Mia is 3!!!

Mia turned three yesterday. As I look back over the last three years it amazes me how long three years can be, as well as how quickly they can fly by. I don't feel like it has been that long since I left the workforce to stay home. Yet, some days seem to take every ounce of patience and creativity I can possibly muster and can seem to last a week.

I'm reminded of the song "Sunrise, Sunset". My mom used to sing that around the house, now I know what she was feeling as she sang it. Some mothers of older children would probably think it was too soon to look back in this manner, but a three year old is now really truly no longer a baby. Mia dresses herself, feeds herself, uses the bathroom (mostly - sometimes she prefers to use "nature"), and pretty much wants to do everything "BY MYSELF, MOMMY!" It's wonderful in SO many ways.








Happy Birthday, Mia Bug!

Father's Day Weekend

We had a pretty relaxing Father's Day Weekend. Patrick took Friday off to go shopping, and the girls and I headed to the National Zoo to meet Cousin Jacque, who was in the DC area with her dad (Mitch) visiting her Aunt Heather. Jacque lives in California, so we don't get to see her very much, and we had a GREAT time visiting!




Saturday we met with Long Fence to get an estimate for a wood fence to keep the girls in the back yard and out of the busy street. This has been a project on our list that moved up very quickly in priority when one of our neighbor's daughters got hit by a car 2 weeks ago. She is OK, thankfully, but we were reminded how easily that could have been Mia. Mia can unlock and open our outside doors, and has been known to head outside without an adult.

Saturday night we attended the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Man and Woman of the Year Gala, which was sponsored by Patrick's Company, Accenture. It was so nice to be able to get dressed up and go out!! We were at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium which was beautiful and decked out in gold leaf, huge columns, statues, and coiffured ceilings.

There was a silent auction, where we bid on a portrait session for the girls, and a fun auction game where we bid on a jewelry box with unknown contents. We got a beautiful amethyst.

Both girls took to the babysitter right away and were asleep when we got home, which took me by surprise! We will go out more often now that we know how well they do with her! Ha ha!!

Father's Day was a laid-back day outside by the pool. We had the neighbors over to play as well, and Patrick got the nozzle on the hose going for Mia, who loves to play in the spraying water. Then, after naps we all played in the living room and made a banana cream pie for Patrick. It was a pretty nice day, and a great weekend!

Polishing a Turd

Not my expression. It's Patrick's. Every time I want to paint a room, or decorate or something, he reminds me that we will be doing construction and tearing down walls, etc. so if I paint now I'll just be "polishing a turd". It's become quite a funny expression and he's so right.

So right, in fact, I wanted to show you our turdiest parts of the house. These are the parts where our best friend Duct Tape lives. Duct Tape has become a staple in our old house while we wait and plan to ultimately make the house quasi-new in these places.

#1 use for duct tape in our home:




Here, you see duct tape being used as wallpaper. There is actually a giant HOLE in our wall in our bedroom. And, a little one one in our guestroom.

One night (last summer I might add) a HUGE hornet found its way into our upstairs and Patrick was in Paris for work. I was very pregnant and my hormones told me to save Mia and get that hornet out of the house as fast as I could. So, I braved the stairs carrying my trusty broom and opened the outside door and swept the huge scary hornet outside. After that, I got the duct tape and sealed up every hole I could find in the house.

I'm dying to rip out the wall pieces around the big hole and put in new drywall, but since we are gutting the upstairs at some point, that would be polishing a turd.

#2 use for duct tape in our home:


Duct tape is waterproof. This is good, because we use it as an overflow drain stop. I can't remember why we had to cover this up and remove the overflow drain, all I can say is that the plumbing on this tub is always an issue and we do have the pieces to fix it. We just are planning on gutting this bathroom and therefore don't want to be polishing a turd by fixing it prematurely. Yes, that is WOOD on the shower walls. We didn't install that. It will be replaced by tile. I can't imagine why ANYONE would put wood in the shower. Crazy. And, the spots where you can see the wood through the paint? Yes, Duct Tape was there for some prior plumbing fixes. Evidently it's a good paint remover as well.

#3 use for duct tape in our home:


Duct tape holds things together. I think this is actually one of the original uses for duct tape. We are using it on our A/C unit to keep the hot air out, the cold air in, and the bugs OUT. We probably wont ever actually fix this problem, we'll just get a new air conditioner or have central air put in the house. For now though, air conditioners are great when you get tired of blowing bubbles manually.

#4 use for duct tape in our home:


Here duct tape is actually holding the door together. This duct tape is holding in an old lock that just wont stay in the door anymore. Yes, we are getting a new door and therefore, again, if we were to fix this, we'd be yet again Polishing A Turd.

So, my dad is coming out here in a short while to help us move a wall in the kitchen and perhaps that is when we will install the new door. I'll add pics when it happens. And let the rest of you know when we begin polishing something other than a turd.