What did you think this post title was about?

Sicko

Okay – so now that we got that all out on the table (ewwy pun totally intended) let’s talk about the big kahoona in January….ORGANIZATION.

Yup.  The other dirty word.

Organization.  Yup.  January is all about cleaning up your junk.  It’s there.  It’s a hot mess.  And at some point you wish it would just grow it’s own set of hands so that it can start oozing itself toward the recycle bin and pick itself up to throw itself in.  Why?  Because organizing it yourself would be like having your boobs slammed in a freezer door repeatedly…also known as a mammagram.  It’s painful.  It requires a ton of time you already don’t have.  And it’s junk you only care about a split second of the day and good for something that’s gonna expire in two minutes.

I am in that group.  The hoarder-tendencies-with-pretty-much-everything group.  It’s physically painful for me to throw away…especially since we are house-poor…err…living on a tighter budget.  I blame my brainwashing mother. (love you mommy!)  She taught me that if you save something you will have it later so that you can save the money you would have spent on buying it.  AND with a little creativity…you might end up saving a whole lotta money.  Sooo I end up being a junkster.  Not her fault.  Entirely my own doing.  And she is right…but of course, in true Katie fashion, I over do things.

Hence my kitchen desk:

It became this place of ‘putting down’.  I didn’t have a place for my craft paint…I just put it down on the desk.  I didn’t know where to hang Will’s art to dry…I just put it on the desk light fixture.  I didn’t want to sort through old candy, coupons, receipts and memoriabilia from vacations…I just put it on top of everything else.

Hot mess indeed.

That’s when the fine folks of Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine came to my rescue.  They gave me $100 to use toward an organization project.  I contemplating blowing it all on their book section and then ‘organizing’ them into my bookshelves…but Jer reminded me that the kitchen desk was going to start eating toddlers soon if I didn’t address the problem.

Soooo….with gift card in hand, we walked into Lowe’s with our plan of attack.  I sketched it out just for my sanity sake….

And when we got home, I snapped on my rubber gloves and got to cutting the cutter…

Also known as relocating…all of these items were pulled off the desk and microwave area.  Yes.  I needed an intervention.

And we started by installing the shelves above the desk area.  Yes, they are supposed to be askew.  Didn’t you see the very fine albeit slightly squished artistic rendering of the finished desk?  Skewed shelves are in.  Like totally.

One brand new outdoor light & three shelves later, we have ourselves a brand new workspace.

I was able to sort through a bunch of stuff…throw some away….and organize the rest into this desk.

The lower part works great for my photography stuff.  The little white bin holds all the blank cds I need…the green file folder holds current important stuff…like our budget info…and blog contracts…and comic books (not kidding) and all that good stuff.  And the blue boxes hold everything else I need for the photography biz that doesn’t fit into the drawers.

I absolutely love having pens out in the open – and paint brushes…so those little woven planter containers (from ikea) were perfect for eliminating the five minutes of looking for a pen.

The light is a huge improvement too – at first I was planning on painting it – but I love how the silver finish plays up the stainless steel appliances and the silver clock and silver faux orchid vase.  And since this area is separate from the rest of the kitchen, I feel like making the light different is a-ok.

Above the microwave, we eliminated all the junk and moved in the oversized fabric covered cork board.  I decided that this board would be ONLY dedicated to photos…so now I have to print some   But no more party invites…no more doctor appt cards or birthday cards from the dentist….just pictures would be on here.

Yes, I am completely obsessed with elephants.  It’s weird.  I think I am so into them because Will can make their noise.  He can’t bark like a dog.  He has no idea what a pig says.  But an elephant?  He can phfrrooooo with the best of them.   Oh and my Pappap loves them too.  Double special.   My little trunky guy has the tacks on his back.

Huge improvement if I do say so myself.  And will be the perfect function as a ‘family desk’ for many years to come.

And now for some side-by-sides…you know…so that I can pat myself on the back.

But as good as it feels to have all that desk organized and my receipts shredded….do you know what feels even better?

No idea?

Well…it’s know that one of my readers gets the chance to do the same thing with their own home…because LCI magazine is sponsoring a giveaway! Here’s some details on how you can win:

•  PRIZE : (1) $100 Gift Card to Lowe’s Home Improvement Store
• NUMBER OF WINNERS : One (1)
• TO ENTER : Leave a comment with the phrase ”Love me some Lowes” and tell me your fantasy do-it spot…where you wanna do it….organize that is
• PRIZE SHIPS :  USA
• NITTY GRITTY :  This giveaway ends on January 31st at 8am EDT.  Only one contest entry per email address.  The winners will be chosen using Random.org and announced on this post.

GOOD LUCK!

p.s.  Lowe’s is on Pinterest!  Go check em out!

Time for some after photos of our basement bathroom.

Please note that this bathroom doesn’t yet have art or hooks for towels or accessories in general.  Just standard git-in-&-git-it-done-functionality…if you know what I mean.

It started out as a tall box of tile.  Seriously.  It is tall - ten foot ceilings…in the basement (crazy, huh)…and the entire thing is tiled.  Yup.  Thorough should be the previous owner’s middle name.

It also already had the electrical done and it was fully plumbed – which made our job a lot easier and the project as a whole less expensive/stressful/divorce-oriented.

And now – it is totally usable.  The bathroom got a whole new vanity & matching mirror.  It also has a new toilet and showerhead and light.

The vanity itself turned out to be a perfect fit.  It allowed enough clearance on the wall-side to allow for a little trash can to be tucked in (which is something I never would have thought of if I had planned out the layout myself) and the new faucet is really set off by the lighter countertops.  I am also awarding this vanity bonus points for having those drawers that fully extend.  How did I ever live without those before?  You can store like ten extra towels…not that I have em…but I could totally store them if I did!

The old shower curtain (we actually registered for this at our wedding years ago) acts as a smooth transition for the color scheme, dontcha think?  It contains all those browns and greens…it’s like the Jerry Seinfield in a room full of Elaines and Georges.  Totally makes it all work together.

Those wide spread faucets cost a pretty penny – but in the end, I think they are worth it.  They look so classy!  And I love how this one nods at the new light fixture.  They are like brother and sister.  Like Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia.  Like Janet and Michael.

I pushed the curtain over to the other side so that you could see the whole thing.  Not too shabby, huh?

Before & Afters…sorry about the creative photography

All in all, it wasn’t the cheapest bathroom makeover in the world (not like my $67 kid’s one upstairs…or my $100 one on the first floor)…but not too extravagant (especially considering all of my family would be using this one on my sister’s wedding day)…so here’s the budget breakdown…

• vanity – $269
• mirror – free!
• faucet – $120
• shower fixture – $99
• light fixture – $29
• light shades – $15
• toilet base – $210
• toilet tank – $81
• toilet seat – $28
• misc supplies (wax ring, mirror hanging kit, Liquid Nails) - $35

GRAND TOTAL – $886

Of course, we also used things we already had too…so that helps out the pocket book.  But since I consider any bathroom makeover a success that costs less than a cool grand, I count this sucker as a home run.  Or as a wedding gift to Nornie (and myself) and her guests.  Like I always say, What better gift than indoor plumbing?!

p.s.  I do have some photos from my camera of my sister’s wedding that I plan on sharing on Friday.  It’s not a lot so don’t get too hopeful – but there are some darling details that I’m sure my relatives would love to revisit

We are in the bathroom together again today.  Not as perverted as it sounds.

Our basement bathroom started out as a tiled box.  Floor, walls, ceiling – all with a neutral tile that was in good shape – and let’s be honest, we can’t afford to replace all that and probably wouldn’t choose to even if we could because this bathroom was low on the priority list.   In fact, it was only on the renovation docket because my sister’s wedding (which you all know happened here last September) and her 100+ guests needed a loo.

I told you guys yesterday about our toilet/vanity missteps…only to return everything to the store and go back to the drawing board when it came to budget and plan of attack.  We did have one thing that we knew was pretty set in stone - this vanity bar light from Lowes.   It was under $30…and it reminded me of this much more fancy Pottery Barn light that was close to $160…but still needed glass shades.

We installed it and used some cheap $5 bubble glass shades….not completely sold on the glass shades even now…so they might get exchanged for something a little more frosty

On the other side of the bathroom there is a full shower.  Nice, right?  But no shower head and no shower curtain.  Time to get crackin…So the first thing we did was turn off our water supply and drain any excess in the pipes….

