Cornell House

Typical Monday with Pictures

2012-02-06T20:38:00.001-06:00

I haven’t had my camera out in long time. I sort of forgot to take any pictures for most of January.

But this afternoon, a deer in our backyard let me get pretty close, so I had to snap some pics.

This is right off our deck in the back. I just kept walking closer and closer. And he just kept staring me down. Finally, when I was about 20 feet away, he bolted.

And there he is again in the driveway.

Did you know that Jagger has recently become obsessed with chess? Rumor has it that next year he can be in chess club at school. He is pretty pumped.

Wii Sword Fighting. This 4 year old loves its. “Take that you Mister” he says.

See that snaggle tooth? It’s just hanging by a thread and I soooo want to just pull it out. He won’t let me. He’s no fun.

But he’s cute, so I forgive him.

Cat Tails and Corndogs

2012-02-02T10:35:00.000-06:00

To Cash, they are basically the same thing.

I get his thinking, they sure do look a lot alike.

And he says, if you get a corndog from Sonic, and you don’t like it, and you throw it out the window, a Cat Tail is what grows.

It pretty much makes sense.

But I don’t condone littering corndogs.

So that’s just what this is. A few pictures of the boys’ new discoveries over at the new place.

The State of Things

2012-01-31T15:41:00.001-06:00

It’s a mess!

And all those things on the ambitious To-Do list, didn’t really get done. I mean they sort of did, but there’s more painting on the horizon for us.

So we moved anyway.

Thanks to the help our of parents and a couple of good & strong friends, we got all the big stuff knocked out on Saturday.

Sunday, Cash woke up puking. So that was pretty awesome.

So our place is a mess, as I hope you would expect from me. I should be doing more unpacking and organizing, but I thought sneaking away to the old house (where there is internet and TV,) and blogging would be more productive. Or maybe just therapeutic.

Anywho… these pictures are just off my phone. When the painting & backsplash are done, all the cabinet doors replaced, and breakfast is put away, I hope to get you some fun befores & afters.

Of course, I’ll keep ya posted!

To do, or not to do

2012-01-25T14:56:00.001-06:00

Pretty sure we can’t get this all done by our move-in day THIS Saturday, but we’re going to give it our best.

*Not included on the list:

1. Finish packing

2. Small mental breakdown

**Yes, I know, I write like a dude

Jagger’s Artwork

2012-01-24T09:28:00.001-06:00

I smashed a pumpkin.

For Christmas I got a guitar.

And my brother got a plane!

I do soccer. I am good. And I know tricks.

I love Cash

I love my mom. I love my dad. I love my Cash!

Kitchen Picks

2012-01-17T13:39:00.001-06:00

We’re still working on painting the cabinetry, so no pictures of that finished product yet. But here are some of our picks that will be installed, hopefully within the next two weeks.

One or two of these babies are going to in. It’s a Kashmir White Granite. It was love at first sight. I hope she doesn’t disappoint.

And then there is this baby. I am debating adding the built in soap dispenser also. Do you have one of those? I am kind of leaning against it because I hear they sometimes stick a lot, and I would save a couple bucks if I went without. What do you think?

And this big old baby-bathing sink is going in. But I don’t have any babies to bathe, oh well. I might borrow one. Anyway, I’m excited. Is it weird that I get really excited about big single bowl sinks? Well I do.

In the meantime, we are working on some less exciting stuff too, like fixing leaks and siding, and replacing toilet seats. But I’ll spare you all those details. You’re welcome.

Kitchen Progress and Inspirations

2012-01-10T17:07:00.001-06:00

Right now, this is what the new kitchen looks like.

It’s all primed and getting ready for some pretty paint. Here’s specifics about the paint.

Most of the kitchen cabinets and all the trim are going white, Benjamin Moore’s White Dove, to be exact.

The island is going a dark gray, Sherwin Williams Dovetail. And all those gold walls will be Behr’s Gentle Rain (we have that in our current house and I love it.)

Grant is doing all the painting. Himself. And he is thrilled about it. And that was sarcasm. But we are using a paint sprayer for all the drawers and doors. So hopefully that will save time, and give a smoother finish.

New countertops are part of the mix too. We are just not exactly sure what though. I’m kinda digging these.

Or something to that effect anyway. I haven’t done too much research into what I want, I just know I want it light. We will probably make that decision this next week or so I hope. And then two weeks, later, BAM, new countertops.

Below is my inspriration, mostly from Pinterest. Hopefully, in the end, our kitchen will look something like some of these bad boys. But probably on a more budget-friendly-and-less-grand type of scale.

Source

The Upstairs

2011-12-28T09:52:00.001-06:00

Upstairs is the two bedrooms for the boys, a bathroom they will share, the master suite, and a huge bonus room off the master. It’s a little weird. I’ll explain.

But first, are just some simple pictures of what will be the boys’ rooms.

Above is Jagger’s, at the front of the house, looking over the lake. Below is Cash’s, at the back of the house.

Here is the view from the hallway looking down into the entry.

This is the master bedroom, the view from the doorway standing at the hall. There is access to the front deck, that looks over the lake in the front. That glass door on the left, leads to the awkward bonus room.

Here’s the view from the front deck

Below is the master bath. Looks like I need to learn to love some octagon windows!

And this, is the big awkward room! Coming in at a size of 25x25, or something like that.

As you can see it also has access to the front deck, and the views are nice! But what will we do with such a big space, that is only accessible through the master?

The best I can come up with is: office, treadmill, and a nice place to dump laundry. Even though it is big and awkward, it’s not the worst problem to have. I’ll probably fall in love all the extra space.

Even so, we think a small renovation might be on the horizon for this area. No time soon…. not this year at least. But Grant and I are toying with the idea of turning the master bedroom into a 4th bedroom upstairs, and then having the bonus room be the master. We would have to add a few walls here and there, and change the layout of the master closet and bath, but we think it’s all do-able. We’ll just have to see!

So that’s the upstairs of the new place. In the beginning, I think only the boys’ rooms will get to a see a new paint job, (right now those walls are white and pretty scuffed up) and then we are just going to live with the rest while we figure out how we want it to be.

The New House

2011-12-26T11:32:00.001-06:00

I have been anxious to share this with you, but didn’t think I should until all the papers were signed and it was official in every way.

Well now it is!

It’s a funny story actually, because we weren’t even looking for a house. We were just living in Grandpa’s house and waiting and saving so that we could build next year.

But one day Grant was killing some time on the interwebs, and came across a house he really liked that was for sale. He thought it deserved a drive-by, and plugged the address into the GPS, and it took him to a nearby neighborhood that we really like. He was pretty pumped, and it seemed too good to be true. The GPS had him drive down a cul-de-sac, and then it started spazzing out a little bit. Grant double checked the address, and it turns out it was a house in Columbia, SC. Well that wasn’t gonna work for us. Minor detail, right?

Anyway, I thought it was a funny story, and started comparing houses, and came across another one, that was actually IN Missouri. Turns out we loved it, and it was in a neighborhood we loved, on a lot we loved! We trespassed a few times, and saw it with a realtor a few times. We loved it, bargained a little bit, and the rest is history.

So our plans to build have gone by the way-side, and we plan on moving early this next year.

Here’s a little photo tour of the new pad, as it is now. Of course, we got plans for this baby though!

She’s up on top of a hill, set back from the rest of the houses.

Here’s a few from the front steps looking at the driveway.

And here is the view from the front steps looking straight forward at the small lake in front. The property comes with 9 acres.

The entryway, right as you walk in.

Through french doors on your left, the one and only living room.

Same room, how it looks from the back.

Right off the living room, is the kitchen.

And off the kitchen, in the front of the house, is the dining room.

All the bedrooms are upstairs, and then there is a guest room in the basement. I’ll share those pictures later.

