Organized Chaos

Poor Emmy finally cut her first tooth today! It has been a long time coming. I think her cheeks have been pink for at least a month now. We had another restless night because of it, so between her and myself we only got a few hours combined. Maybe tonight will be better! She also has an awful cold. I couldn't resist taking this picture. She looks miserable I know, but I love how well she can blow that bubble from her nose!

We have finally entered Spring. The long winter is finally over! Thank goodness! We were able to get out of our stuffy house for the afternoon and to play with some friends at the park. I met up with some friends from High School that I haven't seen in a while and us and our combined 14 kids had a fun afternoon. The park was awesome. It had been built especially for children that are disabled, so it is entirely wheelchair accessible. I love that, because then it is easier for the younger kids as well. (Mind you the older kids riding their bikes and scooters down the ramps made me a little annoyed) We haven't been enjoying the best weather, but at least it's not snowing right!





Emmy enjoying her first try in a swing. It went better than expected. I thought that she would be terrified! She didn't exactly love it hence the lack of a smile, but no tears!!

So the other day we were downstairs trying to arrange furniture etc in the basement when Rawley informs me that he needs to go to the bathroom. I of course say okay (oblivious really to what is happening) and continue on with my current task. Only to hear quite loudly the sound of him going. You have to understand that our basement bathroom is not done. No toilet, no vanity just the tub. So I walk in to find him peeing in this. I have to give him props for actually going in the hole where the toilet should be, but also informed him that he needs to make a trip upstairs next time. The picture does not do the color justice either. It really is a great color that I love. Maybe it will look better when I post the after picture.

So my baby is growing up!! Yesterday she turned nine months old. I can't believe how quickly the time passes. We had her checkup and everything is fine. She has been cutting two teeth for about a month now and they are still under her gums. I know that will make for a fun night here pretty quick. Along with her crawling she has become an expert at pulling herself up on things. Getting into the cupboards and bugging her big brother and sister. All in all she is turning into her own little person. With her little quirks and personality. This is my favorite shot of her from our Easter pictures.

So we had a very event filled Easter. It began with the traditional coloring of the easter eggs. This of course was while little Emmy took her afternoon nap. Otherwise I can only imagine the disaster I would have had on my hands. Hadley and Rawley both loved this part. They weren't overly fancy which made me happy. They were content with coloring with one color and then adding stickers to make them their own design. They were also required to wear their paint shirts. I hate having ruined clothes when I can prevent it so here they are in my hand me downs.




Next up was Easter Sunday. Pat was out of town for the weekend. He was really sad to miss all of the fun. We have early church, so between waking everybody up and getting to church on time, I let the kids know that the Easter bunny had left our treats at Grandma's and we would find them after church. I also had to prepare a primary lesson and the lesson for Sharing time that day. Whew! I am glad that's over. Here are some shots of the kids in their new Sunday attire and at the egg hunt.

I still haven't figured out the slide show feature. But there is a box here you need to click on to see the pictures. Enjoy!

So my husband told our kids that today is his special day because it is named after him, and of course they thought that was pretty neat. I decided to have a more exciting St. Patrick's Day this year thanks to my friend Jamie and her great ideas from last year. So here is how our day turned out. The night before we set up Hadley's Leprechaun trap. This was an assignment for Kindergarten and I think it turned out pretty great.


Then we sent our very excited kids to bed, with the hopes that a Leprechaun would actually visit our house. The next morning we went out to see what we found. Turns out those guys are pretty sneaky and all we were left with were some chocolate gold coins.


We also found a surprise in the toilet, which Rawley thought was great. He even asked if he could make his green too!


Then to the kitchen where we had some Lucky Charms and green milk!



It was then time to hit the bedrooms to change into our green garb and head out the door to school!


All in all I think it turned out to be a great day! I even attempted to have a real Irish dinner. Turns out my husband is not to fond of Corned Beef and Cabbage, but I was pleasantly surprised to see both of my kids gobble it up! What can I say. I tried!! Next year it will be something different I guess. Can anyone say Green Mashed Potatoes!!! I think that might be the safest bet!

So I don't have this room entirely complete, but I did want to post it for my sister Renee. I told her that I had painted my laundry room green and she was curious to what green. It does look pretty bright and I haven't added the cabinets and shelves to tone it down yet but once they are in I know it won't be such a shock. This is the only room I could convince my husband to let me paint this color, because I know he will never go in it. We actually changed it a lot. We added the wash tub, and moved the position of the dryer. I think it makes more sense this way. The previous owner had a thing for sponge painting. Again here are the before and afters.


Before




After





The dryer hose looks like a big silver snake, but I am planning to hide it on the shelves that we are putting up. The final finished picture will be on once that is done. I do have to mention the flooring that we used. It is cork and I love it. Very easy to care for and so warm. Which is nice because it is a basement. For any of you wanting a warm flooring idea for your basement bathrooms, etc. I highly recommend this.

I am so excited to finally have my computer back. Be prepared to be bombarded with photos, videos etc. Anything that I feel deserves a mention you will see. Any who... I love this video of Emmy clapping. She is such a copy cat. You have to ignore the dirty floor, I know it is terrible! After seeing it I immediately found the broom and mop!

I thought that it took forever for Emmy to finally figure out crawling. Now I find that I am constantly looking for her because she disappears faster than I think. Now she is also starting to pull herself up onto the furniture. I think it is funny because today Hadley gasped and said Emmy is standing!!! It makes me wonder how much longer till she walks. Yikes! to upset to even imagine that my baby is growing up!

So today I had a full house again, we had our kitchen back splash tiled and some more of the basement painted. Hooray! One more day and the kitchen will be complete. Mind you it only took us 2 years to do. We had every intention of putting it up ourselves but in the end decided that if it was ever going to happen we would have to hire a professional (totally worth every penny).My husband the interior decorator made the final choice, and I think it works well for what we were going for. Take a look and tell me what you think.

Again here are the before shots.




Here are the Afters



I thought that I had better include a close up of the tiles as well.




The shadows are bad I know but I just took them so it was too dark to use the natural light.

On another note. I got a phone call last week from my dear husband. He told me not to worry but that he was on his way to the ER. Eight stitches and a black eye later. I think that it might be time for him to hang up his church ball shoes, but I don't think I will be able to convince him. Here is a picture of his eye!

Emmy has finally decided that her one armed crawl is no longer fun unless it is along the tile floor. She has found her knees and although she isn't quite as fast she is getting the hang of it. She has also finally moved out of our room. She is teething so night time is somewhat of a challenge. She has been up quite often during the night now so the move was much needed. Because of that Hadley has been banished to the floor in Rawley's room until the final finishing details can be completed in the basement. I do have some pictures and they will be in another post. Just thought everyone out there would like a little update!