Purple tulips!

I am absolutely enamored with my new purple tulip glass that Katie brought back from San Francisco...just for me! The symbolism behind the purple tulip is also fascinating how it is tied to the 7th chakra and the continuing journey to be spiritually fulfilled.

Can't read my poker face!

Did I score a straight flush in spades (Kate Spade to be exact) with my new choice in eyewear or did I draw a bust?

Skeleton's in the closet

What is it with the overall great feeling of a clean closet, refridge or newly painted walls? I cannot even begin to explain this "rebirth" until you yourself have experienced it firsthand. We all dread housework, yard work, cleaning, etc...but there is something so gratifying when your all done. It is almost a weight being lifted, making it seem easier to sleep at night.

It is very difficult to maintain a balance of harmony in disarray. The overall feeling of completeness and mental and physical well being are completely out of sync when our home is chaotic. Is there an underlying "skeleton" or burden we need to erase from our being that continues the drive for perfection in a clean surrounding~who knows?

Today Chris and I spent our entire Sunday cleaning out closets, all 3 bathrooms, the refridge, laundry and shampooing the carpets. We even had time to grocery shop for the week, cook dinner, and watch Calliou before bed (all of you with toddlers/preschoolers know what I am talking about)! Whew...we're tired, but look forward to a great week with a clean (less chaotic) house and a new harmonious look on life!!!

~Happy Harmonious Week!

til death do us part!

Our new door is finally here and today it was measured and cut down to size. All we need to do is stain and seal it, so off to Lowe's to pick out a color...any suggestions?? Speak now or forever hold your peace!

~Happy home renovation Saturday!!!

Just Ducky!

We were supposed to meet up with daddy for a fun "Friday fish night", but he had to bail...again and go down south for work!!! :( So we got our ducks in a row (literally), took a long bubble bath, and decided to have yet another girls movie night and coffee clouds with Carly Simon!

~Happy Weekend!

Stinkin' cute

After I got out of the shower today, I was pleasantly
surprised with my girls playing dress-up, again.

Piper informed me that they were pretending to be
"tourists from the mall"...who knows?

~Happy Wednesday!!

By popular demand!

Here are the pictures of my living room...still a work in progress, and encouraging/nagging Chris to buy me new "real" living room furniture, new carpet/hardwood, tile for the fireplace, etc...I guess one project at a time!

P.S. Rosie I hope you received this via email...I think I got it figured out!!! :) M

crafty time!

Instead of doing our "beginning of the week" cleaning, we decided to craft instead. Oh, and how fun us girls had while daddy was "wooorking" (~Paige).

We upholstered 12x16 canvas with fun new fabric to match my far out red curtains and hung them with sticks we found outside (you'd think I was going kinda granola~huh?). I mostly had fun with Chris's staple gun (and yes, I did wear safety goggles)...you can only imagine! Ideas from styrofoamstyle.com.

We also were in desperate need of a clock in the basement and decided to again use fun vinyl numbers from Treasury of Memories and a cheap clock kit from Michael's.

We met Chris' stamp of approval, but again were reprimanded for all the new holes in the walls (we'll never be able to change good ol' daddy)! And I guess we'll get to the cleaning and housework tonight!!!

~Happy Monday!

A day of sadness

My mother called this afternoon to inform me of the devastating news to my small hometown, Butte Montana. An airplane en route to Bozeman (90 miles east of Butte) coming from California crashed leaving 17 dead, of which mostly children. From what I read, they were on spring break going to Montana for a ski vacation.

Tonight when you are saying your evening prayers, please remember to say an extra one for the families of this devastating tragedy. And make sure to hold your children and little tighter and kiss them a little more because you never know when God needs them more than you do!

tulips, daffodils, dirt & crayons!

What do all of these have in common, you ask? Let me tell you about the fun afternoon we had in the sun!!!

Our Sunday began bright and early with the sound of Baxter barking at the early bird neighbors! Then off the church, Lowe's, KFC for "honey buns" and then finally home to work outside!!!

Us girls stayed to the pink jobs and planted some new spring flowers, while daddy dug out the dead grass and filled it with baby seed (hopefully it grows back after the incident with the house paint last year)! After we were finished in the front we began to work towards the back but got sidetracked with all the doggy poo and crayons...."just because crayons are NON toxic, doesn't mean we can feed them to Baxter "~Chris. At this point everyone was getting a little testy and a perfect time for a nappy!

