happy end of 2011

Last night I packed up Christmas.  I LOVE having a live tree for Christmas, but after almost 5 weeks of being in our house there really wasn't anything "live" about that tree.  It stopped drinking water two weeks ago and the smell of old dying tree was starting to get to me.  Not to mention the feeling that the walls were closing in on me from all the extra decorations, presents and bathroom remodel overflow that has been apart of our home the last few weeks.  All that to say, I was a bit sad when taking the lights off the tree last night, but once it was all said and done I looked around our living room/dining room and felt like I could breath again.  I am ready for a fresh start.  2012 is looking like a pretty exciting year for us and I am ready :)

Wishing you a happy end to 2011 this weekend!

random

My Christmas* puzzle (Christmas because I put it together on Christmas Day) is still sitting on my dining room table... it is too pretty to take apart! 

I guess I will have to put it away before we start back to school next week!

2011 - the year of home improvements

The year started with ripping out our kitchen floor...

and laying new sheet vinyl.

Next we moved up to the walls, faux board and batten,

and a fresh coat of paint.

There were new back doors...

And trees removed.

A new roof!

And finally finishing up the kitchen...

with a fresh coat of paint for the cabinets,

the plate rail hung, and a chalk board door.

Then there was the unexpected, and still in progress removing of carpet and painting of sub floors...

And last but not least remodel of not one, but two bathrooms!

Whew!  I am tired just looking at all these projects!  Maybe next year will be a little less eventful in the home improvement area!

bathroom update

After 4 days of schedule issues, plumbing problems, and structural deficiencies we have two tiled bathrooms! yay! 

 

I will spare you all the crazy details and just share pictures of one sort-of finished bathroom (just need to hang the mirror and install trim).  We are loving how this new smaller vanity makes this tiny bathroom feel so much bigger!

And the master bath... it's tiled and has a working toilet (yay!) but still has a way to go.  Next step is to paint and then put the vanity back.  I will be so glad when this is all done with!

merry chirstmas!

We had a wonderful and relaxing christmas here... which was much needed after a crazy week of plumbers and tile guys in and out too many times, but that is another post all together :)

I laughed when I went to take pictures of the tree surrounded with presents... look closely...

and this is what you find decorating your tree when you've got 7 and 9 year old boys in your house :)

In all the craziness of remodeling 2 (I don't think I ever told you we were doing both!) bathrooms I did not quite finish the kids pjs, but they were gracious about it- I put the finishing snaps on the girl's shirts after they opened them and the boys just got their pants, not the shirts.  Phil even surprised me with a pair of Wonder Woman pjs!  In case you did not know, I heart Wonder Woman :)

Regan made this adorable Little Red Ridinghood doll for Addie.  She's really getting good at doll making!

But by far the best gift of the day was this...

FYI, we are working on a safer, more permanent starting platform and until then, they won't be riding without adult supervision :)

lalaloopsy house

Regan is going to a birthday party this week and one of the things the birthday girl asked for was a mini Lalaloopsy doll.  We were lucky to be able to get two of the last ones on sale at Target (yeah for Christmas sales)!

Before we left we decided to check out the dollar section and see what other fun little things we could throw in the bag.  Regan found this stable (Sorry no before pictures, imagine it unpainted wood and just the slates- no solid walls.) and said "Mom, can I get this and make it into a Lalaloopsy house?"

So, with a little paint, Mod Podge, cardboard, and scrapbook paper we transformed the stable into the perfect Lalaloopsy house!

Hopefully Pepper and Peanut Lalaloopsy will be happy in their new home :)

progress

We are making slow progress on our bathroom remodel.  Most of my week has been spent running here and there to pick up this or that for the job.  As of this morning the bathroom is gutted...

tile pick out and instillation scheduled...

And a new vanity and mirror  purchased (the kids say the mirror is "old ladyish" so we may end up exchanging it for another- to be decided once the bathroom is all finished).  Today I am spackling the walls and prepping to paint.  I can only handle so much in the way of house projects a week before Christmas, so we are sticking with the same color and I am hoping that I still have enough left to put a fresh coat on the whole bathroom!

right now...

I am wondering when my 10 year old became such a fashion diva (don't you love her cute new outfit?  She's only been begging me for those jeggings for 3 months- they finally went on sale at target this week).

Wishing I could go crawl in bed instead of cleaning my house for bible study...I stayed up way too late last night crafting with some girlfriends, it was worth it though :)

 Excited to go wrap up all the goodies we got at Target today for a family who is struggling this Christmas.

Even more excited to drop them at their house, ring the doorbell, and run :)

Looking forward to gathering with friends tonight to sing carols, eat yummy treats and fellowship one last time in 2011.

breakfast

I was checking email and catching up on blog reading while the kids ate breakfast this morning.  I love that as my kids get older they are able to fix their own breakfast... even Addie helps herself to the cereal :)

in the mail

look at what arrived on my doorstep today!

I absolutely LOVE Geninne's artwork and was super excited when I saw this puzzle.  Every year on Christmas, after all the presents have been opened and our bellies filled with Christmas treats, I pull out a puzzle and sit at the table working until it is done.  You see, I love puzzles (a love I inherited from my mother) but I find it hard to justify the time and space it takes to do them on a regular basis, so Christmas day is my puzzle day, and this year I will be piecing together these beautiful birds!

In other news, I picked out tile for our bathroom(s) and the floor guy came today to measure for the job.  Hoping that they can do the job soon so the kids can have their bathroom back... and I can have mine back :)  But really I am just thankful we have two bathrooms so that when one is out of order we still have one that works!

yesterday...

Regan said, "Mom, come here, we have to show you something bad!" Reluctantly I got up from the computer and came over to see what the problem was.  Regan stepped onto the bathroom floor and it made a gurgling sound and water bubbled up between the boards!  Not good.  I called my dad (he's a plumber) and then went down into the crawl space to inspect- sure enough it looked like the seal on our toilet was bad- probably had been for a while. 

So, last night at 9pm (after the kids were finally in bed and our company had left) we headed into the bathroom to see what the damage was.  We started with pulling up some of the floor...

It was like a swimming pool under there!

The floors were pergo, so they acted like a sponge for all that water.  What the  previous owner was thinking when they put pergo in the bathrooms I do not know.

We even found mold growing in the corner behind the toilet, yuck!

Under the the pergo there were two more layers of flooring that we ripped out too. You can see the remnants under the edge of the vanity.

And we took out the toilet.

We scrubbed the floor with bleach and put the fan in there to help dry out the sub floors.

Today I am heading to Lowes to pick out tile for the bathroom and we will pull out the vanity tonight.  We will also be replacing the vanity- you can see the water damage to the bottom of it on the second to last picture.  I was not expecting a bathroom makeover for Christmas this year!

copics

I discovered recently that Michael's is selling Copic Sketch markers.  I have wanted some for awhile, but because they are so expensive, I had not bought any.  But since Michael's sells them individually, and I can use 50% off coupons, I have been picking one up here and there over the past month or so.

I mostly have just been doodling with them so far, but I really love them!  Hoping maybe Santa will bring me some more this Christmas :)

happy birthday micah!

Micah turned 9 today. 

We celebrated this morning with French toast (I think Micah ate 10 pieces!) and family gifts- these are a couple that Regan, Max and Tallulah made for him.  An I-spy toy...

and mini-mini golf.

Then everybody helped to get ready for the Indiana Jones Party this afternoon.

We hit up the after Halloween sales for our decorations.  You can't see them in the pictures, but there are bats hanging from the ceiling :)

I adapted some clues for a treasure hunt I found online and the kids had fun wrapping each other up as mummies...

wading through "Croc"odile creek searching from clues,

and crossing the snake pit.

For dessert we had eye ball punch (those are eye-ball bouncy ball floating in the punch bowl).

monkey brains (raspberry sorbet in monkey cups)...

and cupcakes covered in snakes...

All the boys got satchels with flashlights and toy compasses, a bag of candy coins (I found really cool ones at Trader Joe's) whips and hats- plus they took home all the little rats and snakes and spiders off the tables.

Happy Birthday Micah!  We love you so much and are so proud of you!