Opinions Requested for the Half-Bath

Ok- I am in need of opinions here. The top and bottom pics are of our vanity in the downstairs half-bath (we went with the white one). I love the way the faucet and handles come out of the wall. Keep in mind while you look at the wallpapers that I am going for something kind of whimsical in there. Don't want dull/boring. I am leaning towards the One with the white ovals and starbursts in the middle. Looks kind of retro. I also really like the spring green pattern right below that one. But I think all of these are neato, so I need some help here. Haven't picked out the light fixture in there, yet. Wanted to get the wallpaper chosen first. So- let me know what you think!! Thanks!

Casa De Chaos

So, just when I thought I was gonna be able to keep up with this blog for a little while- everything gets nuts. I spent the last 30 minutes reading all the other blogs I keep up with, but my computer is not letting me make comments on some of them, so I'll try to get back to them later.... This has been a yucky week. Lets just say that B and I learned some lessons. #1 - Do not get your patients to estimate work for the house you're building because some of them are going to get really ticked if you don't choose to go with them. Now- we are using one of his patients to do the stonework for our house. Not only because he is great and has always given us advice while stressing that we would never have to use him for anything, but he also came in about $10,000 less than the other stone guys we got to quote the job. BUT- when we got an estimate from a patient that makes cabinets for our house and didn't end up using him- he got angry and accused us of using him to get printings of the cabinets to take to other cabinet guys, and is now trying to charge us for what he says took him 25-30 hours to do, which was to put the cabinet design that we drew out for him into CAD. Other cabinet makers told us that takes about 3-4 hours tops. Y'all know I do not like being lied to. Not to mention that his cost was $30,000 more than the other 2 quotes we got- for the same stuff. All of the houses we have ever built- all of the subs have always given us printouts as part of their estimates and have never charged us. So, B has been upset all weekend because he does not do well with conflict, and therefore has been following me around the house like a lost puppy and been clingy and moody. He has called and e-mailed the cabinet guy and he won't call us or e-mail us back. Real mature. The worst part is that his wife gave this speech the last time we met with him about how he has gotten where he has in business because he is such a Godly man and he is always fair. Hmmm. Anyway- I am over it, I just wish the guy would tell us how much he expects us to pay and we could get this over with. Then last Friday we went to the school that A and E will be going to next year to meet with the principal and talk about some concerns- and she had forgotten and went out of town and wasn't there. I was furious. It left a very bad taste in my mouth not to mention it did not ease the nervousness I have about taking them out of private school. Then Emmaline turned up with a double ear infection this weekend- which would explain the demonic behavior she has been displaying for the past 4-5 days. Annelise is jealous that Emmaline has ear infections and so she has been playing the pitiful card for the past few days and complains of a different ailment every couple of hours. I feel like I have 3 leeches on me. On a good note- I have finished tagging all of the 200 or so pieces of clothing for the consignment sale I do twice a year. Plus-I get to do Disciple Now with some middle school girls this weekend and am excited about that. And our windows should be going into our house this week. AND- I sent in my application for the grief counseling certification courses last night and am really excited about that. I am going to be posting some light fixtures this week along with some wallpapers for our half-bath for people to vote on. I am so tired of picking stuff out that I need some extra opinions. So- that has been my world for the past week. Seems like every time there's a rough time a good time follows it. So- here's hoping for that!

Happy (late) Birthday, Scooter!

Coming home from the hospital- 3 days old.

One of your smiles you saved especially for your "Daddy time".

Mommy's first Mother's Day- 4 months old.

Your first Christmas- 11 months old. Hope that wasn't lead paint on

that bell handle......

Snuggle time with Daddy. Wow it took forever to get you to stop sucking

that thumb. But you still like to hold people's ears......

First time you saw your little sister. You were totally in love, and only

18 months old.

Christmas and pigtails. And 21 months old. The start of the terrible 2's!

Checking out your new room at our house in Easley. (2 houses ago...)

Posing on a Sunday morning before church.

Easter morning (at our current house.....)

On a field trip to the World of Energy- 2009- my big girl.

Goodness- 7 years old. This has been such a transitional year. Over the past few months I've heard: "Mommy I don't want anymore cartoon pajamas. Just ones that look like big girls would wear them." And "Mommy, I don't think fairy tales are really true. They just don't sound like they could be possible." "Mommy don't get me a cute cake with Barbie or anything on it- just hearts and flowers this year. I am 7, you know." Etc, etc..... This year will bring lots of change for her. A new school, new neighborhood/house. New friends. She'll start Tae Kwon Do and will have another year of basketball under her belt. I so miss the days of her falling asleep in my arms sucking her thumb and holding my ear. I miss her wanting "tip-o-tees" (cherry tomatoes) and waking up to the sound of her playing with her favorite toy in her crib. She was a perfect baby and she is such a good girl. All of her teachers love her and she has such a big heart for her age. This year she has experienced what it's like to be called names and be excluded from a "clique" at school. So much she will still have to face in her life. But I know she will handle it with grace and open eyes. She is a total blessing to anyone who knows her and we are so lucky to have her. We'll see if she actually fulfills her dream to be a pediatrician like her Daddy (her idol) and take over his office someday. For now, I am so excited that she is starting to enjoy shopping with me and we are able to have some mother/daughter time that just makes my day. I look forward to the coming years and just hope and pray that I will be the mother she deserves. She had her first slumber party this year. A little drama and some tears, but overall it went better than I expected! Nevertheless- we will not be doing one of those again for a couple years.... We are so thankful for her and wish her a happy year 7 and many many more!

