Saturday Night Photos

Just when I expected everything to get LESS stressful, today wound up being kind of crazy. Having teenagers is tough! For so many reasons. I don't like to write about their personal stuff here on my blog, so I'll just leave it at that. Everything is fine--it just feels like more work having teens than it did having babies!

Anyway, to make a nice, light-hearted post, I figured I'd just share some pictures--interesting or not ;) (As always, any links to Amazon in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you purchase through those links, I may get a small commission. But that is not why I post about products--honest!)

We've been getting more interested in board games lately, and Jerry and I really like this one called Codenames Duet (it's the two-person version of the original Codenames). We also bought the Codenames Deep Undercover, which is an "adult" version--but we really didn't like it. I like the original much better.

We have several board games, but most of them require a group of people:

Clearly, we love the game Guesstures (the link is to the new version, so I can't say if it's as good). I have THREE of the original versions! It's been a favorite game since the very first version came out (I remember playing it as a kid with my family on vacation). It's such a great game and I was worried it was going to die sooner or later. So I bought two more from garage sales. The one in the box was still brand new (sealed in plastic--I was curious if it was actually sealed or if someone had done it themselves).  As a family, our favorite is still Wits & Wagers.

Anyone have suggestions for more games? I'd like to have a game night soon with 4-6 more people. If you know of a great game, let me know!

This photo made me crack up. A long time ago, I used a bookshelf to create a "cat hotel"--I painted it white, put brick contact paper on the outside, carpet on the inside floors (three shelves) and I made some cutouts on the sides for the cats to look through. I did various shapes and sizes. One of them I did was a freehand cutout of a cat head. Duck's head fits perfectly!

Speaking of Duck, the kittens are getting so big! Duck was NINE POUNDS the last time I weighed him, and Chick was eight pounds. Phoebe only weighs eight pounds, and she's 11? 12? years old. The kittens are going to be BIG cats. Especially Duckling, because he is a hoover when it comes to food.

Here is Chicklet--I love the little patches of long gray hair he has behind each ear!

I was sitting on the couch, trying to write a blog post, when Chick decided it was more important for him to take a nap where my laptop was sitting. I had to move my laptop to the couch on my right and try to type sideways--so inefficient. But I couldn't bear to move him!

Same situation here with Duck. Little Duck is SUPER pesty when he wants to cuddle. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, if I stop petting him, he takes his whole head and pushes it under my hand until I start petting him again. I just give up doing what I'm doing and give in to him ;) 

And both boys, looking so grown up! Duck on the left and Chick on the right.

After going to the dentist last month, and learning I had two cavities, I freaked out about getting them filled. I HATE dental work--it's a huge fear of mine (possibly because of when I broke my jaw?). Anyway, the hygienist told me that I brush my teeth too hard and it's bad for my gums. I admit, I do tend to brush really hard. After Jerry and the kids went and learned they have cavities as well(!), the dentist suggest that we buy an electric toothbrush. 

I never really thought much about buying one--what can it really do that is so special? But I will do anything to avoid more dental work, so I found what looked like a good one on Amazon. I was shocked at how powerful it is! It has a sensor to alert you if you brush too hard, too, which is good for me. 

By the way, you have no idea how hard it was to take this picture, hahaha. 

This is the one we bought. The price wasn't too bad ($50), but then I realized I had to buy extra heads for it, which added $30 to the cost. At the very least, it should come with two! 

So far, I really like it! I actually find it kind of fun to brush my teeth. And I do feel like my teeth are cleaner. Now I'm just hoping that I can avoid any more dental work.

We've had some really great fall weather lately, and one of my favorite things to do is sit out in the garage (in this case, in my pajamas) and read a book. I open both of the large garage doors so the fall breeze comes through. I can still people watch when people run/walk/bike by. And the squirrels know when I'm out there, so they come up to the door and watch me until I give them a walnut.

I CAN'T get enough of my new sheets! I hate sounding like a walking commercial for ANY product, but when I love something so much, I can't help but talk about it. I really like the new mattress and I've been sleeping much better on it, but the sheets have a lot to do with it, too.

I'd had Brooklinen Sateen sheets for a few years and I LOVED them. With the new mattress, I decided to get new sheets as well, but this time I chose the percale fabric (because it supposedly feels like the cold side of the pillow). They feel so fantastic! I have a duvet cover and this cheap but amazing comforter on Amazon, and my comforter feels so fluffy and comfy all the time. And it doesn't make me too hot. I can even sleep with my weighted blanket over it sometimes. 

(If you are looking for new sheets and want to try them--they have free returns for 30 days!--here is a link you can use to get $25 off. And for referring you, I get 1,000 reward points worth $25 as well.) Yes, they are expensive, but as I get older, I realize how important my sleep is--and these sheets are totally worth it to me!

(I really do apologize for sounding like a commercial--I cringe in my head when I write it.)

I've been thinking about this for the longest time, and I think I'd like to build something like this for my living room wall. I won't do the shiplap, but I like the shelving. It would create much more space than we have now, and I think it would look awesome. However, the cost of lumber right now is insane, so it's something that'd have to wait for a while, anyway. It's just fun to look :)

Finally, here is my "progress photo" for today. Even though there really isn't any progress to show!