Test Driving

Went to shop for a new recliner today.  When we got in the store The Boy's eyes lit up and he was overjoyed by all the features the chairs come with now.  USB ports, cup holders, LED lights in the cup holders and under the foot rest, and a button that raises the foot rest electronically.  He had his heart set on this one...in chocolate, not red, though.  After I finally agreed and we got it paid for he was off to the sectionals to pick out one of those as well!  He better go get a job so we can afford all this new furniture he is picking out!

After getting the chair home I discovered that, although a great idea, the motorized foot rest is not ideal for when you need to get up in a hurry.  It is quite slow and Jayke and Jeff get a good laugh out of watching me impatiently waiting to be able to stand up.  I will get used to it but probably won't be buying any motorized furniture in the future!

We had several arguments who was going to sit in the chair.  I got it so that I would have someplace comfortable to sit in the living room again and could join him in the evenings.  He was all for this until I was actually in the room with him watching the game.  Apparently I'm too enthusiastic about basketball and by half time he was asking me if I was ready to go to bed.  By the fourth quarter he was TELLING me to go to bed, that it was "sleepy time!"  I finally gave up the chair and moved to the bed so he could take over.

Progress... Cheap Labor...

I really wish I had a before picture.  This area was a huge mess with dead bushes and over grown in weeds.  Not a shred of mulch since I moved in years ago.  Seems like the front of the house always gets priority over the back.  With the front in pretty good shape this year we were finally able to start working on the back a little bit.  Keep in mind it was Larry, Curly, and Mo (Mom, Me, and Jeff) working on this project so although it doesn't look like a professional did it, it does look 1 million times better!  Jayke is my lawn boy in training.  He was really into mulching.  

Laynie approves of the new walk.  With her failing eyesight she tends to fall off the pavers a lot though.  It will take her a little time to get used to them.  I think she likes being able to walk to the fence without touching the grass.  I'm also happy my bird sculpture from Mexico finally has a home and prominent location for display.  He has been tucked in the corner of the hedge where you couldn't even see him.  I got the electrical outlet replaced so now I can do some lighting on the Pergola too!

My helpers will all be happy to learn that painting the deck and working in a water feature are up next!!  Rest up crew!

Next year we will bring this flower bed around and run it down the front of the deck to join the flower bed on the other side...baby steps...

Amp

Finally got it hung.  I have to figure out what else to put up there with it but it's up!  Love it!

New Floor

Finally getting rid of the yucky carpet and replacing it with Pergo.  I can't believe what a difference it makes already!  Jeff and I spent a couple of days removing all the tile and carpet to get it ready for the installers.  I had to live with the sub floor for a while so I was more than ready to get this done!  

Nemo is checking out the new floor...I can't tell if he approves or not.

Awwww....Shade!

Got my pergola put up today.  This should help keep the sun from beating in the back of the house all day and keep it from heating up so much in the living room.  I hate that the majority of glass on my house faces west so for Christmas this past year my dad bought me this to try to help and today Jima and Mom came over to put it up for me.  Please ignore the broken deck rail that my mom managed some how.  I think she did it on purpose so I'd have to take the entire railing off. 

And here is why I don't want to take the railing off...My doves.  They come back every spring to make their nest in the planter.  Last year I had two babies in there and I worried over them all the time until they left.  Gave them a little roof to protect them from the rain and give them some shade.  Momma must like it since she has returned this year and looks like she is preparing to build too!

New and Improved...Merry Christmas!

Jayke got a new bedroom for Christmas and these fish were the first to see it!  We got rid of the bunk beds and got him a nice new big bed that he doesn't have to climb up into.  After staying in a hotel and having a whole queen size bed to himself that was all he could talk about...that and a heated, padded, toilet seat.  I opted for the new room and passed on that funky toilet seat.

We went with a super hero theme.  It looks nice and clean and un-cluttered, we shall see how long it stays that way.

His buddy, Nemo is loving the new room too!  I don't know what he likes better, the nice big bed or the fish entertainment!

Mason was the first friend to stay with Jayke in his new room, as you can see they even through on some matching pjs to make things look extra spiffy.

Mission Control, Geek Station, Man Cave

....whatever you want to call it.  Bobby's office.   He is beyond excited that he now has 3 monitors (2 computers) to work from.  He has even given me permission to come in and use the one on the end with him...LOL.  Please note the Star Trek themed background wallpaper he has on the screens.  Just to add the finishing Geek touch.  I think I will really flip him out and add my laptop and iPad to the mix.  Or even Jayke's Netbook.  A lot of computers for one house!  I fully expect him to make us rich now that he has the set up to do it!