Back Problems All Around

Poor old B. He has always had back issues, but for the past few weeks he has had some real doozies. He's thrown his back out 3 times over 12 days and he is shaped like an "S" at the moment. So bad his office manager cancelled his appt's after 3 pm and is making him go to the Dr.. Not a good thing to be happenin' since we are supposed to be moving all kinds of stuff. He was getting all these evil looks at Home Depot the other day because we bought our kitchen sink (white cast iron and huge double bowls- had been $410.00 and was marked down to $40.00!!) and since it weighed about 60 or so pounds he could not lift it into the buggy. So, I had to, and all the men in the store just looked at him- some with wonder and some with disgust. Poor guy. Good thing he's married to Super Woman and all. ;0) Tonight I get to take all of the Christmas decorations up to the office and put them in the attic by myself. Today I moved all of our light fixtures for the new house out of the dining room into the garage. I'm beginning to think he is either really hurt or the smartest man alive, I don't know. Anyway- he has been laying on the reclining couch every night with the heating pad on his back and also coming home at lunch to sit there with the heating pad. He left it on the other day and the following is what I found a little while later.......

I guess Annabelle had some back issues, too. Bless her heart. Too darn funny.......

Rain Rain Go Away....

This (above) was the house last week. They had just started on the top floor.

Brian and Emmaline (who has recently become obsessed with

architecture) standing above the future garage.

This was taken today. They have begun to do the peaks and dormers.

Well, it's taking a lot longer than normal because of the rain, but it's getting there. Our poor framers are all sick. They have been working in the rain and terrible wind we've had. They consist of a man and his 2 sons and they are such awesome framers. It has rained 20 out of the last 30 days. I feel like I live in freakin' Seattle.... We were talking to the framers a couple days ago and they said, "Yeah, about 5 years ago, this same thing happened when we started a house in a neighborhood called "------" and it rained almost the whole time we were framing from day 1." B and I just looked at him and said "Yep- that was our house too." It was. We have this thing that when we build it rains as soon as we break ground. Until they lay the sod, then it's drought time. Just kidding. Sort of. Anyway- our house has not been dry, yet. Lookin' good though and everything is measuring perfectly. Except for the red mud moat around it, I love going to look at it and imagining what it's going to look like. We feel so fortunate to be able to build this house, and at the same time there is some guilt there because there are so many we know losing their jobs and having hard times financially. It's hard to really enjoy something like this at a time when there is so much hardship. It also makes us that much more appreciative for what we have, and I'm not talking about just material things. Makes you realize what is really important, I guess. I know that God has blessed us in a lot of ways, including some financially, and I also know that it can be taken away in an instant. I think I could live with that, as long as I had my husband, children, family and friends- I could live with whatever else. Don't get me wrong, I hope I never have to prove that... But seeing it happening all around me makes me think about it. I guess growing up without a lot of money and learning to do without has a lot to do with it. (Hence everytime we go to Target, Annelise knows she can't have anything that doesn't have a "red sticker" on the tag!) I pray that the economy gets better, soon, but also that we (as a country) learn whatever lesson it is that God has for us through it. As for the house, I'll keep posting the progress as it comes along. We have moved 5 times and never taken pics of the process, so I'm excited about having a "record" of this one. Later this week, I'm going to post the light fixtures we purchased and some other things. I'm starting to really get excited!! For now, off to get everything ready for another crazy week......

Still a Little Behind

"White Trash"- My absolute favorite treat!

Rudolph cookies- the girls' favorite.

The girls making the Rudolph cookies in their Santa aprons.

M&M Kisses Pretzel treats and Rolo Pecan Pretzel treats.

Emmaline helping with the pretzel treats.

Brian's favorites- Snickers surprise cookies. Yes, there is a mini

Snickers inside of each of the peanut butter cookies!

More M&M Kisses Pretzel Treats. Some of the kisses were peanut

butter flavor, some were mint and some were regular. Mmmm.

These are so easy. We make hundreds of them each Christmas.

Annelise and Emmaline rolling the Snickers surprise cookies in

colored sugars before baking.

So, I am a little behind, but better late than never, right? Cut me some slack.... I've had a third child all week and I had to work at the school all day today for science lab. Taught 5 year olds how the seasons change because of the Earth's rotation around the sun. (They were so not interested....) Anyway- thought I would start off the catch up session with the Christmas baking pictures. We made the usual treats- Snickers surprise cookies, Rudolph cookies, M&M pretzel treats, and White Trash. White Trash is my favorite (candy, that is.) I didn't name it but I do make it because it is scrumptious. We don't make anything really complicated so that the girls can do almost everything themselves. We'll add some more difficult stuff as they get older. :0)So, enjoy the pics and maybe I can keep up for the next few days!!