Staycation

Nate took this last week of work off, and we enjoyed a vacation at home, or a "stay-cation" as Nate called it. :) Not long ago we were reading "The Millionaire Next Door" together, and one of the questions this author said all self-made millionaires answer alike is -- Who is more frugal, you or your spouse? (The millionaire answer is that the millionaire husband can't get his wife to spend money) Nate's immediate response was, "Well, we know the answer to that one in this house." What?! He thinks I'm not as frugal as he is?! Well, we laughed about it, but I'm still out to prove him wrong. We had been planning a trip to Asheville for a couple of days for our anniversary, but when he had the idea to just stay home and do things locally for our vacation I went right along -- I was not about to suggest we spend more money than he was suggesting. :) All kidding aside, we had a great week. There was a trip to the zoo, Marbles (a really cool kids museum here in Raleigh that we just hadn't been to yet), swimming, snoballs, the girls took their money to Claire's at the mall and each picked something out, and of course the library. And, Nate was such a hero and actually took the kids on all of these adventures while I got time at home to get some things done without little ones pulling me three different ways. Wow, his mama sure did a good job with him!

Then, we sent the kids to my brother's for the last couple of days of the week and enjoyed being just the two of us for a while. We went to the cannery and restocked some of our food storage. I had never been, and it was a really fun experience. We went to the Melting Pot for dessert -- delish! The temple. Redbox. Shopping. A matinee that cost more than movies in the evening used to cost (it's been a long time since I've been to the theater). Friday night high school football game (final score was 3-0, but it was still fun anyway). It was just a quiet, relaxing couple of days. Thanks, Mike and Sherrie for the great babysitting service! And thatnks, Nate, for the great company!

When we were getting ready for bed last night, Nate commented on how when the kids are gone for a couple of days, you really remember why you have them. It was strange coming home to a quiet, dark home. I really missed those bedtime hugs and kisses! It was great sending them away, and it's great having them home again.

This makes me feel a lot better...

Replacements, Ltd. most certainly does have everything I broke from Mom's china set. I can't wait to finish painting all my kitchen cabinets and actually organize them well enough to get the whole set in the spot where I want them. Then I can see what exactly I need to fill out the set.

Well, really I can't wait to finish painting my kitchen cabinets so I can have my kitchen back! I think Nate can't wait for me to finish painting so I'll actually cook dinner again. :)

On a Monday...

I broke two plates of my mom's china this afternoon. It shouldn't matter. They are just things. It just didn't make me feel any happier, though. Maybe Tuesday will be a little better.

Big Bed

Ryan slept in his real bed for the first time last night. He was so excited about his "big bed" that he could hardly wait for prayers to be over before he was running full-steam into his room. No crying or begging for more kisses when I tried to leave. The only problem: he fell out three times in the night. He doesn't look any worse for the wear, though.

Cute help

I haven't gotten the kitchen painted yet, but I did finish painting the foyer and hallway. Ryan loves watching what is going on. Amazingly enough, he hasn't really gotten into too much trouble in these projects. He's such a boy, salivating whenever the toolbox opens.

Beautiful...

 What? You don't think so? Well, I agree that the mess on the table is not attractive, and the chandelier really can't be passed off as pretty. But, the only way you could not think this is a beautiful sight would be if you hadn't been staring at this for the last five months:

I just can't believe that even twenty years ago large orange pears and blue cherries were ever attractive. I finally got this wallpaper off today. Wallpaper is no joke. I've never removed wallpaper before. I don't really know what the walls should look like when you're done stripping the wallpaper off, but my guess is that you would hope for a better outcome than I got. I don't know that I could have done a better job, though. I was trying not to peel all the way down to the drywall, but oh well. It felt so good to get that done! Thank goodness there are only two more small bathrooms with wallpaper in this house.

Happy birthday, Nate!!

We celebrated Nate's birthday last night because we will all be in different places tonight. I think he was surprised that I actually put all 33 candles on. :)

 Ryan wanted to put the candles back on when he got his piece of cake.

 

I had to include this picture just because it is so funny, and we have Nikki to thank for it. She changed Ryan's diaper but forgot to snap his shirt back together before she put his shorts back on. And the messy doughnut face comes from her too -- that was Nikki's birthday present to Nate. She led him on a treasure hunt with clues all over the house to find them. Of course, I don't think she really expected to let him keep all of the doughnuts himself. :)


I think video is so funny. He is honestly making a wish, and after 33 years he is still so excited to get all those candles out. Happy birthday, Nate! We love you!

Flubber and Playdough

Lydia and Eliza spent a couple of days with us last week. The kids love it when we make flubber, and Lydia and Hannah have become pros at blowing big bubbles with it. It really is fun stuff.

I also wanted to try a playdough experiment. I wanted to make a few different recipes and see if there actually is a good recipe for making playdough at home. Of course, the kids were very willing to test them all out for me. I tried four different recipes, and this (click here for the website) is the best. It wasn't too sticky or too hard, it didn't make a big mess, and it is still a nice consistency even after a couple of days.

Silly Baby

Poor kid with two older sisters who make lipstick and pink umbrellas look like so much fun.

Fresh Corn!

I took the kids to Farmer's Market a bit ago, and it was so fun. There are local farmers from all over that come and sell their produce, and it is just neat to walk around and see. The free samples aren't bad either. But I stopped to buy some watermelon at one booth, and I read all on the top row of their sign, "12 ears of corn....$5 Big Bag." So, I told the girl I wanted the big bag of corn. I didn't even look at my receipt as I signed it. Then I got to looking at the sign again and realized it was split into two columns. So, it really said,
"Big Bag, 65 ears, $20." Oh. Whoops. Good thing we like corn around here because we got the BIG BAG. The girls were great workers and shucked the whole bag! They even had fun doing it.