Fairy Festival Low Down

Wordless Wednesday (Iphone Dump)

Monday Morning Madness: WARNING

WARNING!! You are about to see a thirty some year old woman have a massive temper tantrum.

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I HATE my living room and dining room repairs.  Count them: TWENTY FOUR paint samples later I have paint on the walls -- I still hate the way it looks pale Easter yellow in some lights.  I'm learning to deal.  

I have an accent wall I am NOT in love with, and I am not at all committed to keeping.  The idea that everyone else loves it is not helping. In fact it's pissing me off.

I know EXACTLY what I want on the floor.  But I need another $800 or so to do it.  Got a spare $800 anyone?

We have fixed not one but BOTH cars since I began this project six weeks ago.  The "budget" is not my friend. 

Since we're talking about the budget ... I swear to God if you left me alone in an unpriced WAREHOUSE of home items to pick just one I liked I would find the MOST EXPENSIVE thing there and love it.  Not only that I would probably HATE everything else there.  Hell -- I might just imagine something I want to find in there only to find that it doesn't exist and to make it is gonna cost even MORE then the most expensive thing and take forever.  Also I don't have the skills to make it. 

Let's talk slipcovers.  Because let's get real -- we all know I can't afford a new couch.  And sadly -- even if I could I can't find a single couch I think would look good enough to be worth the cost in my living room.  Why is that?  Oh yeah -- my living room pre dates couches.  Its the same reason there is no obvious place to put one.  Because when they designed the house  - there weren't any.  

But where were we?  Oh yes, slipcovers.  Let me start by saying I generally think they're ugly and they never fit right.  So be willing to consider a slipcover is a huge concession for me.   But fine.  IT's a lot cheaper and it will work until I find JUST the right couch for my not supposed to have a couch living room.  Guess what? They don't make grey slipcovers.  Nope -- no gray ones.  Tan, red, navy, sure.  But not a nice light grey.  Of course they don't.  Why would they?   Grrr.........

Picking a slip cover has become an exhausting dance of Jason trying to find one that is good enough and me staring at an assortment of slip covers I DO NOT WANT and trying to justify spending $100 on something I will detest.  Good luck with that one -- ask me how picking the bathroom floor went. 

Once I know what I want, I know it. Getting to spend good $$ on something so much LESS then that is not fun.  I don't WANT to pick one of the inferior choices.  I don't' want any of them.   I want the one I actually LIKE.

All of which brings me too....

The next thing that BREAKS in this house (or on one of our cars) is going to be drug out to the street and beat with a baseball bat.  Because all these random car repairs and other nonsense is making my budget get delayed and delayed and it's ticking me off to no end.

Hey friends and family?  How do we feel about Communion parties hosted in restaurants?!

Friday Night Leftovers (Yeah, we're back on the horse.)

Confession time:

It was spring break this week. 

We did a whole lot of nothing. 

 My dear oldest child "Watched" his siblings in the  morning the last two days so I Could sleep until after 10 a.m.   I LOVE THAT KID.

Want to know what boys do over spring break?

Baseball Camp at the batting cages

And a whole lot of this:

Wanna see what girls do on Spring Break?

Sleep

Paint finger nails

Dance (a lot!)

And a whole lot of this:

What do moms do on spring break?

Cook and make runs to the grocery store. Seriously the eating around here is out of control.

What do Dads do?

I'd tell you but you don't want to know.  Let's just say the inside of a 99 year old piano is SUPER cool to look at. 

Look Mom! I made it!

We were blessed to have been GIVEN this tricycle when it became apparent late last week that Charlotte was in NEED of a bike.  (She had commandeered  the neighbor's and wasn't returning it well.)

But with a long weekend on my hands, I had to come up with something to put off doing the million half finished house projects waiting for me.  I decided to girly that bike out.

Taking it apart was a lot easier then I imagined, and I was glad (and just hoping I could put it back together with the same ease.)

We spray painted a combination of lavender and rosy pink because I already owned those colors.  Have I mentioned that I have discovered that I LOVE spray paint?  If only we could simply spray paint everything!

