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Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Graduate

Good grief.  Q graduated from preschool yesterday.  Did I cry?  Yes, yes I did.  Q has been going to Mrs. Spry since he was 6 weeks old.  She's the only person that has ever kept him and I'm not gonna lie, I'm super nervous about him going to big kid pre-k in August.  I mean, I have never worried about him with Mrs. Spry.  I knew that he was being loved on everyday.  I knew that she adored him.  I knew that she treated him like her own.  I worry that pre-k is going to have that same feel. 

There were only three graduating kids this year, and Q and Robert have been together the whole time.  They all felt so fancy in their cap and gowns.  There was a slide show before the ceremony and that is when my crying began.


Receiving his diploma... {cue more tears}


Quinn and Loralai.  I'm not sure what they are going to do without seeing each other everyday next year.


The exciting part about pre-k is that all three of our kids will be in the same place next year!  Yay!  Because the girls are six years older, this is the only time that this will ever happen.


Mrs. Spry, Q and Miss Meagan...  {Chris and I both taught Meagan when she was in middle school, big sigh, she graduated from high school last year}


{cue more tears...}


Summer List 2012

It's official!  Here's the Summer List 2012!



Wednesday, May 30, 2012

What I Wore

Linking up with Lindsey at The Pleated Poppy!


navy and white polka dot top - loft 
jeans - gap outlet (those straight curvies!)
shoes - dansko
earrings - ike and co 

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Productive {yay!}

Today was a productive day!  Hooray!  I finished all of my swag to send to Meg for Craft Weekend (which I am dying, dying to go to!).  This is the first one that I have made fifteen of the candy jade necklaces and let me just tell you...the wire wrapping...wooooo...lots of time!


The girls also had a productive day...

I am not kidding you when I say that CHANDLER MADE THAT VEST!  Can you believe that kid???  Casey was her model/body form.  Because, really, who could be a better body double than your identical twin????  But let's go back to the vest...Chandler MADE that vest!  Amazing.

We also had the foyer painted today.  I have no idea why we waited so long to have this done...it looks beautiful!  And I'm redoing the pictures...by the way...

Monday, May 28, 2012

I love you, Weekend.

Chris and I started the weekend off right...with a lunch out at Heirloom.  Love, love, love this place.  I had this...


...the Mediterranean Sandwich.  I would go vegetarian if I could eat one of these everyday.  Just sayin.

Saturday was a day of cleaning.  And a day when I wanted to kill my children.  Not really, but kind of.  But that might be a separate post.  Oh.  The preteendom that is going on in my house.  Ugh.  Let me just say that I found a bowl of potato chips in their bathroom.  Potato chips.  In.the.bathroom.

Sunday...we headed out to mom's.  My brother Matt and his cute girlfriend Chalise were in town from Texas (yay!) and we planned two days out at the pool.

The girls did many cupid shuffles and wobbles...


And then we ate {my favorite thing to do at my mom's}...  They grilled ribs and well, that would mean eating MEAT off a BONE and I just don't do that, so I had a big ole' plate of sides.  My mother makes superior sides.


{watermelon salad, avocado potato salad, green bean salad, cole slaw, three bean salad...do you notice a salad theme???}

Monday?  More pool time!  The kids got in around 10am and out around, um, 6pm.  Seriously.


There was a heated game of Marco Polo in which Matt and Quinn played as a team.


The girls stopped in the middle of the game to pose for me.


This was my view.  The boys were quickly closing in on them...


...and then they captured Chan.


Quinn decided that sharing an inner-tube with Uncle Matt was the way to go.

Or that being thrown in the pool by Uncle Matt was the way to go.  Seriously.  He couldn't get enough of it.  And the girls?  Yeah.  They were waiting in line to be thrown in too.  :)


And then things took a turn and Uncle Matt threatened to dip Softie (Casey's precious teddy bear) into the pool.  There was screaming involved.

Then there were some naps (not Quinn, though)...and some pizza and left over salads...and then we headed home...

And Quinn did this for about 30 minutes...


....and then woke up and talked the rest of the ride home.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

One of the happiest things I've ever seen. Ever. Seriously.

So a friend shared this one facebook and I have to share it with you.  This marriage proposal video has to be one of the happiest things I have ever seen.  And watching this girl's face....well, I cried.  Sobbed, actually.  Enjoy!



Wonderful, wasn't it???

