Tired just thinking about it...

I started my morning with this slice of cuteness!

This blog is taking a little vacation. The kids and I are hitting the road, yet again. We’re going to my grandma’s house in far southern Illinois. While we are at her house, we are making a trip to Holiday World. Evidently, I have the only two children in Indiana who have never been. We may even meet up with some friends while we are there.

The main reason for the trip, aside from visiting my grandma who has reminded us all summer that we haven’t visited, is for childcare. The weekend I look forward to all year is here! Olney Girls’ Weekend! Woo Hoo! Normally, the children would stay home with Brandon, but our weekend is in Olney this year, which is fairly close to where my grandma lives. She was dying to keep them, and my mom agreed to come and help. I thought Brandon would be excited to have a weekend alone, but it turns out he isn’t. So, we’ll make the trip home Sunday so the poor guy can see his family.

It wouldn’t be a signature trip if I didn’t try to cram 1,000 things onto my to-do list the day before we leave.

This morning I had a portrait session with Max. Max’s mom, Melanie is a friend and she is an absolute peach! Max is the third baby in their family and Melanie was worried he wasn’t getting equal billing on the walls of their home. We took care of that! Oh, to have those eyes!!! Max is such a happy guy too. We woke him from a nap and he was a trouper.

Alex had his six year check up after that and requested lunch out with just the two of us. Every time he asks to spend time alone with me, I wonder if it’ll be the last time. I know the day will be here far too soon when Alex won’t want to be seen having lunch alone with his mom. Meredith was hanging out with Grandma Webber and when we picked her up the only way I could get her to go peacefully was to promise a trip to the pool.

While Meredith’s napping I’m editing photos and writing this. Writing is a good way to keep myself occupied while my turtle of a computer loads my photos. I need a Mac, in case Santa Claus happens to be a blog reader. (Note to Brandon, you’re considered Santa in our house.)

After Merdi wakes up and before the pool, we have to hit the grocery store for travel snacks and return our library books or face a significant fine. Our van is about 3,000 miles over due for an oil change. I can’t be blamed, our service manager forgot to reset the computer that tells me when to change it. I just assumed the sticker they put on the windshield was to be used as a point of reference. I booked that hour of fun for first thing tomorrow morning. On our way out of town, we’ll drop off the dog and stop by Costco to pick up the muffins I’m in charge of for the weekend. I’m sweating and tired just thinking about it! Check back Monday for what promises to be a very fun weekend update!

We're THOSE neighbors!

I have an issue with grossly underestimating the time it takes our family to get anywhere. I also do the same thing when cleaning. I give myself three hours and it really takes four. This is especially true, if we have company coming in three and a half.

Today, we were going to my friend Rebecca’s house for lunch. I told her to expect us at 11:30. We showed up at 12:00. Fortunately, I brought lunch so she forgave us.

Rebecca and her husband bought several acres a couple of years ago and after adding a pond, built their dream home. It’s ahhhhmazing, and if you know anything about suburban life, you know it’s way the heck out there if they were able to buy several acres. That just doesn’t happen here. Even “estate” lots are generally an acre. Rebecca gave me directions and the kids and I headed out thinking we’d be a few minutes late, because we were already slightly behind schedule…We left five minutes before we were supposed to arrive. I would make a terrible estimator.

As I said, Rebecca’s house is a dream. It’s gorgeous, full of character, well designed, and best of all, is incredibly inviting. You can see the house from the road, and their driveway is winding blacktop that ends is a circular drive. We pulled off the road and onto their drive and Meredith yelled, “MOM!!! You’re driving on the cart path! You’re not supposed to drive vans on the cart path!!!”

Rebecca and I had lunch, while our kids played on the deck over-looking their pond. It was so nice, aside from the constant opening and closing of the sliding doors. My kids let every fly within a four county radius into the house. After lunch, we worked on photography stuff and just gabbed while the kids played outside. Rebecca’s husband put on dive gear and a show my kids talked about all the way home. He was working on their pond’s fountains and the kids were all glued to the dock. Not something we see every day. It also provided Alex with additional material for his never-ending question arsenal. He dips into his reserves when I would really love a quiet ride home.

