A Little Color = A Big Difference

In our living room/playroom, we have a wall that has a beautiful Eiffel Tower picture on it, but the black & white picture looked really boring hanging on our bland wall. One day Vince & I were discussing this, and spontaneously decided to paint the wall a color that would stand out and be so bold that it could only be used on one wall.

We never took a before picture, but I scrounged this one up from the Super Bowl Party we had in January.

We made this a family project and Grafton was even able to help his Dad paint the primer.

Here's the finished project...

I think it looks much better now!

If you were looking at this wall and turned around you would see a train table, play diner, bookshelf with baskets for toys, rocking horse, and a row of toys along the wall. As a result, this is my little space of bliss in an otherwise kid-invaded room.

What Every Sunday Afternoon Should Look Like

After a busy morning of rushing to get ready, going to church, and having lunch, this is the perfect way to spend the remainder of the day...

As if the Mall was Not Great Enough Already

Now they have a train that you can ride in and tour the first floor.

My Mother-In-Law called and told me about it last week, so we got up early Saturday morning to meet them for breakfast, let the kids ride the train, and we finished up with Starbuck's and a little shopping.

Problem is, now every time we go we'll be paying $3/person for this two minute ride. At least the kids love it!

Too Cute for Words

From the Mouth of Grafton: Recycling

This evening Grafton took a drink from a disposable cup and noticed the triangle on the bottom. He pointed it out to his Dad and then said, "This goes into the recycler and then the big truck comes and takes it and then it goes into another house."

I'd love to say we've been great about teaching him to be earth friendly, but I think he learned this one from T.V. Maybe all of his television watching isn't so bad after all. :0)

ETA: I asked Grafton where he learned about recycling, and he said from Curious George. you gotta love that Monkey!

Grandparent's Day

I don't think it's widely known, but today is Grandparent's day. Seeing that I am a fanatic when it comes to holidays, I look forward to each September when we get to honor our parents for being such wonderful Grandparents. Our boys have been very blessed with Grandparents who stay actively involved in their lives and are just plain crazy about our kids.

Every year my sister Rachel and I get our boys together for a picture as a gift to my Mom, Step-Father, and Dad, and each year we take it in a new location. Seeing that the kids are still really young, and we hadn't gotten them coordinating clothes when it was almost time to take their picture, we decided to put them in a bubble bath.

For my In-laws I used a picture that was taken this summer in Minnesota. Vince has one sister who lives out of state, so it's not as easy to get all of the grandkids together.

HAPPY GRANDPARENT'S DAY!!!

Don't Try This at Home

Over the course of the last few weeks we've noticed that Deklan is a climber. He's actually pretty sure-footed, but this can also be very dangerous.

Last week while I was vacuuming the house I put the boys' diner and some other toys on the train table so that the carpet would be clear. When I finished in the playroom Deklan started playing with some toys sitting on the train table and I started vacuuming the next room in our house.

A couple of minutes later I walked back into the playroom to check on him and found this...

That's right, he climbed onto the train table and then the diner all by himself. He seemed pretty proud of himself too and wasn't very happy when I made him get down!

The New Me

Last week I was given this opportunity to be a hair model for Bumble & Bumble. Agreeing to do this meant that I would get my hair cut in front of 30 stylists by someone who usually charges $200 for his haircuts in Manhattan, but I was getting this for free. The catch: I had no say-so in what was being done to my hair.

I figured if I didn't like it, it would grow back, and I may never get an opportunity like this again.

Here's the before...

The after.....

Overall, I am glad I did it. I've just been struggling with learning how to style it, but it has been getting a little easier each day.

Matters of the Heart

Living in a different state as my Dad has never felt as far away as it has this week. On Tuesday evening he called me and let me know he had been having some chest pains for almost two weeks and was staying the night in the hospital so he could have testing done.

The next day he was moved to a heart hospital to have an echocardiogram. During the procedure it was discovered that one of his main arteries was 95% blocked. It's an artery that's often called the "widow maker" because most people do not survive a heart attack when it comes from that area. He also had another smaller artery that was 91% blocked.

The doctor was able to put stints in and he should make a full recovery.

I don't think the reality of what was close to taking place has completely sunk in yet. I have been continuously thanking God for sparing my Dad from major surgery or even death.

I'm not sure when my next visit with my Dad will be, but it can't come soon enough!

Firemen in Training

On Monday we were invited to join the preschool at our church to meet some firemen, learn about emergencies & fire safety, and explore a real fire truck.

Grafton was a star student and listened intently as the fireman talked.

He's a ladies man already and walked out to the fire truck with two of his best friends, Allison & Kate.

This was the first time Grafton sat in a real fire truck.

Once the kids were done exploring they received their own hat and a water safety coloring page.

Deklan stayed in my arms the entire time, but really seemed to enjoy all of the activity.

Goodbye, Firemen!