Tuesday, January 24, 2012

While The Cats Away, The Mice Will Play

Sorry that I just sort of disappeared.  The hubby was out of town all last week and I decided to take advantage and get a few projects checked off my list.  But first, the weekend before Andrew left he helped me to demo the laundry room.  Yay!  That means my laundry room has to actually get done now... we can't just talk about it anymore.  Of course since he was heading out of town and the laundry room only got torn apart, the house was left in major disaster mode.  We've tried cleaning up a little bit, but the guest room and bath have been taken over by laundry stuff.  Not such a big deal, except for the fact that my sister and her fiance were visiting last weekend.  Hehe... sorry Caitlin.
Anyways... back to the projects... the minute Andrew left for the airport, I headed down to the basement and started moving furniture to the middle of the room.  That's right, the toy room finally got painted.  I'm not even sure that I mentioned the toy room had been moved to the basement in June, but we, and by we I mean I, decided we needed to utilize some spaces better in our home.  The basement wasn't being used at all except as a large storage dumping ground and we were always climbing over our guests down there to get to anything including the food storage room.  Since we have visitors a lot, it was kind of a big deal.  So the guest room got moved to the old toy room on the main level, which has worked out much better and the toy room went downstairs.  It really has been win win.  Unfortunately, I didn't have time or energy to decorate the toy room, but just getting it painted and the furniture arranged was a huge undertaking in and of itself.  So without further ado... here is what we have so far...
 This was in June when we were moving stuff around.
 Freshly painted... I love the color.
 Unfortunately, the lovely pink carpet stands out that much more now.
 The file cabinets in the corner of the picture here actually need to go in the storage room, but that room has to be addressed before there is room for these file cabinets.
 The kids spend hours cooking food in their kitchen... it makes me happy.  They also love to race those strollers.
 Nice and organized... I just need to make up labels.
 They also love the chalk board and their table.  I found this table with the four chairs at the DI for $35 a couple summers ago.  Score!  Unfortunately, three of the chairs have been broken... I'm still hoping to be able to fix them though.  I think it would be cute to paint the chairs some fun colors.
And of course, the horse, the very fancy horse.

Once the toy room was done, I moved onto the laundry room.  I'm convinced that the previous owners really liked to put holes in the wall.  They were also really big fans of wall anchors (I kid you not, there were wall anchors for small picture frames) and toggle bolts (oh please shoot me).  The laundry room was no exception, in fact I'm pretty sure this was the favorite room for this.  I don't even know how many holes I patched, but it was a lot.  After I finally got everything patched and sanded and patched and sanded again, I was able to paint before Andrew got home Friday night.  Now we just need to get the new shelves built and installed and then I can decorate.  I'm so excited to have a nice laundry room.
 One of the few times the laundry room has been clean and organized.
 These pictures are actually two years old... I forgot to take pictures before we started tearing things out.  The room was actually a huge disaster before we started and the washer and dryer had been buried for at least two months... when I did laundry I just moved the huge pile to the couch and brought it back to the washer when I was done.   Yes, that is embarrassing to admit.  We're working on it.  Don't judge. 
 Cameron enjoyed helping.
 Just imagine all the holes from that shelving unit... half of which were in toggle bolts.
 Ella thought it was pretty cool that she could touch the roof.

 It was so hard to find a paint color for this room.  Everything looks like some variation of concrete on the walls.


I think I'm happy with the color.  It's certainly better than the yellow that was in there.  I also got a new light fixture for in here.  I'm excited for this to be done.  Hopefully everything gets finished up on Saturday.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Laundry Part 2

As part of organizing the laundry room we need to make our entryway uber functional so that it can be used for coats, shoes, backpacks, etc, which will free up tons of space in the laundry room.  Our laundry room is just way too small to be used as a mudroom/laundry/storage room.  So thanks again to pinterest, I've found some great inspiration for our entryway.
 I love this chest of drawers, the rug, the mirror, the chairs and that glass vase.
 Love the red door and entry table.
 We need hooks...
 ...lots of hooks
 I love the railing with hooks and kids art. 
I love this way of displaying the munchkins art work.  I'm pretty sure Ella would love to help with this project.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Laundry Love

I have three organizational goals for the house this year... 1) makeover the laundry room, 2) revamp the kids closet and 3) organize the storage room.  Now, the kids closet should take priority, but I'm really wanting to do the laundry room first.  After all, I walk into and through that room countless times a day.  So after scouring pinterest (oh, how I love pinterest), here is what I've come up with for the laundry room.
 I love this serene wall color.
 I love everything about this room... the wall color, the mirror, the wire basket and the light fixture.
 I need these shelves above my washer and dryer.
 Shelving for the opposite side of the room.
Love the glass containers for laundry soap, stain removers, vinegar, etc...

Sunday, January 1, 2012

How'd I Do... December Goals

My goodness, I can't believe 2011 is over.  2011 was a crazy busy year for us.  I'm hoping that 2012 will slow down a little, but we'll see.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas... We had a great time in California visiting grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.  The munchkins loved it and had so much fun playing with cousins.  We were sad to leave family, but it's always so nice to come home.
So let's review December's goals:


Homemaking -
Decorate for Christmas 
Deep clean before Christmas - I was pretty to happy to actually get the house cleaned before our trip.  It was well worth the frantic cleaning spree the day before leaving to come home to a clean house and fresh sheets.

Cooking -
Make a fabulous cake for Ella's birthday party - Bummer... I did make some cute cupcakes though.
Try three new recipes - I've gotta be honest... I could have tried three new recipes, but I don't remember.
Christmas baking/goodie plates - I had the best intentions, I even bought the stuff, but then I just ran out of time.

Mothering -
Take Ella on a date - January is the month.  It was kinda hard to do this since we were so busy and when I was planning on shopping it was for Christmas.
Remember to read Christmas stories with the kiddos - The kids loved unwrapping a book each night to read.  Definitely need to do this again.

Creating - 
Finish all the homemade gifts I've planned... there are a lot - With a lot of late nights, it all got done.
Sew a scarf for me... I need something for my stocking too - Nope, but I've got plans for one or two.
Finish the flowers and gift bags for Ella's birthday party - Yep and they were adorable.

Financing -
Figure out a new budget for 2012 - This is on the calendar for this week.
Plan budget for the month of December... there is a lot to cram in this month - I actually stayed in budget.

Enriching -
Read two books - I think I did this, but like the recipes, I just can't remember.
Host our Cooking Group - We had so much fun.
Have a date night with Andrew... it is our anniversary this month after all - We actually got to go out a few times this month.  We especially had a great time in Santa Monica.

Let's look at January:

Homemaking -
Pack away Christmas decor
Sort through Christmas boxes and purge unused decor
Organize toy room with new toys
Deep clean laundry room
Paint laundry room

Cooking -
Try three new recipes
Gather recipes for family cookbook

Mothering -
Take Ella on a date
Patience, Patience, Patience

Creating -
Begin organizing craft closet

Financing -
Work out 2012 budget

Enriching -
Read a book
Give myself permission to take a nap when I'm tired

As you can see, there are quite a few homemaking goals this month.  Our house has kinda become a disaster in the last few months and it's time to address that mess.  What better time than the beginning of a new year.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Happy Fancy Birthday Ella Bella!!!

Ella's birthday was actually on the 7th, but we celebrated on Saturday with a Fancy Nancy birthday soiree.  We invited over five of her little girlfriends to make fancy bracelets, paint nails and eat yummy treats.  The little girls all came wearing their fanciest ensembles.  They had so much fun and Ella absolutely loved it.  We love you baby girl!  Happy 4th Birthday!!!



 The girls all got to go home with cute little bags that had nail polish, a nail file, lots of jewelry, a flower clippie and feather boas.

 They loved the pink sugar.
 Strawberry mallows
 Yummy strawberry cupcakes with pink sugar and pearl sprinkles.
 Pink popcorn... I couldn't stop eating this.
 Cake Batter Truffles
 Chocolate Chip Truffles
 I thought it was cute that the little girls had such a look of anticipation as Ella blew out her candle.
 Time to eat yummy treats.

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Eight Years

Happy Anniversary Babe!!!  Thanks for eight wonderful years.  I have so many great memories because of you.  We've been blessed with three beautiful children that bring so much joy into my life.  I have so much fun when we're together and am so lucky to have you as my best friend.  I look forward to many more memories and many many more years.  I love you!  

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A New Baby

No, not for me.  This baby is for Ashlynn.  For her first birthday I wanted to give her her own baby doll.  But, I didn't want just any baby doll.  I wanted a cozy cloth doll.  Since Missy loves to cuddle so much, I thought she should have a doll that she could really snuggle with.  So after searching several stores, I decided that they just don't make what I wanted.  So off to Etsy I went and I actually found what I wanted after several searches, but then I looked at the price.  Whawaawaaa!  The price actually wasn't that bad (more than I like to pay, but I probably would've paid it if I didn't have any other options), but considering I have two birthdays, an anniversary and Christmas to pay for all in the span of 25 days, it just wasn't going to happen.  So I drew up a pattern and started sewing.  I will say that in this case the third times the charm.  This is a direct quote from my hubby regarding the first attempt, "It looks like E.T."  So, yeah... onto attempt two... much better, the body and legs were good, but, the head was too small.  So for attempt three I actually just cut the head off the second doll, sewed a new head (the right size) and then attached it to the body.  Perfect!  I was so excited that it actually turned out.  The picture makes the head look funny shaped, but I promise it actually looks okay.  Now onto the rest of the homemade gifts for Christmas.  I actually have several more gifts that I've already made and several more that I need to finish, but I can't post them right now since they're going to people that read this blog.  I guess I have to show those after Christmas.


