Rather than do a play-by-play of the last week, I'm just going to touch on the highlights.

• Last week I took the boys to a community theater audition for a production of High School Musical. They had to get up in front of everyone and sing a song, any song would do, and Dean sang Happy Birthday. Jack refused to even sit with the others and tried to run out of the room. Despite my assurances that he wouldn't have to do anything and he didn't have to be in the show. Two days later, he told me that he would like to do the show. Of course.
• We went to the circus on Sunday. Dean's favorite part was the pretty ladies with the hula hoops, the juggler, the elephants and the acrobats. Jack's favorite part was the motorcycles. It was pretty fun.
  
• I've started running again after a 4 month hiatus. It feels really good and I'm not nearly as slow as I thought I'd be.
• Jack spelled 25 words today. He did some on the way to school, some on the way home, and some at the table while I made dinner. He loves homework.
• Dean came out of his room tonight (Tom thought he was asleep) and accused Tom of leaving while he was still awake. Tom insisted he was snoring and so he thought Dean was asleep. Dean said,"No, I didn't hear myself snoring."
• I'm going out of town for Mother's Day weekend and a little excited about it. Just my girlfriend and I for a little wine tasting, shopping and a spa day.
• I'm so tired right now I keep falling asleep while I type.
• If I don't make snese, that's why.

'Night, 'night.

Letter to Dean

Dear Dean,

Where do I begin? You continue to surprise, delight, defy, and frustrate me on a daily basis. You are smart, sassy, funny, defiant, imaginative, and emotional. Sometimes you are all those things within a time span of 3 minutes. Here are just a few things you're up to lately:

• You love watching High School Musical and want to wear your hair like 'Troy Bolton'.
• You love to sing and you walk around the house singing songs from Playhouse Disney and without a beat you go to a song from High School Musical. I see musical theater in your future.
  
• You hate getting your hair washed. You scream and cry and twist your head around to make it more difficult. You succeed at making it more difficult but a byproduct of that is that you get a lot more water in your eyes so, it's kind of a flawed strategy.
• Tonight for the first time in many, many months I washed your hair and you didn't even flinch. It was great.
• You love drawing and painting and you've got a knack for it. Sometimes you say you want to be an artist. You ask me to sign you up for art school on a regular basis. You also want to take music lessons.
• You love wearing costumes. Just today you were in 5 or 6 different ones before lunchtime. One day last week you told me that you wanted me to make you a costume and you would put feathers on it and wear green glasses and you would be Chicken Little. You were so delighted when I told you that we already have a Chicken Little costume. You wore it to school the next day. And the day after that.
  
• A few nights ago you suddenly announced that you need glasses. You were so adamant about it, insisting to us that you couldn't see. Daddy found some toy glasses, nothing more than paper without lenses, and you put them on. Oh, you were so relieved to finally be able to see.
• You love shoes. Uncle P & Uncle J brought you a pair of plaid converse - oh my gosh, they are so cute - and you wear them every single day. You call them your "cons". They brought Jack some Vans and you've been coveting them. Tonight when you didn't cry during your bath you asked if I would get some new shoes for you as a reward.
• We went to Sears yesterday to buy some new vacuum cleaner bags and we sat for an hour so you could watch Spiderman on the big screen tv. You watched with your hands over your ears. You also cried when we left because you wanted us to buy you new clothes.
• Tonight you announced that you have a date tomorrow with your girlfriend Bianca. You told me that you need to wear a white shirt and black coat and asked that I dry your hair just so. Later you changed your mind and announced that you would wear the Chicken Little costume.
  

You constantly amaze me, continue to surprise me, and always inspire me. I am so lucky to be your Mommy. I love you dearly.

Love,
Momma

Letter to Jack

Dear Jack,

I've been sitting here trying to figure out how to describe you. I started to say you're just such a good kid but that is so unoriginal and a total understatement. Instead, I think I'll just describe some of the things you do that are uniquely you.

• You have recently become enamored of moths. You catch them and put them in a box with holes in it. You always name them Mothy. They always seem to die within a day or two and you quickly replace them. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.
• You clean your bedroom without being asked and you do a really good job. Your motivation is money - even though we don't expressly tell you that you'll get money for doing it. But one time we gave you a quarter for making your bed and ever since then, you do it out of hope.
• You love money. You are always looking at the ground hoping to find a nickel, a dime or a penny. You get especially excited when you find a quarter. You save everything you find and you have amassed a miniature fortune (for a 5 year old).
• You have grown out of your red phase. Lately your preference has been to wear light colored linen pants, a hawaiian shirt and flip flops. You look very handsome. There are still some days that you wear blue camo pants with a green and orange top though. So sometimes I still wonder about the color-blindness.
• When you get angry you become stiff as a board with your arms straight at your sides, your fists balled up. Your voice becomes thick with emotion and you won't look at me.
  
