Birthday Party Circuit...round one

In the span of 12 days in February and March we have EIGHT birthdays of friends and family! In the last year March has become THE birthday party month for us. It is always fun to make our plans, shop for gifts and see people we don't get to see very often.

This Saturday the birthday parties began with Lila's 4th birthday party in Crown Point. We had so much fun at the party, it was wonderful to sit and talk to my dear friend, Vanessa (who is expecting Baby Girl #2 near MY birthday!). We live several hours away so it is difficult for us to get together as often as we would like. McKinley and Lila had the best time together running around like 3 and 4 year olds! They chased a bear (Vanessa's Dad in a Chicago Bear hat), had a coloring contest, gave us a concert with their two-child band then switched to a one-man band with a dancer...but the funniest act of the day by far was the impromptu wedding of McKinley and Lila.

Cary and I were sitting near the foos ball table, chosen hide out for McKinley and Lila during this conversation, when we overheard the following:

Lila: McKinley! Do you have a have a girlfriend?
McKinley: Well, Yes! Savannah!

Lila: McKinley, do you love her?

McKinley: Yes, I do.

Lila: McKinley are you going to get married?

McKinley: Well......no, but I have been married before.

Ha!!!!!!!!!! This was news to the Mother & Father of the Groom! I just love preschoolers' conversations.

All too soon it was time to head home, we are dog sitting Mom's two cocker spaniels while she is in Florida, plus we had to get some rest for the next day's adventure.

The next morning we got ready to head to Brownsburg for Austin's 1st birthday! McKinley had a lot of fun playing with Savannah and her cousins and family friends. He was the only older boy at the party among four preschool and elementary aged girls, so he was quite the man. At one point, I peeked into Robin's Mom's playroom and found our son playing Barista to three of the girls who seemed enamored by McKinley's talents. It was hilarious. I couldn't stop watching as McKinley intricately described to them each step of his tea/coffee/beverage making job. He happily served each of them a drink and then had one of his own!

We all sang to Austin and watched as he attempted to sample some cake (which he liked much better after his Daddy began feeding it to him).

Soon it was time to head home from our busy weekend tour of Indiana. We had a great time with good friends and are looking forward to Reagan and Braelyn's birthday parties next Saturday and Sunday!

Lynn

Party Pics:

Lemonade & Luck...or the lack of

Earlier in the month I posted about what happened to our home during the ice storm. Good times. Well, full of more good news (sense the sarcasm), as the installers (sub-contractors) were preparing the facia to hang the new guttering they informed me - on the way out the door to pick up McKinley from school - that the facia in the front needed to be replaced completely. They don't do that. Okay, call us when it's done. See ya!

Ummmmkay..........

So I began the process of getting estimates for new facia in the front because our contractor was covered up with jobs (due to the ice) and could not help. The estimates I received were for WAY more money that either of us wanted to shell out and having been long-time DIY'ers we thought we could tackle the task ourselves and save well over 75% of what was quoted. So, we set out to paint and hang the facia on our own. That Sunday, while McKinley was napping, I painted the new facia boards as Cary pulled off the old and prepped for the new boards. Once the new boards were dry Cary began hanging them while I served as scrub nurse, co-pilot, gofer, etc. We made quick work of the project and I'm so very proud of what we accomplished. It may not be perfect but it's sturdy, secure and looks good.

Life has been handing out an awful lot of lemons lately but we make a MEAN lemonade. I am so glad we can show our son how rewarding it can be to stand on your feet when there is no help to be found. Knowing this, and some basic home repair tasks will take him far in his adult life.

I hope we are nearing the end of this job...looking forward to testing out the new gutters, taking down the ladder, and resuming the redecoration of the mudroom and dining room.

Lynn

Dear Zoo,

See this face?

It pretty much sums it up...we've missed you so! It has been a long, hard winter, so our impromtu zoo visit, though short and without many un-cold-friendly animals, was so sweet. A wonderful taste of the spring and summer to come, full of many visits to one of McKinley's very favorite destinations.

The highlight of my day? This photo...

Despite the glare (because when you are trying to capture a poignant photo of a 3 1/2 year old and a cheetah, one must work quickly and forego some camera modifications) it still turned out pretty well. How many children can go face-to-face with a cheetah...well, safely that is. Unless you are Diego (from Go Diego Go for those who do not speak Nick Jr.), there aren't a lot of opportunities to be 2 inches of glass from a rare cat. Funniest part: McKinley saying, "Awwww! Come here sweet kitty! I wish I could pet you!" Yeah, I'm pretty sure the cheetah had a wish of her own!

