Pre-school Pictures

So we got Lilly's preschool pictures back

There was 2 different poses to pick from

One where she looked normal and had a pretty good smile

and one where she kind of resembles a pirate

and all I can think of is "Arggghh Mateys" when I see it

So if you know me at all

you know which one I ordered to go up on our wall...

Argghhhh I'll make ye walk the plank :)

it makes me smile & chuckle everytime I look at it

...she is so going to hate me later in life

The $25 Computer Amoire

So we finally decided to take the plunge

and purchase a new computer

This is our early Christmas gift to eachother

It's an all in one (no tower) wireless and touchscreen

there is only 1 cord, which is to plug it in

and I love that

The problem was that now that we were getting a computer

we needed someplace to put it

I wanted it as close to the kitchen as possible

and would have preferred it be in the kitchen

but the way our house is set up that just wasn't possible

We decided on the front room

(we really need to think of a different name for that room)

which was formally the dining room in it's previous life

Then the search began for the perfect desk/hutch/whatever would work

and of course I didn't want to spend a lot

which I know makes a ton of sense since we just spent

big bucks on the actual computer

I scoured craigslist and the thrift stores in town

when I happened to run into this new thrift store and ran across this

It's a computer armoire...which I totally had to explain to Scott

and it was priced at $32, but the nice lady offered to go down to $25

I love that it already has a cork board and white board built in

So of course I planned on painting it

and I may or may not have had some minor meltdowns during the process

Let's just say the holiday time is not the best time for me to

take on new projects...so I can gladly say this is my last

until after the first of the year

Anyway here it is all painted, distressed, glazed and pretty

sitting in our front room/office :).

I have seen the book page walls everywhere on pinterest and totally love them

so I incorporated the idea on the back, which made it easy to cut

through for the air holes as well.

Here's another idea that originated on pinterest (love that thing!)

I just added some scrap book paper to one of those ugly

steralite storage drawers and prettied it up

These cute little boxes I found at Meijer

and still need to grab one more

They are perfect for storing craft/office materials

Here's our little helper

she was so interested in what was going on :)

and no I just cannot bring myself to cut her bangs...

she is 2 years old and has never had a hair cut

but Lilly was 3 before she had one so I guess we are okay

I do do her hair in the mornings so it's out of her eyes...

I love that it has a double pull out

it will be the perfect place for Scott to put his books

while working on his classes

My favorite part is that we can close the doors on the mess whenever we want

and that this keeps the girls from using it unless we are watching...for now

It actually fits in the room pretty well

for a room that is longer than it is wide

and has some funky angles to work with :)

And then of course we all decided we should sit down

and watch a movie (Santa Claus 2 - one of the girls' favorites)

on our new computer...even though the TV is right in the other room

and of course is bigger

I love memories like that that involve the whole family :)

& I love that I have no other projects to do for over a month

I plan on spending lots & lots of time playing, reading, baking

Santa cookies, watching Christmas movies and just being!

What Happens When Daddy is in Charge...

So while I was in the garage working on the computer armoire

(which turned out sooo good and I can't wait to share pics)

Scott was inside with the girls cleaning

And this is the video I found on the camera last night...

Just as a note we do not make them clean the floors

they wanted to help and of course both wanted to do it at the same time

and Scott just couldn't resist grabbing the camera

I must have played this over & over last night laughing

I don't know why but I find it hilarious :).

Blake Gerald

We have a new member of the family!!!

My sister had her baby this weekend

Blake Gerald

Born 11:30 pm on Friday Nov 18th

8 lbs 12oz and 21 in long

Mom & baby are both doing great

We took the girls to see the new addition

and all the kids were so interested in baby Blake

it was very cute to watch :)

While we were there Blake has his first big poop

of course all the kids had to line up to watch 

It's going to be so fun having a baby around again!

Speaking Of...

