PAINT!

The color swatches on the computer aren't a very good match, but it gives ya an idea...

First up, we have MINK. This will be our office.

Next, our bedroom - DUSK. Dark, yet romantic/cozy. It's a good combo with the wood color of our furniture.

And from our bedroom, we enter our master bath with FLAX. This is almost a perfect match for a color in our tile. I can't wait to darken the room up a bit to make it feel more cozy and less gigantic.

This is where the colors are really off. This is "light silver sage". It's not really this blue... it will be in the insets we have in the entry and dining room.

This, believe it or not, is technically lighter than the color above and not really this green. It is "silver sage" and will go on the accent walls in the living room, as well as in the dining and entry way.

This is the pattern I'm considering for the other 2 walls of the living room/breakfast area. The walls a a light beige flat right now. So to do this pattern, I would take the same color, but do a different finish, probably semi-gloss or eggshell. This will take a little trial and error to get it just right to where it won't be annoying.

 

And finally.. the worse color sample of all because it's no where near a gray color like the actual paper swatch shows - SLATE.. Liam's bedroom. Because of this color and all the other colors in the house, I will probably reconsider Kaylee's bedroom color, which was still up in the air.. but the color was going to be super bright. I'm just not sure I want that anymore.

We need 13 gallons of paint. OMG.. insane. But, if you think about it.. it's pretty much the entire house.

Before I went into RH, I noticed that ZGallerie has an actual store. And it is amazing! I saw so much stuff in there... but... it was this living room set that really caught my eye. I didn't even know I liked this kind of stuff until I saw it. The shape of the sofa is really neat. I think it'll go well in our house. So, maybe next year.. :)

And then these I found at IKEA, so they might be a contender for tables in the living room.

I can't believe I actually have a plan!

THOSE Kind of Parents...

It took a long time for me to want children. I was scared of so many factors that are not in my control. The society is not a pretty place. And with the internet, I think there's too much information out there of "what's best" and "how to raise your child." With that knowledge, people find themselves telling you how you should be doing things without even asking for their opinions in the first place.

It's frustrating. And I haven't figured out a way to politely tell people to STFU. :)~ I'm not one to not ask for help or for other people's experiences. I like to hear what works for other people - just on my own terms.

So, when I enrolled Kaylee in preschool, I didn't know I needed to know how to deal with other parents. I never thought in a million years that someone would see ME as their go-to person to gripe when there's 30 other parents around. Why me? Is it because I have the youngest/smallest kid in the class so they know I'm dealing with some issues myself? I don't know. It's not something I have talked to any of the other parents about. I've been communicating with the teachers.

Today, I got stuck at the preschool after I dropped Kaylee off. Two beautiful dogs were running around the parking lot and I felt I needed to catch them. With my 6 month old in tow. Thankfully, I had a rope in the truck to use as a leash as we called the owner. This is where I got backed into the corner with another parent. Her kid has been bit repeatedly, which would upset me a great deal, too.. but I don't see what her kid has to do with my kid. My kid is being growled and roared at. She's scared of the boys in the class. Am I running to everyone telling them? No... I'm trying to get Kaylee to realize there's nothing to be scared of... they are just boys. I wanted to tell her to tell her kid just to bite back. I mean, seriously... if the biter is biting her kid all the time, why can't you teach your kid to stick up for himself? (biting probably isn't the best solution... but eye for an eye, eh??) :p I do think the biter should be removed from the class for the day after he does that, but that's my opinion... and until my kid is bit (not likely.. she doesn't play with the boys), I just can't worry about it.

When I went to pick Kaylee up from school, the mom stopped me AGAIN to tell me about this 3 page email she sent to them. Why can't this situation be dealt with between the parent and the teacher? Are all parents this psycho?!? And how do I get her to back off me? I have two little kids I'm trying to wrangle. I don't have the time or the energy to be friends with this woman. I now avoid Target because I've seen her there twice. Once she saw me and was telling me how I should buy pullups.... LOL Lemme tell ya.. it's saving me some money by not going there anymore!

Home Depot... My Toy Store

I have a shopping addiction to Home D. I rarely use my credit card from them, but they just sent me an offer I can't refuse. 0% interest for 12 months. There are so many things we want for the house that we just can't get because of the up front cost. But, break it down into small monthly payments? Oh yea.. I'm there!

