Our trip to Nashville!

We (Mom, the kids and I) took a short trip to Nashville this past weekend, and we had a great time! I had a CE to go to on Sunday, so we went there on Sat and got back Sunday night. The kids had a blast... and we did too!

OK - so you need to check out the funniest video ever on Casey's blog! Kate fell down and Sophia "spanked" the grass for tripping Kate. Well, that turned to a funny that just wouldn't stop. Watch for Brooks to copy the girls at the end of the video!



Playing on the piano. Notice Brooks sitting just like his Mama.

Kate and Sophia in the tub.

I love these pictures of the girls playing with the hose!

More pics!

Sophia

Love this of Kate...

Brooks

Sophia and Kate

Pics from Nashville

Sophia

I love this picture - it's like the Brady Bunch. Everyone is looking in different directions...

Pics from Nashville trip

Sophia

Kate, Brooks and Sophia

Crafting again!

I made this arrangement yesterday! For those who are coming to our blog lunch... there will be glimpses of it next Saturday!

The inside of the bowl has nuts from Gatlinburg. The crimson hydrangeas were from Tuesday Morning, and the rest of the filler flowers were from the Dollar Tree.

I also found these cute oil paintings from Tuesday Morning. I LOVE tiny pictures in chunky frames. I wish I could have hundreds of them! I have been looking for something like this forever - and finally found them yesterday. I'm not sure if I like them over the sink, but I think that part of it is the lighting. I want to replace it, but I'm hoping I can figure out what to replace it with!

Up close of the adorable florals.

You know it's time to be home when...

I worked a half a day today (well, I ended up staying until 2pm...). The kids were already down for their nap. When I woke Brooks up, I expected smiles... but what did I get?

"Where's Mimi?"

I finished my marathon working today - and it feels like I am out of school for the summer. I had a great week. It reminds me that I really do love being a veterinarian, and I am good at it!

Sunday night, a guest speaker was telling a story of a motivational speaker. He said if you feel like you never get anything accomplished, make a list of the things that matter the most. So, if nothing else, you get SOMETHING accomplished that day.

For me, at the clinic, if I finished the day feeling like my clients were happy with how I treated their pets, I felt satisfied. I felt this all week. Each day I finished I felt like I had done a good job.

Now, I get to me a full-time Mom again! :)

A most interesting patient

Here is our raccoon patient from last week. It was so interesting to have something different come into the clinic.

He weighed 27 pounds. That's about 15 pounds too much.

His mother said his favorite treat is "I can't believe it's not butter" on a frito...

Who, me?

(Brooks in our sick ward today)

Tonight Kate was asking us to draw houses for her. When Scott suggested that I draw it, he said, "Is Mama the artist of the family?"

Kate replied, "No sir, Daddy. Mama is the genius."

(Oh, and Scott said he has NEVER told her to say this... I think SHE is a genius! HA!)

Just a picture of a birdhouse I painted many years ago (when they were popular). I still like it, but it doesn't come out very often.

Yes, I'm still here...

A week of working will really put you out of touch with the blogging world!

I am so thankful that this past week was wonderful. I had a fantastic time at work - besides being tired. I consider any day good when I feel like I had a handle on everything that came by, sick wise. I feel sufficiently recovered as of today, so it will be back to the grind tomorrow. I work most of this coming up week, too.

Brooks has been sick. Started with a runny nose on Wed, fever on Thurs and now coughing his head off. After having a pretty yucky diaper this morning, we decided that he should stay home. So, I am here blogging... I think that a dr's visit is in order next week. He had a pretty hard time coughing last night.

So, you are caught up.

Amazing that a week can be so busy but have nothing to blog about...

Belated birthday...

I loved seeing Allison's and Rebecca's blogs.

Here's a glimpse of 2 years with our special boy, who (after teething) has brought us the most laughter and smiles.

If laughter indeed prolongs your life, my son will live many, many years.

We love you Brooks!

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Today is Brooks' 2nd birthday! Despite all I do, he is growing up too fast and I just can't stand it. He is the happiest toddler - and makes us laugh every day. I am so thankful for him!

More pictures later - it was a long busy day at work and I am pooped...

My favorite room of my house

(this was the best pic I could find - when we were doing the backsplash)

1. I love our kitchen. We have been in this home for 1 1/2 years, and put our heart and soul into making this kitchen our own.

2. I love many different styles, but I have to say that I am mostly traditional. I love clean lines, symmetry and antiques!

3. My favorite item in this room is my chandelier! This house had a 1980's ceiling fan originally. I purchased a regular light fixture from Lowes (I can say that, right? HA!) but never was very happy with it. While shopping at an antique store I came across this fixture and fell in love! It was the perfect size and the perfect style for me! I purchased it knowing I would need it rewired - which I then did myself (my first rewiring job, I might add). I am so proud of my job and how pretty it looks!

(after just hanging the light!)

Random pictures

Our neighbor's horse - we don't know his name. Brooks calls him "Reed".

I really like this one of Brooks! I think I have another Christmas card contender?!?!

More decorating ideas from me

OK, so I am SO not a decorator, but I do come up with ideas occasionally that I really like. Usually I just end up "borrowing" ideas from everyone else! HA!

I love the abstractness of old window panes. But, these needed something to give them some kind of interest. I had always envisioned putting 8X10's in the panes, but who has that many, and there aren't many cameras that aren't professional that will put out one that large (and not look blurry). So, I decided to just put random pics of the kids in there. It gives me a chance to display some of my favorite pics I have of the kiddos!

As you can see, I have devoted our spare bath to the kids - and I love it. I have also used a b/w theme for the photos - but the colors are blue and brown.

The finished mantle!

As you can see from the sheen of the red paint, I have decided not to paint again (for now). Suellen was right, now I can't just paint a flat over the semi-gloss (again, WHAT was I thinking?) I got these new picture frames at Walmart - they are a Southern Living line. The easels that they are propped on were from Walmart, too; also a Southern Living design. They were only $5.00 each! I am finally happy with the design - and it will stay that way until Christmas!

If you missed it above, I made a crafty wheat project off an idea that I borrowed from Nicole. I bought some sheaves of wheat from Dollar Tree, hot glued them around some vegetable cans (corn and potatoes - in keeping with a fall theme), wrapped them with a coordinating fabric and tied a simple orange ribbon. I really like the way they stand out against the red.

This was a labor of love - that took me about 2 hours this afternoon. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the wall space between the upper and lower cabinet. At Grace's suggestion, I made a fabric board. Actually, I purchased some coordinating fabric for the kitchen. I attached some batting to the sheet rock using a heavy duty stapler (used for upholstery). I then covered the batting with the fabric, stapling around the perimeter. Using a thin ribbon, I criss-crossed a pattern on the fabric. Then I nailed upholstery tacks at the intersections. I finished by trimming the entire fabric with a thicker matching ribbon.

Here's a picture of how it turned out finished. We are going to be repainting the kitchen (eventually) so that everything won't just run all together.

Pictures

Kate and Bear

our outside cat, Frank

Brooks