Gearing Up for Baby #3

What is it about welcoming a new baby that makes us want to have everything in perfect condition?  Closets clean and organized, baseboards wiped down, paper essentials stocked up.  (Oh, that's just me?  Great!)  I also decided this was the perfect time to spruce up the house--painting, repairing all those little things that needed to be fixed before we moved in two years ago, rearranging my pictures on the walls.  All fun stuff, right?

Max is such a good supervisor =)

I have really been much more relaxed this time around about getting things ready, but I do have a long list of things I want completed.  That list is slowly getting marked off, partly because several of the tasks are not pregnant-woman friendly so they've been outsourced (bless my dad and Justin).

• Paint nursery.
• Paint girls room and bathroom.
• Paint hallway.
• Paint master bedroom and bathroom.
• Paint living, dining, kitchen area.
• Paint fireplace tiles.
• Replace baseboards as needed.  (Max decided those were better than bones....)
• Wash down/paint exterior doors.
• Wash interior doors.
• Paint master bathroom mirror frames.
• Paint bookshelf.
• Baby bedding on bed.
• Recover cushions on rocking chair for the nursery.
• Clean out girls' closet.
• Clean out MY closet.
• Re-organize the garage.
• Design canvas to hang over the baby bed.

Next week we are out of school on Monday and Tuesday for Fall Break, and we are having a "staycation."  (You know, where you stay home and pretend it's a vacation?  I'm just trying to make it sound more fun, ya'll.)  Hopefully, I can get a good bit of the pregnant-friendly tasks taken care of over the long weekend.

How To: A Raised Vegetable Garden

Since we've moved away from the farm, we had to get a little more creative with our gardening.  I guess we could have just tilled up some land in our backyard and planted a little garden as always, but that wouldn't have been nearly as pretty :)  I somehow convinced Justin that it would be SO much better for us to have a raised bed, and that our plants would just grow SO much better.  I've heard this is true....this can be our experiment.  Here are our tips:

1:  You need to have super cute helpers.

2:  I wanted our bed to be 10 feet long and 4 feet wide.  We purchased 2 boards that were 2x4x6 and 1 board that was 2x4x8.  Justin cut the 8 foot board in half, then screwed the boards into place to make a rectangle.

3:  I lined the bottom of the bed with newspaper to help keep weeds out.  Newspaper is biodegradable, so this will need to be redone in a few years.

4:  Pour in your soil.  We used top soil that we purchased from Lowe's. You don't have to do this, of course.  You could just use regular dirt.

5:  Plant your vegetables.

6:  Don't forget to water it :)

7:  Hopefully, in a few weeks, we'll be harvesting some good stuff!


Do you have any experience with a raised-bed garden?  Any tips for us beginners??

Keeping It Real

About 2 weeks ago (OK, maybe 3...) I started "Spring Cleaning" around the house.  I started in Kyndall's room and moved through there pretty quickly.  I boxed up clothes for donation, separated what I wanted to keep for Libby, and laid out a few nicer things for consignment.

Then I moved on to Libby's room.  And that's where I got stuck.  The spring-cleaning-mood left me.  I had all the passed-down clothes from Kyndall in a pile.  All the winter clothes that would probably still fit next year had a pile.  The clothes that no longer fit and were headed for donation had a pile.  The clothes for consignment had a pile.  And I stopped.

Then I avoided her room like the plague for the last, yes, THREE weeks.  When the cleaning lady came, I hung my head in shame and told her to skip that room.

I had one foot in her room yesterday when the doorbell rang.  Thank goodness for unexpected company.

The truth is, I'm not really sure what to do with all this.  I have always kept most of Kyndall's still-decent clothes, but Libby very rarely ever wears them.  When it's time for new outfits, I feel guilty just buying for K.  So WHY do I feel like I need to keep them?  There is no ROOM.  I should pass them on, but I can't.  What if she NEEDS that shirt?  Or those pants? (Insert dramatic sigh here.)

I'm sharing this with you because I am determined to get a handle on the chaos this weekend.  Hopefully, tomorrow night, but let's just be realistic here.  But I need help.  

How do you organize your kids clothing?  

Do you keep hand-me-downs, or pass them on?

