Also, this happened

Snow!  In October!  My kids were asking where their snow stuff is and I had to pull it all out.  I was able to figure out who needed new stuff though, so I suppose that's a plus.  The work van out front is our window installer.  Yay for new windows!  We're painting and replacing the trim to save money, so that is our next project.  It seems like we are always working on something with this house, but mostly we enjoy it.  We can't go for more than a month without itching to improve or update something. :)

Halloween!

Whew, this last week was busy!  We didn't even have time to carve pumpkins.  Here is our costume roundup:

Brighton - Bat
Brooklyn - Corpse Bride
Logan - Thor (my favorite child right now, since I didn't have to make his costume)
Spencer and Simon - Knights

Don't get me wrong, I love making the kids' costumes.  I really do.  But I'm also a procrastinator, so I leave it for the last few days.  I wish I had better pictures - Brighton's really turned out well.  I used purple thread on the wings so it would stand out.  More costumes to add to the dress-up bin!

Another thing that was causing me a migraine this past week was Brighton's class party.  Somehow I ended up the room mom (I did not volunteer, they asked me if I would do it and I guess when I blacked out they assumed that meant yes).  Every single person that signed up for something switched to something else, and then people brought stuff that they didn't even sign up for and didn't give me a heads up for even after my several reminders and emails.  Hmph.  But it happened and was fun and much sugar was consumed.

We also made some amazing caramel apples that were soooo yummy - dipped in caramel, then chocolate, then in candy pieces- WOW!  Loved them.

Holidays are hard work for mom.  Good job everyone who made it through Halloween!  Gearing up for Thanksgiving.... :)

A little bit of Christmas

Hanging lights for the very first time!!

Best way to admire a tree, am I right?!

Christmas Jammies!

Two little superheros

Christmas nativity story- we all picked fabulous roles.  Brighton as Mary, Logan as Joseph, Me as a Shepherd, Spencer as Wise Man and Brooklyn as Angel.  James is always the Narrator.

Pierced ears in Brighton's near future!

Brooklyn LOVES snow globes

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Time for Smee...

This next year I'm doing something new.  Starting in January, I'm doing something selfish- just for me and for nobody else.  After a 15 year hiatus, I'm taking vocal lessons again.

I'm a little scared and a lot excited. :)

It's been interesting as I've slowly started this process.  There was a little bit of guilt involved.  Everything I do usually is something for my family.  I usually enjoy it- so it's not all bad.

I love to sew:  I make a lot of clothes/dress-ups for my kids.
I love to shop:  I buy a lot of stuff for my kids and husband.
I love to cook:  I do a whooole lot of cooking and baking for my sweeties.

All good stuff.  Makes for a happy mom.

But voice lessons---  just for me.  I'm gonna love it like reading a magazine in a bubble bath.  After 11 years, it's my turn.

I love Halloween

       My kids:

         My kids on candy:

a conversation that needs to be had

Simon:  Mom, I love you so much.  So, so much.  8 hours at night is too long to go without seeing your  beautiful and loving face.  I want to wake up every two hours, even though though I am 9 months old.  I'm not really hungry, but I still want to nurse.  Because I love you.  That's not too much to ask, is it?

Me:  Yes, yes it is.

The End.

House before and after

We bought the house back in March of last year.  I think my in-laws took a bunch of pictures that I need to grab off of their computer, because we had already done some work at this point.

Some charming features that the house came with:  

~ a green water pump decoration

~ rocks for landscaping

~ a small wooden bridge as part of the front walk, which was slippery when icy and after we removed it, left an indent in the walk that became a mudslide every time it rained.  Fun!

~ Puke green paint color

~ half rotted through shed on right side

 Most of the changes we did this spring-
~ tore down the shed.  James did that single-handedly, when I was gone at Sams.  I swear I wasn't gone that long, but when I came back- the shed was down!
~ painted the house grey, after testing six different color samples.  Did you know that grey is actually a really tricky color?  They kept looking too brown or purpley.  But I finally settled on one that I liked.
~ hauled back countless amount of landscaping rocks, their decoration of choice.  Really?!?  Why the rocks?!
~ painted the shutters black, though I'd like to do something less traditional that has a punch more color.  I also want to paint the front door red.  We'll see if I get to that before it gets too cold.
~ replaced the light by the front door.  You can't see them, but the old ones had moose on them.  Had to go.
~ the missionaries tore up the old walkway, and James poured a new one, with a little help from some friends.  No more mud!
~ extended the landscaping pavers out, creating a curve more pleasing to the eye.  Some of these I layed and relayed and relayed, making sure that they were level.  I'd do it one day, and the next day have to do it again because they had settled weirdly.  A professional, I am not. :)
~ planted a whole bunch of shrubs and flowers and one small weeping cherry.  This was really fun for me to plan out, finding the plants and colors that I like, and making sure that they would all look good together.  I enjoyed it.

We had a hot summer, and a few of the small plants didn't survive, but most of them did really well!  We're both really pleased with how it turned out, and think it adds a lot of curb appeal.

Next step, the side yard.  The left side has raspberry bushed all along the side (awesome!) but the right side where the shed was is an eyesore.  We're trying to level it out, move some landscaping rocks - because of course the previous owners put some over there as well- and get ready to plant grass seed.  The flowers/landscaping can wait until next spring.    We love our home~  and most of the time we love the projects that come with it! :)