Self Portrait

I don't say much here about Evie - when we're home she is usually off keeping busy doing her own things - reading, playing her DS, playing with Littlest Pet Shops, watching Animal Planet. Other than the occasional snarky attitude, she rarely provides me with any fodder for the blog (unlike William, who I could probably devote another entire blog to!) so I wanted to share this with you. I should be able to say I found it while going through her school papers recently , but that would be a blatant lie - the school papers are still in a pile on the dining room table, but I did touch them this morning - this particular piece made it's way into the kitchen maybe a week ago, and I just think it's terrific! My first thought is her head is very small and her body very large. Then I noticed the nose, which sort of becomes an eye brow. Matt likened it to a Picasso. I also love the hair, sort of blowing in the breeze, but in big chunks. Oh - and the softball-type shirt with her initials on it! This is her first real stab at a 'portrait', I think. Usually she sticks to drawing animals, her first and last real love. I think she's got some talent, no?

From Drop Box

William Scares the Crap Out of Me. Seriously.

It's 5:45 am and I've gotten up to work out. Been going to bed early & doing this for a week or so, so it's not so painful now. I get changed, & came out of our bedroom. Hmm, hall bathroom light is on. Turn it off, realize William's door is open. Peek in; the blinds to one window are open, his umbrella is on the floor (odd, I thought that was in the garage) and his Spiderman art portfolio is on the floor open, like he was playing with it. I don't see him in his bed so I assume he's downstairs. Lights are on in the foyer and kitchen, and the door to the garage is open (the one Matt deadbolts at night) and the light is on. No sign of William. Luckily the exterior back door is still deadbolted. Basement lights are off, he's not down there; he's not in the family room/kitchen. Back upstairs I go, and peek in his bedroom. Yep, sound asleep in his bed, I just couldn't see him the first time I looked.

That kid is so FREAKING QUIET (of course, we've drilled it into his head that if he wakes Jason up, he's in trouble!) I'm sort of horrified by the thought that he was sneaking around the house and I had NO IDEA. NONE WHATSOEVER. At least this time he didn't get the idea to go out of the house, but what about next time?? This might be the week we call ADT.

Honestly - Trash or Treasure?

The garage is starting to look like a flea market - or a junk yard, I'm not sure which - I've been not-so-slowly filling it up with furniture & stuff! My new (to me) craft desk is in the back with my $6 chair laying on top; next is the vanity for my bathroom which was delivered yesterday (funny story, see below*), and in the front is a desk for Evie we found on Craig's List. Which brings me to the purpose of this post:

This desk was listed as a "Vintage Ethan Allen Desk", solid wood. As you may already know, Craig's List doesn't let you enlarge images so you have only a small, probably blurry picture to view. I've been looking at desks like this for a while and my only major requirement was that it be solid wood, no laminate. Vintage Ethan Allen, solid wood, I figured we were good to go. Being that we live about an hour or more from most of the listings, Matt picked it up for me on his way home yesterday, sight unseen by me.

I wasn't quite expecting the 'Early American late 70's early 80's Distressed Pine' appearance of this beauty. My intention all along has been to paint it, probably an antique white, and replace the knobs & maybe drawer pulls. It's in really good shape for what it is; but there is a fair amount of 'distressing' on the drawer fronts (enlarge the pictures, if you don't mind) and I'm not sure how that will look when all is said and done. We probably paid a little more than we should have, so before I invest any time and effort into this - do you think it's worth it? Or should I just try to sell it on CL and keep looking?


* The delivery information on the vanity from Overstock said "White Glove Delivery" within 1-6 weeks, and I was told we would receive a phone call prior to set up a time to receive it. Yesterday I left the house for all of 1/2 hour in the afternoon and came back to find the garage door up and this old beat-up pickup truck backed halfway into it. All I could see as I pulled up was the truck, two guys, and a flurry of activity. My first thought was, we're being robbed! I KNOW I put the garage door down when I left! Then my brain started halfway working and I started to notice other details - Matt in the background, packing material - and I realized it was the vanity being delivered. Um, thanks for the 15 minutes notice, what if we hadn't been home?? The not-so-clean-shaven delivery men unpacked it and were happy to leave it in the garage and take off. Matt made the comment that it was going to suck to move into the house & I said, oh we had White Glove Delivery, they would have put it anywhere we wanted. He wanted to know why I didn't mention this while they were still here. My only excuse is I thought that we were being burgled and never really got beyond that thought until after they left. I guess it's a good thing we work out.

