Big boy room.

Because I have this excessive need to plan, like way in advance. I mean, I already started pinning ideas for Aiden's second birthday.... in 5 months. Gasp.

Although I do not think Aiden is ready to move out of his crib, I have started looking into possible ideas for what to do in his big boy room. I still have not decided if I should move him into what is the guest room right now, and use his room as the future guest room/ long time future baby room. Decisions? Decisions.

For now, I love the chair rail for little boys. I do think it is adorable. His crib is a wonderful 4 in 1 crib. Which means (for all you non-parents) that is starts as a crib, then changes to a toddler bed, then to a day bed, and then finally into a full size headboard. His is a DaVinci Emily in the color Ebony.

Here are some of the future ideas for his room.

I am really into fire trucks for little boys right now, but from a poll of facebook, it seems as if dinosaurs are more popular. I also love the first one. It is from Land of Nod by Crate and Barrel, the others from PBkids. If anyone has ever heard of the homes Shea Spaces by Shea Homes, they would know that the first one can be done amazingly. Stripes on the ceiling included. Check out their models if you want an idea. 

What do you guys think? I would love to hear opinions! 

The photo shoot of Aiden

Today we visited a friend of a friend to have some pictures taken of Aiden. At first I was extremely nervous, I even asked her about her experience working with monster babies. As his reputation states, he is such a little fire.

First, it was an hour drive to her studio.

Second, Aiden just wanted to run around and not sit on props, or even near props.

Third, he fell into one of her backdrops and drastically wrinkled it (awesome, kid.)

Fourth, we tried going outside and he wanted to run free, so there were likely a lot of the back of his head.

Sigh.

Her name is Aubrey Middleton. Here is her site! If you are interested, check out her facebook page for deals!

Here are three sneak peak pictures, which can also be seen on her facebook page (Aubrey Lynn Photography)!

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

P.S. The countdown in on, Heather is due in less than two weeks! Woo hoo! :)

Mothers of Little Boys!

There is nothing more rewarding than have a crazy, loving, little boy in your life. He is such a monster and times, but he is my monster.

For all the mom's of little boys, or the moms who have future sons, check out this blog post, it is so cute and true! 

8 Week weight loss challenge

I started the 8 week weight loss challenge today! It is going to be super tough doing this with school and watching Aiden, but I am very excited!

This is what today looks like:

TUESDAY:

• Contact with Teammate (1pt.)  _________
• 64 ounces of water (3pts.)  __________
• Stop eating before 9PM (3pts.) __________
• 2 Fruit servings (1/2 cup each) (3pts.) __________
• 3 Vegetable Servings (5pts) __________
• No Sweets/Sugary Treats (Only 6 days a week) (5pts.) __________
• Keep a Food Journal (5pts.) __________
• Exercise (30minutes = 5pts; 45minutes = 7pts; only 5 days a week) __________
• TOTAL POINTS: __________

I took my start pictures today, a little embarrassed to show these to the world, but it is all about losing the weight, not where you start! My overall goal is to lose 20 pounds, by July 28th, for this challenge I would like to lose 5. 

Here are my start of week one photos:

Don't pay attention to my ridiculous morning hair! We all know how that goes! :) 

I will keep you all updated as the days progress!  

The beginning stages: kitchen makeover.

As much as we love our kitchen, we have decided that white cabinets would look much better. Also, the swirly knobs have got to go. Today we purchased a few of the materials needed to start this mini-renovation. New hardware, degreaser, and wood putty.

Remember our kitchen?

Quite a few things have changed even since this picture. But, we have big plans for this space. This year, we will not be replacing the wood floors, but in 2013 that will come! Here are some of our inspiration photos! (Found on google images!) 

We lucked out to the max when it came to our hardware. The different hardware we purchased fit perfectly into the holes already drilled for the previous hardware! SCORE! So, instead of taking two days out of our schedule to putty, let it dry, putty again the second day, we can just cut those steps out all together. So instead of 8 days, this project could take six days! I do think the hardest part is going to be taking everything out of the bottom cabinets and putting it locked up in the guest room to keep Aiden's hands away from it! 

