In 10 short days we find out if baby Dixon #2 is a boy or a girl and at that point I am sure that I will be anxious to start either decorating a nursery or a big boy room for Will. In preparation of converting the guest room into a kid’s bedroom I started on transferring my craft things downstairs today.

We rearranged our master bedroom a couple of weeks ago to make room for a small desk and Will and I picked up the desk this past weekend. The desk was my great-grandfather’s and that makes it really special to me. I love having things in my house that have history and sentimental value!

The only thing I got accomplished today was bringing all of the stuff downstairs! Seriously, I don’t know how I’m going to organized these things And I still have more stuff upstairs that I know just aren’t going to fit down here.

Another angle. I don’t know if the white board will make the final cut!

While I was transferring things from upstairs the kid was either following me up and down the steps or playing. Isn’t he the cutest?!?!

On Friday night we went to Diane’s house for a going away party for her sister, Heather. Heather moved back to Maryland on Saturday so a few of us got together to say goodbye, eat delicious snacks, and the plan was to play games. Once we got there we all realized that game playing was probably not going to happen since there were 5 kids there 4 and under I think the game playing commenced after bedtime! Will had a great time with his friends Javen, Liam, Aubrey and Brody running around like crazy kids.

On Saturday afternoon we went to Ellie Kate’s 1st birthday party. It was a joint birthday with her dad, Josh for his 30th. The theme was Dr. Seuss’ Thing 1 and Thing 2 and it was SO cute! Complete with green eggs and ham

We finished the weekend with a Freshman/Senior Swim Party. It was fun to see my new Sunday school girls outside of class and I think they had a really good time. Will certainly had a good time – he even jumped off the diving board!

While we were at Ellie Kate’s birthday party on Saturday, Bill stayed home and worked on the playroom. He made a lot of progress – it actually looks like a real room now. He only had a little more framing to do then it’s on to sheetrock! Will and I are getting so excited. We haven’t decided what kind of floor to put down yet. I think it would be really neat to have cork flooring but it’s a little pricey so that might not be an option.

Right side of the room.

Will loves “helping.” Here Bill is showing him how to hammer a nail.

Will is a fast learner.

Then Will learned how to pry the nail out.

I told Will he could probably get a summer job at Fine Homes, Inc. And I think he liked that idea!

Did you know that we are adding a playroom to our house?!?! Will and I are so excited. I particularly can’t wait to have a place specifically for toys so that they’re not all over the living room. On Saturday Bill finished putting the insulation and flooring down and he was ready to put up the walls.

Thanks to our friends, the McAtee’s, Bill was able to work fast on the framing using a nail gun. I was a little jealous that I didn’t get to use it!

Will liked staying upstairs and watching Bill work through the doorway. He loves his daddy! I worked a little downstairs but mostly relaxed and played with Will. Here are a few recent pictures of Will chillaxin’. He does it with such style!

His favorite place to relax is on our bed (usually covered up).

Look at that cheesy smile! Will got a nap mat for school and he LOVES laying on it with puppy (who is his constant nap and bedtime companion)!

I hate to say it but you are drab. You work well and efficiently and have nice stainless steel appliances. I even like your countertops. Really the only complaint I have is the color of your cabinets. I think if your cabinets were a pretty white I would cook in you more and keep you cleaner. So, if you want to magically transform into something like this, please feel free.

(Photo taken from http://starterhometodreamhome.blogspot.com/)

Or if my kitchen decides not to spontaneously combust and prove the big bang theory true who want so come over and clean, sand, prime and paint my cabinets? And while we’re at it paint the kitchen and put up backsplash?!?!

This is my “halfway done” picture. I spray painted them white and next I am going to distress some of the edges. Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve used spray paint! I was ridiculously nervous but I think they turned out pretty good.

While I was spray painting (and carefully avoiding breathing in too many fumes) Will was playing with his basketball and golf club. And I could NOT get him to even glance at the camera, silly boy. And yes, he didn’t have any clothes on. We’re classy that way – and I mentioned how hot it was.

I then thought it would be a good idea to go to a few thrift stores. Ha, ha, ha! It was not a good idea! It got so unbearably hot that Will and I were both sweating, I got a headache and Will was generally cranky. We made it to 1 store. But we went to a Goodwill Outlet. What? You’ve never heard of a Goodwill outlet? I hadn’t either until Bill told me about it this weekend. I didn’t know what to expect but I think I liked it. For most of their stuff – you pay by the pound. Yes, by the pound! It is not organized like a regular goodwill store so you have to dig but I found a couple of picture frames and a little rocking chair. The chair needs some TLC but I think with a good cleaning and some new paint it will be perfect!

We were close to Bill’s work so we called him and went and ate lunch together. Will was acting like a crazy fool (as usual) and fell on the pavement. It was a big milestone – his first really skint knee! He cried and cried. And when he got done crying he continuously relived the event by having the following conversation.

Will: Mommy (or Daddy)

Us: Yes, Will?

Will: Down! (while emphatically pointing towards the grown)

Us: You fell down?

Will: Boo! Boo! (while pointing at his knee and generally looking ready to burst into tears)

Us: You got a boo boo? I’m sorry!

