Two Plus Two

Brennan is 2 years and 2 months old today. He is so funny, talkative, polite, rambunctious, and loving. One of my favorite moments is when he comes over and says, "Give me kiss!" I also love all the moments when he is polite. He likes to say, "Thank you very much!" He still confuses excuse me and sorry, but he uses them both often. Don't get me wrong, he has also been known to sit on a friend or throw toys at people. That's part of why those polite moments feel so good. He is into things being perfect and funny. He has gone around announcing that each situation is perfect the last few days. He drew with a bath crayon, and then said, "Look I draw a star, it's perfect."  He will laugh at something, and then turn to me with a straight face and ask, "Is that funny Mommy?" A saying we hear often is, "Don't say that!" These three little words get him in trouble pretty often. When I say no to something, that is how he will often respond, and sometimes in a very ugly voice.He likes to go around saying "argh" like a pirate.  He talks all the time!

Watching television in Daddy's chair

Sharing Daddy's blanket with Wells. Yep, that hair is great on fleece.

Praying? Pooping? Resting? I'm never really sure, but he does this occasionally.

Reading Goodnight Moon to his buddy Wells

This month he has given up his pacifier. It started with me forgetting to pack one when he stayed with Mom and Dad one day. I don't think that was a pleasant day, but they made it. He did get one that night for bed, but the next morning when he woke up they were all "broken". I had cut the nipple off of all but one that was hidden far, far away. At nap time that day, he held a broken one and cried for a little while but finally gave up. The same thing happened at bedtime, and he didn't sleep very well.  After that first day, he would occasionally ask for one and I just reminded him they were broken. He did fuss a little, but nothing like I had feared. He also began sleeping through the night! If I had known the paci could be why he woke up, I would have taken it long ago. The sleeping hasn't been perfect but much better at least. He does get up earlier now, and doesn't nap as regularly as before.He also doesn't rub our ears as much when he is sleepy. He has replaced that with wanting to be tickled/rubbed.  Just like me, he likes to have his feet, back, belly, or hands rubbed while he relaxes. Next, we are on to potty training. He is interested, but it doesn't seem like he's quite ready yet. He has discovered television. He likes to watch Thomas and Bob the Builder the most. I'm not a fan of how zoned out he becomes when he watches, so we definitely have limited viewing. He loves to go to Poger (Kroger) to drive the car, and Lowes also. He still tolerates shopping pretty well most days. One day recently we had run many errands. We were at our last stop and he was tired. As I parked the car he started shouting, "Stop music, stop music, my mommy is going to open the door and you'll stop!" I was surprised that he had made the connection that the music stopped when the door opened. He doesn't miss a thing that happens. Our days are quite eventful, but never dull. He is such a fun little guy! It seems like he is changing so fast that it is hard to keep up.

Updates On Our Updates

Yes, I'm still here! Working away on two bathrooms and a bedroom now.

The guys had the work on our bedroom and bathroom done in two days. They did a fabulous job, and I'm in love with our new windows. They replaced two windows, reconstructed a wall, took out our bathroom door, and fixed up several spots of drywall and trim. Now the real fun begins for us. Our to do list:

1. paint bedroom including the brick wall and trim
2. paint bathroom (walls only)
3. hang chandelier in bathroom
4. hang mirror light in bathroom
5. hang mirror
6. hang chandelier in bedroom
7. purchase and hang new fan in bedroom
8. purchase and schedule install of new flooring in bathroom and closet
9. purchase storage cabinet for bathroom
10. finish paint treatment on bedroom floor
11. sew window treatments and pillows for bedroom
12. purchase new bedding
13. purchase blind for bathroom
14. purchase and hang barn door track and door on bathroom 
15. stuff and fluff with the pretty stuff
16. hang new light in closet
17. move in!

No, that's not the order it will all happen in. I'm sure some of those purchases will happen soon, and many others over the next few months. So far I've lucked up on several great deals, like a $20 yard sale chandelier. My next step is painting. Hopefully, I'll have some progress pictures next week.

