So much you have all missed!

I have been off the blog-o-shpere for a bit due to being so busy, so I have a lot of catchin' ya'll up to do.
    Firstly, I found my camera!
 
 Next, After I babysat miss Lucy for a few hours, I got to baby sit miss Madi Jane.

Yeah!

 Noah was excited to have another friend to hang out with all morning.

 Then, once Daddy got home, there was wrestling. Noah calls this one the "back-slapper", 'cause he gets on Daddy's back and slaps him.

  And now, friends, one of the two highlights of my week: my laundry room! Those of you who are stay at home mothers or might have seen my laundry room before may understand how I can be so excited about a room dedicated to one of those household chores that never ever ends. I really wish I could have taken a before, but that's not how I roll. (annoyingly), instead, here are the afters!

Does anyone else here choirs singing?

 This was the laundry room/dog room. Since there was no door separating the garage from the rest of the house, we had a pretty hard time keeping the dogs out of there. Thus, this room used to be a nasty, dirty, hairy, dusty, moldy, scratched-up, dark little hole of a room. The walls were burnt orange and the floors were a dirty tile. Those cabinets where black and had no doors on them, so everything in them was dusty and dirty too. So, one day this week, Stephan decided to replace the door. That lead to him rebuilding the door frame, which meant he wanted to add crown molding to match, that lead to the base boards, which couldn't be done before new floors were installed, and since he was doing all of that he decided he might as well paint and close off those cabinets with some custom-made doors. And viola! Momma gets a brand-spankin' new resting place for her mountains of laundry! 

Yes, that's Noah in a laundry basket. More on that to follow.

 Yes, he also put in blinds, which were so long overdue. Before the blinds, we had an old, brown, something nailed over that window.

And the new door. Metal, so that the dogs can ruin it with their irritating scratching. Needless to say, friends, I am so, very happy and blessed. And impressed! My husband is a nut! Fix a train-wreck of a laundry room in two days? Sure no prob, let me get my nail gun.

Noah just liked being in the basket. I had to coax him out of there, he liked it so much.

     The second highlight of my week is one that was just plain fun. As parents, Stephan and I spend most of our weekends resting quietly at home. We love it. But last night, we were called out to celebrate a 30th birthday with our good friend, so we sent off Noah and his little toof brush on his first slumber party with Bebe and Papa and dolled up!

YAY! a picture of me and my husband! these are sadly rare.

 We dined at Bernard's Mediterranean cafe. Stephan and I have never been there before, so it was a nice added treat. The atmosphere was intriguing and the food, delicious. I ended up not eating a lot, due to being pregnant, and then I left my to-go box of delicious left overs at the Garreds, but those 4 to 7 bites I took were amazing! And Stephan paid $35 for a fish.

The ladies and the cute-friend pose

 It's always a treat to get to hang out with out friends. It was especially fun to do so in such a new and nice environment. 

Guys aren't as good at the cute-friend pose.

 As usual, before the food arrived, the table shifted so that the women were at one end and the men at the other instead of each couple facing each other. It made it a bit less "seventh-grade dance", as Josh Garred described it.   

Happy Birthday, Karen!

    Afterward, we all headed to the Garreds to hang out and eat cookie cake. We stayed up until 12. All in all, a very fun night!

       And now, you are all caught up. Now, I must go! It's my daddy's birthday! Blessings on you all, my friends!