This is the best picture I could get of the boo boo. It doesn’t look that bad now but it was pretty impressive when it was all dirty and bleeding!

This is how Will posed this morning for his first day of camp.

At Playcation he went on a scavenger hunt and found grass, flowers, rocks & sticks.

He made a belt because he learned about David & Jonathan and their special friendship.

A close up of his belt – he has been wearing it ever since we got home.

He also made a “friendship mix” snack one to eat and one to share with a friend.

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]]> http://www.dixondialogue.com/2010/06/15/playcation-day-1/feed/ 4 http://www.dixondialogue.com/2010/05/24/surprise/ http://www.dixondialogue.com/2010/05/24/surprise/#comments Tue, 25 May 2010 02:06:10 +0000 Amber http://www.dixondialogue.com/?p=1623 Have you missed me bloggy world? The past few days I have been super busy preparing and throwing a surprise 50th birthday party for my Mom! It was SO great and she was SO surprised! My Dad, Dana and I started planning in February and we were pretty proud of ourselves for keeping a secret for so long.

We went to Chattanooga late Thursday night in order to get ready for the party on Saturday. My Mom had no idea we were in town! We spent Friday doing this:

We also bought all the party supplies and stayed up until 3 am baking cookies and cakes. I am really too old to be staying up that late Here we are pretending to bake (we forgot to take pictures of us actually working):

We had the party at my parent’s house so it was my sister’s job to get my Mom cleaned up and out of the house for a couple of hours. They went by boat to Steve’s Landing Restaurant and the everyone was outside or on dock waiting for them to get back.

Dana, Mom & Me

The whole family!

Bill took a lot of pictures so I will put them in a slide show later this week. Thank you to everyone who helped and came out to celebrate. Mom was truly surprised – she has planned a vacation on her actual birthday so that we couldn’t throw her a party But we are sneakier than she anticipated.

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]]> http://www.dixondialogue.com/2010/05/24/surprise/feed/ 2 http://www.dixondialogue.com/2010/05/17/diy-artwork/ http://www.dixondialogue.com/2010/05/17/diy-artwork/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 12:00:56 +0000 Amber http://www.dixondialogue.com/?p=1606 When we moved into our house (2 years ago!) we knew that we had to find some large artwork for our living room walls. Our living room has a very, very high ceiling (2 floors high) so we wanted things to scale with the room. But, art is EXPENSIVE so we decided to make our own (and by “we” I mean Bill.) Bill got some large canvases on sale at Michael’s, some paint from Wal-Mart and we already owned paint brushes. It was the perfect solution for our living room – and it’s fun to tell your friends that your artwork is original.

Two years later we were not loving one of the pieces any more and we discovered the best part about painting your own artwork – you can paint over it! I had an image in my head of what I wanted to do – so I tackled the artwork this time! It turned out great, if I do say so myself!

This is the “before” painting.

And this is the “after” painting. I just love it!

(Sorry about the bad lighting and angle.)

I used the paint we already had from the first round of painting – so this project was free!

I made a “stencil” for the bird shape by finding a silhouette I liked online, printing it and cutting it out.

Then, I created the swirls using a disposable frosting bag and a tiny round tip.

Now I’m looking around the house wondering what else I can re-purpose

This is the interstate at our exit, Bell Road. The portable building has washed away from somewhere and is floating down the interstate.

This is the best picture I could get – I wasn’t willing to get wet! Notice the gushing water behind the grill.

Since it was so nasty I decided to try to make homemade pizza (another cooking first)! Notice I had to take the pizza stone out of the box

Will had an appetizer of  peas and water while I made the pizza. I’ve never seen a kid so happy about peas!

Here it is about to go in the oven. My toppings were pepperonis, green peppers and black olives. I accidentally bought chopped olives instead of sliced – I think they either look like caviar or bird droppings in this picture.

Twenty minutes later we had a yummy pizza!

For some reason the edge of the pizza wouldn’t come up (easily) – I think the cheese baked over the edge sealing it to the stone.

Will and I were very happy the pizza turned out because the alternative was bologna sandwiches!

Stay safe!

“Love Your Heart” By Tim McGraw & Tom Douglas

The actual book signing was from 6-8 pm so we headed back out to Opry Mills when Bill got home from work. We got there a few minutes early and they had already started lining up. I was so excited – this was my first “high profile” book signing. A few years ago Bill went to Al Gore’s book signing at Green Hills.

Will and I getting excited for the book signing! The stage is behind us.

I got in line while Bill entertained Will out in the crowd. Thank you Bill! When Tim McGraw walked in everyone started screaming These two girls near me where hysterical – I thought they might faint! They even had on Tim McGraw t-shirts. When Tim & Tom first came out they did a short interview with the news cameras and then got busy signing books!

Tim & Tom posing for the cameras.

Finally our turn!

Both Tim McGraw and Tom Douglas were nice and friendly. Tim waved and said “Hey Buddy” to Will and Will reciprocated by blowing him a kiss. So cute!

Our signed copy

“Love Your Heart” is a cute book and the second book co-authored by Tim McGraw. It is perfect for daddy’s to read to their little girls. Or it’s perfect if you’re just a fan of children’s books of the signed variety