I'm in love. This was my first purchase on craigslist back in May. I waited until a couple of weeks ago to start this project knowing it was going to be a big one. This is what it looked like before I painted it. We decided to remove the glass doors and have it open. I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

I love it. I like it better than my own bookcase. I've always been fond of built in bookshelves. I used gold knobs that makes a nice pop. I'll miss it. I'm hoping to find something similar to do for our house someday.

Dresser for my Brother

My brother needed a dresser set. I didn't take any before picture but, I wish I did. My mom bought these dressers in 1974. It had about a million huge scratches and gauges. It took hours and hours of sanding it. Not to mention the all the sand paper I went through. I used the electric sander and for days my arms were sore. I had to stain it after sanding it. I'm really happy how rich of a color it turned out.

The drawer pulls use to be gold with some rusting on them. I gave my brother the option to either buy new drawer pulls or spray paint them. The spray paint and clear protector cost about $10 versus $50-$100 to purchase knobs and pulls.

After they were done I had a few people stop and ask if they're for sale.

Lily's First Day of Preschool

My baby starts school this year. Brandon took off of work to witness Lily's first day of school. It's a bitter sweet feeling. She likes her teacher and school a lot. After we dropped her off we went out to lunch and had a quite 2 hours together before being thrown back into our reality.

Painting and Staining

I started a small gig in my spare time. Painting and staining furniture. Last year around this time I was painting our night stands and I mentioned to Brandon I should start painting furniture. I received a puzzling look. I pondered the thought once again after we sold our white dresser on craigslist in April. Within 24 hour period we receives 15 inquiries. The women who bought it was looking for a white dresser for sometime and she wanted solid wood but didn't want a huge price tag. I mentioned painting furniture to Brandon again and he said go for it. The last few months I/we have been busy. I've got a lot of pictures of some the pieces done. More to come.

A Visit From Auntie Carol

We had a fabulous time with Aunt Carol. I was lucky I got to visit her twice in one week. I always have such a great time with her. She lives in Arizona so I'm pretty sure not only was she happy to get home to her wonderful husband Bob (a.k.a Booby, Hooter or ect...) but get far away from Wisconsin weather. She's been making an annual appearance in September so I'm hoping we'll see Aunt Carol next year, too. We miss her already.

A Great Summer

Summer came and went so fast. I took a 3 months break from blogging. My laptop was M.I.A for the last couple of months (kids). We had a blast this summer. I was just as sad as the kids when they went back to school. Miss them already!

Floors Done!

We redid our floors in the dining room and living room. I wasn't so sold on the getting rid of the carpeting in the living room. We had bought flooring for our kitchen remodel but yet to start it. We decided to put it on hold. Brandon was worried about the flooring in the basement (it's been in their almost a year). After a couple of months of trying to convince me I caved. So we decided to use the floor in the dining room and living room and foyer. We probably will use tile for the kitchen sooner or later. We painted the rooms and put the floor down together. My biggest concern was having to buy a rug in the living room. Brandon was shocked to know the cost of my mom's rugs. Rugs can be as much as carpeting the living room. We are using the rug that we bought from IKEA a couple of years ago.

BEFORE

AFTER

DINING ROOM NEEDS MORE WORK

Day at the Beach

On Friday it was a beautiful day. Brandon was getting home at noon so we decided to go to the beach for the afternoon. I picked up Gabe at 11 in the afternoon and decided to take Colin out of school so he could enjoy the day with us. We would've picked up Noah but he had a field trip with his class. We got our swimsuits on, packed a picnic lunch and brought our sand toys. We had a blast. We were passing the beach ball to each other. In the middle of the lake theres a pier. We all swam to the pier. We sat and put our feet in the water while Brandon and Colin jumped of the pier. In between jumping in the water they sat with us. We were enjoying the weather, laughing at the kids stories and trying to enjoy every moment of the day at the beach. We sat on the pier for about a half an hour and even though I didn't bring the camera to the pier I will always cherish the mental picture I took that day. Let the summer begin.

While we were eating our lunch we noticed this. From a far it looks like a hand buried in the sand. The kids were a little freaked out.

Lily imitating me laying on my beach towel.

It started out being a fun game with all of us throwing the beach ball to each other. No suprise once Gabe and Lily stopped playing it ended up being a game of Dodge Ball. My poor beach ball.

