Moving on

The time has come. We are in the home stretch and will be moving in a matter of days! I have to change internet providers. I will be back with renewed excitement as soon as we are settled and have all services connected.

nothing new, everything new

Not that it will be anything new but I won't be posting for a while. We are weeks from moving in and I am shutting down our service. I'll start back up as soon as I can.

I'll post some pictures of our progress this weekend.
My baby girls turns two this next Tuesday!
Heating and Air was completed today.
I've been caulking and painting doors and trim.

This house is a little like being pregnant.....
At first you dismiss the vomiting with a "that's ok, it's worth it"
Then you do the same with the leg and back aches....
Before long you are 9 months and even though you know you should be enjoying every minute and taking notes.... you are instead saying "can we just get this over with?"

That is where I am.... 9 months and counting.... Can we just get this over with?


I'll will miss your inspiring posts.....

as I see it........

Turns out the things in life that seem so important
just may be.......
the things that keep you away from what really is important.

Who's got spirit??

So I know that life changes.
People change.
Children grow and change.

I just found out that I may not like change too much.

Saturday morning I took LadyBug shopping for school stuff. Just me and her. No LULU. No Daddy. No aunts, sisters, grandparents, friends, or neighbors. Me and her. Big girl shopping day.
She cheerfully helped me count out the school supplies and put them in the cart. 8 boxes of crayons ***WHAT****deep breath*** check, six rolls of paper towels-check, and on and on it went $160 worth. But who's counting?.......
We were starving after all that hard work so we went to a Mexican restaurant that we love (don't know the name, sorry. But it is at the Oxford Exchange if you're ever out that way) She likes it for the virgin strawberry "cold drinks", and they mold the rice and put the beans in a tortilla cup, oh and they cut the quesadillas into triangle pizza shapes.




We spent the rest of the day going through every store we could find and racked up on some good deals!
We went to Starbucks (no caffeine for her, don't worry) then headed home.....
What a fun day! We don't get days, just the two of us any more.

Then it was meet the teacher night. I am frustrated. Nope. That doesn't do it justice. I AM FRUSTRATED!!!!! I was told that they do placement tests. They don't. I was told since it was a small school that the teacher would have so few students, she would be able to spend quality time doing extra work with her. Nope. She has 16 students at least. She can't possibly take the time needed to be sure that LadyBug is progressing to her potential!
Her teacher in 4K ran out of books for her. She is reading and comprehending at a 2nd grade level with ease. She does addition with multiple numbers. She knew her colors, shapes, numbers, and alphabet before she was two!
When we asked about the curriculum for the year.... we were told that they will start with letters, numbers and colors and by the end of the year start to read some.....!
They have to bring coloring books to keep them quietly busy while others are working when they are done!! WHAT?! She can color at home! What the heck is she going to school for??
If she isn't learning something new, she is getting behind.
Before you start thinking that I'm some kinda mad woman who pushes her child too hard..... she asks to do work, and constantly asks tough questions. She is just made that way.

Ok. I need to breathe now so... moving on..... Here is LULU. Ain't she cute?

Getting it Done

I have missed you all!!
There are not enough hours in the day, lately.
I thought maybe today I'd breathe, brew some coffee, and check out every body's pages. Also, I wanted to share what we've been up-to.

LadyBug picked Orange Slice by Glidden but painted in Behr (not sure if that makes a difference in color turnout...) She also loves seaside cottage things. Remember this group we picked up for her room, back when it was going to be a gray-white?





Hmmm. Well now her room looks like this!



However orange this may look on here..... be assured, it is much more vibrant than that!!
That is where the problem lies. But, a most amazing thing happened.... DIYideas.com solved my problem!!!




It is perfect! She wanted citrus colors...hence the Orange Slice! And the art work is just a piece of MDF covered with decorative paper and card stock shapes on top!! I can totally pull this off! And get this, her 3-D chalk set came with perfectly sized stencils of sea animals!!


In other news, my kitchen is really taking shape! I'll have to snap a few pictures Wed. when I go back to sand the cabinet doors and drawer faces. I bought the appliances the other day from Home Depot. They were having a 10% off no interest for 12 months and the fridge was a perfect floor model on clearance. Are you ready for this?? $2300 for the range, fridge and dishwasher!!!!
The fridge is LG's french door top with drawer freezer on bottom, the range is LG's convection oven with smooth top (something I'll have to get used to- going from gas), the dishwasher is Maytag with all the goodies, all stainless. I was so excited! The fridge being a clearance item had to be picked up and is in this kitchen until we move and the other two will be delivered when we are ready for them.



I have some huge questions. Number one: What finish do I do on the concrete floors?
Number two: Should I paint my cabinets or stain them? should I stain the cabinets and paint the pantry and island?


