End of May

Man....the weather really turned around for us here in May. We went from a nice 70-75 degree weather to 85+ and humid. I'm having a rough time as it is. I'm always sticky. But the kids love it- they play with the sprinklers all the time. Dom loves it- he loves to be naked (really..who doesn't?)....but Ethan? He really doesn't like water being thrown at him. He avoids it, and then Dom will push him and he'll get wet and get this face....of "OH NO....life is cruel!"

rediscovered his tracks

having lunch in the tree house...a common
occurrence here 

Spencer decided that this month was going to be our No-spend month...lol. We tried....well, I TRIED...so hard. He came to the conclusion, that he's the one that spends most of his check. He probably thought his baby mama was spending all his money...come to find out, it's him LOL. He put a lot of landscaping in the past couple of months, and he has gone birding a couple of times before too....it adds up. He's only got a couple thousand bucks left of loans and he wants to get rid of it so BAD....but alas, mulch and trees took priority this month. I did so good...I only bought food, and even then...a lot of the deep freezer food came out to help us out. AND I even had extra money- I gave him the $200 we spent in Ikea (garage sale earnings) AND an extra $140 I made from surveys this month....so who's bringing the bacon home now???

our new desk

building furniture...my favorite part

He finally gave in last week when he needed seed for the backyard...so there you....another example that it's all him. I'm over here debating whether to buy a $10 shirt....and he's over there buying $200 worth of seeds.  BUT...we did get to celebrate our anniversary by going to Dallas- where we finally bought a desk and extra storage for the toy room. And we also celebrated Mother's Day...nothing fancy- just cake and a small gift. I got a ipad holder for the car and it goes between the two seats so now my kiddos can watch movies on the road...I'm so excited to use it. The best part? We don't have to bring any kind of dvd or any kind of heavy players...everything is on the ipad...now, if they would just stop fighting over it...

I was really surprised. 

I decided to tackle about a home project a month from now on...I know it still sounds intense, but otherwise, I fear I may never finish. Spencer keeps saying that when we sell the house, we will sell it for a million dollars because so much sweat and tears went into it....lol.  I'm okay with getting about 20% of that. I mean, we did a good job...but not great. This time, I decided to tackle our master bathroom and bedroom cabinets. They were a granny oak (we call them that...it's that nasty 90s golden oak) and we decided to paint it walnut. I found a dark chocolate gel stain at Sherwin Williams on sale a while back (the same one I painted my table and chairs with). Gel stain is different than regular stain- it's super thick, and it's supposed to be for painting laminate furniture...but I used it on wood, because I liked the color. It seems to have a top coat already on it, cause it's shiny when it dries. It doesn't look rough like stain does. And this time, instead of using a sock or a foam brush like I did on the table, I used a paint brush. Usually stains are oil based, that's why I avoid them. But after several you tube videos, I figured out how to clean the brush after I was done. And lucky me, I had all the materials already. So, this cost NOTHING. We thought it would be easier if we used the sander for the cabinet. What we did not anticipate was all the fine sanding powder blowing everywhere and almost killing us! There is no windows in our bathroom that open...so we were doomed. We keep laughing about it...because it's such a DIY mistake. We watch all those DIY house flipper shows and people never wear the proper equipment, and we laugh at them....only come to find out...WE ARE THEM! Once the dust settled, I cleaned it real good and vacuum several times over two days. We had a nasty cough for days.
Then I primed it with white cabinet primer, then put on the stain. Now...usually gel stain absorbs into the wood, but since primer was in the way, it ended up looking kinda edgy/modern....you can see the strokes. I wasn't sure at first, but Spencer really likes it. He thought it was going to look like the table...which he was dreading (its just ONE solid color- choc brown). This looks more like hand scrapped wood almost. SO, there you go, even using the same materials, a small change makes a HUGE difference. The next step was to decorate the master tub with a few accessories and shelving. BUT....our master shower started leaking into the carpet (it did it last year too , but Spencer fixed it). Since we only did a temporary fix, Spencer recently decided since that since it was ugly anyways....that we should just tear it up and start new. HOLY COW! Did my husband just give me permission to buy custom tile??!? LOL...no, but he did put me in charge of getting our stuff together. My dad recently did his, so I'm getting all his info, and we'll start that soon enough.  I'm even thinking about doing an accordion glass shower door AND a pocket door to the bathroom..For now, we are all living with one shower. I can't believe we are all sharing a tub/shower. We have NEVER done that...we've always had two bathrooms. This is ridiculous! I clean the shower all the time, because I fear that my nastiness will linger around in the tub...where my children sit and play...ugh. But if you want something done right...you gotta take your sweet time....and it's going to look fabulous. THEN...we'll see about tackling the utility room next....maybe the month after that....and someday...hopefully before we move...the kitchen....and those nasty doors have got to go too....and the front door painted....so many projects!

Before

Primed

Primed

After

No primer (top) vs primer (bottom)

All done!

Spencer bought about 500 lbs of topsoil (which I helped unload) and he put it on top of our nasty dead grass in the front yard. Now, it's all brown- hey, it's better than dead weeds and yellow grass. And just a couple of days ago, he put in some grass seed....totally overseed it, and hoping for little grass here in the next few weeks. So, that's done for now. He also put in a sprinkler system he bought online, so now we got automatic sprinklers up front.  In the backyard? Well, he ordered the seed, and we'll have to do the same process all over again. We'll eventually have sprinklers back there too. He's really enjoying his landscaping, but gets so frustrated with how much time it's taking. I'm the other way around....I hate starting things, but once I do...I like taking my sweet time to make sure they look good. So, I'm really okay with taking a couple of weeks to finish that vanity....For now, the only thing growing in the front is mushrooms, from all the water he's throwing at the seeds. 

Dom had an eventful May...or half of May. He had a small party for end of year school, and they had a little graduation. He will return next year to the same school for preschool and he's so excited already. He keeps talking about going "later" ....The graduation was about 35 min long. They did songs about Oklahoma history and then handed out diplomas. After that we took pics with teachers and friends, and called it a day. He's also taking a few extra therapy sessions since he missed some while we went to Disneyland, and will miss some more due to vacation in late June...what better way to catch up than summer?

Last Day of School Program

He also joined a Tball team. His first game was the 31st so it counts as May lol. It will go on until end of July. I was impressed with how relaxed everyone was. I was afraid all these moms were going to be so into it and totally make the kids nervous. On the contrary, parents knew this was for first timers, so we just enjoyed whatever happened. It only cost us like $40 for the whole summer and $15 for the shirt (no uniforms needed just the shirt)...so I wasn't expecting a whole lot. Dom loves it! He's such a good runner. He needs to do track- he's so fast....when he knew what he was doing. He loved trying to get the ball and he loved running bases. A lot of the kids had baseball pants and cleats, but I don't really care if Dom ever gets that....it's only for a summer. He does have a glove though.
We started rough- our coach ditched us for the first game to coach high school baseball, so other dads had to help the coach's wife practice with the kids. It's nice to see the community come together in times likes these. I'm sure it's all volunteer work, so I am glad parents want to help out no matter what. 

Practice

Watching bro play

waiting for the ball

First time at the bat

Running bases

Ethan sprouted two canines...good boy, and he uses them. I think he's even bitten his fingers a couple of times. He's stretching. I saw him walking around yesterday and I thought "man....he doesn't look like a baby anymore...where's all the baby fat?"...so I think he'll be as lanky as Dom...and his Dad. Next month, he has to go in to get his lachrymal tube checked and maybe change his eyeglasses prescription...we'll see. I know he needs an extra pair, the only one he's got get so dirty all the time, and wet, and they are all scratched. I just didn't want to buy a second pair knowing that the prescription might change so soon. But this month, he kept it easy. He's an easy kid for the most part. He's still sucking on those blanket corners that are absolutely disgusting....ALL 4 OF THEM. I feel like washing it daily, but there's no way I'm doing laundry that often...only one a week for me. Also, he got a yeast infection again....so we have stopped cloth diapers for a while, to see if that was the problem....the humidity in them is a lot worse than disposables. In the meantime, he's been sitting in the baby potty too, but nothing has happened yet. But being summer, we might practice potty outside too. He likes not wearing diapers...me too kid, me too. Man....if i was a baby, I would be naked all the time. Clothes are so restricting....you can stretch and run and if you get dirty, you just take a bath, no biggie. I feel his pain...but society demands clothes...sorry kiddo.

sometimes he can be sweet

On Memorial Day, we went to the pool and my kids loved it. I personally dont' like the pool. I don't think I look good in a swim suit and also the water is always cold. But my kids...thrive. Dom loves to swim with a pool noodle. And Ethan....loves splashing around. I tried to take him to the baby pool, and he wanted nothing to do with it...he kept running to the big pool. So I stayed there with him, and the little booger kept trying to jump off the steps into the pool....he could seriously drown. He took in some serious water, and he was totally fine. Never complained...not one. He just kept sneezing and laughing. I feel like this is his life calling. He needs to do this-he's so fearless. He actually loves being scared, he loves it when people scare him. 

He's game...as long as food is there

Fun in the pool

These are just for fun...my kids never cease to amaze me....

He really sleeps like this...a lot

he gave up on the crib, it's too small for him 

Cracks me up...he was really asleep like this!
I had to move him to the crib. 

Dom is so goofy...everyone tells me that, but it seems more so this time. Recently, he had a make up therapy session with another therapist and she kept complimenting on how imaginative and goofy Dom is. I knew he was goofy, but nothing out of ordinary...then I found this gem...its two songs- one from the graduation program, and then the second one from mothers day program. this is Dom in a nutshell...always marching to his own goofy beat....and he thinks he's so hilarious, which probably doesn't help....

Well, May also flew by...no trips for us this time, but there was a lot to keep us super busy. June is also full of adventures- including tball, bible camp, and piano lessons, and a Coffey family reunion...We'll stay very busy this summer....but that's a good thing right?