Rebecca's son, Cameron.

And her daughter, Auburn.

After a few hours, it occurred to me we needed to scoot because I was fixing dinner for a neighbor who recently had a baby. Of course the kids weren’t ready to go and it was past naptime, so you can probably guess what kind of exit we made. They were mad and wanted to know just who it was that I had to make dinner for. I told them I couldn’t remember the family’s name, and it was a new neighbor. I also mumbled something about getting myself into these situations and Alex said, “No Mom, you should make them dinner. That’s being kind and a good neighbor.” Sigh. I love him. Meredith on the other hand said, “What do you mean you don’t know them?! I thought we weren’t supposed to TALK to strangers and you’re making them DINNER?!”

We came home, I washed off dirty feet and made dinner for the strangers three doors down. For the record, I washed my hands after the feet. We made our way down the street with dinner. I wore my Ove-Glove in public and Alex carried the brownies. Now, keep in mind, we’ve never met this family. I rang the doorbell with my ungloved hand, and within seconds Meredith plastered her face to their door. Turns out, the new neighbors are just the kind of people for whom you want to make dinner. They were adorable, grateful, and incredibly gracious.

I introduced us and Meredith immediately said, “Hey, where’s your baby? Can I see your baby?” They graciously brought him down from the nursery and after two seconds of gazing at the sweet little guy, Meredith made herself at home. She was all over their first floor. I was trying to hold a polite conversation so they didn’t think my casserole was poisonous, and Meredith pipes up with, “Hey, is this an eraser?!” She was picking things off their desk in their kitchen. I scooped her up, which is practically a guarantee for a Meredith fit. I got our circus out of there as quickly as possible. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a FOR SALE sign in their yard by tomorrow morning.

Weekend Update

This picture has zero relevance, but I didn't open my camera bag this weekend. Even I get sick of it once in awhile. This weekend wore me out!

Friday, which I now count as the weekend for some odd reason, was busy. In the morning, I met a new friend at the park. (I’ll share more about her later, because she has a really fun business I’m excited to show you.) The kids went from wanting to throw rocks into the creek to wanting to get in the creek almost immediately. Maybe I’m nuts, or maybe it’s because I spent a good portion of my childhood wading in creeks, but I let them. Meredith did scrape her toe, but so far no one has come down with any water born illness. Knock on wood.

We stayed at the park too long. I cleaned slightly muddy feet, fed the kids lunch, and we sped off to Annie’s birthday party. Annie celebrated at Build-A-Bear and the kids had a blast. Meredith shocked me by spelling her name on command when the party hostess asked how to spell it. I’ve been working with her for a couple of weeks, but I’m always shocked when something actually sticks. I feel like I spend my days repeating myself over and over and no one shows any signs of comprehension.

The party ended about nap time, and Meredith lost it on our way out. I don’t even remember why she was inconsolable and bratty, but it was a long walk to the car. I’ll probably be asked to stop parking near Von Maur, because we seem to make a habit of leaving in tears.

After dinner, we made a rare evening visit to the pool. I’ve been dying to show Brandon how far the kids have come in the water this year. He reminded me 97 times that he “has a job and was working,” and I continued to press for a time. So, we made our way to the pool shortly before bedtime. In retrospect, it was great timing. I showered the kids and they practically begged to go to bed.

Saturday was equally as frantic. We went to the Farmer’s Market to get corn. (For the record, there’s little else in Indiana aside from corn, no matter what Indiana Beach claims.) The minute we got home, Brandon and Alex were out planting the new plants we brought home from Nashville. After the victory gardeners came in, we went to get salmon to grill for dinner. Brandon’s friend Dan and his family were in town for a visit. They live near Portland, Oregon and I always feel weird serving salmon to people who live in the Pacific Northwest, but Dan doesn’t eat meat, expect fish…is that meat? Anyway, it worked. Dan and Nikki have two little boys. Between the four kids, I’m sure you’re able to picture the peaceful chat we had over dinner.

