Thursday, March 31, 2011

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of some things I've been working on for the Scientist's Lego Birthday Party. Can you believe he is 7 yrs old already?!

Party favors:


Party decorations:


Everything is looking so cute! Tomorrow I do the cake :)

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

No-Sew Jean Repair

The Scientist is notorious for getting holes in the knee of his jeans. I tried THIS method and failed because his legs are so skinny and my machine doesn't have an arm that turns so it's impossible to sew it without sewing the backside to it (or at least impossible to ME). So I came up with a cute no-sew way to make his jeans last just a little longer until full-blown short season.

You need:
*ugly iron-on knee patches (I got mine at Albertsons on sale awhile back, but you can find them just about anywhere)
*Scissors
*Iron
*Holy jeans

Instructions:
*Cut shape out of patch
*Iron on (with a square piece on the back for reinforcement)

Result:

No more hole :)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Bathroom and Dresser....DONE!

Well, I finished the bathroom and I have to admit I was sad to see the old paint go. I really like the grid on the back wall.


But apparently, the Scientist didn't.


So, my first priority in here was to paint. Honey wanted me to go with something green and I wanted yellow. I opted to go with something in-between, and to be honest, I was not happy with it on the walls at all. I'm still not in love with it. I went with the citrus-y feel it had and this is what I came up with...

It's not photoing in it's true "neon celery" state. It's a lot brighter than I wanted but I rolled with it. The kids are really loving the bright colors. I do, however, love the new storage shelf above the toilet, which was goal #2 in here. The old one went to the floor and this one leaves things a lot more open and roomy. I spent more on it than I should have (Better Homes and Gardens @ Walmart for $55 but I did use a $25 gift card) and even spent a little more to get cute knobs (just like these but smaller and green) from Hobby Lobby, which I had to hit with some silver paint because the aged look wasn't working in here.

Cute, and my Honey even commented, saying they added a lot.

For art, I sprayed 3 Dollar Tree frames in white, added 3 Dollar Tree mattes in white (2 for a $1) and printed out a few of my favorite pieces by Shirley Novak.

I thought of these as soon as I knew I wanted to go with a "citrus" color pallet. I really want a larger framed print. (hint hint..Mother's Day).

Another problem I needed to address was the towel bar, which was unable to conveniently hang 3 towels. So I used some scrap wood from the garage, 3 left over hooks from the Target dollar section (used one for this) and some white paint (on hand) to come up with this:

I LOVE this. I got the towels at Target and decided to assign each kid a color. They have their own towel and their own matching washrag. I also got the matching hand-towels and put them in a basket for a little functional pop of color. (I added the brown because I was too lazy to repaint the mirror above the sink).

When your bathroom is this small, most of it needs to be functional to avoid clutter. I got the brown bath mat @ Family Dollar and I also got the basket there for $4. (little basket for hairbows and candle on the shelf, I had already) I could have found a basket cheaper at a thrift shop, but not with a liner and my sewing skills are not that great. I did check the Salvation Army today though and did not find one, but I did score MAJORLY in the Target Room.

These 3 items (new) for $5 TOTAL!!! I had just looked at that same lamp while shopping for towels and about had a heart attack when I saw it in there for $5.99. (it was the only one with a lamp shade and they were all marked 9.99??) and I also got the stepping stool (1.99) and the soap pump(.99) and just when I thought I was having a good day, the lady said my total was $5.

"$5, I asked?"

"The lamp and the stool are half off today."

This happened to me before when we bought the Scientist a new TV. I will never figure out their sales, but I AM NOT COMPLAINING!

So, I used the soap dispenser and the stepping stool in the bathroom, and put the lamp in the girls room (more on that in a bit) but first, lets do some fun before and afters.

If you want to see how the bathroom looked when we first bought it, check out this post, but I'm going to show 3 stages.
1. Basically when we first moved in.
2. After the big remodel when I was pregnant with Cutecumber, (and the need for more space was eminent)
3. Today :)


Look at how much more room we have in #3 vs #1!



I totally miss the blue, but I'll live. And what was I thinking with that giraffe?! lol


Replacing the tub with a shower was such a great idea, and I LOVE my new towel rack!!!

Now, if you are still with me, I have one more thing to show you in the girls room. I had to push back the dresser re-do because of the bathroom, but while I was at Hobby Lobby, they had their vinyl decals half off (regularly 9.99 for mine) Plus I had a handy dandy 40% off coupon (thanks Katie) and so I thought..why not!
Before..

After..

It was a little tricky cutting them for the drawers and keeping it all lined up, but not too bad. The girls love it, I love it, and I didn't have to paint anything so I EXTRA love it.


Bathroom and dresser.. DONE!

**ps, Did you notice that one of the frames in the bathroom has a larger mat than the others? I didn't until I posted the pictures and now it's probably going to drive me NUTS**

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Not so aPEELing Makeover

Although I do love a good makeover, not all of them are my idea.



I thought this was a sign that the Scientist needed a book to read in the bathroom to cure his boredom, but when I asked him about it I was told that he had always hated the paint job.

**Note to any kids reading this, when you do something naughty, don't diss mommy's taste in decor or you're basically asking for a life sentence.**

Sooo, the dresser project is pushed back and the bathroom is getting a new paint job. I can't repair it because I used different shades of blue that I self-mixed and have none of it left. Honey wants me to go with green. I'm leaning towards yellow. I always tend to paint according to the season, so either way it looks like the kids bathroom will be Spring-y. I plan on freshening up a few things while I'm in there:

*Paint obviously.

*I want a peg style towel holder so I can hang all three of the kids towels easier/neater than I can on the small bar style towel holder we currently have.

*New cabinet/shelf over the toilet cause the one we have has seen better days (like ones where it wasn't stained with neon colored toothpaste or worn down to the "high dollar" pressed cardboard in spots)

*Accessories like new hand towels, rug, soap dispenser, and wall art etc...

I've got $100 budget but I'm aiming for $50.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

World of worry

Here it is, almost 3 a.m. and I'm up worrying for just about everyone in the world. Worrying for the people of Japan. Worrying about my own children and their friends and classmates. I worry enough to put quite a few gray hairs on my 33yr old head. I know it's pointless, and after a lot of hard worry work I give it all to God. But give me 24 hours and I'm doing the same thing.
I wonder if this is a "woman" thing or a "mother" thing. For me, the two happened simultaneously so it's hard for me to differentiate.
Shortly after Ms. Thang was born, she got a really terrible diaper rash. I stayed up all night doing everything I possibly could to ease the pain until I could take her to the pediatrician the next morning. I told my mom how I couldn't sleep at all because I was so worried about her and she said, " Welcome to motherhood. You start worrying about them the minute they are born and you never stop until the day you die."
It stuck with me as I already loved her unconditionally and knew it was true. I even felt a bit differently about my mom in that moment, understanding her side of our own bond and realizing she was worrying for me all my life and would always be.
One thing she failed to mention was that I would also take on a motherly role for every child I encountered from that moment on, seeing my own children in the faces of all children and worry for them as well.
It's overwhelming at times, especially when you are helpless to do anything but worry, like with the tragedy in Japan, and like every night I pray and put my worries in the only hands that can do anything with it. But it does comfort me to know that I am worrying for these things, just as my mom is also and praying about her worries for me, and her mother for her, and undoubtedly I am worrying and praying with millions of other women and mothers into the wee hours of the night who's mothers are all worrying and praying for each of them. How loud we must sound to God. What a song it must be to hear this lineage of women and mothers trusting him with our most precious things.

Sorry for rambling and typos, I'm typing this from my phone and it IS 3a.m :)

Friday, March 18, 2011

Finished the second quilt

Took me long enough right? It was all cut, I just needed to sew it together. I'm happy to be done with it and have the fabric out of my way! I used tons of zebra print for this one (per Ms. Thang's request) and I think it turned out well. The two really complement each other.

The room still has a long way to go, but I'm chipping away at it. It has been decided that the corner at the foot of the bed is Cutecumber's section, for toys etc...

and the opposite corner, beside the dresser will be for Ms. Thang and she is wanting a reading nook. Speaking of that dresser, remember how I made an awesome deal, trading my tall narrow chest of drawers, for long dresser yesterday? Well I could use some advice on how to redo it.

This is how it looks now:


I am wanting to paint it and add cute knobs. I fell in love with some from Hobby Lobby that my friend Crystal used to make her back-pack station. She is really awesome and should start a craft blog of her own (hint hint).


Beautiful right?! So imagine those or something equally similar on the dresser. Now for the hard part. Choosing how to paint it. The whole thing is solid wood except the very top piece which is a high gloss laminate to protect from scratches. It isn't impossible to paint laminate, but it's a lot of work. I'm willing to do it, but first, lets think through all of my options.

