Living Room Transformed!

When you buy a house, you learn that making a house a home is a work in progress.  There have been many times during the past 11 years that I have wondered why we didn't buy a newly built home.  The first answer: we couldn't afford one with a basement.  The second answer: we couldn't afford one that had character.  The third answer: buying a 60 year old home from it's original owner was so nostalgic.  So, we are the proud owners of a 1939 one and a half story cottage style home (with a few craftsman characteristics here and there).  

We have slowly redone rooms throughout the house.  Some out of preference, some out of necessity.  A few years ago, Brett tore out the vinyl flooring by the front door and installed ceramic tile.  I loved it!  In doing so, he discovered hardwood oak floors that appeared to be in pretty good shape.  So, we have debated, periodically, about whether or not to tear out the carpet and expose the wood floors.  It would be a gamble, for certain.  We didn't know in what condition we would find them.  We could always install new carpet, or refinish the floors if they were really bad, but we could not (financially) replace the hardwood.

So, last July, we repainted the office (formerly known as the dining room).  When we embarked upon this adventure, I did not know that simply painting a room would take over a month and eventually involve ripping off both the door and window trim, and also ripping out the carpet.  But, when you're married to a contractor, home remodeling is never what you expect it to be!  We were pleasantly surprised to find that the wood floors in the office were in fantastic shape!  However, due to the length of time we had already invested, we stopped with the one room, even though it left a nasty raw edge of carpet going into the hallway and the living room.

See the raw edge there between the two rooms?

It wasn't until eight months later (that's March, people) that we finally tore up the carpet in the hallway.  We found that it, too, was in fairly good condition.  There is a bit more wear in front of the bathroom door.  For obvious reasons, of course!  This part of the project ended up taking a little over a week because it involved making new oak thresholds for the doorway openings.  They were handmade by the wonderfully talented Waffle, and are simply beautiful.

Fast forward to July 2010.  I came home from a work on a Monday a few weeks ago, feeling rather angry, frustrated and let down.  So, the Waffle came home to find me taking out those frustrations on the living room carpet! (Better than him or the children, right?)  My timing wasn't the most fabulous, I must say.  We were scheduled to have a birthday party for one sweet little girl in our life that following Saturday.  And, as usual, we had so much to do.  The Waffle, however, loves much (and has learned much).  So, even though I know he was tired and didn't want to be a living room remodel contractor, he pitched in and helped anyway.

After ripping out that last bit of nasty old carpet, we also repainted the fireplace wall that never got painted a few years ago.  It really needed it - the white was no longer anywhere near white.  It was a dingy beige, at best.

Before:

The old wall desperately needed to be painted.  And see those doors underneath the row of books?  

I detested them.  They were handmade by the original owner, and had been painted 

so many times that they didn't even close all the way!  (I'm sure they were lovely at first.)

But, see the horrible old, black hardware?  I have despised these cabinet doors for a very long time.

Well, look here, no more doors!

Here is a full wall photo:

We painted, got a new piece of artwork, took the doors off, and painted the walls behind the books to match the rest of the room.  I love it!  I can't believe I waited so long to get rid of those stupid doors!

When the day of Mallory's party had arrived, we weren't quite done yet.  We had removed the doors, but not the center rails.  And the wall behind the books was still the same original green it was painted 70 years ago!

Here are a few "in progress" pictures.

This is a closer picture of the 'artwork' that we bought.  It's actually two pieces that have been 

skillfully hung, perfectly plum and parallel, by my favorite contractor, the Waffle.  We were able to 

buy this with the help of my Dad, who sent some money for my birthday.  Thanks, Dad!

Look at those floors!  You would never believe by looking at them that they are 70 years old! 

Amazing!

Pasta on Parenting - it's been a while

I haven’t written a ‘Pasta on Parenting’ post in a while. And boy, have I been getting some experience lately! Those kids, you know, they don’t slow down for a minute. The challenges come at you like flaming darts – it’s amazing! By ‘challenges’ I don’t mean that my children are going through challenges, or that we are having problems, or anything like that. I simply mean that being a parent is hard work. There’s always a decision to make, and you can’t make them lightly. Even if it doesn’t seem like it’s a big deal to take your daughter shopping for summer clothes or sign your son up for baseball or buy them a book at the store ~ all of these things involve important decisions. And if you make the mistake of thinking they’re not important, you may be regretting it later.


What ‘decision’ is involved in buying summer clothes for your little girl? Other than how much money to spend and what size to buy, of course. As parents, the Waffle and I have made it a priority since day one to teach modesty to both Mallory and Hayden. When it comes to picking out clothes for summer, shopping for our 7 year old daughter proves to be much more difficult than for our 9 year old son. Boys wear shorts. The shorts sold for boys are long. Boys wear t-shirts. Most t-shirts sold for boys his size aren’t inappropriate. So, we rarely run into ‘decisions’ that have to be made when shopping for Hayden. Mallory, however, is another story. It isn’t just about picking out a bathing suit. It starts with the clothes. The shorts are too short. They are low-waisted, they are short, sometimes they have words printed on the rear end. Let me ask you this: Why would any mother or father who loves their daughter find it appropriate to put clothes on her that cause another person to stare at their daughter’s butt? I can’t answer that because for me the answer is, “I wouldn’t.” When it comes to tops, there are just as many challenges: spaghetti strap tank tops, bare midriff tops, and tops that say things like, “I didn’t ask to be a Princess” or “Whatever it is, my brother did it.” Really? These things are supposed to be cute? What about teaching humbleness and responsibility? So, when it comes to buying clothes for our daughter, I rise to the challenge. Knee length shorts, no words on the rear, no spaghetti straps, and no sayings that encourage poor attitudes or thinking. I also have a problem with clothes that are too trendy or too ‘grown-up.’ Why do we want our daughters looking like runway models or pop stars? Which ones of them do we want our daughters to look up to (or look like)? For me the answer is simple: none. I want her to know about inner beauty and modesty and make it part of her character that will attract an honest, loving and upright man to be her husband someday. And if I don’t start training her to think and be this way now, when she is twelve it will be too late.

“Signing up for baseball is a challenge?” you ask. Yes, when the ball schedule has some conflicts with regular meetings time for our church congregation, it does pose a challenge. I sometimes find it tough as a parent not only to tell my son when he will not be able to go to baseball, but it’s also to tell the coaches. I don’t want to make my child be different, but we ARE different. As Christians we are called to be different from the world. At 9 years old, our son understands ‘exceptions.’ We have a rule that we live by: when the congregation meets, we are there. The exceptions to this rule are: illness. So, last fall, when a couple of Hayden’s ball games lasted too long and we missed a service, I had enormous guilt. “What are we teaching our son by letting him miss church to play baseball? That playing is more important than worshipping the Creator?” So, the Waffle and I decided that it wouldn’t happen again. It is important to teach what (and Who) comes first. If the children don’t learn that God comes first at an early age, then they will always be torn when making a choice between social events and church services. I’m an adult and there are still times when I feel tempted to skip services because I want to be doing something else. However, people notice our example. Not only our commitment to being at worship and Bible study, but our attitude, our honesty, our effort, and our concern for others. There are so many ways that we can ‘shine our light’ to the world. We just have to be willing to face the challenges head on ~ and then make the right choice when faced with them.

The bottom line is that decisions that often don’t seem important to us are very important to our children. They pick up on the patterns, routines and consistencies in our lives. But they also pick up on the inconsistencies, the lack of discipline and the hypocrisy. So, give them something they can believe in. Don’t make them wonder what to expect, let them know what’s important and how we make our decisions. That builds trust, and after all, isn’t trust what love is all about?

Confessions of a Loving Wife

The Waffle celebrated his 40th birthday this year.  While I have been teasing him for quite some time about being old, I wanted to be honoring, not mean, for this special occasion.  I decided a long time ago that there would be no "Over the Hill" decorations, no black balloons, and no gag gifts.  You see, I am younger than the Waffle, and I know that what goes around comes around.  I don't know how I will be feeling when I am preparing to hit the big 4-0, so I wanted to go easy on him.

The Saturday before his birthday, we had plans to be in a Euchre tournament with a group of friends from church.  I decided to go ahead and use this opportunity to celebrate with Brett.

Here's the cake:

And here are the candles:

WOW!

Now, for the confession part.  After a very busy weekend, complete with euchre party and cake, we started a very busy week.  Monday came and went.  Tuesday came and went.  Wednesday (the big day) came, and almost went, without me even wishing the Waffle a Happy Birthday!  Can you believe it?  Sometimes our lives are in such a routine, and we have stuff going on ~ Scouts, sports, homework, Bible study, etc. ~ that doing something special mid-week is out of the question.  The REALLY bad part?  I didn't even buy him a card!  Ugh!  Good thing we gave up keeping score in our relationship a long time ago.  Or I would really have some points to be making up for!