PS:: Check back tomorrow--I'm announcing the WINNER of the Erin Condren giveaway!

Mantel Upgrade... No More Wires!

If you follow me on the social medias, you know that we (and by we, I mean Justin) have been redoing the space above our mantel.  When we moved into the house, the previous owners had their TV sitting on the mantel.  Not wanting to put to much thought into it, we just copied them :)  Up until last weekend, our mantel looked like this:

Excuse the girls in this photo, they are just doing a little yoga :)  

In all seriousness though, I forgot to take a "before" picture.  I don't know about you, but I'm not in the habit of taking pictures of my TV.  But if you look around those yogini's in the above picture, you can see that the TV is just sitting on the mantel.  The cable and Bose sound boxes are sitting on a coffee table to the right, and all those ugly wires are running down the side of the fireplace.  Gorgeous, right?

After a few days of work, this is the new view:

Justin built a shelf so that our cable and Bose sound boxes could sit safely under the TV.  All the wiring is in the back and out of sight, as it should be.  I still need to add some decor to the mantel, but I think it looks 100% better already!

Public disclaimer:  This is a project Justin has wanted to tackle for a while, but I've been to nervous to let him.  I'm not quite sure what I was afraid of, but I obviously need to have more confidence in his handy man skills :)

Next project on his honey-do list:  an attic playroom!

From the Camera Roll

Build-A-Bear... just for fun.

New bedspread.  Not sure what happened with the lighting before photos, but I promise the 'after' is actually brighter in real life! :)

Our favorite thing to do in the spring-- pick buttercups!

 So glad for these boys who love us!

K brought home Arthur this week.  The assignment is to do fun things with him and then write about them in the notebook.  So the West family took Arthur to Target, of course!

Lazy Saturdays are the best Saturdays.

 Mott's Ambassador kit came in.....applesauce anyone?

Neighborhood fun.  This is one of my favorite parts of living in "town".  The girls have LOTS of friends to play with!

K was so excited to find this-- two Sour Patch kids stuck together that looked like an "H".  She said it was for Harrison.  Oh, the things that make this kid happy ;)

These pictures say it all.  My librarian heart is happy. That is all.

Lib had Wacky Wednesday this week---backwards shirt, two front ponytails, and different shoes.  Stylin'. 

And that's a wrap.

PS:  If I counted correctly, I made it though an ENTIRE post with only 2 smiley faces.  That's gotta be a record.

Mornings on break are the best mornings.

I love my job, I do.  I mean, I REALLY love my job.  But on mornings like this, when we don't set an alarm and the girls snuggle with me in the recliner.  When we get ready if we want to and when we want to.  When I have my coffee sitting at home instead of rushing out the door.  Mornings where the recliner is full, and my heart is overflowing.

Morning like this make me wish I home-schooled my girls.  I can really see the appeal.

Since Wednesday, my running is going strong.  I feel like my training for the Callaway Gardens half marathon is right on track :)  On Wednesday, I ran 3 miles on the treadmill.  <--This was sort of my warm-up after not running for an entire week.  On Thursday, I cranked out 7 miles, again on the treadmill.  Today, I totaled 4 miles.  My plan is to run 3 on Saturday and 12 on Sunday to complete my training according the plan.  I'm also participating in Run This Year 2014, with a goal of 2,014 miles this year.  Check it out and sign yourself up!

I've also officially signed up for the Rock 'N' Roll Nashville half marathon on April 26.  Gearing up to cross that off my 30 Before 30 list.  And speaking of my 30 Before 30 list, that whole "Visit New Orleans" thing just got easier.  One of my BEST friends is moving there later this week.  (I'm super sad about her leaving, but I'm trying to see the positive!)

In other news, I went grocery shopping yesterday.  I planned out the required 3 meals that I'm to cook for the week and made my list accordingly.  Wouldn't you know that I left my list sitting on the counter?  So typical!  I somehow managed to pick up ALMOST everything we needed.  Our three meals will include Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Baked Potato and Veggies, Potato Soup, and Taco Salad.  I'm banking on eating leftovers a few nights and possible Bacon, Egg, and Cheese sandwiches another.  (FYI:  I consider BEC sandwiches cooking, so that would be overachieving on my part!)  Shout-out to Courtney for suggesting emeals as an option for new recipes.

