Chip 'N' Dale back???

Don't get too excited ladies! I'm talking about little animals. When we first moved in, we had a family of squirrels living in our backyard... I think it was up to 5. Then one day after the fires they were gone. I think they are back! I'm telling you there are a bunch of animals around us first a Road Runner and now you see a squirrel. I'll try to post the ones I can get a picture of.

Feel My Pain! This Darn Ball is Stressing Me out Part Deux

You just don't understand... It has been just about every single night with this darn ball!!! My parents witnessed this phenomenon this weekend while he napped on the couch. This morning we again were awaken to the missing ball. Believe me it's getting old and I was trying to ignore his crying but after a good 20 mins. and everybody else being awake I jumped out of bed to look for it. I mean Dom even has his baby sister looking for it.... picture that!
I went to his room and nothing! I came back into our room and stripped off the all the blankets and threw all the pillows on the floor..... NOTHING!!! Jamie decided to pick up the phone to call grandma Becky (Becky loves that fact that Dom is so attached to a ball she gave him... hmmm) We needed her to feel our PAIN! It wasn't until Jamie decided to go get the grabber that aunt Ellena got us one Christmas and moved a few items under the bed and found it. Sorry no picture it was way too early but hopefully I painted one well enough for you...

Sorry Daddy my hands R Full!!!

Here is a bad thought but kinda funny and I know you've thought of this too. By having kids you knew one day they would be able to help you out with the simplest things for ex. throwing a wrapper away for you (while you sit your lazy butt on the couch) or ask them to bring you the remote (while you sit your lazy butt on the couch) or have them bring you the ringing phone ... while you sit your lazy butt on the couch etc... Well, my day hasn't come just yet. Here is a picture of how my boy travels. In his hands are Sippy Cup, Red the fire engine from Cars, Thomas the train and of course that darn small little ball!!! It's much faster and less aggravating to do it yourself! I love you Dom =)

Vrooooom.......Beep...Beep!!!

The other day Alyssa and I were in the backyard enjoying the nice sunny day. All of the sudden I hear what sounded like Woody Woodpecker. I look up and see this ugly bird... it was a Road Runner! So there it was chillin' on the top of our fence also enjoying the nice sunny day. It didn't mind us at all as we weren't trying to be quiet... it wasn't a shhhh!!! moment. I had the opportunity to take a few pictures as it was just sitting there for 5 to 10 minutes. Here is the best picture as I don't own a super zoom lens. Click on the picture to open it up because the blog cuts it off.... however the quality again isn't that good as I had to resize the picture.

magic... JACK!!! (magicJack)

(Before you read this, the 30 day risk free trail as of today ends on March 7th or maybe until they run out of their 20,000 trial units. Do this at your own risk! I'm trying it out and just writing about it. The link is at the bottom of the post).

Okay, for the most part I want to try and keep my post a bit humorous but today I want to talk about the magicJack. What is it some of you are asking? It's by far the cheapest way to make phone calls from your home or office without using your cell phone... you are even assigned a phone number. It's called the Vonage and Skype killer!

Now we've been using Vonage for maybe the past 3 years now and it's worked perfect for us thus far! We're paying about $30.00 a month unlimited local and long distance with Vonage. If you're doing the math it's $360.00 a year. All of us are looking to save money right? So, I'm thinking if this magicJack works... in a two year period we would be saving about $654.00. We can put that money to better use! None of us can part with our cell phones in this day and age so why not put that savings to paying that bill over the next several months?!!

As shown on their web-site, there are various big name media outlets that have done reviews on the magicJack from CBS News, Fox News, MSNBC, Los Angeles Times etc... This made me feel a bit more comfortable in trying it out. I ordered it and it came in about 3 days. I didn't even have to pay for faster shipping. Setup was real easy.

Okay on to the first call... call quality is a bit poorer than Vonage but after a couple of mins. you don't even notice it anymore. Keep in mind you are more critical the first time you try something new. Wayne and I have tested the call during a download of a file and it passed without a hitch. I did run into some choppiness during one call and when I hung up and called back it was fine. Now, for the savings I can live with that but actually this is still considered normal. Think about it, there have been times even on a traditional landline where you would still have a bad connection for some reason and you tell that person, "let me call you back".

It's been about 4 days and so far so good. Now when I'm on a call the call quality is an after thought. One thing is, you will have to keep your computer on or your calls will go to voice mail. I don't know about you but I've always considered not turning off my computer anyway. At work I never turned it off... I just Locked It. My work computers never died any quicker. Here is the link to the web-site so you can check it out yourself (you may have to copy and paste it). If you decide to try it... let me know about your experiences.

http://www.magicjack.com/site/index-22a2.html

This Darn Ball is Stressing me Out!!

So, Dom got this small rubber ball from grandma Becky's house (you know the ones you get at the red candy machines for .25 cents) and he is sooo attached to it. It's constantly clutched in his hand. He'll run with it, he'll jump with it and he'll sleep with it. If for some reason it's not in his hand... it's "Where's my ball?"... "Daddy can you help me find it?" Come on! Anybody who has young kids know this task is like looking for a needle in a hay stack amongst all the other toys in the house.
The other night he went to bed with it. In the middle of the night he ran down the hall and jumped into our bed. As soon as he tried to get comfortable he FREAKS OUT! as he realized he doesn't have his ball!!! Jamie and I told him to go to sleep... but he couldn't... he keeps telling us, "Go get it... I NEED IT"! It's been hard pressed to get a good nights sleep! My next step is to drill a hole in it and attach it to chain for him to wear.

I decided to trim the Bush in the front...

Not sure what you were thinking...??? Anyway... I decided to trim the bush in the front of our house. As spring and summer approach this bush flourishes like it was on HGH (steroid). I would always have to get a ladder, chair or stool to trim it. Since cutting it down about 7" or so I now should be fine.