Thursday, February 25, 2010

What a difference a day makes

I had such a great birthday this year and Carter didn't do too badly himself! You see, my morning started with Mom and Lindsey coming over with breakfast and then we got right to it.... we painted the playroom!

I liked the color before just fine, but it had been through 4 kids before Carter inherited it so, some touch-up was needed. I happened to have a gallon of this blue in the garage so, blue it was! I cannot believe how much lighter the room feels. A fresh coat of paint just really gives it a clean, new feel.



We couldn't stop there so, it was off to the salvage yard to find some shutters for the window and molding for the chalkboard. Through it all, Carter was the perfect little shopper. Grandma Cupcake also had the perfect kid's desk/table (OK, it's really a coffee table) that she donated to the room. So, here is a sneak peek of the room. I can't show it all as we need Daddy to hang our amazing shelf from Camas Antiques and the chalkboard molding. I can't wait for the finished product!!!



The day was capped off with what I thought would be dinner with my sweet husband. When we got to the restaurant however, I was greeted by 9 other friends! I had such a great time. Thank you all for the fun surprise and thank you Grandma J for spending the night with Little Man!

Bad Hair Day Part II

I though the new haircut would eliminate the bad bed head...

Friday, February 19, 2010

Slowly but surely

We've been enjoying out entertainment center for a few weeks now, but I haven't taken the time to share it here. Our new place has a great living room, but it is big and was empty. That is, out last place had built-in bookcases so, when we moved in to our new place, we didn't have enough furniture to fill the area and nowhere for the TV.

My dream entertainment center resides at Restoration Hardware, but since Chris and I couldn't bare to spend $3,500 on a piece of furniture (as amazing as it is), I began my search. I spent hours looking on craigslist and the internet only to find that the huge TV that Chris bought prior to our marriage which he insisted had to be THE TV in the family room, is too big for any bookcase-type entertainment center. So, buying something used really wasn't likely to happen.

Then I found Vancouver Woodworks. These people are awesome! You tell them what you want and they bring out the catalogues. Right away they found a 3 piece set and, since I was going to paint it no matter what the color of the stain was, they sold it to us unfinished which saved us a ton of money. It arrived 2 weeks later in a thousand pieces. My amazing husband then put it all together after a long day of work at which point my job started.

Late into the evenings and during Carter's naps, I primed it and then gave it two coats of paint. I give to you my dream entertainment center (or pretty close) at less than a 1/3 of what Restoration Hardware offered.







**Ignore the fact that the shelves are empty with the exception of random things that probably don't belong there.

They're heeeerrreeee!

I am so in love with my new appliances that I'm considering learning how to cook!

Well, maybe not THAT in love, but I did very much enjoy running the quietest dishwasher ever this afternoon and cannot get over how much more room I feel like I have with the fridge due to its great layout.

I also used the convection oven option of the microwave today to heat a quesadilla. For some reason, as I reached in to take it out, I was anticipating a soggy tortilla like the microwave normally puts out, but it really was just like I had put it in the oven - just MUCH faster and without the extra heat in the kitchen.

Carter really likes them as well since the dishwasher has cool red lights on it and buttons he can push (oops! Didn't think about that).



Thursday, February 18, 2010

Just Chillin'

I can't believe Carter sat still for this long and I can't believe I caught it on camera!

I just turned on Handy Manny and went to the kitchen. Next thing I knew, he was in his chair intently watching

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had such a great day. Cousin CK offered to babysit so we took her up on the offer and hit the matinee of Valentine's Day (you know, the movie that has EVER actor in Hollywood) at Cinetopia. We love love love Cinetopia! It's like sitting in a living room with your own waiter while you watch a movie.

Then, it was off to an appliance store!!! We've been talking about replacing the dishwasher since before we moved in. If you've been in our house while it was running, you know why. It is the loudest dishwasher known to man. That, and the layout only allows me to wash about 6 dishes at a time.

Well, if you give a mouse a cookie...

So, the discussion began.. black or stainless? If we go stainless, we might need to replace the other appliances since they are all black. Well, we do hate the microwave too. Sometimes you have to use two hands to yank it open! And the fridge - the icemaker hasn't worked since we moved in and the other day we heard water leaking somewhere in the back..

I AM working now so... maybe we could just... OK! Let's get all new appliances!

Introducing our new appliances to be delivered on Thursday!






Did you know that they make microwaves that covert to real convection ovens? Yep! We got one. So, now we'll have 2 ovens for holidays!

Who knew that buying appliances was like buying a car? Seriously. It took forever and we had to negotiate them down $1,000. You start out liking the salesman and by the time you leave, you feel like he was out to get you for all you were worth and THANK GOODNESS you thought to question his original prices 'cause it saved you a ton!

Watch out Audigy!

It used to be that when Carter made an appearance at daddy's work, the most damage he would do is disrupt employees who were excited to see him. Now that he is walking, he is getting his hands (and other body parts) into and on to everything. Nichola, Chris' co-worker, kindly sent us photos of Carter saying hello to her - through her office window.


Saturday, February 13, 2010

Where's mommy?

That's the text I received along with this photo this morning when I ran out to get a long-overdue pedicure.



Can you tell who dressed little man today? Jeans that are too short AND red at the bottom paired with a spring-colored dress shirt of blue, orange and green, all topped off with silver and blue nikes (a size too big). I'm sorry sweetie. Next time mommy will lay out your outfit before I leave the house.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Something new

Haven't seen him play like this before..



A better picture of his new 'do

The sick child room

Carter is doing better, but still has a runny nose. We went to the doctor's twice last week just to make sure his ears were OK (any time you call the nurse they think it is their ears and it's always "we'd better have him come in"). The waiting room has this great train set that all the kids play with. For the most part they share and Carter really just likes to watch the bigger kids play with the trains.

On the other side of room, in complete isolation is the.... sick child waiting room. We've always prided ourselves that we had never had to go into that sad little room. We've been stripped of that pride.

We got to wait in that room, all alone, twice last week. Carter really liked it. He had his very own train set to play with and it was almost like the other kids were envious. Check out this kid who just stood their watching Carter play. You can't see his little sister, but she was there looking in as well. My poor sweet baby had no clue he was being segregated.


Monday, February 8, 2010

Carter Update

Thanks to everyone who has called to check on little man. He is doing MUCH better today. I didn't notice a fever even once and he was pretty happy-go-lucky as he had a dance party with Auntie Lindsey and her iphone. He still has a couple of other symptoms and we are keeping an eye on him, but sleeping 5pm-7am last night seemed to help.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Cafe Sip 'n' Play

We had a little playdate with Will and Kerrie on Tuesday last week. We met up at Cafe Sip 'n' Play - it's a Cafe with a huge play area - perfect! Here's a little sneak peek at our afternoon.

This little girl was so cute. She was asking the boys if they were ready to buy something.




I knew the shopping cart would be a success.


Note: No children were hurt in the filming of this clip


The new Carter Roberts

Poor little man isn't doing too much better today. He seemed OK this morning - he ate a fairly normal breakfast and took his nap - so we decided to go with Daddy to the Barbers to get Carter's first real haircut. He did so well! He had a meltdown right at the end, but he had been sitting patiently with hair itching his nose for at least 10 minutes before he lost it.

Before:


Look at his cute little cape!









No, he wasn't blinking here. He was just feeling so awful today that he kept closing his eyes like he was going to just fall asleep wherever he happened to be. Poor little man! If he isn't better tomorrow, we'll be going back to the doctor.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Happenings at the Roberts' house

We have been a bit busy around our house lately. I recently started recruiting for Audigy Group again so, I go into the office two afternoons each week to have interviews which works out pretty well given that Carter has two grandmas who don't seem to mind playing with him one afternoon a week!

I am so tired lately! It is all I can do keep my eyes open to write this little post! The job is supposed to be part-time, but I find myself reviewing resumes and emailing candidates every moment that Carter is asleep. When he's awake, I muster up the energy to play.

Carter update: We're still very big on transporting items and have learned to use different parts of the fire engine for different items. The steering wheel hold the juice cup a bit better than the seat.



Caution: If you take your shoes off at our house, they are fair game (if only I could get him to take them up to my closet)


I'm also exhausted because Carter has been sick the last couple of days which means our normal 6pm - 7am night of sleep is interrupted about every couple of hours by him crying. He usually goes right back to sleep within a minute or so, but it is enough to disrupt my sleep and leave me awake and worrying (is he too hot, too cold, should I take his temperature again?). The doctor (yesterday) said to just keep an eye on him and if he still has a high fever tomorrow, we should probably take him back in. Hopefully he'll be feeling better in the morning. I hate not being able to make him feel better!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

There's a cougar across the street!

That's right and her name is Kellie! She is adorable. Maybe 8 years old? Today she dropped this by for our little ladies man!