robbed

I'm sure everyone has used the expression "I was robbed!" I know I have....when shooting basketballs and it ALMOST made it in, but not quite, or when Mike just BARELY beats me at Monopoly, or any other game. Well, this is no longer just an expression around our house.

We Literally were ROBBED!!!

It happened on Tuesday, before Thanksgiving. I was out shopping and running my all important errands that needed to be done before we left for St. George. ( You know...get a new pedicure, buy a cute swimsuit, etc.) :) Well, I was at Macys shopping when Mike called on his way home from school. We were just chatting when all of a sudden he mentioned that I had left the garage door open.

"No...I certainly did not leave the garage door open." I said. Then he said .....well, I better not write on here what he ACTUALLY said...but let me know in very strong words that all his tools in the garage, as well as camping, hiking, rock climbing and sports equipment were missing as well. Oh...and they also took his framed poster of Bob Marley. Go figure.

Well, thats not the worst of it. I thought it was my fault, because I assumed I actually HAD left the garage door open. but when Mike went inside, he was in for the shock of his life!

Everything was gone!

Okay...not everything. The couches were there, my curio cabinet was there, and my big huge tv was there. (it takes about 4 grown men to left that darn thing. I almost wish they HAD stolen it so I wouldn't have to move it again.)

but everything else. They took our DVD players, my COX DVR cable receiver, Mikes surround sound speakers and receiver, our laptop computer and my desktop, all the wireless internet stuff, phones, about 150 DVDs, oh...and my toaster! go figure!

It was scary to come home and see your house in shambles. It was really like what you see on TV. All the dresser doors had been opened and over-turned. there were clothes and papers everywhere! In all the rooms everything had been rummaged through, dumped out, and picked over. We called the police and waited over NINE HOURS for them to show up. That was the worst part. We couldn't do ANYTHING until they came. My house was a complete disaster and I couldn't do a thing about it. all Day long.

They took tons more stuff. I have some before and after pics I will post later. but on a brighter note....it could have been so much worse.

No one was home. Which is probably why they robbed us in the first place. But you never know. I'm just glad I wasn't home to find out if they would have tried it anyway. Also, they didn't do any damage to my home. A couple of people in my ward have been broken into, and they did MAJOR vandalism. You know, spray painted walls, smashed tvs and furniture and walls with baseball bats, basically desgtroyed anything they could get their hands on. I'm glad that didn't happen to us. I'm sure we were hit by some pros...because they got in, took what they wanted, and got out. They even brought wire cutters to cut through all the computer and electronic cords. That way they didn't have to waste time unhooking everything.

The most annoying thing they stole were all our duffel bags! I realized its so they can throw all your stuff in them and carry it out easily. That made it pretty hard to pack for Thanksgiving vacation. Ironically, they even stole my Primary bag with the CTR label emblazoned on the front. That made me laugh. I guess no one ever taught them what CTR stands for!! :)

the robbers broke through a kitchen window and just let themselves in. thanks to Marlee (my nicest dog in the universe) who let them just walk right in, and was probably THRILLED to have a few new "friends" visiting her.

anyway, we boarded up the window and changed all the locks before we left. We also had to cancel all our credit cards. They didn't steal any cards, but they went through our files that had all our bank account statements and credit card statements. I hope they weren't smart enough to write down the account numbers...but I'm not taking any chances.

Now that we're home, I had to call the insurance agent, call glass people to come fix the window, call COX to get a new DVR (that they are charging me $500 for. Thanks COX), and put a fraud alert on our credit reports and social security numbers. Its just no fun to get robbed. oh, I also called a company about a state of the art alarm system. :) Maybe a little too late, but hopefully the thiefs won't come back.

On a happier note, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with the family in St. George. Mike and I even braved the Sale crowds early Friday morning to try and replace some of what we lost. We were waiting in line in the Best Buy parking lot by 4AM, and we managed to get a good deal on a new laptop. I also bought ANOTHER new photoshop, as the one Mike got me for my birthday was stolen. so atleast now that we have a computer again, I can blog and do some scrapbooking.

anyway...that is the drama at the Romer household this week. It certainly seems that Drama never ends around here. I will post pics later, but for now, I just don't have the heart. They are so sad! Its a strange thing feeling like a stranger in your own home. But for now, everyone is safe, and the things we lost can be replaced. thanks to everyone for your kind words and prayers! we love you!

Moms

For all the Moms out there....or for anyone who's ever had a mom.

ENJOY! :)

Just playing around with my new software and came up with these. Rachel inspirted me to start scrapping Miles, so thanks! You got the ball rolling.

Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday dear SARAH....Happy Birthday to Me!

One thing about me.....I love Birthdays. I am Especially fond of MY Birthday. Yes...the day I graced this world with my presence.....blah, blah, blah. :) Turns out today is my special day. I am now a whopping 27 years old! This ALMOST qualifies me as an old fart.

But seriously, today was a pretty great day. I woke up to my wonderful husband making me some of THESE for Breakfast.

Then we opened presents. I was so surprised! First, I opened this....

Mike asked me what I wanted for my Birthday a few weeks ago, and I "casually" mentioned the new photoshop software. Well, Mike thought it was crazy they are already on version 6, when I bought version 3 like...2 years ago. Needless to say, he wasn't thrilled about the idea of me getting this. So, I just forgot about it.

