A Prayer Request ****UPDATE****

I have a young cousin, she is in her mid-twenties, married with 3 young boys. Ages 8, 3, and 1 years.

She has been in the hospital with double pneumonia for a week, with improvements only being noted as of yesterday.

She is very sick.

She could definitely use some of your prayers.

***UPDATE***

My cousin is doing so much better as of yesterday. Her SaO2 was as low at 80% for awhile, even with Oxygen being delivered. She is now above 90%, talking, eating. Lungs are clearing.

Just doing SO much better!

Got the Quad!

So, after a saturday of visiting a new TJ Maxx store, browsing the $ tree, and taking the kids to 'Bounce' for a couple hours...it was home to show them the big surprise!

And, were they SURPRISED! I really thought that Drew, and The Boy would be most interested. Not so much my little Lulu. But, I was SO wrong! All the kids, including little Lulu were lovin' it! D took Lulu around the yard holding on to the handle. Drew was fearless! The boys did pretty good, but D did help them. And, good thing, it came with a control that D can use to kill the engine if he thinks they are going too fast, or getting in trouble. It didn't work so great initially, and he eneded up coming to the door covered head to toe in mudd after one of the boys revved it up, and D couldn't get the control to work, so he held on the back of the quad to keep it from crashing into the back of the house, all the while the wheels were still spinning out grass and mud straight at him! It was a mess. WISH I had a pic of that! So much for D reassuring me, "Oh...it's not gonna hurt the lawn!" Ha!

Honestly, now, I am just so paranoid that one of them is gonna break an arm, leg, or neck falling off that thing! I would be mortfied!!! So, it goes. No matter how careful I try to be, or try to make my children be, eventually, something will happen to atleast one of them.

A New Toy!

D is on his way out to make a larger purchase. He is bringing home one of these...

The kids have absolutley NO idea! They are gonna have soooo much fun with this in our backyard! And, the cousins will love being able to come and ride as well!

Well, off to a day of BOUNCE with the cousins!

THRILLING NEWS!

I have been trying to find an old high school friend for over a year now. We were very close. I really wanted to get in touch with her.

Well...I received a message from her sister via classmates.com, and so I asked her about Christa. Turns out, she has been living in her parents home, in the town we grew up in, for a long time now. I have DRIVEN past that house thinking, wondering if she still lives there, or her parents do. Thinking of stopping to say 'hi'.

Her sister also passed along to me her cell number, so I can call her!

This is such a nice thing to occur for me. I can't even describe how elated I am!

Any Suggestions???

I am avoiding driving d/t I SIMPLY DO NOT WANT TO PAY FOR ANY MORE GAS THAN I HAVE TO HAVE!

And...it has done nothing but rain, snow, rain some more all of this week.

I am so tired of cleaning up messy rooms full of toys, doing laundry, and doing double the dishes.

I am at a loss of what to do with 4 kids of varying age indoors today!

Augghhh!

Throwback Thursday? & Lincoln Logs!

My sister is a sort of pack rat, not a hoarder, but very much an avid collector of ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING. She recently went through a lot of stuff that she wanted to finally get rid of. Among it was a treasure trove of our old NKOTB stuff. If you have no idea what I am talking about, I mean, New Kids on the Block. We had tapes, dolls, T-shirts, pillowcases, a storage chest. She gave most of it to my girls.


Things are turning so retro in the schools these days, it's like a late 80's early 90's flashback when I enter her school and see what kids are wearing. Outside of the fact that boys haircuts mimic the Beatles. But, I see neon colored leggings, ballet flats, fishnets, stonewashed denim, shirts with holes, tons of old rock band tee's, etc. The girls make up too. I don't allow my dtr to wear much in the way of make up but, a lot of the girls are again wearing blue, or green, or pink mascara. Nail polish in every color you could imagine. My dtrs fave's are dark sparkly purple and green.

Anyway...getting back to my real point for doing this Throwback Thursday...my dtr insists on wearing all 4 of the NKOTB T-shirts to school now...regularly. Now, I would imagine that she will be the only, if not one of the very very few girls that will have had access to such an item in such good conditon at that. It just cracks me up. If I am thinking right, I wore one of them back when I was either just at her age, or another year older. I LOVED Joe McIntire. He was my dream. Ofcourse it was all current for me back then, and for her now it is just a 'cool' thing to have and show off at school. I can't wait to hear what her teachers say, I'm sure a lot of them are near my age, and probably also had a crush on one or more of the NKOTB boys.

Now on to the little ones...
My MIL recently brought over some Lincoln Logs. In fact, it was in exchange for one of that Boys christmas presents that ended up being a real flop. She got the Ranch themed one, it came with horses, cowboys, a cowgirl, which was quickly discovered by Little Lulu. I helped them build it all up yesterday. They were so excited!

But, I quickly found that they both had completely different ideas of exactly how the blocks were supposed to be played with.

While Lulu immediately took the cowgirl & had her ride the horse to the ranch, get off the horse & then made her go in each little house or barn...


The Boy became upset that all the blocks had been used to build the Ranch when he needed them for making a race car parking lot, and his little Muck truck needed some to scoop up!!!

Oh, the minds of little boy & girls!!!


Needless to say...it all ended up being demolished during a knock down drag out brawl for logs.

Rainy Days are here!

RAINY SPRING BREAK! RAIN RAIN AND MORE RAIN! Just infuriates me!

Got some word signs I had ordered for our living room. Just put them up this morning. I love them! They are so nicely made, and look great on my wall with all the pictures I put up finally. I got them here.

Went clearance shopping with my beloved cousin, Mel, and she has this amazing little routine she does in Target. She knows exactly were to go to find any, and all clearance. I think she should make a map, and market it. We found some after easter goodies for so cheap! Burts Bee's chapstick, 2 in a pack, for 2.74. One is mine, one is for the Drama Queen. Some mini Bob the Builder diecast vehicles, a 3 pack for 2.49, a Dora the Explorer bubble set with a whistle to blow the bubbles, surely Lulu can really blow the bubbles with this, it was only 1.49! And, her dtr had on the cutest flower top with a springy skort, ofcourse she had gotten it at the Target Easter Clearance isle, so I found the same for my younger girls for $5.49, each entire outfit!

Also found a sidewalk paint kit for the kids to do once it dries up, it too was on clearance. And, Leah found her Baby Alive that she kept asking for, already on clearance! Ahhh, I ♥ Target!

We also took the kids swimming at a water park, they had a blast! Leah is scared of the water for the most part, but she did okay, she kept around the stairs in the toddler area. Dunked a couple times, but came up fine. The Boy was all over the place, along with his cousin. They were WILD! The girls all played in the wave pool most of the time.

We braved Chuck E. Cheese's after our swim. That place is insane! Especially being spring break. Too much noise, and too much searching. Our pizza got forgotten, and we both hollered at the manager. It's hard to enough to round up 6 kids from playing arcade games, let alone get them to sit and continue waiting for a pizza that never came! We ended up with free icecream for the kids. Did not equate for our troubles, but it did make the kids happy.

Now...what to do today?

A Princess Party & An Egg Hunt

Having the boys birthday so close to mine, and so shortly after christmas was overload in and of itself. But, having Lulu's birthday day before easter this year, well, THAT IS OVERLOAD!

This child was anything but cooperative over the last 2 days.

My home is full of little beasts. BEASTS! Thanks to all the sugar! Lulu was found yesterday hiding in a corner of her room, eating all of the chocolate she could smash into her mouth. When D opened her door, she yelled out, "NO! Go out, I'm playin'!" Yeah, right...the ring of chocolate around her mouth told a much different story. Seems to be it might be an annual thing for this little lady...just look at her telling Momma off in the camera at the mere age of 1 while eating her 1st chocolate bunny, lol.

That boy seemed to think the easter egg hung was a special event reserved for his high-ness. With every egg that Monkey Girl or Lulu found, that boy screamed in terror! "Look at me! I don't have anyfing!" or "NOOOOOO! That was mine!" It never failed.

Not only would Lulu not allow me to put her easter dress on her, she insisted on wearing her new princess nightgown all day long. ( THANKS MEL!) Even out in the wetness, rubber boots and all, to hunt for eggs. Hair wild, no pretties! She was big fat ball of FIRE!

I was the host, or rather hostess this easter, and spent pretty much all of my day in the kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I loved making dinner for everyone, trying some new things. But, it just baffles me at how you can spend a whole day cooking, only to serve and be done with the meal within 30 minutes, kids, I'll give them 5 minutes, and then be off to clear the table and wash dishes...remaining IN THE KITCHEN. Not my idea of a grand 'ol time. But, dinner was very good, and I think everyone enjoyed it. I cooked a ham coated in brown sugar, citrus roasted asparagus, maple glazed new potatoes, and some very yummy orange-raisin bread from scratch.

We ended the afternoon playing with a balloon. WHAT? Yeah, kids blew up a balloon, and we all ended up somehow gathered in the living room tossing a balloon around. EVERYONE! Kids loved this. Especially the boy, and Lulu...after she finished with one of her many tantrums.

Why does a holiday always bring out the worst in a child???

Now, I am cursing at the skies for the torrents of rain all day yesterday, only to have had beautiful
blue skies with bright shining sun the day before, and, you guessed it... TODAY!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Heavenly Bread...

A little over 2 weeks ago, my Mom gave me a ziplock bag full of this dough. She called it Amish Friendship bread. I was a bit unsure about whether I wanted to take it, and a bit confused as to what it really was, or what I was supposed to do with it. Well, I took it, and 10 days later, I made the most amazing bread I have ever tasted! The kids loved it, and D thought it was the best bread he'd ever had.

This little bag grows, and grows. You add milk, flour, and sugar to it 2 different times, and it continues growing. Before you make your bread, you create 4 more ziplock bags full of 1 cup of this dough. You keep one, and give 3 away. You will be making bread every 10 days as long as you keep a starter. I have now given away 6 bags. D took 3 to work this morning to give to his MAN friends he likes it so much. If D is willing to bother talking food or cooking with his coworkers then you know he's impressed.

Last night, I cooked my 2nd batch of this bread. The portion remaining for you to bake creates 2 loafs. My house smelled heavenly! D even stated at one point, "They should make a candle that smells like that bread." The kids came running once the aroma hit thier little noses, wondering 'what's that smell?' They knew what it was, and they could not wait to have some for dessert. I tell you, it's amazing! You will never taste something so good. It's sort of like a coffee cake, but at the same time, muffin like. Just so delicious, mouth watering. Especially when it's right out of the oven!

I would love to offer up a starter to anyone that is interested in receieving one and trying it out for yourself. The next time that I will be creating starters will be March 31st. Ten day cycles. I will send the instructions via email so you will be able to readily print copies for whoever you give a starter to after you've made your first batch. Just leave a comment, or email me.

POP BEADS!!!

Look what I found for Leah Dee for her birthday this saturday! In fact, I think I and the other girls will have just as much fun playing with them as Little Lulu. There are tons of them in the container! So fun! I remember playing with these as a young girl. What a classic toy, and so great that they decided to start making them again.

Remember these Melly Mel???

Throwback Thursday~Easter '04

Wow, how those girls have grown. That easter, the boy was just a baby, the girls had an amazing easter egg hunt set up by my parents, and sister. They filled plastic eggs with coins, some quarters, dimes, nickles, pennies. The girls thought they were so rich after that hunt! Heehee. I can't believe how much they have changed since then. Grace is looking so much older, so much more grown up. And, Drew is no longer that little giggly girl, she is so serious, so active.

Just look at that boy....how I miss that baby!

Wordless Wednesday~My Latest Addiction

Sell your Life???

This is just so utterly intriguing to me. Really, so brilliantly CRAZY. Simply insane. But, is it so? Or is it quite sane? I know I could never, nor would ever do such a thing, but to someone that is so unhappy, it may be a very valuable option. Given your life is desirable to others...How 'bout you? Would you do it?

Ian Usher is offering up A Life 4 Sale

NO JOKE, this is the real deal!

A Self Portrait in Truthiness...

