Jumping on Beds..........

fabulous friday!

Hi there!

Feeling inspired today.....can't quite put my finger on it but feeling like something is on the horizon.

I have had a few emails and signs lately that have given me  a feeling that something is coming.

Not sure what that is but I am starting to take note of these little signs and focus on them.

This "feeling"  has left me wanting to get busy creating, organizing, working on a new project....which I guess I started this week.  

I am feeling really good about little things like almost being caught up with my laundry for the first time (I think) in 9 years. Seriously, I have never been able to  keep up.  I always thought that maybe I was lazy or something because I never could keep up with it all but I am starting to see that I wasn't lazy, I was busy having fun with my 3 kids!  That feeling has made me feel SO GOOD!! I can't even tell you.  Now that I have time alone, I am getting things done that I was not able to do before.....it feels amazing!  Amazing because it has opened my eyes to the fact that I did a great job being a SAHM.  I spent time with my kids, isn't that what it is all about!?.....I wasn't lazy like the little voice in my head often told me when I would step over piles of clothes or see how quickly things got messy and stayed messy for days on end! 

Such an amazing feeling to pay gratitude to yourself!  I think every now and then it is helpful  to see the important things you have accomplished and acknowledge them to yourself! So SELF, you weren't LAZY!!!! Hope you heard that!!!  Maybe that is what was on the horizon? Who knows? 

In other news.......Cami had an awesome birthday!!! She got a new mansion bird cage for her birds! No toy could have made her happier.....she is a Mommy now!  It is all about the birds! 

After Mannie got home from work, she opened her presents and then fixed up the new bird cage and we watched the birds explore their new home!  Then the kids got homework done and we ate dinner.....Cami's request was pizza, spaghetti and meatballs!  

Another request was swimming. So we headed out to the pool and the 3 little fishies had a blast swimming around until almost darkness fell.

Home for wishes and cake!

Overall, the perfect day for a wonderful kid!

Things are feeling great over in our neck of the woods!  Our weeekend plans are to work out (cleaning wise not exercise wise ;) in the backyard, finish the craft closet, go to Cara's soccer game and hope they win.....Mannie has one or two championship games depending on the outcome of the first game! I am REALLY hoping they win!!! Nothing would make him happier!!

Hope you have an awesome weekend!! 

Birthday Girl!

Good Morning....

Today is the 7th birthday of my amazing little, silly kid, CAMI!!!

Last night I told her the story of when she came into our life! She loved hearing it! I told her she was having too much fun in my tummy dancing and got herself tangled up in the cord while coming out!  She got a kick out of that!  

Wow, she has added such energy to our life, energy I needed in so many ways!! 

Always the kid that wants to laugh and have fun, and laugh and have fun....this girl!!! 

But silly side aside......she has an amazing, I mean AMAZING ability to see things that the rest of us might overlook.  

That is one of the things I love most about Cami.....never ceases to amaze me.  She always sees the tiniest details in life!

Today, in school, she got to share a bag full of 7 things about her....all these things needed to fit into a little lunch bag.  

So, this morning during the mad morning rush, I see her in her room, sitting at her drawing table (not to be confused with her desk!) and she is drawing the cover from the movie, Rio.  I say, "Cami, let's go, you have to get ready, we need to get to school!" and she tells me that she wants to bring this picture as one of her 7 things......Oh my gosh, she is precious but it was half colored in.  I told her I would color the rest and she needed to get dressed.  

So, I colored and as I colored, I noticed that she had drawn in parts of the picture that needed to be shaded different colors....not sure if I can properly explain it but I couldn't believe my eyes....and it made a quick color nearly impossible because I could tell how much time and effort she had put into this picture. I looked at the cover to the movie and sure enough these little shading details were right there but if I had drawn the picture, I wouldn't have even noticed those details! Here is the picture:

Blew me away, again, never ceasing to amaze me with her brilliance as an artist.  That is her gift for sure!  

Anyway, I was luckly enough to be in her classroom this morning helping stuff the weekly folders for her teacher when she was called upon to share her bag of 7!!! 

One of the blessings of my unemployed SAHM status for sure...to be able to see her share today! Wished I had my iphone with me so I could have videotaped for Mannie!
What a love, I am so proud of her.

So, today, I will be working on a special cake for her! and try to think of some bird related way to make the rest of her day special!!

Yesterday, I never finished the craft closet because I started on the burlap banner and I decided on sewing rather than stapling......sewing takes me forever!!!! As you can see, I am not the perfectionist that Cami is....but I love it nonetheless purely because it did take me awhile and it is homemade!

