Like I needed a reminder...

I heart Josh Groban. :0) I love this song too, so when I heard that he was going to sing with Andrea Bocelli last night on the Grammy's I stayed up to watch. I wasn't let down. I'm not surprised.

This Is Why...

My house is never perfectly clean. I am pretty OCD when it comes to clutter and chaos. Can't handle it. Things HAVE to be JUST SO. I can't help it. And then....I had my daughter. She is beautiful. I love her with all my heart. But she drives me crazy. Most days I just give up. As I've said before...my motto has become "Pick and choose your battles". I clean up and she follows behind me like a tornado. So, unless you show up at my house during nap time {which is also my mad dash to clean up before she wakes up and dirties it up all over again} my house will NOT be clean. It is one of the main reasons I am SO excited to have the basement done. The mess will be down there and when people show up they will think I am AMAZING because my house will "appear" to be clean. :0)

Let me share with you an example...I was recently mocked about the "art" I have all over my house. Very "modern".

This is my dear, dear daughter coloring. She LOVES to color. She does it almost all day long {when she isn't dumping bags of Doritos on the floor, bringing EVERY toy out into the living room, or changing her clothes for the 12th time}. This was just this morning. She isn't allowed to color with markers anymore. I found her in the back corner of my house with ALL of Landon's markers. Notice how all of the lids have been put back on to prevent them from drying out. And yes...she is in a t-shirt and diaper. She didn't want to wear her pants anymore. {pick and choose your battles...}This is the light switch that is in my stairwell. The ONLY one she is tall enough to reach. Notice the red swirls. Sigh....This is Landon's bedroom door. Though it is red crayon, this was done on a DIFFERENT day than the light switch. I'm picturing her in a rage, scribbling madly, as she was probably {once again} shut out of her big brothers room because she was getting into his things. Now, this is Mackenzee's dresser. Aren't the little butterfly knobs adorable? But apparently the dresser wasn't quite finished with just changing out the boring old knobs. It needed a splash of color. Like blue crayon.

Now, these beautiful marks are on about 5 layers of paint. Several Magic Erasers have been used on this window ledge as well. She just keeps going. And going. And going. It does not matter how many times I clean it up.

Now I know what you are thinking...just take the darn crayons away from her! I've tried. She still finds them. She has secret spots for them. Or, she'll manage to get into Landon's crayons no matter how high or how hidden they are. It's no use. So, I give up. I throw my hands in the air in defeat. She has beaten me. Again. It's not worth it. I can always go and get more Magic Erasers.

And this is why....my house is never "perfectly" clean. OCD and all. There are some things you just have to let go of. Just don't think to poorly of me when you stop by. I think I might do some coloring of my own tomorrow. :0)

Basement Update!

Take a stroll with me through my basement....
This is looking down the stairwell. For those of you that have been in my home before you will notice a "slight" change. Like the big hole. :0) Home builders...listen up! All of you that think a sharp right {or left} corner to get into a room is a good idea...YOU ARE WRONG! They did it in my mom's house to. Except it's the upstairs that she couldn't fit her furniture into. Dumb, dumb, dumb. I realize it's easier for you to square off a corner...but if the space becomes "unusable" because of it...it's not smart building! {Picture me stepping off my soap box now}
So, we chopped open the wall and are creating a "banister" there so that we will be able to fit a couch, bed, pool table, etc. THROUGH the new opening. Otherwise, we would all have to sit on the floor.
OK..this is the view from the new doorway. Far end is the storage room I previously told you about as well as MY room. They are TOTALLY framed now as well as the furnace/water heater closet.
This is a close up. Do you see the wires? Yes...the electrical has been "roughed in". I'm using a little construction terminology there. Aren't I cool?