MotherBumper, a fantastic lady, a hilarious blogger that I read daily has dared us ladies to post a picture of our bare nekkid faces in the morning. I kept forgetting, as I have children in my face from the moment I 'fall' out of bed, no time to grab the camera. Gotta luv MotherBumper for posting this challenge. What sick sick person would want to see so many women presenting thier early morning nasti ness to the world???

Okay, so, this is the 'nekkid' me at 6:30am. Just after rolling out the bed to start making the days school lunches, pre-coffee fix, pre-teethbrushing, pre-PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING!!! It's sick, so sick. I can't stand it. Okay, I take that back, but OMG I look like a puffer fish! THIS is what a 31 yo Mom of 4 looks like after a short nights sleep during which the 4yo attempted 3x to climb into my bed (starting at 1:30am) , only to be escorted back to his own with a growl. A crib is truly a wonderful thing...why did I take it down?

Wanna see some more Nekkid-ness???
Check these bloghers out! Just so you know...I'M NOT THE ONLY CRAZY ONE HERE!
Her Bad Mother
Sweetney
Breed 'em & Weep
Missus Mamalogues
Mrs. Flinger
Izzy
OTJ
Blog Chocolate

He's Marking His Territory

Okay, so with this renovation, the couch that was partially in our bedroom for fear of the children ruining it, was completely moved all out to the living room once carpet was laid. D has been 'lost' ever since. He went out and got a recliner, (free on craigslist) and is slowly re-staking claim to his MAN-SPACE.
I got home from work last night at about 11pm, and I see his recliner with TV tray at it's side, empty beer can with camo insulater around it, and his boom box plugged in beneath. Okay now. Granted, a man needs his SPACE. But, I was all for the idea that once he planted that last and umpteenth seed, HE LOST HIS RIGHT TO STAKE HIS MAN FLAG!
Even D has repeatedly stated how he really wants all the work we've done to turn out nice, and really look good. But, then he goes and slaps a 'free' cat scratched recliner in the corner of our bedroom, AND a boombox that has paint splattered all over it, AND an old scratched up wobbly TV tray for his beer!
Testosterone no longer has much of a place here D....JUST GIVE UP!

Pick Pick Pick & A Pink Princess Morning

So, my parents come over last night, bring dinner, and visit. Came to see the work we've done on the house. And, what does my Dad say? The plain cream colored table cloth that I so adore, suddenly became to him nothing more than a 'white sheet'??? Okay. It does resemble. However, I am not done yet. I still plan to get another sheer or decorative one that is either plastic or fabric to go over it for added 'umpphhh!', you know? And, seems to be the picture that I loved, actually a Lotus NOT a Lily, is not on anyone's list of favorites either! BOO TO YOU! It's MY house. Ha ha HA! My Dad hates the color we chose to paint the walls as well. I just told him whether he likes it or not, it's not going anywhere. Dad, why do you have to pick pick pick like D???

The older 3 went home with them last night, leaving me with only one sweet Leah Dee this morning. And, sweet, I mean SWEEEEET! A morning full of princess movies, sparkly dress ups, and pink pancakes...hee hee! BTW, my resolve to the pink pancakes was merely to add chopped frozen strawberries which leached red into the batter when mixed. Waa-laaa! PINK PRINCESS PANCAKES HAVE YOU. (I'm feeling so Martha Stewart right now, lol!) Such a strange calm with only one child in the house. And, the sweetest one at that;-)

Have a Happy Sunday...I'm off to read the paper, and enjoy some more coffee...then off to work!

Stumbled upon this site...YOU GOTTA SEE THIS! Grab a kid, and make your own virtual flower garden!

Random

A couple newer artists that I am diggin right now...Check 'em out on YouTube

Vampire Weekend
The Spill Canvas

But, still love that DMB

"Family Fun" Day

Today, we made some yummy French Breakfast Muffins, that the kids LOVED! Also, we had a blast making jelly bean bracelets...THEN...we made little blue fish soaps, and strung them on some twine. This was Beau's favorite thing. He made one larger fish to keep in the bathtub, the others are small, and will go to the camper, or family. Very cute, and so easy! I got all of these ideas from my family fun magazine. Just a few of the many things I planned to do, yet never got around to.
I even found a great page of instructions for making a giant hula girl cake, Drew wants it for her birthday. Busy day, now I've gotta go clean up...auugghh!

