Novie's Birthday

Sorry folks, I said I would get these pics up yesterday (on her REAL birthday), but my internet stopped working and we had to have someone come and fix it.

Last weekend was quite a weekend. Our friends, the Carrolls, came from Corvallis on Saturday to stay with us and to go to Synnove's party on Sunday. It was great having them over! We made pizza, Jessica helped with the party prep, Jeremy and Adam had fun going on a hike, and the kids tried their best to play nice. Over 40 people had RSVPd for the party, so I was a little overwhelmed. Also, Chris was planning to come over a few hours before the party to cut a difficult tree down for us. SO, the husbands were no help with the kids, but everything seemed to get done in time.

Synnove LOVED her party. In fact, she thanked me several times that evening, and even the next day. She loved having her "best friend" Jailey over as well.

Opening the gift Jailey got her...and...

...The card...the girls on the front look like Novie and Jailey!!

Cousin Alice is wearing the perfect shirt for the occasion...

Synnove wanted a "Maggie and the Ferocious Beast" themed party. Unfortunately, that is an older show and you can't find party supplies for it anymore. But, there's always Ebay!!

A room shot...nice face Ann...

Another room shot...

3 of Synnove's Great-Grandmothers

My mom-in-law, Patty, gave Synnove a "Chatty Patty" from back in the day. She must have saved it. Anyway, after pulling the string to make it talk, I realized that I had one when I was a little girl as well! Imagine that.

She got a new slide to replace the one that got run over by the lawn mower!

Partying With the Browns

Party planning and preparation is not as easy as it seems. I'm the type of person that has to have everything in order before guests arrive. The driveway should be swept, the windows should be cleaned, the floor should be vacuumed/mopped, the sinks and toilets must be washed, the beds must look perfect, the toys should be put away, the counters need to be cleared and spotless, and the food must be good. Try doing all that while juggling two little monsters! Fortunately, I married my dream guy, and he keeps them occupied while I prepare. Most often, he tries his best to get them out of the house. He'll take them to church (if it's on Sunday), or take them to run errands in town, or even drive them to the Oregon Zoo! And best of all, I don't even have to ask him to do it...he just does it! He's so thoughtful =)


I really enjoy throwing parties. I think the first party I ever threw (on my own) was Adam's first graduation party. Being a beginner, living in a small apartment, and being a few weeks pregnant were all factors against me. Fortunately, graduates can only invite a small number of people to OSU graduations, and we were able to cram the guests in. I remember, my family came the day before and I enlisted my mother to help me out with food. That was the weekend we announced to our families that I was expecting. Too bad I felt awful.

My first "big" party was our housewarming/Adam's 3rd graduation. It was summertime (which is always easiest) and we had burgers, salads, and cake.

We were so thankful to have Novie's Greats, and Great-Great's there!

Adam's cake said "So, you're a graduated....Platypus?" (2x beaver, 1x duck)...well, I thought It was funny =)

With 2 parties under my belt I was a little bit more confident. Sometimes it's rough having a big family cause you have to figure out how to feed them all =) Synnove's 1st birthday party went well, but I almost ran out of chili. Lesson learned for next time.

Synnove was a popular little girl from before she was even born.

She was a bit cautious with her cake.

This is after her post-cake bath. Her and Samuel (in high chair) are only 1 month apart. I was so glad that Sarah and Kami were able to make it to the party...although, I think they got lost and were quite late.

Synnove's 2nd birthday party was small...just immediate family...so that was easier. We had a pinata and My sis-in-law made her a sweet cake.

Uncle Henry helping with the pinata...Adam stuffed it with Mexican candies to be "authentic." I guess that's what you do when you live in Cornelius =)

And, the pretty princess cake that Aunt Faith made...

I think my next party was a baby shower for my friend Shannon. I planned this with one of her other friends. She was great to work with and we split our duties to make things a bit easier. We planned games like "guess the melted chocolate in the diaper," and served appetizery food.

Yeah, Shannon was one of those "cute" pregnant people...we all hate her for that...

Let's see...Soren's 1st birthday party was fun. My aunt surprised us with some garden fresh corn on the cob an I set up a potato bar. I would recommend a potato bar to anyone who wants to plan a great party...it was a total hit!

Unlike Novie, Soren got messy!!