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

Have you ever gotten the feeling, as a mother, that you are over-protective? I have. Have you ever gotten the very opposite feeling that maybe you aren't quite protective enough? I have. Ever wonder where exactly the line between the two is? Yep, me too.

You may have read this earlier post about Hayden being a good marksman. At that time, he was shooting a BB gun toward a practie target at scout camp. He has since moved from BB guns to the real thing. Yes, you read correctly - the real thing! We recently visited Grampa Asaro in Michigan, who willingly took Hayden and the Waffle to a shooting range where they shot a .22!

Here is Grampa showing Hayden how to load the gun with ammo.

(Note the hearing and eye protection. Safety first!)

A little one-on-one practice.

He brought home some shells as a souvenier.
I hope they keep the memory alive!

All she wants for Christmas . . .

On Monday night we started decorating the house for Christmas. Boxes of decorations littered the living room floor, the fireplace was burning bright and Christmas music played in the background. It was perfect. Well, except for the fact that I was sweating to death, Hayden was trying to play the Wii and I kept walking in front of him, and the disorganized, cluttered mess was making my OCD flare up! In the midst of all the hubbub, Mallory wanted to give us her Christmas list. For fear of losing it, the Waffle told her to go up and put it on my pillow.

Later that night, as we got ready for bed, I heard the Waffle rolling with laughter. Why? Because he hit the sack a few minutes before me and was reading Mallory's list, pictured above.

Since I know you probably can't read the list very well, I will translate it for you below, spelling errors in tact, explanations when necessary.

Christmas List
1. A pen that can be erased
2. High heels (new shoes)
3. Coloring book (LPS - Littlest Pet Shop)
4. A sister (baby)
5. New beret's (you know, for your hair)
6. A new cat (friend for Sage)
7. Cute Kitty cat (suff animals)
8. Cute Kitty sunglasses
9. Journail (cat journail)
10. Cat scarf
11. Long Hair
12. A wach (cat wach - to tell time)
13. A new build-a-bear workshop (cat)
14. Ear ring's (cat)
15. Peszle's (cat) ("Puzzles" for those struggling with the translation)
16. Makeup
17. Dress (cat's)
18. Toy's (cat's)
19. Kitty boot's
20. Littlest Pet Ship toys
21. New color croyn's
22. More books
23. A doll
24. A new cover for my bed (cat's)
25. Cat pant's
26. Gum
27. Clous for cat's (cat) (Also known as "clothes")

Yes. We are aware that she is obsessed with cats. Do you think it's time to look for a counselor? I am a bit concerned about #4. Curious where she thinks those come from??? And #11 - does she mean a wig? Better check on that with her, I guess. Other than that, I think if it has a cat on it, I'm covered.

Check back later for more updates. And Hayden's Christmas list - not quite as funny, though.

Not Me, Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
Last Thursday while my little girl practiced gymnastics for an hour, I did not take the laptop and work on blog posts for the whole hour. I would simply never take my child to a sports practice and not watch every single minute of it. Nope, not me!

After receiving a comment on my “Not Me Monday” post last week from Elizabeth at “Confessions from a Working Mom,” I did not join her Blog Carnival called “Truthful Tuesdays.” I did not do this because I am simply not getting obsessed with jumping from blog to blog reading the posts of all you other ladies out there! Nope, Not me!

I did not TOTALLY enjoy some holiday shopping with the Waffle for two hours yesterday afternoon sans children. I always feel completely at a loss when my children are not with me. If I had enjoyed my two hours of shopping sans children, I might want to say “Thank you” to Nick’s momma, who blogs on this page, for allowing Mallory to join Hayden at Nick's birthday party. But, since I didn’t enoy it, I won’t say "Thank you." Nope, Not Me!

Because I started my holiday planning an entire month ago, I am prepared, organized and at peace with all my holiday planning. I do not feel completely unprepared and disorganized, being unable to make up my mind what to buy for the children, much less anyone else. Nope, Not Me!

I am not overly eager and excited for our annual trip to Michigan to see my parents and sister for the holiday. I am also not ever-so-anxious to go shopping on Black Friday, even though I have no idea what to buy and no plan of attack whatsoever. Nope, Not Me!

Well, I suppose that’s enough Not Me for now. Tune in next week to hear what I didn’t do on our family trip and Black Friday shopping adventure!
Happy Monday everyone!

Pasta on Parenting #3

How old were you when you first kissed a boy? (Or girl – don’t want to exclude the guys reading out there!)

I’m not talking about your first real kiss, or your first French kiss. Just your first kiss. Whether it was a peck on the check, or a lip smacker – how old were you?

I was 6. First grade. On the playground, behind the swings. Of course, someone else told on us, and we got in “trouble.” I don’t even remember his name! (Wonder if he remembers mine?)

Tonight we were eating dinner in front of the TV tonight (yes, we really do that), and I don’t recall exactly how we got on the subject, but the subject became kissing. The question was: Have you ever kissed a girl? This question was directed at our 9 year old. And he was WAY too embarrassed to answer. I’m not sure if he was embarrassed just to talk about it, or because he actually has kissed a girl and didn’t want us to know. I just know he was embarrassed. In a REALLY big way. Hmmmmm.

As a mom, I’m wondering if I missed something? The Waffle’s been telling me for some time that this day was coming. I think in my “please don’t grow up” mind, I must have been ignoring the fact that this day has finally arrived.

He never did answer “Yes” or “No” to the original question, but the real shocker came when I switched from asking him if he’d ever kissed a girl to who it was that he had kissed. His answer? “Guess!” No Way! I don’t know who was laughing the hardest: Hayden, me or the Waffle. As the boys were preparing to leave the house, I pulled the Waffle aside and gave him strict instructions: “You have to find out who he kissed!”

Oh dear. What have I gotten myself into with this parenting thing?

Birthday Fun

A few weeks ago, we were blessed to have spent the day with our dear friends, the Brewers. It was their younger daughter Vanessa’s 4^th birthday, and boy did we have fun! Vanessa’s daddy, like the Waffle, is a construction contractor for a living. He made the most awesome bunk bed for his girls! Check this out! Of course, they have 10 foot ceilings, so this bed is simply massive. It would NEVER fit in our house! But it is beautiful. Brad did a fantastic job.

Vanessa received many gifts. This one was a $5 bill in a card. The expression on her face just kills me. What was even more hilarious is that she had this expression EVERY TIME she opened a gift.

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but Mallory is a very crafty and clever little girl. She is also a fan of tissue paper. This is what she decided to do with the leftovers from all of Vanessa’s packages. Do I see a fashion designer in my future?

Here are a few more pictures of the day. What a great time we had. Hope we get to do it again real soon.

Mallory and Emily

Brad and Titus

Vanessa, Hayden, Emily and Mallory

Truthful Tuesdays - a Blog Hop

Ok, so I must admit, I'm getting into this blog thing! It's as much fun to jump around and read what other ladies are posting as it is to post about my own family.

And, I've found another one. Truthful Tuesdays. I am posting for the first time today. If you'd like, you can go over to Confessions from a Working Mom's blog and join us with McLinky (which I signed up for with MckMama's "Not Me Monday").

This week's Truthful Tuesdays question is...

What is your spouse's most annoying habit? And how do you cope with it?

I would like to start the answer to the question with a disclaimer: In our marriage, I am probably the one with more annoying habits than he is.

OK, now that we've taken care of the legal stuff. My spouse's most annoying habit is his general inability to pick up after himself. Dirty socks by the bedside - but, only a week's worth. Magazines on every table in the house - and on the back of the toilet, and on the steps going up to our room, and, and, and. Piles of paper that don't have a home - everything from receipts to junk mail to very important papers that he asks about later (as in "Where is the order form for the Cub Scout event that I laid here on the table last week?"). I really believe that in the genes the Waffle passed on to our children, that the "Leaves things lying around" gene must be a dominant trait, much to my dismay. I would have preferred they got my "Everything has it's place" gene.

So, how do I handle his most annoying habit, you ask? Well, I do what every loving wife would do: I just do it myself. You see, after twelve years of marriage I have learned that it doesn't benefit us for me to nag the Waffle. He does, on occasion, realize that he is being slobbish and pick up after himself. But, in those not-so-rare moments when he doesn't? I just remember that I have just as many horribly annoying habits as he does. And he still loves me. And he rarely points out my annoying habits to me (or anyone else, thankfully!).

A "Pasta on Parenting" Not Me, Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

The kids are growing up right before my very eyes. Quickly, so quickly, they change and grow. I find myself having thoughts that contradict each other (Spaghetti). “Oh, look at her dressed up so cute and trendy,” I think as I hear myself say, “Here, honey, wear the dangly earrings with that outfit.” Me, encourage my little girl to grow up too fast? Never. Ever. Nope, Not Me!

Then, not 48 hours later, getting her out of her bed this morning, I hear myself say, “Bring your blanky and mom will snuggle with you in the chair while you wake up,” as I cuddle, snuggle and rock her, like she was 7 months old, rather than 7 years old. Me, try to keep my baby little forever? No way. Never. Not Me!

And as our eldest gets older, and we notice his growing interest in more things “guy,” we have tried to encourage some of those man-ish tendencies. Here’s the list just from this weekend. Learn to build a fire in the fireplace, then, later, after the fire is going, add a log. Take out the trash. Go to a pro basketball game with Dad and our buddy Josh. Watch football on Sunday afternoon. See – guy stuff. He’s growing up. So, when the Waffle and I discussed the idea of letting him walk from school to the YMCA, I didn’t feel a little sadness in my gut, thinking about the fact that he really isn’t so little anymore, thinking that, yes, I DO have to let him learn how to do these grown up type things. Nope, Not Me.

And, on Sunday evening, when he started to melt down from being over-tired from all the guy stuff, I did not allow him to curl up on the pew next to me at church service, put his coat over his head and take a little nap - like he was 9 months old, rather than 9 years old. Nope, Not Me!

I also did not feel a rush of love and gratitude when the Waffle leaned over to tell me, “You’re a good Mom.” Because I was not feeling just a tinge of guilt about letting a 9 year old sleep during church, rather than pay attention to the lesson. Nope, Not Me!

We all have “Not Me” moments when parenting our children. Thank you for letting me share mine with you today.

Happy Monday everyone!

Carving Pumpkins - Contractor Style

It's October. Halloween is in 4 days. It's cool and crisp outside. Yep. Time to carve pumpkins. Many of you may have already done yours for this year. We've had the pumpkins for several days now, but just haven't made the time to do this wonderful, long anticipated, much loved event. Do you detect sarcasm? Maybe just a hint? Carving pumpkins rates up there as one of my top "eewwwwwwww - I don't want to do that" jobs as a parent. There's something about cutting open this VERY large gourd, just so you can dig in with your hands and pull out all the ewww and goo simply to make a glowing face for your front porch. (You know, you can buy a rubber one that plugs in . . . ) It really doesn't help that Halloween just isn't my favorite holiday. I'm not really sure why - it just isn't. But pumpkin carving is definitely not my thing. Maybe it has something to do with this:


And this:


Anyway, as much as I look forward to this event, I do everything in my power to make sure that I am not the one digging out the eww and goo. This year was no different. When the Waffle and the kids got started last evening, I determined that I needed to run to the grocery store to pick up some pork roasts that were on sale. This little plan worked out very well until I came home to see this:

And this:


Yes, my contractor husband decided to bring a little excitement to the carving table this year in the form of power tools used to carve the pumpkin faces out. Hmmmmm . . .? Dangerous, you say? Well, no, not any more so than a sharp knife. And, come to think of it, maybe even less so! Interesting? Yes. Fun? Yes. Messy? YOU HAVE NO IDEA!

Turns out that power tools sling eww and goo everywhere when you use them to carve out pumpkin faces, much like they do with sawdust when you use them to cut wood!

But, since I wasn't the one in charge of pumpkin carving, what could I say? Ummmm, "Nothing" is the answer to that question. So, nothing is exactly what I said. I just grabbed my camera to capture a few of these fun-filled, memory making moments that the Waffle is so good at providing for our children.

Thank you Honey, for making life fun!

An "Extreme" Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Yesterday, instead of making a big Sunday lunch after church like I normally do, I did not feed my family a smorgasboard of leftovers from the fridge.

I did not do this simply so I could have a quick lunch before begging the Waffle to drag me and my family to a big muddy field in the middle of nowhere over an hour away from our house to watch (from a distance) many, many people, all wearing the same blue t-shirt, volunteer to do lots of work building someone else a new home.

We did not have to wait in line for over an hour and a half inside an airplane hangar just to get on a bus to take us to this muddy field in the middle of nowhere. And if we did wait for an hour and a half in line, I would not have enjoyed every minute of it.


My children also would not have enjoyed this very long wait to get on a bus. They would not have passed the time by playing silly games like thumb wrestling, "Rock, Paper, Scissors," "Mercy," and the hand slapping game called "Hot Hands."

If I had not done all of these things yesterday, we would not have arrived at the Extreme Makeover Home Edition Build Site in Bunker Hill, IN, about 3 hours after we originally left our home. I also would not have been completely amazed to see all of this:

Ty: You are totally AWE-SOME!

Here are the children in the "spectator tent" making a sign for the family.

"Move That Bus!"

Mallory wanted her picture taken by this pink tractor - pink is for Breast Cancer Awareness month

The episode of the home built for the Cowen-Brown family is set to air sometime in January - watch for it! It's sure to be awesome.

Happy Monday everyone!

A River, a fort, and a weekend of fun

In our county, there is an annual festival called Feast of the Hunter's Moon. It's a re-creation of the events that took place in the 1700's at the trading-post-turned-fort called "Ouiatenon" on the Wabash River. The Waffle and I have been to the Feast a few times before, but we have never taken the children. We decided last year (when we couldn't go due to a schedule conflict) that we would definitely go this year, so we bought our tickets ahead of time to save money. Then the rain started. It rained for several days before the weekend of the Feast. I was not looking forward to tromping through the mud and muck, but I knew we already had the tickets, so we had to go. So, we dressed in layers, put on our hiking boots and rode the shuttle bus from the Purdue stadium (we were kind of afraid our car might get stuck in the mud!).

We heard the 42nd Royal Highlanders (yes, they are in kilts)

The kids got to make candles the old fashioned way, which took for - ev - er.

Good thing my feet needed a rest anyway.

The Waffle and Hayden tried their hands (arms?) at throwing hatchets.

And we visited this tent with some very cool (and authentic) looking old games. Hayden REALLY wanted to buy the chess looking game at the bottom of the picture, but it was quite cost prohibitive, to say the least.

It was muddy, as expected, but it was still a wonderful day. The kids ate food cooked over the fire, browsed through an unending supply of vendor tents selling everything from authentic drinking vessels (mugs) to some not-so-authentic Chinese paper umbrellas, and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of a time long past.

Storing nuts for Winter . . .

Today was a very busy and productive day at the Kincaid home. We spent several hours splitting and stacking firewood in preparation for the cold winter months ahead. With all the rain and cool temperatures the past couple of weeks, I was getting concerned that we hadn't split the wood yet. The forecast looked a bit cold - and, while I knew this work needed to be done, I wasn't really looking forward to it. As it turned out, it was an absolutely perfect day for working out in the yard - not too cold, not too hot, not too windy, not raining. So, work we did, while listening to Purdue STOMP Ohio State on the radio. (Boiler Up!)

The kids know the routine - everyone helps.

Here are the Waffle and the kids getting started.

Mallory showing her big muscles!

This summer, the Waffle's mom and step-dad had a walnut tree taken down at their house. And, luckily, they called us to do clean up. That left us with LOTS and LOTS of large logs that needed to be split for burning. In the past we have rented a log splitter for the weekend, but not this year. We are the proud new part-owners of our very own log splitter! No more rental fees for us. Yippee!

Fancy, eh?

So, after seven hours of work, lots of hauling back and forth, two meals and a big win, our family is set for the winter (it will probably last into next winter!). There's just something about standing back and looking at those stacks that makes me feel satisfied, prepared, rich - kind of like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter!

Three and a half ricks - we're rich!

A little hard work is good for the soul.

She F-I-N-A-L-L-Y did it!

What?! What did she do?! And who is SHE?!

Mallory FINALLY got her ears pierced! She has officially had permission to have her ears pierced since she was 5 years old. The Waffle wasn't too sure about his little girl having earrings before that, but at 5, he agreed. Well, at 5, she wasn't interested. (Even though she had been asking for quite some time.) When we were ready, she wasn't. Figures, huh?

Well, off and on it has been a topic of conversation. She has looked at earrings in the stores, she has been given earrings as gifts, and still, her decision has been "no."

Imagine my surprise when we were walking through the mall yesterday, and here comes the jewelry store.

Waffle: "Hey Mallory."

Mallory: "What?"

Waffle (Gesturing toward the jewelry store): "How about today?"

Mallory: "Ok, sure!"

Mom: "What?!?! Really???"

Mallory (sporting a huge grin): "Yes, today I want to get my ears pierced."

About twenty minutes and three tears later, we walked out with ears that look like this:

What I didn't know is that she and the Waffle have been secretly discussing this for quite some time now. He's been working on her, slowly, building up her confidence that she can do it! Good job, Dad!

I still can't believe that she didn't scream her head off. Mind over matter, I guess.