I am organized. I am organized. I am organized.

Except in my closet! OMGosh! Help! I could probably lose a kid in there!

Holy pickles! I don't even know where to start! See the bag on the floor, in the middle, right behind the remote truck? Why do I have a remote truck in my closet? Anyway, that bag is full of bank statements from NINETEEN EIGHTY FIVE!

I know you needed a good laugh tonight. You're welcome. ACK! Ü

If I Had My Life To Live Over - Erma Bombeck.

I read this poem years ago. Literally, years ago. I have never forgotten about it & I try to remember her words every chance I get. Today I looked up the poem & decided to share it with you. Happy weekend. Ü

If I Had My Life To Live Over

by Erma Bombeck

The following was written by the late Erma Bombeck
after she found out she had a fatal disease.


If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ...

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

© Erma Bombeck

Most photos ever in one post. Camping!

Spite hubby's truck breaking down the morning we were to leave, spite arriving at 8:30 p.m. to find the state park we planned to camp at closed (due to flooding), spite running my battery down resulting in my car not starting the following morning & spite the miserable heat -

It was fantastic! Ü

Here was our view. Beautimous!

Going to check out the lake.


Saturday afternoon, this little cove became our saving grace. We were so hot, we actually came down here & got in to cool off. Even Bray walked in the water & laid down. If it weren't for this cove, more than likely we would have packed up & headed home due to the extreme heat.


Saving grace #2.



Yay! Got it running. Thanks AAA.


Chef!


This little tyke spent a lot of her time in the car with the a/c on, watching a movie. Smart girl. Sometimes I'm in the photos. See?


Neighbors.


Old enough now to fake smile. Sigh.


Bored? Hot? Both?


Sweat! I was so concerned about my kids in the heat.



I found a clip & pulled her hair up! That helped. A smidgen.



Jaguar faired well. She's tough.



Audi skeptical about roasting.


Gettin' dirty! :)


Adorable.




Typically I don't take this many photographs of wildlife. But there were so many, I was mesmerized. ♥ nature. There's just nothing like it.



Great shot! ♥



We are so excited to camp again! But never again in the heat. Didn't I say the very same thing about having a garage sale? Ü

There's just something about being in the out of doors. Living in nature. Smelling, listening, breathing, seeing, appreciating. Ultimate stress reliever (unless your car won't start & you're stranded at a camp ground. Teehee. ;o). And other campers? Friendliest people around. As we were pulling out Sunday morning, our neighbor campers came running up. Why? His truck wouldn't start & he needed a jump. LOL

I encourage you. Go camping. Try it. Don't let life go by without experiencing the great outdoors. Don't worry - most camp grounds have indoor potties & showers. Live! Ü

I thought she looked pretty this morning.

So I took her picture. ♥

Guess I startled her in the one below. Ü
Adorable. ♥

(Yep, the photos are awful. Why? Flash. Snapshots. Grr.)

My $17 spray painting table.

Pretty cool huh? I found this at Goodwill. I think it's a desk of some sort, but I like it because of it's height. I have a bad lower back, so I won't have to bend over so far to spray paint. 'Cause sometimes when I bend over at a certain angle for too long, well, I can't stand back up straight. Pain-free, anyway.

Time to Clorox wipe it down & put it to use! Ü

How to get water based paint off of molding.

Lookie! I'm acting like one of the important people & doing a tutorial! Yay me! Why am I doing it? I dunno. Teehee. :) Moving on.

When painting Jaguar's room, I mentioned that I used old painters tape & it did not adhere to my baseboards/crown molding thus creating sloppy molding lines. My perfectionism tends to call the shots, so you already know that I must, must, must have clean, straight lines. After hyperventilating over said sloppy molding, I was bound & determined to come up with a solution to get off the extra paint, short of purchasing/painting/installing new molding. Ü

That little white spot is a paint crystal (which are amazing!). Anyway, my first thought was to try to kind of scrub it off with something wet. Hello baby wipes! Using my thumb nail, I put my thumb under the wipe, running the wipe along the very edge of the molding. The paint along the molding gets damp from the wipe, but it dries right up. It took a tad of elbow grease, as the paint at this point was several days dry...

