Bamboo Sprouts

Hope you are having a great summer too! 

Come on in and sit in the family room today.  I haven’t baked anything up but would you like a glass of tea?  It’s a warm one today, but just not quite warm enough to turn on the a/c.  But the windows are open and a little breeze is coming in and lets have a chat!

This is by far where we spend most of our time.  We recently cancelled our cable tv (gasp!  lol  truth is we haven’t missed it for a second) but we still watch a little tv or a movie here and there and we spend time on our laptops or reading books in the family room.  I discourage toys in the family room now that the kids are old enough to play independently downstairs but they often join us for reading or watching a movie  or playing wii or doing something quiet.  If kiddos need to be all crazy though, they head on downstairs to their own family/play room. 

These are taken from the other side of the room, by the fireplace.  Off to the side there is a “bar” which we use as Charlies room (the dog!), laundry, a bathroom, Sophie’s room and the door to the garage.  That closed door there is to the lowest level which includes the playroom.

Since its a short tour today, I wondered if you would like to stay a little longer and take a peek at some of our scrapbooks.  I take photos almost every day and although I dont print every photo, photos are important to me.  My Great Grandma was a wonderful keeper of family history and I appreciate her efforts.  I was a Creat*ve Memor*es consultant for ten years before we had kiddos and I really do believe what I taught in my classes.  Our memories are worth the time it takes to preserve and display them.

I keep things pretty simple to keep it do-able, not a lot of decorations or writing on many pages, a rare very decorated page and very often a very wordy page inserted to fill in the details because really, the writing is the most important part.  Each kiddo will someday leave with their own albums and I will keep a (briefer) family album.  I only print photos about twice a year and its a huge batch each time…almost always jamming up the printer at Walgr*ens!  There are always delays with my order.  I try to retreat in the mountains with other scrappers and work myself silly those two nights, often finishing up 100 pages in a weekend.  It’s the only way I can stay on top of it and even with that, I have fallen behind a bit.

Thanks for stopping by today, we always like visitors!  Enjoy the rest of your day. 

(recipe for apple tart at the end)

Monday-oven “fried” chicken, mashers, salad

Tuesday-soba noodle stir fry

Wednesday-pork dip sandwiches (pork in crockpot) with sweet potato fries and apple sauce

Thursday-out after karate

Friday-burgers, corn on cob and apple sauce

Saturday-salmon, rice and mandarin/strawberry green salad

Sunday- spaghetti, french bread and salad from Saturday

Apple Tart recipe from my Cooking Light book

one pie crust (pilsbury is suggested and that is what I used- the rolled up one in the cookie dough section)

about 6 granny apples- peeled and sliced

1/4 c. cinnamon/sugar mix (1/4 c. sugar to 1T. cinn)

2.5T honey

1t vanilla

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to be bigger and thinner to cover a 12″round pizza pan

sprinke about 1T sugar mixture on the dough

place apple slices on in a pretty pattern (lol- just get them on there…)

sprinkle rest of sugar mixture on top

bake at 425 for 30 minutes

nook the honey and vanilla in a tiny bowl to make it thinner and drizzle or brush it on top when it comes out of the oven and is still hot.

yummy and easy. 

Our town does movies in the park throughout the summer and Saturday night was Kung Fu Panda.  So we invited some friends to join us for the free fun and had a nice evening having dinner, playing at the park and eating snacks and chatting and watching the show.  Oh and we froze our booties right off and next time fleece blankets will be at the top of our list of things to pack! 

Thats the hugeamungus blow up screen they put up and usually blows down but this year they have two guys that hold it up with those poles.  LOL

Our friends got there before us and marked out a great spot.   

They play some pre-show tunes and sometimes ya gotta boogie a bit. 

Levi couldnt stop boogie-ing for the photo.  He was still and then he just had to shake it up some more. 

