Counting Down...

Our summer is winding down and the countdowns have begun.

There are 4 days until Austin's 12th birthday

There are 21 days until the first (full) day of school.

Austin will have to go for 1/2 a day on Friday the 12th,

but we are not counting that.

And 40 days until

Kick-Off of the 2011

SEC Football Season

WAR EAGLE!

Each event is exciting and a little sad as well.

Austin is growing up so fast and changing every day.

He is turning into a fine young man but can

annoy the stew out of his little brother at the same time!

School is going to be different this year too.

Austin is no longer an "Elementary" student.

No more holiday parties, no more Field Day.

It's all hard work from here on out.

The countdown to football season is the most exciting.

For those of you who are reading and are not from the south,

SEC football is something spectacular.

Football in the south has, for may years,

determined family vacations, wedding dates, and any event

that might possibly fall on a Saturday!

You don't mess with Saturdays...

you just don't!

Austin is ready to Tailgate and I think that is about

time that Jackson is introduced to some

AUBURN FOOTBALL

So, it's time to get some

birthday shopping done,

some back to school shopping done,

and start shopping for some

ORANGE AND BLUE

I also have a little crafty project for my front door

to celebrate this upcoming football season.

I have a few finishing touches to add to it

and then it will ready to bring in the football season.

 

Check This...Add that...

As this week is coming to an end, I am happy with the

progress we have made.

We have gotten a lot of "little" things done and

that feels good!  Now, we can plan out the

big projects and make our list of priorities.

I have also learned this week that Scott is willing to

do almost anything I ask him to do

handy man wise...I just have to ask him.

He can't read my mind, although after 17 years

he should...just kidding...sort of.

Here is a picture of my little laundry sign

I told you about earlier this week.

I put the vinyl sticker on and was ready to hang it

and Scott said

"You are going to put a clear coat over it aren't you"

blank stare as if to say, umm No?

and then he clarified...

"this needs to have a clear coat put on it"

OK

So, tomorrow I am going to put a little coat of poly over

my cute little sign so it will last and last.

Another little project to check off the list is the labels

I have wanted to make for my pantry shelves.

I have thought I would use paint stir sticks

and have him trim them down, but I needed a lot of them.

Scott came up tonight with a handful of these little pieces of happiness.

He is so good!

Tomorrow they will get a little coat of chalkboard paint

and hopefully I can show you another little

project off the ol' list!

Another project that I don't have pictures of yet

is one that we came up with for Jackson's room.

I had seen this idea over at

iHeart Organizing

Jen had used some old dresser drawers on casters

for some under bed storage for her boy's room.

I was talking to Scott about the possibility of

doing something like that for Jackson's room,

but we didn't have a dresser that we could steal

any drawers from.  What we did have was a lot

of scrap lumber.  He had used some for my little laundry

sign above.  I said I wasn't picky, it would all be painted out,

so whatever he had would be fine.

The boards have been cut, just have to find the time to

put them all together.

So, I have one more day to put him to work

and then it is back to his paying job for a little rest.

School starts back 3 weeks from today,

so I am sure that some back to school shopping is in order in

the next few days.  School supplies and new school clothes.

Well, off to bed for one more day of work tomorrow.

It has been a great week of getting things done,

but even better spending a week at home with Scott.



Check This and Check That...

Well, we have been busy all week checking off items on our list.

Some projects we have moved off the short list and

put them back on the long list.

We have also come up with a few new ideas to add to the list,

but we are making progress and that is the main goal.

This may be my longest and most boring post ever,
so get a cup of coffee,
take a seat,
and hang in there.

We are finally done with staining the deck and I am

really happy with how it turned out.

I am also really happy with my

birthday present...

Scott bought me this pretty wicker set.

It is PVC wicker so hopefully it will stand up to the

weather better than traditional wicker.

I am on the hunt for cushions.  The store we bought them at

had lots of cushion, but if they had one for the love seat, they wouldn't

have cushions for the chairs and vice versa...

and Scott was not loving the lime green zebra stripe set.

