We Got the Funk

I woke up singing Uptown Funk this morning.  It must have been in this bizarre college dream I had last night, maybe during the party scene in my old church sanctuary with a couple of movie stars and some college friends I haven't seen for years?  

Regardless, with that song in embedded in my brain, I knew it would be a good day.  I mean, you can't help but dance along to this.  It's a physical and psychological impossibility.  Even though they play it to death on the radio.  Even though there have been 147 parodies.  It's just a damn fun tune. 

Before the sun came up, as I was doing my butt lifting Barre3 exercises...

This hit, that ice cold

Michelle Pfeiffer, that white gold

This one for them hood girls

Them good girls straight masterpieces

Waking up the kids with armpit tickles and ruddy cheek kisses...

Stylin, whilen, livin it up in the city

Got Chucks on with Saint Laurent

Gotta kiss myself, I'm so pretty

Packing lunches, kissing Rich in the kitchen...

I'm too hot, (hot damn)

Call the police and a fireman

I'm too hot, (hot damn)

Say my name you know who I am

Doing Sam's hair (with Sam singing the whoos)...

Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)

Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)

Girls hit your hallelujah (whoo)

Dancing with Lena on her bed while she got dressed...

Cause uptown funk gonna give it to you

Cause uptown funk gonna give it to you

Cause uptown funk gonna give it to you

Saturday night and we in the spot

Don't believe me just watch 

We all left with smiles on our faces (me because of the song, my family surely because I had been dancing around singing like an idiot all morning), hopeful that our days would be...

Smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy

The Battle Begins

It's been over two months since I've posted, and I wasn't very diligent before that.

Oh how I loathe you, Winter.  

How you weaken my concentration, dampen my creativity, undermine my motivation...blarg.

This blog is mainly used to chronicle our lives, a family journal of sorts.  My mind is not a tight trap of memories like most people's.  I lose moments the farther I get from them, which sucks and kind of scares me.  So I use this blog as my memory, to capture all the little day to days and the big events, reviving those moments every time I read through.    

Sometimes I use this space to exercise my writing, but since I haven't been doing much but photo dumping, that's been grossly neglected too.

So I apologize to myself, my family and my few loyal followers for withholding the daily excitement of the Cole family's life and for allowing the transitory meanderings of my restless mind to wane so. Inspired by Spring's noble battle against the remains of its horrendous wintry foe, I will fight against lethargy and laziness to be more attentive to this memory bank and to let my mind to freely roam upon its pages!

Dramatic enough for you?

Aaaaaand here's the photo dump. :)

I just got back from my annual spring trip down south to see Jen.  Tara was able to come this year and it was one of the best trips ever!

Miles all cozied up to his mamma.

Warm winter hike through Inniswood.  

Lynn, our wonderful babysitter and friend, was sick for weeks with pneumonia.  So while she recovered, Rich and I juggled the kids between us.  Both of them got to come to work with me, which was actually kind of fun and which also made me realize how blessed I am to have the boss I have.  This was one of Lena's days.

Sam and I had a date night at the end of February when Rich took Lena to their first Father-Daughter dance.  Sam and I had an awesome evening with dinner at the Japanese steakhouse and a trip to the used bookstore.

My little girl looked so grown up for her special dance night with Daddy!  She picked out that dress with Lori and I, and it was perfect for her.  

Disney on Ice!

Rich and I went to see Mavis Staples and the Blind Boys of Alabama around Valentine's Day.  Fun night out.  

Sam helping Lena with her numbers.

Lena, the super crime fighter.

A visit to the Conservatory...we love that place.

Dinner with good friends and our fellas.

Much more than what is chronicled in the photo dump has occurred since January...

Dad was in the hospital from a nasty attack of diverticulitis.  He had a few complications, but is doing well now and is finally beginning to feel like himself again, thanks to good doctors, Dad's stubborn perseverance, Mom's patient loving care and lots of prayers!  

Mom and Dad both had birthdays.

Sam has been struggling with his mountain of schoolwork, focusing problems and a not so great first grade teacher.  But he is persevering, learning and growing despite of it all, so way to go Sammy!

Lori's family has been busy with baseball (Dylan got on the high school team!), other sports, schools and various viruses, as have both of our kids...ugh.  Another reason to LOATHE WINTER!  

