Black Friday

Black Friday, or the day after Thanksgiving, has been known to be the busiest shopping day of the year. People get up at what I consider to be the middle of the night, to start their Christmas shopping. 4:00am! No thank you, I love shopping, but I love sleeping more. Maybe it's because I worked retail for 5+ years and had to work on Black Friday every year.

This year was no different. We all slept in. It was a wonderful morning. We started getting some of our furniture ready to bring back into our house (have to put felt pads on the bottom of all the feet). At about 3pm or so my husband says, "Do you want to go to Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware to get those things today?" Really? Do you know what you just said? Today? It's going to be busy. I'm up for it, by this time it should be better. The girls LOVE the mall, so no argument there, but my husband doesn't like crowds, doesn't really like the mall. Are you sure?

In no time at all we were out the door and on our way to the mall. No surprise it took some time to find a parking space. We were just about to leave. O started crying in the back seat because we were not going to go to the mall and something about turning out to the the worst day ever (well, that might not have been what she said, but she was upset). Just then a very happy woman, walking by our car, said she was leaving. She saved the day! C couldn't believe this was his idea.

We get into the mall and C still can't believe this was his idea, but was proud he came up with such a crazy idea that made his family happy. Now even though I have not stepped foot into a mall on Black Friday in YEARS, it was fun. I still wouldn't go at 4am. The bummer part was both items we went to the mall to purchase were not there! One was a catalog/online item only and the other this store didn't have any of. You're kidding me. Oh well.

We made the most of it and decided to walk across the street to Crate and Barrel and then have an early dinner. Talking with our waitress she mentioned this was not the usual Friday crowds, even in the mall for Black Friday. My husband could not believe that. "That wasn't busy?" he asked. I told him from my experience I would agree. This was just a busy weekend Christmas shopping day.

On our walk back through the mall to the car I noticed something. There were lots of people in the mall, but no one had any bags (well, very few). When I worked retail people would have two, three, four shopping bags full. They would get all their shopping done on that one day. Not this year. People were just at the mall window shopping.

Things change, but traditions last. Even when it comes to shopping. The day after Thanksgiving will always be the start of Christmas shopping. Whether it will be the busiest is yet to be seen.

Turkey + Family = A Wonderful Thanksgiving

A beautiful day of family, kids running, getting to know extended family, cocktails (with my husband as bar tender), turkey, three types of potatoes, stuffing, desserts and birthdays. I love Thanksgiving!

Some people got cut off in my family Thanksgiving photo (SORRY). Guess I need to buy a wide angle lens. We had 22 people, two tables and lots of fun! These are just a few of the photos I took.

H A P P Y

THANKSGIVING

I have so much to be thankful for.

God has truly blessed me.

I have a wonderful loving husband

who takes good care of me and our daughters.

I have two smart, loving sweet daughters

who make me laugh every single day.

I have a roof over my head.

I have a wonderful extended family

and caring loving friends.

I'm thankful we are all healthy.

I am thankful the repairs on

our home are almost done.

I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful turkey

dinner with your family and friends.

Painting Begins!!!!

Can you believe it? I'm not sure I can.

8:00am this morning three painters showed up at our house with our contractor, of course. The painters went right to work covering our beautiful new flooring with resin paper and blue tape. They covered the banisters and walls, they were not going to paint (that had pictures still hung on them) with plastic. The stairs and cat walk were covered with drop cloths. Furniture (the little we have actually in the house) was covered with plastic.

By the time I got back from bringing the girls to school the painters had started cutting in the high walls and ceiling. Yes, ceiling! They painted the ceiling! That is huge. We can paint most of the other walls, even the high ones, but the ceiling. That is a different story in our house.

The painters got a lot done today. The living room and ceiling mostly. They packed up at about 4:00pm and will return tomorrow at 8:00am to finish. Tomorrow the family room and baseboard (entire first floor) will get painted. That will be it for the painters. The rest will be up to us.

I would like to finish painting a few walls before putting furniture back into the house, but after two and a half months, I really need my house back. I want furniture back in my house. A place to sit with my beloved and girls. I would like to sit at our dinning room table in the dinning room for meals. I want to start decorating for Christmas! We can paint the rest of the walls after Christmas. I think Friday we will start moving furniture back into our house. I'll see what C thinks. I don't think we'll be able to do it any sooner, with Thanksgiving on Thursday.

It will be easy to paint a few of the walls downstairs (dinning room wall and family room TV wall) after Christmas. We won't need to move too many things out of the way and they are normal walls. The tall walls that aren't getting painted now will need to wait until Spring or Summer to get painted. It will work out.

I'll take some pictures of our beautiful painted walls tomorrow and get them posted, hopefully tomorrow night. I've got to find time (and space in my kitchen) to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. Good thing Thanksgiving dinner is not at my house.

House Update - Good and Bad News

Our adventure in home repair and a little remodel continues. It's been quite a week!

