A Little Catch Up!

Sometimes, it seems life is just one big catch up game. That being said, there are so many things (okay, mostly just pictures) I've wanted to share in the last few weeks, but I simply haven't had the time.

I can blame it on several things--but it's mostly been due to this sick blogger and all of her grading. Both have been quite time consuming, honestly. I've been fighting a nasty chest cold for two weeks, and I also had the stomach bug for two of those days. Really, coughing and stomach stuff---just shouldn't go together!

Anyway, I finished up one class last Thursday and I am starting a new one tomorrow. So much for the break I was so desperately wanting, but at least I can have a little Christmas fun money. I do get a break for the holidays, so it won't be totally time consuming around the important family times!

Speaking of important family times, we have celebrated two birthdays!

Nope, not hers. But she certainly enjoyed the cupcakes!

Brownie turned 4 and Bug turned 3. Here they are in their costumes as Super girl and Minnie Mouse. We celebrated with a costume party, friends and family and of course some chocolate cupcakes.

And here's my other two cuties in their Ariel and dinosaur costumes. Peach bragged about not having to buy a wig because her hair was already red. And as far as our dinosaur, we actually got accustomed to calling her dinosaur that week and she actually listened and responded. She also liked to ROAR!!!! any chance she got!

The next day was Halloween. So we endured day 5 of wearing costumes (we attended several functions for Halloween this week)--knowing it would be the last day. Of course, these costumes retired into our dress up collection.

And here we are enjoying the brisk evening of Halloween. We posed for a few shots and then headed over to a friends house for fellowship, food and fun! This has become a tradition for us. Of course the kids loved every bit of the candy they collected that night. I'm glad my kids are little enough that they get plenty of thrill by walking just one cul-de-sac.

Once the time changed, the leaves on our big tree in the back yard finally changed as well! Here is our favorite tree. It's the biggest one we have and it shields us a bit from our neighbors--unfortunately, we lose that shield once the leaves fall.

This tree turns a fiery orange; and, then within a few days the leaves are all but gone! I hate to see them go :-(

But that's why we get out there and play, run, jump, dig, and pile about in the leaves that fall to the ground. This is one of my favorite times to just sit back and watch the girls.

I don't pay attention to how dirty they get.



There is no fighting.


But there are giggles---and plenty of them!

That's as far as I'll catch you up for now. This brings us to just 10 or so days ago. I'll have to add more soon though, because this will be a week full of some nice memories to record.

Too Cool.... The only words!

This promotion from shutterfly is just Too Cool! Shutterfly has so many opportunities for you to create all types of gifts, cards and even home decor on just about any budget. If you have some family and friends who'd love some personalized gifts (especially with your kiddos' picture on it), go check out their calendars. Those are always a hit!

I first heard about this awesome deal from a blog I read My Crazy Life with Four Boys. She shares an amazing story about customer service and that is what made me investigate further. What she did is something that I could totally see myself doing after spending a fun-filled day with my many hooligans! Thankfully, Shutterfly was incredibly understanding and nice.

Speaking of my many hooligans, Shutterfly offers several options for larger families. I love their options for including several photos on your holiday card. You can customize your search for what kind of card you wish to create--for instance, I click the 3+ photos link (because I obviously need more than three photos for my brood). I also choose to have a folded card. That way we can include a little message with our photos.

Here is the card I'm thinking we'll choose to share this year. I cannot wait to get my pictures loaded and get to work on this bad boy! I love that it offers a larger slot for a group shot of my girls, and it has four smaller places for me to include an individual shot of my four girls!

Here's to a happy holiday week. And with Thanksgiving just around the corner, remember to get your cards ready to go. I know that's what I'll be doing!!

Random Recap and the Weekend (with a little tea party thrown in)

WHEW! Now I can breathe!

This has been about the busiest week I've had in quite a while... or quite possibly ever.

We've been to preschool everyday, the dentist (no cavities),2 parent/teacher conferences (and one was skipped by mistake which I feel absolutely horrible about, ugh!), basketball class, a Halloween party, microwave browsing (because our is DONE), Trick or Treating at a local school with a parent's group, dance class, an Arbonne party (which I'm discovering I love), birthday party shopping (at several stores), a birthday party, and a mom's night out--not to mention the birthday dinner party we threw for Bug on her birthday and the pumpkin playdate we had with a couple of the girls' friends (that was a blast)! Oh, and a family lunch date at one of our fav local places that serves poblano white cheese queso (so healthy for you), Kobe Beef Burgers, and sandwiches like the C.A.B. and the Mangino! YUM!

