Demon Cat!

Well I broke down, and let the boys have a cat! Momentary lapse of sanity, that is for sure! We have had him about 2 months now, so he is around 4 months old. His name is Asgard- the Humane Society named him.... Interesting fellow this cat. I feel like this couple in a Geico Commercial that adopt a rescue panther

.... Yep, that's my kitten! Most people that meet him readily admit he is Satan's Spawn, but he is growing on me, and has been firmly planted in my boys' hearts from day one.

They do get along... it was quite a surprise to me!

As if folding laundry isn't painful enough.. now I have to watch out what towel I grab because this is waiting for me!

Well, he USED to like to walk along the side of the tub while I take a bubble bath.... Let's just say that for a cat, he does an amazing impersonation of a piranha!  OUCH!  He isn't allowed in with me much, and he keeps a pretty good distance from the tub!

Gotta love trying to do anything on the computer with him around... SATAN'S FURBALL!!

But all in all, he is pretty cute, and I wouldn't give him back...... Today.

Proof that my animals fight like Jesters....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S5V1vkfMS8&context=C490c713ADvjVQa1PpcFMF_HVf_pdblH8O3TYLKeGDOxBlBuL_TQ0=

Some Home Reno Pics

Thought you guys would enjoy some pics of all the work we have been doing!

I recently refinished a piece of furniture that I remember from my childhood.  It needed it too!  Now it is in my dining room to give us somewhere to store thing that don't need to be on the table!!  WOOT!

I also just painted these cute frames to use for some engagement photos for my sister-not sure when YOU all get to see them, but they are adorable if I do say so myself!  I loved how they worked here, and can't wait to get some family photos done to put in them!! 

Entry way Before... EW... Nasty Carpet!!

Entry after:

We took up the nasty carpet, and did hard wood!  SOO much better looking... now to refinish the door!

NASTY kitchen floor before we re did it!!

Kitchen floor AFTER!! I can't even tell you how much nicer it is!!  I am so in love with it!!

Some Demo work in the kitchen... refinishing that room still.....

Another piece of furniture I refinished..  Works great for holding blankets in the Family Room!  Always love curling up in a blanket for a good movie (like LOTR) or a book!!

How amazing are these little baskets!  Makes it nice to have some fruit down where the kid monster can get to it!  Now I just have to watch out for the half eaten fruit all over the house!!

Kitchen before and after.  The kitchen was a dingy white color before I remembered to take the before photo, so it got a nice coat of paint!  I LOVE my cabinets with this design, and a SO happy that I went for the black on the drawers!  We still have a ways to go in this room, but it already feels so much better!

This shows the hardwood pretty good prior to the new finish going down.

Things are really coming along.  We have a lot more to do though.. Hoping to get a new back door, the bathroom re done, and then start on the Master suite and bedroom downstairs!!

It keeps on coming....

Things keep moving for us. 

The home renovation is coming along.  For now my wishlist is to get my last Cabinets/Counter top moved.  The Breakfast nook area still needs the walls to be sanded, mudded again, then painted and some base boards up, but other than that, the kitchen, den, dining, and living room are done!  WOOT!  The bathroom is also almost there.  Just need to put up the new mirror, refinish the tub-which for budget's sake may be a month or two-, and get the new shower curtain made and up!

We are hoping to start moving everything tomorrow, and be done getting everything at least in the house and the bedrooms set up on Tuesday!  Getting excited.  Which reminds me, I need to call and get the internet and TV moved over! YIKES!

Tomorrow I am scheduled to meet with an orthopedic surgeon.  My knee has been giving me fits again, and guess what:   Yep, I will need another sergury!  I have at least 2 Foreign Bodies floating around in there, and my ACL is non-existent.  At least going from my X-Rays ;)  But we knew all that about my ACL anyway.  The Ortho will probably do an MRI, then he will get to know the extent of my knee damage- no ACL, Meniscus, etc.  It is going to be fun for him.  I am hoping that it doens't keep me down for too long.....

Time for Change

Well as most of you already know, Emily (I) lost my job on January 16th.  It came as a shock.  Things are changing.

Really we feel like it is a good thing, and will be better for our little family in the long run.  It gives me time to really be a Mommy, as well as focus on the House Renovation we have going on.

