Our playroom

Here is my disclaimer: I take pictures of people, not rooms so these pictures aren't the best quality. Please don't judge my photography by these crappy pictures. :)

#1 BEFORE: This is the 2nd before actually. I don't have a photo of what it looked like before I started the first time. We had a set of bookshelves in here for the longest time, with baskets that held toys. My kids aren't in to playing with toys the way they used to be so I reorganized and put the shelves in Addi's room. I added the office area so I could have a place to put my laptop to edit photos for my photography. On the wall, Mason and Addi's pictures were in a row on the green stripe painted across the room. But when we had Kannon I didn't know what to do with his pictures. So I painted the rectangles. But they look so cheesy, so I had to think of something else.




#2 DURING: I painted the 2 of the smaller walls and a large stripe on one of the vaulted walls green. I was afraid that the color was too flourescent (hello 80's punk green) but now that the stuff is back in there on the walls, I like it more.






#3, 4 AFTER I am so happy to be done. Well, pretty much done. There are always odds and ends to finish. Here are some of the things I did:
Picture ledge- I bought a 1 x 4 and a 1x 3 both 9 ft long, screwed them together then spray painted them. Cost of about $15. I painted a bunch of different picture frames I had black to match. The letters (A,M, K) are paper mache from Joann that I painted the colors in the curtains.
Bookshelf- the IKEA expedit. I have had my eye on it forever. I was planning on making a trip to Atlanta to get one, but luckily I found one on Craigs List for $100. The baskets and containers are various ones I've purchased from Target. The colorful ones are shoe boxes that I covered with scrapbook paper, then clear contact paper.

In the large space between the bookshelf and picture ledge I am planning a artwork holder for my kids' masterpieces. I'll post that when I finish it.

#5 Office Area: The magnet board and cork board were in other areas of my house. I just spray painted them to match and hung them here. The fabric for the chair cover and curtains came from Hobby Lobby. I can't follow a pattern, so I just made it up as I went. I ripped up the carpet and laid 12 x 12 floor tiles from Lowe's. They were only $1 a piece. I thought it would be so easy. Yeah, it was A LOT more work than I thought. I wanted to do the entire floor, but the office area was so much work so I only did there. I do love the way it turned out. To the right of the office area is my scrapbook room, aka closet. The tiles go into there.


I didn't post pictures of the other wall. It has the kids' computer and the play kitchen. I have also hung some old windows that are framing pictures of my kids and some reproduction game boards. I like the idea of putting game boards on the wall in the playroom.

I hope this all makes sense. It was lots of work, but I love decorating, so it was lots of fun too. It's a happy, colorful eclectic space that our entire family uses now.

Playing catch up

2 weekends ago was the air show at the Smyrna airport. We live really close so we got to see the airplanes practicing the week leading up to it. Our neighbor is in the Air Force and had tickets so she invited us to go. Chris took the big kids, while I stayed home with the little man. They all had a blast! It was really cold and windy so we didn't plan for the sun and everyone got way sunburned. Oops. Addi got to bounce on one of those bungy jump things and loved it. They also got to sit in an airplane and see the Navy Blue Angel planes up close.



The weather has been really nice. We've been playing outside almost every day. And yes, that's Kannon in his jammies outside in the afternoon. Some days are just like that. Mason has been riding his big boy bike that was too big for him last year. Addi has been riding her scooter and begging Chris to take the training wheels off her big girl bike. We've also been going for walks almost every night.

On Tuesday Kannon and I got to go on Addi's field trip to the Nashville Zoo. It was the perfect day to go. Now I know that Addi isn't the only drama whiney girl. You would have thought those Kindergarteners were being tortured with all the whining that was going on. "I'm tired," "My feet hurt," "I'm thirsty," "I don't see any animals," "I can't walk anymore," etc. I'm just glad I chose to drive and didn't have to ride the bus, with no air conditioning, home.

Let's see, what else have we been doing? Mason started and then quit soccer, Addi is now done with dancing - we wil lbe in Utah for her recital so she doesn't get to perform in it, Kannon is doing patty cake now and it is THE cutest thing ever (the video is posted below), I am almost done with my playroom re do. I just have a few little details left and I will post some pictures. I guess that's about it for now. I have tons more stuff to post about the many projects I have been doing but I'll save it for the next one. Have a great weekend!!!!

a little quiz

I saw this on a blog that I read and thought I would join in.

Where were you born? Logan Ut
Middle name: don't have one
How old will you be this year? already turned 32
Nicknames: Mom, sweetums, sissy
Are you taller than your mother or father? I feel rather tall next to my sweet little mama, but I'm 6 inches shorter than my dad
Do you cry often during movies? sometimes
What is your biggest pet peeve? relentless sniffing, slow driving, selfishness

Favorite color: red
Favorite foods: candy, home cooking
Favorite beverage: fountain coke, diet mtn dew
Favorite cold cereal: Frosted mini-wheats
Favorite Smells: baby K
Favorite time of day: when my kids are in bed and I can gather my thoughts
What brand of shampoo/conditioner do you use? Paul Mitchell Super Strong

Make-up products? Rimmell
How many pillows do you sleep with? one
Do you play an instrument? I can kind of play the piano, but I haven't in a long time

What was the last movie you saw in the theater? Horton Hears a Who
What is your favorite article of clothing? my jammies
What is your dream vacation? somewhere warm and beachy with childcare so we can stay a long time
What was your first impression of your spouse? I loved his confidence
If you were an animal what would you be? a cat or something lazy

What is your favorite "me- time" activity? a pedicure
What is one of your weaknesses? I am super picky about too many things
What do you fix for dinner when there's nothing to fix? Breakfast or a sammy
If you could live in a different decade/era which one would it be? I'm pretty happy here and now

What is the emotion you feel the most? right now it's frustration mixed with love
Do you consider yourself outgoing? yup
What is something you are constantly working on? trying to better myself...always!
Any hidden talents? I can yodel...no I'm kidding. I'm not a girl to keep something hidden.
What is a word or phrase you overuse? Dude!

