Thursday, December 26, 2013

Merry Day After Christmas


My family and I wanted

to take just a quick

moment to 

say hello


and to hope that

you and your family

had a wonderful

Christmas.

Our family has so very

much to be thankful

for 

again

this year.

We are so blessed


Sweet Adalyn.


Lovely (and lively) Lorelai



and spending time with family.

Our wish to you

this day

after

Christmas

is to keep the 

joy



and the 

wonder


of Christmas morning

fill your heart

the entire year

through.

Hugs!

Monday, December 23, 2013

The countdown is on!

I'm back home now after
a week at my
daughter's house helping a little
with the new baby and
having our "sleep over parties" with
Lorelai.

I spent a week and we had 
four out of the seven nights that were good.
None were as good as the first two nights, 
but the last two weren't bad - she
still woke up some and crawled
into my bed
(which was a twin size blow up mattress on the floor beside her bed).
Now, I'll have to admit this was not
my favorite way to sleep.  However, if it helps
the little one get used to sleeping in her own bed
I'll give up a week of good sleep for that.

The reason I was able to come home is
my oldest daughter came in last night
from Nashville for a couple of weeks - 
so, she has taken over with
the "sleep over parties".

Tomorrow I need to run into town and 
pick up a prescription (want to get it before
our insurance company changes our
pharmacy company - again!) 
and I'll also pick 
up some last minute things
for meals for this week
(French Toast Casserole for 
Christmas morning for example).

Tuesday we are having dinner at the kids 
house with all the family - Justin's 
parents and his sister's family are coming down
and my kids dad will get in during the afternoon.
 Hopefully, my mom will be feeling better
so she will be able to come over
and celebrate too.

Wednesday, Dan and I will have our
Christmas here before loading all the 
gifts into the car and
going back over to 
the kids for
our family
Christmas.

Looks like things will be a little busy
for a few more days!

In case I don't have a chance to 
post again before
Christmas -
Dan, Samantha, Jessie and I
wish you and yours
a very
Merry Christmas!

Hugs!

Carol

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Just helping out

This will probably be a short and sweet post
as I have been staying over at my
daughter's since Saturday
helping out with the
new little one,
but mostly
I've been helping Lorelai
get settled into
her new room!

We have been working on getting
her to sleep in her
"Big girl" bed
all night.
Saturday and Sunday nights
were a cinch!
I rocked her
to sleep and laid
her in her bed -
and she slept ALL night
in her bed without
a single whimper.

However, last night was a different story!
First of all we (Melissa and I) took
the two girls to the doctor.
Addie had her first check-up (and her first shot!)
and Lorelai needed her eighteen month
check-up (and had to have one more shot).
Well, even though the doctor said it wouldn't
affect her, she was extremely grumpy and fussy
all afternoon and evening.
So, to make a long story short - we did not have
a really good night last night.
She kept climbing into my bed and I would put her
back into hers - finally, I climbed in bed with her until
she fell back asleep.  Anyway, I had to do that a couple of times
so it was a long night.

We all knew that it would take some time to get
her used to sleeping on her own in her own bed.
So, while we had a rough night last night,
 we'll work on it again tonight!
We'll just have to take it 
one day at a time.

Today, Melissa had to go back up to Lakeland
to get the staples from her C-section
removed (Dan is driving her and Addie up).
Lorelai and I are staying home.
I'll do a little laundry -
fix some lunch
(and see what to fix for dinner).
Yep, I'll stay busy!

So, I guess I'll go for now!
But, before I do, I'll 
leave you with a couple of pictures of
our sweet girls.




Hugs!

Nana

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Adalyn Harper



Yesterday our family welcomed the newest member.

Adalyn Harper was born at
10:03 AM.

She weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce
and was
20 and 1/2 inches long.

We are so thankful that Addie
was born strong and healthy.


Lorelai meeting her 
baby sister for the first time.
(She had just given her a kiss on the head.)



 My three beautiful girls.
My youngest daughter, Melissa, and my two
amazing grand daughters,
Lorelai and Adalyn.

What an amazing Christmas present.
We are so thankful and blessed!



