Shea turns four

What a busy weekend!
On Friday we got a call that this guy with a dump truck had dirt for us. Finally!! So in less than an hour he had come and dumped the load in our front yard. The next five hours, Greg and I shoveled and hauled all of it to our hole in the back. It just came up to the top of the hole, but isn't packed down, so I think we'll need another full load, but at least it is starting to look good!!

Then on Saturday I had to direct, choreograph, and film four very hyper 9/10 year old boys in a dance routine. I came up with syncronized swimming! So fun, but I nearly had a nervous breakdown trying to keep them all focused.

Then Sunday was busy with getting ready for Shea's fourth birthday party! We hosted it at our place as usual, and I was so happy it was warm enough to be outside the whole time. We haven't made much use of our new deck and patio, so it was great to eat on it. We did the classic waterballoon volleyball game as well. Shea enjoyed the day, and by the end was quite exhausted and crying about everything, so we had to quickly whisk him off to bed even before the company had left!

But overall, it was a productive, but fun weekend. Now I need a rest, but this week is looking just as busy as the last.
Onward ho! Enjoy your week!

Gone to the sea

We took off for the long weekend and headed back to the coast to meet our new nephew. While there, we played at the ocean, with the cousins, aunts and uncles.


This picture is of the whole Davidson crew (except me) with the two latest additions since Christmas, little Neve and Hugo.
It was good to get away, though we're all quite exhausted! I had to catch up on all the yard work today as it grew like a weed since we left. The boys were out there getting dirty as we transplanted some volunteer sunflowers that had sprouted in the sandbox! Oh man, I love spring.

The JOB thing

So for those who haven't been here before, "Hi"...and yes, we are currently in a mad state of LIMBO. We don't know where we will be in the next month/s as Greg has been laid off and is now on the job hunt and hoping to find something soon. The job market is pretty limited. We are remaining optimistic and trying to keep a positive outlook, knowing that something will indeed work out and we just need to be patient.
It does get a little hard when people are asking you, "SO??" and all we can say is, "Nothing yet, we'll let you know". So that's my answer to you, in case you were going to ask. The weird part is knowing it could be months yet, or it could be tomorrow! He has a meeting with someone tomorrow, so you can say a little prayer for him. Thanks guys!!

The REVEAL

Who doesn't like a before and after post, right???

Ok, so I haven't completely found all the things I want for my room, but here is where I'm at, and I LOVE the change.

But before...let me remind you of how it did look at the beginning of the year.


Take note of the cream/pink stripe wallpaper. It was full of nail holes that were "patched" with white gunk. Also note the brass outlets. The tacky wood trim that was breaking off in sharp pieces. I don't know if the picture shows, but the crown molding was never tacked up properly and was sagging. There was no caulking around it either.




And now, at long last....the "almost" AFTER...








The hardest part?? Removing wallpaper glue. I think that took me the most hours of the whole thing. Not the paper, but the dang glue. The walls look great. I don't think you'd know it at one time had paper. I also had to slice away the paper against the crown molding as it was tucked underneath.

Some funny moments?? One time as I was going around with primer, touching up all the places where I had filled nail gun holes...I lost my footing and completely fell backwards onto the bed, holding my brush and little yogurt bucket of paint. Didn't get hurt and didn't spill a drop!
When I finished painting the blue paint, which took me one morning as Pam cut in for me...Shea walked in and said..."MOM....it's GORGEOUS!" Aww...he's so cute.
When I brought home my new mirror and hung it up, he was watching me the whole time. When it was mounted, he climbed up on the bed and looked into it and said, "MOM! It works!!" (I guess til that point, since he was below it, he couldn't see his reflection!)

So the hard work is over, now I'm just looking for some fun fabric for cushions with multiple colors on it...preferably teal/orange...bright. I also need a new bedskirt. But it is amazing what you can do with a bit of paint and some elbow grease. (It was also helpful to have a handy brother who can put up trim in no time.)
Thanks for looking!!

UPDATE: I hit up a garage sale on Saturday and found these...

Then I painted them...

Our hearts keep growing...

