A little pink

Okay here is my latest...Scott close your eyes and don't read this...I have been craving some PINK around the house.  Yep PINK.  You can probably imagine how much PINK we have in here right now...zip ZIPPO..I may have 1 or 2 pink shirts and that's a big MAYBE.  I am not a big PINK person in general anymore but lately have been seeing a lot of it in magazines and in blogs.  Like these...

 maybe a pink fridge?

 one of my favorite color combos has always been pink and green, from the Preppy Handbook you know

love this chair

 brighter pink than I like but love it with the grey

 love this shade of pink

and this

and below this from my new blog friend Holly Mathis' blog :) This picture is cute and girly...she has 2 boys.

When I was in the 7th grade my Mom gave me permission to redecorate my room however I wanted to, I chose Laura Ashley and a lot and I mean a LOT of pink.  Pink carpet, pink balloon window treatments, white and pink wallpaper and coordinating bedding.  I mean when you walked in the door it was a HUE of pink.  I LOVED it...then I fell out of love with pink and in love with forest green.  Yep, quite the dramatic shift I know.  

Bring it back to today, the year 2011.  I have been craving to paint SOMETHING in our home PINK.  I asked Scott if I could paint the Laundry room pink..he gasped and about passed out.  I think he is thinking Iowa Hawkeyes visitors locker room, yep it's pink....to traumatize the opponents.  I think Scott is thinking what would that do to these 4 boys every day walking to their lockers, that are in the laundry room,  and being surrounded by all of the PINK.  So he kaboshed that idea.  I asked about the bathroom, again, a look of dismay from my beloved.  I was laying in bed last night and told him maybe I should just paint my closet pink, it's all mine, and no one else goes in there.  He didn't seem to mind that idea...but can you IMAGINE the work of painting a walk in closet.  Not only the unloading of EVERYTHING in there, which would probably be good in some ways...but then painting around all of the organizer stuff, shelves, etc...ewww....so that probably isn't going to happen.  Anyone have any other ideas of what I could paint PINK around here?

In his chair

A little baby, a little chair and a BIG remote

The cookies are coming...the cookies are coming...

We have a slight obsession with Girl Scout cookies around here...and we had our very first case delivered today.  Yes, you read that right I said our FIRST CASE.  Seriously, we get phone calls from friends to purchase Girl Scout cookies from them.  We buy them, one case at a time.  It's a pretty bad addiction.  It's probably a good thing we don't have little girls; then we wouldn't be able to support all of our friends little girls in their quests for top selling girl in their troops.  I think we have helped more than one friend get that title!  Thin Mints go in the freezer, and we love the Shortbread and we get a few Thanks-A-Lots for Jack, his favorite.  Yummy...

As our little friend Megan delivered our first case today,   Scott was in the driveway heading out with Drew and grabbed a box of Shortbread before they even made it in the front door.  Yep, the obsession is that bad.

Bring on the cookies.....

Neat house confession

This post is dedicated to my friends who "think" our house is always perfect, you know who you are, the ones who I tell to stop by unannounced someday to see what we really live like.  Here is the proof that our house is NOT always picked up.  :)

One of my goals is to have a welcoming home.  A home where people come to and feel loved, and welcomed.  A place where our boys feel safe and where kind things are spoken.  Sort of a NEST of our own.  When we were first married I had this same desire...and we hosted friends over all the time.  We loved having people over.  We still enjoy it, it just doesn't happen as often with the busyness of life.  We love to have friends over.  I KNOW the boys love to have friends over.

But ONE thing I have noticed myself doing is always trying to make it "LOOK" like our house is always perfect when in reality it isn't.  More days than not the beds aren't all made, there are clothes on the floor (my mom is shuttering right now with that comment), there are toys on the floor, my kitchen desk is cluttered, the island has paper piles and the garage not in order.  I really loved reading this last week from a blog I love.    Sometime last week I read this about keeping a clean house.   I loved how she walked around and took pictures of what her house really looks like, NOT what she usually shows on the blog.  I find myself strategically taking photos where I know the background will look picked up, or making the boys slide stuff to one side of the island so it will "look" like a magazine was just here shooting pictures.  Well friends, that's NOT reality, at least not mine.  So in going with being real I just stopped typing long enough to take a few pics of what is around me right now...YEP the real deal.  What our house looks like at this moment.

 Drew was making cupcakes after school

 Family room floor where Max was playing

 Island with everything from cough medicine, to bibs that need to be put away, some bday gifts of Scott's, a camera lens, some ribbon from wrapping a friends bday gift today...

my desk with piles of paper, books, gum,,,cords and more cords.