After they left, I did the dishes and practically ran out of the house and over to Jill E.’s. Jill’s birthday was Saturday, so Stacey and I went over to have a glass of wine and I showed up with a half a key lime pie. Classy. To top it off, I shoved it in Jill’s refrigerator without a word and we forgot to eat it. Do I know how to make someone’s birthday special?! I would do a special birthday post for Jill, but I don't have any embarrassing photos to share, so it'll have to wait until I do.

Sunday was so lazy it was painful. I was supposed to do a couple of photo shoots, but I wound up juggling some things around. Brandon’s family was getting together on the family farm about an hour and a half away. I had a great excuse, but felt guilty about not going. So, I cleared my calendar, but at the last minute I bailed and they went to the farm without me. I had so much to catch up on, and I have a busy week ahead. Is it bad that I stayed home and folded laundry while watching Steel Magnolia’s for the 80th time? If it is, I’ll live with it

She's a fish!

The sky looked liked this when I went out to get the paper.

It was chilly enough to make me feel slightly excited about wearing cozy Fall clothes. What a great day for the park! After breakfast, I started the park round up, and went into Alex’s closet to grab a shirt. Dear Lord! I don’t know how I missed the accumulating junk on the floor of his closet, but I needed a snow shovel and a ream of Hefty to take care of the mess.

The kids knew I wasn’t happy, and wisely started cleaning the bonus room on their own…without so much as a single threat. They are getting clever in their old age, and realize if they clean another room, they can avoid me and step back into my good graces in one fell swoop. The only sound I heard was their repeated “If we get this done in time, can we still go to the park?!” I was still organizing when they finished the bonus room, so they moved onto their downstairs playroom. I may be onto something.

After we dug ourselves out of the mess, we had lunch and after chatting with a neighbor, decided to meet at the pool. If you’ve been swimming with us, you know it’s rare to see another soul at either of our pools. I’m exaggerating a bit, there might be one family. If it’s a crazy day; two. I’ve heard there have been as many as four families on a weekend, but we never go on weekends. We have too much landscaping to do.

Today was craaaaaaaaazy! The place was pretty full. I’d say there were at least six different groups. The lifeguard blew his whistle and yelled “Adult swim.” We all froze in the pool. First time any of us had heard that in two years. I think the lifeguard was just sick of the screaming, and thought he’d get a break. Clearly he is childless and didn’t know what he got himself into, because the whines of confusion were unbearable.

Meredith, easily influenced by peers, decided she didn’t want to wear wings, and just started swimming. Face in, kicking, coming up for air, the whole nine yards. She’s never had a lesson, and I think it may be time. I’m afraid her confidence exceeds her ability. Half way through our time at the pool, Meredith popped up and said, “I’m so proud of myself! Are you proud of me?!” Of course. “Can we go to Dairy Queen?!” That’s my girl.


Don't worry, those aren't Meredith's goggles.

I have a hard time finding cards for my mom; specifically cards from the kids. First of all, she’s “GramPam,” not “Grandma” or “Nana,” and certainly not “Grandmother.” Every card “from the grandkids” always has something like a cat wearing a bonnet and glasses and knitting, which couldn’t be a worse representation of GramPam. I’ve yet to find a card that truly suits her, for any occasion. Then again, maybe it’s not my fault. GramPam doesn’t exactly fit the Grandma mold. Traditionalist that I am, even I’m glad she doesn’t.

This picture is in need of explanation. My mom is the team leader for a huge group of realtors. I don’t know how she does her job. I don’t have the patience, energy, or tolerance. The fun part of her job includes planning activities and outings for her realtors, their clients and families. GramPam decided to rent out Pump It Up, only the month got away from her, and the activity wasn’t well publicized. This wasn’t a problem, at least for my kids, because they virtually had the place to themselves and it happened to coincide with our visit to Nashville. For the record, GramPam would have gone down the slide even if the place was packed.