As for the downstairs bathroom that I started a couple of weeks ago, it is almost done. I've finished painting, found a mirror, and put it all together. I just have to finish putting down the new flooring, that had been sold out at Lowe's ever since I found it. The floor has turned out to be a bigger job than I expected. So far I love it all! I think that Jacuzzi tub may get more use now that the room is so inviting.

A reminder of before: large mirrors, brown wallpaper, worn out floor, brass knobs on cabinet, and if you look closely through the mirror reflection you'll see a hole beside the light switch.

After: clean grey/tan walls, beige stone vinyl tile floor, brushed nickel knobs, the hole in the wall is drywalled over, one modern mirror, and a few fun accessories. I still want to add a few more accessories once I get the floor done. It isn't perfect, but so much better for so little money.

Welcome to the 21st century little bath! 

Walls: Lowes Valspar Kitchen and Bath in Oatbran
Floor: Lowes vinyl stick down tile in Beige Stone

Oh, That Boy!

I have a feeling I may be saying that often in the coming years! After Brennan's oatmeal dinner last night (I know.  I'm Mom of the Year), he brought his backhoe into the dining room to clean up the "dirt", otherwise known as dropped oatmeal pieces. Much to his disappointment I had beaten him to it. After trying to reason that the mess being gone was a good thing,  I went back to cleaning the kitchen. In a few minutes he came in to report in his matter of fact tone, "I find some dirt." Well, when you hear those words you should probably investigate. I was sort of in my own little world and didn't think much of it though. A few minutes later he came back to remind me of his great find. He had found dirt alright, the dirt from the pot of tulips in the middle of the table! He had Spanish moss and dirt in his backhoe bucket and all over the table. Luckily, he had dug around the edge of the pot so the flowers were spared. I wish I had grabbed the camera before cleaning up. I think he is going to love the great outdoors this spring!

An Amazing Get Away

Mike and I enjoyed a 36 hour get away over President's Day! I really appreciated this trip. I knew after traveling so much that Mike would probably rather not pack another bag, and stay in another hotel. We went to Atlanta to celebrate Valentine's and my birthday. I've always liked that my birthday is usually close to this traditional long weekend. It was fun to get back to a city and all the fun places Atlanta has to offer. Our first stop was Ballard Designs Backroom. I love their catalog, and have always wanted to see what the Backroom had to offer.One side of the store is vignettes with regular priced items. The other side is a jumble of discounted items. I wasn't that impressed with the discounted side, but it was fun to see their wears in person. 

After that we headed to the Perimeter area, and checked out a T. J. Maxx, Restoration Hardware and Barnes and Noble. I wanted to show Mike a paint color at Restoration Hardware, but was surprised to find their whole store painted a charcoal grey. Ceilings, woodwork, walls, outside columns, everything was grey. Ha, and Mike thought I was a little overboard for grey right now. I did find a paint chip to take home.
Our next stop was the hotel. Mike had said he booked a Courtyard by Marriott, and though I chided him about it I was good with that. To my surprise, he told me the night before we left that we were actually staying downtown at the Ritz. Yep, that sweet hubby booked the Ritz! I guess all his traveling does have advantages.

The hotel suggested we try Agave Restaurant for dinner. It turned out to be the perfect place. I like to find places where I recognize items on the menu, but they are served differently than other places. The owner described it as an unpretentious neighborhood restaurant with southwest influence. I would describe it as scrumptious. I had a pork chop rubbed with hot spices, chipotle mashed potatoes, and garlic green beans. Yes mom, I did eat the green beans. They were the skinny tender kind and had a lot of flavor. They also brought fresh guacamole. I was so stuffed that I couldn't even do dessert. I would highly recommend this restaurant.

The next morning we started with breakfast at the Highland Bakery, another little neighborhood spot. It was also very yummy. We had an egg sandwich on jalapeno focaccia, cinnamon roll, and french toast; all freshly made in house. Then we headed to our much anticipated destination.....IKEA. I had quite the list of items I wanted to look for. We spent a lot of time looking at the showroom and found several things we weren't expecting to see. Then we headed to the marketplace and filled a buggy. I found bedding for our new bedroom, a light for the closet, storage containers, picture frames, a few cute kid things, a pink umbrella, and several other odds and ends. After 4 hours, we walked out with lots of great finds. This guy was a trooper the whole time. He even encouraged me to buy some things. 

