global warming

Today our temp.here in Wi. is 50 degrees. Something is extremely wrong with this picture.Don't get me wrong I love it but it kind of is freaky!!!! I have been watching alot of documentaries lately about global warming.I even watched one about electric cars.It is all so interesting.It really makes me want to buy a hybrid car. I wanted one before but now I really want it.Maybe Santa is listening!!!!!We do Need a larger vehicle.The one thing we do not need right now is a car payment.I am only working 3 days at the salon but hopefully my candle and soap business will take off.I make aromatherapy products that have essential oils in them.At least I know my candles are not harmful to the environment ,they are soy based and burn clean!!!!!!! My passion is aromatherapy!!!!! I love things that smell great!!!!!! and look pretty to!!!

Yeah xmas pictures!!!!!!

I lost my last post (darn)I finally finished taking the xmas pictures!!!! It is hard gathering kids and dogs!!!!! This year I am trying to send out xmas cards so I have to hurry and print these out!!!!I am trying to do alot more xmas activities that are fun .We have had a stressful financial situation these past months.(Trent had not been able to work for 7 weeks due to an injury)and we are a little freaked out about buying presents.I am trying to teach the kids about the meaning of xmas.(spending time as a family,etc)I have started baking(almost homemade items)!!! My daughter and I are going to make some cookies from scratch this weekend.Hopefully we will bond because we have been going thru a rough patch(she is 15).I am very grateful that we have a home and we really love this house.We are doing things a little at a time.This past year we have
1.tore down a ceiling(what a mess!!!!!)
2.Put up a gorgouse tin ceiling(I always wanted one)
3.waterproofed basement ,painted walls and floor
4.installed woodburning stove and chimney(oh what drama)
Things we still have to do:
1.Tile behind wood burning stove
2.finish painting
3.add bathroom to basement(I have the perfect clawfoot tub for down there and it is pink!!!)
4.rewire some outlets(I hate all the extension cords)
5.Hopefully put up a new fence ours is pretty sad!!!!!!

I won't add to the list just yet I am getting overwhelmed!!!!!!

x-mas tree

Today my 4 year old son Julian coaxed me into decorating the tree.The truth is I really was waiting for the"perfect time".You know xmas carols playing in the background and everyone being into it.Well,this weekend was world war 3 !!!!! My teenage age daughter was really irritating me while I was trying to paint the dining room.We made sure she was home(Mon.) to put up the tree so we wouldn't get yelled at (she wanted to be home when we put it up). It was up and no one talked about decorating it except Julian.So ,Tristan(oldest son) brought the boxes with the decorations from the garage and we started decorating.Paloma gets home from school(Tues.) and brings a friend over and just hangs out on the computer.So much for family participation!!!!! Well,maybe next year!!!!

Just about done!!!!!!!

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Winter is here!!!!! (and Trent's B-day!!!!!!)

Today finally feels like winter.The doors on my car were frozen so it took me a while to open the door and warm up.This was at 6:45 am.I drive my daughter to the bus terminal for school.Then I got home and tried to start a fire in our wood burning stove.Normally they are not too hard to start if you have firestarters and branches.I had neither so I had to go in my neighbors yard to collect branches that have fallen from her tree.I am sure I looked funny out there in my pajamas and winter coat. It is now
12:45 and I just got home from picking up my 9 year old from school.He came home sick.He has asthma and the change in weather usually effects him. We celebrated his bday Monday.He was born on thanksgiving day (1997).So every once in a while it will fall on Thanksgiving day again!!!!!Here is a picture of his birthday!!!!

Fixing the hole

Finally we had to fix the hole in the wall.We have an insurance person coming to the house to check the furnace,pipes,and electricity.We made a trip to Menards to get some drywall and we were lucky to find a small remnant.Trent had to cut out more of the wall to fit this piece in the hole.I was really nervous since he just got use of his finger back.(he broke it helping install the chimney)My job was to clean up all the dust.We still have to sand and remud so that means more cleanup!!!!!!!

Our House

Here is our lovely house!!!!! It was built in 1898.We are not sure what style this is considered.It has asbesto siding and we know the original wood underneath is thin slats.
I think it is a victorian farmhouse.We have many features inside that are cool.The crown molding is pretty but the detail that sold this house to me, was a dressing room attached to my bedroom.A year prior to buying this house I talked about having my own dressing room and it would be pink.I already had a lovely victorian dressing table that was ready to move in!!!!!!

Homecoming Dance

This is a picture of Paloma's homecoming dance.She looks like her mom!!!!! Dad's cute too!!!!!
Check out those curtains,I made them.Now I have NO time to sew. Maybe soon,I can get back to some of my hobbies!!!!!

Halloween

I started my blog after halloween but just downloaded the pictures onto my laptop.I have been
trick or treating for 17 yrs .My oldest is 17 and my youngest i s 4. My son Tristan loves this holiday and insisted he take Julian the 4 year old up to the doors to get candy.It is hard to believe I have a 17 year old and a 4 year old at the same time.Life, funny how you never know how it will turn out!!!

more pictures

Here is my hubby trying out our stove!!!! For all you ghost hunters there appears to be some orbs scary!!!!!!! Maybe it is just dust,I hope so for our sake!!!!!!

pictures

Here are some pictures of the wood burning stove.You can see how big it is!! We still have to fix the wall(I cann't wait,it is driving me crazy!!!!!) After that is complete,I need to repaint the room.I will use the same color.I painted this room about 2 years ago and it definitely needs touch ups.I never painted the trim so this time around I will do that as well.

computer savy

I have to thank my computer savvy hubby for helping me with starting out this blog.He is the Best!!!!He is probably sooooo tired of my whining when it comes to this stuff.I am learning slowly but surely.I have to say this is addictive.I first started out by reading other old house bloggers and then I found some mom ones and now I am hooked!!!!!! I started to think I can do this too!!!!
This seems theraputic as well.On the home front we just installed a wood burning stove.It is a
hearth stone .The stove weighs 729 lbs. This was a dream come true and a nightmare at the same time.First finding "friends" to help us pick up the stove was not working.Finally, a coworker 's client found out about our dilema and volunteered her husband,her son and their truck.
Boy they were shocked to see the stove and how heavy this thing was but we all managed to get it home.That was miracle #1.The second stressful part after this was delivered was bringing the stove from the garage into the house.We had 4 guys, myself and oldest son trying to carry this up to our front porch and no one could lift it were very very nervous trying to get this thing into
house.I had to leave and when I returned home they somehow got into the house.
That was the second miracle.The scary part was about to begin.We built a stone platform using
rocks from Lake Michigan for the stove to rest on.(We had to reenforce the floor in the basement
to support the stove.)Of course we had to cut a hole in a exterior wall(very weird to see the next house thru a hole in your dining room). Well ,we survived the installation of the stove but the nightmare was the chimney.My husband and his carpenter brother put the chimney up and it collapsed sending my son to get stitches and broke my husbands finger. At first the doctor thought he would have to get surgery because the break was close to the joint.Luckily,he only needed a cast.So that was the nightmare-oh yeah he couldn't work for 7 weeks because he is a stylist and you need both hands to cut hair.I will post a picture of our stove .It still needs a tile behind it and some finishing touches.

all about me!!!!

Hey,this is my new venture!!!!! I am a mom of 4 and we are currently fixing up our home.It was built in 1898.I would call it a farmhouse style with some victorian features.I am into healthy living and am trying to transition to a raw diet.I also am a homeschool mom(my preschooler and
my oldest son)