project organize - boys room

We spent a Saturday a few weeks ago taking down toddler beds and putting together bunk beds. I bought twin bedding for the boys toddler beds so that when we moved them into "big boy beds", all I'd have to buy them was sheets. Fabulous thinking on my part, considering we've spent so much on the baby's bedding and bunk beds! 

This is what their room looked like before. I used a picture from our realtor since I forgot to take pictures.

Here are my men at work.

And here is the finished product! 

I "made" a bed skirt to hide their toy boxes under the bed. What I mean by "made" is I had to cut up a twin bed skirt, and velcro it to the bed. I would have loved a green one, but the green shade I wanted was so difficult to find! I gave up, and went with white since I have about 20 others projects going on. 

Remember this?

It became this which is tucked under their bed so neatly concealed by a bed skirt. 

And this which is tucked into their closet. 

And these are my loves enjoying their new beds!

Elias gets the bottom

Isaiah gets the top

my talented husband

My husband turned this hunk of ugly....

Into this beauty for the boys room!

We bought this dresser off Craigslist for $50. Bryan's dad, Rick, thinks the wood for it is easily worth $350 if not more. Therefore, we got a steal of a deal and have a sturdy piece of furniture that the boys can use and abuse for years! 
AND it matches beautifully to their new bunk beds! 

project organize

I've been obsessed with organizing lately. So, the next few posts I write will probably be all about organizing, beautifying, and simplifying my life. 


I took the boys to IKEA today to get some storage for their ridiculous amounts of toys. I needed functional boxes, no taller than 11.5 inches so they would fit under the bed, and not too big so we could keep toys together according to their theme (like balls with balls, and cars with cars, and tools with tools and so on). 

This is the mess I started with.

 Don't look too closely, you'll see how dirty my media cabinet is! 

Anyhow, Project Organize is underway at our house. More to come on how this all ended. I know it's so suspenseful to wait for beautified pictures! 

elias and his favorites

A cardboard box

Pliers

Daddy's shop vac

If you look close, you can see a white rope hanging on the box behind him. That is also his favorite. The boy played with these four items for HOURS today and would almost any other day as well. 

oh the giggles

My kids adore Bryan. I know most kids do adore their daddys, but this just warms my heart. I'm sitting here, waiting for glue and paint to dry on a project, and I'm listening to them giggle and yell in delight in the garage. Bryan finished painting a frame for me today, and let the boys paint their own blocks of wood while he worked. They just LOVE being with him in the garage. I absolutely love sitting in my quiet house, listening to Bryan hang out with them. 

One thing that I have learned about myself since having kids, is that I still miss not having a dad growing up. I think I might have been a daddy's girl. I don't know for sure, but when I see other gals my age interacting with their dads, I ache.

I'm a blessed woman. This I am aware of. But it is hard not knowing what my life could have been like or would be like with a dad present.

All of these thoughts have run through my head so many times since finding out I was having a girl. My little girl is going to have the most amazing daddy. I am so thankful that even though my life turned out a little different, my little girl is going to have a protective, loving father to swoon over her.

Oh my dear Raelynn, do you know how blessed and loved you are already?!

mommy time out

I'm taking a mommy time out. My kids are eating their lunch while watching Curious George. I am sitting in my room with my first cup of coffee that I just had to warm in the microwave. 


It's confession time. 

I have a short fuse. 

I'm hoping it's pregnancy hormones, but I've got to get this under control. I have the hardest time with my boys just doing something to make the other scream. I also have a hard time with the screamer who is completely overreacting. 

Today, I looked at Isaiah, and said, "Do you really think Jesus likes how you are acting right now? Do you think he likes how you are treating Elias?". He had tears in his eyes and said, "No, Mama". 

It brought me to tears. One because I'm pregnant, two because I don't ask myself that enough. I overreact often (just asking my amazing hubby). I yell when there is no reason to be yelling. I'm mean when there is no excuse for me to be mean. 

I've said this often - Disciplining is hard. I think the hardest part for me lately is all the horrible stuff I see in me as I'm trying to train my children to love God and love others. I'm seeing how I'm not loving like God wants me to be loving. 

