Construction Update

Every morning we meet with the contractor to discuss one of the 100 decisions that will be made that day. Mr. Man usually starts it off because he has that dang job to get to. I love that sometimes I come home from my walk with the dogs to find this.. That is Mr. Man and the contractor up on the roof. Instead of cars in the driveway, we have massive amounts of wood. Incidentally, it comes from the same place that employed FLG (Fork Lift Guy), I think of him fondly everytime I see the truck. The house is starting to take shape, this is the new breakfast nook that will be in my new kitchen! We moved the dining room table into the new space and had dinner out there over the weekend. Meanwhile, we have been on what feels like a million shopping excursions. These are the new doors for the bedrooms.
It's all coming together!!

Be my Guest!

Can you imagine living in your dreamhouse? My very favorite Faux Twin Sister recently moved into her dreamhouse. I drool over the pictures and fantasize about stealing the house and driving it down the 101.

Today I'm doing a guest post over on Mary's Blog. Come and check it out!

My Glamourous Life

For Mother's Day, I went to a spa for what I assumed was a facial. I was pleasantly surprised when I was told that I had been booked for a "Special Event" which included a massage. I didn't hear much after that except for the word, "glamour."

After the facial and a massage, I was whisked off to hair and make up. Then I was told to wait for my "glamour session." At this point, my hair is poofed into a 'do' reminiscent of Dolly Parton and I'm wearing more make-up than I have worn in the last 10 years... combined. I'm still unsure why this is all being done, but I decide to go with the flow, I mean after all, I've been sent for some pampering... if it means I don't have to worry about brushing my hair for the rest of the day, even better.

I was then taken to a room that had been set up with a makeshift studio. There was a big rack of something resembling clothes covered in sequins, leather, and feathers. Then I spied the wind machine and I became terrified. Did they mean "Glamour Shots?'

I was immediately disrobed and wrapped in feathers, velvet, and leather. Meanwhile the photographer's assistant primps my hair, pops on fake jewels clothes, and suggests putting vaseline on my teeth to help my smile appear more natural. The photographer is enthusiastically giving me directions to help get into character. "You spot a handsome man at the bar... beckon him with your eyes... Oooo good... now look away.."

Inside I'm dying of laughter...because... seriously? This is not me... the fur... the feathers... the makeup...

Look, I love clothes, shoes, and looking nice. I'm not a big makeup or hair person, preferring more of a natural look. No one but my mother seem to think I'm an ogre without makeup. This is me on an average day.

And this is me after 90 minutes of hair & makeup along with an insane amount of photoshop.How horrifyingly awesome is that? FEATHERS!! Please promise me that if I die, this is NOT the picture that is blown up and placed next to my coffin. This is not how I want to be remembered, it doesn't even look like me, they photoshopped out my collarbones! I love these pictures for one solitary reason... they make me laugh hysterically.

*Other Glamour Shots will be posted in upcoming posts! I bet you can't wait!

See You Later Suckers....

Last week, Mr. Boy's teacher mentioned that the report cards were finished and awaiting mailing. Big mistake to this summer lovin mama. The next morning as I hiked with the dogs I realized if I moved Mr. Boy appointments at Children's Hospital up by a few hours we could squeeze in a trip to the beach. It would mean leaving school early, but who cares! As we pulled away from the school, I rolled down the window and yelled, "See you later Suckers" to the poor kids on the playground, much to my childrens' delight.

As soon as we parked, the kids jumped out of the car, screaming with joy... running full speed with arms wide open to the water. It was as though they were reuniting with an old friend. One drawback to the Chalet is the maze of freeways to the beach. Our old house was a 17 minute straight shot to the sand, even during rush hour.

We ran and danced in the sea that afternoon. We made sand angels in the warm sand and saw dolphins playing in the water. AK was so proud of her sand "gloves & slippers" just like cinderella! This guy endured some awful and painful procedures with flying colors just a few hours before. He is so brave. We are so lucky to have a stellar docs working with us and Mr. Boy is so lucky to have gotten treatment when he did. Cellulitis is nasty stufff. AK proved fearless and tried to body surf a few times. Mr. Boy screamed, "Mom, go get her, she is going to kill herself with her foolishness!" We played until the sun went down... And I did not feel even just a little bit of guilt for missing school that day.

Chalet du Francais Appreciation Day: Le Salon

I think I start every single one of these post with the phrase: This house is ridiculously small, excuse the horrid pictures, by now it should go without saying. This is what you see when you walk in the door of Chalet du Francais. The living room/family room/dining room/breakfast nook is very plain jane and currently houses all the random pieces of furniture waiting a new space. I love these big old windows, it kills me that they are going to be torn out. Check out the piano which came to us via my pal Laura via the Clean House Garage Sale. It's a Wurlitzer Player Piano, and every day it serenades us. I LOVE it, and love Laura for bringing it to my house. I am forever indebted to her. That piano is hiding a terrible secret, the world's most boring fireplace. Psst.. also check out the lovely hardwood floors... which are not that lovely once you see them in person, that will be fixed in the summer. When I first met the chalet, it was filled with all this amazing mid-century furniture. We actually asked for some of the furniture to stay, and they happily agreed. Behind the couch is an old record cabinet which makes for fantastic toy storage. I fell in love with this table from the moment I laid eyes on it and Mr. Man & Mr. Boy saw the China Cabinet as the perfect Lego Cabinet. There's my old revamped armoire, which looks very out of place in this room now. This table is ridiculously awesome, and in amazing condition. It has these hidden leaves which pull out to transform it into a table for 10 or 12. I've never actually pulled them all the way out. I foresee lots of big meals here with family and friends. This room is the center of activity right now, it's the main gathering space. In a few weeks, this room will be the more formal area and literally in the center of the house. I'm gonna miss those bright and sunny windows.

Quiet Mornings

I awoke to rain this morning. Not a real rain, just a soft drizzle, that cast a silvery sheen all over the hillside. Since the start of construction, I've been getting up before everyone to take the dogs on a hike, take photos of the progress, and prepare for the day before the workmen arrive. I'm not a morning person, but I love these quiet moments.
As I walked with the dogs, I couldn't help but feel disappointed with the rain, construction would be halted for a day or two. Then I watched 18 deer make their way to a patch of trees, their favorite spot to camp out in the rain. I easily spotted Rupert, my favorite baby deer, and I couldn't help but smile. He broke away from the herd to come and see if I left any food out for him. I absolutely have fallen in love with Rupert those big brown eyes and eyelashes just melt my heart and his spunky spirit makes me laugh. I've deemed Rupert the new Prozac, instant mood lifter.

Juggling

This pretty much sums up my life. Mr. Boy & Mr. Nephew playing Legos while some workman in the back pounds away and Skoopi looks stressed.

It's been fun for the most part. I'm juggling a lot of balls in the air... being mom, wife, foreman, designer, budget watcher, dog nurse, accountant... not sure I trade any of them. Well maybe if someone offered me money... one thing about construction, there is never enough money.

Humor me

Last year, I was probing Mr. Man about the possibility of a pool. He stated very matter of factly, "That we would never have a pool, and if we did it would be over his dead body." Many friends have approached me and in a very quiet voice asked, "Where'd you stash his body?" I assure you, Mr. Man is alive and well as noted in today's photo. Every evening, we walk the site noting what progress was made and I snap photos from the same location to document the whole process. Thankfully, Mr. Man has had a change of heart and we are currently bidding out the pool and a sports court. *Knock on wood*light a candle*cross your fingers* or whatever you believe in, that it actually happens this year. One of the pool contractors I was referred to sent me a lovely polite email asking for an idea of what I envisioned for the project. He asked if I had a picture from a magazine or website that was serving as my inspiration. I decided to whip out my mad photoshop skillz and show him what I had imagined in my head. These are the pictures I sent. I also copied Mr. Man on the email.... who showed his whole project team.
My favorite is the guy shooting the basketball... it cracks me up. Hopefully the pool guy has a sense of humor....

Constructionland

Our house is one giant amusement park right now...with big toys to ride on. *
And a big pit for digging in the dirt. There is a mountain of dirt to climb....and a pile of dirt & debris to explore. There is also cool stuff to watch all day long as things get destroyed. Did I mention the dirt? Oh, the dirt is everywhere, but dirt =progress, so I don't mind.

*Can you believe they left that Bobcat there all weekend long WITHOUT the key? I was so mad, all I wanted to do was take that thing out for a spin. It just sat there all weekend taunting me.

Going Strong...

Ceci mon papa. This is my dad. At 75, he's plays a mean game of basketball.
He still dives under the house when his darling daughter wishes for an electrical outlet for the mudroom. Even after I insisted that I didn't want him to do that. The Dogs adore him, and he spoils them. Sandy knows she can get away with anything when he is around. My dad is super patriotic, he flies the flag each and every day on his very own flagpole. During the holidays, Mr. Boy's school had a holiday gift shop. Mr. Boy bounded home and pronounced that he needed an exorbitant amount of money for "this awesome eagle for Grandpa." The next day I went with Mr. Boy to the Holiday gift shop, and when I saw it, I knew Mr. Boy was right, it was perfect for my dad. I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I think it was the world's best Christmas gift.

Fortress of Solitude

As we drove up to the house yesterday, Mr. Boy proclaimed, "Awesome, it's just like a Force Field around our house." Construction has begun on our addition, which will add 1,000 sq ft to the Chalet. I'm getting very excited! Last night at 5pm, the whistle blew and I bid adieu to the last hard hat, locking up the gate. Then I let the kids and dogs play with every window and door open. It was so nice not to have to worry about Sandy the Wandering Dog, walking down the hill into the heart of the city for a Pink's Hot Dog. I still can't understand why Sandy loves to wander towards the city when she has this in her backyard.
A couple other big benefits to the Force Field, it keeps out solicitors who can't figure out how the heck to get to the front door and even better when Mr. Man pulls up... I get to ask him for the password before I open the gate and let him drive on in. It feels very rogue.. kind of like a compound and I love it.

The Earth Day Revolution

Last Earth Day we had the opportunity to take the kids to a store where they traded in empty plastic bottles for a toy. I thought it would be a good idea to teach the kids about not being wasteful. Even better, we just walked around the parking lot of the mall to gather the empty water bottles, picking up what others had tossed on the ground. Litterbugs are one of my pet peeves. The kids watched a short video that showed plastic water bottles being turned into toys, the kids were fascinated. It started an obsession with recycling. I took them to the recycle center where they got to pop the bottles and cans in a cool machine and out popped money. That sealed the deal, the kids think that recycling is the greatest thing on the planet. (Although AK cried and couldn't figure out why toys didn't pop out instead.) Soon my office, the neighbors, and Ross's office started to contribute to the kids recycling project. It has turned my car into a giant trash can, at any given moment my trunk is full of bottles and cans. I feel like a hillbilly with all those cans rattling while I drive around town. Even worse I live on a hill, and one time a bag rolled out the back and I had to chase 30 errant water bottles down the street.
All this so my kids can earn roughly $0.85. Happy Earth Day!

My Little Brother

We LOVE Mr. Uncle around here. He is technically Mr. Man's brother, making him my in law, but I've known him more than half his life, so I just call him my brother.
A few weeks before moving to the Chalet, Mr. Man called up Mr. Uncle and said, "HELP!" Mr. Uncle moved into the Chateau, because that's what brothers do. We put him to work and we could not have done this move without him. He worked on a bunch of stuff that had been on Mr. Man's to do list. In between projects, he took time to toss the kids in the air. Of all the hard work Mr. Uncle did, this is my very favorite project. Apparently Mr. Uncle, fearing for the safety of the new residents at Chateau du la Francais, built a bomb shelter.

Maybe it's actually a sprinkler cover, but this thing is ridiculously heavy. We let Mr. Uncle go to town and make whatever he envisioned. $200 of materials and 3 coats of paint we were ready to move it into place. Mr. Uncle went to move it into place and we heard the dreaded words of "Uh Oh". We wandered out to see what was going on. We all tried lifting this beast and fell over. It was so obnoxiously heavy. We started to chuckle and soon it turned into hysterical laughter, where we had tears streaming down our faces. It was the best laugh I'd had the entire year.
Thank you Mr. Uncle*.

PS Mr. Uncle is an ambitious guy... ahem who is single.. just in case you know someone. Also, he has like 14 companies, hence the links, because I owe him in a big way, like $50 Billion dollars, my firstborn, and a new bomb shelter for all the free help he gave us.

Tax Season 2010

After having to take most of Friday off, due to a medical emergency* with Mr. Boy, this is what I feel like is waiting for me. Four more days until the 15th!

*Mr. Boy had cellulitis in his jaw. Things were pretty scary for a few hours, but thanks to our awesome pediatrician, amazing dentist, and the good folks of Children's Hosptial Orange County he is on the mend. And note to self: Please get a new local pediatrician, not something to put off until after tax season.

Eternal Sandy

Sandy, the world's second worst best dog, has cancer. She was diagnosed back in September and given 3 weeks to live. Sandy doesn't like being told how long to live. The cancer has now spread to her lungs and in January the vet said, "I'd say 2 weeks, but it's Sandy, so she might just outlive us all." Sandy is ridiculously stubborn, not even cancer can slow her down. Other than a chronic cough, you wouldn't be able to tell anything is wrong. She is still making mischeif... She still firmly believes the world is at her beck and call. She can still keep up with the pack, and is always eager to go on a hike. She still greets you in the morning as if you just won the lottery, and will dance right along with you, by bouncing on her front paws. I can think of no better place for her to spend her last days then up here at Chalet du Francais, it's a dogs paradise.

Bad News Kid..

Bad News... looks like Dad drained your college savings to support a Lego Addiction.
On the upside it makes for some awesome Star Wars Lego Battles.