Kids Christmas Decorations

 

The above decorations are for and by my children. They really like to move things around and put their stamp on their surroundings. Wonder where they get that from? Anyway, I am trying to keep track of everything and I think blogging is an excellent way to preserve memories. My brain isn't holding up too well. I went to the grocery store this morning and as I was checking out, gleefully watching the total tick down from my coupons and store card, I discovered that I did not have my wallet. I didn't even have the kids with me... In my defense, my baby boy kept me up all night sniffling and snorting. So pitiful. Bless his little heart.

The kids tree is crammed full of ornaments they have made and things that I have bought that reminds me of them. Each tree also has picture ornaments of them too, hence the need for a bigger kid tree. More kids=bigger tree. I really am a sentimental dork and this Christmas has really shown me just how dorky. Last year, I was so emotional because I wanted a baby so badly and this year its because I love him so much. I know all my friends would probably enjoy visiting with me without me turning into a blubbering mess. Sorry guys!

This will wrap up my series on Christmas decorating (kidding). See you next year.

christmas 2010

 

My family is so blessed! In 2009,we prayed and prayed for a new baby. We found out were were expecting right after Christmas last year. Fast forward (which my life seems to have permantely stuck in) to this year, we have another little boy to celebrate with. Drew is such a beautiful sweet little bundle. He is not feeling very well, he has a case of the sniffles. His big brother John, on the other hand, has the flu. He is being such a trooper, but he is the "worst sick you can get." Even sick, he has to compete. Sam and Jack are feeling o.k, praise the Lord.
This Christmas is kicking me in the teeth, though. I truly do not like leaving my house anymore, the whole day is gone by the time I get back. My ability to nurse discreetly in public has diminished, so I really don't want to go anywhere. By the by, if you are male and you happen to "accidently" see a woman trying to console a screaming infant in the confines of a dark resturant booth by nursing it, avert your eyes. Its the polite thing to do, especially if they are trying valiantly to cover themselves.
Back to the Christmas teeth kicking I am experiencing... I am really feeling super stressed, this is not from God! It should be such a joyous time celebrating the birth of our Saviour. I have a new favorite song to help remind me, its 'How Many Kings'by Down Here. I am brought to tears almost every time I hear it. Thank you God for sending your Son to die for my sins.
My husband shared an amazing parable that he heard on the radio.
A man and his family attended church regularly. As they were getting ready to attend the Christmas service, he couldn't bring himself to go,so he told his wife to take the kids without him. He was just going through the motions and he felt like a hypocrite. He had heard the story of Jesus's birth plenty of times and he just did not get it. So as he sat at home all alone, looking out the window at the freezing cold day, he noticed some birds. The birds were trying to find shelter from the weather and they kept flying into his plate glass window. After hitting the window, they would wander around aimlessly and disoriented. He knew if he didn't do something they would freeze to death trying to make their way. He rushed outside to try to help the birds. He tried several different ways to direct them into his nice warm barn, to no avail. For all his efforts, he could't make them go to where they needed to go. Finally, he thought if only I could only become a bird and show them the way. At that moment, he understood. God sent his Son to be a man. Human like one of us. To lead us and to show us the way. So simple and so true. We struggle and struggle trying to make our own way, we get hurt doing so and we just can't seem to get it right. Praise God for his gift to us, Jesus.
I am including some shots of our festive Christmas decorations. I was on a plaid kick this year, very traditional. Plain old christmas green and red. I normally try to go outside of the box with my colors, but shuga lime green and red have become a "fad". Of course, I had succumbed to the fad years back and have tons of lime and green for my kid tree. Next year, I am going to go smaller on my "adult" tree and bigger on the kiddy one. So I am going to hit the sales after Christmas and try to get a bigger fake one. This year I attempted to flock the kid's tree myself. My flocking took forever to dry and has since been leaving a lovely bit of dandruff on the tree skirt. My reasoning in flocking it was so it would look less fake, yes, I even typed this thought. Artificial tree, artificial snow, indoors... Probably should've kept that one to myself.
Any old way, ta da... Christmas at the Malone House. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

applique madness

 

To say that I enjoy making things is an UNDERSTATEMENT. Last week, Sam actually said "I love it when do home made projects it is so much more fun than just buying things" as we were spray painting his store-bought costume gold. I have taught him well, I say the same thing about shopping in thrift stores. The excitement of discovery. Our latest project was making Sam an Ares costume for Greek Day at his school. Every year they have a new theme day that coincides with what they are studying in history. He attends an awesome school. Parental involvement is highly necessary as well. Which is cool, I just am soooo scatter brained these days, its hard for me to keep track of all we have going on. John, my kindergartener, had a bug party last Friday as well. Somebody silly did something with Sam's dragonfly costume so we had to start from scratch almost. He wound up with a very pitiful costume, wings and a mask from Dollar Tree. It reminded me of my childhood. Bless his heart, I told him that he had no choice but to be Ares when he got to the third grade. We will never get rid of another costume. Unfortunately, when I got to the school on Wednesday for Greek Day, the memory card wasn't in my camera, so no photos. I did have it on hand for John's party, but I am so embaressed by the sorry costume I can't bring myself to post it. I really enjoy making costumes, I just need about 6 months to get it done. Not so good on timelines. If I wasn't on a budget that would be a different story. This budget has dampened my creativity and mood big time!
I have gone applique crazy. I have had an embroidery machine for quite some time. I have been appliqueing the fire out of some Wal-mart t-shirts. So no photos of my kids, but the t-shirts are posted. Its nice to see that my priorities are in order. I have got to get on some kind of schedule. Drew is helping me, he is a great sleeper. He even takes decent naps. I don't know what to think about a napper. The other punks cat napped and would not be put down. I do type one handed most of the time, though. There is only so much I can fit in to naptime.
Next on the agenda is Christmas cards...

kissable

 

Couldn't you just bite him? I could-he is such a blessing.

What's old is new

From time to time I become a little dissatisfied with the decor of my home. Especially if I receive a catalog or magazine that features a style so radically different from my own. In an effort to remain content and unstressed, I think it is better just to embrace whatever you've got. For instance, I have a lot of "old" stuff, some antique some just old junk. I have noticed the abundance of painted furniture, mainly gray, in most publications these days. I really love this look, it seems so calming but much more modern. I have said this before, most of my furnishing are tan or brown and very traditional. While I appreciate having nice things I do feel like it can be somewhat of a "mature" look that I have accidentally gotten myself into. I don't particularly want my home to be a revolving door for "stuff",either. I LIKE that my junk has a story even if it is a short one. My bed is a "mahogany" sleigh bed, Andy and I found it, minus the side rails, at this now closed store in Foley called Returns for next to nothing. About six years later, we realized that they sold a similar bed at Big Lots and the rails were sold separately. Now the bed is complete. The Devil, the author of decorating magazines(discontent),keeps showing me killer upholstered headboards everywhere. Will I get one? Absolutely not. Number one, I am lacking the funds to do so, but I am trying to be content and patient. As soon as I get an new upholstered bed, Pottery Barn or some other publication I admire will return to sporting sleigh beds. To further prove my point about what's old is new again, have you seen the deluge of brass accessories everywhere? Notice the fabulous photos above. Didn't we all just move away from this terribly 80's kiss of death. I see it everywhere and think it looks awesome. Eddie Ross does fantastic things with it as seen here. If you haven't seen his work, check out his website, he has awesome ideas. He has really inspired me lately. I can't wait to dig around in some thrift store looking for brass objects. Actually, I had already been doing this but I was painting it. He paints some and leaves some depending on the condition I suppose. I found a pair of brass ginger jar lamps at Goodwill and attempted to create a hammered copper finish, some things just can't be duplicated with spray paint. I am going to paint them a color next, thank goodness spray paint is cheap.
I have a little Eddie envy, he gets to prowl through really awesome thrift stores for a living.
Perusing through junk stores for my lamps and accesories is to me an acceptable way of changing out things and updating for a more current look(sounds like an oxymoron-updating with old stuff). The antiques that have been given to me or we have bought I wouldn't dream of painting,but a Goodwill table, I can't get to Lowe's fast enough for the spray paint. So I think I have figured out a way to compromise, it involves fabric too... By changing out the pillows and lamp shades for fun and current fabric, you can have a new look fairly inexpensively. Keep your old stuff and stories that come with it. A little paint and fabric can jazz up most anything.
When it comes to being truly content,the heavenly Father is the best source. So whenever I get the latest Ballard or Pottery Barn catalog,my best course of action should be to take it to the trash can and got get my Bible instead. It is a hobby of mine to redo, but if makes me have that antsy,can't stand everything I own feeling-I need to run away as fast as I can. So if you get that feeling like I do sometimes, do a little online window shopping and blog hopping and you will see that some small changes can make a big difference.

photo credit left image Hillary Thomas design.com,center Eddie Ross.com, right photo Robert Allen Fabrics.com

Frye fantasy

I love boots! Almost as much as blue jeans. I have been really jonesing for a new pair after I fell in love with a pair of $300 Frye's I saw in this month's Country Living here
This was not the photo I saw, the ones I saw were the dark brown Campus boots. I had to do a little research for that. I barely missed a pair on ebay, but the timing was off and I would still have to blow half my grocery money.
I found some knock off harness boots on Target.com which by the way has some really good looking boots. Can you guess which ones are from Frye?




I did buy a pair of gray suede lug soled ones for 39.99 a steal compared to the Frye's. They are very comfortable. I tried to get on board with the jeans tucked in look. I feel kind of "fancy" like that in high heeled boots. So I wore UGGs to death last winter. I may be a little allergic to wool because my legs kept itching like crazy. Socks would have solved that little snafu but they are waaay too warm. Anyway, I have a pair of ankle boots that look a lot like the Fryes that I have had about 12 years. I thought if I had kept them around that long the Frye's would be worth the investment.
After looking and sighing a pretty good bit( all day)I have compiled my Frye fantasy list. Drumroll please.




These red cowboy boots might become mine. They are currently on ebay, so do not snake them from me. My two followers have smaller feet than me, ha! The purse costs as much as the boots. The brown boots are the aforementioned campus boots, so fine! I think I need to change the name of this blog to "Expensive Stuff I Will Never Have". Catchy isn't it?

Sleepy days

I don't want to rush Drew's babyhood by one second(most of the time). I am trying to relish it all,all to often I am reminded of how fleeting time is. All I have to do is look around,catch one of his big brothers and I am reminded of how big they are in contrast. These past few weeks have flown by. My baby boy is now 7 weeks old. He is very cute and sweet. I love him so much, however I am growing impatient with the weight loss. Even though I have read on numerous websites that you should wait 2 months to begin dieting, I have to get in gear. Please don't barrage me with give it time comments (you two followers). I love fall clothing and I am NOT going to buy a new wardrobe to suit this bod. So the bod is going to have to get into the existing wardrobe. I wanted to be nice to myself, so I have been wearing maternity jeans (brutal), thankfully they are too big now. I have lost 30 lbs, but the other 25 are taking their sweet time. For you math whizzes out there, I gained 45 lbs, again, but need to lose more. I really tried to eat more reasonably this time, much to my chagrin the weight gain remained the same. Soooo... I am going to work hard and maybe by Christmas I will be able to fit into my clothes. Anyways...I truly am not as bothered by it as this sounds. I just want to buy a pair of boots and only have white skinny jeans that I can wear...I don't think that is the look I am after. You have to be on your thin side for white skinnies. Maybe I need gray ones. Or a dark wash. Whatever.
Did I mention how cute my boy is? I wouldn't trade him for a skinny bod any day.
His big brother,Jack is not feeling well... As you can see, he is under the table asleep. Cue the Dave Matthews.
Obviously, the "tree hugger" in me hasn't quite disappeared. The Frye boots, the Dave...I like to refer to this tendency now as bohemian. I do not follow bands anymore just trying to follow the Lord. That sounds pretty cheesy.
I have been working on some fun stuff lately. I made Drew a new sling, I re-invented Abby Kate a pair of pants and shirt(added a ruffle to walmart leggings and appliqued the shirt) recovered a lamp shade, and painted two lamps. I failed to take a pic of the outfit. I think I will do a separate post on the redo's. I have ran out of patient babies.

More fun with fabric

While I sit around and nurse this boy I plot, scheme, and redecorate. My creative juices are flowing again and I am itching to fluff it up around here. Which means I might make some new pillows. Haha! With it being almost time for fall I like to change things up a bit. I have been eyeballing one of these fabrics for some time and unfortunately, it is a very bad photo. I look at my sample and try to talk myself down from the ledge. It is kind of expensive for me, so I will only use it on the front of the pillows and use a solid linen on the back. Hopefully, a yard will suffice. Its the turquoise velvet by Robert Allen in the top left corner. It would coordinate just fine with my rug and the other colors in my den. The paisley is just fun and it kind of reminds me of some Pottery Barn pillows I have admired. The turquoise ikat is just killer and I would like to have cafe curtains for my kitchen window out of it. It also comes in kind of a rusty orange which I also really like. The last swatch is a super zig zag pattern by Premier Prints, I would like to make a lumbar pillow for the couch out of it. I may have to go by my favorite place in the world, Richtex Fabrics tomorrow since it is my birthday and get a few sample to peruse.

I really need to finish my bedroom, but I just can't seem to pull it together in there. I do like a collected look, but nothing matches in there except the pillow shams to the quilt. I got off to a good start but I despise the lack of symmetry in there. I have been wanting two matching bedside tables for a long time, but I have yet to find anything I really like that I can afford. Goodwill is fresh out.
Anyway, I have way too much extra junk in there right now that isn't going anywhere for the time being. The baby cradle and our old recliner. The recliner is disgusting but it was the only thing I could comfortably try to sleep in the last little while of my pregnancy. I did not realize how junky it looked until I took one of my friends around to see the house and we went in there. It looks like the area where you pull up to and dump your stuff off at Goodwill. Brutal.
Another thing is... nobody really goes in there except me and Andy so I try to concentrate on the places people see the most. Also, the places I try to keep the cleanest. Praise the Lord the kids bedrooms are upstairs.
After I work on my pillows, my next goal is to fancy up the mudroom. I would like to encourage the punks to put their stuff up every once in awhile. I was thinking since they love yellow so much, maybe they would be more likely to get excited about work if it was fun to look at. I already have 5 built in lockers and a bench, all I need is some of these fabrics...

Baby Project complete

Well... my latest project is complete. We had baby Drew two weeks ago today, August 28, 2010. He weighed 9 pounds and 12 oz. There has been some controversy over his height though, he first measured a lenghthy 22 1/4 inches. But since I have taken him to the doctor twice he has shrunk...Is this a common phenomenon? I don't think the other boys did this. Anyway, needless to say I am really relieved for that one to be out. I feel like a million bucks. I don't look like a million but I certainly feel better. He is a sweet, sweet baby, so far. He is good nurser, he poops constantly, he has already surpassed his birth weight, he's now 10 lbs 4 oz. I am in love with him. His brothers are too. They are constantly asking me a million questions, mainly can I touch him. No! Well... are your hands clean? They seem to perpetually have runny noses and dirty hands and faces. They also smell like like goats. I am trying to remember they are my children too. Most people are overly concerned with other people's germy kids, not me. I can't get past my own. They are sooo precious about their tiny brother though. They are very proud of him, they all want him to look like them. He looks the most like his Daddy. He has enough hair to see the tiny little cowlick, just like his Daddy and his big brother, Sam. He is kind of chubby so he reminds me of Johnny. I have yet to see much of Jack in him. I don't seem to make cookie cutter children. Although, every time we are in a store someone says those have to be Andy Malone's children. Certainly, John is a carbon copy but Sam and Jack look alike. They are all different but similiar, I suppose.
Something about birthing a baby makes me want to buy stuff. I guess I am going to have to get a Christmas list going...
1. Blabla Mobile
2. New sling-I ordered one from Seven slings after recieving an email saying I qualified for a free one. I had to pay 11.95 shipping and handling. Ridiculous. It came in. Chintzy. I had such high hopes. So now I am back to the denim NOJO I have had for 9 years. It is not a cool pattern, but it has been the most user friendly one I have had. And yes, even though we are tv-less I have heard about the recalls. I find it difficult to believe that you don't notice your baby suffocating. Trying not be judgemental. I do wear mine really high up and I don't cover their faces.
3. Anything Kissy Kissy. I had a few pieces of layette from Jack but big boy can't get them over his head. He seems to carry the most of his weight in his face, very chubby in the cheeks.
Basically, everywhere I go I think he needs something.

My sense of smell is still in pregnancy over drive, hence the goat smell from my kids. I cannot get over the smell of the Target brand of baby detergent. Now that I have associated it with my boy, it could not be more delish. Same for the original Johnson's baby lotion. My favorite pregnancy smell was lemon scented Pine-Sol and bleach. Not mixed, of course. Just good old fashioned clean.
So far, other than the aforementioned products I have learned of a few new can't live without after baby goodies. namely the belly bandit. My good friend Jennifer bought one and graciously allowed me to borrow it. She gets back in to pre-baby shape sickenenly fast. It has truly helped. My belly was somewhere around 42 inches, straight out in front. It has been two short weeks but it has gone down considerably. I haven't actually measured it. I only mentioned the measurement to let you know how desperately it was needed. It is a small and I started wearing it when I left the hospital. I had to really struggle to get it closed the first day, every new day has been a little easier. I could switch to a smaller size now, but my budget has been cut. They recommend wearing it constantly and sleeping in it, but I have taken it off to sleep. I am hoping it will continue to support my saggy skin even after my uterus shrinks back to its normal size. I feel like my belly actually does look better at this point than it did with my third. I give it a thumbs up. I also have a couple of new nursing tanks from Motherhood. They are fabulous, the opening goes up, no clips or anything. It is excellent for sleeping in. I have had to wear it all the time, since I haven't "adjusted" to my new bras yet. Another life saver these gel pads from The First Years
Now, if I could find something to make the giant man hands go away, I'd be in bidness.

Watching the clock

It has been a while since I have posted anything. If I have any readers at all, I am so sorry. Anyway, I have yet to deliver my latest bundle of joy, so I have been watching the days creep by. Not to be all woe is me, but I have had every pregnancy malady rolled into one glorious pregnancy this time. Carpal Tunnel is brutal. So is acid reflux. Anyway, after reading Erika's (Urban Grace) post and noticing her fabulous watch I have decided I could wait much better if I had a watch like that. For my birthday... Hint hint. tell Andy if you see him.

Luke's Bama Room

 

My friend Jennifer's little boy is a huge Alabama fan. For his eighth birthday he asked for a Roll Tide room. This is the kind of challenge I love. Jennifer and I share very similiar tastes, so she is not about to go and buy a Bama bed in the bag and be done. Subtlety, which is not something most Bama fans have a lot of, is the key here. I am just kidding, I am not a rabid football fan, I save myself for the sports my kids play.
Anyway, being a little boy, he would love crimson walls and the aforementioned bed in the bag. Here is my option. I would paint his blue walls Backdrop by Sherwin Williams. Unfortunately, the site would not let me copy a paint chip, but it is a similiar shade to the gray in the Waverly Cross Section fabric on the collage.The first shot is "painted" in that color, the trim is antique white which is what they already have. Not instituitional gray but one with a little warmth. His bed is also dark wood so I think lighter colored bedding would look awesome. Since I detest sewing large bedding I would buy this cargo duvet from PBteen in the stone. I think cream and charcoal should be the main colors here and just touches of crimson. I would use the Waverly for a bedkirt and drapes. I think he has a red drapes that might already work, in that case I'd just use it for bedding. I love it though... so I would use it in large doses. He wouldn't outgrow it either. The red, cream and gray stripe which is called "boys will be boys" I would use as Euro pillows and turn on the bias and border his red drapes. Haha, what a nightmare for those of us who sew. It would be killer looking though.

I would use the removable Alabama decal over his bed. Jennifer found a website that has huge action shots of the players, so that would round out the artwork. I would like this Alabama room,but it might be too subtle for a little boy, so if I could I would try to find him some sheets with the logo. By the time he collects all of his little boy stuff to go in there it would be Bama enough I am sure.

Jack's 4th Birthday

 

We had Jack's birthday party yesterday! What fun. I had already made up all the favors and decorated so all I had to do was put it out. Deviously, I pick times of day where my guests should have already eaten, so all we had to eat was big bowl of sausage and cream cheese dip and of course, cake. I really don't like to have left over food. Jack requested a Backyardigans theme to which I used as my "inspiration." I did buy a banner, which you can barely see in the photos but it does have the Backyardigans on it and some favors to support the theme.
I have totally given up on baking for right now, so I ordered his cake from Something Sweet Bakery in Daphne. It was an Oreo cake and it was awesome. I added a few Pablo sugar decorations to the top, which satisfied the birthday boy that is was a Backyardigans cake.
I was attempting to make decorations that we could use for a few other parties, but it rained a lot and paper and water don't mix.

He had a really good time on the huge waterslide. I should have had more pictures but my camera kept fogging up from the ac'd inside to the outside.

He finally thinks he's really four now that he had the "real" birthday party. He loved opening the presents and was so pumped about each one. Before he'd open the next one he'd say is this one mine. He was very grateful and precious. He got a few dress-up costumes and of course, he put them all on at one time.

I am relieved this one went over without a hitch, we only have two more parties and then I can have this baby. John's party is July 31st. We are also hosting the Allstar team the night before in order to get double duty out of the water slide rental.

Master Bedroom

 

 

I am almost finished with the nursery. I have a bad cold in my chest that has had me down for a couple of days. We also had company from out of town so I was busy this weekend. I still have to line the panels, which I am dreading. As soon as they are finished I will post photos of the nursery.
My latest quest has been fabric for my bedroom. I ordered a duvet set from Overstock and unfortunately it is a tad too small and ugly. I also threw away the packaging. They have an excellent return policy, if in original packaging. I won't be repeating that mistake.
Anyway, I am still in love with linen and spa blue. While I was in Richtex the other day picking out fabric for the diaper bag my Aunt Penny is having made for me, I ran across two of these swatches. I absolutely love the second sample. I was thinking of making a bed skirt and shams out of it. I refuse to attempt duvet covers- they are to cumbersome. The scrolly floral was something that I thought might pull the ugly Overstock duvet together, but nothing will help. It's too brutal to be my jumping off point. I need to find something I like and stick to it.
The top photo is from Southern Living, I would like to emulate this look. I have very traditional furniture and I love the contemporary prints with it. I love fabric so much but I think I may get a little too busy pulling in different patterns. I will have a solid linen quilt to give the eye some rest. The first fabric is a steal, the others are not. I am also trying to save up for school supplies. I feel a sense of urgency in getting this done though, I have only eight more weeks and I can't keep going on cough meds. Need some help deciding if I should go for it or wait...

the longest summer ever

Andy dropped the bomb on me last night that we were going to have to cancel Jack's birthday party. He later amended the statement to re-schedule. It seems we might have a baseball game. Seems to me like Coach may be getting ahead of himself. Yes, the same man had visions of the Little League World Series last year. We have played much better this year, it is a different team, of course. Still, I put a lot of effort into planning this stuff, especially since I am very uncomfortably pregnant.
I have decided not to leave the house with the exception of ballgames, groceries and dr. visits. I would order groceries online if it were possible. I am soooooo tired.

We have a new book reader, the Amazon Kindle. I am pretty old school when it comes to some things. I like books, but this thing is amazing. I feel like I am downloading these books straight to my brain, I can read them so fast. Its also nice to purchase the trash that you'd rather not let people know you read. Thanks to my sister in law, my old habit of reading romance novels has reappeared. It's really not her fault, I just don't feel like putting effort into anything right now, but I am very bored without a t.v and it's 5000 degrees outside so I have backslid.

Have I mentioned how much I miss cute clothes and a cute figure to put in them? So when you see me on my rare trips out of the house, no I have NOT had this baby yet. Yes, September. All summer, I know, shut up.

I have no fabric to show, no projects,no nothing.
I did make two balloons wreaths and I have to report that they take considerably more balloons than the instructions say. Try 4 packs of 72 12 inch balloons for one wreath. The cheapest place to get the balloons is Wallie World. Same for the S pins. I think I am about into these wreaths for about 20 bucks a piece, no deal! How is it that every endeavour I begin ends up like this, much harder and more time consuming and expensive. It's maddening.
I have also monogrammed a few things for the baby boy. Again, realizing just how frustrating it is to find sweet baby boy things at a good price.

Sorry this is so down, but I am having a very hard time being up. I mentioned that I am so tired didn't I. I feel like I swallowed a 50 pd bag of concrete. Besides, the sweetheart that I am married to, the other thing that keeps me going is imagining my little boys face. Hopefully, the harder the pregnancy the cuter the baby. Of course, he'll be gorgeous to me.

I can't believe I haven't even thought about working on his room. I made a half-hearted attempt at cleaning out his closet which he will share with his big brother Jack. I made the crib sheet and still need to line the curtains and make a bedskirt. Maybe next week, we have a few ballgames this week.

Party Time

I can't believe that I have been so lacks about blogging. Its so hot here I can barely breathe. It is getting close to everyone having a birthday around here. Jack's is rapidly approaching. July 10th. He wants a waterslide, which we are renting. You can't have a party here in the depths of Alabama without water nearby. He has chosen a Backyardigans theme. I am not all about cartoon character themes,but I will happily oblige my baby and throw him a humdinger of a party. I have discovered several party blogs that I have enjoyed perusing and getting ideas from. Beginning with how does she.com I am going to make this adorable balloon wreath. I plan to use it for all the parties.

I also plan to make more pom poms. I posted the instructions on a baby shower post. This time I will make sure I take photos. I have found an abundance of brightly colored tissue decorations at Target and Party City. My plan is to make a "chandelier" over the food table with these items. I will post directions with photos later. I am sure it will be a real head hurter, kidding. Evidently, I didn't get all the prom decorating out of my system when in high school. Its more fun this time.

I think what appeals to me the most on the party sites is the co-ordination of it all, name tags,labels,party favors,etc... Most of them can be made with microsoft word, or if you really want to go all out you can purchase the printables to co-ordinate with your party theme at The Party Dress.net. Here are some examples. I will be making labels for my party favors. If you sign up for the email updates on howdoesshe.com , they will email you a free set of birthday printables. Sweet! Be sure to check out The Party Dress.net here for the cutest ideas for all get togethers. I could look for days.

I will post photos of my Jack's birthday next,along with his special what makes him awesome post. It might be a long one.

Also, my Mom will be sixty on the 28th so we are having a little dinner for her. So many parties so little time. I am trying to get Johnny's all planned out too. His is August the 2nd which coincides with the last month of this pregnancy. Who Hoo!

I have also begun nesting. I am almost finished with my bedroom curtains. They have been hanging for a year. When we moved in I was very prepared with window dressings for almost every room. I hadn't planned on using blinds except in the bedrooms. So for a while in the bedroom we used the panels I had almost completed. All I lacked was fixing the headers (i.e pleats). When the shutter people installed the shutters, I had an excellent opportunity to fix them. I thought I was too pooped. Little did I know what pooped really means. Anyway, its funny how pregnancy makes soooo many things intolerable. Just knowing that they were incomplete was starting to drive me crazy, so not only have I taken them down to fix, I added interling to my list of things to do. They already look much better, only one left to complete. The nursery is going to be my next job. I am so thankful my Mom really came through for me and offered to pay for the construction of the bumper. I have to make 2 euro pillows for Jack's bed, a crib skirt, crib sheets and line the curtain panels. More details to come on the nursery and photos.

Just writing this makes me tired, but not nearly as tired as being out in the sun all day does. Sam had All-Star scrimmage games on Friday night and again Saturday morning. I thought I was going to boil. Later Saturday, we had a party for his ball team. They won the Peanut tournament and came in second overall in the regular season. Quite an accomplishment for them, they looked like the Bad News Bears at the beginning of the season. Not posting any photos from it, it was pretty bare bones, pizza and a cake. They had fun though and I am glad we have one down, three more to go.

Sammy Superstar

Sam is our oldest boy. Superstar is his latest nickname. Andy knew this guy in high school that was very proud of his accomplishments whom they called "Star," his Daddy was "Superstar." I would've saved Superstar for Andy. I am hoping this is just a stage little boys goes through, because I have noticed the same quality, this excessive confidence in other boys his age. I may be the cause of it... I do believe that God has given everyone gifts and talents and I feel kind of strongly about them being used. I generally don't have to carry on about the baseball talent because he so enjoys playing. He is a pretty good sport and I better not find out that he has made any others feel bad. He is a Malone, so he is very competitive and hates to lose, but he is also mine and he is very hard on himself. He is aware of his abilities in this area, but he thinks there are kids that are better than him, whew thank goodness. He is growing up waaaay too fast and I can see the warring emotions on his face so many times when he is trying to be big. It breaks my heart. When he is disappointed and trying not to cry, he blinks alot and holds his lips together. Of course, I want to cry. I always feel like crying. I have been crying a lot these last few weeks. The end of the school year is like that for me. I will have to be hospitalized when they graduate from high school. I may never get over them getting married.

At his end of the year awards, he got the Christian character award for Leadership , he also made the A/B honor roll.

The grades are the issue I really get on my soapbox about when it comes to gifts. He is incredibly bright, much more than I was at his age (and I actually think I was pretty smart,at least I was a good student). I don't have to ride him constantly, but the homework is definitely not a priority, especially reading. Last year, they had a reading contest and he tore through the books. I thought he was developing the lifelong love that I have. Nope, just wanted to win. He has such potential and of course, I want to see it used. So I really harp on him about how blessed he is and blah, blah, blah. You know if I can write this much I can reaaaaally talk a lot.

I really love him alot and I can't get over how special he is. He is such a great big brother, he has tons of patience(another quality of Andy's) and he continues to play ball with Johnny although Johnny quits when it is time for him to be outfield(a quality of mine). He is always sweet to Jack and always has been. He was always excited for us to have another baby as each one came, this time I think he has been embarrassed. I have other friends my age who are having babies, I am only 34, but none of the Mom's in his class. He has had many,many questions about the whole process. It is much different being pregnant this time, they were oblivious previously. Full of questions now and they notice every little physical change. It's pretty funny, but I guess the time for modesty has approached.

I probably should have started in chronological order with them, but I didn't. John must have been especially cute that week.

Last but not least, Sam made Peanut Allstars again, so we get to extend our baseball season a little longer, yeah!

Window Shopping

When I initally started blogging my intent was too blog about my family, not about all the material things I would like to buy. As it is, I get such satisfaction from putting together the dream scenarios (aka collages) it is almost a much fun as shopping. With the added benefit of no buyers remorse, and agonizing if I will like it in ten years. I tend to think I have to hold on to my stuff for the rest of my life. Any old way, when I have time to blog, the kids are otherwise occupied. Since we don't have a t.v, they use the desktop computer to play games ,which has all of my photos stored on it. That also keeps me from blogging about them because I would like to show you who I am talking about. When I run them off my other computer I will be blogging about my big boy, Sam, next.

So, since I am being all worldly and materialistic I will show you show of the other junk I love.

I saw a post on Two Ellie the other day about her friend Brook's nursery, so I had to check it out. It is gorgeous, I love her style and the fact that she seems to shop in the same dives that I do, you can see more here. By the way, I just learned how to link, thanks to my sister in law, Nichole. Thank you so much Nichole and I apologize for my deficiency in this area before. Although, it will become evident how much I window shop, I am afraid.

Since, we are on the subject I am so pumped about baby boy's nursery. He was going to be Drew, but my husband is having some issues with this now. He feels God is leading him to the name Timothy. He prayed for him by the this name and who can argue with this logic. His logic is like that a lot, unarguable. It either makes such sense that to protest would make you feel stupid or you are arguing against the Heavenly Father. Can't win either way. That might be his name, so I need to pray that God will make me feel comfortable with this name. I just know it will shortened to Timmy or worse Tim-Tim. I don't hate the name, it is fine as a middle name. I really would like his name to honor God, as his Daddy has mentioned. He is, after all responsible for blessing us with this little one. The name dilemma is one reason I thought it would be nice to have a girl,we had a name for her, Molly Grace.

O.k so I got off on a tiny little tangent. I have been inspired as I am sure many others have by the recent offerings in the Serena and Lily catalogue. How killer are those headboards? I think it would really break up all the wood furniture I have, to have an upholstered bed. I made one prior to purchasing the bed we now have. It was definitely a beginner result. Just a big ole beige rectangle, it would have been cute dressed up with some nailheads,in retrospect. It would probably be hard for me to sell this option to Andy, since he might remember my first attempt. Also, even more difficult since I would have to buy one this time. I am not getting any smaller and more agile these days. I have shown one on Layla Grace that is to die for, but the one's on S&L ain't bad either see. Speaking of Serena and Lily, I do love their crib bedding. However, my pet peeve is that their crib skirts are too short. I prefer them to touch the floor, as I do with all bedskirts and curtains. Especially for the price. Chintzy. My favorite set is Ben. I am using a similar palette in our nursery. I have finally nailed down my fabric choices and I will bore you with them one last time, then I will be starting on the bumper pads. I am going to attempt to make box cushion bumpers. It is a headache, but I spent too much money on the cording, so now I have to do it myself. I have my fingers crossed that the curtain panels that I purchased will work. If it all comes together as I hope, I will only have the baby bedding to make. Not too bad.

Finished Cradle

I finished this little project fairly quickly, but I am not the swiftest on posting. I used Valspar spray paint from Lowe's in Baby Blue. The white pique fabric has been in my stash for a while, I believe it came from Jo-Ann's. I have no idea what designer or anything, it's pretty standard. The interior of the bumper and the sheet were made out of a print by Annette Tatum called Prairie Sea. I bought it online at Sewmamasew.com. I used Wright's Quilt binding for the ties and extra wide ric rac in color 706. Typically, I would have not cut corners on this step and made my own, but it is about my least favorite step in sewing. Also, he won't be sleeping in this little cradle for as long, so I didn't want this bedding to take forever. Most of the time , I completely under estimate the time it is going to take to make things. The most pleasant surprise in all of this was the simplicity of the fitted sheet.

Since, I have been searching the internet over I have found several new sources for my fabric addiction... The aforementioned Sewmamasew.com; Hawthtorne Threads.com and of course my old favorite Fabric.com. Quilting fabric is awesome- hip patterns, cute colors. It is the perfect weight for bedding (duh).

Cradle project

Brown cradle+blue paint+pretty fabrics= something similiar to image below.

I love the color of this cradle, not crazy about the cowboy linens. I will post results...

Johnny Baseball

We are at the ballpark about 3 sometimes 4 days a week. Between two teams with games and practices we can log in the hours there. Not to mention the friends that we have to go watch, and the high school team. Suffice it to say, we are obsessed. We are not alone, we do have friends that share the same obsession. Thankfully, with all of the boy children that we seem to produce we won't have to give up our pastime for a while.

John is our middle son and he had to play t-ball again this year. His Daddy tried to move him up to the Peanut league, even though he is two years younger than the age requirement. He passed the evaluation and did very well ,but they stood by their rules. They have them for a reason, Andy. Anyway, that was just God's hand because we have seen how competitive the rascal has become and he needs another year to learn how to control himself.

He is a good size kid for his age, so it is expected that he should act older. He is only five years old, though. And it is very evident sometimes, especially when he loses a race. The first incident occurred when he was racing the kids on Sam's team (whom he practices with almost always). He lost. O.k first of all they are three years older than him, but he thinks he is equally matched. Anyway, he was FURIOUS that he lost. He exclaims, "WHAT!" and proceeds to fall out like I have never seen. He throws his legs out from under himself- similarly to the seated bounce like you used to do on a trampoline except he was on red clay. You know it had to hurt. It was so hard not to laugh. Andy thinks this quality is a good trait (this fierce competitiveness), but we have to learn how to harness it. You think.

I fear for the children that he gets after when he fields the ball. They don't all know to stop running when they get on base and if he gets the ball, he is hot after them to get them out.

Of course, it might be a little funny to me because he mine and I know how sweet and gentle he is most of the time. It was not so funny to the other Mother at the ballpark who drug him up to Andy and said he mauled her son on the playground. Never before has he gotten into a fight with anyone, so you can imagine my shock. Evidently, the other child would not let him on the playhouse. I was not there, I had to leave to attend a baby shower, so I cannot attest to any of it. Regardless, whether he was profoundly provoked or not, we can't maul people. He got into big trouble for that one.

Temper control issues aside, he is extremely shy. Last week, he had to take his test for kindergarten. He would not hold his head up and speak to the teacher. Hopefully, he did look up once or twice when she evaluated him. He said he only missed one answer, I have yet to hear from the school. They did say that he was very smart before we left (do they say anything else). He cannot wait for kindergarten, he finally gets to go to school with Sam.

He is such a unique member of our family. He is the only one who has remained blonde, hence the name Blonde John. He looks so much like his Daddy it's not funny. He has always been a Daddy's boy, so I have been ecstatic that he finally shows me some affection. He is very excited that we are having a baby and he is very careful and loving to me. His reaction to the news of another baby brother, "WHAT!" and a fallout.

Next, installment....Sammy superstar! I have to take more photos, I have been very slack this season.

Nursery wishlist

I have had a good bit of computer time on my hands. Its Spring break and we have a stomach bug. I don't yet, praise the Lord. So lacking a T.V, I surf the net while the pooties (aka my kids) watch DVD's. I really miss the TV when someone is sick. Anyway, I took a nap with Jack, since we did not get any sleep the night before. He threw up in the bed while we were visiting Matt and Nichole at the beach. Talk about a vacation buster, I hope that we left before he could breathe viral germs on everyone. After the first vomiting episode, I couldn't sleep for fear that he would asphyxiate. My two others slept in the bed with their cousins, so then I was afraid that they would throw up on them. Not a pleasant nights sleep, to say the least. Anyway, while I was napping with Jack I had the idea that I could use the "theme" that I passed on for the baby shower for the new baby's room. I couldn't justify buying anything themey for a shower, it's just one day. By the way, I haven't posted any photos of said shower because the memory card was not in my camera. It is too bad, it was super cute. I even baked a few things myself for it. Not typical of me.
The theme that I really thought was super cute was a forest friends that I saw here...
http://www.hostessblog.com/2009/09/woodland-forest-party-theme-part-2-creatures-crafty-details/

I thought since I wanted to make some animals and the colors would work maybe I could bring it all together somehow. Again, the reason I do not usually have everything really pulled together like I would like-money. All of these little cutesies are expensive. I can paint and sew and with the exception of the the knit dolls, I could make it all. Famous last words, that I have said too often. Maybe I should spend more time working on this stuff and less time blogging about it. It really helps me to get a vision thought if I make these collages. Unfortunately, I put them together and want everything on them.
I think the tree of life painting is a definate, so I am going to head up to Big Lots and see if they have any more of those giant canvasses I saw the last time I was prowling around in there. The animal alphabet canvas is too cute, but that might be too much of a good thing.
My buddy Jennifer helped me iron out my fabric placement for my crib bedding. I do believe I am going to hire out the bumper pad, it is not worth my sanity. We might not have groceries for a week but.... I have to buy the remainder of the fabric as well. Thank goodness I have half the pregnancy to go, so I can get all of this done. Never mind the other projects I have to complete for other people. Whew!

Master Bedroom wishlist

Maybe, Andy will read this one day and buy all of this furniture for me. Since, we will never have a little girl's boudoir, I think mine should be ultra feminine. All of this fabulousness is from Layla Grace.com. The bed costs about 4 grand. Just a drop in the bucket isn't it? The bedding is from Pom Pom at Home, to whom I have my lovely hairdresser Fran to thank for introducing me to. It is killer with a capital K. The collection looks like antique linens, it's constructed alot like the heirloom dresses that I so covet. So either, I compromise and have bedding that looks like this or one dandified little baby boy. I have no problem with boys in heirloom garments, but I have a slew of naysayers now in the form of brothers. I can just hear it now," Mama, why is the baby wearing a dress (aka daygown)." They all wore them, but they were all to young to know any different when the next one came along.
Anyways, I would like to purchase all of this stuff and really fix up my room. The price tags of these items prohibits me from that iclination and sends me to Goodwill and to my sewing room to try to copy them . I have recently sworn off trying to fix up junk. My new tactic is to just wait and see if Andy will come through. I can always dream, can't I?

Its a Boy!

