Molly's Artwork from School Today

You and me both, kid.  You and me both.

Molly's Artwork from School Today

The Last Thing You Want To Hear...

...when you are 15 hours away from flying to the Caribbean for a do-over vacation of one you had to cancel a year ago...

"Mrs. Mallett, this is Sarah from Springbrook Elementary.  Jack just vomited and needs to be picked up."

Good times ahead!

***Note to Self: No more vacations scheduled for the first week in March.  This is clearly not a good week for Jack, who has been healthy since...well, last March!

Wishing For Summer

We're having ice cream for supper in our bathing suits. Maybe we'll
play beach blanket bingo after. We're crazy like that!

Introducing my FAVORITE Nephew

Finally the sickies left us, and I was able to meet my favorite nephew for the very first time.  He just happens to be my ONLY nephew, but even if he wasn't, I think he'd still have to be my favorite.   Why else would I be blogging his pictures at 1am before even putting my groceries away?  Stop gagging, of COURSE I put the refrigerator stuff away, just not the pantry stuff!  (My friend Lindsey got food poisioning last week, poor thing, and I don't need it one bit when I have a vacation waiting for me in a few short days, so the ground turkey and all his friends went right into the fridge ASAP.)

I still have to pick up the play room too.  And throw away all the stuff I just had to clean out of the fridge so my mother-in-law won't think we're a bunch of slobs (we are of course, I just don't want her to have obvious evidence of it!)  And then I have to hide the guilt toys I bought for Ben, so that when he wakes up Tuesday morning and asks where his family is, Deb can hand him his consolation basket and say "Sorry kid, they ditched you for Turks and Caicos, but here's a swell parting gift!"

I should also make time to edit some more of these pretty pictures of my favorite nephew and his fabulous parents.  But until then, here are a few to make you smile :o)

The Proud Papa

What a beautiful family they make!

Have you ever seen an ear dimple like that? 
I think an angel gave him a nibble because he was so sweet.

Cameron Angelo
8 Days Old....and Perfect!

Sometimes Dreams do come true

This was the scene at our house at 730am...and I has nothing to do
with it, it was all them!

Better late than never!

I finally updated my blog header!   Back to your regularly cheduled programming...

WHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!??????

Whyyyyyy?????
(shakes fist indignantly at Universe)

WHY, when there is a sweet new baby boy in our family, just MILES away....the first one in SEVEN YEARS that I have not had to give birth to myself...
WHYYYYYYYYYY oh WHY will my dear daughter
NOT STOP VOMITING!!!!!!!

It's been such a long wait, but knowing that I was going to get a real newborn to squish so soon after his Mommy and Daddy welcomed him into the world has made the patience I've been pretending all worth it.

And now, right at the very MOMENT that I was going to realize the thing I'd been dreaming of and waiting for all this time? 

SWOOSH! 
That was the sound of the rug beign pulled out from under me.  Again. :(

Seems to be a recurring theme in my life lately.  Clearly a lesson I'm supposed to learn.

ARGGGHHHH!!!  That doesn't make it any less frustrating!!!! (Bangs head on desk!!) 

Luckily, I'll be this sweet baby's auntie for many years to come.  And it will be nice to meet him when he finally has a name and is home from the hospital.  I can pretend to be patient for a few more days....

...Well I'm off like germs on a Clorox Wipe...

It's a BOY!!!

I kind of suspected.  Especially when I stopped by the day they were being admitted for induction to wish Paul a Happy Birthday.  The only nice gift bag I had on hand was BLUE.  When I got there, Ulia was looking postiviely fabulous, having just gotten her hair and nails done in preparation for the big event. 
She was wearing the most brilliant  royal blue top. 
I think mothers have a second sense about this.  I was wearing blue the day Jack was born and pink the day Molly was born.  (I was wearing purple the day Ben was born, but that was the only thing I owned that fit me at that point!)

I tried, in a last ditch effort, to WILL this little Egan into being a girl, by telling my mother I was sure it was a girl...but really even I didn't beleive it.  I just wanted someone to dress up in Molly's hand-me-downs!  I guess this is God's way of telling me if I want one of those I'm going to need to do it myself, lol!

 Here he is in all his perfection - have you ever seen a more PERFECT nose?  And those CHEEKS!!! 

