A Quick Survey

I'm not trying to nose all in your business, but I was just wondering.....what is the going rate for babysitters? I don't mean daycare, just a teenage girl coming into your house to watch the kids for a few hours. Or, as was my situation yesterday, an 11 year old coming to just entertain for a few hours, while I was still here, totally available in case she needed anything, etc. (Obviously, I would never leave my child with an 11 year old if I were not here on the premises!)

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

My House Has Been Invaded....

....by a crazy lady. It's the same one who came last summer. Last year, she came in and took down the wallpaper border in my guest bathroom and repainted. Now she's back with a vengeance. This time, she has started tearing down ALL the wallpaper in my master bathroom, and we're talking full paper and border. Oh, wait....I think that crazy lady is me.

Yep, I have started the master bathroom re-do project. Let me just say, there is no easy way to take down wallpaper. There are lots of theories on the best way to remove it, but none of them are easy! Oh, wait, yes there is.....hire someone else, but that takes lots of moolah. More than I have to pay someone right now, so that means if I want it done, I have to do it myself. Actually, I'm starting to feel a bit like a pro. I've figured out what works easiest for me, and things were going great until my steamer died today. So, the progress has been slow. But at least there's been progress today. Matthew spent the night with my mom last night, and I was wondering how on earth I was going to manage to keep Luke entertained (i.e., out of my way) enough for me to be able to work on wallpaper. Tracy suggested I hire our young cousin to babysit. So I did, and it's been great. She's only 11, so obviously, I'm not going to just leave him with her, but all she had to do was keep him occupied and entertained while I worked. It's been great, and she really doesn't want to leave!

Here's how it's going so far....

This is only time I wish I didn't have 9 foot ceilings! And a word of advice, never, ever, ever put up wallpaper! When we built our house 10 years ago, everybody did wallpaper, and this was quite stylish....the jewel tones...blue, green, burgundy. Now, probably not so much. Honestly, I don't hate the pattern, it's just that it matched my comforter set and everything in my bedroom, and I'm ready for a change.

Hopefully the next time I write, this will all be finished!

Summer Projects

As I was going through my mental "to-do list", a question came to mind: Does everyone else have summer projects and things they want to accomplish during the summer months, or do they just relax and take it easy?

For teachers, or me at least, summer is a time for projects around the house! My mom was that way when she was teaching too, and still is, since that's her break from having Luke every day. My list is not coming along very well, however.

1) Pressure wash the eaves, etc. of the house. (This one requires Tracy...hasn't gotten done yet!)

2) Trim shrubbery. (Again, requires Tracy. I know most people do this in the spring, but we are so busy with school then, that it usually has to wait until summer.)

3) Put out new pinestraw. (Really don't want to do this until AFTER the trimming is done!)

Hmmm....noticing a pattern? All the stuff that is outside is not getting done! It has been soooo hot already here, that we just haven't felt like working outside much.

4) Re-do master bedroom. (Have the bedding and curtains in place, need to work on accessories...so this is in-progress.)

5) Take down wallpaper in master bathroom and paint. This is the biggie! I had wanted to work on it this summer, but Tracy didn't think we'd have time to get it finished just on the weekends. Well, when he got laid off, I thought, "At least maybe with him being home, we can work on that bathroom!" I think I'm going to start on that next week. This weekend is our last trip of the summer, so I think I'm going to start tackling it next Monday. I'm hoping that it won't be as bad as taking down the border in the hall bathroom last summer. Even though this is full wallpaper, it's a different type than that border was, and has already started turning loose at the seams. I am really kind of dreading it, but I really want it done, and don't want to pay someone else to do it!

6) Clean the carpet. I don't think this will be too bad, I just need to find a day that my mama can keep Matthew and Luke so that they're not walking on damp carpet.

Then, a constant on my list is to work on getting caught up on my scrapbooking. I am seriously considering trying the digital scrapbooking. Do any of you do that? Any suggestions on which sites are best? I use Creative Memories for my paper scrapbooking, and I know they have digital products. Anybody tried them?

So is summer a lazy time for you, or do you pack it with projects?

Making a Splash!

**My apologies if any of you read this before the edit. I started this post last night, and suddenly it disappeared! I just assumed it was totally erased!

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Long time, no see! We've been off on a little vacation at the beach. (Now I know you're thinking, "Is that such a good idea for them to be going off spending money on a vacation when Tracy is out of work?" Don't worry! The condo was paid for before the layoff, so we decided we might as well go ahead! Just keeping it real here!) Normally, I prefer Destin over Panama City, but on the recommendation of a relative, we decided to try Splash in Panana City. It was fantastic! The resort is geared to families with kids, with lots of things for the little ones. In addition to the pools, they have a mini water park, complete with water slides, water guns, and a huge bucket of water that fills and dumps every few minutes. They also have a lazy river, and a little fountain play area for the really little ones. We loved it! I didn't take my camera out on the beach or to the pool, but here are a few shots from the condo. If you're interested in learning more about Splash, you can go here and click on the photo tour. It takes a bit to get to the pics of all the water activities, but they're in there!

Do all kids love to ride the luggage carts? Mine do!

This is what Luke did every day after lunch.

A few hours of the beach totally wore him out!

Luke also got to sit on the barstool like a big boy. He only fell off once!
(Don't worry, he wasn't hurt!)

He also got very good at using the fork

to feed himself, even if it did take two hands!

Can't you see I'm rotten?!?

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We've also been busy with swimming lessons. This is Matthew's first year, and I'm totally amazed at how quickly he has learned to swim. After just two lessons, he was swimming! Tomorrow is our last day, and there's going to be a little "graduation party" with watermelon, snow cones, and their teacher will present them with a certificate and medals. I have enjoyed watching him learn so much and have so much fun, but I will also be glad when it's over. His class is at 11:00, which kind of messes up the day. He has had a ball though!

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And if that wasn't enough, I started piano lessons last night. I have been playing the piano since I was in second grade. However, my playing is mostly "by the book". A few weeks ago, at our neighbor's funeral, I heard a lady play who was outstanding, and I talked to her about giving me a few lessons, to add some "style" to my playing. You know, that old fashioned, southern gospel sound? Last night was my first lesson, and even though it's a challenge, I did pretty well on picking up her version of Amazing Grace. The hardest part for me is going to be memorization. She says that's what's helped her the most, and I can see where it does, but it's going to take some work....and some prayer!

Gotta get ready to go to swimming lessons!

Guess Where I Am...

Be back soon!