Hey, at least we've thrown in some fun with all the crazy! And tomorrow will be spent prepping for the big birthday bash for my middle two girls. That of course includes a list of chores, cupcake baking, treat bag making, and treat making.

More random, stream of consciousness writing follows...

I stubbed my baby toe really hard at playgroup and about 10 mins later (while still barefoot) my daughter walked right on that toe! Ouch that hurt. It also hurts to lose sleep--which the Copelands have been doing plenty of lately. It doesn't help that my husband and I both "teach" online at night (which keeps us awake later than we'd prefer), but after a couple hours of slumber, our brand new three-year-old loves to perfect her highest octave scream. This has been going on for weeks and it's only getting worse. We've punished her, we've lectured, we've given in, we've created a reward system, we've moved her to a crib in another room, and now we've totally moved her bed into what will soon be the nursery. Last night it got so bad that I moved to our basement couch (which puts a floor between me and the screaming). I swear I was up every 10-30 minutes from 3 am to 7:30 am because of pregnancy associated pain. That was after being up since 1:43 (yes, I look at the clock the minute I wake up). And even then I'd only been asleep just over an hour. Guess I won't be getting much sleep between now and when the baby comes--HA! Who am I kidding? I'm guessing I won't see sleep for several years to come. There are still many nightmares, vomiting, and thunderstorms in my future. Speaking of weather, we are supposed to get our first freeze tonight. When I came home from the Arbonne party tonight, my husband had turned on the furnace. I'm glad because I was getting quite chilled. And thank God we now have a furnace that does not let out Carbon Monoxide. Although that would be the perfect excuse as to why our Bug is acting the way she is lately. Somebody suggested it was because of an allergy. But we've been down that road with another kiddo and one rude doctor. So I'll need to find a new one if we pursue that avenue. I can't help but see the piles of laundry situated on the love seat next to me. They are clean. They are folded. They are organized into 7 piles (one per family member and one for towels/blankets that go in our hall closet). Did you know that was the one thing I asked to have done when I came home tonight? Yep, but that's okay. I came home to a quiet house which meant I could finish my grading for the night. Yep, I forgot to include that on my list for the week. I graded 32 papers between Monday night and tonight. That number is really nice to work with. It is much more reasonable than the usual 60+ papers I have to grade. And tomorrow's list is still growing. I just remembered some bean bags I need to make. Brownie has been obsessing about them ever since I made some cow print ones for a game we played at Peach's birthday. Hers will be made with various Halloween fabric. I think four should suffice! Saturday will be a long day with party prep and the actual party. I'm hoping to catch a (in house)date night with the Daddy in the house. We'll see if we have the energy to keep our eyes open during a movie. And of course we'll wake up to kids who are ready to trick or treat at 7am. We have an Ariel, Supergirl, Minnie Mouse, and dinosaur this year.



Our baby was supposed to be Elmo (who she hearts), but she absolutely refused the costume--which I found out after I bought the red sweater and pants to wear underneath the costume. Oh well, now we're ready for Christmas and Valentine's Day.

I've been sporting a belly for a while now.

Someone suggested I paint a face on it and have my own Jack o' lantern costume. I'm guessing that might be one goose-bumpy lookin' pumpkin judging by the weather we've had lately!

I'm actually going as a tea-partier this year. I have a red, blue and white hat with the elephant on it, tea bags to hang from it, a Palin ribbon and I plan on creating an anti-Obama sign with at least one misspelled word. I was looking at some actual signs from real "rallies" or whatever they like to call their gatherings--and let me say that I will not be creating one of the offensive signs. One of the worst being, "There's a reason it's not called the Black House." And I forget which third-grade level word was misspelled. I could also go as Christine O'donnel a witch, but I'm wanting to be more original--hence the tea party costume. And for the kiddo costume party we're hosting, I will forgo the sign all together. Promise! My hands will be much too full with realy partying!

Happy Halloween to you all (in case I don't see you until sometime after Sunday)!

Bug turns 3

Happy birthday to my sweet little BUG!

You are such a funny girl. You always have been; I guess that is the one thing about you that really sticks out. Or maybe it's your sweet, cuddly ways that stick out. No wait, it's your tender, sensitive spirit that pops up out of nowhere-- usually in the midst of all your silliness!
Well, you got me. I guess those all are some of my favorite things about you.