Hopefully we will find some cushions soon

and we can check that off the list. 

This local store keeps this style of furniture year round and I

have already made my list of pieces that I want to add

over the next year or so.

There is a tall, bar height bistro table that I would like to put

in the corner upstairs and eventually I would like to

add the dining set and a swing downstairs.

A little at a time and hopefully it will last for years to come.

Moving inside, we have been marking projects off the list.

Austin has needed a book shelf in his room, but with his furniture

there is not a lot of room left.

We had some MDF left over from Jackson's

board and batten project so Scott whipped him

up a little shelf that will sit in his closet.

A couple of coats of white paint and it's ready to go.

Austin even painted it himself!

Another quick project I had for Scott

was to cut a board for me to put

a little vinyl sticker on for the Laundry room.

It says

"Laundry...Loads of Fun"

ha ha

I really do not find any part of the laundry fun...

but the sign is going to look cute.

As soon as the paint dries I am going to put

the vinyl on and hang it above the sink and

then we can check that one off the list.

Since Scott was working on my little sign I decided

to start in the laundry room.

(not to mention that we couldn't walk through the back door)

My laundry room is really not a room.

It is more of a pass through coming in the back door.

There is a lot of cabinet storage but as far as a

place to store baskets and dirty clothes,

it is lacking.  Well, it had become a dumping ground for junk

and also the place where clothes were hung to dry,

but never were taken to the closet where they belonged.

But not any more....

all of the junk has been picked up

and put away...or thrown away.

Clean counters....ahh

Oh, and check this out...

EMPTY SHELVES!!!!

I need to go back and move the shelves

on the right down a notch...this photo is giving me a twitch.

Glorious, empty shelves...

I also combined all of the cleaning supplies in one place,

hopefully after I use up the 4 cans of carpet cleaner,

3 cans of toilet cleaner, and umpteen bottles of

"all purpose cleaner"

this will be all nice and organized too.

and yes...two EMPTY cabinets on either side of the sink!

Not only did I find a lot of change laying around the

laundry room, I also found several rolled coins that

we had rolled several years ago.

When we moved in, they were put in the cabinet and forgotten.

But, they are now going to be used to open savings accounts

for the boys.  Austin was pretty excited about that.

(Another thing to check off the list)

We even pulled out the washer and dryer

and vacuumed behind them and cleaned out

all the hangers, socks, and umm  general yuck that was

behind there.  I highly suggest that if you haven't

pulled out your washer and dryer and cleaned behind them

in a while...yeah, you might want to do that.

WOW...it was not a pretty sight!

But, now it's another thing checked off the list.

Ahh, it feels good to get that done...

but we are not done yet.

On to Jackson's room.

His closet had become a mess.

Is there a floor in there?

Jackson loves to play in the closet and lately

he has made a big ol' mess.

So after a little clean out and sort through,

the closet floor has reappeared and

another box of stuff has been loaded into the garage for

the big yard sale! Whoo hoo!!

Definitely an improvement.

I still need to sort through some of his clothes

and see what is going to fit this fall, but for now,

I am happy with seeing the floor.

We spent some time going through his toys today.

Packed up a lot of stuff that he doesn't play with anymore

and made plans for some storage boxes to put under his bed.

These plans involve some power tools.

Scott likes plans like that.

I told him if he would build them, I would paint them.

So, while one project gets taken off the list,

another one is added.

Funny how it always seems to work like that.

Once Jackson's closet was done,

we moved Austin's new shelf into his.

Fits like a dream...

now he just has to go through all of his books

and sort out what stays and what goes.

Yep...another thing to check off the ol' list!

Another thing, that is not exciting at all

(not that any of this post has just kept you

on the edge of your seat or anything)

was to carry out all of the things that have been

collecting in the dining room floor for the yard sale.

WOW...that's a lot of stuff.  I have been pricing it as I go,

so all we'll have to do is set it out and hopefully someone

will take it all away.

