New bed

I bought a new bed! I have to take a picture of it but I just sold the bed my mom was letting me use it was a twin bed and I was to long for it so I bought a bed at Ikea last weekend and I love it. Larry gave me some Christmas money to get it and selling my mom's twin bed on Craigslist today has helped pay for it. I love it but I have to take back the comforter cover and get a smaller size than I will take a picture of it! My bedroom is my next project to tackle. Once that is done I think that the house will finally look homey and not miss matchy. My goal is to have it semi-finished by Grace's birthday next month. The kids had fun with the box that came with the bed. Larry put it on their bed and they colored it, stickered it, painted it and put holes in it and toys in it. It is their fort spaceship and Grace's bed is the main part of the fort spaceship. She is still in her crib but maybe soon she will make it to her big girl bed. I have the rest of the week off so I want to make sure she gets naps so maybe this weekend will tackle her crib and take it down and get her in her big girl bed. I love vacations. I am getting things marked off my list!

Here the kids are painting over their stickers and coloring job.

Finished project!

I think that I might be addicted to selling items on Craigslist! I love doing it and getting cash to buy things we need! I also am loving buying items on Amazon! There is something cool about getting packages in the mail! I bought two Xmas items for the kids and another two for family. It is so much easier then dragging the kids out and standing in lines with them. I love online shopping!

been a long time since I posted...

Sorry everyone I haven't posted in forever! New fresh look for the holiday's on my blog now. I have been very bad in taking pictures and have none for November and I am amazed that I didn't and alot when on in November like Hunter doing soccer! Bummer, I will just have to be better at taking pics I was mostly taking pictures on my phone that is why. The kids are huge and talking up a storm. Larry and I are working on fixing our marriage. Rings are back on which is awesome and communication is much better. Looks like he will be back in Canada next week so back to single mom until Christmas but I have done it this long I can do it some more. It was nice to have him be with us for longer than a month. I am working on my debt maybe in 2 months I will be done with another credit card debt. Can't wait for that! Trying to not spend alot on Christmas this year trying to budget for it but it is hard when I want so much and to get the kiddos so much but I keep telling myself they are good in the toy department. Grace is getting alot of hand me down toys for Christmas so that helps. Hunter, I am going to have to get a couple things but that is better than buying so much for two.

Here the kids are decorating their sugar cookies they had a blast and Grace ate more of the sprinkles and frosting than she put on the cookies. Hunter was a pro at frosting and decorating.
Here is one attempt at getting Hunter to pose for Christmas card pictures. I gave up cause both kids were not in it. But this one sorta came out. :)

So there you go. Just a little update on my blog. I will try to be better about blogging but we have been so busy just doing things here and there.

My little loves :)

My buddy who has to wear sunglasses when the sun is out :( He got a "normal eye exam" but he still wears them. Must be a white boy with blue eyes thing. My ever curious Grace. She doesn't fear alot of things if I am around her. She will follow her brother anywhere and anytime.
My baby girl who will rarely let me put hair pretties in her hair.
My big boy who loves dirt and mud.

and trains with pumpkins on the front of them :)

My kids love animals. Grace would take a bunny rabbit home if she could.

Grace, who looks like me, talks up a storm and loves OJ.

Hunter, who looks like Larry, loves wii, playing on the computer, and laughing with anyone.

So this is what my little loves look like right now. They make me laugh, smile, scream, and cry but I know when I wake up in the morning they are with me. They give me hugs and kiss me and that means the world to me. :)

rest of the kiddos room pics

Here is the kids bunkbeds and organizer on the laundry door. Here is the other side. Cluttered I know but it was the best I could do for a small room for two kiddos. Thanks Cammie for making Grace's name sign I finally was able to put it up! I was going to put up curtains to hide the toys in the wall closet but thought no the kids can get in easier without it.
Here are the new closets! Nice, huh?! I put baskets and bins above them to put their snow wear and bedding in but I couldn't reach it when I needed to put Grace's swimsuits in and that is why stuff is spilling out. And than Hunter has his baby memorialia on the wall :). This is the wall I need to put up their coat and hat hooks and then I am done!

Next I will try to blog Hunter's soccer game pictures and I took 205 pictures at the pumpkin patches we went to do today so I got to weed out some pics through that. But for the most part I think I am almost caught up on blogging!

a first

This is probably the first time I put a picture of me up on my blog willingly. More pics to come :)

pics that i promised...