Well, it has been an exhausting day. I feel like all the energy has been sucked out of me. First thing this morning we had a visit to the baby doctor. We had our ultrasound, our little boy is perfectly formed and just beautiful. He is already very sweet, I can tell. I think he is going to be very laid back. Maybe from his positioning in the womb, he's stretching his tiny little legs. I was very surprised at my reaction, but I was just tickled to death. Honestly, I suspected this baby was a boy, but everyone else thought girl. Andy was amazed I can assure you. I think I am a little relieved, of course because he is healthy and developing normally, but I was so afraid that I would pass all of my insecurities and doubts down to my little girl. It's not easy being female, I have a lot of expectations for myself that are very hard to reach sometimes. The way that my brain over-analyzes and speculates, it is exhausting. Anyway, I know that not all girls are like this, some boys are, my poor brother Chris shares this affliction. My boys are definitely not like this, they share their Daddy's acceptance of things at face value. I am grateful for these little boys, they are teaching me. It has taken me a lifetime to develop these tendencies and unfortunately, the won't go away overnight.

Back to the baby, we have had so many hilarious reactions to the news of our boy. Mostly, they sound as if they have been kicked in the stomach or possibly lower, if you catch my drift. Some people are very kind about it.

Getting to see him via the ultrasound also coincided with his decision to make his presence known to me. I thought I could feel him moving but it was such a tiny little feeling. Now he's moving around and kicking and I can really tell. That is such a great comfort.

I am still battling some extreme exhaustion. I might need to have my iron checked. I felt much better Thursday(or was it Friday) night after I had eaten a delicious filet prepared by my Brother-in-law, Matt. Thank you Matty and Kitty Cole for the celebration dinner. It was ridiculous as usual.

Sorry for the lack of photos, next time I will do better. We are having a baby shower here Saturday morning, I will post some pics of that.

Drew's room (baby boy #4)

 

Those of you who are bored with this already, sorry. I LOVE doing these little collages of fabrics. It saves me the time of going to the store and unwisely buying a yard or two of unnecessary fabrics (for pillows for instance). I already have the stripe in the top left. It is called Bazaar stripe, by P. Kaufmann I believe. The majority of the other fabrics are by Joel Dewberry, with the exception of the Minky which can be bought anywhere. A Google search will bring up the stores that sell these fabrics. Anyway, If I could remember where I found them I would link them all, but I am not trying to sell them, I just like them.

Anyway, yesterday I had the epiphany that I would do my nursery in aqua,brown and orange if we are expecting a boy. So after a little bit of looking,this is what I came up with. I may make some little fabric animals as well to go with. I don't like to get too themey, namely because I usually have an idea in my head as to what would be cute and I can't find it. Or it costs too much. I am not sure as to how I am going to put all of this together, I may have to do some drawings first.
Also, the title, I know some might be wondering who is Drew. Maybe, the little one in utero. We have an appointment Thursday at 10:00. The gender of this child is the most highly anticipated mystery. So for all of you who don't find out, I don't know how you manage. The first part of this pregnancy has crept by, it seems to me it passes by much faster once that little cat is out of the bag. I like to start making day gowns, and bedding, and going shopping. That kind of gets put on hold. Whatever... I am dying to know and I am not going to make any excuses for it.

Den Fabrics

I wish that making collages out of fabrics would curb my enthusiasm for wanting to change things up. It does not, it just makes me want me to fix up even more.
The above picture is my den, as you can see it is very brown. I love brown evidently, and I mistakenly assumed I would not get tired of it. I am not necessarily tired of brown, I am just tired of the over abundance of it in this one room.I wish I knew how to put these pictures of the fabrics actually on the furniture. Anyway, if Andy would give me some money, I would first buy the blue and brown fabric with the tufts. I would upholster the chair and ottoman in that to start with. It would co-ordinate with all of the existing furniture, so I could stop there. But I would not if I had the dinero. My next step would be to have a slipcover made out of the burlap linen for the couch. It is very comfy and the scale is just fine for the room, it just needs a little freshening up. The next thing I would have made are slipcovers for the club chairs out the blue and brown linen. I would leave the rug. I would have the lamps wired out of these brown vases that I have had for about 2 years. As you can see I would have all of this done for me, not by me. Anyway, I know it is not a major departure from the existing scheme, I am fairly predictable on my likes. Maybe if I ride up to the fabric store and check out(bring it home) the blue tufted I will see that it does nothing for me in person. Hopefully , I can get in and out without backing into a car this time.

More Nursery Fabrics

I am in nursery mode now. I love fabric alot. I also love blue alot. As I said before, the nursery is already blue. It is pretty cute as it is. I have thought since it took me forever and a day to make the curtains and bedding, I should just leave it. That is if this baby is a boy, of course.
Orange was my favorite color as a little girl. Today, Jack said "ange" is his "favite" color too. So this may go for his room if I can't bring myself to make more crib bedding. We haven't figured out the sleeping arrangement for these children yet. Sam, bless his heart sleeps upstairs in his own room. John "protects" Jack by sleeping with him in Jack's room, which is right across the hall from our room. It is the nursery. So... both Johnny and Jack are going to have to move out and up to John's room come September. I think we need to go ahead and start trying now. John has two twin beds that we can push together. Also, no bedding or curtain changes in there.
I am very sensitive to children crying at night. I had nightmares too and I can't stand the thought of them being scared. John also tends to sleep walk. One night, Andy heard a rustling upstairs and found John crying in the shower, asleep. This led to them sleeping together.
I know the new baby will more than likely not sleep in its crib, none of the other guys did. So, I wonder if I should even bother with crib bedding at all.
I have failed to mention that I do happen to have girl crib bedding, just in case. Also, those blue walls will be painted pink as well. She will not have blue clothing either, until she can walk. Then she can have a blue dress.

God has blessed us in countless ways. I am so very excited to be having a baby, boy or girl. Pregnancy is such a struggle for me to die to self. My esteem gets pretty low. My sweet husband reminds me of what a reward we get for such a small sacrifice. I appreciate his thoughtfulness, but nothing about me is small anymore and I have 24 more weeks to go. In my previous prgnancies my weight gain has been substantial, 40,50, and 50 lbs. It's hard looking forward to the prospect of all that. I do not know why it has been particularly hard on me this time, I have bared my giant belly every pregnant summer I have had. Yes, in a bikini.

Babies on the brain

I have been a deadbeat blogger lately. I had a great week, I AM totally feeling better. I did have a sinus infection and I have a nice scab on the end of my nose from blowing it, but other than that, hunky dory. I had an appointment with the second favorite man in my life, Dr. Shoemaker. I had only gained two pounds this time. Holla! Prior to that, I gained 5 in two weeks. I am trying not to be so obsessed about the climbing numbers. I have started exercising with my honey,Andy. We have two elliptical machine set up. He gets the old decrepit one, I get the new one with all the bells and whistles. We fantasize that he is going to be totally buff with washboard abs and I am going to be too except with an enormous stomach. The kids watch us and retrieve cups of water for me.
I also got the good news on Thursday that I can have my ultrasound in three weeks. Yes, we do find out. I am not great at patience. Pray that this baby will be positioned so that we can see it's "business" and that it is healthy.
We have babies on the brain around here. My good friend Jennifer had her baby girl the week before last. She is a such a doll.
Also, my friend and cousin Amanda is expecting a baby boy in 7 weeks, so we will be having a shower for her soon. I am pumped about this. My SIL and MIL will be helping me host it.
The photos above have inspired me. The pom poms are my favorite, I think they will show up everywhere now that I have learned to make them. I bought a yard of each of the Heather Bailey fabrics above to make a table runner (or something). There is a great possibility that my own baby will be another boy. We do have a good track record around here, so I believe that I will use these prints in his little room. The walls are already this beautiful aqua-ish blue. Won't it be cute. Heather has patterns for different little cutesies on her website to use with her killer fabrics. I am in love with them all.

Hallelujah

I am afraid to say it, but I think I might be over the worst of the first trimester sickness. I woke up this morning with a good bit of my former energy. I have scoured my kitchen counters, the inside and outside of the microwave, the oven in and out. I took a break as the slipcovers for my breakfast room chair wash, so I could also pay my bills. My budget has benefited from my sickness but my house hasn't. My Aunt Penny has been easing my burden for the past couple of months, thankfully. The tolerance you can build for nastiness is unbelievable when you feel bad constantly. It has been a good lesson for me. It has also helped me with the wondering of the sex of this baby. I have taken the Intelligender Test. According to it, I am having another boy. The Chinese calender also says boy. You know all of these methods are extremely accurate, like 50%! But I think its a boy as well, I am going to try not to cry at my ultrasound like I did with Jack. Another lesson learned, God could not have blessed me with a more beautiful or sweeter child. He was a booger as a baby though.
I am not sure I would be a good girl mother. I would try to push her to do all of these super girly things that she probably wouldn't want to do. I have three brothers and I wanted to do everything they did.
I am very excited that we get to add another little somebody to our family. I miss having a tiny baby. I have thoroughly doted and babied my little Jack. He'll probably be relieved to not be so suffocated. Who am I kidding, he is going to be insanely jealous. He has been telling me he is not a baby lately, he's a big boy.
Well, my big boy and I are on a roll today, his creativity has kicked in as well, so we've got to go and move furniture and clean. Praise the Lord I am back to normal!
I am leaving you with this photo from House Beautiful, it's the after of my family room(in my dreams). Isn't it fabulous? To look at the entire spread go to http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/colors/blue_as_a_titian

House of Havoc

Yes, I am talking about my house. Actually, the title is the name of a new book I am reading, House of Havoc written by Marni Jameson. I am not finished with it yet, but I am loving it so far. It really puts perspective on living with a family and pets.
Having pets is not my excuse for this disaster. My sweet little kitty, Annabelle, is by far the cleanest member of our family. She eats in one place, she potty's in only one bathroom (the litter box), she bathes herself, she has a built in alarm that causes her to meow outside of my door daily about thirty minutes before I really have to get up. All in all, it is not her fault that the house is a mess. Nor is it mine...It is these people who I live with. Anyway, this ideal that keeps popping into my head(put there by Satan ,of course), really isn't attainable for me. This book gives many pointers on making your house beautiful and neat. It also reinforces most of my previous design decisions. Now, I can be happy again with my world of brown. Dirt is brown, so brown furniture is sort of like dirt camo.
What I love most about the book, is it makes me feel like my current standard of living is o.k. You should read it and feel good about yourself too.

My favorite things

 

I really don't know what I am doing blogging. I should post more, probably. I have noticed that I write way more than most do on their posts. I haven't quite figured out a theme or my purpose for blogging. I love to read other's blogs and one that comes to mind is My Favorite Things, because of the title. So that's what I think the point of my blog is, carrying on about my favorite things. So here is the list of my favorite things...
1. God- I am ashamed to admit he doesn't always get the attention that the other things on my list get, but without him I could do nothing.
2. My husband and children- My husband, Andy is so much more than I ever dreamed of. He is very patient and loving and easy on the eyes. He is very smart, and stubborn-he is always right. He is also gone until Sunday,hunting, which I am not mad about, absence does make the heart grow fonder. I love him more since we've had these three little boys. I see what a good Daddy God has turned him into, which has made him a better husband as well. Speaking of our three boys, they continue to delight and aggravate me. They delight me way more than they aggravate me, but it can be a lot on one's nerves-the endless energy of three males. I would not change them for anything though.
3. My brother Chris- he is my oldest and best friend. I have other brothers, two to be exact, and I love them to death. Chris is two years older than me but was only one in school. We've always been close from the time I was born, we have been mistaken as twins. He has been through all of my life's melodramas with me. He helps me gain perspective on a lot of things. I hope I help him do the same. He also makes me fall on the floor laughing. He remembers everything and everybody, and can mimic most.
4.Books and magazines- I love to read. I always have. I don't even remember learning to read, which is amazing to me considering how much I love it. My favorite books to read are fiction and usually are Southern in subject. I guess I like to read what I am familiar with.
5. Creating- I like to sew and draw. Both of which have been on hiatus lately. I don't really love the mechanics of sewing so much, but I do love the satisfaction of turning just a plain piece of fabric into something. I rarely draw unless it is for the kids, which is sad. I was so touched this Christmas, my mother-in-law got me a box of art supplies,it brought tears to my eyes.
6. Design- I love picking things out and drawing up room arrangements and floor plans. Not to scale,of course,because I don't like math.
7. Laundry and cleaning- haha! Just seeing if you are paying attention.

Anyway, if I have anyone that actually reads this and wonders the point of it all, that is it. Just rambling on about the stuff I like. It is not a compete list. I do like my friends and lots of other things, but due to privacy and all, I'll leave it at this.

Blue chairs

 

I was feeling kind of yuck earlier and did not quite feel up to blogging. Still feeling gross, but now feel like blogging. I have been doing a little window shopping. I recieved my weekly email from Neiman Marcus (because I such a good customer and all-haha) and much to my surprise I am ahead of the trends once again. How do I keep doing this? I think I am going to become a color forecaster. Again, kidding. But blue has been on my favorite list for quite some time. Unfortunately, I am not one who is daring and buys or upholsters something in such fabulousness as these. In the back of my mind is,"I am going to have to love this forever and brown just never fails". So,I have a house full of brown furniture. I try to shake it up with some accent colors, but the look just doesn't quite reach what I have in mind. So today ,I have decided that I am going to gamble on my thrift store finds and go for it. If I don't have the photo, I second guess and think well, I know I thought it looked awesome somewhere. Not quite the photographic memory I used to have. Now that I have my photo references, maybe I can get back to work. Maybe I'll do a before and after and a comparision to the Neiman Marcus. Let's see... Goodwil vs. Neiman. What can I say, I guess I am a dreamer.
But in closing, I came across some paint in a post today that all of us fixer uppers would like to use. It is by Country Living.

It is very thick and dries quickly and just has so many awesome qualities that you need to go over to thedevinehome.com and read all about it.