This is the view from MY room. You can see the opening we cut in the wall as well as THE CLOSET. For those of you I have discussed this with....you will get that and have a giggle at my hubby's expense. The rest of you...I would love to share...but not on my blog. Just know that I don't think Jaysen and I will EVER have a house built for us. Too many changes in the plans if you know what I mean.OK, this is the view from the other corner of the main room. THE CLOSET we discussed previously hadn't been framed in when I took this picture on Thursday. But picture it just past that lovely yellow wire hanging from the ceiling. That wire, my friends, is for Jaysen's SURROUND SOUND. Speakers in the ceiling. He tells me it's for the FULL EFFECT. I tell him as long as they don't make the room ugly then WHATEVER! Pick and choose your battles has become my life's motto. Anyway...that short little hallway there leads to two bedrooms and a bathroom.
I didn't post this part of the basement before because nothing had changed. But, this lovely orange room is one of the bedrooms that the previous owners attempted to put in THEMSELVES. Let's just say the walls are bumpy, as well as the ceiling and what's up with that little orange rectangle thingy in the corner? Well...let me tell you. If you open it up...there's a pipe in there. Yes, they put a door on it so you could open it up and see the pipe inside. Smart huh? This room was supposed to be my sanity space after we moved in. My room to attempt to do something crafty. But after loading most of my stuff down there and setting it up...I sat down and realized there was NO WAY I could be creative in a neon orange room with "mood" lighting. Very dark in that room. So, over the last four months most of my things have made their way upstairs and are now in stacks in my dining room. Anyway....this room will be re-sheetrocked and obviously painted a different color. It will be the play room for the wee ones.
This is the other LOVELY room that they attempted to do themselves. Same problem with the walls. Bumpy lumpy. But at least these walls are pink! In this picture it does look like a lovely shade of pink...but don't let the picture fool you. It is NEON pink. They must have done the painting in the 80s. Oh wait! The house isn't that old. So, they must have been trying to still live in that decade. I don't know. Anyway...this will be Landon's bedroom when it is all said and done. So, he wouldn't want it pink anyway...it will turn blue when it's all done.
This is the bathroom. You can't use it yet. :0) The tub goes in soon and then they can really go to town in there. We can soon go pick out the sink and toilet. Shopping! Too bad it's for a toilet. Sigh.

Anyway...that's my update for the week. It will be a couple more weeks before the next update as my contractor is going out of town for most of next week. We'll miss him and his loud banging noises. :0) But, he's going to be in a construction competition of some sorts down in Florida so I guess it's a reasonable excuse. :0)

Honestly, I just can't wait until the update that says IT'S DONE! I will be singing. Maybe I'll do a video of it! That might scare you though. I don't sing well.

And now you know...

I'm taking a nap today. Let me tell you why {because I know you want to know!}

Last night was the much anticipated February Girls Night. I look forward to this EVERY SINGLE MONTH. It's MY night out. No kids, no hubby...and I come home whenever I want. Some nights it's early, other nights...not so much. Last night was one of those "not so much" nights. Montay was kind enough to host this month and so we all went to her house for virgin margaritas, nachos, and chocolate. Can't go wrong there! We had almost everyone show up, so it was great to chat with friends I only see at these things. I wish I had pictures to show, we had such a blast. Montay was great and snapped some shots of us attempting to play her Wii. She said she was going to post them on her blog, so you can check them out there when she gets her post up. :0)

Anyway...it was great to see my blogging buddy Bonnie there. Hopefully she wasn't too scared of us and will come back next month! {my fingers are crossed} Everyone left at a fairly decent hour....everyone but me. Yes, I didn't get home until after 1:00 in the morning. That was not my intention. But, it just happened. After everyone else left I ended up giving Montay a little basic blogging tutorial and I lost track of time. Oh well. The only problem is that this morning was

PASTRIES FOR PARENTS

at Landon's school. We basically provide donuts and milk to the students and their parents to eat/drink while they read books. The kids also get to show their parents how to take an A/R test. The PTA was in charge of the event and I had to be at the school at 7:00 am SHARP with a fat check for the donut delivery people. Ahhh! See, I don't fall asleep well at night either. It takes me about an hour or so to get my brain to shut off. So, I didn't fall asleep until about 2:00 in the morning. Sigh. Let's just say I didn't get my fanny out of bed until 6:30, which meant scrambling to get myself "presentable" for a school full of children and their adoring parents. It wasn't pretty. I can assure you of that. But I made it!

And now that I am sitting down....I just want to close my eyes and go back to sleep. I realize it's my fault that I'm tired. I could have been a good little girl and gone home at a "decent" hour. But, {picture me stomping my foot on the ground} I didn't want to! It's MY night! So, I'm suffering the consequences now. And this is why I will be taking a little nap of my own while daughter takes hers. Only three more hours to go! Let's hope I make it that long! I think I need to go get some caffeine....

Tune tag!

It's Tune Tag Time! Yes, another game of blog tag. I'm hoping through this that I will find some "new" music to add to my collection. I love music. Passionately. Music has the power to affect our very outlook on life. Which is why it's so important to listen to good, uplifting music. Though, it's also nice {when you are in a grumpy mood} to listen to a good screaming song that helps you let out your frustrations. :0)
The rules of this tag are simple...pick 5 songs from your Music Collection. Whether its' from your iTunes, CDs, online, whatever...the music you listen to. And then explain WHY. Why you love it. Post your picks and tag a few people of your own. Simple right?

Yael Naim, New Soul

Just found this song from the new MacAir Notebook commercial and can't get enough of it. I love songs like this that make you just want to sway back and forth feeling happy.

Josh Groban, February Song

Honestly, I could have put ANY of Josh Groban's songs on here. He has such an amazing voice. A truly talented man.

Hoobastank, Running Away

A little rock never hurt anybody. Hoobastank is one of those bands that I found several years back when I had a lot of frustration to vent.

