Help....Decorating Q....

I need a few things to go in the newly floored sewing room. I have looked and looked, and much to my chagrin cannot find what I want.

1. I want an area rug and a runner. I don't know if they should match or just coordinate. Any ideas? And I actually did find a rug I liked, but it was $680. I would have to like it for a long time to pay that I fear, and I am fickle. They will be near one another, the runner will be in front of the two sets of stairs.

2. The room has a corner I want to put a comfy chair in. The thing is, it can't be too big of a chair. But I still want it to be a place I can sit and do hand work, or one of the kids can sit and talk to me while I sew. There is probably room for an ottoman if it is small as well.

I dragged Sophie all over today looking and we struck out. I think I may have a bit of a problem committing to furniture. And I have a tendency to like bold patterns. I realize I shouldn't have a bold rug and a bold chair, but I really don't know which should be bold. FYI-the walls in the room are yellow, the floor is oak, the trim is white. I know some of you are better at this than I, so comment or email me-Thanks!

Alice tagged me. Usually I am super fast and don't get tagged, but alas, I was not paying attention. Here goes, seven interesting things about me.

1. I am the geek half in my marriage. Nate is a computer programmer who doesn't play interactive games, doesn't watch Star Wars or Star Trek unless forced and could care less about comic books or any such stuff. I fill those slots in our relationship-except for playing interactive games. I have passed the Star Wars thing to our son though. I may be Princess Leia for Halloween this year-if so, that will be eight times.

2. I read as much as possible. I usually have a book stashed somewhere to read while I am waiting for kids, nursing, or making dinner. I love kids books and am a total pushover when it comes to buying them.

3. I like to vacation with the kids rather than without them. I only have them each for 18 short years! It's fun to be there when they discover new places. Nate is on board with this philosophy-woo hoo! However-I need to consult with Holly about some stuff in Europe that may involve too much discovery.

4. I don't have a cell phone. I see the convenience, I am just not ready to take the plunge. Plus, people would call me and wonder why I never answered, because I wouldn't.

5. My hair grows pretty fast-or appears to due to lack of trims. I am almost ready to whack it all off again.

6. I find laundromats creepy. Really, they are-think about it.

7. I am a terrible housekeeper. I have tried all sorts of ways to trick myself into it, but I am never fooled. I am great at the 20 minute clean-up before some one comes over though. And I don't let things get nasty, just cluttery everywhere.

I don't want to single seven of you out to be tagged back, but I refuse to remain it forever-so, if you serve with me in primary, lived with me in college, or knew me when I was sixteen, or have ever held one of my kids when they were pretty new, consider yourself tagged. That should cover it.

My Baby is a....

Vampire. Yes, yes she is. When she was five months old, she bit Nate's finger and drew blood. She has been aspiring to draw blood again. Isabella and I are her victims of choice. Apparently we are the softest targets. And she shows a preference for shoulders and cheeks. Thankfully she doesn't bite while she's eating, I assure you that would have not only put an end to breastfeeding, but produced a scream heard round the world. No, she bites while pretending to give kisses. Or when she snuggles up against your shoulder. She's soft, smiley, lovey, then...chomp. And she has jaws of iron that must be pried off, then she gets offended about being detached from her victim.

My main solace is she isn't really biting anywhere that would allow any of us to bleed to death. Her vampire skills aren't developed well enough to cause irreversible damage. She is working on it though. In the meantime, we are trying to provide alternatives for her to gnaw on. Wooden blocks, dolls, blankets, fruit, sippy cups, books, lip gloss tubes. She likes all of those things for a minute, but none satiate her need for long. She will throw her substitute aside, get a small gleam in her eye and lunge.......

It's good that she has so many other redeeming qualities.

Cold and Wet

It's hard to tell in this picture, but it's raining steadily. In fact, the rain had been steady all morning. Half the kids on both teams didn't even show up, I am guessing because of the steady rain. I mean, it is football. Football doesn't get called for rain. And as another parent observed, they are running out of Saturdays, do we really want to be out here in November. I agree, no way do I want to further extend the season by running into November.

The kids were freezing though, we convinced the ref to keep halftime to about a minute, long enough to get drinks, not long enough to sit down and cool off/freeze. Staying warm was a priority.

Speaking of warm, every night I get a giant glass of ice water and sit in front of the computer while consuming the ice. All the women in the fam have a bad habit of crunching ice. Sophie will sit at my feet and wait as I shovel small pieces of ice into her mouth. This ice thing starts young. Being as we are downstairs, it is usually a bit cold. So after I finish the ice and head up to bed, I am freezing. Freezing. Some nights I can take it, knowing that I will be warm after a few minutes snuggled under the covers. But last night, I turned on the heat-I was too cold, until the middle of the night when I was way way too hot. I try and leave the temperature to Nate for this very reason. Maybe writing it down will help.

Cake!

Happy Birthday Sophie! It was so much fun to watch you decimate your cake! You didn't really eat too much of it, you licked off some of the frosting. You were generous and tried to share. Your brother and sister tried to help you open all your presents, their excitement exceeded your own. I can't believe how fast the year has gone and how much you have grown!

So, I spoke too soon....

We have one more soccer game left in the season. Tonight we lost, pbbbbbft. Really, it's okay, I'm not at all bothered. Regardless we will have a winning season. Bella did awesome tonight. She bounced back after a ball knocked the wind out of her and she stole the ball away more times than I can count. I did alright as a coach, but what happened here to my hair!

I look like someone from Battlefield Earth! Could no one have mentioned it! Yikes! That's Forrest Whittaker by the way-even more yikes!

Then at dinner we had a catastrophe. I ordered pizza as soon as we got home. I order it online from Domino's because they have a cool little tracker thing that says stuff like "Kelly is now preparing your pizza!" "Tim is boxing up your pizza!" Anyway, it makes the whole process seem faster and more fascinating.

Anyway, Jack asked if he could try some of the crushed red peppers on his pizza. I said sure, go ahead. Nate wasn't there to rescue the situation. He would have known what a wrong turn things would take.

You see, our kids think ketchup is spicy. Really they do. And, I was not paying real close attention, so I didn't see him dump most of the peppers in a clump. The first bite wasn't bad, so he took another. All of the sudden, runny nose, teary eyes, chugging milk.

Running to the fridge for water (new fridge-cool water dispenser on the inside!). Then some true crying as his head was all sweaty and nose running like a faucet. I try and encourage them to try new things, but in this case, I spoke too soon.

All over the place....

Sophie has some hair issues. I think she is going for a teenage boy/Don King/Andy Wharhol kind of a look. She refuses to keep bows, barrettes, rubber bands in it. I am not going to cut it, it's long on top, short every where else, and so we will just have to tough this phase out. I do love the color-where did it come from! In the sun it looks like spun gold.