the post that didn't happen

i hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving!   i did!
i fully intended on posting on thanksgiving day, but, it just didn't happen.  i have no excuse really, even though i was out of town at my inlaws, i still had access to my computer- albeit i did not have internet access until wednesday night.  i was so busy relaxing and being with family the blog thing just didn't happen.  plus, i was also trying to read a book for my book club.  it's my turn to host at my house so i figured i'd better at least read the book, right?  the problem was, that i needed to have it finished by monday(today) when i didn't even start it until wednesday, so i had 4 days to read the entire book(which i knew i could do if i didn't spend too much time on the computer or watching tv.  i will talk more about the book in another post).
what i was going to post about was nothing big, just some photos and such, but while we were driving home we were listening to songs on my christmas playlist and i heard barlow girl sing "for the beauty of the earth".  it's one of my favorite songs, but i only hear it played at christmas( might that be because it's on my christmas playlist? hmmm?...).  but i was thinking how appropriate this song is for thanksgiving, and frankly all year- we should give praise ALL. THE. TIME! i love the song and wanted to share this with you.


and i let the kids take a few photos of our thanksgiving at grandma's house.

i made banana pudding.  devyn can't wait to dig in!

pepper runs free at grandma's

devyn helps grandma make the pumpkin pies

the boys keep themselves busy with legos and magnetics

grandma cooks.  grandad cleans

dad veges out on the sofa with his laptop

until it is time for him to cut the bird

poor pepper can only watch.

don't miss the bliss

as hard as it is for me to believe that the holidays are upon us, there are a few reminders that i just can't ignore; like all of the christmas decorations in every retail store i see, a few homes here and there with lights up already (probably left up from last year), and then, there's the holiday cups from starbucks.  but then starbucks holds another reminder for me too- the reminder that this time of year is so super busy, that if i plan to do something with my friends it needs to happen now or it won't happen.  starbucks does this in the form of a little delicacy called cranberry bliss.

photo resource

my friend taina (pronounced tai- na, sounds like china. everyone wants to say tania, but she will hurt you if you do) and i had this tradition of taking time out during the season and going to starbucks to relish a latte and half a cranberry bliss.  only half because neither of us can handle to richness of a whole one.  we had this lovely tradition until last year.  we planned to do it, but somehow we ended up in the middle of january scratching our heads, wondering what happened?!!

well, not this year.  on tuesday i took my boys to starbucks.  a hot chocolate (for deacon), a caramel apple cider (for carter), and an eggnog latte (for me).  as soon as i saw that the bliss was back, i texted taina right away and told her we have to make it this year!  we have to get to starbucks before we lose ourselves in the frenzy of the season and miss the bliss!!  she replied with a resounding "YES!" and was at my house the next day whisking me away to starbucks to enjoy our time honored tradition (ok, so it's only been a few years, but it counts!).  no matter that it was a week night and we both had busy days and could only go after 7:30pm.  we enjoyed our time alone and talked, and sipped on our pumpkin spice (for taina) and caramel brulee (for me) lattes, savored our half of cranberry bliss, and lost track of time.  before we knew it, we realized it was 9pm and had to get home to our families!  ok.  they kicked us out because it was closing time, but what a nice way to end the evening.  i am so happy that we got to do this that i am hoping that we can find the time to do it again.  i mean, it's not even december yet (probably the reason we found the time to go this time)!  it could happen, right?!

i totally recommend that everyone do this!  go to your friend's house and whisk them away to starbucks right away!

don't miss the bliss!

what i wore wednesday

welcome back to another wiww!  i can't believe i am still doing this!  i have been faithful for 4 weeks!  most of all i am surprised i have kept this many clean clothes in rotation!
i didn't have much going on that required me to really dress up this week, but, i got to wear a dress for a photo shoot (probably not the best of ideas).  i was second shooter for a friend who was shooting a fashion show for a charity.  i went to my first mom's in touch meeting- we prayed together for almost an hour and it was awesome!!  i went to keith's school for a hoedown and that's pretty much it but then again the week is not over.
ok, here we go- linking up with lindsay here.

