Little Did I Know

Buffalo Wing Dip

2011-04-17T17:49:00.006-04:00

My girlfriend, Janette, has shared a killer recipe with me recently.

Buffalo Wing Dip

1 cup blue cheese dressing

1 cup buffalo wing sauce- I used Frank's wing sauce-it's different from the hot sauce

2 cream cheese packages

2 chicken breasts-cooked and diced

1 cup of shredded Mexican cheese

We had people over for the Frozen Four Championship and this was goobled up. Thanks J.

What are you Playing?

2011-04-07T20:34:00.004-04:00

This is our go to game when friends come over.

However, we are looking to expand from our fav.

We have the all time favorite but we really don't ever play it anymore.

So, I am asking you to give me your opinion. What do you play? Players ages usually ranges from 10-old.

Mud & Butterflies

2011-04-04T13:44:00.003-04:00

Since this is what we see when we look out our back door,

we made some of these today.

An oldie, but a goodie and they are an instant perk me up.

Ways to Dye Easter Eggs

2011-03-30T20:40:00.012-04:00

I blew my first eggs of the season this morning.

We will have a lot over the next 2 weeks so, I can get us ready for some egg dying.

Here is a list of some of the great ways to color those eggs.

Oil Marbelized eggs

These were made using a Cricut

Super cool Silk Tie Dying

These were made using Crayons, tissue paper and rubber bands

These were made from using Oragami Paper and mod podge.

Stickers

Craftster.org had these gorgeous eggs. They are dyed with onion skins. The leaves are held on by a stocking.

Manny's Big Hits

2011-03-25T13:03:00.005-04:00

Even though my child is doing the hitting it still makes me cringe.

I know I have to get used to it because next year he moves up a level where they hit even more.

He's #35.

He sure makes his Dad proud. You can hear Ryan's comments.

And in his defense these were all legal hits.

Pandora

2011-03-23T22:17:00.003-04:00

Is everyone as addicted to Pandora as I am. How have I ever lived with out it?

I, of course, have to thank Chickie for being the person who originally introduced me.

I change stations with my mood and the best thing is, if there is a song I love, I can give it a thumbs up and it will be played more often.

And if there is a song I loathe, I can give it a thumbs down and I never have to hear it again. I know, I know, I am not supposed to start a sentance with and, well tough.

The Joys of Spring

2011-03-21T12:55:00.003-04:00

So, yesterday, I made the mistake of posting on facebook that I felt so lucky to finally be seeing Robins and Bluebirds back in my yard. Our snow was just about gone. Just the residual few clumps.

But, of course, it is still March, so yes, we woke up to about an inch of snow.

At least, we had this lady and her sibling in the yard to help ease the UGH of a lingering winter.

Lack There Of

2011-03-21T08:11:00.000-04:00

I once again apologize for the lack of blog posts. I was so crazy about decorating this house and was having so much fun. BUT, then, I seriously came to a grinding halt and I have no idea what to do anymore.

I have definitely hit a decorator's block. Which, was pretty easy for me to hit because I have such a small arsenal of decorating ideas.

I think the issue was that I also had pretty much stopped reading blogs when I started working. And, since that is where I get so many of my creative ideas for both the house and the kiddos, we virtually hit a standstill.

But, the problem is I LIKE reading blogs. I have to make time for it because they do REALLY help focus my creative energy. Not that Ryan would agree. (^-^) He gets a little tired of my crafts. Oh well.

So, the moral of this story IS, I hope to get back to reading blogs and posting more.

What really motivates me is that I know there are people out there that DO read this, right Kate and Rachel? And of course, the grandparents.

Love you guys. I promise I will write more.

New Bread Machine

2011-03-19T19:49:00.004-04:00

For my birthday a few weeks ago my terrifically, terrific in laws bought me the Breadman TR2700 Stainless-Steel Programmable Convection Bread Maker.

It makes THEE best bread.

Today, I made Whole Wheat Honey Bread and it is killer. I didn't have any dry milk so, I exchanged the 1/8 cup of water for milk and I used my favorite Smart Balance oil instead of shortening.

And to top off my wonderfully, warm slice of yummy goodness, I added a smear of my new found friend.

Ahhh. The smell of bread baking has to be one of the all time BEST smells.

Thanks Mom and Dad! Love ya!

Sheep Shearing

2011-03-16T15:07:00.004-04:00

It is that time of year once again.

Puffs of fur floating in the air.

Knowing that it will be used to make something wonderful.

Well, maybe not.

It's actually DOG FUR.

It's actually dog fur, that is, EVERYWHERE.

Seriously, how is this dog not BALD yet?

Johnsie's 1st day of Hockey

2011-01-16T11:08:00.010-05:00

Johnsie wears Daddy's old jersey because he didn't have his yet.

We started Manny when he was in Kindergaten. But, Johnsie is starting about 6 months earlier.

Practice day 2. Coach Rich helps out. Johnsie was getting really frustrated!

Manny helps out on the ice because Ryan had to work.

Manny pulling his hair out because he had no idea that teaching someone to skate was this hard.

2011-01-03T20:40:00.003-05:00

I truly believe that God whispers to little boys while they are in the womb. He divulges the secrets of how to make perfect sound effects.

Johnsie's Christmas Program

2010-12-23T22:00:00.009-05:00

This little man was so excited about his Christmas program.

He wanted us to come and watch after his class had just 1 practice, back at the beginning of Dec.

During this song they sang about mommies giving lots of kisses. Hence, the face.

Johnsie's preschool Christmas program

Fun in the snow!

2010-12-22T18:44:00.004-05:00

Ryan and Johnsie playing in the snow.

Poor Izzie has Peanut Butter on her Nose

2010-12-12T21:18:00.004-05:00

Christmas Tree is Up

2010-12-12T19:48:00.008-05:00

Well, the tree was actually up a few days after Thanksgiving so, it has been around for a few weeks now.

While trying to take this picture, I ended up with a bunch that look like

this.

Lance thought that since I was on the floor, I MUST be there to play with him.

And then, while trying to get some pictures of the mantle, a certain little boy, kept running through my pictures. I have a whole slew like this too. Boys!

Johnsie, helping Daddy put up the star.

I am still here, no worries

2010-11-10T22:40:00.010-05:00

This new job of mine is kind of kicking my behind. Not only am I recruiting nurses but, I am also running their social media, twitter, facebook, their blog, linked-in, etc.

Anyway, as is well in our home. Here are some pics from the last month.

My parents came to visit from CA. It was wonderful having them here.

Chickie cut her hair. Well, actually she and I cut her hair.

I made burlap pumpkins which are still out and will be until after Thanksgiving.

Johnsie and I went to a pumpkin patch with his preschool class

Ryan and I celebrated 18 years of marriage. Chickie babysat.

The marshal came to town,

because he heard this guy was hanging around.

Apple Picking

2010-10-05T09:43:00.008-04:00

We went apple picking at Grisamore Farms this past weekend.

Caught sneaking a bite.
Actually, they encourage you to taste there produce.

The farm has a bunch of animals too.

We went pumpkin picking too but, I was so busy that we have no pictures to show you.

New Job

2010-09-27T13:18:00.004-04:00

I am so excited. Most of you know that I am a former Middle School Science teacher that decided to take a few years off, to be a stay at home mom. Well, things are sort of going to change. Just a little.

I was offered a position at Dream Nurse Travel as an assistant.

I will go back so, you can understand. I will try and keep this short but, I am a gabber so, just deal. Anyway, Kansas, the daughter of our builder, Phil, is a co-owner of the company Dream Nurse Travel. The company represents traveling nurses, placing them in positions of need.

Phil's other daughter, Sam, currently is working part time for the company. Awhile ago, there was talk about Sam and I splitting her job once she started her student teaching this fall. Sam checks the nurse's references and backgrounds.

Well, as it turns out, Kansas and her team decided that they need a whole other person. The company is growing fast! This person will assist Sam and Kansas. And, they hired me.

Besides helping Sam, I will assist Kansas in recruiting nurses and placing them into hospitals, clinics, etc, making a perfect fit.

At first, I will have office hours with Kansas at her home but, after I get the swing of things, I will be working from home.

I am so excited for this new adventure. I start this Friday.

Hey, if there are any nurses out there reading this, that are in the central NY area and you would be interested in traveling let me know.

