Renovation Realities
18 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in BP, Renovations
The Money Pit is in full renovation swing. Again.
For those who don’t know our DIY history, I seem to have a knack for timing pregnancy and renovations.
Ha.
Unfortunately, this time I am not pregnant and was put straight to work.
Enter: The deck renovations.
Before:
BP has a 4 day weekend to turn the above into a DIY paradise with a covered walkway from our detached garage.
Sa-weet.
And here’s the proof that I am not pregnant:
The boys were helping, too.
After all, that’s why we keep having kids.
More hands to help.
Keep watching for our renovation updates.
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For past house renovation links, click the “renovation” tag under the post title.
Halloween 2011
01 Nov 2011 2 Comments
in BP, Frack, Frick, Frog, holidays, Life with boys
I’m a lucky girl.
I had The Karate Kid, and Darth Vader, and some random version of Spiderman to protect me while trick or treating.
And then there was this guy….
who pumped iron prior to his candy rampage.
Look at those muscles in action:
As he approached each doorstep, Muscleman Spiderman loudly stated,
“Teet teet!!”
for candy.
So manly.
We hung out with our usual Halloween crowd in my parents’ cul-de-sac for hot dogs, chili, smores, and trick or treating.
The weather was perfect.
The company was even better.
Another Halloween in the books.
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Click these to see past Halloween posts.
Mini BP
27 Jun 2011 2 Comments
I just love candid shots.
Our friend took the following photos at Frick’s graduation. He even put one of Frick praying in the local paper.
SO cute.
Isn’t this picture precious?
Frick’s official 5K Graduation pose:
Compare the above photo to this one of BP:
Sheesh.
Frick looks just like his dad.
Good lookin’ kid.
Yessiree.
Eleven Years Ago Today
24 Jun 2011 4 Comments
in BP
From taking vows…
…to starting our journey…
…to adding more joy to our lives.
I’m so glad I get to spend this life with you.
I love you!
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Previous Anniversary Posts:
Happy Birthday BP!
22 Jun 2011 4 Comments
Top Five Reasons Why We Love Your Birthday
5. It gives the boys the opportunity to stash cards they created into the deep abyss otherwise known as the space under their beds.
4. You get to “rest” all day long (as if).
3. You always and forever will be older than me and for exactly 8 days, you are four years older instead of just three. It’s the little things.
2. The boys love celebrating birthdays. It’s even cooler to celebrate Dad’s birthday. And there’s cake involved, which brings me to number 1:
1. I get to make your mama’s Red Velvet Cake. And then eat it. For breakfast.
Happy birthday to the coolest husband, father, son, brother, friend, and so much more.
We love you BP!
Out of Nowhere
07 Apr 2011 1 Comment
Frick was sitting in BP’s lap and began using his knowledge of the five senses to appropriately assess his father’s age.
Frick:
You don’t look old, Dad.
You don’t sound old.
You don’t smell old.
You don’t feel old.
(Frick licks–yes, licks–BP’s arm) And you don’t taste old.
BP:
Ok. That’s good to know.
Lots of chuckles ensued.
Welcome to Crazy Town
29 Mar 2011 4 Comments
in Baseball!, BP, Frack, Frick, Karate
That’s where I’ve been living since Friday.
Baseball season is in full swing.
The boys had games Thursday and Friday.
This week, Frick and Frack’s games are on the same day AND the same time.
This calls for Supermom.
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On Saturday, the boys graduated to the next belt level in karate this weekend.
Frick and Frack’s belts are now half yellow, half white.
BP jumped straight from white to orange because of his perseverance and diligence during the test on Sunday.
The boys think that is the coolest thing ever.
I think it’s a spectacular example to the boys.
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I really do believe extra curricular activities help a child become a good time manager.
If the activities are organized sports, they also provide much needed exercise and important lessons in teamwork.
These activities make me become more structured with our afternoons.
The more structured our day is, the more we get accomplished (errands, housework, homework, etc) in a timely manner.
Our boys behave better when they have structure to their day.
Of course, this will probably all go out the window once the boys are in school full time. And that’s Ok.
We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.
But for right now, our time in Crazy Town has been eventful, but manageable.
Brain Dump
19 Jan 2011 1 Comment
in BP, Frack, Frick, Frog, Steeler Mania, The Non-Cook Named Mandy, Weight Loss
*I signed up for E-Mealz yesterday. They offer many different plans to coordinate with your favorite stores and diets. I love Publix and am currently trying to get back to my Lifetime goal weight at Weight Watchers, so I picked the Publix/WW points plan. My first week of menus come out tomorrow. I am excited about the challenge of menu planning mainly because I have never done it before. New things are fun. Until they get old. Any advice on E-Mealz or menu planning in general are welcomed.
*Speaking of Publix, I saved 61% today. Yessiree.
*Frack can do a 300 piece puzzle. THREE HUNDRED PIECES. It takes him some time over a couple of days to do it, but it gets done. I helped him the first time, but he’s done it on his own ever since. I have never seen someone so patient with little tiny puzzle pieces. He is also beginning to read. A little lightbulb turned on over the weekend. I love watching that Ah-ha! moment in kids as they learn something new. Maybe that’s why I love teaching so much.