Captain Jack's New Friend

Ya'll have met Captain Jack Sparrow, right? Well he was telling me the other day that he was a little lonely, so I went online and found him a friend. A much TALLER, Sparklier friend.

Lookie what came in the mail yesterday!

Yes, that's my very own Edward action figure, affectionately referred to online as Pocket Edward. He's very bendy!

Edward is apparently fond of playing jokes; this morning he was hiding behind a $20 bill, and when I came home this afternoon he was holding Cap'n Jack. Maybe they went running. I guess it's a good thing Edward's a vegetarian, so Jack should be safe. And I'm sure he doesn't smell nearly as good as Bella (looks kinda stinky!)


Now that this is drafted, I'm having second thoughts about hitting "publish" for fear you'll all think I've gone off the deep end, but what the hell. I'm at home with 4 kids all day, a girl's got to have some fun. And Matt's having fun 'posing' him for me to find, so it's win win. It's not like I'm going to start taking him everywhere & pretending he's real - at least I don't think so anyway...

What to do at swim team practice...

How does one keep a 5, 2 and 1 year old entertained while the 7 year old is swimming for 45 minutes every morning? You scour Target and Michael's $1 sections for little crafts, buy some bubbles, bring a ball or two, and be lucky enough to have an awesome playground right next door to the pool.

We've been having some fun in the mornings - they all love the bubbles (Sarah ends up wearing more than her fair share!); Michaels had some fun small wooden puzzles that they colored & Walmart had some neat little Disney coloring sets for $3 - a box with markers and 80 pages of pictures to color. Jason's making do with a box of crayons and drawing paper, I found William a pad of paper airplanes to make ($1 - Michaels!) and a few other things too. So far he hasn't thought to bring his DS, which I'm thankful for - they spend too much time watching screens as it is. Right next to the pool is an awesome playground, we're going there about every other day (bath day lol!) I'll take pics the next time we go, this is where I met Staci from Playing House last week (so nice! Wish I could meet you all!)

Thankfully, we're having better weather this week than last, it's sunny and warm in the mornings but not too hot yet so the kids are having fun, and I'm glad to have a reason to get up/dressed/out the door by 9am every day. And honestly, I'm also surprisingly grateful for the time I'm spending with Sarah, Jason, and William just playing and having fun. At the house it seems my time gets sucked away in so many different miscellaneous ways (my fault for piddling it away as much as I do, but there you go - something for me to work on). I was re-reading my post from yesterday and realized just what I said - why am I trying to blog when they are all up and bickering? Clearly I need to prioritize better :( Anyway - little ones are napping & the chores are waiting, so I leave you with some pictures from yesterday morning for your viewing pleasure :)

William getting ready to swim; or color; or blow bubbles. Something.

Big Brother helping Little Sister

Jason enjoying a Quaker Breakfast Cookie

And sharing his juice!

Blogging Block - and how short is too short??

Having the kids home all day is doing a number on my ability to think. Someone is ALWAYS talking! I've started at least 3 posts and have been unable to finish any of them. Either I need to referee between bickering kids, rescue Jason from wherever he's gotten himself stuck, or deal with William (which seems to be a constant thing these days.) Whatever it is, by the time I get back to trying to get some thoughts down, the moment has passed. On a positive note, I scored a great desk on Craigs List for my 'craft' area in the basement. It's perfect for what I want, and I'll be showing it to you soon!

I do have a question for y'all, while you're here. I am very happy to say (and doing a happy dance!) that my pre-Sarah and Jason shorts fit! And the skirt I was working so hard to get into! 19 months later and 2 lbs to go (which I am not really caring about at this point), I'm VERY glad to be where I am. So, here's the problem: my pre-Sarah/Jason shorts from 4 years ago (HOW has it been that long??!) hit about mid-thigh. Which seems pretty short to me now. I've been wearing bermudas since last summer & really love them, but these are perfectly good, practically new denim shorts. Dare I wear them out in public? Or is the fact that I'm even asking the question all the answer that I need? Comments please! and next time I'll try to have something more interesting for you to read :)

Friday - off to a silly start :)

After my early run and shower this morning I heard William and Jason knocking around in their room, as they often do, and when I opened the door, this is what I found:




William, enjoying a Sponge Bob book while laying on the changing table; Jason's crib in the middle of the room (again, I've TOLD him not to do that repeatedly!) and Jason brushing his teeth. He LOVES to brush his teeth! Things are never dull around here. Annoying, yes; dull, never.