Daddy stayed outside awhile longer, continuing to mumble something about poo, crayons and dirt and questioning why all the "gross" jobs are in the blue job handbook!!!

~Happy Spring!

Spoiled rotten!

The girls and I had a fun filled day out on the town. Piper had her first pedicure/manicure and Paige opted out for new flip flops instead (just like her haircut...too scared) maybe next time!

na na na na, na na na na....

hey hey hey, GOODBYE!!!!

One last look at cheap yellow and the screen to match because the contractor comes today to give us an estimate and we are off to buy our new wood door!!!

No more screen door summers (I don't even think the wind blows that way)!

Pictures to follow!!!

All smiles!

Piper & Paigey went to the dentist today for the biannual cleaning and great news...NO CAVITIES! Yahoo for them!!!!!! And the best part is we don't have to brush teeth tonight because of the fluoride treatment! Yahoo, Yahoo for Mommy!!!!

~Happy Thursday!

Chain links!

Katie and the girls worked on chain links counting down to their birthdays, and obviously Paige's is a little bit longer since her birthday isn't until next February!

Fun times while Mom and Dad are working!

Blarney Stones!

My Irish ancestors (mostly my Grandmother Mary Jo) would be so disappointed in my "store bought" version of the infamous St. Patrick's Day "blarney stones"! But will pass as a substitute since I'm not in Butte, MT today!!!

Irish Blessing!

Irish Blessing

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

May God be with you and bless you:

May you see your children's children.

May you be poor in misfortune,

Rich in blessings.

May you know nothing but happiness

From this day forward.

May the road rise up to meet you

May the wind be always at your back

May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home

And may the hand of a friend always be near.

May green be the grass you walk on,

May blue be the skies above you,

May pure be the joys that surround you,

May true be the hearts that love you.

~Happy St. Patrick's Day 2009!

Thanks Uncle Sam!

Because I was soOoo sick of having that gargantuous TV in our living room, and Chris sick of hearing me complain about it, we decided to purchase a new TV for above the fireplace.

I was going to wait to post the new TV pic's after Chris was able to hide the wires, but he was insistent on showing off his great work hanging the two quarter inch screws in (you all know he hated every minute of it)!

Anyway, my living room is so much nicer now that the "man" TV has found it's new home...in the basement!

Happy St. Patrick's Week!

"For each petal on the shamrock, this brings a wish your way-good health, good luck, and happiness for today and every day."

Attack of the Sickies!

Just a pic of the sickies we woke up with this morning, and a taste of how last night went...we had to hide the Kleenex from Piper and we had to run after Paige with it! Needless to say, Chris and I have been eating vitamin C and airborne by the handfuls!



~So much for being Saturday!

Muy Pequeño el Mundo es

As most of you could tell, every Friday during Lent we have decided to try a different ethnic form of fish to encourage the girls to practice "Fish Friday"!

Today we went to El Gitano's , and to our surprise there was a mariachi band playing. It was especially fun because they came right to our table and serenaded a special song just for the girls "Muy Pequeño el Mundo es" ("It's a Small Word").

We cannot wait until next week to see what country we will go to next for a fun fish surprise!

Our new Ladybird Beetle

Lady bugs have always had a special significance to us! We find them usually when we need them the most or need to spend a little more time reflecting on what's most important in life! Our girls were so excited of their find this morning on our windowsill.

Their tie to "Our Lady" has also been very intriguing and the significance is so very beautiful!

"In an age of faith when people saw earth mirroring heaven, this tiny creature was thought to enjoy the special protection of the Virgin Mary. Reversing its role in the past two centuries, this small symbol of Our Lady burst into prominence as a protector of people and their food supply. As the enemy of aphids, the ladybird has rendered service calculated in the billions of dollars in the past century alone. We have good reason to be grateful for this little beetle and to the Lady for whom it is named."~Brother John M. Samaha

Is there a reason this beautiful creature was given to us today?

~Just a thought for the day!

Happy Weekend!

Piper & the Holograms!

Piper has decided to start her own rock band with her new Barbie guitar! And as you can tell she remarkably looks like her new role model Jem (80's favorite Barbie that kept me company at many of the AAU wresting weekends with my brothers) or Wilma Flinstone-we can't tell?! All she needs is light up earrings to complete the look!

