The open house is upon us...finally! We worked hard this week to prepare the house for viewing. I'm happy to report that almost everything has been removed from the property and is practically ready to move in tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress of the, hopefully, fast-selling house. Some of the photos are two different views of the same room.

Update:

The old house is coming right along. In fact, it's been listed and there is an open house this Saturday - yeah! We did a little more remodeling to the old scraproom - sniff! We took all the shelving down, patched it and painted it. Boy, this room looks huge! For those of you who have actually seen this room, it's amazingly different. Wish we would have done this years ago. It needs new carpet, but we'll leave that to the new owners. I will be soooo glad when the house is completely cleaned out and ready to show. What a relief that will be! Wish us luck and send your prayers up that this won't be on the market very long.

Halloween photos:

Nick - Car, Blake - Paratrooper and Kaila - Witch

Happy Fall!!!! I loooovvveee FALL! It's a beautiful 60 degree day here. You can't ask for more than that!

This should turn out to be a good week for our family. We're preparing to list our old house this week. We're "feverishly" removing the remaining items from the house. Needless to say, we need to have another yard sale. - LOL! So, keep us in your prayers regarding the whole "house" issue. The market's not bad here, so it shouldn't be a problem. The sooner it's sold...the better.

Go on over to my other blog - Nuts About Sketches for your chance to win an awesome scrappy prize provided by The Scrapping Spot.

Just a couple layouts to share with you and then I must get some housework done.

Don't you just love it when you have a change in schedule that is bittersweet

Bitter: I had a ton of things to be done last Friday whilst the children were elsewhere.

Sweet: DH got a much needed hunk of meat! That's right, Ladies/Gents! He shot us a buck with his bow. Wayyyyy SWEET! It's delicious by the way.


Needless to say, I went over and took photos and helped with the "process." We then had a lovely meal of fresh deer steak, beans, bread and drinks. YUMMMOOO!

Look at the smile on his face!!! How can you deny him the primal pleasure/need to hunt?

Next up we have a ten year old with the primal urge to hunt. He feels it is also his "job" to fill the freezer with meat. You have to love his enthusiasm.





















Now, look at this darling 6 1/2 year old. Photo taken by his teacher, Mrs. Carna. We were on our way to the hospital for his field trip.




Here's an adorable picture of Kaila and Blake at Blake's open house. He was so excited because he thought there would be snacks. Yeah. Someone decided against that.






How sweet is our 5 year old daughter? She was so cute opening her gifts. I can not believe 5 years have passed already.

I didn't have the heart to tell her you weren't supposed to wear them all at the same time. Hey....they match, don't they?

Seriously, she was just 2 1/2, doggone it!

On the homefront, we have many more "projects" to complete. Our next major project is installing 19 brand new windows! I can't tell you how excited that makes me. Why, you ask? Because we need to get one of the windows out so we can get our box springs through the window into the upstairs. MY box springs!!!! We're sleeping on a mattress on the hard floor. Lovely, eh?

We have to REPAINT the diningroom due to the fact that we got a bad batch of primer. The primer and the paint literally PEEL off the wall. It's pathetic. So, I have to peel the rest off and then sand down the holes and repaint it. Sigh. What a pain!

That's it for now. I'm tired.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Oh, happy day! I have the most wonderful friends/relatives ;) They have saved me from my loving children. The boys are with Ange and the girl is with Cathy - wahoooooo!!! I have work to be done, so this will be quick.

I have a scrap supply party this Sunday and have lots of cleaning/organizing to do. Who didn't know I wasn't done yet? Not enough time in the day and too much time on the internet. It's really coming along now.

Volleyball started last night and has hence reaffirmed my desire to lose a couple pounds (to put it mildly). I have no problem actually moving around, it's the breathing in my tight shorts that gets me. So, it's time to practice what I preach to my dearly beloved 10 year old regarding eating. I did give up Monday night volleyball for the main reason of not wanting to take that time away from my DH.

Here's a layout of Nick when he was three using one of Becky Fleck's sketches AND the October kit from The Scrapping Spot.



Until next time, People!


Shawn

Long time no blog! Imagine that!



