little irish

trio

2009-11-13T10:05:00.000-08:00

today, i think i'll buy a shelf

2009-11-13T09:54:00.001-08:00

Happy Friday the 13th to you!! Weird. I was in an antique shop yesterday wondering if I could spy a well made (on the cheap side) shelf, when an older lady pointed out today's date to me. Funny, it hadn't even crossed my mind. I wonder if people still believe bad luck will happen to them on this day of supposed bad luck??

Anyway, I'm on the hunt for a shelf or two (if they are cheap aka: Target). We have loads of children's books. I love picture books and great stories for my kids and I currently have four boxes sitting on the top of the stairs waiting to be shelved. So that is my mission today. Along with folding the umpteenth piles of clothing. I do not like that chore one bit. One bit I tell you. If I could have a folding fairy and a unloading the dishwasher fairy come to my house every morning...I would be one happy person. Well, happy if the sleep fairy would come every night and ensure I would feel well rested all day long. Ohhhhh....one can dream!

The house is slowly getting unpacked. It takes so much time and energy. Between the kids and the dogs and my duties as "mom" I feel like I only get these tiny bursts of time to actually do anything house related. And when I do get those bits of moments, I'm just too friggin' tired to do anything. Hence, the lack of updated blog posts here. Sorry about that friends!!

drama 101

2009-11-06T08:55:00.000-08:00

El Fuego took a little acting class last month. The kids and their teacher put together The Wizard of Oz. The kids were adorable. The show made all the grandparents and parents giggle. The teacher is pretty amazing for whipping this up in a month. The group only came together four times...once a week. I was impressed. El Fuego was not his usual outgoing self...he said he was a little nervous. He liked it enough to sing up for the next session when the kids will act out the Lion King. I'm eager to see it.

hello november

2009-11-04T09:28:00.000-08:00

It is amazingly crazy how fast the month of October flew by. If you asked me what I did last month (or yesterday for that matter) I honestly couldn't tell you. I'm living in auto-pilot mode. You know in the movies, when they have the main character is standing still in real-time drinking their coffee, checking their watch, scratching their heads while all the crazy things are happening around them in fast-forward. Kids playing (or fighting) around their feet, days passing from light to dark, spouses talking in their ears, dogs pooping in the corner. That's what I've felt like. Exactly. When my head hits the pillow at night, I always think why the heck I didn't get there sooner because it feels so good.

In other words, I can not believe it is November already. This month is full of days off from school, teacher conferences and Thanksgiving. As I've mentioned before, it is my goal to have majority of the house unpacked by the holiday. However, at this very moment, it seems like that goal is a stretch.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2009-10-31T17:45:00.000-07:00

Fearsome Threesome!

aka Fancy Nancy, ghost and a secret agent
double o eight (tee hee)

Fancy Nancy being scared by the little ghost.

Fancy Nancy

And a wee ghost.

it's pumpkin time

2009-10-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

feeling like home

2009-10-28T09:10:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with the our new home semi-organized and I felt like we were home. Oh sure, there are things we need to work the kinks out of but I'm happy we took on this stressful journey and made the transition.

we did it...

2009-10-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well folks! We finally made it to the new house. It's been quite a journey. We are still trying to get settled into our new digs. We've been swimming in a sea of boxes and dealing with a leaky shower and a temperamental furnace. I'm trying to get my wits about me while I set up shop and get organized. I will get back to posting pictures and blabbering on very soon.

preschool pumpkin patch

2009-10-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Petite Artiste and I joined her preschool class this morning for a field trip to the pumpkin patch. It was so extremely cold. I happened to have a hat and a pair of gloves in the car. I wore the gloves and Petite Artiste wore the hat. We picked grapes off the vine, scouted out a fabulous pumpkin, toured the farm, examined vegetables, got lost in the hay maze, checked out the turkey and pigs and had lunch too. Then we ran for the car and cranked up the heat to defrost.

my favorite holiday

2009-10-11T11:07:00.000-07:00

El Fuego requested to be a secret agent for Halloween this year. (Pssst: it's also his party theme for his ninth birthday) I went on a hunt for a suit and while browsing a consignment shop, this little tux jumped out at me. I bought it and brought it home. El Fuego was slightly confused. He asked where his tools go and why didn't he have a ski mask. I responded by asking him if he had ever heard of the coolest secret agent James Bond who had the coolest of coolest tools and gadgets all the while looking suave. An agent so cool, in fact, that he is referred to by three numbers only. He is pondering the situation and I'm trying to figure out a few gadgets to stuff into his pockets to finish this costume off.
Miss Divine is going to wear her Fancy Nancy dress from her sixth birthday party. I picked up a red wig and we will go all out making it look fancy and divine.
The funny thing about packing a house up is you find all the stuff you forgot about. Like this cute cheerleader costume or the handmade kitty costume I made for Miss Divine about four years ago.

