Happily Haphazard

To thrift - Part 2

2011-12-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of the Kids current "thrifted" wardrobe's

Hannah's----

long sleeve t-shirts

cutest Ralph Lauren shirt - too big- but she'll grow into it

Ben's ---

Kenneth Cole Leather bomber for $8

16 button down shirts

all long sleeve polo's and shirtsall of these sweaters and sweater vests

all of these jeans and pants

This last trip I bought 10 items for Hannah for $26, 8 items for Ben for $10, 5 items for Brice $5, 5 items for me for $23.

To thrift or not to thrift ? Part 1

2011-12-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

I have done a few posts in the past showing my thrifting finds, and if those have not inspired you to try it, this one might.

This is my new outfit that I purchased yesterday for about $20. DKNY black drape cardigan $5, brand new cream fully lined wool trousers from Tommy Hilfiger $10, and leather BP snake skin peep toe pumps (new)$6. I cant wait to wear it out on a date with Brice or some where nice.

I had a particularly good clothes thrifting day yesterday which has inspired me to share with you a little of my families "Thrift" wardrobe. I will not be showing any of Brice's ( not sure if he wants me to "out" his wardrobe) but I will list for you some of the designers I have gotten for him. They include; Armani, Nordstrom, Kenneth Cole, Banana Republic, Ralph Lauren-polo, BCBG, J Crew, Perry Ellis, Tommy Hilfiger, to name a few.

I should probably share some tips too.
1. Do not take this kids if you want to take your time
2. Only buy clothes that you like. $1 is still a wasted $1 if you dont like it.
3. Look for quality fabrics
4. Be aware of any specials or deals of the day
5. Hemming or tailoring a thifted item is still cheaper than retail
6. You can always "edit" items from your cart before checkout

My favorite store for clothing hands down is Saver's. Why? They are very organized. Every thing is organized by size, style, & color. Especially the childrens items. Everyday a different colored tag is 50% off and on mondays they have .99 cent and 50% tags. And if you donate items you can receive a coupon for 20% off your entire purchase of full price items.

Sometimes retail stores donate new "clearance" items to local thrift stores. The Target by my house donates to The Salvation Army. Any thing that I have purchased from there that was Mossimo was brand new! (gotten lots of shoes) Ask the people that work there. They might give you some good info.

Here are the pics---

2 Anne Taylor, Mossimo2 Banana Republic wrap dresses, mossimo, down east outfitters

4 on bottom right are cashmere

Wool coats. I spent the most on the Navy (which is divine) $19.

The middle is a wool Banana Republic

Pashmina and scraves Nordtrom, Volcom

brand new Kenneth Cole

Kenneth Cole, Chinese Laundry, BP, Steve Madden, Mossimo, Antoni Melani

It definitely is worth the time... at least it has been for us!

Birthday!!

2011-12-12T14:57:00.000-08:00

So, it happened.... my birthday came and went and now I can no longer mark the in my 30's box on survey's! AHHHHH! What happened to make this decade fly by so fast?! Besides getting married, having 2 kids, buying our first house and aging quicker than a piece of cheese in the fridge. It's ok right..40 is the new 20 ( if your a movie star like Demi Moore).

My actual birthday was Tuesday the 6th and I had a wonderful day. Brice had the day off and took the kids to school and then we met my parents for breakfast at Kneaders. I had a fantastic bacon, egg, cheese, and avocado cressant . yummmmm. After picking up the kids I was taken to lunch by my wonderful friend Maegan for pad thai and a sweet tooth fairy gingerbread cupcake. yummmm.After going to cub scouts I came home and had a relaxing rest of the evening.

Sat I was looking forward to spending the afternoon with my friend Tally. She had offered to drive up from provo and go to the movies or shopping or whatever I wanted. During the week I kept telling Brice that I might want to drive down there to see more of my friends which he was against, which was odd, but I thought he just didnt want me gone all day. I met up with Tally, went to eat pad thai again.. yummmmm.. and go to a movie. She wanted to come back to my house to give me a present and when we pulled up Brice had blocked the garage with the car.... odd. I told Tally he was up to something as we walked to the door, but what I didnt expect was a room full of my friends! He had been planning the surprise party for weeks and my wanting to go to provo just about stressed him out! He had gone all out and made a wonderful spread of food and Tally made a poster of pictures and there were streamers all over the house. My friend Kim made me an incredible 6 layer chocolate ganache and orange cake with berries on top. ( Hope someone took a picture). It took her 5 hours and weighed like 15 pounds. It was an amazing party with amazing people. The best present ever!! I might be bias but I seriously have the most wonderful, amazing, talented, giving friends ever!
The perfect way to start a new decade! Thanks to my wonderful sweet husband. My 30's gave me some pretty amazing people in my life..... cant wait to see what's next. ( Maybe it can just slow down a little bit though.)
Thank you everyone!!!

Pies & Pinterst

2011-11-24T10:21:00.001-08:00

I just had to post some pictures of the Homemade pies I made for todays Thanksgiving feast. Don't they look delicious?! (cross fingers they taste as good as they look.) I found all the recipes on pinterst. Go here to see my board.

The first one is a Pumpkin Chiffon gingersnap and the second is a Banana Cream.

You can find the recipe here.

Last of all we made some semi-homemade pumpkin pancakes for breakfast and they were wonderful. Instead of making the batter from scratch, I took the flour measurement and used the just add water pancake mix and added the pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and enough water to make a nice consistency. They were fluffy, light and amazing!
For the recipe go here.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Little Boy Ben

2011-11-24T10:12:00.000-08:00

I know many of you thought that this day would never come.... Ben finally has a "typical" little boy haircut. No it is not a mistake, I actually cut it myself and even used some clippers for part of it. I can hear your gasps of shock! His Dad loves it, but I think Im still partial to it being a little longer. This will be a Thanksgiving present to Grandma & Grandpa.

Trick or Treat

2011-11-02T11:49:00.001-07:00

A Princess and a Pirate?! What happened to THING1 & THING2?

Since the 1st week in October the kids and I had been talking about what they wanted to be for Halloween. Recently they had been watching alot of the Cat in the Hat on PBS, so we were all in agreement that it would be fun to be THING1 & 2 this year. I went to walmart & bought some red outfits and then found some great iron on decals on Etsy. Hurray, I thought, Im done. Sunday afternoon I ironed on the transfers and then monday morning everything changed. Hannah had decided she wanted to be a princess and Ben of course told everyone at school he was going to be a pirate. ?! what! I didnt have a pirate costume!! While the kids were in school I did a frantic 2 hour search for last minute costumes. 2 walmarts, sears, and even salvation army proved fruitless. I had one more option... After I picked up the kids we went to saver's and found these 2 beauties. The kids were happy, Mommy was happy and we even pulled out Daddy's old pirate costume to match!

Ben had a blast at the Trunk or Treat at the church and wandered around saying "Arghh Matey" to everyone.

Guess they will have to wear their THING1 & 2 tshirts around the house.

Halloween in Bloom

2011-10-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

Halloween is literally just around the corner and these are the beautiful flower arrangements that I just made from my front bushes today. You would think it was spring except that the bushes and house are covered in spiderwebs and skulls.

We finally got the sod on the front yard and it is doing amazing. It makes such a huge difference.

Last week my darling friend Tally treated me to "Taming of the Brew" at Gardner Village for Witchapalooza. It was so much fun. Don't you love her hat?!

Loved these tights I got from "Savers". They gave my outfit the touch it needed.

Dinosaurs and Disney Houses

2011-10-28T11:42:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago we decided to have a Saturday family outing. First stop was to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving point for their spooktacular saturday event. Ben ran around just as crazy as ever and had a blast and Hannah got to get her face painted.

Brice trying to generate electricity by peddling. Love the facial expression.

