The Real Housewife of Bedford County

Coins for Katie Add Up!

2012-02-01T05:53:00.001-06:00

This is our Coins for Katie jar at home.

It's an old dog treat container that I've taped a 5x7 photo of her onto.

And added a hair bow.

To give you an idea of the scale, this is the jar next to a coffee cup.

This is what it looked like last night.

Chris and I counted it and rolled it, and there was over $140 in there!

The entire premise of Coins for Katie is that a little bit of change goes a long way. Well, all of the change - literally pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters - we have collected has totaled over $5,000.00 so far. FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! That is money that people literally sometimes throw away, drop on the street and don't pick up, lose in the floor of their car. . . I could go on and on. $5,000! And we have about 25 cups still out there!

When we started this adoption process, Katie's family sponsorship grant through Reece's Rainbow had $87.49. Some kids have $10,000 plus. We didn't pick her because her grant total was appealing - we picked her because she is supposed to be our girl. We didn't have the amazing amount of money needed to adopt her in our savings account. We had a modest amount, but nowhere near the total. Chris' exact words to me were, "I want to do this, but how will we afford it?" We are a single income family with three children, one of whom has special needs and therapies not covered by our health insurance. We certainly make enough money and have a lifestyle that is conducive to one income, but not one income when we are also looking at spending tens of thousands of dollars on adoption. I told Chris that if we were on the same page with the adoption, not to worry about the money - I would make it happen somehow. And we will! We are so close I can taste it. In less than almost exactly 4 months, from August to December, we raised over $20,000. I am so proud of our family and friends. When I think about it I get butterflies in my stomach.

And now we will get to meet our girl, in what could be just a few short weeks. If you have Coins for Katie change you have collected for us, we would like to have you send it to us either through our FSP link on Reece's Rainbow, through paypal directly to us, or by a check in the mail so we have that money for our first trip.

Thank you so much for helping us bring Katie home!

Jack's Gigi Blanket

2012-01-25T20:57:00.000-06:00

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

2012-01-22T08:15:00.001-06:00

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!

2012-01-22T08:04:00.002-06:00

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!

2012-01-20T20:54:00.000-06:00

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

2012-01-01T08:18:00.002-06:00

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

2011-12-31T16:15:00.002-06:00

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.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-31T08:33:00.000-06:00

I hope you had a great Christmas! We sure did. We don't have a huge extended family here in Tennessee - just my parents, Chris' parents, and my sister, her boyfriend, and his child - so everyone comes to our house for most holidays. Which I love. It's no secret that I love to have a party, and any time I have people over I consider it a party!

Christmas Eve I actually got all five of us dressed and out the door to church. On time! In fact, we were the first people there. I was quite impressed with ourselves. The boys did such a good job. There was a very small baby in the pew behind us. The first time he made any noise Jack said (not quietly), "AH! I just KNEW the Baby Jesus would be here tonight!"

After church we came home and everyone was at our house! We had fabulous food - just a buffet style - with seafood Newburgh, lots of yummy dips, appetizers, and desserts. We let each of the boys open one present on Christmas Eve, and they were of course very excited. David wanted Henry to open a special gift that David had picked and wrapped for him. He did such a great job wrapping it.

My favorite part? "To Henry S."

Unfortunately for Henry S., it was my iPad. Maybe next year David will pick something that Henry S. can actually keep.

The rest of the gifts they opened were great. And the boys were maybe not the only people who were excited with their gifts. . . Nothing says Christmas Eve like a good light saber fight.

The boys went to bed relatively easily on Christmas Eve, which really surprised me because they were very excited for Santa. We wrote him a note, got some cookies and milk ready, and went right to bed. After they were in bed, Santa came and brought presents for them, as well as for Katie. You can read on The Simpson Six about what Katie got from Santa - girlfriend got a bunch of goodies!

And of course I had my slipcovers off of the sofas!

I love the Christmas trees at night with no other lights on.

They were SO excited Christmas morning. Chris' parents spent the night, and I could hear the boys in the guest room waking them up at about 5:30 in the morning. Chris and I stayed in bed until they came down, and then they opened their stockings. They were so loud and excited to see what Santa brought them!

This "big Indiana Jones" was by far Jack's favorite gift.

It's about the size of a Barbie.

And was a used toy from Craigslist for $8.

(Which was a fantastic deal, because the same one on Amazon is over $40.)

The stockings were my favorite part about Christmas gifts when I was little.

And, um, still are.

Santa had a moment of crazy and brought slide whistles.

Three of them.

Bad move Santa. Bad move.

Since Katie isn't here yet to open her gifts, Henry and Jack did.

David is a big fan of the crazy straw glasses Santa brought.

And we played some serious games.

Monopoly and Battleship were two that we got this year.

David is a little Monopoly real estate mogul.

Jack likes to watch.

And tell people how to play.

Henry got a video camera for Christmas, and he loves it.

He's been recording movies and following us around with his camera so he can capture anything exciting we might do.

They got snack sets (plates, bowls, and cups) that they can design.

You draw your design on the templates that came with the sets then send them in to Crayola and they print it on your dishes and send it back.

Henry was ON that project.

I have more Christmas pictures for another post, but must get started taking down my Christmas decorations!

It's Official.......

2011-12-24T08:30:00.001-06:00

.......David has cancelled Christmas Eve. Let the festivities begin!

Christmas Decorations.

2011-12-18T11:26:00.000-06:00

I have finally gotten around to taking some Christmas pictures. I have been so busy this month - it has flown by, and I cannot believe that Christmas is in one week.

This is our tree in our entry way.

It has one of my favorite Christmas ornaments as the topper.

David made this poinsettia out of a paper plate four years ago in preschool, and I love it.

Like, would take it out of a burning house love it.

I put it up high each year so nobody can ruin it, because that's how we roll.

This is the playroom tree.

I put no ornaments on this that I love, because they would get broken. Annually.

This beauty got an upgrade this year with a bigger tree.

Ghosts of Christmas past. . .

Christmas 2007
Look at those babies!

Christmas 2008

Evidently we skipped the photo version of 2009. . . this was 2010's playroom tree.

That little tree has been moved to the guest room.

It's on the window seat, and next year I'm going to try to finagle some sort of pot or planter box for it.

Henry decorated this tree. He clearly does not subscribe to the "less is more" theory of decorating.

This is our living room tree, which is our biggest tree.

We wanted to cut it down this year.

But we bought it at a farm stand instead. . . close enough.

This is probably my favorite tree ever. Which I think I say every year.

This is one of my favorites!
We got this in Lake George six years ago.

This is a new one this year! It's a R*****n building, in honor of Katie's country.

Also a new one - a Matroyshka doll, for our girl Katie Ruth.

Love this one!

This is one of my favorites.
One of my old managers from the Gap gave it to me about 10 years ago, and I love it.
It's heavy and simple.
And always hung up high.

My sweet little H and his fingerprint wreath.

And his Christmas elf photo from four years ago in preschool.
Every time he sees this he says, "I was grumpy that day at school," which cracks me up.

And one of my favorite parts of Christmas. . . the Christmas cards!

I got this little bird at an ornament swap last week.
I brought a Matroyshka doll and brought this home.
I LOVE it. It reminds me of my Grammy Chet's tree.

Our nutcrackers. We get new ones each year.
Bonus - this year we haven't broken any!

My favorite decorations this year! And they were free!
When we bought our tree I asked if I could buy some clippings. They told me just to take them.
I shoved some floral foam in the wall planters and poked the clippings in until they looked full.
I pulled my dead plants out of the urns and shoved the clippings in the dirt until they looked the way I wanted them to. I love the final look!
(And the screen door is getting new screen and getting stained. . . it will be back better than new!)

Gingerbread Cookies

2011-12-18T09:43:00.002-06:00

This is the recipe I use for gingerbread cookies - it looks complicated, but it's really not. Make sure you chill your dough well. And I roll mine out on a piece of food grade vinyl that I used for cakes, which makes clean up SIMPLE. I put a piece of wax paper on top and roll over that. Easy peasy, and no messy clean up.

Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

6 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup molasses
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Sift together the flour, baking powder, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon; set aside.
In a medium bowl, mix together the shortening, molasses, brown sugar, water, egg, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients, until they are completely absorbed. Divide dough into 3 pieces, pat down to 1 1/2 inch thickness, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. When the cookies are done, they will look dry, but still be soft to the touch. Remove from the baking sheet to cool on wire racks. When cool, the cookies can be frosted with the icing of your choice.

Tuesday Twelve.....On Sunday

2011-12-13T06:01:00.004-06:00

1. Henry Loves a Christmas list. With a capital "L". He makes them all year long. This is the one he made on the computer this weekend. For someone who regularly gets 108% on his spelling tests, we have some issues. . . like "gingerbread dool" and "ordmint" (which is ornament). And really? "Sante". Commonly known as Santa. Bless him. He loves some Sante. (And this Lego Ninjago business? Ugh. They are all obsessed.)

2. Henry also loves to help and to bake as much as he loves Sante. It's his turn to bring the class snack on Wednesday, and we made cookies together this weekend. For four hours. I may have met my baking match.

David popped in to cut some out, but he really would rather just eat the dough.

3. Henry also played with the neighbor, J, this weekend. He and David went to his house for a few minutes, then came tearing home on their bikes. They were all excited and told me that J "wanted to have a sass war" and that he was saying ugly things. I told them to just stay home. A few minutes later Henry was walking out the back door again with a piece of paper in his hands that had a piece of tape at the top. I asked him what it was and he tried to hide it. He said it was for J. I made him give it to me and it said, "Dear J>>>, From, your nabors. You are a Jack ask." I took the note and left the room. So I could crack up in private.

4. We went to Opryland Hotel this weekend to see the Christmas lights. I should have taken a Xanax before we left. There were so. many. people there. We went to dinner after, and we didn't eat until 9:00 at night. My kids are in bed by 7:30 every night! They were so, so well behaved. Especially David, who literally slept on my lap through dinner.

5. I wrapped six Christmas presents last night. . . and none of them were from the stash in my trunk that I drive around with every single day. Oops. I need to get moving on those.

