Scouts

Gavin just started scouts in February. To say that he was excited would be an understatement. 

I have been a Scout Committee Chair for over a year now. Not my favorite thing to do....but there could be worse...

I could be in the nursery. 

Somehow this year I ended up being in charge of the blue and gold banquet.

Blake says they need a ladies touch for scout stuff.

Ladies touch=centerpieces with ribbon. 

Gavin got his Bobcat.

They give the Mom's a pin whenever the kids advance. 

I am not really sure why. Maybe so if they are being naughty you can just leave the pin upright on their chair?

That would teach em.

Canon and Laney were bored to tears....

OK not tears...

they felt no emotion.

Until dessert came.

Evidently when you are bored, sugar can't get into your system fast enough.

Some are a little more dainty about it...

Some are super polite.

They realize that people might be watching and they don't want to offend....
Not Canon. He could care less what you think.

When consuming breakfast desserts at 7 at night anything goes. Like eating a donut with a fork. Perfectly acceptable.

Just because our kids are little doesn't mean they can't eat a cupcake in two bites...because...

they can.

Yep. Cooked Up Some Soap.

What do you do in your spare time?

Evidently, I like to take something that is easy...like buying laundry soap from the store and make it hard....like making it yourself.

Being domestic seems like a great idea...that is until you do it.

You begin to wonder why you feel the need to put the Tide company out of business?

Sure it was fast...and relatively painless...and your kids drink enough milk to have laundry containers for days...and in the end you want to roar "I am women!"

But really. 

It has the consistency of snot.

So...yah....it seems like snot consistency laundry soap may be counter productive. 

I think I will make dry next time.

Old Stuff

The older I have gotten, it seems, the more enamored that I get with old things.

(I am not alone in this...see?) 

Most people when they see a burnt orange corduroy chair would scoff and run the other way. Me? Can't get it into my cart fast enough.

I am certain that I got the dissecting brain from my Mom. 

Pick it apart and see if it would look better a different way.

Blake sees "ugly."

Kids see "toy."

I see "time intensive although may be awesome in the end potential."

Sometimes I get something right and it ends up looking good.

The nice thing is, when I buy something for cheap I am not as concerned if it doesn't work out. The chair only cost me $4. 

If it had ended up being a complete disaster, no skin off my nose.

See the lamp below? 

Blake and I found them at an estate sale. We got two lamps and their shades for $5 total. 

They remind me of beehives. They remind Blake of an alien rib cage.

Truthfully, I think they are a little ugly. But, I needed some lamps for our downstairs and they weren't horrible. Plus I figured if I spray painted them they might look better.

I was wrong.

So wrong. It is almost embarrassing. 

Painting them made them worse, if that were possible.

Now they look like they are straight out of the 80's. All they are missing is an accordion shade.

They had to move up to mine and Blake's room just so they could hide until I find a replacement.

Somethings work out. Somethings you just end up hiding until they can have a date with the trash can.

When I buy things I normally have something specific in mind for where I want it to go.

I bought this steamer trunk a while ago to go in the boys room. I figured that they could keep their toys in it and that they wouldn't be able to knock it over to spill all of the toys out. 

It was in the boy's room for around 2 months until I decided that it just didn't fit right.

Then I was going to sell it so it moved upstairs so that we could list it. 

Imagine my surprise when I realized that it would fit perfectly in the corner of our living room making it so I could add a lamp to a corner that previously was dark. 

Most things don't come "awesome as is."

Blake may have given me a "unconvinced" look when I came home with these.

But, I primed, painted, sanded, and put a high gloss finish on them and voila.

Good as new.

Another thing I painted:

When I go to estate sales I do so with the intent to sell what I buy in my Etsy shop.

Our kids must think that it is completely normal to sell your things.

Canon said the other day that his shoes were too small so we better sell them.

Laney has told me when she grows up she is going to sell the stuff from her house too. 

Most of the stuff that comes in...I list it to sell.

Some of it just wouldn't fit into my everyday life.

But it will fit into someones.

Someone that longs to be in the Brady Bunch...

Or perhaps the sound of music...