And like I said, we’ve got plans for this baby. The cabinets and hopefully the trim will all be painted. Is it just me, or does this first floor look like a sea of oak to you? I personally can’t handle it. I do love the floors though. The basement is a mess, and I don’t even know what we are going to do with it. And let me just tease you with the image of a black tile floor that formerly housed the “hot tub room”.

Even with all the quirks, we love this place and the potential it has. Not sure of our timeline and plans exactly yet, but I will keep you posted!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

Lots of love, from our home to yours!

Sister Gets Hitched, Mexico Style

2011-12-24T13:08:00.001-06:00

Feliz Navidad! Got back from the wedding/vacation a couple days ago and I still got the Spanish in me!

Here’s a few pics of the main event:

Somewhere right around this point of the wedding…. Kenzie mouths to me that she forgot Henry’s ring and she needs me to go get it. After a couple minutes of trashing the honeymoon suite looking for it, I return, and actually didn’t miss too much of the ceremony.

They kissed, and then they high fived. Super cute!

Here’s to the happy couple!

All these cute cousins…

And let’s do one more, with masks, just for the heck of it.

You can’t have a proper Mexican wedding without some Nacho Libre!

So that’s the reason WHY we were there, but I’ve got a gajillion more pics of other good vacation times that hopefully I’ll get around to posting soon.

Feliz Navidad!

The Haircut Conversation

2011-12-08T17:30:00.001-06:00

Here’s a few snippets of a conversation with Cash’s stylist today:

Lady: “So Cash, do you have any brothers or sisters?”

Cash: “I have a sister named Kenzie.”

That’s not weird, is it?

For those that don’t know…. Kenzie is MY sister.

And I am sooo not pregnant if that thought crossed your mind. I might have had to clarify that on facebook earlier.

Later on, during that same haircut…

Lady: “Are you excited for Christmas?”

Cash: “Yeah, we are going to the beach. A string ray might try to sting me. I might sting it back.”

And there he is, all trimmed up.

And ready to see his “sister” get married at the beach with the sting rays.

Thanksgiving & Such

2011-12-03T21:42:00.001-06:00

Like I mentioned before, my mother-in-law hosted my side of the family for Thanksgiving.

Bless her heart!

And it all went swimmingly. Of course.

The whole day got a thumbs up from Kenzie.

Like father, like son.

After our big feast, we headed 5 hours away to Grandma J-Ho’s house.

And Grandma got a new lappy! Gonna get Skypin’!

Ryder’s food can deny gravity.

And Wren was just being cute the whole time. Typical.

Cute boys, cute Grandma.

While in Hutch, Aunt Cathy also took us 3 sisters around thrifting.

That was so right up our alley.

I came home with a few goodies.

Turns out I have a thing for white footed bowls.

One might say I have a problem.

That one, would be my husband. Not me. I don’t think of it as a problem at all.

Anyway, that was our Thanksgiving, a week late.

Good thing I got that out of that way, cuz I already got Christmas parties to post about, and more exciting house news! I ‘m gonna try to be Blogasuarus Rex again, for just this week anyway…

November Happenings

2011-11-22T22:12:00.001-06:00

Cash’s Thanksgiving Feast at school: They are always so stinkin’ cute in their turkey hats.

This is the K-5 group at church, doing a little food pantry volunteer action.

And this is a little guy I made. They are pretty cute from far away.

Jagger was honored at his school this month with a Leadership Award. Only a couple kids in his class got one, so it was kind of a big deal. And he was so exicted to get to go up on stage an accept it.

And that’s just a lil bit of what has been going on around here this month.

All the fam is coming in tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Big thanks to my mother-in-law for hosting all of the Zieglers. Should be a fun time!

Settin’ Up Shop

2011-11-17T22:04:00.001-06:00

I have a little bit of news!

If you know me, you know I like to thrift, and paint stuff, and decorate, and everything up that alley…

Well, I have decided to see if I can make a little bit of money combining all those interests.

I’m taking my junk to the flea market!

Starting last week, I’ve got me a little booth out at the Midway Flea Market. You might have heard of it. It’s right off I-70 and has a little reality TV show. Kinda cool. They were actually filming in the market the day Kenzie and I set up shop.

I don’t have a whole lot in there yet. But I do have a few more big furniture pieces I am hoping to get out there soon. I’m finding my goodies at auctions, craigslist, garage sales, etc. and trying to spiffy them up in a cool & eclectic way.

So hopefully, with this new endeavor, I’ll have lots of befores-and-afters to share with you regularly!

Deal!

2011-11-12T11:23:00.001-06:00

Here’s a fun online deal I have stumbled upon this morning…

5 Free Greeting Cards with Free Shipping!

Go here, enter your email address, and you’ll be sent the coupon. Completely Free… you don’t even have to enter CC info. I think it expires 11/23

I’m using my free five to make Thank You Cards and Christmas Cards for the boys’ teachers!

Happy Card Making!

Halloween Night Shenanigans

2011-10-31T22:41:00.001-05:00

Pumpkins and Sharks and Ghosts, Oh My!

2011-10-30T17:13:00.001-05:00

We’re gearing up for Halloween up in here.

At school party time…. all the 3 year olds and 4 year olds were cute as can be.

This is Shark Boy Cash and his girlfriend. He loves to talk about her. A lot.

Lilly this… Lilly that. He’s smitten.

Jagger’s school party involved NO costumes. Booooo.

But that’s ok.

We make up for all that political correctness by dressing up all crazy like every day at home.

“I got the moves like Jagger,” he sings.

And that’s what we’ve been up to the last few days or so.

Ready to be getting’ our Halloween on for realz tomorrow.

That’s What He Said, This Day in October

2011-10-25T18:57:00.001-05:00

I peed on my shirt! Is that a problem?

Yes, son. Yes it is.

Is Holy Crap a bad word?

Um, yes.

What does the middle finger mean?

Oh dear. Lord, help me now.

Aside from the middle finger curiosity, I wish I could hit pause and not let them grow any bigger. 4 and 6 is just where I like em.

The Boys’ Wing

2011-10-19T08:47:00.000-05:00

Ok, so they don’t actually have their own wing of the house. But they do have their own bathroom, and their space is all the way on the other side of the house…. so I’m just gonna call it a wing. WING!

I wish I had a before picture of the bathroom. But I don’t. So I am just going to have to paint it for you. Carpet, floral wallpaper, deteriorating vanity, painted blue ceiling, and the old school type of lighting fixture that contains the electrical outlet. Ok, is it fresh in your mind? Good. Because here the after photos:

I am super pleased with it! So fresh and so clean. Mama like.

Big shout out to the husband for making it happen!

Of course he did it all.

Tile, wainscoting, painting, installation… blah blah blah.

I peeled wall paper. Kenzie helped.

And because I feel like giving you a tour of the rest of the boys’ room, here ya go….

Big thanks to you guys for helping Jagger out with his collection!

Kenzie & Henry, Mike & Jessica, Grandma Z, & Nicole, and to the other's that have said they will send one this way….. you all are awesome! And I’ve got a happy little 6 year old.

Here is Jagger’s “bank.” He is saving for an eagle. I kid you not.

We’re also on the hunt for more road signs. It’s sorta their thing. But the big ones sure do get pricey.

And here are more prized possessions:

1. Shark tooth guide 2. Counterfeit money 3. Awesome artwork 4. Something silly Kenzie made 5. Jagger’s first autograph….I don’t know who it is, except for he was a former professional soccer player that appears to have the initials D and S….and he looks like this:

Anyway, this concludes your tour of the West Wing.

So now that we are done with the little bathroom…. the kitchen is next on the list. Will it really get done? I have no idea.

October Stuffs

2011-10-18T17:17:00.001-05:00

It seems as if I have lost my enthusiasm for blogging lately. I’m pretty sure the blame can go to the wonderful weather this month, Pinterest, and, uh, Wall Street. Why not?

