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Friday's Favorite Things...OPRAH

Published on 10.30.2009 in

Oprah just went higher on my favorites list.

She worked some magic with Payless and has produced the following...


Yes, that's right.  50% off coupon to ANYTHING in the store. 

I got new boots.  :)


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Wednesday's Words of Wisdom... (teehee)

Published on 10.28.2009 in

My all time favorite quote is, "When did we become adults? And how do we make it stop?"
Well, that and one of the opening lines of "Drop Dead Gorgeous" when the mayor is talking about the oldest living Lutheran.  But that's a moot point.





I don't want to grow up. Ever. Have more responsibility, yes, but grow up, no. To me, being a "grown up" is someone who no longer enjoys the small things in life.



















Before we had Mini #1, I had become jaded.  Small town parades were, uh...small town parades.  Petting zoos were disgusting places that smelled, and paint was something you used to brighten your walls.


I've realized as I've watched my son from day to day, that the world has many wonders that I'd begun to overlook. Everything is new, and different. The smallest, oddest things are the things that make him giggle the most. A silly look, an airplane in the sky, the smell of a candle, or how your finger feels when you shove it up your nose. :)



















I'm learning from Mini #1 that you have to live every day like it's a new day, everything is an experience, and to take nothing for granted.




















Is that the secret to life?

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DIY of the week...fabulous fall arrangement

Published on 10.27.2009 in

Through Wichita State University's Division of Continuing Education, I'm taking a non-credit class.

"Holiday Floral Arranging"

Our first assignment was a fall swag that included dried hydrangea, lion's grass, reeds, and some other stuff that I really can't remember the name of.















I've learned how to twist floral tape around floral wire, and that it's better to twist your arrangement than the wire when locking something down.  This allows you to twist "down" on the piece instead of "away" from the piece.

I've also learned that the most important thing in deciding on what materials to use is texture and color. Differing textures allows each element of the piece to stand out on its own.


I've also learned that it's best to have one main focal point on your piece.
















I actually found a place for it to hang; above my antique hutch in my kitchen.  I of course did not take any pictures of it in place as my red kitchen photographs orange.  Uh, yea.  Doesn't look so pretty then.

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My happiness of the day...

Published on 10.26.2009 in ,

Monday's weekend in review has been detained this week as I forgot my camera when I went to the farm.
Boo on me.

And, as I arrived at work and found out that of the 9 people in my office 1 was out with swine flu, 1 was out for pneumonia, and 1 was out for bronchitis, I realized my day wouldn't be happy.

And then I thought of this...




Mini #2 at 20 weeks
















HAPPY MONDAY!

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Friday's Favorite Things...iPhone's Yellow Pages

Published on 10.23.2009 in ,

Moving to the "big city" meant I had to learn to get around quickly.  Enter the iPhone and the amazing Yellow Pages app.




















(I need to stop here and say that I need to give props to Engineering Man for this one.  Of course, he was the one to talk me into getting an iPhone.)

All you have to do is enter whatever you're looking for into the Yellow Pages app.


Then hit Search. (I know; pretty basic, huh?)

The next page you get includes the option to add it to your contacts, call it, or click through to the next page.

On the next page you can call the organization, add as a contact, look it up on the web, or my personal favorite, you can click on the little blue car that takes you to this page:

Ah...my second favorite iPhone app, "Maps".

God bless Maps.  It's saved me more than once.

Got an iPhone?  If so, what's your favorite app?

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Thursday's Things I Never Thought I'd Hear...and then I had a kid

Published on 10.22.2009 in ,

As Mini #1 was reading books and playing on Engineering Man's lap, he farted.
And farted loud.
Then...he tried to do it again, only this time...

"I just did a baby fart!"



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DIY of the week...from drab to dotty

Published on 10.21.2009 in , , ,

Engineering Man was gone playing ARMY this weekend, so Mini #1 and I had bonding time as I painted the dresser.  He ended up "painting" his bed while I painted the polka dota. And needless to say, but we both slaved for hours.

And when I mean hours, I mean HOURS.




















I then used 5 different sizes of tupperware lids to draw circles sporadically across the dresser front, sides and top.





