But here is our finished mantel for October!  I printed out the crow and subway art.....the crow I found on pinterest, let me check on where I found that!  Sometimes, I just print them out right away and then don't remember what blog or site they are from! Okay, just found it!! Here!  BTW, how cute is this idea?  Cute site, I am going to bookmark! 

2 more mantel close ups.....the looked better in black and white....

Love that Subway art.....

We half decorated for Halloween yesterday! We have alot more to do but maybe Saturday?  

That is all for today......time to go plan out today's celebration for the birthday girl!! 

Have an awesome day!! Almost Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Progress....

I am making progress, rather quickly I might add! 

I painted the shelves white.  I started to attempt a stencil and didn't like it! So for now, I am going with white because I sort of just want it done. 

I need a few more nice boxes to store the rest of the random stuff that I am not sure of (see playroom photo).

I have some clear boxes(see above in photo) that I used in the craft closet when it was a disaster....I am going to take those and use them as shoe boxes for my next project....nightmare #2.....my closet.

The woodenish boxes I bought at Walmart and I have to stay have done miracles on the storage situation because they stack nicely, fit just enough, and save room. 

I have a box to give away but it is actually small.  I weeded through all the coloring books we had....they tell a story! Sad in a way.....lots of Thomas the Tank Engine, a Wonder Pets, Curious George, the Backyardigans.....all "friends" of our past.....wow, it goes quick, doesn't it? I can remember snuggling up  with the kids watching them all.....seems like yesterday.  

Back to the craft closet....Mannie is going to add the scalloped wood to the front of each shelf.  Got the idea from an awesome pantry make over I saw on pinterest!  Let me see if I can find it and post. Found it....isn't it amazing????? LOVE it.

That pantry makes me want to do some sort of color or design on the back wall but the reality is that we rarely go in this closet.  Maybe when I redo my pantry I will glam it up!!! I would like to glam up my closet as well.

Anyway, that is what I am up to today! I am also going to make a fall burlap banner to replace the one I have hanging on my mantel.

I am feeling lonely today and nostalgic if you didn't notice.  I guess because I didn't plan anything for today(outside of the house) and the weather is gloomy.  But I think once I get  busy with my chores, I will feel better! Wow, I can't even imagine how I am going to feel when I am an empty nester....having the whole day like this is definitely a preview and I can tell you right now, on the one hand it will be fun but mostly, I am going to feel really lonely and miss them beyond belief.

Sorry to be a downer.

Hope you are having a great day!!  Tomorrow is Cami's birthday!!! She will be 7!! Okay, now I am on the verge of tears.....I think I need to go get busy!!! 

Must Stay busy!! 

Have a good one.

Anything Seems Possible at 4 am!

A wee bit tired today!

Last night (or this morning) at 4 am Cara came into my room upset because she had a nightmare that a bunch of cats broke into our house and ate Tucker (her bird, see above).

So, she climbed into bed with Mannie and I ( a nightmare in itself! - she tends to end up either sleeping sideways or kick all the covers off the bed!)

She lay there shuddering and making scared sounds so I told her not to worry....there will be no cats in our home as I am allergic to them. They also cannot break into homes....last heard, the wild cat bandits had boarded a plane and were headed to Rio, where all the exotic bird live!

Anything seems possible at 4am!

She eventually feel asleep and left me there awake of course!! I started hearing every creak in the house and imagined all sorts of creepy people tip toeing around my house.  I got up a few times to check on the noises....I guess I was going to use my MAD KUNG FOO skills on anything  I came across! ;)

Anything seems possible at 4am.

Mannie's alarm went off at 5 am so I snagged his pillow......I used to try to steal his pillow until he wrote his name on it in Sharpie marker so there was no "mistakes"......it is the perfect pillow.

I fell asleep and before I knew it.....it was 6:30 am and my alarm was going off!

After a crappy night of sleep, NOTHING seems possible at 6:30 am!!

But after a hot shower and a drop off at school......my attitude has changed!!! 

Meeting up with Sheela today and then back to the CRAFT CLOSET!!!!

Maybe I need to tackle that at 4 am!! 

Have a fun day!! :)

Blogcrastination!

Hi there! 

I wanted to say thanks to Libby, Trina, Nora, Kim S. and Lisa and Tricia for your comments on the last post!! I hopefully will write you back but I am completely feeling overwhelmed right now because my playroom looks like this......

 

and my craft closet looks like this....

I can't even tell you how much this mess STRESSES ME OUT!!

