Cheap Date

Aaron and I love to go on dates. We really love to go on FREE (or cheap) dates.

Last night, Aaron and I decided to see Bucket List at the Rock Hill dollar theater. We had about an hour to kill before the movie started, so we decided to stop by one of our all-time favorite places for entertainment: PetSmart.

No, that's not a typo. We go to PetSmart for fun.

You see, Aaron and I love to go to PetSmart and check out the gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. Come on. Admit it. You think they're cute, too. How can you resist smiling at those little pink noses and wiggly whiskers?

We love to watch the four-legged furballs beebop around the glass cage like they haven't a care in the world. We always get a good laugh at the fat hamsters attempting to run on the exercise wheel. I know...we're really easy to entertain.

While Aaron and I were looking at the rodents, we discussed what might happen if we bought our cat, Hobbes, a friend (i.e. a hamster) to play with. We came to the conclusion that he'd probably paw the poor thing to death. He wouldn't bite it or eat it...just paw at it until it didn't move any more.

All in all, last night was lots of fun.

Wandering around PetSmart for 45 minutes: FREE
2 tickets to a (2)dollar movie: $4
Quality time spent with my wonderful husband: PRICELESS

Oh, The Drama

So I'll catch you up on the latest drama in the Fowler household...

Aaron and I went to our friend Mani's house for a cookout on Sunday night. Mani has a 2-year-old German Shepherd named "Tank" who isn't trained well and is oftentimes extremely aggressive and unstable.

While Mani was cooking hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and I was preparing vegetables in the kitchen, Aaron and Robert were playing a video game. When I attempted to open the back door of the house to take the vegetables outside to Mani, Tank snarled at me and showed his teeth. I backed off and asked Aaron to distract Tank so I could go outside. Aaron paused his video game, got up from the couch, and took hold of Tank's collar to prevent him from going outside when I opened the door. Immediately, the dog snapped at Aaron's right hand.

When I heard Tank growling and Aaron yelling, I went into panic mode. There was nothing I could do to help Aaron. Robert rushed over to do what he could, but it was too late. Tank had punctured Aaron's right pointer finger, ripped open two of his knuckles, bitten his left thumb and nail, and scratched him in various other places on his body.

Aaron immediately went to the bathroom to wash and evaluate his wounds. I almost passed out when I saw the damage. I seriously thought he might have lost part of one of his fingers. I tried to get Aaron to let me take him to Urgent Care, but he wouldn't go. He said that he would be fine and insisted that all he needed was some rubbing alcohol, gauze, and tape. I doctored him up the best I could and made him promise me that he'd at least go see Liz (my boss who's a doctor) the next morning.

Neither of us slept very well on Sunday night. I woke Aaron up before I went to work on Monday morning and he said that his thumb never stopped throbbing during the night. Toby and I took him to see Liz in Pineville a few hours later and she sent him to see a doctor at Urgent Care. In not so many words, she told him it was stupid that he didn't go to Urgent Care on Sunday night. He needed stitches in his right pointer finger but she couldn't put stitches in it that long after the bite had happened.

The doctor at Urgent Care cleaned Aaron's wounds out really well, put ointment on them, wrapped his fingers in gauze, gave him a tetanus shot, and wrote him a prescription for an antibiotic.

Aaron is doing much better today. The doctor recommended that he not go back to work until tomorrow, so he's had some time to relax and heal. We took the boys to a Charlotte Knights baseball game today and had lots of fun. I'll post the story and pictures in my next entry.

Thanks for your prayers and concern during these past 2 crazy days. We'll keep you updated...

The Week in Review...

It's been almost a week since I blogged last and there's lots to catch you up on:

• The boys were so good on Friday that I decided to take them to Wendy's to get a Frosty :) Sam ate lunch at school, but Toby hadn't eaten lunch yet. I bought Toby some chicken nuggets but, of course, he didn't want chicken. He wanted his Frosty. What's a Nanny to do when a stubborn 18-month-old won't eat lunch before dessert? Simple. Dip the chicken nuggets in the vanilla Frosty. It's all about creativity, people.
• Our guest rooms are painted (and soooooo cute)! Sean and Robert came over on Saturday to help us paint and we were completely finished in 6 hours. Praise the Lord...
• We went over to our friend Mani's house to cook out on the grill on Sunday night and Aaron was bitten by Mani's 90-pound German Shepherd, Tank. It's a long story. I'll tell you about it in my next post.
• Because the doctor won't let Aaron go back to work until tomorrow, he spent the entire day with us yesterday. Today, we're taking the boys to a Charlotte Knights Baseball game in Fort Mill. I'm having a little anxiety just thinking about how Toby will behave. I'm pretty sure he'll want to climb up and down the concrete stairs during the entire game...so I'm making sure to pack reinforcements: FOOD.
• Aaron and I are headed to Charleston on Friday morning! We can't wait to see Bryn march in the graduation parade :) We also can't wait to go to the beach!

I'll post more later. Right now, I need to get the boys dressed so we can head to Fort Mill to pick up Aaron and head to the baseball game! Wish me luck...

Evil/Genius

My boss Mike subscribes to WIRED magazine - a very geeky, technologically savvy read. I'm neither geeky nor technologically savvy, so the magazine usually isn't something I would pick up and read without being forced to do so against my own free will.

What caught my eye about April's issue of WIRED as it sat on the kitchen counter was the graphic on the cover: the Apple logo wrapped in barbed wire. The title underneath stated "Evil/Genius." I was interested.

I read the entire article, all of the information in the sidebars (Breaking the Rules and Our Bad), and laughed out loud several times. Who knew that reading about business and technology could be so much fun?!

Having a husband who is most definitely a geek means that I am often times subjected to hearing him talk about computers. I thought it would be fun to read the article from WIRED and then go home and tell Aaron what I had learned. He was very impressed with my new-found knowledge of the Silicon Valley, all of the businesses that reside there, and why the people who run Apple are truly Evil Geniuses. Of course, he already knew everything I had learned...but he thought it was cute that I tried to talk about computers with him :)

More Painting...

I'm pretty sure that a few months ago I vowed never to paint another stroke of color on any wall ever again. The first round of paint that went on the walls in our new house (13 gallons!) did me in...or so I thought.

I guess I've forgotten how painful painting is (or perhaps I've lost my mind) because we're planning to paint the 2 guest bedrooms this Saturday. With the help of Sean and Courtney, Aaron and I are hoping to knock out the paint in the guest bedrooms very quickly. My ambitious mind has me convinced that we can have the walls painted, trim completed, and furniture moved back in by Saturday evening.

Yeah. We'll see about that...

YAY!

I usually have a hard time getting my brain to operate sufficiently enough to blog on a Monday morning...but I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate my brother. He made it through Recognition Day this past Saturday (as we all knew he would) and he's no longer a Knob. We're so proud of you, Bryn!

I searched the internet for photos of Saturday's events at the Citadel and could only find two. Of course, all of the freshmen look the same (with their bald heads!) but I managed to find my Brynnie in one of the photos:

Bryn is in the front of the line to the far right (next to the only guy in the photo with hair).

Aaron and I can't wait to see Bryn march in his last Citadel parade of the year on May 2nd. I'm looking forward to getting some great photographs and spending time with my family in the most beautiful city on Earth :)

Old Citadel Prayer

"Give me a boy, Oh God, who is willing to learn the true value of honor, the necessity of perseverance and loyalty, and the meaningfulness of devotion to God and country. And I shall take this boy as does a blacksmith take a crude piece of metal, and place him over a forge whose liberating flame of education is fired by the bellows of strict military discipline. Into this ingot of a man I shall temper self-respect and self-discipline, fear of God and respect for mankind, appreciation of freedom and awareness of what sacrifices must be made in order to preserve freedom, and above all an insatiable desire for truth and honesty. And when all these things I have done, I shall brand my finished work with a ring of gold to let all of humanity know that I have given back to the world a...Citadel man." -Old Citadel Prayer

You are all of this and more, little brother. Work hard tomorrow and keep "makin' moves" :)

We love you!

Randomness

I have lots of things running through my mind today as I attempt to put together an interesting blog. I don't know if any of this is interesting, but I'll blog about it anyway.

• This Saturday, April 19th, my brother will go through what is called "Recognition Day" at the Citadel. We're praying for you, Buddy! You're almost done with your Knob year!
• It's been 8 weeks since I started working out at Anytime Fitness in Fort Mill. I feel GREAT! I'm trying to tone-up in preparation for summer (I don't want to be uncomfortable in a swim suit when I'll be wearing one almost every day) and the work-out plan I'm on is doing wonders for my body. I lost 1.1 percent of my body fat in 6 weeks and I'm aiming to lose another 1 or 2 percent in the next 6 weeks.
• Aaron and I have begun to let Hobbes roam free in the house while we're gone during the day. We bought new leather furniture a few months ago and have been fearful of what he and his claws might do to the couches while we're gone. He has proven himself worthy to roam free and we're hoping he doesn't make us sorry. I'm sure everything will be fine (still trying to convince myself)...
• Toby is currently screaming at an old picture of himself that's on the night stand in the guest room. So weird...
• I'm looking forward to babysitting Asher and Cooper tonight! Aaron and I are headed back to the Corbett's house tomorrow night to watch Ella and Austin so Chunks and Amy can go on a date. Since Aaron gets off at 4pm tomorrow, he'll be able to spend the entire evening with us. I'm so excited that he'll get to experience the mayhem of bathtime with the Corbett children. I'm planning to ask Aaron to put Austin in his pajamas after bathtime. It should be hilarious (see this post to understand what I'm talking about).

