So ... I've lived in Michigan for 3 years and never took advantage of the Ann Arbor Framer's Market. It's about a half hour away, so it's not a quick trip, but it was worth it! So beautiful and so well managed. It is held twice a week in a covered pavilion area and it had about 50 different vendors there today and I LOVED it! It soooo felt like my kind of place - fresh flowers, organic food, fresh produce, lavendar, sunflowers, homemade jam, homemade pasta ... bushels of basil!!! I was in a little slice of heaven.

It was actually kind of a tough trip, because we hit traffic on the way there and on the way back Liam was doing his best to yell, whine and distract me into a car accident. Then we drove into our driveway and I realized we had left our awesome, vintage radio flyer wagon parked on the sidewalk ... yeah, we drove all the way back and got it after calling the farmer's market office (yes! they have an office!) and they found it and kept it safe until we drove back to get it. Okay ... so even with all of that - for 45 minutes, wandering among fresh food and flowers was worth it! It was sort of magical, really. Noah and Liam were crazy in the acrrides, but while being pulled around in the wagon up and down the Farmer's Market aisles full of colorful fruits and veggies and the aroma of fresh cut flowers, the boys were completely still and quiet, taking it all in. It was magic and it made it wonderful for me.

We bought the largest most incredible sunflowers ($5), the most fragrant basil ($1), the yellowest homemade fettucini ($4) and the plumpest green beans ($3). Wonderful, just wonderful.

I would've taken more pictures because this was a trip for the senses, but my camera battery died!

My bathroom is pretty dated. The tiled walls would be fine, if they weren't peach. Anyway, when we first moved in, we knew we had to do something about the bathroom, because the floor wasn't even a hideous peach color anymore ... it was flesh toned because of years of dirt build-up and not sufficient regular cleaning ... and it's 55 years old. OK, so we put in peel and stick black and white vinyl tiles, I admit, not the classiest, but for sure an easy fix. But I am still unsatisfied. I finally found a handyman who is amazingly cheap and yet good at what he does - tile. So, I wnat to retile the bathroom floor.

But here's the problem, I am trying to decide on the type oif tile I want. I think I know: I want to go with the vintage style of the bathroom for one simple fact - I do NOT have enough money to re-do the whole thing. So, if I can't re-do the whole thing to look brand new, I am going for a nice looking vintage style to the bathroom. So I am thinking of re-doing the floor in 1 inch, white, procelain tiles. I got a sample and here's what it would look like (of course there would be white grout once it was installed):



Here's what it's like now:



But what do you think? Should I do it?

Here are the other BEFORE pictures ... before we did anything:


this is basically how it was when we moved in. The toilet was original to the house and the sink was old and gross.


This is after we replaced the floor with peel and stick tile, the sink and toilet. And it's pretty much how it stands today.

I worry and stress a lot ... about everything. I find myself unhappy with a lot of things in my life and sometimes get kind of down about it all. Sometimes I feel very dissatisfied with my situation at present. I don't like being away from all of my family. I'm not even within a day's drive of any one of my sisters or parents. I don't like the weather where I am. I struggle with being a mommy sometimes and feel like I don't do a very good job and that I waste a lot of time and energy doing laundry, cleaning up stuff and making meals over and over and over and over ... ugh. I get frustrated and feel overwhelmed. Then, when everything seems like it's all crashing down on me, I read other people's blogs. That is not a good thing to do when I'm in a bad mood. I just mostly envy them. Their cute clothes, their family events, their awesome trips, their adorable homes, kids, blah blah blah and I think, "why don't I have that life?" and "what the heck is 'the good life' anyway?" I hear and see people write about it and it makes me angry sometimes because I feel like I don't have that.

Well, I went to the gym on Friday morning. I grabbed a People magazine and started my workout on the elyptical. The magazine was AWEFUL. I usually like looking at celebrities and their clothes and hairstyles and see where they eat, live, etc. Just like looking through a fashion magazine for me. But this time, I read a few articles/blurbs and it was all sad, bad and terrible. Someone was getting another divorce. Someone else's kid was in drug rehab. Someone else had been kidnapped, someone had been killed. Someone was diagnosed with cancer and someone else had a massive heart attack. Someone broke up. Someone was a single mom. Many somebodys had cheated on their lover. Wow. It was just aweful. I only got through about 15 pages of this before I just closed the magazine and turned it over so I couldn't even see the cover. That's when I thought, "I think I'm living 'the good life'".

I felt so grateful for my husband. Who has never cheated on me, yelled at me, hit me, left me for any period of time (well, he had a business trip that once about 3 years ago ... that was rough). I love him. He is wonderful to me and loves me and does dishes for me and is an incredible daddy. He does his best to make me happy and I do everything I can to make his life better too.

