The littlest room in the house...

One more room has been checked off the to-do list. I know it's not really in right now, but I still love this Americana/Raggedy Ann and Andy theme. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I need to start with the before photos. 

Does that not kind of give you the creepy crawlies?!? There's just no way to describe a carpeted bathroom, except nasty....and then there is the small issue of that wallpaper.

Those countertops. That mirror. The cabinet. And all those towel rings. 

We again painted the cabinets and installed new hardware. The countertop was on sale at Lowes. It was a little short, but with the addition of the headboard backsplashes, you'd never know it now. The sink is original and matches the toilet, but we splurged on a new faucet, which matches the new lighting and soap pump. The mirror is from Hobby Lobby's half off sale. After hours of wallpaper removal (I have no confidence in any of the methods I tried...there is only one cure for wallpaper and that's to not use it) I painted the top half and hubby put a nice beadboard chair rail up around the bottom half.

This room is very small, just a powder room, so it was difficult to get good pictures.

Can I just say how much I love the tissue holder? So much easier for little people and big boys to change the roll. (I can dream, right?) The flooring is the same as what runs throughout the entry, halls, kitchen, main bath and laundry room. It's from Lumbers Liquidators and is luxury vinyl. We've already had people mistake it for real wood and the bonus is that maintainance is a breeze. Hubby installed the toe mould to match. It gives it a classier feel and prevents many scuffs on the nice white baseboards. 

The curtain was made from scaps in my sewing basket and replaced some lovely 80's lace ones. 

The Raggedy Ann figurines are from enesco and were in my second daughters nursery. I just love transformations and crossing things off lists. It makes me positively giddy. 

Tiny Talk Update

The girls are talking about how they each have three sisters. Kaderick looked around and said, "Me have four."
Seriously?!?! He's barely two and a half.

We went to God and Country fireworks last night, so tonight we decided to stay home, but the sounds of the night lured us out. It was fun walking the neighborhood watching the sky light up all around the valley. Kaite said, "It sounds like God is popping lots of bubble wrap tonight."

My son just told his grandma that he would trade his momma for one red jelly bean!
 

Daddy, whatcha doin?
Putting sulfur on the grass.
Why?
To balance the ph level and help get rid of fungus.
Ph level? Does that mean ponies and horses level?

 

"Bored is not when you don't HAVE anything to DO, it's when you don't want to DO anything you HAVE to."
(Summer Vacation with small children.)

First of all, this is no reflection on any religious organization. I'd tell the same funny stories about my own church and I think you all know that.
Now that we have that out of the way, on with the story.
We now live nearby a couple of churches. One is Mormon, or LDS. We mentioned to the kids that LDS stood for "Latter Day Saints."
Kalli, with her dry wit said, "Why wait till the latter days, if you're gonna be a saint, just do it now and be NDS."

Kaderick was siting on my lap, having some mommy time when he apologetically said, "I sorry mommy, I need to go play for a lil bit. I be right back."
He's all rough and tumble boy, but he also has a kind, gentle, loving spirit. He reminds me of his daddy. ❤

Kaite to Kammy: I think it would make a lot of people, including Butterscotch (Kammy's stuffed horse) and Jesus, happy if you would be a nice sister and play what I want to play.

When I was getting ready to put Kaderick down for his nap, he saw me close the blinds and said, "Hey! Why you turn off the blinds!?" I didn't want to say the bad sleep word, so told him it was to keep the sun out of our eyes. He said, "Sit on floor, so sun won't be in yours eyes!"

Part of Kalli's chat to Kayla this morning:
Well my toast is gone, I hear Kade, and you are tired of me, so I must, though with a heavy heart, depart thither to brush the fine specimans of my mouth! Adieu, fair sister, Adieu!
And Kayla Bork, "Sigh.....goodbye, Kalli!"

My big girls and I ran away tonight for some girl time, leaving the littles with daddy. Kammy met me at the door and said, "Oh good, you're home! I couldn't live like this."
She was joking of course....like she had to do all the work and take care of her little sis and bro.

Kaderick wanted chocolate so I reminded him that he could not have it. Oh yeah, he says. Then at the checkout he pointed out the tic tacs. Some were green. Those are green beans...have those?

Special Days

 

These children are so blessed to have this man for a father.

Bonus: I love him too.

God. The father who is always THERE. On that Bible passover day, it was the father who was THERE to sprinkle the blood over the doorposts, and if America is to ...be saved from the death angel in our midst today, it will again take the fathers being THERE. (Paraphrase from hubby's message this morning).

