Your opinions counts

It has been absolutely beautiful weather here in the Blo these past couple days.  79, clear skies and sunny right now.

Yesterday I was driving with Mr Incredible and we passed someone's big yard with a clothesline.  Their clean laundry was blowing and swaying everything breathed summer.  I excitedly told Mr Incredible that I was excited about hanging a clothesline (it's been a year since we moved into our house!).  He got a 'are you crazy' smirk on his face which naturally made me immediately defensive.  "What, Mr Incredible, tell me why you think that is a terrible reason and convince my why using energy from our dryer is so much better."  He said that he thinks that clotheslines look WT.  I think they look romantic.

The whole sunny day clean cotton feeling quickly dissipated and left me deflated.

Romantic?  WT?  (think: Team Kiera)

via

Airing his dirty kitchen

I'm fantastically excited about our kitchen project that is going to be happening soon.  We're getting it redone!  For a while we were thinking that maybe we could do a family fun redo ourselves.  That is until I heard the horror stories of it.
When we bought our house, the kitchen was the one FAIL. of it:

and the wallpaper and curtains and liquor bottles strewn throughout the house and the stench of dog and the monkeys and cougars in the master bedroom and the mirrored wall and candles and wax (sex freak?  maybe).  But all those things are quick fixes.  (this picture is from the inspection.  NOT our mess.  My mess is less red checked washcloths and much more fingerpaints.  and Us Weeklys.  and protein bars)

So we're having a kitchen guy come on Monday to pick our brains.  I'll probably pick his more.

Is there anything you love/would change about your kitchen?  What do you think is a MUST for a kitchen?  Let me know your suggestions!  I've got to get my gears in motion!

Blogging is a priority and i don't prioritize very well

Actually, only half of that statement is true.  Blogging is not a priority.  But I loves it. And depending on who you ask I may or may not prioritize very well.  


On to bigger and better topics- I have a lot to do on my blogging agenda!  1) I have awards to accept 2) I have to catch up on practically two weeks of nada blog 3) let's discuss p90x vs. weight watchers.  I know you're on the edge of your seat.

Thank you for the awards I've received this month!  Yay! I was totally crying to Mr Incredible a while back that I'm a bum blogger because I've never gotten awards (insert his response here)

Thank you to from Samantha at Apple Juice and Milk. !! 

okay so the above I got a little greedy with because it was to anyone.  Who does that?  Someone with no shame.

I'll follow Samantha's rules here and give it to my top 5 KickAss Bloggers:

Ally at Magnolias and Mimosas

Salt at Salt Says

Monique at Triathlete Wife

Jess at Cape Cod Awesome

Hutch at Be Awesome Instead

And then I got this from Salt.  Which I'm pumped about.

I don't think there are any rules, buuuuut if I comment on your blog, then take it.  Means you're doin something right.

These here are from Shandal at My Life in 3D.  My p90x sistaaaaaa.  Thank you so much for thinking of me! This ones rules are that I have to list 7 interesting things about me and pass it on to 7 blogs.

1. I hate the smell of worms on a rainy day after I brush my teeth
2. My thumbs are double jointed
3. It's sick how much peanut butter I can eat on a spoon
4. It's sick how much quiche I can eat.
5. I dislocated my shoulder twice playing basketball and ended up needing surgery.
6. I'm either sick or pregnant if I don't want coffee
7. I've never had a cavity

And I'm happy to pass this on to:

1. Heather at Namaste-Heather
2. Laura at Steam Spectre  and Gypsea Tree
3. Chew at My Life as of 6/18/09
4. Shana at Fumbling Towards Normalcy
5. Nancy C at Away We Go
6. Amanda at It's Blogworthy
7. LMJ at I've Been Thinking

I also got this from Shandal, which is pretty sweet because we're a) blog friends b) p90x friends c) facebook friends.  So booya'll.