That's only 1/2 of the guests...the other half are behind the camera.

Novie's 3rd birthday happened while we were living with my parents. It was nice having a big house to accommodate all the guests. And since we were living in Warrenton, a lot more people were able to make it. However, Adam's family wasn't able to come, I think because of bad weather. I made cupcakes, ordered Papa Murphy's, and had green salad.

Only got a few pics...but here's a cute one with cousins.

Our 2nd housewarming party was totally fab. We worked our tails off during a 90-100 degree heat wave clearing trees and doing stuff around the house. We didn't want any gifts, but asked everyone to bring food. We served the burgers and hot dogs and the guests brought the rest. My sister even brought ice cream from her shop and made milkshakes! We had a FULL house, took advantage of our large deck, and let all the kids play outside.

Often times I'm too busy to take pictures. And unless I designate someone with my camera, I often end up with THIS as the only pic of the day...

The next two parties I hosted, happened while I was in the middle of painting my basement, so I was pretty busy. In September, I threw a bridal shower for my sister. That was kinda fun cause I got to plan games and serve lots of sweets. I decided against a cake and made all of the food myself. The very next weekend was Soren's 2nd birthday. By that time I was feeling pretty burnt out. I was still painting non-stop and didn't put a lot of energy into his party. I only served cake and ice cream. Poor guy, I didn't even have decorations.

Elise wanted a small gathering...but I couldn't narrow the guest list any further than about 20. Here's some of the guests playing the "guess the spice" game...it was quite difficult.

Soren's 2nd birthday was likely the quietest party I have ever thrown. Many couldn't make it, but Soren didn't mind =) Here, guests are watching him eat his cake...

Finally, Synnove's 4th birthday party was yesterday. The Carrolls came from Corvallis the day before and stayed the night. Juggling the kids and party preparations was a challenge, but Jessica was a big help. I'll post pics from the party tomorrow, but here's a couple of pics from the day before.

Before the Carrolls came, I tried to get a bunch of cleaning and prep done. And what better time to get into Novie's play make-up?

I had promised Synnove that we would make cupcakes for her birthday with her cupcake making set that she got for Christmas. Notice, both my kids are still in their jammies.

I Now Pronounce You Mr. And Mrs. Jesse Katsopolis

On the mornings I get on the elliptical, I usually watch some family friendly show that I actually enjoy. While exercising, I'm not really interested in watching Oswald, Little Bill, or Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. I usually end up watching Full House on the Family Channel. Anyone who is anyone who is my age has to love Full House. I used to watch it as a kid on "TGIF" on network TV...ya know, back when 13 channels was the norm for most households? Ugh, I feel old.

ANYway, this morning I was watching the episode when Becky and Jesse get married. Jesse decides to make a big entrance by jumping out of a plane to get to the church. He ends up in a tree in "tomato country" and lands himself in jail. The rest of the family worries for his safety when he finally calls for Rebecca to come bail him out of jail. She takes her dads car and wallet and gets him. While in the police station, her dad's car gets towed, and they hitch a ride with a traveling choir of "African Americans" (my attempt at being pc). They arrive at the church...blah blah...

ANYway, so they get to the part where Jesse pledges his love to Becky with a song he wrote and mid-song (in typical cheesy sitcom fashion) the choir enters to sing with him. Well, I was huffing and puffing away on the elliptical when I actually felt a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye...

Am I pathetic or what???

Precious Moments

Synnove
Sometime last week Synnove woke feeling sick to her stomach. Turns out she was just really hungry, and some crackers cured her. Anyway, later that morning, she was still not 100% and had some really bad cramps while going to the bathroom. I stood there with her and she pipes up and says...
"Does Jesus make my tummy hurt?"
I say "I don't think He wants our tummies to hurt, but sometimes He allows them to hurt."
Then, after a long pause she says...
"I think I should ask FiFi (Heidi--one of her favorite cousin's) to ask Jesus into her tummy."
It then dawned on me that she thought that Jesus was REALLY in her "tummy." and I said...
"Well, I think that would be a good thing to do" and tried explaining further (probably unsuccessfully).