Beautiful day, zoo, we will see you soon!

Lynn

Story of a Toy Box

If you REALLY know me, you know I am obsessed with Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids. This company has LONG been an obsession of mine, heck we practically replicated one of their nurseries for McKinley. So, it should come as no surprise that I frequently scour the websites just to see what I see. Well, just before Christmas I saw something that immediately caught my attention, a sweet toy box. Ever since we decorated McKinley's Big Boy Room we just had not been happy with a particular area that was not functioning well. I am all about function in our home - if it's non-functioning then it drives me bonkers until I make it...well...function. So, when I saw this toy box I KNEW it was perfect for that crazy little space, and what a pop of color! The thing was bright red! I showed it to Cary who agreed it was pretty sweet, but I just could not bring myself to pay nearly $300 for something I felt would be simple construction and easy to make. I waited...and waited. It went on sale! Still way more than the materials would ever cost, but better than $300. I finally convinced myself to suck it up and click "add to cart"...and as I did so a big, ugly red sign came up and said the item I selected was no longer available.

WHAT?

I literally closed the laptop and walked away.

I checked back regularly. Yep, still unavailable until November 2011. No way.

Then one day I was casually perusing through a new magazine, Fresh Home, where I found an interesting woman with an equally interesting website: knockoffwood.com. Very cool. Something made me turn on the computer and check out this site. I was instantly hooked! Such beautiful things she was GIVING people the plans for! HELLO!

And then, I happened on something that made me yell out loud: plans for a toy box, on legs, just like the pottery barn kids box!

When Cary got home I showed him the plans and cooked up my own...we were going to have wood shop 101 that Sunday!

On Saturday we gathered all of our supplies (the wood was roughly $25...no kidding) and took them home with plans to make the box Sunday. I could barely sleep. I had a dream about that toy box - weird!

Sunday morning we were both all ready to whip out the woodworking materials! It was really cold so we totally set up our 'shop' in the entryway, complete with a work table, clamps, drill, jigsaw and vacuum (because I was the vacuum girl, determined to NOT have sawdust throughout the house).

In no time at all we had the entire piece together! I was shocked! I took it outside (brrrrr!) and sanded the entire thing down, then back in to prime and paint (with no voc paint, of course!). All this, in ONE DAY! The last step was the hardest though - the special "Toys" decal that we wanted to replicate with my Mom's talented, artistic hand (see McKinley's nursery where she free-handed scrollwork on around the entire room). That was a process...lots of steps, but today the piece is finished!

Well...maybe.

I may add an aging glaze over the entire piece to 'rough' it up a bit. It's a little bright, needs to look a little more worn in ---- BUT SO AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so proud of the work we all put into this piece. Cary (and a few of my Mom's friends) think we need to sell these suckers. It would be adorable as a planter, or small sandbox. The possibilities are endless.

The best part - the little unused and non-functioning space in McKinley's bedroom is now a full functional area that he LOVES. Though we don't keep many toys in his bedroom, he has a few that find their way in there from time to time and they have a happy little home now.

All is well!

Lynn

P.S. Please excuse the messy book stack. Still working on just how I want all those books set up!

A Little Love PARTAAAY!

Cutest Valentine's Day Party pretty much EVER, complete with arrow and heart hats, a class dressed in red and goodies galore! Best part of the day for me? Sharing the party experience with my husband, who was off work for the day! McKinley's face was full of pure joy when he saw us both...it made my heart sing!

McKinley chose Ratatouille (the movie) valentines for his sweet classmates, he wrote on some of them, I wrote on the others. We totally ran out of time on them because we were working on another sweet treat to include in the precious Valentine boxes for his preschool friends and Miss Lori & Miss Kymberli:

Valentine Confetti! I found the awesome recipe here. I made some changes for our version: popped the popcorn on the stovetop in coconut oil instead of using microwave - that's what we prefer anyway. I also used the plain white candy melts instead of the confetti version so the white popped a little more. And I highly recommend allowing the candy to cool almost completely before beginning the mixing process so the M&M's don't melt. We layered the M&M's in the bottom, the cooled popcorn next, to create a barrier from the heat of the candy, finally we poured in the candy (IN A HUGE BOWL!) and began mixing. We mixed quickly since we allowed the candy to cool, it was close to hardening. I layered a HUGE baking sheet with parchment paper and carefully laid clumps of the confetti out on the paper. Once it was cool we broke up the larger pieces, left some as is and placed them in the treat bags tied with red ribbon and a beautiful printable tag found here. They were a huge hit. We made them for friends and family as well.

McKinley had a really good time passing out the Valentine Confetti and his valentines, it was precious.

After those were finished it was time for treats (special parties require special treats that do not need to be healthy - a treat in and of itself!), then the great Valentine craft, a bean noisemaker! The day ended with a BANG! Ha!!!!!!!!!

I can say that McKinley napped like a champion this afternoon --- he earned it after such an awesome party!

Happy Valentines Day!

Lynn

A Love Story

It's almost Valentine's Day...a day I love. But about 12 years ago I was NOT a fan. I had yet to find my true love and was growing impatient with the...um...bottom feeders that were coming my way (Lordy there were some doozies...I can literally hear my Mom sigh just thinking back to those days).

I know this totally sounds like a Golden Girls, Sophia, "Picture it! Sicily, 1928..." moment, and maybe it is, but it's OUR story and apparently we are not the only ones who think its good!

Valentine's Day 1999 was a real downer. BLAH. I remember sitting in my friend's car and crying (after a date, mind you) because I knew he wasn't the one. I asked her when it would be my turn. And informed her that I gave up...

The following day, a handsome young man walked into L.S. Ayres (now Macy's) to track down a friend from college. He was new in town, didn't know a soul but Chrissy from U of I. He couldn't remember her last name, but remembered she worked at Ayres and thought it might be nice to reconnect with an old friend.

I was late. I know, no surprise, but this time it was my general manager's fault. He scheduled me an HOUR late to open the jewelry department. The Ayres general manager was in a panic. His store was open but those pesky jewelry girls hadn't opened up yet. Awesome. I arrived, shocked to find the store open...I rushed to pull the covers off of the cases and scrambled to get the jewelry from the safe. I remember exactly where I was standing. I pulled off the black cover, began folding it and out of the corner of my eye I saw a young man walking toward me. I was pretty grumpy after discovering my general manager's mistake and wasn't in the mood to talk, so I kept my head down...but don't think I didn't admire the eye candy walking by...I'm not stupid.

As I continued to get the counter open, I was working on the cash register when I saw the young man's head pop up from beneath the Ralph Lauren display just in front of me. He flipped some shirts around, appeared to be searching for something specific. Finally, after a few head bobs, he abruptly came up to my counter and said, "Uh, excuse me. Do you know Chrissy?"

I, in my best 20 year old valley girl replied, "Uhhhh, yeaaaah! She's like, my best friend." Good thing there was only one Chrissy who worked at Ayres.

He asked if she was working that day, I didn't think so and offered to call her for him but was NOT about to give him her number...you never know. So, I called her, asked if she knew a guy named Cary and that he was standing in front of me looking for her. She okay'ed the exchange of numbers and I told her I'd call her back.

Cary and I briefly chatted (remember, I did have a job to do, no matter how lame) but soon he was on his way. As soon as he was out of earshot I called Chrissy back.
OHMYGOSH, WHO IS HE??????? HE IS SO HOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And so the conversation went on about how cute he was...we hung up.
Soon Chrissy called me. It seems the handsome young gentleman had no sooner left the mall and raced home to call Chrissy. I am told the conversation went like this: "Hi Chrissy, who's Lynn? She's pretty. Is she single?"

I think this was Chrissy first shot at matchmaking...she did pretty damn good...though this next part gets really sickening.

She convinced Cary to meet her at the mall after lunch, and called me again to say they were coming in to see me. I took a break and walked around with them for several minutes, Chrissy leading the conversation to break us in. I vividly remember that day. I remember very little about work though...

Anyway, after my break was over I went back to my 'cage' as I called it (we were boxed in...) and Chrissy literally made me give Cary a hug. Oh my, I still blush just thinking of that...really? He asked for my phone number, I happily obliged. He called that night. Yes, THAT NIGHT. He asked to take me out on a date, we made plans the following night. I ditched another date with that other guy (see beginning of post) and pretty much never called him again.

Cary and I went to see "Varsity Blues" on our first date. Neither of us even bothered with 'seeing other people'...we were set. Match made in heaven.

