oops, I did it again

No, this is actually the first time that I've done this. And I want to share. I took some family pictures of us a loooong time ago. Like September. And the Adorama had a super mega deal for prints that only cost me 30$ so I ordered them. In big sizes. And they have sat in my office/workspace/craft room for a the above mentioned 'looooong time'.

Well Joann's had a fantastic coopin for 55% + 20$ off your entire custom framing order and I was excited. I mean...that was a great coopin! So off I went. I needed a frame that would house my 16x20 print with a matte. I picked out the least expensive frame and glass I could and the total? 102$! STILL?! Holy how do they sleep at night? And since I really did not have that money or want to spend that money...I took to looking at their regular frames. The only ones they had were both broken, which isn't a big deal. I wasn't scared to slap some wood glue on and call it good. Only they weren't real wood. Some MDF, cheap cheapo stuff. And the more we handled the frame the worse it got. Well poop. 

So...I was going to suck it up and buy the expensive frame. And of course (as is my true character) I was complaining to the frame guy about how cheap I was and blah blah blah. So he goes out back and emerges a few minutes later and tells me they have an "oops frame" that's an 18x24...am I interested. Well, what's an oops frame? It's a frame that has merely come in the wrong size that they discount super cheap!!! Total cost for frame and glass?

$50.00! Bazinga!

Moral of this very long winded story:

Next time you want a great looking frame, check with the clerk at Joann's and Michael's for any "oops frames". I know I certainly will. All the time. 

And as a side note, I love our living room now. Our house is very, very slowly starting to look like a family lives in it. If you haven't been counting all the food spatters on the wall and dings in the trim!

calming the clutter bug

Welcome to my entryway. Isn't it lovely?

I have been living with this horrid display of slothfulness since we moved in here which will be a year in august. Wait...I just noticed that I have evidence that I, do not in fact, have the most shoes lying around. See the blue boots? Those are my only pair. I won't name any names as to whom the other five pairs belong to. Let's just say we noticed.

Anyway. The time for shoes hanging out wherever they felt like was over. I've had the desire to start putting the house together. In something other than my exciting brown color scheme. So to Target I went.

I bought this and put it together by myself. 

 

 I'm pretty talented like that.  And this is what my entryway looks like now:

 

 

 FABULOUS, isn't it? Ok, my bench isn't exactly like the other one. Close enough though. And I've got all our crap stuff in it now.

 

 

 Whew! I can breathe again. I'm kidding...it wasn't that bad. Ahem. Anyway. Have a good Monday night...or Tuesday depending when you read this!

I just want to look grownup

 Do you ever go to open houses for the fun of it? I do. I'm not sure what draws me to go into other peoples homes that are for sale. Maybe because you know it's like the only time that anyone's house ever looks that good. And that organized. The downfall is when I leave I feel like my own home(while 90% clean 90% of the time) doesn't have any "ebb and flow". We kind of just buy decent things and leave it at that.

We did better this time. As in, buying varying shades of brown furniture. We think out of the box;) Room accents would be the pile of toys neatly stacked in the corner, my lap quilt on the back of the couch, and cords staring at you from the tv stand. So after feeling inspired to get some cohesiveness...I went to Joanns with a plan.

More brown. Ha! I used some handy dandy home decor velcro to hold up my newly sewn t.v console cover. Now Mr. Hippo isn't so enticed to suck on the PS3 cords and I don't have to stare at the mess behind the curtain. Then the basket. For the toys. It's just big enough to house the baby toys. Which means I make the other kids' toys stay up in their rooms. Win again.

Now all I need is something on the walls so it doesn't look so much like an asylum...

p.s. Day one of November aka the Thankful month= hot showers! 

I was winning

Vanity

"I'm sorry my house is such a mess".

Ever said that? I thought about this statement last night and the circumstances it gets said in. There's the time that you really are surprised when people come over and you haven't had a free moment in your day to take a shower, none the less, pick up the cheerios that are sticking to the table or strewn all over the floor. So you apologize for your messy house and make sure that your unexpected visitor is completely aware that there is a valid reason for it.

