Playroom

So, here is the new "playroom/guest room/future boys room"

The ladder isn't on the bunk beds because Cooper won't stop trying to climb it. Jackson wouldn't dare - he is too cautious, but Cooper was scaling it like spiderman.

I ordered the vinyl wall decals from etsy. I wanted something clean/simple for artwork. I think they turned out okay, but they kind of remind me of a wall paper border (boo).

Aren't these little suitcases cute? I bought them on sale a while back, and had no where to put them. But now they work perfect. Above them I have both of the boys' birth announcements.

Presto-chango.

About a month or two ago, we realized we needed to buy some new furniture. Okay, so we didn't need to buy it, but we had bought a few pieces for Jackson's room just before Cooper was born. Our plan was to, in the future, buy some other pieces so we could have a bedroom set for the two of them when they one day share a room. However, the furniture was discontinued and went on sale, so we watched it for several months, and called like crazy people once a week asking how many pieces were left in stock. Anyway, then we had to get rid of our guest room furniture. The problem is, I really like our guest room furniture. Well, I really like the fact that when I worked at Crate and Barrel, I bought it on my first day for $100. Yep, the perks of being an employee there were AMAZING. I have to say, I paid that store more way more than I made, but I got SO many great deals.
We sold the mattress, and stashed the end tables and bed around the house. The dresser is now in our master closet. I don't want to get rid of any of it, because I don't want to have to pay full price to replace it one day.
The worst part of switching the room over is losing a comfortable place for our guests to stay. We love having family (especially you, mom!) and friends come visit. But, the best part of switching the room is that I get to decorate it! I LOVE to paint. I LOVE color. Those of you who have been to our house know that it is a rainbow. Literally, we have brown, red, green, yellow, blue ...
We will NEVER sell our house. Oh well! I love the way the color makes me feel - it makes me happy to have happy colors on the walls. Maybe someone else will like it, too. We will cross that bridge when we get to it.
Back to the point of this blog - Now, if you come to stay, you get to pick top or bottom bunk! Here are some before and after pictures. We're pretty much done - but I am still trying to find the right stuff for the bathroom. I guess I will post that later :)
Normally, I would have made the curtains - or something in the room. I just happened to find bedding and curtains that really worked this time.
I do love the room, now. We use it as a play room, and there is a lot of floor space for the boys to play. The closet (which once held all of my gift-wrapping supplies and craft stuff) is now packed full of toys. Eventually, Jackson will move into it, and then Cooper will move to his room. But right now, everyone is sleeping through the night so well - I don't want to do anything to change it. Here is the before:
The curtains are probably my favorite in our house (that I made). I love the toile silk, and I actually made them relatively even (which is a rarity). I have these on a hanger in our closet - can't bear to get rid of them either. Maybe we will have a giant house one day with a room that just begs for these curtains. Right? Plus, they cost a lot. Fabric is expensive. Well, the fabric I tend to like is expensive. The dresser is from Ikea - we (meaning, colin) just added hardware. It matches perfectly with the bed/end tables.

Bedding is from Steinmart - like 5 years ago - I found it in the clearance bin. Made the toile pillows to match the curtains, and sewed the fringe on backward so looks a bit ridiculous (lesson learned). Lamps are cheap - bases from Target, and shades were from Walmart - just hot glued some black ribbon to the edges.

We picked up black frames we saw on sale for a long time after we moved in to the house. Then, we gathered lots of pictures of family and friends and had them turned into black and white and adjusted the sizes we needed. It took a bit of time to figure out which pictures were going in which frame - what size to make them, and then arrange the frames on the wall. I laid them out on the floor, and my genius husband figured out where to hang the nails and make it look nice.
Bye-bye old guest room. Hello, playroom. I'm too tired to upload more photos. I will post the after pictures tomorrow.

Let's get this party started

Well, I picked up some cake from Market Street, and after dinner we sang to Cooper and let him dig in. And that he did. He wasn't so sure about having it on his hands, but he enjoyed eating it. Thought this was the funniest picture, ever. He just kept waving his hands in the air and yelling with excitement.
Happy Birthday Cooper!

