A new direction (Office Reveal)

I've decided that in our new house, I want to go in a new direction. I want to use colors I've never used before. I love the beachy, airy, shabby chic (to a point) look and have for years. Because I love it so much, I use a lot of light greens, blues, tans and a lot of white.

When we moved in our house, it just felt different. I knew I could make my style work with it, but it just wasn't feeling it. The old creaky floors, original cabinets and split-level look just didn't scream "beachy" to me.

An office is a place where you can take a little bit more of a risk. When we moved in, the walls were a deep gray (which I didn't mind), but the ceiling was light green the bookcase fronts were periwinkle blue.




I was feeling kind of brave, so, I really went for it. Here is the result!





The bookcases definitely aren't just right yet. I want to get some nicer storage boxes and possibly find a better set-up for the printer.




This office re-do was a labor of love! The walls are "Victory Blue." It took 4 coats to get the coverage we were looking for. Every bit of trim was painted in Ultra-White. I haven't been able to paint the doors yet. You can tell how different the trim colors are a few pictures above.

I still have a few finishing touches to go before it will be done. I'm looking for a rug and a new light fixture, but I'm not in a hurry. We love how this turned out! It feels original to the house and I love the huge map. It was a simple solution for a big wall without cramming it full of family pictures. I have plans for those in other areas.

This is how the office usually looks:)



This guy likes playing in there too.


Hope you enjoyed my little office makeover :)

The Help is Here

There have been lots of fun things going on around these parts, but the MOST fun thing is....

My mom is here!!!!!!!

She officially moved to the coast yesterday and we are so happy to have her. If you haven't been following along, catch up here.


Today has been easy-breezy. I can't begin to describe the difference it makes to have an extra set of hands around. Of course, the babies have been perfect little angels today, but they always do that to me :)

Mom wouldn't let me take a picture of her, but she's here and we're having a great time.


On a different note, Harper had a great time a few days ago at the Police Department's "Demo Day!"






Hopefully the only ride he'll ever take back there.




And just for my documentation, Harper watched me make coffee a few days ago and begged for some, so I gave in.


Um, he LOVED it and wanted more! Mommy said no :)

Happy Monday,

Hallway Reveal (if you can call it that.)

A few days ago, I left all 5 of you hanging when I said we were doing something fun in our hallway.

The next day, we had horrible thunderstorms and lost internet for a few days. We're back now, so... drumroll please!

Before



After










The darker wall stripe is Taupe 3 and the lighter is Stone 2, both by Valspar.

In total, we transformed the hallway for about $15.00 We had the Taupe 3, leftover from Harper's room. The chandelier was given to us by my mother-in-law. All of the decor, we already had. The only thing we had to buy was a small can of Stone 2, which was about $15.00

At first, we were wondering if the colors were too similar and not noticeable. Once it all dried though, it turned out just the way we wanted. Subtle and not in-your-face as soon as you walk in. A lot our family members didn't even notice at Hollin's Dedication Day lunch!

There are lots of "whoops" areas where the paint dripped, or got onto the baseboards, but we weren't very careful on purpose. Unfortunately, ALL of the trim in the house has to be repainted because it is almost beige in some areas.

I would like to replace the cheap Wal-Mart mirror with some sort of sunburst mirror.


We are planning to replace the dark tile with something light and simple.


I'm looking forward to changing out the decor on the entry table as the holidays and seasons change.

Stay tuned for our office (semi) makeover!!

Spring into change

The gorgeous weather lately has had me all kinds of motivated. I've been motivated to do everything.

Cook.

Clean.

Try new activities with the kids.

Shop. (quite limited here :)

Get outside.

Make the house a home.

Party plan.

Craft.

It's fun to have motivation to do all of these things, but as we moms know, there just aren't enough hours in the day. So what do we do? We focus one what we can, when we can. One thing suffers so that we can get another thing done and so on and so on.

I convinced hubby to try something I've been wanting to do forever. Here's a hint. It's SO hard to figure out what we've done:)

(Blurry night photo. Best I've got.)


I'm so thrilled with the result and I will share pics as soon as I can take a daylight photo.

It seems like it takes three times as long to get a project done as it used to. I am busy trying to entertain/keep babies happy while Jimmy does most of the work. He can only work so much when he is always sleep deprived, so we do what we can. Our house is a complete wreck and I would be mortified if anyone came over, but we have a pretty hallway to show for it!

The babies have been pretty good the last few days. Hollin decided to have her worst meltdown ever today and I think it may be because she didn't feel well.

(You'd think I would've learned to remove my knee from baby photos.)

She cried for at least 30 minutes, if not more. I did let her cry it out. I picked her up after I couldn't take it anymore and she fell asleep. Oh and Harper was saying, "Mama outside, mama, mama, MAMA!!!" the whole time she was screaming. It was fun.


So, that is life right now. I feel like I am in a constant state of "overwhelmed" since Hollin was born, but things are constantly changing and babies keep growing. I try to adapt as best I can. Some days I think I rock at this whole mom-of-two thing and then some days, not so much. I'm trying to soak in all of these little moments. Even the screaming infant, the demanding preschooler, the dog that needs to be let out at the most inconvenient times and the teeny changes that we make to our home when we can find the time. Maybe even the balls of dog hair I can see under my bed and in corners of the house. Mixed with dried chunks of play-doh.

