Ringing in the New Year

Ryan's parents where able to stay with Mr. H tonight while us adults enjoyed a pleasant dinner than didn't involve milk or crackers. We tried out a fairly new tapas restaurant. This was our first experience with this type of restaurant and we loved it. A little bit of this and a little bit of that, simply wonderful. Happy New Year!

Magic Time

While demolishing the bathroom, I told Ryan we needed to keep the bathtub because it's the original (1920's) and it's super deep. Well, it wasn't until we moved in that I really looked at the tub. There are horrible water stains around the sides. I first tried natural cleaning methods - vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, etc. then I broke out the big guns - bleach, Comet, Bar Keepers Best Friend and nothing worked. I've had a box of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers for quite awhile and decided to try it out. Okay, I'm REALLY excited, it worked!!! I scrubbed a little bit on the right side. It's going to take quite a few and some serious elbow grease.

Done Yet?

These two are waiting for their favorite person to be finished with the bathroom. It's a good lesson in patience.

Peace

Okay, I know I have several photos of Harrison sleeping but I just love seeing him so peaceful and innocent. Sometime I rock him to sleep and I cherish this time because I know it will be gone way too soon. Oh, my little baby.

Tuck, Tuck

Harrison's new favorite word is "tuck". Ryan helped "tuck" Lucy in for her afternoon nap. We've been having cold weather lately so Miss L was very appreciative.

Not Hard For the Ware

We needed a new shower hose and decided to check out the local hardware store just a few miles down the road. Man, am I glad we stopped here. I could have spent a couple of hours browsing around each jam-packed isle. The top photo is of the scale for weighing your bags of nails. I love all of the handwritten signs! The employees were helpful and friendly, plus we graciously accepted a free 2010 calendar. I'm definitely going back when I don't have a toddler in tow.

Blessed Christmas!

This is our first time to host a Christmas dinner. I was pretty busy leading up to this day so I didn't get much time to plan the table. Everyone had a wonderful time and this is a tradition I'd like to keep :) Hope everyone had a great day.

At Your Service

Harrison jumped right into the auto mechanic role. He kept the goggles on for about an hour. He's such a little entertainer.

It's My Birthday Too!

We celebrated me turning a year younger at Shogun's tonight. I figured Mr. H would enjoy the chefertainment. It was a very good day plus my sister was able to fly in for the festivities :)

No Peeky!

When I returned tonight I found Harrison's evidence of peeking. When the cat is away the mice will play . . .

Festive Skies

I'm traveling today and tomorrow and dread the holiday chaos at the airports. But we're off to a good start and these wreaths are keeping my mood festive.

Planting Ahead

Harrison and I decided to plant these daffodil bulbs today. He didn't want to get his hands dirty but he had no problem telling me what to do and where to put them. He's definitely a chief.

Before and After

Here's a Before and After of the back bedroom. I'm not sure how they ever found anything. This is a great guest/play/fold the laundry room. The couch is an antique that has storage in the base and folds out as a bed. I keep bedding in the wardrobe on the left so it's always right there if needed. I placed the rug there because our floors are so cold but now I kinda like it. Ryan's not so sure if it.

Convex Mirror

I've heard that convex mirrors are supposed to bring you luck. My mom found me this one a couple of years ago. I have it hanging right by the front door so I can glance at the room before I leave. Back in the day when I was taking an Art History course, I remember discussing the details of the convex mirror in The Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck. This painting is full of unbelievable details and symbolism, and considered one of the most complex paintings in Western art history.

Party Time

One of my friends hosted an all-girl Christmas Party and it was just what I needed this Holiday Season. We had great eats and a Dirty Santa Gift Exchange. Luckily, all the gifts were good so no one was stuck with a macrame owl.

Black Doh

Orange, white, black, pink and teal are the newest Play Doh colors in our lives. Harrison's favorite is the black (blaac, blaac). Can you spot the animals?

