New House

I know... I know... I know.

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! Trust me, I've been feeling guilty, but I have been so busy and so overwhelmed, this was at the bottom of my list. I decided to log on for a quick update-- no pictures yet! It would take me too much time.

We have begun working in our new house! I am so excited and love it more than I thought I was going to. It was not move in ready and we have been working our butts off to get it in the shape I am happy with and honestly, that is livable. It has been NASTY! I have had to spray the walls and scrub them before applying any paint. When I spray them, brown just leaks down. The baseboards had about an inch (or 2) or dust, the floors are disgraceful, the ceiling fans had so much dust, it was hanging down off the blades, the blinds (I AM NOT using, but attempted to save for us to use) are thick with dust, the bathrooms (OH MY SOUL!!! Let's not even go there) were absolutely, positively the most disgusting things I have ever seen. The kitchen was covered from the floor to the ceiling (and every crack in between along with the inside of all the cabinets) with GREASE. When you would spray them, brown juice would just drip. All the light fixtures are nasty and dirty, so I am also having to wash those. The carpets were nasty along with tons of dust and pet hair. To say we had a lot of work ahead of us was an understatement. Not to mention, our landlord did not finish emptying the house out until late this afternoon. We realized we needed to hire a carpet cleaning company to come in and clean the carpet and the ceramic tiles in the bathrooms. While that went on, we scrubbed and cleaned and wiped and GAGGED! I have never worked so hard to see clean in my whole life. I had no idea this project was ahead of us. It was rather depressing to find when we showed up on Thursday. But, we have worked and we are beginning to see beauty and comfort. I just love it. Seriously, I do. My kitchen and living room is a dark green-- I gave Brent a bunch of greens and let him pick out which one. He made a great choice. It is super homey. Our master bedroom is a red. Not quite as deep as I was hoping for, but I love it nonetheless. I have a beautiful gold comforter I have my eyes on that I mention to Brent daily. I really hope he lets me indulge :D Our master bath is yellowish gold. The paint sample I had was more gold than it turned out to be, but once again... I am ok with it. I just hope it looks good in our guest room. It is painted the same yellow. The bedspread is gold with flowers and I'm hoping it doesn't clash.... :/ The boys' room and their bathroom will be blue-- we haven't started their's yet. All the rooms are needing 2 coats. The baseboards all have to be repainted (yes, they are that bad). The boy's bathroom cabinet is blue along with the trim. That won't work with me painting it blue (no to mention that is hideous) so we have to paint those too. The backs of the doors are painted and nasty (I forgot to mention we have to clean all the doors because they are coated with dust) so we have to paint those too.

We certainly have a TON of work ahead of us. This all has to be done before we move in the furniture. We are going to be super duper busy!!!!!!

I am so thankful for my parents, in-laws, grandparents, sister-in-law and her finance, and cousin who have tirelessly painted, scrubbed, wiped, swept, hung, cleaned, and pretty much anything I ask them to do. We COULD NOT do it without them.

This is just a quick update. I am trying to get ahead on my schoolwork so next week's is done and I can focus on my HOUSE!!! I have 8 more assignments. I'll be up late and back up early to get started before heading back to the house.

G'night and pictures will be coming soon!!!

Thursday

Sometimes I realize I haven't posted anything in a few days, yet I'm clueless with what to say. My life is so boring. So, today I've decided to just chat about nothing.

I redid this piece of furniture. It was a first for me. I'm the one who would rather pay a little more and buy something that is just how I like it. LOL. BUT.... I'm trying to experiment. To branch out of my comfort zone. I was at Hobby Lobby and this was marked down to $24.99 from $299.99. The price caught my eye, NOT the piece of furniture. Why anyone would pay that sort of money for something like me is beyond me!

Why on earth would you paint anything to look like this? I debated and debated about buying it. It was a very heavy and sturdy piece of furniture, so I knew it was worth $25, but could I make it look the way I wanted it to look? Hmmmmm. I decided to buy it and try to make it look nice to put in our bathroom.

Once I got it home, I started off by sanding it and for some unknown reason, I wet the sand pad. I realized very quickly that with a little bit of water and a WHOLE lot of elbow grease, the paint would come off with water. I spent about 2 hours getting the paint off. Of course, I had a lot of help and that is probably one of the reasons it took me so long :D

Yes, I realize I look nasty! I hadn't showered from working out. Yuck!