Each color took approximately 45 minutes. 


Multiply that times 5 different colors...you get hours.
(I'm definitely NOT a math wiz)



















I had to mix the blue paint with some already on hand. Again, because I'm a cheapskate.  I'm excited I got fairly close to the original color in the room.

I also matched the yellow to the yellow in the room with a paint strip.



















Now, just wish me luck on the bed.  Mini #1 was wonderful enough to add his own artwork to the wood so when I'm upholstering it, I can be entertained.


He even helped me out by providing a little extra lighting from his "head helmet" when I was taking the final picutre. 

He's so good to me.

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Monday's (wait...it's Tuesday already?) weekend in review

Published on 10.20.2009 in , ,

This weekend included a lot of this...

And a lot of this...

And not much of this...

Full disclosure of the dresser DIY tomorrow.

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Friday's Favorite Things...Drop Dead Gorgeous

Published on 10.16.2009 in

























My favorite movie of all time...
a mockumentary about the trials and tribulations of winning a beauty pageant in Minnesota.

With an all-star cast and lines like these...I laugh the entire way through.

Weekend watching if you're up for something stupid.  :)

What's your favorite movie that I can put on my list?

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Thursday's Things I'd Never Thought I'd Hear...but now I'm a parent

Published on 10.15.2009 in ,


As Engineering Man and Mini #1 were throwing footballs at each other, we heard the following:

"I shot the weanie!"

"You did WHAT?!?"

"I shot the weanie!"

"Mini #1, what's your weanie?



















"Oh...your HINEY." Uh...yea....

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Ugly babies...

Published on 10.14.2009 in , ,


If you've ever been pregnant, you realize the anxieties associated with carrying a child.  Will the baby be healthy?  Will I be a good mom?  will he/she grow up right?  Will they have good morals?  Will I scar them for the rest of their lives by continuing to have sex when I'm pregnant?  (Uh, yea.  Just wait 'til you pregnant.  If it doesn't cross your mind, you KNOW it'll cross your husband's.)

And then the real kicker...will I have an ugly baby?

I know what you're thinking, and NO, I don't believe all kids are cute. I'm dead serious when I say that some babies are just plain ugly.

No, I'm not evil and say, "Oh, what an ugly child." How dumb do you think I am?
(By the way, pregnancy hormones are the least fabulous thing in the world.)

But I do not lie and tell them, "Oh, what a pretty baby."  I say something more like..."OH, he looks just like his daddy." (teehee)

Apparently God found it in his heart to not torture me with an ugly looking child.
I have a cute kid.  I mean, really adorable kid.  Just look at that face.
















Seriously...I have a cute kid. 

Thank you Jesus.

Now I'll just be praying about the second one...

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Mini #1's platform bed...or...Engineering Man's a badass

Published on 10.13.2009 in , , , ,

Being the cheap skate that I am, I tend to browse the Web and find DIY projects.  Also, being pregnant I've got that nagging "Hey! Do something with your house!" Mini #1's room just happened to be at the top of the list this weekend.

We've decided to move Mini #1 from the striped nursery into the polka dot bedroom. Mini #1 is still sleeping in his crib, or I guess, the crib Mini #2 is going to sleep in, so he needed a new bed.

I personally believe toddler beds are stupid...sorry to those who think otherwise...and would rather use a twin bed for Mini #1.  Unfortunately, my pregnancy brain got the better of me and "toddler bed" is what I started my Google search on.

(Yes, Google is my hero.)

Recently, Design Sponge featured the upholstered DIY toddler bed by design mom.


I loved the idea and petitioned Engineering Man (EM) to make it for me.

That was 2 months ago.

EM finally got the urge to flex his "man skills", and with the help of Mini #1 and his lovely wife, created a twin size platform bed using the tutorial above as a guide.

(Really, it was all EM. I just stood there and held boards as he cut them.  Mini #1 stepped on Snap-N-Pops. Yes, I said Snap-N-Pops.)


