Family

Family
You MUST Chase Your Dreams, For Your Dreams Will Not Chase You

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Nolee is 18 months old

Nolee is now 18 months old
How in the heck did that time fly by so fast!?!

Thought it might be neat to list how/where she is at
for the grandparents
for her...you know when she can eventually read and blogs have went the way of VCR tapes
for us when we look at our "big girl" so we can rememeber when
so without further adue...

Nolee 18 month old stats:

Weight:  26 lbs
Height:  32 inches
HC:  19 3/4 inches

You are very very close to being potty trained
and only wear diapers (size 3) when you take a nap and at bedtime

Your favorite word is probably a toss up between potty & Charlie

You cheer for Lilly, Mommy & Daddy when we go potty

You are starting to be able to say your name
"Noooh Lee"

You tell your sister, Mommy, Daddy and even our dog Charlie
"No, no"
and shake your finger at us

Your wiggling butt dance has to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen

You say "Bye Bye" for goodbyes & hellos
(kind of like aloha)

You still sleep in a crib as you are all over the place at night

You are eating by yourself and occasionally use your fork/spoon
as more than just a prop

You are walking/running all over the place
and if we take our eyes off for your for a second
you are gone
but we can usually find you
in the bathroom
playing in the water
...in the toilet

You sleep through the night and take one nap a day

You are really starting to love books
especially the naming/words ones

You have 4 top teeth & 4 bottom teeth
and have 2 molars popping through
with 2 more close behind

You have such a fun and easy going temperment
unless your sister is picking at you
because in that case you scream
very loudly

You have the ability to make us laugh & smile every day
You make us so proud and we only wish
you would stop growing up so quickly




Wednesday, March 30, 2011

3 Days Ago

It has been a total of 3 whole days
(okay not even)
since my darling hubby painted our entire dining room
and hallway
and I still can't get used to the color

He hates when I even bring up the subject
and I don't blame him
I know that once we get things back up on the wall
it will help tone it down
and I should wait until then to
make a final decision
(even though I did agree to keep it up for 5 years
so someone has a very valid argument
that there is no final decision to be made here)

But...on lunch I went and looked
just looked mind you
at pricing for possibly doing board and batten
because these pictures make me drool


 Found at: Our Subarbuan Cottage



Found at:  Garden Web

In attempt to correct this in the least expensive way
I found lattice trim for 38 cents/linear foot (the vertical pieces)
and chair rail for 54 cents/linear foot (the horizontal pieces)
I also stopped at the Habitat Restore
and found the following

The swatches are from Home Depot
Behr Premium Plus
Misty Morn on the right
Urban Mist on the left

This is a full can of Benjaminn Moore paint
in Billowly Down
it is very much between the two swatches I have
and $5 for the gallon


This is a semi full can of paint for $2
(can't rmember the brand...but I think it may have been Behr)
in a minty greenish blue



So tonight I need to sit down with the hubby
admit I was wrong
and that he was right
and see where we go from here
re-paint, tone it down with board & batten, or (gulp) live with it
and completely assure him that whatever solution we come up with
he is NOT picking up a paint brush
or roller

Ever wish you had a time machine to go back to the
paint store 3 days ago?

How do you sleep?

If your Lilly
it's half on the bed half off


I assure you she is completely asleep in this picture
although I am completely surprised
our giggling didn't wake her up

If you are Nolee
it is butt up
I love it when babies sleep like this





Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The paint is up

So while I worked yesterday
my AWESOME hubby
painted the entire dining room
in the behr premium (paint & primer in one) gold plated
he was supposed to leave me the edging
but surprised me by only leaving me the touch ups
he worked ALL day on this
and is feeling the pains and aches from it today
I REALLY do appreciate it honey!

Another thing he might appreciate
is the fact that he may be right
(notice how I'm not completely committing to that last comment)
the color (I insisted on)
is a bit bold
I'm hoping once we put things back on the walls
it will help tone it down a bit...
although this morning
the words board & batten popped into my head
in white and at least 1/2 way up the wall
if not higher...
but I have promised to live with it like this for awhile
and I will

It definitely makes a statement
I'm just not sure what it is saying yet :).





Any other ideas on how to tone it down?

Happy Eaters





Monday, March 28, 2011

Some very good reading

and read this post
it rang so true for me

so true that I felt the need to make 2 new signs
1 for work
1 for home
not fancy or crafty signs
but meaningful read me everyday signs

Stop
Smile
Enjoy today
For tomorrow it will only be a memory

Enjoy the smiles
the laughter
the tears
and all the in-betweens
because you can’t go back

Clean less
imagine and pretend more
build forts
listen to tall tales
giggle & be silly
play hide & seek
& always go to bed tired


So I will always remember to slow down
and enjoy
because somedays I forget




Bedtime Routines & Giggles

So we have pretty set bedtime routines for our kids
Bath, brush our teeth and hair
read a couple of books, and sing a song
then we lay them down to fall asleep on their own

I was going through the routine with Nolee
the other night and as we were singing our song
"Hush Little Baby"
she picks her head off my shoulder and looks right into my eyes
and starts giggling
this cute little uncontrollable giggle
that was very catching
she'd giggle
I'd giggle
It is very hard to sing a song while giggling by the way

So after we finished our giggles and song
I laid her down in her bed
and she very decidedly looks up at me
and points to me
then points forcefully towards to the wall separating our bedrooms
I know sometimes it's hard to have a conversation with an 18 month old
but I'm pretty darn sure mine just told me to go to bed...

I so love ending the nights with laughs & smiles

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Decisions & Congestion

Ugh.
So for the past 5 days
at least someone in our house has been sick
First it was the Influenza A that has been going around
Then it's the lingering congestion
and upper respiratory infection
that we just got over and is now back
Then to top it all of
we rushed to urgent care on Friday
with a horrible ear infection
that had my 3 year old in tears
Let me just say that one of the worst thing
in the world to see your kids
sick and not be able to just take the pain away

Luckily I have not gotten it as worse
as everyone else
but have been busy doling out medicine
doing laundry, wiping noses
and wishing my kisses worked magic

I have however made a decision
on the color for the dining room walls
Let's just say that it is not the safest choice
and I had to promise my husband
it was staying that color for the next 5 years
which means if I change my mind
I'm re-painting it myself...

One of my daughter's favorite movies
is The Bridge to Teribithia
(great movie by the way...but kind of sad)
in that movie there is a scene
where they paint a room this awesome
goldish yellow color
and when the sun strikes it
it just lights up
That is what I'm aiming for in the dining room

I'm hoping since the sniffles have finally subsided
(or at least under control)
that we can start painting tonight
after the girls go to bed

I'm excited...and a little nervous
I would totally hate to admit the hubby was right...


Heads & Melons

More Anatomy According to Lilly

So I was getting Lilly's PJ's on the other day
and as we were taking off her t-shirt
it got stuck on her head

Lilly:  Mommy I think this shirt is too small for me
Me:  I think your head is just growing
and getting bigger every day
Lilly:  Yeah I know - it's where all my melons are
Me: (while laughing) No honey that's where your brains are
Lilly: (as she leans her forehead on my forehead)
Mommy, when is my melon going to be as big as your melon?

Man I love this kid!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Chair Color Decisions

Okay so I have been working on the chairs for the dining room
and I have come to a fork in the road
I keep going back and forth on color
White, Blue, Lt Blue, Yellow...and so on
Do I do one color?
Do I do a mixture of 2?
Or more?

Here is what we have so far
any thoughts?
(and by the way - the walls will not be green for much longer)






The Buffet Is Finished!