What a good husband!! He not only surprised me by getting me the scrapbooking software I wanted, he also surprised me with this....

We saw the movie when it came out, and I just LOVED it. I remember now saying "I should get this sound track". Well...my sweet husband remembered this too, and bought it for me. He smiled when I openend it and said "I know how much you love your show-tunes."

Yes....I DO love my show-tunes. Thanks sweetie!

He also surprised me with one of those back and neck massager thingies you can put on your chair. He said so when I was up with Miles at night to feed him, atleast I could get a massage at the same time. THEN he pointed out I could also use my new software to scrapbook, while I listened to this fun soundtrack AND got a massage. ALL at the same time. What a thoughtful guy. I know....I"m pretty lucky.

Then, if all that wasn't enough, Mike stayed home with Miles for a little while so I could go "out". Where did I go? To the gym of course! :) And yes, I was actually very excited about it. Today was my first day back at the gym after the arrival of our Miles, and it felt GREAT! Now, I am starting out slow, since any REAL physical activity has been basically non-existant for almost a year. But I picked up a schedule of their classes. And the best part is that Miles can start using their on-sight day-care next month! Wahoo! So I can get out every morning and do my work-out, and Miles can stay in the day care for an hour or so while I do it. PERFECT!

And if all that wasn't enought, I went to Olive Garden for my birthday lunch. I am a creature of habit, and so I ordered what I always do. Soup, Salad, and breadsticks. Love it. Then I came home and Mike watched Miles while I took a nap. Yes, you heard me right. A Nap. I actually got to take a nap.

Now, I am going to watch Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy, and then go to bed.

A Perfect end to a Perfect day. Thanks again to Mike for making it that way. LOVE YOU!

cute pics

I picked up some pics of Miles we had taken twhen he was 2 weeks old, and I thought they were cute, so I wanted to share.

but First.....

Like Father, Like Son

doing their favorite activity.

Napping during the Sunday Football games showing on TV. Miles is definitely his Father's son. You can't help but notice the similarities. :)

And here are the pics of Miles.

I know, there's only a couple. But it was kind of a spur of the moment thing I did when Rachel was here. So we didn't order a lot. But it was fun. And they are cute.

Miles' First Halloween!!!

I should have known I would be one of "those moms." You know, the kind that obsess about their kids halloween costumes months before they are even born. The kind that forces the whole family to dress up on Halloween for the baby's first holiday. The kind that makes her husband take about a MILLION pictures of the little guy dressed up, plus a million more with each parent, and two million of the whole family. Yes....That's me. I am one of those moms....

And I am LOVING IT!!

So, here is a small sample of my obsessive picture taking for your enjoyment.

This is mom and Miles. I ofcourse dressed up as a biker, as I do every year. The reason???? I am always looking for an excuse to wear my real black leather pants. :)

Here we have Miles and Dad. Dad is pretending to be a hard core biker. But notice...HE doesn't have leather pants. Too bad he doesn't still have his really long hair.

And finally, the entire family. Just for fun. This was the first year I have been able to stay home and pass out candy to the little kids. I have always had to work, so I had a good time. We didn't have too many trick or treaters, but a few. And BOY, is halloween different here than in Wyoming.

Our next door neighbors have a cute 3 year old girl. She was dressed up as a hula dancer, with a little pink bikini top and real grass skirt. I laughed, thinking how the outfit would look on top of a SNOWSUIT in Wyoming. But she was adorable. There were no kids in snowboots, coats, or even jackets. Mittens and ear muffs were nowhere to be found. The kids were just out and about in their little costumes, enjoying the 78 degree weather as the sun went down. What a difference.

I started thinking about all the great halloweens we had as kids. Here are just a few of my Halloween memories.

1. Ben and Adam dressing up as Ninjas....for what seemed like the 10th year in a row. Or Cowboys. It was either one or the other. Rachel's costumes were always really "girly", and I basically dressed as whatever my mom wanted me to.

2. Dad hiding with his Freddy Krueger mask on in the hallway closet. He would wait for one of his poor, unsuspecting children to open the door, then jump out and scare us.

3. Mom stealthily sneaking up on the van where her innocent children were waiting for her. She jumped up, yelling and pounding on the window so hard, we cried and cried. I still remember sobbing..."Mom!!! That was really mean! Don't do that!"

4. I dressed up as a black cat in 4th grade and was so excited to walk in the Halloween parade at school. Until I saw the pictures of me in my cute kitty costume. I realized my little white undies were peeking out from under my black leotarde. The embarrassment of my "peeking panties" still haunts me to this day.

5. We trick-or-treated in the Aspen Grove neighborhood by my Uncle Paul and Aunt Joan's house. There was a house there that ALWAYS gave out KING SIZE candy bars. This was like basically hitting the lottery when you were a kid. We begged to go there every year.

6. When we were "too old" to trick or treat, the girl cousins had fun at Aunt Kathy Atkinsons house. We dressed up as a scare-crow , or a large pumpkin and propped ourselves on the front porch. Then, when kids rang the doorbell, we would jump up and scare them, chasing them as they ran away screaming. :) We were so mean.

I thought I would make a "top ten" list....but now I am stumped. My frazzled and sleep deprived brain can only think of 6. Lets just say we always had a good time. And a big thanks to my mom for keeping us in cute costumes and taking the time to drive us around all of Evanston every year to show us off, keep us safe, and get us the best candy. Kudos to you mom!