procrastination

I'm in trouble. My mother in law has been flying all day and is currently on a train en route to Richmond from DC and could arrive any minute and what am I doing? Cleaning my house? No. Making dinner? No. Posting pics of our new home? Why yes, yes I am.

Geesh. And so I present to you..., my home. I don't know how to put the pics in order with the text.., so I'll just attempt to give an accurate description of each room. I didn't take a pic of the front of the house, or the entrance way for that matter. And dang it, cuz I really like the entrance way. Well, if you look at the pics at the very bottom of this post, you'll see a bright room with hardwood floors and torn wallpaper littering the floor. That's the living room and dining room. That's where we have started the renovation (can it be called "renovation" when you're just painting?). From the dining room, you walk into the kitchen which opens up to the paneled room. I love that! An open kitchen! The kitchen is tiny and there's no cupboard/countertop space, but I'll just continue to simplify and hopefully find some sort of buffet or mobile counter/storage space to use. I plan on painting the WHOLE kitchen (cupboards included) and paneled room (and fireplace) with some light colored paint. I can't wait to show you the AFTER pics!! Okay, so if you walk straight through the kitchen you go into the laundry/mud/pantry room (orange in color). This is a great room because there's a door right from the driveway! So nice! No, no garages out here in Richmond. I wish! If you follow the family/paneled room down the hall, you find a pink bathroom on your left (good thing retro is IN! I can't wait! ..and p.s. the floors aren't dirty like the pic shows), and the girls little room is on the right (pretty magnolia wall paper?). I want to take the lightest shade of pink from the flowers and paint the other two walls. And although I don't mind the curtains in this room, I will be removing ALL curtains from the house. I don't like to block ANY potential light. Continue down the hall to Cole's room in the corner (2 windows..not much else to say about this room) and then across from that room is Geof.'s office/the old Master bdrm. They added on a Master bdrm (blue carpet..also in good condition despite what the camera might tell) which is HUGE and a make-shift walk-in closet. We'll have to figure out something to do with that closet so we can fit every last article of closing to we own inside. I mean, the space is there, it's just a bit odd. And my least favorite room in the house? The master (tiny tiny) bath. I don't even think we'll use it until it's renovated. And I mean a REAL renovation. The tile, the shower, the toilet and sink..it's all gotta go.

But I'm in LOVE!! Pretty overwhelmed with what needs to be done to get out of here and into there, but happy. The space is great and flowing and I can't wait to make it ours. With patience.

june-isms

June yesterday while swinging at a park, "Look! I'm swinging with my legs! That means I can wear big girl panties to bed!" (no, we're still in pull ups...)

And today while running errands she started asking me what color Cole's hair was, Dayne's, etc. And then she says, "Daddy doesn't have hair, though. He gave it to me." (completely serious!).

(not a recent pic. Christmas in DC, in fact.)

house stuff

I've lost all motivation to clean my current home. My heart/mind is not here, but there-at the house we were SUPPOSED to close on this past Tues. Still waiting. Apparently, everything has gone through, we're approved on the loan and grant, now we're just waiting for the grant money to come in (first time home buyer grant). So, while waiting, I've thought about the many, many hours it'll take to paint her (are homes female?). Not too excited about painting. Excited about the finished product, though! I'm thinking grey/beige, pale yellows, and emerald green. Can't get that emeral green outta my head. Oh, and coral. Excited about coral.

I was brushing Dayne's teeth last night and thinking about how cute her smile was without those awkward adult teeth growing in (not even a loose tooth yet) and I snapped some pics just to remember...but those are on Geof.'s camera. We may or may not see them on here...ever.

Other interesting news? Hm...school's out in 2 weeks? I'm excited! We hope to make it out west for the month of August. Here's to hoping!

Here's a scripture that recently meant more to me than before..especially that "cheerfully" part: "Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed." Doctrine and Covenants 123:17

Hunstman-mormon or not?

Geof. and I read this article this morning and thought cjane did a perfect job..., just perfect. Wish I could express myself as well. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705372744/How-defining-were-Jon-Huntsmans-comments-on-his-Mormonism.html

Chia

I didn't snap a pic of it..., because remember I don't have my very own camera and Geof.'s just doesn't do the job right? Anyway, my friend Erin gave me a bag White Chia Seeds a while back and they've been sitting in my fridge wondering what purpose they serve for some time. I finally decided to make the "Chia Porridge" recipe on the back when I discovered I had all the ingredients. And oh my goodness, was it YUMMY! I've been making it every morning! Once for my kids, twice now for Geof., but mostly for me. (;

Here's the recipe if you're interested:

1 T of Shiloh White Chia Seeds (or some other brand'll work, I'm sure)

5T of Shiloh Oats (again, use any oats you want)

1/2 of one banana, sliced

1/2 tsp. of cinnamon

Pinch of Sea Salt (they suggested "Shiloh" brand..can you believe it?!)

