what i did last week

Last week... it was a busy one and totally awesome. However, some of it was pretty darn boring. I'll share the boring photos first and the fun ones later. Cuz that is how I roll!!

Monday morning I headed north on 95 to visit my twin in Bangor, Maine.

Definitely a picture that will have to be cropped to show the welcome to Maine sign better.

On Wednesday, I headed out of Maine on 95 South and snapped this sign. I wasn't in New Hampshire long enough to get a picture.

I'm still motoring along. Now I am on the NYS Thruway.

I hate this bridge. It's too high, too long and they are always doing some sort of repair on it. Makes you wonder.

Here we are in Massachusetts on Friday. Hey... look at the traffic. This is near Lowell where Route 3 joins 495 which means about seven lanes of traffic must merge into three. We ran into the same thing last year coming home from Syracuse! Plus there was a minor accident ahead which everyone had to stop and look at. Hate that.

oh look... more traffic! There was a car off the road up ahead. Gotta peek again!

So to summarize last week.... I drove... A LOT! But I got to visit my twin and go to her camp on Boyd Lake. And I got to pick up my kids and bring them back home. I guess that means all the driving was totally worth it.

final look of the playroom

Let's just start back at the beginning....

Now looking down the hall. We have had something against the wall with the pictures since we have moved into the house. It is beyond strange to see nothing there. Yet it is somehow calming. I love this space now.

The kids entertainment area of the playroom. Total kid friendly. But I do think they need a table to play games on and eat a snack on. Maybe this one... not that I am planning my next trip to IKEA or anything. :) We covered up the ugly A/C unit and I think it helps so much.

The kids new chairs. We picked them up at Walmart. $20 Big Joe chairs. They rock. I am thinking I may need a couple more for our family room. And each kiddo gets a new popcorn bucket with M&M's on them (and inside) Those are also from Walmart.

And our Expedit unit. They don't have this one online but I linked to the next bigger one. Thank goodness I didn't get that or we would not have had any room! The last three cubbies will hold their arts and crafts stuff... once I get it all together and in storage pieces. Next project on the list.

Thanks for checking out our new and improved playroom. I am beyond happy with it.

the other corner comes along nicely

This poor corner has been abused. This is where our Christmas tree goes every year. And it was where the kids play kitchen had sat for MANY years. After many tears and persuasion we were allowed to donate it to the Rec Center for others to enjoy as much as the kids had. I know Kira was hoping I would forget about getting rid of it but I hope she likes how it all turned out.

Doesn't that carpet look amazing??!! Love our new carpet cleaner.

The wall between the two windows in that room. The file cabinet needed to be emptied so it could be relocated to allow the piano to fit into that space. It wasn't easy but we have done it!

Billy bookshelf from IKEA which holds my scrapbooks like no ones business! Lovely.

And here is the filled in bookshelf. Well... I actually have a bit of space left over. Guess I need to scrap more. And fix those lousy labels. Please excuse that.

And the piano in its final resting place. Seriously that thing weighs a TON. Doesn't help that the front legs would snap off if you tried to roll it. We took it very slow but it finally made it from one side of the room to the other.

I am loving how this is all turning out. I think the kiddos will LOVE their new space.

the evolution of a corner

We'll take the playroom redo a little at a time. I know I have teased with other posts but I'll share the whole room by the time we finish. Promise.

This is the corner that I have had a love/ hate relationship with since we moved into this house twelve years ago. We couldn't put much there since the A/C unit was there as well as a heater. We have toyed with the idea of removing the A/C unit but it is one of those industrial types that probably weighs over a ton if not more. It works however our electric bill goes up by at least $100 if we use it. Serious energy sucker. Plus we had the piano here and the music in a bin next to the heater where things ended being piled on top of it. Spiders, cobwebs and a mess lived there.

We removed everything and went ahead and cleaned the wall and painted.

Looks so much better painted. Love the color. Peanut Butter by Behr at Home Depot. And you can see the freshly cleaned carpet too. I am beginning to love this corner again.

Here's what it looked like before we finished moving the piano to the other side of the room. That beast is heavy. The entertainment center and the Expedit cubes are from IKEA. Love them both. Again... still hating the A/C unit.

Hubby got the electronics all installed for the kiddos. We moved the Wii upstairs so that the kiddos can play and the tv in the family room can be used at the same time! Woohoo.

Here it is all set to go! A couple of curtain panels later and I can live with the A/C  unit. Hubby also added the stereo to the top of the center. Love having their DVD's all organized and together in those two wicker bins. Their Pokemon DVD's are in the drawer below the bins and the Wii accessories are under the Wii games.

So excited to take pictures of the kids enjoying this space. I LOVE IT!!

alex's room clean and organized

Now to show off the complete picture that is Alex's room. I love his storage. I need to add the labels to the bins but they have all been cleaned out. whew.

