Why? Just Tell Me Why.

What could possess someone to cover this up with linoleum??
It's not a perfect job. We need to scrub it, buff it, or something, but who in their right mind could cover this beauty?? I don't care if it does feel cold under your feet - put on some darn socks for crying out loud!!
My husband's answer as to why someone would do that was something like, "Well, if you were drunk this would really make you dizzy!"

I did say that I thought the first layer looked like it was from the sixties or seventies, so maybe they were tripping out on something...

Can We Tear Up This Little House Any More??

Remember my ugly duckling? Well, yesterday I was is the bathroom talking to my husband while he was getting a bath (what, you've never done that?) and some water splashed all over our basket of magazines so I moved it to keep the water from ruining our required reading. Now remember why that basket was so strategically placed? We started looking at the linoleum and got the bright idea that we'd peel up the floor! I knew what was underneath because I had already looked under it in the bathroom closet. There was a loose tile in the closet so I yanked it out and we went to Lowe's to see what it was (I thought maybe it was quartz) and what we needed to fix the floor. It turns out that the tile was marble!! We have marble floors under three layers of linoleum!!

My husband hard at work:

Here the first layer is peeled up and you can see the second layer:

Here is the original marble floor:

This picture is after he ripped the whole top layer of linoleum up.

You can see the bottom layer of linoleum in this picture. I'm guessing it was laid in the 60's or 70's.

I'll keep posting the progress on this project. He started last night and we still have a long way to go!

My Sad, Sad Laundry Room

Meet my laundry room.

She's a little sad.
The first reason for her sadness? This thing.

Yep, that's an All jug rigged up and duct taped to the drain pipe. The amount of water the washer shot into the pipe was too much for it to drain fast enough to keep from overflowing, so my husband fashioned his own "reservoir" to try to contain the overflow until it had time to drain. It worked okay...

...but not perfectly, that's why there's that cooler sitting there to catch the rest of the overflow.

Here is what the dryer gets to look at day after day:

By the way, that's what it looks like when it's clean. That puffy yellow stuff? That's called Great Stuff. It's for filling cracks. You spray and it foams up and dries hard as a rock. Maybe I could take a chainsaw to it... Keep an eye out for it throughout this post. I don't know what the deal is with the wall and baseboard being cut off about four inches above the floor. Next to that toilet is a sink and next to that is this:
That's supposed to be a shower.
Here is is from another (blurry) angle:


And here is a head on shot of it:
That green piece of soap in the soap holder? Yeah, that belonged to the previous owners. We've never used this thing for it's intended purpose. Oh, it's comprised of a concrete floor and metal surround. This sucker would take a jackhammer to remove.

And as if you haven't had enough of the shower?
That silver thingy in the upper right hand corner is the shower head. I don't know what kind of water pressure it gets. And I don't know what's up with that two by four wedged up there...

Here we have the lovely brown astroturf that is on the floor in this room.
Those nasty looking stains would be courtesy of our washer. Something about it leaks oil onto the floor.
Here, let me move this baker's rack so you can get a better view of the corner.

Oh, there is that Stuff again and there is that strangeness with the wall and trim cut so far above the floor again.

Well, I understand that you are saying, "Would you shut up about your hideous laundry room already!?" See, there are actually two reasons I brought up the thing. One is I found this blog called Pink and Polka Dot and she is so cute! About a week and a half ago she posted about her laundry room. Let me tell you: I was drooling just over the before photos! But the no-cost after is so stinkin' cute!!

So, what's the other reason I would post this? See, my poor laundry room is now more depressed than ever because now she has to share her nastiness with this:
I'll pardon you with the details about our acquiring this set of fabulousness for today. But I do feel bad to have to put them in this room.

Oh, look at this:
Did you see?? Rather, did you see what's missing?? No more rigged up "reservoir!"!!!!!! The washer uses so little water that we don't need to worry about that anymore!

And now I'm pondering painting the room, see:
...as if that will help... Sorry my little sweethearts!

In This Moment I Remember

My Sweetheart,

Five years ago at this moment I was joyfully and fearfully laboring with you. I waited to see your face, your promise, my hope for the future. I didn't know what was yet in store nor all that occurred in your life already. But if your being two and a half weeks late hadn't proven to me already how much stubbornness was contained in your tiny body, the next few days would.

There was no way to know the fight that was going on between my body and yours. All we knew was that you were a perfect eight pound beautiful girl. When you were having trouble breathing in that first hour of your life our midwife determined that you need more specialized help that she could give.

