They come in 3's, or so I'm told...

And I'm really hoping that it is true because...

#1) Last Monday our basement flooded (This isn't a picture of our basement but it helps you get the idea)

#2) Then on Tuesday I broke my ankle while running to the car- this is the best that it looked!

#3) Finally, on Wednesday I drove through my garage (trying to drive with my left leg).  I know, I know, I'm never living that one down!  Unfortunately, this IS a picture of my house!

Seriously.  It can only get better.  Right?

Digging in the Dirt

Jason and I learned many things from building our first home and would actually enjoy doing it again, now that we have that experience under our belt. One thing that we learned is to be present when the landscapers are putting in the sod and planting! Our sub-par, contracted, landscaping team, simply covered up large plots of dirt, concrete, old bottle caps and garbage with pinestraw (that's the southern equivalent to mulch) but not a plant in sight around the side and back of the house. Side note -we did really like how the front yard turned out though.

We've had good intentions of tackling the left over landscaping project for the past 2 years but haven't ever managed to get to it. It's like we've been busy or something! Well, spring break found us with a spare moment so I headed to Pike's Nurseries for some guidance. The heaven's apparently took pity on my serious lack of gardening skills and put a landscape architect in my direct path. Moments after I walked into the store, an employee approached me asking how he could help and yeah, he had no idea what he was getting into. I immediately confessed that I was a novice in the gardening world and then showed him the barren pictures of the outside of our home and told him that I need landscaping that was easy to care for. That angel then sat down with me and literally mapped out a landscaping plan, (including dimensions and directions) for our planting endeavor!

The side of the garage - Phase 1 before

The side of the garage - Phase 1 after

For those gardeners out there - We planted a Tea Olive at the front corner of the garage and the shrubs are Cleyeras. Truth be told, it wasn't nearly as complicated as I'd expected (once somebody told me what to buy, where to put them and how to plant them - hee-hee). But then again we started with the easiest part of the plan. The kids loved mixing the dirt and running through the sprinklers all day long. Not a bad way to spend the day together in my opinion (Jason and his back have another one I think). I'll post phase 2 this weekend. This is what we are starting with ...

Ava Update and Funny

That Mavala stuff is a MIRACLE! Ava did in fact cry herself to sleep that night (in my bed) and woke up the next morning with a very bad taste in her mouth but NEVER sucked her thumb again! Two days later we were driving home from the airport when Ava says to me, "Mom, I didn't suck my thumb the entire day - not when I was at home, not when I was driving in the car, not when I was watching TV..." (you get the idea). We stopped applying the Mavala to Ava's nails after the 2nd day and she hasn't even once put that little thumb back into her mouth. Yea!!!!

Now for the funny. An hour ago Ava was sitting on the counter while I was making dinner. We had a discussion that went something pretty close to this...

Ava - "Mom, Kate told me that I can only be one thing when I grow up".
Me - "You can be as many things as you want to be. You could decide to be one thing and then change your mind and do something else".
Ava - "I want to be three things"
Me - "Oh really? What are those three things?"
Ava - "1) A doctor 2) A dolpin rider and....(long pause) 3) I want to clean toilets with that brush thingy".
Me - Laughing hysterically. Can't respond for 30 seconds and then can only hug my funny little girl.

It's No Joke

Despite a very teary protest, we applied a little Mavala to Ava's right thumb this evening. Over the past 2 years she has blossomed into a full blown serial-thumb-sucker. We have tried all kind of motivational tricks of the trade but she was not buying into any of our schemes. When we once asked her why she wouldn't stop sucking her thumb her reply was, "Because I don't want to and it tastes like 'nilla (vanilla)". So there you have it.

The industrial strength, nail sucking deterent arrived by UPS today. We figured that April 1st was as good of a time as any to begin the intervention but I didn't count on how truly upset she would be. I tucked in a tearful little girl moments ago and said a silent prayer that she wouldn't cry herself to sleep tonight.

Have you ever been this tired?

You may recall the post last fall where Ava fell asleep standing up. Well, she may have outdone herself today. After Ava changed and showered this afternoon, I told her to go to her room and put on the clothes I'd laid out for her. About 15 min later I found her on the steps outside of my bedroom, sans towel, but with her clothes laying next to her. She was so asleep that she didn't wake up when we dressed and put her in bed. It was the most bizarre thing... Wonder where she gets her uncanny ability to sleep anywhere?

Kate's Journey Part 1

This is a new year for the Hansen Family - the first since 2007 that is CANCER FREE! Our leukemia journey with Kate will never be forgotten but we are happy to move forward to healthier days!

At Kate's end of chemo party in August, Jason made this wonderful DVD chronicling her last 2 years. Since August he's been asking me to put it on the blog but I encountered some technical difficulities. Due to the length of the clip we had to separate it in into two parts. As I just watched this again my overwhelming feeling was of gratitude. Our family has been blessed! We hope that 2010 brings your families an abundance of blessing too!

Kate's Journey Part 2