Spoons are Overrated

Dylan is becoming quite the independent little monster, er, I mean boy. He wants to do everything by himself. Which, in turn, makes a mess.... Oh well. Part of the growing up process I suppose. And, it just means I have to feed the dog less :)

He figured out that the closer the food is to his face,

the better chance he has of getting food into his mouth.

Hello? Any left?
Somehow, he got ahold of 2 utensils. I think that made things more interesting....
But, wasn't particularly helpful.

By the end, he just gave up.

I agree dude. Spoons are overrated :)

Strength and Fingers

I almost did a whole post about the soffits earlier. And about how hubby did such a good job. Unfortunately, in all the building hullabaloo, hubby built the one side exactly like the other.

And it should have been a bit different. So, we had to go back and do it again.

Because this soffit would be required to hold up several cabinets, I wanted to make

sure it was strong enough since it was kinda pieced together. What better way to test

it than to hang a 30 lb sack of potatoes from it? :) (Don't worry, hubby had actually

hung from it first, so we knew it was safe).

And, because little sister did it, big sister did too...

Dry wall going up. I just love how the children "help".

My little ladder steps... Literally :)

In other news, when hubby gets frustrated at me, he occasionally throws ovens at my pinkie finger. No, my finger is not grey/brown and dying. It is just bruised, and unbend able for a day or two. Talk about blood, sweat, and tears.

Although, to be fair. Almost all of my bleeding has been internal :p

Shriner Christmas Party

I love the Shriners! :) They are such nice, helpful people.

This weekend was the Shriner Christmas party. We went and had a ton of fun. We were greeted by lovely people. This one in particular was the queen. And, she was nice enough to allow the girls to try on her crown.

And seeing his sisters do it, Dylan had to try it on too... Looks so regal with the pacifier! ;)

They had clowns there, and one of them made balloon animals. Dylan got a poodle.

Kaitlyn got a sword. (This picture is very Power Rangers/Sheera to me :)

And Kari got an airplane. Actually, she originally got a swan in a heart,

but she traded for this instead. Girl likes her options.

And then, Santa showed up. And he brought all the kids a present. By chance, Kaitlyn's name was the first one from our family called, and she ran up and beelined it for Santa. It was a scene straight out of a Christmas miracle movie :)

I don't think he knew quite what to do, but it was pretty cute.

Dylan, was called next. And he went straight for Santa's Helper (who was beside Santa)who was holding the present. He wouldn't even give Santa so much as a high five. It was a scene straight from America's Funniest Home Videos.

Then, Kari was called. And she was right at home :)

When he asked her what she wanted, she had to think for a while.

But don't worry, she came up with something.

PS- Yes, I am aware of the balloon sword in this picture... Next slide. :p

He gave her a stocking filled with goodies, and a present

(provided by the Shriners) especially for her.

And what was it?!?! A Spongebob Video Game. She has already played it. 3 times :)

Santa (helped by someone who happens to write a blog) also hit the jackpot with Dylan,

who would have slept with his Hot Wheels last night, if we would have let him.

Its funny to me, because he can't play with them when he carries so many of them around.

But, look out! Don't touch his cars!

Kaitlyn also got lucky with Santa, and got a jump rope!

After the presents, there was food. And Dylan, for some reason,

stuck out his tongue whenever the cupcake went by.

It's almost like he was waiting for something.....

After dinner, there was a train ride out back, as well as a magic show by one of the clowns.

Thank you Shriners! And Merry Christmas :)

The Right Tools

In the course of all this house work, between the basement and the kitchen, I have fast come to the realization that the right tool can make all the difference in the world. Don't get me wrong. I am all for being cheap, and spending the least amount of money as possible. However, sometimes paying a little more money can make a big difference.

When looking for some of the new tools we "acquired" for the purpose of the project, we looked online for reviews, etc. I have come to realize that hubby doesn't really fit into the "Weekend-er" category. And, by association, I don't either. Here are some of the tools that have made this project oh so much smoother.

A good quality table saw. Hubby got this one a while ago, and he is super happy with it. And, I must say it cuts a nice line, can do lots of cool tricks, and for the price, it was a steal of a deal.

And yes, I love Dylan in the background :)

This is Hubby's "little helper". It goes on the other side of the table saw and allows the wood to slide while still holding it up. Hubby calls it his Emily II. It has also freed up my time, because I no longer fill that role. It's very nice :)
The Pocket Hole Jig. This was one we weren't sure about, but are very very happy with.

