Tyler 8 months

Carson 8 months 

Tyler 8 months

 

 My Baby is 8 months old!! I can't believe it!! I feel like he has changed so much in the past month! He now crawls (on his knees, finally), he can pull himself up into the standing position, he has said "hi" and "mama" but he won't say them on command (he will say "ba-ba-ba"), and he has his two bottom teeth! I'm not sure how much he weighs but my guess is 23-24 pounds. He is now wearing 12-18 month clothing. It's crazy how fast he is growing!!

 

Look at me, I'm standing!! 

Tyler's new face! Cute huh? ha!! 

I'm crawling machine!! Watch out!!

Santa Baby (or babies)

Tyler Baby 2011

Baby Carson... December 2008

Wow... it's amazing to compare pictures like these! You can tell these boys are brothers!! We are so blessed to these two wonderful boys as our children!!

Headed South

Well... it's that time again... time to house hunt! Jason starts his new job on Wednesday, YES, Wednesday!! I can't believe it!! He drove down to Orlando this morning. He will need a car down there since he will be working downtown but he won't be living down town. This week also worked out to be the best week for me to go down there and go house hunting again. Instead of flying down with two children (by myself), we decided that Carson should take a road trip and ride with Jason and I could fly with Tyler Tuesday morning. We will spend the week looking at houses, figuring out the area(s) we like best, and looking at preschools for Carson. We will all fly back to Charlotte Friday night. Jason will spend the weekend with us and then head back to Orlando Sunday night. It's all very exciting!!

What a weekend!!

A fun FILLED weekend 

Friday we were able to see one of my best friends from high school, Lauren. Her husband and her recently bought a home and I was delighted to get to see it, Lauren, and her beautiful little girl McKenna!! Lauren has done a wonderful job decorating and getting her home together in just a few months!! I told her I was a bit jealous! :) I've been in our house for almost two years and I'm still working on getting it to together! :)

Tyler and McKenna

                                                     McKenna and Carson

Friday night my uncle, his wife, and son came over for dinner. It was great seeing all of them!! They recently moved to DC from England. (My uncle is in the air force) It was great catching up with all of them! The last time we saw them Carson was 3 months old and the time before that I wasn't even married yet. My cousin Bailey is 11 and Carson thought he was wonderful!! He LOVED playing with him!! Bailey did a great job working with Carson on his level and showing him how to play with his legos and play golf. It was a great night!!

We were able to spend time with Jason's parents and my parents! Of course they all love cuddling with Tyler and playing with Carson!!

Glammy and Grandpa

Big man turned 7 months while we were up there! 

Our family with Jason's grandparents! 

My mom, cousin Zachary, and Carson playing in the leaves 

Aunt Elisha and the boys 

Nana and the boys 

On the way back we were able to visit my good friend Nellie. She just had a beautiful baby Gaines. It was wonderful seeing baby Gaines and Nellie. Even though it was a short visit, I'm so glad we were able to stop!! 

Carrots anyone??

Today I was cutting up carrots for a soup recipe and this sparked a conversation about Baxter: 

Carson: "Baxter likes carrots.
Me: Yes, he did. You're right,
Carson: I like them too!
Me: Oh you do?
Carson: Yes, can I have one?
Me: Sure
Carson: Maybe you can go get Baxter and he can have a carrot.
Me: How would I do that?
Carson: Oh, you can go to heaven and get him. You can pick him up and then he will be all better. He won't be sick any more.
Me: I wish I could Carson. I would like that.
Carson: Me too!

Oh the simple mind of a three year old. If it were only that easy!! We miss you Baxter!!

1 week!

The Dining Room Buffet

Found it... at my secret place...The Salvation Army
Cost...sticker price $299.00 but I paid $150! The Salvation Army not only has a great selection of old furniture but they discounts their based on how long the piece has been in the store. Great deal huh?? :)


It took me one week to finish my latest project! I couldn't work on is much last weekend because Jason was gone, then Carson was sick, and now I am sick, AND this is a BIG piece of furniture! I guess I didn't realize how big and "detailed" this piece of furniture was until I got started!! This was my hardest piece yet!!