Even so, I was told it is my turn to blog. And I can’t let the people down. I refuse to let all three of you down. And Alisha, I think it’s your turn in scrabble. Also, I am setting up two more posts for tomorrow and the day after. I’m on a roll people. This is crazy.

So, back to blog number one of this week.

Last week, Kenzie and I took the boys out for a mini photo shoot. The weather was nice and the leaves were pretty, so I figured it was an awesome idea to make my offspring wear flannel and take some pics out on the local trail.

I got a few good ones.

Yes they are cute. And yes, Grant is wearing overalls.

Do you know about Grant and the overalls situation? Well, the situation is: He loves them! A lot. More than any normal 20-something-year-old that isn’t a farmer. Since living in Great Grandpa’s house, Grant has had unlimited access to Great Grandpa’s overalls. I think it’s sweet that he wears his Grandpa’s things. After all, I can hardly picture Great Grandpa in anything but overalls. Anywho, Grant likes the overalls so much, he is almost abusing the privilege. Sometimes he pretends to be Kris Kross but usually he just pretends to be uber hillbilly.

Yes, that’s my husband about to go hand fishin’.

Anyways, back to the boys photo shoot. It ended quite abruptly when a rock ruined Cash’s day.

No bueno! I hate to see my boys hurt.

I was fearful that he was going to need stitches or the like, but once we got it all cleaned up, it was just a tiny cut. And everything was better when I promised him popcorn and a movie night.

And because I can’t leave you with that terrible picture of Cash in your mind, I’ll throw in some randomness to ease your mind.

This is the back yard right about now. It gets to be dang pretty in October.

However, these boogers are what is all over the front yard.

I only wish this kind of tree on my enemies. And maybe my frenemies. Well, whatever. I hardly ever waste time wishing about the trees of others. Just make sure you don’t have a Sweet Gum Tree if you like walking in your yard. It’s quite bothersome.

This little headless man is consistantly decked out as follows: Half Mizzou, half Jayhawk, and half safety-pinned Superman. Yes, I know that is 3 halves, so what? He just really loves the Big 12 and wants us stay united.

And that’s all the randomness that I could come up with today. There will be more tomorrow.

If I was a dinosaur, I would be blogasaurus rex.

One Man’s Trash

2011-09-12T15:19:00.001-05:00

You know what they say.

So, I’m hinting at our latest treasure.

Our latest treasure was rescued from the neighbor’s trash.

That Grant pulled out of the trash.

Honestly, I am just in disbelief that he did it. I mean, I’m all for yanking something valuable out of the trash, I’m just in disbelief that Grant did this. That’s not usually his style.

If I was a betting woman, I would have said that I would do this a dozen or so times in my life before he would even think about it. But I would be wrong.

Treasures from the Trash Scoreboard

Grant	1
Brei	0

Anywho.

The treasure I am talking about is this number.

Yep, a booty painting. A nude booty painting.

He thought it looked like him.

It kinda does.

Actually, he thought it would be a good gag gift for someone. He didn’t count on me wanting to keep it.

I did and I do and it’s here to stay until I get sick of it.

As for the placement these sweet cheeks, that’s easy.

Kenzie’s room, of course.

The Shin Dig

2011-09-10T19:06:00.001-05:00

As I sit here eating my take-out-sushi, and the boys enjoy a Saturday night marathon of Inspector Gadget, I figure I should recap the boys’ birthday festivities from last week. Better late than never.

But before I start, I just want to thank Netflix for letting me relive my childhood. Basically, Inspector Gadget is awesome and I hope my kids realize how blessed they are to have this opportunity.

Anyway, early on Jagger’s birthday we woke him up to show him his big surprise. And this kid became giddy with excitement.

But the first thing he said?

“How much did it cost?”

What a funny 6 year old. I love that he’s so concerned with our budget!

Cash’s birthday was just two days later, and since the tramp was a you-are-brothers-and-you-are-sharing-this-type-of-gift, his birthday morning surprise was a little less exciting.

But I think he loved it just the same.

That weekend all of our family came to town to celebrate. Well, maybe they didn’t come just to celebrate, but they were there none the less. And we couldn’t have been more thrilled.

In fact, the boys were so thrilled, they didn’t wear shirts all weekend. Do you hear that family? You are THAT thrilling to us!

It was kinda crazy and hectic, but that’s just how we roll.

Years ago, I had a lady tell me that goods mom never buy the birthday cake, but they should always make it instead. I bought into that for the last five years. But this year…. nope. I delegated to the grocery store. Good moms can delegate, too right? Right? Somebody please say “right!”

Anywho, we had a decently rocking good time. I mean, nobody danced on the tables or anything, but everyone was pretty smiley. And there was sugar. So, recap: smiles, sugar, and presents. Yep, good time. Plus: Both sets of grandparents. All the aunts and all the uncles. And most importantly, all the cousins. The boys were in heaven. (minus the brief fights & attitudes, of course:) Yes, it was a good time.

And we got a kick out of this guy a couple of times. They boys love it, and I am proud of them. Just thought you should know.

Another Birthday Boy

2011-09-02T08:21:00.001-05:00

My Birthday Boy

2011-08-30T10:39:00.001-05:00

Random Weekend Fun

2011-08-21T19:41:00.001-05:00

This guy finally learned how to do this, without those pesky training wheels.

It’s not like it took him a long time to learn, or even that he was scared to until now….

it’s just that there has been no incentive to learn, since he doesn’t really have any friends to ride around with in the hood.

After all, everyone is like 80 up in here.

This guy perfected his buzz impression. (Thanks Kristin. As you can see, we’re still getting a lot of miles out of this costume!)

Yeah, those are cereal boxes duck-taped to his arms. Don’t judge.

Or else.

I touched a gun for the first time, ever. And it wasn’t so bad. I might just bring out my inner red neck and do it some more.

Birthday Favor?

2011-08-19T15:27:00.001-05:00

Hey Friends!

I am blogging today with a favor for my boy’s birthday coming up soon.

You see, Jagger really really really wants to be like his big cousin Ryder. Because Ryder is cool. Ryder also happens to have his room decorated with lots of different license plates. Do you see where I am going?

We have a Missouri one, and that’s it! Anyone out there have a another state plate you woudn’t mind mailing to us? Comment me if you can. I know Jagger will be so thrilled about it!

And off he went

2011-08-18T11:01:00.001-05:00

to kindergarten.

A few important things about today:

He chose his own outfit and laid it out on the floor last night in anticipation of this morning.

He wanted to go to school about an hour early.

He’s the tallest in his class.

I think his teacher is going to be awesome.

Although, he is bummed that they have a scheduled “rest time.” And he insists he doesn’t need the stuffed animal his teacher suggest they bring.

He’s pretty mad that I don’t let him ride the bus.

(I’m kind of scared of it and the potential new words that may come with it.)

He’s not afraid to hug and kiss me in front of his classmates.

Having a locker is super sweet.

When I warned him that he wouldn’t know any friends at this new school, he replied “That’s okay. Cuz I know ME, and I am pretty cool!”

Beach Memories

2011-08-08T18:09:00.000-05:00

This is the post where I document all the fun facts about our little trip to North Carolina.

We shared both sides of this house of with 19 of our favorite relatives. Well technically, I am not sure if they can all claim the “favorite” spot, but we like them well enough anyway.

And basically, we just did a lot of beachy things. Typical us.

Throw in some arm wrestling for good measure.

And a whole lot of races.

And obligatory family photos.

And our version of awkward family photos.

Wouldn’t they be the cutest family? I kid. Quit hissing, really conservative relatives:)

We celebrated a birthday, or three. And then we showed off our muscles.

And looky here, the men even made their way to the kitchen a few times. Brothers making dinner. Just the way I like it.

