Monday, April 18, 2011

OBEY YOUR PARENTS!!!

Located in our basement is my favorite wall art. Why is it my favorite? Because it displays the rules. Yes, the rules. We read them a lot. Thanks to Caleb and his attitude (where does he get it from?!) Anyway, I found a cute cross stitch at an antique store and printed out some rules (from etsy), and put them into frames purchased here at IKEA.

We visit this rule a lot...
And this one too...

Now....if we could just get him to follow those rules.... :)

ABC's ... Easy as 1-2-3!

A while back I purchased some ABC decals at Meijer (before they were discounted to only 9.99!!). Anyway, now that that basement is finished, I have been busy getting the play area organized and decorated, so I went to the Dollar Tree and purchased 26 random frames. My orginal intent was to paint them all white, but I just loved the natural look of them- it really made the colors in the letters pop! So, how does one go about hanging 26 frames? Thanks to one of my favorite websites, younghouselove, I was able to hang all 26 with ease. Step 1: Arrange frames how you want them. Step 2: Cut out pieces of paper to match the sizes of the various frames and tape them to the wall.

Step 3: Mark the nail holes on the pieces of paper according to where the hanging apparatus is located.
Step 4: Pound your nails on the marks you drew on each piece, remove piece of paper and replace it with the frame.
So, there may not be doorknobs on the doors yet, but at least this play area will have cute decorations.


More to come...

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Maternity Leave Makeovers

I decided to take advantage of the time I had at home with my babies, to do some house re-decorating (which, yes, I do quite frequently). So, here are a few pictures of the living room and dining room (and basement pictures will come soon!)... Living room before: Dining room before-before:

Dining room before:


AFTER!!!:



We moved the old couches down to the basement and purchased these lovely beauties at Art Van. They are a dark chocolate color...kinda hard to tell in the picture. And, yes, those are toys stashed under the coffee table. A little bit of reality for you there.

(I scored this sideboard on craigslist for 50 bucks and slapped some dutch blue paint on it and new hardware....bada-bing!)



I sold the table we made (the long, skinny, knock-off wood table). We were wanting something smaller (and circular), that would have the option of seating more if possible. This table was another craigslist deal (100 bucks!). It is solid oak and has 2 leaves that extend it into a nice lengthy table for when we need the space. And notice the cute claw feet. Ya, me likey. :) Of course, we painted it this lovely off-white color to match the hutch.



This hutch used to be red. I like it better now. That's all I have to say about that (use your best Forrest Gump accent when you read that please)







Stats:


Old table- sold for $400

New table- purchase for $100

New Chairs- IKEA, $20 each

New Blue Curtains- IKEA, $20

Hutch- $20 for paint and monogram

Sideboard- $50 + $15 for paint + $20 for hardware

New couches- $500


Coming soon!:


-we inherited a sideboard and coordinating shelf from Russ' parents that we painted and put in the basement.

-some cute alphabet wall art for the basement

-guest bedroom in basement

-new light fixture in entryway

-new play tent for Caleb (the old one broke) :(


Whew! I'm tired!


Amy Out.

Friday, April 08, 2011

Crazy Caleb

This is what happens when you ask Caleb to help bring things to the dinner table (and aren't watching...) And this is what happens when you are busy and Caleb gets into things (notice the cool hat...)



And this is what happens when you buy new furniture and move the old furniture....and discover what your 2.5 year old has been hiding under the couch for 2.5 years.



.... the couches were big people....not easy to move....give me a break will ya? ;)


-am

Sunday, March 27, 2011

this ain't yo mama's cloth diaper...

While disposable diapers haven't completely left our household, we are proud to say that cloth diapers have successfully entered. At $6.99 a pop you can get yours here While comparable to BumGenius cloth diapers, they are a third of the price. Jackpot. We were blessed to have them (18 of them. that is) gifted to us at a shower, so the cost to get started was the purchase of this lovely diaper sprayer: It attaches to your toilet (with the help of your hubby) and sprays the dickens (or the poop) out of your diaper! So, without further ado, I give you, the Kawaii one size fits all, all in one, snap closure, cloth diaper:

Each diaper comes with 2 microfiber inserts and a waterproof shell. The diapers can snap up to make them small enough for a newborn, or big enough for a toddler.
Just snap away till you find the size that fits your little bean.
Tada!
Soiled diapers get sprayed first, then put into a "wet bag" to be washed later. Wet (peepee) daipers also go in the same bag. We use disposable wipes still- but those go in the trash.


We wash them daily right now because there are so many soiled diapers at this stage, but eventually we will wash them every 2 days or so. Cold water soak, then a hot water wash.


Pretty easy really.


And the best part.....


saving money!!


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Frodo

In honor of Frodo's birthday this week (St. Patty's day), we would like to dedicate this blog revival to him with some of our favorite Frodo blog posts. Take some time to click on the links and get to know our dog. I think you'll like him.


Meet Frodo.


He is one HUGE ball of fur. He likes the snow. A lot.







And he once was a skinny dog...(or as I called him "Rat Dog")


Happy Birthday Frodo!