Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday

And just like that it's March!  Wow.  That also means our family's first birthday of the year.

 

1.  We now have a 16-year-old.  I swear it's not possible as I remember being 16! (And I know I say that every year, but still.)  Anyway, it's true.  #1 turned 16 yesterday.  Doesn't she look old?

Sidenote:  I guess choker's are a thing again?  Who knew.  At least not me - I guess I'm not cool anymore.  Or was I ever?  I digress...

At 16, she is

• tall.  At 5'9" I have to look up at her now.
• gracefully confident.  I feel like she exudes quiet confidence.
• athletic.  She still swims but also loves to ski - on the water or on the mountain.  
• smart.  She's good at school and actually seems to enjoy most of her classes.
• an aggressive drive.  Hey - I have to throw in the bad with the good, right?  We're working on it.
• messy.  Her room used to be so clean but I don't think she has time for it anymore.  That's why God made doors.
• reserved but still loving.  I know she loves us and her sisters but she does NOT wear her heart on her sleeve.
• funny.  She has a great sense of humor and still loves to pick on her sisters.
• an adventurer.  She is going to Spain this summer with a group from school and she signed up without knowing who else was going!

I suppose I could go on and on but those things comes to mind first.  In a nutshell we love and we'll keep her!

 

2.  This weekend was much quieter than last weekend.  

Friday night was a bit nutty, though.  #1 was a team captain for Relay for Life.  It was from 6pm to 6am.  The hubby chaperoned from midnight to 6am.  It was not his idea of fun but I will say he took one for the team.  #2 had a soccer game at 9:30pm which meant we didn't get home until after 11pm.  That is late for me!  (They ended up in a tie - 1 each.)  #3 had a sleepover which meant only #4 was home all night.  She managed to talk the hubby into half price Sonic shakes, though, so she was happy!

I cleaned the entire first floor of the house and the master bathroom Friday night.  I didn't want to sit down and get all tired before the soccer game.  I hate cleaning but it sure felt nice to wake up to a clean house yesterday!

 

3.  Last night #1 took three of her friends to dinner at Louie's Wine Dive and Restaurant to celebrate (using our credit card of course).  They had a ton of fun and came over here after dinner:

 

4.  The hubby and I went on a Craigslist adventure yesterday to downtown.  We came home with this baby:

I am going to paint her navy blue and shine up the brass knobs.  She's going in my foyer.  (That means I'm selling the current situation for $200 if you're interested!)

 

5.  My website was down for a few days last week.  Gotta love technology.  Network Solutions had my old email address which showed me the owner of my domain.  So I had to call them and get it all sorted out.  Then I had to prove I was really me which took a couple of days.  Sheesh.  I don't love dealing with technology sometimes.

 

6.  Next weekend #1 is headed to Columbia, MO for swim Sectionals.  The hubby is going with her this time.  I am kind of bummed not to go but it's his turn and I don't have a lot of vacation with my new job.  (Major bummer!)  I am really excited to see how she swims against the next group of fast kids.  But I'll be back at home getting us ready for our quick trip out to Breckenridge!  So pumped for long weekend skiing (and snowboarding).  I can hardly wait!

 

Allright, that's all I've got for tonight.  Have a fabulous week!

 

 

 

A Halloween (Half) Birthday Party

So I talked about #4's (half) birthday party on Six on Sunday.  But I didn't want to hijack that post with tons of pictures of the party, so I thought I'd do a separate post.  So here goes...

As you know, #4 actually turned seven back in April.  However, I couldn't get my sh*t together until October. It all worked out great because we were able to leverage Halloween and make the party even "funner"!  (What movie is that from?!)  Also, it was great because our house is already decorated for Halloween so I just added a few touches here and there to make it "birthday" decorated.

I started with a simple banner that I made from black and orange plates - courtesy of the Dollar Store and Target.  I just freehand cut out the letters and glued them on to the plates.  I found the cutest clothes pins from Target's Dollar section and used those to hang the plates to bakers twine that I strung across the windows with 3M hooks:

The color scheme looks great with my black and white Roman shades.  Bonus!

 

The Dollar Store had the cutest goblets and I couldn't resist.  Isn't the table setting fun?!

 

The girls made their own pizzas using my favorite pizza crust recipe and then had fruit and pretzel rods dipped in chocolate for dinner.  So easy and they loved it.  I did make a watermelon that looked like he was puking - I thought that was Halloween-ish:

 

And the drink was awesome - witches brew.  The secret is dry ice which I just picked up at Hy-Vee (in a small cooler in the frozen food section).

Witches Brew:

• bottle of sparkling grape juice
• bottle of sparkling apple juice
• 2 cups of OJ
• 1/2 cup Lemon Juice (cuts the sweetness of the others)
• Dry Ice

After dinner the girls played a ring toss game.  I forgot to take pictures but they just threw glow bracelets (from the Dollar Store) around the stem of small pumpkins.  They thought it was super fun and took lots and lots of turns!

Then they each painted a pumpkin.  I just set out all my acrylic paints, some stickers, and they went to town!

I actually pulled out the chairs and had them stand at the table which worked great.  They were able to get close enough to the table and keep the mess on top - even though I had drop cloths on the floor.

 

Lastly, we celebrated and sang Happy Birthday with this ghost cake:

That cake is the easiest thing in the world!  Betty Crocker and I made the cake.  Then I cut off the top to look like a ghost.  I took those two pieces and attached them to the body of the cake with toothpicks so they look like arms reaching out.  It took me almost two containers of frosting to frost the whole thing.  The pièce de résistance were the flaming eyeballs. (Admittedly we lit them at least three times because they were so fun to blow out!)  

The eyeballs are just eggshells with a sugar cube nestled inside.  Then I put a little lemon extract on top of the sugar cubes and lit them on fire.  That's it!  

The girls ended the evening "watching" the classic Ghostbusters movie.  But honestly, I think they watched it for 5 minutes while they ate popcorn.  The rest of the evening they just ran around - inside and outside, jumping on the trampoline, and playing.  They had so much fun that I didn't care what they did!

