Doing the best I can with what I have.....

 

Sometimes I just have to do the best I can with what I have and in the moment (including time, patience, energy, demands, etc.  This message is very fitting to me this week and I need to focus on this:

 

I took down all the Easter decorations however still wanted something spring around for a few more weeks.  Whites and bright colors just don't fit in my family room, dining room, kitchen area and if it does not look right to me it might as well be a ugly neon sign flashing at me it is so annoying.....

 

I didn't have the time or energy to shop so I found my spring floral bin and scrounged around.  Kristen gave me this wood compote bowl and it was the perfect base for a display....

 

 I had enough this and that to make a little nest and had some green speckled eggs to put in the nest....tied a bow on the base and put a little bronze bird and called it done!

 We were all invited to a very special dinner and wanted to take a hostess gift....since the main hostess loves her Coca Cola I had stashed away this awesome Coke pail with a coke bottle handle and arranged some white mums and some greenery from the garden....I think it turned out great (for what I had to work with!).....

Our special cooks for the dinner:  Dylan and his daddy Brian....

 Table set by Dylan....he is doing the best he can with what he has too....he is experiencing what we all used to call 'growing pains' and they are painful for mommy and daddy too....we all need to be reminded that we always need to do the best we can and if we fail we try again.....

 With the bathrooms now completed (yes, all 3) I wanted to change up the trim on one of the vanities however did not want to have it full on remodeled and had very limited time and patience.....

 I found this awesome new glass tile trim and did it myself.....it was fun and turned out really nice....

 We went to a special Spring Sing program this week where Brody did his very best.....he sang his little heart out and had a special speaking part.....

 And what's the best you can do with sugar, peanut butter, flour and mashed bananas.....make yummy banana bread and peanut butter cookies.....

 All courtesy of this little lady and her hard work....so she was treated to a mani pedi pamper!

I may not have it all or do it all but my goal is to do the best with what I have and learn to be content with that!  Its a journey!!!!!

Household AI (Artificial Intelligence) Confirmed and other Spring Tales

For years....decades?  The Addie and Krisser have SWORN our house is haunted or has Artificial Intelligence (AI)....we always joked about it as they recited their 'proof'.  We chided they had 'overactive imaginations' and had watched 'too many horror films'.  Well, I think I am starting to be a AI Believer....here is why.  For weeks I have droned on about our bathroom makeover of 2 of our 3 bathrooms and how it was a dash to finish them before our company came....we were surprised and relieved to have them done the Sunday night before our company came Monday....went to bed all cozy and able to breathe and relax...then at 11 am the toilet in the untouched bathroom started spewing water like no other....it was out of nowhere and of course required lots of cleanup and a quick call to the remodelers to come back and redo this bathroom. Is this proof that AI was jealous (human emotion) and created this event for a left out bathroom makeover?????

.....#oh.so.close.to.really.being.done.but.not.

 

Oh well, she said.....

 

 So my mom rolled in (well, I drove up to OC airport to pick her up) and we were so happy to have her here.  She may be 87 but she can out do any of us!  Here were are 4 generations and a random stranger at Brody's ball game.....

 The kitchen is where she wants to be...however my kitchen is so small it requires many trips to the grocery store to keep her in baking supplies....

 And they sprawl into my dining room area....which plays havoc with my OCD, but I love it and love her more than my OCD bothers me!

 Cookies - Oatmeal with choc chips, Oatmeal with cranberries, Oatmeal with peanut butter chips....

 Yummy mac and cheese......

 The best banana bread ever!

 Random:  Loved my Easter paper plates and napkins this year....

 Picket fence Jelly Bean candy trap.....found the picket fence wood tray while thrifting in OC waiting for mom's plane to come in....

 Also found this vintage type tray....not sure what I will be using it for yet.....

 Dylan picked his first crop of strawberries!  So proud....

 I finally had the chance to take the boys to pick out their fish....Brody picked a Beta and named him Cowboy....so cute!

 After about an hour quizzing the aquarium staff on types of fish that would blend well with his current fish...he picked one (Whiskers, joining Fire and Ice) and 2 shrimp....but it had to be THOSE 2 SHRIMP....the patience on this staff is amazing...they are wonderful with little ones.

 I also got Brody a beta aquarium and some gravel and fake plants....he just loves to have his own things and that sweet smile is all the thanks I need!

 We hid 100 eggs for the egg hunt!  We missed The Addie and his ninja hiding skills, but we tried our best....my favorite hide this orange on the bird of paradise....

 Steve was the master of the leaf hide....

 And the tree hide....

 And they found 98 of the 100.....where o where the bunny hid those lost two are making us all crazy.....Brody finds one on the bird feeder!

 Dylan was in turbo mode and could not capture a picture without a blurrrrrrrr

 Opening the eggs....mostly filled with money some with a little candy.....

 Mom was able to bring the last pieces to my cuckoo clock that my precious Auntie sent me that once belonged to my grandma and grandpa....priceless to me.

 And speaking of Spring Tales....look what I found today at the Thrift store!!!!

I have always wanted to put the Christmas tree on a vintage sled....this was a huge find for me and a great price....nothing says spring more than a sled in your thrift basket and I don't need AI to tell me that!

 

The long and winding road.......of construction



 

The open road has always called my name....I love new experiences, new landscapes and a little adventure of the unknown.  I have been living vicariously through two of my friends home projects; one build a custom home from the lot up; one took an old cottage stuck in the 70's and recreated a vintage wonderland.  Steve and I have lived in this house for 25 years and done several remodel project and updates and since we committed to staying another 5 years we agreed to redoing 2 of the 3 bathrooms and some major drought tolerant landscaping.  I say 'agree' lightly....this is after having 5 quotes on doing a major remodel ranging from 85k to 100k and adding 450 sq. feet with a 3 month timeline....uh...no.

This contractor quote time:  2 weeks.....cautiously optimistic, we agreed.  I have to say they showed up every day, on time, worked hard, were respective and clean.  Given all that is was still hard to live with this....

 and this....

 and this for weeks on end....

Luckily for me but not for Steve Kristen invited me to a Las Vegas getaway with the boys.  She was attending a bachelorette party one night and it worked well to have a babysitter and a fun companion and since I needed to escape the remodel chaos I was in.   Road Trip!

The boys do amazing in the car and on road trips....they have inherited the love of travel.  Always have to stop in Baker at the worlds tallest thermometer....luckily at a nice 78 degrees...been there when it was 110 plus!  Sadly, Big Bun, the restaurant has gone out of business :(

The first night mommy went out and GiGi and the boys hit the Midway at Circus Circus....we had so much fun, won some prizes and came back and jumped on the bed, ate snacks and watched movies!

The next day we got up early took the boys to The Strip, the MM Factory and Coke Factory...

It was early and the crowds were not out, it was Sunday and really nice weather....love the boys on the front of NYNY

Monday we went to Rick's Restorations (American Restorations from TV).  They are a real working business, were so friendly, gave us a tour and we saw all the *stars*.  The boys loved it and so did we!  It is a lot smaller than it looks on TV

 The boys love the show 'Tanked' and Dylan knew all the stars....we also went there and they were equally as friendly and the boys were thrilled to see their favorite people and talk to them.

 We hit the outlet stores briefly....found this cute chick at Williams Sonoma....then we met Kristen's Brian in Redlands and they headed to AZ for the rest of the week and I drove home.....it was a nice break from the construction....

 As they hammered, drilled, sawed away and I was serenaded by loud and upbeat Mexican music I decorated a little bit for Easter around the house....my little Williams Sonoma Chick inspired this 'Ode to the Chick' vignette....then as usually I got carried away and added a bunch of other stuff this is after I told Steve I was only going to put out 'a few things'. lol

I put my egg cup collection on the lazy susan with a few other things and all the Easter pictures of the boys through the years....

 Rocky insisted I decorate a little for the boys table....complete with some Easter books....

 A little somethin somethin for the living room table....

 And we are at 99.99 percent done on this long and winding road of construction....coming today to finish hanging the glass doors....it went well and I love the results....however....

 Rocky made me raise my right paw hand and swear:  No more remodeling!

Who am I to argue with such wisdom?  He is Rocky ROAD!