The shower head arm screws into the shower pipe inside the wall…and was polished nickel – but we were going for an oil-rubbed bronze finish in here (to compliment the tans in all that tile)…so out it had to come…

All you do is unscrew it from the wall…easy peasy wrenchy squeezy…

We chose this Delta shower fixture for three reasons…one – it was ORB…B – it was on sale (under $100)…and quatro – it was Delta.  Little fun fact for ya, if your previous shower fixture was Delta – a new Delta fixture is easier to install than switching to another brand.

First we prepped the new arm – a little Teflon tape got wrapped around the ends…(we accidentally did it around the wrong end at first so it needs it only on the end that goes into the shower wall)…

And after a couple twists of the wrench and slipping the cover plate back on, it looks brand new…

And then per the instructions (always a good thing to read those) the shower head screws on and is ready for use.

Now time for the shower faucet…

The existing one was polished nickel again – so it had to go.  BUT it was Delta – good news for us, since when replacing a Delta with a Delta – you can just switch out the plates and the handle without having to mess with any inner mechanisms.

So we simply unscrewed the silver and popped on the bronze (per the instructions – man, gotta love that these aren’t Ikea instructions) and wah-la!

What’s your name pretty lady?

We also popped on the shower curtain rod and the shower curtain from our old house.  It is really low with this ceiling but since we were trying to save some hardearned dough, using what you have is a great solution.

Now time for the vanity.

The first time around, we bought this vanity from Lowe’s.  It was on sale at the time (about $300) and I loved the extra storage, the clean lines and the dark vanity with light countertop combo.  I thought it would set off a dark faucet like side-cinching on a Kardashian.

As you know, the countertops undertones clashed with the tile undertones.  FAIL.

So then we saw this similar vanity at Home Depot for close to the same price with a mirror.   Of course, we continued stalking the vanity until it went on sale (down to $269) but there was still something missing.  My Kardashian side-cinching if you will.  The vanity top would be dark.  And I wanted light.  So as I sat there in the Home Depot (letting Will wonder the aisles alone…sike!…he had to sit there with me screaming.)  I saw a different vanity (there’s no online link for it) - and it had everything I wanted and was still on sale.

Light countertop…check.

Darker base…check.  (although not ebony or dark walnut like the previous choices – more like a Cognac color)

36″ wide…check.

Clean lines…check.

On sale with the mirror included….check!

I picked it up, brought it home, Jer installed right away and we went to work adhering the top to the cabinet.

A little Liquid Nails, a little heavy lifting….

A little careful placement and some weight on top…a little heavy breathing at the hotness of my boyfriend…

And one faucet installation later – we had a sparkling new vanity ready for guests. (oh and I picked up the white hand towels at Bed Bath & Beyond on clearance for in here…with a coupon, they turned out to be only 80 cents a piece!).

Now came time for the mirror installation.  Actually it was my neighbor’s genius idea on how to install this bad boy…

You simply take a couple scraps of wood and glue them to the tile above the bullnosed accent tile.

It helps to use duct tape to secure them while they dry…

The key here is to create a place to rest the back of the mirror so that the angle of the mirror is down toward whatever you want to see on your face…don’t tell me what that is.  That is between you and the bathroom mirror.

After they dry, you can remove the duct tape and use the blocks like they are anchors for your mirror.

Note the wedge shape – that helps the mirror stay flush and not wobble…

We attached the mirror to the blocks with your standard mirror hanging brackets and hooks.

Last but certainly not least was our toilet.  We had the rough-in issue to begin with…then we couldn’t get a Kohler without a special order ($$$) through our local home improvement store…plus, the timing would have taken forever.  So we got just a tank from Lowe’s and ordered the base part of the toilet from Amazon.  Amazing what you can find on there, isn’t it?

Jer cleaned up the old mess and used a new wax ring for the toilet installation.

Then he pressed that bad boy into place and fastened the screws on the side to bolt it down.  (here’s an old post on how to install a toilet if you want more details).

Then he fastened the new tank to the toilet base…

We also had to buy a toilet seat separately but in the end, it all cost less than buying the whole thing as a special order item.

