Just a more personal look to the blog template. I had mentioned doing this in the previous post so this evening I sat down and just did it. I hope everyone enjoys the new look. I will try to update the background photo as I get new pictures - which isn't very often as my digital camera won't hold a charge and I usually have to use it while it is plugged in. It is not very portable at the moment. I may have to get the old 35mm camera out and shoot a roll. It takes far better pictures anyway. The picture that is posted now was taken last March at The Grove. It's one of the pictures we took of them in their Baptism/First Communion clothes. Quite a few of the pictures are posted on here if you look back to last Spring. There were so many good pictures taken that day it's hard to choose a favorite. They have both grown so much since this photo was taken. It's hard to imagine how much they change in so short a time.
It's a busy week ahead. Planning meeting for the 8th Grade Formal Dance on Tuesday evening. Thursday a meeting with the athletics director about policy's regarding college recruitment. The following week will be a meeting for the parents of girls wanting to be a cheerleader - yes Fantu really wants to do cheerleading. Track season starts soon with the first meet on the 22nd - 3 short weeks away. So those early morning practices should be getting underway in about another week. I just hope it's warmer for the first meet then it was last year. It was freezing cold and snowed the following day.
I'll try to update later this week.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Footprints
I'm tired of doggy footprints. I walk into my kitchen and there are muddy dog footprints all across the floor. I walk into my bedroom and AUGH muddy dog feet on my bed! I don't need to look at them when I get on this blog - so a change today. Something to let me dream of Spring, of sowing seeds, and planting a garden. I am looking ahead to Spring storms, thunder, lightening and augh more muddy feet - that I do not look forward to.
I hope to have time soon to really personalize this page. A nice photo for the background and just something to make it unique. But for the moment I think this will do.
So for now I will dream of spring and the warmth returning. I love watching the trees bud and the wildflowers bloom. I love the thunderstorms with their bolts of lightening, booming thunder and yes the gusts of wind. I wish that spring would last a bit longer. Summer comes much too quickly with it's heat and bugs and lack of rain. I then return to dreaming of autumn and cooler days.
I hope to have time soon to really personalize this page. A nice photo for the background and just something to make it unique. But for the moment I think this will do.
So for now I will dream of spring and the warmth returning. I love watching the trees bud and the wildflowers bloom. I love the thunderstorms with their bolts of lightening, booming thunder and yes the gusts of wind. I wish that spring would last a bit longer. Summer comes much too quickly with it's heat and bugs and lack of rain. I then return to dreaming of autumn and cooler days.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Living the Cozy Life.....
I know we are still a new family when I still count in months the time that Abate and Fantu have been here with us. Twenty months. Such a short time. Such a long time. So many changes and yet some things still so new. Abate and Fantu just fit so well into this family, it seems as though they were always here. Yet it seems such a short time ago that the house was quiet and empty. I had felt that a 900 square foot house was more than enough space ( our houses in Ireland were even smaller). Storage wasn't an issue and it was so easy to keep it clean. Now the garage has been taken over for living space. Last winter my car was kept all snug and dry, this winter I'm scraping off frost and freezing for the first ten minutes of my drive. The garage also serves as storage for those things that I know I need to part with but just haven't been able to let go. It's a playroom with TV and Wii, toys for Caleb (so many he's outgrown) the computer, a small chest freezer ,the old sofa and recliner. It's a mess, it's disorganized, it really needs help.
My kitchen has always been a bit too small, but I made it work. Storage wasn't bad, plenty of cupboard space. But now with the amount of food I buy each week, the extra glasses and dishes we need, I have things stacked on top of the microwave and the refrigerator. It's hard to open the backdoor more than halfway because the recycling bins are in the way. I find myself forever tripping over dog beds and dog bowls and dogs. My refrigerator is falling apart. One of the veg bins hangs crooked and the freezer door handle is always falling off. It's packed full after a trip to the grocery store and empty 2 days later.
I can't stand messy counters or stovetops and find myself wiping them down constantly. It seems I've kitchen gremlins that come in there every few minutes and make a mess. They must be the ones eating all the food I buy too. I know it's not any of us eating it because I seem to constantly hear I'm hungry, there's nothing to eat! I've always had the plan to one day remodel the kitchen, but I think now I will wait until the house is empty and quiet again. I can't imagine going through the inconveniences of a remodel with a family to kept fed. Something to look forward to and plan for down the road.
The bathroom was just remodeled right before the kids arrived. It's small and it's the only one. We have been able to make it work though by keeping everyone on a schedule. At least we were until a broken water main sent silt into the water supply and messed up my new bath faucet. Now the shower doesn't work and it takes 30 minutes to fill the tub for a bath. This takes lots of creative scheduling. Gatesville has got to do something about the antique water mains and towers. This is the second time we have had this problem and it is ruining the plumbing in our house and is going to cost me a small fortune to get all the repairs made.
