ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh The last piece !

Nothing like a finished job. I must say sometimes I feel there is nothing finished in my life. Not that I want everything finished , but finishing this floor was a great feeling.
2 days
418 sq feet
one SORE body
All worth it as we are now at least back in our room and not on the couch anymore.
Tommorrow starts the painting !
Here are a few shots of the room ...
This was the end of day one.

Josh wanted to help also . He is such a great helper !

Oh also as a side note, Steph I had a GREAT time cropping with you Saturday night ! It is so fun to crop with your friends !!

Where did the weekend go .......

Well here are the highlights and lowlights

- Finished the Floor in the bedroom ( Pics coming)

- Painting begins tommorrow ( Looking forward to color)

- Slept in our own bed ! ( the joy)

- Saw " Over the Hedge " ( excellent Cute movie)

- Had Margaritas in my new smoothie machine!(oh Joy of the summer)

- Saw friends we hadn't seen in a while (can't wait for Rehoboth)

- Saw "the Da vinci Code" ( EXCELLENT !!)

- Ready to face the week !( that's better then last week started )

One room complete!

So this is it ....one room finished ! Josh got his new bed this past week and he is loving his new room. We got the Robin bed at IKEA ...gotta love IKEA! It is so great in his room , being 10x12 the space is a factor.
This bed , closet and desk in one space is the perfect fit.

Josh is just loving getting to climb up a ladder every night to bed. He said last night " Thanks Mom , I love my new room"

That is all it takes to make it all worth while. He helped me clean up his room and purge some toys last night. He was cute deciding what to keep and what to let go of. We made piles to give away , throw away and keep.

This one Josh asked me to take with his shelves of trophies and bionicles he is so proud of. I did love it as we were cleaning he said he wanted to keep his mouse ears!

We just need to put his computer in his room ( not connected to the internet ) One room complete ...it is a great feeling!

Great song !

Bad Day , by Daniel Powter

Where is the moment when we need it the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue sky's faded to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carrying on
You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces every time
And I don't need no carrying on
Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day
Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carrying on
You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day
Sometimes the system goes on the blink and the whole thing it turns out
Wrong
You might not make it back and you know that you could be well oh that
Strong
Well I'm not wrong
So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You see what you like
And how does it feel, one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well this song rang true last night and today , but I am feeling the "magic" again ! I am going to take this weekend and a few days next week to get things finished up around the house. Kate and I are going to be working hard this weekend to get the floor in and the walls finished in the bedroom. Then we can start breathing a little more and not coming home everynight to work on drywall . So no worries I will be kicking the leaves up again soon!

I want to scrapbook!

That's what I want to do !

I am tired of fixing up the house.

I am tired of walking into a house full of clutter.

I want to just sit down at my crop table , have everything organized

and just start creating.

I want to take about a week off from the store , and recharge.

I want to take my son to the park and play .

I want to go on a bike ride with Josh.

I don't want to hear my son say " You like the store more then me "

I don't want to hear my son say " how come we can't go to the park after school"

I want to feel like I am doing the right things.

Trying to run a business, is it worth all the hours ?

Trying to do things at the house, will it ever end?

Trying to be a great friend, what makes a great friend?

Not complaining , well except I miss scrapbooking so much . I see everyone around me creating , I love seeing it . How do you balance it , when you work at the store all day , then come home and do more work for the store . Then work on the house , spend some time with Josh (which is getting the short end lately). Where is the time for me?

Doesn't sound good I know .

Well on to the new day....maybe I will start figuring this all out.

"It's easier to build a child than repair an adult."

Got this little quote in my email yesterday , it made me feel good about everything I wrote about .

We got Josh a new bed last night , the Loft bed , it is so high and I am a bit nervous. He loved it ! What boy wouldn't love climbing a ladder every night to get in bed. I will get better and not worry so much soon. The rails are there and unless he would climb over them in his sleep he is very safe.

I never had a bunk bed while growing up , I am sure I wanted one at some point , so it is kinda fun being able to let Josh have one.

Josh ...you just make me so proud!