This morning we're off to swim team practice and then we're headed over to the county park to meet Staci from Playing House! Turns out we're practically neighbors, only about 1/2 hour away from each other; and in an ironic twist, we actually lived in the same townhouse neighborhood for a few years maybe 7 years ago. The world is a very small place - and I can't wait to meet her in person!

Obsessed and Hunting

Gosh it's late Wednesday already and I've had blogging block. I think the start of the summer has fried my brain a little bit. Matt's in Hawaii (he leaves tonight & gets in tomorrow afternoon) so I've had the kiddies all to myself. We've been to the park a few times, swim team practice, the grocery store, Target, the library, and Evie has Twilight Camp with the Girl Scouts all this week in the evenings. Makes me tired just typing it! Really, it hasn't been bad at all, they're mostly taking it easy on me. Jason napped for 3-1/2 hours today! Sarah, my early birdy, has been getting up around 6:15 which makes me a little nuts, but she's good company that early. The screaming starts around lunch time -ugh. I'm thinking maybe of signing Evie and William up for Vacation Bible School next week too!

What else have I been doing? I've been stalking Craigs List for a desk for Evie, and apparently one for myself too. I'm finding that what I want for her (a solid wood desk, hopefully with a hutch) is a rare find and you have to JUMP ON THEM when you find them! So I'm running in here to refresh the page every 20 minutes or so.

I've also decided I'm taking over a corner of the 'play room' for myself. Because I hate going down there, as there's nothing for me to do. Sorry, I can only play with the kids for so long. So I'm hoping to make some sort of craft/sewing/activity table/center for me to have down there, and hopefully the kids will enjoy it too for puzzles & what not. Might save my carpet from markers, crayons and scissors. I'll post 'before' pictures soon, but here are two versions I'm trying to go for:

Jannie Pie's DIY Craft Desk

Holly's Pottery Barn Knockoff

I figure if I have my sewing machine out, instead of buried in my closet, I might actually get around to some sewing & mending! Then I can be all crafty like you guys too :) Happy Wednesday!

Sharing the love

I've been slacking a lot recently (!) and am FINALLY getting around to a few of the items on my to-do list. Namely, tags and awards! I'm embarrassed to say that the oldest item on my list is from a month ago (shame on me!) and I am VERY sorry it's taken me so long to get to this, but I don't really know that I can explain why (well, my computer hard drive did die, so I think I get a pass for a few days, anyway). All I can say is read #1 on the 'Six Things You Need To Know About Me' list and maybe you'll forgive me :) This fun tag is from both Vivienne @ The V-Spot (our 5 year olds are kindred spirits and I would dearly love to get them together but alas, we're on opposite coasts!) and Shawn@Seriously , a super gal who never fails to make me laugh - thanks, ladies, for thinking of me! Here we go:

Six Things You Need to Know About Me

1. I am a TERRIBLE procrastinator about things. Why do now what you can do later? Really, it's awful. I can't even use my kids as an excuse that I'm too busy, because I've always been this way. Cramming for tests, scrambling to write papers for school at the last minute until all hours of the night, doing our taxes, you name it. THIS is why I'm just now getting around to the tag and awards.
2. I'm a compulsive reader. That probably doesn't surprise you after I disappeared for a week to read the entire Twilight series (oh how I enjoyed that!). My Mom used to confiscate the flashlight I had stuck to the bottom of my bed frame (remember the flashlights with magnets on them back in the day?). These days I use my Itty Bitty Booklight 2 (love it!), but the end result is the same - I stay up way too late reading. And I read books I love OVER AND OVER again, over time of course. Matt thinks that's weird. I don't care.
3. I've had chronic Hives since I was about 20. Oh God, they used to be awful - head to toe, itchy miserable hives. I wanted to die. Over time they got better, went away, and I got off medicine, but we never did figure out what caused them (could be auto-immune.) They flared up again in 2006 but thankfully a Zyrtec a day keeps the itchies away except when I get REALLY run down and tired. I hope none of you ever has to experience THAT misery.
   