Happy Birthday Gabe

We celebrated Gabe's birthday with Lily and I picking him up from half day kindergarten. We went out for lunch, picked out a new bike and stopped at his favorite store Game Stop. Later that day with the family he opened up more gifts. For birthdays the kids can pick their choice of dinner either at a restaurant or at home. Gabe wanted homemade subs, taco dip, veggie sticks and chocolate cake. Everyone was happy with his decision.

Nana and Big Colin were going to come out to celebrate Gabe's birthday Friday but my mom got sick Thursday night. So they planned on coming out Sunday late afternoon after I got home from work. Nana brought over a bottle of wine and a gift certificate to Game Sop. Brandon and Big Colin went to pick up some pizzas for dinner. We had a wonderful time with them. I had them out the door by 7:58 p.m. just in time to watch season finale of Desperate Housewives. Happy Birthday Gabe!

Gabe's Birth Story

Gabe turned 6 years old May 14th. I remember our ultra sound and the nurse telling me he was a boy. I was in total shock. I pictured me with two boys and a little girl. I always wanted three children and Brandon wanted four children. The day after finding out I sat on the side of the bed crying. Brandon asked what was wrong. I told him how I was never going to help my daughter pick out her prom dress, plan a wedding or go shopping. My biggest fear was once the boys got married they would forget about me. Brandon's response was that I would always have him. As sweet as that was it wasn't the same. Four months later Brandon and I had gotten everything ready for baby Gabriel. Brandon as organized as he is... begged me to pack my hospital bag. I got everything packed except for the last minute items I put on a list posted on the fridge. Thursday May 13th four weeks before my due date I went to work (1-9 p.m.). I had a long day doing a lot of pedicures. Women getting there toes done before summer. My last guest of the day I had just started polishing her toes. All of a sudden my stomach felt as though a rubber band snapped in my stomach and a couple of minutes later I felt bubbles. It takes about 10 minutes to polish and the first 5 minutes I was pretty sure my water broke but not sure. Finally I had to put the top coat on and I told my guest I thought my water broke so I wanted to warn her before I got up. I got up and nothing......5 seconds later a gallon of water all over the floor. Yikes. I called Brandon and my mom and drove myself to the hospital. The girls at work wanted to drive me or at least follow me to the hospital but I declined. I remember getting out of the car and my shoes making a squeaking noise every step I took. My pants were so water logged and I walked in the front entrance and the women at the front desk asked me how she could help me. The only thing I could think was Seriously... look at me. A few minutes later Brandon was by my side and we had a ultra sound to see if he was still breech. I warned the nurse I may cry if he was breached. But when she told me I was surprised I didn't cry but was scared to have a c-section. The past two births I never had an epidural because the fear of needles. Around 11 p.m. we had my mom and Brandon's parents their with us and their encouraging words helped put away my fears. On May 14th at 2:34 a.m. Gabriel William was born. I remember seeing him for the first time. He was the most beautiful baby. From the moment I laid my eyes on him and held him I was so happy to be his mommy. Our parents were waiting to see Gabe and they waited until 3:30 in the morning. It was so quiet and peaceful when they got to meet him. Out of all the kids he was the easiest. Six years later he still is my baby and I love him so much. He is my little angel. I love you Gabe.

pictures from Brandon's b-day

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast looking out at the lake. Unforturnly, we had only a half an hour to enjoy our walk before picking Gabe up from school. Got to love the half day kindergarten:) For the longest time Brandon and I have wanted to walk around the whole lake (21 miles). I don't think the kids would enjoy or make it around. The thought of getting a babysitter has crossed our minds. But, if we have a babysitter walking isn't going to be on top of our list. So we are hoping next Monday morning once the kids are off to school the three of us are going on a little adventure. We're going to drop off a car in Williams Bay and head to Lake Geneva and start walking. It's somewhere between 5 to 8 mile walk. All depending who you ask. We shall see.

Happy Birthday Tiger!

Brandon turns the Big 36 today. No doubt he's getting older. He's decided not to take off for his birthday. The kids and I celebrated his birthday this past Sunday. We spent a beautiful day in Lake Geneva going for a long walk and checking out the parks. On the way home Brandon said I wish this day would never end. For dinner we grilled out cheeseburgers and hot dogs. They were so yummy. We sang happy birthday and had cake. So this morning Brandon, Lily and I are going out for breakfast and going for a walk around the lake to look at some of the big houses. We'll see how far we get with Lily and no stroller (the paths gets narrow and bumpy). Happy Birthday Brandon. I hope all you wishes and dreams come true this year.