Not the greatest picture but here is one part of the fish tank wall that is done. I still have to get a big art frame to put between this and the fish tank wall to fill up the wall. I hope to get the frame tomorrow at Kohl's with a coupon :) The shelf here is from IKEA a steal. The silver collage frame has already been changed to a picture of us (minus Grace she wasn't born) rafting with Hunter and Uncle Corey. I did the peacock feathers for something different and for height and it was cheap. They are sitting in a Starbucks frap jar and yes I cleaned it but I thought why not and the rocks are from the rocks outside. Super cheap. Used a gift card on the candle holders and candles (thanks Lindsey and Corey!) and I bought the frame of Multnomah Falls cause we took the kids there and they love falls so I wanted to give them something they new about. Hunter wanted the gourd on the shelf cause I had just bought them to put on the table. Again, not the greatest picture but I am still trying to figure out the lighting with my camera. Grace was getting mad at me cause I kept getting in her way of watching Wonder Pets, her favorite show it has replace Little Einsteins. Here is what one side of the kiddos room looks like with toys all organized in their bins. Love that. I wrote about the shelves later on in this post.
Kids reading books on Grace's bed.
Hunter sleeping in his bunk bed. Grace was put in her bunk bed after falling asleep in her crib. Lasted 2 hours than she woke up and I had to move her back to her crib. She hasn't been back in her big girl bed since.

Grace's baby memorabilia finally up on a wall! The white shelves were given to me for free!
Finally a picture of the computer/office aka the room off the kitchen. Lucy put a hole in the blinds. This is her second set. After the winter I am taking them off and keeping them off. Yes, I drink wine. Love wine. The wine on the wall is 2 buck chuck...Trader Jo's wine that is $2 and something and I love it and it is great with my budget. I really, really like this new space. I used a frame table I bought when I was single living in an apartment and it works perfect for the space. The part you can't see is the cool red rug :) Tried to use alot of colors since the kitchen has a green counter top and the kitchen is basically the same room as this little nook the fridge seperates them.

The two cute kids on my screen are Grace and Nate!
I realized I didn't take a picture yet of the kids closets! I think it is because I am still putting clothes in them. Right now I have 5 bins in the living room and a table of clothes to decided whether to keep or put in a bin of clothes that haven't even worn. They got a lot of hand me down clothes in the size they are in now and I feel very blessed about that. I will try to post pictures of Hunter's first soccer game tomorrow! And pumpkin patch pictures that we will be going to tomorrow. And I will take pictures of their closets and room. Their room is almost done I just have to get a coat rack up and it is done. :)

In other news around the house. I stopped giving Hunter milk in bed big huge deal and he wasn't happy for 1 night and 1 am and has been awesome ever since. He gets Club penguin game day Wii if he doesn't drink milk or wake me up for a week and if he does this he gets the game and yes he has to continue not having milk and stay asleep. He has a couple more days to go and he gets the Wii game :) so very proud of my little dude! This is huge because I haven't slept the night through in about a year because of one or both of the kids. Also, I tossed all of Grace's bottles yesterday evening. One because she really should have been stopped a long time ago but cause of the drama in my life I wasn't at that stage in mine or hers to do it. I also dislike washing Dr. Brown bottle pieces by hand they are a major pain. She had one meltdown that lasted less then ten minutes. Threw her sippy cup once and then came back to it and she has been drinking from it since. She does ask for her bottle but accepts it and says she doesn't like the milk in the sippy cup when she gets it but after awhile she starts drinking it. Can I just say that I am so proud of both kids they are suprising me so much in what they have done in regards to the changes I am doing to them in regards to drinking milk. They are troopers and I honestly thought they were going to be more, more stubborn about the whole process of not getting something they want and are used to. I love my babes!

been awhile...

