So Grateful for Family...

Can I just say how much I appreciate all the ideas I got this week about new running songs!  I can't wait to download some new tunes!  In the meantime, I had to settle for the same mix this morning. But I started the playlist in the middle and it seemed to be better.  But I do need a new playlist.  So thanks for all the help!

Right now, I am typing up drafts of posts for the next couple of weeks.  I feel like I have been making and doing...but dragging my feet on the posting part.   

  Today Grandma is coming to visit!!!  Which is very good thing!!  When family comes, we try and get caught up with stuff around the house (crash-course style).  

It also means I will have to pack up my sewing stuff and craft junk to make room for an air mattress.  Our office my sewing room is used for many things- including a guest bedroom when we have guests visiting!  And when we have family visiting it usually means there are some big things going on and we just don't have enough grown ups around to accomplish them.  By that I mean we need kid-watchers!  We also try to ramp up our home projects while we have help with the kids.  We have a lot of yard work that we are hoping to get done.  I have a consignment sale that I need to get ready for.  I have to go out of town.  I need a haircut and color.  School fundraiser this weekend.  And hopefully we can squeeze a date night in there somewhere between gymnastics lessons and baseball games and piano lessons.

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Do you have family who live nearby?  How does that work? I always wonder what it would be like to live near family.  Do they help with watching the kids on a regular basis or just when it is something big?  Our neighbors watch their grandkids every weekend so the parents can have a night off.  I'll admit, it would be nice to have help nearby since my husband is traveling so much.  If I had a day/night off, I don't know what I would do first - schedule a haircut, grocery shop, clean the house, nap, sew, see a real movie, dinner date, go for a long run?  

Sea World and San Antonio {Spring Break 2012}

We went to Sea World in San Antonio, TX!!

And I must share...this was the trip of DEALS!

It was a lot of fun!  We all really enjoyed the shows.  And no, we didn't sit in any of the "soak zone" seats!  It was such a great trip to take with the kids at their ages.  We rented a double stroller for the day and it was the best $18 decision we made all day.  We got a DEAL on the admission to the park (as in free...military members can get free admission one day per year!) so I figured I could splurge on the stroller.

After Sea World, we changed hotels and stayed on the San Antonio Riverwalk.  I don't know if the kids enjoyed it as much as I did.  It is really a good thing my husband and I have been to San Antonio tons of times before because the kids were mostly interested in the hotel pool!  We didn't even take them inside the Alamo.   Just a picture out front is all we could manage.

Have you been to San Antonio?  You know the little boat tour that goes up and down the river?  We hyped it up to the kids and took them on it the first afternoon we were there.  I don't think they appreciated it as much as we did though.

Since the fall, my husband has been traveling so much for work that he is already a "gold" member at Marriott hotels...I was so surprised to learn that he earned us an upgraded room, free breakfasts, free wi-fi, and free appetizers-in-the-evenings-that-we-totally-made-into-our-dinner.  So that was the DEAL with the hotel on the river.

The night before we left home, I saw a Groupon for a double decker bus tour around the city and snatched that DEAL right up!  We took that on Friday morning.

We were able to hop on and off to see some sights and there was even free bottled water on the buses.

While we were in San Antonio there was a DEAL on Urban Dealights (similar to Groupon) for a restaurant on the Riverwalk!   I made sure we ate lunch there for half price.

OH and I almost forgot this DEAL:  I checked with the Denny's near our hotel at SeaWorld and kids eat free on Tuesdays!  Found out about this here - a website that has lists of places where kids eat free!

Now we are back home to a leaking toilet, a yard full of weeds, piles of laundry, and an empty fridge.  It will probably take me all week to get back into a routine here!  

Been there!

Have you all seen this map floating around Pinterest lately?  It is currently on my travel board.  Well, this one is mine!

Source: visitedstatesmap.com via Kate@ on Pinterest

I will tell you what- this makes it SO much easier for my husband and I to play this game!  Last summer we had a short getaway (sans kids) and in the car I finally wrote our list on paper.  Which I also thought was fun to do because I made myself write all 50 states in alphabetical order.  I think I just lost a few readers with that dorky statement!  Anyway...I saw this map earlier this week on Pinterest and took a go at it.  (Don't think I am some kind of road trip queen, most of this is probably thanks to the military!)

Now, according to the map's rules you mark any state you have been in for any reason.

My husband and I play this game with the rule you can't just land in the airport/drive through you must DO something in that state to qualify.  And getting gas does not count.  So if those were the rules then I would have to take Rhode Island and Connecticut off the list because I only drove through and got gas on my way from NJ to Boston once.  And Tennessee, too.  I have only driven through  TN.

If you are curious what I was doing in your state...just ask : )

What I Did About Nicks in Wood Trim Around Our House

You are going to think that this is a product plug, but I can assure you, it is not.  I was not asked to, no did I receive any sort of compensation for writing this post.  Just sharing a "duh, why didn't I know this sooner" moment with you!

I know that one day in the next year or so we will have to move.  It's the military's way.  In the past, I have always had a good idea of when we would be moving.  Then we knew approximately when we should put the house up for sale.  This time, however, I really don't know!  Which drives us crazy at times because we are big planners.  Huge planners!  I do know whenever it is, it will be a lot of work to get this house in shape to sell.  I know some things that have helped in the past to make our house(s) look their best.  One thing we did that had a big impact was clean the wood cabinets in our kitchen.  A product like these is good for cleaning wood cabinets.

source

source

So I decided to get a jump start on our current house and thought I'd start with the kitchen cabinets.  (I mean why not- that's what huge planners do, right?)  In the past, I used Murphy's Oil Soap and it worked great!  Our 15yr-old kitchen looked brand new!   I didn't see it at the store (it was probably there)  so I picked up some Pledge Revitalizing Oil.  It has an orange scent that I can tolerate.  Well, after I wiped down cabinets, I thought I would take it to some areas that are really beaten up...the kids room!  Just to see what might happen.

Check out these before and afters!

We seriously thought we would have to replace this window sill...guess not!  Whew!  A little Pledge oil did the trick!

I can't believe it's the same wood!  I love you Pledge oil!

I really had no idea that a product like this was capable of results like this!  And that is why I am sharing this info with you.  (Plus I got nothing else to yap about today- ha!)  I just thought this stuff was only good for cleaning my cabinets.  Well, it just saved us a lot of money because we were planning  to sand and restain all the wood.  OK, we would have paid someone to do it (like chumps) so we wouldn't screw it up.  You probably already knew about this stuff, huh? (You're like "duh, Kate!")

Well... that crosses "Repair Wood Trim" off our list!  

Friday {5}:: Awe-inspiring Places I Have Been

I started a new Pinterest board a few weeks ago.  It is called Awesome Places I've Been.  I like to spend my Fridays sharing fun or random bits of info.  Today, it's a bit about me that you otherwise wouldn't learn via me talking about crafts and stuff.

I don't know...it's a way that we might find some commonalities between us!

Various Sources on my Pinterest board.  Click photo to go to board.

Here are {5} (international) places I have been that have made lasting impressions.
For me, this list is more about the "experience" I had from visiting each place that you just cannot get from a picture or staying at a nice resort.

1.  Tahiti
I truly felt like I was on the edge of the earth.  Incredible beauty and an island lifestyle that I found most intriguing.  Heaven on earth!

2.  Thailand
Bangkok was wow.  Chaing Mai was mystical.  But I think what was the best part of the trip was when my friend and I brought food to the monks on the first dawn we were in the country.

3.  Boracay, Philippines
I was young and adventurous.  I traveled with a backpack and no reservations.  It took two planes, a filthy 2-hr van ride, and a outrigger boat ride to get to the island.  There we walked up the beach and chose a hotel that luxuriously offered a/c and running water and we paid extra for hot water.  No phones.  No TV.  It was like $35 a night or something crazy! My friends and I were there for simple relaxation but we left with memories that we can't forget.  Leaving out so many incredible details here...We met a family at a neighboring island.  It was life changing.  It was moving.  Special.  Eventful.  Their children sang to us.  We ate mangoes that were freshly whacked down (with a machete) from their tree in front of their house.  And we were lucky they shared an afternoon of their life with us outsiders.

4.  South Korea
I spent a year here.  It was all an awesome adventure- the food, the smells, the language, the customs!  But what stands out the most is a trip to the DMZ in South Korea (De-Militarized Zone is also the border with North Korea).

5.  The Great Wall of China
Still amazes me that people built that.  With their hands.

Do you have any places you have been that made you FEEL something?  Made you realize how lucky your life is or how small we really are?  Any awesome experiences you have burned into memory?  You know I would LOVE to hear about it!

Ideas to DIY Curtains

I didn't realize how long it would take to get this mess cleaned up...taking a bit longer than I imagined. But definite progress has bee made I can promise you that!  I bet if you ask my husband, he would actually say we are done. But we are not done.

I would say our previously-messy rooms are just about ready to decorate now.  They are rearranged and de-junked, but I still have a few things to tidy up in each of the rooms.  Then, the rooms need to be beautified!

It's going to be lots of work for me...I mean, I have to scour blogs, pinterest, and my favorite home decorating stores to come up with a decorating plan!  (Oh shoot.)  This could take some time- days just doing doing the re-con!

First I want to get curtains for our bedroom.  Since painting in not in our plan, I want to bring a little color into our room with some nice, simple curtains.

I like the simple geometric print of this fabric.  These curtains were a no-sew project and they have nice big grommets at the top!  I think I want grommets.

source:  Brooklyn Limestone

Can you believe these were made from dropcloths?!  I love how relaxing they are!  Our bedroom is not formal and dressy...this might be the idea.

source:  Lovely Crafty Home

Here is a tutorial for stencil painting premade curtain panels. I love how these look, but I don't know if I will have the patience to make these. Or the time/space where kids won't mess with them.

source: Twenty Something 

Aren't these chevron curtains just dreamy! I really like them. These were made from fabric and lined with blackout lining. I won't need to go that far, but lining them would be a nice option.

source:  Midwest Magnolia

Come check out my Curtains board on Pinterest. I have more curtain ideas there and I am trying to accumulate more ideas as I see them. 

Soooo....If you have some nice curtains you have blogged about...leave me a comment with the link! I could always use more inspiration! Heck, while I am at it...I am looking for some kind of decoration to put on the wall above our headboard. Leave me a link to any of those ideas too, if you gottem!  That didn't sound too desperate? : )  heehee!

Junky Messy Rooms {before pics}

...THIS is what I was working on during our 3-day weekend!...

I know, fun, right?!
Introducing, the  "old" office-except-Kate's-sewing-crap-has-taken-over-room...

And I wonder why I can't get anything done in there!

...and my dresser in my bedroom!

I can't believe I showed you that!

It is a total mess.  These two rooms, that is.  I am surprised my entire house doesn't look the same way!  I think I am on my way to becoming a hoarder!  Am I in the early stages?!  Do they pay you to be on those shows, btw?  


A week or so ago, I saw this little challenge, if you will, by Rachael over at Lovely Crafty Home (a really great blog that I stalk read often). First of all, that girl, she put her pictures of her "crap corner" right out there on her blog!  There it was.  All of her mess.  On the internet.  I LOVE IT!  Then, she challenged her readers to link up a pic of their own messes and then clean it up before the end of January.  There will be a contest and a winner.  But I was too chicken to enter- I really didn't think I could do it this month.  It's not that I didn't think I would "qualify"- OH I'd say this qualifies alright:

I always said that if I ever had a blog, I would post the pictures of my messes.  My real life.  So we can all feel normal and okay.

It's a little embarrassing to post pictures of my bedroom mess because people I actually know read here sometimes.  (I swear, this just happened since Christmas- see the wrapping paper?  Plus, we cleaned out our closet, Shawn just got back in town, etc.).  We're still friends, right?

But you should see it now!  Well, you can't yet.  It is still in the transition stages.  I'd say 90% of what you see in the picture above is gone!  But believe me, once it is done, I will be happy to show you.

My husband was so willing to help me was bribed with a new tv for our bedroom once we get done move furniture and clean up and purge our crap this weekend, too!  He was super helpful until all the big stuff was done.  There is still lots to do! But the main furniture moving is done.  I am going to like the new set up.  Once it is all cleaned up.

Do you have a mess like this?  Am I the only one?  Does the new year motivate you to clean up your crap, too?

THE Funniest Holiday Card

Pin It

Yes.  

This is my sister.  And her husband.  They are hilarious, aren't they?

~~~I just thought I could share a chuckle in all the holiday stress and hustle-bustle.~~~

Sharing:

Happy Early Christmas to Me!

I am talking about this:

source:  Mod Podge Rocks

Apparently, I was whining about how I didn't have any in a previous post and well it showed up on my doorstep.  So now I will whine for diamond earrings...Oh how I wish I had a pair of diamond earrings.  Or two pairs, because it is inevitable that I will lose one.   hee hee!

Seriously, it was my good friend who sent me a bottle of Mod Podge Dimensional Magic last week.  But crazy me, I had just put the box from Amazon in our stash of boxes that are gifts that I need to wrap.  I had no idea!  So when I sat down to wrap presents on Saturday, I opened a box that had two bottles of glue and I was SOOOO confused!!  First I thought maybe it was for one of the kids.  Then I thought I somehow ordered it telepathically.  THEN I read the packing slip and discovered it was a SUPER AWESOME gift to me from my friend.  SUPER AWESOME.  Okay, I do realize only a craft addict will get this giddy over a water-based adhesive. 

thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!

I was so anxious to use it.  And even though I don't have time to sit and do any projects, I have been dabbling with it each day.  I sneak in my craft room wreck and a new layer of "Dimensional" to my projects.  Then I come back some hours later to check.  Add a layer to something else.  Go away for a few hours to let it dry.  Then I come back and do it all over again.  

I love my new toy!  

Our Random "Mish-Moshy" Christmas Tree

Before I get started about my tree decorations... I thought I would share this Shabby Apple dress giveaway over at Pitter and Glink.  Their dresses are stylish and stunning!  Go over and enter...you might win the dress!

Now, on to the tree...

I am always interested in how other people decorate their Christmas tree.

Pretty and Formal?

Pretty and Handmade?

Pretty and Kidmade?

Pretty and Color-themed?

Pretty and Mish-moshy?

That last one is ours...Mish-moshy.  Like how I threw "pretty" in there to make everyone feel good about their trees?  It IS Christmas...

We once had a pretty red and gold tree.  You know the kind- white lights only.  Every branch balanced.  Obviously this was before we had kids!

For many, if not all, of the last seven years, we did not even decorate the last foot or so of the tree because babies don't mix well with Christmas ornaments!  This year, we were clear to decorate every square inch of the tree.  And we had three little helpers to accomplish that!  

Our ornaments fall into a four basic categories:  Made by a kid, From someplace we have been, Things we like, and Fillers (plain ball ornaments to fill the "holes" in the tree and usually hold no significant meaning).

These hold lots of meaning...Have a look!

Yes, pretty random.  But we did visit this crater- it's in Arizona.

Denali National Park, Alaska

"Hang Ten, Santa!"

Key West, Florida.  

The cross-eyed reindeer and Angel without facial features would fall in the "kidmade" category.

Another Beautiful kidmade (well, the kid made the drawing, an adult did the rest) ornament.  Nothing says Christmas like a GI Joe battle scene.

My husband is a North Carolina basketball fan.

We never miss a "Charlie Brown Christmas" special on TV!

{The Friday 5}:: Things I am Loving Today

Oh wow, it has been a long week!  My husband gets back in town today (hallelujah!) and boy is he going to be shocked at what a mess the house is!!  He was so, so, so thoughtful before he left- he got the house tidied up, caught me up on all of the laundry, and pulled down the Christmas decorations from the attic so I could, you know, decorate all week.  So funny!  But now, laundry hampers are full and heavy, food crumbs are all over the kitchen floor, half the kids' toys are in the living room.  OH, and I started assembling bunkbeds which were delivered this week and I am only half done.  So maybe only one kid sleeps in a proper bed right now.  Maybe the other two are on mattresses on the floor and I have a half-assembled bed in my foyer area.   

But this morning, I had no time.  Sorry, but yoga class is waaaaay more "important" than scrubbing my house : )   Sometimes I stress about how I can never seem to have my Shtuff together!  But today, I am just laughing it off.  Ahuhhuhuha!   

I wanted to share my "5 Things I am Loving Today" with you:

1.  My new purse.  It's pretty.  I needed a new one.  More grown up.  Less junior high book-bag-looking.  Let's just say that I could have spent way more but I got it at an outlet last Friday.  Finally took her for a spin yesterday.  Felt so special!  

2.  Oatmeal.  I bought every flavor in hopes that my kids would share my craving for a hot bowl on these cooler mornings.  Even found chocolate chip oatmeal.  

3.  Glitter.  The Martha Stewart glitter to be precise.  It's not a new product, just new to me.  Everything I look at, I envision it glittered.  I am making a hit list.  

4.  Almond Milk.  It's not necessarily the milk that love, it's the way I feel since I have switched from cow's milk.

5.  Fleece Pants.  Ok, now you think I am really weird!  I have two pairs and I wish I could wear them everyday!!  One pair is 6yrs old from Campmor the others are Nike.  I think they are supposed to be used for cold weather running or cross country skiing.  I just wear them around the house.  Eating my oatmeal and almond milk.  Wearing my glittered hairclips.  Purse sitting someplace where I can admire it.  Need.more.fleece.pants!

