Monday Update:

Since my mom moved up at the beginning of August,  I (we) have been making major headway in all the projects I have lined up around the house but didn’t have the guts or the know how to complete on my own.

We now have a header in the bedroom and I also switched out some photographs for these great mirrors I found.

I painted the half bath from a poop brown to a high gloss beige, boring right. BUT then I had the idea to wallpaper the ceiling and my mom was kind enough to implement said idea and voila major impact! Plus I utilized a painting that I couldn’t find a home for from my mother in law that adds some class to an otherwise unclassy room.



Poop brown-fitting I suppose



Not poop brown- but sorta meh



And then BAM!



and then smack you with some class



On to the dining room: I had this photo from Sara’s House as inspiration; I like the idea of mixing patterns and being fun in the dining room instead of so stuffy and traditional. I had looked at many wallpaper books and wavered back and forth in ideas. I initially wanted to do grass cloth wallpaper but the sticker shock steered me clear of that thought. I found this wallpaper which is perfect, it has the teal that I love and a punch of coral and although it is formal it is still very high energy. I am still searching for the right fabric to use on my chair seats and my mom is still working on the settee that will go in here but for now I am very happy with the outcome of the dining room.

Some other household items that I can check off my wish list is:

The Galileo Thermometer- I gift from my Dad

This great House Rules print- There is a plethora to choose from but I just thought these fit us the best.

The new door in the bonus room: which is repurposed from the dining room. It made no sense to me to close off the kitchen from the dining room with a glass door so we removed it and brought it upstairs to the bonus room. It makes it feel a smidge bigger since there is not this big block of a door anymore.

Fall is here Fall is here and lookie what we made! I love this banner. I got the idea from Pinterset and made a replica. I love it and for under $10 think it makes great impact on the room.

Here is a photo of the front yard décor. I just love what a couple of barrels of straw can add and of course the mums! How can anyone not love this time of year?! We are holding a pumpkin decorating party for the kiddos this year so there will be more decorating and fall fun photos to come!

There was also an addition and subtraction to our family.

Two weeks ago I was out with ,as my husband has dubbed, my spontaneous friend, and we made a quick trip to the SPCA just to see what was there. BIG mistake. Of course I found a friend that needed to be mine and after a few phone calls, a night to think about it and a second ticking by slower than the last class of the last day of school day at work I went back with my son and picked up our new dog, Barley. He is a mini long haired dachshund mix and is just a super chill lovey dog. He gets along great with our other dog Shelby and with a few tiresome nights of potty training and kennel cough behind us we seem to be in the clear.

Sadly, over the weekend we had to say good bye to the best cat ever. Angelo, aka memow left us on Saturday. He was an old man, whose arthritis and weight loss on top of his recent incontinence made it clear that it was time. Which isn’t really that easy right, I mean how do you ever really know that it is time. I called my mom over to the house to get her opinion and after calling the vet and holding back the tears as long as I could I called Matthew over to talk to him. He was in the back yard picking weeds flowers for me, I sat on the deck stairs and asked him to sit with me, he asked if I was crying and when I told him yes, he handed me the flowers and told me they would make me feel better. CRY harder. I told him that his kitty was sick and that I needed to take him to see God. I know he didn’t understand but he sat there quiet with me for a moment. Then I took him inside and as my mom and husband were already surrounding Memow, I sat Matthew in front of him and told him to give kitty big hugs and to soft him, as he says instead of petting. After we had a big group hug with Memow in the middle we left for the vet but not before we gave him as many treats and grass eating time as he wanted. My mom stayed with Matthew and when Mike and I returned Matthew said to me calmly that he didn’t have a kitty and that of course induced more tears. Then about an hour later he came to me and asked if his kitty felt better now. What a sweet little heart he has. We will miss Angelo. He was my first pet as an adult, he went through college, and many moves with me. He was my first baby and I hope that he knows what a blessing he was to us.

Labor Day and laziness

It is already September and this weekend is Labor day weekend which I have been told and have recently come to realize myself is one of those wake-up wholly crap where did the year go new year’s resolutions check time to rev up for the holidays and let go of the summer.

I have to say, my old boss Ken, once told me that as you get older the years go by faster. At the time I was in my late teens I didn’t feel but now I can surely feel that time is slipping fast. I don’t know what I used to do to occupy my time. Long gone are the lazy Saturdays and lounge all day maybe get dressed Sundays. Sleeping past 7am is a distant memory. Getting ready to go out with friends after 10 pm seems like a false reality. The way things are now is up and at’em when Matthew rises about 6:30-7:30 depending on if he thinks he has school or not. Weekdays are a blur with school, work, chores, and gym. The everyday mundane things that seem insurmountable at any given time but are really nothing to noteworthy when looking back at them. I can’t imagine life without Matthew, really, it is hard to recall what we did and what life was like before he was around only three and half years ago. I must have watched a lot of TV. And even though I am tired now I recall being lethargic then, like I was too overwhelmed to take anything else on, WTF was I thinking? I feel like superwoman sometimes with the amount of things that are on my plate and growing as Matthew does. He is getting ready to start a soccer league at the end of the month, SOCCER people, I still want to rock and nurse him and he is going to be on a team with other mother’s babies who I am sure are having the same ohmgee feelings.

