My dining room..err...ummm...dining area.

Soooo...this is our dining room, which isn't really a dining room because it is connected to our kitchen and is not separated by any walls.

But...we "dine" in this room only when we have guests over. So, to me that makes it a dining room.

I mostly use the table to store my crap which drives my husband insane, but isn't that what dining rooms are for?  To store crap until we have guests over and then we pretend that we have our sh%^ together and make it all nicey-nicey until they walk out the door.

Or is that just me?

Anyways, here is our dining room.  Or should I say dining "area".

Our very big table.  It isn't always this big but the last time we had a get together, we added the extra leaves and never took them out.

That was last Christmas!  Hubby picked out the lighting, and I must admit, he did a frickin good job.  I love the sconces and chandelier.The view from the kitchen "area".Can someone make/buy us some window coverings please?The view from the children's bedroom hallway.My $10 centrepiece arrangement.  Remember, I am no where close to Martha Stewart, even though I want to be.  Don't judge.
Hubby picked out the dining furniture. It is dark. It is manly looking. And it is formal. I feel like it belongs in Hugh Hefner's formal dining room, but, nope. It sits in our very casual home, and somehow fits in just fine.Check out more dining rooms here.I bet they have "real" dining rooms.And nicer centrepieces.

Sit down. Are you ready? I made a craft.

I am not crafty. 
I would love to be.
But I am not.

When I see a {very} simple craft, I go with it and make it my own.  Just as I did with this frame.

Simple.
Cheap.

My kind of craft.

Items needed
inexpensive floral and greenery to match your decor or season
hot glue gun
matted frame {without glass}
wire clippers

Gather your materials as well as some bandages for your many glue gun burns.
Put on your apron just to get in the right mood.
Turn on the music.  Whatever gets your crafty-ness going.

Clip off the flowers and leaves so you just have the pretty "heads" left.

Glue largest flowers to the cardboard backing exposed in your frame.

Continue adding the smaller flowers and greenery until the cardboard is completely covered and you are happy with the look.

Find a pretty stand and put the frame wherever you choose.  Mine is in my kitchen in an unused corner.

Because I already owned the frame, this craft cost me $6.

Cheap is what I am all about.

(huh?)

The possibilities with this craft are endless.

I will be doing a Christmas themed frame with bells and ornaments.

My kids want to do a Halloween themed frame with pumpkins or skulls.

And they also want to make one that matches their bedroom decor.

Simple.

Cheap and Simple make Momma happy.

Getting many glue gun burns....umm...not so much.

Click here to see more WW posts

Have You Ever?

It's that time again my friends. Time to ask others if they have ever done/thought/wanted/had/watched the same stuff as you so you can feel like you are not alone in this big, crazy world.

*Have you ever wondered why people wear jackets and then roll the sleeves up? I mean, if you're cold, put on a coat. If you're not cold, then leave it off. It is simple.

Or maybe I am just totally uncool and not with the new "trend".

Or maybe I am just old.

*Have you ever looked at a picture of yourself and wished your legs were just as skinny?

Who cares if you were a child.

*Have you ever been called a "dumb butt" by your six year old?

*Have you ever had "the sex talk" with your children?  Please give some hints and pointers as we will be doing so very soon.

*Have you entered my giveaway?

*Have you ever rocked out to a song while driving and then looked over to see that you're being stared at?

Me neither.

OK...maybe just once.

Now join in so we can all let you know that you're not alone in this scary thing called "Life".

Le Tour de la Chambre de Momma et Busy

Translation: A Tour of Momma and Busy's bedroom.  I think.

Boudoir
Love nest

Whatever you want to call it.

When we had this house gutted and redone, we also had a 1000 square foot addition added to the main floor. Approximately 878 of it is our bedroom.  Or something like that.

It is large.

It is too large.

And still needs alot of work.

Give me a few years and alot of money and I can have it exactly that way I want, but, for now it looks like this.

Our bedroom in pictures.
With Studley added in, just because he wanted to show you where his bed is.

Hey Studley!  You look marvelous!

Can someone make us some curtains?

Please note that the {artificial} greenery thing does not belong in our bedroom, but because I decorated our dining table with fall decor, it is temporarily decorating our very large television.

Stay tuned for more next week.

In the meantime I will continue wishing that money grew on trees so I could afford to make all of the changes I want to our bedroom.

Go see Kelly to view more master bedrooms.  I will be searching them all for the perfect window coverings and area rugs......and bedroom furniture....and wall mounted televisions.....and wall decor.....and lamps.

Today was a memorable day at Momma's house!

Someone went pee pee in the potty today.
And it wasn't just me.

Our home is almost diaper-free for the first time in almost 9 years.

I don't know whether I should sing "Hallelujah" or to have a good ugly cry.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli   *While you are here, make sure you enter to win some fantabulous Scholastic books!