And once it was dried I put it back together.  It was really THAT easy.   I did get a little premature on the picture taking - notice the newly pink rubber handle bar grips are still missing in this picture (they took the longest to dry and had to have the excess paints wiped out from inside the grooves with a work rag.)  We also added some bows to an old bike basket and attached a freshly "bowed" horn.  Finally I was forced to MAKE my own bike streamers   When did they start selling them made with grocery bag material?  I wanted real ribbons!

Then we got the intended Princess out to the front steps to bring it out to her.  The little boys were almost as excited to show it to her as she was waiting for her "surprise."

The anticipation was killing her!

And then she saw it!

She was TOTALLY impressed.

And with a few last minute tips from Daddy,

 (I could totally see this conversation i the driveway in 14 years or so.. 

"Now make sure you steer okay and pay attention, and stop at the driveway..."

"Daddy I know!  Let GO!...")

she was off!

And oh, so happy. 

The Easter Round Up.

Because if I don't post these now... I never will. 

I almost prefered the eggs white - simple, easy, calm.  Yeah who are we kidding, I haven't let the kids die eggs in ten years -- these babies were gonna be a hot mess in seconds flat. 

I am calling this one:  Blackmail.  Poor, poor Luke.  Anything to keep Charlotte happy.

"It's not doing anything Mom."  

Yeah Sam, you are WAY to into this.

This masterpiece? It's a new wave of art entitled "Over it".

SUGAR!

Yeah, Charlotte cried for twenty minutes when we put her "perfectful" eggs in the fridge.  Why you ask?  Because the easter bunnies were gonna be so cold when they HATCHED.

The boys found this SUPER funny.

Mass is rough on Easter.  Its crowded, everyone is tired, and there is candy at home.  This one is titled:

"Let's get the heck out of here."

Perhaps the final holiday picture of Molly with the scar, she's getting it lasered off this summer. :)

New Life.

Easter was last weekend, and with it came the start of spring break for the kids on Friday, (or rather Thursday mid afternoon.)  Almost as if on schedule, it seemed liked spring came with it.  We spent more time outside in the yard over the weekend then we have since Halloween.  And oh, the joy.  Oh, the deep, deep breaths of fresh cool air, the smell of mud and grass, and the sounds?   I think the sounds are my favorite part.

The sound of balls bouncing, bikes whirring past, laughter, and happy, and a yard full of our kids, and neighbor kids, and the sounds of wherever imagination is taking them.  It's a privilege  and an honor to be able to watch these kids grow up. Not just mine, but all of them.  I can remember when our neighbor boy was too little to walk the three houses down alone.  Last week I found his little sister wandering into my drive instead.  I can recall when our neighbor girl learned to ride a bike, right about the same time as Samuel , both now "trained professionals", when the games they all played feature Dora or Diego.  I recall a time  when the boys could throw a baseball  no more then the width of the yard, now they branch the length and creep into the driveway with ease.   They are all on their way to growing up -- and it's a blessing to be a witness too.

The weekend was filled with an odd peace and quiet in the middle of  all that outside noise.  Filled with catching up with neighbors, with whom the winter cold had left us with a smile and wave from the warmth inside our cars.         With the chance to peek at the new baby on the block born over the long cold months, with my neighbor to the rear excitedly telling me "the wife said I had to get out to see the baby!  Said she grew pigtails!"  Poor Charlotte, she'll always be the baby in our yard.

The air this weekend was filled with excitement, and energy, and talk of plans for the many warm months that lay ahead.  Although its a balmy 25 degrees this morning, (again),  it still feels like spring.  We've all had a taste of it.  We know whats still to come.

As for me, I've had a lot of time off from this blog this winter.  Time checked out, and stretched too thin.  But it's given me time to really think about what it is that I want, not only here on the blog, but in life. When I can get past all the extra nonsense, and the noise, and the busy,  it boils down to a really,  simple thought:

I want to be known as someone who is fun, and kind, and generous.  I want to be able to RELAX, and live in THIS moment.  Celebrate THIS moment for whatever that moment is, rather then live in a way that is always planning and working towards future moments.  If in THIS moment we're having people over and I haven't decorated or made homemade finger foods, that is okay.  In THIS moment we'll celebrate with chips from a bag and wine slushies from a frozen pouch.  But we'll still celebrate.  Oh,  we'll celebrate that we're together.  Imperfection is sometimes just perfection done right.

Above all else, I want to be known as happy.  Because if you start with happy  it's hard to steer yourself wrong.