Rapunzel gets shorn!

 So Miriam FINALLY finally decided that she was ready to get her hair cut, and donate it to Locks of Love.

It was really, really long.

 I took her to my big-girl hair stylist.  For something this drastic, I wanted a professional to make it look good.

no turning back now!

ta-da!

 I got my hair cut too (not like you can tell in this picture).

We're loving our short summer locks!  Now we still need to retrain ourselves to squeeze out the proper amount of shampoo...

Home Before & After: Main Level

 Okay, so I know I promised that I would take pictures of the house all spiffied up before the staging crew came in and made our house look all designer and stuff, but when you consider that we were up into the wee hours the night before (morning before?) and I was vacuuming about 30 seconds before they arrived, I hope you will forgive me for not having time to take pictures right then.

But now!  After doing a quick tidy, I ran around and took pictures of what our house looks now, compared to what it used to look like before The Purge.  Of course, I didn't think to take actual "before" pictures, so I had to scrounge these up from the archives.  The house really only figures as a background to the hilarity/cuteness of the photo's subjects, but it should be enough.

Since we redid the whole house, I'm breaking this up into a couple posts so as not to make you feel obligated to take up your entire afternoon reading about my stupid house makeover. :)

First stop, living areas on the main level.

Living Room

 Before

Easter Egg hunt in progress

books, books, books!  clutter, clutter, clutter!

another view of where the couch used to be for Christmas.

despite my best efforts to organize them, these shelves ALWAYS LOOKED LIKE THIS

 And now...

After Staging

Shazam!

Bing!

Ka-pow!

Now for the REAL After:

usually this floor is covered with little cars

haven't removed all the staging materials yet...

cozy little kid nook

also, hidden behind the open front door is the kids' coat rack full of jackets

I also retraced the gold lettering in the powder room (yes, it really is called that) which had almost totally faded

Dining Room

Before:

Happy New Year!

computer cabinet & filing box in the dining room -- convenient, but claustrophobic

After Staging

ooooh...

the REAL After

it's a lot more echo-y now!

Kitchen

Before

old appliances, dark kitchen!

fake wood laminate countertops

just lots of stuff everywhere!

After Staging:

ahhhhh...

o the brightness!  (who can spot the painter's tape we missed?)

the REAL After:

had to take this shot at night -- the only time I could actually keep the counters cleaned off!

painted cabinets, new handles, granite counter tops, white appliances.  Why didn't we do this sooner?!?

the beloved undermount sink.  just look at all that extra counter space!  the faucet is also a pull-out sprayer, hallelujah!  aren't you impressed that Mr. Pickles attached that himself?

can't wait to get the staging stuff out -- this feels too cluttered for me now! :)

So there's the main level.  Looking at all the before pictures make me feel so sorry for my past self -- no wonder I always felt so anxious and depressed!  Clearing everything out makes me feel like I can breathe better.  I'm finding that we're not really missing most of the things in storage....

Daniel turns three!

I know, it's hard to believe.  I still think of him as my baby.

Andy will be getting all new number candles, I think. :)

For his birthday breakfast we made crepes -- a typical special breakfast around here.

his favorite pose for the camera

His birthday was on a Saturday this year, so we invited a few friends to join us at the pool.  It was a gorgeous day, which was fortuitous, since our house at that point was in no condition to welcome guests!

Naturally, I forgot about the camera while we were singing happy birthday, so all you get is a picture of his post-chocolate-cupcaked face.

I tried to show him how to make 3 with his fingers:

so, wait, the thumb goes... how does this work?

 We brought one present to the pool:

squirt guns! (with lots to share)

he understands that squirt guns are for shooting your sister, of course.

After we came home and had dinner (bbq chicken & potato fries), he opened the rest of his presents. 

(Lemme tell you, the dollar section at Target is perfect for sibling presents!)

 We were pretty well caked-out after dinner, so for dessert Danny had a cupcake cookie!

almost as good as the real thing!