1 T of agave nectar

5 chopped "Shiloh" Walnuts

1 oz. of coconut milk (optional)

Bring one cup of water to a boil. Add all of the ingredients to the water and continue stirring for about 5 minutes (more like 3 for me) until you get a nice texture. Serve with coconut milk.

*I suggest turning it down to medium-low and cooking for 3-5 minutes until desired texture is reached. I LOVE this stuff!! And then I got an email all about how good chia seeds are for you from my sister.

Here's a link she shared: http://icreatewisdom.com/chiaseed.html short and sweet. Try 'em!

Our Saturday/Sunday

Geof. and I ran our first (and probably last) mud run on Friday night. Don't get me wrong, it was great. I've never run a race with Geof. before and this was the right one to do because there was lots of time to slow down as we climbed over boulders and stood waiting for others to climb...which was nice because I didn't feel so bad for slowing Geof. down so considerably. It was at Belle Isle which is an area in Richmond we are very familiar with and have ran before..which is probably why we don't feel the need to pay to run it again. It was just what we needed for a date night though; lots of time to talk as we walked to and from the race and even during the run. Makes me remember that I still like Geof. (;

Wish we'd had pics of us right after we finished but our camera was 2 miles away locked away in the car. We probably should've brought it and hid it away somewhere but didn't know what to expect. You had to crawl through a huge mud pit to finish the race so we were pretty covered. Hoses were provided, fortunately.

That night we had some good friends, the Dyckmans spend their last night in Richmond en route to their new home of Austin, Texas. It was so nice to be able to spend some time with them and help them pack up their HUGE truckload of stuff Sat. morning. What a sweet couple they are. I thought about how kind and thoughtful they treated each other (and their kids!)and how Geof. and I could probably live with a little LESS sarcasm and a lot MORE kind words/tones in our home. Thank you Dyckmans for the good reminder!! Why don't we have a pic with you guys?!

Dayne had a bday party Sat. afternoon and was all ready and waiting to go by 830 am Sat. morning. Is she not cute? She loves her cowboy boots.

Sat. night we babysit for our friends who had watched our kids while we did the run (babysitting trades=happy Darla). It had been muggy all day and by evening, the rain began and it was hardcore. The kids stood at the door and begged to go out in their swimsuits. Geof. immediately refused them, and I couldn't resist the fun that couples something as crazy as this. They loved it. They were a muddy mess, but spent a good 20 minutes in the downpour until they all agreed they were freezing and were carried from the back door to the shower. An hour and 6 kids showered and dressed later, we were all happy in front of a movie. There's NOTHING like a VA rainstorm. So fun!!

We are hoping to hear more about our home loan this week! We were pretty unsure there for a while on whether or not we'd even get approved, but we're feeling better after talking to our broker and realizing many times these things just take time! I just hope to be in the house by June! And then I expect at least a family or two visiting per year?! Any takers?

MAY!

Dayne woke up on her birthday and went straight to our bed to cuddle with Dad. June came following soon after. These girls sure love their daddy. Dayne ESPECIALLY loves her daddy, though. Those two have a bond (haven't we talked about this before?). I'm just so happy they do. It balances out the struggle that her and my relationship ensues.

Anyway, let me give you some reasons I haven't blogged lately.

#1: My camera is broken with no hopes of a Resurrection. I miss it. Although it was just a point and shoot, I was so impressed by its abilities! My creative juices just aren't flowin' without the pics to go with the story.

#2: This whole house buying event has been quite the EVENT!! We're supposed to close in a week.., yes! 7 days! And still we know nothing at all about whether or not our loan approval is finalized, when our 1st time home buyer grant is going through..etc, etc. The whole economic downfall has made the regulations/rules/what have you for purchasing a home much stricter and more thorough than before..which is a good thing, but lame for those of us who were smart enough NOT to buy without proof of income (whenever the no doc loans were big), who have good credit, who have saved and penny pinched so we could afford a home,,and now don't know if that'll occur (and it's not just Geof.'s negativity rubbing off on me...).

So give me a few days and hopefully we'll have more answers. I want this house!! But I'm trying not to get too connected just. in .case.

Cole is in soccer again. We don't ever want to take him out. He's doing so well! I mean, he is a natural athlete but he's really picked up on dribbling and not just doing the big kicks. He scored 6 of the 7 goals in his last game. It'll be interesting to see how he does next season when he plays with only boys. Things definitely need to be more competitive. It's been so fun to watch him.

The girls started dance last Friday at the YMCA and are very happy with that. Especially the whole leotard/tutu/tights/slippers part. Oh, what could be better than that?!!

Hm..Spring is here in Richmond and so beautiful and vibrant! I love spring. Of course, everyone's snottier and more congested than usual, but it's always such a reprieve from the winter months. Welcome Spring!!