Its been a couple of years!!!

Wow, so its been a while since we posted here huh. Will and I were talking about this little blog last night and I honestly forgot about it and then someone mentioned if I was ever going to post on here again. OOPS!
Well we have done a few things since the last post. The garage is all painted and re-roofed. Still working on the garage door. I went and got one off from Craig's list. Well I thought I would try and save us some bucks but in the end I think I made Will cuss and it doesn't work so I have to special order one.

We laid some new flooring in the kitchen and hallway and we love it. Ok so this would make the third floor for the kitchen but hey, who is counting right?

We got new carpet in the upstairs.

Before:

 After:

So you may be asking, why in the world didn't we just refinish them? Well there was very wide spaces between each board which allowed lots and lots of dirt to collect. For this OCD gal the vacuuming of those grooves would kill me every time. Also there were big chucks cut out and something else put in and they didn't match at all. It was always cold up there and the squeaky floor boards about put me over the edge sometimes. There was NO sneaking in to check on the boys at night. The carpet was easier, cheaper and make the whole upstairs warmer and quieter which makes me happy.

Will have to find my House pictures CD before I can post more so I can have some before and after pictures.  Have a wonderful week. (hopefully not another year or two!)

Our latest project

I know it has been a while since I have posted but we have been super busy and this takes a spot on the back burner. We actually have several projects in the works as I am sure that doesn't surprise anyone. This project started with a $15.00 find at Menards. We found a 5 gallon bucket of white outdoor paint on the oops shelf for $15.00. Yep $15.00! So of course we snatched it up and began scrapping all the old paint off.

First Zoe and Everette wanted to earn a toy (ok so they just wanted a toy but we said earn). They were suppose to scrap an hour a day for three days. Well they actually spent a few minutes scraping here and there with more water and bathroom breaks but hey they are 9 and that beloved toy wasn't yet bought and right in front of them like that golden carrot at the end of a string.

Will put on a new (well old but new for the garage) door that will actually close now. We finally got the whole garage scrapped and it was a job. Last night we started the painting process and it is looking better already. Of course it would have been torture to keep the boys out of that white paint so we let them help.

Next will be a new roof and garage door and it will be much better. I am thinking about doing a trim color or door color for a pop of color so let me know what you think.

As I stood back last night I noticed people must think we love white. We have 2 white cars, a white house and now a white garage. Actually it all happened that way by chance.

Its a Party! Mad Scientist Party that is!

Noteworthy Birthday Boy Birthday Invitation

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View the entire collection of cards.

Ev's Volcano

I actually like How Uncle Rob put it on Facebook today. Mad scientist with minions!
Everette got a volcano kit for Christmas so the boys put it together Saturday morning. To the mad scientists dismay they had to wait until the plaster dried before they could actually set the volcano off. Sunday they were able to finally set it off. Ev (I mean mad scientist) was so excited he ran to get his lab coat only to discover mom stored it somewhere and she couldn't remember where. What kind of mom is she to interfere with science.
Emmett couldn't be left out so dad found him some goggles too. You can hear Mackay growling in the background too. There wasn't a grand explosion like we all thought but they loved it and had a great time putting it all together.
Thanks Grammy for the awesome Christmas present.

A New Project

This is the newest project I did this morning before the boys woke up. I have never made one of these before and am still learning the whole zipper and backwards concepts. I made this for Everette to take all his Nintendo DS games to Texas and hopefully keep them all in one spot. My original thought was to fit the DS inside too but with the Nerf covering it doesn't really fit. Everette is so unorganized so I know this is wishful thinking that this will help but its worth a shot I guess. To my sister Abby: I am so trying to help you out while he is there.

Monster Shirts

I have been having so much fun making monster shirts. Maybe just as much fun as Ev has been drawing them. Here are 2 new ones. These are so easy to make out of hand-me-down t-shirts and a little knit fabric from Joann's.

Everette's shirt and drawing:
Emmett's shirt

Anyone want one? Send me your drawing! Heehee

The Boys Get To Camp On The Living Room Floor

Mom is chipping and mudding all the cracks in the boys room so their room currently looks like this. Full of dust and only their bunk bed in the room.

We dragged their mattress downstairs and put them in the living room. Dad told them that since it was summer they could stay up and watch TV. They just had to remember to shut it off before they fell asleep. Mom had him say it twice because she couldn't believe what he said. They were so excited. Well at 4 am mom came down and shut off the TV and they were both sound alseep. (why were we up at 4 am? The storm woke up Mackay.) Emmett fell asleep pretty quickly but we have no idea how late Everette was up for. They both slept in till 9 this morning. Yep, 9 am. Mom and dad however were up at 4 am.

