In Your Room

Well, it seems like alot of bloggers are posting pics of their house. My turn! This is my latest project. It's not exactly finished, but everything else will have to be slowly added. I think I've mentioned before that we separated the two older girls from sharing a room. I had to give up my sewing room for my middle girl, but seeing the finished product, I think it was worth it!

This is her door. My oldest has a turquoise star on her's.

It took me all summer to figure out what to do with the window. I wanted a sort of canopy, since my oldest was getting one, too. (And you know everything has to be "fair". )

This is the bookcase that I'm trying trying to find baskets for. The ultimate goal is to transfer all the toys into their rooms.

Castle on a Cloud

There is a castle on a cloud,
I like to go there in my sleep,
Aren't any floors for me to sweep,
Not in my castle on a cloud.

While I was in Utah visiting with my sister, we started reminiscing about a vacation to Massachusetts we took when I was 11 and she was 14. We toured this funny, unknown castle in Cape Ann. Today, she sent me an email, because she had found the place online. So, we now believe that it was called Hammond Castle. My sister remembers so much about the place, that it is a little scary. All I remember, was that the owner/builder was a nut job! But she remembers details: He saw his wife in the park and told her that he would build her a castle if she would marry him, so she divorced her husband and married him, and he kept his promise. The stones were sent over from Europe, some of them being gravestones. They had tons of cats but no kids. Oh, and he commissioned a HUGE nude statue of himself that is on their grounds. (Acutally, that I DID remember. Tee hee.)



So, this was my first castle I've ever toured. It apparently started a long love affair with castles, because I've been to so many now that I can't even count!

My latest was Craigdarroch Castle in Victoria, British Columbia. The original owner of this Castle was not nearly as loony as the other, but the kids turned out to be basket-cases. The amusing part about touring this castle is that all the information kept refering to the families conspicuous display of wealth. So, I don't know if Canadian historians are morally opposed to wealth, or just conspicuous displays of it! *shrugs*
This castle was also interesting from the fact that they aren't finished restoring it. I've never toured something that was in the middle of reconstruction. Also, over the twenty some-odd years that they've been restoring it, they've made alot of mistakes and are now trying to correct them. Apparently, there's a learning curve when it comes to restoration.

What castles or homes have you toured? Do you remember anything amusing?

Lullaby (Of Sorts!)

Years ago when our oldest was a baby, hubby had a job that made him work insane amounts of hours. Add that to the fact that he was in the bishopric and that equated to not being able to see him much. So, in order to actually spend some time with our baby, he started putting her to bed. This turned into a routine that has not wavered since. (And let me just say how much I love that!) Some nights, it's pure craziness around here, and over hearing the conversations is just too much fun. So, I wrote down all hubby was saying last night. I only wrote down what he said, because frankly, that's all I heard. Here is the jist of the conversation:

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent.)

• "Get off of her, Cinderella!"


• "C'mon!"


• "Stop it, Cinderella!"


• "Bedtime!"


• "Brush teeth."


• "Cinderella!"


• "Go ask Mom for Belle's blanket."


• "Go ask Mom for Belle's blanket."


• "Belle, stop."


• "Stop!"


• "Do you know where it is?"


• "Girls, get in your room."


• "Get in your room, now!"


• "Put your arm through, Belle."


• "Put your head through, Belle."


• "Put your arm through, Belle."


• "C'mon."


• "Will you please put your arm through?"


• "What?"


• "Whatee?"


• "C'mere"


• "Uuurrrrgh!"


• "I'll go get your blanket."


• "C'mon."


• "Cinderella, c'mon."


• "Go to bed."

At this point, it became obvious that we couldn't find little one's best friend/blanket! :O I've actually looked everywhere, called stores I went to, and even got in the car last night to re-trace my steps. Nowhere to be found. So, poor baby, will have to make friends with a new blanket. I loved that thing! All three girls used it, and it was still in great shape.

So, that's our bedtime in a nutshell. There is the obligatory storytime, scripture study and prayer, but the funny part is overhearing him wrangling with them. Is your bedtime as crazy?

I Ain't Missing You At All

Well, maybe I'm missing her just a little bit. Today was the first day of school and my oldest went off to first grade! Yesterday hubby gave her a father's blessing that addressed all the issues she had been worrying about over the summer. This is a true testament to the power of the priesthood, because I don't think he knew about half of the things she was worrying about. But, this morning she woke up ready to go and excited. I curled her hair and tried it a new way, which I think turned out cute, but as soon as we walked out, I could see the curl start to fall. Boy, was it humid! We got her off smoothly, though two of us (not me!) were still in our pajamas. And now we have the whole day to fill without her! OK, now I'm making myself a little sad. ;) We took these pictures in front of our house. Other kids stand there when you say, "Let's take a picture." Not my girl! She looks over her shoulder and blows kisses! Can she really be only six?