Next stop was to the "UP" house in Herriman. The builders got permission from Disney and went all out. This 4 bedroom home is quite amazing. It's open to the public so if you havent gone and live in Utah you should make a trip.

The living room was duplicated to the "T" from the movie including Carl and Ellie's chairs

I'm in love with this kitchen and the appliances

an extra sitting room off the kitchen

behind this bookcase at the top of the stairs is a secret room

downstairs was 2 children's rooms, one princess themed and one "Toy Story" themed along with a media room with the movie playing. Needless to say Ben did not want to leave.

Trains

2011-10-28T11:35:00.001-07:00

Ben loves trains and building elaborate track's , or should I say having someone else build elaborate track's. His newest is that the track has to go from his room across the hall to Hannah's room. Only problem with that is that it has to been taken apart each night (for safety reasons) and put back together again the next day. It does keep us all busy though.

Preschool

2011-09-23T21:31:00.001-07:00

This is Ben after his first full day of preschool. He has a new teacher this year & his wonderful aid Brooke is back with him. He still refuses to wear his name collar. (He's too cool!)

Carrot Top

2011-09-23T20:32:00.001-07:00

How do you like my center piece? Its the carrots from our 1st garden. The tops did excellent, the bottoms - not so much!

This is our second batch we grew. Great multi colored. They did a little better - but not much.

At least the cat likes them!

Old Mother Hubbard

2011-09-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

Who stole all the food from the fridge?!

First day of Kindergarten

2011-08-29T17:06:00.001-07:00

Feeling a little nervous,

feeling more excited.

love the little boy's face in front of her

A new friend

Ben was glad it wasn't his 1st day.

mustach-i-doh

2011-08-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Most people say that Ben takes after me, and Hannah takes after Brice. In a lot of ways I'd say that's true, accept when it comes to food on your face.

This is what Ben's going to look like with a mustache when he's older. Love it!

Hannah & I decided to try out a play-doh recipe I found today! It was super easy and the dough is incredible. Really smooth and fun. I made all these with one batch.

I used both my regular colors and neon food colors. The neon are great!

Here is the recipe:
1 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup salt
2 Tbs cream of tarter
2 Tbs vegetable oil
2 cups of water

Combine all ingredients together and cook on medium heat stirring regularly (so the bottom doesn't burn) until it forms into dough consistency. Let cool, divide into balls and add food coloring to each ball-- knead in color. More drops=brighter color.

What happened to June?!

2011-07-18T16:19:00.000-07:00

Somehow or another I missed making any posts in June. Not that there wasn't anything to post, just that I didn't get around to it. This post is a makeup of sorts.

First we did a little landscaping to the front of the house. We took the storm door off the front, moved the rose bush's and a shrub, and planted two Hibiscus trees. I just love them and after they grow some more they will be even better. They can grow up to 6 feet in height.

Got the sand box done for the kids. We still have a little more to do to it, but the kids are having fun and its better then the dirt box it used to be.

The neighbors Cottonwood tree threw up all over our backyard and kept us trapped inside from allergies for over 2 weeks. It was horrendous to clean up.

Had a fun afternoon with the kids at the park. They love to ride their bikes and Hannah tried to roller skate. She was scared at first but after a little coaxing really liked it.

Yo Ho Ho

2011-07-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

The kids and I had a swashbuckling time recycling broken crayons into new ones. ( word of caution; if using your microwave to melt the crayon pieces make sure none of them have any metalic colors in them. Arrghh...)

A year in the life of Ben

2011-05-31T09:28:00.000-07:00

4 years ago, this little guy came into our lives.
He weighed 8 pounds and 5 ounces and had a full head of golden streaked hair.

He is full of personality

and quite the handsome guy!

He started Preschool last fall and had a bit of a love - hate relationship with it, but in the end he learned a lot and made great friends.

He loves to be outside

and playing with his trains.

He loves watching and acting out movies. Especially ones with a good "Bad" guy.

He has a great sqinty eyed " Pirate" smile

He picked out a "Skeleton" costume for Halloween and then refused to wear it that night.

He also got his first pair of glasses this year

and a haircut

He's a little monster

who loves water, fish, and especially sharks.

And we love him!! Happy 4th Birthday Ben!

Future Jewelry Artist

2011-05-14T22:24:00.001-07:00

While looking for some old photos on my computer tonight I came across these little gems that I had forgotten about. They were taken almost a year ago (minus 1 week). The colors terrible but it makes me smile and since I never got them posted last year, Im doing it now.

Hannah is such a little artist. She has to color or paint or draw something everyday! I love that about her and hope that it never changes. She loves to watch me make jewelry and often tells me how beautiful or stylish something is when it's completed. This day we got some gems out for her to bead. I love how she arranged everything on the numbers on the board and how focused she was.

I cant wait to see what she creates with her life. I know it will be as amazing as she is!!

Thanks Traci!!

2011-04-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my friend Traci, I have a new look to my kitchen light. And I love it! I love cut glass fixtures, and the colors of these match fantastically with the kitchen.

Traci and her Husband Justin, bought their first home at the same time we bought ours. Its a great English Tudor that needed a lot of work, and they have worked hard. They replaced almost all the light fixtures in the house and this was one that they were junking. I'm so glad that they hadn't yet. They gave me two others as well that I cant wait to re-use.
This is what the sconces were originally a part of. It needed alot of work. Luckily I was able to simply turn the arms on my light fixture and place them on top.

Spring is here!! No wait.... It's winter again!

2011-04-05T17:18:00.001-07:00

This is what last Friday looked like. It was a beautiful day. The kid's spent the morning outside playing (yes, in their jammies) and then we had a picnic lunch of PB & J's, hotdogs, and fries!

This is Ben saying "Cheese"

This is also what happens when your big sister dresses you for outside.

His snow pants (on backwards), her shoes (on backwards), and her coat. I think she might have known what was coming!! (Physic Kid?!)

This is what we woke up to on Sunday!!

It continued to snow the entire day.

Can you see the yellow flowers under the snow? Come back spring. We didn't get to play with you long enough.

The Loot

2011-04-05T16:56:00.000-07:00

These are all the goods I found on my Jaguar thrifting spree.

9 dresses (3 Ann Taylor)

A totally cute trench, a great green sweater, 2 white tees (1calvin klein), 4 skirts, Audrey Hepburn pearls, cute scarf

3 dresses for Hannah, a button up for Ben, and 2 new Disney movies

Total $ / Total items = $4.50 and item !!

My Dream Car

2011-04-05T10:04:00.000-07:00

This is me driving my dream car! A white JaguarXTYPE 3.0. (sucking in my cheeks trying to look skinny, not sexy) You're wondering if I won the lottery or something aren't you? I wish! I only get to drive this beauty for 48 hours. It's a rental from the Volvo dealership.

I had to make sure to get the hood ornament in the pic!

Here's the scoop:
Monday's are now my new Saturday's due to the fact that Brice has the day off. My plan was to run a few quick errands after taking Hannah to school. I jumped in "Victor" the Volvo and dropped Hannah off at school with no problems, and then half way down the road the car started to jerk a little, and smell a little, with the check engine light flashing and a message that said, "Drive slowly, service urgent" Arghhhhh. I had just driven past my handy mechanics, so I flipped a quick "U" and headed back. I pulled into the shop and asked the guys to take a look.
" Yeah, that sounds rough, and smells a little." Chad said. "But I can't see anything visibly wrong." I love my Volvo except for one thing. Only people that work with Volvo's or foreign cars can do the repairs sometimes.
So, with the address and phone number to the dealership, and the phone number to a tow truck service just in case I didn't make it, I slowly and cautiously made my way downtown. I called the dealership on the way and asked if they could get me in.
Ughhhh , I just bought all new tires for this thing and the dealership is going to cost alot!!
They weren't going to be able to get me in until the next day, so I said I was going to need to rent a car. There was no way I was going to pack up the kids every morning to drive Brice to work in A.F. come back take the kids to school and then go back to pick him up in the evening. Joey said he would call enterprise for me and that it would only be $30 a day." Awesome, let's do it."
While I was waiting in the lobby I found a great fish taco recipe in a magazine and wrote it down.
The enterprise guy came and while I was filling out the paperwork and giving him my credit card I asked him, " Did you bring your cheapest car?!" He kind of laughed and said "No, but I gave you the best rate." "Awesome", I said. "That will do." He walked me out to the lot and as we were passing a new red Volvo, I said to him, " Ahh, you brought me a cute red Volvo."
"No", he said " But will a white Jaguar do?" I kind of looked around to see if I was being punked and then of course, took the keys lightening fast. Now, the idea behind getting the rental was to just get a cheap little something for Brice to drive for the next few days, but really, I couldn't let him take that on the freeway! I grabbed the carseats and was joyously on my way to finish my errands. That's the brilliant part of the dealerships master plan. They set you up with a sweet rental so that you forget how much your about to put in their pockets for repairs. It worked!! And they offered to pay for 2 days rental.
Where did I end up going on my errands? To some of my favorite stores of course.
DI, Savers, & the Dollar store.

She cooks like Betty Crocker & she looks like Donna Reid

2011-03-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

So the title of this post may be a bit of an exaggeration but I gave it a good try. Don't you just love my new Maria Horner apron?!

These are a little receipe I had to try from Betty Crocker called cupcake poppers. They just looked so fun & they were delicious too.

The best thing I found at the grocery store which Im sure all of you know about is the spray frosting!! It comes with 4 frosting tips too. It costs more than a regular can of frosting but it was so worth it for this project.

The best is you get to eat all the bottoms while you make them.

This is the original photo from Betty Crocker.

Laughing gas = not so funny!

2011-03-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of our sweet little girl at her "first" dental work appointment. She has been to the dentist before for cleanings and check ups and did fantastic, but this was her first filling.
Brice and I tried to get her all geared up and ready for days. We told her how she would get to watch a movie and wear a funny little mask with "laughing gas".
"It will be so cool and funny!" we said (lying to our child!)
She couldn't wait to go and jumped into the chair with out any problems.
Laughing gas -on, & movie started.
Then came the part I was dreading. The numbing shots! Duh duh duh!
I quickly sat by her side and grabbed onto her little hands as the doctor told her she would feel a little sting. ( I had warned him ahead of time not to use the word SHOT.)

Side story-- A few months ago, I took Hannah to the pediatricians office for a check up and shots. Everything went well until it was time for the shots. The nurse asked me to hold Hannah's hands, which I did, but as soon as that needle went into her little leg Hannah's hands were free from mine and grabbing the needle, bending it a good 45 degree's which resulted in a huge scrape up her thigh and fluid everywhere. You can also insert some mind blowing screaming. We were all in shock! I just kept telling the nurse how sorry I was, and that I never knew she could be that strong, while trying to calm myself and my child. On the ride home between tears Hannah just kept saying, " I never want another shot ever again!"

Back to the present story--
The shots were started , and so did the tears. However, she didn't try to grab anything and didn't scream. The shot's were all done.
I turned to the Dentist and said."That went better than I thought it would. Yeah!"
"Really" he said " What were you expecting?"
That's when what I was expecting happened- Kicking, crying , and screaming! Hannah grabbing at her mask and screaming, "I WANT TO GO HOME!"
I held her down and tried to talk to her as soothing as I could. The doctor tried to talk to her as well and then left the room so that her mouth could numb.
I was able to get her to calm down and told her the "bad part" was all over. (Another lie)
I sat hoping that the laughing gas would take over. We still had a small cavity to fill as well as a large cavity and cap on her molar to do.
The Dentist started on her small cavity and it looked like we were in the clear when all of the sudden she started loosing it again. This time she put more effort into it. I had to grab her arms and legs again, while the nurse held her head still and the Dentist fixed the cavity faster then I could ever imagine was possible. He tried to talk to her again, I tried to talk to her, but she was not having any of it!!
" I WANT TO GO HOME NOW!" is all she kept saying over and over.
"She just went from 0 - 60 in a second. I don't even know what happened that time." He said
Hannah now has a new appointment in a few weeks, to finish what he couldn't today. This time I will be paying an extra $200. to the anesthesiologist so that she will be sleeping.
Did I happen to mention, that it's the same day that Ben gets to have his cavities filled? And yes, Ben will be sleeping as well! Good bye tax return!
Hannah did tell me this evening that next time she is going to be really brave and still.

"Laughing gas" I'm disappointed in you. And isn't St. Patrick's Day was supposed to be Lucky?!

Let the Battle begin!.

2011-03-10T18:24:00.000-08:00

This is Ben and his new glasses! He wore them for as long as it takes to eat a snack pack of
M & M's. (Really only half a pack, and then he had to come back and put them back on for the other half.)

This is "mommy" wearing my glasses taking pictures to try to show him how cool and intellectual we look.

This is how the story begins:

Ben's preschool teacher -"The children had their eyes tested and here is Ben's results."

FAILED. It sadly said. Please schedule a follow up exam with your physician.

A few weeks later Ben and I visited the optometrist. First we had to wait in the small lobby for 1/2 and hour . He lasted about 10 minutes before trying to leave and get upset ( insert screaming and crying).
Then we got to go back to the exam room so they could dilate his eyes (more screams and tears), which then led to another smaller closet of a room to wait for another 20 minutes (more screams and tears). Unfortunately he was not entertained by my highlighter pen (borrowed from the nurses desk) drawings of a weird alien and a pirate.
At last, after what seemed like 3 hours, we sat with the doctor for the exam.

Doctor - " Can you tell me what pictures are on the wall Ben?"
Ben - " Pictures."
Doctor - " Yes, but what are the pictures of?"
Ben - Silence....
Mommy - "Ben, do you see any animals? What animals do you see?"
Ben - Silence....
Mommy - " Is it a pig? Or a cow? Or a horse?"
Ben - "Pig"
......It was a horse......
Doctor - " Ok Ben, look at the horse for me. Keep looking at the horse. Ok, over here Ben. Look at the horse again."
...Repeat that to yourself a few more times....
Doctor - " Ok, we are all done. Ben is far sighted in both eyes, and will have to wear glasses. We will follow up in 8 weeks and see how he's doing. Hopefully, we wont have to patch him."

Are you kidding?!! I thought to myself. Getting him to wear a patch like a pirate would be a thousand times easier than getting him to wear glasses!!

That afternoon filling his prescription at the eye center at Walmart --

Me - " Hi, we need to get a pair of glasses for my 3 year old here."
Technician - " Ive got some great inexpensive $10 frames.Why dont you take a look."
Me & Brice - " Look at these cool glasses Ben. Let's try them on."
Ben - " NO TRY! NO GLASSES!"
(insert screaming again and arm flailing.)
Technician -" I don't think were going to be able to go with the $10 pair. Here are some really great flexible ones. Ben, can we try these on?"
Ben - "NO TRY! NO GLASSES!"
Me - "Come on Ben. They are so cool! Look Daddy and Mommy are trying some on!"

Brice and I then proceed to try on different glasses while saying how cool we are.

I try to put the glasses on Ben. Screaming and arm flailing. Brice tries to put the glasses on Ben. Screaming and arm flailing. 15-20 minutes later....

me - looking at Brice and the technician.."Let's get this done!"
Picture me holding Ben's arms and legs with Brice holding his head still, the technician quickly trying glasses on Ben as he is screaming bloody murder!

Brice then took him to get french fries and a drink to calm down while I ordered the glasses.

For the last week, while we were waiting for the glasses to come in I tried to get Ben to put his cool new sunglasses on every day with the response of:
"NO MOMMY! NO GLASSES!"

