my bathroom

Today was the only productive day that I had in a week! Larry was home last week and left today so I had alot of laundry and many projects in my head that I needed to start. I do projects around the house to keep me busy and make the time go by quicker when Larry is gone. Doing this all by myself isn't fun for me so I try to do things that make me feel like I accomplish things. Hence, our bathroom. It has been on my mind for a few weeks. I hate the cat litter box and I wanted a big rug and a change.

This is how the new bathroom went down. I went to Costco yesterday got a nice size rug for under $15 and I have been looking all over for a rug for weeks and they are alot more than Costco! I got a new litter box at Target (but it is too small for the cats so I have to get a new one!), I put up my old coconut shower curtain that we got as a wedding gift that I had in the small bathroom before we had the kids and moved the silver shower hooks that were in the kids bathroom to our bathroom, declutter the counter, had a candle going all afternoon because it has been windy! Never know when the power would go out. Bleached and cleaned as well as I could before I put the new litter box and rug down. All and all I love my new bathroom. It still needs work but after I get another cat litter box and budget for cabinets over the toilet to put my towels in than I think it will be a done project!

Here it is the new look! I took this with my phone and no I didn't get a before pic I was working with adrenaline cause Hunter didn't go down for his nap and I banned him to the couch. So I attacked the bathroom :)

And yes it is a green rug with blue tiles. I was so shocked at the price at Costco I just went with what I thought would go the closest and it looks alot better in person. I promise!

Did I also mention I like to home decorate? I think this is my new calling. Decorating on a budget and using what you have. Maybe it will start something :)

in the dog house

I can't believe I haven't blogged in forever! I have been busy, lazy, and crazy. All at the same time. Life is just a blur right now. Grace survived having no sassy and they have all been removed! Thank goodness! The bad news is she keeps waking up at 5:30-5:45am since then. I even try keeping her up late but that doesn't work. So I have ordered the goodnite lite and I hope that works for her. I haven't taken one single picture from my camera I have been taking them on my phone so I am bringing out my camera today or this week. Hunter is going to be 4 in 10 days I can't believe it. I am planning his birthday party and super excited about it. Hope Larry is home for it but probably not. We are getting the kids bikes for their birthday's so we will get them later next month. I am so close to being done with another credit card debt! It is my Discover card that I had when I was single and living by myself. That was way to long ago and I should have paid it off years and decades ago. I transferred my Discover card to Onpoint so I can keep track of it better and the interest was way lower. So in the dog house with my past debt but feeling the relief a little bit with what I have left. I have one more debt to pay off and transfer to Onpoint and pay off some other stuff and then all I will have left is my student loans but I don't see myself paying that off until the kids are in college. So for the most part in the last year and a half I have paid off over $13,000! Yeah! We also are going to get a dishwasher soon! I thought we would order it this week but Larry wants to be home when it comes so we are on hold but that is ok I will just keep cleaning by hand and paying of this debt I am working on. So there you go my life in a nut shell. I will try to be better at blogging. But the house is calling my name to clean it. I have to take pics of my bedroom it is almost complete! Just need to get one more dresser and clean the closets and it is done! I am working on my bathroom at the moment but I have to clean and bleach the floors than the cats have a new litter box area and rugs go down! Then I have my laundry room project I have to move all my arts stuff and put all the kids toys in the shelves so it has been a slow work in progress. So these are just a few of my projects going on!

no more sassy!

