DIY fireplace

OK, so remember my ugly fireplace?

Well, I painted it.  I ended up having to repaint the mantle, too, because the whites ended up being too different.  It was super easy.  Since I am lazy, I didn't sand it or use a primer first.  I just slapped on some white Rustoleum paint and finished it with a coat of polyurethane to add a little gloss and to protect from scratching.  I am not in love with the outcome, but it is way better than what it was before! 
Luckily, I did it before school started because now I am basically worthless and my list of projects remains untouched.  I haven't even hung up a single picture.  I just come home and collapse on the couch while the kids play in the back yard with the dog.  I even had Ellie make dinner the other night (toaster waffles).  She was super proud of herself.  I wasn't so proud of the fact that my kitchen had syrup on the floor and I didn't notice until Jack tracked it all over the house.  I couldn't even complain because, hello, I just had my 6 year old cook dinner.

Ellie's Firsts

This past Saturday, Ellie had her first official soccer game.  I actually ended up taking her and 5 of her cousins to their games that day while my siblings and their spouses participated in yet another insane athletic competition.  I think Ellie had more fun running around with her cousins before the game than actually playing.  She is a fairly good goalie, but once she is on the field she is too easily distracted.

  At least she looks cute in her uniform, right?  Go, Ireland!

In other firsts, Ellie started first grade on Monday!  I dropped her off at school when it was still dark (she attends the before-school program) so I didn't actually get to walk her to her classroom.  However, her Aunt Sabrina and Uncle Daniel were there later dropping off Kolby and Olivia and were able to snap a picture of her when school was actually starting. 

Jack and I met Ellie at the bus stop after school and she was overflowing with excitement about her first day of school.  But her very favorite part of her day?  Being able to play with her cousin, Kolby, all recess!

Abandoning my children with strangers

I returned to work yesterday.  Because school does not officially start for another week, I enrolled Ellie in the End-of-Summer! Camp provided through our school district.  I would be dropping her off at a building she had never been with people she didn't know, but I wasn't really worried since Ellie is my outspoken, fearless child.  I was more concerned about Jack who does not handle changes well.  However, when it came time to drop Ellie off, she suddenly refused to get out of the car.  She kept saying the building was "old and creepy."  I thought she was joking around so I semi-dragged her out of the car and walked her into the building.  At that point, my old Ellie disappeared and this clingy, shaky child took her place.  She wouldn't talk, just held tight to my arm with a quivering chin.  They pried her off me eventually and I made my escape.  I am not a crier, but I totally broke down in the car from the weight of all that mother-guilt.  Of course, when I went to pick her up, she was upset that I picked her up early because she wanted to stay til the end.  And Jack never had any issues at all.

For the past couple of years, right before school starts, Tom and I have taken the kids to the Galleria to eat at the Cheesecake Factory and then to Build-a-Bear where we let them pick out a stuffed animal.  We went last night to assuage my guilt about leaving the kids all day.  Ellie picked out a horse that she name "Lulu" and Jack picked out a bear that he named "Build-a-Bear Bear."  No, really. I asked him several times and he insisted that was his bear's name.  Last year he named his bear Beepaw.  I am pretty sure that it would be much cheaper to just take the kids to Target and tell them to pick out a stuffed animal, but my kids are really attached to their Build-a-Bear ones.  Maybe because they get to put the heart in?  Step on the peddle to fill it with stuffing?  Seriously, what is the appeal of that place?  Either way, a good time was had by all and I felt a little better when I tucked my children into bed last night with their new stuffed companions.

Potty-training, ugly fireplace, and farewell to summer (those go together, right?)

That's it.  I am officially giving up on potty training Jack.  Also, you may want to avoid sitting on my couch if you come visit me.

On a completely unrelated note, I am planning on painting the tiles around my fireplace tomorrow.  While there are many things I love about my new house (updated kitchen with granite countertops!), I absolutely HATE my fireplace. And since I am on a strict budget these days, I can't replace it with new tile so I am just going to paint over it.  It can't look any worse than it already does, right?

I return to work on Monday and I am having my usual end-of-summer blues.  This summer was eventful, though.  We took the kids to San Antonio/SeaWorld, spent a week in Vegas, sold our home, bought a new home, and I went on a fun girls' trip to Gulf Shores.  Not too shabby.  



Girls' Trip!

As soon as we returned from Vegas, I went into packing mode for three weeks.  Then we had two stressful days of loading/unloading our moving truck, followed by a week of frantic unpacking and organizing.  Needless to say, I was ready for the long-planned girls' trip with my mom, sisters, and sister-in-laws (my sister Jen couldn't make it...so sad).

We drove the 9 hours to Gulf Shores, Alabama where we checked into our condo overlooking the ocean.

 

We spent our days at the beach, exploring Gulf Shores, and enjoying the local cuisine.  Our evenings were spent playing games, watching movies, and laughing til our stomachs hurt.

Every time I turned around, I was being forced into a photo op. Seriously, my sisters are way too photo-happy...I guess because they are all so cute.  One such photo op caused us to get stuck in the sand.  We all piled out to try to push Rosie's giant Armada out of the sand while a balcony full of people at the Hooters across the street cheered us on.  We had almost made it when a few boys ran over to help.  Too little, too late.

Now it is back to the real world.  I have one week before I return to work.  Where did my summer go?