I'll start with the bad news. (I want to end on a positive note.) Yesterday when they were demoing our old kitchen floor the contractor and flooring guys found Subterranean Termites! YES! AAAAHH! So.... the "bug guy" is here now squirting poison foam into the wall and ground outside the house to kill the little suckers. Good thing we decided to upgrade to laminate flooring. If we had just replaced the carpet with carpet, we wouldn't have found these little pests!

On a more positive note. Demolition of the rest of the carpet and baseboards was done on Wednesday. O was able to help our contractor with removing the baseboards. A benefit of only being in school for half a day. Notice the gloves. She had to go and get her gloves so she would match Mr. P. 

They started putting in the flooring on Friday. It was suppose to be Thursday. Another problem with another Sub. Again, my contractor was very angry! It all worked out and the flooring is almost done. The guys are here working as I am typing.

The flooring is beautiful! We absolutely love it! The girls have already "sock skated" on it last night and this morning.

Oh, the other thing that was finished this week was the stucco under the front window. I didn't take pictures of that yet, but it looks beautiful! Just needs to be painted. The stucco guy rocks!

The painters should be here next week, Monday I think. I'll let you know how that looks when it's done. We won't be able to paint everything right now. With all the added expense, some painting will have to wait. I just want my house back together! We'll be painting this spring and summer.

I Can See The Light

There has been a lot of work being done on the house this week. We can finally see the light and feel everything will be done soon. YEAH! Here is what has happened this week:

Tuesday the electrician came and installed three can lights in our family room. What a difference!

Wednesday our contractor was back to finish installing the windows! YEAH! He also added insulation. What a difference in temperature.

I had some fun and took some cool construction photography while the guys were working. I couldn't resist.

Can you tell what we did different to our front window? I did not take a close up, so you'll really have to look. (Leave a comment)

The last thing that happened this week (as of today) was drywall! YEAH! The Rockers came early this morning (7:45am!). It took them no time at all to hang all the drywall. Talk about fast.

Oh, the other thing that has also started is demolition of the flooring. We're getting ready for our new floors. I don't have a specific date of install for the flooring yet, but I'll keep you posted.

I'm not sure if I'll tell you what colors we will paint the walls. I might keep that one detail a surprise. hmmmm.....

NOW, it feels like our house is getting put back together! Stay tuned for more updates soon.

Cell Phone Pics

On Sunday the girls and I went to hear Papa play his Tuba in the Ohlone Wind Orchestra. What a treat. We also had the pleasure of hearing a wonderful piano solo by Brenda Tom.

The only camera I had was my cell phone. Here are a few pics I took.

The girls just outside the Smith Center, where the concert was.

Smith Center at Ohlone College

The lobby of the Smith Center.

I couldn't resist taking this picture (again with my cell phone). What beautiful fall colors!

Caught By Little Sister

I'm making dinner on Saturday night and the girls are in the kitchen.

O: (in a very sing songy cute voice)  "K why do you smell like chocolate?"

CK:  doesn't say anything - just shrugs  shoulders, doesn't open her mouth and makes a question noise

Mommy: "CK did you eat chocolate?"

CK:  shakes head no

Mommy: "CK did you eat chocolate?"

CK: shakes head no

Mommy: "CK DID YOU EAT A PIECE A CANDY? Tell me the truth, because if you lie to me that will make me more angry, and TALK to me don't just shake your head." (I KNEW she wouldn't be able to lie to me if she spoke. Shaking her head and humming no was too easy to lie.)

CK: walks toward mommy crying

Mommy: "CK look at me, did you eat a piece of chocolate? TELL ME THE TRUTH. DO NOT lie to me!"

CK: (crying) "Yes."

 

It was much more than eating a piece of candy (right before dinner!). I was angry that CK lied to me (3 times).

I think it's funny that O smelled the chocolate on her. That is totally my sister.

P.S. I had to post this, but don't tell CK.

Celebrating Halloween

I gave the girls' teachers each a bag of "Pumpkin Poop." They loved it. I can't remember where I found this, but the girls and I love making them.

O during her Kinder Halloween parade. They went in and out of the classrooms.

We joined CK in the afternoon for the school parade and her class party.

O with our REAL cowgirl friend! She dressed up just for O.

We put our Halloween witch in the office window. We love her. She looks so cool. The girls were all excited that our house looked like a haunted house for Halloween.

Getting ready to go out Trick-or-Treating. What a fun night. It rained on and off. We met up with friends from school along the way. We Trick-or-Treated our entire neighborhood. That is the most we've ever done in our neighborhood. The girls got so much candy, they could barely carry it home.

Happy Halloween

Tonight we carved our jack-o-lanterns. What do you think?

O (far left) drew her jack-o-lantern's face herself. Daddy cleaned out the pumpkin and carved it.

CK (middle) told me how she wanted it carved. Giving me step-by-step directions as I carved it.

The kitty jack-o-lantern C and I worked on together. We both designed it, I cleaned out the pumpkin and C carved it.

It was a great family night. I think we had just as much shooting them as carving.

I'll post photos from Halloween on Saturday.

A Sad Day for Mommy

CK (7 years old): "Daddy, how do you know that Santa is real?"

