Is it May yet???

...and why oh why, do I live here? It is cold and nasty outside and I like many others am completely "wintered" out!

Last night my sister and I were at the lighting store trying to choose the lighting for the new house. It was painful to say the least. We get there and she asks for my floor plans, which of course I didn't bring because I was told on the phone that they had them. The woman looked at me like I was a complete retard and I returned the look to her. I also threw in a look of disdain for her poly cotton, pastel sweater. I finally got a hold of our sales guy at the show home and asked him to fax over our floor plans, which he did, but they were my sister's and not mine. I called him back, but he didn't answer. I then had to call Phil and ask him to drive to the show home, which he did. What a pain in the arse.

The woman asked what type of look I was going for and I told her craftsman, mission, simple lines and not a lot of detail. This must have translated to gaudy, tacky, finial encrusted crap to her. At first we simply smiled while she led us around looking at what to me, looked like it should adorn the walls of Graceland. After a while we just told her it was ugly and ventured out into the massively over lit store on our own while she ran behind us with her clipboard. The worst part is that everything is hung from the ceiling so you walk around like a complete moron with your head cranked backwards for two hours.

Today I am off to design the built-ins for the mudroom....

A quick synopsis....

I am not sure why but lately I simply feel blogged out. It's not that I don't have anything to say or report, it is probably more likely that I have so much going on that I don't know where to start. This month has been crazy busy, from vacations and dentists appointments to new house stuff and kids activities, I am unsure if I actually sat at all. February and March is dentist and orthodontist month around here and all five kids needed cleanings, Grace had a cavity and is going for her ortho consult as well. Taking five kids to two different dentists and trying to not lose your mind in the process has been challenging. Thankfully we are almost done and have six more months before we have to repeat the saga again.

The real estate market sucks for lack of a better word and we are trying to finish the things that need fixing around this house so we can have it appraised next month and on the market by the first of May. I thought I kept our house in good shape but now that it is time to sell it I am realizing how many little things to need to be done beforehand.

The new house is slowly liquefying my brain and I am considering admitting myself to the psych unit on a voluntary 72 hour hold. I figure a few days in the loony bin would be a nice reprieve. We have almost conquered the list of suppliers we need to visit and have come to a mutual consensus (read: i win) on almost everything for the house. It SHOULD be all done by the first week of March and then I can try and relax.

I am now looking at Summer horse camps for Grace and swimming lessons for Wil and Sam. Wil is fearless in the water...and I mean fearless. He submerges himself completely and opens his eyes under the water, absolutely no fear. Hockey is almost done and the play-offs are just around the corner. Part of me hopes they go far and the other part hopes that lose right away and I can call hockey season over for yet another year.

The snow is still around but it is sunny and somewhat pleasant outside lately. This in no way means Winter is over, in fact we are sure to have at least another two or three blizzards and at least another 6 weeks of snow before Spring shows up. I am dying to get outside in bare feet, cut my lawn, and plant my annuals. I can only do Winter for so long before suicidal ideations start creeping in. I am thinking of statrting Sam in golf lessons this Spring, not because I really want him to play but because the little baby clubs are so cute.

That's all I got for now...

Disneyworld 2009....

Our plane was scheduled to leave bright and early at 7am. This meant a 4am wake up for all of us to get to the airport by 5am. Unlike a typical morning the kids were not hard to rouse from their slumber.




Technology is a must on any and all vacations with kids!


...and the adults too!

We checked in later in the evening which was great, no lines! Disney is always prepared and had little seats with cartoons for the kids while the adults checked in.


Where we stayed, thanks Heidi!


Fairy Godmother!


Pluto!


A freaky Peter Pan with a really bad dye job and a Wendy with a brutal English accent.


Minnie Mouse!


Looking for decent food....


...still looking. The food was not so great and the portion sizes were ginormous! I swear that three of us could have split one meal!



Grace and Audrey spent some time at the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique getting beautified. Way too cute.


Our obsession with Tom Bergeron continues!