*Frog is feeding himself with a spoon or fork. Messy stuff, folks.
*Speaking of the little stinker…Frog was an absolute BEAR yesterday. He was in such a bad mood. I guess he wore himself out from his grumpiness because he slept from 6:45pm to 6:00am this morning. Lately he has been waking at 3am and then again at 5am. It felt like we had a newborn in the house. Hopefully last night’s stretch is indicative of what’s to come. Fingers crossed.
*The Pittsburgh Steelers won on Saturday. It was a fabulous game that I watched while clutching and hiding behind a pillow. I hope next week is a blowout. I can’t take another close game.
*The boys are taking karate and have earned white belts with yellow stripes. Apparently karate has been on BP’s bucket list, so he has enrolled. He broke a board for his white belt Monday night. Upon hearing his Dad was taking karate as well, Frick stated:
I’m gonna have to give you some tips.
This should be interesting considering Frick’s karate instructor likened him to a wet noodle.
Family Portraits, Kid Version
15 Jan 2011 5 Comments
Frack:
(l to r) Frog, Frack, Frick, Mom, Dad
Don’t you love our hair? Are we channeling our inner Marge Simpson?
Or are they hats?
The artist left it up for interpretation.
_____________
Frick:
(l to r) Frack, Frick, Dad, Mom holding Frog.
“Mom is holding Frog because she always holds Frog.”
I love how we are holding hands. :)
Dude. Three Years Is a Long Time.
11 Jan 2011 6 Comments
in Background info, BP, Facebook, Frack, Frick, Frog, Nini and Pops, Pittsburgh Rocks!
…life’s about a dream has been around for three years.
Sheesh.
It doesn’t seem that long.
But then again, in my mind, I am still 20 years old and a size 8.
I digress….
My virtual scrapbook/baby book has evolved into quite a creative outlet. I am able to update my family and friends in far off places (sniff, sniff) and right here in Downtown, Smalltown, Southeastern USA with pictures and anecdotes. I have reconnected with my ΑΧΩ sisters from Clemson and discovered several readers are sisters, too!
I usually do a post commemorating this momentous occasion where the behind the scene secrets of the blog are revealed. Without further ado…
Behind the Scenes, Version 3.0:
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During Christmas 2007, BP was doing computer stuff with a coworker here at The Money Pit (more on that later) for several days in a row. During a break, the coworker told me his wife had a blog.
A what??
HyperactiveLu was the first blog I ever read. Through hers, I started reading others. Then, one Saturday morning, BP came to me and said, “I set a blog up for you. It should be much easier than the website we have.”
Whah-lah.
A blog was born.
The title …life’s about a dream came from Frick. He was actually singing the song, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and instead of singing, “life is but a dream” he sang, “life’s about a dream”. We thought that was pretty profound, especially coming from a three year old (at the time). And, it is what it is. Our life is a dream. BP had his sister make it into a sticker above our back door.
He calls it our mantra.
I call it cute.
BP’s name is derived from his initials. It’s also short for Big Papa, taken from the song Big Poppa by Biggie Smalls. It’s my ringtone for BP because he’s cool like that. Or I’m even cooler like that.
Frick and Frack are nicknames for our older boys. I used to teach part time in the public schools, job sharing a classroom with another girl. She and I would joke around, calling ourselves Frick and Frack. I thought it was clever and started calling the boys Frick and Frack around the house. It worked well for the blog since I didn’t want our names “out there” in cyberspace. Sometimes we refer to them as Chaos and Havoc (because they prefer wrestling as an after school activity) or The Farmers (because they are up with the sun each morning). Uncle B tried to get me to change their blog names to Fred and Barney. Click HERE for that reasoning. Alas, Frick and Frack remain.
Frog is the nickname for our newest little guy, born in November, 2009. After asking the blogosphere for ideas for a nickname, there was quite the debate as to what his nickname would be. Frog was chosen because some of the other nicknames had interesting connotations. Sometimes I refer to him as The Newborn, but obviously he’s not one of those anymore.
Some of our posts refer to a place called The Money Pit. That’s our 110 year old house. We started a major renovation process here in May 2008. In true renovation fashion, our budget tripled as they began to chip away at our house. The Fix It Guys kept uncovering all kinds of damage. And our bill kept growing. Hence, The Money Pit. Like the movie. Only better. Then, BP started finishing the inside of the house while I was in Pittsburgh visiting Uncle B, Aunt D and Steeler Training Camp. It was my very own HGTV show!
2010 brought something new around the blog. I set up a Facebook Fan Page to update my friends who don’t use a reader like Google or Bloglines. I prefer updating the fan page instead of my personal FB page, but sometimes share the links on both pages. So if you are not a fan yet and you keep up with us via Facebook, you may want to click that “like” button on the FB link to know about blog updates. Mom, I am talking to you. K. Thanks.
Dreamers refers to you, my loyal readers of …life’s about a dream. As I said above, this is a virtual scrapbook for my children and our memories. But when I see that others are reading and commenting here on the blog, on Facebook, or through emails, I know my words are not just for us. And that’s flattering. Thank you for reading. And commenting. :)