 

dress- bass

shoes- gap

jewelry- target

 sweater vest- target

longsleeved tee- gap

jeans- gap

shoes- mervyns

 white shirt- target

black cardigan- target (actually, i was wearing my favorite black long sweater from target but changed for the photo)

gray chords- gap

shoes-mervyns

 cowl-neck sweater- h&m

jeans- bass

shoes- gap

thanks for stopping by!!

the money pit

did you ever see the movie the money pit?  i feel like the homeowners in the movie with one exception- we actually knew when we bought our house that it was a fixer.  but, i didn't realize how much fixing it was going to take to make it my dream home.  hubs said, "oh, it does need some work, but it's mainly cosmetic."  well, now it seems there is a lot of internal that needs work too.  what are we dealing with today you ask?  i have not been able to use my kitchen sink, or anything in the second bathroom off the kitchen because of old pipes.  pipes that are over 50 years old and have now eroded over time so that they now have holes in it.  ya.  oh it gets better!  we found all of this out after carter discovered that the carpet was wet IN THE GAME ROOM!!!  he calls out to me- "mom!! somebody peed on the floor and i never even slept in here!!"  he is holding up wet hands to show me how wet the floor was.  sure enough, the wall of floor that backs up to the sink in the second bathroom was sopping wet.  i showed hubs when he got home from work and he could feel it in the wall too!  great, right?  he could not find a leak in the bathroom at first, so he kept trying to find the culprit.  and this is what he found after tearing up the bottom of the sink cabinet

so let me see if i can explain this in a way it makes sense.  it barely makes sense to me!  ok, so keep in mind that we are not on city water as we live on county property so we are on septic.  all the pipes from the kitchen, to the laundry room, to the second bathroom are connected together, or was until we rerouted the water from the washer in the laundry room to go elsewhere, but that's another matter.  we know that there is a clog somewhere in those pipes.  so when i wash the dishes or run water for a length of time in the kitchen, it backs up in the bathroom and seeps through the holes in the eroded pipe and floods the bottom of the sink cabinet.  that water, in turn seeps through the wall and floor of the game room since they back up to each other.  does that make sense?  the toilet and the shower in that bathroom also backs up.  ugh.  we are figuring that all of the piping in the house looks as bad as the one in the photo above so i am calling plumbers and construction people to find out what our options are.  re piping is probably inevitable.
how was YOUR monday?

not getting the part

sometimes it seems i live my life through my children.  when they want something worthwhile badly enough, i want it too.  Cam recently had auditions for her school play.  [background:  her school does a huge production every year and it is directed by a professional actor.  this is only her second year at this school so she has only had one year with the play.  she was a hotbox dancer in guys and dolls last year, a background girl.  this year, she thought since she is an 8th grader, she would go out with a bang and go for a leading role.] 
the school is doing seussical this year, so i had been researching the parts.  i determined that the best role for cam would be gertrude.  she and her friends agreed.  she chose one of gertrude's songs to sing at her audition.  i never saw or heard her practice, but she told me she had.  the night before the audition i asked to hear her song so i could tell her what changes needed to be made, if any. (she has a great voice so i knew i wouldn't have to critique much) she refused to sing for me despite my begging and teetering on demanding it be done by force.  but i digressed for the moment and tried not to think about it anymore.  the next morning, the day of the audition, i was antsy again and tried to get her to sing for me again.  i even got dad in on it and tried to get him to talk her into singing for us but we failed.  so i sent her off with a "have a good day, sing loudly!"  i could not wait to pick her up from school to find out how she did.  as soon as she was in the car- "how did it go? did you sing loud? did anyone else sing a song from the play? how did you do?!!!"  she said she thought she did okay, but all of her friends assured her that she was great.  i asked her again to show me how she did it, and again i hit a wall of resistance, and again, i let it go.  the next day i get a phone call from the co-director saying that cam was great- she has a beautiful voice and they were thinking of doing a call back for her to do a reading, but wanted to know how well she could handle a large role.  cam has no issues with performing in front of crowds [just me], and she could handle a large role with ease, i said.  so the director took that information down and told me not to mention this call to cam just in case things went in a different direction.  i. was. so. excited!!!  later, when i talked to cam i asked her if she knew how things worked with auditions if they liked you.  she said yeah, they call you back for a reading.   i told her that if she wasn't going to sing for me then at least promise me that if she gets a call back that she wouldn't just read the lines, but put some acting into it.  (i sooo want to control this girl- what is my deal?!!)  she says mom, i know, i know!!!  that night she got the official call back.  she. was. so. excited!!  she went back to do the reading the next day after school and when i went inside to pick her up, everyone was telling me how she was so good, and how they love her voice, all encouraging things.  i was pretty certain the part was hers.  until i got the phone call later that evening that she didn't.  the co-director called me on my cell while i was out and told me the news.  i was devastated, but i was trying to only sound a little disappointed on the phone.  she told me that cam was great, so they wanted to give her a choice between two other roles they had.  i couldn't speak for cam so i gave her cam's cell phone number so she could call her.  i drove straight home wondering what kind of state i would find cam in since i myself wanted to break down into tears when i heard the news.  it was like i was up for the part myself and didn't get it.  i wanted it so badly for her, it would have been so great!  when i got home she was crying while doing her chores.  i knew she had gotten the call.  i gave her a big ol hug and told her i knew how she felt.  she was hurt, and a little angry too.  i asked her which role she chose from the two they offered her and it turns out that neither role was even a speaking role!!  she's another girl in the background just like last year!  my hurt turned to anger too!  i wanted to say just quit- all of those hours dedicated to practicing after school, for what?  not even a step up from what she did last year?  but i am not raising a sore loser so i will not encourage that.  she will do the part she chose and do it to the best of her ability.  i think i was most angry because people were so encouraging, and building us up and i totally got the 'big head'.  "my daughter's going to be gertrude, in seussical-how wonderful!"
i realize now that i wanted it too much, and instead i should have been preparing her and not having her get her hopes up.  but my hopes were right up there with hers.  i should have kept her grounded.  i should have guarded her feelings, but i was so worried about my own.  if i had she wouldn't be so sad right now.  