6. My office Christmas party is Friday night. I love our office, and we have great Christmas parties. We all have a lot of fun together, and the food is always great. And everyone is ridiculously generous and loves to give nice presents, so we get great gifts. I get excited just thinking about it. And Chris and I never get to go our without our children, so it's a lot of fun for us.

7. My key lime cupcakes from last week? They were delicious. I will post the recipe in a different post.

8. The gingerbread cookies we made? Also fabulous. I'll post that recipe as well.

Henry was very, very excited to bring them to school.

9. We got the boys' school pictures. They're bad. Henry's individual pictures are OK. David's? He looks like he wants to kill someone. However, I ordered them because he will only be in second grade once. I ordered everyone's with a white background so I can hang them together and they don't look ridiculous. So much for that idea. David's came with a large black smudge in the printing on the white background. So I called the company and explained the situation. They said it was likely in the printing and sent me a new set. They were delivered yesterday and are EXACTLY THE SAME. I called them back, and told them I wanted a refund. They said I could, but that I had to send the pictures (both sets) back to them. Um, no. I've already cut up the first set and sent some with Christmas cards! They have a smudge, but they're the only pictures we've got. I ended up talking to a supervisor and have to send the second set back and they've refunded my money. If the pictures didn't go on the yearbook pages, etc. I would never order them from school. They're always terrible! And we got Henry's class picture . . . with the wrong name. They're supposed to send me a corrected version. What the hell? I paid over $100 for bad pictures.

10. I had three cups of coffee and three cookies for breakfast today. Oops.

11. The kids had Christmas stuff at school this week. Henry had a Gingerbread play, and he was hilarious. It was so, so cute. They have breakfast with Santa at school on Tuesday, and then they're out until after Christmas. I'm ready for a break from homework and packing lunches.

(And, as my own personal observation side note, I was so glad to see that the little girls in his class were all dressed in age appropriate clothing. I cannot stand a slutty looking six year old, and there were none. Lots of cute cotton dresses, sweaters, leggings, etc. That made me happy.)

12. The boys painted dreidels this morning. We're not Jewish. Is that weird?

Tuesday Twelve

2011-12-06T03:33:00.001-06:00

1. This little bugger has turned into quite a reader. I snapped this photo while we were reading a Flat Stanley book, and David was absolutely cracking up.

I so wish there wasn't a glare on H's face!

2. We went to the Shelbyville Christmas Parade over the weekend. Where Jack proceeded to dance in the street to every passing band. And pee in the street, pants around his ankles, when he had to go. What?! I snatched that little naked booty up as fast as I could and brought him between the cars. I think we need to work on where it's acceptable to pee outside and where it's not. Like, say for instance, at a parade. Just an example.

3. We've done some decorating for Christmas. Did you know I have a nativity obsession? I love them. Interesting, since I'm not particularly religious, but I just love them. I have seven I think. I seem to get a new one (or new to me, as I've really only ever gotten one *new* one) each year. Jack is o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d with baby Jesus. And likes to give him gifts, such as stuffed mushrooms and Indiana Jones.

4. We went to the Christmas tree lighting in our tiny town on Friday. It's pot luck. For the entire town. Yes, I'm serious.

The boys were really enjoying the candles.

I was terrified they would set themselves or someone else on fire.

They just wanted to blow them out and relight them.

123098324102983741 times.

Shortly after that angelic photo was snapped, Santa rolled up. Pulled in his "sleigh" by a man dressed head to toe in camouflage riding a 4-wheeler. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'm guessing that the entrance is what prompted David to loudly proclaim, "That Santa's a FAKE!" Just a guess. David did sit with Santa to have his photo taken. And apparently you can purchase them, but I have no idea how or who to contact because it was a random woman with a camera and a little crumpled up yellow piece of paper taking the photos and names. But no phone numbers. I have no hopes that I'll ever get the picture. Santa wanted Jack to sit next to him and David to sit on his knee (seem odd to anyone else?). David passed on that. And sat on Jack instead. I quickly yanked Jack out from underneath David's rear end, while standing on a hay bale that was used to climb up to Santa's "sleigh", and fell through the crack in the hay bales. Santa watched and said, "Ho, ho! Your mother seems to have fallen." WTF Santa? Give a girl a hand. David sat next to Santa and said, "This is the first year I've sat with you. Did you know that?" Santa said no, like a dumb ass, and David quickly replied, "TOLD YOU! You're fake." This whole magic of Christmas business is quickly coming to light with that little smarty.

5. OK so I love Christmas decorations. I have up four trees - one in our entry (first photo), one in the playroom (second photo), one in the guest room (third photo) and one in the living room (no photo). We have several other smaller potted trees all throughout the house. We were going to cut our main tree down on Saturday. I suggested, as we walked out the door, that Chris just call to verify the tree farm is open. Oh it will be - in 2012. Just a marketing thought - they may want to include that on their WEBSITE! Instead, we went to a farm stand and picked a tree. And David swore we were going to cut it down. Not sure how he didn't put it together that just a few months ago we purchased ferns from the very spot the Christmas trees were growing through the concrete, but whatever. So we've put our tree up and Jack has only broken two ornaments. Not bad since it's only been up for 48 hours. At this rate there will be none left by December 26th.

6. We overdosed on Santa this weekend. We went to Bell Buckle to a pottery place for some paint your own pottery fun. Clearly, as I brought three boys under the age of 8 into a store where every.single.thing is breakable, I use the "paint your own pottery fun" phrase sarcastically. Jack, little lothario that he is, macked on the girl who works there the entire time we were there. He asked her to bring him to go potty. Um, not happening. When we left he had to "just tell her one more important fing." He turned around, stuck his head in the door, and yelled, "I LOVE YOU!"

7. After pottery, we chased all of our children as they ran in different directions, acting like they never go out in public and it was the first time they ever saw anything outside of the walls of their home and I wondered why the hell I don't force them all into some sort of enormous triple stroller that I push while drinking Jack Daniels from a flask I hide in my coat strolled around Bell Buckle and enjoyed the old fashioned Christmas.

There were carolers. And David asked, not quietly, WHY ARE THEY DRESSED LIKE THAT?! They were really great, and Jack sang along.

We took a carriage ride driven by Santa and his horse.

David looks thrilled to be with me.

8. I have two more Christmas gifts to purchase. And lots to wrap. We have literally three closets, and nowhere to store Christmas presents. Please don't steal my car, because you will steal my children's Christmas. Each of the gifts that is not wrapped, which is all of them but 1 - let's be honest, is in the trunk of my car. Every night I'm going to wrap them. . .

9. My office does limited work hours for the support staff during the two weeks of Christmas and New Year's. Because let's be honest - not many people file for divorce the week before Christmas. I *have* to work two days. I plan to work more because I want to finish year end stuff just in case we travel to Katie's country in January. One of the days I have to work? Like literally have to because the other girls will be out of town? They day of the breakfast with Santa at school. Sometimes I hate being a grown up.

10. Speaking of work, I am so, so stressed about it right now. Finishing the year end stuff, reconciling all of the accounts, finishing up my book keeping, getting things taken care of with limited available court days - it stresses me out to the max. Like, as in I've been up since 1:00 this morning stress.

11. I'm trying a Key Lime Pie cupcake recipe for Friday. They were the cupcakes requested by my boss for his birthday. I am excited to try them - I think they'll be great.

12. Our dossier has been sent to Katie's country for translation! YAHOO! Don't get too excited. It will probably be at least another two months before we go to see her. :(

Have a great Tuesday!

And the Oscar Goes To. . .

2011-11-28T20:37:00.001-06:00

This little star found out today that he got a part in the school play.

What part, you may ask?

Oh yes - he will be an Oompa Loompa.

I. Love. This.

I cannot explain to you how happy it makes my heart that he even tried out.

David could not, until this year, get through a school performance (Christmas, Veteran's day, etc.) without squeezing his eyes tightly shut and clamping his hands over his ears. He would not go to a loud birthday party. He would freeze outside of a Christmas party and hide under a table.

And he tried out for the play.

And he GOT A PART!

Is the the star of the show?

No. But he is trying. And that is all that matters.

He has the confidence and the desire to try to be a part of it.

He's not afraid it will be too loud or that people will look at him.

He's not afraid to be part of the group.

He wants to be part of the group and to be with his friends.

Friends he made all by himself - not friends who were the children of my friends.

This boy has come a long, long way, and I am so incredibly proud of him.

Prediction: I will cry like a baby to see him perform on stage in his play!

Thanksgiving Goodies

2011-11-27T19:38:00.001-06:00

I made two new recipes for Thanksgiving. I'm not quite sure why, but I like to try new recipes when I'm having a group of people over to eat. . . so far so good, although it's admittedly a risky thing to do. What can I say? I live on the edge!

The first one I made was Nutter Butter Nutella Pie. Um, yum!

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest, which seems to be where I find everything I want to do, make, eat, wear, and decorate with. This is super easy to make, and you can find the recipe at tastykitchen.com.

The second recipe was a total last minute decision. Because I tasted some the day before Thanksgiving and knew I had to make it! It was Paula Deen's white chocolate key lime mousse pie. A mouthful, I know. And a weird combination, but it totally works!

This is not difficult, but is more laborious than the Nutella pie. I would say this is a medium skilled dessert, merely because there are more steps. It's yummy though, and worth a shot! The recipe can be found at the Food Network website.

Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-25T07:52:00.001-06:00

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

We sure did.

David was obsessed with eating a turkey leg.

Well he got one. . .

I'm not sure how much of it he really ate, but he was all about it.

We had a wonderful day with our family here, and too much good food.

And Henry learned to ride his bicycle with no training wheels!!!

I hope you had a wonderful day.

Now. . . time to get those Christmas decorations out.

Giving Thanks - Day 23

2011-11-25T07:50:00.001-06:00

Day 23. . . I'm thankful for our sweet Ms. Dana, David's OT. She loves David and has helped him, and our whole family, so much. We are lucky to have our Ms. Dana!

Give Thanks, Day 22

2011-11-23T05:42:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for my parents.

Every day I'm thankful for them, but let's make it public.

They have always been my biggest supporters, even when I'm sure they doubted I was making the best decision.

They showed me by example how to be good parents.

You know how people say things like, "I will NEVER do like my parents did"? I don't say that.

If I am as good a parent to my children as my parents were to me, I'll be lucky.

My parents moved over 1,000 from the only city they had ever lived in to Tennessee to live closer to my children, their only grandchildren.

They do crazy things with my children like play Indiana Jones for hours, make endless water balloons, drive around on the lawnmower, push Jack up and down the backyard in a stroller when he's "playing baby", dissect a mouse with David "because he wanted to see its brain" (and catch more mice and FREEZE THEM so they can do it again!!!), and have sleepovers pretty much any time my children ask for one.

They will babysit at the drop of a hat, and are so supportive of our decision to adopt Katie.

I am so glad they are my parents, and I am thankful for them every day.

Give Thanks, Day 21

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-06:00

Today (and every day) I am thankful I am able to be the mama of these boys.

They are the best thing that has ever happened to me.

They make me want to be a better person.

They make me have more fun and laugh harder than I ever have.

They make me proud every single day.

They make me smile so hard my face hurts.

They make my heart full.

They make me give thanks.

Give Thanks, Day 20

2011-11-20T20:18:00.001-06:00

Today I'm thankful for Edy's Grand Peppermint ice cream.

It is one of my absolute favorite things about the holiday season.

And I'm thankful for Becky Clerkin, who got me hooked on it about 12 years ago!

I'm also thankful Henry is my constant crafting buddy.

That boy loves an art project.

Or "arts and craps" as he used to say!

Today he made this Santa candle holder out of an old jelly jar (which I never throw away now, because it's an instant project for him when he's bored - I keep all of my glass jars), paint, a piece of felt, a few cotton balls, and a glue gun.

He said it's for Santa, and he's going to leave it out on Christmas Eve.

I told him that I don't think Santa can take glass gifts in his sleigh because they may fly out.

I think we'll make one for his teacher.

If she reads this, I hope she acts surprised.

And we'll be *borrowing* Santa's until Christmas Eve.

Give Thanks, Day 19

2011-11-20T20:05:00.001-06:00

Today I'm thankful for something old.

Old silver from my grandmother and great grandmother.

I spent a couple of hours shining it up and getting it ready for Thanksgiving.

Paired with the linens I got from my parents that also belonged to my grandmother and/or great grandmother, our Thanksgiving will certainly be one full of tradition and family memories. Just the way I like it.

I'm also thankful for ~~the biggest time sucker known to man~~ Pinterest.

Without it, how else would I have known I wanted a wreath made of burlap and an old coat hanger?

Who knew. I'm thankful I have one now.

And with two more yards of burlap, I'll have another to match!

Give Thanks, Day 18

2011-11-20T20:01:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for a flexible job that allows me to go to school activities, like Thanksgiving lunch.

I'm thankful for our boys' school, which so encourages parent involvement

and has such fun activities.

And I'm thankful my loves still want me to eat lunch with them.

Give Thanks - Day 17

2011-11-20T19:49:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful I decided to move to Tennessee. It was the best decision I have ever made. And likely the most impulsive. I love everything about living here (except maybe the sales tax!), and I have never looked back. Tennessee sounds good to me!

Giving Thanks - Day 16

2011-11-16T21:13:00.001-06:00

Today, I'm thankful for gouda cheese. Yes, I said it. We have a client at work who sent a lovely package to our office as a thank you. It has the biggest wheel of gouda cheese I have ever seen. And, I kid you not, it is the best cheese I have ever put in my mouth. It is from Holland. I will never again be able to eat gouda cheese from the grocery story - it will have to come from Holland. It is divine! And I likely need to go to gouda anonymous.

Giving Thanks - Day 15

2011-11-16T05:29:00.001-06:00

Ugh, day 15. For day 15 I am thankful I'm not a single mother who works full-time. Chris had to go to a funeral Tuesday and spent the majority of the day with the family, at the service, et cetera. My father very generously stayed with Jack from about 10:00 until I got home from work. David and Henry came home, and apparently David got quite upset that his play-doh snake (which, if I know David, was about 4 feet long) was so skinny it kept breaking when he would try to carry it. He had a melt.down. My poor father - if you've never experienced a meltdown that David can have that lasts an hour or more, it's not fun. I left work an hour early when I realized that the tantrum was epic. I calmed him down, then had to help with homework, get dinner made and served, marginally clean up after dinner, get them to boy scouts (where Chris met us), play with Jack on the church playground for a few minutes, get a snack for Henry to bring to school, bring Jack home, clean up, get Jack ready for bed, read stories, do sticker chart, and get him settled. Then David and Henry came home from scouts and we did it all over again. I ended up falling asleep in David's bed while I snuggled him! So for day 15 I am thankful that I'm not a full-time working single mama. And in awe of how those parents can keep it together without losing their minds.

Giving Thanks - Day 14

2011-11-14T20:27:00.001-06:00

Today I'm thankful for windows open in mid-November and fresh air blowing through our house. Life in the South is good!

Giving Thanks - Day 13

2011-11-14T20:25:00.001-06:00

For day 13, I am thankful for being on the same page with my husband. We are a good team, and that makes life easier. We had an incident with a boy in the neighborhood today, and Chris and I were totally on the same page with how to deal with it and what we wanted to do. . . . I like it when that happens!

Giving Thanks, Day 12

2011-11-13T13:12:00.001-06:00

Day 12, I'm thankful for my friends.

The group in this shot, who are the people from my office, helped us to raise nearly $7,000 in one day. Specifically, in a two hour period. They are amazing. They spent their Saturday morning waiting tables and serving pancakes to help us bring Katie home. I have been extremely lucky to have made some incredible friends throughout my life, and that has never been more apparent to me. So on Day 12 I am thankful for my friends - the friends that I've had for 30 years, and the friends that I've had for three years. I truly feel like I make friends wherever I go, and I have managed to surround myself with some amazing people. So as they say on the Golden Girls, thank you for being a friend!

Giving Thanks, Day 11

2011-11-13T13:10:00.001-06:00

Day 11, I'm thankful for a deal!

We got this entire shopping cart of food for our pancake breakfast for $370. We had an anonymous donor give us $500 for the food, and we were so fortunate to spend less than that, thanks to some savvy shopping and GFS!

Giving Thanks - Day 10

2011-11-10T21:09:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for our new school for the boys.

It is a school that challenges them academically and encourages their whole educational experience.

They have creative teachers and administrators.

They have made my sweet boy feel at home.

Today was the first school program ever where David didn't cover his ears or hide his face. And I'm talking since pre-school. Ever. I am so proud of him. He has worked so, so hard and has come so far. Not only did he not want to melt into the floor, he LOVED participating. Loved it! He demonstrated his science project to a gym full of parents and children. He sang his little heart out at a Veterans Day program. He loves this school. And for that, I am thankful.

Giving Thanks - Day 9

2011-11-10T21:08:00.001-06:00

I am thankful for our house.

This is the house we waited for.

It is the house we will stay in until our children are grown.

It is most definitely home.

Giving Thanks - Day 8

2011-11-08T20:06:00.003-06:00

Today I am thankful for my little firecracker Jack.

He has an endless imagination, a fabulous sense of humor, and a personality that doesn't quit. He has never met a stranger, and everyone he meets falls in love with him. He loves to dance, dress up in costumes, tell stories, play Star Wars, torment his brothers, sing songs, go to gymnastics, paint, and play outside. He is adventurous, hilarious, and loving. He is sassy, and my little spitfire.

Give Thanks - Day 7

2011-11-08T05:57:00.003-06:00

Day Seven - I am thankful that all of my boys love to read. Our entire family does - I will ready anything you put in front of me, especially if it's a newspaper or a legal document. (I'm really, really exciting - I know.) Chris will read anything that has to do with building something, renovating something, or making it more energy efficient. David and Henry will thankfully ready ANYTHING. Books, cereal boxes, junk mail. . . they don't care. Jack obviously doesn't know how to read yet, but he loves books. He wants me to read to him all the time, and then he wants to "read" the book back to me. I really was hopeful that we would have readers, and they all are!

Giving Thanks, Days 5 and 6

2011-11-06T06:17:00.000-06:00

Oops, I missed yesterday. We were quite busy!

Day 5 - I'm thankful for Goodwill. I just love that place on the first Saturday of the month . . . half price day! If someone had told me ten years ago that I'd have three children and be thankful for half price day at Goodwill, I would have died laughing. I got some fabulous bargains, and I'll share those with you in another post.

Day 6 - Today I'm thankful for the weekend. I love my job, but I love my monkeys and my husband more. Today we will spend our day together, just being. We will not have friends come over. We will have a visit from my parents, but we will just be home, together, and for that I am thankful.

Have a great day!

Giving Thanks, Day 4

2011-11-04T18:48:00.003-06:00

Today I am thankful for the friendship these two monkeys have.

They are best buds.

Each other's best protector.

They tell each other their secrets.

They stick up for each other.

They whisper secrets in the night in their beds, side by side.

They read each other stories.

They wear each other's clothes.

They sit together on the bus.

Even when they don't have to.

They fight like dogs.

And quickly forget about it.

They have never been without each other.

And I hope they never are.

They would rather be together than apart.

They finish each other's sentences.

They love each other very, very much.

They are a perfect pair.

Day Three - Thankful Thursday

2011-11-03T19:44:00.001-06:00

Today I am thankful for my husband. He is so supportive of me, incredibly patient with the boys, smart, funny, and handsome. He is hilariously funny, a great cook, and a gentleman. He loves me unconditionally - at my best and at my worst. He does not try to change me. He is the best dad I could have asked for as the father of my children. He is fun, creative, and kind. He is honest and generous. He is cautious (like, OSHA cautious) when I am . . . not. Chris is very even tempered and a fabulous balance to my sometimes excitable personality. He is laid back and gets along with everyone. I'm so lucky to have him!

Giving Thanks, Days 1 & 2

2011-11-02T04:27:00.003-06:00

Since November is about being thankful, and we have much to be thankful for at our house, I am going to try to do a post each day about things for which I am thankful. Not a great start. . . I missed day one. Whomp, whomp, whomp.

