Has It Been a Year Already?

This little guy came into our lives one year ago toady!! He has turned our lives upside down (in a good way). I cannot imagine loving a tiny human more than I do this little guy.We are so blessed to have him (and his parents) here. Watching him grow has been such a joy. I can't wait for every new day.

He has grown and changed so fast. It seems like every morning he looks a little different, a little bigger.

He has even had his first haircut...it was that or grandpa was wanting to take the clippers to it. 

He is sweet and smart. He loves to be held and played with. He will bring one of his three favorite books to you and expect you to read them to him until he is done. He loves "The Red Tractor", "How Do Dinosaurs Count To Ten" and "The Going To Bed Book". In the last couple of days he has started branching out a little and bringing me the "I Love You, Stinky Face" book too.

He will sit (or stand) still for a minute or two and watch some Curious George or Dragon Train. Mostly he likes to play with cars or balls or do anything outside. We haven't found a food he won't eat. Even the nasty meat-in-a-jar he gagged down. He LOVES mandarin oranges and black beans and especially toast. 

He is a joy to be around and I am so blessed to be his grandma!! Happy Birthday, buddy!!!

Wicked

For Mother's Day this year I have BOTH my kids here! I am so excited for that!! Last year they were both far away and it made for a long day indeed. 
Jo and I have wanted to see Wicked for a few years now but it never worked out....until.....

The touring production came to Omaha (again) and we got tickets!!! Kevin is taking Abby for their anniversary later this month so it was just Jo and me.

We were in the SECOND row!! Yep...only one row of seats and the orchestra pit stood between us and the stage. It was STUPENDOUS!! Sitting that close it was very easy to get lost in the beauty of it all. The costumes and sets were wonderful and the actors did a great job of pulling us in. It was magical.

It was so perfect that I probably won't ever see it again. If the second production isn't as good I'd feel bad and if it was better I'd feel worse. I will let this be perfect in my head forever. 

What an amazing evening!! Thanks Jo!!!

My Life Right Now

Let's face it, I'm not as young as I once was. I thank the heavens that I have been physically active for the last 5 years. Who knew it was training for this new gig of mine. I am a stay-at-home grandma. I feel so old at the end of the day. I do everything I can for the 5 other people that live in my house. I love them. I nurture them. And I wouldn't trade it. But man I am tired. When I read this poem by Annie Flavin I instantly felt connected. I only have one to chase and wrangle and love...but it feels big. I love what I do but by the end of the day....

Bitches Get Shit Done

by Annie Flavin

It’s 4pm, also known as

Mama’s So Tired and Kids Are Crazy o’clock.

I want nothing more than to hide on my couch

with the covers pulled tightly around me.

I want to close my eyes

and drift off

with no other human body

touching my own.

There will be none of that, though.

They are heckling me

with arguments over scraps of paper,

or garbage,

if you were the judge,

and complaining of

hunger and

weather and

clothes that are not just so.

Where is their mother?

Oh, that's right.

I rise up

even though I am

bedraggled,

befuddled and

so, so weary.

He won’t be home soon enough that I can coast.

The TV isn’t cutting it.

I channel

women who are not me;

wise, strong, capable, creative, nurturing

mothers

who push through difficult times and

get shit done.

I channel them,

I become them,

I am them.

I march into the kitchen,

I turn on music and

I find something, anything,

that looks suitable enough

to be called dinner.

They flock to me now:

do I sense a bewilderment in their eyes?

Mom is moving. Mom is happy.

“Mom, I’m a super hero! I save people from pirates!”

he yells as he zooms

around our tiny kitchen.

I am, too, I think to myself.

I get shit done.

Happy Mother's Day my friends. Mother's rock!!

A Quick Before and After

This is my bed. My massive log bed. It probably weighs 500 pounds. It is cool and unique and very manly. The bedding was purchased for a cool $20 at a garage sale 4 years ago (as of this summer). It too is quite masculine. I have liked it, but lately I have been wanting something a little more me. Back when we bought our mattress, NFM gave us a gift card to come back and use. We had to use the entire card in one trip so I wanted to get something good. I needed a new rug and the rugs I found were reasonably priced, leaving some money to spend on bedding......

