My Poor Christmas Tree....

.....is taken down.

D'awwwwwwwww.

BUT, while it was up, it was a very beautiful tree. A very beautiful, slightly crooked (in a had-to-be-tied-against-the-piano-to-prevent-tipping kind of way...) tree.

I love the smell of real trees, but the obsessively clean freak portion of me is very tempted to get an artificial tree next year. I know, I know, BOOO! I'm booing myself. I just dislike the mess a real tree makes... the sap, the needles... oh sweet Georgia the NEEDLES! 

I highly doubt I will ever get an artificial tree though.... just because I'm obstinate.. I've said in the past that I will NEVER get a fake tree, so I'm going to stick to that. 

I love decorating the tree... I use silver ribbon, pretty white lights and white, silver, green, blue, and golden glass bulbs. It's so pretty! :)

So pretty!

This is my first, and probably only, attempt at holiday bokeh. It's my wreath, hanging on the wall of my living room, where my wedding portrait usually hangs.

I think it turned out pretty good....

Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas, and hope you have a Happy New Year! :)

(Too many things on my plate today so this will be a wordless post) Tuesday, or TMTomPTstwbaWP Tuesday.

24 random things.....

1. 24 was the first number that popped into my head, hence "24 random things."

2. My husband brought home Chapman's Peppermint Stick ice cream today, simply because I mentioned in a conversation last weekend that I liked candy cane ice cream. 

3. I heart my husband. :)

4. I don't like pimples. At all. And I don't understand the people who like to pop them... at all.

5. I love sparkly lights! I decorated my banister today with some pretty light-filled garlands, it looks so nice!

6. I just burped a burp that tasted like candy canes. Excuse me.

7. I miss knitting. Once I'm done this blog post I'm going to go into my living room, dig out my knitting needles & yarn, and I will sit 'n knit while Ty watches the Leaf game.

8. I'm not a huge fan of the Leafs. On a "Meh" scale of 1 to 10, they're a 6. 

9. I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to Christmas tree bulbs... every time I see them on sale or on clearance I pick up a box. Then my husband raises his eyebrow at me as I cry out "They're so PRETTY!!!!" with droplets of drool cascading from my mouth. Send help. 


10. D-man has mastered the art of saying "Bye-bye" while waving 'bye bye'! It's incredibly cute. 


11. I can't hear anyone other than Dean Martin singing 'Walking in a Winter Wonderland' without thinking "YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!!!" Send help.


12. I love Christmas music. Little D and I listened to it all day as we cleaned (well, I cleaned) and decorated (well, I decorated.. but Ducky "helped") and it was really great! Except when some random chick started singing 'Walking in a Winter Wonderland' **see #11** 


13. I love avocado. It's so strange, because I first tasted it when I was a teenager and HATED IT. Yet now it's one of my favourite things. It just goes to show you, teenagers are dumb.  **not all teenagers.... just MOST teenagers. XD

14. We bought D-man a new snow suit on the weekend, and then all the snow melted. So I'm pretty sure my purchasing choices directly affect the fluctuations of weather & nature.    


15. I totally had to look up the difference between "affect" and "effect" right after I wrote #14, and even after looking it up, I'm still not convinced I used the right one. 


16. We watched a movie today that I've seen before, but even though I've seen it before, I still chewed all my fingernails off during the intense & suspenseful moments. D'oh.


17. Even though my feet are cold right now, I still won't put on a pair of socks because they drive me crazy. I hate wearing socks, so, SO much. 


18. I can't wait for Christmas. I think it's going to be a lot of fun, if a busy & stressful day... this year both Tyler and I have to work, and then we have to rush home and have our own Christmas together, then we have to rush all the way to Wayne's new house to have Ty's family Christmas, then we have to rush all the way back to my Mom's to have my family Christmas. Boy when you write it out like that, it really doesn't sound that fun... but I think it will be. Especially if I get some kickin' Christmas tunes to listen to on my MP3 player. XD

19. I'm pretty darn certain my baby boy is the cutest baby boy ever. And I'm darn certain that even if you disagreed, I wouldn't change my mind. Maybe especially if you disagreed, because I'm just obstinate like that.


20. My right arm is slowly falling asleep because my baby boy is laying on it, sound asleep, snoring away like a banshee. Do banshees snore? That's something to ponder...


21. That's how old I was when I got married. Twenty-one. I am no longer twenty-one, but I'm not really sure how old I am most of the time, since I never celebrated my last birthday. Ask me how old I am, and 70% of the time I'll answer "23" and then "Oh, wait..."


22. The Leafs just scored a goal. And not a peep from Ty... so I'm guessing, he's asleep in the other room. ;)


23. I've been sitting here a while, waiting for an idea for "23" to pop into my head. But there's nothing. So, nothing. Nothing is a random thing... isn't it? 


24. Tomorrow I'm going to finish as much Christmas decorating as I can, and this Saturday we are getting our Christmas tree! We're going to one of those "cut your own" places to get it, we were going to go last weekend but then we didn't, and we were going to go Monday but then Wayne said they're only open on the weekend so we didn't, so now we're going this Saturday and we're going to go with Wayne & Michelle and then go back to their place for some hot chocolate and I'm making cupcakes to bring and it's going to be lots of fun!!!!


*THAT was a super run-on sentence. Feel free to release a grammar panda and shoo him in my general direction. 

15 months! (Already!)

Oh Time, it's a movin'.....

My gorgeous baby boy is fifteen months old! 

He's been sick for the majority of November (darn you, flu season, darn you to heck!) but he started to feel better just in time for his 15 month pictures! He wasn't very interested in the camera today, but I got a few cute ones. :)

Playing with a shovel... he loves to play with all of Daddy's toys (i.e. tools, tractors, shoes, gloves.. whatever Daddy has, Ducky wants.) 

Racing down the driveway because he wants to catch the cars... Oh my, yes, he does. Which, in turn, makes Mommy want to invest in a sturdy dog leash. *Ahem*. 

An adorable baby with not so adorable nose mucous, because he has just gotten over a very bad cold, and hey, snot happens.

Wiped clean! What else are Mommy's sleeves for? *silently dry-heaving while putting on a brave face* 

Apparently does not want to sit still so Mommy can get a picture of his face. Oy vey.... the tantrums. 

This pic is grainy, but I HAD to include it because of his ridiculous eyelashes. And his meltingly good smile. I know meltingly is not a word, but it should be.

And, even though this was from a few weeks ago, it's Ferocious D-man! :) Isn't he so cute?! Of course he is! I didn't really need to ask that, but I did anyway.

Does anyone have any tips on how to get a 15 month old spitfire to sit still for a few seconds? I've tried capturing his attention with toys, whistling, stupid noises, funny dances... with minimal success.

I don't know how those child portrait photographers do it. I really don't. ;)

i heart faces "Orange"

I love the colour orange... if it weren't for the colour green, orange would be my favourite colour.

I think my little man looks great in orange, there's just something about orange that makes blue eyes pop! ;)

This picture is from Ducky's 14 month pictures taken a couple weeks ago.  It was a bright, sunny, but WINDY day, so we sat on the front porch out of the worst of the wind and he cuddled up to the pumpkin that I put on the stair.

 

Go see more at i heart faces! 

Sick!

All three of us are sick.

Tyler succumbed first... he started feeling unwell around lunchtime yesterday, and by the time we got home from work, he had a raging fever, chills, headache, and sinus congestion. Because when he gets sick, he doesn't play around. The man gets SICK. SICK Sick. He definitely does not feel "under the weather", he IS the weather. His nose is the raincloud, his head is the thunderclap, his body is the inferno/cold snap.

I was feeling fine, but before bed my nose suddenly became plugged beyond all reason, I couldn't clear it even with the help of some nasal spray (which tasted -yes, tasted- suspiciously like pool water. Methinks the pharmaceutical company just recycles old pool water and bottles it... gross!) and this morning I woke up with a huge headache and sore throat.

D-man was up all night, hacking and coughing.... spent a lot of time trying to rock him back to sleep.

Ty was really hot (but not in a good way, in a sweaty and fevered way) and yet he still insisted on stealing my half of the blanket away and wrapping himself up like a giant, fevered, and sweaty cocoon.