Here is her last photo before her big news…

She lost her first tooth!  If you missed the big event two years ago…well, she lost the two front teeth in a fall a week before we traveled to China for Levi.  It was quite traumatic…at least for ME!  So this was the first time she had a loose one…wiggled and wiggled it and showed it off and all that fun stuff.    She was eating cantalope that our friends brought and whoops!  Pretty sure it went down the hatch but this would horrify her so she said she thought it flew out and went in the grass at the park.  Everyone was on hands and knees searching for a tooth I am pretty sure was not there.    So we came home and wrote up a note of explanation for the toothfairy and left it in her little tooth box.  Sophie was hoping for “paper money” and the fairy came through with a few ones for the toothless girl. 

Girls in their hot-off-the-sewing machine play dresses.  I thought they would find it funny that it was flowers and bumble bees.  And they did.  They are so fun to sew for lately as they like their outfits so much and Sophie writes me a thank you note for each one.  So cute. 

We went to a BBQ with other families with Chinese kiddos tonight and there was sand play…

group sliding…

and marshmallow roasting.  And lots and lots of good company and yummy food too. 

Ok, so see Bella there?  Let me give you a better look…

She found these goggles somewhere and she used them to keep the smoke out of her eyes.  She kept them on her head and then when the smoke would come her way, she would lower them to her eyes.  Brilliant, right?  You are all going to rush out and get some for your next camping trip…right?  Ok so I just heart this though.  Have you seen Benny and Joon?  Its my favorite movie.  I love Joon.  If you have seen it, and if you love Joon too, you get why this photo might be about a favorite and why this girl makes my heart sing a bit.   

Our treasures.

Sophie, also known as, Sophie wofie, Sophie Jiao, Sunshiney girl and Sopher.

Levi, also known as, Levi Bevi, Little Man, PanWenYu and The Boy.

Isabella, also known as, Bella, Bella Jiao, Bella Jiao Jiao Wow Wow, Izzy and Bella Boo.  And who today requested that I call her tinkerBELL.

When we were leaving China the last time we were there, adopting Levi, a Chinese woman on the airplane looked at our three kiddos and said, well you only pick the beautiful babies!  It always surprises me that they dont know how the adoption process works (we dont choose…China matches us with a child) but that’s ok.  We denied this and explained just a bit.  But now when I think back, I shoulda said, well yes we do!  That would just be more believable. 

Come on in!  Today is kitchen day so I baked up a lemon glazed cake (recipe at the end) and the tea is steeping and will be done soon. 

Well there it is.  Most of the kitchen.    We bought this house as a fix and flip.  As in already fixed and being flipped.  So it was built in 1984 and I can only imagine what it looked like before the investor fixed it because they did a top to bottom redo.  New kitchen, bathrooms, all new flooring, new heating, new roof, new windows, new a/c…it’s a new “old” (not old enough for me…I like em REALLY old…) which worked well for Rick and I because he likes new and I like old.    So its a more established area with big trees and such, but the inside of the house is pretty much all new.  I usually like to buy the sad house that needs a lot of love and do it myself, but this probably worked better this time since we went from a family of 3 to a family of 5 pretty quickly after moving in.    We added the appliances and I painted the whole interior (just because builder beige isnt for me) of the house and waala, we called it done.

When I chose the appliances, I just wanted that water dispensor thing sooo much so kiddos could get their own drinks.  Well drink dispensors, stainless and KIDS are an interesting mix.  I polished up the ss to take this photo and in the seconds between polishing and grabbing the camera…someone obviously got thirsty.  Just gotta laugh really.    I am not a polish police kind of girl.  Most the time I dont care a bit about shiny stainless to be honest.  So all in all, its ok.  One time when my Dad was over he said hey do you need some more of that great ss polish I got you?  LOL  My DAD noticed that I dont care about shiny ss.    We have kids.  We have smudged stainless.  Its all good. 

Speaking of the fridge…when we got it, I thought, oh good!  Magnets wont stick to it, I wont be able to clutter it up!    But look, I found a way around that.  Magnets DO stick to the SIDE of the fridge…Oh and yep, I am totally an apron wearing kind of girl. 

