"PO" BOY CUBBIES!

My mudroom has been a P.I.P since we moved in. Project in progress! I specifically have one counter that I loathe! All the bags that rule our life, and books, and church stuff, and work stuff, and misc., are piled, and piled and piled on the counter! I've been wanting to buy cubbies with baskets for over 2 1/2 years, but the money I continually budget to buy them is constantly getting robbed by Peter to pay Paul. I really want the IKEA cubbies, but they are about $150. I look for them second hand on ksl, but they sell within hours of being listed. Sorry that I don't have a before pic of the mess, but you can imagine what I'm talking about. I'd have to dig to China through the bags every day to find the one bag I needed. Yes, I have a lot of bags, I know! I have diaper bags for specific occasions and individual children. One for when all 3 kids are with me, one for when it's just the baby, one for when it's just the boys, several purses, and a specific church bag. This does make my life easier, I'm not always pulling stuff out and putting it back in, and leaving stuff behind, and letting it pile up. It's all contained. Anyway, back to my "bag"hole of Calcutta!(black hole if you missed the humor ;-)) I finally got tired of waiting for the coffers to open, so I improvised. Heavy duty apple boxes. Now I just want to say for the record that I'm only sharing this because a friend told me she thought it was a brilliant idea, so I thought I'd share.

Not pretty, but definitely industrious. Thank you Costco, where there is always a plethora of different sized boxes. These DIY cubbies have worked great so far. I've been using them for over a month now. I'm sure they could be dolled up with some spray paint, scrapbook paper, or wrap them in material. I'm not going to sink any money into it, since they are only temporary and I'm holding out for the real deal.

VALENTINE CARD BOX GUITAR!

Logan is very serious when it comes to making his Valentine's Box. It doesn't help that I let him run wild with his imagination and create whatever is on his mind. So far it's been easy. We did a Robot for Kindergarten and a Rocket for First grade. This year we had plans to make it the Sunday afternoon before Valentine's (dad would be home). Wouldn't you know he changed his mind as we were getting started to make Optimus Prime (next year I guess). He wanted to make a Guitar. OOOookay...not so easy! Wouldn't you know there is NOTHING on Pinterest about making a Valentine's Guitar box. I was shocked! I searched several search engines and nada. So, we winged it. Found a really cook picture of a guitar online and we recreated it with a little kiss-azz! Luckily we had everything we needed.
Written by Amy Williams, Featuring Logan Williams, Produced by Jason, Amy and Logan Williams. Introducing Cupid's Bow and Arrow Guitar!!

You will need :
Cardboard (preferably one piece long enough to make the entire guitar, we had to use two separate pieces because of the last minute change of plans and we only had a small box to use) spray paint, string, tissue box, your imagination, and paint, markers, strickers, or a printer to decorate it.Free hand the shape of the guitar over cardboard.
Cut them out.
Since we had to make the guitar in two pieces, we over lapped the base and the neck of the guitar for extra support, then glued them together with gorilla glue, and secured it with masking tape for extra measure.
Didn't have a used tissue box, so had to open a new one, darn it! Looks like these will go into my 72 hour kits. I used the tissue box pop-out tab as a template to draw the cut out on the front of the guitar to line up the box on the back to hold the cards.We cut out the hole in the front, flipped it over and glued the tissue box to the back, then taped the crazy right out of it.
We used red push-pins as the "thingys" that hold the guitar wire. I used red wrapping ribbon as the wire.
Because the push-pins were too long and poked through the cardboard to the other side, we measured and cut two pieces of cardboard the same size to fit all four push-pins, then taped it over the sharp ends.
We planned it so the "thingys" on the other end of the guitar would be right over the inside of the tissue box, so we didn't have to worry about the "pokeys."
Logan playing around before we got to the design phase.
We decided on a "love around the world" theme, and glued notes and the word love in 25 different languages across the guitar strings as if they were sheet music.
Start to finish: 2 hours, including potty breaks, spraying time...drying time, diaper changes, and snacks!
 
 He passed out these guitar suckers to his classmates. They said, "Happy Valentine's. You Rock!" We printed out the sucker templates from Pinterest.

SUNDAY NIGHT SMACK DOWN!

"Charge!"

(Could've been a stand in for Braveheart)

"Unleash the Dragon!"

"Logan, save yourself!"

Time for a little Superhero power. Dad showed the boys how to make a Superhero mask.

Silas couldn't get his hands quite right, so he just went for a little Ka-Pow!

KRESTA'S NEW BLANKIE!

Aunt Taska is in town for a visit. She brought the crew: Zailee, Hatcher and Brielle, so there is lots of fun being had at my house....with dress up, and hide and seek, lego building and the general chaos you get when best buddies get together and run around playing and screaming like wild hooligans! I'll post pics later. The greatest part of their visit, Taska made a quilt for Kresta, and it is oh so precious!

I love the butterflies....and the green flower background, the back of the quilt has the same green material. I envision this blankie being drug around everywhere, enjoying many princess tea parties and backyard picnics. Thank you Auntie Taska!

SPICING UP MY COUNTER!

I found these super adorable, antique-y looking candy jars at the dollar store for .25 ea! They remind me of a mini version of the candy jars you would find on the counter of an old drug store or apothecary. They were left over from Christmas and filled with peppermint candy (a bonus). These were the last six they had. The moment I saw them I had an epiphany, and knew the exact place I wanted to put them. The bottom was broken out of one of them but that wasn't going to be an issue for what I intended to use them for. Once home I secured the broken jar by taping several layers of packing tape in different directions across the bottom. It worked like a charm.

I turned over each lid and filled them with things I had around the kitchen.

Then I used clear packing tape to seal them.
Then stacked them in a pyramid with the broken jar on the bottom. I love it! I plan on changing out the decor every couple months, maybe for each season or major holiday. I need a little more color I think.

MY NEW "JUNK" BASKETS

Because all of our living in done on the main floor and all of the bedrooms, the playroom and the laundry room are on the second floor, there are always piles and piles of things that need to go back upstairs. Some days there is a pile on a step, and the floor next to the step, and in the basket designated for "things to put away" on the dining table. Truthfully, it's just strung all over the house! I'd finally reached my "limit", so I decided to make a change and went hunting around the house for something I could use. I knew I didn't want to hang a basket on the railing, or make a basket that would sit on the stairs (With my clumsiness, are you kidding? That would just be an emergency room visit waiting to happen!) I didn't want to spend any money or spend much time. I found the perfect thing! Introducing my new junk baskets:

I was using these wicker baskets in my kitchen to hold school work and art supplies, but since I moved the bureau in there I no longer needed the space. These are the perfect solution for my problem. They are now conveniently located at the bottom of my stairs, and everyone kinda has their own baskets. It's great for a quick general pick up, then at the end of the day the kids grab their baskets and go put everything away.
1-is my bedroom, 2- Kresta, 3- laundry, 4- boys room, 5-playroom. I just love being organized, and when I'm organized, I'm happy, and when I'm happy, EVERYONE is happy!

PRINNY K IS GROWING UP TOO FAST.

This is what she's doing as I post these photos:

Such a precious little girl.

She reminds me so much of Logan at this age. I have to say that 8-10 months is my favorite time. She's becoming more independent, talking up a storm and her personality is starting to shine through.

Gotta be the cutest little cheerleader ever!

She was so darn cute that even the boys couldn't resist snuggling her!

Silas loves to make her laugh. It comes quite natural for him, since he is such a silly kid.

Christmas smiles! Even waking her up 3 hours early won't put her in a bad mood. Taking a bath with her cousin Brielle

Can you tell that she'd been crying for a couple minutes right before I took this picture? I was busy making dinner and she just wanted to be held. All I did was smile and talk to her and she immediately started beaming. She has such a sweet little disposition, even when she's mad.

Here favorite place to take a nap, on the jumperoo. Funny thing is, even those she's sleeping, she still bounces every once in a while. I need to get it on camera. Logan did the same thing as well.

Kresta looks a little concerned to be left alone in the hands of Silas! Don't get me wrong he loves his baby sister, but he's also Cycone Silo...and she knows it!

MY NEW ROOM DIVIDER

For over 2 1/2 years I've had to deal with kids hanging, climbing, and jumping over the back of the living room couch off the kitchen dining area. I can't really blame them, it's just too much of a temptation. I've been looking for some type of a decor to divide the room and prevent this.Finally, I found it! Look at these really cute, french countryish garden gate doors I bought from Hobby Lobby for $85 ea.

Now $85 is steep, but not too bad. I've had my eye on them for over a year and they were regularly $200. I've even been to antique stores and malls, garage sales, etc to find something like this, so I figure it was meant to be that I just happened to be at that Hobby Lobby that day, and what I was looking for was discounted, AND they were the last two!

I picked up the bureau for $75 off ksl forever ago and have been using it in the boys bedroom until I had the money to redecorate their bedroom with a pirate theme (pics of this remodel coming soon). Just remember this kitchen divider is a work in progress. Nothing matches yet, but envision the antique bureau painted a gray-green with a distressed look to match my old kitchen hutch! I also plan on painting the large pine farm house cabinet in my kitchen a distressed cream/yellow. I can't wait until spring and good painting weather.
My antique wooden crate, old books (.25 ea from BYU library from my senior trip to the library ages ago...one of them was printed 1690), and ceramic birdie plant holder (from Great Grandma Hazel) look right at home on top of the bureau.

KRESTA'S ELECTROSTATIC PERSONALITY!

Can I say again how much I LOVE the camera on my iphone! If not for this camera I would miss out on so many wonderful pictures, like this:

Her hair was standing on end, almost 5 inches.

Envy....envy....envy, just look at these gorgeous eyelashes!

GREAT, GREAT, GREAT KITCHEN HUTCH!

This gorgeous piece of pioneer heritage has been in my family a long time. It was built by my great, great, great, grandpa. He made it in New England after he arrived from Holland over a hundred and fifty years ago. It took a ride on a covered wagon across the county and ended up on a little farm in Liberty, ID. The blue paint is original, but over the years it's lost the molding beneath the top, a few screws have been added for security, and mom touched up with a little white paint "here or there". Plenty of nicks and scratches, which just add character in my book, and even a signature....my little brother Mike penned his name in permanent blue marker on the white trim on the upper right section of the right door. I'm really not sure how my mom ended up with it, but she's had it for as far back as I can remember. I'm so thankful she hung onto over the years, and the many, many moves. It's taken me a couple years to warm my husband up to the idea of bringing it upstairs from the basement to display it in the kitchen. I believe something this beautiful, made of pure American history deserves to be admired. I LOVE it, and I smile every time I walk into the kitchen.

MY NEW TREE!

Patience IS a virtue. I've been looking for over 2 years for a tall tree to fill the second-story stairwell in my house. Not an easy feat on a $100 budget. Trees of this size, are very, very expensive....start out around $750. Yikes! Most of the time they sell around $300 on ksl, and they sell quickly. Well, the heavens finally opened for me.

Isn't she a beauty! Barely fit up the stairs. Everyone thinks it's a real tree. Got it from ksl classifieds, guess how much? $50! I still can't believe it. The business owner said he paid $1000 at Tai Pan for it a couple years ago. He started the listing out at $500 a couple months ago, and sold it to me for 10% of the original listing, which is actually 5% of what he paid in the first place. Dang near free in my book! What a deal.

A NEW BALL FOR KRESTA

This is interesting.........

What is it for? My fingers.....

naaaa, my mouth!She started growling at me when as I was taking pictures. She was very concerned that I was going to take away her new toy!

These are the perfect balls for babies to hold. Her pudgey little fingers fit right into the small holes, and it's flexible and smooth. The best part, only $1 at the dollar store. Hooyah!