Rex's scratch isn't right next to his eye, but it's close enough. As I type this all out I realize I might be the only one who sees this and thinks it is funny. Hmm. Oh well, I'm still laughing!!
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
My Son Is A Bond Villian
The boys are getting to the point now where they like to wrestle and play with each other. Mommy isn't too fond of this but I guess that's just what boys do. Rex got scratched by Wyatt the other night though and all I can think about when I see him now is Le Chiffre, the Bond villain from Casino Royale.
Rex's scratch isn't right next to his eye, but it's close enough. As I type this all out I realize I might be the only one who sees this and thinks it is funny. Hmm. Oh well, I'm still laughing!!
Rex's scratch isn't right next to his eye, but it's close enough. As I type this all out I realize I might be the only one who sees this and thinks it is funny. Hmm. Oh well, I'm still laughing!!
Monday, February 27, 2012
Scrap Wood Wall- Part 1
Last week while reading Young House Love, I fell in love with a scrap wood wall that they posted from a trip to the Portland Home & Garden Show. So I pinned it. Of course.
I wasn't sure how Rob would feel about it but I was thinking it might be just the thing we were looking for our fireplace bump-out thing in our family room. Rob has never been in love with the oak trim around the fireplace and every weekend he says he is going to rip it off and do something else. Every weekend I have to persuade him to just wait a bit until we figure out what we want to do with it. This is what it looked like, except that we had stained that oak trim a darker color.
I knew I didn't want to tile it. In my opinion, tile belongs in kitchens and bathrooms. We thought about some faux stacked stone but were a little nervous about doing that ourselves. So we have been talking about different ideas and looking into things for a few months now but have not found anything we both liked. I showed it to Rob last Thursday or Friday night and he loved it. There are so many pieces of scrap wood from all our projects around here that it should not be a problem to come up with enough material for the project. We googled "scrap wood wall" and found some more images that we liked and pinned those too.
Yesterday afternoon, we decided it was go time. Rob ripped the old trim off and started working on attaching the new pieces. But oh, if only it were that simple. He soon discovered that going around the two outside corners of the bump-out and leaving the opening for the fireplace made this job a lot more challenging than we anticipated. While Rob worked on the scrap wood wall, I was in charge of keeping the boys busy elsewhere in the house. Of course the only place they wanted to be was right where Daddy was and all the excitement was happening. Usually they love to play in the basement but I could not keep them down there no matter how hard I tried. This seemingly simple project is turning into a nightmare.
It has been a difficult project to say the least. Rob likes things orderly and symmetrical so doing a random installation of lumber is really tough for him. We've been through several different theories now on how the best way to actually do this is. Rob even tried to draw it out once which made me laugh so hard because that is sooo my husband, trying to draw out a random pattern. It's tough for him to be random and embrace the chaos. I hear the nail gun firing away out there right now though so he's getting better at being random. This is what it's looking like by now.
I knew I didn't want to tile it. In my opinion, tile belongs in kitchens and bathrooms. We thought about some faux stacked stone but were a little nervous about doing that ourselves. So we have been talking about different ideas and looking into things for a few months now but have not found anything we both liked. I showed it to Rob last Thursday or Friday night and he loved it. There are so many pieces of scrap wood from all our projects around here that it should not be a problem to come up with enough material for the project. We googled "scrap wood wall" and found some more images that we liked and pinned those too.
Yesterday afternoon, we decided it was go time. Rob ripped the old trim off and started working on attaching the new pieces. But oh, if only it were that simple. He soon discovered that going around the two outside corners of the bump-out and leaving the opening for the fireplace made this job a lot more challenging than we anticipated. While Rob worked on the scrap wood wall, I was in charge of keeping the boys busy elsewhere in the house. Of course the only place they wanted to be was right where Daddy was and all the excitement was happening. Usually they love to play in the basement but I could not keep them down there no matter how hard I tried. This seemingly simple project is turning into a nightmare.
It has been a difficult project to say the least. Rob likes things orderly and symmetrical so doing a random installation of lumber is really tough for him. We've been through several different theories now on how the best way to actually do this is. Rob even tried to draw it out once which made me laugh so hard because that is sooo my husband, trying to draw out a random pattern. It's tough for him to be random and embrace the chaos. I hear the nail gun firing away out there right now though so he's getting better at being random. This is what it's looking like by now.
