tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12820473967549382312024-03-13T08:26:58.726-04:00This and that: kids, diy and good times.RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-67956368441612387402015-04-01T12:34:00.000-04:002015-04-01T12:34:21.052-04:00it's been too long The point for this blog, originally, was so my kids could look back and see how I kept busy when they were little since I was staying at home to be with them. I guess I've been too busy because I haven't posted in 3 months. <br />
Keeping up to par, I did redo a craigslist find. It was a chest of drawers for the 7 year olds room. The old one was made from particle board and just couldn't stand up to all the banging, pulling and shoving of a typical boy. We found a solid wood replacement for $40. You seriously can't beat the deals on craigslist if you are wiling to put a little elbow grease into them. Now have to plan a bit better when redoing things because my baby is now 3 years old and doesn't really take naps anymore. Mommy's big helper is a hands on kiddo. So if I'm paining something, he' s painting something too. :) <br />
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I let him paint the back with finger paints, so he feels a part of the project with out me having to do double the work. The color on the dresser is called Blue Lava, it matches the other pieces that are already in the room. If big brother had his choice every thing would be blue. <br />
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Also since I last posted we got a new dog! I just love her. She's still working out some "puppy" bad habits, but I think we've finally got her off chewing up the carpet. <br />
I have a lot I can say about her, but for now if you want you can follow her shenanigans on Instagram @ahuskynamednanook . <br />
I will dedicate a whole post to her soon.<br />
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Easter is Sunday, Spring Break is next week and we have a couple camping trips in the coming months. I will be more diligent with the blogging. <br />
But for now, I will sign off and do a bit of laundry.<br />
Which reminds next time I must tell you all about that one time we had to replace the drain field for our septic...<br />
another day. <br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-71935829863019605632014-12-05T14:22:00.000-05:002014-12-05T15:02:59.606-05:00JAMAICA! Secrets Montego Bay. I guess the post should begin with the fun fact that two of our best friends got engaged in Paris. While we were not able to witness the event in person, I was stalking both facebook pages from Florida knowing what was going to unfold.<br />
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We have been friends with these two since before they were together, so when this picture finally hit the internet we all welled up! Two of our other friends where traveling with them so we were lucky enough to have the moment documented and shared.<br />
Having the pleasure of watching their relationship bud and bloom into what it is today has been wonderful. They truly are two of the best people we know!<br />
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When we got the invite to their wedding in Jamaica we were thrilled! Money was tight, but we had time to try and "figure it out"<br />
The date was quickly approaching and my hubs had gotten a new job. Which was great for our family, but not great for taking vacation time off. I was pretty bummed that we weren't going to be able to celebrate a beautiful event with our good friends, but was reassuring myself that this is just the way it is. <br />
A week before they were set to leave they threw a party for all friends and family who could not attend. It was so fun. During the midst of mingling and socializing I over-hear a conversation with hubs and another good friend asking if we could park at his house in the morning and all ride to the airport together....<br />
It takes a sec for it to sink in...I first think he must be traveling for work and I had the weeks mixed up...but then I realize he said, "we." <br />
Obviously, I say, "wait, what?!" <br />
We were, in fact, going to JAMAICA!!<br />
The events that followed happened quickly, with tears of surprise, excitement and joy!<br />
We were all hugging, every one was shocked. My parents, all our friends, every one. The only one who knew was hubby's mom. <br />
Hubs had booked the vacation in June when we got the invite. His words were, "I told y'all, we are great friends, of course we wouldn't miss your big day and I would make this happen."<br />
He negotiated the vacation in with his new job during the hiring process. <br />
Probably the best surprise I have ever had! and I hate surprises. <br />
Luckily I still had a week to plan...thank goodness.<br />
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The morning of vacation we got up super early and headed to the airport. Again luckily I had time to plan because we were flying Spirit Air. I won't go into full detail, that would be a whole other story, but if you are every flying Spirit Air be sure to do you research. All normal baggage rules DO NOT apply. Everything has a fee and you better pay it before you get to the airport to avoid more fees. <br />
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So now for the good stuff....<br />
The pictures...<br />
I will preface this by saying this is the most beautiful place I have ever been! I am definitely a beach over mountains girl, so this was my paradise! (with bonus mountains in the background)<br />
The people were so unbelievably amazing. The answer to everything was, "Ya Mon! you can do whatever you want here, you are home." <br />
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The plane ride from Ft Lauderdale to Montego Bay was pretty short, but I spent the whole time looking out the window. The water seemed to just get brighter and brighter.<br />
When we landed at the airport, the anticipation was killing me. We had to walk though customs and claim our baggage, get our passports checked and explain our reasons for visiting. The process was pretty quick, the airport was not very big. <br />
In most cases if you book through a travel agency (we did cheapcaribbean.com) or any budget sites like Orbitz, Expedia, etc, they have a help/information desk and provide transportation to your destination. <br />
The bus driver even gives a little history lesson of the town and streets on the way. <br />
It was when we pulled up to the resort that the real magic started happening. <br />
The gates open slowly and you can almost here the heavenly "ahhhhhhhhhh" sound.<br />
You are escorted into the lobby and greeted by a friendly Jamaican. <br />
In our case our room wasn't ready, but that didn't matter.<br />
The place was all inclusive. and I mean ALL! Food, drinks (with alcohol) non-motorized water sports and access to everything on the grounds. <br />
Only because there was confusion between our group, I want to clarify that if you are staying at St James or the Wild Orchid you have access to both resorts. Both are Secrets and they are connected.<br />
You meet at the same restaurants, see the same shows, can visit all the bars and swim in all the pools. <br />
The only exception was the preferred guests. They had a separate pool area and a tub on their balcony. We did walk through that area on the wedding day to take pictures and it seemed that everyone congregated at the main pools anyway. That's where all the action and fun activities happened throughout the day. <br />
So back on point...<br />
We headed to the pool bar because it was the first one we walked up to. On the plane ride we discussed which crazy frozen drink we were going to order first, but when the smiling bartender asked, the hubs clammed up and said "a beer." lol The question back was, "Do ya want rum in it, Mon?" hahaha , what? no. (although a few in the group did try it once on the trip)<br />
We got a quick bite at the poolside restaurant and headed back to see our room.<br />
It was magnificent! and the view....for. get. about. it.<br />
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I know, I couldn't believe it either. Perfect.<br />
I could go on and on about the view alone, but a picture says a thousand words...<br />
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We met up with the bride and groom shortly after down by the pool side bar again. Obviously, we had to have a toast! And obviously we included our bartender!<br />
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We took a little stroll around the jetties and pools to check out the views. Because of the previous rains we had a wonderful sunset.<br />
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There was forecast for rain during our trip, which really bummed out some of the wedding party.<br />
But...being from Florida we had hoped the storms where the same as ours...a quick, hard rain, then back to beautiful, sunshiny days. <br />
We were in luck! The days it did rain, it came and went within an hour. <br />
One morning we were even blessed with a beautiful sunrise rainbow!<br />
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Being stuck on a kid schedule definitely had its perks when I opened the curtains to that scene.<br />
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The wedding was in the middle of the week and it was so perfect. There were several choices of which place to have your ceremony and I think they chose the most beautiful. Right under that gazebo, overlooking the ocean and the mountains. It was a sunny, breezy afternoon. Couldn't have been more picturesque.<br />
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This motion picture of the bride and I pretty much sums up our entire trip (minus the fancy wedding dress, sub in bathing suits and cover-ups) <br />
Fun, fun, good times, hanging with friends, smiles, laughs and more fun.<br />
We drank A LOT of frozen drinks. :) In my hand is a dirty banana. In my opinion the most delicious drink EVER! It was the theme drink of the week. We even named our pool Olympics team 'Tony boney and the Dirty Bananas'. Refreshing, nutritious (?) and RUM! Who could ask for more? In fact, one day while were where hanging out in the pool at one of the swim up bars the groom commented, "I have drank more frozen drinks here than I have ever drank in my WHOLE life. lol" And that's saying a lot because most of us at some point or another have been involved in or are still working in the bar and restaurant industry. <br />
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There is the hubs with another group favorite. That frozen treat is appropriately named the "Bob Marley". Another fun Rum concoction. <br />
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I managed a pic of almost everyone in the wedding. I believe we are missing 3 or 4 people, but you can see it was a good time. This picture was taken on one of our many "dinner dates".<br />
There were several restaurants including Italian, French, Mexican, Hibachi (Japanese) and, of course, Jamaican. We hit them all. Mixed in the restaurant circle was a Piano Bar and nightly entertainment over looking the water. There was even a Night Club.<br />
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While the wedding was the highlight, we did other fun things daily. <br />
My personal favorite was snorkeling. We did this almost every morning at 9am after breakfast. Even if I could have taken pictures, I'm certain they wouldn't do any justice. The feeling of floating around in the salt water seeing all the beautiful life just off the beach was breathtaking. It really was the greatest way to start the day! Better than the delish Blue Mountain coffee or mimosas offered at breakfast. Each trip out I was just as in awe as I was the day before. I don't think that could ever get old. Even the guys who took us on the "tour" every morning seemed to get the same thrill. The water was so blue and the fish so brilliant. I would recommend no one miss out on this island experience. <br />
We met lots of great staff members, too. Every single one of them with a smile. Not because they had to, because they are a happy people. Fantastic to be around!<br />
Mr Brown was a part of the lawn crew and walked the beach every morning. Since my hubs like to walk the beach as well, the two ended up chatting often. <br />
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The outside bars opened<em> around</em> 10 am (island time is definitely not an exact science) and stayed open late into the night. <br />
And..............<br />
they had SWINGS!<br />
Some where on the outskirts and some where right up at the rail.<br />
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And there was always lounging at the beach.<br />
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or partying in the pool.<br />
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Really, after all those images, who wouldn't want to go to this paradise?!<br />
We met cool people from not only all over the U.S. but all over the WORLD (we had the best time with the Aussies (duh, Aussies are awesome! oi oi oi)).<br />
It was nice just hanging, chatting and catching up with our close friends. With two kids uninterrupted, adult conversations don't happen all that often.<br />
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The place was immaculate and the rooms where beautiful. I think I forgot to mention the soaker, jetted tub that I used every day and the 24 hour room service. Just in case you didn't feel like dining at one of the classy restaurants, you could always order in. Which we did on more then one occasion... (a few late night club sandwiches, too)<br />
