treasures

as i mentioned yesterday, we love to thrift shop. i think most women and a lot of men like to shop but in this economy, conventional shopping is not always wise. so we like to save money by looking for things at thrift stores. and it gives me my shopping fix! the boys love it because we say we are looking for treasures.

yesterday i found an orange bleacher seat to use at football games for $4. those bleachers are so uncomfortable, and our school colors are blue and orange so this was perfect. not to mention i am loving all things orange right now. i even found some orange tupperware that i love!

the boys bought a blue and orange volleyball for $2. they like to play basketball with a volleyball because it is lighter and softer and easier for them to shoot it up high into the basket.

and i am always on the hunt for mid century finds.

like this alarm clock by westclox. it is annoyingly loud as it keeps time and it is actually one you have to wind to keep the time which is also a little inconvenient but i could not resist those beautiful aqua numbers. so retro! love it and a steal at $5!

then we found this unusual barometer, temperature and humidity guage. it is made by airguide and definitely has a midcentury modern groove to it. we found it for $2.50.

this is a super neat chrome ball eames era floor lamp. a great example of mid century modern style and function. it is a three way lamp so one light comes on, two lights come on or all three come on. i found one of these for sale on ebay for $250! let's just say i paid no where near that!

so if you went thrifting, what would you be looking for?

head trauma

we are laying low around the house today, due in part to what occurred yesterday around 10:55 in the morning.

our sweet noodle should perhaps be renamed knothead. there is just something about this child and his head. as a toddler we thought he would outgrow it. he would be walking, usually holding onto something in his hand, trip, and instead of dropping whatever random object is in his hand, he would hang onto it for dear life and crash his head into the floor.

i am not exaggerating. this takes special skill. i would think that your automatic response would be to save yourself from injury. apparently this is not so for him.

as a toddler it would be his sippy cup. we would be walking through the store and would inevitably hear the all to familiar "smack" of his body hitting the floor. but what would still be in his hand? that's right. the sippy cup. it was safe. his head, not so much.

so back to yesterday. i was in the laundry room with the washing machine and dryer running simultaneously. john was in the bathroom, having just finished a shower. i see burrito and noodle run around the dining room table and then head running to their rooms. and then i hear it. over the sound of both the washing machine and dryer. the "smack." i drop the laundry and go running. john wraps a towel around him and we meet in the hall to aide a screaming noodle.

he and burrito were running down the hall, noodle tripped and had an old cell phone in his hand. i didn't see it happen but i can guess what went down. not the cell phone. on the tile floor in our foyer.

i scoop him up and head to the couch to examine the damage. oh dear. there is a golf ball protruding from his forehead. i am not kidding. we immediately apply an ice pack and distract him with some t.v. and about 3 minutes later he is fine. his head....well, it was not so good.

i jumped online to refresh my memory about signs to watch for with head injuries. he exhibited none of them so i felt a little relieved. but his head....oh his head....it was disturbing. i did not take a picture of it immediately after the hit because, well, that just seemed mean.

"hold on honey. can you stop crying just for a minute while i snap a picture of that huge deformity on your head? thanks."

no, i didn't do that. but i did take one 6 hours later and you can still see what i am talking about.

by this point the swelling had spread outwards instead of just straight out. we decided we needed to apply more ice and by bedtime it looked much better.

still, being the paranoid mother that i am, i did not sleep well last night, periodically checking in on him to make sure the swelling was going down and he was breathing normally.

it looks even better today, though he is going to have quite a multi-colored bruise there. so with not sleeping well and getting up early to check on him i decided to go the easy route this morning for breakfast. Definitely not a Mckmama approved breakfast! (if you don't know who mckmama is, please click on the link to pray for her son).

nothing like a little powdered donut lipstick first thing in the morning! even knothead, ahem, i mean noodle, would agree!

living room makeover

i love makeovers don't you? i love seeing women get makeovers and i am admittedly addicted to watching any home makeover. there's just something about how just a little change can make a huge difference.

i usually choose not to watch extreme makeover home edition. don't get me wrong, i love the great things they do to change a family's life. it's just that i get so emotionally wrapped up in those stories, i can't hardly sleep at night. i know my limitations. :)

i have no problem watching whatever is on HGTV. my favorites are design on a dime (because i am cheap), color splash with david bromstad (he does a lot of modern design) and especially design star (nothing like a design competition to get my heart pumping).

i think as a stay at home mom, my home is all that more significant to me. i am here a lot, this is where i work and i love that my family feels comfortable the most here. i am always rethinking how i can make a space more functional or change things up a bit for fun. i have painted every room since moving here 2 years ago with the exception of our master bathroom (that's a total of 9 separate spaces in our home) and i am working on that right now.

so the latest transformation has been our living area. it was painted this great shade of red from the ralph lauren line at home depot. we really liked this color when we first saw the house and were excited to be able to move in without an urgent need to repaint. we arranged the furniture in our living area almost the same way the previous owners had arranged theirs. it seemed to be the most functional and practical way of using the space.

i don't have any great before pictures because the transformation was not planned. i just decided to do it one day. so here are a few shots from our living area before. notice the red paint and the furniture shoved against the walls.

