Hello 2014!

I learned that to make an impossible New Years resolution doesn't benefit you at all.  So I make simple ones that in the end benefits me and makes me smile.  My favorite so far was to make sure I have flowers in my house at all times.  I have done this now for 2 years (I think) and not every month have I had flowers but I have been really close to always having flowers somewhere in my house.  They make me smile and make me feel like keeping my house clean with them in it. This year here are my New Year's Resolution and the word for the year...

1. Cook more meals!  Cook new recipes and try to go through at least one cookbook and try all the recipes that I like.  I am not a big cook and cooking scares me so this year is the year to face my cooking fears and just go for it.

2. Finish projects before doing another one.

Word of the Year

 

EMBRACE

 

I am loving this word cause I just need to embrace what I have in my life and realize that I need to do my best to make it the best.  I need to embrace my kids and husband and be thankful for them even when it is rough and stressful and I don't know what to do.  I need to embrace my family, friends, and the world around me.  I also need to embrace my dreams and wants and see what I can make of them.  :)

 

Happy New Year to you all and my it be a wonderful one for you all and embrace what comes your way be it good or not.



catching up on pic-o-rama's

I am really behind on my blog so here is a quick part 1 of pic-o-rama!  I will post more pics later too!

 

Report card was read and this big guy did amazing so far in 1st grade!  He got treated to Krispie Crème!  He tested in reading at a 275 and 300 is a 3rd grade reader!  So proud of him he has done it all on his own no help from us just him wanted to read and learn more!  When he was in Kindergarten at the same time he tested at a 1st grade winter term reader.  He is to smart and he makes me a proud mama with how he just soaks up what he learns. :)

 

Mexican dinner to celebrate Hunter's good grades!  Grace looks so grown up here she kills me with how much she has grown up and she needs to slow down!

 

Kids at school so I took Misha to the vet to check out a lump under her leg.  After taking a sample and checking it under the microscope no cancer is seen. :) and amazingly it has gotten smaller so we don't have to take her back at the moment.  She is not a fan of the vet they do things to her that she doesn't like.  So she was hiding under my legs for some much needed make her feel better about the whole situation pets.

 

Buddy's Mayflower!  And he drew so much more after this picture was taken.  He took it to school to show his teacher after Thanksgiving break cause he was so proud of it!

 

Gingerbread houses!  They wouldn't stay up so they made gingerbread cookies!

Painted toes and fingers in a pattern for Christmas...red, green, red, green.

 

Lucy did not like the really cold days we had!  The cups by her are a science project seeing how water would freeze in the really cold temperatures!

 

It snowed just a few flakes when it was just me and Grace when Hunter was at school.  We had to run out and see if we could catch some!

 

Well there you go...pic-o-rama and more to come!

before and after pics of GK's dresser

For those who asked :) here is what I did during my stay home vacation!  The cool thing is I have this week off also so will see what I get done during it!  Here is one of the projects was my kids changing table dresser.  When we put the kids in a buck bed we didn't have room for this dresser so it went to Larry's parents for a couple of years and I wanted to get a dresser for Grace and Larry suggested using this one again.  I wasn't super exited to because it was banged up and the knobs were chewed from Kramer and I wanted something cute for her.  But I listened and saved money by not buying a new dresser.  It hung out in her room for 2 weeks or so and I just couldn't take it anymore so I went and did a redo on it!  My vacation week was right when the kids were in school and one of them hates to shop (dude) and so I new I would be able to take as much time as I wanted at the store if I went when they were in school.  I am so happy with the end product of Grace's dresser!  Here is the before picture of the front...see on the left bottom drawer a chewed knob...argh!

before knobs







 

after knobs! 

Grace picked them out and they are lovely little pink glass knobs!

I am swooning with how fun the look!

So the other part of the dresser that isn't so cool is the top.  It was dirty and smeared so I love Mr. Clean cleaner erasers they work wonders!  Also, I accidently took off the paint one day I think when Grace was little from a picture with a sticky spot and the spot took the whole paint off the top.  Not cool.  And of course it was right in the middle of the dresser!  My idea was sticky paper on the top to make it all cute and if it got dirty we could just put another on later down the road cause Grace is going to have this dresser for awhile!  My mom helped me find the paper for the top since I looked and couldn't find any and I so wanted to get this done but I had the kiddos and they didn't want to venture to my fav store, Target!

before sticky paper

after sticky paper! 