I hope you are having a great long weekend!  We are heading out to my mom's house for a day at the pool and a super visit with my little brother and his girlfriend (who are in town visiting from Texas).  Yay!  Mom has promised me avocado potato salad and watermelon salad.  That's all I plan on eating while I am out there - two of my favorite things - which is really kind of funny considering that I don't care for any other kind of potato salad and I don't eat watermelon any other way than in this salad.

{ps.  Have you noticed?  I am really, really close to 2000 sales!}

Friday, May 25, 2012

Project #2

For almost a year now, we've had my aunt's antique vanity in our foyer.  It was a stop gap until I could find just the right thing.  Do you do that too?  Put things places with no intention of leaving them there?  Here's what it looked like...


It was really kind of too big for the space.  Too wide next to the doorway.  And well, it looked like we had a vanity in the foyer. 

I knew I wanted something with glass doors.  That was my requirement.  I kept finding things for over $200.  And something vintage?  Forget about it.  Way out of my league.

I saw one at Target for $150.  But I was still hesitate.  Mainly because I am kind of cheap and $150, while not a lot to spend on a piece of furniture, seemed like a lot to spend on a piece of furniture that is going to do nothing but sit in my foyer.

But then it went on sale...$110, with free shipping!  And that, I could wrap my brain around.

So I bought it and it arrived while Chris was still at work.  I had to open it immediately.  I had thoughts of surprising him and putting it together on my own.  Instead I surprised him with this...


Yep.  That's what I do.  Take things out, make a big mess and then hope that Chris can handle it.

And he did.  Quinn was really excited looking at the paw print.  You know, the blue print.  And I am very pleased with my $110, free shipping, purchase!


Thursday, May 24, 2012

I am a hoarder.

It's true.  Not in a "I belong on the show, hoarder" but a hoarder, none the less.  I have a really hard time parting with things.

When Chris moved in with us, he was really proud of the fact that everything he owned fit into his Honda Civic.  In one trip.

I, on the other hand, still have my Certificate of Completion from preschool, every dress that I wore to high school dances, programs from concerts in 1995 and a shoebox full of movie ticket stubs dating back to 1988.

But that's neither here nor there.  What I am really bad about hoarding is jewelry supplies.  I tend to get down to a few pieces of something and then don't want to part with them.  I might need them for something.  Or sometimes things are just too, too lovely and, well, I just have to hang on to them.  Silly, right?

So that was the start of this week's earring extravaganza.  I think that there will be more of these weeks in the future...it felt good to clean things out and be productive!  {want to do a little shopping?  use coupon code BLOG25 for 25% off your entire purchase!  yay!}


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

I Spy

So, as I was reading PW this morning...  I saw this...


Do you want to play a little game of I Spy?  I spy with my little eye something that is lime...or mint...or hot pink...or orange...or purple...or red...  I spy with my little eye a whole lotta IKE & CO going on in this picture!  :)  Yay!  What fun!  Did you find all the IKE & CO pieces too?


The Beginnings of a Summer List

So I have great hopes of making a summer list this week...  Kind of like this one, or maybe even this one.  Just something that we can see and check off and make plans for.  We all like something to check off, right?

So yesterday I had the girls make a list of things they would like to accomplish (or get to do) and things they would like to learn this summer.  Here we go...


Oh, the spelling.  It makes me cringe.  Seriously.  I mean, I am not the best speller ever, but half the time Chan doesn't even get close enough for spell check to pick it up.  Chan's is the above list and I personally like the last two...  What size underwear I wear?  How to work the T.V.

Casey wants to teach Ike to jump through a hoop.  Yes.  I think she will have great success with that one.

Since they both have Japanese Art on the list, my mom is taking care of that one and putting her mad art skills to work.  (My mom was an amazing artist in her former life.  She could have gone to the Art Institute in Chicago but my grandparents didn't want her to go there because there were nothing but hippies there.  Um, I hate to say it, but, I've seen the pictures, and mom looked kind of hippie herself.  Just sayin.)

Mom is also providing some beginning yoga dvds because clearly yoga is needed in this house.

Casey wants to work on sincerity and truthfulness.  We're, um, ahem, having some difficulties in these areas.

Chan gave me this note last night....



