The Room

We are still waiting...and should know more on Tuesday (if not sooner). In the meantime I think I have finally finished his room. So here you go...

The quilt was made by my mom and Linda. It is really cute!! And I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time in that chair - that is why we went with the comfy leather.

This is the little man dresser from earlier, just with the mirror attached. Notice the super cute lamp that we found at Target! Man I love Target!


This, of course, is his bed. I made the letters for his name, but I couldn't get them to show up very well!

Preparing the Nursery - Part #1

So here are some pics of the nursery at this point. Well, actually this was mostly from last week, and we have come MUCH further in the process. I hope to finish all the painting this weekend - but we are having company so I make no promises!!

Yes, well it doesn't look like much... and I didn't forget to paint the bottom. Randy has now finished hanging the bead board along the bottom. The hold-up is me trying to paint all the little nooks that come as part of the bead board package!

I had gotten in trouble - shortly before this picture was taken - for having the music WAY too loud and not properly ventilating the room (from the husband). Parenting skills are already kicking in for the dad-to-be! (love you honey)

The Man with the Dirty Pants

This past weekend I did not want to stay at home and do the things I needed to do (like laundry, dishes, etc). So I decided to go to Lowe's to pick out some paint color samples for the baby's room. I really also wanted to pick out some pretty flowers and other fun plants to landscape my front yard with. BUT, since I have the world's worst allergies I knew I would pay (for the next 24hrs) for even 5 minutes in the garden department...so, I stuck to paint samples and other odds and ends for the nursery. My Lowe's adventure did not last me long enough though. I had looked at everything I could think to look at...but I wasn't ready to go back home...so I went next door to the mall.

After shopping for a birthday present for my niece...and of course looking at the incredibly cute baby things...and picking out a cute monkey outfit for the boy...and looking at men's clothes for the hubby...and purses for me...I finally made my way to the checkout. The only checkout I could find with a cashier.

There was a man standing in front of me returning a pair of sunglasses and it was taking FOREVER! So I waited patiently...with my back killing me...while thinking seriously about getting something very unhealthy to eat as a snack once I left the mall...maybe a milkshake...or a giant cookie...no a milkshake sounds better.

So while I am contemplating my unhealthy snack options I notice that the guy in front of me has something on his pants. They were dark pants...so I couldn't tell exactly what it was. I stared a little more intently...nope...still couldn't tell what it was. So I gave up and glanced at the cashier just in time to see that there was a mirror directly behind the cashier and the man with dirty pants was watching me stare at his rear.

I really, really wanted to tell him that I did not find his hind quarters attractive in any way and that in fact there was something on his pants...and that I was only looking so hard to try to figure out what it was...and wasn't it my business to know what was on his pants? But I finally decided - who cares - I am pregnant... my back was killing me... I wanted something to eat... so dirty-pants-man can just think what he wants. Maybe it boosted his ego a bit to have some pregnant woman intensely check out his rear. And hey, everyone needs a boost now and then.

You

You may recognize these words from my quote on the side - I just love NOOMA!

Did you know?

Did you know that after Thanksgiving it is impossible to find yard stakes for your Christmas lights?

Me either.

Stupid me...I only bought 50 back when I decided that I wantd to run lights down the sidewalk...I needed 100. So on Saturday afternoon when I finally had time to work on it, I started putting out the lights and realized we were not going to have enough stakes.

No biggie...I thought.

So the husband and I lock up the house and make a dash to Wal-Mart (which I thought was going to be the worst part of our outing...Wal-Mart on Saturday).

Well, just as I expected, the Christmas section was so jam packed with people you couldn't even drive a shopping cart through it (not that people weren't trying to anyway). And low and behold...no stakes...and none expected in any time soon. We were told to try to think of an alternative.

So we head off to Lowe's. No stakes. Now keep in mind that I have half of the sidewalk done.

So, after a couple of other stores, we decide we are going to have to rig it ourselves. Here is our solution.

