Digging to Find China

There are fewer things A loves about playing outside more than getting to play in her turtle sandbox. She loves feeling it between her toes and using her little shoves to scoop up and dump out the sand. Tonight, her and Josh were out playing in the sandbox, and Josh was using a couple fingers to dig around in the sand. He told A, "I'm digging to find China!" A pushes his hand out of the way, puts her eyes right down next to the hole he had been digging and shouts to the top of her lungs, "CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINA, where AAAAAAAAAAARE you?!?!" repeatedly. I was actually inside, but could hear her through the windows. I ran outside to find out what in the world she was doing, and Josh was sitting on the deck rolling with laughter, and little A-bug had her hands up like she was looking for something with the most confused look on her face. This post really has no point other than this was something hilarious I didn't want to forget :)

A-bug's Favorite Bedtime Books

If you have followed this blog any length of time, you will know that since birth, Aria has loved books. She loves the pictures, she loves being read to, she likes reading to her Elmo and Abbie dolls, and she loves making up stories to go with the pictures in her books. Some of the best memories I have are of listening to Aria over the monitor reading to herself and her animals. I can tell what books she's reading now by the words she says, and I love it. 

Getting A calmed down for bedtime is sometimes easier said than done, and reading these books helps calm her down and signals to her that bedtime is near. She gets quieter and sometimes we even get some snuggles for a few minutes while we're reading to her. Then, right before bed, J takes her to her room, turns on her sound machine and sings "Jesus Loves Me" to her... now she'll sing with him, which is just too sweet.

How do you signal to your kids that it's time for bed? Do you have a routine that you do nightly? 

Here are some of her favorite " bedtime bookies" and the words she knows from them. 

She actually can say "I love you to and to" and knows almost all the words just by seeing the page. It's a favorite of hers, and I love reading it to her.

She calls this one "much love you!" and usually makes up a story about the rabbits dancing and jumping and always throws something in there about the moon at the end, right on cue with the most famous line "I love you to the moon...and back."

I read her this one just about every night and many times right before nap time. She knows most of the key words like "mouse," "cow over moon," "hush" etc. As I read it to her, I get quieter and quieter, which is kind of a signal to her that bed is coming.

She adores this book about all the different things that everyone loves. And the rhymes always end, "Elmo loves you!" and she'll finish it with me. And she always gives Elmo a kiss at the end of the book, just like he asks for :)

I think the reason she loves this book so much is because it has the word "cookie" in it so many times :) She knows "mouse" and "nap" and at the end she always says "share with friend."

This one's self-explanatory. We have a lot of ABC style books, but this one is her favorite with all the flaps and the different animals. She always sings the alphabet song when she gets to the end, too, which is adorable :)

Family Favorite Recipe: Cup 'o Cobbler

Let me start off by saying that this recipe is not original to me. I'm not sure who started it first, but my mom, aunt and grandma have all made this as long as I can remember, and I'm most certainly not going to mess with that kind of tradition. Since we all know what a stellar cook I am, you know if I'm making it that it's going to be easy. Let it also be known that in all the dozens of times I've made this, it's never turned out badly. Ever. That's how easy it is.

There's a reason it's called "Cup 'o Cobbler," and that's because the only measurement you need to remember is 1 cup. Like I said, easy as pie. Or cobbler rather.

1 stick of Butter 

1 cup of Bisquick   

1 cup of Sugar

1 cup of Milk

1 can of peaches OR 1 bag of frozen berries
Cinnamon to taste

Brown Sugar (for crunchy, yummy topping)

I always make this dish in a Pyrex 9x9, because I can just throw the stick of butter in the dish and pop it in the microwave to melt it. The butter needs to be melted completely. While the butter is melting, combine the Bisquick, sugar and milk together. Add this mixture straight to the Pyrex with the now-melted butter. Dump the fruit on top. Add your sprinkling of cinnamon and/or brown sugar as desired. Bake at 350 for about 40 mins, or until golden brown and bubbly. Bam. That's it. 

GB&B
(golden brown and bubbly)

My family really has no preference between the peach an berry variations of this classic - they're both delicious. In fact, the last time I made this, I accidentally used peach pie filling instead of canned peaches, and it was just as yummy. That's how fail-proof this is. It's the perfect EASY ending to a meal when it's both chilly outside or for a summer evening. Who doesn't love cobbler?

Pumpkin Muffins: Another Fall Pin-Win!

We've all seen this pin over the past month or so: 

Source Link

I have really wanted to try it, since recipes with more than 5-6 ingredients cause me to break out in hives. Pumpkin is also one of J's favorite flavors, so I wanted to make something yummy for him as well. These seemed to be the perfect, no-fail muffins. Even if I mess up, I've only spent about $2-3, so it's all good :)

First thing I did was read all the comments under the original post so I could get the best results possible, and I'm glad I did. I ended up subbing out Spice Cake mix for the regular vanilla, adding 2 eggs and 1 teaspoon of Mexican vanilla (which I add to everything anyways.) I also sprinkled brown sugar on top of the muffins before baking.

So here's the recipe and process:

1 Spice Cake mix

15 oz. of canned pumpkin

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Brown Sugar to taste

Mix the first 4 ingredients together. pre-heat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with .... liners. (Aren't they called something else? "Liners" seems redundant...) Fill muffin liners. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake for 20 mins. Consume. I mean, seriously. Does it get easier than that?! 

Mmmm...you know you want some! :)

I kid you not, before the second batch was out of the oven, we had already eaten half of the first, they are that good. A-bug broke down into tears when I wouldn't give her more, after she ate a whole one and half of mine... they are SO GOOD. J added cream cheese frosting on top because he's a sugar addict, but that's not necessary if you're trying to save on calories or sugar or whatever. Oh, and did I mention these are only about 100 calories?! Seriously?! Which is probably why I didn't feel guilty about eating 4. Yes, 4. Don't judge me.

Note: these can also be made with Devil's food cake and chocolate chips, but per my mother, the chocolate ones aren't as good as the regular Spice Cake mix ones. You can also add raisins if you prefer, which I may do for J later. I see a lot of batches of these in our future. 

Decorating on a Budget: Fall Decor Edition

So, if you haven't figured out that I absolutely LOVE Autumn, you haven't read enough recent blog posts. There are so many beautiful ways to decorate for Fall, and another bonus is that you can leave it all up from September till Thanksgiving. That's almost 3 months of seasonal decor done in one fell swoop, which is awesome for busy moms like me.

Before, when we were living in the apartment, we were so cramped, the extent of my Fall decorating was hanging a scare crow on our door, switching out the fake flowers in my kitchen's vase and setting out the Fall edition Reese's. Kinda sad. But not this year! This year I have a house to decorate! And I am so excited about this fact! My hubby (and his wallet)? ....not so much. So here's part of what I did in my living room for Fall this year to stay on budget while appeasing my inner Candice Olson.

The pumpkins are slightly unbalanced in this pic because
Aria had been playing with them right before I snapped this.

First off, I have an automatic advantage when decorating for both Fall and Christmas because my living areas are already green with pops of red. This was not intentional, but I will say it makes giving off a seasonal  ambiance for both of these major decorating seasons a lot easier. I got the candle holders at Ikea for CHEAP and couldn't love them more. They have a ton to choose from, and you can see all their candle holder options here. Mine are the dark brown finish, but they also have a white option that could conceivably be spray painted any other color you need. I also got the candles at Ikea for an awesome price - $10 for a 3 pack of the red candles and the white block candle was $5, I believe. I have not found another place on the planet where you can get candle holders and candles for that cheap. I got my pumpkins and faux leaf garland at Hobby Lobby for 40% off...I think I paid a total of $30 for all 3 pumpkins and the garland. The awesome thing about this is that I can just take the pumpkins and garland down, and swap out snowmen and twinkle lights for Christmas/Winter with the same candles and holders.

A lot of times, the key to budget decorating is getting great pieces on sale that you can use for multiple seasons (like the candles and their holders), and then buying clearance for the strictly seasonal items at the end of the season (think Fall decor in December, Christmas in January etc.) Investing in some nice silk flowers that you can swap out for the different seasons is a nice way to go as well. I get mine at Hobby Lobby when they go on sale for 50% off, which is rather frequently. Something else to invest in for ALL seasons is a set of glass hurricanes. They can be used for every season, and always look classy. They can also easily be moved around to make a nice centerpiece for a dinner party, or up and out of the way when the kids are having a play date. Here are some great examples of glass hurricanes filled for Fall. You should also check out this lady's Pinterest board strictly for glass hurricane decor. It's awesome. 