The kids rooms are nice and they both have plenty of room and closet space. Now I just need to get them to actually use their closets. Fantu puts everything in her chest drawers. I have to double check that she hangs up her few dresses that she has. Abate was just the opposite- he hung everything up in his closet until he realized that was going to be too much work every week. So now it all just sits on the spare bed in his room until he decides to clean then it might get put away. Luckily he doesn't have that many clothes right now to wear as he has grown so much in the past two months. He has very few things that fit and all we do is buy new things. Last week it was new shoes. He outgrew his other pair it seems overnight.
Abate is wanting to re-do his room. It was originally decorated for the two of them - we thought 9 & 10 year olds. Well it's just Abate's room now and he's 14 and wanting something more to his age and taste. We hope to do something in the next few months.
Mine and Alan's bedroom is a disaster. Mis-matched furniture, an assortment of duvet covers that don't match the drapes. I did have a beautiful room but upgrading to a queen size bed and surrendering my antique beds to my older girls left me with a mix of old and newer stuff. This is also the bedroom where we all seem to hang out. It's not unusual for me, both kids and the dogs to all be on the bed watching TV or doing homework. The room may be messy and a designers nightmare but oh is it comfy! I do have plans for it. The room really needs a closet overhaul- as in demolition and reconstruction. I don't know who built those closets but I can tell you a women had no part in the design or construction! This was a project I had hoped to do sometime this year. Well we decided to take a nice summer vacation instead. It's time for Alan and the kids to experience the all-american road trip.
I know you are all thinking - Alan drives a truck for a living and you are taking him on a road trip? Yes! He never gets to stop and see the sights along the way. No backroads, no giant balls of twine, no souvenir shops. I can't wait, I LOVE ROADTRIPS!!!
So anyway twenty months as a family and we are hanging in there. The house may be falling apart (it is nearly 56 years old after all) and we seem to be constantly busy. But through it all - the ups and downs, ....
we are having fun in our cozy old house!
And isn't that what matters?
My kitchen has always been a bit too small, but I made it work. Storage wasn't bad, plenty of cupboard space. But now with the amount of food I buy each week, the extra glasses and dishes we need, I have things stacked on top of the microwave and the refrigerator. It's hard to open the backdoor more than halfway because the recycling bins are in the way. I find myself forever tripping over dog beds and dog bowls and dogs. My refrigerator is falling apart. One of the veg bins hangs crooked and the freezer door handle is always falling off. It's packed full after a trip to the grocery store and empty 2 days later.
I can't stand messy counters or stovetops and find myself wiping them down constantly. It seems I've kitchen gremlins that come in there every few minutes and make a mess. They must be the ones eating all the food I buy too. I know it's not any of us eating it because I seem to constantly hear I'm hungry, there's nothing to eat! I've always had the plan to one day remodel the kitchen, but I think now I will wait until the house is empty and quiet again. I can't imagine going through the inconveniences of a remodel with a family to kept fed. Something to look forward to and plan for down the road.
The bathroom was just remodeled right before the kids arrived. It's small and it's the only one. We have been able to make it work though by keeping everyone on a schedule. At least we were until a broken water main sent silt into the water supply and messed up my new bath faucet. Now the shower doesn't work and it takes 30 minutes to fill the tub for a bath. This takes lots of creative scheduling. Gatesville has got to do something about the antique water mains and towers. This is the second time we have had this problem and it is ruining the plumbing in our house and is going to cost me a small fortune to get all the repairs made.
The kids rooms are nice and they both have plenty of room and closet space. Now I just need to get them to actually use their closets. Fantu puts everything in her chest drawers. I have to double check that she hangs up her few dresses that she has. Abate was just the opposite- he hung everything up in his closet until he realized that was going to be too much work every week. So now it all just sits on the spare bed in his room until he decides to clean then it might get put away. Luckily he doesn't have that many clothes right now to wear as he has grown so much in the past two months. He has very few things that fit and all we do is buy new things. Last week it was new shoes. He outgrew his other pair it seems overnight.
Abate is wanting to re-do his room. It was originally decorated for the two of them - we thought 9 & 10 year olds. Well it's just Abate's room now and he's 14 and wanting something more to his age and taste. We hope to do something in the next few months.
Mine and Alan's bedroom is a disaster. Mis-matched furniture, an assortment of duvet covers that don't match the drapes. I did have a beautiful room but upgrading to a queen size bed and surrendering my antique beds to my older girls left me with a mix of old and newer stuff. This is also the bedroom where we all seem to hang out. It's not unusual for me, both kids and the dogs to all be on the bed watching TV or doing homework. The room may be messy and a designers nightmare but oh is it comfy! I do have plans for it. The room really needs a closet overhaul- as in demolition and reconstruction. I don't know who built those closets but I can tell you a women had no part in the design or construction! This was a project I had hoped to do sometime this year. Well we decided to take a nice summer vacation instead. It's time for Alan and the kids to experience the all-american road trip.
