L.O.V.E. and other things...

I decided to jump on the Valentine's Day bandwagon.
{as I started to write this post last night, my husband was waiting for me to join him to watch a movie. money ball. sigh.}

So far, I've only decorated our mini*mantel.

Here is a reminder of what our "mantel" looked like for Christmas...

I don't have a fireplace in the house... so I am all about fake, mini and faux. lol...
We are all still talking about mantels, right?


I cannot wait to paint this small radio cabinet white/cream/something-not-brown-ish.

For New Year's I had a picture of my grandparents in color... but I thought the colors were all wrong (for my V-Day theme) so I made a black and white copy {regular paper} and put it in a red frame I had on hand {IKEA}.

• The red stem thingies were clearance at Walgeens for a buck... they were in the Christmas aisle, but I thought that they'd go perfectly for the month of LOVE.  
• The "Love" vinyl is from Hobby Lobby, I think it was $3... and it says "Love is just a word... until someone comes along and gives it meaning."  <---- Love that!
• I found the birdies in the spring section of Hobby Lobby...30% off, both less than $2. The candle sticks were a Goodwill find $1 each. The grass plant... IKEA $3. I added the polka dot ribbon - from ribbon I had on hand.

Another IKEA frame on hand...I added two different types of ribbon and then took a foam heart I had leftover from project that didn't happen from last year.  {I'm Wild About You! No, really. I am!}

The apples are in a red, heart-shaped dish. The apples are from my fridge. The heart-shaped dish was a Goodwill find - fifty cents. :D

And finally... a simple red wreath for the front door...

I still have the bigger fake mantel to finish up... hopefully I will get that done today...
But for now, I am beginning to feel the L.O.V.E around here.

Speaking of LOVE!!! --- big shout out to my momma.
It's her BIRTHDAY today!!
Note... this picture is *not* from today... She's out celebrating and I am here blogging when I should be cleaning.

xoxo,
me

Linked to COM, Itsy Bitsy Paper, & Funky Junk (buttons on right) 
and Skip to my Lou

Where is Global Warming when you need it?

The sun is out and the sky is cloudless and brilliantly blue.
But it's cold.  I haven't been outside yet, just sneaking a peak from my office window.
For all I know it could be warm outside - but inside, that's a different story.

Brrr.

I feel like this:

Nic circa winter of 2009

You know, where you are cold as heck, but Mr. Sun is shining down, trying to warm you up?
Keep trying Mr. Sun. I need to get back outside to lose the 2lbs I gained over the weekend.

Yes, you read that right. It's my mom's fault. She decided that she NEEDED another birthday (gosh, didn't you have one just last year?!?) - so we had them over for dinner (mmmmm!!) and cake (yummmm!!).

And now my scale is laughing at me. Nice.



The Third Day wasn't a Charm for Us

There was a lot to do today... so much so, I tried to get us prepared for it last night.
It didn't help much...

I got up early and made sure the kids had stuff for breakfast.
By stuff I mean bagels, or toast, or Frosted Flakes.

I ended up helping Isabel straighten her hair. Alex got dressed then helped to get Nic up and ready.

We all had somewhere to be by 8am.

Isabel had NO interest in posing for me today... =(

But Nic did...

He wasn't really posing...
Just standing there with his hand in his pockets.

And look at his new shoes.
Super cute.

We left the house...

Alex and Isa went to school...

Nic and drove to his Pre-School screening.

Look at this sky on the way to his school... 

This was at 7am.

It was a bit brighter out than the picture lets on,

but still so stunning to look at.

We drop off the older kids, and Nic and I make our way

to the Pre-School room.

We are having him checked out by a Speech Pathologist.

We think there might be some articulation issues.

There are about eight other kids there...
After we get the kids settled, the parents are

sent off to an adjoining room.

Fifteen minutes in, the loudspeaker comes on.

"Attention: The school is in a lock down...
Staff, we are in a lock down!"

Next thing we know, teachers come flying in,

turning off the lights, locking the doors,

and covering the windows with paper.

No explanation.

I texted a few peeps (mom and the husband) to see

if maybe they had heard something or if they could check the news.

Nothing.

No one knew what was going on.

In the next room, the kids kept playing... there was some light

by which to continue to evaluate the kids.

After about an hour, the lock down ended...

Eventually my mother found out that there was

an intrusion in the neighborhood...

they weren't taking a chance.

Worse part of it all?
I couldn't connect to Facebook via my BBerry.
Not sure why.

/sigh.

We are all okay!

Nic, however, wasn't really cooperating today - I don't think he feels well still.

We are going to take him for a 1:1 session.

They weren't concerned with his speech;

rather, they saw small issues in the Cognitive and Social areas.

After all of that craziness, mom called and said
"Let's do lunch!"

So I picked her up in my swagger wagon...

and off to Chick-fil-A we went.

Gosh, I love that place.

After a tasty meal...

We decided to head to Barnes and Noble.

Nic was tooo cute...

For all of 5 minutes...

Then he turned into a very energetic rascal.

I think between being tired and not feeling well,

it was all too much for him.

I had to leave the stuff I planned on purchasing

in a stack somewhere

(sorry B&N peeps... won't happen again)

and take Nic to the car while mom checked out.

He was behaving that badly.

Of course...

a mile from home, he fell asleep.

So, he's a cutie pie again - all curled up in his bed.

I think I am ready for a nap...

I cannot believe it's only Wednesday...

/sigh