Are you running RNR Nashville?  Let me know--we'll meet up!

Any super easy, super delish recipes to share?

Happy (early) birthday, Max!

Max's birthday is actually in December, but I'm afraid with all the Christmas chaos, we'll miss it.  In just a few short months, he has gone from this precious little puppy:

to this.

That smug look in the above photo?  That's after he swiped Justin's ENTIRE bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich off the counter.  You snooze, you lose daddy-o.

This dog steals our food, sheds EVERYWHERE, and is sometimes worse that I imagine a 3rd child to be, but we love him with all our hearts.  He is an 80-pound lapdog who doesn't realize he's big.  He wants to lay right on top of you, even wrapping his legs/paws around in a dog-hug.

Of all of us, I still think he loves Kyndall the best.  He is her real-life pillow pet, and I am so thankful that a year ago, we brought this puppy home with us!

Our Southern Sled Dog (PETA, please don't diss me!)

Max has been SO full of energy lately.  Our walks/runs aren't helping at all.  So the other day, while we were outside trying to work out some of that doggy energy, Justin got an idea.  And it went a little like this:

And this.

PETA, I know this is not normal behavior.  I also know it's not considered pet abuse, so please don't diss me.  Or do, I really don't care.  It was funny.

Introducing Max

I just realized I hadn't introduced our new family member to blogland yet.  And he has been a part of our family for a whole week already.  So, here is Max:

He is the puppy of a mutt, that we chose to call Spot, who came up to our house when we still lived at the farm.  Spot is some type of bulldog mix.  The girls have completely mistreated Max.  As is evidenced in this photo:

 And this one:

Poor thing.  Please don't call PETA on us.  Max did find my rug very entertaining.

Luckily, it's an old rug and he can have it as a toy.  Until today, Spot's puppy-daddy (the daddy of Max) has been unknown.  We weren't sure what our sweet Max was mixed with.  We knew he was going to be big-- I mean, just look at those paws.  And the boy is only 7 weeks old!  We knew he was gonna be cool.  Check out this photo:

But today, we went to the vet.  And based on experience, and measurements, and all that yada-yada, she determined that Max is most likely mixed with Great Pyrenees.  Which means that he will most likely weigh AT LEAST 100 pounds.  Male Great Pyrenees dogs can weigh up to 130 pounds, so this new family member has the potential to outweigh ME!  Wow.

So now, I am super paranoid.  We have GOT to get control of this pup, and make him be very well-mannered, before he gets too big to control.  And I am not the best dog trainer.  So any tips you have are welcomed.

Halloween Decor

Can I just say that I love this time of year?  Like, REALLY love it?  Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.... I mean, what's not to love?  It's the very best.

We have been so busy decorating our house and getting things situated that I haven't done much to make the house look Halloween-ish, or Fall-ish, or anything like that.  So the other day, I set aside a few minutes to do just a little about our Halloween decor, seeing as how that holiday is going to slide past in a few days.   So here are a few snaps of our (minimal) Halloween decorations:

And just for fun, here are a few  little projects I have been working on.  (I do love cutting some vinyl with my Cricut-- I have other projects in the works but they aren't quite finished yet!

It's taking a little while, but we are slowly making our new house into a home.  And the process is so much fun!  Happy Halloween, ya'll!!

To The Beach and Back

No, we didn't actually make a trip to the beach this weekend, but with all the miles we put in with trips from the old house to the new, we probably racked up the same number of road miles.  "To the beach and back" is Libby's new way of saying she loves you a lot.  She'll look up and smile big and say "I love you to the beach and back!"  And for her, that's a lot.  That's as much as her little heart can understand.  And it makes me melt.  Every.  Single.  Time.

We are all moved in our new home.  I can't begin to descibe how happy I am.  And of course, being the family that we are, this is the first room that got organized:

Yes, that's the pantry.  Got to have our food in order :)
We were able to stay Friday night in the new house for the first time and it was a complete success.  Both girls slept in Libby's room (since it was the only one ready)  and they both slept ALL night long.  If you know anything about our sleeping habits, you know that this is a MAJOR accomplishment.  Here they are all snuggled up:

There are still a few boxes left to unpack and a lot of cleaning left to do at the old house, but for the most part, we are settling in pretty quickly.  I hope to get pictures on the walls and the decorations finished this week so that we will be able to just relax and enjoy our new place. 