* Gutters.
* Rain Barrel for said gutters.
* Garden Shed (which will also be the only shed until we can afford to pour the real shed's foundation)
* Stain for the concrete patio (which will hopefully be poured by the end of next month!!)
* Paint for the house -- some colors I have figured out, so why not buy them now so when I can paint, it's there...?? :)~ Most recently, we figured out the office. It shall be dark chocolate brown. Yum! And perfect for a web developer and a gamer. Who needs good eyesight anyway? :p
* Playscape accessories - for when we can have it built
* maybe... a bird bath, because we love watching wildlife, even in our own backyard..
* Flagstone -- I really hope they have this in stock... I want a lot of it for pathways.
* Hose Reel -- because I'm tired of almost mowing over the hose.. seriously.. it's such a first world problem.
* TREES... if they have what we want, we are totally getting them... but last time I went they had almost nothing. Boo.


I'm super giddy. This gigantic trip will most likely involve both our vehicles and a babysitter for the kids. But for $100 a month, I think it'll be well worth it!

Scrap-a-palooza

One day I was talking with one of my scrapping buddies about how we both just needed to get away and scrap. No kids. No husbands. No distractions. This is where planning commenced for a Ranch Scrap Weekend. Overall, it went beautifully. There were no kids, no husbands, but lots of distractions - aka hay bails... and Zeek.

Who needs Wipeout when you can make your own crazy course?

Do you see Zeek?  He's our zombie that we use as target practice.

When I said no distractions, that didn't mean people wouldn't try to find cell phone service. It's hit or miss out there. Here's Chrissy on top of my truck trying to upload her video of her jumping the hay bails. I am trying to figure out how to link it here because it's pretty goofy.

Easy, no mess lunch! We all ate outside where it was a beautiful 79 degrees. It was PERFECT weather!

There's something about the Epic Woman Room invading the Epic Man Room that makes men a little uneasy. My FIL was super stoked we were going out there though. The husbands, on the other hand, while excited, might be a tad worried that we may take some of their hunting weekends away to come to the ranch ourselves. ;)

Can you tell that she PAINTED those curtains?? They turned out SO awesome. Oh yea, Hi, Lindz! (Do you see her?) :p

There were 8 women out here scrapping, painting, sewing and pretty much doing anything that is "Suzy Homemaker/Crafty." And what Suzy Homemaker is complete without alcohol? I mean, c'mon.. no housewife back in the day seriously got all that done and stayed sane without a bit to take the edge off, right? My SILs made super yummy 3-types-of-liquor-cinnamon-milkshakes. DIVINE. We also had a variety of other liquors. Needless to say, we were all super happy Friday night. Not drunk. Just happy. It was perfect.

Preschool Chaos!

Kaylee started preschool last week. I expected the first week to be chaotic, but I didn't expect the hurdles we had to jump through to make it through the second week.

I will say, my nerves are shot! I've never left Kaylee with anyone besides family or one close friend. I knew that leaving her with strangers would be difficult. But, when those strangers showed how disorganized they were, I really became worried. I try to keep in mind that is a first year program. I try to give them a huge learning curve as they get things set up. As long as my kid comes home healthy, happy and with no super bad habits, then I can live with those bumps.

Sunday night I received an email. It said that the 2 year old class had a student resign, which made it too small. So, they were going to move the 2 year olds to the 3 year old class. This wouldn't have made me uneasy if my 2 year old wasn't 26 months old. If she were, say... 32 months old, then I think it would have set a little better for me. Kaylee is also between the 5-10% for her age. So, she's tiny! Now, that doesn't mean she doesn't have a huge personality or that she can't tell you exactly what she wants. But, still...

So, I get to the school Monday and find that it was the 3 year old teacher that quit. She stated that her 2 year old wasn't adjusting well. UHM. I am calling BS on that one. I observed Kaylee's class for 30 minutes at the beginning and the end of Wednesday and Friday. Her kid was just fine. Now, maybe not so fine during the day.. but she didn't give him a chance! I think she just didn't realize how hard teaching 9 three year olds would be and she didn't want to do it anymore.

