Hiatus to 6th power

6 months to update - are you kidding me?

Facebook has just about ruined this blog for me . . . it's so easy to post one or two things a day there . . although I am finding that I do not care so much for posting anything at all. I do not mind putting the info out there but I do not like it being used against me. I feel like it is an online cell phone and that you are expected to be reachable 24/7 and I just do not live my life like that. I do not usually keep my phone or my computer on or with me during the weekends and my evenings are mine for me and my family . . .

I don't know . . . I am going re-evaluate the whole Facebook and blog issue over the coming weeks and I will either continue with one or the other or neither. Definitely one is going away . . .

Here are some recent updates on our family:

I am lamenting that I have been so stressed that we have almost stopped taking pictures. These past 6 months are gone, never to return, and I have very few pictures to help with my memory - this is definitely going to change.

Here is the girls doing various homework during the spring - should I worry about Zoe's study habits?

Tobi during her spring soccer season - what a rockstar - running in sunglasses - she's ready for the pros!
And my little girlie girl sitting under the umbrella watching the game

Tobi on her field trip that almost didn't happen because of the swine flu pandemic

Zoe's dino parade - she was (are you ready for this?) Hannah Montana Pterodactyl

Bryan's 40th Birthday Party at McAllister Park - lots of fun! Unfortunately I think he was on camera detail and we didn't get one of him . . . really tami? really? bad tami . . .

an afternoon swimming at my mom's house

a new dog - belle and jas are not too sure about Brownie but she is so cute!

Memorial Day fishing trip with dad and friends / I was scrapbooking

Tobi singing in church

Zoe's dance recital - look at that arabesque!


Tobi with her Kinder teacher at Kinder graduation


So I guess this brings us up to speed!
. . . . for now . . . .
. . . . until I get back in to the habit of taking pictures . . . .
if Easter or anything else happened this year, like Tobi's birthday I have no idea where those photos are . . . very sad . . . .

Happy 2009!!!!

I got up at 6:30am and went and cleaned a house on New Year's Eve and then got dressed and went to work by 10:30am. I worked until 6:30pm. Then I went home and took a bath and had a glass of wine to unwind. Afterwards I got dressed, got the girls dressed and headed over to our neighbors house about 8:30 for the party. We had a great time and danced like fools when the clock struck midnight.

I was so tired from having been up all day that after the initial celebration I was ready for bed. So we took the girls home and went to sleep. I slept until 12:30pm New Year's Day. Then I got up and finished cleaning the old craft room / new exercise room. So here are the pictures of my new space.

Also, I am starting a new blog in addition to this one. This is something that I wanted to last year but within a couple of days I was already not able to keep up with it. But I really want to do this so here is the concept: 365 - a year in pictures. I will upload a photo and small tidbit, be-it a poem or phrase or "zoeism" each day. Here is the new blog address:

http://brown365.blogspot.com/

A Great Idea . . . You'll See

So this weekend, I was sitting up in my scrapbook room and was cleaning it up so I could work on a project when I went downstairs to get the vacuum cleaner out of what is supposed to be our office.

And here is where our story begins:
I was in the office; however, it wasn't working as an office because the computer in that room was broken so we were using the laptop in our scrapbook room and the "office" had become a "please don't look in there room". In other words it became the forbidden room of no return. We didn't use the room except to throw stuff in when we needed to get it out of our way.

And on my way back upstairs . . . I had a lightbulb moment!!!! Why don't we move the craft room down there? Then we can make our current craft room into my workout room. See Bryan has a gym membership and I don't because we canceled mine and the girls in an effort to save money. (Bryan makes all of the money and doesn't spend much money and the gym is one of his special things that he loves so we didn't cancel his membership.) I still love to work out, but currently it's too much of a pain in the butt because I don't really have space.

So as I'm heading upstairs I tell Bryan I have an idea. He is NOT pleased!!! He hates when I get ideas. :) But I tell him my idea and he finally relents and says ok - after much pleading. So I start taking stuff downstairs and he starts clearing out the black hole that used to be our office.

Then I think (and here is where Bryan gets really bristley) I say "as long as we are clearing this room out, I should go ahead and paint it. So 8:30pm Saturday night I go and get a gallon of paint from Home Depot, go home, and paint the room.

AND HERE ARE THE PICTURES!!!!

BEFORE: Upstairs "Game Room" aka - Craft room; painted Ralph Lauren "Evocative Sunlight"
My table is on the right
Bryan's is on the left next to the fridge

These are my shelves with all of my supplies and stamps


AFTER: Downstairs "Office" aka New Craft Room; painted Ralph Lauren Lincolnshire Olive - which matches our velvet curtains I bought years ago from Pottery Barn.

Bryan is on the right after you walk in the doors; Tobi's homework/craft table is next to his desk
I am on the left and Zoe's craft table is next to mine

Here is the view from outside the doors

Here is an angle of my side from outside the room

Here are my new shelves - which are longer and there is one more than upstairs!!!!

Here is the table to the right of me
I keep my 12x12 paper and Papertrey Ink supplies here and all of my inkpads

Here is the view of where I will work - you can see the two layouts I am working on right now
The left side of this table holds my cricut expression (you'll see it in the next picture)

Here is where you can see Zoe's little craft table.

Here is Tobi's homework/craft table (next to B's desk)
You also get a view of the curtains and the paint color together


It's very pretty and I cannot wait to add a few design elements to the room!!!
I'll post pictures of the "new" exercise room once I get it put together.
I should be getting my new DVD workouts from Cathe (www.cathe.com) in the next few weeks so this "move" is perfect timing.

Christmas Day - part 2

At 5:00pm after our family left we headed next door so the kids could open their gifts from our neighborhood family. We have such great neighbors and the girls got some amazing gifts - including matching Hannah Montana shirts.

Then we went back home to take a nap before our other neighborhood friend, Stacy, who moved to Michigan back in August stopped by.

We slept and slept and it was needed and poor Tobi spiked a fever again.

Then at 7:40pm I got up and headed over to DJ's house to visit with Stacy.

What a full and amazing day!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Day

8:30am Tobi comes in and wakes me up to let me know Santa came!!! Her face was so cute. I told her to go get in the bath and we would get dressed and open presents. She said let's open presents first then take a bath. I finally convinced her that we should get dressed first and then open presents that way they could open their presents and keep playing instead of having to stop and get dressed.

Bryan woke up kind of grumpy and not feeling well so when I went downstairs to finish cleaning and start getting stuff ready we started butting heads. Since that was not the kind of Christmas I wanted for the girls I sent him upstairs to take a bath so he would relax and let the medicine kick in. Since the girls were now going to have to wait to open things a little longer, we let them open one gift and turned on a Christmas movie for them.

Then I started cooking. I made the dough for the homemade rolls and while it was rising I vacuumed the house and mopped the floors. I dusted downstairs and cleaned the bathroom. Then put the ham in to roast and washed the dishes.

Then we finally opened presents!!!! (You can see in the photos how much Bryan and I are affected by our sinus problems - our faces are so swollen and our noses are red and raw. And poor Tobi is so pale because she is sick too - awww!)

At 12:00pm Amber and Anton showed up. I didn't think they would be there until close to 1pm but that's okay - I was running right on schedule and really quickly threw together the few appetizers I had. The kids danced to the "Snoopy Christmas" show we had on. Then Grandma and Grandpa showed up and the kids helped to move their big presents in to the living room. The boxes were bigger than they were.

Instead of doing a huge spread I kept the meal simple:

-Roasted ham with a cognac & brown sugar glaze

-Red potatoes with butter and parsley

-Vegetable casserole - Awesome!!!

-Homemade Parker house rolls - yummy

-Buche de Noel cake - cute!!

After dinner and before dessert we moved into the living room to open gifts.

During Thanksgiving I decided I wanted to read a book about the holiday to the kids and I continued this new tradition with Christmas - reading the story of Jesus' birth. I did this before they opened presents to help remember the focus of the holiday - plus, they love books! We also played the White Elephant ornament game my Mom came up with. We all drew numbers and chose an unmarked box and that was the ornament gift we got. We decided earlier in the fall that adults would not get gifts - just kids - but we would do this game.

Then the kids got to open their big gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. It was hysterical because the boxes were way bigger than the kids were!!!!

When they finally opened the box - this is what they saw:

So the kids opened the little boxes - they were very confused but loved it!

This is what was in the next box??? But what does a key do?

I don't know, but I can fit inside my big box!!!

Then they figured it out and here were their real gifts:

We had a great time outside teaching the kiddos how to not hit us or the cars!

Afterwards, we said goodbye and everyone went home. It was a very blessed Christmas Day!