Boys' Bathroom

Our boys share their own jack-and-jill bathroom. When we moved here I had this vision to make the bathroom look like they were stepping into a tropical vacation. I'm not so big on "theme" rooms, but thought their bathroom could be an exception. I had hubby construct the frame for the shower so it now appears to be a tiki hut. My inspiration came from the two framed prints I found. The paint used is aptly called "citron" and, by far, is the wildest color we've ever used in any of our rooms. However, it works. The back half wall behind the shower is painted light blue, like a sky, and I painted in white clouds. It's a fun room. Lots of quality conversations take place here while overseeing baths, tooth brushing, and messes, too.

Take a peek...

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Ours was our own. No parties, no guests, no activities. We got much needed rain and had fun watching movies, Target shopping, reading, napping... Ok, the minis are both crying....collision while playing. Got to run be a mom again!

Five on Friday

Here are a few facts about me this Friday. I don't know if I could ever do one of the "100 things about me lists" I've seen on other blogs. I'll just spread them out from time to time.


1- I like to buy cookbooks from different cities I visit. It's a fun way to remember the trip, the cuisine and the sites we saw.


2- I almost became an international flight attendant in my senior year of college. Interviewed in Dallas and D.C. with two airlines. Finished college instead. Too chicken to take the plunge. Oops. Poor choice of words given the occupation I considered.


3- I become demon possessed when taking the minis to get photos taken or when trying to get "the" picture for the Christmas cards. Everything has to be perfect- hair, smiles, clothes. I even take their clothes to change into upon arrival to avoid wrinkles in the car. My blood pressure is sky high until all photos are complete! I'm not too nice and the minis completely see through my fake, calm, pleading voice. "Now so-and-so sit up straight, sweetie." I can't be the only one like this can I?


4- I'm left- handed. Only one in my immediate and extended family.


5- In college, pre 9/11, I once rode in the cockpit of an airplane. I was right behind the pilots! Awesome experience. It was a Friday night during my freshman year. I was going home (hour flight), plane was full and I was traveling standby. At the last minute, I was pulled out of my first class standby seat for a paying customer. The crew knew there were no more flights that night so they let me ride up front. I was a freshman and had no idea what "jump seat" even meant. Today, this would not be an option!


Cheers Mothers! We made it through another week! Have a great weekend! If you've been reading for a while, leave a comment. Tell me about yourself. I need some new blogs to visit!

Highs and Lows

Today was a pretty good day. It was about 73 degrees! We had a few highs and lows.

High- Mini#2 continues to hug/kiss me all day long. It is sooooo sweet. You may be thinking blah, blah, but this is a BOY. He's 3 now. He won't do this forever so I'm savoring the attention I've been getting lately.

Low- We went to the bank today and mini#2 told a woman she was little. She was just a tad short. He has no filter on his mouth these days. Yesterday, I stuffed him into the stroller (he's too slow when we both walk) and went for a walk. I was checking new voicemail I discovered I had on my cell phone when I heard him say "hello" to a woman smoking on her front porch. I said "hello", too and went back to listening to the message when I heard him say "We don't like smoking" to her! I tried to correct him and she said "That's good. It's a bad thing." I apologized and picked up my pace. I was mortified!

High- Mini#1 was one of three in his class to be selected to go to a special reading computer lab every Wednesday with other students from the other three first grade classes. He's being rewarded for his high reading level. Made me so proud of him. He couldn't wait to tell me when he got home. He had the biggest grin on his face. Sorry, had to brag a little.

Low- We met our good friends for dinner at our favorite Mexican place for one last get together before they move to S.C. tomorrow. We've been going to this place for a while together. 5 kids, 4 adults and good food. The wife, out of all of our neighbors, is the one most like me. We have similar tastes, ideas and laugh a lot when we're together. I'll miss them all. Saying goodbye really sucks!

High- After dinner I rushed mini#1 to church and I sat in the car and read Atonement while I waited. Book club is in a couple weeks. This is a slow book, but shhhh, don't tell anyone, I watched the movie last week so I'm set. Anyway, on the way home, mini#1 and I saw 2 deer on the side of a quiet road. I stopped while one crossed and we both got to stare at them for a few moments. They stared back! It was exciting. They're so beautiful. I feel guilty that so many houses are being built in the area and running them out of their habitat.

A day with highs and lows is a good day. Each make you a better person. Life is all about the challenges, the smiles, the frowns, and filtering a 3 year old's mouth!

Talent competition continues...