4. I love dessert. 90% of the recipes I cut out of magazines are some form of dessert. I hardly ever MAKE dessert, though, because I would end up eating most of it. So whenever we have family/friends over, they get to be my guinea pigs because otherwise I'd never try out all those recipes I've saved up to try. Sometimes that works out better than others! Once these kids are bigger, though, I'm sure I'll be baking more (yay!)
5. You don't want to talk to me in the morning before I've had coffee. I might hurt you. A 'good morning' is fine, and I may actually respond, but PLEASE don't expect to have a conversation where I have to do more than grunt in response! We'll all actually be a lot happier if you just pretend I'm not here for a little bit :)
6. I have control issues. I'm afraid I'm more like Kate Gosselin than I would ever like to admit. Is THAT where I would have ended up with 8 kids? and a husband who let me walk all over him? Oy. Matt used to watch it with me (back when their kids were 2 or 3 and I actually enjoyed the show) and he'd get so annoyed with her, and all I could think was how much she and I were alike! Thankfully, she's all 'super-star' now and I can't even relate to her a little bit anymore. Phew!

So this post is WAY longer than I thought it would be, so I'll save the awards for tomorrow. I'm just going to pass this fun 'lil tag on to these 6 lovely people (assuming they haven't already done it!) Go visit them, it's worth your while.

Amber @ aefilkins

Connie @ The Young and Relentless
Laura @ Piece Of Cake
Lisa @ One Girlie Girl
Liz @ Sugarplum Creations
Staci @ Playing House

Random Friday

For two days now I've shared my William stories with the world and what does that sweet boy do while out running errands with Dad? He suggests that it's a good idea to bring Mommy flowers from Costco. I about fell over when he walked in the door with their big bunch (2 dozen?!) of red roses! I am a lucky Mama. You see, this is the enigma that is William. He will ignore everything you say for a week; fight with his sisters; cause havoc in his room at night; generally irritate every last nerve you have and wear your patience completely out. But then, he will also be the best big brother you can imagine to Jason, playing with him in their room in the morning; being so kind to Sarah it will melt your heart; REALLY looking out for both of them while playing in the backyard (Evie? Not so much; but William truly pays attention to them, keeps an eye out for trouble, and has rescued Jason on more than one occasion). He'll draw a heart on a sticky note and leave it on my 'front' (bedroom) door for me, and he gives the biggest hugs of anyone I know. William wears his heart on his sleeve and I pray that when he goes out into the world that people treat it kindly. He's the one I worry about the most. He's my Sweet William :) and I wouldn't change him too much one bit.

In other 'news', I haven't said much about weight/running/fitness in a while - how many times can you say, 'weight's still the same, need to drink more water/less coffee, blah blah blah.' I finally decided to stop talking the talk and start walking the walk. I've been running 3 days a week & doing the firm another 2 or 3 (45 minutes a day of exercise), and I've been sticking to my daily calorie allotment (mostly!) of 1650 calories (with one 'free' day a week) and I'm happy to say that as of this morning I am within 2.5 lbs of my pre-Sarah/Jason weight. The weight bobbles around from day to day, but the trend is downward so I'm on the right track. 80% of losing weight is controlling what you put in your mouth and the only thing that works for me is to write everything down every day. I'm still working on the less coffee thing, some days go better than others!

Tonight's the first night of our summer music theater, a bunch of ladies get tickets every summer and we all go out to dinner before hand (thank you Kim for doing this every year!) Tonight's show is Hairspray, which I've never seen, and I'm really looking forward to escaping the house with the gals for an evening. Matt's headed back to Hawaii on Sunday for a few days so I'm taking full advantage of any time I can get the next two days (and I have my girlie movies all lined up to watch on the nights he's gone! Hee hee!)

and finally, I've been a BIG slacker - over the past few weeks I've been tagged and given a few awards which I have yet to post about. THANK YOU, I haven't forgotten, and I intend to get it together this weekend and 'share the love' on Monday. Have a TERRIFIC weekend!