 

Dear America,

Today is your 239th birthday. I wasn't there when you made your debut, but every mother loves a good birth story. I'm told that the labor was long and that those who gave you birth were the bravest of souls. You arrived with a lusty cry and were a sight to look upon. You toddled on unstable legs, but were so proud of those first faltering steps. Then you were off and running--nothing could stop you--not even adolescents, which surely did its best to tear you in two. You fought many wars in your teens and you struggled to find your place and to fit in in this world. During your adult years, you were a strong and fearless leader, reaching out time and time again to those less fortunate. I was privileged to know you in what may have been the best of your years, but now you are showing your age. They say that with age comes wisdom, but it doesn't seem to be the case with you. I don't know if you even realize it, but you aren't what you used to be. I sit at what I pray is not your deathbed and listen to you gasp for breath. I hope and pray that those of us who love you are doing all we know to help you. I want my children to know you the way I once did--strong, robust, God-fearing, and free. You're too young to die....please don't go....America?America? Can you hear me? I love you ever so much.

Happy Birthday.

Fashion!

Fun with my little fashionistas. 

I love the styles that are available right now. We dont often buy new clothing, it's usually only when we really need a certain color, or at easter or christmas-time. Hand-me-downs are our main source of clothing....no suprise with 5 girls/ladies. I love that we can share items as well. 

But....once in a while, something new is just Sooo exciting. These little gals were thrilled with the dresses I picked up for them at Burlington.

Hair is another fun thing that we have lots of at our house. I usually let the kids choose a hairstyle for their birthday, and often on other special days, such as Sunday's. The rest of the time, they are on their own, or I do something quick and easy. 

Usually I don't think to take a photo, but recently, I've remembered several times recently. Yay me! 

Lucky 13!

We are the lucky ones....blessed with this sweet 13 year old.

All she wanted for her birthday was a bike and a pen pal, so after saving her money to combine with her birthday presents (also money) we took her to Walmart and let her choose her bike. Kalli loves all things retro, so we really weren't surprised with her selection. Notice that we checked out at aisle #13.

She selected polka dots for her theme. The menu was a totally loaded with everything you can possibly imagine salad bar. 

The pen pal part was a little trickier. Kalli loves to write and has a few pen pals, but none of them write often enough for her. I managed to wrangle her about four more and snatched the letters from the mailbox before she could find them, hiding them to wrap for her birthday. She was so happy!

Dessert was lemon raspberry cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. Her request, and her first time ever to experience Cheesecake Factory. We moved to the gazebo for this coarse.

We played musical chairs to classical music, which is Kalli's favorite. The silly girl!

Kalli loves cloudy weather and rain. She especially loves rainbows and has been blessed with one on her special day more of than once. 

Happy #13 to my bouncing baby girl! The one who was 2.5 wks late, 8lbs 10oz and 22 in. She's beautiful, she bakes things and breaks things. Her feet are bigger than mine and she usually says what she thinks. She makes us laugh and she dislikes any foods with red sauce. She likes butterflies, peacocks and Saint Bernard's. We love her so much!

Before and After Bathroom

When we moved in, this is what the main bathroom looked like.

Just beautiful, huh? 

It wasn't without its potential. Sturdy cabinets, large, lots of light....it only needed a little work. Easily done, right? 

Well, nearly two months later, here it is.

New countertop complete with clearance table tile and Craigslist sinks. A fresh coat of clean white paint on the cabinets.

Miles and miles of wallpaper were removed and replaced with a plank style wall. We bought the wood planks at lowes and after my handsome handy man put them up, I painted them white, then antiqued them with a bit of navy blue paint which I watered down to about half paint half water and then wiped most of it off completely with a rag. I was kind of going for a bit of a shipside feel. The porthole I ordered off of amazon and printed a lighthouse picture from our trip to the Oregon coast to go inside. Most of the decor is thrifted or homemade. The other walls are painted Aqua. They too, were covered in wallpaper. After removing it, I used drywall compound watered down to the consistency of clam chowder and finger textured the walls using a gloved hand. I LOVE the result!

The bathtub has a shower, so hubby (he's a handy guy to have around) built me a linen closet there after he also tore out the old shower. Most of the boards are from a zillion storage shelves that are in the garage here at the house. (Story for another day.) the bottom cabinet holds laundry baskets.

The little guy likes this room. He likes the boats. He has quite an imagination....he told us, "I've sailed on one of those." Cute big boy underwear too, huh?