprised to see me hanging out alone in the Hallmark section of the store just reading (not buying) all the cards just for funsies -- just because I CAN!  :)

Dare to Stand Alone

I have been serving in the Young Women organization in our church for just over a year now.

This week, I especially had them on my mind, and a prayer for them running through my heart.

Because of that, I was reading this month's issue of The New Era, a magazine geared for the youth, ages 12-18, published by the LDS church, for some inspiration and comfort. One article referenced THIS clip and I thought it was great.  It hit me as SO pertinent for them - and for me -- and for all of us.

I love this message from our living Prophet.....

"In reality, we are never alone, when we stand with our Father in Heaven."

My Own Kind of Victoria's Secret

Considering the fact that my husband
 is a lifelong Denver Broncos fan, 
THIS could pass as my "Sexy Lingerie" 
these days, couldn't it?!!? 

In honor of our recent anniversary, I snatched up this Old Navy find for under $15.

To which, my son asked in his disgusted voice, "MOM, do you even know who they're playing this week?"

That's NOT the point. 

It's very exciting, don't ya think?  ;)

Freak of Natures -- that's what we are!

Recently, while in San Diego attending a work-related conference, Matt & I were at a dinner party with a group of his business associates - many of whom we were meeting for the first time in person.

In the course of the getting-to-know-you conversation, the topic of kids came up.  We were asked if we have kids.

Yes.

How many?

Five.

FIVE??!!!??

Quoting one person exactly [as she dropped her fork and half-choked on her food],  "HOLY CRAP!!!"

Keep in mind, the people in attendance are not of our faith, nor are they from UTAH (Indiana was the furthest west that any of them reigned from), so the concept of 5 children was really UNHEARD OF to them.  We're talkin' Foreign territory.  This especially made sense when we found out about all of them, too; their number of children were 2 and 2 and 2 and 2 and 3.

(Meanwhile, I'm silently thinking about those who have even larger families than mine - like my aunt who has 12 children - how would they react to that?)

I did tell them that Matt came from a family of 7 kids, and my family has 6, so we're not even measuring up by comparison.....but then I had to stop talking about it because I felt some of them were at risk for a heart attack!  :)

When they recovered from the shock, one guy thought he was being all FUNNY by making the joke, "You must NOT have cable TV!"

To which Matt replied, "We don't."  (seriously)

Oh, can you imagine the raucous that caused?  Our table erupted in ROARING LAUGHTER.  Bah hahaha hahaha.  Intermixed with that noise were people's "smart" comments, "No Wonder!"  or "You should try cable!"  or "Atta Boy!"  or "I was right!"  It was one of those things when all the rest of the people at the restaurant STOP what they're doing/talking about and look over at "that table."  (The guy who made the original joke was REALLY proud of himself!)

Now they can't decide which thing to be MORE astonished about:  5 Children or NO Cable TV.

{Of course, I'm sure the unlimited wine served with their meals, influenced this EXAGGERATED reaction in them.}

Right?

Because it's not even a big deal to live without cable.

RIGHT?

RIGHT?!?

HELLO?

Is this thing on?  tap....tap... [on the microphone]

hello