Sisterly love

Yesterday, Ella lost her first tooth - thanks to Olivia.

The girls were playing with their stuffed animal friends.  Ella let out a loud shriek and ran downstairs with blood in her mouth.  After I got her to calm down, she explained that she had Olivia's puppy's ear in her mouth.  Olivia wanted her to let go.  When Ella wouldn't, Olivia yanked said puppy out of Ella's mouth.. and out came her tooth.

Ella was pretty upset to begin with, but soon figured out that the tooth fairy would pay her a visit and that seemed to make things all better.  She carried her tooth around all night, showing anyone who would look at it.  She was so excited to go to bed last night that she asked me right after dinner if it was bed time.  I said almost.  She grabbed her tooth and set it carefully under her pillow.

She woke me up last night to tell me that the tooth fairy did come and left her $5!  She cannot wait to go to Target to buy the new Brave barbie doll.

Summer so far - Part 1

Summer is flying by! 

The kids are keeping themselves busy playing the days away.  The other day I watched the girls carefully line up their basketballs and then send them down the driveway to chase them.  Giggling away, they would do it over and over again.

While Mom and Dad were vacationing, we took care of Jack.

The kids built a house for Logan.

While they were building, I could not hear Ella's voice.  I went to check and she was sound asleep in her bed.  Staying up later, playing in our pool sure is tough on 5 year olds!

The completed house!

A sneak peak at Dad's Father's Day gift for the blank walls of his office.

Artwork Olivia made at school.  Birds - perfect for Dad!

And breakfast in bed for Logan.

The kids sure love Logan! 

In the picture above you can see the headboard we made for Ella's room.  We are making a few changes in the kids rooms and I hope to show you soon. 

But for now, I am off to empty (and refill) our pool so the kids can play!

Let there be (a new) light!

I have been dreaming of a new kitchen light for. ever.  When we built this house, we were able to pick the finish of the light fixtures - not the style.  The fixtures are okay overall.  But after five years, I am ready for some new.  Chad doesn't completely agree.  In the end, I won this particular battle.

Well, not really.  He made me use my own cash to buy this light fixture.  Are you reading this people?  He made me pay for it!  What a meanie:)

Because I used my own money, he was more than happy willing to take down the old light and replace it with the new, more updated one from Lowes.

Here is the old light.

Ahh, the new!

The ugly, boring BEFORE:

The updated, paid for by me AFTER:

What do you think?  Do you like my new light?  Do you think Chad was mean by making me pay for it?  You can agree with me - I won't tell him :)

Also, do you think I should make the pictures I post bigger?  Or can you see them just fine?  Do you even care?



Mom and Dad's house - decorated!

I finally snuck over to Mom and Dad's to take some updated pictures of their house. 
Take a look!

Master bedroom:

This buffet was our housewarming gift to Mom and Dad.  We bought it on Craigslist and it was in rough shape.  Chad fixed the drawer and doors so they worked smoothly, he added the molding to the front to give it a little extra character... although this buffet doesn't need much.  Can you see the mirror on the back? 

While we were sanding and painting this buffet, Mom kept talking about a buffet and how it would look nice in their entry way.  When they moved in and I was helping Mom unpack, she asked me if I wanted a turkey and buffet sandwich... for reals.

Instead of selling it on Craigslist, we decided it should live at Mom and Dad's house.  It fits perfect in their entry way and I am glad we get to see it every time we visit because it is one of the nicer pieces we have redone.

The sitting room/tv room:

Mom bought this painting at Hobby Lobby and it was stark white with the black tree and teal bird.  It was a little too white, so Mom watered down paint and it turned out like this!  Much softer and looks like it was made for this room.

Hallway leading to guest bathroom, Dad's office and the guest room/craft room:

Guest bathroom: 

A sneak peek at Dad's office:  We finally convinced stubborn Dad to upgrade his roll top desk with a real desk with storage.  Mom and I are going to help him rearrange all of his things and I will update with a picture.

Caleb loves to go in Dad's office with him because it is full of treasures - toothpick holders, note pads, decks of cards, coin collections... Caleb loves to explore!

The guest room/craft room:

Mom found this headboard on Craigslist.  She painted it ORB (oil rubbed bronze) and now it pops against the wall.  The gray walls with black, white and yellow accents are so pretty!

Storage for all her crafting supplies:

Her new desk and floating shelves.

A little looksy in her closet AFTER we pared down her stamps.  I think we need to go through them again.

The living room:

Kitchen:

Mom and I saw this plant cart (is that what you call it?) at the antique mall.  It is perfect for their kitchen window area.

I love these pictures!

More kitchen:

More living room pictures:

And back to the entry way.  Hi Jack!

Hope you enjoyed the tour!