I feel like I have just shared with you my real weight...not my drivers' license weight.  :)

Oh how I would LOVE to have things neat and tidy all the time.  But it just isn't reality.  I don't want to make our boys feel like we can ONLY have people over when it is like that.  Yes, I am SO guilty of telling them they couldn't have friends over since this was a mess, or that was a mess.  And really...do you think 13 year old boys CARE what a house looks like?  All they want are some warm cookies and some fun with their buddies.  It's ME that has the issue.  So for the past couple of weeks I have been consciously trying NOT to freak out about the house, trying to remember that HOSPITALITY is so much MORE than what your house looks like.  It's the LOVE and WELCOME people feel in your home.

I know I have a long ways to go.  I have ALWAYS loved to decorate, always LOVED to make things look pretty.  And it's a struggle for me to just let it be and let stuff go.  Of course I won't ever be able to really "let it go", but for me, allowing it not to be perfect and NOT stressing about it is as close as it will ever come. :)

Susan


P.S.  Then I read this from the Nesting Place today.  I also can SO relate to it.  SO much truth in the buying and decorating habits of mine.  I LOVE to find neat new things, then I have so much extra.  Trying to pare down and simplify.  I have been using Craigslist and ebay this winter and LOVE that others are getting to use some of my fun finds.

NOTE BELOW COMMENT ADDED:  This came from my almost 90 year old Grandma today via email.  She gets the blog via email....cutest comment.
"How cute.Reminds me when all 4 of my children were home and dear aunt Vivian & Bill would drive in the  yard for an  un-announced  visit. They had no children so while I hurriedly put on a clean apron only to see Vivian in another new outfit. Teenage girls always have an ironing board  put up,lots of preparation stuff in the kitchen etc but we loved them & they came often to “just visit”..As Dean says “I like a home that looks lived in”.. Love you, Grandma"

Birthday Party

 opening his card and gift from Jack...

 Tommy and Scott are both into John Wooden right now, Tommy was excited to find these books for Dad

 Max was most thrilled with shredding the tissue paper up

 Drew was all about the Nike workout clothes

 golf glove from Max

 Happy birthday to Daddy

This was my favorite thing of the entire night....Jack made Scott this coupon on his own "A free coupond for a boys night out to see a movie and to eat Dinner."  After Scott opened that and read it out loud a light bulb went off in Tommy's head and he said "hold on a minute I need to run and do something".  His little brother had a brilliant idea and Tommy wanted to cash in on some of that one on one time too.  It was pretty funny.  Everyone loves one on one time with Dad and everyone loves dinner OUT alone with Dad!

His very favorite Boston Creme Pie...4 boy candles and a pink girl in the middle.  :)  Happy Birthday Love!

Happy Birthday to my Love

Today is my Love's birthday...it is a full day of stuff for pretty much everyone but him.

We did manage to make breakfast in bed for him before church...then church and Sunday School.  Now he is at Tommy's first of 3 basketball games today with Drew, we are trailing a bit behind.  Hoping for some family time around dinner for cake and presents.  Then he has to go and be there for baseball tryouts for Tommy's age group as he signed up to be an assistant coach.  

Happy birthday to the love of my life.  The guy who can make me laugh every day.  The guy who makes me feel safe and protected.  The guy who puts his family before himself.  The guy who is rooted in what matters and what is true.  The guy who loves being a Dad.  He prides himself in being a great husband.  He works hard at his job so I can be home.  He values what I do.  He appreciates growing up in the home he did, he is grateful.  He his loyal beyond where loyalty goes.   He has more friends from every chapter of his life than I can even count.  He admits when he makes mistakes and apologizes with his heart.  He loves God, loves his wife and loves our boys with his whole heart.

Happy birthday Love....I hope somewhere in the midst of our crazy day today you feel extra special and extra loved.  

This Sweet Girl

Heading to Minnesota soon with Max, to celebrate this little girl's birthday.  Our sweet niece Alice turned 3 last week.  We will have a party for her tonight...

I'll be back soon, until then...the 3 big boys and Scott will hold down the fort here.

A Fireplace Fairytale

From my Valentine with Love...

Once Upon a Time there was a girl that loved forest green, she wore forest green, drove a forest green car, had forest green bridesmaids dresses and even chose forest green marble tile for her fireplace not once, but twice when she built homes.

Then this girl grew older and went through many holidays with the forest green marble tile, although she had long grown weary of the color....

She tried to make it better with new candlesticks and pretty stockings

She tried a new art piece above the fireplace...

but nothing could solve the fact that she didn't like the forest green.

Then one day her beloved knight in shining armor told her he would grant her wish of ridding her home of the forest green tile...as his Valentine's day gift.

and so the search for new stone began...

And so....the tile was ripped out. The art piece returned...

two men labored for two days working to make her dream come true...

New stone was installed....

And there was a sweet, little baby who helped clean up the messes...

And a new canvas portrait taken and ordered from Canvas on Demand arrived the day the fireplace was completed...

 And her fireplace lived happily ever after....

Boys...sweet, sweet, busy boys

It's been a busy few days at the Shisler home.  This weekend was filled with 2 basketball tournaments, one for Tommy, and one for Drew.  Jack had his first basketball game for his YMCA team.  And Max, well Max is busy, busy, busy.  He wants to throw just about everything he can get his little hands on, he wants to climb the steps and watch out if there is ice cream anywhere within his sight line you WILL be sharing it with him.

Last week, was a long week.  Max was not feeling well most of the week, I was pretty under the weather several days too.  Not so much that I stayed in bed, just not feeling my usual pep and go.  Friday night, I was beat and done.

Saturday was a beautiful day outside...sunshine and warm enough we didn't need to bundle up in coats.  Sunday was just as beautiful.  The boys enjoyed being outside too.  Jack FINALLY got to build a snowman, he didn't make it through the day, melted down(the snowman, not Jack :0).   The bigger boys enjoyed playing hoops on the sportcourt too.

 note the shorts, and the weather shoes...and the snowman.  Only in Iowa

 Jack was very proud of this snowman made ALL by himself.

 Drew playing ball

 I only had my camera at his game.  Missed the other boys...

I was there but wrestling a baby pig, Max, not taking pictures

I have also been busily working on finally finishing up Max and Jack's bedroom, which has sort of been neglected.  I painted it a month or so ago, and just need to focus some on making it more cozy for them.  I rearranged it again too, swapping their beds from one side to the other.  So far Jack LOVES the new arrangement, I LOVE that I can't see his Star Wars fathead as much when I stand in the doorway, and Max,,,well I had hoped it would magically help him sleep through the night and well...not so much.  But I will keep you posted with pics when I get it all pulled together.

Valentine's day was fun. I started my day with a VERY sweet little love note from Scott on my computer.   Max and I spent much of the day at home, watching my Valentine's day gift be created..more on that later.  Hopefully tomorrow.  Max and I snuck to the boys' Valentine's day parties at school this afternoon. Tommy and Scott spent the day in Iowa City checking on his breathing stuff, we had suspected exercise induced asthma this year...and long story short and 2 days in iowa City Children's Hospital (not overnight) ends up he is okay.  His lungs need to catch up to his body growth.  And he needs to learn to relax when he gets out of breath so he doesn't put his body into anxiety and panic mode over the breathing.  All in all, a great check up for him.  His heart is in amazing cardio shape, I am sure he gets that from his Mom.  :)

 Drew opening Valentine's

 Jack and Max at his party

Tonight, Scott and I snuck out for a Valentine's day dinner leaving ALL of the boys home, to make dinner and take care of their baby brother.  This if the first time we have done this, we have left them with Max for short periods but never for a meal and never for 2 hours.  They did great.  Called us twice but the best part was this....as we walked in the door from dinner they were all standing in the kitchen smiling from ear to ear.  They had CLEANED the entire kitchen, the sunroom/greenroom, the family room...the main floor was in beautiful condition.  (and let me assure you it was NOT this way when we left for dinner)  They had made us a chocolate brownie sundae, and homemade cards.  Max had been fed, and had a cleaned face, his high chair even wiped down.  A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.  The best Valentine's day gift they could have given me.  They were ALL so proud.  

 Cleaned up kitchen...think it's time for the winter greens to come down and the

 Spring flowers to come out!  I think they did a great job getting the ktichen cleaned up.

The ice cream sundae with brownie and cards when we got home...

Max was NOT happy I had a chocolate sundae and he wasn't eating it, so we put him in his high chair as soon as we could and he shared it with me.  Look at that face....MAD baby.  Wanting the ice cream NOW!

Happy Valentine's day to you all...it was 17 years ago today that Scott first told me he loved me.  What a blessing he is to me.  I adore him and am so proud to be his wife.  

With love and hugs...