Oh, so easy!

So my husband has been on vacation this week driving me nuts. I have been having to create stuff for him to do.

I told him that I was painting the office a pink color and I thought he was going to flip. He was not one bit happy with me so I told him that I would paint it a different color if he made me a new desk. He then asked what color I would paint it. Surprised me a little I figured he would ask what kind of desk. Good thing I'm quick thinker and asked what he had in mind for a desk.

By asking him what he was thinking about for a desk it allowed him to go off on some big shpeel about good points and bad points on desk. Placement in room and everything that goes with it. I had to sit and listen to *engineer talk for a little bit but it was a good way of avoiding the color question. I needed to keep the color in my control for bargaining purposes.

Thankfully we were thinking the same thing for the desk so I didn't have to use the paint color bargain too early. He wanted it a little taller than I did but I figure it is easier for a short person to work around something tall than it is for a tall person to work around something too short.

I then told him that the wood didn't have to look great because I planned on painting it. Talk about instant mad. It was rather fun to watch but I told him if we stained it a cherry color and varnished it then he lost all veto power on paint color for the room. There by getting everything I wanted.

What I got-

• new desk
• my paint choice for the office
• total power over color theme and decorations
• nice cherry stain for the desk

What Austin got-

• tall desk

I clearly won that exchange and he thinks I don't know how to manipulate him.

Last night when I got home from work he had the desk portion finished and in the office. He isn't putting drawers under it. Instead we are putting our file cabinets under the desk. We don't generally have a need for drawers. I don't keep clutter and our pens and pencils are in a pencil holder on top of the desk. Envelopes are kept in the kitchen. Stamps are kept in my purse.

Next on my to-do list is to box up all my books and take the bookshelf up to Mason's room. It literally just collects junk and I'm tired of it. I figure it matches Mason's bedroom fairly good and he can keep toys or other stuff on it. We will have to attach it to the wall so I had better be sure.

I'm sitting here looking at my new desk thinking it is missing something and it dawns on me I need a little bookshelf/bench under my window. If only I had thought about all this on Monday to keep him busy. I need to brainstorm on how to get it from my husband without giving up anything I've already gotten. Maybe I'll mention it after I get the room painted.

My poor husband really never stood a chance. I'm the middle of 5 kids so I have been manipulating people for years.

*engineer talk is anything that I don't care about or am not interested in. Austin uses it as filler to formulate his arguments. After a bit it stops being 'engineer talk' and ZING! ZING!! ZING!!! All these reasons why we should or shouldn't do something. A couple times he has stopped mid-sentence. Annoying as crap.

Show Us Where You Live- Childrens room

It's Friday.

On Friday I read Kelly's Korner. A couple of weeks ago she started this Show Us Where You Live. I haven't got to join in before because I've been busy and we haven't been home so my house wasn't really "picture worthy".

This week it is Children's rooms.

Next week is Home Office. We have been working on ours so hopefully it is ready for pictures on Thursday!

Mason's room is very plain. I just couldn't see putting a lot of money in something that he would only sleep in. The sides of the ceiling are slanted so there is nothing hanging on the walls. His dresser and closet are actually built-ins on the wall with the door. For lack of a better description they are crude built-ins that need a little love. I actually don't have a picture of them because really what is so interesting about a little boys closet. Blue shirt, green shirt, white shirt, red shirt, cars shirt, whal-e shirt, blue jeans, brown jeans, blue shorts, brown shorts. Wow! Exciting!!

Mason's crib and a dresser.

My comfy but disgusting looking recliner.

What his room looks like today. He has been sleeping in the 'big boy' bed since Christmas but won't stay in it for nap. One of these days we will tackle that problem.

The dresser is now to my back and left in this photo.

The 'big boy' bed was my husbands in high school. It is an extra long twin. As in special order sheets extra long twin. Mason don't care what his sheets look like as long as the top green and yellow John Deere blanket is on there.

Austin in high school wanted a black bedroom to make his mom mad. He settled for black sheets. Mason now has 3 sets of black sheets.

