Life With Wee People: Put your building samples to the test...

Fun is letting your kids abuse your building supplies (LOL). If you are going to install flooring you should buy a sample and put that puppy to the test. If you read my blog you know that my kids are not shy and every so often something gets destroyed by accident or design (making them the ideal test subjects for experiments in durability - silly grin).

Building Direct is kind of cool because they invite you to beat, bash and inspect their samples. We consider that minion friendly advice and decided to give their sandstone, marble, granite, slate and engineered hardwood a run for its money. We even threw in the peel and stick vinyl stuff because it looks like wood, cleans easy, is reasonably priced and a kid friendly project for the lanai.  

The Little Minions spent their holiday weekend scratching the floor samples with their toys, drowning them in the tub, drying them in the sun, walking on them like stepping stones, tossing them onto the rug and lawn and incorporating them into their building blocks for Hot-Wheel-NASCAR and Thoms the Train adventures.

The "sun walking" was a particularly brilliant idea. Turns out some materials warm up and hold heat faster than others.

We're not sure if the thickness plays a factor or the composition of the materials (maybe both?) but the engineered products felt better under our toes during our cooling/heating outdoor experiments than the tiles and stones. It's all fabulous building materials but my kids have a sensory preference so I'm bowing to the wee people since home is their fave space to run amok and play.

We wanted to be fair with our toe tests so we tried them all at different times during the day and realized drowning them in the tub may have gently warped a few wood products (making our toes a wee bit picky regarding the bare foot sun test).

Turns out these were more minion proof when push came to shove:

All of the samples were very cool to fool around with and are great to work with for a number of interesting projects we're cooking up.

I'm sketching what I want to do and am looking forward to ordering more material from them. Turns out I prefer high density fiberboard. It has great moisture resistance. Mr Autism and Mr PDD-NOS also enjoyed playing with it and the engineered hardwoods are easy to manipulate and install. The boys want to line their custom toy and art boxes with the click maple engineered flooring and put down the Vesdura vinyl flooring in our art spot instead of slate. It's textured and feels really good on our toes...

FYI: They learned a new word from the DIY Network: Banquette. Being visual learners they want to take a crack at creating a couple of custom storagebox seating sets to park their stuff. Turns out piano hinges are not that expensive so we're making a tools and materials list to design custom wee people seating.

Stephen thinks we should install the flooring on the walls and floor of a workshop play shed so it will all match.

That might actually work...

Question: When Do I Need A Permit?

Answer: Per the Florida Building Code - Building 2001, Section 104.1.1 When required:

"Any owner, authorized agent, or contractor who desires to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move, demolish, or change the occupancy or occupant content of a building or structure, or any outside area being used as part of the building's designated occupancy (single or mixed), or to erect, install, enlarge, alter, repair, remove, convert or replace any electrical, gas, mechanical or plumbing system, the installation of which is regulated by the technical codes, or to cause any such work to be done, shall first make application to the Building Official and obtain the required permit for the work."

I have to contact the Building Division at 321-953-8924 on Monday. Some of their forms are on-line so I have to read fast because it's Saturday, football starts at 4 PM and I have to finish picking the brains of the Florida builders I've been quizzing all day. My naked backyard has me ordering samples from BuildDrirect.com while driving my set creators crazy. We've decided if we're going to do something interesting with all that wasted space behind the house we better start designing something useful for the buildings department to approve.

Yeah... there will be before and after video because we all know how easily amused I am. Since the boys have The Den and The Man Cave the girls want a womens retreat out back where we can spar on an outside kitchen deck without getting ants in our pants when we give each other the smack down (evil grin).

My kids have been measuring the yard, planting potters and sticking little pegs into the ground where they want stuff. As soon as we find out where all the pipes and electrical lines are we are going to Feng Shui the backyard (LOL).

I have to fly into NYC to pick up some equipment and drive it down with my gal pals. I figure by the time I get back my stone, tile and floor samples will be here. When I get the rest of my tools out of storage the kids and I are going to be building some custom furniture in The Man Cave. I miss my wood working set, need to set up the workshop because I've been itching to carve something interesting and really want to finish putting my office together... I have one framed sketch leaning on a table against the wall. I need to start framing and hanging stuff...

If we're going to start installing stuff to play in and on, state law requires jurisdictions "to provide comprehensive building code enforcement services, including plan reviews and site inspections" so I am picking every helpful brain I can get my social media hands on to figure out how to design the best amount of play area for the buck. I have very talented friends I'm dragging down from SC and NYC so I have to make sure all of our paperwork is correct so we can do something cool with the house. Build Direct, Home Depot and Lowes are my fave on-line places to be right now.

