My First Cruise Part I

We arrived in Port Canaveral on Friday around lunchtime. I was still a little apprehensive. I was not exactly sure that I would enjoy cruising. I had called to check on the girls no less than 10 times because I knew that I would not get to talk to them on Saturday and Sunday (no cell service on my phone and M's phone would be $7.99 / minute). We made it through U.S. Customs and boarded the ship. The weather was warm (70ish) but with a strong breeze. We found the 5th floor and made our way to our room. Below is a picture of our stateroom.


Here is the hubby showing off our room with a view. We had a window!

A picture from the deck of the ship. We were still docked in Port Canaveral. I felt a little like I was on the "Love Boat" and wanted to yell out, "Bon Voyage!"

The pool deck pictured below. The big circular room with all the windows was a great place to get away (very quiet and private). We found it on Saturday night. After I took a few pics, we went and had a smallish lunch (after all it was already 2:30 and I knew a big dinner was going to be served at 6).

After lunch, I couldn't wait to get in my suit and "nose" around the ship. I didn't have much time because we had a lifeboat drill for everyone on the ship at 4:30. As soon as the drill was over, we went back to our room so we could get ready for dinner! Here we are right after the drill!

EEEEWWWW!!!

I just read THIS ARTICLE and I was completely grossed out. Ick! I know I'm a germ-a-phobe and all, but seriously?!

Now I know that it is a good thing to expose kids to germs so his/her resistance and immunities may build, BUT I wanted to grab my hand sanitizer and slather it on as I read.

My kids have never been to a Chuck E. Cheese's but only because it is about an hour away from us. They do play on restaurant play yards (such as McDonald's and Chick Fil A).

Do your kids play at Chuck E. Cheese's? Do you take your kids to play on restaurant play sets?

Wordless Wednesday

Keepin' It Real

My girls like to play. They play hard. Evidenced by the picture below of the playroom.

Humor me and tell me that your children's rooms/playrooms look like this. Just tell me yes!

The Art Project

I have been venturing out and completing a few art projects with Mary Margaret. I saved my old magazines for us for quite some time. We decided to make a collage that represents us. We sat at our kitchen table cutting and glueing for at least 2 hours (HJ was taking a little siesta). Here are the final products. She was so proud of herself and wants to show every single person that comes over.

What sort of art projects do you do with your children? I need all the ideas I can get!

Cruisin'

Well we are off....

I will be without Internet access for the next 4 days.

(GASP)

How will I cope??

I am sure the ocean will soothe me and maybe, just maybe, a pina colada!

Forgive me if when I return I mark "All as read" on my Google Reader. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and shop. Don't forget about all that shopping. Oh and sunning, for sure (I'll be wearing my SPF, don't fret)!

And I'll definitely be missing my babies. I've only cried twice today, ok, four times today (say a little prayer that I don't cry all the way to Port Canaveral). I'm having a little bit of the separation anxiety! I said that earlier and MM asked what anxious meant. Mary Margaret, ever the inquisitive one. She loves that vocabulary.

Sorry. I digress.

Have a great weekend!

The Dance Pictures--The Make up Edition

Mary Margaret had "The Dance Pictures" this past weekend. It was her very first experience with "all that make-up."

As I was putting on her mascara, she said, "I sure like this eye lash lotion." She wouldn't let me take the eye lash lotion off and insisted on wearing it all day long.

Her daddy almost had a heart attack. Here is a close-up of "The Make up Experience." She is wearing her jacket. We will leave you in suspense on the costume.

Wordless Wednesday

Here are some shots from a snow day from a few weeks ago! Notice Harper Jane's boots....they are entirely too big, but she pitched a fit to wear them anyway!

Our Family Picture

We rarely have family pictures made, but we had a shot taken at the Daddy Daughter Date night. I don't have a scanner but here is a picture of the picture.

On another note, we are leaving for our cruise on Thursday night. I've never been on a cruise and I'm so very nervous about leaving the girls (YIKES). Anyone have any suggestions for things that should be taken??

Not Me Monday!

*I did not drink a 5 hour energy drink not once but twice this week. I would never need more energy because I get plenty of restful, consistent sleep.

*I did not have trouble falling to sleep because of the aforementioned energy drinks.

*I did not allow Harper Jane to destroy a brand new magazine just to keep her busy for a bit.

*I did not ignore the laundry last week and have to play catch up over the weekend. I would never do this because I always stick to my chore schedule.

*I did not ground Mary Margaret from our kitchen table. She uses our table as a desk and boy, is it messy! Between all the craft projects and stickers, we don't have a place to sit down and eat.

*I do not continue to pester the hubby about a dining room table. I would never do that. I'm not that persistent.

What did you NOT do this week! Head over to MckMama's blog and check out other Not Me Mondays!

P.S. Hope everyone on Spring Break has a safe and fun time!

The Cleaning Lady...Oh wait, that's me!

I wonder how many times a day I pick up around the house. At times, I really do feel like a full time maid. I try not to feel like that often because I know a day will come that I will be wishing I was picking up toys! So for the time being, I'll just let my living room look like this (don't you love the Hello Kitty tent in the background) and let these sweet girls play the day away:

Help!

We have plaster walls and have yet to hang a single thing on any wall. Do you think this picture (above) should go over my couch in our living room? My camera would not cooperate when I wanted to take a picture of the exact spot over the couch. This canvas would be hung to the right of the lamp centered over the couch. Our old leather couch is chocolate leather. Please tell me what you think. Be honest. The hubby hates this picture and does not want to use it anywhere.

P.S. Please ignore the nice water bottle in the above picture. I know it is a nice addition and all, but....

Wordless Wednesday

Look at these sweet (matching, of course) outfits my aunt got my girls. These are for our town's team!

Our tile choices

If you are tired of house restoration pictures and commentary, then go ahead and hit the "Back" button!

Here were the choices that we made regarding tile.

Master Bathroom

Guest Bathroom (also you can see the newly purchase vanity)

Kitchen - also the travertine that is around our fireplace (below)

There were so many decisions to make during this renovation process. I am not sure I could ever build a house. Talk about overwhelming!

Not Me Monday!

*I did not catch Harper Jane eating leaves as we were playing outside. No, she would never. She's much too particular about her eating habits.

*I did not catch Harper Jane digging through the kitchen trash can. No, she would never. She doesn't like to get dirty.

*I did not catch Harper Jane playing in the toilet. No, she would never. She's much too proper.

*I did not catch Harper Jane in the act of putting Littlest Pet Shop animals down the vent (yes she moved the vent cover herself). I did not catch her because she was giggling so very loudly.

Have you noticed a theme here??? Anyway, on we go!

*I did not not make it a week with my "Doing sit-ups every night before our cruise" promise to my self. I would never do that. I have much more self-control.

*I did not turn on Dora and place Harper Jane in the play pen just so I could sleep for 25 more minutes. No, I would never use the TV as a babysitter!

*I did not wish that we had less Dr. Seuss books last week while we were celebrating his birthday. We must have no less than 15 of his books. I am so happy to place them back on the bookshelf.

*I have not put off going to get a bathing suit for the aforementioned cruise. I mean, we leave in 12 days. How much longer can I put it off?

Head over to MckMama's blog and check out other "Not Me Mondays"!!!

Light Fixture

Don't you adore this antique light fixture we were able to salvage? It was originally in the master bedroom, but we moved it to the hall. I love all the details!

The Foyer

Welcome to our home!

The picture above is what we saw when we first walked in the front door. Notice the wall heater and parquet flooring. I immediately fell in love with the chandelier. You can see if you were to walk straight, you would run right into the den (or show room as Mary Margaret calls it because this is the room where she gets to watch shows).

Here is where the foyer flows into the living room.

Here is after we had chipped up all the parquet flooring. This is a "during" shot! Every room was the same shade of blue. All the ceilings were also this lovely shade of blue. Needless to say, we may never have a blue room after this restoration experience! I really wanted to paint our bedroom a blue/gray color but Michael adamantly refused after he had to paint all the blue walls and blue ceilings.




Finished product, well, almost finished product. We still need to put down shoe moulding, but it's coming, it's coming. I also want a circular rug for this room....eventually! All our walls are plaster which is why I have yet to hang anything anywhere. I know that wherever I hang something, it must stay there. Plaster walls can be a pain! Do you like this ornate mirror above the foyer credenza?? This credenza was Michael's Mom's. I want to paint it the Million Dollar Red color and distress it a bit, but Michael refuses. Have you noticed that he likes to be involved in every aspect of the decorating process!

The Dining Room

Here is our Dining Room from beginning to now.

The above picture was taken during our second showing in July of last year. You can see the parquet flooring (later we found pine hardwoods underneath). Also visible is the wall heater. There were 15 wall heaters in our house that we had removed.

Wall Heater Hole

Chipping up the parquet flooring was a lot harder than we anticipated. We completed this labor ourselves. Look what horrible shape the hardwoods were in. That black stuff is glue used to glue down the parquet flooring. I am still amazed that these floors were able to be restored.

