Finally Painting & Floors!

We're finally looking like a house!

Here's my green wall! I think I like it, time will tell!

Austin Before And After!

Well, TWO haircuts later this is what my boy looks like!

The first hair cut was a trim of the long shag, but much to Austin's dismay I had him back in the chair for a haircut that his Dad wouldn't say "You paid how much for this?" I think he looks great! He likes it too even though he won't admit it.
So, I had a funny/sad Austin moment yesterday. I was standing in a very long line at Costco and there was this cute little blond boy in the cart ahead of me giving his mom kisses. He was about three years old. In an effort to make casual conversation I mentioned that my boy was turning 14 this month and to enjoy this little boy kissing you in public while you can and then out of no where I am bawling! Tears are coursing down my checks, I'm like a leaky faucet. I apologized to the mom and her mom and they're trying to comfort me. I was so embarrassed. I don't know where that came from. I have a great relationship with Austin and I enjoy my children more now than I did when they were small. I guess somewhere inside me I just really miss my little one's? Or I'm going through the change? Or something? Weird.
I told my family the Costco story that night and after dinner Austin came and smothered me with kisses just like he did when he as a little boy. Except now he's taller than me and picks me up instead of me picking him up. But I still love him just a much now if not more and so enjoyed being smothered with teenage boy kisses! Oh, great, I'm leaking again. Maybe I just need chocolate!

Yet, another kitchen update!

Well, after two mud guys we are ready to paint! In fact we now have the ceilings and upstairs hall and staircase painted but last night I started with my "green" accent and I hated it, so now I'm in a quandary with 3 gallons of green paint.
I am the biggest chicken when it comes to color. I even buy white twinkle lights at Christmas. My children think I'm so boring. I won't say boring.....more like neutral!

April Fools Day!

Pretty nails hu?

Well, let me set this up. Rylee's friend told her she was going to paint her little brothers nails Monday night as an April Fool's joke. Rylee so badly wanted to sleep over to help her friend but being the mean mom that I am and that it's a school night and the little brother in question was only in kindergarten, I told her I'd help her do this to Austin. We waited until we heard Austin's loud steady breathing, snuck in by the light of the Game Boy and he said "What are you doing in my room?" I made up an excuse that we were looking for the Game Boy and left.

We waited.....went back in, this time he's snoring. His hands are under his covers and this time Rylee brought a glow in the dark star that is giving off about as much light as nothing. The cat came in with us, jumps on Austin's bed, we shoo her out, creep back to the bed and hear."Who's in my room?" We freeze. Austin repeats "Who's in my room?" I can't help it, I start snickering. "Mom, what are you doing?" I confess, we're trying to pull and April Fools joke. To which he replies "It's not April yet!" All this time Rylee is hiding under the bed! We slink out and Rylee is crushed. Don't worry, we'll get Dad! He sleeps sounder. We'll James is in a talking mood. It's 10:45 (normally I'm lights out @ 10:00 due to my early alarm @ 5:00) and he's still awake and since I'm awake, he's talking to me. Finally I just whisper. James pretend your asleep and be a good sport! I had to wake up Ry, she'd fallen asleep waiting!

Well, some Dad's are just cooler than other Dads! What can I say? Rylee was thrilled (so if any of Ry's friends are reading this-don't tell her that James was in on it!) Not to mention, he brushed them on his under clothes before they were dry. So we have a lovely white G-shirt with a red stripe down the front!

The best part was we were out of nail polish remover and he had to wear this shade to work and get some paint thinner to remove it. (Ha, ha!)

Austin gave us grief for waking him up and announced that the worst holidays are Aprils Fools and St.Patrick's day. They're just "lame" holidays. (We're still planning on getting him somehow today!)

Easter 2008!

This year I had to talk Kambree & Austin in to dying eggs. The each did one for this photo and Devree and Ry did the other 22!

For James's Birthday this year I bought us tickets to see Terri Fator (fabulous ventriloquist and comedian) in Wendover and an overnight stay @ Day's Inn. He's birthday was February 10th and I scheduled this for March 22nd thinking our kitchen would be finished and we (especially James) would deserve a much needed break! I didn't think to look at the calendar for the following day and take note that it was EASTER! (Who would have guessed the Easter would be MARCH 23rd!!) Our tickets were non-refundable and even though our kitchen is still weeks away from completing we still needed a break so we went! And we had a fabulous time. Our children spent Easter Eve @ my Mom's and then we came home in the morning, hid eggs and set out baskets and called the kids home! (Thank goodness for late church!)

Easter Sunday Outfits!

Two Sisters with Nothing Better To Do On A Saturday Night!

Take note of their makeup.....