• You had a hard time faling asleep last night and I think it's because Daddy is out of town and he told you to take good care of me. I think you take your responsibility very seriously and you couldn't fall asleep last night because of it. You finally lost the battle at 10:30pm last night.
• You have become a very adventurous eater and I'm so excited about that. You have tried so many new foods this year - from simple foods like peas and avocado to more exotic foods like sushi and thai.
  
• You don't like you hair to be spiked up or messy. You want it neatly combed straight down your forehead. Definitely not parted on the side.
• You don't like to be the center of attention.
  
• You throw a mean spiral.
• You sometimes make up songs about me and sing them quietly.
• You long to know how to make traps and potions and are disappointed that I don't know anything about traps or potions.
  
• You have an insatiable curiosity about the world and your place in it.
• It's hot tonight and you are laying on the hardwood floor as you've done every hot night for the last 3 years. Some nights it's the only way you can fall asleep.

I could go on and on. You are a miracle. You make me want to be a better mommy and you have definitely made me a better person. I am so lucky to have you in my life.

Love,
Momma

All in the Family

Hey Everyone,

My sister in law just started a blog! Go give her some love and see my beautiful nephews!

We went out to dinner tonight at our favorite sushi restaurant. Dean didn't really like anything but the rice and edamame but Jack! Jack ate spicy tuna, yellowtail sushi, salmon sushi, shrimp, and an eel/avocado roll. Wow. He ate almost as much as me.

Afterward we went to Cold Stone for ice cream. And now, I'm feeling full and sleepy.

Good night!

I am @ the train

I am @ the train station waiting 4 Tom. Listening 2 high school musical. Boys r having a rasberry contest. My eye is twitching. Its no wonder.

NaBloPoMo - Day 9

This is my mom's response to an earlier post:

Dear Kelsi,

Responding to your April 3 post. I remember all of it.

You would tell me "I don't need a nap" so I would say "OK, you don't need to take a nap, just rest on the couch with your blanket." You would almost always fall asleep.

Oh, the anticipation of Christmas Eve on the farm. Then we would go downstairs and work until midnight setting everything up under the tree. Tying the stockings on the backs of dining room chairs with rubber bands because the tree was in front of the fireplace! Did you ever wonder how Santa got into the house with that tree in front of the fireplace?

We still do the throwing the food in the air at the grocery thing - it adds a little excitement to a mundane chore.

That was a little silver paring knife that Grandma Wright gave me - and that sharp is still very, very knife!

The stick shift! We were on Raab Rd. just east of Greenbriar. I had just bought that silver car - can't remember the make or model. The clutch was very mushy. You did OK once you were out of first gear! Shortly after that I bought that new little Nissan Sentra (1990). You didn't even have to step on the gas when letting out on the clutch, it was so tight. You perfected your skills on that long, blacktop driveway at Bernie's house out in the country. All Sunday afternoon you drove up and back, up and back. That late afternoon you drove all the way back to Bloomington. Confident.

I don't remember the guy being on a tractor. I just remember the road was seldom used and it was dusky or near dark. I thought he was just one of the rare cars who ever used that road and just happened down it as you were trying to learn how to drive that car. We were surrounded by cornfeidls, though.

You water skiied. I sat on the sand and drank electric kool-aid, as I remember it! Fun times. I do remember the floating dock got away from us and you swam way out and got it and pulled it back to its place. I was a nervous wreck, pacing and smoking cigarettes!

You would still sit on the toilet in the bathroom and watch me put my makeup on if you didn't have two 5 yeard olds to supervise.!

The Screaming Eagle at Six Flags! I didn't know you were terrified. You were too busy screaming!

Garcia's Flying Tomato Brothers hot air balloon! It landed right by Lancaster Heights (or Lancaster Depths as we used to call it). They tethered it to a stake with a great big rope and took people 50 feet or so up in the air. I remember the heat on top of my head from the flames heating and expanding the gas in the balloon. What a ride. It was so quiet and peaceful up there. I can't believe you didn't go up in it. The hardest part was getting in and out of that basket - there was no door.

Peeking through the curtain at the window in my dressing room at the church to see you, my maid of honor, standing at the altar waiting for me to walk down the aisle at my wedding.

