The Trip(s) of Insanity

Remember that time I said I was trying to be more spontaneous with our kids? It sort of came back to bite me.

About a week before our already planned South Carolina beach vacation, Scott suggested that we add a quick two day jaunt down to Walt Disney World. I thought, "Sure, why not?" I've always marveled at how other (larger) families could pack up and head out with little notice or planning and wished I could be more like that.

So Scottie made the necessary arrangements and after one night at the beach, we hopped in the car and headed to Orlando.We spent one night at the Hilton (free with Scott's Hilton points!!) in Downtown Disney, where we swam, had a wonderful dinner at Ragland Road Irish pub and wandered the shops.

The next day we checked into the Polynesian Resort - room rates were half off people, half off!We rocked in hammocks.
Slid down water slides.
Then headed to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.

Darth Vader and Hermione on Main Street USA
(costumes were abbreviated due to the heat!)

Perfect time of the year to go to Disney, by the way. We walked right onto every - EVERY - ride. We road Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and many other rides a couple of times.

And, of course, we went through the Haunted Mansion a time or two, where this lovely Southern ghost was in residence just for the Halloween party.
She noticed that Eliza Grace was in Hogwarts/Gryffindor garb and told the crowd that "Nearly Headless Nick visits the Haunted Mansion often." Eliza Grace was thrilled!

We did not leave the parks until after the 10:30 PM parade, complete with headless horseman, was over. This meant that the four of us went from 7:00 AM to after midnight, with no more than a 30 minute respite in between.

It did, however, have one unfortunate side effect for poor Will: car sickness.

In the past, we have driven as long as nine hours straight with no issues. But I think this time the combination of too much activity, not enough sleep, too much sun, and not the healthiest food choices did not help the situation.

At one point Scott and I both thought maybe he had a bug because the anti-nausea meds we gave him a couple of times during the six hour drive had no effect whatsoever. However, within 10 minutes of being out of the car he was back to normal with a big appetite so we knew that this was definitely motion sickness.

Thankfully we were able to enjoy the next four glorious days at the beach with absolutely perfect weather.

We did give Will Dramamine before we headed back to NC and, other than him being a little loopy, he had no issues at all.

Dramamine has now been added to my list of "never leave home without" items along with Benedryl and the EpiPen.

Yes, we had a blast.

Yes, I am glad we were spontaneous and went to Disney.

And yes, it was a bit insane.

A friend said the insanity really just proved that we are still young and spry.

I am going with that.

Going, Going...Beautifully Gone

We went fishing a couple of evenings during a
recent trip to Kiawah Island, SC.
Thankfully I remembered to bring my camera along.
The sunsets were amazing.A gentle, peaceful reminder.That God is the creator of all beauty.
And He sure knows what He is doing.

Seeing the Light

Now that the jungle is gone and blue skies abound in our master bath, it is time to turn to details.

About a month before we started the project, I removed the shiny gold knobs and pulls and replaced them with brushed nickle ones. It is amazing what a difference that simple change made.

Now, as Scott and I wait for a clear weekend to tackle the wainscoting and chair rail, we are making other accessory changes that look great.

Off with the old:
If you click on the picture above, you can really see the sort of outdated gold rope detail for which I did not care.

On with the new:
I LOVE the curved, feminine feel to the new light fixture.

It is coming together, slowly but surely!

Her Turn: Under the Sea

Eliza Grace has been patiently waiting to make her video about her new room decor.

After watching this, I think I need to remove the phrase "I see" from my vocabulary because I said it about 8 times in 6 minutes! Very annoying to listen to, if I do say so myself.

I am trying out YouTube for my video upload so I hope it works!

And now, Under the Sea with Eliza Grace:

If you have trouble viewing the video go here.

Whew, They Got It Done

And I love it!

Checking Another One Off the List...Finally!

Along with all the painting projects we have been doing over the past couple of months, we have also been trying to finish our kitchen upgrades.

The installation on the new travertine tile back splash started about 6 weeks ago, but was not completed because the accent tile we ordered was apparently out of stock.

Did they tell us this before they showed up to do the installation? No.

Did they try to get us to use a different style of accent tile? Yes.

Did I agree to the change? No.

Which is why the back splash sat halfway done for the past 6 weeks:
Updates each week (initiated by me, the customer, and not the company who messed up) went like this:

Week 1:
"Hi Louisa, it's Jacque checking in on the tile order."

"Hi. I was going to call the manufacturer later this week to find out if they have shipped it yet. I will give you a call soon."

Week 2:
"Hi Louisa, it's Jacque checking in on the tile order."

"Hi. I called the manufacturer today and they said they will have it made and ready to ship by July 31. I will give you a call when it comes in and we will schedule the installation."

Week 3:
"Hi Louisa, it's Jacque checking in on the tile order"

"Hi. I called the manufacturer and they said it will be more like August 15 before they can get it to us."

Week 4:
"Hi Louisa, it's Jacque checking in on the tile order."

"Yes. I called the manufacturer and now they said they are looking at more like August 30."

Week 5:
"Hi Louisa, it's Jacque checking in on the tile order."

"Yes, I saw the caller ID that it was you."

[Sidebar: Oh no she didn't! The attitude is coming out!]

