Home Improvement-Take 2

Ok, so I am updating my progress. I have the bedroom done, with most things hanging on the wall. I know that the photo is not so exciting, but just imagine what it looked like before - off white with absolutely nothing on the walls. I love it now. I just want to go and sit in there. I do need to copy some photos for my frames.

This is above the dresser. I did the flower arrangement-1/2 off stems from Hobby Lobby. They actually look better than they do in this photo. Not sure yet how things are going to sit on the shelf. Still deciding. The important thing is that the shelf is now on the wall!!!!!! Not in storage like it has been for 6 mo!

This is the hallway from my bedroom into the kitchen. We painted it the same color as the bedroom. The hangers are my bargains from Hobby Lobby. $6.50 each!!!! I love a great bargain. Yes, there are nine hooks and we will use them all. I am always searching for places to hang diaper bags, coats, purses, backpacks, scarps(as Finley would say for scarfs), beach towels, etc. Kyle really thought it was funny that there were nine. I told him they serve a purpose and aren't just for decoration!

One of my favorite sayings. This is hanging sort of across from the hooks. Yes, it was a bargain, as well. 12 bucks.

My handy dandy mail holder. 6 bucks on sale. I can even hang my keys on one of the little circles on the bottom. Way handy.

On to Slade's room. All the furniture is in the middle. I had to fill about a million nail and screw holes. Never realized how many things were hung in that room!!! I have help coming tomorrow. It is just a mess tonight. Red wall is old, blue wall is new. Blue wall was difficult! Three coats, two different brands of paint. I had some major paint problems and will return to the store for different paint tomorrow for the third time. Side note - save yourself a lot of trouble and buy the quality paint that is more expensive. You'll thank yourself and your pocketbook later.

Monkey bathroom is finished!!! Yeah!!! We got the new light fixture hung and I finished putting on the new drawer handles this morning. I had to show my very cute lamp I made. It was black and I painted it and decorated the shade. It serves its purpose as a little night light. The circle things are Stephen Joseph monkey pins that I found for 99 cents.

My super talented friend, Beth (baby due 5-23-09) came and did the sayings with brown fabric paint. Awesome as you can see. I love her font. I think she should start charging. Well, maybe not me! I did give her an acrylic stamp for her troubles.

The next three sayings are inside the big polka dots on the brown wall.

This is above the bathtub. When Finley first walked in and saw the monkeys the day I put the shower curtain up, she started singing, "One little monkey jumping on the bed." So I had to include this saying for my memory but we fixed it according to the room. Tub instead of bed! Actually I'm not finished with the bathroom. I'm waiting on two prints of monkeys that a lady on Etsy made me. I'll take a picture when they get here.

Master bedroom-check!

Well guys, I guess technically it's already Tuesday morning(I so need to get to bed), but I'm posting for Monday. I got my bedroom and hallway into my bedroom from the kitchen painted today. Well, mostly painted by two wonderful guys that work for Kyle. But I ran around helping when I could, filling nail holes with caulk, wiping baseboards, vacuuming, painting around windows, and painting trim. Can I say that one never realized how awful the dust collects under furniture till you move it and are really embarrassed? It needed a cleaning. It's a wonder we haven't developed asthma! I do love the color, which is a stony taupe. I'll have to take pics so you can see the real color instead of the strange description. It looks great. I have to say that in the last two homes I've lived in since I have been married (7 yrs) I have neglected our master bedroom. To the point that nothing was ever hung on the walls in either house. I think it was about time to spruce up and I have a million photos I can frame. It's really strange considering I go nuts in the kids rooms and have them fixed in a jiffy. I even had an lady come paint murals on their walls. But it does look nice, and maybe now I'll get to bed earlier in my lovely new room. Tomorrow-on to the hallway. I have lots of extra paint and it looks dingy, so why not. I plan to paint Slade's room in the next few days, too.

Why will I be getting all these tasks accomplished you ask? My kiddos are going to mom and dad's tomorrow. Kyle is taking them to Midland and will drop them off. They will probably stay till Friday or Saturday or till I can't stand being away from them anymore! I will probably cave first. It will be the first time Finley has stayed more than one night away from me. Oh, I'll miss that little warm body in the bed! They will have a ball, I'm sure, and not miss me at all!!! So I hope to get busy and do some things I never can quite get finished or started, however you want to look at it. Toodles!