This is taken kinda from upstairs to show the kitchen and breakfast nook area.  For us, its the breakfast, lunch and dinner nook most of the time. 

Well thanks for stopping on by!  Come back next week and have a sit in the family room and take a peek at some of our scrapbooks. 

Previous house tour posts:

entry: http://www.thebamboosprouts.com/?p=954

living/dining: http://www.thebamboosprouts.com/?p=990

Lemon Cake Recipe

one box yellow cake mix

1 pkg lemon sugar free jello mix

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 c. water

4 eggs

mix all, pour into oiled and floured (or sprayed) 9×13 pan and bake at 350 for about half an hour or until done (bake as long as it says on the cake mix box)

while baking, mix 2c. powdered sugar and the juice from 2 lemons to make a glaze.  If it is too thick, you can add more lemon juice or some water works fine too. 

When cake is done, use fork to poke holes in the HOT cake and then pour the glaze over the top and spread it around.  Let it set for 15 mins and then refrigerate before serving.  Actually, I like it warm so I dont do that last part. 

Have a great week!

Rick and kiddos.

Rick is the kind of Daddy that every child should get to have!  He is attentive, consistant, loving and encouraging.  He wants them to have every opportunity to succeed in every way.  He takes the time to take them to activities and to read books to them every.single.night.  I have never asked him to “babysit” because he would never look at it that way.  If I need some time to myself, he often suggests it before I ask for it and sends me out for a mental health day of peace and quiet.  He sees the best in his children and they are his priority. 

He is out of town this weekend and we all miss him and wish we could celebrate him today.  He deserves much celebrating!

XO honey.  We love and miss you.

(my dad 2008)

My Dad is a man with a really good heart.  He was a really good dad to me when I was a kiddo and I have some especially nice memories of him. 

(me, Dad and baby sister.  1974)

(My Dad and I in about 1975.)

(about 1975)

(about 1976)

(About 1977)

When I was about age 5-9, we lived in a tiny town in Michigan in what most would call a vacation cabin, on a lake.  It was my favorite place that we ever lived…and we lived in MANY places so this is saying a lot.  I remember some things from before this, when we lived in Oregon, but my best memories are from when we lived in brrr cold Michigan. 

(My mom, Grma, little sister and I in front of our cottage in Michigan in about 1978.)

The lake would freeze over each winter of course and my dad would drive over the frozen lake, making me promise not to tell my mom that he did that with me in the car.  I thought this was SUCH fun…the driving over the frozen lake AND the not telling mom part.  Course it would be a miracle if I actually didnt tell her (I dont remember one way or the other) as my CB handle thingy was “motor mouth”.    Fun nonetheless.

I was a child who could simply not wrap her brain around the idea of the big guy in the red suit that would come around each Christmas.  It didnt make any sense to me so I denied that such a guy could exist.  In an effort to convince this skeptic, my dad arranged for him to come to my (our since I shared it with my sister) room to ask for requests and visit with us.  I was SO sure that it was my DAD himself, that once the big red guy would leave, I would race into my dad’s room and there he would be sound asleep in his boxer shorts with no red suit in sight.  To be honest, I have now been told how this might have been…but I still can not believe it so I am just going to say I have no idea who that big red guy was to this day.  I might even have to say that although at age 7 I was unable to believe, at age 37, I sorta do believe. 

However it all happened, when I look back on things like this, I love my Dad’s efforts.  How fun it must have been for him to play this game…but not as fun as it was to be on the other end!

(taken before we lived on the lake I think.  maybe about 1977)

My Dad loves to fish and would sometimes go out very late and fish at a lake other than the one we lived on.  We had a little fishing boat and a canoe, nothing fancy, and he would go out and fish until all hours of the night.  Every now and then he would take me along which had to be more trouble than it was worth.  Of course I couldnt actually stay up half the night like he would, so would end up curled up asleep.  And although I say it had to be more trouble than it was worth, this also is another memory that reminds me how much my dad loves me and the trouble he would go to have some fun with me.  So that is worth quite a lot. 

