$ 1.31 = A "photo-free" fridge!!

I took this picture out of my living room the other day and had it in my hand walking out to the yard sale pile when I had a thought... I've been thinking of something to do about this...we dearly love all these people & sweet babies but I don't love seeing that mess of pictures & magnets every time I come in from the garage.

So I got white paint (already had), ribbon (already had), some felt for padding (already had), and bought a scrap of fabric for $ 1.31 and made this! It hangs by our laundry room (closet) doors.

and now it holds all our sweet friends pics!

and the side of my fridge is EMPTY!!!

A new "old" chair for Sammy!!

We were at a consignment sale a few weeks ago and I spotted an old little rocking chair just like one I had as a little girl. Sammy was taken with it and how he could scoot his little bum right into it. I remembered that my Mom had saved the chair and we put it up in our attic a few years ago. I had Dave climb up there and get it down for me to makeover...

The before...it's beautiful isn't it?!?!
After a coat of black spraypaint and some new fabric...

It's great for reading his books in...

...and watching Baby Einstein in...

He LOVES it!!!

a little LOVE...

My sweet Emily (who thinks Valentines Day is a national holiday) was worried becuase I hadn't "decorated" for Valetine's Day...I admit it's not really a holiday I decorate for...but to make her happy I made this little project out of leftover scrabble tiles just for her!
I added a picture of my sweeties from last Valentine's Day, hung my heart wreath, and called it DONE!!

This Week...

This week on our Countdown to Christmas activities we...

Made a doughnut tree...
and some soft pretzels to eat while we watched a Christmas movie...

and some puppy chow!!

...and watched a Christmas parade!!

Day 1 - Scrabble Tile Ornaments

We started our Countdown to Christmas calendar yesterday...it's 25 days of fun activities leading up to Christmas! I have such a good time planning this for the kids...

Day #1...Scrabble tile ornaments (all though the photos loaded in reverse order for some reason???)

A Perfectly PINK Baby Shower!!

I had the privilege of hosting a baby shower for my sweet friend Beth this weekend. This is baby #5 for her and her first girl! Needless to say there was a lot of PINK going on!!

Frames I made for a decoration (and part of her gift)
A pink candy buffet for the favors.

Everyone enjoyed filling their boxes with the candy treats!

Napkin Dresses...

Me, Beth (who looks amazing for being due in 3 weeks!), and my other friend Tonja who made all the food for us (she's a former Pampered Chef gal and made us lots of yummy snacks!)

What this Mom has been up to...

We are enjoying every minute of our summer break! As much as I love homeschooling, it is so refreshing to wake up each day and not have school be the center of our days. It's been great to tackle some home projects while Samuel takes his afternoon naps.

My first project was to clean out the school room...here it was on the last day of school...it's pretty neat but I had a few fun ideas in mind.
We took a trip to Maryland & DC a few weeks ago I couldn't resist a trip to IKEA. I got a fun new light and some new chairs for the kiddos.

and made a lazy susan for all the pens, pencils, etc...

Next on the list was painting the half bathroom...spray painting all the builder fixtures bronze, replacing the mirror with this one that was hanging in my upstairs hall.

Taking the mirror from the hall was a good idea until I realized I needed to do something (cheap) with the big empty space I now had...I painted some dollar store frames to match this plaque and made a photo collage. These are all from our DC trip and Emily said this should be a travel wall and change out the pictures with each trip we take. I love that idea!

Next was recovering the kitchen chairs...for the 7th time since we have owned this set! I love this black & white damask print...I saw a commercial for Oprah yesterday and she was sitting in a chair covered in the exact same print!! Not that I get my decorating tips from Oprah, but if they are using it for her chairs I must have done something right!

I had a little leftover fabric and decided to cover a lampshade with it. If you are ever in my house, DO NOT look at the back!! The front turned out great, but YIKES the back is awful!! I should have googled "how to cover a lampshade" before attempting this!

Last but definitely not least, we had this old wicker chair in our bedroom that I really wanted to use on my front porch (although now I don't know where my sweet hubby will throw his dirty clothes, oh yeah...the floor). My first thought was to paint it white but I took a walk on the wild side and painted it "Cherry Red" I love how it turned out!

and it makes a great spot to sit & chat on the porch swing!

Updates...

