We saw the Wizard of Oz

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a good weekend. We had a busy one complete with a "Mommy-Son" date night on Saturday night. We went to see "The Wizard of Oz" during it's opening night.

However, before that we did some running around in the morning. I met my mom, dad, sister, brother, niece, and nephew at the Saturday morning farmer's market where I got some yummy produce. 

Saturday's haul: cherry tomatoes, 2 large slicing tomatoes, snap peas, green beans, and assorted hot peppers

Then after coming home to get the kids, I met them at the book warehouse (which is run by a group of volunteers and all the profits benefit the library programs.) At the warehouse you can stuff a grocery bag full of books for $5. I found a few treasures as did the kids. :) 

only a small portion of the warehouse

My books

After the book warehouse it was time to head home to rest up for the night adventures where we were of to see the wonderful Wizard of Oz. We had a wonderful evening. 

The boys and I-- 3 rows from the stage. Although right after this Ben abandoned us to sit one row up next to an older woman who had an extra seat and offered it to him so he could see better. 

Before the play started they let the kids come up on stage to take a bow.

All the actors, including Bill and Rebecca have worked really hard getting ready for the show, putting in really long hours of practice. They have been practicing for 6+ hours a day for the last 2 weeks... and countless hours before then. It really is a labor of love. I didn't take any pictures during the production, but I did "steal" a couple that included Rebecca from their preview shots that Broadway World Columbus shared on their website. (Bill was hidden in the photos posted).

Rebecca is right in the center with  the white skirt and green tank top shirt.

Rebecca is the Ozian in the back who is saluting

The production was a huge hit and very well done. The only complaint that I had was that I felt that the girl who played Glenda the Good Witch was not a good fit for the role; she looked the role but I didn't enjoy her acting. Other than that everyone did an amazing job! After the show all the characters were outside to do a meet and greet. Jacob wouldn't go near any of them except Dorothy and Toto. Ben wanted his picture with all of them. LOL 

Winkie Bill, my boys and my Ozian Rebecca

Rebecca's Ozian costume

Mommy and Ozian Rebecca selfie

Ben and Glenda the Good Witch

Ben and the Wizard of Oz

Ben and the Wicked Witch. This actress was FANTASTIC! She made the witch her own-- think glamorous, evil witch. 

Ben and the Tin Man

Ben and the Cowardly Lion. This was another amazing actor. He was perfect for the role.

Jacob, Scarecrow, Dorothy and Toto, and Ben

Yesterday, I missed church as I was so tired. I spent the day doing laundry and cleaning up the house. It was just the boys and I at home as Bill and Rebecca were at the theater from 11:30AM to almost 6PM for Sunday's performance. I was going to mow the grass (yes I still haven't done it!) but again I ran out of time. That is on my list of things to do today-- in fact it is what I am going to do next since it isn't supposed to be as humid today. I have a long list of things to do today, so I guess I should wrap this up and get that list started. Have a wonderful Monday! 

Fingernails and Fourth of July Fun

Wednesday was kind of a lazy type of day in that I really didn't do anything too productive. I went to the eye doctor and then picked up stuff for salad for dinner. 

The eye doctor was interesting. I knew that it had been a few years since I had been, however was dismayed to see that it had been 6 years since I had last been. Oops. Life happened, no insurance for a while, etc. It is what it is. My eyes have gotten worse. In fact I am one step away from needing bifocals. Again, oops. I hopefully will have my new glasses at the end of next week. 

Wednesday night, Bill and Rebecca had another dress rehearsal and I just chilled with the boys. I took the opportunity to use Color Street nails on my fingernails. I haven't painted my fingernails in years, but decided to support my cousin's new business and ordered a couple sets of nails. 

They were pretty simple to put on. I am not sure how often I will buy them but it was a nice change and something out of the ordinary for me. 