BABY BOY EGAN

born 2/16/2011

5:05pm

9lbs 7oz   20.5 inches

perfect in every way!

 

 

Congratulations Paul and Ulia!! 

There couldn't be a more wonderful way to celebrate

the love and happiness you two have found in each other. 

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!

As seems to be my motto in life - accessorizing well makes everything seem fabulous, even if it's all mostly smoke and mirrors.  This theory was proven on Valentine's Day as I was mostly unprepared and had to pull it together with leftover Christmas decorations, some scrapbook paper and glue.  Call me Martha MacGyver.

We HAD, in our defense, begun some pretty extensive Valentine's crafting, long before the holiday.  We painted, baked, glittered and glued.  Then we took all our V-Day goodness, packaged it up and sent it to some of our favorite Valentines :)

I figured there was no reason to ruin his clothes, so Ben painted in the buff.

(except for his old Spiderman tatoos and the glue from a giant sticker he insisted stay on his arm for two days.  Three weeks later, tiny bits of the glue are STILL stuck to his arm )

Clearly, the two-handed painting technique works for him!

It wasn't hard to mold these yummy treats (the kids did it mostly by themselves) but not eating all of them?  That proved to be much tougher!

Smooch!

 

The cupcakes never made it in the mail - my little artists were just too hungry!

We had loads of leftover liquid starch from a slime project, and it turns out there's loads of crafts you can make with it!  We took some glasses and small squares of tissue paper in Valentiney colors and created vases - I have no idea how they'll hold up with flowers in them, but they looked awfully pretty and the kids pretty much did everything on their own.  All they had to do was dip the paper in the starch and stick it to the glass.

I hope our Valentine's Day boxes made their recipients feel as loved as they make us feel every day! 

We also had to take care of some special folks at school.  Ben picked out Iron Man lenticular cards for his buddies, Molly picked out puppy and kitty ones, and Jack insisted (on Valentine's EVE) on making his own handmade lottery scratch tickets just like last year.  Which meant of course that Marc and I made them FOR him, at midnight.  This was the first time Marc has stayed up with me on a project like this, and he did a spectacular job on all the cards.  Made me have all sorts of Valentiney thoughts to have him so helpfully pitching in!

Valentine's morning, we were greeted with the most BEAUTIFUL pink sunrise!

The kids were shuffled off to school, and Ben and I stayed in and finished up some gifts that were supposed to be done long before, but didnt' quite get accomplished what with life getting in the way!

Molly, unsolicited, made this drawing, and I thought Mrs. Verdun would get a kick out of it with subtitles, just like she sends home Molly's work from school.  I embellished it a bit for the holiday with some random scraps of stuff I had around (paper, foam stickers from three years ago, some scrapbook adhesive) and then tied it up pretty (again, random scraps were used, but it sure looks like I meant to do it that way!)

We used some Target finds to package up a Thank You Valentine (which was actually a Christmas gift I never got around to - oops!) for the ladies at the front desk at Molly and Jack's school.

Then, with T minus twelve seconds to spare we threw together some decorations for a very LATE dinner.  Some days I wonder where the day goes, but it takes a whole lot of effort to make the kind of mess we do.  And then cleaning it up takes TWICE that effort.  And then making it look perty takes more effort than I have left in me, but usually an extra cup of coffee and some Kesha on Pandora give me the kick in the pants I need.

So that this...

Becomes THIS...

Seriously, SMOKE and MIRRORS! 

The lanterns were dollar store finds from ages ago standing in for the balloons I misplaced (found them the next day of course).  I had an elaborate balloon chandelier planned in my head...Oh well, maybe another year!  That giant cookie heart was a half frozen peanut butter cookie dough log I mashed into the pan, feeling as if we needed something sweet to make up for the lack of treats this year.  The kids' school doesn't allow any, which is smart and a good lesson, but a letdown for kids who are used to a sugar free for all in their old school.  Those cute red mailboxes are from Michael's.  I wanted them to be decorated and individualized....again, maybe next year!

I've learned through trial and many an error, that good enough is just that - GOOD ENOUGH!!

I don't have the energy or desire to try and be perfect when good enough seems to work out just fine.

And even if it didn't, you just can't beat a cute kid - so here...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

The Wait is Nearly Over!

