plants = blog

oh my poor little blog. 

sometimes i feel like my blog is the plant that sits by the window in our guest room.  at times, it is so perky and i remember to water it and then.... i forget! i get busy with laundry and cleaning and tutoring and little girls and my husband and then look over and my poor old plant is droopy and sad!

just like my little blog. 


i want to paint a big sign that says "the days are long but the years are short" for my laundry room. 

because i feel some days, that it takes forever to get through the day.  and yet, a whole year of my staying at home has FLOWN by.  it's been a year of picnics and playgrounds and inside and library visits and naps and naps and torturous please-go-to-sleep- naptimes. it's been fun but hard.  i wouldn't change it for a million bucks and yet, sometimes i wish i could just get a conference period at my desk while i eat peanut m&m's without sharing and look at my favorite websites alone.

we're busy.  i tutor in the afternoons so we get our work done early.  right now, my to-do list has a chevron/coral table for the chicks, organize the craft room more, read more books to the littles, window chalkboard, wrap up ring-and-run gifts for some new moms, and then clean/keep clean.

meanwhile, here's a random piggy bank pic.  {and for the record, i do feel so guilty for my  picture quality.  in fact, MANY times, i pass on blogging at all because i feel my pics are so stinky and uploading/editing eats up precious moments.  those blogs with beautiful pictures are a bit intimidating.}

diy: bias tape garland

here's a teeny diy idea...
 

just in case you need a project to use up all the different colors of bias tape you might have.  


i had a shoebox full of the stuff. mostly vintage, which means it probably wouldn't be something i would use for an actual sewing project. (and probably would have to figure out what it's actually for. and then learn how to do it....)

i tied strips about 6 inches long to a gold cord in random order.  it looks so festive.  there are 3 garlands and they sure brighten up the space by the kid's swings.  love. 

and then, the real beauties. 

random littles

random littles:

henley:
(as i hug on her and squeeze her little hiney)

"mom, please don't touch my hiney. hiney's are dirty and full of germs."

oh, is that so?
 

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(as i change from my robe into my clothes)

henley: "wow mom, i see your big boobies."
me: "yep, we all have boobies"
hen: "my boobies are small."
me: "what about mia's?"
hen: "hers are baby boobies. and dad's are short. and pop's are big. and molly's are big. and mamie's are down low."
me: "what about pawpaw's?"
hen: "him doesn't have boobies."

haha.
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mia's latest thing is "no, mama" in this southern drawl.  when i give a million kisses or chase her or tell her to get back in her bed.  it's especially cute with the pacifier in.  which we are trying to get rid of. as with the 11 am nap. but that girl will sneak upstairs and find her paci and her blankie and fall asleep anywhere she can.  as in the kitchen floor. or the living room floor. 

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david has been laying with henley as she goes to sleep.  the other night, they recapped the weekend and she was so quiet listening and rememebering. tonight at bedtime, she said, "dad, can we talk about stuff again?"

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i made homemade bubbles and the girls have been having so much fun with them.  henley can actually blow bubbles and mia, too.  but mostly, mia puts the wand directly on her lips and blows.  so sometimes, when she pulls the wand away, then breathes, a bubble comes directly from her mouth.  i'll have to get a pic.  
 
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today, mia got into the sharpie.  she colored all over her tummy and legs.  i gave her a spanking and took away the marker.  she cried and ran to the stairs and sat there.  henley came over and said "mia.  so sorry you got in trouble.  but markers are for paper, not tummies.  did mom hurt your feelings, mia?  let's hold hands." 

dishes

to you, clean dishes.

to me,
* looking out the kitchen window watching tater (quite conspicously) stalk a bird
* hearing david give the little girls a bath, some songs and stern warning about water on the bathroom floor
* listening to "you reign" radio on pandora
* thankful for an easy, yummy dinner (baked pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, watermelon)
* blessed to have plenty of food, a clean kitchen and a happy home
*  time to say quick prayers and give thanks

project lately: distressed glazed chairs

project lately: distressed glazed chairs

man, do i have the painting bug.  this past couple weeks, i've painted anything i could get my hands on. kids chairs, outside fridge (pink!!!) , kitchen chairs, benches, kids table, bookshelves, pantry doors, bathroom door, front door. 

waking up with the girls at 6:30, getting them a bowl of cheerios and getting to work in the driveway before it gets too hot.  those chicks are awesome at having some outside fun:  drive the gator, play in the sand box, paint with water in the driveway and sidewalk chalk until they're as dirty as you can get- then it's the hose and the kiddie pool and inside for some bananas and grapes.  

