Don't buy LG

For the past several weeks... actually 4 weeks, 3 days, 5 hours and 16 minutes.... I have been without a dishwasher. In a previous post, I was actually enjoying the time doing dishes by hand... however, I have come to realize that we did not spend hundreds of dollars in order to use it as a fancy double-decker drainer! And after we have had technicians look at it, parts ordered, etc., no one seems to know what's wrong with it! So here we are a month later, and we're still waiting on parts... and I'm tired of doing dishes by hand... blame it on my achin' prego back... but I'm done doing things the old-fashioned way!

So after 1 1/2 hours on the phone with the manufacturer of said dishwasher (LG Brand), I have come to realize that LG is a difficult company to work with... LG parts are not easy to come by... so I'm sending this post out to the masses... or at least the few people who actually read this blog... as a WARNING... if you are contemplating buying any LG product, BUYER BEWARE!!! Don't be fooled by their sleek appearance and lower prices... stick to the companies that have been around FOREVER! According to the repair man, they hardly ever get calls on Maytag or Whirlpool appliances!... so I'm sticking with them from now on!

As for our dishwasher, we may get a replacement, and there's a slight chance they will offer us a refund. If that's the case, I'm taking the $$$ and running for the nearest Whirlpool dealer and never looking back!!!

Laugh your head off!!!

If you've ever heard of Jim Gaffigan, then you'll know that we literally spent 1 1/2 hours laughing hysterically!

Gaffigan was in Richmond this past weekend, and after watching his first DVD, we couldn't pass up the chance to see him LIVE! Not to mention the fact that our good friends hooked us up with tickets so we could all go together! And it was worth every minute of it! Seriously, if you haven't seen him, YOU NEED TO!!! His act and material are VERY CLEAN... no swear words (at least that I can remember)... and he takes the every day/normal stuff and makes it darn right HILARIOUS!!!

So if you're in the mood to laugh, check out "Beyond the Pale"... and then, be on the lookout for his next tour (see it LIVE, if it's near you...) or wait til it comes out on DVD... "The Sexy Tour!"

I know I sound like I'm getting paid to write all this... but I'm not... he's just THAT funny!!

... I bust up just looking at him...

There's only 1 KaLisi Trentadue

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 1 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

However... There are 4 Michael Trentadue's

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 4 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

the longest post in the world

We just spend 2 Glorious Weeks with my parents visiting from Alaska! We were too busy playing and catching up to blog... so here's the highlights from the past couple weeks! Brace yourself, this is a long post!

Grandpa and Grandma come for a visit

Josh wrote this sign all by himself... since they were driving in from Chicago, Josh wanted to make sure they knew where our house was... hence, "This is our house!"
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"4th of July"
Our neighborhood does a little parade every year, and this was the first time we've participated! We tagged along with some friends (thanks Gary and Heather), and I have to say, Mom and Dad (aka George and Martha Washington) completed the theme perfectly! It was a little toasty in the wig and velvet dress... but their suffering was not in vain... THEY LOOKED GREAT!!! Also notice, the Statue of Liberty, Abe Lincoln, Betsy Ross, and secret serviceman outside the President's car (aka Mike's caddy)!



Mike drove his car with the "President" inside... and check out Gary Payne... one of our good friends... doesn't he look official as a secret serviceman?
Mike was just a tad embarrassed by my "get-up"... I say I look lovely in my feather boa and Uncle Sam's hat!
look closely for a glimpse at the President's "thumbs-up"!


The only purchased item from their costumes was George's wig (previously known as a "female blonde wig")... Check out George's axe... Dad fashioned it out of cardboard and tin foil... look even more closely for a sprig of cherries positioned on the end of the blade! And is it just a little odd that even the shoes came from the Trentadue wardrobe? I guess we're Colonials at heart!
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Trip to the grocery store
Is Caleb deprived because he has never been in those CAR CARTS at the store? He was soooooo excited, I felt bad... he just kept saying, "I get to ride in the car, I get to ride in the car!" After awhile, even Josh wanted to get in... while me and Mom were shopping, Dad kept them entertained by going on little "journeys" to try and find us! It's a "Grandpa" thing for sure!
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Visit to Meadow Farm/Crump Park
We went on a little tour of the main house and got a glimpse into how they lived... Caleb and Josh were fascinated with the idea of a "chamber pot". And Caleb even wanted to try it out, since he's going in the "pot" now!
Caleb giving Grandma a ride on the mini-tram.
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Bowling Night
Our plans of mini-golf were dashed away by the Tornado Watch ... so we went bowling instead! We played 2 games...
Mike won the first game with 181
Grandpa - 120
Grandma - 106 (first time she's broke 100!)
Josh - 68 (first time he's ever been bowling!)
Caleb - 64 (first time he's been bowling too!)