We are going to carry the boards up just a little past where the highest white one is right now and finish it off with a little mantle. And we are planning on painting it all so it is okay that we are using white MDF trim pieces along with the scrap lumber. I'll let you know how it all turns out, hopefully in time for next week's Pinteractive post!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Haircuts for Everybody!
I wasn't the only person around here to get my hair cut in the last few days- Rex got his cut too. We bought a pair of clippers a while back and had been buzzing his hair for the last year or so. It was getting to the point where he hated it and we just couldn't deal with all the drama surrounding trying to cut his hair. We finally decided it was time to go back to the professional cut. Since we were going to be spending money on cutting his hair, I wanted to let it grow out and get the traditional boy hair cut again. I let it grow out probably two months longer than it needed too- it was pretty shaggy looking by the time we went to the hairstylist last Friday. He sure is looking good now though!
Come to think of it, we cut Rob's hair on Sunday night too. The only person who hasn't had their hair trimmed is Wyatt and who knows what we will do with his when it gets to be that time. He has a double crown on his head which makes the hair all just stick straight up in the air. It will not lay down. Unlike the boy himself who will lay down even when he isn't told to. It was after lunch today when I found him like this in the family room.
It was pretty close to nap time but I didn't realize he was already that tired. Guess I should have put him down a few minutes earlier. Oops. He was so cute napping there on the couch though; I hated to move him. But Mommy likes to hang out and watch tv during naps so I scooped him up and got him in his crib.
Right now we are contemplating buying a new sofa and chair or a sectional for the family room. We sold our treadmill this weekend to help offset the cost of this purchase which was a little sad. Now that I have a gym membership again, I haven't been using it at all and it didn't make any sense to keep it. Anyhow, we went to a furniture store two weeks ago and checked out some couches and discovered we are tough customers. We are both very particular about the look of a new couch/sectional and of course are trying to keep the price down as much as possible. The most difficult thing seems to be Rob's height though and finding a couch that doesn't look like Rob in Wonderland.
We are planning a trip to Des Moines later this week to check a much bigger furniture store with more options. I am feeling really hopeful that we will find something there. Wish us luck!
Come to think of it, we cut Rob's hair on Sunday night too. The only person who hasn't had their hair trimmed is Wyatt and who knows what we will do with his when it gets to be that time. He has a double crown on his head which makes the hair all just stick straight up in the air. It will not lay down. Unlike the boy himself who will lay down even when he isn't told to. It was after lunch today when I found him like this in the family room.
It was pretty close to nap time but I didn't realize he was already that tired. Guess I should have put him down a few minutes earlier. Oops. He was so cute napping there on the couch though; I hated to move him. But Mommy likes to hang out and watch tv during naps so I scooped him up and got him in his crib.
Right now we are contemplating buying a new sofa and chair or a sectional for the family room. We sold our treadmill this weekend to help offset the cost of this purchase which was a little sad. Now that I have a gym membership again, I haven't been using it at all and it didn't make any sense to keep it. Anyhow, we went to a furniture store two weeks ago and checked out some couches and discovered we are tough customers. We are both very particular about the look of a new couch/sectional and of course are trying to keep the price down as much as possible. The most difficult thing seems to be Rob's height though and finding a couch that doesn't look like Rob in Wonderland.
We are planning a trip to Des Moines later this week to check a much bigger furniture store with more options. I am feeling really hopeful that we will find something there. Wish us luck!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Pinteractive: A New 'Do
I have a confession to make: until last week, I hadn't gotten my hair cut in almost a year. The stylist I've been going to ever since I moved to Iowa had a baby last spring and decided she wanted to stay home with him. Having done the same thing myself, I totally understood but I was really sad to lose Abby. She was so wonderful- great cuts and color, nice and she always started by massaging some deliciously scented oil into my head. And she looked like Genevieve Gorder and Penny from Lost's (who apparently is really Sonya Walger) little sister. Anyhow, it was time to suck it up and find a new stylist. I did a little internet researching and finally settled a new girl at a new salon- mainly picking her because she had cute hair, no complaints, and the same name as my sister. Once I was scheduled with her it was on to picking the style. Hello, Pinterest! Let's see what I could find.