The Apple Juice Story

I was thinking to myself this morning, after last night's fiasco, that I believe William alone has caused me more sleepless nights than the other 3 kids combined. It began when, at 2 weeks old, he wanted to eat every hour and a half for 2 weeks straight. It continued when he was 4 months old and would nap fine, going to sleep on his own, during the day but then night would come and he'd be completely unable to settle in his crib. I can't count the nights I'd go in, calm him down and rock him, lay him down, and have him wake up crying 20 minutes later. Putting him down awake DID NOT WORK in the middle of the night. Believe me, I tried. It didn't help that he was one who would spit up if you didn't get that burp out, even if it took 10 minutes of back-patting; who wants to change a wet sheet in the middle of the night? I'd try so hard not to wake up Matt because he had to drive an hour to work, but there would come a point when I would be near tears and just couldn't take it anymore, and I'd have to ask for help.

Sweet William

William at 5 months

Two months after William's second birthday, he started climbing out of his crib & coming out of his room repeatedly. We bought a toddler bed, hoping to entice him to sleep in IT instead of on the floor by the door. I was SO excited when, after 3 weeks, I found him SLEEPING in it the next morning! There was a door-knob lock on the inside of his room for months, because otherwise you'd spend all night putting him back to bed.

William finally napping after tearing apart his room

William at 2 years old

Which brings us to the Apple Juice Story. I was still nursing Sarah at night, so William had to have been a little over 3 years old, 2-1/2 years ago. Sarah woke up to nurse in the middle of the night and as I was leaving our room to feed her, I kicked something on the floor of our room that made a clanking sound; it didn't really register with me what it might be, but when I got to the hallway I noticed the lights were on downstairs so I sent Matt down to investigate.

I got Sarah all settled back to sleep & I went downstairs to discover Matt in the kitchen cleaning up a giant puddle of apple juice on the floor. Next to the puddle was the bottle of juice, with the lid lying on the floor beside it. There was a trail of apple juice from the kitchen, through the dining room, up the stairs and across the hall into our bedroom. The trail ended at the foot of our bed with the empty glass. Which is what I had kicked. William, at this point, was sleeping soundly in his own bed, after apparently quenching the enormous thirst that drove him on such a quest in the middle of the night. Mind you, we had already taken him back to his own bed at least once before this all occurred.

William at 3 years old

So there we were, poor sleep-deprived parents of 3 month old infant, cleaning up sticky apple juice from ALL OVER THE HOUSE at 2 am. This is but one example of why nothing he does really surprises me anymore, and there are keyed deadbolts on every exterior door of our house with the keys out of reach. Otherwise I'd never get any sleep at night. God help me when he's a teenager.

Sixth Sense

What is it about being a Mom that will wake you up out of a sound sleep when your subconscious hears something it knows it shouldn't?

Every few weeks or so William seems to get a bout of insomnia. He'll rattle around in his room after we put him to bed & play quietly, re-arrange things, and generally be doing things he shouldn't. Which wouldn't be TOO much of a problem, except he shares a room with Jason. William has shared with Jason for 13 months now; we moved them together when Jason was 6 months old, and for the most part it's worked out just fine. William knows that Jason needs his sleep and if he wakes Jason up he is in BIG trouble. So normally, when William can't sleep and it's a reasonable hour (ie: I haven't gone to bed yet!) I'll have William come downstairs for a few minutes & give him some warm milk or something.

This evening I had to go in there twice because William was moving the night light around (and hence his little bookshelf) & just doing things he shouldn't instead of trying to go to sleep. Matt checked on him again at 9:30 when he got home & the little stinker was still up, but quiet. We went to bed around 10:30 and I fell asleep pretty much right away.

I don't know what woke me up, but I must have heard a door creak. I look at the clock and it's 12:45, and I SWEAR I heard something, so up I get to check. William is standing in my doorway - "Can I sleep in your bed? I have sand in mine." wtf? the only thing with sand in his room is his hermit crab tank, so now I KNOW he's been up to no good. Off we go to his room; the hermit crab is in it's tank on the shelf where it should be but sure enough, his bed is full of sand. And the night light is moved. And there are books and toys everywhere. This kid scares the crap out of me because he can be so stinking quiet about things when he wants to be. So I start snarling at him (Mom of the year, here!) that he'd better stay in bed and go to sleep & not wake up Jason, and then he starts to cry - because I've scared him. (Good?! maybe, I don't know at this point). Anyway - I tuck him in, and close the door. Then I notice Sarah's door is cracked. Now what?

