dress up closet pin completed

so when i came across this dress up closet pin on pinterest I was like oh we need this for all those dress up things we have and all the accessories that go along with it all. so i followed the link to the original pin to see if there were instructions on how to build it. I really liked the original pin but was thinking it was a bit big for the space we have so i was happy that when i went to the  original that it was a tad different and smaller which was perfect. Well needless to say it's one of those things that I pinned who knows how long ago and it was more of a yeah it would be nice to have it but probably never will. but then in one of my journeys to the goodwill I ran across an old microwave cabinet (well, that's what the tag said on it at the store so we will go with it) I called Skip in to come look at it. -He doesn't love the goodwill as much as i so he opted to stay in the car- I shared my idea with him and then sent it with him to the check out.  one of the wheels had been broken off and put back on so simply that it fell off again when Skip put it in the car so he put a new bottom on it and reattached on the wheels onto a much sturdier piece of wood.He also had to put the pieces in the bottom so the drawer could move in and out. You can see a difference b/c the top drawer had the original plastic pieces but there was nothing in the bottom so the drawer wouldn't work right so he fixed that. I loved the idea of having the drawers much better than the design I had found online just b/c this way there was a way to have each of the kids items separate and not just thrown in the bottom of the clothes. since i have 1 girl and 1 boy they have different accessories for their dress up clothes. she has a drawer full of purses,necklaces,& shoes while his is filled with swords,shields and such. This was what it looked like to start with. Just plain and brown and boring and a cabinet for your kitchen.(please ignore the beyond disorganized/messy/dirty shop)

home from the goodwill and the
wheel has been fixed

just a basic white prime coat over it

our awesome lime green color that just screams fun :)

You can see in the green picture that there are hangers hanging. since it was in theory just a microwave stand before it needed a bar to hang clothes from so Skip attached one of those as well and we didn't even have to buy it we made it. well kinda. about a month ago the top of our trampoline frame got smashed during a storm and had pieces bent up,if you didn't see it you can check it out here. so those bent up pieces were just gonna be trashed when I suggested hey can't you cut one to fit in this stand to hang the clothes up and voila he did it. He still has to put the finishing touches on it which are the handles for the 2 drawers but besides that here it is all nice and finished.

putting a dent in spring break

It's so hard to believe that we are already half way through spring break and when Serenity goes back to school on Monday she will only have 15 more days left of school. This week has been very productive so far. We finally nailed down a theme for her birthday party and it is going to be Arts & Crafts since she loves being crafty :)
Daddy made the wonderful suggestion that we make birdhouses for all of the kids to paint as a craft at the party and not only did he make the suggestion he is making 25 birdhouses from scratch. now of course 25 is just our guess for now, if everyone that is invited shows up then we will need more.This was the first step in the process. cutting all the pieces of wood. 125 pieces in the orange bin,75 in the green and 50 in the white and 50 in the round. We did that yesterday and then today he actually knocked out the building of the bases for most of them. 

We will probably just do basic cookout food for the menu but I'll get that nailed out in the next couple days.

       The kids had the wonderful pleasure of spending the night with gramma Sunday & Monday night. They love their gramma so much and mommy really enjoyed getting to sleep in for 2 days :) but they got back from gramma's just in time to go on a play date with their cousins today. We had a great pizza lunch and then they played at the park for hours and all enjoyed themselves

blessed even in rough times

It is so easy in times of struggle to forget all the things you are blessed with. Things have been very difficult here and there for my family for many years. That all came to a head mother's day weekend of 2011 which lead to many changes in my life,the lives of my children and my husband's life. And with all the changes in our lives it changed the way our family worked. For the most part things have been working out better (as a whole) then they ever seemed to in the past. Now don't get me wrong,this by no means is to lead anyone to think that I think my life is perfect or that I'm pretending it is. It is quite the opposite. Skip went back to school part time while working,then became a full time student. He was getting unemployment so we were able to make it work, but then that stopped. now we are living off of savings and that's about done. Praying that God has it all handled though and that he'll let us in on that plan as soon as he can, LOL.
But even in the midst of lack of funds and the job hunting it's still a great thing to be thankful that God has provided us with some where to live. God has provided us with family that will help us financially until we can get back to normal. God has provided us with a church home that keeps our hearts & minds focused on him. God has provided us with the ability to send our daughter to free Pre-k where we have been blessed with 2 great teachers and she has started building great friendships. God has blessed us with so much and sometimes it's hard to see and remember all of the blessings when things are rough, but I am so thankful for everything he has done for me so far and every great thing that is yet to come.

lunch time

My favorite days of the week are the days I can go and have lunch with this little cutie

longer and longer and longer

So I'm just sitting here today thinking of things I need to start working on and I realize that the longer I sit and think of things, the longer my list is getting. Serenity will be on spring break starting next Monday and we have a play date at the end of the week, we need to set one up for the beginning of the week and we will be packed on all the rest of the days. Serenity's birthday party needs planning because this one is a big one this year. Not only will she be a whole entire hand but she will also be inviting her whole class. that's an additional 22 invites that will be going out. We need to figure out if she wants a theme and what we are going to do. We also need to start working on the gifts we will be giving to her teachers for the end of the year. Then I want to go ahead and start planning out summer so that each day is filled with something fun, well maybe not every day because let's face it mommy is going to need a break in order to not lose my mind.

house party

there is nothing like a house party....

there is nothing like a house party....

there is nothing like a house party....

if you haven't heard me talk about house party in the past then let me tell you how much i LOVE them and if you have heard me then let me remind you, i LOVE them. I love them to the moon, I love them to the stars, I love them even when I don't get picked because they definitely make up for it when I do get picked. The last one I had was last September. I am not sure if you can see the pictures from my Fisher Price Party without having an account with house party but i highly encourage you to create an account and sign up for parties like as fast as you can. I've been applying and applying and not getting picked but then i finally got an email the other day telling me I had been chosen for the Seagram's Escapes Girls' Night house party. I'm so super excited but now i just have to figure out when to have it.

trip down memory lane

I was cleaning out the mess that are my emails, yes that is plural. yes i have entirely to many email accts. but as i was cleaning i came across this video. it is crazy how fast the time goes. very little hair (at least in comparison to now),barely walking all that well and barely not a baby,but oh how i do miss that baby.

God is Great

great,great,great Easter weekend. Not only did i get to spend Friday night with some great ladies from church. Not only did the kids & I get to help out and participate in an egg hunt on Saturday.Not only did we enjoy a family dinner on Sunday. Not only did Skip & I get away for a while to get some fishing in, but we got to be reminded about God's love for us. Things may not be the best right now financially. Things may not be the best with living arrangements right now. But things are great because I have a wonderful husband that is doing everything he can to turn our lives around. I have 2 of the best kids ever who surprise me with the things they say and do every day. And the most important thing is I have an amazing God who has forgiven me for so,so much. I am so thankful for that and with him i actually have no fear not knowing what's going to happen next on this journey.

turning a loss into a gain

It was a sad day in the Richmond house back in March. after only receiving this awesome gift from Santa of 2012 we lost part of our trampoline. The top frame was bent in a storm and a top piece of the net was torn. Luckily we were able to reuse the net for another project and the trampoline itself is still usable  it's just like when mommy & daddy were kids and you had to jump with no safety net but luckily our kids are smart enough to figure out just don't jump near the edge. LOL

this is how we have re-purposed the netting. the right side (with the lattice) is their sandbox and now the left is their screened in snacking area :)