How Rude?!?!

Most schools systems finished up last week or this past week. We've been under clouds and clouds of rain. That combined with two small children makes for early bedtimes and one too many glasses of wine for me! HA HA

Last week my friend invited the kids and me to a great indoor playhouse. She's in a playgroup, and some of those moms and kids were there in addition to a few other moms and kids. Not crowded. Not busy. Not loud. Fun. Fun. Fun.

Well, this week we tired again. Crowded. Busy. Loud. No fun. No fun. No fun (for me anyways). Apparently this is the place to be in the summer when it's too hot or raining outside. Granted, this is a play area for kids of all ages. We got there right as it was opening and the parking lot was filling up. There was a group of moms meeting with their preschool aged to school aged kids.

Now, I'm not that protective of a parent. I do make my kids wash their hands and try and teach manners and so forth. Also, outside of going to the park, M and C haven't been about large groups of kids in confined places. But, I was floored at the behavior of other kids and more importantly, the parents of those kids!

M hung with some kids her age and followed some older ones around. She struggled some going up the little steps to the top of the slide. The older school age kids bulled her over every time! With some parents watching and some too busy socializing with their girlfriends. HOW RUDE!?!?!

Other kids were climbing up the slide while kids were trying to go down, while moms watched. HOW RUDE!?!?!

All adults and kids must wear socks for sanitary reasons. Some kids took off their socks for better traction climbing, while moms watched. HOW RUDE!?!?!

And finally, the thing that got me the most...They have a toddler section with small toys for little ones to enjoy the fun too. Right beside it is a inflatable jumper with a BIG sign that says 4 and Under on it. Also, these two areas are right beside the row of chairs that all the moms hovered over. These were the two safe areas that C could play and not get hurt. Yeah right!!! Big kids were all over the place! I was afraid to put him down for the fear of an older child trampling over him. All the while moms watching and talking to each other. HOW RUDE!?!?!

I talked to the same girlfriend who had invited us the week before and we both asked the same question: What is the capacity for this place? I felt it was too full and the kids were too wild. I will be that mom who keeps (at least tries to keep) their children under control in environments like that!

All I can say to those parents is, HOW RUDE!?!?! Get your kids under control!

Show Us Where You Live~Nurseries

Welcome to another edition of Show Us Where You Live Fridays hosted by Kelly's Korner. You can see her post and other people's links here. This week we are to showcase our children's rooms. I feel I owe you all a little back story before you see the pictures.

Okay, right after we got C's room painted, we decided to put our house on the market. So, I didn't go all out like I wanted to in decorating his room. So, there aren't too many things on the walls. Then we decided to switch our guest room and M's room. So, painstakingly, we painted over her walls and moved her room. I have left it untouched until we decide what to do with everything. Enjoy the pictures.

C's Room:

Kelly would be so proud because his bed, changing table, and dresser came from Walmart. The large red rocker was C's great grandmother (I think?) and the small red one was Chad's dad's from childhood.

The blue trunk was Chad's grandfather's. I believe he used it during WWII. The pictures above C's changing table are Nancy Thomas paintings of the days of the week that I actually received as a shower gift when I was pregnant with M. They actually hung in the guest bathroom until we finished C's room.
M's Room:
Here's what her room use to look like. We spent the summer before she was born taping and painting her walls (or I should say Chad painted and I watched! LOL) I knew I wanted white furniture and soft colors. I never found a dresser I was happy with, so Chad's cousin was getting rid of this one. M's great-grandfather sanded and primed it for us. Then Chad and I painted it and added new knobs. Paw Paw, Chad and I all signed and dated it on the back. I think she will enjoy the history when she's older.
The glider rocker was given to my by a wonderful friend. The colorful afghan was hand-made for me by my great-grandmother in 1980.
Here is her current room. She has upgraded to the toddler bed. We're ready to make her bed full sized. She's almost too long for it. The small table and chairs were mine as a child. My mother painted them white to match her room. My dad, who is recently retired, is painting the little hutch that matches. Guest Room:

I didn't get to post a few weeks ago. This is also M's old room. Nothing fancy.

The kids' bathroom. We switched out the old hollywood lights for a new fixture. When we found out C was a boy, I wanted to make the bathroom gender neutral. We looked and looked until we found this cute stuff at Walmart. It is now appropriate since M and C are climbing monkeys all over everything. You can see a monkey and lion (minus the elephant) hanging on the wall opposite of the mirror, courtesy of Babies R Us.


Thanks for stopping by! No, yellow is not my favorite color. Actually purple is my favorite, just ask M. I just like the way the yellow family looks on our walls. All of our paint is Behr from Home Depot. For those that asked: Our living room color is Mojave Gold. The guest baths are Beachwalk. The foyer, hallway down and upstairs is Expedition Khaki. The kitchen is Reyegrass and the dining room is Outback.

Wordless Wednesday

Be Like a Tomato...

...and catch up.

So, what have we been up to? Well, we scored a semi-free trip to the beach with my parents. We had a lovely time. We took M 2 years ago, but this was C's first time at the beach or in a pool. We decided to leave on Saturday evening, with hopes that the kids would quickly fall asleep. NOPE! Several hours into the trip, both kids are still kicking and playing around. Thankfully, they finally fell asleep.

