2 Birthdays, And A Sick Baby

Hello folks!  September is a very busy time for us.  Mainly because we start the month with 2 birthdays.  My hubs and Bear have birthdays on consecutive days.  When my little brown bear was born the day after my husbands birthday, I promised myself I would make them both their own cake each year, as opposed to one cake with two names.  This should be pretty simple, but since I'm such a cake and icing snob I make them from scratch, and decorate them as close to professional as I can.

My husbands cake turned out fabulous!  He requested the red velvet and cream cheese cake I made him a few years ago.  Since I have made it before, it was pretty simple to recreate.  For Bear I had planned on keeping it simple.  We decided that we'd have a quiet birthday no big party.  Maybe share cake with my mom, and our neighbors, but that was about it.  I figured a simple round cake would be fine and I'd throw a toy train on top for fun.  MY little guy simply requested a "chotet tate" for his birthday.  For some reason in a moment of mom guilt I decided to make a train cake.  I made a train cake for Ace when he turned two that was super cute.  I mistakenly figured that since I've made it, it too would be easy to recreate.  Wrong-o!!!

My first mistake was using a super moist chocolate cake.  Moist cakes are NOT good for carving.  The second problem was my little sick CJ.  Ever try to complete a baking marathon with a baby who can't be put down.  Poor little guy was extra cuddly, something he's not been into ever since he started cruising.  I did love the extra snuggles I got from my warm and sniffly baby, but it was a huge hindrance in my cake baking, and decorating schedule.  Sigh.

Anyway, I finished all the baking Sunday night, and moved onto creating a chocolate train cake for my soon to be 3 year old.  The final product was not my favorite cake at all.  it tasted great, and resembled a sad little train.  In fact my husband actually agreed with me when I said I thought it was ugly.  The nerve!! Of course when I picked up my sweet little boy to show him his "train" cake in the fridge, a smile spread from ear to ear and he exclaimed "My train tate!".  Suddenly my attitude about his cake changed and I realized it truly is the thought that counts.

Now, the bad blogger that I am, I didn't snap any before pictures of my two cakes.  Instead I'll share with you what they look like after two days of getting picked on.  NO slices here after guests leave.  Straight off the cake with a fork... that's how we roll people!

I'll leave you with some links to other cakes I've made in the past and a promise to share my next cupcake conquest with you once it's complete.  Chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting!  Sounds delish right? Can't wait to try it!

Chocolate Cake With White Chocolate Buttercream

A Much Better Train Cake 

Banana Birthday Cake

My First Fondant Cake

Snow Fun!!

Munchkin has been asking to make a snowman for weeks.  Problem, we've had no snow, until Sunday!  He was sooo excited when he woke up to see that it was snowing outside.  So of course, out we went!!

My little Eskimo... all ready to go!

He loved making a snow angel.

A new use for beach buckets!!

When Little Bear woke up, he was ready to go too!

He was really into tasting the snow flakes!

Not too crazy about making a snow angel.. lol.

Hot Warm Chocolate after playing in the snow!

Yesterday, It rained all day... luckily I got some snow before it all melted.  He had a blast chopping, and packing it into the cup I gave him.

What kind of snow fun does your family have?

Healthy Snack Chart

See that.  That is one step towards eating healthier in our home.  I am a snacker, I could eat all day long... seriously I could.  Some times I do.  I'm the type that opens to fridge or pantry and stands there thinking of what to eat.  Then I come up with some unhealthy combination of things.  So I came up with this chart to put in our pantry.  I know that these foods are in my home (most of the time), I just think of this as a reminder.  Hopefully it will help keep me focused on healthy snacking.  I added the calorie count because my hubby likes to know that kind of stuff (he's a numbers guy).  I made two different sections (us and them) because the boys' don't typically eat the same things we do and vice versa.  Also for some reason, on the rare occassion I am away with out the boys, my husband still calls me to ask what he should feed them... smh.  Anyway, I'll let you know how this is working out for us.  

Are you a snacker?, if so what healthy tips do you have?

Home Tour With A Twist

Over the past almost year of me blogging, I've seen some amazing home tours. The host leads you through amazingly decorated spaces, beautiful art and craft work. Flowers, clocks, pictures, vignettes, everything a warm welcoming home should have. My home does not include these things. For this reason I have hesitated on posting a home tour, but you know what? I'm ready! In an effort to be personal and honest I'd like to welcome you to my big ol' undecorated home.

First a little background. Two years ago (well about two years ago) my husband and I found and purchased our dream home. We have been extremely blessed, and sometimes we are both on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop. Because we moved from a much smaller space we had pretty much no furniture for our home. Over the last two years we've been slowly purchasing furniture pieces for our home. My hubby's goal was to get furniture in each room, and then start to focus on decorating. Well, now it's time to decorate.

So on to my home tour with a twist. As I lead you around my home, I'd like to run some ideas off of you.. my readers (that's assuming peeps are reading). I need ideas, opinions (please be nice), and perhaps even some tips. This is of course a plea for comments (hi, my name is Leiah and I'm addicted to comments). Please join me as I decorate our home. Some areas need lots of love, some not so much. Some things I will make, some I will purchase. I will continue this home tour and include updates as we complete projects. Let's start shall we?

I'm starting my tour in the mudroom. This is the entrance my family uses daily, it needs a bit of love (well the closet I'll show needs lots of love).  To the left is the Laundry Room, although you can't see it in this photo.  It is sadly one of my favorite places in the house now. Straight ahead is the mudroom closet.  When the doors are closed it looks perfectly pretty (well I guess not pretty, but definitely neat).

I think it's a pretty sad excuse for a coat closet once you actually open the doors.  There aren't many coats (mostly because it's only Fall), That would be two of hubby's shirts, sometimes I hang them in there to dry (a duh, I should have put some kind of hanging system in the laundry room).  There's no light so it's hard to see the mess that has accumulated on the top shelf.

LOL, I had to add this... it took like 10 shots to get a pic without Blue in front... every time I'd move him he'd be right back in the middle.

This is a close up of the shameful floor.  Little shoes, big shoes, white shoes and black shoes... I literally have a Dr. Seuss book in the closet.

This is the other side... just as messy and miss used.

The Plan for this closet:

Possibly add paint (only if I can find a color that we already have enough of that will work).

Add baskets to the top shelf for neat storage

Get all the non-essentials out.

Add some type of shoe organizing system

* See The Updated Closet Here

Get matching hangers (I just think it'll look neater)

Now it's your turn! Do you have any ideas or tips for this space?  It really needs help.

Back to the tour.

When you step into the mudroom to right is where we drop our shoes.  The Rosey house is a no shoes house... it helps a ton with floor cleaning, which is the most neglected area in my home.

The Plan for this corner:

Add a mat on the floor to catch the extra water and grass that can get tracked in.

Add a bench and hooks on the wall.

I'm toying with the idea of building a bench.  Most of the ones I've seen that I like won't fit (it's a pretty small corner) or they are unbelievably priced.  The problem is I've never built anything from scratch and I'm kind of worried it'll look crazy.

Your Turn!  What do I do? Has anyone out there ever built something like a bench.  I want it strong enough to sit on and I'd like to add a basket or two for more storage.

Anyway, when glance slightly to the right you can see that this entry leads straight to my kitchen.  Do you see the door that's open? 

 This is whats behind it.  A small can't do anything with it corner. 

 The Plan (it's a small one)
Add an umbrella stand.

Directly across from this cozy little corner (before you get into the Kitchen) is a Powder Room.

Yes, we are still potty training.

It's pretty basic.  Recognize the color from the Laundry Room?  See the little sad frame.  It's my poor excuse for decoration in here.  SMH.

So here's The Plan for this powder room.

 I'd like to add a bit more art on the walls.  Possibly replacing the tiny square that's there.

Add stripes.  We have a lot of metallic gold paint (leftover from another room), I think it will work great in here.

One day* change the lighting (I hate the builder grade, dressing room lights).

One day* change the mirror along with the sink fixtures.

Your Turn!

Please help, any cute ideas for powder room art? Or inexpensive upgrades?

* - projects like these will probably not happen for quite some time.

So that is it for my Home Tour With A Twist.  I hope to hear from you! I also hope to post back soon with updates as I finish them.

Potty Insanity

So to prove that I am absolutely insane I decided to start pottey training the same time I decided to redo the laundry room. Uh... Yeah... Nuts I know. I just can't help myself. I have crazy amounts of patience when it comes to situations. You know; tantrums, long lines, annoying people. However I have no patience when it comes to things I want or want to do. I've wanted to do this for a while.

Lol.. I just erased a super long rant about messy diapers because it seemed a bit too gross, so let's just say I'm tired of changing messy diapers. Munchkin is 32 months old now and I know some will say wait till he's 3, but I can't wait. He'll be 3 in only four months and I figure not much will change in that time.

Anyway, I've googled like crazy (haven't read any books because I feel like you can find anything on the net). I've found some great info and some funny stories. So armed with some fun potty books for Munchkin, the Elmo Potty DVD, a sticker chart, big boy undies, and a few potty chairs... We started. So far things are going. He hasn't been in a diaper in almost two weeks, only pull-ups when we leave the house and nap/bedtime. We've gone from quite a few accidents to only one per day. At some point I have to ease up on taking him to the potty and let him tell me (which he hasn't done yet), I don't see that happening in the near future.

Wish me luck... No seriously I need it. Do you have any advice or funny stories about potty training? I'd love to hear them. Thanks for reading.

Leiah

The Great Playroom Clean-up

So... inspired by this blog, I've decided to purge and organize the kids' playroom. When Munchkin was a baby, hubby and I were very good about not purchasing a crazy amount of toys for him. The extra room in our house that we called the playroom was basically empty except for a few small toys.  Munchkin mostly played with household items... pots, pans, spoons, ect...

Baby Munchkin (13months) in an almost empty playroom.

After hosting a huge Christmas the playroom has definitely earned its name.  Then a few months later at his second birthday party a whole new shipment of toys came through.  Munchkin made out like a bandit on both occasions.  Little Bear has some things as well, but most of the clutter came from Munchkins things. This was the playroom on Sunday when I started this project.

That would be Little Bear sitting there amongst the madness.

I started simple by going through all of the toys, lots of the cheapy happy meal toys went in the trash. I washed some of the other toys and put them in a box to give away. On Christmas I want to go through again and donate some to the local hospital or school. My goal is to make this a tradition for the boys.  I really want to teach them that giving is just as important as receiving.

I've been trying to introduce Munchkin to some responsibilities.  His first new job is to put his toys away at least twice a day, after lunch and before bedtime.  Trying to get him to clean-up is some what of a challenge these days.  I feel like if I just did it myself it would get done faster.  However, I know the benefits will outway the challenges in the long run.  So we sung a clean-up song and got to work together.  He did a pretty good job.  LOL, he started getting frustrated with Little Bear who continued to take out the cars after Munchkin "parked" them.  Sheesh now he knows how I feel. : )

I'm definitely not a perfect organized mommy... But I know the basics.  Everything needs a place to go, if it doesn't have a place then it's got to go! I also made sure not to pack every bin.  One is empty waiting to be filled with new toys. (Little Bears birthday is coming up so I'm sure it won't be empty for long.  Since Munchkin (or Little Bear for that matter) can't read yet, I put some of my teacher skills into play and took pictures of all of the toys to tape on the outside of the bins and walls. I grouped the toys that were similar together: musical, small cars, action figures, teethers, ect... We got the colorful toy bins and rack from my mother's classroom when she retired. Thanks Mommy! (Yes I still call my mother mommy.)  By the way the colorful toy bin rack is attatched to the wall for safety.  The larger toys have a specific place to go along the walls.  My goal is to get another large toy box for the big toys, but I haven't found one I like yet.  Please let me know if you've got any good ideas.

We didn't have anymore photo paper and since I wasn't taking a trip out with both boys just for paper and I was too excited about organizing to wait for the hubby to get home (wait did I just say excited about organizing?!?!?!) I just printed the photos on regular paper with bold word labels. They are a bit flimsy (munchkin already crumpled one up while trying to help) so we shall see how long they stay intact. Anyway this is the after, I'm very proud of myself and my playroom.

Thanks for Reading,

Leiah

Linking to:
iheartorganizing

Things That I Thought Yesterday.

Yesterday I realized my brain runs a million miles a minute with totally contradictory thoughts. Here are few... In no particular order:

Why is it so hot at 7am... OMG! (Sometimes I literally think in internet slang)
I wish this kid would stop following me.
Bad mommy
I love that kid so much.
Why, when they have this huge play room are they both right under me.
Shoot, 11 am... What's for dinner?
Can't wait for the beach tomorrow!
Aww, it'll be Little Bear's first time... Sniffle.
Oooh Wall-E is on.. I love this movie, I should DVR it... Munchkin will love it too.
I can't stand these dogs!!!
Fricken fur all over the place.
Wy am I still sweating... Isn't the AC on?
Grrrr...why do I feel like the maid.
I can't believe he doesn't like Wall-E... Crazy kid.
I can't wait till these terrible twos are f-ing over...
Wait then he'll just be older... Aww my babies are growing too fast.
I so lucky to be able to stay home with them.
I need to go back to work!
No I don't!
I wonder how those triplets from the NICU are doing, they'd be the same age as Little Bear now.
Oh My Gosh!!!! What if I had three 10 month olds and a 2 year old... Shaking my head!
Why is he awake already?!?!
Why does he just throw his f-ing clothes all over... Wtf... Grrr.
I need a glass of wine.
Damn it's hot!
So glad this cutie is sleeping.
I love him so much!!
I wanna eat those toes... (proceeds to insert toes in mouth)
Aww I wish Munchkin would come here and give me a hug.
Yay... Beach tomorrow!!!
Should we bring the baby tent?
It's so fricken hot.
So glad to get away from the house with only one child... And yes he's still sleeping.
I love Babies R Us
No I don't need that
Aww that's cute.... No put it back... Stick to the list.
Damn it... Can't believe I left the meat and cheese on the deli counter... F-ing mommy brain
Wow, it's 8 o'clock already.
I hope Munchkin is still up, wait I know Munchkin is still up.
WTF... He couldn't even get his PJ's on!!! Sheesh he only had one kid here.
I'm so tired
Wow... Look at my boys. (imagines them as teenagers, then quickly shakes image away)
I love rocking my babies
Finally quiet.
Aaaaaaaah... Now where's that wine?

Love Those Loungy Weekends

Happy Monday!!! This past weekend we actually didn't do anything and it was wonderful.  As much as I love going to a BBQ, or one of the other millions activities that we have planned for the summer, there is something to be said about just hanging at home.  I can move slowly for one.  I still kind of do the typical things: care for the boys, cook, even a bit of cleaning.  I just get to do it more slowly.  During the week, when I am at "work" I'm in a zone (well I try to be).  If I'm not then I tend to get stuck in the lazy place could be in front of the TV, Computer, or even zoning out in the playroom while the boys get down.  If I keep myself on task, which is tricky to do, then I accomplish most everything.

Anyway back to lazy weekends.  I'm glad we had nothing to do, cause I had a heck of a headache on Saturday that kind of lasted all day.   You know the kind that throbs behind your eyes... ugggghh!!! I went on strike for dinner and DH had to get some things together.  Luckily I keep frozen meals in the freezer for days like these.

On Sunday I felt much better.  I got up and made some butterscotch muffins.  I substituted apple sauce for the oil and used egg substitute as well.  I would post the recipe but DH said they were dry (thanks, in my sarcastic voice).  Munchkin liked them, of course I think the only reason he was partial to them is because he thought they were cupcakes.  Oh well.

A few weeks ago I got a brand new cast iron skillet.  I was watching the Neely's on Food Newtwork and they made something in one.  It made me remember back in the day when my mom and grand mom had one.  It reminded me of some good old fashioned stick to your bones kind of food.  Food that makes the house smell delish, and warms you up inside and out.  Now I realize it's summer, but when I want something, I want it.  It was preseasoned but I still gave it a good rubdown with crisco and put it on the stove on low.  Since is was Sunday (plus since I went on strike on Saturday) I decided to make a yummy dinner of Roasted Chicken with onion gravy, rice and beans, and steamed veggies.  Okay okay... I admit that I made rice and beans from a box, but it's because while I consider my self a pretty good cook, I have not mastered rice.  It's always sticky and clumpy.  Hubby's family is of Haitian decent and rice was a staple in his house growing up.  Sadly rice is not my thing... I can make some good mashed potatoes, and mac and cheese. But rice, a food he says he ate almost everyday of his young life is usually not on our menu, unless we have a box of just add water.  Goya is the best ;)

Well now its Monday... back to the daily grind.  A grind that I love by the way (does that sound bad).  I love cooking and taking care of my home with my two little boys close by.  I love that I can decide if I want to finish washing dishes, or stop and race Munchkin with his cars, decide to fold clothes or pick up Little Bear and tickle his feet.  He really does have the cutest feet.

See... aren't these the cutest feet in the world!!!

Anyway until next time, have a wonderful day, week, month, year... LIFE!!

Summertime Sleep

First off Happy 4th of July!!! I love Fourth of July BBQs which brings me to my next thought... Summer is one of my favorite seasons (second only to Spring... Love, love, love the Spring). In the summer you've got great weather, BBQs, the beach, and long long days. What's not to love? Well the long days are great, It's nice to eat dinner with my family and still see the sun out. However (and this is where I start to complain), the sunny evenings are keeping my Munchkin awake, and he in turn is keeping Bear awake.

