Unraveling

You know the saying, "When it rains, it pours."?

Well, that's exactly how I feel these past few weeks, like everything is happening all at once, and I have no control.  I'm just trying to stay afloat.  

Little known fact....I'm terrible at handling stress.  Note to self: do more yoga this month!  

We've been getting our old house ready to rent and in the process we noticed a leak in the bathroom.  The toilet had come off the wax ring and had been slowly leaking and ultimately destroying the sub floor.

So, we were delayed advertising the house a few days while this was taken care of.

Ugh...

Since we were not able to find the original tile anymore to replace what was ripped out (and we did not want to rip out the entire floor to put something new in) we opted to put in a completely different tile around the toilet.  This is now an official throne room, ha!

A little weird looking...but fully functional.

So, long story short, we realized we had the same problem in our own house.  Specifically, the girls' bathroom.  

Here we go again...

There was leaking around the toilet as well as the tub, so out went ALL the tile this time and most of the sub floor.

The new tile was installed Friday night but the bathroom was still out of commission for the weekend.  Which proved a challenge with 7 girls in this house over the weekend!!  Yep, that's right!  We had three cousins stay here overnight...the girls were in slumber party heaven!  Me on the other hand...I think I'm still recovering.  Kidding...but seriously.

As for this week, the toilet and shower are now functional, but we are in the process of putting in a new vanity.  

So with our bathroom being under construction here and driving back and forth to our rental, and my own daily chores (laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc.) are being neglected...it's all taking a toll.

And Thanksgiving is next week!  I have so much on my mind, this holiday has completely sneaked up on me!

And then Christmas???  Oh my, don't even get me started!!

Hopefully things will slow down in December??  

Holding down the fort.

Last week Ryan was out of town for work (in sunny southern CA in fact) and I held down the fort...not very well, but I tried.  

Not sure, but I think summer is kicking my butt in the parenting department.  It feels like everyday is a battle with the kids, messes are EVERYWHERE, and I just can't keep up with anything!  I know it's bad when I lay down at night and think, "I don't think I laughed once today." Or "Did I even smile today????"  When that happens, I know I need to change my attitude quick or all my kids are going to remember is me scowling!!

Anyway, while Ryan was gone I did manage to finally fix up my bedroom....and I'm loving the way it's turning out!

I painted the room a light, airy, beachy blue...I love it!

I bought some pillows, window treatments, hung some artwork and even bought my first full size mirror to go in the corner of the room.  It's all coming together!  Next, I'm going to tackle our bathroom...it needs a major makeover!!

I was able to skip out one morning for a quick ride with a friend and another woman I'd just met.

It was wonderful and just what I needed to get though the rest of the time with Ryan being gone.

Sunday, I stuck to our routine with our Sundance Sundays and took the girls on a hike.

Just recently, I purchased everyone a camelbak (thank you REI dividends!) and it has been a complete game changer!!  Before when we hiked, Ryan and I carried the water bottles and we had to stop CONSTANTLY for kids to drink.  I'm not sure if it's because we live in a super dry area, but my kids are always thirsty!  I make sure I have a water bottle in my purse at all times when I'm on errands, because I kid you not, they think they're going to die if they don't have a drink RIGHT NOW...they're so dramatic.

But anyway, with Camelbaks it was a dream!!

They loved having control of their snacks and water and the fact that we didn't have to stop every two seconds.  I kick myself I didn't get them sooner!!

And in other news...I got my haircut yesterday.

Why do we get so attached to our hair??  You would think I was getting a limb amputated!  I mean, it's just hair!!  Turns out though, I love it...I just sometimes need a little push to do it.  Because, let's be honest, it was in bad shape!

Hope ya'll are having a fabulous week!

Finally a finished summer project.

Now I can finally say I did at least one summer project this year!

 After years of thinking about it...it's now done!

I contemplated the color FOR EVER, that's pretty much why I never did it until now, I just couldn't decide!

I liked the idea of a turquoise, but the red brick just kept throwing it off.  Basically in the end I went with yellow.  Benjamin Moore, Hawthorn Yellow to be exact.  Yellow is always my default color.

I think I like it...yeah, I like it.

The yellow is just a little more mellow than I thought it was going to be.

It reminds me of a stick of butter.  Hopefully I don't always think of butter every time I look at it now.

Oh, and before you give me grief for still having fourth of July flags up...we celebrate Pioneer Day on the 24th around these parts so I can still rock the patriotic decor.

Happy Monday ya'll!

Morgan's New Room

I finally made the switch-a-roo with the little ones and Morgan.  Morgan moved into the room the little ones were in and the little ones moved into the room Haley and Morgan were in with the bunk bed...if that's understandable at all.  I took down the crib and toddler bed...it was a bit heartbreaking for me as I don't know if I'll be setting those up ever again....sniff, sniff.  

Morgan's new room!

That, my friends, is my childhood bed!

It has been in my parents' spare room (my old room) all these years and Jeff was able to bring it in his truck when he came back from Spring Break.

I love that bed!  It's fun to have it again!

And more importantly, Morgan loves her new room!

New Room!

Haley's new room actually looks like a room now!  

We finally got her a real bed, no more sleeping on a futon couch...although she never complained once about it!  She is just over the moon that she has her own space now...she would have been happy as a clam just sleeping on the floor.  I still would like to get a headboard...but that will come in time.

Morgan was sad seeing her room mate move out, but she's gotten used to it.  All I know is that there is less fighting and bedtime is sooooo much easier!

Progress....it feels so good.

Making Changes

 This was last Wednesday skiing with my little ones.

This was this Wednesday trying to paint while nursing a sick one.

Not ideal for sure...she came down with a stomach bug, most likely she got sick from Morgan who stayed home from school on Monday.  However, Morgan wasn't sick to this extent.  Anyway, so I painted like a crazy woman in the morning while Piper slept then I cuddled on the couch with her for about 2 1/2 hours watching numerous Pioneer Woman and House Hunters episodes.  Yep, guilt free sofa surfing!!

So yeah, painting.  There are some big changes happening around here.  As you are probably aware (or not) my two oldest (Haley and Morgan) share a bedroom.  They don't always get along...in fact they have pretty much opposite ways of life.  Haley is much neater and likes to have her room clean and in a certain way (most of the time) and Morgan on the other hand isn't so much that way.  But, I was (note "was") holding on that they still share a room because it helps them to understand to compromise and work together...important life skills!!  

Well, I hit the end of my rope!!  The older they get the more fighting and bickering they do....it's awful!  Several weeks ago in the midst of one of there fights (and girls can get pretty physical, it's not just boys!) I barged in and began removing every toy, craft, doll, EVERYTHING that they held dear out of their room.  I stashed it all in our spare room and boy oh boy did I have their attention then!!  Let's just say there were a lot of tears over this one!!  To earn their things back they needed to get along (NO FIGHTING) for three days in a row and then they could pick ONE item to get back.  Then another three days for another item and so on and so on.  They eventually got everything back.  But, Ryan and I have decided that it's time they each have their own space.  

Soooo, we are moving Haley into our spare room (our futon will be moved to the basement/craft room) and Morgan will be moving into the room that Piper and Rory share.  And Piper and Rory will be still be sharing, but will move into Haley and Morgan's room.  Does that make sense?  It's time anyway for Piper to move out of her toddler bed and Rory to move out of her crib and into the bunk bed.

I'm actually pretty darn thrilled about this, as I think it will relieve a lot of the fighting between the older girls.

And all the girls seems to be excited about it as well.

So hence the painting.  I've painted Haley's new room a turquoise color...however, what I thought was going to be a very light turquoise turned out to be much brighter!  I'm not that keen on it (but perhaps it will grow on me) but Haley is in love with it!  I guess that's all that matters.

We still have quite a bit of work to do...new beds to purchase and lots and lots of cleaning!  There is so much stuff that needs to be thrown out or organized before these kids make the move into their new rooms.

And if you are wondering, it hasn't even been a year since redoing their rooms the last time.  Ah, good times.

The little ones' room.