Tada! Worked like a stinkin' charm.

I couldn't believe it! I just can't tell you how happy & content I am that Jag's room now has nice, neat molding lines. I've never had this issue before when painting, so I was so relieved to have found a solution. Things such as this keep me awake at night & I need my beauty sleep. ;o) I will always use water based paint (I think most do) from here on out, if for no other reason than this dilemma alone.

I also discovered along the way that molding is probably never going to have perfect, error-free lines. Why? Because woodwork isn't perfect. Ours isn't, anyway. Our house is over 12 years old, & all of our molding has some sort of nick, ding, missing slivers, etc. Tape can't adhere directly to areas such as that. That's ok with me though, as long as the molding that isn't damaged in some way is nice & clean.

I'm finishing up Jag's room this weekend (including most of the decorating). Then up & on we go! We have 14 more rooms to do. Teehee. Ü

(The dark spots in the photos aren't on the paint. Seems I have some water spots on my camera lens. Oops. :)

Goodwill goodies.

Lamp not included, it belongs to me. :) Those are tiny, clear beads strung on the little tin angel. The metal yellow flower bowl will be painted & actually hung on Jaguar's wall. It's quite large & cute! The tall glass vase/pitcher - I really have no idea what I will do with it - but it's so unique, I like it! It had a bunch of grime on it & I've already cleaned it - shined up perfectly. Jamie Lee Curtis book.

And last, the pretty whimsical beaded hangie-thingie. Teehee. I have no clue what in the sam hills this thing is called. But I thought it would look perfect in Jaguar's funky new bedroom. :)

Total: $20. Not too shabby!

Happy weekend! Ü

Sneak peek II.

The painting is complete! And fabulous! Yay! On to decorating! Ü

OxiClean Max Force.

It's not much of a secret that I'm a bleach fanatic (the main reason is because bleach disinfects & me likey that fact). There's no doubt - you should see some of our color (or lack thereof) articles. I use bleach so much, color items that were once, well, colored, are now some pretty funky & unappealing hues. And that's starting to play on my nerves. Not only that, when I bleach a load of clothes, I immediately add 2 full cups of plain water to the dispenser in hopes of ridding left over bleach residue. It ain't working = ruining loads of clothes that I do not bleach. That's really aggravating. In hopes of discovering a solution I found these...

I'm not an OxiClean fan. Tried one of their products years ago & trashed it. These little puppies claim to rid stains & whiten whites. So I'm hoping these can replace my pesky little bleach fetish.

I'm searching for a review - have any of you used these? Last time I wanted to try a new product - Bounce Dryer Bars - it got conflicting reviews, so I never bought any (thanks to all of you who gave your opinion!). I'll try an OxiClean Power Pak this afternoon, hopefully they're acceptable & my little family can say goodbye to some very unattractive clothing. And towels/wash clothes. And kitchen towels. And hand towels. And sheets. Etc. Etc. :)

My Punky Brewster's sneak peek.

Notice the color of her shirt.

And the new paint color on her walls.

And there you have it. Ü

Yep, her entire room is now magenta! With shimmers, of course. Her room is not completed. What was supposed to be a quick 1 - 1 1/2 day room paint, turned into 3 full days, & it's still unfinished. Her room is beautiful, but getting it that way was not. From my paint brush getting icky, gummy while painting, to me using old painter's tape that obviously did not adhere to the baseboards & crown molding = one big magenta mess. I still need to cut in around her closet & 2 corners, & hubby needs to reroll the gummy mess on one wall. Even though I retaped & rectified a lot of baseboard mess, I've still got to figure out how to remove the remaining excess paint from the baseboards & crown molding. I will not leave it like it is - I am a perfectionist & I only tolerate clean, perfect, straight lines. Ugh. It will drive me crazy if I don't get it fixed.

