My Chicks with Baby Chicks

 No they aren't my chicks, though I have been trying to convince Wayne we could keep a few chickens for years now.  So far, no luck convincing him.  I swear if we framed off a small bit of the garage and penned off a section of backyard we hardly use anyway, it could work!  But considering Legend tried to eat the cat a few weeks ago(seriously, it was close), maybe more live things wouldn't be a great idea.

 This chick may look a little anxious.  Once Adalyn got over the idea that they might poop at any moment, she picked them up with gusto.  Maybe too much gusto since that poor little guy may have had the poop squeezed out of him.  I think they all survived with no internal bleeding.

 They ended the day by taping things to the floor to create an obstacle course for the chicks to run.  Not sure if the chicks knew what they were supposed to do but they sure had a fun time making it for them.

Easter

 So I'm a wee bit late on this but here was our Easter.  Egg Dying.  Pretty dresses, probably the last time they'll get to wear their flower girls dresses.  Dever still has room in hers but Ady and Willa both have had growth spurts making the dress a little too tight and a little too short:)

 Easter day had us hunting for eggs out at the Hilton Spindlers:)

They didn't seem to mind that these were the same eggs they found in the house when they wok up.

 Seriously, if you know how short my Mom is, it makes this photo even funnier.

 Then relaxing after a yummy dinner.

Willa Turns 7

Many hands make light work ergo,

many tongues and fingers make cake batter cleanup a breeze! 

The birthday girl has since lost the other front tooth and now has a most adorable gapped smile!  Pics t come, eventually.

At school her teacher gave her the choice of 7  hugs or 7 spankings.  She chose the hugs!

 Her middle name is Joy and it suits her so wonderfully.

 Always smiling, always happy...

 Always willing to be a good big sister...

Always<3

3 Months Later

And still we are lost among the remodel.

You wouldn't think it would take that long to write a few sentences here and there and throw up a few pictures.  It seems like once I broke the habit, I had a hard time coming back.  The poor excuses I can offer are that my bathroom is not yet back to rights, 3 kids(the 3rd one completely done with diapers), travel volleyball, 2 dogs, 2 cats(one of which I swear is on his last days), and 1 beta fish.  They are consuming me, minute by minute.  Something had to give and so it was the blog, which cannot die, whine, or create any number of disgusting messes requiring me to stop immediately what I was about to do so I can clean it up.  Now I'm wondering when I had time to write here at all.

And I'm not making any promises.

Adalyn is now potty trained(insert Hallelujah chorus), however *ahem* #2 can be very tricky and seems to involve many false alarms and a ridiculous degree of patience.  The bathroom is very nearly completely functional(3 months later) but there is still the painting and trimming to do.  The cat, well, we'll see.  My guess is that we may be mourning his passing sooner rather than later.  The dogs, they seem to continue to poop.   Not surprising I know, but now that the weather is nicer we may actually want to use our back yard and so cleaning up after them will be required.  The fish doesn't complain but I swear he is thinking thoughts about my ineptness while he watches me try to juggle everything.  Not very well I might add.

So maybe this 20 minutes I am surely stealing from something else I should be doing, is an anomaly.

But hopefully not.

While I've been out living blog-free, Adalyn has turned 3 and I made her the coolest rainbow cake ever, per her request.  She is still our "crapshoot."  Just last night, after putting her to bed at 9:30, she spent the next 3 hours jabbering until calling me relentlessly at 12:45.  You just never know with her.

Lost Amid the Remodel

Somewhere around 4 weeks before Christmas, we(Wayne and I) decided it would be genius if we ripped apart our downstairs bathroom and began the remodeling process.  We almost did this over the Summer but  went to Key West instead.  And now being 6 weeks into the project I can easily say that Key West was far more fun;)

The thing about remodeling for me, is that I know going into it that it will be a painful process.  I agonize and dither about the smallest things to a point that is exhausting.  Having done a few rooms now, I have faith that in the end, the room will look great, it will look like us and we will be so glad we did it.  But before all that satisfaction comes the hemming and hawing inevitable with me.  So that is where I've been lost.  In the cyber-world that includes image searches of small bathrooms, faucets, faucets that light up(per Willa's request), shower heads, shower systems, tiles, medicine cabinets, vanities and one unfortunate day filled with only variations on robe hooks.

Anyhow, here are the before pictures, including the crooked window shade, the too many bottles of shampoos, conditioners and the like, and a plant that without reason, refuses to die.

 
 At Christmas we let our family sign the insides of the walls:)

Did I mention Wayne is doing all the work himself?  Luckily over Christmas break we got almost all the demo done.  But now that he's back to working 55 hours a week at work, progress is somewhat slow.  Good thing patience is a strong character trait for me(insert eye roll).  Plus, there is the rest of 'life' that keeps on insisting it should be paid attention to as well.  Happily, I am 99% sure everything has been decided, though it is clear that I may have underestimated how much certain items would cost, I am glad to have all the decision making behind me.  Now all we need is time, and Lord knows, we have an abundance of that(insert another eye roll, bigger this time).

Happy Holidays!

Here's hoping the New Year brings more time and energy for this space.  In the mean time, we're wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year:)