So, um, yeah....

Happy Labor Day! And labor we did. But, for the record, the foyer and upstairs hall are now painted - no remnants of William's water debacle with his bathroom sink anymore, and all the swatches of paint I've thrown up on the walls are now gone. My walls are now BM's Revere Pewter - a pretty shade of sort-of grey - yay!!! :) The pictures we took down in April when the floors were refinished are finally hanging in their proper spot. Of course, I'm avoiding thinking about the countless yards of trim I still have to paint. And doors....so many doors.....(maybe we can find someone to spray them for us??)

So yes, we painted this weekend. I love painting :) Everything always looks so fresh! Matt helped, because over the stairs is a two-story section, and I can't even think about getting on a ladder up there, and then lean out over open space 20 feet up with a paint brush and gallon of paint - my balance isn't good enough, for one, and I'm afraid of heights. I think. It makes my tummy feel all funny. I totally didn't watch Matt lean over on the extension ladder to do the crown molding this time, although I think I have pics from last time....    and in return for Matt helping me paint, I cut the grass so he could do some other chores; I got sidetracked by trimming the shrubs out front (I don't think I'd mind yard work if it wasn't so dirty and time consuming) while Matt spilled oil all over the driveway :) Sarah and I ran some errands, while Matt attached the base to my fab new KITCHEN TABLE!!!!

I found an iron base on the internetz, and a local shop put the top together for us - reclaimed Chestnut planks that they planed, joined (jointed? Huhwah? I don't know) and sanded for us. I used a Danish oil finish on it, and we're having a glass top cut to fit to protect it from my little darlings (HA!) Finally finishing the kitchen punch list, one small thing at a time...

So what else is going on? We didn't labor all weekend - we went to see ParaNorman on Saturday - TOTALLY in line with our Halloween-loving family!  I'm frustrated with my web search to find cheap shoes to match a cheap skirt I bought at Target for fall - apparently all the web indexed searches are for shoes that are sold out - guess I'm behind the times....

I'm trying to get serious about getting my weight down to where it really needs to be - only partly because Matt's been doing more running & watching his diet, and we are now within 20 lbs of each other. I realize he's not THAT much taller than I am, but really - summer is quickly coming to a close & none of my jeans fit comfortably :/

To that end, I've cut WAY back on the wine - only partly to my dismay. FYI, whenever I open a bottle of red, I'm always dumfounded that it's nearly empty by my last glass refill. I've found Michelob's light cider, 120 calories per bottle, that I'm able to better limit myself to one bottle in the evening - good for our wallet, and my behind, which is sadly approaching the size of Kanye West's girlfriend - I refuse to say her name out loud. I've also found a super-skinny margarita recipe that I find super-drinkable, especially with some green olives thrown in for good measure. I'll warn you now, it's not sweet - at all - but I think once you get away from sugar, it's overwhelming when you have too much of it.

What else? Not much. William had his 9th birthday, and we're having some of his friends over for a movie this weekend for him to celebrate. Sarah's ballet class starts this week, and Evie's art lasses begin soon. We don't have anyone in sports this fall, which honestly is a nice change of pace after 6 years - no practices 2x a week, and no games on Saturday mornings - we are free to come and go as we please, which I am totally enjoying, now that everyone is bigger, nap-free, and mostly portable :) It was a long time coming. Until next time....