This lady...

...the one on the right, is my mother. Isn't she super chic and beautiful?! Formerly known as “mommy”…sometimes called “mom”…her street name is Dixie and she is one cool lady. As lucky as I am to have her as my mom I am even more blessed that my kids get her as a grandma.

In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought it was only fitting to share with you just a small dose of my mom’s amazing creativity, her proof of being a rock star grandma and her newly found skills in nursery rhyme making. This is a song she created from scratch for our little Dax.

"December comes around and the lights are bright,

We dance and we party all through the night.

A little boy is born and his name is Dax,

a rap pa tap pa, rap pa tap pa, Dax, Dax, Dax.

We sing a song of joy and of jubilee,

When Dax Cy Hall joined our family tree.

a rap pa tap pa, rap pa tap pa, Dax, Dax, Dax.

a rap pa tap pa, rap pa tap pa, Dax, Dax, Dax.

We sing a song of joy and of jubilee,

When Dax Cy Hall joined our family tree!"

Mom, you are the most unselfish, giving, supportive and loving woman. I better understand now the unfathomed duties that motherhood entails and if I can be half the mom that you were to me I would consider that a job well done.

Thank you for being you…thank you for saying "no" to me when I asked to do silly things as a teenager…thank you for supporting me when I moved half way across the country…thank you for loving me. I am so blessed to have you as a mother, friend and grandmother for my children.

I LOVE YOU!

p.s. Mom, I do expect to collect 10% on all nursery rhyme and book deals you get now. 

Lines with Liam

Scene: In the bathroom, trying to contort Liam into sitting still for one moment while I dry him off after bath to put on his “jamas”.

Me: “Liam please sit STILL!”

Liam: (Moving all over the place…his legs and arms flying everywhere…accidentally elbows me in the face above my left eye)
Me: “OUCH Liam that really hurt!!!” (Grabbing my face, wincing in pain)

Liam: “Mommy, you got owie?!”

Me: “Yes...that really hurt Liam!”

Liam: “MAYBE you need a mommy band aid.”

Me: (still trying to wrestle him to sit still and put on his clothes)

Liam: “I can go get you a mommy band aid!” (Runs into our master bathroom and gets under the counter and grabs one of my breast pads I use because I am nursing. Hands me the breast pad) “Here you go Mommy, I got you a mommy band aid!” (As he is trying to stick the "mommy band aid" above my eye)

Scene: In the car driving home from daycare on a beautiful sunny spring afternoon.
Liam: “Mommy, the sun is really bright!”

Me: (Driving…don’t respond...focused on driving of course)

Liam: “Mommy, where's the sun’s mommy?!”

Me: “I don’t know Liam, where is the suns' mommy?”

Liam: (Looking really perplexed and thinking for a few moments) “The mommy is hiding behind that cloud”

It's me again...

...my mom has been "so busy" lately, I decided it was time for me to update all of you.

An update on what you ask?  On ME of course.  I live a pretty exciting life...you see,

I get to eat RICE! 

 I am pretty happy about it.  Food!  I mean real food people. 

My dad gets to feed me the rice because my mom has all the other feeding duties. 

And we are ok with that. 

In other news...I ROLL!

My first action shot rolling. Not bad huh?!

And in other news: I looked pretty dapper in my Easter dibs. 

Check out that lower left shot...that one is for all you ladies out there.

Fashion alert: horizontal stripes make my physique appear even chubbier. 

The ladies seem to love my rolls! 

That roll on my wrist is hard to achieve people!

And finally, I turned FOUR months old!  I'm practically an old man. 

Need proof? 

I've got a sweet comb over hair do.

Happy Whales

But this black / mustard combo started off in such a sad state...

 White.  Brass.  Green paint.  All had to change.

The mister hard at work with his wine on a Saturday night of course. 

When else do people do house projects?!

I wish I had more before pictures but imagine an enormous mirror with the bad bulb brass strip lights.  I couldn't subject my 2 year old and newborn to such ugly light fixtures or bathroom so we turned it into this...

Double black mirrors, new light fixture, some happy whales on the wall...looking much better. 

 Wash...Brush...Keep it simple for the kiddos.

 "You are my Sunshine" 

I can't read this poster without singing this song...or getting it stuck in my head for the next 5 hours...or putting a smile on my face. 

And some more happy whales on the wall.  I couldn't afford the wallpaper...I won't even mention how much it was per roll. so I bought two samples for under $5, made them pop with the mustard frame.  Instant art!

 A think black border on the ceiling to add a little detail. 

A little detail that the mister wasn't too excited about. 

I gave him another glass of wine...I got my border...and a crooked line.   

I know, you are jealous of how we spend our Saturday nights aren't you?!

Cookin' Honey

As in honey oak EXPLOSION that was happening in our kitchen when we moved in...

Check out this really functional island...?!! NOT !

I have a serious problem with ceiling fans...I need to get over it. 

Believe me now?  HONEY OAK in your face.  

First step, PAINT.  Cabinets.  Walls.  Trim.

 

Progress.  So. much. better.

Next step, get rid of that island and refinish the hardwoods.

We went for the dark stain on the right...

I have to sweep my floors almost daily but it is worth it. LOVE them.

Next remove the awful white square tiles...

 Replace with beautiful glass subway tile in a subtle gray hue...courtesy of my incredibly handy and talented father in law and hubbie. (Richard I promise I won't put you to work for the entire week you visit us next time! Well, maybe just a couple days...)

Obsessed with subway tile. 

Then I do what I do best...SHOP...on craigslist of course.  I really wish I had a before pic of this puppy.  It was an old, honey oak (of course) console that the mister did what he does best...refinish...antique... and slapped some granite on the top.  My father in law built a base for it, new hardware, sealed it and put rollers on the drawers to make a trash can slide out of the right side.  And voila...custom kitchen island for less than $150!

Pardon the misters attempt at graffiti on our garage walls.  Yes, I did make him paint the entire garage afterwards.  The point of this picture is to show you yet another craigslist purchase of bar stools.  5 for under $100!  A little paint and good as new.   

Next, remove the ceiling fan and add some wonderful pendant lights...

And some DIY artwork done on a Saturday night with a couple bottles of wine...

Moral of this story....

Life with a toddler and a newborn + new home with honey oak, house fans, bad tile, awkward island and early 90s fixtures = Saturday night house projects.

Maybe I should learn how to cook now?!!

Powder room potty

This little man...

says it is time...POTTY time! 

And apparently, the potty chair has to go in the powder room...

(I will spare you the image of the toilet ring and child on the toilet.  And I'll be honest, 90 percent of the time he spends more time off the toilet looking in at his work than on the seat actually going.  We are currently trying to expedite this process.) 

All would be fine and dandy if this wasn't the same bathroom that our guests have to use as well. 

"Um, sorry (insert guest name)...let me get that toilet ring off real quick." 

Because when this kid has to go...he has to go.  I never in my life thought I would be so happy about number 1 and number 2 in the toilet. 

Ok...I will spare you any more potty training talk for the moment. 

How about more pics of our insane DIY project for the powder room?

Yes, my husband and I are crazy.  And this did take FOREVER.  

Step 1...paint walls white since they were previously green.  Tape vertical lines a foot apart. 

 Then tape some more...(don't remember the exact measurements for these lines...I tried to remove those long hours, on a Saturday night nonetheless, out of my memory).

 And paint...and paint yet again.

 And yes, it does make our guests cross-eyed when they use our bathroom. It helps them deter their attention from the toilet ring and the mess on the floor from Liam not getting everything quite in the toilet.

Reason for everything I tell ya.

This art piece is of the LA freeway system.  Love the piece.  Hate the freeways.  Miss socal.  You can find it at 20x200. Great unique art pieces for killer prices.

 And always remember...LIVE WHAT YOU LOVE (another DIY project by yours truly).

Moby Man

My man...and his moby

Make little man and mama happy.  

Sidenote: Kevin calls it his "mumu"...you can get your moby "mumu" wrap here. Or if you have a wonderful friend like I do you get it for free...which also makes mama happy.