I love it so!  It is a green lacey look and it goes amazing with it all!

finished product! 

 I think it looks so much better and goes so well with her walls and her bedding and making her room complete!  And now she can get her own clothes instead of me grabbing them for her she can take them out and that makes me happy!

 

Who knew pretty little knobs and sticky paper could make a mama so happy and make a dresser look so much better!  This was a fun project and I am glad it is finally done!

my new toy :)

 

I got a new computer from Larry for Christmas!!!  Happy dance!  I am super uber excited because the computer I have is a desktop that the kids use more then me and I have to wait and share it with them that I don't get to blog or do the things I want to do.  But with new little beauty I do!  I had the choice of a Ipad mini or a laptop and after a lot of consideration it was better for me with all I do and a maybe on a possible little side adventure job this was what I got!  I love that I can sit at the table with Hunter right now with it and blog while he chats away and organizes his new Lego set he is about to create!

vacation part two

Mid way through my 5 day vacation on Sunday we needed fresh air and I got new bread from my mom who made a Costco trip.  So old bread needed to get out of the house and we needed a break of being inside and I needed to get out of the house before I had to clean more things!  Eeek!

 

We went to the Canby Pond and feed birds are two leftover bread loafs we didn't eat.  See those 3 geese or swans or whatever they were they were like killers with orange feet!  They meant business and wanted bread.  Thank goodness we had the bread!

We took a nice walk around the Canby Pond and neither kiddo was listening the best and I kept yelling at Grace to not get to close to the pond  or walk on the beams close to the pond and then I thought why not take a picture after yelling at her to not do what she wanted to do.  So here is that picture she wasn't happy with me can you tell?!? But I love this picture cause it is so them.  You say lets get a picture of the both of you and guess what one of them will not want to get their picture taken guarantee!

 I got Hunter a key chain thing that has the temp and a compass on it so that is what he is checking out on his coat cause we put it on his zipper so he always has one. :)

 He said "mom get a pic of me sitting and laying on this" so I did!  For some reason I think he looks alot like his Papa in this picture.  But it just must be me.

 This girl loves to swing!  I love that she is full of color and sass but on this day she had a little to much sass going on!

Gotta love days of fresh air, feeding birds and crazy swans, playing in a park and getting dirty!  Next time we will wear gloves and bring more fun things to do but it was a good outing and bread was ate and energy was used.  Good day by all. :)

:::Vacation...Part One:::

 

Tonight is my last night of my 5 1/2 day vacation! It has been fun, stressful, projects done, house projects done, and alot of dishes were cleaned!  Today, it was a day of just me, Grace, and Misha hanging out waiting for Buddy to come home after dropping him off at school.  The above picure is me and her at Starbucks getting my much needed caffeine to make it through the morning.  I think that we all need a much needed break now from our stay vacation with each other!  Misha is like so ready to go back to my mom's each day when I am at work and my kiddos need a break from me cause I make them do stuff!  Hee Hee!

So I can't wait to show you all my projects and what I did this mini stay at home vacation!  I did the whole stay at home take your kids to school and pick up thing and that was fun and I went shopping way too much when both kids were in school but I got so much done with said shopping!  I think that I will try to blog during my lunch break cause will see how that goes since I live so close to work now!  Woot Woot!  Night everyone!

*** I am back ***

SO don't get all crazy and excited but I am back!  Not sure what I am going to do with my lovely little blog-o here but I decided to type on in tonight.  Got lots up my sleeve and mabye I will just put it down in my little ole blog that no one reads ;-)

SO this is what I got in store...

++++  projects around my new Canby abode!
++++  instragm pics since those are the only I seem to do right now
++++  guidance on how to raise my kiddos???

and maybe just maybe a little confidence to make me start with the whole Interior D. idea of my life. Probaby way to far fetch but so wanna do and will see maybe I can do it and make some extra cash o rama on the side. :)

SO yep I am back and I wrote on my blog :)