When I finished getting the paint off, it looked like this....

I was still hopeful that I could make it look the way I was hoping.

I went and bought some dark stain. Brent helped me pick out just the right one and just the right brush (which I did not picture).

After I stained it, Brent informed me that I needed to buy a fine sand paper and re-sand it and then stain it again..... Ok. This is my first time to "fix" furniture so I just took him at his word. Off I went to Ace. The lady agreed that my husband was right (He usually is!) and she told me to buy this.

After I re-sanded it, I stained it again and it turned out perfectly!!  I love this little piece of furniture even though ti did cost me around $45 and about 4 hours of time! LOL. I am proud of it though and that counts for something, right?

I love the color of this and how rich it looks. I'm HOPING it will fit in a bathroom at our new house. I want to make this (I already bought the paper for it) and put it on this table. It is an oatmeal container wrapped in your choice of scrapbook paper. It holds 2 rolls of toilet paper perfectly! Love this idea! I found it on Pinterest :D

Another thing I found on Pinterest.... I so want to do this with my boys!

How cute!!

You all know my love of chocolate and sweets in general. I found this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffels on Pinterest too. I am meeting up with 2 girlfriends tonight for dinner and fellowship. I made these yesterday to make sure they were, you know... ok to take. I didn't want to embarrass myself ;) Can I just say, OH. MY. SOUL!!!!!!!!! They are absolutely, positively, sin rolled up into a ball. SOOOOOOOOO good!!!!! You have got to find the time to make these!

Can you tell I've been on Pinterest lately???? Yeah, it's a little bit addictive.

Hope ya'll have a great day. I'm off to shower and head to meet a great friend for a playdate!

I did it!

Today, I accomplished something on my Bucket List. I ran a Half Marathon! WHOO HOO!!! I am proud of myself. I have always wanted to do it and I am proud to say I did Not only did I run it I smoked my goal time. I had a time in my mind of 2 hours 20 minutes. I knew I needed a "goal" when I started training. As I trained, I decided to go beyond a goal. I decided I wanted to "beat" my goal. I am happy to say.... I DID! I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours 6 minutes. Whew! It was a tough run, but a beautiful one. We ran through Downtown Dalton and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery. You talk about some GORGEOUS houses!!! The race was very hilly. Miles 9-12 were extremely hilly (straight up the side of a mountain... or at least it felt that way!) That was when I felt my weakest. I wanted to stop so bad. I was jogging at such an incredibly slow pace, but I refused to stop. I knew I could keep running and I wanted to prove to myself I could. Along the way, we had some very kind people. They handed out water and fruit and yelled, "Come on!! Keep going!! You can do this!!" It's amazing what words like that can do for you when you really think you can go no further. One young boy (maybe 8 years old) cracked me up. We were headed towards mile marker 9 and he was holding out waters to the runners and saying encouraging things. He said to me, "You are not first place, but you are doing so good!" Awwww. That is sweet. LOL. I grabbed 1/2 a banana around mile 3 and ate it as I ran and I'd grab cups of water here and there too. Trying to drink and continue running are NOT easy. I would get a few sips in my mouth before it was gone. The banana and water made me feel like I needed to puke. I don't know if it was a good idea or not to grab those as I ran. As I ran up the side of the mountain towards mile marker 11, I was wishing to stop and throw it all up.... of course, I wasn't about to stop! As I came to mile 12, I really and truly was so tired. I had pushed myself as hard as I could in order to be the best I could be. I didn't want to do this halfheartedly... I wanted to give it my all. To know I had done everything in my power to beat my goal time. I don't think I could have run a second faster or another step by the time I crossed the Finish Line. I was BEAT! I grabbed 2 apples and a water and headed towards my car to call Brent (I told him not to come because I had no idea how long it would take me and I didn't want him trying to entertain the boys for 2+ hours). After I called him, I ate a banana and a bagel and waited around for Suzanne (a great friend of mine!). When I got to the car to head home, I drank my protein shake and finally began to feel some strength come back. My knees are sore and my butt is sore, but I feel great. I see more half marathons in my future and I'd love to do a full marathon one day too!