We also managed to throw our kids around a whole bunch.

Is is just me, or does Cash look really high in that last picture? Shame on you G, that’s not safe.

And of course, like any good vacation, it wore us out.

And there you have it. More pictures than you possibly could have cared to see. You’re totally welcome.

Oh, and one more thing. I just remembered, I don’t have a picture of one of my kids throwing up in his car seat on the 16 hour drive home. Bummer. It was super awesome, anyway, so just imagine that.

Travel Stuffs

2011-07-29T14:58:00.001-05:00

Here’s a plethora of pictures from random little road trips we’ve been on this summer. It’s so nice to get away on a whim, no planning and such, just “Hey, you wanna go visit so&so tomorrow?” “Sure, why not?”

So all that up there was a little trip we took back to the homeland of Hutch. Short for Hutchinson. Short for Hutchinson, KS.

And as you can tell, we ended the photo shoot with a nice picture of Uncle Rick, showing off how handsome he can be. Thumbs up back at ya, Kenz.

Then later we headed up to Illinois to visit the Berry clan.

The girl loves her some goggles.

As you can see, the kiddos got out a lot of energy in the form of hiking, karate, and sprinkler trampoline-ing.

The sisters just drank a lot of coffee and did a lot of this.

That’s how we role.

Homegirl Got Hitched

2011-07-12T14:27:00.001-05:00

Yep, a BFF from high school tied the knot…. and my little boys had a supportive role in the wedding.

The wedding was gorgeous. I expected no less. The girl has good taste.

I love me a good wedding, but even more than that, I LOVE THESE GIRLS.

Sometimes we sit on the bathroom floor all night long. Laughing and crying. They’re the best. Lately, we only get to be together 2 or 3 weekends a year, and that ain’t nearly enough!

Fortunately for us though, we’re all gonna live together in a cul-de-sac someday. The when and the where are still to be determined. Minor detail, right? (Dr. Nitschke, you should go ahead and figure that out for us. K, thanks, bye.)

But back to the wedding, the little boys had a mighty fine time on the dance floor! They were shy about it at first, but once they found their groove, they danced ‘til the DJ gave up…. literally. They shut that baby down.

Oh yes, the shirt came off. He’s that hard-core.

It was a wonderful-est best shin-dig. The end.

Before and After–Hallelujah

2011-07-03T13:34:00.001-05:00

Perhaps some of you remember 15 years ago when I said the bathroom was about to be finished in two weeks. Clearly, my timeline may have been a teensy bit ambitious. I guess I forgot to factor in being tired after a long workday, weekends out of town, frustration, and the feeling of being just plain sick of construction.

So, incase you never had the pleasure of seeing what the bathroom looked like before, here ya go.

The seafoam & gray tile, the carpet, and basically all the fixtures had seen their prime.

Grant ripped everything out down to the studs….

and, TA-DA!

Grant literally did all the work himself. I was only responsible for scraping the wallpaper and framing that print below. I’m pretty handy, what can I say?

Yes, bathroom. You do look lovely today.

Summer Weekend

2011-06-27T11:06:00.001-05:00

For whatever reason, the four of us haven’t been home together for a whole weekend since I don’t remember when.

Actually, since April to be exact.

Anywho, this weekend we soaked up our time together.

And did lots of boyish things. Cuz that’s what families with two little boys do. Even though the mother sometimes gets grossed out or scared of things those little boys pick up.

Even so, no manis or pedis or shopping. Just lots of good old outdoor stuff. That’s all.

And when we couldn’t be outside, we camped out inside.

Play hard. Sleep hard. That’s how I like em.

3 days, 253 photos later

2011-06-16T13:43:00.001-05:00

And that can only mean we spent the weekend with the cousins.

And so we did a lot of cousin-y things

Like celebrating this cutie pie who is almost two

And then we did some more boyish things

Like wrestling

And catching turtles

And roasting marshmallows…

and telling ghost stories.

(Oh, and Henry, since you weren’t there, somebody might have scared the boys into thinking you are going to kill them in Mexico. Sorry.)

And of course they bathed.

This counts, right?

Thanks to the parents for hosting all of the crazy.

He didn’t have permission

2011-06-05T23:30:00.001-05:00

But he went ahead and grew up anyway.

Right before my eyes. The nerve.

And there it is in black and white, his first diploma.

So what’s that all over his face, you say.

Well, for some reason the class celebrated the graduation with a Luau. They had beach balls and leis and all that jazz, and some pretty phenomenal face painting.

Yes, I’m a little smitten with that pirate of mine.

Cash got to enjoy the party, too. But at some point in time, he got a little fussy about something. I can’t remember what. I was too busy taking pictures of his temper tantrum.

Could I please love his fits-of-rage any more?

He crosses his arms and goes silent. Love. It.

Oh boys, just can’t get enough of them.

Jagger Lost Something

2011-05-31T23:18:00.001-05:00

And he was very excited about it.

But it didn’t take too long for him to be worried about the whole situation.

What if the tooth fairy forgets me? What if my teeth don’t grow in? What if I can’t eat anymore?

Hopefully none of that will be the case though.

For Kenzie

2011-05-24T21:11:00.001-05:00

My little sister gets antsy when I don’t blog for a couple weeks or so. She threatens me on facebook. It’s weird and I don’t know why. Her life is much more exciting than mine.

Case in point: She’s newly engaged, just graduated college, got herself a job selling medical stuff with my hubs, and she gets to move in with us and be my nanny.

What? Nanny isn’t part of the job description. Dang it!

Even so, the rest of this year is going to be full of Kenzie, and we’re pretty excited. This means two things to me: I now have a partner for Manicure Mondays, and my wardrobe is about to double.

I just hope she doesn’t mind the fact that our bathroom renovation that was supposed to be done 15 months ago, isn’t exactly done yet. You’re cool with peeing outside, right? I kid!

First Taste of Summer

2011-05-09T18:51:00.001-05:00

Just a few pics of this year’s first trip down to the lake.

And not a lot of words, because isn’t the lake is pretty self-explanatory?

But I guess I do need a couple captions: Papa had a happy birthday.

And the mamas and the grandma had a happy mother’s day.

We enjoyed our time with our baby cousin.

And I’m positive that the water was not warm enough for me to get in.

But I guess these boys have different standards.

Obviously they had a blast.

And it was well deserved relief after a long and hot day of fishing.

Look how cute my husband is. Just thought I should throw that out there.

Clearly, that cute-patooty in the new life jacket is the apple of of his eye.

And I don’t know what this trilogy of Jagger’s frustration was all about, but the boys had a good time showing off their skills.

And that’s that. We’re looking forward to a summer full of these kind of shenanigans.

Yeah, I said shenanigans.

The Detroit Tigers and the Netherlands, 5-year-old Style

2011-05-05T16:16:00.001-05:00

Those are the names of Jagger’s t-ball and soccer teams, respectively.

Kind of silly if you ask me.

Anyways, I ‘ve got me a cute little athlete around here this spring.

He is quite busy right around now because his mother doesn’t plan things so well and double booked his spring season.

Silly mommy.

Ah, I love that kid with long hair in a hat.

And I guess I love him in shin guards, too.

Eggs and Candy and Stuff

2011-04-25T15:36:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I carelessly mentioned something to Grant about Easter in front of the boys. I say “carelessly” because whatever it was that I said, let the little boys know that the Easter Bunny ain’t no real thing.

Uh, oops.

Truth is, they didn’t fully grasp what I had revealed, but even if they had, I really don’t care.

Call me un-American, but I don’t like lying to my kids about ginormous mammals that hide candy around the house. It’s creepy.

….I’m still gonna propagate the Santa thing though ….. So if you had any doubt, I am not totally ruining their childhood.

Only partially.

Even so, I’m 100% for filling up an Easter basket with gifts and doing an egg hunt.

