Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday

Let's get started, shall we?

1.  I thought I'd start with a lice update.  I have to say, I wouldn't wish this bug on my worst enemy!  It's awful.  

We originally thought it hadn't spread.  However, after further reading, I discovered I needed to THOROUGHLY check all the girls.  Upon such inspection, they each had at least a nit.  So last Saturday (the 12th) we washed all the girls' hair again.  And this time I used a lot more shampoo!  And we (and by "we" I mean "I") checked each girl every. single. day. last week!  That's about 2 hours per night of lice check.  The hubby was worthless.  He tried and failed to find anything (he missed two nits in one small section of hair) and tangled the hair into such a mess it took me 10 minutes just to comb it out.

It now appears the three girls are all OK but the one who brought it home to begin with still has nits.  So we will continue to check her hair every single night.  And I'll probably still check the other girls at least every two or three days.  

I have never done so much laundry in my life.  Seriously.  My water bill this month is going to be ginormous!  Ugh. 

2.  In other, much happier news, we are beginning to book our Disney World vacation.  We're going to take a week in October and go to the Happiest Place on earth again.  The last time we visited, we only had two kids.  We're all really looking forward to it and I think the girls are all at a great age!  

We've already scheduled our breakfast with the princesses at Cinderella's castle.  And I think we're going to stay in a two bedroom villa at Sarasota Springs.  We'll find out the first week of June if we can pull it off.  I'm crossing my fingers because it's beautiful AND it has a full kitchen.  When there are six of you, cooking breakfast in your room can mean saving big $. 

3.  I didn't get a long run in this weekend.  Why?  It wasn't because we were too busy (although our mornings were full).  It was because I took a nasty spill last Tuesday afternoon.  Boo.

I tripped on some bolts sticking up in the middle of the path.  (Another story - need to call the city and ask them to remove the bolts.)  Anyway, I went down HARD.  The full weight of my body basically landed on my knee which landed on the corner of the bridge.  It was nasty.  Thankfully, I was with a group of fellow runners, including my husband, so he ran back to get the car.  And my friend, Laura, walked while I hobbled out to the nearest street to wait for the hubby to arrive.  

It is still slightly swollen but at least I can walk now.  I'm going to try spin class tomorrow and see how it goes.  My fingers are crossed! 

4.  #1 had her last soccer game last night.  And #2 had a game this morning.  (She's still not done because they have a make-up game in June.)  I was able to photograph #2's game.  Here she is trying not to notice me taking pictures of her.

She is so funny.  In almost every image I captured of her I noticed her mouth is wide open.  And she's either scowling or smiling.  She just loves to play soccer!

She had a few great moves today.  It's getting really fun to watch her and her team play.  They are getting so much better and so much more deliberate.  

5.  I spent a couple hours today sanding our deck.  It's a job!  I am using 60 grit sandpaper so you'd think the old paint would come right off, right?  Not so much.  It takes a lot of work to get it off.  I'd love to just rip down the whole deck and put up something with composite lumber.  But alas, we need new floors inside our house much more than we need a new deck.  Bummer.  The sanding will continue.  In fact, I see my future next weekend!

6.  Last night the hubby and I actually used a babysitter.  Not a free, family member, babysitter.  But a real, live, PAID babysitter.  I totally think we haven't had a paid babysitter since back when we only had three kids!  

It was awesome.  The girls had a great time and so did we.  We went to a patio party and met a bunch of other people that we've seen around school but had never met.  Plus, we were able to hang out and talk with everyone.  We had so much fun!  (I think we need to get out more, huh?!)

And there you have it - Six on Sunday.  Have a great week!  Here's one last photo for your enjoyment.  This is #4's new favorite:

 

Thrifty Thursday...an Upholstered French Chair

Well folks, I'm back again for the second week in a row!  WooHoo.

I wanted to debut my newly upholstered French chair.  Check it out:

When I bought her, she looked like this:

Pretty ugly, right?  But for only $40, I knew I could do something with her.  (In hindsight, I should NOT have paid full price.  Live and learn.)

I will put together a tutorial showing how I transformed her, but #1 had a choir concert tonight and I just ran out of time.  I know my cane chair tutorial was popular, so I'll do the same thing for this beauty!

