Pink Eye and the blue plate special

Ugh. What a past couple of days. We have officially become Chez Pink Eye. Now my kids are usually very healthy. Up until this year, Ben hadn't missed a day of school since Kindergarten. However, for some reason pink eye keeps plaguing our family and it is the gift that keeps on giving. Ben had it pretty bad and he gave it to Sammie. Yesterday at the Dr.'s both kids checked out free and clear. Super, I had already had to cancel some work I was doing due to sick kids and now I can finish up my loose ends. WRONG. Sammie woke up this morning with RED eyes. Now I'm torn, do I play dumb and send her to school? No, I can' t do that. So on the couch she lies watching a little Sprouts so she won't be crying that she is missing school again. I'm scheduled to work in her class tomorrow and I think I'm going to have to try and find someone who can swap. What a pain. I think the worst part of pink eye is that you are kind of forced to stay home, at least you should stay home. I was looking forward to getting out today, but now I guess I will try and get some house stuff done. It is days like these that I'm really glad that I'm not a "real" working mom. I remember when I was teaching and I had to take a sick baby to daycare and pretend I didn't notice he wasn't feeling well. How awful is that? I know there are a lot of working moms out there, I just know it isn't for me right now. I can barely keep my head above water as it is and to throw on another huge responsibility like working, especially teaching, forget about it :0)
It is raining and grey and kind of depressing. A lot of the blogs I read have had a bunch of snow lately. I don't think I could do snow now. I need some sun. We had a really gorgeous day on Saturday. Joji and Sammie got to go out on our friends boat and I got to stay home with Pink eye Ben. I love those clear, sunny days. We can see the Olympic Mountains and they are so pretty. This picture was taken from Sammie's window.

Even though the weekend was kind of a downer due to sickness, there were a couple of bright spots. We got to see our friends the Zimmermans for a little BBQ. We love going up there and trying out Bob's latest cooking adventure. The best part is that it makes Joji want to start dabbling in the world of "outdoor cooking". I'm all for that. I'm trying to convince him that we need to build a covered patio so our BBQ efforts aren't limited to our 5 sunny days a year, hehe.

And speaking of food, I got the cutest new set of dishes. About a month ago, I was at Fred Meyer. (For those of you who have Fred Meyers in your area, you know how dangerous these stores are. They have EVERYTHING and run REALLY good sales) and I always wonder through the housewares isles to look at the plates. Well I saw this really cute set. It was kind of a sky blue and it reminded me of the the Southern Living dishes. They even came with a "bonus". The set included an extra 4 bowls and 4 salad plates. The "bonus" pieces are what sold me. They looked liked someone had piped royal icing around the edges. I thought that was so pretty. However, I didn't get them, because I really didn't need them and they weren't on sale. So on Friday on our way back from the taking Ben to the Dr. we stopped at Freddies to pick up a couple of things. Well wouldn't you know it, those plates were on clearance and not only that, but they were an additional 50% off the clearance price. Woo Hoo!! Joji green lighted the purchase so I got them. They had 3 sets left and I got them all. They were originally $42 a set, marked down to $32 and with the extra 50% I got them for $16. So I got a set of 72 dishes for $48!!! Now I am not going to store 72 dishes in my cabinets, not that I could if I wanted to, so I'm going to pack up the plain bowls and salads and just use the pretty ones. I was a little worried about food looking funny on a blue plate, but this shade of blue is light enough, that it is okay. Scrambled eggs look especially pretty on my new plates.
So anyway, that has been my life for the past few days. Hopefully things will turn around. Princess Pink Eye needs some water so I'm off.
Wishing everyone a happy Wednesday!!

My 100th Post

This is my 100th post and I must say I'm not only amazed that I was able to come up with 100 things to write about, but there are actually folks out there in blogland who read them. So in honor of my 100th posts I would like to send a couple of shout outs to folks who have made my venture into blogland a fun one...
About a year ago, I couldn't sleep and so I began to google random things. When I googled "cottage" a link for Meg's My Little Cottage caught my eye. I had never really seen a blog before and hers was so sweet and cheery. I loved how she shared the everyday little things and of course peeks at her cute house were icing on the cake. I was hooked. Not only hooked but I thought that maybe I could write a blog too.
I soon found myself connecting with woman for all over the world. Moms just like me trying to balance kids and home and stay sane in the process. Of course it is one things to read the blogs, but so much more exciting when you connect with the person behind the blog. So I would like to say a big thanks to Kellie, Kate, Jenny and Marie for stopping by on a regular basis. I still get a kick out of seeing that a comments has been left.
Blogging has been such a wonderful experience. I get so inspired by the creativity that is showcased and I'm touched by what is shared mom to mom, wife to wife, woman to woman. So thank you to everyone who takes time out of their busy life to check in on me and my little family. It really means a lot!! :0)

Inspriration

Just thought I would share my fun find. I mentioned a couple of posts ago that I'm getting ready to redo Sammie's room for her 5th birthday next month. Well, I have been on the lookout for some really cute bedding. It is not out there!! I've looked everywhere and I still couldn't find what I was looking for. So today I was super excited to find this little gem at my local ROSS store. I usually don't go into ROSS, because it is horribly messy and way to "jenga" for me, but today I thought what the heck. I went to the sheet section and it was a total bust until I was leaving and this caught my eye.

