To Do List

This is a different kind of "to do" list than I normally have. This is one Liam made for our family. It was everything he wanted us to do together this summer. We hung it on the refrigerator so we could look at it everyday and make sure most or all of it was completed. I think we did pretty good at getting most of them done but there’s a few stragglers we didn’t get to do before school started. There were also extras we added so it all evens out, I think.

Here’s our summer “to do” list: 

And here’s all the things we did:

Go to the library; See, here’s all the kids pretending to read…

Go to the beach…count ‘em, FOUR times.

 

Sleepover at Granmama’s - Done

Road Trip - Roger

Family pictures - We're gonna have a re-shoot soon! Got some great one's though.

Roller Skating, ha! More on this later…

Picnic AND Go to the State house, we knocked these two out at once!

According to this picture, this is the saddest looking picnic ever. We actually did have fun…it was just really hot. As a matter of fact, a guy got toted off in an ambulance because he got overheated.

VBS - We went to TWO! Trinity and Washington Street, best Bible schools ever! They had so much fun, and they especially loved the "cheezits," not to be confused with "Jesus." Thanks Lindy  =) 

Bookstore - I don’t think this actually made it on our list but we’re gonna count it anyway, mmmm kay?

Zoo - Here's a pic with the neighborhood gang from one of many trips to the zoo. Starting from left to right...Gavin, Evan, Grayden, Lindy, Samantha aka the "red neck princess" and Liam.

A little rock climbing, anyone?

Cookie decorating “class”

Soccer Camp for both boys, thanks to Mimi and Poppy!!! =) They LOVED it and worked so hard. 

Visit the Carolina Gamecocks stadium - Go Cocks!

 And there you have it...our to do list for the summer of 2011. I could probably go on and on about all the other art projects we did and play dates we had, capture the flag games, etc. etc. etc. but these are most of the highlights. Needless to say, we had an awesome summer and we didn't want it to end!

The Boys of Summer Have Gone...

…back to school!
Onward to 3^rd grade and pre-school! It’s so rewarding and sad all at the same time. Truly bittersweet. We spent the summer having so much fun, I barely realized we were getting closer to another milestone. That my little boys were growing up. I look back at pictures from the beginning of summer and I can’t believe how all of them have changed in such a short period of time. 

Just before the summer officially started, we snuck in a quick trip to the beach. It was mine and Joey’s 11^th anniversary and we wanted to share it with the boys. The weather was great, the boys played on the beach non stop. Joey spent most of his time trying to beat my all Guinness book of world record shark's tooth. Much to his dismay. We all had a great time.

When school was out, we kicked the summer off with yet another trip to the beach with Mandy and her family in June to celebrate Father's Day. Wow. It looked like fun if you were watching us from a distance, but it was not so relaxing for us that had to partake in the festivities! The kids had soooooooooooooooo much fun but with 3 babies all around 6 months old, in addition to two 3 year olds and an 8 year old….it.was.a.job. Good times. We think next year might be a little easier for us. "might" being the key word here. Oh, and of course Joey still didn't come close in the shark's tooth contest.

The boys getting ready to give Joey his Father's Day gift...the shirt they made says, "This Dad Deserves A Pat On The Back."

and here's Joey giving some really bad dance lessons to the kiddos...

and here's us attempting to go out to eat with all these crazy kids...

 
The girls even managed to have the quickest night out ever!

No sooner did we get home, Liam went back to Myrtle Beach with Denise and Cole for Cole’s birthday. They stayed for one night and went to his first water park. We met them on their way back, threw Liam and his luggage in the car, and headed up to Topsail Beach, NC!!!

The beach, 3 times in one week!

We rented a beach house with Krista, Russell, Kyle and Dylan, Gary, Christopher, Mamaw and Mom. The boys were so good. I am always so amazed at how well they get along and how much they love each other. They’re like brothers and it’s so heartwarming. They played out on the beach practically the entire time we were there with only a few breaks to come inside and play with Lego’s and Beyblade on the pool table. Even Grayden hung with the big boys most of the time. I got a glimpse into the future when the boys will care less about hanging with their uncool parents.