meanwhile, i get my paint on.  

i bought some chairs for 100 bucks on craiglist a bit ago and they sat in the garage until i got around to buying my materials.  they are great- sturdy, awesome carved detail and best of all they all MATCH.  for whatever reason, when we moved in, i thought a mismatched set of chairs would look.... quaint? cute? hello- totally random and not good. 

i was ready for something new. 

took those babies outside and covered them with a coat of antique white paint. (and no, i didn't sand. partly because i was going for a distressed look in the end.  but mostly because i am LAZY, LAZY, LAZY) and good gracious, that painting took FOREVER! there are 8 spindles on the back of each chair as well as 4 legs, with 8 horizontal supports on every chair! so many little spots i would miss.  so i just went inside and then came out and touched up. many times. 

 

they actually were really pretty all white.  but i knew kiddo's grubby hands, my messiness in the kitchen and craft projects would have them dingy in no time. 

i had read about brooke's (her blog all things thrifty is one of my faves) glazing projects many times and loved how they turned out. so i read once more her glazing 101 post, took a deep breath and destroyed my lovely white results! 

bought martha stewart's metallic glaze from home depot. i used the color muscovado.  followed brooke's instructions: wipe on glaze, wipe off with a wet cloth.  by this time, my sweet hubs came to help.  we wiped on and wiped off to our hearts content.  left it thick in some spots and more off in others. 

 

by no means perfect but i LOVE how they turned out.  the details up top are just gorgeous and they look aged and well loved.  they look fantastic around my old dining table.  they are comfy for sitting around and i can't wait to enjoy a meal with others, sitting there long after dinner's over.  

so give glazing a try!  so fun. 

meanwhile, while writing this post, someone got into the nutella.  can't say i blame her.

Blessed and lucky

Whew. Today was one of those days.

Wake up at 4 and go sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor in the girls room because Mia is crying.

Officially get out of bed (off the floor) at 7 to start the day.

Leave the house and begin the errands.
Trash to the dump.
Plastic and cans and cardboard to recycling center.
Bank to deposit money.
Walmart.
Home Depot.
H-E-B.
Pharmacy.
Magazines to the paper dumpster.

I was feeling tuckered out and overwhelmed. Kids are sick of the car. Buckle the car seats up again and again and find the other Croc that went under the car. And hand a kid a sippy cup. And "Mommy, my fingers are stuck together from my lollipop."

As we finally started home to eat and take naps (hallelujah!!!), Natalie Merchant came on the radio.

"These are the days, you'll remember.
Never before and never since,
I promise, will the whole world be warm as this.
And as you feel it, you'll know it's true that you are blessed and lucky.
It's true that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom in you."

Blessed and lucky. Might just make a sticker for my car. :)

10 years ago

10 years ago today, I went on my first date with my husband.  i wouldn't ordinarily remember the exact date (since my memory is just AWFUL) but that sweet man tore the little calendar page out and kept it in the visor of his truck.  and when he bought a new truck, he moved it to the new one. and when he bought another new truck, guess what? it got put in the box of all the million things that come out of your truck when you are at the dealership dropping it off for the last time and hasn't ever been unpacked. but that date is stuck forever. 

i remember i was nervous.  i was about to begin my first year of teaching and had come straight from my new teacher orientation in a professional-ish black dress and jean jacket.  i wanted to change into something "cool". don't know what that was...but i didn't get time. we were meeting at a friend's house and he beat me there. he told me once that i looked beautiful getting out of my car in my "teacher clothes". he said he knew we would love me.

we went on a double date with our sweet friends who had set us up.  david and chris worked together. isn't it funny how someone mentions to you they have a friend they think you ought to meet and it turns out to be the love of your life?  right there in your own town.  

we went to the same high school and i wouldn't have given him the time of day back then.  he was a jock and i was a nerd.  (haha.  those labels. i still classify people that way. lame.) but wait a couple years and people work. 

dinner was nothing super special. but it just felt right. 

august 14, 2002.  10 years ago.  i've had 5 cars since then (how is that even possible??). this is our fourth house together. i've moved classrooms 4 times. (enough with the moving already!!) 3 dogs and 2 cats later.  2 kids. sadness.  happiness.  we often say the same thing at the same time.  and then look at each other, like "hey!??! that's what I was going to say?!" we are soul  mates. he is my love. 

i'm sure glad for these 10 years.