Life

Shiny Happy Floors

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I am going to get right to it…our new floor:

Oak Hardwood Floors

Now if you have been here all along you might also notice that something else changed…

Lets review shall we?

Here is the before of this space, after we moved out our furniture:

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Previously we were using this as a living room

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But we traded out this:

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For this:

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And this:

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For this:

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We did a living room dining room flip, I love that our new flooring goes throughout the whole space, the carpet always left us feeling like we needed furniture on one side or the other…don’t cross the line!!

This was a complete DIY project, it took us one long rainy plus weekend and it was about 300 square feet.  Cost and details are coming.

Plus we built a new Master Bedroom headboard for FREE!

Stay Tuned!

And if you see carpet be gentle, she took the break up hard, but she was good to us for almost 7 years, trustworthy,  and loyal, but she had secrets; hid too many things, we needed a smooth shiny new floor, one that wouldn’t hide spills…it was us, not her…you know.

Wormin’

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Not sure what yours was like, but our Memorial Day Weekend was R-A-I-N-Y!!Which actually worked out perfectly because instead of working in the yard, we ripped out our carpet and installed that hardwood flooring we bought earlier this month.
It is still raining, not all day but most, I can’t tell you how many sports practices the kids have missed due to rain.. and snow…in May. Weather is not my area, but I am thinking this is strange.
Solomon’s class is going on an end of year tour of a local fish hatchery and then they get to fish for few hours, before Jon left for work he suggested he go out a gather some of the worms that are crawling all over to use as bait.
No need to tell him twice, this boy was born a naturalist, one hand in the dirt , one foot in the water and both eyes in a book, taking in all the information he can gather.
Best part is: he includes and teaches his sisters.
So him and Raiven set our with a shovel, a bucket, slickers and boots..I did some of this:

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But caught them on their way home.

I always wonder what the conversation topic is.

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The orange in his hand is a candy package he found and brought home to throw away, this is something I have done with him since before he could walk, I would pick up recyclables and garbage on walks and hikes and bring it home.

They also found this guy:

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A bucket full o’ bait:

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And picked a few up from the path on the way home:

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I am eager to show you our new floor, it looks amazing, but these moments are way more fun to share.

Rollin’ in a Palomino..

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Little Vanilla Ice lyrical redo lead in and … drum rolll….

Guess whose family will not be attacked by rabid raccoons or stuck  laying on our half deflated air mattresses looking at the tent ceiling this summer?

Mine!  That’s right we went all out and bought a pop up camper, but not just  any pop up camper, this one has hard sides, which is very cool.  Not sure if they are hard to find or not, but we went to a neighboring state to get this baby:

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As for rabid raccoons and rain storms, both are true.  Last year on our annual “gypsy trot” summer family vacation we encountered 2 days or torrential rain in Ludington, MI, which is an amazing beautiful quaint little town.  Imagine all 6 of  us in our 2 room “deluxe” tent laying on air mattresses, some that were really failing to hold their air, trying not to touch the walls for fear that water might leak in.

Now if we are caught in the rain I imagine that we can at least sit or stand *gasp* and play games and enjoy the storm.

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This camper has a King size bed on one end, and a queen size bed on the other end, the table folds down and becomes a bed as well.  plenty of room for all of us. We looked at quite a few campers on Craigslist before deciding on this one, and with Jon’s height 6’2″ and the size of our family we decided this platform was going to be the best for our family.  There are quite a few that are a little smaller with a queen on one side and a full on the other, most have the fold down table option.

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King

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Queen

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Table turned into bed.

this also has air-conditioning and heating, a shower, which I do not think we will use, and a potty!!!  No more late night running through th campground to pee.  This was not on our must have list but it is a nice option to have.  This is a hinged lid that lifts up and viola, potty.

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In all honesty I would LOVE…LOVE to find an old airstream, we almost bought one once 3-4 years ago, but it needed a lot of work.  there was also a pop up for sale while we were looking that had a that nice 70’s orange stove and sink, the vintage spoke to me, but it had the smaller bed platform.

So we have stainless which I really like as well.

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I am hoping to whip out my handy Singer machine and sew some new curtains and valance to retro this out a little bit.

I might even paint the cabinets, and definitely I have to replace the gold handles and hinges….not a fan of gold much.  Oooh and maybe a name?!?!

So there it is, the new camper on the block.  We are really excited to gypsy around in it!

Super Sib Cape – Birthday Gift

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Santanna’s best friend has an older sister, who is battling a brain tumor with all the energy she can muster. I know I have briefly written about this before, and I ran my last marathon for team Ana.

Elsa and Santanna have an extremely special bond. We are a place that E can come and escape some of the burden of chemo and pills and sadness that is detected even when I am sure it is trying not to show itself. She is a “super sib” and has been praised as that in many aspects and events. Not enough in the shadow of cancer, but she knows she is loved and valued.

Santanna and Elsa have know each other since they were 3 and now that they are both just turning 6, that is like forever!

