Sweet Kisses

Hayden decided that he would give Robin some sweet kisses.  These are few and far between these days!  So, it was definitely a moment worth a picture! 

Retirement

Hayden is so lucky to have both his Nanny and Nana so close by and now both of them are retired!  Mom retired from teaching in 2004 and Jeff’s mom, Corene, will be officially retired after 24 years at the USPS the end of the month. 

On Sunday, we had a retirement party for her at our church.

Yolanda, my sister in law, found this cake online and we thought it was perfect!  So, I had Cynthia, the girl who made Hayden’s birthday cakes, make it for us.  It was cookies and cream and so yummy!  One of Corene’s friends provided the fruit for us and another friend provided the punch.  They were both fabulous!

The sign in table… 

The original six.  Mark, Yolanda, Matt, Corene, Don, and Jeff.

The grandkids…

Corene and 3 of her brothers and 1 of her sisters.   She has 6 brothers and 2 sisters. 

Some of the post office girls…

Mom, Robin, Hayden and I…(My SIL looking like she is busy in the background.  Ha!)

Just the 3 of us…

More pictures…

 

Hayden begging for more strawberries from his Nanny…

It was a great party and we had a great turn out!  I know Corene is looking forward to retirement and we are looking forward to spending more time with her! 

My new treat jar!

I recently got this new treat jar at TJ Maxx for $5.99.  I am not real big on having things on my countertops, but I made an exception for  this jar.   You can’t really tell from the picture, but it is actually a pretty decent size.  I have seen these “chalkboard” jars at Canton, but I am so in love with this one and in love with the price too! 

 

PS…I need some of those new chalkboard markers.  I am not so great at writing with a stick of chalk.  Has anyone tried them?

Football or Basketball? Or sports at all?

I wonder if Hayden will play football or basketball or baseball…or any sport at all?  Jeff has always said (even before Hayden was born) that Hayden wouldn’t play sports like he did…he will stay home and read books.  :-)

Well, I saw these balls in the dollar bin at Target and thought Hayden might like them and maybe we could start practicing early! 

Football or Basketball?

Are we gonna play or what?

I think I want to play football!

     Or maybe play some basketball!

Throw it to me Mommy!

Yea!  Look at me! I caught it!

He dribbles…

He shoots….

 

   

He SCORES!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whatever our little man decides, sports or no sports, I want him to be successful.  I hope he sets his sights high.  I hope that he gives it his all and never gives up.  I hope he is determined, driven, and self-motivated.  I hope he is a leader.   

As a parent, you obviously want what is best for your child.  I mean, who doesn’t want their child to be successful?  Intrinsically motivated?  But, how do you teach that to your child?  Model and hope for the best?  I hope that Jeff and I model and continue to model these traits for Hayden.  As much as I want time to stand still and want to savor every moment with our baby boy, I can’t wait to see what kind of man he becomes! 

Why I love garage sales!

When Jen was here last time, we hit the jackpot at a garage sale on our way to our Girl’s Night.  We found a few baby clothes, a Halloween costume,  and I got a few great toys for Hayden for like 10 cents, 50 cents, etc.  Crazy cheap!!

 

Well, when Jen saw this toy, she said you have to get it!  Landree loved it!  And boy am I so glad I did!  This is definitely Hayden’s favorite toy lately!  He LOVES to look at himself in the mirror and dance (bounce up and down) along with the music and maybe watch Mommy and Daddy dance and sing along too.  :-)  I haven’t ever seen this in the stores, but if you see one at a garage sale, get it!!  Even if you don’t have a baby, surely you know someone who does!!

A little boy and his two dogs…

Kitchen Makeover

UPDATE…I have no idea why the pictures are showing up blurry.  They are not blurry until I post them.  Sorry!

Recently, I told you about Jeff and his siblings doing a kitchen make-over for his Mom for Mother’s Day.  It is pretty much complete.  There are a few final touches to make, but I think it all turned out so good!

The before…

First order of business…tear down the layers of wallpaper! 

Tearing down the wallpaper was definitely a challenge!  After trying a few “solutions”, primer was applied and a new wallpaper layer was put up!  The original plan was to do a plaster on the wall and then paint.  Well, the plaster would not stick to the wall because of the wallpaper.  So, we found a paintable wallpaper that looks like it was plastered.  I had not ever seen that before and it worked GREAT!!!! 

 

Then, the painting begins! 

It’s kind of hard to see here, but we put cooper (metal-looking) plastic tiles up for the backsplash.  It turned out GREAT and was sooo easy!!!  It is kind of an expensive project (about $18 a tile), but really looks FABULOUS!  I am thinking that Jeff and I might do this in our kitchen sometime soon!

Starting to look better!!  I am loving the colors!! 

I am such a sucker for RED!  I love it!  My FIL was not so excited about having red in their kitchen.  But, he told me today that he really liked how it turned out!!   It really makes the room pop!

After some “coffee” decor, wall vinyl,  and new hardware was put in place…Ta Da! 

We put a glaze/stain mixture on the cabinet doors and drawers.  We are thinking we will go back and do the actual cabinets as well.  What do you think?

   

We are going to take family portraits and add them here…

 

For fun…side by side before and after!

Corene…I hope you LOVE it!  It was definitely a group effort and I think it looks GREAT!!!