Since there are no rules, I'll just pass this on to my own newly blog friends:

1. Salt
2. Allyson
3. Jess
4. Hutch
5. T!nk (whether you know it or not, we are friends you know, T!nk)
6. Monique
7. Cee

And since I know that I missed out on people I want to give blog awards to, I'll come back later and update.  I haven't been on the computer in what seems to be agesssss and I have the brain capacity of an ant. 

And I'm too tired (now that this post took me approx 10 hours) to talk about p90x vs. weight watchers or the past two weeks of me life.

why. Why. WHY

Blow up lawn decorations, friends, are a CRYING SHAME.  Our neighbors have a blow up for every occasion.  This is serious.  Especially since we are on just this side of town borders.  Right now they have a New Year Baby.  Before that was Santa, before that was Turkey, before that was Skulls, before that was Birthday cake.  They also have a life size stuffed dog that they keep on their lawn.  I'm guessing it is their (failing) attempt to conquer geese.          

My other neighbor has an awesome garden.  All year long.  Right now, popping out through the snow and 10 degree weather, she has tulips popping up out of the ground.  No lie.  I'm partially baffled but not really because I have a black thumb.  An awesome gardener is an awesome gardener, right?  WRONG GERTIE, WRONG.  (I changed her name for my protection so no one can really find where I live by searching my next door neighbor's name privacy reasons.)  Over the summer she told me she would be away for week.  I responded as a good neighbor would do and told her I would be happy to collect her mail or water her garden for her.  She told me "No, I don't do anything to my garden."  ???  are you serious.  Well, you'd better believe when she was away I did some research of my own.  Fake flowers.  Fake.  Flowers.        

             

Rise above.    From someone who knows nothing about decorating, do something like this instead.           

My Unfinished Dining Room

This past weekend my Mother in Law came to paint (and for Littley's baptism).  This was our dining room before any projects:  (ew.)

Then Mr. Incredible put up (with the assistance of my brother) crown moulding:  (isn't he incredible?)

Then he put up shadow boxes (appliques?) and my MIL painted the whole room.  !  Hurrah! 

The color doesn't look like the above though.  It looks too blue in the picture.  The picture below was the inspiration, and this is what are walls truly look like:

(via martha)

the color we chose is called Gypsy Teal, and the crown moulding and chair rail and below is called Churchill Hotel Lace.  (such pretty names, huh?)

Now I just need to hang pictures, curtains, get a rug, new light (did I really say 'just?').  Stay tuned.

Give This a Whirl

Let's see if I single handedly defeated google:
 

These are the curtains I want for my dining room (of course they don't have the length I need).  I don't know what colors to paint the walls.  (We have crown moulding and a chair rail, so I'm thinking two toned.)  Mr. Incredible tells me to decorate as my heart desires.  Until he sees my curtain selection.  

These are the curtains he likes (cept he like them in blueish silver).  I can deal if I can have them in this color.  Mostly because I want a cold room- maybe gray and/or peacock blue.  But I do want something warm in the room.  


I'm a bit on edge about this whole ordeal because my Mother in Law is coming on Friday to paint the dining room.  I have to choose by Friday.  Help me you design savvy people!  Help!  Opinions on curtains, colors, decor!  helllllppp meeeeee


booya google.  i destroyed you and now i will do as i please

HGTV

Tell me please. Who doesn't love HGTV? And guess what? They are coming to my county, and casting for young families. !!! So guess how we're spending a chunk of our day? Taking family photos outside of our house, of course. I can barely stand it.

They are casting for a Holiday "Battle on the Block." 6 participating families will decorate the outside of their house in competition for the title 'Best Holiday House.'

If we are selected, and even if we're not (we're first time home owners- we've never decorated the outside of our house for Christmas) I'll need your help and suggestions, friends! Do you have any ideas for not over-the-top, tasteful holiday decorating? Please share. (please!)

did i over do it with the italics? i'm so excited i don't care.