WHEW!  A lot of info, huh?

Well, it will be worth it because later today I wanna show you the afters to our bathroom work.  Eww…that sounds gross if you don’t know the context  Stay tuned!

p.s.  Miss the before photos?  Here’s the post on where we started!    Want more bathroom renovation goodness?  Check out some renovations we did in the past – here, here, and here.

It’s about our bathroom in the basement.  We have one.  And last summer we fixed it up.  I forgot to tell you all about it.  Lately I’ve had bathrooms on the brain (more on that soon).  And then I thought – whoa there smelly nelly I gotta do one loo at a time.  So before we get all plan-y with a different bathroom…let’s talk about the one that was essential to my sister’s wedding.  (for those of you just joining us, my baby sis got married at our house last September and a bathroom always helps when you have over a hundred people chugging water to beat the Georgia heat.)

As you can see on the floorplan, the basement bathroom is near the back doors that lead into the backyard.  Since we were having a short part of the reception INSIDE the house we absolutely needed a bathroom.  In fact, it probably would have been helpful to have two but everyone was drunk chill enough to wait in line.  It’s the door on the right if you wanted to know

Plus, we were also going to have my brother Timmy and my brother Brad & his wife Tara stay with us in the basement (that’s not counting my sister, my father in law & his wife, my two nephews and a neice who were all upstairs with us) so we absolutely needed an additional shower.  But the basement bathroom was sorely lacking…well, everything….everything but tile that is.  It had plenty of that.

Yup – the entire bathroom was tiled.  Even the ceiling.  And thankfully it was also plumbed.  So the time&money-suck of plumbing didn’t have to happen.  It just needed fixtures and a flushable toilet.

I mean.  We are rednecks but we are a dash more classy than saying to all our guests - “Hey you, gotta pee?  Well, let me show you our hole…”.  Just a dash

We are fans of Kohler toilets.  Big fat flush-happy fans.  And so we rolled into Lowe’s and pulled out a pretty new toilet to take home.  We also picked out a nice new vanity that looked beautiful and thought – yup, we are awesome.  and practically done with this bathroom.

And we brought it home…punch drunk happy with our new purchases and discovered that our faux-DIY-confidence was shortlived.

The toilet didn’t fit.  The vanity top clashed with the tile undertones.

And we realized that very important step of ‘measuring’ would have come in handy.

Apparently all toilets have what is called a ‘rough in’ measurement.  It’s the measurement from the back of the toilet to the center of the hole where the you-know-what goes down.  Most of the toilets you see on the shelves of your local home improvement stores have a 12 inch rough in.

Now if your home was built with one wall put on the outside of a ‘line’ instead of the inside of that ‘line’ – you might end up with a 9.5 inch rough.  Inconvenient.  And a pretty costly wall.  So instead of using a standard toilet, we had to special order a toilet that had a 10 inch rough in…and PRAY that it would be just small enough to squeeze into our space while still getting a good seal.  Nobody wants the bathroom flooding during a wedding afterall.

So that’s our before story.  We were up to our eyeballs in painting, gardening the outside and throwing bridal showers and then the very empty bathroom threw us a curveball.

Ever forget to measure something only to find out that it was crucial to the project?  Or maybe you bought a vanity that clashed with your tile?  Or perhaps you are just still laughing about the photoshopped box in the Lowe’s cart

• Little Tikes Cozy Coupe
  - Will’s cozy coupe hailed second hand from Goodwill…but now that we own it, we would have paid full-price.  It’s totally worth it.  Will pushes it around the house…especially on rainy days….and gives his little Baby Donald rides.  Such a generous little taxi driver my Will.

• Mega Bloks Fill’n Dump Truck
  - My dad got a couple of these…and now we have monster derby at my parents house every Thursday night.  I’m thinking we might start charging admission.

• Mega Bloks Bag
  - Let’s be honest, Will doesn’t like stacking…hates the stacking…but he LOVES the kicking.  LOVES the smashing.  LOVES the destroying.  Major points for Mega Blocks.

• Talking Lightning Mcqueen and Francesco Bernoulli Car
  - You saw him with his new Lightening McQueen and his Francesco.  Very fun toys for boys…young and old.