If you needed further evidence that I’m often hard-pressed to find appropriate cards…

While in Nashville, we spent a good chunk of our time at the lake. There are several lakes near my parents’ house. They have an old pontoon boat that to put it mildly, and in Alex’s terms, “is in need of a little work,” and they also have two wave runners that are much easier to ready, tow, and launch. So, on Saturday we took the wave runners to a lake and played around for a few hours. That was supposed to be it for water sports, but Alex decided we were going again on Sunday. There is a lake my parents were interested in exploring, so we drove over there rented a boat for the day, and took the wave runners along. We had a really good time and were barely able to get the kids out of the water. In case you’re wondering, those wetsuits have built in life jackets. In addition to making the kids look like they participate in extreme sports, they are functional.

We made our traditional Nashville eating rounds, and my stomach is still recovering. I forgot it has a fried food capacity and fried pickles push the envelope. We made our usual stop at Opry Mills Mall, and Meredith told us over and over again how “happy the mall makes her.” Ugh.

I also had dinner with my good friend Stephanie. I met her for dinner on my wedding anniversary, but since Brandon didn’t fly in until 9:00 p.m. and I wait for no one to eat, Steph made a fine stand in.

Aside from those adventures, we hit Sonic nearly every day for happy hour. Can you beat ½ price Cherry-Limeades?! I think not. For whatever reason, the kids wanted me to park in the same spot each time. That was a little embarrassing, but paled to Brandon instructing me to order an “RT 44,” sized drink for him. I did, only to be informed by a girl with a thick drawl enhanced by a loud speaker, that it was in fact, a “Route 44.” I thought I heard snickers in the background. I know I heard them in our car.

Zip it, Dr. Phil!

I was making lunch yesterday with the news in the background. They ran a promo for The Dr. Phil Show and I heard Dr. Phil say, “You’re not gonna believe what feel out of this woman’s body!” Honestly, Dr. Phil.

As I was typing this I had sudden bursts of panic. A school bus has gone by twice. School doesn’t start for another four weeks. Maybe they’re running time tests or something so they can plan routes, but it makes me sweat. My stomach drops and I start mentally locating backpacks, assuming we’re late. Mind you, our school is a three minute van ride away, so even if we did miss the bus, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Ugh. I’m not ready for another year to begin.

We’re leaving for Nashville today to visit my parents. The kids are beyond excited. I’ve tripped over their suitcases for two days. I do the real packing, and they pack things they’ve outgrown and toys with parts we’re guaranteed to leave behind. So long as it keeps them off the streets.

Brandon is flying into Music City on Thursday, which happens to be our ninth anniversary. You know we've been married for awhile, because my dress has sleeves.

In an effort to wear the kiddos out for the trip, we met Dawn, Joe, and Annie at the Aquatics Center at the Monon Center in Carmel. Translation: a pool different from our own. It has a lazy river, water slides, sprinklers, etc. You need an extra set of hands, so Dawn and I worked as a team. The kids LOVED it. Meredith ran up to us several times and said, “This is GREAT!” Alex and Joe mustered the courage to go off the diving board, but they were a couple inches shy of the height restriction. Dawn and I were secretly relieved.

We ordered dinner from the concession stand, and let me tell you, it was a meal slightly off balance. Imitation nacho cheese sauce and ice cream counts as dairy, right?

Happy Belated Birthday, Jill C.!

The 4th of July holiday got away from me this year and I didn’t have time to do a birthday post for my good friend Jill C. on July 3rd.

Jill is a veeerrrryyy lucky woman. Rumor has it, had she been born one day later, on July 4th, 1976, her name would have been “July” to commemorate the bi-centennial. At least that’s what my mom told me, and her memory is spotty at best, so don’t place any bets.

Anyway, by the time I remembered I forgot to give Jill a birthday shout-out, I convinced myself she was on vacation. I’ve inherited a spotty memory. They were still home. In actuality, Jill and her family are returning from Florida today. I’m certain the first thing she’ll do when they come home after a long flight, is read this blog.

Jill and I have known each other since birth. Our moms were good friends, and I think our grandmas were friendly too. I remember the grandmas sitting together at a couple of elementary school performances, so that must mean they were friends. Our moms took pictures of us as infants, and love to tell how much bigger I was than Jill. I couldn’t help it. I had a dairy issue and was fed goat’s milk. Give a girl a break!

