A Walk to the Park

At our old place, there were two ways to walk. Either down the hill, alongside the freeway. Or up a really big steep hill to the neighborhood above. It just wasn't an ideal "walking" neighborhood. We like to take a walk as a family after dinner sometimes. It's good exercise, the kids like getting out (they usually wear their pajamas) and it helps burn off any excess energy before bedtime.

However, the new neighborhood is great for walking. There are dozens of directions to go including a quick 15 minutes to the library and the park. Saturday afternoon Danny was working with his uncle on some electrical stuff in the house so I took The Girl and Baby D to the park (The Boy was with grandma & grandpa).


He loves the swings!

I got to have a rare night out with my hubby on Saturday night. Seems like work parties are the only date nights we get. Bible study night doesn't count as a "date". We need to plan something with just the two of us soon!


Date night!

We all walked over to the park on Sunday after church and a quick lunch.


Guess who napped on the walk over?

It was much warmer but we found some shade under a tree to enjoy popsicles. We got some sun (some of us too much, as proof of our light pink cheeks today) and enjoyed the pretty day.


My handsome honey


They were attempting to climb this tree but The Boy got his shoe stuck


Eating popsicles with Daddy. Oh, that hat...


The kids even ran through the sprinklers in the front yard when we got home. No pictures of that because I was on watch to make sure the baby didn't get near the sidewalk. He was having the best time though, catching the spray of water in his mouth!

I have to get cracking on taking "real" camera photos again! This camera phone business is handy but no substitute for nice keepable and printable memories.

Project Log - 2 weeks in the new house

So we've been in the house for 14 days.

The first night Danny rolled over in bed and said, "Feels like we're on vacation".

I agreed. I had the same feeling. Like this wasn't our usual routine, something was different. Manuvering in the dark is weird, like I'm worried I'm going to stub my toe or knock over a lamp because things are in unfamiliar positions.

It doesn't help that there are floor to ceiling mirrored sliding doors in 4 places throughout this tiny house. I keep catching glimpses of myself as I unpack, not necessarily a pleasant sight after a day of housework. I don't need to see myself head to toe walking down the hall, hanging up clothes, sweeping the floor, etc. At the very least, the mirrors in the hallway need to go. I'd prefer accordian doors or even just plain sliders, even though that still seems odd, sliding doors in the hall. Maybe chalkboard paint and make an entire art wall?

You know who likes the mirrors?

The baby of course. He's been hamming it up all week, posing in front of them, giggling at the sight of himself, positioning his toys in front of the mirrors so he can watch himself and playing peek-a-boo...with himself. I spent the weekend wiping all his little handprints off and of course, they were all back on again by the evening.

I found my camera cord while unpacking...finally! Something is up though and my photos aren't uploading directly to my Pictures file so I had to make do and create a collage in Picasa as that was the only thing that would work. Need to get my computer-minded brother on the job, I guess...he'll figure it out.

But here is a quick collage of what we've been doing.

Danny and The Boy spent a good part of last weekend cleaning the yard. They edged the lawn, mowed it, removed a ton of rocks from the backyard "grass" (weeds, actually) and mowed back there as well. There was some citrus tree trimming and dead-fruit removing too. Things definitely look more polished in the yard. Next up, patio furniture!

Unfortunately we forgot trash day and didn't set out the cans so the green waste container is totally stuffed and they can't do any more yard work until there's a place to put the clippings.

I was inside, unpacking and arranging The Girl's room. She has quite a lovely space now, except for the pile of Dad's clothes on the desk that he's yet to find a home for (don't think you're going to find it in the closet, that's already a tight fit...sorry, honey!). The Boy doesn't have any of his things unpacked yet as he is sharing a room with Baby D and well, there just isn't any space yet! My idea is to put a plywood sheet on the top bunk, top with a layer of carpet squares and put up some shelving so The Boy has a safe place for Legos and things without Baby D pulling a "Godzilla" on all his stuff.

My bedroom is coming along nicely. Spent Saturday morning with Baby D at The Container Store buying stuff to organize. I had lots of ideas but seemed to flake out and couldn't make a lot of decisions once I got there! I think I got overwhelmed with possibility, I love that store! I did pick up colored bins for the kids to store their soaps, toothbrushes, mouthwash and a drinking glass under the sink. I also found a two-tiered sliding mesh rack for under my bathroom sink. I hate a cluttered bathroom counter! At some point we'll have some shelving installed in our little bathroom too.

As I am the Queen of Baskets, I have tons of them that I'm using to store items throughout the house. And canvas bins, they are holding everything from toys to linens to extra diapers and wipes in every closet. At The Container Store I bought inexpensive boxes to hold extra shoes in the garage. So much better than seeing shoes piled up on shelves and falling on the floor.