And there you have it - how to throw a Halloween/Birthday party.  Let me know if you have any questions!   

 

 

 

Six on Sunday

Hello!  I hope you had a nice weekend.  I tried to keep a list of things to write about tonight so here goes...

1.  Guess who turned 7 years old on Friday?  #4!  I can hardly believe it myself.  7 just seems so old, doesn't it?

We broke up our tradition and rather than eating in the dining room, we ate alfresco.  It was a gorgeous night and #4 has been dying to eat outside so it worked out perfectly.  She chose kung pao chicken meatballs and roasted green beans for her dinner.  Since we don't have a party planned yet, we celebrated with an ice cream cake from DQ:

She is just the cutest, sweetest little thing and we all adore her.  A few adjectives I'd use to describe her right now:

• Funny.  But not in the usual way.  Funny because she doesn't realize what she is saying is funny.  And the best is when she says something in front of one of her sisters and I can look at them, they can look at me, and we both laugh because we get such a kick out of her!
• Conscientious.  Before she started school I never thought I'd say that about her.  Truly, she is a great student and keeps track of her homework and stays on top of it.  It's awesome.
• Playful.  Oh my god, this kid loves to play!  Just last Friday she made a list of things she can do and play after school.  It was adorable.  (For example, she wrote soos sheff instead of sous chef.)
• Temperamental.  Sometimes she has a short fuse and has trouble not lashing out.  Usually at #3.  
• Sweet.  She still loves to sleep with her bunny and her blankie.
• Picky.  She is not the best eater and I hope it improves.  Greatly.
• Friendly.  She doesn't have a lot of friends but the ones she has are great!

We just love her and she truly does complete our family.

2.  We had about a two week overlap with three kids in braces.  I made sure to document the occasion:

 

3.  Last week I wrote about how we were going to host the entire girls swim team.  We did it and it went great!  It was fun to have all the girls over and see them in action.  Sadly, it was over almost as fast as it started.  The girls swooped in and out in no-time flat!

Also, remember how I wrote about how #1 was going to swim in the 50 Free at the meet last Monday?  Well, since it is a "free", it means you can swim any stroke you want.  She ended up swimming a one-armed backstroke.  The best part?  She came in 3rd out of 5!  And she didn't even start properly since she can't grip on to the starting block.  She just sunk down into the water and pushed off the wall.  It was so fun to watch her swim again.  Even if it was one-armed.

I was so busy watching I almost forgot to even take a picture.  This is a bad iPhone picture but she is the swimmer at the bottom.  You can tell she is on her back:

 

It was a big week for her.  She also got her braces off!

 

4.  #3 had a soccer tournament in St. Louis this weekend.  The hubby took her and also brought along #4.  You know, kids think staying in hotels is the greatest thing ever, right?  While the girls had fun, the trip was a bit of a bust.

The soccer team is playing up an age division and it's been quite an adjustment for them.  They are small to begin with and they are getting out-muscled by the bigger girls.  I know it will pay off in the end, but right now it's hard to watch.  I imagine it's hard for them, as well.  

And then, St. Louis is very spread out.  So the team never really had time to go do anything together that was super fun.  Basically, it wasn't terrible but I felt like the weekend could have been a lot more fun, too.  Oh well.  You win some, you lose some.

 

5.  I enjoyed this past week of unemployment.  However, it's weird because without a set schedule myself, I tend to be forgetful.  The other day I couldn't decide if it was Wednesday or Thursday (it was Thursday) and I forgot to pick up #2 from school (she called 15 minutes later).  Ugh.  

I did accomplish quite a bit so that felt good.  I'm slowly but surely checking things off my list!  Here's what I did:

• Target runs - yes, multiple
• Ikea
• Took #1 to get her restricted license
• Cleaned the house for the swim girls
• Made a pan of lasagna and 3 pans of brownies
• Sewed on missing "jewels" to a T-shirt (Totally tedious and annoying!)
• Tried to repair a necklace.  No go.  Researched a jewelry repair place
• Ironed multiple shirts.  (I despise ironing!)
• Watched New Girl (I'm on season 3!)
• Fixed the bed skirts in the Little's room with special twisty pins
• Fixed the duvet in #2's room with special clips
• Packed the Littles for St. Louis
• Cleaned out the Little's closet
• Went to lunch with a friend
• Met with an Agency regarding my job search (Promptly put the program on hold!)
• Spread mulch in the front flower beds 

All in all, I feel pretty good about what I accomplished.  

6.  I went for a beautiful 8 mile run this morning.  Everything was great except for a bit of sharp knee pain that went away.  Until it came back.  

I came home, had some coffee, and immediately went into the backyard to finish trimming the shrubs and laying mulch.  Well, that was not smart.  A couple hours later my knee was in bad shape.  Just putting any weight on it hurt!  I iced it and sat down for about 30 minutes.  It's better but it still sends shooting pains to my kneecap if I step wrong or put weight on it the wrong way.  My research says it's Runner's Knee.  I'm pissed.  But, what can I do?  I think I'm going to take this week off from working out and running and just rest and ice it.  Hopefully I caught it early enough that it won't get worse - especially if I take time off from the gym for awhile.  Wish me luck!

 

That's all for now.  Have a great week!  The kids are off school tomorrow so I'm excited.  We can sleep in and hang out together!

 

Six on Sunday

It feels like I was just here!  But no matter.  It's Sunday and I am home so let's get rolling..

1.  This weekend was much more calm than last weekend.  We only had two soccer games, two birthday parties, and a birthday dinner.  In our world that's nothing.

#2 played her first regular-season outdoor soccer game Friday night.  It was fun to watch the girls play under the lights but it did get a bit chilly towards the end.  I think the win they pulled out made it all worth it, though.

 

2.  Yesterday afternoon/last night #2 had a birthday party for one of the girls on the team.  I absolutely love how sports bring all kinds of different kids together.  Our team is spread out throughout the city and the girls go to a bunch of different schools but it doesn't matter.  They still love to hang out with each other and I think that is so great!  I think it's good for kids to make lots of different friends and broaden their horizons!    

