Just Life

I've found myself bombarded with a bunch of pictures of just this and that. Here a little and there a little. I don't want to leave them out. If there are a few too many for your liking feel free to skim (or skip). 

I need some help. I'm still super frustrated with Blogger's new layout. As just a personal preference, I like a header ABOVE each picture with explanations. Blogger only wants me to put a caption BELOW the picture. I've noticed several of you have figured this problem out. Please email me or leave a comment explaining to me what I'm doing wrong. But for this post, because I don't have HOURS to try and get it just right, I am surrendering and putting a caption below the picture (which is totally fine I know, my brain just works w/ headers for some reason.)

Our wild yard surprised us with several healthy blooming lilac bushes.  They were so beautiful and they reminded me of my grandma.  And best of all, the deer didn't eat all the flowers.  I wish I could say the same for my geraniums from mother's day.

Sydney and Kallie playing in their end of the year piano recital.  Sydney played "Hedwig's Theme" and "Rainbow Connection".  Kallie played "My Favorite Things" from Sound of Music.  I'm not sure who was more excited to have a break from practicing, them or me!?

Second to the last day of school they had a "fun day".  BBQ'd hamburgers for lunch, jump house, games, dunk tank etc.  Avery and I joined the girls for lunch on the lawn.

Kallie with her 6th grade teacher Ms. Miller.  Off to middle school Kallie goes!

Sydney with her 3rd grade teacher Miss Todd.  Below is a picture of her whole class (minus one I think).

Avery is so proud of the fact that she can pull herself up to anything and everything.  She loves to "help" load and unload the dishwasher.  As well as unloading any cupboard or drawer that she can get open.  She's taking her sweet time learning to walk, but as and "old mom", I'm not too stressed and I know she'll figure it out sooner or later.

Dog doors are good for a lot more than just dogs.  I wish you could hear the giggles associated with this peek-a-boo dog door session.

Kallie played on the Eureka Girl's Softball league this year.  She had great coaches and a lot of her friends were on the team, but she decided that softball is not her sport and the last few practices and games were torturous for us both.  During this game she actually got hit in the head with a pitch (fast pitch too).  Luckily her helmet caught most of the impact, but she did shed a tear or two.

Like it or not, she still looks cute in her uniform.

I'm kind of a lame-o friend.  Amanda and her kids came for a visit and to get some dental work done before they move to Hawaii.  I made Amanda a b-day cake because her birthday was the day before their visit.  I took a picture of the cake, but did I take any pictures of Amanda,  no.  See, I'm lame.  Happy birthday anyway and we LOVED having you guys come visit!!

Dan chopped down a pine tree in our front yard a few weeks ago.  The tree needed to come out because it was too close to the house and the roots were starting to cause some damage.  I was totally freaked out that the tree was going to fall on the house, but it cooperated and fell just where Dan wanted it to.

One of our neighbors yelled "timber" as we were pushing the tree over.

Avery had so much fun playing in the soft sawdust.  She was covered from head to toe and headed straight for the bath afterwards!

Father's Day 2012.  Dan is one lucky guy and we are 4 lucky girls.  Love him a lot!

This little photo shoot is going no where fast!

A couple of weeks ago we held a mother/daughter garden party at our house for Activity Days.  We were supposed to eat our yummy pasta bar out in the garden, but the weather did not cooperate at all.  Super gusty winds forced us inside at the last minute and made me feel like a crazy lady trying to figure out 'plan B' when I had 'plan A' all organized in my mind.  Oh well, that's how things go sometimes.  Everything worked out ok in the end I think.

Dan took out the pellet stove in our house because he ordered a new wood stove.  Here is Avery peeking out through the hole in the house where the chimney used to be.

Avery is a crazy lady every time I try to change her diaper or get her dressed.  This was how I distracted her during one poopy diaper change.  It worked amazingly well and she left the tabs on her face forever.

Sunday afternoon, looking out the window.

Kallie's father decided to torture her (out of love of course) and put braces on her teeth.  I think she looks really cute and has officially turned into a teenager in my eyes.

Oh the pain!  She's just started feeling better today and it's been over a week.  Dan says that means it's time to change her wires.  Poor kid.  Having a dentist for a dad is not fun sometimes.

Well, you made it through my random-ness. I'm hoping someone can help me out with my blogger issues. I feel like I'm going a little crazy!!

For the Birds

It all began with Dan's assistant (Cheri) telling Dan that she was ordering baby chicks and would he like a few chickens? 

Dan said- of course (of course). So, building a chicken coop got scooted to the #1 spot of the priority list. 

