Trying to think of what to say....

In my head I have all sorts of great blog posts.....but in reality I rarely put the pen to paper so to speak. So I figure as random as it is - here is the return to blogging.

So the other day I am attempting to clean all the bathrooms in the house. I phase the cleaning as to not mix the germs....you know sinks/counters, mirrors and generally the potty is last. So I clean all the toilets in the house. Now - some of you may have sons/husbands that leave the potty seats all the way up. I am constantly telling my hubby that I am going to fall in one day cause he leaves the seat up! So - you may see where I am going with this. After all the hard core potty cleaning, I left the potty seat up in my bathroom. So the inevitable happened as I was hurrying up to use the potty - I sat on it lid up. There are two bright sides to this story. Number one - I realized the error of my ways pretty darn quick before I got stuck. Secondly the potty was clean inside and out. So with that - blogging I am back.

Poor neglected blog...

I am coming back to blogging...very soon! Miss it so much!

First Day of Kindergarten

Wow - What a day! We are brave parents I tell ya...no tears when we dropped our baby off at Kindergarten. It is truly amazing how strong and independent she has become! We started off the morning taking pictures at the new house. Our tradition will be to take pictures out front of the house every year at the beginning and end of the year to note how much Bean changes and grows each year. She really had a great day and already was scheduling herself an after school play date with a new friend. Her favorite part of school today was "learning." That is what she tells me anyway......LOL! I learned some things today too!

• We survived the boo-hoo / yahoo breakfast with no tears....seeing how far she has come puts a smile on my face....
• I am glad I have a week to transition into the Bean walking herself into class...I hover a lot...I mean a certain husband may have called me on my cell from the door of the classroom to tell me to quit...just saying
• Car pool lines are not for the weak hearted...I saw them...I am glad I can park and walk and very soon just walk from my new house!
• I keep looking up how to spell Kindergarten...somehow I think it looks like it needs a "d" instead of a "t"
• Kindergarten has evolved....it is high tech...computer labs, learning center, arts....WOO HOO!
• I am a proud Momma!

at school posing for Daddy

outside the new house!

So tell me did you have any rituals before the first day of school? I personally obsessed for weeks over the first few days outfits....but that seems normal amongst girls. Bean was already vying for a different outfit to wear today...but I pulled the Mom Card. So one funny thing I pretty much always did before the first day of school was a long bath (mind you I am not a bath person). I mean I showered every day....but the night before the first day of school I always took a bath. It helped me get ready and get my school groove on...and I always (as far as I can remember) tried to use Jean Nate....after I got out! It made me feel grown up and special! I found my inspiration commercial on YouTube and am posting it here for you to watch.....aw brings back memories! I don't remember when I parted ways with Jean Nate...maybe when I moved on to Avon's Skin So Soft....but maybe I need to go out and get me some...wonder if they still make it?

Updated House Pictures!

So much work has been done! It is great to see all the progress!

view of kitchen with tile, counter tops and cabinets stained

i love you maple cabinets

decorative tile in master shower

pendant lights in kitchen

fireplace with mantle

The homestead update

Wow - what a difference a couple weeks makes. Seems like things are really moving again which makes us so happy. We are delayed about 4 weeks now....so looking to close near the end of September. Here are the updated pictures. We have insulation, drywall, brick, the staircase, cabinets and today they were putting the doors and frames in! It is very exciting to see it all take shape!

drywall in game room

a whole lotta insulation

brick in the front

a man and his garage!

stair case with wood and iron

porch bricked

cabinets in kitchen

iron detail on stair...I love how they came out!

Cowing Around at Chick-fil-A

We had our annual trek for free food to Chick-fil-A. This year we got to go with my adorable nieces and nephew and my amazing sister-in-law and brother. We procrastinated on our cow attire - but we pulled it together a couple hours before dinner. I was drying some of the shirts with a hair-dryer at the last minute. The girls had a fun, and I think the boys even enjoyed themselves. I know my brother was impressed that the food was in face free. We some some interesting cows while we were there. One guy looked to be putting on some sort of haz-mat converted cow costume in the parking lot. It was pretty funny to watch him get ready.

the girls ready to go


My bro (still bashful about being a cow) with his lovely wife

the girls enjoying their cow toys

me and Roon

Happy boy Finn

More pics of the Homestead

We have progressed quite a bit in the construction process since my last update. We have a roof, electrical, plumbing and should have HVAC this week. The brick and drywall have been on-site for about two weeks, but due to a red tag (over some engineering issues - inspector is very detailed - that is a good thing) and the copper being stolen out of the house....our time frame is looking to be pushed back till mid-September. Hopefully that is our only delay!

porch in back of house

view into kitchen at bar area

fireplace (which will have stone around it)

roof going on

front of house