All over the place

I really admire those of you who can continue to post regularly through life's busy seasons.  Even though I may not post for a while, rest assured I'm still reading--even if I don't comment.  When life gets crazy, something has to give...so we've been busy.  The birthday weekend was full of just about everything.  There was even a parenting lesson that became painfully obvious while watching our now-nine-year-old crash and burn at her birthday dinner.  There is such a thing as too much stimulation, even at that age!

 The family celebration on Sunday was a low-key affair.  The time change really did a number on me this year!  Last week I splurged at the local fabric store--I bought a couple of the pricey Echino half-yard cuts and I made a new spring bag:

 And another tote-type bag, too.  Because I might have some knitting or reading to haul around once baseball season begins.

 Last Friday our temperature went up to 70 degrees.  We had windows open.  The kids wanted to grill dinner.  The kids also wanted to get on their bathing suits (I vetoed that one).  And yesterday it was snowing.  I told Caroline that it was the last snow she'd see for the year. Until this morning, when it was lightly snowing/sleeting/raining again.

 This weekend, the boys are going to work on their rockets for the next scout derby.  I think I'll be working on the garden.  This is my first try at sowing seeds indoors.  Wish me luck!

I wish you all a relaxing weekend that is full of whatever you need!

Bathroom Re-do

It's done!  Our downstairs bathroom is done!

This is Before.  The walls had a suede finish, and you can see where I tried to paint over the places where the kids pulled the toilet paper holder out of the wall.  The little ledges over the toilet have been empty since early January.  I used to put seasonal decorations on them, but I didn't really have enough to make it a go year-round.  Ditto with the pictures on the wall--they're still from fall.  This room needed a freshening up!

So here's a During picture.  I primed the walls.  This was taken after I was done with the cutting in.  I like to paint secret pictures on the walls before I go over them with the roller, besides, it's fun to hide hearts on the walls!

I applied two coats of paint.  This room is so tiny (like 5' x 5'), that it really took no time at all to paint.  The color is Morning Lake, and I bought it from Lowe's.

And here is the After:

I am trying again with a wall-mounted toilet paper holder.  The kids are older now, so I think I can trust them not to rip it out of the wall.  And I could go on for days about how much I love the new art on the walls.  They're reproductions of old WPA posters, and they were quite affordable.

I am hoping to purchase a small cabinet to put opposite the toilet so that I can keep spare towels and toilet paper in the bathroom.  The sink is a pedestal, so there's no storage.  Even without a cabinet, I love it!

Now it's time to start getting ready for the parties--I have to start baking cupcakes and cleaning this house!  At least I don't have to worry about the bathroom!

Evans Family March Madness

It's here--Evans Family March Madness!  This Friday is Rob's birthday, and Saturday is Caitlin's birthday.  There is a Father-Daughter dance on Friday night (this year it's a luau theme), a birthday party at our house on Saturday afternoon, and a large family celebration here on Sunday, complete with turkey dinner!


Last weekend we went to an outlet mall.  I bought a new salt pig!

 I'm also going to paint our downstairs bathroom this week.  It's all good.  I should add that it's a very small room--like 5' by 5'--so I'm confident I can finish this in a couple of days.

Ordering supplies for Caitlin's party was the perfect excuse to finally buy this baker's twine.

In knitting news, I have set the Tomten on the back burner for now.  I had Bobby try it on to check the sleeve length (I was maybe three-quarters done on one sleeve) and we discovered that the decreases as written were making the sleeve way too skinny.  Bobby wasn't exactly jumping up and down for me to finish it immediately, so I pulled out some of my yarn stash and got to work on a springy knit for me.  I have really started to love purple in the last year or so--I don't think I'll be painting any walls purple, but it's great to wear.

My new knit--the New York cardigan.

Next week marks the first of five soup suppers at church.  I am in charge of the committee that oversees those, so the next five weeks will fly by.  For our first supper, I'm going to make the broccoli soup recipe from Apples for Jam.  It's easy, and Bobby even requested it!



On Sunday, we went to the 11:00 service, so I had time to make a Spanish omelet for breakfast.



So there's what I'm up to this week.  Maybe if we're lucky, I can post some before and after bathroom shots later this week.  I am really excited about it.