Seven years, treasures, and some silly girls

We've been keeping busy... mostly around home.  The windows are only half washed, the garden is half planted, the bathroom is half painted...

I've been slowly replacing our cloth diapers.  The originals have almost lasted through 4 years of use, but I'm not very hardcore and I do bad things like dry them in the dryer so they were starting to leak.  Silly little bee thinks they are accessories.  And she makes color requests... "bu-doo!" "pink!"

Enjoying the outdoors while rain clouds roll in.   

 They both like to watch all of the wild life in our backyard.  I was hoping the new neighbor's dog would discourage the rabbits and squirrels... not so much.  "Bunny... Wabbit... hop hop hop." "Wook!  Wobin!"

Mom reorganized the attic and wanted us to come look at stuff/ take things away so we stopped in for a few hours on Friday.  The old farmer was coloring before coloring was cool. 

 This is a paper carousel.  It's made entirely out of card stock, including the gears which are several layers glued together.  I got the kit years ago.  It used to go around when you turned the paper crank and it had a little music box that played the carousel song... It's very cool, but what in the world do you do with a large paper carousel?  I decided it was probably time to take a picture and let it go... (although it hadn't made it to the dumpster yet as of Tuesday...)

We brought home a few more treasures:  Samantha, some dolly blankets, a dresser for Cecily, the box of cards Mom had saved from baby showers and baby gifts and my first, second, and third birthdays.  Um... I am so not a card person.  I rarely send them (so sorry!), and I could care less if I get them (unless they have money in them.  hehe).  If you want to send me a letter; that I would love.  So I said I would take them and read them and then pitch them.  Other than enjoying the vintageness and warm fuzzies from seeing old names and handwriting from people that are gone... I can't say I've missed out on not reading through them before.  And if I haven't needed them in 31 years I probably don't need to store them.  So other than the ones from my grandmas- out they went.

Choc-ate milk for a snack... 

 They are enjoying the classic Tupperware stencils we brought home.  Oh, and Bob sent me flowers because the girls picked all my tulips.  Such a good man.

Samantha came home with us.  They think she's great.  "Mom, when I get big, I can get an American Doll too!"

 Her outfits have been interesting.

 She loves the hats.

 And I couldn't quite take letting them play with all of her accessories... I was so torn... but I just couldn't do it so most of the more delicate/ small things are in a box out of their reach.  I know, I'm terrible. 

 Sprout was home Friday evening so we ate supper out there and the girls played hard. 

Saturday morning our garden got tilled... different guy this time and I am not super impressed (it may have been too wet still).  But we got potatoes and onions and peas in the ground.  Not that I'll be in any shape to do anything with all that produce.

Mom is letting us use her childhood dresser in the girls' room.  It needed a little love.  Nothing a little weld bond, wood glue, and sanding couldn't fix.

 And a fresh coat of white paint.  It was a lovely day, but I hate painting outside.  All the bugs in the neighborhood decided to get stuck in the wet paint.

 Clayton joined us for lunch, played with the girls, and then loaded up our old loveseat for his bachelor pad.  The girls are pretty sure that every visitor is there to cater to their every whim. 

I think I need to stop wearing stripes to church... I'm getting too many pitying looks and "HOW much longer do you have??" 

Tuesday was our seventh anniversary.  Crazy.  We went to Basta's for supper... and neither of us got each other cards.  *grin*

 The girls found the play dough.  Woot.   "Dank oo much."

 Emmy loves her babies and bears.... "Quiet!  Bear!  Schweepin!" 

As of today all of Emmy's clothes have been moved out of the nursery and into Cecily's room.  I was sorting clothes at the same time... they try so hard to be helpful.... I try so hard to be patient...
Blessings.

there's no luck in swordfishing here

It's finally warm!  Hallelujah!  No coats, no shoes, the girls would prefer no pants.... flowers are blooming... spring is the best.

Continuing down my project list... This is our only bathtub.  There is not enough tile around it.... considering we have two little water lovers and hard water that leaves spots all over the walls.  I used satin bathroom/kitchen paint, but it's still not very washable. 

I am not afraid to try home improvement projects, but hopefully I know my limits.  I would hate to be the reason the next owner of this house goes crazy.... I mean.... would it have been that hard to mark a level line on the wall and use spacers when tiling this backsplash??  Bob and I hung the cabinet with a level.  There is a quarter inch difference in the tile underneath it.  Why??  It's not like tile is easy to replace or fix. 

 Anyway, so we're trying something new- wallpaper!  Ha.  When I mentioned that I wanted Mom to teach me how to wallpaper at her and Steve's birthday party it was met with exclamations of shock and horror from all quarters.  We've all removed waaaaay too much wallpaper in our young lives because; no matter how cool/pretty/trendy/etc. it is when it's put up, it quickly becomes passé (and if you wait long enough, ugly, hehe).  This is a little different though: behold paintable, textured bead board wallpaper! (The weird spots went away when it dried.)

It's going all around the lower half of the bathroom, will be capped with trim and eventually I'll get around to painting it in delightfully scrubbable semi-gloss paint.  Mom came over on Saturday and helped me and talked me through papering behind the toilet.  Woot.  It's not a Lyd and Pearl job, but not bad for a first attempt. My long term plan for this bathroom is to completely remodel and put in a tub/shower combo (way down the road and many years of saving up), so since I will probably be the one removing this wallpaper I don't feel too guilty.
Emmy has been sleeping in the bottom bunk since last Tuesday!  And napping in there!  Woot woot. 

 Such a big little girl. 

 We've been enjoying the sunshine... lunch outside. 

The driveway was full of chalk creatures again.  And I hooked up the hose, so somehow they both got soaking wet and needed their towels. 

Bob got the lawnmowers out on Saturday to see if they will run this year.  He was going to just wash off the seat.... 

 And they, of course, decided to wash the whole thing.  We now have the cleanest mower on the street. (We're really not lawnmower washing type people...)

That evening Lena had planned a surprise party for Matt's 30th at the farm.  He found out about it, but it was still fun.  The girls had a great time chasing Gus around, taking grandpa supper at the field, playing with Garrett, and eating cosmic cake.  I was excited to see Kris and Blake... it was a good time, and Emmy got to bring home some snack mix.  She hugged it tight all the way home, silly little hobbit. 

Other than picking all of the flowers, we have been intentionally not busy.  Although I need to get my act together and get the garden tilled because Cecily is dying to plant more flowers...
Blessings. 

Fruit Basket Upset and a mini-vacation

We've been moving furniture around here... shuffling and getting some new things... woot woot. 

This bookcase is a new addition.  I was hoping to find the same one that is on the other side of the window, but of course it's no longer available.  So I picked this one, and I'm not impressed with the quality.  O well.  Someday I want to get matching built in bookcases for this corner with a window seat in between.... someday... for now this will hold overflow books and the printer.  

The girls got glow stick flashlights in their Easter baskets and one evening they had all the lights off and were running around with them.  I did not let them take the flashlights in the bathtub, but we did bring them in the bathroom.  Add a package of glowsticks and they got a glow-bath!  They thought it was the best thing ever.   

 The smaller bookcase that used to be in the family room is now in Cecily's room.

 Gloves!  Because every little girl needs a pair of fancy gloves in her life.  *grin*  They were on clearance... I'm not sure if they were supposed to be for Easter or first communion, or what.  I had a pair of lace gloves from Aunt Lori's wedding when I was little so I couldn't resist.

 Bob's birthday was last Friday.  The girls were very excited.  So excited that they opened his gifts for him.

 Look Dad, you got a book!

 Ooooh, look!

 They were very excited about his new lanterns.  Silly girls.

