"Don't say me no."

"Don't say me no." really means "don't TELL me no." HA Just one of his cute little sayings that I know will not last forever.

The other night while Skyping with Grandma & Grandpa Chief he was diving on the couch. I told him he needed to stop. His response, "Don't say me not to jump. Just say me to keep jumping." It sounds so backwards to me, but it obviously makes complete sense to him!

Of course my main reason for asking him to stop jumping/diving on the couch was because I could just see him flipping off and breaking an arm or landing on his head, etc. etc. I am not an overly cautious mom, but come on....that is just asking for an accident....or a broken couch too!

Well, while I was at the store yesterday and while Brian was in the kitchen, Connor managed to somehow scrape his face on the fireplace. I guess he could have just kept jumping on the couch. When I got home, Brian told me to go see Connor in our bed. He was holding a frozen fish (plastic) to his head (sort of) and drinking juice. (A drink has always made his ow-ees go away....that or it just plugs his mouth so it is tougher to cry!)

Here is a picture I just took with my phone. It looks a lot better today actually. Or course it was fun to explain at preschool today. His classmate, Shane put his hand on the glass of their fireplace and has 2nd degree burns, so this looks pretty mild.

"How's your foot, Dad?"

Brian sprained his ankle a week and a half ago. It was pretty bad....turned his whole foot blue. Connor was very concerned and referenced the "has-a-pit-al" several times. Brian knew he didn't break anything, but took care of it by icing, heating and elevating appropriately.

It was super sweet when Connor told Brian goodbye before going to school and as he walked out of our bedroom, he stopped at the door, "How's your foot, Dad?"

Super sweet.

Hide & Seek

Brian and Connor are playing hide and seek at this very moment. So far, Connor has totally given himself away by laughing, run out of his hiding spot, and locked himself in the bedroom to prevent Brian from finding him. He also cheats and counts really fast or skips numbers.

Pretty stinkin' funny.

Craft Night — Yarn/Felt wreath

I know, I know...there will be retroactive posts that include CHRISTMAS!

But I just had to very quickly add pictures of my fabulous wreath (can you tell I'm proud)? I may have to make another larger one for the front door....

Thanks to my friend, Anne for hosting!

Will post a picture once I find a good home and hang it with a coordinating ribbon.

• Made by wrapping a straw (14") wreath with yarn...about a million times.
• Cut felt into a wavy spiral and roll up tightly.
• Using a straight pin to hold it together.
• Thinner wavy felt line, equals shorter flower.
• Use corsage pins to secure the flowers through the center into the wrapped wreath form.

Dust, Dust, Dust.

There is a 1/4" coat of grayish white on everything in my house. How does drywall dust and sanded paint travel so far?!

Good news is that this means progress. As I type, the painters are putting the second coat of "Studio Taupe" on the walls. The electrician comes tomorrow to install a ceiling fan (that I have to purchase today) and put in outlets and switches. Then fingers crossed that the carpet will be installed on Thursday...or Friday at the latest. If it can't be installed by then, we will have to fill the room without carpet only to move everything out again when the carpet is ready. I REALLY don't want to have to mess with that. So as silly as it is, prayers that the carpet goes in on or before Friday!

window and door into room

tiny closet

empty corner

Successful Washing Machine "surgery"

Our washing machine has been acting really weird and hums really loudly and then doesn't do the final spin of the clothes about 1/2 time. Sweet. This thing is not even 3 years old.

Brian did a little research and said he thought it might be that the drain is clogged. Great, so how do we unclog it?

With some help from the internet, we tipped back the front loading washing machine (full of soaking wet clothes), took off the front panel to access the space under the "drum", then proceeded to take off clamps and hoses to the drain. This was a little scary for us because this is uncharted territory for us and the last thing we wanted is to have to call someone to put our washing machine back together!!

folded up laundry sheet

Well, we found the culprit. Wadded up inside was an (approximately) 6x9x.25" detergent/fabric softener sheet. that was absolutely caked with gunk, grit, lint, etc and STUNK! I previously loved using these because I am sure that I use more detergent than is needed in the HE machine and these took the guesswork out.

Not worth it if they get sucked into the drain. Seriously....huge. Connors socks are way smaller so I'm sure they probably could have

unfolded grossness

gotten sucked all the way through.

I am now confident that the washing machine was actually "eaten" things before.

the drain

Anyway, we got it. The problem was putting back one of the tubing "neck" clamps back over the hose. I tried for about 30 minutes and Brian tried for just as long. It is now being tightly held on by a zip tie instead. It still works great and we have tested it with 2 loads and have no water on the floor. :) I never thought a high spin cycle could be such a beautiful thing.

difficult to tell, but this is a successful spin cycle!

Polar Express

This is just a small tease, but we had such a wonderful time on the Polar Express last night. I took over 300 pictures and would like to edit some before I post. However, this one is now "processed" (raw on Facebook) and it is my favorite of the trip.

mixed up sentences

"I will see this at the movie feeter, I want."

He just said this 5 seconds ago and since I have my computer in my lap, I thought I'd document. He is referencing the new "Al Chipmunks" movie (Alvin and the Chipmunks) that is coming out on Friday. He was previously uninterested in these chipmunks (liked Chip & Dale) until Brian recorded the movie the other day on our DVR. Now he thinks it is absolutely hysterical and laughs out loud at the tv. :)

And TODAY is the day for the Polar Express. We plan to leave around 10:00 this morning to head to Ohio!