The kids had Friday off of school and I asked them what they wanted to do and they said they wanted to go build sandcastles at the lake. All week we talked about it. Friday we packed up our sand stuff and headed off. We arrived and the parking lot was blocked off with a sign that said "Closed for the Winter". What???? What winter?? It is 90* outside!!!! Needless to say, we did not build sandcastles but we did go to this park and had a great time...until the end when this happened. Okay, so these are in reverse order, but this picture of Paige was at the end of our day. Isn't she just beautiful?!?!?!?!

As my mom and Paul would say, my imagination is always much bigger than reality. I can often be found staring out the window, lost in some other world, or actually working around the house and not paying attention to what I am doing(thus my many mistakes in cooking). It is actually why I like painting so much. I am accomplishing something but my mind can be elsewhere.

Sometimes my thoughts are too big for this world and I get fired up about something spontaneous and I charge full speed ahead and then it sizzles out like rain on fire. I have started many projects with this type of end. There is one project that I have dabbled in off and on over the years. I have thought quite a bit about it since the kids have gone back to school and I have at last pulled the project off the shelf(or the computer in this case), dusted off the cobwebs and started to work on it again. My mother would be excited as she has encouraged me to do this for many years, Paul will probably roll his eyes(knowing that I will be thinking about being the next JK Rowling) but I have pulled out a book I started writing several years ago. I have had ideas pop in my head for the book since I started writing it and have jotted them down somewhere...and am actually looking forward to getting back to it. The problem is, of course, that it actually takes a long time just to type one page. Sometimes it is hard to organize my thoughts and get them out on paper the way I want them to. Sometimes it is just hard to write how I see it in my head. We will see, and of course, I will keep you posted!

As you can see, I finally finished doing Paiges room. I hope the flowers aren't too much but I had fun doing it. I think the flowers look better in person but this is the best shot I took. She has been dying to have this canopy and she loves the flowers.

I also painted the legs of the kitchen table to match the hutch and the benches Paul is making, and am going to paint the end chairs to match today. I also got painters tape to start doing the living room but it is such a huge(and very tall) room that I am unsure whether I will be able to do it.

We had the normal kid messes this week and as Murphy's Law would have it, it always occurred after I had cleaned something or very specifically said not to do something. I had swept and mopped the bottom floor of our house(no small task since it is almost all hardwood floors), and when the kids got home they went out to play and came back in all muddy with chunks of red dirt/mud dropping off their shoes all over the floor. Also yesterday when I was doing Paiges room, I left a plate of paint up on her dresser and told her not touch it while I was making dinner. I told her no less than 3 times to not touch it and then as I was going downstairs, I said "Are you going to touch it?" and of course she told me no. Well, I went back up and there was a glob of paint on her carpet...the black paint...Ah well...I should have just taken the plate down with me!

Not much new going except that my Grandpa Driscoll is hanging in there. They are not going to treat the prostate cancer right now because he is not well enough and luckily it isn't severe. My other Grandma is also having health concerns. It is hard to see the people you love grow old and see their health and bodies deteriorate. I just want to touch a moment on my Grandma Willette. I want to grow old just like her. She is so full of life. She is 80 years old and still goes dancing and on cruises. She is an inspiration. Even though her health isn't the best right now she still likes to be as active as she can. Her philosophy is that if you sit down, you will never get back up! She loves to shop. We were shopping over a year ago and it was the end of winter clearance and we were in Belk and she saw this beautiful mauve fur wrap. It was a $100 marked down to $20. I tried it on for fun and put it back. She picked it up and tried it on and bought it. She said that it would match a dress she had for some fancy dance she might go to. She volunteers to wait tables at the Elks Club and has a busy social life. She could probably run circles around me(especially after she gets her hip replaced soon). She is happy, cheerful, she never complains, and is growing old gracefully and beautifully. You are only as old as you feel and I am sure that when I am 80, I will still feel 22. Love you Grandma W!!!