Despite the fact that we are having a rough go at it lately with all of your...., hmmmm...., let's just call them your awake hours, I completely adore you and jump at the chance to snuggle you. Needless to say, for a while now we've been trying to nip your but I don't wanna sleep in my own bed past 5 am habit in the bud. We are making small strides in this area, and I'm thankful that you are willing to learn (even if you don't wanna).

Bug, you are so different from any of your sisters. I don't like labels, but it is easy to describe you as the family-clown or cuddle bug, or both I suppose! You apparently are shy at school--that is a hoot. Your teacher and I couldn't believe one another's perception of you. She thinks you are a quiet, shy girl. I think you are crazy, loud, fun, giggly, snugly, and sweet. Shy wouldn't be the 100th word I'd use to describe you. It's always neat to hear how you are when I'm not around, though!

See, you are goofy! This is in fact, one of your favorite poses. And you're wearing one of your favorite things as of now-- DRESSES! Just like Brownie, you love to wear dresses. You, on the other hand, do not care about accessorizing. But with all the twisting you do to your hair, it's a good thing you aren't constantly asking for pretties in your hair (to date, we've had to cut the twisted knot out of your hair about 6 times).


At the sweet preschool age of three you:

~love playing outside

~are just dying for a Dora "stooda" (scooter)

~love anything and everything Grandparent

~confess your love for Dora every night (despite the fact you only watch her about twice a month, if you're lucky)

~love to eat. You, apparently, are blessed with your Daddy's metabolism

~(and speaking of Daddy) are a Daddy addict. Everything in life revolves around him. What time he'll be home. Will he rock you? Will he sit by you as you nod off to sleep? Can he fetch you a drink? Fix your plate? Go outside with you? Ahhh, the list just goes on and on!

~are starting to realize where you are in our family. And by this I mean that you are realizing some sissies are older than you, while others (including the one in my tummy) are younger than you.

~love to color on everything (the latest being your Sharpie scribbles allover our white garage walls)

~enjoy princess movies

~share a room with Boushka and I think you like it.

~ love you some Nutella

~ give the best posed face for pictures. You stick your chin out and look up saying cheeeessse! through your teeth. Oh it cracks me up!

Thank you, for all that is you! I am so completely blessed to be your mama. You have taught me a lot about myself and a ton more about being a mom. You instill the drive in me to become a more patient and understanding person. You put a smile on my face when I least expect it. You wrap your arms around me and give me a kiss on the spur of the moment. You, are one of the very best things to ever come into my life. I love you sweet girl! Happy Birthday!

-Mama

Pumpkin Patch Kids

I love fall, and I know that comes as no shock to those of you who know me. One of my favorite things about fall is visiting the pumpkin patch. You can clearly see that on my blog from last year, the year before, and the year before was our first visit but I didn't post about it (until 2008). I seem to post about previous pumpkin patch visits right along with a description from the current year's visit. So in keeping with tradition, here ya go!

The big sis leading little sis in the wagon as they pick out pumpkins!

Trying to get one picture of all four smiling and looking at the camera....HA! Impossible!

She is so sweet to me obeying my "pose" request!


My two are the ones in the orange and white shirt. That was one tall haystack!




Giant Slide...WEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


Too cute not to post!

Wow, she looked at the camera! Doesn't she look like Brownie's twin?

Thinking about which pumpkin to pick....

Just being her Brownie self!

Haystack slide!

Not sure what's going on here, but she looked cute (and I think she looks so old, relatively speaking of course)!

Yes, that's the giant slide in the background, but my four kiddos are up front. Bug is in the green car, Brownie (waving) is in the yellow car, and Peach and Boushka are sharing the orange car!

These are the moments I live for. Every bad thing is erased when I see this sweetness!

More wagon rides!

Bug likes driving the train.

And Peach was so sweet to share her car with the Boushka, who can be kind of territorial. So I know Peach was doing this out of the kindness of her own heart!

HA! I just loved this one!

And we're back to where we started.

It was such a fun family day and I'm so blessed to have spent it with my them all!

Hey Nurses!!!

I'm calling all nurses/health professionals to stop by and fill me in on some info. I know several of you in my personal life, and I know there are some of you who read my blog. In the end, I don't care how you contact me, but please.... CONTACT ME WITH INFORMATION I'm desperately seeking.

For several years I have been interested in going back to school to become a nurse. Of course I'd love to be out on the floor the first day with my BSN under my belt, but with four kids, one on the way, a house, and a part-time job....yeah, it's not gonna happen like that. Eventually, I'd love to get this done, but it's not in my immediate future.