Jaguar is currently bunking in with her brothers until more progress is made. And dare I say her room still smells to high heavens! 4 days later. No clue what I'm going to do about that! I've placed bowls of white vinegar in all bedrooms for a few days now & really, I can't tell the vinegar is helping much. Nonetheless, I'm trying to stay optimistic & keep focus on how pretty her room will be once we finally get it finished. Jaguar loves it already. :)

This afternoon we are off camping! Hubby & I are pro campers -we used to go once a month. That was before four little people joined our family. This will be our first camping adventure as a family of six! I know my wee ones will love camping & I can't wait to watch them roam, explore & run free. ♥

Happy weekend! Ü

Because life is too short not to giggle.

Watch first:



Watch after:




Bahahaha! Too cute. Ü

Goodwill goodies.

What is that, you say? You think thrift shopping is my newest obsession? You'z be'z correct. ;o) Now listen. I've been cooped up in this germ filled house with germ filled wee ones since last Friday night. I'm so glad to be released, I had to make up for lost time! I have to watch myself though - my adrenaline starts getting the best of me & I need to make sure I don't purchase items I really have no use for. I want to be savvy shopping, not sloppy shopping. Ü

So lookie.


I know, I know - score! $26 total.

Tin star - $4.99. Will spray paint silver - if I like, I'll go back & purchase more stars to make a group.

Picture - $2.50. Love the sentiment. "Our lives are full of flowers that bloom forever. Family - Friends - Life". Colors are good for C3's room, but icky frame has to go.

Tin "Welcome" sign - $5.00. Not sure how I'm going to fix it up (but I am), but I do believe I'll put this under our covered patio out by the pool.

Picnic Basket - $3.00!

White ceramic flower - $1.00. Currently I am all about white dishes/ceramic pieces (& chairs! Don't forget chairs! ;o).

White ceramic teapot - $3.00. Too cute!

Silver plate stand - $3.00.

Silver taper holders - $1.00 each.

My girl & I then mosied on over to Target - bought some twin clearanced sheets for 50% off to use as back up. Coupon holder - $1.00. Cute candles, smell so good - $1.50 each. New dictionary - $1.00. Books - Oliver Twist & Huckleberry Finn - $1.00 each!

Whew! I think I'm done. For today, anyway. Happy Friday! Ü

Big girl bed!

A few days shy of 32 months old. We tried to transition her a few months ago, but was unsuccessful. This time, she is so happy happy, I just know she'll be fine. :)

In January '11, she'll be three. Three! I try not to think about it. She's at such a precious age. So stinkin' cute - more fun sentences. Last night I asked her: "Are you ready to sleep in your big girl bed?" She replied: "Ummm, I not sure mommy!" Love & adore her. ♥

(Can't wait to rid this awful pepto bismol room!)

Happy weekend!

I've been busy.

I could have told you it was going to happen. It happens every year, just like clockwork. Exactly one week after school starts.

Not only did the kids bring home completed work, books & forms, they brought home a nasty cold bug. Boo! Last Friday evening we went to dinner & I could feel it brewing. By Saturday, I was down & out. Which is so aggravating to me - a wasted weekend. I hate that. Sunday rolls around - Jaguar has it. She stayed home from school Monday & Tuesday. Monday rolls around, Mercedes has it. Tuesday I picked the boys up from school & now Bentley has it. Big time. He had no business staying/being at school. But that's just how he rolls. Audi continues to sound a little stuffy, but he feels fine. Hubby has no symptoms. Yet.

So alas, it has been one miserable weekend & week. I'm still not feeling up to par, so many areas are being neglected right now. The upside is that I've discovered lots of new decorating blogs, so that's made me all happy happy while coughing & sneezing. Ü

Hopefully I'll return soon - with painted room photos!