I haven't blogged in awhile. Been busy. With soccer and the kiddos closets and filling them up with clothes and I am almost done with that project. I will take pictures tonight or tomorrow and post them. I am still working on my fish tank wall got most of it done just have to find one more picture frame. I know what I want I just have to look for it and see if I can get it on sale. The kids are doing great. Grace talks so much. She can count to 15 and says thank you and your welcome and is starting to say it without being told to. She has this strut she does when she walks that is pretty cute. She loves stuffed animals and right now kitty cat and puppy dog are her favs and sleeps with her and sometimes has to go to daycare with her. Too cute. Hunter, my buddy love, is doing great. He is playing soccer and learning more each time he goes to practice and does the games. He is far from knowing what to do but I am so proud of him because he is learning to listen to others other then me, Larry, and family. He is the sweetest to this one girl on his team that doesn't play just comes to practices and watches. You can tell she wants to go out there but something is stopping her. My little buddy last practice sat on the ground next to her and asked her over and over if she wanted to play soccer. Super cute. He is showing a little side of me :) He has played two games and the first was crazy for him the second it rained on him and he was miserable cause he had an eye appt before the game but he played for a few minutes. We didn't give up. I think he is liking soccer he is still alittle young but for not knowing what soccer was just to be thrown in it he is doing pretty good. I have pictures but I have to download them. I have alot of projects going on but I am getting them checked off my list. I have to finish the kids clothes and the fish tank wall then I can work on the bedroom and hopefully sleep back in my bedroom in the next month or so! Yeah! My living room can turn back into a living room I just know it will with time! :) I am also training Hunter not to have milk anymore in his bed the first night was rough and last night was a dream so I hope it keeps continuing! Got alot of cool things for him if he stops drinking milk so I think that is helping persuading him. New wii game and a hermit crab! Wii game for not drinking any milk for 7 nights (which is what they say trains kids and than they forget about it) and a hermit crab if he is dry for 7 days. He gets to pick his hermit crab out and Grace gets one to. We might have new animals in our house in 7 days :)

Promise pictures soon!

fish tank wall

I think I tackled the fish tank wall and it might be complete. It isn't my best but I used what I had and I bought some things for it and used some gift cards on it. I didn't have the greatest lighting to take a picture of it so I will try for it tomorrow, but I am still looking at it and seeing what I think. I like it but I am not sure if I love it. I think I might have to swap some pictures out of a frame and than I will love it. I still have one part of the wall to finish which is the section by the fish tank and the couch but I hope to get a new couch next year so I am working with that in my head and plans. Just wanted you to know I think I got it done as much as I am going to tackle with it!

I also made freezer jam today. I think this is the first time I have. I can't remember what kind we made in 4H but I made some cause I remember taking it to compete with at 4H during the fair. The kids helped me. They washed the strawberries. They were good helpers and only fought for a few minutes over the water. Gotta love them!

I got alot accomplished this weekend! I even put shoe organizers in my closet and nailed one to the wall since they didn't come with the hooks that went on the door. I had bought a shoe organizer to go over a door and it didn't have the metal hooks and I almost threw it in the trash because I was so frustrated that they forgot to put them in the package that I just improvised and put nails in the holes and nailed it to one side of my closet. It works perfect and looks great you can't even see it.

I read My sister's keeper and finished it a couple weeks ago and cried my eyes out. I netflixed the movie but I haven't watched it yet. Was going to this weekend but I know I will cry so I got another book by the author and I am 2 chapters in and I am sucked in. Thanks Tracy for the book I loved it.

Night everyone.

such a good feeling

to finally get stuff done! My house is looking alot better! I have a bed with no toys on it! Praise God. I still have big toy items that I have to figure out how to store and what to do with them but for the most part all the toys are put away! The kids room looks great! All it needs is closets! Soon, I keep telling myself...just two more weeks. Argh. My laundry room looks like a very clean room. Hardly any clothes are in there except the basket with Hunter's close from his closets with the hangers still attached to the clothes. Went to Fred Meyers today and did not find the hanging pink toy organizer so hopefully we can go one more time to Target today and see if they have one. Hunter found his dryer ball and it has a whole in it and it wigged him out so I told him after nap time we could go to Target to get a new one. He was so down with that. Hope he is still down with it when he gets up cause that is my way of getting to Target! Sneaky I know but he is such a bear about going anywhere. I have one basket of clothes to fold and put away and than my projects will be done. Nice. Sweet. I think I will take a nap since my kids are crashed and enjoy my nice, clean house. I love that feeling!

oh my goodness...