I know my style definitely leans (or JUMPS) to the modern side, but something about this chair spoke to me.  Plus, I think every room should have something unexpected in it.

Even the fabric is out of my comfort zone.  But you know what?  I luuuuuuve it.  (Calico Corners during one of their sales!)  Seriously.  It ties together my green kitchen cabinets with my family room.  Which is good because my family room is about 10 feet from this chair.

It's hard to get the feel for it - but you can see below how open the kitchen is to the family room.

And how cute are these little nail heads?  Adorable.

One last shot.  Love.

 

Six on Sunday...Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there.  I hope you had a great day!

1.  My bucket is overflowing tonight.  We had such a great weekend!  Friday night started out with pizza and beer - our staple dinner after a long week.  And I'm not kidding when I tell you I look forward to it all week.  Seriously.  Like I count down the days:)

The night got even better when we watched #3 graduate from "kindergarten".  She is in a kindergarten class at daycare but will go to real kindergarten next year.  She was so excited and it was simply adorable.  She looked like this the whole way to the ceremony:

All the kids were able to walk across the stage and receive their diploma.  This was her turn:

When we got home from graduation we hung out with the neighbors while all the kids hung out in the cul-de-sac.  All in all, it was a fantastic night!

2.  The hubby has been removing our fence for a while now.  Since our dog is too old to go down the deck stairs to our back yard, we really have no use for the fence.  Plus, it's really old and ugly.  I am loving the backyard without it.  Anyway, my point is this...after posting these two pictures on Craigslist for free wood, our in-box was flooded in less than an hour!

The best part?  The guy that picked up this load will come get the rest of it after it's down.  Score!

3.  I posted this picture (using Instagram) on facebook last week.  It just cracks me up!  These two caused more work than help, but it was totally worth it just to snap this picture.

4.  I finished up a project this weekend.  Here's a sneak peak:

5.  Yesterday was a busy day!  We managed to fit in gymnastics, two volleyball games, a soccer game, trips to the grocery store, Costco, and Target.  I was hoping to shoot #2's soccer game, but the littles were napping, so I didn't make it.  Hopefully next week... 

6.  I think today was the perfect Mother's Day for me.  We all woke up at the crack of dawn (not my favorite part!) to head to the Mother's Day 5k.  This is what we looked like:

#1 and #2 ran together and I pushed #4 in the stroller while #3 walked next to us.  I was slightly disappointed to not be able to run with the older girls, but I couldn't be in two places at once.  Maybe next year?  Anyway, this was the start from back of the line.

It was a perfect day - cool but not too cold.  The best part?  After about a mile the older girls found our friend, Mellissa.  And Mellissa took them under her wing and ran with them the rest of the way.  It just made my heart swell that someone guided them and helped them run their first full 5k.  That was so nice of her!  

How did we do?  Great!  After about a mile the run turned a corner and there was the finish line on the other side of the boulevard.  So while we were supposed to keep going, we totally took the easy way out and cut across the street.  It was perfect timing.  We waited about two minutes and watched #1 and #2 sprint across the finish line!  Mellissa was about 30 seconds behind them with two of her three kids who ran the last little way across the line with her.

The end of the race was great!  We hung out with our friends and found as much food as possible.  Free breakfast = totally awesome.  

Next up on the list?  Home Depot.  We bought enough dirt to refill our raised garden bed.  We bought pebbles to fill up the sandbox.  And we found enough flowers to finish planting our planters.  So fun!  Here are the fruits of a little bit of our labor.  The girls all helped in their own way.  (Read:  #4 made a mess and the other girls cleaned up after her.)

Ignore the gross deck railing.  We have spent the last 8 years thinking we're going to replace the deck.  We've finally come to the realization that it just needs a little TLC because we have many other bigger, more important projects!

Also - I totally forgot to take a picture of the front door planter.  I'll have to get a picture when the flowers are a little bigger and more filled in.  I think it'll be cute!

I also managed to squeeze in an 8 mile run this afternoon.  It was just too gorgeous not to go for a run - especially since my morning 5k actually equalled 1 mile.  And let me tell you, it was the best run I've had in a LONG time.  I think it was a combination of the 20 minute nap with #4, extra caffeine, and extra-extra carbs!  My last mile was the fastest mile of my entire run and it was almost all uphill.  Sweet.

