Family

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

Friday, March 23, 2012

Really...Already?!?

Scott has begun coaching for junior high boys track season
and since Lilly is going to school this year
he has a new assistant

a short one, who may spend more time
in the sandbox long jump pit building
castles than actually helping, but hey beggers
can't be choosers ;)

I was asking Lilly yesterday how she liked track practice
and she told me this...

Lilly:  I like it.
Me:  Do you get to hang out with a bunch of kids?
(she LOVES hanging out with the older kids after school)
Lilly:  Yes...(she kind of blushed here)...especially the one I LOVE.
Me:  first my jaw just dropped and as I tried to gather my wits I was able to
mutter... "Oh...really"

Me:  So who is this guy you love?
Lilly:  I don't know his name (as she rolls her eyes at me)
but I play games on his iphone all the time
Me:  Well that is nice of him...  So how do you know
you love him?
Lilly:  Because he is funny and goofy...just like me!

So at 4 we have her first crush
I really didn't think something like this would hit until
at least 4th grade (and was hoping for 5th or 6th)

Scott assures me that it's more of a she really likes him
as a big brother type crush rather than all that kissy mushy type crushes
that hopefully come MUCH later.

I find this hilarious (but I have a weird sense of humor)
at 4 relationships are all about the gadgets
but names don't matter
and I'm kind of proud that she is more into personality than looks
 (although this unnamed iphone owning guy may be hot as hot can be)

I am laughing, proud & totally scared for what our future holds
(and what Mommy will have to handle) with this one :).




Monday, March 19, 2012

Neutralizing

While over at my parent's this Sunday
Lilly and I were in the bathroom washing our hands
when this conversation took place...

Lilly:  I really like Nana's soap
Me:  Me too - it smells so good
Lilly:  Yes it does, plus I like that when I rub
my hands together the soap neutralizes
any germs on my hands and gets them really clean.
Me:  (mouth agape & staring at her)
Yes...yes it does.

Can you tell her dad is a science teacher???

Thursday, March 15, 2012

2nd Session of Gymnastics

Lilly is in her 2nd session of gymnastics
and loving every minute of it

Scott took her to "watch" night and was able
to get a ton of great pictures

She was such a ham and waved at every opportunity





She was SUPER competitive when it came to the races
here she is checking to make sure she is ahead
seriously she HAS to win - yesterday we went for a walk
with the girls in the stroller and she would tell Scott to hurry up
(he was pushing her) if Nolee & I got ahead...
and since I am SUPER competitive as well...this just makes me smile
and makes Scott shake his head :)


Going in for the high-five


She however needs to work on skipping
which with the weather being beautiful & 70s
(in March, in MI, which means we dragging out our shorts)
we should have plenty of opportunities to have some skipping
races of our own outside


She had a little difficulty getting up on the horse


This by far is my favorite picture
Her coach is showing her how to "finish"






She loved the ball/box pit



Hamming it up again


Here they got to jump off the un-even bars into another box pit






Wednesday, March 14, 2012

From Beast to Beauty

I have been loving the look of wrapped canvases
and since we had our pictures taken last fall
I have been looking and pinning ideas
on how to achieve this look for less

When I saw two of these beasts
for $1 each I knew it was time to start
implementing some of those ideas


They were each 16 x 20 and just plain ol ugly
if you are not into pastels & flowers...which I'm not

So I snagged both of them up
 and ordered two 16 x 20 prints from Shutterfly
(which I was very impressed the their shipping and the fact
that both pictures arrived with no damages or creases)

First I had to disassemble the flower pictures
The canvas was just held on by some staples
so I removed a bazillion of those little buggers with my screwdriver


The pliers came in handy for some of those stubborn little buggers


After I was done this is what I was left with


Next I flipped the canvas over
and stapled it back on


I wanted the blank side up so I had a smooth surface to glue my
picture onto


This is where I stopped taking pictures because I needed both hands
I put a coat of mod podge on the canvas and laid my picture on top
I had a few minutes to make sure the placement was perfect
and then started gently rubbing out all the bubbles.

After this dried I put a few coats of mod podge on top of the picture
just to seal it up nicely.
*Note I actually had too many bubbles the first time I did it
and I was able to carefully remove my picture after the mod podge
dried and start over - because I cannot do anything right the first time!

I then added some scrapbook paper to the sides to help hide all those
unsightly staples and used a sponge to paint all edges
I also sponged just a bit onto the picture itself hoping it
would make it look older/like it blended into the sides

...note to self - next time wear gloves :)


You can see the strips of scrapbook paper in this next picture
This picture makes it look very messy and unprofessional
...which it is :) but once you don't zoom in it looks great


See?! 



