Winter Finds

So my main goal at Saturday's yard sales was to find Miss Madi some new shoes. This is mainly due to the fact that somewhere between the library parking lot and Josh's work parking lot a sandal went missing. They were on her feet when she go lifted into the car and only one remained when she was taken out. We've looked everywhere, multiple times. So in an effort not to have to wear sandals that were too big or sneakers to church, I set out to yard sale. However, it was not my luck to find any shoes even close to her size. . .

But. . . I did find lots of clothing for her! I got a snowsuit outfit for her with pink overall type snowpants and a pink coat. I also got another purple coat suitable for winter weather. And some winter hats. And some long sleeve shirts and long pants. I found it all at one yard sale (which always seems to be the case), and they were priced amazingly. $5 for the snowsuit outfit, $3 for the purple coat, and $1 or $2 three-piece outfits. Great deals! I ended up spending $32 and got home with over 35 pieces of clothing! Very exciting.

Otherwise, I don't have much more to report about the yard sales. I got Josh a Christmas gift, found a valance for maybe the upstairs hallway, and a few toys.

Saturday

So tomorrow morning I will be heading out into the world of other people's trash to bring it back to my home of treasures. Yes, I will be making my way to some yard sales without a little one in tow might I add! I know, I know, yard sales and a timeout from Madi all in one! Anyone want to tag along?

It's a POOPIE party!

No, not poopie as in something you might find in Madi's diaper. It's a P.O.O.P.I.E. party, as in People Opposing Objectionable Pretend plants In the Environment. Over at Nesting Place, people are sharing the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly when it comes to using fake plants in decorating. So I decided to participate. Unfortunately, I only have two fake plants at the moment, so I can't even demonstrate all three kinds (good, bad, and ugly). But I do have one good (at least I think so), and one is down right U-G-L-Y!

Here's the good: (over the master bedroom bed which I have shared before)



And here's the ugly:


The ugly was purchased at a yard sale. You can see that sticker with the price, and you can see that layer of dust. My plan is to remove the hideously old and dusty ivy, clean the entire thing, maybe spray paint it black, and reassemble with something different in place of the ivy. I'll share the finished product when I'm done, but no promises as to when it will be completed. We are starting the process of renovating our family room--that means removing everything from it, finishing sealing the floor (yucky pet odor so long), fixing walls, painting walls, laying flooring, etc. So we have quite a task ahead of us. But I promise some day, some room will be completed. . . maybe.

On a Funny Note

Just thought I would let you know that as I was writing the past post, I felt like listening to some music, and proceeded to the Sesame Street Video site planning to listen to some of their rocking tunes. As my cursor navigated it's way to the bookmark bar, I realized that Madilyn is wearing off on me, and my music of choice has fallen to the level of Bert cavalcading across the stage belting out "doing the pigeon". Now in my defense (though I think I'm too far gone to be anywhere near winning this battle), Sesame Street music has come a long way. If you don't believe me, go to their site, and check out some of my new favorites from their featured video section: The Shoe Fairy and Fiesta : 1 2 3 4. Though I can't offer you any advice on getting the tunes out of your head once you are done; they reside in mine continuously.

An Organized Garage

So I'm sorry to report that my curtains are still not hung, but hopefully this evening they will be, and pictures will be up tomorrow.

But to help assuage the disappointment, here are some pictures of my newly organized garage. Now before you look, please understand this was done on a non-existent budget, so there are no fancy storage containers. And please understand that some of the garage still contains boxes that need to be unpacked once the remainder of the house is completed. So this is no where near the beautifully stylish garage's you might be used to seeing. This is simply an organized garage using what I had on hand. With that being said, here are some pictures. I think even little David, our godson, would be unable to say that our garage was still "too junky to park our cars in", click here if you missed that story. I hope so anyway. Though, umm, the cars are still not parked in the garage. Some day, maybe, before snow.

Arrival

The curtains arrived today! And they are exactly what I wanted! Stay tuned for pictures. We still have to hang the curtain rod, but hopefully, Josh will get to that in the next day or two.

Vacuum, Crunches, and a Helper

Finally, I think my motivation has returned, and none too soon, as there is a ton that needs to be done. I've been busily prepping for Madilyn's First Year Scrapbook (I have from August to Christmas mapped out already), making some decisions about curtains (just ordered these valances from JCPenney), and hanging up pictures. It's funny how a little decision like where to hang 3 framed flower prints can take such a long time. Part of it is that I'm a little bit of a perfectionist, and the rest is that I remember how much work it was to fill in all the nails holes when we moved in and repainted. But finally decisions are being made.

As part of my motivation streak, I vacuumed (the downstairs) and did my ab workout. Yes, I know that that really doesn't sound like a lot, but with a 13 month old around, it really takes more time than expected.

Let me elaborate:

To vacuum: First, as you all know, you need to pick up the floor, well, when you have a 13 month old trailing behind you randomly strewing items behind her, it gets a little complicated. Gingerly, you attempt to overtake her as she loops around and around from the living room to dining room to kitchen in your wake thinking she is helping you by removing the very magnet you circumnavigated the downstairs to place back on to the refrigerator's smudged and sticky front. Finally, you can post a defeat, and internally thanking your longer legs, you pull the vacuum from the hall closet. The sound of the door sliding back into place and the vacuum rolling across the floor brings a scampering of little feet, one set of 4 paws racing for the safety of the bed skirt upstairs, and the other carefully plodding along to "help".

Now, Madilyn does not mind the vacuum, but I think we have developed a bad habit. If she is left on the ground or with her daddy within earshot of the vacuum she screams and cries. However, when in her mommy's arms "helping" to push the vacuum, she is blissfully serene. So I plugged in the vacuum, lifted my daughter into my arms, gave the warning couple quick on and offs, then started the vacuum, and began the ardorous process of pushing the beast around the floor with one arm. Midway, through the living room, Madilyn begins to sign. Yes, we have begun to teach her sign language in an effort to make life easier and less whine filled. However, as the sign was repeatedly made with more and more elaborate guestures, the ease of the sign language's intend was fully gone. So I stopped the vacuum, got her a drink, lifted her and the drink back into my arms, and using my other arm finished vacuuming. Let's just say that this is why I DO NOT need to waste time lifting weights.

To Complete an Ab Workout:
This task is actually less of a workout than vacuuming as you get that beautiful relief of sprawling on the floor. The problem here arises from the fact that normally when Mommy is laying on the floor it means that it is time to wrestle. So as expected, Madilyn wanders over to my fully exposed stomach (remember I'm doing crunches, so my arms are supporting my large head), and proceeds to lay on top of me making an "awww" sound. This makes me giggle, which makes my arms and stomach muscles even more weak than usual. I calmly try to suggest that Madilyn go get a book. She toddles away and returns with some baby flashcards in a box. These entertain her for a few minutes, while I get my crunches with a "lever" (extended arm) completed. She then proceeds to stack the flashcards onto my belly watching them raise up and down as I crunch. Loosing interest, she wanders toward my legs, steps on my feet, and having an "ahah" moment (no kidding I saw the light bulb go off) bends down and proceeds to tickle my feet. Mommy's repeated "stop" filled laughs causes Madilyn to instead grab her push corn popper, and wander underneath my raised and lowering legs treating them as train crossing gates. Finally, she spots my hair clip laying near my head and deciding it would look better in my hair, proceeds to grind it into my scalp. So perhaps, next time, I'll do my ab video when she is napping.