In the meantime, we’re making “all day pj day” mandatory.

Having popcorn for dinner.

Spending more time outdoors.

Playing lots and lots of dress up.

And staying up way past our bedtime.

We’re also trying to tackle a few home improvement projects. Our latest project was painting the kitchen. Since most of our house is painted in warm, neutral colors, we decided to paint the kitchen a cheery green.

The kitchen started out like this. Very neutral and boring.

The color we chose (Ryegrass), was a bit greener than we expected, especially with the morning light coming in from the windows.

To tone down the green and add texture, we decided to add curtain panels to the breakfast area window (fabric purchased from fabric.com). At only $10 a yard, the navy and white fabric was a steal! Wish I had fixed (de-fluffed) the panel to the right; the kids play hide in seek in the curtains, so they are always out of whack.

We also changed out the light fixture (remember the flimsy one in the first picture) to something a little more substantial and warm. Next up for the kitchen, crown molding, a subway back splash, and convincing G to paint the kitchen door and the kitchen island black. The list just never ends for sweet G!

With several crumpled lists behind me, I can breath a sigh of relief. Seven days at the beach with G and the kids is more than enough time to recharge this mamas battery.  But before I can post a gazillion pictures of MR playing on the beach or Huttie eating fistfuls of sand, Ive got some catchin’ up to do….

Since my last post, we fenced in the backyard (iron on the front of the house and wood on the sides);

We got a much needed haircut for Huttie. This was his second haircut in two months;

Had dinner with some of our favorite friends;

Rescued “White Tiger”, one of MR’s favorite Little People, from the ball machine. The operation took an hour to preform and involved a few choice words, three screwdrivers and no less than two dozen loose screws;

Got a digital copy of MR’s spring school picture and nearly fainted when we saw how sweet it was;

Spent an afternoon working in the backyard to clear out the woods behind our house.

Not only did we work Gran C and Big Daddy in 90 degree temperatures, but we also sent them home with an overly excited three year old. For four days, MR enjoyed  afternoons swims, story time at the library, and endless amounts of watermelon and marshmallows. Gran C and Big Daddy returned MR on Wednesday evening so that we could get ready for our trip to the beach. We are on day 3 of our family vacation and are having the time of our lives. I’ve already taken over 300 pictures, so I’ve got plenty to share in the days to come!

Since we’re on week 3 of sick kids, we are also willing to pay big bucks to the person that can get our kids well.

Actively seeking a perfectly mannered 3 year old companion for MR. Must like princesses, tutus, bubbles, dogs, and marshmallows.

We’re also in search of a part time baby-holder/entertainer for the little man of the house. Must be patient, seldom grossed out by a constant runny nose, and willing to change dirty diapers.

In need of a cook whose cuisine extends beyond a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal and the Chick-fil-A drivthru.

A temporary stand-in husband who is as sweet as my own, that is willing to play with kids, grill steaks, and kiss boo boos. ** G has had an incredibly busy work week. He’s been pulling all nighters and has worked most of the weekend .**

Until I get my favorite handyman back, I am also looking to acquire 24 hour access to a work crew from HGTV. Must be willing to work for free and help out with children as needed.

In need of an affordable photographer who can capture a good family picture and some sweet sibling pictures of MR and Hutson. A picture where both kids are looking at the camera and fingers are out of nose and mouth.

Remember the last post about my inability to complete my to do list? I’m proud to report that we’re finally making some progress around the Harvey household. Wonder if this has anything to do with the fact that we’ve been out of Lucky Charms for days?

After a few days of fun with Meme and Papa Joe, it was time to get serious. Thanks to them, I was rested and more importantly, well fed with Meme’s famous pork chops, fresh from the garden squash, zucchini, brown rice, biscuits, and peach cobbler. As soon as they left on Wednesday, I put on my big girl panties and got busy.

I did no less than a half a dozen loads of laundry; ironed enough baby clothing to come to the conclusion that I would be a millionaire, with my own personal in-house ironer, if I could invent a true wrinkle-free fabric; and washed so many dishes that I’ve almost decided to make paper plates and plastic cutlery part of our everyday china collection. When the kitchen was done, I moved to the living room and the playroom. And then to the upstairs. I dusted and vacuumed, all while listening to my “midlife crisis playlist” on the iPod (think Katy Perry, Black Eyed Peas, and Lady Gaga). Then I showered. Put on makeup. And did my hair….