I promise you that not all of the things I'm thankful for will be deep, profound things. Many will likely be silly, but I promise all will be true. So today I bring you days one and two.

Day 1. Yesterday I was thankful for the kindness of strangers. We had two donations made to our fundraising efforts to bring Katie home, and both were made by strangers. (We had three, actually, but one wasn't a stranger.) You can read more about that generosity at The Simpson Six.

Day 2. Today I'm thankful for pumpkin spice coffee and clean towels.

We've had a tummy bug running through our house, and it's Jack's turn today. I hate to see my baby sick, and we've been seeing each other since about 3:45 this morning. My pumpkin spice is going to get me through the day!

Have a great day!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T04:08:00.002-06:00

We got sort of a late start to Halloween this year.

Like, we started on October 29th.

Chris got cracking with his pumpkin carving.

He did this S for me on a funkin so ~~we don't~~ he doesn't have

to carve the same thing every. single. year for me.

Next up?

Angry Birds.

He did such a good job!

Last? Mario and Bowser.

Seriously. Our kids are lucky Chris is in charge of pumpkin carving.

If it were up to me they would either all be monogrammed or all be old school pumpkins you carved when you were four with triangle eyes and jagged teeth. I have zero pumpkin carving skills.

I didn't get any mums this year.

And looking at this picture, that makes me sad.

I have ferns (that were previously hanging) in my urns with cinderella pumpkins on top of them.

We got the metal luminaries at a yard sale this summer for 25 cents each, and they're fabulous. I couldn't get a good shot of them lit up in the dark, but it looked great. Trust me. I do wish I had two big full mums on the porch. I think I'll get some when I take the pumpkins down and keep the mums up through Thanksgiving. (Until I put up my real love - my Christmas decorations!!!)

Henry got to wear his costume to school for their Halloween party.

He was so excited!

Poor David was sick all weekend, so we kept him home Monday as well. I'm not sure he realizes he missed his Halloween party. . .

David was Venom (something I had never heard of).

Jack, after much deliberation, was Indiana Jones. Which is not really a costume for him, because he wears it every day of his life.

And is not the costume I bought for him. . .

I should have saved my money!

Henry was Super Mario, and it was PERFECT on him.

He looked so, so cute.

We had fun trick or treating.

I'm not looking forward to the day when they realize there

are more than 10 houses we could go to on Halloween. . .

Happy Halloween!

Henry's New Glasses

2011-10-30T19:37:00.000-06:00

You may remember last September when David got glasses.

This weekend it was Henry's turn.

He was SO excited to get his eye exam!

Like, seriously excited.

He's a nut.

He was adamant about getting blue glasses.

Blue is his favorite color.

He didn't try on any other color.

He looks so handsome and grown up!

And I've probably said about 18304 times this weekend,

"Henry. If they're not on your face, they're in your case!"

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-10-30T18:24:00.003-06:00

Remember this summer when my patio looked like this?

I hated those vines growing from the hangers on the wall.

And I ripped them all out.

My sweet potato vine grew like CRAZY.

It looked so nice and full all summer.

We had to trim it back several times, or it would have taken over the entire patio.

Chris hated it.

I loved it because it was so easy and so full all the time - it never looked bad.

Until this morning.

We had our first frost.

And really? Time to lose the sweet potato.

I pulled it all out today and look what we found!

We actually GREW sweet potatoes!

I realize this shouldn't be such a surprise, but it was!

IEP-i-s-s-e-d At Myself

2011-10-26T21:47:00.003-05:00

I HATE the IEP process. Hate, hate, hate it. The IDEA Act and its alignment with leaving no child behind? That's a happy crock of crap. My child - he's the one who would be left behind, should that decision be left up to the schools. It should NOT be such a fight to have special education services provided.

Long, loooooong story short, I requested a speech evaluation for David about six weeks ago. We got a note sent home last Wednesday that the evaluation was complete and the note had five or six different appointment times to select from for us to meet and go over the results. One was the next morning at 10:30 - that's the one we chose. We sent the note back to school and made it very clear that David had to bring the note directly to his teacher in the morning. He did. We got to school at 10:30 for the meeting. No speech therapist - she was sick. Um hello. Could nobody call me when they got the note at 7:45 to tell me that? They "called the other speech therapist at another school" to see if she could go over the evaluation. 5 minutes later some woman walks out and tells me that we can't go over it that day. I had no idea who she was, because she never introduced herself. Oh wait, she was the other therapist. What the hell? We went back and forth about the inconvenience, she never knew about it, she wasn't prepared to discuss his evaluation, who said he needs speech anyway, his grades are fine, blah, blah, blah. I was so steaming mad I walked out. That was rude, but I was about to either start crying or punch someone in the face. Our meeting was reset to Monday.

I did a lot of research over the weekend. And I got madder and madder.

I was mad that the woman was so disrespectful.

I was mad that David has a need for a service but gets great grades and that is the scale for determining if a child qualifies.

I was mad that I let this woman make me so mad.

I was frustrated that it is so damn hard to get a child who is not failing his classes some help with other areas.

I was mad that David continues to need help with things - when is enough going to be enough for him? He's seven years old and he's spent five years of his life in one therapy or another. I don't know anyone else who has spent 85% of their life under regular medical treatment and has received not one, not two, not three - FOUR major medical diagnoses in that period of time. Life altering, game changing diagnoses.

I was mad because I don't want to have to fight about him and what is best for him with everyone who is partially responsible for caring for him.

I was mad because everything always has to be a fight.

I was mad because if he can't get speech at school we would have to pay for it privately and really people, there is going to come a time in the not so distant future when the money for therapy has to be diverted from one therapist to pay another.

I was mad because it takes so much energy to fight about his care. Energy that I could be spending playing with him or reading with him or riding bikes with him instead of fighting with his school or an insurance company.

I was mad because Chris wasn't mad. (Really, I was mad enough for both of us. He didn't need to be mad too.)

I was mad because it's not fair to Jack and Henry that we sometimes have to spend so much time working with David on things or bringing the other children to David's therapies, which forces them to ride in the car a lot and not be playing or having fun. Not that they have ever complained even one time.

And I was mad at myself for feeling all of those things.

And then? I got over it. I realized that I would rather spend the time and energy I was spending fighting about David to be fighting for David. Speech at school? Not our only option. I got up Monday and made a private speech evaluation appointment. I told myself that I didn't care what they said at school - we could get private services. No, it wouldn't be the most convenient, but I like the therapist and David would too. I went to the meeting much more at peace, as Chris and I already made our decision to get services for David privately. And guess what happened? The school did the right thing.

David qualifies under the "other health diagnosis" (Tourette's) to receive special education services. And he started speech today. And the private therapist? She trained the therapist at school who is providing his services. We will touch base with the private therapist in 4-6 weeks. If he is not progressing, we will add private speech too.

And we will all be OK. I am so, so thankful that Chris and I are always on the same page about David's care. We are both very committed to doing whatever we can do to ensure he has every single opportunity to be successful, despite his differences. (Which, PS, David is completely unaware that he is different from anyone. . . ) This trip with David would be so much harder and so much more stressful if Christopher and I were not working together!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

2011-10-23T09:04:00.000-05:00

I was cleaning the living room yesterday and Max got excited and peed behind the couch. I pulled it out to mop behind it, and then pulled it out further so I could just get all of the dust bunnies, etc that gather on the wood floors. Well. . . that made me decide to move a bunch of furniture around. What should have been a five minute cleaning project turned into three hours of moving all of the furniture on the first floor around. Oops.

In the breakfast room before, we had a small cabinet that was my grandmother's by the front door. It holds board games and puzzles. I've always wanted a little desk in our kitchen but never really have found a place for one. (Which is a bit ridiculous, because our kitchen/breakfast area is quite large.)

I swapped the game cabinet with this little sewing table that was Chris' grandmother's. It had previously been in our entry, and was empty. Now I have stationery, files, my laptop and iPad, my checkbook, bills, pens, stamps, tape. . . all of those sort of "desky" things in it. I love it here! It's also a great space to keep my laptop so I don't have to get the charger out/put the charger away every time I use it. I can't believe we didn't think of this before.

This was our living room before. It's a big room, and really didn't feel cozy to me. It was certainly fine, but I was ready for a change.

First, I covered the couch with the slipcover. I love me some plaid, but the pink plaid couch doesn't really fit my living room style. I pulled the console table (which is actually the lower part of a dining room hutch that Chris and I got about 7 years ago for our first dining room) behind the couch. It's difficult to see in this iPhone photo, but I put some silver frames, to large silver bowls filled with some pumpkins and gourds, and some hurricane vases that I'll put some candles in. I anchored the table with two floor lamps that I got months ago and GW and painted. Chris looked at the photo and said, "Hey! It looks like grownups live there!"

I moved the chair to the space where the console table was. I pulled a side table that had been in the guest room down from the attic, and brought an old wire milk crate that came from Chris' parents' farm in from our shed. I put the crate on the floor next to the chair with a round tray on top to make a little space for our magazines, etc.

We moved the victrola (which I secretly hate, but don't tell Chris) to the entry. I moved one of the chairs from the entry back into the living room. Next up? I'm going to cover the cushion on the chair and the love seat. I'd love to get a new (to us) love seat and just slipcover it, but unless I find one for next to nothing that's not happening. Until then, I'll work on the recovering project. You know, that I've wanted to do for over a year.

Wordless Wednesday. The Tiny Edition

2011-10-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

Big Weekend!

2011-10-15T21:51:00.000-05:00

We had a great day today!

We started (early!) at the Middle Half.

Our Run for Katie runners who raised money for Katie were running.

They raised over $1,700!

The big boys did the kids fun run.

I love this photo of them with Ella.

Ella's mom raised the most money for our Run for Katie.

And won a trip!

And clearly winning runs in their family.

Ella won a gift certificate this morning for the best spirit in the kids' race!

D&H did an outstanding job.

I'm so proud of them, and they'll definitely do more runs.

Our whole family came to support our runners and the boys in their run.

After the race we headed to Bell Buckle for the Webb School craft fair.

It was perfect weather for it, and it was a lot of fun.

Of course Jack found a ~~horse~~ dog to play with as soon as we got there.

He (she?) was a great dane, and there was another one right next to him (her?)

The dogs were enormous.

And were quite possibly better behaved than my children.

Everyone was a little tired after our big morning.

We walked around.

Picked up some rocks and threw them in a puddle.

Listened to some bluegrass music.

Performed on the bed of a truck.

Jack really liked it.

It was entertaining.

As was the Amish (?) boy with a pocket watch.

He was dressed just like his father.

Who had a Blackberry.

Can the Amish have blackberries?

Or tattoos? He had one of those too.

He and Jack were busting a move together.

Because Jack would befriend the only Amish child in a 100 mile radius.

David was clearly not entertained.

I told you - we were all a little tired!

We went home and all took a three hour nap!

Lamp Shade Re-Do

2011-10-09T14:13:00.001-05:00

We're slowly but surely making over the guest room to be a room for Katie. We've decided on paint and fabric, and have painted the walls. The silver lamps we had in there were too grown up for a little girl. And I removed one side table to make room for a small bookcase.

I didn't really want to purchase a new lamp, and we have several small lamps that we're not really using. I may or may not have a thing for lamps. . .

I have had a small white lamp since we bought it for Jack's nursery. I bought this shade last week when I went Goodwill Hunting.

It was the perfect size, and it was brand new.

And the perfect price, at $3.00.

And this is why it was there.

It was all dented in one spot.

Oh I can so work with that.

First, I measured the height of the shade.

Then the circumference.

Upside down, apparently.

Then I cut my handy drop cloth fabric.

Remember that?

It's the same fabric I used to make my dining room curtains, and to make the boys' monogram pillows at Christmas last year. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of this drop cloth!

I added two inches to the height and width so I'd have some extra to fold over to finish the edges.

I used hot glue and glued one end to the shade.

I wrapped tightly around the shade and folded the raw edge over to finish it.

I glued that, then had Chris hold the shade so I could pull the fabric taut so it wasn't saggy.

I glued the finished edge over where I started.

To finished the top and bottom, I just folded the fabric over the shade, put a small strip of glue, and pressed. I quickly worked my way around the top and bottom. To get it to be finished over the arms of the shade, I notched out the material around the arms.

I love the finished product!

I plan to make a window seat cover using the same material with navy blue piping.

I think I will do some sort of navy trim around at least the bottom, because when it is turned on you can see the notches for the wire. I'm thinking maybe thick navy rickrack??

This entire project took me about 15 minutes from start to finish, and cost me $3.00!

Jack's Photo Bomb

2011-10-08T20:21:00.000-05:00

Grampy, David, Flat Stanley, Gigi.

And Jack, the photo bomber.

Homemade Granola Bars

2011-10-02T19:12:00.000-05:00

Someone call Martha Stewart - I gave her a run for her money today. We got pumpkins, decorated for Halloween, made bookmarks with Henry, went to the park, and I made homemade sloppy Joe's, apple crisp, and homemade granola bars. This fabulous granola bar recipe is courtesy of my sweet friend Briana.

Dry Ingredients
3 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 cup bran buds
5 cups dried fruit and chopped nuts, unsweetened flaked coconut (I used coconut, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries and blueberries, and mini chocolate chips.)
1 cup whole wheat or all purpose flour

Wet Ingredients
14oz can sweetended condensed milk
2 large eggs or 1/4 cup egg beaters
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup apricot sauce (or preserves)
1 tbsp canola oil

Mix wet and dry ingredients together very well, this will be a dry mix. Press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes, cut and separate, then cool completely and wrap individually.

YUM, YUM, YUM!

Goodwill Hunting

2011-10-01T13:56:00.002-05:00

Did you know the first Saturday of the month is 1/2 price day at Goodwill? I don't know if this is every Goodwill or just Middle Tennessee? As much as I can't stand going there when it's busy, I love, love, love 1/2 price day. I got eight books for the boys, including some Flat Stanley books and some Magic Treehouse. I also got four matching frames for $1.99 each. I will paint them and hang the kids' school photos in them. I got one large frame with a great mat. I will paint the frame. I got another chunkalicious frame with a great mat. The color is awful on both, so I'll paint both. I got a brand new, still in plastic, drum lampshade for Katie's room. I got ten items of clothing for the kids, which were all name brands including Gymboree, Mini Boden, Hanna Andersson, Lands End, LL Bean, and Gap Kids. My total? $36.49. Well worth putting up with some, um, different people and waiting in a loooooong line!

Miscellaneous Monday

2011-09-26T19:28:00.002-05:00

We had a busy weekend! Did you? We didn't do anything too terribly exciting - we just seemed to be on the go. I will itemize (ahem, Misty!):

1. Saturday Chris, D, & H sold Boy Scout popcorn outside of Kroger. Want some? It's delicious, and I'd love to sell you some if you'd like. Let me know. I have other things t~~hat are slightly more important to me~~ for which I'm currently hitting people up for money. . .

2. While they were selling popcorn, I went to a Thirty-One party at my friend Erica's house. I bought a couple of cute goodies, including teacher gifts for this Christmas, among others.

3. Saturday evening we went, along with my parents, to the Fall Festival at DreamCatchers Therapy Services. This is where David goes to OT, and Ms. Dana is in.cred.ible.

She had a fundraiser to raise money to fund scholarships to DreamCatchers for children who need therapy but whose parents can't afford it. (And I can attest, occupational therapy is not cheap.) There was a hayride, tons of games, inflatables for the kids, you could tour the facility, there was a silent auction, dinner and s'mores.

D, on his favorite swing.

Dana operates DreamCatchers as a non-profit organization, and if you are considering making a donation ~~somewhere other than our adoption~~ I would so strongly urge you to consider donating to DreamCatchers. Dana, through David's OT and the things she has taught us, has literally changed our lives. More importantly, she has changed David's. He is a different child than the boy I brought to her in April. We are far from done on this trip with David, but we are so, so far from where we started. I know we are not the only family on which Dana has had such an impact. And, other than the amazing work she does with the children at DreamCatchers, I like her SO much as a person. She is fun, smart, funny, gorgeous, sassy, and just fun to be around. She is passionate about helping children, and is just such an asset to our family. I cannot say enough positive things about her and the program she offers. Please check it out - let her know I sent you!

4. Sunday we hung out at home. Jack and I went grocery shopping, and -shockingly- I didn't want to hurt him or myself. He was really well behaved. I know I shouldn't be so surprised, but he does have a well earned reputation for being a bit naughty.

5. We spent a lot of time hauling down our fall decorations from the attic and putting some out. And randomly some Christmas wreaths got pulled down. Now, I'm all for some Christmas decorations and may or may not have had a "Thanksgiving tree" last year. But September is early even for me.

6. I made some pinecone bird feeders with the big boys while Jack was napping. They've already been nibbled at by some little birds!

7. After Jack woke up? We tackled this little beauty of a project. . .

Our playroom looked like what I envision Hell to resemble. . . legos and Star Wars guys all over the place like a bomb went off, naked baby dolls, broken toys, and mismatched puzzles. And a little baby Indiana Jones half dressed sitting on the Swedish furniture playing the Wii. . .

8. Today I sent back David's paperwork for his speech referral. We'll see how that pans out through the school. I have a private back up to call if he's not approved through the school. I don't think he will be, which is not based on anything but our previous experience with the state's criteria for receiving services. I will be pleasantly surprised if my experience is wrong this time.

I hope you had a great weekend. Did you do anything fun??

Flashback Friday

2011-09-23T05:36:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some photos to get some together for our adoption paperwork and what should have been a 5 minute project took me two hours because I was so caught up in looking at old photos of the boys. I cannot believe how much they've grown.

I love this little tree hugger picture!! Look at how chubby they were! And tiny - Henry looks like a little munchkin and David looks like mini-Justin Beiber.

Lamp Before and After

2011-09-22T20:42:00.003-05:00

My mother-in-law had this lamp in her basement.

I loved the honey pot shape.

I didn't love the 80s look.

Nothing a little spray paint can't fix.

I used the same shade she had and put it in our entry.

Pardon the iPhone pictures. . .

I love it, and the color looks great in that room since we painted it khaki.

Guest Room Paint and Fabric

2011-09-14T20:49:00.002-05:00

How do you like this fabric?

I'm thinking of using this for curtains in the guest room.

Which will be Katie Ruth's room.

Here it is.

Taped to the wall.

Fancy method - I know.

I'm thinking I love it.

I will do long drapes that ~~I will lovingly make myself~~ my mother will likely make.

And I'm thinking of doing a khaki window seat cushion for this window seat. (Yes, that's a shower curtain hanging there now. . . don't judge. I had nothing on the windows and a puking child who needed to sleep in the bed!) With navy accent pillows and a navy monogram in the center of the cover.I've never made a window seat cushion. Or cover. However, thanks to Pinterest I feel like I can, by using one of the 4,320 (approximately) links and tutorials available. Or you know, if all else fails I could probably sweet talk my mother into doing it. . .

Some Things I am Loving

2011-09-14T20:23:00.002-05:00

I'm obsessed with Pinterest. It's bad. I don't need something to waste my time on, but I can't help it. It's seriously like a drug. Some things I'm pinning and loving now?

Love.

Everything about it.

Especially the white pumpkins.

And the hanging baskets with mums.

And the railing baskets.

OK, everything.

Are you kidding me?

Pumpkins and urns?

Two of my favorite things together.

Expect to see this on my front porch.

Adorable.

Love the white pumpkins.

And the polka dots.

Again with the urns and pumpkins. . .

This is fabulous.

And looks exceptionally time consuming.

And It Begins Again. . .

2011-09-12T19:37:00.002-05:00

How did this blog turn into a blog about special education and evaluations? David has made a noise - sort of repeating the last sound a word makes - for months now. Probably six months or so. We've just sort of ignored it. No, not because we're not attentive parents. Because he has Tourette's syndrome, and vocal tics come and go. Some (ie: throat clearing) are like old friends; they've been around for so long we almost don't notice them. Some (ie: repeating the last sound) are difficult to ignore. It's generally only consonant sounds and I can't recall him doing it with a vowel sound.