To the Windows-To the Walls

Just a short post today. Last night, I went shopping with hubby (my favorite kind of date!). Pier1kids is going out of business in October. So, some of their things were already marked down, and some will be marked down even more. I bought two wall hangings and a drawer pull for a vanity that I need to repaint. They have some great storage and nice furniture, just incase you needed anything. Also, I didn't look into it very hard (seeing as we have a severe lack of testosterone in this family), but they seemed to have tons of sports accessories.

Book of Love

The above video was produced by a friend of mine of The Office MBs. This was the most amazing thing I've ever seen on YouTube. It takes the world of fanvid to a whole new level! Just know that Jim and Pam are not married, so he had to create everything. All the photos, the invitations, etc. I'll post his other Jim/Pam fanvid next week. So, stay tuned!

When It's Over

Well, I finished my HUGE project of the summer: writing the Primary Program. I've had lots of other projects that I've been completing over the last three months, but it's nice to get this monkey off my back. Or is it an albatross from around my neck? Well, who knows, and who cares? I finished it! Yea!!! It's all emailed off to the appropriate authorities, who will look it over and see if I really know what I'm talking about when it comes to faith. I think I do, but (*crosses fingers*) we'll see!

Does That Make Me Crazy?

The baby is growing up so fast, and she desperately wants to be like her older sisters. One of the games we like to play, usually in the car, is the question game. You know, the one where you ask a question and everyone raises their hands and says, "Me!" So, little one has picked up on this, and fully participates! It's so cute!
Yesterday, while hanging things up in my middle daughter's new room, I had the drill out. I was teasing the girls and said, "Who wants a lobotomy?" I hear this excited answer from across the room, "Me!" I look over, and she has a big smile on her face with her hand raised. I almost fell off the ladder, laughing.

Get Out of My Dream, and into My Dining Room

Sigmund Freud interpreted dreams. Martin Luther King had a dream. And, now, I've fulfilled my dream! For years I've been pining for a mirrored buffet, and last month this dream was satisfied. For those of you who have not seen it in person (and, personally, I don't know why people didn't line up the minute I got it! ;) ) here is the piece of furniture talked of so much, that people started running away when they saw me coming (OK, I might not mean that literally.)

The Display's the Thing to Catch the King

So, Laurie has been encouraging me to post this for months now. And now I have an actual outlet for that. Last fall, I made a new dining room centerpiece that was a large grouping of items. I change it out seasonally. I'm trying to work up to holidays. This was my summer grouping.

I'll post my fall arrangement in a couple of weeks. In case you can't tell, those are moss balls in the large hurricane, and strawberries in the small.

Insomnia

I'm very blessed in the fact that I don't suffer from insomnia, because I think it would drive me insane! Last night, however, I couldn't fall asleep until after 3:30am. :O It was a combination of a late night Diet Coke and migraine medication that did it to me. Not my best idea! Caffeine, unfortunately, really affects me. But, I did get several things done. That's when I came up with my "5 Things You Might Not Know About Me" list, which is seemingly innocuous, but actually took a long time! (My life is too much of an open book!) And I was able to plan and figure out many sewing projects that I have currently in the works. So, time well spent! But please Mr. Sandman, let me fall asleep at a reasonable hour tonight! *crosses fingers* We'll see!

North and South

This summer I've been going crazy watching tons of movies! I've enjoyed almost all of them immensely, but one has definitely stood out in my mind: North and South. This is a BBC mini-series based on a book by Elizabeth Gaskell, and it is amazing. Truly, I'm not hard to please when it comes to movies, especially period-costume dramas! But this one was so much fun to watch. Richard Armitage is so sultry on screen. I watched last season of BBC America's Robin Hood where he plays the sheriff's right-hand man. But it was pure joy to see him play the lead romantic role! Check it out, if you can.

The Office

So, many of you know that I have a slight obsession with the TV show, The Office. I blame, I mean thank, Megan for that! ; ) Anyway, just thought you might want to know that Season 3 comes on DVD September 4. Also, the season premiere is on September 27. I would post my signature that I use on the Office Message boards, but I'm afraid I'll lose all my friends with the geekiness of that!

The Start of Something New

Well, I've finally decided to jump on the blog train! Choo choo! I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and since school is about to start and I'll have more down time, now was as good as any time to start!

I've chosen my blog's name from my favorite quote from Anne of Green Gables: "And you know one can dream so much better in a room where there are pretty things."