Greatest Gift

dining room redo

So I've been wanting to redo our dining room for quite a while.  There was really nothing wrong with it before, but it had really not been finished either.  The paint was looking a little worse for the wear, so that was the first thing on the agenda.  After over a week of struggling with the choices, I settled on a cabin red & coffee colors for the walls.  Dan & my brother Rick made all the woodwork in the house & it's painted a craft white {sort of a creamy off white color}.  We painted 2 walls the red & 2 wall the coffee. I really love the way it turned out!  Definitely a big change from the pale green it was before.  I'm thinking I still am wanting a area rug for under our farmhouse table, but haven't found the right one just yet!  I thought I'd share some peeks around the room..

This is one of our antique chairs that surround our farmhouse table... we were lucky enough to have Dan's parents give us 4 or 5 of them & I've supplemented with some similar ones that I've found at antique stores.  I've got a thing for the bluish-green ball jars too, so I have a load of them.  Seven fit perfectly in the wire basket I've had for several years.  I put some candles in each jar & am using them for a centerpiece.  I think it looks sorta cool on the long table.

The 2 cabinets in the pictures above are ones that I found when we first bought the house when I was going a little antique furniture crazy.  The green one used to have doors on it, but they were difficult to open & close, so I just took them off & use it like a book shelf.  Since the dining room is also my office, this holds some of my work stuff.  The cream one has been in our bedroom for the last several years holding my clothes & tv, but now is holding my printer & lots of work & scrapbook stuff.  Plus I'm loving it because I can display cool stuff in the upper portion.  You see this wall when you walk into the house from our porch.

Above the dining room table I made this collage of yummy scrapbook paper goodness & one of my favorite sayings.  Since it's my office as well, I went a little more boldness.  I wanted it to be a little fun & there are a few little surprises in this one.  A little bit crazy, but I'm really liking it... sort of a mix of my love of vintage, modern, color & pattern all in one!  I'm anxiously awaiting a vintage letter M that I ordered off of Etsy that will go on this wall as well.

Next on the agenda... the living room!

Happy Birthday Brennan!

Just wanted to wish our nephew Brennan a happy 18th birthday today!  I am seriously in denial that this kid can be 18 {I'm sure my brother & sis in law are feeling it more!}.  Brennan was the first born into our family, so my first nephew.  He is now one of Lydia's favorite people!  We love you Brennan... have a great day!

btw.. pic by Carol

Also, I need to wish a very happy birthday to an amazing lady I was blessed to meet a few years back... Ali Edwards!  If your looking for some inspiration you can find her here.

Have a wonderful special day you two:)

 

things that make us giggle...

Lydie has a way of making us laugh out loud at least one time a day by some of the funny little things she says.  We've been pretty amazed sometimes with the sentences that she can pull together & her little sense of humor!  Thought I'd share a few things that made me giggle lately:

Last Sunday in Church {where she is constantly chattering by the way} she was watching a lady bug crawling across the top of the pew, she went on to say "hello ladybug, my name is Lydia & this is my mom"

Sunday evening, when returning home, Lydia found the moon in the sky {one of her favorite things is to look for the moon} & said to the moon "oh moon, you're up!  I'm Lydia & this is my mom"

Looks like a trend is beginning with the introductions... 

When picking her up from the babysitters yesterday, I told her we'd go home to see Collin.  "Oh Collin's practicing his spelling words".  {doubtful, but funny the things she picks up on}

Grandma K gave her a little prayer book the other day.  Pointing to the priest on the cover, grandma asked, "who's that?", to which she replied "Father Beckman!" {our priest}.  When I pointed to Jesus on the cross & asked who that was, she simply replied "that guy."  

Some of the other things she loves to say: "leave Lydia alone" {usually to Evan}, "my daddy's painting my house"... "what color Lydia?".... "PINK!",  "where's that remote? hmmm" {yes, really!}

the walking dead + a super cute costume

Ok, so I've always loved thinking of what the kids could be for Halloween.  The boys were so fun when they were little.  I could make them up a costume like a monkey, or a cow, or a puppy & they'd be cute as could be.  Well, we're past that stage with them now... over the last few years it's been Star Wars characters, which is fine.  But this year I caved.  This year they are both grim reaperish type characters with fake blood... just what I've always wanted my children to be.  Boys.

Girls, on the other hand, especially our 2 year old girly girl, is the highlight of the holiday.  Last year, I found a great deal on a Gymboree butterfly costume for her & was impressed by it's quality & cuteness quotient, so this year, I started scanning Ebay for Gymboree costumes.  I found the perfect thing... a fairy costume.  It was perfect, since one of her new favorite books as of late was a really cute book about fairies.  There are 4 little fairies in the book & she's renamed them all: Lydia, Kodi, Alexis & Natalie {her little daycare buddies}.  Anyway, when Dan & I went shopping for the boys costumes, we made a quick detour to the Gymboree store & I think I could have jumped up & down when I found the fairy costume ON SALE in the store!  My find payed off when we got home & showed Lydia her costume.  She had to try it on immediately & kept saying things like "I'm a princess", "this is my costume", "it's pretty nice", "I'm cute" while twirling around like a ballerina.  So here's a sneak peak... can't wait to take them all trick or treating Thursday...

pumpkin carving

After going to the pumpkin patch, the boys couldn't wait to carve their pumpkins {they're now in the garage refrigerator trying to avoid beetles & the warmer weather}.  I think we'll get them out tonight & light them up!  

Collin had an idea in his head of how he wanted to have his pumpkin look & went right to work after we got rid of all the inside yuck!  Evan had an idea, but his pumpkin was rock hard, so in true Dan fashion, he pulled out the cordless drill to help Evan out with his plan.  They say dogs look like their owners, how about pumpkins & their carvers?  