Sentimental Sunday

Brandi and I - maybe 1978 or 1979, am I right mom??? It's seemingly funny to me that Finley's hair is just as crazy and wispy as mine is in this photo. I'm chunkier, though. Hopefully Finley will always keep the svelte figure she has now!!!! We are so darn cute in this photo!

Dukie or DooDoo? You Choose

Does anyone know why my children think it is so very funny to say, "Dukie" (or however you might spell it)? Or why Finley must pull every wipe out of the box? Or why Slade has to wet the entire sink, counter, towel, and tile just to wash his hands? Or why Slade feels the need to trip Finley every time she runs by him? Or why Finley dumps her bowl of Fruit Loops onto the table, including milk, and rubs her fingers in it and then in her hair? Or how a tiny tube of cotton candy chapstick ends up in a huge oily mess? Some of the many mysteries of motherhood. Maybe I'll write a book about it. Happy Saturday to all the mommies out there!

Christmas Top Ten List

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! And now it's time to fill your red box? It was so much fun watching all the kids open their gifts and believe that a fat man in a suit brought them down the chimney! I hope that by reading the story of the birth of Jesus to Slade and Finley, they might have a glimpse of what Christmas is truly about. Santa, gingerbread men, and presents are just the glitz and glamour of the holidays. It's not about football bowl games, homemade fudge, or sleigh bells. Don't get me wrong, I love all the fun things and tradition and gifts galore. I just want to make sure that they know the importance of that baby born in Bethlehem-the most precious gift of all!

I wanted to remember the top ten things of my Christmas this year!

#10 My grandmother's absolutely delicious fudge!

# 9 That my mom takes the time to get all of her Spode dishes out for us to use during Christmas. I love those dishes!!!

# 8 How excited my kids were when they decorated the tree this year. They loved hanging the ornaments.

# 7 The marathon wrapping I did for Mom and Nana.

# 6 The sweet pictures I have to keep forever that we had made for our Christmas cards. They'll never be 2 and 5 again.

# 5 Finley's hamster hair attack! Priceless!

# 4 Looking at all my homemade stockings on the mantle!

# 3 Slade leaving a note, cookies, and milk for Santa. He used a paper plate instead of my Spode Santa cookie plate! Just goes to show you that kids don't care about the fancy things!

# 2 Finley in her cute Christmas outfit-bows to match and little red shoes.

# 1 Slade and I going to the candlelight service at church-just the two of us. It was beautiful and a special memory for just him and me!

When we attended our candlelight service that night, we were asked to go pick up one of the red boxes that they had supplied for everyone. Slade ran back and got us all a little red box-four of them.

How much did you spend this holiday? This Christmas season, you bought gifts for all your family and friends. You spent hours planning and cooking and traveling around to celebrate. You are left with the little red box. It's not decorated or glittery. It's just a simple little red box. The red box is your gift to God this year. What will you take the time to do for him? What will you put in his box? Merry Christmas!!!

Mom's Pooped

It's 11:58pm and my two children are chasing each other around Finley's Mickey Mouse Racetrack. Slade is wearing my new Uggs with his pajama pants. Finley's hair is sticking up in piggytail fashion, minus the rubber bands. They are chattering about the Christmas tree ornaments as if I just put the tree up tonight. I love the sound of their little voices. Slade has started an episode of Super Nanny on the DVR. I'm sitting here, exhausted, with the beginnings of a dreaded sore throat.

I'm not sure where their abnormal amount of energy comes from. Did they get an over-production of it while in utero? Did I do something to destroy the "rest" factors in their brains when I sometimes warmed their baby bottles by microwave? Or could it just the be 25 cupcakes they ate tonight, instead of dinner, since we had a Christmas decorating party over here tonight? Whatever it may be, my two children received a tolerance that some people cannot fathom. They don't get tired-EVER! I can force a nap on Finley, but not my son. I'm thinking of a way to harness this energy-I need some!

Don't get me wrong. I love them and I'm gonna keep them. But I admit that I tend to envy those parents whose children SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you have children that fall asleep in the car, consider it a blessing.

1/2 Way to First Grade!!!

Can I please tell you that I am in denial as of today. I do not want to accept the fact that my firstborn child has completed his first half of kindergarten! I cannot believe the first semester is over already. We had an eventful kindergarten Christmas party on Thursday and the kiddos had lots of fun making reindeer food, ornaments, and eating pizza.

I wonder if he pays better attention to the teacher during instruction? Hope so!

This was the sing along before the party. I made him wear this shirt and vest and he cried. We had a big fight before school-I won! He looks dapper-I mean, it came right off the mannequin at Children's Place. The bottom of the shirt hung out and I rolled his sleeves back. Really cute. It wasn't as if I made him wear a Pooh Christmas shirt with a beaded Christmas tree lapel!

Opening his gift during the book exchange. The little blond girl is a neighbor on our street. It seems so weird to me that on our street alone, there are four kindergartners that all go to this elementary. They all live in a span of about nine houses apart. Crazy.

We were blessed with a visit from Brandi's old neighbor, Jerilynn, this past Monday. We got to catch up and eat her yummy cookies. We have plans to get together in Amarillo-soon, right JH!

Nana gave Finley this cute frock for Christmas - so darn cute! I have a weakness for tights I do believe! Look closely-one of her shoes is missing it's pink flower decal. I was sad to be missing it. It hasn't shown up yet. Why I would point this out to readers, I do not know.

Campbell's sweet Christmas outfit. I actually picked it out. Silver shoes to die for! They squeak, too!

A really cute necklace I whipped up. In between every two pearls, there is a tiny rhinestone bead. It sold at my friends work in about 24 hours!

Another cute little elf I know. Lot's of fun at the movies, girls!!!

And that, my friends, is the Smart scoop.

Crazy Eights!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Before I begin Crazy Eights, I thought it would be funny to mention this. I was awakened this morning by Finley pulling my eyelids up via my lashes and saying, "Hey, I want some apple juice!"

My friend Stephanie was tagged and invited her readers to participate. Just for fun!

Eight T.V. shows I like to watch:
1. Bones
2. Private Practice
3. John and Kate plus 8
4. Unwrapped
5. Deliver Me
6. CSI
7. Desperate Housewives
8. Brother and Sisters

Eight favorite Restaurants:
1. McAlister's Deli
2. Bless Your Heart
3. Abuelo's
4. Chick-fil-a
5. Pappadeaux's
6. Texas Creek Grill
7. Apple Tree
8. Las Brisas

Eight things I did this weekend: (including Friday)
1. Ate spinach dip
2. Learned to scan a photo
3. Cleaned Finley's toy bins
4. Got Finley's haircut
5. Made a necklace
6. Took Finley to Dr. Stripling
7. Blogged
8. Glued the Mickey Mouse Racetrack together

Eight things I look forward to:
1. Figuring out how to work my new Ipod-thanks Brandi!
2. Watching my kids open their presents on Christmas morning
3. Making sugar cookies and cupcakes with my kids and Tandy & Tucker
4. Painting my bedroom
5. Scrapbooking with my friends on day over xmas
6. Slade's 6th birthday
7. Having a blessed 2009!

Eight things on my wish list:
1. Finishing my painting projects
2. Getting back to the gym-I'm on hiatus it seems
3. My stomach medicine will work
4. All my pregnant friends to have healthy babies
5. Commiting to reading my Bible more
6. A heathly family
7. To eat more veggies

I tag:
1. Jerilynn
2. Amanda for Georgia
3. Shonnie
4. Heather Langhor
5. Funky Finds
6. Tracy
7. Paige
8. Hollie

Flashback Friday

Kyle(red vest), Molly, and Ken. This had to be early 1982 cause Molly was born in February and she looks pretty little. On the back of this photo, Margaret has written, "your brother, Ken, had pink eye." I'm sure their mom was scared the new baby was going to get pink eye. But again, maybe by the third child, one is not as worried as with the first! How cute is Kyle-I'm thinking I see a little of Finley in that face-look at the lips. I've always thought Finley had Margaret's lips and Kyle has his mom's features. Don't you know Margaret was excited to have a girl after two little rough and rowdy boys! Sweet, sweet memories.

Two Words......

Future Blackmail

Happy Birthday!

Today I am wishing my niece, Alexa, a very happy 9th birthday. I'll never forget the day she was born. Kyle and I were in college and had been to a Lynard Skynard(how ever you spell it) concert and were up very late. Molly called very early the next morning! Alexa is the one on the right. Happy bday!

