Bathroom Make-Over in Progress

 

As I type this, the paint in the hall bath is drying. As is the paint in the kitchen and living room also. The hall bath is small. Super Duper Small, but it works for my chica and guest (what small amount of guest I have over at least)

The bathroom was purple.. now it is gray. I want to do gray and yellow, gray and blue, or gray and green. The kitchen is also gray so either way I will have a gray and yellow room!

I am trying to find a shower curtain. Something simple. Right now I have a plain white one. I am fine with the plain white but it needs to be a new one. This shower curtain has seen one to many baths! I have to say, for a white shower curtain, it held its own for a while.

I want something simple but I am not afraid of color. I need color in the mono toned gray rooms! That is the best part of gray, just change the accents to change the room!

Example Time  (my favorite)

Ruffles: I am loving ruffles right now, but too much for a small bathroom? Maybe

The one above is actually a tutorial on how to add ruffles to a curtain. I love this idea because I can pick out my own color. Although, I am really feeling the exact picture about.

This is just beautiful.. it might not be the right color for my bathroom but one day, I will have this somewhere in my house!

This is an etsy item, again, I can have it made to color preference. I like the idea of just the ruffles on bottom.. OR DO I??

Simply white ruffles?? All over?

Then there are these two (above and below). The above curtain is pretty, it has a thick stripe of lace looking stuff too! I love lace. The one below, although is horrible picture quality, has a few small sequence on it for some shimmer. They are not too much though and are only on the line between the color change.

The ones below are a little more girly/childish but I love them and they have the pop of color. They also come in blue.

 

Gray and Yellow! I am loving everything in this picture. EVERYTHING

The one above and below are to show you the colors with the white curtains. Let me add, I love both the white curtains with texture to it. I am all about some white, the texture just adds that little extra touch. NOTE: Don’t forget the walls are gray!

Ok, the below one I am not going to get. It is too much and it isn’t what I am looking for but it shows the pink with gray. I could do pink and gray although Zak may have an opinions about pink, it is Madyson’s bathroom after all.

WHAT DO YOU THINK/LIKE?

Whatever colors are chosen, accents will be the finishing touch.
Be looking for finished makeover photos!

Speaking of accents..  Why don’t we have an ikea?
I have heard so many good things about Ikea

Changing my mind… again

 

In two days our living room, kitchen, and bathroom are being repainted. I thought I knew the colors I wanted. Now, I have changed my mind. I was thinking blues, living room and kitchen the same blue just a different shade, now.. I have no idea. The living room I was just doing 2 walls, now I think I may want all 4. But then there is the fish tank that I am now sure how we would move if I decided on all 4 walls. The bathroom I have changed from a pale salmonish color to gray.. Now I think I want the kitchen a gray color also, which makes me want the living room a gray color. There is just so much you can do with grays!

Kitchen would be so cute in gray with lime green accents. Or yellow accents. I love gray and yellow. Gray and yellow is happening in at least one room of the house! I could do the bathroom in gray and teal.. or gray and pink.. (the bright colors being only accent colors, no painting with the bright colors) all the grays would be light grays. Nothing dark

I am fine with all this until I get to the living room. Our couch is brown. The carpet is tanish. Gray and brown? no no no.. I don’t think so. I even looked at pictures and there isn’t any gray and brown combos. No rugs, now idea pics, no pillows, and no curtains.

I guess we will have to just wait and see what happens on Monday..

Until then.. Ill keep on changing my mind!

The good, bad, and thankfulness

The Good

There is a bit of good in my life right now. Zak’s work is going great. I am doing wonderful in school. Most important though, Madyson is learning to read. Like READ READ. Check out this post about her reading. It is amazing. I mean, she is amazing so what should I expect right? Other good, I am loving Dental Science. I think I maybe should be a scientist. Not really because I do not want to do all that school {at this point in my life} but for real. I think I could be a scientist who researches, test, you know, finds cures for Cancer..

The Bad

ooooo.. This is not a good one. I have slacked for 2 weeks now on “being healthy”. Not good, not good, not good at all! Now that I wrote it out and feel all guilty and ashamed, guess that means in the morning I will be back to water water water and healthy food.. 

The Thankfulness
I am thankful for healing. Whatever the healing is for or about. If we could not heal, how would we go on? This is physical, mental, spiritual, and so on. People need to heal. Our body needs to be able to heal or it would not be able to get us through the day. Our mind needs to be able to heal to tell our body what to do. Our heart has to heal to be able to control our head that tells our body what to do. Our spirit needs to heal to be able to allow our heart to control our head that tells our body what to do.. You know, the ankle bone is connected to the leg bone..  AnYwAyS, healing, no matter how big or small, is how we become who we are, do what we do, believe what we believe, and know what we know..

Valentines 2012

 

 

Madyson celebrated her 5th Valentines Day this year. That is so crazy to think about. For her, it began with her preschool vday party the day before V-day. Look at this cute little girl all done up! I have to take credit though, I am the one that dresses her so adorably perfect! (she picked the pink skirt over the red skirt and the braids instead of the half back pony)

I really love that cute mean face!

Then came V-day morning. I forgot to take pictures of her and my presents, but if you notice there is a stuffed puppy in the background. Also, the cute V-day pjs are from me
{she is seriously obsessed with pjs at this point in her life}
While we were at the children’s place the week before, Mady fell in love with a gold locket. I knew this was the perfect gift from Zak! When I went back to get it for Zak, I saw another necklace that I thought was must prettier. It was hearts but had the look of lace on it. I love lace, pearls, and white. While standing in line to buy the necklace I liked, I thought to myself I should get the one she wants. I have been working on letting her have what she wants instead of just getting what I want. I ended up with both necklaces just in case the one I liked really was prettier. Back to V-day morning. Zak had hung the necklaces on the wall. Of course she noticed the puppy, she saw the candy, but she LoVeD the necklace. Oh, and guess what necklace she LoVeD the most.. yep.. the gold locket. (Zak even put pictures of him and her in the locket) She wears the locket all the time, everywhere, 24/7.

By the end of the day, our table was covered in V-day stuff! Between gifts to Mady and from Mady, to me and from me, to my mom and from my mom, we have flowers, candy and cards everywhere! Really, how can people not love V-day with all the pink, red, and love?

Of course we did have to make a V-day treat. (yes Kayla, I still have you some bagged up)

(shake..it..up)

This was V-day chex mix. Chex, peanut butter, powder sugar, butter, vanilla chips, and m&ms

{oh yea Pinterest!}

 

I have to say, this was a very loving and heart felt V-day for us! Now, moving on to the green stuff.. St. Patty Day! Like I have said before, I am a holiday lover!

 

Hope you all had a wonderful Love Day!! We love you all!

Vday...

The world is split on Holidays. Especially when it comes to Vday. I personally have grown up loving every holiday. Ok, maybe not everything holiday, such as; presidents day or something; but pretty much every holiday.

My thoughts on Vday..

I know people say "every day should be vday. it shouldn't take a holiday to show your loved ones that you love them. people shouldn't feel the need or obligation to buy presents due to it being a made up holiday about love" and blah blah blah

I love Vday! I agree, you should love your people everyday but with this said, every person falls into a rut. Every relationship gets into an everyday routine. We ALL slip here and there when it comes to showing our love. No matter if that is to our Husband/Wife, Brother/Sister, Mother/Father, Friends/ or our children.

V'day is just another holiday.. just another holiday to remind us that hey, it is time to get out of our rut, go out of our way a little bit extra, celebrate life and love. It is just another holiday that gets us out of routine. What is wrong with that? Yes, again, I do agree that we should make the effort on days that isn't a made up holiday BUT everyone needs a little help or reminder here and there. So why not show you love, go out of your way, do things randomly like people say, AND do them on Vday. Isn't that better than skipping Vday, complaining about Vday, or wishing it would end.

I stood in the Vday section of Walmart yesterday listening to a conversation, as I always do, between a women and an older man. The women was saying, why buy something today? Why play into the Americanized holiday just to get you to spend money? I think it is a waste of time. I think we should show each other happiness and love everyday. The man simply responded, because it is fun. As I then walked away, I laughed out loud at this because he is very right. It is fun. The cute red and pink teddy bears with xoxo all over hearts. The pretty flowers in vases decorated with the word love. It is fun!

