Awesome Alarm Clock

I know that weird things make me happy, but this is AWESOME!! The alarm clock not only has the capacity to wake to trickling water, crickets chirping and many other "natural" noises, i-pod hook-ups and dual alarms, but (you won't believe this) it shines the time onto the ceiling! In the middle of the night, or early morning, you do not have to lift your head off of the pillow to see the time, just open your eyes slightly and see the time. Oh. My. God...one of my BEST purchases EVER!!

Spring Break

We started out our Spring Break on Sunday for breakfast at the beach! It was a beautiful sunny day and the breakfast was delicious...Darrell and Nathan had fun, even though the looks on their faces would prove otherwise! We ate at a new pancake restaurant called Stacks...

Then, we headed to San Clemente to check out the beach. The waves were huge and the undertow was nasty, swimming and wading were not allowed. BUT, the surfers were in full force. I don't think I have ever seen such big waves!

Nathan tried his hand at the photos...

On Monday we met Darrell for lunch. Nathan was intently listening to his Daddy...deep in conversation!

I think I need some make-up...or a tan!

After lunch, I dragged Nathan to a couple of thrift stores as I am looking for a new coffee table. He does NOT enjoy it...in fact he said that thrift stores "smell like poop and I feel like I need to shower when I leave!" His exact words

Wednesday we hit Target, Best Buy, and a couple of other errands! Nathan had a couple of friends over to swim, but they chickened out because it was too cold!

Today, we went to visit Betty who just got out of the hospital. The boys played catch in the street!

Darrell is training for his next half-marathon...

AND...I got to spend some time sprucing up the flowers! Tomorrow we are headed to San Diego...it's been a fun, relaxing week!

Wordless Wednesday #39 ~ My New Favorite Cleaner

Smells great. Works great. Great for the planet. Go get it at Target! Am I the only one who has a favorite cleaner?!?

Wordless Wednesday #34 ~ Decisions...Decisions

Hmmmmm....which is more important....strong toilet paper or soft toilet paper?? Hmmmm......

Uh-Oh!!

While putting the Christmas boxes back into the attic, Darrell stepped off of the wood planks and went through the floor (which is the ceiling in the hallway) with one leg up to his hip. I wasn't home at the time, but he was carrying a heavy box at the time...I don't think he knew what happened until he was on two floors at one time. He is okay, just cut up on one leg, now we have more ventilation in the attic!!

Our "NEW" Piano

Dave and Betty had a beautiful piano that they purchased when Kyle was a baby. Since Betty has moved into an apartment, she didn't have room for her piano. SO....now it sits in our living room waiting to be tuned up. The boys are enjoying messing around on it, and can actually play a couple of recognizeable tunes.

Thanks Betty for the lovely addition to our home. And thanks to Larry, Kyle, and Darrell for spending a day driving to the desert to pick it up and deliver it to me. I believe upright pianos weigh about 900 pounds or so.

Wet Paint

This is the state of our house. Plastic draped all around, baseboards taped off, drywall sheets propped against the wall. I LOVE fresh paint, but getting there is making me crazy!! We are vacating the premises today so Tomas can work.

Washy Washy...

My washer and dryer finally died. After 16 good years of service, they finally could not be repaired anymore. I got to know the appliance repairman and his kid. He had repaired the dryer 4 times in the past year and a half. The washer was leaking and he couldn't find the problem. I am so practical (some would say "cheap") that I did not want to spend money on new appliances. Finally, after a $600 electric bill and 4 hours of drying a load of towels...and they were still wet...we bought new ones! Aren't they beautiful? You know I live a dull boring life when a new washer and dryer make me so happy!!

Vacuum Cleaners

Okay, I'll just say it...I love VACUUM CLEANERS!! I use them every day, in some way. This is "Big Red." I keep it plugged in in the garage and use it constantly. I vacuum the dirt from the boys baseball uniforms up, the dirt and debris that it's in the garage before it gets into the house, and I use it outside in the flowerbeds and porch. It's so much easier that sweeping and then putting the junk in the trash...I just wait until the giant red bucket is full, and pour it into the green waste can. Love it.

These are my floor vacuums. The one on the left is for the carpet...duh...and the red one is for the hardwood and tile. The red one I use almost everyday, it picks up Molly's food bits...she's messy. Love them!

Okay, this is my least favorite, but I still use it.

Small vacuum for the cars...

Floor sweeper for a quick clean-up if someone's coming over in one minute...

Does anyone know of a Vacuum Anonymous meeting in my area?? I think I have a problem...