I have approximately 8 minutes left before hubby gets back from his sister's house and I start waving my laptop at him again. Next week we have to rent a 10 foot box truck for me to drive. I'm very excited about that and don't need a commercial license for it as long as I only haul my own stuff. Looking forward to it (LOL). ;-)

Life With Wee People: The Planter Expedition...

Noah the Net Geek is on-line playing World of Warcraft while Stephen the Minion Blur is lining up the gardening tools for some fun. We asked Mike to stop by Wal-Mart for some potting soil and a planter. We have most of what we need and figure by the time he gets back three out of four will be planted. :-)

Mr PDD-NOS is getting really good at measuring stuff. Cooking and planting gives Shorty an opportunity to get his math on. We are going to keep moving the plants around to chase the sun and figure out the best spot for them. When Spring comes we will to have to transfer his plants into the ground so I have to give my Guy Pie a lot of time to make up his mind how to arrange the bird/butterfly garden.

When we get finished making a mess in the drive we're migrating to the backyard so Shorty can peg where the patio or deck needs to be and we can chat about what type of pavers to buy. He's looking forward to tapping sticks into the ground and running amok with the tape measure and string. ;-)

Drafts

Finally got around to reading some e-mails and turns out I left my last post in draft mode but gave peeps the link. They couldn't read it all day. My apologies. I'm obessing over the writing projects and forgot to switch modes. Yeah, I know... bad mommy blogger (LOL).

We're dirt digging today. I shall update you guys in a few and promise not to inadvertently leave it in draft. I'm explaining the differences between the grape vines to Shorty. He wants to pot them until they get bigger. We're about to have a water hose fight so I gotta go get messy with the wee one before dinner. ;-)

Writing, writing, writing...

I'm in One-Track-Mind mode and have been typing like a lunatic on my laptop for hours. Banging out chapters and scripting is time consuming and I periodically find myself gravitating towards working during the wee hours of the morning. I usually have to do it between wee people activities and was on lock down for most of yesterday. The shorties were pretty cool with it because it afforded them the opportunity to repeatedly raid the pantry for snacks and it's kind of fun watching them wipe out our Twix and Oreo stash.

My 5 year old believes going to the bathroom during the wee hours of the morning requires a reward of hugs, kisses, cuddles and/or snack-age. I'm waiting for Shorty to put in his request so I can get back to writing, writing, writing (before I hit the gym).

Life With Wee People: The Autism/PDD-NOS Yard Survey

So I'm in The Man Cave hanging with Mr PDD-NOS chatting about the fact that Mr Autism is turning 10 in a couple of weeks. We want to throw him a small party. Ever try having a conversation with a 5 year old riding circles around you? It's a fascinating experience because Stephen, the Minion Blur will suddenly decide we need to go for a walk in the middle of it. Translated: he rides and you jog through the neighborhood (LOL).

Turns out he wants to look at other yards and see what the neighbors have done with their seating arrangements. Shorty has concerns about a party disturbing our birds. He's taking planting the yard very seriously. The picnic table we wanted to get for the drive has been discontinued by Home Depot so we're back to square one (sigh).

The neighbors on the left help feed the birds and put three spikes in our tree by the garage. One has a little bird bench to hold food and we usually sit in The Man Cave watching them eat. It's one of our fave quiet time moments.

Noah decided he wants a bird and butterfly garden so we're researching tasty plants and trees. These are going to be fun to add to the wee people landscaping list:

Stephen was adamant we had to have a lot of red and blue flowers.

My kids think Home Depot is da bomb diggety. So do I. It's going to be a blast getting Noah's birthday presents from there. The boys asked Mike for watering cans today. They're insisting they each have to have their own set of gardening tools to tackle The Naked Yard.

I can't wait to dig in the dirt with my kids. They're mad funny to work with and rarely play in the back yard so we're gonna pimp the front yard first. (silly grin).

Having all of this empty space and not using any of it is making me crave Black & Decker tools. I happen to love power tools and know how to use them. My Mom's Dad was a very cool grandfather. He was a carpenter and let my sister and I hang out and help when we were kids. Then I took sculpting on Saturdays at Cooper Union and started messing with my Dad's tools. Now I have more tools than Hubby (LOL). ;-)

Did I mention my kids love Realtors and Bob the Builder? They're visual learners and also like books with lots of pictures.

Yup. This is definitely going to be a fun birthday gift. Mr Autism and Mr PDD-NOS will be pegging the yard tomorrow to let me know where they want their stuff. Then we have to go high-jack Daddy (poor Mike - LOL). ;-)

Life With Wee People: Stalking the moon...

We just got back from exploring Indialantic and Melbourne. Hubby was a sweetheart and let me be a pain in the a$$ back-seat-driver chasing sunsets, stars and generally running amok with the shorties in tow. Our late night objective? Stalking the moon...

The kids had a blast because we love exploring piers and strolling beach side. It's hard counting stars in NYC but there's plenty of open space down here to give it a go.

We had dinner here... Stephen, the Minion Blur wanted to be two doors down chillin' at Starbucks. He was quite vocal about it (LOL). I shall be updating Diary of a Five Year Old Yuppie shortly. After that insane parking lot debate how can I not? (silly grin) We owe Little Man a Tazo Tea and a Lemon Loaf. ;-)

It's kind of fun playing with the kids on the boardwalk. Listening to the ocean waves and stalking the moon is a Noah, the Net Geek thing. He loves taking pictures of the sky... We also cloud watch. Lately, I've been shark and jelly-fish watching but I'll save that for my next jogging on the beach post (wicked little grin).

We've been running the streets almost all day and scoping landscaping and picnic benches for our front yard (happy sigh). Chillin' beach side for the evening was a neat treat but now I have to get back to writing because my Editor is waiting... 

The wee people are working on their books as well. While the kids edit their audio tracks I'm gonna be stretched out on the floor with my chapter print outs, a couple of sketchbooks and black pens scribbling away. Hopefully the cartoons in my head will misbehave enough to keep me entertained, drawing and writing.

The wee people are all set to help out tonight. They also have their side amusements set up to spark their creativity. Their trains and hot wheels are lined up on my sleeping bag and since Mikey is hanging out next door my butt has literally been designated a Thomas the Train hill tonight (LOL).

I bet you wish you were a fly on the wall for the boobies conversation. Apparently, Shorty thinks they're just another set of hills to drive on (LOL).

Sponjetta Parrish Ten Dollar Pizza Hut Song on Facebook...

I have waaaaaay too much fun in social media. Seriously... (LOL)

I am supposed to be in Facebook leaving a message for my borther Cedric but instead I'm instant chatting with Sponjetta Parrish and watching a cool contest with Pizza Hut on Facebook. Everybody is making videos of the $10 Pizza Hut song for a chance at being selected for a commercial so go vote and/or upload your own song. 

People are having a lot of fun doing this. I'm cracking up over here... OMG - some of the videos are pretty creative. Others, not so much (but very entertaining - LOL)

I'm spoofing my a$$ off instead of jogging beachside but will be leaving shortly after I view some more video and may get my kids in on this later (evil grin). They love watching real people YouTubes so this will probably get them laying down more Autistic/PDD-NOS audio tracks. I may have to hide the camera (LOL). ;-)

Dear Laura C...

Okay. You win. I'm blogging (LOL) ;-)

Went to DMV and had a silent cow because unlike NY (a) FL does not have Enhanced Driver's Licenses (that let you drive into Mexico and Canada without a passport) and (b) they don't have Commercial Chauffeur licenses either. I had to give up a perfectly cool commercial license for a regular drivers license and must now go to school for an A, B or C if I want to drive commercial vehicles (sigh). Can't get appointed as a Notary if I don't have FL state ID so I handed it over and tried not to cry...

I'll need it for the real estate license too (sigh). Guess this means I'll finally apply for a passport, eh? I may have to start another To Do List.

Kids are on their school buses, Mike is munching in the kitchen and now I have to shop on-line  to find a driving school for the motorcycle designation, then another driving school for a bus/16 seater minimum vehicle plus I have a FL CDL book to memorize. I'm nervous because I'm reading a stat that states approximately 50,000 people fail the FL CDL a year. Jeez...

