did i ever show you that i can now make more than pillow shams? i am telling you, the list of home-sewn goods is growing like crazy around here! haha. i will say there is nothing like the satisfaction of creating something from fabric. i just wish i could do it a little faster!

so, a big nope on "mission church pew." i did find a beautiful one at a local consignment store, but it was a wee too long, and a bit too wobbly. told ya.

thanks, nmb, for the info. i already received a few photos. but nothing like the deal hqm got - lucky duck! but, i will keep that contact on my list - great stuff!

someone asked about my painted cabinets. i had a lady paint them for us. i watched her work, so i can tell you this - she hand painted them with oil based paint. she removed the doors and laid them tilted up in my garage. they were dark wood originally and i know she did not sand them first, but i believe she did prime them. oh, why can't i remember exactly? i may have to ask her.

we are out of the house for a few days while our floors are being redone which was necessary due to the removal of some lower kitchen cabinetry (that had unfinished flooring underneath). there are definitely some perks to this crazy lifestyle:


the inability to cook and do laundry. it is a bit like a hometown vacation. no complaints here :)

they are sanding our entire downstairs today. which means it is empty. which means i sit here in an upstairs bedroom surrounded by the contents of my kitchen, my bedroom, my closet, my dining room, my family room, my husband's office...there are even some pantry items in here...hmmm, i think i will have some goldfish crackers. this isn't bad living. very convenient in many ways. but it is about to get very noisy. and dusty. so we are getting out of here. i couldn't think of anything to do that would take all day, so i decided to have a mission. assignment: find a church pew. i have always wanted a church pew. i have almost made the purchase several times, but then i think that one is too long or this one wobbles too much. i want the perfect church pew. see my mission got a little harder. think i can do it today? i will let you know.


photo from salvo.com

sans backsplash. but ahhhh. serenity now. i can already feel it.
:)

i hope everyone had a nice easter celebration.
we had a beautiful day here, perfect egg hunt weather :) i love egg hunts.
here are a few memorable moments:

finding a note for the easter bunny in (yes, in) the refrigerator...

seeing the delight as they dug into their baskets...

admiring as both learned to ride their two wheelers!
appreciating my husband for his patience to teach them :)

ashley wanted to see our progress around here. i didn't know what to say, so here are a few glimpses of our current situation.



and this truck...


just because i love it.

we are wearing our green here, but i have to be honest...we are more in the easter mode. easter has always been my favorite holiday and we aren't really going to be able to decorate for it this year with the mess around here. so i was happy to see that my son is decorating in any way he can - like this doodle on the shower door of the easter bunny. makes me want some peeps.

:)

i had the nicest lunch break. have you read it? it had been twelve years. and i loved it again.

i love clipboards. i think they make you look busy, and maybe, important. my class made these today. they decoupaged them, so here they are drying. it was a fun day, but something weird happened. in the biology class next door, the students were dissecting frogs. apparently, a boy ate a frog's heart. secretively. on a dare. with all the formaldehyde and other chemical garbage in that dead creature, when i heard this, i was very concerned. he went to the doctor and we hear he will be fine. but tell your children. sometimes we just assume they know things like, don't eat laboratory frogs, but you just never know.