Scrappin'

Since Kaylee was born, I haven't been able to scrap very often. Here and there for a few hours at a time, but it's really like 3 or 4 times a year. Since I had Liam, I was afraid I would never be able to scrap again. I brought this up to Brian, who insisted that I make time. But in reality, I'd have to leave the house to really be able to concentrate.

That's when a friend of mine told me Archivers reopened. Woot! So, I'm going to my second Scrap Mania tonight and I couldn't be more excited. Especially since they have a big coupon out right now.

Since I was running out of embellishments, I have been on the hunt. Well, another friend is getting out of the scrapping business altogether. I'm super sad for her, but she has a really busy life with 4 active little girls. I bought a good bags worth of stuff from her the other day. I'm super excited to use some of this on my upcoming pages. She had a ton of eyelets, which will come in super handy with my brand new tool - the Crop-a-dile. My next door neighbor gave me one after I showed a ton of interest in hers. This thing is NUTS. But, it takes the hammer and setting tool out of the equation, making setting eyelets virtually silent. Score!

Next month, I'm hosting an overnight scrap-a-ton. 24 hours of scrapping at the ranch. If you don't want to scrap, go sit on the deck and chill... walk around and pet the donkeys... you could try fishing, but I don't think there's anything worth catching in the tanks right now. Anyway, the point is to scrap a ton, get away from the house/kids and have a fun girls night. I'm super stoked! So far there are 9 of us going. I had no idea I knew that many people that scrapped!

I'm almost caught up with Kaylee and will soon be able to move on to Liam. Problem is, we've lost our mailbox key, so I can't access my pictures that just shipped. :( I'm so irritated because I never move the key and now it's just gone... ugh.

Home Improvement

I was raise where if you can do it, you don't pay others to. If you've never done it, look for instructions and figure it out. And for the most part, I'm good at home improvement kind of stuff. I can build things, fix things, etcetc. The one thing I've never messed with though is electrical.

When we were at the old house, we had a fan go out right before we were to move. This wouldn't do. I couldn't, in good conscience sell a house with a faulty fan. Who wants to move somewhere and immediately have to fix stuff? Not me... do unto others...

Well, I was newly pregnant and everyone was treating me as a delicate flower, so I was kind of forced to call an electrician to replace the fan. The fan cost $39.98. The labor to install cost $75. I was SO.MAD. when I got that bill. And since then, I became even more determine to fix things that seemed reasonable. My motto is kind of "If I know my dad can do it... so can I." And I know my dad has installed ceiling fans before.

When we bought the new house, it only came with two fans. In the master and the livingroom. The other bedrooms and media room only had a light fixture. This is not cool (ha!) during Texas summers. I was finally able to buy 4 fans. And today, I installed my very first ceiling fan. Because I was a little nervous, I read and reread the directions over and over to make sure I understood. I double checked and then checked one last time with each step. So, the first fan took me an hour to install. The only thing that stumped me was when all was said and done, the blades would not move. I could hear the motor, but that was it. Turns out the directions were missing a very important piece of information.... Remove the rubber stoppers. Ugh. Oh well. After I got that done, everything went fine.

We now have 3 of the 4 fans installed. A friend was bored and offered to come help. This friend also has 9 years of electrician experience. So, I promptly hopped off my ladder and allowed him up. He installed the other two fans for me. I have one more to do, which will be on my own, but I am so much more confident in this now.

Installing a ceiling fan is EASY. I'm almost still mad that we wasted so much money at the old house...

The Journey Continues...

I'm very excited to announce that I have hit a big milestone. I'm half way to my weight goal. I'm 10 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight, which will be my next goal. I'm 15lbs away from my "pre-Brian" weight. And 30 lbs away from my overall goal, which may vary by 5lbs depending on how I feel once I get close.

I haven't exercised much in the past month. Things kept getting in the way. Walking is near impossible as it's so hot when we get going that I don't want to subject the kids to that. If the long parts of our walk didn't face the sun, I would probably have a different stance... but unfortunately, the streets are mostly W-E.

On top of everything, my supply has dropped some. Liam is cranky a lot, so I've picked up the pace with all the things you can do to increase supply. Continuing with that... his 4 month checkup went like this: 11.6lbs and 24" tall. Or.. in doctor's terms, 2% and 5%. UGH. Kaylee was also tiny, but there's only been one boy in our family that has been this little. So, I think just the anxiety of it all hasn't helped me. Knowing that the reason he's cranky is because he's still hungry makes me sad. I did supplement with a bottle yesterday just to get him feeling better, but I don't have much in reserves, and I know bottle feeding won't help my supply... so here's hoping I can make it to my first goal with Liam... 6 months. And then my 2nd goal... 9 months.. and my final, ultimate goal.. 1 year.

