Friday, August 10, 2012

7 Quick Takes

Visit the amazing Jen for more

1) Well....we got an estimate on painting the outside of our house.  To paint the trim and shutters and power wash the shingles would cost $8000.  We are going to get a second estimate and see if we can bring that price down.  But it is a big house, so I'm not sure how much lower we can expect.  It's a tough to decide just how much money you are willing to put into a house you are going to sell.  Will that $8000 spent yield $10,000 more on the sale than if we didn't paint it?  Who knows?

2) Xander's girlfriend, Ava, has pictures of her recent visit to celebrate his birthday.  Here they are sharing their "baby cheetos",  as Phil calls them:

You can see more photos of the adorable couple here.

3) Hopefully by the time you read this, we are on VACATION!!  We are visiting with Phil's family in Maryland, and then going to Williamsburg, VA for a few days.  We are so relieved just to get away from work and give the kids a fun week.
We really want to go to Busch Gardens while we are down there, but have you seen the price of tickets??  $67 for an adult and $57 for a child ages 3-9!  That means that even with Alexander being free, it would cost us $362 to go for one day.  Isn't that insane? 

4) Track Club is over.  The kids are sad, but I have to admit that the tired mom in me is a little excited :)
They really had a great time doing this again this summer, and it's fun to see at which future track events they might excel.  I think John-Paul will do the 100m and javelin, Andrew will be our 200m and 400m sprinter, Eamon could do long-jump and hurdles.  As for Maggie, well, she seems to be more interested in making friends and taking water breaks than the actual running parts :)

Stretching with her boyfriend, Robby

 The boys with their favorite coach, who they nicknamed Mustard.  Don't ask why.


5) The reason this summer's track club has been a little more tiring than usual is because of a certain mischievous one year old:
 Getting into the diaper bag to eat, because he's obviously not well-fed.


His cousin Caitlin, who is 9, basically comes to track to play with him all night (excuse the bruise on his cheek and the wrestler-style pajamas):

Words to date for Mr. Xander B: dada, nuh-nuh (mama), this, that, all done, uh-oh, hot.


6) Dwija wrote about how her fear of mice started, and it reminded me of why I share the same musophobia.  There are two distinct memories I have with mice from my childhood. Both happened around age 10. The first was that I was napping on the couch in the family room, and I heard my brother Brian calling my name, and when I opened my eyes he was dangling a dead mouse in front of my face.  The second time was when I went into my garage to put on my Rollerblades, and when I put my first foot in, there was something squishy inside.  I shook out the squishy lump, and it was a dead mouse.  So gross, and I was scarred for life after that point.  I think the only thing that may surpass my musophobia is my chiroptophobia (fear of bats).  Because really, bats are just mice with wings.  In my adult life, I've had run-ins with bats and mice, and just barely lived to tell the tales. 

7) My parents brought J-P, Andrew, and Eamon to the Patriots Training Camp on Tuesday, and they got to see their favorite Patriots, including Wes Welker (my favorite), Vince Wilfork (my Mom's fave) and the super talented but slightly immoral Tom Brady (my Mom said he was sooooo skinny and tall):

I am so ready for football season!  OK, really I'm just ready for the food at the football parties!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

13 comments:

  1. Watching verrrrry closely all the Martin children you've paired off. Was happy to see the JP was still reserved for Lotus.
    Have fun on vacation! Bummed you won't stop by and see us on the way back.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't worry, we know how lucky we would be to get Lotus as part of the Martin Family, that arranged marriage is solid. I keep promising Maggie's hand to too many suitors. I better watch out before she gets a reputation. And what the what? I thought you had friends visiting next weekend??

      Delete
  2. Wish we could come and help you paint your home. We usually do it ourselves. Do you have any ladders?

    I have a superduper fear of spiders. I will let mice, snakes, non-rabies bats touch me...but not spiders. Many many scary scaredforlife moments when I was little.

    happy vacation time
    and yes...that amount of money is for college someday. It is crazy. We have that all the time because of the size of our family. For a family of 4..not totally horrible...but 7 when we do and go anywhere it gets expensive. I tell the kids they will have to experience a lot after college and when they get some of their own money. TRAVEL when ya can.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have fun on vacation!!! Busch Gardens is so much fun! We went once when we got free tickets! Willimasburg and Busch Gardens has something called a Bounce pass . . . that might be way cheaper. Where are you staying while down there?

    Wow to the cost of painting the house! Please excuse my memory lapse, but why are you moving? I thought I remember you stating that the house is too small, but it looks so big in the pictures!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We only live in the top condo....the second and third floors are our home :)

      Delete
  4. Yes, vacation time for us is just around the corner too, we can't wait!! We also CANNOT wait for football season! I too love the food, parties, social time and fun with the kiddos. Have a safe trip!

    ReplyDelete
  5. $8K is steep, but if you can get the price a little lower, I say go for it. Curb appeal, baby!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey Colleen, I have a phone number for you of another painter a friend recommended. Let me know when you're back and I'll give it over. Mucho love to Phil's familia from me, k?

    As for me? Centipedes creep me out.

    And my favorite part of this post? The cutie in purple on the top. She's finally made it to the Martin's blog... "famous"! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Why can't you try painting yourselves? It may take a bit longer to get it done, but also a lot cheaper and buyers won't know the difference. Good luck figuring it all out!

    ReplyDelete
  8. YOU STEPPED ON A DEAD MOUSE???? We can't be friends anymore. I wouldn't have hugged you today if I had known that...or let you butter my bagel ;) That is so scary and gross. I think you have now given ME a complex?!?!

    Also, are you AAA members? You could call them to see what discount you could get at Busch Gardens? And ask the front desk at the Powhatan. We definitely stayed at the Powhatan and I distinctly remember a hot tub room in our suite :) HAVE FUN!!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I know this is why we never go anywhere. Amusement parks are so expensive.

    I am deathly afraid of snakes. Mice are gross but I can deal with them. I kinda think mice are cute.cute but gross. But snakes... Nothing cute about them at all.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Now wait just a minute . . . I've been holding out hope that Taylor and Xander might have a future together ;) Ava's pretty cute, though!

    Enjoy your vacation! We are so in need of one!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think your fear of mice and bats is a relevant fear....and you should get extra vacation days to over come them. :)
    I know the house painting is costly....but I promise you that you'll get the money back on the sale of your home. Enjoy your vacation!

    ReplyDelete

Talk to me...