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Since I'm having a hard time summing up our experience, let me just say that I would highly recommend Secrets Montego Bay for your Jamaican destination vacation<br />
I can't stress enough how wonderful the Jamaican hospitality is! Such a happy, laid back place with happy, go lucky people. <br />
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Just perfect.<br />
Looking back at the pictures, I still can't believe I was in such a paradise.<br />
Best gift/surprise/wedding/celebration/vacation EVER! and to spend it with a lot of our closest friends and great people....priceless.<br />
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And how crazy to think...we didn't even leave the resort.<br />
Until next time...<br />
We miss you Jamaica, but we will be back!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-90043253129832320522014-09-09T14:12:00.000-04:002014-09-15T13:58:17.856-04:00Refurbished, painted thrift store hutch DIYOur house is not huge and while we've turned the would be "formal dining" into a playroom, somehow the kids stuff still seems to creep into ALL rooms of the home.<br />
We've had a hand me down piano sitting between the entry way and the dining room for a while. I was hoping one of he kids would develop an interest in it. Plus when family offers furniture and such, I have a hard time saying No as there always seems to be a use for it. In this case, not so much... No one plays, it just gets banged on A LOT! Time for it to get shoved into the playroom and listed on the web. <br />
I need more storage.<br />
The dining room table is always riddled with crayons, loose leaf paper, coloring books, pencils, and all other school or craft related items. I need a place for all this mess to go when not in use.<br />
Ideal vision would be a mid-century modern credenza. Ya know, the kind with the doors that slide across the front. But, obviously, with that being the trend it's not easy to find that kind of thing anymore without a dealer already having jacked up the price at a "repurpose" thrift store. I went on a hunt anyway. I thought I found this cute 70's side board with accordion doors and sides that folded up to make more surface area, but when we got to the dealer it turns out it was that fake formica-like wood on top. Nothing I could sand off and therefore useless. I was feeling pretty bummed, but my mom insisted we stop at a few random Thrifts on the way home. One was asking $4000 for a "Mad men" look-a-like dining table....uhhh....bee line for the door, this place is way outta budget.<br />
Another had some cute stuff, but no credenzas or hutches. (although there was a super cute chest of drawers that I wish I had a place for)<br />
The last place was a Hospice Thrift. They mostly had clothes and crock pots, but in the corner were two tall pieces of furniture. One a particle board entertainment stand, the other.....<br />
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This piece.<br />
Full hutch. Top and all.<br />
What caught my eye was the hardware. I really like that style of pull. It was priced right at $60, but I wasn't sure I could bring it back to life. Then these two ladies started eyeballing it, too. At the same time I realized they were having a one day sale...25% off all furniture! 45 bucks..I'll take it! we can figure out the details later. :)<br />
Since I didn't want the top part that houses plates and such, it's currently listed on Craigslist. Hopefully I will be able to update this post with a "sold" comment and the expense would be even less.<br />
Anyhoo.<br />
We put it in the garage and I got to sanding the top.<br />
From experience of painting other pieces, I knew it was in my best interest to NOT paint the top. The two little boys of mine can quickly undo lots of hard work.<br />
Deciding on a color was pretty easy. My mom had a bunch of swatches from an end table she had been debating color on. I loved one of them called Royal Palm by Olympic. I knew that was going to be the one.<br />
Here's a look after sanding lots of old varnish off the top and a coat of primer for the bottom. It already looks 1,000 times better. <br />
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Again, boys. So I wanted to go for a kind of distressed look on the top. I had a bit of gray wood stain, so I put a little and almost immediately wiped it. I didn't want it to penetrate too much, just give a bit of a whitewash look.<br />
Just a note: If you look close at the drawers you can see that the cool handles I fell for are not the original hardware. The three middle drawers have an extra hole drilled where the new ones need to fit. That worked out well...saved even more not having to go buy updated pulls or a can of spray paint. <br />
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Here it is partially painted with one coat of polyurethane on the top.<br />
The first coat never goes on perfect. I hate having to wait overnight, re-sand and apply more, but it's definitely worth it in the long run. I used clear satin for the poly finish. <br />
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And here's the finished product<br />
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I'm super happy with the way it turned out.<br />
And as soon as the paint is all cured all this...<br />
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Will be neatly tucked away in this.....<br />
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So for a grand total of $55 ($45 for the hutch add just over $10 for a sample jar of paint ((sings "Sample in a Jar" for my phellow Phish heads)) and small can of polyurethane) I have an awesome new buffet to greet anyone who comes through the front door. Sweet!<br />
Gotta love those thrifty finds.<br />
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Bonus: <br />
A few days later my mom found a cute little end table for $5!!<br />
I used the leftover paint and poly from this project to spruce it up.<br />
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Sanding off the top and drawer revealed a cool distressed look that I couldn't have created if I tried, so I left it. The top even had an old, barely noticeable drink ring and what seem to be burn marks for added character.<br />
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Cool!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-52895899613465425732014-08-06T21:47:00.000-04:002014-08-06T21:47:56.674-04:00The never ending choices of a parent <span xmlns=""></span><span xmlns="">It starts the moment you find out you are pregnant. There are hundreds of thousands of choices that a mother will have to make for her baby. What she should eat, which vitamins to take, when to sleep, which doctor to choose? The decisions about the birth alone can be overwhelming. There are classes and books geared to help with these choices. Drugs or natural, midwife or doctor, hospital or birthing center? When the baby is born it doesn't end. Breastfeeding or formula, co-sleeping or crib? As your baby grows so does the list of things parents must decide. Daily.</span><br />
<span xmlns=""></span><br />
<span xmlns="">It is easy to turn to the internet where there will be hundreds of thousands of articles to answer your hundreds of thousands of questions. In fact you can most likely find an article that will give you the exact answer you are looking for. And we all know if you can find it on the internet then it must be true! ;)</span><br />
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<span xmlns="">So how do you know what's the best for your child? Which preschool is best, public or private, school lunch or brown bag? Every day we are faced with decisions. It is my belief that as mothers and fathers we just do our best. We apply our life experiences, adjust for their personalities and hope we've chosen wisely. We arm ourselves with as much knowledge as possible and then we wing it. I think the saying is, 'We plan God laughs'. Most of us learn straight away at baby's delivery that we can take our plan and throw it out the window. You can invasion a million scenarios and number one million and one will be the outcome. (I know, because it happened to me both times.)</span><br />
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<span xmlns="">You're probably wondering where I'm going with this. Really, it spawned from a recent conversation I had on a social media site with a friend about iPad usage and children. That debate originated from an innocent video I posted with my 2.5 year old, grandma's new kitten and her iPad. Its freaking adorable. Most of the comments were "cute' and 'aww'. The expected comments. Then one comes, 'get that kid off the iPad' I took it very lighthearted. My response was a chuckle and a 'don't worry we balance it out with music festivals, nature and the pool'. I quickly realized the comment was not at all meant to be funny, but judgmental and serious. There was some more back and forth publicly and privately. What I didn't know, until I got a phone call later that day, that other friends where following the thread. I still kept it light and defended my friend, because he doesn't have children. Everyone in the parent club knows the drill. BC (before children) when you see kids acting out in public or running under the clothes rack in the store, you say 'my kids will NEVER do THAT. BC you plan that every meal will be balanced and organic, in reality hot dogs and ice cream for dinner will happen. Then there is the never ending debate of screen time. BC you're gonna be all Pinteresty and do all these cool experiments every day, in reality you put on Peppa Pig so can have 30min of peace or try and prepare dinner. I learned a lot from the responses that were posted. And, as of today there are 123 comments to a follow up post about how terrible it is to let your toddler get instant gratification from a game on the iPad. I gathered that some agreed. Keep in mind that I don't know everyone that posted, so I'm not sure if their comments are BC. But most of the people with kids gave scenarios of why they let their kids use technology so the parents were clear and the majority were commenting to defend their reasons for using technology. </span><br />
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<span xmlns="">This is where I needed to express my opinion. These parents don't need to defend their choices. They are the parents. For whatever reason they (and I) believe that the instant gratification given for completing a puzzle or helping Super Why find the missing letter is not permanently damaging the growing brain. Obviously I'm not condoning TV as a babysitter. I believe that balance is key. I also believe that what works for one family doesn't work for another. Who are we kidding? What works for one KID doesn't work for another. </span><br />
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<span xmlns="">Similar conversations and debates will come up often. Almost as often as the choices you are forced to make. You can find them all over the internet. Vaccines, public breast feeding and home schooling are just a few others that can spark some pretty heated debates. </span><br />
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<span xmlns="">My main point here to parents is, when your intelligent friends with no kids tell you how you should be parenting your kids, just smile. Hopefully one day they will have little rug rats of their own and all their BC planning and theories will get tossed out the window and land in big pile next to your BC thoughts and plans. You will agree to disagree and be happy that you live in a place where my beliefs don't have to be your beliefs and vice versa. Then you can both have a good laugh. </span><br />
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<span xmlns="">For now just pour yourself a night cap, relax and hold on to your sanity while your kids run out all their endless energy before bedtime. </span><br />
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<span xmlns="">Cheers, </span><br />
<span xmlns="">Sarah </span><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-64553303450653744862014-06-18T16:02:00.001-04:002014-06-18T16:02:26.837-04:00Patio floor paint jobA while back, I painted the pool deck. Really, I guess you could say I "stained" the pool deck. A friend recommended H&C Concrete stain because he had done a few pool areas with it. My paint guy at Lowes' didn't have a better suggestion and they didn't carry the H&C water based satin, so I headed to the Sherwin Williams. I got a color one shade darker than the house on the color swatch. It was nice that SW would match any brand's color. I got two gallons, because each is supposed to cover about 200 square feet. I had to go back for two more. The old, battered cool deck really sucked up the paint. Besides the fact that I totally miscalculated how much paint I would need, the stain turned out beautifully. It's been over a year and I have no complaints. <br />
So....I decided to do the covered part of the patio as well. Originally, we planned to put down slate tiles, but it's a pricey project and not in our budget right now. Ryder's 7th birthday is coming up and we are having a pool party here at the house. Not only is the patio area hideous, but it gets super slippery with just my two kids. The covered part was almost exactly 200 hundred square feet and smooth. One gallon would definitely do the trick. I still had my paint swatch with the pool deck color and after a quick comparison, I decided to get one shade darker. There was hardly a difference between them and we have a really bad pollen season here. I am hoping that it will help hid the yellowish dust a bit more. Right, so now I have three shades of gray. All Valspar paint colors: the house is Tornado watch, the pool deck is Artichoke and the patio is Empire. I also had the guy add some non slip powder to the paint can. So for $35, I completely freshened up the patio. It's funny because depending on the way the light shines, they can all look the same or totally different. It looks good, nice and neutral. <br />
Who knows what the flooring was before, but it looked like the previous owners did plan to do something. What ever was there before had been cleared away and the concrete had been prepped. You could still see the orange-reddish grout lines and swirls from what may have been glue. My guess would be that at some point there was tile and at some other time maybe indoor/outdoor carpet, but that will be a mystery never solved.<br />
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Here are a few before and during shots of the painting process.<br />
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You can totally see what I mean. What the heck do you think they had going on here?<br />
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What ever they had going on, I am grateful that I didn't have to scrape up glue and grout. The paint went on smooth. It was a bit porous, but nothing like the cool deck. One can gave me two coats. <br />
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So, so much better. And it's not slippery anymore...added little bonus for the kids. <br />
I have to wait to put the furniture back. And my mom mentioned seeing some cheap area rugs at Ross, so I may put one of those down, too. Give the space a pop of color. We all know a rug can "really tie the room together, Dude." I've spent almost every single day watching the kids in the pool since school let out, so why not make my area feel homey?!<br />
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Here's my entertainment... <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nKGvYsQqoG4/U6HwBMubQEI/AAAAAAAAKBg/9nL6UQV6vsk/s1600/IMG_20140610_124319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nKGvYsQqoG4/U6HwBMubQEI/AAAAAAAAKBg/9nL6UQV6vsk/s1600/IMG_20140610_124319.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-47284914339926833642014-06-17T21:01:00.000-04:002014-06-18T15:10:27.529-04:00Wild flying squirrels, not to be confused with wild sugar gliders in FloridaThe cat brought in a present last night. Like all other "presents" I grabbed a paper towel to take the kill outside. You can imagine my surprise when the "dead" animal turned over, looked at me with it's big, cute eyes and ran up my arm. I, of course, gave a small shriek and did a little on point jig while the little fella ran right into the bathroom. I thought, perfect, he has no where to go, I will just corner him and bring him back outside. Again, you can imagine my surprise when he shimmied up a teeny, tiny crevice under the cabinet. To myself I said, "Where'd he go?" out loud I said, "Where'd whooo go?" (then I chuckled at my cool movie quote) I just stood there and stared in disbelief for a moment. Now what? I can't demo the bathroom to get this little guy. He can't go anywhere....I don't think. So I stared some more. Then I shut the bathroom door. Then I texted my husband who just so happen to be out of town....his advice...."Name it." Thanks babe.<br />
I figured he would have to come out eventually, there was no where to go and he would get hungry. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, shut the door and went to bed.<br />
This morning when I woke up I surveyed the bathroom and nothing. I went to shut the door and spotted a little brown fur ball out of the corner of my eye. He was balled up near the little crevice under the cabinet. I grabbed the cat carrier and headed in. I put a little piece of cardboard to block the crack and pushed him into the carrier. He hopped right in, I'm guessing because it was darker and there was a towel for him to nestle under.<br />
I will wait until tonight to release him because they are nocturnal little guys.<br />
<br />
A quick side note: At first I thought is was a Sugar Glider. It looks just like one; little and cute. So I googled. It seems that sugar gliders can survive in the wild, but are considered invasive and should not be re-released. So I googled again, to try and confirm exactly what I had. Come to find out it was as my son suspected a flying squirrel.<br />
They don't look like the ones I've seen on the animal channels on tv.<br />
Here's what we have.<br />
<a href="http://www.wildflorida.com/wildlife/mammals/Flying_Squirrel.php" target="_blank">wild florida/flying squirrels</a><br />
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fLaTp+q3HggEidSlNyR9Oyrp4ppHkdaSJzJQjsQ4ZndH5xQmK2ixuR3jnYfkKdvotRNYVJMu9SVS/Fsi8u/ty7nRYLMTVqEWJE+6Lk9TojX4beMPduj/ANtl4/uOSrjXY6I4jbAnytsEy0WNpMEbzG8on4pkWvg7PJYSUkl6h5RFTpOggqKaEAemeHsSzda5pgENPOYO83rZa1XFy2YiSRHC2fLRee+G8cRDDcT3vJXbMrg5Xmc+eXyXBljUjrxu0EbOfxmxH2+krnPH+LFWrTYXta1rWySDHnMuMC9h8lsV3+WIjISOYBXMeLcMd5mRBEBw1iIlPBXK2Gboxtk1Xip5Xe4HOB5NvaePBeyYLGNdTZJnfYMtHEZ52K8l8PbEqVqrWgGCRJgwBrJXqW08MKbGMbxA6wOHCAtM8ldGeJMmRbdBMMB1kTla/JV0MRDN0a/mtz0Wri6LKdBriDvuj05hYNMF7jN+gNu65WjovRpPpuDAYvHUxnF8zyWW1we14LHAtkgZk9V0BaGUbQLaiTPZYNBzWUHVHSd5xiLExqA6DmtIoyZPwvRGIxdOkG+Wmd53ADh6rtPGOObSpkC7jZrecWgFZ3gDBsoUn4h4g1LtJ/b0kwVgeItouxFXeEQLNsRbW548oWElc/8ADaPRy3/Sxvl9U773XLW2H+RN+yNa0nSwy/aOQ4ohlAHMj5D86oh7AcjJEdByHALRysVJFDRA8oP92ovBIHHkp0d8u3gbGJMAAm87p+6k+poII1Oc/noqcRWDTe3xJiM4slQIIrBuR3t6J0P/ABnqsyuWb0NALievqfwLP2htEkkAx3uUVsnAfrqTOgyEdMzKqtDXYdTwztXBrRwueyOpuaGgXkfGb3QtTGAyGCXAeYid1o5kDLoqWMdUO67eEG+7IngI/SOZSoTZoBwdMQI/ToTxnJWMBj3Q3QkXJ59FKjSYDEHeBixk9zqpV3VHSLNHqSOgUsEO0NbfhpMDqSgXC8tFps4yi20uAvkOP8Jnt3cxJOg+p0SLr6AVaT3WL91uoYN0Hq7NDsdTpyGgc+Z66qeMa5x8wgaDJvc6oalh5NhvH9xs3sMyq0h6I1Q557fl8goMoDMNc+8eWzehefoizhabR/rP3+DBIb/9Rn3Vn9U4iGsAABgadmo5fAf9BsRRqRd0N0ayw7k3Knh3AiGzAzAn/wAldg8P7UmXG2pBDRZPjMPDhDgbaAgHpdLvsm/hdQpWs2mOoLj6hMk3EQAJaDwNoTIoLZ5OnhMFOF6h5pGEymm3UAEbNMPb1HzXZ4LEjXTPTWFwjXQZC6HBuLqe+Hb3EcNb8ljlhezbFKtHSMxckhsEfnxgqjatAP8ALoLibX5K7YLKTgXnTTieElbtTCBwLgAI4Rr1/M1zpcWbva2bXhjCYejRkuA/W7mYANyQNFi43btGtid6IpU5gTJceQAPouL8U7aj/SYbCxMX5jMg9Qs7w01xqe0cXFjZA1E9DZafi/8ATMufiPUtoYw1omGzcDzS0cJAHxUcG8SIk6Hyxl1+awqWKMiN0gmDNvjPH6LTwlTd94NE5briCBkZbOfMeiw42a3RftjHGBSDhfMWmNTwPYaZrIpYhtavSohvkkCxAyzIkW48uaOdh31KhDTvuPR1uc5czyQLt2g4hjmGpeXBt+jAMhz1WlpLRNNs3tsbS3z7Np3KdPyjWQNbRPosjE1wbD1i56NGSGO82JBk6OuRcRKtpg5kgD1nWyx40a2V0TNoM6cB9lY8EAkndHx4zdXU7COMXy+eWiy/EOOFmeZ7swNB1AumtvQV9Lv6oEF1N1hYnKdczmFiY6uSTdrZmzcu5lNSwOJqndYxxAbvOBBa1oOXvQSYB00stXD+H2iDUJgwXT0/QBbUzJ4Z5K6S7FyvSMHDYykx8udDhlvCAf8AISF0APtBLqsjymGiRzyzzzOXBaTcJSa1oIADSYsJM5Egi5j/AIQr9lgu3qY9i7VwbY9WannZS5JlJOthmzzUALKZa2mRG60HeMz7zs3Zm2S0sPsx+o3Qb3//ACsbC4zGYd28P6epIiCDTdHAETHXkrquPr1P+5UDZ/RRG6O7z5ndbKavbZS/iNeo+jQNve4Zk9tB6LOxOMBubcte6E9gY8sNHzvnzKYsY0y4k31P0RoYXh8UCM4aBfQd3HNQ9qSPIABPvGzR2MFyrbWJs1pd1HlHQKx+HL/eqA6gTMfZQDaKJBPmdvnibDsNFdUaTECOapZSa0k74edA2J9SrPbyRuuI4yctb6J8fouT8Kjg+JDeZt8AlVxAiGjfcMnEQB0CeqA79Xf8yQtXFtbzPBuXc6ov4PjfYX7V8Zbo5ZqgCM3Bo65+iAr7TOUieDR9VVTLnXNu90+MvRpx8DamLZOnf+EkMG09ajQdRw5JI4lcv6efBSCiE8r1DyCRCaE4cnlICCtoYp1M2NjmOKhCpqm6fY1o2m7dhsAHtZW1vFFUs3GEtHqex0P3XOpwlwiW5yC3VA85Xdw48RyPBamDD5DGFwDeHz/hT2Bsp2817hDRe/IT811nhvAvfULi4NDRLnWENGczospzRUYFfhzY9Ss6N8kC5M/fLhddJjMJhaQDKmIl4zawGq4cJLAQ3/Ihc3t3Ff1Tt0EswzbNaDAeZu95AlwOg4BQw9FjAGsgxwENHbXssGzZRN7aO0gWblEbtPIk/wDcf/cdBn5Qs7DOIBAJ6xHxzKhSonO0fG3AK8RwyP5KykzaECXsZuSes/OFdRYGj8+atZh4gk7oiRoSqsQ+0Mbcj5cfisr+mtJdAGM2h+ml7xkTEnsNP7isnDYOo98jeYAfePmd8P4W7WaWgTbLLM2+XLKykx7x7whpyP6hygCIPHRXGVLRMo+sJwtDcaQ6q55kQHZRfIDM356psS4+UZC4H7udsgqqUSd0Xgy4m/cmwHJTAaRHtabCcp80xnqBNsuamxUkWAhgl2fE6f5H5BM7G2jd+muuqFoSCXuIg3G9EiMt2MtVVVrku8gAnU5+miYhn1nOd5oA52jtqrKJGgnnp/KrbTAMk39Snq1LcB8+6YNhHtw0zLnEWvlplHRBVq4kmJdOunQaKg4wCzfMfgO+qjTw7ne8YB4WnqVSS9J2y9mNIN3uJIs1s/ENupMquF3hrRkQHE94KKpbN3G+UTPDP1QGLBaN2QSTk3KeZQ5J6GoF9cmJyHM39BcqkPa3KS7j/Crcw5EEnUDLldJ9J2Ra6BoMvVHErl8IvxRNs+U2+yQwr3Z5cBYdyVOmwMuRPIZdZ+yetUcR5suAsD91VfCHIizCt0vGe7l3cUmT+mBGunqVB2IJAGg42H8qk4neI3jMdgOg1PqlQ+S9L6MAeVgI4wkonGMGg7uA+GiSKfwVo4BOjaWzz+owtHDYBo0HU/ZdzmkcKg2ZeH2e95sIHE/l1r0djsYJfc8/siWOg/XXsFGpHH1z9FlKbZooJA2KpNNmCB0+QWNicGQuloUJ0j5n7IqjhmgQQCDpz6pLJxKcLOHp0i4wBJXRbO2S2mPaVJcReAMvut5mCptHutBN7fdUVnkNtutB1dcntmU5ZnLSCOOg3EjyeQPG8JvwjOFKngHtw27cCq7zmdGwRT6E58YQ+xcWWhrXOJF6T5y13HDUBwJHWyKwWJLG1qF303ZOudwx7hi9tHDuoei47ZUKIHPrfXOCr6VMTlE6q2lQAbIBM/PmiaNQRGZ1j7rncjpqhxTgTIAGp+nEobEVHiSxpcAYNgZ6Xmekop9jLjvHSYho4NAHx1WazHGq1wZ5ACQIMExYuJzA5aoQN+FuJ2zTD9xgNR5/QbbvEvdcN6ItmOJ8rQ0u4xbsPusmjSYwlouXGXEXc48+COpVWxDGz2sOrkOCGm0gn2QF3m+fFxTuqgzIgeruSGGWYBGov2k2SZUYBcGeJOfqlRNk6tdgbrGQm9ydO8IOlWAJ4mZkWG7rCvc7etuAA5a9LqqrSaCS7mTGdszGfdOhNoIb7MgudUBcMgczbTgEM6oJtaQchc9hdA1j+1hDeJztyGWivGI/0xAHW+86eJJnsLIaom2ye67+0jSbqbqYPvS488h91VhRN3ER0tnlCOa4CM+ZJ+iTZaSKcNhp/wBoHYduK1W0gMy08N45IWmd6Iv2+Z4LoNnmm1sw0g5nL1lTtlWjKrFtpl05QD6AmLdAgMRs9xc3eIHAA7uXPTNdDV2sC6AWuETY3HUBYe06ly4iCLifT86KkiCr2FMCaj87hrTJdGp4DmUDWxbhdoaG/sMx/icweaH/AKoAHmfU8YQ/twT5iSdB91pxsm6D6e0JHubpz/cR00HdUVa5uXOk87/wAs+ritARJ0GXVzkPvOJDY9o45NHrJiw7q4wbIlNBD8TJsC6Ow78kM6ubS4dMvgMwrK7ngecsA/2XBn0Lu8d0FW2mxlmAk8de5+i0UWzJtFjBIkNqu5726Ow4JLJftF+hjsElrwkZ8kdJSbFwNMypOZaT6n6BPWeZyvw/hVObN3HssDUZov5fU/RTZRAOpPx7cEqZBI4ckc0AHyiT8kNjSGZTgXsOGpRFMTEDuU+GwznX14nL+UVUohrCQSXcCM+kLNs0UQdtOAXZmdfsVj4143iIMnMuzFrADIBTrOrTLjAvnkOyoxGIDRLiYJzOZ6N0VKLHrplgaXbrXHejQW/L66ZreweGdMumBcBx3r8STc91ztHaAE7jCXZb7zlPLJG4VzyfOd6dJ3WjsPeUzTrZcK8OhcPzId0xqRYR2H5KEptObnFo+Q5DRM/GGIaJ+JPVZcS2WYirAuSLaZoJlKwaJaPUnmVIsc4gunWALn4WCcVgLCJ6/U5q1/CG0i6nhmNOReeGQ7k5q04gmwAAv07DXuhWVHGwgk9bcRfNWOG77+vbLTmlRLlYS/EOeGjy+UQDAFp1jXmq6tRrYLrnhmecALOq492TAAPpx/LqpmHdJkul3r/whRXorNfZuHq4t7gz/SpMu52bo4AjJxE25JbSxlOnNKgG3sXkgucOBJFigR7RrDSDi0ahpiT/ALjr3VAwzRlHX7cUasaRBki/KPl/KnRb+FPVrNaLe8DE/wAIKpi3OsMhw/LppNhaiaBrtbMH10UX4+4ImO3y0WYWiM5P56ITFVHRefzoqWNMmU2ddS2gxrQSTlNjcnKFNm0gQCRvDIAe7nlHFcvsnE06pbTcd2+Z63Aha21sU+niGljS4NgbsaC4P21uk48XRpBc1fh0DaFNxcNwNcG7xjywLeYHXMLmtt7W3gxoneIv1A/lE+JdrOY5peCzfpgvvJgEQ0AcSOy49uKL3Oe7N3oBw6K8eO1yMckuL4mhUxemfPRRa4u/cBF9PwIB1UDMkx2AQ1bESVusZlLIatbaLQN0NIF/dIvxlxy7IfEbWAAFJpZxJj4AfNZTnSoStFjRk5stqViTc/E/VVymSV0SJJJJMDswR9U1VkgSSAdPqkkuI6QpoEBosBmjabA0TFvzNJJZyNorRcMS50RA/NFY127Oo1PPokkpKrRlbSxO4ST5n2P9oJgX75BYtFxc72gOhmeYi2qdJbJVGyVuVMuw1PzC8DQfXgtZ+IDTl5tAkkoezV60S87zJIA4DIJf1YaIpieZt34p0klszm2tIiZcBvON7jhAzsO2ak3cEwPgkkk2KiNbHbsQBPSOnVDhhdJcSeWnc5lOkh6QJbolvFtmjUCbcJtOX5mpCSbxe34dUySRRHG4ndtrbpbWOKzziHvtJjlZJJaRSqyJN9FbaHT84qTZAztw0TpJklZqumAYVT6LzqfVJJVZPZnPeaVRlRpktcDec2mc10FHxwTLq1IVKhdO8Dugj9LcrNHLNJJbvHGa/ZGKySg/1Zz+2dqPxNU1HwCbADJrRkAhjiLQBZJJWkkqRDbbsqdUJUJSSVCEkkkgBJJJIASSSSAP/9k=" 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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image from outdooralabama.com</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uMfh5idIJvg/U6DjxkYmNrI/AAAAAAAAJ94/8zUCnwKEdPo/s1600/0617141341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uMfh5idIJvg/U6DjxkYmNrI/AAAAAAAAJ94/8zUCnwKEdPo/s1600/0617141341.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">there's our little fella </td></tr>
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You can Google flying squirrels in Florida and see tons of pics of these little cuties. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-77648558373584121912014-05-30T13:23:00.000-04:002014-05-30T13:23:57.913-04:00#PapercameraWoooo! <br />
It's been a while since I blogged, but I guess I've been busy. We've taken the camper out on adventures twice and both times it was awesome. <br />
And...I'm in the beginning stages of getting my new business up and rolling. Super exciting stuff.<br />
Which means there is sure to be an influx of blogs next month. :) (but here's a link to the biz, if you just can't wait.....<a href="http://sambrose.myrandf.com/" target="_blank">http://sambrose.myrandf.com</a>)<br />
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But for now....<br />
PAPER CAMERA!!!!<br />
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It's the newest app on my phone and I love it! Instead of hitting the camera icon, I hit the Paper Camera icon!<br />
I just wanna post! <br />
and hashtag### <br />
and share it's awesomeness! <br />
In consideration for my friends who, I'm sure may not share the complete and utter joy of the paper camera, I decided to put <strike>a couple</strike> several of the pictures on here instead. <br />
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For your enjoyment....<br />
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"Comic Boom" was the first effect I used and I was instantly hooked. </div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OVqe_iyBZJY/U4ibDtVah4I/AAAAAAAAI_c/ob19UuB1GKY/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-28-10-51-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OVqe_iyBZJY/U4ibDtVah4I/AAAAAAAAI_c/ob19UuB1GKY/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-28-10-51-15.jpg" height="480" width="640" /> </a></div>
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This effect is appropriately called "Andy pop" <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M8g4Ulmixe8/U4iaif7CVeI/AAAAAAAAI_U/et5NPBAMIcw/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-28-11-02-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M8g4Ulmixe8/U4iaif7CVeI/AAAAAAAAI_U/et5NPBAMIcw/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-28-11-02-16.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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I was able to sneak a few posts onto Social media for Ryder's 1st grade graduation party..<br />
