Thursday, August 16, 2012

Summer 2012

So, what have we been up to this summer?  More home projects on my Mom's (and Dad's) house!  And, of course, we took on more than we probably should have.  I went over and stayed with my parents for a little over a months worth of time and we completely overhauled the 5 bedrooms (minus their master).  Out of the five we didn't have to repaint two of the rooms and I didn't keep track of furniture and fixtures painted but it was around seven or so including two beds.  Oh, and we flip flopped two whole sets of bedroom furniture from one side of the house to the other.  I was pretty sure I threw out my back after that experience.  But we think they turned out so great!  So here's some pictures!
French Garden Room

Granny's Attic

Granny's Attic

Seaside Room

Seaside Room

Tommy Bahama Room

Tommy Bahama Room

Tommy Bahama Room

Vintage Yellowstone Room

Vintage Yellowstone Room
 We also decided to revamp the play closet as well so that the grand kids will actually want to play in there (it was a little bit of a cave before).
Kid's Play Closet
 Oh, and I also hosted (with the help of a few friends) one of our good friend's baby shower this past weekend.  She's having their first boy after three girls so we did a little man shower for her.  I think it turned out well.  Our backyard has such great big trees that it's ideal for entertaining.












We even made little mustaches for everyone... as you can see, the girls loved them.
Carly (left), Madison (right)

So, how are the girls?  I feel like they just are growing up so fast.  I decided (with the persuading of my mom) to cut ALL the girls bangs.  I think they look adorable but I am quite biased.  These aren't the best pics of them but I admit I have been bad at taking pictures this summer.  And I can see from the pictures that the bangs need to be trimmed again.  They are starting preschool in a couple weeks and they are so excited to ride the bus!  I think they are more excited about the bus than anything else!
Madison

Carly

Mckenna
And then, just because that wasn't all enough, we put our house on the market to sell this summer.  We have had quite a few showings but just waiting for the offer.  We started looking at houses to buy and due to the low availability of houses available here in Meridian, we decided to build in Kuna (just south of Meridian).  I never thought I would be building this early in life but sometimes, that's just how things work out.  Hopefully we sell our house, the new house is all contingent on this house selling.  So, we are rolling right along and excited for fall!

Oh, and in other news, Mckenna is starting to walk!!! We are so excited and it makes it so much easier for me to be just a little bit more mobile.  Hopefully she just keeps on going!

Friday, June 8, 2012

Beautiful eyes...

A quick update and pics of the girls.  They had their 3rd birthday this past month.  We just did a quiet party at home.  I can't believe they are three already!  Carly had eye surgery to straighten out her eyes in April and she looks so much better.  I couldn't get the best pic of her so thus the holding her face for a closeup with the camera.
Carly

Carly after eye surgery
 The girls started going to preschool for a couple days in May before the school year ended and they are so excited to start again next fall.  Especially to ride a school bus!  They loved it and it made a huge difference in their speech.  They came home saying words I hadn't heard them say before.
Madison
 Mckenna's botox eye treatment has pretty much worn off so hopefully her eyes stay where they are.  The doc thinks that if they stay as they are now then she doesn't have to have botox again.  So hooray!  Her eyes look so much better as well.  But notice that her pupils are still two different sizes, a side effect of the botox that should have worn off but hasn't so she might always look like that.  Might be a problem if she ever has to go in the emergency room, that should freak the nurses out.
Mckenna
We just love these girls and all their excitement for life!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Big Ol' Post

Hey all, Wow, I've got to be more consistent so I don't have to put up such large posts!  That just makes me further procrastinate and then the posts just keep getting bigger...  We have had a very busy last couple months.  We have redone the girls room, they are now in a big girl bed (sleeping in a queen all together).  I did a lot of the painting and remaking myself so it took a lot of time to get it put together.  Redecorating seems to take forever here, I have three little major distractions.  We also seemed to have a million doctor's appointments in the last couple months.  The girls have been quite healthy (cold and flu-wise, a few cold here and there but no life flight to the hospital episodes so far).  Mckenna had eye surgery in January and we have had a lot of follow up appointments for her.  Carly is also getting ready for eye surgery the first of April so things won't be slowing down anytime soon.

Here's Carly!  Carly is Miss Life of the Party these days.  Always ready to have fun and be loud and crazy!  So happy when she wakes up in the morning, she has a definite yellow little personality.  I think she might be our little TomBoy as well, she loves trucks and cars and is really into the sports-type activities, throwing a ball, kicking a ball, running, etc.  She, like Maddy, never stops moving!

Maddy has been giving us a run for a money lately.  Oh, she loves pushing the boundaries as far as she can to see what she will get away with.  So much fun for Mommy.  Please say the 3's are better than the 2's.  Maddy (for right now) has taken on the boss roll.  Carly is just along for the fun but Maddy is kind of the bully and forces everyone into the path she wants them to take.  She's also pretty sure she is always right.  Example:  "Maddy, let's put on your pants now."  No, it's a skirt."  (Not really, it's technically pants) "No, these are pants that we are putting on."  "No, it's a skirt!!!"  Me, "Fine, it's a skirt...."   Some battles just aren't worth fighting.  Oh, I also found out the other day, according to Maddy, that the picture of the temple I have in my bedroom has eyebrows.  We went through the no, honey, it's just a building, they don't have eyebrows, only to have her get very matter of fact with me that "No Mommy, temple has eyebrows!"  Oh, what fun times we have!  Here's Maddy with Lamby.  Have I ever talked about Lamby?  She has had her little stuffed lamb since she was little and rarely does she let it out of her site.  They are best buds.  It's going to be a sad day when we have to put an end to Lamby because his insides are falling out.  Which we are getting closer and closer to everyday.

