Pictures of Ben . . .check

Ben is two months old now. He's such a sweet little baby. Only cries when he's hungry or tired. Well, he's a little extra grumpy in the evening, but I ain't complaining.

He smiles a lot. If you catch him right after he eats, you'll catch a smile for sure.

This one was my favorite.

"say, 'cheese!'"

For those who have not gotten the chance to see his webbed toes. . .

Pack, Paint, & Blog

• I can't believe it, but we close on the house friday. FRIDAY!
• I started taking down decorations off the walls and got a little sad. We've been in this house for nine years. I love this house. I'm glad we're keeping it (to rent anyway).
• We posted our rental house on a military website on Saturday night. Sunday we got a call. This morning they came to look at it and they are ready to sign a lease. That was FAST!
• This weekend, Lowes was having incredible deals on refridgerators. INCREDIBLE. We kept going back in forth between the nice stainless samsung or the nice, but not as nice, black whirlpool. There was no tax on energy star appliances, 10% off all appliances, additional 10% off samsung, additional 10% off with military id (dh's mom). We got the fancy one. I didn't even know that samsung made refridgerators. Dh swears they are the best, but I'd be surprised if he even knew they made refridgerators before this weekend either. I bet if they had had a sony refridgerator, he would have wanted it. Men and their gadgets.
• We have 3 weeks before we have to be totally out of this house. My dh's to-do list is long, but getting shorter. I told him he can't go biking with his friends on Thursday unless his list on this house is done. We'll see how that pans out. Dh is a bit more layed back than I am. He's that kid that waited until midnight to start his homework.
• At the beginning of June, if you need some playmates for your kids, I'd love to drop off my two sweet little boys, so I can get some painting done. Really, think about it. Your kids will be out of school, they'll be bored, they need some friends. Seriously, call me. I'd be happy to help you out. Plus, you'd get some nice babysitting points for when you're in a pinch.
• 3 WEEKS!!
• I haven't taken any pictures of Ben. I'm such a horrible mom. I've GOT to do that.
• Right now, dh is hanging out with his friends. He really likes to do things last minute.
• Back to work!!

6 mths

I've given myself 6 mths. Everything is going to be in boxes, walls will be ugly colors, kids will be sleeping in the wrong rooms, I won't get to watch tv, life will be turned upside down. But only for 6 mths. Must be patient.

The day we moved from our first apartment to this house, I had pictures hanging on the wall by that night. I don't like things out of order.

The "new" house is painted from floor to ceiling a "neutral" color. Not one I would pick, but technically, it's neutral. The baseboards, the walls, the ceiling, the doors, the halls, the cabinets. EVERYTHING! In 6 mths, I'll have it all painted the way I like it. That's Christmas. I'll have my tree up and everything will be in order. I can handle 6 mths of disorder, right?

Now, because no one really cares how I'm going to paint, feel free to skip this part and just comment something nice as if you read it . . ."sounds beautiful", "that's an awesome idea", "can't wait to see it" - or anything similar will work.

The formal living room will have our dark ochre green couch and the piano. Maybe eventually a small wall of bookcases for my husband's ridiculous collection. I've picked a paint color called "latte". Sounds delightful, right? I'll accent with burgundy because . . . There's a half wall between this room and the den where the tv, light cream colored couch, and burgundy rocker (came with the dh) will go. There's only one full wall in the den which I plan on painting chocolate brown. The half walls will be the same. The fire place, which is already painted (probably that same color that's on everything else), I plan on painting a light cream color similar to the couch. This way, it'll be the focal point. I'll accent this room with a yellow-green. Eventually, I plan on painting the entertainment center black. It'll be on the chocolate wall. Z's room, I'll paint the same as it is, Ben's too, but Ca's, I'm going to use his black, tan, and red plaid baby quilt to decorate. I'm buying a plain black comforter to go with his quilt and have his quilt folded at the end of his bed. I asked him what he wanted in his room, gave him a few choices, and he came up with mickey mouse all on his own. I thought, that'll work. I'll just throw a few mickey things in there, pillow sham, wall art, stuff like that. Maybe I can find a vintage looking mickey sketch to frame and hang.
Questions:
What are you suppose to paint halls? (I like white)
What are you suppose to paint ceilings? (I like white on this, too)
Do you have to buy special paint for a fireplace?

I still have to decide on colors for the dining room and office nook. Those can wait until the later part of the 6 mths. Well, thanks for listening to my plan.

It's a First

I've painted hundreds of walls. I've chosen lots of colors. It's never the perfect shade. I always wish I would have gotten the lighter one, or wished it was more yellow, or whatever. I always feel like I just barely missed it. This time, I hit the mark. I had been trying to think of a color to paint the kids bathroom for a long time now. It needed a fresh coat of paint. We have 80's counters that I didn't want to spend the money to change, so I wanted the walls to look like the counters were on purpose. There was the tile to consider and our bathroom decor. I found the color I wanted, painted the bathroom, and I love. It's the perfect color. That never happens. I think I'll hang on to the swatch so I can paint one of the bathrooms in the new house the same color. It's a mauvey-gray-tan.

(Looks better in person - more tan, less like silly puddy)

House News

We close on the house May 29th!! We've got to get this house ready to rent, pack 9 yrs worth of stuff, do a few things to the new house, then MOVE. Lord, have mercy. The two weeks before the closing date, my oldest sis will be here. I'm hoping my niece is up for babysitting and my nephews are up for helping us work on the house. Close on the 29th. Dh's birthday on the 30th. I've got to go out of town on the 31st for one night. Did I mention that I have a 3 and 2 yrs old and a newborn? The time I have to work is at night when the "big boys" are in bed. This also is the time when Ben thinks he's starving. He is, however, sleeping for long periods of time during the night. I've got to get back to work!!

Truck Date

On Saturday night, dh and I went on a truck photo hunting date. We drove around searching for old trucks to photograph. It was actually quite fun. I had a project in mind to make for Ben's room. I'm having these printed on matboard, and I'm going to hang them on his wall (whereever that may be) vertically. I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I love the old truck theme. PS the trucks look drawn on purpose. There isn't something wrong with your computer.

Worship Music

My sister, J, sent me some worship cd's as part of a baby gift. WE LOVE THEM!!! Baby does, too. I'll swaddle him up, lay him on a blanket, put on one of the cd's, and he'll fall asleep. This, by the way, NEVER would have happened with Z or Ca. I was pretty shocked the first time it happened. Thank God for an easier baby! I think some new worship music was just what my spirit had be needing. I was feeling in a rut and some new worship music was just the thing to restir some passion. (Duh - God using music to restir passion in a musician). I thank God for a family devoted to Christ. It must have been God who gave my sister the idea of sending me worship cds. This music isn't quite the traditional worship music. More personal, not congregational, a lot of it is through-composed (for my music friends). Anyway, if you are looking for some new music, I suggest you check it out.
http://www.independentbands.com/cd/mistyedwards/relentless.html

PS No word yet on the house.