Meet Taco (or is it Mini or Scuttles...I have no idea).

This picture cracks me up. Is it the look on Avery's face...or the look on the chick's face? Both I guess...

Handy-Man Dan (who is actually turning out to be very handy :) began the 5-star chicken coop motel.

No plans, no nothing, just winging it as he goes.Dan works harder on his days "off" than when he's at work.

Paint, trim, wire, shingles, nesting boxes, roosting spots...who knew it was so complicated.

Avery loves to "help"! She could have ridden back and forth in the wheelbarrow all day long!

Then we decided that 3 chickens weren't enough so new babies were ordered. 

(Kallie and Syd will hate this picture. They had just rolled out of bed and came out to meet the new arrivals)

Peaches is thinking that chicken might be good for lunch!

What is the chick thinking right about now? She has no idea what she's in for (the chicken I mean).

She wants to hold one sooooo bad! I think it is so funny how they are all huddled in the corner...

Dan asked what I thought of the coop,I told him that it's nicer than the house and I just might move in.

Don't ask me how many eggs we could have purchased for the amount we spent on coop supplies (chick supplies etc...).  Dan told me that's not the point, we're trying to be self-reliant and teach our kids to work.

 

Project #2 done! Originally I said 275 left to go, but decided I had better add a 1 before that number...now there's only 1274 projects left to go.

Sneak peek at project #3...a pantry for me!!! So excited! This house needs some major storage added to it. I can't wait to get all of my food out of the laundry room.

Kallie & Sydney's new room!!

I've decided there are a lot of similarities between remodeling and pregnancy:

 *They are both fairly painful.
*They sometimes make you cry.
*They seem to go on forever.
*There actually is a lot going on, and progress being made even if it doesn't look like it.
*Sometimes things don't go exactly how you had planned.
*The last 2 or 3 weeks seem to drag on forever.
*There are moments of joy along the way.
*Sometimes you just don't feel up to taking a shower.
*Sometimes they're both very expensive.
(I'm sure I could keep going...)

 But in the end...

*You (hopefully) feel a lot of joy and satisfaction when you're done and you get to enjoy the fruits of your labors for years and years to come.

 This is how Dan and I feel anyway. This project seemed to take a long time and there were a few...uh, setbacks along the way. There were a few (or many) things that we did the hard way, but now we know better :) The girls are thrilled to have a teenager(ish) room to enjoy and hopefully it will be a great space for them for years (and years and years) to come. 

The room before: molding that was made of some foam/plastic product and popped off the wall w/o even a hammer. A railing on the stairs that wasn't even secured into the floor and could be wobbled back and forth. A ceiling fan w/ sea-shells shaped light fixtures on it. You get the idea...

Dan took out the old railing/banister and built a half wall instead...just a tad bit safer!

New windows, base moldings and trim...

Hmmm...what color should we paint?? Thank goodness for little sample bottles (we went through just a few).

It takes a lot of courage to post a picture like this...but that's the good, the bad, and the UGLY baby!
 I sort of look like I'm suffering from morning sickness but I'm not :)

Filling nail holes, and sanding, and priming, and painting...oh my!

Seeing progress...hooray! And a word to the wise: take off your painter's tape when the paint is still tacky, not a few days later. Ask me how I know that? And if you do things the hard way (like we sometimes do) a blowdryer will help you get blue tape off when it won't come off any other way.
Thank goodness for the internet!

I've said more than once, that I would like to live in a classy little cottage on the beach in North Carolina. But since I know that will never happen, my goal is to make the inside of this house FEEL like you're in a beach cottage (only you're in Eureka instead :).

Remember the pregnancy comparison...sometimes with both, you give up sleep. This picture was proof that I was up until 1am ironing ribbon onto curtains (hemtape is a wonderful thing for those of us who don't sew- again, what did we do before the internet?!).

And the finished product!! The girls moved into their room on Saturday. We hadn't let them go upstairs for months because we wanted it to be a surprise...their reactions were perfect.
I have it on video to enjoy over and over.

At the advice of my mother, we "shopped at home" as much as possible. Almost everything hanging on the walls was stuff we already had. We did buy bedding and the rug and a few odds and ends, but most everything else just looks new thanks to a fresh coat of paint. Kallie said, "Mom, I was getting pretty worried because I kept seeing you paint things white and black, and more black and white. I knew our bedspreads were blue and pink and I just wasn't sure how everything would come together. But surprisingly, it came together really well!!" So funny :)
See...just like pregnancy, it was all totally worth it in the end! 

One project down, about 275 left to go :)