Before

I used two different approaches with this particular piece. I striped the top of the buffet using a chemical stripper, then I sanded it until it was a nice light wood color. I taped off the top so the stain wouldn't leak to the bottom part of the buffet. Then I stained it. I used two coats of the Minwax^® Wood Finish™ Jacobean. Then I finished it with Minwax^® Polycrylic^® Protective Finish. For the bottom part of the buffet I made my own color. I used the paint I recently painted our bedroom a gray/blue called polished silver, a creamy white (the one I used on the side table), and a true gray. I wanted it to be neutral with a hint of color. I think I definitely achieved that look! I sanded the edges and then painted it with stain and wiped it off to give it the distressed look. I LOVE how it turned out! :)

After

I plan on putting an old ceramic pitcher and bowl in
the center but it's at my mom's house right now.


Did you notice those vases on the right side of the buffet?? They looked like the picture below before I spray painted them...

Looking into the dining room from the bar area.

New Furniture

I've been busy the past few weeks working on new pieces of furniture and accents for the house. Jason gave me the "ok" try and find some inexpensive pieces on craigslist, yard sales, and other local resale stores (Goodwill or Salvation Army). My hope is that I can find some nice wood furniture that needs a little TLC and then refinish or repaint it. So far I have been OVERJOYED with all of my finds!! I have been having A LOT of fun finding the pieces and redoing them!! Soon I hope to finally fill our house with new/reworked furniture while staying on a tight budget! :)

My First Project:
A dresser and mirror set
Found it: On Craigslist
Purchase price: $55

Before
(I already took the mirror off to fit it in the car)

Dresser After

I ended up replacing the knobs on the dresser as well.
I think that really helped complete the look.
(The cost of that was 3 dollars x 6 =18 dollars plus tax)

Mirror Before Mirror and Dresser after
(It's in our entryway)

Burlap Monogram:
Cost:
4 pack of Canvases at Michaels, 8.99(on sale) plus and an extra 20% off
$4.21 for a yard of burlap (I have at least a half yard left)
Paint (I already had)

I saw something like this on Pinterest and thought I could make some for our new dresser. I bought deep canvases at Michaels and covered them with burlap using my staple gun. I found a font that I liked and printed out our initials. Traced them with a sharpie and then painted the letters in. I did two coats to make it darker.

Before painting

Burlap letters on the new dresser

Round Side Table
Found it: At a garage sale
Cost: $10

When I purchased this piece I wasn't sure where I was going to put it, but I figured for 10 dollars I could find a place in my house for it!! I was thinking for this piece I would try something a little different. I ended up painting the bottom part of the table a creamy white and then staining the top a dark brown. I really like how it turned out. I also just used only one distressing technique on this one. After painting it, I just sanded some of the edges unlike a lot of the other pieces I have done. I typically sand it after I paint it and then paint on some stain and wipe it off to get an antiqued look.

Table before

Table After

I decided to try it in the office in-between some leather reading chairs. Now I need to get a lamp and some other decorative things to put on the table.

Side Table/Night Stand
Found it: Salvation Army
Cost: $23

I bought this piece right after I finished my dresser. I thought it would be a great piece to go next to the front door. It was a little beat up but that made the finished product that much better!!

Night Stand/Side Table
before

I painted it a dark gray that I found in the "oops" paint section. I absolutely LOVE the color!! I ended up using the original hardware as well, I just used a flat black spray paint to paint them. It only cost me 2.99 for new looking hardware!

Night Stand/Side Table After
How it looks next to the door
Now I just need to figure out what to put on it.

Old Wooden Tool Box
Found it: at a garage sale (next to the round side table)
Cost: 17 dollars (they wanted $35 for it!!)
I thought it would look great next to the aqua dresser in the entryway.

Tool Box before

Tool Box After I also used that great gray to paint the tool box. What a great "oops" find!!
Next to the dresser Any suggestions as to what I should put in it?? I was also thinking of standing it up so you are looking into it. I'm still playing with it... I also want to stencil either numbers or or letters or a combination of the two on the outside or inside to add a little spice.