What I'm Loving

and can't get enough of! I found this pillow on Etsy and HAD TO HAVE IT! This pillow is so perfect in my house. I just wish I could find coordinating ones to go with and maybe even bring these colors into my bedroom.

Speaking of Etsy...it, along with Pinterest are my new two addictions. Like I needed any more. I get so many ideas from Pinterest it's crazy. Went out and bought some canvas and stencils for a project. Hopefully it will turn out great and I will be able to post it. For now you can just admire my pillow!

Making Progress...

The Boy may have a future as a painter...at least as my new painter. We fired the old painter, Oma. Got half of the room painted today before we pooped out. The color looks blue here but it is really a VERY teal color. The color name is "Day at the Jewelers" and it is fab!! With a name like that it has to be!

We did have some assistance from Oma. She is permitted to paint at my house as long as she is supervised. If she isn't things tend to go horribly wrong! We also had some help from the cats. Luna was particularly interested in what was going on. She thought the ladder was placed there for her personal use and tried to sit on it the entire time. When I took it away she leaped up into the window, putting her hind paws in the paint then tracking kitty prints on the window sill. When I finally removed her from the room for good she left with a teal tail. Jayke wrote a story about it tonight...The Cat With the Teal Tail. It was a short story.

I can't wait for the room to be completely painted and get the furniture in there. It's going to look really good! I may have a hard time letting Jayke and his friends play in it!

Jayke's Bathroom Tree

Another wall decal...I'm obsessed with them. I love the way they look and love that it is something different than using framed artwork every where. I had to take this picture looking into the mirror...the tree is on the opposite wall and there is really no way to photograph it and get the whole thing in the picture. The bathroom is too small and the tree is too big. I wish I had more walls because there are so many of these that I LOVE!!

Inspired by Peacocks and Zebras

This is the new paint color I'm going to be putting in the front bedroom of my house. The bedroom I'm turning into a game room for The Boy. He will be getting a flat screen to go in there and we will hook his Wii and xbox up because I can't have his game play interfering with my reality tv viewing.



This Zebra rug is currently making it's way to my house to go in the game room along with...



The perfect gaming chairs. Two bean bag sherpa chairs. No...I am NOT crazy for putting white chairs in my son's game room!! Why would you even think that? Remember that white comforter I put on my bed??? It is still as perfect as the day I brought it home and these chairs will be just fine. Jayke is careful when I make sure I point out what he needs to watch out for and pay attention to.

This room will also have all my black and white framed pictures of Jaykeb in it and I may string some white paper lanterns together to hang ceiling to floor in the corner as my light source. It's been a while since I've been able to be creative...who knows what I will come up with!

New Door Color

Painted the front door...much better. Now just don't look at the crappy yard. I need to start mowing more often...obviously!

Home At Last!

Okay. I finally took a couple of pictures of the new house. When I say a couple that is exactly how many I took. I don't have enough finished to take anymore. We are still stripping TONS o wallpaper and painting. There are floors that need replaced which wouldn't be that bad except we have pulled up what was there and now I'm living with the not-so-desirable stuff that was underneath that. I did get one light fixture but still have atleast three more to do. I have gotten most of the horrible green front door painted. I had it almost done, had to go pick up Jayke, then it got too cold to paint again. Maybe I will get that done yet today....wouldn't hold my breath if I were you though.

So Here is a picture of Jayke on the couch looking oh so happy to be photographed. I had to threaten to take away all his trucks and cars if he didn't sit for the picture. Forgot to bargain for the smiling face though. Decorating style is completely different for this house than it was in the last. I know the picture doesn't show much but you can get an idea. We are still painting this room too.




And another view of the toooooo white room. Can't wait to get it painted.




And here is my wall of Jayke in my new office...




Just put this room together Saturday morning. I still have another couple of pieces of furniture to put in it so I only photographed the one wall. There is a blank spot in the middle where two smaller photos will go when I find them.


We are glad to be in. It's weird doing all the normal things again like grocery shopping, laundry, and running the sweeper. Not sure if I really thought this move thing through all the way. I had it made in the chore department before!