Me and Suzanne after our race!

In other news, Buddy was found in an interesting place this morning...

I guess he knows we spend a lot of time in the fridge!

Speaking of Buddy and Santa... I am so torn over what Santa should bring. Dane saw this awhile back and LOVED it. He is for sure getting this.

I mean, seriously??!! How perfect is this. Every time we are in the store and he sees this, we HAVE to stop and let him play with it... even though all the pieces are bolted down with screws. I can see him playing with this daily and definitely us definitely getting our moneys worth. BUT.... (I'm worse than the kids!!!) I saw this.

Doesn't every little boy need something like this??! Oh my soul!!!! I WANT this for them!! I can just see them playing in this little town and having so much fun!!! I have no idea if this will fit in our house. So... I'm being good and waiting until we move in to decide.

I forgot to mention on here that Webb fell last weekend and busted his eye open.

I'm so different this time around. When Dane fell and busted his chin open (it required glue) I was so heartbroken and cried when they held him down. This time, not so much. Doesn't that make me sound mean? LOL. I just figure, they are boys. They are going to get hurt and there is nothing I can do about it. Plus, I figure each injury.. the get a little tougher. LOL. I watched him fall right on the coffee table corner. I barely batted an eyelash. I told Brent and we cleaned it up. He did cry hard and of course... he passed out. Once I started nursing him he quit crying (another wonderful reason to nurse. It calms them anything something traumatic happens) We debated and debated going to the ER. We don't have insurance and I knew it would be expensive. In the end, we did go. On the way there, I noticed my right breast was tender. I have NEVER had mastitis in my right breast in all the 50+ times I've had it, so I didn't think too much about it. When Brent turned into the parking lot, I said, "Man.... I'm so sore from kickboxing. My back is aching as you turned the car". That should have been my first clue right there. I was aching all over, but I just assumed it was from working out really really hard that morning. By the time they came to glue him up, I knew I had it. I was freezing and so weak. My right breast was throbbing. DANG IT!!!! I hate having mastitis. Webb did so good at the ER. The only time he cried was when they held him down. And yes! He passed out. Just like I told the nurse and Dr. he would. LOL. They didn't believe me, but he showed them. We took him to Children's (the only hospital I would ever take my boys to).  They are sooooo good there! We got there around 7:15pm and we were pulling out and headed home at 8:45pm. I was so sick and just wanted to go to bed. I came home and took my temp (101.6) and we all went straight to bed. I battled this episode of mastitis until Monday. UGH!!!!! It truly sucks.

Well, I'm off to get ready for dinner. Mexican sure sounds good!!!

Having Fun

Last night, buddy got into some mischief. We woke up and saw him like this...

Is that paint on that paint brush?



Oh no! It is. Buddy!!! What have you been up to?

I went to the mirror and looked and saw nothing. Oh shoot. That isn't meant for me. That is meant for Dane. I run upstairs and look at Dane.

Hehehehehe. Buddy got him good!

How did Dane react? I'm sure you must be wondering. Ummmmm. He hit his nose over and over screaming, "I don't want a red nose, Mommy!!! WIPE IT OFF!!!!" He was NOT happy with Buddy at all. I got so tickled. After I wiped it off his nose, he wanted to stand and look at Buddy. Even though he didn't like the paint on his nose, I think he was humored that Buddy did that to him while he was sleeping. He has told everyone what Buddy was up to last night... If you get the chance to ask him about it, you should!

Tomorrow is my 1/2 marathon. I have celebrated the event by taking the entire week off from working out. LOL. That was not my intention, it's just the way it worked out. I did work out this morning and I'm really looking forward to my 13 miles tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Have a great weekend :D

2 weeks!

Alright folks! The countdown has begun.

