{Labor} of Love

 I seriously don't know what happened to August...it was just here...but somehow it snuck out!

Every day is going just as fast as the last!  I'm trying to keep up...but sometimes I feel like I can't.

Emily is keeping busy with Skate Club three days a week...Alex is starting Lego Club at school once a week...and sometimes that means we eat on the go...and study on the go...

{Emily would choose to read rather than other things naturally...however, Alex feels that reading is some form of punishment, and needs a lot little encouragement to finish a book!}

{have a great day at school!  Kisses from Emily...high fives from Alex}

 

Elizabeth goes with the flow and keeps up with it all...but sometimes her schedule is just off...which means middle of the night sleepovers with mommy and snuggle time instead of naps during the day...

...but I don't mind it too much...

 

...this helps!

 

...and who can resist spending time with this face...no matter what time of day or night it is?

{sweet black-eyed pea...stairs vs Ellie}

{my own personal chiropractor...walking out the kinks in my back!}

{Target run during Emily's ice skating practice}

Ellie and I also started our first day of a new MOPS year last Wednesday...

 We were pretty excited to go, and I realized we were even dressed alike...in our purple stripes!

{this was my kitchen the night before...homework to be checked, and food prep for the MOPS brunch the next morning!  Wednesdays will be our busy days this year!}

 We had a great first day...a few tears from Ellie when I dropped her off to her classroom...but she is in the same class that Alex was in when we first started MOPS...and he used to cry when I dropped him off, but then hide under the table when I came to pick him up because he didn't want to leave!

{tuckered out from a long morning}

{while Ellie sleeps...I enjoy the brunch leftovers, sausage/egg/cheese casserole and strawberry pretzel dessert!  Mmm!}

We had a busy week...

...and thankful for our long Labor Day weekend to relax...well...not really!

 

We are finally getting new carpet for the house...nine years plus three kids, two dogs and two cats, birthday parties, play dates, and just plain life...equals carpet that might be good for the next Science Fair experiment! {blech!}  So while the old carpet is still here...now seemed like the best time to finish painting the rooms downstairs, the stairway and back entry leaving no worry about paint drips on the floor!  But it meant years of home improvements in a matter of a few days!

{taking down pictures which means lots of holes for Dan to patch!}

{taking down knick knacks...which Ellie thinks are toys}



{moving around furniture from one room to the next...new corner office}

{more patching means lots of dust...and evidence that Ellie was here!}



{rearranging knick knacks...since the mantel is about the only thing in order during the mess}

The kids were huge helpers!  They were there with helping hands when asked, and kept busy playing well with each other while we worked!

{playing with rice}

 

{playing in a brand new box, the best toy a kid could ever have!}

{playing with chalk in the rain}

Even though the mess drives me a bit insane...the results are always worthwhile...and to be honest...Dan might just love diving into big projects and taking things apart and putting it all back together!

{Alex and I catching some IU football after a long day...enjoying the view from Dan's hard work of moving the tv to the corner!} 

{the dining room}

 

{the living room...we love how it opened up with moving the tv to the corner and getting rid of the bulky cabinet between the windows!}

It was a lot of work, but we are thrilled with the outcome...

...and rewarded ourselves with some chips and salsa from Chili's...

...and a little more strawberry pretzel dessert at Emily's request...

 

 

And now we are more than ready to turn the lights out on painting...

...and sink our feet into some new cushy carpet!

{until next time!}