randomness

We've played outside with beautiful warm weather all week. Today we thought we'd take a nice Sunday drive out to Carlyle lake we've heard so much about. By the time we got there it was pretty windy and the girls tired and a bit onery. We got out for maybe 10 min to enjoy the views before heading back home. Couldn't even talk Saydee into walking along the beach. Still not over her aversion to sand. It sure was pretty though from outside our windows and made me long for summer.

For Valentines day the girls made these little heart monster guys.

We're still patiently waiting for them to be retired and finding their little monster body parts littered throughout the house.

We just ended a session of gymnastics. The supervisor over aquatics, my boss, is also the supervisor for gymnastics. Sweet lady, she let Elli squeak into the class underage. They love it.

Breaking it down...

The girl's room. Here's what we did and approximate cost. We were so lucky to have our big ticket items donated. Biggest cost was paint at about $65 for paint and supplies. But in some ways it was the biggest bang for the buck. That yellow had to go.

Shelf - Lumber and paint for $8 (easiest project ever)

Metal Star - $3.50 (50% off Hobby Lobby)

Temple Picture - Frame was .10 cents at Rummage sale (spray painted white). Temple print $1.50

Letters - $1 each (50% off at Hobby Lobby)

My sister-in-law Jennie inspired these book slings which she had made for her girls. They were so adorable. And they'd bring more color and texture into the room. Plus, I was so sick of picking up and rearranging bookshelves. These are much easier for little hands to maintain order. We did a smaller sling for small books and standard one for the big ones. About 25 bucks a piece. Here's a little howto link: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/book-sling-919473/.

We were able to use some leftover scraps, so for lumber and paint all four chairs and the table came to about $35. We chose this set because the chairs are stackable and of coarse lumber super affordable.

I backed the bookcase with scrap book paper and Modgepodge $4.

pink pails - $3.50 a pail (50% off at Hobby Lobby)

Unfortunately these storage bins don't fit our very shallow bookcase. Sometime this year we're hoping to find or build a more functional one to fit the bins. We need storage in here.

Chinese lanterns - $4 for both.

Curtain rods $7.50 for two. (scored these about a year ago, 75% off at Target)

White sheers - $18 for all four at Target. Keeps the room light and airy.

Bed was handed down to us. Took about $40 worth of white spray paint and a protectant spray for bed and trundle. Totally worth the expensive Rustolem's spray paint. Sprays on so nice with no brush strokes.

Bedspread - $17 at Target, not even on sale. I love quilts, but this print was perfect and the price unbeatable. It was Saydee's birthday present.

Trundle - Salvaged old slats from a broken twin frame. Lumber came to $25.

Mirror - snagged for .10 cents at a rummage sale, spray painted white. Pegboard was a piece of scrap wood that we drilled some pegs into. Sill need to finish with either pink felt flowers or silky ruffles. We'll see when that happens.

Failed. I was so excited about these oversized pictures adhered to some foamboard. Then about 2 weeks in they started to warp and bend. Its bad. We wanted foamboard because its super cheap and light-weight. And being situated above Saydee's bed, if by some freak accident they fell down she wouldn't get hurt.

I found the best price for these pics at Sam's Club. $9 dollars for a Poster sized print.

I'll probably just reprint them and hang them as posters. Any other suggestions???

So that's about it. It was fun but we're so glad the room is finally functional and done. The grand total coming to about $300. Our wood projects were all done with a circular saw. Heath got real sick of that. The cuts aren't always very accurate. On the chairs we made quite a few mistakes. Lucky we had lots of scraps and we spent alot of time sanding. All of our projects have many indearing imperfections.

Muffin Tin Monday...or whenever we like.

I'd seen this idea of muffin tin Monday all over the place. You've probably seen it too. I love it. So on and off I've been searching for these tins. Strangely enough I hadn't come across any and then I'd forget I was looking. Well, last week in Target I saw these cute little things in the 1$ section. The girls were immediately loving them as well. Sparkly purple silicone tins. A little flimsier than tin but they'll never rust and despite my skepticism, you can still bake with them. I don't know, but they certainly serve our purposes.

The girls eat so much better this way. Smaller portions and more variety. Or maybe its just different and fun. Wished all my meals looked this well balanced.

And lest you think I would dare waste the best part of a grilled cheese sandwich, you best think again my friend. Everyone wins.