I really only want to work with these 4 colors.

1. turquoise- I'm willing to go lighter or darker, but staying in the same family as the wall color
2. natural
3. black
4 red
I could do white, but I ALWAYS do white. I want to try something different.

The easiest thing, would be to leave the body of the dresser natural and only paint the drawers. I I like this idea, but that natural color really looks yellow in the room and I don't know if I can make it work. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and sand the whole thing, primer and paint.

I still have multiple choices though. Painting the entire thing in one color or painting the body one color and the drawers something else. I've seen some with multiple colored drawers but I don't think I want to go that route. It's a little much for me, seeing as how I'm taking my first baby step away from white. I also like the idea of vinyl decals on the drawer fronts.
Here are just a few of the options I have:


And then there is the whole to distress or not. I'd love your opinions and ideas, but Ms. Thang will weigh in heavily with her opinion as well. sigh... This could take awhile.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patricks Day!

What a fun day we had! Aside from missing Ms. Thang (at her dads) it was a great day.We were invited to lunch at my Mother-in-laws house and I decided to go all out with the green. I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and picked up some supplies.


2 green shirts
1 green bandana
I also used some iron on letters I got at a garage sale (seriously best place to get those) and some ribbon I had on hand.

45 minutes later I had these:

Not too bad! I know there are better ways to do the tie shirt and ruffles, which include scary things like fuse-able web and elastic thread, but I just went for it and thought they turned out pretty cute.

The kids looked super festive as we headed out the door and we were greeted by a little poodle (no tags) sitting there as if it knew we were about to walk out. I actually had to crop it out of this picture because it kept jumping up on their laps. This isn't the best pic, but the only one I took that shows the front of their shirts.


Ok, now Im feeling super guilty about the dog. It was lost and I was mad at the thing for getting in my pictures and distracting the kids. Here he is...

Ok I feel a little better. I hope he found his way home...

On to cuter things. Forced hug photos!




Lunch was so good we stayed over through dinner. I also made a fantastic trade with the sweetest gal. (If you're reading HELLO! )We swapped dressers. She made a post on a mommy board about wanting to trade a long 6 drawer dresser for a taller one and I had what she needed and wanted what she had. I'm thinking of doing a little makeover on it so I'll post more about it then. Hopefully soon, but if you know me, when I say soon I mean weeks or months. Still working on that other quilt.....

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Globe Turned Birdbath

Remember when I saved THIS globe from the dumpster and envisioned a birdbath? Well I finished it yesterday and couldn't be happier with the results!



Lets take a look at where we started:


First I removed the globe and bought a plastic planter base from Lowes for $10. I looked through all my little birds (I have a bazillion) and I picked out one because it was black and wouldn't need a base coat. He was actually attached to a candle stick (thrift shop for less than a dollar) and I just easily broke him off. Then I did a dry fit to see if I liked it. And I did :)


(ignore my backyard, it's a work in progress and I promise to do a post on that when it's all said and done)

Then I got a drill and in like 2 seconds I made a hole through the planter base and with a little waterproof epoxy, I reused the screw that held the globe onto the base and affixed the "basin" onto the stand.

Then using more epoxy, I just glued the little bird on top of the screw. Next I painted the entire thing black and then did a final coat with Rustoleums Oil Rubbed Bronze. As soon as I hit it with that stuff, I realized why the entire blog world raves about it so much. It really added so much depth and luxury. (Looks a little splotchy here cause I touched it up and it hadn't dried)



I also picked up an iron plant stand yesterday for $10 on Craigslist. It's really sturdy and the lady I got it from was just a sweetie. A base coat of Rustoleum flat black and a topcoat of ORB...



Here is how rusted it was before:

Add me to the ORB fan club. I am totally on board.

Two $10 projects. (I know I need plants mmk)


Oh, and I just tried filling it with water and although it IS waterproof, it isn't balanced at the moment, making the water all go to one side and tipping it over, SO.. until I add a weight to the bottom, I love my new birdFEEDER lol

Friday, March 11, 2011

Testing 123

I'm hoping to make some fun Thrift Shop Videos soon and needed to test out the feature on my phone and how to upload it all to photobucket and then transfer to here. I'm sharing the quick test video with you. Nothing special, but I'm going through the trouble of uploading it so why not share it.
I took it today while waiting for Ms. Thang to get out of school. I know I park far from her actual school, but this allows the Scientist to have a little area to get out and play, and she gets to enjoy a walk/talk with her friends on the way to my van.