First up was the previous style I had and really liked, inspired by Jennifer Nettles-
Love it but was wondering if maybe I should try something else this time. So I started pinning a bunch of things I found on Pinterest and out wandering the web. These were some of my faves-
Besides them all being blonde, a definite theme was emerging. Side-swept bangs with a messy layered bob kind of look. So that's what I went with. The stylist did it very straight with a flat-iron which looked good but I'm more of a messy, go-with-the-flow girl so this is how it looks when I do it up-
It somehow looks kind of frizzy in the picture which I don't think it looks like at all. But you get the idea. It is pretty easy to style in the morning but it's only been a few days so I'm still getting the hang of it. Loving it so far though! It was long overdue and I'm so glad I finally got it cut. Oh, and Megan was great too so yay for finding a new stylist!
In other Pinteractive news, I tried this slow cooker sesame chicken recipe that Shannon pinned as well as a tip that you can shred chicken with your KitchenAid mixer. I was skeptical on the mixer (using paddle attachment) being able to shred chicken but it totally works- in about 20 seconds too. Awesome. So a big thanks to Shannon for the tip and for helping me find a new tasty recipe for chicken! Yay for Pinteractive!!
First up was the previous style I had and really liked, inspired by Jennifer Nettles-
Love it but was wondering if maybe I should try something else this time. So I started pinning a bunch of things I found on Pinterest and out wandering the web. These were some of my faves-
Besides them all being blonde, a definite theme was emerging. Side-swept bangs with a messy layered bob kind of look. So that's what I went with. The stylist did it very straight with a flat-iron which looked good but I'm more of a messy, go-with-the-flow girl so this is how it looks when I do it up-
It somehow looks kind of frizzy in the picture which I don't think it looks like at all. But you get the idea. It is pretty easy to style in the morning but it's only been a few days so I'm still getting the hang of it. Loving it so far though! It was long overdue and I'm so glad I finally got it cut. Oh, and Megan was great too so yay for finding a new stylist!
In other Pinteractive news, I tried this slow cooker sesame chicken recipe that Shannon pinned as well as a tip that you can shred chicken with your KitchenAid mixer. I was skeptical on the mixer (using paddle attachment) being able to shred chicken but it totally works- in about 20 seconds too. Awesome. So a big thanks to Shannon for the tip and for helping me find a new tasty recipe for chicken! Yay for Pinteractive!!
Monday, February 13, 2012
Paging Dr. Rex
We had another emergency this morning that required medical attention- George hurt his foot. At least that was Rex's diagnosis. It's snowing out today and it didn't seem like a good idea to drive in this kind of weather so it was up to Dr. Rex to get the monkey's foot fixed.
First he had to clamp it_
Next a little suction-
Then the drilling began-
I guess things got a little dicey at that point because he reached for the phone to consult with "Dr. Flimp" (which is what he calls his pediatrician, Dr. Smith).
I'm not real sure what they discussed but apparently George needed to relax on a monkey pillow pet and have Turner the screwdriver shoved up his nose. Not sure how this fixes a monkey's foot but clearly I'm not the expert here. Looks like Rex was expecting it to get a little messy at this point since he decided to add the full face splash shield.
So that was our morning. I'm thinking doctor set for Rex's birthday because the medical treatment one receives here is pretty sketchy. Would you want your doctor coming at you with a welding mask, power drill, Black & Decker clamp, and a Handy Manny screwdriver? I sure wouldn't.
First he had to clamp it_
Next a little suction-
Then the drilling began-
I guess things got a little dicey at that point because he reached for the phone to consult with "Dr. Flimp" (which is what he calls his pediatrician, Dr. Smith).
I'm not real sure what they discussed but apparently George needed to relax on a monkey pillow pet and have Turner the screwdriver shoved up his nose. Not sure how this fixes a monkey's foot but clearly I'm not the expert here. Looks like Rex was expecting it to get a little messy at this point since he decided to add the full face splash shield.
So that was our morning. I'm thinking doctor set for Rex's birthday because the medical treatment one receives here is pretty sketchy. Would you want your doctor coming at you with a welding mask, power drill, Black & Decker clamp, and a Handy Manny screwdriver? I sure wouldn't.
Getting Pinteractive With My BFF
Like Nanette, I love, love, love, love Pinterest. I think it is wonderful because I can take all the fabulous ideas I come across and store them all in one place. Oh how I love organization! No more thinking, "I loved that paint color I saw in that one living room- now which website was I looking at when I saw it?" Even when I could remember where I saw it, I sometimes had trouble finding the exact photo/recipe/craft/whatever it was I wanted. It is also so helpful with the hubs. Sometimes I have ideas in my head of things I want to do to our house and I use Pinterest to find something similar to show him. It works much better than explaining- he doesn't always seem to get my vision. And I can't draw for anything so Pinterest is oh-so-helpful.
Nanette has started a "Pinteractive" link-up party where she is challenging people to make or do things they have pinned and then share your projects. I thought that would be good motivation for me to tackle some things I have been wanting to do. I realized though in going through my pins, that I do a good job of following through- especially when it comes to the recipes. I didn't get a chance to make anything for this inaugural Pinteractive edition but I thought I could go through some of the things I've done so far.
Crafts:
I have tried only one thing exactly and it came out rough. I'm not very artistic but found a project (inspired by another Pinterest challenge) where you stick stickers on a canvas and then spray paint over to do some artwork. I thought it would be great to try this for some cheap Christmas artwork for the house. It turned out so bad.
The paint got under the stickers and kind of glued them to the canvas and it just turned into one big hot mess. The silver background one wasn't so bad and I actually did put that one up. I had much better success using some Halloween wreaths I found on Pinterest for inspiration and then making my own.
Decor:
I have pinned a lot of things for seasonal decor inspiration but am now moving onto bedroom decor for all 3 of our bedrooms. First up is the master bedroom because there have been some attempts at the boys' rooms already and we deserve something next. I love this color scheme:
We already had stuff in the room in a similar green so now I'm just trying to add the navy blue. I want to paint the wall our headboard is on too. I plan on making this one of my Pinteractive projects but it's going to be a while still before I'm ready to share I think. Mostly because it's going to be a while still before it is warm enough so that we can paint.
Recipes:
I have found some really good things on here, some interesting and some not-so-good. First of all, this pizza dip is so incredibly delicious.
I had two chicken dishes that didn't go over too great in our house- baked fried chicken and country farm chicken casserole. I love this list of chicken recipes I found though and I'll keep trying things from it. I'm sure I'll find some winners.
I really want to try the homemade twix and homemade pop tarts so be looking for the results on those soon in one of my upcoming Pinteractive posts.
Hair:
I am going to get my haircut on Wednesday so I think I'll save this one for next week's Pinteractive post! But here are my ideas.
Nanette has started a "Pinteractive" link-up party where she is challenging people to make or do things they have pinned and then share your projects. I thought that would be good motivation for me to tackle some things I have been wanting to do. I realized though in going through my pins, that I do a good job of following through- especially when it comes to the recipes. I didn't get a chance to make anything for this inaugural Pinteractive edition but I thought I could go through some of the things I've done so far.
Crafts:
I have tried only one thing exactly and it came out rough. I'm not very artistic but found a project (inspired by another Pinterest challenge) where you stick stickers on a canvas and then spray paint over to do some artwork. I thought it would be great to try this for some cheap Christmas artwork for the house. It turned out so bad.
The paint got under the stickers and kind of glued them to the canvas and it just turned into one big hot mess. The silver background one wasn't so bad and I actually did put that one up. I had much better success using some Halloween wreaths I found on Pinterest for inspiration and then making my own.
Decor:
I have pinned a lot of things for seasonal decor inspiration but am now moving onto bedroom decor for all 3 of our bedrooms. First up is the master bedroom because there have been some attempts at the boys' rooms already and we deserve something next. I love this color scheme:
We already had stuff in the room in a similar green so now I'm just trying to add the navy blue. I want to paint the wall our headboard is on too. I plan on making this one of my Pinteractive projects but it's going to be a while still before I'm ready to share I think. Mostly because it's going to be a while still before it is warm enough so that we can paint.
Recipes:
I have found some really good things on here, some interesting and some not-so-good. First of all, this pizza dip is so incredibly delicious.
I had two chicken dishes that didn't go over too great in our house- baked fried chicken and country farm chicken casserole. I love this list of chicken recipes I found though and I'll keep trying things from it. I'm sure I'll find some winners.
I really want to try the homemade twix and homemade pop tarts so be looking for the results on those soon in one of my upcoming Pinteractive posts.