Ok, watched it again. Our Bachelor, Matt Grant, went out on two group dates on this episode. Eight went on a "Runway" date and seven went on a Vegas date. Still trying to determine if I like this bachelor or not. Here are a few highlights as the talent show continues. Why oh why are these girls singing? Stop it already. I'm still cringing in embarrassment for them.

1- Matt, aka Mr. Brit to Mrs. Pink, gets red cheeks when he's miffed. Case in point, when Lorenzo Lamas' daughter, Shayne, went a bit psycho in Vegas. He didn't like the "drama" with her, yet she got the final rose Monday night.

2- Mr. Brit made a grammatical error tonight. This probably bothered me the most. He told Robin from MI, "I feel a connection between me and you." You and me buddy.

3-Michelle P from NY(clarinet last week, song about "I want to touch you, I want you to touch me" Monday night), Erin H. from WA(wanted to sing before rose ceremony, but didn't get the chance) and Carri from OK (sang opera during her 1-on1 time) all need to try out for American Idol now that Mr. Brit left them empty handed at the rose ceremony. Maybe Simon, hey another Brit, can judge their talent. I was nice. No quotations around talent you will note.

4- Standout Drunk of the night: Kelly from CA. She even commented that she could hold her alcohol while she dripped something all over the table.

5-Holly, the hiccup-er. I felt sorry for her! She seems sweet. She hiccups when she's in a nervous situation. Has she seen the show before? It makes me nervous watching in pj's at home.

6- The kissing has started. Ashlee, after practically begging, was the first to get a kiss. Robin was second. She dove in like her life depended on it.

So who's your favorite so far? I kind of like Chelsea (double jointed tricks at the end) and maybe Amy, the nanny, but it's too soon to predict.

No white wolves or lunchboxes around here.

In case you were wondering, mini#2 didn't dream about the mean white wolf last night. I asked if he did and he said "No, he didn't come again! What a celebration!" Count that readers. My just turned 3 yr old said a 4-syllable word! He has been extra loving today. I think he has hugged me, kissed me and said he loved me about 50 or so times today! What's up with that?

Today was a very good day. No spills or messes to report. The only real thing of interest I did today was race to the middle school bus lot to see if we could find Mini#1's (1st grade) lunch box.
He loves the bus. I was so reluctant to let my #1 baby ride the bus last year, but all his friends had talked their parents into it and it's such a short ride, I decided to let him. Well this morning it was freezing again (fickle weather!) and the bus was late. We were almost back home when the substitute driver and bus came. By that time mini#1 wanted to go "carpool" so we went. This afternoon, she was late again, but no biggie. I like to catch up with my friends at the bus stop. Back home, as I was going through the bulging Monday folder, I asked mini#1 where his lunchbox was. He got this panicked look on his face and said "I left it on the bus and that's not my regular bus". Then the tears welled up in his eyes and my heart started to break. So what's a good mother to do? Grab the keys, the kids and sprint to the car to try to find this lunchbox stealing bus. Thankfully I knew that they park the buses at the middle school. As we pulled in the lot on two wheels I saw the lady I thought was the substitute driver that day walking to her car. Mini#1 confirmed she was the driver and we asked her if she saw his lunchbox. She didn't but said we could take a look. We did and no lunchbox. Mini#1 thinks he left it in his classroom. Let's just say we had a nice "chat" on the way back home about self reliance (word of the month at karate). Then we ran inside, changed for karate and out the door we went again. The Monday after school rush.... How was your day?

Happy Easter!

Another busy weekend. Beautiful day on Saturday. 76 degrees I believe. We went to the park, went to the neighborhood egg hunt, met the Easter Bunny, dyed eggs (without cracking too many!), cooked out with neighbors and played outside until 8:30 last night! Today we awoke to chilly temperatures (48 degrees) and mini#2 having a nightmare about a white wolf in his bedroom. Nontheless we all went to a packed worship service at church and came home and had a nice quiet Easter lunch. The minis requested me to make a pumpkin pie, their favorite, so we had pumpkin pie on Easter. New tradition? Hope your Easter was fun-filled.

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!" Luke 24:5b-6

Five on GOOD Friday

Here are five of my favorite things:

1- Alaskan King Crab Legs

2- Gerber Daisies









3- InStyle Magazine. Love the Party Guide and Recipes.















4- My new super comfortable cute green patent shoes. Try to say that twice. Thanks Clemsongirl for telling us all about them.








5- A new blog I found. A man in Paris posts a new photo taken around Paris every day. Love it. Feels like I get to visit my favorite city every day. http://www.parisdailyphoto.com/

Have a great weekend! Happy Easter!