A Treat for Me!

I figure I might as well as get a treat for getting a big job done! Thanks to... yes, pinterest!

Cake batter rice krispies!

Yummy!

Ashton was super proud!

Sprinkles left over from Violet's birthday party

Super simple in case you were wondering! Add 1/4 cup of cake mix (I used funfetti even though it called for yellow cake mix because we had it) to the melted marshmallows. Then add rice cereal followed by sprinkles. Put in pan and top with more sprinkles. What kid doesn't love sprinkles and who doesn't love rice krispie treats?! Although, I would add a little more cake mix because I didn't think there was much of a cake taste to it.

Kitchen Cabinets Complete!

Yes! I completed my kitchen cabinets just in time for Violet's birthday party. Literally! I was painting the light fixture wood frame late Friday night! But it really is so gratifying despite the month long kitchen chaos! It's not perfect and needs some touch-ups but that will need to wait until my motivation returns. But I call this success!

Okay, so apparently I didn't take pictures before I started. Thankfully, I did take some pictures when we initially bought the house!

Before...

Right when we moved in but after we had the appliances replaced

Worth the $150 of materials for Cabinet Transformations (Color Tudor) and a little elbow grease on my part. And yes, I was on top of a ladder painting the light fixture frame and hanging part above the cabinets!

Not bad! 

 Another before angle

Definitely much improved! Including under the microwave area. It's finally clean! We'll see how long as this is the dumping ground for all things that need a home!

Such a difference!

I want to eventually buy hardware but that stuff is expensive! You can see all of our projects in the window sills. A paper mache project hanging from the wire shelf and our plants waiting to be planted in our garden. 

Next up:

1. Painting the laundry room cabinets - preferably white

2. Paint upstairs linen cabinets

3. Choose and install upstairs hallway cabinets and/or shelving

4. Paint Violet's built in desk

I hope all of this is done in the next month but will probably only get the painting done.

Great Grandparents Love

Tim got some good lovin' from his Great-Grandparents! Day 2 of celebrations extended into a pool party at the in-laws house.

Tim happy in Great Grandma's arms

Super sweet love

Great Grandpa gets a hold of Tim

I missed some pictures... proof that Violet sat in the princess carriage for a minute!

Violet and Iris' birthday cakes! I love how happy and excited kids get when you sing to them!

Violet's 2nd Birthday Party

We had a great birthday party for Violet and Iris, her 5 year old cousin! It was such a hot day but we had a lot of fun with a surprise from Grandma and Auntie Erin... mini horses!

Happy 2nd Birthday Violet!

Auntie Erin making Iris all pretty for her birthday!

Princess Iris and Prince Ashton... your (mini) horses await you!

Prince Ashton's birthday outfit. It didn't last longer than an hour!

Mini horse Mommy with her 5 week old baby

Ashton was super excited to walk to horse & carriage

Driving the horse

Petting the horse. Violet was not so excited about the horses

We coerced her into the carriage but she quickly hopped out once it started moving

Big cousin sandwichh

Super sweet cousin lovin'

Mommy & Violet before cake!

Nana, Nina & Tim

Next up... some good ol' fashion slip-n-sliding!

So cute

Super sweet!

Violet's look in this picture tells it all!

I caught Violet singing in Tim's crib

Things to Remember

Ashton:
1. Loves the iPad and all things related to it
2. Has discovered a love for Dinosaurs
3. Favorite shoes include Scooby Doo and a newly discovered Ninjago
4. Shoots you with his hands when he doesn't like what you have to say in a punching motion and gun noises
5. Takes direction well when he wants something
6. Loves Avatar, the real version, not the cartoon
7. Wants a garbage truck or Avatar birthday party (already planning)
8. Wants to be Avatar for Halloween (more planning)
9. Talks a mile a minute and often can't get his words out fast enough
10. His favorite car is the Camaro
11. Has tons of energy and can go all day long until he crashes

Violet:
1. She can count to 10 -- 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10
2. Tries to sing her ABCs and yells "Stop Mommy" when I try to sing with her
3. Uses "my" in place of "I" in her sentences. "My do it."
4. Loves shoes and all things sparkly
5. Will watch Tangled over and over and over again!
6. Used to like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Caillou until she discovered Tangled
7. Calls all Princesses, including Tinkerbell, "Princess dress."
8. She is truly scared of sirens and believes they are coming for her. She will run to me, crying and tell me to "totet me" (protect me)
9. Loves pockets and will often want to change if her outfit does not include them. Makes for some difficult shopping!
10. Is very ticklish and loves to be tickled
11. Thinks every color is "yellow green"
12. Has started potty training herself, even doing #2 in the toilet twice in 2 weeks

Tim:
1. Really tries to hang with with the big kids
2. Is a snuggle bug
3. Loves balloons and will chase them down
4. Has discovered how to climb the stairs already
5. Looks just like Matt
6. Has waved bye but only to Ashton's teacher at school
7. Loves to play peek-a-boo and be tickled
8. Is very curious

Some Fun Pics

Violet in a diaper box!

Poor lil' guy! He tried to hang with the big kids all day long!

Happy Tim!

Tim is 9 months

Tim weighs in at a whopping 18 pounds, 8 ounces and is 29 3/4 inches tall. He has transitioned to 100% bottle and formula. He continues to love to eat real food despite only having 2 bottom teeth. He can crawl properly now and is pretty steady on his feet by standing while holding onto something. He can finally get down from a stand which is improvement from his crying when he was stuck. He can baby talk and will say dadada and mamama. I can't say it's in context yet. And he is a wonderful sleeper! He will go down at ~7pm and wake up around 6:30am but will stay in his crib until we go get him! Wonderful! He continues to be an easy going, happy baby. He love, love, loves to snuggle which Mommy also loves!

More Messes Contained!

So any parent of young children will find themselves with the crayon and marker dilemma! Oh how I need those little things but oh the messes they make! And I'm not talking about the marks they make... I have enough of those but what bothers me is where they land!

As you can see, I have tried to contain the coloring utensils. And you can see the markings the kids have made! But let me tell you... that Dollar Store magic eraser sponge will get them out with a little rubbing!

Oh the places they land!

What mother of young children doesn't have tons of wipes containers stacked up as well?! Well, a little scrapbook paper and Mod Podge makes it a little more pretty! P.S. I had no idea what this Mod Podge stuff was but it's awesome! It's like glue but I believe waterproofs the stuff underneath!

A pretty matching paper on top with fun stickers and we are now contained! Well, we'll see for how long! I also Mod Podged the stickers on, so we'll see if they won't get peeled off!

The Need to Organize

As my kitchen has transformed from old to updated cabinets, I have been on a quest to reorganize it! My life has literally been a mess over the past month. I have cabinet doors hogging up most of my counters with the rest of the junk stuffed in corners. My Mom's eyes are probably going to start twitching by the thought of it!

So this little space underneath the microwave is where most of the stuff gets tossed, squished, and squeezed. It now as made a make-over but is not yet complete! But this gives you some insight as to how the rest of my countertops are looking if the main one is taken over by cabinets that are half dry with paint!

The blogging world sure has given me tons of ideas. Some of which are not-so-new and some are who would have ever thought? But I am all about living an easier and more organized life! It's hectic enough around here so to be able to maintain a somewhat easier life... I am all for it!

So, most of my cabinets are evolving as I realize what I need and don't need. What can I do to make my life easier? I still have too many junk drawers.

Definitely not so bad. This has been organized since my Pinterest quest has began. Oh how quickly it becomes disorganized! This is one of two. I used to have 3!

Above the stove cabinet. Not so bad right?! Until you reach up there to grab something and everything comes tumbling down! 

I know you can't tell much of a difference. But I have two lazy susan's in there now. The one one the left holds the oils and baking stuff. The one on the right holds the vinegars. Now who needs so many vinegars? Some one who is trying to cook vegetarian! Much easier to navigate!

 And onto the messiest cabinet in the kitchen by far... the cabinet under the sink!

Believe it or not - I have already tried to tackle this cabinet. Step 1: I bought the cleaner organizer. And just this morning, I cut the top off an old Kleenex box and put our garbage bags in there. It fits perfectly!

I pulled everything out! Oh my goodness! But if you look closely, in the back, I found yet another one of those boring old glass vases just waiting to be painted! I was this close to running out to Michael's for another color paint... but resisted the urge!

Think I have double purchased a few things! And this was only in the two years we have lived here!

Ick! So apparently squishing things in there makes me ignorant to the grossness that lies beneath the mess!

Pretty contact paper will take care of that! It's not perfect but I don't care. I would have had to clean better underneath it! And ick! I was not up for that!

Ah! Isn't that pretty! I bought the green container from the Dollar Store and it holds the overflow cleaning products. Everything in the front with nothing squished in the back. I wonder how long this will last?!