We are LOVING it so far though :)

It's Moving Week!!

We have been packing like crazy the last few days, getting everything ready to move over into our new house.  I have had some really super helpers....

It's a little sad how happy it makes me to see all those boxes in my floor.... organized and neat.  Everything has been cleaned out and is neatly labeled.  Wonder how long it will stay that way?

We get to go into our new house tomorrow and start cleaning and painting, and the moving will officially begin on Friday.  I'll share photos of the inside soon, before we start moving =)

Friday Free-For-All

It's been awhile since I've done a wrap-up post, and boy do I have a lot to catch up on!!

Kyndall is sailing right along in first grade, loving every single second.  Libby is treading water in Pre-K... some days are great, some not so much.  Shirts have been trucking along full speed, keeping us busier than we ever expected.  Soccer is in full swing, but will start wrapping up next week.  This week at school has been our week-long Grandparents celebration, so K has had lots of lunchtime visitors.  It's also the Book Fair, so my days have been absolutely swamped!

And in other news, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!  It's been a whirlwind of a year for us trying to make a house decision.  We wanted to build, but that wasn't in the cards.  We wanted to buy around this time last year, but that fell through.  And now, we've found another one that we love.  We made an offer, they accepted, and we've signed the contract.  I think it's really happening!! We still have to suffer through the appraisal and the actual closing (which is scheduled for October 12).

Here is a preview of our soon-to-be-new home:

I'll post more pictures in a few weeks when we get to go in again.  I can't wait to move everything and get settled, and put out some super cute Halloween decorations!

Barn Light Electric

Ever heard of Barn Light Electric? They are a light company that has tons of super cute lights, and right now they are having a contest for bloggers. They are giving away a $1000 gift certificate to a lucky winner.  Second place gets $500 and third place gets $250.  I never win anything, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to share a few of their lights.  You know, while I'm in house-planning mode and all that :)  So here are a few of my favorite pieces:

This chandelier would go perfectly above the table in the dining room.

Barn Light Boxwood 5-Light Chandelier

I think a few (maybe 3?) of these would look beautiful above the island in the kitchen!

Barn Light Deep Bowl Pendant

And these outside on the porch...

Barn Light Rawhide Sconce

And if you would like a chance at winning, here's how you can enter:

1. Look around online at Barn Light Electric and pick lights you’d love to own
2. Feature your lighting picks on your personal blog, and link to the lights if you can!
3. Copy/Paste these rules at the bottom of your blog article so others can enter
4. Once your personal article is up, you must email your blog link to:marketing@barnlightelectric.com to be qualified to win. The contest ends Monday, July 2nd, 2012
5. Don’t have a blog? Find out how you can enter by reading the Official Rules

VBS, a pool, and a house

Today was a fun-filled day of VBS and then swimming with friends.  But the most exciting part?  We met with our potential builder and talked through all the house details.  I'm trying not to get my hopes up until we deal with the bank, but I have to admit, I'm a little giddy.  I'll be anxiously waiting by the phone until he calls us back with his estimate.  And stalking pinterest for any house-related ideas I might need.  Fingers crosssed everything works out this time around! 

This is not our house, but it is very similar.  Except our garage will {hopefully} not be taller than the house!  And our house will be brick.  Other than that, most of it is pretty similar. 

Oakley's Spa Day

About once a year, I take Oakley for a "spa day."  I call it that because if I say that awful 'g' word (you know...."groomer"), he runs and hides under the bed and will not come out.  So on his annual spa day, Oakley gets his hair washed, cut, and styled (with a bow that he despises);  his nails trimmed;  his teeth cleaned;  and something I will not talk about done to his anal glands.  He comes back feeling like a brand new man dog.  This year, his poor hair had gotten REALLY bad.  Here is the before photo:

He is so ashamed, he's hiding his face.  Sad, I know.

And here is the after: 

Oh, I do believe he found his swagger.