One Fish, Two Fish, Green Fish, Blue Fish

Grandma Mimis arrived Thursday night to save my sanity from a week without day care (Renee can't wait for you to be back!!!!) thank god.

With her she brought a fishing pole for Emily.  It was one of the two little kid fishing poles we brought with us on a trip to visit my parents... One was a Cars themed pole and one was a Barbie fishing pole.  This is how we announced to my dad that I was pregnant .... and so not married at that point - but those are small details :).

So yes Bryan took her fishing on Friday.  All by himself.  From what I hear it was challenging.  emily hooked herself - just her shirt thank goodness, and a nice lady had to help Bryan un-hook her.  And they came home empty handed and in tears cause she didn't catch any fish.

So today Bryan took reinforcements aka. Me while Grandma Mimis stayed home with a super sad baby with what I think is the start of another ear infection (I love my mom for this by the way).

And we caught our first fish!!!

As you can see ... Bryan is super proud and thrilled to catch the smallest of the small Bluegills if it made Emily happy.  And I do believe he loved the thrill of the catch no matter what size... he outsmarted the fish.

Then mom and I tried to come up with a realistic game plan for my dad's visit:

1. Install a pocket door between the kitchen & the playroom
2. Mud and tape the playroom & the kitchen (there are a few areas that need a little love)
3. Paint the kitchen & playroom
4. Paint kitchen cabinets
5. Install door trim and floorboards in the kitchen & playroom
6. New hardware installed on cabinets
7. Paint kitchen door
8. Install kitchen door hardware
9. Fix a bit of wiring in the kitchen

And maybe if we have some spare time we might revisit the bathroom... and having it written down now it seems a bit much - but in my mind so doable and so worth it...

I might even take some time off to join the boys!!!!  I am truly excited for April... Easter ad the Easter Egg Hunt (I used to shove my sister down and out of the way to get more eggs than her which always ended in tears but that is what big sisters are suppose to do right?!?) and then at the end of April my dad's visit ... Whoot Whoot!

And on top of all that my Magnolia bush is about to bloom!!! I love spring I really do - but on the bad bit of news - I am losing the battle with the dandelions yet again.  Boo.

And here is a BIG thanks to my mom for coming down and saving my ass from chaos this weekend and making my little boy comfy no matter what... she went through quite a few outfits filled with baby boogies, baby nose boogie bubbles, baby puke and baby drool.  Gotta love her.

One Project Done And Done and One Just Begun

So finally we have a finished project to brag about!!!

Yeah!!! So that part of Eli's "Industrial Tough Baby" themed room is done. We are also planning to do something like this in the corner for a bookshelf:

with lighting somewhat like this:

So..... Slowly but surely we will get his room done.  It is not a super high priority since the boy hates his crib and really wants nothing to do with it (yay for me).

But the other real project we have started was converting the office into a playroom (sophisticated playroom according to B - he is still in mourning from losing his office space).

I wanted to gain back a little sanity in my house and so instead of battling the clean up of the living room everyday and becoming a rage-aholic we decided banishing all the toys and such to a designated spot might just help.

And so, this is the start of the Playroom:

These two are pure chaos I tell you.  Emily is everywhere.  Eli wants to be everywhere and I can't keep up.

And this is the desk/vanity that I bought off Craigslist - thinking it was much bigger than it was.... You should have seen the face B gave me when we pulled up and saw how small it was.  Not the man desk for his man office that I thought it was going to be.

He didn't go with the idea that it would make him look much more powerful and manly towering over it while he pounded away at work... so it has been hiding in the basement for a while waiting for the perfect opportunity to make its debute.

And so here it is.

As you can see, the lamps even dwarf it.  But it will be perfect for the kids for quite a while... painted a great shade of gray.

My goal for this room is to paint it something like this:

to make it feel a little wider than the space really is (more gray tones vs. brown tones)...

Then have bookshelves on both sides of the window (probably Billy's from Ikea) made to look like built-ins.... and so there you have it - another room under construction!!!  But really this just needs a little paint and a small amount of storage solutions!

Wish us luck!

Long Time No See

Wow it has been a while!  and believe me the project bug has been biting!!!

Spring officially showed up this past week (the kind that almost has you worried that there is a April/May snow storm headed your way cause the weather is just that good).  And so I have be digging in the dirt, looking for signs that my flowers made it through another season. 

