Tissues, Books, and Home Renovation

This week began with one small, sick boy. Then the small, sick boy decided he didn't want to be sick all alone, so he passed the germ on to his sister; who in turn passed it on to me. So, while the temperature outside soared into the 70's, we snuggled inside with tissues, books, toys, cartoons, and a whole lot of each other. Although I didn't get one thing done that was on my list, spending time with my children all week was worth the disaster that is presently our home. Caught up in the day to day, I sometimes forget how amazing my kids are. We laughed, cried, fought, did a little bonding and made some discoveries.

Early in the week I had stopped by the library to pick up a few requests. Two of our favorite books are Red Berry Wool by Robyn Eversole and The Full Belly Bowl by Jim Aylesworth. I have not yet purchased either, so I just keep checking them out of the library. In a hurry, I just grabbed a stack from the "new books" shelf and headed downstairs to see if they had any new magazines to check out. As we read through the books,we found one to be outstanding and it has become our new, hands-down favorite. It's called The Night Eater by Ana Juan and both the story and the illustrations are fabulous. I have been asked to read this book every night this week, and for once, I don't mind. If you get the chance, check out her website, it has more of her awesome artwork.

Although I haven't been at all posty, I did manage to catch up a bit on the blogs that I read regularly, as well as find a few new ones that I like. I also joined this block swap. I ordered fabric on Monday but it didn't arrive this week. The blocks are due the first week of April and quilting isn't my usual cup of tea, so I'm sweating a bit. I have always wanted to try quilting and I do so love Denyse Schmidt, (whose new fabrics are now available here) so now seems like the perfect time to start.

On a completely unrelated note, I invited our extended family for dinner tomorrow night. Ordinarily this would by no means be news, except for the fact that not only am I still achey and stuffy, but on Friday, cabin fever got the best of us, and the kids and I decided to start peeling wallpaper off the dining room walls.
Big T and I worked on it a bit tonight so it doesn't look quite as bad, but it is definitely noticeable. I have no idea what color is going up once I get the walls bare and smooth, so I am not in a big hurry. Our kitchen is yellow and our living room is a tan color, so the dining room needs to work with both. If you have any suggestions, I would be more than happy to hear them.