(the boys with uncle daniel)

(the boys opening christmas presents)

well after 2 years, i was itching to change things up. it took months for john and i to finally decide on a paint color. i wanted something a little lighter because our living area is so dark. we only have one window in the room and not much light comes through there because our patio is covered and this is where this window is located. with that decision made, i ruminated for weeks on how we could rearrange the furniture. i was constrained by leaving the television where it currently is because of wiring. so the boys and i finally summoned up enough energy and courage to move things (that's right! who says a 5 and 3 year old can't help scoot around furniture?!?!) while john was teaching latin camp, and we were all quite pleased with the result.


here are some after pictures.

this is coming down the hall from our front door. the walls are a lighter brown (can i put a plug in here for behr ultra premium paint and primer in one? it really only took one coat of that paint to cover over the red!) that great bookcase from ikea is now where our couch was. our desk is tucked away between it and the window for a little study space. our couch is now in front of the bookcase facing the television.

here's the view if you are looking to the left from the front hall. the coffee table is my $20 mid century find i talked about in this post. i did buy the new accent pillows on the sofa from walmart for $8!


here's a shot from the dining room looking back at the living area. the leaf pictures over the chair were pictures i had hanging above our buffet and hutch. i think they look even better here.



i scooted the t.v. to the right on the t.v. stand and added a little stick arrangement i made from things already in the house (but i did buy the sticks at hobby lobby). and here are our two comfy little chairs that lend to some sweet conversation. and that little table in between the chairs has a door that folds down to set your drinks on....love it!

and here's a shot from the dining room looking over at our study nook. we love having all our books with us in the living area, and that huge bookcase looks good on our really tall walls.


everything feels more cozy and conversation-friendly. i was so proud of myself and my ability to redecorrange, to borrow a term from this great blog. we just LOVE our new space, even though there really is not much new, just moved around and borrowed from other rooms.

what have you redecorranged lately? do you like to change things up or do you leave furniture in the same place for years? my next transformation will be that cute coffee table. but this time i will remember to take some before shots!

bouncing around

there are all sorts of thoughts bouncing around in my head tonight.

i love my life and my family but it's been a rough past few days. no one is content. everyone is grumpy. i am worn out.

i cut my finger slicing my new craving, avocados. the next day i didn't see someone in my blindspot and narrowly missed a collision. later that day i read in my parenting mag "if you're not getting enough sleep, you're more likely to cut yourself in the kitchen or have a car accident." no kidding. i would support their statistic.

i am praying for baby stellan and wondering if i would trust the Lord if my child's life were in danger.

i am contemplating what my calling as a stay at home mom looks like when both boys are in school full time. do i continue to stay home and live paycheck to paycheck, knowing that i am making a good sacrifice to serve my husband and children? or do i go back to work (and if so, what do i do now?) and bring home some extra cash but miss out on field trips, class parties, being betty crocker and having time to breathe?

maybe i just need to take a glimpse of these three musketeers and laugh! check out that golden yellow hair!

my mid century modern madness

so in my post about my personal passions and interests i spoke of my newfound love for all things mid century modern. what, you may ask, is mid century modern?

well, seeing as how i don't know the exact definition of such a term, let me define it in pictures. and maybe a few words too.

mid century modern furniture typically is known for its clean lines, use of teak or walnut woods, rainbow of colors and textures and use of cutting-edge materials (like plastic or lucite that had never been used before in furniture production). it was generally produced in the 1950's to early 1960's.

my love for this era of furniture began with the inheritance of my grandmother's dining table. while it is more early american in style, it is paired beautifully with teak furniture. when we remodeled our kitchen last summer we decided we could use an additional piece of furniture in the dining area to increase our storage. so the hunt began.

i love a good hunt, don't you? and what did people do before craigslist? i mean, seriously, did garage sales and ads in the paper suffice? i love craigslist and found exactly what i was looking for. check out this beauty!