Two hours after your body was cut from mine you were taken from my sight. I was not prepared for anything that followed. The next time I saw you I could hardly bear to look. We were supposed to be home already, our new little family. Instead we were ushered into the NICU of Children's Hospital.

You were sent as a precaution for the sticky fluid on your lungs, but the next few days spiraled out of my control, something that I could hardly bear then ...and now.

Platelets practically nonexistent.
Transfusions aren't working.
Can't figure out why.
Blood work expedited to Wisconsin.
Unpronounceable words.
NAIT.
No more children.
Do not have more children.
No brothers.
No sisters.
Period.

...But, I had my precious angel.

Please don't ever forget how precious you are to me.

I am so thankful for you.

I Must Be A Pack Rat

This is everything we cleaned out from just one portion of the basement!!! What is even more sad is that every single bit of this is trash! As I took boxes out I realized a bunch of this junk was stuff that was put in the basement the day we moved in... That was almost six years ago, people!! Too sad.


Oh, and do you see the big hole in our basement door? That is courtesy of Bismarck, the Belgian Tervuran that my husband used to own. He decided that he wanted to go outside when we wouldn't let him, so he ate the door! (I'll leave that thought for another day, though.)

I even thought I'd be so kind as to give you another view of this mess!
All those flattened boxes were going to be used some day to pack stuff ...yeah, right!

There you have it: I am officially a pack rat...

It Had To Be Done

I can't believe I am about to show you this, but I soooo need a kick in the rear to get things started.

This is just a tiny glimpse into our dungeon, er... basement:This is really just the tip of the iceberg, but I don't have the courage tonight to let you see the rest...

BUT

That was one aisle of the basement yesterday.

Here is what my husband and I accomplished today:
Not perfect, but oh so much better.


Here is an after picture going the other direction:
Ooooh, man, I should have taken a picture of what came out of the basement... I'm too lazy and it's too cold right now, but I think I'll post that tomorrow... I know it doesn't look like much, but this took us almost two hours to do! I can't tell you how long it's been since I've been able to walk through that area without hopping over something or squeezing by something!

Hearing The Call

Then the Lord called, "Samuel! Samuel!" and he said, "Here I am!"
1 Samuel 3:4

NEW YORK - Chesley Sullenberger spent practically his whole life preparing for the five-minute crucible that was US Airways Flight 1549.

He got his pilot's license at 14, was named best aviator in his class at the Air Force Academy, flew fighter jets, investigated air disasters, mastered glider flying and even studied the psychology of how cockpit crews behave in a crisis.

When the ultimate test came on a descent over the Hudson River, he spoke into the intercom only once and gave perhaps the most terrifying instruction a pilot can give - "Brace for impact" - with remarkable calm.

And as the 150 passengers of Flight 1549 marveled at their hero pilot's skill and cool head, they learned what friends and relatives of Sullenberger say they have known all along.

On Friday, the 57-year-old pilot fielded a congratulatory call from President George W. Bush. The engineer of what Gov. David Paterson called "a miracle on the Hudson" had yet to speak publicly, but the accolades piled up. Mayor Michael Bloomberg showed off a key to the city for the pilot. Congress took up a resolution paying tribute. The governor said someone had offered $10,000 to build a statue of Sullenberger.

His wife, Lorraine, appearing outside their Danville, Calif., home, called her husband a "pilot's pilot" who "loves the art of the airplane." She described him, as almost everyone else had, as controlled and professional.

"This is the Sully I know," she said. "I always knew how he would react. So to me this is not something unusual. It's the man I know."
ERIN McCLAM, Associated Press
Saturday, January 17, 2009

And the LORD came and stood forth, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for thy servant hears."
1 Samuel 3:10

New Addition???

No, no, no... It's not me! At least I'm pretty sure it's not me, but if it's you or a friend you might just want one of these:




Just about the cutest thing (what am I talking about, they are totally, completely irresistible!) is the "bum decor" on the back!! Check this out:




Makes you want to have a baby, right?? Well, what's even better is she has these in toddler t-shirt sizes all the way to a 5T!!!!

Now I know you are jumping for your purses to get your check cards (keep Dave Ramsey on the brain, people!) out, but STOP!! SITS has featured Ella Bean in their Saturday Spotlight, and you know what that means!!! GIVEAWAY!!!!!

So, just go enter the contest, I know I won't win, but hopefully you can! That would mean I scored an assist, right??

This Little Pig Went to Market (And Got Herself a Makeover!)