10 months

2009-10-09T10:59:00.000-07:00

In five days we will be moved into our new abode and the last 10 months will be behind us finally. I can hardly believe it. This roller coaster ride has come to a halt smack damp in the middle of my chest. I think there is some truth to stress making you sick....or that this said roller coaster ride of selling a home and finding a new house to make your own is so stressful, when it's finally over and things relax, your body shuts down and you get sick. Well, whatever the case may be, when things felt like it was all going to be OK, I got sick. The worse head/chest cold I've had in a long time. I'm still coughing. I can't breath, talk or laugh without coughing a lung up. It's the kind of cough that make people stare at you. They stare so hard that I feel like I need to wear a sign that reads "I do not have the swine flu!"

We are in the midst of packing. It's amazing the stuff you find when you are digging into nooks and crannies. I found two adorable Halloween costumes for Petite Artiste although she says she still wants to be a ghost.

It's a weird feeling to put the last seven years into boxes actually. I have a love/hate relationship with this house. When we moved here, we were in the middle of many changes and I hated this house to it's very last bit of foundation. It is small and didn't have adequate storage. There was the ugliest wallpaper in every bathroom and bedroom. Being newly pregnant, constantly sick and having a very active 15 month son running around didn't help jump start my love affair. But slowly and surely, we made this house our home. We created warmth and love throughout the rooms. Taking down the wallpaper helped too. Three kids, several animals, many birthdays, a bout of cancer and a handful of holidays later, I can honestly say that this is a great house with lots of charm and character. I will miss the unique floor plan and the great backyard and it's location perched on top of the hill.

With that said, I am looking forward to our new adventure. I am of a more stable mindset this go around. Although this new house won't be our home the minute we set our boxes down, I am looking forward to making it so.

boo

2009-10-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Are you scared?? Well, I was when I read we only have 12 weeks until Christmas. Yes, I just wrote the word Christmas in October. Holy smokes!! Halloween hasn't even arrived but seeing {simplemom} write about the pending deadline around the corner, my head was flooded with the upcoming holiday.

This year will be different for us. We've celebrated the holidays in our current house for the last seven years. Decorating and enjoying our traditions in new surroundings will be a new experience for us all. The very thought of the new-ness we are about to embark on is still odd for me. It's hard to wrap my brain around us actually moving after 10 months of sitting on the housing market.

I am eager to have this all behind us however. I'm looking forward to being in our new house and setting up shop. I love to decorate kid bedrooms and this time around I'll have three. The girls' bedrooms are already planned out. I'm still thinking about El Fuego's new set up. I feel the need to give him something more grown up this time around.

Anyway, back to Christmas....12 weeks people!!! 12 weeks!

feeling domestic?

2009-10-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Another fun blog to check out: Domesticali

grandma's dogs

2009-10-03T13:35:00.000-07:00

Lucy

Murphy

May

the farm

2009-10-03T13:21:00.000-07:00

The kids didn't have school yesterday so we took a day trip out to my parents' farm. As usual everyone scattered to their favorite things and had a very busy day. El Fuego spent much of his time in Grandpa's shop building skyscrapers and designing airplanes. And, when he wasn't busy erecting the next best thing, he was helping Grandpa fix the lights on the truck and horse trailer and playing in the hole made for the new bridge being built in one of the fields.

Miss Divine was found with the horses. She brushed and fed the ponies and did a few barn chores like moving the cat, chasing the cat, playing in the hay, and then moving the cat again. She also announced she didn't want to get "dirty" which is a pretty funny statement to make when you are the farm.