3.  #3 had an orthodontist appointment this week.  I thought it would be the usual.  You know, take some x-rays, have the orthodontist check out her teeth, and hear "Come back in a year."  But nope.  She is getting braces!  It turns out she has a wicked cross-bite which they like to correct early.  My older girls didn't get braces until they had all their adult teeth.  However, in this situation, her cross-bite is so bad we can't wait any longer.  So, as of March 29th I will have three kids in braces.  I think that's going to be so funny and I can't wait to take pictures of them!

(#4 had a great time at the orthodontist.  She had a juice box and Cheez Its - neither of which I will buy.  Hence, she thought it was fabulous!)

4.  I went for a 12 mile run yesterday with my good friends.  It was such a beautiful day!  The wind wasn't bad, the sun was out, and I wasn't freezing.  Perfect!

 

5.  I spent time this afternoon making sure we have everything for our ski trip.  You may have already seen this picture, but this is what the music room looks like right now:

Seriously, packing for a family of 6 is nutty.  I have to remember ski boots, snow boots, ski pants, long underwear, helmets, goggles, hats, gloves, gators, socks, and jackets.  And that's JUST the outerwear!  (Lest you think I'm too anal, the one year I did not do this we left the hubby's ski jacket at home.  We were literally at the ski lift when we realized he didn't have a jacket.  That was not a cheap mistake!)

 

6.  Guess who had a birthday?  Yep, #1 turned 15.  I really can't believe I'm old enough to have a 15 year old.  She can actually drive herself to school now.  (If she had her own car, that is.)  How is that possible?!  I still remember the day she was born like it was yesterday.  

As per usual, we had a special dinner in the dining the room.  She chose the gray and gold china.  True to form (and her sweet tooth), she choose breakfast for dinner:  cinnamon rolls, bacon, scrambled eggs, and mock-mimosas.  It was delicious!

At 15, she is the best!  These adjectives come to mind:

• Swimmer.  She is going to swim for the high school this season and take a break from club swim.  I'm so excited for her!
• Smart.  She does well in all her classes and I never have to remind her of things.  In fact, I never know what she has - she keeps track of all of it!
• Bi-lingual.  She is taking Spanish and loves it.  I think she has a bit of a gift for it, actually.
• Funny.  She's got a great sense of humor and I love it when it comes out.
• Friendly.  She seems to be friends with a wide variety of kids which you know I love!
• Prankster.  She loves to pick on her little sisters.  In the best way, of course.
• Anal.  You should see her room.  It's almost always perfect.
• Confident.  She is quietly, yet gracefully confident.

Basically, she's just an all-around great kid!  We just have to remember to enjoy the time we have with her because in three and a half short years she'll be off to college.  Oh man, I can barely think about that!  It makes my heart hurt.  And part of the reason I am so excited for spring break this year.  It will be so much fun to spend time with all our girls - together!

And there you have it - another edition of Six on Sunday.  I'm not sure if I'll be here next Sunday so if not, I'll see you in two weeks.  Have a good one!

Six on Sunday

Hello.  I hope you had a great weekend.  We sure did!  So let's get going...

1.  I downloaded this whole album on a whim and for the most part, I love it.  (I do not like Dance of the Sugarplum Fairies.)

Yes, I still download off iTunes.  I've tried Pandora and Spotify, but I don't have the patience to create a specific playlist and I hate how Pandora is just random.  So I'm still old school.  I buy my music.  

Anyway, I do love this album.  I listen to it every time I drive somewhere.  My family doesn't share my affinity for the Pentatonix but I don't care.  If I'm in the car, they have to listen.  After all, it is my car!

2.  Our Advent calendar activities are in full swing.  This has been our calendar so far:

Dec 1 = Pick out Christmas dresses from the bins in the basement and go to Target if needed.  (The older girls both needed dresses and shoes.  The Littles only needed shoes and tights.)

Dec 2 = Scavenger hunt through the house for a bag of chocolate truffles.

Dec 3 = Go to Twister's after #1's orchestra concert.

Dec 4 = Crafting night with our friends

Dec 5 = Go see Santa and then go to Starbucks for hot chocolate.  (I added the Starbucks part because that ensures the big girls will go along with it.  Perfect!)

Dec 6 = Paint the letters for Ho Ho Ho to go on top of our kitchen cabinets.

The little girls get so excited to open the calendar every day.  It's just adorable!

3.  We made cookies and sweets over the past two days.  We frosted quite a few cookies this afternoon.  But I think we'll do more next weekend.  I just ran out of steam and couldn't bear the thought of making more frosting.  Nor did I have the energy to finish covering the PB balls and chocolate truffles in chocolate.  So, I just froze everything.  I figure we'll finish it all off next weekend.  We're in no hurry.

4.  My birthday was yesterday.  It was a really great day, actually.  The day started out earlier than I would have liked (dropped #1 and her friend off at the pool at 6:30am for practice) but I did manage to squeeze in a 6 mile run with friends and it was really beautiful out.  Then we all headed over to see Santa and go to Starbucks.  We came home and watched a movie which was a nice break.  I made some cookies while the family made dinner (shrimp mac-n-cheese) and set up the dining room table.  

They were all pretty excited to eat on china again and they decorated everything so I loved it!

The hubby and I capped off the evening by going to a Christmas party with our neighbors.  The party was so nice.  I talked to several moms I didn't really know and that was awesome.  I love meeting new people.  I was also able to catch up with old friends and that is pretty much unbeatable!  The hubby got a little crazy so we had to leave about midnight, but I think that was good.  I felt great today!  No hangover or anything.  Phew!  (And no, I can't say the same thing for the hubby.)

5.  Our annual crafting night with our friends was another success.  We made Christmas trees out of pinecones and miniature terra cotta pots:

Of course #2 photo bombed me.  I should expect nothing less from her!

But for real, it was such a fun evening.  The kids painted and decorated for the longest time!  And we adults had a great time chatting over Moscow Mules and Miller Lights.  Even #1 was able to participate since we met the swim carpool on their way home and grabbed her so she join us.  I love that she wanted to come over and hang with all of us!  And I'm not sure how much longer she will want to play along - so I'm totally soaking it all in.