A little old twin sheet with the perfect colors in it (chambray, blushy pink, cream and a little soft sage for good measure) The best part was that it was on clearance for $5. I love the Ralph Lauren bedding and you just can't beat that price. So now I have my "inspiration" piece and the next step is selecting the paint.
I was at Home Depot tonight, but since I was with 4 kids, my paint selecting time wasn't all that productive. I did decide that instead of the bottom part of the wall being blue, I think I will paint it pink and have the blue be part of the checked border at the top. The blue sheet which I'm sewing into a duvet cover just wouldn't "pop" with a blue wall, but a "blush" wall, totally different story.
I just love when the pieces start to fall into place. Tomorrow while Sammie is in class I think I will go back to Home Depot, bring my fabric and actually get the paint. I will probably also hit the TJMAXX and ROSS in Tacoma to see if I can find more of these sheets or better yet, pillowcases. I would love to find a pink and cream ticking or gingham sheet set, but you just never know. I will keep you posted if I pick up anymore goodies :0)

Busy, Busy, Busy

I can't believe it has been a whole week since my last post. This past week has been crazy, but the good kind of crazy. Ben has been out of school since last Wednesday due to the holiday and teacher in-services. It has been really nice having him home. Last night Sammie spent the night at BaChan's house and it was so weird to just be a family of 3 again. Ben is growing up so fast. Last week, Ben informed me he needed new clothes because everything was too small. So off we went to Old Navy to take advantage of the 40% off kids sale. However, we soon discovered that Ben is no longer in kid sizes. He is officially a men's small. Yikes!! He just turned 9!! He also informed me that he preferrs khakis to jeans and likes would like more polo shirts. Ben is a preppy, who knew??
He has decided that he wants to be an engineer (like his dad) when he grows up. He loves to build things and recently built a "nest" for Sammie. I have to say I was impressed. He took some old shoelaces (the really long kind) and tied them around a couple of little chairs. He then took all the throw pillows in the house and lined the walls of the nest.

Sammie was thrilled and Ben made sure I took pics and wanted to know when I was going to put them on the blog :0)
The rest of the weekend was spent with our friends the Browns. They are so fun and easy to hang out with. Joji and Matt putter, Holly and I get some good girl talk in and the kids play and play and play. It is so nice. Of course, that meant that all the stuff I had wanted to get done, like clean and grocery shop didn't get done, but that is okay. Ben just left for school, Sammie is still at BaChan's so in theory I should be able to get my work done uninterrupted. However, my mom has the day off and I think we will spend some quality time today at TJ MAXX :0)
Happy Tuesday!!

Think Pink: thought I would play

While wondering around blogland, I stopped at Cottage Magpie and she is doing a Think Pink Valentine's Day giveaway She wants us to post some of our favorite pink things from around our house. I am more of a blue and white girl, but I had to post my favorite pink thing.
Sammie wore this when she was 5 mo. old. It lools so small now. I must say the best part are the little matching shoes (to think her feet were ever that small). Sammie was mostly a rough and tumble baby, so she wasn't "dainty" very often.
I'm definately a "soft pink" person. I always think of Shelby from Steel Magnolias who talks about the colors for her wedding, blush and bashful. "Blush" is definately my shade of pink :0)

Sammie's New Room

Next month Sammie will turn the big 5 (gulp) and in honnor of her becoming a big girl, we are going to redo her room. I'm very excited. Nothing has really been done to it since we moved in and she was a baby. Once we got rid of the crib and other baby furniture, we just kind of stuck stuff in there. The stuff hanging on the walls made more sense with the old furniture placement, but now, everything just looks a little "off".
Here are some pics of Sammies room now. I must say it looks better in person, but you get the gist.



I love the show Decorating Cents and my favorite designer is Krista Crawford. She does the best little girl rooms. I love how her rooms are sweet but not too froo froo. I'm going to use this room she did as the inspiration for Sammie's room.

