Extreme Room Makeover:)

BEFORE


For Myah's 12th birthday (yikes, that makes me sound so old!) we kicked her out of her bedroom to do a complete, from scratch room makeover. This is her very first "real" bedroom. She picked the colors and "theme" with some careful persuading from mom. We went from a vegas-style Elvis bedroom to black white and red color scheme, with a hint of classic rock-n-roll. Then Spencer and I busted our little behinds all week to finish it for the big reveal on her birthday, Saturday, Sept. 18th. The "busting" included 4 coats of grey paint on the walls starting with a very pretty grey that Myah picked out, but ended up looking blue on the walls. This led us back to Lowe's to pick a different grey which was the right hue, but the walls needed a second coat which led us back to Lowe's for a second gallon of the "right" color. The second gallon of paint wasn't mixed correctly which we realized 2/3 of the way through the room which, you guessed it, led us back to Lowe's...again! After this many mess ups, we decided we should probably paint the ceiling which was painted a flat off white and was clashing with the cool grey of the walls. UGH! doesn't begin to describe how I felt at this time. Finally, all the painting was done. The rest of the project was less painful, but still had its whammies...jammed sewing machine, mulitple trips to different stores, wall anchors that wouldn't work, and a couple of jerry-rigged objects, but at last we were finished! SIGH. I was so worried she wouldn't like it. She is extremely picky. However, the project was a complete success and Myah LOVES it! And so do I! It was a labor of love (and a major pain in the keester, too!) and was totally worth it! We are very pleased with the outcome. Now, I wonder how long it will stay clean??? and how long it will be until we tackle another home improvement project...


AFTER!!!! :)

Freedom?!?!

Well after nearly 13 years of having a little one at home, the nest is now empty (at least during the day). This morning was bitter-sweet seeing Nathan get on the bus, but the bitterness was swallowed up in the sweet thoughts of accomplishing so much with so little interruptions... or so I thought.

Approximately 20 minutes into my work-out, I was called by the school informing me that Nathan would not be allowed to attend class today because he did not have a current physical on file. I was so upset. We had just finished jumping through hoops to make sure Kyle had an updated physical (thanks Dad), but we had never been informed that Nathan was delinquent...

In fact, in my defense, I called the school three weeks ago, after an in person visit, to make sure Nathan was good-to-go. Further, last Thursday at orientation, school officials let me know Nathan was "all set." So I was a little livid when I received the call this morning.

Nevertheless, after toting him around the city, on my first day of freedom, we accomplished the physical and Nathan was able to make the last half of the day.

He was so excited about school when we got him off the bus, and has spoken of little else since coming home.

Again, I find myself back in the bitter-sweet turmoil of being "Mom."

Where's Jay?!?!

Excuse the inside Joke- I love you mom :)

Project

I bought this frame at a furniture clearance warehouse for $8. It used to be a mirror and the price tag on it was $485! What? Anyway, obviously the mirror has gone the way of all the earth. I had the idea to make it into a magnet board for my beloved pictures of family and friends. Since I love all ya'll so much and am proud to show you off to those who enter my domain:) I still need to buy magnets for it, but this is the finished product, a Heather Bassett original:) It cost me $18...not bad, ay?

Not a professional...

This weekend I tried a new recipe from my Paula Deen "Best Desserts" book (Thanks Mel!). It was Key Lime Mousse Cake. I am normally a chocolate person...I am a Wendler you know...but have a soft spot for lime and Spencer is a big lime/lemon lover so I thought this would be a good recipe to try. This cake is loaded. It has 24 oz. of cream cheese, 2 cups whipped cream, 2 cups of sugar and 10oz of white chocolate in it! Yikes! Not for the faint of heart. Since I was going to be serving this cake to guests I wanted it to be presentable. I love presentation! I spent at least 30 minutes carefully shaving white chocolate curls for the top of the cake. Toward the end of my labors my lovely and painfully honest daughter came into the kitchen to observe. After a minute of observation she patted me and said, "Don't worry Mom, the only reason hers looks better than yours is because she's a professional."....hmmm. Here are the results of my Key Lime Mousse Cake, which, by the way, was delicious to the taste.

Nathan's Bilateral Implantation

On Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 our alarm clock woke us at 3:30am...UGH! But all for a good reason. Nathan was scheduled for his 2nd cochlear implantation. He has been talking about this for a year now and was very excited about it. We had to be to the hospital by 5:30am and his surgery was to begin at 7:30am. On the drive up to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore Nathan started to feel a little nervous. Once we in the pre-op room he perked up a little because the nice nurse let him get on the internet and play on Funbrain the website. This helped ease his nerves.












He chose his Daddy to walk him into the operation room and next time we saw him he was in recovery. He got to eat popsicles, drink juice and watch a movie. He was king of the roost and he liked it:)













After he was discharged from the hospital we drove home and for the next 3-4 hours he was in quite a bit of pain which we were surprised about since we have not experienced this with Myah or Nathan in past surgeries. They usually bounce back by the time we are in the car and driving home. Not sure why, but this time was different. I felt so bad that I couldn't help him feel better and he was miserable:( Finally, around 4 pm he perked up and whipped right back to himself. After dinner he spontaneously started into a funky break dance and jumped to the floor afterwhich he stood up with a concerned look on his face and said, "I can't do that", and went to the couch sat down and sucked his thumb with a worried look on his face. I am assuming something must have felt wrong in that dance sequence:)


So now it has been 4 days and his bandage is off. We gave him a spiffy short buzz this morning and he is ready for school tomorrow!
























His activation appt. is at the end of March. That will be the exciting part where Nathan will become a bilaterally hearing child! Stay tuned...

I'm feelin' crafty:)

Got together with some friends last night to make these super cute dual holiday decorations (thanks Julie for the idea!). I finished it today with my own variation and am pleased with the product. Now, I am feeling antsy to start another project...hmmmm. What to do.