We have this really ugly faux wood paneling wall in the house. I’ve hated it from the second I saw it during the house hunting stage.
I’m fairy certain that it actually sucks the light out of my house. I’ve taken to calling it the “Black Hole of Light”. LOL
The good news is, it’s days are numbered in this household. We’re going to be tearing this bad boy out soon. Before we know it, we’ll have pretty, painted drywall up in it’s place.
I can’t wait!
(By the way, don’t you just love how the manufacturers of the ugly plastic wall panels put so much detail in the plastic? I mean, check out that wood grain! And the wood nails on each “plank”! Because textured, knotty wood-esc plastic wall paneling is WAAAAAY better than just flat, plain paneling. LOL)
We might also take the time to replace some light fixtures that just aren’t our style….
The one in the dining room…
…and my personal “favorite”, the kitchen ceiling fan:
After we fix the wall, we’ll be painting almost all of the first floor of our house. We’ll be painting the ceilings, the hallway up to the second floor as well as the landing upstairs. Our open floor plan doesn’t really lend itself to cutting off a paint job per room so it’s going to be a major project.
Not sure what we’re going to do about our wall of preschool artwork. We’re probably going to have to find a new way to display the treasures that Ian and Matthew bring home.
Once the Black Hole of Light is gone, I’m no longer going to have an excuse for not having any pictures hanging on our walls. I might actually need to decorate! Yikes!
I was a little busy during Miss Siss’s birthday party. A certain little 3 year old big brother needed to be distracted. 😉 As a result, I really didn’t take too many pictures.
1st birthday loot:
Cake:
Smash cake that Kaitlyn DESTROYED:
Momma and the birthday girl:
Kaitlyn ready for the party to get started:
My sister and her fiance had a co-ed shower the day after Ian’s birthday party. It made for a slightly hectic weekend but we had a good time.
Courtney came to town for the shower so she was able to come to Ian’s party.
L to R: Courtney, our friend Vicky, Mom and Dad
My adorable hubster:
Mom and Dad:
Court and Vicky:
The adorable couple:
Table decorations:
Giant stack of gifts:
Nick may be tarred and feathered if he keeps this up. Particularly on his wedding day. 😉
A big gift. I think it was a card table. Looks like a baby gate to this mom. LOL
Based upon the joy in their eyes, I bet they wear these hats all honeymoon long.
I’m continuing to humiliate and embarrass them by posting this picture. There were several gifts of lingerie which resulted in a lot of blushing. LOL
I got them something off their registry but also made this for them in Photoshop:
Opening the gift:
Posing:
2 months to go until the wedding!!!
We knew that when Ian turned 5 that we would plan a big birthday party and invite friends from school. We decided fairly early in the planning process to NOT have the party at our house. It just would be easier and less stressful to have it outside of the house where someone else needed to worry about cleaning. LOL With as much as he loves bowling, we figured a bowling party would be fun. We picked a package that came with bowling, food, drinks, ice cream and even treat bags for the kids. All we needed to do was bring a cake and the birthday boy!
My creative and over-acheiver urges kicked in so I designed Ian’s birthday party invites in Photoshop.
Front:
Back:
The cake:
In the party room, pre-party:
Recovering from a virus and growing weary of my picture taking:
Doesn’t his apple juice look like beer here? LOL
Party people:
Ian’s friends (L to R): Lily, Aaron, Kyle, Megan, Ian, Jason, Rachel, Raegan
Remember the letter we got from Ian’s teacher? I found out at Ian’s party that Rachel was the classmate kissing on Ian a few months back! Her mom said that she got a note home too! LOL Rachel was also the girl that watched a movie with Ian back in October! Maybe they’re meant to be together!?! 🙂
We intended for Matthew to come to the party and bowl but about 2-3 hours before the party started, Matthew vomited all over the two of us while sitting on the couch watching TV. Since he puked and was running a fever, Mike’s mother graciously stayed home with Matthew during the party. Thank you!!!
Let the games begin!!!
How do I explain bowling with eight 4-5 year olds? Holy moly! I don’t think I saw Ian bowl more than 1 frame. I spent the entire time making sure the kids were bowling (and not fighting, running away, wrestling, crying, etc). Most of the parents stayed for the party but it was pretty chaotic and I definitely needed to keep the kids on task. As it was, they only bowled something like 6 frames in an hour. LOL
The out-of-focus, blurry nature of this picture is pretty much spot on!
Mercifully, the bowling part of the party flew by and it soon was time for food, drinks, cake and presents!
Singing “Happy Birthday” to my big boy:
After everyone finished eating, the kids had fun playing in the party room.
Ian pretended to be an airplane with his friends:
Taking a break to pose with Uncle Nick:
The alley gave Ian the (real) bowling pin that was the table decoration/center piece in the party room. The hostess brought out a marker and all the kids signed the pin for Ian (even Ian LOL).
It was a great (but exhausting) party! I can’t believe my big boy is 5!
Dancing at the Strong Museum of Play observations:
- Ian gets his dancing skills from his father. 😉
- So does Matthew. LOL
- My children appear to be really fond of “Family Affair” by Mary J. Blige.
- Matthew may have needed his diaper changed based upon his dance of choice. LOL
- In a prime Mother of the Year moment, I called my child by the wrong name about 2 minutes in and don’t bother correcting myself. Whoops!