EM started with a 4x8 sheet of 1/2" plywood.  He cut the four side pieces from this sheet; two that were 15 inches by 76 inches and two that were 15 inches by 41 1/2 inches. (Dimensions of a normal twin size mattress are 75x39. Also found via Google.)


He then used scraps of plywood to cut four "mattress slats".  Two 16x40 inches and two 18x40 inches.  No particular reason other than the fact that those are the sizes he could get out of the leftover plywood.  It ended up working nicely becuase there are slight gaps between each of of the slats to provide some air flow to the mattress.

Next, he cut the four supports for the mattress slats from scrap pieces of a 2x4. Two were 76 inches and two were 37 inches.

These he screwed to the plywood sides 2 inches below the top to provide a ledge for the mattress slats to set on.

(Notice how my pictures are fewer and farther between here. It was 6 p.m. Pregnant people need to eat.)

Finally, he screwed the four sides together, and placed the slats on top of the supports.

Before screwing the slats down he checked to make sure the box was square (I did help with this one. Hence the photograph. Holding a tape measure is tough work.)

The box wasn't square. He fixed it by having me hold one corner and him kicking from the other direction. You'll have to ask him for exact details on this one, but whatever he did worked.

Finally, he screwed the slats down to hold the box square.

He's still debating if he wants to add another 2x4 support crosswise below the slats in the middle of the bed.  It currently holds EM bouncing on the middle of the slat, but who knows if it's going to hold three little boys jumping up and down.  We've got a couple years before I'm hoping it'll be tested.


I still need to upholster it, but that's a next weekend thing. What do you think Mini #1?


Yea, little hard.  Sorry about that sweetie. I'll get you a mattress next week.

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Monday's Weekend Review...or..."Yes, I'm nesting"

Published on 10.12.2009 in , ,

Being pregnant I've discovered has led to the inevitable nesting.

On the "to do" list for this weekend?

My maternity clothes:


And Mini #1's dresser and bed for his new room:


(No "before" picture for the bed could be found as...well, let's just say it used to be a stack of wood in the garage.)


What was accomplished:


(yea for organization!)




















 Can you tell which project I'm not done with yet?

The bed needs to be upholstered and I'm going to paint circles on the dresser yet.  We're going for an outer space theme in his room.  Wish me luck finding bedding for that one...and...if you've got any ideas, make sure to pass them along.

Tutorial/more information on Mini #1's platform bed tomorrow.

What did you accomplish this weekend?

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And the lightbulb moment of the weekend...

Published on 10.11.2009 in ,

I just Googled how to make my own cream of chicken soup.  Brilliant.  And tasty...

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Friday's Favorite Things...Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen

Published on 10.09.2009 in

Ree Drummond at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ is not only one of my favorite bloggers, but has also started an amazing online cooking community. 

Introducing one of my favorite things...Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen









This online community offers amazing recipes from readers, a great search engine, and even a recipe box to hold your favorites. 

I love to scroll through and discover a whole new way to do an old recipe.  MMMM...delicious. 

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An introduction to me...

Published on 10.07.2009 in ,

I don't work - I merely inflict myself upon the public.
- Robert Morley



I'm 26 27. 
I've been married to my husband for 5 years. 
I have 1.5 2 children, and I try to work. 

HA!  Try is the key word here...

This is me.
 

I'm an event planner by trade, wanna-be photographer who defines herself as outgoing, personable, softball-loving, prayer-filled, DIYer who's a little bit crazy and a lot OCD.


This is my other half...Engineering Man.
Polar opposite who's an electrical engineer, loves to watch "Through the Wormhole", will one day travel to space and makes my life whole.  This post best describes him.

This is Mini #1...our firstborn.

3-year old prankster who loves getting in trouble, has OCD tendencies, and will most likely follow in his father's footsteps and be an engineer someday.  Does not do well in new situations. He's the star of my "Thursday Things."


This is Mini #2.
















Born in February...the kid's already a chunky 19 pounds at 5 months old. Sociable, easy going, and LOVES to talk to anyone.  Right now, it seems he got his momma's personality.


My blog will be my ramblings, and mainly about my life. 
Life as a wife, a mom, an event planner, and a DIYer. Enjoy...