Guess, I just started working.

Nature Walk

2010-09-27T08:22:00.011-04:00

Yesterday, Johnsie and I went on a nature walk, in our yard.

Looking at our loot.

Our leaf people and dog. We added milkweed seeds for fur.

Giving Credit

2010-09-26T13:00:00.000-04:00

Giving credit when credit is due is really important out here in blog world. One, it is just proper etiquette. But two, when you give credit to the person(s) that inspire you it reiterates to that person that they are actually making a difference in the world and that all of their hard work is justified.

Awhile ago I posted this activity that Johnsie and I did. We were inspired by Valerie from over at Family Frugal Fun Blog. After I posted, I made sure to go back over to Valerie's site and let her know that Johnsie and I absolutely loved the activity and that I also gave her a shout out here, on my blog.

This morning as I was reading through my favorite blogs I came across this picture over at Valerie's Family Frugal Fun Blog along with a post about how happy it makes her to know that families are coming together and having fun by using her ideas.

So, now not only is Valerie happy, but I am happy knowing that I helped make Valerie happy. Life is good!

Bulb Time

2010-09-26T09:08:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, my day was spent planting these. I am a sucker for tulips.

But first, I had to prepare this. The right side of this picture shows the ground I have already started working and the left hasn't been touched.

Oh my gosh. It is like trying to dig up concrete. There are so many rocks in this soil that every time I attempt to shove the shovel in, I get in about a half and inch a stop. It is really super annoying and it is also really hard work.

I miss my Red River Valley dirt. So, all my peeps back in ND and MN go out and say thank you to your dirt. Seriously, go outside and thank it. It is the best dirt in the world, literally. Send me some, please!

This area has been worked. I added some top soil and peat moss to it. I was even tempted to raid Johnsie's bean bag so, I could add some styrofoam to it. I just know it is going to be concrete again come spring.

Here are some of the rocks we have uncovered in the yard. A few of them are huge.

We had a visitor show up too. Now, he is safely inside being poked at by Johnsie.

Besides planting our bulbs, Johnsie just had to have this little beauty the other day when we were at Walmart.

I think I am going to have go and buy more bulbs today. We only planted on the one side of our porch. Plus we need to add some hyacinths into the mix.

Puppy Love

2010-09-21T10:28:00.003-04:00

Our dogs are really loved. Johnsie loves them a little too much sometimes.

What dog wouldn't love Dog Soup.

You should have seen the Halloween drink he made for me yesterday. I was ice tea, water, a flavored water packet, candy corn and to top it off some potato peelings. It was so nummy! He watched to make sure I took a sip.

Fall Wreath

2010-09-18T12:34:00.008-04:00

Ok, this time my wreath is a smashing success. The last one I made was a little lacking. I got this idea from Roeshel at The DIY Show Off. If you haven't seen her site yet you are definitely missing out on something awesome. Her tutorials are great.

I know I have seen this type of wreath before and I knew I didn't want to make the traditional leaf and/or flower wreath. And actually from a distance, mine actually looks like leaves.
I just cut squares that were about 2x2 inches, no I didn't actually measure, just free cut everything. Anyway, I used a wreath from the Dollar Tree. I used the tip of a pencil and wrapped the fabric around it. Put some hot glue on the end and then shoved the fabric into the wreath. Easy Peesy.

I started first with some leaf garland wrapped around the wreath and was then going to add the fabric but, I quickly decided that was not the direction I wanted to go. Off came the garland.

I used mostly used scraps I had around but, I did pick up a few fat quarters from Walmart and of course, the clearance fabric bin. I always look there.

The ribbon is from where else, The Dollar Tree.

We finally have had a nice sunny day here, but it makes my fabric look more peach than orange. Sorry.

Premature? Maybe

2010-09-14T18:55:00.011-04:00

A few days ago Johnsie and I got into our Halloween decor stash.
Premature? Maybe.

The rest of the family thought so anyway. The big skull was purchased last year at Target on clearance. The little glitter skull is from the Dollar tree and the spooky house was a clearance item from last year too. It came assembled. We just had to decorate it. Chickie and Ryan helped. Yeah, it is old candy but, who cares.

The candelabra is from the thrift store. The candles, crow, and creepy material are from the Dollar Tree. And we found a ton of old books at a garage sale this past weekend. I need to melt the candles down a little to get them a little more spooky.

Grammy gave us this cutie last year.

These skulls are from the Dollar Tree, of course and the jar is a thrift store find.

I bought this plate last year on clearance at Gordman's. One of my favorite shopping days of the year is the day after Halloween. Awesome day to load up on dress up clothes too. I have actually bought clearanced costumes and saved them for Christmas gifts.

Johnsie thought we needed a bat.

Specifically, a two-headed bat. He is so proud of this guy. This was great scissor practice for him. He cut the 2 big circles.

This is just the beginning of decorations. I figure, I need to wait until at least October 1st for the rest.

Decorative Storage

2010-09-12T08:47:00.006-04:00

Chickie and I went garage saling yesterday. Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE having her home again! Anyway, we hit some awesome sales and I picked up this guy for 50 cents.

I was looking for some kind of storage because these are a permanent fixture in my living room. Legos are one of Johnsie's favorite toys and mine too. Open ended, creative toys are the best. But, they aren't the cutest to have sitting out.

So, now the legos have a new home. I added in some puzzles and tanagrams. I like having some quick and easy toys handy for us.

I tucked him under our coffee table. This is so much better.

1st Day

2010-09-09T07:46:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, was the first day of school here. Manny is now in the Junior High and starts school an hour earlier. The bus was here at 7:15 to pick him up. School starts at 7:30.

Johnsie had his first day of preschool. We were worried since he is used to staying with me all day and when we lived in MN and went to ECFE (parent and me classes) he never wanted to stay with his teachers when we would separate for the parent time.He did super though. No need for Mom and Dad to worry.

He's a big guy now.

We have been prepping him all summer for this. Explaining that Mommy and Daddy won't stay there with him.

His teacher said he had an awesome, no tears, day, well 3 hrs. His school is only 3 days a week for 3 hrs each day.

Way to go Johnsie!

Me

2010-09-07T08:59:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite blogs, Madigan Made tagged me with 8 questions. You need to check her out. Her positive outlook on life is truly inspiring and of course her decor and tutorials are amazing.

1. If you could be a tool, either from the kitchen, craft room or toolbox, what would you be? I guess I would be a stapler. Keeping things organized and together in our home.

2. What's in your morning mug? weak coffee. I love coffee but, I am a total wimp with it.

3. If you could take a lesson to learn something new what would it be? The violin. I have always wanted lessons. Well, not always, when I was like 11 my Grandmother took me to a school where I could get lessons and offered to pay for them but, I wouldn't do it b/c it was too nerdy. I am SO kicking myself now!

4. What is your favorite season? Fall, Fall, Fall!

5. If you could vacation anywhere for a week, where would you go? Italy. I have relatives over there somewhere.

6. What room in your house do you most enjoy to spend time? Well, I spend most of my time in the kitchen, but I would much rather be spending it in my bedroom, snuggling with a book, or the kids or the hubby.

7. What makes you smile? Of course I need to say my family, friends, nature, chocolate but besides that I love the thrill of the thrift hunt. I love finding that perfect item, CHEAP. Smile!

8. Free question. Tell us something random about yourself. I love to organize things. But, I can be bad at keeping them organized. That is my new goal in this new house.

My Sweetheart

2010-09-04T08:28:00.003-04:00

No, not Ryan, but Chickie. The other day she came home from school with these. She stopped at a fruit stand, and bought a bunch of fruit for us and these gorgeous glads.

We are so lucky to have such a sweetheart for a daughter.

Thrifty Changes

2010-09-03T08:41:00.011-04:00

I was thinking about buying one of those ceramic hands that you put your rings on to hold my earrings, odd I know, but I don't ever take my rings off and I have a few pairs of hoops that I always wear. Anyway, I found this little treasure and now it sits on my vanity and it holds not just my earrings. The little glass container was also a thrift find. I am a sucker for little glass jars.

I was so happy to find this guy.

And now it hangs in my bathroom.

Nice tall vase wrapped in jute.

Spray painted white.

And this voluptuous lady. Reminiscent of the 80's mod phase. I swear everything was mauve. Both Ryan's and my parents had this color carpet in their houses and not in a little girl's room.