Wow it feels like this week has been jam packed

work has been busy

we've been busy & off schedule at home with the big deer day festivities

and to top it off I have an unrelenting urge to clean, organize & purge

I tackled the craft room last weekend

and threw out 2 whole trash bags of stuff

that I kept with good intentions

or thoughts that I would figure out what to do with it eventually

but just never got around to

Good thing is - now I can actually find stuff

We tackled the kitchen/pantry last night

we have an entire cabinet that is empty now

with nothing to put in it...I dare say we have too much room!

and the pantry is looking pretty darn bare

...but we do need to go grocery shopping

Anyway we were getting the girls ready for bed last night

and I was putting on Lilly's PJs

we are practicing buttons right now

I do the first and she tackle the rest

As she was tackling her buttons

I was helping her put on her bottoms and I said

"Lilly put your foot in please"

and this is what my 4 year old replied

"Speaking of IN, I am putting these buttons IN their holes"

I just kind of stared at her in amazement

they sure do teach different stuff in preschool now a days :).

Fish

So this weekend I finally got around

to trying out an awesome Terriaki Salmon recipe a friend gave me

5 ingredients, so simple, so quick & SO good!

So as we are eating at the dinner table...

Lilly:  "Mommy this chicken tastes funny"

Me:  "Well that's because it's fish, not chicken"

Lilly:  "It's fish?!?  Ewww"

Me:  "Not ewww, it's good for you, now eat your fish"

Lilly:  "So...does somebody catch the fish?"

Me:  "Yup"

Lilly:  "And then you buy it?"

Me:  "Yup, and then we bring it home & I cook it"

Lilly:  "Mommy how did you get the fish inside?  Wasn't it

really floppy?"

Scott & I:  Cracking up :).

What Makes Me Smile

-Walking into my closet & finding Nolee (all by herself) trying on my shoes

-Finding that random barrette or hair clip from the girls in my purse

-Warm coffee on a lazy Saturday morning

-Warm sunshine on my face

-The first snow flurries

-The "Mommy!!" I hear when I pick up my kids after work

-The sight of my girls sleeping

-Cornfields or Hayfields

-Nolee's random "Hi!"

-The girls' baby pictures

-When Lilly uses the word "Awkward...", which is not always done correctly

-A completed project

-Christmas shopping

-Snuggling while watching Saturday morning cartoons (Phinas & Ferb is our favorite)

-Talking about our future with Scott (and yes that includes future paint colors too)

-Sunday dinners at my parent's

-Holidays with all the hustle & bustle & noise of family gatherings

-Watching Lilly tackle the uneven bars at gymnastics

-Trying to prank my brother

-MacGyver

-Spending an entire Saturday with just the girls & Scott

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend that is filled with lots of smiles

The Dreaded Santa Question

Okay so we are no where near

the time when our kids will begin to question

the vailidity of Santa Claus

but I have earmarked this for when the time comes

http://www.cozi.com/live-simply/truth-about-santa

By far the best explanation I have ever seen or heard

and I love that their is a life lesson thrown in there

oh and it totally made me cry

New/Old Bathroom Mirror

Well we got the bathroom mirror up

and I love it!

My parents had bought a dresser on craigslist

that didn't work out for their space

so they gave the dresser to my sister

and I was lucky enough to get the mirror that attached to the back

When I first told Scott I wanted to hang that mirror

with the frame & all

in our bathroom

I got some funny looks

but thankfully he is getting used to my weird ideas

and just went with it with only a few grumbles here & there

We had to find something to cover up the screws on the bottom

and I really wanted a shelf

so we grabbed a piece of barn wood in our garage

cut it down to size and screwed it to the bottom

It's probably not something that everyone is going to like

but I love it and I'm so excited about the character it adds

to our somewhat blah bathroom :).

We still have to do something about the light fixture

I'm thinking we will spray paint it for now

and then that way I won't feel like I'm in a big rush to replace it

...and then buy something that will work, but I don't really love

cuz I do that all the time!!