I peek in on her, and she stirs a bit & notices me. I tuck her back in all cozy & ask if she opened her door? No, William did and shined his flashlight in on her, but she's ok, just wants her music on again so she can go back to sleep. I swear that girl is an angel come down from heaven to bless my days!

So I head back to bed & try to sleep. Do you think that was possible not knowing if William was still awake or not? No, it was not. I went in to check and as of 1:15, he was in bed snoring. And now I'm wide awake and blogging. No wonder I'm never able to get up at 5:45 am to exercise - even when I TRY to get to bed early & get enough sleep, the universe conspires against me (last night it was a wicked thunderstorm centered over our house!) I'll try to remember to share the Apple Juice Story with you tomorrow.

Dear Tooth Fairy:

Why are you such an unreliable wench? Evie lost her 7th tooth in less than a year yesterday and you forgot to come take it again! I'm getting a little tired of having to cover for you and make excuses. What, are you too busy to check for teeth at our house? Not enough fairies to make all the rounds? I know times are tight right now and maybe there have been cutbacks in Tooth Fairy Staffing, but seriously - I think the only time you made it the first night was when her FIRST tooth fell out. Slacker!

I managed to slip a coin under her pillow this morning, but you MUST come and take the tooth tonight! No slip-ups! Write yourself a note if you have to! Otherwise I don't know how much longer I'll be able to keep up the charade and pretend you were 'busy'. It's a good thing Santa is WAY more reliable than you are. And don't think I don't know this problem has been going on for decades. I still have the note that I wrote to you 30 years ago when you forgot to come to my house 2 DAYS IN A ROW!

Thanks in advance for your cooperation,
Jen

A bike ride and crazy hair day

We had some biking fun this weekend, and I have to tell you I had SUCH a great time! Now that William is a bike riding fiend, we have acquired a bike trailer for the little ones so that we can all go as a family. After Matt replaced I think 4 - no, 5! - tire tubes (first Evie, then both of Williams, and then BOTH back wheels on the bike trailer - can you believe they came brand new in the box each with holes? the thought that went through my head? made-in-China CRAP!) we were finally ready to roll on Saturday evening. What a hoot! Sarah didn't like it when Matt closed the 'door' (aka bugscreen), she thought it was 'too scary!' (I wish you could hear this in her little Cindy-Lou Who voice) - but once we got going I heard a lot of 'go faster Mommy! Pedal faster!' We rode over to the county park & the kids played for a little bit, and then we rode back. I'm very glad that I've been running, otherwise I never would have made it up the one big hill we had to climb while towing the trailer with the kids in it - maybe 80 lbs total? I was HUFFING AND PUFFING, but did make it to the top.

We tried it again on Sunday night but Jason (who'd been kind of fussy all day) was NOT having any of it & we came back early. I'm hoping it was just a mood he was in and not that he hates the trailer, because I love it!





Yesterday afternoon I made my first batch of home-made ice cream for the summer, we went with Strawberry, and it was delicious! We all had big bowls of ice cream after our aborted bike ride. If you don't have one, get the Cuisinart Ice Cream maker and Ben & Jerry's ice cream recipe book. Then it won't be just me putting on 10 lbs this summer :)

and finally, Evie's last day of school is apparently Thursday the 11th (I thought it was Friday the 12th - glad I looked this morning!) Last week they had a Spring Fling thing going on and Wednesday was Crazy Hair day. I'm sure you've seen this before, but we did the braids with pipe cleaners in Evie's hair - so much fun! She was so excited to go to school & I was glad to hear that only one other girl had done this too.


I'm still panicking about summer. Evie tried out for the swim team and she's been accepted if she wants to do it (which of course she does) so I'm trying to figure out how I can entertain the other 3 at the pool for 45 minutes every morning for 8 weeks, as well as how I'm going to plan our days to fit everything in. I have a feeling I'll be looking forward to September so I can relax!

The Graduate

Wednesday was a BIG day for William, he graduated from Preschool! His summer has officially begun. His preschool is at our church and they do SUCH a terrific job with the kids - they all really love it there. We went to a nice ceremony yesterday with lots of singing & fanfare, and the staff had a wonderful reception afterwords so all the parents and kids could mingle and have - what else? CAKE. (It was delicious!) Now tell me my boy doesn't look proud, I dare you :)


This is William with one of his 2 very best friends, Hannah. Hannah also attends our church (or rather we attend hers, as they're there A LOT more frequently than we are - Hi Megan!) and I have to tell you - it was so cute this past Sunday - Hannah and William were sitting up front for the Children's Moment, and when they were dismissed to Children's Church from our service they walked out of there holding hands. It was very sweet!


