Monday cont. . . .

Here's some more dog house pictures. It's still not complete. We got a late start waiting for the furniture people to come and deliver our new bedroom set. So, we'll try to finish it tonight.





Ummmmm dad, I don't think this is going to work. LOL






LOL LOL






And after all of this . . . this is where Bonnie is. LOL





Today we're going to Waldameer, a local amusement park. http://waldameer.com/

Our frugal vacation!

We have set aside some money and have decided to take a frugal vacation this year. We're not leaving the state, just doing things around town that we don't normally get to do.

Our first day of 'vacation', since it's suppose to be nice outside, is 'Build a Dog House' day. We are using recycled materials and Brian bought some wood on clearance at Home Depot that had already been cut. It just so happened to work out that it was the sizes he needed to build the dog house.

Although we were suppose to start the dog house today, Brian decided to start it last night. I snapped a few pictures of our progress so far.













Bonnie, of course, could care less about the progress. The whole time we worked on it outside, she was in on the couch sleeping. I guess a day at my dad's wore her out. LOL

It's time to 'move that bus'

Extreme Home Makeover has been in Erie all this past week building a house for a family here. It's amazing to see this happen! We've been there a lot watching and trying to see 'Uncle Ty'. We did see him yesterday and Pauly on Monday.

I was interviewed by the local newspaper yesterday. The article didn't say all of what I was asked, but it did at least mention my name!

Here is it:



Ten thousand nails.


One thousand two-by-fours.

Three hundred and eighty building panels.

All of it in preparation for today, the day that will change Clara Ward's life.

If all goes as planned, Ward will arrive at 650 E. 21st St. sometime between 1 and 2 p.m. to see a dream made real: a new house, built from the ground up by a small army of volunteers in just 106 hours.

John Maleno has pictured her reaction, and has one simple goal for the day.

"I want her to be in awe," said Maleno, president of Maleno Real Estate Development, the local construction firm chosen to build the home for ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Hundreds of spectators are expected to be on hand this afternoon to help Ty Pennington, the show's team leader, shout the three words that will kick off the unveiling: "Move that bus!"

With that, the "Extreme Makeover" coach so familiar to fans of the show will move from a parking spot in front of the house to reveal the work of the past week: a 3,700-square-foot home built with Ward's needs -- and the needs of the children she has served through her Youth Development Center -- in mind.

The two-story home features a finished basement, two bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two kitchens, one for Ward and one for the center, a place for abused and neglected children that she'll operate from the home.

It also includes a lift for Ward, who suffers from myasthenia gravis, a degenerative muscular disease, and uses a wheelchair.

By early Wednesday afternoon, nearly 300 spectators had gathered across the street to watch workers put the finishing touches on the new home. Some had visited the site on several days and had seen the demolition of Ward's old home -- a building with a leaky roof, sagging porch and faulty sewer line -- and the transformation that followed.

"I couldn't even imagine going from what she lived in to this," said Marcia Cabaday, 30, who watched with her husband, Brian, and their 5-year-old daughter, Mackenzie. "To come home to this has to be overwhelming and amazing."

It was Luane Martin's first time at the site.

"We wanted to see history made in Erie," Martin said. "It's a great experience."

Andrew Delgado, a soon-to-be eighth-grader at Erie's JoAnna Connell Elementary School and a friend of Martin's son, did her one better.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said.

Maleno started handing over the keys to the "Extreme Makeover" team at around 3:45 p.m., a process that took nearly 30 minutes as the film crew shot the scene over and over again. Each take ended with an exuberant call to action from Pennington: "Let's move in some furniture!"

Volunteers quickly emptied a van of $50,000 worth of new furniture donated by Schultz Furniture Superstore. Out went queen-sized mattresses for the bedrooms, clear lamps with white drum shades for the great room, and artwork to fill the walls.

Ward's story was the inspiration the furniture store needed to get involved, said John Schultz, president and chief executive.

"It's just unbelievable," Schultz said. "She's given up most of her personal time and resources to (help the community) and she's going to be in a much better position to continue that."

Schultz said he expects today to be emotional for all involved in the project.

"I'm sure there'll be a lot of tears coming down, not just from her but from everybody," he said. "A lot of people have put a lot of work into this."

The Maleno family donated thousands of man-hours in planning and construction time.

Of the many construction projects they've done over the years, the Ward house is the "most special, for sure," Maleno said.

"I don't think I could build a house for anyone that could mean more," he said.

**I have bolded the part with my interview.

So hot here today!

Last time I checked the temp it was 86. That's too hot for me after just coming out of a long PA winter. Day's like this, I wish there was some s*** on the ground. (that's a bad word in our house LOL)

Anyway, even with the heat, we managed to put our library together for the school room!



The bottom two shelves are Mackenzie's book, and the rest are Kay-Cee's. Can you tell we love books here?

Have I mentioned . . .

Have I mentioned how much I love laminating? LOL LOL

I sat down today and finished the rest of our sight word cards and at this very minute I am searching online for more things to print and laminate.

It's so much fun! LOL LOL

Here's our cards!



Now, happy googling to me! :)

I have been a laminating machine!

I've been wanting a laminator for doing home school stuff and heard about one that Wal*Mart sells. It's made by Scotch and was less than $30.00. It got good reviews online and also by people that have used it, so I figured I'd give it a try.

I just bought it today and I'm hooked. It's so easy and so fun to play with. If you have any need for a laminator, grab this one, it's a good deal!

Here's a quick picture!



I've already started making some sight word cards for Mackenzie!

Here's a quick picture of those!



Oh, I also snapped a picture of Mackenzie's new school desk while I was in the school room. We got this off Craigslist for $25.00. I'm going to switch out the drawer pulls for something a little more girly.


(Please ignore the junk on top, remember the school room is a work in progress)

Rest in Peace, Simba!

We brought Simba from the shelter on September 8th, 2009. Simba went to kitty Heaven on June 8th, 2009. Although we only had him a few short months, he will forever be in our hearts.

We buried Simba June 9th, 2009.

The day Simba came to live with us



A few in between











We love you and miss you, Simba!