This weekend we were driving, and it was like a light went off in my head. I looked at Chris and said, "Do you think speech would help with that?" If your child has never gone to speech therapy, that may seem like an odd question. However, speech isn't just about learning to talk - it's about speech patterns and different ways of doing things. It can be, in a sense, retraining your mind/mouth connection to work properly. That was David's issue with apraxia of speech, and I think may be his issue now. I have done some research (always dangerous, and never preferred by his actual physicians) and think what he's doing is either a complex vocal tic or a "habit" (for lack of a better word) common to autistic children. Great - we've won the special needs lottery on that one and it could apply to David for both of those reasons. My hope is that it's not a more complex vocal tic, because that would be indicative of his Tourette's progressing, which is not what I want at 7 years old.

If I have any advice for parents (not that I am in any position at all to give advice) it would be to trust yourself. If you think there is something concerning about your child, you are probably right. Of course there are extreme parents who think when their child coughs he has TB. If you are a normal parent you don't do this. I called David's pediatric neurologist today, just to run this situation by the doctor. Of course I can't actually talk to him. I could easier talk to the Wizard of Oz. I left a message for his nurse, and on my message I stated, "My son David is seven and has Tourette's. He has what we presume to be a vocal tic, and I wanted to discuss speech therapy as a possible treatment." The nurse called back and asked how long he had been doing it, etc. I told her that it had been about six months but that we thought, like some of the tics he has had, it would go away. The nurse then said, "Oh, he's had other tics? Does Dr. V. know that?" Silence. . . I said, "Well, he has Tourette's syndrome, so yes, he's had other tics." She then said, "Oh he has Tourette's? Does Dr. V. know that?" Crickets. . . "Um, yes. Dr. V. is the physician who diagnosed him. . . " REALLY? I don't expect her to remember us by name, because I completely realize that he sees a ton of patients. (Although I wouldn't be surprised if she remembers me by name because I *may or may not* have called the patient care coordinator and the vice president of the medical clinic when it took me FIVE MONTHS to get a copy of my child's diagnosis. Five months. Unacceptable, and that was made clear.) I do not, however, think it's too much to ask for her to glance at David's file in the computer and see what we see the doctor for before calling to answer a question. Needless to say, I really didn't care what her thought was on speech therapy - we will do what we think is best for D. It's disappointing to me that every time I get off the phone with that office I think that I won't take D. back there. If I didn't love his doctor so much, I wouldn't. He really needs to fire his entire staff and start over. You know, if you're asking my opinion. . .

So, in a sense, I feel like we've come full circle with my sweet little D. We started our journey to special needs with speech therapy, and back at speech we've landed. We will have him evaluated through the school system to begin with. I emailed the special ed teacher today to get this rolling. I fully expect that evaluation to say that there's a problem but that it's not severe enough to warrant treatment through the school. In fact, if it comes back any other way I'll be shocked. My preference would certainly be to get services through school because just logistically it will be the easiest. However, I fully anticipate we'll have to pursue this privately. I'll have to start looking at our insurance coverage, because that will largely determine where he goes. His OT is out of network, and I'm willing to pay that because she's incredible. I won't be willing to do that for speech because there are far more options. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

On a good note, I touched base with his teacher today, and she said that she's very pleased with how he's doing in school. He is making friends and working well in a group, both of which can be a challenge for him. I'm so pleased we've put him in this school, because it's a great fit!

What's That Noise?

2011-09-11T22:20:00.001-05:00

"What's that noise?" Chris said, while happily watching football . . .
"I have no idea. I don't hear anything," I replied.
"It's water dripping into the air conditioner return," Chris said, a bit warily. He then turned the tv to mute and listened. And listened. And really, really wanted me to hear it too. (I may or may not have been listening so intently. . . )
"I bet that overflow pan is leaking. In the attic. Three floors up. Why don't you go check?" Chris said. And clearly must have been joking. I gave him a look - you know, the look, and up the stairs he went, armed with a bucket and some shammies. Where he proceeded to step in a pile of dog poop that one of the dogs had so thoughtfully left in the hallway upstairs.

And while he was mad he stepped in dog poop? I was mad they waited to poop on it until the day I mopped that floor on my hands and knees. . .

Happy Birthday Grace!

2011-09-05T18:32:00.002-05:00

I came out of my self-imposed baking retirement this weekend for this special girl.

Her name is Grace, and she turned three in August.

She's the same age as my little Jack.

I've known Grace's mama and daddy for several years, and have made many cakes for them.

I made her daddy's 35th birthday cake.

I made her aunt's birthday cake.

I made Grace's mama's shower cake, after she and Grace's daddy tried so, so hard to have Grace.

And I mean, tried for years hard, seeing doctors and taking tests and medicines, all so they could have a baby of their own. And they got a sweet, perfect little baby they named Grace. Many call her a miracle baby because her parents had such a difficult time getting her into their arms. And that's where their story should end; with ". . . and they lived happily ever after." And I think it did. Until this spring, when they found out sweet Grace has leukemia.

Specifically, Grace has High Risk Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. I don't know what all of that means, but I know it sucks. She has a port inserted in her tiny body that she will have until after she starts Kindergarten. She has lost her hair. She has been in the hospital more times since March than any parent wants for their child's entire lifetime.

She is adorable, and a fighter. And she will beat this horrendous disease. I cannot imagine the strength her sweet parents have had to have. Her dad has shaved his head so Grace looks like him. Her mom is such a caring, giving person, and I cannot fathom having to see one of my children go through such struggles. (You can read more about Grace's fight at her Caring Bridge site.)

So, despite my retirement from the cake business, when Grace's mama asked me if I would make the cake for Grace's third birthday - her royal tea - I did not hesitate to say yes. I was so honored she asked me to make it. I can only imagine that her party was a fabulous celebration of her little wonderful life.

I made a three tier white and strawberry teapot cake. It's probably one of my favorite cakes I've made. it was adorable, just as is the recipient.

Happy Birthday sweet Grace. Start thinking about what kind of cake you'd like me to make for number four!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T05:39:00.000-05:00

Coins for Katie

2011-08-19T19:00:00.002-05:00

Want to know what this is all about?

Click here.

The Honeymoon is Over

2011-08-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

Boy that didn't take long did it? The first day of school went great. The second day of school went great. It was the getting to school and being home after school part that sucked. Big time. My sweet David has such struggles with new environments, the unfamiliar, and things that are outside of his comfort zone. It breaks my heart that he gets so upset about things, and it's a very frustrating process. It's so difficult not to get angry at him in the heat of the moment. And trust me, it's not all "diagnosis" related - plenty of it is a 7 year old boy testing his limits. But how do you know what is part of a diagnosis and what is just sass?

There have been many, many times when I have questioned to myself what we could have done differently, why we didn't seek out this particular diagnosis earlier, why it took us nearly 5 years to get him diagnosed appropriately. . . I could go on and on. Obviously I know this type of thinking is not productive and I do - when we're not in the midst of a meltdown - feel very confident that Chris and I have done everything we can to get David various therapies, follow up and do the work/therapies/exercises/treatments at home, researched everything we can do to help David, worked with his schools, seen specialists, gotten second (and third) opinions, put him on waiting lists that are a year long for treatments he may not need when he's able to go for his appointment, read books (and more books), taken him to a homeopathic doctor, modified our parenting styles, changed our rewards/punishments . . . I truly can say I don't know what other, additional things we could be doing for him. However, there are still days that are the darkest that I question whether I am the best mother for him. I'm quite able to convince myself that there is someone more patient, more loving, more. . . something. Today was one of those days. I am hopeful that as school goes on and he gets used to his new school and makes new friends (and, by the way, he loves his school and his teacher!) things will get easier and he will be less stressed and more able to relax.

. . . Or his mama may need a martini before work and I don't want to get a DUI at 7:00 in the morning, thankyouverymuch. . .

First Day of School

2011-08-08T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of school. We started a new school this year at a magnet school. It's considered a school for "high achievers", and I'm excited about the teachers and the curriculum. We've done a lot to prepare them for the first day at a(nother) new school. I'm almost glad we switched schools mid-year last year when we moved, because they know that a new school isn't a big deal at this age. With that said, another school "switch" isn't in the cards until middle school, barring any unusual circumstances!

They each picked out their shirts for the day, and they are so accurate per their personalities! I have a sort of self-imposed "uniform" rule of really only wearing polo shirts or button down shirts to school. I really don't like them to wear t-shirts or gym shorts, and they're OK with it. Yes, I realize this is very conservative. I really wish they wore a uniform to school

David is so grown up.

And has Spongebob teeth with those loose front teeth!

I cannot believe he's in second grade.

Let's take a stroll down memory lane. . .

Preschool, 2007

Preschool, 2008

Kindergarten, 2009.

If you've read my blog for that long, ~~you have no life~~, you may remember the fiasco that was the start to David's Kindergarten year. In retrospect, that all makes much, much more sense. It was still horrible, and I'm so thankful that this has not been a recurring first day problem. I would be an alcoholic each year before school started if we went through that each year.

First grade, 2010.

(Note, the graphic tee shirt. I remember Chris and I had an argument about this shirt and I gave in!)

I think it's funny that David has worn khaki shorts every year on the first day of school since 2007, the year he started school. I like what I like!

Henry did a wonderful job today, as I knew he would. He loves school, and he had his backpack on twenty-five minutes before it was time to go because he was so excited.

This was Henry's pre-K first day in 2009.

And probably my favorite picture ever of him.

I have it hanging in my office directly opposite my desk, and it makes me smile every day.

I love that little tongue sneaking out because he was saying "Cheese!" with his little lisp.

Kindergarten, 2010.

He was so excited - it's almost still dark out when we were taking this picture because he was so happy to go to school!

Tomorrow is their first full day. I've already got their clothes ready and their lunches packed. I want to get the year off to a good, organized start!

Updated House Photos

2011-08-07T12:02:00.001-05:00

We had to take several photos of our house to include in our dossier information for our adoption.

I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the progress we've made since we bought the house ten months ago.

We've managed to keep ourselves (OK, Chris) pretty busy.