Yesterday we celebrated the Fourth of July at my parent's house. My brothers and sister were there. It was a fun afternoon. We live in a great country where we can choose how to celebrate our freedoms. The kids enjoyed the cookout, eating lots of stuff-- bomb pops, brownies, etc, and playing with their cousins. 

When we got home, it was bath time and bedtime for the kids. After they were in bed, Bill went to work and I took a shower and relaxed. I realized that Hulu has "Home Improvement" episodes on there so I watched a few of those. 

Today, I have a laundry list of things to do. I need to go to the grocery store, do at least 3 loads of laundry, mow the lawn, etc. Hope everyone has a great Friday! 

We saw Toy Story 4

Yesterday I did get off my bottom and got something done. I did get both bathrooms deep cleaned as well as both litter boxes. Glad to have that job done for the time being. I am liking this idea of having a goal for that day and getting it accomplished. 

In the afternoon, I made dinner for Rebecca and Bill to eat before they went to play practice and then I surprised the boys with a trip to the movies. 

We went to see "Toy Story 4." I love taking the kids to the movies on Tuesdays as it is $5 Bargain Tuesday. With our UEC card (not a credit card, but like a store rewards card) each ticket is only $5 and it comes with a free small popcorn per ticket. So it only cost us $15 for the movie and popcorn. I then paid $12 for the drinks-- I let the boys have orange pop so they thought that was awesome. LOL So for under $30 we had a nice night out seeing a new movie in the theater. (If I would have went on a normal night tickets would have been $21.25 and food (popcorn and drinks)would have been at minimum $25 so a total of $46.25 so we saved quite a bit by going on a Tuesday. 

As for the movie, I went in with little to no expectation on it. I didn't even really know what the story line would be. Let me tell you that the story line did not disappoint. It is really well done and without giving anything away it was a tear-jerker and really wrapped up the "Toy Story" movies in a great way. I really enjoyed it. The boys LOVED it as well. Jacob was crying at the end and Ben said it was awesome. They both gave it an A. I would highly recommend seeing it. 

I am going to leave this post as a movie review as I have to get ready to go to the eye doctor. I am not really looking forward to going but it has been a few years and needs to be done. Hope everyone has a great Wednesday!  

More decluttering, Rebecca's new glasses, and playing

Yesterday afternoon I ended up getting more done than I thought. I actually got a burst of energy shortly after writing my blog post so I started tackling the "closet of doom" off the bathroom. I have written about it before and it is my nemesis. Maybe I was inspired by doing Rebecca's room or maybe I just wanted to not feel guilty about not doing anything. I don't know. Anyhow, it desperately needed a good cleaning. 

I spent a couple of hours in there (sweating like a pig as there is no a/c in the upstairs and it was HOT) and came out with 10 bags of donation items for Goodwill. I think the after pictures look good. Now to just keep it that way! (And I should add, it is not perfect as there are still a few totes and things to go through but that will wait to another cooler day!) 

I only stopped for a little bit to run Rebecca to Walmart to pick up her new glasses. She picked them out last week after her eye appointment and she loves them. 

Monday night Bill and Rebecca had play practice. I had to run Bill's work pants to him as he forgot them (and he leaves straight from practice to work). As we were coming home, I stopped at our church (as we literally pass right by it) to let the boys play on the playground. It was still close to 85 degrees at 8:30 at night but they had fun running around. 

We then came home and they took baths and relaxed until it was time to go pick Rebecca up from practice. She finally got done at 11:30. (Welcome to tech/ dress rehearsal week!). She came home, ate a snack, took a shower and was in bed around 1AM. 

Today, we are just relaxing here and keeping it low key. With Rebecca's and Bill's play schedule I am trying to make sure they have down time. Also it is another dangerously hot and humid day, with heat indexes reaching to 100 degrees. I have been reading blogs and relaxing this morning. I need to clean the bathrooms and deep clean the litter boxes today. So I might do that and then make the kids lunch, or maybe I will just chill and read for a bit. 