(Dad, my little sister and I.  About 1977 in Michigan.)

There were many other things.  Like my dad umpired for my softball games.  This was both good and bad because he would NOT show favortism to me and sometimes this sure irked me!  On the other hand, he gave me great pointers, practiced with me to make me better and I liked that he was there and participating. 

As I got older, well we moved around A LOT.  And sometimes I remember more than other times.  So there are years, when I think he traveled a lot and was starting a new job and under more stress than other times.  Distracted by other parts of his life.  But as I got older, there are other memories that stand out and are special to me too.

When I was 12 ish, we were living in Denver and my whole family went to an Elton John concert with some tickets given to my mom at work.  My mom and my sister did not enjoy the concert much but my dad and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  It was my first concert, and I didnt know who Elton John was, but I liked being at the concert.  When it let out, our car was blocked in by another concert goer…one who was next door at the MICHAEL JACKSON concert!  It was an outdoor concert and we could hear the music while we waited to get our car out and I was DYING to go to THAT concert!  He was playing again the next night and my dad said hey, lets you and I head on down there and see if we can get tickets.  Well OK!  We got downtown and were looking for tix (sold out show) and eventually found some and he bought them from this guy for face value.  Well he was immediately arrested!  My DAD, not the seller guy.  And we had paid FACE VALUE!  I had been reading this MJ paper thingy and talking to someone and when I noticed my dad being hauled off by police, I freaked out.  I threw the papers in the air and was yelling no no no and hitting on the police to let him go!  I was hysterical.  Eventually, it got sorted out and the police realized my dad was not a scalper and let him go. 

Our seats were the very top section, very last row.  Our backs were against the WALL.  LOL  Worst seats in the house.  But thats ok, I was THERE!  It meant so much, and still does, that my dad thought to do that for me because no way was it for him ONE BIT.  LOL 

About a year later, he took me to a Bruce Springsteen concert and then I knew what a real concert was!  We had floor seats and I danced in the aisle and it was my favorite concert that I have ever been to, even though I have seen Bruce several times since.

My Dad is handy and can fix anything and I thought all boys could do this.    Turns out they can’t all do that and it’s a pretty special talent.  He didnt pass on all his fix it knowledge to me by far, but I think he did pass on a love for fixing things up, doing it yourself and thinking that anything can be done.  He also taught me to paint without taping off! 

My Dad moved away for a good many years but thankfully has now been back in our neck of the woods for some years now.  I am glad he gets to know his grandkiddos and that we get to spend holidays and other times together.

(playing games with Sophie)

(with bella the mouse)

(seems Levi and I need to have our picture taken with my dad today when we see him for dinner!!)

I am a lucky girl to have been raised by a man who made me feel like a priority to him.  I felt loved and special, especially as a young child.  Things have not always been easy or ideal for him or me or us, but I feel lucky to have my Dad in my life.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!  I love you.

The kids call a hair do a hair DUDE.    I had a frumpy week, got all brave yesterday and chose a new hairstyle, showed up at my stylists today for my appointment and completely lost my nerve.   But I took the pix of the new style with me and she just went for it.  At one point…or maybe two or three points…I said oh no oh no put the scissors DOWN!   And she said hush and sit still.  Well I have known her for awhile and she is just like that anyhow.  Our dysfunctional stylist/client relationship works for me somehow. 

I am still adusting but here it is.

Before (taken this morning by Sophie…on what I would call a good hair day but of course this is subjective and said stylist didnt agree at all.  lol):

After:

Believe it or not, this is no color added!  She just cut off all that lightened up by the sun part and got me back to natural.  woohoo.  Still adjusting to the length, but not freaking out. 

It turns out that short, sassier hair dudes also inspire me to put on shoes I bought some months ago.  To complete the sassy look I guess.  (Another photo by Sophie who found it quite silly that mommy requested her to lay on the floor to take a picture of her shoes but then again they also think its funny when mommy takes photos of their dinner and such.)     Oh and it inspired cuter earrings too.  Yeah, it turns out that a new dude is good for my mood.