It allows for very neat joints like this,

that you can't see from the front and are surprisingly strong:

And this sander. Oh, man. What would I do with out this sander? I have already spent many hours with this thing, and the thought of hand sanding makes me want to vomit. Because it is orbital, it takes off quite a bit, but without making the divots that a belt sander would make. That way, screw ups like me can use it with relatively little fear.

And this little baby. Well, hubby swears by it. He thinks it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. An impact drill (I think). I don't really notice the difference, but, take it from a nearly expert (which I would say he is), that it makes a world of difference. For the purpose of this project (yeah right) he also aquired a corded drill. It has also been nice, and between the hammer drill and the regular drill, we seem to have everything covered.

And last, but certainly not least, these babies. They were actually a hand me down from my sister (who only wore them about 5 times - thanks Piko!) but they were $70 something dollar shoes. I will never again doubt the difference between an expensive pair of tennis shoes and a $20 pair. Sure, the $20 pair looks almost as good, but they most assuredly do not support and cushion the way the more expensive pair does. I may just be a wiener when it comes to my feet, but after I have been on them all day, sometimes, I think I will die.

I have no doubt these little babies saved my life. Maybe even my marriage. Because, I am 75% sure, that if I had given in and gone inside every time my feet hurt in my other shoes, hubby would have killed me, and then divorced me. Probably in that order. :)

Christmas Tree

I'll betcha can't guess what day we went looking for a Christmas tree. Guess! Go on. I dare ya!

This of course is the first tree Kari (and her little tag a long sister, Kaitlyn) picked out.

This thing musta been 10 feet tall....

And there is my little girl-y girl child. Pointing out the rocks on the ground. That child always has rocks in her hands. And, I can't even begin to tell you how many "clean" rocks I have after they have made it through the washing machine.
Daddy is such a good helper :)

This is the one we decided on.

Can I just tell you that I love this picture?!?! Well, I love this picture :)

We didn't get the chance to decorate it until the next day after church. Kaitlyn had already changed. And yes, she picked her own after church outfit. Why do you ask? :)

Dang! I hate that this is blurry. But, I love they are both wearing sandle-y, heels...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TREE!!!!

Home Depot

We discovered that The Depot does a free kids project on the first Saturday of every month. And, while we may be inclined to "forget" every now and then, Kari certainly would never let such a thing happen. The sweet girl at our local store lets all 3 of the kids do a project,

even though it is supposed to be for ages 5 and up. Which means I have 3 of the same

thing to clutter up the house... And, for those of you who don't know me well enough,

I am not one for clutter. Any who, that's beside the point. The kids love it.

The projects are always different. The parts are all cut out. The holes are always drilled. It's actually a pretty neat set up. And... Wait for it.... Its FREE!!!

But, the best part, by far, is the free orange apron!

Remember those games when you were a child, how they put two pictures right next to each other, and you had to try to spot the differences? Well, check it out:

My favorite things about these pictures: Dylan is double fisting a hammer in each hand. Kari is wearing her glasses that she bought with her good behavior "money" at school. Also, that she has the exact same expression in both pictures, even though they are obviously 2 different poses. And, for once, Kaitlyn is actually the only one paying attention.

Singing

These videos are obviously from the same day as these pictures. However, they were sufficiently cute enough to over look the unbrushed hair, the play dress with paint on it, and the sticky notes. My favorite part is that after she sings, she can't wait to watch herself :)

For you Aunt Pam :)

Aunt Pam bought the kids some Christmas outfits. And, if I am being perfectly honest, when I opened the package, I was, maybe, well, less than in love with the polka dots. However, when you put these bad boys on, they are super cute!!!! I also love the boys fake scarf shirts. Classic!

Now, if I only had some decent picture editing software.
And someone to teach me how to use it.

Then we might have gotten one decent picture, instead of 8 semi decent pictures.

Merry Christmas!

Cabinet Progress

Thankfully, hubby put up a ledger board, because I will tell you that those cabinets are are heavy suckers!

Check out my rippling muscles, and weird hyper extended elbows.

All the uppers hung, in the kitchen with care.

In hopes that Sir Fix A Lot would soon be done there....

Do you like what I did there?

Wove the whole Christmas thing into the home improvement thing....

Then, we went on to paint the walls. Instead of putting backs in the cabinets,

we painted the back walls to match. I painted the outline, and let the girls help...

At this point, a tragedy occurred in that Kaitlyn was painting a witch, and when I

helped her, I ruined it... I know this picture is blurry, but it is the only one I have.

Do you see the witch? Yeah, neither do I.....

Wall color # 1. You can't tell, but it looked vary salmon in reality.... And, one coat on the walls for the base cabinets.

And for some reason, I don't have any pictures of between then and "now" (what it looked like before we left for Thanksgiving).... Huh.