One Saturday night, two bored girls, one drawer of Mom's make-up and a digital camera......Priceless!

My big change!

I have changed real estate brokerages!

I'm excited to announce that I am now with Utah Select Realty. As many of you know, I loved my old company but what I really needed was to change things up AND because this is such a big company I'm hoping to find a "real estate girlfriend". I know that might sound dumb but I need to find a REGF to go to meetings, serve on committees and go to convention with. My old company was just so small I didn't have much of an opportunity to rub shoulders with many agents. I'm also excited about what this company can offer me and my clients. They have a fabulous website (utahselectrealty.com) the latest technology and they're located really close to my house! So that's my big change! I'm a little scared (cause I'll miss my old brokers & office manager) but I'm also excited to meet new people and make new friends.

Monday Musings...

So, last night @ 12:50 am a helicopter flew very low over my house and shined it's lights on my street, illuminating the front of my house. I thought perhaps bank robbers were running down the street or hiding in my bushes but since my trusty dog, Ella (the ferocious Shorkie) lay peacefully sleeping between James and me, I knew I was safe. (As she growls if the neighbor's teenagers come home late at night.) But now I was wide awake and I laid there and thought about how I would organize my kitchen cabinets when some glorious day I actually have them installed, and if I were being chased by a helicopter with a huge flood light, how I would hide under a car or better yet the creepy crawl space under my new kitchen. Which then made me panic that burglars or worse murderers were actually in my craw space. But I turned to Ella and again my fears were alleviated. Eventually I fell asleep and had a nightmare that I was in a play and didn't know my lines or entrance or anything. Then my alarm went off to get up and go to the gym.

I cleaned my car and van today. The weather is so beautiful and it's so much better to be outside than looking at the ton's of work (none of it that I am capable of doing) that needs to be done inside my house. I also chopped down my decorative grass bush thing. I should have cut it down in the fall when it was green instead of waiting until it was yellow and razor sharp and cut my arms up. Ouch!

Well, the mud guy isn't here yet. He's a bit flaky, he's only come once and cancelled about four times but I haven't heard from him today so there's hope he may still come.

Oh, another great Monday happening. Apparently the State of Utah (where James works) has to raise our premiums for health insurance. By about $240 a month. Yep, that's two hundred and forty dollars plus the eighty we already pay. BUT they're giving the state employee's a raise to help cover this cost. How nice. James raise will be $40 dollars a month. Nope, not $40 more than the cost of the increase but a flat $40 dollars. There is a serious flaw with the math here. Now, one of the reason's we work for the State (and make peanuts) is solely the fabulous, inexpensive benefits. Now they are no longer inexpensive. Needless to say we're back in the market of looking for James a new job. If you have any suggestions or contact's please send them our way. He has a two year electronic technician degree, works in maintenance for the state, ample sales experience (but he sort of hates that) ton's of home repair experience, driving experience and a lot of plumbing experience but not a journeyman designation. (Long story there that has everything to do with the State misinforming him during his interview that he could work under a journeyman plumber and continue school and get his designation.) Oh, such is life!

Good news is my listing in WVC finally went under contract this weekend! And I'm changing brokerage's this week and will be hanging my shingle with Utah Select Realty.

Here is a picture of my ferocious guard dog!

Kitchen Update!

The mud guy finally came! Hurray!

So I hastily moved out my plywood table and James tools so he could walk around on stilts and mud my ceiling. My kids were impressed with his talent of standing on a bucket and then jumping with the bucket to the next spot.

James hard at work.....again!

Notice our old ceiling or lack of it!

Look Ma! No banisters!

This was the easiest job so far. I advertised our banisters and handrails for free on KSL.com. The only catch was they had to remove them themselves. We had a very nice older man and his wife show up and remove them. Unfortunately, we didn't get any takers on our old parquet floor so I had to bribe my children to pull it up.

And here is our living room, nope we are not remodeling in here but it is now the storage place for all the dining room furniture and boxes and boxes of kitchen paraphernalia.

I have given up on cleaning my house. It's amazing how much more time you have when you just don't clean anymore. I've also taken to wearing shoes more often around the house as I've had to remove way to many microscopic slivers from my feet.

Yet another great family night!

I had another one of my brilliant ideas for Family Night! Pull up the old wood floor in the entry way. No one was excited until I offered to pay 5 cents a plank. (I'm not sure what this is going to cost!)

It's fun to seen them work together but I'm afraid they might injure each other with these hammers and crow bars.

Rylee got lucky at first and started at a spot that popped up easy but now they're down to parts that are glued down better and it's taking some work to pop them up.

Oh, joy. The sub floor is coming up with some of the planks.

Here's proof they CAN work when they want to!