Not a moment too soon

I thought I would tackle some outside projects today.  Nothing too complicated...just some mulch and extending a drain so it won't wash away said mulch.  I was up early and off to Lowe's for the materials I needed.  My poor children were so patient while I took forever trying to decide what kind and color of mulch would look best.  I grabbed the number of bags I thought I needed and was off to look for the drain.  

Of course, I couldn't find it on my own so I had to ask someone.  I had no idea how to explain what I needed and it kind of came out as, "I need a bendy thing.  For a drain when it rains.  I need to reroute it...I think. It washes away my stuff.  Oh, and it needs to be white. Where can I find that?"  After a momentary I-think-this-woman-is-crazy look, he took me to exactly what I needed.  Good thing he spoke crazy lady talk.  There were two options...a very tiny bendy thing or a big monster bendy thing.  The problem was that the tiny one looked very tiny and the big one looked too big.  I went with the tiny one because it was cheaper. 

When I got home I got all my mulch spread and it looked beautiful.  Only problem...it wasn't enough.  Then, I put on my bendy drain.  Second problem...it was too small.  Back to Lowe's we went.  More mulch.  Monster drain.  

This time everything was perfect.  As soon as I got done... torrential down pour.  Which, actually, I was kind of hoping for so I could see if my drain was going to work.  

 I walked around through the garage and looked at my drain and...

there was water coming out of it!  I adjusted it slightly after taking this picture so it was pointing down and all streaming right out. I am so happy that it isn't washing away my mulch!

A way to display kids' art

I found this project for our house that I really wanted to try.  Our kids are at just the right age that they bring home so many art projects and colorings that sometimes it is overwhelming.  I can't just throw them away but I honestly don't know what to do with them all.  When I saw this idea, I loved it!  I showed it to Jason to see if he would agree to letting me do it.  I knew it was a big stretch when I asked him, but to my surprise, he agreed.  My budget for this project was $50.

I have to say that this was the scariest project for me.  It is not a typical decoration in a house and I really didn't want it to look like clutter.  After I got it all put together, it still looked like it was missing something on the sides.

I couldn't really decide what it was missing or what it needed so I went to Hobby Lobby.  I really didn't have anything in mind...actually, I was just hoping that something would jump out at me that would look perfect.  That didn't happen though.  Letters were the best option that I came up with and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.  I wanted to hang them with something that I could take down easily if I didn't like them.  I decided on using the Command sticky strip tabs.  They worked perfect!

I guess I'm going to call this a work in progress because it doesn't feel complete to me yet but I can't really decide why.  After adding the letters, I came in right on budget.  Without the wording, I would have been $10 under budget.
Here is an additional view with the rocker so you can get some perspective of how much room it takes up.  Keep in mind too, we have nine foot ceilings so the walls are tall.  I also debated on whether to use the long or short rods...I went with short rods but I think this wall could have definitely handled the longer ones.

Art...created by yours truly

I must admit, I've dabbled a little bit in painting in college (by dabbling, I mean I made the required number of paintings necessary for one class).

Today while the girls were painting their masterpieces, I really had the creative juices flowing and was ready to get painting, too.  I picked up my paintbrush and soon enough I had something that looked like Jackson Pollock masterpieces.  I mean, I think I may start selling some of these...you know, if the whole teaching thing doesn't work out.

Here is how they turned out:

This is why I hate mowing the grass

Since I am off for the summer with nothing to do extremely busy at home with the girls, which is a full time job, I picked up most all of the house hold chores. Including mowing. Yes, me! The one who hates being outside unless it involves the pool. I am doing all of the mowing at the Pfeiffer residence. And, well frankly, it stinks.
Of course we had to buy a mower that bags the grass because it looks so much nicer, which I totally appreciate when I am done and the girls are playing in the water and don't have grass all over them, tracking it in the house. That I like. Bagging it though, stinks too. I am sure that my neighbors get a real kick out of me when I mow the grass. I practically have to wrangle the lawn bag and the grass bagger to get the grass in there so it doesn't go all over, which it usually does anyway despite my valiant efforts.
Yesterday I really gave my viewers a show while I was mowing. As I was mowing along the side of the house, I moved the thing that catches water. I saw something move but I thought it was a frog so I was really careful not to run over it. A few seconds later I see something dart across in front of the mower and into my neighbors yard. As I turned my head I realized that it most certainly was not a frog. It was a mouse! A small, gross, black mouse! It dug a little hole in their yard and disappeared. I screamed so loud that the I'm sure everyone heard me. I let go of the mower and when I released the handle it stopped the motor. Instead of gathering myself in an adult way, I jumped in circles, waving my hands in a motion that looked like jazz hands, and screaming for about three minutes. I'm not quite sure what I thought that would accomplish other than me looking like a total idiot because anyone watching me would not have seen the mouse but just that I totally spazzed out for no apparent reason.
I would like to tell you that this behavior is not typical when I mow the grass but it is. Especially when I see bees. I always think they are going to get so mad at me when I mow over them, so I spaz out in the same manner when they fly close to me. So mowing the grass...really stinks for me.
I really want one of those industrial mowers that are huge and mow like five rows to my one. Kind of like this one that I took a picture of while the men were mowing around the pond beyond our yard line. I think I know I looked like a real creeper trying to take a picture from my sliding glass door at the person outside. I was trying to be sly but he saw me take a picture of him. I bet I'll hear from the association for stalking or something. I really didn't want him in the picture, just his nice mower.  I wonder if he spazzes out when he mows sometimes?

The girls room is done ... almost

I know that the pictures that follow don't look like a lot of work, but let me tell you...it was. I finally hung the shelves above the dresser that have the three books that were my color inspiration for the girls' room. The shelves...a pain in the neck to hang. I'm sure it could have gone smoother but I didn't like the materials that came with them to hang. After I found the anchors and screws that I liked best for the project, it was still a hassle because I didn't line them up right. But it finally came together.


Next were the girls' names. I was really debating whether or not to do this because I know that everyone is doing this but Kinsey and Kaitlyn really wanted them up. I bought the letters and painted them pink. Painting them was a fun project...really easy too.



I had this really cool shelf in the girls room before we moved but it was a dark stain that didn't really go with their room. I asked my mom if she wanted it and she told me to use it but just paint it white. So then came another painting task. This one not so fun. Painting this shelf was horrible and I hated every minute of it. I was so glad when I finally finished. We went to Hobby Lobby (easily one of my favorite places on Earth) to pick up some finishing touches for the shelf decor. My favorite is the jar of ribbons :)


I really like the idea of adding kids art to their room. The pieces of art that I added came from Kinsey (middle) and two of my students. And yes, these are Picasso pieces. On the last day of school when I was passing them back, I asked if anyone would be willing to donate their Picasso's to my interior decorating and all of them did so I had lots to choose from. I still have about 20 Picasso paintings left!


The last things left for this room is paint (light purple) and their beds. I know what you are thinking...why would you put everything up before painting? That has an easy answer-I am impatient. We are not painting until the first of next year after we have our 11 month inspection to fix all of areas where the house has settled and we don't want to repaint everything after they do that.

Happy Saturday!

Suggestions wanted

I know there are lots of creative souls out there and I need your help. I really want to reorganize this space in the play room to make it more functional for my girls and easier for me to keep organized from day to day. The girls love books! They love them so much that we are completely out of space for them. The easy answer would be to just buy another book shelf but I really don't like that idea. It's so hard to find their favorite books like this. We have a tub on the table for Kinsey's decodable readers, the Tag reading materials, and Kaitlyn's letter cards...but I really don't like that either. If you have any ideas I would love to hear them, see them, or send me a link to something you've found.

Scratch that...

That whole thing about me having far fewer posts about the new house once we move in...probably not true. I'm finding that we have lots of projects. Recently, like two weekends ago, we finally got our blinds in and put up. I'm aware that our walls are very bare..but the next big project is painting. And we don't want to hang anything until that is done.




We also got a very cute ceiling fan put up in the girls room. Can you believe that this thing was $100.00? Of course we didn't pay that...we got it for $12.00. That's right...$12.00! How ridiculous is that? I love finding good deals like that!