Our backyard is looking pretty decent, despite the ring created by the horses we had at our birthday party in April.

We've replaced this patio set since these pictures were taken with a new (to us) rectangular table with six chairs. The table and chairs need to be painted, and I will get new cushions. Photos to come when that project is completed!

Nothing has changed in our breakfast room. I am on the hunt for a small loveseat or sofa to put under the windows, and I'll remove two chairs from the table. I was going to take the one from our office when we got a church pew to replace it, but the pew is miniature and won't be adequate seating for our clients. I will likely just wait until we replace the couch at our office and take that, because it's the perfect size (and even material) to go in this space.

Kitchen is still the same. I still haven't painted the island table. And I still haven't added a backsplash. We did change the curtains over the sink. We took down the panels and added some bamboo shades. I will put these on the breakfast room windows too, but there are never enough in the size I need at the store when I go looking for them.

Our master bedroom remains unchanged from pretty much the day we unpacked, with the exception of the new armoire.

My fabulous friend Kelly had a baby and couldn't use this black armoire in the baby's room. She asked if we could use it. If we could pick it up, we could have it. Um, hello. We picked it up. It's a Pottery Barn armoire that was originally a tv cabinet. I really wanted to be able to use it in the playroom, but it weighs approximately 1,378,385,098.4 pounds and there was no. way. that was going up the stairs. So Chris altered it to store clothes, and it's perfect in this space. I'm toying with the idea of painting the rest of our bedroom furniture black to match and painting our walls gray. I would love to do gray walls with yellow and white accents in this room. I promise it will probably be the last room to complete.

I still typically have our couch covered with the slipcover. Thankfully it's machine washable, because it spends about 25% of it's time in the washing machine.

We've painted the entry, and I love it. We will use the same paint upstairs at the computer area and in the hallway.

And I'm still SO glad we've removed the stained glass panel and replaced with clear glass.

I've considereded moving the computer down to our entry and making this a sitting area. That could still happen since I recently discovered in our computer history the googling of some inappropriate words. . . and Jack got blamed for it despite the fact that he is unable to spell.

No changes here. I can't make up my mind. And I feel like as soon as I decorate this room they will change their minds about what they're interested in.

No change in the laundry room either. And I promise there won't be for a looong time.

I wasn't bold enough to go orange in the entire playroom.

I just couldn't do it.

I'm thinking either a gray or a khaki for the other three walls. For now, we're a happy shade of cream. And holding strong.

The curtains are a good-enough-for-now option.

Next up? Finishing Katie Ruth's room, then probably on to some beadboard and wainscotting in the breakfast room!

Guest Room Updates

2011-08-07T10:16:00.002-05:00

This was our guest room when we bought our house.

This is it now.

And it's still a guest room, but that's the temporary use.

Because (hopefully soon) it will be the cozy bedroom for this sweet girl.

We painted, after testing many paint colors.

We finally decided on Martha Stewart's sea glass green from HD.

I love this color.

In the photo of the room above it looks more electric green than it does in person.

It's a really, really pretty, soothing shade.

So now I have to decide what else to do with the room.

I want to make this.

I have an old chunkalicious (yes, I've decided that's a word) frame with a print in it that I got at Kirkland's a while back.

The print doesn't go with the room anymore, but the frame is fabulous.

I'm going to paint the frame and do this over the print.

I want to make some tissue paper flowers to hang in one corner of the room.

I would like to use navy blue, pink, and orange as the accent colors in this room.

Hello. LOVE this.

I want to do navy chevron stripe curtains similar to these.

I also want to put a wide (like, 12 inches) band of bright pink on the bottom.

I'm having trouble finding navy chevron fabric.

I'm testing this right now.

It's fabric that I bought to recover a rocking chair cushion on our porch.

I am also obsessed with this nesting doll art I found on etsy.

I really want to hang something similar above the fireplace in her room.

However, it's dolls made out of scrapbook paper and glued onto a painted canvas.

I can make that myself, instead of paying over $100 for it.

Thankyouverymuch.

I think I'll paint the canvas an orange-y/tangerineish color.

I haven't decided on bedding yet, but that will be largely dictated by the fabric I choose for the curtains and window seat. Right now I'm thinking a white duvet cover with her monogram in the middle. Will I regret white bedding in a child's room?? We don't allow food, drinks, or markers (crayons, etc.) upstairs, so I don't think it will be a big issue.

Lemonade Cake

2011-08-07T09:41:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, and we had a brunch with our families yesterday. I make whatever kind of cake the birthday boy (or girl!) requests, and Chris wanted Lemonade Cake. It was very good - I would in the future use a different frosting recipe. This one is a butter base, which in the heat of a southern summer turns into more of a glaze. And slid right off of the cake. It is, however, delicious.

Ingredients

Cake:

butter for coating pan
1 (18.25-ounce) white cake mix, plus any additional ingredients the package directions call for
3 tablespoon lemonade drink powder
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Frosting:

1 lb confectioners sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoon frozen lemonade concentrate
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper; set aside.
For the cake, in a large bowl, stir together the cake mix and lemonade powder.
Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions, using any additional ingredients called for (eggs, milk, water, oil, etc…).
Stir the lemon zest into the batter.
Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Carefully turn cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, beat together the confectioners’ sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in the remaining ingredients until combined.

Transfer one cake to a cake stand or large platter. Using an offset spatula spread the top of the cake with a layer of frosting. Place the second cake on top of the first. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of both layers.

My notes: I woud use either a cream cheese recipe and add the lemonade concentrate and zest or use a buttercream and do the same thing. This recipe as it is, as I mentioned, is more of a glaze. Also, I like my cakes to be tall and thick. I doubled this recipe (both cake and frosting) and cooked in two nine-inch springform pans. That makes nice big layers that I think look more impressive than two little thin eight-inch layers. I also had to feed 16 people, and an eight-inch wouldn't have been enough. You could also make this using pink lemonade powder and concentrate for a little girl's party, etc. My husband didn't want a pink cake!

Love

2011-08-06T20:44:00.000-05:00

Thanks to possibly the sweetest person ever to read my blog, we now have received sixteen additional photos of our sweet Katie Ruth. Sixteen! We didn't expect to see any other photos of her until we got to her country. This is amazing. Some of the photos are as old as 2009 when she was 2 years old. Some, including the original photo we had, are as recent as March of this year. She is so adorable. And looks healthy, mobile, and social. And it breaks my heart that, despite as great as she looks, it will be so long still until we can love all over that face. Boy will we make up for that lost time!!

A Confession

2011-07-29T05:55:00.000-05:00

I have a confession to make. I'm obsessed with a doll. It's true. And not just any doll, and not really a specific doll; a type of doll. The Waldorf doll.

The basic premise behind the Waldorf doll is that it's a simple, soft body doll with very basic features. It's typically made with natural materials (think: no synthetics, typically a cotton body with a wool stuffing and generally hair made of mohair.) It is intentionally simple in style to encourage imaginative play. I am a big, big fan of some imaginative play. Please do not be confused - my children have an abundance of crappy, plastic, Wal Mart toys. However, time and again, their favorite things to do are play Legos, paint, color, draw, Play Doh, "make movies", play outside, swim, or read books. All imaginative activities that require almost no toys. (So I guess another post could be "Why we spend money on a bunch of garbage my kids don't play with".) I also think this is one of the reasons my boys are so smart - they use their imaginations every single day, and are encouraged to do so. They would rather make paper angry birds and "play" angry birds with the things they've created then to play the video game. That makes my heart happy. Back to my doll. . .

Apparently I'm not the only person obsessed with these dolls, because they are expensive! Do you know my friend KJ? She gets obsessed with things too. She was obsessed with a Bamboletta Doll for her sweet little girl Paisley. I'm quite certain I probably sent her a text telling her she was I.N.S.A.N.E. for her lust for the doll. She should probably text me today and rub that in, because I am so in her shoes. KJ got P her dolly, and she is absolutely adorable. I don't even want to know what she paid for that doll. I'm going to try to make one. (Stop rolling your eyes.)

There is something about a handmade gift that cannot be replaced. My mother knows this well. She made David and Henry each a "Gigi blanket". And they are probably my boys' favorite possessions. And I'm sure one will come for Jack. She likely did not anticipate needing to make so many blankets in such a short period of time when she started that lovely gift idea. . . My mother is much more adept at sewing than I, so if I can't figure out the doll I suspect Gigi will come through.

I really want to be able to give our sweet girl one of these cute dollies to play with. Which means I better get started, because if she's going to play with it before she turns ten I will need to get on it. . .

Wilbarger Brushing Protocol

2011-07-28T06:12:00.000-05:00

We have started a new regime with David, as a part of his occupational therapy. We are doing the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol. The WBP is a very specific technique of brushings using a therapeutic brush or a surgical brush, like the ones in the photo. We brush David's arms, back, and legs then do joint compressions on his shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, and knees. We do this regime daily, starting when he wakes up and continuing every 90 minutes - 2 hours until he goes to bed. I know - my first thought too was that's a whole lot of brushing. Like, on the same schedule as nursing a baby, brushing. It takes I would estimate less than 3 minutes from start to finish each time we do it. On days he has a birthday party, baseball game, or something else that is unusually stimulating or exciting we will brush immediately before and immediately after the event.

The benefits? Oh. My. Goodness. Seriously ya'll, we noticed a difference in his behavior almost immediately. He has been a better listener, more calm, more obedient, more respectful, and in great control of himself. I want to brush all of my children. ~~And I may or may not want to brush my husband sometimes if I could get those results. . .~~ The Wilbarger protocol is designed to reduce sensory defensiveness, or David's wild reactions to things when he's having too much sensory overload. I would like to equate it to the feeling that every adult I know gets when you go to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. That tight chest, I hate my life right now, these kids are driving me insane, my head is going to explode feeling. Um, I would like to be brushed at that point.

It is amazing to me that you can physically see David's reaction to the brushing. It takes 10-15 minutes for the body to benefit from the stimuli provided by the brushing, and it lasts about 90 minutes. When he's having a bad day, we'll do more. The hope is that, after a period of time, we will be able to decrease our frequency of "brushing", and eventually likely eliminate it entirely but David will at that point not need it anymore.