Wire hangers & Zip ties

The husband cut and shaped the hangers while I zip tied my little heart out. But I think it turned out okay!

Half the time I was out there... zip tying each and every light on... the lady down the street was standing there watching me. Like "Ha, I got my stakes in plenty of time...LOSER." I almost went and asked her if she wanted to help, but I thought that would not be very Christmas spirity!

Oh and thanks hubby for making the make shift yard stakes... even though you would have been more than happy to not have any outside lights at all!

There is just no accounting for taste...

Well, it's that time of year...time to pull out the Christmas music and decorate the Christmas tree. Since this is the 1st Christmas in our new house I am very excited about decorating. I have found out that all the decorations we used to cram in our small-ish house now get lost in our large-ish house. It looks kind of sad.



But anyway, this being our 1st year in this neighborhood also means that this is the first time we have seen the decorations of our neighbors. Now, we live in a pretty nice area...we aren't talking Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous here, but nice enough. I was pretty excited Saturday when I saw the icicle lights and the luminaries going up on our street...I love, LOVE luminaries. And to me, you just can't go wrong with white lights! Then THEY decorated their yard. Yes, them...the ones with the yard decorations from...well...you know where!



Say it with me...



PICK.A.THEME.PEOPLE!!!!



That's right, they have quite a collection of Christmas decor. The Nativity scene, moose, deer, snowmen, Santa (the plastic light up one and a stuffed one), candy canes, lights thrown here and there and a MERRY CHRISTMAS sign to end all signs. It is the type of yard that makes you cringe a little thinking that you will be having Christmas parties at your home...and your friends will see their yard...in all it's misguided holiday glory.



But hey, it will give us something to laugh about. Maybe we can even have a contest to see who can guess how many light up candy canes there actually are!

Faux Paint

So...last Friday night my husband and I made a dash to Lowe's to pick out a new paint color for the dining room...something better than Institutional Gray.

...an hour later we were still trying to figure out what to do. Finally, we decided to do a two-tone technique that used a special roller...so we go in search of the roller in the "Faux Paint" section. Then we decided to do a stippling technique instead...so we gathered up the supplies for that.

Let me just recap for you:
-we run into Lowe's to buy a gallon of paint (before we go out to eat)
-after an hour we are still looking
-we leave with one gallon of paint, one pint of glaze, one stipple brush, one pounce brush, one package of cheesecloth and two paint trays...for a grand total of $75

Yeah...In the check-out line when she told us the total my husband said "All we came for was a gallon of paint...what happened?"

I guess we were victims of the pretty brochures and fancy displays that made faux painting techniques look so wonderful.

Well...Saturday night when I had been faux painting for four...yes FOUR...hours and still hadn't finished the first wall...I didn't think it was so wonderful anymore! I was pretty sure that if I had to "stipple" for one more minute, my hand was going to snap right off my arm at the wrist. I FINALLY finished sometime Sunday afternoon...at a grand total of about 9 hours worth of painting!

Needless to say...I will not be stippling anything else for quite some time...but man, it does look great!

This bottom picture is a more accurate view of the color...the other picture makes it look more red.

She's a lady...

...well, maybe not!
This is our dog...and this is how she sleeps. We really get a kick out of the amount of time she spends sleeping like a person. It seems that sleeping on her back is the most comfortable position for her.





She isn't very modest either.

Ugh!

It has been one of those days

...well, more like one of those weeks

...ok, let's just get real...we're going on a month now.

I am tired

I am frustrated

And I am burned out.

Work is frustrating (this would be the source of the burn-out)...but I won't go there - I mean who really cares about that. Except I wish that I were better at leaving the work frustration at work and not letting it spill over into the rest of my life.

Then, I was awakened at 3:15 this morning only to find that my husband had to traipsing all over town because one of his former employees had been caught trying to break in to one of his stores. Then we found out he had already stolen from another (allegedly). And of course, after getting frustrating news like that...I couldn't get back to sleep.