6.  I'm loving this season with more family time and less obligations.  I love spending time together with my girls and hubby.  I love no pressure to be at 5 soccer games in 2 days in 2 different states.  I love the twinkly lights everywhere.  I love our street.  Seriously, if you live in town you NEED to drive up Mackey Street!  I'm finally able to soak in the beauty in this season.  My kids are fabulous ages right now and I am loving every minute with them.

I hope you are able to find the joy in the season, too.  Have a great week!

 

Six on Sunday

I feel like I should start out by saying how stunned and saddened I was (and am) when I heard about the attacks in Paris.  Since we were just there two shorts months ago it felt even more surreal.  The city is so beautiful and the people so wonderful, I am simply in shock.  I simply have no words...

So I am going to do what I do best.  Ramble on about everything and nothing.  In no particular order, just whatever comes to mind...

1.  Today was a big day in our household.  #3 turned 9 years old!  She went to bed as an 8 year old and woke up a year older.  We celebrated with donuts:

(She was pretty bummed because her dad and oldest sister were in Columbia, MO for a swim meet this weekend which is why #1 is not pictured above.)  

We celebrated as a family a couple nights early by eating dinner in the dining room.  She picked steak and risotto.  Yum!  The birthday girl also gets to set her own table - as fancy as desired.  She picked our wedding china and matching fancy wine and water glasses.  (I love any excuse to eat on china!)  We followed up the fancy dinner by watching her play an indoor soccer game.  I thought it was a pretty great evening because I had all my girls around the table - I love that!

I love #3 to the moon and back.  At just 9 years old she is:

• Polite.  Seriously, the most polite kid I've ever seen!
• Thoughtful.  She is such an awesome big sister to a very demanding little sister.
• Hilarious.  She has the best sense of humor.  And sometimes she snorts when she laughs.
• Helpful.  She is always asking me what she can do to help me and she especially loves to help in the kitchen.
• Friendly.  She seems to be friends with a lot of kids and I love that.  
• Sensitive.  Like I said, she was very disappointed not to have her dad and sister here with us today.
• Neat.  She loves to clean and organize her room.  For reals.

I could probably go on and on but that list is pretty great, no?

2.  Yesterday #3 had a joint birthday party with one of her really great friends, Katie.  It worked out really well because they have so many friends in common and their birthdays are just a day apart.  How cool is that?!  Also, bonus, split costs of a party!

The girls chose a party that included climbing the rock walls and swimming at Lifetime Fitness.  All the girls were wild, crazy, and adorable!  I think the party was successful because it sure looked like everyone had a good time.  (And also, if I'm being honest, because it wasn't a sleepover.  Total success!)  

 

3.  So last night #2 had a late indoor soccer game.  I didn't want to have to take the Littles because I thought they needed to go to bed at a decent hour.  So I asked our neighbor girl to come over and watch the Littles and tuck them into bed for me.  

The Littles loved it!  They thought Audrey was so awesome and really had fun.  Somehow they got on the subject of books and #3 showed Audrey the book we gave her for her birthday (#4 in The Land of Stories series).  It turns out Audrey knew all about the books and #3 thought that was just so cool.  And then, today, Audrey surprised #3 by bringing her the other two books in the series as a birthday present.  I swear, that absolutely made #3's day and sort of pulled her out of her funk.  It was the sweetest gesture and I was so just so touched.  So thoughtful...

4.  While yesterday was pretty busy, today was the opposite.  We only had one futsol game and that was IT!  I loved it.  I basked in the glory of not running around.  I edited my last two sessions and I'm officially done with client work - WooHoo!  I got Dunkin Donuts for the birthday girl.  And I managed to work on Roman shades for my kitchen.  It was awesome.  

I've only had that material since about March or April?  I had set a deadline for myself of Thanksgiving and I'm on track to make it.  They are all finished on the sewing machine.  Now I just need to sew 28 little plastic rings onto the back for the cord to go through.  The good part about that?  I can totally do it while I watch TV.  Score!

5.  Now that my client work is finished, it's time for me to work on photos of my own girls.  Then, I need to turn those into Christmas cards.  I'm thinking I'm going to take the easy way out this year and just use a template online rather than design my own.  I'm just not motivated enough to design one from scratch when there are so many fabulous choices.  

6.  Remember when I complained about my hamstring/glute?  Well, I went to a massage therapist this week and she worked on me for 90 minutes.  She thinks my tight hip flexors are to blame.  She gave me two different stretches to do every night and I go back in a few weeks.  So far so good.  If you want her name, holler!  I can't yet say she's right but she does have a point.  Now I just need to make sure I remember to do the stretches.  Wish me luck!

And that's it.  You are all caught up with us.  Have a great week!

Six on Sunday

Hello!  I hope you had a nice weekend and managed to stay dry.  

1.  OK.  I try to keep things on more of an upbeat tempo around here but I have to level with you...my teenager is bumming me out a little bit.  Before I complain, I have to say she is a really good kid.  She's kind to her sisters, a good student, a hard worker.  But...

She is a teenager.  First, she's hardly ever home and when she is home she's up in her room.  That makes me sad.  I think I'm going to just start dropping in on her because I don't know if she's really doing homework or just surfing around on Instagram or Pinterest?  

I feel like a glorified chef and chauffeur these days.  We made a deal where I made her lunch if she takes quick showers when she gets home from swim practice.  (She doesn't get home until about 9:45pm, so fairly late.)  And, I also cook dinner at home most nights of the week.  Cooking at home means doing dishes.  Conveniently, she can never help with dishes because she has to "get ready for swim".  Annoying.  And given my schedule, it's all I can do to get dinner on the table before she even leaves for swim.  So eating dinner earlier really is not an option.

And the driving?  Yesterday I picked her up from the mall to take her to get her eyebrows waxed and then took her BACK to the mall to continue shopping.  WTH?!  And that wasn't it.  Oh no.  Her dad picked her up from a friends house, took her to buy dessert for a party, then I picked her up from the party. 

