Blog break!

Ok, I'm not really Gone Fishin', but I thought it was cute. I'm so creative like that. Ü

I'm just swamped right now. So much to do & there just aren't enough hours in the day for me to make much progress. Sunday is our annual 4th of July family reunion, which I wasn't going to attend, but now I am. Saturday we are heading to my brother's for a cookout & sparklers & because he (they) live close to where our family reunion is, I just decided to go ahead & do both. I am such a brave soul. Livin' on the edge, I'm tellin' ya. :)

They both are over an hour drive from our house - so we decided to get a hotel room for Saturday night to avoid driving back & forth. Should work out super & my wee ones love staying in hotels, so they are really excited. Which makes me all happy happy. But.

Now I have so much to do to prepare for both. I know I haven't blogged in a while & it's not looking good. So I've decided to take the week & Gone Fishin'. :)

Don't forget about me - I'll be back! Have a super week & a super 4th! Ü

Kidbits.

Bentley to Audi: Hey, at least you're not the runt on your team.

Jaguar to Daddy: Hurry up dad, you're slower than Christmas!

Mercedes to all of us while it thundered: Thunger! Cwose you eyes!

Sugar and spice.

And so sweet! ♥

Not quite 2 1/2 years old yet. I know I've said it before, but I would be so thankful if time would just freeze. She's my last baby & she's growing too fast. She is so precious & I would love for her to stay this age forever. Such a cute age.

She's talking up a storm & has been for quite some time. She said the phrases below at 23 months. She wasn't quite 2. I jotted them down because I thought they were so cute coming from an itty person.

Wipe fell off! Look at that! I help-ed you. Go away! Put sock off? Where Mommy go? Daddy home! Go bye-bye in minute? No! No, mine! I want dat blanket. I want that. I pay'in! (playing) I need hug, pease. Hallo? Bye bye. I want down pease. I take bath bubbles! Don't do that. That tickles. Turn movie on? There it goes! Mickey Mouse! Do it on me. (Put it on me, she meant? Can't remember.) Yah, again. I need taggie. Oh no, I drop it! Give the book to me! Hold dat. That's so funny! Here you go! Yep. Nope. What? I walk! Shup up. (Nice.) Get away! Doggie barking. Read book? Hi puddin'. Balloon, baby! Outta batterwies. Oh my gosh! Shoes on? Don't scare me wike dat! I want some! Watshing a movie. Unbuckle me! Pease hold dis. I pay (play), peaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee? Me princess. My baby. No want kiss. Come on! I woosh (wash) hands. Good!

Naturally, her vocabulary has progressed since that time & there's no way I can document them all down. She speaks clearly & I can understand 95% of what she says. :)

Some quick ones from tonight:

Her: Bleh! Me: What? Her: That 'mell! (smell) LOL I was cleaning my bathroom counter with Seventh Generation & it does not smell pretty. Ü

LET ME DO IT!!! (She screams this often.)

I get it for you! I turn my wadio/fan/nigh light on. Oh. I got it! I need lip stuff! (Lipsmackers :) I do it! Hot Donald's! (McDonald's - we have no clue why she calls it Hot Donald's.) I want drink you coke? I want moeeeeeeee (more). Peaseeeeeeeee? (Please) You welcome. 'Scuse me. I toot! I not poopie. Lets go! Thaz mine! Give it to me! Okay. Goo (good) night Mommy. No wanna go night night! Oh no, I dwop it! It not wooking (working)! I find it! So scary! I wuv you so mush (much)! Goo (good) moening (morning)! Dont want poptart (& many other things). Turn up pease (radio). You no sing!!! (She gets perturbed when anyone else sings besides her.) I cwean (clean) up! I do it! Hold me pease. I need up (to be held). I no (don't) know. I need color ('to' color). Tank you! I put in (it) the frig for you! Turn up pease Mommy. Mine! - don't tush (touch) it!

Yesterday at nap time, I laid down for a few minutes. I had the monitor on. I heard nothing out of the ordinary. A few minutes later, I heard something suspicious. "Bentley, what is that?" "It's the baby! She came downstairs with her pillow & taggie!" She sure did! She was watching tv with Bentley. LOL Cracked me up. She had crawled out of her crib, with her pillow & taggie & trucked them both, including herself, downstairs & to the other side of the house. She crawls in & out of her crib all the time. Time for a big girl bed. Sigh. Ü

She also is a singer. All the time. I have yet to capture her singing on video - I'll try to do that in the next few days. So stinkin' adorable!

