Teacher Appreciation Week- gift idea

I love Teacher Appreciation Week (if I plan ahead). I enjoy coming up with things to make my kid's teachers feel special and appreciated. I can't say I planned too much ahead, but I am having fun with it. Most of us have a terra cotta pot laying around the garage that is not being used. If you don't have one, then Home Depot sells them for a few dollars. I painted this one with chalkboard paint or you can spray it (they sell this at Home Depot too). I did two coats to cover it good. Let it dry for a few hours. I picked up some pink impatiens and planted them in the pot then wrote on the pot with chalk. It says: "Thank you for being so patient with me." (it goes with the impatiens theme :)

Then the kids signed the other side of the pot. I would have loved this when I was a teacher. They can erase the note later and write something else. It was "blue" theme day in my son's class, so I stuck a blue bird peep (from Easter) on a wood skewer and put it in the pot. It turned out really cute!

Busy Enjoying Spring...

I guess I have been taking an unplanned blogging break. I have been busy enjoying spring and all that it has to offer. Along with all the flowers and sunshine comes a busier season at school with fun activities and end of the year "stuff". I can't believe that there are only 3 weeks of school left!

I am including lots of pictures of some things we did on spring break, Easter, and just some everyday fun. We have been up to...

Playing one of the Three Little Pigs in the school play. Wish I could include a video. It was priceless!

Hanging out with the apes at the zoo.

Being completely amazed at the giraffes!

Petting some goats and sheep with a special hand brush. (I guess this is supposed to be more sanitary???)

Monkeying around a little.

Growling like a lion.... Brayden was most excited to see the lions out of all the animals at the zoo.

Decided to join in on some silliness and monkeyed around myself.



Found a tire in someone's trash and washed it up for a new tire swing.




Now daddy is monkeying in the tree putting up the tire swing.

It works! Can't decide who likes it the most...me or the kids. Brayden loves for grandma to push him.

More tree climbing...what is it with this family and trees?

We baked some Hummingbird Nests. The recipe is from Family Fun. I love that website!

Had an adorable Easter party at school. Did I mention that I love kindergarten?

Went to a egg hunt in the neighborhood. There were 1800 eggs hidden!

We tried our skills at the 3-legged race. I secretly am so competitive in this game!

A spring party is not complete without a potato sack race. I wanted to take some of these sacks home, but they did not offer any to me even after I talked about how cool they were. Bummer!




Makenna made some bunny and Easter basket cupcakes. The recipe came from Family Fun again. They do have coconut on them which is so yummy to me, but not everyone likes it. I found that out when everyone was asking for a plain one!




My sweet angels on Easter. I was so excited that Brayden smiled this year for pictures! He hid behind the tree for most of the other pictures though.



I know she won't always want to match me, so I am eating it up while I can...

The annual family egg hunt was in our yard this year. We like to keep it interesting by hiding them in unexpected places.

I just love that the kids have their cousins so close. They are like my own kids too. They have such fun together! We enjoyed celebrating that our Savior is risen. How exciting to know that he is preparing a place for me (and you) in heaven. Each year I grow older, I am more amazed at God's love for me!

Meanwhile, I got a wild hair to rip this molding off the wall in the foyer. More on that to come...let me just say that sheetrock repair is not my gift!

Thanks for checking out what we have been up to. Can't promise my posts will be too regular until summer gets here. I can't wait to show you my foyer transformation though.

You Have to See This Room!

I know many of you read Lettered Cottage, but just in case you did not make it over there today, you have to check out their Reading Room redo. It already was such a cute room and now it is over the top, oozing with character. They used an old gym floor to cover the back wall and I just love the mix of the warm wood with all the white. Her unique style has given me so much inspiration. This one needs to be in a magazine for sure! Here is the post with all the details.

Happy Monday!

A Few Mirror Finds and a Mirror Dilemma

I am slowly adding accessories in our bathroom as I find things and when the mood strikes me. When I saw this mirror outside one of my favorite antique stores, I knew the perfect place for it. It looks right at home here above the bathtub. It was already white and distressed, although, there is maybe a little too much distressing on the right side. I might have to fix that when I get around to it.

Even my hubby said that it was the perfect fit on that wall. It only took me 1 1/2 years to find it!

I needed a full length mirror in here and found this one at Goodwill. I painted it white and distressed it a little then hung it behind the door. Now I can check out my shoes and outfit at the same time without having to stand on the bathtub!

Now, here is the dilemma...do you see anything missing? No, not the top knobs on the left vanity silly, we still only have one mirror because my hubby does not like the one I have and doesn't want to buy another one. If the mirror rests on the wall, then you can't see your head. I put a block of wood behind it, but it would be best if the mirror was straight up and down. We can't get it to stay that way though.

I think this is the first time I have showed you my vanities. I found a guy on Craigslist who is a cabinet maker and I sent him a Pottery Barn picture of the style I wanted. He built them from the picture for a great price! We used a granite remnant from their "boneyard" and it's called Black Galaxy. I love the sparkles in it. He gave them to me unfinished and I painted them the same white as the trim and board and batten in the bathroom. It's a custom color I had mixed at Home Depot and it is the perfect soft white.

I chose classic polished chrome faucets. You can see some sparkles here in the granite. I got these baskets from Pottery Barn to go underneath and hold extra lotion, soap, and towels.

I used the enamel numbers I got at the Country Living Fair on the baskets. The '95 is for the year we got married.

So, now to decide what to do about the mirror. Do I sell this one and start over or buy another one of these from Home Depot and try to make it work. Any thoughts???

It's Feelin' Like Spring

Cherry blossoms are my favorite.

It's just not spring without some bunnies and birds.

This color green makes me happy!

Loving this color combo

So proud of these two for a great cheerleading and basketball season. This was on the awards day. We are now "sports free" and enjoying some fun time outside.

Hope you are enjoying Spring too!

A Fresh Take on Board and Batten

I am loving my new floors! Here is a daylight picture of them like I promised. I didn't take a bigger picture because honestly, I haven't gotten my house all back in order yet. It has been a slow process!

Here is the living room with hardwood instead of carpet. I love it, just need a big cozy rug! This project has led to other projects, of course. It's always that way isn't it? While the furniture was out of the dining room, I decided to repaint it and add some molding to the lower part of the walls.

Here is what it looked like before. This was at Thanksgiving. Sorry for the dark picture.

This is the new paint color. It is called Oyster Bay by Sherwin Williams. It brightened up this room a lot.

I wanted to do board and batten up higher in here, but we are short on time and money, so I kept the existing chair rail and added the molding below it. I decided to do board and batten with a middle horizontal row for something different. I used the lattice strips at Home Depot. They are found in the lumber section near the fencing and sell for 88 cents each. My sweet hubby cut them to size and each middle section is 12 inches long unless there was an outlet. They don't have to be spaced perfectly, just pleasing to the eye. I used liquid nails to glue them up. They are light, so we didn't need nails.

I then caulked all the seams and spaces (this is the longest part, but so important!), then I painted it all with white trim paint in semi gloss. I had to do two coats of paint.

I love how it updated and freshened up the room and it only cost $15 to do not including the paint. I am pleased!

I am linking up to The Shabby Chic Cottage- Transformation Thursday

There is Just Something About a White Kitchen

Now that our new floors are in, I have been pondering a new paint color for my kitchen. Isn't that how it always works? One thing leads to another...anyway, I find myself drawn to white kitchens. They have such an inviting, calming effect. I love how you can add color when you are in the mood with no real commitment. Here are some of my favorites from blogland. Go and check out their blogs!

Source: Flea Market Trixie

Source: Cote De Texas

Source: Buckets of Burlap

Source: Northwest Hospitality

Source: Jennifer Rizzo

For now, I will dream....Have a great week!