Extreme Makeover - bathroom edition!

As I have mentioned before, I've been seriously inspired lately by a great blog called 'The Nesting Place'. (See link to the right --->)

Anyway, I have been wanting to make some changes to my (one and only) bathroom and while I was spring cleaning one day I got a little bit carried away! (I mentioned this before.) I decided right then and there that the wallpaper border just had to come down. And with no further plans I just got to work.

The bathroom has these green floor tiles, and I used to think that I had to try to match things in the room to the tiles, even though I really don't like the color of green that they are. Lately though I had this thought that I would just ignore the tiles and decorate any way I wished. Just forget about the green altogether. So since our cabinet and sink are black and white, and our walls a nice tan color, I decided to go with a black and white theme. And since we love the beach and water so much, I made the decor center around those things. This whole re-do was VERY inexpensive ... I bought all my fabric at this great shop where everything costs just $1.99 a yard! And many of my updates were made simply by using a can of black spray paint which cost me just 97 cents at walmart!

Here are some before and after photos ... Before ...
During ... what a MESS!
After ... it's so narrow that it's hard to see ... I used black spray paint to do the curtain rod and towel cabinet.
Curtain after ...
Frilly polka dot fabric on top of curtain ...
Bottom of curtain...
Shower curtain after ...
Fun, frilly trim on shower curtain...
New black curtain rod and cute black curtain clips ...
Since we love the beach, we have our palm plant in a new black planter, with shells surrounding the base... Shells and seaglass in a white dish on the counter. I found the dish at goodwill for $1.49!
Black and white pictures of the beach or waterfalls ... And this, my friends, is my favorite part! The best part about the Nesting Place is that her motto is "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" ... well I definitely used that theme with this magazine basket! I hot-glued the fabric into the basket - I didn't even do ONE bit of sewing! As you can see from the inside, it's certainly not perfect, but once you add the magazines, you will never notice! Isn't it cute???
So ladies, it doesn't have to be perfect (or expensive!) to be beautiful!

I CONFESS!!!

I CHEATED! I HAD A CUP OF COFFEE THIS MORNING! I know, I can't believe I only made it TWO days! How bad is that?! I have NO discipline!

I gave in and allowed myself one cup this morning. And I split my sugar amount in half by adding half sugar/half splenda.

That's not SOOO bad, is it?

OK, now I need to go do some exercise because I'm so consumed by guilt ... =)

Today was harder.

I thought I was good to go with dropping my coffee habit since (overall) Monday went so well. But today was worse. I felt tired all day and had a headache most of the day too. I had to lay down and close my eyes for about an hour this afternoon.

And I also have to confess ... I cheated a wee tiny bit. Bob got a coffee on the way to swimming lessons and I was just dying to have one too. So instead of getting one for myself I had 3 sips of his. It did seem to satisfy the craving.

Is it too early to change my game plan?? Would I be quitting if I decided to allow myself just one, small cup each day? Should I be giving this some more time? Most people think I'm crazy trying to give up coffee anyway ... so what do you think?

Day one with no coffee.

Started out well. I felt energized and good.

Then we encountered a very mean, rude man while trying to homeschool at the library ... and the weather was awful today (cold, rainy, windy) ... and I hadn't had any coffee (for comfort and for warmth) ... and I just lost it. I started to tell my MIL the story about the mean guy at the library and I just started crying! I can only blame it on the lack of sugar and caffeine in my system! (Well, the guy was rude, and I was very ticked about him, but I would like to think that if I had stopped and bought a nice warm cup o' joe that I would have felt better!)

Maybe that's why I need to do this ... I rely on food (and coffee) all too often as comfort. And that's not good. Food needs to be my nourishment, not my comfort when I'm having a hard day.

So anyway, I made it through the day. I feel much better now. I did give in to a small cup of tea this afternoon with just a small dash of sugar in it.

Tomorrow is another day ...

I'm going to quit.

Coffee that is. I know, I hear your gasps right through the computer! I have tried and tried to find a way to drink it 'lighter', as in -- with less sugar and cream -- to no avail. I have tried splenda, skim milk, no sugar, no milk ... etc... and it just doesn't work for me. If it doesn't taste good, I'm not havin' it!

So I've decided to quit. I am trying to eat healthier, and possibly shed a little extra 'winter' (or YEAR ROUND!!!) weight - and I really think that eliminating my coffee habit will help. It might not help much, but every little bit helps!

Of course I have all these big plans in my mind because it's 8:30 at night and I can say anything I want right now. I'm sure when that alarm goes off tomorrow morning and I can't smell my already brewed coffee I will definitely be re-thinking this bright idea of mine! And then by 11am when my head is pounding and I know it's screaming at me "GIVE ME SOME CAFFEINE YOU CRAZY LADY!!" -- I'll surely want to quit the quitting, but I hope to stay strong!

I'll keep you posted on how it goes ... =)

Music to my ears.

I just added a music play list. Hope you enjoy it. If not and you find it annoying, you can simply hit the pause button on the left-hand side or turn down your speakers! =)

Kids say ...

the funniest things!

Yesterday we went on a really fun Girl scouts outing. Hiking through the woods, then a campfire and smores.

The hike was pretty long, and the way back was almost totally uphill. The troop leader overheard H say "I sure hope we're getting a badge for this, because this is EXAUSTING!!"

Here I go again!

Sometimes when I start spring cleaning ... I get a little carried away! More details and pictures coming soon!

Dentist and swimming - we've come a long way!

I have to take a few minutes to just brag about the girls and how well they did today. Let's start with the dentist. For some reason they have both been extremely fearful about the dentist. I'm not sure why, they have never had fillings, pain or any other negative experiences. And we go to a wonderful children's dentist. But still for some reason everything was a big deal. They would cry, fuss, whine, and sometimes not even open their mouth. It was always a really big drama that left me totally exhausted just to get their cleanings done.

So last time I had the brilliant idea to bribe them. I know, terrible parenting skills, but it seemed to work. Back in the fall when we went J did great and was able to win the prize that I had offered. H still cried, not a lot but a little and since I said 'no crying', she did not win the prize like J did. (I think this really had an impact on her since she's the older one!)

Today they were both scheduled to go in again. I asked Bob to come with me so we'd have one parent for each kid. I also decided once again to bribe them. The deal was - no crying, fussing or whining and you have to let the dentist do everything they need to do.

They both did AWESOME!!! Bob and I were stunned and so proud. They even had to do those awful bitewing xrays (even I hate those, I gag every time!) ... and they both did them great! They were troopers through the whole process and we were so pleased by how well they did. Leaving the office H said "when can we come back again?" and was disappointed when I said 'not for another 6 months'.

Next comes the swimming lessons. They both have always loved the water and swimming and have done pretty well. They usually take lessons each spring and then spend lots of time swimming in the summer. Bob and I are water people too and since we love to be in and around water we feel that it is crucial that the girls learn the proper techniques for safety. So today was another swimming lesson, and nothing major happened, but I just wanted to brag for a quick second about how well they are both doing. They are both the oldest child in each of their classes, so I'm sure that makes a difference. But they are both just doing awesome. We were watching from the side of the pool today and were amazed at how great they are doing and how quickly they are picking up on the strokes and techniques. Another proud moment!

I love my little girls! I am such a proud Mom (every day) but especially today! {{SIDE NOTE, THIS IS A FEW DAYS OLD, I TRIED TO POST THE OTHER DAY BUT IT WASN'T WORKING, SO THIS HAPPENED ON TUESDAY.}} AND NOW THAT I'M THINKING OF IT AND MISSED THANKFUL THURSDAY AGAIN I THINK THIS IS WHAT I'M SO THANKFUL FOR THIS WEEK!

Family pictures

Here are some pictures from today when we had lunch at my Mom's house.

The whole group ...
The little girls ...
Cute!
Grandma's girls ...
We call this 'cheek-to-cheek' ...
Matt and Becca ...
My fam ... (with lovely dandelions) =)
Bob and I ... It's days like today that I miss my Dad. I wish he could be here to see that his wife and kids are doing well - and to see how beautiful and full of life his 3 granddaughters are.

He's a hillbilly rockstar out of control!