We have also been trying to check off a few outside

projects off the list as well.

But, they are limited to early morning hours.

In case you have been under a rock,

it's HOT outside.  We have had several days near 100 with

the heat index between 105-110.

Needless to say, I don't do much outside when it's

that hot.  Well, truth be told, I don't do much outside anyway, HA!

Austin is my early riser so he has been helping Scott early in the mornings

weeding the flower beds and trimming up some of the shrubs.

Scott worked on this little area by the garage this morning.

He trimmed up the crape myrtle and cleaned out this "grass" stuff.

I don't remember what it is called but it has gotten over grown and

just looks nasty, so we decided to pull it out.

Scott finished this side and it looks so much better.

We are trying to figure out what to plant in the corners,

but for now I think I like the clean look.

If it cools off, the boxwood's need a haircut.

And the Nandinas definitely need to be reigned in.

If you ever decided you want to plant a Nandinas...

DON'T.

These silly bushes have taken off and grow by leaps and bounds.

They also grow out...the silly little roots go everywhere.

You start to pull up a straggly little piece and it runs

clear across the shrub bed.

And they are tough to pull out.

It usually requires a hatchet.

I really do not like these silly little (HUGE) bushes!

I am trying to keep my flowers alive in all of this heat,

but I don't think I am doing so well.

Today I tried to clean up my petunia's on the front porch.

They were looking a little sad, so I tried pulling out some of the

sad, dying little spots.

Well...they apparently were connected to some still healthy

and flowers blooming spots.

So one still looks nice and full

and the other...

Not so much.

I guess I still have a lot to learn. HA!

Well, if you are still reading and have not fallen asleep,

you win a prize.

If I have totally bored you to death,

come back again, I promise it will be more fun.

I think...

Well, I am off to bed.

More items to check off the list tomorrow.

It has been nice having Scott home this week to help

get some things done.

Hopefully, we can start the school year off on the right foot.

Organized house, schedule, and get going with a

good routine...it's all part of the plan.

That's the first step, right.

At least have a plan.



I'm Making a List....

and checking it twice!

No, I am not talking about a Christmas list.

Although, I am not too far off from making that one.

Scott is taking the week off and we are going into

project mode around here!

It is time to finish things that have been left undone...

general pick up and clean out to get ready to join

in one of my friends family yard sale.

It's going to be BIG!!

I have gone room by room

and made a list from small projects

to HUGE projects!

Scott has looked over my list and already said

a few things are NOT going to happen...

ever!

But he didn't fall over and pass out at the rest.

And, in his defense, some of them were a little

far out there.

Like replacing both of the doors in the boys

Jack-and-Jill bath with pocket doors.

So I have my Huge list and I have

whittled it down to a few projects in each room

that I want to accomplish this week.

Then I will continue on my little list

one project at a time...

Hopefully, I'll be able to take some photos

of our progress this week.

I have already hit the laundry room and almost

finished my projects in there...

but I'm sorry, I didn't grab my camera as
Scott was trying to pull my washer and dryer out to clean

behind it...

I didn't think he would see the humor in my statement...

"Hang on and let me get the camera...I need to Blog this..."

He's good, but not that good.

So, I need to get back to work!

I'll post my To-Do list in a little while and

show you what we've done so far...

and my pile of JUNK that I have collected for

the big yard sale in a couple of weeks.

Boy, we've got a lot of junk!

Dish Giveaway!!!

Who could pass up free dishes???

Not me.

Confessions of a Plate Addict

is having a Pfaltzgraff giveaway!

She posted a tablescape using the
"Heritage" Pfaltzgraff dishes and mixed it with beautiful

blue and yellow accents.  The table is just beautiful.

I now feel like I need to pull these dishes out of the cabinet

and find some accents to mix with them

(shhh ...don't tell Scott).

But she is also giving away a new pattern from Pfaltzgraff.

It is a beautiful white set with a shell pattern embossed around the

rim of the dishes.  They are very beautiful.

Hope on over to her blog and leave her a comment for

your chance to win.