The second game, everyone was a little pooped... sore wrists and backs... so here are the scores the best I can remember...
Mike - 145
Grandpa- 115
Grandma - 117
Josh - 84
Caleb - 78
KaLisi??? - sat on the side and watched... bowling not so good on my prego back!
Caleb used the rack for part of the time... but after watching everyone, he wanted to do it like everybody else! So he would push that 10 lb. ball as hard as he could... and then wait ever so patiently as it would creep down the lane. there were times we thought that it would stop moving all together... but it made it to the pins every time! Then he would come back and give everybody High-5's!
Dad
Mike
Mom gets a spare!
Josh's form looks a little awkward... but he got the job done!
Josh's STRIKE!
He couldn't have been more happy!

And that's all the pictures we got, because there was a professional bowler in the house so apparently my flash was "hazardous to his bowling" (according to the manager)! But who cares about the guy smoking like a chimney 2 lanes down... which is actually "hazardous to our health"! Oh well... don't get me started! It was a fun night... and afterwards we went out for ice cream at Maggie Moos! Fun fun fun!
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Trip to Monticello (Home of Thomas Jefferson... 3rd President of the U.S.)
None of us could remember which president he was... but I am proud to say that I won the bet...



Josh and Caleb did pretty well ... although we had to ditch the Plantation Tour after about 15 minutes because the guide was a little long-winded for a 6 and 2 year old. We went on ahead and read the plaques along the way. I think we learned just as much, and everyone was much happier!
Funny joke for the day...it goes something like this...
Mom: "Oh look, a Sugar Maple!" (she was reading a sign posted on a tree)
Dad: "Hey sweety pie!" (he misunderstood and thought they were exchanging romantic nicknames!)

A few hours later as we were boarding the shuttle...

Dad: "Hey there, White Ash!" (he was reading yet another sign labeling the type of tree!)
Mom: (turns around and glares) "Hey, that's not fair... I called you Sugar Maple!"

Seriously, we laughed about this for awhile! So check them out... "White Ash and Sugar Maple walking down path!"

Caleb's first time riding a bus. Caleb's exact words... "Mom, take a picture of me riding the bus!"

Visiting Thomas Jefferson's gravesite.

Caleb and Josh trying their hand at "quill-writing". We all tried it, and it's harder then it looks!

After we got back to Richmond, we went to Olive Garden for dinner... So overall, a fun day!!!
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Mini-Golfing at Windy Hill Sports Complex

Scores for Game 1:
Grandma - 56
Grandpa - 60
Josh - 64
KaLisi and Caleb -44 (although I had to scratch 3 holes due to a potty break... for Caleb, not me!)

Scores for Game 2:
Josh - 51 (Josh got 3 Holes-In-One)
Mike - 53
Grandpa - 55
KaLisi - 61 (doesn't really help much, when it took me 12 times to make hole 4... seriously, it was tricky!)
Grandma - 64 (Hole 9 was Grandma's undoing!)
Caleb - 979 (towards the end, he was pretty tired... and would kick the rocks and throw his club and yell "I missed!"... he didn't pick that up from me!)

This is the enfamous "Hole 4" that drove everyone crazy! I scored a "12" on this lovely little thing... but when I tried it again, I got a hole in one... But I couldn't talk anyone into a "mulligan!" Go figure!!!



Well, there you have it... 2 weeks worth of fun in the longest post in the world! Congrats to making it to the end of this!

Caleb going "potty""??

Caleb has been really good about the potty training thing... and the great thing is, he's doing it on his own! I did this with Josh... just waited until he started showing some interest, and then we took off from there. And I thought it worked SOOOO well, I'm doing it again with boy #2. Anyway, he still has accidents, (and I'm okay with that) ... the important thing is that he's trying! Today, I sat him on the toilet and went into the kitchen and this is what I heard! (for some of you who are a bit squeemish about bodily functions... stop reading here!)

"Mom, something is splashing my bum!"

MUSIC TO MY EARS!!! That could only mean one thing!!! This actually isn't the first time... but I'm happier now then I was the first time, because there is starting to be a pattern!

Anyhoo... just a way to brighten up my Sunday... and now I actually think it's possible to have only 1 child in diapers! keep your fingers crossed for me!!!

back to the simple life

As of two days ago, I am without a dishwasher! Luckily it is still under warranty, so when the repair man came to fix it and he said it would take 2 weeks just to order parts... I was thinking the man must be crazy. Honestly, who goes without their dishwasher for 2 whole weeks! But then I remembered growing up with no dishwasher... and although there were many fights about who had to stack, who had to wash, who had to rinse, who had to put away... there were also many fond memories about washing dishes. Soap bubbles... soap fights... being instructed by dad about the finer way to stack the dishes (silverware next to the sink, cups directly above the silverware, plates and bowls stacked by size in as few piles as possible, large bowls stacked to the far right, and pans could remain on the stove until there was room on the counter).... being threatened within an inch of our lives not to step over the linoleum line into the living room unless the dishes were done (I'm exaggerating about the "inch of our lives" part)... and my favorite... some of the best talks I've had with my family, have been over the kitchen sink DOING THE DISHES.

