Doodles, Dogs and Bees

Daybook

 

FOR TODAY...October 30^th from Tina's Daybook

 

Outside my window... a cold day, after a near blizzard. Fresh snow everywhere and no school or work today.

I am thinking... I have some mommy responsibilities that I can catch up on today... and maybe do some knitting.

I am thankful for... this day off with my boys and my sweet puppies.

I am wearing... jeans, black long-sleeve shirt, socks, slippers.

I am remembering... Jo... everytime I look at Boo.

I am going... to enjoy the moment and soak up every minute of today.

I am reading... Book #2 of the Black Dagger Brotherhood Series.  (almost done.  I hope #3 gets here today.  I ordered it on Amazon, with 2 day delivery four days ago...)

I am hoping... to stay away from the Halloween candy today

On my mind... everything's good!

From the learning rooms... trying out preschool crafts with the boys

Noticing that... trick or treating is going to be cold this year...
I'm glad I'm the one who stays home and passes out candy!

From the kitchen... good old ramen for lunch and shrimp and veggies for dinner. Might get some of the cookie dough out of the freezer for the boys today.

Around the house... everything is messy, in need of a wipe down and disorganized. But worth it to have a new puppy in the house.

One of my favorite things~ SNOW DAYS!

From my picture journal...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Makes Me Happy!

All the flowers around my house right now. My honey bought me roses a few days ago and they're still going strong. And my Mom brought me some fall-colored mums when they visited on Sunday. All the colors just make me happy!

I love the fall!!

Thursday

I finally got a shot of this little farm, outside of Scottsbluff.  I have always had a thing for pretty, old barns, especially red ones.  This little farm looks so homey and peaceful, out in the middle of nowhere. I just love it.

Oh...  and honey?  I just wanted to throw this out there:  Guess what's already been open for a whole week?!?

The boys' new project...

Yep, we're all for child labor at our house...  (of course so is the child...  he loves helping, especially if it involves power tools.)

I wonder if I should joke around about mistreating my kids... oh, what the hell...  (more explanation on this to come later.)

 

 

This boy is so strong!   Most of the time he doesn't know it, though. 

The current home project is in progress now and I'm so excited because I  think it's going to be really gorgeous!

The boys helped Daddy most of the weekend.  We took out a big, overgrown bush and we're replacing it with a small deck and pergola.  It'll be big enough for two chairs and I'm already thinking of planting a deep purple clematis on one side!

Then on the inside, we have a new coffee- drinking nook.  This window will look out, over the new deck.

So for now, we open up the windows and drink our morning coffee here.  In a couple of weeks, when the weather is a little cooler, we'll drink our coffee on the new deck!  (with a sweater or perhaps a pretty, hand-knit shawl!)  I have a couple of those, you know...

Home and thankful to be here!

It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.

--Brother David Steindl-Rast

Before and After

This is our laundry room before...  Our 9 year old washer had served us well, but I was ready to graduate to something bigger and redder.

 

This is our laundry room now!  All cleaned up from years of a leaking dryer vent and de-cluttered with a sexy new red washer and dryer!  What would have been 5-6 loads of laundry last week, was 3 loads now!   I had no idea how much this was going to improve my life!  The new, bigger storage cabinet is awesome too and we're using every inch of it already!  (On the left is our extra frig and freezer.  I hate all the space they take up but it's so nice, especially during holiday time, to have all that extra room for refrigerator/freezer stuff.)

I was telling Scott about the t.v. commercial for these LG appliances.  It says the money you'll save on your power bill from the higher efficiency of the washer will pay for the dryer within one year.  And the way we purchased it, we have no payments or interest for a year.  So we don't have to make a payment on the dryer until after it's already paid for...  um, ok...

I think we did a fine job!

I think this little family project came out so awesome!  (and so does Will)  It was  a group effort and I love that about it too.  The boys and I painted it and Daddy put it together and hung it Will's room.  Will and I love the shadow it casts on the ceiling too!

We had a fun, incredibly full weekend around here.  First was the Cub Scout camp on Friday and Saturday.  The boys had a ball.  The only bad thing being the big, bad, scarey thunderstorm that forced them to abandon the tent and come home at 2 in the morning.  I was so glad they came home!  

The Scout moms put together quite an event for our boys!  There were police cars to climb around in... 