Pat Benetar, Love Is A Battlefield

I love 80s music period. Such a good decade for music. And dear Pat had a lot of good ones.

Vivaldi, Four Seasons

I grew up playing the piano and listening to my mom playing the piano. Classical music, to me, is just beautiful....calming. I am amazed at what talent these composers have/had. I hate that a lot of people don't "get" classical music. It's not boring. One song can describe a beautiful summers day {like Vivaldi's Four Seasons} or can contain a range of emotions from happiness to sadness to anger to grief. Just beautiful.

Hopefully you have enjoyed my selections! And now it's time to play....

1. Alicia

2. Montay

3. Bonnie

4. My Sistah's!

5. Cameron {gotta get a guy in here and he has quite the taste in music!}

Tag! You're it! So get going! I'm anxious to hear some good tunes!

*Remember to tag others when you post!

I Heart My Toes!

A challenge has been issued! I refuse to back down! :0) Go here to see the official post from Kelly. But here's the basic idea....

Take a picture of a part of your body that you have been critical of in the past. Paste that picture on your blog; do it with pride. Tell the world all the reasons you love it.

Why? Because women beat themselves up TOO MUCH. We nit pick ourselves...too big, too tall, too saggy, too curvy...whatever! And we shouldn't. So, to show our "WOMAN PRIDE!" {hear me roar!} Kelly has challenged anyone who comes across this "chain post" to fess up. What have you nit picked about yourself that you will now decide to be proud of? Or...if you have already come to terms with it...tell the story. So, off I go!

To some of you...this may seem like nothing, but I assure you...I shed tears as a teenager over this...

These are my toes. They are long. Especially my second toe. So, to go with my long skinny feet, I get long skinny toes. They are like a second set of fingers. Sigh.

Look at these babies! {are you laughing at me?} Here's why I hated my toes.....

I was called Sasquatch and Big Foot my entire Sophmore year of high school because that's when my feet {or toes} decided to make my size 8 feet jump clear to a size 9. Aren't feet supposed to be done growing by then? Nope. Not mine. It was miserable. I was mocked every day. I stopped wearing sandals. Couldn't show the toes. I changed schools the next year when my family moved, so the teasing stopped. If I did wear sandals, they covered most of my toes. Nobody knew about my alien toes.

Being a teenager is hard enough, especially as a girl. Because there is always another girl that is cuter, or skinnier, or taller, or WHATEVER...just "better" than you. Us girls are HARD on ourselves. We expect perfection from ourselves. Let's face it...it's never going to happen. But, I worried about my toes for years. In college, my roomie loved my toes. I still hated them. It bothered me that she would be so intrigued by them.

Honestly, I don't know when I stopped caring. Maybe when there were other parts of my body that were far more IMperfect than my dumb toes. But, now I show them with pride. I get them dolled up in the summer...I've even worn toe rings on that second LONG toe. Plenty of room there! My favorite shoes are all of my sandals.

Why do I LOVE my toes? They get me THAT much taller when I go to lay a big fat kiss on the hubby. These toes are perfect for my 2 year old to "practice" on when using nail polish. My neices have "practiced" on my toes plenty of times. I get to PINCH people with these babies! {I've done it too!} When I've dropped something that I couldn't {or wouldn't want to} reach with my hands....{like in the pool for instance} I can actually pick them up with my toes. Why do I LOVE my toes? Because they look like my son's toes. He's got them too. Ginormous feet on that kid. Clown feet. {Yeah...I got called that too} It's something we share.

And you know what they say about big feet....

Big feet....

Big HEART!

Neener Neener!

Yes, It's a neener neener post. {imagine me sticking out my tongue, with my thumbs in my ears singing, "neener, neener, neener!"}

Last night I almost "died". No, that's not the neener neener part. I went to 'Death by Chocolate' and ate chocolate till I was sick. And it was all FREE! Yes, I got to eat fancy chocolate desserts and I didn't even have to pay for it! I went with a girlfriend and holy cow! Good stuff.

It started at 6:00, around dinner time, but we didn't want to fill up with "normal" food. We wanted our stomachs to be as empty as possible so we could fill them up with yummy yummy chocolate! So, no dinner for us.

I honestly had no idea what was in store for me going into this. I just knew I was going to get to eat lots of chocolate. But when we got there we realized that we got to JUDGE the entries. There were five categories: Brownies, Unique Dessert, Cake, Cookie, and Candy. I was in heaven. I ate one of the BEST truffles I have ever had. But, honestly, by the time I got to the last category my tummy hurt SO bad. And the lady who was sitting with her table was eating a very yummy looking sandwich. It looked better than her cookies at that point. So, after gorging ourselves AGAIN and really making ourselves sick we left and went and got sandwiches of our own at Papa Kelseys :0) (aaahhhhh! we felt much better)

Anyway great night full of yummy chocolate. {neener neener} :0)