Bathroom!!

We finally got our hall bathroom all fixed up! This is the first of three bathrooms to get a make-over. I won't keep you waiting :) Here's the before:

The bones were good--although I wish I'd gotten a picture of the really ugly light :)  But, the mirror was already there, as were the shutters and the vintage countertop. Here's what it looks like now:

This may be the smallest room in the house, but I think it took the most work! I removed wallpaper (I don't want to talk about it) and Casey installed bead board. I then painted the walls and bead board, replaced the fabric in the shutters and spray painted the mirror. Oh, and Casey installed the light, which we got on Craigslist (I know, surprise, surprise). It's such a happy room now!

I need to get some new hand towels to match, but that hand towel holder is an old mail slot we found at the Salvage Lady. We were looking for an old door handle or something but found this instead and it's perfect! And, much cheaper than a store-bought one. (Anyone else think some things are just way overpriced?)

Since I finally got around to painting the girls room over the weekend, I couldn't help sharing a sneak peek :)

See that pink cordless drill up there? Yep, that's part of my new pink tool set that Casey got me for Christmas. I LOVE it! Use it all the time--it makes me feel so empowered, haha.

In with the new!

Ahhhh, we got new windows in our house this week! I am SO happy, because after a week of frigid temperatures, I was freezing!! They are so beautiful, totally worth it. Kelby watched the whole process, continually asking the guys what they were doing.

Other than that, I haven't been up to much this week. So, I'll just point you in the direction of some things on the world wide web that I've enjoyed recently :)

1. My sister has been posting a series called Nitty Gritty Homeschool Tips. You can find them here. They have been so encouraging to me this past week, as I have a reluctant learner on my hands ;)
2. Then her husband, my brother-in-law, a pastor, posted some wise words for parents on his blog here.
3. There's a new series on TV called Cape. Casey and I watched the first two episodes on Hulu. Pretty good! We also like No Ordinary Family. Superheroes must be in vogue right now. Whatever, better than vampires, am I right?? 
4. I'm going to be painting the girls' room this weekend (pink, of course). I found this pattern while browsing the McCall's catalog online, bought it when it was on sale at JoAnn and am going to make one. I got some like-new sheets, some curtain panels and a vintage pink table cloth at the thrift store, so hopefully I'll have enough fabric. (It takes a TON!)    

                                                                                                  

     5. My Aunt led me to this fabric line this week. She wants the apples for her kitchen. Cute, right?

While I was looking, I spotted this one. It may turn into the inspiration for my sewing/guest room!

That's all, folks! 

Feelin' Good

I recently realized that I feel blah. Then I realized I felt blah last January too, I even remember blogging something along those lines. SO, this year, instead of wallowing in my unmotivated, antisocial, irritable funk, I did some reading and decided to do something about it. After reading plenty of information in this book (amazing resource, I use it all the time) and this book, I went out and got myself a good multi-vitamin, some Vitamin B1 and a St. John's Wort supplement. I started taking them all last week and started feeling a little better yesterday. Today, I feel a HUGE difference. Suddenly the foggy feeling in my head has lifted, I have more energy and the pressure is gone. I wanted to share that because I think natural supplements like St. John's Wort can make a big difference for people who deal with minor depression or those who want to help themselves out naturally, without pulling out the big guns.

Moving on :)
I was able to go to Archivers to scrapbook on Saturday night. I needed a night off and Casey is so gracious to manage the kids occasionally so I can get out, without ever complaining. We laughed a lot and had a great time. I only did two of these pages that night, but have been doing some pages here at home too. I think after all the Christmas sewing, I needed to switch gears for a bit :)

Looking at all these photos of my kids when they were tiny almost made me want to cry!!! I know they're still little, but MAN, it goes by fast.

Today I switched gears and finally added borders to this quilt top, since I'm working on getting our bedroom finished. I have some throw pillows to make, the bathroom to paint and some big maps to find for the wall, but it's coming along.

And, like much of the country, we had some big snow over the weekend!! The kids are lovin' it--and the hot chocolate they know they get after they're done playing :)

Stay warm, everyone :)

Layla's Birthday!

As promised, I have some pictures of Layla's birthday to share :) She wanted a Minnie Party, so we invited her best buddies over and had a blast.

On a side note, I've been pondering making up some PDF patterns for a few things that I've designed. This birthday banner could be one of them, but I'd like to know how much interest is out there before I go to all that work. Let me know in the comments if you'd be interested in something like that! 

I got this Minnie Mouse game at the Party Store for just a few dollars. It was fun! 

I wanted a picture of all the kids. Kinsley didn't want to be in it, though and this is the best I got, even though Natalie is picking her nose. Oh, well :)

Melissa made the cake. CUTE, right!?

There's the birthday girl! 

