kitchen before and afters

so here are a few before and afters of the kitchen. the least amount of work went into this room for now, therefore it can actually be pictured :) other rooms will come eventually. basically the only things we did to this room is paint the pukey color (okay it wasn't bad, it just wasn't in my style) we painted all the way around the upper cabinets whereas they had left it the same color as the window trim and beadboard backsplash in that area and there was an abrupt kind of awkward place where the pukey color stopped. we painted the walls Tupelo Tree from Sherwin Williams. We also put in our own island (a sweet IKEA deal!) since they took their's with. i like ours better as it is shaped better for the space and the open shelving on the bottom makes the whole room feel more open (even though i haven't figured out a use for the shelves yet as little hands will be constantly taking everything off those shelves.) Any ideas? lastly i made a little curtain for the computer area to hide the computery looking stuff. i still would like to get some sleek storage for the top shelf so that looks uniform as well (maybe my next trip to ikea!)

sorry about the picture quality... there is very little natural light in this room and i haven't been able to figure out how to get the best pictures of it. the before pictures are taken from the day we moved in (before anything came in!) the previous owners had a TON of stuff on the counters and above the cabinets. I am not sure I like how it is decorated right now, but that will have to be a work in progress. the cd player and cd's kinda clutter up the counter... any suggestions for that too?

First Grader

My oldest started first grade today.... she was super excited and a little nervous too. Her backpack and school supplies have all been carefully selected (by her... wow, those are major decisions when you are 6!) She has a fresh haircut and a snazzy new outfit (yes, I am one of "those" moms who likes to dress their kids in a new special outfit for the first day!)

I asked her what she was most excited about for first grade and her response was that she gets her own desk this year. :) We walked to school in the rain (me in flip flops = very bad idea!) Have a wonderful day sweetie!!!!!! I will miss you today.

YES!!!!!!

so learning to ride bike for my oldest daughter has been kind of a challenge. in general she is a bit of a scaredy cat, but in her defense she didn't have a lot of exposure to bike riding since at our old house there was really no good place to ride. the driveway was short and had some major cracks that dipped. the sidewalk in front also had it's issues and the alley was muddy gravel that was difficult to ride on. anyhoo, today she has really seemed to have gotten the hang of riding her bike sans training wheels. she circles into the grass instead of at the end of the driveway, but i am ecstatic. i think teaching this child new skills from potty training to writing her name to bike riding is one of the most frustrating things of motherhood thus far, so i am truly rejoicing that we have crossed this bridge (with minimal skinned knees too!) ) you go girl, i am so proud of you!





oh and by the way, she is still out there riding in circles. it's getting dark, it's bedtime, but i am just so proud of her i don't want her to stop! :)

casseroles at our house........

so my middle child is a MAJOR sweet tooth. as a two year old she would ask anyone and everyone with a purse at church for candy, much to her mother's dismay. one of our local grocery stores always offered candy to kids at the checkout so she also learned to ask every checker at EVERY store for candy. she even asked the security guard at the airport security checkpoint for candy when we flew awhile back. the girl is obsessed with sweets (much like her mother, actually!)

so anyway, last week she came with me to the grocery store (rare occasion, as I usually make sure I shop alone!) and she picked out some Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls. when we got home she said to her older sister quite proudly "LOOK! I picked out some yummy casseroles!" ahhh, a girl after my own heart, if only all casseroles tasted like swiss cake rolls :)

Family Vacation

a quick post of some pictures of the girls at the lake last weekend. we had a chilly day on Saturday so no swimming that day, but on Sunday it was GORGEOUS... the girls played on the beach and in the lake ALL day long. Chad took them on canoe rides as well. it was very fun and relaxing!

strike a pose!

she found a little green catepillar :)