And for dinner?  The hubby made shish ka bobs and asparagus.  It was really delicious.  I told him I would have been happy with Taco Bell.  I just didn't want to cook.  He totally came through for me!

And there you have it.  My Mother's Day recap.  It was such a great day.  Maybe it's because the last few years have been spent at swim meets in far away places?  But more than that, I think it was because it was filled with the people I love the most just enjoying each other's company and not feeling one ounce of stress.  

I am one lucky mama!  

 
 

 

Thrifty Thursday...How to Customize a Bed Skirt

I'm back!  I think I just really needed a break from blogging.  I've kept up my Six on Sunday series, but it hasn't been as good as I like.  I'm finally starting to feel more energized and more excited to decorate and shoot and just live life!  I'm not sure if it's due to taking a multi-vitamin since I was low on iron, the weather, or #4 finally sleeping.  Maybe it's a combination of all three?  Whatever the reason - I'm just happy to be back to normal.

I actually completed this project back when it was still cold outside.  And let me tell you, this project was so easy!  If you can get your hands on a sewing machine, it shouldn't take longer than 30 to 60 minutes.  I bought several (5 of each color, I think) packages of rick rack from JoAnn's.  I used complementary colors to #4's room to jazz up her bed skirt.  Check it out.  

I just sewed the rick rack on to her inexpensive Target bedskirt.  I love the little pop of color it provides.  I briefly considered making my own bedskirt but it would have been too much trouble and I doubt I would have saved a dime!  Not my cup of tea.  So I went with easy.  

Here's a wider shot:

The blue actually coordinates with colors in her quilt although you can't tell from these images.

And one last shot of the entire room.  Cute, no?

And that's it!  This weekend I'm heading outdoors.  It's time to plant the cutting garden and the vegetable garden.  We might go crazy and even get the sandbox up and running!  Do you have any DIY plans?

 

 

Ten on Tuesday

I know.  I know.  I'm late.  Again!  But I have a good reason as opposed to the dog ate my homework kind of reason.  

1.  This was a busy - both good and bad - kind of weekend.  It started off a little early!  My parents rolled through town last Thursday night on their way to Bella Vista, AR to either A) find a house or B) find a lot, a builder, and therefore a rental.  Of course they ended up with option B.  (After going down there with my mom a month ago I knew they'd end up building!  What can I say?  I must be psychic.)  

On their way through KC they dropped off a bookcase I wanted to take off their hands.  (It's cherry wood - so I won't be painting it.)  They also dropped off an awesome ladder, two bikes for the little girls and a bike for my nephew.  Can you believe they fit that all in their Ford F150?!  

Anyway, their stop and #1's orchestra concert distracted me which is why I didn't post a Thrifty Thursday.  Sorry about that.

2.  I will admit I debated posting about this next "event".  But I'm here to keep it real and these things happen to real people.  In fact, if you talk with people, they will have had to deal with it in their own homes or know someone who has.  What in the world am I talking about?  Lice.  There.  I said it.

It was AWFUL!  Apparently, it is running rampant at the grade school.  So much so that we received a notice in the school newsletter last Friday.  And I heard through the grapevine that it has been going around since December but this is the first we've heard about it.  So I'll admit I'm a little pissed that we weren't notified earlier.  Had I known it had been making it's way around the school I would have checked all my kids much sooner!  Oh well.  It happened.  We dealt.

What did this mean?  Well, it meant that the hubby and I were up until 1am Friday night!  And the infested kid (I'm at least going to protect the name of the innocent) was up until midnight getting the nits combed out of her hair.  I'm not gonna lie.  It was DISGUSTING!  It took me three HOURS to come her hair.  Yes, you read that right.  Three hours!