We got the dogs moved in last weekend and I've never seen a happier little boy. The first day we were here he ran up to me and asked me in a super excited, yet totally serious voice, if we could live in this house forever and NEVER have to leave it. I told him we'd be here a long time he didn't have to worry about it. He no longer wants to be at my mom's house all the time. He will go there for an hour or so then ask to come back home. He sleeps in his own room without debate even though it is clear on the opposite side of the house from mine. He has also taken it upon himself to be totally in charge of all aspects of the dogs. He feeds and waters them everyday and also goes out and pooper scoops the yard. He made the phone call to my mother all on his own to please bring the pooper scooper over from Grammy's the other day. He means business!

He is loving climbing the tree out in the front yard too. I found him with a bunch of stuff that he dragged out of the garage piled up under it this afternoon so that he could climb it without my help. Not sure if piling up suitcases and boxes under the tree is the best idea in the world but it seemed like a totally normal "boy" thing for him to do and he hasn't been able to do that until now. He can come and go as he pleases and he does. In and out all day long.



As for me, I'm just getting used to watching tv in a living room on a couch instead of laying in bed. I've spent the past 16 months in bed it seems like. Now I don't have time to lay around and I'm glad. Having something to do is much better.

Cheater Cheater

I admit, I'm a cheater. I've been cheating on my blog with Facebook. I can't help it. It's addictive. Being able to snoop on all your old friends from years past and present...and old boyfriends...snicker. I had a someone contact me today who I haven't seen since I was in Girl Scouts with her. I'm always shocked when people remember me for some reason. I remember them so why wouldn't they remember me. I'm just weird that way I guess.

Anyway, thought I should explain my further absence from the bloggity blog. We are finally moving Saturday morning!!! I get the house Friday. Hoping to slap some paint on the bedroom walls Friday evening so we can move the beds in Saturday. I will TRY to update after we are in. Busy busy!!!

Look What I Bought!

Well...here it is. Please ignore the front door color. I will be changing that ASAP!!! We close on March 10th. Just in time for Jayke to go to kindergarten round up at his new school.

Here's a Hint...

I told Jayke to put his new Cowboy boots on with his shorts so I could take his picture the other day. Mike asked me why I always try to make him look like a dork then take his picture. I told Mike that if he wore Cowboy boots with shorts he would look like a dork, but on Jaykeb it would just be cute. I don't know now that I'm looking at this picture. It kind of looks like he has on gauchos with boots, like women wear. That is his serious model pose by the way.

You can kind of see what I've been working on in his room. I haven't painted anything yet because I can't decide what colors to use. Instead, I slapped some cork board with a painted chair rail on the wall in between his new bookcases and then threw some wallies up above that. I don't have any before shots of this half of his room to show you but let me tell you that this is 100x better than what it was before. He had no shelving or any thing, so stuff was just piled up over there. It was a big mess! I put shelving units the entire length of the wall and have been putting the red, green, and blue wooden storage bins with the chalkboard fronts in them to hold all his misc. junk.

The bins make it easier for him to get stuff out and pick up on his own now. He knows that when he is done with something to put it all back in the storage bin and put it back on the shelf.

I made an art area for him with his little table and chairs. He has a white board and more bulletin boards there to display his art. I even found little tin buckets to hold his supplies. He can sit at his table and draw, play with his laptop, and watch Scooby Doo movies on his tv. His room really kind of resembles a classroom but has a transportation theme. I'm not done, of course. I am making a flag banner with his name, I have to paint the one wall a color still and I have a shelf to hang but you can get some sort of idea where it is going. It is still way too full but until we have a play room it has to be this way.



Now, I have given you a big clue as to what Jayke is going to be for Halloween. I haven't tried the entire costume on him yet because I knew if I did I would have to post it on the blog and I'm trying to hold out until closer to Halloween. I'm really excited to see him in his costume, I think it is going to be super cute. What are your kids going to be this year? Have they decided? Have you decided for them? Jayke and I had to compromise this year because we were in disagreement about what he was going to be. I'm sure this was the first of many disagreements on what he wears though.

Framed!

It is Friday! Time for SPF! This week the word was frame. This one was easy for me because I have several things I could use. I decided to go with a couple of things I "framed" myself. The first one was a gift for my husband 2 years ago on Christmas. While cleaning out the garage, cabinets, drawers, etc to get ready to move I came across all his stuff from when he was in the Army. I thought it should be displayed proudly rather than tucked away in a box or drawer so I made this for him.



I also made one for my son displaying some of his things from when he was a tiny baby. I have to keep an eye on this one to make sure it is still on the wall after my mom visits. She has talked about stealing it many times. I think it will be a great thing to give to him someday when he is expecting his first child. Sorry about the glare...you know I am a lousy photographer!