Anyway, I'm thinking about going the LPN/ADN route. Oddly enough, there is no ADN program closer than 45 miles away. There is an LPN program available just down the street, but I think I want more than an LPN to start with.

Or do I?

This is where you all come in with your great advice. If you can answer any of my questions or offer any advice that may have not even crossed my mind yet, I would greatly appreciate it!

And now for the questions:

Is there much difference (in terms of real-life) between an ADN and an LPN?

I don't want to work in a nursing home or in mental health. Should I for sure go the ADN route (I hear that LPN's get lots of nursing home offers)?

I do want to work in a hospital (think babies, L&D, postpartum, possibly ICU--probably not the ER). Same questions, is this LPN friendly?

I'd also be okay working in a doc's office--just filling you in on that one!

That should do it for now. I'm sure there are many more questions, but anything you have to offer will help! If you'd rather email me, please feel free to (or leave me a comment with your email address and I'll email you). Thanks a bunch!

Lara

Tuesday's List

What's new, I'm running a little late? I haven't done Tuesday's list in a little while, but this one seems pretty easy--and I'm quite knowledgeable on the subject!


These are the shows that show up on my DVR (because I put them there). Some of them are just flat out Hi-Larious because they are very much a comedic commentary on real life. The Middle happens to be a great example of such. It makes your version of lazy parenting look not so bad!


Modern Family is part of ABC's Wednesday line-up. I also love this show. I haven't seen an episode yet that hasn't had me laughing out loud! I love the comedy!

Cougar Town is still entertaining, but not as much as it was last year. I'm going to keep watching it and make sure it gets back up to par!

Teen Mom is something I watch on DVR because.... well, I don't have a good reason. I guess I get sucked into the drama. Amber drives me nuts--she's so dang immature and full of drama--which actually I can't stand. I think Caitlynn and Tyler have an amazing story and I can't stand the way Caitlynn's mom treats her. I just want to jump in and give Caitlynn the hug she so desperately seeks. For where those two kiddos come from, I think they have amazing insight into their lives and why they chose adoption. And as I'm sitting here typing this, I see a commercial for a new season of 16 & Pregnant. Guessing that'll be on my list as well!





I'm a bit of an HGTV junkie, but House Hunters is certainly my favorite (see my posts concerning Show us where you live). Is there anything better than getting sneak peeks into other people's houses? Yes, in my spare time, I constantly design and redesign the layout of my dream house! Oh, that was TMI.... sorry!

Food Network is a lot like HGTV in the sense that I can pretty much watch anything on that channel. My favorites include Sandra, Paula, Rachel, DDD, and The Neely's. But I've seen glimpses of a few others I could totally watch. I'm a junkie and I'm okay with that!

Yes, I watch this. No, I don't care what you think about it. People criticize them, but they seem to have it together more than many people. Their kids seem well-adjusted and they seem to be very loving and kind. They are a bit religious for my taste, but that's their right. I certainly don't judge them for it, just as I'd hope they wouldn't judge me for my love of dancing around in my living room (they are against dancing--not sure about all the details here). It's just nice to see something that's not trashy. But of course...

... I balance that out with trash tv. This is my trashy show. They are all a bit spoiled, but they are entertaining! At least Caroline seems to have good sense. Theresa cracks me up (and I like that she has 4 girls). Jacqueline is nice and has a good heart, but she needed a bit of a backbone--I've seen glimpses of it in season 2. Dina--well, I'm sad she left. She seemed pretty normal (relatively speaking). And let's not forget about Danielle. She's just nuts. She's totally full of herself and completely psycho. In season one I felt a little bad for her, but I have done a 180. What 50 year old woman does the things she does? Seriously?

Well, that about sums it up. I don't get to watch these all the time, but that's what I love about DVR-- you can watch them (almost) whenever. As long as you don't get too far behind, you can watch your shows without interruption and without commercials!

In case you haven't heard

I swear the only people who read my blog are family and friends I talk with everyday and/or am friends with on facebook. That being said, I believe everybody who reads this blog already knows the wonderful news I'm about to share, but just in case there are any lurkers out there (and if there are, please delurk so I can say hi) I'm here to fill you in.

Last Thursday in the mad morning rush, I was standing on the stairs with Boushka in my arms. My older kiddos were at the top of our stairs and I was trying to talk to them about.... something, I don't remember what exactly. As I attempted my step down off of the stairs, I actually fell down the stairs. I thought I was on the bottom stair stepping onto the floor, but it turns out I was a few stairs up and I lost my step on the way down.

