Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts

Monday, March 21, 2011

March Madness: A House Ripped Apart Before Being Put Back Together Again


March was truly madness for us.

Prior to our home warranty expiring,
several cracks appeared in the ceiling of the family room
& kitchen and the garage.

The repairs would take one week to complete,
with no access to those areas of the home from 8AM - 4PM.

Yikes!
Those areas are truly the heart of the home.

But we buckled down,
and here we go... 




When all was said and done,
the work was flawless!

I lost my sanity a few times,
but overall,
things went quickly.

...

But why stop there?

Since we were already in a state of craziness,
with Samuel on Spring Break,
and our tax refund in the bank,
we decided to install new flooring!


Now the construction zone would incorporate almost
every living space except the kids bedroom and the tiled areas.

Yes,
we are crazy!


Owen found it to be a pirates haven!


And Gabriel practiced his climbing skills!


 Burning the midnight oil!



You always break for a great lunch!


A rare treat for the kids:

Whole Candy Bars!

Why?

I felt so guilty for keeping them confined to
certain parts of the house and
letting them watch movie after movie on the boob tube!

So of course,
I offer them junk food!

Way to go, Mom! 

{ Sigh }




My baby:

The Hallway 


I'm so happy and proud.

It's like giving birth!

{ Just kidding!  This is way better!  Just kidding, again...  }


Bella,
checking things out and dying to slip and slide!


Things were coming along nicely,
and then we hit the tiny patch of tile in the entry way.

Talk about stubborn mortar!

The solution,
grind it with a diamond bit.

The result:

Bittersweet.

The mortar came out,
but dust went...

E V E R Y W H E R E !

Now I know why the home repair guys
went to such lengths covering everything up with tarps!


The story behind this piece is that the work
on this room (or most of the work)
was actually completed days prior,
and in Samuel's absence,
a fact which nearly killed him.

How it worked out was that he had to go to school,
which meant that he would miss out on seeing things through to the end.
 
Thankfully, due to the big, BIG hearts of his
brother Joe and his family,
they stayed on to help finish up the work.

And we did,
except for 5 measly inches!

Try as we might,
we could not find any material to fit that last little bit!

And so that room remained incomplete,
until an order could be placed and received for more material,
which meant that Samuel would be home
to lay the last piece afterall!

{ For my blubbering on the Joe Elmers, see here! }

And so,
to Samuel's delight,
and order was placed,
and he was able to ceremoniously place the last piece!



Ta-da!
...

Is that March Madness, or what?

Monday, July 26, 2010

Monday, July 12, 2010

Front Yard Pool Party


After the camping trips,
the van's right up there with the rest of us
in terms of needing a good scrub down.


Dad's little helper...

 

...or is she?


Bella loved the spray...


...and Owen pouted...


...and pouted some more,
when it came his way.


Whose brave enough to face the firing squad?


Gabriel's no dummy!

He stayed out of the fray...


...but the fray came to him!


 

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Who Doesn't Live for Moment's Like This?




Sometimes,
the happiest sounds in the home...


...have no sound at all!



Thursday, June 10, 2010

The Race is On!




When we get out the track everyone, including dad, goes a little ga-ga watching the race cars do their thing. 

Everyone that is, except Gabriel, who cool as anything waits passively while the race gets heatedly underway.  At that moment a chubby little hand darts out snatching an unsuspecting car right off it's track and is jammed, in one smooth motion, into his tiny little mouth.

I think it makes the race far more exciting. 

Everone else though,
especially Owen,
howls in protest.

Drivers:

Beware!

Life with Two Boys at Home




I still can't believe that in addition to being a mother to
three stunningly beautiful girls, 
I am also the mother of two very handsome boys!

What a blessed life!

This realization hit me the hardest when the school year started
and we saw the girls off to school. 
Then it was just me and the boys
looking at each other thinking, 

"Now what?"

Here's what I discovered:

Boys are very different then girls. 

Though I can't really explain how. 
It's not that they rough-house more-you should see our girls! 
Or that their personalities are different-
you should see the range in our daughters-it's like night & day. 

See.  Unexplainable.
 
Yet, very different. 

But, in a good way.

Like girls, however, they love being "helpers".

Where else is the process of unloading a dishwasher
a main event that causes you to drop what you're doing and come running?

More kisses than I ever expected.

Maybe it's the latin-blood in them,
but these boys love to smooch! 

Kisses are aplenty in this household,
and who could resist their outstreched arms and "mmmmm..."-ing?

In a nutshell,
life with two boys at home is...

Wonderful!

And the only thing that makes it even better,
is hearing the girls barreling down the hall after a full day at school,
and Samuel's keys jingling as he walks in the backdoor. 

That, is home.

Period.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Chopsticks & Late Summer Suppers


So you know how it goes, right?

Spring segways into summer and the carefully crafted schedule of
dinner and bedtimes goes right out the window! 

There are so many things to do,
so much sun to soak in,
 it's all we can hardly do to drag ourselves to the table,
bedraggled,
starving,
and yes,
happy to try something
different and fun!


There's nothing simpler to prepare than an Asian noodle salad.


And this...


...paired with chopsticks...


...makes for an engaging meal everytime!


Happy Slurping!


Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Saturday, April 3, 2010

April Hail?


Only in California!

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Helping Hands


In May members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will have the opportunity throughout our state to participate in Helping Hands, by going out in force to complete a project within our community. 


As I was putting this event on our family calendar, I thought how blessed I am to have "helping hands" of my very own.  While there sometimes seems to be more messes to clean up than I can count, I wouldn't trade it for the world.  They are learning everyday-as am I!-and it's surely an experience we'll all look back on fondly.


Friday, March 5, 2010

On the Same Page...



Here's a sneak peek at what any given night is like as we settle in for Family Scripture Study.  It's not always the most reverent, but we've all taken great strides in making this time special for the whole family.


It helps that everyone has their own Book of Mormon...


...and an opportunity to read.

I have to admit, there are times when Samuel and I are just too tired to see this through.  After hours of chasing these rascals around, there is nothing we'd like more than to plunk them all in bed and flop on the couch with a sigh! 

It's then that I'm grateful for what Elder Bednar recalls of him and his wife's efforts to have a gospel-centered home:

Sometimes Sister Bednar and I wondered if our efforts to do these spiritually essential things were worthwhile. Now and then verses of scripture were read amid outbursts such as “He’s touching me!” “Make him stop looking at me!” “Mom, he’s breathing my air!” 

Sincere prayers occasionally were interrupted with giggling and poking. And with active, rambunctious boys, family home evening lessons did not always produce high levels of edification. 

At times Sister Bednar and I were exasperated because the righteous habits we worked so hard to foster did not seem to yield immediately the spiritual results we wanted and expected.

He notes that what was most important about his families time together was that they were consistent in their efforts.  Not perfect, consistent!

Now that is something we can shoot for!
 

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Movie Night


We are at our scraggliest best and loving every minute of hunkering down for a family flick.

This is home at it's comfiest...


Monday, March 1, 2010

Monday, February 22, 2010

My Little Man...

 

So busy...

  

...it's almost like watching a mad scientist at work!

It's amazing what several jars of play dough and an assortment of tools will inspire:

An afternoon of quiet invention!


Friday, January 29, 2010

The Fort

 
What to do on a Friday afternoon?
  
 How about create a fort AROUND baby Gabriel!

That's what our creative daughters did on this lazy-no-homework afternoon. They were never more happy than to care for their "baby" in their play house.  Poor Gabriel didn't know what to make of it all, but being the incredibly easy-going child that he is, he took it in stride and just laid quietly until I rescued him!