Soren
Every night it's my job to put Soren to bed. And, like most nights these days, he always has things to add to our nightly prayers. Half the time I can't even understand him because of that darn "guckie" in his mouth. Anyway, last night we said our prayers and I laid him in bed and reminded him that Jesus loved him very much...even more than daddy, mama, and Novie. And then he adds..."and Soren too..." Then I pinched his nose with a goodnight and he pats his chest and says excitedly, "God is on my heart!" I reassured him that "yes, Jesus is in your heart" and left the room misty-eyed trying to recall a time when Adam or I ever told him about Jesus being in our hearts...nothing came to mind.

Grandma's House: Before and After

I keep forgetting that I need to post before and after photos of the work Wendey and I did at our Grandma's house back in October! I wanted to wait until she got her new carpet and blinds, so I took the after shots just before Christmas.

I did the same paint treatment on her fireplace as I did on mine. The before pic was taken halfway through the first step and you can see a better pic of her fireplace in my August 23rd 2008 blog entry. We put liquid sand on the paneling, then primed and painted for a lovely blue accent wall. Notice the new carpet...and she got a new love seat (our color inspiration for the entire house).

My grandparents also have this same brick on the entry of their house, and we're contemplating doing the same treatment there too! Here's a close-up of the fireplace...

All of Grandmas walls were plain white. We painted the entire dining room a brick color and added the mirror. We also picked out her new fixture and Travis (Wendey's husband) installed it for us. The shades the chandelier came with were too dark, so I found some cream-white ones at Ross.

In 4 days, we painted the living room, dining room, entry, hall, trim, and doors! Some of the trim still needs to be finished, but I think it turned out very nicely. We took down her old drapes and Grandma ordered new shades for her living room and dining room. We're still in the process of searching for swags/valances.

After we finished, Grandma went ahead and had a friend come and paint two of her bedrooms. We still have some work to do, but we got a really great start. Grandma's happy and we were more than happy to do it, so that's all that matters!

Downstairs Makeover Continued

Sorry blogfans...it's almost been a week! I've been either busy or haven't had much inspiration for a new post. So, here's what we've been doing...

The diet/exercise regime is going well. I haven't been exercising as much as I should, but I do it when I find the time. And if it doesn't happen in the morning...it doesn't happen at all. Saturday was one of those "blah" days. Adam went outside to cut some trees and branches, but I just wasn't into it. I went on the elliptical in the morning and then helped him outside for about 20 minutes before it was time to go in for lunch. I spent the remainder of the day doing cross-stitch and cleaning my disastrous house.

Sunday we all went to church, and then went to Hillsboro so that Adam could take care of some business with his dad. We didn't leave Astoria till like 1:30 or 2 because of of lunch and a hold-up on the bridge. Obviously, it was going to be a quick trip. Both the kids were (and still are) battling a cold and we needed to make sure we got home at a decent time so they could have some good sleep. There wasn't really anything that I needed to get in the "big city," but I needed to kill a couple of hours while waiting for Adam. So, what do I do? Shop...with money we don't necessarily have.

My basement, though completely painted, was still not completely finished. I had put a hodge-podge of pictures on the wall that seemed to go well...but everything lacked color and finality. For Christmas, my mother gave me an awesome chocolate colored slipcover for my garage-sale love seat, and after some sizing and return issues, I finally received it last week. And, for a slipcover, it looks quite nice. My other couch dates back to the 70's (I think) and the colors actually go well with the basement decor. Eventually, I'd like to get the same slipcover for that couch as well...but for now, it's fine. Anyway, with that and a little HGTV, I got new inspiration. So, while in Hillsboro, I took advantage of the time by going to Ross for some new throw pillows and frames, and went to Jo-Ann's for ribbon, remnants, and anything else that I could find to inspire me to decorate my basement.

Like all of my many projects, this one started the minute I woke on Monday morning. I couldn't wait to start putting things together. I worked ALL day until the kids went to bed. I didn't necessarily have a plan...but this some of what I came up with on a small budget....

So, here are the pillows I picked up at Ross (together about $25)...they are sitting on the newly slip covered love seat.

I picked up this BLACK frame at Ross for $7. The black was too stark, so I used some light green interior house paint that the previous homeowners left behind to paint a shabby finish over the black. I already had the lace...something I picked up at Goodwill Outlet a few years back, and the welcome sign below it was a gift.