Munchkin has a typical bedtime of 8:00... Earlier if I need a break earlier and later if I'm keeping him up for a kiss from daddy. We have the typical suggested bedtime routine: bath, books, bed. Usually this works. Munchkin has always been a pretty good sleeper. He started sleeping through the night at 4 months and transitioned into a big boy bed rather easily. We've never had to "sleep train" him. The most I've done is sit in his doorway until he settles enough to fall asleep.

Lately bedtime has become more and more frustrating. Munchkin just doesn't seem to be ready for sleep while the sun is up. I suppose you can't blame him... But this is me trying desperately to cling to a schedule. I like 8:00 bedtime (I like 7:30 even better). I actually have some time to decompress and finish up some chores I didn't get to during the day, or just plain veg out.

Tonight, everything was going so smoothly. Munchkin didn't fight me at bath time (which started at 7:15), and came to his room willingly ready for stories (7:45). After his books I kissed him goodnight, closed his door and walked out. I figured he'd probably get up but as long as he stayed in there he might tire himself out and fall asleep. WRONG!!!!

I was sitting across the hall in Little Bear's room rocking and feeding him his bedtime bottle and here comes Munchkin with some random request. I think he requested bed time music (his term for lullabies). Of course now that he's come in, bear is ready to ham it up. So with Bear in one arm I drag walk him back to bed. This repeats at least 6 times. Then I kind of gave in and told him he could lay on the floor while I rock Bear. Nope, because of course he wants to have a conversation. Then I decide, perhaps he just needs quiet time in his room. So I toss some books on the floor, and him too, then shut the door again. This back and forth goes on for another twenty minutes, each time rousing Bear from his "almost a sleep phase". Munchkin finally settled down close to 9:30 with a little help from DH (I think he started to feel my frustration when I shot him daggers from my eyes as he came in for an impromptu goodnight kiss and got both boys all giggley again).

Anyway, moving forward somethings gotta give. For one I will push bedtime back a bit and I think I'll try quiet time for both boys in Little Bear's room. Hopefully I can get Little Bear sleepy enough to fall asleep during his bottle, and I know Munchkin just wants to be close by even if it's quiet time. Plus maybe it'll be dark/dim enough for Munchkin to go to sleep to. I also read that maybe I could try some room darkening blinds, I'd probably get temporary cause I'm cheep thrifty ;).

Until next time, wish me luck! I'll keep you posted.

My Other Two Babies

So as you know I have two babies.  My Munchkin who is 2 years old, and my Little Bear who is 9 months old.  Well I also have two other babies, Pink and Blue.  Pink and Blue are both blue nose American Pit Bull Terriers.  Blue nose just refers to their coloring, a bluish gray color.  Blue is solid blue nose and pink is blue brindle.  

Years ago (I guess 4) my husband (at the time boyfriend) said he wanted to get a Pit Bull.  Even though I was a dog lover I had some biased about the breed and was totally against it.  I was really annoyed and thought he was just trying to be a tough guy.  But he/we did a lot of research.  DH brought me to meet friends of his that owned a pit bull along with having 3 small children.  This dog was huge and as he lay his head on my lap and drooled while I pet him, all I could think about was how he could probably rip my head off if he wanted.  With that said he was a great dog.  He was gentle with the kids, and very obedient.  His owners emphasized the importance of responsible dog ownership with any dog, and while they trusted their dog.  He was still a dog and was not ever left alone with the kiddos.  After much more research we decided with a breeder in California (we didn't want to risk adopting a Pit Bull with a questionable past).

Blue arrived in January 2006.  We had to pick him up from the airport.  He was such a cutie.  For some reason I can't find any of his puppy pictures but trust me... it was love at first sight.  I guess the reason for his name is Obvious.  His full name is Blue Eyed Bandit.  He is the biggest lap dog ever (well at least that I know).  He can be pretty rambunctious at times.  But as Ceser Milan says "a tired Pit Bull is a well behaved Pit Bull."  and this is true.. so a quick run outside will settle him.

We brought pink home in April of 2008.  I was getting the itch to be a mommy so I decided to settle for a new puppy.  Funny how life works, 2 1/2 months after we brought her home I found out I was preggo with Munchkin.  I always joke that she almost never made it to our family.  We purchased Pink from the same breeder since Blue was such a good boy.   This is the picture the Breeder sent us.  Look at her face... I love it!!!