Then there's the other reason.

Knowing you are having visitor(s) over and making sure all the clutter is away. Getting on your hands and knees to try and find Every. Last.Crumb. Shoving things into closets and closing the doors lest anyone see in them. Dishes out of the sink and washed and put away. Then when they get to your home...saying "sorry my house is such a mess", knowing full well it isn't. Is this all in hopes that you show your friends that you live this perfect life? That they should be ashamed of their own homes because you think your spotless home is a mess? Or because all you've got in life is your clean home. So when it is clean after tornadoes of children all day you just want to pretend that it isn't as perfect as you'd like it to be?

Or do you not apologize at all?

It's hard to be 5

I've had a while to figure out who B is most like. My conclusion? ME! It is becoming more and more apparent the more teeth gnashing and head butting quality bonding time we have now. There's a lot of this:

He thinks he's quite amusing as you can tell from his grin. Let me explain. This is his sign. Starting at the left you have Daddy. Then there's Mommy. And then Miss C and then little C. Did you notice how the only one not allowed in his room is me. Yea...me too. 

And I am not one to stop consequences when we are out. I thought this was hilarious actually...because he's never actually been put in the 'corner'...so when I told him to "take 5", this is what he did. Made my night! Is that awful, that I find joy in seeing how my son punishes himself? :)

 This past Saturday I took him to our 'gym'. It's really just a room with two treadmills, two elliptical machines and one recumbent bike, but it does the job. Anyway...he begged to go and since we don't do much I conceded. I should have put it faster....

And then there's just his weird factor. I don't think I could count how many of these types of pictures I have of him. I quit asking him to smile or look presentable, like, a year ago. 

Continuing the weirdness....

(he has perpetual dry skin/rash so we put balmex on to help...hence his mustache)

He likes to do 'big people' things and this includes eating what we eat. Or trying things that we enjoy, whether they be good or not. Being a five year old means that he knows all no matter what you try to tell him. Even when we try to tell him the Wasabi flavored peanuts are gross....he still wants one. And this is what happens...

Man, after this little tribute to the 5 year old in my house...I realize that we have a lot of fun and it's not as bad I think it's been. Which is good. And I really can't complain about built in comedy skits:)

my day was bigger than yours!

Today I:

- went deep sea diving and fought off a vicious shark 

-went on tour as a drummer for a new band

-made peace treaties for two neighboring countries at war

THE END

A day in the life

On a daily basis I observe the following:

sudden onset attacks to un-assuming victims

the distinct sound of a Tasmanian devil

the exchange of words in another foreign tongue

a diva trying to put 3 or 4 shoes on at once

random acts of violence

self inflicting pain in the form of flailing around

periodic moments of seeing if the tv is working by turning it off

If you or anyone you know has an 18 month at home...please.. call your local someone for help! You don't have to suffer alone. 18 month olds aren't a joke...they can hurt!

big spenders

As you all know...or at least I think you do, we moved up here with whatever would fit in our van. And it was loaded. But most of it "went on top of the roof'...lol. So basically it was complete necessities. Caitlyn's crib, toys, clothes, Conner's bassinet and some toiletry/food/ and other things, including blankets...tons of them. Because, well, we were convinced we'd get stuck on the road and have nothing but these blankets to keep us warm. lol. 

One of these did save our bacon actually. For all of you planning on driving up to Alaska in the winter...your car will not like -40 weather. It won't make heat anymore because it's too flipping cold. Your feet will freeze and the windows will frost up. SO when this happens simply take one of the 800 blankets you brought with you, put it under the hood, over the engine and drape the rest in front of your grill. This will greatly increase the power to make heat. I really wish I had taken a picture of the van...it looked so cozy! ha!

