I cannot believe that we got a call this morning from Home Depot - our kitchen is in!

Can you believe it? More than one week ahead of schedule. How does that happen? Everything is in except for some of the cherry end panels, that wouldn't go on until the end anyway. And we are still not even ready with the plumbing in there anywhere.

This may mean that within two weeks my house could be back to normal! Is this true??? Am I dreaming???

Here are a few pictures of the (almost) completed family room. Thanks, Dad, for all of the hard work. He did the ceiling, built the bookcases, painted them (and the walls and trim) and scrubbed the floor over and over and over for us (hint: never put in a new floor before everything is finished!).

Labels: family, family life, house, remodeling

link | posted by editor at 10:20 AM
0 comments

Sometimes - I , well, I just amaze myself.

Doodles would say that I watch too many HGTV and TLC Home Decorating shows, but you know what? Sometimes, the great ideas just pay off.

I bought the following lamp base (2 of them) for $4.99 each, and then I found the lamp shades elsewhere for $7.99 each. I wasn't sure how they would look together, so I shopped for some trim to try and dress them up.

What do you think?



The final result:



I wonder what else needs some trimming. Just give me a hot glue gun and watch out!

I am thinking that I need a mirror above the fireplace - ooh, which we finished in black granite. Maybe I can trim that...LOL.

Oh - what about my new drapes? I made the tie backs with tassels myself!

Labels: family, family life, friends. housework, house, remodeling, shopping, Teri, women, work

link | posted by editor at 9:21 PM
0 comments

A few pics for your viewing pleasure.

Labels: boys, family, family life, girls, kids, son

link | posted by editor at 10:10 PM
0 comments

I got a new camera- yeah!

Labels: boys, family, family life, girls

link | posted by editor at 12:30 PM
0 comments

So, we needed a heater of some sort for Caci's room, because when we did the addition, her return air vent was blocked up. So in these last few mornings, we have noticed how utterly cold it has been in her room.

Jeff remembered how Home Depot had these cute electric fire-places that were heaters, and that there was a small white one, and it was on sale for $348. So , we decided to get it. And guess what? It was on clearance for $198.

Got it!

Done!

Then he looked at a huge one that was cherry with black granite. Jeff asked the salesman how much that was. It was originally $798, marked down to $648, then $348. So he decided to take that one too for wither the dining room or the master bedroom. Now- here is the good part. The salesman said that the floor model was the last one. Jeff noticed some nicks and dings to it, so he asked if they would discount it at all. He was hoping for 10% off. He was stunned and couldn't pay for it fast enough when he told him that the store manager said to take $150 off. So it was the same price at Caci's! He definitely could not pass that deal up!!!

Wow!

Here they are in all their glory!

BTW - the top two pictures are of Caci's!

Labels: family, family life, husbands, sales, shopping

link | posted by editor at 6:00 PM
0 comments

Whoo - hoo! I am so excited and proud.

I opened an very unexpected e-mail last night to find that my writing about makeup is so loved by one of the sites I contribute to, that they have decided to re-do my contract. And in the contract there are two noteworthy items. My commissions went from 2 % to 10%, and my pay was increased by 10 times. 10X!

I am so thrilled to be earning my own money - like money I would be paid for leaving the home and the kiddos and working 8 hours a day. Except, I do it from home, any time of day I want, even in my jammies if I so please. And I only put in 8 - 10 hours per week!!!

Labels: blogging, family, family life, jobs, women, writing

link | posted by editor at 10:09 PM
0 comments

I am so damn sick of constantly fighting with my kids. Why do I even fight with them???

It should be that why we (hubby & I ) says goes. Shouldn't it?

I am sick of being given 100 questions by my kids. Why do we have to go? Why do we have to eat now? Why do we have to take a shower? Why can't I stay out/up later? Why? Why? Why? And then when I tell them why, they get so argumentative - I CANNOT STAND IT!

So I have made a New Years Resolution. No fighting with the kids. I will tell them once (well maybe twice) and that is it. And if they ask why? I will simply say that I am the mother and that is how it is going to be. I figure if I do this long enough, they will eventually know what the answer is and stop asking (arguing) with me.

Now, if only I can stick to it - it should work.

Labels: boys, daughter, family, family life, kids, son, teens

link | posted by editor at 10:51 PM
0 comments

A few of you have asked for some pictures of the quick dining room we threw together before the Holidays.

Labels: family, family life, remodeling, work

link | posted by editor at 11:29 PM
0 comments

I have been not so dedicated to posting in the last few weeks, but now that the holidays are over and we are sort of back to a normal schedule, I should get back to posting more regularly.

So if you have missed us, sorry!

We missed you too!

So here is a quick family update:

Justy is back in a full arm cast. We thought it would be cut down today, but the one bone is not creating new bone as fast as the other, so it still need extra protection. Hopefully in two weeks he will get his wish and only be casted up to the elbow.

Doodles is the last of us to have had the stomach bug. She still has the lingering headache that accompanied it and didn't go to school today. She made basketball though, of course. And she is so totally looking forward to the High School Musical Concert tomorrow night.

Jon-Jon was to the doc today too. He has a bad ear infection in one ear. The good news is that he is very good taking his medicine and it has been almost a year since his last ear infection - when it was a double one, the day before we got on a plane to Florida. (Which I can't believe was a year ago already - it seems like yesterday!)

Joe-Joe has chapped lips right now - exciting, I know. So, he is currently obsessed with the petroleum jelly. He is finding new places to apply it and smear over. I keep finding greasy piles of it everywhere you would think he is two. Oh yeah, he did smear a whole jar of it on the bathroom cabinets when he was, yeah, just about two.

I am obsessed with baking lately after getting my new stand mixer from my parents for Christmas. I don't remember baking to be so fun! We have cookies galore in the house. Seriously, I think I have to send some in to the teachers at school or deliver plates to the neighbors. That is how much we have!!!

Okay - after that lengthy post about ...did you really miss us that much???

Labels: blogging, daughter, doctors, family, family life, kids, life, Teri, writing

link | posted by editor at 8:12 PM
0 comments

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year one and all!

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone already and that tomorrow is New Years Eve already. A new year, again - already??? Where does the time go?

We have no big plans. Hubby and I were talking about it, and I think the last time we went out on New Years Even was when we were in Disney World for 96/97. Yes... ten years ago! I was pregnant with Johnny, and we were on vacation with my parents. I think we may have had a party once or twice for the celebration sometime in the last ten years, but none too eventful, as I cannot remember them. I think New Years Eve is basically over-rated on a whole.

Well, I hope everyone had a great holiday and here is to a Healthy and Happy New Year!

Stay safe!

Labels: Christmas, family, family life, holidays

link | posted by editor at 8:41 PM
0 comments

Ok -

3 Days until Justin's Birthday!

5 Days until Christmas!

Hours from going CRAZY. Making cookies. Wrapping presents. Getting the kids in bed. Wrapping presents. Cleaning up the kitchen. Figuring out what else I need to get before Christmas. Wrapping presents.

Try not to go too crazy!

Oh - I almost forgot, I have one less thing to go crazy about. Justin is in the clear. His bones are finally growing together and making new bones ! YAY! No more appointments for two weeks!

And maybe I should try and write out my Christmas cards that have been in a tote bag that I brought to Justin's last surgery. You know the ones I was thinking I would have a chance to do them then - which I have basically forgotten about until now. Will they even get there in time?

Should I just forget everything and just go CRAZY now???

Labels: birthdays, boys, Christmas, Christmas Presents, daughter, doctors, family, family life, girls, house, husbands, kids, presents, son, teens, work

link | posted by editor at 9:04 PM
0 comments

So, when the Doctor comes in and expresses that she is afraid to look at your X-Rays, should you be worried?

And worry even more when she says she will be right back?

Well, Yes.

And.

Yes.

When she did come back, she gave us a big thumbs up. His bone has finally managed to stay in the same place for the last five days! Yippee! And if it continues to heal this way and looks the same on his X-Ray next Wednesday, then it is (or should be) smooth sailing from there.

Justin was so relieved, as was I.

I am finally feeling into the Holiday spirit.

And I am finally going on a marathon Christmas shopping spree tomorrow.

Thank you good Doctor!

Labels: boys, Christmas, Christmas Presents, doctors, family, family life, kids, son, teens

link | posted by editor at 9:23 PM
0 comments

So, I have just realized that it is like...two weeks until Christmas. Actually - less than. Two weeks from right now, all the mayhem will be over.

