Top Five Reasons I Love Preschool.

Reason #5:  It gives me time to read blogs and drink coffee without interruption.

Reason #4:  It allows an opportunity to read today's emails from Overzealous Student #1 and Overzealous Student #2.  (Note:  If you happen to be an online student and you want to develop a good relationship with your instructor, please don't send five emails regarding the Final Exam during Week Two of the course.  I promise that this is a bad idea.)

Reason #3:  Preschool allows a person the chance to paint things that don't really need to be painted.

Reason #2:  It is really, really nice to have two hours a day during which I'm not asked to make any meal/snack and I'm not required to make sure that this meal/snack is actually eaten by a child rather than a sneaky dog.

Reason #1:  I love preschool because my kiddo has fun there and (almost) always comes home in a happy mood.

Four out of Ten.

For those of you keeping score at home:

Days C should have gone to school during the last two weeks:  10.
Days C actually went to school:  4.

I miss my time alone.
I miss our routine.
I miss having two hours a day when I don't have to search the house for a Star Wars figure.

Hey Snow!
I'm done with you.
Why don't you go pick on the people in Iowa for awhile...

Crabby.

Today I feel crabby. 
Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.

Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.

Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.

Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.

Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.Crabby.

2:21 PM

The crabbiness continues, but I've come up with some music to go with it:

Verse #1:
If you're crabby and you know it, paint a wall.
If your're crabby and you know it, paint a wall.
If you're crabby and you know it, then the wall will surely show it.
If you're crabby and you know it, paint a wall.

Verse #2:
If you're crabby and you know it, take a nap...

I'll let you know if I discover any other cures!

I Heart Buttons.

Time to get to work...

Everyday Pretty.

I was loading my dishwasher today when I was suddenly struck by how pretty these plates and bowls looked all lined up in a row.  Fortunately for you, I washed them before snapping a picture! 

Now, if I could just remember to take a picture while the sun was still up, perhaps my photography would improve...

This Little Piggy went to Market...

...the flea market, that is.
And I got a treat:

My little gallery is growing...
I think my little bird friend likes it, too.

Table Top Trouble Tour.

This is what my world looks like every time I am in the midst of preparing for a new semester:

Kitchen table--left side

Kitchen table-right side



Coffee table



Side table





Even the ironing board is covered!



The items may be different, but the mess is always the same! 
I can actually say (for once) that I am looking forward to tidying up! : )

Double Rats.

All day...I worked.

All evening...I played.

I'm ready for bed...it's only 7:53.

Rats.

I think that means I have to get back to work.

Double rats.

Back to "Normal."

C returned to school today and though he couldn't/wouldn't tell me what he had for snack or what he did for art, he was willing to share that he did a cart wheel in tumbling.  Today was his very first day of tumbling and he seemed to enjoy it.  His coach reported that he did really well, but when she asked him to do one of the exercises, he responded by saying "That just doesn't look safe." 

Why don't his safety concerns ever kick in when he's hopping from the coffee table to the arm chair across the room?

I've spent my day working on classes.  I'm dreadfully, fearfully, insanely behind, but I feel like I'm getting back into the groove of things so I'm feeling better about it than I have all week.

Still...I'd rather be sewing.  Maybe sometime this weekend...

What we've been up to today.

The day is almost over--where did it go? 

• C was home from school (again!) due to "inclement" weather, but his friend M (and M's mom and baby brother) came over to play and we really enjoyed having a break from the regularly scheduled snow day schedule.
• I'm happy to report that our ice maker has made a spontaneous recovery.  We have no idea what happened--why it stopped or why it started again.
• I secretly believe that the recovery occured when the ice maker saw the three ice trays I had filled and realized that we were serious about not paying to have it fixed. 
• Either that or my spur-of-the-moment-freezer-cleaning--required for the previously mentioned ice trays--inspired the ice maker to "live its best life."  Not sure which.
• C just announced that I "officially have a great kid who does a lot of housework" and added that, "your kid is the best cleaner in the whole house." 
• This announcement comes as he scrubs the front of our refrigerator with water and his "special soap ingredient."
• He's now moving on to the oven door and microwave. 
• Will C's cleaning technique result in major streaks on our black appliances?  Yes.
• Do I care?  Not so much.
• Is my apathy the result of three snow days in a row?  Probably.
• One last thought:  If our school district closes school for three days when we receive two inches of snow, how many days would they be closed if we received one foot?
• Yeah, I don't know either!

Love Birds.

Want to know what makes me happiest in the world? Taking a stack of materials like this:

and turning them into something like this:

Such fun!

Snow Day.

Yesterday, I wished for a snow day. 
Today I learned that snow days with a five-year-old boy mean:
 
 

Star Wars figures everywhere.

 

Baking peanut butter cookies.




Max and Ruby.



Max and Molly.

Did I mention that there are cookies?

Peanut butter cookies.

Now, I'm hearing talk about going outside in the snow...
What are the odds that he'll wait until Jason gets home?

4:13PM:  Apparently, the odds were against me.  We just came back in after shoveling, running, and building a tiny little snowman.
 It's been a good day, but our house is trashed and I'm ready for bed!

Snow!

I sure hope that Squeaky is warm and cozy in his little house!

Is it wrong that I'm hoping for a snow day tomorrow?

Someday Decorating: Master Bathroom Edition.

We have a very modest bathroom by HGTV standards.  We do have two sinks, but we do not have:

• a separate shower  
• a spa tub 
• heated floors
• marble counter tops
• anything fancy at all!

