Visitors ;)

Look who was hanging out in our yard when we got home this evening! The girls were MIGHTILY impressed to have reindeers come say hi at the "different house". 

Sorry for the blurry photo but so fun!

We are IN!!!

We are moved in!

Painting Playroom Bricks!

While the new house is really exciting and I'll have lots to share, I wanted to share the playroom painting project we did. Bryan would tell you I probably spent too much time deliberating what to do in there, but I think even he would agree that it turned out fabulously :) (Personal bias admitted.)

So first I wanted a faux brick wall (using the thin paneling you can get at home depot), but then I decided no. Then I wanted to paint a brick wall, and decided I wouldn't be able to make it look realistic enough. So then I decided to paint obviously fake looking bricks in fun colors - and this was the winning idea! Bryan even got on board, although I think he was a little bit nervous at first.

So first I needed to pick a color for the other three walls in the room. I decided on Pineapple Cream because it was a "yellow" without being in-your-face about it. As mom and I painted the room that color I was having a few moments of self doubt because it seemed more yellow than I thought it would be, but once it dried I was IN LOVE! Bonus: It makes me think of my Grandma Jessica.

 

I did the cutting in around the trim, switches, outlets, windows, and ceiling while my mom rolled. Together we managed to knock out a solid first coat in a few hours, taping before we painted. 

Bryan doesn't like painting, but he was willing to do some math for me. I knew I wanted the rectangles to be about 24" long, and somewhere in the 12-15" wide category, so we measured the walls and did some number crunching to figure out how big each rectangle should be to make it come out with the same sizes. Our top row is actually 1/4" bigger than the other rows, but you can't tell unless someone points it out, and then I still think it's just mind games. When doing your calculations make sure you're measuring from the top of your base board to the ceiling, AND take into account the "grout lines" that will be between the bricks. I wanted smaller grout lines, so we used the thinner .94" Scotch Blue kind, hence the top row being slightly different because who wants to calculate .06"!?! Save yourself the headache and get the 1" kind. It's what we would have done if we could have found it at the store at 9pm :)

Anyway, we opted to only do one coat on the wall that I was going paint bricks on because only the grout lines would show, and I figured I could touch those up as needed. The other walls got a second coat of Pineapple Cream courtesy of my mom. 

Don't forget to get help ;)

Dry brush! don't panic :)

Bryan finished up the taping process after we finished that wall. We used a pencil and a level to make sure the lines were completely straight. It would look extremely wonky if the bricks were crooked or different sizes, since this was meant to be such a graphic statement. 

 Once all of the tape is up and you've double checked it, then take the base coat (in this case Pineapple Cream) and brush over the paint strips lightly, especially the edges. This will help "seal" the tape from leaking the colors that you paint over it. It's not fool proof, but after peeling the tape off I'd give it a 97% success rating. I was impressed!

Halfway "sealed"

Don't be scared to use more than I did - I wish I had been a little more detailed on this step

 Then while waiting for the paint to dry on the tape, I admired the pretty colors :) I agonized for a little while over the color choices. I didn't want them to be primary OR pastel (I know, I know, what's left!?) And I also wanted it to rather gender neutral. Yes, we have two girls, but we also have a lot of little boy friends and we haven't ruled a 3rd child out of our future. While I think my selections may lean a smidgen on the girly side, I think I was relatively successful with the neutrality.

These are the colors I selected in case you'd like to reproduce the same look:

The "pink" pop

Has yellow and orange in it

Yellow and green in this one

A "blue" with a purple tone

Teal

Since we are moving into a new house and I don't live there yet, I realized I'd have to get creative because I couldn't just grab a paper and colored pencils to plan my strategy. So I made it work with what I had - a box! Sophisticated, I know. 

I checked and rechecked constantly as I started applying paint to make sure I was working in correct rectangle. I'm happy to report that I didn't mess a single one up!

Part of what helped was that as I went, I used my finger to dip in the paint and put a dot of color on the spots I was planning to paint. This made the double checking process easier. 

This is NOT the correct pattern that I used, but so you get the idea (this was try #1 that didn't work out very well):

So then I picked up a color and got to it!

I did one color at a time to avoid washing and waiting for brushes to try as much:

My mom ended up helping me with a few of the purple bricks in addition to the rolling because my poor neglected children were feeling very unloved by their mommy.

