Bad Parenting

Thanks, Sandra W. for the laugh! :o)

A little cowboy humor for your monday morning...

Evolving

I took this picture of Todd last Friday, before he left for an all-day trailride. Notice the gloves hanging out of his back pocket. He's all decked out and ready to go with his new hat, new boots, and my favorite--the Aspen Ranch belt buckle. His friend, "Bruceter" (another therapist at the ranch), is going to help him make a pair of chinks (the leather things that protect a cowboy's legs) because (as Todd says), "If I'm going to ride a horse 4 times a year..."

PS- I added the mustache on Photoshop

Before, during, and after pics of the bathroom

This is what our bathroom looked like when we first moved in:

We learned a lot with our "first remodel" of this bathroom. I don't have any pictures of it, but we put laminate floor in, and painted the walls with the wrong kind of paint. (latex paint with a satin finish over 30 yr. old oil-based paint doesn't work so well). Before too long, Dillon tried to flush something and the toilet overflowed and we got water under the floor. It dried in a few days, but left the laminate warped. Then our paint started peeling and cracking anywhere and everywhere that it got moist (which is a bit hard to avoid in the bathroom).

After our toilet leaked all through the night last week, we ripped out the laminate flooring, and then part of the sub-floor that needed to be replaced. Our toilet spent some time in the tub...thank heavens for a toilet downstairs, even though there still aren't walls!

We also painted the cabinets and re-painted the walls and the ceiling using a bathroom primer, and then a high quality semi-gloss paint with an additive to resist mildew.

We are finally almost finished! I just need to put the final coat of paint on the cabinets (they're just primed right now). They'll be off-white. Oh, and we're going to get a white shade for the window. The flooring is a new product called Allure. It is a floating floor (like laminate) only it's linoleum that seals off so it can't get water under it. It was super easy to install--I did a third of it by myself! Only time will tell whether we like it, but it got good reviews online, so we decided to try it.

I still need to touch up a few spots on the wall where I worked my magic with a putty knife :o)

I'm 30

Well, folks--it happened. I turned 30 yesterday. I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

The following is a list of "age-appropriate" activities for 30 yr. olds.

I can now:

...go to Macy's and try on a few holiday themed cardigan sweaters.
...buy a coordinating pin to go with the sweater.
...take a fiber laxative (but only after I purchase it using a manufacturer's coupon).
...buy myself a new, age appropriate swimsuit.
...test drive my dream mini-van...oh wait, I already own it.
...order a nice, new pair of mom-jeans from JC Penney or Sears.
...treat myself to a short, easy-to-manage haircut.
...clean my house to the soothing sounds of Kenny G, and other favorites from Lite FM100.
...have my kids teach me how to take a picture using my cell phone.
...purchase TUMS in bulk from Costco
...buy a pair of nylons to wear with my open-toe sandals

After reading through this list, I have to tell you that the thing that gives me the MOST satisfaction, is that between February of this year, and November of 2009, the following people will all have joined with me in this new "30's" club: my bro-in-law Michael, my cousin Michael, my sis-in-law Melece, my sis-in-law Becky, my sis-in-law Elizabeth, my sis-in-law Cherish, my cousin Heidi, my friends Tricia, Cami, and Melanie, and my brother Tyler.

Red-rover, red-rover, OUR young years are over...and teenagers everywhere think WE are old.

Most of this post is taken from a post on The Lawson's Do Dallas in August 2007.

The latest in Graves world

Well, first of all, when I went to download pictures from the camera, it became apparent that someone has been using my camera....even though he has his own now. I think he was spinning in circles while he took this one.

Uncle Ty, is there a math problem we can do to figure out how tall the person is who took the picture from this angle?

We stacked the bunkbeds

I "scored" a quilt on clearance for the top bunk (we only have two that match since I made them before Dillon was born). It was the right color of blue, and cost a whopping $25. I couldn't have made it for twice that--not to mention the quilting time.

We also organized the closet

We built Dillon's "wagon wheel bed" and brought this chest of drawers up from the basement. The boys wanted a cactus in their room, so we went to Wally-World and bought one (you can see it on the dresser).
I love pictures of shoes lined up, so I had to get a shot of the boys' cowboy boots :o)

We painted the "barn door" and the "hen house" yesterday, and next we're going to put white molding around the outside of the closet doors. We're getting a better stuffed chicken or rooster for the "hen house" soon, and we'll add some raffia for hay. We're looking for a really small weather vane to put on top if anyone knows where we can get one...

