As promised: camera photo dump

{I realize this post is extremely boring for the majority of you. I won't be offended if you skip it, but there are a couple of gems amongst these few pictures... :)} 

There weren't as many pictures on my camera as I thought there were. Shame on me! I need to be using that fancy thing. It's juuuuuuuust.... (that's how Josie whines. Now I whine like that too.) that I have no inspiration thses days when we do the.same.thing. over and over again (read books, play with trucks, eat meals, repeat). I guess I'll need to try harder. But here are a few that I did find:

One of my best friends, Denise, came home for a couple of days. She's a keeper, that one. (also, ah, look! Proof that I cut my hair! But it's much shorter than even this now.)

A real smile! I could stare at this for hours. Also, she left that headband (hidden, but there) in her hair for the whole day. I never thought I'd see the day....

And... a fake smile. There are more of these than the real ones for the camera these days.Girl's got cheese.

We made cupcakes and the kids decorated them. By decorate, I mean I put the frosting on and they added sprinkles. It didn't go as I had hoped. They just wanted to eat them, not decorate them. 

...So I let them. It was still fun!

All too familiar feeling

Sitting here, freshly showered and still a little shaky from my workout (yay! I actually worked out today.), I need this silence that is all around me. I have about a half hour before 1/3 of the kids wakes up from nap time and it will all begin again. It's been a grueling day, with accidents (always), toys thrown (not by me, don't worry), time outs, screaming in pillows in bedrooms (again, not by me), a rough therapy session, and no outdoor activity. We're feeling cooped up again, and it hasn't even been that long since we were outside.

I so want to enjoy every season that we are given. It's such a waste to pine after the nicer seasons and miss out on a third of the year. I don't want to live my life like that. Personally, as an adult, I've used this time in the past to focus on myself (start eating better, working out again, trying to read my bible regularly) and also have some "down time." Spring, Summer, and Fall are so busybusybusy that my body kind of craves it and just loves to sit inside with a book and a hot cup of coffee. But of course I also get sick of it. 

Now, my life doesn't look anything like that. I have three kids that feel that urge for more (exercise, fresh air, space to run around) and I can't give it to them right now. I'm doing what I can to keep us all sane but whew! it's exhausting. Every week, I look back and wonder if we just wasted another week to do something fun, learn something new, become better people. That time for myself? I don't get that anymore, no matter what time of year it is.

I need to start focusing on what we CAN DO this week no matter what the weather is like. There are a lot of activities that are done indoors, but my mind seems blank of them right now. It's hard to come up out of the fog of winter, isn't it? It just takes over every thought, attitude, and emotion. 

This weekend will be busy and I am so so so grateful for that. I need busy. I need activity and traveling and socializing. 

I had no plans to write all of this out, but apparently my fingers (and heart) ached for it.

Happy Friday, y'all.

(and maybe I'll clear off my camera memory card this weekend. Stay tuned...)

Little old update

Let's do this bullet point style.

• Today we played outside and it was completely refreshing. The kids could have played for hours (well, the bigger two) but we had to eat lunch and get moving towards the next thing on our agenda. I am praying we'll have time for some longer playing times outside this week because it is GOOD for our souls. And attitudes. It really helps with attitudes.
• Speaking of attitudes, we are fighting one with miss Josie Grace. Whew that girl has sass! Where does she get that from? I've never thought of myself as a sassy person but I imagine she's modeling it after somebody in her life. She's been back talking a little more and more lately so we have had to really tighten the rope on her freedoms and what she can get away with. Suffice to say that mama and daddy are tired of it all. Gotta love the toddler years...
• Potty training is still chugging right along. My newest trick up my sleeve is the (ever so unoriginal) poop chart. I say "poop" because that's the focus right now so we aren't wasting time on anything else. If she goes, she gets a sticker. If she gets enough stickers, she gets a toy she picks out herself. We had a halfway success today that earned her a sticker so I pray that she likes this little game and we get somewhere because I am soooo sick of potty training. 3/4 of a year is too long! Here's hoping Audrey just gets it right away. She should, since it probably won't happen til she's five.
• I ordered a wedding album (5 years later) and family albums for 2011, 2012, and 2013 this week. I cannot wait to see them! It's about time I got somewhat organized and printed proof of our existence over the past few years. If it wasn't for this little blog, we'd have nothing to show for it. Well, not anymore, my friends, not anymore. 
• I also ordered pillow covers and a new rug for our living room. I'm trying ever so hard to get that room to come together into something with a bit more purpose but we don't have room in the budget (has, as if I am disciplined enough to follow one of those) for more expensive upgrades (looking at you, new chairs and loveseat). I am hoping that the pops of color (with a theme, a theme, people!) will help. Maybe I'll do a "living room" reveal post after that? We'll see how finished the room feels. 