Thank you Mom :) Always above the call of duty!

I confess that I was terrified to pull the tape off and see what was underneath, but Ta-Da! 

It worked!

Then today I had a chance to go back and touch up a few places, screw the switch and outlet covers back on, etc, and check it out!

It's still a work in progress as we move, but I'm so happy with it and can't wait to see the girls playing in there! 

For those who have asked, the teepee was a Nutcracker Market purchase, and the cart was an At Home (formerly Garden Ridge) find.

Thank you Bryan and Mom for all of your hard work too!!!

I ADORE how it turned out!

New home!

Celebrating our new home with a "pakemake" (picnic) at the park across the street. 

What a BUSY few days! Many many thanks to Lulu for helping so much. 

Busy Weekend!

**Note before reading: I cannot get Blogger to cooperate with me! It's making somethings left justified and somethings center justified and no matter how many times I try to fix it, it just goes right back to this nonsense. If it bothers you too, I'm so sorry!**

Thankful for busy and fun weekends with friends and family!

This weekend involved a MOPS Date Night at the bowling alley, lots of play time indoors on a rainy Saturday with our children, going to the A&M vs. Auburn game at Kyle Field with our friends Michelle and Ben, church on Sunday morning and more playtime! We manage to pack a big punch in on these short mini vacations from weekday realities. 

First pig tails!!

Singing songs with sister about Circles:

Clara was wearing Emma's new boots on her hands and pretending to pray. She was super excited about Kid's Night Out at church! 

We had so much fun bowling! (and even more fun just visiting with our church friends)

I went to take a shower and came back to find Clara rocking Emma on her lap and reading her a story :) So sweet!!!

Clara has officially hit the age when she wants to build forts!! I knew it was coming, just didn't know when. The below picture was Clara insisting that Emma "go campin' wit me" :)

And then she added a blanket for more fun!

Then I took my little Elsa/Clara to Academy in the pouring rain for ponchos and a new Aggie jacket for both me and Bryan - and ended up getting one for each of the girls too. I probably wouldn't have, but tried the 2T on Clara and it fit really well, so I got her the 4T with hopes that it'll last her two more years after this one, and 2T for Emma hoping for the same thing. 

Clara also fell in love with this toddler Aggie hat ... I'm thinking I may have to go back to get it and make it into a stocking stuffer!

"Gig 'em, Aggies!"

Then our babysitter came over (and the girls had a great time with her!) 

And we drove to College Station with our two friends.

It was SO COLD. SO COLD, PEOPLE. It rained/drizzled/misted on us the entire time, the wind was blowing anywhere from 15-20 mph, and it started at 55 degrees before the rain and wind chill! BURRR. Our ponchos went on shortly after these pictures!

I tried to get a video of the swirling mist:

Then Sunday is church as usual. Emma wanted to go swimming instead, haha.

A brag on Clara: Today at church, even though it was her turn to get to use the Ariel dress up costume, she went into Emma's classroom instead to see if she could make Emma feel better and not cry anymore. When she realized that Emma was content as long as she was there she told her teacher that it was okay for another friend to take a turn with Ariel, she would just stay and play with Emma until Mommy and Daddy finished at church. Seriously, guys. My heart was in a puddle. I'm so proud of my girl for these moments of selflessness and the way she protects Emma. 

And of course, like every week, Emma loves the under water mural on the walls! haha

I don't have any other pictures from this weekend, but we took naps/rest time, went to the grocery store, played with our friends Mrs. Stephanie and Mr. Russell, and their sweet kids Zach and Victoria (how do I not have a single picture!?), and then we saw Lulu and Papa very briefly when they stopped by on the way home. 

Bonus: I went to sing Clara to sleep tonight, and within FOUR animals of Old MacDonald she was out cold. AMAZING. A Sunday win, man.

Have a great week!

(We have a big one coming up, so stay tuned.)

Allergy Testing & Paint Nails: All About Clara!

Today was a BIG day for Clara. First, she went to The Woodlands Wellness Center with us to become a new patient and get tested for allergies. I was rather nervous about the entire experience, and decided that even though they are super anti sugar I'd take a lollipop anyway, just in case I needed a bribe. 