And guess what? I have not even purchased one single solitary present yet. I have been a bit busy with Justin and his arm and multiple Doctor appointments and surgeries - and then Caci's (yes, Joey & Johnny too) basketball. And school. And work. And life.

Maybe we should just keep busy...
and maybe the kids will forget about Christmas...
yeah, there is an idea.

NOT!

I better get busy!!!

Labels: blogging, Christmas Presents, doctors, family, family life, holidays, jobs, kids, presents

link | posted by editor at 10:19 PM
0 comments

Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday to you.
Happy Birthday my Jo-Jo.
Happy Birthday to you!

Labels: birthdays, boys, family, family life, kids, life

link | posted by editor at 11:27 PM
0 comments

Remembering Jeffrey & Joshua.

They would have been 17 years old today.

I can't believe that they would have been 17 already if they made it past their first and last few hours of life.

My twin baby boys.

I cannot believe that we have never been to their place of burial since we buried them. Oh - I think I may have tried to find them in the part of the cemetery that is reserved for the littlest of Angels - as they call it. I think I made an attempt at finding them when my Grandpa died in 1992.

It is quite sad that I never want to go there or to look back at what could have been.

Would they have been healthy if the Doctors could have been able to save them? What hardships and disabilities would they have had to endure? Were Jeff & I strong enough to handle it? Would I have still wanted to have Johnny & Joey - assuming that it was in God's hands that I were to raise 4 children and only had Justin and Caci? Was it a blessing in disguise? I could not imagine my life without the children that I have now. They are my world!

It is so very sad that we have moved on in life, and never even placed a marker at the twins grave. They are buried together and at the time they died, the size of the foot stone that was allowed would not fit both of their names and date of birth/death on it. I wonder if they have lifted the restrictions on that?

Maybe I should be strong enough and get a marker with at least their names on it to remember them by. Or would it bring back too many memories of the devastation of it all - all of the what ifs?

I think I have made my New Years resolution. I think that all of the kids are old enough to handle it and they should be a part of choosing it.

It is the least I can do for the twins that made room in our life for the children I have now.

I love you, Jeffrey and Joshua. Born and taken to heaven on November 18th, 1989.

Labels: birthdays, boys, burials, cemetary, death, family, family life, twins

link | posted by editor at 10:16 PM
0 comments

Hubby woke me up this morning and proceeded to tell me that he didn't sleep well last night, and how it felt like he was hit with a baseball bat on his side. I looked, and he had a welt there - with a large black spot in the middle, resembling a scab. He thought something may have bit him.

Upon a closer look, I realized it was a tick. A deer tick.

I immediately got out the tweezers and pulled it away from his skin. The sucker was so embedded in there, I couldn't believe it. It was like pulling off a large scab. Well, I only got about 3/4 of out intact.

I saved it, and called the doctor. While they seemed more concerned that we had a remaining $5 balance on his account from a few months ago, I wanted to get Jeff to them. They said the nurse will see him at 3:15, and if need be, he will be able to see a doctor then.

WTF???

The nurse?

Does she have Lyme disease-carrying deer tick removal skills???

Ooh, he will see the doctor, I will make sure of that.

I am also hoping that they start him on some medication right away.

I have removed a few ticks from him and one from Johnny before, and they left nothing behind. This is nasty, and it looks like the bulls eye thing already. Maybe I will take a picture, and chronicle it - for safety sake.

I will update after the doc, so don't worry, Ma - Jeff tells me you read this everyday!

I hope this teaches Jeff to stop looking around in the woods (in which he was wearing long sleeves, long pants, a fleece vest, and a hat - and it still managed to find it's way to him) - but I guess it can happen anywhere.

Labels: doctors, family life, husbands, Lyme Disease, woods

link | posted by editor at 9:57 AM
0 comments

Please.

I am begging you.

Someone.

Someone, please.

Give my husband a job.

This "let's pretend we are retired" thing just isn't working for me. It has been 123 days now (but who's counting) and hubby is starting to get on my nerves. He started playing Christmas music today , and wants to know where we are going to put the Christmas tree.

THE CHRISTMAS TREE???