This is not just for photo ops! This is Josh actually doing one of his chores.
He cleans his own bathroom. I walked by while he was doing this yesterday and just got goosebumps. I am not sure how many 6 year olds actually clean their own bathroom , but when I tell my friends about this they just look at me like ...yeah Right!! , I can't even get my teenager to do that and he does this at 6? .
So I thought about this as I walked by and decided to take a few pictures, if for nothing else ....to have it here when he is a teenager and I could say I have proof you did this ! LOL
So here is to my son Josh, I have to give Kate all the credit for him being so great about his chores. She cleans our bathrooms, I have not cleaned a bathroom in 8 years. Yes it was in the marriage contract ! I actually have to leave when she pulls out the bleach cleaners , I get an instant migraine.

So Josh also sorts his own laundry in colors and whites and brings them to the washer. He is not quite tall enough to run the washer , but wants to . He also feeds the dogs each night and clean his room. That is his list of chores for his allowance. Oh yes and we have added making his own bed. (which at the moment is just pulling up his covers. )

Kate and I are just hoping we are bringing up a responsible boy , without making him grow up too fast. We do let him be a kid ....just a kid who has to do some chores . It is so hard being parents and trying to make sure they have a great childhood with great memories, but also make sure they don't grow into those kids I see disrespecting adults and getting into trouble. I truly feel there is no "perfect" parents or kids. We just have to try and do our best to balance it all . Some days you just feel like you are barely keeping your head above water , and other days you feel like you are floating on a lounge chair with a big tall fruity drink ! Hope you are having a fruity drink day !!

Wow ....you would think I had nothing to say !

I haven't posted since Monday ! That is just amazing ...I didn't realize it had been that long.
Well let me tell you , it is not for lack of wanting to sit down sipping a nice cup of Java and telling you the random thoughts in my head! Cause believe me if that was one of my choices this week , I would have taken it !

Instead ....It started again with spackling , painting , more spackling , organizing the mess at the house , cleaning , opening and closing the store , baseball , and being very tired.
Oh and to top it off ...this !

Meet 80 gals of a monster! This hot water heater and I spent 6 hours together on Thursday . That is 6 hours ....
I can't even find 6 hours to crop !
I can't even find 6 hours to spend with my family !
I can't even find 6 hours to sleep some nights !
But I had to find 6 hours to put this in , or there would be no hot water .
It simply amazes me how we find the time to do the things we HAVE to do , but it is so hard to fit in the things we WANT to do . Sometimes that seems a bit unfair.
But we have to have hot water ...or I think it may get a bit stinky around here. So when we found out it would cost us $300.00 to install a hot water heater ....I of course said NO WAY am I paying someone to do that for that price...how hard can it be ? Two pipes and some electric. After a few trips to Lowe's and then one to Willie's Plumbing...a few choice words and alot of wrenches....we have hot water again !!
Now onward to the bedroom , which we have made alot of progress in . I will post pics hopefully tommorrow .
Lots more thoughts in here just waiting to jump out ..but that is it for now ...Movie Time ! Going to go watch Brokeback mountain . Night !

Have a Beautiful Monday

Enjoy today , take time to look at all the wonderful blooming flowers around you . Enjoy the beauty of life , and rejoice that you get to witness it. Hug someone you love , or even someone you don't . Most importantly live life today , it is truely amazing to be a part of this miracle everyday.

Being a Mom is the best....

What a great day to be a MOM!! What a great day to have 2Moms !! LOL
Well at least that is what I hope Josh thinks !!
We had so much fun today , even if we did work till we ached again today . We worked till about 2 pm and then we cleaned up and had some great family time the rest of the day . I got some pictures printed out , which I am going to do more of everyday now . I have found since going digital , I tend not to scrap as much because those pictures are in here instead of out there on paper inspiring me .

Everyone got new flip flops and we are sporting them in the picture. That was fun! I have pink flip flops ...who would of thunk!

Then we went to the Outback and had a FABOLOUS meal ...oh that was so good and we just laughed and enjoyed. Then back to the house where we played a little "around the world" in basketball. And also got this FAB Pic of the whole family!

So there we are the crazy crew. Hope everyone else had a great Mom's day !! Only 45 days till Rehoboth Beach !!! wahoooooooooooo!

Saturday fun!

Ahhh Spring is in the air and each and every saturday of it involves baseball ! Josh just loves going to play and it is fun taking pictures and watching him having so much fun !

Kate and I are working on the bedroom this morning...more drywall , taping , spackling ....aches , pains ! End results are going to be awesome !

