Hello Everyone! It’s been way too long since we’ve been together. I had every intention of writing and posting January 2nd but I was overwhelmed with vacation laundry, meal planning and now our first winter storm which was a blizzard that dumped over a foot of snow with below freezing temps and school canceled for two days. So I have been a little preoccupied. 
First, an update on our master bedroom renovation… The walls have been painted, crown molding has been installed, we bought a new bed frame, bought and installed new window blinds and a ceiling fan. Now I am going to slow down and slowly add accent items and new side tables. We will also be adding a new seating area. I am trying to be mindful and not just rush through the process. I have to say, the clutter-free room feels great. When I go to bed at night I am truly in an oasis. Even if I still have some purging to do in the rest of the house, I feel great about our bedroom.
We spent our Christmas and New Year’s vacation with my in-laws and had so much fun. We worked on puzzles. My sister-in-law thought we weren’t’ challenged enough so she even ordered and had an additional puzzle shipped to us. The boys didn’t want to do it so Leao and I along with his parents took up the task with gusto!
While at my in-laws home we had amazing food, shared funny stories and played a lot of game playing. We even had a few days of football to watch. I feel blessed that we live close to them so our kids have grown up with them in their lives. I know as they get older, they will want to do other things with their time but right now, they are just as thrilled to go as my husband and I. They even had some quality time with one of their aunt and uncle too.
We love board games but one that my youngest hadn’t played the original Monopoly. He’s played the newer version called Monopoly Empire and he has played it on the Xbox but it’s not the same. So this year, we brought it out and let me tell you, it was priceless watching Apollo as his collection of properties grew and had the opportunities to buy houses. He absolutely loved it. He also won which made it even sweeter for him.
The snacks my mother-in-law made were so yummy. I think I ate a dozen while watching football and my pants are now reminding me of the indulgence.
I still enjoy taking photos of everyone even though its been years since I have created a scrapbook. Later each day, I send some photos to the family that could not attend so they can share in the celebrations virtually.
Some years, we have big gatherings when more family can attend but even when it’s a small group we have fun and I know the memories will last forever.
I have so many exciting things to come in 2018 for this website. I can’t wait to share them with you and to connect to see how you are doing.
So have a blessed day and come on back!
Belinda
Happy Monday! What time is it? Well, I had every intention of writing this post and pushing it live by 9:30 this morning before I began work cleaning out my desk. Well, I woke surprisingly early despite daylight savings and completed my morning workout, then headed to make the boys lunch for today. But wait…no bread!!!! Arrrrrggg!! So I tell them both that I will pick up bread when I run to grocery shop and then drop off their lunches. I run my errands and drop off the boys lunches then I go to make their beds (yup, I’m back to making them on weekdays because they will never get out on time) and realize they didn’t wash their sheets this weekend so off the sheets must come and of course my planned 2 loads of clothes today must be bumped back to wash sheets. Ahhhh!! I almost made matters worse by boiling some eggs for a late morning snack when I realized it was Meatless Monday. Luckily I remembered so this morning has not been a complete epic fail!
Well hello and happy Monday to you! October has been quite a busy month. My niece and nephew already celebrated their birthday earlier this month and we celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday this weekend with lobster and games. But today is one very special day for me because of the fact that the most important woman in my life was born … my mom. She passed on in 2007 but she has not faded from my heart and mind.
As I get older sometimes I catch myself dreading the number I will become each year but I really need to celebrate them all because it is such a blessing to be here with my family and friends. That is what I should focus on rather than dread “getting older”. Remind me I said that on my next birthday!!
On another note, last week we have begun the process of renovating our bedroom. So to say my house is in disarray is quite the understatement. We are sleeping in our guest bedroom, furniture is everywhere especially in my craft room, we can only use one bathroom (thank the stars I had boys or I would go insane). But when it’s complete, I know it will be so worth the wait and inconvenience.
Leao is doing all of the renovations and he has begun with the removal of the popcorn ceiling. Then he will do any patching and then he will install crown molding. I love the one he put in the boy’s bedroom so that is the one I selected for ours. This is the original color the room was when we bought this house so many years ago. But I have selected a very bold, deep color that I will share when we get to that stage.