 See? Super versatile, and there are different styles for everyone. You can get them for cheap at places like Michael's, Hobby Lobby and sometimes even Meijer.

How easy is this? Leaf placemats from
Walmart that were stuffed.
Easy-Peasy.
Source Link

I'm really loving this page from the Better Homes and Gardens online magazine - pretty much all their ideas can be done for relatively cheap, some even for free! (A glass vase and branches with colored leaves? Does it get easier than that?!) Acorns are free if you can track them down at the park with the help of your kids (turn it into a game, they'll love it.) Baby pumpkins can be bought for about a buck from a farmer's market, and those can even be spray painted to match any non-traditional colors you're decorating with. And while twine and burlap may not be free, they can be used over and over again, so they're worth spending some money on.

Here are some other great Autumn decorating ideas that I'm loving from Pinterest right now.

These candle holders are
GORGEOUS, and can be
used all year long. The pillar
candles are mounted
right into the baby pumpkins,
which have been spray painted.

Again with the glass hurricanes -
unpopped popcorn, silk leaves,
twine and pillar candles. Bam. 

Finally, switching out the pictures in your picture frames can actually make a big difference. (Mine aren't up on the wall, so I will try and explain to you what I mean.) If you're like me, and try to get family pictures during every season, you'll notice a trend in the coloring of your pictures. Fall pictures usually have lots of browns, reds and golds. This is perfect if you're sticking with traditional colors for Fall decor.  This also applies for Christmas and Spring time. Swapping out color coordinated family photos is a simple way to give more of that seasonal feel to your home. If you don't have any yet, take some this year, and you'll be set for next year :)

Remember, you can see my entire Pinterest board for learning to decorate on a budget here! 

My little sickie eating fishies

Today, I think my A-bug is sick :( We kinda had a rough start to the morning as it was because I didn't sleep when it was dark out last night and didn't fall asleep until just before J got up for work. Thus, I didn't get up right away when I heard A over the monitor. One of the benefits of her sleeping in her "big girl bed" now is that she can get up and read books or play with her animals if I don't get her up right away, and today that's just what she did. I heard her read a few books out loud, and then she much have gone back to sleep because she was dead quiet for another couple of hours. I most thoroughly appreciated the extra hours of needed sleep, but when she woke up again at 11, I knew I had to get both of us up.

When I went downstairs to get her, she was laying in her bed reading books, but was happy to be out of her room. She still seemed rather dazed, for having the extra hours of sleep, but I didn't know exactly how long she'd been awake before she told me through the monitor that she wanted to get up. I also assumed that she would be hungry out of her mind, but when I tried to feed her breakfast, she didn't even get through one container of yogurt before she said she was done. That was my first clue that she was sick. A-bug never turns down blueberry yogurt. 

When the dark circles under her eyes didn't go away, I knew she wasn't feeling well. And then when I went to change her diaper, she got goosebumps all over and tried to put her pans back on while saying, "cold, mommy! cold!" At this point, she doesn't feel warm anymore, but she still won't go anywhere without her blanket wrapped around her.She's also been clingy today, but since the move, I really don't consider that to be incredibly unusual. 

As per usual, whenever A isn't feeling well, she gets to eat Goldfish on the couch while watching cartoons, even in the afternoon when she usually doesn't get to watch TV. While I'm not fond of the fact that she looks like she's about to cry every time I turn the TV off, it has enabled me to get a lot done today - including 2 blog posts :) Considering just last night we got our dryer fixed and had been without one for almost a month, I have laundry up to my armpits.  I have finished 2 loads, with another one each in the washer and dryer. I've also got the walls in the basement and the stairs going down there all wiped down. It's amazing how much cleaner a lemon-scented All-Purpose can make you feel when you walk into a room. See? I told you I was getting a lot done today!