Front Porch Swing

One of the things I've been obsessing about this whole summer is that swing. It stayed with the house we bought. I wasn't sure if I wanted to stain it, make cushions, order cushions, paint it (what color?). So the summer passed by with a dehydrated looking front porch. I finally decided to do something, anything to it. We had primer, we had outdoor paint. Isn't Mr. Incredible great?

Even though it looks a little boring still, I don't mind waiting to find some pretty pillows or even a throw for next year. I'm just excited it looks so much better!

Our Favorite Children's Books

An elderly lady at the bookstore came up to the girls and me and asked if her book selection for a two year old was satisfactory. I said (in a much more diplomatic way), "helllz no." She had Goodnight Moon. I know that one is supposed to be a hit, but frankly it creeps me and the girls right out. So, just in case you're looking for some books for tots, here is the best of the best. In my opinion, of course.

This one is a little bit long, but the illustrations can keep one captivated. You might want to relocate to Maine after reading it.

This is the only Olivia book we've read, but the girls are hooked and I get a kick out of it every time. I'll admit, however, that I learned to love it. It is a must-have-inflection-read. I think Eldest is going to be receiving the other Olivia books for her upcoming birthday.

We stumbled across this at the library and was a must buy. Great illustrations, and a tender story. Catch me at a hormonal moment and you might see some eye mist.

Oh, the Llama books. If you haven't read these, you're missing out. Again, they took me a bit to appreciate, and now I really don't mind reading them 4 times a day. Literally.

We will also be purchasing Llama Llama Misses Mama.

I grew up with the My Good Morning and My Good Night Books. They are short, sweet, simple, and the children in the

books look like my children. I'm not biased or anything, though.

I hate to tease you with this one because it is no longer in print. And don't go looking on Ebay for it because my mother already purchased them all. But do make sure to check your local library or garage sales! Sweet as can be.

Garrison Keillor is genius when it comes to story telling. Apparently he does a pretty good job with kids books, too.

Another favorite from growing up. Epitomizes the dreams of motherhood.

And just in case a kid (or mother) has every one of their favorite books and you're stumped for a gift idea, check this out. My sister gave this to me for my birthday; she put two illustrated pages together from Blueberries for Sal and had them mounted and framed. It's currently hanging in my kitchen (since the picture is of mother and Sal canning blueberries). Marvelous idea, huh?

You can find all of the above books (except for A Special Trade) at Amazon.

Admiring Our Work

I super, really, oh-so-badly want to try to blog at least 5 times a week. Some days blogging is super, really, oh-so-difficult. So what if I didn't do anything worth noting? I could tell you about the bacon and spinach frittata that I prepared for dinner today. But it wasn't that pretty, and I don't think it would be anything to write home about... or blog about, for that matter.

I could also tell you about the playground today, and how Eldest learned how to go down a fire pole, and Younger belly flopped off of a very spinny tire swing, but that's not quite an attention grabber. It does make for good discussion over that bacon and spinach frittata, however.

Blog Inspiration for today: Yesterday I frantically called my mom begging her to give me the secret to blood stains. (18 month old bloody lip will ruin your new maternity shirt every time.) She calmly said, "hydrogen peroxide. Let it bubble, rinse it, hydrogen peroxide again. Repeat. Wash." My mom can and will conquer all of your laundry woes. I went to her house today in high hopes that I could get all of her other laundry miracle working secrets out of her. Collectively we did not do well under pressure. She said, "Spray 'n' Wash and a toothbrush." I said, "no pressure, no pressure." She said, "club soda gets nearly any stain out of carpet....." And that was that. That is why writing is a journey. I have to jot down her little secrets as they come. I'm still learning. Aren't we all?

So as the evening came and went, and I was left with nothing, I decided this was a good opportunity to admire my pre blog work.

This is our family room when we first saw our house:

!!! Not quite our taste

Just a tad of wall paper stripping

And a smidgen of puttying

Then some painting. ahhh. sigh of relief

On this wall I would like to do this with these frames. When I can drop $150 on frames.

Was that a bit long winded?