So after some careful contemplation and a little reflection... which is ironic that this very contemplation and reflection I'm referring to, occurred while I was.... get ready, folks... WASHING DISHES!!! Anyway, I'm happy to report that even after only 2 days of doing dishes by hand, I'm actually not that annoyed by it. And to be honest, my kitchen hasn't been cleaner! I'm getting satisfaction out of doing the dishes right away, as opposed to waiting and letting the dishes get crusty, just because I'm "waiting" for the previous load to finish! ridiculous, I know... but don't knock it... I'm sure you've all done it!!!

Now I can't say with 100% certainty that after the dishwasher is fixed I will maintain this "way of life" ... I mean, having a dishwasher does have it's perks... but for right now, I'm okay with it and am going to look on the brighter side!

grandma and grandpa are comin' to town!

G&G Grover (aka my mom and dad) are heading to Richmond for a couple weeks... and they actually left today, but they won't be arriving until next week sometime because they are flying to Chicago, and long story short, are driving the rest of the way seeing church sites, etc. So I was explaining this to Josh, and he wasn't really comprehending where they were, and what they were doing... so we decided to follow their journey on a map. (thought this would be a fun "lesson" for Josh)

Mike caught wind of this little project, and thought that it was more for my sake then a geography lesson for our rising 1st-grader. His words exactly, "Isn't this more for you?? are you just a little bit excited?" I have to concur, I am excited that they are coming, so this map/countdown to their arrival was fun for me too!

Regardless, now we have a detailed route mapped out (complete with airplane and car stickers to keep track of how they will be traveling... and blue stars to document when they arrive) so we know exactly where they will be on any given day during the week! So, for example, if you are wondering where Garth and JoLene will be on June 28th, I can say with about 98% accuracy that they will be in Kirtland, Ohio! Man, I'm good! And when they arrive around July 1st, we'll be ready!!!

evening fun

the other night, was just nice just relaxing in the yard... it was actually nice and cool (a pleasant 80 degrees)... Mike was helping Josh to perfect his "step and throw" technique... and Caleb was riding his bike like mad up and down the driveway! I, of course, was perched in my chair resting my prego body! :)

sliiiiiiiiiiide!

Josh had his last t-ball game this week... and as usual, he did great! But I have to say, the highlight of the game was when Josh slid head first into home plate! (fyi: normally kids don't do this in t-ball) I missed it the first time, so I asked him to do it one more time the next inning... and he did! The second time wasn't near as good, because he said it hurt more then he thought it would and he was a little hesitant... but I can't complain, because at least I got it on film! In the fall, we're going to enroll him in machine-pitch... so that should be REALLY exciting!!!

Big Boy Bed for Caleb

Caleb is officially in his "big boy bed" now!!! I went to a Mattress King to look at prices... and told the guy I was just looking. Of course, he gave me the whole schpeel, but I was walking out of the store and he said he would take $50 off the price. Well, I was just surprised that he was dropping the price, so I got excited and bought the mattress... I even went to the warehouse and picked it up myself and saved an extra $50. So I was pretty proud of myself for saving $100... until I thought that I probably could've talked him down further... but oh well.

Before I brought the bed home, Caleb was very serious about staying in his crib... but once he saw it all set up (I even hauled it upstairs myself and put it together because I just wanted to get it done, and couldn't wait for Mike), he was all about it! And he has adjusted really well... and with only a few minor setbacks (quietly getting into the closet and completely destroying all my little piles of winter clothes, too small clothes, etc), he is actually getting to sleep and even laying down for nap!

pictures to follow!

Oh, I forgot to mention... that on Caleb's 1st night in his bed, I left Mike to deal with it. I went to a "girls' night out!" I'm evil, aren't I???

Happy Father's Day MIKE!!!

And of course, I can't help but give a "shout out" to my hubby, Mike... for being such a great Dad to Josh and Caleb! He's pretty busy with work, but the kids sure love him and appreciates it when he's home! Caleb can hear the garage door open from any where in the house and says, "Dad home!" and then runs to the door to meet him! Josh loves having Dad help coach his t-ball team, and says that "Dad is the best coach ever!"
Here are just a FEW of my favorite pictures... it's amazing how much the boys resemble their DAD!!!