what i wore wednesday

welcome back to what i wore wednesday!  i must say when i started doing this, i thought it would be fun, but the novelty would soon wear off, so why bother?  well, the novelty may still wear off, but i am so glad i got in on wwiw.  i can leave the house now whenever i please because i am already dressed and i don't have to worry about running into a store without anyone seeing me in my frumpness.  i can have guests over and not look like i just got out of bed.  a friend of mine dropped off her son at my house for a playdate and complimented me on how nice i looked!  it made me feel...well, like i had my stuff together!  no kidding people- my husband would leave the house in the morning for work and come home and find me still in what i wore to bed the night before.  i love that i haven't been doing much of that anymore (notice that i have not quit entirely...um, yeah).
on to what i wore this week- linking up to lindsay here!

 it was an all black kinda day...

black dress- target

sweater- target

leggings- local shop

3 buckle boot- robert wayne

scarf- made by me

here is another shot of me training pepper.  but pepper has other ideas...

 like eating my scarf!!!

this was my ikea shopping, celebrity spotting outfit

plaid shirt- target

jeans- bass

shoes- target (more on the shoes below)

these shoes are the latest addition to my wardrobe.  can i just say how much i love these flats from target?!!  they are so comfortable, they feel like slippers!  over the weekend i wore them to a soccer game and the grass was wet.  i was so upset because the bottom halves of my shoes were wet.  the outside of the shoe is suede and the inside has this fuzzy material.  these shoes do not stand up to water at all.  i took them off when i got home and waited for them to dry but when they did, they had this white line all the way around them and i thought they were ruined.  but guess what?  i threw them in the washer and dryer and now they are as good as new again!
moving on...

i have my daughter take pictures of me so i have my head down a lot because she likes to get me while i'm getting myself ready for the shot.

red turtleneck sweater- gap
black sweater- target
jeans- banana republic
shoes- mervyns

i have had these shoes forever!  i was going through a maryjane phase and i saw a woman in line at michaels with these shoes on.  i thought they were soooo cute!  i wanted to ask her where she got them, but thought it was inappropriate to ask a complete stranger where she got her shoes.
(i have a problem with confrontation with strangers.  and celebrities)
so i thought, how hard could it be to find these shoes?  they should be everywhere!  well, they weren't.  i searched high and low for months!!  i regretted not just asking that woman where i could find her cute shoes.  i looked online, and in every store i could think of.  even mervyns.  it wasn't until i gave up and stopped looking for them that i found them at a mervyns 3 hours away from my home.  i was visiting my inlaws and was shopping for a suit for my son and whammo!!  there were the shoes, practically glowing and calling out to me, "here i am, take me home."  i picked them up and was surprised to see they were made by 'dockers'.  who knew they made womens' shoes?!!

 

devyn got me this time coming out of the garage.

gray shirt- local boutique

the same black sweater i always wear( i love it)- target

jeans- gap

shoes- nine west (another pair from my maryjane phase)

that's it for me!  thanks for stopping by!!

i'm too tired to even think of a title for this post.
i hit the ground running this morning.  after getting everyone off to school (except devyn) i picked up my friend taina and we drove to burbank to ikea.  we made our rounds, looking at all of the furniture like we always do, ended up in the restaurant and ordered meatballs like we always do, then headed downstairs to the marketplace like we always do, but this time, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking adorable?
this guy.

and he caught my eye as soon as i set my foot on the floor.  i don't know what expression i had on my face, but i stupidly said hi- knowing he couldn't hear me, and he looked back at me as if he were busted.  as in someone recognized him.  i tried to regain my composure and continue to shop like a normal person but inside i was freaking out and wanted to say how i have watched his show every week for the past 5 years!  but i could not for the life of me remember his real name!  i did, however know the name of his lady.  they were shopping together and looked so cute.

