playing catch up

I am such a procrastinator! So much has happened since my last post. I'm not even sure I can remember it all. I wish I had a finished office makeover picture to share...but truth is only ONE wall is totally finished. It may take 2 months to get it done, but that is okay. Just thankful to get rid of the red walls. However, it does stink because the office sits in the middle of our house and is the room we go through to get to every other room, because it has an entry door from the dining room and then another door that comes out into the hallway that leads to the bedrooms/bathroom on your right and another living room entry to the left. So my feet get covered in nasty red "dust" from the sanding, and I am stepping over paint cans, trays, brushes, rollers, hammers, sanders, ect. But I don't blame Kody for not wanting to paint when he gets home from farming a 14 hour day...and I would do it, but I was fired before we even started :) haha

here are some recap pictures of the last 3 weeks...

On July 24 we celebrated our first year of marriage. God blessed me with such a loving and hardworking husband. He brings so much love, joy, fun, adventure, humility, and silliness to my life. I am amazed every day at how my life has changed in the past year...i am slowly becoming domesticated, learning new things every day. We celebrated by spending a night at the same bed & breakfast we spent our wedding night at. Kody had called a few days earlier and had some things arranged for us. It was so special. I just can't believe a year has already passed.

We (well, Kody's parents) have booked a January vacation for us in Mexico! I am beyond excited. I love love love the beach, but it will make it even better that it will be FREEZING here when we leave! That will make it so much better. I can't wait to a weekend of relaxation with my husband and in-laws :)

Some of my favorite people came to visit! My sister, bro-in-law and sweet nephew stopped in Murray for a few days on their way home from Colorado. Wilson is at such a fun age! He kept us entertained constantly. 

LOVES meal times...he is the best eater! He eats anything you sit on his tray...but watermelons are his very favorite! 

I sure do love this sweet boy.

Babies in pajamas are one of my favorite things in the world...it doesn't get any cuter than this!

I love this picture! He needs to be Paschall Farm's "poster boy" :)

It's official...I have FOUR days left with the boys for the summer! They start school next Wednesday. As much as I am ready for them to get back in school, it is a little (just a little) sad to see them go. They are funny and keep me quite entertained...I never knew what my day had in store for me! But towards the end of the month I start keeping a 2 1/2 year old little GIRL! I am so stinkin' excited! I think I've had enough of power rangers, cars & wrestling for a while. I am ready to play with dolls, barbies, dress up, and all things pink :) 

facelifts

This post is not about kids, surprisingly. We had an eventful weekend at the Paschall household full of ideas, inspirations, fabric swatches, paint swatches, and ice cream. Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day...did you know that? Go ahead and celebrate today too!

It all started with the yardsale last weekend. I wanted to put our money we made towards new living room furniture. We have a really nice grey couch from pottery barn...and then we have a futon and papasan chair that Kody bought when he first moved into the house. Cheap purchases to live with until we got married and i came in to redecorate :)

I wasn't sure what I wanted in place of the futon and papasan chair, but Kody and I quickly settled on this 
We sold the papasan chair already, but the futon is still looking for new owners. The couch could take up to 12 weeks to be delivered so we went ahead and ordered it. I can hardly wait! We are also looking for a second end table and possibly a rug to finish out the living room.

Now to the office, which really needs sprucing up! I'm not sure why Kody wanted RED when he moved in, but he did. It doesn't match the flow of the rest of the house at all. I've been wanting to change it from the minute I saw the red room. So thankful the time has finally come. We went to Lowe's last night to pick out paint colors. I really wanted it to be a light cheerful green, which would go with the flow of our house. I found some colors I love on the swatch, but not sure how I will love it on three walls. We decided to paint Kody's "guitar wall" grey. Then I got the bright idea that I wanted wallpaper on my "craft wall". I love anything Amy Butler and I swiftly fell in love with her wallpaper...Kody not so much. He said it was way too girly. But it is my wall...and it is a tiny spot because there are doors on either side. The Amy Butler is here and my other option is this

The second option is really neat. It is textured and paintable. That will probably be the one we get. It is way less expensive and we could paint it the same green color as the walls. Although I just love Amy Butler. Sigh. Guess it will just have to go in a little girl's room someday.

I guess I should check on the little fellas...they have been quietly playing Star Wars Legos for the last hour. When they are quiet too long I get nervous.

four time outs by 10am

Is tonight a full moon? Seriously, these four boys have been crazy this morning! It is now 10:20, and there have been four time-outs served. I'm not positive the boys get disciplined at home, but there are for sure getting disciplined at my house. The speak so ugly to each other and it drives me nuts. It's hard to be the fun babysitter when you are constantly scolding!

Okay, venting over. Yesterday we had a fun day. I limited their DS and TV time in the morning, which I normally do, but I was more strict with it yesterday, selfishly. We cancelled our Dish and so I am no longer able to watch the Today Show in my bedroom while they chill in the mornings. I am NOT a morning person. I roll out of bed literally 5-7 minutes before the first boy gets here, so I still need a good 45 minutes to "wake up" and I like to be alone. So before we lost Dish, the boys would get here, I would put Netflix on for them in the living room and I'd go back to my room for a while until they came to me saying they were ready for breakfast. It worked perfectly. Until yesterday. I could only handle about one episode of Power Rangers and DS game noises before I told them their time was up. It was time to find a game, puzzle, legos...or use your imagination.

One of their favorite DS games is WipeOut...you know, like the hilarious show on ABC (it is my guilty pleasure). So naturally they start pulling all the pillows of my couches and chair and setting them up on the ground to make their "obstacle"...which went through my entire house (excluding my bedroom, they aren't allowed in there). My house doesn't make too big of an obstacle course, but it does make a great circle for them to go around.

In the midst of their "WipeOut" game, Tiff and Eli showed up. Tiff had the idea of ordering pizza and taking it to the park, so we did! After that we came back to my house, put a movie in for 3 boys, Tiff worked on coupons in my office...and i worked on cleaning/organizing the office. All of Kody's music stuff is home for the summer. Most of it stays at church during the school year for Impact Service. He has been wanting a spot to keep it all out so he just has to plug it in and play when he gets a spare moment. Which is few and far between these days.

After the yardsale last weekend I can finally see the floor again, so it was time to get it all picked up and looking good! The room is red. I warned Kody when he first moved in that he wouldn't like a red room long. And I was right, he didn't. He almost immediately hated it, but it was too much of a hassle for him to worry about at the time, so 2 1/2 years later it is still red. We have decided we want it to be a cheerful green color...but neither of us want to do it, so we've thought of hiring someone to do this one room. It would be so worth it, we just haven't made the call yet. Here are a few shots of our clean office/music room/craft room. I also cleaned and organized the closet in here, but couldn't really get a get shot of that!

It felt so good to get re-organized! What to do today?!

stay cool,
Allie

good cow

I heard the heat index was 121 degrees yesterday! good cow. I had two boys yesterday and we decided (well, I decided because they were getting too rambunctious in the house) to go to the park around 9am. I thought we'd get some in some outside time before it got miserably hot...well, we didn't. We only managed about 25 minutes at the park before all three of us were hot, sticky, and miserable. We settled for a morning in with legos, puzzles, and power rangers. We did end up going to Sumer's house to swim after lunch...although the water was 90 degrees. Needless to say the water wasn't even refreshing, but it was refreshing to be around someone over the age of 6 :)

Last night I had a few people over to get "wrapped". I noticed while they were here that my house felt really hot. I thought it was just the mixture of having 6 adults and 3 kids in my house and the fact that our air conditioner can't keep up with itself when it's so stinkin' hot outside! I started supper around 7:00 and the having the oven on 450 was only magnifying the problem. I finally went to see what the thermostat actually read, because to me it felt like it was 85 degrees in the house. Well, it WAS 82 degrees! One of the boys had turned the thermostat to set it on 80. I was livid. I knew Kody would be home any minute from working outside in the heat ALL day, and the last thing he would want to come home to was a hot house. When he got home he immediately went to Lowe's and got a new thermostat that we can "lock" so it doesn't happen again...because this was not the first time it had happened, I had to just happened to catch them in action the times before. When we got ready for bed around 9:30, we both agreed it was going to be a miserably long/hot night...so we went to Walmart and got a fan for our bedroom.

I was pretty upset last night, but today is a new day and I am praying that it will be better with 4 boys.

I need to start taking more pictures...i will work on that today!

Go Go Power Rangers

I went through a phase where I loved power rangers. My Mamu even took me to "meet" them at Toys R Us one time...now I can't stand the show! Actually that is the one part of babysitting that I can't stand. The cartoons and silly shows. And boy shows have to be the worst! I have never been into the whole super hero thing...and that is ALL these boys want to watch. So I am blogging with Pandora on (Sandra McCracken on Pandora is my favorite) this morning while they are watching the Power Ranger movie.

We haven't had too much of an eventful week around here. I did have a great 4th of July lonnng weekend. One cookout with my parents and the Jarvis' Saturday night, followed by Murray's disappointing firework display, and Sunday night we had our "annual" cookout at the farm with some close friends. Kody's parent's have scheduled their vacation on the 4th of July for like the last 4 years. I'm convinced they just don't want to have any idea what the boys do with fireworks...so we get to use the farm to set off hundreds of fireworks. My sweet mother-in-law reads this, so I better not say too much :) Also, since they are in Mexico this week Kody and I are staying at their house at the farm all week...and I love it! It makes me so anxious for the day that we will build a home and live there forever.