Sure, a fancy bathroom would be nice, but honestly--I would much rather have a great craft room than a fancy master bathroom.  Having said that, it would be nice if our current bathroom was a bit prettier. 
I will be painting very soon and the color I have picked out is Sherwin William's Netsuke.  It's a creamy ivory.  I'll also switch out our wire shelving with some wooden shelves (the next time my carpenter visits). 

But, someday...I would love to have new tile floors like this:


Source:  http://www.laminateflooringtexas.com/productdetail.php?id=292


Next, I would paint our vanity dark brown thanks to inspiration in this post from Centsational Girl:  http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2011/01/budget-bathroom-makeover-linky/


I'd replace the faucets with something like this:

Source:  http://www.lowes.com/

...and then I'd pick out some new cabinet knobs:

I'd switch out the light fixture with something like this:

Source:  http://www.homedepot.com/

 pick out a new shower curtain:


Source:  http://www.dillards.com/

and some cushy towels:

...and, finally, super-soft bath mats like these:

I'd wrap things up with some thrifty finds and some handmade artwork and then I'd call it done...at least for a little while.

Hi Ho.

"Hi ho, Hi ho

It's off to work we go..."

Well.  My vacation is unofficially over.  I've spent a good part of the day trying to set up timelines for my spring classes and editing materials from last semester.  The goal is to be 100% ready by this time next weekend and classes begin on January 18th. 

I wish that I could say that I'm excited about it, but right now, I feel like the dwarf on the far right of the picture above.

Perhaps a little crafting will ease the transition...

Home Preschool.

Home Preschool students

This morning at home preschool, we:

• listened to Kidz Bop 80s Gold
• practiced spelling January
• learned how to write "2011"
• read C's favorite book, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton
• studied the letter "A"
• touched our toes 10 times
• performed "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear"
• played Zingo for the first time (Linny-the-Guinea-Pig got a little upset when she didn't win)
• enjoyed mini Nilla Wafers for snack time
• watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer (because Rudolph was our special guest student today)

All in all, it was a good morning.

Someday Decorating: Master Closet Edition.

Let's play make-believe...


If I had extra money right now, here are some additional changes that I would make to our master closet.
I would look for a closet organizer along these lines:


Source:  http://closetorganizersystems.org/

I would look for a light fixture that would look better than what we have, but wouldn't call attention to our very-off-center closet light (I'm pretty sure that whoever installed our light fixtures was wearing a blindfold at the time).  Maybe something like this:

Source:  http://www.lightinguniverse.com/

 I'd continue bathroom tile into the closet...something along these lines:

Source:  http://www.aaffordableservices.com/?page_id=688 

 Then, I would cozy it up with a pretty rug like this:

Source:  http://www.ballarddesigns.com/

A hamper and some storage:

Sources:  http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.containterstore.com/

And, of course, some pretty wooden hangers:

Source:  www.walmart.com


And then I'd call it done...at least for a little while!

Painting the closet.

This is the part where I wish I'd never started...

Life in Grace.

I'm joining forces with the group of birthday well-wishers at Life in Grace today...

Source:  http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/

This picture was my first glimpse into Edie's world and what a world it is!  I have become a fan of Edie's creativity, focus on education, love of family, quirkiness, and--most of all--her willingness to share her faith in God. 

I've spent a lot of time trying to find the perfect words to explain why Edie's blog has so captured my attention, but they seem to be hiding from me today.  So I'll just say this:

Happy Birthday Edie!
I hope that you feel surrounded by love and friendship.
I hope that today is full of smiles and laughter. 
I hope that you feel the thoughts and prayers that are being sent your way.

Getting started.

What do you do when you have planned to start a painting project, but you feel guilty about making a new mess when there are already 5, 231 messes scattered around your home? 

Do you (A) postpone the painting and focus on cleaning; (B) postpone the painting and plan on cleaning, but instead spend your day crafting; or (C) move ahead with the painting and deal with cleaning later?

I'm going with (C).  That means that it's time to start clearing out a closet and finding those paint supplies.  Before it's time to leave for my dental appointment.  yucky

Happy Monday/Last Day of Vacation!

Master Closet (Re)beautification Project.

Soon...I will be starting a super-exciting, life-changing project:  Painting and organizing our master bedroom closet.  I'm pretty sure that it will look something like this when I'm done:

Source:  http://www.closet-solutions.com/walk-in_closet.php

Okay. Maybe not exactly.

Why, you might wonder, would I choose to redo my closet when my entire house is screaming for attention? Well, I just really feel that my collection of beautiful clothing and shoes deserve a beautiful space in which to live. Or maybe because I already have the paint for it so it won't require any financial expenditure.


And as Martha would say, that's "a good thing."
And as George would say, it's time to "get 'er done."


I'm off to prep my work zone!

Resolutions.

Here it is, the afternoon of the first day of the new year.  So far today I have straightened our house, washed four loads of laundry, and cleaned one of two bathrooms.  I even managed to have a shower before 3 pm.  I'm on fire!

I wanted to take a few minutes to record my new year's resolutions here in order to keep me honest.  This is a highly personal process for me so please don't laugh (out loud) or mock me (to my face).  : )

This year, I will:

1. Learn how to use my camera so that I can post better pictures here.  You know--the kind that won't make us all wonder if it's time for our next eye exam.
2. Exercise three times a day, seven days a week.
3. Take more pictures of C and all of our exciting activities.
4. Solve the mystery of what really happened to Amelia Earhart.
5. Make things to sell at Wenonah's shop.
6. Sky dive.
7. Eat more fruits and vegetables.
8. Find a cure for procrastination.
9. Take down our Christmas tree by Valentine's Day.
10. Drink 5,000 ounces of water every day.