Going to get a vacuum today....

I always get confused with how to spell vacuum...vaccum...vaccuum...? I keep forgetting if it's 2 c's or 2 u's. I actually had to look it up online and have Yahoo search correct me by asking, "Did you mean Vacuum?" What makes it most frustrating is that when the next time comes to actually write the word, I'll have forgotten how to spell it all over again. Do you have any words like that?



So why am I talking about "vacuum"? Because, YAAAYYY, I'm going to buy a manual pool vacuum today. Our pump is still broken but now our chemical balance is all good, so now I just have to clean the bottom of our pool manually. A pain in the ARS but soooo worth it when it's 8 million degrees outside and I am pregnant and overwhelmingly hot because I have a ridiculous house with no air conditioning. So getting to swim will make me happy on the 100 degree weather days.



Thanks by the way for your help w/my dining room table...I've gotten so distracted with other things that I still have both just sitting there! And sadly, it will probably be like that for the next couple months, too.

New Layout!

Okay, I didn't realize just how much of a computer idiot I am until I tried to add a flickr slideshow. Once I changed my layout (you like better? I do), blogger made it really easy for me...none of this whole "editing html" stuff anymore. Phiew!

I need everyone's opinion again! See the photo below? That is my dining room table, and I'm having difficulties deciding on which centerpiece to do. The wood plank on the right is actually a section of a used wine barrel from a Napa Valley winery with holes cut out for little tealights. It's really neat, because on the underside you can see the wine stain from its days of use. SUPER COOL, right? Right! Except...I think it's a little small for the table, it doesn't have any height. So instead, I could just do the three hurricanes with candles in them that match the color I have in the adjoining living room...but they seem boring. And if I don't put the wine barrel there, then there's NO OTHER place for it! HELP! Which do we like best? Or is there some super ingenious way to do both, like adding something more rustic inside the hurricanes to make them flow w/the look of the wine barrel? Also, I should note that I'm not a minimalist...it might look like I'm really into the super modern look, but not necessarily, I like that look but mixed w/vintage cottage (anthropologie-ish with a little antique mixed in).

LET YOUR OPINIONS FLOW!

Random Questions for the Internet

So...I was doing laundry the other day, and started thinking about everyone else in the world, and the fact that everyone has their own way of doing their laundry. Now this is the most pathetic "housewife" type blog topic (perhaps second only to my last post on how to clean green), but I just have to ask:

1)How many times do you wear your bras before washing them? I wash about every 3 wears. Is that normal?

2)How many times do you wear your pajamas before washing them? Shirts: new one every night; pants: twice at the most. (I tend to wear them well into the day if I'm at home!)

3)How often do you change your sheets? I shoot for 1x a week

4)Do you use bleach w/your whites? I do just because Cole is a messy kid. If you don't, why not? Is it bad for my clothes?

Green cleaning

I've been thinking a lot lately about saving money and being healthier by cleaning the "green" way. And not by buying "seventh generation" or cleaning products from Trader Joe's, but the natural green way. You know, white vinegar and water, baking soda, lemon juice, all that stuff. But I have NO idea how to do it, or how to make it! Does anyone have any recipes for natural cleaning formulas that actually work? I know vinegar and water for glass surfaces (what ratio?), but I also need something that's great for kitchen counters, and bathrooms. Any helpful hints?

I do have to admit though...it's going to be really tough to give up my clorox cleanup. I use that stuff on EVERYTHING (here's to hoping my unborn child doesn't have some strange head tumor thanks to my use of it...). And another thing: I probably won't give up my verymostfavoriteever cleaning product: Bar Keepers Friend. OH MY GOSH THIS STUFF IS AMAZING! It's like a miracle powder. I have an old ceramic or porcelain or whatever-it's-called kitchen sink, and the marks pans make on there drive me crazy, and are impossible--or exhausting at the very least--to get out. With Bar Keeper's Friend, (and I am not exaggerating here) I pour a little powder on the wet sink, and LIGHTLY, no pressure at all, rub it out with a rag, and the marks are gone! It even got rust out from around my drain! The other thing it's great at getting out is the soap scum around my bathtub. I HATE soap scum, and it is like a MAJOR workout to get it out, and I usually give up half way around the tub. This stuff takes out at least 50% of the effort for me. And the best part? It's 2.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond. However, I am guessing that it is not exactly the greenest of cleaning products. It probably causes cancer, holes in the ozone, or creates a carbon footprint the size of Alaska. But I don't know, and honestly, I don't really care. I will happily live in ignorance...unless, you know, I grow a third hand or something....