In 2 weeks, we will begin painting in our house and then once that is complete (hopefully 2 days at the MAX) we will clean the carpets, and finally we will move our furniture in. :D Whoo  hoo!!!!!! Hallelujah. Praise the Lord! I am so excited. I have really missed having my own house. While Brent and I both greatly appreciate my parents letting us move in during this transition time for us, there is something to be said by having your own house. Your space, your food, your furniture, your rules, your decisions, etc. I don't think 2 families are meant to live together. It has it's pros and it has it's cons. Depending on the day, or the week.... one can outweigh the other by a lot. LOL. The kids have enjoyed living here and I know they will miss my parents constant presence when we are gone, but it will be good for all of us. I know my parents (ok, my mom. LOL and she will openly admit it) will be glad to have us gone too. My dad will cry and be depressed for months. His house will be too quiet and lonely without Dane and Webb. BUT... I have no need to worry :D He is already planning on coming straight to our new house after work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. LOL. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us bombard your house for 7 months!!! We know it wasn't easy for you and it means so much to us!!!! Don't cheer too loudly when we move out :D

Our move has had me in a constant buzz. I lay awake at night looking at my painted walls, the furniture in the rooms and where I will place it all. The walls and how I should hang everything... Hmmmm.... does that wall need something else? Does that room need something else? I look at the yard and all I want to do there. I think about the basement and how we want a workout room down there. I think about how I will want to arrange it and what sort of storage we will need to have. I want to make sure I have everything bought and ready to go. I want to make sure each room has decor to match the paint and the style of our house. Can you tell I'm excited??? One thing I'm REALLY excited about is that we bought new furniture for our house. We have a new kitchen table (that I LOVE) and a new living room suit. We bought the table a few months back (when we still thought we were building) and we went to Rooms To Go last week and picked out the living room stuff. We didn't "buy a room" we bought a mixture of rooms. LOL. We got a new sofa and loveseat, a leather recliner, a coffee table, 2 end tables, and 2 lamps. So, of course, I'm really excited to get our kitchen table and living room suite delivered!!!

Have you wondered about Buddy? Well, he has been busy traveling back and forth to Santa each night. We have lots of fun with him. We don't make too big of a deal about him right now, after all there are still 2-1/2 months until Christmas, but he does help out with Dane's behavior. Here are a few of the places we have found him.

I also let Dane paint us a picture for the new house. I've always loved the idea of using your child's artwork to decorate. I knew he would be so proud to have something he did hanging up. So, I bought a canvas and painted it gold. I knew I wanted it in our bedroom. The wall is going to be red and our bedspread is gold and black. Then, I let him have fun with the paint. I didn't tell him what to do with it or pick out which colors he could use, I only enforced one color at a time. Otherwise, I knew it would just be a black blob. I wanted it to truly be his. One day, I'd love to have Webb paint one along with any future children. When the basement gets finished and we have a playroom, I want to hang this artwork down there :D Some may thing this is an ugly choice to hang on the wall, but not me. I think it is beautiful and it will be something I cherish always.

Life has been good all the way around. I look at my blessings each day and thank God for blessing me above and beyond. He is soooo good to me and provides for each and every need.

The secret to having it all is believing you already do.

God is so good!

God is so good! I have learned (and it's a lesson I must continue to learn daily) that He knows best and He has it ALL under control.

I clean houses on the side. I am also in school and can hopefully start using that degree in January when I complete school. I was teaching at the gym, but I gave that up after Webb was born. I miss it, but I'm glad I don't have that obligation anymore.

Cleaning houses is a great way to make extra money even though it is really HARD work. I had been cleaning 4 houses on a regular basis and then due to economic hardships (one lady lost her job and another, her hubby took a pay cut) I lost 2 of my houses. Which in all honesty, was ok. I was worn out! I was exhausted and at that time, I was also teaching at the gym and working for my mom here and there. Now, I'm not at the gym and I'm not working much. So, within the year, my income has been cut in half, literally. We make it just fine, but things are tight (heck, who are they NOT tight for???!!) The only problem with working with children, is counting childcare into what I earn. That automatically drops what I make, which means I need to work more, which means I have to pay more... it's just a vicious cycle. I have to say, I've been blessed in that area too! When I clean in Ringgold, our Pastor's daughter keeps my boys. She is wonderful with them and they love her! She is also extremely KIND and splendid and let's me pay her ridiculously low. I feel bad about not being able to pay her more, but I need to bring home a certain amount each month. I am so thankful to the Lord for sending Leah to keep my boys. When I knew I needed to hire someone, I prayed that God would send the perfect person who would be ok with making x amount of $$$.  Otherwise, I would need more jobs and more babysitting from "someone". I asked Leah what she would charge and that is the amount she said. Isn't God good! Why did I ever doubt?