Did you think I was going to be a "Runaway Bride?" Oh, no, I was just letting the anticipation build. It was fun peeking through that window and watching people start to look around like "Where is she?" HA!

Dancing at my wedding - we did enjoy that. I throw good parties.

I love the Brian Regan DVD you sent me for Christmas. He is funny, funny, funny. Science Fair Dirt Cup. "It's a DIRT CUP. It's a CUP with some DIRT in it. It's a CUP of DIRT."

We still laugh until we can't breathe over America's Funniest Home Videos. After all, people fall down. I took the DVD you sent me for Christmas of AFV Kids and Pets along to Texas and watched on my portable DVD player last week.

I believe the presents we opened on the floor of our house in Geneva were wedding presents.

The day you left for California. The darkest day of my life - it surpasses the day I my dad died and the day I had to have Meischje put to sleep. I pray you NEVER have to know the pain.

You were working at Bombay Bicycle Club, living in your first little apartment in California. I believe your roommate got busted that same day!!! Anyway, we painted your bedroom furniture on that little balcony.

The I Love You sign. We still do that, although tears don't stream down our faces anymore. That doesn't mean that I've reconciled myself to it. My heart still cries.

My graduation party was a blast! We rode to it in the '31 Buick. As mentioned before, I throw good parties.

Your wedding. Beautiful setting, beautiful bride. So final.

I was standing in the kitchen when we lived on 9th St. in that 100 year old Queen Anne house when you called to tell me you were pregnant with twins.

If I knew then what I know now about your high risk pregnancy, I doubt that I would have left California. Now that I've been working in labor/delivery/recovery with some high risk thrown in, I shudder. I am at work right now and my patient is 24 weeks 2 days with pre-term labor and on 2.5 grams of mag. She's miserable. I told her about you just like I tell every one of my mag patients about you. You are an inspiration.

I was having lunch at the Cracker Barrel with Fishers and Todds when you called as you were being wheeled into the OR.

Wow, those babies were so little but so feisty. Wimpy, little white boys, true. Two little miracles.

I remember it all...

Love, Mommy

NaBloPoMo - All Messed UP!!

I know, I know. I have no excuse other than Friday night I wanted to lay down with the boys because I wouldn't see them for two days (they went camping). But I really have no excuse for Saturday, Sunday or Monday so I'm not even going to try.

Instead, look here at these pictures:



I went for a helicopter ride! Below is a shot of my office building and yes! that's my foot! hanging out the door of the helicopter! which actually, didn't have a door! yikes!

NaBloPoMo - Day Three

Dear Mom,

The most important lesson I’ve taken from Grandpa Jack’s life and death is the absolute necessity of letting your loved ones know how they’ve touched you. Too often we wait until a person is gone before we reflect on the wonderful moments when our lives converged.

The following moments are memories that whenever I think of them, I’m always filled with warmth, humor and love:
• Curling up on the black couch in our house in Towanda with my little blanket while you watched TV and folded clothes
• Being tucked in at the farm on Christmas Eve
• You throwing groceries up in the air and me trying to catch them with the cart
• The time you warned me to be careful because ‘this sharp is very, very knife’
• Learning how to drive a stick shift on a dark country road
• Laughing about the farmer who stopped his tractor to make sure we were ok
• Water skiing at the gravel pit
• Sitting on the toilet in the bathroom watching you put your makeup on
• Riding The Screaming Eagle with you and being terrified when you wouldn’t put your arms down
• Watching you go up in the hot air balloon and being afraid you would crash
• Waiting for you to walk down the aisle on your wedding day
• Being relieved when you finally started walking down the aisle on your wedding day
• Dancing at your wedding
• Laughing at Brian Regan ‘it’s a dirt cup’
• Laughing at America’s Funniest Home Videos
• Opening housewarming presents on the floor of our house in Geneva
• Waving through tears the day I left for California
• The time you came to visit me and we painted my bedroom furniture
• Signing I Love You, tears streaming down my face, as you boarded a plane to go back home
• Dancing at your graduation party
• Dancing with you and Chad at my wedding
• Telling you that I was pregnant and with twins
• Doing crossword puzzles with you while on bedrest in the hospital
• Hearing your voice as I was being wheeled down the hall for my c-section
• The look on your face the first time you saw your grandchildren

There are others of course, but these are among my favorites. These memories just flooded back to me and some really surprised me – like the hot air balloon. Do you even remember that??

I love you Mom.

Kels

NaBloPoMo - Day Two

On Day Two: A letter to my young self . . .