Our last stop was Jimmy Johns. I got my usual Beach Club, and didn't have to ask them to hold the sprouts because they don't have a fresh supplier of those now. After looking at our Eat This, Not That book it's probably my last trip to JJ for awhile, but it sure was good. I'm glad I didn't remember to look at the book before we went in ;). 

We finally left the city behind, and returned to our nice small town with plenty of free parking. Of course we also got back to the cutest two year old who we missed a ton. Thanks hubby for a wonderful little trip!

A Great Day to Get Older

I decided I must need to blog about my birthdays since I can't remember what I did last year. Is that a sign I'm getting old? I always have trouble remembering how old I am too, and I think I'll keep it that way for the next few years actually. This year's birthday has been spread across the week! Tuesday night we ate at Mom and Dad's and had Gigi's cupcakes. Yum! This morning when Brennan woke up Mike told him today was my birthday. His response, "Let's go eat cupcakes!" The kid has it figured out.  I had lunch with my two favorite guys, and got lots of cards from them. Tomorrow, I'm going out to lunch again. Mike and I are going to Atlanta for my requested gift, a shopping trip to Ikea, in a few days. I've also gotten several nice cards, messages, and gifts over the week. With birthdays this nice, I'll keep them coming.

What's Going On?

Guess what's going on at our house today? Progress has finally started on our master bedroom! If you've ever wondered what termite damage looks like, here you go:

 And the whole wall looks that way:

We found this damage soon after we moved into the house, 2 1/2 years ago. It started with a leak and realizing that the drywall was mushy. Mike decided to tear the drywall down, and found all this. During our closing on the house, we had been handed documents saying there was evidence of past termites on the outside of this wall. These documents were a surprise to us all, even the previous homeowner I think. It was a little late then to ask for more information or have it checked ourselves, but that little document cleared anyone else of responsibility. Nice huh. There's more to the story, but long story short we are just getting around to finishing the room again. They will replace the two windows and put up all  new drywall. After that a little more work will be done in our bathroom. Then we will finally be using every room in our house for its intended purpose. I can't wait for everything to be in it's place.

These two had a tough time waiting out of the way while the supplies were moved in yesterday. Maeleigh said," But we can't see anything from here!" Ha Ha!

Happy V Day!

Tomorrow's the big day! I'm one of those people that loves Valentine's day, or at least I love getting ready for Valentine's day. I've had some fun this year. Last week, I packed a few Valentine surprises in Mike's bag to start a seven day countdown to Valentine's. Unfortunately, I ran out of time to make the cute tags and decorations for the bags I had planned, so it was definitely the thought that counted. I got the idea from Pinterest, of course, and chose items that he would appreciate (like the Bounce bar because he has wanted to try it for awhile and I thought it was kind of expensive).

I have one more surprise for tomorrow! It's another little Pinterest inspired project that I think he'll like. Brennan and I also made some Valentines for him to hand out. He mostly put stickers on other paper while I made them, but he's super excited about them. He gave them to his Sunday school teachers yesterday, and will give them to some family friends at lunch tomorrow. He goes with Nonna and Papa to eat at our friends' store most Tuesdays.

They are Moon Pies with the tag attached. By the way, if you haven't tried the mint Moon Pie crunch they are very yummy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Fun, Fun, Fun

I found some inspiration for the bathroom:

In case the color doesn't show too well, the rug has a dark blue background with turquoise and kiwi green. They are very vivid in person. These are my favorite colors! I decided to stop at T.J. Maxx yesterday and just see what I could find. This may be the first time EVER that I've gone looking for inspiration and found it on the first try. I usually find the stuff I love when I don't need it. The rug background matches the counter, so I'm going to paint the room and then decide how I like the counter blue. I want it to look clean and fresh, so something lighter may work better. I plan to add a white (or green :) mirror and white shelves. I also want to paint a little chair or stool one of the bright colors, and put the pillow on it. Now to decide on a paint color. I have several options in the barn to start with, and I'll go from there. EEK! I can't wait to get started! I hope the hubs likes it, since he's seeing it for the first time with you!