And it was only 80 cents.

I spray painted her black. Add some twigs that Johnsie and I cut from trees in our yard and then I added some little white paper flowers. I need to make more of the flowers when I get a chance. The mirror was also a thrift find. She was gold before I painted her.

Now, I just need to figure out how to cover up that dang heart on my bench. I have a matching stand with hearts all over it. Ugh. Thinking I will cover it with some batting and fabric.

These are my next project.

Paper Wreath

2010-09-02T16:37:00.007-04:00

I saw a super cute wreath idea over at Living With Lindsey and I had to try my hand at it.

I can't tell yet if I think mine is a project fail or not. Chickie and Gram liked it but Ryan said, "you're not hanging that thing in my house."

For some reason, I got stuck in the idea of using a book that meant something to me, and since I started this project at about 10:00pm I had to use something from around the house. Well, that caused an issue since I am a book addict and find it really hard to get rid of books.

However, our neighbors had just had a garage sale that Manny participated in and a few of the things that didn't sell were some of his old books. Problem with most of those though were that the fonts and margins were really big so, there wasn't a lot of black type on the page. Lucky for me he had a little paperback dictionary tucked away in there and I thought, perfect! The only issue was that the dictionary didn't contain all that many pages.

Anyway, I spray painted the edges purple and also fanned the book out so some of the interior pages were painted.

Next, since I didn't want mine very large I just cut out the center of a paper plate and then continued in the way Lindsey describes. First, I glued paper rolls to the back of the plate and then I flipped the plate over and started filling in the front.

And this is the way she sits. I have tried several ideas for covering the interior edges and nothing has worked yet.

Chickie said that she thinks it is really cute and that she would like to hang it in her room. So, nannynanner, Ryan. My tongue was just sticking out!

Next time, I will use a larger book. Guess that means I need to take a trip to the thrift store!

Butterflies

2010-08-30T20:56:00.008-04:00

Five of our six guys hatched.

And this is what I found when I went outside to tell Johnsie.

Grammy Visit

2010-08-30T20:26:00.011-04:00

So, I haven't been blogging a lot lately, which I am hoping to change once school starts up next week. Johnsie starts preschool and will be gone for 3 hrs, 3 days a week. Which means I get some me time to relax. HA, HA, HA, not really. The plan is to work through each room of the house, finishing projects that need to be completed. Most of it is paint touch ups and trim work and they all stick out like sore thumbs to me, so I really want to fix them. Anyway, I hope to be able to squeeze some blogging in there somewhere.

On a different note, it was so wonderful having Ryan's mom stay with us and to finally be a whole family again now that Chickie is once again under our roof.

While Gram was here we took her to some of our favorite parks. Sorry about the extra gray hairs Mom! She didn't like watching Manny riding the waterfalls or jumping off them, either.

Since Mom was leaving from Buffalo and had never seen Niagara Falls, we took her there too. Our time with Gram went so fast. Johnsie had an especially hard time after we dropped her off. He so loves his Grammy.

Thanks for driving out here with Chickie, Mom. We loved having you here and miss you so much already!

Chickie

2010-08-21T10:13:00.000-04:00

Chickie is on her way here. Her and my mother in law are driving out here from MN. Last night they stayed in Chicago. And they should be here around 9:00 tonight.

I am so grateful for my in laws, stepping up to the challenge of taking in and living with their teenage granddaughter. They had 3 boys so, I am not sure if the knew what they were really in for. We all know how challenging teenage girls can be. Yes, Chickie, I know you read my blog, and yes, you can be challenging, sometimes. Not a lot but, sometimes.

Anyway, Chickie is moving out here and will be attending a local community college until she decides exactly what she wants to do and where she wants to go. I am so looking forward to having her under our roof once again. Even if my makeup, clothes, shoes, scissors and tape are under lock and key. Yes, I said tape and scissors. For some reason when she would use them they would get lost in her room forever. I think we own like 7-8 pairs of scissors and currently I know where they all are.

I am so excited that I couldn't even sleep last night. It was like 3:30 before I fell asleep. Now, I am off to go clean. You know my mother in law is coming here. Just kidding Mom. You are the best mother in law a wife could ask for. Love ya!

A Handful of Trees

2010-08-19T17:51:00.001-04:00

Awhile ago, I fell in love with some hand trees I found over at So You Think You Are Crafty.

We were finally able to make our own.

I just purchased some really cheap canvas' and covered them with burlap. Next, I spent forever cutting out leaves with my rotary tool. I folded the fabric over a few times so, that I wasn't cutting out one leaf at a time. I used mod podge to adhere the leaves and trunk.

The last one is waiting for Chickie's hand. She will be here on Saturday. I can't wait. I miss her so.

These look awesome in my dining room.

Eyeballs

2010-08-18T23:31:00.000-04:00

Just in case anyone needs a pair, at this moment, I am willing to give away my eyeballs.

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS!

My allergies are so bad right now. Zyrtec helps some, but takes a while to kick in and then towards the end of the day I am a mess again. Sneezing like crazy and my eyes, UGH. And I can't seem to find eye drops that really work.

I only have Fall allergies so,I am very thankful for that. But, come on.

I am off to go and sit with a cold washcloth over my eyes.

Quick Fix

2010-08-18T21:55:00.000-04:00

It seems like most garbage companies out here in NY are small and independent. And for that reason, I assume, they offer us no garbage can or recycling can rental. So, that meant that we had to purchase a couple of new cans.

I priced out some that had the recycling symbol already on them and they were seriously super spendy. So I purchased 2 of the same plain old black cans. Lids connected of course.

"Who cares?" says you. Well, no one, but me really. See, we were now having issues with the fam being able to tell apart the garbage can from the recycling can and stuff was getting mixed up.

So, I printed out a recycling symbol.

Traced it out onto some contact paper.

Stuck that contact paper on one of the cans. And sprayed on some plastic friendly paint.

Ok, so my contact paper didn't stick the best and it ran a little. And, I was a little over zealous with the paint and it went over the edges of the contact paper. But, I am not complaining. It is a garbage can for goodness sake. One that will sit outside through rain, sleet and snow.

I am just happy that I won't have to sort our garbage from our recycling anymore. Here ends that debacle.

Blades of Grass

2010-08-18T00:16:00.000-04:00

Yes, I know Fall is upon us, so, I know it's odd to decorate like spring but, oh well. Plus, up here we are in winter FOREVER, so having a little spring time decor that's permanent isn't a bad idea in my book.

I bought this little daisy tin last spring at the Dollar Tree. I have been looking for a spot for it and finally found one.

I picked up some fake grass from you guessed it, The Dollar Tree. Before cutting the grass I would make a little flat bundle, like above, tape it, and then cut it away from the big bunch.

After further dissecting the bunch, I found that a lot of the grass came in these little bundles. I just trimmed the tops to my desired height and stuck away into some flower foam. I arranged the grass so that it was just in one line across the middle of the foam, instead of all random.

And I plopped it down on this shelf that is in my mudroom. This picture hung in Chickie's room when she was a little girl. I thought that since the curtains I made for the half bath and mudroom have daisys, this picture would fit in perfectly.

So, no, I am not going to change this out for Fall decor in the next few weeks. I am going to keep my little reminder of spring around all year long.

My Hole in the Wall

2010-08-15T23:18:00.000-04:00

I am so excited about my little hole in the wall. I haven't measured it exactly but I think it is like 6 ft wide by 9 ft long.

This was originally going to be the bathroom but, if you notice how the drywall sticks out about a foot on the front wall. Well, that is where the septic pipes go out of the house. I know, lovely to think that when I am crafting away in my little room my family could be upstairs using the restroom and when they flush, woosh and it goes right past me.

Anyway these pipes would have taken up too much space in the bathroom so, we covered them up with drywall and mounted lights under it. My desk will fit right under here. The bathroom is in a little room right next door.

Ok, so to help me not think about poop wooshing by me, the plan is to decoupage the front wall with fun graphics and pictures. Most will come from The Graphics Fairy. I can't wait to start the process.

I am so inspired by this room in Beth's house from The Stories of A to Z. I am hoping my room will be as cute as her's.

I am hoping that if I time things just right I will be able to pick up a lot of totes, baskets and little organizers, cheap from back to school sales and clearances.

The plan is to prime the walls tomorrow. Yay for me!

Snug as a Bug

2010-08-11T21:01:00.000-04:00

Here are 3 of our caterpillars all wrapped up. Happy and content to be all snug.

In this picture you can even see the skin this guy crawled out of. It is the dried up black thing next to him. Every time I see a chrysalis I am amazed at their beauty. I so love the little gold dots.

Mother Nature is so wow.

The other 3 guys are hanging a bit more precariously so, I didn't want to disturb them.

Family Rules

2010-08-10T20:11:00.001-04:00

Here is another thing I had to jump on the band wagon with. I have seen these family rules signs all over the blogosphere and I wanted to make one right after I saw my first one.

I was finally able to sit down today and make mine. The most recent one I saw was made by Gail over at My Repurposed Life. She gives step by step instructions on how to make Gail‘s Family Rules on her blog.

I am not that nice. I will just tell you that I painted a scrap piece of wood I had sitting around in the garage. It was already routed because it was a piece that Ryan was playing with when he first got his router years ago.

I made a list of all of the rules I wanted and I got out my handy dandy cricut and cut away. Some of the rules did get cut out a couple of times because I made them too long. Glad I had a whole new stack of black cardstock next to me.

Then I just eyeballed the rules to center them. I wasn't going for perfection. No levels or rulers were used in this process. Mod podge was, however, used in this process. I took each letter and covered the back with my good ole mod podge and when I was all done I covered the whole thing with a layer too.

Here it is hanging in my kitchen for all to see and FOLLOW. I did try to use rules that were positive. I thought about, "chewing with your mouth closed" (Chickie!!). She would actually leave the table during dinner when her brother was eating too loud. Just you wait lady.

Anyway, I did see a lot of signs that had negative rules like, no whining, no ball in the house, etc. I wanted our rules to be constructive.

Now let's hope everyone follows them!

No Mess Painting

2010-08-10T19:53:00.000-04:00

Valerie from Frugal Family Fun Blog shared this idea just the other day. I am always looking for fun and easy things to do with Johnsie and this activity was perfect.

It is just baby oil and paint in a ziploc baggie. It creates a wonderful marbling effect. Check out Valerie’s Blog blog for the complete directions.

6 Big Fat Guys

2010-08-07T21:22:00.000-04:00

Over the past few days we have found 6 different guys caught lurking around. Not all at once. First, there were 2 of them and the other 4 were slinking around by themselves. It was so creepy.

Ok, so it wasn't creepy like you were thinking. It was creepy crawly creepy.

Currently we have 6 monarch caterpillars. One guy had already made his chrysalis. We are so excited.
One of the things I was really upset about when we moved away from our house in MN was that we would have no more milkweed. We would always get a few stray plants in our garden.
Now your typical gardener would be really upset about having this weed in their garden but, we loved it. I think every year we lived in that house the kids were able to find caterpillars and take care of them until they were butterflies and ready for release.

I was overjoyed when I found milkweed growing in our yard this spring.

Granted when I found these guys I was in the process of spraying roundup on our beloved milkweed. Not all of it. Don't worry. Just the stuff in front of the house. We need some grass.

I hope to post pics and video of our butterfly release day.

The only pic, of old release days, I could find was one of Johnsie back in 2008.

Trying to decorate!

2010-08-06T23:05:00.000-04:00

I have been doing a lot of thrift store/TJ Maxx/Christmas Shops shopping trying to find fun and functional decor for the house.

I purchased these from the Christmas Tree Shops in Syracuse a few weeks ago.

The corner still needs something. It still looks empty to me. Not that I want a lot of stuff everywhere. I realize some empty corners are good.

The chair is from a used furniture store. I have been thinking of painting it black or maybe white or even purple. I want a deep purple to be an accent color in here.

Ryan was able to finish our fireplace surround. The tall urn is from a TJ's and our black marble is from Bargain Outlet in Cortland. We love the look of the marble. Now, I need to put something on the other end of the mantle. Probably a few candle sticks.

Johnsie is a huge fan of Tom and Jerry. Thanks Uncle Kirk and Aunt Yoko for introducing him to them.

I have never had a mantle to decorate so, I am so excited. All of the vases are from thrift stores. The black ones were other colors so, I spray painted them. The 2 huge marbles I found the other day at the thrift store for 80 cents each. The leather J was in a clearance bin at Michaels and the roses were a gift from my wonderful mother in law for Ryan and I a few years back. They are made from wood curls.

I fell in love with this guy instantly when I found him awhile ago at a TJ's in NJ. You should have seen the look my sis-in-law gave me when I found him. I guess she wasn't feeling my qi.

Anyway, I love him. His only issue is that the gold paint is a little sticky, which makes dog fur love him too. So, I think I might give him a once over with some spray paint too. New gold perhaps, or silver or black. Hmm ideas? If I don't do this soon I am seriously going to have one hairy frog and that is so wrong on so many levels. I guess he'd be warm this winter though.

I really don't need any decor for the house with this Batman Cowboy Clown in the house. Someone has been really having fun with his dress up clothes lately.

Johnson begins with J

2010-08-05T20:05:00.001-04:00

So, all I see around everywhere is people using their initials/monograms as decor. Who am I to not jump on the band wagon. A few months ago I made this Monogrammed picture. Which now lives in our bedroom.

Awhile ago on a trip to Ithaca's Michaels I found a bunch of cardboard letters in the clearance aisle. Score one for me.

I bought 2 J's and almost all the letters for Johnsie's name.

For the J, I covered it with some jute and extra cording that I trimmed off our bamboo shades. Resourceful, huh? I knew I could use those cords for something.

Here it is up on a shelf next to Johnsie's ultrasound picture.

And here it is nestled in a plant. Not sure where it will end up.

Here the boys are painting Johnie's name. Green, of course.

Remember I said, I bought most of the letters I needed for Johnsie's name. Well, Michaels didn't have an R, so I improvised and bought a K and a P. I cut one of the legs off the K and glued it on to the P.

Then I just covered up the area with jute. Voila. I added some twine to a few of the other letters so, the R didn't look out of place.

Dan the Snake Man

2010-08-05T19:33:00.000-04:00

The other day on of my friends invited us to come and see Dan the Snake Man, who was giving a presentation to a group of local kiddos.

Johnsie was super excited about the whole thing. Here he is petting a skink.

Coming face to face with a 15 yr old tortoise.

Dan and his assistant explained that all to often people buy exotic pets only to let them go into the wild when they get too big to take care of. That is when he and his team are called in to rescue and remove the animals from peoples homes, ponds, etc.

Johnsie was fearless and had no issues going and touching the alligator. However, he would only touch the smaller of the two.

Checking out a snake skin

He really was all for touching and learning about the animals. I think this was some kind of boa.

Johnsie's hand shot up in to the air when Dan asked the audience who wanted to come up and hold this albino burmese python.

He was so excited to come home to tell his dad and Manny about all the animals he was able to see and touch.

Flylady-My Hero

2010-07-31T23:07:00.000-04:00

About a year and a half ago I was introduced to the Flylady. For those of you who don't know who she is she calls herself, "Your personal online coach to help you gain control of your house and home." She uses the acronym FLY for Finally Loving Yourself. Her goal is to help you maintain order in your life and not live in CHAOS-Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome. (been there and am doing it)

When I first started using her I really did begin to get organized and I was able to keep a moderately clean house. I don't know about you but our house seems to get overrun with paper. Ugh. Anyway, I hadn't really been able to get into the full swing of things before we learned we were moving. So, the Flylady kinda took a backseat.

Now, that we are in the new house I am definitely feeling overwhelmed. I think that if we had moved into the house after it was fully finished life wouldn't be as chaotic, dirty and messy as it is now. We won't even talk about the dust I have and will really have once Ryan starts sanding the drywall in the basement this week.

I really don't know where to start. So, I said to myself, "Duh, Cindy, get back on the Flylady's schedule." She tells you what to clean on what days and even has a checklist for what to clean in each room. Each week you will work on a specific "zone" of your house. You can even request to be sent a reminder email to help you stay on task.