We are all desperately cheering on Spring and craving warmer weather, open windows, bike rides and green grass.  

Come on Spring!

Blue Doors, Stolen Chairs, and Gooey Kids...

Blue doors, stolen chairs and gooey kids...just another week at our house. 

We're trying to finish up our front porch.  After many, so very many paint swatches, texting consultations with Jen (my color expert), in-person consultations with Lori (who wisely geared me toward the lighter hues), and going back and forth between several shades of turquoise; Rich and I settled on this beautiful, warmer shade of light turquoise.  And we love it. (I promise to post a better photo very soon.)

We used the same color to paint the loveseat Rich made. (Again, updated/better photos to come.)

I believe (though I'm not certain yet) that I'm going to use the same color to paint this rocking chair, which I will be adding to the front porch...and which I pulled from someone's garbage this week.  Before you say anything, yes, I am aware that this is the second rocking chair I have saved from the junkyard.  And yes, Rich has a little more repair work to do on this one than the last. And yes, my son told his neighborhood friends,

"It's so crazy.  I don't know why my mom keeps stealing chairs..."

(I tried explaining that it isn't stealing if someone's throwing the thing away, but he still eyed me with suspicion.) 

Regardless of all that, I'm still elated with my find and you can bet your bottom dollar that if I see another cute rocking chair on somebody's curb on trash day, I'll be stuffing it my hatchback faster than you can say dumpster diver. 

Our sad little planters on the front porch got a facelift this weekend when I painted them to match our outside trim.  The white here is just primer, but I was so astounded how much better they looked just with primer that I had to take a photo. 

 

Our trim is this beautiful butter cream color, so I painted the planters to match and plan to put boxwoods in them, inspired by this photo.

In addition to reshaping, edging, mowing and mulching our flower beds and yard, and stripping and priming some bubbling trim on our house; my work horse of a husband also cut down our very, very dead out front.  Well, he didn't so much cut as he pushed it down (it was so light and dry and dead that it just kind of fell on its own).  He transplanted in its place a little Japanese maple that was overcrowded in the backyard and we're hoping the transplant takes.  According to our neighbors, this was the second tree to die in that same spot, so...yikes!

In honor of the very, very dead tree, we used some of its branches for an impromptu s'mores party for some neighbor kids.  They were all gooey and full and smiley by the time the pile of branches was gone, which I took to mean "Thanks.  We'll be back."  And I hope they are...I like having them all around.   

 

Wait for it...wait.......I crafted yesterday.  BAM! 

In honor of teacher appreciation week, and because I don't have money to buy gift cards worth anything for the very deserving teachers my kids have had this year, I was kind of forced to craft.  But I did it and think the crafted presents turned out terribly cute.  I wrote the notes on Lena's teachers' scissors and she signed her name.  Sam wrote the whole thing for his teacher.  They are both very excited to give them to their teachers tomorrow...and so am I!

I Love a Parade!

On Saturday while Rich and I were busy painting and assembling furniture, our kids put on a mini parade with some of their neighborhood friends.  They used our little truck as the float, taped signs to it identifying the different princesses on the float, who were dressed in their finest costumes and coronated after the parade.  This priceless pretty princess parade was escorted by my handsome son, who was nominated to be the "Awesome Police" and rode security patrol along beside them on a scooter.  

Rich had run to the store and unfortunately missed the whole spectacle.  But the kids made me stop painting and walk down to the end of the street to join some other parents, who were sitting in lawn chairs on the sidewalk waiting for the parade to begin.

After the coronation of princesses, during which Lena was crowned "The Princess of Sparkles", they sang selections from Frozen for all of us. 

In the immortal words of Corey Feldman in The Burbs..."God, I love this street."

And here is what Rich and I were busy doing while our kids were parading about.  This is my parents' old console stereo.  They have had it since they were married and have used it as a buffet table for many of those years.  But I have fond memories of playing Olivia Newton John and Solid Gold records on its turntable and dancing around like a crazy child.   

Anyway after 45 years, they finally bought themselves an actual buffet table to replace this old stereo and, as is the practice of any respectable parent, handed down their unwanted furniture to their kids.  Lori passed on this beauty, so we gratefully snatched it up. 

