Day #18 Plans, Dreams, Goals

Plans:  Eat a lot of Chinese food.  Read a lot of books.  Love a lot of people.  Do a little good.  Be a great Momma.  Be an excellent wife.  Fight to the finish.

Dreams:  Getting a good nights sleep.  Eating food that is magically devoid of calories.  Learning to play the violin or the piano.  Writing something.  Taking a hot bath.  Reading a book that makes me laugh and cry.  Amazing vacations.  Abs and triceps.  Homeschooling.

Goals:  Finishing the yard.  Journaling.  Scripture reading.  Cleaning the kitchen counter.  Making my bedroom into an oasis.

Day #4

A Habit I Wish I Didn't Have.......

I'm sure I've spoken of it before, but he actual diagnosis is Horizontal Stacking Disorder with a side of Cleaning Imposed Attention Deficit.....
I love clean counter tops with a bowl of fruit and vintage canisters, but I don't have them.  I love a clean and stylish night stand with a mod lamp and my cool jewelry stand, but I don't have one.  I adore a clean dresser top with a picture of my Nuggets, but I don't have that either. 
Instead I have counter tops covered with homework and tons of little kid art and recipes.  My night stand is covered in scriptures, a dictionary, a mammoth load of books.  And my dresser is covered in Max's movies and loose change.
In theory I can clean all of those things but going from beginning to end is exhausting.  I get so sidetracked by wanting to put EVERYTHING away at one time that it gets nutty. I run from room to room and in every room find something new to clean. 
So I just live with the bad habit.

Pittsburgh Is Code For BORED!

        When left to my own devices.....no internet, no TV, no newspapers...I crumbled.  Superman was in Pittsburgh for one week and I couldn't take the stress of being left alone with my own thoughts.  I took up a shameful crime...er crafting spree.                                                                     

Exhibit A) Wreath

B) Riley's unfortunate jewelry box

C) One of two free lamps that got in my way....plus my cute little jewelry plate that Superman mocks.

D) Little flowers and old pictures.....awe:)

E) The bench and it's accompanying cushion


I also massacred a pillowcase dress, another wreath, a flowered headband, two chairs, and a body pillow with covers for Ri's bed....but since my crafting and picture taking are about equal in negativity, the pictures didn't  make it.

I Can Do That

I have recently come down with the serious 'I can do that' virus.  I would show you all of my recent endeavors except I am too lazy I am too busy to take pictures and then download them.  It would help me if all of you would assume that I made something at least as lovely as the picture above.
My sweet baby sister is getting married in nary a month.  It has spurred me to begin stalking the blogs of many a creative woman.  I have found that with a good amount of E-6000 not only can you stick any two objects together......the fresh scent of rubber and solvent will musk up your home.  Nothing can say 'I'm crafty' any louder than that.
Recently I have permanently glued affixed various plates and candle sticks to make some lovely platters with varied heights.  My most very favoritest one is a robins egg blue plate stuck to a rusty metal fleur-de-leis.  I had such feelings of pride.  I felt like this piece really set off my love nest.  Topped with my most choice pieces of silver jewelry it became a fantastically handly place to chuck my earings/necklaces when removed.  I fairly beamed with unremitted pride.  Ah, as we all know pride comes quite heavily before the fall.  As I lay propped on my bed of flannel down stuffed silk, waiting for my beloved to kiss me good night......he walked by, took one look at my materpiece and snickered.....rather, snorted and refused to make eye contact.  When I asked WHAT could possibly make him laugh seeing as how I had not uttered a word, he said nothing.  But I saw his eyes wander back to my awe inspired piece of art.  I knew he was laughing at it.  I persisted to know what was so funny.  Finally, with damp eyes, he admitted that he thought that the stunning jewelry tray I had made, was infact quite handsome.  He continued though, with......"It's so nice but it's kind of silly to have it in here.  It's on an old dresser and look at your stacks of books everywhere.  That piece is too nice for this room."
Ha, well I take that as a challenge.  I shall make my room deserving of my astounding works of glass and epoxy!!!! Bahahah!

Basement Bathroom

Yippee!  The basement bathroom is FINALLY finished.  We waited forever for the plumber to come back and set the toilet. He forgot about us.
I was a little scared about the color of the walls but I was committed not to change it.  Mr. Paint at Spectrum agreed to change the color name from lime green to apple green when I said I wasn't buying anything with lime in the name.  Way to go Mr. Paint.....we made the right choice.  I like it so much I wish it were my bathroom.

Ready For Paint........

The Family Room............known to me as the Queen's Quarters..........I found this great gigantic semi reclining chair/bed at RC Willies..........in zebra print. I plan to lie back on that with a roaring fire, plasma screen, surround sound a full season of The Office and a fountain Coke.....maybe some rice noodles. The children can attend me with paper fans and witty cracks. I will not raise my booty for a whole Saturday.............ya right.

War territory........library or Jack's private farm land? If I have a library downstairs then I will not feel compelled to go out and buy all new hard wood, matching book shelves. If I have to move the library upstairs where.........gasp ANY old Joe could see it, well then we all know what I must do.............matching dark wood shelves with moulding, alphabetize the books by genre.......

Okay I would do the alphabetizing anyway.

The paint in most of the basement will match the upstairs. I know........all that wall and not a drop of creativity spent. It's a shame really. I might go a little nuts on the bathroom and not do light brown. We contemplated teal for Ri's room but decided to go with unoriginal...........then we can change the bedding and decor every year.........Yippie.

Basement

Yay basement! The plan was to put the girls in one big bedroom and keep the boys upstairs in the biggest bedroom..........but now everyone wants their own room. I am trying to figure out how to do what they want and still have a library. Library..........that's what really counts. Looking from Riley's bedroom through her closet into the front bedroom/library, or as Jack considers it, his room.

Bathroom.......

Riley and Mad's room with sheetrock. The saw might stay if the girls show an interest in wood work.

From the hall into the family room. Yippee! I can't wait for the fireplace and flat screen.

The guys we hired are working so fast! Today they are already taping and texturing. I have to go pick out carpet and paint and get the girl's bedding............and convince Jack that I need a library more than he needs a bedroom in the basement.

Rabbit Hole or Electric Lime Palace

Coppa calls all of the kiddies rabbits..........so this is the rabbit hole. The kids have their own little play place under the basement stairs........gratis Coppa and Daddy. They even have their very own mini doorway/secret entrance.

Max had to get some rolling in himself so that he is allowed to play inside. Service hours are required to gain entry. I wonder if keeping Max away will count towards my hours?

Ri, Jack and Mad agreed on the color......Electric Lime for those of you salivating to copy. By the end the floor was even covered in paint. I kind of stopped paying strict attention to Max and he wandered down and walked through the wet floor paint. If you look carefully you can see mini paw prints in the paint. It's the best part of the whole room.

The storage room is now finished with custom shelving! But it's holding everything from other parts of the basement that we can't put away yet. Someday it will be filled with enough food to usher me into the last days:)

The family room is framed Yippee!

The girl's room is being framed right now........I have a picture in my head of what it will look like, now we just have to see what I can find to make it look that way.

I can't wait for the basement to be finished. I am shaking from withdrawl........I haven't had my own books for almost a year and a half. If I'm lucky I will have a library. I will burn my scrapbooking stuff in order to make room if I have to.

Kirby Disturbia or Deal or No Deal

Meet Kirby.......he's my new Kirby. If you haven't had the pleasure, something akin to the fruit on the tree of life, of a Kirby demonstration..........let me put out a warning: DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR TO THE WOLF ON THE OTHER SIDE. MAY CAUSE MARITAL DISCORD.

So here's a bit of free marital counseling and some knowledge to tuck into your gray matter until you need it.
My new best friend Fabio (his real name was very similar!!!) knocks on my door in the middle of the freezing winter day. Thinking it was the neighbor, Mads rushes the door (in a cheerleader outfit) and we throw it open. Side note on how I look: College hoodie, pony, no makeup, no shoes, jeans (expensive ones), baby attached to my torso.........baby's hair looks like the origingal Charlie from Charlie and he Chocolate Factory.