I’m in it for the candy, that’s why.

We did have a nice Easter Sunday, thanks for asking. We had a great morning at church and then went out to Grant’s parents’ house with some other friends.

We feasted and fellowshipped, Jagger was inseparable from his new Leapster game, the kiddos got do do an indoor egg hunt, the boys refused all photography that involved wearing their blazers, and we got 1/2 of a family portrait taken. I couldn’t ask for anything more, really.

Sarcasm aside, we had a very lovely day celebrating our Savior with family and friends.

Around the House

2011-04-08T13:44:00.001-05:00

This place is becoming a little more like home everyday. The first few weeks I would always go the wrong way and attempt to make my way back to the old house after dropping the boys off at school. Hopefully that habit is almost kicked.

Here’s a little bit more of my favorite room in the house. It’s basically they only space that is “finished enough.”

I would love to get my hands on some white linen slipcovers over those wingbacks. But I know I’ll never get around to it. Plus, the floral and velvet are growing on me.

I’m loving me some spring.

It’s so fun to see what surprises are popping up in the yard. Although I have to admit I am a little ticked at Cash for plucking quite of few of the daffodils.

Here is one of the boys’ favorite spots. It is prime real estate for superheroes and pirates to get caught in Spidy’s web.

While I was away on my trip and the boys were with the grandparents for a week, Grant went ahead and demolished the main bathroom. He is putting in a new floor, tile, vanity, toilet, fixtures, you name it, basically. So far it’s been out of commission for two weeks, and Lord willing it will just take one more. Famous last words, though, right?

After that, next on his list is a little half bath attached to the boys bedroom. That one shouldn’t take nearly as long, since it just needs a new floor and vanity and fixtures.

And then it’s kitchen time! We don’t know exactly what we are going to do to it yet, but I am looking forward to it.

My responsibility during all this has been removing the wallpaper. Oh, glorious wallpaper. Hopefully some updated pics will come soon.

Honduras

2011-04-04T22:33:00.001-05:00

The trip was awesome and I am so thankful that I was able to go. I seriously loved my time there and am sad that it couldn’t have been longer.

This is our group along with some staff from Predisan. Predisan is a Christian Mission that provides healthcare, community development, and spiritual outreach to the mountainous regions of Honduras.

Our time was specifically spent in the schools, building latrines for households that did not yet have them, and visiting in homes. We were able to share our faith on many levels.

The community was soooo grateful. But really, we were the ones that were blessed with the experience.

We got to see Christ in the eyes of the children.

And in the brotherly love of the community.

We got to witness their reliance on God, and bring that back home with us.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

I pray I don’t easily forget the lessons learned here.

So Here’s Some Random Stuff

2011-03-25T22:35:00.001-05:00

I really want to share more progress on the house, but there hasn’t really been any.

So that would be hard to share.

So I won’t.

I guess we’ve been focusing on other things around here. I can’t think of those particular things at the moment, but I am sure they exist.

Anyway, tomorrow is a big day for me. I am headed to Honduras with the youth group from church for a week. I am excited. And nervous. But mainly excited, I think. Actually, I am just praying that this will be a great opportunity for all involved. And honestly, for myself, I am hoping I will realize how blessed I am and that I need to start doing more. More of what? I am not exactly sure. But if this is going to be a swift kick in the butt, I’m ready. I think. Maybe. No, I am. I’m ready.

Speaking of doing more, have you read Crazy Love? I randomly picked it up yesterday to read on my plane rides tomorrow. But then I accidently read the whole thing already. Seriously, it will light a fire in you. Hopefully I will be able to process that and write more about it later.

In other awesome do-good news, my niece is coming home soon! This has been a long journey for my sister and her husband, and I couldn’t be more thrilled for them and their new family. If you haven’t caught this video yet on FB, watch it. It makes me ridiculously happy.

A video my brother-in-law made of the journey to meet their daughter.

Moving and Stuff

2011-03-06T22:49:00.001-06:00

Goodbye house. We’ll miss you! You’ve been good to us.

But now we’re gone. And, ugh. Moving is so hard. Me no likey.

It was stressful, and I am soooo glad it’s over!

And now we are in the new house, and life feels chaotic. We’re slowly settling. But sometimes we look around and just feel overwhelmed. I shouldn’t be on the computer right now, but it’s a nice distraction.

I wanted to be able to share some before & after pics, but it what I currently have to share is more like before & during-the-chaos pics.

This room, formerly the den, is now our master bedroom. It has seen the biggest transformation.

It is a lot more room than I am used to. And I am loving it. But obviously we’ve got more tweaking to do. Like inserting dresser drawers and other crazy awesome design stuff like that.

The sunroom will be serving as our dining room, and it is by far my most favorite space in the house.

Because of the views. And our visitors.

We love that we live right in the middle of town, and these guys still visit us everyday! We usually see about 4-5 at a time, a few times a day, but we have seen up to 16 playing in our backyard. And of course Grant wants to keep them around, hence the big pile of corn they are munching on.

So that’s where we are right now. Living with boxes all around, not able to find our belts or the laundry detergent, and watching the deer.

The One Where Cash Puked in My Hands at Hy-Vee

2011-02-26T21:08:00.001-06:00

Isn’t motherhood awesome?

Yeah, he gagged on a fortune cookie, then began to puke. It was awesome.

And I decided to catch it all. In my hands. Even more awesome.

Why did I feel like I needed to catch it in my hands? Not sure. I mean, is that a normal reaction? I guess I just didn’t want there to be a big mess and have people be totally grossed out by me and my boy. But, most likely I didn’t want it to splatter on my new boots. My subconscious feels very strongly about boots. It loves them. Either way, I was left standing in aisle 12 with a double handful of puke.

And I couldn’t go anywhere, my arms were useless, and I didn’t want to leave a trail. I was paralyzed with my double handful of puke.

There was an unassuming elderly man that witnessed the whole thing go down. Or come out, rather. He asked if he should go get some help. Um, yes please.

I waited.

And waited.

Still HOLDING THE PUKE. Protecting Hy-Vee’s floor. Protecting the boots.

He later returned with A NAPKIN! And then he just placed it on top of my hands. I could tell he wished his arms were longer and he didn’t have to get so close to me and my double handful of puke.

But A SINGLE NAPKIN!? Seriously!? I was cupping a double handful of puke, and now there was a napkin gently resting on top of it. How is this any better?

The guy then turned and walked away super quickly. I can’t blame him. He didn’t want to help the strange lady that catches her kid’s puke. He was just in the wrong aisle at the wrong time and felt obligated to help. Even if it was just throwing a single napkin at me.

I could only laugh about how ridiculous I looked.

Eventually an employee came to my rescue, and all was well.

Except for the fact that now, three hours later, after 10 handwashings, and a shower…. I still can’t get that puke smell off my hands.

That’s just the awesomeness of motherhood, I guess.

Trying to Move

2011-02-25T21:54:00.001-06:00

We’re still trying to move, we thought today would be the day, but the beautiful snow ruined our plans.

It was a light snow, but enough to get school canceled. And I tend to be less productive when I have two little superheroes creating chaos all around. So we’ll wait another day or two. We needed the extra time to finish prepping the house anyway.

Plus, when school gets cancelled, it’s tradition to have time for extra snuggles and a fancy breakfast.

Snuggles beat moving boxes every time.

We’ve pretty much finished painting every surface in the house, and I am quite pleased with how it has turned out. In addition, we changed out most of the light fixtures, light switches, and outlets, so things look a lot fresher. I’m anxious to get our things in there and show you some before and after pics. Yippee, that’ll be fun.

Doin’ Work

2011-02-18T11:06:00.001-06:00

With every spare minute we have, we’re doin’ work.

At the new house. It’s exhausting.

We’ve packed up, donated, put in storage, cleaned up, and on and on.

