Party Animals!!

Austin made it home last night. Kylie and Steven are headed to Britni and Chuck's tonight. We will meet them there tomorrow to spend the weekend. The girls and I are planning a trip to the nail salon for a pedicure. Then final preparations will be made for the big party for the big 6 year old on Saturday!! I can't wait to have all of my kids together. It has been way toooooo long since we were all together. Hope everyone else has a terrific weekend.

4 score and 7 years ago . . .

No actually just 6 very short years ago - our very first grandchild was born and my world has not been the same. Chandler came into this world at 8 lbs 11 3/4 oz. His skin was so soft and velvety and his soft angel hair shimmered. I watched him eat. I watched him sleep. I became utterly useless. I couldn't remember what I did with myself before he came. What a precious gift from God!!!



Chandler has been such a blessing. When he was 2 or 3 I taught him to cross his fingers and we would say "Chandler and Granna-like that" meaning we were good buddies. We were tight!! I can still ask him now if Chandler and Granna are "like that" with my fingers crossed and he will say yes!



He is so smart and sweet and such a boy!! He is a wonderful big brother. They are so sweet to watch. When I kept Chandler and Rainey a couple of weeks ago when they would wake up in the morning she would go to big brother and they would just hug each other. It was soooo sweet. I hope they are always the best of friends.



Chandler- I hope you have a very special day!!! I love you so much - Granna

Blah, blah, blah!!

I am feeling blah!! No, not due to empty nest - just allergies/cold/sinus infection or whatever. I have sort of adjusted to empty nest but Austin's room looks so . . .clean. LOL You thought I was going to say lonely didn't you!!! It is still pretty lonely/quite around here but I am still trying to get used to the fact that they have all grown up and are trying to or have become independent which my head says it's what they are supposed to do but my heart doesn't like the fact that it happened so quickly.

On the other side of blah - Austin may be coming in this week for a visit. Yea!!! I talk to him daily but I have not gotten to kiss his sweet face since January 18th!! Chandler is having a birthday this week and his party will be on Saturday so Austin will come in on Wednesday after his last class to visit a few days and be here for the party. Also - Kylie and Steven will be coming in on Thursday!! Doubly sweet!! I haven't seen them since January 2 I believe and I really don't like not seeing my kids often!!! Talking to them on the phone is not the same!! Pray for Austin and Kylie this week. Austin has applied for a couple of jobs and he is going back on Monday to check. He really needs a job!! Kylie will be going to a job fair on Saturday morning and she also really needs a job!! Have a great week everyone!!

Valentines weekend

I got to spend Valentine's weekend with 3 of my favorite Valentines - my wonderful husband and 2 of our precious grandchildren.



Chuck and Britni went to a couples retreat/conference thing so we got to keep the babies. We usually go to Lee's China for dinner on Valentine's so we took the kids this time. Chandler said he didn't want to go to China so I had to convince him that we were going to a Chinese restaurant-not actually China!! Rainey loved the Chinese food - but Chandler - not so much!! We stopped by Burger King on the way to get Chandler some chicken fries since he is a pretty picky eater. Chandler was pretty intrigued by the cooks- especially when the flames would go really high!!



Lovin' me some Chinese food!! :)



We gave Chandler a set of golf clubs for Christmas and he has been taking golfing lessons. He wanted to show (teach) me some things so this afternoon we played outside for a little bit.



Giving sister a few pointers.



Taking a swing. Recognize the coat, KyKy??!! From about 22 years ago!!



These are for you Aunt Kyky. She may get some hair after all!!





We had a good time with the kids, but we sure missed getting to see Kylie, Steven, Austin, Noah, Erin and Trevor!!

Happy Valentine's Day

Little bit of nothing continued . . .

I had a request for photos from the previous post so here goes. The "before" pictures were taken when the previous owners still lived in the house.

I did Austin's bedroom first. He had this yellow wall which is pretty cute but it just wasn't Austin. His bathroom had this huge border of sunflowers.

Much better!!



