Levi laugh

Quick house tour

Here's a link to a little tour of the house. Enjoy! :)

House tour extraordinaire

Table tweaks

A few pictures

Finally some kitchen color

Casey and I made some cute hoop art with kitchen fabrics she found. I loooove them. And I saw this cute idea on Pinterest a while back where the person had hung a bunch of vintage bundt pans on her wall in a fun arrangement. I don't have a huge wall to do that, but I decided to put a couple of vintage pans up with the hoops to fill the whole backsplash wall in the kitchen. It's kind of sherbert-ish in there now, but kitchens are supposed to be happy! :)

Here's a bigger view with my favorite light and also the other new art-y thing I made.

I found one more pan at Goodwill last week for $3, and it's hanging above the calendar that lends an even more sherbert-y feel to the kitchen this month. :)

New table

After searching quite a while on craigslist and at various stores for a narrow table for our "entry" area, I couldn't find anything narrow enough (12-13") or, if it was narrow enough, it was poor quality or I didn't like it. My standards weren't that high; I was definitely willing to refurbish something. I just needed it to be narrow enough to fit against the wall and still make walking through the hallway easy.

Then I got the name of a custom furniture builder who does the kind of thing I was looking for and whose prices were reasonable. I told him what I was looking for; he sent me a few drawings, and they were perfect. Fast forward two months, and now I have a new custom console table! And it's teal!

I went "shopping" around the house for stuff I already had and did some styling. I need to fill in some more and get something different to replace the green vase. The lamp (Home Goods) and the mirror ($15 from Ross!) are new. I really wish I could move that silly light switch plate.

Oh and this fun wood bowl is from Goodwill--a fun $4 find.

Levi-isms

Some cute things Levi has been saying recently:

Pink-a-boo!
That's ridicklious!
Daddy, can you give me a piddy-back ride?
I'm telling duh troof!
He thinks a lightning bolt is a "lightning bulb."

There are so many more, but they all escape me once I sit down to write about it. :)

This week

This week has been a survival kind of week: Lucy came down with a stomach virus on Friday, and that is especially worrisome for her. I'm hopeful she has turned a corner this morning.

Here are some pics from the week!

House tweaks

I'm still having fun doing stuff in the house. I wasn't satisfied with the fabric wall and made some changes there. Also got a new light in the dining area. I love it!

Some pictures from this week

Update on us

I know I've been sticking with strictly photo posts lately, so I thought I'd write a better update.

House
I now feel completely settled in our home. I have a short wish list of bigger-ticket items to try to get done over the next couple of years (paint the exterior; redo our closet; have recessed lighting in living room and kitchen installed; eventually get new windows), but nearly all of the small things I'd hoped to do to help the place feel like ours again are done. I didn't want the house to be like it was when we first lived here--my tastes have changed quite a bit (I have plenty of those "what was I thinking?" moments)--I just wanted a fresh start. I love it.

Christmas and Traditions
Christmas was great. We hosted the meal for the first time. I made creamed onions, among the other dishes, but the onions were my favorite.

Christmas break was GREAT. Having a break from the everyday rush was just what we all needed.

I spent some time feeling slightly guilty for having so few family traditions. We haven't done gingerbread houses. We don't do crafts. I don't go "all out" on anything. Yes, we do the tree and we go out to view Christmas lights, but I don't make a big to-do about the tree, and I don't pack snacks and hot chocolate and put on a specially made playlist to see the lights. Then I had a miniature epiphany... I don't view my main mothering role as making my children's lives fun--or even memorable. That's right. My main role is to teach them about Christ and to train them to be independent! I should be training them to be equipped (eventually) to live without me, not to depend on me for even more. Traditions and fun things are great, too, of course but I just realized that it isn't me--and that's OK. It isn't supposed to be my main goal anyway. I thought back to my growing-up, and what I appreciate now is not necessarily the fun stuff (there was fun stuff--yes--but not obsessed-over, has-to-be-done fun stuff) but the built-in life training stuff that prepared me for being confident later in life. So there it is--a mini epiphany.

School
Jon drives Nate and Lucy to school at least three days a week now, and it is wonderful. Levi and I don't have to rush out the door, and I can focus on making sure Nate and Luce are on track. Added benefit: Lucy behaves much better for Jon re: clothing bothering her and making it to class without fussing.

Lucy doesn't have anything particular to complain about, but she generally doesn't say she loves school. I can't decide if she's just trying to be difficult or if she's truly bored.

Nate told me over Christmas break that he didn't want to go back to school because no one plays with him. :( I had gotten the impression that no one was especially nice to Nate and that he also acted pretty annoyingly toward other kids (pestering them, getting into their personal space, not keeping his hands to himself, always trying to be first). I didn't know that he was by himself every recess, though. So we talked about some strategies for him and also decided he would make an effort with Jake, one of the boys who isn't "mean." (One of the reasons he was by himself at recess was that Jake always wants to play ball and Nate didn't want to. So we decided if he wants to have a friend, he should offer to play what Jake wants. After starting school again last week, this is what Nate says he did and it worked.) I'm hopeful the rest of the school year will be positive for him.

I've spent most of a day writing bits and pieces of this update... time to publish! :)

Some new favorite things

A clock from Target... A finished dining room table... A new calendar with some favorite colors.

Back to school

The house is quiet(er)! It's back to our regular routine, which includes more work getting done for me AND more play time, walks, and scooter rides.

Levi-isms

I made pot roast for dinner tonight after Jon requested it a while back. The children loved it, and Levi wanted to ask for more. Forgetting the name but remembering when we've had meat loaf, he asked, "May I have more meat love?" We said yes, he may have more pot roast. A few minutes later, he said, "I really like this love roast!"

The kids have little teeth floss things they use some nights, but Levi can't remember the name. "Mama, can I have a ... a ... a sloff?" ("A what?") " A sloff!" ("A what?") "You know--one of those things for my teef!"

Whistler

Having boys means...

...going out on a date with your husband but having to turn right around and come home because the 4 year old might need stitches.

(We're going the bandaid-and-eventual-scar route instead of stitches, though. He seems fine.)

More decorating!

Casey gave me the idea to do various fabric-covered canvases on the wall over the couch. I loved the idea!--and fabric is pretty much one of my favorite things.

I had several of these fabrics already and then found the butterfly one that has all the living room colors (yellow, grey, teal) and picks up the butterfly theme from one of the pillows I made. I love how it all turned out. I am planning on changing the rectangle on the right-hand side into a bigger canvas. (Right now it's just a covered flimsy gift box top!).