And the moment you've all been waiting for.....

or not. Do you remember my post back in November about the contractor tearing down our deck and ripping out our gate and then never returning? If not you can read it here at where oh where? I had some fun making up rhymes. At the time I found it quite comical but as time went on it was more difficult to find the humor.... I thought about blogging about it several times but I knew my frustration would come out and I was trying not to be negative. Well my friends I've changed my mind.........from now on I'm letting it all hang out..the good, the bad, and the UGLY! No more Mrs. Nice guy/person! After yesterday's scare.. a whole 'nother blog, I was having chest pains and really came close to calling 911 when I couldn't get a hold of Mark. I called the neighbor, (how embarassing) because I really wasn't sure what was happening. Anyway from now on I'm letting it all out.........so look out. I think it will be very good for my heart.

We do now have a new deck... only took 31/2 months and the original "contractor" did take our landlords money and ran. I've made up some rhymes about him in my head but since this is a family blog I won't be able to share those with you, however a nicer, cleaner version may have gone a little something like this......

Where oh where did Patrick (if that is your real name) go?
Oh where oh where could this jerk be?
He is a big crook..who never gave, only took
Oh where oh where could he be?

Where oh where did Patrick go?
Where oh where could he be?
You should put down your hammer
and be dragged to the slammer
Oh where oh where could he be?

Where oh where did this Con man go?
Oh where oh where do they stay?
You should be so ashamed
Punished and defamed
Oh where oh where.........

Where oh where did this bad man go?
Oh where oh where could he be?
You should be thanking my mate
For letting you skate
He held this irish tempered girl back
from finding some dogs who could track
Oh where oh where could he be?

WHOO.. I feel better already, and that's only the beginning of our renting adventure.. there is so much to share. I think I'm really going to enjoy getting this off my chest as it were.. look for more to come!

So on a positive note, here is our pretty little new deck.

From The deck

From The deck

From The deck

From The deck

A Special Flashback Friday...

Today is the 1 year anniversary of the day I created The Campbell Family blog. I would like to say a big THANK YOU to my friend Terra who gave me the idea and really set it up for me and got me going. She has also been very encouraging along the way. Also thank you to my loyal commenters both on the blog and those of you who email me. You have been so faithful and I look forward to seeing what you have to say every day, so keep em coming. I apreciate the interest you've shown in my sometimes silly writings about my life. I also love sharing pictures and memories of our family. It's nice to have it all recorded. I am also thankful that my Sister (in-law) Tamara started a blog. We've been able to follow the birth of our little Lila and watch her grow even though she's hundreds of miles away.

My first post dated February 28th 2007 1st real post

I thought it would be fun to take this opportunity to let any of you ask any questions of me you would like. I would like to know what you would like to see more of on the blog. I could use some new ideas........ so fire away! Please :)

A list of a few of the blogs I enjoy reading.. there are so many I won't be able to list them all but here are a few of my favorites.

The Emerson Family
The Bailey Family
Life according to Bec
Weebles Wobblog
Woman Interrupted
Tales from the Nightstand
Musings of a Housewife
Catholic Teacher musings
A Nut in A Nutshell
Crazy Bloggin' Canuck
Simply Persnickety
Colorado Momma
These are a few of my favorite things
Mommie Blogs
It's a Dog and Pony show

I know I've missed some but these are just a few. Hope you enjoy them!

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

I love these cookies so much that one year when Mark's mom made them at Thanksgiving, I ate so many I made myself sick!

Make a Smilebox recipe

Read All About It!

You may remember my post about The book launch. Well my friend Leslie Gail wrote a book called "Life Simplified". It is for sale on Amazon. She has a special promotion going on if you purchase the book tomorrow the 24th. Check out this web site for details. http://www.newlifefocus.com/expertletter.html. I am reading the book right now. I would highly recommend it and who knows you might win a free give away!

The book goes week by week giving you tips for the week. The first week was "Always declutter life first". Even though it sounds simple it really does make a big difference. I made a list of things or tolerations that bother me.. like my younger sons room.. every time I walk by I think, we need to take some of the stuff off his walls, paint, reorganize..etc. So I started with his room and made a list of small things I can do each day so that it's not overwhelming.. I feel better just knowing I'm on my way even if it is small steps. The other thing was organizing my recipes.. I made a list like.. 1. type into Smilebox and print. 2. Buy Sheet protectors and page dividers 3. Organize in recipe book...etc. I'm almost done and then I'm going to check out Terra's tips on her blog for meal planning.. You can check it out by clicking Here. for part 1 and Here for Part 2 and here for part 3.



