Banana Splits, Patio Sprucing and LEMI-SHINE

I hope you all had a great weekend, we sure did, and enjoyed some fantastic FL winter weather. We made a lot of progress on the patio, and had some fun in the process.

Elle hosted her own cooking show "Ell-ia Child" in the playroom, as you can see she's quite serious when it comes to matters in the kitchen:




Khera was sent home with a great preschool report card, so as a reward she requested a banana-split party:
WAY TO GO KHER-BEAR!


I couldn't tell if they liked their ice cream...






I don't think B noticed how hilarious this scene was until I showed him the photos afterward, maybe he was just tired, it was the first bout of silence we had heard ALL DAY.


The next day we received a Disney Theme Park DVD, to get us excited about our upcoming trip to Disney...yes after almost 7 years of living in FL, we are finally going to make the pilgrimage to the happiest place on Earth...

They really got into it in the beginning but here's how they looked by the end:




Saturday Brandon and I switched roles, and I think we were both pleased with the outcome--I stained the deck while he watched the kids.


I'm not sure who had a better time, ME (staining, listening to Pandora, enjoying uninterrupted mindlessness) or B (making lunches, playing outside, going for bike rides, tending to the kids, etc.)

I didn't feel like I was getting a lot done until now, referring back to the to-do list:

Patio Spruce-up
-Recover rocker seat
-Sew new cushion covers
-Rug
-Planters
-Add seating
-Pressure wash deck
-Stain deck
-Spray paint existing wicker seat

Sunday, the girls and I took a super fun trip to Home Depot to pick out some flowers for the planters. They even "helped" me plant when we got home.




I LOVE PANSIES.
And was thrilled when the girls bought into my excitement and picked the white and purple variety.  Reminds me so much of winters in Charlotte...I just wish they had more colors available down in the tropics.


Elle of course picked out PURPLE cabbage.


We rescued the grassy plant from the previous planting...


And put them all together.


After a lot of seam ripping, I decided against putting piping on the cushions, mostly because I was lazy, and partly because this material was SO THICK that I'm not sure my machine would have been able to handle it. Here's a little sneak peek at the cushions:


While we were getting productive, Tommy was busy testing a theory of his own: Negative Productivity.


He spent most of his time throwing items into the pool (including his shoes) and begging us to retrieve them while trying to himself.


The girls played in the water too.




One more thing and I'm going to take off...

I have had a problem for quite some time now, a really embarassing one. So bad, that when I have company, I PRAY that they do not ask for something to drink. What's my problem? Dirty dishes resulting from A HORRIBLE DISHWASHER, or so I thought. So bad, I would scrub my glasses with straight vinager and they were STILL cloudy. Can I tell you about an AMAZING discovery we've made???



LEMI-SHINE.


Seriously, this picture speaks for itself:


Excuse me, I've got to run. If you need to reach me, I'll be in my kitchen loading and unloading all of my dishes until they are as sparkling clean as those on the right!!!!