It doesn't show signs of stopping

We made a mad dash to trade some furniture with my parents yesterday...this is about an hour after we got home....

and this is about 3 hours into the free fall

by midnite, it was getting deep, but you can still see some of the deck under that chair

so, it's still coming down this morning, and we're snuggled in for the duration...say a little prayer for our electricity staying on. Let the baking begin!

Ready to play?

Let It Snow

Mama's in the kitchen - redo reveal

So, here is what we bought, circa August - the kitchen had been redone just a few years before but it was really tight with the refrigerator in the left corner beside the steps, and there was very little storage.
It was pretty open but just didn't work for us - the rest of the house has a lot of 'elbow room,' but this is our main entry way and was really tight (once you add the refrigerator there).
This is the view from the family room. Hello friends, Nicole and Grayson!

Here's how it looked from the stairs in October...

...and here's the same view tonite. Yes, I still have a LOT of Christmas left to put away, but I was tired of the grief for not posting pix, so here's the real deal, including a pile of dishes from Tuesday's awesome brunch :blush: but you'll notice I *am* running water to hand wash them)

October

December
October

December

October

Tonite - see, I'm running water to wash those dishes. I can watch the deer out those windows, which will some day lead out to a new addition....

And one of the coolest features....they call it a double blind or peanut or whatever, I just call it amazing! Every pot we own is in this one cabinet, and here's how it works...

Merry Christmas to us!

Beach Boys' Child Of Winter (Christmas Song)

Move It On Over

This peaceful scene...
became this muddy chaos on Thursday
They're not just pretty faces anymore! They've learned how to put some muscle into it

They've also become excellent QC assistants

Moving requires a lot of skills beyond the strong back and project supervision....Ty Pennington better watch himself ;-)

....and if you weren't totally convinced of their decorative flare, check out this recent creation - they said they were decorating for Christmas, so it's apparently about to get interesting!

I just have to say that they've both been amazing troopers thru all this. If you ever want to move with kids in tow, I'd recommend 5 as a great age!

George Thorogood, and just about everyone else

So, I Write A Little

Harry has decided he loves to write, draw, and do all those other art-y type things he never had any interest in during all those forced mommy-and-me type activities we both suffered thru....thank you, Mrs. R! Several of his friends' moms have told me the same thing is happening all around, so hats off to Daddy's mantra about 'all in good time'

Unfortunately, he's taken it a bit far with the chalk at the new house. He's on a week's probation for his latest attempt at getting his art ON, and here's the letter he wrote Dean and I to apologize to us and the house ;-)


Thank you to all those people who gave us sidewalk chalk before we had sidewalks....it is being put to great use these days, and I'm considering taking out stock (if he learns to limit it to groundwork)

So, at school they've been working on the thankful theme, and this seemed pretty true to him these days - thankful for both houses!
Ambidextrous, much? The boy is a *little* impatient, not sure where he gets that ;-)

Alabama

Surf City, here we come!

The boys' bathroom had this fun wallpaper boarder (get it?!) and I lucked into this great surfboard artist (Thanx, Josh!) who made these boards that I am making into benches...we'll see how this little project goes, but so far it's been a great purchase, witness:

Jan & Dean started it but who can deny the Ramones' Surf City?

So you'll have to mind the mess

This is what November looks like at the new place:

Library-to-be
Eventually, a dining room

Kitchen and Family RoomEIK will hopefully be filled with Dozen Roses tomorrow

Our bedroom is set to be painted by the amazing Mr. Jay later this week

Who knows what we're going to do with this hot mess

the rest of our room - yikes, that's a lot of high ceiling work!

Dean's office/guest room - it was also bright red a few days ago

the boys' bathroomwill wait for a while, but cool boards are on the way

the laundry room is our current dumping ground

the boys' room - beds and books, what else do they need?!

Their playroom in transition from all pink to all-boy!

I hope to tackle the yard when it's warmer and plant the lovely new things, keep clearing the weeds and spruce the outside a bit.

Thanx to all the friends who have stopped by to see the before's and share your good wishes and kind gifts - we can't wait to make it ours!

No Doubt's Under Construction

BEDS To Build

The boys' room is well on its way, thanx to my hard-working men!

Harry and Dean finishing the slat work yesterday
Jimmys (thumbs up) all around after a quick test-drive yesterday

The boys both earned their teachers' top behavior ratings today, so we're CAMPING OUT at the new place tonite - maybe I'll revamp the blood donation sticker to say Be Nice To Me, I slept on the floor!

Clothes set out for the morning rush - the new bus leaves at 7:10 AM - OUCH!

Harry is a *little* excited - his teacher is a little tougher on the top honors, so he was the one who pushed us over the top today .... yay for Super Dooper Red days!

Those faces are what will make the aches worthwhile, right?!

JB & AJ's Boats To Build