Fabe shoves a spray bottle of cleaner at me and begs me to let him in so he can earn $50 by giving me a demo, whether I buy or not. Then he dashes from the house to get 'The Kirby'. He comes back with his supervisor........ Before I know what is happening the super ditches Fabe out here in the country and takes off, leaving the boy and the vacuum.
I am treated to the luxury of watching Fabe vacuum my brand new carpet with a dust meter and black and white filters. He sucks up a lot of contractor dirt!! Not really surprised.
He pours baking soda into the BRAND NEW carpet and nearly makes himself vomit from the dust (kind of funny, kind of gross). Then he rubs it in so you can't see the white mound that he just poured out (ouch). I vacuum with my $100 Hoover (not the badger kind). Of course I know that I didn't get it all even though it looks like it. The 20 black filters show that sure enough, there was still baking soda in the carpet.
Next Fabe and I travel to 'the sanctuary'. He tells me that my mattress has doubled in weight from skin cells, dust mites and dust mite poop. I cringe. Fabe vacuums. Sure enough, the old dust meeter shows oodles of dead skin and what I can only assume is dust mite and their spoor. He asks if I don't sleep well unless I change my sheets. I say, even if I lived in a lavender field, I still wouldn't get a full nights sleep. Fabe says that's because I can't breath from all of the dust mites. I know it is because I sleep with an infant.
As we vacuum, we commiserate. Fabe can't believe I have been married for 13 years I am the mama of four young uns. He uses flattery..........Satan's flattery. I know I am being duped but I let him tell me I have a great body for a mommy and that I only look 25. I ask him how much Kirby school it took to teach him what to say to suspicious housewives. He says none.
Fabe thinks he's got me hooked. He calls his supervisor to tell him to come back and strike a deal with me. While we wait, he shows me the carpet cleaner, which also turns into a blower, a dog groomer, a paint sprayer, an Electrolux range, a life preserver, a can opener, a floor sander, a snow plow, a pack mule, a hang glider, and a pocket fisherman.
Supervisor shows up and this is were Fabe puts on a slinky dress. Time for Deal or No Deal. I choose from a variety of money cases............oooh I hope I chose the lowest!! Super hands me the cost break down. I nearly excrete yesterday's breakfast in my cute jeans and shout it at the same time. I say there isn't a chance on earth I'll pay close to $3,000 for a vacuum, I'm saving for two perky boobs.
Super says he'll cut me the wife alone deal and give me the carpet/upholstery cleaner for free. For those of you counting that's about $300 bucks. I say..........negative. He says he'll give me a child discount because he can see that I take my job seriously and kids obviously make messes faster than even Superman can clean them up. That's $100 per child. He thinks I only have 2. I ask him the most children he has ever given a discount for. He refuses to answer. I press. He brings up the fact that I belong to a religion that values children. I say that has nothing to do with the number of kids I have............but I do have more than 2. He thinks I am lying for the discount. I say, if I were going to lie, I'd have more than 4 kids, I'd have 13. He still thinks I am lying.
He calls the mysterious man on the phone. The Man says if I pay cash I can have a 5% discount. That's less than $200. I try to tell him my brother-in-law would have sold me one for $1200. He laughs. We go back to Deal or No Deal. Since Fabe and the Super and I all care for each other............3 hours of bonding does that to people, I want Fabe to get his commission but I don't want to pay for the vacuum. I say how about $1800 even, free supplies for a year, free carpet cleaner, and Super covers the tax, plus the 5% pay cash discount. Super looks pained (I think it's a put on). Fabe glitters in his slinky dress. Super puts in a call to The Man, he turns it on speaker phone accidentally (right). The Man doesn't want to cut the deal but Super pushes because I am a wicked bargainer (wink, wink). Super asks Fabe if he is willing to take a commission cut just for me. Fabe bristles and glitters. I think about his 3 year old and the failing economy in Oregon. I want Fabe to get his cash. If he makes the sale fast enough he gets a $50 bonus. We agree. We shake. I tell them not to trust my handshake because I am no gentleman. They laugh. I mean it. I sign my Yankees check and grudgingly hand it over.
Super takes off with the check and leaves Fabe stranded again. Fabe has to familiarize me with my new purchase.
Now that the glittery dress is off and he is back to his missionary look and argyle socks, we can sit on the floor and get to know Kirby. I learn how to do all of the attachments and make sure the belt is secure. I get quizzed. I do well. I invite Fabe to my next girl's night. He accepts. I invite him to live with me. He accepts. Super still hasn't come back for his sales boy.
Super comes back and assures me I got the deal of the day. I take a blood oath not to tell anyone the price I paid for the vacuum. I ask if that is so I won't find out how badly I was taken for. Super laughs.........of course not. I got a great deal, he just can't do that for everybody.
The day has passed without my knowing. I accidentally leave the kids at school. I call Jodi to see if she can save the kids from passing bandits and bring them to me. She does. Having been held captive for the better part of the day I now have the psychological syndrome where I side with my captors. I try to sell a Kirby to Jodi so I'm not the only one that makes an eighteen hundred dollar mistake that day. Jodi knows better. She says no, but she is glad to hear Fabe is coming to the purse party I'm planning.
Later that evening..................Jason sees clues to my Kirby affair; the left over filters Max stole, the Kirby owners manual, the free Kirby citrus cleaner. "What's all the Kirby stuff for? You didn't buy a Kirby did you?" My guilt spills forth in a hysterical laugh. Jason can't tell if the thought is so ridiculous that I laughed or if the laugh is the chuckle of guilt. The kids rat me out and tell him how much I spent. He becomes very quiet. He stops moving. This is how I can tell he is unhappy. He chats to me like a girlfriend and moves constantly on normal days. But not the day I bought the Kirby. At bed time he shuts the door to our room. He has no romantic interest in me, he wants to discuss Kirby alone. Soon I find out how much it costs me per minute to vacuum, how many bullets he must dodge to pay for Kirby, how many vacuums I could buy instead, the hours he could have been spending at home instead of at job #6, the next vacation to Disneyland just magically turned into a Kirby. I cry with shame. He is so right.
Soon all of the cancellation paperwork is filled out in quadruplicate and my name is signed on all of it. Jason is calling Michigan police to see if these people even have a business license. He comes up with a plan to pull them over and give Kirby back.
Soon Super has returned to our house. No Fabe. It's down and dirty now. Super tells Jason he knows that because of his 6 jobs, he may not want to spend that kind of time and money on Kirby so he will cut him a better deal..............even though I am a great bargainer. We play good cop/bad cop. I am the bad cop, the really bad cop. Super looks pained. He says he doesn't want to cause a divorce. He gets The Man on the phone again and explains that we want to return the vacuum. The Man is not happy, he offers a better deal. I say no. I am not happy about being swindled in the first place. Jason concedes that Kirby is a good vacuum and the new style has a hot shade of orange he knows I will appreciate. I still say no. The Yankee checks come out again. I refuse to sign one. Super gives us a deal but explains that Fabe is SOL and so is he. He can't even take his wife to dinner now. (If he even has one). Jason signs the check. Kirby stays. Super gets in his SUV with my old Hoover and scuttles off to swindle another day.