"I called the manufacturer and they said they have the product and it will arrive on Monday, September 6."

Week 6:
"Hi Louisa, it's Jacque checking in on the tile order."

"Uh huh. So it looks like it might arrive on Friday, September 10. Can we schedule a time to install it that next week?"

"Nope. As I shared with you last week, that week will not work for us."

"Oh, um ok. Well I will call you when it comes in and we can schedule something."

Week 6, part 2:
"Hi, guess what? The tile is in! Can we come install today?"

"Well, no, because I have not arranged to be home all day today. How about tomorrow?"

"I am not sure that will work but let me check."

(and I get to listen to what I assume is background chatter about the annoying customer who has been hounding them about finishing the job but will not drop everything with 5 minutes notice to sit at home all day while they finish the job)

"Tomorrow will not work. How about Friday?"

"Yes, that will work."

And now, it is Friday. Here is what it looked like at 1:30pm EDT:
See that 2 inches of glass and travertine tile?

It is that for which we waited 6 weeks. And I am really glad we waited as it adds just the right personalized touch.
Promises have been made for the installer to return and finish the grouting job before the end of the day.

Here's praying it all comes together!

Life + Science = Fun

While Scott spent Labor Day with a roller and a bucket of paint, the kids and I spent 5 hours at the NC Museum of Life + Science.

NCMLS is one of the few places that I can spend 5 hours with the kids and never get bored.

Tired? Yes.

Bored? No.

The variety of activities is vast. So much to see and do outside. So much to see and do inside. If all three of us were not getting cranky, we could have stayed at least another two hours!

We started outside on the Dinosaur trail digging for fossils and such...Then we checked out some of the wildlife: black bears, lemurs, wolves and even dragon flies...We caught the wind and flew like a bird in the ornithopter...
And spent quite a bit of time in the Magic Wings butterfly house...
We took a lunch break in the cafe, where a couple of munchkins got a little silly...
But I got to snap pictures of my most favorite pairs of blue and hazel eyes...

Then we headed to the playground where Will did some running around and Eliza Grace worked on her steel drum skills...
Then we headed indoors for all the other exhibits, where I apparently decided I was done taking pictures.

We are all looking forward to heading there again later this fall. And next time we will let Scott come too!

Mom Says the Darndest Things

The other day Will was getting frustrated trying to find the right part to go on a Star Wars Lego ship/speeder/walker thingy.

He stumbled upon the right piece, which was apparently in an obvious location, and then exclaimed, "Jeez Louise, it was right in front of me!"

I laughed because I say "Jeez Louise" all the time. So I started to wonder what other words or phrases I say all the time that my kids have picked up.

With a little trepidation, I asked them.

Apparently, the following are my most commonly spoken phrases:

"Jeez Louise."

"Holy Schneikees!" (not sure of the official spelling of that one)

"Calm down!"

"Oh my goodness."

"Lovely" (said in a low, sarcastic tone)

"Oh my gah."

"Give me a smoochie, lovey"

"Not so loud, please."

"You are pushing it!"

"Yes, my love?"

"I beg your pardon?" (Said with the accompanying stink eye in an effort to have my children rephrase a demand they just made)

"Please Lord Jesus help me____." (fill in the blank. They said I usually say it when I "have had it")

"That's it! No more Wii!"

"Fe Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of a William (or an Eliza Grace-ium)" (this is followed by me chasing them until I catch them and tickle them)

"Come into my web, said the spider to the fly." (Also said to lure them into being tickled.)

"For crying out loud!"

"You know what?" (What?) "I love you."

"Please stop saying that word!" (said after one of them has repeated a word referencing a body part or bodily function a dozen times.)

"Tell me one thing that you learned today."

"Look at me in my good eye."

"Am I right or am I right?"

In addition, I apparently have an annoying habit of bursting into song corresponding to a recently spoken word. Example: Eliza Grace tells me she wants to ride horses and I start singing, "Wiiiiilllld horses, couldn't drag me awaaaay." And it drives Eliza Grace crazy that I can rarely tell them the actual name of the song or know all the words. Now that I know it bugs her, you can rest assured I will continue doing it with glee.

Anyhoo, I am not sure what the list above really says about me as a Mom, but I am glad to see they could come up with a few things that were on the positive side!

Rollin', Rollin', Rollin'

Keep them rollers rollin'
Scott is tired of rollin'Who's gonna put up the wainscoting'? Oh my!

(Note in the above that Scott already has the TV back up on the wall. Whew, I was so worried we would not be able to sit in the tub without a television! [Read with dripping sarcasm, please.] )

Could it be, could it be?

Is that primer, tape and paint I see?

Victory in the Jungle

The combat phase of Operation Leave the Jungle is complete.

The vines fought the good fight but in the end our sheer determination and a $25 steamer brought them to their knees.

Let's just take a look at what we accomplished in 9 days, shall we?

Before:
After: Before: After (with some test paint colors reflected in the closet mirror,
we are going with the darker one!):
Before:

After:

The other day Scott asked, "What has gotten into you with all the redecorating projects all the sudden?!"

Me thinks he is getting tired of being conscripted as height-advantaged slave labor to support my schemes. However, the next logical step is to paint the upper portion of the walls, an activity in which he will be heavily involved!