Farewell, Old Friend

Our faithful old car is sold. It's 12 years old now, we've owned it since 2004. It was the most reliable car ever, and has never needed a major repair. We miss it already! It served us so faithfully, and saved us so much money over the years. All the best to the young girl who bought it as her first car! I hope it's as good to her as it has been to us.

178803 miles. Honda's can run forever though, can't they?

New "Cabinets"

You've seen my kitchen cabinets, I'm sure. They are actually original to this 1952 house, and well...'nuff said. Over all this time, they actually didn't even close anymore, and I was getting increasing frustrated with them. So I had an idea...to remove them! Re-facing/replacing them is too much cost right now, and even new hardware is too much (wasted) money, when the whole thing needs (and will eventually get) an overhaul. Taking them off completely seemed like the better option, to me. (Note: I left the 4 upper cabinet doors alone. They all still work and close perfectly, I only did this to the bottom cabinets)

MY BIG IDEA. It involved me using my super awesome sewing skills (hah!). I found little tension rods for 2.50 each, and spent $10 on 2 yards of fabric. So for 3.75 per cupboard door - this is what I came up with!!! Bonus - Brian really liked both the idea, and the look. Whew!

Doors, be gone!! I, being raised by a carpenter, and now married to one, did the proper thing. I filled all the screw holes with wood filler, sanded, and touched up the paint. Yes, despite me choking on the smell of sawdust and avoiding the touch of raw wood (aahhhhh. Gives me the willies!), I *have* picked up a thing or two over the years.

All done!! It's really cute, super functional, way better looking than before, and machine washable!! It actually felt really good to complete a project in only 1 day, and with no help from Brian at all.

I had 3 decent sized scraps...I literally just started sewing. The kids *loved* watching me. Kenna declared the sewing machine to be quite magical. I made this project with out measuring or pinning, or anything! Freestylin' :-) Which is actually a bad idea for those who are not experienced sew-ers.

Idea: a place to put school books and pencils etc, when we need the table for lunch etc.

I held the fabric up to the chair and made the "slipcover part". Then for the pocket. My inexperience shines through...I sewed the pocket across the bottom seam to attach it, but couldn't sew it up the sides to attach it, without sewing through the sleeve I already made. HAH. So I pinned it up, and it works!! YAY!

So today, I need to rip out the side seams on the chair cover part, sew on the pocket, and re-sew up the sides. Simple little project, even with that mishap, this only took minutes. Mind you, it's not exactly "square" or perfect, but it's close enough:-)

EDIT:After I posted this, I ripped out the side seams, sewed on the pocket, and sewed 'er back up. Done! It is actually really good looking, and will be very functional for us this school year. I think I might need to go buy one more yard of fabric and make some for all the other chairs. :-) I'm inspired! I love simple organizational functionality for small spaces!

Swimming Pool - Video

Yesterday afternoon, Brian had a bit of work to do at one of his boss's homes (on the market currently for 1.4 mil - on the water). We were given permission to use the pool for the afternoon, while he worked! Completely fun!!

The kids were immediately in love, and, knowing it was for sale...
Kenna: We should buy this house! If we bought this house, we'd never have to go to the beach again! We should do it!!
Mom: We can't afford it though
Kenna: How much is it?
Mom: One million dollars
Kenna, jaw visibly dropping, looking impressed: Wow! Then I definitely want it!
haha, ME TOO!

We had an amazing time, and after Brian was done with working, he joined us, and some friends came too! I didn't pull the camera out then, but I should have. The big kids progressed to no water wings and real swimming, and Grey progressed to only using the water wings, and no additional floaties! There was lots of diving (complete with degrees of difficulty and tricks - thank you Olympics!), throwing people in, frisbee in and out of the water...especially once Daddy and Tom joined the fun!

Such a nice family day!!

Loving my Big Boy!

Self portrait

Water and more water! Bliss. If you lived here, you'd definitely need a boat and jet skis! :-)

Pinterest Party - Recipes

Saturday night I hosted a Pinterest Party. It was super fun! The rules? Bring something you made from Pinterest. Even if it flops! If you're on Pinterest, you know what I'm talking about - we pin lots of things that we will rarely, if ever, have occasion to make or try out. So this gives us the occasion. Diets excused for a night of indulgence. It was a really big hit. There were no flops, actually. Everything was pretty darn good! Here are the recipes we have now tested and vetted for you. Can't wait to do this again!

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Lori brought Feta Dip from her "food" board. She served this with Stacy's Pita Chips, it was ah-maze-ing! It was incredibly easy to make (she made it in front of us!) and is a perfect appetizer or party food. 5 STARS

Sarah brought Potato and Cheese Pierogies from her "Recipe Ideas" board. They were really good, the only thing I would alter, is that they were not salty enough. She is an amazing cook, and no doubt followed the recipe to a T, so it would seem like the recipe is lacking in salt, especially the inside filling. If this were altered, I would give it a 4 or 5 STARS. I believe she said they were a little time consuming to make, so they wouldn't be regular fare, but perhaps for a special occasion, they'd be perfect!

Michelle brought The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie and Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar from her "Sinfully Delicious" board. Her label accurately stated, "Can your taste buds handle the awesome?". I'll tell you what, being one who has a serious sweet tooth - this was my personal favourite of the night. It was very rich, and oh so awesome. If you love chocolate - this is your golden ticket. Phenomenal! I give this one 5+++ STARS!