Other birthdays to announce are from a fellow blogger. The chick off of The Amthor blog (we are related!) had two baby boys today. Heath and Hunter and they were both a little more than 5lbs. each. Lots of baby stuffed into that belly. They were 34 weeks, but seem to be doing well. Congrats!

I snuck off to WalMart tonight and got the rest of my stocking stuffers. Finley ran fever all day and missed her gymnastics class-we were bummed. She kept saying, "we go to nastics today." I was so sad to tell her no. Campbell slept 2 1/2 hours today, yipeeee! She was a tired girl.

Thanks to the wonderful woman at the Bring the Rain blog, I have decided to follow her in memorizing Psalm 139. I just want to do it. She is planning on having it done by January 1st. She is absolutely the most refreshing, faithful Christian woman I have ever seen. Go to her blog - she really makes you feel like you are a child of God.

Psalm 139 (NIV)
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me 2You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5You hem me in-behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," 12even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you would slay the wicked, O God! Away from me, you bloodthirsty men! 20They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD, and abhor those who rise up against you? 22I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Hello Lemon-Brownie Lover

Jessica Hood - I cannot get you on your email. I don't think I have the right address. I left you a message on FF, but no response. I need your new mailing address and the correct email. Have you received any from me?????? Also, I cannot spell your new last name-yes, I'm a dork!

Sorry guys, I just needed to use this post to get in touch with my old friend, cause I know she reads it! Just so this isn't too boring of a post for you, let me tell you a few things about Jessica. Her dad was my elementary science teacher and I met her my eighth grade year when she came to live with her dad. Us small town folk got such a kick out of her carrying her purse everywhere with her in junior high. She came from Ft.Worth. Evidently people didn't leave things in their lockers there. In Iraan, you were pretty safe to assume that your stuff would be in your locker when you got back. If someone did steal something, they couldn't ever wear it or use it or you would see them in a town of 2000 people! Back to Jess. This girl had the worst nose bleed one night that I've ever witnessed! She bled like a stuck pig(my mom's saying) and she bled all over my bedspread. I think I still had droplets of blood on that spread when my mom changed it years later! Seriously, I thought she was going to have to be cauterized!!!! We roomed together our first year at Tech and boy do we have some memories. BTW, she can eat a pan of my mom's lemon brownies.

Email me, Jess!!!

Attack of the Christmas Hamster!

Today is the continuation of my Iraan Christmas weekend. I saved the best story for today. It is the perfect Monday story to help you get through the week. You will have a little grin and chuckle when you think about it all week! Let me begin by setting the scene.

My grandmother traveled to Branson last month and stopped at a local Cracker Barrel along the way somewhere in Missouri. You know how it has the neatest little toys.

This is the toy she picked. It is a little battery operated hamster that you turn on and it makes the little ball roll around. Such simple, innocent fun. I'm sure the manufacturer of this toy had no idea it could become, well let's say, a death trap for hair. Nor had they ever met a Smart offspring.

After unwrapping all of the gifts, we were all gathered around visiting and the kids were playing with their toys. Finley, all of the sudden, is hysterical and we look over at her. She has taken the hamster out of the ball(you have to take it out to turn it off and on) and the hamster is stuck to her forehead. We all laugh because it looks like a growth of fur on her head. She is still going nuts at this point. I so wish we would have grabbed the camera sooner and showed the furball stuck to her head, but I didn't.

Upon further inspection, we detect a major problem. She has rubbed the hamster in her bangs while it's little wheels were still turning. It wound all of her hair up into the wheel shaft and stopped the motor. It was still on but not turning. That hamster was attached so tight to her head, we couldn't even see her skin! She is screaming and we are having to hold her hands at this point. We don't have much hair as it is and I was hopeful that we could salvage what we do have!

At this point we have torn the body of the hamster off and only have the battery operated motor part attached. Brandi bites off one of the wheels with her teeth hoping that it would be connected all the way across. No luck. She tries to take the wheel off that had the tangled hair, but it felt like we were ripping her hair out. Finley is traumatized at this point. After ten minutes, we go to plan B. Scissors. I didn't care at this point. I snipped and it was all over.

I have the ball, the hamster body, the motor part, two spare wheels, and a lock of baby blond hair. The snipped part is not visible to the average person. It just looks like new hair growing in that is shorter that the other bangs.

The aftermath. Cita holding my traumatized two year old! She would look at the hamster and scream, "NO!!!!" Who can blame her.

No, we are civilized human beings and don't plan to sue. But I am thinking there might should be a warning label - "This toy can attack if rubbed in hair!" I have heard that those Missouri hamsters are rather dangerous. Beware.

Iraan Christmas Fun!

We had our Iraan Christmas' this weekend. On Friday night we opened presents with my parents. On Saturday night, we went into Iraan and had Christmas with Nana and my aunt and uncle. My grandfather passed away the year Slade was born and I still miss him. I brought some chocolate covered cherries this weekend in his honor. He loved choc covered cherries and we always gave him those wrapped up as a gift. He also would put lottery tickets on the tree for us. The rule was that if anyone won over $100, you had to split it. I think I won 4 bucks at the most, but darn it was fun! We did lots of eating this weekend-had mexican food on Saturday. We get tired of so much turkey so the change is always welcomed. Mom made lots of appetizer goodies Friday. I have to say that my favorite has to be the spinach dip! We lounged around in our pj's on Saturday morning. Dad took the kids and Kyle to shoot the "new" gun and to feed the goats. The kids played with their new toys all day-lots of fun, lots of memories.

My photographic child-has been since he was a baby. His favorite gifts were his space toy set, talking globe, and bug set. He seemed to play and really like his toys this year.

Finley, Me, Brandi, and Campbell at Nana's Christmas

Cita watching all the kids open their presents. I bet she's thinking she was glad I wrapped all those presents for her!!!

Slade, Kyle, and Finley. Finley does not want to stop and smile for the camera-opposite of her brother.

I love this dress from GAP. Nana bought her this one and Campbell a pink one. Check out the tights!

Mom and Dad. I think I caught dad off-guard!

We hadn't heard from Slade in a while and found him in the living room with all the bugs laid out. He was very proud of himself. The ladybugs are really cute, actually, but the ants are creepy. It reminded me of the movie, Arachnophobia!!!

Why spend all that money when you can just give them a box!

I love this picture-I might have to frame it. A mother's love.

Aunt Cindy and Campbell. My aunt is an ovarian cancer survivor and the sweetest lady you could ever meet. She teaches elementary school in Ozona. When she married my uncle in 1982, every single picture of me from their wedding had me with my feet turned out like I was standing on the sides of my feet. I was a dork, but hey, I was only 5!

Nana and Finely. I made Nana's Christmas necklace she is wearing. The green and white beads are from some of her mother's jewelry that I took apart and restrung.

My father is a typical rancher-he bought Slade a gun. Slade was scared that it would make a loud sound, hence the earmuffs.

This would be a typical photo session nowadays.

OOhhhh-the talking globe. He will officially be a geographical genius! The only two questions that he got wrong the first day were the ones that Brandi told him!!!!

The resemblance is uncanny!

Flashback Friday

Easter in Morton - 2007
Alexa, Lane, Tate, Slade, Finley

Cookie Fabulous

I saw Paula Deen do these on her cookie swap and was dying to try them. They are peppermint pinwheel cookies. How cute did they turn out! I think I might take some to the bake sale at Slade's school, but they are almost too cute to eat! These are the days I really enjoy being at home. I would never be able to do these teaching school with all the Christmas hysteria and trying to get papers graded and grades entered. I really don't have time now, but I did it anyways. Still have dirty towels to wash and the kitchen is a wreck, oh well!

They are basically a peppermint flavored butter sugar cookie. I hope they stay somewhat soft in the packaging. It was a little experimental seeing that I don't do much with actual dough that you roll out. I wasn't sure how long to cook them and how thick to cut them. I DVRed the show and watched it before I baked them this morning.

I just used my extra scrapbooking ribbon and individually wrapped the rest. I might do these for Slade's birthday party favors-maybe. They were quite time consuming. Jerilyn, aren't you proud?!?

Finley liked the results.

Second batch.

I really rolled them and chilled for two hours, really! Actually I did a double batch, but did them individually.

This is what it looks like when you have two babies to help you in a very small kitchen. I was standing in front of the dishwasher. Tight squeeze. Luckily I'm very thin to be able to fit in that spot.

After school steam releasing. Kaleb and Slade (Slade is a computer hog and looks like a giant)

Two gals, one with alot more hair than the other. Both love Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Will probably have some really good girl fights in the future, but cute as can be now. Finley and Emma.