Tatum Evan Four Months

Each month we will be taking a picture of Tatum Evan in his nursery, as inspired by Making It Lovely.

introducing, Tatum Evan

We had a bit of a hiatus at the Cottage of Stone. And I am placing full blame on this little guy:

Tatum Evan made his appearance April 26th at 11:27 p.m.
He weighed in at 8 pounds, 2.5 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Ala, Making it Lovely, we have been taking a monthly picture of Tatum. Rather than use the white Eames-style rocker in the master bedroom, we decided to tote one of the black chairs up from the living room into the nursery.

I have a little to learn about getting the pictures to look exactly the same (maybe the time of day I take them or the fact they are taken with the camera in my phone?), but it is a cute project and we have really enjoyed it.

Speaking of the nursery, we did finish it in time for Tatum's arrival... not that we needed to, really. Tatum has decided he wants to sleep in our bedroom. But not in his gorgeous cradle. Nope. He needs to sleep in my bed, right next to me. (Clingy baby!)

We will get the (not-yet-used) nursery pictures up soon. ;)

I'm thankful for a visit from my family!

I am happy to report that my family is going me in Denver for Thanksgiving. Steven is packing up the babies tomorrow and bringing them to Denver for a little mini-vacation. I can't wait!! We will be hitting museums and an Avalanche game.

It's a nice break for him... cuz when he's back home, he needs to whip that dining room. (A house full of guests at Christmas!!!)

It is amazing how quickly the weather changes in Kansas. It is already getting cold and we have had a dusting of snow. Just a couple weeks ago, I snapped these pictures:

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I can't wait to take turns going around the table and saying what we are thankful for.

Do you have any special traditions in your family?

Halloween with KISS!

I thought I would post up some pictures of my boys Halloween night. We did a pretty great job decorating the house, if I do say so myself. Many of the littler kids were afraid to come up onto the porch!

This year, our boys went at KISS. Putting on that makeup was harder than I thought it would be!

L-R: Gene Simmons (Emery), Peter Criss (Dane) and Ace Frehley (Satchel)

Paul Stanley (Bowie) was too crabby to try makeup tonight.

A close-up of Gene. (Satchel actually does the big tongue thing better than Emery)

The boys won Best Group Costume at the Baldwin City Halloween contest! They let them sing a song into the mic. Emery was too shy, but Satch and Dane sang "I Was Made for Loving You" and "Calling Dr Love."

We had a dress rehearsal last week when we took the boys to the Damage Control grand opening. Here you can actually see Dane, I mean, Peter Criss's makeup. I ended up buying a better makeup for Ace's silver was way better Halloween night.

Hope everyone had a Happy & Safe Halloween!

little updates... send us happy thoughts!

My 4-yr old Dane at Maple Leaf Festival... He is having surgery tomorrow - read more below...

Steven got a bit side-tracked on the dining room project... Winter is rolling in here, and the doggies outside say BRRRRR! We looked at premade doghouses, but they were all so cheap and small. We have 3 big dogs at this house. No wimpy house will do! So Steven decided to design and make a doghouse on his own. Of course, the house had to be *just right* and up to his standards.

I have to say, the dogs will be warm and are extremely spoiled. He has put insulation in the whole thing! And it looks like a smaller version of our place shape wise. No stones on the dog house. They get siding.


Soon you will see pictures of the lovely Cottage for Puppies. Until then, the dining room is on hold.


I do have progress made on the living room. The lovely CB2 black and white rug, that the cat promptly "marked" upon roll out will be moved into the dining room. I ordered a chenille-jute woven rug from Lowe's - exactly like the one at Pottery Barn but with a smaller price tag! A stripey kilim overlay from Overstock will add a punch of color, and tie in the yellow curtains to the pink and green. The most wanted item right now is a chair I have been waiting on for MONTHS to come back in stock. More on that when I score that bad boy.


Finally, those who follow my blog have heard about my 4 boys quite a bit. Dane, who is 4, is scheduled for minor surgery tomorrow. He has a big bump, which looks like a huge Adam's Apple but is really just a cyst, that is being removed. After an ultrasound and an MRI, they determined it is not connected to his thyroid. So pelase send happy thoughts our way tomorrow morning!

Dane gives a baby goat a hug at Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

going to the zoo zoozoo, you can come too too too

Even with my super busy schedule, we want to be sure that our boys don't feel too abandoned. This means presents (bribes) and little mini-vacations. We took a trip to Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead, a free petting zoo in Olathe, KS and the boys had a blast. Prying Bowie off the tractors was a challenge!

Bowie gets a hand from Daddy to bottlefeed some goats.

Dane gives a goat a big hug!

Emery taking the time to smell the flowers. The gardens are amazing there!

All 4 of my boys! L-R, Satchel, Emery, Dane and Bowie.

my latest adventure

Don't send out search parties... I haven't gone missing. I accepted a job in Denver. Well, Englewood, Colorado. I fly out Monday and return home to Kansas Thursday nights. Work from home Friday, and then teach college courses Friday night.

