Furniture hunting

I am constantly keeping my eye out for the furniture we need. I think the only things we've bought new are Daphne's crib, a pack n play, and our bookshelves.  I just wait until I find used items. Overall I save money, and sometimes I find pieces that are great quality. Much better then some of the things you can buy new these days. I've found almost all our furniture on craigslist. My favorite things and probably the luckiest things I've found are the girl's beds and their dresser :) They are all a dark walnut, they look so nice together.

Anyway, yesterday I went a little craigslist crazy and found a bunch of things I wanted (I'm still waiting to hear back about a couch, but I'm guessing I didn't get it :/ ). One thing I found was a dresser for Dallas, it was at a flea market called Buy It Here Too. We went to check it out and came home with a dining table and chairs instead :)

I LOVE my table!! I've been hunting for one for over a year now, so it's a relief to have it. It's white... and so is the rest of my kitchen. But I'm loving how it all looks with our dark floors. The top is actually a very light green. I like it, but I'm not sure if it goes with the rest of the house. I'll leave it for now, but painting the top a bolder color would be fun.

We've had our previous table for over 8 years now, Dallas' parents gave it to us when we got married. It's actually the last piece of furniture we still have from our newly wed days. Kinda bitter sweet. We are definitely ready for something bigger :) Our new table fits six and I'm tempted to find/build a bench so we can fit all the kids on one side if we have visitors.

Up until yesterday I planned on painting a table that I got for free a year ago, it needs to be painted and fixed up... And it needs chairs. It's been in our garage waiting for me to make up my mind and get going with it. I just wasn't loving it and didn't want to put in the effort for something I didn't love. I'm glad I found something that doesn't need a paint job or chairs... problem solved.

Phone pictures from our lunch today...

Finished.

I'm loving my room. It is kinda a shock going from my plain gray (not decorated yet) family room to my bright blue bedroom, but once I'm in there I don't want to leave. It's relaxing, I am so glad I went with it! At first I couldn't decide if I liked it, but now I know I do. Dallas likes it too, He was out of town when I painted so I thought he might walk in and hate how bright it turned out... but he has been very happy with it.

So now I am finding ways to brighten up my living space with more pops of color AND ways to tone down my room with more neutrals :) I made an inspiration board for my room on Pinterest. Now I just need to make it happen. I've been going a little Pinterest crazy lately, so now I need to actually get decorating.

This picture below shows the color the best, though it's a touch brighter in person. 

The kids had fun helping me, Makiah got creative with her art work. It was a fun project! Now I just have Makiah's bedroom, the laundry room, my closet, and my bathroom to paint. It's crazy how much of our house we've painted. Nearly every bit of it. 

Lets talk paint.

I NEED a project. Something to get me out of this rut (also known as winter). I am dying of boredom and so I decided it's about time I paint my room.

Let me tell you something about me. I think I'm scared of color. I always go with neutrals when it comes to paint, frames, curtains, decor, furniture, clothes, accessories... Though, I have loved teal for the longest time. As I've started decorating my house I've gone with teal curtains in the kitchen, teal rugs in the halls, teal table in the entry... Makiah's room has some teals and two of our bathrooms are painted Palladian Blue by Benjamin Moore, which is a light pretty teal color. So I decided that my room could not be decorated in teal. I needed to go a different route. But it did need color... The rest of my house is painted in various shades of gray.

In case you are picturing my house all gray and teal... no worries. I haven't decorated a ton yet but here are some of the color schemes I am going for in the living space of my house. :)

Yesterday I decided on Benjamin Moore Jamestown Blue for my room. It seemed calm and comforting to me and it seemed to flow with the rest of my house. So I got a sample and let my girls go to town on one of my walls.

I loved it, and then I hated it. And then I loved it again. Then the sun went down for the night and I hated the color without the natural light. It looked too... teal/turquoise (Kinda like this). I was trying to stay away from teal! So last night I started over, but every paint swatch I was drawn to had the same teal tint to it.

