1. Karen's baby shower - Alisa, Jennifer, Summer Sheets and I threw a baby shower for Karen last Saturday at my house. We served yummy Cafe Rio-style taco salads, fruit, cheesecake and pie. We even threw in a little 'Martha Stewart' and made up some fancy, homemade decorated rice-krispy treats for a party favor. I was quite impressed with our abilities to put everything together. So, I spent a good part of the week cleaning... as if anyone is even going to notice that my baseboards in the dining room were clean. I realize I have issues (thanks, mom!) It didn't help that the one time i hire a cleaning lady, she leaves unexpectedly after 90 minutes. Hey, at least my shower got a good cleaning. Do you think the guests noticed that, too? (Like i said... issues!) But I can't wait to meet Karen's new baby girl due on the 29th (Kate???)
2. Parker's Birthday - my sweet little boy turned 11 last week. We went out to dinner (his choice) on the actual day with Marmie, Poppy and Aunt Karen (remind me never to eat at an Asian Buffet again). Then he had a boy/girl late-over party at our house on Sat. night. They played the Wii, watched a movie, ate pizza and listened to music REALLY loudly. They even did a little dancing, but when i joined in, i was told i was "embarrassing him". It's finally happened... i embarrass my own kids. Give me a moment to wipe away the tears :("
3. Re-doing my downstairs bathroom - I spent a couple of late nights (as in 3:30am - when else can i work with no interruptions?) re-painting the beadboard and re-wallpapering my main floor half bath so it could be done before above said baby shower. I painted the beadboard a cream color and then glazed it with a brownish glaze. I did the same to the inside of the door. Then I stripped the old wallpaper (what a pain) and re-wallpapered a really cool pattern that goes well with my family room. It was one of those projects that I thought would take a lot less time than it actually did. But I'm really happy with how it turned out. Next time you stop by and take a pee at my house, please do take notice :)
4. Painting and organizing my garage - yes, to answer your question, i AM psychotic. As if a garage really NEEDS painting! But i did it anyway to make it look... well... less garagey. We got 4 white storage cabinets which we are calling lockers for each one of the kids. Their snow gear and a few toys fit perfectly inside. Then i had to re-paint the door to go with the new color of the garage. Remember, psychotic! I hear recognizing the problem is the first step to recovery...
5. Craft room - this has turned out to be an ongoing project, but I DID get the room painted and everything is back in the room ready to be put away. Unfortunately, that's the hardest part. Will take pictures when I'm done.
6. Visiting with Mom - my mom came in for a long weekend visit about two weeks ago. It's always fun to hang out with her no matter what we are doing. She is the MASTER of home improvement projects so i love to bounce ideas off of her. And, by the way, she looks absolutely fabulous. She's lost a few pounds (which she didn't really need to do), and just looks super great!!! Love you, mom!
7. Kids and dog - as if the previous 6 items were not enough, i do have 4 kids and a dog to tend to. Parker is getting really into girls and friends. We went to the "maturation program" with him at school last week (i.e. sex ed). Steve and I only laughed about half the time. Parker covered his eyes anytime the guy put up a new overhead. It was quite entertaining. Summer is busy with basketball on Saturdays and Sparta soccer training during the week. She will be my sports' girl. Aubrey puts on make-up and my high heels any chance she gets. She loved hanging out with the older kids at Parker's party. I'm worried for the teenage years. And Macy, oh Macy. She took scissors to her third article of clothing yesterday - aaahhh! She also tells anyone within earshot that "boys have armpits and girls don't". What she actually means is that boys have armpit HAIR and girls don't. Why that is important to her right now is beyond me! And then there's the damn dog. No, he is not in my good graces right now. He chewed my shoes (see picture), STILL pees and poops in the house, runs out the door and far, far away anytime the door opens and still bites and scratches Macy (although she deserves it with the way she treats him). Life is complicated enough without the dog to contribute. But he IS really cute and the kids love him. Okay, and i do too, a little. So I guess he's staying. So, THAT'S life at the Ellis house.
What's up next for me, you ask? Well, I really need to concentrate on working out and eating healthy. Alisa is my inspiration - she looked so great. And bathing suit season is right around the corner and let's just say, things aren't pretty right now. Also, our Stake Pres. challenged our stake to read the Book of Mormon by September. It's been a while, so i think i will take that challenge. If anyone wants to join me we can do it together and lean on each other for support. That always helps.
Well, there it is. Wow, i feel like I've just been to a shrink. It feels so good to let it all out. And I promise not to go that long between posts again. Blogging is definitely a great way to feel connected. Hope you are all doing well. And if you're not, then post it on your blog... i want to read ALL the juicy details :)
Aly
6 comments:
I love the pictures and love the bathroom. You are so my inspiration when it comes to home improvement. Right now, my house needs some major home improvement. I just wish you lived here so I could have you show me how to do it. I would love to do the beadboard thing with the distressed look in Emily's room. I'm glad you posted. Can't wait to see you guys next week.
Thank you for posting. I love Parker to death but was getting really sick of that crazy hair picture! Um, I'm not sure how I feel about the pictures from the shower, but like my mom always says...that's how you look, so stop complaining! I'm so ready to not be pregnant. I'm so sorry about the dog chewing your shoes, but I did get a pretty good laugh when I saw the picture. He must have been ignored for quite some time to get all that chewing in!! I think you need to show a picture of your garage because it really does look great!
Great post!!
Aly, good job on the post. I don't know what they are talking about, I really loved seeing Parker's crazy hair! It was a great weekend, and you guys are the best hosts! Thanks for the clohtes. Brendon loves them, especially the BYU t-shirt. He went to scouts yesterday, and I told him to put his scout shirt on, and he told me he didn't want to because he wanted everyone to see his "Y" shirt! Too cool! Anyway, thanks for the hand me downs. We love them.
Um, wow! you wore me out just reading your post. I feel bad I didn't get to see the improvements when I was there the other day, next time I will drink a lot of water before I come next time so I will have to pee when I get there.
Aly - your bathroom looks so amazing, i didn't realize it was THAT bathroom! I thought it was down-downstairs the whole time :) ha. It was great to see your whole family, you guys make having 4 kids look easy!! I feel just as crazy with ONE!!
Yeah! A new posting. You are so crazy busy. When you talk about staying up late I think back to our days (or nights rather) at BYU and chuckle. You are the only person I have ever met that is truly productive in the middle of the night!
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