Water + Color = Comfort

In Mid-March, we decided to take some time off of work to relax and spend some time with Liam, and to do some much needed painting in our house.

There is a place in Wisconsin, about three hours away called the Wisconsin Dells. We'd heard a lot about it, as many Chicagoans, as well as other Midwesterners escape to this destination-vacationland to get away from it all. A colleague of Joe's told him about a hotel there that had an indoor water area just for little ones. So, I did some research and reserved a room for us at the Polynesian Resort, which had an indoor water park and a splash area for the little ones. This might sound like a tiki-heaven of sorts, but I would not have used the term "resort" to describe it and the "restaurant" only served up microwave pizzas and junk food, but it was clean and the water area was warm and exactly what we were looking for. Liam had an okay time splashing around in the Water Works area for small 'uns, but it was a bit chilly for him. So, he found his true calling---sitting in the hot tubs. I wasn't going to complain! Joe and I had some fun taking turns going down the crazy, dark water slides and taking Liam around the "Lazy River" in an intertube. Liam especially liked it when daddy pushed mommy into the waterfalls.

We also drove around and got to know the Dells a lot better. I am sure at one point, the location with it's river and lake, was a fishing and camping, out-doorsy, sort of get away. Currently it is a pretty touristy water park/roller coaster destination. As it was still pretty chilly there, the outdoor water parks, roller coasters, and many of the restaurants were not open, but there were still a lot of people everywhere. One chilly morning, we got up and went over to Paul Bunyan's Cook Shanty, a restaurant that serves up hearty family-style meals and had a most delicious all-you-can-eat breakfast of fresh old-style sugared donuts, flapjacks, scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, potatoes, biscuits and gravy. (This was the best meal we had in the Dells; the rest of the food we had there was disappointing to say the least.) After that, we drove up to the Original Wisconsin Dells Ducks loading point and got ourselves three seats on an authentic Korean-war era duck, a boat/vehicle on wheels that drives you through the woods and then drives right into the water and turns into a boat. Liam was most amazed by this. I must say that I felt very uneasy when the duck drove into the river, but the tour was pretty interesting. After three days at the Dells soaking up that humid-indoor-heat at the water park and some sight seeing, we headed back home for some home improvements.

Our house has been our own for almost two years now, and we still had the previous family's (the Quinn's) couch in our living room, along with their dirty, hand-print- covered beige walls. We had been working hard over the last year to de-Quinn the house, as their handy work and style left a lot to be desired. This week, it was time to ditch the couch and paint those walls. In one weekend, we were able to sell the Quinn couch and loveseat for $300 on Craig's List and to pick up a nice dark blue microfiber full size futon for $50. The full size futon is temporarily serving as our living room couch until we can get something larger, more to our liking, and within our price range. We focused the painting on the main rooms in which we spent time, the front room, the living room, the foyer, and that little area in between our bedrooms. We caulked and cleaned and painted the moldings and got to work with some lovely bright colors. I am not afraid to have color in my house, after all, I have to live in it, and I want it to be comfortable and fun. We chose a "Japanese Fern" green and orangish/brown, "Apple Spice" for the living room, "River's Edge" blue and the "Apple Spice" for the front room, and "Chamomile" yellow for the foyer and space between our bedrooms. Joe had the brilliant idea to use the "Apple Spice" as accent on the bay windows to break up the blue, and it looks awesome. After a lot of hard work, we finally feel that the main part of our living space is actually ours!! Next, we're on to work on the upstairs guest room, then we've just got to redo the kitchen, paint the bedrooms, finish the basement....the list never ends! I hope that you enjoy the photos of the house. More to come...

Newbee

Starting off, music is a big part of my being, and I always listen to music when I am on the internet. So, I think it appropriate to start off my blog by letting you know that the soundtrack to this blog is Slim Harpo's album, "Raining in my heart...."

I figured as a 21st century, technologically savvy woman, it was about time that I started my own blog. Our family and our many friends are spread far and wide throughout the country and even overseas. Given we have a wee one and so much going on all of the time, it only seemed fair that I began a blog about the weekly happenings in our household so that everyone can keep up with the Basilones. This is a work in progress, but it will improve over time, I am sure. I will also be using this space to post some fun projects that I have going on. Please feel free to share with friends and family.

Starting with the family, we are hanging in there. The economy is scary, and both Joe and I have had scares with job security, but it keeps us on our toes and makes us appreciate the things we do have. We both feel that we will be secure in our jobs for at least a year or two. We have a great house with so much potential, which we are working on, and our Liam, who thankfully has no idea even what a recession is, brings us back home and down to earth, to the things that really matter. His smile and funny sayings keep us laughing and working hard for his future and ours.