I'm in love with this next photo. Baby on the inside, baby on the outside, so cute :)

Natalie made Layla this Cinderella coloring book and wrapped it in a gift bag that she also made out of paper. It was too cute. (I'm the one with the really cheesy smile).

That was the party. But, on her actual birthday (Tuesday), I took some special picture of just Layla. I love this idea and would like to start doing this on all my kids' birthdays. They turned out so cute. 

Here's my happy 4-year-old!!!!

And my favorite...

Aw. Happy Birthday, Sweet, Sweet, Layla Jane!!!!!!

Whew!

Well, I have to say, I'm excited to get back to a routine tomorrow. Casey's off again today and has agreed to watch 6 kids, ages 2 to 5, so that 3 gals can go out to lunch for one of said gals' birthday :) What a guy, right??!! Then, tomorrow, it's back to the school stuff --both mine and the kids'. Which reminds me of one HUGE thing I did not put on my New Years list--I will (Lord willing, of course) graduate with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication this coming August!!!! At the same time, Casey and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and a few months after that, I'll be turning 30. So, it will be a big year! :)

I finished these hand warmers (sorry for the quick change of subject) and I think they turned out swell.

I'd like to make another pair, but longer on the hand part. Still, I like these a lot and am still proud that I have mastered the knitting beast :)

Also, since I need to keep the Mongolian grandparents happy ;) I can't have a post without a picture of at least one of the kids, right?? Here's my little thumb sucker.

I have plenty of pictures of the little birthday party we had for Layla! I'll share in a couple of days :)

Happy New Year!

We have FINALLY gotten a good Colorado snow here!! It's been fun, but it's okay for me to be ready for Spring, right?? Maybe it's because I was born in California and that's why I'm not as thrilled about snow as many Coloradans. One or two good snows and I'm done. Anyway, I took this picture of Natalie today, isn't she a cute little snow bunny?

I got to take Natalie shopping the other day--and not just grocery shopping, real shopping :) We went to the Disney Store because she wanted to pick out a birthday present for Layla. I'm proud to say, she has not told Layla what her presents are, even though she knows and Layla continually pesters her for information. What a good little secret keeper :) Anyway, after that, we went to Old Navy because she could really use some long-sleeve dresses. She had so much fun trying them all on, it was great. Once, between dresses, she smiled at herself in the mirror and said, "hey, I thought I lost all those teeth!" It was too cute.

But, the reason I actually opened this post was to tell you about my New Year's resolutions! I have been inspired by many ideas this year. Many people are taking the "one word" approach, where you pray about and choose one word to focus on throughout the year. Something I've been trying to implement in my life is to rejoice in all things--the house work, the kids, the cooking, the high points and lows. So, my one word would have to be rejoice!

I know a few friends who choose a Bible passage or verse to focus on throughout the year. I love this idea and will be praying about and seeking the Lord on this one.

As for my typical resolutions, I would really like to come up with and implement a better house cleaning routine. Maybe Fly Lady can help? I'll have to play with some ideas until I find one that works. Any ideas you have are very welcome!! Also, after a season full of eating way more junk than I should have, I'll be going on a sort of detox--no processed foods for the month of January is my goal! I don't think this will be hard for me, since I've succeeded at similar goals before. Plus, I'm armed with plenty of good cook books geared toward clean eating. Like this one. And this one. Oh, and this one :)

Okay, last but not least, I have decided to join the 5 o'clock club. I just read about this "club" this week and my first thoughts were something like, "Pshaw, forget it, no way." However, I do long for time in the Word and for all my efforts to squeeze it in while my kids are awake, it is simply not consistently happening for me and I couldn't get this club off my mind. Don't be fooled by the title of the club, you don't actually have to get up at 5 a.m. The goal is to choose a time to get up before everyone else in the house, in order to spend time with the Lord daily. This will be a hard one for me, so if any of you would like to join me, a partner might be nice!!??

I would love to hear about your goals for 2011!

Christmas Day!

It took me long enough, I know, but here are some pictures from our Christmas. It was pretty relaxed for most of the day, which is how we like it :) After presents, our living room quickly turned into a train station:

Kelby also got some Play Doh, since he loves Play Doh, but most of ours is pretty dried out and all squished together :)

My friend Jenn made these awesome twirlie skirts for the girls. They wore these two days straight :)

We got the girls a doll bunk bed, but Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Bullseye are enjoying it also ;)

And my absolute favorite, I took this picture of Layla and Grandma the day after Christmas. She was plain tuckered out!! So sweet...

And that's that. I'm a little surprised I don't have more photos to share, but I've been busy...busy relaxing, that is :) I'm going to enjoy these last few days of break from school and Casey's four-day weekend!
Happy New Year everyone!!!!!

Merry Christmas to Granny and Papa!!!! :)