boots

gracie had her blanket. that's about my only experience with this kind of thing. she received her blanket as a newborn and attached herself to it for the next 30 months. we were considering fashioning a backpack out of it in the event she couldn't part with it come kindergarten. her wedding dress may have been affected, too were it not for a bribery deal that involved a target shopping spree. who knew the equivalent of one's life security would be found in a vanity set, a barbie movie and a bratz doll?
well, here we are again and this time i am the perpetrator. this time i made the purchase.  asa's halloween costume came down to whatever the thrift store had in store for me yesterday.  as i turned the first corner and saw these bright yellow rain boots, i knew he would be a fireman. of course the rest of the costume came together in that store because that's the kind of day i was having. nothing slowing me down.
asa seemed to attach himself to these boots and little did i know...come naptime, my easy to sleep child turned psycho baby when i tried to pull off the boots. bedtime, same story. 

all i have to say, is it's a good thing these suckers are a couple sizes too big, cause it'll be a couple years before target bribery will stand a chance.

relaunch

here i am. guess i should say "we". asa is never far from my lap or this here computer. we're back, in more ways than one. after our morning trip around the bay, chasing ducks, white egrets and anything else we happen upon, i took the time to dust off the site and delve into the blogging i've ignored for so long.

it's not that i haven't had anything blogworthy. it's not that i haven't had the time. FB is just too darn easy. period. sure, you miss out on the nitty-gritty. the details get reduced to a pithy one-liner view of your day. feasting on appetizers can be fun for awhile, but sooner or *much* later, you'll be craving the full meal.

speaking of meals, i'm still parking myself in the kitchen most hours of the day. today's ventures included french bread, tomato pasta sauce, bechamel and roasted zucchini. i'm thinking these babies will go together in a casserole dish for a cheater's lasagna with farfalle. chris works late tonight and i need something i can keep warm.

well, it's friday. the children are probably expecting a movie. i'm tiring on redbox/blockbuster express. maybe i can convince them to play a game with me. maybe a chocolate cake can sweeten the deal?  i'm thinking a one-layer deal, not too heavy on the frosting. they'll probably still expect a movie. it's getting harder to choose a movie with the age ranges so spread out.

thanks for stopping by. i'll be checking in on you more often. i always get my best ideas from you anyway. if you need me this weekend, you know where i'll be. here in the kitchen. baking bread, filleting fish, picking crabs, making dinner, cleaning up.

updates and important dates

pretty sad when you relish the breaking-down of the car one day and having a sick child home the next. love having a reason to stay home and not get dressed. got the pics i promised oh-so-long ago. we are awaiting a couple inspections on the house before the drywall goes up. from there, it shouldn't take too long.
ok, here goes...
the house looks done from the outside. makes the neighbors happy. looks different from before, ya think?
my favorite part, so far, is the porch. we couldn't find the door we wanted until chris stumbled upon this mahogany beauty unfinished at Home Emporium. it took awhile to finish it, but i love how it turned out. we're gonna have some ceiling fans out there, too.
once again, the reason we bought the place and uprooted our family.
i think it's worth it.

now, onto something of equal importance. i would be remiss if i didn't include my dear first-born and her recent celebration of 12 whole years on this earth. she's fun and brilliant and confident and sassy. i couldn't live without her and i wouldn't want to try.

twelve things you may not know about harley...
1. her middle name is susan, after my mother and sister.
2. she was only 5 lbs. when she was born. not early. just skinny.
3. when she grows up, she wants to be a commercial writer.
4. her favorite meal i make is stuffed red peppers and she drools for bruchetta, too.
5. currently, she's only 1/4 inch shorter than my 5'4".
6. one hour of her day is spent on the piano.
7. writing is her favorite subject but she thinks grammar is for the birds.
8. she's the last to go to sleep and the last to wake up.
9. a self-proclaimed choc-o-holic, she thinks nutella is a gift from God.
10. she gets her expensive taste in clothing from my sister hilarie.
11. my biggest critic and most fervent cheerleader.
12. thinks that the Twilight Saga is the new four standard works. (thus, her Rosalie costume for Halloween)

happy birthday Harley! sorry the power went out as i was making your birthday dinner and stayed off long enough to have to postpone your party. you have to admit, opening presents by candlelight is kinda fun :):):)

feeling the spirit

i know how you feel, gracie.

in case you haven't heard

we're having a baby! super excited. super tired. a beautiful built-in excuse for not cleaning, cooking or blogging in about a month. i'm feeling better and starting to care about the way my house looks. i figure since i've been cleaning for the past 5 hours, i should throw in a blog before i start my cooking spree. conveniently, this comes the day before my mother and other family comes in town. perfect timing.
the baby is due in january. i'm 11 weeks tomorrow. sorry, no pics of the ultrasound. requires way to much energy to scan and upload.
yes, my tummy is growing. with baby #4, it doesn't need coaxing or coaching. it knows the drill.
no, i haven't had morning sickness. never had it, in fact. i was, however, on bedrest for three weeks. some complications that have seemingly been resolved. must be due to my "advanced maternal age", beautifully stamped on my medical folder.

progress is sweet...

renting this house is NOT! have i mentioned to any of you that i am OVER this situation? if i clean this house, it still doesn't look clean. i miss my home. big time. chris has been working his tail off at the new house (we call it mona, after the street). anyway, mona is coming along well. it's amazing how much work you can get done when you put in 12 hour days and eat dinner at 9 o'clock about every night. love you, hon. thanks:)
wanna see the progress?? i need to get over and take more pics, it changes by the day and it already looks different. the roof has shingles, the framing is almost done.

before shot. needs work.

tore off the roof. we're gonna raise that baby.

taking time to visit dad for dinner.

adding some height to the house.

ta-da! new roof!

back of the house with a view of the nasty addition. can someone please tear it down??

thank you scott:)

roof, front view, with paper. sorry no shots of the shingles. i bet if you close your eyes you can probably imagine how great it looks with them on.

distractions

Yes, we are moving. This week. This post should probably include the hundred or so boxes, the carton of packing tape, the constant mess in every room (due to my cleaning strike until the BIG DAY). It should include as little as possible because my time is at a premium.
Going through room after room, box after box, reminds me of the little things that happen everyday that make our lives great. Here's a glimpse of our past week, ignoring the fact that we are moving and normal life just doesn't feel very normal right now.

Chris's garden is going strong with collards, peas, broccoli, spinach, lettuce...

here are some rosemary transplants soaking up the sun.

a trip to Jamestown with Marshall's class was a great distraction

and then there's Easter. one of the only sundays i was happy to have afternoon church. we finished it of with a wonderful meal at hilarie's house. the day was pretty much perfect, and i will always remember it being the calm before the (moving) storm.