New Dining room set

so i took on a project that i think was much bigger than i bargained for and i don't think i will be another such project anytime soon. but i finished and am pleased with the results. the picture below is showing the old fabric and the new fabric with a little touch from the little mans help. he wanted to help so bad when i was screwing the seats onto the chairs and would pretend in the middle hole.

I didn't get any really good before pics because i didn't think about it until i had the table apart and had started sanding. but this is what the finish looked like before. and you see the light circular spot in the middle, yeah that was from a gun cleaning escapade a couple of years ago.

And the finished product! i love it! i am definitely no pro and will not be showing you close up pictures of the chairs. The table turned out exactly how i wanted but i had a hard time with painting and finishing the chairs those boogers. but unless you inspect they will suit us just fine. this dining set was the one that i grew up with at my parents house. it is pine and pretty soft so the black glaze shows the flaws in the wood from different dents and things, but i thought it added great character!

I am so glad to be done with this project and am glad i had some friends to help me out.

we are all alive and well. blogger is being a booger and not uploading my pictures. is it just me or is blogger out to get me?

i would have been updating a lot seeing as halloween actually came and went with our fun party, and i refinished our dining room table and chairs......the set i grew up with as a kid.

but lindsay has been gone since just a few days after halloween and just returned. he had the computer with him because he had a big annual report due while he was away and thus i have been out of the cyber world for nearly a month. to tell you the truth part of me loved it, and yet part of me felt so weird and out of the loop. but it was a nice reprieve. i think i could do without the computer if it wasnt so necessary for todays world.

when blogger starts cooperating i will post pics

Halloween full speed ahead!

This weekend Lindsay and I are hosting a halloween party for some of erik's little friends. I am super excited about it. First because Lindsay is actually in town this year to celebrate with us (the second ever since we have been married) and second because hosting this party has helped make me feel like I am fulfilling lifelong motherhood dreams. These types of activities are things I have dreamed about planning and putting on since I can remember.


This is an activity where the kids will bob for bat rings. They will get bendy straws and hook them on the rings and then enjoy the prize!

This is just what is up in our entry way

Some Halloween books out on Erik's table that I will read aloud as children are gathering to help keep their excitement focused into one area and really could I do something without a book involved? I don't think so!

skulls in candle holders

favor bags and gloves filled with popcorn and gumdrops.........mmmm so fun!

the table before all the food

a fun festive banner I made out of scrapbook paper. I did get the templates off of a blog and of course I cant find the website to give propercredit. But I did a google image search of Halloween banners and it came up.

I loved getting reaady for halloween this year. WE have some inflatable halloween shapes that we are going to play around with and if I can find out parachute then we will bounce it off that but at the moment I put it away somewhere and can't find it. My luck of course. We will also be doing a pumpkin search and an artwork piece.

But you know what I really can't wait for and am trying my hardest not to pull out, is my CHRISTMAS stuff. I am so excited for this year. The other morning erik woke up at an insane hour and so we had a party in our bed until breakfast and we sang lots of christmas carols to him and had a blast. It got both Lindsay and I in the mood for all the joy and spirit of Christmas. We will be going home for Christmas so I am trying to figure out what to do here and what we can do there and I am soooooo excited. Maybe even be doing some christmas crafts soon so that when the time comes they can go up.

maybe maybe not

photo found here.... http://ulovebeth.blogspot.com

The above picture is what I am trying to imagine myself as. I have never enjoyed running, I have never been a fast runner (I quit in elementary when I realized I couldn't even place in any races), and overall running has never been a part of my life other than attending meets and races for my brothers and sister in law.

I have always wanted to like running and experience the so called high that comes with it. But every time I have ever tried to get into a habit, it lasts about two weeks before I put my shoes away for a while. This time however I am determined. I am nearing 30 and I can feel my body changing. My metabolism is slowing, my clothes are fitting differently as my body shape is changing a bit, I feel like I am getting to know a new body lately and I haven't even had the pleasure of delivering a child. So since running is good for you and cheap I am committed. I have a running buddy who is also very committed which is good since I usually wake up and want to cancel. But we have yet to cancel! Lindsay's brother Alex is a physical therapist and him and his wife are amazing athletes. They gave us an awesome running program that starts out super easy (5 minutes of running time the first two weeks, easy huh?) and slowly works up to whatever amount of time you want to be running. My partner and I are up to 15 minutes of consecutive running.