I felt so grateful for my little family of boys. Noah and Liam are crazy and beautiful and give my life real meaning. What would I be centered on if it wasn't for them to keep me grounded? I'd be lost without these two little men to keep me busy, happy, productive and humble. I feel grateful that I am a stay at home mom and I get to spend all of my time with these little creatures. They keep things real and keep things in perspective for me and I need that.

I feel grateful for my crappy, tiny home. It's small, but nice. And although a contractor came by to tell me my house was sinking into the ground, I think this little house is gonna hold together for a while longer and I'm grateful for that. We have a plot of land and I get to plant anything I want on it - and then kill any plant I want on it. I have a backyard where my boys can run and run and run and I have a grill out back that we have BBQ's on. I get to paint and rearrange as much stuff inside this little home as my decorating heart desires and I love that. It's our little spot and I'm grateful for that.

I guess I live "the good life". It's just nice to be reminded of that every once in a while. It keeps me from griping too much about stuff. So thanks "People" magazine - your life sucks and mine is good.

OK, I can't help it - I am loving my new short hair. I feel like I can actually go for a "style" now. So fun. Before this, I have been using the same techniques and hair products as I did when I was 14. I basically watched what my older sister, Bethany, did and copied her and then never knew what else to do with my crazy curly hair. Anyway, I promised Leslie, my mom and my sisters that I'd keep them updated on my hair status, so .... on Friday night I washed and styled my hair for the first time by myself and then went out on a date with Daniel. Before we left, I had him snap some shots of my hair. Check it out girls .... it's a little deflated (which I like) and smoother (which I like), so I think I'll try and replicate this style more ... thoughts??

OK, well, I decided on using picture number 8 as my guide to get my hair chopped:



And then armed with my picture and a great recommendation from a friend, I went to "One Salon" in Novi and had Janine cut it all off. I chopped about 12 inches off and this is what I ended up with ...

I took these first few by myself, then Daniel came home and snapped a few shots of me with the boys bouncing around on my bed in the background:










So, what do you think?

I think I really like it, but time will tell. I have to figure out how to style it and work with it. You can't tell in these pictures, but it is shorter in back than in front, so it's like an A-line haircut, so I really can't pull it into a friendly old pony tail like I'm used to. I'll write more when I live with this for a while, but for now - no more neck aches and headaches from my gosh dern heavy carpet hair!!

1. I need more IKEA plastic plates, cups and bowls ... I am doing ... wait scratch that, DANIEL is doing dishes everyday and our dishwasher is packed with only colorful plastic plates, cups and bowls, sippy cups and spoons.

2. I have wiped up urine off the bathroom floor more than I wanted to.

3. I have not "deep cleaned" or even thought about it in 4 days. And by "deep clean" I mean vacuumed, swept or wiped the countertops.

4. I have never heard Noah or Naomi laugh so hard.

5. I have been blown away with how 4 kids can entertain themselves for 2 1/2 hours just playing in the backyard. Noah and Liam alone only last 5 minutes or less. (I'll bet you're wondering what I did for 2 1/2 hours - well, there was lunch to clean up after, tables to wipe down, showers to take, snacks to prepare and about 1 hour was spent working on a sewing project - woo hoo!)

I am feeling pretty good about myself. I did it. And the time went super fast. When you're busy all day long, time flys. I leave to go pick up Leslie from the airport in bout 3 hours and Naomi is at a friends' house until her mom comes home and Stella is sleeping. So I'm down to 2 kids again and they're outside playing - phew!

So here are a few pictures I snapped. Most of them are Naomi and Noah because Liam and Stella were hard to catch on film not moving and awake. :)

So .... my friend, Leslie, and I came up with a genius plan a few months back. Neither one of us has family nearby so we never have grandparents to take the kids for a sleepover. So we decided to do a kid swap so that each of us as a couple with our hubbies could go on an overnighter trip. That's why Daniel and I were able to see Chicago for a weekend trip sans kids and last night, Leslie dropped off her two girls and I have 4 kids (her two girls and my two boys) for the next 4 days while she's at Marco Island with her honey.

4 kids ... this is what I've noticed thus far:

1. There are more dishes to wash and toys to pick up.
2. Daniel and I don't get to talk and hang out much. We seem to always be playing tag-team. I take the girls and get them ready for bed and he takes the boys. I grab the bags from the car and he gets the kids out of the car. I make dinner and he does laundry, etc.
3. Noah and Naomi are occupied playing with each other pretty much 100% of the time. I don't have to find activities for them to do at all. This afternoon we put Stella and Liam down for naps and Naomi and Noah played upstairs and downstairs for 2 hours while Daniel and I napped. It was awesome.
4. Noah is generally more happy. Mostly because he has a built-in playmate.
5. Getting ready for church takes 4 hours.

That's all I've got so far, but I'll keep you posted.