Here is how she breaks the month down:

Zone 1: First few days of the month until the next Sunday: Entrance/front porch/dining room

Zone 2: First full week of the month: Kitchen/ back porch/laundry room/pantry

Zone 3: Second full week of the month: Main bathroom/extra bedroom/ kid's rooms/ craft room

Zone 4: Third full week of the month: Master bedroom/bath/closet

Zone 5: Last few days of the month from Monday until the 1st: Living room/den/TV room

I can't wait to start. Granted tomorrow is Sunday and she calls Sunday "Renew Your Spirit Day." So, I think I may work on last weeks zone, which was the living room. Next Sunday I can renew my spirit. I am too anxious and I just need to start.

Check her out!

Family Memo Board

2010-07-30T00:24:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I made this memo board to help keep track of all the goings on in our family.

In our old house I just taped a calendar to the side of our fridge and I would paper clip things to it. Well, here I can't do that. Our fridge is sandwiched between cabinets and plus it always looked really messy.

This baby hangs in our mudroom.

I bought this cork board from the thrift store for 99 cents. It is a big one, 24" x 36". I painted the frame and distressed it a little. Covered it with some fabric I already had by using staples and then I glued on some ribbon.

Of course, since my cricut is finally out of storage I just had to use it.

I found a little white board calendar at Staples and then I also printed out calendars for the next 6 months. That way when appointments or practices are scheduled during the coming months I can keep track of them.

Once school, football and hockey start I foresee this guy getting lots of use. This is where I plan to hand field trip notices, supply lists, etc.

I am hoping this helps us to run like a well oiled machine. Or at least one that isn't in a dire need of an lube job.

Dollar Store Bins

2010-07-30T00:08:00.000-04:00

I am trying to be super, uber organized in this house. Like we all know and I have said it before chaos breeds chaos. So, this is what I did under my kitchen sink.

The Dollar Tree has these stackable bins in 2 different sizes. They worked perfect.

I purchased a bunch more to use under our bathroom sink.
When I am organized I am so much happier.

Grisamore Farms

2010-07-29T23:08:00.001-04:00

The boys and I headed off to one of the local U-Pick Farms- Grisamore Farms because it is prime time for blueberries.

We have never been to a U-pick farm before. We had such a wonderful time.

Seriously, almost every shot of Manny catches him eating berries.
First, we picked some raspberries. Sadly their season is almost up so there weren't all that many left.

We picked about 2 pints and between the three of us we probably ate almost as much.

They have acres and acres of fruit and veggies.

And oh my, the blueberries. I so love blueberries.

Manny is already planning a trip for us to come back so we can pick enough blueberries to make some jam with. Sounds like an awesome plan to me. I better find my canner quick.

We came home with 4 pints of blueberries. They are so wonderful. We are planning to go back in September too to do some apple picking.

Robert Treman State Park

2010-07-25T10:51:00.000-04:00

My goodness gracious. So, basically right after we got our internet up and running we left to go to NJ for a family reunion. And basically, right after we returned, I left the window open and it rained on our modem and we once again were without internet.

Now, we are finally up and running again and of course, one of the hinges on this laptop broke and I need to bring it in to Best Buy to be fixed. So, we will be left without a family computer for a couple of weeks. But enough is enough, I am just going to have to use Ryan's work one. Every girl needs her computer time, right?

This was what we were busy doing while it was raining on the modem.
My sis-in-law and my 3 nephews and niece came up for a visit.

We took them to our favorite local state park. They dam a spot in the river just after some falls so they can create a public swimming hole. That is Manny flying through the air.

Cousins

After we swam at the swimming hole, we went up to the top of the park to show the fam the other beautiful falls. The boys had a blast sliding down the rocks.

In the spring, we could never do this because the water would be moving way too fast.

This is the first time my niece met her Uncle Ryan. She fell in love.

Every time we go here I am amazed at the beauty.

My brother was stuck at home "working." We hope to get him up here soon.

My sis-in-law Nicole and me.

My oldest nephew and his mama.

Me and my sweet niece.

Johnsie loved having his cousins visit.

This is the best picture. A girl gets thirsty after all of that hiking and swimming. More got on her shirt than in her mouth.

Back in Business, Well Sorta

2010-07-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

So, our internet is working but, our wireless isn't. So, here I sit on the floor next to our only working outlet. But, hey we have internet.

No air conditioning however, in this NY heat wave. The high today was 96 degrees. It has been super hot for like the past 5-6 days. I can't say we have no air conditioning because 2 days ago we purchased a portable one that lives in our bedroom. We just couldn't take it. We needed to have someplace to go for refuge. Granted most of our day is spent down on the main floor. But, occasionally we each take a break and lay on our bed for awhile. The boys have been sleeping on our floor these past few nights too.

No TV yet. The Dish Network people say they can't get here until the 20th. Ryan isn't too happy about that. He'd like to be watching the Tour de France.

Ok, I am going to post pics that I should never post. The house is a total mess. Boxes here and there. Molding pieces here and there. Etc. So, bear with me.

This is what it is like living in a construction zone. Chaos truly breeds chaos.

The left side is our junk and some of our builder, Phil's and the right side is all Phil's. Ryan can't wait to organize this place.

Our mud/laundry room. We will be putting in a laundry sink as soon as we have our last electrical inspection. I guess you have to have a 3 foot perimeter around the fuse box. The plumbing is all there and ready. We just have to hide it for now. Shhh.

Open faced lockers will go along the left wall eventually.

Half bath. So exciting, I know.

So, I already told you chaos breeds chaos. We have so many little things that don't have a space yet and they seem to congregate on our peninsula. And, Manny is getting an evening snack.

Tonight I have to clear everything off the counters so that Phil can grout them while we are gone.

The dining room. Ryan thought this was going to be such a wasted space. So, what we have started to do is that, whenever we are all around for supper we eat in here. Otherwise, the boys can sit at the peninsula or the kitchen table.

The fireplace is a work in progress. We still don't know exactly what we are going to do for a mantle and surround. But, for sure the TV is going here. I still am not so sure about that one. I had grand ideas for decorating this bugger.

Our computer area. For now anyway. This is where I am currently sitting. Poor Manny has been deprived of internet for weeks.

The area above our front closet. This is also a work in progress. I am not sure what I all want here.

Our entry light.

Manny's room

Johnsie's room.

The attic. Remember chaos breeds chaos. The way back left is all organized but, you can't see it with all of the junk in front.

Yay, our closet is finally ready.

Now the biggest problem is that Ryan and I can't decide how we want to organize it.

And because we can't decide, our room looks like this. Boxes of clothes line the walls. The carpet in the closet just went in yesterday so, we couldn't pile our boxes in there.

Master bath

Master shower. Another thing that we are waiting for.
I love the front of our house. It looks just like I wanted. Of course, you need to imagine the grass and flowers like I do. And the painted porch.

The pots sitting on the steps have the 50 trees and shrubs we bought back in April. We only lost like 6 total.

The boys were watching some deer in the area between our 1st and 2nd tree line.

We are hoping to plant some shrubs around our pretty propane tank. Again, you need to imagine grass and a patio this time.

Sorry for the picture overload.

Grumplestiltskin

2010-07-04T07:16:00.000-04:00

Ok, so the other day I was a total Grumplestiltskin. Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get anyone worried, Dad. Because really, so what if the house isn't done yet. It will be eventually. Seriously, who am I to complain. I am living in a brand new house. SO many people in this world will never be able to say that and actually can't even imagine it.

So, Here Comes the Sun, right?

Things are slowly being finished. My biggest concern really was the grouting of the counter tops phase. They need to cure for like 4 days. I was wondering how in the world am I going to be able to keep things off them for that long. Well, the light bulb went off over my head. This Thursday we are heading down to Jersey for a family reunion and we will either be coming home Sunday night or Monday morning. Counter tops issue solved. Phil is going to work on them while we are away.

The bulldozer smoothed out our yard yesterday. Most of the molding is finished. Carpet for our closet comes in on Tues. And, right now black top is cheaper than concrete. So, we may end up with a beautiful driveway to boot.

Plus, Ryan installed our new mailbox post, (the guy dropping off our storage trailer ran the mailbox over, he did give us $100 for it) so, that is not hanging all kiddywampus anymore.

Oh yeah, and we are supposed to get internet Tuesday. Yay.

Still here

2010-06-27T22:36:00.000-04:00

I am still here. Life has been so crazy. We still have no internet. Our development is so new that it is not coming up on Verizon's computer so, they don't think we can get internet. However, we keep telling them that our neighbors get their internet through them and their box is actually on our lot. Whatever!