Hope your Monday is happy happy happy (said like Phil from Duck Dynasty of course).

The third bedroom photos

Our foster boy is staying in our smallest bedroom. Since it's just him, it makes more sense to put him there and then throw all the extra furniture and the guest bed in the other bigger bedroom. I also thought he'd feel more comfortable and cozy in here instead of the other room, which seems huge to a small kid. (I'll maybe post pictures of it someday but it's nothing special. It's seriously just extra furniture, a double sized bed, a pack n play, and closets.) This room not that small but it can seem like it in comparison. It's actually bigger than the room the girls shared in our old home. 

Now the walls, they've got to go. I really really hate wood paneling, but we don't know what we want yet and have a million other projects to do. Since our foster kid is a boy, they work for now. I cannot picture this being a girls' room with those walls. It' just seems masculine. Unfortunately, the kids scratched up the walls with the Christmas lights (creative, right?) and so they have to go now regardless of my feelings. Hubby isn't that thrilled to tear down the paneling so we'll see how long they stay put like this. 

On to the pictures:

For now, we don't have anything permanent to put on this wall so I've been rotating his school art in as we get it. He loves that it's constantly changing but it does leave spots on the walls if I'm not careful. I'll have to come up with a better way to do this soon. I love the bed set but it's seen better days. I had to wash it often for a while and it really got beat up. It won't last long term.

View from the closet: The bed used to be over here, so the art seems too high right now. I threw these pictures up haphazardly when we found out we were having a longer term foster kid. They were hung where there were already holes... so it's quite random. I don't mind it and all our foster boy cares about is that the picture he painted of his family stays up there. No problem, kiddo! The magnet board is perfect for this room because we can switch out the pictures or whatever he wants up there without any effort.

The kids love to play in here (note Audrey's photobomb). It's the closest bedroom to the living room so it's easy for them to hang out in here while I am making a meal or working in the living room. Since there is a video monitor and absolutely nothing harmful in here, I can keep an eye on them knowing they can't do real damage or harm themselves.

You don't know how many times I have walked by to see the kids sitting here playing with legos or reading books. The table and chairs fit perfectly in here.

The minute I saw this globe (in storage from hubby's childhood), I knew it was perfect for this room. It also works as a night light but we don't use it for that very often. The bedding is from Macy's and the bed frame is mine from when I was a kid. So is the dresser. 

Here is the view from the hallway. The rocking chair is a family heirloom from hubby's family. As you can see, this bedroom is on the front of the house and you can see the street and garage from here pretty well. When we are expecting company, I open these blinds to see out in the front. It's the best view! Often times, I bring the laundry in here or in the master bedroom to fold so that I can make sure to see when the guests arrive. You gotta do what you gotta do...

We'll be making a lot of aesthetic changes to this room, but that won't be for a while. I'm fairly confident that this will be a nursery some day, so I'm sure the general feel will change quite drastically. For now, it's boyish and comfortable. He hasn't complained yet. ;)

The girls' room photos

The next stop on our little home tour is the girls' room. We painted this room first, the day we started moving in. When I picked the color, I accidentally ordered a different one, so we ended up with a much darker shade of pink that I had originally wanted. It's not perfect, but it'll do for now. I had envisioned a blush pink that was almost more white than pink, and this is definitely more pink! 