I talked to the admins at the school who said that the 3 year olds were "young 3s", meaning they had just turned 3 in the last 6 months. Uhm... lets do the math. That makes them a year and half older than Kaylee. That means they will turn FOUR while Kaylee is still 2. I'm starting to question whether they understand how big of an age gap for young kids that really is. Not only for verbal skills, but dexterity, size, and other developmental skills. The three and a half year olds that I know can read and write 3 letter words and their names. Kaylee is NOWHERE near that. The most she can do is draw a circle, which she just started a few weeks ago.

I'm a wreck. Next Wednesday, I'm going to go observe. And I really hope I like what I see. There are more pros than cons, but the cons are kind of big ones... like the size difference. As well as habits. Kaylee has already pushed my next door neighbor's kid, which she's never done before. So, I worry that she's being crowded at school. She went from a class size of 3 to a size of 11. YIKES.

I'm pretty sure this is why I've had a headache all week...

Meal Planner...??

I need help finding a good site! I'm looking for a calendar that will tell me what I'm to cook. If you click on it, it goes to the recipe. I also want a grocery list. It would be awesome if they had a mobile app that you can access your list from - but I want to do all the nitty gritty stuff on my computer. It'd also be awesome if they had a nutrition guide.

I thought I found something I would like. But, the calendar is pre-filled and then you can customize it. This wouldn't be an issue except I ended up adding all of my recipes and deleting theirs. On top of that, it only allows one meal per day. Uhm... we don't always eat 3 meals, but we do eat at least 2! Ugh.  So, I gave up after creating a week of one meal a day.

Loaded Nachos
Pizza
Enchiladas
Loaded Baked Potatoes
Spaghetti and meatballs
Egg and Bacon Sandwiches
Bacon wrapped Salmon

Ok.. so there's several things wrong with my list. One -- where's the veggies and fruit?!? Two -- OMG THE CARBS! They are going to be the death of me. But, I'm not a very good cook. These are some of the things I don't suck at (minus the salmon.. that's totally a Brian thing..).

I have recently found that I can make a fruit salad out of frozen fruit. I had searched high and low wondering if you could do this and everyone said no. Pfft... It tastes fine to me! So, maybe I'll add that to my meals. Lately the produce hasn't been stellar, so I have been passing on a lot of my regular choices. The salmon recipe I found came with a spinach salad and I know we won't eat an entire bag of salad in one meal. Still...

Along with this list, I am planning to make soup. Two kinds. Black bean and lentil. I've never had lentil soup, so I hope the time won't go to waste and that I'll love it. Both recipes are freezable, which I love but we're going to run out of freezer room soon, so it'll have to go into the rotation... maybe lunch?

The Day My Daughter Started a Life of Her Own

It's crazy to think that now, my 2 year old, has a life of her own. One where I don't know every waking detail. One where she isn't with family. She's with a teacher. And other kids her age. 

We left early because I wasn't sure how long it would take us to get there. There are 3 schools I have to drive by - all in one school zone, which blinks almost all day. It took us 12 minutes to go 1 mile. I felt like I was in Houston again.

As we got out of the truck, she began screaming "Shelley!!! Shelley!!!" It made me smile and cry at the same time. I love that she loves her teacher. But, I'm so sad that this day came so quickly. I talked to her teacher for a moment and then left. Kaylee didn't cry. She did, however give me a kiss, which I was surprised by. Typically, she refuses unless it's on her terms.

In the parking lot, I shed a few tears. My baby girl isn't a baby anymore. 

I came back a little early so I could watch her interact. It took me 5 minutes to get to the school. Weird. Anyway, she was hoppin' around playing. I snapped a few pictures while she wasn't looking. I love how she's the only one willingly sitting. Everyone ranted and raved about how she was their favorite. How she is the sweetest thing. And how she was very tired and would pass out soon. HA! My child, nap?!? I was hoping she'd fall asleep on the way home, but that didn't happen. Nor did she fall asleep when I put her to bed. I wish I had that much energy...

While she was gone, I came home and worked on a client's site. Then I cleaned the office. All while Liam happily played in his bouncer.

The one good thing about her going to school besides the obvious is that my house will soon be decluttered and clean! I just don't have enough work to keep me busy all 20 hours she'll be at school and/or napping/resting. But, I hope that will change soon.