Things that make me happy:

This baby that decided to try a peanut butter facial:

 This baby that decided to eat a banana:

This baby who loves to play (especially with pencils and erasers - probably because she knows she's not supposed to):

 Okay, just everything about this baby:

These awesome boys who ran in their first 5k the day after we got home from Vegas:

They both did so awesome. Noah was a sprinter and we lost track of him a couple of times (just like his dad) and Clayton was slow and steady (just like his momma). I'm so proud of these boys for doing this. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to running many more races with them in the future!

My awesome pancake skills:

This girl, who loves books and music and dressing up like a princess:

 She drives me batty on a daily basis but, holy cow, I can't get enough of this spunky lady:

This lovely ottoman/storage box/coffee table that I started (and it turned out horribly because my idea wasn't as good as I'd thought it was). Justin took it while we were in Vegas and turned it into something I absolutely love. I painted it when we got home, we upholstered it together, and attached the lid as a team. It's not perfect, but I can't stop staring at it:
(Sammie is sad because she's not allowed to climb on it. Oh, hard life lessons!)

 Love!

The sun is shining, I've started watching Friday Night Lights again, cereal was on sale for $1 at the store (the good sugary stuff!), and all my laundry is done. Life is good!

You Light Up My Life...

I meant to post this a few months ago. When we moved into this house there were a lot of things that needed immediate fixing. We love this house, but it was built in the mid-nineties and there was an abundance of gold and ceramic fixtures. Since that's really outdated (and REALLY not our style), Justin and I had to make several changes right away. We replaced all the light fixtures (including adding ceiling fans in all the bedrooms and family room - seriously, who fails to put some sort of central lighting in these rooms - it's an oversight that just kills me), changed door knobs, and all the hardware in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom.

The one light fixture that we couldn't seem to find was one for our entryway. The original light was horrible:

I just hated it, but it seemed like we couldn't find anything good enough to replace it. Since it was for our entryway, I wanted something a little more grand, but I didn't want it to look like any old dining room chandelier. We knew we didn't want gold, crystal (which is what always seems to be the go-to for grand light fixtures), or too traditional. We were looking for something more contemporary, a brushed nickel finish, and it needed to take standard bulbs.

I honestly searched and searched. We checked out all the box stores and found a few things that we liked but nothing that we loved. I had it in my head that "when I saw it, I'd know". I just wasn't seeing it. I finally went to a specialty shop. I didn't see anything in their showroom that was making me excited. I was about ready to give up and choose one of the 'acceptable' ones from the box stores. Then the worker gave me a few catalogues to go through. I was right, I knew it right when I saw it! I found it and fell in LOVE (did you know you can fall in love with a light fixture? you totally can). It was a little out of our price range and only fit one of our three criteria (it was very contemporary, that was it), but I had to have it. It was the one! So I called Justin and he cleared me to make the purchase. Unfortunately, it wasn't in stock. The worker told me it would be 4-6 weeks to get it in. I was bummed, but because it was so perfect I decided I could wait. Well, long story short, 4-6 weeks turned into over 3 months! I kept calling and there was always some reason why it wasn't in yet. I was getting frustrated, but I remembered how much I loved it and I knew it would be worth the wait.

When I finally got the call that it was in, it felt like Christmas! I was so excited, I went to pick it up right away. I was bummed because I had to wait for Justin to come home to install it (it's funny - you wait so many months for something, but it's those last few hours that are the worst! Justin finally got it installed and I am over the moon with the final result:

Once it was installed I actually think it's a little gothic as well as contemporary. I love it so much. It was definitely worth the wait. It totally transforms our entryway. I know this is a long story about a light fixture, but it's THE light fixture, and (in my opinion) warrants all this fuss. We love it so much, in fact, that when we move this baby's coming with us.

Speaking of things that light up my life (like my segue?), I love this:

Love these cute little Daddy's girls (and their cute daddy).

 I also love this Pootie (I can't believe he's going to be 5 next week - yikes)!

I love this kid and his too-big-for-his-face teeth.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Being back home with Justin!!!!!

Boys having a fun (until they get caught).

Bunk beds and under-the-bed storage! Clayton's room is so clean and organized. I LOVE IT!!!


I got a Cricut this week! I have been lusting after one for several months and now I have one!! I have been having a lot of fun experimenting with it ever since!

Yay! We finally have a central light in our living room (and BONUS it has a fan)!! Thanks Dad!
Before:

After:

My dad has been here for the past few days. He was brave enough to fly home with me and the boys. As if that weren't enough, he spent the following five days doing little projects around my house (like the fan). We had so much fun. My next post will be all about our fun while he was here. We miss you dad!

Justin bought a fire pit while we were in Vegas. I think it's awesome! Bring on the S'mores!


Finally, what's not to love about these cute faces!

Good Things!

Today was a good day!
I have always wanted to do this with my dishsoap:

I love the way this looks. I like having this on my counter. It looks like a decoration instead of just some nasty old bottle of dishsoap!

We also got a new light fixture for our dining room today! Justin put it up and it looks so AWESOME!
It is so bright and contemporary! I think it makes such a difference! Now all I need is a main light fixture in our living room (well, maybe not ALL I need...)!

Vanessa and I totally kicked butt in this game tonight:

Sorry Justin and Rick - but we ROCKED this game tonight! If you've never played Blokus - I highly recommend it!

Finally, here is a cute picture of Noah! He has started saying "Uh-Oh!" It is the cutest thing! I secretly like it when he drops things because it means he will talk!

New lighting and other fun stuff!

Our house is really old and there are certain things that really date it. One of those things was our kitchen light. We had a nasty old ceiling fan in there. It was straight out of the 70's. My disgust of it was only increased when we realized that only one of the four lights worked. Needless to say that this made for a very dark and depressing kitchen. Well, Justin finally had it the other day! He went to change the only working light only to discover that that one was no longer working! AARGH! So he went to Home Depot and bought a beautiful new fan! (We have to have a fan because back east we do not have central air conditioning, so fans are a MUST for summer!) He then installed it BY HIMSELF! Who knew that I had such a handy husband!?! Clayton certainly was impressed. He kept saying, "It's so beautiful!" and "Daddy's fixing the light, I'll pay him fourteen dollars!" Anyway, it is so beautiful I had to share it!

He also bought under the cabinet lighting (which he also installed himself). So goodbye dark kitchen! It's so bright in there now, I love it!!!

So now we just need a new dining room light (that one is really dated too), and we are set! So hopefully in the next month or so we will have all our lighting updated (in the kitchen and dining room anyway).
Here are our new barstools. We got them with some Christmas money and I couldn't love them more. Clayton loves to sit at the bar and eat. It is so nice to have the extra seating. I also think they look really nice.

Finally, what would a post be without a picture of my handsome boys? This picture cracks me up! They were making each other laugh so hard here!! I love that they are getting old enough to be friends. Noah is getting his molars right now so he is kind of snotty and gross, but this pic is still one of my favorites right now!

The moment you've all been waiting for!

So here are the pictures of OUR BRAND NEW BATHROOM! I know that you are going to look at these pictures and think to yourself, "wait, that doesn't look completely done". Well, it's not. However, it's fully functional which is all that matters to me right now. I will be doing the flooring myself (call me the toolbelt diva), and the next time my dad comes out the walls will be drywalled and textured and then I will paint it. But that is all that needs to be done. I am especially appreciative of the bathroom this week. Here's why: our family room and TV are in our basement. On Sunday, Clayton got the stomach flu. When he is sick, all he wants to do is cuddle on the couch with me and watch TV. This would have been impossible without our new bathroom. We needed to stick pretty close to a bathroom. Without our new downstairs bathroom, Clayton would have been forced to spend the day in his bedroom by himself (or else I would have had to do a whole lot of disgusting cleaning). So thank you, Dad and Justin, for all your hard work. It adds so much to our home and I LOVE IT! I will say it again: I LOVE IT!! So here are some pics so you can love it too!
They literally had to create a room where there was nothing! This is the bathroom from the "hallway". (I know the "hallway" looks ghetto, there is more to be done here too.)

This is what you see when you open the door. The toilet and sink are off to the left and the towel rack is on the right. I know it seems small but, (I say this with all seriousness) it is bigger than our other bathroom.

The thing I love about this toilet is I know everyone who has used it! Yay! Somehow that makes cleaning it not seem quite so disgusting.

Our new sink. Eventually I will hang a ring for hand towels next to it, but I need drywall first.

Here's the tub. Clayton loves to bathe down here now because this is the frog bathroom.

So that is our super cool new bathroom. Can you believe it was created from nothing in just 4 days!?! My dad and my husband are awesome!

Coming Soon!!

I am so lucky to have such a talented dad and such a hard working husband! Our house right now only has one bathroom (yuck). However, by this time on Saturday, we should have 2!! Justin and my dad have been working really hard and the second full bathroom is only days away from completion. It is so amazing to me that they are able to go from nothing to bathroom in just 4 days! Can we say, "Resale value"? Because that is what it is really all about. So here are some pictures of my hard working men. In a few days I will be posting pictures with the final result! I am such a lucky girl!

What a mess!!


My hottie hubby hard at work!!


I can't wait!

Happy Thanksgiving!