Discharge Your Static

As I was filling up the tank today, I noticed this warning sign. First, I think the graphic is pretty funny with the lighting bolt striking the stick arm. Then I decided to read the instructions for discharging your static electricity. Apparently if a fire does start, you're to back away and tell the attendant. I don't know about you but I would get the heck outta there and call 911.

Is it just me or do you stop and read random warnings, labels, etc. I always read my shampoo/conditioner bottles (several times) or boxes of cereal. I check out the fonts, spacing, design, choice of words, wonder how long it took them to decide "luxurious" was the perfect word. On a side note, I used my niece's Shampoo For Long Hair . . . yes, I was a rebel that day.

Lock Down

Is it just me or do these fake rocks REALLY stand out?! Apparently, someone is worried about theft for this beauty. Note - the chain is spray painted to match the rock (great camo).

Hang ON!

Looking at this image, one would think I'm an over protective mother and worried about each little scratch. Well, this is Harrison dressing up like his "dada" and he's ready to GO!

Fresh Pecans

I'm making homemade holiday gifts this season. I always have good intentions but sometimes they aren't represented in the goodies. Keep your fingers crossed, this year will be a winner.

Joining the Fun

Sometimes you have to dump everything to find the bottom of the tub.

Choo, Choo

Harrison = Trains = Ryan = Big Kid at Heart. Ryan told me H really wants trains and Legos for Christmas. Hmmm, notice the little kid is missing from this photo . . .

Outside Decor

Ryan spotted this house on his way home from work. Of course, I had to check it out the next day. This is the first time I've seen ornaments displayed like this on a front porch. They hung different shapes and varying shades of bright pastels. I might have to steal this idea for next year!

Family Photo Shoot

As I was looking for a photo of Harrison and myself, I realized I really didn't have any. I'm normally the one behind the camera so I decided to have family photos taken. My friend Kerrie took these wonderful pics. As you can tell, Harrison was having a wild hair day.

Toddler Madness

We finally enrolled Harrison in a Gymboree class and he's already made quite a few little buddies. This was the calmest part of the evening . . . imagine 10 toddlers running crazy while trying to teach the concept of push and pull.

Christmas Mantel

The mantel is almost complete. This is the first place I've lived that actually has a fireplace (however it does not work). I tried to go with a "natural" theme. Pine cones from the neighborhood sprayed with snow and red berries from the front yard. My favorite part is the "ho" coming from the steam of the snowman's pipe.

O' Tree

This tree has been with me over a decade. I know it's small but that's part of what makes it so perfect. Maybe someday we'll get a bigger one or start a tradition of finding a Christmas tree farm. I have fond memories of those cold, Nebraska December days hunting for the biggest tree. When you're little, you don't realize it's 20 degrees with a wind chill in the single digits.

I've been collecting a new Santa ornament every year since Ryan and I met in 2001. I haven't found one yet this year but I still have time.

Craft Friday

Yes, it's Friday and it's craft time. After a long week of a lingering cold, it felt good to sit on the couch and finish decorating the mantel. I found this idea on Design Sponge.

Grateful Days Ahead

I purchased this piece before Christmas last year at Target. I was pretty pumped to unpack it this year. I've put Jolly Ranchers candies behind each door but in order to get one, Ryan or I must write down something we're grateful for. I read ours from last year and apparently we were pretty cold and we're thankful for warm sheets (this was mentioned more than once).

Craig's List

For those of you who don't know, Craig's List is awesome for selling junk and finding bargains. We sold half a dozen items before we moved. They sold within a day of listing. I found this hickory cabinet at an awesome price. Ryan said it was the heaviest piece of furniture he's ever carried and I'm stuck with him when he has a broken back. Note - there are some crazies on Craig's List so don't give out too much information :)

Fu Man

Fu Manchu - Signs of Infinite Power, that's the first site that pulled up when I was trying to check my spelling. This extra growth lasted approximately one day. Harrison kept bringing Ryan the razor and pointing to his face saying "no, no, no". Little man always gets his way.

