Lofty Expectations

Recently I did a post about cleaning out our storage loft above the garage. It did not sit empty for long, my friends. No sir! We had big plans for that space....BIG PLANS!

The "plan" actually started about 6 years ago when Joe was but a wee tot. As many of you know a baby requires massive wardrobe replacements about every 3 months until they turn 1...then the turn over slows to about every 6 months or so. As soon as Joe grew out of a size of clothing, I put it into a plastic bin (clearly labeled of course) for future use. How's that for a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" to the hubby?!

In addition to our own thrifty-ness, our wonderful family saved and continues to save their kids clothes and passes them onto us. How they keep all these clothes in such good condition after having gone through 2 boys is beyond me. We can wreck some clothes over here. So, the bins started to multiply at a rapid rate...kinda like gremlins. At some point, the plastic bin mutated into Space Saver Bags....which I do not recommend for this kind of storage at all. A) They shrink into a egg shaped orb that makes it impossible to stack, B) They are more difficult to label clearly, and C) The bags rip easily if one tries to open then reseal.

Lo and behold, our next bundle of joy would not be using any of these articles as she prefers pink to blue. But, I was able to start collecting more bins for girls clothing. And praise the Lord for older girl cousins!

Along came Trey...and I was so pleased to be able to go through the bins and have exactly what we needed!

The problem with all this is actual storage space...a house never has enough, right? We were using the empty area in our basement next to the dryer to stack all the bins and lean the lumpy bags. This area quickly filled and it became too hard to get to the correct bin to put "new" hand-me-downs. And if we sprinkle that with a little truth...maybe I didn't want to dig through everything to put things away correctly. Maybe, I would throw a bag or two onto the top of the whole pile. Maybe someone would need to get to the fuse box and just start throwing stuff.

As this fire hazard grew, we knew we had to come up with a better solution. The second we knew the loft was going to be emptied it was already filled with visions of bins!

This is the storage space in the basement....

This is the new organizational wonder of the world...


Ahhhh...are you breathing easier? Me too!

p.s. I'm sure Space Bags are a wonderful way to store things that you won't be using anytime soon, so please send your hate mail to someone else. Thank you.

Put On The Skants and Get Ready For the Results!

Really Cat? A dress/pants/skirt? A.K.A. Skants (all credit goes to Courtney for naming that fashion)

The skants were only revealed after the opening orgy choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon. Yeesh! All the water, the touching, the looking at the camera.....oh dear.

All this debauchery was followed by a touching tribute to the myth that deaths come in 3's in Hollywood. Michael Jackson (What??? Very sad...) was the only one to really impact the world of dance. But, it was nice to mention Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett.

And the bottom 3 are.....

Asuka & Vitolio
Carla & Jonanthan
Caitlin & Jason

Bummed about Kupono sticking around....but at least Evan & Randi's "Butt made the cut." Yeah, she said it.

Next was a performance by the Rage Boys Crew. They were kinda cute, especially the little ones. I did not like the jackets, thought they were cumbersome. We fast forwarded through the last little bit, because it became reallllllly long.

Can I point out the Asuka's solo dance was to the song "Don't Trust A Ho"? Seriously? Oh, the irony. Vitolio stole a part of my soul by looking seductively at the camera. And maybe Jason could benefit by some fund that could provide proper dance clothes?? Did his shift just end at Hollister? Still like him, though.

I enjoy listening to The Veronica's on the few occasions that my kids are not in the van and I get to listen to my satelite radio instead of anything Veggie Tales. Having never seen them before, I must admit that I did not know that they all died years ago and mere shells of their bodies would be performing. Had to fast forward through the last bit o' that.

Onto the eliminations....ASUKA & JONATHAN are out! No tears were shed over here. That means Carla & Vitolio will be the new couple.

Tune in next week when Courtney will be covering all the deatails....

I'm ready to Review! Yes I am!

Oh this week....kinda made me want to take a shower after it was over. It was better than last week overall, but weird. Anyone else feel the same? And why, oh why will Cat not say the word judges? Just because it sounds like she's saying choodges, that's part of her charm.

Cat and Mary were working the Grecian look tonight. And Nigel looked like he just got back from the mall in his Members Only jacket. Tony Basil holds a special place in my heart. Yes, she does!..if only she would carry her pom-poms with her a la "Hey Mickey!" Who knew she was so "street" and hip-hoppy?

The dancers, this week, explained what they would be doing if they were not dancers. There were a few surprises, I think. So, onto the dances...

The journalist and the carni (Carla & Jonahan) started the night off with a Dave Scott hip hop number. I actually liked their outfits. Yes I did! But Jonathan is soooo not gangsta. The judges seemed to agree.

Onto the jewelery maker & the singer (Asuka & Vitolio). Holy crap, I thought she was going to throw in nipple tassles as part of her craft inventory. Their dance (a jazz routine by Mandy Moore) was like watching an early 80's porn video (which I do ALL the time so don't bother to comment on that). There was complete overkill on the tongues sticking out and rocker hand motion thingy. The judges seemed to think it was alright and that they have potential.