Dear High School Kelsi,

Trust me, there’s so much more to life than this. I promise you that you will not care about most of these people by the 10 year reunion.

I have a book that was given to me on the cusp of my journey to California. The book is called “Oh the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss and I’ve kept it all this time. I now read it to my children and hope that someday when they’re choosing a path less traveled that they’ll remember the lesson of that book and know that sometimes you have to trust your instinct, sometimes you have to take a chance and choose the thing that feels right to you despite anyone else’s opinion.

It may not have helped you, H.S. Kelsi but it couldn’t have hurt. You were so insecure and full of doubt; sarcasm your only defense against the perceived criticism. Hey, maybe they were making fun of you. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you, right?

Still, what I would tell you if I could just sit you down is that you’ll be fine. Really. You’re going to go on from that high school place and forge your own path. You’re going to take risks and make choices that will lead to a pretty nice life. And all that angst will be forgotten. Or, mostly forgotten. It will rear it’s ugly head at the 10 year high school reunion but then you’ll make the decision right then and there that you will never go back again. And when the 20 year comes around, you don’t! So, there!

And I would remind you that it wasn’t all bad. Well except for the crazy years long crushes you used to get. That was a little ridiculous, wouldn’t you agree? You’ll be happy to know that your husband is super hot – way hotter than Erik Johnson or Brad James. Seriously.

But really, the best thing that came out of Normal Community High School was your friendship with Jenny. I mean who would have thought it would survive that one summer, with her getting all crazy with the fun and you being all self-righteous and trying to play house, but it did. And she is the one friend who you can call and just spend an hour on the phone with and it feels like time stops. Trust me.

So hang in there H.S. Kelsi and know that this is just a brief moment in your life and all too soon the time will pass and you will look back and wonder why it ever mattered.

Oh the places you’ll go.

Love,
Your grown up self

NaBloPoMo - Day One

No, it's no April Fool's joke, I really challenged myself to post everyday for the month of April. The theme for April is LETTERS. Below is my first one. It's not what I intended to write but it's all that I can think about so . . .

Dear Soma,

It's been a rough day what with the not sleeping very well last night; a feverish boy wedged next to me on one side and a stuffed up husband on the other. Not surprisingly, I woke up feeling rather Quaisomodo-ish. You know, it's the kind of stiffness that leads you to believe you can probably take care of it on your own. A little self-massage and a quick head jerk and *pop*, the pain is gone. Except that it didn't help - it only made my neck feel more strained. And that's when I started to think about you.

Advil kept the pain at bay but it doesn't know me the way you do. Nothing relaxes me the way you do, baby.

I'll only take a piece of you, just a quarter is enough.

Soma, thanks to you I will wake up tomorrow morning with the ability to turn my head.

Too bad you can't do anything about a child's fevers.

Love,
Kelsi

Memorable Quotes by Dean Today

I love you so much. I love you more than a monkey loves his momma.

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

Wow Mom (looking around the kitchen). You sure have a lot of work to do.

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

Tonight I'm going to dream about Skateland, monkeys and happiness.

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

On special occasions, the sun goes down slow and comes up fast. And that happens to Jack sometimes 'cause he told me. And Jack's my best friend and I don't want to lose him ever. He's my favorite Jackie in the whole world. And I wish he was my brother when I was 67 years old.

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

The Moment You've All Been Waiting For . . .

Because I like to tease, first look at some pictures of the dining room! Remember there used to be a door in the middle of that wall. Also, there was a chair rail with really old, stained wallpaper on the bottom half and really old, stained walls on the top. Now it has a fresh coat of olive green paint and the trim is a cream color. We also painted the beams a dark chocolate brown but left the natural knotty pine alone. We still need to stain or paint the table but that's a project for another day.



Ok, so here's the stove side of the galley kitchen. Remember the backsplash used to be brick and there was a brick box to the right of the stove which could only be used to hold a microwave. We demo'd that and bought a new cabinet for the space. It's a pretty good match to the original cabinets, wouldn't you agree? We donated our old microwave and got a new one that was installed over the stove. It's not called a spacesaver for nothing. We also added new pulls. The microwave is the only new appliance. We may opt to tile behind the stove but we're still thinking about it.

And here is a shot of the sink side of the galley. We opted for corian countertops with a corian sink. The sink is molded into the countertop so it's completely seamless and because it's corian it's virtually indestructable which is good when you have 5 year old twins. Please ignore the curtain - we still haven't found one we like. It's strange that one silly little curtain is the last thing we need to purchase and we're having the hardest time finding one we like!