Sunday, December 4, 2011

Happy Birthday Ashlynn!!!

I can't believe my baby girl is already a year old.  Her birthday was actually the first, I'm just a little late posting this.  It was a crazy busy day and we actually ended up having a late dinner (that the poor girl didn't end up liking), I made a pitiful excuse for a cake as I was preparing dinner and then I didn't even wrap her gift.  I know, I know, I'm a terrible mother.  But, she seems to have not even noticed and so all is well.  I'll make up for it in future birthdays.

 Seriously cute!

 She was more than happy to dig in.

 She looks wasted on chocolate... I think she was just savoring each bite.


 Of course Ella was all to happy to celebrate her sisters birthday... she insisted we have party hats.
 And then there was this little man, who I think was really only in it for the cake and balloons.
 Here is Ashlynn's new baby doll that I made for her.  She loves it, although Cameron keeps taking it from her.
And here is her special present from her birthday twin, who is really a friend of mine from church, loves Ashlynn and just so happens to share her birthday.  Thanks again Sallie.
It was a nice low key birthday celebration for a one year old that has no idea what's going on.  We love you Ashlynn Rose and can't imagine our family without you.  You're such a joy to all of us.

How'd I Do.. November Goals


Once again, where did the month go!?!  Heck, where has this year gone?  Even the last few days of December have gotten away from me.  I meant to post this on the first, but the first was Ashlynn's birthday and anyways, no more excuses.  Let's move on.  I actually did pretty good for the month of November. 

Homemaking - 
Finish winterizing the house - There a couple things that didn't get done, but the main things are done, so we're calling it.
Pull out annuals 
Plant tulips for spring - We've been so lucky.  Up until just a few days ago, we've actually had fall, so I was actually able to get the tulip bulbs planted for next year.  Lets just hope that they grow and let's really hope that I didn't do to much damage to the existing tulip bulbs while trying to plant the new ones.

Cooking -
Try a new recipe each week - Well the cooking was a big fat fail this month.  But, I did come up with an amazing recipe for cranberry sauce that I was pretty excited about.  It was so good on those turkey sandwiches too!
Organize recipes - This is just going to have to wait for January.
Gather favorite recipes - I've got to do this so I can start working on that family cookbook.

Mothering -
Patience - I'm always working on this, yet I always feel like a failure still.  I guess we're not always going to be patient with our kids.
Take Ella on a date - We had to reschedule this one to December.  Fortunately, it was actually because of something she had to go to and she doesn't even seem to remember. 
Take fall pics if we get another nice day - I'm so sad I didn't find the time for this.
Plan Ashlynn's first birthday - Well I win "The Worst Mother of the Year" award. :)  I didn't even make a cake until dinner time and then I didn't have time to let it cool before attempting, attempting being the key word here, to frost it.  The cake looked awful, I didn't even wrap her present and she didn't really like dinner that night.  So big fail on my part.  Ashlynn I promise I'll make it up to you in years to come.  I will say though that I made her gift and it turned out pretty freakin' adorable.
Have Cameron completely potty trained by Thanksgiving - Yes, Yes, Yes!!! Hallelujah, this is done!  He's is actually pretty good at night even.

Creating -
Make a tie for Cameron - Oh my goodness cute!
Craft night with the girls - We had so much fun crafting cute little girlie bows and flowers for our girls hair.
Make the hair clippies for Ella's birthday party - Agh, I've gotta get these done.  Her birthday is next week.  I guess I know what I'll be doing tonight after the kids go to bed.

Financing -
Figure out a budget for the month - Yeah, lets not talk about this.

Enriching -
Read a book - Check... I just love a good mystery.

Okay, so not quite as good as I thought, but not to shabby either.  I'm over it.  Moving on.

December Goals:

Homemaking -
Decorate for Christmas
Deep clean before Christmas

Cooking -
Make a fabulous cake for Ella's birthday party
Try three new recipes
Christmas baking/goodie plates

Mothering -
Take Ella on a date
Remember to read Christmas stories with the kiddos

Creating - 
Finish all the homemade gifts I've planned... there are a lot
Sew a scarf for me... I need something for my stocking too
Finish the flowers and gift bags for Ella's birthday party

Financing -
Figure out a new budget for 2012
Plan budget for the month of December... there is a lot to cram in this month

Enriching -
Read two books
Host our Cooking Group
Have a date night with Andrew... it is our anniversary this month after all

We've got another busy month ahead of us so I guess I should get off this computer and start working now.