In this short clip, the Scientist started talking before I hit play. So to recap the missed beginning, He reconstructs a little rock sculpture/castle everyday near a tree and he tried covering it with a box he found nearby to prevent others from knocking it down, but it didn't work. This is where the video starts...

The Sculpture (featuring the Scientist and a guest appearance by Cutecumber in her annoying scream phase)



(In one part he whispers to stop the movie but denies it.. no idea why) lol

True Housewife Confessions

On the way to drop of the kids at school this morning, I was fighting the urge to come home angry and tell Honey that since I surprised him with a clean backyard yesterday, AND found a cheap iphone on craiglist for him, AND let him set it up during our entire dinner at Texas Roadhouse last night, AND watched a movie alone while he played on it for hours, that he should have let me sleep in and taken the kids to school.

Fighting the urge didn't help and I made him feel like doo-doo before he went to work.

Cutecumber and I went back to sleep after dropping off the kids. It was a busy day yesterday.

Cutecumber is carrying around a pair of my underwear (clean) as a blanket and I'm letting her. YES a blanket.

Today I have to drop off Ms. Thang at a new friends house and meet her mother who I know is about 10yrs older than me and requested that we meet because her daughter can't go unless her mother approves of her friends mother. I like her style but EEK I'm nervous and have a zit on the end of my nose that makes me look like Rudolf. The whole thing is giving me diarrhea. TMI? Yeah, I tend to do that..see why I'm worried!?

I've been threatening Ms. Thang all week about it, saying I'm going to "wear a Twilight tank top and daisy dukes, hollerin' at the woman from the van cause I have my litter with me and can't risk leaving them in the vehicle alone anymore since I already have 2 strikes with the poe-leese".

Today, after school, is officially the start of SPRING BREAK! I am promising myself to do something fun with the kids and enjoy it.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

What did I buy?

Do you know what this is?

Well I found a brand new yellow one sitting on the shelf at Goodwill and had no idea what it was either. The little cup fits down inside but upside down? When I turned it over it said butterbell.com
Hmm...I bought it for a dollar and decided I'd find out. Apparently, you put a softened stick of butter in the little cup, fill the larger canister with enough water to cover the lip of the butter cup when it's turned upside down inside of it, creating a seal so that you can have room temperature butter out on the table for up to 30 days. Uh.. COOL! Here is a video explaining it more. They cost $20 so I'd say mine is a score. It looks just like this one.


I still don't know what this little bird actually is. (cant find my cam so using my phone)

If you look closely there is a tiny hole on top, and lots of little holes on the bottom. It reminds me of a plant waterer or air freshener?

Hmm....Any ideas?

Sorry for the lack of content lately but I've been busy. Tomorrow something WONDERFUL is happening though! I have a huge embarrassing junk pile in my backyard. It was actually there when we moved in, but after remodeling a few rooms, and cutting down a tree, we added quite a bit to it. Honey works hard to make time for projects but making time for the clean up is even harder. I know it's always in the back of his mind and something he has been meaning to do. He thinks he is going to spend his entire vacation clearing it out, but actually I have someone coming to haul it all off tomorrow while he is at work! YAY! I can't wait to surprise him with this, and it's been so hard keeping the secret. Here is a tiny picture of my big embarrassment:


If you must, click HERE for a larger picture so you can carefully inspect it and make fun of me forever :(

Ps...my dishwasher went out. I guess it's true what they say, "Every time you buy a new appliance, another one goes out." -boo

Friday, March 4, 2011

Too Far?

I totally just picked up a broken globe from the Goodwill trash pile in the back of the store near the dumpsters. I was there dropping off a bunch of items that have been in my kitchen, waiting to go for a couple of weeks (yay I can see my floor again!). You have to drop off items in the back, and that is when I noticed it poking its big round head up over some disgusting (and I mean disgusting) stacks of mattresses near the dumpsters where they throw all the broken and non-sell-able items. It's tall and on a stand that looks like a lamp post. One side of the globe is crushed in and it's separated at the equator. I am hoping it will be a great base for a bird bath idea I've been toying with. As I placed it in the back of my van, one passerby slowed down to watch me.

A few thoughts went through my mind.

1. She's gonna call the cops!- I mean, it was definitely thrown out, but still, I was behind a store digging in their trash. It looked (and felt) rather shady!