Let me explain this unique piece of furniture. It is made from an old door and an old basketball rim. I lived on a farm and the basketball goal was hanging above the door of one of the barns. That is where we played basketball since we didn't have the portable goals and such that we have now. Anyway we think my daddy actually made the rim. Some time after he died we were at the farmhouse going through things and I decided that I wanted the goal. I played basketball in high school and my team won the state championship my senior year so I thought I deserved it. :) So my brother worked and got the goal off of the barn. I wanted to make a night stand using the rim for Austin's room. My brother said he could build a post to attach it to. At some point while he was working on the post he found the old door (backboard) and thought it would be a neat addition to the night stand. I added the cork board and the glass top and I think it turned out really neat. A lot of memory behind it and my brother's work is really special.



The basketball was a gift to Austin from Kylie one year for his birthday. She was in the Aggie Angels group for the men's basketball team when she was attending A&M and she got the team to sign the ball.

Next I did the girls' room upstairs. Even though the girls were already in college and Britni was married- I still think of it as the girls' room.

Before -


At one time the upstairs was one big room with a bathroom and study. It has a fireplace and it had a wet bar. One of the previous owners had 2 girls and needed another bedroom so they divided the upstairs into 2 bedrooms.



The solid blue vase on the far left was my grandmother's. I started out painting this room yellow but it got brighter and brighter so that is when I found the blue.
After that I did the laundry room. This is the before picture but I forgot to take an after. Just picture it all baby lotion pink with spring green trim.



Before Christmas I did the dining room.





This is the work in progress. I want a black dining table with other black accents. Kylie and Steven gave me the cross for Christmas for my newly painted room. I found some black/white floral plates at Hobby Lobby that I can't wait to put in the blue room.



The last rooms I worked on were the back hall all the way through the kitchen to the living room. I don't think you can really tell but the paint was a peachy pinkish color that had to go!



This is the chocolate milk.





Here is the master bedroom before. Remember- with the wallpaper.



I am thinking chocolate milk (Castle Path) with this bedding minus the brown striped bed skirt.


Give me your opinion.

Little bit of nothing

I talked to one of my girls yesterday and when asked what I was up to my reply was a "little bit of nothing!!" I just can't seem to get going. When the kids are here I seem to get more done but when they are all gone it is pretty depressing and I find myself not wanting to do much. I have got to snap out of this slump because believe me-there is plenty to do around here. Back during the holidays we had a little problem with the plumbing. Yes - we had to bring in the shop vac and get some people out to figure out the problem. Water was coming in under the toilet and for the longest I couldn't figure it out. I kept thinking the toilet was overflowing but the top would be dry. Anyway...the guys knocked something loose that was stuck in the pipes and we got that all taken care of but we have a panel in the back hallway that gives access to the pipes that go to the bathtub. We were afraid there might be water there so we had them take a look. The people who owned the house before us had painted over the panel so when the guys took it loose it took paint, sheet rock, etc. So to make a long story longer - I had been wanting to paint from the back hallway through the kitchen and the living room because the paint in those rooms had a pinkish peachy cast to it that just was not working with my Coca Cola red kitchen decor nor my Aggie living room decor. Since we were going to have to repair the wall I decided there was no time like the present and I had a couple of free weekends so I did it. My sister-in-law had her guest bedroom painted Castle Path which reminds me of chocolate milk. I decided that would be a great color and it has made such a difference. It really sets off my Coca Cola decor and my chocolate living room furniture looks great with the new color. There is just something about a new coat of paint that gives me a tingly feeling.(is that a real word- sorry Amy :) We have been in the house 2 1/2 years and I have finally painted every room except the entry and our bedroom- which may happen this summer. My husband thinks I am nuts. The first thing when we moved in was to get the sunflowers out of Austin's room. Then I painted the girls room upstairs a beautiful blue called Anchor's Away. My son-in-law still says it is periwinkle. It is so calming and I love walking up the stairs and seeing the blue. Next I repainted the laundry room. I decided I am apparently the only one that uses that room so I painted it baby lotion pink with spring green trim and I love it. Sometime last year I decided to paint the dining room. I wanted a pale blue but I could not come up with the right shade. It was either baby blue or bird egg blue so I went back to my old favorite- Anchor's Away that I painted in the upstairs bedroom. I am on the look out for a long black table that will seat at least 10. And I want black wall decorations so the dining room is still a work in progress. Now that I have gotten the peach in the kitchen covered the last room is the master bedroom. The original owners of the house had wall papered the entire house. The next two owners worked on taking wall paper down and texturing and painting. They also must have put the master bedroom off until last because it still has wallpaper. Not unbearable but I am ready for it to go. I am thinking Castle Path with red and black bedding!!! Ok- that was a lot of baloney that I know you were just dying to know about.