She wants to be called Patricia.  I think that would be a hard adjustment.  Bangs?  Errrr...  It's already hard enough getting out of the house on time, can you imagine if she had bed bangs to deal with too???  Blue streak?  Yes.  Ipod?  No.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Quinn

A friend of mine is at the budget hearing for the school district tonight.  He is texting me updates as they go...  This is what I am dealing with at home...


....he was upstairs playing...and came down...naked...with my sunglasses on...upside down. 

I am hoping to curtail this behavior by the time pre-k starts.

Just sayin.

Project #1

Oh, this yard of ours.  One of the things that we loved about this house was the yard - so, so BIG!  And then we bought the house, moved in, spring turned to summer and we cursed this big yard.  When I say "we," I mean Chris.  But you knew that, right?  We did lots of gardening at our old house, but when we moved in here I was pregnant with Quinn and then had him and he was a toddler and it is a corner lot (which means lots of opportunities to run into the road), but now he's old enough to either
a. help OR
b. stay inside with sisters while we are in the yard

It is a wonderful thing.

So, we (and I do mean we!) spent the weekend in the yard.  You see, my family is coming in from Chicago in a few weeks and there is nothing like visitors to motivate you to do things that you should have done years ago, right?  :)  And no, I didn't take any before pictures.  I sort of wish I did just to show the massive amounts of work that we did, but on the other hand, I would really be too embarrassed to show them to you. 

And we have to give some of the credit to our friend Ken (and Zach!) at Morning Glory Landscaping for coming out and cutting the rose bushes. 

Anywho, here it is...


So, what'd we do, you might ask?  Raked out all the old pine straw (huge job!) and mulched (lots, and lots of mulch) removed two scrubby bushes and planted daisies, hostas,  and marigolds,  put in the stone border and added the hanging plants. 

{nevermind the brown patches...we can't figure it out...and when I say "we" I mean Chris}


We had an old wooden bistro set that I bought years ago at the end of the season at Target for $30.  It had definitely seen it's better days and I had plans for pressure washing, sanding and painting it, but then at Home Depot (at Hamilton Mill, for you locals) they had this wrought iron bistro set on clearance from $150 to $59.  It pretty much made my day.  And after the eight hours of yard work, we sat out there with a beer, admiring our handiwork. 

Summer Project #1 is complete!  Yay!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Summer...and littering...and the vow.

Summer has sort of officially started.  The girls had their last day on Wednesday (we had hibachi - their choice - to celebrate).  My last day was Friday, but I went in today to finish up some odds and ends.  Chris is teaching through Wednesday of this week.  Quinn's last day with Mrs. Spry (don't even get me started on that one - the tears - omg, the tears) is next week. 

And then we will all be home.

But my Dad and Stepmom and coming to visit the week after that.  And we have the girl's recital to get through. 

And then it will feel like summer, officially.

***************

Chandler brought home some of her writing from school last week, including a very nice persuasive piece that was written in her best handwriting and obviously displayed somewhere.  It was about not littering and it was a really well thought out piece with great points made.  Her final paragraph was the clincher though...

"In conclusion, I strongly urge you not to litter.  Because in the future, when the aliens come, we don't want them to think that we didn't know how to take care of mother nature."

Um, what????  Crazy girl!

*****************

Have you seen the movie The Vow?  Have you read the book?



It is worst book to movie that I have ever seen.  No, really.  I understand that it is merely "inspired" by true events, but come on, very, very, very few things were the actually how it happened.  I read the book a few months ago and was looking forward to seeing the movie...such a huge let down!  The true story is so, so, so much better! 

Don't you hate it when that happens????

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Blessed


I am so blessed to be the mama of these three.  

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

This Year

This year has been one of my hardest years.  I have always been a planner and this year has made me not want to plan.  Because I just don't know how to make those plans happen.  Getting from point A to point B has never seemed scarier and more daunting as it does right now.

But today is the last day of school.  I have two days of post planning and then summer begins.

I am hoping for a time to reflect and evaluate and plan.  {Even though planning is scary.}

I am hoping for a time to enjoy my children and my family.  I am hoping for time to work on jewelry and this blog.

I am hoping to clean closets, make great donations to goodwill, and reorganize cabinets.

I am hoping to clean carpets and bathrooms, paint and hang pictures.

I am hoping to visit friends and go antiquing, visit the titanic exhibit and yellow river game ranch.

I am hoping to exercise and eat right and well and perhaps lose a few pounds.