And now on to the exciting news.

Kaylee starts school in FIVE WEEKS (Sept 5th). I'm super stoked. Super sad. And super anxious. I will have 12 hours for all sorts of things. I can clean my house (hehe)! Liam will start swim lessons in October. I can start WORK again. Brian is so excited that he's given up his gun allowance for the year so I can upgrade my software. Awww!

I have a huge project that I'll be working on. It'll take years for it to get off the ground, but it's something else that I'm really excited about. I hope it works out because if so, it could set my family up for a nice, comfortable lifestyle once we break even and make a profit. It'll also give me a bigger purpose in life. I know that sounds awful, but I was not meant to be a SAHM. It's not that I don't love being the one to raise my kids. It's that I am a workaholic. The one thing that I got from my dad was my work ethic. And it truly makes me stircrazy when I can't get things done that I want done NOW. I need that in my life to feel successful. Awful. I know. But.. it is what it is.

Bathroom Redo

Paint, thankfully, is cheap enough that we can buy some here and there. It can make such a difference. And fortunately, I only wasted 1 gal. I'm still upset by that fact, but it's a neutral color, so I hope I can sell it.

I'll start with the simplest project first... the kid's bathroom. I envisioned a bright, yet modern space that had a kick of playfulness, but didn't seem kidish. It is the guest bathroom as well afterall. I started with searching out artwork. Kaylee has recently become obsessed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I love that. Black and white with a dash of red? Uber modern in my book. Compliment with a bright color background and voila! This bathroom practically did itself. While searching, I found that the artists were super proud of their stuff. It kind of makes me mad because they are just cartoons. Super simple to draw. So, that's what I did. I found a couple I liked and drew them out, then colored them with markers. That's the only irritant I have. I couldn't find my prismas to color them properly, so there are color lines... but it's not that bad.

After I found the art and got that taken care of, I searched out a nice bright background color for the walls. I decided on a few blues, then let Brian pick the final choice. This way if he hated it, it was his fault (ha!)

 But, in the end... I love it. It turned out great, imo! I'm going to get some black hand towels, then it'll be done.

On to the harder project... the powder room. It's a smaller space, but took a lot longer to do.

 

While painting the ceiling, always wear protection... :p Little did I realize, I probably should have worn my glasses because I got paint on my eye lashes. EEK! Way too close for comfort.

 

Ok, so here I'm wondering what the heck I got myself into. It looks like I've just mudded drywall. LOL

 

 

The taping off too forever. I started by the door, but learned a few hours later that I should have started on the wall without any obstacles. It went much faster once I did that. This is also where I wasted a gallon. The darker color that I originally got was just barely darker, so you couldn't really tell I had done anything. I'll be damned if I'm going to do all that work for just a little pop. So, I went back and got a shade darker than that. It ended up being a little too dark, but there was nothing in between. I still really like the effect though.

 

Voila! I *LOVE* it. I'm planning on doing a plate collage with B&W and teal plates and above the toilet will go Mr. Mannekin Pis from Brussels. As soon as I find the teal plates, I'll post that.

Why?

I've been thinking about all of the people affected by the Colorado shooting and everytime I think about the victims, I come back to one question... Why? And unfortunately, it's not the same question of Why that others have... it's the not the question of Why did he pick that night? Why did he target a theater? Why did he booby trap his apartment? It's a more selfish question of Why... a question I've held my tongue on, but have lost sleep over... so to clear my mind, I'm putting it here.. on my blog that not many people read. And hopefully those who do, I don't offend or upset.

Why would you take your 4 month old to such a loud movie? I get cabin fever. I get depression and the need to leave the house. But. I would never take my babies to a theater at a) midnight and b) to a movie that isn't specifically designed for them... meaning volume level and content. Meaning, it'll probably be a few more years before we make a family trip. It honestly infuriates me that someone would be so irresponsible and then go on national TV to tell the world how thankful you are. If you weren't there, it wouldn't have affected you. UGH.

So, then we get to the rating. This is not a kid's movie. Who in their right mind thinks that? It's rated PG-13. Does anyone even care about ratings anymore? So, why was a 6 year old there? Again... UGH.

It makes me sick that parents take their young children to such loud movies. I can maybe get past the content... it depends on the kid. But, it's the volume level that bothers me the most. Maybe it's because I have hearing loss from listening to things way too loud - particularly music, but I wouldn't doubt movies have a thing to do with it too. I rarely go to theaters anymore because my ears just can't handle it.

There's my rant on that... I'm sad for all of the people involved. I hope the shooter has his day in court soon so justice can be served swiftly.

