So proud of my little booger!

All of my Momma friends can relate: Your child does something so wonderful that it not only puts a huge grin on your face, it also makes your heart speed up a bit, about to explode with pride.
Today was one such day. Mason and I joined a Wednesday morning play group recently, which he loves. The only thing that he did not enjoy was the blow up bouncy toy. Every time I'd put him near the entrance, he would give me a terrified look and run back to the slide.
But today, he overcame his fear and let me place him inside with the other kids! The next thing I know, he was running, jumping and climbing all over the place. He would catch my gaze from time to time and wave :) Oh, to be the proudest Mom is the best feeling! I am sure this is just the beginning........

Paint, glorious paint!

We have finally reached the part of the remodel that actually matters to me.... paint! I admit, during the "behind the scenes" phase, I couldn't begin to explain to you what was happening in this house, except that we had our contractor and an assortment of others coming in and out, disrupting daily life, and my husband's face had started to become a blurry memory! But, now that the drywall is done, life is fabulous. Now we finish painting so that the electrician can come back and finish all of the light switches and electrical outlets!
As I write this, Mike is putting the 2nd coat of Pistachio Lime Beans on our 2nd level bathroom wall. We will be tiling the 3x3 shower with white subway tile, and have white hexagon tile on the floor, I think the green will look fantastic amongst all of the white. I must say, painting in an area where the floors are not finished is wonderful. Not worrying about spilling or getting the roller too close to the floor made it a much more enjoyable experience! Mike did the 1st coat on the ceilings last night, and this week we will also start on Mason's bedroom, a beautiful shade of blue called Coast. Paint color can be quite difficult, but luckily Mike and I have similar taste, and agree on most colors. The green and blue are from the Devine Color Collection at Miller Paint.
The hallway and stairway will be a lovely shade called Jute. Thanks to our friends, the Baileys who remodeled their house a few years ago for introducing this beauty to us. It resembles putty, and it will represent our 1920's house well. I will post actual pictures once we make more progress!

The Good Stuff

I have a feeling that this post will be all over the place, as I am feeling so many different things as we enter this New Year of 2010.
I am not a huge country music fan, but I do love me some Kenny Chesney. When his song "The Good Stuff" comes on the radio, I can't help but get choked up, and I am not kidding you, I have heard it at least 5 times in the past week on random radio stations. Today, as I started to make banana bread "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" comes on while listening to Pandora, and I instantly shed some tears, thinking of my dear Aunt Mary, sweet Julie Brown and so many others. So many special people lost over the years, that can just never be replaced.
"The Good Stuff" strikes quite a cord in me, because honestly, I feel quite guilty about not enjoying enough of life sometimes. This past weekend I worked both days, and both days as I came home, was unable to just sit down and enjoy my family because of dishes, vacuuming, etc. I am simply not one who can ignore such things. This is my least favorite trait of mine (inherited by my sister and I from our Mother, thank you very much!) I am sure that my husband (who had already cleaned before I got home) thinks that I am the most OCD person he's ever met. What does one do to correct this? Try harder? Accept it and do what you can? This is one area of my life that I am unable to figure out.........
If you've never heard this Kenny Chesney song, I demand that you listen to it... every.single.word.
New Years Resolution, for about the 20th time: GOOD STUFF! Really, I mean it this year.

P.S. The picture is of my darling niece, Maddie in Cannon Beach. Such a great shot, so carefree, so young, and having so much fun.