This place is so far from being child friendly, let alone child proof, that it's outrageous! I was thankful when Clara stopped pretend feeding the ceramic birds with the glittery breakable pumpkins and started playing peekaboo with the curtains instead. Yes. THAT'S how un-child-friendly this place is! I'm so thankful we didn't end up needing to pay for anything broken.

 

To give herself a little extra dose of bravery this morning Clara decided to wear her Elsa dress. It wasn't until we were there that she told me the REAL reason she decided to wear it: "See Mama? My arms is all full so no one can poke with me shots." Excellent thinking kid! I'm sorry it didn't work for you.

Playing with the muscles and fatty tissue models:

She was also given a sticky note and "Elsa" gloves to keep her out of mischief 

In order to help the process, Clara was given a ton of numbing cream and then wrapped up in cling wrap to keep it working. She was baffled and not super happy about the process. She was better once we pulled her sleeve over the wrap.

After taking her weight (32lbs) and her height (37") and her temperature and blood pressure, we met briefly with the doctor which resulted in being given some recommended supplements that will hopefully help with the serious sleeping problems she has plus the asthma and eczema. Then she was ready to get those shots. Okay, not really. She was terrified and not at all happy :( But it was time anyway!

Okay.... fast forward 30 minutes or so, after 11 pokes, so. many. tears., and a lollipop (ha! mommy knows best) Clara was doing better. It was about as awful as I expected, and my arm and ab muscles got an excellent workout holding her steady while they did the testing. 

It turns out that she's allergic to lot of weeds and grasses, as well has having severe allergies to mold and dust mites, and an extremely severe allergy to eggs! I'm so glad we did the testing. I knew there had to be something causing her flare ups, and I just didn't pin down eggs as the culprit. No more scrambled eggs for her on Sunday apparently. I feel pretty awful about that. They did tell us to not just abruptly eliminate ALL eggs because her system would go into shock and that's what the allergy drops are for anyway. Yes, DROPS. Not weekly shots, but a daily drop under the tongue. I know, I know. WHERE have these been my entire life!? Anyway, so very small amounts of eggs are ok, but no more than that. 

She refused to put her sleeve back on the rest of the morning.

Back to smiling thank goodness. Look at all of those pokes :(

 As we were about to leave she started bawling all over again - I'm guessing the numbing cream was wearing off. I asked her what would make her feel better and she told me "candy and breaf-ix" between sobs. I thought, "why not?" so Daddy, Clara and I all ate at Olive Garden for lunch. And in case you were wondering, yes, that's all she ate - 3.5 breadsticks, one bite of salad, and 2 Andes Mints. Superior parenting, people. Oh well.

We thought about it later, trying to figure out why on earth she thought of bread sticks, but realized the last time she got a shot at the doctor's office (a steroid shot for a particularly bad infection) we went to Olive Garden afterward. Shots = breadsticks. Who knew!? We started our own tradition. This child remembers everything!

After a few ROUGH hours at home involving no nap and many tears, I decided we needed to do something extra special and fun to turn our day around. Thus, Clara's first manicure and pedicure happened! The place near us has a small room off to the side that's rather well ventilated and has these adorable little pink chairs with butterfly wings on them for little people to use, plus an adult sized chair right next to it. 

Clara was in HEAVEN. She picked her color, and the gentleman trimmed her nails, filed, buffed, painted them and then even put these cute little flowers on her thumbs! She kept telling him, "wow! you do a good job!" - I'm not sure if that's an indirect criticism on my usual nail painting job or if she just truly was impressed, haha. 

She was floored when he rubbed her feet, clipped, filed, etc. and painted her toe nails and added little white flowers to her big toe nails too! At this point she said, "Wow. You paint my paint nails next time, not mommy, ok?" Ha! You'll get regular purple polish and like it, little dude :) Maybe I'll add glitter or something next time to up my mommy game. 

Getting a close up on her toes

Waiting very carefully for mommy to finish 

She was too scared to put her shoes back up and cover up her flowers, so she walked barefoot back to the car, happy as a clam.

Showing off her flowers - too bad they don't show up very well here

 CB: "Look Mommy! This leaf is prettier next to my paint nails too! Don'tcha think?" hehehe

The perfect photo to represent the juxtaposition of the happy/sad experiences from today.