For example;
I am 26 years old. Today, I took vday cards to school with me. I just printed them off the computer, cut them out, taped a piece of chocolate to them (since everyone in my class loves chocolate). When I got there, I said I have valentines for everyone and the smiles that came across their faces.. SO WORTH IT. They were all jealous they didn't pick out cards for the class, happy they were thought of, and I am sure felt loved.

For example;
Zak decorated the kitchen with vday stuff, set up Mady's presents on the table, and woke her up at 7:45 this morning. The look on her face when she got the necklace she wanted was priceless. The hug she gave to the puppy dog I got her was sweet. Then she looked at me and smiled and said happy Valentines day mommy. Perfect!

I have many examples from the day (the cute heart shaped on the cupcakes from the cupcake kitchen. The yummy vday chex mix we made. The time spent with my mom. The funny card my sister sent me.. all the flowers in my house. The flowers I got a day early from Zak, and sooooo on.. the list goes on and on)

So if you don't like Valentines day for whatever your reasons are, that is fine. If you are just so good and perfect that you show your love everyday and you don't need a reminder day to get out of a rut or routine. If you don't enjoy the love and hearts all around town. Please just be quite, don't buy gifts for anyone, stop complaining, stay at home, and do whatever it is you would rather do on the "made up holiday".

Just let us enjoy the day.


History of Valentines

One story goes;
The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Another story goes;
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons, where they were often beaten and tortured. According to one legend, an imprisoned Valentine actually sent the first "valentine" greeting himself after he fell in love with a young girl--possibly his jailor's daughter--who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter signed "From your Valentine," an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories all emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic and--most importantly--romantic figure. By the Middle Ages, perhaps thanks to this reputation, Valentine would become one of the most popular saints in England and France

And more;
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial--which probably occurred around A.D. 270--others claim that the Christian church may have decided to place St. Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to "Christianize" the pagan celebration of Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February, or February 15, Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus

Fun Facts
The ancient Romans celebrated the Feast of Lupercalia on February 14th in honor of Juno, the queen of the Roman gods and goddesses.

Juno was also the goddess of women and marriage.

Many believe the 'X' symbol became synonymous with the kiss in medieval times. People who couldn't write their names signed in front of a witness with an 'X.' The 'X' was then kissed to show their sincerity.

Girls of medieval times ate bizarre foods on St. Valentine's Day to make them dream of their future spouse.

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned onto their sleeves for one week for everyone to see. This was the origin of the expression "to wear your heart on your sleeve."

In 1537, England's King Henry VII officially declared February 14th the holiday of St. Valentine's Day.

just some slight calmness, smartness, and cuteness

 

Nothing new going on here.. Nothing new to write about..

As I was sitting at the table doing homework, my chica walks in and says:
”You have an anatomy book?” me: yes, how did you know that?
“cause look. That is the body and the body is anatomy”

See why she is so smart?!

We are still trying to figure out what to do about the schools. Went and looked at another school today. I am pretty sure we are decided on it. It is a Christian School and I like that. I think we are going to move to the mtn next year, or the year after, depending on what our relator says is best. If not the mtn, we have one other place we are interested in but have to find out more about the school system and the area. So, for now, the plan is to send her to a private school for PreK and possibly Kindergarten and then move to the mtn and send her to public school until 5th grade. Then back to private school. Who knows, we could fall in love with the school she is at or decide to stay off the mtn and put her in a different private school in a year or two. For now though, the plan is in action and all is slightly calmer in my head. That was an intense few weeks for my brain.

OH!! I must add, I got a 110 on my first A&P test. Oh yea, I WAS THE ONLY ONE! I didn’t miss any and I got the bonus question right. {naming the 10 body systems} whoop whoop. GO BRAIN.. GO BRAIN.. DO YOUR THANG.. DO YOUR THANG.. (yes, I just sang that out loud so you should sing it out loud too)

Ok sooo, I am doing great in school.. Mady is the smartest 4 year old ever.. HUMM, maybe she does get it from me! Or maybe, maybe she got the smartness from her daddy, while she was in my belly I absorbed some smartness from her.. and now we are a family full of geniuses!