And now, we’re painting.

A lot.

Every square inch.

Walls, trim, cabinets, ceilings, doors, and the glorious wood paneling.

Nothing will be left untouched.

Hallelujah for our helpers.

A Valentine For You

2011-02-13T20:30:00.001-06:00

if you’re in Jagger’s class, that is.

I 100% ripped this idea from someone else that was kind enough to share their creativity online. Thank goodness for the interwebs.

A Shout Out

2011-02-02T18:11:00.001-06:00

Even though he can’t really read, I just want to give a shout out to my awesome helper.

When I wanted to quit, he kept cheering me on.

The driveway is 2/3 clear. And hopefully tomorrow morning , my (lack of) muscles will let me finish the job.

And fingers are crossed that daddy gets to come home then too!

Tuesday Views

2011-02-01T20:47:00.001-06:00

Hi there. How was your weekend?

We were all over the place for ours. The boys spent quality time with their grandparents in Kansas. Grant was on a ski getaway in Vail, and still is trapped there, actually. And I got to be in the 75 degree heat of Austin, Texas with some awesome girlfriends.

It seems like the weekend greatness came to an abrupt stop now that I am stuck in the house, for what looks like the next three or four days.

But I am stuck with two handsome little boys, and a stocked kitchen, so really there aren’t any complaints.

Just lots of hot chocolate, and playing, and movies, and popcorn, and forts, and artwork, and world-wide-inter-webbing… all while staying in our pjs.

Except for Cash. He likes to change clothes every hour or so.

And actually, I say there aren’t any complaints, but really it’s only been one day. Day two and three may present a different story.

Gone Sledding

2011-01-24T16:26:00.001-06:00

We finally got to enjoy the January snow this weekend and go sledding at Great Grandpa’s house.

The backyard was pretty much made for sledding.

Great Grandpa’s house is the house that we will soon be calling home . Keyword: Soon.

Soon, like next month. In addition to sledding, we also sold our house this weekend!

So over the next month or so, we’ll be moving in over there. It’s all part of a grand scheme to save up some dough and be able to build the house that we really really love.

It’s going to be a really big adjustment, but we feel super blessed that Grant’s parents and aunts and uncles are allowing us to do this!

On Homeschooling

2011-01-20T14:12:00.001-06:00

No, I am definitely not going to…

Basically, I am not smart enough. And I lack the desire. Like, REALLY lack it.

Although I do know many fine woman that do home school. And they are awesome. And their kids are going to be the best. And I am a teensy bit jealous.

Anywho, I am just saying all this because I keep coming across all these awesome home school rooms in design blogs. And I really want one!

Question: Do you have to home school to have a home school room?

August Fields

Roger & Rosaleen’s Life & Travels

The Pleated Poppy

via The Pioneer Woman

Smart and pretty, no?

Unimportant-Snow-Day-Nonsense and Backwards Underpants

2011-01-12T12:54:00.001-06:00

For two nights, we’ve gone to bed knowing that the next day would be a snow day. So the boys have been bunking together. They love that, most of the time. Actually, I guess they just love it when they forget to fight.

Then, first thing yesterday morning, this is what I hear as two little munchkins climb into my bed:

“Mom, first lets snuggle. Then, let’s get up and eat cake for breakfast. Then, let’s watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Then, let’s build a fort. Then, let’s play Wii. Then, let’s make a snowman. But first you have to go buy a carrot at the store. Ok, Mom? Ok, Mom?”

Whelp, Why not?

And pretty much, the day went as planned, minus the whole buying a carrot thing.

Oh, and do my kids sound like Buddy the Elf, or what?

Our version of Frosty the Snowman is more like Dumpy the Snow Pile. I need snowman-making practice.

Also, I just feel I should leave you with the cutest hiney in my house. This hiney likes to wear its underwear backwards so that the picture will be in front.

It’s my favorite hiney!

Weezering Last Weekend

2011-01-10T20:45:00.001-06:00

Grant’s birthday was last weekend. Happy 28th Dear!

He likes to joke that his birthday always turns into OUR birthday. Um, I can’t help it that when I go gift shopping for him, I always find a little something myself, too. It just happens.

So, in the spirit of OUR birthday, I got us some concert tickets to MY most favorite band of ALL time. All-time, people. WEEZER. My love for them goes back to um, middle school? I don’t know. Something like that anyway. And the same goes for my sisters. So it was a Ziegler sister weekend event.

Thats right, two nights of Weezer.

We’re dorks like that.

I was pretty pumped about the free glasses. I might still be wearing them. And how about that guy’s face behind us? Silly stranger.

Of course the birthday boy enjoyed it too. Although he wasn’t seeing HIS most favorite band of all time, he had a good weekend with all the in-laws and significant others.

Thanks for the fun time family. Thanks for the pics Henrique. And a big shout out to Bob and T-Bone (mom & Dad) for driving all the way to Chicago to watch all the grandsons so we could go Weezering all weekend.

Christmas Sickness

2010-12-28T12:39:00.000-06:00

This year for Christmas, everyone here gave each other a stomach bug.

It's the gift that keeps giving.

Who Puked & When

Cousin Ryder - 21st & 22nd

Cousin Gavin - 23rd

Aunt Alisha - 23rd

Jagger and Aunt Kenzie- 24th

Cash and Grandpa- Christmas

Brei - 26th

Grandma - 28th

And hopefully that is the end of that. Here is to hoping that your Christmas was merry, and a little less "eventful" than ours.

The Thought That Counts?

2010-12-20T21:39:00.001-06:00

What kind of sick person would bring a hermit crab to an office gift exchange party?

My husband, that’s who.

I felt like someone was about to get mad when they received this as their $15 gift in Dirty Santa, so I threw in the itunes gift card so no one felt ripped off.

But still, really? A hermit crab, Grant? It was hysterical though, I have to admit.

And in the end, it actually went to a good home.

Later that night, same party, different gift:

Yeah, it was made specifically for my dear husband. I’m not going to tell the story, the shirt pretty much says it all. You can ask Grant if you need to know the specifics.

More “That’s What He Said”

2010-12-18T13:19:00.001-06:00

Cash: (Talking, not singing) “Our God is an awesome God who reigns from heaven above. With a flashlight so he can find monsters and skeletons.”

While I attempting to to explain a couple political things to Jagger (the president’s job and what voting means,) I used such phrases as running for president and race. Jagger’s response: “So the first one who gets there wins?”

Jagger to Cash: “Didn’t I just tell you NO?….Well clearly I meant NO. What part of NO don’t you understand?” -Oh dear, he’s been listening to his parents.

Me, watching college basketball: “This game is stressing me out!” Jagger: “But I can stress you out more Mom, right?”

Uh, right.

Christmas-y Shenanigans

2010-12-08T16:36:00.001-06:00

I Lied

2010-11-22T11:06:00.001-06:00

Before, I mentioned that the tree wasn’t gonna get decorated until after Thanksgiving.

But now, the bottom two feet of it look like this:

I later heard Cash say, “The dinosaurs want to go to Jesus’ birthday party!”

Mid November Nothings

2010-11-20T17:10:00.001-06:00

i haven’t blogged for a long time. lack of motivation. sorry three readers that i have.
we spent halloween with the chicago cousins. ‘twas fun. jeffy babysat so sister and i could do lots of shopping. i like him for that.
except for when we got home one evening my kid was pantless in the driveway.
cash is so stinkin’ cute sometimes.
he still loves to cuddle me and asks if i am happy. he really wants me to be happy. i love it!
he’s still seems so little to me. love it again.
my big sis got her referral for her baby girl from ethiopa, and i couldn’t be more excited. i can’t stop looking at baby girl clothes for her. she should be here early next year i believe.
we’re still trying to move, but no bites on the house yet.
not sure how well this for-sale-by-owner-thing is gonna work. we’ll probably get more aggressive the first of the year.
the boys have been begging to put up the christmas tree and i finally gave in today. although we aren’t decorating it yet. i am determined to leave it alone until after t-day.
this getting dark at 5 o’clock is not for me.
grant and i have been playing a lot of the old school super mario 3 lately. we would like to challenge some friends. anyone interested?