Mamaw was able to walk down to the beach and put her feet in the ocean, what a treat!
 

We got a few family photos...

The main reason why we went there was so that we could witness Russell’s “change of command” at Camp Lejeune. It was very cool and the boys seemed fascinated. My favorite part of it was when Russell spoke in front of the crowd and made the comment about Krista, how she’s always there for him taking care of the boys when he’s gone, etc. etc. “It might have taken a few extra glasses of wine to get through it, but she always supported him.”

The time came to leave but we were so excited that the Boyce boys were coming home with us! I had a great time with them, they built a fort to sleep in and played constantly.

 

It looked like a Star Wars convention in our house!

 

 The first morning I wanted to take all the boys on a walk around the neighborhood but I wanted to prepare them for how hot and humid it was outside. The heat in the south is different than the heat in the dessert but Kyle was convinced it was worse in the desert. I’ll never forget the seriousness on his face when we got back in the house, completely drenched in sweat. “Aunt Stephy, I see what you mean about the humidity.” I barely got them out of the house to play again.

The rest of the summer was spent working on our “to do” list which I will post about soon.

Liam and Grayden had chores every morning when we were home and they did a great job. They got dressed, brushed their teeth and hair, made their beds, unloaded the dishwasher (yay!), fed the pets, took out the recyclables on Tuesdays, and cleaned up their toys! It was so sweet watching them work together. They'd race (of course) to see who could finish first.

We spent many days and nights in the hood having cookouts with Mandy and family and Bill and his kids.

We celebrated Grayden's 4th birthday with a football party!!! Gavin cried when we sang "Happy Birthday."

We squeezed in one more trip up to Camp Lejeune to visit the Boyce’s before school started. The boys picked up right where they left off. On our last day, we went to the beach and let the boys swim in the ocean one last time. 

Our trip included some late night shopping with Aunt Krista...

On their last official day of summer I took the boys to a playground. You would’ve thought I took them to the dentist. They stayed right by my side and wanted to leave. Ugh! See how thrilled they look?

It was a great summer but it flew by and now Liam is in the 3^rd grade at Heathwood. He didn’t really get excited about going back until the night before when he started talking about what kids he did and didn’t want in his class. I drove him to school and walked him in, he was so nervous, but put on a brave face….until it turned beet red. I wanted to hug him so bad but I refrained, as hard as it was. The teacher told him to go “pop” his balloon on the smart board as a way for her to keep up with who was there. He half listened to her and had to turn around halfway to the board and ask her again what he was suppose to do.  He was so cute and innocent, it was all I could do not to go help him. I hope his 3^rd grade year is as great as mine was. I had an incredible teacher that made a lasting impression on me. I’ll never forget Ms. Santiago, she was the best teacher in all my years of school. She had long, beautiful hair and I’ll probably always remember the smell of her perfume. Funny how those things stick with you. She believed in me. Thanks Ms. Santiago!!!!  =) I hope my boys are blessed to have a teacher as great as her. 

Grayden was not as excited to get back to school but it wasn’t as much of an adjustment for him (or me) because it was the same classroom and teacher as last year. But in my heart, I know it’s technically Pre-school and it just means he’s growing up.

I call this one, "Tears in my Cereal bowl."

 

So, now we’re getting use to getting back to the grind and looking forward to new adventures this year brings.

Is anyone else feeling this post is getting a bit novel-ish? On that note, I think I’m done.  It’s a school night. Chow baby.

Our Sweet Life

This is an old entry that I'm just now getting around to posting so excuse the outdated info...

