Come on in! (excuse the mess)

We finally moved!

I wanted to give a quick update and tour of the new place while I have a few minutes. We've been buried in boxes since Tuesday when we moved in, and everything is out of order and messy. I made no attempts to pick up for these snapshots- this is how it is right now!

We are loving our new home and it's a complete blank slate as far as decorating goes. I'm excited to get to work!

Master bedroom, Jon's closet

Master bedroom

Master Bath

My closet! The whole thing is MINE! =)

Kylie's room- the only room I have immediate plans for. I'm going to paint it this weekend (see the swatch on the wall- light lavender). This room also has a 10 foot window and faces the west- so we had to tint the windows already in addition to hanging blinds and curtains. It gets really hot in there!

Backyard- I love the view and it has a large, covered deck. I can't wait to sit out there in the evenings!

Basement- we're going to get started finishing it right away- it will have 2 additional rooms, a bathroom and a living room.

Kylie- 6 months.

It's hard to believe that Kylie is 6 months already! Time flies so fast with one kid, and even faster with 2. There were times when Cameron was a baby that I felt like the days would never end- time seemed to go so slow sometimes. That's hardly the case with 2- Cameron keeps me so entertained and busy, that I barely ever stop to see what time or day it is!
Kylie is turning into such a fun, squeely little baby. She's quickly becoming mobile and I think she'll start crawling in the next month or so! She also got two teeth in, which has been pretty rough on her sleep patterns (and mine). Her stats: 18lbs 7 oz, and 28 inches.

When Kylie was born, she had a head full of dark, really curly hair. I was looking back at some old pictures the other day and it was hard to believe how much she's changed! She now has less hair, and it has turned a pretty gold/blonde, with brown too. It's hard to believe that in as much time that has passed, we will be blowing out candles on her first birthday cake! I love this little girl with all my being and I can't wait to watch her keep growing!

High's and Low's.

It has been quite the month, old June.

We are officially homeless. We moved out and closed on our old house on Monday. We were also supposed to close on our new house that same day, but that didn't happen (and we were somewhat prepared for that). Long story short, the customer service Bank of America's mortgage department is poor. One would think that since the mortgage from the house we just sold was also through Bank of America, it would be a pretty easy process. Instead, we get shuffled to different departments, our loan processor went on vacation and our closing date has been pushed back two weeks. This process has been quite the emotional roller coaster to say the least. Selling our house was cake. I can say though, that I am happy we aren't paying two mortgages, praying for our house to sell!

In the meantime, we are staying with my parents and while it's nice to have a temporary place to stay, we're ready for our new home!

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of the kiddos (since I missed Kylie's 5 month post- she's almost 6 months!) so here's a few so this post isn't pictureless. =)

She looks so much like her dad!

Cameron still always wants to hold her and take care of her. I love it!

The weekend report.

In my book, two things define summer: the hot steamy weather and weekends that are jam packed with events. Last weekend was definitely both of those! The temps were in the low 100's and we had 3 days of non-stop places to go and people to see.

We started off Friday morning signing a contract for our new house! I cannot even begin to express my excitement to get into our new place. It was built in 2009 but we will be the first owners. What's even more exciting, is that even though it's bit larger than our place now, we'll be paying about $200.00 less each month for the mortgage because of the type of loan we're getting and what we're putting down! I know a lot of people stress out about moving, but since my husband is a professional mover and packer, I'm really looking forward to the whole moving process. I'll share more about the house (and some pictures too) in the weeks to come!

Friday night we had a bunch of Jon's family roll into town for a weekend family reunion. We packed in as much activity humanly possible, going to the Zoo, out for dinner and dancing, doing as much as we could to show our family a good time. Sunday we had a big BBQ at our place, playing host to about 50 people through the evening. It was hot, but the evening cooled down quite nicely and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that it was a such a great time. I'm just now started to feel caught up on sleep since we didn't go to bed before midnight the entire weekend.

Can you spot me? I'm the tallest one!

I know summer hasn't officially started but it's sooo hot already and I have to admit I'm really looking forward to fall. I am definitely not a lover of summer. =)

Until next time!

Of past and present.

11 years ago I was a junior in high school and rocked a great part time job at American Eagle. I didn't make a dime there because my minimum wage paychecks went right back to the company in exchange for a closet full of clothes. I was stylin' (or so I thought).

My first year I was an employee there, my manager hosted the annual Christmas party at her and her husband's house. It was there that I first laid my googly eyes on what I could only dream would be my future husband. This tall, muscle-y guy (he was my managers brother-in-law) was at the party for a very short time, but my eyes were locked on him for the entire duration of his attendance. Did he notice me? Heck no he didn't. I was just a teenager a few weeks shy of turning 17, and he must have been in his early twenties- a big age difference at the time.

The next time I saw my manager at work, I told her that I thought he was really cute, and from then we always joked about us being sisters if me and this hot guy ever got married.
Oh! Today, we're sisters. =)
Years went by after that Christmas party. I finished high school and entered college, and I had a few relationships over that time that never turned serious. Just after my 20th birthday, I was still working at American Eagle and my manager decided to set me and her brother-in-law up on a date, and well... the rest as they say, is history. 7 years and 2 beautiful kids later, we're celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary. I couldn't be more happy with where we've been and where we are going (hopefully to the new house we put an offer in just a few hours ago!!). I'm excited to see what our 5th year brings us!

Sold, baby sold!

We sold our house.

For those who didn't catch it in the title or the first sentence, WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!! =) Let me attempt to recap a bit for anyone who thinks this is coming out of left field:

A few weeks ago I had mentioned on my blog that we were putting our house up for sale the following week. I have NO idea what happened to that blog post- it vanished and is nowhere to be found. The post may have been up for a day or two before it was deleted, but I certainly remember writing it and reading a few of the comments that were left.

Anyway, we listed our house last Friday (May 2oth). Within a few hours my realtor was already calling me to show our house. We had 3 showings over the weekend, and on Monday someone wanted to see the house for a 2nd time and by Tuesday morning there was an offer on the table. ::phew:: Oh, and did I mention that my husband left town (for 4 days) the Friday we listed? That's right, I was single-mommin' it all weekend, taking care of the kids and house, cleaning like crazy and barely stopping to eat. I was exhausted, not surprisingly.

We ended up countering the offer, which was accepted, and by Thursday night we were under contract- 6 days from listed to sold! We close in 30 days (ahhhh!) and while this is all very exciting, we still have to find a new house. We'll likely put an offer in somewhere this week, but at this rate it looks like we're going to have at least a week where we're homeless. Jon's parents have an empty house on the market, so it looks like we'll camp there for a bit.

There. Did you catch all that? We're kind of having a hard time believing it because everything is happening so fast and we didn't expect it. Houses in our neighborhood tend to sit on the market for a long time and I think we assumed ours would too. Even though we had so few showings it was quite tiring having to keep on top of everything with baby and messy toddler in tow, making sure everything was spotless and perfect (or within an hour of being so). Right now, my house is a disaster area and I don't care to do anything about it!

Until next time!

This is the day.

I woke up this morning to make Swedish pancakes. I got the eggs out of the refrigerator, opened them and saw this beautiful verse on the carton, a reminder from God to be thankful for each and every day, no matter the challenge.

I have so much to be thankful for! Last year on Mother's Day, I woke up particularly early that morning after tossing and turning all night. I had a feeling, or intuition rather, that I might be pregnant. I figured it would be far too early to test, but I did anyway and 2 minutes later I learned that I was pregnant with this little girl:

I feel so incredibly blessed to have these babies in my life! They are who I am, and they make me want to better myself so I can be the best mom for them. I love them with every breath I have.Watching Mickey Mouse after waking up in the morning. Clearly I was in the way.

I hope to receive many more handmade cards like the one I got this year. Nothing is better!

The kids' room (the current state).

I love this room. Even though it's far from complete and hardly show worthy, it contains some of my favorite projects I've done to date. So, I'm sharing it today, as is.