I guess I just feel like she's taking me for granted.  I suppose all moms feel this way at some point in their lives?  I'm pretty sure I did the same thing to my mom but damn!  It is not giving me warm and fuzzies.  And I know I'm going to go through this same thing three more times.  Any tips for surviving these teenage years?  

2.  You know how I said #1 is never home?  Well, this is proof: 

We had so much fun last night as a family just hanging out in the driveway.  The hubby and I drank a couple beers while the kids played.  It was so fun to watch the three girls having a blast together!  They played soccer, rode their bikes, and shot hoops in our neighbor's driveway.  

3.  Yesterday I had a blast being a spectator at the Garmin Marathon!  I made two signs:

I was able to see my friend, Carmen, twice and my other friend, Vicky, once!  Plus, I ran 9 miles with Carmen (mile 8 - 17) as she ran the full marathon.  She's a rockstar.  I can safely say I will never willingly do another marathon.  One was enough!  And this was her fourth!  

The weather held out for the first hour or so - maybe hour and a half - but then it started raining.  And thundering.  And lightening.  I have to say, I was kind of surprised they didn't close the course.  But I guess everyone had signed liability waivers so they didn't care?  Anyway, it was a great way to start my Saturday morning.

4.  Since we're in a standstill on the bathroom I've been working on little projects.  (We're waiting to find an electrician.  Any recommendations??) 

Last weekend I framed my gallery wrapped canvas that I painted.  I adore the way it turned out!

I need to do a Thrifty Thursday post on it because it was seriously easy!

And yesterday I finished the little girls' marquee letters.  I think they're simply adorable!  And just a few minutes ago they asked me to turn them on - so I know they like them!

I will put together a post for these, too.  They were a little harder but definitely do-able if you don't have "perfection" standards.  You know, sometimes "good enough" has to be good enough!

5.  My mom is in town for #1's Confirmation tomorrow night.  When I came home from running an errand with the hubby, I found this:

I love this for twp reasons:

1. First, it's adorable that my mom is helping.
2. Second, this means I don't have to do it!  WooHoo!  A week off from homework?  I'll take it!

6.  Guess who turned six this week?  My baby!  Seriously, how did that happen?

Oh man, this girl.  She is awesome!  

• She is bright and smart and funny.  And sometimes she doesn't know she's funny which makes her even funnier!
• She has the most adorable voice - high pitched and she still doesn't say her "R"s very well.  I love it.
• She has SPUNK.  She may be the youngest but she keeps up with her big sisters.
• She still loves to cuddle.  And she especially loves to cuddle with her biggest big sister. 
• She loves to play.  And play.  And play.  
• She gets lonely if her sisters (at least one of them) are not around.  She will ask repeatedly how much longer until they get home.
• She absolutely, without-a-doubt, completed our family when she made her appearance 10 days early six years ago.

I love you, Kennedy!

And there you have it.  Our week in a list.  I hope you have a good one!

 

 

Six on Sunday

Are you all ready for Thanksgiving?  We are!  The girls are all really excited to help me.  They want to decorate the table, help out in the kitchen, and make the cheesecake.  I'm really excited for all the help!

1.  This has not been one of my better weeks.  On Thursday, I completely forgot to pick up the soccer carpool from practice.  Not until my phone rang and #2's voice rang in my ear did I remember what I had done!  Sheesh.

And then on Friday night, I went to pick up #1 from swim practice.  The parking lot was eerily clear and I only saw one swim coach and one swimmer standing outside.  I texted her to tell her I was waiting when she let me know practice was at a different location.  (Which I knew!)  

I cannot make this stuff up!  How have I become so spacey?!

2.  I took Thursday off from work to tile my shower.  Do you think I got one measly tile on the wall?  Nope.  The hubby wasn't able to finish the drywall work Wednesday night and that stuff is heavy!  I wasn't about to put it up on my own.  So I opted to make a day of Christmas shopping since I had a vacation day.  And boy, did I do some damage!

I can't tell you what I got for the big girls and the hubby for fear they may stumble upon my blog.  But...I will tell you what is on the list for the little girls:

Want:  They are each getting a dry erase/cork board for their "new" room.  Of course they will also get markers, and eraser, and pushpins.  They wanted stuff for their room so this is what I bought!

Need:  They each got a new suitcase on wheels.  They were each done with princesses so it was time to get them something more age appropriate.

Wear:  I found them adorable outfits yesterday at Old Navy's 50% off sale.  They each got two outfits because the prices were so good!

Read:  #4 got a Fancy Nancy book.  I actually bought a book for #3 and then got home and realized we already have it.  Oops.  Back to Barnes n Noble.

Christmas Eve:  Old Navy again - 50% off PJs.  So cute!

Santa:  #4 is getting a Kindle Fire.  But, we are being sneaky.  We already have one that we don't really use so we saved the box from #3's birthday present and we are wiping our Kindle clean and wrapping it up and giving it to #4.  She'll never know the difference!

Santa:  I really, really struggled with #3.  She has some things on her list but I was sure she'd play with them for an hour and then that would be it.  I went out on a limb - with a recommendation from another mom - and bought her this set to use to make a fort.  It's not cheap, but I'm hoping she and her sister will play with this all winter.  Fingers crossed, anyway.

The hubby is completely done.  #1 is nearly done and #2 is about 70% finished - just need to order something off the internet.  

Here is proof:

All the want, need, wear, read presents are wrapped like this.  The Christmas Eve and cousin gifts are wrapped in old "Santa" wrapping paper:

I have never, ever been this ahead of the game before.  I am really hoping it makes for less stressful December weekends! 

3.  Last night we hosted 9 little girls for #3's "Almost Sleepover Birthday Party".  It was CRAZY all up in here!  

We had pizza for dinner.  Then #3 opened her gifts and we had ice cream birthday cake.  