Good Luck!

Oh Happy Day!!!

We are getting a new shopping center in Madison

It is going to have a new Target store,

which I was VERY excited about.

I love Target, but do not have one very close,

so it is always a "special" trip to get there.

But...even more exciting than a new Target store...

we are getting a....

(drum roll please....)

Oh yes, I am one happy girl!

Scott sent me a photo of the rest of the stores that will be going into

the shopping center, but I actually squealed when I saw

HomeGoods!!!

He asked me later if I had gotten his e-mail and

I shared my excitement over the new store...

he was more excited about Moe's and the new Pizza place.

Now to just find out the when they will open...

I may need to find a sitter for Jackson,

I feel a loooong shopping trip will be in order

that day!  May need to start saving now!

Christmas in July

While on our trip to the mountains,
Bonny and I were able to sneak away for a few hours,
without kids or strollers...
and SHOP!!!!

I have to admit,
while some people enjoy the scenery and mountain drives
when they visit the Smokey Mountains,
the highlight of my trip
is the view of the Outlet Mall!!!

And this is one of my favorite stores!

I could have spent a very large amount of money in there...

and come out with a lot of fun stuff...

but I refrained...

except for this.

I could not resist.

I looked around at all of the different peices

they had for sale,

even left the store and thought about it for a while,

but came back to let this little punch bowl follow me home.

It was on sale for $59.99.

It retailed for $139.00

And...I got to use a 10% mobile coupon from my

handy dandy little phone.

So now I am ready to have a little Christmas get together

and use all of my holiday china.

 

It will be so pretty with red punch in it.

I also have officially started my Christmas Shopping
as of today!!!
First gift has been ordered and will
be delivered in 7-10 business days.
AND it will be wrapped as soon as it comes in!

I'm telling you, I am going to be ahead of the game this year!

Quick Getaway...and a drop off...

We are back from a quick trip to the mountains.

We spent the weekend with our friends The Black's

at her parents cabin in the Smokey Mountains.

We had a great time.

It was nice to get away and just relax.

No schedule, nowhere we had to be...

just fun times with friends.

We took a trip to Metcalf Bottoms and let the kids

play in the water for a little while.

The big boys had a contest to see how

many times they could skip a rock across the stream.

I think Scott won with 5...

We were even able to snap a few pics of all of the kids...

looking in the same direction...all at the same time!!!

Here is an action shot of Scott...he kept trying to get more than

five skips, but would run out of room and it would skip off into the

woods on the other side.

Jackson was not very particular with his skipping rocks...

he would just pick up and throw any and every rock he laid his hands on!

We made cupcakes one night and let the kids

decorate them for us...

we wound up with a lot of cupcakes...

and a lot of kids asking for cupcakes for breakfast.

We may or may not have let them have one.

The cupcakes we very yummy and the decor was top notch!

There were pool tournaments...

And Wii Volleyball tournaments...

And Air Hockey tournaments between

"Mer-Dot" and "That Boy"

The two littlest spent some time in the slip and slide,

but the weather was so nice that the water fun

was a little cold.

We took a drive through Cades Cove to see if we could

find a bear...

Lacey Beth really wanted to see a bear.

We saw lots of deer...

And more deer...

but not one single bear...

We spent a lot of time hanging out on the porch

and enjoying the breeze.

There were lots of popsicles

and we made homemade Butterfinger Ice Cream

one evening.

The kids even had a little fireworks fun

with some "pops" that

Chief bought for them.

Jackson thought those were fun...

We left the cabin Sunday morning after church and headed to Lebanon, TN

to drop Austin off for a week of Boy Scout Camp.

They are at Camp Boxwell until next Friday...

We all arrived yesterday around 3 o'clock.

The boys quickly got set up in their tents

and then headed out first thing to do their swim test.

All lined up and ready to go...we'll see them again on Friday night...

It's gonna be a long week for me...

No cell phones and no updates on how he is doing...

I know they are going to have a blast,

but I sure do miss him!