• Fleece pants – The kid is growing like a weed and we are huge Children’s Place fans.  We love their clothing for little boys.  And boys clothes are hard.  And we also appreciate the comfort-factor of fleecey pants.  Bower Grade : A++

• First 100 Trucks books
  - How did we live without a truck book for 20months of life?  We didn’t.  We didn’t know what living was.  But now with 100 more trucks in our life, it’s real.  it’s real and it’s all about excavators, big rigs and mini loaders.  Will is obsessed.

• Thomas Toddler Training Toothpaste with Toothbrush
  - Neglect your teeth and you’ll lose them!  Sorry for the cheese – but it’s true.  The Thomas the Train just makes it fun.

• Radio Flyer Classic Tricycle
  - My mom scored the Radio Flyer tricycle on sale at Goodwill…and everything you heard about this brand is true: they are classic, quality and the kids are naturally drawn to them like a celebrity to teeth whitening.

• Reindeer Puppet slippers – My darling sister in law picked out these for Will and I can not believe I didn’t invent this myself.  It’s genius.  A slipper that is also a puppet.  Amazingly comfy and entertainment in one

• Matchbox Smokey The Fire Truck
  - You’ve heard all about this toy.  It dances.  It launches balls.  It talks.  It has a siren.  It can put out imaginary fire.  Enough said.

• Fleece jacket - It’s like England in Georgia right now.  At least what I imagine England is like – cold and wet and foggy and dimly lit.  Perfect fleece weather.  And for $5 the price is right.  Especially since I’ll have to save my money for when the Queen Mother arrives

• Black And Decker Junior Power Tool Workshop
  - C’mon.  We are obviously fans of the DIY revolution.  So it comes as no surprise that we fully endorse training up your youngsters in home improvement.  Start with this and you won’t be visiting the emergency room.  Not yet at least.

• Hot Wheels
  - Will loves these and they are the perfect present for little fingers. I love them too…you know for the mommy massage that comes when they drive the cars all over your aching back

• Hot Wheels 100 Car Case
  - I know two things.  You can’t make kids eat something they absolutely don’t want.  And kids love kid-sized things…like chairs and suitcases made specifically for them.  This one is well loved.  And it fits right into my new STAY ORGANIZED mantra.

• Bounceback RC Racer
  - It only has two buttons…forward and backward and it bounces and flips and zooms all over.  It is the starter for the bigger kid – more advanced remote control cars….also known as auto-pilot Hondas.

• A Potty for Me! Book
  - Will is not ready for potty training…we know that…but we figure it’s never too soon to talk about doing the deed without the necessity of a diaper.  Will likes it for the flapped pages…I love it because the kid looks completely adrogenous.

So needless to say – the kid is kindof obsessed with things with wheels.  I think you already know that.  And you probably also know that the kid is fully spoiled rotten by his family…especially considering that we bought him very little.  I guess if presents were disgruntled employees, Will would be a Walmart.  What did you guys get your kids?  Anything so awesome that you wish you were a kid again?  Anything retro?  Any Cabbage Patch Kids or My Little Ponies?

p.s.  for more Christmas swag, check out what Jer got and what I got.  I don’t care if it is the end of January – MERRY CHRISTMAS!

• Nine & Co Purse – Admitting the obvious here: I bought this for myself for Christmas.  I am that girl.  I am so very generous.  Thank you me.  And thank you Kohl’s for having a purse in a cheerful yelllow that still looks mature.

• Canon 85mm f/1.8 Lens
  - I have been pining after this lens like a teenage girl does after Justin Beiber.  It was bad.  Everything I’ve heard is that it is really crisp and creates lovely portraits….and I wanted another prime lens option for my very mature clients (as in older than 6 days old) for outdoor shoots…I tested it out already with Will and the rumors were right

• North Face TKA 100 Novelty Glacier Fleece - My very generous brother-in-law, Torrey (who you love to look at apparently) gave me this great North Face fleece.  Did I get weirdly excited because this is my first piece of North Face-wear?  Oh heck my doddles did I!  I felt like I was invited into the cool girls clubhouse…so fancy!

• Darth Vader Voice Changer Helmet
  - This may eliminate my cool girl status immediately but the one thing I really wanted for Christmas was the voice changing Darth Vader helmet…you know…to wear while doing housework.  A little heavy breathing helps me find the joy in dusting.  Yeah.  I’m a nerd.

