Snowed in

We had 30 inches of snow, even before winter began.  Church and school were both canceled.  We were all home together and it was great!  Wade loves the snow.  He would stay out there forever.  Here are a few pictues.  Enjoy! 

Sibling Rivalry

Liz wanted a post, and requested a video.  Here are they boys fighting over a toy on Blake's b-day.  At the time I was annoyed.  But, sometimes you just have to capture the moments for them to become funny.

TA-DA!

Here it is.  I LOVE it!.  It is so much easier to clean and cook in.  It was a lot of work.  I might have cried, screamed, and bled a few times, but it was worth it.  

Now I just need a new refrigerator...this one is way to small.

New Stove top and Microwave!

This is my favorite feature!

A few thing's learned:  

Just because you watch a lot of the DIY channel, doesn't mean you can actually   "do it yourself".  We ended up hiring a contractor.

Attempting to do a remodel with kids is insane

Blake can get tired of chicken nuggets from McDonald's. 

It still have to paint the trim and put on the pantry doors, but I am considering this project done! 

The before

When were house shopping in Rochester.  The first room that I walked into in this house, was the kitchen.  I saw it, and wanted to walk out.  Even though it might look "ok" in the pictures, it's pretty gross.  The b&w stick on tiles were sliding around.  The paint on the cabinets started peeling off  the day we moved in.  On the inside of the cabinets there was old vents that took up most up of the space.  We painted it blue, so we weren't blinded by  the too bright yellow, and started saving for new kitchen right away.  We dreamed of something new for 3 years, and we finally did it!

If you post pictures of your daughter's room on your blog...

Kayleigh saw my last post, and told me that she was so "unbarassed".  After that she immediately cleaned her room.   At her request, here is her cleaned room.

Is it Genetic?

I'll admit as a youth I had a very messy room.  For the past year K and B have been sharing a room.  About  a month ago, K decided to move to the downstairs bedroom.  She was tired of Blake waking her up at night, and insisted that the mess was all his.  Behold her bedroom.

In case you were wondering, Blake's room has been clean since she moved out.

Days like this

I'm going to miss days like this.  Warm summer days.  Days where they play outside and use there imaginations.   

We are suppose to have a cool front coming through later in the week.  School starts in two weeks.  I'm just not ready for the summer to end.   

I can do it!

Wade decided that he would try walking a few weeks ago.  Here is a cute video of it.

In one year

He went from this

 

To this

Can someone tell me how to freeze time for a little bit?

Headboard

I have been shopping for headboards for years.  I have just never found something that I loved, for a price I was willing to pay.  But, this was perfect.  It was made in a day.  The total cost for the lumber was $30.  It makes me feel so grown-up to have a headboard.  Its a knock off of a PB piece.  What do you think?

mine, $30

PotteryBarn Mason headboard, $800

Now, if I could just get the rest of the room to look like that!

New Pictures

Our new family photos were taken by my friend Jolene.  If you need pictures taken, I recommend calling her.  She is great with kids (she has 3 of her own).  That is a major stressor with me.  She was able to get a lot of great shots of us, even though my kids do not sit still. It was very hot, and very humid.   But, I think the turned out great.

 

Visit her blog, Jolene Reed Photography

Bench

Adam has been busy,  Well, he is always busy.  But,  I found a blog last spring that has furniture plans.  I begged until he finally made a few things for me.  This is the first one.  

Isn't it great.  It opens to store things on the inside.

 I love benches for my coffee table.  We had to use our old one in kitchen now.  I've been looking for a replacement, and I knew that this one would be perfect.  I love it, and I love him!

 

Now that is better

(a make-up free picture of me. Don't look to close, ok)

Are you still there? My blog is haunting me. I realize that I haven't posted in 6 months. I feel like that longer I go without blogging the more I am expected to say. Kind of like calling a friend that you haven't talked to in a really long time. But, we all know that I don't do that either. :) I'm sorry!

Minnesota is beautiful in the summer time. we spend most of our days outside. We have to soak it up while we can. A few highlights that you have missed:

Kayleigh finished Kindergarden

Wade turned 1!

Adam finished his 3rd year of residency.

Blake has been potty trained for a while (that was hard)

Lots of home improvement projects

The Childs family visited. (I love guests! hint, hint)

Kayleigh moved to the downstairs bedroom

I'm REMODELING my kitchen.

Milo found a new home.

We now have pet fish, much easier.

The list can go on and on. So, I have lots to blog about. Have you missed me?

Jack Frost

This is what we woke up to last Saturday. Isn't it pretty It is called Hoar Frost. It happens a few times a year, and I just love it. But, to tell you the truth, I am sick of winter. We are severely suffering for cabin fever. If you have a cure, let me know.

p.s. I found my camera cord, and I can now download pictures. More posts to come!

Checking In

There is a mouse in my house. Well, at least their was. We had a suspicion that we had a unwanted house guest, and we set up a trap. I looked this morning and there he was. I was disgusted, and I am still very disturbed. I paged Adam several times this morning freaking out. Hoping for a less interrupted afternoon, He came home quickly to remove it from the house for me. I often wonder what the O.R. staff must think of me. I'm sure they think that I am crazy.

I am trying to potty train Blake. It is time. I just can't put it off any longer. He hates using the potty. He has even conned his sister into putting a diaper on him. I don't understand how someone how eats so little, can poop so much. We have made great strides in the last few days. He is no longer scared of the toilet.

Wade is sick, he has bronchiolitis, on the heals of a family wide stomach bug. I really don't think that we can make it through a January in Minnesota without being sick. But, the weather has been really mild. The temperature has been in the 20's-30's. I actually don't mind that at all. Adam will be home this weekend, and I am so excited. Hopefully we will seal up the hole to the attic where the mouse came from. Exciting, right?




Blog post are better with pictures, right? Here is the most current picture of the family. I love my kids. They have been so cute and fun lately.