Shannon brought Ice Cream Pretzel Cake, couldn't find it on her boards, but it's on my "Recipes" board. It was sooooo great. A highlight! The salty of the pretzels was the perfect touch. Make this, and win friends. 5 STARS (Edit: Notes from Shannon: One lesson learned was that carmel ice cream topping would probably work a lot better than melted carmels. Also, you don't need quite as many pretzles as they say--I used 1 1/2 normal size bags total)

Lisa brought Apple Pie in an Apple, I couldn't find this on her boards, but it's on my "Recipes" board. They were really good! Light, cute as pie (pun intended:-), and fresh...a nice summery dessert that not too sweet. I think it's something kids would love! I give it 4 STARS.

Chasity brought, Farfalle with Turkey Sausage, again I couldn't find it on her own board, but pinned it to my "Recipes" board. I think she altered it a bit, as I don't recall there being any mushrooms in there (maybe she doesn't like them?). A very yummy and kid friendly dinner option. I would rate it as 4 STARS *if* it had mushrooms in it, for me, without the mushrooms it was a 3.

Chae brought Buttery Pretzels, from her "Food Fun" board. They were amazingly good, and she said, very quick and easy to make. 5 STARS for buttery, salty, goodness.

Tiffany brought a Caprese Salad, on my "Recipes" board. Who doesn't love this? And actually, I didn't get any before it was all gone! So I guess it's not fair to rate it, but it *looked* like a 5 STAR dish:-)

I sure do hope I'm not forgetting anyone!! Now for what I made...Rolo Snickerdoodles, on my "Recipes" board. Completely easy, and a delicious cookie. Will definitely make again, an easy crowd pleaser.

Mini Lemon Meringues, on my "Recipes" board. I made them a bit too large, smaller might have been better. If you love lemon, I'm sure it's a 4 or 5, for me personally, they were about 3 STARS. I do love meringue...but mixed with chocolate, better than lemon, haha. Lemon curd was very easy to make and is really really good.

Lastly, I made a Frozen Hot Chocolate, on my "Recipes" board. Really liked it! I will tweak it a bit next time, and it needs more than 3 C ice, in my opinion, to get the right consistency. 1 packet of hot chocolate powder is approx. 1/4C less 1 T. This could kind of be to taste though, 1/4C might be fine. I used white chocolate to melt, and brown (normal) hot chocolate powder, but I might like to try it with white hot chocolate powder instead for a different taste and look. 4 STARS.

2:09am

Friends of ours are refinishing hardwood floors, so we kept their dog for the night (so fumes wouldn't bother the dog, and floating hair wouldn't bother the floor). This was unannounced to the kids and all went down long after they'd been in bed.

As it would happen, Kenna and Brooks were awoken in the night by what sounded to them like "dropping marbles" (his claws on the wood floors as he walked around). So they got up to investigate. At exactly 2:09am "Ohhh, it's Hatch! Look! Hiiiii Puppy!"

GET INTO BED!

Moms ruin all good fun, now don't they? :-)

Good bye kisses. Grey was sad to see Hatch go back home. He loves dogs! All morning he was saying, "Hatch is bigger 'den Piper!", which is the understatement of the year, as Hatch is a Great Dane, and Piper (my parents dog) is a 15lb Cairn Terrier. :-)

Pinteresting

I've coined a new term. Pinteresting. And why not? It's interesting, it's pin-able...it's Pinteresting. Things that live in a world of do it yourself, or make your own...very pinteresting, indeed.

Here is something I tried, that I pinned a few days ago. And wouldn't you know it...that Pinterest is too smart. IT WORKS!

How to clean a glass top stove, with no chemicals or special ingredients.

Here is my stove. Not terrible, but not great. It kinda looked like this when it was given to me, and I didn't know what to do about it. Well, it's likely worse now than it was then. I am the queen of the boil-over.

Up close, every burner had a browny-black ring around it

Take baking soda, and generously pour/sprinkle over surface. Soak a towel or rag in hot soapy water, and wring out, so it's still pretty wet, but not dripping/sopping. Lay over the baking soda, set the timer for 15 minutes, and walk away.

When the time is up, use the towel to scrub the stubborn spots, and rinse. This is after 1 time....LOTS better!

But there was still a bit of brown/black gunk that was stubbornly stuck (after really never having been cleaned so thoroughly!) I used a new razor blade to gently go over those spots, and then did the baking soda treatment again. And presto! It looks like it's only 1 day old! Phenomenal, and super cheap...and good for your health too. No strong chemicals to have to worry about!

Thank you Pinterest - until next time!

Museum - Videos

A day at the Children's Museum! *Note: Grey insisted on wearing the armbands from the cowboy dress up costume we have. This is when it's a good thing kids have moms and not just dads...Daddy wouldn't have let him out of the house in that get-up:-)

Almost inside a bubble!

driving a boat

peeking up to watch the trains go by

Being a vet

Adorableness

Doing a dance routine. I believe they were doing the "water sprinkler" of whatever it's called:-)

They are crazies, but I don't think they know it yet. We were outside enjoying a snack so we could refuel and go back in for more fun!

a "so-cycle" (motorcycle)

Farmer Kennedy

A very short clip of Grey driving a boat, and launching a rocket. He jumped and got scared every single time it launched:-)