Look's like Im going to need alot of M & M's. By the time he actually wear's them Ill have to go to the dentist to fill all his cavities!!

Let the Battle Begin!!

Pinkalicious Birthday!

2011-02-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

Hannah turned 5 years old yesterday and had a "Pinkalicious" birthday party.

The Birthday girl with her guests.

Hannah

Kady

Kaylena

Kaitlyn

Riley

Lindsay

Emily

KSL Conundrum

2011-01-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

So in an attempt to make some $$ to help pay off some end of year bills I posted these 2 lovely car seats for sale. They sold super quick, #1 they were in great condition, #2 I priced them on the cheap side.

Only problem was that while browsing around I found this train table set and knew Ben would love it. Goodbye carseat mulla$, hello trains. It was like Christmas all over for Ben. He went to sleep with an engine and his favorite 2 cars under his pillow. A little after 7 this morning I heard train noises coming from his room. His favorite train cars by the way from the new set happen to be 2 aquarium cars; one with a shark, and one with an octopus.

A shark in a train = Heaven for one little boy!

p.s. Take a look in the video where he put his pirate ship.

Progress

2010-08-19T16:35:00.000-07:00

Now that all the repairs are finished ( cross your fingers ) Ive been able to get a little more done on the house. So here is just a few little photos.

My lovely new main bathroom. I love my new floor tile!

Downstairs Bathroom
New light, mirror, faucet, paint job on walls and cabinets, new vinyl floor tiles , shower curtain and window valance = under $100!
(Photography artwork by Gygi Koster)

The office paint job in progress. Its hard to get a crisp line on textured walls!

The new back yard.

My new hair dryer and ironing board organizers. I love organization! Im such a nerd for posting these!

Silver Linings

2010-07-10T12:35:00.001-07:00

If you look hard enough in any situation you might find a silver lining or a golden butterfly!

My DIY Life

2010-07-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

Since I was a teenager I have loved DIY shows. I looked forward to Saturday mornings so that I could watch "This old house". In College I took a "Stair Design" and "Building Codes" classes and for a long time was a drafting major who wanted to be a Restoration Architect. I still am a DIY show junkie and love to learn new things and don't mind getting my hands dirty. However having told you all this I have to admit that it is not as much fun when you have a list of unexpected "forced" DIY projects.
Since my last post we closed on our first house, a charming yellow Cape Cod style home with plenty of room to grow and lurking plumbing and "fix it up" issues. I must have done something to anger the "water" gods because every time I turn around there is a new leak somewhere.
Needless to say my lovely new home has been throwing as good a temper tantrum as my 3 year old! But I am determined to overcome!
Our first fix was a major leak in a pipe in a basement closet. "No problem" the plumber said and fixed it right up. A few days a leak showed up in the main floor bathroom that leaked down the wall to the basement. The same wall with all the electrical panels. Oh joy! The vanity mirror was removed, the leak fixed and an attempt to dry everything out was made, but proved to be unsuccessful. The walls behind the vanity, the mirror, the vanity itself and part of the drywall on the basement wall had to be removed due to moisture. And yes a breaker in the electrical panel, luckily only one. So due to budget constraints Brice and I decided to do the drywall and vanity install ourselves. I felt pretty good about the outcome.
In the mean time 2 more leaks showed up in the basement closet, and after replacing a broken water heater our water softener system cycled and flooded the same part of the basement because the tube was not secure to the drain. You'd think that would be all but no. In removing the dry wall in the basement it revealed the main drain to the house. And after moving in, you guessed it water was leaking down the pipe.
In the mean time, while trying to position a refrigerator in the downstairs kitchen I removed a cabinet on the wall where the drain pipe is to discover a huge mold spot and the problem to the leak. Our toilet in the main floor bathroom had been leaking and from the looks of it for a long time. Fabulous!! So now a good portion of the wall and ceiling in the basement and the laundry closet area has been removed and treated for mold. Thinking that the toilet would be a simple fix and my first house guests coming I decided to put new vinyl sticky tiles over the horrible "outdoor tiles" in the bathroom, just leaving the area around the toilet so the the plumber could fix it. Of course it was not going to be that easy though. 2 days before my guests came, the plumber told me he could not fix the toilet because the sub floor around it was rotted and that the whole floor would have to be demolished and fixed before he could fix it. So for a week now we have been living without a toilet in our main bathroom, and I get the fabulous job of floor demo.
Some crazy person that lived in the house previously had decided to re-tile the floor by leaving the original vinyl, putting down wire meshing then a layer of what looks and weighs like concrete, then the tiles which were grouted in concrete! Its at least 2 inched thick and I only have until Tuesday to finish it before the floor guy comes!
On top of everything, we replaced the broken furnace, 2 doors, a window, replaced 3 out of 5 faucets in the house ( with one more to go),put in 4 new light fixtures, 3 new vanity mirrors, made 3 window screens ( with 5 more to go),tore out the smelly not salvageable pet urine soaked carpet in the downstairs bedroom, put up a piece of fence, and are prepping the back yard for sod. Oh and when I tried to water the front lawn last week, you guessed it, the faucet is leaking!
Now that you've gotten through this "Book" of a post I thought it only fair to share some before and after pictures.

The kitchen cabinets "before"

Quickly tried to paint the cabinets before the appliances were put in

The "after" kitchen.
So glad the I bought the appliances first thing. (No, the house did not come with any!)

Main bathroom wall demo

My personal "Handy Man"!

The new "used" vanity we bought from ksl classified

My adorable assistant

The main bathroom "after"

The basement wall and drain pipe

The drain pipe mold and gross stuff revealed

the main bathroom floor demo

Doesn't it look like the after math of a bomb!

From right to left- the new tiles I put down, the tan outdoor tiles, cement, old vinyl, and wood sub floor.

And yes, I am going to have to remove the vanity I just put in the finish demo on the floor!!

Hurray for DIY!!

re-fashionista

2010-05-11T18:29:00.001-07:00

Was able to get a re-fashion project done today. I had a cute tunic dress that I loved the fabric but unfortunately was not flattering on me, and Hannah had a pair of cord pants with a hole in an unfortunate place. I love how the skirt turned out. It helps that the model is adorable as well!

It's a blurrr!

2010-04-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

So far 2010 has been anything but uneventful! Ive taken a few pictures here and there with thoughts of posts to make with the only outcome being that I have a bunch of new pictures going nowhere on my hard drive.

In September of last year I decided to start a new store on etsy with children's items, specifically baby booties made from recycled sweater's and fabric. It pretty much took over our lives until the end of the year. I was very flattered and excited by all the attention they received but by the end of December I was ready to take a "Bootie" break. I also put together a jewelry collection for Sundance and a small collection for Soel. I was looking forward to a little down time. ( yes, I realize that doesnt exist when you have two toddlers!)

Then in December, the very day of Brice's last final, he received a job offer with Goldman Sachs. Needless to say we felt super blessed and excited. The job would start in Febuary up at their Salt Lake office. It gave him just a month to tell his old job and get ready.

The first weeks of January went pretty smoothly, just a few booties here and there to make, and then the last week out of nowhere one day my heart started skipping beats. It was pretty frightening at first feeling your heart beat weird. We immediately went to the doctor's and the next day to the hospital for a Holter monitor test. Basically, I was hooked up to a bunch of electrodes and a fanny pack that monitored my heart beats for 24 hours. The results= my heart was skipping every 4th beat. Outcome= more tests with a cardiologist. The blessing= Goldman Sachs did not have a waiting period for insurance and on top of it the insurance was better! No crazy high deductable. So, after waiting a few weeks for an appointment and then a blood, treadmill, and ultrasound I was diagnosed with Mitral valve regurgitation. Which means that the valves in my heart are not closing all the way after the blood passes through. Nothing life threatening. My options= take a medication that regulated my heart beats , or just try to ignore and deal with it. I had been on the medication from the time of the holter test until the diagnosis which was about 3 weeks and although my heart beat better, the rest of me felt like crap! It also brings down your blood pressure which can result in the following side effects, which I had all of them. Fatigue, light headedness or dizziness , cold hands and feets, acheness, crazy dreams (yes, its a real side effect.),hard to catch my breath sometimes. It was a joy, so I have decided to just ignore and put up with it. Basically its mostly a matter of breathing techniques and stress reduction.