Of course this isn't the first set I loved. The first set was aqua (go figure) and had yellow and pink and brown accents. Beautiful. Come to find out it was two bedding sets combined. Yeah...bummer. So I kept looking and found this floaty cloud looking set. They had this fluffy white and a beautiful, soft purple. Both were so lovely. I decided on the white because I can throw different pillows at my whim and change the whole look. So now my manly bedroom has a little softer look. I am loving it!!

Another New Chapter

There are a lot of things going on in Omaha right now. Specifically at our house. Two weeks ago Kevin and Abby and Michael moved into our house. Kevin is going to school at Metro and (hopefully) very soon Abby will be working. I have offered to help with Michael while Kevin is at school.

With that exciting change we have more vehicles to park on our VERY narrow street. Finally Jim caved to my request for concrete (about twice a year for almost four years) and in a week we will be able to get Kevin and Abby's vehicle and Jo's car (now the red Fusion) off the street.

That will leave the green car on the road...but no one has complained. It will just be nice not to have to worry so much about blocking half the road constantly.

We had them fill in that ridiculous planter. It was in such an awkward spot. You'd go to get out of the car and have to dodge the dirt pit. I tried to kill the little shrub in it...but it refused to die!

So with five cars and five drivers...wait...five?? What am I driving if Jo has the Fusion?? Oh yeah....only my dream car!!

After four years of saving every nickle I could (with the help and budgeting skills of my awesome hubby) we were able to score this sweet ride at the car auction. I love it! It is so cute and comfortable...and I am able to sit up a little higher and that is a good thing for sure!!

So now we are all settling into our new reality with a very full house. I love having all my chicks in the same town. It has made me very happy indeed.

As Done As It Will Be....For a While

Let's start at the (almost) beginning. I feel like a reading of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see? is in order. The walls in my bathroom were a lovely shade of rusty brown.

When we bought this house I liked all the colors (except the white laundry room...and we all know how THAT turned out). But slowly the colors that I initially loved have been buggin' me. 

So what's a girl to do? 

Paint, of course!! White walls (a color I have NEVER used before...no lie) and a lovely minty/aqua shade for the ceiling and wall behind the tub. It is SO pretty. My bedroom is very masculine...dark brown walls, blue bedding...huge log furniture. This bathroom makes the girly girl in me very happy!

 Sunburst mirror from Home Goods, peony picture from Joss & Main (online store) and a new towel from BB&B...oh yes, this girl is pleased.

 I shopped my house for everything else. You can see my unmade bed in this picture...so classy!!

 There is my towel bar over the toilet solution. I had this over-the-door rack on the laundry room door not being used. So now it has made my life better. I love it when that happens.

 Close up of the peonies. I LOVE THEM!! They brought the right pink into the mix. So for now, I am done with it. I love, love, love the way it turned out. 

Some Progress Photos

The brown is gone. The polka dot ceiling is gone. I'm not finished and I see a trip to Home Goods in the immediate future...but let's look at where we started, shall we?

It was a nice brown...until it wasn't. It was dark and made the room feel smaller. The people who painted this lovely shade needed to to another coat. The smurf blue that was there before showed through in spots. No bueno.

The shower especially felt cave-like. I was ready for a change.

No more shower cave!! I still have to cut in the edges...but that means buying a taller ladder. This girl is too short!!

The room feels so much bigger and I can't even express my LOVE of how bright and cheery it is now.

I did add color to the wall behind the tub which wasn't in the original plan. But I must say, I love it!! So now I have to finish the ceiling and accessorize....maybe some new art for the wall? Definitely some new (decorative) towels to hang on the not-to-be-used towel rack.

But of course we have our first real snow storm of the year....so being the patient person that I am ;) I'll have to do some online shopping to tide me over. I'll let you know when I am finished. I'm so happy with it!!!