Here's a closeup of the sink so you can see the fixtures. I love these fixtures - you don't see water spots on them at all and corian is so, so, SO easy to clean. Most of the time soap and water does the trick. Every now and then I have to bring out the heavy duty abrasive - baking soda. Really. Please ignore the curtain.

This shot gives some perspective on how it all flows together. We painted the walls in the kitchen a creamy, pale yellow with white trim. The trim in the dining room is a shade lighter than the walls in the kitchen so it all kind of flows together. The green of the countertop works well with the green on the walls in dining room, too.

So, there you have it. There is so much more to do but with this major stuff out of the way, we can take our time with the rest. I'm loving my kitchen - it's amazing how these changes have made it so much more efficient and pleasant.

What do you think?

Easter Eve

It's late and I should be getting their Easter baskets ready but I just finished painting my nails and I have to wait for them to dry so why not spend some time on the internet?
Plus, I had to wait for Jack to fall asleep. He wanted to go to sleep on the couch just in case the Easter Bunny came and didn't know where to look for the egg that Jack left for him. He would hear him and show him where the egg is. He asked me to leave him a note that says if he can't find the egg to please wake up Jack and he'll show him. I can hear him now though - he's finally asleep.
And poor Dean is sick. He coughed all day yesterday and then in the evening he didn't eat dinner and he just wasn't himself. Although, he did perk up when Peter and Julian gave him a new pair of shoes for Easter. The cutest little black, pink and blue plaid Chuck Taylor's. Dean loves shoes. True to form, he spiked a fever and has been residing in misery-ville ever since. I slept between them last night and, consequently, didn't sleep too well. I really hope he wakes up feeling better tomorrow, with no fever, so we can all go to the Sullivans for Easter brunch as planned. He'll be so disappointed if he won't get to go.
And now, I must go fill baskets.
Happy Easter!

One More Thing

Oh, I forgot to mention that I will be participating in NaBloPoMo for April. The theme is LETTERS.

So, that's exciting, right?

Falling in Love

You're not going to believe this but I've fallen in love with my house again. It's amazing what a little sweat and a fresh coat of paint will do. I find myself exclaiming OH I LOVE MY HOUSE at really random moments. And it's true, I do. Anyway, I don't think I told you about this:

I'm sure I've mentioned before that the person who owned our home before us was a brick layer and whenever he had leftover brick he just built things with it. Hence, we had a brick box in our kitchen that could serve no purpose other than house our enormous microwave. Another similarly useless thing he built was this brick square that sat in our front yard. Apparently, he meant for it to be a post for a light fixture but he never bothered to run conduit through it or anything sensible like that. So, Tom borrowed Alex's sledgehammer and went to it with a little help from the guys.

Here is a picture of Dean priming the new trim in our dining room. Here is a picture of Jack staining our TV cabinet a deep, rich brown to match the rest of the furniture in the living room. He did an awesome job.

This is me filling all the nail holes in the new trim in our living room , prepping for paint. You can also see the color our living room walls used to be and in this photo it's not too bad. In person it's almost highlighter yellow. This is also me without makeup. I'm just keeping it real, yo.Here are the boys enjoying a rare moment off from work.

And here is a picture of the boys relaxing on our new couch. You can also see the new color on the living room walls - a soft gray with white trim. I LOVE IT.

I had hoped to have pictures hung and everything put away nice and neat before posting photos but just haven't had time. I have the day off tomorrow and intend on cleaning up the kitchen, putting away all the odds and ends, fixing up the living room a bit and then, finally I will take pictures of everything and post them here. I still don't have curtains but am slightly afraid to go shopping for them again for fear I'll pick out a new bedroom set.

What? It could happen.

A Load Off

• 3:30am. That's when I finally went to bed. Sheesh.
  
• I just sent an email to the current President to tell her I'm flattered but I cannot be President for the next term.
• Corned beef is in the crock pot. Hope it's good.
• Got Keynote but don't see what the big deal is. It's just like powerpoint but on a mac.
• Got candy and flip flops for the boys' Easter basket. Need to find the plastic eggs at home.
• Still love the color of my living room walls.
• Adore my new furniture.
  

The Ramblings of a Crazy Person

I can't sleep. Too full on corned beef, cupcakes and coffee. We went to the Sullivans for dinner tonight and it was delicious. But, after 2 glasses of wine I thought it would be a good idea to have a cup of coffee and, well, I should have known better. Still, after days and days of subsisting on 5-6 hours of sleep each night I really didn't think one little cup of coffee was going to keep me up tonight. That's what I get for thinking. So here's a sampling of what's rattling around in my head right now.