After that, the girls all put on their PJs, rolled out their sleeping bags, and pretended to watch Mr. Peabody and Sherman.  And by pretended to watch the movie, I mean they ran into the kitchen for popcorn, salt for their popcorn, water, and chips for almost an hour an a half or until they were picked up.  They seemed to have fun and #3 was happy!  So all in all, I'd call it a success.  Although it did cause me to drink a beer.  Or two.

4.  Our damn shower.  It is taking FOREVER to finish.  First, we had to redo the drain.  It's done.  Then, we had to hang up drywall.  Two of three walls are done.  

But right as the hubby was going to finish hanging the wall with the shower head and nozzles, he decided we needed our new trim.  (I've learned trim is the word for the pretty shower head and handles.)  Well, I went to buy the trim yesterday.  Turns out, you can't just go and buy pretty shower trim and valves.  Oh no.  That shit is all special order.  Well, because I want the color gold.  Duh.  

So, since our shower is 20 years old it not up to code.  We need to convert from two handles to one.  That means we need a new valve.  And that means special order, too.  At first, I picked out the most expensive set and was ready to pull the trigger until I realized it was on back-order until January.  Or March.  The lady at Ferguson's wasn't sure.

I left after being at the store for an hour and a half.  When I got home, I found exactly what I wanted.  For WAY LESS MONEY.  Score!  Sometimes patience pays off:)

Anyway, I went to Lowe's today and ordered it.  It should be here in three to five days.  My fingers are crossed that is true!

In the meantime, I am planning on putting up the vapor barrier (tonight) on the two walls that have drywall right now.  The means I'll actually be able to start tiling next weekend.  Sweet!

And this is what it is like to live through a bathroom reno.  And let me just say, this was AFTER picking up in there!

 

5.  #2 is playing indoor soccer at a place called Simply Soccer.  I was finally able to watch her play last night and it is so fun!  It's a small field, about the size of a basketball court and the only out of bounds are when the ball touches the net up high.  It's super fast paced and high scoring.  Awesome!

And #3 is going to be starting basketball in a couple weeks.  I'm really curious to see how she likes it.  The only bummer is she is on a different team from most of her friends so I'm hoping she doesn't act too shy and just goes in and makes new friends!

6.  Our Thanksgiving menu is planned.  Here is what we are serving this year:

• Turkey - brined and cooked using a wine and butter soaked cheesecloth
• Mashed potoatos and gravy
• Stuffing (I'm trying the Pioneer Woman's stuffing using Italian bread and corn bread.  Exciting!)
• Sweet potato casserole
• Spaghetti corn casserole
• roasted brussel sprouts
• Beets with Feta cheese
• Rolls (trying the Pioneer Woman's homemade rolls.  Hopefully they don't suck.)

We don't eat until about 5pm so we'll be munching on appetizers during the day: 

• Cheese plate with mixed nuts, fruit, etc
• Hummus and veggies
• Spinach artichoke dip
• Cheese and sausage

Working backwards, we'll start the day off with the Thanksgiving Day 5k.  I am hoping for nice weather because last year it was so cold we only ran half the 5k!  We will probably stop at Starbucks and I'll have a breakfast casserole in the crockpot for when we get home.

I'm so excited!  Have a fabulous Thanksgiving!

 

Six (But Actually Eight) on Sunday

To my own dad, to my husband and daughter's dad, and to my husband's dad - Happy Father's Day!  And truly to all you dads out there - I hope you had a fabulous day doing what makes you happy.

1.  We had a fantastic day - weekend, actually.  We were able to celebrate Father's Day with the above-mentioned dads.  Yep, our family, plus my parents, plus the hubby's parents were all together this weekend at my parent's house down at the lake.  We had so much fun together!  We actually took a group picture but I haven't received it yet.  But here's proof that the hubby's parents, indeed, drove down to Arkansas:

Yesterday the weather was great.  Not a chance of rain and in the 80s.  

 

Grandma Rori got in on the action and rode the tube with the girls!  The girls thought it was so fun to get Grandma in the water with them.

 

And of course my dad got in on the fun as well.  I'm not sure who enjoys this more:  my dad or the girls?!

My mom and Grandpa Jerry decided to keep the boat safe and avoid the lake water.  I can't say I blame them.  The water was decent but a bit chilly at first.

Last night the girls decided to play with mustaches they had purchased that morning at the Moustache shop in downtown Bentonville:

The best part?  They left them on as we sat down to dinner.  I looked up while we were saying grace and they all had their mustaches on - while praying.  Too funny.

Today was iffy - it got down to 64* about 10am this morning.  Luckily it warmed up and by 1pm it was in the mid-70s which is otherwise known as "warm enough to ski and wakeboard".  We all headed back down to the lake but the grandparents (and myself) avoided the water today.  The girls still had a blast so it was all good! 

2.  Do you know what else today was?  It was #2's 11th birthday!  Yes, she was actually born ON Father's day and the dates didn't coincide again until this year - 11 years later.  Cool, huh?  It was really special to be able to celebrate Father's Day and her birthday all together and with all 10 of us.  

#2 is such a great kid.  Her personality is just awesome - she is so funny and dorky and we love it!  Plus, she's very kind and considerate and just all around awesome.  She has a serious side that can come out from time to time - especially when it involves something new.  But she has gotten so much better about just facing the unknown and giving it a try.  I'm so proud of her and love her to pieces!

Her birthday party with her friends was last Wednesday night.  She had five of her friends over for pizza at the pool followed by a sleepover.  And yes, she's done this party the last few years but she just loves it so we keep repeating it.  Why mess with success, you know?  

Yes, there are 7 girls in the picture because of course her little sisters were there and #3 is on the far left.

We had an ice cream cake after swimming and it was a hit!

Happy birthday my dear, sweet girl!

3.  #1 spent the week at camp this past week.  It was her last year being able to attend Youthfront West.  (Next year she would have to go to a different location if she wanted to go to camp again.)  Of course she had a great time and loved every minute of it.  I love that she is able to make these memories with her friends because they will stick with her forever!

And yes, she is officially the exact same height as me.  In fact, the hubby thinks she may be taller - but I think we are identical.  For now.

