Black Friday Booty!

Feeling adventurous, and having a babysitter, Tom and I decided to venture out on Black Friday morning in search of deals for the first time ever! We woke up a bit late, 5am, and just missed out getting our laptop at Office Depot. It was frustrating, since we were only about the 20th people in line! Luckily, there was a Radio Shack in the same complex that just opened that week that had only a few people in line and didn't open till 6am! They only had one laptop, being a new store, but somehow we snagged it! Yay! The Gourleys have leaped into the 21st century and finally have a laptop AND wireless internet! Amazing! Of course, the only reason I get to use it is because Tom is at work....(he's a bit obsessed at the moment!) We also got a good deal on a new digital camera, about time I think, we had our other one over 5 years and 5 megapixels was a bit outdated! The best part of the camera is that it takes video, which I can and have downloaded for all to see! As usual, it's video of Jace, he's the most interesting to watch anyway! And the video is of him and our other Black Friday find, a ride on fire truck that plays the Book of Mormon song...it's hilarious! Everytime Jace plays with it I'm like, "1st and 2nd books of Nephi, Jacob, Enos, Jarom, Omni, etc....." I wonder what the song is really? Does anyone know the name of that tune? Well, enjoy the videos, there should be more to follow soon! Love to all y'all!

So...my lawn melted....

Synlawn? I can think of a better name for it! How about S*@!lawn! After 2 days, it started to melt! Before I could even enjoy it, I had about a 1 foot by 22 foot long strip that melted! And worse, it is getting deeper into the yard every day! I bet it is almost 2' wide now! It is the section closest, although still 3 1/2' away, from the house. Synlawn claims the melting is due to sliding glass doors and windows on the house reflecting light onto the glass, which is like a magnifying glass and melts it......hmmmm......ok....except for a few small items...

1. Are they crack? Seriously. This is not a rhetorical question, I really want to know, because my understanding was that this product was made for the "out-of-doors", where hazards such as heat, windows and sunlight are kind of "the norm". Especially in LAS VEGAS.

2. Are sliding glass doors and backyard windows unique to only my home? Just speculating here, but don't almost ALL homes have sliding glass doors and backyard windows!?! Isn't one of the points of landscaping so that you can look out the BACKYARD WINDOWS and enjoy the view?

3. Although the windows are of varying lengths and widths, the melting is extemely consistent throughout the 22' length of my yard, with the most damaged areas being several feet to the side of the nearest window. Who knows, maybe this will have an unexpected and happy ending, as it seems the windows on my home are able to bend light, making time travel and cloaking devices finally possible!

4. Shouldn't this stuff have a pretty high heat tolerance? Last time I checked, I live in the desert.
5. How do I know it's not just defective grass? If so, will the entire lawn eventually melt? Is the melting plastic lawn giving off toxic chemical fumes all day? Is it same to walk on? Crawl on? Maybe I am not concerned ENOUGH!

And oddly enough, I have yet to find even a single mention on the internet about melting synlawn, melting artificial grass or melting artificial turf...has it never happened before? I suppose I never even considered the possibility of it melting. Like, "Duh", it's made to be outside, of course it doesn't melt"....DUUUUUUUHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Anihoo, Synlawn says they will replace it, (they haven't yet), although I want to figure out how to keep it from melting again, if the windows are indeed the cause, before they do replace it. I doubt they will replace it a second time. Maybe I should just demand my money back, although I'm sure I would lose my lawn and have to pay more for someone else to do it and risk having the same issue....

Moral of the story? BUYER BEWARE! If it seems too good to be true...IT IS!!! So sad. I loved my perfect lawn;-(

Well, I'll keep ya'll posted on the progress of this Tale of the Turf.

Victory is Mine...er...Ours!

It's done! Well, 99.9%...just some minor details to work out (like hooking up the irrigation without electrocuting myself). Isn't fake grass amazing?!? I know it doesn't look "real", but it does look perfect, always will! No water, no fertilizing, no weeds, no bugs, no holes, no nuthin'! And it is sooooo soft! Still can't get over how much I love it! Anihoo, hope you enjoy the pictures, I have more on my facebook page. I'm gonna go chill in my backyard oasis now! C-yA!

Goodbye Dusthole, Hello Synlawn!

Now, the moment that we've all been waiting for, or just that I've been wating for...work has begun on our backyard oasis in the desert! When completed, it will include a water fountain, stained concrete patio, tropical plants and palm trees, and over 300 sq ft of gorgeous, green, never-needs-watering-or-maintainence artificial grass! Only in Vegas, baby! So, what was the catalyst for beginning this incredibly ambitious project, you ask? If you know my family, you already know it was my mom! Can't do anything without her! And she is amazing! Of course, if you have never dug dozens of holes in the concrete desert using nothing but pickaxes and your bare hands in over 110 degree temperatures, you may not fully appreciate the enormous effort put into this. And if you have, well, you shouldn't be free to roam the streets, nutbag! It was insane. But, almost it's done! Here are some pictures of the progress, with more to come once the grass is in! Yay!!! I so happy!

Mama & Jace Photo Shoot!

So, Tom never reads my blog, so this should be safe to post! Jace and I took some pictures for dad for Fathers Day...on the sly! And Jace was sooooo excited that he screamed and cried during 98% of the shoot...teething...who knew, right?! However, we managed to salvage a few gems, hope you enjoy them! Also, the silver tongued sales demon at the photo place seduced me into buying 1.3 million wallets of each pose, so everyone expect a package arriving at your doors soon!

~Creepy~ ~Crawler~

Jace has almost got the crawling thing down! You can check him out in this video! You will also catch a glimpse of his amazing typing skills! Court reporting school, here we come!

POOPSUCKA!!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words...can you imagine what words this picture evoked? This morning when Jace woke up from his nap, this is what I found...Note the playful expression on this poopstained face and the large wet pee puddle underneath him...where do you even start in a situation like this? I followed these steps:
#1. Gasp in disbelief and stare in awe
#2. Cry, Laugh, Cry, Laugh, Cry
#3. Put baby in bath of 1 part water, 200 parts industrial strength denastifier
#4. Wash, Rinse, Repeat, Repeat, Repeat, Dry, Smell, Wash, Rinse, Repeat
#5. Burn crib and all bedding

TaDa!

P.S. Anybody got an extra crib?

Long Time, No Blog...

Sorry sports fans, life's been bit hectic lately and hasn't left me with much time to blog. So here's a brief recap of the past 2 months: Carly rejoined the ranks of the gainully employed, Yay! After 6 months of "chillin'" with Jace, it was far overdue! I'm working as a server at a new Italitan restaurant here in Las Vegas (Town Square) called Brio. So far it has been great, the schedule is flexible, hours are good and it's no Nob Hill, but the tips are none too shabby. Tom started a new job as well with Pure Essence Labs, as their Inside Sales Manager. He seems to enjoy it much more than his previous job in home fitness sales and is learning a lot about the retail side of the vitamin/supplement business. Tom's job took him to Anaheim for a convention mid-March, and with no reason to stay I Vegas, I was able to join my parents in Orlando, FL for a few days where my dad was attending a convention! It was a lot of fun to take Jace to the Disney Parks, I don't know if he even blinked for 3 days, he was so excited! I know he didn't nap!! He also took his first plunge into the swimming pool! He loved it, the kid is a fish! What else...Tom's brother Clint, his wife Clare and their daughter Cami came to visit from Gresham, WI. Tom's mom Miriam came down too, and it was a lot of fun seeing Jace and Cami meet and play for the first time! The weather is beautiful in Vegas, mid-seventies, no humidity (naturally) so our next project is going to be the backyard. Currently, it is a dustbowl, but soon we hope to have at least a patio and maybe even some fake grass! (Only in Vegas!) I'll keep y'all updated on the progress and post some pics soon!

Lunches in Bunches

So, this week I initiated what I hope becomes a longstanding tradition in Gourlandia, a Thursday afternoon lunch group. A simple potluck every week at noon, I invite anyone and everyone who is homebound, wants to socialize with other adults and talk about things other than poop consistency, nap schedules and Dora the Explorer. The first lunchen went swimmingly and I look forward to our next get together. Wow, something to look forward to! JK, my life isn't that uneventful...or is it? So, moral of the story? A lunch group is awesome and if you don't have one...GET ONE!

Check out my Slide Show!

The Weeksworth Incident

Several days ago, I took Jace to his pediatrician for a checkup and shots. All was going beautifully, the sun was shining, it was a balmy 56 degrees, Jace was fed, clean and dressed in his supercute Gymboree froggie overalls, ready to charm anyone wihin a 1 mile radius. Then, disaster strikes. While driving to the pediatrician's, I hear a horrific noise followed by an even more terrifying scent..."no biggie", I think, "I'll just change him before going in". La la la...When we arrive, I calmly remove Jace from his carseat and lie him in the backseat of the Civic to change his dipes. Suddenly, I notice what can only be described a a stream of yellow goo running down both legs into his socks. It was a poo explosion! He must have been saving up for a week! Now, Jace LOVES geting his diaper changed and being naked, so he's flailing his arms and legs wildly and laughing hysterically, while poo is quickly spreading all over his clothes and mine! So, I remove my jacket (poo stained) and then, after surveying this natural disaster and trying to formulate a strategy, proceed to begin wiping up the poo with baby wipes, of course I only had about 5 or 6, so they all were very nasty and I refused to put them in my car, so, logically, I began dropping them in a pile on the parking lot, meanwhile, passersby at the busy shopping center are steering clear of the crazy hillbilly poop lady! Sooooo, embarassing... Well, at least the poo was finally contained, but Jace's adorable outfit was trashed, beyond recognition, so here I am with a diapered, naked, sockless, shoeless laughing baby in January in the backseat of my Civic, surrounded by a miniature mountain of poopy wipes and streams of snickering onlookers! I had no blanket, of course, just a baby jacket...hmmm, I needed more than that. Luckily, I had some old clothes in the backseat that I had been meaning to take to a resale shop. Unluckily, they were all newborn sized and no socks. So I located the largest and least ghetto of the bunch, a blue jumper that came up above Jace's knees, put on his little jacket, hoping that would make up for the bare feet and plowed ahead into the doctor's office, late, smelly and exasperated. And you know what, I don't know if I've ever seen Jace have more fun! Go figure!

Gallery du Jour - Baby Jace

I always get a lot of flack for not sending baby pictures out, so I will post more here, that way, I've done my part and you can all visit as often as you like! If you want even more beautiful baby goodness, there's more where these came from!

GOTTA LOVE THE JUMPEROO

For Christmas, Jace got a Rainforest Jumperoo; it is awesome! He just turned 6 months old and needed a better outlet for his boundless energy. This thing is great and keeps him busy for at least twenty minutes at a time. Hopefully, it will keep him occupied for longer stretchs as he gets older! But, for now, I'll take what I can get! Check out this video, and you'll see how much he digs it!