Despite getting all this stuff done without the usual interruptions, I'm missing my usually energetic and spunky toddler... it's just weird with her not wanting to move off the couch or wanting to eat everything in sight :( Get better, baby bug. 

Fall Dinner: Pin-Win!

As most of my "regular readers" out there know, I'm really not a big cook. I love food and trying new things, but I'm just not blessed with the talent that my mom has for baking, cooking, canning and all sorts of other food-making verbs. I have a few basic meals I stick with, and because my hubby is wonderful, he doesn't mind the same 10 meals or so.

One of my favorite things to do for dinner is to pop a pork tenderloin in the crockpot with whatever else suits my fancy. I've never really used a recipe, and sometimes that is very apparent. Well, yesterday, I decided to use a Pinterest recipe (more like a concept lol) with my pork tenderloin, and it turned out so good, I had to tell you all about it. I actually ended up using 2 crock pots, because I didn't want my carrots to have the same flavors I was using for the tenderloin. I'll post both "recipes."

My Best-Ever Pork Tenderloin

Any size pork tenderloin - I bought a big one this last time, so I could freeze the rest for meals after the baby comes. I've also used smaller ones that are one-mealers.
Applesauce

1 can of Dr. Pepper (or Mr. Pibb... my hubby actually prefers the latter, but it's not available up here in MI.)

Cinnamon 

Brown Sugar

I put the applesauce on top of the tenderloin and the Dr. Pepper all around it. I then added the cinnamon and  brown sugar to the Dr. Pepper. I don't really have an amount for these...I just dumped in what looked good to my eye. I left it in the crock pot on low for 6 hours, and it was seriously the best Pork Tenderloin I've ever  made. Even A-bug who doesn't really like meat ate quite a bit.


My Best-Ever Cooked Carrots (I know, my recipes have such original titles...)
1 pound of carrots

2 tablespoons fresh oregano

1/4 cup of brown sugar

3/4 cup of water
1 tablespoon of salt

I just dumped it all in the rock pot and put it on high for 3 hours, and they were perfect. Soft enough for A to eat without us cutting them up, but they didn't fall apart when you tried to stab them with a fork. They were delish.

So anyways, that's my super easy-peasy Fall-inspired dinner. Have I mentioned how much I love the flavors of Fall? Hopefully, I'll get some more yummy recipes to share later. I have a whole bunch of ingredients for more Pinterest recipes on my shopping list for this weekend, and I can't wait to try them. I'm sure J and A won't mind being my guinea pigs ;)

(I would like to note that neither of these pics were mine, but they look remarkably close what came out of my crock pot. Yes, the pork really was that tender. I'm seriously going to throw some BBQ sauce on the leftovers and turn them into pulled pork sandwiches, that's how tender it was.)

Kylar's Nursery Pictures.... Almost Done!

I can't believe we're almost done with Kylar's nursery. There were days right after we moved in when I would see the gigantic holes in the walls and the nasty floor and think, "This is never going to happen." But now, after hours and hours of hard work from countless friends who helped mud over the holes and paint over the nasty color, from my hubby and daddy who installed the gorgeous floor and my father-in-law who worked on the trim and sub-flooring .... after all that, it's finally looking like the picture I had in my mind.

All we have left to do is install his shelves, hang up the wall art and get the curtains up. His dresser is full of his newborn-sized clothing, his closet is also full of toys and clothes and his crib is all ready with bumper pads and sheets. I can't wait for this little guy to make his appearance :)

I'm waiting on the cushion for the rocker, still. It was out of
stock when I picked up the chair. As you can see, the curtain
rod is up, but it was the wrong size, so my mom is making a
new one out of a difference branch (Pinterest idea here!) so
I'm waiting to put the curtains up.

All of Kylar's little froggies I've been collecting since we found
out we were having a boy. I really love the eclectic look of them :)

This was Aria's wooden dresser that we re-painted and
added new nobs to. I love the way it turned out. I also
love the way the bright green rug looks with the dark floors :)

Let's not forget what it looked like before.... and this was
AFTER all the holes had been patched! lol

My inspiration picture.... not bad, if I say so myself! :)

Waiting for Fall...

