Overhaulin'

The boys are traveling to see my Grandparents in GA with their Grandparents the week after Christmas. As a surprise for their return and a continuation of their Christmas present, Daddy and I are overhaulin' their bedroom.

Their big "Santa" gift is a 32" flat screen tv and wall mount.  This will double as a computer monitor.  This will also require me to rearrange the bedroom that I rearrange and clean every time I have a long weekend.   Hopefully we will get things completely together so I can finally move on to another room, like say, OUR bedroom that has no trim and a can of paint waiting to be used.

 The boys' room is so small and their bunk bed so large that its hard to make it flow.  I have a solution:

Pinterest

It would also eliminate the need for a dresser.  (As much as I would love for this to happen next week, the bed will have to come at a later point. Summertime may be a better option when the boys are out of school and where they sleep isn't as important.)

Mark suggested repainting but I think the strange shade of green is suiting for a boys room.  I already hung black curtains. I have a two wall decals up with inspirational sayings and don't plan on adding more.  Two small shelves will replace the "PLAY" letter hooks.  I framed a puzzle that says "Jacob" and intend to frame Austin's as well. I will hang each above one shelf and that will be their designated display areas.  Jacob often builds things out of legos that he likes displayed and they end up on the desk in pieces. Well, the desk is going bye-bye and the shelves will be a much better holding place.

I need to find two black bean bag chairs and a small table for their room as a sitting/reading area across from the tv.  A wireless keyboard and mouse will take care of the computer and I have a lap stand for my laptop they can use. (Plus it folds, easy to store when not in use.)

The carpet needs to come out eventually but we dont have enough flooring to take care of the room so that will have to wait.  

The biggest challenge I face is an efficient way to store their toys. Right now a big bucket is in their closet that most things are dumped into. I grouped others into bins and put them on a hanging closet organizer but it doesnt hold much.  Hmmm....will have to search Pinterest for some more ideas on this. :-)

Angry Birds@ the Bowling Alley

A friend kindly reminded me that I have not updated my blog in a month so I though I would share about Austin's birthday party.

 First the kids played a game of bowling and snacked on pizza:

Austin patiently waiting for his next turn:

By the end, Jacob had pretty good form. No strikes this time though.

Then we moved onto the Angry Birds cake Miss Marissa made (which was double layer chocolate cake with chocolate pudding in the middle and cream cheese icing).

Then it was present time!

We took the kids over to the arcade to finish up. Those tokens fly threw their hands fast! 

When it was all said and done, Austin had a blast and thanked Mark and I individually for his birthday party.

I've always had their parties at our house but I will definitely consider another bowling party and some other options. Very easy clean up, the kids were busy the whole time and it took a lot of weight off of me in attempting to entertain and feed nine children AND their parents.

Where I've Been...

Wow. I guess I have been M.I.A. for a while. At least from the blog world.  Here's what I've been up to since my last post:

And then,

Then we celebrated the birth of this little boy last Monday!  While we were waiting for that I also attended another wedding (photos in progress) and this,

There was also a family session the day before this maternity shoot but since it involves a lot of kids I am not going to post those without permission from the parents.  Needless to say, its been a couple of busy months for the photography business!  

Busy Bees

Its been a very busy week!  Over the weekend I had a wedding at the Outer Banks of NC.  The weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding, the sky was clear as could be and we even saw dolphins at the beach house where the reception was held.  Two of my three weddings this month down, one more to go a week from today.
Needless to say, I have a lot of photos to sort through.

Austin started a sports class for 4 & 5 year olds that really breaks down the sport and teaches them how to play and what the sport it about.  Each session is three weeks long.  They are currently playing hockey.  Next month is TBall and December they will learn soccer.  Its great because there is no competition and the kids are able to get a little taste before their parents spend mucho dinero signing them up for something they may not enjoy playing.

While we wait for basketball season for Jacob, which starts in December, he may take tennis next month.  He's very interested, my grandpa was a tennis coach for years and I have some very talented tennis-playing cousins as well, so we'll see how this goes.

Speaking of Jacob, he seems to have turned a corner at school. His goal this year is to not have his seat moved.  Kingergarden, 1st grade, 2nd grade, AND 3rd grade he has found himself separated from everyone else by the end of the school year because he can't keep from talking and disrupting others.  He is dead-set on that not happening again.  Plus he brought home all A's on his progress report and Daddy gave him an over-the-top incentive to bring home all A's on his actual report card (which should come home in 2 weeks).  Maybe its just Jacob maturing and getting older but this has been a huge turn-around year for Jacob.  I'm hoping he doesn't get too comfortable and start fooling around.

Austin is doing great in kindergarten.  His handwriting is already better than Jake's and he was sounding out the letters on the cereal box this morning.  He's made lots of friends and I was able to chaperon his first field trip on Thursday.

And you're probably thinking, that's all great but you didn't talk about the biggest Boulton boy.  Well, Mark's been pretty occupied with cars so our garage has seen him more than me this past week.  He was able to get Saturday off and make the trip with me to the Outer Banks.  Even though I was working most of the day, the car trip there we were able to chat and just...be together, the two of us.  

Living Room display

I dug my Halloween decorations out of the attic this morning.  I forgot how many items I bought on clearance last year. I remember now going to Kohl's at the end of the season with a couple of $5 off $5 purchase coupons and grabbing a few items.  

Side Table:

Entry Way:

Since I stole a pumpkin from my dining table display for the entry way, I rearranged the candle to make another trio. I actually like it better this way: