5 Senses Tag

I thought I would participate in Friend Makin Monday over at Kasey's. It's a 5 senses tag. We are to list 4 things we love, and one thing we dislike, for each category. Here we go:

Smell:

Likes:

1. Lavender: I'm into aromatherapy and this is my all-time favorite essential oil! It's soo relaxing!

2. Coconut/Hawaiian Tropic Suntan Lotion: It reminds me of relaxing in the sun!

3. Johnson and Johnson Baby Lotion: Reminds me of snuggly with my boys when they were babies.

4. The smell of rain on a warm summer night.

Dislike:

Dirty diapers that have been marinating for a few days in the baby diaper pail! Yuck! Thank goodness that emptying it is my husband's job! ;)

Touch:

Likes:

1. The cool feel of sand on my feet.

2. A baby's soft furry little head.

3. Paste...the kind that you dip a stick into that you used back in elementary school! Do they still make that?

4. Silk polyester material that cheap nightgowns are made of. When I was little my mom cut a piece of her nightgown and I used it as a security type blanket. I just loved that material! I called it my "silky!"

Dislike:
Sheeps wool when they're wearing it (it feels kind of dirty and weird).

Taste:

Likes:

1. Hot sauce! You can never have too much hot sauce!

2. Coconut (the flavor-not actual coconut...I don't like the gritty consistency).

3. Sour tasting things like lime and lemon.

4. Coffee!

Dislike: Beer....YUCK!

Sound:

Likes:

1. My boys singing.

2. Piano music.

3. The sound that a rotary telephone makes as you dial it! Reminds me of my grandparent's house. You should see the pink rotary phone that's going to be in my kitchen (gasp)!

4. Cuckoo Clocks- another sound that reminds me of my grandparent's house. I actually have one in my home now for the memories!

Dislike: Hearing my 2 year old scream....it's ear piercing!

Sight:

Likes:

1. A clean house.

2. Seeing my boys smile.

3. Richard Gere! Now that's a sight I like to see! What tag isn't complete without a Richard Gere reference! lol

4. Seeing my husband have fun with our boys!

Dislike:

Seeing people make fun of others.

Curious George & Dorothy the Dinosaur Get Married!

My three-year-old Ben comes off with the funniest things sometimes! I thought I would share with you his latest!

Tonight he came to me with his two stuffed animals and he handed me Curious George. He said: "You be Curious George and I'll be Dorothy the Dinosaur." I said: "For what?" And he said: "They're going to marry."

My neice Jenn, who Ben absolutely adores, is getting married in a couple weeks- and Ben must have been hearing all of the wedding talk. So I explained to him a little about the wedding and what to expect. And at the end I took the two stuffed animals and I said: "Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Curious George!" I then made the two animals kiss. Ben thought this was funny and he said: "They're going to get married and all kinds of stuff!" And I asked: "What do you mean- all kinds of stuff?"

And he said: "They're going to have tea parties!"LOL

So I guess in a three-year-olds mind marriage is about tea parties! lol I wish it were that fun and simple!

On another note, Ben is fully potty trained! As you know from my previous post he was only doing #1 in the potty. Well a few days after Easter he got the hang of doing #2! Finally! Wooohoooo!

It makes life a lot easier! He's 38 pounds, and that's a little heavy to be lifting on the changing table several times a day!

One down- one to go!

Have a great night!
-Ruth Ann

Decorating Help Needed!

We have been totally remodeling our home over the past three years! I'm not talking just new flooring or painting...I mean gutting! For example, there were times when I could be standing in the bathroom and look through the floor into our basement which is two floors below!

The upstairs of our home is about 90% completed! Finally!

For three years we have been living in constant clutter and disorganization! I absolutely hate it! The reason we live in such chaos is because while we're remodeling one part of the house, we have it's contents in another area and thus cluttering the liveable areas! My husband is doing all of the work himself (that's the reason that it's taken so long)! His full-time job leaves little time for remodeling.

One great thing about remodeling is being able to totally redesign your home! For example, we had a little room upstairs which was very very tiny. It was what we used as the baby's room. This room is right above our stairs. As we gutted it, we fell in love with the open feeling that it had. It made the room seem so much bigger. As a joke I said it would be cool if we left it open without the front wall. As my husband and I thought about the idea, we decided to do just that! It became our "loft." We put a railing up where the wall would go and it's directly over our staircase. It's a really cool room actually. It's sort of a library/computer room.

I wanted this "loft" to be a place where I could go and relax. The window faces our back yard and looks directly into a huge tree. I love this tree! This tree always has the most beautiful blue jays in it. I decided that I wanted to create a window seat where I could go to unwind, read, and meditate. So my husband built me a window seat. And on either side of the window seat built into the wall are shelves that houses the computer and books. I also bought a cute chaise lounge for in the room and an electric fireplace. It's a great room to escape to, and it's the last room to be completed in our upstairs. I cannot wait, and will share it with you once it's completed!

Anyway, since the whole house has been remodeled it's been bare. It has very few decorations up on the walls. I am in desperate need of decor! I either have it and it's not hung, or I am in the process of making it, which is taking forever! So I figured I would start in my youngest son's room. I want to complete one room at a time, so I'm going to start there.

The inspiration for his room came from this cute comforter bed in a bag set that I found at Walmart. It's from their new "Organic Bedding" line. Check it out...isn't it adorable? And the sheets have little paw prints and acorns on it! Too cute!

Another inspiration for the animal themed room are these alphabet flashcards that I found in the scrapbook section of Michaels Craft Store. Each card is approximately 5x7 and they feature the animals from A-Z! If you are interested in purchasing the cards for yourself they are $6.99 and are made by K & Company. They are a little pricey, but remember to use your 40% off coupon!
I bought two sets. I wanted one set for decorating and the other for learning! The back of these cards have facts about the animal on them, which makes them extra cool! Here are a couple of my favorite cards:I figured that these cards would be soo cute if they were each hung in 5x7 frames. What I originally planned was to buy 26 cheap frames and spray paint them different bold colors and group them on the wall as a collage. But the more I thought about it, 26 is ALOT and would take up the entire wall most likely! Not to mention the cost of 26 frames. But I still love the idea of the bold frames and these prints on the wall. What do you think? Is 26 is that too many?

I did think of framing possibly my favorite 10 or so and hanging them on the wall around a large letter "A" for Alex? Wouldn't that be cute? I even thought about using the letters to spell Alex and framing just those. What do you think I should do with these cards? Any ideas?

I'm also planning to use my Cricut machine to make a framed sign of his name. I have the "Zooballoo" cartridge and planned on using it to create a sign for on his wall or door.

I also wanted to paint some whimsical animals on canvases to go with the comforter and alphabet cards. I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to paint until I was lying in bed last night. I decided to paint the exact animals that are on his comforter. I figured this way they would go together and make everything look uniformed. What do you think about that?

I love whimsical things and love bright colors. I really wanted to make his room pop! He absolutely loves his new comforter and actually looks forward to going to bed at night now!

What kind of things do you think would look cute in an animal themed room?

Wow...not sure if I can handle this!

It looks like we will probably be giving away our new puppy Dixie! I am so broken up about it! She is the first puppy that we had since we had children, and we didn't realize how much it would impact our lives! With two toddlers our life is chaotic enough, what were we thinking bringing a puppy into our home?! I feel like a horrible person, but she's just not working out with our family. I've always thought that Golden Retrievers were laid back (we had two of them) but Dixie is extremely wild! I think that besides her being a puppy, the kids probably get her way too excited!

Benjamin asked the other day if we could give her away. He said that he's tired of being scratched, and tired of her chewing his toys! Alex was scratched the other day right under his eye and it bled. I know she's just a puppy, but I think our kids right now are too young to have such a big dog around. Especially one who is always biting at them, scratching them, and jumping up on them.

I want her to go to a good home. No one really wants her because she's already 4 months old. At least nobody wants to pay much for her. I think she would be better off with another family. I cannot give her the time that she needs and deserves at this point in her life. I just feel soo badly about giving her away! If she were a person she wouldn't be given away like this and that's what makes it soo hard. I know she's just a dog, but she is so special and amazing that I feel like a terrible mom and dog owner to do this. What do you think?

I'm just soo stressed out being a stay at home mom with the kids, but this is a much added stress. As I'm writing this I am crying, I will probably have to make the decision tomorrow and it's just too hard for me to do. So if I'm not online for a couple of days you'll know why.

-Ruth Ann