This room has definitely been a labor of love; I have made a lot of the things you'll see in this room. I'm especially proud of the fact that I used quite a bit color in here. Don't get me wrong, I like colorful rooms; but I tend to be quite the color phobe when decorating in my own home. I admit without shame- I love beige. It's easy and I never suffer from color remorse.

This room has been constantly evolving ever since I began updating it from Cameron's first nursery to a big boy room, and finally to a shared gender neutral room for a baby and toddler.

I started building the bookshelf last July and applied the last coat of stain in December. Truth be told, this is my absolute least favorite piece of furniture I've built, from a construction stand point . I can see nailheads and a few shelves are slightly bowed; it bothers me because it reflects my poor craft, but I cut myself a little slack knowing that I have learned from the mistakes I made. Regardless, this piece is functional and is very solid. And I do love the color of the stain.
I found the green storage crates at Target for throwing random toys in. I love that fish tank (so does Cameron!)- we've had it over 6 months and I have cleaned it only once. It's the perfect size and has a great, quiet filter.


If you remember, I built the oversized abacus last spring, and never got around to hanging it up. Finally, it has a place on the wall! Cameron is always counting the beads.

I decided to keep the rocking chair around even though space is tight in this room. We read books in this spot every day and night, and it's nice to have a place to feed Kylie in the wee hours of the morning.

I know alphabet posters are super popular (and perhaps a bit overdone) in kids rooms right now, but I personally love the trend! I made this one up in InDesign and picked colors I thought would go well in the room. I sent it to mpix.com do the printing (same place I print all my photos) and put it in a frame I already had laying around.

I had a really hard time looking for a nice coat rack for this room. I had a few requirements (inexpensive, lots of hooks) and never could find one I really liked. I spotted a utility rack (like one you'd hang brooms and mops on) at Target, and jazzed it up with wooden dowel caps from Hobby Lobby. I used the same paint from the abacus, so it matches perfectly.
The other side of the room is pretty bare. I recently decided not to put the energy into getting more stuff on the walls, since we're going to be selling our house VERY soon (we hope to get it ready and have it listed by the end of summer)! I'm already dreaming of gender specific rooms and can't wait to do a girly room for Kylie.

This is the toddler bed I built for Cameron last fall when he climbed out of his crib. I built the bed in about 5 hours, but it took about 2 weeks to stain since it was so hot and humid at that point. See that pillow on his bed?
I always said that I wouldn't be the type of parent that let their kid plaster their room in Disney characters (nothing wrong with that, just not my cup o' tea), but I thought a Buzz Lightyear pillow wouldn't hurt. Cameron loves Toy Story and there wasn't a great selection for boy fabrics at JoAnn's when I went last week. He loves it and well, so do I. =)

Even though the room isn't complete, I'm so happy that it contains my passion and hobby of being able to make things for my family. We spend a lot of time in this room- it is very well loved!

Until next time!

A Great weekend.

We just returned from a little vacation over the weekend at the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City! We had so much fun and we have plans to make it a tradition to go every year around Cameron and Kylie's birthday since both are in the winter. Here are some pictures from our stay (there are lots!).

It took a lot of convincing to get Cameron to go down the water slides at first. After the first time, we couldn't get him off!

This is such a cheesy picture of both me and Cameron, but it's the only one that wasn't blurry. My husband is the world's worst photographer!
But he's the world's best Dad!

Little Kylie, sleeping on the Lazy River.


This is the prize Cameron got with the tickets from the arcade. In case you were wondering, yes. Yes my son has a Silly Band obsession.

We took a break from the Lodge and did a little shopping at Legends outdoor mall. Cameron managed to find a water fountain and get completely soaked!

What my husband lacks in photography skills, he makes up for by being able to fix anything, including a flat tire. Thank the Lord for that skill, because we needed it on the way home from Kansas City. We were stopped for about an hour, and had it not been for the DVD player in the truck, it would have seemed like an eternity!
We made it home safe (though completely exhausted) and we can't wait to go back!