I know you are all thinking - Alan drives a truck for a living and you are taking him on a road trip? Yes! He never gets to stop and see the sights along the way. No backroads, no giant balls of twine, no souvenir shops. I can't wait, I LOVE ROADTRIPS!!!
So anyway twenty months as a family and we are hanging in there. The house may be falling apart (it is nearly 56 years old after all) and we seem to be constantly busy. But through it all - the ups and downs, ....
we are having fun in our cozy old house!
And isn't that what matters?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Exhale.....
Ahhh, I can finally take a relaxing breath. The holidays have finally come to an end with Fantu's birthday behind us. What a crazy 2 months it has been. It was a bit crazy starting a full time job just as the holidays were about to kick off. That is also one of the busiest times here at the Convention Center with all the parties and fundraisers.
It has been very quiet at work since the 20th of December and it has given me a chance to settle in and start to get to know everyone and what they do here. My job description keeps changing as my role here develops. I will be working with all the different departments here helping out and I hate to say it - keeping tabs on the job they are doing. I have also been assigned the job of designing and setting up the Buffet tables for our in-house catering company. Up til now they have been just setting out the food trays and serving dishes on plain white cloths. No color, no flowers, no pizzazz. One major shopping excursion later we have about a dozen different fabrics, vases, bowls and baskets to really make the tables special. All those fabrics though had to be cut and hemmed - a new job to add to my job description. Last week was our first event that I was in charge of decorating. It was a Taco Buffet so of course we had to do a Mexican inspired design. Colorful fabrics, tall baskets with dried flowers, and of course lots of colorful flowers accenting the different areas. I really like this job when I get the chance to do something creative. It sure beats sitting at a computer all day.
Fantu and her friends had so much fun at her birthday. It was a near disaster though when we arrived in Copperas Cove to play Laser tag and it was going to be a 2 1/2 hour wait for the nine of us to play. Instead we decided to just let Fantu and her 3 girlfriends play and they only had to wait 45 minutes. Abate and Caleb were very disappointed but they did have alot of fun in the Arcade for the next hour. I have promised to take them back for a round of laser tag in the next month or so. Earlier that day I had taken Fantu to Macy's to the Clinique Counter for her to get some make-up tips and of course some make-up. A beautiful girl made even more beautiful! Oh she loves her make-up, 30 minutes in front of the mirror every morning She takes such care to look so perfect. I don't have that kind of patience, 5 minutes max and I'm ready to go!
Abate will be starting spring soccer in the coming weeks. It looks like we are going to be putting him on the U-18 team. It will be good practice for when he gets to high school next year. He is so happy to be playing again. The first game won't be until after St. Patricks Day and should wrap up by the end of May. His practices will be in Gatesville but all the games will be out of town as the league they are associated with is located in Temple. So it looks to be a busy Spring!
Take a deep breath... inhale!
It has been very quiet at work since the 20th of December and it has given me a chance to settle in and start to get to know everyone and what they do here. My job description keeps changing as my role here develops. I will be working with all the different departments here helping out and I hate to say it - keeping tabs on the job they are doing. I have also been assigned the job of designing and setting up the Buffet tables for our in-house catering company. Up til now they have been just setting out the food trays and serving dishes on plain white cloths. No color, no flowers, no pizzazz. One major shopping excursion later we have about a dozen different fabrics, vases, bowls and baskets to really make the tables special. All those fabrics though had to be cut and hemmed - a new job to add to my job description. Last week was our first event that I was in charge of decorating. It was a Taco Buffet so of course we had to do a Mexican inspired design. Colorful fabrics, tall baskets with dried flowers, and of course lots of colorful flowers accenting the different areas. I really like this job when I get the chance to do something creative. It sure beats sitting at a computer all day.
Fantu and her friends had so much fun at her birthday. It was a near disaster though when we arrived in Copperas Cove to play Laser tag and it was going to be a 2 1/2 hour wait for the nine of us to play. Instead we decided to just let Fantu and her 3 girlfriends play and they only had to wait 45 minutes. Abate and Caleb were very disappointed but they did have alot of fun in the Arcade for the next hour. I have promised to take them back for a round of laser tag in the next month or so. Earlier that day I had taken Fantu to Macy's to the Clinique Counter for her to get some make-up tips and of course some make-up. A beautiful girl made even more beautiful! Oh she loves her make-up, 30 minutes in front of the mirror every morning She takes such care to look so perfect. I don't have that kind of patience, 5 minutes max and I'm ready to go!
Abate will be starting spring soccer in the coming weeks. It looks like we are going to be putting him on the U-18 team. It will be good practice for when he gets to high school next year. He is so happy to be playing again. The first game won't be until after St. Patricks Day and should wrap up by the end of May. His practices will be in Gatesville but all the games will be out of town as the league they are associated with is located in Temple. So it looks to be a busy Spring!
Take a deep breath... inhale!
Monday, January 17, 2011
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