Cooper's birthday

Well, we're off to a rough start. I made a mess cooking bacon this morning, and while i was fussing at the boys to get out of the kitchen and go play, and cleaning my stovetop, the stove sort of, uhm, broke. actually, the electrical start mechanism just kept firing over and over, and it was beginning to smell like gas. anyway, after a phone call to colin (shouting over the screaming because fell off the couch backward and hit his head on the coffee table), and running to two neighbors houses to help me with the boys, neither of which were home and i wasn't about to leave them with my other crazy neighbor (even for 5 minutes). anyway, i managed to get into the attic and shut the gas line off, and then figure out which breaker to flip (which took about 15 tries because they are labeled wrong). anyway, we did not blow up. i take it all as a sign from God to relax. I was sounding a bit crazy fussing at the kids at 8:15 am. So, i threw the boys in the car, and off we went to sci-tech, a new science kids museum in Frisco.
We were a little late, and when I got out of the car, I realized that it was REALLY cold - well, like 55 and windy - but i had them in t-shirts, and cooper was barefoot. MOTHER OF THE YEAR, right here! The boys had fun, but it was mostly over their heads. I think they enjoyed it though. Forgot my camera (and then realized it was in purse afterall once I got home) but a friend of ours, Heather, got some of the boys. So, maybe i will post some later.
On our way hom I remembered I was out of lunch meat, and I couldn't make the boys anything in the microwave or the oven or on the stove, and since neither of them will eat pbj ... we stopped at got 3 happy meals from McDonalds. Delicious. Mmmm. I never eat there, but that little bitty cheeseburger was the best thing I have eaten in a long time.
Now the boys are asleep, and I have to figure out when I can go pick up a little cake or cupcakes for coopers "party" today. We are really having a party for him on halloween, but it would be nice to celebrate with just the 4 of us. I was thinking about baking something, but once again, can't use any of the appliances. Guess I'll get off of the hook for dinner, too : )
I'll post pictures of Cooper and the cake later.

October Wrap-Up

So, it is near the end of October, and I haven't posted on any of our fun events from the month. I've been busy planning Cooper's birthday party. His actual birthday is this Thursday, and we're so excited to celebrate him turning ONE!
Here are a few highlights from the last few weeks -

A trip to the duck pond

And a trip to Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano. Jackson got to collect apples, grind corn, and milk a "cow"

and churn butter ...

Jackson enjoying reading as always -

The boys hanging out on the couch bright and early in the morning... each with a sippy cup of milk and a bowl of cheerios (that keeps them happy until I wake up enough to make breakfast).
I realize it isn't a very cute picture - but it makes me smile. Every morning in our house begins just like this.
We went to a place called "JumpNLand" not too long ago where they have several huge inflatable slides/bounce houses. Colin was off that morning so I left Cooper at home with him. It was nice to have some one-on-one with Jackson. He had the best time. He is all the way on the left in this picture - holding hands with his friends Emma and Nick. I was impressed that he climbed all the way to the top ... he tends to be a little bit cautious. But, he loved every minute and keeps asking to go back.

And here is Cooper looking guilty. Yep, he found the crayons.
And finally, here are the boys saying "cheers" to David. Thanks for the shout-out, David. We miss you!

Final Post on Louisiana

Okay, I know that you're sick of seing pictures of the reunion - and want more pictures of the boys - that is the point of this blog, after all. But, these are the last of the pictures from our trip. I promise.

Mary, Jared, and myself - and no, I didn't cut really short bangs. I just went bald after I had Cooper. Well, it happened with Jackson, too. But that hair grew out just in time for me to lose it all again after Cooper. I try to do a comb-over maneuver, but I am relatively unsuccessful.
Go ahead, laugh away.

Carmen and JP. Aren't they adorable? They were also enjoying some time out together - Jp's parents were watching their 2 month old little boy - Joseph. I still haven't met the little guy, but my goodness, all of his pictures are adorable. He was a tiny, tiny little guy (and still is).

Jared and JP - two of my best guy friends from highschool.

Reminiscing with Emily and JP.

JP was stealing diet coke from the bar after it closed. I'm sure he was caught on camera. I am not condoning this behavior, but I guess in a way I was ... because I made him pour me a glass, too. Rebels.

Sarah and Kourtney - cutting a rug


After a night of catching up. I was so great to see everyone.

As we were leaving, Colin realized we didn't have any small bills to tip the valet. So, we walked into the casino area, and he convinced me we should play $20 on the slots - (I was wanting to just find an atm and get some cash out). The fourth or fifth time he pulled the lever, we won. $319! So, in a couple of days I won more money than I ever have in my life! What fun!
It was a great way to end the night.

Lake Charles

So, after we left Alexandria, we made the quick drive down to Grandma Cathy and Uncle Daniel's house. On the way, Colin bought me a Lottery Bingo Ticket - something we always got when we would take a road trip together (though it has been years ... ). anyway, we won $50! I don't ever win anything. It was amazing!

Daniel and Colin - very dirty and sweaty after doing yard work all day.

Cooper and Grandma Cathy

Jackson loves their cat.
He tried pulling his tail, but luckily the cat is very old and didn't seem to care.

While we were there, I was lucky enough to visit with a dear friend, Maria, and her little girl Gianna. Maria was my youth director in highschool - and later my brother worked with her. I think I may have even worked with her one summer. Or was I just hanging out at your office, Maria? It's was A LONG time ago. I remember making lots of photo boards and working on "crafty" things... which I loved. Anyway, the point is, Maria had a big impact on my life. She was such a great role model at a very important time in my life. And, what makes our friendship even more special, is that her mom was my second grade teacher, Mrs. Angel Tartamella. Oh! What a wonderful person. I still remember so much from being in her classroom. And let's face it - I have a horrible memory. However many things stick out from being in Mrs. Tartamella's class -
1. I won a cambell's soup label contest (because of my wonderful mom). I don't remember how many I collected - but I do remember getting a lot of chocolate bars as a prize.
2. I remember how I couldn't write my name in cursive until we learned every letter that was in it. Well, with a name like a Elizabeth, I waited a long time. Myself, and another poor soul - Zach, had to write our names in print while everyone else showed off their cursive skills on their homework. : )
3. I remember practicing for our first communion - we pushed all the desks to the sides of the classroom and walked down the middle of the room.

What am i even writing about? Here is the summary - both mother and daughter made a huge impact on my life. And now, Maria has a precious, precious little munchkin, Gianna. They came over to visit at my mom's house. I did take some pictures with my mom's camera - but forgot to upload them to my laptop. Instead of calling my mom and walking her through it, and then walking her through how to email them to me (I love you, mom!) I am just going to post a link to Maria's blog where she posted some pictures, and gave me a nice little shout-out.
http://lewisland7.blogspot.com/2009/09/sweet-meet.html

Our main reason for making the trip to Louisiana this week was for my Ten-Year highschool reunion. On Friday night, we went to the homecoming football game. We lost. But, it was nice to visit with friends I hadn't seen in a long time! After the game, we went to OBs, a bar we used to go to even back in highschool (you only had to be 18 at that time).

Carmen, Emily, myself, Tricia, and Kourtney

Enjoying a night out without the kids!

The next day we had a picnic at Prien Lake Park.

Abby - my best friend, Emily's little girl. She is too cute. And tiny. And, she is walking! It's the sweetest site to watch that tiny little baby toddle around!

Here's Jackson with Tricia's little girls (she also has a little boy, Will). Aren't they sweet?

Saturday night we had a party at L'auberge Du Lac. There are some great pictures - but I have to post them later. I'm so tired of waiting for photos to upload right now. Off to work on Cooper's birthday party! I'll post the reunion photos soon!