This is what was sold at the Canadian Pavilion at EPCOT...beaver pelt hats. Just to fill all my American friends in a bit, we don't wear these. In fact I have never in my 33 years in this country ever actually witnessed anyone wearing a beaver on their head, nor have I ever seen a beaver anywhere but the zoo. We also found the totem poles amusing as well....and from what I understand the pavilion has recently been refurbished to portray Canada a bit more accurately....missed the ball...totally.



Wil and Audrey taking a nap in one of the most uncomfortable looking positions imaginable.



Blizzard Beach, which is awesome!


Sam doing what Sam does best-lounging.



After a bit too much sun.


After a bit too much Disney fun...

Home Sweet Home...

We just got back from Disneyworld on Sunday night and I am still trying to unpack and catch up on all that was left a mess when we left. Will post pics later.

Laundry room and a question...

Well my dear Sarah, the laundry room is a place very near and dear to my heart....With five kids I tend to spend a lot of time in my laundry room which is right now just the last undeveloped place of our basement. It currently houses a bunch of storage shelves, a cat litter box, and a deep freeze. I would take a picture to to document how truly gross it is but I am afraid the shear image would melt your retinas.

My only big request for the laundry room in the new house was that it A) had walls that did not consist of the raw part of the drywall and wood wall frames and B) it was on the main floor of the house. I am simply too lazy to make that arduous trek up and down the basement stairs.

We ended up up doing two laundry rooms in the new house. One is on the main floor, adjacent to the mudroom and the other is in the basement. The two older kids are perfectly capable of washing their own clothes and since they will take up residence in the basement so will their laundry room. They get bare bones down there, similar to what I have now. Their 's will be in the unfinished basement and will just be the machines a couple shelves, and a cupboard. I figure they probably won't frequent it all that often so the money will be better spent elsewhere.

The main floor laundry room is not all that big but I do have some ideas to make it more functional. I have wall to wall cabinets above the machines and a counter as well. I am also thinking that I may have some kind of individual bins done for each of the three younger kids and for the us and the linen closet. That way they can just gather up what is in their bins and put their own clothes away. I am also having the ironing board built into the wall opposite of the machines.

We went to the kitchen place today and she is working on the 3D drawings of the new layout for us to look at and adjust. It was mildly painful with my husband who comes up with ridiculous ideas like built in stools for the little kids to wash their hands at the sink. I am not sure who he is kidding, they don't was their hands. It will take her a couple weeks to get the drawings and of course the price to us so I will try and scan them when she does to get some opinions. I did hear her say the word "custom" a few times which in my ears sounds like cash registers going off. We may be eliminating a few things...we'll see.

Do any of you have a water softener? Do you like it? worth the money? We have had it roughed in but unsure if we will get one or not.

New House Run-Down....

Last week we met with the first of about a gazillion suppliers to select the interior stuff for the house. We managed to get the plumbing done with no fighting and no bloodshed. You may think toilets and sinks are easy but I beg to differ. We then headed to the appliance place to do what I thought of as a simple task. I think it would be fair to say that the birth of my 10.5 lb baby was less painful and possibly faster.



We agreed that we wanted to keep as many of the appliances from the same manufacturer as we could to eliminate the discrepancy of different stainless steel colors. Who knew that there was even was a discrepancy! We went back and forth on the range until it got to the point that we took the quotes home and fought, I mean discussed, it at home.




I know that seems simple but let me tell you it wasn't. I love my husband but there were a few moments I considered killing him and hiding his body in a wall oven.



So tomorrow is the BIG day, the day we select our kitchen cabinets, stain colors, and kitchen layout. My head is throbbing with the multitude of choices and the fear of selecting the wrong one. I think we have decided on cream colored cabinets and a dark, almost black, distressed island.
Kind of like this....




As for the actual layout, I am completely lost on that one. My biggest choice right now is the hood fan, I know...thought provoking.
There is this kind....


...or this kind.

...or this?

or how about this?

or this??

HELP!!!!!