Yikes, it's already May...how did that happen?!? We have been working feverishly to finish up school, we did our achievement testing last week and are on track for our last day of school to be next Friday. We are so looking forward to some lazy, summer days...

We had our 3 month post-placement visit last week with our social worker...that was the last item needed for the county to issue our "golden ticket" Final Decree of Adoption and we will be able to post some pictures. Samuel is doing great...growing and changing every day. It's amazing to see him turn into a little person, laughing, smiling, and recognizing who we are. I feel so blessed to be a Mom to 3 on this Mother's Day!

Our garden is doing great and we have been picking lots of...

Yes, strawberries!! I got 2o plants free last year from a deal online and laughed when these tiny seedlings arrived at my door...I remember thinking we would have strawberries in about 5 years...was I ever wrong!! They really took off and we have been picking a big bowl of berries every day! We've picked 4 lbs since Sunday!

I spent a little time on the deck while Samuel was napping watching the kids swim and made this cute pillow with the leftover scraps from our birthday banner. My Dad gave us a hammock we are planning to hang up this weekend and I thought it would be cute in it.

and finally, a pic of this big kiddos swimming...we filled the pool over the weekend and this kids have been enjoying their afternoons out there!

Birthday Banner

I'm back for my once a month post!! We are all doing great...loving our new little guy to pieces! Samuel is doing great, he turned 3 months old last week. He's rolling over and smiling and laughing like crazy! Our 3 month post placement visit is later this week so hopefully pictures will be coming SOON!!

Em and I worked on a project the other night while Samuel was napping and our boys were at a church activity. I have wanted to make a reusable birthday banner for a while now, something neutral that can be used for everyone's special day. We got out some scraps of fabric and denim, some ribbon and no-sew tape and made this together! It turned out super cute and gets to stay up all week since a special little girl turns 10 this weekend!

February...

It's hard to believe the month of February is already half over! My blog is definitely sitting on the back burner for now as we settle into our new routine. I'm sure I'll be back in full force once Samuel's adoption is finalized by the state and we are free to post photos of him. For now we are enjoying every minute of these sweet newborn days. He is doing wonderful! We went for his one month checkup yesterday and has grown an inch and weighs 10 pounds! He is such a happy boy and we are so blessed by him! He was definitely worth the wait!! He got his feet into a little pink ink the other day and made some Valentine cards for all his special people!! We are keeping busy with school, plugging away while the weather is still so cold...we only have around 55 lessons left until summer break (not that we are counting!). The kids have also been addicted to the Olympics and we made this chart to keep track of the medal count for our favorite countries.

Still waiting...with Pineapples & Spray Paint

We're still here, waiting for exciting news!! This week seemed to drag on like molasses...we kept busy with school, cleaning out the closets (again!), Super-Double Coupon trips at Harris Teeter, and Emily learned to make her first... Pineapple Upside Down Cake! She did it all by herself, and it tasted as good as it looked!

The 1/2 can of Miss Berry Pink spray paint in the garage was calling my name... This used to be my desk chair... oops, I forgot to flip the picture

Who knew you could take them apart in less than 3 minutes??

and recover them with leftover yard sale fabric...

and paint the arms and bottom with Miss Berry Pink!!

Doesn't she look beautiful?!?! Dave looks especially cute sitting in her!

Passing the time...

Some of you know that we are waiting for a call, a very special call that will change our lives forever...we decided that while we are waiting we should have some fun and be productive! We took off school this whole week and played games, took the decorations down, went to the mall, played outside, hit the Target 75% off Christmas sale, and saw a movie with singing & dancing chipmunks! No school meant there was some extra time for a few projects around the house...Mom gave me some of these vinyl wall words for Christmas (she knows how much I love them!)...I put this one in the foyer... and this one in the nursery... :)

I hacked up an old tablecloth and turned it into a runner...

Meet Miss Berry Pink...she is my new friend and way more exciting that Mr. Black or White! My hubby bought her for me at Home Depot...he loves me so...

I picked up this shelf at a yard sale a few months ago for $1 and have been wondering what to do with it...I'm sure some folks find roosters adorable...I however do not!

All it took was a few coats of Miss Pink and some fabric over the roosters and it became a purse rack for Em's room.

I picked up these jars at the Target 75% off sale for $ 1.24...I did not like the green lids...

...but with a little help from Miss Pink they were just right for my craft shelf...

Praying I don't have to find to much more stuff to get myself into!!