My Little Life

When you're remodeling an older home, you never really know what you're going to find when you start digging in. As my dreams were blossoming in my mind about our "new" kitchen (which, let's face it, our remodel is more of an "upper level" remodel than a kitchen remodel!) with a sleek, modern open floor concept, everything suddenly came to a screeching halt when our carpenter mentioned that we should probably hold off on tearing out the walls until he could get someone to look at it. The walls we are removing are, essentially, part of one big wall (with some walkway openings) that runs down the center of our home.  We had always been a smidge leery about removing this wall,  with its nearly continuous central location, because we weren't certain if it was important or not. (Forgive the mess, we're, you know, remodeling.) "Important" as in "load bearing". "Load bearing" as in "roof collapsing". ...

Have I mentioned we're remodeling ? ;) Oh, I have? Silly me...I wasn't sure . Anyway, you know how they say "If a marriage can survive a home remodel, it can survive ANYTHING."? I'm starting to see glimpses of where that saying came from. The other night, we were DEEP in the throes of ripping stuff out. I was all "full speed ahead" and let's just get everything ripped out...while my hubby, bless his heart, would put in a 12-14 hour day at work then come home to me, bouncing off the walls, wanting to "TEAR OUT ALL THE THINGS!!!!"...and he'd oblige and rip something out. So, one night, we (and by "we" I mean "he") was working out getting a cabinet out of our laundry area. This cabinet was deep, with only one door, and he had to climb into it to unscrew the counter from the cabinet.  While in said cabinet, he asked Dubya to "Grab me a Phillips screw driver." Dubya quickly ran over to this pile of scre...

So, right after this post, we headed down to the "big city" to participate in a tournament with Dubya's travel baseball team...and guess what? They took first place!! Yay!!!! And guess what else? Now we get to commit to ANOTHER full weekend of baseball. Half of me is "yaying" about this while the other half of me is "boo hissing" about this. What I'm trying to keep in mind, is that this IS family time. It is what we make of it, right? I mean, sure, we're not at home all together, but we ARE together...and we usually try to do something fun as a family while we're at these tournaments. For example, this weekend we hit Minnehaha Falls...a cool little "urban" park with a waterfall that is absolutely ROARING currently.  It recently made the news because the water is actually "backing up" and causing flooding above the falls. The park has these cool little bikes that you can just hop on and tool around t...

I love watching sports (well, MOST sports...LIVE sports...but not golf, live OR on TV. Ugh. No, not golf.), particularly ones that my kids are participating in. We encourage our children's involvement in activities, and we also try to maintain a healthy balance of faith and family as well. But...BUT, what is happening to our youth leagues? When did they become so...COMPETITIVE and EXCLUSIVE??? More and more I'm seeing these young kids "specializing" in a sport (as in, it's the ONLY one they'll play...ALL YEAR LONG) that is becoming more and more competitive. Our community offers a summer baseball program, has for years. When our oldest was in it, it was simply a fun activity. Along the lines of a "pick up" game of baseball. Show up, play ball, giggle at the silly mistakes the kids made, chat with parents, go home. Now? Sure, it's still fun...but now there are twice a week practices, on the opposite days of the games, WAY more cheering/...

Mr. W., that is. He rocks my dang socks off. Yeesh. Is that TMI? ;) This man is the most amazing dad (and husband). I know, I know, that's so cliche to say, but you guys? It's true.  He's patient. Loving. Kind. Active. Faith-filled. Conservative. (And not just in the political sense.) Smart. Hard working. Involved. Fun. Plain ol' stinkin' amazing. We celebrated our niece's marriage this weekend and while in church, our baby girl climbed up into his arms. He plopped her little butt on the pew ledge in front of him, wrapped his great big arms around her, an d pressed his nose to hers while she whispered something (important, I'm sure) to him. My heart. It simply exploded right then and there. To have witnessed that moment between them. The love and tenderness and gentleness...I just died. He is our rock. The steady foundation of our family and when I say I am "so grateful" that God blessed me with him, I actually wish there were strong...