The floor right at the foot of our stairs is hard wood. It's the only hardwood in our whole house (however, we do have other hard surfaces, namely tile) and I happened to crash land on it with a baby in my arms. Luckily, my "mommy" side took control and I immediately cupped my babies head so she didn't suffer from the impact. In the meantime I managed to contort my body in some manner where I hit the right side of my belly on the floor. I really don't know how this happened because other than that spot on my belly, it was my left side that took the impact. I can still feel the soreness on my left thigh and hip.

After sitting there for about one minute (trying not to cry) trying to comprehend what just happened, I got up and made sure everything was okay with Boushka. I sat down on our couch and almost immediately started feeling crampy in my belly. I tried to think nothing of it, but it kept on. I called my husband to see if he thought I should call the doctor ( he's the one I call when I'm trying to figure out if I'm overreacting). He said if I kept feeling crampy to give the doc a call. Well, 4-5 hours later I was still feeling crampy (not to mention awfully sore).

I amazingly got straight through to the nurse who went ahead and scheduled me for a sono the next day since I said I was cramping. I asked her if this would take the place of my sono scheduled for 10/6 (my 20 week/healthy baby/gender sono)-- she said yes. While I was a little concerned about the baby and me (I honestly thought we were both okay since there's so much stuff between the outside and the baby), I have to admit that I was extremely excited to know if we were carrying a boy or girl. And this was going to happen 5 days earlier than we thought.

So we headed to our sono the next day and we got a great report. Everything they check is where it belongs, looks healthy/normal and appears to be functioning properly. Then, we were able to get a "between the legs" look and I knew immediately what we were looking at. There were three lines--which if you don't know means GIRL!

We are having a baby girl. She's healthy. I didn't appear to have any consequences from all of the cramping (that eventually quit about 48 hours after the fall). She didn't appear to have suffered any harm from the fall. All was good with the world.We left feeling relieved, happy and blessed.

You know, I get a lot of talk from people about prom dresses, boyfriends, the teen years, weddings, blah, blah, blah. But I am being completely honest when I say that I feel nothing but complete joy thinking about my 5 girls. Apparently, somebody somewhere, God, or maybe just mother nature thinks we raise girls well. I guess Matt and I have "girl" stamped across our forehead. To have had 5 pregnancies, in 5 years, result in 5 girls is just wild. And don't worry, I'm not stupid. I grew up with a sister and I know how it can get. But I also know how it can end up. There is nobody in the world like my sister--and to think that my girls will have that times 4 is just beyond anything that I ever could have imagined.

Sure there is a part of me that would love to have a boy-- but it's not because that means anything other than the fact that it would be different (and I'd have a really good reason to shop). It's not because I want a football player, trips to the ER, a "mama's boy," or anything else that many people think of when they hear there will be a baby boy. I would simply like to experience raising a boy--it would just be different. And that's not to say that any 5 of my girls have the exact same personality. They are all different from each other--just as a 6th child, boy or girl, would be different from the rest.

So that's my news. You're all filled in now. And if anybody would like to send a shirt my way that reads,
"Yes, they're all mine! Yes, this one (with an arrow pointing to my belly) is a girl, too! Yes, I consider myself completely blessed! No, Daddy isn't disappointed--he's beyond ecstatic! No, I don't want to hear your opinion--chances are I've already heard it!"
ummmm.... please do so ASAP.

Soon those questions will start and I know that it will get to me. It's not the fact that they want to know if it's a girl, but it's what usually follows that questions that gets me all fired up. If I have to hear one more person ask if "Daddy was disappointed" (or something to that effect), I'm really not sure what I'll do. Their ignorance of what a joy it is to raise girls is not what really gets me upset, but it's the fact that they ask these "daddy disappointed" questions right in front of my (very smart) girls. Why is it that so many people think 5 beautiful, healthy, intelligent girls is such a bad thing? My mind can't even think in that way, so I have a really hard time trying to figure out their way of thinking.

And I'm wondering... do moms of boys get these same gender specific, (sometimes unintentionally) rude comments? Any moms of many boys out there--please tell me if you get lots of stares from people who then ask, "oh, I bet you were hoping for a girl, huh?" Or something similar. Just curious!

Thanks be to God for another wonderful blessing!

Hello Birthday Girl!