So we are facing another weekend. Next on the project list is a fence for the retaining wall in the backyard so Baby D doesn't take the 4' drop off the edge. One of the sprinklers is broken and needs replacing as it's leaking water down the driveway. And cable needs rewiring so we can move the desk to its proper location next to the dining room table and the TV can be mounted to the wall.

Exciting stuff. Any projects going on for you this weekend?

Barn Light Electric - A Pinterest Contest Win!

I won a contest!

And not just any contest, this one was a judged Pinterest contest that required creativity and time to get it just right. I won $550 worth of lighting and accessories from Barn Light Electric.

I found the contest on Sweeps Advantage and pinned my dream home ideas along with Barn Light Electric's lovely vintage-style fixtures. You can see my pin here (if you are Pinterested).

Everyone who has contacted me from the company has been so incredibly sweet and practically as excited as I am! They even had their blog writer contact me with questions for a blog feature you can read here.

I received a message from them with details on what I won:

Indoor/Outdoor Wall Sconce



Schoolhouse Pendant Light



Set of 4 Enamelware cups



House numbers in white



Edison spiral light





Still figuring out exactly where we are going to install the lighting. The wall sconce will go outside on the patio for sure. We are anxious to get that area looking good so we can host some summer parties in a few months.

Not sure about the placement of the Schoolhouse pendant. Ideally I'd want it over the kitchen sink but the tile in there would really clash with the pretty jadeite stripe. Think I can talk Danny into ripping out the yellow/brown/green glass tile and putting in something else to match my lovely new lamp? Probably not!

The enamelware cups are so cute and we'll probably use them at the dinner table for the kid's milk. Our current house numbers are black so I think the white numbers they are sending will stand out better. Can't wait to put more character on the front of the house, it's currently really really boring! And isn't that Edison lightbulb great?!

I am so excited to receive my box of goodies. I'll be sure to share once we have things installed too!

Easter weekend

So, we are moved into our new house!



Not much to share there as we are still arranging furniture and unpacking a few boxes a day as time allows. But it's coming along and as soon as I can, I'll share some more details and photos. Our goal is to get the garage of boxes emptied and all items put in place inside the house. Then Danny is going to scrub and sanitize the garage floor...it stinks like cat pee in there from the prior tenants, yuck!



While Danny & his uncle spent Saturday morning finishing up the packing and moving, my mother-in-law and I took the kids to the rec center that I teach at for their annual egg hunt. It was crowded, noisy and the lines were long. And when the clouds burned off, it got very warm. The Girl was having a hard time and had a meltdown. Fortunately my mother-in-law was able to remove her from the crowd and take her to a quiet room to calm down while the boys waited for the pony rides.


The Boy rode the loop on the horse


But Baby D only posed for a quick picture before he was ready to get down





They rode the train, hunted for eggs and one of the four eggs that Baby D got in his basket was a winner and he was gifted with this great baby-themed Easter basket!



Yes, that really is a black widow spider painted on The Girl's cheek... She had said she was going to get a dalmation puppy face but when she sat down I think she got flustered and just looked at the boy across from her and requested what he was getting!

I dropped the kids off at my parents and my mother-in-law and I cleaned the apartment for a few hours. We spent the late afternoon at my aunt's house for the triplet's birthday party. There was a huge bounce-house/slide and the kids burned off their energy. Baby D was so happy with the balloons all over the living room!


The Boy had fun with this silly mask

By the time we got home that evening Danny had already set up the furniture and everyone had a bed to sleep in (without sheets though because we just couldn't find the linens box!). Man, what a day, I was wiped out!

Sunday was Easter and despite the chaos in the house, the Easter bunny still brought treats (sans baskets because they were packed who-knows-where!).


The Boy


The Girl

I guess I forgot to take a picture of the baby's stuff but he got a fluffy stuffed bunny, the book Guess How Much I Love You, a Target dollar spot Elmo board book and a much-needed new Elmo DVD. He was very excited about that DVD and showed everyone in the house. Now we just need to hook up the TV and DVD player!

I failed to get even one photo of the kids in their Easter finery. Oh well, maybe next year things won't be quite so crazy. We spent the afternoon after church doing more unpacking and then had a nice dinner at my parent's.

One final thing...


Checking out the fish tank in pediatrics

Unfortunately Baby D is on his third double-ear infection of the year and we spent yesterday evening in urgent care, getting another prescription. Prayers for good health as we certainly don't need another round of illness in our house!