A Happy Family!

Good morning all.  I am so very excited this morning:)

I am starting to down size my business.  I have hit the big 40 and beyond, and my body is telling me it is time to do something different.

For those of you new to my blog, I have my own cleaning business.  I have loved the families and the sense of helping others for 13 years now.  I started this business with my oldest daughter who is autistic in mind.  I thought that someday she would be helping me and maybe have her own clients.  Reality had set in and this is not something she would enjoy doing, sue to her OCD's .  Don't get me wrong I have enjoyed it along the way.  I have watched my new families grow up and oh the little one's.  I have cried when the started kinder-garden, an have watched many of their little league games.  Yes I was the crazy lady cheering for the 4 year old picking clovers in the outfield waiting for that one ball hit to them.  I sometimes think that I was wanting my 4 children to stay young, and when the weren't I had my fill with the kids who parents I clean for.


I have let two of my families go and I plan on shutting my business down by the end of my oldest Senior year.  Yes I have a Senior, Junior and 2 sophomores.  We have been so very blessed that my husbands income keeps getting better and better.  The other day he tells me it's not that you have to work, but you have to work so I can keep you out of the shopping malls!  That is true.  I am one of those who spending and purchasing things give me a sense of gratification and it is only temporarily, so I fix that and go out shopping again. Really my husband will tell you that I am the one person that will come out of the dollar store with $50.00 worth of junk.

Today!  I am so excited for today.  I have the next two days off and today a friend is going to teach me how to cook.  We are making several meals and freezing them so that I can just pop them in the oven for my family for dinner.  My little one Hannah is excited too!  This morning when leaving for school she told me to have fun and that she cannot wait to actually have food in the house that she will eat:)

I am so very blessed to have people in my life that are kind and caring.  Karma is a biggy for me.  You know the circle what comes around goes around.  My very dear friend Jackie and I have made that our motto.  A knew one that we are taking on is surrounding ourselves with positive people.  Wow what a difference that has made.  We laugh and look at each other and Wonder why we let negative in.  I guess the old saying is true that misery needs company and we want no part of it.

I am off to learn how to cook!  Have a blessed day everyone.

"no one who truly wants to know Christ and opens up their heart to him will walk away empty-handed!!"

Foster remodel

 WOW!  When you replace your floors in a home you are living in, you pretty much have to pack and unpack your home.

Now softball has been in full swing and hubby and I had a window of 3 weeks to get our whole home floors done.  I was basically a general contractor.  I had to get 3 different quotes, only for our piece of mind. 

While waiting on quotes a neighbor post about her floors being replaced and insurance had covered it.  The light bulb flipped on and I called our insurance company.

  About 2 years ago we were in Chapel Hill NC for a football game and we came home to our kitchen flooded.  The ice maker line kept filling and running the whole time we were gone.  UGH!  Softball was still in full swing so hubby and I dried it and pulled everything away so we could go on with our crazy life.

Life went on and sure enough right under the freezer the hardwoods starts to buckle and turn black. 

The insurance company is paying for our floors to be replaced.  Heck Yea!  That one score for me.

I found a quote that worked out to allow us to hardwood the whole downstairs (excluding living room) WOO HOO!  another score for me.

Then the work started.  I had to pack up our dining room, my craft room and the kitchen.  I had so many boxes and newspaper everywhere.  My craft room was the tear jerker!  I am moving right along because I have compnay coming in from out of town in 2 weeks.  Making great progress on boxing things and my girl friend stops by and suggest that I paint the baseboards before they replace the wood floors. 

Off to home depot to buy trim paint.  I stayed up until 1:00 am most nights painting.  Life was still going on, ball practice, horse back riding, and to top it off I was planning a yard sale for the Charlotte Starz team fundraiser.

While I was going through my stuff for the yard sale (before floor quote) I was placing everything on the dinnig room table.  REALLY!

Pull car out of garage and start pilling things up in there, while taggin everything as I go.  Then!!!  My wounderful hubby suggested that seems how we were prepared to pay for the wood floors why don't we carpet the living room.

Yep you guessed it off the home depot I go.  Get a quote for the living room and Then!!!!  my wounderfull hubby suggested that he really would like all the carpet in the house to match.  Now I get a quote for the stairs and all rooms up stairs.  When getting a quote you have this 4 hour window that they come out to messure and then they take forever to finally leave.