I'm officially on fall break now so I have a four day weekend. Important things to get done on my break:
1. Carve pumpkins with Kinsey and Kaitlyn
2. Talk Kinsey out of wanting gold teeth (yes, you read it correctly. Kinsey asked me, "Mommy, when can I get gold teeth?")
3. Order "Saturdays and Teacakes" by Lester Laminack and his "Cracking Open Author's Craft" book and DVD (he is by far one of the most amazing children's authors ever)
4. Celebrate Jason's birthday!
5. Think about doing lesson plans for next week...then again, maybe not.

Seriously. It's 2 am.

I hate sleeping alone. I really, really hate sleeping alone. But this was just the case this weekend when Jason went to Manchester for alumni weekend and I stayed home so my dad could put in our garage door opener.
I tend to over exaggerate (I know, imagine that...me exaggerate!) the need for safety when I am home alone. Especially now because we are in a new house, new area, new addition..I'm just not comfortable yet. So last night I knew Jason wouldn't be home until sometime the next afternoon. As I was getting ready to go to bed, I made sure the door was locked (both locks), the garage door was locked, sliding glass door locked..I even slept with the TV in my bedroom on. I guess because in my mind a person doesn't want to break into a house with a TV on.
I quickly fell asleep. Around 2 am I heard a noise that woke me up. At first I thought I was dreaming and that it came from the TV. I listened again. No, I was not dreaming. It was clearly someone KNOCKING on my bedroom window. Who does that? As my heart is about to palpate right out of my chest..I thought of who might do that. Obviously, it was someone trying to get me and obviously they didn't give two hoots about my TV being on.
Naturally, I turn my TV off. Kind of like, if the TV is off they'll think no one is home and probably go away. Only I was too panicked to understand that if they are outside my bedroom window they could probably see the light from the TV turn off. I decided to go out to the living room to peek out the window and see if I can see anyone. I stand in the middle of the living room and it hits me that I don't have ANYTHING covering my windows in the living room all the way to the kitchen and sliding door. (We haven't been able to find any blinds or curtains that we really like for a reasonable price so anyone can just see right in) I realize I'm in plain sight so I hide in the hallway and I saw a shadow of someone at the front door...it was own husband who said he just wanted to come home from Manchester (a 2-3 hr. drive) instead of staying somewhere else!
Because of my exaggeration of safety, he didn't have the key to the top lock of the door and had no other way in because we just installed the garage door opener and it was locked. As I was opening the front door for him, still having heart palpation's, he simply asks, "Why did you turn the TV off when I knocked on the window?"

PS Kaitlyn thinks there are mermaids in our pond. I tried telling her otherwise...she wasn't buying it.

Finally moved in!

I can finally say with the utmost sense of relief that we are finally moved in! In no way does that mean we are finished unpacking and all that fun stuff that goes along with a new house. We got rid of a lot of things in the move because we are ready for new stuff. Our next big project is going to be painting. Although white is nice, we really need some color. So if you love to paint, we could use your help. I know that the things we have left to do will all take time, and that we will probably never be done! In the mean time, here are some pictures: (I didn't take any pictures of Kinsey and Kate's rooms because they were sleeping when I took these)

Outside of the house


Main bathroom..the 9ft ceilings make the shower look really small!


Master bathroom


Ceiling fan that was a pain to install


Kitchen


Kitchen


Dining room/new chandelier

Christmas in September

Every time I stop by the new house, it's like the builders leave me a little present! The past two months have felt like Christmas each week:) I go to check on the progress of the house every Saturday and take pictures...just for my own memory (I know I'm a weirdo) but when you have a house built from the ground up, you tend to get a little sentimental! I know that Jason says that I'm ruining it for myself but frankly, I like Christmas..even if it is in September!
I never thought that sod, trees, toilets, carpet, cabinets, tile, and shelving would mean so much to me. I even got excited to see that they had the door handles and light fixtures on now! I know I've had a lot of house posts lately...and don't worry, there's only two more weeks until we move in! After that, I'm sure you will see far less posts about the house. Until then, here are some of the newest gifts the builders left for me this week:

We have sod, trees, and bushes!


The master bath...a new toilet and tile!


We have a kitchen sink!


We've got carpet now!! This really makes it feel almost finished :)


Shelving in one of the pantry closets


Now, all we need is the paint on the walls, a few more pieces of trim in the bathrooms, a good cleaning, and we'll be ready to move in!!

We have cabinets!!!