As for Lydia & her tiny pumpkin, we opted for the marker, which she was more than happy with.  I think it's pure genius!

can I share, please?

Is it just me, or does anyone else have sleep deprived nights that start with painting a room & quickly turn into thoughts of "oh, I could do this, or that"?  Well, our house is in constant renovation mode.  The interior was painted when we moved in {well, mostly}.  There were places where the trim wasn't quite done or we painted this & never touched up that {you know, life}.  Over the last few months I'd been thinking it would be nice to try to get the rooms in shape before Dan decides to start a garage project next spring.  We decided to start with the dining room & living room... I think!  Our rooms all our open to each other, so color is a little tricky.  Right now these rooms are a nice shade of pale green, which I like, but I'm thinking of changing it up a little... maybe some red or chocolate colors?

Another thing that is a constant struggle for me is that when we moved in, we had 2 growing boys & of course, since then, we had Lydia, which really shook stuff up!  Before she was born, I had a lovely studio room at the top of the stairs, which is now a super cute room for Lydia.  Since I work from home, that leaves the couch & the dining room table my work spaces & my scrapbook stuff & paperwork crammed here & there throughout the house.  Sooooo,  while obviously sleepless thinking about possibilities, I've come up with some solutions {that may or may not work}.   I'm just rambling here, so bear with me.

I'm thinking, leave the living room pretty much as is, but change the dining room into my full blown office, using our long, skinny farmhouse table as my desk.  Moving the big armoire from our bedroom, which is pretty much being used just for our TV {& junk) into the dining room {aka office} to store my large format printer, paper, scrapbook supplies, etc behind doors.  It's really an awesome piece & it would be visible & put to good use!  Thennnnn, instead of the island that only seats 2 people in the kitchen, move an antique kitchen table that is currently on our porch & use the antique chairs that we use now w/ the farmhouse table.  We have a large kitchen, so the eat in idea would totally work, just would take some adjustment.  

We have a multitude of things we want to accomplish around the inside of the house while the weather is not so nice outside.  On our list... finally finishing our bedroom {complete w/ furniture & finished closets would be nice!}, adding a few more cabinets to the kitchen, more touching up on painting, moving the laundry area to the basement so we can use the area it is in for a large {much needed} pantry & maybe, just maybe, we'll get some doorknobs on our bedroom doors!

ahhh, thank for letting me get that out of my head!

yuckies

I can't complain, I think we've been pretty blessed {so far} keeping the yuckies away with all the people sick lately.  Unfortunately, Collin has been the odd man out... almost 2 weeks ago, he tested positive for strep throat & was on antibiotic until this Wednesday.  Yesterday he came home from school & complained of a scratchy throat & I told him he was probably getting a cold.  Last night he was complaining again & so I got out the flashlight & sure enough, the red patches are back.  So back we go to get him tested & get more meds.  I'm envisioning a tonsillectomy in our future :(

poka tots & jammies all day

One of Lydie's favorite things are poka tots {polka dots}.   I have to admit, she probably got her love of polka dots from me, I do love the cute little fellas.  Most everything I design includes a dot pattern somewhere.  So, of course, I cannot resist a piece of girl clothing if they have dots included.  This is one of many pairs of jammies we own covered with poka tots & definitely one of Lydie's favorites.  Oh & did I mention another one of her favorite things right now is being able to stay at home in her jammies all day?  It doesn't happen every day, of course, but on Lydie Fridays & the weekends, if we don't have other plans, pjs are her clothing of choice!  She knows that Friday is her day home with me & makes a point to tell me when she comes downstairs in the morning "mommy I want to stay in my jammies allll day".  Sure thing miss Lyd, live it up :)

a trip to the pumpkin patch

 

We FINALLY were able to make our way to Kathy's Pumpkin Patch on Saturday morning.  It was still pretty chilly, hence the winter coats, hats & gloves, but the kids could really care less!  They were so excited to finally be there.  Lydie was particularly thrilled, since the last time she was at the pumpkin patch, she was only about 7 months old!  I think she was a little overwhelmed by all the stuff to look at. They all LOVED playing in the corn {Collin got buried by his brother!} & I think Lydie could have gone down the big slide all day long.  After we checked most of the little buildings out & Lydie's hands were nearly purple {she wasn't cooperating with mitten wearing}, we let them each pick out pumpkins.  We picked out a BIG family pumpkin, Collin & Evan picked out large & medium sizes & of course, Lydie had to have a teenie pumpkin for herself {I'll post later our pumpkin carving/drawing adventure}.  It really turned out to be an awesome day with the kiddos.  This was the first year Dan had gone along with us, & I think from now on, he'll be joining us on this family adventure.  It's so awesome to see the excitement on their faces & running around having a great time... after all, isn't that what being a kid is all about?

a family wedding

The first weekend in October, we had a family wedding!  We were so excited to share the day with our nephew Jon & his lovely bride Heather.  When my sister Kathy first started dating Jon's dad, he was merely a preschooler, believe it or not!  Needless to say, we are so happy for Jon & Heather.  I thought I'd share some shots my sister Carol captured from that happy day!

The Happy Couple

Lydie in her princess dress. {when I was getting her dressed that day, she announced that today, she would be a princess!}

This little candy girl was thrilled to find sour cherry balls {Jon's fave} in cute heart tins all over the tables!

Cute cousins Erin, Lydie & Collin

Jon's twin, Jenny {we love that girl!} & Alec 

 

these are just a few, hopefully I can share more later!  Lydie especially had a great time, after fitting in a snooze during the wedding, she was rarin' to dance & twirl that dress at the reception!