Snow and Puppies

Wow, I can't believe it has been that long since my last post. Time seems to fly by without us noticing. So much has happened so here is the recap:

March 09 - Finally closed on our house here in Manassas, Va. We love it and the neighborhood.

April 09 - Celebrated Madi's 8th birthday at the Roller Rink. A great time was had by all.

May 09 - Still getting settled into the new house and starting some renovations (kitchen).

June 09 - Celebrated Ethan's 4th birthday at the all time kid hang out - Chuck E Cheese. He had to have his party there even though he is scared to death of Chuckie.

I started working part time at a hospital in Warrenton, Va.

July 09 - Still renovating the kitchen.

Aug 09 - Busy meeting neighbors and all the 19 kids on our cul-de-sac. The kids are having a ball.

Dan put in for a new position and got it. A lot of excitment.

Sept 09 - School starts for Madi. She loves her new teachers and friends. Ethan is adjusting very well to his new 5 day preschool.

Dan's parents come all the way from Montana for a month visit. They had a great time and are thinking of coming back in the spring.

Oct 09 - Dollie, our cavalier king charles, has three puppies.

Dan and I went to a B&B for our 14th anniversary. We toured Monticello and hiked up Crabtree Falls off the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Madi was a geisha girl and Ethan was spiderman with muscles for halloween. They enjoyed trick or treating with all the kids on our street.

Nov 09 - I ended up having to work Thanksgiving so we celebrated the day after with my parents.

The puppies are growing.

Today we have had about 12 inches of snow so far and it is only noon. It has been snowing since 9pm last night. The kids said it was too cold to play but the puppies had a ball. This was their for time walking in the snow. They will be ready for their new homes next week. We are going to be sad to see them go.

Bend it like Ethan

Ethan has really enjoyed his first year playing soccer. He is on the U4 Rush. His coaches are Tank and James. They do a great job coaching. They have 6 players including Ethan. All boys and one girl. Ethan is not sure of all the kid's names on his team so he just calls them his "boys". They have played 3 games so far and have won all three. He has scored at least one goal each game. Maybe we have a future Beckham on our hands.

Apartment Reveal #2

We have been getting slack from some people about not including more pictures of our apartment. So here you go. Now I know some of you were impressed with the Entertainment stand in our family room but this is one is even better. This stand doubles as a TV stand and a tool chest. It is very sturdy so we don't have to worry about the kids knocking the TV over.

I included this great picture because some have specifically asked to see our bargain lamp. It is a great table for a computer and doubles as our only light in the family room. Because we have such great window treatments, they keep our apartment kind of dark hence the reason for no lamp shade. We rescued this great piece of furniture from being thrown into our local landfill. Yes we had to modify it a little to get it to work but it has turned out to be a great asset to our apartment. I have yet to be called by HGTV but am sure once they see my imaginative use of many multi-functional pieces they will be begging me.

Here is the breakdown:

Tool Chest/Entertainment Stand: $59.99 at your local hardware store

Lamp/Computer Table: FREE from the neighbors trash

Time spent with two kids and a husband 24/7 for 30 days in a 350 square foot apartment: Still Priceless

Our apartment's big reveal

Some of you have waited so patiently for the big reveal of our apartment. Finally it is here. I am thinking about taking a job on HG.TV to be a "Stager". I think they will be begging me after they see how great our apartment looks. My favorite find for our apartment was the great window treatments. They were bargained priced at 50 cent at the local thrift store. I think they really open up the space. I would have to say my next favorite piece is the nice sage green entertainment stand. It was a bargain find from our local Wal-mart. It is a multi-functional piece that not only serves as a TV Stand but also a storage unit.

Here is the breakdown:

Window Treatments: $.50

Multi-functional Entertainment stand: $5.00

Time spent with two kids and husband 24/7 for 30 days in about 350 square feet: Priceless