Well mom isn't quit done yet so tonight they get to have another slumber party in the living room. Those lucky ducks.

New Porch Chairs

My latest project are these chairs I got at the ISU warehouse sale for $3.00. They were really comfortable to sit in so we bought them with hopes I could figure out how to redo them.

I took off everything and spray painted it white. The next hard part was finding the fabric. I really wanted a bold print with a bright color but I am very limited with outdoor fabric here in the corn fields of Iowa. So I settled on this fabric from Walmart. I thought it was ok and would have to do. I know, not bright nor a bold print. The Top was really easy to do and took me about an hour for both chairs. The bottom on the other hand was pretty hard for this novice sewer. I wanted to put the piping on like they had to give that finished look. It surely isn't perfect but ok if you don't really inspect it and just sit down. The surprise was that there are springs in the seat. I just added a little extra padding wa-la. Now we have 2 new chairs for the porch for under $15.00.

Summer is here!

For us here in Iowa summer has officially begun. The last 3 days it has gotten at least 96 degrees out if not hotter. Today with the mix of rain and heat (wearable air) it was muggy. Will drug out the little pool for the boys to splash in and boy did they love it. Cold water and all.

Emmett started out fully dressed and just jumped right in of course. He then started taking clothing off one piece at a time. Of course caught him just in time as the underwear was coming down.

Mackay's turn

Well usually Emmett gives me a run for my money but today is Mackay's Turn.

First we start out with him crawling his fastest to the stairs. When he hears me behind him, he steps it up into a higher gear. Next he has discovered the bathroom. He loves unrolling the toilet paper and flushing the toilet.

Kitchen Update

Before:

We took out a wall and had to relocate the waste pipe and bathroom. We tore out the really ugly nasty green carpet and laid tile. We started with basically nothing. We had to buy all new appliances and cabinets. Well we are not done with the kitchen yet but I stood back and was amazed on how far we have come in the 3 years. So here are some before and after pictures to compare. We need a new narrower fridge and the micro is then going above the stove and off my counter.

After:

Kitchen Backsplash

Nan is becoming quite the tiling expert. Check it out.

Almost Ten Months

Well Mackay is almost ten months and is feeding himself already. I have been trying to feed him and it has been getting worse and worse as battling with him. So today I gave him the spoon and bowl and he went right to it like he has been doing it forever.

They like him best!

I have always told Will that my parents like him better than me. My dad calls and always ask me how Will is and if I am taking good care of him. Well today I get a box from my mother today and look what comes for Will! Not just 1 super size box but 4!

Ok I did get something.

(one small bag of 100 calorie cookies)

Meet the new member of our family!

Thanks to my wonderful sister Abby who has some serious E-bay skills. I have a new fancy sewing machine that I LOVE! I haven't named her yet but it will come soon. Yes a her. Have to have some femininity in this house.

Well here are some projects I have done. I made this t-shirt for me.

After I made mine Ev asked me to make him one with a monster he drew. I said sure. My sister Joanna sent me a lot of Fay School shirts so I thought I would put them to use.

Front of shirt before.

Now after. I put a pocket on it for him.

Back of shirt before.

Back of shirt after. Glad he made a simple drawing for me to start off with. I am having so much fun with this fancy machine.

You just can't turn your back on that child

I turned away to go and get my phone to text Aunt Abby we got the box and when I came back 10 seconds later I found this...

.

Where was Ev? Outside trying to sell his art to earn money for a trip to Texas.

Maybe while Ev goes to Texas I will ship Wood Gnome off to Georgia.

Growing into a wild child like his brother....

His hair is sticking up because he smeared it with jelly and then insisted on feeding himself. He put the spoon in and growled at me and then would laugh. He wouldn't let go of the spoon with his teeth.

Soda Can Bug

Everette got a Soda Can Robo-Bug for Christmas and has been waiting so patiently (well kinda) to put it together. Last night after dinner they finally had time to sit down together and assemble the bug.

The finished Product.

Like the big hole in the sock? He told me his toe grew really fast and pushed out.

Proud Mama Video

My babe is crawling, kinda. (army style but fast)

He started out in the living room with the boys and ended up at the kitchen door within a minute.

Sledding off the deck!

Will decided to make the boys a little sled hill off the deck. This worked perfectly for Emmett's little legs and the boys loved it.

Emmett takes a face plant in the snow but then pops right back up and ready to go again.

Ev had to try going down on his stomach.

You can kinda see how much snow we have gotten this year. It is almost to the top of our burn barrel in the back ground.