Speaking of the smartest 4 year old in the world. She can read. YES, read. Honestly.. for the first time the other night she truly read, by herself, a book she has never read. We read the “bob books” (thanks NaNa) and she read collection 1 book 15 truly by herself. I would have given her a 95. I had to tell her the word do because she knows oo makes the “oo” sound but she got lost on the do .. she knows to.. but I guess do just didn’t click with her. It was amazing. I know she can sound out words, I know she can read certain words, I know she has been learning to read for some time now, but, she can officially read. This is one proud mom right here!

Zak has been getting off work before 6:30 now a days. That is amazing.. I love having him at home. Madyson seems to be happier about it too. She is next to him from the moment he gets home. Like a leech. Daddy this, daddy that, daddy play, daddy read. It is nice hearing daddy daddy daddy instead of mommy mommy mommy 24/7. (although the mommy mommy mommy isn’t that bad to heard.. she loves me)

The house is clean. This isn’t anything new. I am just trying to figure out what to write about. OH! We are painting some rooms in our house. Rewind… our nephew is painting some rooms in our house so be looking for that post soon.

 

Lately I have been very indecisive. From the school to where to move to. From my schooling classes to what color to paint the kitchen. From cutting Mady’s hair to what to eat. I don’t know why I am second guessing EVERYTHING in my life right now but I am. Say a prayer that my ability to have an “answer for everything” comes back to me soon.. like.. tomorrow!

Ok, I have put off homework for 40 mins now, I guess I better go now!

Her amazing hair

Looking at her now you would never know how she was born. Her long blond beautiful hair (she actually made a song up about her hair and that is the chorus.. long blonde beautiful hair) has not always been long and blonde. She was born with a natural mohawk and her hair was dark brown. I loved that little mohawk.

Above is from the day she was born, below she was 2 weeks old

I am not sure exactly when her hair turned blonde, but it did. I am not sure exactly when her hair got long but after 4 years of growing and not having a single haircut, long is to be expected. Watch how her hair grew below!

12 months (1 year old)

18 months (1.5 years old)

24 months (2 years old)

2 years old and her first french braid (via Kdale)


31 months (2.5 years old)

36 months (3 years old)

42 months (3.5 years old)

48 months (4 years old)

And now for the hair just weeks before it is cut!

1 month shy of 4.5 years old

She twirls her hair all the time and I finally got a picture!

Kristen and I cut her hair when she was less than 1 years old. We only cut her bangs and may have trimmed that little rattail she had going from when her mohawk grew out. Since then her hair had never been cut.

I knew after Christmas I was going to cut it and that is exactly what I did. My poor little girl woke up with a cold, her eyes were so red and watery but she was a trooper. She did great, standing in the chair, watching her cut it, and then getting pink put in it. She really was excited about it, although the pictures she doesn’t look to happy! She HATES when her eyes water. She can handle the runny nose, sneezing, and cough but watery eyes drive her crazy. Really, she will cry because her eyes wont stop watering and she carries around (and sleeps with) a bath cloth that is wet to wipe her eyes on. They burn, water, turn red, and become swollen with every cold or allergy she has.
She is going to hate the TN allergies. Anyways,

On January 24th 2012, Mady got her first haircut!

Before After

a week after her hair cut

Most people probably can not tell a difference. If you don’t see her everyday or weekly, you don’t realize how long her hair really is was. 7 inches made a huge difference though. It comes below the middle of her back but not to her booty. I recently braided her pigtails and they looked so short. In a high pony it is short looking too. I probably could have gone another 3 o 4 inches but at the time, I was a little nervous and not sure how much 10 inches would be. Needles to say though, I love it. I really love it. Now I am going to let it grow (7 inches) and then cut it 10 inches to donate it, and repeat this until she is old enough to decide her haircut. She is so pretty. I just love her!

Before After
and yes, I love monkeys and buy any pjs with them on it! (and any shirt)

I must add, it is much easier to comb due to the fact that I was having to make her stand up when I did her hair because of the length. Now she can sit. There are still just as many tangles, we still braid it before bed, it still takes forever to dry, and it still gets in the way of everything (eating, car seat buckle, snuggles)

With all said though, the long hair is worth it.
She is still my beautiful blond long haired girl!