He was asking if we had left the chair in his room since I didn't show it before. I didn't want him to see some things that were waiting for the donation pile. So I had to take one of the chair waiting for us to cuddle up and read books in.

His bed covered with his friends. They are all waiting for him to return from his vacation and play with them.

His desk all ready for action.

His animal storage from IKEA. I put all his Webkinz and Build a Bear Smallfry's in there. Good thing we put the hook into a stud so it can hold fifty pounds as I am sure we are there with all those creatures!!

I think he is going to be so happy to play in this room when he comes home. I can't wait to see him.

kira's room cleaned and organized

oh yes it is complete. It is one of those projects I do not look forward to doing but it needs to be done and I am so happy once it is done. It's the starting that is rough. 

I love my daughter. Really really love her. Honest. I cannot stand when things do not get put back where they came from. It's one thing when you get new stuff and it doesn't have a home- fine. Let's get it a home. It is a totally different thing when things that have homes cannot be put back in their homes. Seems simple to me. I think Kira just doesn't like putting her fun stuff away. More fun to have it all out and around her so she can see it. We'll have to disagree on this point.

Here's walking in her room. I turned her rug around hoping that it won't travel so much. We'll see. The pile of clothes on her bed are some jammies I need her to try on. I can't remember if they fit her or not.

Her desk all set for school to begin. Looking good. All her books are on the shelves where they should be and not tucked under her bed. I will be labeling all the bins. It's on my list to do today.

More stuffed animals. oh yes. The pink animal holder I picked up at IKEA. So happy I got one for each of the kiddos. They hold so much! I think they will both be happy with who I put in there.

Yes that is the top of the dresser that you see there. I know it has been missing for a few months now. Glad to have it back. I also put up her memo board that we won at the Mommy and Me Tea in May. I added a few of her friends pictures on there. Looking like a big girl lives here. In among the animals and Disney characters.

Hubby cleaned her carpet last night and I finished it up today. So happy that both rooms are all set for the kiddos to return. Now to run to Goodwill and get some stuff out to the loft and my family room will be all set.

alex's room during

Today was the fun of organizing Alex's room. Really it wasn't that it was messy, but that things did not have a home to be put away. I will say that Alex does quite well with keeping his room together and putting his toys away. We only run into a problem when new toys come into the house and they need a home.

I hope he'll be happy to see his work bench and easel are in his room and easily accessible to him and only him. I also cleaned out the white bins next to the easel as well as the bins in the storage cubes next to the tool bench. Lots of reorganizing there to make better use of the bins.

One side of his closet. I think he'll be happy to see so many toys hanging out where he can grab them and go. And I managed to leave a little bit of space for his laundry basket.

Other side of the closet. The blue lidded tub has his Pokemon figures inside. The three white bins have Wonder Pets, Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse toys in them.

One of the drawers in his bed. Not sure why the picture turned itself when it loaded here.

The bottom drawer with the heavier Disney Car toys. I tried to keep Tow Mater on top since his tow cable always seems to be bent or broken.

Another drawer full of Mack goodness. So happy these have a place to live instead of on the floor where I was always tripping over them.

The last drawer. Just a bunch of fun stuff that Alex loves. Ignore my awful toes in the shot. I need a pedi badly. Maybe next week.

I need to get the IKEA blue plush holder installed to finish up Alex's room as I have pulled a bunch of his animal friends to be relocated. Hoping to pick up a hook tomorrow so I can complete his room and get myself headed to Kira's.

masterpieces and update

We finally were able to pick up Alex's penguin from To Your Art's Content. When we went to pick everything up from Kira's birthday party, the penguin they gave us was not Alex's. It was blue and it said Alex on the bottom, but it was not MY Alex's penguin.

Victoria at TYAC was wonderful in tracking down our missing penguin pal. Seems there was another Alex in the week before Kira's party and that Alex had also done a penguin. Kid you not. Both pieces were fired together and then packaged up. However, our penguin was sent to a different Alex while we received theirs. The mom had come in to pick up their penguin but she wasn't there when the penguin was painted (grandma had brought Alex in to paint a penguin) The mom was more than happy to pick up the correct penguin and return ours. 

We are so happy to have Pippi Confetti Polka Dot Foltz home with us. Isn't he adorable??

Better front shot. Daddy helped with the eyebrows since Alex insisted he have eyebrows and the polka dots since the paint bottles were a little hard to squeeze. But Alex picked out all the colors for the polka dots. I think he did amazingly well. Love the green feet!!

And here is Kira's creation. Such a lovely tabby. Or is that a striped tiger? I'll have to ask.

Once the kiddos get back home, I am going to take them to TYAC and get them signed up for their Picasso club. They get six months of unlimited studio time, discount off of what they want to paint and a free snack every time they visit. I'm going to sign myself up as well for the adult painting club. I think it will be fun and I do believe we shall be making some Christmas gifts!!

A quick picture of the kitchen. Yes there is less stuff hanging around in there. Hoping to make it much less tomorrow. I see a stop to Goodwill in my future to donate a bunch of stuff.

We did manage to finish painting the hallway and the attic door. Looks a thousand times better! We'll hang up the pictures on Friday to give the walls a good chance to dry. I hate pulling the paint off when I remove a picture frame.

redoing the playroom 2012

While the kids are hanging with Nana and Papa for a little bit of time, the hubby and I have been enjoying our time together as well as tackling some projects around the house. It's our tradition. Every year we do some house project while the kiddos are away. Keeps them on their toes! 

This year is no different. I am trying hard to declutter my house and life. It has to make things easier with less stuff, right?? That's my hope anyways. The first room that needed major change is the kids playroom. It technically is hubby's home office as well as a playroom but the only part that would make it a playroom would be the toys that were littered all around and the television. Pretty sad playroom. Time to fix that and get organized and downsized. I'm so excited just telling you all about it.

We went to IKEA to purchase some new furniture pieces and have now decided we will be buying everything for our house from there in the future. OMG!! Like seriously LOVE that store. But I digress... we got some new pieces that you will have to wait to see but I am sharing a few behind the scenes before the big reveal in a few days.

This is our hallway wall heading to the kids rooms and the bathroom. We finally got around to painting it to match the staircase that we painted either last year or the previous year. I can't remember. I still have a bit more painting to do down by the kids rooms but it's looking 100% better! The color is Peanut Butter by Behr from Home Depot. We picked it up July 2010. Nothing slow about us.

Here are the boxes from two of the new furniture pieces we put together today. Not as much cardboard as I thought we would have. They were all well packed with no space wasted and very little styrofoam inserts.

And where is all the stuff that we had to take out of the playroom while we were working on fixing it up?? Why it headed off to the kitchen table! Yes there is a table under all that stuff. And we can still get to the microwave! We are now eating downstairs in the family room for the time being.

That's all you get for now. I want to do a big reveal as the difference is so amazing and we haven't finished putting everything back yet!!

sketch challenge, field day and birthday....

Yes I have been quite busy, but in a totally great way. Below is a sketch we were given to use in my sketch challenge group on FB. It is pretty neat and think it will be used again in the future. I can also see where I would add extra pictures!! I love taking pictures.

And here is my layout inspired by the above sketch. After I took the picture and loaded it to the computer, I realized I did not put the date on the layout so that has now been done. This was Christmas Eve 2008. Kira looks so tiny!! She got to make reindeer food in her class and then another teacher gave her the small bag of food. We had some very happy reindeer that Christmas!

Field Day for the kids was on Friday. The day started overcast and not looking too great. By the time they did the roll call of nations/ classes... the sun was out and stayed out all day. Which was a great thing since the school had rented two bounce slides and turned them into water slides!! The kids LOVED it. Even Alex who hates to have water on his face.

Each class was a different nation and they designed puppets and made flags from their nations. The theme this year was the Olympics. All the kindergartners were Ireland. You can see Alex in the front by the white of the Irish flag. And his amazing teacher in the red shorts on the left.

Kira's class was doing Fiji. Here's a picture of my little lady with her puppet which she made into a tree kangaroo and her flag. She did such an amazing job on her puppet! I love it.

And a friend of ours, took mine and Dave's picture after the ceremony. Something that doesn't happen often since one of us is always holding the camera! Aren't we cute?? I then went into the school and helped with Alex's class while they did their events.

Then it was Saturday and a special Saturday it was. My little baby girl turned 11! I mean seriously. How does one lose eleven years?? I swear she was just being born and look at her! Heading into sixth grade and looking oh so beautiful. I'm afraid to blink since she'll be in college then!

For her day, she wanted me to make her a Piplup cake. ummm sure. I can do that. I found this image on the web and posted it to Pinterest since I am like that. Dave printed it out and off to town we went. This was my first time making a layer cake and learned a few lessons. One... you don't need a ton of frosting in between the layers (but I do like frosting) Two... make sure to level them so the cake doesn't wobble. Three... if you are going to decorate with additional frosting... you don't need as much of the base frosting. We are getting on quite the sugar high eating this cake. Totally not complaining... just explaining.

The black gel we used, was fighting us a bit and running when we didn't want it to. Hence poor Piplup's lazy eye and his crooked beak. But the cool thing is that the gel was glitter gel so Kira didn't mind these imperfections and was quite excited to see it after her bath.

Tomorrow begins our last week of school. Not sure how much learning will be happening, but it will be the end. Alex will find out his teacher for next year on Friday and they are having a step up day. I do believe I will have to be there taking some pictures!!