A Little Girl Bathroom – Under the Sea

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This is the bathroom that took 3 years to complete – did we do any major repairs? did we take out the tub and sink? Did we redo the floor?

No. No. And no.

We painted, hung a shelf, and made some art.

3 years people. 3 years.

It’s totally my fault, I hit a wall on the project so it just stopped.

Let me explain.

When we started this project my daughter was three and wanted a Little Mermaid themed bathroom. I knew she would quickly grow out of that so I decided on a whimsy ocean theme.

The plan was to make stripes on the back wall alternating between white and light blue.

My sweet husband worked on this for a couple of days.

IMG_2296 When it was finished I liked it but the pencil lines going across the wall really bothered me as did the raised paint lines. I’m normally not so picky but this for some reason really irked me.

As the painting was wrapping up I was laying out random frames we had – soon after I spray painted them bright yellow.

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I used light weight denim material and covered pieces of cardboard which were the sizes of the frames.

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I found some walls decals on etsy and just printed out the pictures from the listing to create an outline of the sea creature I wanted to use.

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I completed almost all of the art when I came across a problem with the turtle art above – this was the only piece where I used the actual back of the frame to glue the denim to and now the art would not fit back into the frame. I did not have any left over denim fabric since it was left over from another project.

So the project stalled.

For two years.

The stripes stayed and the wall art sat on my bedroom floor.

And there it sat until Christmas time this year and I wanted to get this project -DONE.  I ended up tossing the turtle art and not using him and my husband sanded down the wall and we just put a coat of white paint on the wall. The art wall is white while all the other walls are light blue.

Here’s the final product. I love it.

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Some of the pieces received a little yellow bow.

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IMG_9033I glued on some yellow rick rack to create jellyfish tentacles and some stripes on the fish.

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Next time, I’ll show you how we (read: my husband) made this mermaid shelving unit.

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And to my husband – Thank you for everything you did to make this bathroom so special for our daughter!

 

Beach Bum

Our family is driving home today after spending a week at the beach.

It’s our annual family gathering and we had tons of fun (at least that’s what I am anticipating).

I’m so glad I cleaned the entire house, cleaned the bathrooms and kitchen, cleaned the bathrooms, made my bed before we left.

Once we get home, I’m planning on popping those frozen pizzas into the oven, throwing some laundry into the machine, and plopping myself on the couch.

After all, no need to rush into any cleaning too soon since it’s practically all done.

Minute to Win It Night

For the last 4 years, my family has all gathered for a week in Florida.

Since we are all spread out – Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Canada – it’s a wonderful time for us to come together and have fun.

Last year we started, what my boys hope, is a new tradition – Minute to Win It Night.

The boys loved watching Minute to Win It on tv so I thought it would be perfect for them to set up a night where everyone plays the games.

The boys spent a week of their summer, making posters, choosing teams (red team vs blue team), watching video clips, choosing the games, gathering supplies, and emailing everyone.

Take a look at how our Minute to Win It Night went.

Getting Forked – roll a quarter into the prongs of a fork – good game

Ready Spaghetti place spaghetti noodles through a soda can, carry the can from one table to another table while holding the spaghetti noodles in your mouth – okay game

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 Breakfast Scramble – Take the front covers of cereal boxes, cut each box into 16 pieces, and then race to see who can complete their puzzle first – good game

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Hut, Hut, Hike! – Bend over and hike toilet paper rolls between your legs and through a person’s arms 15 feet away – Hilarious game

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Marshmallow Match – Throw mini marshmallows into a bucket that is on top of a player’s head – good game

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Rapid Fire – Player must shoot rubber bands to knock a triangle stack of 6 cans completely off a platform – good game

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I’m pretty sure good times were had by all.

To me, the best part of the night is it involves everyone in the family, kids, adults, and grandparents. Truly lots of fun.

And family, you better start training for this year – word on the street this year is that there are new games a comin’!

Look Here!

Things intelligent adults say to try and make kids smile in a picture:

Look here!

Hey! Hey!! Hey!