Hair:
I am going to get my haircut on Wednesday so I think I'll save this one for next week's Pinteractive post! But here are my ideas.
Friday, February 3, 2012
The First ER Trip
Having two boys, I knew I would be making at least one trip to the local ER at some point. Let's be realistic- it will almost certainly be more than one trip. Trip number 1turned out to be this past Tuesday night. Rob had bought an apple pie at the store earlier in the day and Rex had been eyeballing the thing all day/night. He wanted a piece as soon as Rob brought it home but we told him to wait until after dinner. He kept asking for some and then finally we told him okay, it was time for pie. Rex took off from the family room and headed for the kitchen like a shot. In his excitement, he bumbled the one step up from the family room into the rest of the house and hit his chin really hard. It was gushing blood. A lot of blood. We knew it was serious. There was even one point where his eyes were kind of rolling back in his head and he was hyperventilating. Rob got him calmed down and then the bleeding stopped. I think that was the point where Rob and I finally started breathing again. Now we could get a peek at it but it was a big ol' mess and hard to see what was going on. Even though it was barely bleeding and we couldn't see the wound real well, we thought it was still a good idea to take him to the ER. Rex and I changed our bloody clothes and got in the car and headed to the hospital. We were seen right away, which was awesome, and it turned out that Rex definitely needed 2 or 3 stitches. He did really good with everyone looking at it, cleaning it and even applying the numbing gel that had to sit there for about 20 minutes. The actual stitches part wasn't too good- he kept yelling at them "Done! Done!" The doctor and nurses were awesome with him and got him all put back together very nicely and quickly (though Rex would probably tell you it took forever).
We finally got home a little after 10:00 p.m. and he got his pie. He really wasn't that into the pie (not surprising) at that point so we put him to bed and he was out. The stitches will come out on their own in a week or so. So glad we don't have to go back and have them taken out. Keeping Rex from playing with the stitches is a full-time job for me now. The thing I keep thinking about is that step and how many discussions Rob and I had before building it to make sure it was as safe as we could make it. There was a LOT of time spent designing that step and it still ended up being a danger. Anyhow, I hope we are done with the ER for a long time now and I am glad it wasn't a broken bone that we were there for. At least this time.
We finally got home a little after 10:00 p.m. and he got his pie. He really wasn't that into the pie (not surprising) at that point so we put him to bed and he was out. The stitches will come out on their own in a week or so. So glad we don't have to go back and have them taken out. Keeping Rex from playing with the stitches is a full-time job for me now. The thing I keep thinking about is that step and how many discussions Rob and I had before building it to make sure it was as safe as we could make it. There was a LOT of time spent designing that step and it still ended up being a danger. Anyhow, I hope we are done with the ER for a long time now and I am glad it wasn't a broken bone that we were there for. At least this time.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Five
It's hard to believe it has already been five years since this-
It seems like it was just maybe a year or two ago. But then I think about all the changes in our lives that we've made since then and I realize it is amazing how much we have crammed into those five years! New state, new jobs (then quit my job to stay home), new house, lots of remodeling to house and, best of all, two new kids. Whew. That's a lot. I really love being married to Rob. He makes me laugh every day and I have so much fun with him. He's a great partner and I can't believe how lucky I am. I just think he is the greatest thing ever. He's a wonderful father too and the boys just love him to pieces. It's amazing that we turned this happy couple (picture from our first anniversary when I was about 4 months pregnant with Rex)-
Into a happy family of 4-
It's been a fun and adventurous start to our life together and I can't wait to see what the next 50 or so years have for us!
It seems like it was just maybe a year or two ago. But then I think about all the changes in our lives that we've made since then and I realize it is amazing how much we have crammed into those five years! New state, new jobs (then quit my job to stay home), new house, lots of remodeling to house and, best of all, two new kids. Whew. That's a lot. I really love being married to Rob. He makes me laugh every day and I have so much fun with him. He's a great partner and I can't believe how lucky I am. I just think he is the greatest thing ever. He's a wonderful father too and the boys just love him to pieces. It's amazing that we turned this happy couple (picture from our first anniversary when I was about 4 months pregnant with Rex)-
Into a happy family of 4-
It's been a fun and adventurous start to our life together and I can't wait to see what the next 50 or so years have for us!
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