Around the homestead.

We're getting a little closer to finishing the 3rd bathroom we started. When we initially started, I wanted it done by Thanksgiving, and I set such a quick finish line because I didn't want this project lingering over our heads at Christmas, or worse, during the arrival of our new baby. It's not looking like we'll finish by Thanksgiving, but we'll definitely finish it for the weekend after, for Cameron's birthday party.
Jon's friend who has been an invaluable handyman through the whole process, has somewhat bailed on us this week for a nice paying side job, so we're trucking along without him. (Note that when I say "we", I mean "Jon under my supervision." Ha!) "We" cut all the tile and have it laid out- now it just needs to be set and grouted. "We" are doing a pretty good job for never having done it before! After the tile is set, all we really have left is to place the toilet, vanity and fixtures. I'll sure be glad to have this project done, as our basement has just been a mess since we started.

As a reminder, here's where we were:
And here's where we are now:

I'm totally aware of the horrendous picture quality of these; I had my zoom lens on my camera and was too lazy to switch it out, but you get the idea.

As soon as the tile is set, I want to repaint the walls. I had picked the neutral color with the notion that we were going to put dark/cherry laminate flooring in instead of tile. We had quite a bit leftover from our kitchen project, so I thought we could use it up. At the last minute (after we'd already painted) we decided to go with tile, and it happens to be pretty much the same color as the walls. We're almost there though, and I know how we'll be spending our holiday weekend!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Holiday hustle and bustle!

This year, much like last, is turning out to be a busy holiday season! And since 3 out of the 4 members of our family (me, Cameron and soon-to-arrive baby sister) have birthdays within 3 weeks of Christmas, I don't anticipate any lack of business or activity around the holidays for years to come!
This weekend, I'm co-hosting a baby shower for my sister-in-law. This is her sixth baby, so we're having a diaper shower since she doesn't need much else. I decided that there was no better time to attempt my first diaper cake- and I think it turned out pretty cute! There are definitely things I'd do differently (construction wise) but I'm very happy with it seeing as how I didn't follow any sort of direction.
Eek- I didn't realize it was a little off-centered until I took a picture. Oh well! I love the bear up top. I got it at Hobby Lobby and thought it would compliment the cake nicely.

We've got a lot going on in the G household; I'm trying to finish up a few things in the kids shared room, the downstairs bathroom is coming along well, Cameron's birthday planning (3 weeks!), Christmas shopping (90% done!), and decorating (I started pulling out a few things today). I don't typically decorate until Thanksgiving, but I'm over my fall decor and anxious for a change. The Christmas tree won't go up until the first week of December though.
How about you- have you started Christmas shopping or decorating?

Weekend snippets & pictures

Sunday morning before church, we headed to a local park so I could take some fall pictures of Cameron before all the leaves fall off the trees. I got quite a few shots that I love- and these will most likely serve as his 2 year pictures since his birthday is just 5 weeks away!
I'm not a fan of pictures of myself these days, but I like this one Jon took of us. It required a bit of doctoring but the lighting is fun.



Can you believe it's November already? It's starting to get pretty chilly at night here, so I'm going to put our Christmas flannel sheets on the bed this week. =)

Cameron got his first pet this weekend- a blue betta fish! His name is Alex (which is also the name of his 5 year old cousin who lives a few houses down). I love this tank, because it's small, but is still filtered and has a night light. I also think the quiet hum of the tank will be soothing when they sleep at night- especially for baby sister.
Cameron was a gorilla for Halloween this year! I found the costume at Kid-to-Kid (a second hand shop) for just $10 bucks. He really didn't care so much about the costume- but he didn't want anyone touching or holding his pumpkin bucket.
This one was taken last week, when he kept the hood on for more than one second. The sprinklers came on, and he decided to test it out in the water.

He was pretty mad that we kept trying to put his hood on and take pictures. This is the best we got last night!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Construction Zone: a few project updates

I mentioned last week that we were going to put a 3rd bathroom in (in our basement) and we are now going full speed with that project! This is the current state right now; and while it doesn't look like much (okay, so it doesn't look like anything), you should know that this room was FILLED from the floor to the ceiling with junk, boxes, Christmas stuff, and just crap. Clearing all that out was a feat in itself! There weren't even the 2x4's you see- It was just one, big open room. So the past few nights, Jon and his friend have been working on the plumbing, electrical and constructing the walls.

Meanwhile, I've been at a few wood related projects myself.

I finished the bookcase I started back in July, and I also decided to squeeze in one last project before this baby comes! I wanted Cameron to have a table for his trains, so I made him this play table that can also be used for legos, drawing, and other crafty type things for the kids. This will be his main Christmas present- along with some new train tracks and stops to add to his collection.

A little edge to prevent toys and trains from rolling off.

This was definitely my quickest project to date- from cutting the lumber to finish took about 2 1/2 hours. Both of these pieces are ready to be stained! Here's PBK's version for $349 (yikes!)- my version only cost roughly $60 (after I finish the carts).


What's nice about the size of this table, is that it fits the Thomas the train mats you can buy for those specific tables, since the tables are exactly the same size. Perfect! I'm going to build the carts that slide underneath the table too, since I have so much scrap lumber. But after that, I think I'll take a break for a little bit. It's funny the looks I get from construction-type workers buying stuff at Lowe's- like "what on earth is this huge pregnant girl doing in the lumber section?" I just smile and keep on pushing my lumber cart. I've become quite a regular at Lowe's- building has definitely become an addiction and hobby!

Why Hello!

Wow, it's been an entire month since I have blogged! I have been keeping up with all my favorite blogs, but I've really left my own on the curb for awhile. Here's whats been happening around our house:

About 3 weeks ago, we were hit with a massive hail storm. Usually when we get hit with hail, it's pea sized, and lasts for about 5 minutes. This time, it lasted nearly an hour straight, and we got hit with softball sized hail. It was pretty insane. At one point I insisted we all go into the basement in case a hail stone came through the ceiling (and they did at a few homes). Everyone in the area is getting an entire roof replacement- even new plywood; we had about 13 holes in our roof.

Since we're going to have a little insurance money left over from all the damage to our home from the storm, we're going to put in a 3rd bathroom (in the basement) in our house. Hopefully we'll have it done in the next few months! I know this will be an attractive extra to potential buyers when we sell our home in the next few years.

I am about a week from my 3rd trimester! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. To be honest, I haven't really had time to think about being pregnant up until this point, though I'm starting to get to the uncomfortable stage where breathing becomes a luxury.

I'm really excited for the holidays to get here. I can't wait for Christmas (probably because I'm due a few weeks after!) and I've already got a good start on my Christmas shopping.

As crazy as it seems, we're going to have a 2 year old on our hands VERY soon! I'm already in the planning stages for his birthday which is less than 2 months away.
This weekend I am FINALLY going to finish the bookshelf I started many months ago (yeah, my husband doesn't believe it either). It's been sitting in the garage for so long, and I probably only have a few hours worth of work on it. It's now or never!

Thanks for reading! =)

24 hour Vegas review

As I mentioned in the last post, we were in Las Vegas literally for 24 hours (24 hours and 45 minutes to be exact). Obviously we would have liked to stay longer, but I consider us lucky to have the time we did! This was my 3rd time to Vegas, so I had seen and done a lot of things already.

I arrived 30 minutes late into McCarran airport on Saturday, Sept 11th. I was a little flustered that a plane change in Denver (for mechanical reasons) was cutting into my already-too-short vacation, but I am thankful that I arrived safely. Jon had arrived in Las Vegas earlier that morning after a 20-ish hour drive from Wichita. The customer he moved there let us use his car while we were there which ended up being really awesome, so we didn't have to pay for cab fees at all. He picked me up at about 5:00pm from the airport, and we were off to our room at the Wynn Encore!
Before I tell you about our time in Las Vegas, I want to share with you my review of the Wynn Encore. It's pretty much a given that anyone who walks into the hotel and it's rooms would be blown away by the beautiful and intricate European decor. But at a second and third glance, it becomes obvious that the attention to detail in these hotels are unmatched. No aspect of the design of this hotel was overlooked. The hotel staff, to say that they were amazing would be an understatement. EVERY single staff member was happy to direct you or help you. If you ask where something is, the staff member would take you there, not just point you in the right direction. I have never seen a hotel staff go out of their way for the guests like the staff at the Wynn. No request was too big or little. When we checked out, the concierge asked us if he could check us into our flight and print our boarding passes for us. Truly amazing service. They treated the guests like royalty. I highly, highly recommend a stay there.
Even though we didn't have a view of the Strip, we had a beautiful view of the mountains that Vegas sits in. So breathtaking!

When we arrived at our hotel, we quickly got ready and headed out. I had made dinner reservations earlier in the week for Olives at the Bellagio after hearing so many great things about the restaurant. Olives overlooks the Bellagio water fountains, so you get to see the fountains while you dine.
The Bellagio fountains still give me chills- even after seeing it over a dozen times! The restaurant was beautiful and the service was great. The food was wonderful, though a little pricey (which one can expect in Vegas!). I loved the olive tapenade they serve you while you wait for your food. If I were to recommend this restaurant, I'd probably suggest going for lunch instead of dinner (but be sure to catch the fountains at night!).

From dinner, we walked to the Venetian where we saw the Blue Man Group. (Side note: I started the night off wearing these really cute rhinestone sandals that weren't too high. I'm so glad I put a pair of trusty black Havaianas flip flops in my purse cause I put them on after about 45 minutes. Saved my life and I didn't give a crap that I wore them with my fancy little skirt!) The Blue Man Group was GREAT! Very entertaining and funny, and had some awesome music. It was about a 2 hour show, a lot of which was audience interactive. They pulled a girl up on stage to be a part of the show which turned out to be really funny. I'd definitely recommend the show (even for older children). We had great seats, but I'm really glad we didn't sit in the "poncho section." Gets kinda messy at times. =) We walked back to our car at the Bellagio and after a day of traveling, I was ready to lay my head down on that luxurious Wynn bed! Mental note: next time I buy pillows for our bed, I'm going to spend more than $8 a pillow. Those pillows were amazing.

We woke up the next morning and had breakfast at The Buffet at the Wynn. I have never been to a buffet this ridiculously large with so much amazing selection! The food was wonderful- and it wasn't just breakfast- they had pastas, sushi, desserts, etc.

After breakfast we played a little roulette, and I'm sad to report that I did not have beginners luck! We walked across the street to The Fashion Show Mall to do a little shopping. I liked this mall because it wasn't just upscale retailers. As much as I like to walk into Hermes and Burberry, those stores "slightly" out of price range for this mostly stay-at-home mom. I ended up getting a really great purse (that will be big enough for a diaper bag as well), and a Swarovski bracelet to replace one that I had, loved and lost.

We were quickly running out of time, so we headed back to our hotel where we had lunch at WaZuzu (an Asian restaurant). We weren't really too hungry from that large brunch we had, but we had a dining credit and didn't want to waste it. I had sweet and sour chicken, and Jon got Mongolian beef- both were excellent but the Mongolian beef was better! Jon also got some sushi and even though it was cooked, I was scared to try it. =) After our late lunch, we sadly had to go back to our room and grab our bags to catch our 5:45 flight. We arrived home at midnight, and picked Cameron up the next morning. We missed him! A lot of kids we saw in Las Vegas reminded us of him in someway. He was the topic of a lot of our conversation!

We had such a WONDERFUL time (and did I mention much needed?) just the two of us. It was nice to get away knowing it will be quite some time before we could do it again without our kids (thanks again, mom!). I'm already ready to go back! Maybe for my 30th birthday... =)

22 week bump picture and a Vegas babymoon.

What a weekend we had! We just got back from the quickest trip I've ever taken: 24 hours in Las Vegas. It was definitely a last minute trip; Jon booked a job there early last week, and we (ok, I) decided I was going too! We had a ton of points through one of our credit cards, so my round trip ticket and his ticket back (he drove there) were paid with those points.
We had SO much fun and this trip was much needed for us! Since we only had 24 hours we crammed as much activity in to that time as possible. We were constantly eating, walking, shopping and even played a few slots! None of this would have been possible though, without the help of my mom, (who is the world's best grandma!) who kept Cameron for 2 nights while we were away.
Anyway, as you can imagine I am exhausted- so I'll leave you with a bump picture I took in the hotel we stayed at (the Wynn Encore) before we went out for the night:
I'll be back with a full trip recap and reviews as soon as I go through the pictures!

(almost) 2 going on 17.

This past weekend was Gap, Old Navy & Banana Republic's Give and Get weekend- which meant 30% your entire purchase at these stores! We took advantage and really stocked up on some fall and winter wear for Cameron. Old Navy is definitely one of our go-to stores for inexpensive and fun play clothes, but since the sale included BabyGap, I wanted to check them out too.
One of my favorite purchases from the weekend was this Varsity jacket from Gap. I've had my eye on it for some time, but I couldn't bring myself to spend full price on this jacket he can only wear for 1-2 seasons.


One of the things that initially drew me to the jacket was the letter "G" on the front; since our last name begins with G, it looks like his very own little letter jacket! I know it will only be a matter of time before he's sporting a real high-school letter jacket. He looks like a little football player, I think. =)

A question: nutrition guides on menus?

A few days a go, we went to lunch at Jason's Deli. I always get the same thing there, so I don't even look at the menu- but I wanted to check out the kids menu this time for Cameron. It's been awhile since I had been to Jason's, so I hadn't noticed that they were now putting calories, fat and saturated fat content under each menu item.

I know that in New York, all restaurants and places that serve food drinks must put this information on their menus. I thought it was a neat idea and a helpful step for those wanting to make better eating choices- but I had never seen it on menus here in Kansas.

