Still Alive

Hey all, I'm sure you were refreshing your screen constantly awaiting my next exciting entry, or maybe you were enjoying your Memorial Day weekend like we were. I really really hope it was the latter.

So, an update--it's been busy. The elder is in Florida with Oma having a fine old time, I don't think he even misses us. There were about two seconds of tears when I had to leave him at security, but since then he's been swimming, biking, beaching, and tennising non-stop. I bet he's really tan. I've missed him, but also enjoyed spending more time with the other two. I leave next Thursday to go pick him up, I have a feeling he won't be happy about it.

The BWB has been a traveling fool. He's visiting fascinating places like Omaha and Wichita ;). I think he's traveled 1-2 days out of every week for the last month and it looks like that's not changing. It's hard for me, but good for him and his job, so I'm pretty happy.

Or 7th annual Memorial Day party was great fun. We spent Friday and Saturday getting ready, including setting up our new gazebo and lounge furniture. And subsequently questioned why in the hell we didn't get a gazebo years ago. It makes a huge difference in the heat factor on our deck (which gets sun all day), matter of fact, I think we would have cancelled the party due to heat without the gazebo (or not), just saying we love it. And because Ms Gert was so damn cute, here's a picture.

We spent the afternoon drinking frozen concoctions, throwing some washers, eating waaay too much food and hanging out with our friends. Then we spent Monday recovering--no not from our friends, it might have had something to do with the frozen things.

OK, next, I'm redoing the bedroom, and have thus far ripped down the chair rail, patched, sanded, wiped down the walls and cut in the ceiling. I have also picked fabric and got it for an incredibly good price on Joann.com with a 50% coupon (though I just found out that my order was cancelled due to lack of inventory GAHHHH!). Here is some of the progress thus far:














Actually, I've done more since these were taken, but it gives you and idea of the color. The walls were previously a dark green below the chair rail and a cream above. You really never got to see the green because it was behind all the furniture, so this will make a big difference. I'm liking it already. And here are the fabrics I'm going to use for curtains and accent pillows:



















And this is the style they will be in.

I'm just looking forward to the finished product, though I know it won't be until at least July or so until I can get all aspects in place (including the new bed).

And, now for the most recent news, I go to my yoga class this morning and there is a sign on the door to my gym claiming that they are changing ownership. Um, what? Thankfully my instructor comes to let us all know that my gym has gone bankrupt and they currently don't have any prospective owners. Sigh. Just when I was starting to get into a groove with the exercise things. Oh well, it's summer, that will keep me busy and active while I look for a new place.

Been Busy

With my mom in town and endless events filling our calendar, I haven't had a second to spare. Add on to that two sick kids and one sick ProfSlacker and well, no blog entries for you. I promise I'll have some pictures of the progress in my bedroom (the painting you dirty minded folk) and tidbits from SlackerCentral soon.

I will sleep better at night

in my brand new bed....

(Ignore the flowery bedding)

It was strange how easy it was. I had stopped actively looking for beds several weeks ago, because a) I was burned out b) shopping with three kids sucks, especially in an overcrowded showroom with lots of breakables and c) I've been currently obsessing about my bedroom paint color instead. But, I decided that since it was Mother's Day weekend and I could do something sans children (well, I brought Lucy since BWB is replacing deck boards), that I would hit two of the stores that were closed on Sundays when I went last time.

Wouldn't you know it, in the first store I visited (which was an overflow store of the very first store we went to) I found the bed. Just like that, no doubts, no struggles, just "Do you have that in King size?" It's a PA House cherry mansion bed from their Cortland Manor collection. Now, I just have to decide what, if any, additional pieces I'd like. It's pretty much between the mule chest with mansion mirror or the amoire, but really, I'm not dying to have either. It might be nice just to pick up pieces I love as I find them.

My PSA for Today

If when playing around with your window treatments they happen to fall off the chair and break part of a finnial AND you actually remembered where you put the superglue to fix it AND you squeeze tube and instead of coming out the tip, it comes out the part where it screws on AND gets all over your hand, it sucks.

So, you go online searching for "remove crazy glue from skin" and find all sorts of home remedies since you obviously don't have glue solvent. Starting with the LEAST toxic seems like a good idea, but you wondered how vegetable oil was really going to do any good. So after soaping down your hands three times you go in search of the acetone polish remover, stick you finger in the bottle and turn it upside. Yeah, not really effective either. On to the truly dangerous. Miraculously, you know where the lighter fluid is, stand over the sink and douse your fingers. This! didn't work either, just makes you sick from the fumes. So, now you have oily, acetony, lighter fluidy, red itchy hands, still covered in super glue. Desperate to get it off without packing up three kids to run to the store you tend to get a little crazy, um creative. So, if you really want to know how to get superglue of your fingers? File it off with an emery board. Damn if that didn't work right away. And hey, I still have skin left, doesn't even hurt.

By Myself

I had a day mostly to myself yesterday, thanks to my husband who took a day off of work just so I could. Did I say thank you dear? THANK YOU! You can't imagine how much easier it is to get things accomplished when you don't have children slowing you down. You can zip in and out of stores with ease, even DRIVE somewhere else without having to load and strap three squirmy children into carseats. Wow.

Me, I went shopping for myself. Which was both wonderful and horrible. I tried shoes, LOTS of shoes without once having to yell at a wandering child yanking shoes off shelves onto the floor. So nice. I meandered through the whole store looking at everything and anything. I ended up with at least 30 pieces of clothes to try on (I haven't been shopping in ages), but here's where the story takes a dark turn. Spending an hour in a 4ft square, flourescently lit, mirrored space? Not so good for the post pregnancy self esteem. Sigh. Though I have made progress, I am nowhere near feeling happy with my body. I feel cylindrical, like I'm as deep as I am wide. GAh! And BOOBS! Oh my god, they could not be corralled into anything and look half way decent. Forget bras and bathing suits, nothing fit. Sigh. Even with the new longer shirts (yay no peeping belly), all the fabric is so clingy and only accentuates the back fat and the FUPA. Bleh.

After all that work, I did end up with two pair of shoes, two pair of capris, a shirt and floppy sunhat, but it hardly seemed worth the resulting self-loathing. But, I still got some time to myself, and though it didn't help my waistline, it did help my fine line (between sane and crazy).

I have an excuse, really!

We've been busy working on the house, both inside and out. This week we got new windows!!



No more blue tape! The kid across the yard broke that window with a golf ball so long ago I'm embarrassed to tell you. It's double-paned and only the outside broke, so we just never fixed (kid didn't own up to it).








Then with all the beautiful weather, we've been outside planting.



OK, so we still have a little digging to do, but good Lord, have you ever dug in Missouri soilrock? It's damn hard work. But I'm so so happy with our front yard now. We're going to add a bench in front of that new area we're planting, so we have a spot to sit and watch the kids ride up and down the sidewalk. I can't wait to see it all finished. I also planted raspberry and blackberries around the side of the house, hopefully we'll get some fruit this summer.

Otherwise, we're just doing the same old same old, trying to get through every day.