Oh, I can't remember if I told you but my Master bed and bath are painted French Silver by Behr. I love this color. It is a cool blue gray but is shaded enough to be relaxing at the same time.
The main room colors are Natural Linen by Glidden and Crisp Linen White by Glidden. The crisp linen white is also in the laundry/craft room and I painted the hallways in the Natural Linen. The guest bath is called Fresh Guacamole. Yep, this may have been a bad idea, but I'm going to try and make it work. I love the color it is just a little much for the small space. Other than the girls crazy rooms, I wanted a natural and neutral tone in the house.
So, that is how far I am.
The siding is going on Monday week. The septic is going to be put in tomorrow or Thursday.
Any comments, questions or ideas are welcome. Thanks for making it through this lengthy post!!


My baby will be registered for big girl school Thursday.

COMMENTS WANTED

I rode by this little junk place over and over, day after day and kept seeing this chair. I wanted it and found myself looking to see if it was still there every time. So, finally I stopped. No one came out to see if I needed help and to be honest I was starting to wander if this was some sorta pile of stuff the homeowner had collected, maybe major pack-rats or something....
I drove by two days later and it was still there. I stopped again, this time someone peeked out their head and asked if I needed help.
Yes, how much for the metal chair?? "$5", he replied. Hmm, I thought. It needed a lot of work, but I want it. SURE! "There's more inside." He said. An open invitation to scope out some more cool stuff! I found antique glass door knobs, also $5. And I'm thinking of going back for the old french doors to convert to pantry doors.
I need a little help. My kitchen, living, and dining rooms are all together in a big 30 x 32. The first thing you will see when you walk in the front door will be the island. I want to do something super cool. I am going for a minimal with rustic antiques look... any ideas. I'm thinking Natural Choice by Sherwin Williams for the walls, Greek Villa white for the trim and cabinets, the floor will be stained concrete and the counter tops are either concrete or wood, I haven't decided yet.
I want clean lines, serene feel, with wow, that's cool, where'd ya find it antiques here and there.
My plan for this chair includes attaching casters to the legs and using it at my Roll Top desk as a sort of dressing table/writing station in my bedroom.

Here is LuLu's room color as promised






I kicked but and pulled a 8 hour grout job by myself yesterday and finally finished my shower (except for touching up the ceiling and sealing the grout)







If there are any professional shower tile layer people reading...... just remember this was my first!!! And I'm darn proud of it!!!!

Comments are definitely welcome. I need help PEOPLE! Ideas!

What I've been doing

I have been thinking about how simplicity makes me feel calm, relaxed and ultimately happier in general. This picture is a kitchen that says to me "I'm simple but rich in experience and detail, I may not be showy but I am efficient, relaxed, easy going. I can handle hustle and bustle of rush time or I can sit back with a warm cup of joe." I like that in a kitchen. I also like those qualities in life.

Our days have gone like this: (not so simple and relaxed)
During the week Bobby is at work and most days comes to the house to work after that as well as some side work. Our weekends are always at the house working.
My day looks like this......
7am~ wake up, feed the kids, get dressed, change over some laundry, take out the trash, pack lunch, fill water containers
9am~go to Home Depot, bank, pay a few bills, swing by McDonald's for a Caramel Iced Coffee, go to 'the property' (that is still what the kids call it)
10am~work on tile, prime, paint, rethink and plan on kitchen layout because I'm never satisfied with it, referee the girls, check up on the girls because they are curiously quiet, make time for tic tac toe, listen to LadyBug's newest book-now second grade level :0), throw LuLu up in the air until my arms feel like they are going to break, talk about colors and sing the alphabet song.
12:30~ eat a sandwich, some carrot sticks, a V8, a Powerade
12:45~get back to work, being a referee, scrape the tile down again because I made a huge mess with the adhesive, reinstall the corner caddy thingy that LuLu used as a step before the adhesive dried. Scrape off the adhesive that LuLu iced the tile with while I was gone to cut a trim piece.
5pm~ eat a few Fig Newtons, drink another Powerade, get back to work. Check out LadyBug's newest invention outside in the dirt, push LuLu around on the bike.
7pm~ go home
8pm~ bathe the girls, cook and eat dinner, clean up, put the girls to bed
10:30pm~shower
11:30pm~sleep, glorious sleep

This is the color LadyBug picked for her room. Orange Slice by Glidden, we used Behr paint. The ceiling is about 2 shades lighter. Far from the previous description of relaxing simplicity, but you are only a child once. LuLu's color is Pink Peony also a Glidden color. I will post some pics of it soon. It is dusty pink with a lilac undertone.




With the help of my little sister I have been tiling my master bath shower. The opening you see here will be a solid piece of tempered glass. I finished laying he tile and cleaned it up for grout yesterday. As soon as it is grouted I'll post the pictures. I'll have to get a better picture. You can't see it here but a rain can is in the center of the shower ceiling and a handheld is on the wall. The clawfoot will sit right in front of that.

My two little sweet girls get as dirty as humanly possible every single day that we are there! But again, you are only a child once.