I can't believe a bathroom is taking weeks to re-decorate!

we have a few more projects to complete the room

and I'm trying to not rush it as I like that

collected over time cool old stuff that somehow meshes perfectly together look

but for someone who is very impatient it is hard to go at this pace



Bathroom Cabinets

So I have wanted to paint the cabinets

in our kitchen for some time

but I have never painted cabinets

and I'm kind of worried how they would turn out

cuz it's kind of a permanent

like as in if I screw this up I'm in T.R.O.U.B.L.E.

So I decided to attempt a practice run first

we are in the midst of re-decorating our bathroom

and I figured that would be a great place to evaluate

my cabinet painting abilities

Here is what I started with
(well actually this is the girl's bathroom cabinet
but ours is the exact same but apparently I didn't have
a picture on file like I thought I did)

This bathroom is gonna get a makeover soon too :)

Oh and I may have failed to mention

that I am somewhat lazy

and like re-decorating projects that involve

instant gratification - which is probably not the best thing
when painting cabinets

So I opted for Behr paint in primer in one

in Coastal Fog (LOVE this color)

I quickly sanded down the cabinets

cleaned them up

and applied 2 coats of paint

I only applied 2 coats because I knew I wanted to distress them

yes I am totally weird like that and don't like things that

look too new

After sanding them down with sand paper

I sanded them with steel wool

which created a kind of grey glazing effect

without the mess of glaze, paint or stain

And now I have "brand new" cabinets

and it only cost me $6 for the 2 sample sizes

of behr paint

Ohh I saw this idea on Pinterest and just had to try it

I attached the magazine file with some of those

3M command picture hanging strips

& it worked awesome!

Now at least the hairdryer, flatiron & curling iron

are organized...still gotta work on the rest :)

Oh and I wanted something different for our mirror

here's a sneak peak of what we are thinking...



Halloween & A Late Birthday Present

So the pirate made a re-appearance this year

at Lilly's request

there was more "Argghhs" and just a few

"give me some candy" followed quickly by a "please"

what a nice polite little pirate

The pirates sidekick this year

was the ferocious purple dragon

who's "Roar" was more cute than scary

but the biggest hit was the tail wagging

that she did at every house we went to

And I finally finished Scott's birthday present from the girls

I saw the idea on Lil Blue Boo

I LOVE her blog by the way

this is one very talented women!!

Anyway the leather bracelet finally arrived after being on back order

which of course I didn't notice until after I placed my order - doh!

I had Lilly help me out with writing "Daddy" in crayon

and we both worked on the heart

Once that once done I just used an exacto knife

to carve out the letters very carefully

I was worried it wasn't going to turn out very well

as I did not perform the neatest surgery on those letters

but after I applied the stain I loved the extra character

my little nicks provided

And the best part was Scott's face when he saw it :).

Nolee

Well Nolee was sick yesterday

(cold, congestion & possible ear infection)

so I got to spend the day

snuggling & soothing

I even got to experience

her falling asleep in my arms

while I rocked

in a quiet house

Which is something

I haven't done in so long

it was so nice

and I tried to ingrain that moment

in my brain as I realize those moments

will be so few & far between with her getting bigger :(.

On another note

Nolee's vocabulary is expanding

in leaps & bounds lately

and it is so funny to see more of her personality

coming out in actual words

She has taken to singing

and breaks out in song all the time

her favorites are

"Tinkle Tinkle" (i.e. Twinkle Twinkle)

"Hoppy Birthday"

& "Bus" (i.e. Wheels on the Bus)

She will now tell us "Second"

when we ask her to come here

so she can finish up whatever she is working on

And my new favorite

"Shhhh mouse sleeping"

...we told her the other day

we were going to try to be as

quiet as a mouse...:)

She also uses "hi" at the most random times
like when she knows she is doing something wrong
and gets caught
she will look up you with her I know I'm so cute face
and say "Hi!"
like when you find her in your bathroom
in your drawer
with your chapstick....
all over her face

She is also becoming afraid of different things

she is afraid of the dark

"funder" (thunder)

& all the scary masks we saw on Halloween

If she sees any of these she will

immediately become a spider monkey

and attach to you and close her eyes

She also has taken to crawling in our bed at night

when she gets scared

so now I awaken to two sets of feet in my face

and smile