What are you up to today? Whatever it is make it a good one! 

A nice weekend but kind of dragging today

Happy July and Happy Monday! 

This past weekend was nice and busy. On Saturday, Rebecca and I met my mom at the farmer's market at our town square and then decided to do a girl's day. My mom and dad have custody of my 14 year old niece with autism and my 7 year old nephew. My mom is the primary caregiver as my dad works full time. My mom was worn down so my dad told her to stay in town and do something. So that is what we did. LOL

We started out at the farmers' market, where I treated us all to some yummy donuts. 

I also bought some yummy produce. The farmers are finally starting to see some things produce so it is good. My mom saw several people that she knew and so got to catch up with some of her friends that she hasn't seen in a long time. 

I had to leave to run Rebecca to play practice. My mom met me back at my house where we waited for Rebecca to finish. When she was done we went and picked her up then it off on our adventures. 

Our first stop was a new locally owned candy store that Rebecca wanted to show my mom. I got a few treats for the kids. Then, we went to a little coffee hut that I had won a gift certificate for. Rebecca got a berry smoothie that she said was good. I got a buckeye shake but it was just meh. It wasn't really cold and I think that made it seem weird to drink. 

Then we headed to Gordmans to check out that store. Gordmans just opened a ton of stores in the USA and our town got one. It was a nice store; reminded me of like a TJ Maxx or similar. I found nice headphones for $6.99 a piece that I got the boys for school as I know they will need them and I usually have to pay $14.99 at Walmart for them. I also spend $3 on earbuds for Rebecca. My mom bought me this cute little sloth fake plant for my mantel. She said I couldn't kill this one! LOL 

When we left Gordmans we headed to the book warehouse to see if we could find any treasures. I got a couple books as did Rebecca. For $5 a bag you can't beat it. I did forget to take the 3 boxes of books that I have at my house to donate though. 

Then we headed to another farm market as I needed to get some tomatoes. As we headed there I remembered that I had to take Rebecca to the theater warehouse for a fitting for her Ozian costume. So we did that. Then we headed to Fiesta Mexicana for a very late lunch. 
Overall, it was a very nice way to spend most of Saturday. I think my mom had fun and got to destress a little. 

That evening, the boys wanted to go see my dad and my brother, so we packed up the kids and headed to my parents' house. Ben loved it that he and his Uncle Josh had on baseball jerseys. LOL

We spent the evening sitting on their back deck socializing while the kids ran around and played and caught lightning bugs, etc. We didn't get home until after midnight. 

Yesterday, I went to church and then came home. Bill and Rebecca both had play practice from 2-6 yesterday so while they were gone I tackled Rebecca's bedroom. Here was the before....  

Three hours later here is the after. 

I was able to get 2 bags of trash out of there (art project pieces, papers, etc.) and it looks so much better. I also got 3 loads of laundry out of her room to do. I also got all of her books to fit on her bookshelf; I had thought I was going to have to buy her a larger bookshelf but once I cleaned up stuff and put things away where they belonged she had more than enough room. 

I made a yummy dinner of ribs, corn on the cob, fresh green beans and strawberry and blueberry fruit salad. The kids and Bill ate everything and really seemed to enjoy it. This week our menu is going to be called the quick and easy meal plan as it is tech/dress rehearsal week for "Wizard of Oz" so Bill and Rebecca have to be at the theater at the same time that we would typically be eating. 

This morning, I am kind of dragging. I ran to Walmart to get Rebecca nude tights for the play and some toilet bowel cleaner. I have chicken in the crockpot for BBQ shredded sandwiches and I have done 2 loads of laundry. I am fighting off a big headache and that is just making me feel blah. But I have things I want to get done. I really want to get the upstairs cleaned and decluttered this week as I don't have any babysitting kids this week. However, I am just not feeling it right now. I should go make the boys their lunch (Rebecca already ate). I hope everyone has a good day!