1.  I have absolutely no patience for anything.

2.  I have been fighting a stomach virus since Sunday & haven’t eaten much in days (probably the reason for the little patience.  I live to eat & cannot survive on ginger ale alone).

3.  Emilia started coming down with the same stomach virus today.  (too many explosive diapers to count.  poor girl)

4.  Ben has only one agenda…his agenda.  (he use to be so reasonable.  he use to listen.  he use to not be so mean & mouthy.  Where did that boy go?  I’d like him back.  NOW!  pretty please with cherries on top)

5.  We are having a dinner party on Saturday & I haven’t done much planning & no shopping.  (This is not like me.  The normal me would have had all of this planned on Sunday).

I know, it’s all trivial but that is what compiles my bad day & some more.  I am looking forward to laying my head on my pillow tonight (making it through the night without getting sick or having a baby get sick) & waking up to a brand new [happy] day tomorrow.

Don’t fail me Thursday.

Here are the finished pictures (as well as your tour guide)

Next up is the hallway in the basement.  This is where our the entry to our home is through both the backdoor & the garage.  (pictures to come but really its just an the area with an extra refrigerator, scattered shoes, our guest bedroom (which will be a huge overhaul in & of itself), & storage).

This was the view out our back balcony this morning.  These trees (& more) suddenly bloomed overnight.  (I am anxiously awaiting our front trees to blossom).  This picture coupled with the sound of the landscapers this morning couldn’t have screamed fresh louder.

We are staring in our master bath.  (Unfortunately I did not take a before picture.  Had I, this is where it would be).  This will be the third time we have painted our bathroom.  The first color was suppose to be a milky beige [or so I thought] but it turned out yellow.  Not happy.  We lived with it for a year-ish.  Then we decided we wanted to change it up & go darker so we chose brown.  Turned out waaaaaaaaaay to dark.  We lived with that for 3 years.  Now, in what I am hoping to be our final paint of this room for a long time, we have chosen White Oak from Benjamin Moore.  (In order to not kick myself or hate the color we purchase a sample, tried it out, LOVED IT, & went back for the gallon).

Friday night, after the munchkins went to bed, we taped and primed our bathroom.  Working together start to finish took us a little over 2 hours.

Our plan was to paint today/tonight after the kids were in bed but we decided to have too much last night & stay out late (oops) so now we’re just going to finish up tomorrow.

Note to self: take pictures of progress!

Keli over at Kidnapped by Suburbia is hosting You Capture for Beth from I Should be Folding Laundry.

I have not been to Woodfield in ages but they are the location close to my home that has a Martin & Osa.  (hint, hint – Oak Brook get one NOW).  I figured I’d check out their Spring line & get something for Saturday.  I did not but I did find some great items at Nordstrom.  I love Nordstrom.  Between Nords & Von Maur I am always bound to find something, even when I don’t need anything.

Here is what I picked:

Joe’s Jeans – Muse.  love, love, love Joe’s Jeans.  they are WORTH every penny.

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3083925/0~2376780~6009391~6010256~6010259?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6010259&P=1

&

This Halogen Elbow Sleeve Cardigan.  I purchased two.  Black & Pink (not the glaze shown on the website but a more vibrant dark(er) pink).

http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/3076074/0~2376776~2374327~6012183~6012204?mediumthumbnail=Y&origin=category&searchtype=&pbo=6012204&P=1

I am just going to add a simple white [fitted] tee under the cardigan, a cute pair of open toed black heels (the weather is suppose to take a turn back up in the 70′s this weekend), a few accessories, and a black bag & all will be complete.

I hemmed & hawed over whether I should go the jean route but decided yes it was a good decision.  I ran through the guest list in my mind & everyone will be dressed in their own style.  Some will be dressed up more-so than others & I was able to purchase some new pieces that I will have for quite some time (let’s be honest I don’t get dressed up everyday.  My daily “uniform” tends to consist of yoga pants a a simple Target tee aka ultimate comfort).

]]> http://dennem.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/easter/feed/ 0 jenlong1981 Easter at Grandma's Easter Morning 1 Easter Morning 2 http://dennem.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/rewards-candy/ http://dennem.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/rewards-candy/#comments Sun, 04 Apr 2010 19:17:40 +0000 jenlong1981 http://dennem.wordpress.com/?p=175 Continue reading →]]> Yesterday, Dan, Ben & I spent the day in the city.  More specifically we went to the Hershey Store on Michigan Avenue.  It was a reward for Benjamin.  He was rewarded for sleeping through the night by himself.  He’s 3 & HATES sleeping by himself.  He have been working on this for a very. long. time.

Quick recap: Benjamin had to sleep at night by himself 5 times which earned him double stickers (part of the reward system) & once he did that we would take him, only him, out for the day to the Hershey Store & lunch.  (really not a bad deal for a 3 year old)  It took us two eternally long months to get to this day.  There were many tears, middle of the night arguments, & bags under our eyes to get to yesterday.  The last three times of the five happened at the end of last week.  Benjamin fights change with all his might but when he realizes that its not so bad he transitions smoothly.

Yesterday couldn’t have been more perfect.  The day started out a little cloudy but the sun eventually came out & we had a great day!  We went to lunch & then strolled over to the Hershey store followed by a short walk down Michigan Ave & browsing in the stores & ended with a coffee & apple juice from a favorite local coffee shop.

We told Benjamin that if he can continue sleeping by himself 10 more times we will take him on another special day!