The buffet is finished
and I am in love!
I actually did get it done by the time
the hubby got home on Friday
and boy was he impressed
It looks so nice in it's creamy white goodness
and I still have to run a hand over the
super smooth top every time I walk by
I don't think I could be happier witht he way it turned out
so....here's some pictures

This is what I started with
It had good lines
was sturdy as all get out
and had oh so much potential


I always forget to take the in between pictures
so we'll just go ahead and skip to the almost done ones :)
here it is with the glossy top just painted
I used Rust-oleum kono brown spray paint in gloss
I am so in love with the top it's not funny
It's smooth, it's shiny, it's perfect
and one of the best things I found out
is you don't have to wait for the spray paint to cure
for 30 days (or whatever the ridiculously long time it
is with regular latex paint)
to put accessories on top!
I waited a total of 2 days and I'm not
even sure if I needed to wait that long


After painting it a creamy white
I distressed a little and added just a touch of glaze


I kept the original hardware
and just brought it up to date with some
Rust-oleum oil rubbed bronze spray paint
(this stuff is awesome!)
I love how they now pop against the white




The inside of the drawers were nasty
no amount of cleaning made me want to
place my clean silverware in them...
so I added some aqua blue spray paint
and they look clean, fresh & new


I added a stencil in the corners on the top
just for a little girly touch






I took out the shelves in the side cabinets
and painted them to match the top
I think it helps pull everything together





Is it wrong to be in love with a piece of furniture?

I am linking to the following
    My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Polly Want a Crafter


Thursday, March 17, 2011

Patience

I will readily admit that there is not
one patient bone in this body
If there is a quicker way to get things done
I'm all over it
Guarenteed instant results
sign me up

So with that said
I lasted until about 12:30 yesterday
then I ran to the store on lunch
and got a can of kono brown
rustoleum spray paint

Now take a look at
some of the instant gratification
I had last night
(that does not sound right...)




This picture is the most true to color


I told myself I needed the spray paint
so I could get that glossy finish I was aiming for
but that is probably only 50% true
the other 50% is because it took
me a total of 10 min
to achieve the look I wanted
and that included taping off the bottom

So the buffet is so close to being done
I have a few more details I need to take care of
but hopefully it will be done by
the time the hubby gets home on Friday so I can
surprise him!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Purple top?!?

Since we have bought our dining table/chairs and buffet
I have been hard at work every night
after the girls go to bed
The buffet is almost done
and less than a week after we got it!

The top is laminate and unfortunately not stainable
I really wanted the white/cream bottom
with a dark stained top
So I figured I would try painting it instead
I've seen this a few places and it actually looks pretty nice

I have used rustoleum spray paint
on most all my projects
but I have never tried their brushable latex paints
but when I saw this I thought it was the perfect glossy brown
so I figured I'd give it a shot


After one coat this is what it looks like
a very nice purplish color 



I wasn't aiming for purple
I'm not sure if the can had the wrong color in it
or if this is how one coat of this is supposed to look
to me it looks very thin for a first coat as well

Has anyone else ever run into this problem with this paint?
I'm thinking of trying to return it
I'm going to try the second coat tonight and hope that I see
a big difference as I was not going for the purple look

One good thing was that it dried very quickly
so if I must do numerous coats it
shouldn't take too terribly long



Monday, March 14, 2011

Friday Nights

I remember when I was younger
and didn't have kids
we used to whoop it up on the weekends
We'd have people over, go to the bar
stay up until 3 in the morning
and feel like crap by Sunday

Now this is what my Friday evenings look like

My 1 glass of wine

An old picture frame mat and craft paint

Some yummy cheese cake to go with the wine
Hey it's in the cheese family!

Some scrapbook paper
and my absolute favorite Winnie the Pooh quote
(Well actually it's Christopher Robin who said it)

Put them together and I have a new piece of "art" for Nolee's room





And I felt great the next morning at 6:30
when I woke up to Lilly's face 2 inches from mine
and she asked me if it was morning yet
How can you not smile when you are woke up like that :).
Don't miss those old days at all!