1. Crap! Easter is on Sunday and I haven't gotten anything for the boys yet. Must do that at lunch this week.
2. I still need to get curtains for the kitchen and figure out what we're going to do with the dining room window.
3. I had a dream about Heather Armstrong last night. That's weird.
4. I'm thirsty.
5. Work stuff. Maybe I should get Keynote to help me brainstorm our space restructure? Will request from resources tomorrow.
   
6. Oh! I skipped my resources meeting today and didn't call them. Must call them.
7. Can I make corned beef in the crock pot?
   
8. I have to make a decision about curtains in the living room, too.
   
9. Wow, I really love the color of my living room.
10. I need to start running again. I'm worried about my knees though which didn't much like all that bending down I was doing to paint the living room.
11. The Mother's Day Brunch is coming up soon and I need to request a donation from work this week.
    
12. SFVMOMC wants to nominate me for President for the next term. I don't want to be President but feel guilty about that.
    
13. I can't be President! I am already way over scheduled and that doesn't even include activities for the boys! And they start school in the fall. What if I want to join the PTA?
14. How much of a time commitment is it, really? It's only two Tuesdays a month. How bad could it be?
15. There's also two State conventions each year that the President has to attend. And not just the fun part - the boring meetings, too! And, the President has to go to every single function from the Get Acquainted Teas to the holiday parties, skate party, and every other event there is. And don't get me started about the financial responsibility of being in charge of a non-profit organization.
    
16. But there's already such a strong executive board in place for the next term. And, I'd have the strongest Parliamentarian ever because she's been a member for years and past President several times.
17. Absolutely not. Kelsi, you cannot take this on.
18. I'm still not sleepy.
19. I am still thirsty.
20. I love my new couch.
    

Weekend Highlights

Gosh it seems like ages since we last talked! Please do note the time. It is late on a Sunday night and I think this is perhaps the first time I have sat down all day. Maybe all weekend. It's been a busy one. At last I'm sitting in my brand new chair and I have to say, it's doing right by me.

This has been one heckuva long week prepping for the arrival of the furniture. Starting with the systematic removal of the old furniture, prepping walls for paint, painting, painting and painting some more. Then? Another coat, just for good measure. And while we have the brushes out are there any other spots that need to be touched up? Hey! Let's paint the door! And the threshold! Oh, let's paint Kelsi tired.

Some highlights from the weekend that didn't have to do with painting - we took the boys to see Horton Hears a Who. That was fun and I got to sit down for almost 2 hours! We went to Peter & Julian's for breakfast this morning. We had homemade blueberry pancakes, l'il smokies, and egg and potato scramble with fresh squeezed orange juice. So good. And about a hundred espressos. I used my kitchen aid stand mixer for the first time on Friday night. That was fun. I cut Tom's hair.

Ok, so enough about that stuff. I love my new furniture! While the boys spent a few hours at their friend Frank's house, we rearranged the furniture. It feels good. It's open and inviting and just the right amount of pieces. I took some pictures but I'm too tired to post them. But I will soon. And I'll also post pictures of the kitchen soon even if we don't have curtains on the windows. You've waited long enough.

Heartburn

Dean: Ohhh, my heart is burning.
Me: Why?
Dean: Because of Amanda (teacher at school).
Me: Your heart is burning because of Amanda?
Dean: Yes because she sings such beautiful songs.

Our Dean the romantic.



Happy Birthday Eddie!!!!

MarBlo and Lists

So, I had every intention of trying to post every day in the month of March but here it is March 2nd and I've already missed a day.

I also had every intention of posting pictures of the kitchen today but it isn't quite finished. Tom touched up the paint in a few places and it looks great. He still has to install the lighting in the dining room and then we still need curtains for the kitchen window and the dining room window. We had every intention of getting the curtains today - it was on our list - really the only reason we went out today. In fact, our list went something like this:

curtains for kitchen and dining room
look at lighting

We purchased lighting and new living room furniture.

Do you see living room furniture on that list? No. But, Macy's was having a sale and it ended today and we fell in love. I mean, so in love. And it will be delivered on 3/16 so now we need to pick paint for the living room and paint it before the new furniture gets here. I'm not going to describe it though. I'll take a picture after it gets delivered and you can see for yourself. And I promise I won't drag it out like I am the kitchen. Two weeks from today - you'll see it.