Hope everyone's Saturday is fun , get out and enjoy it !!

How much more can you love him ...

That is the look of concentration. That is the look of a six year old paying attention to the task at hand. Looks to me like a kid who means business!

Now where is this one when he is not on the baseball field? Well the past 3 nights , mostly in his bedroom....GROUNDED!!!

Oh vey !! Is all I can say . The sweetest boy in the whole universe is fighting authority tooth and nail...and authority being both his Moms .

So we have gone the route of alot of pioneering parents before us and tried to strip him of everything he loves. You know the list ...the Nintendo....the T.V. ....Money . Basically being a part of the human world except for School. Nothing seems to work . The next day after it is over he does something else that just doesn't make sense. It is so hard to watch him make the same mistakes over again . My BIGGEST fear...well the one after not living long enough to watch Josh grow up ...is having someone kidnap him , take him from me . I keep both eyes on him at all times , but two days this week he left the store ( once to play with his pal ) then today to play with his other pal Dot . I watched him walk out the door and I knew he was with Dot , but still he had just been grounded 2 days before for the same thing !!!! ARGH!!! why was he doing this again , didn't he see how important it was to NEVER do that again !!!

So once again he spent the day and evening grounded ! I had to laugh at one point tho , he looked up at me as he sat in the office and said I am hungry mom ...am I allowed to eat ?

Breathe....Breathe...it is ok ...breathe. Yep thats what I kept telling myself and it did get me thru the day .

So I pick him up from school and he starts talking to me . I just ignored his questions , he kept asking over and over again .

Finally he says " Mom , are you going to answer me ?"

M: ..."I am not listening to you, how do you like that ?"

J:" I don't like it at all "

M: " That is how it feels when you don't listen to me"

J: " Ok , so are you going to listen to me now ?"

Breathe ...just breathe....

Tonight :

Kate comes back after putting Josh to bed ....

K: I have a message for you from Josh ....

Josh says to tell you , You are the best mom in the whole world

Now what are you suppose to do with that , when you are sitting there not feeling at all like a great mom , trying to figure out how to teach your son what he needs to know to keep him safe and how to listen , and other things that he needs to learn.

I know ....breathe...breathe....breathe ....and just love him that much more tomorrow !

Bushonics and other silly silly things

Can the English language survive after Bush?

"The vast majority of our imports come fromoutside the country." - George W. Bush

"If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." - George W. Bush

"I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future." - George W. Bush

"The future will be better tomorrow. " George W.Bush

"We're going to have the best educated American people in the world." - George W. Bush

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls." - George W. Bush

"We are ready for any unforeseen event that may or may not occur." - George W. Bush

"For NASA, space is still a high priority." - George W. Bush "

Quite frankly, teachers are the only profession that teach our children." - George W. Bush

" It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." - George W. Bush

"It's time for the human race to enter the solar system." - George W. Bush

Ok these just cracked me up . I have listened to him different times and will turn to Kate and say ...did he just say that ?
So I hope I gave you a little giggle this morning , thru your tears of course !


On Friday Josh ran in the Race for Education and we wanted to give everyone a shout that sponsored him! He did 42 laps and you guessed it ...smiled all the way . It just didn't matter when I looked at him ...he was smiling ! Gotta love a happy boy . Hey I even did a lap with him .



On another note , Josh is having a hard time listening and doing as he is asked. So yesterday after he ran outside the store to play without telling me ...he got grounded . So as I was leaving the store last night I got this call and here is the little voice I heard.
J: " Mom , When someone ask me to do something , I am going to say " Right away " , and do it right then.
M: Oh that sounds really good ! Glad you learned that while you were grounded tonight in your room.
J: I didn't learn it then , I knew that already .
M: ( Silent laughter)

Gotta love it when they once again let you know they know it all !

One finished , one not ....

Ta da !!! It is finished ! OMG it is so amazing to be able to say that in the Stillings house ! We don't have very much "finished" it has been almost 9 years in this house ...and there has been 9 years of projects. Here is what is going on right now .
- Kitchen needs painting
- Ceilings need to be replaced in the Dining room and computer room.
- paneling needs to be torn down and done in those 2 rooms
- My crop room floor and walls .
Right now this is the big project going on













Yep this is our bedroom .....hahahaha...well what will be once again someday ! Totally gutted , bare to the bone. Now it has insallation and some drywall. Hopefully by the end of this week we can paint the ceiling and then install the pergo flooring next week. Our goal is to be back in by Memorial day weekend. Keep your fingers crossed ! So watch for the finished product sometime in June .
So we are loving our new living room , slash bedroom for now .
Our house is in total disarray , but we hope that once this is done it will be that much closer to being the way we want it. Buying a fixer upper is fun , and also tiring ! But we do get to make it the way we want. But I have to admit somedays I would love to come to a NEW home all done and nothing to do to it.