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"Sketch up" </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xlHMzq7WGg0/U4iebv9CG9I/AAAAAAAAI_8/SYEl9p3tmIY/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-29-10-55-58.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xlHMzq7WGg0/U4iebv9CG9I/AAAAAAAAI_8/SYEl9p3tmIY/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-29-10-55-58.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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"Bleaching"</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1lIXXNzqQXM/U4iexvNsKQI/AAAAAAAAJAE/QFeByJcwa-8/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-29-10-57-25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1lIXXNzqQXM/U4iexvNsKQI/AAAAAAAAJAE/QFeByJcwa-8/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-29-10-57-25.jpg" height="360" width="640" /></a></div>
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"Pastel perfect"</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bCpv-Uk3ayA/U4ijwYGxDeI/AAAAAAAAJA8/5kleWq0_Z3I/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-29-22-10-43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bCpv-Uk3ayA/U4ijwYGxDeI/AAAAAAAAJA8/5kleWq0_Z3I/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-29-22-10-43.jpg" height="393" width="400" /></a></div>
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"Pen and Paper" reminds me of high school. Like advanced doodlers.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_3AhqnN04GI/U4ik-8WjzwI/AAAAAAAAJBQ/pzZcM9dRZ0Y/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-30-11-14-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_3AhqnN04GI/U4ik-8WjzwI/AAAAAAAAJBQ/pzZcM9dRZ0Y/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-30-11-14-20.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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with "Contours" you can even have fun with a delivery truck.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJenFD887Bs/U4i8xZtfcrI/AAAAAAAAJCI/EoeXusrwHq0/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-30-11-21-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cJenFD887Bs/U4i8xZtfcrI/AAAAAAAAJCI/EoeXusrwHq0/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-30-11-21-18.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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There are a bunch more, but I haven't had a chance to apply them yet. </div>
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Each picture is so different and the same effect will add some cool new layer of depth to an otherwise typical photo. I find, I love a certain "brush stroke" of hair or blur of background. Overall, I am amazed at this app. The instantaneous screen conversion is so neat. The fact that any picture I take can immediately be made to look like I had it commissioned by an artist friend is so cool.</div>
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It can even do videos! Technology can be so fun.</div>
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I will be sure to update this post as soon as I get some new material.</div>
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If you are bored with the effects your phone currently has, I would highly recommend downloading the Paper Camera.</div>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-M8g4Ulmixe8%2FU4iaif7CVeI%2FAAAAAAAAI_U%2Fet5NPBAMIcw%2Fs1600%2FPaperCamera2014-05-28-11-02-16.jpg&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M8g4Ulmixe8/U4iaif7CVeI/AAAAAAAAI_U/et5NPBAMIcw/s1600/PaperCamera2014-05-28-11-02-16.jpg" --><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-55550979964447704092014-03-28T15:56:00.000-04:002014-03-28T15:57:09.318-04:00Are we there yet? RV renovation facelift.Every year in May we go to a music festival nearby called the <a href="http://www.orangeblossomjamboree.com/" target="_blank">Orange Blossom Jamboree</a>. It's at a great little campground. The kids can play in the creek and the parents can enjoy great music without the crazy big festival crowds.<br />
This year we inherited the RV that we always borrow. It's ours!! Which means that it will be getting used much more than once a year and we need to make it feel like our home away from home.<br />
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It took a while for it to totally sink in. My first instinct was to sell it. I mean, the extra money would be great and we could get a small pop up for our camping needs. But.... with great effort, the hubs convinced me that keeping it and fixing it up was the best way to go.<br />
After all, we do live in Florida, so year round camping in not out of the question. There are a lot of options practically around the corner. Beaches, springs, rivers, woods and lots of music festivals just to name a few. The <a href="http://www.floridastateparks.org/default.cfm" target="_blank">Florida State Park </a>system is huge and beautiful. And we have boys. All boys like to be dirty and outside, even our little gamer. <br />
So.... we dove head first into a facelift for the old girl.<br />
It's from the 90's AND it sat for a while under oak trees AND it's very humid here. As you can imagine it really needed some TLC.<br />
The hubs went to work on the outside: checking all the seams, putting coats of sealant on the roof and replacing lots of hinges and latches. I tackled the aesthetics of the inside. The whole thing: walls, cabinets, ceilings, windows and floors got a deep cleaning of soapy bleach water. I bombed it for bugs and cleaned again. (We plan to keep some Damp Rid in there to avoid the mustiness it had.) The hubs spent more time doing some detailed caulking around all the windows and seams that were a problem in the past. I told him when he was done we would be able to drive this thing underwater and not have a leak. <br />
Since floral mauve and sea foam green are not our favorite colors, we decided that we would spend the money on some new fabric. There is a couch that jackknifes into a bed (like a futon), a dinette with two cushion benches (like a restaurant booth) and some window valances. If we brought those into the current decade it would give the interior a noticeable update. We went modern, bold and, of course, blue. Between my and my mother-in-law's stash of leftover paint, I didn't have to buy any. She had a light sky blue and I had some teal and tan. The walls took the paint very well. My hubby's mom put her sewing machine to work on the bedroom valances and the room divider curtain. They came out better than I imagined, as did the pieces I reupholstered with the staple gun. Pretty good for amateurs.<br />
Not gonna lie and say that I thought the reupholstering of the seating was going to be easy, but when we took the couch apart and realized that is was a metal frame my heart kind of sank. My upholstery skills are pretty much limited to a staple gun. Clearly, I couldn't staple anything onto a metal frame. We brainstormed some ideas with needle and thread, maybe attaching new fabric to old underneath the frame without 100% confidence. I've said it before and I'll say it again, my hubs is very handy. He surveyed how the original fabric was applied and realized we needed upholstery rings. They are like little C-clamps that you "hook" on and pinch tight with pliers. He finished the top cushion in one evening. We even had some extra buttons from the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1282047396754938231#editor/target=post;postID=16671382354447698;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=10;src=postname" target="_blank">ottoman project.</a> and I was able to add a few details.<br />
We really lucked out when my mother in law's good friend offered up her master seamstress skills to recover the dinette area cushions. She did such an amazing job, better than a professional!!<br />
So without further adieu here are the before and after pics....<br />
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What a difference a coat of paint makes, right?! It's like removing old wallpaper. Totally cleaned it up. Plus, I got some fun wall decals for the bathroom and the "entry way".<br />
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The in-between shots....<br />
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The hubs up on the roof... <br />
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Here the walls are painted and some new fabric put in, but no cushions yet..</div>
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The flooring got a good cleaning and maybe next year we will think about replacing it with some vinyl or laminate. Luckily, it shouldn't be a pricey project since there isn't much floor to deal with.<br />
For now we are waiting on a few small parts to fix the toilet and propane monitor, then we will be off on our maiden voyage....<br />
A little bluegrass festival called <a href="http://www.lindentertainment.com/General_Pages/newhomepage.htm" target="_blank">String Break</a>!<br />
<img src="http://www.lindentertainment.com/StringBreak/websblogo10.jpg" height="380" width="423" /><br />
So until next time...<br />
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You didn't think we'd drive around without representing a little Griswold family vaca, did ya?<br />
;-) <br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-81743020474989246302014-03-23T21:40:00.000-04:002014-03-23T21:42:04.601-04:00Exploring at Chinsegut <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We've done some fun hiking and canoeing adventures this Spring Break. For the last day before Ryder has to go back to school we went on a hike at Chinsegut Conservation Center.....And we got a lot of awesome photos.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterfly Garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ba4CcQ02cZ0/Uy800MRmObI/AAAAAAAAHqA/yRNOh7ixwyI/s1600/chinsegut+hike+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ba4CcQ02cZ0/Uy800MRmObI/AAAAAAAAHqA/yRNOh7ixwyI/s1600/chinsegut+hike+003.jpg" height="512" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What's your wingspan?</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S1Odikqsfw0/Uy83vguMwdI/AAAAAAAAHsw/whAd39GbYG0/s1600/chinsegut+hike+029.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S1Odikqsfw0/Uy83vguMwdI/AAAAAAAAHsw/whAd39GbYG0/s1600/chinsegut+hike+029.jpg" height="436" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sun made a few appearances on an otherwise overcast morning.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0u4wWMRXG0Q/Uy837K_m6EI/AAAAAAAAHs4/8IT7XTJr93E/s1600/chinsegut+hike+033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0u4wWMRXG0Q/Uy837K_m6EI/AAAAAAAAHs4/8IT7XTJr93E/s1600/chinsegut+hike+033.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cypress forest</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lc0AkhM0BuE/Uy81Uv9Kj_I/AAAAAAAAHqw/Ftz6I3hAN_s/s1600/chinsegut+hike+010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Lc0AkhM0BuE/Uy81Uv9Kj_I/AAAAAAAAHqw/Ftz6I3hAN_s/s1600/chinsegut+hike+010.jpg" height="512" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder took my picture</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EUvbav38pJ0/Uy84UelDZcI/AAAAAAAAHtQ/8kISBuW6jus/s1600/chinsegut+hike+037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EUvbav38pJ0/Uy84UelDZcI/AAAAAAAAHtQ/8kISBuW6jus/s1600/chinsegut+hike+037.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginning of spring and a fresh rain makes for lots of green in the woods.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vy269IEqBuw/Uy84jsUUzyI/AAAAAAAAHtY/I93qkDvTd-s/s1600/chinsegut+hike+038.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vy269IEqBuw/Uy84jsUUzyI/AAAAAAAAHtY/I93qkDvTd-s/s1600/chinsegut+hike+038.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVECr4n24dM/Uy842LZHl8I/AAAAAAAAHto/rhIuRtTyDY8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JVECr4n24dM/Uy842LZHl8I/AAAAAAAAHto/rhIuRtTyDY8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+040.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huge bunch of bamboo</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j25O_ydEv3I/Uy84_ZZwPqI/AAAAAAAAHtw/X9hrSaBV5GQ/s1600/chinsegut+hike+041.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-j25O_ydEv3I/Uy84_ZZwPqI/AAAAAAAAHtw/X9hrSaBV5GQ/s1600/chinsegut+hike+041.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr_mHh-KfFU/Uy85J0GV9ZI/AAAAAAAAHt4/MwTd_oQO0F0/s1600/chinsegut+hike+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr_mHh-KfFU/Uy85J0GV9ZI/AAAAAAAAHt4/MwTd_oQO0F0/s1600/chinsegut+hike+042.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He thought it would be funny to run from me.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vN3yY3fZRt0/Uy85SpouVvI/AAAAAAAAHuA/v0HzeVTw7So/s1600/chinsegut+hike+043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vN3yY3fZRt0/Uy85SpouVvI/AAAAAAAAHuA/v0HzeVTw7So/s1600/chinsegut+hike+043.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnUOr6WwUAQ/Uy85uEs7EgI/AAAAAAAAHuY/x5y5FfFnvdU/s1600/chinsegut+hike+046.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZnUOr6WwUAQ/Uy85uEs7EgI/AAAAAAAAHuY/x5y5FfFnvdU/s1600/chinsegut+hike+046.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A swing made by Mother Nature.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BoZwYvZAJGs/Uy853YhbJbI/AAAAAAAAHug/PVMwY3wp8H8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+047.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BoZwYvZAJGs/Uy853YhbJbI/AAAAAAAAHug/PVMwY3wp8H8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+047.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bamboo monster..ahhh.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-se6-rhR_P8w/Uy86AQpdiWI/AAAAAAAAHuo/llibGBNsdfU/s1600/chinsegut+hike+048.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-se6-rhR_P8w/Uy86AQpdiWI/AAAAAAAAHuo/llibGBNsdfU/s1600/chinsegut+hike+048.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r1YlvtE-vOM/Uy86MIxzriI/AAAAAAAAHuw/t8qdXu9_Af8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r1YlvtE-vOM/Uy86MIxzriI/AAAAAAAAHuw/t8qdXu9_Af8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+050.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbuMDqsrCV0/Uy86YkTkKUI/AAAAAAAAHu4/t642p5Dj6F8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+051.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YbuMDqsrCV0/Uy86YkTkKUI/AAAAAAAAHu4/t642p5Dj6F8/s1600/chinsegut+hike+051.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here you can see the sink hole on the right and the massive bamboo patch on the left and behind them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">some fun editing</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kw0hpNGYoJE/Uy87LbwbEhI/AAAAAAAAHvo/recKcgI81tA/s1600/chinsegut+hike+059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kw0hpNGYoJE/Uy87LbwbEhI/AAAAAAAAHvo/recKcgI81tA/s1600/chinsegut+hike+059.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to go.</td></tr>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-42093212200390175442014-02-08T14:22:00.000-05:002014-02-08T14:22:04.689-05:00Cute and Terrible two'sWell, the baby turned two and is totally living up to the stereotype of terribleness.<br />