Hope ya'll are having a great week!

Making progress...

...one room at a time.

 Remember way back when I told you I was painting Piper and Rory's room?  Well, I finished...actually finished a while ago and finally got around to taking pictures.  Actually, let's be honest this room still needs a bit of work (new blinds, more artwork on one bare wall...and perhaps a bunk bed eventually), but I'm making progress!

I painted the room Sugar Plum from Benjamin Moore...it's the perfect light lilac color.  I bought some fabric from a discount fabric place and sewed the curtains myself (kinda proud of that!)  The elephant picture my artist brother, Andrew, painted (it's an oil on canvas and I still need to get a frame for it), and I think it looks pretty darn good in there!

My mom and I made these circle things (what do you call these anyway??) from fun scrapbook paper. 

I think they turned out pretty cute...it's a cheap way to decorate an empty wall.

 So yeah...I'm pretty pleased.

As far as Haley and Morgan's room....

...it currently looks like this.

I've spent the last few days ripping down all the wallpaper that was in there...ugh...what a chore!  I have vowed that will NEVER put up any wallpaper in this house...I don't want to go through that again!  So now hopefully I will get in all painted this week, and Haley and Morgan won't have their bunk in the middle of the room anymore.

So a little home improvement here and there...making progress.  Oh, and I'm still working with Rory and the whole potty training thing...which, by the way, she's doing pretty super, for the most part (maybe an update on that another day).  

Happy Wednesday ya'll.

Weekend Review

It seems blogging has taken a back seat lately...the days have just gotten away from me.  And can you believe that the girls only have two more weeks of school?!  

So anyway, these are a few things that we've been up to...in no particular order.

We planted two trees in the backyard...because heaven knows we need more.  (17 total now...I think)  Actually I didn't plant them, Ryan did.  I just stood there and pointed to where they should go...oh, wait, I did help lower them into the holes.  We're trying to create a bit more privacy between our neighbors...and shade for our patio.

The little ones, playing in water every chance they get.

Jeffy and I were able to squeeze in some mountain biking this weekend.  We explored some trails that I'm not as familiar with...I only fell once...good times.

Piper riding her "big bike" to pick up the girls from school.

I've started painting again!  This time I'm focusing on the upstairs...the girls' rooms in particular.

I started with Piper and Rory's room.  That room through the hallway is our very boring spare room...one day I'll tackle that room too!

Morgan with her bestie...I tell ya, they are just about connected at the hip.  And the best part...she lives right around the corner from us.  If Morgan looks glammed up, it's because she had just returned from a Princess party.

 And last but not least, Ryan and Haley went on a daddy-daughter ride over the weekend.

Hopefully we can get her out more the summer!

So, that's kind of what we've been up to.
 Now, back to it!  Happy Tuesday!

New Mud Room....Finally.

 Okay, remember way back when I shared that I was converting one of my accordion door pantries into a "mud room"?!  Well, I finally finished!!  I admit that when my dad went back to Long Beach the project sat untouched for weeks and weeks!  All I had to do was sand, paint, and install the hooks...but for whatever reason I just never got to it.  Well, over the weekend I finally decided enough was enough and it needed to get done!  So while Ryan took the girls to the river Saturday afternoon I cranked out the last and final details!  Hallelujah!

Let's take a look back at where I started.  

We ripped out all the shelves and my dad built two boxes that became the bench and storage under.

We added bead board above the bench, molding, hooks and a new shelf for storage.

And then I painted everything a bright, crisp white...and ta da!!

Now I need to get some baskets for shoes and I want to have baskets for storage on the shelf and then it will be fully functional!

A before and after.

There is still a long way to go in the laundry room: painting the cabinets and the walls, but this is a big step!!   I'm so happy with the way it turned out!

Living Room Progress

Today I finally started the painting process in the living room.  I primed the ugly brown out...yay!  And I started painting the edges, although it's not showing it very well in the picture.  I had the hardest time deciding on a color...what's new there, right?  I went with green this time.  Oh goodness, I hope it will look okay...I'm kinda stressing over it.  But, here's my vision....a light green on the walls, white slip covered Pottery Barn sofa, a new big comfy chair, window treatments, fun orange accents around the room (pillows, and maybe in the window treatments).  What do you think?  I also have visions of painting the brick fireplace white...but, Ryan is having trouble seeing that vision.  Maybe in time he will.