2. She thinks I'm disgusting. -Hello, I just picked up something that Goodwill didn't even want. Sure it's off to the side, but it was technically amid yellow stained mattresses. Even I had to avert my eyes. Katie would have crapped her pants.

Oddly, when I glanced up at her like a doe in headlights, I realized she wasn't thinking either of those things, as her eyes were fixated on the broken headboard leaning against one of the dumpsters. That's right, she was looking for goods too! She waited until I was pulling out of the parking lot and circled back around to load it. lol

Wanna see what I ventured onto the wild side for?


You can see the bird bath too right?
Unscrew the top from the stand, add a large bowl-ish something to the top. E-6000 a little ceramic bird on the lip of the basin (you know I have a few to choose from!) and spray the whole thing with spray paint. (I'm thinking black with a coat of this Oil Rubbed Bronze (orb) stuff the blog world is always raving about) and then waterproof sealant. Wa-la! Bird bath...I hope. :)

**Looking for basin ideas, I came across quite a few people making them by using giant leaves to make molds in sand. LOVE IT! Too bad West Texas is basically leaf-less. :(

A play to remember

Ms. Thang was in her first play yesterday for her Speech and Drama class and it was a competition with all the local Jr. high schools! Talk about pressure. She must have gotten the bravery from her father because I'd run, hide and puke at the thought. Heck, I almost did all three of those when I had to drop her off at the High School amid a group of High School BOYS because the competition took place there! I have to wait until Thursday to see her performance since they are doing a special one for the parents.

Apparently, I'm fortunate to have to wait for this second showing (and added practice time)because they totally bombed the competition. Something about a failed light cue and an awkward moment of silence before they improvised by skipping an important part of the story and coming back to it later when it didn't make sense. I wish I could have witnessed that lol.

Ms. Thang has been practicing her lines at home and my other kids have really enjoyed acting out other parts in the play to help her along. Last night Ms. Thang was repeatedly coming out of the bathroom pretending to have seen a ghost but kept bursting out into a fit of laughter before she could say more than 2 words. I don't know why she was doing this, it had nothing to do with her role in the play, but I was the poor fool who had to sit outside the door and watch her come out at least 30 times, blaming me for her laughter because I was looking at her wrong. :S

As you can imagine, the fake screams and non stop giggling got the attention of my two little ones and soon they were all taking turns running out of the bathroom, "acting" like they saw a ghost. Even, little Cutecumber would come out and say, "Ghost in there!" and faint away onto the floor, easing down onto her knees, rolling over and then slowly lowering her head to the carpet so she wouldn't hurt herself creating the longest faint-fall in history. lol They did this for a good hour. I'd give them a scene "Someone stole your bike- Action!" and they'd try and make it believable, bursting through the door, weeping into their hands or beating up imaginary bike thieves.

I'm still not used to having the video feature on my phone and forgot to capture the moment, but I'm putting it here and hope to remember it forever. It was a fun night. :)

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

It's a Wonderful Life

Today was my 33rd birthday and I had a great one!

I got so many phone calls, cards, well wishes on FB and such, I just feel so loved and blessed!

Ms. Thang had a handmade card set out for me when I woke up which she had signed by each of the kids. Adorable and a sweet surprise.

I got She and Him Volume II. - loving it!



I also scored an iphone 3g from my Honey!! Get ready for more pictures and video (if I can figure out how to load it on blogger). I've been thinking of doing photos of my actual thrift shopping trips since a friend of mine asked how I found the items I do and it was brought up that maybe I have nicer stores than other areas (doubt it) or I am willing to dig through complete filth fairly often (pretty sure that's the one) lol

I am having so much fun with the phone already. I made a joke about giving my old pink razr to Cutecumber as her first cell someday and realized she'll probably be like, "Mom! That is sooo old and embarrassing! I think this scratch on the side is from a T-rex!"

I remember bragging to my jr high friends when I got the 3-way calling feature, and that was on our single line shared by my entire family! lol

One day Ms. Thang asked me why we say the telephone "rings" when it doesn't actually ring. Fast forward 20 yrs and I'll be forced to tell the grandkids about phones that rang and and playing cassette tapes on a thing called a stereo that was bigger than 50 pocket cars put together. :P

But lets not get ahead of ourselves. I'm only 3 years into my 30s, but I'm loving this stage of my life.


Thanks again to all the friends and family that helped make this such a wonderful day! <3
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