Our cabinets were installed this past week and I LOVE them. The pictures I took are really bad...I think my camera was on the wrong setting. They also got all of the trim work done, doors put on, driveway and sidewalk put in, and bathroom cabinets put in (bathroom cabinets are the same as the kitchen)! It's starting to come together :) They still have to finish painting the walls, put the flooring and carpet in, and finish the bathrooms!

The driveway and sidewalks...just put put in!


View of the kitchen and dining area with the pond in the background.


Area for the sink right under the window, dishwasher and refridgerator.


The cabinets and area where the stove and microwave will be going


The beautiful counter tops I picked out (Pardon the dust from the cabinets being installed).

The new house...almost finished

I realize why I only had three blog entries in August of last year! It's because things are so crazy during the start of school and getting back into a routine has really taken a toll on my blogging life.
I thought there for a while that Kinsey was never going to understand this whole kindergarten thing. Luckily, she is doing very well now. As teachers, we forget just how much influence we have on our students when we are trying to teach them everything under the sun at school. But watching Kinsey pretend to be some of the teachers when she is at home makes me realize that everything we say and do leaves an impression on them in some way. Needless to say, she has come a long way from knocking down kids in line on the first day.
In other news, we are getting closer to closing on our new house. I can't wait until it is finished and we are done! They just hung the dry wall and have the outside finished. They are going to start all of the interior next. As long as everything stays on track, we should close on Sept. 18th. So if you would like to help move...we are looking for helpers! Here are some pics of the progression, enjoy :)

the plot of land with the pond in the back (I know you can't see the pond, but it's there)


second week of building


looking from the back to the front door (I would have taken more pics of the inside, but it all just looks like a bunch of wood and you really can't see the layout)


third week of building, siding and stone finished


the beautiful stone we picked out


More pics to come as they build it :)

25 Random things about me

1. I'm obsessed with shampooing my carpets. I skipped carb day during the Indy 500 with Kellie to clean carpets.
2. I was still in college when I had both of my daughters. My last class was on January 24 and I had Kaitlyn (the youngest) on February 6.
3. My first year of teaching I had a boy call me a hippie because he thought it was a bad name (the same boy who rolled on the floor and licked the walls)
4. One summer in middle school I rode my bike 4 miles (one way) to attend summer gym with several of my best friends (who lived much closer than I did)
5. I treasure every Christmas when I get together with my friends from High School
6. I withdrew from Manchester in May of my freshman year. I re enrolled a month later.
7. When I was in 5th grade I wore a very ugly teddy bear sweatshirt and stirrup pants for St. Patrick's Day.
8. I cry every time I watch Stepmom.
9. I tried to work at a summer camp one year and left before orientation was over-I stayed about one day.
10. I distinctly remember telling Sarah Ryan "Come on, you're fine" two times in her life when she was not fine...Once after Latin and once at the DeMars lake when I was asleep in the yellow room.
11. Since my New Years resolution I have lost 10 lbs.
12. My mom still proudly displays my high school pottery in her office.
13. I pray for a two hour delay every night even though I know that Indianapolis Public Schools rarely gives them
14. I took gymnastics for four years and I wore tights under my leotard once. My teacher told me I wasn't supposed to do that. I asked him if I could go to the bathroom. I took them off hoping no one would notice. Everyone noticed. I was seven.
15. I loved every minute of being pregnant and can't wait until we decide to have another baby.
16. When I was 18 I got my tongue pierced. I let it close after my freshman year of college. Then I let my roommate talk me into getting it pierced again. I let it close five months later.
17. In High school I told my mom I was going to have a little party with our closest friends. 200 people showed up. Our neighbors called the cops because they thought there was a riot on our front lawn.
18. Some of my fondest memories are of my middle school years.
19. I've watched every episode of Grey's Anatomy twice.
20. My brother has never called me by my first name..only 'sissy'
21. One of my college art professors told me I should major in art. Sometimes I think I am the best shoe artist there is.
22. I worked at Finish Line for almost six years-on and off.
23. I've never broken a bone.
24. When I was in elementary school my brother and I used to ride our bikes to "Willies" to eat breakfast. We would pay in all quarters.
25. I rarely ever made it all the way through the Oregon Trail. I don't think I ever bought the right supplies.