I guess that's all for now. I hope everyone is having a great week!

Happy Tax Deadline Day!

Pastor's sermon on Breaking Free from Financial Captivity was great on Sunday. I don't think that Aaron and I are "held captive" by our finances, but our finances can definately be a topic of frustration and tension sometimes. We've needed to re-work our budget ever since we bought our house and Pastor's sermon on Sunday inspired us to sit down and actually do it. It feels so good to have a financial plan to go by each month. It feels even better to see the percent of income we're giving back to God each month through the Dominate Campaign and our regular offering to Elevation each week. Six months ago, I doubted that we would be able to do without the money we're giving away. Now, I see how God has blessed us with so much more because we've been faithful to His calling on our lives.

We're excited about the year to come. Now that Aaron has done our taxes on his own, we're more educated about the tax-submission process. We're aware of the deductions we need to be keeping track of over the next year and the changes we need to make on our W-4s. Oh, the joys of being an offical "grown-up"...

Happy Tax Deadline Day! Be sure to get your taxes submitted before midnight :)

United as ONE

I'm so inspired. Let's do what we can for those who are less fortunate than we are. It's so easy.

The Carolinas Aviation Museum

I almost peed in my pants today.

Let me explain.

I've been wanting to take the boys to the Carolinas Aviation Musuem for months now, but every time I get a chance to take them it's either Monday (the only day the museum is closed) or rainy. I've been trying to find new things to do with the boys since Sam doesn't have school this week and the weather was perfect for a trip to the Aviation Museum this morning.

As we drove towards the airport, we began to see quite a few airplanes landing and taking off. I turned onto the road where the Museum is located, drove past the National Guard station, and continued down a long gravel road. All of a sudden, I looked up and saw what looked like an American Airlines jet preparing to land on my vehicle. I gasped, and Sam yelled, "Look, Mrs. Allison! An AIRPLANE!" No kidding.

I knew the Aviation Museum was close to the airport. I didn't know it was 500 yards from the runway. Jeez...

The musuem wasn't open when we got there, so we pulled over at the end of the gravel road, laid out a blanket on the grass, and watched the planes take off and land. The boys and I were fascinated. Sam and Toby actually sat still for an entire hour while they watched the planes. Toby would say "Oooooooooh!" while pointing at the planes. Then he would wave to each one (with both hands) and yell, "Bye bye! Bye bye!" When Sam heard the planes power up in preparation for their trip down the runway, he'd yell, "Ready, set, BLASTOFF!" I tried to expain to him that planes are a little different than space shuttles...

The museum was okay, but not worth another eight dollars for me to get in (kids under age 5 are free). The boys seemed to like watching the planes more than walking around the musuem. I have a feeling that going to our little lookout spot is going to become a weekly routine.

Click here to view the slow times at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport (beware - the list is in military time!). Any other time is perfect for watching the planes land and take-off. The boys and I watched the planes from 9:40 until 10:40 this morning and there was never a break in action. Go check it out! You'll be amazed...

My Birthday Week :)

In an effort to temporarily escape the wrath of Turbo Tax this past Saturday (Aaron and I owe the Federal government money), he and I went to REI to pick out birthday presents for 2 of our best friends Mani and Robert. As everyone knows, only the best people were born in April. Mani's birthday was on the 5th. Mine is April 11th. Robert's is April 20th. Hey, I'm just sayin'...

Anyway, Mani and Robert have always been interested in hiking and backpacking. Recently, they've begun acquiring their own equipment so they don't have to rent equipment every time we want to go backpacking. Aaron has had his own equipment for almost 10 years and has been a big help to the guys as they decide what equipment is essential to purchase first.

Aaron and I decided a few months ago that we want to make backpacking a more regular activity in our lives. Since Aaron has all of the major equipment we would need to survive in the wilderness (backpacking stove, water filter, 2-person tent), I would just need the basics: a backpack and a sleeping bag. Renting those items from a backpacking store would cost me at least $40 each time, not to mention I have no idea who slept in the bag before me or how much of their sweat was absorbed in the back pads of the pack. Um, gross.

I tried on a few packs and crawled into a few sleeping bags at REI last month and picked out the most comfortable items I would need for backpacking. Aaron (being the awesome online bargain-shopper that he is) wanted to surf the web to find the best prices on my gear and perhaps, one day when a upcoming trip deemed it necessary, buy my equipment then.