So I am rolling right along.  I have the wood floors scheduled to be installed on Friday.  I am ready and they were here on time and so off towork I go.  Here are some of the pictures of the install and husband calling almost every hour wanting an update.

The picture above are from the old cabinet that held all my crafting stuff as you can tell that the whole thing fell apart while I was trying to move it away from the wall to paint the baseboards.  So I took it all apart and pilled it up ready for the dump.  I still have to pick the kids up from school so I loaded it up and took it to the the dump that afternoon.

This is what the wood floor looked like before.  YUCK!

Here's what the carpet looked like.  Under the cabinet looks really good right!

Packing up and getting ready for new Hardwoods.  The hardwoods there look pretty good!  I hated to tear them up.
Still packing.  Chairs are upstairs in son's room!

Now moving everything into living room

Here we go Wood has arived

Now time for the install, after of course I put the desk, filing cabinet and stove and refrigerator on craig's list.

OH did I mention the amount of DUST!  It was incredible and everywhere!

My husband went to Home depot and picked up 3 of these.  I had to dust every wall in the home!  Dust was everywhere.  And life, school, softball everything was still going on while we were working on this. 

Now almost done with the cleaning!  We have ordered new furniture for the office/craft room and this is where we are sitting to watch tv and put together new furniture.

 

The wood floors were installed on Friday.  I had the yard sale on that Saturday and hubby had recuriting video's for the girls that weekend, and I still had to get a couple more pieces from IKEA.

 

The carpet for the living room is scheduled to be installed on Monday between 11:00 am and 1:00pm.

 

Yep you guessed it more baseboards to paint.  I think I finished the baseboard around 1:00 am.  We argreed that hubby should get to bed at a reasonable time so that one of us is working with a level head. 

Now that the new carpet is installed hubby would like to replace the living room furniture.  Off to rooms to go we go!  With in 3 hours we had picked out new living room furniture and it was set for delivery on that Thursday.

Thursday was the day!   I had to order a new refrigerator and of course he wanted that to match the stove so now I bought a new stove.   Really those who know me, know how much I love to cook!  Not I have burnt the cardboard on frozen pizza with the new stove.  There are so many buttons I have a hard time just turning the right oven on top/bottom UGH!!!

 

They arrive on Thursday and guess what..... The carpet for the upstairs come in.  Oh yeah it was a solid 3 days of painting baseboards.  In the middle of all this my daughter would like to change the paint in her room.  We were up painting and around 11:00pm our friend the hubby of my friend stops by and grabs a paint brush and helps out a bunch.  Around 1:00am we are done.

Now the alarm clock goes off at 5:30 for me.  I get kids off to school and then carpet people arrive and then right behind them rooms to go arrives.  Two hours go by and in comes the new applicances.  I am so tired!

Here is the photos of the progress!

This is the half bath with all of my autisic childs stuffed animals.  Yes that is the shower and by the time I added all the boxes from the rooms upstairs you could not get in the bathroom and it was to the celling with boxes.

OH did I mention more dust!!!

new stove and frig are here.

Carpet is in and now all the beds I broke apart and everything boxed up is now unpacked.

Somehow I managed to get the house unpacked and Yes the Hubby had to go buy 2 new flat plan tvs for the kids room and wall mount those.

 

Now my company came in Friday evening.  It reminded us of the movie of risky business when they get the house all cleaned up after the wild house party.

 

We had a softball tournament this weekend and the weekend after that I had a last chance yard sale.   We both have been assuming the tunnel vision! 

 

Have a great week everyone.  I know we are going to slow down here at the Fosters!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Night

I have been busy with school ball this week and weekend.
I put on a benefit softball game, the post below tells everyone a little about it.  It went great and I had 2 weeks to pull it together.
Hopefully this will get bigger and bigger every year, and we can raise more money for the cause.
The girls were so great, they paired up with each other to create a gift basket for us to raffle off in between innings.  They were so proud of there baskets.  I hope that they learned how good it feels to make a difference for someone else, and have fun while doing it.