My sweet Brownie, I can't even find the words to tell you how much I adore you. I've adored you from the very start. I remember all the times throughout our history together where I've snuggled you, kissed your beautiful cheeks, held your hand, checked on you at night, let you pour in some ingredient while baking, watched "Arfur" with you and I almost want to cry.

I don't want to cry because I am sad, but because I never knew that something I had never known, felt, kissed, or held just four short years ago could drastically change my life. I don't think I will ever forget the moments when we began to know each other. And everyday, I truly enjoy discovering just who this sweet little Brownie is!

Thank you for all of the endless entertainment you are always providing. One of my favorite things about you is your sense of creativity--especially when it comes to clothes. You fancy yourself a builder, artist and blanket layer-outer (you love deciding how the blankets on your bed will look each day), but you are certainly at one of your bests when you are putting an outfit together. You love dresses, shoes, purses, bows/headbands/clips. There is hardly a day that goes by in which you don't ask me to "put this" in your hair. God most certainly blessed me with a girly girl and I love it--I love you!

You also love to pose. I don't think anybody ever explained the concept of posing to you, but you sure do come by it naturally. The pictures below are some of my favorites of you posing...

Nobody ever taught you this pose--I swear. But somehow you just knew it!

You built this structure on the first day of school this year; when I wanted to take a picture of it, you proudly posed right by it!

And when others are not paying attention to all of my "Hey girls, look at mommy!" calls, here you are looking right at me with a bright smile on your face. Just fantastic!!!

Brownie-

Thank your for allowing me to enjoy your childhood with you. Not a day passes by where I wish I was off at work missing all of the wonderful kisses and hugs, songs you sing or questions you ask (no matter how bizarre). I am so blessed to watch you grow up right before my very eyes. I hope your 5th year will be as exciting as this one has been. And one little piece of advice mommy has to offer you: It's okay to be a year behind Peach. Enjoy being a year younger and never wish the time away. It is passing us by every second of everyday!

Happy Birthday to the most adorable 4 year old I know!! Mommy loves you (this much) forever!

-Mama

Show us Where you Live-Dining Rooms

This week we are showing dining rooms. Until recently this room

was a playroom/catchall room. It resembled nothing of a dining room because really, we don't need a formal dining room. But now that the girls are getting into school and we have lots of family/friends over during the fall months (holidays and birthdays), we decided it'd be nice to not only have extra seating (for parties and such) but also to have a place where the girls can work on school work. At this age, it's really just a clean space (where we don't really ever eat, hence why it's usually clean) where they can practice writing letters and coloring. Plus, it opens up to our living room (as you can see in this photo)


That tiny sliver of a room you can see to the left of that door is our living room. Our couch sits on the back wall looking directly into this room, so I can sit there or play with the other kids in there while my big girls work.
Yeah, I can't lie. I was also tired of seeing a bunch of toy clutter in my front room (that's also right off our front door). I would much rather see a clean place with pretty pictures and decorations. And decorate I did (at least the table). This is my centerpiece (I guess this is what I'll call it) for fall. The Blessings sign was an impulse buy while at Hobby Lobby with my husband. I know that detail seems insignificant, but I just wanted the record to show that my husband came to Hobby Lobby with me one Friday evening.

This is a few from the bay windows area. To the right is an old stereo from my Mema's house. I used to listen to a bunch of old 60's music (on actual records) on this thing during my summers at Mema's! Yes, I thought I was so cool doing this. I digress...

Anyway, on either side of the two-toned beige wall you can see the real dining room--aka our breakfast nook. But this is where all the action happens. I would love to knock that beige wall down, but that is actually one of the four walls where our 1/2 bathroom is. So, that won't work!

And this is a shot of our magic place. You'll have to excuse the cowboy/picnic theme. This isn't actually anything I usually have up; it was how I decorated the table for my daughter's 5th birthday a few weeks ago. It's actually still looking like this minus the balloons and the red and white checkered table cloth.

We do actually have 8 chairs to this bad boy--that was the main selling feature for us since our family (when we bought this set) was already up to 6. Now it's up to 7. It's hard to believe that we could really only seat one extra person at our table if all kids were in real chairs and not highchairs. CRAZY!

In the years to come, I hope I can add a china closet/hutch to my formal room. I know there are some family pieces (from both sides) I'd love to put in there. Plus, I want one with tons of storage below so that I can have a place to tuck away all of my place mats (and other dining room stuff of course).

See you next week when we do kitchens (?)