Color me happy

I think I still have spring fever.  It is still spring isn't it??
Because I'm loving color. Loving bright pink, green, and blue colors.

Please excuse the foot and the dirty sock in the top of the picture.
Oh, you didn't notice? then pretend I didn't point out the photo's flaws.

Over the last weekend, we got our color on and painted the girls' room,
painted it "tide pools"(the walls) and "berry pink"(the nightstand) and "cool jazz"(the nightstand drawer).

I thought I'd replace the knob with something more fun. Something bling-y and glass and pink.

Do you ever wonder who gets to name the colors of paint?  Does one person get to name all the colors of a brand, as in like, all 300 hundred of them!?  When would a person start running out of ideas?

It must be a female.

Case in point: If you asked me the color scheme in the girls' room, I'd say it is teal, raspberry, and peach.
If you asked Dean, he'd say blue, pink, and orange.

Decorating the girls' room is becoming a lot of fun.
I have a raspberry pink framed cork board to hang by their door, matching letter hooks to hang below it, and six yards of fabric to start cutting into large squares to sew into two quilts.

I know, I know, I must be crazy to think I can sew up two quilts any time soon.  It's that fever I tell you.  That spring fever is coloring me crazy.

Tuesday's Tip - Restor-A-Finish

I would like to say that this will knock your socks off, that I am about to WOW you, but that would probably be an overstatement...so...I am just going to share a little tip with you.

If you have a lot of wood trim in your house, or if you have wood furniture that is scuffed, scratched, contains water marks, or is otherwise looking dreary, I have just the product for you... 

Howards Restor-A-Finish!

Okay, enough of the sales pitching.  Let me just show you a picture of the bathroom door that got acquainted with Howard.

Its like a whole new door now!  

And it's as simple as wipe on, wipe off.

While I am not in love with all the wood in my house, and I dream of the day I can have crisp white trim, I do love how fresh and new the wood looks now that we've used this Restor-A-Finish. We've used it on baseboards, cheap hollow interior doors, solid wood entry doors, and window trim; all with favorable results.

It appears though that this product does not work on deep gouges.

I guess we'll have to replace this window trim. Some day. For now, I have to say that its a big improvement.

I'm looking at my kitchen cabinets now. And at the can of Restor-A-Finish. And back at my kitchen cabinets.  Naw, I've got other plans for them.

But seriously, try this stuff out! It's pretty amazing!

It might even knock your socks off...especially if you forget to ventilate the room by opening the windows.

What Title Would YOU Give This Photo?

Mr. Golden Sun

With skies like this...

I can't resist lazing in the sun in my slippers, soaking it all up.

Beside me, I hear Donovan saying "nice doggy, nice doggy. Do you want to pet my doggy, Mom?" 

It almost makes me feel bad about not being an animal person.  But I guess there's no harm in pretending your brother is your doggy, and no harm in cuddling up to him instead of a furry pet.

We lay on the tramp long enough for me to conclude that the laundry doesn't need to get done today after all. Long enough for me to think that tomorrow comes soon enough regarding the house work. Long enough for me to wonder if perhaps I should roll up my pant legs and long enough for me to start worrying about Elaina's fair skin, making my run inside for her hat.

The sun warmed me long enough that I didn't care when the boys took over the watering - which inevitably turned into clothes-soaking, even if I protested that it wasn't hot enough for that.

The sun is fierce up here.

If only I could draw the strength from it that a solar panel does and store it up - so that when the boys are crying and Elaina is clinging and supper needs to be made and the homework needs to be completed and the legos are underfoot - I could pull energy from that source to keep me going, thriving, and help me to bloom rather than wilt.

On second thought, my skin does still feel warm.  I think I'll go put a load to spin and think about supper.

Ahh, Spring! 

Family

Did I tell you that my mother came to visit?  No?!  Okay. My mother came to visit.  

So did my brother. For a whole week!  It had been over a year since I'd seen them.

And my other brother and one of my sisters came to visit too, though just for one night.

It was wonderful.  They melded into our little home like... well, like they were family.

We made no big plans. Life just kind of happened.

Like Aubrey's trip to the ER an hour after they arrived.

We thought she'd need stitches. The ER doc thought some "purple magic", aka glue, would do just fine.  The handful of stickers sure helped too.

We brought them to our favorite store here in Flagstaff - Bookmans.

We shopped ourselves silly, or sore rather, two or three times in the course of that week my mom was here.  It was a lot of fun. Especially when something like a box of donuts in the Walmart aisle became funny enough to send us into a fit of laughter.

My brother's birthday is today (Happy Birthday Peyton!). So while he was here, we had a cake, or rather birthday brownies, for him.

He was a lot of help while he was here. He watched the boys for us, helped on Aubrey's ER trip, entertained Elaina numerous times, and even helped me in the backyard.

Before they left, Dean and I took advantage of the extra adults around and got out alone on Saturday morning. It was extra nice since he had been away for a long weekend with his own family in Minnesota to remember his sweet Grandma who recently passed away. 

We went on a hike then headed downtown for some brunch.

I think only when your company is your mother do you leave your company babysitting your kids. ;)

Thanks Mom!

We will miss you like crazy.

Hello Red Baron!

After a night like last night (I became aware of the fact that Aubrey has a stomach flu at 12:47 am)
and after a day like today (I am still in my robe. But hey! the bedding is now clean!)
you can imagine my delight when I opened my freezer and found two frozen pizzas.

Hello! Red Baron!  I could just about kiss you right now.

I shall refrain until 5:30.

Now I'm wondering...what I should open next. The broom closet? 

What do you think my chances are of finding a Merry Maid? In a cheery yellow dress, of course, 

and ready to swing her rag and mop.