I've driven small trucks, limo, 12 and 14 seaters so this should be interesting... I'm oogling big truck pictures thinking my kids would like that (so I really need to pass this test - LOL). My brother is a truck driver. I may have to FB him and see if we can Skype later. I'll need pointers on those hydraulic air brakes. There are a lot of diagrams in this book I need to memorize and I'm thinking a trip to SC is in order. I'd like to learn his technique for pre and post trip inspections (and I need a military duffle bag of tools, fuses, emergency equipment, the correct CDL extinguisher and those orange triangles truckers have). ;-)

I'm going jogging. Will share some beach pictures when I get back and update you on the home office exploits. I've been a good little author in training editing my book and my kids have been mixing and mastering audio for their childrens' stories (LOL). Their version of dictation requires 99 tracks of unreliable narration and musical interludes of wee people mayhem (silly grin). ;-)

I also have to write a Dear Cindy T post. I've been keeping my gal pal on the phone for HOURS and I promised to clean my house of the toy explosion and take updated picks of the Living/dining room. She's going to help me do something useful with my unfinished space and naked yard so I need to brave the bugs and go out back to walk the fence line and pick her brain. I also have to finish the guest room so she can visit and we can gang up on Mike. If Jen and Cindy both come we can have an Asian Invasion cook off in my kitchen.

I love doing sleep overs with my girlfriends. We like cooking together. I can't wait for Emelia and Nydia to come for a visit as well. The girls are mad fun.

My house is their house (and it's mad noisy over here - evil grin).

Laura, will let you know when Mike and I are coming up to NYC. We have a house and minion sitter. Will see you soon... We have to plot an ActiveRain get-together when I get back. I owe Jesse dinner and have got to go see Josef (and my cousins). ;-)

Life With Wee People: The 7 Olives Rule

The kids have been fascinated with our popping in and out of the gym. Sometimes they'll try and get rid of us by telling us we need to go exercise then shove our butts towards the front door as if it's chubby people steering (silly grin).

I've been trying to explain why I sometimes go twice a day. I made the mistake of trying to do simple calorie math by whipping out a jar of olives as an example. Noah, the Net Geek thinks it is insane that 7 olives equals approximately 30 calories. If you do the math that means you have to stay on an Arc Trainer for 15 minutes to get rid of a pizza topping (LOL).

I've been paying the kids in M&Ms, cookies and milk for helping me make Ambassadors of Chaos blog post logos so now they're demanding to know how long they have to exercises to work the fat off... Have you seen my kids? They are mad skinny because they rarely stop moving (LOL).

I told them we should skip the gym math and play with the guitar instead. Stephen's response? "Here, have a cookie, Mommy..." (which will cost me 50 crunches later - LOL)

The shorties are down for a little beach-side music mischief. We're gonna Skype the girls, lay down tracks and make more music blog logos (silly grin).

After great debate we decided what "The 7 Olive Rule" should be: "Eat, enjoy your meal, be happy in foodie-moderation and don't sweat the small stuff or you wont enjoy your pizza..."

Out of the mouth of babes, eh? ;-)

Broke a couple of my websites... It's going to take 22 hours to transfer the files (sigh)

I hate when I do that because sometimes I can't figure out what I did (melodramatic eye roll, head thunks on table). I'm bouncing back and forth trying to point mirror sites to domains that wont stop looping (sigh). This is going to take a while. I've created my own form of digital error hell. I'm thinking of changing a couple of platforms and might be re-building three sites from scratch (which is really gonna piss a few social media peeps off because it will cause RSS feed hell on their routine).

My apologies in advance. I'll try and make it up to you later...

What a way to start 2012, eh? A crashed laptop and three busted websites (sigh).

Gotta run. I'm determined to save myself from coding hell before the kids wake up. I've escaped the asylum  (LOL). At least I have a cool view and tasty snacks minutes from home...

Psst... it's down the block from Starbucks. ;-)

Life With Wee People: The laundry wars...

My kids love going to Aunt Mona and Uncle John's house. FYI: They made out like bandits for Christmas (silly grin). While we were there Noah got comfy on the couch while Stephen settled down on the carpet. We spend an inordinate amount of time playing on the floor so when the little minions are really comfortable with someone they'll kick off their shoes and act as if they're at home.

While I'm dragging and dropping pictures of my sleepyheads back onto my computer I can't help but notice that it's almost half past 11PM in chilly Florida and my kids are wide awake and wired. I had to pick up my sleeping bag off the floor because they are making it impossible for me to hang out with my sketchbooks and laptop. They keep stealing my crayons and I can't find my black Uniball (LOL). ;-)

I came out just in time to catch Noah starting the laundry wars with Stephen. One minute Shorty is chillin' camped out with his fave toys on the living room floor singing the Thomas the Train theme song and seconds later he's giving me a dead pan look because Noah pulled his pants off and smacked him in the face with them. They're locked in battle in my bedroom flinging the clean laundry at each other (LOL).

