I'm Plum Crazy and I Don't Care Who Knows!

In case you did not know this about me...
I will tell you.
I am a children's music expert...


I qualify as a music expert because I played the flute for an entire year in the 6th grade band,
I listened to Pearl Jam in college, and I cry at marching bands ( no joke- every time).
I qualify for the children's music part because I worked in child care through college, I have a small child and because I am the mental equivalent of a 6 year old.

This is why I find it is imperative that I share with you my latest discovery...
Tangerine Tambourine, a children's band from Alabama.
Ever get so tired of listening to the same old "kiddie" versions of The Itsy Bitsy Spider and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to the point that you want to rip your car radio out and leave it behind in a cloud of burned rubber?

Hello???

Anyone???

Is this thing on???

OK, maybe it is just me, but I was so refreshed to FINALLY find something that Blu and I can enjoy together because in case you missed it- my boy has got soul! He loves the music and cries until I turn his... I mean, MY IPod on to some children's music everytime we get into the car!


My sister shared the news with me that a children's band was to be playing at the Halloween Hoot in beautiful downtown Decatur on the very day that we planned to attend said Hoot. I was so excited BEFORE I even realized that one of the core members was an old childhood friend of mine. ***Shout out to Jeff Sharp*** That just made it all the more delish!
I immediately went to check out their website. I only listened to a couple of songs and I was hooked! I love the whole CD.
Good thing I went ahead and got the CD BEFORE the concert. Jack and I already knew most all of the songs. It was his first concert. I wanted him to be prepared, and like I said, I am a children's music expert.
WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!


Check out the website...
unless you are not into children's music that ROCKS!

http://tangerinetambourine.com/

SO I am dying to know...what do you think???

A video is worth a 1000 words!

Please excuse the fact that you have to watch this sideways... I will try to figure this out for next time!

He Walks! from Melanie Marsh on Vimeo.

Downstairs Bath Reveal

So we finally put together our downstairs bathroom!
I am a slacker so I have no before shots, but try to imagine, white vinyl floor, white countertop, and white cabinet with blue walls. Not a bad look to begin with, but we had a different vision in mind! I topped it all off with this little beauty...a monogrammed valance for the shower curtain. It really adds height to the room.


Dan did a beautiful job laying this square tile in a brick pattern on the floor.

Tropic Brown granite....ahh my favorite! I wanted it in the kitchen but it was running a little on the pink side during that time period. When I saw this little remnant, it was JUST what I wanted. We took the opportunity to change our faucet out to an 8" widespread since we had to have the granite cut! I also changed out the hardware on the vanity, but left it as is besides that!

This is the best shot I could get with "everything". My intention was to blow up a shot of Dan's parents' saliboat and mat and frame it for the art above the toilet, but for now, I had this picture hanging around the house and I really like it. So, I went for it. We have really enjoyed it so far!

Now on to Jack's bathroom! My personal favorite....keep your eyes peeled around here for some shots of an ocotgon and dot tile topped off with white subway tiles.....YUMMMMMY!

Happy Fall Ya'll

Well, the nip in the air finally says fall to me! I got really into it last weekend!

First, we met the Gate's family on Saturday at the Georgia Aquarium for a day of fun. It was a great time. The aquarium is so cool and it was great spending time with old friends! Jack was pretty good considering his age. There was a lot for him to look at and he took it all in.

Sunday, was step into fall day at the Marsh house. I made pumpkin bread...yum. I have been enjoying making things from scratch lately. Not sure what has gotten in to me as I usually am NOT into cooking! I actually made it in mini bunt pans and turned them back to back to make a pumpkin shape. Then put leaf shaped spice drops on top to make pumpkins! Then, we took Jack to the pumpkin patch. We got some really good ones! Now to decide what the carvings will be- hmmmm..... After supper ( a new crock pot recipe- what the devil is going on with me???) we headed out to the back yard for some smores. FUN!

So far no plans for this weekend. Looks like I will need to go ahead and clean the house- BOOOO!

Maybe I could put my monogrammed valance together for the "new" bathroom instead....or maybe plant some pansies...work on Jack's baby book?
The possibilities for options OTHER than cleaning the house are ENDLESS! Unfortunately, the dust bunnies are taking over so I better get busy!

Stay tuned for some exciting milestone updates! Jack has conquered cruising and is moving on to bigger and better things! Look out world, you have another walker joining your ranks!

Top Ten things I got to notice by having a few extra days at home with Jack...thank you Rosiola!

Last Wednesday morning my little man woke up hot. I took his temp..low grade- I thought... teething. I took him to school and told Kim about the temp and explained, there were no other symptoms, poor guys must be teething. She agreed and off to work I went. I called to check in and she said he was doing great! About an hour later, she called back- he was hot. Probably about 101. I went and got him and home we went. He was SOOO ill. My guy is never ill and he likes to be put to bed ALONE. He was an absolute fuss bucket and did not want to be put down. Only held. I rocked and rocked and rocked him. He woke up a few times that night. He was miserable. I kept pumping him full of tylenol. Off to the Doc we went on Thursday. No flu, no strep...dr's orders were to alternate Tylenol and Motrin...just keep him comfy and keep the fever down. Long story short, the fever finally broke on Saturday ( just in time for Dan to arrive back from Macon). I STILL did not know what it could be. Sunday morning, he had a rash all over his little torso....classic case of Rosiola.

