Wednesday, February 18, 2009

My valentine's present... :)

Some women wish for flowers or chocolate... Or perhaps a nice dinner out. This year I got my valentine early. Since this fall I have started planning and looking at ideas for making this house more beautiful. We don't have the budget for huge projects, but every few months taking a room and subtracting some floral wallpaper from the home is a worthy goal. :) I was really content just planning and leaving the work to the "someday" category. Last week my spontaneous and sweet husband decided to make some plans reality. He loaded the family up and we headed to Salina and Lowes and Walmart. After shopping for an evening we headed home with the tools, equipment and paint to begin our transformation. Thank you my love for such a great gift!
The naked dining room- well, mostly :)

How old do you think that carpet is???
And why cover hardwood floors? (I guess we have some great faith that we do not pull up the carpet to find some huge reason that it was covered in the first place!)


We have great eager helpers!

What a silly boy!

There is a great smile!

Marcus loves spraying..... anything or anyone.

I love my boys!

Or just drinking the vinegar water..... what a nut

Unlike me who equates the smell of warm vinegar water and wallpaper paste with warm fuzzy childhood memories- Scott feels the only thing "warm and fuzzy' a quickly scraped wall. Which is saving us a lot of time. Because he was quick to look for easier ways to get the wallpaper off, we ended up with a borrowed wallpaper steamer. Some people like them, some don't, but it has worked great for us!
We are about half done with the wallpaper removal. We have two new windows to install, new light to hang, paint, trim and then the floor. We are excited! I will be sure to post pictures when it is all done. But for your sake... don't hold your breath, it may take a while! :)


The boys enjoy the temporary piano move and quickly made a fort.

Marcus turns 2!

Well February brought Marcus' second birthday- and although it was much anticipated by parents and and older brother, Marcus was not impressed. When asked "Is today your birthday?" he would respond- "NO"- "Do you want some cake?" - "NO"....... The poor guy did not know what a birthday was! By the end of the day he had decided it was a good thing though- and after a lot of work will tell you his age upon questioning. Well, actually he tells you he is 3 and then when you say "What???" he says- "Paul's 3, you (what he calls himself) 2." So cute!
For a boy who was not that excited- we ended up with a lot of pictures. Hope you enjoy them!
Birthday meal- anything with noodles (He LOVES pasta- he must get that from Aunt Esther! :)
and green beans.

A great snack treat from Papa and Nana!

Marcus LOVES fruit- but is not a big fan of other sweets. He has great self control and will often give me the last half of his cookie/cake/candy.
I decided on simple white cake with cool whip and strawberries. He loved the strawberries!

Fun candles!

Singing happy birthday

Blow out the candles!

Uhhhh... deer in the headlights

I love birthdays!

A big present from Mom and Dad -(and Papa and Nana, thanks!)

What is it?

Smile!

Look at the animals!

Look! A farm!

The boys love playing with their birthday toys and have started to play together well. What a blessing!

Opening a package from Grandma Sue

What is in here?

A fun game!

A new book!

Reading very carefully

Thanks Grandma Sue!!!