My boys are the light in my life. Liam is turning out to be such a great kid. So thoughtful and funny. He amazes me at the things he’s able to figure out and put together. Definitely a handy man, a trait he gets from his Dad. I’m trying to understand this new competitive side of him. Everything is a race between he and Grayden! He’s gotta be better, faster, whatever…but man can his little brother hang! Good thing they are best friends through it all. Thank God for that! I don’t really remember being that way with my Sister, not to this extent anyway. Maybe it’s a boy thing. He is so wonderful with Gavin, it warms my heart, and he's such a big help to me. He’s still into Star Wars but the latest craze went from Silly Bandz bracelets to Pokemon to BeyBlade. Legos is a constant in the house, always the “go to” toy. He’s trying to get his hair to “sling” like Justin Bieber, but don’t tell HIM that! He swears he doesn’t like him ;)

Grayden is my emotional one. So sweet, smart and as cute as can be! Oh, that smile =) He has a temper though…when Liam does something Grayden doesn’t think he should do, he will scream at the top of his lungs and let him know, with emphasis on the first syllable of every single word. The pitch in his voice goes up and down. Sometimes we can’t help but laugh before we break it up. The child has no volume control. He is loud and silly and hops, skips, bounces or runs wherever he goes. He’s still a snuggly thing though when he winds down, loves to rub the edge of his woobee (aka “woo woo”) or his shirt, and crawl in the bed with us when he can. I can’t believe he’s going to be 4 years old in just a few weeks. He’s wavering on if he wants to be a big boy, or stay a baby. You never know who you’re going to wake up to. He is adorable and such a little light in our lives.

Gavin is already 6 months old. He’s been sitting up for short periods for a few weeks now. The child does not know how to eat, he is so incredibly messy. So far, he only really likes applesauce or bananas mixed with rice or oatmeal. The rest just ends up everywhere but his mouth. He is happy and funny, just like his brothers. I swear it’s like I’ve had the same baby 3 times, they look so much alike. I didn’t really look a lot like any one particular person growing up and it always bothered me. Now I see it in my kids and I think it’s amazing. Gavin is a very snuggly baby. He will stand on my lap, facing me, and all of a sudden he’ll squint his eyes and his head will dive into my chest. He’ll wallow a bit, then stand up and do it all again. It’s just precious. The weeks are flying by but I try to take mental pictures of certain moments with him, swearing to myself I will not forget them. It hits me occasionally that these are the last days with a baby in the house, to hold and kiss and snuggle. Oh, that really hurts my heart. 

Everyday, I thank God for my life and these healthy, precious boys. I was put on this earth to be their Mother and I will never take that for granted. I feel so lucky and so blessed that I get to watch these beautiful boys grow up and take on the world. I just pray that I can lead them on the right path. I am so thankful for this sweet life I live.

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Progress

I’ve made a little bit of progress on a few different projects, here are some pictures of my addled process...

• First, is our new dresser!!! Yay, I finally found one for a great deal. I paid $50 for it at His House. It is made by House of Mebane and this thing is SOLID. Here are a couple of before pictures…I smell potential!!!

I don’t have any pictures of it with the one coat of primer I managed to get on it this week…but just being sanded and painted with primer to cover the yellowish, greenish, brown pure loveliness, is a big improvement!

Tip: If you’re ever thinking of repainting a piece of furniture like a dresser, I highly recommend using oil based primer and paint because it will hold up better with everyday wear and tear. If you’ve ever used oil based paints, you know that it’s a little more difficult to paint with than latex paint. You have to paint quick and try not to make too many brushstrokes. If you mix PENETROL with your oil based paint, it will make your life soooo much easier. It conditions the paint and gives you a little more time to brush a good coat on the wood without it getting too “gooky” and leaving all kinds of jacked up brush strokes in the paint. I tried it with and without penetrol on the drawer fronts and I found a very big difference. When I asked the guys at Lowe’s where to find it in the store, they looked at me like I was crazy and said that it was mainly for commercial use. I’m so glad I didn’t listen to them. You’ll still need to sand a little before you put the top coat of paint on but it will make your furniture so much more professional looking…and that’s my tip for the day.

•  I am using bamboo from my neighbor’s yard as curtain rods for the master bedroom. I bought brackets so they are ready to hang…pictures will be posted soon.

•  Getting rid of my kids’ artwork and other memorabilia is heart wrenching but after going through pile upon pile of notes, artwork, cards, etc., here is what is left for now…I’m sure I’ll eventually have to toss more but as long as I can keep it all in these nicely labeled bins, we're keeping what we've got for now. I am such a sucker, I keep things that NOBODY should keep in these bins. Think I'm kidding??? How bout body parts? Like, um, the umbilical cords from 2 of my babies'? and Liam's teeth?! Should I even admit this "outloud?" Well, what DO you do with them? Ok, now everyone thinks I'm weird. But really, what DO you do with them?