I also clean a house in Cartersville every other week. My mother-in-law is so kind and gracious and keeps my babies while I clean it. She loves to spend time with them and then that allows me to make all of that money (well except for the gas I have to pump to drive 140 miles that day. LOL). But it's all good. I consider it gas money to see our family down that way :D I have been praying for another house down that way since I don't have to pay a babysitter.

Even though I pay Leah incredibly low, I still need to generate a little more in each month, just to help us be truly comfortable AND to enable us to save 6 months worth of expenses (which is my goal right now-- -Brent is soooooooo happy. LOL.). I'm retaking Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace class and I'm doing it the RIGHT way this time. I'll write a post on that one day too.

So, I had been praying that God would provide me with another cleaning job, specifically in Cartersville because when I clean down there (every other week) it's pure income. The people I clean for in Ringgold went out of town for the month of October. It was a huge bummer because I count on the money each week and it's a month of NONE!!!! I began praying the day she told me. October was the month I was planning on saving every penny of my cleaning checks to put towards paint and deposits at our new house. Because it is the month we MOVE!!!  Not to mention, I still hadn't finished Christmas shopping AHHHHH! What was I going to do without that money? I'll not lie, at first I was almost sick at the thought of not working for October. Then, I sorta laughed to myself. God has ALWAYS provided. Always. Even when I didn't know how He would and even when afterwards sometimes, it could not be explained if I tried to. He always comes through. We have never gone without anything. I knew He had it all under control. So, I started praying that He would provide for us during October. I didn't have a clue how it would happen, but I did trust Him.

During the 1st week of October, my mom asked me to work a big wedding she had. I knew I could make close to what I make 2 weeks of cleaning in Ringgold (after paying childcare) off that job. At first, it didn't look like I'd be able to... because of the boys. In the end though, Brent could keep them! I was excited. There was how God was going to provide. Lord, thank you!

But wait, God was going to go beyond that. I get this random FB message from someone (in Ringgold) asking if I still clean houses and if so, if I could come give a quote. YIPPEE!!! I was soooo excited. I, of course, agreed and I start next week. God wasn't going to just provide for this month, he was looking out for us for all the months to come. Thank you, Lord!!!

BUT WAIT!!!!! Last night, I get another FB message from someone (in Cartersville) asking if I would be interested in cleaning another house. Just once a month (that is perfect!!!!) I, of course ;), said yes! I haven't heard back from her yet, but I'm still hopeful. If I'm not meant to take on that house, God won't give it to me. I'm good with either answer.

Talk about answered prayers. When I started praying at the end of September for God to provide for October, I had NO IDEA He would provide this way... so abundantly. Although, I really shouldn't be surprised. When I started praying for new cleaning jobs, I really didn't expect to get them without scrounging them up myself. But, God provided so abundantly.... AGAIN!!!

God is so GOOD!

Sadness and Fun

Weird title... I know.

The sadness is from a death that happened this past Saturday down at West Georgia. A young man, 20 years old, was killed in a motorcycle accident. A drunk, 23-year-old, teacher hit him. I never had the privilege of meeting Matt Dyas. I did meet his mom and younger sister. They were friends for the people I worked for. I loved his mom and sister, Cathy and Mary Cat. They were so much fun and upbeat. One thing I remember clearly is there love of Matt, especially Mary Cat. You could just tell she LOVED her big brother more than anything in the world. She really looked up to him. He loved her too. His mom was so proud of the man he had turned out to be. He and his mom were very close. She was always bragging about him on her Facebook. He played golf for the University of West Georgia. He wasn't just good, he was great. He had already accomplished one of his huge goals of winning this big individual tournament (I think I have that correct). At the beginning of September, Cathy, his mom, had posted a picture of his new motorcycle he had bought. He had saved up and paid cash for it. She, like any mother, was nervous and scared that he had gotten it. The comments under the picture said many different things. Many moms posted that they would be praying for Matt and Cathy as he rode his new "toy". This past Saturday, October 3, would be the last time he rode his new toy. A drunk driver pulled out in front of him and he smashed into the passenger side of her car.