To the Wayside (by the way, where is the "wayside?")

Two years ago this coming August, I became a homeowner, quit working and became a mother... all literally within 10 days of eachother. So basically, I can sum up the last two years of my life with two words: BROKE and BUSY. I was thinking about this today while I was showering my daily 2.5 minute shower (I've got to shower QUICK~while Cole's sleeping I've got to do everything he doesn't let me do while he's awake...which is pretty much everything, as he is the most high maintenance child in the world. ANYWAY.). I was thinking about all the things that have changed in my life due to those two words, and figured what a great list for my blog. Here it is:

Things that have changed due to lack of time:
1)Blogging!

2)Shaving my legs (hey, my hair is blonde, so you can't tell)

3)Blowdrying my hair

4)Wearing makeup absolutely every time I leave the house

5)Watching a movie during the daytime

6)Putting Jeff's clean laundry away (he gets a big stack...why bother, he just makes a mess of his drawers anyway!)

7)Going to the movies

Things that have changed due to lack of money:

1)Eating out

2)Using expensive shampoo and conditioner (although I have to admit, with our tax return I bought two giant bottles of Redken All Soft--my FAVORITE!)

3)New Juicy Suits

4)Buying new MAC eyeshadows and lip glosses every few weeks

5)Shopping at Nordstrom (H&M and Forever 21 here I come!)

6)Using expensive facewash (But I've discovered Neutragena...LOVE IT!)

7)Getting my hair done every 3 months

8)Getting my hair cut AT ALL (I honestly haven't even had a TRIM in 1 year)

9)My gym membership

10)A new pool vacuum to help suck out the algae...

Don't worry, I'm not breeding West Nile Virus...I just have to get our pump fixed...you know, only $1800 later...

Things that have survived my lack of time and money:

1)My flip flop obsession

Every one of these shoes has been purchased within the last 9 months

2)Expensive jeans (I just don't get more than 1 pair a season now)

3)Perfectly folded towels

4)The "good" cable with DVR (Hey, not watching commercials saves time!)

Now, finally, I will end with a 30-weeks-along pregnancy pic:

Too Darn Cute

I've never been one to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but now that I have a child, I want to do all the goofy things that I was never really into before...and on March 17th, it means dressing my child in the best green clothes he has. I was really impressed--he actually kept the hat on all the way from home to Trader Joe's (where we had to stop on the way to my Mom's where we had corned beef and cabbage with the whole fam) to my parents. Of course it was off almost right away when we got there, but 45 minutes is pretty good!

Now I have to talk about Trader Joe's. Notice the balloons below:

This is why (aside from cheaper prices and yummy food) I shop at TJ's. When we asked for a "boon!", the man said, "Well, we have to give him a yellow and green balloon to match his outfit!"

As you can tell, he had a great time with them.

New News

Well actually, the news isn't so new. It's 19 weeks old...

This new one's due date is on Cole's 2nd birthday! 08-08-08

okay, okay...

I was fixing dinner, when Cole hollers, "Momma! Momma!" I look over to see this. The older he gets, he just gets cuter and funnier...

If the darn stick wasn't in front of his eye, this would be such a cute photo! If you can't tell from the two he's holding, sticks are his latest obsession. We find them all over our house.

Upfsyr

So the title is supposed to be "update" but my left hand was on the wrong place on the keyboard. Kinda reminds me of those obnoxious word verification things that for some reason I always end up having to do twice....

Forgive my lack of typing correctly, as I missed an entire hour of sleep "entertaining" my son at 1 am.

He woke up saying "Bah-bah. Ma mamama. Thbbbllt. Yah!" Turns out that's 10-month for "Let's play."

The bright side is at least he held still while I took the opportunity to change his diaper. I think the last time he held still for a diaper change was when he didn't know how to roll over yet.

I'm sitting here with my hands poised over my keyboard, at a complete loss of what to write about. What I did yesterday? Oh sure, like anybody really wants to hear about how I organized my office and finally got around to shredding 7 year old bank statements. So how about a synopsis on how the last 9 months of my life has been?

Motherhood? Amazing. I love my boy more than I ever thought I could. Although I end up doing what I never wanted to do: Letting my house look like a daycare. But doggonit, it is SO MUCH easier than the alternative: putting away toys, then getting them back out, then putting them away again... just to get them right back out.

