What did you do with your Christmas vacation time?

We did another project.... Always lots to do around here!  The picture below is from when we first moved in.  The previous owners had put in a pellet stove.   We were never able to use it because it got so hot and Thomas was so little.  When we did use it, it was after he went to bed.  It warmed our part of the house while he froze in his room.  So out it came.  That was probably 3 years ago. 

We were left with this hole:
We've had it behind the piano, the desk, a sofa... all sorts of things.  We were wanting to remove the beams down, which you can see above, but not wanting all the work that was involved with that.  However, we wanted better use of that space.  Our house is fairly small and with 2 growing boys, any floor space we can have is appreciated!

So it was decided to turn the whole into an entertainment center!

Destruction and re-do started the day after Christmas.  All signs of Christmas decor were down and in the garage by 11:00 when my Dad arrived to help with the work.  All the men were ready to go!

Benjamin couldn't get enough of the work and was seen all day long with either a broom or a dust pan in hand.

Day 2:
Time to rebuild the walls and put up sheet rock.

End of Day 2:
Lots of progress!

Day 3: Just a few things done.  Primer, shelves prepped and then off for a date night with some friends.  We couldn't spend his entire week off on just this one whole!!

Day 4 was spent in Roseville having more fun!

Day 5: we're cutting it close because the next day we'd have a house full of people!
Jared did the finishing work of baseboards, shelf installing and finally all the electronics put back in!

So far, so good!  I've spent this week tracking down pretty baskets and things to make it look more organized and pretty!

I love my hubby and dad!!

Fall is Finally Here

So last week we were pulling into the driveway and Thomas exclaimed,

"Look Mom! It's fall!!"

He was so excited because in his mind fall happens when leaves fall.  He doesn't understand that it's the entire couple of months, not just the times when the leaves fall.  It's sweet really.

Well, little did he know that falling leaves would get to be picked up.  He was super excited to help Jared rake.  He'd get to use his own rake!!

So, while Jared was off part of our fun was raking leaves.  We made it through one tree in the front yard before we filled the yard waste.  That worked out great because the other one had just started.  The lawn is once again covered.

Anyhow, check out the family fun!  Even Benjamin got into the fun!

What fun is raking leaves if you can't throw some around a little!

He's such a hard worker.  It's amazing how much energy he has.  He just bounces from spot to spot, raking and scooping.

Benjamin was assigned the first round of smashing down the leaves in the trash can.

When Thomas momentarily slowed down, Benjamin was excited to get a turn with the rake.

 Love this sweet little boy!!  (yes, he's still in his jammies)
        Check out Thomas expression in the second picture.  It looks like he's explaining something to Jared. "Well Daddy, what about that leaf?!"

Cheap, Easy & Fun Ideas

I love finding fun, cheap and creative projects to do!  I found this one on etsy and on pinterest.  It's called a Burlap Tie Wreath.  I was hoping to get a new wreath for Christmas decorations this year and thrilled with the natural look of this one.  I was even more excited when I realized it would be cheap to make!!

To make:  

Cut burlap into 1inch strips that are either 6 or 8 inches long.  

The top one is 6 and bottom is 8, not much of a difference.

Tie each strip on 12" wire wreath.  

You can see the wire wreath below.  I found it at JoAnns for $2.49.  I used just under 1.5yards of burlap that was $3.99 a yard.

So project total was $8.50 plus tax, and that's without sale or a coupon! (which I had both of!)

I wanted to use some color, so I bought a 6inch wreath and some cotton fabric and here is the result:

Have fun!!

A Brand New Kitchen!!

Well, not really, but I do have nice new cabinets!! Thanks to my dad, my ever-so-patient husband, an awesome babysitter and a friends sprayer, we got the job done!

So, I failed to take a good before picture, but here's what I did get:The old ugly doors all lined up and ready for some primer, after we spent an hour or so cleaning them.

Dad getting the sprayer already! This thing was awesome. All 18 cabinets and 4 drawers done in 20 minutes.

The painted frames:

Ta-Da! Clean, white and fancy new handles!

Still to finish the handles on this side, but I'm loving it!! You should see how bright it is in there at night. Such a wonderful difference.

The Building of a Pirate Ship

So a couple of months ago I called my dad to tell him that Thomas wanted to have a Pirate party. Every year at his parties I've had a photo spot to take a picture of Thomas with each of his friends. Then used these pictures for his memory book and also for thank you letters. I asked my dad if he'd help me make a pirate ship out of cardboard. Well, one thing led to another and pretty soon we had come up with a 12 foot structure for the back yard. We quickly realized this needed to be scaled way back!! And no, this wasn't just for the party!! We had been wanting to expand the boys play area, give them something to climb on and a bigger slide. Plans were cut way down, just a half a ship, no climbing wall, swinging ropes, trap doors, high crows nest. Just climbing levels and a slide. So I had the picture in mind, Dad the plans and Jared, well he just does EVERYTHING!!!

It began with cleaning out the area, moving the swings back (sorry... no before pictures), leveling the area and placing a trench for the water to run through. Buying lots of lumber, a slide, ground cover, a telescope and some paint. We went to town!!!

Dad came over two different weeks, spent the night and got things rolling. Jared came home several nights and got to work. As you can see here, I even got in on the fun!! Its hard work to build a structure that is strong and safe.

Of course, the hard work of building took place on the hot days we had surrounded by cool and rainy days. Dad kept hard at work at this perfect little workbench the ship provided! He and Jared made the rails themselves.

Thomas and I were incharge of the painting. The original plans were for a brown ship, but hey when you find a grey pre-mixed can of the outdoor stuff for $15 and $45, it quickly becomes a gray/blue-ish color. Thomas loved that he could paint where ever he wanted underneath. He'd call out "hows it going up there?" "going great down here!" I wish i would have grabbed some pictures of him after. He managed to get paint on his belly, legs, feet and even his hair!!

Thomas wasn't far from the action for all of this. He loved seeing Daddy and Papa working away.

The final step was adding in shredded tire nugget bark. It was a little more expensive then just regular bark, but we won't have to spend money every year replacing it. Far more importantly, no splinters in the feet. Thomas loves to jump all around in it!
Since the ship has been completed we've been out there everyday (except the rainy ones) enjoying the new structure!! Thomas takes all his guys out there and will play forever underneath and climbing all over it. The old playhouse is down the side yard, just to the left of the picture above. Thomas informed us last week that it's Captain Hook's house (when it's not a home for his pet snails) and that has added so much fun to the playtime.

Thanks Daddy and Papa for all your hard work!!

A Little Side "Work"

Some of you may not know, but once in awhile I get to do some wedding coordinating!! No, I'm not a wedding planner, I'm a coordinator. I don't do the months of planning and organizing, it's too much!! However, I do come in the weeks before the wedding and help get everything organized. Then, I run the rehearsal and the day of. I LOVE IT!!!! I get to be there the day of the wedding so the bride and her mother can stop the crazy running around and just enjoy the big day. I am a firm believer that every wedding needs a coordinator. That way the family and the couple can enjoy the day they've been planning and waiting for their whole lives!!

I was very busy with weddings when we were living in Fremont and even worked at a church for a couple of years. I loved it! In the past 10 years I figured I've done almost 2 dozen weddings and almost that many receptions. It's slowed down since we've moved, but I recently got the opportunity to do a wedding for a great couple from our church. It was so wonderful to see Christina get married and be a part of her big day! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture with the happy couple, but I got some others. Christina goes to our church, so it was lots of fun hanging out with the college girls and other young ladies!

Me and Lisa!

Our College gals with some of my favorite jr high gals!

PS you should Jared at these weddings. He's a pro. I'm convinced he could have done this one with out me. He's now filmed and photographed weddings! I just need him to get his wedding license to perform the ceremony then he's the complete package!!

When Katharine Gets Bored..

... paint ends up on the walls. I have this creative urge that emerges uncontrolled sometimes. It's been gone for quite a few months now, but is back with a vengeance! I love to do little creative things and more recently it's been a need to add something to the walls. (It's really got to calm down because it's close to being too much!!)

However, I do have a few spots in the house that have just needed something. I haven't been too sure what, but something. I got on the Uppercase Living site and saw a few things I liked, but couldn't afford. The boys were asleep so I went to town!

I added this doodle to the hallway

and went with Thomas' recent love for Pirates in the bathroom. I had moved these pictures over there awhile ago, but the blank spots were bothering me, now they don't! T's very proud that he got to help with painting in the sails and the windows.

We added these cute fellows to another boring spot in the bathroom. The sign over the pictures says, rub a dub dub, so now it continues:

It's Done!!

After!!
Once the bathroom was done, the changing overflowed to the bedroom. A new picture to add some color and a matching pillow to the bathroom window cover. : )
Before:

We kept the chandeliers, towel rods and shower head. Saved lots of money right there! I couldn't wait to get ride of the gross lino and the vanity.

Before: The Toilet

During: This is the lovely whole Thomas was fascinated with. Thankfully it got covered as soon as the flooring was down!

During: Love it! Uncle Ross came up with this idea. They were the first to sit on the new toilet, before it was working.

After! It's a raised, super flushing toilet.

Before: The Floor (you can also see the vanity, very little storage. Also check out the hospital-like, plastic floor board)

During: Scott hard at work installing the floor.

After: WooHoo!! Tile and clean white floor board. (better looking cabinets)

Before: The Shower. It had all sorts of nasty corners that just couldn't be cleaned. The floors finish was gone, so it was stained and you couldn't see through the doors anymore (kind-of but not really)

During: thought this was a neat shot of the insides. In the bottom right you can see the back of the other bathroom's bathtub.
During: Dad making a detour... the were putting up the cement board and water-proofing when there was an accidental puncture to the copper piping... not just one, but two. the original guys didn't have them protected and set up differently than normal.
During: Jared helping Scott put up some tile
After!!

The tile goes floor to ceiling. New trackless shower door that's suppose to be much easier to clean!
Before: The Vanity!

After! I love the tall cabinets with so much extra storage space. The mirrors are new as well.

The completed after with the mosaic tile backsplash that matches the boarder in the shower

After! The window treatment still needs to be made, but i'm enjoying the color and pattern. We'll see if the counter stays that clean! We have enough storage underneath that I have a basket with all my make up and hair products stored.

Thank you to my husband for embarking on this six week project with me! Thank you to my Dad who helped and taught us so much. A HUGE THANK YOU to Scott for doing the tile it's beautiful!! You're hard work paid off!! Thanks also to Dave and Andrae for helping with the tear out and Ross for plumbing aide. Finally to Thomas for sharing his bathroom with us and always being willing to help out. Thanks also to our parents for their generosity making this possible!