4.  We had two doctor's appointments this week - for #2 and #4.  I needed a doctor's note so #2 can attend camp and #4 needed her kindergarten shots.  

I have to say, I loved our doctor!  You see, we had the same doctor since moving down to Overland Park in 1997 and she delivered all four of the girls and then became their doctor, too.  (I love Family Practice medicine because it's totally one-stop-shopping!)  However, she moved back to Wisconsin last year to be near her family after her husband passed away.  And so this was the first time seeing Dr. Baker.  LOVED HER!  If you need a recommendation, let me know and I'll give you her 411.  She was seriously awesome.

 

#2 needed to get two shots but because she was four DAYS away from turning 11, I had to wait.  Oy!  But #4 got three shots.  She did great.  She cried a little but no real tears.  Once she had her sucker she stopped.  The best part, though?  When she walked out of the office you would have thought they about amputated her legs.  She walked all slow and hunched down and sort of on her tippy toes like she was practically dying.  It was so over the top that I about died laughing!  Seriously funny.  I just wish I had taken a video! 

5.  I had the house all to myself on Friday night.  And you know what?  I got bored.  I was too tired to work on any projects and the house was SO QUIET!  So finally at about 8:30 I drove to Target and bought this:  (well, the wine was already mine)

Yes, I bought The Heat.  I love that movie and could watch it over and over!  And of course I couldn't pass up a shelter magazine.  So my night ended up working out well!  (I was home alone because the hubby, kids, and grandparents headed down to Arkansas Friday afternoon.  I stuck around because I needed to pick up #1 from camp Saturday morning.  Then we drove down straight from camp.)  

6.  I bought trout on a whim last week while grocery shopping.  I had no idea how to cook it so I looked up recipes on allrecipes.com.  And I have to tell you - I found a winner!  This trout was SO GOOD!  I substituted honey for the sugar and used sesame oil rather than EVOO.  If you like fish you should try this!

The stuff on the bottom left is cauliflower "rice".  It's OK.  I think it could be better so I keep experimenting.  I'm determined to get it right.

7.  I absolutely love running on the trails between Bella Vista and Bentonville.  The scenery is simply gorgeous.  Of course I ran this morning - fueld by red wine, beer, pulled pork, and salads from the night before.  (Said another way - I needed to get my ass out there and burn off some calories!)

The first five miles were nice.  It was about 74* with some humidity.  But it was cloudy so it wasn't too hot.  Well, about 4.5 miles in it got really, really dark.  Just as I hit the 5 mile mark to turn around it started raining.  Since I was sheltered (on the trails behind Crystal Bridges) I checked my phone.  Lightning was 20 miles away so I was safe.  But I was also caught - surrounded by rain.  I figured what the heck and started running back.  Well, about a mile into my run back it started POURING!  By this time I had no way to describe where I was located for an emergency pick up.  (My sense of direction is VERY LACKING!)  Plus, I was already wet.  I hid out for a few minutes when I decided I just needed to go for it!  This was my view:

It did not let up AT ALL for the remaining four miles.  Therefore, my pace picked up substantially.  These are my splits and they totally tell the story!

Mile 1 = 10:06 (nice warm up)

Mile 2 = 9:53

Mile 3 = 9:59 (Finally warmed up - took 3 miles for some reason)

Mile 4 = 9:50

Mile 5 = 10:35 (the hill called el Diablo de Arkansas is here - it's crazy steep!  P.S.  I named it.)

Mile 6 = 9:32 (down the hill - raining but ok)

Mile 7 = 8:30 (POURING)

Mile 8 = 8:10 (still POURING)

Mile 9 = 9:10 (by now I'm not even skirting the puddles I'm so wet - I run right through them)

Mile 10 = 8:51 (my shoes are squeaking and I'm deliriously singing along to my music.  out loud.)

Average pace = 9:28

Thank goodness I wore a hat today.  

8.  I forgot to tell you this last week - I got a Roomba!  I love it!  Is it perfect?  Heck, no.  Is it better than no Roomba?  Heck, yes!

My one serious complaint is that it is loud.  Like really loud.  However, it's really only an issue during the summer when the girls are home.  It's kind of hard to run it when there are a lot of people around.  And I've found that it works best if you pick up your chairs and hang them upside down from the table - like in a restaurant - when it's going.  That way it gets under my table, too.  And it does get stuck on my rug in front of the kitchen sink but that is because the corners stick up pretty badly.

After it's run, my hardwood floors look so good.  Not perfect but really, really good!  And I love that it docks itself when it's finished running.  So then it is charged up and ready to go the next day.  We're still trying to learn when it's best to run it but so far I'm really glad we bought it.  For reals.

OK.  Phew!  I was long-winded tonight.  Have a great week!

 

Ten on Tuesday

Sorry about my lack of posting Sunday night.  But it just wasn't in the cards.  I was home too late and hadn't even downloaded pictures, yet thought about what to write.  And my brain was mush.

1.  Did you notice the blog was down last week?  So sorry!  Typepad was attacked.  Doesn't that sound funny?  And yet, that is exactly what happened.  I can't even begin to understand what happened but I think (fingers crossed) they got it fixed.  

2.  Aren't these three musketeers the cutest?

That's #3 in the middle.  She LIVES for soccer.  She could care less about practice but game day rolls around and she is READY.  

3.  Last week brought us a couple decent days but Friday was stunning.  The kind of spring day we live for around here.  We had to take advantage of the perfect temps and ate dinner al fresco.  Our choice?  Homemade pizza, of course.  #1 missed out, though, since she was at swim practice.  (Typical, unfortunately.)

Since everyone has their own preferences, we all made our very own mini pizzas.  The process takes quite awhile (making the dough, letting it rise, rolling it out) but the girls get so into it!  Even #1 really likes homemade pizza night.  I'm going to try to make it a Friday night tradition this summer.  Wish me luck!

4.  We had a fairly full weekend but it was all good.  #1 had a swim meet in Topeka on Saturday.  It was her first meet as a 13-year-old.  She had the stomach flu the prior Monday so I really didn't have any expectations for her but she did really well.  She swam four events:

1. 100 free
2. 100 breast
3. 100 back
4. 200 IM

The hubby took her so I didn't get to witness it - but I followed along on Meet Mobile on my phone.  I think she dropped times in all events?  I can't quite remember.

