Ballard Bunch

October has turned into quite a crazy month for our little family. 3 family birthdays, including our Lucy girl, Halloween, our annual bonfire, school, baseball, soccer...WHEW!! We love this time of year, and have begun to accumulate quite a spread of Halloween decorations. We spent last week getting everything down out of the attic, and last Friday when Jason was off, we all worked together and put our outside decorations up! The kids are getting to the age where they are actually helpful- it is SO nice. We really enjoyed doing it together and had fun showing it off all weekend to our family that we invited over. :) Our scary house!!! My little monsters :0 Helping dad Last night, we made these Monster Cookies. As we were mixing them, Walker asked why they were called Monster Cookies. I told him I really don't know. He said that he wished he could make the cookie with a real monster face. I told him sure!!! I gave them icing and some extra raisins, coconut, chocolate chips and mars...

The kids had their Easter parties at school this week, and we have been enjoying the great weather outside since everyone is feeling better. They had a great time finding eggs, and eating treats. Walker's class serenaded us with some fun songs they have been learning. We have two more Egg hunts this weekend with family, plus our "special Easter lunch" downtown on Sunday at Fort Worth Club. I love holidays!! Jason was off one day this week, and we made it a family fun day. We picked them up from school, went and saw Monsters vs. Aliens (super cute!), and then they played outside with Daddy while I made breakfast for dinner! On the scooter (I love this one. A boy and his dog...) Riding the car (Lucy's already asking for her own for her birthday. Surprise, surprise- she wants a pink one!) Swinging in the backyard Filling the bird feeder with seed. We love seeing the cardinals! Happy Easter!!

Sorry for the severity of the title, but I am hoping for some input. I am in need of ideas/help with house cleaning. I am NOT a good housekeeper. I love organizing and picking up- every single toy has a certain basket or shelf that it goes in. But, actual cleaning... not so much. I get overwhelmed at how much there is to do, and don't know where to begin, and it just drives me crazy. I don't like housecleaning, but it has come to a point where I want to get better at it. I want to have a clean house for my family, and it is my job to see to that. I am respectfully asking for your tips/advice/opinions in this area. I would love to know if you have a specific cleaning schedule that you follow, or you just do whatever room or area you want to? Do you do a little each day, or do you have a specific day set aside for cleaning? UGH! Like I said, HELP!!!

January is certainly a slower month than we are used to. Fall is filled with birthdays, holidays and activities. January has given us a chance to breathe- and get the house organized!! I am happy to report that I have completely gutted and reorganized 2 closets and the laundry room. It feels good!!! In other news, Lucy is officially TIRED of winter clothes.Her clothes changing is well documented, but now as soon as we come home, she changes into summer clothes. This was taken tonight, not this summer. She said, "Mama, I just love to wear tank tops with my skirts." Also, Walker loves batter. I know, who doesn't?? But, you really have to watch him around a bowl of it. He will so stick his finger in there and get a huge glob of it. Pretend is the name of the game at the Ballards. The past two days it has been Tony Romo and the Cowboys Cheerleader (Lucy: "Mama, I don't HAVE a Cowboys Cheerleader costume. It's so sad.") Yes, she is on top of the coffee table...

Part 1 The Living Room Before: No, it's not your eyesight, this picture is a little fuzzy. Those are bookcases over the brick hearth, my Granny had them filled to the brim with pictures. The carpet has already been ripped up. Now, we have bookcases on either end of the mantle, with a carpet square on the floor, inside of the couches. The rest of the living room is tile, as well as the dining room and kitchen. Full view of the living room, from the entryway Before: Looking in the living room from the dining room During: The paneling has been removed from the walls After: Before: Entryway After: The ceiling Before: Wood beams made squares on the ceiling During: Beams taken down and we tried to just sand down the popcorn effect on the ceiling. After: The sanding ended up looking horribly uneven, so we covered the entire ceiling with wood flooring. Then we made the big beams that go vertically. It's beautiful now, and we love it, but it was one of things that didn't even go CL...

Our house is very special to me. It is my grandparent's house that my grandfather designed and built. He passed away when I was pregnant with Walker, and when my Granny moved out, we moved in. It is a wonderful house, but not much had been changed since they moved in 1985. So, we decided to do some work on it before we moved in. These are our before and after pictures. I don't have as many as I would like- we were so busy working on it, plus I had a 10 month old and was 6 months pregnant. WHEW!! I have always wanted to document this extremely crazy time in our lives, and since I am hoping to turn this blog into a book at some point, I would like to have this included. BEFORE: AFTER: (this is from a little further away than the one above. We took down the bar/cabinet that the stereo is sitting on, and put a half wall up that the fridge fits into. BEFORE: AFTER: In this picture, we have taken off the paneling, and that opening is leading into the kitchen. We totally ripped this ...

Lucy and Walker picking out her own outfits I don't mind them picking out their own stuff or wearing Tinkerbell wings or cowboy boots or Peter Pan hat to go on errands, I just want them to MATCH. This pink ensemble above was completely put together by Lucy, from the sparkle shoes to the headband, and she was trying very hard to make sure she matched (with all pink), so I decided to let it slide that she had a printed top AND a printed skirt. She HAD to do the sparkle shoes, and don't forget the painted nails!! They must be pink! They both LOVE dress-up. This is how we went out and about on our errands one day last week. If we are at home, you can bet Lucy has a costume on. He would also be happy in his jim jammers all day. It is 11:55 AM and he had no interest in putting clothes on! Walker still loves his green ice cream. He loved soccer camp. Luckily, I found one program he is old enough for in the fall. Most of them you have to be 4 by July 31, and he is an August birthday...

Well, you find things like this in your backyard: There are lots of fun things about living "out" here and having more than an acre of land to explore. We have roadrunners, roosters, chickens, lizards (apparently!), bonfires, and lots of fun. The kids were so intrigued. They have really developed a love for animals and outdoors A close up of our friend