Mike is hiding in the den... It's either Star Wars or World of Warcraft for him tonight. I'm thinking it is time for me to read Silver Tongued Devil - Jaye Wells is da bomb (and yeah - we're ignoring the wee people mayhem because the kids are still on vacation and if they keep chasing each other like that they'll eventualy pass out - LOL). ;-)

Life With Wee People: Battling the bug...

The plan was to share our Indialantic adventures but a social media gal pal accidentally sent me a virus that had my digital knickers tied in a knot for days. My laptop refused to start. I was in loop hell staring at this screen:

"Your computer was unable to start," is a phrase I never want to read ever again. I had to format the drive and go back to factory settings (sigh). I've been dragging and dropping files off my Passport drive for a couple of hours now... There's a bunch of stuff missing because I usually back my files up approximately every 15 days or so. I'm really bent out of shape. Now I have to start backing up my files every freakin' day.

The wee people understand the dangers of being infected by a computer virus. They were not happy to discover their musical gibberish was gone. They've been recording tracks all evening (effectively kicking me out of my home office - LOL). I guess this is my cue to bring the kids their keyboard the next time I visit New York.

Noah was not happy about the delay with his children's book (we lost the last two sets of PDFs). Being an enterprising little bugger, he decided to give me something new to illustrate so I gotta go get comfy on my sleeping bag and sketch some new pages to watercolor. I asked Mike to buy more canvas because the shorties are going to abstract paint a couple of album covers for La Femme Art and uberMental. Got new music singles/albums coming out and a couple of manuscripts to hand over to our Editors (silly grin).

I also have furniture I need to put together and pictures to frame/hang on the walls plus more packages to go out. Then it's back to NYC to pick up more of our stuff and deliver new art for my next gallery show. I really need my Mac and HP. I also want the electronic drums. Having the drum set means I can get my keyboards back because the wee people are great at banging on things (and will have at it for hours - LOL).

Gotta go draft and eventually post book club. We read seven really cool books and have been drooling over the next Kim Harrison hard cover. I have to quit messing around and get my tour tee shirt. We're plotting and planning vacation so we can go. ;-)

Life With Wee People: Fifty Cents Tuesday

So I'm in the garage sweeping, mopping, hunting for creepy-crawlies (because Florida is full of live things perfectly happy to set up residence in your house) when Mikey pokes his head through the laundry door to inform me it's Fifty Cents Tuesday. That's the part of the show where the movie theater in the Palm Bay Mall lets you watch movies all day for $0.50 per ticket. 

The kids get very excited because we want to see Puss-and-Boots, however 30 seconds later the squabbling begins... Noah (Mr. Autism) wants to take the station wagon (his fave ride). I (the anal retentive ADD mommy) want my sedan. Stephen (Mr. PDD-NOS) wants The Big Hot Wheel. Hubby (who has us for issues) has to break the three way tie so of course we decided to take the Mustang beach-side to Indialantic for dinner after taking my car "shopping-cart-side" to the mall for our lunch time entertainment.

How wicked was that round of reasoning? (evil grin) There is a method to my madness. Translated: I like using my own bathroom and had the boys go before we switched cars. Besides, it's got less miles than our fingers and toes so we all agree it needs to do something besides sit on our lawn, block the play side of the drive and/or sleep in The Man Cave (silly grin). 

Discovering the movie was really only $0.47 cents and the 3 penny tax brought it up to $0.50 was my gawking New Yorker moment of the day. Our snackage was $15 so they're not stupid (very shrewd marketing move - LOL). ;-)

Were we tempted to stay all day and just hop from movie to movie? You betcha! However, if we watch them all what are we going to do for the next Fifty Cent Tuesday? They do this a lot which is waaaaaaay cooooooool! :-)

It's an excellent movie with some really fun jokes so do go see it if you haven't already. I can't wait to buy the DVD when it comes out. My kids have an extensive movie collection. They like scripting and both suffer from Echolalia. On our way to Indialantic for dinner Stephen, the Blur Minion was horrified to discover the back windows in Mikey's Mustang do not open. Shorty also has limited visibility and made quite a stink about not being able to sit in the middle so he could see. "There is no middle" immediately replaced the "Are we there yet?" conversation (oh horror - LOL).