These pictures were already up, I just did some rearranging and added the blue ceramic flower sconce that my mom-in-law made and the "family" magnet (yes...it's a magnet!). I filled the sconce with dried flowers from my sister's wedding and others I had laying around.

This valance just sorta happened. I already had the ivory colored valance on the window. It was left here by the previous owners along with curtains (I obviously took them down). I had picked up a yard of super-on-sale upholstery fabric at Jo-Ann's on Sunday ($3!!) and was looking for ways to incorporate it in the room. I tossed around some ideas, including pillows, curtains, and using it in a frame. I took the valance down to start brainstorming. I even got out my brand new sewing machine that hasn't even been opened from last Christmas! But, I didn't know how to use it, and was too anxious to get this project done, so I got out the stitch witchery!! I LOVE that stuff! I started with just the greenish fabric (took me at least an hour), but that wasn't enough. So, I got out the spools of ribbon that I also picked up on my trip. 45 minutes later, my valance was finished. With the remaining fabric I plan to make throw pillow and drapery ties for the panels on the sliding glass door. But, my mom has to give me a sewing tutorial first =)

This was a fun monogram project that I also picked up at Jo-Ann's for $3. It came as a little canvas with a design drawn on it with paint. I didn't use the paint provided, but got out my own acrylics. I had to do some mixing here and there, but I think it turned out nicely. I added the ribbon with tacky glue around the perimeter of the canvas. I put it on the wall in a collage with several other pictures, sconce-shelves (Target clearance), candles (Goodwill), etc.

I couple of months ago, I picked up this picture at Jo-Ann's on sale for $13. It wasn't big enough for the space, so I went searching for candle sconces. Fred Meyer had a bunch, but I wasn't willing to pay the $20-30 to get them. While on a Goodwill spree with my mom last week, I searched for something that would work. Within MINUTES of me telling my mom what I was looking for, she found these sconces! But, one was black, and one was silver. They were like $4 a piece (a bit spendy for Goodwill, if you ask me) and I spray-painted them with some of my mom's leftovers from Elise's wedding. I ordered some glass holders online and should be getting them today....so the candles won't melt with the heat of the wood stove. AND, I got the candles (after much searching for a good color at about 4 stores) at WinCo of all places. It's hard to tell, but they are kind of a light blue-green.

So, that's what I've been doing, along with a trip to Longview with my mom yesterday. It was just meant to be a quick trip to pick up something my mom ordered at WalMart and to to WinCo. By the end of the day, the Tahoe was filled with furniture, huge wall-art, and groceries. NO, it wasn't all mine. Although, I did pick up a new ottoman for the couch upstairs. I tried telling myself I couldn't buy it, but I couldn't pass it up. LOVE it!!

Ahh...Synnove

"Please Lord, give me the patience and wisdom to help my little girl grow up to be a non-fit-throwing-sassy-pants...Amen"

Christmas Marathon Part 6

This year I decided to start a new tradition with Adam's family and have a Christmas celebration at our house the weekend before Christmas. In years passed, we have all had a hard time trying to find a time/place that doesn't conflict with our other plans. For our family, Christmas is a very very busy time and I wanted to fully enjoy Christmas again and not feel stressed about where we had to drive next. Fortunately, everyone in Adam's family was on board...but the weather wasn't. When the weather cleared, I rescheduled for the weekend after Christmas, but that ended up not working either. SO, I rescheduled again to have it last weekend, and everyone agreed. I was completely "t-o'd" when the snow started DUMPING at our house on Thursday night! I had to brave the roads Friday morning to take Charlie in to Astoria to get neutered going 25 mph during the entire 12ish mile stretch. I became very worried that Adam's family wasn't going to be able to make it the next day. It snowed even more that night and was even colder on the day everyone was to arrive. But, much to my surprise, Adam's sister Faith arrived with her family somewhere around 10:00 from Battle Ground! The rest of the fam arrived 3-4 hours later. I was so happy that everyone made it and that this Christmas feast was actually going to happen! And, best of all, it turned out like I hoped it would. It was relaxing, fun, and the food was good! Unfortunately, being the host means not getting as many pictures as I would have liked...but here's a few that turned out alright...

This is Adam's beautiful mother, Patty

I gave Faith and Chris an album of pictures from their wedding

Here's Soren complaining about eating the skin of his ham...

I wish I had a bigger dining room/table