What was the hardest thing that happened to you this past year? having a baby
What is the best thing that happened to you so far this year? having a growing baby
The best piece of advice you learned this past year? I haven't mastered it, but I'm working on it, it's "When all else fails, lower your expectations."
Who are the 6 people you are going to tag to do this survey? Anyone who wants to.
Now post the most recent pic. you have taken of yourself. My brithday

Kannon jumping

Ok, let's see if this works. This video is of K man doing a little jig in his johny jump up! I'm sorry it's not upright. I don't know how to turn a video. Just turn your screen sideways and enjoy! :)

Decorating

I am majorly into decorating my house lately. I have found a ton of fun decorating blogs that have inspired me. I want to hang out with her, this one has lots of fun ideas, then there's this one, this one has some pics from a recent show (oh it makes me so home sick for the craft shows in Utah), and this one has a little bit of everything. Here are a few more. This is a good one too-great ideas from all sorts of people.

I have been so inspired by all the great stuff I have read, that I did a little spring refreshing in my house. I was really frustrated because I had a hard time finding the cute kind of stuff I had in mind. If I was in Utah, I would know right where to go to find some cute items. But here in TN, I had to work quite a bit harder. I bought a few things and then dug through my own stash for some things. Pic #1 is the shelf in my living room. I made it myself shortly after we moved in. My mom gave me the antique glass door knobs and I wanted a cool way to display them. Above the shelf is a wreath that I got at Michaels. I also got the apothecary jar there. I haven't found anything to put in it yet, but I'm still looking. The spools are some that I have collected for the past 10 years or so. The cute stitchery, in the black frame was made by my sweet friend Sandy. The key, which I found at Hobby Lobby is a picture holder. It's so cute. I need to make something to go in it.

Pic #2 is on top of my entertainment center. I got the scale on ebay. The pitcher is a vintage one I scored from my grandma. The sticks inside came from Michaels. The globe thingy and clock both came from Hobby Lobby, and the box is one that I have had for years. Pic #3 is in my dining area. The cute stichery here is from my dear friend Joanna. The picture holder thing is actually a vintage find. It's an old cashiers drawer. When I bought it, it still had some receipts stuck in it from the 1950's. So cool! The piece underneath is a vinyl tile. My mom had it made for me, where? You guessed it, Utah. I'm saving my pennies to buy tons of stuff when we go there in June.

I hope you are all enjoying your spring!

video

Check this out. If he isn't the cutest baby ever, I don't know who is!!!

Another week gone by

Apparently I can't update this thing more than once a week, so I'll just give a synopsis of the last few days.

Monday through Friday my kids were out of school for spring break. Each day went a little something like this: wake up, eat breakfast, play, fight, fight, eat lunch, fight, cry, fight, Fight, FIGHT, scream(by me), cry(by me), time out(for me), make dinner, fight, lament that we are all so bored, bath, put to bed, fight, fight, put to bed, sass, fight, and finally-go to sleep, only to do it all over again the next day. Add in some diaper changing, nursing, cleaning and bad weather and we had a blast...um yeah...how many more days do I have until school gets out...boo hoo!!!! Addi wasn't feeling well because of her HSP, so she was very grouchy. Mason completely capitalized on that and tormented her. Ah, good times!

Despite my kids telling me repeatedly how boring I am, we did have a little fun. We went to Chuck E Cheese, the "fish mall" aka Opry Mills, where we played glow in the dark miniature golf, ate lunch and had ice cream. We also went to the park, ate lunch at Chilli's, and saw "Horton Hears a Who" in the theater. Man, what I wouldn't have given to have "such a boring time" when I was a kid.

Kannon is sitting up by himself now. It's the cutest thing. He's so proud and gets so excited. He makes an "ooooooooo" sound so everyone will look at him. He is starting to babble more. He's been saying "dah, dah, dah, dah" which Chris says is him saying daddy. He's eating more and more solid foods. He eats a jar of stage 2 baby food every night with some rice cereal. During the day I usually give him some mashed up bananas and/or some bitty pieces of bread to eat too. He loves it. Everyone who sees him falls in love with him. Yesterday when we were at the oil changing place he had everyone smiling and laughing at him. He is such a delightful baby.

Addi had another check up today. Her legs look like she fell down a flight of stairs, but our doc said that she looks better than she did and the bruising is normal for this disease. She had to have blood work and didn't even cry. She is so tough. She doesn't have to go back to the dr unti school gets out. Woo hoo!!

Chris was at the temple tonight, so Mason was the man of the house. He was such a huge help. He went upstairs and bathed himself while I was feeding Kannon, then helped me bath both Kannon and Addi. Then he entertained Addi while I braided her hair. He's such a big helper.

I don't have any pics to post because I havne't downloaded my camera in a while and I'm too lazy to do it. So that's it for now. Have a great week!