My 'Dusty'. (The name the nurses gave her after her birthmother abandoned her & yes, we call her that sometimes. :o) How I treasure every ounce of you. Sweet, sweet baby girl. ♥

*This morning I was greeted by this tiny tyke, who had once again exited her crib & came downstairs. Tonight I will put her crib mattress on the floor (& I'll install a doorknob cover so she can't get out of her room) until I get her a big girl mattress this weekend. If she now going to make a habit of climbing out of her crib, I see no sense in keeping her in there & jeopardizing her getting hurt. Sigh. RIP, beautiful, last-baby crib. :(

Cell phone usage.

I am totally against texting while driving. Heck, truth be told, I am totally against talking on a cell phone and/or reading emails while driving. My husband talks on his cell while driving 7 hours out of 8. It drives me insane. I think it is totally irresponsible & risking the safety of innocent drivers. My guess is that in the near future, cell phone usage while driving will cause as many, if not more, deaths than drunk driving.

Feeding my addiction. Wooden chairs.

This little jewel is about 3' tall. I found it at a garage sale today for $5. I know. Contain your excitement. Can you believe it? Ü

While Clorox Wiping this little jewel, I discovered it is dropping paint like you wouldn't believe. It's probably lead paint, at that. Baha! I had to get it up & away from the wee ones, so I chose the ledge that hovers above the landing. You remember the ledge? The one I despise cleaning, because I can't reach. I literally tossed the chair & rooster up there, hoping they'd land in a satisfactory spot. Ü

Now picture this little jewel in hot pink. Just perfect for Jaguar's room. Score again! ♥

Caught in the act.

I told my husband someone was eating the peaches & leaving their peach pits in our yard! Busted! Ü

Reading.

Today I took myself & my children to Barnes & Noble. What an amazing store. It's a pleasure to walk into & a pleasure to browse. So peaceful & calming, but exciting at the same time. Full of adventures - from Cooking & Decorating to the Bible & everything in between. My children were mesmerized. Yes, we had been there before a few times, but we don't live 'close', so it had been a while. Way too long. We could have stayed for hours, sinking down on their soft chairs, just reading. We vowed to return much sooner next time & we then left with some fun treasures.

I'm not a reader. Never have been. I have high hopes of changing that. Not only for myself, but to encourage my children, as well. Even though Bentley needs no encouragement to read (he's a pro!), I hope to entice the others. Audi has now learned to read, so we are at a really good place. Ü

When I purchased this sectional a few years, I did so mainly for one reason (besides color :) - when I saw it on the showroom floor, I envisioned my entire family curled up on this couch reading books together. I knew it was ample large enough to house us all. I bought the couch. :)

I asked for Laura Bush's new book for Mother's Day. I received. :) My new summer plan not only includes quiet reading time for myself, but for my children. 15-30 minutes daily, individually. In addition, I have decided to purchase one "classic" at a time & read for a bit every night to all four of my children. We read together, but it's so informal. I want formal. :) This time I chose The Wind in the Willows & when we finish this book, we will return for another. And another. We're going to read right here on this comfy couch. I am so excited about implementing reading time together.

Next time someone (including myself) exclaims "I'm bored!", well, grab a book! Bored no more, all the while being lost in an adventure. Ü

Do you want to go swimming?

"Yeah!" she says, hands up in the air, for full excitement display. So we go out.

And this is all she does. Every time. Ü

Pocket Full of Sunshine.

You & I? We've never met. You girls really have no idea what I'm like 'in person'. All you get is what I type on my blog, which unfortunately, at isolated times, can be totally misconstrued via the internet. I think I do pretty well conveying myself, but sometimes, things just come out wrong. So.

When I viewed this video, courtesy of Kelle Hampton's blog, oh holy pickles, this is about as close as it can get. Cracks me up. Want to know what I'm really like? Want to know the stupid stuff I do & how I love to do it? Honestly? This could be me in the video. Albeit, I'm just a tad older. I said tad, not quite. Teehee. :)

Nothing about me would I change. Well, maybe my temper when I get niffed, but that's a work in progress. I do claim to be a hothead, which I inherited from my father. Sigh. But. Other than that? I am a complete goofer. I dance all the time. Blare the radio. Sing. Laugh. Make jokes. Stupid rhymes. Tease my kids. (Admit to) Perform & vocalize dumb things. I'm happy happy. When other mothers aren't hurting my feelings. Ha! Borderline dork. I'm just me. I'm thankful for being me. I'm thankful for being quirky. Because if I was any other way, my life, our life, would be way more boring. And boring bites.