 La la la la la la la la la

 

Grown up people yelling, flailing body parts, making faces, all to get a child to look at them.

Really foolish but for some reason it’s parenting skill #1,542 that you must have.

 

Taking pictures with one child can be challenging.

Throw in a few more kids and you’ve got yourself a real party.

We attempted this impossible feat when we were in Florida a few weeks ago.

 

I now present to you, “The Cousin Pictures: A Contrast in Feelings.”

The following two pictures are an ode to their love of animals.

Ahhhhhhh! So close. Three children looking, two children pointing out passing adults who might be willing to rescue them and take them away from these awful adults who keep yelling at them.

Oh no, the tables have turned, now it’s only two who are looking and the littlest one thinks everyone is crazy.

I think these are my favorites.

I call them, “A Portrait of Misery Meets Joy.”

A mercy peek to see if there’s been a change.

Is his misery making her happy? We might have some issues in a few years.

And sadly this is the best of them…

Two kids smiling at the camera, one smiling at the other, a happy baby, and a gorilla.

 

***Free Slurpee Day is tomorrow (Wed) at 7 – Eleven from 11 am – 7 am ******

Florence & Santa Barbara

Several weeks ago I flew out to California to attend the Florence and the Machines concert with my sister Kelly.

If you remember I had a slight concern about what people wear to concerts these days.

Here’s how we ended up looking…

Why, you ask, do I look like a 13 year old boy?

Because I assumed the weather channels prediction of 45 degree nights was wrong.

That’s why.

Turns out they were right.

My sleeveless sequined shirt was not going to cut it so we went to the Gap where I bought the stripped sweatshirt and then over to Nordstrom’s where I picked up these babies..

See, I knew comfy shoes would make an appearance.

I think things worked out in the end though because let’s just say my sequins would have been a little out of place.

The concert turned out to be amazing. It was held at the Santa Barbara Bowl, an outdoor amphitheater, which is nestled in the hills.

The opening act was Blood Orange – a one man synthesizing show. He was really good and has a very unique sound. I’ve been listening to him since the concert on You Tube.

And then Florence came on!

She was amazing – she sang and danced all around – a bit quirky, but lots of fun.

Seriously love every single one of her songs.

After a night of concert going what are two girls to do?

Why, go get facials at the Four Seasons, of course!

Uh huh. That’s how my sister rolls.

The Four freakin’ Seasons in Santa Barbara where Oprah lives!

And how do two girls who arrive at their appointment early and are told they do not have pool access spend the time?

At the pool of course!

This was the life I tell you.

I need to talk to my husband about getting us a second home out here:)

Thanks for a great trip Kelly!     

We’ll have to do it again.

Next  time I’ll treat you.     

How many stars do you think the LaQuinta gets?

Have a wonderful weekend!

Shark Week

This is “Shark Week” on the Discovery channel and the boys have enjoyed it immensely.

Each night they watch one of the hour long shows and discuss it afterwards as they go to bed. Enthusiastic retellings of vicious attacks, stories of missing limbs, and tales of the blood red water have me questioning whether the viewings should continue.

Their artwork also displays what they’ve been seeing.

Sadly, the people in their pictures never seem to make it back to shore.

Have a great weekend and remember to STAY OUT OF THE WATER!

Little Girl Swim Suits – soooo cute!

Last week we looked at summer dresses for us. This week it’s all about little girls and their swimsuits. Take a look at these adorable options. I choose all one pieces because something about little bitty girls in bikinis creeps me out . Of course, some of the bikinis I’ve seen teenagers wear creep me out even more.

Flamingo Ruffle One-Piece Swimsuit

Bee one-piece

Seashell Swimsuit

Pink Printed Fish Suit
Fish Swimsuit Skirt Set Circo Bay Dot Suit
Angora Pink Floral Suit 

Hello Kitty Stripped Suit 

Apple Fruit Salad Swimsuit 

Floral Halter Swimsuit 

Can’t wait until summer when those chunky thighs are hanging out of their suits!

Just to be clear, I’m talking about little kid thighs, not my own.