Nearly completed pool post!

I've shared some pictures of our new pool, but since then, we've had a few things done to nearly finish the project.

Our pool guy installed a marble slab at the spot where the hot tub spills over to the pool.  This made a huge difference since now instead of just flowing flush to the ledge, there's a waterfall effect & I love the noise & ambiance it gives!

 

Our yard is definitely not complete but we've made a TON of headway by tackling the landscaping around the pool cage.  What a job that was!  I was exhausted with just going to the nursery & selecting plants in the sweltering sun & that was just a tiny piece of the puzzle!  I don't have a green thumb in any way shape or form & I know little to nothing about plants, other than what I like the look of.  I had an idea in my mind & it ended up being very easy to pick what & how many plants we wanted to surround the cage.  It took us two days working for many hours in the insane heat to get the job done, but it really looks great, minus the dirt beyond.

 Lord knows we don't need it right now, but we also put our fire pit back up in anticipation the the colder months that will eventually come.  Our vacation put a hitch in our work, so this weekend we're going to level out the ground with a rake & put down grass seed.  In a month or so, our yard should finally, hopefully be back to normal.  It probably cost us about $300 in landscaping, but had we done it professionally, it would've been more than $1000.  As we were pouring sweat & nearly keeling over from heat exhaustion, I wished that I had endless money with no budget!!  

Our cats have been absolutely loving the outdoor lifestyle!  We leave our slider open a crack while we're home so they can come in & out as they like.

Mike wanted to get an outdoor pet bed for the animals & so far we've only seen K.C. (above cat) in it twice!  They'd rather be lounging on the hard concrete than this nice hammock!  As you can see from the stack of rafts strewn in the corner, we need to get something to contain them.

I had this in mind from Amazon.

A bought a few inexpensive terra cotta pots from Walmart & spray painted them to add a pop of color to the patio.

We ran to Lowe's, had them cut us a board, picked out some hooks, gave it a quick splash of turquoise spay paint & Mike drilled it into the wall for a DIY towel rack.  Love it!  It was Mike's idea that the two hooks on each end be dragonflies. He's crafty like that!

In the circle above, you can see that they extended the pavers beyond the screen so that we'd have a pad to put our grill & smoker.



I still pinch myself every time I sit out here or jump in the pool... I cannot believe our dream pool has come true!

Goodbye 1st grade, HELLO, 2nd grade!!

Today was Cameron's last day of first grade!

Our kiddo learned so much this year; his reading has improved by leaps & bounds & he's a math whiz!  We do need to continue to work hard on neater handwriting, but I'm proud to say that he had an awesome year.  It's funny because he ended up having a lot less homework than he had in kindergarten. 

Over the course of the school year, my guy grew 2" & gained 4#!!  Pretty soon, he'll be towering over my 5'3" frame!  This summer, Cameron will be spending his days at the school wraparound program, called PLACE.  It's only $60/week & they go on two field trips each week.  Much better than the $175/week we paid last year!!  Wednesdays he'll stay home with me & Reese... yay!

As you can see from Cam's chocolate coated face & shirt, it was ice cream & movie day for his last day.  The past few days have basically been time wasters & Monday he was only in school from 9-11:30 because of the tropical storm that swept through Florida. 



A couple of weeks ago I left work for a bit to catch Cameron's awards ceremony.  I'm so glad we were both able to make it because the look on his face when he saw us coming in was priceless.

His teacher gave out candy that was fitting for each personality.  Cameron was given the "Fun Dip" award since he brings fun to the classroom activities.  I felt it was very fitting, though if I had my choice he would have gotten Goobers!

They decorated a paper runway to walk down as they accepted their awards & Cameron drew dinosaurs & wrote, "I have the #1 Mom and Dad.  My Dad is so cool.  My Mom is so fun."  So sweet! 

I'm always ready to welcome summer break because of the more relaxed schedule, but this summer is especially exciting because this bad boy is going to be in our backyard!!  Next Tuesday starts the four week install process & I cannot wait!  Our pool will look exactly like this, minus the handrail.  It'll also be screened in since I cannot handle bugs.  It still hasn't sunk in that we're actually getting a pool... CANNOT WAIT!!!  Happy summer!