• Dry Spray Shampoo
  - Did you know that I only wash my hair every four days?  It’s probably really abnormal.  It’s just that with such long hair, it takes me like three hours to get through the whole shower/dry/straighten/curl/fix routine.  So I figured that if I was in a pinch, I could use an emergency backup hair plan.

• CHI Ceramic Flat Hairstyling Iron
  - I have tried pretty much every other straightener in the world until I found this one (it works amazing!).  I will use the rejects one time and then back to the store it goes…and here’s why:  I have lots and lots of very thin hair that always seems to find it’s way into the crooks and crannies of the straightener…thus resulting in me yanking my hair out as it is sandwiched between the hot plates and the plastic frame.  Not cool.  Literally.

• TurboFire
  - I have to admit that I haven’t used this video yet…but when I do, I’m sure I’ll become addicted and hawt.

• Resistance Exercise Band Set
  - Jer bought these.  Like I need them.  Okay.  I do.

• bareMinerals Get Started Kit
  - My whole life I have just used whatever makeup is cheapest.  Yes, I was that girl with a coupon at Walmart to buy Olsen Twins lip gloss.  Now that I thirty, I feel like it’s time to have real makeup…adult makeup.  So far, I love it.

• The Game of Things
  - It’s been on my wishlist for a long time.  FINALLY the fun has arrived

• Professional 60″ Tripod
  - Hello, I’m a blogger and don’t own a tripod.  Cardinal sin?  Yup.  So this christmas I remedied that.

• Computer LapDesk
  - Hello, I’m a blogger and I liked to blog while sitting on the couch while watching movies while photo editing while eating ice cream while talking on the phone.  I need a freakin lap desk.  Jer delivered

• Vera Wang Crinkled Ballerina Slippers – Whoa.  I never knew house slippers could be this comfy and this cute.  My mother gets a gold star for giving me these.

• Silicone HOOT iPhone4 Case
  - I don’t know exactly why my brother-in-law got me this case but it makes me laugh…and you know me, anything for a good laugh.

That is one heck of a good Christmas if I do say so myself.  Not to mention the moolah and the giftcards we got (oh yeah!)  And yes, all you folks that know that my love language is gifts knows that I am feeling REALLY loved.  Like all over.  I’m glowin like a lightbulb.  This glow will definitely last till my birthday   What did you ladies get?  Or what did you get your lady friends?  Anything worth sharing?  I need a birthday wishlist so spill!
 p.s. See what Jeremy got for Christmas here!

• PowerBlock Classic Adjustable Dumbbell Set
  Did you know that weights are usually about one dollar per poud?  So if you buy a pair of twenty pound dumbbells and a pair of ten pound and a pair of five…that’s $70.  SEVENTY DOLLARS.  And that’s only three sets.  And then let’s say you wanna work out those pretty pecs of yours and need a fifty pound set.  Boom.  $100.  And then you might need a weight set inbetween…because you are trying to build muscle and need to max out.  And all of sudden, you have spent well over $200 and then have to store five sets of weights.  Enter the PowerBlock Adjustable Dumbbell set.  We got ours at Dicks.  And Jeremy is thrilled.  And ready to get ripped.

• Leather Hippo – It’s this joke that we have.  I ask Jer what he wants for Christmas.  He says…nothing.  I say c’mon.  And then he sings I wanna Hippopatomus for Christmaaaas.  And then I laugh.  So this christmas I got him exactly what he asked for   I love the price tag too – under eight bucks with a sale or coupon!

• Old Navy Pajama Pants – these are exactly the pants I got him.  And they got used too.  In our redneck family photos   I actually got him two pairs (different styles – this one and another gray & white plaid) because the ones that he wears are so old that the fabric is wearing a little too thin for decency, if you know what I mean.

• Men’s Resistor Lo Cut 6-Pack Socks by Under Armour
  - my main squeeze loves to mountain bike.  You should know that by now.  And the only socks that he likes when he’s clipped in are low cut and black (they hide the mud stains a little better) and he swears that these are one of the few kind that don’t stretch out like an Ethopian’s earlobes.  (he never said that.  that completely inappropriate un-pc joke is mine.)

