What I did over summer vacation...

Well, this is not a before and after post because we do not have an "after" shot yet! But, this is what I did over my summer vacation! This is our master bedroom from the real estate listing. Notice the BLUE grasscloth! I have been painting this grasscloth a lovely ivory color ALL WEEKEND LONG! At least 4 coats! And, to put salt in the wound...we were supposed to be in Bonita Springs, Florida this weekend on a FAB vacation! We canceled the trip because we had to be here getting the house ready! SO, this pic is LITERALLY what I did on my summer vacation!!

I took down the "high-water" curtains, ripped out the carpet, and the fan/globe light is going down ASAP! We are so excited about the house, and all of the work is going to be so worth it when we are settled in! Stay tuned!

One More...

Good Morning! And Happy Monday! I am in a particularly good humor this morning since my boy slept until 7AM!! Yea! He was exhausted from his big weekend at the lake. We decided to get a good dose of the lake because we will be tied up with the house and the move for the next few weeks! And then somebody HAS A BIRTHDAY! A FIRST BIRTHDAY! So we spent the weekend cruisin' and floating in the water- Anything to beat the heat! Here is my little skipper at the helm of the party barge!



This nice boat is Chuck and Vicki's! We are so glad that they invite us to ride with them! The boat is appropriately named- "One More" - a lake mantra!

I would have loved to stay one more night! This is going to be quite a week- with kids, meetings, packing and getting the keys to the new house!! I have already packed quite a bit- but I still have tons to do around here! SO, I'll be back when I can- hopefully with lots to report!! Have a good week!

Friday Lagniappe

Well, Friday has rolled around again! And I have a few random thoughts to share before we get the weekend started...

1. Why is there a Port-A- Potty in the yard at my new house? Well, It is not my house yet, but we get possession next week. There is an auction at the house on Saturday, and I suspect that they plan on making the bathrooms off limits. But Don and I were laughing that we hope it doesn't mean that none of the toilets in the house work! Can you see me running out to the Port-A-Potty in the middle of the night with a flash light? P.S. We have a few projects to do in the new house- one of which is to change some of the outside lighting. You can see a couple of the fixtures that we are going to change on the side of the garage.



2. Here is John Stephen doing his favorite thing- standing up at the front door. I lock all doors now after our little trailer tumble! I am disturbed about his sleeping patterns lately. Is it normal for him to wake up at 5:30 AM ?? He has been going down at 6:30 PM- sometimes I can push him to 7:00. And, about 2 or 3 nights a week he wakes up crying in the middle of the night and won't go back to sleep without a bottle. He takes 2 naps a day, and is generally happy and easy except when he is tired or hungry. So, can I really complain? The thing is that I am not a morning person- never have been! Last night I tried to go to bed at 8:30- if you can't beat'm, join'm! I have tried to think positively about the 5:30 wake up call- maybe I could get all of the housework done before 8:00? Maybe I could watch the sunrise, have a quiet time, sip a cup of coffee, get a few loads of laundry out of the way, but none of these things have happened yet. Basically, I just stomp around in my nightgown feeling sorry for myself until I get a diet coke and GMA comes on. It is something for me to work on- I am going to TRY to be a MORNING PERSON!

3.Yesterday, we went to LR to pick up a mattress that my Mom graciously offered us! Thanks Mom! It was comical to see me and Don loading up a King size mattress together, and we just prayed that it wouldn't fly out on the busiest street in town! But, it didn't budge, and we made it home easy breezy! I need to give a product endorsement for the mattress bags at UHaul. They make them for all size mattresses, and if you are moving one in a Pick up Truck they are a must! We actually were able to sort of drag the mattress out to the truck since it was protected by the bag, and I didn't have to worry that the dirt in the bed of the truck was going to get on the mattress!

4. Have you discovered the beauty of pre made pizza crusts? I had tried them and dismissed them a long time ago, but I was DOING it WRONG! You do not use pizza sauce from a jar- use fresh tomatoes or stewed tomatoes if they aren't in season. And you have to brush the crust with olive oil first! Then add basil, S&P, Mozzarella, Feta, and we throw on some shrimp. Then pop it in the oven for 10-15 mins! It is DELISH and easy- perfect for days when you are not interested in cooking a big meal and do not want to do take out! This pic is before I added the cheese and shrimp...

5. I've begun packing and thinking like someone who is about to move. Anything I can use up in the pantry is going down. Simple meals or take out will be the norm around here until we get to the new house. I am ready! Don is Ready! We will probably NEVER MOVE AGAIN! In case you were wondering - this will be the 5TH HOUSE IN TWO YEARS!!!!!!!

That's all for this Friday! I'll be back soon- have a good weekend!

Blink and It's Over!

Well, Pax and Sydney went back to their Mom's yesterday- Two weeks flew by! Do you ever wonder how we got so busy? Sydney and I did not cook anything, and we never went to the swimming pool! But, she did take tennis lessons every morning! I think she had fun, and I lived vicariously through her because I think tennis players are cool!


Baseball is officially over for the season, and we are already talking about football at our house!

SO if you are wondering what we did for the last two weeks, let me tell you! We went to the lake for a good long weekend- this involved 4000 trips to WalMart, 2000 hours of food preparation, and 5000 hours of packing and laundry! Don said that we couldn't fit another cotton ball in our car when we left on Friday! So really 4 days at the lake kills 3 days at home preparing- it does! Then we spent a lot of time in the backyard, and we went to a nice party at my Dad's house and spent the day with family. And then it was time to pack up and send the big kids back to their mom. Blink- it's over!

John Stephen had his first injury while we were staying in the FEMA DREAMA! My little redneck baby fell out of the door of our camper and scraped his nose, lip and chin! Traumatic to say the least! And quite embarrassing to admit to everyone who asks "What happened??" I am considering making up a lie so that I do not have to tell people that he fell out of our trailer!:)

And to satisfy your curiosity...Here she is!! THE FEMA DREAMA!

We haven't had time to landscape yet, but you can see that we are going with a patriotic color scheme!! It is so fun and we are glad that Chuck and Vicki are nice enough to invite us to park on their lot!! Notice the American flags in the dirt. That is the only place soft enough for Sydney to stick them in the ground. Maybe next year I will have potted plants for seasonal decor!! OK, gotta go- John Stephen is PITCHING A FIT!