I am hoping to read and run and go back to church.

This year may have been one of my hardest but I am hoping that this summer will be one of my best.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

I Don't Eat the Crust


I found this picture on my phone and it made me laugh.  I took it the last time Molly and I went out for breakfast at Big City Bread - I had a wonder quiche and toast and potatoes.  But I don't eat crust.  Of any kind.  Ever.  Maybe I shouldn't really say it that way.  I will eat through the crust to get to the good stuff.  Like, I don't require that the crust be cut off (my mom would never have done that!).

So anyway, I had quiche and  toast and when it was all said and done, this is what was left on my plate.  And Molly started laughing, saying that it looked like a pile of bones.  So I snapped a picture and then forgot about it.  And then today it made me laugh.

Monday, May 14, 2012

New!


New necklaces that are perfect for summer!  Lightweight, fun, statement pieces.  


Colorful, mix of vintage and wood.

And this one just might be my favorite!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Quinn and Jesus

Mom

 {april 1978}

happy mother's day

Saturday, May 12, 2012

5 Kids


We pretended to have 5 kids this afternoon.  I mean, we really did have 5 kids in the house, and then we decided to give two of them back to their parents.  It wasn't like two of them were imaginary.  Although, that would be funny.

 It actually went quite well.  Chris and I were kind of amazed by how much we had forgotten about babies.  Like how to warm a bottle.  And the fact that we used to do that every.single.night at 3am half asleep is crazy.  It took both of us to figure our what we were doing this afternoon.

{casey, loralai, quinn, chandler, jack}

Did you by any chance notice Chandler's latest look?  Oh my.  Really, oh my.  And she ties the t-shirt (which is one of her race t-shirts) in the back so it kind of looks like she has a tail.  Awesome.  And apparently the headband across the forehead has taken root with my little fashionista.


Monday, May 7, 2012

Reading List

I have been going through a lot of ups and downs lately.  Mostly downs, if you ask my husband, but whatever.  One of the things that I decided I was missing was reading.  That sounds lame, right?  I mean, I'm a librarian, right?  So I read everyday.  Seriously.  Whether it's reading to classes or kiddos that I sit at the tables with in the library or browsing through new picture books, reading books to recommend...I do A LOT of on the job reading.

But I had all but stopped reading at home.

Lame.

I had been reading the same book for months and it was going nowhere and I have such a hard time giving up on a book because I feel like I am rejecting the author and well, that's just not nice, even though I teach kids all the time that it's ok to abandon a book...I have a hard time with it.  And the thing is, I have liked other books by this author, so it was kind of a double whammy.  

So I jumped back in to the reading pool.



Starting with the 50 Shades series.  I had read an article about it on People and decided that I should give it a go.  I think I read all three books in about 4 days.  Well written?  Ehhhh, errr, maybe not so much....  Was I attached to the characters?  Yep.  Kind of like reading a Danielle Steel that's been notched up a bit...ok, quite a bit.



And then because I felt guilty for reading such smut, I read the final book in the Bailey Flanigan Series by Karen Kingsbury.  I have been Kingsbury fan for several years now and have made my way through most of her books.  Was this one the best?  No.  But once I start a series I, big surprise, have a hard time walking away.

Next up was Heaven is Here by Stephanie Neilson.  I've read her blog for several years now and was so impressed that the book was not just a repeat of the blog.


Beware, though, you'll need a box of tissues for this one.  I cried a tremendous amount.  But it was oh so good. 

Then I read Kisses from Katie....which you can read my post about it here...

Followed by Wild by Cheryl Strayed...

...and I must say, it was a GREAT read!  Especially because it is so far from something that I would ever do.  It was one that I did not want to end....definitely the sign of a good book, right???

And then I downloaded some more smut.  Maybe smut is a little too harsh of a word, but definitely cheesy romance novels.  But I didn't actually go to the store, shop around and pick these babies out.  No, it was more of a price point search and then a 5 minute decision and 30 second download and two nights of reading.  But here are the others that I just finished...  The Marriage Bargain and Weekends Required.  Who says don't judge a book by its' cover?  Because that is completely what I did.  I looked for the cheesy steamy covers.  Whatever.  :)

So, I went from no books to nine books in the six weeks.  Not bad, I think.  And it has helped my mood (in my opinion, anyway).  Does reading do that for you?

But all of this leads to my next question...What should I read this summer????