Grant’s Fav Meal

2010-10-24T19:15:00.000-05:00

On the Menu:

The Pioneer Woman’s Steak Bites

Cheddar Biscuits

A Green Vegetable, just for good measure

Cheddar Biscuit Recipe

1/2 lb Bisquick

1 1/2 oz shredded Cheddar

5 1/2 oz water

Mix it all and plop a dozen balls onto a pan.

Bake 10-12 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Meanwhile, mix

2 TB melted butter, 1 tsp garlic salt, & 1 tsp of parsley

Brush over freshly bakes biscuits.

So easy, so delish.

Hometown Parade

2010-10-23T18:42:00.001-05:00

Perfect weather. Team spirit. Cool trucks. Free T-shirt. Lots of candy. Political stickers. Marching bands. Funny college kids. Popcorn. M-I-Z chants. Familiar faces. Endless high-fives.

Naps on the way home:)

Operation: Decrapify the House

2010-10-18T09:42:00.001-05:00

The idea of packing up our stuff and moving out is getting a little more real every day.

Our first mission: Pack up all the crap and hide it, so that someone will think the house is cute and will want to buy it.

Mission 2: Sell the house to that certain someone.

Mission 3: Live in Grandpa’s house while we save money and build a new place.

Mission 4: Never move again?

A few questions, a few prayers

2010-10-07T08:32:00.000-05:00

have more kids?
public or private school?
adopt?
go back to school?
be foster parents?
get a job?
build a house?
sell our house?
how will this affect that?
will that strain us?
emotionally, mentally, financially?
does this decision make us selfish?
will we feel guilty if we don’t?
is it okay to be confused?
to change your mind?
to disagree?
to cry about it?
should i get new boots? (kidding)

feeling blessed and worried at the same time. that’s all.

and feeling like a season of prayer is coming on.

So I got a haircut the other day…

2010-10-06T12:33:00.001-05:00

So I got a haircut the other day, nothing major, just a trim and some bangs. And in hopes of raising my self esteem, I asked the little boys what they thought of it.

Jagger: I love it a lot! You look so beautiful! You’re the most beautiful mommy! Can I have some cookies?

Cash: Mommy, I don’t like your haircut! I don’t like the down part! Take your haircut off!

Um, moral of the story is: A 5-year-old knows how to talk to a woman when he wants something. A 3-year-old, not so much.

And maybe “the down part” of my haircut isn’t so good?

They wanna be cowboys

2010-09-29T15:37:00.001-05:00

Last weekend we headed south to celebrate a few family birthdays with Grant’s side of the family.

Highlights of this trip include:

Staying in a hotel & jumping on the beds

Pushing buttons in the elevator

Birthday cake

And riding horses

(And for some reason, I only have pictures of that last one!)

A big thanks to Uncle Steve for putting on his cowboy boots and taking the boys out!

After the rain

2010-09-22T17:19:00.001-05:00

Chocolate Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies… or Why My Pants are Tight

2010-09-21T14:32:00.001-05:00

I couldn’t decide on a title.

Anyway,

Chocolate Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies! A couple months ago I discovered my most favorite and easiest way to make Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies…. CAKE MIX. Yeah, the recipe is on the side of the box, so this isn’t exactly groundbreaking. But to me it kinda is.

You need all this:

The recipe on the box call for nuts. But I think nuts are stupid. So I threw in some Andes Mints. They are so smart… and delicious! And x-nay on the vanilla, it’s not needed.

And then about 7-10 minutes later, you have awesomeness. About 3 dozen awesomeness-es, actually.

They are delish! I may or may not have eaten a couple dozen in a day or two.

*ALSO* if you decide to save some of the cookie dough in your refrigerator in a log shaped form in a Ziploc bag….. your 5-year-old will later say “Mom!!!!!! Someone put POOP in the fridge!”

Here’s the recipe I use and love:

1 Box Duncan Hines Chocolate Cake Mix (other brands don’t turn out as well, I’ve found)

1/4 C brown sugar

1 stick-o-butter, melted

2 eggs

1 C chocolate chips

1 C mint baking chips

Combine first 4 ingredients, add in chips. Plop spoonfuls onto your baking sheet.

Bake at 350, 7 minutes on a pan, or 10 minutes on a stone.

Language Lesson

2010-09-15T13:32:00.001-05:00

Last year at the beach, Cash, trying to be funny, said “There is a crab in my diaper.” We all thought it was wildly funny and laughed and laughed.

And the joke has evolved over the year, with a crab on the head, on the plate, on the carseat… getting less and less funny each time.

Today, the joke got a lot less funny.

Jagger witnessed a dirty toilet at school and wanted to let his class know by screaming “There is a crab in the toilet!”

Um, Jagger’s teacher had a talk with me about appropriate language. Apparently, she heard him screaming CRAP down the hall. And that is frowned upon.

I thought about vindicating Jagger’s honor and explain what he had really said, all the way back to Cash’s crab in the diaper… but I just decided to chalk this up as a parenting failure.

Joke over.

Boys and Birthdays and Sleepovers and Stuff

2010-09-05T14:28:00.001-05:00

The last week has been exhausting.

Jagger turned 5 on Monday.

Cash turned 3 on Thursday.

He also started school on that day.

We celebrated each occasion a couple different times.

And on Friday, we had the big (little) bash. The kind that stresses this mom out. With cake and more cake, and a few friends.

We played. We ate. We played. We had cake. We opened presents. We played. We roasted marshmallows. We watched a movie. We played with flashlights in the backyard. We told ghost stories. We told Bible stories. And at 11:30, we all slept outside in a tent. 6 1/2 hours later, we woke up, ate more cake, and played again.

It was a party full of fun and of sugar. And after everyone went home, we napped. And then we napped again.

Fall Ball

2010-08-25T21:00:00.001-05:00

This is what we did tonight, and will continue to do for the next few weeks.

Jagger loves it. By the third inning he is totally bored, but he loves it.

He had three good hits, scored twice, and filled his glove with a lot of dirt while playing short stop.

We’re so proud.

A couple things to work on before the next game:

Keeping your glove on when you play first base
How to stand in a line and give the other team high fives

Go team green!

And we’re off

2010-08-18T12:57:00.001-05:00

First day of Pre-K, here we come!

Lots of excitement.

And lots of school supplies. It’s a wonder he didn’t fall over backwards.

Summer Finale

2010-08-17T22:28:00.001-05:00

School starts tomorrow! (Squeal) But summer always goes by too fast.

It’s hard to see where it all went.

In July, Grant’s grandpa was diagnosed with cancer, and it progressed quite quickly. Too quickly.

Luckily we had enough sense to change our plans for a vacation into a staycation. There’s no quicker way to ruin a vacation than to have your heart be 1,000 miles away. So we are glad we stayed. Grandpa Berkley passed away a couple nights ago, so I know Grant is grateful to have been here for his last week. Prayers of peace for the family are appreciated.

And while it was under sad circumstances, we still got to enjoy quality time with siblings and cousins.

I really do love all my inlaws. I feel blessed.

We were also able to sneak away to Kansas for a couple days, and enjoy my side of the family. The boys had fun swimming and shooting a BB gun, and I had fun sleeping in while my mom made the boys breakfast. It’s the little things:)

This last week also marks the beginning of Jagger’s T-Ball career. I don’t know who is more excited, Jagger or his parents. Playing catch is his new favorite activity. And I can’t wait to step up into my role of T-ball, baseball, soccer, basketball, football, hockey etc. - Mom!