Then in March we were on to our next adventure. Buying a house in Salt Lake. Brice's work schedule is 7am to 5pm, and we decided the best for our wallet and our cars was for Brice to take the UTA express bus, which means he leaves the house by 5:30am and gets home at around 6:30-7pm. Not ideal for us.

Luckily I have a wonderful cousin Joye who is a real estate agent in Salt Lake, so I enlisted her help and we were off. I gave her an incredibly hard job of finding us a descent home in a descent neighborhood of a descent size on a very small budget by the April tax deadline! I dont think either of us knew exactly how trying it would be. For the last 5 weeks the kids and I have lived in the car driving all over the Salt Lake valley. We have probably walked through about 40 homes and driven past over 100 properties, and spent and average of 6-7 hours a day 3 to 4 times a week. There is alot of really unlivable houses out there, its pretty sad and at times disgusting. Also, the last week of March Brice went to New York for a week of work training.

Well, 3 unaccepted offers and countless misses later, Joye and I were hitting the "wall". I think I broke down like three times in one week. It felt like I was always " a day late, and a dollar short".
We decided last friday to give it one more look. We went to two houses. The first looked pretty beat up on the outside with the block looking pretty similar but the inside was "clean" and descent in size and layout. Plus+. The next house, was a really cute yellow house with dormer window's on the top floor and the biggest in square footage we had seen in that price range. I braced myself for the ugliness we would find inside. We opened the door with trepidation to find the the house looked beautiful inside! What!!!! This couldn't be. We immediately wrote up an offer and got it into the listing agent who took it the bank right away. With in 2 hours our offer had been accepted! We havent closed yet. I still have the inspection and mortgage to finalize, so everyone cross your fingers, knock on wood, and say a prayer for us! I really dont want to go looking any more.

The last little blessing has been that 2 weeks ago I received and e-mail from the owner of "Pebbles in my Pocket" a scrap book store that has 3 locations in Utah and is starting a boutique section in their shops. They want to sell my jewelry in all 3 locations! Orem, Salt Lake, and St. George. It will be on consignment for 90 days. So, This week instead of house hunting, Ive been working like crazy to put together a jewelry collection in triplet! Im almost done and hope to get it delivered by tomorrow. It's very colorful and summerish. I hope it does well.

I have absolutely no false hopes of "breaks" any time soon but want to say how thankful I am for all the blessings we've received and of having wonderful family and friends who are always there for us. Thank you all!

On to the craziness!!!

Saver's is the greatest!

2010-01-16T19:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, It's another Saver's post!! I just love this store! Here are some of my 2010 fabulous finds that I got 20% off on everything for making a donation. Love it!
Total for everything pictured above, $35.

All you mom's will appreciate this $13 double Maclaren stroller. Normally around $250.

Picked up this Combi jogging stroller for $22. Normally $225.

Shoes for Ben $3 each. The sneaks are Tommy Hilfiger.

To add to Ben's Movie addiction. $5.50 for all!

The Kids love this farm animal matching game. The animals make sounds that you have to match to the baby animals under the hay stack and the farmer sings "Old Mcdonald". Pretty fun for $1.50.

Christmas! ( Well, at least its not febuary yet!)

2010-01-16T19:12:00.000-08:00

So, before I started my 2010 posts I thought Id better finish up 2009. We had a wonderful Christmas and uneventful New Years, and now cant wait to see what 2010 brings are little family!

Hannah for 2 weeks told anyone who asked her that Santa was bringing her markers and an artist easel for christmas. Lucky for her Santa got over "her" extreme dislike for markers and brought her what she wanted.

Ben and his "Mac" and "Lightening McQueen"

The wonderful gift from my sister and brother in-law. A little frightening, but look at all that great stuff!!

A little Christmas

2009-12-15T20:58:00.000-08:00

Yes, that's right! We have three Christmas tree's this year and I love them all! The peacock tree is the tree we used since we were married and the tree topper is the mask Brice used at our wedding. The pink tree, daddy just had to buy for Hannah and was perfect for all my colorful ornaments. And Finally our 3rd tree has all of my lovely bird ornaments & is probably older than me .Thanks Cameron and Melissa for leaving it behind. I just love how they all turned out and I only spent $16 at the dollar store for extra ornaments for all the trees!

Time with Grandma

2009-12-15T20:51:00.001-08:00

Brice's Mom was able to come and visit the weekend before thanksgiving. Hannah was in heaven and followed her everywhere. Hannah especially loves helping grandma with her make up and getting her nails done.

Cookies!

2009-12-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

My little artist love to draw on just about anything but she especially loves decorating cookies!

Halloween 2009

2009-12-15T20:32:00.001-08:00

Yeah for Halloween! This year because of Ben's love of watching Peter Pan and Hannah's love of Tinkerbell, we decided to do a family Peter Pan theme. If you haven't already guessed Brice was Captain Hook and I was Wendy. (Unfortunately due to $ constraints you will have to picture Brice with long curly hair. And there is no picture of my beautiful Wendy dress. It was blue.)

Early in the evening we went to our ward's Trunk or Treat and had a great time. My animated witches head was quite the "Hit" with the crowd.

We ended the evening by inviting ourselves to my brother Cameron's house for his birthday and had a great time hanging out with them and eating some great Chili. It was the first year in a while that cameron or I have not decorated my parents house. Next year Im hoping to be able to show you some great decor pics!

catching up!

2009-12-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

What can I say, it's been 2 months since my last blog, and even as Im sitting here writing this Im thinking of all the things I should be doing instead. The past few months have been a crazy baby bootie making ride! Who knew making a few booties for friends would take over my life. Dont get me wrong, I am grateful for the overwhelming positive response and orders that Ive gotten since starting Peek a Boo Monkey, but man I wish those little things could just magically make themselves. So, the next few entries is my attempt to catch you all up a little on the few family things we've managed to get in.

The New Kitchen!

2009-10-09T23:43:00.000-07:00

When I had to get rid of the playhouse it also meant that I didnt have a place for the kid's kitchen toys. I wanted to order those wonderful directions for the cardboard one from etsy, but thanks to our dear friend Tally and her generous Dad we now have this wonderful unit! I couldnt be happier. Gary was moving and decided to get rid of it. All I did was add the blackboard decals, some of grandma's vintage lining paper ( on back of shelves) and the toys!
Thanks a bunch Golightly's for my wonderful new Toy kitchen area!

Farewell

2009-10-01T22:21:00.000-07:00

Farewell sweet playhouse. We loved thee well. You were our playmate for a year, which is saying a lot since your made of cardboard. You gave us many hours of enjoyment and you will be sorely missed. Thank you!

Now I must make you my lovely!

The Best Parents EVER!

2009-09-22T23:27:00.000-07:00

So, all of you who know my parents know that they are fabulous! It pretty much goes without saying. Last week I had a terrible night with Hannah! An after midnight tantrum had really gotten to me and I was feeling terrible and frustrated and completely overwhelmed! So, of course I had to call my parents for some 1am advise and reassurance (yep, 1 o-clock in the morning). Not only did they answer and soothe and help but the next day I received this wonderful surprise. It made my cry again but for completely different reason! Thank you Mom & Dad for always being there for me. For advise, love, and a shoulder to cry on. I can only hope & strive to be as good a parent as you have been and are to me. I love you dearly!
And thanks for keeping the kids happy and busy with balloons!