At three, Daniel is still our sweet boy.  His annoying typical 3yo behaviors are funny to us.  For example, if he asks for dessert and I say no, he'll immediately counter with "I hate dessert!"  He also gets into mini snits for which we use the expression "meep."  (Do you make up words which perfectly fit a situation?)  To say it correctly, you have to have pouty lips and say it with a descending tone: meeeeeeep.  When he's acting whiny and meepish at naptime, I'll sing "O Danny Meep" which is like "O Danny Boy" except with key changes, viz.: "O Danny meep, the pipes, the pipes are meeeeping, from glen to glen, and down the mountainmeep..."  Of course this sets him off ("No! *kick* Danny! *kick* Meeps! *double kick*") but at least he gets all his frustrated energy out and then goes right to sleep.  And seriously, WHAT is the point of having kids if you can't harass them once in a while?

It's also very sweet seeing how Daniel looks up to Joseph.  Whatever Joseph does, Daniel is sure to imitate.

(taken back in January)

  I look forward to seeing how my three little men interact with each other as they grow up.  Aside from the expected punching and wrestling, that is.

Daniel is our little sunshine -- we are so happy he's a part of our family!

Happy Birthday, Handsome!

Independence Day 2013

[This has GOT to be a new Pickles record -- me posting about something that happened on the SAME DAY!]

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm a little blue this Independence Day.  It's hard to be excited about celebrating our country when our freedoms are slipping away one by one, and I feel completely powerless to stop it.  Still, I hope it's not too selfish to say I'm still grateful I live in this country and have the freedoms I do enjoy.

One thing which helped restore some of my faith in humanity was attending the 4th of July parade in downtown Fairfax again this year.  What a fun parade that is!  All marching bands and local elected officials on cars and homemade floats and the occasional giant balloon and horses and scouts marching and a capella singers and bagpipers and Bolivian dancers, and everyone waving and clapping and smiling.  It's good to see other people glad about living in the community we do.

Thankfully it never got hot -- there were ominous clouds passing overhead the whole time, but it never rained -- they only served to block the worst of the sun's heat.  And there was a lovely breeze which made the shade very pleasant.  Andy and I had a good time sitting under our tree.

yankee doodle boy!

We didn't make it to the pool this afternoon, and great was the sound of lamentation.  But I turned on the sprinkler in the front yard so the kids could run through it, which was fun for a while, and then later after I bleached out the kiddie pool (since it had been a mosquito breeding ground from not being emptied after the last big rainstorm, ew), the kids splashed around and got even more soaked until the sun started going down and they got cold.  So the afternoon wasn't a total loss, in their opinion.

Mr. Pickles grilled shish kebabs with steak and chicken and peppers and squash, oh my.

 The kitchen elves helped prepare a classic patriotic dessert.

We'll work on studying the composition of our country's flag another time.

how many states is that?

 Since our local park had to cancel their fireworks a couple years ago due to budget cuts, we have to make our own fireworks display.

ready...  set...

...RUN!

 

the requisite sparklers

No one got burned this year, yay!  Some dudes across the street were shooting off big fireworks that threw flares and stuff pretty high.  My personal "favorite" was the one that shot up and launched a parachute, which floated gently down to the ground... with a burning ember attached.  I was grateful there was no wind, otherwise that thing would have landed in a tree, or better yet on someone's roof.  We went in after that.  We still have several firecrackers left, so tomorrow night it's going to be the Fourth of July, part two!

Happy Independence Day, everyone!

Woot woot!

We got to meet the (cute, young) couple who made the best offer.  They wrote us a very sweet note along with their contract.  It was like looking at ourselves from 10 years ago in a mirror. :)  We hope they'll be as happy here as we have been!

We submitted a contract on the house we saw on Sunday, but we know the owner received a few other offers as well.  So we'll see what happens.  We know God has the perfect house in mind for us, so if this isn't it, then something better will come.  Meanwhile, we continue The Hunt!

Thank you all for your prayers!  It is SUCH a relief to have this part of the process over with!

Gratuitous cuteness

Because I need to talk about SOMETHING besides The Great Househunt.

When cupboards have no doors, the kitchen becomes a lot more fun for the rugrat set!

Wheeeeere's baby?

Cheerios: the food that's a toy!

please tell me I'm not the only one who puts her baby's food on the floor...  (I just mopped, honest!)

Yep, that's all.  Just cute baby photos.  I'll eventually post about Daniel's birthday, and Miriam's haircut, and other sundry updates.  Right after I finish season 3 of Downton. :)  Sigh... poor Edith...