Counting Down.

Has most of the country already had Spring Break?
I think we must be a little late.
Ours starts tomorrow afternoon after school.

All five of us are ready.

After celebrating Easter with family on Sunday, we're getting out of dodge.

So today Riley was still at school...Colin was at a playdate...and Avery was napping.
And I was completely ignoring the Mt. Everest of laundry on the couch.

Instead I did this...


...to get ready for this....


Can't wait.

This is war.

Oh, friends.
The germs just don't want to leave this house.
I think I've had two non-sick days in the last three weeks.

Today I decided I'm not going to take it anymore.
The germs have got. to. go.
We got to work.
I cleaned our bedroom and bathroom.
And I mean cleaned.

Tomorrow the kitchen is going to sparkle.
I had planned on doing it today, but lost my mojo after our bed/bathroom.

{I love my Dyson.
I get some sort of sick pleasure at seeing the dirt and grime in the canister.
I wonder what that says about me?}


I put the boys to task as well.
Colin dusted.


The boys always fight over who gets to dust.
For some reason it is the most fun of the cleaning chores?
{according to them, anyway}

Riley got the most dreaded job.

I make that same face most days when I walk into their bathroom.

Next week is spring break and I am determined *not * to be sick.
The power of positive thinking has got to make some sort of difference?
{I hope....}

Motivation.

I didn't have it today.

It took me forever to put the groceries away.
I did no laundry.
My house never got picked up.
I just didn't have the desire today.

The kids wanted to paint and draw, which is great.
But it was one of those days where I kind of went, "ohhh kay".
Painting requires so much clean up. :)


Avery wants to draw all the time.
She has just started making happy faces.
I think they're so cute.


Pretty much the only productive thing I did today
{other than get my free pastry from Starbucks}
{and go grocery shopping}
was to make dinner.

Nothing fancy...just pasta.
But I also made bruschetta.
It had been so long since we've had it and I forgot just how much I love it.


Just cut whatever bread you like and heat the oven to 375.
Take around three tomatoes...some garlic...and 15 or so leaves of basil.
Throw it in the food processor along with a few tablespoons of olive oil and pulse till somewhat smooth.

Then I put the fresh mozzarella slices on the bread and melt it slightly in the oven for a few minutes.
Take it out and spoon the tomato yumminess on top.


Gary and I ate every single slice of bread between the two of us.
Dr. Atkins would have been horrified.

And here I sit now on the couch.

The kitchen is still a mess from dinner.
The house still isn't picked up.

And I'm not going to do a thing about it until tomorrow.

No TV Week - The Finale.

We survived.

Actually, I would say we thrived.

I was dreading this week
{so sad, isn't that?}
but it proved to be a good thing for all of us.

We painted.


We counted the entire $32.76 in our piggy bank.


We played a lot of board games.
Disney Monopoly and Clue galore.


We did a little dog grooming.
Lucy was a big fan of this portion of the week.


We rock climbed.
This girl has got crazy climbing skillz, let me tell you.


We slid.


And slid some more.


And we logged an unbelievable amount of time on the swings.


And we dug in the dirt.
In our new dress.

{I know everyone is talking about it...but Liberty of London at Target? Knocked my socks off.}

The boys don't know this yet, but Gary and I decided we're instituting a no Wii or DS during the week rule. And only minimal TV in the late afternoon while mommy is trying to prepare dinner in peace without wanting to strangle any of her beloved children because they just won't stop wrestling and yelling and making one another cry in the living room.

{A little TV is a very good thing.}

Wow.

I really don't know what kind of brain it takes to think this up.



All I know is that I don't have that kind of brain.

You should watch this.
We broke the No TV rule tonight and the boys watched this about four times.
It's amazing.

These Irish eyes...

...were not so thrilled about having to dress up as a leprechaun and walk around school looking for gold.

These Irish (OK, Irish/German/Dutch/Mexican) eyes...


...were also not too thrilled about their mother having them put the leprechaun hat back on for an after school photo session. Sorry, buddy.

This Irish girl didn't do a single thing to celebrate St. Patty's Day.
Unless you consider spending three hours or so outside in the glorious sunshine.

I think St. Patrick would totally be OK with it..