please notice those fabulous atomic stars on the doors of the buffet. to die for! this is a vintage drexel buffet and hutch from the suncoast line and is stamped 1959. i have not seen another one like it online and i totally love it! and we bought it for a steal.....$200!
it not only looks good but is a hard working storage machine! i've got my vintage tupperware, vintage pyrex, Orla Kiely bowls, placemats, trivets, dish towels and even crayons and coloring books stored neatly away in this thing.
so this piece of furniture really got the ball rolling in a sense. john began to embrace this style as well and we've slowly added a few treasures to our collection.
like this coffee table i found also on craigslist for $20. it's not in perfect condition and i have plans to refinish it to match our other furniture but we think it has great lines.

next we found this sweet little nightstand/end table at a garage sale for $5. again, not in perfect condition but for $5 i can overlook that! this is made by american of martinsville and is probably a little more 60's-ish but we fell in love with the front that folds out to hold your drinks.



this chair also probably hails from the 60's but it's got a great low profile. i covered it in this fab fabric but left the original blueish-green tweed intact underneath. i actually stole this one from my parent's house who in turn had bought it at a church garage sale.


drumroll please for our latest treasure.....scored at a local antique mall for $20. a westclox alarm clock complete with atomic sunburst night light. push that little button at the top and the left side of the clock glows.

so that concludes my mid century modern menagerie. at least for now. i'm off to go hunt for more treasures!

my noodle

And now for Noodle's turn. His first year in pictures.

Newborn October 2005

You forget how small and sweet they are! This is when we discovered he was allergic to milk.

1 Month November 2005

Bath time! We were getting all ready to go and host a baby shower for a friend!

2 Months December 2005

Propped up in the computer chair....definitely not sitting on his own yet...but he would be a fast one to learn!

3 Months January 2006

He totally wore himself out!

4 Months February 2006

Tummy time! His poor face was always scratched up because of his horrible eczema.

5 Months March 2006

Getting some Daddy love...

6 Months April 2006

Sitting more on his own here....after all, he is Superbaby!

7 Months May 2006

Check out the mohawk!

8 Months June 2006

Learning to crawl

9 Months July 2006

Swimming in our little turtle sandbox, um.....I mean swimming pool!

10 Months August 2006

Walking already! Trying to keep up with big brother.

11 Months September 2006

We love the fall when it gets a little cooler outside and we could go for walks in the wagon.

1 Year October 2006

Happy 1st Birthday Noodle!

And that concludes our blast from the past. Thanks for joining me down memory lane!

my burrito

Because I didn't know about blogs 5 years ago when Burrito was born, I don't have a fun place to go back and revisit pictures from his babyhood. Same goes for Noodle. So I thought it would be fun to do that now.

So for this post, here is a chronological account in pictures of Burrito's first year of life. I'll do the same thing for Noodle tomorrow.

Newborn April 2004

Look at all that brown hair that turned blonde eventually!

Everyone that saw him commented on his amount of hair.

1 Month May 2004

Zonked out on the couch but in control of the remote, just like a guy! :)

2 Months June 2004

Still lots of brown hair

3 Months July 2004

Tummy time!

4 Months August 2004

Going out for dinner....the first time to wear shoes!

5 Months September 2004

Happy with Mimi! Notice how is hair is getting lighter in color.

6 Months October 2004

Nakedness after a bath

7 Months November 2004

It actually snowed in Texas....first time for him to see snow!

8 Months December 2004

Christmastime!

9 Months January 2005

Burrito army crawled...never ever crawled on all fours....and here he crawled right out of his pants!

10 Months February 2005

Dressed for church with Daddy

11 Months March 2005

Dressed up in Easter duds....so handsome! And the hair is blonde!

12 Months April 2005

Happy 1st Birthday Burrito! He loved his birthday cupcake!

summer's past

wednesday is our 2 year anniversary for living in our current home. we have plans to celebrate with brownies. we have done a lot of work in the past two years and the boys have changed so much. when thinking about this last night, i just couldn't believe that burrito was 3 and noodle was only 1 when we moved in.

so in thinking about all these things, i thought it would be fun to post some pics of the boys over the past summers, for comparison fun.

here's a shot from burrito's first summer, 2004. we were swimming with our friends in lubbock.



and this is one of my favorite shots ever with burrito and i was 7 months pregnant with noodle here. we are in front of our "picture tree" at the zoo. summer 2005.

here are both boys in august of 2006. we loved going for wagon rides around the neighborhood. and john and i laugh at these pictures because he had just fertilized the lawn, it rained a bunch, and our grass was ridiculously green.

the summer of 2007 was characterized by 2 things: rain, rain, rain and moving! so what do you do with a 3 and 1 year old if it is raining, seriously every day? send them out to play in the rain, fully clothed and all!


the summer of 2008 was our first full summer here and the boys spent most of their time riding these and exploring our backyard.

and this pretty much sums up our summer of 2009. lots and lots of wrestling.

apparently, this is what boys do.