If I was a woman in the 50's...

Growing up, I always dreamed of being someone other than myself. At one point, I wished so badly that I was Wonder Woman, yet, found Marilyn Monroe to be so beautiful. I love the classic pictures of women in the 50's. LOVE THEM! They were so pretty, so shapely. Not the skinny mini movie stars today. One I loved was Carmen Miranda. Her 'tutti frutti' hat, and the dress, and her dancing the tango, samba. I always wanted to look like that, dance like that, to have the hispanc, ethnic clothing. I remember wishing my Grandpa in Mexico would send me a 'senorita' dress, or 'flamenco dancer' dress. I never did get one. But, I made one for my dtr when she was 10 for halloween. So, in blog browsing, I came across a neat site that allows you to place your face in a random picture. I chose Carmen Miranda. Not sure the pic I had works too well, but I didn't think should make myself into Wonder Woman, since she is so busty, unlike me...lol. This so unlike me, anyway. Laugh all you want...just for fun. I know it looks goofy!

A Girls' Night Out & Tubtime Troubles

Last night I took the girls skating, Drew took along a friend, and Grace, the one that states, "MOM, I don't skate!" actually agreed to go along, and skate with Mom! Ha! She may deny, but she loved it. She started out extremely squeamish, very slow, so dramatic. By 1/2 way through the time we were there, she picked up the speed, and was going strong. ( I also drew in by requesting a Shania Twain song to be played!) Drew, again, won Limbo, yet, seemed to be falling constantly. Go figure. I brought home an aching ankle, but I'm sure it will quickly pass. It was fun getting out with just my girls. D kept the little ones home, and they ate popcorn, and watched the Bee Movie, which Leah recited portions of to me once I stepped in the door. So cute! I think he enjoyed the 1/2 time too. Me with 1/2 the kids, him with 1/2 the kids. LOL. Gets so crazy sometimes, it was so nice to go and not have the little ones slowing me down, or holding me back. I am finding that I can still skate quite well. Grace even wants to have her upcoming 13th birthday party at a skate rink. It think it would be a great idea for 13 yo girls.



On another, more challenging note. It has become so terribly difficult of late to give the little ones a bath. I have held off much longer than I usually would, just because I cannot stand the struggle that I have been having not just with Leah, but also now with that boy. They scream something terrible whenever it is time to wash thier hair. Now, that boy never used to do this, not sure if it has something to do with regression, seeing little sister do so. But, I can't stand it!

I had to give in and give them a bath this morning, and they even tried climbing out long before I got them washed down, and hair washed. I am not mean, I talk calmly to them hoping it will calm them down and trigger cooperation, but sometimes I get so frustrated that I do raise my voice. Being a Mom of 4, I have given so many baths, and I have never had any of them behave as Leah Dee does about getting her hair washed. I am at my wits end. Nothing calms her. I just have to force her under the faucet, and do it as quickly as I can during her hysterics. Any suggestions or tricks you might use, would very much be welcomed. Check out the video below, see it for yourself.

We all scream for icecream!

Snagged this from Sher's blog...

gotta admit, it just makes me smile.

I think I'm gonna make a print out to make a little magnet for that sweet little Leah Dee to play with!

Lazy Day

Today was a very lazy day of sorts. I never left home. I sat with the little ones on the couch watching cartoons a bit. Did dishes, cleaned up rooms. Got some poppies planted that I had received last year from a nurse at work. I thought for sure they had died not having been planted, but they survived the winter quite well and were already coming up in the pots. I think they are supposed to be red ones. LOVELY, can't wait!

