My Kitchen...Not every kitchen gets to be GRAND but every kitchen should be HAPPY!

Just to give you an idea of how far we have come...

This was the kitchen shortly after Preston and I got married. All we had done at this point was taken down wallpaper (off of the sofet and other wall) and taken down the awful brown curtains complete with chickens, baskets of eggs and dark brown lace trimming the bottom.

It was obvious that the last time the kitchen was decorated was in the 80's. And they added a wall of cabinets by the refrigerator which

made it impossible to have a table in the room and the refrigerator door could not open completely, which prevented me from using one of the crisper drawers and having anything large like a turkey to store in the refrigerator. We found 3 layers of wallpaper and corresponding paint.

1) a mellow yellow that is original to the house 60's - no wallpaper

2) a peachy orange color with a large flowered wallpaper

3) minty green that you can see with another brownish wallpaper

4) off white with brown flowered wallpaper - 80's

Of course I wanted to paint the cabinets 4 years ago but Preston never liked the idea and he was hesitant about any drastic changes but hey anything would be better than what we started with! So we compromised and matched the color of the Living room wall, took out the added cabinets as well as the cabinets over the bar. This was much much better but I still felt overwhelmed by yellowish orangy brown. Here are my before pictures as of about a week ago:

After $80 and a lot of hard work, here are the after shots...

I used ultra pure white paint for the trim and cabinets, Bay Breeze which is an extremely pale blue, for the walls and to save money I spray painted my hardware black. I also took out the sofet above the bar. I will need Preston's help to fix the ceiling but I did a lot of the work! I have more plans for this room but for now I am giddy about the change! I should have done this a long time ago!

Any ideas for this wall above the stairs? It still needs to be painted and I am thinking white but what to do with it after that?

I Heart Craigslist...

Look what I found...And look what I did...
A little primer and some paint and it is good as new! I didn't have any paint brushes and since I am too lazy to drive to Home Depot and Preston was gone and the kids were sleeping I found a 3/4" craft paintbrush and completed all three coats by hand. Talia even helped with a water color paintbrush. Talia kept saying "Mommy, Shanna, Mommy... a painting?" "Yes Talia we are painting." And she smiles and says "Pretty, pretty! I show Daddy a table!" She was excited to show her dad this morning and to break it in Milo and Talia ate breakfast at their new picnic table this morning so I think it is a hit!

Montessori Toddler Class

So I have a ton to catch up on but I thought I would do a post about my class so that everyone can see what I (& my kids) have been up to. We started school last week and everything is going well. Talia is in the preschool class that is taught by my friend Lara (who is amazing, by the way). Milo sleeps, and I have 4 kids in my Toddler class. We only meet two days a week because that is what worked for us moms (with little ones) running the school ;) The pictures are in no particular order and our theme for the month is Ocean life, so I incorporated it in the work as well as circle time. Here is a peak at what I have in my class!

This is actually the reading corner in the preschool but it is so cute so I had to share it!

Here is my class (Talia was changing the baby doll on the floor so don't mind the extra stuff)

My reading corner is more like a cave...it is under the desk but the kids like it. :)

counting up to 3

sorting colors

Mystery bag - I gather interesting objects and as the child pulls them out I label them

This is a practical life/pre-writing work. It teaches the three finger grasp used in writing

Art work - thumb print fish

Sticker fish

Object Permanence box

Hammering

scooping

lacing

Diaper Changing

Pumping Water

Cutting

Toothpicks (Milo absolutely loves this one. It is so simple but it has been a big hit with everyone including Talia).

Squeezing Sponges

Dry Pouring

Milo at 9months

May 15, 2009 - My sweet boy is 9 months old and racing to catch up with his sister. Milo is still such a loving boy he has me wrapped around his finger! Milo is fast becoming a pro at walking.

A Vixen and her Kits

April 23, 2009 - A vixen lives under our shed and has done for a while. This is the first year we have seen any babies. It has been a lot of fun watching them. Preston even fed the babies raw Bacon when the mom was away. Talia thought it was great. Like having a zoo in our backyard. We will enjoy them until it is time to plant the garden then we will have to put up a barrier to keep them out of the yard.

Easter Outfits

April 12, 2009 - A week before Easter I decided my kids had to have matching outfits. I found a pattern at my Mother-in-laws house and I had the fabric on hand. The only thing I had to buy was buttons for Milo's overalls. I am not a good seamstress but in moments like this I remember my mothers brilliance and often ask myself how she would go about a project like this. I was so proud of myself that for the first time I did it all by my self! I used a size 2 1970's pattern and I lengthened the skirt for Talia and cuffed the pants for Milo. It worked out perfect. Milo is shorter but wider than Talia so I figured the same size would work out just fine. Here is the finished product...