And of course, like with any project I start on...the rest of the house goes to crap.  But I guess that will happen when I decide to paint and let a 3 and 1 year old have free reign of the house.

So with that...I better get back to it!

Laundry Room Progress

My dad with measuring tape in hand doing some major brain work.

Let's face it...my dad is the brains behind this project!  My job is to hold boards while he saws, hammer some nails, I used the jigsaw a little, and I fork over the money when it's time to buy materials.  We made quite a bit of progress last week...the bench is in!  However, we ran into a road block when we discovered that a lot of the remaining pieces for the trim and molding needs to be special ordered because of the wonky custom sizes we need.  Plus, my dad flew back to LB today for a couple of weeks.  So the project is on hold for a bit.  

Perhaps I can get the living room painted in the meantime?

We had a great weekend...yoga, birthday party for my nephew, church, and bike riding.  I'm looking forward to this week with the warmer temps!

Happy Monday!

Laundry Room Makeover

You are now entering my laundry room...all the not so good, bad and the ugly. 

 That door lead to the garage so this room is our main thoroughfare.  This is where shoes are thrown off, backpacks dumped and jackets thrown.  It becomes quite a mess as this is probably one of the most non user friendly rooms EVER!

This room also shares my pantry behind those accordion doors.

There are a ton of cabinets which is good.  However, each cabinet has a divider (I should have taken a picture) in the middle making them extremely frustrating to fit large objects or boxes.  I'm so ready to rip those cabinets doors off, tear out the divider thing and just have open shelving with baskets and such.  Of course I'm also dreaming of painting all the cabinets white!

On the other side of the cabinets is another closet which houses random odds and ends.  

This is where the first project will begin!

I've decided (with the help of my dad) to rip out all the shelving in this closet to create a "mud room"!

Yesterday we took off the doors and started cleaning it out.  I also bought the wood to get started!

The plan is to build a bench that will fit in there with storage under it.  There will be a row of big hooks to hang things and storage above.  It will be wonderful!!  I can't wait!

Can you see my beloved coffee maker.  *sniff, sniff*  I still can't part with it.

This room needs a ton of work, so this is just the beginning!

Stay tuned!

Dining Room: Progress

Since Ryan has been out of town this week our meals consist of left overs and mac and cheese.  In other words, very little prep or cooking for me.  So, I've been taking advantage of the extra time (when Rory is asleep in the afternoon) to finish painting in the dining room.  Yesterday I finally finished the trim and I think that really made the color on the walls look so much better!  The walls are Sherwin Williams in Evening Shadow and the trim is the stock white they have on hand.  I really like it! 

The room before.

And after!

The pink pom pom thing is left over from Valentine's.  I left it because it distracts my eyes from looking at the hideous brass light fixture straight out of the 80's.

So, things that I still have to tackle for this room: new light fixture and new artwork.

And the doors still need to be painted white to match the trim.

Slowly, but surely.

Paint and Sunshine

I've been keeping busy this week.  I started painting the dining room, which as been quite the task with two kids at home!  Yesterday Rory decided not to nap very well.  So I had a screaming baby in one ear and I had Piper in my other yelling at me to do random tasks for her...putting on barbie clothes, getting her milk, finding her a blanket, helping her pee, making her some toast, just wanting me to watch her play...so on and so on.  And all I wanted to do was paint the dang wall!!!  I tell ya, nothing like starting a project to raise my stress level!  Why do I bother?  I did manage to paint two walls so far.  Today I decided to take a break and wait until the weekend when Ryan can help me watch the kids a bit.  I don't feel like rushing through the job worrying that Rory will wake up at any moment so I better-slap-on-the-paint-with-no-care-to-how-it-looks attitude or dealing with Piper throwing out demands nonstop making me have to put the brush down every two minutes.  No thanks.  I'll wait until the weekend.  (Although, how much you want to bet Rory will  nap like a champ today...that's how it always works!)  Thankfully it's the dining room and I can just close the doors and no one can see my unfinished paint job.  As for the color I picked out, the jury is still out on whether or not I like it.  I was going for gray with hint of blue.  But it looks more like blue, with a hint of gray.    I'm not stopping and starting over though, no way.  I'll work with what I've got.  But since I've started, I think it's growing on me.  