Recently, this past Saturday, Joe went to Wisconsin for the day to do a coffee-cupping at a Caribou Coffee shop there and had a really good cupping and a great time. While he was gone, Liam kept asking where his daddy was, and I kept telling him that he was at work in Wisconsin. Eventually Liam decided to tell me what daddy was doing. He said, "Daddy works with skeletons with bowties." I was baffled by this, so we had a long talk about skeletons and what/where they were and what they did. He didn't believe me when I told him that we had skeletons inside of us. He said, "Nooooo" with a funny "get-out-of-here" laugh. For some reason, he has had past holidays on his mind, frequently telling me "Happy Birthday" and "Happy Valemtimes Day."

We had a really beautiful and warm day here last Friday, so we took his tricycle out for a walk around the neighborhoood. I think that he had not really seen the neighborhood since trick-or-treating, and that is what brought the memories of Halloween back to him. We turned the corner onto a street, and he asked me where the scary cat was. (We have a Halloween decoration that is a battery-operated black cat that hangs on the door, and if anyone comes near, it says really scary things in a loud scary voice.) I told him that it was in a box with the other Halloween decorations at our house. Just then, a minivan pulled up and a middle-aged man got out. Liam rode his tricycle right up to the guy and stopped and said, "We've got a really, really scary cat!" The man stopped in his tracks and said, "Oh, you've got a really scary cat at home?" I felt like I should explain, but it didn't really matter, and it was too funny to tell him what Liam was really talking about.

Liam has been exposed to and likes many different kinds of ethnic foods. The weekend before last, we visited our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant, Al-khayam. When we go here, we always go to their bakery next door and get backlava, a sweet made of phyllo dough and nuts, soaked in honey. He really likes this. Monday morning, one of our favorite cartoons came on, "Gofrette" (a Canadian cartoon about a cat Gofrette, and his friends), and the cow-baker was going to make backlava but didn't have any honey. So, Liam says to me, "Let's make some backlava." I have not made this before and told him I didn't know how to make it. He then told me he'd show me how. He said, "All you need is sugar and spice and salt and honey. I'll show you." He loves to cook with me in the kitchen, and I can tell already that he'll be quite the chef when he grows up.

Liam is also very into infomercials. He thinks that we need anything that is advertised in these. His favorites are the "Smart Clip" for cell phones. It is basically a hook that you adhere to your cell phone so that you can attach it to your belt loop or purse. The main thing that attracts him though is that the clip also acts as a flashlight if you are out in the dark searching for your keys or the key hole to your car door. He also thinks that Joe should sell his watch, even though it is not gold, to the Gold Exchange, where you can send in your gold jewelry and get cash. Joe and I laugh about his addiction to infomercial merchandise and joke that at least he'll be easy to buy for at his birthday! He doens't quite get the regular commercials yet thought. Today, while I was on the treadmill and had the TV on, a commercial came on for Benefuls. It was showing all of the vegetables that they put into the dog food, and I guess he was hungry, because he said, "mmmm...I want that!"

On a developmental note, we are very proud that Liam can read off any letters that he sees on signs, labels, t-shirts, etc. He is always spelling out words and we are currently working on the sounds that these letters make so that he can sound them out. He is very bright. His favorite new words are "actually," "probably" and "you're joking." The other day, he took apart Joe's guitar stand while Joe was playing his guitar and when Joe finally realized that he had taken it completely apart, he asked Liam if he would put it back together, and Liam said, "Actually, no." Liam is very into taking things apart. If we leave a screwdriver out, he has it and is taking the tiny screws out of his trucks and things. He reminds me of my Unlce Rayford, who used to take old radios and all kinds of things apart and put them back together again. I am not sure if he'll be an engineer or a musician. He is also really into making up songs about anything these days, and he can carry a tune better than I can!

I have been in the middle of many projects as of late, and I do hope to post some photos and more explanation behind them soon. Right now, I am eagerly getting ready for spring. I have set up a buffet table in our basement with two shop lights, each with two fluorescent bulbs, to start my vegetable and flower seedlings in a couple of weeks. I have acquired many heirloom veggie seeds and harvested seeds from many flowers and veggies last year, including my coveted New Mexican green chiles. I am also working on my vintage window light box, that will be painted with stained glass paint and operated on a solar power string light and will hang on the outside of the garage in my garden. I also have been making new curtains for use throughout the house. On top of that, I have successfully felted three thrift-store 100% wool sweaters that I inend on turning into cool totes and handbags. I have more plans on the horizon, but will try and finish these projects first!!

I hope that you have enjoyed my first blog of all time. There will be many more to come. Some having to do solely with the family and some focusing on my projects. Please feel free to comment and ask questions.