Kenny Chesney that is! We had such an awesome time last night at the Kenny Chesney / Leann Rimes concert!

We went over to Jake & Sam's house first to hang out for awhile and have some munchies ... then out to dinner - then off to the show. It was great. Jake & Sam ended up with seats RIGHT NEXT TO THE STAGE - lucky ducks! They could have reached out and touched Kenny's hand! Our seats were good too, and we had a great time.

Today we enjoyed a beautiful sunny Sunday morning ... taking our time getting up and then going to 3rd service at church. After church we went to my Mom's house for lunch. My brother Matt and his daughter Becca were visiting and we celebrated Matt's birthday (a little early). It was so nice and warm and sunny out! We sat outside for a while watching the 3 little girls run around and play. Just a nice lazy, relaxing afternoon. =)

I need to upload some pics from today - stay tuned for those!

April Vacation - day 5

Today started out well. My in laws were going to be taking the girls for the day, and I had a Dr's appt and some errands to run. We started out well. The girls were ready to go so they went outside to play while I finished brushing my teeth and getting myself ready.

Just as I grabbed my keys to go I heard this horrible screaming - the kind where you know it's not just a little argument between sisters - but rather something very serious has happened. I rush downstairs and out the backdoor to see H screaming and crying and her whole face was covered in dirt.

She had been swinging on the swingset, perhaps going just a little bit too high, and somehow fell off, flipping backwards and landing HARD on her head and face. Her mouth was bleeding and her head hurt a lot and it was clear to me that she had hit very hard and was in a lot of pain. So we cleaned her up, got her some pain meds, stopped the bleeding and determined that there was nothing broken. After a while she was OK ... still a little shaken and wanting Mommy, but she didn't have any major pains or broken bones.

The rest of the day went as planned ... the girls off having fun at Grandma and Grandpa's. Me doing my errands and Dr appt. And since I've been home this afternoon with no kids and no hubby (he's at work) I have had some time to scrapbook! YAY! I am on a mission to get caught up!

And that's about all ... nothing too exciting for today... tomorrow we are going to see Kenny Chesney!!!! I cannot wait!!! The girls will be home soon, and after they are in bed I plan to continue with my scrapbook mission. Wish me luck!

Ooops!

I want to give credit where credit is due! I mentioned my new fave blog - The Nesting place - in a previous post. I thought I had found it through Amy's blog ... but I was wrong! Sorry! It was actually on Shawna's blog that I saw the link - and I can't wait to see how Shawna's inspired kitchen turns out! Yay for decorating!

April Vacation - day 4 // Thankful Thursday

The day started out so well ... Stacey is visiting from out of town and she wanted to go see my favorite scrapbook store - the one I always rave about. So off we went. There is a nice grassy area outside the store so we took turns - one would shop while the other watched all 6 kids (my 2, Stacey's 3 and her nephew) - it was so much easier than taking all those kids in a store where we'd be saying 'stop that, don't touch that!'.

I was a good girl. I only spent $10 - and only bought things for the pages that I am currently working on. That store is so addictive that you have to have a plan going in there or you will be overwhelmed and want to buy everything!

The next plan was to take the kids to a nice playground since they had patiently waited while we shopped. But Hannah started to go downhill. She wasn't feeling well. We stopped for a quick lunch and she wouldn't even order anything to eat. Stacey said you know she's not feeling well if she won't even eat! So we had to skip the park so they could go home. The kids were bummed and I was too since we didn't get enough time with our friends. I still wish they lived here!

So the girls and I headed home and they played outside at home. Stacey called later and said Hannah was sick all afternoon. Poor girl! (Hopefully my kids stay healthy!)

All in all it was still a good day. The sun was shining again, the weather was beautiful, and we had a fun day.

Thankful Thursday - somehow Thursdays just slip by me so quickly. I always forget to log what I'm thankful for!
This week I am so thankful for this beautiful, sunny weather we've had all week. It's made the whole week so enjoyable!
I'm also thankful for Stacey and her kids. Even though they live far away now, when they come to visit it's like we were never apart - the kids have so much fun - the Moms have so much fun - it's wonderful!

A decorater's dream!

This is seriously my new favorite blog. Yes, I tend to lurk on other people's blogs! I found the link from (I think) Amy's blog, and you know how it goes, you just link from one to the next to the next and find all these great blogs out there in cyberworld!

I love to decorate my home and love to have new projects to work on. And I love to do it all simply and as cheap as possible. So I love The Nesting Place! She does the most beautiful things with such ease. I can't wait to purchase some cheap fabric and get started! My two upcoming projects will be the bathroom and new curtains for the dining room ... stayed tuned to see my progress!

Now go check out The Nesting Place! I promise you will be inspired!

April Vacation - day 3

You are all going to think of me as terribly lazy by the end of this week! Today we had to go to Lynn's house ... we simply HAD to! Haley had left her favorite blanket, her favorite stuffed dog, and countless other items there when she slept over the other night. So instead of just waiting till we would see them at church on Sunday, we decided it was a great excuse to invite ourselves over to visit. heeheehee =)

The kids had a fabulous day. Played outside, made mud pies, played inside, played outside some more ... and on and on they went.

Lynn and I had fun too. Sat in the sunshine, talked, looked through scrapbook magazines, sat around some more, talked some more, laughed ... and so on. We were so lazy today but it was so nice! So relaxing and fun. We stayed all day! Jason was so nice to put up with all of us girls for the whole day!

Thanks Lynn, Jason, Katie and Ben for a great day!

April Vacation - days 1&2

Monday we had a great day with J ... read previous post about H being at a sleepover. We took her to a nice coastal park where she could ride her bike (she's getting pretty good!), then to a fun playground, out for lunch and then home to relax.

After H came home we headed over to Jake and Sam's for dinner. It was great to catch up with them and see their 3 daschunds --- well, after the dogs stopped barking and the girls stopped crying -- then it was great and all was well! We had a nice evening visiting with them.

Tuesday - our friends Stacey, Hannah, Nick and Abby are visiting from out of town this week. So we met up and went to McD's for lunch, then to a great playground where the kids had a ball for about 2 hours! I enjoyed my iced latte on the ride home ... and now the girls are playing outdoors until dinner is ready. So far the weather has been wonderful and we're enjoying the week - no big, special plans, but still enjoying seeing friends and being outdoors.

More to come ...

Letting go ... little by little.

Sunday night was H's first sleepover. Well, she has slept over with Grandma's, but never at a friend's home before. She was nervous and excited all at the same time. She definitely still needs her Mama to tuck her in at night, and was nervous that she might miss us too much.

Still, she was going to her friend Katie's house, and her other friend Mady was going too. The 3 of them were very excited to have this adventure together. So off she went. I will admit, I missed her ... it's hard to let your kids go. I trust my friend 100% with caring for my kids, but as I lay there trying to fall asleep that night I kept thinking ... I wish I could just go check on her in her bed.

Perhaps the cutest thing was how much J missed her sister. J was not upset about not going to sleep over, in fact we did lots of fun things together - me, Bob and J. It was great to have some time with just one child at a time. But she missed her big sister! She kept asking us if she could call H, or when H would be coming home ... it was neat to see that even though they fight so much, they really do love one another!

H ended up doing great. She had a great time and my friend said she was fine, and also well behaved (something every parent loves to hear!) And even though we missed her, I'm glad she could have this time of fun and for us all to learn that little by little we have to learn to let our kids go ... or maybe I should say, let them grow. =)

Spring Cleaning

Do you do it?
What motivates you?
What is involved in your spring cleaning routine?

This week we have {{finally}} been enjoying some nicer weather. It's been wonderful to be able to open up the windows, let some fresh air in, and start my spring cleaning routine.

I like to go room by room and really 'deep' clean each room. I get motivated by the fact that summer is coming, and I want to be able to enjoy a clean house for those long, lazy summer days.

So far I did the kitchen, the living room and today I'm working on my bedroom. On Thursday when we tackled the living room we decided to rip out the carpet that had been there for the last 6 years. It was nasty, stained and smelly and it was wonderful to get rid of it! The hardwood floors underneath look great, so we got an area rug and will leave it as hardwood.