Have I ever mentioned that my duvet is white?

Should I maybe not tell you that it is yellow now?

Can you guess why? (Hint: Think armpit sweat stains on white shirts.)

Oh, by the way, although I am usually a very "natural means" home cleaner (vinegar, baking soda, ENJO, etc.) when it comes to sweat stains, bleach is my friend. Good gravy is bleach ever my friend. Is that sentence grammatically correct? Do I care?

Man, I have a lot of questions.Questions that don't want answers. 

In happier, more delicious news, I'm making lasagna. Why? Because I was going to make chicken soup (full of chickeny goodness, and garlic, and chicken stock, and garlic, and noodles.. because it's basically cold remedy in a bowl, that's why) but I don't have any chicken. But I did have ground beef, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and a package of gluten-free lasagna noodles. 

Mmmm I can smell it cooking... yes, my sinuses have cleared.. it's already working!

If lasagna doesn't have cold-fighting power, I don't want to hear it. Just let me believe in the healing powers of melted cheese, and I'll be happy.

What's your favourite cold remedy? Do you have one? Is it lasagna?

Have fun being not sick, ya jerks... just kidding, you're not jerks, I am. Well, I'm not really... just a little. Just when I grumble about being sick and then get jealous that you're not sick. I did feel a little jerky, there.... but I'm over it.

I'll be better tomorrow... I hope.

~Sarah

14 Months!

I am having a lot of trouble uploading these pictures today. I don't like the new blogger picture uploader, I think the old one was WAY better. :/

BUT, I will not fail! I will try again and again until these pictures are up!

Here we go......

Aha! Looks like it's working!

The first one is from yesterday's "Pink" photo shoot, I just loved his expression so much I had to include it. :)

The rest are from this morning. I know it's not technically his 14 month birthday, but I took his 13 month pictures last month around this time, sooo... It's all good.

Fourteen months old! My baby boy! 

Deklan loves to laugh and play, he's still a bundle of energy all day long. The only time he stops is when he sleeps. ;) 

He's really starting to talk, now, too.. he can say Mum-ma (That's me! *grin*), Da-da (Daddy), Day-dee (Brady), Tookie (cookie), Pup-pup (puppy), Pawpaw (Grandpa), Baw (ball), Tee-tee (Kitty), and he copies animal noises (Grrrr), and tractor noises (Brrrrummmmm)! He also says "Mmmmmm!" when he eats something really tasty.

He loves his cousins, he has so much fun with the bigger kids, and his BFF is Hannah. They are great buddies! He loves his little cousins, too, baby Brianna and baby Aryanah. He gives them kisses and hugs, sometimes a little too enthusiastically! Poor babies! ;)

He loves animals, especially dogs. He's starting to learn how to pet them gently instead of pulling their fur, which makes Lucy happy I'm sure.

He gives awesome hugs and kisses, but only when he's in the mood to do it! If I ask for one, and he doesn't want to, he gives me the cold shoulder. Ouch. ;)

Deklan, you are so loved. Happy 14 months! Love, Mommy.

Pink

I hope my son will never have to confront the horror that is breast cancer. I hope he will not have to face it alongside his wife, his daughters, his friends, his aunts, his cousins, his grandmother, his mother...But if he ever does, I am glad for the people who work to fight it, to find the cause and the cure.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month! Fight back, and spread the word. Go to i heart faces to see more pink. 
 

9:08 AM

... is when I started writing this.

When will I finish? I don't know. Because there are a lot of distractions a happenin'.... I'm feeding a 14 month old baby his breakfast, which means that at any time I will have to dodge a surprisingly speedy throw of either a piece of pancake, a plastic utensil, or an empty but still sticky yogurt cup. Also, said baby may at any time begin to complain -loudly- because he's finished with his breakfast, and how dare I leave him for .2 seconds in his high chair when he's FINISHED his BREAKFAST.

Also, I have pancakes in the pan, which are probably burnt right now...... 

Yep. Burnt.

Those dots were the written equivalent of me running to the stove thinking "Crap crap crap" and finding two very, very black bottomed pancakes. Oh well, the pancakes weren't that tasty anyway. I've made better.