House is still not complete. We are getting a tad bit frustrated. Our closet, bathtub, shower and some molding still aren't finished. The linen closet and front coat closet are not done yet. One cabinet in the kitchen is still missing plus, the granite tiles haven't been grouted yet. Some floor tiles need to be relaid because they are not even. Crown molding on the cabinets needs to go up. Front steps need to be built. All 3, pocket doors need to be finished. Fireplace, stairway and part of the laundry room needs at least 1 more coat of mud before we can even prime them. AND There's MORE.

So, with so many things still needing to be finished we have boxes sitting everywhere and everyday we take more and more out of our storage trailer b/c it has to be back on the 1st. We can't even put it all in our garage because half of the garage is full of our builders stuff. Oh and yeah, we can't open 1 garage door because the track isn't up yet and neither is the garage door opener and oh yeah, they still need to drill holes in 3 of our doors for dead bolts.

OK, I am going to stop because I could just go on and on.

I am grumpy and tired and today was so muggy and of course we have no air conditioning because everyone said we wouldn't need it. Yeah right. Today was so nasty. We could have gotten a little relief by sitting downstairs in our basement but, OH YEAH, that is a mess and full of our builders stuff too. We have been putting some things under the steps because there is no room anywhere else down there.

UGH!

OK, so I am off to read my Better Homes and Gardens and get in a happier mood. I feel better already getting all of that off my chest. But first, I need to roll up my magazine and squish the stupid fly that keeps landing on me. Who knows where our fly swatters are!

Thanks guys. Till who knows when.

Just got the dang fly. Yes, the day is looking up!

Back in NY

2010-06-21T06:43:00.001-04:00

So, we are back in NY. Our trip was wonderful. It was so great to see everyone. We were there for 2 1/2 weeks and we still didn't see everyone we wanted to. I can't believe how much I miss everyone already. It's not fun getting your heart ripped out.

Anyway, we are in our new house. The builders have about a week left to finish up some final projects. The house is beautiful and I can't wait to post pictures. But first, I need to post pics of Chickie. She turned 18 the day before we left. 18, seriously! Where did the time go?

Our storage trailer arrives today so, from now until July 1st we will be unpacking. We have the trailer paid up until then, which is perfect because I really want to slowly unpack. I don't want mountains of boxes in the house and not having a clue where to start. I unpacked most of the kitchen and bath stuff from our little rental. It is so much fun deciding which drawers to use for what.

We won't have internet for at least a week and with all the unpacking I am sure to not have any time for the computer. So, until then......

On goes the Porch

2010-06-15T13:04:00.000-04:00

It is so crazy to think that when we get back to NY, Friday night we will be moving into our new home. The whole process seems to have started forever ago.

This is the boys bathroom upstairs.

This was what the septic looked like when we left. You can see Johnsie and some friends playing on the gravel pile of to the right. He is going miss playing on the mounds of dirt.

I am so excited for this porch.

I plan to spend many hours out here.

We are installing recessed lighting out here, besides the 2 front door lights. We plan on putting them on a dimmer so, we can adjust the light for those summer nights on the porch.

The plan right now is to paint the porch white. But, it has to sit for at least a year before we can paint it. :(

I can't wait to see the next pictures of the house.

A Trip To Moose

2010-06-14T19:07:00.000-04:00

Moose Lake

Ryan's parents bought their lake place in northern MN, back when Ryan was just a little baby. Back then they used to camp in tents. Over the years they purchased a tiny camper, then a slightly larger camper and then a few years ago they bought a double wide trailer/cabin. It is so wonderful to have all of that space. There are 14 of us, if all of us are up there at the same time.

This little man has never known lake life without the cabin.

Chickie and Johnsie taking a nature walk. Accompanied by two wild hounds.

One of our nature finds. The treasure of MN. The Lady Slipper. We don't find these a lot so, we get pretty excited when we discover them.

Manny has loved fishing since he was Johnsie's age. He would be fine spending the entire day out on the boat.

Caught.......

a large mouth bass.

Sweet boy.

Dunk

Such an odd duck.

Roasting Mallows. Ryan always gets this job because he is the Master Roaster. I don't know how he does it. They are always perfect.

Izzie planted herself right in front of Johnsie while he was eating his s'more. She looked as if she was trying to will him to drop it.

Catch and Release.

Awesome Catch!

Stalking her Prey.

Thrift Store Finds

2010-06-11T00:22:00.001-04:00

These are my recent purchases.

I fell in love with these little buggers the minute I saw them.

This is a terra cotta candle stick from Hallmark. I will probably paint it black.

I can't wait to fill this with super cute eggs at Easter time.

For some reason every time I took pics in our little house the colors were always muted. That is why sometimes you see my finds lying in the grass. My pictures always come out way better outside.

I am on a milk glass kick.

Super sweet little vase

For sure, no more pictures taken in my grubby little kitchen. Yay. We moved out completely before we left for MN.

We have never had a mantle before so, I am always on the hunt for fun little things to decorate ours with. I thought she would look so great, out for Christmas. I actually bought another similar one but, forgot to take her picture.

More milk glass.

This will go on our "new" buffet in our dining room for the spring. Can't wait to start working on the buffet and posting before and after pics.

I see this guy painted black with orange or red candles and spider web draped over it, on our mantle for Halloween.

I would like to paint this lady, white for our new master bath.

I am always looking for neat candle sticks for the mantle.

Oh my goodness, more milk glass. One thing I never want to do is, collect so many of one thing that each individual piece gets lost. So, I think that is enough milk glass for me.

I picked up this wine decanter, not because we drink wine, because we usually don't, but because it is green and I am doing green accents in our new kitchen. I just thought it was too neat to pass up for $2. Not exactly sure where it will go or if I will put any dried flowers in it or not. I will figure that out later I guess.

The Graduate

2010-06-07T18:48:00.000-04:00

Chickie graduated!

Chickie graduated with honors. Way to Go!

Oh my gosh, isn't she the cutest!

Singing for choir.

Got that diploma. The real one is actually in there.

Chickie's beau.

Moving the tassel over .

It's official.

These girls have been best friends since we moved here, when Chickie was in the 3rd grade.

Congrats you two!

Serious and studious.

Woohoo!

We are so proud of our girl. We are so, excited for her to begin her next chapter. She is so amazing and we know she will accomplish any goals she sets.

Over the River and Through the Woods

2010-06-04T13:00:00.000-04:00

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go.

We left NY Wed morning, stopped and stayed the night in Portage, IN and arrived in MN Thurs. night.

It was so great to see Chickie again. The boys haven't seen her since Christmas and I haven't seen her since March.

Of course, it was great to see Mom and Dad again too.

This weekend is going to be crazy with graduation and all.

Ryan took and made this collage which will go on her cake.

Here Comes the Sun

2010-05-30T00:38:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking about house decor like crazy. What am I going to put here and what am I going to put there?

One thing, that I know FOR SURE, is I want the saying, Here Comes the Sun, in my bedroom.

Huh? Why? Well, you see all the vinyl wall sayings that are out right now, right? Most people put sayings like, Always remember to kiss me goodnight or All because two people fell in love. Love both those sayings by the way BUT, they have no special meaning to me.

Now, even before all of this vinyl word sayings became popular I always wanted to put, Here Comes The Sun, on a little plaque or something in our bedroom.

Again, Why? Well again, when most people have beautiful, romantic love songs for "Their Song" Ryan and I picked, Here Comes The Sun. Not really a slow dance song. Try it. It doesn't really work well, I know. Anyway, we both have always loved this song and even as young kids, who got pregnant and got married, we must have known that everything would work out. The sun will always rise, a new day. Each day we can embark on a new journey, each year and now as we are reaching the end of our second decade together, each decade. Whatever issues arise we can count on the sun to shed a little light on us.

For me personally, the song also means that Ryan is my sun. He is my light.

Here Comes the Sun

Not sure what is up with the mushy, cheesefest posts. I just feel so overwhelmed lately. Our new home is almost finished. My baby is graduating and then 10 days later she will turn 18. We have all been sick. I have a 21ish hour car ride coming up with 2 kids and 2 dogs. I have to pack up and clean this house yet, can't really move into the new one. It all has me weepy.

BUT,

Here Comes the Sun!

Didn't even think about that, Here comes the sun, after all these next crazy filled weeks until, I reread my post looking for mistakes. Cool. That's when I added the BUT, Here it comes!

Talking About My Guy

2010-05-29T01:03:00.000-04:00

The main reason I keep this blog is for me and my family so, I am not going to apologize for this picture overload.

Today, was Ryan's birthday. Most of my posts have to do with the kids, outings, crafts or the new house. Well, this one is dedicated to the love of my life.

He is the youngest of 3 boys. Not sure what his goofy is face is all about. Maybe it is because he had to wear that awful suit. Mom?

Oh, my sweet guy. Someone who knows what grade he was in here needs to comment. He is asleep already, otherwise, I would ask him.

This was one of his senior pics. My parents did not like his long hair. I don't think his parents liked it either. But, I loved it. I still have some of it in a photo album.

Crazy to think that when this picture was taken we were already prego with Chickie.

Here is Ryan and his dad getting ready for some scuba diving.

OMG, This is the best picture ever. Swoon. I am so in love with this man.

Camping and canoeing in the MN boundary waters with his dad and brothers.

Mom, seriously, I have no idea how you handled these three boys. But, I do know, I thank you so much for helping to mold and make a wonderful father and the man of my dreams. Dad, you did a pretty dang good job too! You were both great role models.

Ryan is really the best dad ever. He has taught all the kids to skate. Well, almost, Johnsie, not so much, yet. Ryan has played hockey since he was 5 and has coached Manny's teams for many years.

Of course, he is an avid fisherman. He and Manny can go out and fish for hours. Nice catch Johnsie.

Whenever possible, those two are also out for hours snowmobiling. This snow storm was crazy. It was March 30th and we got over of snow in a few hours.

My life's purpose will be complete when my 2 boys grow up and become as wonderful of fathers and husbands as Ryan is. He is such an amazing role model.

I look forward to the day when my daughter's-in-law thank Ryan and I for the men that they have married, like I am now able to thank my in-laws.

And as for Chickie, Daddy's little girl, who isn't so little anymore. I hope that she finds a man who is as genuine and loving as her Dad is. Here we are at Arches National Park, in Moab Utah. Delicate Arch is way in the back on the left side.

This was last years prom night. We had no worries. We know we raised a responsible young lady. Plus, her Ryan knows what my Ryan would do if he didn't treat Chickie like a lady and with the utmost respect. -Chickie has been dating a boy named Ryan for over 2 yrs now-

Ryan and the kids paddle boating in some little pond in Santa Rosa CA.

Thank you so much Ryan for being such a giving husband and father. We may not always say it but, you mean the world to us and we appreciate all you do.

Ryan, you mean the world to me. You are my best friend and I am so proud to be your wife.

We've come a long way baby. Welcome to the other side. 36 doesn't feel so bad anymore now that you're finally 36 with me. ~Just so you know people, Ryan NEVER lets me forget that I am older than he is. But only by 2 months and 19 days. I guess when I was a 4 months old I was over double his age. Cradle robber.

Where do you store your poop?

2010-05-27T21:28:00.000-04:00

Yay, we now have a big poop storage tank in our back yard. Something I have always wanted. Dreamed of actually.

So, today I learned a lot, once again. I really had no idea how a septic system worked till today.

Ok, so color me dumb, I never took the time to really think about how this bugger works. So, this is what happens. You go to the bathroom, everything that is solid stays in the tank and any liquid gets pumped out and goes through a bunch of sand that is supposed to filter it before it gets down into the water table.

I seriously thought that the tank held everything. I know we have been talking about a sand filter and all but, like I said I never really pondered it. So, take a gander at the diagram I found. I really hope you are telling me that by the time that poop/pee water gets to my well it will be thoroughly cleaned right? I am not so sure about that.

Let's just say I am REALLY happy that the well and septic both slope to the south. It still creeps me out a bit though. If my water tastes like urine, I WANT a REFUND. Ugh, I just totally realized that there are 2 houses north of us. Oh, gag me with a spoon!

This is the drain field or whatever it is called.

The boys, of course, liked watching the equipment dig our new pee/sand pool.
I took these yesterday.

The guys were working hard in temps of high 80's. Ryan brought our cooler over to them stocked with ice and Gatorade.

Most of the tile is in but, the guys haven't grouted yet. This is the entryway.

This is the tile in the kitchen. The empty squares are where some decorative tiles are going and the other tiles have to be cut to go around them. Can't wait to see it all done.

The start of our front porch. I didn't realize how small it is going to be. I am not complaining I just envisioned something else. Oh well. I still can't wait to sit on it.

Carpet goes in tomorrow.

The Throne

2010-05-25T20:25:00.000-04:00

Just in case you were wondering and I know you all were, this little pretty will be going in our 4 bathrooms. Her name is Alexis. It actually really is. She is called the 30014K Alexis HET dual flush.

She has so many wonderful qualities.

She was only $99 from Sams Club.
She is a High Efficiency Toilet
She has a dual flush feature. If you pee you push down on the #1 button and if you poop, you press the #2 button. Cool Huh? The #1 uses 1 gallon of water and the #2 uses 1.6 gallons per flush.
She is 17.9 inches tall. Who cares you say? Well a standard toilet is between 14-16 inches. Now, the BIG benefit we see from having taller toilets is that there will be less splash from my boys, which means less clean up for me. Granted we have no idea how Johnsie is going to measure up to these but, he'll grow and until then he can use a step stool.

The only negative we, I mean Ryan, sees is that he can't put magazines on the back for his daily reading time. So, I told him I would get a basket or something for him.

Doggie Diver

2010-05-22T17:00:00.000-04:00

Isabelle loves to dive for rocks. She is such a coconut. I would say that about 90% of the time she comes up with a rock. Sometimes, it is the same one you threw but, not always.

aDOORable!

2010-05-21T23:07:00.000-04:00

Seriously, I took pictures of our lighting, still in the boxes. I really need to get a life.
Oh, and isn't Diet Mt. Dew so wonderful! Ahhh

For our dining room. Nice and simple!

Matching pendant for the entry.

Ryan and I spent a day taking turns painting the molding. A DAY. Holy smokes there was A LOT of molding.

Ryan loathes to paint. He needs to listen to his ipod otherwise, I think he might go crazy. I myself love to paint. I am not good at it at all but, I still enjoy it.

The siding guys are cruising right along. They work everyday, till it is done, unless it rains of course. And, we may get a few sprinkles tomorrow. So, they may get a reprieve sooner than later.

This is the back of the garage with our little doggie door. The plan is for this door to lead to a fenced in area about 7ftX10ft on a concrete slab. We are hoping that we can teach them that when we open the kitchen door that leads to the garage all they need to do is go through this door to get outside.

We NEED to contain the doogie do.

At our old house they always went in the front yard and I hated it. And I don't use the word hate very often. I would stress about always making sure it was picked up, so people wouldn't see it. And in the spring we always had poop soup and our grass was all spotted.

No More Baby!

I am always trying to sneak around and take photos of the guys working so, I have some action shots. I don't think they really appreciate me taking their pictures all the time. But, these guys are such a big part of our lives right now and we are very thankful for them.

I never took a picture of the steps from the kitchen. Here you go.

I spent most of today painting the boys' closets and our bedroom. For our room I chose Blue Heather from Behr. It really is the most beautiful shade of blue. I really need to get Ryan in here with his camera because mine has no flash and all of our colors are seeming really muted. This just looks gray but, it isn't.

Ok, so here is our aDOORable door. I hear it was one heavy little lady. We had 2 guys outside and 2 guys inside lifting her into place.

Here I am sneaking shots.

She is so beautiful. I am in love and I want to make a wreath tomorrow for her. Or at least ASAP.

Later today, we went back to the house and the back was basically completely sided.

Super, Super excited!

Johnsie is going to miss playing on all of the dirt piles.

Treat Bucket

2010-05-20T21:36:00.000-04:00

The other day we went to our local Sam's Club, 40 mins away, and picked up this lovely box of dog treats. 14 pounds worth of yummy goodness was in this box.

Our dilemma was, where do we keep this large box of delectables?

Well, we just happened to have a 5 gallon bucket that we sometimes dump dog food in. So, I got to thinking, I am going to make that sucker cute and store our treats in it.

I got out some spray paint, (make sure you use the stuff for plastics) and sprayed the lid and the top of the bucket.