Let me preface this by saying that we love him more than anything and he is amazingly adorable, but a tantrum he can throw.<br />
The hubs likes to call it downward dog, like the yoga pose. That's how it starts..head to the floor, butt in the air. Of course it progresses into a rolling, screaming fit all over the ground. Favorite phrases are, "I don't want to. NO! Stop it. That's mine. and Gimme that, Wyder."<br />
His words have gotten very clear and he is speaking in full sentences. There are a few really cute words that he hasn't quite worked out yet.<br />
Poothtaste is one of my favorite. Every morning and evening when he and big brother brush their teeth, he comes out of the bathroom with the brush and the paste and says, "Poothtaste Mommy, Poothtaste."<br />
Any word with an in the middle 'L' gets an extra syllable. Balloon, comes out like "Ball-l-oon" and it looks like he's not quite sure what he should be doing with his tongue. Very cute. "Ah-mazing!" and "Oh, my gooooodnessss." are some other prize quotes.<br />
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He is starting to play very well with his big brother. There is definitely still some disagreements, but I suppose that will go on well into their adult lives. On the flip side, between wrestling matches they often hug and trade I love you's. There is nothing more heart warming that hearing your children say, "I love you, Tyce" and "I lub you, Wyder." Melts me every time.<br />
Both boys go to bed at 9 o'clock and wake up at 7:30. (Ryder more like 9:30, because he reads in bed every night) Tyce still wakes up in the middle of the night about 3 nights a week. This started up a few months ago and I have no idea why. After we did the cry it out method he was sleeping like a baby all through the night. I'm guessing he's having dreams. Whether they frighten him or not, they must jerk him out of sleep. We have to get milk and lay out on the couch for a bit, then he usually goes right back down. <br />
It's not fun to wake up in the middle of the night, but it is nice to still get the cuddles in. He's a meaty little guy, which makes for warm, full hugs.<br />
He's always on the go, jumping, bouncing, running, climbing...<br />
He amazes me with his athletic ability. He got a baseball tee for Christmas, we just handed him the bat and he rocked the ball right off. His swing and follow through just came natural. It's the same with the golf clubs. He focuses on the ball and makes contact practically every time. He will hit the ball around the yard and it holds his attention for a solid hour at a time. <br />
I know the tantrums will phase out and something new will phase in. I'm hoping one day we all look back at this and laugh remembering how incredibly LOUD Tyce was at two. <br />
I mean, LOUD. <br />
Guess he has a lot to say and wants to make sure the whole family (and some of the neighbors) can hear him.<br />
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We love you, Tyce.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-65465459302707997672014-01-05T23:28:00.000-05:002014-01-05T23:28:08.063-05:00I Love My BoysLate at night when the house is quiet, I walk into the hallway that houses the two doors to the rooms of my babies. With my ear to their door or an adjustment of their sheets, I am overwhelmed with love. I am satisfied and calm knowing that they are resting peacefully. I am even more grateful as I cross the house to crawl in bed with the warm, strong man who helped me create them.<br />
I love my boys.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-51913995993102337082013-12-18T09:57:00.001-05:002013-12-19T13:07:23.671-05:00Teacher Christmas Gift: Cookies in a JarI originally found this idea during the summer when I was searching the web for inspiration on what to do with my left over Yankee Candle jars. Now the holiday season is here and I have not come up with a better, more original idea for a teacher gift so this is my go to.<br />
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Cookies in a Jar. More specifically Santa's cookies in a jar.<br />
The recipe and instructions can be found at <a href="http://www.culdesaccool.com/2012/11/14/5-diy-holiday-baked-gifts-in-a-jar-with-free-printable-recipe-tags/" target="_blank">Cul-de-sac-Cool</a>. One helpful tip, right of the bat is to be sure you really pack the layers in there. Especially if you want to get the chips in at the end (I skipped those, no room, whoopsie). I should have read all the comments first, but instead I will learn from my mistakes. This candle jar is the medium size, as you can see I had to pack the brown sugar in the lid. I did try the pint size mason jar recipe from <a href="http://damndelicious.net/2012/11/11/m-m-cookies-in-a-jar-sundaysupper/" target="_blank">Damn Delicious</a>. This one was a bit too little for these particular jars, so I added some filler of tissue paper and fabric in the lid. Here's a pic of all three before ribbons and bows. (the pint size recipe is on the right) I also tried a different layering order for the other two which have the same quart size recipe. Both seemed to work just fine, I think the key is to be sure the flour blend is on the bottom. <br />
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The label template can also be found at <a href="http://www.culdesaccool.com/2012/11/14/5-diy-holiday-baked-gifts-in-a-jar-with-free-printable-recipe-tags/" target="_blank">Cul-de-sac-Cool</a>. Next year maybe I will get more ambitious and try some of the other 4 recipes she has. They all look so super yummy. We will be making cookies tonight. :) I couldn't have all the ingredients for homemade cookies laying around and not expect my family to want them. They already stole a few M&M minis when I wasn't looking...<br />
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This is the jar that went off to school today. The traditional quart sized mason jar, with some tissue paper in the lid. We also attached a Christmas card with a ribbon to the side with a hand written note from Ryder just for some personalization. <br />
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. I hope you have found these links and tips helpful for a last minute, personal, cute gift for your teachers.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-56823757326396373502013-12-09T14:44:00.000-05:002013-12-09T14:44:58.166-05:00Fall Photo Montage<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of our best family photos. It was taken with my phone, so not the best quality, but everyone is looking and smiling at the camera. Score!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Celebrating with cousin Devin for her 8th birthday.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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One big perk of living in the Sunshine State is that there really is a
lot of sunshine all year round. When others are bundling up and
shoveling snow, we get to enjoy shorts, flip flops and the beach!<br />
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And what would a fall photo montage be without a trip to the Farm.</div>
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.......and the random cute phone photos, because I always forget to print them.</div>
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The boys are really starting to play and interact well. In between the screaming, pulling, hitting, etc, you can see that they really love each other. Baby brother does everything big brother does. It melts my heart when they hug. Big brother helps little brother get water or snacks from the kitchen and there are the occasional please, thank you and your welcomes that make a Mommy feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Even the wrestling is cute, well, when someone is not crying because they got hit or hurt by the other, but I guess that's all part of the experience. Tyce also copies words and sentences from Ryder. The best is "I love you, Tyce" and "I lub you, Ryder" it will never get old. It's pure and innocent.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-54046443755885663722013-12-06T13:24:00.000-05:002013-12-06T13:24:33.493-05:00Playroom Art Gallery and Whale Wall Art With the help of my husband, I was able to recently complete not one, but 2 projects that have been on my mind.<br />
One: a cute whale art project for the baby's room and<br />
Two: a mini art gallery for the playroom (well, partially)<br />
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The whale idea came from a collection from <a href="http://www.architectureartdesigns.com/20-diy-adorable-ideas-for-kids-room/" target="_blank">Architecture Art Design</a>.<br />
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Mine was a bit modified...<br />
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I used wood instead of canvas. And my art skills are not as good as this artist (who is not mentioned in the article), but I do love whales and used to draw this image a lot as a kid.<br />
First, I drew my whale and spout with a pencil. It took two attempts for the whale to be the size I wanted. Again, I'm <i>so</i> not an artist. The paints I already had. Dark blue from the dresser in Ryder's room, teal from the end tables in the living room and turquoise from the kitchen wall. I think any animal outline would work. You could do owls in a tree with pinks for a girl or an alligator horizontally in greens for a surprise gender. Lots of cute ideas. Lowe's and Home Depot offer small paint samples for about 3 dollars and the piece of wood I used was just under $7. My hubs cut it in threes for me, but I think the guys/girls and the hardware store will do it for you, too. Point is it can be an inexpensive alternative to the pricey art that is out there.<br />
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I painted an off white tinted glaze, just to add a bit to the plain wood texture. I used kids paint brushes, but I would recommend buying something a tad more quality to make easier work.<br />
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Saw toothed hanging hardware went on the back.<br />
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Anytime I can add some interest and color to a room without spending crazy money, I am happy. <br />
Which leads to the playroom gallery art....<br />
Now, this project is only partially done, we (when I say we, I mean my hubs) needs to make two more frames, so there will be a total of three.<br />
This first one was spawned from some new toys (saw and nail gun thing) he got this year.<br />
He was toying (pun intended) with the idea of making picture frames. I still haven't been able to find a place that gives deals on framing. It is so ridiculously expensive! <br />
He wanted to test his tools and he created a frame. Since I didn't have anything to perfectly fit, it stayed in the garage sadly hanging empty on the wall. <br />
I had been wanting to create something for the art that comes home from school and future art from the baby. I like the string and clothes pin idea, but I feel like you need a good space for that or it will look like clutter. I already have lots of clutter on my fridge and all over the playroom floor, so I needed something else. Randomly, I thought of the empty frame in the garage and a light bulb went off. Perfect. Playing off the string idea, I hot glued two clothes pins to hold the art. and. Voila! Gallery Art.<br />
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I love this!! Just in time for some Fall trees that came home. I can't wait for two more. Pictures to come!!<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-69863458658002538692013-12-06T11:50:00.000-05:002013-12-06T11:50:51.805-05:00DIY: Baking Soda Air Freshners the possibilites are endless!Baking Soda is an obsession of mine right now. It really came through with cleaning the kitchen floor tile grout so when I came across these air fresheners, making my own was a definite. <br />
There are tons of blogs and how to's of these little guys. I like this <a href="http://thecraftycollaborative.com/?p=3043" target="_blank">one</a>, because it had all the different reviews and versions. <br />
Here's my review and version....<br />