Sponge curler photo shoot

2009-09-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

My little model!

Notice the cocoa pebbles residue all over her face?!

So recently I purchased some good old fashioned sponge rollers to try in Hannah's hair. I have to admit that I miss her cute curls. So, last night we tried them out. She thought they were so fun and we ended up doing a photo shoot. The before pics are from last night, with the after from this morning. She actually woke up last night at 4 am and told me, "Thank you for my new hair curlers mommy." Priceless.
Disclaimer= all Hannah's poses are entirely of her own doing.

I want to ride my tricycle

2009-09-06T22:13:00.000-07:00

Both Ben & Hannah love to ride their bikes. Hannah is getting so good at peddling. Ben however does not feel the need to peddle yet, but man he can go fast with those feet.

A little more craftiness

2009-09-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

The single branch bird mobile's now on sale at Soel.

I got this pattern off Etsy & had to make them. I think Ill make a few more versions.

What do you do with tiny fabric remnants. Make a mini Owl mobile. Now on sale at Soel

My brother Jeremy is getting married this month and we had a "kitchen" bridal shower for Lindsey. Her favorite color is yellow so I made her this apron.(yes I borrowed the skinny manaquin at work for the photo) I love how it turned out, so I might need one for myself!

Got this idea of "dollar store crafts" . Its a scarf made from 4" x 4" squares of t-shirt material. I made mine from a big bag of t-shirt scraps I found at DI. Brice thought I should be in a 4th of July parade, but I think it's more Christmas. I made one for Hannah with pink and white stripes.

Made from 2 of my shirts that were too small. I kind of just made up the pattern. Im not sure that it's my favorite. I might have to keep messing with it.

Due to the recent popularity of my sweater baby booties I created a new store on Etsy. www.peekaboomonkey.etsy.com.

Future Baby Booties!!

Sweet Deals

2009-09-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

I got these little cuties for only $2.99 each. (Brice hates them but I love them!)

This beautiful wool coat for Hannah was only $3.50.

I got all these items for Ben for $1.99 or less. I bought him 13 items in all for $33.00!!

How I love Saver's thrift store! Now that they have recently reorganized their store it's almost impossible not to find great stuff at good deals. I used to favor DI but it takes forever to sift through their round racks, and their prices seem to keep getting higher. I did find a few great items at DI this week - a bannana republic wrap dress for $10.(I had to take it in a little), and a car mat for Ben in perfect condition for $5. Even if I had all the money in the world I bet Id still thrift shop!

My Room Redo's

2009-09-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Recently we added another bedroom to the upstairs by turning our front living room into the master bedroom. That way we were able to seperate Ben & Hannah & give them their own rooms. Here are some pictures of the new rooms. I love the way they turned out!

Ben's nickname is Monkey so I thought it would be fun to put some on the walls. I made these out of cardboard using the barrel of monkey's game as my inspiration and then just painted them with some craft paint I had on hand. Cost=$0.00
The Dream sign and stickers were from $1 section at Target & the $1 store.

I made these pillows years ago out of some T-shirts and an old dress.
Cost=$0.00
The pillows in the first picture I made from old sweaters.
(The pompom one is from the thrift store.)

This was another fun cardboard project. I saw it in a book called Dorm Decor. I did a google search for the template and found that Chronicle Books was offering the template free on their blog. YEAH! I covered it with some old contact paper (Grandma) and voila.
We actually sell something very similar at the general store.

One more cardboard decor. I made this a while ago. We were selling this sign (in metal) at the Sundance Deli but I didn't want to spend the cash so, cardboard and spray paint.

This is Hannah's new Duvet cover. I am in love with it. It's from Dwell studio for Target.

The dresser's in this room are older than me. I was going to paint them but after I replaced the knobs with glass ones I liked them enough to leave them alone. (For now at least)

This dresser was mine as a baby & the hamper was grandma's. I made the sheep clock for my grandma back when I was a teenager.

You just get one picture of my new room. (the other side was too messy). We're using Grandma's bedroom set of course. And my new bedding couldn't be more perfect. I love how much more space we have now!

Saturday's with Daddy

2009-09-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

This car will never stop being fun!

Our new additions

2009-07-17T15:36:00.000-07:00

Ever since Geoffrey McMeowington (Cameron's cat) moved to his new house we've been considering adopting a new friend for Ollie. We had'nt really decided yet, but when I was selling our couches on craig's list (to make room for a new master bedroom suite) I happened to look in the "Free" section and found Her. Her name is PB, for puss and boots, a 3 year old Hymalayian in need of a new home. Her owner's baby daughter was desperately allergic. How could we pass her up? She's been with us for 2 weeks now and is slowly adjusting, but Im confident she will be a great new member of the family in no time. If she and Ollie both weren't "fixed" they would make beautiful kittens! The second picture is the finished four poster cat bed I made for Ollie. It's made from an upside down end table that I purchased for 1/2 off at Saver's. I love a good deal!

Aquarium

2009-07-17T15:28:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful friends the Perry's were in town from Texas for the 4th of July festivities and the kid's & I got to spend a wonderful couple of hours at the Aquarium with them. We love to spend time with Laurine, and Megan, & Abbigail, & Tally. Believe it or not Abbigail is only a few months older than Ben and a whole year younger than Hannah. Hannah=small + Abbigail=tall =same size! Crazy! Hannah was so tired when we left that she fell asleep in the car 2 blocks away from the Aquarium.

I "heart" the $1 store!

2009-06-25T20:49:00.001-07:00

I am a total dollar store junkie. I fully admit it! I love finding a great bargain, although I usually go home having spent way more than a $1.
These are my new "blue" dishes . 8 plates, & 8 bowls for $16!
I dont remember where I bought the place mats but more than likely the $ store.

Not really from the $ store, but it cost me about that much to make.(or less)

I was so excited when I found these blackboard stickers. I had been wanting to do something like this to these cubbards but wasnt sure if I wanted to paint or get vinyl stickers.
They came in the package 2 for $1!! I put 1 on my side and front door too.

Once again, cute stickers from the $ store to spruce up the "indoor outhouse".

I saw this cute little hedgehog project on my new favorite site, dollar store crafts, and knew I had to make some. They're made from car wash mits.

This one's from Savers. Ive always wanted a large ornate bird cage,( I dont know why) and was thrilled when I found this for $15. A little white spray paint and I think it's going to be darling in Hannah's new room.

And it even came with these cute little kissing parrots.

Another great find from Savers! I love this lamp and it goes so well with the one that I bought from Saver's over 5 years ago.

This is the first lamp I bought and remade into a table lamp.

Birthday continued

2009-06-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

For Ben's birthday we took the kid's to Chuckie Cheese's for the first time. They had a blast, and thanks to Grandma & Grandpa our 2-1 ratio meant everyone else had fun too.

Birthday Boy!

2009-06-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

My baby is now 2 years old. The time has gone so quickly. Im so happy and proud to be Ben's mom. Happy Birthday my sweet boy, dont grow too fast!

A Great!! Grandpa

2009-05-05T19:38:00.000-07:00

Some sad and happy news today. My wonderful grandfather, Wallace Lambert Kendell, ended his earthly journey and returned to Our Heavenly Father and his loving wife June. We will miss his sweetness and humor. I will always treasure my time with him and the wonderful memories I have. He lived a full life, his 93rd birthday is only 2 weeks away. Happy Cinqo de Mayo Grandpa! Hope your having a great time!

Grandpa and I having a little "Warm drink" time.

Christmas's past. Grandpa's holding Cameron.