When we arrived home from REI on Saturday afternoon, there on our doorstep sat a big brown box. Aaron told me I wasn't allowed to look at it. Can we say birthday present?

I love surprises. I don't think Aaron enjoys them as much. After putting the mystery box away in the garage, he asked, "Do you want to open your present now...or do you want to wait?" What he really meant was, 'I want you to open your present now because I can't possibly wait to see your reaction.' It didn't really matter to me...a surprise is a surprise no matter when I open my birthday present. Besides, my birthday lasts all week. The festivities will continue until Friday :)

When I couldn't stand the excitement any longer, I gave in and opened one of my birthday presents a week early. It was my Gregory Deva 60 backpack! What meant more to me than the actual backpack was how much effort Aaron had put into finding it. He hadn't just gone to one website (or the very expensive REI) to find it...Aaron had searched for days to find the particular backpack I wanted in my size at a great price (we have a budget for each other's birthday gifts). I love my new backpack (and my little bargain-shopper!). Thanks for the wonderful gift, Love! I can't wait to use it soon :)

And the birthday week continues...

Aaron & Austin

Aaron and I babysat Austin and Ella tonight. Seeing Aaron hold Austin and read him stories melts my heart! Here are some snapshots from our night...

It's Been THAT Kind of Week

As I sat in the carpool line to pick Sam up from school today, I prayed that the Lord would bless me with enough patience to make it through the rest of the afternoon. Yes, it has been that kind of week.

As Sam's teacher, Mrs. Paine, opened my car door to put him into his car seat, I heard the tail-end of what sounded like encouragement for him to be good for me for the rest of the day.

"...You need to be good for her. Be a good listener and do what she says, okay?" Mrs. Paine urged Sam.

"Yeah, but I'll try not to have anymore fits today," Sam replied.

Uh oh.

"How was Sam today?" I asked Mrs. Paine, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, not so great. He had a few fits today," she said.

Pretty much par for the week.

Sam has been testing his limits for the past 2 weeks. I guess it's just a 4-year-old thing, but I'm not letting that pass as an excuse for his poor behavior. He knows what buttons to push, and I feel like if he pushes one more button I might fall over the edge. Good thing it's Friday.

Last weekend, Sam told his mom that it's "boring" when I come to stay with him because I don't let him watch TV all day. Yesterday, Sam told Mike that I "ignore" him. Sam immediately turned my way to watch my reaction, started laughing, and yelled, "Hahahaha! I'm just jokin'!"

Not funny.

It's really tough being a Nanny sometimes. Even though Mike and Liz know I take great care of their boys, Sam's mean and very false accusations hurt my feelings this week. I know I'm a good Nanny and I wish Sam would realize how lucky he is to have me around. I know I'm tough on him sometimes, but it's only because I don't want him to stop short of his potential. It's okay to make mistakes and have bad days every now and then, but it's not okay to have a bad attitude because you don't get what you want. It's not okay for me to let him get away with something just because I'm afraid he might call me "mean." Maybe one day he'll understand how much I love him...

Next week is Spring Break at Sam's school. Before I drove away from the carpool line today, Mrs. Paine asked, "You wouldn't happen to get a Spring Break would you, Mrs. Allison?" She smiled. I laughed.

No Spring Break for me...but I do get 2 days to recharge before starting another week with the boys. Next week will be better. It has to be.

Just A Little Shout-Out...

I would like to make it known that Jeremy Scott has one of the funniest blogs on the planet (next to Larry and Ryan, of course).

Jeremy is a Producer at Elevation Church and I work with him a lot on Sundays when I run cameras and the switcher. I always knew he was creative, but I had no idea he was capable of coming up with such incredibly psycho (but hilarious) ways of torturing other Elevation staff members. You must read his April Fool's Day blog to see what I mean. Oh...and don't forget to read this one, too.

I hope you have a good laugh. I sure did.

Pamper the Chef!

Ok, Ladies.

My friend Nicole came up with the best idea EVER. She's a Pampered Chef consulatant. I absolutely love to cook and bake. Soooooo...

I'm going to host a Pampered Chef party at my new home on Saturday, May 24th! Why didn't we think of this sooner?!

My friend Amy gave me a Pampered Chef Batter Bowl as a wedding gift...and I use it almost every day. I use it to mesure large amounts of liquid at once (stock for soups), mix batter (brownies, cookies, cakes, etc.), pour muffin mix directly into the cups without making a big mess, and refrigerate extra cookie dough (the bowl comes with a custom-fit plastic lid).

I'm looking forward to hosting the first big party at our new home. I'm also excited about learning new recipes and buying new kitchen gadgets :)

I know it's still a little more than 7 weeks away, but I'd love for you pencil my Pampered Chef party into your busy schedules and join me for a few hours of fun and food. Formal invitations coming soon...