Mod podged some scrapbook paper onto it.

Printed out a little sign, of course, my cricut is still in storage.

And filled her up.

Can you tell I have been real bored lately? Who decorates a bucket for dog treats? Me, I guess.

Mini Golf

2010-05-20T17:43:00.000-04:00

We have 2 Mini Golf places in town and Johnsie has been begging to go ever since we moved here. Finally, we made time to go.

We were having such a great time.

Everyone got 1 hole in one.

I swear this kid never looks at the camera. It is so hard to get a picture with him actually looking at me. Of course, it doesn't help that I am constantly taking pictures. He gets bored of me.

Ok, so he is looking at me here. Finally! He is such a sweet boy.

He was having such a wonderful time.

And then, it was time to go. He should have been super happy because Ryan's hole in one was on the last hole so, he won us a free game.

But, that was not making this guy happy. No way. He was truly bummed.

I am so horrible, taking pictures of a crying kid. I should have been consoling him. Nope, not me, I thought he was too cute not to capture the moment.

I even got it on video. Mean, mean mom.

Well, Well, Well

2010-05-18T23:11:00.000-04:00

Our well is now dug.

It went down to 160 ft and it releases 7 gallons per minute.

I am learning SO much building this house. I have no clue about wells or septic systems.

I do know that this little bugger is now sitting on my front lawn and I have been advised to cover him with a fake rock. See, learning IS taking place!

Our siding also started going up today.

Things are really moving along however, our front door still hasn't come in so, Phil just covered up the hole so we won't risk ruining our flooring.

Speaking of flooring, isn't the living room floor gorgeous. I was told it is anyway. Our guys covered it up right after they finished installing it. Preservation, I am told! Please do, because as soon as my big old dogs walk on it, it will get scratched. Oi!

The stairs that lead upstairs are now finished. This makes ME really happy. No more going up and down ladders. It was pretty creepy going up a ladder that was sitting on a false floor.

Next up is installing a railing right where I am standing. I am up on the 2nd floor by the boy's bedrooms.

The stairs leading to the basement were almost finished when I left today.

Plant Markers

2010-05-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

I saw these on the The Crafty Crow this morning. Aren't they the greatest.

Currently, we have 50 seedlings sitting outside in 5 large pots. We purchased them from the county. We have 20 Douglas Fir, 10 Red Maple and then we purchased 2 of these ready made packs. Our Song Bird pack has 2 Witch Hazel, 2 Bittersweet, 2 American Cranberry, 2 Elderberry and 2 Sassafras. And our Nut Tree pack has 2 Red Oak, 2 White Oak, 2 American Filbert, 2 American Beech and 2 Black Walnut.

I am going to need these markers just to keep straight what we planted where.

And, just yesterday Johnsie and I were picking rocks that have been unearthed at the lot, to keep for gardening accents. I think we may have to go pick a few more today.

In goes the Floor

2010-05-15T21:13:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, they started to lay the hardwood floor.

It looks so great. I can't wait till it is done.

I see lots of Tom Cruise slides on here.

We weren't sure if they were going to glue or nail the floor. We were told that nailing this type of bamboo can sometimes leave dimples in the wood but, so far so good.

This is what will go in our entryway. It is so hard to tell how big things are when I zoom in like this. This is 3ft x 3ft. So, it is pretty large. We liked one that had red tiles that were very similar to the color of the hardwood but, they only had those in a smaller size. The smaller one would have looked goofy. :(

These are super spendy but, we purchased ours at a discount building supply store. Yay for us!

This is the start of our stairs. It is kind of hard to understand this picture. On the left side there will be stairs attached that go up and on the right side there will be stairs that go down to where I am standing in the kitchen. When standing on the 2nd step, you see here, you can look over our closet into the entry. The window you see is the one above on front door.

We love the idea of how open this whole area is BUT, we are nervous because it will be very easy for two boys, who shall remain nameless, to climb on top of the front coat closet. No biggie but, on the other side there is an 8 ft drop to the entryway floor. The builder purposely made the top of the closet super sturdy because he is also foreseeing climbers.

Ryan and I discussed the idea of putting a railing up but, neither of us thinks that it will look good. We are first going to try to enforce NO CLIMBING. I guess time will tell.

Honestly, I know we will eventually have to put something up, temporarily at least. I, so know, that they are going to put a huge pile of pillows on the entry floor and try to jump down into them. Boys = Stinkers! Chickie would never have dreamed of doing that. Right lady?

What We're Reading

2010-05-15T14:01:00.000-04:00

Click the button above to see what others are reading!

This was a really cute book about these 4 silly chickens that keep trying to get to from their coop to the farm house.

We are seeing caterpillars everywhere here these days. To be honest, it is kind of nasty. They are hanging from trees all over the place. I am assuming they are Gypsy moths. Ish!

Anyway, this book was super sweet. Clara, a cabbage butterfly, teaches the other butterflies that it is wonderful to be common and plain. This book has a ton of great C words- captivating, capered, carefree, colossal, clambered, curious, cautious, courageous and a ton more. We had a great vocab lesson reading this.

Cute book by John Lithgow, he was so great in Footloose. Sorry, anywho, Sue doesn't like being a kangaroo so, she pretends to be other marsupials. In the end, she decides that being a kangaroo is perfect.

A family of mice never can decide what to watch on TV. There aren't a ton of words in this book. But, we had fun going through the pictures of the television frames and interpreting what was happening during each show.

Happy Reading.

Blocks

2010-05-13T22:16:00.000-04:00

I bought these blocks forever ago at a thrift store back in MN. They are made from chunks of a 2x4. The letters are a part of the wood, they are not just glued on. So, I think they were made by at home by someone who had one of those cool saws that can engrave. Ok, I sound like a boob, because I have no clue what kind of saw it is but, we just were watching a commercial on DIY where someone made a monogrammed fireplace mantel using one. -Hope they never plan on moving or plan to sell to someone with the same last initial-

Who cares anyway, I thought they were cute. I just didn't get why someone would have blocks spelling NASA?

Honestly, I think they probably said SANTA and the T got lost in Timbuktu.

Anyway, I took the little buggers outside and gave them a fresh coat of black spray paint.

This rock has been getting a lot of use lately.

After that, I cut a piece of thin cardboard the same size of the blocks. And then, because I am so ~~cool~~ nerdy, I took out this used birthday bag that I had been saving because I really liked the paper but, couldn't reuse as a bag because of a hole. I cut it a little bigger than my cardboard and folded and taped it to each piece of cardboard.

Ok, so earlier today, I went to the craft store and bought a whole bunch of these black letters. What I want to do is make removable fronts for the blocks that I can change out each month. I figured I would just velcro the cardboard onto the blocks.

So, I proceeded to buy like 6 O's and 5 E's, etc and then I got to thinking on the drive home. Duh, Cindy, just put velcro on the backs of the letters too and just reuse the letters.

Guess, I have to make a trip back to the craft store. I am really so sad and upset about that. Seriously, I loathe craft stores as much as I despise thrift stores. No, not really, because actually I am pretty OBSESSED. Honestly, I keep thinking about this little junk store we passed the other day when we went to Fillmore Glen State Park. I am just waiting until I have an hour to myself to go check it out. Seriously, this store invades my thoughts multiple times a day. I really need to get a life.

I do need some help with coming up with words for a few months though. Or more creative words for the ones I already have. So, please give me any ideas you might have. They can be 3 letter words too.

January-----SNOW
February----LOVE
March-------LUCK
April--------EGGS
May--------
June-------PLAY
July-------STAR
August----
Sept.------FALL
Oct.--------BOO
Nov.-------
Dec.-------NOEL

Chickie and I were just talking and we came up with GIVE for November.

CSN Product review.

2010-05-13T14:59:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited! The nice folks at CSNStores.com asked me to do a product review. They have over 200+ websites, so there is much to look at.

I bounced around looking at some of their pretty things and ended up at their Racks and Stands store looking at Corner TV Stands. In the boys' old room we had a huge, ginormous book shelf. I actually think it was built in the room because we tried to get one just like it out of Chickie's room with no success.

So, currently the boys are left with no shelving in their rooms. I have been looking around for T.V. stands and shelves for over the past few months. CSNStores.com has so many to choose from it is so AWESOME!

Anyway, stay turned for the product review. I can hardly wait!