Apparently Will likes to dabble on both sides of the law...   In the first shot he's driving the police car and in the second, he's in the back seat...  (where you put bad guys...  hmmm)  Alrighty then... 

They got to get inside an ambulance and check out all that stuff...

 

 

 

 

 

 

They each got to be turned upside-down on a stretcher...

 

 

 

 

 

Which, I hear, was one of the highlights of an already pretty exciting day...

Then the boys walked over to the armory and got to explore military vehicles.  I know my little boys were in HEAVEN!

Look at their happy, little faces.  I love that they had so much fun!

 

 

 

 

The military guys actually took the boys for a ride in this car.  As they pulled away, one boy (not sure who) said, "See you in four years." 

So then camp was over in the afternoon and we went home and passed out!  The next day I got a wild hair and Scott played along...  

We decided to re-organize our store room and rearrange the basement.  This is what it looked like in the beginning.

We started the process at 11 am.  And we had done all we could do by 9:30 pm.   

It's mostly done, just finishing touches left.  Still have to tote off a trailer full of trash.  I weeded out quite a bit of stuff. (mostly toys...  don't tell anyone...)

And ...(here's the Martha Stewart coming out in me) I LOVE our new, completely organized and easily accessible storeroom!  AND...  there are no toys in there, so the boys won't have an excuse anymore to go in there and mess everything up...  right, honey?!?

So, the boys and I are off to Colorado for the week, soon as I can get packed.  Scott's going to join us on Friday and we're going to celebrate his birthday down there.  Looking forward to relaxing a bit...  after the weekend we just had!  I have a spa day on Thursday with my two Colorado cousins and we're going to hit up the scrapbook stores too!  Should be fun.

 

Just in case...

Just in case you doubted that we really do live in BFE, here's photographic evidence to prove it!

I'm off in a little bit, to join my boys at Cub Scout camp.  I hope you have a good, fun Saturday too!

Outside My Window...

  

Outside my window… A muggy, hot summer day.

 

I am thinking… There's a lot, around home, that I'd like to have help doing today...

 

I am thankful for… A weekend at home to do all the stuff mentioned above...

 

From the kitchen… I've been in the mood to cook, but just haven't had the spark to get in the kitchen and do it...

 

I am wearing… New jeans, fitted-orange-cotton shirt and slippers...

 

I am creating… an art clothesline for each boy's bedroom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am going…  to work on forgiveness.

 

I am reading… the most current issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine.

 

I am hoping… for peace and resolution, with the beginning of another school year getting closer and closer...

 

I am hearing… a little known song, recorded by Starland Vocal Band, called From Boulder to Birmingham.

 

Around the house… a complete and utter mess of craft supplies and tools and sawdust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things… fresh tomatoes from my garden and sharing them with our puppies.

 

A few plans for the rest of the week: Knit Night on Thursday and another Cub Scout camp next weekend.

 

Here is picture thought I am sharing:

 

 

A milestone reached.

The New Big Boy Room

Here is it - Will's new bedroom.  I think he really likes it, although it's going to take some time to get used to not having little brother in the room with him.

I've told the boys that while they're out for summer and on the weekends (when school starts up again) they can sleep in each other's bedrooms together if they want.  But on school nights they are to stay in their own rooms.

I wanted to put the armoir in the corner, but Scott wants it at the foot of the bed for future t.v. viewing ease.

We still have to put up the ceiling fan and find an alarm clock with a IPod port. (Dood inherited my IPod when I got a Touch.)  We need to finish the window sill and Scott's going to paint a space mural for above the bed.

In the mean time, Scotty is sad that his bedroom doesn't have a theme.  So I've agreed to create one.  He wants dinosaurs.  I've ordered a couple throw pillows and I'm looking for a dinosaur lamp.  Daddy's going to paint something like this:

It's a T-Rex, which Bee says is his favorite kind of dinosaur, but whimsically painted as to not be so realistic and scary.  Found this one on www.etsy.com at this address:  http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10466736&ref=sr_gallery_1&&ga_search_query=dinosaur+art&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_page=2&order=date_desc&includes[]=tags&includes[]=title and I love it, but sadly all the prints are sold out.  Love all the stuff in this etsy shop! 

So, with that, I think we're set in the boy living arrangements for a few years...  I hope...