Did ya miss me?

So, I was gone for a little while because I got a nasty virus on my computer. Luckily our EQ president is a computer guy and was able to fix it...real cheap, too, a dozen cookies and we were good to go! Everyone needs a computer friend...and a doctor, a mechanic would be nice, a lawyer might come in handy...but I digress! So what have the Thatchers been up to?

*Grace found this lovely thing in her bathroom last week:Hands down the most disgusting thing that I have ever found in my house and had to kill. Yes, that is a quarter next to it. Danny was not home, so I got to do the honors. I put on one of his big shoes to do it, because I was sure that my little flip flop would not cut it. I was right! Even with his shoe on, I could feel it. My skin still crawls to this day just thinking about it. Yuck!

*We went for a fun morning walk along the bosque. It is so fun to have this trail just minutes (seconds really) from our doorstep. We walked farther than we had previously and found a beautiful wooded area. It was such a beautiful morning.*Dylan the photographer! Who could blame him, with such a cute little subject, he just couldn't help himself! I just wish he hadn't got a nice picture of my messy house!

Finally...we had another birthday, a happy one we know!
Our little Goose turned 6. We love our little princess and hope that she had a fun and special day.

Drastic times call for drastic measures!

Goodbye TV! We love you, but it is time for a little time-out. The problem is that we love you a little too much. Our lives somewhat revolved around your schedule, our family room was situated to make you the center of attention and we just spent a little too much time in your company. I know that it is season premiere week, but if not now, when? It will never be a "good time". You will be safe in the garage, all wrapped up and cozy in your moving blanket, until such a time when we decide that you can come back in with more limitations or determine to find you a new home because we can, in fact, truly live without you. The kids are going to miss you the most. Dylan cried as I took you outside and Jesse and Grace will be surprised to find you gone when they return from school. There will most assuredly be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth! I'm not quite sure what Danny's reaction will be! But it really is better this way. This family lacks the discipline that we need to not let you run our lives...so we bid you adieu for a time. Maybe we will see you again someday...or maybe not!

My new favorite thing!

BeforeNothing special!

After

A little closer look

I made that all by myself! I just saw one in a magazine that they were selling for $775 and mine was free. I already had the mirror, I picked up the driftwood at the beach and I already had the glue sticks! But, I figured if I had started from scratch it would have cost less than $35 maybe even less if you found a good, cheap mirror at DI or something. I have carried around the driftwood for about 2 years wanting to do this project and it is finally done! I love the way it turned out.
Thanks for letting me share my project frenzy with you guys! I think that I am done for a little while...maybe!

PS...I'm sorry that I seem to be bragging a little lately, I just never thought that I could do anything like this before, so I never tried, afraid that I would fail. But a couple of years ago, I just got over my fear and just started doing and I am just so pleased (and surprised!) that things are turning out! Thanks again for indulging me!

A week in review!

A picture of my four monkeys...I don't have enough of these! Probably 'cause I can't get them all to sit in one place long enough!
There were too many kindergartners this year so they added a new class a couple of weeks after school started. Grace was chosen to go to the new class and we are very proud of her for being so easy-going and adaptable to the new situation. Mrs. Dean (her new teacher) and Mrs. Calloway (T.A.) seem like great teachers and we look forward to this year of learning.
We remembered September 11th by taking a cake to our local firehouse and thanking the fire fighters who risk their lives to keep us safe. They thanked us by letting the kids play on the fire trucks. They loved it.Thanks to all our public safety officers. We appreciate all that you do.

And finally our little warrior that keeps us safe...who could mess with a face like that!And that's what we've been up to.

A lucky number?

1 happy couple
+

1 special place+

4 babies+

8 moves in 4 states (with a couple of temporary moves along the way!)+

A host of other adventures

=

9 happy years...with FOREVER to go!

Wow, what a ride! Can't wait to see where it takes us next!
Happy Anniversary to my one and only!
(9 years on 9/9/9)

One of my favorite things...

I love when this little boy's face lights up when I walk in to pick him up after a nap or when I get home from wherever I went. It's the look of pure joy letting me know that I am his favorite person in the whole world. It is a piece of heaven, I can't get enough!Don't you just wanna eat him up???

School BBQ

Another project

This project was somewhat all consuming for the past 2 weeks, but it is finally done and I love it. This was my family room:Can we say uninspiring, boring...ugly! I was having issues with this wall because it is so big and I didn't know how to dress it up. This obviously was not the way to go. So I emailed a picture to my big sis and mom to get a few ideas. They were able to point me in the right direction and I ran with it. Here are the results: I love the way it turned out. I even designed and built the plant stand all by self! I wanted an old crate and could not find one anywhere, so I just made one. It turned out better than I expected, so I'm tooting my own horn a little! Here's a close up of it. I cut all the boards by hand (I don't have a power saw, but now I know what to ask Santa for!) and hammered all the nails without the help of a compressor. I chose boards that were a little beat up, then I found a stain that gave it more of a weathered look. It turned out perfectly imperfect!
Now that this room is done, I hope it will help me be more motivated to keep it clean!!

And here is the perfect window treatment:Who doesn't love a monkey in a window???