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First off, the possibilities are endless.<br />
From the size of the mason jar to the bow you tie around it. Not to mention the picture or pattern you choose to display on top.<br />
These mason jars came from Target and were 4 for $4.07, they are 8 oz. big mouth. <br />
Lots of the other bloggers used scrap book paper, but I didn't have any of that. I did have card stock and a bunch of dividers for the file cabinet. I was not going to just leave the plain manila color for my craft, so I started looking around my house. I came up with a ton of choices. I had old gift bags, magazines, wrapping paper, photos, seriously ENDLESS choices, any theme any color. You could even print up an image of the scent you were using... ENDLESS.<br />
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Just trace the metal insert, cut and glue stick it down. The flower pot circle was from a gift bag tag, it fit a smaller jar perfectly, I wouldn't have even had to cut it. <br />
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The mixing is easy. Pour in the baking soda and add your essential oil. <br />
Another plethora of choices. A tip from the other reviewers is that when it comes to the smell department the deeper note the longer it will linger. Also, start with 8 or so drops,
you can always add more if you want a stronger smell. Mine is called 'clean air', I believe we got it at a music festival and it smells like ylang ylang and dryer sheets. When that runs out I think I will try sweet orange or rosemary. Sometimes you can get them cheap as an add on item through Amazon. I know there are times when I need the extra couple dollars to take advantage of the free shipping. For the holes I used an upholstery needle, because wooden skewers were not strong enough and an ice pick was too big.<br />
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So that's basically it!<br />
I'm giving them out to my mom (she bought a new house and it has some interesting smells), my mom in law(just because she likes things that smell good) and my sister in law(because she's always collecting clothes for the needy and her car, well, stinks). I'm thinking of adding it to the teacher Christmas gift, too. Lord knows 1st grade classrooms are smelly. You could even give them at a baby shower for the new mom who doesn't realize how stinky that diaper pail is gonna get.<br />
Mine went in the boys bathroom for obvious reasons. :) <br />
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This was a super fun, simple project that anyone can do and have fun with. If I had to give it a rating, it would be 5 stars!<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-42289402130244764142013-11-13T12:06:00.001-05:002013-11-13T12:06:09.706-05:00Pinterest project: Herringbone wall art DIYAfter completing the Chevron wall, I felt very accomplished. I wanted to do more. Searching for ideas and tips from other bloggers, I stumbled upon this artwork from Moonpie Dreams. I thought, "I can do that." (Remember I had just done a <i>WHOLE</i> wall)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://moonpiedreams.blogspot.com/2012/02/diy-chevron-painting.html" target="_blank">Moonpie Dreams</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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As you can see when you click the link, she has done a pretty good job of explaining the process and even has a link to the pattern she used to guide her. I felt even more confident.<br />
With that confidence I printed up a 40% off coupon for Michael's we headed to the store. There was an entire wall of Canvases. I went with the cheapest, because I wanted a big one. Since I'm not an artist, the different quality of art materials won't be an issue. The 30x40 was $32.99, perfect with the coupon. We had some kid paint and some intermediate acrylic paints at home those coupled with the left over wall paints and I was stocked. <br />
So it begins....<br />
Following the <a href="http://moonpiedreams.blogspot.com/2012/02/diy-chevron-painting.html" target="_blank">Moonpie Dreams</a> blog again, I start with a zig zag line down the center of the canvas.<br />
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(Apologies for not being able to get a better image, it's quite challenging to capture a thin gray line on a white background.)<br />
With a very large ruler or yard stick extend the lines you want to the edge of the canvas.<br />
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Then paint away. </div>
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There was no rhyme or reason to the colors in my case, but go with what ya feel. Some of the colors I mixed together to get more variety (I didn't have <i>that much </i>inventory in<i> </i>leftover paint so I had to improvise).<br />
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I liked how the inspiration piece had texture in each color. There was some glaze in my paint stash, so I thought I would brush it on. My lines weren't perfect and this could be a great solution to hide my blemishes.<br />
Turns out, the Miller Lite and late hour may have boosted my art ego. After the paint dried in the morning and the art was on the wall, I didn't like it. The hubs came home from work and confirmed that the glaze was a bad decision. <br />
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That night and during baby's nap time the next day I reverted back to the original idea.<br />
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This project was much harder that doing the Chevron wall. But in the end it adds some nice bright colors to the room, so I'm glad I was up for the challenge.<br />
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Ya never know until you try, right?!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-2185772551669070042013-11-07T14:07:00.000-05:002013-11-07T14:37:31.185-05:00Hydrogen Peroxide and Baking Soda to clean kitchen floor tile grout: Holy Cow, Results!!So, you know how everyone is always pinning those nifty cleaning tips all over the internet?....Vinegar for everything, homemade cleaning products from ingredients under your sink, etc. Like most, I have been a skeptic. While a couple things have worked for me, most seem too easy to be true (or at least they are portrayed that way). Let's admit it, when you pin it your house is somehow "feels" cleaner but, how many people actually attempt all these tips and solutions? <br />
I decided to put one to the test.<br />
I noticed while I was mopping yesterday that the grout in the kitchen was noticeably darker than the bathrooms. Since they are all the same, I knew it was in need of a hard core cleaning. Obviously, the kitchen is a much higher traffic area than the bathrooms and it's in the middle of the house so you have to walk through it to get anywhere. I mop with a bleach solution because I have a six year old, a toddler, a husband and a dog. I guess the bleach just wasn't cutting it to remove the grossness that gets trapped in the grout lines. After reading several blogs and watching some you tube videos, I decided to try the hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. This decision was mostly based on the fact that I had those two things on hand and I didn't want to burn my lungs out with straight bleach.<br />
First, I poured a little peroxide on the grout. I used an old toothbrush to spread it down the line. Next, I sprinkled some baking soda and rubbed it in. It immediately looked lighter. I continued to do small sections because the baby was napping and I didn't want to have to hurry and clean a huge mess if he woke up. Then I ran out of peroxide...<br />
Oh well, the baby was gonna wake up soon, so I sponged up the left over residue. For this I just used water and a basic kitchen sponge. Then I put a towel down to quickly dry the extra moisture, because the baby was really awake now.<br />
I was pretty satisfied with the results. Then the floor dried all the way-----<br />
Un-flipping-believable!<br />
What a huge difference!!<br />
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You can already see the dirty mixture just after a quick scrub... In the picture below the bottom left corner area has been cleaned and wiped.<br />
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You can see where I stopped. The top grout lines in two pictures above is the "before" and the bottom is the "after." And it didn't take too long. These are 18x18 inch tiles and I probably did like a ten by five foot area in 45 minutes.<br />
I will be finishing the job tomorrow during nap time when I have more peroxide. <br />
If any of you find a method that is faster or easier let me know because this floor will definitely not stay like this forever.....<br />
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Until then, (if you have the choice) I would advise to pick a grout color that is not too dark and not too light. This way you will have one less area to detail.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-20843429559285593042013-10-21T12:57:00.000-04:002013-11-06T15:11:08.472-05:00Chevron painted wall DIYThe Chevron trend is everywhere, so why not in my house, too?!<br />
An accent wall seemed the best choice and I am very pleased with the results. There is a wall about the same size directly across that is probably going to match as soon as I get more painter's tape.<br />
The process was pretty easy once you get the measurements figured out. The best way for me was to make a rectangular grid and connect the angles.<br />
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This way you can visualize how big your stripes will be and adjust accordingly. After my hubs took a look, we opted to "double" the width of the stripes. They went from 4 inches to 8 inches. The most tedious was leveling and drawing all the pencil lines, but it was a necessary step to be sure the painter's tape would be straight.<br />
Thankfully, I had more of the original wall paint on hand so I could touch up all my pencil marks and eraser smudges after the project was done.<br />
One stencil <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeFmy8kP-0k" target="_blank">video</a> by Cutting Edge Stencils had some helpful tips on applying the paint. Normally, I would have just brushed the paint on, but after watching the video I went with the small foam roller. I did not have a paper plate on hand, so I used a Chinese take out container. This technique was super easy on the application and clean up. <br />
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I decided to do gray on gray, because that's what we had. The walls are light matte gray and I had some leftover darker eggshell gray from a <a href="http://projecttestrun.blogspot.com/2013/03/a-quick-upcycle-project.html" target="_blank">desk</a> I painted several months ago. It worked out perfectly, if left to choose from the paint store I probably would have gotten a bold color...which I would have wanted to change sooner rather than later...<br />
Pinterest also has tons of really cool canvas chevron and herringbone project ideas. I'm definitely not an artist, but a large piece of bold wall art may not be out of the question after all.<br />
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UPDATE: 5 days later, I did the wall across to balance out the accent. Well, that's what I said to the hubs...I just really like the way it turned out.<br />
If you're gonna give it a shot, I'll happily answer any question. :)<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-166713823544476982013-10-09T12:39:00.001-04:002013-10-09T12:39:16.963-04:00DIY: Coffee table to Ottoman<div class="commentDescriptionContent">
There are tons and tons of tutorials, pictures and blogs turning coffee tables to ottomans. My "light bulb idea" sparked from browsing Pinterest while looking for things to do with a pallet. I didn't actually have a pallet, but my hubs had recently informed me that he could get one from his job. Obviously, I wanted to find something to do with it. I stumbled upon a picture of a beautiful room with a beautiful ottoman. The caption stated "<span class="commentDescriptionTimeAgo"></span>Get a pallet, foam, table legs, fabric and a staple gun." </div>
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I know, awesome, right? This image came from my friend Megan's Pinterest page, so I guess I can blame her for all this. Come to find out, THIS particular ottoman is from <a href="http://www.westelm.com/products/essex-upholstered-ottoman-g176/?pkey=call-new" target="_blank">West Elm</a>. AND it's 400 bucks. It seems like a pallet would do the job and in my mind it seems easy. Just like the caption said.<br />
I'm not sure if any of y'all have brought home a pallet, but they are huge. I mean, I've seen them before laying out behind the grocery, but up close and personal they are suddenly a lot bigger....and heavy. Really heavy. <br />
I had sort of given up on the idea. It would involve contracting out my hubs, I would need his cutting skills AND strength. I know because he brought one home and I could barely move it around the garage by myself. He ended up disassembling it and we used the wood for another project.<br />
Then....one day while surfing the pin boards again I see another beautiful ottoman and someone had made it from a coffee table!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://www.fivedaysfiveways.com/2011/07/diy-tufted-ottoman.html</td></tr>
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If you guessed that I would want to pursue this project, you would be correct.<br />
Aaand, it just so happens that my sister-in-law had an unwanted coffee table from her sister-in-law....<br />