When Pink came home to us she was a teeny tiny thing but she still held her own with Blue.  It's funny cause even though she's smaller and younger than Blue, she is the Alpha dog in our house.  "Who run's the world? Girls"  in my Beyonce voice... hehehe.  Pink is very gently with Munchkin.  I think since she's a female she knows he's a baby and she treats him like it.  We don't let Blue play too much with Munchkin, like I said he's rambunctious and might accidentally hurt him.  It's all about responsible dog ownership.  Pink prefers to keep to herself most of the time and she is very protective.  I always tell hubby, if I ever have to walk down a dark ally (probably never) I want Pink, as Blue is likely to run away from an assailant.

When we first moved to our new house, the dogs moved to our basement.  I had a small baby (Munchkin) and a monster commute, close to two hours each way.  I just couldn't take on the responsibility for them.  We bought huge kennels to contain them and give them room to walk around (and to ease our conscience for leaving them down there.)  Recently we decided to re-civilize them, they'd started to just go when they felt like it instead of waiting for a walk, and I just felt horrible about their quality of life.  2 short walks and only a few minutes of play time with us (they also had lots of toys since we felt bad about not playing with them).  A few weeks ago we moved them upstairs into the laundry room.  I think everyone is happier.  Munchkin loves having them around.  The doggies love to hang out, and once in while I let Blue climb in my lap and lick my face to his hearts content.

Look What I Found!

A couple a weeks ago I decided to complete the chore that I hate doing... Cleaning out the car.   For anyone out there who has children or lives in their car (with a long commute), you will understand. I used to clean out the car every week over the summer (when I had one child). Wash down the dash, radio, and steering wheel with lysol wipes, and vacuum all the stray Cheerios. I haven't cleaned the car in months and this is what I found.

Every time I look at this picture I giggle to myself.  There were no less than 7 empty juice boxes, probably a zillion old cheerios (small exaggeration), a  Mary Kay card, coffee cups, toys, empty water bottles and so many other things.  You could look in this picture and play Where's Waldo.  LOL!! Can you find the mitch matched mittens? or the crumpled Dunkin Donuts Bag?  While it is slightly embarrassing to post this, I know I'm not the only one who has a car that gets a bit out of control.  

Next I will clean out my purse, and may or may not post a pic ; )

The damn bugs!!

 Last week I saw a humming bird, an actual humming, hovering, tiny humming bird! This may not be exciting to you, but I had never seen one before then. Once in a while I see foxes, and pretty often I see deer in my yard. I've seen lots of different colored birds (sometimes makes me think of getting into bird watching... maybe not), and the butterflies are gorgeous. I can't be sure, but I think I've seen a hawk. I've never seen a bear, but my neighbor said they did. I say all this to say how awesome it is to live out in the country. I get go see so many beautiful living things, and I love pointing them out to my son. I love love love it, except... for the damn bugs.

I've seen an equal number of insect species as I have cute furry and feathery ones. I'm not particularly afraid of bugs... I just don't like them. At the risk of sounding to girlie... They're gross. Spiders, beatles, flys, stink bugs, ants, mosquitoes and all the other little critters are just one big ol' pile of yuck! Luckily, they tend to stay outside and I can tolerate them out there. But here and there they make there way in the house. I take serious offense when they are in one of my babies' rooms. The pest will quickly receive a sentence of death by shoe, or rolled up magazine. Uggggg... I get the hebbee gee bees just thinking about them. One the other hand...

I also love the view from just about every side of my house, especially the back. The first time my husband and I walked through our home, I imagined sipping coffee at our table and gazing outside. I am happy to say I've done it many times. In the fall the colors are frickin' amazing. After a good snow, it looks like a winter wonderland (remember when Lucy first went through the wardrobe... Yeah, like that). in the spring and summer the hills are covered with thick greenery so bright it makes me truly believe God must have been an artist.

If only I was a good photographer, perhaps I could do the view some justice... sigh.

If it weren't for the damn bugs, this place would be utopia (small exaggeration). The bright side of thousands of bugs... (I really try to find the bright side of everything) lightening bugs, or fire flies for some of you. On any given spring evening it looks like a thousand tiny camera flashes all firing at the same time. Think super bowl during the winning catch. I love it, and wish I had a camera that could capture it. I guess the damn bugs aren't all bad...