Picture of the Day #3

Playing with my camera is a new hobby I think. This one was taken while driving, I put it behind my head and shot away. I think I got lucky!

Pic of the Day #2

As I was going through previous photos of my children, I realized that Nathan has been shortchanged his moments in the spotlight of my camera. He is the typical middle child, quietly vying for our attention, leisurely wandering in the shadow of his brother's exhuberance. So, to my son: here's to you and your sweet ways. The way you loudly declare "I'm still sleeping!" every morning when I wake you for school. Your sweet giggle as you pop your head out of your shirt. How your shoes refuse to go onto the right feet. To the way you put your hand on my cheek when you want me to look at you. And your crooked smile. Here's to my angel!

Ode to Chicken

Who decided that the squawking bird picking around the yard would taste good? Who thought, "if I turn it on a spit, it will stay juicy, it will taste amazing"? And the genius who made the machine that does this wonderous thing in the very grocery store that I visit regularly? Ahhhh..... the thrill of seeing it half-price at closing time, and snatching up the last one! Rotisserie chicken from the deli is one my favorite treats. But only when they mark it down before closing. Then I can savor the victory over high prices as my teeth sink into the skin over the drumstick. The meat makes appearances in many dishes over the next few days, and the bones nourish my family in the stock that I can for soup. My oven can work wonders, but sadly, cannot duplicate the taste of a good rotisserie deli chicken.

Yes, this was our dinner today. This was a good end to an easy day, my friend watched the kids while I braved the snow for both of us. So not only did I snag the last chicken, I got to spend a wonderful hour, child-free, in the grocery store thinking of the myriad of possibilities of the food before me.

What a day......

Picture of the Day #1

"Oh the weather outside is frightful....." It is snowing today, and the world is whited over. I decided to play with my camera, and liked how this picture looked. You can see the snow moving quickly past and the bare branches are patiently waiting for spring.

Our Busy Day

Our day started off with a bang this morning. Off and running to get the kids to school on time (I was late) and helped my friend decide what to wear for her husband coming home from a 4 month deployment. I did her makeup and then ran to pick kids up. (I was late). We were NOT late however to Nathan's therapy in Boise. Having been a good girl with my diet, I treated myself to a Baja Fresh grilled chicken salad for lunch. Yum. Then we went to assorted stores, picked up some pictures for William's room and a new jacket for me. Then it was off to my parent's in Caldwell to pick up my cell phone. That turned into dinner which was a blast! Steph made a yummy soup that I ate a good deal of. A very long drive home and phew! We made it through the day. I did get some funny looks from people when Oren and Nathan were running around in circles screaming in DI. Literally.

But it was a good day. When I walked into my mom's house the first thing I heard was "You look great!" That was awesome to hear! My friends here have been telling me, but family is even better. 11 pounds as of today. Gone. My pants are getting loose which is not a bad thing in my book.

I am very excited also that Steph has started a blog. I showed her my page and I think she is hooked. This is very addictive. I really should start doing that pic of the day thing. Heaven knows my kids do enough crazy things, that should get me started.

Job Possibility?

Yesterday I had the opportunity to go over to a friend's house and clean. Not just any clean, the "I'll pay you $50 to come clean for several hours." I would have gladly done it for free, but she was insistent that she was actually hiring me as house help. Okay by me, I love hanging out and sometimes it is refreshing cleaning other people's messes. Being a packrat, she finds it hard to declutter. I do keep certain things, but a random drawing a child made 2 months ago and hasn't looked at since and it looks like all the other drawings? Probably not. She thoroughly enjoyed learning how to let things go, like clothes with holes or old shoes. Lotions that were 5 or 6 years old. We got her bathroom spotless and her bedroom too. So 7 hours later I think I definetly earned the money, she has much more room in her closet and drawers, and is so excited that she wants me to come back and help with her downstairs Monday, and is talking about maybe making this a once a month thing. Apperantly I am much better at throwing things away and I am a quick yet thorough cleaner, and she likes it. I just got a kick out of it when she said I should advertise and do this in other people's homes. "HI, I have 3 kids and have issues with my own house, but please let me come organize and clean yours!" I do things like scrub baseboard corners with toothbrushes (just for that purpose :-) ) so maybe it's not a bad idea.... if I didn't have 3 kids and a house of my own to keep up with. Cakes and Piano lessons are enough right now.

I got the dresser finished. Here are pictures of the dresser and the drawer pulls.

William has a lot of fun touching the trim on the pulls. This was a dirty creamy color, with all the paint pulled off the inside of the top (it was a changing table at one point) and the front of the bottom drawer. A vast improvement...

I walked into the living room and caught Oren in this pose watching a movie. Too cute, and really shows his personality.

Home Improvements

I have been inspired lately by Melinda's list of projects and tearing out of the closet. I enjoy reading about her home renovations and although I can't tear out walls and redo the kitchen in my base house, I do have some furniture projects that have been in the works for some time. So yesterday, I turned on the space heater in the garage and went to work. William needed a dresser, and we had one that was in the garage due to Oren peeling off half the paint when it was his. I scrounged around and found a can of light blue paint that was meant for another project (also waiting forever) and decided that it would be perfect for his blue curtained room. I have not hefted my sander for a while, so it felt really good to turn it on and get to work. The drawer pulls were plain white and I wanted them to stand out, so I cut out some denim circles and decoupauged them to the top of the pulls. It turned out so cute that I just had to share it with you guys. Next on my list, turning an old vanity into a TV table, an old piano into wall art, and finishing cutting and staining new drawer fronts for my halfway-done-but- using- anyway dresser. I also have a decorative ladder that needs repainting. I am so excited that I can't wait for the weather to warm up. Thank heavens for space heaters. I will post pictures a little later, I have some trim I want to put around the denim circles to finish the pulls first.