Terrific Twos!!!!

I can't believe he's two. Crazy, messy, wild, loud, hilarious, cuter than heck!

Aimsley, Aimaronie, Amelia

Missed her this week and just learned how to make a photobucket collage so I thought I'd do a retrospective if you know what I mean.  And don'tcha dare mention that she's a year from driving and three years from leaving or I might break your face. 

It never ceases to amaze me how much better things look through a clean window!

YEARLY SUmmer VACATION RANT

I Hate summer vacation.  Despite NUMEROUS attempts to harness my workhorses into something productive I end up frustrated, irritated and mad at the whole lot of them. Add a Bentley to that and you've got a recipe for frazzlemommy.  I am not Type A-- I don't require a spotless house.  I just want it picked up, the floor neat, the table cleared and wiped and the chores often get done by noon.  But by noon thirty it's a mess again. And then they invite their friends over so I can't call them on the carpet when they've done their job inadequately which they almost always do EVEN THOUGH I have taught them the correct way to clean, pick up, every job in the house.  It's not unmanageable-- except they make it so.  I love the school year.  Except for Ben, it stays relatively neat for a good hour after it gets clean.  Not so in the middle of summer.  and Temperatures are not super conducive to kicking everyone outside.   Rant!!!!!!!!!! MOAN!!!!!!!! and my best helper's away for an entire week.  BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Sometimes you need to remember where you've been.

I have been looking for these pictures forever.  They got stuck on an old hard drive, but I had burned them to a disc first and Maggie found it.  So here we go they're a little out of order due to my lack of uploading skills, but you get the picture:

Front Courtyard before

Front courtyard after

Rear exterior in progress. Notice no balcony. Many nightmares about that one.

View From the dining room before.  Notice the 1/2 wall and lovely orange carpet.

Dining room before.  Those columns are gone.

Master Bath-- I won't show the new bath yet.  I can't find the after pictures and it's not too clean today.

Columns and stair rails removed.  Many Heart attacks over this as well-- also stair guys were 3 weeks late so 3 weeks of heart attack.



Exterior Before.  I know. Out of Order.  BUT:  pay attention to that stucco wall



And it's off.  But not before it knocks our contractor flat on his back from two stories up.  FYI, when removing a concrete wall and you're on a scaffold-- don't pull it towards you :{

More before of the stairs.  They were so pretty, but didn't match the rest of the house.

Drywall Nightmare because the wall texture was a knuckle breaker

Not a great after but you can see new stairs, hardwood floor, half wall removed, new closet doors, etc.

N

Blinded by the Light

Blinds are in.  Nothing like finally accomplishing a project that you've put off for like 2 years.  Well, just two are in.  I am awaiting approval from Camper Man who will not be home til tomorrow sometime in the P.M.   Originally, we were going to get some mucho nice-o blinds from the deadbeat blind contractor that would never pay his bill.  Newsflash-- if he won't pay his bill, he's probably not going to show up to give you blinds in your bedroom.  Anyhoo, we put up those nasty temporary blinds that did the job, but were getting to be embarrassing.  Then, we couldn't decide what we wanted, then we went looking at blinds and they were beyond pricey. We decided at that point to probably go with the cellular blinds.

That was all I needed.   While the cat was away I got me an idea and made some executive decisions (white-- because there's lots in stock and they mirror doors and molding) Laundry room and office (cause they're the rooms were in when the lights are on at night-- Most peep-showy, if you know what I mean).  I like them.  We'll see how it goes over with camper man.  I'm banking on the principle that a Home-improvement project finished is worth more than 2 in the head.  I shall finish the rest by the end of my summer at a fraction of the originally anticipated cost and be perfectly happy with it cause I'm flexible like that.