Ron left today for South Dakota. He'll be gone for 4-5 days. On one hand- Yay! Some alone time!, on the other hand- Oh dear God- I'm alone with the kids! I think I might drop Caleb off at daycare for an hour or two if I am feeling totally overwhelmed and need some quiet time.

Our awesome flooring friend is coming tommorow to work on our living room floor.
Our living room was carpeted in this nasty, marbled, pee stained brown rug. Whenever I vacuumed in there, it just pulled up more dust from the pad below. It was also starting to get loose. Basically, totally gross. When Ron and our friend pulled up a corner, guess what they found? Beautiful maple hard wood flooring dating back to the days when this house was a school. They pulled up the rug and pad and guess what else we found? About 5 gallons of dirt, also probably dating back to the time when this house was a school.
So our awesome friend is going to sand and varnish the floor and give us an incredible new look to build our living room on. I'm thinking a light warm tan color would set off the pumpkin in the library and the sage in the kitchen. What to do for the trim, though? Do you have any ideas? Please post them- I need help!
So while this is all going on, my little fam and I are limited in house space. Thankfully the weather has been somewhat warm so we can go for walks. Yesterday we all walked to the library and Caleb managed to find a puddle knee deep to wade in. That boy loves mud and water!

I can't get enough of these :

Veggie Bagel Sandwiches

Mix up a carton of cream cheese with one diced green onion. Spread a nice layer on each side of an onion or "everything" flavored bagel. On one side, layer thinly sliced cucumbers, two slices of presliced Muenster cheese, and a thinly sliced tomato. On the other side, layer sliced avocado and a handful of the bean sprouts. Slap your sandwich quickly together and pretend you are eating a healthy lunch. If you layer the sandwich like this, it stays together because the really slippery stuff isn't touching. Wow, are these good! Even Ron, the if-it-doesn't-have-meat-it's-not-a-meal eater likes them.

Heading for Margaritaville.......

I don't know what it is, but I've felt mopey all day. We had snow fall yesterday and today it is that thin kind of cold that goes right to your bones. I've been stuck inside all day with the kids and dogs. Endless amounts of:

"Caleb, don't hit the dogs with your bat or I will take it away from you."

"Caleb, the phone is off limits."

"Don't touch my...... (sound of full cup of cranberry juice falling off the counter onto the floor)

"Caleb, don't try to tackle the dogs."

And the soundtrack to this homely little drama is the sound of Noah crying, the phone ringing, people going in and out of the door without taking off their shoes, and the CD player being turned off and on by little toddler fingers.



In my mind it all goes misty as I:



Drive my spotlessly clean beloved Pilot down leafy Washington street to Panera breads. I eat a fantastic sandwich and tasty soup while surfing the net on all my favorite homemaking mama sites. My Ipod is on; the earthy strains of bluegrass muffle any restaurant noise. After a creamy vanilla latte, I stroll over to the Barnes and Nobles. I peruse all my favorite sections, and have time to leaf through the magazines. I watch the Westminster Kennel Club dog show from the cosy invirons of one of there overstuffed loveseats, noticeably free of any pen scribbles or food crumbs. I fall asleep, but wake refreshed and feeling good, my makeup perfect, long hair curly and lush, and not a hint of drool or bad breath anywhere. I drive to the mall and buy a new wardrobe complete with the latest and cutest in handbags, jewelry, and shoes shoes shoes! I have a rewarding, relaxing ride on my mare, Kitty, and we load up and head to the rodeo where we win in barrel racing. Flying high on my sucess, I have a smashing dinner including grilled salmon steak, salad with baby greens and spicy poppyseed dressing, a glass of dry white wine, and finish with a crisp, smooth creme brulee. I go home to sit in front of the fire with a pot of steaming constant comment tea and a brand new, posthumously written set of stories by James Herriot, my dogs at my feet and complete silence except for the crackling of the fire.

Not once in the entire day do I ask someone if they have poopoo in their diaper or feed anything human or canine.

What would you do with your day if you had the choice?

It's been a long dry spell of blogging, but I'm back!

Wow! Who knew having a baby would take up so much time??! :) It has been so wonderful with Noah- he's growing like a mad thing and is already a month old! I love snuggling with him and kissing his sweet little face. I feel a little drunk on love with him, and I like it!

I definitly have been taking things slow and really enjoying time with Noah. These first few months pass by so fast, and the newborn stage is too sweet to miss with being busy. At least that's what I say when I look at the twin peaks of my dirty laundry.

I have squeezed in some fun stuff though. Such as:

I don't know how to rotate this picture- so sorry ahead of time for any pinched necks! This is my new diaper bag and I'm diggin it. I sewed it from an Amy Butler pattern and can't wait to sew one out of leather.

Also:

found a super cute way to make personalized onesies

out of freezer paper and fabric paint. So easy, so cheap and so darn cute. That's my kind of project! I'm sure they rocked these in the 70's when cheap crafting hit an all time high, but I think these are worth bringing back.

We've also been remodelling the house. NOrmally this would drive me crazy, but we hired an awesome friend and he got this room done in record time. All Ron and I did was the painting, our friend put in the gorgeous floor and did all the prepping and clean up, which are the parts of remodelling I hate the most. Well, except the floor part, I have no idea how to lay a wood floor.

So far noone we've asked likes the pumpkin color. What's the deal?

I'm in LOVE with the pumpkin color! What do you guys think? Yea or nay?

And you don't have to worry about hurting my feelings with a nay- so far I've heard that it looks like calf diarreah,among other things, and it has done nothing to lessen my infatuation with "Truepenny". I even like the name! This room is the front entryway of our home, but since noone ever uses our front door, I think I want to turn it into a library.

Well, I'm hearing Caleb holler from his bedroom, which means he's up from his nap and looking for something to do.... a situation that needs saving, if I've ever heard of one.