Sunday Best

On Sunday we actually had time to put a dress on Natalie AND do something with her hair. This is coming from the family who is usually late to church AND who's children arrive already with stains on their shirts.

Hey... it's hard to keep a 1 and 3 year old clean for ANY amount of time.

So, after straightening Natalie's hair and befitting it with a headband, I decided to take a picture so I could look back years from now (forgetting all of the mayhem) and think "wow... we really had it together back then!"

The dress (hard to see in my overexposed pic) is a cute one we picked up at a yardsale a few weeks ago for 50 cents! Yellow with white polka dots. I'm going to have to stop telling Natalie where I find her clothes, though. She's already begun to tell people where they're from. While it's not a terrible thing in and of itself, school-age girls can be merciless. My mom made all of my clothes (and what a wonderful job she did!) but my pride in where my clothes came from turned out to be great ammunition for making fun of me. All those girls in their Hypercolor t-shirts, Guess jeans and Reebok high-tops. They were so lame. I SO wish I had a chance to go back and live my life over again with the confidence God's given me now. I'd care less about trying to be liked by that lame crowd and be content to just be myself. Ahh... the things I wish I could protect my daughter from...

It's Gone!

Last weekend Kevin and I tackled a project we'd been thinking about for quite some time. But it involved wallpaper removal - lots of it. And if that isnt enough to stop you dead in your tracks I don't know what is. Last time we did this was in 2004 when we moved into the house - so alas we had been dragging our feet A LONG TIME.

Anyway, the impetus for any change in the kitchen was this:

Notice the countertop split in front of the sink.

These counters (even though they're laminate) were brand spankin new when we moved in. Apparently the sink wasn't sealed properly though, so fun times all around.

I guess I'm not complaining though... we thought we'd just replace the counters with postform laminate to cut down on cost, but when running the numbers, granite wasn't a ton more (provided we do a little legwork ahead of time).

Jackpot!

That part should be done in a month or so - I just wanted to show you the beginning stages of our project.

BEFORE:

Can you believe I'm showing you how messy my kitchen is? I really can't either.

But it really was pretty clean in comparison to how it looked once the wallpaper started coming down.

DURING:

Be forewarned: Wallpaper removal is a messy job. You will find little pieces of glue backed paper for WEEKS.

So, we really could use some feedback though on the wall color. We are not redoing the floors, so we matched the gray/blue floor to a medium gray counter. Should we follow the gray theme and do a light gray wall (as seen in the middle swatch of wall color? Or do I try to tie in some of the yellow undertones of the cabinets? I was originally thinking white walls but they're pretty white now and the trim and the walls just kind of blend into each other. Obviously I dont want it to be too dark, though. I was also debating a chalkboard paint on the wall with the two closets (by the kitchen table) although I'm not sure how chalkboard paint "wears". Does it erase well? Can you paint over it easily? Advice please!!!

Carnival of '11

When they're in their 80's, they'll be looking back and telling their grandkids about how when THEY were little, they used to ride on metal carnival equipment that was probably 30 years old and there were REAL germs on all of the rides. And that you'd get whiplash from the roller coasters - the kind that knocks your head around a metal seat like a ping pong ball.

They'd mention how the safety harnesses were easily slipped out of and there were high voltage wires between all the rides that you could trip on. And that all the carnies looked like they had worn the same filthy shirt since last year and maybe belonged on America's Most Wanted.

And then their grandkids would wonder if their parents had been crazy taking them to such an establishment.

And I think the answer might be yes.

But hey, it was fun!