Big boy bed

Eli is almost 2 1/2 and is getting to the age where we wanted he needed to transition from his crib to a big boy bed.  OK, so it was all just a matter of taking one side of the crib off but its a good start.  He only gave us grief for the 1st half hour of his 1st "jail-free" nap.  After setting a few ground rules, he hasn't given us a hard time since.  It will take some getting used to getting woke up every morning at 6am with the shrill 'Daddy' or 'Mommy' but all is good.  Our little guy is growing up fast!

Next up - potty training!  CRINGE

Coconut Love Bear

Saturday Carmen attended a Build A Bear birthday party.  It was our first time EVER at Build A Bear and is definitely on our list of do-agains.  Even though all the girls chose the same exact bear, they all chose different outfits and named their own bear. Coconut-Love Bear has not left Carmens side since.

Later that evening Carmen and I had 'girl time' at Yogurt Nation.  YUM!  Notice Coconut-Love Bear sitting on the bench next to her?

Sunday after church, Carmen and I went to the theater and watched the new Disney movie Brave. Coconut-Love Bear did not get left behind.

What an AMAZING weekend!

Hosta Bed

Guacamole hosta  My favorite!

Albo Marginata

Old-fashioned standard green & white variegated hosta

Pink Beauty Caladium

Frieda Hemple Caladium

Miss Muffet Caladium

Candidum Fancy Leaved Caladium

Red Flash Caladium

Fathers Day Weekend

It was a great Fathers Day weekend.  Saturday we packed up and headed to the Bass Pro Shops for a little eye candy for Andy.  Of course we couldn't be there without drooling and leaving finger smudges on some fishing boats.

Carmen seemed to have her heart set on one of these.  Hmmm, I think it might be a little too big for her.

Yes, this one is more her size!

Sunday we went to 8 o'clock mass and listened to Father Bens last sermon.  It was lovely and moving.  He will be moving on to Washington DC.

Afterwards we went to our favorite Chinese Buffet for some sushi, fried frog legs, crab legs, shrimp, steamed clams, fried rice, noodles, etc.  YUM.

Lastly was a stop at Lowes for more eye candy... BBQ grills and smokers.  Just looked!

I just realized that I had taken this same photo exactly one year ago and posted it on my blog here:

http://imablueberrymaniac.blogspot.com/2011/06/lowes-shopping-carts.html

Andy also picked up some grub/bug killer for our grass which will in turn hopefully drive the voles away.  Voles have completely devoured the roots of my hostas.  Grrrrr!

Joe Cool

Meet Mr. and Ms. Joe Cool

Painted The Kitchen

Our kitchen was long overdue for a new paint job.  We've had to live with this ucky yellow for almost 5 years and I couldn't stand it any longer.  I spend most of my day in this room so I wanted needed something bright, cheerful, and modern yet still stick with a neutral so I chose a color called 'Gray Ghost' by Glidden from Lowes.  This color not only brightens the room, but I feel happy in it. A win-win!

 BEFORE - blah

AFTER va-va-voom!

BEFORE - yawn

AFTER - HELLO!

Below is a picture of my cute hubby.  Let me tell you, he is not smiling because he is having a good time and loves to paint!  It took him 2 days to do a layer of primer and 2 coats of paint.   He is smiling because I told him to for the picture he knows he is making his wife a happy girl.  :) 

Goodbye

As a boat owner would say, its the second most happy day of their lives.  The day they sell their boat.

Our 1991 Bayliner Capri 2050 has been half-way across the US and back.  She was purchased by us 11 years ago (used) in Oregon and was towed to Texas, which she called home for 2 years.  Many hot, lazy weekends were spent out on the lake either pleasure cruising or just anchored off shore.

A move back to Washington State was next where she cruised up and down the Columbia River a time or two and lived in a barn for 2 years.  Waiting.

Next up would be 2 years in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho where she would spend early mornings in the lake trolling for large and small mouth bass, pike and kokanees. And don't forget the lazy afternoons pulling everyone on tubes.  Those were the days.

Her final move (with us) was from Idaho to Tennessee.  She would spend the next 5 years in a cozy garage, up on blocks.  Waiting...waiting...waiting to see water again. 

Sadly, that never happened.  With 2 small children, lack of money and most importantly, lack of a lake anywhere close by, it was time to bid her farewell.

With much deliberation we decided it was time to sell her.  Surprisingly, it only took 5 days (and a few tire kickers) for the right buyer to come along.

I loved this boat.  It gave me such a sense of empowerment.  The feeling of freedom with the power underneath of you and the wind in your hair.

I can only hope she makes her new owner feel the same way.

The graduate

Carmens Preschool Graduation Ceremony was today.  Next year she will be entering Kindergarten.  How did THAT happen?!  Carmen, we are so proud of you!

I love this boy!  He is all boy, too.  Likes mud, water, trucks and trains.

At 2 years and 3 months old, he still isnt talking but he sure gets his point across.

Butterfly in Snow White

Carmen's upcoming ballet program is titled 'Snow White' and she will be playing the part of a butterfly.

Teacher Gifts

With only 2 weeks of school left, I had to scramble to come up with gift ideas for Carmens 2 preschool teachers.  So why not something homemade... or semi-homemade.  A bright kitchen towel and a set of hot pads were just the ticket.  Ms. S told me she loves strawberries so that was an easy one.  Ms. P on the other hand loves anything handmade so I guess that was an easy one as well.  And with summer right around the corner, these color variations were just right.

The Apples and Pears fabric is by Alexander Henry and was purchased from Joann Fabrics. I then mixed in some Denyse Schmidt Flea Market Fancy fabric in green eyelet (purchased from Etsy) and some simple red/white polka dots, yellow/white polka dots and brown/blue polka dots (all from Hancock fabrics).  The green kitchen towel was purchased from Target.

The Kawaii mini strawberry fabric can be found here or here.  I then mixed in some coordinating prints from Joann Fabrics and Hancock Fabrics.  The red kitchen towel was purchased from Target.

There are so many tutorials online on how to embellish kitchen towels.  I just did something super simple.  I cut out a strip of fabric 3 3/4"  x 18" (or the width of your towel plus 1 inch).  I then folded 1/4" under on both sides of fabric to make it 3 1/4" wide and topstitched down onto the front of the towel.  Here is the tutorial I used.

There are alot of tutorials also for hot pads.  Just google around and find the perfect one for you.

I tied both sets up with pretty up-cycled ribbons and will put them in a nice gift bag and present them to their new owners on the last day of school.

Coolaroo Shade Project Complete

Last week I blogged about this.

I got a few questions as to what the pole was for.  Well here it is.  A corner pole to hold up the 2 Coolaroo Shades that Andy put up.  Now we have some killer shade on the back deck.

If anyone is interested, we purchased the Ocean Blue Coolaroo Shade here and the Desert Sand Coolaroo Shade here.

Learn

Learn to like what doesn’t cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different...different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.

Deck Project

Step 1: Dig a hole.

Make sure its nice and square.

Have a cute helper on hand to measure your handiwork.

Step 2: Take a break.

Step 3: Make some braces so humongous post doesn't teeter.

Step 4: Fill perfectly square hole up with concrete (5 bags to be exact).

Step 5: Pose in front of hole.Step 6: Wait 5-7 days for concrete to set up. Meanwhile enjoy the "Totem-Pole" eye sore.