All Elsa wanted for her birthday according to her mom was Santanna.

What do you give as a gift to a girl who adamantly prays for a cure for her sister’s cancer? For normalcy?

I can’t tell you….

But we did make her a super E cape, a reminder that she is amazing and wonderful, and as many other little girls would love…one for her American Girl Doll.

It was really an easy project, and E loved it!!

Here is Tanna modeling it with our own AG doll  Lucy:

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If you have it in you, whatever your persuasion or belief, even though you do not know their family, will you please take a moment and use your heart to give a beat for Ana.  They really are an amazing family.  I know they will feel and appreciate it.

Upcycled Jewelery Oraganization

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Is it May already…and almost 1/3 over. I am still pushing foward on the NYR to become more oranginzed.

Organization in our house is a constant battle, a good one, but hard-fought non the less.

With 3 girls, the princess accessories are at an all time high, but I am sure it is just the tip of the iceberg.

At her recent campout birthday party, Raiven received a few new special accessories, she has pierced easr, has been acquiring necklaces and bracelets from relatives and friends, and thrifting. Until this project she was hanging them on a wooden drawing doll, is that what it is called?

I accidentally deleted a whole card full of photos…ugh! So the before shots are none existent..but here is what we did:

I had 2 black picture frames that were thrifted or the glass has brokern out of, I was tired of tripping over them but knew I would find a use from them….eventually.

When I saw this I decided to upcycle the old frames to organize our oldest daughters jewelry.

We spray painted them in Raiven’s color choice.

Then Hubby cut, he is the type A to my relaxed type B, and attached chicken wire to the frame.

He attached them to the wall with hallow all sinkers, since they were not on a stud, we wanted them securely in place.

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WE added these hooks to the chicken wire, we crimped the top set closed so they are fixed in place, but we left the others uncrimped so she can move them around as she likes.  These are from Menards, but I am sure any hardware store has them.

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The other side we did not put any hook on, we left this one for earrings so she can just loop them over the wire.

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I made the yellow beautiful art on her wall, inspired by one I saw on Zulily.

She is thrilled with this new addition to her room, and is really lets her showcase all the special jewelery she has, as most of it has been gifts.  It also gives her the independence to choose what she wants to wear and gives her the ability to easily care for her special jewelry.

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“Room” for Improvement.

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Previously I shared Avalon’s room, you can see it here.

It seems no small task to get their rooms tidy enough to take photos to share, but I am sharing Santanna’s room because it needs to be redone read, paint, and decor.

By far it is the hardest to get her to keep her room organized, it seems like every time we “deep clean” it and I give her bins and tips, and take more out, it just ends up haphazard all over again.  Cool with me if she can find things…but thats not the case.

Anway…here is her room AS IS:

Walking in we have a coat hook, I think this might have to go, it feels like a catchall and clutters the entrance?

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Looking in from the hallway, can you see that we have started to patch holes in preparation for fresh paint, probably evident in every picture;)…oh and there’s Farley..he loves Santanna!

Curtains need to go/change, I painted her name in one color than was going to change it to match the Circo Love and Nature bedding, which will probably stay, but never finished…add that to the l ist.

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Bed side table….less stuff, or maybe one on each side, for books and alarm clock, lamp?

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These shelves used to be over a bookshelf, and now just look out-of-place, I think they need to move to a more thoughtful/purposeful place.

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Here is what houses almost all her books and toys, it was 2 bookshelves ( that we built) and repurposed into a cubby system. Notice those green woven bins from Target again that I used in the pantry …man I might have bought them all from our store.

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I would love to see a cushion on part of this??  She likes to set up her toys and play n it, so maybe just 1/2 for a cozy reading spot.

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View of her bed sitting on the cubby system with my back to the window, you can see the heavy blanket peeking out from under her bedding, it gets COLD here, layers are cozy!! She needs a headboard or bed frame of some sort.

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Recap of to do list for this room

  • Paint
  • Move coat hook
  • Paint her letters or remove
  • Bedside table…add another/declutter
  • purposeful shelving and wall decor
  • Headboard/footboard, bed frame
  • Cushion on cubby system

Spring Break….Last Day

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Well that FLEW by!!

Not even sure that much more happened from day 4 to today, just living, breathing and eating.

I was a little bummed at the prospect of just hanging by “our dish” and not traveling for spring break, I really love an adventure, I even considered  packing up the kids and the tent and driving south until it was warm enough to set up camp for the week. However, we all had a great week, there was loads of down time, games, puzzles, a few playdates, and today even warmed up to the middle 4o’s.

I went to pick up 2 kids from my mom’s house in Lake City and we went for a walk and got pizza to eat in the park…yes if you live in MN a pizza picnic in the park is totally acceptable once the thermometer passes 40.

Lake City boat docks, not sure when they will get the boats in, but I bet it won’t be long!