Here are the pictures:

From the doorway: Audrey's crib to the left, Josie's bed straight ahead. The fabric bins have seen better days and aren't the right color for this room (we purchased them for their old room and they are just along for the ride until we figure out a better solution). The foam bag/foot stool is the color inspiration for this room. The magenta curtains (which I painstakingly put together myself)  match it perfectly and I have some teal paint to use on the letters from the girls' old room which will be added to the wall with the shelves and mirror. Or maybe above the crib. I'm undecided at this point.

View from 1 of 3 closets (you can see the other two on the far right). They have two decent sized windows in here that are hardly ever open since they are sleeping so often. I've been trying to be better about opening them. The natural light is awesome in here.

View from the far window. That is the closet I mentioned in the last photo. The doorway is to the left. See the wall above Audrey's crib? It needs something, right? (Sorry that the lighting is so random in these pictures. I took them at dusk so it was very inconsistent depending on where I was standing)

I painted the shelves and mirror earlier this year and they are full to the max with knick knacks, pictures, and other things that need to stay out of little hands (extra pacifiers, vaseline, sound machine, clock, etc). I'm hoping to clean that up a bit when we add a dresser (good bye changing table) in the future.

A close up. To the Deyle family: we need more photos of you all! I do not mean to be exclusive with my side of the family. :)

View from Audrey's crib. Here are the other two closets. We will be reconfiguring all of this closet space to give some more to the master bedroom. They don't need three closets! The far one, with the single door, is a mini walk in closet and is all cedar. We'll probably leave that one and put a wall up where the bigger closet is right now. It'll be nice to have room for a dresser or other piece of furniture since there isn't a lot of wall space right now (relatively speaking).

The changing table and crib will eventually move out, since the smaller room (currently our foster boy's room) will be a future nursery. It'll be strange to see two beds and no changing table in here someday! 

So there you have it. It's definitely girly. It's a continual work in progress, but I'm happy with it for now. We've managed to avoid cheesy themes but I'm sure we'll be wrestling that in the not too distant future. One step at a time...

Master bedroom photos

I've been working ever so hard on getting our master bedroom finished. In our last house, we never did much to it. We had a lot of stuff in a tiny space and it was hard enough to just keep it all contained. We knew we weren't staying there so we never took the time to really decorate it. 

This time around, I wanted to make it feel cozy and welcoming for us. At the same time, I didn't want it to be too girly or plain. I feel like the balance is awesome in here for us. The bed print is flowery but the wall color brings it back around. They balance each other out. It's just right.

The windows in here are strange. They take up half of the walls but don't leave room for a bed unless you either put it up against the wall or have it off centered. Since I really hate having a bed against the wall, I chose to put it in the middle of the wall, hoping the pictures hung up in the empty wall space would balance it out. It's not common, to have the windows off centered this much, so it was hard to find inspiration. I like it though! I think it accomplished what I was hoping it would. I love the natural light so I can't complain too loudly about those windows. We may add a headboard (very low one) at some point but it's not a priority right now. 

Here are the pictures!

View from my closet.

Our master bathroom and hubby's closet are on that wall.

View from the doorway. Simple and clean, but not too empty.

This side of the room is b-o-r-i-n-g but we hardly ever look at it and there isn't room to do much since it includes both closet doors and the entry door.

View from the bathroom. Isn't that air conditioner lovely? The dressers are both family heirlooms from hubby's side.

And one more view from the doorway. The pillows are from etsy.com. The paintings were done by my grandmother. The trunk is also from her and the end tables are refinished/made by my hubby.  The paint is Pelican Gray by Benjamin Moore.

So there you have it! We may add curtains, a headboard, and redo how the closets are laid out down the road, but it's great as is until we figure those things out. It feels nice to have it done! (At least one room in the house is done... hopefully I will get pictures of the girls room done next.)

Bloggy break over

Whew! I'm sorry for taking such a long unexpected break from the ole' blog. It was not planned. It just goes to show how boring and winter-bluesy life is around here. 

Nothing has happened. 

We are chugging along, waiting for the weather to be warm enough for us to play outside, even for just twenty minutes or so. I require it be above 0-5 degrees... and sadly even that hasn't happened in weeks. Not when we actually have a chance to go outside. 

We can do this right? Please tell me we'll get through this. It feels like forever. 

Our electric bill was double what it was this fall. Double. That is so depressing. We're spending tons of money to heat the house that we are basically held captive to. How about we don't heat the house, and then we get nice weather and can be outside all the time. Deal? Okay, thanks.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the kiddos. Girls with their babies and a mini photo shoot of Audrey Joy Joy (as Josie lovingly calls her).

the tongue. the whole reason this picture was not deleted.

As always, her blue eyes make me melt.

Photo dump (but only a little bit)

I've been struggling lately. A combination of neediness from little children, winter blues, being house bound, not meeting goals that I am constantly setting for myself, and avoiding quiet time with the Lord (aka where I am held accountable for my actions) has really made me a hot mess. I'm working on it. Whew, it's a huge work in progress. Overwhelming, but doable. 

In the meantime, I have pictures. I am terrible (seriously, somebody either take the camera away or help me out!) at editing these pictures and have no idea how to properly use this fancy real camera. So Missy, if you are reading this, come over, any time, and save me.

Here they are: 

Look at that sister fascination.

And then... reversed. I love their love for each other. It's growing and growing and growing...

This is her "Jase from Duck Dynasty" face. Google it. She nailed it. All she's missing is the beard.

Look at this goofy face. No seriously, look at it.

I had to edit this so of course it's blah quality, but I just love the natural smile! 

And my favorite, because I finally got the settings kind of right, and then she's just cute: 

A little comparison

I came across this little picture of Josie on my sister's fb page. I then just had to go find a picture of Audrey I had taken recently to compare the two. It just so happens that Josie is the same age in this picture as Audrey is right now. Bahhh, they grow up so fast!

They are so different, yet so the same. I can't even imagine how different they'll look in another 16 months.

Tuesday Ramblings

Instead of showering and getting ready this morning, I was removing the doorknob off of the girls' room so that I wouldn't have to destroy the door to get them out. The doorknob we put on that door is cheap and not just in price. It is so incredibly hard to open and it freaks me out to think that one day I won't be able to get it open and the girls will be on the other side, stuck. No thank you! So for now, no doorknob.

Let it be noted that today Josie will get to watch cartoons so mama can shower. It doesn't happen everyday, but sometimes it's just necessary. 

We are sledding tonight with the kiddos and our small group. I'm excited for it! But not so much for being freezing cold. Our lfb isn't coming with (can't be outside right now so it's just not an option) so we'll be one on one going up and down the hill and that will make it a lot easier. Last time we went, we were outnumbered so it was kind of stressful to keep the kids out of the way of the other sledders. They are too young to really understand that concept (you know, of getting out of the way to avoided being pummeled by a fast moving sled full of children) so we were constantly shuffling them over to the side while also trying to pull the sled up without tripping anyone. Needless to say, we only went up and down the hill about five times before we called it quits. So yes, this time will be better.

I've been in another food rut these days. I just can't stay inspired to plan meals out long term. I will do great for a week or two and then fall off the wagon. Life is so much better when I do it! I've said it over and over and yet I still can't seem to remember it when it's time to plan out the next week. I find that I'm drawn towards pasta dishes or casseroles because it's easy but also so messy and full of calories/carbs like no other. I'm just sick of frozen veggies. That's the alternative (in my mind anyways). Also, we've been eating potatoes with every single meal that isn't a casserole. It's a little out of control. What kinds of sides do you usually eat? Meat, potatoes, veggies (frozen steamable packets or salad)... that is the system now and I'm so bored with it.

Will someone come over and wake me up at 6:00 AM from now on? Apparently, getting up in the morning is impossible for me on my own. I'd love to work out and have a little bit of quiet time so if you could just make that happen, that'd be great.

Enough rambling... enjoy your Tuesday!