I am heartbroken for his mom. As a mom, I cannot imagine hearing the news like that. How can you go on after your baby dies??? How can you breathe? How can you eat? How can you function? How can you laugh? How can you sleep? How can you think? How can you survive??? It's just not right. No mother should have to bury her child. This news has consumed my mind. I think about it hourly. I wonder how Cathy is feeling. I think about what it must feel like. I wonder if she is laying in his bed, smelling his sheets, folding his clothes, watching old home movies, looking through old pictures..... I pray for her and I have mourned for her. Please pray for her with me.

As for the drunk driver. I have no tolerance for drunk driving. Obviously people do it. I have actually read people's FB status' that have said, "Whoa! How I made it home last night I'll never know." It makes me sick. It makes my blood boil. How selfish! As a mom, I am always fearful that some irresponsible, careless drunk might be on the road, putting my innocent babies at risk. I have begun earnestly praying that the Lord will keep us safe on the roads and help us to avoid all drunk driving. I learned in my Power of a Praying Parent to take all fears (especially specific ones) to the Lord. That is what I intend to do from this day forward!

Ok, whole new topic!

Christmas time is nearing and that means it is time for fun!!!! Since becoming a mom, Christmas has taken on a magical feel. It is sooooo much more fun than when I was a child. Seeing Christmas through Dane and Webb's eyes is the best ever! Which brings me to the topic of Santa. Ugh. I realize this is a touchy subject. Yes, we tell our boys there is a Santa. I see nothing in the world wrong with encouraging make believe. One thing that drives me CRAZY (yes! I used all capital letters because I am yelling CRAZY!!!!) is when parents tell their children there is no such thing as Santa and then allow them to tell other children he isn't real. My thoughts on that are... if you are going to be a stick in the mud ;) PLEASE tell your children to not tell the believing kids. It's the parents job to do that. If Dane ever tells me that so and so says there is no Santa, I'm going to say "That is so sad. If you don't believe in Santa, he doesn't come visit you." and leave it at that. I for one think it is a lot of fun! It adds excitement and magic to an already wonderful time of the year. 

I KNOW and understand that Christmas is not about toys, Santa, or elves. It is about Jesus Christ being born in a manger. We know he came to live on earth and then to die on a cross for the sins of the world. In no way, shape, or form, do we remove the importance of that when we play Santa with our boys.

Our boys will grow up knowing the true reason for the season and enjoying a little innocent child fun at the same time.

I've wanted to buy the book "Elf on a Shelf" since I became a mom. When I was a nanny in college the kids had that book and it was so much fun. Boy did we have fun with that!!! But... I am too cheap to spend $35 on a book and an elf. Last year, I looked here and there for an elf, but Dane was still too young to comprehend Santa and all that went with him. After Santa bringing him what he asked for last year, he is a true believer now. Today at Ace Hardware, I found the perfect elf and he was only $9.99. Whoo hoo!!! This momma was excited! I bought him and after lunch, I told Dane I needed to introduce him to someone.

His whole face lit up as I told him the story. I told him we had to name him. With Daddy's help, we chose Buddy. Dane is so excited to see what Buddy can do. I have a feeling Buddy might get into a lot of trouble this year, but I'm also hopeful he will help motivate GOOD behavior. While Dane was napping today, Buddy managed to get himself here

Wait a minute! What is that tucked into his shirt???

A note! From Buddy to Dane and Webb.

Dear Dane and Webb,

Hello there! Thank you for letting me come stay at your house. I love the name you picked out for me, Buddy. It’s a perfect name and makes me feel so special. One thing you must remember is to not touch me. If you do, my magic powers will be lost and I cannot travel to Santa anymore. When you go to sleep at night, I will travel to the North Pole to talk to Santa and tell him if you were good or bad. Then I will come back while you are still sleeping and find a new place to sit for the day. Each morning when you wake up, you must look for me.  This will be lots of fun! Santa told me you boys like to have fun…. I do too.

Buddy

But I have my suspicions that Santa will be sending letters from time to time as well. Oh! I cannot wait to see Dane's face when he wakes up. This is going to be such a fun fun fun Christmas :D