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Papa Tronnios pizza, if you ever venture to this side of Lake Pepin, get you some of this pizza!!  It is awesome!  We also noticed that Rabbits Bakery does a wood fire pizza night the first Sunday of every month, which we will be enjoying in May, I will post details then.

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Swinging after devouring some za!.

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I just love all of our time together, it can be a lot to organize and the house gets messy, not everyone’s hair is always smooth and pretty, but man we have fun together, and that is what is important!

Hope everyone had a great 2013 spring break.

Now that the weather is nice I am going to be posting more home and wood projects, it is just to hard to get to them in the winter without proper ventilation.  Can’t waist for you all to see them!

Spring Break day 4…..No joke

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Man I wished I would have pulled off some amazingly witty and creative April Fools Day pranks on some unsuspecting kids or husband that I know and love.

Truth is I didn’t.

However all 4 kids actively helped out cleaning our 3 bathrooms, and they are shiny and clean.  Give a kid some water and soap and once all the excess water dries up, there is not a dirty spot in the place.

I did pull off making dinner for everyone, look who showed up:

This little kitty cat who daintily ate her meal:

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A 2 horned super girl, she mostly snarled and ate:

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This girl time traveled from the disco era to join us:

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Then there was this guy….and he’s no joke:

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Anybody pull off any great pranks???

Also Happy 3rd Birthday to Farley, wasn’t he cute?  He now weight 135 pounds, one of these days I will tell you all his story, but for now…..Awwwww!  Look at how cute he was!!!:

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Easter…Spring Break Day 3

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Here are the eggs we worked on so hard for no more than 29  minutes on Spring Break day one…. it is  amazing how fast these soak up color and how quickly little hands can work.

You can see evidence that some egg “dyers” were more gentle than others….

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The Easter Bunny came and hid 6 candy filled eggs for each child around the living room, dining room and kitchen.  He left some small trinket toys, and books in the girls baskets and Solomon got an all in one tool, everyone was really happy.  It is so fun to see children bubbling over with excitement and zest for life!

Each holiday I try to capture all of the kids in a fairly coordinated picture, feel free to view the Christmas Card photo outtakes post from last year.  The outfits today were a  little more casual  (sidenote: Solomon added the velvet blazer and top hat on his own…since he could dress himself  he has loved blazers and being fancy)  since we were having brunch at my aunt’s house, nothing fancy since she always has some painting crafts for them:

Loud and Proud:

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Bunny Ears in your face:

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And one with Farley:

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After brunch at home Solomon, Jon and I played a game of scrabble and we all just lazed around, it was perfect, the kids played and giggled and Jon and I laid down, digested brunch and listened to our happy family.

Jon and I tucked the kids in and finished our taxes…whew!!!  That is a relief to check off the list, especially owing a business, seems to take a lot more number crunching.

That big lug of a dog turns 3 tomorrow, think we should cook him something special?? Anyone have any good doggy reicpes??

Spring Break …2013…Day Two

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All three girls (yes they are feeling better, must have been a 24 hour bug, thank goodness!)  have dance this morning so Jon is taking them, they are missing out on the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt in the park which they participated in last year and had a lot of fun.

However, the weather is dreary and their dance recital is in 5 weeks so I think they need the practice…I am sure they bunny will bring eggs filled with candy tomorrow so even though they are bummed, I have zero momma guilt!

Speaking of dreary weather, I am scheduled for an 11 mile training run today, how crazy does that sound, 11 miles of practice!  It was warmed up here and I was realllllly hoping to take it outside, but windy rain does not sound like awesome running weather , just for practice.

Change in plans, I did an hour kettlebell work out instead, since Jon keeps telling me how much nicer tomorrow is going to be, and to be honest I have been training so hard, it is nice to have a break when we are all home together.

Jon and the kids went outside to clear the downspout for the sump pump after lunch, all of a sudden I hear ” oh my gosh!!!”  “ewwwwww”  “no way that just came out of there” so of course I grabbed my camera and here is what came out…..

Warning it is a little icky.

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We think this is the vole that was running a muck through our garden last year, not sure how he lost his head….poor guy, but of course the kids were fascinated.  Ahhh nature, never a dull moment.

On a lighter note,  we ventured out early in the evening with my Aunt and saw the movie “The Croods”,:

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I have to say I was hesitant, after watching a trailer for this movie.  Jon and I do not go on movie dates, at home or to the theater so most of my recently watched movies ARE kid movies and The Croods was better than I expected, we all enjoyed it, this movie gives a clear and important message to live life and not hide in fear.  Instead of fearing the unknown explore life, travel, try new things and LIVE….what better message is there than that.  And on a side note, lets say I was a young animated girl, this “Guy” would be my heart-throb:

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I know that is not weird at all…thank  you. And tonight I am considering movie popcorn and the fresh strawberries I smuggled in (yes, I am that mom….shhhh please don’t tell, they sell nothing that comes from nature at the theater) a well-rounded dinner.

Everyone went to bed REALLY excited to see what the bunny has for them in the morning!