Here are some pictures of our old and new hardware! I cannot wait to see how this turns out!

Notice the water damage on the door under the sink? I am excited to say goodbye to that! Keep a look out for progress with this project come next weekend! Oh, I should add, I *think* we are going to use Cloud Cover by Benjamin Moore for the color of the cabinets. It will be Advanced and in a satin finish! 

Console Table time

Remember that console table I bought from World Market awhile back? Well, now it has some decorations on it! The bottom shelf is still missing the perfect piece, but that will come with time!  Here ya go!

Picture some beautiful tulips come March in the vase! I think I need a few baskets on the other shelf, but I am not sure what to put in them. Hm? 

The lamp is from Wal Mart, apothecary jar is something I had and put apples from TJ Maxx, the little scented bird is from Marshalls. The pitcher, which is going to be used as a vase is also from Marshalls! The books are some old books I had from when I was an undergrad. 

I hope you like it! We are in the process of putting together a list of things we want to do to the house in 2012. The major project is going to be grass. We are thinking faux grass for the backyard with a kiddo and a dog, but need to do a little more research if it will look normal. So big purchase 2012 = sod! Boo, such a boring one! 

But, this is why! It is so dry here, it is so hard to grow grass, trust us, we tried twice! And, we saw the lovely HOA truck park in front of our house a few days ago, so I am sure the notice will be coming shortly! But, I will send them this picture if they pitch a fit... it COULD be like this when THEY did nothing about it while this house sat empty for almost three years.

Need I say more? Our grass was just a mess. And notice the missing slate? Ironically, in the back of the picture, our neighbor has MATCHING slate to our missing slate for her pretty little walkway. Funny how that works! Oh well. The thistle left in this yard must have been similar to fighting WWI, she deserved something out of the deal. 

I think our 2013 list will be new wood floors on the main level. Carpet is just so blah. My in-laws put new flooring in their house, and it has done wonders! 

Okay. End ramble.

Pantry Semi-organization

Our pantry is rather large. When saying this, I mean my 85 pound labrador can fit in it comfortably below the shelves. We have our trash can in there too because little baby hands love to get into the trash (talk about some not so fun times!) Since we have moved in, our pantry was our go to junk spot/food spot. The food was just put in there randomly and you could never find anything. I need to get a few more baskets for Aiden's snacks, and maybe some magazine racks for the fruits and vegetables, but for now, it is much more organized! And, I even threw out some graham crackers that expired in 2010! Gross - did you even know they expire, well they do!

Before

During

After

It is a little better! Stuff that can be smooshed on top, fruits, veggies, and cooking stuff, then Aiden stuff.... Bottom shelf practically empty because of baby hands! :)

New shelves

I have had some shelves from Home Goods for awhile now and I did not know where to put them. I thought Aiden's bathroom was two 'off-centered' with the floor shelving I had to the right of his toilet. I decided to remove those shelves to add some wall shelves above the toilet instead. They are more of a decorative - functional shelf. They house some wash cloths, an extra toilet paper roll, baby q-tips, and cotton balls! It freed up some space on the counter top, and makes the bathroom more centered.

Before

Now

The floors still are not completed, which is a whole other story. Long story short, 'our guy' is 'busy?' or something.... Once those are done I will post what everything looks like put together!

Also, our next project is something we have been talking about for awhile. We do not have an office at our house, and want to keep our guest bedroom as a bedroom. But, fortunately the closet is a pretty good size, and we want to add an office in our closet. Right now, it is basically storage of linens and old baby toys. That needs to go! Here is where we are gathering some of our inspiration...

Well, there you have it! Happy Friday! Stay tuned to see what we come up with! 

Master Bath & Entry Way

This is going to be a short, little post because I think I hear my baby bug chirping upstairs! Remember our bathroom when we moved in?

Gross and messy!

Now, it looks much more like us! Some of the pictures look purple, but it is a very light grey! 

I also realized I have never shared pictures of our entry way! I am not sure if I am going to keep it this way, but for now, it will do! :)