so many earrings, so little room. until now :)

Check out my new jewelry display :). I still need to figure out what to do about post-earrings (I don't have many anyways) and I need to decide if my rings should be a part of this or not. 

It's just a canvas that I painted on and then nailed some panel board nails in to the frame of the canvas for my necklaces and bracelets, then hot-glued buttons onto the nail heads.  The ear wires poke right through the canvas, and I used little tacks with backs as a little rod to hold my hoop earrings that don't use an ear-wire.  I got this canvas idea from my friend who did similar for herself.  She told me about it while I was drinking wine and can't remember if she used nails also or not :P

aftermath of home-heartbreak

I have been very hesitant about posting pictures anywhere of my parents' house.  If you need to catch up, read my entry about the house fire that took my parents' home on Christmas night. I think I've been hesitant because it's very personal at a level that I wasn't sure was okay for the blog-world.  A strange realization is that I moved in to this house when I was the age that Kien is now. It's been HOME.  I know that people do not always have the best intentions and I felt that posting pictures would make my family more vulnerable to judgments or something.  Maybe it's silly. But I am finally ready to share some pictures and I hope that it helps me move on.  Every time I go up to the house it's like another punch in the gut and my gut is sick of hurting.  Though it's been nearly two months and my parents are settling in to their rental house, it doesn't seem real.

I took these pictures this weekend...

The cabinets were WHITE

The cabinets were white and the back splash was green tile

Kien's toys were in a cabinet

Harry Potter didn't survive the Avada Kedavra curse this time

Patio chairs

Where Kien's rope swing hung

My (deceased) uncle painted this of my great uncle

My dad

poor Barbies

What remains of the Christmas tree

Two mugs up front are a couple I got my dad on my travels seven-ish years ago

My dad's Powerbook

laundry day

Crying-it-out part three

I just have to brag that over the past few nights Brayden has been going to sleep like a CHAMP. Last night he fussed for around 20 SECONDS. In the time it took for me to close his bedroom door and give Kien goodnight kisses, Brayden was quiet.
I
am
so
THANKFUL!

Xoxo Lyn

Catch-all Catch-up

I know I've been failing at contribution to my blog, but I have a damn good excuse.  MY WRIST HURTS! My doc says I have tendinitis. I say it's painful.  I've been wearing a brace and it's been helping but today I got cocky and thought I could do without it.  Bad move.  My brace is currently in the dryer so I'm still without it and typing is probably going to aggravate it more.   But I miss my computer-world :). 

This week has been fun. Kien was getting sassy at school and on Tuesday crossed the line (running in the library- GASP!) so I popped him up twice a day with the homeopathic remedy "Sulphur"-something-or-another and grounded him from his favorite things; legos, iPod, and DSi. He had to be an angel Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in order to earn back his iPod for our road trip to Hilo tomorrow (Saturday) morning.  The cringe whenever I think of Hilo as a "road trip" because the 1-1/2 hour drive should hardly qualify as a road trip but being as how we live on an island, my kids must be deprived of such luxuries of a true road trip. When I was 16 I drove from Minnesota to California (via Texas); THAT was a road trip.  At 14 years old I went motor-homing (is that a real verb?) with my grandparents for nearly a week all around Wisconsin and maybe in to Michigan. I was young and stupid and didn't pay much attention to where I was, and I regret that now.  Back to Kien; he was perfect the rest of the week and I am so thankful; I couldn't handle the "road trip" to Hilo at 6:30 AM with Kien NOT having his iPod. He is a talkative little know-it-all.  Not the greatest combo when sleep deprived and carsick.

SIDEBAR: homeopathic remedies are always my first go-to choice for anything.  I know it's debatable and that a lot of people think it's bogus, but it has worked -- and continues to work -- for me and my family all the time.


I saw the coolest soap dispenser on Pinterest, so obviously I had to make one for Kien.  The soap dispenser cost $6 from Target and I already had clear hand soap and Lego pieces I took from Kien's billions. Kien loves it and I'm so impressed at how adorable it is in his bathroom!

In other news, I decided to do Brayden's first birthday party with a CANDY LAND theme.  It's going to be completely adorable and I'm loving my ideas and how creative I can get with it.  I'll have a TON of pictures after the party.  His birthday isn't until April 29th, so I have a couple months still.  Just looking forward at the fun ahead.

Going to ice my wrist,
Lyn