As my sweet, stubborn, spunky, strong-willed baby girl comes into her own, her personality is really starting to shine through. Still stubborn, still "her way or the high-way"...but now, well she's adding silly into the mix. And sensitive. (What?! SENSITIVE?!) She, who once drove a 30 minute stand-off (at the ripe old age of 2) because she wouldn't say "I'm sorry", is now my child to offer up the speediest, most sincere apologies. And that silliness. Her sense of humor is similar to Hambone's in that I'm not sure she INTENTIONALLY tried to be funny, but she is (and she doesn't always appreciate our laughter!)! In fact, just the other day, I was lamenting on how I hadn't had bacon in FOREVER. It was like I was dying. I WANT BACON!!! And my girl? Here's what she had to say, deadpan, about the whole situation: "Bacon is my worst nightmare." Oh sweet mercy did we laugh!!! And then I demanded a "maternity...

Wow. What a weekend!! Pal's party went off without a hitch...we had enough food (yay!!) but not too much...well, unless you count the lettuce and pasta salad. THAT we had WAY too much of. Hey...anyone want some lettuce? Pasta salad? ;) We woke up bright and early the next morning (like, 6 am early) and headed out to Dubya's baseball tournament and I think when we got home at 7 pm, we were ALL ready for bed!! Then we greeted Monday with a start of bang to summer activities! Tennis for the girls, baseball for the boys and Little League for the boys on alternating nights...WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF????? Because they love it. To top it off, Pal has his baseball games (he's in two different summer leagues...can you say "love baseball much?!") on the same nights as Hambone AND he started an umping job. Speaking of umping...did you know that they only sell umpire pants by the waist size? They leave the length unhemmed and at a length that is appr...

We are DOWN to the wire, folks. Like "running into home and your pants begin to foam" down to the wire. Party. In two day. DOS days. 1. 2. Days. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH STUFF I NEED TO GET DONE???????? Also of note: Do not plan a remodel to begin promptly after your last party guest leaves because: WHICH EVENT DO I FOCUS ON?! Holy moly. I've got taco meat to make, photo boards to finish, condiments to buy, bars to bake, nooks and crannies to clean, playoff games to make, Little League practices to forget (which I have done...too many times than I want to admit) and there are only so many hours in the day. Several of those hours which require me to be fast asleep lest I turn into an angry monster that bites people's heads off because I didn't get enough sleep. Forget "beauty" sleep...I need "nice" sleep. Although...beauty sleep could be seen as a "need" as well. And if we're speaking of "needs"...I also need an...

Last Saturday, my amazing cousin, Jackie, "took the plunge" and tied the knot with her equally amazing fiance, Dan. Why so "amazing", you ask? Well, aside from being pretty fabulous people with awesome personalities and great senses of humor, I'll tell you just why they're so "amazing". Scratch that, I'll just show you: After a brief look of surprise at her almost hubby, she (they) were nothing but smiles and laughter!! What a cool wedding party. I absolutely love how Dan (the groom) holds onto Jackie as they're sinking into the lake! He may have been holding on for dear life...but I'm thinking "chivalry is not dead"!  My aunt told me when she arrived, the groomsmen were all standing around in their "skivvies" and she was all confused...then she found out what happened! This has made local news around here (and, possibly even captured the attention of CNN!!), check out this Fox9 link for more photos of ...

You didn't think I forgot about the Kitchen Remodel, did you? Psh, OF COURSE not!! I was simply sidetracked by being on the emotional roller coaster of watching my biggest baby graduate from high school. That's all. Back to the remodel. T minus 7 days and we will be tearing into this project! We've got the appliances ordered, a bazillion ideas swimming in our heads, and a crazy plan of flying by the seat of our pants with "relocating" during the project. I mean, do we REALLY need a plan? Can't we just be all "Oh, okay, we don't have stairs and there's a big gaping hole between our living area and our bedrooms...let's just sleep downstairs."? That's my kind of plan. I've discovered that the best laid plans are only subject to changing...so why have a plan? SPONTANEITY AT ITS FINEST. I am the queen of "flying by the seat of your pants". I should've majored in "crunch time decisions" in college.  ...