We are so, so fortunate to have found Dana, our occupational therapist. She had David have such a lovely relationship, and she really has been able to tap into what is most helpful for David. We will not do the brushing at school initially, but will brush before and after. We had a great meeting with David's new teacher, the principal, vice principal, and special education department head for our school district on Tuesday. Chris and I are both very satisfied with the meeting, and have at this point decided not to do anything through the school. We discussed some things that worked in his classroom last year, and his new teacher is very open to doing things in the classroom to help if David needs accommodations, as opposed to doing some sort of pull-out services. We just really don't feel like he needs that, and want to keep things as non-intrusive for him as possible. If we get to the point where we need a 504 or IEP, we will roll with it at that point. However, we felt very satisfied and comfortable with the support team that he has available, and I think he's going to have a great school year.

And all of the professionals at that meeting kept talking about how great they thought it was that we had independently sought out help for David, that he had speech therapy and OT, that I did research, and said that it sounded like I had taken a class on all of D's diagnoses. Um, do most parents suck? I do not feel like we've done anything above and beyond. We have taken the steps we felt necessary to get available treatments and therapies for our child to make sure we are setting him up for success in the future. Why is that exceptional parenting now?! That's called being responsible parents - I would have been so embarrassed if we went to that meeting and they asked us what we had done to help D and the answer was nothing. He is our child, not the school's child. It is our responsibility to make sure his medical needs are addressed. And, let's be honest here people, if we ignored the issues with David we would have been divorced a long time ago. Parenting a child with special needs is not easy a lot of the time, and if we just ignored the things that were going on we would have been in a world of hurt. I am so thankful that Chris and I have, thus far, always been on the same page about what we want to do for David to help him and afford him every opportunity to thrive. We are very hopeful for this school year and excited to see everything he can do in his new, more academically challenging environment!

Jennifer's Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes With Dulce de Leche Filling

2011-07-24T07:22:00.000-05:00

This is my beautiful friend Jennifer.

Yes, this is what she really looks like.

And she's had two children.

Jennifer is smart, funny, gorgeous (duh) and hard working.

Like, hard working as in put yourself through college while working two jobs and raising two children as a single mother, hardworking.

Like, I want more for my children than I had and I'm going to make sure that happens, hardworking.

Like, bought an adorable house on her own before she graduated from college so her children would have a great place to live, hardworking. And literally wrapped it up with a bow and gave it to them for Christmas.

She's one of the most positive people I have ever met, sensitive, funny, loyal, empathetic, smart. And clearly photogenic. Yes, I will again tell you this is what she really looks like. And, as if that's not unfair enough, she's a freaking twin!
(And she's single if you know someone who is NOT A LOSER who would be interested!)

And this is how she normally is. . .

Jennifer graduated from college in May, and her birthday was last week.

Her cupcake request for each celebration was Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes.

At first I thought she was crazy.

Now? Brilliant.

They're the perfect combination of spicy and sweet.

With a surprise in the middle!

Image via cheekykitchen.com

For the cake:

1 box (18.25 oz.) Devil’s Food cake mix or favorite chocolate cake mix
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon New Mexico red chile powder
Pinch of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups plus 1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 large eggs (room temperature)

Pour the dry cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the cinnamon, chile powder, salt, pepper, and flour. Add the water, oil, and eggs and mix with an electric mixer at low speed until moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake at 350 for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes.

For the Dulce de Leche Filling:

1 cup of high quality caramel ice cream topping

Using a spoon, knife, or small scoop, remove a small portion of the top center of each cupcake. Spoon caramel sauce (the thickerthe better) into this center part of the cupcake.

For the Icing:

1 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 tablespoon semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped
1 teaspoon red chili flakes

In a large bowl, beat the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Slowly add the brown sugar (make sure you use fresh, soft brown sugar or else the cream will come out grainy), mixing until the cream is thick enough to pipe on top of cupcakes. Stir in the cayenne. Spoon cream into a large pastry bag (or ziploc bag), then pipe it on top of cupcakes, over the caramel filling. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate and red chili peppers for garnish.

Note: These are not as spicy as you think they will be. You control the spice with the level of red chili flakes you use for garnish. They are not as difficult as you think they will be to make either - really a pretty quick, fancy cupcake. Enjoy!

What a Week

2011-07-16T07:19:00.000-05:00

We have had a busy week! I thought that summer was supposed to be relaxed and slow? Um, notsomuch.

Here's a little recap of our week in review:

Sunday: Seriously? I don't even remember. I think we stayed home because we were so sunburned, tired, and grumpy from our big boat adventure the day before.

Monday: The boys first day of camp at Camp Widjiwagan. This camp is absolutely amazing. I want to go there. The facility is incredible. It's immaculate, impecably groomed grounds, and beautifully constructed. They have swimming, boating, horseback riding, crafts, every sport you can imagine. The boys are so fortunate to be able to attend. And it's a YMCA camp, so there's some God business snuck in there too, and my boys don't even notice. It is also all outside - every minute of it, rain or 114 degree heat index shine, which was the weather on Monday. I asked the boys if the heat bothered them. David said, "Well, I just really tried to ignore the sun and I was fine." Henry said, "IGNORE the sun? Are you kidding me? I thought I was going to meet the baby Jesus. You're lucky I didn't." Their bus drops them at 4:45, and I don't get out of work until 5. They had to wait for me until 5:30. In the blazing sun, outside, sitting on the sidewalk with a counselor. My parents graciously offered to pick them up at their bus location after that, and I quickly took them up on it.

Tuesday: More Camp Widji. I love that they're going to this camp, but it's a lot of driving for me. I'm trying not to be a whiner about it, but my gas budget has been screaming! We have to be out the door by 6:40, I drive them 45 minutes to the bus in Smyrna. Then drive 20 minutes from their bus back in the opposite direction to my office. At the end of the day I drive 20 minutes back to Smyrna to pick them up, then 45 minutes home. We've been getting home at close to 7:00, so they basically have to bathe and go to bed. I also had lunch with my sweet friend Brandi Tuesday. She's so much fun, and we always laugh our way through lunch. I also had to go to Kinko's to copy some fundraising stuff for our adoption fundraiser.

Wednesday: Camp Widji, day three. Aaaand, a trip to the Social Security Office for me during lunch at work. I have putting this trip off for literally almost a year. That is entirely ridiculous. I somehow managed to lose all of the social security cards for everyone in our family but David. The only thing I can think of is that I had them in an envelope and brought them all to a school registration or something, and then mistakenly threw the envelope away. Chris and I need them to get our passports, and I had put it off long enough. I just knew my wait would take forever. Um no. There was not one single other person there. I also dropped some fundraiser information off for my friend Nicole who is running on our Run for Katie team. After work I went to Nashville to snuggle two sweet newborns. My boss and his wife had this sweet little muffin on Tuesday, and I want to keep him!

He was the most precious little snuggle bug. He smelled delicious and made the best little noises. And I just love his parents so much. We had a great time just chatting, laughing, and snuggling their little MJ. My sweet friend Kelly had a baby on Monday, and was at the hospital about a block from MJ. I snuck down to see pretty little Ava Rose for a few minutes too. I didn't get any pictures of her, but she is absolutely beautiful. I didn't get home until 10:00 that night, but it was so worth it to see those sweet babies.

Thursday: We had a pretty quiet day, just camp and work. I found someone to do the psychological evaluations Chris and I have to have. The first place I called said they would cost between $900 and $1,200. PER PERSON. Um, no thank you. A psychologist we refer people to at my office is going to do it for considerably less that that. I pickup up our pre-evaluation packages for us to complete. Chris whined about filling out 15 pages of information, and I pointed out to him that I've completed all of our paperwork so far. I estimate that to put me approximately 476 pages of paperwork ahead of him.

Friday: Chris' turn at the Social Security Office! With Jack! And, a full waiting room. Oops. He said Jack kept the entire waiting room entertained with his tales of Yoda and trips to "WalMarks", and his karate demonstrations. Chris then got to take that fun bus to the pediatrician's office to have them look at Jack's "bumpies". What the hell - they're viral warts. WARTS PEOPLE! That is so nasty. He gave us a prescription to try but told us that it might not work and that they will eventually go away on their own, but that they can take up to two years for that to happen. I can assure you this child will not have WARTS for two years. I'll have those suckers removed if I have to. David and Henry spent the night with my parents after camp. I called to see how camp was and David said, "Great. Can I sleep here for two nights?" He clearly misses me. I also stopped on my way home from work to pick up some yard sale stuff that friends had cleaned out for me to sell in our adoption yard sale next month. We have the best friends!

Boat Boys

2011-07-10T21:40:00.000-05:00

We had an amazing day on the boat with my parents yesterday. They've recently gotten a new (to them) pontoon boat, and I admit I was skeptical at first. You know, because old people have pontoon boats. Well I must be 70, because I loved it. It is perfect for us. They're last boat was great, but not the best for the boys. The pontoon boat is p.e.r.f.e.c.t.

Everyone got a turn behind the wheel.

Everyone, for the most part, followed Grampy's directions.

We did a lot of jumping, cannon balls, and swimming.

We stopped at an island and played.

We decided next time we will bring the ingredients for S'mores,

because there is a little grill we could use.

We all got tired.

But not quite this tired.

I mean, that's tired.

He slept on the boat for two hours.

Needless to say, we all slept well last night.

Tomorrow?

Off to camp for David and Henry!

Farmer's Market Fruit Cobbler

2011-07-10T21:29:00.001-05:00

Can you say delicious?? We got the fruit for this cobbler at the farmer's market yesterday morning. It doesn't get much better than this folks. I used peaches and blueberries, but you could easily substitute pretty much any fresh fruit or berry combo. And I'm pretty sure this is the first time I used these ramekins since I got them. . . as a wedding gift eight years ago. At least the first time I've used them for their actual real purpose. (I'm linking to Sweet As Sugar's link for sweet recipes!)

Ingredients

For the fruit:

2 pounds firm, ripe peaches (6 to 8 peaches)
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint) [I doubled this, FYI.]

For the crumble:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 pound (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it's in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles in the refrigerator and bake before dinner.