Here in Michigan, Fall lasts about 2 weeks. Not even lying. So sometimes, we have to pretend it's Autumn, even when it really isn't quite yet. Like now. It's been in the 70's for the past week or so, which is a definitely step in the cooler direction from the 90's we've been having all summer, but it's still not Fall yet. But I LOVE Fall. I love the smell of the leaves falling and the trees getting ready to fall asleep for winter. I love the pumpkin and apple cider flavored foods and drinks, and the fact that it's ok to put caramel on EVERYTHING in the Fall. I love sweaters without big coats, scarves without gloves, and hats without earmuffs. I think I love it so much because it reminds me of my favorite time of day - dusk. The calm before everything falls asleep, the noise of the crickets, the sudden cool down. Essentially, Autumn is the dusk of the year. And I love it.

This is the first year we will have our own yard to rake up into piles of leaves, whether to burn them into that delicious scent or to jump in them and turn into 7 year olds again. I'll be able to dress A all up in her flannel clothes (of which we have a lot, due to living in the frozen tundra of the north) and let her go run and play with all the crunchy "leebs." She will love it. I also can't wait to take her back to the cider mill for ""do-no's" and fun with pumpkins. We both seem to have an obsession with pumpkins right now, although mine is mainly in the decor and food area, and A just wants to throw them everywhere.

If you haven't figured out by now, I'm one of the most sentimental people on the planet. I want to turn every little thing into a memory, and take approximately 382 pictures of said activity. This desire has only gotten stronger during this pregnancy. I think I'm driving my husband crazy. Because of this desire to make every moment count, I've been spending lots of time after A goes to bed on Pinterest, trying to get all the greatest Fall activities on our calendar before I have baby K. I want to make sure that I spend as much one-on-one time with the A-bug before her little world is turned upside down. I want more mommy-daughter time, even though she'll never remember it.

So....what are some of your favorite Fall activities to do with your kids? Growing up, my favorite tradition was going to the apple orchards of mid-Michigan, but in southeast suburbia, there's not a lot to choose from. I'm still looking for one that has all the fun activities that I enjoyed as a kid. I also used to spend HOURS with my grandpa raking leaves and jumping in the piles when I was a kid, and those memories are so precious to me, especially now that he's passed on. I love sipping caramel apple cider, eating caramel apples and making yummy caramel cookies. (I'm really needing some caramel about now...) I just want A to have these fun memories, too... So what are your favorite memories? Traditions? Are you trying something new with your kids this Autumn? Let me know! There may be an upcoming contest for Fall Family Fun coming soon... * hint hint* ;)

Pictures from last Fall

Mini Play Date

Our good friend Kara nannies for this adorable little almost-2 -year-old, and today they came over for a mini play date before nap time. I always worry about A when it comes to play dates, because she's really not around other kids her age all that much, and I'm worried about how she'll share (or not share...) Today she was in a sharing mood, apparently. She did very well letting little Colin play with her toys, which is a big deal. She's pretty possessive, and tends to get confused when other kids play with her toys, especially her books or puzzles. But today, she did just fine. Until....

We had just finished snack and Colin had eaten lunch. A was running in and out of the screen door playing with Kara's dog, Lincoln. No problems, really. Then she hauls off and hits Colin on the head. Now granted, she's barely 2, and it didn't seem to hurt Colin at all; he just gave her a funny look. But she hit him. And that's just not something we do in our family. We do not physically hit, ever. So... I tell A to give Colin a hug and say "sorry." She runs the opposite direction, saying "no no no no!" Something else we don't do in our family. Finally, I'm able to corral her back into the kitchen, and she gives Colin a hug and says "sorry." You would think all would be well, but alas, in all their 2 year old clumsiness, they fell over while giving each other a hug. This produced more tears from A, and it was about this second that we decided the play date was over.

I'm sitting here typing this as A is in bed for nap time, hoping and praying that this hitting thing was a one time fluke, and - even more so - that she's not doing this when I'm not around. I'm really not sure why she hit him, and since she's 2, she may very well have not had a reason. I'm starting to see a trend in actions with no reason from her. And there's just no logic in asking a 2 year old, "why in tarnation did you do that?!"