By Friday, I was in good spirits. The house, for the most part, was clean, and homemade pancakes were prepared to celebrate MR’s last day of school in the two year old program at First United Methodist. Despite the fact that she woke up with a fever and a horrible cough, I sent my sweet girl to her last day of school and gathered with all of the other overly emotional moms and dads to watch the kids preform the songs and dances that they had learned throughout the year. When it was time to say goodbye, we made a beeline for our favorite Mexican restaurant, in hopes of drowning out the realization that our little girl was growing up way too fast.

Later that evening, G and I returned to our downstairs hallway project. If all goes well, we plan to trim and paint the hallway in the next few days. Last week, G treated himself to a fancy miter saw to complete the transformation. In turn, I treated myself to the benefits of an in-home 24 hour handyman. I suspect that the fancy saw will pay for itself when I tell G all of the plans I have for the house.

A few noteworthy mentions….we’ve started a sticker chart for MR as motivation for being kind, doing chores, and having good behavior. The chart has worked wonders. MR loves picking out her sticker each day and knows that she gets to pick a special treat out when she earns a weeks worth.  Last week, her treat of choice was a trip to the Waffle House. Her choice was her daddy’s dream.

Little Man went to see the eye doctor last week for his blocked tear duct. Since his eye is not getting better on its own, he has a minor, out patient surgery scheduled for June 21. Please pray that the surgery will correct his tear duct and that his mama will remain calm.

I come from a long line of female “self fixers”. My mama is the most notorious of all. Unfortunately, we’re the worst kind of self fixers. We love instant gratification and tend to shy away from fixing things the “right way”. Instead, we prefer to fix things the “fast way”, which usually consists of one of the following: a sharpie marker (to touch-up nicks in dark furniture), a roll of duct table (for just about any and everything), a staple gun (usually to reupholster), a hot glue gun (one of my favorite fast fixers), or a lighter (to seal ribbon/fabric edging).

On Saturday, my fast fixing ways got the best of me. G and I were sitting in the dining room (which we never do), admiring the curtains that we had worked so hard to complete a few weeks earlier. As we sat and talked, I noticed a few pesky threads peeking out of the satin ribbon edging on one of the panels. Immediately, my mind went into fast fixin’ mode. Most would go to the scissors to fix the problem, but I grabbed my trusty old lighter; the one I have used a trillion times to seal the edges of unruly ribbon.

After sealing the edges of the ribbon, G and I walked out of the room. Several seconds later, G heard something and saw “flickering lights” coming out of the dining room.  The next several minutes were a mix of a Saturday Night Live skit and a Dateline story on how to prevent house fires. When I entered the room, G had ripped the curtain from the wall and was hugging it in hopes of smothering the flames. His shirt was on fire, the carpet was on fire, the blinds were on fire, and the hardwoods and wall were covered in hot melted fabric. As G took on the curtain (shirtless and burned by this point), I did my best to stomp out the fire on the floor. If you’re not a believer in LL Bean’s Wicked Good slippers, you should be. These bad boys (along with my quick feet from participating in a few of those Latin Heat classes at LA Fitness) had the fire out in no time….

After hosing off the curtain (which continued to burn for at least 15 minutes after the fire), G and I were left to assess the damage. By the grace of God, it was not as bad as it could have been. We were burned; the ten hour/labor intensive curtain was obviously ruined; the dining room rug was destroyed; my wicked good slippers were “good” no more, and there was smoke damage and patches of sheet rock that needed to be repaired due to the melted fabric.

When it was all said and done, my sweet and badly burned hubby put his arm around me and said “let’s go ahead and tackle the panel; we’ll make another one today and have the painters out next week”. His statement reminded me of another thing that mama had taught me, “marry up”. Thank God I listened to my mama and married a man with a sense of humor and a whole lot of patience for my fast fixin’ ways.

One of the saddest casualties of the fire was G’s Franklin’s t shirt; a staple in G’s wardrobe.

Don’t tell G, but I’ve thought about taking a lighter to the bottom of my slippers to burn off the melted fabric from the curtain.

In addition to fighting fires, we’ve also had several days/nights of bad weather

and an unwelcome stomach bug that got MR sent home early from school yesterday (after throwing up on her dress, this was the outfit she came back home in). We’ve had a lot of stomach viruses pass through this house, but this is by far the worst. As of 3 am, she had a 103.2 fever and had projectile vomited on her bed, in the bathroom, and all over her mama. Praying that this nasty bug will have mercy on the Huttie Cat and G, who canceled his business trip to NY to get an earlier appointment with the gastroenterologist.

Also praying that this little guy will slow down. He’s not crawling, but he’s scooting all over the house. He’s loud; real loud, and can now sit up from a crawling/floor position. This is usually how I find him in his crib; sitting up and waiving as I walk into his room. He is also in dire need of haircut, but this ole mama is having a hard time coming to terms with a haircut before his first birthday.