Petite Artiste helped Grandpa trim the mini's feet. She used her hoof pick to poke holes and hammer the wheelbarrows. She says is learning how to trim hooves so when she is older she can do what Grandma does. She also enjoyed sitting on the donkeys until the donkeys moved, then she wanted off right away.

we are our own superheros

2009-09-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

I came across Brene Brown and her Ordinary Courage this evening and so many things rang true. Reading about the impromptu dance session in the middle of Nordstrom's shoe department had me not only smiling, but also hoping I find my own ordinary courage to do the same.

happy birthday mom

2009-09-28T14:15:00.000-07:00

afternoon tango

2009-09-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

On the day we brought Franklin and Mavis home, I set the crate down on the living room carpet and let our two newest family members out to explore. On bended knees, El Fuego quietly said "this feels better". I looked at him and couldn't help but smile while instantly feeling my heart heal. It does feel better and no amount of poop or chewed up shoe laces can ever change that feeling of making things right again. We are a family meant to have dogs.

colors :: week 2

2009-09-26T11:49:00.001-07:00

Pink

Brown

Black

White

clearly, the brains of this operation

2009-09-21T11:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the official one week celebration of the puppies being home. They are 8 weeks old now and clearly Mavis shows us who the mad scientist is between these two. She's already figured out the system. She rings the bell to go outside...sometimes because she has a job to do and sometimes because she just likes to play outside and chew on the tree. Franklin mostly just follows her lead and constantly tests his boundaries for chewing on stuff.

In fact if we could read his thought process, it would probably sound something like this: "What can I chew? What can I chew? Can I chew on this? How about this? What can I chew? What can I chew?"

Mavis on the other hand would sound more like this: "Hmmm, how do I get my people to open the door? The bell??? I understand now...yeeesssss....I ring the bell and they let me out! Aha!! Hmmmm, how do I get up on the couch? Let me see...What if I bite their foot? No!! That doesn't work. What if I stare really hard at my people with this adorable look? Tilt my head??? Eureka!! It worked!"

waiting to exhale

2009-09-19T16:43:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in last two weeks house wise. We finally sold our house...again. We spent the better part of this last week searching for a place to live. Questions running through our minds on a constant loop. Should we try to buy something, wait for something else to hit the market, or do we rent?? We had a house in mind in which we LOVED the lot. But that was pretty much the best feature. Then out the blue, the agent for a house we almost put a contingent offer on (but was sold to another buyer) fell through and was being put back on the market. We jumped into action. Today we signed the paperwork to buy this house:

Now I just have to hold my breath until October 16th when we close the sale on this house and are rewarded with possession of our new house.

dinosaur rock 'n roll

2009-09-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Miss Divine danced at a local community event this afternoon.

aaa-teeeennnnn-tion!

2009-09-19T10:47:00.000-07:00

Did you know when Scottish Terriers are born, their ears do not stand up? Did you know Scotties ears are not docked? In fact, as they grow, their ears slowly stand up all on their very own. The whole business of docking and cropping of dogs makes my tummy a little queasy, but that's another story. When we brought Angus home, his ears were already standing at attention so we didn't get to experience the one morning opening up his crate door and finding a new appearance staring back at us. (Ugh, the amount of missing that dog I feel is hard to measure!) However, on the day we brought Franklin and Mavis home, ears still droopy, we were excited to have the opportunity to watch their many stages of growth. Franklin's ears are now officially both up. And, he reminds me of a mixture of Bolt and a cute fuzzy polar bear.

First day home::droopy ears

day four::one up, one to go

one week home::both ears up

colors :: week 1

2009-09-18T13:22:00.000-07:00

Miss Divine's kindergarten class has been dressing in a different color each day of the week. It's been fun trying to scrounge through closets and dressers to find the perfect shade for the day to wear to school. The first week's colors included red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Stay tuned for next week for more color action.

(missing RED ...will try to add it later...forgot to take a picture of the first color day)

ORANGE

YELLOW

GREEN

(after school messy hair look)

BLUE

adventures of franklin & mavis

2009-09-13T14:18:00.001-07:00

Introducing Franklin & Mavis

Mavis is a black Scottish Terrier female

half sister of Angus

aka "the boss"

Franklin is a wheaten Scottish Terrier male

half brother of Angus

aka Frankie

They are already making themselves at home...