Homeownership? Certainly has its plusses and minusses, but generally, it's a plus. I'll get to that in a moment.
Housewifery? Would be great if that was all I had to do...however I work 8 hours a week at my parents' (billing for my dad's engineering business and housecleaning for my mom), in addition to copy writing for my old job. I don't even have time to pluck my eyebrows. Okay, I still make time, it just happens to be in place of sleep. And about a week overdue.

Back to the whole homeownership thing...

Plusses:

• get to decorate all I want
• get to paint the walls any color I want
• get to learn how to garden
• get to touch the side of my house and know that "I own this stucco!"
• get to paint a couple swatches on the exterior side of our house and leave it there as long as we need to...


• get to dream about remodeling my kitchen and know that it's actually possible
• get to have a pool that makes for a great party

Minusses:

• Too poor to remodel kitchen, so it's actually not possible.
• my "master bedroom" is 10' x 12'.
• my pool doesn't have an automatic vacuum so I have to do it by hand...everyday...so it doesn't get dirty on the bottom...which makes me want to rip out my damn pool.
• I don't have a/c. Which makes me need a pool so i can cool myself off when it's 836 degrees outside.

Wow, I sound ungrateful...Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my house. There are just things that AREN'T working for me.
Here is a picture montage so you can at least see what I mean about my kitchen.

This is one half of my kitchen. Aside from the hideous countertops, there is SUCH a lack of cabinet space that I am forced to hang my pots on the walls and leave half our food on the counter.

(Obviously, my maid didn't get the memo that we would be showcasing the kitchen today. I should fire her.)

Now this picture shows you the other half of my kitchen (aside from the fridge, which is out of the picture on the left). You have now seen all of my cabinets, or lack thereof. And hopefully understand that yes, they suck. The other issue I have with this space is that those two stools, on the other side of the bar, are on carpet. Which makes this not really an eat-at counter that children can eat at. So aside from the dining room which is behind me as I take this picture, away from all the living space, there is nowhere to eat that is near the family room and television, which I would prefer. Which leads me to this solution:

Remove this wall and put an island in its place. This is the formal-living-room-side of the kitchen wall that has the stove/oven on it. I can put cabinetry around all sides of the island, and get one of those stoves that have the fan that raises w/a push of a button. This would solve all my issues: Have a place to eat that is part of the general living space, give us better cabinetry and counters (as it would all be replaced), and...

even make the dining room more desirable of a space to sit, as it's more open to everything too!

The boy is awake now, so thus ends this post.

Are you still there?

So last night I was on here for the first time in a LOOOONG time.

I just found out that a couple college friends are bloggers, and after reading their blogs, I felt reinspired. I don't know how dedicated I will be to this, but I will certainly try to update at least a little!

This is me and my little guy a month or so ago.

He's 10 months already. He has 8 teeth and crawls faster than I can... I feel like it was just yesterday when I could leave him under his baby einstein jungle thing while I unloaded the dishwasher, and not even worry about him rolling over. Let alone crawling into the bathroom and pulling all the toilet paper off its roll! (Not that's happened or anything...twice...)

Time goes fast, doesn't it? I can't believe how much has happened since I was on here last...Kellyf had a baby?! Janet FINALLY GOT MARRIED??? Isabel's house isn't finished yet, is it??

Well everyone, I will try to be better with posting...I've finally gotten "Coley-roll" on a nap schedule.

Bye for now!

It's Annabana's Husby

Hey guys, I've been reading all of your posts and I've noticed that my wifey, Annabana as you all know her, has not been blogging. Well, I'm taking drastic measures because I love to read what all of you have to say. I will give you guys an update of what has been going on. Our little boy, Coleman has been a super good little boy. We have been having so much fun with him. The wifey has hardly any time to blog because when he's sleeping, she's doing laundry or cleaning the house, or decorating.

Our house has been keeping both of us very busy as well. Oh, by the way, the "floors" look absolutely wonderful! It's great to have such support from the wifey over that matter. The flat screen plasma is also nice. She has ladies night every Thursday to watch all their "chick" shows.

The wifey says that the "Blogger" will not let us upload pictures because of our computer. I personally think it's operator error. Well, I have to go to work, I hope that this post will encourage the wifey to start blogging some more.

I won!

I'm sitting at my computer--it's 9:43 pm--waiting until my husband comes home. I have a baby in bed and a glass of wine in front of me, and am thoroughly enjoying the fact that I finally feel like writing in my blog for once. I only wish I had an hour to spend creating the perfect post, but I think I'd fall asleep with my head on the keyboard before 45 minutes passed, and the last bit of the post would look a bit like dfasjkl;fjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj.