I was able to do one for each of our little girls 


And here's how they look up on the wall




Completely out of order really, but here is a picture of the corner
looks a bit more professional from this angle :)




Total cost for each 16 x 20 canvas was $19
compared to $72 each for a gallary wrapped canvas print
which means I saved a total of $106 :).
And canvases from JoAnns aren't that expensive
especially when you catch them on a 40% off sale
so I can see myself repeating this process again




Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Almond Milk

Since the girls have gotten sick
with the Norovirus a couple weeks back
they have problems digesting dairy products

As in I give little Nolee a tiny bit of cheese
and almost immediately afterwards her tummy gets bloated
she says it hurts really bad & we end up in the bathroom
sometimes to the point of tears because of the pain

I know that after a stomach bug this isn't that uncommon
but it sure seems to be lingering for quite some time
this is one wicked bug

To ensure they are still getting the needed
nutrients for growing bodies
we have started buying Silk Almond Milk


It's lactose free and it's non-dairy
and so far does not appear to bother their little tummies
Lilly loves it and Nolee is kind of on the fence

When we were up at my parent's cottage
we brought our special milk & Papa asked Lilly what she was drinking
and Lilly immediately answered
"It's nut milk Papa"
In that isn't it obvious voice

Needless to say we all got a pretty good laugh
out of that (and yes all our minds are in the gutter)

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Oh How We Grow

I've always liked the idea of having some kind of
measuring device to mark our kids growth
over the years - something that can move
with us, if that were ever the case

I have been seeing the DIY life size rulers
all over pinterest and knew it would be perfect

One 1 x 6, some stain, paint/stencils & a sharpie later
this is what we have to happily record how
much we grow


I made it so we could hang it a little higher
because when your husband is 6'7" you need a BIG ruler 


So far I think we have measured the girl's height every day since it
has gone up :)




Friday, March 2, 2012

Storage Oh Glorious Storage!!

After we painted the living room/kitchen
and re-arranged the furniture set up,
the cabinet that housed our TV
DVDs, and all that good stuff
felt dwarfed and out of place


Plus it kind of just blended into the white half wall
mehhhh & blah are the words that come to mind

I still love that little antique cabinet
with all it's curves and details
and plan on finding a spot for it downstairs

I know that I could have re-painted
to pop against the white wall
but for all it's prettiness & curves
it doesn't have a lot to offer in the storage department
and with 2 little ones under the age of 5
we were in dire need of storage
and I wanted pretty storage...if that was possible

We talked about built ins
we talked about Expedit Shelves from Ikea
EXPEDIT Shelving unit IKEA The high gloss surfaces reflect light and give a vibrant look. Finished on all sides.  Can also be used as a room divider.
or even Billy Bookcases made to look like built ins
BILLY Bookcase IKEA Adjustable shelves can be arranged according to your needs.
like this lovely lady did at MiniManor


We liked all these ideas, but the main problem is
we live 3 hrs from the nearest IKEA...and with gas prices
that would kind of defeat the cost savings
and to be honest we don't get 6 hrs we can blow
without the kids very often...and the idea of 6hrs
in the car with the girls kind of makes me shudder
as they think the ride to town (25 min) seems long

We talked about building them ourselves
and both really liked the idea...but didn't know when
we would have the time as I'm taking a class
and after I work all day, then spend time with the girls
put them to bed, I study...
and of course as soon as my class is done
Scott is starting up coaching for track season
which means his extra time will be nil

One day while browsing the aisle in Target
I found the solution with their 6 cube Horizontal Organizer
Target Home 6 Cube Horizontal Organizer.Opens in a new window
I liked the look, loved the baskets & oh man just look at all
that wonderful storage and best of all - it's pretty!

After work on Friday I convinced Scott
and the girls to go to Target with me to "just look" at it
(yeah just look totally means BUY with me...but I have to
ease Scott into going to the store first before I do my pitch)

Scott actually really liked the look of the cubes
and even found this while we were browsing the aisles
Z-Line Designs Remington TV Stand - Mocha.Opens in a new window
He liked the idea of the electronics being covered & protected
from dust and bonus for me that it offered even more storage

So we did the math while standing there
trying to contain 2 kids who were absolutely DONE
with Target and sitting still in a cart in the same aisle
while Mommy & Daddy hemmed & hawed over furniture
WARNING - never do math in this situation

According to our "math" we could just fit
2 horizontal cubes & the entertainment center
so we loaded it up and got it home...
measured with an actual tape measure
& realized we were waaay off.

But my lovely husband volunteered to run back to Target
after the girls were in bed to switch out the horizontal cubes
Target Home 6 Cube Vertical Organizer.Opens in a new window
(cuz you can't just flip the horizontal ones
up...they don't work that way).

Wow...long story but in the end this is what we have

Just look at all that storage!


I was pleasantly surprised by how sturdy these cubes were
they are heavy!


These baskets are awesome and offer so much "pretty" storage


apparently I have an obsession with Nora Roberts books...


I love that the girl's toys are now readily at hand
but so prettily hidden when not in use




Oh and I put the TV stand together all by myself and it was
by far the best store bought put together piece of furniture I have
encountered.  The directions were awesome, it's very sturdy
(like I can sit on it without worrying about breaking it sturdy)
and best of all they included EXTRA screws, bolts, etc!


And the drawers hold a crazy amount of DVDs




Now I just have to work on the "art" for the walls
cuz the picture above the TV now looks pint sized