Daddy: {without hesitation} "It's the same as believing in Jesus and God, you have to have faith."

Tears flooded Mommies eyes as CK left the room.

Window Install - Day 1

8:00am sharp Allen was here with his worker guy and they jumped right into working on installing the window. It was exciting to see them work. It was interesting to see the process. Tools all over the front yard—they were noisy and I loved it. 

It was going to take them all day, but it was going to be beautiful by the end of the day.

Or not. This is what it looked like at about 11:00am. Four out of six windows didn't fit. Didn't fit, as in too small!  I couldn't believe it. Boy was Allen mad. He was barely talking. The window guy must have forgotten how to measure. (NO Allen did not make this mistake)

Allen and his worker guy (can't remember his name, Scott I think.) did what they could. They installed the two center windows. They are beautiful, BTW! We love them. They put up all the construction adhesive and then boarded up the window spaces and put plastic over the entire thing, since we are supposed to get rain this weekend. 

Allen is working on a rush for the replacement windows. I'll keep you posted, but it will be about a week. A week. I just keep telling myself it will be so beautiful when it's finished. So beautiful.

Demo of Front Window

Today was the day. Allen (our contractor) was here bright and early to demo the front window.

Allen demoed the window and repaired some of the damaged wood. He ended the day by boarding up the front window.

New windows are sitting in our side yard, waiting to be put up tomorrow. We can't wait! Their beautiful.

Allen started his demo at about 8am. Yikes.

You might have noticed - no more bushes under the window.

Allen was nice enough to take them out for us. I'll put something else in their place. Maybe some type of small flowering plants.

No more trim

.

A new windowsill.

Starting to board up after removing the old windows.

Looks like a foreclosed house.

It was very strange to come home to this after Catechism class.

"It smells."

We're looking forward to being able to see out the front windows tomorrow.

Poor O thought Allen wouldn't be back for another few weeks. He assured her he would be back tomorrow to put in our new windows.

Weekend in Review

We had a fabulous weekend. Here are a few highlights.

I am lucky enough to be able to volunteer in both girls classrooms. Friday for O and Thursday for CK. Friday is a great day to help out with the Kinder class, because that is art day and cooking day!

This past Friday was finger-painting. It was so funny to see some of the kids nervous about touching the paint. Some kids had never done finger-painting before. O, of course, has and loved it. The images tell it all.

Friday evening we went to visit a friend, her son, husband and brand new baby (1 month old)! Yes, I got my baby fix! C and O went early. O got a great play date with her buddy (who is 4 years old). They had a great time with the bouncy house.

CK and I joined the party after our Brownie meeting. We had a great evening catching up. (sorry no pictures from this fun evening)

Saturday afternoon my friend and I had a wonderful afternoon of pottery, PJs, and a movie with the kids. It went from 2:30pm to 10pm. It was great.

We first went to the pottery place and glazed some pieces. Everyone had a piece to glaze. Even little N (who is only 1-1/2 years old).

N - football bank

CK and K - ponies (of course)

O - small vase (A gift for Mommy. I couldn't look at it. So sweet.)

A (my friend) - small bowl

Me - cup and saucer

I only have one picture from the pottery place, it was hard to take pictures and paint pottery at the same time. I can't wait to see all our piece finished. A and I want to go back without the kids. Now that would be a fun girls night out.

After painting pottery, we did pizza and a movie....in our PJs. It was a lot of fun. We didn't get home until 10:30pm. It was great. What a great day with such special friends.

Sunday morning we were still able to get up and go to Mass. I was amazed. C got home late from work, so I let him sleep in. It was a nice end to a wonderful weekend.

Happy Mother's Day!

I know, I'm about 7 months early, but today it's Mother's Day for me.

I was finally able to use my wonderful gift certificate for The Spa today. My wonderful husband gave it to me as a Mother's Day gift. Yes, back in May. It's been crazy and I just now used it.

OMG, was it wonderful, relaxing, and heavenly! I left the spa so relaxed I was limp.

I'm ready for anything today, I'm so relaxed. Anything can happen. I really don't care!

Thank you my beloved for such a wonderful Mother's Day gift!

MONDAY!

Monday is the day the work should get started. The windows will be here on Friday. I just spoke to my wonderful contractor and he'll give me an update on Friday, but he should be here on Monday morning to start fixing the front window leak. Everything will happen pretty fast after that. We can't wait!

I'll update the blog with "work being done" pictures on Monday when they start the fun stuff.

YEAH! I'm so excited!

My Beloved is 38!

Yesterday it was C's birthday - 38 years old!

We have been together for 14 years (married for 12). We have two smart, caring, funny, beautiful girls together. C is my strength, my support. He always knows what to say to make me feel better. He makes me feel like I'm the most beautiful, sexiest woman on the planet. He is a wonderful caring father. He takes wonderful care of his family. He makes me laugh until I cry. I love our time along together; date nights, weekday morning walks, evenings by the fire. He takes us on wonderful family vacations. When I look at my beloved I feel excited, peaceful and loved. I am so proud of him and his career change. He's my hero!

Happy Birthday my love!