Amazingly, when I brought up the subject of maybe painting the piggy to my daughter, she agreed. Her reasoning was, "Because pigs aren't white and red striped with blue and stars."


So, here she is:She is a little brighter (sheesh) and a little more salmon in color than this picture shows, but I would say that this is a definite improvement. Would you agree?

I am not really sure that I am done with her yet. I think that I will live with her for a while before I decide, though.

My New Look

Like it?? I worked REEEAAALLY hard to get this HTML stuff figured out. In the process of changing things I lost all my blogs and websites that didn't have buttons, so now I'm going to have to try to find them all again... Also my header will be changing soon!


Edited to add: Got my header pic changed!! How's it look??

Ugly Pig

I'm sitting here staring at this thing wondering, "Why in the world did my MIL have to get this piece of hideousness for my daughter?" I had hoped it would be one of those things that I could tuck away and she'd forget about it, then I could donate it to charity or something. But, oh no, every time she finds a coin (or raids our pockets...), into the pig it goes. And, let me tell you, this gal has some lofty goals for this money: it's going to buy our new house one day!! So, I have to pretty this sow up with some paint or decoupage or something. I was thinking of a peachy pink, but I don't know... Any ideas??

Getting The Behavior Under Control

I'm going to tell you a little secret. I'm a horrible mother. I let my temper get the best of me way too much, and I get so angry with my children sometimes that it really feels like I am going to bust a blood vessel in my eye one day. My four year old really knows how to push me over the edge. I have been holding onto the end of that rope so tightly for what seems like so long that I just don't know if I want any more kids at all. Then I feel guilty. We worked so hard to get our babies here that I feel so unappreciative of the miracles God has given me. I have to try so hard every day, and I don't know where I would be without Him, but I know it would not be pleasant.

So, last week I was on the computer and I found this Works For Me Wednesday post. I got so excited because I had seen the Dilley Six on TV and knew that their mom had some sort of really involved discipline method, but I didn't know quite how it worked. IFLC even referenced it for me (I mean her readers), so I was able to read it for myself! You can read that here.

I talked to my husband about it that night and he thought it sounded like a good idea, so the next day I set about creating the whole thing. We've instituted it with our daughter, and so far so good! I am praying that this is our answer.


Here are the two charts I made. You can click on any picture to enlarge it. Now the daily chores have to be completed before any privileges are allowed, even breakfast.
Here is the ladder side of the chart. The infractions will change, I'm sure, as we encounter different behaviors that need to be modified. We also consider any extenuating circumstances before we have her move her marker...

Here you can see she has already completed all her chores.

And here is the chore chart without the magnets covering the pictures.

For the "Little Apprentice Duties" she is learning how to do my chores alongside me. I don't expect too much out of her right now. She still pitches in and helps me with them, but I really just want to make sure she's paying attention and watching carefully how I am doing the tasks. As she gets older the chart will, of course, change, and I will change my expectations of her as well. But for now, I think this is enough for her.


By the way, I made the chart and magnets for free out of stuff I already had: scrapbook paper, a circle punch, and old magnet advertisements that I was just about to toss in the trash. See?

This makes me smile every time I look at it!!

Stoked!!

We went out today and I convinced my husband to drop me off at JoAnn's to "window shop" while he went to Lowe's to pick up some supplies. Well, I, of course couldn't make it out of JoAnn's with nothing in my hands. Check out what I bagged!!!


That's five garlands, two boxes of pine cones, a bag of 100 tea lights, and a string of Christmas snowflake bead garland (for the Lucy tree). It cost a whopping $9.01 plus tax!! The garlands were 29 cents each, pine cones were 59 cents each, the beads were 39 cents, and well, I did pay full price for the candles - $5.99 for the pack of 100... I'm so excited!!!

Aren't These Just Lovely?

If you are an avid photographer you are just going to love these. Shealynn makes such luscious camera strap covers. Here are just a few of them:


Like pink and brown? How about Jewel dot?


An eastern flair? Maybe Moorish Espresso is your kind of poison...


Nature with a twist: Lava Leaves


Maybe you have lots and lots and lots of need to wear orange (it's a great color, Alli!)... Then how about Autumn Wallpaper??

So, what could be better than purchasing one of these cuties from Shealynn (no shipping, by the way...)?? How about winning one??? SITS is having a giveaway! Just leave a comment HERE (Alli, you have to click that word) and let them know which one is your favorite. Then if you want more chances to win blog about the giveaway and let them know you posted about it and they'll give you FIVE more chances!

Now, just make sure you don't do any of that so my chances of winning are better , 'kay?!?