Anyway. Did you notice the title? Yeah, that's right, I WON, BABY!

Wood floors? CHA CHING!

I will not tell you how I managed to break down my husband...let's just say that we made a deal.

And thus I have become...

A floor-whore.

Yes. That is what it came to, and that is JUST HOW BADLY I wanted my floors redone.

Oooh, don't be shocked. I'm sure all you married ladies have done the same. And if you haven't? I bet you're thinking to yourself right now, "Hmmm...how smart...Do something I have to do anyway, but actually get something out of it! Pure Genius!"

Why is it always like that?

So Jeff and I ordered new couches*. They're coming on Friday. Friday and not Thursday. If they came Thursday (which would be today), I could sit on them while I watch Gray's Anatomy. But noooo, of course they come the NEXT morning. #%*$&!

So if any of you read the comments from my last post, you would see that Jeff went behind my back and bought a plasma. And tried to make up for it by being all cute and saying I can watch Gray's Anatomy on it. Well, lucky for me, it came around to bite him on the ASS, because I got an email from buy.com saying the order has been cancelled, they're out of stock or something. SO HA! HAHAHAHA! If I was smart and devious, I'd just call the floor guys and have them come out ASAP. A little revenge....

On that note, yes, reading my comments was how he told me he bought the tv. Pansy. So I called him at work, and was like "What the freak??" and he danced around the subject and almost lied to me about it, and started to say that the comment was just a joke, he wanted to see how you all would react, but then thought better about it because he knew I would seriously kick his ass so fast when I found out it wasn't a joke that he wouldn't be able to sit down for a year... and he also doesn't have a couch to sleep on and much prefers our bed. So he told me the truth, and tried to act like it wasn't a big deal. And I was like "What the freak, again??" So then he came home from work, and was acting all depressed, saying he's upset about something that happened at work, and was all sad and "poor me", so I felt bad being pissed off at him because he's all sad, so I couldn't yell and do all the stuff I want to do to him for going behind my back. So I said, "Are you just acting like this so I won't rip you a new one for trying to buy the TV?" And he totally denied it, but I AM NOT STUPID. I KNOW HOW MEN WORK, AND ANYTHING THEY CAN DO TO AVOID GETTING REEMED, THEY WILL DO IT.

I am finished with my run-on sentence now.

*We are not rich. We are a single income family, and my husband works for the government. Remember, we just moved out of my parents' house, where we lived for exactly 11 months, paying zilch in rent and food and all that stuff. We saved and saved and saved, which is how we're able to afford working on our house and some new furniture.

I'm baaack!

It was exactly 7 days and 6 nights that I was without cable tv and internet access. Do you have any idea how uncomfortably quiet it is in a house when there is no radio or television, and you're all by yourself except for your little baby, who doesn't make a whole lot of noise? I was ready to go psycho there for a little while. The cable guy was supposed to be here on Thursday between 8 and 10 am, and by 10:03 I had the phone in hand, ready to call Comcast, but then he showed up. Lucky for the Comcast employee who would have been unfortunate enough to answer the phone....

I do have to say, though, I sure got a LOT done without any distractions (besides Cole, of course). I almost have the kitchen completely unpacked and organized, the living room is finished (I even spray painted the brass fireplace frame a charcoal color), and all Jeff's and my clothes are organized and put away. Now I just have to get working on the office, the bathrooms, and Cole's room. I am also waiting for our new family room furniture to be delivered this Friday. YAY!

So I need to take a poll. Jeff wants to buy a plasma TV. I want to have the rest of the wood floors refinished in the hallway, office and Cole's room (they have a disgusting, 30 year old carpet on them right now). They'll both cost about the same, and we can only afford to do 1 right now. The other one will have to wait a couple months. So what do you vote on being more important???
My argument is this: we have a good 2 year old TV already, and the nice floors will raise the value of our home. Plus, we'll be able to fully move in to those rooms as soon as the floors are done, instead of halfway moving into them because we know we'll have to pull everything out soon after. And it will look all pottery barn-y and cute in the ENTIRE house now, and not just the main living areas. Jeff's argument is: The wood floors will require him to do some demo of a built-in in the office, as well as ripping up the carpet and prepping the floors. Fairly big job but not a huge deal, in my opinion. And I would totally help. His other argument is how streamlined and sweet it would look in the family room to have the TV mounted on the wall.