Last night we took the kids to Maggie Moo's for ice cream to celebrate. And how, you ask, did I make William officially start his summer break this morning? We went grocery shopping. In the rain. Off to an awesome start!

Thanks Everyone!

Thank you everyone for chiming in with your opinions! Overstock sold 2 more of the vanities this morning, so I just ordered mine. I haven't found anything else I've loved (and I do love it!) and I don't see going from 2 sinks to 1 as an issue for us, personally, and the plumbing will still be there when we move some day far down the road. BTW, we did consider 2 vanities, that was my original thought - and then I measured the walls - there just isn't enough room to have 2 freestanding vanities without it looking really funky, and I didn't want pedestal sinks - which would have been beautiful but left me even worse off (storage-wise) than I am now. We'll be gaining additional storage by adding a linen cabinet in the toilet closet, so everything under the sinks will have a home there. Phew! Now I can stop agonizing over that decision and move on to hunting down lighting, mirrors, and all that other fun stuff! And while I'm at it I'll have to hunt down some PATIENCE as we probably won't begin this project until January. But now I will be able to gaze at my lovely new vanity and dream :-)

I need opinions - quickly! :-)

People, I need help!

In an effort to recreate our 'spa' experience at home, I've been trolling the internet for bathroom fixtures & such to makeover our master bathroom. I never intended to actually start buying anything but you know how these things work, you start looking, and then you find something you love - and then there are only 4 of them left on the planet :-)

Here's my problem: our master bathroom has an angled wall in it, with 2 36" base cabinets and a couple of fake doors to fill in the spaces. I hate it. It's builder's basic cheap crap. And I really don't want to 'upgrade' this look, as it's not really the 'feel' I'm going for. Here are two pictures, I'm so desperate I'm showing you this. I apologize for the poor pictures, shadows and all:



My question is: what do you think about ripping out the sink on the left across from the shower & replacing it with either a lingerie-type chest or a 'ladies-type' vanity & seat, and using the following sink on the right:
It's a Drexel Heritage piece in a dark walnut that I found on Overstock and have been watching for a week now. Of course I didn't buy it 2 days ago when they had 10% off site wide, and now there are only 4 left. I have been all over the internet looking at these things, and the price is right, I just wasn't sure I wanted to commit at this point. On the plus side, Drexel Heritage makes lots of furniture in this finish so I should be able to get a coordinate pretty easily.

The overall look will be marble tile floor, subway tile around the tub & shower, we want to rip out the shower stall and tile the whole thing & put in a pivot door - clean, fresh and new. I'm just hung up on the whole vanity thing. I love this piece, but is it a good idea? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? Remember, there are only 4 left. Thanks in advance!

Another Milestone - Baby Haircuts!

Today was a big day here in Mayberry (my new name for our grand town!) - the little ones each got their first haircut! Judging from what I just said, you might assume they are the same age - they are actually 13 months apart! Jason was just lucky enough to be born with some hair while Sarah was bald as an egg - just like Evie and William :-)

You may or may not remember my 'Hair-rific News' post - I did call my favorite hairdresser after she left the salon I went to - it turns out, she had finished a room in her home as a shop so she could work from home & she was thrilled that I'd called! When she left the salon she'd agreed not to contact any of her clients so I am SO glad I took everyone's advice and contacted her.

Baby Jason was SUCH a good boy for his first haircut. He sat on my lap (which is why there are no 'during' pictures) and only fussed a little bit at first. Once Christy started cutting he settled right down and just watched the mirror to see what was going on. Now his mullet is gone, and my neighbor has no reason to call him Joe Dirt anymore!


Sarah went last (Evie had gone first, as I wanted Sarah to see what was going on - she totally paid NO attention whatsoever) and she was pretty skittish about the whole thing, but she did cooperate. I think once she realized it wasn't going to hurt she enjoyed her first trip to the 'Beauty Shop' - she's such a girly girl!


I have a feeling Sarah's first haircut went over much better than Sarah's first trip to the dentist will in October when that appointment rolls around!