Even though this picture is a little
blurry (okay, a lot blurry) I think
you can see the joy on
my daughter's 
face!

Thank you Lord for another
perfect little one
for us to love!

Nana
(times 2)

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Still busy - but can't tell you what I'm doing!

I sure hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!
We had a nice family dinner (my mom, daughter, son-in-law, grand daughter, and Dan).  Justin brought a Honey Baked Ham and I fixed all the sides.  My mom brought a pie so everyone contributed to our "feast".  I had planned on eating at 2 and we were actually sitting down at the table at 1:30!  Not too shabby!

Friday we (meaning me) packed up all of the fall decorations and Dan went to the storage unit to pick up the Christmas decorations.  Dan's "job" is to put the tree up and then put the lights on the tree.  Well, he got the tree out of the box (yes, we use an artificial tree) but he looked high and low and couldn't find any of our lights.  We even made another trip back to the storage unit looking for the lights and could NOT find them.  So, Saturday we ended up going into town and buying a new tree - this time one that is pre-lit.

I spent the rest of Saturday decorating the house - and the tree.  We decided  not to put a tree on the outside, screened in porch this year and so I only did two - the main tree in the family room and a small tree in Lorelai's room (with all rocking horse ornaments).  Now, we just have to find room in the storage unit for all the crates so I can get my car back into the garage.  (Seems like you take stuff out and can never find space for the stuff to go back in - LOL!)

If you are wondering what we did with the tree that we have that isn't pre-lit, well, we contacted the pastor at our church to see if he knew of anyone that could use it (along with a few extra ornaments that we had).  We have a young couple at our church that are expecting their first baby any time now - and they don't have a lot - so the tree is going to go to them.  It is in really good shape - but Dan just wanted one that he didn't have to worry about putting lights on.  Guess we are getting lazy in our old age.  I'm also including an extra baby crib bumper pad that I had in the closet.  I think this couple could use it.

We have been eating on Thanksgiving left-overs for the last five days - but tonight should finish them up - I'm making some 15 bean soup using the ham hock and the rest of the ham - then will make some cornbread.  Yummy!  Last night I used the rest of the mashed potatoes in a Shepherd's Pie.  I try really hard to use everything so it doesn't go to waste.

Also,  a couple of weeks ago (while our oldest daughter was here from Nashville) we had a surprise 'dipe and wipe' shower for Melissa and Justin.  We had a cookout here and her friends here in Lake Placid along with Justin's parents and sister with her family came.  I think that Melissa was really surprised.  Justin had to know about it so he could make sure to get Melissa here on time.  We had a nice turn out and I think everyone had a good time.

I'll be going to the doctor with Melissa this Friday - and if things go as planned we will have a new baby next Thursday!  I really think that Melissa is ready to have the baby - those of us who have been pregnant know what it is like the last couple of weeks - we are all anxious to not be pregnant anymore.  We are all looking forward to welcoming Adalyn to the world!

Well, I think I have you all caught up with the going's on around here.
I'll talk to you soon.


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Busy, busy, busy

I know that it has been over a week since I last posted - 
I haven't been sitting around on my hands though.

Actually, we have been very busy!

We have rearranged furniture in the family room and living room.
I am FINALLY getting a sofa for the living room.
I have been trying to talk the hubs into
buying a sofa every since we 
moved into the house.

It's being delivered on Thursday and I will be 
sure to post pictures.
Of course, I have a little project for the hubs to complete
BEFORE it comes - so he is at Lowe's this morning
buying the wood to get it done.

We (once again, I really mean the hubs) painted our
tiny master bathroom Sunday.  Yesterday was
spent putting everything back together
and getting things cleaned up.
I am working on a curtain
for the window.
I have come up with a 
temporary solution
that will work
through the holidays, 
then we will see what I want to do.

This week we are also
helping my youngest daughter and 
son-in-law 
  with the final touches on 
the new nursery 
and getting
big sister's room
finished.

We are also working on some
new landscaping for our front yard.
We have taken out everything 
in our two front beds 
and the one right under our
bedroom window.
The old landscaping was so overgrown
and really needed to be replaced.