On to my next rant... I'm hiding a bunch of people on FB. Mostly for their ignorant posts. Lets clear something up. He owned the guns LEGALLY. So, for Gods sake.. stop posting crap saying "legal gun owners don't do this and that..." That's not the complete truth unfortunately. MOST legal gun owners are responsible. MOST don't go on homicidal rampages. But, of course it only takes one (or a few) to get everyone up in arms about gun control. There should have been a red flag on this guy's address for the ammunition alone. No one individual needs 6,000 rounds in a few short months. Another red flag should have gone up when he bought 4 weapons in a month's time. If anything, maybe there should be a system in place that records people's activity for a year. There should be caps on how much you can buy in a short period of time. But for cripes sake, don't take responsible gun owner's rights away. People who want guns for harm will find a way to get them... look at gangs and other criminals.

It's time for bed... a happier, less crabby post will follow on my bathroom painting jobs. They turned out pretty nifty. :)

Recap...

So, since I got a smart phone, I've been on my computer less and less, which means I don't make time to blog near as much. Resting while taking care of Liam is much easier with a smart phone... He sleeps better on me and while I don't let him do that often, it's hard to say no to that little gummy smile. I'm able to log on FB and check my mail, but that's the extent of what I do on my phone since I'm smart phone stupid. :p

Anyway, so in the last month, Kaylee turned 2. I turned 32. And Liam turned 3 months. The party was super laid back just how I wanted. I baked cupcakes in flat bottom ice cream cones, which were a hit. Then I got some "swirls" (often called pinwheels) from Target. Those were an even bigger hit. And I made my signature punch of lime sherbet and 7up. The kids played at the splashpad for a while, then we sang happy birthday, ate goodies and everyone went home. No fuss. No muss. It was great!

I've been working on the house a little bit. I bought paint for the powder room and the kid's bathroom. The first coat in the powder room is up. I'm going to try and do the second coat Wednesday to finish it up. No idea when I'll get to do the kid's bathroom, but at least I have all the things to move forward if I happen to have a half day to myself. HA!

Brian is going to Alaska next week to fish. The hope is that he'll bring back 110 lbs of fish for our freezer. Om Nomnom! I'm hoping for lots of salmon and halibut. The ling cod was good too, but we didn't care for the rockfish last time and ended up giving a lot of that away. Then in September, he's going fishing AGAIN. This time on the Texas/Mexico border. He'll be shooting for snapper and red fish. I love these trips that he takes. It doesn't cost a lot for him to go down south and thank goodness for airline miles for the north trips! Hunting season also starts in September, so he'll be good after the birds and the deer.  I *love* not having to buy meat! Plus, he gets the experience with his friends, who also get in on the bounty.

In February, we are going to Belize. I went back in 2006 and fell in love with the country. It's 3rd world, but that's part of what makes it so spectacular. I tried to convince Brian to go for our honeymoon, but he wouldn't have it. So, 3.5 years later I finally talked him into it. We'll be going to Ambergis Caye and staying at Tranquility Bay. It's supposedly the only resort in Belize where you can walk out into the water, dunk your head and see the reef. I'm super excited about that since Brian isn't a big "get in the ocean" kind of person. He plans to fish, which the chef will cook your catch for a mere $12! Not too shabby... It's a secluded resort, which I'm kind of looking forward to. The only way there is by boat. I'm also hoping to make enough at my Fall garage sale to be able to go snuba'ing. I had never heard of this before, but it's basically scuba diving and snorkeling rolled up in one. No tank, but you are connected to a regulator that is attached to the boat. I'd love to go to the Blue Hole, but I don't think I'll make enough for that.  We'll see.

So, that's what we've been up to lately... yay... if I had more energy I'd post pix, but I'm drained. Time for a quick nap, then on to meet some friends for an afternoon of eating and drinking. :) I love girls night out. They happen way too rarely.

Epiphany....

Ever look at your child(ren) and have a sudden realization that they are more awesome than words can describe and you can't believe they are yours?

I think about this pretty often, but the other day Kaylee came up to me and just stared into my eyes... I broke down and started crying.

For two years old, she's a pretty neat kid. She pushes my buttons daily, but at the end of the day, all I want to do is curl up on the sofa and cuddle with her.. I've known lots of two year olds but maybe I'm forgetting about how much they can know at this age. Her vocabulary, memory retention and personality are so big and strong.

Then there's Liam. By a month, he was rolling over and smiling regularly. By two months, he was sleeping through the night. By three months, he is talking constantly while playing with his feet. His gummy smile makes me tear up as well. Kaylee didn't smile near what Liam does no matter how hard I tried to get her to.

My kids. MY kids. Crazy...