There is also a new blog in town also written by Terra. It is a book review blog.. Check it out at Tales from the Nightstand...

My husband..................the fish whisperer

I always knew my husband had many talents, otherwise why would I have married him?? Well there are many reasons why I married him, one is that he makes my Espresso for me every morning and has it waiting when I get out of the shower. I'm not sure if it's so much a loving act as much as I think he's a little afraid to talk to me before I have my caffeine.. I know it's hard to believe I could ever be anything buy friendly and cordial to my loving hubby but try talking to me first thing in the morning. I use to like to think I was a morning person but one day Mark said "Honey, you've been telling that lie to yourself and others and I think I need to tell you, you are NOT a morning person". Well, I argued the point but after thinking about it I realized he was right. I love mornings but only when I'm completely left alone... I guess that doesn't qualify.

Anyway, back to Mark's many talents. Just when I thought I knew everything there was to know about this wonderful man he impresses me yet again. In case you missed my posts on Something Smells Fishy and Fish Update. You can check them out. Anyway we have had a hard time keeping them alive. We've lost all of the original 6 except for one..Ferb, who happens to be mine. I am a survivor... I've been going around the house singing "I will Survive" but nobody else seems to think it's as funny as I do..oh well. That's what they get for picking the FAT fish to me mine! HA!

We have taken a few dead ones back and exchanged for live but they never seem to make it too long. Anyway after the first couple died, Mark would keep a close eye on the tank and when he would see one start to float upside down or just kind of laying on the bottom he would nudge it with the net.. he would even press a little where thier heart might be and shock it back to life. I was so amazed to see this the first time. The little guy actually started swimming again and some of them would last a few more days. Mark is my hero, he gave the little guys a few hours or days that they wouldn't otherwise have had.

I told him he reminded me of Dr. Shepperd on Grays Anatomy.. you know when he looks up right before a surgery and says "It's a great day to save lives".

Or Hawkeye Peirce (Alan Alda) on MASH, the episode where he's trying to say some young soldiers life and he says "Don't let the Bastard win"~! (referring to death).

Well now we are down to one (mine). In the words of Dory from Finding Nemo, "keep on swimming, keep on swimming".

We did have our tank water tested a couple of times and they (the Pet Smart professionals) gave us some more chemicals to add to take away amonia..etc. Looks like we are going to have to empty the entire tank and start over....................great!

See the quote below so you too can have it stuck in your head..Have a great day and Keep swimming!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dory: Hey there, Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down do you wanna know what you've gotta do?
Marlin: No I don't wanna know.
Dory: [singing] Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.
Marlin: Dory, no singing.
Dory: [continuing] Ha, ha, ha, ha, ho. I love to swim. When you want to swim you want to swim.
Marlin: Now I'm stuck with that song... Now it's in my head.
Dory: Sorry.

Flashback Friday 2001

Make a Smilebox postcard

Favorite quotes of the week...

Disclaimer: This post may not be politically correct, it may use words like hippie, black and gay.
none of which are meant to be offensive.

OUT OF THE MOUTHS OF BABES..

Alex: "Mom, is Ellen (Degenerous) Gay?"

Me: "Yes". "Do you know what that means?"

Alex: "Yes, it means she likes girls."

Me: "yes, and if a boy is gay, he likes boys".

After a few seconds, I thought the conversation was over for now.. he said,

"Girls liking girls is okay but boys liking boys.............that's just wrong".

(of course this was followed by a short conversation on tolerance and people being different..)


Next quote:

Alex: "Mom, you know that song "Beat It" by Michael Jackson we heard at the skating rink?"

Me: "Yes, but I think it was a remake. I don't think it was Michael Jackson singing".

Alex: "Is Micheal Jackson a hippie?"

Me: "Have you ever seen Michael Jackson?"

Alex: "No".

Me: "He's a black man".

Alex: "He's Black??"

Mark walks into the room and says "He used to be".


*** I'm not sure what Alex's interpretation of a hippie is but the other day he said "Mom, a boy at school told me only hippies play acoustic guitar" "I said, your Grandpa (my Dad) and your uncle Jerry play acoustic guitar... do you think they are hippies??? This got a chuckle out of him. And if you know my Dad and brother, it will make you laugh too.

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

Make a Smilebox recipe

Perfect Moment Monday

My Perfect Moment..