Did you child ever go through a hitting or biting phase? Or maybe they had another inexplicable, destructive habit. Like I said, I'm hoping this is a one time thing, but what are we going to do if it isn't? Especially if there's no rhyme or reason for her behavior? If and when I figure this little conundrum out, I'll let you know. Not making any promises, though....

Oh, the words you will say

Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in blogging all of our projects and the major events that I forget about the everyday little things A does that make her so special. There are so may quirks and aspects to her unique little personality that I don't want to forget, I need to remember to write them down more often.

Today, we took A to one of her favorite places - Ikea. There's something about all the showcase rooms, the wide aisles to run down, all the toys and play stations and - of course - the FOOD that has her giddy from the moment we announce our trip till she collapses from sheer exhaustion when we get in the car to go home.  Today's trip was no exception. She most thoroughly explored every square inch of the showcase floor, but was about ready to have an emotional meltdown halfway through the downstairs warehouse floor. Fortunately, she pulled herself together just long enough to get a couple new lights for her room and inhale some fries and chicken tenders.

She's also talking now more than ever. I mean, there's never really been a time when she didn't talk, but now her little babbles are starting to make sense. From the time I hear "mommy, WAKE up!" first thing in the morning until she says "night night, mommy. Lub ooh." at night, she's just full of adorable little statements. She can now ask for specific foods for meal times, whether it's "oh-mee-lou" (oatmeal,) a "butter sack-ich" (peanut butter toast,) or "chi-chi's cecil" (Cheerios) for breakfast or "ta-berries" (strawberries,) "ooh-ger" (yogurt) and cheese for lunch. She has now also finally figured out the difference between milk, juice and water, but 9 times out of 10, she'll ask for milk over anything else. Some other cute food words she says are "chalk-it" (chocolate,) "copy" (coffee,) and "muffy" (muffin.) One word that blogging cannot properly convey the humor of is the specific way she says the word "BAAAAAAAACOOOOOOOOON." It pretty much sounds exactly like I just typed it, with a low growly aspect to it. Makes me think that we definitely have a tomboy on our hands. 

Something else she's just started to do in the past couple of weeks is putting groups of words together to form sentences that are actually understandable to us as parental units.  She's been saying things like "I like it" and "I did it!" for a while, but now she can ask us to read her a book, and sometimes a specific book like "Elmo Lub Ooh" (Elmo loves you,) "Lub ooh to an to" (I love you through and through,) "Night night moon" (Goodnight, Moon,) or "Happy kiss me" (Veggie Tale's Merry Christmas.) Many of her favorite books, she has "memorized" and has started to figure out when we skip pages - whether accidental or intentional. 

A has always preferred playing with and reading about animals over Barbies or dolls in general. She can now make most obvious animal noises, as well as a few unique ones. Her favorites are hooting like an owls, "skeeking" like a mouse, "kacking" like a duck and moo'ing (always with great enthusiasm) like a cow. She's also working really hard on her fish face, which is incredibly entertaining to watch. She's also decided that she doesn't like "icky bugs" although she doesn't mind lady bugs or ants for some reason. She has an odd fear of flies and crickets as well - I think it's their odd modes of movement that kinda creeps her out. 

There are so many other little things she does that I am going to try harder to capture in words before it's too late. I've personally never met a funnier child in my life, and I hope to remember all these hilarious little quirks she has.

Shopping with Mimi

Loving her Elmo phone she got for her birthday

I mean, seriously, with this face? How cute is she?!

Reaching to grab the airplanes that fly above our new house

Kylar's Nursery Project: Painted Stripes

A lot of the ideas I used for the kid's rooms in the new house came from Pinterest - I claim no originality. I really loved the clean, simple, calmness that gray stripes on a white wall provided, so I wanted to give it a shot on a couple walls for K's nursery. Here was my inspiration picture: 

Source Link

I loved how the walls remained neutral, and the pops of color came from the curtains and rug. I also loved the animal accents, but wanted to stick with a single animal. I chose frogs; they seemed like a great baby boy theme that he could also grow into as he got older. As you could see in my last post, it also made for a very cute shower theme :) I decided to keep all the furniture neutral as well with a white metal crib, a white wood changing table/dresser combo and a black chair. I'm still looking for another smaller side table to go next to the chair. At the time I'm writing this, the dresser is not completely re-assembled, so I don't have a completely updated picture. When we're done setting everything up, I'll post one. 

