WE DID NOT GET A PUPPY...

...but our neighbor did. 

This thrills Ruthie, except when she has to leave the puppy, and then requests that we "give Monster back to Didi and Papa Dave and get a puppy instead."

Sorry, sister.

Happy Sunday!

Dinner

This was over a week ago, but one evening Chet was working late and I was preparing to mop the floors after dinner. The kitchen chairs were on top of the kitchen table, so the kids ate at the kids' craft table in the middle of the room and thought it was the most fun thing ever.

Speaking of dinner, my kids like spaghetti four different ways:

Sydney likes hers with marinara sauce and meatballs (NO parmesan cheese).

Lorelei likes hers with meatballs and and a ridiculous amount of parmesan cheese (NO marinara sauce).

Ford likes his with marinara sauce, meatballs, and (a normal amount of) parmesan cheese.

Ruthie likes hers with marinara sauce and parmesan cheese (NO meatballs).

Now that you know that...happy Saturday!

Dresser Pictures

It's been ten days since I PROMISED you a picture of the completed dresser "tomorrow," but honestly it feels like ten weeks since I wrote that.

These are not going to be pretty or "staged"pictures. First, I'm going to share two pictures that Chet took when the dresser first made it back to the bedroom (he painted it in the garage).

A drawer was missing because it needed gluing, and Chet hadn't finished that yet. Also included in the above pictures is a mirror I recently took out of Lorelei's and Ruthie's room that I probably won't re-hang anywhere before we move, and dirty laundry on the floor.

I took this picture just a few minutes ago:

This is real life, people. On the left is a 75% painted end table I picked up at the Salvation Army to practice my chalk painting on (I need to finish painting it and then drop it off at a thrift store -- probably not the same one where I bought it). You can also see the aforementioned gold-framed mirror that will probably stay right there until we move peeking out from behind the guitar. Propped up behind the beautifully-painted dresser is the mirror that attaches to the back, but that Chet needs to also paint white. And, of course, the dirty laundry.

The rest of February is going to be my catch-up month. I have lots to share!

A VERY Exciting Post

Well, I've taken NO pictures since January, except for this one, to show my friend which top coat we were using for our dresser:

Speaking of dresser, Chet finished painting it! But I haven't taken a picture of it yet in our room! Tomorrow maybe, in the natural light? The reason I hesitate is because the mirror that attaches needs painting too, and that will not happen for a couple of weeks probably. It is currently propped behind our dresser, looking a little out of place.

I'll take a picture tomorrow, I promise.

Is it just me, or is February flying by?

Birthday Season Draws to a Close

I am QUITE ready for January and birthday season in our house to come to a close. Welcome, February!

I had a nice birthday, and am glad that it fell on a Sunday rather than a weekday.

We went to church, picked up donuts, and spent the rest of the day doing the things we normally do on a Sunday. I did some laundry and prepared my tutoring lesson. I talked to my dad and my mom on the phone. Chet cooked dinner (pork chops), and also honored my wishes by starting to paint our dresser instead of buying me a present:

After dinner/before baths we sort of reenacted the picture from last year:

Right now Chet is tickling the children in the other room and there is a LOT of screaming. I better go help bodyslam them into bed on time so that we can watch an episode of NCIS.

Happy Sunday! Goodbye, January!

Toothless Ford

As of last night, Ford is officially sporting my favorite look in children: no top front teeth.

(Please don't ask my why he looks 16-years old in that picture.)

His top front right tooth had been very loose for quite a while. When I picked him up from afternoon childcare at our homeschool group on Tuesday, the caregiver reminded him not to forget his tooth. I figured he had finally lost it, but the top front LEFT tooth was the one missing! It turns out his friend accidentally knocked it out with his elbow. (Oops. Good thing it was also loose. Just less loose than the right tooth.)

The elbow must have loosened the right tooth even more though, because it looked like it was about about to fall out too. However, it held on until last night (Friday), when he finally pulled it out himself with hardly any effort.

After it was out, Ford said, "Now I don't have to put my tooth back in place after I eat!" 

Gross.

Happy Saturday!

Mississippi Aquarium

The new Mississippi Aquarium opened in Gulfport (approximately five miles from our house) last year, and we had yet to visit until yesterday!

The kids really enjoyed themselves, and I liked that it wasn't a gigantic facility and that it was close to home.

TGIF!!!