Get your groove on!

It's the fourth week of school & we're finally getting into a new groove & a new normal.  It hasn't always been easy, but we're trucking along over here.  I must say, the days are long since I leave the house at 6:30 in the morning & get home after 5:30 in the evening.  Of course from there comes all the good stuff of homework, dinner, baths, making lunches, wading through school paperwork....  you know the drill!

It's September which means we're in the countdown to Cam's 7th birthday on the 24th!  Cam's chosen a Minion party this year, so I'm trying to get things in order to prevent last minute scrambling & chaos.



Speaking of September, my husband is in hog heaven since the NFL season is officially here.  You would have thought it was Christmas!  I've wanted a Bears flag since we've owned a home & we finally got one!  I officially feel like a home-owning adult at the ripe young age of 36!

I've gotten into the mindset of, "if you can't beat em, join em!"  I used to protest 50% of our already short weekend being compromised, but I've learned to embrace it & now we make an event of Sunday game days with food & friends.  It's just an excuse to eat something yummy & catch up with good peeps!  I must say though, by the end of the season, I'm so ready for it to be over!

We were in desperate need of new bedding so Reese & I headed to IKEA on my Wednesday off last week.  Since we got there just as it opened, the place was basically empty & we got in & out in a flash!

I knew I needed a comforter/duvet cover so I could easily wash them since our last king comforter was way too bulky to fit into our washer & had to go to a laundromat instead (which grossly enough, never happened).  We use our comforter as a blanket at night & I tend to get hot so I picked up a comforter that's really light & cool.  Fresh new bedding for under $70?  Score!

Amidst the madness of the recent weeks, we've squeezed in some fun too!  Reese has had some time to frolick in the rain!  She watches a lot of Peppa Pig & if you've had the pleasure of watching the show, you know that those damn pigs love to splash in their English muddy puddles!

I use the gorgeously beautiful cutting board my woodworking neighbor crafted for me on a nearly daily basis, but I was finally able to use it as a serving platter.  This is a cutting board I will treasure forever!  Half of the wood is from American trees & the other half African trees & one side is flat for cutting, the other has a slight curve for serving.  Love, love, love!

With Cam back to school, Reese & I have our girly Wednesdays together & things have been very smooth & productive.  A lot less fighting without Cam to push buttons!  We normally do "quiet time" for at least an hour so she has time to herself & I have time to myself.  We abandoned it over the summer, so when we went back to it a few weeks ago, she saw it as a punishment.  For whatever reason, that flipped like a switch & now she asks for it.  She takes her tablet into her room, watches a movie or just relaxes or plays with her toys.  Last week she even ended up falling asleep.  I get a lot done in that uninterrupted hour & sometimes even steal 15 minutes to relax.

There are many weeks where Mike will choose a weeknight to meet up with the guys for whatever reason.  I adore those nights since I put the kids & dogs to bed, pour myself a glass of wine & relax with my treasured trashy TV shows like the Real Housewives of O.C.  However, Mike's last guys night did not fare well for me.  Not five minutes after he left, I was in the bathroom taking out my contacts when I heard a very loud buzzing sound that could only come from a VERY large bug.  Without thinking, I bolted from the bathroom sans contacts, slamming the doors behind me, sealing the bottom with Mike's pants so the bug couldn't get into my room.  Without the contacts, I couldn't see a thing.  Unfortunately my glasses sat next to the bathroom sink with the dreaded, unknown bug.  If you know me, you'll know that I'm irrationally TERRIFIED of bugs so there was no way I was going back in there.  But how was I to watch my trashy shows without my glasses?!?  It was 7:40pm & the world was my oyster for two blissful hours.  Dang.  Mike refused to come home & Cam was too scared to get my glasses.  Yes, I got my six year-old out of bed & begged him to get them.  Low, oh so low.  Well, time for the big guns.  I grabbed my winter, hooded jacket from college & zipped it tightly so only my eyes were barely exposed, ran into the bathroom, closed the door behind me, grabbed my glasses & sealed the door back up.  I begged Mike to kill the bug when he got home & not lie about it like he's done in the past.  He said it was a "small" flying beetle but I'm not buying it.  That thing was probably the size of a small child.  Ha.

But, after my bug scare, I was finally able to catch up with my "programs" while my kitties snuggled next to me!  So, that's what's been happening around these parts! 

Wednesday randoms

Just another week, just another Wednesday!

{Source}

I've got the Crockpot going again this week so dinner is one less thing I need to think about today.  I'm making "knock your socks off chicken & sausage" so we'll see if it lives up to its name this evening! Click here for the recipe. *update:  It nearly dinnertime & I felt that the sauce was a bit too thin, so I took a small cup & mixed a few tablespoons of hot broth from the Crockpot with a tablespoon of cornstarch, added it to the slow cooker & cooked it on high for another half hour to thicken.

Getting dinner out of the way takes some pressure off because my kiddos really keep me on my toes.  They basically don't go more than five minutes without asking me for something.  In fact, as I'm typing this, Cameron just asked, "Mommy, can I have popcorn?"  I mean it's 10am, why wouldn't you want popcorn?!?  Cam's also big into video games, so he's constantly asking me to play with him.  Little stinkers!  I usually end up staying up too late after they've gone to bed since it's the only time I can concentrate without constant distractions.

My four-legged stinkers keep me hopping too!

On a side note, Reese says she loves Lucky Charms cereal, but what she really loves is the marshmallows & refuses to eat the cereal part. Stubborn girl!

Did you notice my fish table runner?  I love it!  I recently picked it up at Target for under $20.

Also, I don't think I've posted many (if any) pictures of our back guest bedroom which we refer to as "Grammy's room" since this is where my MIL stays when she's in town.

It also serves as Cam's frat house when Grammy isn't here since this is where we keep his Wii U.  

It's a great guest room since it's big & has its own private bathroom.

This will ultimately serve as the pool bathroom once we get a pool & I can't wait till that happens!  I'm so thankful to be in a house that suits our needs!

Recent happenings

This past Friday Mike & I headed on a rare date night while our generous friends, Josh & Jill watched the kids overnight.

We were pretty excited to have some uninterrupted dinner conversation that didn't include, "take another bite," "how many more bites do I have to have?!"

The weekend continued to be low-key on Saturday as we ran some errands & browsed around Target.  Unfortunately, shortly after this picture above was taken, things quickly went south.  We headed home to make dinner & grill some corn on the cob.  Just as I looked up from reading my magazine on the patio, I noticed Reese was extremely close to the grill.  Two seconds earlier she had been happily playing on her swing set, so I'm not sure what drew her to the grill, but there she was.  As I jumped out of my seat to tell her that it was hot, she started to scream in pain.  I rushed her into the house & we ran her hands under cool water & tried to assess the situation & determine if she had to go to the hospital.  Burns are the worst, but thankfully it appeared to be a first degree burn.  The poor little girl was in so much pain, it was brutal to watch.  When she was soaking her hands in a bowl of cool water she was fine, but as soon as she'd take her hands out of the water, she'd scream in pain.  This lasted for hours, so as bedtime came & went, Mike told her she would have to take her hands out of the water & it would hurt for a few minutes, but it had to be done.

She cried & begged to keep her hands in the water & the next fifteen or so minutes were terrible.  Finally, the pain started to subside & she eventually fell asleep in bed with us.  Thank God she slept through the night & when she woke up Sunday her pain was pretty much gone.  I can tell you that she will never go near that grill again, painful lessen learned.

Otherwise, we're having a typical low-key Wednesday at home & I'll be surprised if we even get out of our pajamas.  I threw some boneless pork chops into the Crock Pot & poured a jar of butter chicken simmer sauce over them to cook on low.  I'll put brown rice in the rice cooker later & serve it along with some steam in the bag broccoli for a very lazy dinner.

I've been taking advantage of a less hectic schedule & getting the kids' rooms organized before the school year picks back up next month.  Their clothes are officially cycled to updated sizes & smaller sizes have been distributed as hand-me-downs to friends.

We moved into our house just before Cam had turned four (he'll be seven in September), so the artwork in his room is a bit juvenile.  He's not picky though so it's not a high priority on our to-do list!

He was happy enough with the SpongeBob decals we added; boys are so easy!