Jack's Gigi Blanket

My mom made David a blanket before he was born that we call his Gigi blanket.  It is his favorite possession.  Like, save from a burning building favorite.  It has had numerous repairs and has had to almost be completely remade because David has loved it so much.  She made Henry a big blanket that fits his twin bed.  He loves his as well, and he gets upset if it's not on his bed and is in the wash.  Jack got his Gigi blanket for his birthday.  He wasn't nearly as excited about it as I was, but he said the next morning that sleeping with it on his bed was like snuggling Gigi all night long.  :)

This is the detail of his quilt.  

I love the puzzle pattern!

My favorite part?

The signature.

Thank you Gigi!

Turkey Meatballs

We had spaghetti and meatballs for Jack's birthday dinner, and the meatballs were my favorite that I've ever made.  Meatballs are one go-to meat dish that all of my boys will eat.  I like to keep some frozen so we can just pull them out and add a veggie for an instant, quick dinner.  I'm glad I made lots of these yesterday, so we've got a big freezer bag of them ready to go.  (Hopefully when Chris and I travel to Katie's country!)  This recipe is quick and easy, low cost and few ingredients.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1

lb ground turkey

1/2

cup bread crumbs (I like to use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs or panko)

1/4

cup milk

1/2

teaspoon salt

1/2

teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4

teaspoon pepper

1

small onion, finely chopped (1/4 cup) (I omit this and add some onion powder because Christopher hates onions.)

1

egg

Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil - spray foil with cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients.  Shape into balls (about the size of a ping pong ball).  Bake for 20 minutes.  

Happy 4th Birthday Jack!

How is possible that this little smooshy has turned four years old?  

Look at those tiny babies!
We celebrated on his actual birthday with a couple of gifts and a small cake.  He was very, very excited to be 4.  I'm not sure what he thought would happen once he turned 4, but he couldn't wait.

We had his birthday party yesterday.  It was the cheapest, easiest, lowest stress party I have ever done.  And I loved it.  We just had our family over, and Jack and Henry both told me it was the best birthday party ever.  We had spaghetti and meatballs, salad, and yummy bread, and I made a chocolate pirate cake.  We had some balloons and just enjoyed each other's company.  No ponies.  No crazy invitations.  Not millions of children running around.  No mess to clean up after.  It was wonderful.

Henry made a sign that says, "Happy 4th Brithday!"

He also painted Jack a picture of Jack.  It is perfect, and we will hang it next to Jack's bed.

Our decorations were just balloons that we hung all over the house and on the porch outside.  Balloons make everything feel like a party.

Jack is big into Pirates of the Caribbean right now, so David dressed as a pirate.  That's his mean pirate face.  Can't you tell?

I made a "pirate" cake.  It was the easiest cake I've ever made.  I used toys we had on the top.  The "sand" is graham cracker crumbs.  

This was my favorite gift!  A Gigi blanket from my mom.  It's fabulous!

I LOVE this photo!

Jack had a great birthday.
I cannot wait to see what 4 years old brings for this little wild man!

It's Breakfast Time!

Next up on our remodel list?  Our breakfast room.  This is what it looks like now.

We haven't painted since we moved in.  We have replaced the light fixture and painted the globe lights.  We replaced the back door also.  We have also had a leaky roof.  This caused some issues with the drywall, so that was all the motivation we needed to do some remodeling.  So these are some things I'm thinking of doing

I love this board and batten with the molding ledge.  Our ceiling in the breakfast room is bead board, so we will either do bead board or a board and batten on the walls.  I want it to be about four feet tall, and we have an eight inch baseboard, so it will be high.  The ceiling in that room is twelve feet at the highest (it's slanted) so I think the scale needs to be tall.  I love this grey color too, but not for the breakfast room.  I would love to do this color in our master bedroom.

I love, love, love this color.  

I like this one too, but I think it's a little too celery-ish.  

I would love to remove two of our chairs and put an upholstered banquette piece under the windows.  We have a perfect couch in my office that I can have if we find a replacement for the lobby.  

I love the look of this.  

I adore this - framed family recipes.  I have several of my grandmother and great grandmother's cookbooks with hand written recipes.  I will be doing this.

House Goals for 2012

You may remember this post where I listed all of our to-do things for our house.  Um, it's a long freaking list.  Let's review and see what's been done.  I've added new goals (re-wrote immediate goals) in red, which I hope to finish this year:

Kitchen

• Paint
• Backsplash
• Install garbage disposal
• Under cabinet lighting
• Secure toe kick trim
• Finish restoring island
• Flip laundry room door to open into Laudry room
• Stainless fridge?
• Farm sink?

Breakfast Room

• Install bead board and trim
• Repair cracks in wall
• Paint
• Paint hutch
• Farm table
• Repair threshold
• Replace chandelier light fixture
• Paint globe light fixtures
• Repair/Replace cracked window
• Fix leak in roof.  Again.
• Replace back door?
• Add storm or screen door
• Upholstered seating on one side of table?

Living room

• Weather strip for door
• Paint vents
• Repair phone jack
• Hide cords
• Touch up crown molding
• Drop leaf table
• Find another drum table for the other side of the couch
• Reupholster chair cushions.  Or just get rid of the couch.
• Replace coffee table with ottoman or more appropriate table.
• Family tree art/project 
• Hang silver trays

Dining room

• Paint vent covers
• Install crowm molding
• Rug?
• Recover chairs
• Replace light fixture

Master Bedroom

• Paint
• Build out closet
• New bedding
• Paint wardrobe
• Artwork
• Do something with the fireplace surround.  Paint?  Strip?  Tile?
• Repair floor by window
• Replace window pane.  (Ahem, Chris. . . )

Entry/Staircase/Computer landing

• Hang mirror or artwork by front door
• Reupholster bench.  Or get rid of it.
• Bookcase under stairs
• Paint
• Replace doorbell
• Small rug for computer area
• Address chandelier. . . clean crystals, replace bulbs, clean fixture without killing myself.  Or replace with a larger fixture.
• Replace attic ladder with a metal ladder.
• Paint ceiling.

Small downstairs hall

• Paint
• Make shelving a bookcase
• Paint inside wall of bookcase
• Replace light fixture

Playroom

• Paint
• New curtains
• Organize closet
• Clean rug
• Recover loveseat (replaced it instead)
• Make/Hang chalkboard
• Add another bookcase or costume storage
• Hang art display system
• Clean out/donate books

Boys' room

• Paint
• Organize closet
• Add a dresser
• Hang photos or art
• Update photo collages
• Matching bedding
• Bedskirt for David's bed
• Rug?
• Hang wall lighting
• Replace overhead fixture?

Guest room

• Address fireplace.  Convert to gas? (We've decided to leave it as is right now - I don't think a gas fireplace and a five year old developmentally delayed child are the best combination in a bedroom.)
• Strip/paint/tile/something fireplace surround.  We cleaned this up, and I think we're leaving it as is for now.  We need to secure the screen, and call it a day.
• Hang mirror or art over fireplace
• Clean transom
• Paint
• Curtains
• New bedding?
• Rug?
• Art?
• Closet shelving and hanging system
• Lampshade for black lamp
• Cushion or pillows for window seat
• Add crown molding
• Fix loose outlets

Laundry room

• Cabinets over washer and dryer
• Add a cabinet for linen storage
• Paint
• Hanger for brooms, etc.
• Reroute pump to outside
• Install back door
• Clean/paint light fixtures

Patio

• Rug
• Figure out the light.  Make it work.
• Paint concrete?
• Rework the seating to make it more of an outdoor room
• New patio furniture
• Paint the flower stand.  Or love it the way it is.
• Paint candle holder/lantern thingy
• Add a stair?
• Add concrete planters?
• Hang flower holders
• Window box

Exterior

• Side the remainder of the house.  Yikes.
• Paint.
• Repair trim above front windows
• Replace upstairs windows
• Gutter/French drain system
• Reinsulate crawl space
• Repair loose roof panel(s)
• Pressure wash porch
• Paint porch floor, stairs, and rails
• Re-do porch columns?
• Replace front light
• Clean weeds off of front of house
• Make crawl space opening larger
• Clean/paint lattice under porch. 
• Trim out lattice
• Add back door to laundry room

Yard

• Fence back yard
• Cut down tree?
• Massive yard clean up
• Remove kennel after fencing is put up
• Weed killer on front walk  This will be an on-going project.
• Prune bushes
• Plant a garden
• Add two more bushes along the side of the porch
• Rip out three small ugly bushes near patio.
• Rip out two little trees in island area.
• Electricity to the shed?

Dream List/Far in the Future

• Build a detached garage
• Finish the attic and add another 1000+ square feet
• Add a second bathroom

2011 - The Highlight Reel

2011 was a great year for the Simpsons!

Let's take a look at the highlight reel, shall we?

In January Jack turned three and had a superhero party.

We also changed our breakfast room light from brothel to classy.

In February, Chris and I took a trip to Ikea in Atlanta and Ikea-fied our playroom.

In March, David turned seven.

That is still unbelievable to me, and now he's almost eight!

We also redid our hallway bookcase so it's more like a built in than a shoved in.

We also replaced the hall light with a fantastic light that used to hang in my great grandmother's house in New Jersey.

In April, Henry turned six.

Again, seriously?  Six?  Didn't I just bring him home from the hospital?

We had a joint birthday party for David and Henry.

Our first joint party ever, and probably not our last.

In May, we replaced our back door with a new one.

We also got two scary (at the time) diagnoses about David, and started seeing our amazing Ms. Dana, which was the start to a new way of life for him and really for all of us.  We've all come a long way since then.  In a good way.

We also painted some of the playroom, but I wasn't brave enough to paint the whole thing!  I'm really glad I didn't, because I love it with just one wall done.

I also made a chalkboard out of a hideous Goodwill painting.

In June, we added a screen door to the back door.

We planted some flowers, and prettied up the patio a bit.

We also replaced the glass in our front door from a so-not-my-style-stained-glass to a simple piece of clear glass.

We also announced that we were starting the process of adopting a little girl!  

In July, my obsession with our outside plantings continued.

We started the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol, and have been doing it ever since.

We also started our adoption blog, The Simpson Six and officially committed to adopt this sweet girl.

In August we painted the guest room.

David and Henry started their new school.

We also started Coins for Katie, which has been the most amazing experience for our family.

It has taught us more about people than we could have ever anticipated.

We had a fundraiser yard sale (and lemonade sale!) and raised over $1,500 for our adoption expenses.

In September, I came out of my cake retirement for a very special girl.

I also redid a lamp from my mother-in-law's basement.

In October, the boys ran their first race, and our amazing friends raised over $1,500 for Katie.

Also in October, Henry got glasses.

And David got an IEP.

We also carved some pumpkins and got our trick or treat on!

In November, I gave thanks.  For a lot.

I got some old silver and made a burlap wreath.

We ate some turkey and had much for which we were thankful.

In December, we went to Opryland with Gigi and Henry was in a play.

We made gingerbread cookies, and we decked the halls.

We had an amazing Christmas, and David and Henry can both ride their bikes with no training wheels!

Jack still needs his training wheels, but he does so well!

We have been very blessed this year - we've had good health, great friends, and amazing support on our adoption journey.  We hope 2012 brings our sweet girl home to us.

Best wishes to you and your family for a healthy, happy, safe 2012.

I'm linked up to Southern Hospitality,  Tatertots and Jell-o, The Blooming Hydrangea, and Thrifty Decor Chick.