The bathroom (a work in progress)

So, when we moved into this house, we knew there would be work to do. We've shared the master bath with the kids since we arrived in Texas. It's not Clint's favorite thing, and I could do without Chani in my make-up and lotion. We've been using the toilet in there, but not the tub. So, we finally decided to renovate the kids' bathroom.

Here are the before shots (except I forgot to take a before shot before I--yes me, by myself-- took out the toilet)



Once I got the toilet and vanity out (and gave them away on Freecycle), it was time to start taking the tile out of the tub. This was a job. The tile was on top of some sort of plaster/cement, and under that was a layer of wire mesh. That was attached to drywall, and to get the tile off, the entire wall had to come down. My body is exhausted and sore from using a sledgehammer for three days.



Notice the shower head is not attached to the wall or anything. Strange old plumbing!


After that, I had to scoop all the tile rubble into a bucket and carry it outside to the trash can to await a trip to the dump. The corner piece came off in one big chunk and Clint helped me haul that out on the way to work this morning. Then I had to wipe it out with lacquer thinner. It looks nice and shiny and we're waiting on our friend George to come paint the tub with special tub paint.
This is what it looks like now.

Emery's Birthday

We celebrated Emery's birthday this week. My first-born is now 4. Where does the time go? We had a Pirate Bash, and a fun time was had by all. My sister tells me the gauge for a good party is "If no one cries, consider it a success." No crying here. It was lots of fun, and everyone can now say "Aaarrrgggg!"

I'm so lame I didn't even get a picture of Emery with his cake, or blowing out candles. The cake was cute, and he got quite the stash of treasure (presents).

Sick, list, and syrup

We've been sick, Emery over the weekend and Chani yesterday and me today. I'll take the cough, runny nose, and sore throat and be glad I can pass on the throwing up.

I haven't posted in a while because I've been busy doing other things. Here's my list of things coming up. Clint's birthday is on Friday. He'll be 29, they put him in the 29-39 age bracket last weekend. It kind of bothered him. Emery's birthday is this weekend, so I'm party planning. I have a Relief Society Meeting on Thursday (please let me feel better by then), and we're doing some vinyl lettering on 12 inch tiles. I'm doing a syrup and sour dough waffle demo.

Here's the back story on the syrup demonstration. I went to a Tupperware party and they had these cute little bottles with different fruits on them. And the conversation went like this:
Me: Those would be perfect for syrup, you could put a different flavor in each container.
Other girls: What do you mean different flavors, and syrup comes in a bottle..... Me: But, it doesn't come in a bottle when you make your own.
Other girls: You can make syrup? How? Why would you make it homemade?
Me: Because it's delicious, and the stuff from the store is yucky. And, it's really inexpensive, and you can make tons of different flavors.

Since then, whenever we are talking about anything food, the girls give me a hassle about making my own syrup. So, I'm going to teach them all how. I've really been branching out in my syrup making this year, and I will only teach them a few recipes and give them a packet with several more. A few of our favorites are: maple, apple cinnamon, buttermilk, orange, and our newest favorite honey cinnamon.

My sister told me about this perfect little concoction yesterday, and I thought it would be delicious paired with cornmeal waffles. The waffles are easy, just follow the recipe on the box of Jiffy Mix. The syrup, just as easy and perfect with the waffles. It came from Taste Of Home

Honey Cinnamon Syrup

1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. butter cut into slices
3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Place in microwavable dish. Microwave on high for 2-3 minutes until butter is melted and mix smooth. Serve over waffles.

Pirate birthday party pics will be coming after the weekend!

Halloween Costumes

I know, I'm late....story of my life. Better late than never, right?

On Wednesday last week, we went to the Library for story time, where we had stories, trick or treating (in the Library) and a little lunch party. It was a fun time. The kids looked like this:



Then, on Saturday, we visited a few neighbors (Miss Bea and Mr. Rocky) and then went to the church for dinner and trunk or treat. The rule was no masks at the church, so Emery went as a surfer dude instead of a super hero. He looked awesome in his swim suit, white surf top, white paint on his nose, and shades on his head. We had also made a surf board out of cardboard and he was quick to show his "rad moves" (also known as tricks) like the Triple Whip, The Twist, and The Pony. It was pretty cute. I'm a lame mom and forgot my camera. You'll just have to trust me, they looked awesome!