We've finally gotten Verizon Broadband at the new house. Yahoooooo! Speaking of Yahoo...our email address is shawneerie17@yahoo.com if any of you need to contact me/us.

I copied the following questions from Jill's blog. Very interesting...


44 Odd things about you! If you opened this fill it out! Learn 44 things aboutyour friends, and let them learn 44 things about you! Send it back to me andseveral more friends!

1. Do you like blue cheese? No.
2. Have you ever smoked? No. EDITED
3. Do you own a gun? Yes.
4. What Kool-Aid flavor was your favorite? Tropical Punch
5. Do you get nervous before a doctor's appointment?Nervous? No. - disgusted? Yes.
6. What do you think of hot dogs? Love 'e
7. Favorite Christmas movie? White Christmas
8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee.
9. Can you do push ups? Absolutely.
10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? Anniversary Bracelet
11. Favorite hobby? reading, scrapbooking
12. Do you have A.D.D.? No.
13. What's one trait you hate about yourself? Procrastination.
14. Middle name? Marie
15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? I have to pee. I need a shower. I want more coffee.
16. 3 drinks you regularly drink? Diet Dew, Water, Coffee
17. Current worry? Nothing.
18. Current hate right now? Me...overweight
19. Favorite place to be? In my husband's embrace
20. How did you bring in the New Year? I was sleeping.
21. Where would you like to go? .Hawaii
22. Name 3 people who will complete this: probably no one
23. Do you own slippers? Yes
24. What color of shirt are you wearing? Red New York City
25. Do you like sleeping on Satin sheets? No
26. Can you Whistle? Yes. Very well in fact.
27. Favorite color? Red.
28. Would you be a pirate? No, I don't like thieves.
29. What songs do you sing in the shower? The National Anthem, I will always love you, You are the wind beneath my wings
30. Favorite girl's name? Kaila
32. What's in your pocket right now? No pockets.
33. Something that made you laugh? Blake being silly this am.
34. Best bed sheets as a child? We only had one set. Just kidding! I believe they were flowered.
35. Worst injury that you have ever had? Cracked tail bone.
36. Do you love where you live? Yes.
37. How many TV's do you have in your house? 4
38. Who is your loudest friend? Angelina - sorry, Girl!
39. How many dogs do you have? Zero.
40. Does someone have a crush on you? Very doubtful.
41. What is your favorite book? HP and the HalfBlood Prince.
42.What is your favorite candy? PB Twix
43. Favorite Sports team? Steelers
44. What song do you want to be played at your funeral? Old Rugged Cross

Did you find out stuff you didn't want to know? LOL!



I have a couple layouts to share. I have several more, but haven't had time to picture/edit them. Time. What's that?





Well, I have to get some work done. I hope to update again soon.

Shawn

We're getting closer....!!! Joy!!!

We're still not finished with our painting yet, but we are just about done! My MIL and I will be painting the ceiling in the diningroom tonight...hopefully. Then, I'll tackle the little bit of painting in the bathroom. We'll finally paint the hallway when the moving is finished. I can't wait! It looks really nice.

Charlie put my light fixtures in the den a.k.a temporary scraproom. They look awesome! I have to take some after shots of these rooms when the diningroom is done. Patience please.

Thank God for rain today! I may get some other "inside" stuff done from my live-in electrician ;)
Here are some photos of the boys' room prior to the camo walls being done.















We still have a ton to do, but we're sleeping there now. I pop back here once a day to check on things and do some laundry. Oh, and there's no internet at the other house - insert really upset blonde chick here! I swear! If I could reach through the phone...

Here's a little glimpse at my not-so-little, almost 5 year old, Kaila on her first day of Pre-K.




















Now, take a look at the then, 10 month old Kaila in this layout using my sketch #21.

Can you believe that much time has passed?







Thanks for stopping in!




Shawn

So much to talk about, but too busy/tired to even remember everything.

I'll start with the kids' party. It was supposed to thunderstorm, but I held out hope that it wouldn't happen, or would at the very least wait. Well, the party was great...very little rain. My wonderful Mother helped with the cleaning, or should I say...DID the cleaning. She's a machine, just like my sister. I couldn't have done it without her. My Mother and Father-in-Law helped with a lot of food and other party necessities. Again, we couldn't have done it without them. Believe me, I realize how fortunate we are to have such a loving, supportive family. I thank God every day for them.

Two days after the party was the first day of school. That was busy, but fun and exciting at the same time. Kaila actually starts Pre-K today. She CAN NOT WAIT!! She's missed school since it let out in May. This will be her last year of Pre-K and then she'll be going to ALL DAY Kindergarten. I CAN'T believe how fast time flies! I look at these children and see how big they're getting. Then, I have to go to my photo files to remember how small they once were.



Thank God for the wonderful invention of the camera.







Now, regarding the remodeling of it all. The laundryroom is finished, along with the livingroom, kitchen and den (except light fixtures). In the "just about" catagory we have the master bedroom, boys' room and diningroom. My MIL and I are painting today ;) The diningroom will be ready no later than Saturday to paint. Does anyone want to guess what the boys' room is going to look like? Or should I say, what color(s) it's going to be? Well, my boys are quite the roughians. So, CAMO it is! You read correctly! Their Father said they could paint it green, which Of Course, he doesn't recall. I matched the green to their bedspread, which is CAMO. Let me just say, it's a good thing the room is fairly large. One wall will be camoflaged by my hands. We'll see how it turns out. The other areas are a boring shade of cream, but will be fabulous!

Julie - I know you're dying for before/after shots and believe me...I'm working on them. I should be able to get some by the end of the week, if all goes well.

Our Labor Day weekend was AWESOME! I took about 365 photos. You HAVE to love digital! I have to say though, 1GB card is just NOT enough for me for 4 days. I could have taken soooo many more. The kids had a great time. They spent a good deal of time with their Father alone, which was great for me. I had quiet sketch time (27 single pages and an additional 7 double paged sketches - yeah!). The kids went to the Double Boar Ranch to learn about the Paid Hunt aspect of hunting. They couldn't talk fast enough when they came home, neither could Daddy for that matter - LOL!

Lastly for today is a layout I completed yesterday using The Scrapping Spot's September Pop Fashion Kit. I LOVE this kit! Get yours while you still can!

Case in point regarding how fast they grow. These photos are of Kaila at 1 year old and the above photo is her at almost 5. Also, I used my sketch over at Nuts About Sketches.


Thanks so much for stopping by and listening to my ramblings.


Shawn

I have a little eye-candy for you, but it's not renovation photos. Sorry! I hope to get some of those today.

Renovations are going well.

Laundryroom
Charlie is putting the tile floor down in the laundryroom starting tonight. I'm not sure he'll complete it, but it will look great! He put RFP boards up in the laundryroom, along with new lighting. It looks fantastic! I can't wait to start the laundry - not!

Livingroom/Office
Charlie cut 7 can light holes in the ceiling before Ray did the plaster work. We then had it textured. Charlie's Mom and I painted the ceiling the other day, but I have to see if it needs another coat. No new lighting in the livingroom, just going to use lamps. Again, it may need another coat of paint. I need a second opinion.

Kitchen
This room is almost as complete as it's going to get for a couple years. I just need to put up the curtains - yeah!

Kaila's Room
Charlie's Mom painted Kaila's room with the primer so far. We're going over to finish it up with the white paint today.

Carpet Installation - this wonderful procedure is scheduled for Friday.

On the Scrapping Front - here's what I did this week. Boy, did this feel good! The sketches for these two layouts is on my other blog - nutsaboutsketches.blogspot.com - check it out!

Speaking of scrapping, THE SCRAPPING SPOT is currently looking for additional Design Team members. If you're feeling froggy be sure to checkout the requirements and get your application in by the 31st of August.

Also, The Scrapping Spot is always having sketch challenges with new sketches weekly, sometimes more. Get to creating, Scrappers!










Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

So few posts this month. Can you tell I have a ton going on??? Sheesh! Where to even begin...

I'll start out by informing everyone that we were able to close early on our house - WAHOO!!! Talk about awesome!

