Conversations with Kadyn...

Mama: Dude, you need to not grow at all this summer otherwise these shorts aren't going to fit you and I *just* bought them. So no growing till September, deal?

Kadyn: Deal. But you can't stop progress....

Currently v.17

Hoping... I can make the plans in my head into actual real, live things. Everything from my living/dining/play room makeover to the business I am in the very, very, very, VERY beginning stages of starting. I feel like I'm in a sort of put up or shut up space right now and I hope I can put up. I'm realy not so good at the shutting up.

Reading... up on web hosting and design. And losing a bit of my mind with each word I read. I think I'm a reasonably smart person but all this stuff makes me feel like a Grade A moron. Condescending asshole tech support jerkfaces don't help. I've thought about just hiring a pro and paying him/her to do it all but them I'm stuck paying someone to help me whenever there is a problem and I'd like to not do that.

Wearing... Sandals and tank tops and shorts, oh my!!! We've had a couple brutally hot days lately and it is AWESOME!!  Well, it kinda blew chunks because I was sick and 30C temps while SUPER congested is what I imagine hell to be like but I REFUSED to complain because winter is the evilest of evils and I hate it with all my summer-loving heart. You can complain about winter, you can complain about summer but you cannot complain about both.

Making... simple, beautiful spaces. We cleaned up the yard and I planted some flowers last weekend. EEK!! YAY!!! And I'm plugging away at my main floor makeover. What a freaking difference!! I've had this feeling of simplicity in my life lately and it's transferring over into our home - quite nicely, too, I have to say. I feel so much more comfortable and happy in our home. I can't wait to finish and enjoy.

Playing... this weird kissing game with Graysen. It's hilarious!! Graysen leans in for a kiss, I lean in and JUST as we're about to kiss, he pulls his head back and says, 'uh-uh!' Then I pretend to cry because he didn't kiss me, he pretends to be all sad and empathetic, then he kisses my head (or he gets Kadyn to kiss me) and I pop up all happy. Rinse and repeat x infinity. The best part is when Graysen gets Kadyn and shows him I'm crying and Kadyn says, "You have to kiss 'er, Graysen. See, like this... :SMOOCH:" It's just really awesome. I love these little made up games that the boys and I have.

Wordless Wednesday

A Whole Hand + One

So I have a six year old now.

That is so weird to say.

So weird.

And freaking ca-razy!

The whole hand birthday got me last year.

But the whole hand + one this year was way rougher.

I don't know why.

I guess maybe because it feels like we're entering a brand new phase.

Kadyn's going to summer camp this year. Alone.

It's not overnight camp, but still.

He'll be starting full-day school in the fall.

He's reading!!! And writing!!!

He's doing all these big kid things and it's just all too much, too fast for me.

At the same time, it's...I don't even know what it is.

I sit and watch him sometimes and I don't have words.

Watching Kadyn (and Graysen) grow and learn and develop is just...wow.

So cool.

Kadyn is so amazing. And he grows more and more amazing with every year.

He's just SUCH a cool, awesome kid.

So funny and imaginative and FULL of personality.

I am so lucky to be his Mama.

Aaaaaand I'm about to get weepy. My eyes just welled.

Party! Let's talk about the party!!

Kadyn is BIG into Lego these days.

(Which makes me wicked happy because I LOVED Lego when I was a kid. And I still pretty much LOVE it now.)

We had a Lego party to celebrate the whole hand + one because, duh.

I would have loved to get my party planning on and plan a rad Lego party with cool decorations and activities and themed food and all that but Kadyn wanted to go to Bricks 4 Kidz.

So that is what we did.

If you have one of these near you, you should definitely check it out. The parties are awesome, as are the camps - Kadyn attended a Superhero camp over spring break and thought it was pretty much the best thing ever.

Because everything is done for you at Bricks 4 Kidz, all I had to do was invitations and cupcakes.

Somehow I managed to leave those two itty bitty things till the last minute.

There isn't much more to say about this party because I didn't really do anything. Other than enjoy it. So I shall leave you with photos and photos and photos!

Listening intently to Zipline Racer instructions.

Zipline Racer Faces! Priceless!

Rebuilding his Dragster.

I love his face...

Rad presents get Noogies in Kadyn's world.

"Now I can look at the stars in outer space! And all the planets!

Reading the best handmade card ever. <3

Graysen was excited for all the presents!

Spin Art. Way cool!!

Birthday bubbles!!

Sharing is Caring v.6

• Sometimes technology is pretty great. As is the case in these new ads. There are some flaws, blah, blah, blah. But the idea behind it is amazing. And if it saves just one child? Success.

• You know, America, I like a lot of you. I really do. But sometimes ya'll just have me shaking my head and sighing with sadness. Is this REALLY necessary? No. It is not.

• This is crazy. And pretty sad. I'm not a HUGE tree hugging environmentalist, though I do try to be as friendly as possible to Miss Mother Earth, but it's pretty scary what we've done to this planet in the last 20 years. I don't even want to think about what will happen in the next 20 years.