I think the bottom 2/3's will be a soft blue (like the color of faded jeans) and then the top checks will be a light pink and cream. The little dresser in the corner we are going to paint white and her bed and side table will also get a fresh coat of paint. I will probably move the furniture around, but it is tough, since her room is so small and I want her to have some open floor space. I have a little bookshelf I would like to bring in, but that might be too much.
This is going to be so much fun. I'm sure the next time the room is redone it will be for the dreaded "tween" years. Not looking forward to that so I'm just going to enjoy the "girly" years while they last.

He was supposed to be my ideal...

If you are a female in your 30's. Chances are you know who this is.
I found this very funny article over at WSU Laura's blog and if you ever hoped a red porche would sweep you away, you must read this.
As I have shared before, Sixteen Candles is on of my favorite movies. I know it by heart and each of my friends had a sixteen candle alter-ego. Just the other day as I was walking in from the garage, Joji called "That you?" to which I replied "Yeah, that me". I love that movie :0)

Black is the new White

So I'm psyching myself up for painting my cabinets. I'm trying to find that perfect shade of white, when it hits me. I must paint my pantry doors right now and I want to use chalkboard paint. Of course, I cannot wait until the next day so Joji being the good egg that he is, runs down to the local ACE and brings back chalkboard paint in green. Green was NOT going to work at all, so I had to take it back and get the black. (It is really too bad they didn't have a blue chalkboard, that would have been perfect, oh well) Anyway, it is about 8pm and I start painting. I'm able to get the first 2 coats done in no time. The kids are super excited and start rounding up all the chalk we have.
Of course, after reading the directions, I discover that the finish must cure for 72 hours. Ben set the kitchen timer for 72 hours and then we waited. I was AMAZED that my kids could actually wait. I thought for sure there would some "accidents", but there weren't. I was even able to resist and I must say it was hard. But now it is ready and I think it looks pretty good. I was worried about 2 big black doors in my kitchen, but I think it works. I am planning on adding some white details in the corners to spruce it up a bit and I definately need some white chalk, the yellow isn't working for me.
I would like to thank Linda over at Restyled Home for the inspiration to "paint something". It is true what they say, paint is a cheap way to make an impact. I think the "new" doors will look even better when the rest of the cabinets are painted. Now I feel like the ball is starting to roll on my on the cheap kitchen redo. Very exciting :0)

Happy Place

This is the kitchen I want.
I love the colors, I love how happy it feels.
I'm getting more and more excited about painting my cabinets white.
It turns out I will not be going with Joji to Orlando. I'm so bummed. I'm compiling a "Joji can make this up to me" list. This is what I have so far.
1. A weekend in AZ to catch an M's spring training game and visit my best friend Jenny P.
2. Build me a cabinet that will actually fit between my two kitchen windows. It will have 2 paned doors and possibly a plate rack. (The plate rack feature may require some snazzy new blue and white dishes)
I'm trying to look on the bright side, the money saved can be channeled back into the house. Every year for our anniversary, instead of getting presents for each other we do something to the house. This April is our 10th so we should make it someing really good. I'm hoping for a new sink and maybe some countertops. Isn't that romantic :0)

Groundhogs & Louden Swain

February 2nd makes me think of 2 things: Groundhogs and wrestling.
Apparently Punksatony Phil has predicted 6 more weeks of winter. If winter means snow, then bring it on (we have yet to have any snow actually stick this year), but I know it means more gray and rainy. I'm starting to get a little spring fever. I'm seeing more and more green shoots poking out of the ground. We had a cold snap last week. Everyone in W. Wa got snow but us, so I hope it didn't do too much damage.
On Friday, it was "Career Day" at Ben's school. Since I'm the "Hospitatity Chair" I was in charge of treats for the guests. Usually I whip some homemade goodies, but this time I just hit the QFC. I spent 60 bucks on fruit, muffins, bagels and juice. Geesh. I have to admit, if I was personally footing the bill I may have been a little more thrifty. But it was one of those times, I didn't care and just went shopping. As a "you give so much and ask so little" gift to myself (it has been a REALLY long week) I decided the flowers I would get for the treats table would be pale pink tulips. These are my favorite part of spring. I love them. They are just the prettiest flowers. Of course, they looked great on the treats table, but I gotta tell you, they look even better on my table (heeheehee) Spring please hurry up and get here!!

The first weekend in February is also the first round of the State qualifying tournament. Twenty-three years ago today I was at a wrestling tourney, but that is another story... Anyway, today, on cable was Vision Quest. Every wrestling tourney I have ever been to they play the soundtrack to this movie (9 years I spent keeping score for wrestling teams so I have been to quite a few). In fact, I bet it is being played right now. As far as movies go, it was okay. I could have done without the whole "love interest" portion of the film, but I think it was pretty accurate on the wrestling side. I love wrestling (NOT the WWE stuff, but REAL wrestling) I wish Ben would wrestle, but I don't think it is in him. Too bad, he could have been the next Louden Swain :0)