Point is, it’s a good thing we liked each other, because if not it would have made for some very unpleasant camping/canoeing trips. Yes, that’s right, I was forced to camp as a child. Jill was nutty enough to recently suggest we take our kids on the same kind of trip. I said, “Oh sure. That’ll be fun!,” knowing full well Jill is far too busy and pregnant to make the trip anytime soon.
Jill and her husband, Gaspare own one of our family’s favorite places on earth to eat, Joe’s Pizza in Newton Illinois. They are one of the hardest working couples we know and have two beautiful boys and a little GIRL on the way. Meredith is so enthralled with their eldest it’s embarrassing. Last time they visited she hit him with a very heavy toy. I scolded her and she confessed it was because, “He wouldn’t look at me!” Oh Lord. I wish I had pictures of Jill’s boys, but whenever our kids are together, they’re too busy to stand still. Maybe in August, Jill. (Boy, am I glad her name isn’t July, otherwise that would have read, “Maybe in August, July.”)

Aside from being an outstanding wife, mom, and chef, Jill has a huge heart. Jill would give you the shirt off her back ---it would be neatly pressed. I can’t tell you how many times she has hosted our family, fed us like kings, and made us feel a part of her family. We rarely leave her house without a cooler full of their famous sauce and Bosco sticks for our freezer. Did I mention her house is beautiful and immaculate at all times?! I want to be Jill when I grow up.

Jill’s generosity extends to hiding obnoxious toys she wants out of her house in our van and feeding my son chocolate for the first time. But, seriously Jill is such a loyal and caring friend. The kind you keep around for a lifetime. Happy 32nd Jilly Bean, 12 days late! Can’t wait to see you for Girls’ Weekend!

In response to Kelly's complaint

My apologies to Kelly who was tired of seeing political commentary instead of excerpts from my thrilling life, but I just didn’t have much news to share last week. When I could rip myself away from political satire too good to make up, the kids and I were at the pool…a lot. We’re still pruny.

We spent a lot of time catching up with friends we haven’t seen much this summer and all those meetings took place near chlorinated water.

Tuesday we went to the sprinkler park with our friends Karen, Julia, and Jacob. The kids started to freak out when we missed their regular 11:30 a.m. lunch time, so we left the park, grabbed lunch, and headed to the pool. Wednesday the kids went to Conner Prairie with their grandparents and I ran all the errands on which I dreaded taking them along. Thursday we were back at the pool with Dawn, Joe, and Annie for some much needed catching up.

By the time Thursday rolled around, Meredith asked why her friend Kate hadn’t come over to swim. “What’s going on with Kate?! I told her at the fireworks to come over to my house and swim and she did not!” I asked Meredith if she had clued in either mom about her plan. Of course she hadn’t, so we talked about the fact that three year old girls are dependent upon moms for transportation. Once we got all that ironed out, Kate and Angie came over to swim Friday. Before we knew it, we spent three hours in the pool and Alex had his first brush with over exposure to the sun.

Friday afternoon, Alex and I made the most sickeningly sweet batch of cookies in the history of the world. Not good. I cannot, in good faith, recommend Nestles’ white chocolate chip cookie recipe on the back of the bag. If I won’t eat it, you know it’s bad.

The weekend was pretty slow paced. Brandon painted away fingerprints on walls, I cleaned and we went out for Mexican. I was near tears when the power went out in the middle of watching Charlie Wilson’s War which we ordered on pay per view. There’s $5 we’ll never see again. Sunday night, we met our friends the Besingers out for dinner. Because Bart and Brandon pretty much have opposite schedules, it was a rare opportunity for us all to get together…without our kids. It was fun to chat without having to pull anyone out of the restaurant for a curb-side T.O.

Today we hit the library so Alex could go to “Lego Mania.” It sounded like a big deal, but it was really just a room with huge tubs full of Legos. Not a lot of mania, but Alex seemed to enjoy it. At least that’s what he told me. The kid should really play poker. His face is near expressionless the majority of the time.

