This is why. . .

when we can't see or hear Sammy it's best to go find him immediately.

Opinions Needed

One project at a time we are giving Sammy's room a big boy make-over. Quilt is done, bookcase refinished, curtains made, and accent wall painted. I painted it yesterday actually and now that I have I'm thinking about painting more of the walls blue. So I need opinions. Keep in mind that I am having an artist friend paint dark blue airplanes on the walls, and that the bed and dresser will not be the dark stuff that is in there, but whitewashed like the bookcase, and the rocker will be gone. So should I paint the wall on the right blue as well, or all the walls? Or will the blue planes look okay flying on tan walls? (Don't judge the drapes, I'm still messing with them to lay just right.)

Fall Sprucing ??

So the weather has begun to change around here finally and the cooler weather has me in the mood for projects. This week I worked on a bookcase and dresser that were new to me like 15 years ago, and which my parents donated to my kids bedrooms a while back. Originally the whole set was whitewashed. . . 15 years ago, so all the pieces need new finishes. The bed, which Andi sleeps on is going to be moved to the Dudes room soon, and Thad will be making Andi a new bed. . . see, project mood. I re-whitewashed the bookcase for Sam's room and found these cute little blue baskets to organize with. And since I had leftover fabric from his quilt, I made some liners to match! I want to do something cool with the backing of the bookcase, but haven't figures out what. So for now, here it is.Oh, and that green wall will soon be history.

Then I painted the old dresser white, because the new bed is going to be white. I found a sort of before, at least before of half the dresser.

And here is the after. Much better!

Chocolate Covered Oreo Cake

As requested by several of you, here is the recipe for the Oreo cake. Just don't think about the calories, it's totally worth it.

Cake
1 pkg. devils food cake(baked in two rounds as directed on box) cool completely before adding filling.

Filling
1 pkg. cream cheese(8oz)
1/2 C. sugar
2 C. thawed cool whip
12 crushed oreo cookies
Beat cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until well blended.Stir in whipped topping and oreos. Spread on top of cake layer, and cover with remaining layer.

Glaze
4 squares Bakers semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 C. butter
Melt chocolate in a bowl in microwave 1-2 minutes, blend in butter. Let thicken slightly(5 minutes). Spoon over top layer of cake.

It does not say to refrigerate before serving, but we do, and it's much better straight out of the fridge.

Birthday's Blessings and more

What a great week! Sunday we were able to go to church with Thad's family and see Baby Easton blessed. Sammy behaved just long enough so that I was able to hear the blessing, but then we spent the next hour roaming the halls as usual and by the time everyone gathered for pictures he was out cold.

After naps we headed to Thad's parent and had dinner with Thad's & Matt's families to celebrate the baby blessing, and Thad's birthday.  Yes, I made two Oreo cakes because Thad wanted to make sure he had plenty left over to eat this week.

Andi has been talking about what to get Daddy for his birthday for a month now, and this is what she kept talking about, so I let her get it. Needless to say, they've both been enjoying it this week.

The kids were in the pool off an on this week at G&G Bulkeley's and poor Sammy could not join in the fun, but we found a place he likes even better than the pool.

Yes, the inside of the old Toyota. It might be his favorite thing ever.  Okay maybe the Toyota ties with Oreo's.  This is what happens when Daddy is snacking in the front room.

While we are still talking about Sammy he got his cast off on Friday. The finger still looks pretty gross because it's still healing, but we just have to keep band aids on it now. Although the first couple of times Sammy bumped it or grabbed something too quickly with that hand, he was definitely missing the protection of the cast.

Andi has had a lot of new things going on this week. We started homeschooling Monday and she has loved it. She sped through everything this week and kept asking for more school work. She also went back to dance this week and loved that as well. She does NOT love putting her tights on. Her eczema is pretty bad right now from all the swimming so the tights were driving her crazy, but she did great. She is in Cathy's class this year and there are a ton of girls, but it's going to be a good class. We also brought home Andi's first pet. A desert tortoise that she has named Slow Poke, Pokey for short. If that poor thing survives all the love, it will be a miracle. You wouldn't think a tortoise would be a very exciting pet, but Andi watched that little guy all day long. We made a little "Tortoise run" area in the flower bed for him to roam during the day. Thad bricked in a section and dug a little burrow, and it's cute.