This means I am a busy girl. But employed, which is so important since Steven quit his job to go back to school full-time. (And once he finished his degree, maybe the roles can reverse and I will have a Sugar Daddy!)

I have been checking in each night and the boys are doing well. I am not sure how much home work Steven gets done with the 4 boys. But I did put the boys in a new daycare, so he does get *some* quiet time.

I am told that at daycare today, while playing outside, Bowie told Gina (new daycare lady) Bug! Bug! Not sure what he meant at first, she soon spotted a big bumblebee in his hair. She managed to shoo the bee out of his hair. His daily note said he was very brave. That's my boy!

Friday, I hope to work a bit on my Queen Anne chairs in the living room, sew a few pillows and develop a plan of attack for the sofa slipcover. The pendant lights for the kitchen will arrive anytime now, and we picked up half of the wood for the ceiling - so I expect some progress in the kitchen this weekend!

an update from a busy bee...

I have been so busy the last couple weeks and have been neglectful of my blog. For this I am sorry. Last week, I had finals, which included a nasty one for Statistics, no fun! This week the little ones were home with me and the two older boys started school. Satchel had half days Tuesday and Wednesday. Emery had Jr High orientation Wednesday. They both started full days today. Whew! I have found it isn't a lot of fun to tote 2 toddlers to Home Depot and the fabric store, but we are getting things done, I suppose.

I managed to pick up a couple drop cloths that, with the help of dear MIL, will be a slipcover for the rather fussy living room sofa. I got poly-crylic, trim and tacks for the Hollywood Regency chairs. Ready to start upholstery on the first chair!!!

Steven started his first day back as a fulltimer at U of Kansas. He was very excited. We met up for lunch after his classes and he seems to be really happy being back at school. And not missing his job at all. Lucky boy!

Oh, and my big news. Looks like a fulltime job is in my near future. I have been teaching part time at a local college, but with Steven going back to school full time, I will be going back to work full time. (And we will be setting up daycare for the wee ones again...)

Anyway... I do have a big surprise for you all. No, not Baby Number 5. But a cool interview with the designer of my very favorite movie house ever. I think you all will like it!

a bit about me

I have been posting all about our home for awhile now. Every now and then I mention something about the boys (Emery, Satchel, Dane and Bowie) or the pets ot Steven, but never really about me. (Other than what I am working on!) So I thought I would share a little about myself as a get-to-know-you post. And hopefully you all will share something fun about yourselves, a link to your blog, etc.

So... My name is Sarah Beth. My friends call me Puck. Long story short, it is a silly nickname from back when I had the time to play hockey. One of many habits I don't seem to have time for anymore!

I like music, dancing, and cars... and before I had house projects and kids coming out of my ears, I liked to perform.


Steven and I met while playing in a band. He plays guitar, and I play bass and sing. Years later, we try to find the time to jam. We do have a band called customgrind and have been working on a CD. However, we haven't done a show since early in my pregnancy with our baby boy, Bowie. I did a lot of shows while pregnant with Dane (now 4), but decided my back couldn't take a heavy guitar and a baby at once anymore. Here I am performing (just a couple month pregnant) at our last show. This was at Whisky Tango, I believe:







I mentioned I like cars. I like to wrench, drive, race, drool over, etc. My first car as a '86 Mustang LX in regetta blue. I have own a string of Mustangs since then. I saved my current car, a 94 Mustang GT, simply because 94/95 was the last year of the 5.0 engine. It has been a project car for me over the years. I have taken it to the drag strip, autocross course and open track. This is my "fun" car in action:




But, you know, the 2-door Mustang is not so kid-friendly. I can't fit all 4 boys, plus Steven, in there. I needed a "mom-mobile." I can't handle the thought of a mini-van, so I decided if I was going to get a station wagon, it had to be a really cool one... I needed a Rambler. Steven did some digging and found a 1963 Rambler Classic 770 wagon for me. It is a work in progress, and early progress at that, but someday I will share pics!

And dancing. It has always been a passion of mine. I have taken ballet, jazz, modern, etc. Most recently, I was involved with a hip hop team. We were working to compete, but our coach moved and it all sort of fell apart. It was great fun (and exercise) while it lasted. Hopefully soon, I can begin dancing again, be it hip hop, ballet or jazz. It is all fun.

You already know I live in Baldwin City, KS. Before that, I lived in Bailey & Castle Rock, Colorado for a few years. I grew up in Fremont, Nebraska and Neola, Iowa. Pretty much a Midwest Girl. I was always amazed by people's perceptions about the Midwest when I would travel around to client sites. Especially in California. Clients would remark that I must really enjoy getting to be in California for a few months, as if it HAD to be better there than my home. I would tell them how much I enjoyed gardening, and how green everything was at home. Glamorous Hollywood is actually pretty brown and a bit dreary, to me. And I didn't met anyone famous. Well, I might have met some reality or MTV hipster, but I never know who the young girls are on the cover of magazines anymore. Do any of them where underpants anymore?

But I digress... Hopefully, you feel like you know me a little more. It is funny how we follow each other's blogs and feel like friends, even though it is all just cyberspace, huh?