Bright Green and Barbie Pink - Cuz That's Our Style!

A handcrafted item!  Suck on that Pinterest!  ;)

Are we the only parents that feel consumed by toys EVERYWHERE!?!  They are so rarely in the kids' room -- instead they are in the living room, throughout our bedroom, across the kitchen counter, under the dining room table...  Loren swears every time that we pick them up, that they are ALL going away.  These kids better thank me some day for advocating for them!  :)  It's not that I think they need an obscene amount of toys (which, yes, is what they have), but I definitely see the learning and developmental advantages of certain toys.  So in a last ditch effort to find a home for our ever-multiplying stash of toys, I finally talked Loren into converting our office into a playroom.

Calling it an office is really a stretch in itself -- it's really just that extra room that houses everything that we don't feel like putting somewhere else.  Half the time I couldn't even get to my desk as there were piles in, on, and around it.  So we decided to pile everything in the closet that we thought we might keep (Yes, sorting this is supposed to be a "break" activity, but have I even cracked those doors?  Of course not.).  A lot of the other stuff made it to the garage to be sorted, and yes, some did finally make it out of this house (my de-crapping efforts are never-ending around here -- I really can't figure out why I insisted on keeping some of the stuff I have tucked away).  We found a cozy little desk to put in my room (thank you Youth Ranch) to house the computer.

As I contemplated what would be nice in a playroom, I thought Addie needed a little kitchen (she has one that's outside, but much too large to bring into this small room) and Hayden needed a car/train table.  I set my sights on Craigslist.  I found Hayden's table quite quickly, and believe I picked it up for $30 (this was a few months ago, and these days I can barely recall what happened yesterday).  Great shape, perfect for cars/trucks/trains and blocks/puzzles/etc AND tons of storage space underneath.

Here is the table, along with the *bright* green paint (which I love!) chosen by Addie and the giraffe curtains also chosen by Addie (it was very hard to steer her clear of everything pink and glittery -- I still can't believe she didn't go with frogs!) and made by my mom.  This was Christmas eve -- it's pretty stacked up with a parking garage, police station, train tracks, and lots of cars now!

I didn't have quite the luck with Addie's kitchen -- I wanted something cuter than the gaudy plastic ones you usually find.  Her friend Mia has a darling wood one, but I just didn't have any luck finding one.  My mom told me about a picture she had seen of someone converting an entertainment center into a kitchen (an example).  So, much to my chagrin, I decided to venture to Pinterest to see what I could find (this is probably for another blog, but quickly I'll explain -- I've avoided Pinterest because I don't need yet another distraction or reminder of all the neat things I could be making if I actually had a minute of spare time or to add to the guilt that I'm not the superstar mom that handmakes everything and brings fancy character cupcakes for every child at school).  Loren (yep, I sucked him in) and I actually had a great time looking at ideas.  We initially decided to build the kitchen ourselves (we hadn't yet decided we were getting rid of our entertainment center), but as we were cleaning out the room, Loren had the brilliant idea to use the desk hutch.  We planned it out and figured out materials, Addie picked out the paint (she had no idea what it was for), and we eventually got to work (we started this project in early November -- but of course finished it December 23rd).

Here is the desk hutch, with my beautiful models.

A little better shot at it's original condition.  Becky Brown -- I hope you notice the car!

Basic project details:  I sanded the hutch with a Scotch Brite pad, just enough for the paint to stick.  Loren primed, and we both painted.  Addie picked the Barbie pink, and I chose chalkboard paint for the "fridge" and side (see black in pic).  We decided to add a base of wood at the bottom to make it easier to move and to stabilize the oven door.  I hit up D.I. to "stage" it -- with flowers, a shelf (painted to match), a picture, and lots of kitchen essentials (including the stainless steel bowl used for the sink).  We used a piece of PVC pipe for the faucet and wooden pulls for the handles (all spray painted in silver).  The "burners" are just black circles, and white plastic pulls were used for dials.  Loren bought some plywood for the oven door (the one on the left of the pic, with the bunny towel).  We also added some hooks on the end to hold additional items.  My mom made the curtains with some spare fabric and I just used a spring rod to put them up.  Added some wooden crates for storage and we were set!  I, personally, think it turned out adorable!

Here it is, along with the art table my mom and stepdad got the kids for Christmas (and Princess Jasmine, Addie's cat).  Addie also got a blender, coffee maker, and mixer to go with it on Christmas morning.

 Stove and oven.

Sink and storage underneath.

Chalkboard fridge with storage.  She also got some more food from Santa to fill it with.

Shelf.

  Chalkboard side with hooks.  (I forgot to write on these before taking pics, but did put messages on before Addie saw it.)

And this is final touch to the room -- Hayden's new tool bench, also from my mom and stepdad for Christmas.

I'm a little disappointed to say that the room isn't being used quite as much as I'd hoped  They were in it nonstop for about 2 days, but now they're back to their old habits.  I just seem to have very clingy kids that ALWAYS want to be in the same room that I am (really, saying the "same room" is an understatement -- most of the time they want to be sitting on top of me!).  So it looks like I need to find myself a comfy chair to park in there!

**Edited to add... they're playing in there right now!  Quietly.  Hmm...  I'm sure something is being destroyed, but I'll take it.**

Corn Maze: Round 3

Wow is my camera in need of an unload!  I am WAY behind on pics!  Well, it's October and that means it's corn maze time!  Got season passes for Farmstead (FYI, if you're on their mailing list, you can get half-price season tickets a few weeks before they open -- that's only $15 each when one trip is over $10 each!).  I took the kids a few weekends ago, and then Addie and I met up with her bestie last week.  Today was the first time for the whole fam.

We hit the corn box... 