Well, I am getting back on track with this tour idea.    I think the idea of a post a day for a week was a bit much so how bout it comes when it comes…probably about once a week!  Today, come on in and sit in my living room.  Nothing is too fancy, so dont worry if you spill your soda or get crumbs on my 30something year old couch!  Yes, I am 37 so my couch is almost as old as me.  lol  More below.

This is taken from the entry/front door.  There is Levi Bevi with his balloon sword that lasted about 5 minutes.  My style is definitely hodge podge!  I buy what I love and make it work. 

This is taken from up a couple of stairs.  There you can see my ancient couch.  I remember this couch being delivered to our little cottage house on a lake in Michigan when I was about 5 years old!  It was a big deal of a purchase and we moved a lot when I was a kid and my mother would have the movers build a crate to move it in if I remember right.  So the thing is, for most of the time during my childhood, no one was allowed to actually SIT on the couch.  LOL  SO it is in very nice condition for its 30-something years of age.    The hutch there is also a piece from my childhood.  My dad liked to go to auctions in Michigan and would come home with treasures like this one. 

This is part of the living room, taken from the dining room.  I am not a fan of the blinds and have no idea why they are still up in some rooms.  LOL  They put all new ones in the whole house before we moved in and it seemed like such a waste to take them all down, but I did take down about half.  This photo screams take down the ones in the living room! 

I recently showed this room because it now doubles as our school room.  But here it is when looking at it as a dining room.

And here it is as our Bamboo Sprouts Academy.    Actually, that isnt true.  The table is draped and the room is a mess when its a school or art room.  But you get the idea.  The corner cupboard that is closed up is also a Michigan auction treasure that my dad found.  I have a thing for chandaliers and moved all my old ones from our previous homes, even though they arent the best fit in this house.  Maybe I will switch to something more contemporary someday, but for now, I still like my quirky chandaliers and have them in many rooms here.

Thanks for visiting.  Next up is kitchen and eat in area but I can’t say when.  Anyone wanna come polish up the stainless appliances??  

If you missed the previous post in this series and you want to hang out longer, you can find it here: entry

“the way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain” -Dolly Parton

We have been having a lot of rain and storms here lately!  But yesterday just as we sat down to eat some dinner, the kids exclaimed, a rainbow a rainbow!  And yelled at me to get my camera so I could take pictures of it.    It really was extra cool because we could see both sides of it.

I have been thinking lately that I might be a boring MaMa and this has me worried.  I am not a go go go kind of girl.  We stay home a lot.  A lot.  My kids virtually never tell me they are bored as they are always busy with projects and games and such.  They do art constantly, mostly simple drawing type of art.  They make up games.  The other day…during a big storm…they gathered in Sophie’s room and played camping under her covers.  They watch a show here and there, play the wii.  And they play outside every second that they can. 

On the other hand, we rarely hit museums and zoos and I dont know what else.  What else are we missing?  I am sure there are many things. 

If we do venture out, we are likely to pack a picnic and spend a couple hours at a park.  Or visit friends or have friends over to visit us. 

So lately, I have some mommy guilt over this. 

At the same time, I cant imagine how to totally change myself into a go go go MaMa. 

So I have been thinking of how to be comfy with the way we are.    Looking for the positive side of our quiet life.  And I think that content kiddos are one very positive side.  Content kids who can entertain themselves very easily.  Who dont get overly tired and are pleasant to live with.    Who always know they have time to invent projects and games that they have time to finish. 

And a MaMa who doesnt stress.  Who feels guilty for her home-body ways, but who is not stressed out about where we have to be and when. 

Today, I plan to come up with a summer schedule that has a few extras in it.  Movies in the park, outings to some mountain towns, visits with friends.  Still simple, but a bit of a plan. 

Anyhow, thats what is on my mind lately.  And then this lovely rainbow and their genuine excitement over it reminded me that mostly, it’s the simple things anyhow. 

