sweet bedtime bliss

nothing more to say

Cream White Tug-o-War

Here's the latest progress on Jason's table. Ok, it's really my table because he's making it for me. How about our table. That sounds better.


I feel like we've reenacted the scene from Sleeping Beauty where the Fairy Godmothers fight over which color the dress should be. So as the prince and Aurora are dancing the final romantic dance, the two fairies fight between blue and pink.

That has been Jason and I between white and cream. He wanted it white and I wanted it cream. My tendency in decorating is to brown, cream, tan. I love those warm neutrals. Jason wanted it white. The trim and doors in the house are white, and the crisp white look reminds me of the Pottery Barn lines that are so cute. (It's not that I don't like white, but...) Can you see who won? Yes, the table is white, but I'm hoping that with some gel stain and some sanding it will come to look more like I wanted. :)

All Smiles

Lainey is smiling and talking so much now. I love this stage. You smile and then they smile; they coo and then you coo, and you keep going back and forth.

Best Feature #9

Okay, so this one isn't actually a feature of the house, just something that we've started here. Laundry Baskets. We found these great tubs at Home Depot and decided they'd work great for the dirty clothes that I find strewn all over their rooms. Now they know where to put their clothes and when I ask them to empty their laundry baskets, they know what to do. Emma and Paul both have spontaneously emptied their baskets without being told. Love it! The only thing that bothers me is that Ben uses theirs as a stepping stool to get into the high cupboard that he's not supposed to have access to. AAAAHHH!

Emma's Restaurant

Welcome to Emma's Restaurant.
Currently seating four.

Sorry the quality is bad, my camera wasn't working right.

The kids played with the plastic food for several hours today. They made dinner for each other and for me. They shared and pretended so well together. It was nice! Emma decided that she wanted to have a restaurant and then play a movie. Dinner and a show - who can go wrong with that? It was cute. She had us use pieces from Connect Four for coins to pay for dinner and the movie. Then she gave us foam blocks as our tickets to get in. Here they are eating their actual dinner in the restaurant. We're taking reservations if any one is interested.

The Boys

These guys have become really good friends. I think I'm going to refer to them as "The Boys" from now on. We have Deputy Kurt Berry on the left, Jason in the middle (of course), and Officer Jason Gilbert on the right.

It was so much fun to get together for dinner. The Boys' days off miraculously coincided so we took advantage of it. We finally got to meet Jason Gilbert's wife and kids, who we have heard so much about. The kids played great together and we enjoyed good food, great conversation, and yummy homemade ice cream. So much fun!

Kurt made these wonderful mini cheeseburgers for our BBQ. They even brought mini buns from Costco. They were so much fun that even Paul tried one. I want to plan another dinner party just so we can have these mini burgers again. Don 't they look great?!

Date Night

I thought about adding babysitters to my list of best features for Othello in general. We were so spoiled in Second Ward because of the wonderful young women who babysat for us. So I called on one of our little angels for tonight since Jason had the day off. We came home to a quiet house and this is what I saw out the Kitchen window. They were all being so good and quiet having a grand time.

Best Feature #8

The shop is Best Feature #8!

Isn't he so thrilled that I'm taking a picture? Ha!

I mentioned this already, but now it ranks in my best feature list because he's already been hard at work out there. Here's a little preview of the console table that Jason is making for me. It's just about finished and ready to be painted. I can't wait. Cream with some brown paint or stain distressing or Barn red?

Best Feature #7

Our refrigerator.

Yes, you get to see inside my fridge.
Don't look too closely. :)

We've always had a refrigerator with the freezer above the fridge. Well, here's why I like them side by side:

1. My kids can no longer pull beverages out of the fridge and pour themselves a glass all over the floor.

2. There's a neat little ice cube and water dispenser in the front. I make it sound like some brand new invention on purpose. We've never had one before, therefore, new and wonderful. I love being able to get good tasting cold water and fast. I like that my kids can get themselves a drink when they want one. I thought we'd have a lot of messes in the kitchen, but not really.

3. Number two leads to number three - I threw out our Brita water dispenser. It needed to go and now we don't have to purchase a new one. Who remembered to change the filters on that thing anyway. Now my sisters and mother will actually drink my water when they come visit. Apparently nothing beats Mattawa well water. :)

Now my kids get into the otter pops instead of the drinks. Drives me crazy just the same. They love it!

Holding Hands

I think Paul could hold Lainey's hand all day and be happy. He loves to pry her fingers up, you know the baby death grip, and slip his thumb or fingers into her hand. Paul was helping Jason and I move things in the garage from one end to the other. Lainey was in her bouncer in the middle so we could work and keep an eye on her. Every time Paul passed her he would stoop and hold her hand, then continue on his way. When he comes in from playing, he finds Lainey so he can hold her hand. Sometimes he stays, and other times he holds on for a little and then runs off again. When I'm feeding Lainey, he comes and sits next to me to hold her hand. He'll even search down in her blanket and pull her hand out because she must be in want of someone to hold it. When I'm holding Lainey on my hip, Paul reaches up to hold her hand. In her car seat, in the crib, or lying on the floor Paul is usually there for a second or two at a time holding Lainey's hand. That's why I thought this picture was so funny. Even in the moving swing Paul needed to hold her hand.