The weather has been amazing this week!  I think it was around 70 yesterday!  The kids have been outside every chance they get, I love it!  Haley has taken to walking the dogs everyday which is a big help.  She also cleans out the kennel and feeds them.  I love that she can take on more responsibility now that she's getting older, and she enjoys it so much!  

View from my walk this morning.

The sun shining on the valley.

It looked better in person...trust me.

Confession:  I went on errands multiple times this week and on all occasions I wore my hair pulled back and sweats/yoga pants.  See this post if you are confused.

Can't win them all I guess.

Ottoman Overhaul

This is what our ottoman looked liked before.  Sadly, the cushions on our sofa are close to looking the same way...luckily, we can flip those suckers over and no one can see what a sad state they're in.  Remember this post...one day, I'll get that new sofa, promise.  But anyway...with the ottoman, something needed to be done!  

So...here it is before (I know, just pathetic).

See those little holes in the foam pad...those are from little kid fingers.  So fun.  Now if I would have known how expensive foam pads were I would have saved that baby!  I spent $50 on a new one.  Sheesh!

 First thing first, I took it all apart.  The only thing I saved was the piece of black fabric on the bottom to hide the wood.

I bought a new foam pad...the most expensive part of this project...ouch.  Unfortunately, I had to cut it to size. They suggested I use a serrated knife, which I did, but the results were terribly jagged.  Luckily, that doesn't really matter since it will be covered with a layer of batting and the new fabric.  

Stapled everything down.  I went with the folded corners to avoid any sewing.  But I think the look would have been much cleaner if I sewed panels like the original had.  Oh well.  Then I attached the black piece of fabric on the bottom.

Screwing on the legs was actually the worst part as a couple of screws are stripped or something (I just can't seem to get them in).  So, I'm not exactly sure how long this "new" piece of furniture will last in a household with four wild kids...but, we'll put it to the test!

The finished result!

It has a few puckers here and there so it's certainly not perfect.

But I'm pretty happy with it!

Kitchen Chalkboard Reveal...Finally!

So, remember several months ago when I told you how I was going to make a chalkboard in my kitchen...remember??  This was my inspiration.  She made it look so easy...and it probably would have been, but it seemed I ran into several little hic-ups.  But now...I'm proud to say I'm finally done (oh, soooo done) with this project!!  

The first issue was my wall.  I have VERY textured walls to begin with so I had to add a ton of spackle stuff (do you like technical lingo...I'm feeling pretty smart right now) and do a lot of sanding to get the wall smooth.  

Once it was smooth I added three coats of magnet paint and then three coats of chalkboard paint.  Then, we added the foam molding (my dad helped me with this part) and primed and painted it.  I had to hurry, because I wanted the wall done before Haley's baptism.  I didn't want people at my house seeing my unfinished wall.  

So, done??  Not yet.

Turned out, the surface was terribly porous...and I blame that on the magnet paint.  I hated that magnet paint!!  It's messy, it stinks and I think it made a crummy surface for the chalkboard paint...I would not use it again!

Once the girls started coloring on the board it was really hard to get it clean because the surface was so rough!

So back to the drawing board.  I sanded it down again...added more spackle stuff and then sanded some more.

I skipped the magnet paint this time and just painted three coats (again) of chalkboard paint.  Painted the molding (again) and then finished up the room with light yellow on the walls and crisp, clean white for the base board and door frames.

And this is the finished result.

I really like it...now that it's done.  For a while there, I was hating this project!

Hopefully it's smooth enough now...but then, if it's not...well...oh well...I'm NOT redoing this project anytime soon!!

I'm done and DONE.