My big girl loves her sassy (pacifier). She asks for it when she doesn't have it and she asks for it with her long list of things she needs with her on the couch. Mama can you get my sassy, my kitty cat, my puppy dog, my pink blanket, my blue blanket and my Dora blanket. No lie she asks me this about 2-3 times a day and more on the weekends. So I wanted to eliminate one of the items from her big ole long list. Hunter tossed his in the trash at his Ma's house a couple weeks before he turned 3 so I am way ahead on Grace. The reason is she is too darn smart and if I don't take it away now she will have it until she is 10 I just know it. I was going to get rid of it before she turned one but the drama in my life wasn't going to happen then. She also is getting a big overbite and she has a big gap between her two teeth always has but seems to be getting bigger. And her dentist said that if she got rid of her pacifier her gap would get smaller and her overbite will to. So she has an appt soon so I better get cracking. She was twitterpatted yesterday to say the least when I told her it was gone. So much that I was about to just toss in the towel and give it to her. Which I did but I gave it to her after I cut the top off. I didn't poke holes in it I just wanted it totally destroyed. She wasn't happy with it and wanted the other piece put back together. By the afternoon she wanted to piece found still and we were in the car and I had told her that the other piece must have been eaten by Misha or Kramer. She kept saying that they had to give it back to her and that she would look in their mouths. Hunter kept telling her that was a no we don't put our hands in their mouths they could bite us. Totally got that from me! She didn't go down well at all for her nap but after an hour or longer she finally lost the battle and feel asleep on my bed. She went to bed great that night and woke up asking for her sassy with the long list of other items. I told her it was gone she had a mini breakdown and I got the broken sassy and she didn't want it and hasn't asked for it since. :)

Grace's 2 year old stats

My big girl had her 2 year well child check today a week late just couldn't do it last week. Today, she got no shots and found out her cold is an ear infection. I had no clue I think this girl has great pain tolerance. Her first dose of Amoxicillin as a big girl is not her fav and I have to give it 3 times a day this should be fun. Thank goodness for M & M's. Anywho, here are her stats...

Weight~26 lbs (42%)
Height~35 inches (80%)

DeOna says she will probably be about 5'10" when she is older. Taller than Larry and I just like she says Hunter will be. Nice.

As for me, I am sick and have been since Sunday and I am been trying to power through with the kids, work, house, cooking, animals and everything else. But today DeOna sent me home by her order for the afternoon and I loved her for it cause I got to rest and sleep without kids for an hour or so. It was bliss. :)

Grace turns 2!

My girl turns 2 today which is just crazy! She is such a big girl and I can't believe how fast time has flown :( but I am excited for her to see what this year brings for her. She is my little mouse and always will be even though she can talk, talk, talk.

This morning we went to Krispie Kreme's and she got a donut and ate the sprinkles. Her donut had yellow and green sprinkles on it go Ducks! No, we are not football fans but I gotta give my state my vote. Tonight is a Dora birthday party with the family at the house. So I better get to chopping the veggies. I love my baby girl so much and she is a joy to have in my life. I just can't believe my baby is 2!

Good dog!

Happy 5th Birthday to Misha J. Ray Robinson!

You are such a good dog and I am proud to be your owner!

I can't believe your 5!

Love-your mom...aka the one who gives you treats, takes you potty, takes you for walks, takes you with us to the store so you don't stay home by yourself, and lets you sleep with her when she needs to have a foot warmer and feel safe.

new year's resolutions

I am pretty bad at making New Year's resolution's but I thought of mine after New Year's. It is more than one. Drum roll please......

1. Listen to new music.
2. Get out of debt (minus student loans those I will have until I am gray) by Christmas.
3. Try, try, try to do my Wii fit.
4. Try not to hit the snooze button so much in the morning. And get up when my alarm goes off. (This will be a TOUGH one).

There you have it.
Will see where I am at in less than a year.

Happy New Year to all of you who read my blog.

Cheers.
~al

my dresser

Here are pictures of my dresser. I love it. Sorry again I took them with my phone. I only have 4 pairs of clothes in them cause I haven't had anytime to work on putting my clothes in it due to cleaning out my laundry room where all the Christmas gifts went that I was trying to find a place for :) I do love my dresser. I love that I can put jewlery in it and it has more drawer space than I have clothes for.

Front view :)Side view :) Can you just see it all coming together?! All I have to do is get Larry's new black 8 drawer dresser and than were good with furniture! Than I get to tackle the walls while I wait and budget for his dresser. I will try to take pictures tomorrow of the before and after!

nightstand!