In other news, our grass head people got new "do's", and Todd got a new bonsai tree. It's called a pony-tail palm, and the "curliness" of the leaves makes me smile every time I look at it.

Our toilet leaked all night last night and caused a "mell-of-a-hess". I think we may have to replace the floor boards. We needed to paint the cabinets and re-paint the walls anyway, but it wasn't exactly on the schedule for this week.
Todd left church after Sacrament meeting to come home and rip out our laminate floors. We won't do that in a bathroom again, 'cause this is the third time we've gotten water under it. Now we have the lovely old linoleum floor until we rip it up. It's a good thing we have a toilet downstairs. I'm sure wishing we had the shower and sink put in down there...
We found a new recipe that we like. It's called Brownie crackles. They are very easy, and very good. It's more for dark chocolate lovers, but I do like them (and I'm on the milk choc. side).
Brownie Crackles

1 package fudge brownie mix (13x9 size)
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips
confectioners sugar

In a mixing bowl, combine brownie mix, flour, egg, water, and oil; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Place confectioners' sugar in a shallow dish. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls into sugar; roll to coat. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 4 1/2 dozen (or 1 serving :o)

Who stole the cookies from the cookie jar?

Upcoming events in our household:

- Re-do the bathroom upstairs

- Finish the bathroom downstairs

- Build window boxes

-Till the garden

-Finish painting the outside trim and our new doors

-Plant grass in the backyard (it died last year when we didn't water it for a couple months).

-Trip to Logan to see Beauty and the Beast for my birthday

-Todd's thesis is being presented at UAMFT (Utah Association for Marriage and Family Therapists) conference in a couple weeks!

-HMQS (Home machine quilting show) will probably have to take a back seat this year 'cause there's just too much going on :o( .

-I'm WAY behind in quilting. Would anyone like to take my kids for a couple months so I can catch up? I've got 18 quilts right now, and one lady has been waiting since last July.

-Speaking of kids, their Spring Festival is this Thursday, and I've got to make 12 statue of liberty costumes for the kindergarteners...

-School is out on May 23rd. I've got mixed emotions about this. On one hand, we will have three months of homework free nights. On the other hand, I can't even imagine what our food bill is going to be. My least favorite words these days are: "I'm Hungry". And then there's the problem of having "helpers" all day long. Thank heaven's for a "humpaline".

Before and "Middle"

I finally decided to get up off my duff and start working on the boys' room. I've got tons of paint sitting in the basement, and it's way past time to get it on the walls! Here's Dillon "helping" me take down the lovely ABC 123 bunny border. It took 3 hours and even though it wasn't fun, it wasn't as bad as I thought. Here's their closet...I pulled down the wood paneling, and along with it some of the sheetrock. It's a good thing I'm becoming so good with putty and a knife :o)
We're far from finished, but this is what we've got so far:

The closet doors are in the process of being painted like a barn. We've got darling cowboy pictures with the red "capitol reef-ish" looking rock in the background, and SO many idea's that I'm about to burst. I'll post pictures when we get it all done.

The boys closet is a little disorganized right now, but oh how I love the shelves Todd built! It's amazing how much stuff we can fit in there now.

Even though my house has fallen apart this week, it's been fun to actually make some of my idea's "come to life". I made their bed quilts back in 2003 before I had my quilting machine, and I've been dreamin' up idea's ever since. If only there were 36 hours in a day...

Beauty and the Beast

Hi everyone!

My dad is directing Beauty and the Beast at the Ellen Eccles Theater in Logan, and I thought I'd pass along a picture of "Belle's" ball gown that my mom made.
The show dates are: April 25, 26, 28, 30, and May 1, 2, 3, and 5th. On April 26th there is a "tea party" with Belle for little girls ($7.50) where you get refreshments and a picture with Belle. There is a matinee on May 3rd. Tickets range from $10-$17 and are available at the Ellen Eccles Theater Box Office. Children ages 5 and up are welcome to attend.