I'm so proud

Really.

The Coolest Room in the House!

The beaming smile says it all... He love Love LOVES his new bed and new room.

Isn't this the coolest bed ever?? Our neighbors sold it to us for a song after they bought it for their daughter and she was too scared to sleep up there. SCORE!

He's sleeping in there already - apparently he was moving favorite toys into drawers before Dad was even finished setting everything up.

We haven't even got his blind hung on the window yet but he couldn't wait.

I love putting that kind of smile on this little boy's face.

And I'm proud of his big brother (who's got to be at least a tiny bit jealous) because he's being a really great sport. Mind you, he does have a room all to himself now too. He'll be pretty pleased with himself when we get that, formerly shared, room sorted out and set up for him alone.

Great end to the day.

His RED Room

When we asked him what color he wanted he wanted his new room to be, my 8 year old said "RED!".

So red it is!

We just finished laying the carpet and putting on the baseboards tonight... and he was absolutely thrilled when we showed it to him. The boys have been sharing a room for 3 years now. It's been fine, but they're getting older and this is going to be a wonderful change for them... and they're both looking forward to being able to kick the other out whenever they want to!

This room used to be my husband's shop... although, to be fair, for at least the last year it's sole function has been a collection place for any all items in our home with no other place to go. Basically a junk storage room with alot of tools buried in there somewhere. It had the bare cement floor, the old pull-chord light, exposed frames from the inside of the walls facing out of the room... plumbing and duct work exposed... and the underside of our front entrance way. It was alot to "hide" and a ton of work to finish.

I'm thrilled just to be DONE!!

I've decided that I hate home renovating. Unless we paid someone else to come in and do it... I think I could live with that. But doing it yourself just takes so long... when all the time you have to devote to the project is the bits and pieces of your evenings & weekends that aren't already consumed by two boys in hockey.

Still... there is a sense of pride in a job well done... I'm just happy right now.

(even though I was so excited to take pictures of the "finished" product that I forgot to put the switch-plate back on!)

Tomorrow we'll bring in the new bed we bought for him. Did I say he was thrilled with his new bedroom? He ain't seen nothing yet!

SPOOKY!

It's got to be their favorite night of the year... except for maybe Christmas Eve?

Probably a toss-up... they definitely don't get this much candy at Christmas!

My oldest got all excited yesterday and went all out... digging through boxes that haven't seen the light of day in who knows how long - adding to the meager Halloween decorations I'd put up. His excitement was contagious... I even got motivated enough to pull out the window faces we haven't put up the past few years. Those things have held up well! They're just black felt and tissue paper... and probably close to 10 years old already. Still fun though... and in one piece!

My Grandmother was thrilled with our before trick-or-treating visit this year... usually we try to cram it in after the kids are done for the evening (and already tired-out from their travels) but with Halloween being on a Saturday, we were ready way too early to start going door-to-door - so off to Great-Grandma's we went.

Last year, at two, my girl enjoyed trick-or-treating and getting candy in her bag from our neighbors, but this year, at three, the pure thrill of Halloween really kicked in for her. She was awesome to watch: "Trick or TREAT!!" she'd yell at the top her lungs at each door (or usually as she was racing up their walks). She'd chatter at everyone who came to a door and most laughed at how adorable she was. "Tank-you! Happy Halloween" was her standard as she was turning to JUMP off their steps in her hurry to keep up with her big brother in the race to the next house.

I love trick-or-treating with the kids when they're little. Is there anything cuter?

My 10 year old struck out on his own this year for the first time... too cool for his little siblings now, I guess - and anxious to hook up with some friends so they could really cruise. The kid scored more than a full pillowcase of loot... I could barely lift it!

All in all, a perfect night... no snow on the ground, not too cold... and more candy in the house than I can possibly think of what to do with.

Happy Halloween!