Then for some reason I can't and I mean CAN'T pick out the right paint colors to save my ever-lovin' life. I mean, they look great on those little one inch swatches. I fantasize about how it will look on my walls and with my furniture (I know - I am strange)...I imagine what art I will hang to accent the color...etc.

So, I go to Lowe's and buy a gallon and then...

...and THEN I put it on my walls and merciful heavens if it isn't ANYTHING like what I imagined. For the love of all that is holy could someone please start making 8 X 10 paint swatches?

Right now my dining room is splattered with Institutional Gray (as my hubs likes to call it). I swear to you guys that it looked tan on the swatch...I mean the name of it was Ashlar Gray...but it really seemed to lean more toward the brown end of the spectrum than the black end.

So now I get to go back to Lowe's and get ANOTHER gallon of paint...but first I have to find another microscopic swatch of tan that I think will work!

Thank the sweet Lord above that today is Friday...I just don't think I could take it if it were any other day!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Grant!!
Don't eat too much candy and cake!
Love you!

Happy Birthday

Just want to wish Levi a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY today!
Hope you have a wonderful day!! Love you!

The MESS

In other news...please excuse the mess that has become my new layout. It is a work in progress...very slow progress. I will hopefully find a look I like in the very near future - in the meantime I understand that it is pretty obnoxious!

This stupid thing called a job keeps getting in the way of my fun creative time with my blog. Then when I get home our internet access has been touch and go - it is really frustrating! But I promise to try not to be one of those annoying bloggers that never updates my blog!

He's a Man (or Woman) Eater

My sweet little nephew is a very, very bad baby.

He attends the daycare at the church where I work so I get to hear all of the stories about him (from the daycare teachers and then from his mother).

So, the other day it finally happened, he BIT his 23rd victim. It seems that a child with a biting problem has a record at the daycare and when they have filled up a sheet (with 23 spaces on it) of children they have bitten - the paper gets sent home to mom and dad. It lists each victim and the time and date of the bite.

It is so hard to get mad at such a sweet little baby...but don't be fooled...he's a biter.


Who thinks he should be Hannibal Lecter for Halloween? I think he could pull it off! They have the same hair line.

Finally

Well, this weekend I finally finished the entry. I painted the trim with latex without using KILZ first (me, the queen of KILZ). Never will I do that again! All, and I mean ALL of the paint pealed off with the painters tape...the trim had been painted with oil based paint before! I could have died!!!!

Before:













After:

Well, we had Jack and Vivi again last night. I really have sympathy for all of you moms out there. Especially single moms - since the husband was out of town and I had them all to myself!

So, you know how all your life you hear these "parental sayings" that you swear up and down you will never say to your children? Things like "because I said so" and "well if (blank) jumped off a bridge would you do it too" and such? (I long ago STOPPED saying I would never do something - when it comes to parenthood - which I have not experienced yet.) But last night I found myself ALMOST using one of those stupid little sayings, here is what happened:

So, I'm in the living room changing Jack's dirty diaper while Vivi is in the bath tub. Since she is 4 now, I don't feel too bad about leaving her alone for spans of time (I feel pretty confident that she won't drown in 3 inches of water at this point). Vivi keeps yelling for me to come to the bathroom - and I keep saying I can't until I finish changing Jack's diaper (which is like trying to hold down a Mexican Jumping Bean - that is covered in poo). She keeps calling me...I keep putting her off. Then all is quiet for a few minutes (uh oh). So I start walking to the bathroom and notice how strong her strawberry shampoo smells. I have already washed her hair so I assume it is just the lingering smell of the suds we rinsed out previously (you parent experts are saying "what and idiot").

When I round the corner into the bathroom she quickly says
"NOTHING!!!.....What?"

