T-minus 24 hours and counting...

Awesome pants, Dad!

I think it's safe to say I wasn't too excited about this photo...

I remember looking at this picture in a photo album many times over the years, wondering who the heck that kid in the middle was

In approximately 24 hours, we're headed to Disney World and I am so excited! Steve needs my computer for homework while we are there, so I'm hoping to sneak in a blog or two about our adventures!

Dinnerware

I seem to have a small obsession with dinnerware. I love it and would have a zillion different patterns, if only I had somewhere to put it all. I especially love it when I come across a great treasure at the thrift store, such as the Limoges dinner plates I recently found (6 plates for 50 cents a piece!) and snatched right up. I love to think about how maybe they belonged to somebody who treasured them for years and years.

Recently, when my in-laws arrived in Idaho for an extended visit, my mother sent out a box filled with the dinner plates we used when I was growing up. They were my mom's "every day" dinnerware, and they are the "Serenade" pattern by Sheffield. Many of them did not survive the years of use, followed by years of storage, but as luck would have it, there were four perfect dinner plates. I used them last night for the first time, and I loved setting my table with them.

It was so neat to serve dinner to my family, using my mom's plates...I'm so happy to have them. So, thank you, Mum - - you are the best (I'll give you an extra hug for them, on Friday!).

For dinner? Chicken quesadillas on homemade whole wheat tortillas - - I've had to be quite creative this week as I try to use up everything in my fridge, before we head off on vacation. If you haven't yet made tortillas, do give it a try. You'll never buy a bag of them at the store again.

A Pre-Birthday Celebration

My little peanut will be turning three on Saturday, but since we'll be in Florida, we had a little celebration this past weekend so that I could make him a cake, and he could celebrate with family in Idaho. His requests were quite simple - - a fire truck cake, macaroni and cheese for dinner, and his own computer, so he could "do the blogging".

I had told my mother about Griffin's desire to have his "own" computer, and she promptly sent me the link for this little gem. Griff just loves it, and when he catches me on my laptop, he will grab his and ask me if I'd like to "compute" or "blog" with him. Too cute.

Have you heard of the Plasma Car? My mother's friend Susan told her about it, and so she and Papa sent on to Griffin. It is the neatest thing I've seen in a long time - - no batteries or annoying sounds, just plain old fun. Griffin has spent most of the past three days, riding back and forth from the kitchen to the dining room on it. Here he is, giving a little demo:

And last, but not least, the fire truck cake. It didn't come out quite as nicely as I'd hoped, but I had two kids hanging off me for a good part of the decorating process. Griffin loved it though, so all's well that ends well.

I'm super happy that Griffin and Uncle Kevin will get to celebrate their "actual" special day together on Saturday...at Disney World!

I Love Double-Sided Tape

Steve and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary earlier this week, and although we decided to save the actual celebrating for the weekend (when Steve doesn't have to be up at 4:00 the next morning, and we don't have a little one going to school), I decided to whip up a little romantic dinner for two. I didn't have a lot of time to accomplish the task, and, as usual I was busy entertaining children/breaking up bickering matches, so I had to take some shortcuts here and there.

Of course I wanted to have a yummy dessert, but I definitely didn't have time to make anything, so a quick visit to the local grocery store and I was the happy owner of a tiny chocolate cake. Next, I needed to have something to serve it on, but my cake platter was way too big. Here's where the double-sided tape comes in:

One cute little salad plate affixed to an overturned margarita glass, and, voila!

...an anniversary-worthy dessert.

We had a very nice dinner, even if the Blue Power Ranger (otherwise known as Griffin) decided he missed his Mummy, and showed up on our doorstep while we were eating.

Looking forward to the weekend and going out on the town with my honey.

Head-Scratcher

We watched the President's address to school children last night, and I am still trying to figure out what all the commotion was about. We loved what he had to say - - things that all parents should be saying to their children anyway - - and took zero issue with any of it. Do I want my children to understand that education is something they have to work hard for? Do I want them to realize that they can and will make mistakes, but that those mistakes will not define them as people? Do I want them to be respectful of their teachers, peers, parents, and President? Yes, yes, yes, and yes! Did I feel brainwashed after I watched it? Ummm....no.

Many claimed that Obama's speech was nothing short of an "indoctrination of our youth". An indoctrined person is not supposed to examine or question the "doctrine" they have learned, and I'm pretty sure that wasn't the president's point. In fact, in his speech, he encourages critical thinking. He was merely speaking to the country's youth, people. Nothing more. If asking my children to take responsibility for themselves, to not spend hours per day sitting in front of a television, to not blame their teachers or their parents when they don't put in the work needed to be successful in school, or to take care of their bodies and themselves so that they are able to pay attention in school is indoctrination, then please, President Obama, indoctrinate my children.

I guess the bottom line for me in all of this is, where it the basic principle of respect here? Whether I agree with the President or not, I will always be respectful of the office of the President, and I most certainly expect the same from my children.

Another Reason to Love Fridays...

First Grade

Yesterday was a big day for my big boy...his first day of first grade. Dropping him off was much different this year than it was last year, I must admit! I found the start of first grade much more emotional than kindergarten, for some reason - - perhaps because he seemed like a "real" big boy this time, and not so much a little fish in the big sea. No, I did not cry all over my poor son as he found his desk and hung up his backpack...I saved the sniffling for when I was in the car, on the way back home!

Yesterday was also a big day for Griffin, as it was hard for him to let his best buddy go for the day. They squabble just like all siblings do, but at heart, they really are such good friends. Griffin must have asked me a million times, "When is Cammy coming home?"