I am glad to report that my bleeding heart made it, my delphiniums made it (these were the fickle ones I was worried about)... and all my dollar finds made it through!!!! I am a bit nervous about the peony bush I planted - but I guess patience is the best thing!!

Annnnnddd... I am back to tearing up the drive-way Bryan started last summer... Yeah.  Not sure how I feel about it mid process.  It just looks like a hot mess... but the way it has been pitched to me is that I am going to have a gorgeous big backyard for the kids to play in... it is currently a pile of crumbling asphalt...

I am also back to the kitchen... Let's start with the pretty pictures:

 
Oh yeah that is the chandelier that has been hiding in our basement for 3 years - the one that we bought with a lovely gift card to Crate & Barrel from our lovely friends for our wedding... yeah it has been that long.

We were hemming and hawing on where to hang it and trying to decide if it truly was an impulse buy gone bad.

Then I finished (okay okay it still needs poly) my kitchen table and I went down stairs to the basement and pulled this guy up...

And then for Valentines Day Bryan crawled up into the attic to get this thing hung up... it took a bit more time to get it wired (the light switch could have killed someone I swear) but now I can turn on and off the light and even dim if the mood is right ;)

However... the wires remain outside the ceiling and not inside... B is not in any hurry to climb back into the attic and army crawl across the beams if the light is "technically" not broken.  And he is waiting for my dad to come and help with that... so he says.

And now on to my newer project.  Okay I am back to sanding my  cabinets.  It is not a fun job to say the least.  But if I really want a kitchen that I am not ashamed of it must be done.

And what ever the last owner tried to stain the cabinets with YIKES.  They are the stickiest, nastiest, grossest cabinets ever.  And they are mine :(

But I have half of one side done and will just keep at it.

Yup.  Those are them.  But Bryan and I agree that the actually design will probably work really well with the table however it won't work with the color/stain they are now....

Goal is now to paint them a white/very light grey to give it a more updated fresh look.

I already want to crack open the primer for some instant gratification - but Bryan has kept me from it so far... which I know is best since it is good to go in the correct order... BUT I WANT IT SOOOO BAD.

But on to other things that I have been doing in the kitchen:

YEAH.  That is all me right there.  I made snow crab with a homemade butter sauce and rice (I have a rice steamer that has become my favorite thing ever!!).

Now if you remember I don't cook... I don't like the prep, I don't like waiting and I don't like cleaning. But somehow Bryan has tricked me into trying a few things out... And so has Pinterest.  And so has the need to eat healthier.

And without me trying new things I would be eating grilled chicken and iceberg lettuce day in and day out to "eat healthy" cause that is all that I know... So I have to stretch myself a little...(and yes I know  the butter sauce does not equal healthy but it does equal something new.

So we shall see if Bryan and I come down with food poising tonight or not...


And for the final catch up this is my little man who is not so little anymore:

He is the most needest, lovable, part bulldog little boy there is.  He has more wardrobe changes than Emily ever did due to soaking and sopping wet shirts... and I don't even know if we can totally blame teething... the boy is just full of drool plain and simple.

And he stood up all by himself today.  Boo - ya.

When Work Hits too Close to Home

So the other night things got interesting in bed.

I was super tired and went to bed a little early, and started off with a good portion of my own bed... then slowly I started to lose my valuable space.  1st Bryan came to bed, fine.  Then Thomas the man cat decided to sleep on my head, boo, but I could suffer through it.  Next came T-O-Double Dizzle who loves to perch on my side, back whatever is available to him.

It was starting to get rough.... Then Miss Emily arrived.  Cried that Thomas had taken her spot, so he took more of my spot and Emily got her normal spot back.  And began to kick and elbow me.  I got mad, I got super mad and asked B to help me scoot her over a bit so I wouldn't fall off the bed.

He didn't hear me so in my half sleep I started to rage.  And this is where it gets interesting.

I Ripped Bryan's body pillow out from beside him (and yes I do give him a hard time about it - it is seriously the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen) and then tell him to scoot Emily over again to make room for me.....

And the LG Bundle.

His response was "LG Bundle?!? Do you mean Eli?"

My response "NO LG and the Soundbar!!!"

B's response "Meg, are you even awake?"

Which infuriated me even further, to which I said "YES!!"

And so Bryan asked again "LG who?"