It is so cute watching Mason get in and out of bed. The mattress and box spring are so tall that we opted not to put the bed frame under them. Any more 5:30 wake up calls and we just might though.

Austin made the crib. Start to finish. I love it and can't wait to use it for our next child.
If I had been standing back just a couple more feet you would see Mason in this photo. Yep! My procrastinating husband didn't even have the crib done until Mason was a couple of weeks old. Austin blames it on Mason being a couple weeks early but I'm not buying it.

I made the curtains. I need to add the light blocking material to the back. When I made them I wasn't real concerned about it. Mason however needs it to be pitch black to sleep, at night anyways.

I also made the blanket. I never did make a bumper or crib skirt.

You'll notice the pictures before showed the crib with the front down. With this up I can't touch the mattress. Needless to say Mason has never tried to get out of it.

Mason's big boy bed. Honestly the most comfortable bed in the house. As soon as I can rationalize it to myself that my son needs sheets that aren't black I will get him a different color. Knowing me he may go to college with these same sheets.

There are no toys or books in this room because it is upstairs and we don't spend a whole lot of time up there. An old farm house in Iowa guarantees it will be freezing up there in the winter and really hot in the summer.

9 days

How can it possibly be just 9 days? Mason is turning into a little boy right before my eyes. I can't believe it.



I think I'll stay in denial for a couple years longer. I waited so long to have him that I'm not giving up without a fight. I don't care if he does become a 'momma's boy'.

Not even two and already breaking windows.

Might I add; breaking windows on Daddy's time.

Invisible...

I love hearing from my neighbors. I do. Really. Just not when the conversation starts with, 'You have two heeler pups, don't you?'

Evidently our outside dogs have been around terrorizing visiting the neighbors. ALL the neighbors within a 2 mile radius. Not good. So very not good! Especially in the shoot, shovel and shut up neighborhood we live in. I think the only reason no one has shot them yet is because they know they are only pups and that they belong to me.

We didn't know that they were doing this. Every time I go out to check on them they are laying on the back steps but that is only a couple of times a day.

I filled my husband in on what our dogs had been up to and he decided that we could install an invisible fence. I mean really he had no other choice he was willing to do. I gave him 3 options.
1. Build a fence around the property.
2. Keep the dogs in the dog run attached to the kennel.
3. Put in invisible fence.

So that is what we have been doing the last couple of days.

We have 3 acres and he wanted to fence in all 3. I bought 2000 feet of wire but I think we will end up having around 500 left over.

We borrowed a friends edging tool to cut the line in the ground. Then Austin went back over with the shovel and I followed on my hands and knees doing the actual burying.

I was so proud of myself the first day. I didn't complain at all even though I obviously got the short end of the stick. I mean for crying out loud it was raining and chilly and there I am on the ground burying this wire. Up, down, up, down over and over again with the stupid dogs getting in my way and keeping track of Mason. I don't know why my husband couldn't keep track of the kid considering he was standing up but anyways. Buddy kept trying to bite at my hair that was blowing around and Red was trying to steal the putty knife I was using. Poor Hyde was just trying to stay away from those 'big' pups. The worst though was when Buddy brought me half of a dead snake. Like a 4 day dead snake. Totally gross and smelling of death. Even though it smelled and lingered I didn't mind because it could have been much worse. How you might ask. Well, it could have been a half dead snake, still writhing around and p*ssed off.

As always I am counting this as a little victory.

Yesterday morning I woke up and couldn't hardly move. My hamstrings and back muscles hurt so bad and after last night my side muscles are hurting. Worse yet my husband has no, I repeat, NO sympathy for me at all.

That was until this morning anyways. (insert diabolical laugh here)

Last night as we are working on the fence my husband running the edger goes for the ditch to cut up through the middle of the grove. I wanted to go along the edge of it in the yard. We fought a little about it and Austin ended up going the way he wanted so I calmly explained to him in my shrew good wife voice that he was on his own and to come get me where our path would meet. Needless to say he didn't get to that point last night and woke up all stiff and sore this morning. Oh, did my little heart soar at his first little grunt getting out of bed.

He actually had the balls to complain. I couldn't believe it. I didn't even complain. Me! The Queen of complaining.

I told him I could sympathize with him but that tonight we are going to put my bra on him with our bowling balls in it and then we would see how he feels tomorrow. He didn't look too thrilled with me but had the good sense to shut up at least.

Finally after 9 years he is showing some sense. All I have to say is that this little invisible fence had better work. I'm afraid if it doesn't it will be me doing the shooting, me doing the shoveling, and me shutting up about the whole thing. Well, at least to Austin anyways.

Can you imagine what he would say if I even suggested shooting his dog. Even though it is his dog that causes the trouble. He just had to pick out the trouble maker.

While I Work, He Will Play

This is what Mason does while I try to get paperwork done and bills paid.
Today I have been finishing up some photos for a friend and so Mason has had run of the dining and living rooms. I find it easier to just clean up during nap time than to worry about what he is throwing about the place. Let me rephrase that, it is easier to work while Mason is occupied destroying my clean house than to make him pick up and have him crying, screaming, throwing a tantrum standing at this gate being loud. I do keep an ear out for him pounding stuff on the windows and coffee table. I can only imagine the fit his father would throw if he actually broke one of them but for now I'd like to keep the score the way it is. Dad=1 Mom=0
He likes to close the door and dig in the plants so I have to be sure to keep it open.

I know this photo isn't focused real good but it really shows that innocent face he comes and guilts me with.

He has really done a number on the mess today. Believe it or not this is the 'clean' room today.

I love how he likes to put on hats. He always has them on crooked and throws little fits when they bump into things.

No Mason does not have a halo. The sunlight is shining in the window and hitting a yellow turtle pillow that is on the floor.

I have absolutely no clue where he picked this move up from.

Two Weeks

In two weeks I'll have a 2 year old. I want my last year back. It went way too fast. He is just so naughty. So very naughty.
Everyday he empties the toy box. EVERYDAY!! Tuesday we played outside so my house was safe. Wednesday he dug in my plants so that there would be dirt on the floor to play with his cars in. Yesterday he found crayons that I thought were on the top of the tv stand and colored the wall paper in the dining room. Blue and black crayon. Today he dug in the trash and found a little container with some BBQ sauce in it from last night. He took it to the corner of the dining room and rubbed it all over the wall, floor, office door, his jammies, and his hair.
That was just this week. It has been a relatively good week for him. Poor child acts just like his dad. Unfortunately you can't break nature.
I swear all I do all day is follow him around and clean up his messes. I can't even do the dishes during the day anymore because he thinks he needs to 'help'. We both end up drenched and the floor gets washed.
On second thought I don't want this year back. How old do they have to be to start preschool? Momma needs a break. By the time afternoon rolls around I am doing good to keep my eyes open. The little squirt is just wearing me out.

10 years

This summer I have my 10 year class reunion. Where did all that time go?

I'm actually a little nervous about going. Does that sound crazy?


I know I am an adult and my high school fears and insecurities shouldn't bother me anymore but they do. I am not the same person I was back then. I was, for lack of a better description, a loner. I had a couple of friends that were girls but I don't know if they would have been described as "best" friends. I worked all the time and when I was off for the weekend I was driving to Ames to hockey games. I didn't hang out with any one group of girls. I can't say as that I really even wanted to. I'm sure some of them were nice but the majority weren't. They were catty and talked down to me and that was okay. Back then that was okay. It sure wouldn't fly now. Amazing how time changes things.


Looking back I see that there were strong and weak members in every group. Every group also had one person that they thought needed protecting. I was unwilling to give in, I was unwilling to coddle anyone. I didn't fit in with these groups. I didn't care who wore what, or did what, or who said what. I also didn't care who I insulted or slighted. Sadly I didn't care to an extent who insulted or slighted me.


I find that I am still this way. I try really hard not to insult anyone but sometimes people have got to be put in their place because I will only take so much. My friends and I are very domineering women. We don't take the push but give the shove. Amazingly we don't care who wears what, or did whatever or said whatever. When I look back on different memories my first question to myself is "Was I laughing?" If I was laughing I had a good time. All those other memories are not important. They helped make me who I am but I don't enjoy looking back on them.


Most of my memories have guys in them or Austin and hockey games, that or working. Lord knows I did plenty of that.


Sometimes I am envious of Austin when it comes time to go to these things. He went to a huge school and didn't even know half his class. He can go in find who he wants to see and not have to worry about making small talk with the kids he didn't like or that didn't like him.

I think...

I think spring is finally here. It took forever to get here.

Same as every spring my husband is harping for a new motorcycle. He says there is a vibration in his. Um... So... is a wheel going to fall off? Will you die if it stops running? Of course all the answers are no. We just new tires put on the one he has.

In other words he will get over it.

He is going to have to because I am forking over the money to buy a different one.

Photoblog

I have created a photoblog. Check it out here.

I am thinking about doing a 365 photo journey. I just don't know if I have that much perseverance, stamina, will, desire time. Time is precious and I just don't have that much.

My husband has told me that I can do anything I want to do. Like I really needed his permission... Anyways I have decided to take my photography up a notch. The way I figure it is that I might as well get paid to do what I love. My photos have been in several calendars and can be found in the homes of family and friends.

I am currently waiting on a couple of releases so that I can post more photos so for now you will just have to deal with my camera phobic child. I know what kind of sick joke is that. I have to be sneaky getting his photo. He scowls when he catches me and while that is cute I don't want all my photos of him to be like that. I've told my husband that our next child had better a cute and sweet little girl because while Mason is cute he is definitely not sweet.

While I am building my portfolio all my services will be free. Well, not all my services, just the ones pertaining to photography. If anyone would like some free portraits all I require is a signed release. Can't get much cheaper than free.
I am excited to see how all this turns out...

Looks Good To Him

My husband has been playing around with my monitor again. I calibrated my monitor so that it showed true color and he went in and messed with the colors so that they are really bright. Unfortunately it makes the shadows really dark. Better yet he doesn't remember what he did. He thinks it looks good like this. Great.
I really did try to explain to him that while he might think it looks good by the time I get done playing with a photo in photoshop that it will look like crap to anyone not viewing it on my computer.
He looked at me like I was speaking Greek. I can dumb it down no more than that. I mean he is an engineer he should know better. The problem is that he just doesn't care any more than that.
I explained to him in my shrew like good wife voice that he is no longer able to touch any settings on the computer. Every time he gets on the computer it seems to run slower and slower. I don't know if he thinks he is helping but I see it as a hindrance. I finally had to put a KEEP OUT sign on my office door.
Believe it or not that is not the worst thing he did yesterday. Nope. I swear sometimes I think it is him that needs the babysitter.
Last night we had some popcorn storms blow through here. High winds, heavy rain and hail. Where was my husband you might ask. Well, he was outside with MY CAMERA. MY CAMERA!! I couldn't believe it. He couldn't understand why I was mad at him. Seriously! For crying out loud he had my camera outside in the rain and wind unprotected.
I couldn't think of anything that he treasures to use as an example so I used his motorcycle. I said, "Lets pretend for a moment that you I took the engine of your bike apart and then pushed it out of the garage and into the rain." (at this point I thought he was going to throw up)
He replies, "You wouldn't." I tried to explain to him that that is basically what he did to me. You can't take a camera out in the rain.
To top it all off he used both batteries till they were dead. Come on really if your gonna use my stuff at least leave it as you found it. At least that is the rule with the car. Always give it back with more gas than when you got it.
I didn't realize it was rocket science. Obviously it is. Did I mention that we have been married almost 9 years. 9 long frustrating years.

Step Stool

Grandma Robin got Mason this little step stool for Easter. Now I always have a little 'helper' in my way.
(I thought I was uploading these to Mason's photo blog but I didn't. Can I just say it had been a long day...)