So in other news I scrapbooked for the first time in a long time this Sunday , Loved spending time with some girlfriends. I had to get the creative juices flowing but once I did the pages came out so good. I plan on doing more creating in the near future...it is part of the balance and we all need balance.

Time to go and get these hairs cut , volunteer at Josh's school and then Tball tonight . So much for a day off LOL !

Happy Birthday Baby !

Happy Happy Day Kate!
Josh and I wrote Kate and email this morning after she left and wished her happy birthday on her blackberry too...that was kinda fun . I let Josh type it out and then we got her email back and he was happy . I think in awe of it all but happy. See you tonight dear ! We will celebrate then .

Josh got up at 3 am this morning , I awoke to ....Mom I can't sleep. He cuddled in with me and I think dosed for a bit but has been wide awake since 5 am . Hence so have I . He says everytime he goes to sleep he has bad dreams about the world sinking. So he doesn't want to go to sleep...he is so tired . This is my boy that sleeps till 9 am everyday. So today should prove interesting .

A little funny from yesterday :
Me: Josh grab your baseball stuff , you have a game tonight
J: where is it all
Me: right by the door , Mom packed it all up last night for you .
J: " She is a good woman"

I busted out laughing right then! Couldn't hold it in....not "she is a good mom" no he went right there ..."she is a good woman" !

Now isn't that the cutest darn slugger you ever saw ! Well I think he is :)

He is doing so great playing this year , what a difference a year makes in the eye on the ball scheme. What was amazing me last night is no matter what Josh is doing , he is smiling . Up to bat ....running the bases....catching the ball . There is one constant....that smile !

Keep on smilin !

It is ok!

That is all I needed to see last night and the rest of the day melts away. It is so wonderful to have my own little reminder everyday , that what really matters ....is what is right here in the form of a family. All the other stuff....is so small in the scheme of things!

Busy Bear here for his last visit

I was at school with Josh's class yesterday and they always do the count of the school days...it was day 152 of school and only 31 more days before they are 1st Graders. Now to the kids ....excitement , a little moaning that there are only 31 more days of school. For a Mom standing there realizing that time seems to be going at lighting speed..it wasn't funny!
I can NOT believe that he is almost thru that first year, it is not long when I am going to have to put him on a bus . I have not thought about this for a while since I found out there was no bussing for Kindergarden and I did the dance of happiness and joy. I was not ready for that bus ride thing. Yeah I know I am in the minority ....but putting my son on that big yellow box , totally out of my control just gives me the hives. I also have these faint memories on how mean some kids were on the bus , and how much I got away with on the bus. Sometimes being the lookout for when the driver would look up in the mirror.
We had Leon, he was a big ole nasty man , always this mean look in the mirror , just scare ya !
So I can't stop hearing about that 31 more days thing. Also I guess it does effect me because I am also trying to get a scrapbook together for the teacher and know I don't have too much longer to do that .
So Busy Bear is in our house for the very last time also , he is a cutie and has visited us about 4 times this year. It is very cute because Josh actually plans and plans for Bear's visit each time. It is usually not a safe place for the bear ...this time he was fighting the Bionicles troop. It is an ever growing army of little lego men. I do love the imagination it creates tho. There is also a book involved where the kids write down and draw a picture of what they did with busy bear. So we are saying goodbye to the bear this morning ...and I am also sitting here watching yet another little thing of his childhood slip away.
I am so thankful that I am journalling his life , and more and more the little things , that are actually very BIG things in his life. The everyday conversations we have are getting more and more attention in my journaling. Not so much about the birthday parties and the sports banquets....but now about those chereished times that I laugh and cry because I love Josh so much .
So grab a $0.50 composition book and start jotting down those little things that they say . I am telling you it is the best ! Sticky post its work great also.
May your world be colorful today !