I again responded with anger "LIKE LG - THHHEEE BRAND!"

He responded "Oh I can't wait till we wake up in the morning to tell you about this."

Luckily, I remembered quite a bit of it, and how serious I was about making room for me and the LG Soundbar Bundle in bed.  I just have to shake my head.

I have had only one other major incident like this before, and it was when I worked for Macy's and was pretty sure I had to run clothing samples up to the 8th floor to present our plans for the ad... in all actuality  I grabbed Thomas the cat in the middle of the night, startled him, and woke up with a huge gash on my arm from his lovely little claws.  Turns out he did not appreciate being mistaken for a bundle of samples.

So yes, work is starting to infiltrate my dreams and I believe I might be going insane... but at least it gives B some good laughs!!!

Hope you have a great weekend!

Life Decisions

I was working on a post the other day, in which I had written that I felt like I was at the tipping point of something... not knowing what.

Was it the frustration I have had lately at work?  Was it the frustration at home and the many half projects that I have started and totally want finished...NOW.  I couldn't tell.  I knew I was taking some actions trying to help those stars align and trying to get off the pity party train... but still something felt like something was going on behind the scenes in my life and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Turns out my feeling was right.  There is an opportunity at work that could help me advance in the right direction faster... if I take the opportunity and run with it.  It is not a promotion but in an area that I use to work and that I could capitalize on and show everyone what I am truly made of.

However, it would mean leaving the current team I am on - which is a very high visibility team.  Like  super visibility team.  The one that makes Black Friday - Black Friday.  And my current Manager and Director are really great.  Really great.  However, there is very little time on this team to polish my skills and truly develop on the schedule and time line I would like.

This is where my old/new team would come in.

I have everyone's support - which ever way I choose.

Life decisions.  Gotta love them.  I am leaning one way - -really leaning.  Bryan supports this leaning... but there is some hesitation... just like there was some hesitation to paint my table yellow... knew it was the right move but really really had to mull it over.

In all honesty I am surrounded by people who are looking out for me and wanting the best for me and this wouldn't have been proposed if it wasn't a good idea.

And when you ask the universe for something and it gives it to ya - better take it - or someone else will!

UPDATE: I will be moving to the new team I believe sometime next week!

I Smell Spring aka Projects in the Air!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh.  I am so ready for it.... even if we have had the mildest winter I have had here in MN so far... seriously hardly any snow!

Spring.

Yes I love spring, nothing compares.  Yes Summer is fun, but Spring brings newness and I love it!

Also, my dad has a bit of vacation time to burn... and he has offered to help us with our many many half finished projects.

I have chosen the kitchen.

Why you ask?  Because I have a yellow table that is begging for a beautiful background to pop against...

Something like this:

Yup I love the gray with the big bright white trim and the white cabinets.  I also think I love the wood floors but we are not going that far with this kitchen face lift.  We are talking about:

1.  Painting the cabinets.
2. Sand and paint the kitchen walls (gray).
3. Trim the kitchen (big bright and white).
4.  Did I mention that we will be mudding and taping the hole that Bryan created last summer taking out the old in-wall air conditioner that didn't work... that he didn't patch correctly?
5. And finally wiring the chandelier so I have light in my kitchen!

All this magic will be happening at the end of April - whoot whoot.

And this time my dad will have an extra pair of hands (besides mine) since I will make sure that Bryan takes some of his vacation time at the same time.

I am so excited. To say the least.

Having two kids... and having laundry... and having toys everywhere... and having no time ... tends to get me down a bit ... but this will help me reclaim a bit of my house as my own... and make me feel proud again!

And I am already planning the art that will be on my kitchen walls:

I love this, even though I never drink coffee (hate the smell hate the taste - never been my thing) but B loves coffee and I love the lines and the crispness of this piece ( by Tom Pappaiardo on Etsy).  It will eventually find its way onto my walls...

But for now my goal is to continue to sand my cabinets and prime them so they are ready to go when my dad arrives so this can go go go and go fast!

I am really excited.  I don't know if you can tell.

And if I am lucky, maybe we can paint the living room a very saturated blue.  Which I am also very excited about.

Till then.

I will keep you posted!

Shoe Karma

So short story, I have been in love with these boots forever (okay okay, since the beginning of Fall/End of Summer when Nordstrom set their boots):

However, with two kids, a house in remodel mode they never made it home with me .... sad face.  (And yes that is a suede inset under all the laces... drool).

So on Wednesday, after a so so day at work I was going to meet Bryan and the kids at the Mall of America to visit the sharks at Underwater Sea Adventure (yes there is an aquarium at the mall and we have season passes).  We honestly visit at least 2-3 times a month when we switch kid duty when Bryan has a late shift.  We avoid tears and it becomes something fun that way.

Well, this time was a bit different.... I am setting you up for a big story here can you tell?

I got there a few minutes early and had a moment or two to check out Nordstrom's Rack.  I went straight to the designer shoe area and scavenged.... nada.  So they I went to the regular clearance rack of shoes and started to browse not expecting to find much of anything.

Then it happened.  I looked at the top shelf, and saw the laces.  I couldn't believe it... Could it be?!?!?  I was so sure it was a knock off until I turned the shoe over....

BAM!  It was my shoe!!!!

I ran straight to the end of the isle and ripped off the boot I was wearing all the while praying, I swear I was praying out loud that this shoe would fit.

Let's just say these boots will not be worn with thick socks, or socks at all... it is nylons all the way but the sucker fit!!!!!!

And it was the only one in the store.

I started to text Bryan like a man woman.  He wouldn't pick up - didn't he understand that the shoe gods were looking down on me saying "we know you have had a shit 2 1/2 weeks and here is your break?"

So when he called to have me come help him get the kids out of the car,  I hid the shoe in the size 9 area (I wear a 7) and ran, seriously ran to the car.... Bryan would later point out that I could have just put the shoe on hold, and how if someone had found the shoe how devastated would I have been... he has a point but I wasn't thinking clearly at that point.

I tired to explain the shoe karma that was happening to me, but Bryan had had a shit day too so he wasn't really sharing in my exuberance... but he let me buy the shoes anyways.

Let me break it down for you:

• Regular Retail $548.00 (yeah no way they were coming home at this price with two kids...) 
• Then they were marked down to $300 something 
• Then down to $127.  
• And this is where it gets good.  Bryan gets a discount... ohhhh yeah.
• And he had a $20 gift card there 

THOSE BABIES WHERE MINE FOR A SWEET $89 and not a penny more. BOOOOO YAAAA!

And the story gets better.  Oh so much better.

That night I went home and paraded around in front of my mirror with my new found treasure, and put together a killer outfit to go with my killer boots.

And the next day at work, I got a ton of compliments, jumped up and down in a few cubicles with my coworkers that knew that I wanted these exact boots so bad.  Seriously there was jumping and squealing.

But then, as I was power walking down to my work cafeteria .... I saw her.  My old college roommate from junior year.

To say it very simply, she made that year hell for me.  I didn't want to be in my apartment at all that whole year, and pretty much lived in my room when I had to be there.

Well, thank god the shoe gods had smiled on me, otherwise I might not have had a killer outfit on, killer shoes on and having a great hair day.  Believe me when I say I posed like hell waiting inline for my food (there was a bit of sucking in too... I am not going to lie).

I know she saw me, I know she recognized me and I know that this was the moment I was suppose to be the bigger person.  But I wasn't.  That's not my style.  My style is to hold grudges.  And believe me I am good at it.

Here is the best part (and you are going to think I am so evil, and you are probably right but I don't care) ... the years have not been good to her.... oh no no no no...

And she did not have a killer outfit on, nor did she have cute shoes on .... quite the opposite.

And I ignore the shit out of her!!!!!  And even smiled at everyone else I knew and pretended that I was the most popular friendly girl in the world.

IT FELT SOOOOOOO GOOD.

Now I am pretty sure it wasn't actually god who set me up so royally, cause he probably would not have approved of my behavior ... but I am pretty sure it was the shoe gods who set up this shoe karma, and they were definitely high-fiving me for knocking this one out of the park!

So yeah this week ended on a high note for me.

As for house projects, my yellow table just need a coat of polyurethane and then it is done, and the exciting news is.... I have a chandelier hanging above it now!!!!!

Bryan and I were given a great gift card to Crate and Barrel for a wedding present from our good friends, and bought this chandelier for our new house.... 3 years ago.  But now it is up and just needs a little wiring and it will be ready to go...

Kitchen is slowly but surly coming along!