Meredith gave herself an "A" for patience in waiting for Alex. I gave her a "C."

We spent a good chunk of this blue sky day, riding bikes, sidewalk chalking, and arguing about when it was time to go in. They’re of course dying to go to the pool, but I think I need a break from the smell of our sunscreen.

Fee better, Kelly?!

I welcome my new blog contributor...

WOW!!!

(Link compliments of Sara Alexander, self professed member of the vast right wing conspiracy.)

Leopard arms

I am easily intimidated. Today it was the threatening look of the clouds. We were supposed to go swimming with our friends Marianne, Evan, and William. They called from swimming lessons to say it was sprinkling. The ninny I am, I pulled the plug. An hour later, the sun was out and it was hot.

We dinked around here until noon and went to the library to claim the kids’ first prize in the summer reading program. I don’t mean that to read as though they won “First Prize.” I mean that as in we’ve completed our first reading section. There are four sections, and we are woefully behind. I told the librarian I felt badly because we were stragglers this year and she told me it seems to be an epidemic. I always feel better knowing there are other mothers as spastic as me.

We left the library with bouncy balls, ice cream certificates, and a stack of books that nearly dislocated my shoulder.

As we drove home, we had a great discussion about why we wouldn’t have time to go to the pool before nap. Alex rebelled by yelling he was going to climb out his window and go to the pool, and he “knew where the sunscreen was!!!!”

While Meredith napped, Alex and I cleaned the bonus room. My patience with that room has about reached my threshold. It’s always something…Legos, tiny Playmobil parts, and lately scotch tape. Alex has had a love affair with tape since I can remember. It’s normally a really easy way to entertain him, but lately he’s been taping annoying things together. He tapes popsicle sticks to his castles, tries to fix broken toys, etc. Naturally, it winds up on the carpet, takes the finish off surfaces, and is just completely irritating to me. I confiscated all his rolls and like a rational person told him he’d “NEVER own another roll of tape while living under our roof!”

The only other thing I accomplished today was editing pictures. Editing shots is like eating one potato chip and before I know it my eyes are bleeding. My poor children have put together so many puzzles and colored so many pages, they are likely to picket.

As I was putting Meredith to bed tonight, she surveyed my skin and told me I have so many spots she thinks I might be a leopard. I think I’d like to be a leopard. They don’t have to clean their floors.

Thursday morning, I had a mouth full of toothpaste and turned around to find Brandon walking into our bedroom. He hinted about an earlier flight, but I thought maybe he meant he’d be home in time to grill dinner for us. As soon as I saw him, I did a quick mental scan of our kitchen and hoped the kids were both dressed. With all our running around, the three of us sometimes live a slightly disheveled life. Thankfully, the dishwasher was humming, and the kids were ready for the day. Our cover wasn’t blown.

I don’t remember what we did on Thursday, but I do know it wasn’t anything outside. It was a soggy day, and the weather followed us into the 4th. We packed up our chairs and went to the parade. Rain be damned, we are a family of tradition! Most of you reading this, live within a few hours of us so I probably don’t need to mention how chilly it was. Our friends, the Hindmans were in town for a visit. They moved to Florida a few years ago, and I think our weather reminded them why. We watched all the church groups, veterans, and giant hamburgers masquerading as floats, from under our umbrellas.

Later that afternoon, we passed a fireworks store. Alex mentioned something about it and Brandon told him I wasn’t a fan of buying fireworks. Not wanting to be a wet blanket, I told them they were free to shop as far as I was concerned. Now, here’s the deal; when Brandon is behind the wheel, if you pass something you can forget it. I’m not sure he would turn around if we left one of the kids at a rest stop. So imagine my surprise, when Brandon whipped the van around on a fairly busy street and made a bee line for the former-grocery-turned-temporary fireworks store.

Meredith and I were told the boys were going to buy a couple of things. We waited in the van. After thirty minutes, we gave up and headed in. Brandon and Alex were standing in a long line with a basket filled to the brim with explosives.