God is so good. He has blessed us so many times with little gorgeous babies. On May 9th, our little sister Heather and husband Christian had their first baby, Hugo Frederick MacIntosh VanEeden. She was a brave mama and wanted to deliver him naturally even though she had heard on Friday that he was breech. Thanks to God, he was aligned alright in his bum first position, and she was a trooper and delivered him. He is perfect. We can't wait to meet him.


(These are Heather and Christians photos.)

Happy Mother's Day!!

The miserable painter

So I missed the flu that EVERYONE else got around here, and have now caught the nastiest cold. It is border line feeling like strep as it is just burning to swallow. Typically I get a sore throat preceding every cold, but not for this long and so intense. So we'll see. And of course it's a weekend, so my plans have been altered on my long list of things to do. Tonight, for example, is the family dance at the school. G had no interest in going, but I was going to take all three and shake-it, but alas...he got the short end of the stick and while I sit here and whine on my computer, he's making small-talk with the other dads who had to go! So I guess you could say, we're both miserable and nobody is doing what they had hoped!
That being said, since I can't breathe (and therefore can't sleep)...I have been doing some work in my room. Yes, the neglected bedroom. The one I started back in January and still have yet to finish. With the possibility of us selling our house, I did go a little less crazy with the color choice. I cut in except for around the crown molding where I'm waiting for my bro to come tack it up better as it's kinda saggy in parts. I painted the trim that will got back up at the top of the wainscoting, and so it should be done very soon. Still perfecting my wall art choices, and need some good pillows. Then...I will finally have a reveal photo for you. I know, good thing I'm not decorating/renovating every room in my house, or it could take awhile.

House for sale

(and no, it isn't ours just yet!)
My brother and his wife are expecting a baby!! YAY! Another! They just keep popping up. Here we thought that Shea was the last of the cousins, then came the surprise of Ella and now another!! Baby number 5 for them.
So now they feel the need to get a bigger place and have put their home up for sale. I just wanted to give you the link in case you know someone who needs a great family home in Salmon Arm. Please spread the word if you know anyone who is looking!
Thanks!!

getting to know you

Friends.
I feel like I haven't had that one special best friend in a long time. But I have been surrounded by many awesome people who I appreciate so much and I will take what I can get at this point. In this stage of my life, my kids are ultra demanding, and it hasn't afforded me the luxury of maintaining the kind of friendships I had in my youth. The kind where I'd stay up late giggling with them, talk to them everyday, do outings with them every weekend. I guess that's more "high school" but I find myself craving that sort of friendship at times. Relationships change when you're married too, as you kind of want to hang out with your spouse (at least I hope you do!), and then the more kids you add to the picture, the less time you have for others.
We've had a pretty serious year looking at relationships as it relates to our eldest. He is the type that tends to latch on to one person and will devote his every play date to that person. (Much like his parents.) He has had some great friends in his past and yet they are few. He seems to lack confidence that other people like him beyond his small little circle. The funny part is that most people like him, but he's not brave enough to join them. This year he was put into a grade 4/5 split where he didn't hardly know anyone, and his best friend was in a different class. He ended up gravitating to a newer kid who accepted him right away. This kid (lets call him "Tim") comes from a rough background. He is now living with his grandparents as his parents are unwilling/incapable of raising him. Tim obviously deals with a lot of anger and emotions because of this I am sure. He hasn't been the best influence on Riley, yet the two of them have so much in common and play great together. We are fighting between this balance of wanting to help Tim and be a good influence in his life, versus wanting Riley to hang out with other kids who have had a little more stable upbringing. Though there have been friends raised in stable families that have really hurt him as well. Of course we can't dictate who he hangs out with at school, but I've been trying to arrange play dates with other kids to expand his circle a little. I didn't think relationships, even among boys, could be quite so difficult. Or that at such a young age, Riley wouldn't feel confident enough to hang out with anyone on the playground. Kids can be so mean. And it's hard to be a mom and balance that feeling of protection and "poor you" with training them to be assertive and get out there.
I am sure that the best training I can give my boys is to show them how to be a good friend myself, and I need to get better at it. Despite the (3) distractions!!
Cheers to "girls night" out.