We started the demolition of various areas yesterday. My darling, wonderful, generous sister, Wendi came back with me from Michigan to help with the DEMO.

OMG! We spent a good 7 hours yesterday ripping out carpet and tearing down tiles from the walls. Why on earth would it take that long to rip out carpet you say? Ahhhh...4 layers! You read correctly - 4 layers of carpet/tile. There were 3 layers of carpet and 1 layer of tile, which we are not finished ripping up yet. What a mess! The basement has a slight problem...the floor wasn't poored correctly, OR they built on and forgot to butt the two floors against each other. So, what I'm saying is, fluid comes up from the ground INTO the basement. Some of the floor is dust. Yes! What a freakin' mess! Where do we go from here? Charlie says it can be fixed and that he's actually seen worse. We have to finish taking the tiles out to see just how nasty it is. We'll also find out exactly who will be paying for this. This is a major defect, if you ask me.

Regardless of this little mess, we LOVE the house and the property. It will get fixed and it will be gorgeous!

Today is Blake's first day of summer school. He's missed 8 days, but he'll be able to go to the last 4. He was ill for the first 4 and out of town for the middle 4. Anything is better than nothing at this point. I hope he has fun.

After school, Blake will take a little trip to the Dentist. He has some sort of bubble/absess on his from gums above his right, front tooth. I'm hoping it isn't too painful for him. He's such a trooper!
Oh, and let's not forget we're running out of everything from toilet paper to gatorade. So, a trip to good, ole Wal-Mart is in order. Well, if I go to Wal-Mart, I might as well take a small trip to Lowe's to pick out all of my paint colors ;) Twist my arm, why don't you! Originally we were only painting a couple areas. Well, now we're getting some plaster work done and I have to paint almost every room! I'll be an expert before this is over. So many swatches, so little time!

I'm going to post a couple layouts that were done several weeks ago. Because, as some of you know...I haven't even scrapped since July 1st!!!! Talk about withdrawal! This is my biggest dry spell to date!





Thanks for stopping by and listening to me rant!

Shawn

Tag! I'm it! Julie has been so kind as to think of me to answer the following questions ;)

What was I doing Ten Years Ago? I was in my last trimester with my first child and still working 40 hours per week. So, I was getting ready for the baby and waddling all over the place.

Five Things On Today's "To Do" List ...~ Laundry, call the finance lady for our new house, watch 5 kids, dishes, pack...pack...pack

I'm addicted to...~the Internet, scrapbooking, volleyball, Diet Dew

Things I Would Do If I Were a Millionaire... Give most of the money away, build a nice Scrap-Studio, College Funds

Places I have Lived...~ Grand Rapids, MI - Manton, MI - Grove City, PA - New Wilmington, PA - Pulaski, PA

I'm Tagging...

Nancy
Angelina
Marenda

Dinner? Leftovers it is! Hey! We have to pay for a new house. We must make some sacrifices. Plus, leftovers is easier for me. It's not like they're BAD leftovers. Come on! I do have a friend coming over, hopefully ;).

Here's a layout I did yesterday that I can share with you.

Thanks for stopping in!

Shawn

We're BACK! After an exhausting week of vacationing, we have returned home. We were official tourists this past week and I'm just plain tired. It was amazing to travel back to Mackinac Island after 20 years. Not much has changed. We stayed on the island at a little B&B called Chataeu Lorainne. Other than having to take an extremely cold shower the next morning, it was lovely. I'll be sure to post pictures after I upload approximately 800! We went a couple other places, which I'll be sure to enlighten you to later.

I'm currently kid-free and trying to get something...anything done! We're looking to have a huge yard/moving sale in August, so I'm scouring the house for sale items. You think I can sneak a couple toys in there? We shall see...

My good friend, Angelina will keeping me company as I'm forced to scrap tonight ;)

Here are a couple layouts I did yesterday using my sketches, along with The Scrapping Spot's July Kit.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

It appears that the house is actually ours! The word is out that it is SOLD and they're continuing to move stuff out of the house/garages. The house inspection is this afternoon and there are other inspections, etc. happening midweek.

It is also no longer a secret form the children. Charlie caved and told Nick yesterday, because he was sad he wasn't going to get to go salmon fishing with Grandpa Stiles this year. Sigh!!! Ahhh, the sacrifices one must make. I'm ruining his Summer don't you know! Now, there are endless questions and plans for several mini-farms on the 27 acres. Who didn't know that was going to happen? The kid has his own agenda. Oh, and Blake knows he gets a hamster now. So, he wants hamster "stuff" for his birthday. That ought to be fun having a miniature RAT in the house.

Here are a couple layouts that I have finished in the last week or so. "Early Reader" was inspired by Cathy's Soccer layout over at The Scrapping Spot. Thanks, Cathy!

I used The Scrapping Spot's June Boy Kit for the Reader and Pancake layouts.

The sketch for the pancake layout is on my other blog - www.nutsaboutsketches.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by!

Shawn

Pray! Pray! Pray! We're in a slight lull with the new property still. Nothing has been finalized yet. They haven't signed the agreement as of yet. They agreed verbally and the paperwork is on its way, but we haven't heard anything since Monday. Put our minds at ease! We're already decorating for Pete's sake! Well, thinking about it anyway. Sigh! Breathe!

I just got back in from jumping on the trampoline for about 45 minutes. I may just have to take ANOTHER shower! Bathe twice in one day? The heck you say...no reallllllly. That's if my knees don't give out going back up the steps to the bathroom. Sheesh! I swear I'm only 34...well, that's what my Mom tells me anyway - LOL! Just kidding, Mom!

I did manage to complete a sketch challenge at Creative Scrappers. I used The Scrapping Spot's June Boy Kit. I seriously should have bought two of them! I love it! It's almost gone...ahhhh!





Speaking of Creative Scrappers, they're having a SKETCH CONTEST - Deadline June 30 (I think). So, if you're feeling SKETCHY, zip over and submit some of yours. They'll be voting on the sketches from July 1 - July 5. They're offering up a great prize.




Back to the grind of things...maybe I'll scrap...when my breathing slows down - LOL!

Thanks for popping in!

Shawn

EXCITEMENT ABOUNDS!


Thing's are gonna be changing in the Lahr house in the next couple of months. We looked at a different house with approximately 27 acres on Tuesday...made an offer on Wednesday...made a counter offer on Thursday...the owners accepted on Friday. So, if everything goes well, we'll be moving in August. Yeah! The kids don't know yet. I doubt we'll be able to keep it a secret for very long. I'll be posting pictures in a couple days. Our minds are just spinning with renovations right now. We really wouldn't have to do one darn thing to move in, but some of the colors are off in some of the rooms. It would just be easier to paint first, then move. It's ideal, because we're really in no hurry. We have a house already, so that's not a problem. We don't need to sell it right away - bonus. The only thing is the timing for school. School starts the end of August. I'm not worried. I'm extremely excited, but nearly as much as Charlie.


Anyway, let's see if blogger will let me post some more pictures/layouts.

All three of the boy layouts were done using kits from The Scrapping Spot. Check it out, there may still be some left.

This first layout is of our darling boys just days after Blake was born. Can you imagine them that small? I'm so glad I have pictures.

The second layout is my darling son, Blake and Daddy mowing.


The sketches for these three layouts are on my other blog.

This layout is of Blake acting as if he may be hungry. How could that have happened?

This last layout was done using one of Cherie Averill's awesome sketches over at Sketches-R-Us.

I told you I had a lot going on! I'm sure there's more, but it can wait.


Thanks for popping in!


Shawn

The end of school is near...some may say that is good. I say the only good part of that is that I get to sleep in a little longer each morning, only to awaken to constant bickering between the children. I am READY! Thank goodness it's only 3 months, eh?

We had a good time at DH's Cousin's wedding, complete with lots of food, family and dancing. Blake turned out to be quite the little Fred Astaire. Too cute! His face was soooo red by the time we left. He wanted to go home and dream about dancing, and me without my video camera! Sheesh!

I'll have to add to this later. Blogger doesn't seem to like me right now.

See ya!

Shawn