So then I decided, if it's teal that I want then I'm going with teal! I stopped looking at the bold bright blues and remembered my Sister in law has the prettiest living room painted in Sherwin Williams Quietude. It reminds me of the Palladian color in my bathrooms, but bluer and calmer in a way. It's also similar to Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue (which might have a little more green than the Quietude), I had a sample of the Wythe Blue already, so I painted that on another wall this morning and I LOVE it. But now I look back at the Jamestown blue and I think I like it more for my room. Goodness people!! I've come full circle and here I am choosing the color I started with? Who knows, by tonight I may hate it again... And tomorrow I'll be painting my room gray... Because I'm afraid of color and that's all I know.

Help! Someone tell me just to go with the Jamestown... It's bright and fun and who knows, I might just like it.

I guess my worry is this- My room is big with vaulted ceilings and the color is pretty deep and bold. I'm worried that it might be too much for my room and it might overwhelm me (I'm needing something calm and comforting since I tend to get anxious... but at the same time I originally wanted something deep and bold-a change). I guess I won't know for sure until I get it up on all the walls. Gah.

(The picture with Daphne is not the true color... It looks lighter and just plain blue-the paint was still wet. The other picture seems to be better match to what the Jamestown looks like in my room, but really it looks different every time I go in there and when the lighting is different.)

Daph Says and Does

This started out as a small post, but then I added more and more of the things Daphne has said and done recently. She is a little jabber mouth and just goes and goes non stop. We love this little girl! She is now 2 years and 4 months old. She still uses a binky and takes a nap each day, she is my baby girl. She sleeps in her crib at nap time and on her mattress on the floor at night. She is ready for a bed... but mom isn't. She wants to be big and do everything that the kids do. I want her to stay small.

Words and phrases she says...

"Ohpps daisy" (she must have heard me say oops-a-daisy, which I really didn't notice myself saying until she did)

"I had it first!" (Even if she didn't, she just says this when she wants something.)

"Oh man!"

"Heeey!" (When things don't go her way.)

"That's silly"

"Is that good?" (wondering if what she did is ok or right).

"Why?" (My two year old is already in this phase where she asks why all the time.)

"Be-be-ball" (volleyball or basketball)

"I-unt-some" (I want some)

Me: Where's Kiah?
Daph: At school.
Me: Where's Evan?
Daph: At bus.
Me: Where's daddy?
Daph: At work.

Last night at bedtime I lost my temper with Daphne. She hadn't napped that day so we were both feeling a bit on edge and tired. I raised my voice at her and she yelled back and said "Stop it! That to loud!"

She plays a game where she pretends to sleep, when she wakes up she yells "I awake!" Usually she does this in the car when we pull into the garage. As soon as I notice she is asleep and say something about it she "wakes up."

"Me" instead of "my"... "I want me horsey binky" (she has a few binkies, and she is always specific with which one she wants). Or "I want me hat" (She insists on wearing a hood outside.)

She is quick to share with others and say sorry. If she whines for something and I ask her to say please she signs it and says "pweeese" with the sweetest voice.

We went to a restaurant recently, usually I order her drink for her but after the older kids chose theirs she pulled out her binky and told the waitress "I want choc-o-late milk."

She is obsessed with "taking" noses and kisses and eating them. If we take hers she gets upset and says "Give it back!"or "Heeey!" And takes it back. Dad tickled her feet and she said "Heeey!" and took her "foot" back and put it back on her.

Names... She is so good with names. Kiah was the first name she got down after daddy and mommy. She didn't learn Daphne or Evan right away. She said "Bebe" (or baby) for Daphne and "Boy" for Evan. Now she says "Dap-ne "and "Eben." She knows friends names including most of the kids in nursery. She'll point out kids at church and call out their names :)

Sometimes she'll pretend she is someone else. For awhile she would call herself Dora and she thought it was silly when I called her Boots. Now she likes to pretend she is Baby Peach from Mario Kart.

She likes to pretend she is a baby, she has a cute pretend baby voice and she'll even fake a temper tantrum. I think she gets this from Kiah who does the same thing ;)

She is sweet to us when we are sad, she'll get us tissues and give us hugs and kisses. Even if she is distracted by a movie or toy she will stop and take care of someone if they are crying.

