Livingroom Fort

Last night I hosted a pie making night for the RS ladies. I had a ton of chairs out and of course today they are still there. We decided that when there are that many chairs around, a fort must be built. And that is just what we did! My only worries are for Thurston... Joseph ate something and has been one stinky little boy today. I'm thinking the air quality in that tent won't be so great. ;)

Pilgrims, Indians and George

Today Joseph's class had their Thanksgiving Feast and I was lucky enough to go and help out. His class dressed as the Pilgrims and the other Kindergarten class came as the Indians and they were all so adorable. The rest of the afternoon we did crafts... so for 2 hours I helped 23 5 yr olds make pilgrims out of spoons (there were 4 rotations). I have a lot of respect to the teachers who do this everyday, I came home and was exhausted. On came the sweats and me and the boys cuddled the rest of the afternoon with some popcorn cookies and milk (spiked with eggnog...) and a movie (that may or may not have been a Christmas movie). Great day! Where's JoJo?! Look at the bookcase on the right, the yellow and red buckle on the hat is him. He's so cute Pretty good spread LOVE this kiddo!! On a P.S. note, Curious George was at out Library this week! There was no way we would miss him!

New Livingroom

The time had come. I was tired of the yellow. Now that it is gone, I have to say I do not miss it at all. I liked the color in the direct sunlight when it was nice and warm, but at night it was a different story. The energy efficient bulbs turned my butter yellow walls into a florescent yellow nightmare and I found myself apologizing and defending myself when company was over during the evening. I'm a planner and had things down to the accessories and had been saving away for the day I could change things out, then one day Preston calls me and tells me he got an unexpected bonus = woohoo!! So for our anniversary weekend, we gutted the van leaving one seat for Aleah, dropped the boys off at the cousins and headed to IKEA. I'm not gonna lie to you, it was awesome. I absolutely LOVE how everything turned out! I feel that it represents me much better now. The dining table is a slight upgrade from the folding chairs, but only slightly. ;) Here's a shot of what it looked like before. You just have to look past the naked little boy covered in sharpie. The boys got in on the painting action Tada! This is the Dining area (duh) I love love love this table! It was only $299 at IKEA. Love that store. Not a good shot of the light, but I love this chandelier... super cheap at IKEA as well. That lamp was yet another great steel at IKEA, it beckoned me. Next to the table, this is my favorite. I got it at Kohls with my Kohls cash, so It was free... (besides the $4 in shipping) For some new art work, I gave the kids some canvases and let them have at it. JoJo's is the top, Thurston the middle and Aleahs is the bottom one. I think they turned out so cute and perfect for the space. This is the new painting I did, I love it too. So that's it, I'm happy. What happens now? Well, the post its that saved the places I wanted in the IKEA catalogue have been taken out to make room for the art/ guest room. It's all measured out and designed. Now I just need the $$ and it is so on!

Its always about the cake

I should be exercising right now, but keep coming up with excuses why not to. Like posting a blog about this cake I saw and thought was hilarious. I really want to make this for someone, too great.

Anywhere but there....

On nights that are not school nights, the boys take every opportunity to sleep anywhere but their beds. (They get that from their Dad. Where most couples send the husband to the couch, I was fighting to get mine into bed... that sounds bad, but it was because he spent all of high school sleeping in the living room.) They absolutely LOVE sleeping downstairs. Its usually just fine with us, we leave the stove light on and they crash watching cartoons or a movie. On very rare occasions, we will surrender the upstairs living room to them, but that is rare, because we are squatters there. Tonight they are sharing the guest bed in the art room... which is funny because it used to be their room. I think its fun and childhood is a time to enjoy things like this. We found their tents a couple weeks ago and they slept in them for a couple nights. These pics crack me up.

9 Months!!

I think it is just crazy that baby girl is now 9 months old! She is so crazy and full of life and there couldn't be a more perfect fit for our family. She is the perfect finale to our little family.:) Right now she is crawling super fast, climbing onto everything (she even got onto the couch the other day- yikes). Pulls down anything in her reach. Her favorite activities include: pulling out everything in her drawer in 2 seconds flat when it is left open, throwing things from her high chair, stalking Jazz, playing with her brothers, peek-a-boo and waking up an hour after you put her to bed and staying up to party until midnight. She has her 4 front teeth and knows how to use them. She is starting to take a bottle :). Her words include "momomomomom, adadadadada, kieeeee (kitty) aheee(blankie)and the occasional abubububub and spittle. I just love her! We always do the "how big is leahs? SOOOO BIIIG!" and she has started putting her arms up, but on this day she just did her head and it was so stinkin cute!! And just incase you were wondering who she looked like, here is a picture of me around that same age. Only difference is that she doesn't have the luxury of being raised in the 80's with Golden shag and brown plaid. Tough break. ;)

after thoughts...

I forgot to add these to the pot. We went back to Linder Farms as a family and the boys got to do some climbing. They did really well, and got pretty far up. Thurston was a pro until he stopped to think about what he was doing, and then got a little freaked out. We had talk him down, but he did very well. It was fun, and the mini doughnuts there are amazing.

The Sweater....shirt.

This is the one I was telling you about Amber..... My dear, sweet, amazing Husband has a favorite sweater. Once the weather turns chilly, he fall back to this thing. I hate it. I absolutely abhor it, and the season is upon us once again and it will be making its way to the top of the rotation. Oh help. His defense is that he loves it because it is super comfortable and functional and that hey, its a Ralph Lauren that I believe was purchased at a Nordstrom. Keep in mind that it was purchased closer to the Seinfeld era than modern times. I try to hide it deep into his closet, but he finds it. I've been tempted to throw it out, but being the loving wife I am, I know that would be mean. I just wanted to explore why it bothers me as much as it does. Lets begin: We will overlook the faded navy blue because that's what happens when you've had and worn something for 15+ years. My problem is that it seems to have an identity crisis. You start with a plain sweat shirt. check. K- now add a faux denim collar. check. now for fun, lets add buttons. check. whats that? Oh, you want to add a pouch in the front? GREAT idea!! But I REALLY think there should be a zipper, lets put one over the left breast, sweet, yes! NOW for the best part, lets add denim elbow patches for a sophisticated touch and VOILA! This is what you get: I love you Preston.

Halloween

We had ourselves a fancy good time. Actual Halloween we had family over for our Chile and pumpkin pie fest. Low key, but nice! Headed to Trunk or Treat Joseph was a pro at handing out the candy My little witch!! Seriously the sweetest picture! Carving Pumpkins! The final products Now I remember why I usually TAKE the pictures, as to avoid nice shots of me like this.