What if.......

Evil in a photograph. Right here.

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

I was in my early teens when news broke of a serial rapist/killer close to home.  Young girls were being abducted, tortured and murdered in the most horrific ways.

As a young girl, I was terrified.  But also glued to the television.

It was the first time I remember being so deeply affected by such tragedy.  I didn't know the young girls personally, but there were just too many eery circumstances that made me think "It could have been me".

News broke that the rapist drove around mall parking lots looking for his "catch".  When I heard that he drove around a mall parking lot just 10 minutes away from my home, I was terrified.  "What if.....?"

When I saw the pictures of three of the girls, they looked like any girl in my school.  Normal.  Pretty.  Kind.  Young.

When I learned that one of the girls lived in the same community and attended the same school I did as a young child, I couldn't help but wonder.  "What if....?"

It was a scary time.  Knowing that there was someone out there who was sick enough to do what he was doing, kept me awake at night.  Thinking of what these poor girls went through in their last hours made me sick to my stomach.  Wondering how their families could survive every moment without them made me do the ugly cry.

None of it made any sense.

And then we found out that his wife helped him.
And one of the girls was her own sister.

I am not someone who believes capital punishment is the answer, but in this case, I believe they deserve exactly what they did to these poor girls.  I will spare you the gory details.

I read every single book written.
Watched every documentary and news broadcast.
And saw the interviews.

My opinion hasn't changed.
I am forever scarred by the sickness of two scary individuals.
And my daughter will have to put up with Mommy's paranoia as she gets older and more independent because this story will be running through my mind until she is...ummmm......72.

Oh yeah.

Knowing that the female "sicko" is out of jail, has a healthy baby boy and is living a "normal" life makes me want to vomit.

Have you been deeply affected by a tragedy?????

Thanks to MamaKat, I will now have nightmares again.

In Which Momma Gives Stuff Away

To celebrate my 721st post I am giving something away. Other bloggers give away stuff to celebrate 1 year blogging....100 posts....a birthday....or have to write reviews of products in order to give it to their readers.

Not Momma.

I am giving away free stuff just because.

And 721 posts is pretty friggin phenomenal if you ask me.

But really, I am just nice.  And I love my readers muchly.

What am I giving away you ask?

Dinosaur stuff.

5 books all about dinosaurs.  Your children will be dinosaur experts after reading these books.....if they aren't already.

My children have never been interested in the creatures.  I tried my hardest but they said they were too scary...then they said that they are too hard to talk about because the names are too long....and now they say that dinosaurs are for little kids.

Hmph.

I guess they are for little kids who don't think they are scary and have great skills at pronouncing tough words.

But anyways.

I am giving all 5 books away to one person.
One person who comments on this post.
If the person is a follower on my blog, Twitter or Facebook page, I might just send them something extra to go along with it.

Because I am nice like that.

But make sure you let me know in your comment if you are a follower on any OK?

Happy 721st post to me.....and you!

Please go here to welcome the new WW hostess!

Have You Ever?

It's back.
Hold the applause and just join in damn it!

*Have you ever popped a zit and wish you hadn't popped it? I mean, have you ever popped a zit that didn't need to be popped and then ended up with a huge boil-like mark on your face?

C'mon. Just admit to it.

*Have you ever watched Dirty Jobs and laughed so much that you peed your pants just a little?

*Have you ever been happy when you see the stud from high school who is now not so "studly"?

Or the prettiest girl who is no longer so pretty?

*Have you ever wanted to win a lottery so you could splurge on Etsy "stuff"?

*Have you ever not won a lottery and splurged on Etsy "stuff"?

*Have you ever wanted to stop time?

*Have you ever wished you could talk to your younger self and give some advice?  (future post coming up soon)

*Have you ever wondered how your husband can eat so much meat?  Seriously, my hubby could have a plate full of just meat for a meal and think it is the best meal ever.

*Have you ever owned a dog who snored louder than a grown man?  *coughStudleycough*

*Have you ever wished you could get this much joy from running in an open field?

*Have you ever wished you could get any joy from running?????

Me too.

Tour Time....Again

Kelly has started her fabulous Show Us Where You Live series again, and, even though I participated last year I want to join in again. 

So there.

This week is Living Rooms.  We have two but I am only going to show one because the other room is a work in progress.

So there.

I live in a home with three males.  If I had my way, I would add some brighter colours and pretty flowers, but this is our family room as it sits right now.  Feel free to give suggestions.

View from the main entrance.

The room.  I like to call it "cozy".

Fireplace.  Just in case you werent sure.......

Like I said. Three males in this house.

Front door that never gets used.

View from the kitchen.

Stairs to the kitchen.

There you have it.  Our living room.  Come back next week to see another room in Momma's home.