Now we have Senior night this week at our last home game.  I have created a couple of things to give to the girls.  We are also cooking out and having cake after the game.  I still have to run by Sams club and grab the stuff to grill out.  How I got stuck with this one is my inability to say NO.  I was really going to work on that this year.  I haven't gotten very far with that goal as you can see.

So this weekend I was a crafting, crafting, and crafting.  I found some flip flops at the dollar store and the band looked like I could turn them into laces of a softball.  I know scary how my brain works right. I painted the bands and then took a toothpick dipping it in red paint and painting every little grove.  Then I had to seal then and I used dimensional sealer.  They turned out great but I had to watch Transformers with my oldest last night and timed my painting of the red.  It took me an hour for just one pair.  It will be a while before I do that again.
Here is a picture of the flip flops.

Then I had a package of the canvas boxed frames.  So I found a print on pinterest and my hubby helped me create it in photo shop, and I printed them out on transfer paper and the ironed them on the canvas.  Well Hubby ironed them on because I burned 2.  Oh if you saw the mess ups and how I even got them done with out giving up, I will never know.  I painted the edges first and then hubby ironed them.  After all was done I found a better matching yellow paint color and had to repaint them all.  This time the print was on it and I had to be very careful not to mess it up.  Doing all this at 10:00 p.m.  Yes I worked on this stuff all day.
Here's a picture.

The picture frame I found at the dollar store while I was there to get the gift bags, and of course I had to pick one up for each girls.
I made my own gift tags and had my little one Freshman write a little something to each senior on a yellow 3x5 card and adhered it to the back side of the canvas.
Here is everything bagged and the gift tags ready to be tied:)

  Hope everyone has a great week!

Catching up!

Really, I have been truly slack with my blog!

So much has happened from the last time I wrote anything.  I am going to try to get you updated in this post.

Easter came and went.  Wow!  We all went to my sisters house.  Her oldest just had a baby and was coming home 2 days before.  I remember when I had my first, I did not leave the house for anything other than Dr.appointments.  I was so overwhelmed.  We thought that it would be easier on everybody if we just had dinner at my sisters.  Her daughter and husband are living with her, so we were all together and it was wonderful.  So proud of my sister.  She was the type that would not have anything at here house,"to much work" she would say.  One year she was asked to bring a salad and a pie for Christmas eve dinner, she walked into my house with  bagged salad and a frozen pie.  I laugh just thinking about that Christmas eve.  She has come a long way! She loves to throw a party and really goes all out when she does.

Easter!

Oh so little!

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter like our family did!

Hough softball steps up to bat for autism awareness

Hough softball steps up to bat for autism awareness
Click on link above.

Turning it blue for Autism

As most of you know My oldest is autistic.  This is something we do every April 2nd.

WE LOVE YOU KAITLYN:)

Here are a few of my new craft projects.....

This went out to all my kids teachers before spring break.  These little guys also go out to family and friends.  The printable came from another blogger. Thanks!

Now for my take on the red neck wine glass

I love that song Red Solo Cup.

 I have had to make 6 of these for family and friends already.  Hope to add this to the next craft sale.  Might just put a bow with a mini sharpie tied to it.

Today was a Monday for sure.  I stress out to go to my dentist appointment, only to find out it is next Monday.  Fine I jet to my clients house and get so wrapped up in organizing that I am there for 6 1/2 hours.  I get home and decided to cut the grass, only to find out that I have no gas, back out to get gas.  They are widening the road in front of our subdivision so it really wasn't quick.  I stopped by Home Depot and grabbed more potting soil.  

I cut the grass and planted our seedlings, picture tomorrow it is to dark out now for pictures.  Then I decide that we need to get the hot tub ready for the next season.  I am letting it drain over night only to clean it out tomorrow.

Kids are all farmed out for the next 2 days, and hubby is not feeling good and now I am sore I can barely move.  So frozen dinners tonight and on to watch basketball.  We are not even playing it it.  Carolina should have made it here for sure.

Posting pictures of hot tub and garden tomorrow.

Forever!

Ugh!  I was off to a good start with blogging and then life happened.
Wow!  We have been so busy at the Fosters compound.  Kaitlyn and I were in the craft show at Mallard Creek High School and soon to be in another big spring craft show at our local church.  I have been making all the tags for her jewelry.  Pretty soon I will have to get staples to make these.  That will take money out of Kaitlyn's pocket.  I just can't bring myself to do that just yet.  She is looking forward to the Easter Bunny!!