While working on the flower beds
we discovered that we are having some issues 
with our irrigation system.
So, we have a call in to the
irrigation guy and
are waiting for him to come fix it
before we plant anything.
After all, we don't want to plant new
plants and then not be able to
water them!

We picked out the plants we want
at the nursery - so hopefully we
will be able to get all this done soon.
Maybe, before Christmas?
I know it's not happening
before Thanksgiving!

(Okay, I know that some of you might question
us planting in December, but remember
we live in South Florida.  If we are lucky
the temperatures will be in the 70's - 
which will actually make
it comfortable to do some yard work!)

We are also HOPING to get
the back yard fenced during
this time frame, but some things
might have to wait depending
on how much it costs to get
the irrigation fixed. 
Guess we'll just have to wait
and see.

So what else is going on?

Well, my oldest daughter is coming Friday
 for the weekend.
She lives in Nashville, and is going
 to be at a conference
in St. Pete 
Wednesday through Friday.
 We are going over and picking
her up Friday afternoon 
and she will stay with us for 
the weekend before we take her back
to Tampa on Sunday to catch her
flight back home.
Even though this will be
a quick visit, 
it will certainly be
good to see her!

While she won't be able to be here 
for the birth of the new baby
she will be back for Christmas and then
she will be able to
stay for a couple of weeks to help her
little sister with baby
and Little Miss.

With everything that is going on
during the next six weeks - 
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and
the birth of our second
grand baby-
I'm afraid that it
 will be the first of the year
before I have any of the tutorials ready
on the things that we did in the
guest room/nursery
(the rope boxes, subway art sign, and the headboard)
but I will get those done.

Well, I think you are
all caught up
with the goings on
here.  Hope you are having
a good November and I'll
talk to you 
later!

Hugs!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

DONE!!!

This is week six, and the final week, of the One Room Challenge
over on Calling it Home.


Join In

Well, I will tell you now - there were times that I didn't think I would get the room finished - and while there are some things that I don't like and will probably change in the future - it is DONE!

First, I guess we should have a reminder of how the room looked
when we bought the house.


This is what the room looked like when we
first looked at the house.

Yikes!

So, shall we see what it looks like today?

I'm sorry about the quality of the pictures,
  they were taken at 6:30 this morning before Little Miss got here - 
so they are a little dark.

Let's take a little tour of the room first okay?
Then we will look at some of the projects.



You can see a couple of our DIY projects already.





I absolutely LOVE the headboard the hubs made!

I saw one similar to this on Pinterest
and when I showed it to him - 
well, he just did his own
thing with it.
(I'll put the links to all the inspirations at the end of the post.)




Love it!
I'll have a tutorial on how he did it on
a later post.


This was another idea that I saw on 
Pinterest.



I love the way it turned out too.




I don't know if you can tell but
we put clear glitter 
on the
"Twinkle Twinkle" 
and it just sparkles at night.


There is another little DIY project that I did that I just love.

I actually got the idea from another blogger
that is taking the challenge too.

She made a trash can using a cat litter tub, and I loved the way
looked.

 I needed some containers on the changing table
 for Little Miss and her new little sister.  
You know, places to put things like
shoes, socks, etc.

I had tried several different baskets,
but I just couldn't find the right size.

So, I did this instead.




I'll do a tutorial on this later also, but I'll give
you a hint, they are made with 
cardboard boxes.

Love the way they look!



This was another little DIY.
I've had these little plates
for several years.  
I'll tell you a little secret -
there're plastic!
I just hot glued the pop tops
off a soda can on the back and
voila
plate hangers!
They are just the right size to
fill in this little
space between the closet doors.

You can also see the beautiful
valances that the hubs
made.
Once again, Love, Love, LOVE!

Now, let's talk about some of the things
that I don't love and will
need some more
work.

First - the curtains!