We lucked out in the weather department. Sunny skies except for one afternoon. Therefore we were able to spend tons of time at the pool and plenty of time at the beach. Although, I think M preferred the pool and C preferred the beach. It felt good to relax with no agenda, but then reality hit when we got back home! Go figure, right?

We've just been coasting along since we got back. M and C are really turning into playmates for each other. She's getting into imaginative play, and C tires to imitate what she's doing. They really like to build with legos and blocks, vroom cars down the hallway, and chase each other around the house. Not only does he imitate what she does, but he's also a little parrot! It may not be clear, but he is trying to repeat words that you say.

This past week the temperatures were in the 70s, so we spent as much time outside as possible. Which made the week fly by. One day we went to a cool place called CatchAir. M and C just ran and ran. I wish I would have know about this place during the winter months. HA

Well, I have been on the fence for awhile with my hair. I cut a few inches off last year right after C was born. Well, of course, life happened and here we are 14 months later...no haircut! YIKES!! I fell victim to the stay at home hairdo....pulled up and usually underneath a hat. Since it had grown so much this past year, I decided I would like to try and grow it enough to donate to Locks of Love. I had measured my hair about a month ago it I had about 8 inches I could cut off but the donation is min 10 inches. Well, on a whim yesterday, I went and cut off 1o inches!! I felt so good to get rid of the hair and even more so, knowing I did it to benefit children.

Enough rambling! Check back this week for some Love and Logic updates as well as some silly kid stories!

Take care!

Show Us Where You Live~Dining Rooms

This week, Kelly's Korner is hosting another Show Us Where You Live featuring Dining Rooms. So here are the pictures of our room. Enjoy!


Here's the foyer looking into the Dining Room.


Here's another picture of the foyer which also leads to the living room and upstairs.



I love our iron piece over the front door. My mom had originally bought it to go over the fireplace, but it was too big. Then I decided it would look great over the front door. We have a 2 story foyer, so we needed something. My most recent purchase was the bench and shelf above it. Great cubbies for shoes and knick-knacks I don't want to see.


Finally, the dining room itself. Nothing fancy. It did sit empty for over a year until I found the table I wanted.

Thanks for visiting!

My Beautiful Children

Bye, Bye Paci!

This picture was taken just before Marlee stole Cooper's paci and buried it in the sand, never to be found.

Looking at Sissy.

Waiting on the waves!

NO, it's mine!!!!!!

A Few Beach Pcictures...More to Come

On your mark, get set, GO!


Oh, I'm SOOO mad!

Look at that bottom lip!!

Pouting anyone?

Wordless Wednesday

Destin 2009

Fun Times!

Show Us Where You Live~Living Rooms

I decided to play along with a blog you know I love to read: Kelly's Korner. Last week she started a peak-a-boo into other bloggers' homes. It's a great way to get ideas and see how other people decorate. I didn't participate in last week's post, but I did add my kitchen pictures here if you're interested. Also, you can see Kelly's living room pictures here.

Here is our living room when you walk down the hallway. To the left is a full bath and the kids' playroom. To the right is the eat-in kitchen. We use to have a nice sized coffee table. It lasted about a year after M was born. She fell and hit her ear. It came down that night and made a short reappearance this spring but did nothing but collect dust. Our couches were our first "real" married couple purchase. Before, we lived off of hand-me-down recliners and futons. They are on their last leg with 2 adults, 2 kids, and 2 cats constantly abusing them. I have struggled for 4 years on what to put above the fireplace. (suggestions welcome) It is framed out, but it isn't square. I use to have some off center pictures resting against it with books, etc. I bought these 3 pieces for 20 bucks a piece when we listed our house last spring. I still have no curtains at all in the whole house. Don't really want them. Maybe the next house.

Here's a sofa table my mom bought us when we first moved into our house. It was a Fred's find. Never heard of Fred's? Google it! I won the collage picture frame at Dirty Santa a few years ago. I need to update the pictures. Of course, there are C's sweet baby pictures. The vase was a wedding gift and the arrangement is in SERIOUS need of work.

This is one of the end tables. It has a crawl space that M and C (plus the cats) like to crawl through. It has a picture of my mom's side of the family from a few years back and also our first family beach picture at Gulf Shores. It will be replaced with a picture of all four after next week's trip to Destin.

This is the other end table. It has a basket full of my books and the kids' books under it. On top there is a baby picture of M and our wedding album.



Finally, here's the TV and stand. The tv replaces our "too big for this room" projector on wheels. Glad to get rid of it. We haven't 100% decided if we're going to mount the new. Therefore, you see the cable running across the floor. The tv stand is courtesy of Walmart. Sturdy, but dusty and attracts lots of little finger prints. :) Our wedding picture, M's 6 mo picture, and our Christmas 2008 family picture are on top. Don't forget the XBOX 360~Rock Band Baby! Oh, and another basket of books. LOL Do you think I'm a teacher?!?! :)

So, where do you live?