So now we’ve got school everyday and games every week, and no more sleeping in… And just like that, our summer is over.

The Only Legal Picture I Could Take

2010-08-03T11:36:00.000-05:00

First, I saw this sight. What the, what the?

CASH!!!???

And then I saw the full damage.

He had colored himself green, from the belly button the the knees. Solid green. Every inch. Yeah, including that.

All while sitting on the potty.

I guess he likes to multitask?

Simplifying & Frugal Cleaning

2010-08-02T11:14:00.001-05:00

I remember back in the good old days (10 years ago) when the only thing I had to spend my money on was clothes and handbags, and the occasional Sonic treat. Oh the life.

But now I am a real life grownup and have to spend my money on boring things like insurance and cleaning products. Boo. I don’t like either one of those things.

Anyway, I don’t know why I am saying all that, except for the fact that I am learning and trying and relearning about how to be frugal with my cleaning products.

I guess it is part of my quest to simplify my home.

I am trying to spend less, and use less chemicals. And I could use whatever advice anyone has to help me do so.

So far, this is what I am working with:

Water/Vinegar Solution - I’ve been replacing most of the chemicals in the house with this. Except for Windex, because I can’t find anything else that is streak-free. .

Baking Soda – Instead of Comet. I am mixing it with vinegar for some of the tougher grime. And I like the bubbliness that happens with that combination. It makes me feel like a science teacher:)

Laundry Detergent – I’ve made my own, and I am pretty much loving it so far. 3 bars of gated Ivory soap, 3 cups Borax, 3 cups washing soda. And (this is really important) I think it looks a lot cuter than my usual container of Tide.

Reusable Rags- Instead of paper towels. I keep paper towels around, but I try not to use them very often. (This reminds me of my mom, who once snapped at my brother-in-law for using a napkin to clean something up. She’s funny like that.)

Here’s a few links that have helped me out:

Cleaning Products: Are you spending more than needed?

TipNut’s Homemade Cleaners

Any of you other homemakers have any great ideas as far as getting your frugal on and simplifying your cleaning products?

If you don’t have a sister, you might not understand

2010-07-30T18:14:00.001-05:00

Last summer, this dress belonged to Kenzie. And then, despite my best effort to steal it, Alisha was the one who was able to snag it. Boo. I was bitter for awhile.

But at last, my patience was rewarded, and I was able to steal it fair and square from Alisha.

Dated and faded, yes. But I am still happy. I like how sneaky I was about it, too. I practically took it out of her 5-year-old’s arm when he was helping pack up at the lake. He knew no better. Silly Gavin:)

Mwa ha ha! Until next summer, sisters!

Questionable Marketing Strategies

2010-07-29T12:17:00.001-05:00

So my family has already had this conversation. But I would like to get other thoughts.

When we were at the lake, we started chit chatting with this guy, a friendly, older gentleman who casually told us about what a great time he had at a zip line place that day.

“Have you guys heard about the new zip line place near town? Oh, it’s great! I went with my wife today and it’s better than the place I went to in Costa Rica.”

“Really? Sounds fun. Where is it and how much does it cost?”

“Oh it’s about 30 minutes away and costs maybe $95 or something. I don’t really know. My wife paid. But it was seriously so awesome.”

Anyway, that was enough to get us thinking that we would really enjoy something like that. So a couple of nights later, we went.

So when we got there, we realized that the guy who had talked this place up a couple days ago, was the owner/operator! He wasn’t a satisfied customer at all! We felt pretty duped. Everything he had said before, was more/less a lie. I mean it was fun, and I am glad we went, but we’re still kinda ticked at the guy. We didn’t confront him, mainly because only my sister and I realized it at the time… had we told one of our menfolk, they probably would have said something. Anyway, was that wrong of him? What do you think?

If I had a baby….

2010-07-28T16:38:00.001-05:00

I would do this.

It looks so fun! If Grant wasn’t a light sleeper, I would do it to him too.

A few reasons why I love the lake

2010-07-27T14:10:00.001-05:00

No schedule and no obligations.

Boat rides and tan lines.

Kids, and grown-ups alike, getting excited about jumping off of rocks and rope swings.

Feeling WT, and not caring.

The excitement when my boys catch a fish.

Fresh salsa and fresh guac… always on the menu.

Oh, and showering is optional.

Here’s about a million pictures of what we were up to last week:

The 4th and Whatnot

2010-07-07T15:43:00.001-05:00

Just a few of my not-so-good photographs to sum up the weekend.

Throwing Pop Rocks with style.

And here is the clean-up crew.

Here is Jagger being kind of pouty. Basically, I am a fireworks Nazi, and don’t let him play with any of that stuff, other than the Pop Rocks. The were lots of other big kids at this party that got to do sparklers and this and that. So he was feeling pretty bummed that he didn’t get to play with fire…. but he still has all his fingers. He’ll thank me for that someday, I am sure.

And here is a few of the kiddos getting ready to watch the big show. And it was quite the show, I have to admit. The boys were giddy with excitement. Jagger screamed “DID YOU SEE THAT?” after each one. And Cash was screaming wildly whenever there was an orange one. Uh, he likes orange.

The boys swam, ate and played all day and all night. And by the time we rolled home at about 11, they were out. for. good.

The rest of the weekend we enjoyed some quality time with cousin Haylie and that crew. Jagger is all about her. But getting a good picture of the three of them, um, pretty near impossible.

Art Day

2010-06-30T12:30:00.001-05:00

The little boys and I felt like getting creative yesterday. (Translation: I felt like getting creative and insisted that they feel that way too.)

So we rummaged the garage, found some paint and some wood, and got to work. We each had our own canvas. Can you guess who did what?

I am pretty pleased. I am not sure what will go where, but I think they will all get some wall time in the house.

Why We Are Mad at Texas

2010-06-25T19:28:00.001-05:00

It keeps stealing all our friends!

But before our goodbyes we had some fun with our friends. Some good, clean, messy fun.

Yep, matching trunks. Complete coincidence. Great moms/stylists/swimsuit-picker-outers think alike.

The little brothers preferred to be a little less messy.

And in the end, I went ahead and counted this as their bath for the day. Double Bonus.

Fun memories. But we sure miss our friends.

Decorating, A Onesie, and Cleaning

2010-06-10T20:29:00.001-05:00

In decorating news, Jagger has taken up to making his door a little more fashionable. He really loves Shrek.

Lovely, no?

In onesie news, Cash has outgrown this:

Kenzie, we need a new one, Stat!

And in cleaning news, I got a new Dyson in the mail today! I was so excited I cleaned the whole house from top to bottom… in my swimsuit. It was awesome.

Also, (and here is where I reveal how dorkified I am) I did a little consumer-reports test and compared the new yellow beauty to my two-year-old Bissel. Uh yeah, I won’t show you a picture, but it was gross. After I used the oldy in just one room, I went over it again with the Dyson, and I definitely picked up an extra handful’s worth of gray fuzz. I feel happy.

Anyway, for curious minds….We bought the thing refurbished off of Overstock. It looks and acts completely new to me, and we saved a few Benjamins.

Oh, and I got home from the pool about 8 hours ago. I’m still in my swimsuit. I’m gross like that. But my floors are clean:)

Baptizing Cash?

2010-06-04T17:33:00.001-05:00

It’s officially summer around here. We’re staying up late, catching lightning bugs, sleeping in, and playing in the sun.

And today Jagger asked Cash if he wanted to be baptized.

Cash’s response: “Oh yeah, I LOVE getting baptized!

Memorial Day at the Lake

2010-06-01T13:58:00.001-05:00

Just a few pics of what we were up to last weekend:

Fishing

And Tubing

And Swimming

And Playing Ball

And Smoring

And finding the cutest little baby toad. Have you ever seen one so little?

It was all fun. And it really wore some of us out!