the mcconnell crew...

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Saturday, March 12, 2011

One of the biggest selling points of our house was the proximity to the Greenway and last week we had a new first while out there. Ains was first attempting to ride a real bike (with training wheels, of course). I had to drop something off at a family member's house and they had been preparing for the local consignment sale. In their carport was a Barbie bike with a $10 tag - SOLD! I dropped off what I needed to drop off and loaded that bike right on in the car. I sent an email later to acknowledge my theft with promises of payment if it passed the trial run.

So as soon as Daddy got home and changed, we were off to the Greenway to give it a spin. This is her first stint on the bike. She wasn't so sure about it.

So she hopped off to collect some flowers for the basket. Brad decided that he would give it a go... I think he's a little big for it.

Here's a serious pose with her 'new' bike. She preferred to use the bike's basket to store the flowers she was picking versus actually riding it.

I think this is when Brad showed her the bell... obviously as witnessed above, she wasn't as excited about just the bike.

This next picture captures my heart. This represents that awkward baby/toddler run where body parts are all going in separate directions. This is one picture I hope to always remember and a time I hope to never forget. Caleb had a blast running up and down the greenway while Sissy rode her bike.

His run back was interrupted by the sighting of a 'PANNNNEEE', aka airplane. He watched it cross the sky with enthusiasm.

I made her ride on her own. She was a little anxious, thus smiling for the camera, but too afraid to look away from the front.

And finally, here's a picture of my men... Aren't they cute?!? And flowers, for me!

Ains asked to take her bike out today but we got carried away with yard work (just wait for the March house post!) so it looks like we'll be giving it a go for round 2 tomorrow. Wish us luck!

Friday, March 11, 2011

ice cream for ainsley

Saturday, March 5, 2011

uncc gardens

After the basketball game today we were killing time before grabbing an early dinner. As we were driving through campus, we saw the gardens and I had to stop. I had the camera with me in case you-know-who finally decided to hug Norm, the mascot (BIG negative on that one).

A little sibling love on a bench hidden at the end of a path.

There was this neat little mosaic area and I had this exact picture in mind. It made such a great background. This is by far my favorite picture of the day.

Caleb wouldn't cooperate. This is the best of all of my attempts. I'm bummed! I'd love to have matching background pictures.

Next we happened upon this really neat little bridge. I just love the colors and plan to play with some of these in Photoshop a little more one day when I have time (so, realistically, probably never). We had to wait for some others to finish up with their pictures so that we could have our turn.

So sweet!

She's turning into a little ham in front of the camera and whenever I ask her to smile, I get something like this...

So sweet again...

Not sure whether to classify this as a hug or choke hold! It was done with love, whichever it was.

I loved these little circle cut-outs on the bridge, so I made each kid poke their head through while I risked my luck on the edge of the creek.

Note the adult hand keeping a firm grip... wild man can't be trusted with such tempting things.

We didn't make it much further before the rains came but I've already told Brad that I want to go back, soon!

typical car ride

Here's a brief representation of what our normal car ride is like... minus the fact that Caleb doesn't go much beyond one word statements.

'Hey Mom... How much further? Are we there yet? Hmmm??'

[By the way, what color would you classify his eyes as? Hazel? Green? Brown?]

'Aw, Mom! Really?? Another 5 (or 10 or 20) minutes? I'm ready to climb something already!'

'Do - De - Do - De - DOOOOO... OH, I found WALDO!' [Notice how deep in thought she is as she scans the pages]

She absolutely LOVES this book - and she's really good at it! Looks like I'll be picking up book 2 on our next trip to Costco.

year of the house - month 2

Well February has come and gone on 2011: The Year of the House.

As far as progress, well, there wasn't much unless you count up all of the money we spent this month. We're on our way and I cannot wait to see the final result!

This chair was our first big purchase. Brad wanted a recliner and I like the looks of leather club chairs. Our search took us to Black Lion where we stumbled upon one heck of a deal! This chair had a couple of small scratches on the back of the seat and was marked down to sell. I put my sales skills to use and got another $100 knocked off of the price. We walked out that night with this chair for $699 plus tax. It was listed at $1100 (perfect condition) and had an MSRP of $1999. SCORE!

Our next big purchase was our new couch. Above is a picture of the fabric and below is a picture of the couch, from the manufacturer's site. We've ordered the two cushion couch so it will be a little different. It's a 6 week lead time and we're about 1.5 weeks in. Time cannot go fast enough!

And while I'm talking about our new couch, let me just tell you about the place we ordered from. Nest Furnishings is down in Fort Mill, SC, and I find the best stuff there! Lorie, the owner, has great taste and she offers only the best quality stuff. Most, if not all, is made in the USA - how could it get any better than that? We've bought our dining set, a buffet, and Ainsley's furniture there, prior to the couch purchase. I've been nothing but happy with the service and the quality. It's my first stop whenever I'm after a new piece of furniture. Here's her site, go check it out: http://www.nestfurnish.com/

Speaking of dining furniture from Nest, we also picked up a couple of additional chairs that match our table. Lorie was making room in her showroom so we were able to snag 2 of the chairs that belong to our set for half price. Score 2! Now we finally have 6 chairs. Thanks Lorie!!

I showed the fabric last month, but we finally got around to making the frame and putting it together. I'm waiting to make the smaller squares until I find my accent pillows. I want to make sure to pull in those colors into the wall if necessary. I'm also debating on getting a sewing machine to make my own. I took sewing lessons as a kid, but is it like riding a bike where it all comes back to you??

This is a lamp that I found at Home Goods this week. I think it will go great in my room and will be perfect for the table beside Brad's recliner. The question is whether the monkey will leave it alone. (Pardon the picture - it was done on my cell phone)

I only posted this last picture since I mentioned it last month. Meet my new African Violet. This technically needs to go in my March post, but since it came home before this post was up, well, here it is. We went to the Southern Spring and Home show last night and I found it. I had a white AV that I loved so dearly back in college and I decided that nothing else would be fitting for my first violet in years. Maybe next month I'll post an update on it's health... wish me luck!

This next month should hopefully bring the delivery of the couch and some refinishing of our end tables and coffee table. I've gotten a couple of quotes that have come back at outrageous pricing (so much so that I might as well buy new) so we'll be tackling this part of the re-decorating on our own. Maybe I should ask for the luck here... pictures and results to come next month.