There are so many changes happening here and it's all (mostly) fun. My mom is moving here permanently next week. More on that here. I'm planning for Harper's 3rd birthday party, Easter, preparing for construction to begin and trying to make my house presentable for all of the above. I may even try to throw in a pool party some time this year. I wish I could invite every single one of you!

I'm not going to flatter myself with thinking that I have a ton of readers, but what are you changing/looking forward to?

Happy Friday,

High maintenance and crying it out

After nearly 4 1/2 months of watching my sweet girl, I've come to realize that she is high maintenance. She is a SWEET baby, but loves attention. All. The. Time.

She is a big ham and will smile at anyone. She is so outgoing and in true girly fashion, wants to be in the middle of whatever is going on.

Harper was never like that. He was a calm, easy-going, content baby, but usually very serious. He could entertain himself right from the start.


He still does!

Hubby and I spent between 5 and 6 hours cleaning out and re-organizing our garage today. Hollin just wouldn't stand for it unless she was blissfully asleep. When she was awake, watching from her sleeper just wasn't enough. She wanted to be held. When I tried to lay her down on her play mat, she wailed and wailed until someone would pick her up.

I'm nearly to the point where I am willing to let her cry it out. I know there are so many opinions about this, but I am not exaggerating when I say I can't get anything done unless she is asleep. She is still only sleeping for about 45 minutes at a time.

I'm so torn about letting her cry it out. I never had to do this with Harper, so it's the first time I'm having to think about it. I know that it won't damage her for the rest of her life, I'm just worried about how long I can stand to hear her cry.

We'll get it figured out. One way or another. It's getting from here to there that's hard.

Prayers welcomed :)

Midweek Confessions

Thank goodness for these confessions, because I am seriously lacking with the blog material lately!

I am exhausted. I always get up when Harper wakes up and that can be anywhere between 5:30-7:30am. I go hard all day and start to feel really sleepy at lunchtime when he goes down for his nap. I cannot get these kids to sleep at the same time so I can sneak in a power nap! Even still, I'm usually up until midnight. Sometimes 1am. I know :( I just can't go to bed any earlier, I've tried.

Harper is still being really good, for the most part. I just can't believe that life is just a teeny bit easier now. I never thought we'd get here! He was definitely a booger this morning when trying to get him dressed for Preschool, but that is usually every time he has to go.

It kills me when I see kids at his Preschool wearing longalls and smocked dresses.


I know they are cute and all, but there is no way I will let Harper wear his best clothes to Preschool. I will for special occasions (or those few times when those are the only clean clothes he has.) *Guilty*

Speaking of the longalls, I will admit that Harper only had one pair and whenever he wore them (maybe twice), my family members would say that he looked "different." He has never been the longall type. It just isn't him.

I saved the last two size 4 diapers that Harper had left in his drawer yesterday. (Yep, size 4 and almost 3 years old. He is skinny!) With him being potty trained, he was just wearing them during naps and nighttime. We got him some Pull-Ups to replace the diapers. As much as I love the fact that he is potty trained, it was sad to put them in the keepsake drawer.

I confess that I don't think the new Bachelor is cute, whatsoever. You would not see me standing in line, vying for a date with this guy. Blech.

Speaking of finding others unattractive, my husband SWEARS to me that he doesn't think Kim Kardashian is pretty at all. He says that mom Kris and Kourtney are way prettier.


Happy Wednesday!

I might be out of my mind

This year, Easter falls on Sunday, April 8th. Harper's 3rd (wow) birthday is April 5th.

Jimmy and I talked it over and decided that we will celebrate his birthday on Saturday, April 7th and then of course Easter (and all corresponding activities) will be the next day.

This year's birthday party theme is..............


John Deere Tractors!

Truth be told, Harper could care less what KIND of tractor he's looking at, but working with the green and yellow should be fun!

Part of me wants to go all out because I feel like my little boy deserves it.

He really deserves it after learning to say, "If you touch my Sissy, I'll beat you up!"

I'm excited to make our new digs all festive. On the flip side, however, I have to be realistic. How much can I really do in one weekend? I know I can squeeze in a lot, so I just might do that. It's all part of the fun I suppose.

I LOVE preparing for this time of year and especially planning my first baby's party.

Let the fun begin!

Fun messes

I think I may have found something that Harper likes better than the ipad.

Play-doh!

He received 4 containers for Christmas and I have been very apprehensive about letting him play with it. Not because of the mess, but because I was afraid he might try to eat it or feed it to the dog.

He has had a GREAT time with it! Today, he wanted popcorn and crackers after he got home from Preschool, so I let him snack and play. Mommy accidentally knocked over the popcorn, but he was so entertained by it, I had to snap a pic.


We have a little bit of dog hair, some play-doh, crackers and popcorn all over the floor. But, it's all in the name of a good time.

I have discovered that Hollin really enjoys watching TV. I know there are many moms out there who feel strongly about not letting the TV babysit for their babies, but honestly, if it buys me 15 minutes to clean up the above mess, I will do it.

She really likes Dora the Explorer!



That's all that's poppin' in the Cushing home these days. I do have a few projects that I'm working on, so stay tuned!



:)