• Amy sent this to me last week and oh, mah gah!! I nearly died laughing. I did LOL IRL, for realz. In, fact I LOL'd so hard, Ryan asked me what the hell I was looking at. So, good. So funny. So awesome.

Currently v.16

Learning... how to start my own photography business. That's this month's course. I'm kinda, sorta, a little bit taking the course material with a grain of salt. Or perhaps I'm just being realistic. I'm not really sure what my expectations should be but they aren't very high.

That sounds awfully pessimistic and attitude-y, doesn't it?

I'm just not expecting to magically be Annie Leibovitz when this course is finished. I am, however, grateful for the knowledge and direction because, well, if I already had that knowledge and direction, I might be Annie Leibovitz....

Gathering... items for my main-floor redecoration. My May Project-per-month Project has spiralled out of control. It was supposed to be some curtains and new pillow covers but it's turned into a complete flip and re-deco of the living room, dining room and play area. Thankfully I'm kicking ass on the budget (selling old stuff to pay for new stuff FTW!!) and am really loving my progress so far.

Giving... up all plans for the week. After a majorly awesome weekend, this week flew down the shitter at mach speed. It started with a tickle in my throat last Friday that I *thought* was the beginning of allergies and has ended with a pukey baby and lots and lots of couch surfing. I have a NASTY NASTY chest cold with a cough that brings tears to my eyes and takes my breath away (and NOT in a Nick Sparks novel kind of way) and Graysen picked up something from somewhere that has caused nastiness out of both ends of him. At least he didn't develop a fever and has been able to keep some food/pedialyte down. I think we're on the upswing of this sickness but ugh. UGH.

Working... on Lego sets for days. Kadyn turned six (SIX!!!) on Saturday and we celebrated Lego style.   When I haven't been on the couch snuggling with my little dude, I've been building Lego with my big dude. I fucking LOVE the shit outta Lego. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE Kadyn's amazingly awesome imagination with his Lego. He made 'a set' yesterday with his new Gold Mine and it seriously blew my mind. Kadyn's imagination is one of my favourite things about him and I just adore seeing it at work.

Playing... Candy Crush level 65 over and over and over and over and over and over and over. I am so ashamed of myself.

Sharing is Caring v.5

Bringing the lulz to this week's Sharing is Caring instalment.

• I don't really know what the Upworthy thing is or how I came to 'like' it on Facebook but holy crap is there some awesome stuff on there. I watched this over the weekend and laughed a lot.

• Brandy tweeted this on Friday and oh mah gah. I want to drink wine with that woman. So bad.

• Courtesy of Brandy's husband, this gem. Ha!!

• This isn't exactly lulzy but it is pretty awesome. A photo a year for 35 years - simply amazing. I am definitely going to start doing this. I think I'd like to two sets - one of the boys and one of Ryan and I. 

Conversations with Kadyn

Kadyn: Mom, I hear birds chirping.

Mama: Me, too, bud.

Kadyn: Music in the sky fills my ears with love.

Currently v.15

Admiring... myself. How big of me, eh? I think I deserve an 'atta girl' and a pat on the back. I've handled Ryan's crazy, work all the freaking time schedule like a champ! Ok, not totally champ-like, I have had a tantrum here and there, but I've handled it better than I ever have before. Especially given the struggles between Kadyn and I and the toddler-ness of Graysen. I still don't like Ryan's job or how much he's worked lately but my big girl panties have made it easier on all of us. I'm pretty proud of myself.

Caring... about truly horrible things I likely can't do anything about. And those things stick in my heart forever. No joke. Last week I saw a police report - from my city!! - about a dog being dragged behind a pick up truck, then dumped at an emergency vet clinic. That same day I clicked on a video I KNEW I shouldn't have watched. It was a video of a person (certainly no man) beating up a small boy, couldn't have been older than 3 or 4. I turned it off a minute and a half in, should have done that MUCH sooner. But that dog and that boy are in my heart. I can see and hear that boy without even trying.

Thankfully it looks like the dog will recover. It will take time, her injuries are serious, but she will recover. But what about the boy? The video looked foreign and I saw it on Facebook. What the hell can I do about that?

And what about all the other animals and children suffering the same sorts of things?

It's all just an impossibility.

That's the only word I can think of to describe it. I can't jet around the world saving all the animals and children from the horrors of the world. Though I would in half a heartbeat if I could. So what do I do? Doing nothing feels awful. It actually makes me physically sick. But what am I supposed to do? Call up the police and say, "So....uh....there's this video on the internet....."I bet that would go over real well.

Sure I can help out locally with different organizations, I can donate to not so local organizations also. But what about that boy? Who is he? WHERE is he? Judging by the first minute and a half of that video, I'm not even sure he made it to the end.

My heart truly hurts for all the atrocities in this world.  And I hope that boy, wherever he is, is ok.

Sorry for the heavy injection this week. I just.... well, I just can't sometimes.

Loving... having my husband home. His third out of town job (the one that was supposed to happen this week) cancelled last Saturday so Ryan's been home ALL WEEK. It's been wonderful. I've so enjoyed all this time together. We had a GREAT weekend - got my hair did, replaced my broken sunnies, decked out the boys in new bikes and helmets - and bells! - hung out in the yard, hung out with friends. Was one of the best weekends in a long time.