 Over the weekend we moved Cecily's cute little twin frame out and moved the bunk beds in.  Emmy was helping clean them.  "Washin' washin'."  I need to figure out if it's possible to get all the college-girl-marks off of them.  *cough* Shelly. Lys. *cough*

 And she kept finding hammers... little stinker.  Lately when you tell her "No!" she'll say, "Why-ee??   *pause* Cuzsh!"  Haha.

 

 They were pleased.

 I am not pleased that Emmy can climb the ladder... I also am terrible at making bunk beds... it has been a long time and my brother's beds were lower...

Emmy acts like she wants to sleep in the bottom bunk, but she hasn't ever stayed there for more than a few minutes.  Eventually.  

Monday afternoon we headed to Schaumburg!  Cecily was up super early and soooo excited.  She was driving me crazy since we weren't planning on leaving until after lunch. 

"I love this hotel so much I want to stay here forever!"  She does not take after me... I despise hotels....  "Look they have TWO computers!"  Haha... sheltered AC children... 

We took them to the Rainforest Café for supper.  I told Cecily all about it so she would know about the animals that moved and the 'storm.'  She kept telling me "We're going to eat at a restaurant with hundreds of animals!"  Something like that kiddo... They both liked it and weren't scared, good times.

 I wanted to go to Janie and Jack... since I can never find free shipping online and their kids clothes are so cute (but expensive!).  They didn't really have anything on sale though.  Boo.  Basically I was at Woodfield mall, went to one store, and didn't buy anything.  So sad. 

Then we went back to the hotel and went SWIMMING!  They were so excited.  "Wimmin pool!"

 I don't think we stayed in the pool long enough because we could not get Emmy to sleep.  We put her in bed with Cecily and she did not want to stay in it or shut her eyes... ayiyi.  She finally fell asleep next to Bob at 11 and woke me up a few times during the night.  So we were all a little tired in the morning. 

I was up in time for the Embassy's delicious made to order breakfast... everyone else had to settle for pop tarts and juice in the room.  She was actually really happy about it.  Cecily ate pretty much nothing because we let her watch cartoons at the same time.  O well.

 Our first stop was IKEA.  Which I love.  They wanted to explore everything... don't worry, we didn't let them.

 I think they would have spent the rest of the day in the kids section....

 We ate lunch at IKEA- kids eat free on Tuesdays!  I've never tried the food before, it was pretty good and definitely convenient! 

Our main reason for going north was to get a new loveseat.  The one we have has seen better days... and it's technically a chair and a half so we all barely fit on it to read books.  It's over by our computers and the toys so it gets the most use out of any spot in the house.  I looked at a few loveseats, but everything is so BIG... too wide or too deep or so overstuffed that the seat is too small.  IKEA furniture is slightly smaller scale, cheaper, and major selling point- slipcovered!  So we got a new loveseat with two slipcovers... that are washable!  Woot woot!  Yay practical.

After we loaded up the loveseat and everything else we couldn't leave without, we headed to the LEGOLAND Discovery Center.  Cecily was sooo excited.  The first room was full of models of Chicago sights and landmarks that she wasn't super interested in... I thought it was cool. 

 They had a section where you could build city things too.  Not sure who is having more fun here... it was hard to convince her there were more fun things to do and see.

 A room of jungle creatures all made out of legos... "I could stay in the Jungle for hours!"  Haha.. um.. ok, but there are two floors to this place... 

 Another building section.... she was emptying the tubs onto the table.

 Building, building.

 Inside a lego lion! Rahr!

 There was an indoor pirate themed play place, which they loved.

 And a water table with pirate ships that I didn't take pictures of...

Cecily was dying to go on this ride with Daddy.  The more you pedaled, the higher you went while it went around. 

 They didn't want to leave, but it was time.... we let them each pick out a lego set.  They were really happy, but they were also really tired at this point so you can't tell... ha.

 Do we have to go home?

 All loaded up with the couch... Emmy was out almost as soon as we started driving, snuggled up with the activity booklet from LEGOLAND.

Anyway, it was a fun little trip! 
And somehow the laundry pile from being gone for a day is huge...
Blessings.