Regardless I just wanted to post that indeed time flies. It is September and there only three months left in 2011. Have you done what you set out to accomplish this year?

I have given up on the drink cheaper coffee resolution as I prefer to spend my money on Starbucks then drink the work pot swill that is offered. I have however cut back on the amount of times I go and cut back on the caloric intake of which I order. That goes with my resolution to have shake weight arms. I still enjoy baking over cooking but at least I am giving it a try, when there is time of course. As far as keeping plants alive, well, I have replaced two dead ones but have kept many alive. And for this I am thankful. I have been more cognizant of my actions and thoughts and have been more aware of what I have rather than that of which I don’t in my goal to be more thankful for what I have.

Also this year, my mom and grammy moved closer which is fantastic. A big goal crossed of the list. I completed another 5k in record time for me. I took a few more classes towards completing my MBA. I threw one of my besties a baby shower and can’t wait to meet the bundle of joy in a month! I have tried, tried, tried again to give Matthew a sibling and will continue to do so, knowing that everything happens for a reason and that His timing doesn’t always match your timing. Another wise boss of mine told me to aim for happy instead of aiming for a different job. Just aim for happy. So today that is what I shall do.

A day in a life

 So this is a week or so late but here is a Sunday in my life about two weeks ago.

Matthew per usual, gets up Super early on the weekends, like in the 6 o'clock hour and runs in our room, jumps in our bed and wiggles around for a little bit until I get restless and we get up.

Since I am trying to cut the Starbucks drive thru I decided to try Via mocha which isn't too bad

Matthew is already wired, drawing pictures and pouncing around. (please disregard unspeakables)

For breakfast we decide on milkshakes. Really they are protein shakes but Matthew doesn't need to know that. Something I wish I would have know is that 5 minutes later, the entire cup of peanut butter, milk and protein powder was spilled on my sofa.

Its only been a half hour.

 I decide its time to stop neglecting my toes

Then I played with some fabric for my master bedroom drapes

Caught Matthew in his undies reading some books- how cute is he

I decided to go wake up my mom about 9:30 Sunday morning

We made pancakes for grammy and great grammy and watched some tv

Off to the grocery store about 11 ish

We also went to Lowes and dropped of some items at the Goodwill but alas I did not photograph those mindblowing tasks. We got pancake mix while at the grocery store and Matthew requested a 'pampake" for lunch too, I oblige but he didn't take one bite, instead he napped!!!!

Which gave me a chance to play with the paint chips I picked up at Lowes for a mini art project which went nowhere fast

I turned around to see the clump of fabric that will one day be the piano seat bench cover

I did manage to snag some more seashells from my moms house and made this vase, that I sell through Blessings Direct, a little more me with the added rocks and shells

Matthew never fell asleep. Daddy tried to take him swimming but it started lightning so no swimming just yet.

Its about 6pm and I have a little time to finish my paper for grad school while Mike finally does get Matthew in the pool. I just finished this class, A! 4.0 baby!!

Matthew was gifted with (2)  13 gallon trash bags full of Legos! I am more excited than he is but I bet once Uncle Al comes to visit he will understand the glory that is Legos

9ish and I start to iron, mostly Mikes clothes, for the week

One last glance at my freshly painted toes and Im off to nighty night

This are Matthews eyes staring at Grammy's car pulling into the drive way after the trek of moving from Florida. He was so happy to see her pull in

Didn't even let her get out of the car before he ran up for his huggs!

I was a little late sharing these but since the move its been a little hectic... in a good way though.

Very happy to have my mom and grandma close by, safe and unpacked. Another big thank you to Aaron and Ryan and of course my husband for helping out so much and to everyone else who was there to pitch in.

Lots of Love

Reading with his TAG junior that pop pop got him, gearing up for his visit in a few weeks!

For our special day, Mike and I got take out from PF Changs YUM and Matthew got to stand under a horse

Before of Matthews room. We needed to take down the shelves because the were hanging on by a thread.

I have been seeing decor with maps lately and thought it would be a great idea for his room!

He likes it too!

Then Matthew turned the camera on us--- 14 years together!

Morning of THOMAS! He packed his backpack to the hilt with Thomas trains

There is a better photo with Thomas on my facebook page, they were rushing us off the stage.

He made off with an umbrella and a Thomas cup.... he had a great day and I am happy to help provide that smile!