Tyler is working today, and after he's done at work he's planning on going to the bush. So in the next three hours, I have to make some soup to take for his lunch, I have to bake cookies (not really a HAVE to as much as a NEED to... those chocolate chips have been staring at me for days) I have to vacuum the house and really should mop it but it won't get that far today, I have to bath a stinky sticky baby, I have to do dishes, I have to... well, there's a lot of stuff.

Bathing the baby just became number one on the list, because D-man has figured out how to wiggle his leg out and stand up in his highchair. Sigh.

Hopefully I will be able to post his 14 month pictures later today, after we get home from the bush. :)

Have a good weekend!

(it's now 9:17 AM, not too bad for time...)

I Heart Faces "In the Orchard"

I don't have access to an orchard...

But I do have apples!

And a baby boy who loves to eat 'em.

Go see more at I heart faces! 

Thanksgiving

  

It's Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada, a time to pause and  to think about what we  should be thankful for.

So, in no particular order, I'm thankful for

~baby boys 

~strong manly arms (not mine, although I could still kick Daniel's bum.. ha! Inside joke. Yep. One of thooooooose things that everyone looooves.)

~sunshine

~coffee

~life

~God

~nephews & neices

~bacon

~my home

~autumn 

~squiggly lines

~eyeglasses

~answering machines

~baths

~blue paint

~the guys that pick up my recycling and take it away forever 

~my camera

~warm fuzzy socks

~flannel pajamas

~cute baby bums

~cute baby toes

~cute baby hands

~cute baby smiles

~family

~Tyler

~Canada

~grass

~flowers

~birds

~creation 

~diamond rings

~rice flour

~doggies!

~humour

~work

~and, wine. Especially when my hands are sore.

What are you thankful for?

I give thanks for my son, who was a hoot today at the big family Thanksgiving gathering. He made everyone smile with his busyness and friendly nature, he's a little punk! And I love him. Here's a few pics from today....

 

 

Those were the best ones! My camera was really acting up. Not sure why.... it kept switching the white balance on me, the silly thing. I had to edit every picture. :P

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! :)

No title.

Tyler's maternal Grandma passed away a couple weeks ago. She was 90 years old. 

She died on a Wednesday, after celebrating her 90th with all her friends and family the previous Saturday.

I didn't blog about it, because I didn't know what to say. I still don't know what to say. I know my Mother-in-law, who I love dearly, is brokenhearted. It's easy for someone like me (cynical, abrasive, insensitive, etc) to say "She was 90 years old, it was just her time, you have to move on." But that's wrong. Death is never easy. It doesn't matter if the person is 90 or 9, it's still a loss. And losing sucks.

It is comforting to think that we will see her again in Heaven, but we're here on Earth. Without her.

It hurts to think that I'll never get to play cards with her again. She was quite the feisty card player... I have never been called a "son of a b!+ch" by an 89-year-old, until I played "Bugger your Neighbour" with Grandma, and had the audacity to win.

I was never able to try one of her cookies, but I'm told they were the best. Every Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, without fail if there was a family gathering there would be COOKIES! Chocolate chip ones, the biggest I've ever seen.  Her children and grandchildren would fight over them. It's true. There may have been some hair pulling and face scratching last Christmas.... Tyler may or may not have been involved.

I'm don't cry very often... I didn't cry when Tyler proposed to me, I didn't cry at my wedding, I have never cried at any other wedding I've been to, and I've even been to a few funerals and I don't remember shedding a tear.

But I bawled (unexpectedly) at Grandma's funeral. Probably because I love my Mother-in-law, and when she got up to give her speech, I was SO proud of her for making it all the way through it by herself! She was the only one of Grandma Mawson's kids who was able to give her own speech. Everyone else had a daughter or daughter-in-law read it for them, and Lesley and I were warming up the bench (so to speak), but she did it herself. The whole time, I was thinking "You can DO it, Mom! You can do it!" and when she made it through, the tears just came.

It was not a pretty cry. Some people cry, and they shed one tear and it's all glistening and perfect like a tiny diamond upon their smooth, spotless cheek...

I hate those guys.

No, when I cry, my nose gushes like a faucet, my face resembles the grimace of a gargoyle with angst, the skin around my nose and eyes becomes all red and splotchy and refuses to return to normalcy even after I'm done crying. Red rimmed eyes, protruding veins on my forehead, I get all the less-than-attractive symptoms.

I wasn't concerned about how I looked, though. (I was concerned about where to wipe the tears and snot, though, so I had to ask my husband to go get some kleenex... totally wasn't prepared.) The Bible tells us to mourn with those who mourn, and I was. I will miss Grandma, but I know my job isn't to break down and cry all the time, it's to be strong for the ones who do need to cry. Like my Mother-in-law.

I'll miss you, Grandma... see you someday. Save a spot at your card table for me.

13 month pictures!

They're a little late, I know.

Life has been busy lately...  not always good busy. 

It's also been really rainy for the past two weeks, and every sunny day was full of stuff to do, with no time to get outside with D-man. Until today! :)

So, even though it's not September 16th, pretend it is for a second... it'll make me feel a little better. ;)

Happy September 16th! *wink, wink*

I Heart Faces "Chalk"

I had lots of good ideas for this week's photo challenge, but it rained all weekend! So no chance for me and my buddy to get outside with some chalk. Instead, I have this picture I took in May, when some of my nephews and nieces stayed for the weekend at our house, and I needed something for them to play with! Sidewalk chalk it was. 

Little D had just as much fun as the big kids. Maybe more.... I'm really glad that chalk is non-toxic, though, because he liked to taste-test it as he scribbled on the pavement! :)

Go to I heart Faces to see more chalky photos, or better yet, to play along.

I Heart Faces "Smirk"

Little boys give the best smirks. Especially when they're being a little bit naughty, getting into something they shouldn't, and they KNOW it! ;)

Thursday night....

... I couldn't sleep.

I don't know why. I went to bed at a reasonable hour, had worked all day Thursday and so was suitably tired enough for sleep, but when my head hit the pillow my brain went "kaZING!" and wouldn't shut up. Or shut off... or whatever the brain does when the person is asleep.

So, I tossed and turned all night, dozing off only to wake up and think "Oh! Finally! I fell asleep!" then to have my hopes crushed when I looked at the alarm clock and saw every hour, on the hour. 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:38 (a bit of variation for you, don't want you to get bored) 4:00, and finally, 5:00. The alarm was set for 5:00, since I had to be at work by 6:00, there's a 20 minute drive (as long as there is no speeding...), I wanted to get my sandwiches ready, and I do like to sit and have a coffee for a minute before I rush out of the door, I think it gives my brain a moment to breathe (I know brains don't breathe, it's figurative) and reconfigure so I don't fall asleep on the way to work. I never have fallen asleep behind the wheel, but the idea scares me so much I go out of my way to prevent it. 

Anyway, I got up at 5:00, but I have to backtrack a little bit here.... Deklan has been sleeping really well at night, he sleeps from 8:30 or 9:00 in the evening to 7:00 every morning, usually.... but Thursday night, for whatever reason, he woke up at 11:30. I went in to soothe him back to sleep, and he did go back to sleep, but I went back to bed to toss and turn some more until he woke up again at 2:00. I gave up after that, and just brought him into bed with me, where he proceeded to toss and turn because he's not used to sleeping in bed with anyone anymore, and I was too lazy tired to get out of bed and put him back in his crib. 

So, when I got up at 5:00, Deklan was only half asleep and he started to cry when I got out of bed. Tyler woke up, and said "Oh he's in bed with us?". He had just finished his 11 day stretch at work, and was exhausted. I explained to him that I'd been up all night, and that Deklan had a rough night, and Tyler's reaction was "You should have woke me up, I would've taken care of him. You have to work today." Which was so sweet, but I'm not that cruel. I wasn't going to wake him up on his first day off after working 11 days in a row, just so I could lay in bed and toss & turn and not sleep. ;)

So, Ty got up to rock D-man in the chair, while I got ready to go. As I was drinking my coffee, Tyler came shuffling down the stairs, his eyes still half closed. He was carrying the D-man, who was wide awake and grinning from ear to ear. D'oh.