Some of the things I try to do while deep cleaning are:
-Launder or air out curtains
-move furniture and clean under, behind and inside them (like all the crumbs in the couch!
-get rid of all the built up dust beneath furniture, in the back of closets and any other place it's been hiding
-go through drawers, cabinets and closets and clean out the junk, donate stuff, throw out stuff and re-organize it
-switch the clothes from winter to spring/summer - put winter stuff away in bins
-clean my windows/screens/windowsills
-touch up paint/baseboards/doors, etc
-scrub down walls in areas that sticky/dirty hands have touched them
-wash all bedding including bulky comforters that don't get washed often

Who would have thought that I'd enjoy cleaning this much?? Anyone else share this passion for spring cleaning?

Thankful Thursday - or Saturday?

OOPS, I missed my thankful Thursday! Last night Bob was working and my Mom came over to have supper with us. We had a great dinner, played some board games with the girls, Mom read stories with the girls, and it was great.

I'm so thankful for my Mom, for more reasons than I can count, but I will save all that for another post ... what I'm thankful for this week, is that my Mom lives close enough to visit and to see her on a regular basis.

When I first got married my parents lived in far away from where we chose to live. So for the first 7 years of our marriage I only got to see my parents about once or twice a year when I would visit in them or they would visit in me. It was so hard since my Mom is one of my best friends.

After my Dad died 4 years ago my Mom chose to move to our area to be closer to us and my brother. I never would have chosen my Dad dying as the reason that would bring my Mom to live closer, but I am so thankful that she is now nearby. Love you Mom!

Little Tooter Girls

I think I have a couple of tomboys on my hands, there is NO shame in this house! Including the fact that I'm going to share this story with all of you ... against my better judgment!! It's just too funny though, so even though you might think less of me, I will share!

Last night the girls were going to 'sleep over' in one of their bedrooms. As I was singing their bedtime songs and getting them tucked in I 'passed gas', rather loudly. They burst into laughter and started pointing at one another saying 'It was you, it was you!" -- neither one of them suspected that it could have been Mommy.

So we finish our goodnights and I slowly walk out of the room, as I'm getting ready to shut the door I lean in and whisper "It was ME!" -- when they realized what I'd said they erupted into the biggest fit of laughter, as did I, because it was just SO funny. As they calmed down, I again went to leave the room and passed another round of loud gas as I was leaving the room which got us all started laughing hysterically again! I was laughing so hard I had tears coming from my eyes.

So I know this story paints me in a bad light, and that you all think I'm gross now, but it was such a fun moment where the girls and I were just really enjoying each other, enjoying laughing and being silly and not caring about being proper. So that is why I had to share!

Lately my mission in life has been to 'enjoy my children' ... last night I did just that!

First baseball game

We took the girls to a minor league game on Sunday ... it was SO cold, er, I mean so much fun! They loved being right there near the action and even though it was cold we still had a great time!

Because it was so cold, the stands were EMPTY! There were probably only about 50 people in the whole place ... but that was OK. In case you are wondering what I consider cold, it was 41 degrees with no sun and it was windy. We were super bundled up, and had a big blanket, but I was still freezing! We only stayed for about 6 innings.


Bob and the girls...
Toothless girl ...
I love this picture of J...
Group shot ...
Did I mention that it was COLD???
The kids got free t-shirts - the shirts are way too big, but the girls were super excited! We will definitely do this again when the weather warms up!

Mommy's ONLY - no kids allowed!

We had a fabulous overnight adventure this past weekend. Just me and my 3 girlfriends. We were celebrating someone's birthday ... she looks a little red after having the handsome waiter sing Happy Birthday to her!!
So we went to a fun Mexican place for dinner Friday night, then drove halfway across the state to a hotel where we spent the night, and then went to an all day scrapbook event on Saturday that was held right there in the hotel. It was so much fun! Lynn's birthday was great and we laughed and laughed (as usual!). Her sister Amy and Amy's friend Fran also met us there to scrap and it was great to meet them. Here are some fun pictures ...

Caroline and Lynn at dinner...

Myself and Sandy ... Lynn scrappin' ... it may look disorganized, but there's a method to her madness! =)
A fave layout I was working on ...
I was on a mission to complete LOTS of pages!
Sandy, always stampin' ... Caroline, always laughin' ... notice no pages being worked on!! =) Yes we are nerds ... with our matching bags! I think they are rather cute!
Lynn and Amy ... Amy was very impressed with our stamp collection!
Getting ready to leave the hotel, that is ALL our scrap stuff, no clothes, just scrap stuff for ONE day of scrappin'!!! So heavy Lynn can hardly push it!

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm thankful for ... FRIENDS and SCRAPBOOKING and MY IN-LAWS watching the kids this Friday night so I can go spend time with my friends to scrapbook! I can't wait ... this is a much needed girls OVERnight out!

I will *try* to take lots of fun pictures ... but being that I'm on a mission to complete a lot of pages I might forget ... we'll see!

This was the last BIG scrap event we did, over a year ago ...

News

So, I have already been asked by several people what our big news is. You know the big change for our family that I mentioned a couple of posts ago??

Well, now that I know more information for sure I feel better about sharing with all of you. Really, it's not THAT big of news, I hope you won't all be disappointed that it isn't something more noteworthy!!

Anyway, the day after Easter we went and visited this nice little Christian school which is right around the corner from our house. For the 7 years we've lived here it has been right around the corner, probably only a little over a mile away, but we had never been there to actually check it out. We'd heard that it was pricey and just sort of dismissed it as something we couldn't afford.

So we finally decided to check it out. And we loved it! It is small, only 88 kids from kindergarten to 8th grade. It is a nice facility and the staff were wonderful. We also got all the information we'd need about how much it would cost. And yes, it is expensive. At least for us with only Bob working full time.

So we decided to pray and see what happened. We weren't even sure that we wanted to send the kids there. We like homeschooling and might even continue to homeschool H ... but we wanted to pray and see what decisions we'd come up with in a month or two.

Well our answer came in 2 days!! We received news that we would be able to get financial aid that was enough to cover 3/4 of the yearly tuition! And for 1/2 day kindergarten it would be paid 100%. We were so excited! I truly couldn't believe that our answer came so quickly!!

So we are now sure that J will go for (at least) kindergarten, and are pretty sure H will stay home for homeschool for at least another year. For those of you that don't know, one of our biggest reasons for homeschooling her is that she would never get to see Bob (because of his work shift) if she were gone to school all day and he were gone by the time she got home. So we will probably keep her home for a while longer and see what happens. Maybe his shift will change sometime in the future ... maybe we will continue to homeschool for many years ... maybe we will just wait and trust that God alone knows the future and we have no need to worry about it right now!

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it's own." Matthew 6:34

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Thieves!!

You've heard about people who have been abducted and had
their kidneys removed by black-market organ thieves. Well,
this kind of cruel theft is happening with other body parts
as well!

My thighs were stolen from me during the night a few years
ago. I went to sleep and woke up with someone else's thighs.
The replacements had the texture of cooked oatmeal. Those
thighs were these and what happened to mine? I spent the
entire summer looking for my thighs. Finally, hurt and
angry, I resigned myself to living out my life in jeans.

And then the thieves struck again. My rear end was next. I
knew it was the same gang, because they took pains to match
my new rear end to the thighs they had stuck me with earlier.
But my new butt was attached at least three inches lower than
my original! I realized I'd have to give up my jeans in
favor of long skirts.

Two years ago I realized my arms had been switched. One
morning I was fixing my hair and was horrified to see the
flesh of my upper arms swing to and fro with the motion of
the hair brush. This was really getting scary - my body was
being replaced one section at a time. What could they do to
me next?

When my poor neck suddenly disappeared and was replaced with
a turkey neck, I decided to tell my story. Women of the
world, wake up and smell the coffee! Those 'plastic'
surgeons are using REAL replacement body parts - stolen from
you and me!
The next time someone you know has something 'lifted', look
again - was it lifted from you?

THIS IS NOT A HOAX. This is happening to women everywhere
every night. WARN YOUR FRIENDS!

P.S.
Last year I thought someone had stolen my breasts. I was
lying in bed and they were gone! But when I jumped out of
bed, I was relieved to see that they had just been hiding in
my armpits as I slept. Now I keep them hidden in my
waistband.