I CapturePerfect Moments.

Last week I was pretty sick for several days. I was in bed for most of two days. As I was laying there feeling miserable, the boys would come in ever so often and ask if I was okay and say they hoped I felt better soon, or just give me a little hug. They were genuinely concerned. It shouldn't surprise me but I was a little surprised. I guess we all go through our days sometimes not realizing how much we are loved and appreciated. Mark took over everything, which is no surprise to those of you who know him, but it was a relief just to be able to rest and get over being sick and not having to worry about anything.



Thank you honey, Connor and Alex. You showed with your actions just how much you love me! I don't want to be sick again anytime soon but it was a perfect moment realizing how much you care.

Sleeping disfunction...

Let me just start off by saying, Yes, we are a dysfunctional family when it comes to sleeping and I know honey, it's ALL my fault. I find it impossible to turn the little ones (who aren't so little anymore) away when they want to crawl into bed with us.. I know I know I'm not doing them or us any favors. I know all the logic and reasoning but still. So a few weeks ago Alex was having trouble going to sleep and wanting to come into bed with us every night. I knew it had to stop because our bed is a Queen size and just not big enough (maybe we just need a bigger bed?) Actually we sold our King and got a Queen just for this reason. Mark thought it would take care of the "problem". So I realized I have to do something. Mark doesn't get enough sleep as it is. So we told Alex he could sleep at the foot of our bed. He was perfectly happy with this. Then one night Connor decided he wanted to sleep there too. Well we couldn't say no since Alex is there. So the boys have been out of school "off track" for the past 3 weeks and have been sleeping at the foot of our bed every night. Mark is just tickled. He swears we are going to move into a one bedroom house..might as well as he says, we could save money on a smaller house.

We are going to get back into our routine and our own beds when they go back to school.. I know you don't believe me but if we don't get this resolved I might need a good lawyer soon.. seriously.

So the boys have been "arguing" a lot. They have had way too much quality time together this break. It is driving us nuts. So the other night I hear Connor start talking in his sleep, sounds like he's arguing with Alex. Then Alex starts "arguing" back in his sleep. I get up thinking they are fighting over the blankets but no.. they are both sound asleep having their own version of a fight with the other.. Not making a lot of sense but going back and forth. I wanted to laugh but I was afraid it would wake Mark up and he would boot all three of us out the the bedroom for good!

Did you say HOT???

Alex and some of the kids from his class met yesterday at an indoor play place. Siblings were invited and Connor came along. As it turns out some of the other kids brought siblings too and a couple happened to be girls in Connor's class. Well a few of us Mom's were standing around (ok, sitting) chatting while the kids played. I mentioned to the two Mom's of the girls in Connor's class that it was kind of funny how they didn't talk to each other and kind of acted like they didn't know one another at first. I said it must be a boy girl thing. Well the Mom's proceeded to tell me that the girls actually like Connor very much and he is a popular topic of their girls emails. I thought, that's nice, I'm glad the girls like him. But then one of them said how their daughter recieved an email from another girl in their class that said "Connor is SOO HOT!" What? You didn't just say that! This is my little boy we are talking about.. HOT?? What does that even mean when you are 11? I remember maybe saying a boy was cute at that age but HOT?? I guess I'm still getting over that one! Connor will kill me if he see's this, but what can he say.. If you're hot you're hot.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Flashback Friday 2001

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

Make a Smilebox recipe

A couple of things to share with you...

On Saturday night Mark and I went to a book launch. Doesn't that sound fancy?? Anyway the boys went to Grandpa's and had a sleep over. They always have such a great time at his house. They even have their own room with bunk beds! Thank you for keeping them Grandpa, you are creating wonderful memories with them. The book launch was for a friend of ours, Leslie Gail who is a life coach. She has written a book called Life Simplified. It is a weekly guide to improving your life. I like the way it's written in a simple format that's easy to read and the tips are easy changes that make a big difference.I like the way it goes one week at a time also. It gives you time to ease into the habits. I would recommend that you check it out. You can also sign up for her "Monday Morning tips" which I enjoy and get a lot out of. So there you go.. my book review of the week..haha. Not to sound patronizing but it has been an inspiration to watch Leslie grow in her career. We've been friends for many years and we have watched her accomplish great things. It's amazing to me that anything she puts her mind to she just does it! She mentioned years ago that she was going to write a book.. and she did. Good for you, I can't wait to see what you do next.