Wow, could that slideshow BE any smaller??  Ulia is so glowingly, Pantene-model beautiful, and you just can't appreciate it in a thumbnail.  And Paul was such a good sport about the pictures (which we squeezed during pre-game festivities for the last Pats game of the season).  So here are a few of the best ones blown up.  I wish I had time to do them all, but the Pitocin was started at 7:30, water broken before 10am, and this baby may may be BORN before I finish this post if I dont' HURRY.  Also, I hope posting these is okay with Paul and Ulia because I wasn't calling them at the hospital to ask permission.  I invoke Godmother's (and Photographer's) privelege, if there is such a thing, lol!

To sum up...Go Ulia!  Go Paul!!  Go Baby!!  We can't wait to meet you!

One of the good guys

Marc woke up at 4:15 this morning.  He was at the office by 7:00, worked until 5:00, took a work-related call on his drive home, slapped me five as I ran out the door with Jack to Cub Scouts, got Molly and Ben ready for bed, put Jack to bed, wolfed down some dinner, and by 9pm was on a phone conference with associates in India, Australia, London and Hong Kong, until 11pm.  Had a bowl of cereal and headed to bed, since he needs to wake up in five hours and do it all again, though hopefully without the late night conference call.

Yesterday, he sent me flowers as a pick-me-up.

My kids are always playing "good guys vs. bad guys", and they have no idea that the world's best "good guy" is their Daddy.  We are so blessed.  :)

It's The Great Mudroom Reveal, Charlie Brown!

It really is AMAZING how one simple, little thing can change the flow of your days and the stress in your life. Having a mudroom that works means the ability to get in and out of the house expeditiously and safely, and it has singlehandedly made my life so much easier!

I almost forgot to take "before" pictures, so focused was I on the changes ahead. So halfway through emptying the closet, I grabbed my camera. Here is what our mudroom looked like before we pulled ourselves up by our DIY bootstraps...

 

You can see the beginnings of something taking shape - the fabulous wall quote that was a gift from  my friend Sandy, who was my BFF before BFFs were cool (in fact, I'm pretty sure we started the idea back in 1984, but we'll let all the TXTers think they were the geniuses). 

But the rest?  The rest was just a Hot Mess.

                    

And this is AFTER I removed the twentyeleven coats hanging from the rod and the giant baskets of stuff that had fallen over and created this mess. 

The double closet with the sliding doors was killing us.  It took up half the tiny mudroom, leaving us not enough space to get our gear on without knocking each other over.  My mind first went toward demolition - I needed a sledgehammer to take that closet DOWN!  But reason prevailed - I don't have the time, or the resources (mental or financial) to go remodeling this place.  I just needed to find a way to make the space work for us - which is where the idea to take off the closet doors was born.

And it WORKED!!  I merged ideas from all of my inspiration photos (thank you Google!) and the end result has been nothing short of  a miracle.  And the best part is that all it required was one saw cut, a few nails, and some paint. 

Here she is, the NEW and IMPROVED Mallett Mudroom!!!

 

Aaaah!  Just looking at it makes my stress melt away.  The tray table is destined for another spot in the house, but it's a good placeholder for a thrifted dresser I have yet to find and paint blue.  It will hold all our overflow gear, like mittens and hats in winter, and floaties and beach towels in summer.  All of which are in a bucket in the laundry room currently...baby steps! 

The lamp is a $29.99 find from Homegoods, as is the glass jar filled with Springtimey things that remind me that spring is only FORTY DAYS AWAY!!!  The faux paperwhites were $8 on clearance from Pottery Barn.  Have I mentioned that it ROCKS to have a PB store nearby - the seasonal clearance items make me swoon!  Thank goodness I can only go when I'm alone, which isn't often. 

Molly's infamous ruby slippers (well, infamous among the twelve people who saw our realtor photos from Edgewater Drive, har har) hanging on the blue doorknob hook.  This was one thing I KNEW would be incorporated into the mudroom.  It's one of the few truly original ideas I've ever had, but even more than that, it's my favorite way to decorate - around items that highlight our family's journey in an artful way that makes sense within the house.  Sure, I could stick a picture of Molly in her red shoes on a shelf, but to me, this is a way that takes one memory as a seed that blossoms into many new memories. 

All of our comings and goings are past those shoes, and maybe my kids one day will put their own little girls in ruby slippers and remember the shoes that watched over their shoulders as they came and went all these years.