Thank goodness we're only minutes away from the ocean (happy sigh). Gotta go. My Editor is expecting chapters and January is only days away. If I want to make my deadline I have to spend more time offline and working (LOL). Will blog about our Indialantic adventure tomorrow. I have more eye candy to share... ;-)

Bureau of Education and Testing

http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/servop/testing/providers.html

I have a lot of information that needs to be printed. Just asked Mike to run to Wal-mart to buy me a ream of paper because I'm in the middle of studying for my FL Broker License and printing neighborhood maps to explore with the wee people. I have to decide which areas I want to specialize in and it's sort of like being in Google Maps High-lighter Hell (LOL).

Trying to help Jen find a house that's not far from me or our potential office is turning into quite an adventure. I'm even considering subleasing a virtual office. There's a thriving market for those puppies and they are really quite efficient. My brother-in-law John suggested I open up one as a business venture if I don't find what I'm looking for. Mona's hubby may be on to something because there is certainly plenty of land for sale down here.

I have to stop thinking like a New Yorker for a couple of weeks (because Florida is a whole new real estate world) and try not to be "a pain in the a$$ prospect" my blogging buddies like to chat about (evil grin). To that end I've been in bed studying the commercial market. I really, really need office space but I don't want to over-pay for it. It's amazing how one can scope out the same office complex but have Realtors divvy up the "per-square-footage" in such interesting ways with their individual listings. This may take a while... I shall keep you posted when I do have a commercial address for you.

It may be a while because we're pausing to go on a joy ride to SC to see my family and plot an AR get together with a few of my blogging buddies (silly grin). I also have to get my butt back to TX. ;-)

FYI: I'm doing my RE Texas study stuff here: http://www.dearborn.com/recampus/reechome.asp

Life With Wee People: Twas the night before Christmas...

And Stephen, the Blur Minion is standing guard over all the presents refusing to let anyone near the tree. I keep trying to figure out which little minion killed the star on top but no one's talking (silly grin). Rumor has it Daddy did it. Hmm... hubby aint confirming or denying anything (LOL). ;-)

Since I've been in the music room chilling on my sleeping bag composing on the floor, Noah decided to pull the linen off of his bed so the boys could take turns chilling tree-side. They both know there's a percussion instrument in the round package and have been trying to drum through the paper all day long (melodramatic sigh). The kids are on a wee people countdown to midnight. We had a marvelous time at dinner and are expecting guests so I have to negotiate the removal of their living room campsite because more presents are being delivered (and it would be nice if my guests could walk without tripping over a kid - LOL).

Merry Christmas! ;-)

Hanging with the frogs...

I'm stretched out on the floor composing music while hanging with the frogs. Baby frogs are climbing up the exterior windows and walls and I'm absolutely captivated with them. Hubby is trying to get Stephen, the Blur Minion to go outside and check them out. Noah, the Net Geek is already in the front yard scoping the little buggers but Step refuses to leave the Christmas tree (LOL).

I have to go see if Shorty wants to take a picture and do a wee people post... Will be back in a few. I have to put my studio monitors back together first. ;-)

Life With Wee People: Test Driving The Big Hot Wheel

The boys have a new toy. It's a sporty, purpley-blue Ford Mustang. We have to get a protective cover for it in the morning and pick a driveway spot, so I told Hubby to temporarily park it in The Man Cave so the wee people could get a good look at Daddy's new ride.

It's too dark to see anything while its sitting in the drive. I'm thinking I need to put more solar lights out... or maybe even turn on the outside lights? We do have them. Hmm... bad mommy blogger (LOL). ;-)

Stephen, the Blur Minion is Hot Wheel crazy so he's pretty pleased to have a "big Hot Wheel" to "drive." He got all mashy-the-nose hug and kissy, then settled in for a lengthy cuddle behind the steering wheel to wax poetic about how smelly the new car was. Noah, the Net Geek promptly declared his loyalty to our station wagon and ditched us for World of Warcraft and Veggie Tales (LOL).

We couldn't even get Noah to stay in the Mustang long enough for a test drive to McDonalds. After the three of us failed to negotiate a joy ride with my 9 year old, Hubby opted to give in to Noah's demand/preference for "the other blue car."

FYI: My 5 year old is not impressed with the new car smell at all. One may even say Shorty was a wee bit traumatized until he realized Daddy did not dump the station wagon (their fave wee people beach/shopping ride - LOL). Our station wagon is a 2000 and our sedan a 2003 so Shorty never experienced the joys of factory-funk. I bet little man will get used to it because Shorty has always been car crazy. ;-)

Cuddling with his Dad and tweaking knobs and buttons soon distracted him from his olfactory displeasure (silly grin), especially when we explained it's a special car for special occasions like pretend driving, play-squabbling over the sound system, gawking under the hood, drooling at the horse and rims, possibly taking NASCAR and Book Club road trips...

The station wagon and sedan are still our normal work horses so it's kind of nice to know my guy pies will have a recreation vehicle for fun family field trips.

The shorties are all about having fun. They spend a significant amount of time running amok when not in The Man Cave, music room or den. They also skateboard and scooter in the house (which my Mom is gonna have a cow over). Wait until she discovers I periodically inline skate in the kitchen (silly grin).

Yup. They get some of their playful quirks and habits from me. If you're a new reader I'm having my second childhood with my kids so I kind of like it, especially when Noah and Stephen share the same skateboard and ride it together. OMG - too funny!!! I may have to film that if they ever do it fully dressed (LOL).

Hubby got a good deal on the car and picked something that has my 5 year old drooling so I'm going to be a happy spectator watching this bit of car drama unfold because as parents we are definitely wee-people-whipped (and Stephen has road trip plans - LOL). Mike and the boys are going to have a field day plotting and planning where to drive this puppy. I'm thinking SC to see my Mom and Dad would be kind of nice... especially since Stephen keeps asking. He also wants to see Mama Liz (because she's a really nice Realtor and has jelly beans - LOL).

Miami would be rather cool too. Pssst... Kim's on tour next year and I'm going on vacation again. Can you say road trip? (Maybe three - happy sigh)

The Mustang is for Mikey but the kids kinda own us so stay tuned for some family road trip mischief. I suspect Stephen is gonna want to go Hot Wheel shopping at Wal-Mart and Target in "The Big Purpley-Blue Hot Wheel." According to Step wee people toy shopping trips are always "special occasions." Who am I to argue with such logic? Especially when there are cuddles and kisses involved... ;-)

Life With Wee People: House hunting little minion style...

If you go house hunting with Stephen, the Blur Minion the first thing you're going to discover about my 5 year old is the fact that he will expect you to pick homes he can ride his bike to. He likes having people he knows move within a 3 mile radius so he can visit (silly grin). We recently finished doing our community bike ride / mommy jog (about an hour ago) and are still spoofing about our romp through geriatric surburbia. We're trying to find something interesting for sale to photograph and send to Jen.

Tomorrow we're checking out West Melbourne and Indialantic to scope out houses and possible office space. Shorty gets there will be a car ride so I'm indulging him today by letting him play TomTom with his bike. There are a lot of For Sale By Owner properties available and a significant number of people trying to unload their undeveloped lots. Everytime he spots a yard sign Stephen automatically wants to go checkout a house. I had to explain to Shorty "Garage Sale" is a whole other kind of sale (which doesn't require house hunting photographs - LOL). Jen can figure out what she wants to see when she gets down here.

I also have to call Sana and see what she's been up to. I'm hoping I can get her and Tamara to come down here for vacation. I will be bugging Nydia, Stacey and Cindy to come for a visit too. I really miss my gal pals and my cousins. I definitely owe Yvonne and Marie several phone calls... 

The neighbors across the street stopped by to give us a Christmas card which reminded me I have to go to the post office (again). I have a massive amount of packages and cards to get out. Also, we haven't put the lights or Christmas tree up plus we're still wrapping gifts (yes, we've been mad busy and are still behind schedule - sigh).

The kids have been having a lot of fun and are clueless about what hasn't been done. Stephen has a lot of energy for a 5 year old and sometimes I wish I could borrow a little (said the hyperactive ADD mommy - LOL). Noah is riding his scooter through the house and Shorty just talked Mike into "going for a walk." Translated: he rides his bike and hubby keeps up (LOL).

Gotta go. Noah now has Rango playing in the living room so I'm taying put, blogging in the garage and going to fire up Skype so I can FB/e-mail my gal pals and see who is up for a bit of social media mischief. We have a new Kim Harrison book tour to drool over and schedule a couple of KH Events playdates for. A Perfect Blood is coming out and we have to pick our states/cities to hook up and collect more hard cover author swag. Pssst... Book club bookies have digital and physical copies of our fave books. In my case multiple copies (LOL). ;-)

Wanna come out and play? Here's the KH Signing Etiquette for the newbies: http://kimharrison.wordpress.com/signing-etiquette

I have cousins near Kim's tour stop here (and I can go see my Mom and Dad in SC when I'm done fooling around in GA):

Atlanta, GA:
Saturday, Feb 25: Eagle Eye Book Shop
2076 North Decatur Road; Decatur, GA
404-486-0307

Miami is on my bucket list. I've never been to Miami so Sunday, Feb 26 in Coral Gables, FL and Monday, Feb 27 in Palm Beach, FL look really, really good. I'm on Skype plotting a fun loop-de-loop book tour joy ride with my ActiveRain blogging buddies. We will post the Mojito get together when we figure out which Miamism review determines where we will be hanging (evil grin). When it comes to Mojito reviews Inez rules (LOL). ;-) 

Today's creative space agenda...