Things she loves:

Food...
Strawberry milk
Gogurts and yogurt
Hummus
Strawberrys
"Treat snacks" (Fruit snacks)

Baby dolls
Jumping on the bed, couch, or trampoline
Playing house/pretending
Play Doh
Nursery at church
Books
Dogs and other animals

TV/movies...
Dora, Boots, and Diego
Peppa pig
The Croods

Therapy

It's was running joke between Dallas and I that volleyball is my "therapy" and without it I'm a mess. Over time it became less of a joke and more of a reality. I NEED volleyball. At least once a week... But really, every other day would be ideal. Recently I haven't had my weekly volleyball league which had been my relief and excitement that I got to look forward too. My therapy. It's winter and I really struggle with anxiety during these cold months. Luckily I've had church volleyball to look forward to, but I've been thinking lately of other things that have been my "therapy" during this long winter...

Friends. Being able to leave in the evenings with a couple friends and just hang out at Starbucks or McDonalds and chat. Or a girls night or movie night at a friends house. We all need the adult conversation and to be able to get out of the house. Soooo nice.

A good book. This winter I've read the Divergent series and the Cinder series. Loved them both! It's so nice to escape reality and get caught up in a good story.

Photography. I forget about my big girl camera all to often. But when I pull it out I'm so happy. Last week I did an in home family session and it was just what I needed to remember how much I love photography. Now I'm dreaming of starting a photography business again... This time specializing in lifestyle or rather, storytelling photography. Taking photos of real life as it happens. Now I'm determined to have my big girl camera out and ready to practice on my kiddos and to create art for my own walls.

Thank goodness for therapy.

Sledding!

Our kids played out in the yard with our sleds during Christmas break. And then it snowed and snowed and snowed. Typically, in Indiana, the snow will melt a week later and then snow again maybe the week after that. I didn't think much of the sleds until later in January when I realized the snow wasn't going to melt. It was too cold to go sledding until now, so this morning I went out and dug around our yard looking for those sleds with no luck at all. There is a ton of snow out there!!

Well luckily our friends let us borrow their sleds, we got out of the house today and had some fun... And its a good thing because its supposed to warm up this week(!) So the snow will most likely be gone soon enough. I'm looking forward to the 50° forecast for Thursday! But I had to admit, even though I hate the cold, its been nice having a white pretty winter instead of a gray boring one (:

V-day

We've had a crazy winter. Endless snow and temps below zero. At times there were wind chill warnings of -40°. Evan hadn't had a full week of school since before Christmas, there has been holidays, two hour delays or school cancellations each week. On days when it feels "warmer" than usual I realize how crazy cold its been when I see that "warmer" is actually 15°.

Anyway, because of this cold we thrive on fun days and things to look forward to. Valentines day was yesterday, it was relieving to have a simple holiday to enjoy.

Our kids woke up to treats and little gifts. Dallas loves getting stuff for the kids on holidays like this, so we might have gone a little over board, but that's ok. The kids had fun at school passing out Valentines, the girls and I had lunch with friends, decorated cupcakes and then the kids went to a date night babysitting group while Dallas and I went to dinner. Dallas got me a Wii sports game that has volleyball on it so I was extra happy (:

So yes. Fun day, we needed it for sure.

Something new

I'm sad that I've been a horrible blogger this past year. It used to be something I loved to do to pass time, it really help my sanity most days. So I thought I'd try something new, I'm going to blog from my phone. You'll be seeing a lot of phone photos, but that's better than nothing... Right? Some posts might just be a picture and a quick description, just something to get my blog going again. Here we go...

Evan's tooth has been loose for about a week and today it looks like it will be coming out any minute along with the one next to it. Its his first loose tooth so he is pretty anxious for it to come out. Last week he asked me when it would fall out, I said I didn't know. He got upset and said "give me a date mom!" Ha. This kid thinks everything is on a precise schedule... Just like him.

Today we are just relaxing and I'm loving it. We've done this a lot this winter, but for some reason it is just something I needed today. No pressure to get anything done, just having fun with the kids.

Here is a picture of Evan with all his baby teeth and some randomness of my girls. Happy three day weekend (: