they're back! back to school

don't get me wrong, i love my kids...my kids are pretty much the most wonderful kids ever made, if i do say so maself....but, it gives me a bit of a thrill that they're back in school.  (one just started kindergarten, so she's only gone 3 hrs, but heck, i can get a lot done in 3 hrs ;)

i might have more DIY  time
i might have more blogging time
i might have some sewing time
i might have some ME time
and, most importantly, i might have more 1-on-1 time with this cute little munchkin

precious much? uh, yes!! :)

a facebook friend of mine shared this lil poem, & i thought it was very fitting :)

Twas the night before school started;

When all through the town 

The parents were cheering....

It was a riotous sound. 

By eight the kids were washed 

And tucked into bed 

When memories of homework 

Filled them with dread. 

New pencils, new folders, 

New notebooks, too, 

New teachers, new friends- 

Their anxiety grew. 

The parents just giggled, 

When they learned of this fright. 

And shouted, “Upstairs! GO TO BED! 

IT’S A SCHOOL NIGHT!”

 

xo- Danielle

instafriday yellow dresser!

I've been transforming my master bedroom, taking grainy cell phone pics along the way ;) here is my chest of drawers before, during and after.

the dresser belonged to my great-grandma, and it was a little sad to see it getting painted over...but it had definitely seen better days, the top of it was so worn, there wasn't any stain left in some spots.

 i started off by sanding and priming it, and i also added some turquoise paint to some of the details so turquoise would show through the yellow

I kept the original handles because i think they looked beautiful, and also to pay homage to my great-grandma...these pics are also a sneak-peek to my new wall color...who doesn't love gray and yellow?

 when you look at these close-up pics you can see how the turquoise shows through to add a little color to the details.  I also antiqued it a bit to show the wood grain through

 as soon as we got the dresser completed we started to paint the walls!!

follow my blog to see the complete, funky, gray and yellow bedroom soon :)

{ordering a new quilt today! so excited!}

xoxo- danielle

Insta what? Instafriday!

so, here are my beautiful cell phone pic shots of the week!

enjoy!

irish dancers before:

irish dancers after:

parade time! 

these girls represent my hometown #represent!

don't they look cute all walkin' down the street in formation with their pony wigs on?? :)

trying to learn how to ride a bike

we're still in the trying to learn stage

My daughter Swede turned 7 this week!  

opening presents 

I think she's pretty thrilled about these shoes

Swede decided she wanted a smurfday party, so she dyed her hair blue, and made a custom smurfette t-shirt

happy smurfday, Swede!

cell phone pics were limited... more Smurfday photos coming soon!!!

feel free to join me with google friend connect

I promise i won't be too annoying, ha!

happy instafriday!

instafriday...aww man, a day late!

I should have posted this yesterday but, hey@! we were having too much fun :) and isn't that what summer is all about? :)

 so, the kids decided that putting the moosejaw stickers on their stomachs was much better than putting them on a car or something :)

they stole borrowed my phone and these are the pictures that they came back with :)

 throw me some sugar!

 Out hometown had a founder's day celebration.  Nothing says summer like BOUNCE HOUSE! :)

woah, crazy scary slide

eating snowcones

 eating snowcones.  they were gross, btw.  the kid who made them put the red flavor syrup on and it was the full concentrate instead of the watered down, sugared up version....we had to get new ones!

we also had a wonderful firework show, but there's no way I could get a pic of that!

I had the most solemn kids on the homemade train

this is my favorite photo of the week :) these two cousins held hands the. whole. day.

they love each other so much! :)

best blondie recipe ever

This recipe is perfect for the summertime because it's soo super fast and easy.  You can make it all in one bowl and only need one size measuring spoon and measuring cup :)  It's also super delicious!  It's so yummy and easy, you'll want to make it three times in one week like I did.  Try not to eat all three pans all by yourself ;)

OVEN: 350   PREP: 5-10 mins BAKE TIME: 25-30 mins

2 cubes butter
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
2 cups flour

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Add each ingredient one at a time, stirring well after each.  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips, white chocolate chips (optional) and pecans (optional)
   
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs.
4. Try to wait a minute for them to cool before stuffing your face (optional)

 they're sure to melt in your mouth and the pecans add a nice nutty crunch.

mouth watering yet? mine is!

the big question

so, my 5 year old asked the big question..no, not "where do babies come from" she asked me if she could get her ears pierced. so, on the fourth of july, after the parades and fun, we headed to the mall.

nervous? nah! I'm not nervous :/

bam. did that hurt?

So, clean 'em three times a day, keep 'em in for 6 weeks, then you can change them out ...perfect! see ya!

oh wait! what if 6 days later one falls out while you're swimming and you can't find it? (hypothetically speaking of course)

OK, so this really happened to us....after we had been out of the pool for about an hour Ingrid says "ahh! I lost my earring" and that's all it takes to put a carload of little girls into hysterics.


We were not far from Claire's at the time so we stopped by to see what they'd say

ME: My daughter just got her ears pierced, and she lost her earring while swimming.  What can we do?
CLAIRES LADY: We'll have to wait a few more days for it to heal and then we can re-shoot it.
ME: It's only been about an hour since she lost it
CLAIRES: do you have the earring?
ME: NO, she lost it in the pool
CLAIRES: well,  it's already grown in, anyway, I can tell just by looking at it
ME: really?!
CLAIRES: yep, come back Monday and I can re-shoot it, but it'll cost $14, but if you bring in your receipt you won't have to by the cleanser with it, too, which will save you $8
ME: (leaving in disgust)
so, we ran home, cleaned her ear, found an earring that looked like the same shiny silver of the first (titanium I think) and stuck it in.
YES,  it just went right in!

 so, she has a little blue earring in her right ear now, and the white diamond stud in the left ear.
come to find out, her little cheeks are so cute and chubby that when she smiles  we can't even see both her ears at the same time anyway ;)