I got so much done today! Even with the kiddos and even with the rain. I had a laundry room full of clean clothes that needed folding and laundry that needed clean. Well, I got some of the laundry folded and all the laundry cleaned. Tomorrow I will have it all folded and put away! My bedroom, which I haven't slept in in months cause of noisy Grace, is getting cleaned up! I gutted Hunter's room (aka the new kids room) last Sunday and put all the toys in my room and on my bed and I have slowly been going through them putting them back in his room organized and giving alot to friends and goodwill. But today I tackled it the most I have an actually have a clean room and a few more toys left on my bed to figure out where to put and store. But all the kids bins have all the right toys in them that go together and their room is coming together! Today I asked Wayne to help put up some hand me down shelves for me to get Grace's baby stuff on the wall. I have two shelves with Hunter's you can see it in the previous picture with the dresser. Here is Grace's shelves with the bins all nice and organized and FULL of toys! I am still proud of myself that I didn't spend any money on this project I just used what I had and improvised with it. I am very happy that I got the shelves for free!
Tomorrow I am pretty sure that my house will look even better! I am going to finish the laundry and put it all away and declutter my laundry room from all the mess that I have made from doing the kids room. I am going to finish cleaning the toys off my bed. I will not know what to do with my bed once it is made up. The kids love to jump on it and play with toys, read, and get tickled on it so it will be nice to have it back. I am going to get another hanging toy holder for over the laundry door but in pink for Grace's stuff and to add more pink to the room. In a few more weeks we will hopefully get all the parts for the kids closets when Larry comes home and we will get those up and the room should be almost done! Right now since I took Hunter's hanging clothes out of his closet I have them in a laundry basket until we get his closet. I can handle that for two more weeks :) I also have been working on my fish tank wall. That is a work in progress. I have to be at the discretion of my kids since Hunter doesn't like to go anywhere and Grace isn't the best at stores so we just go when I am up for the challenge. But I will have pics up of that soon. I only have 1/4 of it done and the rest is in my head and I just have to buy the stuff!

work in progress

Here are the after pics of the kiddos toys. I still have alot more to put back in the room but I am getting rid of alot! Starting to look good! Can't wait to show you what it looks like in the end. Here is the other side where the new shelf closets go.

So can't wait but I have to wait another 3 weeks but it should look great! I am moving this dresser into the bedroom and using it there. Not sure how but it should work out pretty good.

bunkbeds in the new kids room

Project bunkbeds is done! Hunter sleeps great in them. Grace still sleeps in her crib. But she knows which one is hers even though she wants the top bunk. Not sure when she will make it into her brother's room to make it their room but maybe in the next month or two or next year. Will just see. Hunter wanted his bunkbed to be colored school bus yellow which I was so not for but than Larry said it was his room and what would be wrong with it? So after awhile I agreed and realized he was right and we went to the store to get the color and thank the good Lord in the end Hunter choose white. I wanted the natural oak color but white will work to! We went to go get their closets we picked out at Ikea but the base was out of stock and we need one for each child so we are on hold with that project. But I looked online today and they have them in stock. Go figure. The will look nice they are white and they will go great in their small room! Super excited.

I was bummed this am cause Larry leaves again for Canada and to make myself feel better I tackled the kids closet and it is looking great but my bedroom is not but I haven't slept in there in months so that is ok. I am trying to move Grace out so we can have a bedroom and work on that room after the kiddos, budget willing. I will post what I did today after the kids wake up but here are the before pics...
What I want you to notice in these two pics is the closet and the white toy shelf with the bins. And remember this is a work in progress. It is helping me get through the next weeks of being a super mom. Keeping me busy with projects :) No money was spent today on the change you will see when I take pictures of what I did. I should let you know that Hunter's clothes are hanging in the closet and his toys are in baskets and it is all not organized or in order.

testing out the bunkbeds before the paint

Notice a pattern with these pictures?

Neither child went on the bottom bunk. Grace was all about the top and Hunter knew his bed was the top bunk. Happy, happy kiddos!

making the bunk beds

I took alot of pictures but here is a few of Hunter helping Larry make his bunk bed. It took 2 days to make them. One day of assembly and one day of painting and drying, not to bad :)

Hunter was in Heaven. He loves tools and making things. Notice his butt is dirty...cause he had to sit down on the concrete like his Papa.

bunkbeds

Larry hand made bunkbeds for the kids this weekend. He painted them today so hopefully we can take it apart later and put it in Hunter's room and see how it looks. Got to go to a bbq first and let it dry then hopefully get them in his room tonight or tomorrow. I can't wait until Hunter's room is finished and both kids are in it! I will not be sleeping on the couch/bed in the living room anymore. Whoo hoo! Maybe in a month or so it will happen. First we have to see how Hunter does on the top bunk and will see if Grace goes on the bottom bunk right away or in the next few months. We are going to hopefully assemble new closets for them this week. We went this weekend and they didn't have the major piece in stock at IKEA but might have it tomorrow! Pictures to follow soon!