I love the valances the hubs did, 
but the curtains are awful!
Once again, I saw this really nice idea on another blog.
I have to say that the curtains on the other blog
turned out really nice - mine, not so much!
 I thought I could make my curtains look as nice as the inspiration.
I ordered some ribbon online.
However, when it came in last week
 it was the wrong color -
way too orange. 
I didn't have time to order more. 
 I thought I could make it work.
Well, it just doesn't.
Not only is the ribbon the wrong color I just don't
like the "stripe".
It just looks like I put a piece of ribbon
on some white curtain panels.
YUCK!
This will be the first thing that will change
in the very near future.

The other thing that I didn't have time (or money) to 
do right now was to replace all the electrical plates.
The ones we currently have are an off white 
(okay, let's be honest - they are OLD)
and I want to have ones that are white.
This will be something else that will
be done in the future.

I also need to redo the bed skirt on the crib -
I was just in too much of a hurry (last night) to get it finished
for the reveal today and it just didn't turn out
 the way I wanted.
Another little thing to redo.

However, for the most part, I love the way the room turned out.
It is such an improvement from the before.











The main occupant of this room -



 likes all the changes we made.
Hope you do too!

Make sure you check out all the other
rooms final reveal
at
Call it Home
(http://www.callingithome.com/).

They are fabulous!

I might even be ready to do another room in April!
(I'm not sure about the hubs!)




Links to our inspiration:

http://emeraldcovejewelry.blogspot.com/2011/01/starfish-headboard-reveal.html
http://www.thekimsixfix.com/2013/10/nursery-progress-what-is-left-orc-week-4.html
http://thepinkclutch.blogspot.com/2013/10/one-room-challenge-week-5.html
http://www.etsy.com/listing/162673461/twinkle-twinkle-little-star-nursery?utm_campaign=Share&utm_medium=PageTools

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Week 5 of the Challenge and still so much to do!

Well, another week has flown by in the six week challenge that I decided to participate in (what was I thinking????) over at Call It Home.

Join In


We did get a lot accomplished this week, but we still have
so much to do - and only a week to finish it up.

What did we get accomplished?

 1. We (meaning the hubs) got the trim up on the bead board wallpaper
 and everything painted.
2. We (meaning the hubs) made the headboard, stained it,
and cut in a special design.
 (can't wait to show you this - it is sooo cool!)
  Still have to install.
3. We (meaning me) made a subway art sign.
(another Pinterest inspiration)
4. We (meaning me) rearranged the furniture.
5. Spray painted picture frames and shelving.

I still have to do something with the window treatments.
I have an idea in mind and I hope to have them ready 
for the room reveal next week.

I was looking at some things the other day and realized that
I keep talking about this room being a guest room
and a nursery, but I have never shown you the 
"nursery" part of the room.



As you know, the entire room is being decorated around these two
watercolor painting that my friend Marsha Penn painted.
They are absolutely AMAZING!
Wish you could see them in person.

I knew that I wanted a new crib set for the new baby.
(When we were in our other house and Little Miss was a baby
we had a "jungle themed" nursery.)
That wasn't going to work in this house.

 While surfing on the Internet I found this 
crib set and knew it would be
perfect.


It really helped that Little Miss
loves
Nemo!

It all just came together.
(Oh, and before anyone says anything, 
yes I know that I have the crib bumper
upside down.  I'll fix it before the room reveal! LOL!)



I do have two different size Nemo's - I got the larger
one first, but they just seemed a little big.  So, I
ordered one a size smaller.




Then, I just had to get Flounder - even though he comes
from the movie
The Little Mermaid
he just went with the theme.
(Plus, I think he's cute!)

So, this is the nursery side of the room.

I think we will be able to get everything finished up this coming week
and be ready for the room reveal next week.

I'll work on the curtains, finish up the Subway art sign, and the 
hubs needs to finish up the headboard and get
it mounted.
Then there is the little decorating that needs to
be done!

Yep, it should be a busy weekend ahead, but am looking 
forward to showing you how everything
comes together!

Be sure to visit some of the other
great bloggers and see
their awesome rooms.
Here's the link:


Now, I'm off to take care of Little Miss!

See you next week!

Where does time go?

I have really fallen off the blogging wagon I guess.  I can't seem to get a schedule down so I don't post - but it's been almost...