Anyway...point of that is we have millions of blankets to make a couch with! But Matt and I are getting old...in our mid/late twenties now:), so our backs could only handle so much. So to craigslist we went! 

Our first "free' find was that humungo tv! And it works! Second were the matching couch and loveseat and then the computer desk. All for FREE! lol, dinner is still an issue. We have been sitting on the linoleum. No luck finding a table and chairs yet....be patient right:) And really...sitting on the floor for one meal is a walk in the park compared to all day.

We have been blessed. It hasn't been easy up here. I know, it's only been 3 weeks right? But couple 3 weeks with a 7 week old baby, a mother who has no one here, and a huge cut in pay...and it gets rough. I appreciate the comments from yesterday's post. I'm trying to look on the bright side of life but that is also a trial. Bah...back to life! Thanks for reading my insanity....I'm sure in some way or another I'll keep it coming:) 

Meg

Little things

Do you ever want to stab a fork in  your eye? Yea, me neither. I do however imagine flying off the side of the highway while I'm driving. lol. Don't worry...it's only a fleeting thought...I've never thought about it enough to try:) 

I have put up most of the pictures on facebook. I'm too lazy to put them on here too. That's the problem with all these social networks! -sigh- 

So life isn't quite normal yet. I am just now,today, doing our laundry. The son's bag is still sitting on the living room floor waiting to be put away. Sad. Oh well. I went grocery shopping today. It was thrilling because what would cost me almost $200 at wal-mart, only cost $122 at Winco! Yippee! I know...it's the little things:) 

My baby is crawling now! She has also popped out a bucky beaver tooth on the top gum. Hehe. It amuses me. Her crawl is quite amusing too. She gets excited and stutters her movements.

Had my Dr appt yesterday. Everything went well. I was up a few too many pounds. I blame it on sitting in the car for a loooong time:) So my goal is to not gain anything for my next appt. I can do it...I can do it. My doc came in and asked if I was ready to find out what we were having. "no". Ok, well I'm glad you told me. So that temptation has been averted! The last one will be in 5 weeks for the anatomy u/s. It shouldn't be a problem though. I really think we have the willpower and excitement for it to be a surprise. Sorry! :) ok. I'm done for now. Till then,

Meg

Life goes on

We have successfully made it home! The drive home went smooth and we didn't have any problems...very exciting. I have pictures galore...well maybe not galore, but I have them. I will be posting them on here and facebook shortly. 

Vacation was good. Spent some quality time with my cute niece in CT. She is quite the character and gives her mother a run for her money. I also got to see her new brother who is also cute...but makes me feel like I'm holding his father as a baby! lol. The poor little guy caught the cold that was going around and started with my son. It's no fun when little babies get sick. It was bad enough that my baby caught it and is still fighting the nasty cough it came with:/ 

N.H. was great. I really enjoyed having Matt there with me this time around. I think it helped certain folks not be quite as bitter towards me. He's also a great set of hands:) We did some fun stuff and when I get some pictures up I'll narrate for you. Some of the things were, shopping in a state with no sales tax!, Squam science center, & swimming. I had a hard time leaving this time. My mom and I had a really good time and didn't "fight" once. :)

Maine was also good. We got to celebrate Miss Courtney's 15th birthday with her and attend a baby shower for one of the cousins who is having twins as their first parenting experience! Good luck to them! Grammy and Grandpa looked great. Matt and I talked about how his grandmother never changes. It's comforting:) 

But now we are home and back to reality. Laundry, dishes, groceries, Dr appts, waiting for Matt to lose his job, you know...the normal stuff. :) As far as pregnancy goes, it's been better. I get frequent headaches with this one attributed to not enough water, and being more tired from having to chase two instead of one:) I am 15 weeks now and it's gone by fast. I am still fitting into regular pants which is a HUGE accomplishment! I'm hoping to get diet and exercise back on track now that we are home so I can continue feeling not quite like a beached whale...yet;) Ok, enough yacking. Till the pics,

Meg