At work we did an exercise for a staff meeting. Our boss, Matt, had us write our story in 6 words or less. His example was this "For sale. Baby shoes. Never used." He told us to write a story that told about our day, week, or year. Whatever we wanted. 

Mine was this 

 Reality sinking in. I'm in charge. 

Lately, it's hit me how I'm in charge of these little boys the Lord has given me. Not in charge to command them or correct their behavior. But in charge of their little souls. I'm at home being the example they are watching. I'm at home reminding them of God's love and teaching them the Bible. I'm at home encouraging them to control themselves. 

Such a responsibility the Lord has given me. 

That is where I'm at right now. I'm a mommy trying to love God my best, trying to love my boys my best, and trying to teach them how to love others their best. I don't know why it scares me, but I know the Lord is teaching me just as much as I'm teaching my kiddos. 

Meanwhile, as I wrap this up, the boys are singing "the wheels on the bus" together. Cuteness. 

beyond blessed

This is my team at the office

And they surprised me by showering me with gifts today for Raelynn. 

It was such a fabulous party, and I am feeling so incredibly blessed to work with such amazing people. 

This is my very serious boss, Matt. 

This is the adorable table set up by Lisa. 

I've been craving cereal and apple cider. Both were present for this celebration! How thoughtful is that?!

Lisa made me this lovely blanket which matches Raelynn's room!

I had Bryan open the presents since he doesn't usually get the pleasure of such things. I normally rip everything open before he can even blink!

And lastly, don't these daffodils just make you long for sunshine! Love these. They are now on my desk. 

Basically, I had a fabulous day full of laughter, blessings, and reminders that a sweet baby girl is about to join our family! 
When I got home, the boys excitedly opened everything for their baby "siser, Waewhen". Isaiah kept giggling and saying, "this is so stinin (stinkin') cute". Apparently I've been saying that a lot lately. 

BLESSED

"flowers"

How cute is this?

My boys picked me flowers and rocks on their walk to the park tonight. Makes my heart happy!

our saturday

We ate donuts. Elias picked his out, and it had chocolate on top and on the inside!

Hello sugar rush!

Bryan worked on the dresser. He finished sanding and painted two coats of stain! It needs one more coat, and it will be done. yahoo!

These are the drawers

 The boys got to play in the backyard. The grass was a mud pit, but they had fun.

The boys played with play doh. 

We got a lot of cleaning done, some organizing, and a few projects started. I feel pretty good about our day. And we ended it with a movie, popcorn and hot chocolate (Isaiah's all time favorites). 

little by little

I'm pretty happy with the results. I wasn't too sure about my fabric matching ability, but it's growing on me. I'm so in love with those birds. I think they are too cute.

Little by little our Raelynn's room is coming together! 

Here is our next project!

Bryan bought the wood to make this little picture board for me. I picked out the paint & already had fabric and ribbon to finish it off. This project should get done this week. I'm obviously using different colors (in case you were confused). 

all in

Just ordered cloth diapers and cloth wipes. I'm all in now! I'm committed! I will do it!

Actually, I just ordered the newborn size to see how well I'd do. I talked with a fabulous lady at the Cotton Babies store in Vancouver, and she was so helpful!

Previously, after my HOURS of research, I had decided that I'd go with Fuzzibunz. After talking with the lady working (wish I'd gotten her name, she was so great!), I realized that I need to start with a newborn size. Really, is a diaper that is going to fit a 30 pound child really going to keep all that lovely breastfed baby poo contained for a 7 pound baby? Good thing I talked to her because I changed my tune!

I've decided to go with prefolds and Thirsties diaper covers just for the newborn stage. This will be only for a few months, then I'll reconsider what I'd like to do. If I don't despise prefolds, I'll stick with them because they are a TON cheaper. Afterall, this is why I'm attempting this cloth diaper adventure - Save money.

I found some awesome deals with free shipping, so I decided to order online. I'll be going back to the Cotton Babies store to make sure I have everything I need, but to get started I had a pretty good idea.