...screamed and made shooting noises...

 ...sat in the "sleeping" cow...

...rode the cow train (wild ride!)...

...did the mini corn maze and then headed for some grub (mini donuts, hamburger, and fries)...

...picked up heavy pumpkins and did the hamburger dance...

 ...pet the goats and cows...

 ...played a little tetherball...

 ...did some silly poses...

 ...rode the ponies (Hayden's first time!)...

 ...hit the jumping pillow, threw a little lasso, checked our height...

 ...and ran, jumped, and played to our hearts' content.

 Happy fall everyone!

Ugh's the Word...

Ugh, it has been one of those weeks.  Well, one of those months really.  Hayden caught a cold the first week of August right before we went to Tamarack for the weekend.  Addie caught it too and both had the sniffles.  Hayden continued with the nice green snotface for the whole week.  The next weekend he came home with a stomach bug -- vomiting and diarrhea Friday night, fine Saturday and Sunday, and more diarrhea at daycare Monday (conveniently getting sent home - didn't matter since Addie was already home with vomiting and diarrhea).  Loren ended up with it Tuesday (I think) and I wasn't feel so hot by Wednesday.  Then Thursday Hayden decided to spike a fever at about 4:30pm (ear infection), so we had to hit Primary Health for that one.  He stayed home Friday and I started feeling crummy on Sunday. By Tuesday Addie had an ear infection and by Wednesday I had strep throat (that progressed with nasal congestion, a horrible cough, and itchy watery eyes).  Good times!  Anywho, just started feeling a little better yesterday so we he hit Bug Day at the Botanical Gardens.  We haven't ever been, but Addie loves bugs and we had passes because we got a membership this year (I can't help it when I see those deals on Groupon, darn it).  We hit it early to avoid crowds and heat.

Here you could draw your own bug.

 And play bug bingo.

We found a tiny frog, which I'm sure was the highlight of Addie's day.

She painted a bead for Ben's Bells.

And they both colored butterflies.

Hayden ripped his wings off immediately after assembly.  Look at that tongue.  He sticks it out whenever he is concentrating.  I think he gets it from my Grandma.  :)

Off to hunt bugs.  We didn't find anything but a bee.

Apparently her whining worked up a hunger.  We hit the hot dog stand.  Actually, she wasn't too whiny.  :)

Overall we were a bit disappointed in bug day.  Just not enough real live bugs.  Lots of dead ones to look at and some neat ideas for games.  But all they had for live ones were cockroaches and crickets.  Oh, and roly polies.  And bees.  Addie really wanted to dig for worms somewhere.  And I would have liked some caterpillars or other bugs you don't see on a daily basis.  Our kids just really aren't into the games yet -- they're a little too young and too shy.  Just glad we didn't pay the $20 it would normally cost to get in.  I think we're bigger fans of the butterfly exhibits at the zoo and fair.

Afterwards we met my dad at Flying Pie (the kids had eaten, but we hadn't).  Kinda got pushed out of our booth by a large baby shower (even though they weren't scheduled for 45min).

I discovered this pic as I was going through my camera.  I'm sure Addie took it.  :)

So tomorrow marks the first day of school.  Now the kids have continued daycare all summer since I've still been working (taught 3 summer classes, took 2, and attempted to catch up on a few things and work ahead for this Fall since I'm teaching 4 brand spanking new classes), so it may not be a HUGE adjustment, but I'm still gearing up.  This summer has been pretty laid back in when I work, what time I need to be there, if I go in at all, etc. -- which all makes for much more flexibility with the kids.  Now that school starts, this is what we have to look forward to... all of us up, ready, and out the door by 7:15am to drop of the kids and head to work until 5pm when we pick up the kids and head home to make dinner, eat, do dishes*, make lunches*, and plan outfits* before beginning the bedtime routine* of picking up toys*, putting stickers on their new rewards charts*, taking a bath, putting on pjs, brushing teeth, reading*, and finally sleeping.  And then repeat!  And weekends will be full of attempting to squeeze in some family time while tackling the disaster that the house will inevitably be and planning* for the week to come.  Ugh, I'm tired just thinking about it...

*These are all new things I'm attempting to start this semester in a hope to keep the craziness to a manageable level.  My goal is to do the dishes every night (this may be routine for everyone else, I don't know - but I'm bad about letting them sit for at least a day and/or cramming in several loads on the weekends).  :)  Until now we usually deal with lunches and clothes in the morning, so I want to do that the night before to make the mornings a bit smoother.  We've been really bad about a bedtime routine, so we're starting that with cleaning up each night (hoping to keep the house a bit more tidy), doing the reward charts (hoping this will help with all of the above -- I just made some basic tables in Word and they're going to put stickers next to what they achieve -- I'll post more on it later), and making a concerted effort to read every night for 20-30min before bed (we're bad about parking in front of the boob tube).  I'm also hoping to spend some time doing meal planning on Sundays in an effort to make it easier to make a fast home-made meal after getting home at 6pm (want to cut down on the take-out).  Wish me luck!

A Zoo Trip

We have an annual zoo membership, so it's a very common trip for us.  Just stumbled across some pics from the last time I took the kids.

Just riding a komodo dragon with my bear (FYI -- he adopted carrying this bear everywhere with him while Addie and I were gone to Florida -- simply adorable if you ask me).

My typical kid back shot (oh so common at the zoo).

One little birdie...

...two little birdies.

Hmm, not so sure about these weird birdies...

Or this one.  (this is Bubby's "Smile!" face -- so endearing)

Just driving on a safari.

Our zoo may be a little pathetic (especially as we visit other zoos), but I'd say it does pretty good for Boise.  We have some great animals, and we definitely get our use out of the annual pass.