Anyway, I was going to get Cameron a grilled cheese sandwich (a no fail lunch for him) until I realized that it had 26 grams of fat. I don't recall the calorie count or amount of sodium, but it instantly steered me away and I ended up ordering him a turkey sandwich, which only had 11 grams of fat (with the fat mostly coming from the cheese, I'll bet). In that moment I definitely knew that I would make better choices for my family and myself when it comes to eating out if this information were mandatory on all menus.

Would you make better choices seeing fat and calorie content on menus? What if you were deciding between two items- would this push you to pick the item that might be better for you? Would it even affect you at all? I'm interested to know!

Tying up the score.

Well, we had our big ultrasound... and it looks like I won't be the only girl in the house! =) Cameron is getting a little SISTER (or, "titter" as he calls her)! We're so excited and I have the wicked urge to go out start buying all the girly stuff I've drooled over for the past few years. I think Jon felt a hole start to burn through his wallet the minute the ultrasound tech said there was "nothing between those legs". Everything looked good and she looks very healthy!
Everything is starting to feel real now, despite the pregnancy symptoms which have been non-existent thus far. I'm just ready for these next few months to fly by so we can meet the baby girl who will complete our little family! =)

Little mamma's boy.

Yesterday, Jon walked Cameron down the street to his cousin's house to play. On their way back, Cameron spotted some little yellow wildflowers in someone's yard, and he ran to pick them. "Mama! Mama!" Jon said that he yelled. My sweet little boy picks flowers for me! When they walked in the house, Cameron again yelled "Mama! Mama?" trying to find me. I greet him at the door and he hands me the flowers. Such imperfect little flowers, yet so perfect.

Most kids I know go through phases on which parent they prefer over the other. Right now, that's definitely me! I'm really trying to soak it all- I'll admit that I tend to get a little sad knowing Cameron won't be my "one and only" in a few months. Jon has been working long days and hours lately (which is great) and it leaves us spending a lot of time together. There are days (like 6 out of the 7) where I'm exhausted beyond belief and I can't wait to put him down for the evening so I can sit down and enjoy a little bit of free time. A lot of times though, I want to get him right back up and play with him and love on him some more. I love this boy with all my being!
He is really going through a word explosion right now- he talks non stop. Anytime we get in the car to go somewhere, it's constantly "car! truck! bus! mail man! airplane!", over and over and over.
In other exciting news, we find out what we're having this Friday! I'm so excited; some days I want another boy, and other days I really want a girl. Either way, I'm ready to know! =) I know I've been terrible at updating lately, but I'll be back as soon as I find out!

Out with the crib, in with the toddler bed!

Cameron's new big boy bed is finally finished! If you remember me mentioning, I had no plans to move him out of his crib until late fall- that is, until he climbed out and decided he no longer wanted to stay put. I wanted to build him a bed, so I really had to kick it into gear and get this bed made quickly, since his crib wasn't going to do much longer.
Originally, I wanted to build a twin sized bed; I thought toddler beds were somewhat of a waste (and I still do, to some degree) but since Cameron and the new baby will be sharing a very small room, a twin bed was out of the question, unfortunately. A toddler bed just made so much more sense in our situation. I found these* plans from Knock off Wood, and in just 5 hours on a Friday night, I had it completely built (though not assembled)! In a sense, it was easier than the picnic table I built; there were no angles and essentially no leveling. It also could be because I'm getting faster at this building stuff! =)

What took us so long to finish the bed, was the staining process. Jon did two coats of stain, which needed about 3-4 days in between coats to dry. The humidity this summer is no joke! He also applied two coats of a poly finish, taking about a day to dry each coat.





So here it is- I am SO proud of this bed! I just can't get over how cute it is! I built it with no assistance, but since I can't really be around strong fumes, Jon did the beautiful staining. The total cost of lumber for this bed was about $45 dollars. I spent a few bucks on sand paper, and we already had the supplies (nails/screws, etc) and the stain. So we spent less than $50 total! What do you think? I hope I didn't build too much anticipation up for this bed on this blog- it definitely isn't perfect but it's so cute! I love it so much. I'm going to get him some new bedding, but I'm going to wait until we find out if Cameron's new sib is a boy or girl (likely in a few weeks!) until I decide where I'm going with the shared room.

The bookcase I started building (before the bed) is not finished yet, I seem to have lost a little motivation in the heat of the summer. I definitely need to get it done soon, and I'll likely show it when I get the whole room done and put together.

In other news, I ordered this beautiful pin-tuck duvet cover from West Elm the other day, taking advantage of the free shipping they had on all bedding. I got it in the sea spray color (instead of the charcoal, below) since our bedroom furniture is black.
I can't wait for it to get here, even though I'm going to wait until it cools down a bit before I put the new duvet and down comforter back on our bed.

*in case there's anyone interested in building this bed, let me know, as quite a few modifications need to be made from the original directions.