I'm so excited to hold those little diapers!!! Is that weird? Maybe. I find myself just standing in that baby's room just gazing at all her tiny little newborn outfits. I am a bit excited. Can you tell?

this weekend was fabulous

FRIDAY:

It started on Friday afternoon when I got to pick Jeni up from the airport! We got coffee and came home to visit. This girl and I have been friends since we were 7, and I'm so blessed to have her in my life still! Jeni lives in Idaho, and we haven't lived in the same state for about 8 or 9 years! I still consider her my best friend, and I still plan on living next door to her someday! 

Bryan's aunt, Melinda, got us tickets to see Stomp - Fabulous if you haven't seen it! They are incredibly talented people who make music/rhythm out of the most random "instruments" - brooms, garbage cans, basketballs, pots & pans, lighters, sticks, tubes, etc. You get the point. Randomness! It was a great show!

SATURDAY:

Angela drove all the way from Spokane today! 

Leslie, Wendy, and Melinda threw a baby shower for me! 

It was so much fun, and we have so MANY clothes for our little girl now! She is so spoiled already! My mom and Meghan got Raelynn a swing that is so adorable! I showed my mom it in a magazine weeks ago, and she remembered which one it was! It's super cute. I was very bummed because I forgot to assign someone to "camera duty". Therefore, I don't have nearly as many pictures as I would have liked! I didn't even get a picture with Leslie, Wendy, or Melinda! Very bummed about that. 

This is my ONLY nephew, Ezekiel. Isn't he adorable?

Some of my gal pals who came to the shower!

Meghan, Mom, and me! 

After the shower, a few of us went and grabbed dinner at a little Mexican place (Juan Colorado? I think?). SO MUCH FUN! Girls I don't get to see very often, all crowded around our table. So loud with all the conversations going on, and so incredible. I feel so blessed to have such awesome friends and an awesome Mom! 

Love these girls!

Definitely look large here, but HAD to have a pic with Jess!

All fed and happy!

SUNDAY:

I taught Sunday school today, went to church, had lunch with friends, then got to spend the afternoon with Jeni before she had to fly back to Idaho. I was so sad to drop Jeni off at the airport! I already miss her so much, but I am thankful for the incredible weekend I had! The Lord has truly blessed me, and for that, I am a grateful woman. 

post maternity musings

There are a lot of things I'm loving about my pregnancy - healthy, easy, AMAZING, eating, the boys talking to my tummy, decorating, wondering what she will look like. That's just a few things I'm loving.

There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to after I have this little girl - normal jeans, putting socks on without thinking my stomach will pop, running, shopping for cute spring/summer clothes (as opposed to tents - aka maternity shirts), not dropping food on my stomach, changing sheets without huffing and puffing like I've worked out for 20 minutes. You know, those normal things that you take for granted when you're not the size of a whale? Yeah, those are the things I look forward too! 

But what am I looking to most of all? 

I cannot wait to set eyes on my little girl! 

the sayings of little ones

Isaiah's new lines of late:

•  "you make a dewiscious dinner, Mom" - he still can't say his "L" very well. So cute. And he says this almost every night.

• "Mom...I wuv you soooo much, did you know that?" - this always involves a big hug and kiss. So good for my heart!

•  "do to others as you would have them them do" and then a bunch of gibberish. We're working on learning Bible verses to help discipline. He runs around chanting this all the time (if only he would remember it when he's harassing Elias!)

• "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" - this is usually followed with "we should have hot chocolate" or "we should have popcorn and a movie"

Elias's new lines of late:

•  "that's not verby nice" - to ANYTHING he doesn't approve of (he randomly adds "b's" in words all the time) 

•  "he misses his mommy" - he says this when someone or something is alone...one little people? "he misses his mommy"; one dog? "he misses his mommy"; one fire truck? "he misses his mommy" 

• "hi baby! that baby is so cute!" - referring to Raelynn in my tummy

• he never says "neck" he says "necklace" - such as "my necklace hurts"; "that tickles my necklace"; "Isaiah hit my necklace"

  

picture time

I realized that I haven't been posting nearly enough pictures lately! So, to get caught up, here are some fun ones that I've enjoyed!

Happy Birthday to Grandma!