$2 Frames

I got these frames at a garage sale a few months ago for $2!! They are from Pottery Barn Kids and are supposed to be used for school work, changed frequently. However, my kids don't do that much artwork anymore and the frames were a little scratched. What did I do? Same thing I always do...paint them black and distress them! I took these photos and had them printed at Christmas when I had my cards made. They look so cute upstairs in Molly's Bedroom.

Easter Decorating

Okay, so here are my Easter decorations...STILL IN THE ATTIC!! I have been so busy, and tired, and had so many distractions, I decided NOT to decorate this year. I know...I can't believe it either! You know how I love to decorate for every holiday, but something had to give. Nathan, My Mom, and I are going to Kansas for the week anyway, so we wouldn't be here to enjoy all the decorations and I'm not entertaining, so no one will really notice. When I pack away my holiday decorations, I usually have one "open" box or basket to put things that I buy on clearance after the holiday or thoughout the year at garage sales or thrift stores. These bunnies were actually packed away in Nathan's room, and I thought they would be cute decorations for Easter with some cute bows around their necks...next year!

I'm lucky to have a huge attic, with a pull-down ladder, to store all my holiday stuff and the kids schoolwork as I keep everything!! I also have misc furniture, decorations, camping gear...all that junk that you use, but not very often.

Have a great week. By the way, it is beautiful weather here, and Kansas is under Emergency Advisory for snow...yikes. Who knew we'd hit snow in Kansas in Spring?!

Sick Boy = Time for Crafts

Look what I did today...They turned out SO cute...if I do say so myself!! Okay, um, these pictures posted in backwards order. So, I am going to leave it...work with me people. These are two Easter/Spring signs that I made today. Again, I got the wood in the "cut wood" bin at Lowe's. 71 cents each. I used paint that I already had (thanks Barbie!) and bought a few pages of scrapbook paper and some wooden letters.

This is what my kitchen table looked like all day. I mod-podged the paper to the front of the letters and sanded around the edges to take the excess paper off. Time consuming...yes. Difficult...no.

Some of the raw materials before I began.

Here's my sick boy...feeling better now. Hope he sleeps okay. He's such a trooper, basically he just laid around and watched movies all day. Love this boy so much, I always just wanna hug him and kiss him and tickle him. Even though he thinks he is too old...I'll always hug, kiss, and tickle him.

Wordless Wednesday #15 ~ February Front Porch

I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY!!

Wordless Wednesday #14 ~ My Kitchen Assistant

Don't worry...she licks them clean BEFORE the dishwasher sanitizes them. It's not good when she gets ahold of a knife!!

For my dog-lover friends...she doesn't do this on a regular basis, only when I forget to close the dishwasher. I know it's not a good idea...

Decorating With HEARTS!!

This week I have been decorating for Valentine's Day. I decided this year to do a "pink, hot pink, and white" theme. I usually opt for red,so I had to make a lot of new things. It turned out cute...if I do say so myself.

My entry table. The frames with the words are just frames that I had and I printed the words on pretty scrapbook paper. Easy and cheap!

Another small table in my front room. Will you be my Valentine?

Wordless Wednesday #12 ~ From My Garden

Nathan's Room~ There's No Place Like Home

The new shelves...

The "Beast"...

His bed...I made the sign above his bed a couple of years ago.

SOME of his trophies, books, bouncey ball collection, baseball collection, Gameboys...you know all the important stuff!

This basket is FILLED with doggy beanie babies. When Nathan got his tonsils out, our dear friend BARBIE sent these to him. He loves them. I should have him count...I bet there is at least 60 of them, and he knows most of the breeds. Love you Barbie!

The weeks following Christmas is my "deep cleaning" time of year. I go through EVERY drawer, cabinet, closet, nook and cranny. I throw away stuff, give away stuff, organize stuff, and take everything to the sink to be cleaned or outside to be hosed off. I know it's a lot or work, but I love having a clean and organized house. Those of you who know me, will not at all be surprised by all of this...right?

Because Nathan got drums this year, his room needed a major overhaul in order to accomodate the giant loud beast! I took out several small pieces of furniture and made shelves that fit perfectly out of wood planks and cinder blocks that I painted. This was an idea that I saw on one of my favorite blogs...The Homesteading Housewife. Total cost...under $40. It turned out great, so much stuff fits on the shelves, and plenty of room for the drums. Here are a couple of photos for you to see.

We're having our family over for New Year's Eve tonight...gotta chill the champagne!