Spending so much time at home with Jack, made me notice a few amazing things about my little man. OK, some just kinda funny or noteworthy, but still, things that I usually would have just passed off as everyday life because I am so busy with other things. After the hell week we had last week, I guess it made me realize what a sweet smart boy I do have. In the interest of documenting some of the little things, here is a list of 10.

1) He says ma-ma' and da-da' with an accent on the end like he is italian

2) He is almost walking...been cruising for a while, but he just won't let go

3) He has definitely started with a bit of separation anxiety....cries just a little when I leave the room. (I have learned that if I just keep going I am quickly forgotten).

4) He brushes his hair in the morning...we started that a few weeks ago

5) I started giving him his toothbrush a few days ago...I brush a little, then let him take over.

I am amazed that he KNOWS what a brush is. He has tried to brush his hair with his toothbrush and has tried to stick his brush in his mouth to brush his teeth!

6) He cries for me to turn the iPod on in the car. He has his very own playlist and he loves it! There is one song that is children singing Jesus loves me and they all laugh at the end. He laughs every time, right along with them!

7) He laughs whe all the grown-ups around him laugh: and coughs to get attention if no one is looking at him.

8) He does not need his very own playlist of music played in order to be in the mood to dance. He bobs his head to any beat and sways along with the slow stuff- my little man has soul!

9) The other day, he found a passy on the floor in his room. He already had one in his mouth so I said, "Jack, that is an extra one...put it in your bed". He crawled right over and put it through the bars of his crib into his bed! Nevermind that he PROMPTLY started crying because he wanted it back....he understood me!

10) The other day when we were leaving Mrs. Kim's, he said Bye- Bye'. Of course with an accent like he was Italian!

I love that little booger so much...I could just BURST!

SGI

Jack's First Beach!


He LOVED it!



He even did pretty good on the road trip!

We walked on the beach every day-

this particular morning was beautiful!

The Pirate Lady at Eddy Teech's Raw Bar

Jack really seemed to like her. So did Barry.

I think her name is Doreen....

We had great company

The Holmes' including Roxie the cousin whippet!

The Lohr's

They didn't stay long, but we were glad they joined!

The Jepsen's- Cheers!

And Sirus, too!

Jack carried all our stuff to the beach

every day in his trusty wagon

Thanks Jack!

He had fun poolside, too!

Let me tell you this place is Awesome! I can't wait to go back...we did NOTHING except cook, eat, swim, sunbathe, read and sleep the whole time! This is what a vacation should be. In the past few years, anywhere we have been, I come home ABSOLUTELY whipped. I mean WORN. OUT. With loads and loads of laundry to do. This trip, I came home refreshed with suitcases full of clean laundry. We had a great time actually spending time with friends- it has been kinda hard with the Boy Blu's bedtime being around 7 pm. That makes it hard to even grab dinner with friends. It was great to just relax and catch up and talk! Not everyone stayed the full week, which actually turned out to be perfect even though I was sad to see them leave. It was kind of cool to just relax with my boys!

I am counting down the days and scoping out houses for next year!

Is August Almost Over? Really?

Jack watching his daddy stain the front porch

Jack riding his birthday tricycle

It has been a quiet month...I mean, compared to the craziness of Jack's birthday party in Alabama and getting my sister Kelly moved into her new home in Alabama...all in July...in different weekends...August has been quiet. I love the excitement of seeing family, making things happen, being on the go, but I am ALLLLLL about a quiet month.
Not to say it hasn't been busy, just different. Dan has been doing all kinds of home improvement projects while I have been entertaining the little one. In the old days, I would have been right in the thick of it with Dan, but with Jack wanting to get into EVERYTHING lately, there is only so much I can do to help during naptime! One weekend Dan stained all the decks. If you have ever been to my house, you know that means a screen porch plus two other decks on the back and a front porch with about 15 steps- WHEW! In the same weekend, he also sanded down and repainted all of our wrought iron furniture...all of it. The past couple of weeks, he has been tiling the downstairs bath. He did a frame around the existing mirror, installed the new countertop and plumbing and repainted. In fact, he is in there putting the finishing touches on the paint as I type. No, he is not on drugs and yes, he is my hero. I have my own little contribution to make to the new bathroom. I just dropped it off at the monogram shop yesterday...can't you just see it now? The shower curtain with an "M" monogrammed on it! "M" for Marsh, of course, not Melanie!
We have also been preparing for a little getaway in St George soon! We are pretty excited! It will be so much fun to see Jack at the beach!