My future rockstar (taken by my friend, Mike)

A new game they like to play. It's a monkey backpack leash thing that Elias wears, and Isaiah hooks to the horse. Then Elias pulls Isaiah around. It's pretty funny to watch & they love it!

Riding machine!

Showing me how strong he is!

Just cute. I love his little expression looking at his beloved doggy!

Isaiah showing me his tricks - it's serious stuff

typical face - big smile

just silly



7 more weeks!

It's true. I have 7 more weeks until my due date (okay okay, 7 weeks and 2 days). 

Here is some random stuff going on. 

The baby's room is all cleaned out - not the closet, but that can't get done until my dear husband finishes the boys' dresser. 

We have the boys bunk beds up, but I don't want to post a picture of their room until it's actually done. I still have toy bins to buy, a bedskirt to make (to hide the toys under the bed), and a little more organization. 

It's hard to get motivated when it's dumping rain. Yesterday we had some sunshine and it made me smile! 


I got a new computer for work - a mac. I'm starting to learn how to use it. I have to retrain myself for my bookkeeping program and redo a whole lot of reports that I had that wouldn't transfer AND I have to set up payroll all over again. Ugh. I am thankful that I have a computer that I don't have to restart every hour or so.  

My mom offered to make the baby's curtains! Wahoo! I haven't been able to motivate myself to drag out my sewing machine and get to work. I'm thankful she is such a perfectionist! They'll be beautiful and I can't wait! 

Also, I'm not liking my mobile...the red doesn't match perfectly. I'm going to put more splashes of red throughout the room, and if I still don't like it - I'm going to start over! A pic of that soon too. The mobile is very cute, in my opinion, but I'm not thrilled with my fabric matching ability. 


I absolutely love my couches still. I'm now looking for new curtains. I have some fun red ones that I like, and they were super cheap. They just make the room look too dark with all my dark furniture. To searching I go! 

My boys are playing with the counter stools and pretending they are bathrooms. I'm a little afraid that Elias is going to get confused and actually "use" his stool toilet. So I'm going to be a mommy now. 

Happy day to you! You few people who read this randomness of my life! 

great weekend

The hubs and I hadn't celebrated our anniversary yet. February was just a busy month, so we opted to wait until this month. And we waited until our schedules would allow a whole weekend together - a rushed dinner just did not sound appealing.  

Bryan's parents took the kiddos for us on Friday and Saturday night, so we could just stay home instead of paying to stay overnight somewhere (honestly, packing and driving seemed so exhausting to me!). 

Our weekend included flowers from Bryan, free PF Changs, a free movie, coffee, massages, laughs, sleeping in (no little face waking me up at 6:15 saying, "snack please?"), free Blazer tickets, a little shopping, and lots of fun. Don't you like all the free in there? I sure did.

I was totally banking on going to Hawaii to celebrate our 5th anniversary, but this large woman was not about to set foot on a beach. I had such a great time in this rainy weather. My husband is the best, and makes any outing fun even if it contains rain.

Now we're back to real life, but you know what? I love my real life. As tired as I am, I love having my little rascals around even when we are in the midst of much discipline and training. I missed them. I missed their sweet faces and big hugs. A huge hug and a little voice saying, "I missed you so much!" just made my weekend complete.

do you know what Bryan did?!

I've been bragging on my husband quite a bit lately. He has been amazing through my crazy ups and downs! I mean, yes, I've made fun of his "compliments", but really, he's just taking such good care of me lately!

I had a mild meltdown (okay, like 6 of them). My mom in law and sister in law are throwing me a shower for this little girlie growing large inside of me (seriously, LARGE). I found out that a friend of ours is actually having a bridal shower the SAME DAY and an hour before my shower. I was truly bummed. Like, let the tears flow bummed. I just knew that half the people wouldn't come because this is baby number three, and well, it's one marriage for her!

Do you know what my husband did?!

He called my best friend, Jeni, and asked her if she wanted to come from Idaho. Honestly, I would have called her myself, but I was too busy throwing myself a pity party to think straight. Anyway, my dearest friend of almost 22 years is flying in from Idaho just to accompany me at my shower. I'm so excited!!! It's going to be a lovely weekend, and I can hardly wait!

a pic of my life

Random. I realize this. But looking at this quesadilla made me laugh, and I had to take a picture.