Tiny bubbles!

"There is only one ailment in this world that a bubble bath cannot cure....I have yet to find it!"

Battle with the blue jobs!

On Sunday night I took a picture of our infamous "clean" laundry pile and am too embarrassed to post it! Honest to God (yes mom...I am praying-especially that the laundry goes away), it took Chris and I a grand total of 3 hours to fold and put away!

When Chris and I got married 5+ years ago we made a list of blue and pink jobs-pretty much self explanatory, right?. I am a good housekeeper, amongst many of the pink jobs I've acquired over the years, but when it comes to laundry-washing it, drying it, folding it, ironing it, or just getting it down stairs...I stink! I have gone as far as doing the "Irish shower" (aka wear it more than once and drown it in cologne-smells good it must be clean, huh?) to avoid doing more laundry. My mom has stopped visiting my house because she doesn't want to do any more of my laundry. From the get go, laundry has been a "blue" job! However, my blue husband hasn't been keeping up on his blue responsibilities!

But after Sunday nights revelation, and absolutely not wanting to ever do that again, I have made a pact with myself (and want all of you to be my witnesses) that laundry is now a "pink" job and I will keep up on it daily!

*Update:
Monday~going strong!
Tuesday~still going strong!

It's begining to look a lot like Christmas...again!

Today we awoke to another snowy day, in March nonetheless! We're getting real sick of all the "shoemen"(~Paige) falling from the sky and preschool being cancelled. Hopefully "God will bring some warm weather and sun today" (~Piper)!

~Happy Monday!

All about family fun!

Today we had a fun filled family Saturday! And as you can tell, even Daddy was excited to go to the "Fun Zone"!!! We met up with some friends, had yummy cupcakes, and all came home for a long nap!

*b.t.w. it didn't snow last night so our flowers are as pretty as ever on our front porch!

Cool Beans!

Tonight for "fish Friday", we tried a new sushi place. It was especially fun because instead of ordering what you wanted, it came by on a conveyor belt...how cool, huh (being from Montana I can say that)! And yes Jen, we have such a place locally...we'll talk later!

Anyway, lesson learned about where to take children, and where not to children for sushi. Mall sushi-you bet! Conveyor belt sushi-ahh, no go! I will let each and everyone of you use your imagination with a 2 and 4 1/2 and a 27 year old cowgirl! To make a long story short...I almost died eating an edamame (Japanese baby soybean) and you have to pay for everything your children touch! You all will be glad to know that I maintained my cool, had an absolute blast, and will definitely go back for sushi and edamame's!

~Happy Fish Friday!

P.S. I took this cute picture of our beautiful spring arrangement before the snow comes tonight!

Battle of the sexes!

Scorecard:

Chris: -5 #'s

Mary: +0 #'s (yeah, that's right...dead even~boo hoo)!

Don't worry girls, we're still going strong...stick to it!

Sisters Daycare

Piper & Paige have decided to open a daycare, however they currently only have openings for girl Care bears and babies that don't poo-yuck!

Tax returns...

We have decided not to purchase our dream bedroom set because my procrastinating husband did not order it in time and it SOLD OUT! So, I decided we should use our tax return money to purchase divorce papers instead(he didn't think that was such a great idea and I couldn't find the courthouse).


*Disclaimer: Don't worry friends, as you all KNOW I am just kidding and all is fair in love and war. You have play your cards right and keep those boys on their toes at all times!

~Happy Week!

The WEIGHT is over!

That's it! I am searching for volunteers from all my friends to take back the 15#'s that miraculously "just appeared" and join Weight Watchers (again) with me!

After my youngest baby (Paige) was born, just over 2 years ago, I lost ALL my baby weight+ on the points system. It is really easy and you can still EAT OUT and pretty much anything....in moderation. No dumb meetings, sob fat stories, all I need is just the accountability to someone other than my bad influence, cheater husband (with diets, I mean).

Everyone knows, that before you start any diet you must do an absolute purge and literally stuff yourself into oblivion with all your favorite "comfort" foods! So friends, set up a time and I will supply the place and all the fuel for this fun new adventure in preparation for shorts and swimsuit season!

~Happy Dieting!