Cleaning... all the things. Again. Because spring cleaning in January is just dumb. Duh. We finally cleaned the car - though the milk stank is still lingering. Blech. And I'm slowly working my way through the house once again. Washing the walls is going to have to happen soon. I freaking HATE washing walls.

Creating... happy spaces. We've lived here 18 months longer than we anticipated (and we'll be here for another year - hopefully NO longer than that.) I'm sick of 'that'll do' spaces. I've been making little changes here and there and buying little pieces here and there to make our home more happy to my eyes. I am very please with the way my bedroom project has turned out and I pretty much love the new curtains I picked up for the living room. (The previous curtains were 9 years old and an incredibly blah shade of tan.) Although now I want to replace the bedside tables and lamps in the bedroom - to go with the pretty dresser, of course - and I want to replace the pillows and lampshades in the living room - to go with the pretty new curtains.

Which I probably definitely will do.

If you give a mouse a cookie.....

Project-per-month PROJECT: Project 1 Reveal and Project 2

Wut!! Wut!!!

I have to say, I adore Lindsey and her PPM Project.

For too long, I've done nothing in this house - because we were supposed to be moseying on our way 18 months ago and because it all seemed so overwhelming, trying to make a house the way I want it when I can't paint, can't do anything permanent and don't want to spend a lot of money - because it's not permanent.

But these little month-long projects have me JAZZED!

Manageable yet impactful.

(I feel like that last sentence needs a little twinkle on the end of it. Like the *ting* dishwasher solution commercials.)

Anyway......

I started with this:

Blech.

And now I have this:

I like it MUCH better.

Though I am thoroughly embarrassed by how much Ikea is in this one small corner of our room.

Because it is extremely indicative of the rest of our house.

(To convey to utter Ikeaness of my house I once said to someone, "I am sitting on my couch, with my feet on my Ikea coffee table, watching my TV that sits upon an Ikea TV bench. Next to that is an Ikea bookshelf and an Ikea wall shelf. Ikea picture frames sit upon both. To my left is an Ikea shelf that houses toys and my children are sitting on Ikea kids chairs at an Ikea kids table. Above that are more Ikea picture frames on Ikea picture ledges. And as my gaze drifts to our dining room, I see an Ikea table with four Ikea chairs. There are fresh flowers in an Ikea vase and Ikea napkins in an Ikea napkin holder. Behind the table and chairs is an Ikea cabinet which houses more Ikea vases, candles and other trinkets.....

Disgusting, right?)

I don't hate Ikea. I just wish my house wasn't so full of it.

But it's cheap and convenient and I don't DIE when the boys take a wrench to it. Like they did to the TV bench. And the last coffee table.

I dream of home ownership days where I have countless hours to scour thrift shops and one of a kind furniture stores and space to refinish dumpster finds and such.

One day, we will be Ikea free....Oh, yes.

Back to the project.

It's not entirely complete.

I couldn't come up with something to put on that canvas.

I had a few ideas wafting around but one of them went to the trio frame next to the canvas and I just have not had time to get the paint colors I want or sit down and paint something.

I might even revamp those two on the right. I'm not sure how they sit with me just yet.

(I'm hoping to have family photos done soon and if they turn out as splendid as our holiday photos did, done deal!!)

But I REFUSE to rush this or settle. Even if it is a MONTHLY project.

So I've left it ever so slightly unfinished.

I also went over budget. Even though I purchased very little.

Shockingly, everything I purchased is from......IKEA!

The two lamps, bamboo, vase and rocks and large print on the left totalled about $70.

The rest I had kicking around the house, waiting to be used.

I think my favorite part of this is the glass bowl.

My grandmother gave this to me years and years ago and, until recently, it's always been on my dresser.

When we bought this dresser, I put the bowl in the top drawer because there just wasn't room on top.

But I wasn't happy about it.

I am very happy it once again resides on top.

And now onto Project Two: The Living Room.

Specifically the curtains.

Can I tell you a secret?

I kinda already started this project. But only just.

I snapped these quickly before I put up the new curtains.

I didn't feel like putting the old things back up just to take a picture.

But, in case you'd like to kill the cat, here they are:

Those babies are nine and a half years old.

Yup.

I've never liked them but, at the time, I had A TON of window to cover and no money.

When we moved into our current house, I had intended to replace them.

But I couldn't find anything I liked for less than $100/panel and I need 4 panels.

Guess where I found new curtains?

Go on, guess?

Since I already know what my new curtains look like, I know I'm going to want to buy new pillows and new lampshades - that one in the right corner is busted anyway. And I don't love the way the pictures are currently arranged.

I think I might be over the wall shelf as well.

So....goals:

• new curtains (purchased) and possibly new finials for the rod
• new lamp shades
• new pillow covers (I never liked the ones that came with the couch)
• rearrange the pictures/add new ones

I'm setting a budget of $200 for this because I already spent $80 the curtains. Plus I'd like to be under budget this month.

Fingers crossed!!