Second we met our good friend Becky who was Connor's third grade teacher and also happens to be an artist, for lunch today and she had a surprise for us. Thank you so much Becky. You know how special you are to us and how much we love you! We will treasure this picture always...

From Becky's picture

What I learned this week...

What I learned this week hosted by
Musings of a Housewife

The other night my sweet little 5 yr old neighbor Chloe (in the picture with Alex) came to the door. She was bringing some magazines over to me from her mom (miss Helen). I chatted with her at the door telling her I loved her robe and fuzzy bunny slippers and the cute hat she was wearing. She really did look so cute showing up at our door on a cold snowy night in her robe. So after she left, her Mom called and said I have to tell you this... So I guess when Helen asked Chloe to please take the magazines over to Miss Bonnie but hurry back because it's cold outside and you are in your robe. Chloe replied "But Miss Bonnie likes to talk". So off she came to my house. When she returned back home Miss Helen said "What took you so long?" Chloe said "I TOLD you Miss Bonnie likes to talk!".

So what I learned is that maybe I need a little more female companionship if I'm holding up my poor little 5 yr old Chloe just to chat! The thing is girls really are more talkative and just an FYI... Chloe and I have had some great conversations!

Out of the loop...??

I have been pondering something the past couple of days.. Is it best to watch the news and know everything that's going on or is ignorance bliss? I do choose not to watch the news (even though I catch tidbits when Mark is watching). My thought is if it's really important you are going to hear about it anyway. I know that in some ways it's good to know what's going on I just think we can get way too caught up in it and I read somewhere that 95% of what we worry about never happens. There is so much negativity right now that when I do listen I feel my anxiety go up and my chest tighten..that can't be healthy.

The thought came to me when someone called to tell me about all the terrible budget cuts that were going on in the Douglas County School District. I had heard of some but the way she was talking it was really going down the tubes and we should be very concerned. I started questioning if I should be more worried and maybe should pay more attention but I just feel that everything has a way of working itself out and It's usually not nearly as bad as you think and if it is then you deal with it when it is...

So my question is.. Do you like to be totally informed at all times or like me partially informed part of the time and blissfully ingnorant the rest of the time?

Flashback Friday..Cousins

The bond between these three have always been amazing to me. From the time Connor and Caitlyn were very small they had a special connection. Even though they live in different states whenever they get together it seems no time has passed and Alex just loves Caitlyn, it's really special.

Connor and Caitlyn

From Flashback Friday cousins

Con and Caitlyn

From Flashback Friday cousins

Caitlyn and Alex

From Flashback Friday cousins

Caitlyn and Alex

From Flashback Friday cousins

Caitlyn and Connor.. I think we were on our way to Disney.

From Flashback Friday cousins

Connor turns 11!

Yesterday was Connor's Birthday. Daddy had to work so Connor, Alex and I went to the Denver Zoo. It was a beautiful day.. almost felt like Spring. We missed Mark and Grandma who is usually here for Connor's birthday but we had a really nice day.

From Connor's 11th birthday

From Connor's 11th birthday

Feeding the birds

From Connor's 11th birthday

Feeding the birds

From Connor's 11th birthday

From Connor's 11th birthday

After a long day at the Zoo. We were a little tired but we came home and got Dad and Grandpa and headed off to Red Robin for dinner. Then we returned home and had leftover Cake, ice cream and cookie from Connor's Superbowl/Birthday Party. Then Con opened presents. All in All I think he had a good Birthday!

From Connor's 11th birthday

From Connor's 11th birthday

From Connor's 11th birthday

A gift from Alex.. a body pillow that Con wanted for Christmas...

From Connor's 11th birthday

What's Cookin' Wednesday...

We tried this the other day when it was cold outside and it really hit the spot. I forgot to take a picture but here is the recipe.

Make a Smilebox recipe

Connor's Superbowl/Birthday Party

Connor decided he wanted to have a Superbowl/Birthday party.. actually he wanted to take 12 of his closest friends to Dave and Busters and of course I said "are you kidding me?". Only not out loud. Out loud I just said um.... no. So it was actually my idea to have a party here at home since he wanted to invite so many classmates. It turned out pretty good. They all seemed to have a great time. Some of the pictures I took didn't turn out too well. I need more practice with my new camera.

You are probably getting tired of these slide shows but I promise this one is not very long.

We were rooting for the Cardinals since they were the underdog but oh well... Pittsburgh won it fair and square as far as I could tell.

Make a Smilebox slideshow