Happy Easter!

I hope everyone  had a blessed Easter! We had a nice family weekend. Saturday morning Brennan and I went to Mom's church for a treasure and egg hunt. They had stations telling the story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection. Brennan liked hammering the cross.

Then the children hunted eggs and had lunch. Brennan was really more into playing than hunting eggs.

Sunday morning he was excited to find his Easter basket. We hadn't talked much about the Easter bunny, and I don't think he ever really understood why I kept saying a bunny had come but he didn't see him. He did really like his new Victor and Harold. Harold now flies around our house saying,"No sign of Thomas!" 

After some play time, we headed to church with Mom. Brennan doesn't go into big church with us anymore, so it had been a while since he had a reason to sit quietly. We had talked a lot about how he would need to stay in his place and be quiet. He was really excited to go to Nonna's church and said he would be good. Well, overall he did pretty good, but not before he made his presence known. During the prayer request, at a time when no one else was saying a word, Brennan dropped his Hiro train and it went under the pew in front of us. He loudly exclaimed, "OH NO!" Everyone laughed, which he of course thought was great! His little personality is just bursting out these days. It's not something I want to quench in the least, but we might need to practice quiet times a little more often.

We had lunch with Mom and Dad, all took naps, and then played outside and planted some flowers. Overall it was a great weekend of celebration.

Feeling the Green

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Everything is a little green around here. Green as in pollen green. The only color of green I really can't stand. When I looked out at our cars this morning, I realized just why I've been sick all week. After sitting overnight, they are covered in a layer of pollen.

It's amazing how those little specks have so much power. They can grow a mighty oak or cripple a determined woman.  I was determined to fight these sinus/allergies off this year, but today I officially declare them the winner. Even with two shots, antibiotics, and allergy medicine, they ruled the week and now the weekend. Here's hoping with a little Irish luck that next week will get back on track. I have a toddler to chase, a bedroom to finish, yard work to do, and two special birthdays to celebrate. I don't care to sit on the sofa any longer. Luckily, this little leprechaun is feeling good.

A Little Glimpse

Here's a glimpse of what I've accomplished on the bedroom and bathroom projects over the last couple of weeks.

 Bathroom before new paint and floor and decluttering

After

Bedroom before painting

After

 I had hoped to be sharing a finished product, but it's been a slow go. This lovely brick wall took up a good part of one day to paint.

 I have marked several items off the to do list though:

1. paint bedroom including the brick wall and trim
2. paint bathroom
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!

I want to paint a second coat on some of the trim in the bedroom, and then touch up a few places. Next will be finishing the floor, and sewing while it dries for a few days. Mike's trip for next week was canceled last night, so I think a few more honey do items may get knocked out as well. It shouldn't be too much longer! Of course this little guy takes precedence, so his naps and social schedule kind of dictate how fast it will all happen. 

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!