I took Paige with me to Target yesterday while Paul took the boys to Lowes to buy wood for the benches he is going to make for the kitchen table. I have tried hard not to take her shopping with me because it usually ends up in a meltdown. I showed her this cute little outfit that I had been looking at to see if she would like it. She usually doesn't like what I like so I don't like to buy her stuff. Amazingly enough, she loved it and some other things and we had a great shopping trip(while we were shopping for her). Of course, when I started looking for the stuff I was shopping for, she started to refuse to walk and was tired and hungry and on and on and on....but at least I know I can take her shopping for her and it could be a lot of fun!!!!

I now have hives the size of tennis balls all over my back...no joke. I am dying to rip the skin off my back, it would feel better than the constant itching. I am forever telling Paige not to itch her eczema but now that my back, arms and legs feel like this, I can see how hard it is not to scratch....anyone want to come scratch my back for me???

I went to my favorite store today, (target) and found the school supplies(that are in the seasonal section in the back) 75% off. I picked up glue, crayons, markers, colored pencils, pens, notebooks, index cards, and folders(and a few other little fun things) for next to nothing. I like to do this because 3/4 of the way through the year I get a plea for extra supplies from teachers because the kids are running out and I can help out very cheaply! Also, I stock up for next year so that I can avoid spending hundreds of dollars(although it seems I still did this year, $135 to be exact). I picked up 2 backpacks for $5 each(the backpacks are only 50%off.) I feel like today was a good day!!

So if you like a good deal, run to Target!!!

My stomach dropped today when Ethan's teacher called me. He is such a good kid at school and when she said who she was, my mind raced to our after school conversation which went like this:

Me: How was school today?
Ethan: good
Me: Anything fun or exciting?
Ethan: No
Me: What did you do?
Ethan: Not much

I can see they are learning my communication skills spectacularly...

Anyways, obviously he didn't say anything about whatever incident to me. Mrs. McDermott went on to say how happy she was to have him in her class and what a pleasure he was. He had written a paper that she thought was amazing(which I couldn't find in his backpack) and that he was the only one in the class to get a 100 on his science test. My heart swelled with both relief and pride...it was so good to hear a good report and that she took the time to call!

I did find in his backpack two letters to his friends, Joseph and Bear, in El Paso and a song he wrote for Joseph for his band. Here are the lyrics typed as he wrote them:

My Shadow
My shadow is realy strong. I need it to fight the bad part of me. The bad part broke my heart and stole my soul. So I need it to help me get it baaaaack.(I assume this is to be a held out note) It'll fight and fight and fight and fight until I get it baaaa-aaack.

Written by Ethan
Sung by Joseph(these are his instructions on the paper)

I think it is really edgy and dark and has a lot of potential...!

This is the old chair....


This is the new chair!!! I re-upholstered our 8 dining room chairs. I covered them with a plastic covering to protect the cushion and then covered that with fabric and Scotch guarded it. I would have put the plastic over the fabric but as you can see, plastic is easily ripped so I thought I would try it this way this time. What a great improvement. Next will be to make curtains for the dining room and it will be done!

Almost finished with the entertainment center.

Cleaned up bedrooms.

Started re-upholstering the dining room chairs.

Started watching Season 3 of The Office(so funny!)

My Grandpa found out he has cancer.

Without fail, for the past 7 years, the kids go to school healthy and come home sick. I expect it, but I have to admit I was hopeful that it wouldn't happen...oh well. All the kids got the sore throat/cough plague. Paige's was pretty mild, thank goodness, but of course Paul got it. It cracks me up that he got it and I didn't, only because I keep telling him that it is mind over matter!! HAHAHAHAHA I am the one with the low white blood count and the doctor told me at my last appointment that it was now low enough to put me in the high risk category for getting sick and to carry hand sanitizer around and keep away from sick people and I didn't even get it. I am not laughing that he is sick, but that it just confirms the mind over matter issue we keep debating!!!

I also finished reading the book: P.S. I love You by Cecilia Ahern. It was so good. A real tear jerker but so sweet!! I started her other book called Rosie Dunne. It is good but not as good as the the other book. I know it is going to have a happy ending, it is just that it is taking the whole book to get there and I just want to reach through the pages to the main character and knock some sense into her!!! It is a little frustrating.

My Grandpa had a little surgery this week and seems to be recovery ok. The doctors think he had another small stroke but seems okay now. We don't have big plans(Paul being sick and working tons of hours) so I think we are going to stay in and watch season 3 of The Office.