The glamour continues

Today I did this

With this

That's right. Little weak Sally who can't even start the lawn mower cut down all that by herself.

So, even though I can't feel my arms tonight I pretty much feel like a ROCK STAR!

It's a red carpet life for me

Whenever I tell people that my husband is in medical school the response is usually something about how we must not see him very often but it will all be worth it someday.

Well guess what. Someday is officially a bad word at our house, because some day is not for another six years.

And today, because my husband is never home I spent my afternoon hauling dirt from the side of our house to the swamp we call our backyard.

Yes, that is actually our backyard. It's horribly embarrassing and disgusting.

Please keep in mind though that we bought this house as a fixer-upper. We've just spent the last three years fixing up the inside and ignoring the outside.

So, after I moved all the dirt we had which wasn't nearly enough, I moved on to this muddy mess, also known as mosquito heaven.

Are you grossed out yet? I am!

Does it sound like I'm complaining too much? I mean I am a little bit, because really who wants to spend their afternoon hauling dirt, but I really do enjoy the satisfaction of doing something myself. I just wish it wasn't such a muddy project.

Oh, and I do have a question. Should I even bother to put down grass seed on all the bare spots now or just wait until spring?

What, you mean your refrigerator isn't in the middle of your living room too?

That's too bad. It's really quite convenient.

However, the washer, dryer and stove are a little bit in the way.

The stove makes a nice little spot to sit and have a snack though.

And pretty soon I'm going to have a kitchen floor again!

I cannot even begin to decribe to you how elated I am!

On my mind tonight

(My post has nothing to do with this picture I just think my sisters are so beautiful that I had to share it)

Last night as Josh and I were discussing our days he asked "so what crafty thing did you make today?"

"Nothing."

"Really?"

"Well, I had to clean the bathrooms and fold laundry."

"Oh, sorry your day was so boring."

"It wasn't boring, I just had other things besides crafting that needed to be done."

And really, somehow scrubbing toilets was a welcome change. Just a mind numbing activity that didn't require any over thinking or worrying about what other people were going to think. Not that I should care anyway what other people think of my creative work but hey I am human and it does still happen.

So I've been thinking all day today about balance and how it really all goes back to all things in moderation. Anything in excess, even crafting and beautifying ones home, is not healthy for the body or mind.

But how do I keep that balance in my life? I tend to get hooked on things and then do them or eat them repetitively until I absolutely cannot stand it any more. Then, it could be months before I even have the desire to revisit that area of interest.

Basically, I'm not one of those people that can read a chapter or two of a good book every night before bed. Instead, I spend every waking minute devouring it until I can't hold my eyes open any more and then I pick up where I left off first thing in the morning. Completely ignoring my home and my appearance in the process.

It can be so frustrating some times. Even though my brain tells me it's time to stop and do other things, I can't seem to make my body agree.

And maybe more important than finding balance in my life is that I want my kids to have balance in their lives. I want them to experience things, to learn different skills, and to know first hand the joy that comes from serving others.

Am I asking to much of myself? Is this an unattainable reality?

I hope not.

You know it's gonna be a good day

When there's a caped crusader fighting on your side. That and we had red vines for breakfast.

And it might have something to do with finishing a project that has been staring at me for almost a year now. Do you remember this desk? Probably not. I bought it way back in October with plans to paint it and put it in my entry way. Well it did go in my entry way but without the paint.

Then Friday afternoon I looked at it and I was finally ready. So I took it out to the garage where I took off the little piece along the back and sanded it down lightly and then primed and painted it. I also sanded and painted a piece of plywood that I had cut to go underneath it to make a shelf. And finally I added a cute little knob to the drawer.

Also, as part of my lucky day I went to hobby lobby and found these two baskets that were half off. I spray painted them my favorite espresso brown color to match the mirror that hangs above the table, and they will now hold our hats and mittens in the coming winter months.

Put it all together and this is what you get. My new entry way table.

I wish you could see it in person because the pictures just don't do it justice. Of course it would probably look a lot better if there were an actual floor underneath instead of concrete.

It's that time of year again

Saturdays are no longer for sleeping in and getting things done around the house. Nope, it's all about soccer for the next few months. Unfortunately, Dad had to miss the first game of the season so I took a couple pictures of our cute #21 in action.

Workin' it hard!

She also heads up the cheer leading squad!

psst...

I posted something over here

Betrothed

These two don't know it yet, but they're going to be married some day.

Yes I can

I broke my promise I know. It's hard to blog frequently though when instead of three mouths to feed I now have seven. Instead of one bum to change I now have two. And you know where there are kids stealing each others juice cups there are going to be runny noses all around.

Don't get the wrong impression of me. I'm not a saint. I'm doing this for purely selfish reasons.

Next summer Josh and I are going on a cruise to celebrate the surviving of medical school and it just so happens that we have some friends who were taking a cruise this week, so we agreed upon a swap.

Really, their kids are great and it will all be worth it next summer when we are cruising the Mediterranean. Kid free!

Jumps and Bumps

Well, I'm going to be completely honest. I'm incredibly grumpy this morning and in no mood for blogging. Partly due to an unexpected visitor in the bed last night and Macy waking up an hour earlier than usual. And partly because that just happens some times. However, I made a promise to someone that I would be blogging frequently so I'm here. Sitting at my computer.

We did have a great weekend. Nothing truly spectacular just a lot of family time and happy kids. Really, is there anything better?

Macy has learned how to climb up on the trampoline with the help of our plastic slide so she spends a lot of time outdoors these days. Josh and I were really surprised to see that she learned how to jump instead of just walking around. Of course our reaction made her all that more excited to perform her new trick. And Mom of course had to take way more pictures than was necessary.

And James had a little accident this weekend. He is one of those kids that can be sitting completely still in a chair and some how manage to fall out. This time he wasn't sitting, but he did trip over his own feet and then caught himself on the kitchen floor with his forehead.

Since this picture he has hit his head twice more. Once on his bedroom door just because he turned around and didn't see it. The second was on the shelf that the dvd player sits on. Apparently he didn't see that one either.

I don't like to put labels on kids, but he is definitely our accident prone one.