5.  Meanwhile, #4 had her Cinderella birthday party.  The first hour and half was great.  But she sort of melted down the last half hour.  (Perhaps it had something to do with her late bedtime the prior night?  But in my shallow defense, the hubby and I were having too much fun hanging with our neighbors to put her to bed early.  So clearly her behavior was our fault.  I admit it!)

Anyway, her friends arrived and played with balloons while they waited for Cinderella:

Thank goodness for Cinderella.  I only wish she had stayed a wee bit longer!

And yes, it was a dress-up party and #4 refused to dress up.  She wore an old summer hand-me-down dress.  I have to say - I wasn't shocked in the least.  She sort of beats to her own fashion drum.  She still had fun!

Look at her adorable over-bite smile!

After Cinderella left, we had ice cream cake and opened gifts.  I just bought dollar spot plates, cups, and straws.  It was still cute.  And #4 set the table all by herself!

And no, this isn't one of those blogs that shows you 20 pictures of a perfect birthday party.  That is just not how we roll.  We're more like, let's head to DQ and grab a cake an hour before the birthday party kind of people.  Just keepin' it real for you!

Of course she tore through the present opening at record speed.  You know, five-year-old style.  

And then it started.  We all went down to the basement and other kids were fabulous.  They were having a blast playing with all our toys and trying on every single dress-up outfit we own.  And after four kids, we have an entire closet FULL of dress-up clothes.  Well, #4 decided she wanted to go jump on the trampoline.  Um, 8 kids taking turns on the trampoline?  Can you say recipe for disaster?  Because I can!  So when I told her no, we were going to stay in the basement she unleashed the beast.  I was told, "You're not nice.  You're the meanest mommy EVEH!"  And so it went.  I ignored her while she cried for about five minutes and then she started to come around.

She ended the party out on the driveway playing with bubbles and sidewalk chalk.  I ended the party with a cold beer.  (Yes, I did wait for the kids to leave, first!)  

So there you have it.  Her birthday party.  I will say she later apologized to me.  But next year the hubby gets to run the party and I get to travel to Topeka:)

6.  Sunday it rained off and on but we did not let that stop us.  No way!  We loaded up the kids and headed to Home Depot nice and early to stock up on plants. 

Funny story:  We bought a beautiful, large fern for our round table in the foyer.  (Gorgeous)  Anyway, I had it sitting on my lap because the back end was full.  As we were at a stop light a huge wasp flew out of the plant and landed on the window.  We all started screaming and I immediately rolled the window down to let the wasp out and just hung the plant out the window for the next block.  Scary!

Anyway, we have neglected our yard (the backyard, especially) for the last few summers.  But now the kids are old enough that they are actually a big help!  We've had a few things die so we are taking the time now for Project Backyard Beautification.  And the three little girls were great!  They helped me fill all the planters on the deck.  Seriously, even #4 helped.  Meanwhile, #1 stayed inside so as not to get dirty before her swim banquet.  Oh my!  

I'll take pictures when the threat of rain isn't there.  It's going to look so much better this year!

7.  Sunday night the hubby took #1 to her swim banquet.  #1 was able to get all dressed up and I curled her hair and she looked fabulous.  And then I promptly forgot to take a picture.  Darn it!  I think the two of them had a nice time.  

Unfortunately, the hubby had to ditch out early to come home so I could take #2 to her late (8:00pm) soccer game.  I have to say, it is so much fun to watch the girls play under the lights at the soccer complex!   They didn't win their game but they played really well.  I know I've said it before, but it has been great to watch the team come around and actually play real soccer.  You know, like pass the ball, do give-and-gos, take shots, do headers.  It's all good.  And so fun.

But the late night soccer game is the reason for my absence Sunday night.  We were go-go-go on Sunday and I didn't blog earlier in the day.  So I'm making up for that tonight!

8.  I have been slowing clearing out our office.  I currently have two pieces of furniture on craigslist.  (I thought they were sold last night but then the girl called today to tell me they are too small. Bummer.)  I have to say, just taking out a small CPU cabinet and a file drawer cabinet really makes the space feel much more open.  Now I am thinking of ditching the hutch I have over my desk.  I have plenty of other space and I think it would really help open up the room!  Then I could style it a little more and put up a really fun cork board or white board or cork board/white board combo.  FUN!

Of course, I can't make too many bold moves or the hubby will become suspicious.  And remember, I am only supposed to be working on one space at a time.  Curses. 

9.  So I am just DYING for a Roomba.  First of all, is there a commercial any cooler than the ones for the Roomba?  I think not.  And secondly, my floors look dirty not even an hour after they are cleaned.  This makes me a little bit crazy.  And a lot grumpy.  I tried to tell the hubby I would become 78.43% less grumpy on a daily basis if we had that beautiful piece of space-age machinery.  But he just laughed at me.  The nerve.  

So, I am taking matters into my own hands. I am hoarding any and all cash I make on craigslist for the purchase of the Roomba.  That only makes me want to start selling anything that is not nailed down.  I have to curb my enthusiasm.  But mark my words, I will own one of those babies before the year is out.  And I will be 78.43% more happy!

10.  Last night I had an impromptu girls night.  With red wine.  Is there anything better on a Monday night?  Yeah, I didn't think so.  Anyway, my friend Carmen and I headed over to our friend Rhonda's beautiful new house.  (Seriously gorgeous)  We had a tour of the whole place and then set out to tweak it.  Mostly we just figured out what pictures to hang on which walls.  We moved a couple pieces of furniture - or at least suggested it.  And we styled the tops of her kitchen cabinets.  

Even though the hubby thinks we did nothing, we were actually really busy and made some great progress.  It was so fun!  I got such a kick out of it.

And there you have it.  Ten on Tuesday in lieu of Six on Sunday.  I hope I got you all caught up.  Have a great week - what's left of it, anyway!