To cope with the changes, I started another blog about my journey to adapt to being a Stay-At-Home-Mommy.
http://unexpectedsahm.blogspot.com/

Until next time,
Emily

Update

The Home Renovation is going well.  I have gotten most of the painting done- Den, Living, Dining rooms done and the first coat in the kitchen.  I still have to paint the Bathroom upstairs, and a few other places, but those are coming along.

The flooring is all done.  We put in new carpet a while back, and just refinished all the hardwood flooring and even redid the kitchen floors with beautiful new hardwood as well!  I am supposed to meet the contractor out there today to do a final walk through, but they look amazing!

I redid the cabinet doors and painted all the drawers in the kitchen, and am loving the results so far.

There is just SO much I want to do.....

Home Renovation: A Promise!

Well, we are moving back to our old home in Magna!

We are all so excited to have our own space again, and I have got my creative juices FLOWING! (Thank you Pinterest!!) I will be chronically the repairs and renovations here on this blog.

I am so excited to get going. Painting starts MONDAY!!

WOO!

The North Pole Express

Those of you who know us, know that Kaicyn LOVES, and I mean LOVES trains. He has really gotten into the movie The Polar Express, and has told us for months now that if The Polar Express comes, he is going to get on it. He even asks us if we will come too!

So the Heber Valley Railroad does The North Pole Express every year. We decided to take him on it. We also decided to keep it a secret from him... Let me tell you this was HARD for me! But SO worth it to see him put it all together! He was so excited about it, he wouldn't even let us wait inside where it was warm for the train!

The ride was fun, lots of caroling, hot cocoa, cookies, an even a visit fromSanta at The North Pole!

Christmas Newsletter 2011

Yep, so again, I have failed another year of blogging! I just don't seem to have the time for it. I really want to get good... Guess this is another thing to add to my TO DO list!

This Winmill Clan is wanting to wish you guys all a Very Merry Christmas, and a Joyous New Year! Here is a run down of the year we have had!

Michael:

Mike is still working up at Rio Tinto's Copper Mine here in Utah. For the most part he seems to enjoy it. He has made some great friends, and has gotten to go out and do some fun things with them this year! (About time the boy gets to do something other than shop with me!!). He has enjoyed going four-wheeling with Roy and even bought a tag to go Elk Hunting! They didn't get anything, but he is already looking forward to next year! Someone at the mine is trying to talk him into going Wolf Hunting... .still not sure how I feel about that, but they didn't really ask me!!

Emily:

Oh My!! What a crazy ride it has been for me this year! My resolution this year was to find me some Hobbies, and do more things for "me" time! Um, I think I accomplished that. Since January I have been participating in, and sometimes coordinating some Silly Girls Photo shoots (you can see them all on my Facebook page). We have set themes each month and dress up according to those! They are a blast, and have really helped me to grow with my photography. NO, I don't want to be a professional Photographer, but it is nice to be able to take nice pictures for people when they ask! I have also started exercising more, and by exercising, I mean Belly Dancing. I. Love. It. It is amazing, I have really enjoyed doing it and look forward to continuing it! I have also furthered my efforts with Bright Eyes Designs, and launched my new line of It Works products for a healthy lifestyle. I have done a few charity events, and look forward to doing more next year.

Kaicyn:

What a little Stinker! I keep telling him to quit growing and he just tells me "No"! It is hard for me to believe that he is almost 4 years old! He has really enjoyed our time with my parents, and enjoys helping them out wherever and whenever he can! His personality and sass (which all comes from his father) have really come out this year... nothing like trying to win an argument with a 3 year old! He LOVES anything to do with trains, especially Thomas and Friend and The Polar Express. He got to play on his first soccer team this year too! I was SO excited... well, it was a failed attempt, but he got to play anyway. He loves getting to play with his friends, and has really made quite a few (Most of which are named Ethan-I think there are at least 3!), and is always wanting to play with them!

Hoping this season finds you all well!

The Winmills!

Back on!

So... Since I can't seem to remember how to get into our old blog, and certainly can't figure out how to link that blog with my others, I just created a new one!  I am really trying to get into blogging again, and would love for this to be another avenue for our extended family to know what is going on in our lives.  So, I promise that I will try my best to keep the blog updated, but this is ME we are talking about here, so let's be realistic and say that you may just want to follow us on Facebook too! ;)