it was meant to be!<br />
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The five days five ways blog gives a pretty good detailed tutorial, too. That coupled with some other blogs (<a href="http://diyshowoff.com/2012/08/09/how-to-turn-a-coffee-table-into-an-ottoman-inside-out-design" target="_blank">diy show off</a> , <a href="http://www.classyclutter.net/2011/12/diy-upholstered-tufted-headboard-tutorial.html" target="_blank">classy clutter </a>) and I feel like I'm ready to tackle this.<br />
Here's what the coffee table started out looking like.<br />
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It's totally 80's. Actually I think it is stamped '91 on the bottom, but you get the idea. Out of date, but not out of date enough to be a cool vintage piece. Perfect for an ottoman, it measures 36x36 inches, just like the one from West Elm.<br />
First it needs to be painted. I have just recently made a pretty bold statement in our living room with some teal end tables, so I think I will stay neutral with this one. Plus, I'm on a serious budget, so I have to work with what supplies I have.<br />
I would really like a trendy chevron or bold graphic print but, again,.....budget. I had printed up a 50% off coupon for JoAnn fabric, but I decided to walk through the fabric section of Walmart just to see what they had to offer. They did have a pretty cool burlap with a black chevron print. It wasn't too pricey, but I would probably need to double it up or put fabric underneath because the burlap was kinda "holy". Either way that would double the expense. I was about to leave when I glanced at the clearance rack and spotted a fairly neutral bolt. I was a bit undecided then I saw the price was $3/yard!! Score. 6 bucks for 2 yards, I wasn't going to find a deal like that anywhere else. And it was upholstery fabric. Bonus. <br />
The glass insert gets removed (obviously) and is replaced with a spare piece of wood.<br />
After a bit of measuring and eyeballing the room, I decided the ottoman needs to be six inches shorter. My handy hubs cut it down for me. He even sanded the leg bases for me before he reassembled it. <br />
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I painted around the whole bottom, but after taking out a few screws to see how much of the table came apart, I realized that just the legs came off easily and in a perfect place. I was worried about how I was going to transition from fabric to wood. This was going to work out perfectly. I love the look of the nail head strips, but that would be an added expense.<br />
I had to buy extra long needles and the supplies to make my own buttons for the tufting. The needles I found on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009V2PZS/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, the package contains 4 needles measuring 6, 8 10 and 12 inches. The buttons I found on Ebay, but she has a shop on Etsy called <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/coverbuttoncity" target="_blank">Cover Button City</a>. If I ever need buttons again, I will get them here. It was a good price and she emailed me a tutorial right away, I like good internet communication. My buttons are size 36 or 7/8". If you have never ordered any before, be sure to get the WIRED backs. I almost ended up with FLAT backs because I was looking at price over description. <br />
(The button making could be a blog post in itself and there are many on the subject. The best advice I read was to use glue. Upholstery fabric is thick and these buttons are made for thin fabric. I didn't not have Hard as Nails like the other blogger specified, but I did have Locktite which is basically the same thing. So, I just put a little dab in each button before I very forcefully jammed in the back. If you try this and have questions, just ask. It was hard and tedious, but it got done. The backs don't look pretty, but no one will know. Well, except you.)<br />
The foam is were I splurged. It was $31.99 plus shipping. Lots of bloggers seem to have found deals at Hobby Lobby, but we don't have one of those anywhere close. <a href="http://www.foambymail.com/open-cell-foam.html" target="_blank">Foam Factory</a> online is what I went with. They have every option you can think of and if you want to pay for it they will even custom cut it for you. You can find two inch memory foam twin mattress pads for $30-35 on Ebay. That was my first choice, but after I thought about what kind of use the ottoman was going to get, ,memory foam was too squishy. I went with the Lux-R, opting for the 2 inch instead of the 4 with the plan to double it up. I cut off the corners because that was the shape of my wood and since I didn't have a fancy "foam cutting bit" for the drill, I used a drywall knife. I just worked it around until I felt like enough foam was out of each hole.<br />
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I did use craft spray adhesive to keep the two pieces of foam together and after I had the middle button in, I also sprayed some adhesive between the foam and the wood. I didn't want it to slide around when I tilted it on the side to pull the needle through.<br />
After a lot of pulling and strategic stapling of the thread to the underside, I had it looking almost how I wanted.<br />
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The boys were going to be jumping, rolling, sitting and who knows what else on the ottoman, so I decided that the fabric was going to have to be tight. I like the loose, lots of tuft look, but I wasn't sure how practical it would be in my house. <br />
I pulled it a bit tighter and added a few more staples.<br />
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He hopped up as soon as he woke up from his nap. So while my upholstering job may not be perfect, you can see that it's going to work out just fine. And it is so much nicer to put your feet up on some cushion instead of a hard coffee table.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-77911707231401535882013-09-28T11:29:00.003-04:002013-09-28T21:47:09.908-04:00DIY: End tables from old to new We have been living in our new house for over a year now. There were a few pieces of furniture that we borrowed from my parents and it was time to give them back. (They got another house) So it was time to hit the thrift stores and/or internet. I had been perusing Craigslist for an octagon end table. I have really been wanting one. I like the shape and storage, plus I knew one of those seventies styles from your grandparents house and/or college apartment would look really cool with a fresh coat of bright paint.<br />
My mom was at the Habitat for Humanity and texted me a picture of a round table similar to the octagon style. I headed up there to see it for myself. It was the perfect height and size. The price tag was $25 and they were having a 40% off sale on furniture that day. No brainer....<br />
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I had already sanded the top when I realized I hadn't taken a picture....oops.<br />
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I've painted quite a few pieces of furniture and my mom has painted a ton. What I've learned, is that unless you are going to apply a polyurethane, the top is going to chip, get scrapped or rub off. If it is something that is going to get a lot of wear and tear staying with the wood is best. Plus, my hubs sometimes can't cope with painting over beautiful wood. In this case I didn't think the wood was beautiful, but the end table gets constant use. Living with all boys, I can't have a piece of furniture that I have to say, "don't bang the bat/club/stick/book/cup/car/superhero/rolling pin..... on there." It has to be able to handle everything. Luckily, when I sanded the top I really liked the wood grain. (Maple, I think)<br />
Since I was going to paint the bottom, it is much easier to apply a liquid deglosser than sand. After that was prepped, I put a coat of primer.<br />
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The previous owners of the house before this one had left an end table. We had it shoved in a closet and basically used it for shelving. But, since I was already prepping and painting I decided to go ahead and do that table too.<br />
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Both pieces are nice and while some may get upset that I am painting and not staining, we are not very traditional. We like a little color and unique pieces.<br />
This is how they turned out.<br />
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It's called Caribbean Holiday by Olympic. While gray would have been the more "modern" choice, our walls are gray and the carpet is beige. We wanted something that would stand out, not blend in. Wwe have turquoise as our accent color around the house, I thought something in the teal family would be cool. I really love them! The poly on the top of this one is a gloss, because it get some hard core wear and tear. The handles are the original, spray painted, of course. I left the rim of the dark wood, because I thought it was interesting and because the other table had a darker wood.<br />
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Not too shabby, eh?<br />
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I have two other projects in the works...<br />
One is converting an old coffee table into an ottoman. (had to enlist the hubs to help with that because it involves a big power tool)<br />
The other is another end table for the baby's room.<br />
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The ottoman is coming along. We have painted the legs and shortened it six inches.....<br />
The end table hasn't been touched yet....can't decide what to do...<br />
It's called a campaign table and has quite a notable brand. I would like to keep it the way it is, unfortunately it has seen far too much wear to save. There is a piece of the veneer that needs to be glued back on the side and a ton of scratches on the top. But for 9 bucks, I couldn't leave it there. :)<br />
Hopefully I will have the updates soon, but for now we are headed to a birthday party. Our fourth weekend in a row for birthday parties. September was a big birthing month for the 1st grade parents. :)<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-81195547235549768962013-08-06T12:16:00.000-04:002013-08-06T12:25:04.941-04:00Adventures of on-line thriftingWe moved over a year ago and our new house has a bar counter that transitions from the kitchen to the family room. We had two bar stools that made the move with us and two from my mom. The space looks and functions best with three. So I always had one mismatched stool and one auxiliary. Which is fine, but I feel like if you are gonna mismatch it should be all or nothing. I always keep my eye out for an inexpensive swap, but haven't found anything that really talks to me. The stools I have can be found pretty much anywhere on line and I was just about to cave and get two more.<br />
Here they are on overstock.com<br />
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<img alt="Two classic wodden bar stools waiting for patrons" border="1" src="http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/img/mxc/100727_bar_stools.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #000;" title="Two classic wodden bar stools waiting for patrons" width="302" /><br />
Mine are from Ross and I got them for just under $30.<br />
My parents just bought a house around the corner from us so my mom has been scouring Craigslist for random furniture items.<br />
(Quick back story: The house was a foreclosure so I'm going to document the transition and changes. Probably could be a blog in itself, but I'll do my best to post the updates and changes. There will be lots of paint in our future. And she's wants to go all modern on a budget. Should be quite the adventure.)<br />
She's always showing me her finds and asking my opinion. As you can imagine, I've seen tons of styles, new and old during her hunt. Then she shows me three chrome gems!<br />
Catch is they are an hour and a half away.<br />
But.....<br />
They are also at the beach....<br />
The lady is asking $80 for all three. Great deal, especially with the prices we've seen at full retail.<br />
It is far, so I need to be 100% sure I want to commit before we make the drive out there. First, I get the thumbs up from the hubs. He likes them so that's one box ticked.<br />
And after a couple phone calls about stability, price and location. It's on.<br />
Mom and I decided to take the kids and make a day of it.<br />
It's Florida in the summer, so thunderstorms are always in the forecast. A motto I've had since college is that it never rains at the beach. I'm hoping that motto still holds true,but ya never know. So, I throw a tarp in the truck with the bungees, load up the kids and off we go.<br />
Indian Rocks Beach is still quaint and cute. Driving on a beach road really makes you want to live on the beach. In fact, the bar stool lady said she and her husband decided to sell the big house and get the condo on the beach. Great trade off in my mind, it was a cute two bedroom RIGHT on the water. Awesome. Awesome for me too, because her chrome stools didn't match the new look she was going for. :) win. win.<br />
I hate wheeling and dealing, but I did get the stools for $70. I feel happy, so now off to the beach.<br />
We find public access and parking, put the stools in the truck cab and schlep everything to the beach.<br />
It was great. Swimming, sun and sand castles.<br />
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While phone pictures aren't my favorite they are the most convenient, I was very happy to get good shots with both kids (mostly smiling) with my mom and myself. And...no rain at the beach! More winning.<br />
A few hours later we wrap it up and schlep the sandy kids back to the truck.<br />
I get the stools secured and covered in the back and we head home.<br />
We traveled through three different counties and hit three different storms. The heaviest down pour was closest to home. Thank goodness I had the tarp. <br />
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The stools were covered with three different colors, deep purple, mint green and mustard goldish yellow on a velour like cloth. While it was a nice ode to my home town of Nola and the Hubs thought it was awesome, they were getting recovered.<br />
We have a lot of turquoise accents, so I wanted to stay in that general genre.<br />
I found a few micro fiber fabrics on-line but I headed to the fabric store. I always had a fall back if I didn't find anything that fit.<br />
I sent some pics to the Hubs to Yay or Nay.<br />
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The response was Nay, yay, yay. So I'm down to two. Ryder's favorite is obvious. It's by HGTV home, so it's hip and bold. In the long run I was afraid I would get sick of the pattern and it was feeling a bit too nautical to me.<br />
So what we ended up with was this...<br />
I think they are feathers, the Hubs thinks leaves either way nature theme. <br />
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It's textured and durable, so it will hold up to the kids. As you can see it changes in different light and angles, so it won't get old. I actually love it more now then when I first covered it. Oh, and it was on clearance at $9/yard which was all I needed.<br />
I've also found that the baby can't (or hasn't figured out how to) climb up them. While they do get a lot of spin and Ryder loves to use the hydraulic up and down, they don't get moved around like the old wood ones because of their weight and wide base. Perfect.<br />
In fact, after my mom saw how they get used in the space she has narrowed down her search.<br />
<img height="200" id="qv-hero-img" src="http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/P14648454.jpg" width="200" /><img src="http://thesouthmission.com/wp-content/themes/shopperpress/thumbs/barstools/M90018.jpg" style="max-height: 250px; max-width: 240px;" /><a href="http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/yaep5.undc5/v/vspfiles/photos/K-117-SO-2T.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img alt="Contemporary Bar Stool K-117" border="0" class="vCSS_img_product_photo" height="200" id="product_photo" itemprop="image" src="http://a248.e.akamai.net/origin-cdn.volusion.com/yaep5.undc5/v/vspfiles/photos/K-117-SO-2T.jpg" width="135" /></a><br />
(From <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Miller-Bar-Swivel-Stool/7157518/product.html?cid=202290&kid=9553000357392&track=pspla&ef_id=UgEdSQAABNKKUk0Y:20130806155905:s" target="_blank">overstock</a>, <a href="http://thesouthmission.com/darkwood-contemporary-bar-stool/" target="_blank">The southern mission</a> and <a href="http://www.defysupply.com/Contemporary_bar_stool_K_117_p/k-117-so.htm?mr:referralID=16ee1676-feb4-11e2-a969-001b2166c2c0" target="_blank">defysupply</a>)<br />
They all spin. :)<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-58961337643762193322013-08-05T11:21:00.000-04:002013-08-05T11:21:29.931-04:00How he defeated Vader at Disney's Hollywood Studios Jedi Training Academy Well, it's official.<br />
My oldest son has become a Padawan. He received a diploma and all!!<br />
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When you stay in any hotel in the Orlando area there is always a channel dedicated to Disney and what all it's parks have to offer. Genius marketing. It automatically comes on when you turn on the TV and continuously cycles a ton of super cool stuff that appeals to all kids. Which transforms into, "Hey Mom, can we do that?" <br />
This is what lead to wanting to become a Jedi, which is offered at Hollywood Studios.<br />
Since Ryder is totally consumed by Star Wars these days for his 6th birthday his grandmother gave the whole family passes to the park. Fantastic gift and a slight moment of panic for mom. Is becoming a Jedi something that I can actually make happen??<br />
It better be, because I would have one let down kid on my hands if not.<br />
A good friend of mine had recently visited the park, so I called and drilled her with questions. She has girls, so they didn't have the same priorities we did, but she had good info about where to head and what was probably gonna go down. When we checked into our resort I went over and asked the "Disney planning desk" the same questions and got a few extra tips.<br />
Basically what I needed to do was:<br />
Be the first one to enter the park.<br />
Head (haul butt) straight to the ABC studios. <br />
Get him signed up for one of the classes which only hold 12-14 kids<br />
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No biggie, right? There are only hundreds of kids at a Disney park on any given day.<br />
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After getting the shuttle schedule we decided to drive ourselves to the park. The shuttle left at 8:50 and the park opened at 9:00, not going to cut it AT ALL.<br />
We left at 8:00 and got there at 8:10. We parked pretty close but were definitely not the first people there. I had a second of panic when I thought "How many of these people came early to sign up for Jedi training?"<br />
We already had our tickets, so no Will call lines for us. I had the baby, stroller and all the baggage so the Hubs took Ryder ahead just in case. We ended up in the same line because the park hadn't officially opened yet. I think they started letting everyone in around 8:30, I'm not 100% sure because I was trying to contain a crazy toddler and the anticipation was killing me. <br />
Once the flood gates opened we headed toward the Hat and veered left as directed by everyone. The ABC studio area was next door to the American Idol experience. I felt like everyone was headed in the other direction, it was a good feeling. As we approached, we knew we were in the right place, because there was a cast member with a light saber ushering us inside. No line! We walked right up and got signed up for the first show at 9:20!! I was giddy and relieved. But the running wasn't over. The nice girl told us we had time to go get a Toy Story Mania fast pass before we had to be back at 8:50. So we did, great tip because that line was super long all day. (side note: one of the only 'rides' I could take a one and a half year old on.)<br />
We get back and it's time......<br />
Here's what happened.....<br />
He looks so, so proud. He's totally ready to get this party started.<br />
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Ewok village that surrounds the Star Tours ride.<br />
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A lesson and briefing of what will be expected of the trainees. <br />
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The class was cute. Lots of moves to learn...swing, strike, duck, repeat.<br />
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Da da da dun da da dun da da<br />
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Uh oh. He's trying to get the youngsters to come to the Dark Side.<br />
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HOLY COW! He has to fight Vader...alone...solo...<br />
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There was an ambush during Ryder's fight sequence and he must use the force to defeat these Storm Troopers!<br />
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I'm so proud. At this point I was happy to have my sunglasses on because I was having a Disney magic moment and my eyes were welling up. <br />
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Boo,of course, wants to be just like his big brother and had to get in on the action.<br />
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And my favorite picture of the whole day, I took with my phone. Not the best quality, but definitely the best action shot. <br />
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Growing up watching the original Star Wars as a kid, I never thought in my wildest dreams that my own son would be going up against the Dark Side at the age of 6. Happy Birthday, buddy! Disney prevails and dreams do come true.<br />
(And the baby got to meet Mickey Mouse yet another magical moment)<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-1979549581842781812013-06-25T18:58:00.000-04:002013-06-25T18:58:26.627-04:00The cycle of life in our own backyard...Monarch style.A few months ago we took the kids up to the Chinsegut <a href="http://myfwc.com/viewing/recreation/wmas/lead/chinsegut/" target="_blank">Birding and Wildlife Festival</a>. It was very cool. Lots of facts about the local plants and animals. What caught my eye was the native plants. It reminded me that I had been meaning to get a milkweed for the yard. They didn't have any that day because spring had just begun and the plants were not big enough. I grabbed the first one I saw and then a second during a visit at Lowe's. I got the second one because there was literally a Monarch on the plant in the garden center. Ryder thought the butterfly would come home with us to be our yard pet. <br />
As it turns out we had Monarchs in the yard that week!! How cool?!<br />
A couple weeks after that I noticed that one of the plants was almost completely devoured. Upon a quick, closer inspection I saw several caterpillars in action. I checked every day after that. One day the caterpillars just weren't there. We have a lot of birds and other wildlife in the yard, but I thought for sure at least one had to have made it. I searched the nearby trees and the soffit under the house, nothing. <br />
Then one day, I stumbled upon this by accident while weeding.....<br />
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AWESOME, right?!!!!</div>
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I got the other stages on camera too.</div>
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Monarch in mid-flight</div>
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Caterpillars munching away.</div>
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It's the chrysalis that I think is most amazing. It's hanging under a large leaf of the japanese plum tree. I've read that this helps hide it from predators and protect it from the weather. Seems to be working perfectly. Nature is efficient.</div>
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Hopefully I'll be adding to this page shortly with pictures of the butterfly that emerges and then we will have completed the full cycle. </div>
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So Cool!</div>
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If you are thinking of getting on of those mail order butterfly hatching kits, I would recommend getting a milkweed instead. We've done the kit and while it was cool, there isn't a real chrysalis, more of a cocoon. Plus, this is cheaper and you will have Monarch butterflies coming back to your yard and fluttering around year after year. Then you can share your pictures with me!</div>
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Happy Gardening and butterfly watching. :)</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-34636052517849127222013-06-07T15:18:00.000-04:002013-06-07T15:19:24.182-04:00Slip sliding awaySummer has begun (well, not officially, but school is out) and these kids love the water. Since the pool is still a bit too chilly for me, what better way to get wet than a slip and slide and a baby pool? We originally went outside to burn all the branches and twigs that had fallen the day before during Tropical Storm Andrea, but as per the usual for these two they ended up with a hose out. That progressed into filling the baby pool and setting up the slip and slide. Ryder started sliding into the "finish line" and Tyce started cracking up. Of course, I ran in and got the camera. (I mean, I do need to practice, right?) <br />
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The baby is really chucking hard here.</div>
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After a few unexpected squirts of the hose, the dog is steering clear of the craziness.</div>
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The diaper is totally full. Like I said it was spontaneous, so no swim diaper.</div>
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The diaper came off and the dog decided participating would be more fun.</div>
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I know you are loving the coppertone baby.</div>
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Cute.</div>
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Monochrome.</div>
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What a day!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1282047396754938231.post-50212825814606353182013-05-31T12:44:00.000-04:002013-05-31T12:44:43.966-04:00Brusha brusha brusha<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Learning the morning routine from big brother.</div>
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Fingers crossed potty training comes just as easily.</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/" class="pin-it-button" count-layout="horizontal"><img border="0" src="//assets.pinterest.com/images/PinExt.png" title="Pin It" /></a></div>RyTyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02115926884035539201noreply@blogger.com0