I threatened that no one would light or see a firework if they didn’t take a nap. Brandon thought it included him. When everyone woke up, we went to the Ehnes for a cookout and fireworks show. It’s amazing we all still have in-tact skulls considering the falling debris we had to dodge. Brandon and Jill’s brother-in-law Austin, had us running for cover more than once. Jill’s dad bought enough fireworks to light up Hamilton county.

We came home late and the kids went to bed even later. Meredith was so sleep deprived she had extremely vivid dreams. She woke us up at midnight, convinced she had somehow inhaled a barrette. She was insistent and very descriptive. “I’m tewing da twouf! It was hot pink! It had the Cat and the Fiddle on it! It’s in my stomach! What will happen?! How will we get it out?!”

I’m a fairly rational person, yet Meredith was so convincing I was sitting on her bed in the middle of the night testing barrette after barrette to see if one would possibly fit up my nose. They didn’t and I was tired, so we decided it had to be a dream, and I slept next to her…just in case. I’ve seen more than one episode of Medical Mysteries.

Saturday morning, I met Jill and her extended family to take some family pictures since they were all in town for the 4th. They are hilarious and it was so much fun trying to get them all to sit still and be fairly serious for a few minutes.

This is Jill's wonderful mom, Barb with her kids. This picture makes me want to have a third baby, and then I remember I'm not organized enough to do so.

Saturday night, Jill and Scott through a huge party with unbelievable food, live music, and fun drinks. We took our kids for awhile and then sent them to their grandparents’ for the rest of the night. It was a much needed break! It’s redundant to say we had fun with the Ehnes’ because we always do.

I couldn’t stay up too late because I was meeting the Hindman family for pictures this morning. We shot at Dillon Park, steps from our neighborhood. Since they live in Florida, we thought it would be a nice change of backdrop. They were troopers and even jumped into the creek when I asked them to. I was soaking wet and sloshed all the way home, but the light was so beautiful it was completely worth it. Aren’t they a cute family?! I am so lucky!

The rest of our day today was pretty mundane. I edited pictures and Brandon and Alex spent the better part of the afternoon buying paint and a new ladder to take care of the walls we wrecked delivering our couch ourselves. I’m ready for Monday. I need a break from the weekend.

Our last couch lived a pretty good life before our kids came along. Brandon and I bought it at a store during one of their warehouse clearance sales right before we were married. We both traveled so much for our jobs, our couch barely had visitors.

It was a practical khaki twill and faded a bit over the years, but it was in great shape. Until we had children.

Our couch was subjected to daily flopping, smuggled apple juice spills, and the errant marker. Not to mention the fact that our dog has been known to use the base of the couch as a napkin after getting a drink. You don’t have to tell me how gross that is.

Recently, the edges of the cushions began to fray and that fueled my replacement fire. We’ve spent the first nine years of our marriage furnishing our house, and just when we think we’re finished, it all needs to be replaced. Brandon is completely dumbfounded.

I mentioned previously that I was having a hard time finding what I want. After 211 trips to the furniture clearance center; I found my dream leather sectional…in the color I wanted…within my budget. Well, not really. My approved budget was $0, but I had a more realistic figure in mind. The only caveat…it had cupholders. You read that correctly.

The more I sat on the couch, and reclined in the couch-- which breaks another of my furniture rules-- I became convinced I might be able to live with it. I called Jill E. and together we rationalized that cupholder-clad furniture is acceptable in a basement or bonus room. After Brandon sat on the couch in the store, he was sold and we brought it home Saturday.

One problem. I’m not good with spatially reasoning. The couch didn’t look quite so large in it’s giant warehouse home. We didn’t measure until we got the couch home. We have a door upstairs to separate the children’s area from the rest of the house. The door seemed like a great idea when we built, in fact I asked if it could have three locks. It isn’t very handy for moving furniture around. The door is 36 inches wide and the reclining part of the couch is 42. Brandon and I spent an hour inching the couch up the back stairs. Now we have a new couch in our bonus room and a soon to be repainted back stairway.

*Disclaimer: I realize this isn't the most appealing photo ever, but it was neccessary to show the scale of this huge couch that caused me to pull a muscle in a place I didn't know I had one.