No TV Week.

Don't those three words kind of send chills down your spine?

This is No TV Week at the boys' school.
No TV, no video games, no computer.
Ouch.

The kids don't spend a huge amount of time watching TV, but they definitely do watch TV or play video games some every day.

But not this week.

This week we're heading outside more.
We're playing more games.
We're cooking and baking.
{We're not blogging until after the kids go to bed.}

I'm so happy the weather is going to be glorious this week and we can spend some quality time on the swings.


One other game we started this evening:


20 questions.
Great dinner conversation starters.
I just wrote down questions on paper and we took turns answering.

The kids loved it.
And it was fun hearing each other's answers.

Avery's favorite animal: the Pooh bear.
The animal Riley is afraid of: the big lizards that hang out in our bushes.
If Colin had $1 million, he would buy: a limo.

{Oh, and please don't tell Riley I'm blogging. He told me no blogs or twitter.}

The Last Four Days:

I have been...
...laying on the couch
...using up all of the kleenex in house
...coughing
...trying not to talk
...watching Dog the Bounty Hunter.
[I have no explanation for this.]

Oh...and I'm also nursing my case of DOUBLE pink eye.
I mean, really. Two pink eyes?
Talk about adding insult to injury.

Anyway...while I've been on the couch I've also been thinking about what I want to do when my body finally decides to kick this cold. I've been looking through my v-e-r-y large inspiration folder.

I'm going to tackle these soon:
*I love this summery dress tutorial from House on Hill Road.
*Made by Lex is always doing something amazing. I love this bubble dress.
*And here's her adorable ruffle shirt. So cute.
*This dinner from Definitely Maybe looks delish. I'm a sucker for anything with avocado and lime.
*I think Avery and I could have fun with these. She loves letters.
*Anyone have any shutters they want to get rid of?
*And I must be getting my appetite back because the chocolate frosting in Crystal's cupcake in a jar is killing me.

OK, that should keep my busy for awhile.

But if it doesn't...
there's always this.

(Funky laundry picture courtesy of the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone. It's a fun one.)

It's all good.

{I really, really hate that phrase. Another phrase I hate: "my bad".}

Sorry...I got a little off topic there.

Things have come to a screaming halt around here.
I'm sick.
{again}

Gary stayed home from work today to hold down the fort and take care of us all.
The house is a disaster.
Laundry is out of control.
The kids are eating crap.
Riley informed me tonight that he is out of clean socks.

I can't talk without feeling like knives are stabbing my throat.
I'm trying not to talk.
Gary and I have resorted to texting back and forth while sitting two feet away on the couch.
I can't really eat much.
And I can't taste anything. Nothing.
{Maybe I'll lose a pound or two?}

I'll probably be MIA in the next few days waiting for the antibiotics to kick in.
I'll also need at least a few days to catch up on laundry.
And I need to make a real dinner tomorrow.
Crock pot quinoa sounds good...I think that's what we'll have.


So, in the grand scheme of things...I've got nothing to complain about.

Cake, baby.

In a previous life
{when I was not yet a blogger and a mom to only two}
I used to make cakes.

Not professionally or anything,
but I made quite a few.
And then I got pregnant with Avery.

The thought of batter and frosting wasn't appealing.
And I was tired of washing bowls of frosting and messy kitchens and weekends filled with cakes.

So I stopped.
And I'm enjoying the break.
But every so often a good friend will ask for a cake.

So this weekend I was making a {fondant} baby.


Fondant is basically like playing with play-doh.


I colored the white fondant with copper paste coloring until it became the skin tone I was looking for.

Then I just molded the fondant until it looked like a chubby little baby.


I was going to give the baby a little tuft of brown hair...


...but clearly it was looking like something other than hair.
So the baby stayed bald.


So now I am going back in retirement.
At least until Avery's birthday in June.

She has requested a pink cake.
{shocker}


I think she kind of likes it when I'm out of retirement, though.

Goodbye, Minty Fresh Walls.

So.
The kitchen re-do.

Still in progress...but getting closer to being finished.
My dad aka my dad/papa the Rockstar who has been doing a ton of awesome work for us and probably wishes he hadn't retired last fall because I'm working him to the bone.
{Not really. He claims to enjoy it.}


Yesterday he was here to begin the process of getting rid of those lovely mint walls.
Sadly, I am the one to blame for that color.
I swear that green looked different on the paint chip.
Gary hated it from the beginning.
{As he likes to remind me....}


My dad asked the kids if they wanted to help him prime the walls.
{Silly question.}


Goodbye seafoam thin mint green.
Hello cottage white and children who will be put to work in all my future home improvement endeavors.

18 and counting.

There are 18 days until spring.
And it seems winter is determined to make the most of its last 18 days.

I don't know about you, but for us the forecast is rain, rain, rain.
{Please...if you happen to live in Hawaii where the high is in the 80's everyday, don't tell me.}

And it's looking like we might end our winter with coughs and colds and germs.
Riley wasn't feeling well and came home from school early today.
He spent his afternoon on the couch, reading the Lego magazine that came in the mail.
{It is the boys' favorite mail. By a mile.}


Avery was given a h-u-g-e bag of hand-me-downs from a friend and has been wearing the dresses around the house.
{Usually over other clothes.}

She chose this springy yellow number today.
I think she's hoping to say goodbye to winter soon.

I'm starting to think about transitioning Avery into more of a "big girl" room.
Which means goodbye crib.
And then - as all of you mom's know - goodbye to being confined in your bed and not being able to get up and wander around the house.
The crib really is a beautiful thing, now that I think about it.

I've been hesitant to start her on this transition to "big girl" because it makes me a little sad.
I still think of her as little.
I want her to stay little.
So I bought this for her room.
Maybe it will slow her down a bit?

And finally...I'm reading this book.
(on kindle for iphone - I love that I can read it while I'm waiting in the carpool line.)
I love Beth Moore and always get a lot out of what she writes.
It's good so far; a lot to digest and very good for me...and I'd be willing to bet good for all of us.

Hope you're seeing a little bit of spring in your days!

Something for everyone.

We were in Hollywood over the weekend.
If you've never been, it's definitely a...unique...place.
There really is something for everyone there.
{good or bad}

I found this for my mom:
{the love goes back to the Magnum P.I. days}

And this was for my dad...parked on Rodeo Drive.
I had no idea what kind of car it was...
but I knew it must be something special because a lot of people were stopping to take pictures.
I sent the picture to my dad (the car guy).
Umm...it's called a Bugatti...it's the second fastest car ever made...
and it can be yours for $1.7 million.
$1.7 million.
Only in 90210.

Hollywood has plenty of famous landmarks.
The Roosevelt Hotel:
That Cinegrill sign is strategically hiding some serious cleavage.
I tried my best to give her a little more modesty.
{This is a G-rated blog, after all.}

Mann's Chinese Theater:
The famous handprints in the cement are out front of these doors.
Honestly I've always felt it's a bit overrated.
{The hardcore Hollywood types would probably shoot me for saying that.}

I wouldn't exactly call this a Hollywood landmark,
but it was fun to catch a picture of it out while our crazy cab driver nearly
mowed over countless pedestrians.
Seriously.
The cab drivers were insane.
I feared for my life.

And I think Hollywood is second to none for people watching.

But after all of the touristy stuff on Saturday...
the event we were really in Hollywood for happened on Sunday.

I'm sorry for this dorky picture.
They warned us before going in: NO CAMERAS.
So I listened.
But then everyone else had their fancy cameras and I only had my phone.
Drat.

We were at the VES awards.
The VES is the Visual Effects Society.
(Kind of the like the Oscars for the special effects industry.)

And I'm sorry if this sounds obnoxious...I'm just proud of him!

Gary was the Effects Supervisor on the movie 'Up' and was nominated for "Best Animation in an Animated Feature Film" for his work. And...
he won!

And all of the other Pixar nominees won as well.
They are a hard working and brilliant group of guys - and girl!
It was a fun weekend.

But we were happy to get home to the kids today.
I am happy to have amazing parents that will watch our kids all weekend.
{Thanks mom & dad!}
And I am happy to be out of that dress and back in my yoga pants.

Black tie is fun for one night,
but yoga pants are much more my scene.