Then this blinding thought of "oh CRAP what did she do??!!" shoots through my mind. I also notice that the strawberry smell is almost sickening-ly strong and the shampoo bottle is floating in the water.

Then I notice that the water is pink...and full of pink bubbles...and then I realize what she has done.

"Did you pour all of your shampoo into the water?"

"Yes"

"Why did you do that?"

"I don't know"

Okay, so here it is...the "parental saying" I so badly wanted to use but didn't:

"Do you know how many kids in Ethiopia would love to be able use strawberry shampoo and now you just wasted your whole bottle!"

But I just told her to get out of the tub and dry off - no need to wash off with soap since she was swimming in it.

All those poor Ethiopian children...no food...no strawberry shampoo...

Oh, and for my dear sister...

What I Did on My Summer Vacation...

I don't have a lot to say about this trip...it was beautiful...peaceful...and fun. Colorado is my favorite place in the world.

Paaartaaay!

Well, it's my birthday today! It is funny how they don't seem to be such a big deal as an adult...well, until you hit the BIG ones...30...40...50. I am happy to say that I haven't reached any major milestone birthdays...yet. But I am getting very, VERY close!

My sister wrote an incredibly sweet post today...just for little ol' me! She was nice enough to include a good picture of me and not one of those horrible awkward pictures from Junior High!

So far- for my birthday I have been out to eat three times with 3 different sets of people. Maybe what I really need is a membership to the gym - instead of all these dinners! So, "THANK YOU!" to everyone who called, sent cards, or took me to dinner! I have the bestest friends and family in the world!!!

The Bedroom Redo

I am actually ready to show some weekend project/ redo pictures. My parents came a couple of weeks ago to help me out with some projects - since we have so many - and we are incredibly grateful for the help! So one big project was the master bedroom. I have hesitated to show any pics because I am not completely finished...and I wanted it to look perfect...but oh well! Here it is anyway!

I have no before pics - but the walls were white with a few pieces of mis-matched furniture. So now the walls are blue and the furniture matches...well, at least the furniture that is staying. Notice that the night stands don't match. I am still searching for the right ones.

The headboard is a blue/gray suede...with brown and blue accents. My mom made all of the throw pillows AND upholstered the headboard. Dad painted the room (as well as finishing several other projects)!

This is my favorite piece...it was a horrid looking garage sale find that I painted brown and added new legs to. I love it! This picture doesn't really do it justice - it looks much better in real life! Also, there are doors for the shelf end - I just haven't gotten the hardware to add them yet.

This is the awkward little nook that is a work in progress. It hides the doors to the closet and bathroom.

So, there you go! I will - hopefully - get some stuff on the walls soon. The hubs informed me today he might want to re-arrange! So I will have to wait and see where we put things before I can commit anything to the walls!

A Tribute to the End of Summer...Part 1

Not that it won't be hot for another 4 months, but, ya know...technically it is becoming fall.

Part 1 - THE GUESTS

For the past few years we have had a somewhat-annual-get-together of the siblings and cousins for the 4th of July. The weekend is full of swimming...cookouts...cookies...and a great deal of fun!

Best pic of the whole summer:














If we could understand him, I think he would be saying one of the following...
a) "Come here often?"
b) "Hey baby!"
c) "My water wings aren't really inflated...those are my actual muscles!"
d) "If you like my Big Bird water wings...you should see my Elmo beach ball!"



















Daniel is mastering the art of sliding without holding on to the sides...all the way down...with his hands and feet...which...when sliding in this manner...makes the most horrible screeching noise (you know, due to all the friction and stuff)...and it, in fact, makes the trip to the water REALLY slow!




If I can recall correctly I believe what Jack is saying here is "NO, I did not eat your cookie...and I really resent the accusation!"

I think that is what he said.







And here we just have Vivi...your basic miniature DIVA...complete with stylish swimsuit cover-up and shades to match.

I am not sure what to say about the cheesy grin...but I am sure she will LOVE this picture in about 12 years.