Honey, we will have no business celebrating Christmas if you don't start adding some dough to the bank account. I can't support us for ever, lol.

And I swear to God, if he brings it up one more time that we have X amount of money to make X amount of mortgage payments and pay the bills - I will fu***** scream!

Get a J-O-B!!!

By the way... hubby doesn't know where to find this blog, so please don't tell him.

Labels: blogging, Christmas, Christmas Presents, family, family life, house, husbands, life, work

link | posted by editor at 8:54 AM
0 comments

I woke up with an idea.

Let's get the dining room ready in time to have a house full over for Joey's Birthday Thanksgiving weekend.

Let's see - that will give us just under 2 weeks.

And all we really need to do is move all the furniture out, get the floor done, paint, put in a new light fixture, move the china cupboard out of the old dining room into this one, paint that, build a faux fireplace/mantle into the old closet, and buy a table and chairs. Oh, wait - I can probably use the table I have - just refinish it to match the corner cupboard I am going to move in there and throw some fancy holiday tablecloth on it for now.

Simple.

Not a problem.

To Jeff that means - we need to start today. Not today - please, not today. It is better to get it done when the kids are at school, and we have some other man figure to help move everything out and upstairs. Please - not, today.

Guess what?

We started it today.

Luckily for Jeff, he married a woman of substance. I just totally helped move a bedroom armoire out of the room and up the stairs.

I am STRONG - Like Bull!

Nice.

Even though I didn't want to do this today.

Labels: family, family life, husbands, life, remodeling, Teri, women

link | posted by editor at 1:38 PM
0 comments

A fun little "Get TO Know Yo" List.

The titles in bold are the things I have done.

What have you done??? Pass it on.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris (the Hotel in Las Vegas)
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper (only a few hundred times)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon (just a short one, for about 15 minutes, but I did!)
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne (on just one glass - I am so lame!!!)
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk.
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe.
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow (and a goat)
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured an ancient site
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played Dungeons & Dragons for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice (Does it count at the Venice hotel in Vegas?)
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” (Does a magazine article count?)
83. Got flowers for no reason
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone (does my house count???)
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently well enough to have a decent conversation
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised (raising) children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Poor Henrietta, the Pig.)
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life
151. Finished a marathon
152. Buried a Child
153. Graduated from College
154. Cooked an entire meal
155. Said a Prayer
156. Told a lie
157. Skipped School
158. Faked being sick
159. Egged someones house
160. Got an idea from this list of something that you would like to before you die

Labels: blogging, family, family life, friends, house, jobs, kids

link | posted by editor at 11:26 PM
0 comments

I just wrote 3 posts.

Heartfelt posts.

And I was saving them as I wrote.

And you know what???

The Fu***** Internet went out for over two hours.

Damn Comcast - we are experiencing a temporary interruption in service is all they could tell me.

So guess what?? When I was writing and saving the damn things they were lost in cyberspace somewhere.

I don't suppose you'll take a bit of $$$ off of my bill, now will ya, Comcast???

AND I have had to put up with a teenager and tween who had nothing else to do because WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO ON A SATURDAY NIGHT?

It is the Internet, people!!!

Labels: blogging, family, family life, teens, work, writing

link | posted by editor at 10:45 PM
0 comments

my profile

cast of characters:
mom - me (39)
hubby - my husband (48)
justy - my oldest boy (15)
doodles - my only girl (11)
jon-jon - my middle boy (9)
jo-jo - my baby (7)
pow-pow - my dog (4)

Contact

Ongoing Renovations.
I am the Crafty One!
Some Pic's.
Updated Pictures.
Can't Pass Up A Good Deal?
I Got a Raise!
Why Must We Fight?
Holiday Dining Room.
How Have You Been?
Happy New Year!
The Countdown Begins!
No More Surgery - At Least For Now!
Two Weeks Until Christmas???
Happy Birthday & Happy Thanksgiving!
Remembering.
A Scary Thing Happend This Morning!
Got a Job?
Not Another Project - TODAY!
Getting to Know Me - Pass it On!
I Hate the Internet - No Make that Comcast!

• A Socialite's Life


• Amalah


• BeautifulMakeupSearch


• Club Mom


• Glam.com


• Pink is the New Blog

• Blogger
• girliebits