her name is odette and i wanted to say how she was great in cloverfield(my husband owns that movie) and i am planning on seeing her new movie soon.  but i just kept it all to myself and let them shop.  they didn't need some crazy woman blubbering about.  but how cool is it to see celebrities shopping at ikea?!!  very cool! 

we barely made it back to town in time for me to pick up keith from school.  to my surprise jay was already home from jury duty so he got keith while i went to pick up  deacon and carter from school.  we made it home in time for jay and keith to jump in the van and off we went to drew's cross country meet.  i had already prearranged for taina to bring camryn home from school and take her to her house so devyn stayed with her.  after the meet, we barely made it back to town in time to get the girls, get camryn home to get her piano books and get her to her lesson.  i got her there in time with a few seconds to spare.  piano is only 30 mins long so i only had time to get back home, start a load of laundry and go back and pick her up again.  i picked up pizza while i was out because i had no time to cook before hosting bible study at my house!  i managed to get everyone fed and picked up the house before the first person arrived but it was close.  i am now just ready to fall into my bed and go to sleep, but there are two little boys in my bed (ugh).  who needs a good nights rest anyways?  i only have to get up and be at cam's school tomorrow because i was asked to take photos at their jog-a-thon! 

no worries!

i'm just sayin...

we all hate reruns i know, but i had to do something to make my previous post move downward so my sidelines don't cover it...i should change my layout, but i would have to look up how to do it, and i really don't have the time.  so here is a repost from my old blog- again, no time to come up with something new today- gotta run!

i'm just saying...

when doing the 30 day shred with jillian...
you know you're going to be at level one for a very long time if you get tired right after warm ups.

when your 8th grader goes to his first ever school dance...
check the place out then leave.  otherwise, he will be a wallflower and only hang with you and not his friends.  after you stop being his crutch and leave(finally! what took you so long?!!) he'll decide that dancing is not so bad and actually like it and even get crowned king of the valentines day ball and have to dance with the queen.  you'll be a little sore that you didn't get a photo of that because you left, but i'm sure you'll get over it.

when your friend asks you to accompany her to target...
and you tell your husband you aren't planning on buying anything, THAT IS A LIE.
it is simply impossible to go to target and not buy anything.  you will try your best to be good and keep your word, but you will still manage to walk out of there with a receipt for red velvet cupcake mix and some pencils.

when trying to prod your husband about what he got you for valentines day...
he will actually crack you up when he says, "what? you drive around in your valentine everyday!"  funnier still is the fact that you got that valentine over a year ago.

when you think you are having "one of those days"...
the cutest four year old boy (your boy) will grab you by the hand and ask you to dance with him in the kitchen. and there will be no way you can refuse him because you won't be able to think of anything sweeter than that moment.

when you take your daughters to see a ballet...
and they dance to music from the "Prince of Egypt" movie, your girls will beg you to buy it and they will watch it five times in three days.

when your girls watch the "Price of Egypt" five times over the course of three days...
you'll be glad it's that and not "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody" or "Hannah Montana"

when you have a monday off...
and you have done nothing all day, the last thing you want to do is stop blogging and figure out what to make for dinner.  so why bother? just order out is what i'm thinking...
i'm just sayin...

what i wore wednesday

nothing spectacular, but i stayed out of sweats and pj's for most of this week and that's what this is all about for me so here we go(you can click on the photo to make it larger)...

i let my daughters use my iphone to take the photos of me so the quality is not so good, a little grainy.  okay, a lot, but it works!
i linked up at lindsey's!  join us!

don't forget!

VOTE!!!!!

let's talk mantels

every since we entered the fall season i have been jealous of you people with fireplace mantels. yes, i do have a fireplace, no, i do not have a mantel.

this is what my fireplace looks like.  the brick wall is about 15ft. long with a hearth that is about 12ft long.  which means i basically lose an entire wall which really hurts my placement of furniture, but that is neither here nor there and will probably be discussed in another post.

after seeing so many beautifully decorated mantels, i am finding myself on the verge of calling a carpenter to build me one.  wwhoa!  i know- one thing at a time.  i still have not finished the kitchen!  in the meantime, i am getting inspired by these lovely mantels:

michelle hunt

yay!diy

the lettered cottage

the lettered cottage

lisa russo

houzz

hgtv

not to mention the new pottery barn catalog i just got in the mail today.  ugh.
christmas is going to kill me because look at what we did here last year:

pathetic, i know, but in my defense, we had just recently moved in a few months before and as much as i wanted a mantel to be there it just wasn't high on my priority list.  but the kids HAD to have their stockings up so i turned to 3M.   it did the job, it just wasn't pretty.  i am hoping that i can come up with another solution by then!