The Pilates instructor and the sound engineer (Melissa & Ade) shook out a rumba by Tony Merideth. I really like the dancing and so did the judges. But again, a little too much V-neck on Ade and while Melissa looked beautiful, I'm sure she had double sided tape all over her strangely muscular body!

Now for the loan processor and lighting and design tech (Jeanette & Brandon). They did another hip hop routine by Dave Scott. Jeanette's outfit!!! Am I starting to sound like an old lady or what? But I really feel like I could not let my kids watch this and I thought this was "family friendly". Oh well....I LOVED the dancing. Yes I did! I thought it was great that they did not have to be perfectly synchronized the whole time. That seemed to be a sticking point with the judges for the other couples. Did anyone else think that Brandon's gay-ness was showing more tonight? The judges like their routine.

The model and the costume designer (Kayla & Kupono) perpormed a waltz choreographed by Jean Marc and France. I thought it was really beautiful and it didn't hurt that their outfits were modest. Has anyone seen my Geritol and Metamucil? Mary actually put them on the Hot Tamale Train, but the others thought it was too safe.

The elementary teacher and cutom car builder (Randi & Evan) did a contemporary dance by Mia Micheals that was all about the (gulp) BUTT. While I like the outfits, I must have said "Oh dear!" out loud about 5 times during the routine. I'm excited that the judges all really liked them and the dance and the choreographer, butt (Ha! Get it?) oh dear.

Onto the broadcast journalist and soccer player (Caitlin & Jason). They did a passe doble by Jean Marc & France. They were dressed as sexy warriors. I liked it and the judges thought it was fearless. The music, I thought, kinda made me like it.

Last but not least is the actress and inventor (Jeanine & Phillip) rockin' out a Broadway routine by Tyce Diorio. I loved the 50's style. Yes I did! Poor Phillip tore his pants and Jeanine couldn't keep her dress down, but I thought they did great. I can see what the judges mean when they say that they need for Phillip to step up even more. You can tell that he's trying and I think America loves him and wants him to stick around, but in a few weeks I think he might be in trouble....

My prediction for the bottom three couples is...
Carla & Jonathan
Asuka & Vitolio
Kayla & Kupono

Here's to Asuka & Kupono going home! Tune in tomorrow for the results. I'm excited because The Veronica's are performing! I like them! Yes I do!

The End of an Era

Twelve years ago, God used the ministry of Young Life to bring Jay and I together. We met on the bus heading for a ski trip...Jay a leader with the East Hills, me a volunteer leader with the North Hills. The rest, as they say...is history. Fast forward quite a few years....

While pregnant with our Joe, we had to convert the home office (i.e. the smallest 3rd bedroom known to man) into a sweet, cozy nursery. What to do with all of our office type stuff? What to do? Since we never used the garage for its intended car storing purpose, we decided to convert it to an office and the wasted space above the garage into a storage loft. Well, that loft filled quickly with all things Young Life. Need 500 bendy straws? Adult diapers? An accordion? A costume suitable for a ninja, 80's rocker, elderly man or woman? Maybe a set of bowling pins, or a sound system?

With Jay as the Area Director for the East Hills, our house was the epicenter for Young Life related "stuff". We've hosted countless Campaigners (Bible study), Leadership meetings, and Club (weekly outreach). I would never be able to count how many high school kids have come through our front door, back door and on a few occasions...a window. If our walls could talk, they would tell stories of rejoicing things like getting a full scholarship into college all the way to a sentence of probation with time served.....mourning things like the loss of a parent to the loss of a dating relationship. We have prayed, taught and learned. We have been truly blessed.

Now that God has called Jay in a new direction and we patiently seek His will, we needed to find a new home for all the stuff we've collected over the last decade. A local church has been kind enough to let us use their basement as a storage area.

* Editor's note: Young Life is still going strong out here...in fact our area is at an awesome camp property in Virginia. If you feel lead to pray, check out Courtney's blog for a daily prayer request.*

Our house may no longer hold all the costumes and props, but I think it will keep the memories for awhile. Here's a peek at the clean out process....









The last 2 pictures of Trey are strictly to prove that when a baby is put in the house to get out of the sun and is quiet for too long...something is up. Trey deftly swiped a forgotten juice box off the table, squeezed it onto his tray then tried to suck up the juice.....

And we may have kept a few choice costume pieces, a batting helmet with a bucket screwed to the top, and a rubber chicken....because that's just fun. I have another post locked and loaded as to what we did with the now empty storage space. Until next time...

I've Hijacked the Dance!

Poor Crafty P has fallen ill (sinus infection...yuck!) so, as any good Sister in a Hood I'll recap the results show for Thursday night. Don't forget lift Crafty up in prayer for a speedy recovery!

The show opened with a Mia Michaels number to a techno Stevie Wonder ditty. The scary, tattoo faced, jerky performance under massive lights was just so-so for me. I still have a soft spot for Ms. Michaels, though.

Cat looked lovely, as always.

I totally thought that the stab at jocularity at Lil' C's expense...especially when he then goes on to say things like "comfortabilty of a dance genre" was BUCK!

