The boys new loft bed (better DIY post on this coming soon)!
John got this built so much faster than I thought and pretty much all that is left is for me to paint! The boys are thrilled and spent their first night up there last night after our little Super Bowl fun. I just wanted to get some pictures up but I had my 50 lens on so I couldn’t get a full shot of it. John was able to use up a lot of wood he already had so the whole thing cost under $40 and I should have paint I can use thats leftover. 
Ethan has the side close to the window and he set up a bunch of his animals before bed, I love how the snake hangs down. Oh and you can see in this picture how we need to take down the ceiling fan and put up a plain light!
When John was building the bed the boys hung sheets and blankets from the main board to make a stage curtain. I think I may have to make a removable curtain for the bottom (maybe with velcro or little hooks?) I don’t want the bottom to be closed off all the time but it makes a neat little hideout and we can add lights underneath. John is going to put together a simple table under there for Legos. I am hoping the majority of their Legos can live under the bed so that the rest of the floor stays clear (probably wishful thinking though since their room is really Legoland!).
This is Ben’s side with the little weird wall nook, very cozy.
Under Ben’s side their bookshelf didn’t even need to be moved but it does need some organizing!
John is the best dad, I am glad I got added on at the bottom though! I like how the bed worked out with the chalkboard wall underneath, its like a cave but it actually isn’t dark under the bed at all. I think I will add more chalkboard paint under there so all of the walls below the bed have it.
Hostess now makes 100 calorie lemon cupcakes
Hostess sent me some of their new lemon cupcakes to try out and of course I liked them! I like most sweet snacks so its nice that these come in handy 100 calorie packs of 3 mini cupcakes (portion control without thinking about it). I prefer mine with a mug of coffee but they also work as an after school snack for the kids. I had already done a review of the Hostess 100 calorie snack packs which include: o Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate icing and creamy filling o Carrot... Read more »
Finally we got ourselves a talker with this last baby!
Our 3 older kids were definitely not early talkers (but never gave us real reason to worry about delays either) so its a very nice change to have Jillian be more of a talker and actually a singer too! None of the other ones sang at a year but Jillian has been singing her own little versions of row row row your boat, twinkle twinkle and the ABCs. Its adorable and I should charge the camera to get a video soon. I don’t really know what the “normal” number of words are for a baby... Read more »
Want to try the New Fiber One 90 calorie Chewy Bars? I have a prize package for someone!
I am all about the chocolate so of course I said yes when My Blog Spark and Fiber One offered me some chewy bars. I am also trying to make better choices with what I eat so the 90 calories and extra fiber were a huge bonus. I thought they were good and unfortunately the kids did too because I really had to share despite not wanting to! I was very happy to satisfy my chocolate craving without all the guilt! I will definitely buy these to have on hand for snack emergencies (and will hide them from... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: My sweet baby Jillian with a unique hat and glasses…and Ben too!
Piggy Paint nail polish and nail polish remover are safe AND get 15% off!
Jamie was sent some pink Piggy Paint nail polish and a polish remover to review. Piggy Paint is “as natural as mud”, its non-toxic, odorless and great for little girls who may put their fingers in their mouths. The polish and remover are nothing like the standard stinky version and are much safer for little kids. The remover will work on regular polish as well and is a million times nicer than the strong chemical stuff we are all used to because IT IS COMPLETELY ODORLESS (plus it works)!... Read more »
Goodbyn lunchbox is unique, fun, responsible and practical!
This is a picture of Ethan’s new Goodbyn lunchbox and he loves it! Goodbyn is different because it allows you to pack a lunch without using any plastic baggies so you aren’t making waste everyday! Its easy because its dishwasher safe and its also BPA free. The special lid is divided so it keeps things separated (perfect for the bento box craze). Ethan doesn’t always eat a lot of variety for lunch so on the day above I filled the extra spaces with colored pencils and paper to give... Read more »
Make your own finger painting tools
Jamie is at a nice age for painting and its fun to give her different things to use besides brushes. You can buy special painting tools for kids but its so easy to make them or just use things you have around the house. Here is what I gave Jamie on the day these pictures were taken: an old baby bottle nipple to make nice stamped circles, a piece of cardboard with one side cut with a scalloped scissor and some plastics lids cut in half in various shapes. We use the cardboard and the lids to scrape... Read more »
Marshmallow covered children are sweet!
So a comment I got yesterday reminded me of how much yummy fun it is to make marshmallows with the girls and of course I had to take more pictures! This time the girls didn’t get quiet as messy but to make up for it Jamie was wearing her roller skates in the house. I added some mini chocolate chips when I spread them in the pan this time and it was definitely the right thing to do. After school Ben and I discovered that these chocolate chip marshmallows are perfect between graham crackers,... Read more »
Last minute pizza house…with Jell-O men
This last minute idea came to me because I am slightly nuts. I made a rectangular pizza in a sheet pan and cut it into squares but there were not enough for everyone to have 2 pieces so I cut 3 squares in half. I wanted to give everyone equal amounts of crust so I cut 3 corner pieces in half diagonally. When I was putting the pizza on the plates I realized they looked like houses so I quick cut a few pepperoni doors and got out some Jell-O men that I happened to have on hand that day. So sometimes... Read more »
Only a Mother Would Know
My mom just sent me this email and I had to share. Cup of Tea. One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2 1/2 years old. Someone had given me a little ‘tea set’ as a gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought Daddy a little cup of ‘tea’, which was just water. After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living... Read more »
Win some cute new boxes of Q-tips
…and a cute baby elephant bank. Q-tips has teamed up with Wendy Bellissimo to design some very cute and practical boxes of Q-tips for the nursery. Not only are the boxes very cute, the sliding drawer box is designed to keep the Q-tips clean. I am one of those crazy people who search through the display to find the tissue box with the best design and I’m in favor of having cute boxes for all products that we leave out in the open! I really like that the boxes are free from writing with... Read more »
I LOVE this “Treepee”…but its not in the budget or the country!
I think that this has to be the most wonderful thing for a little kid and I just had to share (because why should I be the only one who falls in love with this and probably can’t ever have it!). Oh how I wish the Treepee people were in the US and just happened to want me to do a blog review for them! I love reviewing things, it gets the need to shop out of my system without me actually needing to spend money BUT then I see something amazing and wish that I had extra money to spend on wonderful... Read more »
Challenge Dairy…butter never looked so good (and my favorite new cookie recipe).
Challenge Dairy sent me some samples of their stick butter and spreadable butter and it was really good! They also sent me some great products form Oxo and some Spice Island cinnamon and nutmeg (I am now in love with nutmeg in my favorite muffin recipe). Unfortunately for me Challenge Dairy is not on the east coast (where I live) so now that I finished the adorably packaged chubby sticks of butter with the deer on them, I have to go back to my store brand that I normally get. Maybe I’m silly... Read more »
Cheerios are so loveable! Get a General Mills coupon.
I will always love Cheerios, they remind me of being a kid and they will forever bring me great memories of my kids being little (yes I know my kids are STILL little…. but Ethan is 7 now and used to be that sleepy little guy above). The most common breakfast around here consists of dry Cheerios in the kids’ little baseball hat bowls, OJ and chocolate milk (that was the menu this morning). John and I are cereal lovers ourselves and they are a frequent snack when we watch TV after the kids... Read more »
Read More Posts From This Category