Whichever. 

The thing is, sometimes it is more worth it to sell it then it is to keep it.

This dress...

I thought it was cute. I bought it for less then a dollar.

When I did a Google search of the brand name I found that this dress sells from $70-$160.

Crazy.

Sometimes, though, I find something that I like. That I wouldn't mind having around for awhile.

Sure, this dress was made in the 60's and has a zipper in the back and is made of wool.

Doesn't matter. I am a fan.

I suppose that all it takes is something to make you happy.

Going to an estate sale and finding nothing?...I am OK with that.

But when I go to an estate sale and find old Pyrex bowls in fun colors.

Well...then I feel like a pirate, that just found a little treasure.

Makes me endlessly happy.

That's Gonna Leave A Mark

Blake and I have been going on dates with the kids on Saturdays. 

Not only do they get to skip out on chores....score.

But they also have some rocking company to hang out with....double score.

On mine and Laney's date we went to the mall.

I fear for the day that Laney is 14 and a mall rat. 

It is gonna happen people. I have no doubt.

So...We went into Claires.

It is a tween paradise.

I am sure that when Laney said that she wanted to get her ears pierced she thought I would say no.

I didn't.

She tried to back out at the last minute.

But it was too late. 

I told her it wouldn't hurt that bad....

I may have fibbed.

No matter. 

She is bejeweled now. 

You should see some of the earrings that she points out that she wants to wear.

Heaven help me.

In other news.

Blake and I got into a car accident.

I don't like to point fingers but...it was totally the other guys fault.

(picture me pointing a finger)

Anywhoodle, when the kid hit us it spun our car around. There was a chair in the back seat and Gavin's head hit it...or he hit his head on the chair. 

Either way.

I will tell you this: All is fine and dandy until your kid is bleeding out their head. Then it is not fine or dandy.

It looked like it was a pretty good gash so we ended up taking him to the Urgent care. 

He ended up with 3 stitches. 

He was not concerned about his stitches. 

Mostly he was concerned that it was "gonna mess up his fancy new hair cut."

Crisis averted.

Hair cut was unscathed.

Hananuka Days 4 through 6

I was a little bit of a slacker when it came to getting all of these up this year. 

On day 4 I woke up to a pie plate full of lemons. 

The best part?

When lemon trees are in season I am going to have one that is mine all mine. 

I have wanted a lemon tree for a few years now, so I am very excited!

My mom and Steve were supposed to come into town for Gavin's baptism. My mom was going to stay for longer so she was going to be here on my actual birthday. Unfortunately, my mom got the flu and my step dad Steve got pneumonia, so they didn't come. 

But my mom still got to participate in Hananuka. 

From her I am getting The Blue Book, and a pressure regulator. 

Very cool.

She shipped it out, so it should be here any day.

For the last day, Blake planned for us to go out to dinner. 

We typically like to combine my birthday, his birthday and our anniversary into one meal. 

It's all about practicality folks.

My friend April decided to be a saint that night and volunteered to watch our kids.

Spending a little extra time with Blake all by myself was the perfect way to end the week. 

   

34

Yesterday it happened. 

Just like it does every year.

It was a good day. Spent doing stuff that I normally do. Only it was better.

Blake brought me a 44 oz Diet Dr. Pepper and a pepperoni stick with a side of large smarties. 

That is always a good thing to have at 9 in the morning.

The kids were not especially good but I didn't expect them to be.

If anything I expected pure chaos.

So there was no where to go but up. 

Early in the day we were in the car and Canon was going on and on about how he knew what he was going to get me and that it was going to be the best present ever. 

"You are going to love it so so much!"

Do you know what I really want for my birthday? For you just to be really good and obedient. 

"Yah...I am not giving that to you. I am going to get you a pair of light blue jeans instead."

Blake ended up buying a cake from the store and we had frozen Costco pizza.

I didn't have to do the dishes and the kids didn't complain about what they were eating. Another win!

I was wished a lot of "Happy Birthday."

Truly I felt loved.

And a little bit more wrinkly. 

Thirty four is going to be great! 

Thirty five may be the year I want Botox.