Cookie Cutter Cut

2009-04-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday I thought it was past time that my cute boy got a haircut. In the past I've cut it myself, but this time I decided I would take him to a professional. So, off we went to "Cookie Cutter's", a kid's salon. They have cute car seats and play movies for the kids so I thought the high price would be worth it. I was terribly wrong! I should have known by their name alone that what you get is the same haircut the kid before you got, and the kid before that, and the kid before that. If you throw them a curve ball like, "I just want it trimmed up, and not a bowl cut." this is what you get!

Toward the end the guy actually said, "Well, we got a lot of length off and I think it's looking good." REALLY?! I agreed with him just to stop the slaughter. Basically he gave me the exact cut I said I didnt want.

Here is the finished cut I ended up giving him myself the next day. My mom will be so happy that he actually has a little boy hairstyle for once. After I finished the cut my stylist took over and did a fantastic job. Maybe she can bring in some extra cash while Im off work!

WHAT?!!?

2009-04-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Normally Id have to say that Im a winter girl but come on, this is crazy. No snow yesterday morning.........and then today.......WHAT THE ????!!!

The tree outside my front door

The Biz!

2009-04-08T21:37:00.001-07:00

Ive been trying to work alot lately on my jewelry business. Ive been trying to put together a new collection and have actually come up with more than one! Ive been making new pieces, photographing all the new stuff, and starting a new blog site. ( the crazy site I was using for my .com was too complicated!) You can now find photo's of my new things as well as jewelry musings at www.plumagedesign.blogspot.com.

Doughnuts anyone?

2009-03-31T11:36:00.000-07:00

What do you do with left over buttermilk? Make doughnuts of course!! I got out my grandmother's original 1950's Betty Crocker cookbook and Hannah and I had a fun & messy morning. She loved rolling out the dough and using the bisquit cutter. ( I meant to post this last month but never got to it.)

Breakfast of Champions

2009-03-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

Hannah & Ben woke up at 6am this morning! I got Ben back to sleep but Hannah would only stay in bed until 7, so I gave her her fruitloops and juice and Disney channel and got back into bed with Ben. This is what I found when we got up. Apparently the fruitloops was not a sufficient breakfast. On top of the dozen or so Oreo insides eaten, she had spilled Ollie's food all over the carpet and was trying to clean up with her Hoover vac.

Spring has sprung

2009-03-20T15:36:00.001-07:00

Hurray for spring! Normally Id say that Im a winter girl. I love winter and snow but I couldnt help but feel excited and happy today when I walked out my door and found these flowers blooming right under my kitchen window. They are beautiful and cheerful and best of all I didn't have to do anything! Hurray for spring!

a little dinner music

2009-02-27T15:55:00.000-08:00

Hannah gave an impromptu dinner concert the other night. She loves to sing. Unfortunately, you also get to hear Ben's simultaneous concert in the background.

Princess Party

2009-02-15T19:32:00.001-08:00

For Valentines weekend we had a Princess sleepover party at Grandma's house. All 5 Princess's came. Lora, Valerie, Nicole, Addyson, & Hannah. What an beautiful group of cousins. The party began on friday night with an elaborate "Warm drink" party. Queen Grandma was hostess and the princess's were served by Sumer, Becky, Melissa, & Lora. Hannah drank like 6 cups of hot chocolate. After the warm drinks the girls got ready to watch Addy's favorite Princess movie. Every couple of minutes some one came upstairs with a comment of how Hannah was out of bed, or in front of the TV, or making too much noise. She was pretty worked up especially after all that sugar. After many trips with mommy back up stairs and a few tantrums, she finally went to sleep around midnight, but not before poor Nicole threw up all over herself, her bed, Hannah's bed, the floor, and the kitchen.
The next morning was Valentine's day and Addy's birthday. Grandpa and Lora made some wonderful heart shaped blueberry muffins, scrambled eggs, and somewhat heart shaped sausage. After breakfast the girls all got into their Princess dresses. Lora is wearing a gown my mom wore in college and Valerie is wearing a dress I wore in Junior High. Then it was time for crafts. The girls decorated tote bags and picture frames. Everyone had a wonderful time! All Hail the Princess's.

Home Sweet Home

2009-01-29T21:36:00.001-08:00

When you live in a 60+year old house it probably goes without saying that there are alot of projects to be done. Here are a few pics of some what I like to call "restoration" jobs.
It started with the front door on memorial day. Peeling old bad paint, no problem right? Just strip and repaint right? Well the front of the door had 4 stubborn layers while the inside had 3. 5 applications of paint remover, a belt sander, and many months later, a beautiful front door. At least on the outside, inside still to be repainted.
Next, since I already had the remover, I decided to strip the gold spray paint off 2 great milkglass pendants. No before shot, sorry.
Finally, in my lets deep clean the kitchen, I decided to see if the cabinet handles really were supposed to be blackish. Its kind of gross what 60 years of greasy grime can do to shiny copper. 3 days of work and 20 handles later. Im still deciding on how to clean the 40 hinges.

Home

2009-01-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

Grandma is Great!

2009-01-14T22:13:00.000-08:00

Who wouldn't love going to Grandma and Grandpa's house when you've got ones like this! Eating nuggets and playing with playdough were just one of the little highlights of our day. Thanks Mom and Dad for always being there and being GREAT!!

Photo day

2009-01-07T22:08:00.000-08:00

So I spent a good part of my day today taking photographs of my jewelry. I think I took somewhere like 158 shots! AHH! Maybe someday soon Ill have some posted on my store. Cross your fingers.

Snow Day

2009-01-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

For the past two days it has snowed like crazy! I finally ventured out and measured the back yard snow to be 14" deep. Its been years since we've had snow drifts like this!

Michigan Christmas!

2009-01-01T21:21:00.000-08:00

This year we spent Christmas in Michigan with Brice's family. We made it through 2 long and not so fun plane rides, 9 degree weather with a couple feet of snow and ice to 5o degree weather with rain and no more snow (slight basement flooding) all in the space of 8 days. The kids had a blast playing with their cousin Maya, 2nd cousin John Michael, all their uncles and aunt, bunny, and of course Grandma. A fun time was had by all! (But don't expect any more airplane rides for a while! All I can say is Torture!)

Hairy much?!

2009-01-01T21:05:00.000-08:00

I decided to start the New Year off with new haircut's for the kids! As you can see in the previous post, Ben was in great need of a trim and Hannah's hair was 1/2 way down her back so out came the scissors and with Daddy's help and "Horton hears a who" we were able to get it all done without too much trouble. I cut 4 inches off Hannah's hair and with it all her "baby curls". It kind of makes me a little sad. I loved her little ringlets and now all semblances of "my baby girl" are gone and I am left with a very sassy almost 3 year old. The funny thing is, the more times I cut Ben's the curlier the bottom gets where Hannah's gets straight. Go figure? I do have to share one funny story. Last night for New Years Eve we went to my brother Travis's house. While we were there I put Ben's hair up so he could see better. Later that night, my 3 year old nephew came up to his mom and said," Why his hair like that?" After we explained why he said," I don't want my hair like that?" Priceless!

Christmas? New years!

2009-01-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

Due to our wonderful Christmas Michigan trip I got a little behind in my posts so I will start with today and work my way back a little.
Today we had Christmas Day on New Years!! Since we were in Michigan we decided to celebrate our family christmas today. It was so fun to see the kids go to their presents and we just played and hanged out together all day! Ben got mostly car related toys and Hannah got some doll things. Your probably saying, "What's up with Ben's hair?" Brice likes to say it is his "samurai" style, but I think he looks more like a Dr. Seuss "Who".

Tub time

2008-12-19T21:38:00.000-08:00

Who doesn't love taking a bath with your clothes on?! Can we say impatient much?