I'm not saying we've never had issues...a good marriage has issues occasionally. And God knows we are far from perfect people, but we are perfect for each other. We compliment one another so well....finish each other's statements...have the exact same thoughts at the exact same time. I am so very, very blessed and so eternally thankful to have found my sweet husband. He is amazing and funny and helpful and understanding, kind and thoughtful. He puts up with a heckuva lot being married to me. He has done so much for me, and of course for McKinley. He is my definition of 'ROCK' and I have no idea where I would fit in this world without him. I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

Just after we were married I won a radio contest for best proposal, and earlier this week I put up a post on the tiny prints facebook page. They asked how you met your valentine and said their favorites would be posted on their blog. Well, our shortened story is featured in their blog as one of their favorites! Didn't win anything this time (I WISH! I love their products!), but just knowing that someone else thinks it's pretty cool that I had to wait 364 days to celebrate my first Valentine's Day with my Valentine, and that Cupid came a day late is kind of fun.

You can find that blog post HERE.

So thankful for my Valentine.

I love you Cary!

Lynn

Whoa Mama!

Mother Nature packs a punch. And we have certainly felt the depth of that punch this week. In the middle of the ice storm, as I sat on our sofa in front of the huge picture window, I was jolted from my seat and thought the world was crashing down on us. Turns out it wasn't the whole world, as it sounded, but it was the whole gutter and facia from the entire length of our home. With it, the gutter/facia combo also brought down our phone line - ripped it from the side of the house!
Not an hour prior we saw a very large limb come crashing down into our backyard - thankfully, it didn't hit anything, but it certainly left a new problem...and a LOT of annoying sticks strewn about and a lot of cutting to do - while standing on ice.

So, we began the ordeal of having the gutters replaced - something sure to take a few weeks. And once that was on the way we had to find a way to 'skate' through the ice to get this huge limb chopped up and out of our way. Problem being, we no longer have a chainsaw...and a handsaw won't cut it - no pun intended.

We asked around to some friends if they had a chainsaw. All we wanted was to borrow one and do the work ourselves, but much to our surprise a good friend stepped up and offered to help. Not only did he log on facebook to put a post expressing his need to borrow at least one chainsaw, he contacted several of his own friends, finally tracking down two new chainsaws with a lot of promise.

To us, he even went a BIG step further and offered to cut the limb with Cary, in the bitter cold. We were truly humbled by the offer and cannot express our gratitude properly. Cary and Ben made very quick work of the ordeal as I prepared coffee and entertained McKinley and Lincoln. Then, a friendly invitation for coffee came from Lincoln's Mom, Kylie. The small break was more than welcome and we had a blast (as always) telling our stories and talking a HUNDRED miles a minute (because when you have a rare moment to talk without preschoolers, toddlers and newborns around you talk really, really fast because there is a LOT to be said!).

As Cary and I looked out the window, after the big clean up and coffee break the view was a little less of a blow. Now we wait for the ice to melt so that the repair can begin and the workers can be safe. In the meantime, our home has been secured from the weather and whatever else and we wait.

Having always been a huge fan of beautiful snow, it is so very unlike me to say this: I AM TRULY SICK OF WINTER. Spring has never been so welcome in our home.

I also need to point out how very blessed we are, and how thankful that there was no further damage. With such horrendous weather the outcome could easily have been much worse. We have much to be thankful for: our health, our home, true friendships, God's grace, and so much more.

Lynn

Ice, Ice Baby!

Boy, Mother Nature sure has a way with completely freaking a person out, and at the same time leaving them breathless.

Guess that's a woman for ya...

Well, Mama N. was in rare form this eve. She laid it all out there. Rain...in TWENTY NINE DEGREE WEATHER? Weird. Just weird.

As the evening went on you could look outside and see a glaze on EVERYTHING. I took photos of a shrub outside our front door through the entire storm.

About 2 hours in: when I touched the shrub is was starting to get 'crispy', if you will.

The next morning: Encased!

Day 3: This thing will not move! But it is gorgeous!















I was taken by the beauty of the ice and got brave enough to try standing ON the ice, I took so many photos! Isn't it amazing how something so beautiful can be so very dangerous!

Lynn

The last photo is of our brave little transformer. I would swear it was the only one left in the city after hearing them blow over and over again. This little guy only gave us a little flicker a few times and one very brief outage...miraculously! Had to photograph it just for posterity.