The People Have Spoken!

Thanks for agreeing with me!



Wow, what a project! My house looked like a bomb went off in it for 3 days. One day I will have a garage where I don't have to finish projects in our living and eating spaces. I went with black paint to expedite the process. Perhaps I'll refinish it with stain one day when I have a space where I can take my time. Overall, I'm very happy with how the finish turned out with the exception of durability. But I have a ton of paint left over for touch ups, so it's probably not a big deal.

I'm contemplating putting some nickel hardware on the bottom cupboards, but for now I am done with this bookcase!



The reason it took so long... I could only really work on it at night!

Decorating Democracy

I need an opinion other than my color-blind husband. And since people are often too shy or afraid to give their true opinions, I've rigged up a survey on the side of the blog where you can feel free to voice your vote anonymously.

Meet the bookcase (between the flash and no flash you should get a good idea of the wood finish)



Love this bookcase, but I don't care for the finish. I've decided against painting it, but I'm wavering between a black stain, ebony, or a natural stain which would match my armoire. Both are in the color scheme of my living room.

Meet the armoire



I won't taint you with my thoughts. Vote away!

Happy Unbirthday! Happy 4.5 Birthday! Happy Day!

What do you do when your first child is born on Christmas Day? What do you do when your next child is born only 5 days after Christmas Day? How about an anniversary 3 days after Christmas? Apparently I haven't quite figured this out yet. It seems for the birthdays, we just kind of pick a day during the summer and throw a party. Our anniversary hasn't received much attention lately, but hopefully that will be rectified this year.

Anyways, Rowan had his "happy unbirthday" party last week and it was a lot of fun. I've learned a few things for the next time around.

Lessons Learned

#1- A friend of mine told me they had a rule growing up that you were only allowed to invite as many friends as you were years old. I think we might have to adopt that one next time. Steve and our friend Mike spent a hour filling up water balloons that were gone in 4 minutes. That's what happens when you have 15 kids come.

#2- Defrost your ice cream before you try to serve it.


#3- Slip and slides aren't that fun if you can't slip or slide. We had the hose attached to our sink but, apparently, outside hose attachments have better water pressure.

Nadia had fun with all the bubbles from the dish detergent we used to help things get a little more slippery.


#4- Pinatas made out of cardboard and staples are not kid-friendly. Eventually we had to rip Batman apart and run around to disperse the candy to the masses.




#5- Don't open presents until the very end of the party. Otherwise the birthday boy will be MIA for the remainder of the party. At least he liked them...right?



Things I actually did right...

#1- Make sure to take a picture of the cake right away, just in case a 2 year old finds it later on and decides to rearrange a few things.


#2- Always hire Julie Nye to make your birthday cake for you. It will look and taste AMAZING!





#3- Invite your awesome friends from out of town to come stay with you during your party. Every extra set of hands helps!


#4- Improvise when the slip and slide isn't all you dreamed of.


#5- Make your husband the target of the water balloons. Sympathize by laughing like a maniac.


It was a good time all in all. Happy Birthday Rowan!!

Boy Meets Girl

My mom came a few days ago and brought my niece Viktoria to visit. Rowan and she have gotten along really well, but it's been interesting to see the contrast between boys and girls more fully. Nadia plays with Batman and cars, showing no preference for gender specific toys, so we haven't had to bite that bullet yet. Anyways, I think these pictures illustrate our experience pretty well.

Transformers 3- A Love Story
Robot, meet Barbie. Barbie, meet Robot.


Now let's dance.


I think the kids came up with a better plot than those guys in Hollywood. But lets be honest- that wouldn't be hard to do.

Mommy, Wow! I'm a Big Girl Now!

Someone went to nursery today. And stayed all 2 hours. Without Mommy.



Should I be offended she didn't miss me?

Drive In Time!!

I haven't been to a drive-in movie theater since I was a kid. Steve has never even been. So when we had an opportunity to go with a bunch of people from church, we jumped at the chance. I don't know why drive-in theaters are going extinct. Personally, I prefer this method of entertainment over the recent craze in 3D, which tends to make me feel slightly nauseous.

It was a perfect day, perfect weather and great company. Nadia had been having some late nights due to teething, so we lucked out in that she had taken a really late nap. The movie didn't start until 9pm and we ended up not getting home until close to midnight.

Before the movie started, families were playing with balls and running around in the front of the screen. It was a rather happy innocent scene.

Our Mormon Row

Once it got closer to showtime, several families in our group pulled out their air mattresses and lined up at the front. Back in the day when our family went to the drive-in, we stayed in the car, listening to the tinny radio that you hooked onto your window. I think I preferred watching the movie outside, relaxing in our lawn chairs and enjoying the night sky.

Adding to the vintage feel of the establishment, they had a 1940s carousel ride by the concessions that the children could ride for free. Nadia LOVED riding this and I had to literally pry her off kicking and screaming. She kept saying "NEIGH" as we rode it- too cute.


Even Rowan got in on the action.



We enjoyed caramel popcorn while we waited for the movie to start. When I say we, I mean mostly Nadia. Apparently, it's all the rage in her generation.


As the sun was just about to set, we pulled out the lightstick necklaces for the kids so we could keep track of them.

It was a great evening, enjoyed with great friends. And the movie? Toy Story 3. The kids were riveted and Rowan is still telling everyone about the scary monkey. He died laughing about Mr. Tortilla Head. It was the cherry on top and a big one at that.

These are a few of our favorite things

ME

American Pickers- the only show on the History Channel that doesn't put me to sleep


I love this show and chances are if you garage sale or bargain hunt, you will too! You can watch online episodes at history.com. A few weeks back I decided to resell some of the things I buy at garage sales to fund future excursions. Let's just say if I had a garage, I'd be making a lot of money. It's easy, fun, and helps me to buy a lot of things at no cost. Anyways, these guys have my dream job, except I'm not willing to go door to door looking for stuff. Especially when you encounter a gun to your face.

STEVE

Koolaid Slushies


This was our dessert on Sunday. Steve saw a recipe on the Koolaid jar for making Koolaid slushies and I've been craving them everyday since. Next time we are going to do a cherry limeade one. Less calories than a milkshake with all the satisfaction of a cool, sweet drink on a hot day. Don't you love my pilsner glasses I recently bought at a garage sale? I didn't know they were beer glasses until Steve enlightened me, but they are so pretty! The cheapo glass set I bought at Walmart a year ago didn't make it that long, so I was looking for a higher quality replacement. I'll claim them as root beer glasses.

ROWAN

Swim lessons. He LOVES them. I think he either has a bit of a crush on his swim instructor or she reminds him of his Aunt Chandra (similar interaction styles). Regardless, this kid loves the pool.



NADIA

Wagon Races! One of the things I've been reselling is wagons. This one I passed along to a friend that was looking for one, but before we did so we had a wagon race with friends. She thought it was hilarious and loves watching this clip over and over again.