Store Girls

2008-12-17T23:10:00.000-08:00

We had our General Store Christmas party tonight up at Zoom restaurant. Im so blessed and grateful to have such wonderful friends. I miss seeing these girls all the time but Im glad that we can have times together like this. I love them all! ( crazy how the photo is half in focus. Oh well)

Hannah Cam

2008-12-16T23:03:00.000-08:00

I took this picture with Hannah's new "digi" camera. It's one of her christmas presents but I had to check it out first to make sure I liked it. Its the Little shots digital camera and stores up to 120 photo's and takes video too. Not too bad. I thought she would have fun using it on our Christmas trip. (Brice did not want me to post this pic, but it is my pic of the day. Sorry)

Bedtime?!

2008-12-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

Just a little late night Nemo watching to try to get the kiddies to sleep. We've only been laying in bed with them for a little over an hour and a half. Countless stories, 3 bottles of milk, and bedtime music was batting a big fat ZERO. Let's see what Nemo can do!

Winter Wonderland

2008-12-14T21:12:00.000-08:00

Winter has finally arrived! We got our first good snow storm yesterday that lasted through the night. I love driving up the sundance road after a snow fall. It is so beautiful!

Santa Baby

2008-12-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

Dear Santa,
I sure hope that you are a follower of our family blog. Here is a picture of the purse that I want for christmas! It would be so useful and I would take really good care of it. And, No, a girl cannot have too many purses!
Love,
Kim

Just what I needed

2008-12-11T14:46:00.000-08:00

This year we are going to Michigan for Christmas to visit Brice's family and though I knew I wanted the convenience of the double for the airport, I didn't want to take my nice $$$$ one in case something should happen to it. So needless to say, I'm delighted with today's purchase and feel geared up for our trip.Hurray for my new double stroller! Who is the smarty pants who thought of this great gadget? They are called stroller connectors by "Prince Lionheart" ( so regal). Just 3 little clips that turn any 2 umbrella strollers into an instant double stroller. And It was only $10 bucks. Here we come!

Peachy

2008-12-10T23:17:00.000-08:00

Yummy peach cobbler!! So easy & so yummy. Brice will only eat the cobbler however and leave all the peaches. Oh well, more peach for me!!

sweet smells

2008-12-09T21:22:00.000-08:00

My sweet visiting teacher's dropped this off last night as a B-day gift. It could not have been more welcomed and needed, plus it smells GREAT! Ahh the little promptings of the spirit! I say that because it was only yesterday afternoon that I was complaining that the house smelled terrible! Hopefully it wasnt because my house smelled bad that last time they visited. z

let there be light

2008-12-08T17:21:00.000-08:00

I received my photography light tent today! Hurray! Here's one of the pictures I took of my jewelry with it. It comes with 4 different colored backdrops and folds up into its own carrying case, and we all know how much I love stuff that folds away! Its going to be much more professional than my homemade cardboard one. I already love it!

Proud Peacock

2008-12-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

I just had to post some pictures of the beautiful birthday present my friend Kim gave me today. They are the most amazing x-mas ornaments! I just might have to find a place for them in my house all year. Thank you sweet Kim. You know me so well.

Angelic Oven

2008-12-05T16:34:00.000-08:00

So I guess you could say that I have an obsession with things being clean, but since I have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old, things aren't exactly how clean Id like most of the time. So Here is my beautiful clean oven!! ( Imagine angelic singing!) Im pretty sure that my arm is going to be sore from the amount of scrubbing.( There is only so much self-cleaning it does.) Hannah, my little helper, did help me clean though while I kept saying," Ben don't touch!"

easy rider

2008-12-04T19:33:00.000-08:00

How cool is my nephew Max? In this jacket he's without a doubt the coolest 2 year old on the block. Dont you just love the perfect poses?!

Little moments

2008-12-03T23:14:00.000-08:00

I realized tonight that the time is dwindling when there is enough room on my lap for two. I need to cherish the sweet little moments with my babies while they still are little enough to call "my babies".

Oh Chistmas Tree

2008-12-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

I wasnt sure if I wanted to put up the tree this year since were going to be in Michigan for Christmas, but Brice talked me into it. I did leave off my favorite breakable ornaments though. Last year Geoffrey ( my brother's cat) ate half of the feathers off my brand new bird ornaments. Ben is in love with the nativity scene underneath. He keeps carrying the lamb around and yes Ive already had to super glue the lambs ear and the sheperds head back on. Say some prayers for the holy family.

Cool Globes

2008-12-01T08:42:00.000-08:00

This really was meant for yesterday, but I didnt have time to post. Anyway, here are some pictures of an art exhibit going on at the Sundance resort. They are called "Cool Globes". The globes are designed to raise awareness of human impacts on our planet and present solutions to help with global warming. They are amazing works of art. To learn more about them go to www.coolglobes.com

Saturday night fever

2008-11-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight at work, Kristen and I got to help decorate the store for christmas! We put lights and ornaments on the tree and danced to the music of Vampire Weekend under Meikels fabulous Christmas "Disco" ball decor. Meikel is so creative.

Rootbeer Float

2008-11-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful trade today! This afternoon we went down to my brother Travis's house and had a babysitting swap. Travis & Becky watched our kids while we went to a movie, then we watched their kids while they went out. It was so much fun! We played video games (got thoroughly beat by Lora every time), made spaghetti, & had Rootbeer Floats! It was Hannah's very first float so at first she was very upset that I had ruined her ice-cream until she had a taste! YUM, YUM, YUM!

Thanks

2008-11-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

In honor of my brother in-law Zach who could not be with us on this joyous Thanksgiving.
Things I am thankful for: Mimi's cafe who cook a great dinner, children who slept in late, & spending a whole day with my family. Much love.

Another project

2008-11-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

So today I was able to complete another project Ive been working on. These are some reversible purses and clutches that Ive been sewing.

Birds

2008-11-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

In my recent copy of Family Fun Magazine they had this cute christmas ornament idea. With my love of birds I thought it was a perfect project for me. ( Like I need any more!) So today since I had to go to the fabric store I thought Id pick up the supplies and try it. I think they turned out really cute. Go to www.familyfun.com/magazine for this idea and lots of others.

so clean

2008-11-24T16:23:00.000-08:00

Your probably wondering, why on earth I am posting a picture of my bathroom? It is the one thing on my list I accomplished today!! And doesn't look wonderful?! A sparkling clean bathroom has to be one of my favorite things ever, so since it rarely happens I thought I would photograph the fruits of my labor for fond remembrances. Of course though while I was cleaning Hannah pee'd on the floor and drew all over the TV, Stereo, & Front Door with a red and blue crayon!! One little victory at a time. :)

Project 365

2008-11-23T21:49:00.000-08:00

So my friend Nikki invited me to see her new blog project. Project 365. The idea is that you take a photo a day for a year. At the end you'll have a fantastic photo journal. So here is my first picture. Hannah and Ben's post lunch sink bath. The first photo is Hannah's. She took 30 photo's tonight. Maybe she'll be a photographer.

November Birthdays

2008-11-23T19:30:00.000-08:00

Friday the 21st we celebrated the November family birthdays with a trip to the Museum of Ancient life at Thanksgiving point. We were celebrating Travis, Melissa, Conner, & Braeden's birthdays. With our extended Kendell family growing more each year there are very few months that do not have multiple birthdays. Believe it or not I had never been to the museum before and I was so impressed. The little I was able to see was fantastic. I say little because their is no standing still or taking your time when it comes to my two monkeys. The saying," It takes a village", is deffinately true for us. It takes 10 adults just to keep track of and manage them. The prominant saying at any family function is," Hannah come here. Hannah dont touch. Dont crawl under that. And of course," Who has Hannah?" Lately that goes for Ben as well. We hadnt been in the museum 5 minutes before Hannah crawled under a fence and was touching a "dont touch" display! Brice and I decided that we need to go back for a date night. Hannah and Ben had a wonderful time with their cousins. They played in the sand and loved digging for fossils. If you havent been you should.