glider makeover

How cool is this? I have the same glider chair. It is SUPER comfy and great for nursing, but I bet I could attack this project for baby #2's room. I have never slipcovered a chair, but this would be a great project. I am really excited to try it out and find some cool fabric. Oh, wait...there is not baby #2 yet. I guess I need to get preggo first! =)

Original post here and directions here.

picture tag

I was tagged by Kelly to post a picture.

This is the 4th picture in the 4th folder on my computer:

This is a picture of Evelyn when she was 10 months old. I remember this day by the snotty nose and glazed-over eyes. She was REALLY sick this week. I mean 104 degree fever sick. Anyway, this day I thought I could slack off and instead of cutting her waffle into little pieces give it to her whole. After I took the picture, I had to take it away from her since she was taking huge pieces and cramming them into her mouth and nearly gagging herself. What? Come on, I doubt I am the only mom that has tried to cut some corners in the kitchen! =)

Now it is your turn. (kelly, I switched back to the original rules...only because the 1st picture in the 1st folder was was even more boring than the 4th in the 4th folder!)

• Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.


• Select your 4th picture


• Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger.


• Tag 4 people (or as many as you want) to do the same!!

I tag:

Morgan G.

Sarah M.

Carissa V.

Melissa H.

Go forth and share your photos!

Thank you Kroger

I am usually an HEB girl, but this week Kroger had some deals on things I would buy anyway and their "10 item Mega Event". Can you see my total savings? Cha ching!

Sorry HEB. I will be back next week. I can't miss all your free samples two weeks in a row! =)

evelyn

Just checking out what is on the other side of the gate

friends?

Evelyn was excited to see her friend today, but I am not sure I can say the opposite is true.

Evelyn: "Woo Hoo! He is here to play!"
Bobby: "Oh no...what did I get myself into?"

Evelyn: "Maybe if I just give him a few taps of the head, he will get excited!"

Bobby: "When is my mom picking me up again?"

Bobby: "Maybe if I had my face she will go away."
Evelyn: "Bobby...you there?"

I interrupt the decorating...

Funny thing Evelyn started doing yesterday. When I ask her, "Who's Mommy's big girl?", she raises her hand. HA! I love it. She is so funny. But what is better is that she waits for either Michael or I to clap for her after she does it. She is at a great age.

another decorating dilemma...help!

Ok, so thanks to all of your comments, I am going to go with the green chair (and possibly make a slipcover with the help of Erin!). Anyway, I have learned that decorating is really not my thing, so I think I will make the rest of my decorating decisions a "community decision"! That is if you guys don't mind. How does that sound? That means I need your help. Liz...that includes you too! =)


Here is my next question for you all. I found three prints at Michaels the other day and picked them up because I liked the colors. They are 16x20. I found three dark brown frames to match our new dining furniture at Target. Michael said the prints are "girly" (that word gets thrown around a lot here when anything with flowers are involved). But, I kinds think the husband may be right? Plus, I think they look like they could go in a teenage girl's bedroom. Anywho, that is why I need your input. Do these look ok? BE HONEST! I already have two votes for "yes" form Morgan and Erin W. who saw them in person, and a "no" vote from my mom and husband.


There are a few things to take into consideration though. The prints are still wrapped in plastic and just leaning up against the frames. So it may be hard to get a feel for how they really look. They would be hung above the sideboard in a row of three. I think you can tell form one of the pics that the chairs are a dark turquoise blue and the wood is a really dark brown. I was planning on doing accents of orange in the dining room to coordinate with the turquoise chairs (and yes, there is a sticker on the corner of the prints that says "sassy chic"...i think that might be a giveaway that they are designed for a teenager!) =)

So comment away. If you vote no though, what do you think I should put there instead??



help!



please!

Pottery Barn swap out

I have been on the lookout for a new chair for our living room. We are going fairly modern in our living room, so I thought that a chair with a little bit of a traditional flair would look nice and mix things up a bit. I wanted a "fun" pattern in either green or orange or a combination of both. Of course, the one that I fell in love with is at Pottery Barn. The husband laughed when he saw the price. Literally, he chuckled and looked at me waiting for the punch line! Fortunately, we were both on board that the price was too high. I can't with a good conscience pay this much for a chair when our near future includes red Kool-Aid and muddy little fingers. Dangerous combination. Here is the Pottery Barn inspiration (pretty nice, huh):




So the search continued. I found a similar one at Ikea, but the husband was not a fan. Granted, it wasn't really the right colors (too much yellow and red), but I thought the shape was good and the price was much more in out budget for a chair. Here is the Ikea chair:

The last week and a half I have looked just about everywhere could think of for a chair similar to the Pottery Barn one. The Room Store, Metropolitan Furniture, CB2.com, Crate and Barrel, Home Goods, The Dump, Gallery Furniture, Target, Ashley Furniture, Macy's, and a few other online places. No luck.

That is until yesterday I found this one at target.com. I was actually looking on the site for frames, when I just stumbled upon this. It is REALLY close to the inspiration, the price is right, and I think the husband will approve (although he hasn't seen it yet). They carry a green one and an orange one. I like them both, and they both would fit into the new color scheme of brown, green, and orange. The catch is that you can only order them online and they won't ship for 3-5 weeks. I am not sure I can wait that long! =) Which do you like better, orange or green? Or is it too "girly" for a living room? I need some help here:

Opinions???