• Ok back to more "normal" things. My enormous picture collection is in one temporary “home” for now. They’re completely unorganized, and most of them are still on the computer, but once I get the majority of these rooms finished (probably a week before we decide to move) I’ll be spending my free time (yeah, you know, allllllll this free time I have on my hands) on doing something with these. There's even more pictures than what's shown here. Try 5 more photo boxes worth, ugh. Hey, the biggest hurdle to overcome was getting them all in one place. Check!!!! 

•  Boy's Toy Closet!!! With a label that has words AND pictures, everyone will know where everything goes. So that means every toy now has NO excuse to be out of place, right? Right?

•  Play Area in the kitchen (not the best spot but it is what it is). Again with the labels. All the building blocks are together and labeled; Legos, Lincoln Logs, Wood blocks, Playmobil, Tinkertoys, Trio and Mega Blocks. Sheesh, that’s a lot of blocks. I'm starting to think that this might not be considered "normal" like I suggested.

• New dresser/armoire for the boys room! I found this at His House for $50! I looked online and although I can’t find the exact piece, I found the furniture line was made in 1962 and based on some of the other pieces I’m guessing it’s worth at least $1000 as it is. I’ll take it! All we had to do was clean it up. Love! 

 

I'll post my updates soon. I’m going to do my best to stick with one room, at least until my next post. I have a tendency to get all over the place with my projects. Ya think?

I've never been accused of not having anything to do.

I thought I would share my never ending to do list for projects in and around my house. It is always being added to and changing a bit but here it is...

Master Bedroom: 

Paint headboard

Get office out

New bedding

Sew 2 throw pillows

Find and paint curtain rods, hang in room.

Find new dresser

Sand, prime and paint antique dresser from boy’s room.

Sand, prime and paint desk and chair. 

Find chair for sitting area

Find something to hang above the bed

Organize kids artwork and other memorabilia in underbed storage

Prime and paint candleholder

Get rid of clothes, etc. - still in progress

Move out mismatched furniture

New lamp fixture or fan

Pull out built in shelf in closet

Cover floors in closet

Buy organizer for closet

Find a rug

Find lamps

Paint stripes on curtains or wall

Sand, prime and paint new dresser

Reupholster chair

Gray ribbon on lamp shades

Find accessories for room

 Kitchen:

Organize cabinets/drawers

Organize pantry-

buy containers and fill/label - still in progress (jars for french onions, nuts, pancake mix and a basket for snacks)

Toys-                                                              

buy containers need to buy two more

put building toys together

rework layout of room

Mudroom-

Put cubby in

move out craft/costume cabinet

find a home for crafts and costumes

Find bar stools

Gavin’s Room:

Paint room

Find, buy and hang curtains

Make bedding

Find lamps

Hang ceiling lamp

Make and hang artwork

Hang 3 pictures

Make and hang mobile

Buy rug

Buy carpet pad for rug

Switch out chifferobe for white cabinet

Sand, prime and paint white cabinetTrade out ribbons on bumper

Finish bed skirt

Make quilt

Boys’ Room:

Buy LACK bookshelf from Ikea

Move out bookshelf

Pull out baby books

Pull out travel books and toys

Paint walls

Move out antique dresser

Find new dresser

Find new rug

Paint small table

Organize closet for toy storage

Pack small clothes/shoes

Eliminate one underbed storage bin

Organize toys in room, under bed, chest, etc.

Fill armoire with clothes and shoes for both boys

Donate toys and books

Dining Room:

Eliminate bookshelf, find a new home for books

Move buffet

Centerpiece

Clean out craft corner

Clean out game cabinet

Living Room:

Find a rug

Make curtains

Buy and hang curtain rods

Sell two chairs and find new ones

Buy tv stand

Paint tv stand

Update picture wall

Update digital frame

Find new lamps

Artwork

Hallway:

Create a picture wall

Replace railing

Bathroom:

Organize cabinet

Find wine rack/towel holder

Outside:

Plant vegetable garden (is it too late?)

