Bathroom

we gutted the bathroom this spring.  new walls, new subflooring, new plumbling....

and of course all the goodies to go in it.  it was a long several weeks as j tried to do most of it himself.  we may have gone without a door for some months too.  but we survived and was a much needed home improvement!

"Housework, if it is done right, can kill you." ~John Skow

fall happenings....

(i will be fast forwarding through a lot of the last 10 months to play catch up! :()

after we settled down from our amazing trip to disney, we celebrated miss adelyn turning 3 1/2!!

to be 3 1/2....

the circus came to town...always an interesting atmosphere! entertaining in several ways!

when the weather turns, we head to indoor places we can play.  one of the girls' favorites is "open gym" at their gymnastics gym. it is usually their pick for what they're earning on their behavior charts.

some autumn crafts...

some movie nights, of course....in cozy pj's

snuggle time during the day too...

trying new pinterest snacks....this one is grapes rolled in jello powder and frozen.  made for a sweet treat.

ad and i visiting daddy at work real quick...

hard work on a new patio...

that's j in there. ;)

the patio to open up the yard a bit more...

bloody noses from the dry dry weather. :(

messy eating....

more pizza and movie nights...

a date night....

our baby cousin's first birthday!!!

safe to say sienna liked the cake....she's definitely related!

and the start of wrestling meets...watching uncle eric and uncle t-bone's team...

"Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter." ~Carol Bishop Hipps

laundry help

the only thing i like about them getting older....their desire to help! (otherwise, it's perfectly fine if they stay little sweet cuddly babies.) if i grab the broom, they're grabbing they're little sweepers. if i grab the vacuum, they're vacuuming with their vacuums. if i grab a dust cloth, they're grabbing tiny baby blankets and following right behind me. and etc, etc, etc.

lanie's got the pants down and adde's my shaker-outer. and a shaker-outer, she is.

laundry help from Molly Leone on Vimeo.

now if only we could continue this desire into their adolescence. bwahaha. that's alright, I WILL take advantage while i can.

thanks girls! you have no idea how much you're actually helping me, truly.

"Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy." ~Author Unknown

some days

listen...i'm not going to be modest about it. some days i've got it going on. toys are played with and put away, laundry is done and folded, dishes are rinsed and put in the dishwasher, all meals are planned and thoughtfully homemade, diapers and toiletries are stocked, house is clean and shiney, children are clean and put together, i've had a workout and a shower, books are read and songs are sung, crafts are made, lessons are taught, memories are captured on film, great naps are taken, patience is plentiful, we do the maritals, i've had time to unwind in front of the tv or computer AND still find time to iron my supermom cape. seriously. some days are like that.

but i'm also not going to lie. some days, ahem, not so much. er, or not at all. like the exact opposite. toys are everywhere and i've tripped and hurt myself several times, clothes are hanging over anything that has caught them, dishes are crusty and piling up, meals are random and tossed on a plate, we're running out of milk or toilet paper or something noteworthy, the house needs to be hosed down, children are mismatched and stained, i'm mismatched and stained, books are ripped, all three of us girls have cried and yelled, naps are short or not at all, irribility and sarcasm are plentiful, i bicker with my hubby, i have been holding my pee for waaay too long cuz i haven't had the 3 seconds to escape and my supermom cape is shredded balled up in my fist ready to be jammed down someone's throat who dares to even look at me wrong. seriously. some days are like that.

but of course the majority of our days are some where in between. where there are certainly some toys out and about, laundry is somewhat caught up, dishes are put away at some point, breakfast is easy peasy but dinner was thoughtfully planned and prepared, i'm starting a list for our next trip to the store, the house is clean but not white glove clean, we're presentable but not in our best, books are read, songs are sung, lessons are taught and hopefully learned, decent naps are had, all 3 girls are calm and laugh easily, there's crying from 2 little girls at some point but they quickly recuperate, the baby daddy and i work as a team, i've had time to chat with a friend or read a few pages in my book and my supermom cape is hung ready to strap on if necessary. seriously. these are most days.

regardless of the mood of the day...everyday...yes, everyday...we dance. it's true. is it weird? maybe. is it fun? yep. and THAT is really ALL that matters.

"Dance first. Think later. It's the natural order." ~Samuel Beckett

the last before & after

was the swingset! you've already seen it, but here's a close up...

before...

and after...

with a pink girly swing of course...



the girls love it and we get so much out of it!

"The real problem of leisure time is how to keep others from using yours." ~Arthur Lacey

before & after

i keep forgetting to share the very minor makeovers we've done around here...they started about 6 months ago.

elena's room was first. she had the gender neutral thing going since way before she was here. elena's room before...before she even lived in it...


so we added a little girly swirl to more fit her. elena's room after...

a sassy pink stripe...along with a lot more, um, stuff now that she lives here!

along with a new fun rug and cute bedding...

new changing pad, lamp shade and diaper basket...

and more spunk to her wall letters...


and then of course when we found out bubba was a miss, we needed to give her the warm pink touch she deserved.

adelyn's room before...



and adelyn's room after...

first, a funky wall...

and then, lots of pink...

pink bedding of course...

a pink changing pad and pink light switch to match the bedding...

pink curtains and pink rug...


and then why not our room while we're at it?! right? right.

our room before...this is from a few months ago when adelyn's bassinet was still in with us.

our room after...we tried to go for a lighter, cleaner look. not exactly my vision, but j said he was done painting....this is coat #3. i just couldn't get the icey blue i was going for. ah well. maybe it shows i need to stick with all my dark colors that i usually go for. it is bright in there. but at least you can see our furniture now. it kinda blended right in before.

you'll notice the cream rug that lies in our 'after' room was in both girls' 'before' rooms. it gets around.


and finally our yard! we needed a fence to lock these kids and dogs in! (they were working on it while i took the before pictures, but you still get the idea.) our yard, before...

this is taken from up on our deck... looking into the neighbors backyard...

but not anymore... here's the after... all fenced in...

this is taken from the back. see it's all closed in (on the left)!! yay!

the gate...

and on the right!!

we have one more before & after i hope to be sharing soon. it's an addition to one of these... and you better believe it will have a girly touch to it!

"He is the happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe