Check, check, check...

and check again!

I gotta say...My new House to Home focus is totally rockin'! :) I'm actually making progress here people! This week, I've...

* searched out the fabric to back my kitchen cabinets, bought, chopped, ironed (yes, IRONED), and hung it...looks great if I say so myself. Just gonna finish up some shelf doo-dollyin' and I'll show ya.

* hit 2 Joann's for my new curtain fabric. No luck, but its supposed to be in tomorrow...tomorrow...I love ya tomorrow. ;) I'll have to hit both Joann's again to get enough, but I'm going for it with my coupons!

* bought some cute little grapevine wreaths to hang over ^those^ curtains. They're part of my "fall decor". ;)

* painted Declan's armoire. The hunter green was never my choice (it came to us that way), so I'm thrilled to finally have it a little more "me". It'll be finished up tomorrow with the old table runner that I'm chopping to bits to fill in the door frames.

* been obsessing about Tayvan's room re-do for her big birthday gift. I think I found a bed (wish me luck tomorrow when I go check it out...craigslist can be soooo good or uhm, not).

* hit a flea market and found an awesome 50's plastic faux milk-glass mirror. Even better than the faux milk-glass look is that it's *hobnail* milk glass with a fluted edge all around. To quote Rachel Zoe... I die. ;) It's going to find a home asap...maybe as a part of Van's new room! :)

* and in the project that never ends, I got a whole 'nother section of wall exposed in my laundry room. Yes, the exploded cow look continues. LOL :)

Other happenings...

PTA--of course. Spirit Gear goes out tomorrow! I can't tell you how excited I am! I did it. All by myself...figured it out, made mistakes, learned better ways for next time, but I did it. :) Fingers crossed that everyone agrees when they start getting their orders! LOL

Kiddos--Same crazy stuffs...running from school to Girl Scouts to gymnastics and more! The best kiddo news is...

Tayvan is 4 years old today! :)

Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Tayvan. Happy Birthday to you. :)

We followed e*crew family tradition and headed to Magic Time Machine for dinner. She was thrilled to have Ariel as our waitress, but as always Jack Sparrow stole the show! The guy that plays Cap'n Jack is soooo great...totally hilariously quick witted and has the whole stumbling randomness down perfectly. Fun was had by all! Van's party is coming up this weekend. So far, she wants guinea pig cupcakes. Uhm, yeah...don't know what to do with that business, but I might see if I can find some sort of cupcake pick with Wonder Pets and call it a happy. LOL :)

Scrappy Goodness--The KI Wicked Party was AWESOME! Seeing everyone's cool projects and doing the Q&A's totally got me in the Halloween spirit! :) I can share my projects now too!! Check 'em out...

Well, I'm off to bed! Hey, its only midnight...that's pretty good for me! LOL :) Keep your fingers crossed for me that spirit gear goes well, Joann's has my fabric, and the bed is perfect! That's not to much to ask for in 5 hours is it? ;) LOL

XOXO...Stac :)

Experiements in Identity...

huh? Okay, hold tight with me for a minute...

I have an explanation for my absence that I think a lot of mommas are going to connect with.

Flashback to last year: My bestie, Shonnery, had a really hard time with her youngest starting school. The whole "what do I do all day?" conundrum. I sympathized, I took her to lunch, I supported her through her moments of "hey, maybe I can do ____" with my whole heart. But I didn't understand. Not really.

I've since learned that a lot of moms pretty much have an identity crisis every August like clockwork. We're happy to get the kids happily back in school, love the structure & routine, but it does leave a chunk of 7 hours with no official plan.

Flash to current time: Tayvan started pre-school! WOO HOO!! Now granted, its not a full time gig; she's going 2 days a week from 9-2. But coupled with Memory Makers closing & the TN GASC cancelling, all together it has triggered a little bit of an identity crisis. I kinda don't know what to do with myself all day Monday and Wednesday! :) So my goal-setting self kicked into gear and I decided I needed to figure out my big Ta-Da for this school year.

After some thought, my *first* big item on The List is...house decor/organization/cleaning/control. I joined back up with FlyLady (a fab site to get the cleaning happening on a more routine basis). I've flipped through blog after blog of decorating and organizing, so my brain is brimming with funsie stuffs to do! And I've enlisted my friend Amy to help me work the Elfa to bring some much-need organization and storage to my pitiful pantry. And I can't wait! Well, actually...I haven't. A couple of the things that've been rolling on my house to-do list are already done. Pics soon...rooms in progress! :)

But in the middle of this house re-do and minor identity crisis, we've had some fun family moments. I did some quick invites to send out for Tayvan's 4th birthday party.

But the best fun was going to one of Bob's races in Greenville. He did okay, not his best but he was happy with the finish. Immediately after though, the Kids Cup started! Declan and Lilli were both excited and nervous. Declan was so thrilled that he could ride all out...no waiting for anyone to catch up. He's a total Speed Demon, flying around the course, actually doing tricks as he went! Lilli was bound and determined to catch her little brother...had her head down, elbows back, pedaling as fast as she could. In the end, Declan took first place by a good half-lap. Lilli took second place, happy with her performance (especially in the turns which still make her a little nervous). All in all, a great day for all! :)

One last thing before I head to bed (yawn!)...tomorrow night is a KI Blog Party! It starts at 7pm CST, and you definitely want to be there! We had the opportunity to create some Wicked projects...not wicked, Wicked (using the new Halloween line). LOL :) My home decor focus as of late worked perfectly b/c I was selected to make a fun wreath that I am IN LOVE with! :) I can't wait to show it tomorrow...first on the KI blog, then here & 2Peas, so stay tuned! :)

XOXO...Stac :)

hAppY dAnCe!! :)

So I posted my big ol' family vacay album to 2Peas and guess what...

It's the Featured Layout!!!

How *totally cool* is that?!

Check it out...



XOXO...Stac :)