I predict Kupono is outro, yo.

Onto the bottom three couples......
Jason & Caitlin
Kupono & Ashley (am I right?)
Max & Kayla...what???

After the announcements was a performance that I can only say gives new meaning to "be there with bells on". What style was that? Balliwood?

Please send Kupono home!

Here come the solo's.....nothing stood out too much for me, except for 2 minor things.
1. How can someone dance with jeans on, Jason? But, since I like you, I'll let it slide.
and 2. I hate it when the audience counts down! It totally ruins the last few seconds of the dance for me.

Is Kupono gone yet?

Now there is a performance by (according to my Cat to English dictionary) Christainia deBarge??? Let me tell ya, all the wind machines and daisy dukes in L.A. cannot make up for some serious lip synching. Yeesh.

Kupono who?

It's time!!!! I agree with the judges choice to send ASHLEY home. Of the 3 girls, she was my least favorite.

Here it comes...send Kupono home! Keep all the other couples together! Don't put style before talent! Ahhhh shucks! It's MAX who's going home. Sad face here. Did anyone else think Kayla looked mad that Kupono is her new partner? Should be interesting.

Tune in next week for a recap by....oh yeah. Me!

The Dance has Traveled...

For a recap of last night performance show of SYTYCD, click over to Crafty's blog. There's even scanned hand written notes! What more could you ask for?

Wordless Wednesday

Renee is a Traveling Dancer!

Check out Renee's blog for a great review of SYTYCD!

What happens in Vegas...

...shows up on our T.V. in the form of Vegas week on SYTYCD. Check out Megan's blog(s) for some great recapping and comments!

Land Shark!

In the midst of all of our May madness of weddings and birthdays and rehearsals...etc., our Joe came up to me and asked if I could help him get the apple peel out from between his teeth. But, of course Sir..at your service. As I'm digging between his teeth, I was surprised to see this...

Anybody else see what I see? That's right. Two rows of teeth on the bottom, a la shark family! I, predictably gasped waaaay to dramatically for the situation which scared Joe right down to his toes. I thought he was going to clamp down on my arm with all those teeth in his head. After explaining what I was looking at to him, I calmly asked if he could feel the new teeth with his tongue. "Well, yeah Mom." That would be the 6 year old equivalent of "Duh!" "Why didn't you mention the fact that new teeth were growing in?" "I don't know...it didn't hurt or anything."

Well, swell. The nice receptionist at the dentists office told us that this is very common and won't take more than 5 minutes to pull the baby teeth out. Yikes! Even if they're not loose? Even if they're not loose. Over at the Meanest Mom blog, she posted about the same thing happening to her shark!

I kindly let Jay take Joe and Bella (who was due for her 6 month check up anyway) to the dentist while I stayed at home with our child that is only growing one set of teeth right now.

Joe handled it like a pro; getting the Novocaine, the pulling, picking his prize from the treasure box of Oriental Trading Co. trinkets that will inevitably break before the van pulls into the driveway. I, myself, have always had a phobia of the dentist. We did not go regularly...or at all as kids. And for the life of me, I cannot figure out why someone would want to stick their hands in someone else's mouth! Yuck! When I do go these days, the nurse/hygienist/executioner/assistant hands me tissues as I sit in the chair. I don't cry, per say, but tears definitely leak out.

Anywho....Joe did great! Until the Novocaine started to wear off and that tingly, itchy feeling took over his face. The poor boy drooled and cried himself to sleep for a long nap after we convinced him that his head would not fall off. When he woke up, it was like nothing happened at all.

After a long discussion about what the Tooth Fairy would do and bring (not a cool coaching whistle like Daddy's), the tooth fairy did visit and left a nice reward...even if the teeth did not fall out the old fashioned way. And maybe the tooth fairy dropped the teeth on the bedroom floor in the dark and had to get on her hands and knees to find them, lest she get mauled by a shark in the morning.

An Open Letter to June

Dear June,

I have been anticipating your arrival for quite some time now. The last month or so have been so incredibly busy....Thank you, June, for not having any rehearsals, weddings, day after lunches, first birthdays and 5 million baseball games in close to freezing temps, and shark teeth (of which I know you're eagerly awaiting a blog post, June!). While I loved all these events and cherish being part of them, I will look forward now to relaxing and looking at all the amazing pictures from each wedding, family party and watching our oldest son improve his athletic ability with only 2.5 million games left in hopefully warmer weather. I'm counting on you, June, to pull through and bring us some sunshine and warmer evenings to take walks and bask in your beauty.
June, you hold the end of my baby's kindergarten year and so I thank you for giving him back, even if it is with fewer teeth and a wider vocabulary that includes words like "booty" and "nasty". I do not hold you accountable.
Thank you, June for the beautiful morning on this, your first day of 2009. I look forward to spending the next 29 days with you.

Sincerely,
Rachel

Oh, I almost forgot...silly me! Thank you also, June for summer T.V. shows like The Closer, Burn Notice, Monk and Psych. And lastly, a huge thanks for fruit that costs less than an arm and a leg!