Paint garden box

Plant sunflowers

Spruce up front flower bed

Planter on front porch

Organize yard sale

Overwhelmed yet? Yeah, me too.

The Master

Sooooooo, it's been a while since I posted last. That's what happens when you have 3 busy boys but I have actually made some progress. However, if you know me, I can't just work on one project at a time, I'm all over the place with about 10 projects...is that considered ADD? lol.

We finally are getting our new Master Bedroom!!! Yay! After all these years, I am so excited to finally have a nice room. Well, it's not there yet but it's getting closer. Joey and I are working on it together, which is nice. He's actually happy not giving me a hard time about the things I've spent money on! I don't know how long that will last though after last weekend's trip to Ikea ultimately led to having to leave his golf clubs behind at his sister's house in Atlanta because there wasn't enough room in the car. Woops. Sorry honey, I really did feel bad =) Love you, mean it!!!

Anyway, here is where I talked about our plan for our room. So far, we've painted the walls light gray and the headboard white. We've bought our all white bedding...yeah, I'm thinking I might be crazy with a husband and 3 boys and WHITE but we're gonna just go for it and try. Last weekend I picked up some great lamps at HomeGoods. VERY excited about those. Got some white curtains at Ikea too but the biggest improvement yet is that Joey has moved his office out of our bedroom!!!!!!!!!!!! Can I get an AMEN???!!! Thank you Jesus! 

Here are a few pictures that I have of everything so far...

 Before........while our old headboard did it's job in pretending to be a headboard for several years (it was actually an old gate to a restaurant in Tampa, FL), we were tired of it and ready to repurpose it somewhere else in the house. This is actually our new bedding so I don't have a "true" before pic but notice the nastiness of the blah beige walls. There were all kinds of nicks and scratches on it, it was awful and was just screaming for a new fresh coat of paint.

Up close and personal with the ugly walls...plaster peeling off, black marks from the old headboard,  just plain boring color. Blah.

So we slaved away and got the job done in one day. I couldn't wait to get the headboard in there once the paint was dry. Go Joey, Go! Dang, look at that mess!!! I just kept telling myself to focus on the new pretty paint. Thank goodness he got that office out of there, although, there's a lot more work to do. Does everyone accumulate as much paper as I do? Hello, my name is Stephany and I am a paper-a-holic. Ugh. Can we say "hoarder?" No really, this might not look THAT bad but I'm too ashamed to post my other before picture from the other corner. Although most of it is Joey's office "stuff," it's bad...real bad and I'm not sure if I can go there with you yet. I have to get to know you first.

Afterrrrrrrrrrr....

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Much, much better....although, you can't really see how pretty the gray is in the pics. I'll eventually get some better pictures posted once we get it all finished. Take my word for it, MUCH better!!! and yes, that's just fabric lying on the bed pretending to be pillows...one project at a time, people! I'll get to it, eventually.

New lamps...So perdy!

Right now, they're sitting on our old tables but eventually those will probably be changed.

Here's our artwork we bought in Tampa a long time ago. A man from Bali painted it and I think it'll work in here with the new colors. Kinda funky, but hey, it's original artwork.

I think hanging the new curtains is going to make a world of a difference in the room and I can't wait to get them up but I have to find two curtain rods that are about 11 or 12 feet long first. Wait, let me elaborate a bit more...CHEAP curtain rods if I want to stay within my $200 budget (yes, I'm under $200, thank you very much! I'll break it down for you when it's all finished). I'm thinking some bamboo might work? Possibly some PVC pipe? Anyone, anyone? Bueller? I'm working on it and hope to find something soon. I'm also debating a project with the curtains but I'll let you in on that soon.

I bought another lamp for Gavin's nursery. I've been looking for something "natural-ish" to go with his theme but was having a hard time finding it until I went to HomeGoods in Atlanta. Although there were two guys giving me the evil eye, looking like they were ready to jack me up and steal my lamps right out of my cart, I managed to escape unharmed, and with 3 great lamps.

 

I'll be back soon with more projects and pics!

Go USA! Got the "bad guy!" Hey, I've got kids, one can read.