A Beachy Thanksgiving

Beach bum weather for two days of swimming fun, cold wind and stomach bug for two... but still SO much fun and totally worth it!

Tiny Man O' War

My Dad

Large Man O' War

Building a Highway

Thanksgiving Lunch

The boys hanging out upstairs in the "kids lounge".

Many thanks to Uncle Randy and Aunt Kim for hosting us this weekend. We loved being with you all for the holiday!

And the Band Played On...

Pictures from the boys' first band recital. They were REALLY nervous, but played Jingle Bells and Aura Lee without a hitch or squawk.

Griffin was REALLY wiggly. Poor Lou.

Carson's Clarinet

Austin's Trumpet was harder to see

G is SO excited about starting in two years. He wants a sax like Daddy.

Great job guys!

Boys Bedroom Ideas

With the house still sitting on the market and nothing happening, I'm trying to distract myself with plans on how I'd like to decorate the boys new rooms, assuming they ever have any. I wish I would mark these when I save them. I have no idea which blog these came from and for that I'm very sorry! Here are my top three ideas.

I love the timeless color scheme and the white wall panels makes this one perfect for an any child.

The wallpaper treatment in this room breaks up the dark chocolate color. I like that even though the room isn't that big, a larger bed has been used in the space. It's the perfect room for a little man!

This one is a departure from the other two, but it the built in bed that strikes my interest. Wouldn't it be fun to have a little curtain to make it shut off from the world?

Sunset Over the Tennessee River

On the way home from Mom's appointment we crossed the Tennessee River. It never fails to be an amazing view even after 20 years.

A Thankful Heart

The kids have been sick today and yesterday. Luckily for me, there is a generic form of Zofran now that makes the stomach flu much easier on moms. That said, I have had some time on my hands to daydream and web-surf today. My object du jour? Place settings for Thanksgiving day and beyond.

Take this one for example:

or this one:

I thought about how nice my table would look with some dishes like this:

or this:

Suddenly it dawned on me. I was in entirely the wrong state of mind for THANKSGIVING. Instead of looking at all the wonderful things I have in my life already I was thinking about all the things that I didn't have. So I challenged myself; what could I do quickly with what I already have?

I think it turned out rather nice for taking about three minutes to put together. I think if I had some time to think about it, I could put together a lovely table without buying a thing and THAT is what Thanksgiving is all about.

Cloche

I'm not the kind of girl that likes fluff, chotchkies, stuff.... you know, the things that are pretty but don't really DO anything in your house. You will understand my surprise when I tell you that I have been loving these cloches.

Heather Bullard Design

Let's be honest, they do nothing besides, maybe, keeping dust off your display. After seeing them in several magazines and blogs I decided that they were something I really wanted. What's a girl on a budget to do? Search the thrift stores of course!

Seeing as how they are very popular there wasn't much to be found, but I managed to find this little cloche in a most embarrassing position;


attached to a wooden board...

with a knife on a chain...

waiting for cheese.

Poor thing. I free her from her bondage and stuck her in a more suitable location.

What do you think? Cloches yes or no?

Christmas Countdown: 40 Days

I love The Graphics Fairy. She has the best vintage pictures like this wreath. I added the Joyeux Noel myself. Don't you think it would be perfect to use on a stocking or Christmas card? Only 40 more days until Christmas!

A No Show

When I got home from our big SIFAT trip last night I had a message from another Realtor asking to show our house... 5 hours ago. I called her back, not wanting to fail to follow any lead, and got her on her semi-functional cell phone and she said they had asked to see our house specifically. I have to admit I was a little excited about that. Maybe we had had a "drive by" showing already! Through the crappy connection I caught that they would still like to see it, either tomorrow (Saturday) or Monday. Uh, what? Okay, just let us know and please show the house if you can't get a hold of us. So last night after getting up at 5am and walking about three miles, I started the clean up process. It went surprisingly fast. I think we've found our groove, but what I really wanted to be doing was relaxing!

Ash has the right idea!

This morning, I finished up the cleaning tasks I like to do before a showing; sweeping, vacuuming, mopping and putting out my nice linen table runner. I had promised the boys BLT's for breakfast but told them that because the smell we were going to have to wait until lunch and have it at Gran and Grandpa's house. So around lunch we packed up and headed out to Mom and Dad's to share lunch with them. We waited there for the call, but when none came by 1:00 we gave up and headed back to work on some more projects. I'm glad someone wants to see the house, but I'm just thinking that this Realtor of theirs wasn't very considerate leaving us waiting all day like that. Thanks lady. All will be forgiven, however, if she brings us an offer we can accept!

SIFAT Field Trip

5:15 - My coffee maker wakes me up. Ugh. Alarm didn't go off. Rush to get ready. Remember why I don't get up that early. I feel like throwing up.

5:50 - Karen calls and they are running late as well. Thank goodness! I have time to get my sunglasses from Mom's house!

6:05 - My kids are stunned; the morning sky is red. (Note to self: wake kids up early from time to time.)

6:15 - Pick up Karen and Keilee and hit the road. Only, 3 hours to go...

7:30 - Kei not feeling so great. Carsickness strikes.

7:45 - Stop at gas station for motion sickness pills and bathroom break. Not feeling so hot myself. I'm driving. Drat.

8:05 - Stop again. Bathroom and food. Maybe something to eat will help? Ugh.

8:30 - Keilee is feeling better. I'm still puny.

9:00 - We realize that we should have come up on our turn to 82. Crap.

9:40 - Turn around and find a post office to ask directions to SIFAT.

8:55 - Call coordinator to let her know we are not dead. Just late.

9:45 - Finally arrive! Thank you God! Now I can do without the stomach ache, please?

10:00 - Our group arrives in Guatemala. Fresh corn tortillas - looked and smelled great!

10:30 - Rope bridge time!

11:00 - Hang out in the Philippines. Learn to dance the tinkle. Tingleinky? AH! Tininkling! Thanks Wiki.

11:30 - Brick making class. Boys leave the cat alone!

12:00 - Lunch

12:30 - Ugandan huts and goats. Checking the "pantry".

1:00 - Water purifying in the "slums".

1:30 - The guy in Bolivia is awesome. Talks about the politics and the people and their propensity for eating Guinea pigs.

2:00 - Finish up and hit the store. Scored a great ornament for our vacation collection.