I have another framed item on the wall I have to make sure doesn't disappear when grandparents visit. It is also my favorite picture from when Jayke was a baby. I love the way it was matted and framed and I love the pictures! The first one is a close up of his face, the second is of his tiny hand holding my finger, and the third is of my hand holding his tiny feet. Adorable!



Now I also have to show another frame that I love simply because The Boy made it for me at school.



So there ya go. Framed and frames. Didya play? If so let me and Kristineknow so we can check out your frames!

Which do You Like Better?

I have an obsession with bedding. I am very picky about my bedding therefore making it hard to find a set that I like. I love the bedding that I have right now but it is getting worn from too many washings and starting to look bad. I have been looking for new bedding for at least a year now. Every time I find something I like there is always one little detail that causes me not to buy it. I had almost given up my search. On Mother's Day I was out shopping, not for bedding...just shopping, and happened to see a set that was the perfect color combination, the perfect design, and the perfect price. Clearance even! $170 off! I had to snatch that baby up. I still wasn't positive I would like it but I could at least take it home and try it. So, the first picture is the old bedding and the second one is the new set. Tell me which one you like best. I like them both so you won't hurt my feelings.



....and the second one...



The size of the second one is a lot better for the bed and I don't have the matching bed skirt on yet because it will have to be let out. It is dark green. Sorry the first picture was better but I was trying not to get the mess on the floor on the side of the bed in the picture. Distracting. So, what do you think?

Look Oma, All Clean!

I spent the better part of the day cleaning The Boy's room. It was worse than I had ever seen it. It is kind of hard to clean right now because he has so much stuff and no where to put it. I've scoped out a piece of furniture from Pottery Barn that will help tremendously, now I have to save enough money to get it. Here is what his room looks like from the doorway. No room to spare.


He was a happy little dude though once I got it all straightened up. He even asked to eat his lunch at his little table, now that we could find it again.


He spent the rest of the afternoon driving his cars in there since he had room again.

We took him to get ice cream at Baskin-Robbins for the Fire Department Fundraiser thing they had going on. $.31 a scoop. Can't beat that! I don't know what flavor that was that he got. It had 3 or 4 different colors which he wore proudly.



I have yet to find someone to do my hair since moving to South Carolina (it has only been a year now). I normally get it done when I go home to Indiana by my girl up there. I haven't been back since Christmas though and my highlights (which were way too light to begin with) were growing out so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I have never colored my own hair so who knew what would happen! I take really craptastic pictures and I have been outside in the near ninety degree weather so you are warned.




It is dark but it will lighten soon, I'm sure. At least it is all one color again. Everyone always says I look just like my mom. I never see it though. When I looked at this one I saw it for maybe the second time ever in my life. I thought I looked like her in this one. I think it is in the eyes. Maybe it is the goofiness...I don't know. Just kidding Mom!



That is my messy white board behind me where I keep track of my life. Notice all the empty boxes on it because there is nothing going on. Still waiting on my tax return, still trying to figure out when I will be heading North, still waiting on someone to come visit me.
Now I have to go spend time with the husband because he has been feeling neglected lately...hence the bad mood yesterday. Hopefully this will fullfill my grandmother's need for daily pictures of our lives.

Not Very Good at Following Instructions

Today is the TWO year anniversary of SPF! I found out how it all got started over on Kristine's site...you can go there, check out her fridge and read how SPF was born. Now on to the assignment.

Today in honor of the very first SPF Kristine told us to take a picture of our fridge...Cribs style(that is a show on MTV where celebrities show off their houses and always show what is in the fridge, for the unhip family...er uh, people who are reading this). I almost didn't play when I learned that I had to post a picture of my fridge because it is usually in a state of disarray. I went and peeked in to see how terrible it was and it wasn't too bad so I figured I would go ahead and grab the camera.
I took my pictures then went and reread the assignment...oops, apparently I was supposed to be in the picture too. I could have gone back and taken a new picture but I thought you may not want to see me in hot pink and green jammies, no makeup, and hair a mess. Plus if I was in the picture you wouldn't be able to see the fridge items, not that you really care, but that was my thinking. I was supposed to throw up the number two for the camera which I did. That would be why my very bright hand is in the picture...note to self, turn off flash when taking picture of fridge.



If you played let me and Kristine know so we can come see what is in yo fridge!