Sigh. So anywho...

functional + neutral backdrop + seaglass hues + pops of red + familynostaligia + far too much vinyl lettering. 

That's pretty much the theme here.  And the closet?  What closet?

I don't even remember the old closet, so functional and fabulous is this new niche.  Each person gets their own double hook for their coat and bag, plus a spot for their boots in the boot tray.  They are LABELED because 'some people' (and by that I mean Marc) have been known to commandeer more hooks than their fair share, creating an ugly domino effect. 

When I couldn't find the cottagey white bench of my dreams within a price point I liked, I'd initially wanted to paint this $89.99 BJURSTA bench from IKEA white and make a cushion for it.  Once I got it home though,  I remembered that I have three children and zero free time and that a black bench with a few pillows on top would do just FINE thankyouverymuch. 

The surname photo-art above the hooks was a Christmas gift from my parents. My mom and I clearly share a brain, because this is the same art that was hanging in one of my inspiration photos - but she ordered it BEFORE I posted my inspiration photo.  (insert mysterious music here...)

Initially I had some nice, cheap, chrome hooks to put up, but when I went with the black bench, I knew I had to get the dark hooks to match, even though they were three times the price at $6.50 apiece.

The pillows were a Homegoods clearance find for $18.00!  And they have a coordinating but contrasting fabric on the back, which matches a shower curtain I bought for $8.00.  I'm going to use the fabric from the shower curtain in other projects around the house to tie in the color scheme.

The boot trays were $24.99 Target versions of the $49.99 ones from Ballard Designs  that I've coveted for many moons.  One is 3 years old and one is brand new and the only reason I know which is which is that I tried to scrub the sticker off the first one.  With the second one I knew not to bother because it wasn't coming off without a blowtorch!

The three clocks is an idea I have had in my idea bank for years from an HGTV mudroom redo on a show called Decorating Cents.  The idea didn't make sense when we lived in MA (I mean, what other time did I need to know but Pembroke Standard?)  But now it totally does!  Sadly, I am "time zone" challenged, consistenly adding or subtracting in the wrong direction to figure out what time it is in MA.  And I'm pitiful when Marc travels to London (which is often these days).  I ask questions like "is it still the same day there?" because my brain just. does. not. compute!  These clocks are my little secret weapon to my brain's shortcomings.  And they're cute.  And cheap!  I got them at Target for $2.99 apiece.  $2.99!!!  And they were yet another reason to get out my Cricut and cut some vinyl letters.

This laundry room door was a late LATE night design decision that looked AWFUL...until I put the vinyl on it!  Nothing like some black vinyl letters to add just the right amount of pizzazz!  I found the magazine holder last weekend at Homegoods for $19.99 and it is exactly what I need to corral the kids' papers after school each day.  But the blasted thing has two keyhole openings on the back and even though I've measured and marked the wall, it's going to take two screw anchors, two flathead screws of juuuust the right dimensions, a drill for a p

ilot hole, a screwdriver for the screw and a whole lotta prayers to get it up on the wall.  Goodness I do hate keyhole mounts!

So it LOOKS pretty, but how does it FUNCTION???  Take a look!

The key is to keep only the absolute, daily necessities here.  One jacket, one pair of shoes or boots, hat, mittens, and bag.  Overflow has to go elsewhere because it clutters up the works and the whole system goes to pot.  So for right now, we're keeping off season jackets, raincoats, and dress coats in everyone's bedroom closets.  

And now with the benefit of experience, I can see where the system needs to be tweaked to achieve optimum performance.  That will include pulling the bench forward to the front of the alcove, and adding a lower tier of hooks for each person.  Then the longer snowpants and coats can hang down behind the bench, and Molly and Ben will have hooks they can reach by themselves without having to stand on the bench.  I'd also LOVE  better overhead light and an electrical outlet or two, so that my lamp doesn't need an extension cord into the laundry room.

But all in all, this has been one awesome home improvement because not only has it added functionality to our lives, it has made our home more "ours".  I love going through the mudroom now - sometimes I'll just stand in there and soak it all in.  

Coming and going is SO much easier and better now.  And every time we pass through our doorway, we walk by another special treat from my mom - it sums up so much of how we feel about our home and our lives here....