(Oh, and we got some furniture for our dining room last weekend! Hooray! I will post some pics after I get the pictures on the wall and find the last few decorations.)

thermometer

Most of you know that a few weeks ago Evelyn got REALLY sick. Fever reaching over 104 for days. At one point she was so hot that she started shaking in my arms as I held her. Very scary. And as anyone with a kiddo knows, when you call the doctor late in the night the first thing they ask is "What is your child's temperature?" And of course, you want to be able to give them an accurate reading when they ask, right? Well, I was CERTAIN that Evelyn had a high fever, but to be honest, our thermometer STINKS! It is a "forehead" thermometer that we picked up at BabiesRUs after we couldn't get the ear one we already had to work. I would test the thermometer on myself and get anything from 78 to 94 degrees, so I was doubtful that it was reading Evelyn's temp correctly. We needed a new (and hopefully more accurate thermometer). I did some Internet research (honestly, what did we do before google?) and found this AMAZING product. It is the same brand of the one at the pediatrician's office, but the lower end one. I ended up buying mine on amazon.com here for just over $30 and shipping was free. This thing is so cool! I couldn't stop playing with it when we got it. I took my temp over and over, then took Michael's until he got annoyed. I would recommend this to anyone who has kids. It is so easy to use. You just swipe the probe over the forehead while pressing the button and seconds later you have a reading as "accurate as a rectal thermometer". I would say this this thermometer is on my top ten must have for baby list. I can actually get a reading on Evelyn while she is crawling around. So, if any of you are looking for a good thermometer, I think that your search is over.

just a few things...

Can it be...my last post was almost a month ago! Geez. So my excuse is lame: things have been really busy back here at the ranch. Between having a broken toe, shopping for new furniture, planning a birthday party, going to the gym trying to get back in shape before baby #2 is in the picture, and just doing the normal cooking and cleaning...I haven't had much free time. Ok, I admit, I have found time to watch Good Morning America most mornings, but hey, some things have priority around here and Diane Sawyer is worthy! (totally random, but the husband jokes that I have a crush on Diane Sawyer. I think he may be right!)



So, here are just a few things that have been on my mind:

1. I REALLY want to run another marathon soon. It has been 2 years and I have the itch. Ok, so maybe I should start out with a 5k, but nonetheless, I am ready to train for something...for anything! I like having a goal in mind. It helps me fight off my laziness and my excuses to not get out and run.

2. We have decided that we would start making our on bread rather than buying it. Michael made two loaves last week. They turned out delicious. It is in his blood, I guess. I took over and made two loaves this week. They turned out like crap. I think Michael will be in charge of all things bread.

3. Speaking of bread, I am afraid that our beautiful daughter is a carb addict. The girl LOVES her carbs...bread, waffles, pancakes, cheerios, tortillas, crackers. You get the picture.

4. Evelyn has started to walk! It is pretty funny to watch. Has anyone ever seen a newborn calf try to take their first steps. That is what she reminds me of. Her legs are all wobbly (is that a word??) and she is still not confident in her new found skill. Her newest record is 10 steps. Way to go little girl. The trick to get her to walk is to put a cheerio on the couch arm and make her go get it (see #3).

5. I had a goal to clean out or extra bedroom by March. It doesn't look like that is going to happen.

6. Michael encouraged me to read a chapter out of one of his old books about dating. Until he explained further, I was utterly confused.


So, that is why I haven't posted in almost a month....nothing too interesting is going on. Hopefully the next month will be more exciting. =)

mama drama

I broke my little toe Saturday morning. And it hurts like crazy! I was making some coffee and pancakes with Evelyn before Michael got up. I had everything out of the pantry except the vanilla. So I open the door, take a step forward and heard a crack as I feel pain in my left foot. I sounded like a pencil breaking. Not thinking it was more than a stubbed toe, I grab the vanilla, set it on the counter and then took a look at my foot. Oh boy! My little toe was at a right angle from my foot. Seriously! When I had stepped forward, all of my toes must have made it into the pantry except my little one. I sat on the floor, snapped my toe back into place and called for Michael. There must have been a seriousness in my voice because he came flying out of the bedroom to see what the matter was. I told him what had just happened and he sent me to rest on the couch. I rested for a while then decided that I was ok and went ahead and finished up the pancakes, cleaned up the kitchen and did dishes...all while hobbling on on leg. It wasn't until I did some Internet searching later that day that it hit me. I really broke my toe. I need rest. It will take a while to heal. Ug. I was going to start a new workout routine at the gym Saturday too. bummer. So according to google, there is really nothing you can do about a broken toe except wait for it to heal. It can take anywhere from weeks to months to completely back to normal. I know it will be better than it is today, but I have no clue how I am going to take care of Evelyn by myself tomorrow. I can't even walk to the kitchen without struggling and hopping along. Mom, are you busy this week?? =) I will just be happy when I can walk to the bathroom in less than 5 minutes!

I tried to post a picture of the damage, but my computer is not cooperating. Because I just know that everyone is dying to see a photo of a swollen, bruised & ugly toe! (Maybe later if I can get it to work.)

10 months

10 months...whew! Evelyn is starting to look and act like a little kid now more than a baby. She is such a busy body and so happy! Here is here 10 month update and the things she is doing now:

• starting to stand on her own without holding on to things
• playing peek-a-boo around the couch
• eating anything that you put in front of her!
• "dancing" when she hears music
• riding in her new bike seat
• still loves trips to the park to swing
• yelling really LOUD and high-pitched for no reason (I can't help but laugh at it!)
• pulling all of her clothes out of her bottom drawer one by one
• playing with tupperware in the kitchen while I cook dinner
• riding on Daddy's shoulders
• playing in the bathtub
• giving kisses (with a wide-open mouth!)