But I wanted to say that I thought your comments were  sweet and thoughtful and I really appreciated your encouraging words. It is a good feeling to think that someone is listening.  Thank you!!! 

However, I am really feeling overwhelmed to the point that I can feel my blood pressure rise when I look at the closet so I have to take breaks from the disaster...like a blog break right now.  I am constantly fighting the procastinator in me since I started this on Friday. I  just want to cram it all back in there and forget I ever thought it was a great idea!!! 

Sadly, I started this project on a very busy weekend (duh!!) and so now the rest of the house is a total mess because I have done nothing to clean up after the weekend tornado!!

We had a fun weekend......Cara had a soccer game and they tied it up! We went to Sheela's sons birthday as well! We also hit our last Angel game for the season!! We had a great time! It was gumball machine night and Cami wanted to go.  Since this is her birthday week, Mannie got us tickets.  
The kids also got Rally Monkey's because of Cami's birthday (one of her wishes) and Torii Hunter hit a homerun so it was an overall AWESOME night!!! 

Sunday we had Mannie's championship baseball game (best out of 3)....the Whales lost the first game!!! :( 

We made posters for the team....

But that is okay, they will WIN next week!!!! Mannie has been playing on this team for something like 5 years and they have never made it to the championship so I really hope they win!!!!!  Maybe we will bring some "Rally Whales"?

After the game, we went out to dinner with Gia, Gramps and our friends, Dan and Jen to celebrate Cami's birthday!!  We had a great dinner and a nice night! 

And again.....more "boring ole" details of my life....Today:  I had a really fun morning having breakfast with some really nice and fun mom's from school.  Then stopped at the grocery store to pick up dinner (sloppy joe's) and then home to tackle the nightmare from hell!!

I leave you with my favorite picture from the weekend>  Mannie was watching the Giant game (football) on Sunday morning and Charlie came into our room and asked to watched Indiana Jones instead.  I suggested to Mannie that maybe it would be nice to watch Charlie's choice since he was going to spend his whole afternoon at Mannie's baseball game.  Mannie mentioned something to me about giving him a guilt trip but I think deep down he agreed with me.  The two of them snuggled up and watched Charlie's superhero together.  I am happy that Mannie did that.   He is an awesome dad!!  Charlie is all about Indy and Legos.....Mannie is all about sports.  I think that was a good way to balance out the day!!

Have a fun Monday!

Thanks again girls!!!! XOXO!

Craft Closet!!!

It's Friday!!!

The week flew by and I think I only posted one time this week! 

I am wondering if blogging may be a thing of the past for me now that the kids are in school all day...what do I need to document anymore?  That I drank 5,000 Diet Pepsi's, did 20 loads of laundry, met up with various friends for breakfast, had a couple of dates with Mannie, did dishes, made dinners every night except last night, cleaned the house except for the second floor which is my neglected child!?

Is this what I need to blog about? Does anyone even care??? Do I even care??? Do I need to have the minutia of this stay at home (not) mom written down for all to read? For me to read in years to come???

I think not.  I think I may just password protect and close down shop because my blog readers are off reading someone elses kid rich life or browsing Pinterest or someone's crafty site.  

I got nothing here....well, maybe nothing to everyone else! 

To me, I have lots of ordinary days that are keeping me busy and happy but ordinary none the less.  Maybe I don't want or need to remember the tiny details of days that are filled with just me and my random thoughts? Maybe I need to write more thoughts rather than things "we" do like I used to write....maybe I will start contemplating life's big questions on this blog and maybe 1 or 2 of you will read....or maybe I will close shop and start getting serious on writing a book....I will close all my curtains and sit at the typewriter in my pajamas, drinking 10 cups of coffee ....or start hanging out at the local Starbucks with a laptop and eat all the stale pastries they sell and gain 100 pounds.

I have often thought that writing on this blog was a good practice for me, to keep me writing.  But what good is practice if you never play in the game?  My new, "unemployed"(stay at home mom) self is going to take time to figure out little questions like this......  I enjoy pondering and will figure it all out on my own in the end.  I am confident in that and a firm believer that life works out the way it was supposed to, everything happens for a reason, experiences are presented to you so that you can learn!  so on and so on! 

Today Mannie and I had a date to the bagel store and sat and talked about upcoming jobs, baseball, movies, the kids going to college someday!  I am so happy to have him as my best friend for life.  I really do find myself feeling rather lucky to get to be "the one" who gets to be Mannie's best friend for life. 