It was also a day of firsts for Griffin and I, as we have never really been alone with each other. Camden was gone just under 3 hours each day last year, so that didn't really give Griff and I time to settle into any type of daily routine. Although Griffin missed his brother, it was obvious that he was enjoying having Mummy all to himself, which made me very happy. I am so glad that Griffin won't be starting preschool until next fall, so that we can have this time with each other.

Camden's teacher has a program to encourage positive behavior called "The Busy Bee", where one student is the "Top Bee" of the day. When I dropped Camden off yesterday morning, I asked him what his goal for the day was, and he promptly told me it was to be "Top Bee". When I picked him up in the afternoon, sure enough, he had been chosen as Top Bee in his class. My boy is determined, I tell you!

The afternoon didn't go as well for us - - Camden was out of sorts and ended up shedding quite a few tears, asking lots of questions as to why I couldn't go and sit with him at his desk when he's at school, etc.. Heartbreaking to hear, but I assured him that probably most of the kids feel the same way on the first day of school. So, here's hoping that today, and each day forward gets easier for him. I'm so proud of my Camden.

Thank you for all of the nice emails and messages yesterday, letting me know that you were thinking of Camden...I appreciate that so much!

And Now for Some Shameless Self-Promotion....

I can't help myself...I am so excited to tell you that I have been "featured" on another blog for the very first time! I feel like such a rock star! If you like a good makeover like I do, then you will love this new blog. It is called Better After, and it is a collection of all kinds of makeovers, from home to furniture to decor. You'll be amazed at all the wonderful ideas lurking there. To see my feature, click here. Then, take some time to check out the rest of this great new blog. It is so much fun!

Summer Wrap-Up

School starts on Thursday, so we are scrambling around this week, hoping to get all of our last-minute things done before then. In the meantime, here's a look at what we've been up to.

After a long, hot two weeks of Annual Training, Steve hiked the Seven Devils with two of his Army buddies Cliff and Bud. Bud was Steve's CHU-mate when they were in Iraq. They had a great time and came home with a bunch of great pictures.

The little boys spent a week at Vacation Bible School (along with their cousin Banzer) and they all had a great time!

Then, there was a canoe trip with Daddy....

A first, and very successful "Moms Night Out" at the Yellow Cottage, with good friends...

A little camping trip for Camden and Daddy....

While the big boys were off camping, Griffin and I enjoyed some special one-on-one time.


Back-to-school cupcakes...

And last, but not least, cousin fun!

A Spanish Lesson

Griffin loves "Go Diego, Go", and is constantly asking me, "How do you say it in Spanish?" Here he is, giving me a little Spanish lesson of his own. Gosh, I love this little boy!

Stale

I've been having some blog troubles lately...maybe you've noticed. In a nutshell, it is all about balance. I have a lot of things I'd like to write about, but just haven't been able to make the time - - whether it be from pure busy-ness, or that I just can't get organized enough to sit down and make it happen. As many of you who blog may know, it can become a vicious cycle - - the more you don't blog, the more you feel like you have to blog, which, for me, leads to the serious inability to blog.

Steve has just returned from a three-week absence. The boys are in Vacation Bible School all week this week. The first day of school (for Camden) is in 16 days. We are off to Florida next month. These are the things that are on my mind lately. So, while I try to get my blogging act together and get back at it, I apologize for wasting your time as you click over here, only to see the same stale old post that has been here for two weeks.

What is Old is New Again: Another Thrift Store Makeover

I found this cute little tea light lamp at my local thrift store a while back, and I liked it, but it was a little rough around the edges. For 50 cents, I went ahead and grabbed it and waited for inspiration to strike.

For one thing, I didn't really care for the faux silver base. The lampshade was a bit faded, and it also had some staining around the top. So, last night, after I (finally) got the boys to bed for the night, I got out my little utility knife, some spray paint, fabric scraps and glue. The result?

The paint color is Krylon Oil-Rubbed Bronze, which is a nice, metallic-y brown. The fabric is just a piece of reproduction vintage that I picked up at some point. I love how it looks on the mantle. Much more to my liking, now!

Sponge Stamps

It has been a little nutty around these parts. I've been ill for a better part of the week, and we are currently on Week Two of Steve's 3-week absence, but I digress. I sat down about 45 minutes ago to compose a blog post, and in that time I've been stopped no less than 15 times to: console a weepy child (that would be Griffin), put a stop to sibling bickering, make lunch, clean Moon Sand off the floor, break up another bickering match, clean Moon Sand off little hands (note: Moon Sand is messy!), redirect a begging dog out of the kitchen (at least 5 times), etc.. Alas, nothing different than what any other mother does on a daily basis, but the constant side-tracking takes any inspiration I may have had to write, and tosses it right out the window. I'm determined to soldier on though, and get something new written. So, here we go.

The boys had the itch to do some painting this morning, so I took the opportunity to finally make some sponge stamps for them. I saw this idea in a magazine, probably two years ago, so I tore the page out and put it in my "idea" file. I'm really good at collecting ideas, but not as good at executing them (see above paragraph as to why).

All you need for this project is a hot glue gun (a mom's best friend, if you ask me), some assorted plastic caps (from detergent bottles, medicine bottles, or any other kind that are easy for little hands to grasp), a package of dish sponges, and a pair of scissors.

Cut the sponges out in various shapes, and then glue them to the tops of your caps. Voila! Sponge stamps.

(I know, I know...you wish you had mustard-yellow-speckled a-la-1970's tile counter tops like mine. Don't try to deny it)

These were a huge hit with the boys. They wash up easily, and I think we'll be getting a lot of use out of them, whenever we paint.