Wanna know what is involved in lice treatment?  Well, hold on 'cause I'll tell you.  First, we checked everyone.  Thankfully, it hadn't spread.  Next, we had all the girls wash their hair with the lice-killer shampoo.  (I wasn't taking any risks!)  That is not normal shampoo.  You put it in the hair when the hair is dry, wait for 10 minutes, and then rinse it out.  While the hubby was in charge of hair washing, I was in charge of stripping the beds.  The ENTIRE bed - the bed skirts, the mattress pad, the sheets, comforters, shams, pillow cases - all of it!  We had to wash all that and dry it on hot.  Then, we bagged up anything fluffy in the girls' rooms.  (Again, I wasn't taking any risks.)  That included all our pillows.  After all the beds were bare and the rooms were devoid of anything stuffed, we sprayed all the beds with lice spray and then made them up with extra sheets and blankets from the linen closet.  We borrowed the pillows from the guest bed in the basement.  (If the infested person hasn't been in a room in three days, it's declared safe.)  The other three girls made it to bed about 9:30pm.

Trash bag storage.  This isn't even all of it!

While the other girls were in bed, I was picking out lice and nits.  You have to do it in one inch sections that are really, really thin  sections of hair.  You use a special metal comb and brush from the roots to the tips.  And let me tell you, those nits stick to the hair like glue!  It truly took me three hours to go through the entire head.  After that was over, the hubby and I checked each other out.  Clean.  Thank God!  Then we each used the shampoo and took a shower.  Of course we had to vacuum all the rooms and most especially the bathroom where the removal took place.  

And I'm still not caught up on laundry!  I washed all sheets, etc including the extras we slept on Friday night.  I also washed all the infested kid's clothes.  ALL OF THEM.  (I'm paranoid.)   As of this writing, I probably have two more loads of laundry before I'm caught up.  And you know, tomorrow I'll be behind again!  But laundry is another topic completely.

3.  My parents were back in town Saturday night.  (They found a builder, a house plan, a rental, but no lot.)  Anyway, my sister and her kids came over and we had a really fun dinner.  In fact, it was so nice outside we were able to use our newly refinished picnic table and bench!  The kids just ran around and played for the most part.  The adults were left in peace which was AWESOME. 

4.  I am going to take each of my girls out for their own photo shoot this summer.  I did it two summers ago and failed to do it last summer.  So it's definitely time.

5.  #4 absolutely loves her new bike.  Check her out.

6.  Sunday morning started off great!  I managed to run two miles before Carmen showed up to run six more.  It was a gorgeous morning.  It felt great to get outside and run!

7.  The beautiful weather didn't last.  After my run I immediately took #1 to her soccer game.  My parents and #4 joined us.  I had my camera and was excited to use it.  (It's been too long!)  Mother Nature had other ideas, however.  With only 9 minutes remaining, the complex was closed due to the threat of lightning.  Meanwhile, the hubby was just arriving with the rest of the girls for #2's soccer game.  We all headed home.  After trying to get a table at The Egg and I, we ended up at Einstein's due to a 30 minute wait.  Bummer.

Here is #1 just after she did a header.  Cool, huh?

8.  While eating dinner Sunday night (Greek Gyros!), the tornado sirens went off.  We all headed to the basement and checked out the news.  Luckily, nothing ever materialized more than just torrential rain.  Thank goodness we hadn't planted all our seeds that day because they seriously would have just washed away.

9.  #1 is "graduating" from grade school in about three weeks.  They have a program at school called Fifth Grade Farewell.  Since she is my oldest, I have no idea what this entails.  Therefore, I have been informed that it requires a new, fancy dress and new shoes.  WHA?  So I took #1 shopping on Sunday (since the weather was crappy) and #3 tagged along.  We found an adorable dress at Gap even though #1 is afraid it's quite dressy enough.  We also found a new pair of strappy sandals at DSW.  (Side note.  She found these totally awesome silver, strappy heels that I was dying to buy.  However, they had a three inch heel and I just couldn't let my 11 year old wear three inch heels.  But I kept thinking I could borrow them!  It was tough to let those go, I tell you.)  All in all, I think it was a successful trip and now I'm excited to see the program.

Here is the Gap dress.  Trust me, it's much cuter on.

10.  Lice update.  This still sucks.  I have to check the infested daughter each night and it takes about an hour to get through her whole head.  That alone is the reason this post is two days late.  Please cross your fingers that this is it and we're done with it now.  NO MORE!

On that note, I'll end for tonight.  Please excuse me while I go itch my head and have the hubby check me out for the 10th time since Friday night!