I had to leave, so I gave my boys a kiss each, and a hug, and went out the door to go to work.

Tyler told me later that Ducky did eventually fall back to sleep, but only for an hour or so. Consequently, the three of us were VERY tired last night. So tired, that as we were watching T.V., Tyler fell asleep in the chair, I fell asleep on the couch, and Ducky fell asleep on my lap. 

When did we wake up? 

2:48 a.m.! 

That is the first time since I was pregnant that I fell asleep on the couch. It was crazy! 

I carried the baby up to his crib, he was sleeping like a log and didn't even squirm when I put him down and covered him up, then Tyler and I collapsed into bed. Where I promptly fell asleep, not waking up until 7:15 this morning, and I feel rejuvenated and refreshed!

All this is to say, I LOVE SLEEP!

Thank God for sleep.

And, in case sleep is elusive, thank God for COFFEE!!!

Wednesday

I have been a little stressed out lately. 

Just a little.

Our house is up for sale, which means I have to keep it clean and show ready constantly, in case someone wants to come see it. I'm a "pre-emptive strike" kind of girl, I don't like the thought of having to clean everything top to bottom in a few hours before a stranger comes to see my house, I'd rather keep everything in a state of perfection so I can chilax. 

The problem is, I have a one year old (almost 13 month old) who loves to mess up EVERYTHING as I'm cleaning. Also, I'm fighting fatigue because I've been back to work for a couple weeks, and I'm taking antihistamines because my hand broke out in a rash that was probably caused by the very, very harsh soap at work, that my skin just isn't used to anymore. Antihistamines make me sleepy.

So, if you've been wondering where I've been and what I've been up to lately, I must say I haven't been anywhere except work and home, and I haven't done anything but cook and clean. 

Yesterday I did manage to get outside for a couple hours, just to play with Ducky, soak up some rays, and relax while Ty put some more boards up on the back room. (The back room that is ALMOST DONE, by the way! So excited to get that finished up.)

I am not kidding at all when I say my son has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen.

So, being back to work is fun! I do love my job, but I'm really glad I'm only working part time. Three days a week isn't too terrible, it gets me out of the house and gives us some extra moolah in the bank, but I'm still home the majority of the time with my son. He's adjusted really well to the change in our schedule, he gets to spend time with Grandma, Granny, and Aunt Heather and her kids, and every other Friday he gets to spend the whole day with his Daddy. 

 I work Mondays, Thursdays & Fridays, so I get Tuesday & Wednesday off and Saturday & Sunday off every week. 

I like having two days in a row off, it lets me get caught up on housework and laundry, and I don't feel like I'm gone all the time. I originally wanted to work Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, but I'm glad I work Fridays instead of Tuesdays, because that means we only need a babysitter three days every other week, since Tyler has every second Friday off.

Yesterday I cleaned, so today I have more free time so I can sit and fiddle around with my blog. I still need to go grocery shopping later today, but I might wait until Ty gets home, and then go as a family and maybe get Supper at a restaurant so I don't have to do dishes. But we'll see. ;)

     As a side-note to that, did you realize that Boston Pizza now has Gluten-free pizza on their menu?? No? Well, they DO. :D

Happy Birthday to Elena, my little sister who is not so little anymore! She's 16 today. :) 
Love you lots!

Board and batten

Board 'n batten, board'n'batting, boards and bacon, bacon and cheese, cheesey bacon clusters, I'm sorry where is my bacon??? Bacon!?

Okay, I'm realizing that no one in the real world actually said anything about bacon. But I'm hungry, and I haven't eaten breakfast yet, and bacon is the most delicious thing in the world, so naturally I thought of bacon when I said something else that sounded like bacon. Because batten sounds like bacon, if you say it fast and don't use your brain.

Anyway, this past weekend was one of the craziest, busiest, and most tiring weekends ever. You all knew that last Thursday night our Realtor called and was all like "Heh! I want to bring someone to see your house Saturday morning, even though I said originally that I wouldn't bring anyone until Monday! So!"  and we were like "Nooooooooooooooooooooooo yes. I guess." Which meant we had to work our butts off to finish the living room ceiling. 

