Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Houses & Horses

I looked at a WONDERFUL house this morning. Light, space, great kitchen, woods, enough bedrooms to separate the girls and office besides, perfect for entertaining.Yard enough for raised beds as well as room to play and oh so private.

I was mostly able to imagine living there when I blocked out the deer & buck heads hung everywhere. Except the smell of the neighbors horses was getting to me every time I stepped outside. I tried to imagine what it would smell like in the heat of summer as I sit on the deck watching the sunset or grilled at the BBQ, or even in the living room with the windows wide open. I prefer open windows over AC, don't you? I suspect on this wooded lot open windows would be a very lovely thing.

Except for the horsey smell.

Not happenin'. Bummer.

Just got some good news about open enrollment, official news.

News, or rather, facts I wish I'd had 6 weeks ago when we went into this must-move-now frenzy, not that everything was official so maybe what I was told was, at the time, correct?

News that makes moving irrelevant. Except for the space issue. And the 3 girls and 2 adults sharing not enough bathrooms thing. Or the issue of getting more house & yard for the moolah near Rich's office and making his drive to work and home a very short one. I'm all for making the bread-winner happy except the potential dream houses that do that would all require a district change. Now I'm confused because this moving thing was originally about avoiding a school change, and now that we don't have to we might anyway. The girls are up for an adventure. The grass is always greener...

Maybe I should just work harder on getting rid of the stuff we don't need and we'll fit here better? Then we can go back to Hawaii instead and enjoy more moments like these:

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Pages for a snowy day.

Oh we had so much fun on Spring break. Sleepovers, playdates, and sunny warm days playing at the Rose Garden.



This morning we woke to 4 inches snow! Boo. Oh well - just a little more incentive to stay inside and work on Spring cleaning.
And scrapping :)
Natasha with her Guitar, photos taken while working on an assignment for my Karen Russell photography class (so sad that it's over). Inspired by a page in the Tim Holtz gallery, although quite a bit simpler, as well as a challenge to use rub-ons, stickers, and black. Bazzill Cardstock spritzed with Huckleberry and Pashmina Glimmer Mist, The Good Housewife PP scrap by Amanda Johnson inked with brown Colorbox, Frame/scroll by K & Co., Muse letters by Thickers, ATC transparency by 7-gypsies (?), Tim Holtz Fragments charms with various bits of leftover rub-ons (Basic Grey, Bo Bunny and?).
Sarah, journalling about her recent tube in, adenoids out experience. Hopefully last tubes? Page based on a March 2010 Pagemaps sketch, combined with a challenge to use chipboard letters, stamp is Tim Holtz, combined with Ranger Faded Jeans Distress Ink. White Basic Grey chipboard letters spritzed with Huckleberry Glimmer Mist. Papers & rub-on Sarah letters from a Jenni Bowlin Kit, journal papers leftovers from? And some really, really old circle clips.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Marching On

Corny, I know. What can I say?

Once again, we've been crazy busy. I am soaking up everything I can in my photography class (Karen Russell, Snapshots of a Good Life), as you can see below. Class ends next week. Very sad. However, we still will have access to the class forums for a year - Yay! Everyone in the class is so supportive, I'm looking forward to continuing and building those relationships and improving my photography.

In between, I have started on a new project (non-paid, but very cool. I'll share more info when it's finished).

Rich went out of town and our furnace died while he was in a nice warm hotel room. I was here, trying to keep warm by blowing condensation out of 25 year old rubber furnace hoses (YICK!) and flipping switches while listening to the wonky motor rattle and hoping the thing wouldn't blow up overnight. Then I tried to sleep with all 3 girls in my bed. We had it replaced the next day. Well, it took two days, but we were able to return the borrowed space heaters after the first day and the house was warm by the time Rich returned from his trip.

I really wish things would NOT happen every time he goes out of town. I know I am capable, there is really no need to prove it!

Then we found out the neighbor the girls calls Grandpa Don was in hospice. He left this world on Friday and I attended his funeral today. He will be missed by all of us.

We celebrated the 89th birthday party of Rich's Dad, the first Grandpa Don. He requested a pecan pie instead of cake, so I found a recipe for a pie without corn syrup... and with rum. I'll share the recipe this weekend as it was OH so yummy.

Sarah had her adenoids out on Monday. And another tube placed. She was quite nervous but when they took me back to her afterward she smiled her sweet smile and softly said "I can already hear better! Dr. Y told me they took out "huge chunks of adenoid tissue" so it was a good decision and will hopefully end the ongoing hearing problems. Side note, I did NOT eat lunch after he told me that. Being the school lover she is, she went back the next morning because they said she could. She didn't want to miss math or piano. She made it the whole day too, twice visiting the nurse for a short nap but not wanting to come home.

I had a naaaasty migraine. Natasha & I made chili for 100, then helped her confirmation class serve dinner at church. Then I slept for 12 hours. (The chili was also yummy, I'll share that recipe too. I promise, because this is the safest place to not lose them!)

Today Sarah asked to stay home, not feeling well. Usually she is mad when she has to miss school, so I thought she must need the rest, and her throat has been hurting her a lot. Rich was rather dubious when I called to let him know and I wondered myself when Sarah spent part of the morning playing piano (it relaxes her). This afternoon she developed a fever and will be staying home tomorrow as well.

In between we've been looking at houses, so we can live in the school district we are open enrolled in. However now we're wondering if we should look elsewhere? Hard decision no matter we do. More on that later. I know you have other things to do today, so I'll leave you with my sweeties, no photos taken on auto!

Mira, passing out Valentines:


Natasha, looking older than should be allowedSarah sunshine