We had judge's panels added. Next we had to choose a paint color. Michael is so much better at choosing paint than I am. I wanted red, but more of a brick red. Michael rebelled and chose more of a bright red. He thought is would "flow" better with our other colors. He (with a little help from his Mother) chose Million Dollar Red from the Benjamin Moore paint selection.

Here is the hubby in action. He was painting on the pink primer. If we ever do red again, we will use a gray primer rather than the pink primer. Michael has heard that fewer coats of paint are needed with a gray primer.


The pink primer really SCARED me! I was completely second guessing the color choice. (In the picture is our handy man).


The above picture was taken after two coats. The hubby, ever the painting perfectionist, would not let the red rest until it was fully coated.

Here is the finished product. The walls took FOUR coats. Yes, that's right, my friends, FOUR coats. Now that this lovely room is almost finished (we still need to put down shoe moulding). Don't you think I deserve an antique dining room table (and possibly an antique sideboard/buffet)? I am certainly working on Michael and I think I just might get my way soon! Wish me luck!

Oh and please don't judge me for my messy china cabinets. I have not "placed" everything in the proper places. I am waiting on that sideboard piece for a little more storage. Then I will be able to display my antique china. Antique china, you ask?? Yes, my grandfather was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. He was a medic. While he was there, he sent back an entire set of china (including all the serving pieces) to his mother, my great-grandmother. When my great-grandmother passed away, it was given to my mother who doesn't need it and in turn, passed it to me when I got married. It is 55 years old (ironically the china is the same age as our house) and I love it! What a treasured heirloom!

Wordless Wednesday...Well almost....

Mary Margaret's new favorite snack....

First you take a pretzal stick.

Then you dip it in your peanut butter (creamy for MM).

Then you go fishing for a goldfish.

Then you scarf it down.

P.S. I think I found this idea on someone's blog so if it happens to be your blog, let me know and I'll give credit where credit is due. On another note, we are having to keep MM's scar on her forehead covered because she keeps messing with it/scratching it.

A Vocabulary Lesson

This vocabulary lesson is brought to you today by Mary Margaret.



Here are some funny things that she says:



*Instead of Nerds candy, she calls them "Smurfs" as in "I don't want any Smurfs, Mommy."



*Forehead = forward head



*Michael and I are going on a cruise next month and she is calling it our "Field Trip."



*Macaroni Tomato Beef Baby Food = Bite (she still eats this nasty stuff, but she has got to get protein from somewhere). She sometimes wants a "Bite" and applesauce for a snack.



*Losed/lost = Loos-ted. We are working on teaching her that the appropriate term is lost.



*She calls the local theatre/auditorium the "house with the stage"! We formerly lived one street over and the theatre is located in a neighborhood. The theatre does look a little like a house in her defense.



*She still calls her sippy cup of warmed milk that she gets in the morning, her "bottle." I know, I know. Humor me, she is still my baby!



*Praise music = God songs. I am so thankful that she adores Praise music and does she ever love to sing it....



*Tattoos = stamps as in "That person did not wash off his/her stamp while in the bathtub." I don't even know what to say.



*The Disney Store = Disneyland. She would rather go to The Disney Store than Build-A-Bear. Every time.



*Hershey's kisses = Nene's chocolates because my Nene (MM's great-grandmother) ALWAYS has kisses at her house.

Not Me Monday

I have not participated in Not Me Monday in a while but I felt the need to revisit it as I am ashamed of several things I didn't do last week!

*I did not force everyone to take off shoes when coming into our house. I did not spend 2 1/2 hours sweeping and steam cleaning all the floors with my Shark Steamer.

*I did not beg incessantly for a dining room table (and china cabinet and buffet) for my very empty dining room. I did not demand that it all be antique. I would never be demanding.

*I did not spend 3 hours of my time on eBay searching for matching smocked clothing for the girls as they both did not watch too much TV and they certainly did not demolish the living room. They are too sweet to do something like that.

*I did not stay in pajamas all day on Saturday.

*I did not stay on the phone for 2 hours on Saturday (um, hello, I really loathe the phone on normal days). I did not enjoy catching up with old friends.

*I did not allow Mary Margaret "bedazzle" things with sequins. She did not really bedazzle the kitchen floor while she was at it.

What did you NOT do this week? Head over to MckMama's place and check out some other Not Me Mondays!

Sad News

LINKAGE IS HERE!

I am saddened. Paul Harvey died. I grew up listening to his stories and loved them all. What a wonderful man! I remember feeling this way when Mr. Rogers died....almost like a piece of my childhood. He did live a long prosperous life!

Like Mr. Harvey always ended his broadcasts, "Good Day!"