Yesterday Hannah and I egged a couple of our neighbors.  We have so much fun with this.  Egging someone is different then throwing raw eggs at peoples houses, You scatter 12 candy filled eggs in their front yard with a note that tells them they have been egged and what to do next, then ring the bell and run.

Then you leave this poem on a separate piece of paper.

Look at that! You've just been EGGED!

But do not be alarmed.

We came, we dropped,we ran away...

Your house, it was not harmed.

So what is this before you now?

Just an early spring surprise.

Be quick and look around your yard...

TWELVE EGGS lay in disguise.

A secret friend has just dropped by

To share some spring time cheer.

So now you're it!  It's now your turn

To EGG a house that's near.

Select a friend, or two or three...

Gather a dozen EGGS for each.

Be sly and hide them, knock and flee!

Leave this message at arm's reach.

Hang a poster at your door

And now your task's complete.

Days 'til Easter aren't much more...

Aren't surprises sweet!!

The kids love to do this still.  Thank goodness.  They have a mommy that loves doing all this stuff.  We have 2 more houses to do.  It rained to night so we will have to wait until tomorrow.

Hannah and I made our first raised garden bed.  We went to Home Depot and bought all the stuff that I had pinned earlier.  Hammered and laughed so hard that Hannah about peed her pants.  The staff at home depot were so helpful.  Kevin in the lumber department found out what I was doing and lead me straight to the right wood I needed.  Who knew that you are not supposed to use treated wood.  I guess the chemicals that is used can contaminate your veggies.  We now have our seeds in a starter tray, some nice stranger helped us with this.  She must have been a avid gardener, because she knew and shared with us which seeds and what type of soil to buy.  Dang it was like I had a sign on my (flat) chest, saying "I have no idea what I am doing."  Heck I will wear it again if this is how much help I get:) 

I even have the chicken wire at the top of the bed for the cucumbers and beans.  Maybe even a tomato plant. I swear guys it looks just like a bed.  Husband comes home from picking up our dancer girl, takes one look at it and responds with..."Um yeah that looks really getto."  Hannah and I look at each other and then inform him that when the veggies come in it wont matter how getto it looks, we are going to enjoy it.  Now I just have to wait for the homeowners police to come by and send me a lovely letter informing me to tear it down.

I had a blast last weekend with my mom.  My brother had a business trip and we went down to ATL to watch the kiddo's.  I love the Grant Park area.  The old homes most of them restored to simple elegance.  While I was their my nephew who is now 6 had a soccer game.  So cute.  He would run a little bit and then skip.  He kicked that ball really hard and somewhat far, and then looks over to the sidelines to see if my mom and I were watching.  SO CUTE.

We then decided to cut my brothers grass for him.  The neighbors are young and renters and don't take care of their yard, so we decided to cut their back yard.  It was so tall that we had to use one of those push mowers that have spinning blades.  It was pretty new.  I didn't even know that they made those anymore.  I remember my Grandma and Grandpa having one when we were little, I don't know why because Grandpa had tractors and any farm machine that you could imagine.  I think he had it for us kids to do a little work with out getting hurt.  I was glad that my brother had one of those because the weeds (clover) in this yard was up to our knees.  There is no way my brother's lawn mover would've even lasted in that forest.  He was so cute.  He held up his skinny arm like he was making a muscle and said "My daddy is going to be proud of me, this is like working out."  I was about to die.  It was HOT and I was really doing most of the work.  But it was so worth it.  I made some great memories with my nephew.

In our local school system their sports team have to pick a game to play to benefit a cause.  Guess what!! We are doing it for AUTISM.  So I was so excited to hear that.  Our head coach teaches at the local Middle school in an autistic classroom.  The girls are going to wear light blue shirts and sock.  There is going to be a silent auction and the gate fees will go to Autism Speaks!!!!

Oh that leads me to something very important......

APRIL 2nd  I AM ASKING EVERYONE TO PLEASE PLACE A BLUE LIGHT BULB IN YOUR FRONT PORCH LIGHT.  If you don't have a front porch light then place it in a window that can be seen from the street.  It is turn it blue for Autism.

I will keep you posted on Hannah's and my seedlings:)

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Tiff