Also got some weeding done (still tons more to do) trimmed a butterfly bush back, and noticed my Peonies are coming up! That surely signals spring is here! It is so exciting to see them coming up from scratch, I mean, I got them last year. I was fortunate enough to find 3 'mystery peonies' at a local nursery, I paid only $10/peony, since they had many they could not identify. Only one of them I bought specifically for it's color, and name.
My pink hawaiian. It's truly beauiful, worth the money I paid. Peonies go for as much as $50 at this nursery if identified. So, I have a treasure trove of sorts, being that once they really begin to multiply, I could sell starts from my peonies for $10, and easily make my money back, and then some. Which, I intend to do. But, also, I have yet to see what 2 of my peonies are. I have no idea! Only 1 of my 3 mysteries bloomed last year, so I have 2 more to discover. It's like christmas! Ha!

I love flowers, and sunshine, and springtime! The sounds, the smells, the color! Hurry up already!

If you're wondering...

WHERE WERE THE KIDS? They were playing like crazy in the backyard...frisbee, which Beau decided was too hard to do...baseball, which led to B&L fighting to the death over the bat (auughh!)...and coffee shop in thier little playhouses till a spider came crawling along...FUN! Oh, and Beau helped clean up the back porch with Gpa Dee (who, btw, laid all of our carpet for us THANKYOU!), we still had tons of trash from the renovation out there, we just threw it all out back till we could get time to clean it all up! And, whenever I get out the wheel barrel, along comes one or the other tot with thier own mini wheel barrel to help Mommy, too cute!

Baby Scholars Shopping Spree

Simple, a Mom review site, is hosting a contest to win a $100 shopping spree for use at BabyScholars.com. This darling little crayon apron is just one of the many things they have to select from. I would love to have this for my sweet Leah. I can just picture her now in her little pink crayon apron. Just lovely! Go check it out yourself, and enter to win!

I DIDN'T FALL...Random Meme

Long day, it was my cousins' dtr's 9th birthday party. At a skate rink. Took me awhile to figure it out, but I have not roller skated in 18 years! Can you believe that? Crazy. It was so wierd going into the same place I roller skated at the age of 13. Just so wierd. I honestly expected to fall on my b u t t, but I did not! In fact, once I got my footing, I was able to keep balance quite well, and never once did I fall. I loved it! I'm gonna have to take those girls sometime soon. In fact, Wednesday maybe, we'll be short the boy, and so it might be fun for the girls. I'm sure I'll be very sore tomorrow morning...

Also, I was tagged by Sher, over at Everything Moms. I won't be tagging anyone since, NO ONE ever completes the meme's I tag them for anyway, or most of you have already done this one I'm sure.

Here are 7 wierd things about me….
1. To this day I cannot sleep without the TV on, and a light, if D is working graveyard. (Thanks Dad, for that scare nearly 20 years ago!)
2. I love to eat pickled okra, and spicy pork rinds.
3. I hate to tie my shoes, so I pretty much survive the winter in my slip on Dansko's and the spring/summer in my flip flops.
4. I love to settle down into my cold pillow at night, I can't stand if someone else lies on it before me and warms it up!!! (Sorry kids!)
5. I sweep my floors atleast 2-3x per day
6. I still blot my lipstick with tissue after putting it on, like my Gma taught me as a young girl
7. I cannot sleep if my kitchen is not cleaned before I go to bed

Ok, there you go. Maybe not so wierd, afterall, but a few of MY little quirks.

A Goodbye

With every bit of good news, and great things happening, comes something not so happy I guess.

Our dog died. I found him dead yesterday morning. He was very old. He is probably much better off. Funny, he had gotten himself in the coziest spot in his dog house, and stayed there for a whole day before I found him. He knew.


I tried to explain to the kids. Grace and Drew took it hard, Drew cried a lot. Beau just had so many questions. Leah has no idea what it means. Beau kept asking, "Okay, so, tell me. How long is it gonna take for him to get fixed. When are 'they' gonna fix him, and then he can come back?" 'They' meaning, the angels in heaven. I just tried to explain the best I could. He still just wanted to talk and talk about it. Very curious boy.
D came home from work last night, and dug a big hole in our back yard behind the shop to bury the dog. Muddy, rainy weather. But, that is the first thing he did when he got home. He was upset, but the dog was very very old. They can't live forever :(

I HEART Craigslist!!!