Have a great GREAT weekend! 

What to Wear :: Family Picture Outfit Ideas

I created this at polyvore.com

What to Wear :: Family Picture by craftwhatever 
I think I made a new friend...her name is Polyvore.  She helped me make this awesome picture you see here!


Such a neat-o little tool I found at polyvore.com!  


I have been trying to come up with outfits and color combinations for our family picture all day long (because I am going to take it next weekend, which is another story).  Mostly this was all going on in my head.  But I started out by raiding everyone's closets and grabbing things I thought might work.  Then I laid them out across my bed.  Overlapping and overlaying and under-envisioning.  I have most of the clothing pieces to make a complete outfit set, but I still have shopping to do and couldn't picture what our picture was going to look like with one shirt missing in the line up across my bed.


Then after the kids were in bed, I hopped over to polyvore and checked it out.  Man O Man!  I just clicked on "create" and started searching and dragging and dropping.  I wanted to start with our clothing as the base and then add on from there.  So I searched for each article of clothing from each individual store but found that was too tedious for what I was trying to accomplish.  I just wanted an inspiration board, if you will, of what we might look like all together.  So I just searched through Old Navy brand clothing and then narrowed down by colors or key words.  Then I resized each piece so I could get a better visual of we might look like.  Then after I finished it, and I liked it, I registered for an account.  Then I sent it to blogger as a draft right from polyvore!  Too easy!  


All day I just couldn't picture it in my head...maybe you are gifted like that...but this polyvore thing is exactly what I needed!  I can see LOTS more of this in the future.  Oh, can you imagine if this was around when you were in high school!!!!  


Linking here:

{Friday 5} iPhone Apps for New Users :: Must Have Apps

Apparently, I have several friends and a sister (lucky ducks) who are the proud new owners of iPhones.So they waited to jump on the iPhone train until now, which they are smart, because this new iPhone 4s is very, very, very awesome.I have been an iPhone user now for 2 yrs and so I have been asked a few times in the recent weeks, where to start with apps.

But you have to know me, I am a Apple-lover. Do you remember the first iMac...I had one...in bondi blue.

I have attended MacWorld Expo before. Took leave from work to do that!

However, despite my affinity to the brand, I did not (initially) want this phone.  I even complained about it after I got it.  Soon, I couldn't live without it!!  Also, I don't pay for apps. Okay, I may have bought a couple but they were either super awesome or super necessary. My advice is always to start with the free ones...try out the features and see what you like/need...and then buy one if you need to.

I dedicate my {Friday 5} to all the new iPhone owners.

{Friday 5} iPhone Apps: Get these first!

1. Apps I cannot function without:



Around Me- Uses GPS to find anyplace you need! Pulls up the map location, contact info, etc. You can use it to search key words ("coffee" or "pizza") and for different cities.
Craigslist- Better than computer searching; save searches and search multiple cities at one time
Groupon- You've got to check the deals!! And it is easier to search other cities using this app.
Target- Fastest way to access the weekly ad and check product availability in your stores

2. Apps that will make you so happy you have an iPhone:



Pandora- Internet radio at your fingertips
USPS- find post offices and blue mailboxes anywhere
Red Laser- scan barcodes and find that product online and locally...great for cost comparing
Red Box- You will want this if your kids watch DVDs while traveling.  It is also perfect for seeing what is at your closest Red Box OR if you are looking for a particular movie you can find out which Red Box has it (saves driving around).  PLUS, you can reserve that movie from your phone!
Shazam- Just hold this up to music you're listening to and it tells you the song title and artist.

3. You will need some basics, too.
Look for your bank's app (I can even deposit checks with mine), phone service provider app, local news, weather.

For weather, I like Weather Bug. My husband uses AccuWeather and it is good too.

4. You need some "specialty" apps, too. At the moment, I am using these like crazy!



Black Friday- This has/will have all the Black Friday ads listed!  I have already started making my list in this app.
mGifts- This is basically a gift organizer.  I love it because when we are out at a store, I take pictures with my phone of toys my kids might want for Christmas.  When I take pictures within this app, it stores them there- not in my camera roll where my kids will see them!  So this app keeps Christmas a surprise!!!
Amazon- I can't stop reading reviews and searching for gifts!  Plus 1-click ordering is super easy (you might want to turn this off if you think your kids might rack up a huge bill ordering every Barbie doll or Star Wars figure by mistake).

5. And please, get yourself some addictive apps and games!!



Pinterest- the newest time suck, but maybe the best thing yet on the internet!
Bubble Ball, Unblock Me, Word Warp- games; I may or may not believe that I am the world champion of these games.  

Happy App-ing you new iPhone owners!!!!
Linked Here: