luke and marie talking during bedtime

Pretend I knew what I was doing and got this to go after the old dresser picture.  It would then smoothly transition like this...

And the reason the two big kids now have the downstairs to themselves is because the little two yahoos are sharing a bedroom.  Luke needs Marie to protect him from his bad dreams.  Jess, you mentioned that you didn't know how kids ever go to sleep when they share a room?  This is a "listen only" video because I didn't want them to see me.  This was after being in bed for an hour.  Everyone else in the house is sleeping.  "Knock, knock."  says the two year old.  "Diaper on my head."  So funny...

Travis turns 7

Party had to be postponed by a day due to a bad cold for poor Travis.  This is my tip of simplicity/frugality all rolled into one:  When your child picks a theme such as "lego ninjago" and you cannot find anyone to make one of those cakes for you (or don't want to try because you're cheap) and would never decorate a cake yourself, have child find pictures on-line to print off, cut them out, have them laminated, and tape toothpicks to the back.  Now child thinks HE made the cake and there's no "well, that doesn't really look like Kai's sword to me" over your decorating skills.  

I have done this so many times it is pathetic.  

So, Travis turning 7 made me think of him when he was all cute and yummy like this. 

Which made me want to hold him which he is so happy about.

We hit a pinata at the party.  If I don't have to buy the kid a cake, they get a pinata.  

That's the deal around here.  

Hanson kids and Orion, Quentin, Joshua P, Max M, Carter and Keaton.  

Nothing much else has been happening at the Hanson home.  Luke has still been making himself some snacks, with his hat on crooked... ice cream with yogurt on top.  Yum?!?

Marie loves everything princess.  Luke loves playing princess with her also, but I thought one moron-type photo per blog post would suffice for Luke.

This picture is of Eva... before she waved the dress around and burnt a hole in it on a candle...back when we had 2 kids and lit candles....so before the dress looked like it was owned by a cigarette smoking princess.

It has been musical bedrooms for so many years around here, Eva and Travis never really had their own rooms that they got to help pick out things for.  Although the bedrooms don't look anything like the pages of Pottery Barn, I at least don't hate them anymore.  Travis got a Star Wars bedroom.   Now he can lock the door and do legos all day.  

I searched and searched and searched for a dresser for Eva's room.  I wanted an old, used dresser.  I like to say I was being "green" and not "cheap." (The dresser was completely refinished, solid oak, $220) Doesn't matter, because I LOVE this dresser.  As mentioned on the radio, it looks like a big bowl with a pitcher should be sitting on it so you can wash up before bed back in 1912.  The mirror looks like ghosts could pop out.  Chris says he doesn't even know me; reading books and buying antiques.  In a dream world, my house would be as modern-modern as it could get, but with some "old soul" furniture in the mix.  NOT the dresser Eva would've picked.  I didn't tell Eva this, but the great-grandma dresser goes perfect with her great-grandma name and I love it.

I haven't only been reading books and buying antique furniture, I've also been laughing my head off reading the Kemp's adventures as they and their 3 children moved to Shaghai for 3 years.  No seatbelts, no helmets... the kids obviously love this thing!  I think its funny because Ingrid is one of the smallest friends I have and she looks like a giant on this thing.  My head would be poking out the top and my knees would be in the basket?   It is really no different than golf carts at the lake or gators in Hankinson;  it's just what you do.