• P90X: Tony Horton’s 90-Day Extreme Home Fitness Workout DVD Program
  - Yes, Tony Horton is more annoying than a porcupine in your underpants, but his results are amazing.  This is a man’s workout.  Muscle building.  And you will throw up.  And then you will get ripped.  All in the comfort of your living room.

• AXE Shower Gel
  - Boys like to smell good too.  Nuff said.

• Axe Shower Detailer
  - We laughed at these product commercials.  I literally snort everytime I hear fuzzy balls.  Sorry mom..  And so I knew that I would have to stuff this man-loofah in Jer’s stocking.

• Titleist Pro V1 Golf Balls
  -  Jer didn’t get this many – but he did get a few with his initials on em.  Shmancy.

• Power Block Weight stand – Ya know…cause nobody wants a lower back injury from picking up weights off the floor.  And because it was free at Dicks when you bought the weights

• Fossil Casual Belt
  – Jeremy complained that his shoes never match his belt.  Not like in a weird way.  Just casually about how his casual belt was way too dressy and shiny for his converse kicks and he felt like a fugly 35 year old.  I never knew the wrong belt could make a man fugly.  I guess that’s how girls feel about butterfly hair clips.  So I picked one of these lighter Fossil belts up.  I got his at TJMaxx but the one above is a pretty darn close match.

• Old Navy Graphic tshirts - I think I got him six t-shirts this Christmas.  They were having one heck of a sale and each one was $5…and good thing too…because with all that working out, he needs some options when it comes to t-shirts.

• Bananagrams
  – When Jer pulled out the giant banana bag from his stocking, his face was more than a little confused.  We had never played and more than once, I’ve heard him say that he hates board games.  But for some odd reason, he is obsessed with this one.  Maybe because he can beat me

So what did your boyfriends get?  I always need ideas for birthdays, valentines day, next christmas

Click here to see what’s going on over there ….

Click here to see what’s going on over there ….

The Christmas I never told y’all about.

THAT Christmas.

I told you about our Palooza on the Eve…but not the actual day of all days.

The morning of Christ’s birth, we set up Will’s gifts under the tree.  When Will cried his “I’m AWAKE! Get me OUT!” cry, both Jer & I were bounding in to get him…and we cuddled in our bed for a bit before heading down to see what Santa left.

I found the cozy coupe at Goodwill for $5 (Jer calls it the Flintstone mobile – which is kinda fitting because we were Fred & Wilma for Halloween in oh-eight – so that would make Will our little Bam-Bam if we had adopted him instead of those crazy Rubbles)…

He was a little timid.  I think he didn’t think it belonged to him.  Our neighbors have one…so he probably thought mama scalped theirs.

Finally – he started to enjoy it.

That’s when he saw the tricycle.  He actually was sitting in the cozy coupe, his eyes got big and round and twinkled as he whispered ‘whoa’ under his breath.  It was hilarious.

Ran right over and climbed on.  He’s still a little too little…but I don’t think he cared whether his feet hit the pedals or not.

And then it was right back to the cozy coupe.

A little beeping and picking at the old stickers.

And then it was right back to the tricycle…

I was shopping with my mom (yeah, at Goodwill) when we spied the Radio Flyer tricycle…it was under $15…and practically brand new.  So she got it for Will.

And then it was right back to the cozy coupe.  Notice a pattern?  Yeah…that’s my life

My parents and Tim came over for Jeremy’s famous christmas waffle breakfast.  This is what happens when I say ‘okay – don’t look depressed!”  I’d hate to see what would happen if I said “act really excited to eat waffles!”

We opened presents.  We laughed.  We played Bananagrams.  We unloaded stockings.  We played cars.  We pushed Will in the car.  We pushed Will on the tricycle.  We pushed peanut M&M’s down our throats.  We ate lunch.  We laughed when I wanted to take a prayer picture.

Then we did it all over again.  It was amazing.  perfect.  just simple and lovely.

Scenes from our Christmas:

It’s weird to think about Christmas and Valentines in the same brainwave.  That’s my life right now…a jumbled up mess.  How’s yours?  Anyone else out there still thinking about how Christmas photos need downloaded?  Oh.  great.  just me then.