So I totally want a TV too, but I think we should wait on that one. Tell me what you think!

FINALLY!!

We're getting the carpet installed tomorrow morning!!! YAY! That means we get to FINALLY MOVE IN TO OUR NEW HOUSE!!!!!!!!!! I am packing up my clothes starting RIGHT NOW.

I am obviously super excited. But also won't have internet for a little while. So please don't forget about me. I will be back, I promise. In the meantime, read my sister's blog. :) (Do you think I've plugged her blog enough yet?)

Polka Dots and Posies! And Random Thoughts...

My big sister just started a blog!! I am so excited, a perfect way for us to easily know what's going on with each other with the random day-to-day stuff (not that we don't already talk on the phone all the time, but blog-reading is much cheaper)!!

She's going to be fun to read for me, because I know exactly the type of stuff she's going to write about (BEING A MOM! MAKEUP! BABIES! GETTING PREGNANT! HOME DESIGN! CLOTHES! AND MORE!). You should totally go check her out (Polka Dots and Posies), because that's exactly the type of stuff you all write about too! Which is why I read your blogs, of course.

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Ummm, so my child is not sleeping. I have put him down for a nap THREE TIMES and he sleeps for like 5 minutes, then wakes up, and will not go back to sleep. ARG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I had an awesome weekend. I brought my in-laws to my family's lake house, and we all had an amazing time. We ate a ton, wake boarded, tubed and skiied, ate a ton, chilled on the beach, ate a ton, fished and ate a ton. Honestly, I can't tell you how many Doritos and peanut M&M's I ate.

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My favorite show (Grey's Anatomy...I love it, obsess about it all week waiting for it...) starts in 2-ish weeks!!!!!!!!!

Per Your Request

Thanks Jessica and Erika for pointing out that out of all those photos, not ONE of them was of my little guy! I feel like a horrible mom! Amalah never forgets a photo of Noah...

I guess I'll have to try and make up for it by posting 3. Here you go!

His face is so cute here!

Trying to whistle?

This was our first family photo!

Work in progress

So... my "new" old house (was built in 1947). Talk about a work in progress. I've put together a little picture tutorial to give you an idea of what Jeff and I are dealing with there. I'll start with the worst room: The knotty pine/family room. Good heavens. I like to call it the "naughty pine" room. Because that pine? SO hideous. I wish I had larger pictures, but all I have are the photos I got off of our realtor's website. You should actually be thankful. You'd have knotty pine nightmares if it was too large. Oh, and please notice the plates lining the entire perimeter of the room. Plates that had things like Civil War images on them or something. CIVIL WAR MEMORABILIA PLATES. I think I passed over the segment that was selling those on the home shopping network at 4 am once.

Here is what the room looks like now:

Oh yes, much better. Restoration Hardware paint color: "Linen". The floors are no longer the hideous POOP brown carpet, they are even more hideous linoleum. 30 year old linoleum. That likes to flake. Hideous flakey 30-year linoleum will be gone in a couple weeks once Home Depot gets off their butt and installs our glorious new carpet.

Now on to the Formal Living Room:

I like to call this room the "Far and Away" room. Did you ever see that movie? With Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, about leaving Ireland and moving to the U.S. to get land? Takes place around the mid 1800's I think, and the decor in this room, I swear, must have been taken directly from the set. Seriously, note the chandelier in the corner. Over the baby poop colored (I am an expert in that color, by the way) love seat.

And now:

I would dearly love to redo the emerald city green tile, but it will have to do for now. We're having the floors refinished Tuesday. Restoration Hardware paint color: Latte.

Dining Room:

I'm not even going to comment on the wallpaper. Or the lace curtains.

Now:

Jeff wants to get this chandelier. I like that one a lot, but I also like this one. What do you think?

Anyway, that's our house in progress. I hope you like what we've done so far. I can't wait to show you the finished product!

New house, new baby...Agh!!!

I am in such a fog. We got the keys to our house last Friday, and between the new baby and working on the house, I swear I'm a walking zombie. Fortunately, Jeff has time off of work still, so he is able to work on the house, and his dad is retired and helping out everyday... but I'm starting to realize how much we took on. So please forgive me for my slacking on the posts, when things slow down, I'll be sure to keep you all in the loop!

I Only Have Time For Pictures

First trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house

Sleeping by Daddy

Wondering what Mommy is saying...

Cute close up