For this post, I just wanted to do a step by step of the painted gray stripes. If you've read any of my other posts, you know that all our walls had to painted about 5 times to get a decent starting surface. We used Kilz primer and Olympic Premium Ultra-White Zero-VOC paint, which I loved working with. The bright white gave it an extra clean feeling, which I was striving for.  

Painting one of the many coats of white onto the walls.

Next, came all the taping. This was the tricky part. I wanted exactly 12" stripes on the walls, so I had to be very careful how I taped everything off. When doing this, you need to measure 12" from inside the tape for the colored stripes, but only 10" from inside the tape for the white stripes if you're using 1" painter's tape. If you're using a different width for whatever reason, you'll have to take the extra width into account. This will make your stripes not look even when you're done taping, but the end result will be even.

I will also say that you should use either a ruler that's exactly 12" or a yardstick to measure the stripes. You'll also want to measure several times down the wall, not just at the top and bottom, or your stripes will most likely bow. This will be incredibly obvious after painting and even more difficult to fix. 

Next is a step I didn't actually do in this room, but I did in A's room, and I wished I had done it in K's as well. If you take your white (or base color of your choice) and paint the edges of your tape, it will keep the accent color from leaking under your tape. Because, let's face it, even the best painter's tape is going to leak through. We didn't have any major leaks that are in obvious places, but A's room's stripes ended up a lot cleaner. 

My wonderful hubby reaching the tops of the stripes.
I couldn't climb up the stool anymore with my
swollen ankles :) I also HIGHLY recommend this
paint pad kind of thing over a roller for this project.
Sorry I don't have a more specific name for it, but
you can get them at any major HI store.

Finally, don't wait too long to pull off the tape; you'll run the risk of peeling the paint off with the tape. I pulled the tape off the morning after I finished the touch-ups, and didn't have any peeling issues whatsoever. I really love the way it turned out :) Here's a pic in the daylight with the crib, and one with the trim I picked out as well as the finished laminate floors, which I LOVE. The lime green material in the first pic is going to be the curtains. Like I said, more pics will be uploaded as I finish putting everything together. 

My mom found this fabulous crib at
a garage sale for only $15. I'm thrilled :)

If you love this flooring as much as I
do, you can get it at Lowe's. The brand
is Swiftlock Plus. (The "plus" is very
important, I have been told.)
It's part of their in-stock inventory, and it's
called Hand Scraped Chestnut Hickory.

Baby Shower for Kylar

I will say up front that I can take exactly zero credit for all the adorable ideas and decorations that were at Kylar's shower. I have some truly wonderful friends who did a ton of work, and it was an adorable shower. I just wanted to post some pictures and give these wonderful people some credit. 

The adorable diaper cake made by Sarah

I loved these centerpieces, and the yummy candy in
 the cute little boxes was definitely a bonus :)

The cupcakes were beautiful AND yummy!
Thanks to Kara B for these :)

Katie made these adorable candle holders

I still don't know who did this, but if it was
you, please take credit. It's too cute to be anonymous.

I loved how even the punch was green.
All the green looked awesome with the
gray tablecloths. 

The food was straight up delicious.
Thanks to Carolyn A for the awesome
baked potato bar, AMAZING chili
and all the extras!

My amazing friends and family who planned this party:
Allie W, Me, Kara B, Katie S
(also thanks to Kristen J and Sand J, who sadly didn't make the picture)

New House Before and After Pictures

For those who haven't seen our pictures on Facebook, here are the before and after pictures of our house, sorted by room. Hopefully. There are a couple rooms I deliberately left out; namely, the kid's rooms, because I plan on doing special posts for their paint projects. As much time as they took, they deserve their own posts, especially Aria's room. There are also no pics of the kitchen here because we didn't do anything to it yet, other than switching out the light fixture. Same thing with the bathroom. We do have some projects planned for each room, so pictures will come as they are completed.

Living Room Before

Living Room After

 

Family Room Before

Family Room After (kinda.... need more recent pics) 

Master Bedroom Before (kinda... didn't get good shots before)

Master Bedroom After

Front Yard

Before

After