Here is a picture of the nightstands and new lamps! I took it from my phone so it is not the best picture but I was taking it to show family cause they asked to see it. Today, my dresser is getting picked up at Ikea! Super excited we have never had furniture that matched in our room we have had handme down stuff (which was awesome) and stuff we bought and none of it matched. This go round everything is going to look great together!

Today is New Years eve and I am excited for 2011. I can put 2010 in the books it was one of the worst and rewarding years of my life. I learned alot about me and I am stronger, wiser, and growing in so many areas I am glad that my life is where it is now. :)

fast forward to almost a new year

Christmas was fun and the kids had a great time. They got tons of presents and I am trying to figure out where to put them all! This year I did carrots and cookies for Santa and his reindeer and the kids and I had fun with that. They were so suprised what was left on their plates when they woke up. It was a very early morning for some reason Hunter woke up at 4:30am and wanted to know if it was Christmas and Larry said when we woke up at Christmas it didn't matter what time it was it was time to check to see if Santa had come. So we woke up Grace and went out in the living room. They had a few presents under the tree but just watching them experience it was fun to see.

We got a gift card to Ikea from my mom and Wayne so I bought new night stands and lamps for the bedroom and it is starting to look good! We just have to get two dressers and than it should be done! I have my eye on some at Ikea too. I love Ikea it is in my budget plan and my house is small so their stuff fits. I will post a picture of the night stands and lamps when I get home I am writing at work :)

Grace has been doing awesome in her big girl bed in her and Hunter's room. It was such an easy transition that I am very suprised on how well it went. She even sleeps the night through and sometimes sleeps in after 7:30am! This is usually my girl that wakes up at 5:30-6:00am! So I am getting some more sleep, finally!

I think that is about it. No New Years plans laying low I think and going to drink some wine :)

big girl bed

It is official! Grace is in her big girl bed! She slept in it the night she got stitches and than I took her out at midnight for my piece of mind and she slept in it Saturday night and than I took down her crib on Sunday am and she took a nap in her big girl bed during the day for nap time and slept all night and I had to wake her up this am! Grace falls asleep before Hunter does cause she is exhausted but at least she can sleep through his talking and yelling. She actually stays in her bed and when she wants out she calls for me to ask if it is time to get up. My big girl is so good! I can't believe that my kids are sleeping in the same room! I have talked about doing this since March and now it is December and I did it! Whoo hoo! It is so nice to have a bedroom with no crib in it and now I can make it a bedroom instead of a master bedroom/kids room. All I have in it right now is my bed, Hunter's old dresser and the kids toy box. Once Christmas is done the toy box will come out and I have to put Hunter's old dresser in the shed and buy new matching night stands and dressers! Everything will match instead of not matching and hand me down furniture! So excited it is a work in progress! Maybe by Grace's birthday or Hunter's birthday the bedroom will be done :)
Here is the view going into the bedroom. I removed the toy shelf and now this is the toy box that will go out after Christmas where the tree is currently at.
This is the other side of the room. Grace's crib used to be right in front of the window where Lucy is at. And the white dresser on the left is Hunter's old one. This is what it looks like now and I hope to put white dressers with black drawer handles on them or get black dressers still unsure and the same with night stands either way. Super excited! This will be the first time that I have decorate my/our room and everything will be coordinated. Crazy! Exciting! Can't wait!
And than curtains! Not sure what color yet or what I am going to do but I would love to get the blinds out and have nice curtains that cat hair will not show on. :)

Stitches!