And here is the other end of our rainbow. 

Thank You Aunt Denise and Uncle Clint!

We finally made it over to Tar*et to use those Christmas gift cards and they had such fun choosing their gifts. 

Bella was sure that she could buy 15 toys with hers.    At one point she found two things she really wanted but she couldnt afford both so had to make a choice and easily chose this princess art set, which has now entertained her for hours. 

Sophie went with a LIST.  A reasonable list.  She counted up how much allowance she has saved, plus her gift card, and she told me that her heart desired a new Leap*ter cartridge (she already had the leap*ter, just wanted a new game for it) and a hoola hoop. I told her I thought that was reasonable and she could afford those two things.  But when we got there, she was appalled at how expensive toys are and kept saying well I wouldnt waste MY money on that!  lol  In the end, after carefully looking over every.single.cartridge, she chose one.  They had sparkly hoolas for $7 and still pretty but plainer ones for $3 and my smart girl chose the $3 one. 

Levi gets a little overwhelmed in a setting like this and I should have thought of that and chosen 3 items and let him choose from those 3.  Instead, he eventually found this bouncy thing and got his heart set on it, although I felt he might regret it.  I tried to change his mind a bit, but no could do.  So of course, 10 mins after we were home, he “wished” he had picked the Batm*n something or another.  But I guess even that is all a part of learning to make a good choice and I know he will enjoy his bouncy thing with a little practice. 

In addition to these things, they all chose 99cent pinwheels and have definitely got their 99cents out of those. 

Thanks for the big fun Christmas in June shopping spree Aunt D and Uncle C!

So I whipped up some PW P-nut Butter Pie and oh my!  Every single recipe I have ever made from PW is fantastic and this is no different.  Check out her whole collection of recipes…so long as you aren’t counting calories.  Because apparently on the ranch, calories don’t count. 

Perfect Pbutter Pie

crust:

25 oreos crushed in food processor or by hand.

add 4T melted butter and squish or process it until combined.

Press into pie plate and bake 350 for 5-7 mins to “set” the crust.  I will say that I totally forgot to bake it and it still set fine in the fridge with the filling in it. 

filling:

1c. creamy pbutter- beat til smooth and add

8oz cream cheese- softened beat again until smooth and add

1 1/4 c powdered sugar beat again until smooth and add

8 oz thawed cool whip and beat again until smooth.

Dump in crumb crust in pie pan and chill at least an hour.  I also topped it with more crumbled oreos…just in case it wasnt already insanely rich and yummy and high calorie enough.    It was all worth it.

My heart just isn’t in the house tour right now.  Not cancelling, just postponing for a bit I think.

This is my “born in my heart” heart.    I won it in a charity auction some years ago through the wonderful charity, Love Without Boundaries.  They provide surgeries for children who need them in China.  It is a big heart hand-made out of old barn wood and it hangs right in the center of our home.  It is one of my favorite things. 

Think I will spend the week playing at the park and painting with kiddos instead of cleaning and photographing for my mystery visitors.  Maybe even have some real visitors later this week.    (looking forward to seeing you on Friday A and T!)

You go have a good one too. 

A blog that I have been enjoying lately is hosting show us where you live Fridays.  Each week they focus on a different room and it’s so fun to go nosy-ing through other people’s homes!  Well I just found this blog so am waaayyy too late to join in the fun, but thought I would make this show you our home WEEK.  So each day, I will feature different areas of our home.    If you are nosy like me, come check in all this week.  If you think this is beyond weird…well, maybe come on back next week. 

This also REEEEAAALLLLLY helps motivate me to clean.my.house.  Which it desperately needs.   Sadly, knowing that I will be inviting you over each day, is just what I need to get the job done.  LOL 

so this is us.

and this is where we live.

Well come on in.  Dont worry about all those weeds that need pulling.  I use some potted flowers here and there to try to distract you from those pesky weeds.  Is it working? 

