It's Been Re-Designed

For the past month or so, Josh and I have been working on re-designing our freelance design company's website and we are FINALLY finished! Here are some screenshots, but if you want to check out the real thing go to http://www.calhans.com.

Calhans has more than 18 years experience, combined, in email marketing, graphic design, web design, identity development, and campaign management. Our company brings an open-minded approach to your business, whatever your location.

We've helped countless companies from around the globe start and/or grow their businesses. We would love to help yours. Contact us at any time to see how we can be of service.

Though continually diversifying itself and expanding its capabilities, Calhans currently offers the following services:

- Marketing
- Advertising
- Graphic Design
- Public Relations
- Web Design
- Administrative Support

My Silly Boy

There are days I love having an almost 2 and 1/2 year old, and days I don't. Yesterday was one of those "don't" days, but today was one that I love. He is always coming up with the funniest things and making me smile. Here are some cute things he said today, that I just had to put somewhere:

As I went to pick him up from his bed after waking up this morning:
"Mommy, Look! The sun is coming out in a minute! That makes me happy!"

As I sang a silly song to him at breakfast:
"Please not say that Mommy. That hurts my feelings."

As I strapped him into his carseat and got out of the car to go to my own seat:
"Mommy! Don't forget your car keys!"

When I showed him my bug bites:
"Oh...it hurts? You go to doctor yesterday? He give you medicine, right?"

And, lastly, when I offered him a bite of my snack:
"I not want a bite, Mommy. Thank you, though."

Not for the Faint of Heart

When I do things I like to do them as best as I can and bigger than normal... Like BUG BITES. I can't just get a little bug bite, they have to swell huge and require a doctor's visit, which is happening this afternoon. AND as if my legs weren't ugly enough already, here are the new additions:

So, the moral of the story is...WEAR BUG SPRAY even if you are outside only for ten minutes!

Strawberry Picking

On Monday we we strawberry picking at Butler's Orchard. It was Tyler, my Mom, my sister-in-law Marlee, my sister-in-law Jamie and her daughter Lucy, and me. The picking was kind of hard, since all the big juicy strawberries had bugs or holes in them, plus it was super hot, but I made out with 8.5 lbs of yumminess.

Tyler's pre-sweaty, pre-picking, pre-sunburned face.

My sister-in-law Marlee
My Mom, sister-in-law Jamie, and my niece Lucy

Tyler making "goals" with the strawberries. That's why some of mine ended up bruised.

Inspecting the goods.

Sampling the goods. Our yummy pickings.

This is what Tyler was more interested in picking by the end of the time...

After strawberry picking, we went to my mom's house and made homemade strawberry jam. I made 12 jars and have already gone through 2 it is so good. Then I froze some, made some into strawberry shortcake topping, and ended up with only one tupperware full of fresh strawberries. Now, I can't wait for raspberry season!

24-7 Rocks Dance!

Recitals are over and I am so proud of all my little dancers! They did amazing and looked so cute up on the stage! Now that it's over I am not sure how to feel - sad, or relieved. I would feel relieved, only nothing has slowed down. Recitals are done, but there are 30,000 other things going on that occupy my time. Anyhow, here are my kids in their costumes:

Saturday Pre Dance II - Pajama Time

Thursday Pre Dance II - With Apologies To Mother Goose
Saturday Pre Dance I - In The Middle Of A Muddle

Tuesday Pre Dance I - Pots And Pans

Saturday Intro To Dance - It's Playtime

Tuesday/Thursday Elementary II Ballet - Dance Of The Dolls

Saturday Creative Movement - Shake, Shake, Shake

Thursday Creative Movement - Snuggle Puppy

http://www.24-7dancestudio.com

I Like To Move It Fast, Crazy, & Super Loud

He's got dancing in his blood...there's no denying it. Either that, or he's just crazy. Both attributes he gets from his Mom.

If People Would Pay Their Fees...

Tyler and I spent the entire morning waiting for the pool to open so we could go swimming. We did laundry, ate breakfast, and got all our stuff together. We were ready by 10:45 and waiting for the pool to open at 11:00am. Tyler hopped on his bike and I grabbed all our gear, and we made our way to the pool for a super fun morning...right? WRONG!

We got all the way to the pool (granted, it's only a block or two), and saw a sign up with the "new" pool hours. NOT OPEN on Wednesdays! School days open only 4-8pm, and Thursdays through Tuesdays only open from 12-8pm. What happened to the pool from last year that was open from 11am-8pm on weekdays and 11am-9pm on weekends?? I hurried and hopped online to do some research and this is what I found out:

As we are all aware, the current economy is affecting all of us including our Homeowners Association. Unfortunately, collections of HOA assessments are down significantly. In fact, past due accounts currently total over $101,000.00.

In addition to aggressively pursuing collection of these delinquent accounts, the Board has asked the property management company to look for ways to cut costs when negotiating new contracts. One of several areas where cost savings were realized was the pool Management contract. Management reviewed the 2008 daily pool reports to see where savings could be realized, while having the least impact on residents. From the daily reports we were able to create a spreadsheet showing how many of our residents were at the pool on an hourly basis. Since July is the busiest month, our spreadsheet was developed from that month. We found that resident usage was very low during the opening and closing hours of the day and Wednesday seemed to be a logical day to close so that residents using a Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday to extend their weekend would not be affected.

Management met with the Pool and Recreation Committee to review this data.

A recommendation to the Board of Directors was made to close the pool on Wednesdays when the least usage was observed and to open the pool at noon and to close the pool at 8:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. After thorough consideration, the Board unanimously approved the changes and awarded the contract to RSV Pools, Inc.

Understandably, these changes in pool hours of operation affect our residents as the pool is our most popular amenity. We ask our residents to understand that these changes in pool hours are temporary and as the collection of assessments and revenues improve, we plan to return to longer hours as economic conditions permit.

Granted, usually Tyler and I were the ONLY people at the pool when it opened at 11am last year, but HEY! My kid naps at 12:30! I know OUR homeowners fees are getting paid, even though we don't even own our home, so I want the benefits.

So after my tirade and Tyler's 15 times of saying "I wanna go to da pool!" we figured out an alternative...

I definitely would have preferred the pool, but a shabby sprinkler, and lunch on the steps was able to satisfy my two-year-old. Hopefully people start turning in their homeowners fees so we can have our pool back soon!