The Great Debate

I was able to hang the pom pom fringe on the white curtains in our bedroom but Ryan put a stop to it and hid the fringe. He thinks it looks terrible and I feel it adds that finishing touch. One of my favorite stores is Anthropologie and part of the reason I like it so much is they have that "added touch" to make it unique and interesting. So what's your opinion???

By the way, we love having company and it's a good motivator for us to clean. However, we do get disappointed when our company doesn't show . . . ahhhmm Mr. JR.

Such Junk

Check out this pile of junk that was in our crawl space! We're adding insulation and had to remove it before they could get started. The pile includes a Christmas tree, garland, two furnaces, a sweatshirt, a gigantically heavy piece of cast iron pipe, plastic planter, ceramic planters, wire, parts of a blower motor, wire fence, a wooden folding table, glass jars, beer cans, cooking pots and pans, and my favorite - a red plastic dashboard! There may be more but there are only 10 hours of daylight.

Good Karma

Today local firefighters were gathering "Toys for Tots" and it was the perfect opportunity to purchase games and toys for the kiddos. I know a lot of charities are suffering this year so we picked up a couple extra ones.

This evening we were a block away from the house and the car completely DIED! We couldn't put it in neutral and the emergency lights wouldn't come on!!! Scary! Within 10 seconds, two cars stopped to help us out. Someone called a tow truck for us but Bob saved the evening. He was able to fix the fuse for us to make it back to the house. I couldn't believe how many people offered to help; there is still plenty of good in the world.

Christmas List

Remember when you were a child and you received the new toy catalog. Start the list and circle your favorites. I got a sneak peak at Jesse's and Ethan's list . . . J is requesting 38 hugs from our family. Such a sweet 8-year-old, I hope he never changes.

Giving Thanks

This Thanksgiving, I'm very grateful for all of my friends and family, especially for this sweet little boy.

The other day, I told Harrison we needed to blow his nose before we left. He made a mad dash into the bathroom. I was pleasantly surprised, thinking he was getting toilet paper. When I walked into the room, he was pulling out the blow dryer :)

Decorating Boys

The cousins had a good time today decorating turkey cookies. I was a little scared when they mentioned making "turkey cookies" but they turned out just fine. Although it appears one of them may have gotten run over.

Turkey Day

Someone is getting ready for Turkey Day by roasting in the sun.

Full Window

I've painted the wall in between the windows, what do you think? Ryan didn't notice it until I pointed it out then he said he liked it better the other way. I have quite a bit of blue paint left so it can be changed. I'm also working on an idea for curtains which I'll post once I get them up.

H's Room

Harrison's room is finally starting to come together. I hung the curtains or I should say fabric for the curtains a couple of days ago. When my sister comes she's going to help hem the edges but I couldn't wait so I cut the material in half. Originally, we hung the numbers with sticky velcro taps but they kept falling on H's head (sorry buddy). We have plaster walls so it's very difficult to hang anything for fear of creating a huge hole. We bit the bullet today and tried nails. Woohoo, it worked! I made the numbers last February so it's nice to see they finally have a home.

Sniff, Sniff

Every time Harrison walks by flowers, he has to stop and touch then smell them. It's pretty cute and today we ran across a row of planters so I was able to snap this pic. We can learn a lot from children.

Designing With Nature

There's a house on the corner that has the best pine cones you've ever seen. They're bigger than the average cone and they have a warm tone to them. If the cones are laying on the sidewalk, I figure they don't mind if I take them. Actually I've never seen anyone working on the yard so they probably welcome removal of them.

I haven't decided what to do with them (I'm still working on the collecting phase). I saw in a magazine, a group of them hanging upside down by red ribbon. At Pottery Barn they are painted silver, with or without glitter. Or I could paint the tips white. I think I'll have to sleep on it.

And The Sign Says . . .

Maybe I should do a series of photographs on "Signs of Downtown". The colors on this one are beautiful, the way the rust from the arrow is intruding on the white circle . . . love it. It's a shame we don't make buildings and signs like they used to.