Bathroom Update

I have a whole list of projects I want to get done inside before the weather gets nice outside and I'm super busy out there. I started to feel a little panicked when we got back from Hawaii and the weather was so nice, and all of our flowers were springing up already. I've lived in Alabama pretty much my whole life, so I'm very familiar with crazy winters and spring snows and such. I still found myself kicked into high gear feeling I've got to get on these inside projects. Last week I worked on some organizing and such.

Yesterday, I started working on our downstairs bathroom.

In the Beginning

 It had not been touched since we moved here 2 1/2 years ago. It had thick wallpaper, worn out vinyl flooring, and a bright blue counter top with two large mirrors over it. This bathroom is right off the playroom. It is used most when we have play dates here, and in the summer when people come in from the pool. My first step was taking down the wallpaper. I've had a terrible experience with this task in the past, so I was very apprehensive. At my last house, they had not primed or painted  behind the wallpaper in my master bath. When I took down the paper, or I should say when my poor cousins were wrangled into taking down the paper (yeah, I still owe them for that), it ruined the drywall. Today's task went much better! Hallelujah!

This paper had paint behind it! I sponged Diff wallpaper remover onto the wall, pulled off the top layer, sponged Diff on again, and then scrapped and pulled off the paper backing. The first layer pretty much came off in full sheets, and the second layer came off in mostly large pieces.  I couldn't believe the difference! It still took awhile, about 4 hours, but WOW it is done.

One Step Down

Now to decide what color to paint and how to decorate! The fun part! I'm really drawing a blank on what I want to do though. I can keep the dark blue counter, not a color I would pick but I think it has possibility, or try painting it. My dilemma is whether to go with a bright fun room or a serene spa feel. On the one hand it is used a lot by kids, on the other it has a Jacuzzi tub that I use on rare occasions. Hmm, any ideas, suggestions, insight? What color would you use if you were doing a bath right now? Any good pins I should check out? It's really a blank slate, so I would love some ideas!

 Should it stay or should it go?

It's definitely going. Should I try stick down tile? Any experiences?

Super Bowl Sunday

It's that great day of the year we anxiously await! Hilarious commercials, great food, crazy half-time performances, and oh yeah--football. I love college football, but don't care that much about the NFL. Mike loves the NFL so we do watch every week, but it never matters too much to me who ends up in the Super Bowl. I would have had to stop and think if you had asked me today who was playing, but I have had the date marked on the calendar for awhile. We usually celebrate with friends. Today, this was our guest:

Miss Lola Kilgore-Coffey
She's vacationing with us for a few days, and being such a good girl.

Mike has been traveling a lot, and was gone all last week, so we had already talked about having a quiet family night. Then he came home Friday with Strep Throat, so that sealed the deal. That didn't stop us from having good food and enjoying. I made a family favorite, stuffed shells. I just stuff mozzarella, ricotta, and Parmesan into jumbo shells and cover them with spaghetti sauce. I also made Ghirardelli brownies with chocolate icing and some M&M's on top. All with the calories taken out of course!

This little guy enjoyed the paper while he watched the game.

Congratulations Giants fans!

Picnik

Picnik is closing! GASP!

If you aren't familiar with Picnik, it's a great, mostly free, website for picture editing. You can upload a picture and make changes to the size, coloring, texture, even add suntans and take off a few pounds. I use it all the time, so I'm very concerned that it is closing. They are moving over to Google+, so hopefully the same great services will still be available for free. In the meantime they are offering all services on their site for free, even the premium ones. They will be up and running until the middle of April.

Here is a picture I edited tonight:

Before:

 Pretty cute

After:

A little closer, a little gritty--just like a little boy should be