My mom is currently hooked on singing cards. The one I just received for my birthday? A tiny hampster (or some cute creature) singing: Have a dee-da-dee-da-doe-doe day! Cracks me up. The singing cards are a tad expensive, but sometimes, you can't put a price on a smile. Ü

I wonder how many times you're going to watch the above video? I betcha way more than once. You go girl. :)

(♥ the dog.)

Thought we'd put their warning to the test.

They're right! Ü

That right there'd be Mr. Chunk stuck in Miss Mercedes' hair. Teehee. Ü

Moments.

Texture.

Before:

After:

The one & only bid we received to texture from the chair rail (you can see where I removed it - now I wish I would have left it & painted it) down was $261. We rented the machine, purchased the drywall & did it ourselves for $71. It was easy peasy which is so great to know, as most of our house needs texturing because most rooms have wallpaper. Now I know there is no need to hire a professional. :)

I'm a little agitated with myself because once I began spraying the texture, I was abruptly reminded that I forgot to complete prepping the room. There are a few areas I needed to mud to level/smooth out & I forgot. Ugh. Too late! We rented the machine for 4 hours, so there was no time for me to stop & do it. I will go back & do those areas soon, & manually 'orange peel' (you can purchase spray texture in a can for small areas & it works great) the areas before moving on to the next step.

This has been just one of the many (!!) home improvement chores that has been pending for entirely too long. It is such a relief that it was relatively simple & completely affordable, but most importantly, it's done!

Now the really hard part - what colors/designs does Jaguar and/or I want to paint? Fun stuff. Ü

Garage saling - score!

Typically I'm not a garage saler. I do some drive-bys, but that's about the extent of it. But today? I got ambitious! I went garage saling & got out of my car. LOL Kind of makes a difference! I have been totally inspired by Thrify Decor Chick, as well as Destiny, so by george I was determined to go out today & score some home decor. And score I did - look! Ü

I am just so darn tickled pink, I'm ready to go again! Woot! I'll break it down -

Wood chair - $8.00, I bargained & paid $7. I am all about wooden chairs right now; I have a feeling our home is going to be filled with them.

Mirror - $4.00 - excellent quality. I was going to paint and/or chalkboard it for Jaguar's room - but I placed it on my server in front of a large, silk, green plant & it looks quite pretty! May leave it alone.

Metal/tin canister - $2.00 - I ♥ these! I will fill it with tall, sophisticated, silk flowers & may place in my master bathroom.

Tiny basket - .25 - I am not a basket person; I have sold tons of baskets myself over the years at my own garage sales. However, people are now spray painting them - so I bought this for Mercedes' room & she can put jewlery and/or hair accessories in it. I'll paint it pretty.

2 raw candlesticks - $7.00 for both, I bargained & paid $5. They are ready to be painted! Love candles & ♥ candlesticks, so these are perfect!

Total = $18.25! I am just giddy!

The first garage sale I pulled up at? Had the most perfect turtle sandbox for sale. LOL Just my luck! ;o)

Live inspired.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

- Mark Twain.

Ripstick.

In the house!

I'm a cool mom. Ü

Bokeh.

He had an itch. Ü

I'm an all or nothing kind of girl. I either want total bokeh (the degree of blur around the subject), or really, none at all. I love that I'm so new at this photography stuff, I'm still stumbling upon preferences that make my heart go pitter pat. Ü

And, photography does indeed, make my heart go pitter pat. These two photos make me all happy happy. Ü

(Flowers are planted in my planters out front. They grow with no water. Correction - very little water. 'Cause I forget about them. I ♥ them.)

Brunch Casserole.

1 lb. roll sausage
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can (8 oz.) refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
4 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Crumble & cook sausage in medium skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain. Line bottom of greased 13" x 9" baking dish with crescent roll dough, firmly pressing perforations to seal. Sprinkle with sausage & cheese. Combine remaining ingredients in medium bowl until blended; pour over sausage. Bake 15 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into squares; serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers.

This recipe melts in your mouth. Delish! Ü