 

When you first come in, you are in our entry area.  Nothing too exciting, but there it is.  My mom helped me with some redecorating last year, some of you may remember.  I still like it as is, so nothing has changed. 

Come on back tomorrow if you get a chance, for the living room and dining room.

Sophie learned to ride her two wheel bike a few weeks ago and then we noticed that her old bike was suddenly way too small for her.  So today, she got to go choose a new one that is more her size!

This is the beauty she chose.  It has hand breaks and a kickstand!  She is thrilled but she did inform me at dinner tonight that she thinks she also needs a basket, streamers and a bell.  Well you know what?  This MaMa loves all those same things and totally gets the need for pimping the ride a bit. 

Oh this is where I should insert photos of my mom-mobile.  lol  But none handy, so that will be another post for another day!

They are all doing so well on their bikes that I am thinking that Bella and Levi just may get to lose their training wheels soon as well!   They are quite envious of Sophie so are pretty motivated. 

Rick said it’s beginning to look a bit like Ireland around here.  All this rain we are having is greening things right up.

It’s brrrr cold and rainy rainy rainy all week.  Which frankly, I LOVE.  Oh I think I have said this before here.  But I always feel like my mood can beat a dreary rainy ole day and it just makes me feel happy and cozy.  And maybe lazy a bit too. 

Simple homemade soup and bread for dinner.

And we aren’t much for tv these days but we all have our own “things” to entertain us in the evening.

Kiddos snuggle on the couch playing with their Leaps*ers.  We LOVE Leaps!

Rick reads news and watches his favorite tv shows on his puter.

I listen to tunes and chat and blog surf on my puter.  (and by the way, anyone have a good headphone suggestion?  Iknow these that Rick recently brought home for me are cute (lol) but I am ready to give them up.  I now have four different kinds and really cant stand any of them!  am i going to have to shell out the big bucks for some schmancy ones??)

And that is a fairly typical quiet evening at home for us.    Actually, kiddos do not play Leaps all night.  LOL  That would be amazing and QUIET!  But you get the idea.    They have moved on to the playroom now and Rick has run to the store.  But here is the MaMa…still computing.    Think I will go do some laundry and cut out an outfit or two to sew up for kiddos tomorrow (another rainy day!) before the whole evening gets away from me.

After the ballet recital, we went out for dinner.  After dinner, we were outside talking to Rick’s parents and Bella just couldnt help herself and began putting on a whole nother show.  It’s really really really too bad that I didnt have my video camera handy for this!  She gave quite a show.  The shoulders, the hands.  The hips.  She is a tad crazy.  She said she just moves her body how it feels to the music (that was playing outside of the restaurant).  Watching her, it was clear this girl just feels it in her bones and can’t help but move to it.  But she doesn’t boogie like most kiddos.  Ok, I must video it sometime.  But for now, this is what I have. 

Its clear to me that video must be taken for you to get the effect at all.  Working on it. 

Well that is a bit of an exaggeration.    But when we moved to this house a few years ago, we brought our old patio set because I loved it.  But our old patio was huge and covered and this is a very small deck that we have MEANT to enlarge but you know how that goes.  So the patio set has been out there, mostly unused, for all this time because you can barely pull out even a couple of the chairs to have a sit.  It just took up the whole deck.  Plus, this deck is not covered and the sun has eaten right through the fabric on the chairs unfortunately.  So this weekend, I set out to remedy our deck situation.

Before:

After:

So I think this fits much better.    And we cant really have flowers in the back yard because they just become deer food, but up on the deck…sure!   So Rick installed planters around the railing and I popped some plants in them. 

So far, kiddos play and play and play outside in this nice weather and now I can easily and comfortably have a sit, a soda and watch them.    Oh, and I just might have realized that there is a PLUG right next to that loveseat!  Since we are wireless…well I am all set.  This makes me think that I better pop back out this week and get the matching sideset umbrella thingy that goes with this seating set so I can sit outside with some shade! 

So if you are in our neck of the woods sometime, come on over and join me for a chat on our still small, but now cozier, deck.