For some of you that may sound like the easiest thing in the world, but I must say I don't know when the last time was that I could do that. Honestly it was probably junior high. That's not to say i am not an active person, but running is not natural to me. I am so proud of myself! We are looking to do a race of some sort in the next few months to keep us looking towards a goal as the weather cools down.

Basically I am tell you all this 1....to make you feel good about yourself because you could probably walk faster than I can run, as well as farther 2.......to help keep myself accountable until this new thing becomes more habit.

I am enjoying that a slow build up because all the other times I have tried I always got nauseated after a run and just hated it. But with this program I feel good about myself and accomplished each time I up how many minutes I can run. Now I just wish there more fun places to run with a stroller.

fit for a king

So little man is growing faster than i can conceive it and so his needs are changing. Earlier this summer Lindsay decided to have a yard sale last second. I was all about it, I had stuff waiting to be purged and taken out of the house. We also decided to sell the couches that were in our front room. i know that is kind of weird. But we didn't use them that much, really only when we had visitors which honestly isn't that often. Plus we have couches in our family room where the tv is anyway, that is where we mostly hang out. So we sold them and I have been trying to figure out what to do with the empty room. We noticed right away that Erik loved having the big open space the play, so that got my mind turning and although not super asthetic to see as you walk in the house, I decided to turn it into a play room area. Slowly I have been getting things in there and I think it is complete. Only half his toys are out so it is not overwhelming to pick something to play with. And easier for me to rotate when he gets bored with them.

Since organizing the toys he has actually been playing with them! I just got him a little table and chairs, and he loves them. He climbs onto the little set many times and day and even uses them as toys as he stacks the furniture and toys on the furniture. He likes eating a snack there. It is great! I am hoping it will help ease boredom this winter and create an area that will foster learning as he is starting to really progress in language and labeling body parts, etc.

Just this morning he sat in his high chair pointing to things he could see and half jibber jabbering and half saying his words. He would point and label using the correct word and then continue in his own language and describe what it was. At one point he pointed to the ceiling, made the airplane sign and talked about that and then made the choo choo sound and followed suit. What a crack up.

His vocab, went from about 3-4 words to the following list in about a week or so

-mama

-dada

-bo bo (boomer)

-shoe

-taco

-bubble

-choo choo (high pitched like a train)

-hot (in a whispered voice)

he blows when he sees a candle or lighter

-yes

-no no no (if he is repeating me when he gets in trouble)

-jesus

-na na (banana-his favorite food)

-duck

and when he wants to listen to music or watch a video he talks in a little sing songy voice and opens his eyes wide. Most adorable.

He will follow vocal sounds i make (like going going low to high or vice versa) in a singy voice and it is fun game we play in the car and on walks. this age is hard in its own way but I am starting to enjoy it too. Especially because he is starting to entertain himself a bit more and communicate more

more vegas fun

Erik was laying with his uncle Alex one day and Alex was combing Erik's hair, he was so relaxed and loving the attention.

Naps were actually better than I thought they were going to be while there. Erik took his naps in the bathroom and Zoey slept in the bedroom. I love how his little booty sticks up in the air.

Zoey having a little fun with some nasty poo. Don't worry it was fake

One day we went to the Hoover dam. It was really hot but a sight to see!

Just a fun picture of all of our feet!

while there Linds and Alex took the opportunity to jump off the top of the stratosphere. They said the rush was crazy, especially as you take to initial step off the platform. Overall vacation was lots of fun. We enjoyed just being with Alex and Haley and letting the cousins get to know each other better. People asked every day if they were twins and they played like siblings and fought like them as well. It was awesome!

livin' it up

This last week we actually went on vacation and partied it up with these crazies!

Well ok, we didn't party it up in the traditional way but we did lots of shopping, swimming, and relaxing like we did in the old days.


This group shot was taken at the flamingo and literally a few minutes later they shooed us away because they were going to perform a wedding.

playing in the laundry basket at the hotel. These two munchkins were asked about a million times if they were twins while out and about and they played like they were and fought like they were, it was pretty funny. Definitely interesting to see the difference between boy and girl toddlers too. Erik was aggressive and very physical in playing, zoey would play nice and get into all the girly cosmetic stuff.

most of all I think Haley and I enjoyed watching the men together. They turn into kids around each other and do all sorts of crazy things. And no erik did not have on a bikini he had a swim shirt and a washable swim diaper. Trunks are overrated if you ask me.

more to come....