Monday was a nice day off. I slept in past eight, which is a rare occurrence! Then I came home and got all of our laundry caught up for the week and then Kody and I got to have a date night! Since it was a holiday all of the good restaurants were shut down! We were really wanting to try Boulders, guess it'll have to happen another day (maybe this weekend!). Then we went to see Bad Teacher...I do not recommend it.

Tuesday I had three boys. Dylan's dad was off work, so Dylan stayed home with him and helped with yard work. I took the other three to Sumer's pool again. We all had a blast :)

Wednesday started at the park with Tiff and Eli. We had planned on going to see Cars 2 at the 1 o'clock show. Well, the boys laid on the couch after lunch...got still...and fell asleep! I was NOT going to wake them up! When one of them woke up around 2:15 he came to me and said, "What about the Cars?" So I promised we could go Friday. I think it is suppose to rain, so it should work out well.

Today I have all four again...and we really have no plans. I am thinking it is a good morning for the park. We literally go nearly every day! They never get tired of it...and it is a good time for me to get in The Word. I think there are chances for showers this afternoon, so I am thinking an afternoon of board games, puzzles, and legos is awaiting us. Or maybe it will turn out sunny and we can hit the pool again. I LOVE having a friend with a pool. It is so fun to have an adult to talk to throughout the day :)

until next time
Allie

2,4,1

2,4,1 are my "numbers" for the past three days. Wednesday I was back to two kids, Thursday I had all four, and today I only have one...the other is sick :(

Wednesday...hmmm, I honestly don't even remember what we did! I'm sure it consisted of nintendo ds and hide-and-seek in the morning, park, lunch, outside/sprinkler time, and NAPS! I DO remember that both boys fell asleep around 2:30, causing Dylan to miss his 4:00 tae kwon do class.

Thursday was such a fun day and probably my favorite day of the summer so far. We started the morning by meeting Tiffany and Elijah at the park...they played for nearly 2 hours before becoming so hungry they could barely walk. Seriously, my kids are so dramatic! :) I try to keep them busy playing at the park until at least 10:40, that way by the time we get home, washed up while I am preparing everyone's lunch we can eat a little after 11. After lunch we got changed into our swim suits, "sunscreened" up and were on our way to my friend Sumer's house to swim! She was keeping a boy close to their age and a little girl (poor girl!)...they all played so well together and Sumer and I got to lay-out and catch up. I also got a little....okay a lot burnt! We left the pool around 2:45 and I had two boys literally nodding off in the back seat. I thought I was going to have to pack them inside. We got dry clothes on and snacks! These boys were starving, and I promise the oldest one could have eaten everything in my cabinets! And then one fell asleep on the couch :)

mine and Sumer's kiddos at the her pool

I got a text this morning from one of the momma's saying her little boy got up around 10:30 last night throwing up, so he was staying home with his dad today. So i was wracking my brain trying to figure out how to keep one boy entertained! Usually, I can just sit back and let them play with each other, and just be their referee....but today, I knew I had to be the playmate. My mom was took the day off so she wanted to hit up a few yardsales, so we drug him along. What a good sport he was! Then we met up with Tiff and Eli. I need to mention how obsessed Elijah and Dylan are with each other. It is actually ridiculous. When Dylan is around Eli could care less about anyone else. It is so cute and they are sweet/rough together and it is hilarious. We did some shopping with them, ate lunch, and then I took my one for a Dairy Queen treat. It was a good day :)

best friends

and then there were four.

I need another refrigerator just for their food. My refrigerator/freezer and countertop are overflowing with food. Just a thought. I am trying to figure out a system of organization for their food...suggestions are welcomed!

I cringe to say this...but so far this morning it has been weirdly calm. It is kind of eerie. No, very eerie. I did not know what to expect out of four boys under the age of 10, so I guess I expected the worst. I think the boys are trying to get warmed up to each other, so I don't expect the calmness to last too much longer, but it is nice for now...considering I am not a big fan of mornings. Two cups of coffee just didn't do it this morning. The constant grumble and loud booming of the thunder kept me awake for at least 2 hours last night. At one point I remember groaning to Kody, "It is so obnoxious, I just want it to stop!"

I am learning to not be such a controller and neat freak. It is impossible with little boys. And I am learning that it is perfectly okay. This morning two of the 6 year olds went outside to play in the muddy yard and ditch full of water. My first instinct was to tell them, "No way!  Your clothes and shoes are going to be wet and filthy!" But instead, I took a deep breath, and then asked them to come inside to put on their swimming trunks and take off their shoes and head back out! And they had so much fun! Their cute faces were covered in mud and muck and I realized that's how little boys should be.

wrestling in my bedroom...not sure this is a good idea, but it is stormy and rainy outside!

In other news...i got my legs wrapped today! I haven't seen results on my tummy, so Amy talked me into trying my legs today. Hoping I see some results this time. Ben asked me, "so what's up with the stuff on your legs?" I replied, "I am trying to make my legs smaller." He then answered with, "Oh, you have fat legs!" haha :)