I never would have thought it would be Grace who gets stitches first! Last night she got to get 5 stitches under her chin :( Both kids are getting snotty noses and when they had their bath I put in Eucalyptus oil to help open their sinuses, which we have done a lot the last couple of months. Well Hunter got out and was brushing his teeth and Grace was coming out but I didn't get to her quick enough cause I usually lift her out and she slipt on the tub and landed on her chin on the side of the porcelain tub before falling to the bottom. There was hardly any blood and she was more stunned I think than hurt. I put her pj's on and told her she had to go the hospital cause her cut was smiling at me so I wasn't sure if they could just glue her or if she needed stitches. She kept saying I gotta go to the hospital when we were in the car going up the hill. Then she was more twitter patted about her crocks not fitting over her footed pj's like I said it didn't even phase her that she cut her chin. My mom came and got Hunter and so it was just Grace and I. I thought it would go quick but it took us awhile because the doctor wanted to use lotion lidocaine and wait 30 minutes for it to work and than he wanted to have her drink some meds to make her loopy. Well I told him she has a gag reflex and I didn't realize how bad it was going to turn out for her. I gave her the meds and she instantly did not like the taste which made her puke and she said she didn't like it and then when she was done we forced the rest down her but it wasn't enough for the doctor and so we forced more down her and she was not happy at all and puked again. She did get some in her cause she was pretty loopy. I told the doctor to just do the stitches and get it over with. She was pretty fun on the way home she was herself but very loopy but in control of her environment and didn't want anything to change she had to watch a whole Dora and sit in her spot on the couch before she would go to bed. She didn't want to go in her crib she wanted in her big girl bed so I let her. That lasted a few hours and she tossed and turned so much that for my piece of mind I put her back in her crib. Today, she doesn't even remember her chin has an owie on it and I haven't reminded her cause I just know she is going to pick at it or mess with the stitches. My baby girl is one stubborn trooper she made me very proud for what she had to go through at the ER. She even said goodbye to the nurse and doctor. She is such a good girl. :)

"Ziploc" Art bags

One thing I love to do is organize! The kids have two places where their crayons, paints, and paper are at. One is on the wall in their bedroom that I love and then one in an unorganized fashion in my bedroom. The bedroom one needed to get moved out cause I am trying not to have kids stuff in their with the new look. My plan was to use Ziploc big bags and put their art stuff in it, aka anything crayola and paper and whatever. I love these bags! But I got XL and L and they were too big and I kept looking for Mediums and I gave up well today I looked on the side of the Large box and they only come in Large, XL, XXL. No wonder I couldn't find Mediums! But I thought why not use the Large so I did and I used my Ziploc freezer bags that I have stalked up from Costco! So here is what I did! I am so excited and I hope it inspires you too!

My kids get one of almost everything it makes life easier for me or whoever watches them. So each child has the same thing or almost the same thing. You put all the items that are paper, pencils, crayons, pens, or paint and seperate them in the freezer ziploc bags.Then if you have more then one child, like me I put on the Ziploc big bag their name and I wrote art bag and put their initial on it so they would know which one was their's. This one is Hunter's.
Then you put all the stuff in the bag. Awesome, huh! Easy storage easy for them to get at and they get to choose what they want to do!

Pretty cool! I even have Grace's ponies in one and they are great for putting toys in. You just have to make sure they do not put them over their heads so I just watch my kids when they have them or just take the stuff out of the bag and put the bag up high and when the kids are done just have them put their stuff back in. :)

new bed pic

Here is my new bed! I didn't make it up perfectly and it is a work in progress needs more pillows but you get the idea. Grace's crib is on the left and I think this next week I am going to transition her into her big girl bed. I have Thursday and Friday off so if I lose any sleep over it I don't have to go to work. I can't wait till her cribs out and Hunter's dresser is out than I can get nightstands next, then dressers that match and curtains! Alot more to do but it will take time but here what it looks like now!

Here is a picture of our bedroom with the old king size bed and we had to move Grace's crib over to the left for pictures to put on the flyers for when we tried to sell our house. This is the first time I have had a headboard since I was a teenager and had a waterbed. Super excited about the new bed!

Goodbye to old bedroom maybe in a few more months I will have a new bedroom to show you all!

my secret weapons...

Here are my secret weapons for getting through this Canada time. Don't laugh! :)

1. Trader Jo's wine (why cause it is cheap)
2. Trader Jo's tamales (again cheap, easy to make and it isn't pasta)
3. Pretzel M & M's
4. Music
5. Candles
6. Books by Barbara Delinsky, Luanne Rice, or Jodi Picoult (at the moment)

So there you go. Crazy I know. I used to always get processed cheese in a jar when Larry would not be home for a day or so but my stomach doesn't like that anymore so these are my other vices that make me happy.