Room with a View

Here are some pictures of the house. I am not adept at finding a corner and getting the whole room in a shot so most of the rooms you will only see half of them. Also............I didn't stage the rooms at all, I know, lazy. This is the back half of the formal living room. It's our little country Christmas tree with hand made ornaments and dried oranges. When the tree leaves.........the piano moves in.

The hall bath.....the color is 'mine shaft'. I really like how it turned out with the deep color and silver accents. of course you can't see the bath tub with all of the tile or the awesome door.

My laundry in use within moments of moving in. This is the color I no longer really want to paint Riley's room. I do like it though.

Okay, I had no idea how to take a picture of this room. The bed is huge but I wanted a picture of the door because I love our door. Jason worked his tail off staining, sanding and sealing all of the doors in the house.

My closet!! Yippee. You hang a left in there to get to Jason's clothes. There is also a dresser in there that you can't see. I think I have just enough room for a shopping spree.

The bath tub. I am in love. It is so big I ALMOST can't lay back and read. That would have been tragic. Tiling, gratis Jason.

Part of Jack's room. You can tell they make their own beds. I don't have military standards as long as the bed is made, so you could only bounce a coin if you threw it really hard. I haven't taught them hospital corners yet.

The girl's room which will soon be the boys room when their digs are finished in the basement. Since they will be moving AGAIN we have not decorated. The princess bed is left over from Mads, she just graduated to the big girl bed. I am hoping Max won 't notice Cinderella and sleep in the toddler bed.

The great room, the kids are kicked back after Riley's birthday party watching 'The Grinch'.

The dining room. This is one of the things I like best about this house.........the eating area isn't next to the kitchen and between the family room, it is behind the kitchen, bumped out the back.

Hmm, small picture but Ididn't want to start all over. The kitchen. I love it. Can you believe I thought I would hate it? I almost sold the whole house over this room. Next to the fridge is another wall of cabinets. The door to the left is the mud room which should be about 3 feet farther to the left.........but whose measuring?

Journey Through the Wilderness Comes to an End in the Promise Land

I know..........you are surprised to see that we have already put in grass and shrubs! But as we all know you should 'bloom where you are planted'. So we have tried.
Just kidding..........we don't have grass yet and I hate to admit but we actually do have an old tire in the front of our yard. At least it isn't on the roof.
All of our belongings are in our new house although we have days of unpacking ahead. I feel fairly accomplished though as I have 4 gallons of milk, dry cereal, I have slept in my bed which is completely made and I can find my underwear. To be honest that is about how I was living before.........except sometimes my bed wasn't made.
I am truly excited and grateful and I feel like I can finally breath again. Here's a shout out to everyone that helped! Thanks for all of the projects, helping us move, watching kids, bringing sustenance. I am in love with my kitchen and bathroom and I would marry them but it is illegal in many ways. I also can't get enough of my laudry room! It is a wicked awesom shade of teal. Ri wanted it for her bedroom but we did an 'experiment' in the laundry room. Our theory that the shade we chose was only for laundry rooms turned out to be scientifically proven. It is crisp and clean but not what I had imagined for the girls. It goes great with white appliances. Now lest I am caught doddering about and not unpacking.........I have to make myself useful.

Closing Date Approaches.....and Will Pass

Doesn't that title up above just remind you of something the local newspaper would use? And then the only thing on the page would be say a barbed wire fence. Neither one having to do with the other?

Swell pic of the railing, which I love. It is one of the things that actually turned out the way it was planned. Jason and my dad stained and sealed the wood and our builder had it up in no time!

Our closing date of Oct. 1st speedily approaches. It will also pass unmarked by our move. The house is progressing quickly, but not quick enough to meet said deadline. The bank gave us a 90 day extension gratis. Thank you bank.........considering our rocky beginning and the fact that you are a puke bucket of a bank sometimes.
The front of the house.................still needs rain drains, lights, garage doors, front door stained and railing.

Here is a shot from the hallway towards the great room. Jason, my dad, and our neighbor-in-law Mike worked their bootays off for days tiling more than 1,000 square feet.

Kitchen sans cabinetry, another reason to delay closing. The cabinets were scheduled to go in yesterday. As you can see............they have not appeared.

Goody, goody, gumdrop update!! Our basement windows are in. No more flooding basement! Okay at least the flooding will be contained to near the back door and laundry room.

Right now we are (Again when I say we, I mean Jason. I lend emotional support by staying away.) painting the hall bathroom, staining the interior doors and sealing them and repainting some of the closet doors that were supposed to remain white, but put their lives at perilous risk by throwing themselves infront of the gaping closets and hinging themselves to the door frames, only to save the unsuspecting closets from a good coat of paint. Their reward for death defying action is ANOTHER coat of paint. Sometime this week, probably as Pres. Monson admonishes us to raise the bar.......... Jason will be grouting the whole house.

Despite the 90 day extension, Jason predicts that we will be in the house by the 3rd week of October. For those of you familiar with his optimistic time estimations you can just double that...which I believe would put us closer to my estimation of mid/late November.

If Walls Could Talk...........

If our walls could talk they would say all they hear is the lowing of cattle, crickets chirpping and the pitter patter of neighborhood dogs breaking in and peeing on the floor............... The siding went up in no time at all. Now we are waiting for stucco and rock. Our garage floor has been poured and the drive way. Next comes the back steps and front porch.

Before walls....................... the kiddos in the doorway of the master bedroom.

Daddoo and Max check out the shower in the master bath.

The monster in my closet.

Kitchen witches

(Sorry about the raindrops on the lense!!!)

The house is moving quickly but the builder says it will still be months :(

Happy Halloween?

Shingles and Windows and Bears Oh My!

shin·gles

/ˈʃɪŋgəlz/
–noun
a disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus, esp. by reactivated virus in an older person, characterized by skin eruptions and pain along the course of involved sensory nerves.

WHAT??? I don't know what I have been dying to get shingles for. Never the less, here they are in all of their glory. There are also windows Yippee. Inside there is a heater and little blue electrical outlet boxes.

This pales in comparison to the fact that I am only 45 seconds away from Walmart. I am not sure which is the better option. Milk and diapers a dash away or a place to unpack 3,000 square feet of boxes now housed in 600 square feet. Yeah, your right............. Walmart is an amentiy that a young mother can't do without. I am glad to have that blessing.

Progress

House update!! We have wood on the roof. Who knew how exciting that could be? Also, I drove by yesterday and there are shingles stacked on the top of the roof, just waiting for someone to be bright enough to shovel the remaining snow off. That would be silly though, considering mother nature can melt it off in a few weeks.

Our house is a very very very fine house

Our recent endeavor--- OUR HOUSE. Oh the excitement. This picture was taken in November so we have some walls now. I can't wait to have a garage again. The snow has been a trial with four kids and house to street snow and mud. To Jack that is heaven but to me it is non-stop ugly floors.

The house is slated to be finished this year and that is the best guess I have.