And THIS is why! I found this on craigslist! The perfect twin bed for that boy. Now we just have to get some twin mattresses, needs a box spring and mattress. But, what a deal! I love it! That boy loves it too :-)
Not to mention, we have also found a free recliner that D wanted for our bedroom to watch T.V. And, 2 new 'fancy' bar stools for the dining room, $50 for both.
Well, gotta go get this set wipe down, and cleaned up. Looks like they let thier son spill juice on it, but nothing a little hot water and soap won't clean right up!

Slideshow done. Take a peek at how it now looks. Before, it was very dark brown carpet, old, worn down. Walls were white, and when we moved in there was more wallpaper on the walls than I had ever seen in my life! Still haven't figured out what window treatment for the big picture window. Either wood blinds, or drapes, not sure, any suggestions? I also kinda like it just open, lets a lot of light in. Still sorting through picture frames to decide what is going back up, so walls are still bare. And, trim is still yet to be stained and put on, also doors are all going to be changed out, so they are still old dark wood ones at the moment. Little by little it goes...

Wordless Wednesay~Daddy's Little Helper

I'll post pics in a slideshow soon, want to get some better one's, and we still have furniture to move back into place. Also, keep in mind, we still have tons of finish work to do, so pics will not show 'complete' work. :(

Not so bad afterall?

Okay, so the paint screw up isn't so bad after-all. We found the carpet I really really wanted, called something like "frehz-ay", soft, and sort of speckled. The color is light, and there are light and dark specks. Even some specks that truly complement the paint color. Ahhh! I'm lovin' it now. Tonight all flooring will be done. I am so excited! And, ever so happy to get my house back to somewhat of a normal state :-)

WRONG paint color!

All that painting, and the color is WRONG! SO WRONG! I am mad, I am furious! But, I refuse to primer, and start all over! I worked my b u t t off! Soooo, I demanded a refund. Free WRONG paint. That's a little bit better.

Fancy Nancy...Bonjour, Butterfly!

Leah Dee LOVES butterflies. I did her room in butterflies. Very pink, and huge butterflies on the wall. She loves it! She also LOVES Fancy Nancy. Her favorite book to read nearly every night. We recently got Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, but most recently Fancy Nancy Bonjour, Butterfly came out. Ofcourse, we had to get that too! In the book they visit a butterfly garden, and would you know, Leah remembered that we had been to one.
I took them last summer at the Zoo. It was the hottest day of the summer, and it was so so humid in the butterfly garden. I was miserable. But, she remembered! Funny how kids can bring things to mind, even being so small. She was just over 2 then. She ran around like crazy with all those butterflies flying around her. I think one even landed on her head at one point, but in this pic if you look closely, you can see the butterfly on the post to her left. I think we'll have to go again this year...hopefully NOT the hottest day of the year again. Hey, maybe we'll make it a group thing...Melly Mel, that means YOU!

Paintin' in my PJ's

It's a mad rush now...painting in my PJ's all day! And, I mean, ALL DAY. We started early, one of us at either end of the living room, but D cannot stand tedious work, so I ended up finishing all the trim. He painted up, while I painted down. (I am, after all a whole foot shorter :-) ) Still, it felt like we would never ever finish. It just dragged on, and on...
Finally, at about 6pm, I was done with living room, and hall, even a 2nd coat. Now, we have the entry, and flooring to do. Very hard to believe this will all be done by Friday. Gradually, we will be replacing all the closet, and bedroom doors. And, I really need to find out how you clean fireplace brick. I'll be surfing for that info. Ours is hideous. We have an insert that is proposed to be coming out, and being discarded as it is way out of code. No one will even buy it from us.
My plan is to transform it into candle use. Just set various sizes of candle inside, and find a cheap-er screen to cover, and keep kids out!
I cannot even begin to tell how utterfly difficult it was to do all that painting all day long with kids everywhere! I thought I was going to lose my mind!
"Mommy, I'm hungry. Mommy, I need somethin'. Mommy, I wanna watch a movie. Mommy Mommy Mommy!"
Hence, the reason why it probably took me until 6pm to finish.
Now, my back aches, my arms are so sore, and my hands feel as if they've been rubbed raw. I will be most glad when the painting is over!