We're going to go look at commercial properties later because I need to sublease space for the new company my lawyer is drawing up. The boys are making a wish-list for The Man Cave and our new office spot. It's their new office spot too because I've been illustrating their childrens books and they're been talking very seriously about putting a team together. They want to go into business to buy more toys (LOL). I don't care about their toy incentive (because having goals are a good start) but I do care about the fact that they actually want to work from home. They really like that idea and see how much fun I'm having manipulating my travel schedule. They are excited about our Miami trip plus Stephen is begging to go to SC to see my parents. I'm trying to figure out when this is going to happen because we're way overdue for that bit of family mischief. Hubby has to weigh in and I have to check to see if my relatives are traveling for the holidays.

Noah, the Net Geek is enjoying working out of the garage but we're going to need a real conference room for meetings.

Part of today's creative space agenda is introducing the kids to table tennis because anything that will enhance their eye hand coordination and teach them to respond and react quickly belongs in The Man Cave. Since we're into the portable adjustable net kind I'll need a cool office spot that can accommodate the occasional impromptu ping pong game (LOL).

Stephen, the Minion Blur (my bossy mini-record-producer) will not rest until we're back in a professional studio making noise so off to the Commercial Realtor we go while hubby is at the gym. Jen is coming down to oversee my creative space agenda since she's investing in the new firm. I've three more gal pals also tossing their hats into the creative corner with me. That's why there's now six ping pong paddles hanging on the wall. The four of us rotate with the wee people. The shorties are gonna be thrilled when the NYC crew shows up because my girlfriends spoil my kids rotten. I'm going to be thrilled because I miss our paint ball games and all that snarky banter that goes along with having b*tchy but brilliant gal pals (LOL).

I'm looking forward to dragging them off to Planet Fitness too. I always start my day there with the express workout, then I migrate to the free weights and other machines, do some stretching, hit the treadmill then pick a random beach to get my jog on. My girlfriends are pretty active peeps so hosting their sleep overs until they get their own FL vacation spots is going to be a real treat. FYI: I'm taking my FL RE classes with the New York Real Estate Institute (which is where I took my NY classes) http://www.nyrei.com/courses/index.htm

I really enjoy running along the shoreline then hanging out on the board walk to stretch and read. I found some really cool spots to host book club from so I guess I'll be spending more time writing and Skyping outside than scoping Starbucks stools (LOL).

I also got a kick out of jogging lakeside while staying at the Botting home in The Colony. When I go back to TX I'm gonna try a 10K run with Melodious. Noah is training for track and field and seems to enjoy running so I'm having fun being a soccer, football, basketball, track and field mom. I am now a huge fan of the Florida Special Olympics and hope to hook Stephen up in the games as well.

Here's the info for Coach Certification. I'm thinking it's a very cool thing to do with Mr Autism and Mr PDD-NOS. When Christmas break is over I shall chat with the kids teachers and see if I can volunteer and help out. We have a nice backyard doing absolutely nothing. It's completely fenced in so we're making plans to cultivate the space into something useful and fun. ;-)

Having cool office space with plenty of parking would be very useful if I do decide to become a coach (evil grin). This is me stating there will be more going on over there besides blogging, digital films, animation, music, art and real estate because my shorties are going to be authors and will hold stock in the new corporation. I'm thinking it will have very interesting divisions if we get into wee people sporting events. I'll have to e-mail the girls and make a Skype appointment to see how far they want to go with it. Jen was thinking of opening a gym so we can have a training facility for the film projects (and permanent home to edit and store equipment). I bet I can talk her into some occupational therapy space for the learning disabled (silly grin).

We're both on-line lurking, looking at prefab steel buildings for our gym project. Checkout these websites:

http://www.rhinobldg.com

http://metalbuildingdepot.com

http://www.steelmasterusa.com/green-steel-buildings

http://www.bucksteel.com