Anyway, then I came home and vacuumed the downstairs, folded laundry, tried to order online from Scholastic for Charlie's class....the site was SLOW!!! Then I decided to open a new window and blog while i waited for it to work itself out!

Now, I will finish up my ORDINARY post on my ordinary life and then go tackle one of THE BIGGEST de cluttering JOBS In the the HISTORY of decluttering!!!!!!!!!!!

My craft closet!!!!!

Yes, today, I contemplated the craft closet, not sure if I wanted to open the can of worms heading into a very busy weekend but I think I might just jump into the water without feeling it with my toe and just go with it!

So, that my friends are  the {extra}ordinary details of a very ordinary life being lived out here in the Adams home! 

I will keep you all hanging on the edge of your seats for the CRAFT CLOSET reveal! ;) 

Until then......have an AWESOME WEEKEND!! Enjoy the rain if you get some!! 

Hope to see you back here real soon but most likely will be buried under paint, pipe cleaners, paper and glitter for the next week or so!! Onward and upward!!!! :)

Happy Friday! :)

 

Signs....

Signs around the home....

Signs that......

1. Fall is fast approaching.....

2. Annie has a sweet tooth.....

3. Little children are excited for Halloween....

4. Someone is enjoying some quiet time....

5. A little girl is loving school so much that she has been inspired as the  new teacher at the Birdie School!

6. Kids are ready to learn this morning! 

Life is good!! 

Have an AWESOME Tuesday!!!

 

Happy Times!

We are having a fun weekend! 

Getting ready for Mannie's playoff game coming up soon! 

Friday we had Cara's soccer game! They won...1 -0.....it was a nail biter at the end....Cara was goalie and I felt nervous for her for the first time.....but she did great and didn't let them score!!  After her game, we went and got dinner at Woodranch Grille...I was so tired because I had stayed out late the night before but I was happy to not have to make dinner.

Saturday we hung out in the morning and then Cara had a birthday party to go to.  Cam and Charlie had friends over.  Mannie and I played host and hostess and it was fun!

Mannie had an awesome idea....I wanted to share.  This is an idea only a guy could come with for a playdate!!!....I would have never thought of it.  He placed some railroad ties (spikes) in the grass and let the kids pound them into the ground.
 I was a little nervous with the kids using hammers but we kept an eye on them.  The kids loved it! He also let them dig(with hammers!) in the playarea where we have some dirt and hid some buttons and random things for them to mine.

I decided on painting.  I have so much paint and TONS of craft supplies that I rarely dig into lately so I decided to make use of what we have.  

To me there is nothing better than watching kids engrossed in activities...they had a ball.  Kids with their own personal purposes, creating and making their vision become a reality....very cool!  

It was a great night....we ordered pizza for dinner (yay no dinner making again!!) but did make some broccoli and zucchini for the kids! Everyone ate it all! 

Then Mannie had another great idea....he let the kids paint the leftover pizza boxes...then we gave 2 of the kids the pizza boxes to take all their art projects home in!  

Overall, a fun playdate that kept the kids busy.

I have also been reading whenever I get a chance....I am enjoying the Breakfast with Buddha book! It reminds me of the male version of Eat, Pray, Love.  The book is making me want to go on a road trip across the country (this being said after I decided that I didn't want to do anymore road trips after the summer)  but the roadtrip sounds fun in the book!!  I love having a book that I can't put down, so fun! I also love that when the kids see that, it inspires them to grab a book and read!  So we have done a lot of reading this weekend as well! 

Time to go to Mannie's game....wish the Whales luck!!! 

Have a HAPPY Sunday!

Where I am at Today....

Lately.....

I have taken the kids to the pool after school.....heaven.

Usually only a few people there....homework has barely begun so after the kids have done their reading and Cara gets her work done, we head over.  

I started a new book.  Birthday present from Gia......she always knows the exact thing to get me.  So far, perfect! 

I went out last night for my friend, Nancy's birthday.....I feel old.  Stayed out till midnight! That is late for me.  Did I mention that I feel old?

Grabbed a bagel and a diet coke this morning.....ahhhhh.

Going to scrapbook today at the Oasis!!! Yay.  I may work on a few LO's and get a little caught up with project life.

Looking forward to the weekend.....the whole thing has already been planned for me due to sports. Hoping Mannie's team can win this next round of playoffs....would mean a lot to him so therefore means a lot to me! 

Made a list of goals for the next month/year.....most likely year(no pressure! ;)...just sort of ordinary tasks that I need to get done and a few big ones. Will be interesting to see if I can get myself in gear and get it all done quickly or if I will drag it out for a year.  But nonetheless, I feel good knowing I have specific things I need to accomplish, gives me a sense of purpose.

I guess that is all for this Friday......time to get moving!  

Have an awesome weekend!

 

My "A ha" Moment! :)

Today has been a good day.

Since the kids have been back to school, I have been trying to figure out where I fit into the picture of our family now.  

I am "unemployed" as a stay at home Mom since there are no kids to look after. 

Anyway,  it has only been 5 days of school so it is all new.  

There have been moments where I feel a pang of boredom/panic because I feel the need to be doing something.....something productive for the family.  For the beginning of this new life, it will be about having the laundry done and a "perfect" home.....but that will change as I figure things out for myself!! 

Today, however,  I had a distraction....Mannie is home! I like distractions, especially a distraction like Mannie! We went and got a bagel together....we were going to go for a walk and I was going to "surprise" him with a new place to explore! But then we realized that Hopper had no food so we went to the Pet Store and then Home Depot to return an item. 

Now we only have a little bit of time before we pick up the kids. 

Today on our date day, we were discussing the kids upcoming birthdays....Cam and Charlie coming up at the end of September and beginning of Oct.  Last year we had no party and went to Legoland instead.  This year, the kids are leaning towards a  party so the pressure is on.  

I have a confession.....I do not enjoy kids birthday parties.  Too much chaos....just don't like them.  

I also don't like spending tons of money on all the random birthday crap that "needs" to be bought for the parties....seems like such a waste of money!  So, Mannie and I were talking about it (which by the way, was all me bringing this up.....do you think Mannie has 1 little bit of interest in planning a kid birthday party??? No, no interest whatsoever!)  but yes, we were talking about it and I was complaining about having 2 separate parties and how much work it would be and how much money it would be.  

We decided that we need to just have one party again and call it a day.  I feel a little bad for the kids not having their own party like Cara gets but then at the same time I think, well, they are lucky to get any party.

So, then once we decided on one party, I started complaining about how I am sick of trying to think of a cohesive theme for a joint party....over the years we have had Walle, a Halloween theme....a safari theme.....hmmmmm, can't think of what else? But anyway, I usually go with a fairly gender neutral theme that both can enjoy and relate to in some way. 

This year?  Cami wants a birdie/Rio/parakeet party and Charlie mentioned pumpkins/Halloween again.....how the heck to blend that? 

Then Mannie said something to me SO EARTH SHATTERING!!!! ;) 

Why not just HAVE a PARTY!!!! Just a party, no theme!!? 

Just a party?  What?  A no themed party? 

What? 

Seriously, seems so simple and so obvious but to  my crazy theme driven brain, that thought had literally NEVER crossed my mind.  

A party with no theme tied into it? Just plain ole plates and napkins that has no relation to a pinata or craft???  

My brain nearly exploded! ;) 

It is GENIUS!!! 

I am half kidding but honestly it is so freeing to just NOT CARE about stupid little details like that, you have no idea....or maybe you do!! Please tell me you do!!!!! Please tell me I am not the only one????

We laughed at how ridiculous it all seemed and then I told Mannie that I wished that one year, he could just plan an entire party from start to finish just so I could see what it would look like and how it would be. 

I said that they would have white paper plates, no decorations.......but you know what?? He said it and I COMPLETELY agree......the kids would have JUST as good of time as long as they could run around, play and have some cake!!  The kids don't care if there are matching plates and banners and balloons...but for whatever reason, I have cared.  

So there you have it!! My "a ha" moment......Oprah would be so proud!!

I am hoping this translates into a party where I actually enjoy myself!!!  I still will be busy planning details, I mean, come on, I can't change that quickly!!  I will make sure it looks asthetically pleasing to my eye.......

but it just takes it all down a notch to not have to think about how to tie everything all together like a perfectly matching themed bow! 

We are just going to do random games that have to do with all things that Cami and Charlie like....sort of like a "favorite things party"......except NOT because that would be a theme, now wouldn't it!! ;)

We are ANTI Thematic now! 

or ...........we could just go bowling!! Bowling works for me!!! 

Anyway, that is my long story for today! 

My birthday dilema resolved.  

Oh the problems! ;)  

Now......onto bigger and more pressing dilemas.....how to make world peace???  

You mean we can all just live in this world together and get along by minding our own business????  NOT FIGHT over religion and land?? ? What??? All we have to do is be kind to one another?????  GET OUT!!!  OH MY GOSH!!!  what a concept!!

Mind blowing concepts happening here at the Adams house. 

Hope you have a great day and solve all your "pressing" issues!!