Kenners.... if Mckenna was physically strong as her sisters, I think there's no question she would be the boss.  She likes to have control of all household proceedings.  Maybe one of these days Maddy will have to give up the boss crown to Mckenna.  Mckenna loves the camera.  She is such a little poser.  She will hold this smile forever while I take my time snapping away...
 These girls are so in love with their stuffed animals.  They really haven't gotten into the princesses yet.  Maybe down the road.  Right now it is all about the animals.  They love The Lion King and sometimes Bambi.  Tangled, they could take it or leave it right now.  It's okay with me.  Stuffed animals are a whole lot cheaper than all the Disney empire paraphernalia so I can take my time on them wanting that stuff.

Like I said, Mckenna had Botox eye surgery in January (didn't want to do the traditional eye surgery-which Carly will have in April- due to worry that she would react wrong to it).  Botox on eyes it kinda new here in the U.S. but is done all the time in Europe.  It takes about 3 months for the Botox to completely wear off before we will know if it worked or not.  She looked crazy at first with her eyes going in all directions but right now her eyes look soo straight.  Now that they are straight, I can see how crossed they were before.  Hopefully they stay in this position and don't continue to go in as the Botox wears off.  If not, then she will have to go back in for another injection.  She is also doing so well on learning to walk.  She's finally starting to stand without holding some one's hand for a few seconds so hopefully we will get to walking sooner than later.  My goal is by this fall but I have made goals for her walking and passed by them many times so I am trying to stay realistic.
 Oh, she is so good at the innocent face... she was posing so well this day that I just kept on taking them of her.

 All the crazy maniacs together.  Carly, always looks like she's ready for mischief at all times!


They are truly the best of friends and then, quite quickly, the worst of enemies.  And the cycle goes round and round and round.
"I've called this meeting together..."

L to R: Madison, Carly, Mckenna
So here are some pics of the girls room.  I decided two things after looking at these pictures: 1.  I need a wide angle lens!  Interior rooms just look so much better when taken with them.  Kyle, honey?  Pretty please?  and 2. My camera man needs to be fired (that would be me).  I really need to take lessons, I have this fancy DSLR camera and I don't even use it like I should.  So, at some point, I have got to get into a Photography class.

Anyways, here's the girls new bed.  Our friend Ryan built it for us.  I know, crazy huh?  He is uber talented and came in with a bunch of boards and turned it into this.  I wanted a picket fence headboard and foot board and he figured out how to do it.  It also has 6 drawers underneath, three on each side.  The girls LOVE it!  They were so excited to go to a big bed.  Carly said over and over the day it was being built, "Sleep together, sleep together, sleep together!"  In her most excited voice.  They only fell off a couple times, and had a hard time sleeping for about 1-2 weeks but now they are adjusted and even still take naps.  I was pretty sure I was going to lose their naps but they still manage to fall asleep.  We sleep them long ways so they have plenty of room to spread out.  I made curtains and big loungey pillows.  Oh, and I had to do a gallery wall of vintage paper dolls on their wall.  I have a weakness with everything vintage.  Hopefully you can click on the picture to see them close up.

On their toybox I painted silver letters to say "Play" and glued them on (toybox also courtesy of Ryan's talents).  And the yellow high boy adds the perfect fancy to their room (before and after below).  Also painted and hung the blue shelf and put their Cinderella and Snow White pics on (bought them way back before I was married from a friend who now designs for Disney).  Also painted the little black and white night stand (pic below).  Also, over in the corner is the girls hairbow holder.  It keeps all the bows so nice and organized.  And you can't really tell in the pic but I spent way too many hours cutting out fabric and tissue paper and glueing it on those paper lanterns in the top right corner and hung them from the ceiling.  My friend put twinkle lights in hers she made for her little girl, and now I want twinkle lights!  So maybe down the road I will add to it.  And speaking of lights...

Do you see in both these pics my new light fixture?  I lovingly call it my "Victorian Jellyfish."  My mom found it for free in all it's brassy loveliness and I spray painted it white, glazed it and added crystals to it.  It's one of my favorite additions.  I love the green globe on the top.  I was going to have to spend over a hundred dollars for the crystal chandelier I wanted but when my mom found it, she knew it was perfect for their space.  And free, people!  Whoo hooo!  Kyle's still warming up to it.  He doesn't love girly things, hmmmm I wonder why?

So I feel pretty great about the room! I didn't want to paint the walls a color and worried that it wouldn't be colorful enough (without painting the walls and I wanted to make sure it was a happy cheerful litle girls room.  I feel like I accomplished that without overdoing.  The only thing that makes me crazy is that aluminum foiled half window.  I wanted to take the curtains all the way to the ceiling but it's too sloped so it wouldn't work.  I'll just have to wait until we can save up the dough to put one of those crazy expensive half window shade things in.

So here's the before of the high boy dresser...

And the after!  I know it's not everyone's thing to paint over good wood but hey, it's completely my thing!

Not the best pic of it but here is that cute little nightstand I painted as well.  Love the stripes mixed with the diamond pattern.  I actually had to use math to figure out the diamonds which is a scary thing for me.  It will be a lot cuter when I can put an adorable lamp and accessories on it but for now those things are not feasible in my 2 year olds' bedroom.

 Next up, (hopefully sometime this early summer- depends on how these eye surgeries go) we are redoing our master bathroom.  Just minor but we are going to try to DIY tile!  Crazy!


Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Love, love, love...

love print
via Kate Daisy on Etsy


Happy Valentines Day to everyone!