Anyway...Rainey seems to be fully recovered from the flu. She was just a chattering today when I was talking to Britni on the phone. She loves to "read" and be read to. I got her the book "Pinkalicious" for her birthday and I think that it her favorite right now. She kept wanting me to read it to her when I kept her when she was sick. Britni says she has to read it about 50 times a day. But then I remember Britni always getting my mom to read "The Little Red Hen" to her about 50 times a day. Chandler's favorite was "Polar Bear, Polar Bear" and I bet I read "Henry, the Duck" to Austin about a million times. Poor Henry could get into some messes and Austin loved the books about Henry. I don't remember Kylie having a particular favorite. I guess we didn't have any medical books. :) She always liked it when Robert read them books at night and made up stuff that wasn't in the book at all.

Well - this has gone on long enough. I will close and put you out of your misery. My sister-in-law just started blogging so check out her blog at Mom Raun's Musings.

Until next time . .

Sick Baby Girl

Our precious granddaughter has been battling the flu this week. Grandad and I have been taking turns with Mommy and Daddy on babysitting duties. I went down on Tuesday and Grandad kept her on Wednesday. She has been a pretty sick little girl. When I was there on Tuesday she cried most of the day. I knew she felt so badly and didn't know why. At one point she cried for 30 minutes solid and by then I was crying because I felt so sorry for her but there was nothing I could do to comfort her. It is sad to see her feeling so awful when normally she is so full of energy. The only time she smiles is when Chandler comes home from school. She does love that big brother.

White Pumkpins and other Austinisms

Austin has been gone for 2 weeks and it is finally time to do the laundry. He called yesterday afternoon and was asking about some specific shirts and what to put them with to wash. He asked about certain shirts- what about the white one with Hollister in green. I told him it was fine with his other t-shirts. He said are you sure- I like that shirt. Austin, seriously I have been washing them that way for months!! We got that squared away and then the conversation went something like this:
Austin: What about the Tide? Do you use a whole capful?
Mom: That's fine.
Austin: Do I just pour it in?
Mom: Yes, you can just pour it on the clothes.
Austin: What about this Downy stuff?
Mom: Do they have a Downy ball?
Austin: No
Mom: Does the agitator have an opening in the top that looks like you can pour something in it?
Austin: What's an agitator?
(In Austin's defense, he did not grow up with a washing machine that has an agitator. Mine is a front loading machine.)
Mom: It is the thing sticking up in the center of the machine. Does it have an opening.
(Austin mumbles something about a lid and then I hear him talking to his roommates.)
Austin: No the lid doesn't open.
Mom: Okay, look in the corners. Is there a cup looking thing in any of the corners?
Austin: No.
Mom: Then forget the Downy.
Austin: (this is priceless) Do I put one of those sheet things in there?
Mom:(trying hard not to laugh) No, Austin, those are dryer sheets. Put one in the dryer when you start to dry the clothes.

My baby boy!!! I hope he misses me a little!!

This story reminds me of one of my other children her first year away at college. I got a voice mail on my cell phone that I wish I could have saved. Kylie had gotten a ticket for speeding in a school zone. In the voice mail she was talking about getting this citation. She was not upset, crying or anything- she was just put out!! She said he told her she would need to go to the municipal court. She said, "I don't know why I need to go to the municipal court for a citation." I nearly died laughing because at that point I realized that she had no idea that a citation meant an actual ticket!! She thought she had gotten a warning and she didn't know why she had to go to court for a warning. They live and learn!!