I usually sit down and eat lunch with the boys, but decided to feed them and get a few more things organized while they were distracted. They ate, I put them down for a nap, and realized I was starving!

I started myself a bean and cheese quesadilla (number one craving at the moment). I then remembered I needed to switch the laundry loads. Yup, got to cleaning and forgot about my quesadilla. Note: it's a bit burned.

I threw something in the trash and saw my quesadilla sitting there on the grill. Oops! I grabbed it, threw it on a paper plate, and laughed.

Why am I laughing? Well, my craving for one - I have a bean and cheese quesadilla almost everyday. Next, I forgot all about it - pregnancy mind. It's been happening a whole lot lately (I started the coffee pot this morning and forgot to add the coffee - I made hot water). Also, look at that random paper plate. Part of my organizing has been finding random stuff and putting it to use. Seriously. Why did I keep 3 birthday plates from each birthday celebration we've had? Why didn't I just use them? Was I really going to use them at another birthday party? Not so much. So, we've been using random birthday plates and napkins for lunches.

That is why I'm laughing. This quesadilla and plate just summed up my last few weeks - eating, forgetful, and organizing. Silly.

tears and sunshine

Today was rough. Elias was extra clingy and Isaiah was extra ornery. I've been in need of some alone time. Alone time is how I refuel, but I have very little of it these days. After about 15 breakdowns from my dear Elias, I started breaking down. Watching the rain outside just brought on more tears.

Don't worry, there were no temper tantrums performed by me...just silent tears. Often. I think part of it is pregnancy hormones, part is exhaustion, part is this awful weather, but I think the biggest part is I needed some alone time. Not alone time spent working or cleaning while the boys sleep, but good old alone time wasting my time doing whatever I please.

Insert husband. I called Bryan earlier. Complained a bit. Then he reminded me he had basketball tonight. And the tears flowed, yet again. I was really hoping to escape the house and just be by myself after dinner. I didn't want him to miss basketball because he needs more "guy time", so I just sat and cried instead of telling him what was wrong. Anyway, he suspected, I spilled my secret plan I'd been dreaming about.

Do you know what he did? He came home from work two hours early so I could get out by myself! Such a huge ray of sunshine to my day. Does that sound bad that I wanted out by myself that bad?

I did exactly what I planned on - wasted my time. I went to a few stores and just took my precious time (with coffee in hand, of course). I just drove in a silent car and stopped at whatever store looked appealing. It was a marvelous three and a half hours. I came home ready to tackle the house (we have people coming to look at it in the morning), and ready to let Bryan escape to basketball. It was wonderful, and now I feel like tomorrow is going to be a great day. Bring on the attitudes and disciplining!

stuck on repeat

Disciplining is hard. I used to think that the more independent my children became, the easier my life would be. Boy was I wrong! They have their own opinions. They have bad attitudes. They throw tantrums. They are mean to each other! (I don't know if any of you thought your kids would never be mean to each other, but I was under that illusion)

I find myself saying, "don't ask me why, just do it", "don't argue with me, just do what I've asked you to do", "if you don't have something kind to say, you need to stop talking".

I've been reflecting on my REPEATED phrases. How often do I ask God, "why"? How often have I said something unkind just because I was in a mood. Disciplining is so hard, but I've taken a step back and realized that I need to be way more patient with their little hearts because they are learning. I'm on my way to 30 and I still have problems behaving!

I am so thankful for such a gracious God. I need to learn that kind of grace. I'm trying to figure out the balance between discipline and grace.

It's a hard connection for me. I want my boys to behave, I want them to be polite, and I want others to find them enjoyable to be around. I don't know about you, but rude, out of control kids just drive me nuts. I don't want my boys to be like that!

At the same time, I need to be concentrating on their hearts more. I need to find the root of the crazy outbursts. Instead of correcting the outward behavior, I need to figure out their hearts and nurture them. Ahh, so hard for me to do while they are sitting on the floor harassing each other, just to hear each other scream in dismay.

Time to hit my knees and snatch my Bible for some wisdom.