You know, when you put drywall up in a room, you have to take everything (and I mean EVERYTHING, the only thing we left in there was the piano -the heaviest piano in the world, that is-) out of there, which means that every other room in your house has a disproportionate *I just spelled that correctly on the first try! AIR FIVE!!* amount of furniture, gadgets, etc. So even though all the drywall dust is kept in one area, everything else still gets FILTHY. 

So, Thursday night Tyler finished sanding the drywall. Thursday night and Friday morning (as in, 1:00 a.m.) I put a coat of primer on the ceiling while Tyler went to bed, because I made him! He had to get up early the next morning (as in, 3:30 a.m.) and there was no way I was going to let him help me. I may have yelled, I may have stomped my foot. Twice.

Later that same Friday morning, my sister Linda came over and helped me put on the first coat of paint.  She brought my brother Christopher to help watch Deklan so we could paint without having to chase a 1 year old. 

At lunchtime, I had to go pick up Ty's Mom, who was going to help Ty with the planing and cutting of all the cedar boards for the board and batten we were planning on putting up on the weekend. So when we got back, Critter continued to watch Ducky, and I put on the final coat of paint on the ceiling. 

Then, it was time to clean!

Ohhhhh.... the cleaning. 

My living room has wainscoting. I now hate wainscoting. Have you ever washed drywall dust, mud flecks, and paint flecks out of every nook, cranny, and crevice that wainscoting has? Well, I have. It sucks. My knees hurt. My back hurt. My arms hurt. I hate wainscoting. If it didn't look so darn nice, I would get Tyler to rip it out and burn it. Phooey. 

So, Friday night I finished up all the cleaning that I could possibly do by myself, and then at 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning I collapsed into bed.

Deklan woke up at 4:30 a.m., I tried to get back to sleep (unsuccessfully) until I just decided to get up at 6:30 a.m., and then my brother-in-law Jeff showed up to help me with the finishing touches in the living room. Mom and Linda came a little later, to help me clean everything after moving all the furniture and gadgets back into the living room! We only had until 11:00 a.m. to do EVERYTHING, and I must say I got pretty stressed out (there is another word for it, but it's too shocking to write here) and was bulldozing my way through everything and everyone at about 9:45. I was panicking, thinking we were going to run out of time, but I didn't need to worry so much. Everything was done, everything was cleaned and washed and sparkly, all at 10:57 a.m. We walked out the door just as the Realtor pulled up, and everything was perfect!

I couldn't have done it without Jeff, Linda, Mom, and Critter. You guys are amazing and awesome. :)

So, fast forward to yesterday... Ty's Mom and Dad came after lunch on Sunday to help start the board and batten on the back room. 

 

I must say, it's going to look fantastic when it's finished.

It's going to be so cool!

Oh, and now for a scary rabbit trail... Friday night we removed the back porch, because it's old and rotten and needs to be replaced, and underneath the first step there was a skeleton! Probably a cat skeleton, although it could have been a skunk, I don't know. The people who owned the house before us were crazy cat people, they had something like 20 cats, so I'm assuming it was a family pet who just decided to crawl under the porch and die one day. It was pretty creepy to find that, and to think about what ELSE might be lurking under things we haven't moved, like the front porch or the.... stairs.

Deklan got a wagon from his Grandpa and Grandma for his birthday, and it's his favourite thing. He'll sit in there for hours, just hanging out, chillin' and chilaxing.

Yes, that bottle is full of dirt. Why? Because my 3 year old niece Amelia thought it needed to be full of dirt. And since the dirt was inside, not outside the bottle, I didn't think it would matter if Deklan put his mouth on it. Besides, everyone needs to ingest a bit of dirt in their lifetime, that's how you build up the flora in your gut, in order to support a healthy immune system. :)

Deklan was smiling and laughing at Grandma, who was making silly faces and silly noises. :)

My son is the cutest. 

So, this week Tyler and I have to finish the board & batten, repair a few boards on our front porch that have given up the ghost, and then we just have to wait and pray and try not to stress out. Because if it's meant to be, it'll happen. The house will be sold, we'll move to our new home, and life will go on. ;)

Now, I must go eat some breakfast.

And stop thinking about bacon.