The stereo equipment this console held was mostly inoperable, so Rich gutted it, built shelves and new front panels and we painted it this weekend. 

And here is the end product.  It turned out great!  

Life Lately...

Rich bought me a new bike!  Isn't it the absolute most perfect spectacle of a bicycle you've ever seen?

Grammy and Grandpa Cole came down for a visit!  Here we are one night chilling and watching a movie.  We had a great time with pretty decent weather, a lot of talking and laughing and corned beef...and an awesome little excursion to downtown Westerville for antiquing, Old Bag of Nails and Graeter's.  Can't wait to see them again.  Love you guys!

Figuring out Lena's hair for picture day at preschool.  We haven't gotten them back yet...my baby's first school pictures....I can't talk about it anymore. 

Sam modeling some cool mirror shades while we were Easter outfit shopping.  Notice his poor front tooth sticking out...both front teeth have been loose for a couple months now, but that one little booger of a tooth is so loose that it sticks straight out now...mommy's little hillbilly. 

Lena's very first ballet recital is coming up in May!  I can't believe it.  Here she is modeling her recital costume.  I don't think she likes it very much...do you?

My big stinker finishing up his homework at Starbucks with me one morning while Lena was at preschool.  He brought one of his light-up things in so we could have a candlelit breakfast together...love that boy.

Sam at soccer practice.  If you look at this picture blown up you'll see this biggest, buck-toothed grin on that boys face.  He's really taking to soccer, figuring things out pretty quickly, staying interested and engaged.  I think we might have found Sam's sport?

Hanging with my girls several weeks ago at Molly's house.  I would post one of all three of us, but they all turned out terrible and I have been forbidden to post them. :)  These girls rejuvenate me.  I love them and am so grateful for their presence in my life. 

At Mom and Dad's over spring break with one tiny little babysitting kid.  My children were very funny around me when I was showing the baby any attention.  They both wanted to sit by me, share their treats with me, asked me how I was.  LOL.  Maybe I should consider having another baby just to make my kids behave like good little humans...on second thought...I'm just too tired.

My amazing husband...I said to him one day, "Hey, I posted a picture on Pinterest of a great step-backed Adirondack loveseat that would look awesome on the front porch."  When I got back from the overnight at my parents' house, this is what the kids and I saw on the porch.  Whamo.  Done.  He built the thing so fast and beautifully...he's a magic man. :) 

We're planning on painting our front door a light turquoise this weekend and will paint this loveseat to match.  I'm so excited to see the finished product!

We took a mini-spring break getaway to a hotel at Polaris that had an awesome indoor pool and hot tub.  First we stopped and ate a big breakfast, then went to watch the new Muppets movie, and finally checked into the hotel. The kids were chomping at the bit to get there, God love them.  They love hotels.  It was a grand adventure for our little ones. :)  We swam and had fun at the hotel all afternoon and evening and then headed back out.  The hotel deal gave us a $50 card to use at the new Dave & Buster's down the street, so after a nice dinner, we went there and had a great time playing games and winning tickets!  We got some more pool time in the next day before check out and then it was onto Cincinnati....

 

...for our very first Ikea trip!  Whoa.  That place blew our minds.  We bought some things we absolutely couldn't live without and got some cool ideas for furniture that Rich could build (which would be much higher quality than what they offer there).  But that place rocks. 

 

They are very smart about how they have the showrooms set up, placing things for kids to look at and play with everywhere.  I think our kiddos had as good of a time as we did.    

 

And the kids started swim lessons!  This class was their first together, but I have since had to switch Sam to a different class due to his soccer schedule conflict.  Anyway, I was glad they were together for at least the first class, because Lena started to cry when we stood her in the water and backed away 5 feet to watch the lesson.  She hasn't cried for a drop-off since she was very little at the church nursery.   

She turned and gave me that sad face, started to cry and ran to me.  I just lovingly shoved her back toward the water and asked Sam to hold her hand, which of course he did and told her that everything was ok.  10.1 seconds later she was holding the teacher's hand and tromping around in the water with a huge happy smile on her face. 

They both had a great time and seem to actually be learning things.

So busy, these days of learning and experiencing and growing.