House of Noise... I mean boys.

Kids Craft: Melting Beads Bowl

2012-02-29T06:00:00.001-08:00

This was a fun quick craft I did with the kids.

It also gets rid of some of those beads in I have in that huge jar I bought from ikea.

Super easy, colorful and fun.

My kids have theirs filled with pennies, lego's, marbles and little rocks.

Journal: When we Were Kids

2012-02-28T12:15:00.002-08:00

I've decided that since I don't journal or scrapbook

that maybe I should do some memory recording here on my blog.

You may be interested in this or not, I'm mostly doing this for me.

We will start at the beginning:

This is me, Rachael.

I was born and lived my entire childhood in the Salt Lake Valley.

Here are my mom and dad.

I really love the old pictures from the 70's don't you?

They met when my dad's sister set them up on a blind date.

My dad was just starting a career drafting steel, and my mom was a student at BYU.

They got married in the summer of 1978.

I was born in June of 1979.

I was born two weeks early and there were complications with my birth

which resulted in me staying in the hospital for 10 days.

I am the oldest of four, I have a brother and two sisters.

I remember being so excited that my mom let me wear

her pink faux pearl necklace for this family picture.

I was a girly girl.

I spent much of my youth wearing various leotards and dreaming of being a ballerina.

But as it turns out, I am way too uncoordinated for such ventures.

Here I am in 1st grade.

I always hated my hair.

I wanted long flowing tresses like Sleeping Beauty,

but it was not to be, my hair was fine and unmanageable.

We spent a lot of time visiting family in California.

I learned to swim at my Great Grandma Maxine's pool.

This is one of my dads favorite pictures of me, sleeping on the couch.

We also went on a lot of trips to Lake Powell.

It still is one of my favorite places.

When I was a little older my parents bought a share in a houseboat,

and a few jet ski's and we went down there 3 or 4 times each summer.

This is my husband, Chad

He was born January, 1977 in Ackron Ohio.

Here's Ma and Pa.

They met in high school. Pa was on the wrestling team.

(My mother-in-law still says that with a girlish grin on her face).

When they got married he was working on his Doctorate in Chemistry,

and she was working on becoming an RN.

Chad is the fourth of seven children.

Six boys and one girl.

So I really shouldn't be surprised that I had four boys should I.

This picture was taken a few years ago,

and I must say that I married into a very good looking family.

Chad is on the right of his sister.

Chad lived in Ohio and Texas for a little while when he was a kid.

He and his brothers were best friends... and worst enemies.

Chad is on the left aiming his plastic gun at his mother, who I assume is taking the picture.

Here he is at his gangly awkward stage burying his little brother in sand.

(He's the kid on the right)

When he was about 7 his family moved to Salt Lake City.

They built a log cabin up in the mountains at the south end of the valley

which is the home my husband grew up in.

When I first met him, his family reminded a lot of the Pontipee Family in the movie

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

We are both blessed with great families, who we are still close to.

And that is our youth in a nutshell.

*To the Family* I scaled these pictures down quite a bit so it

would be difficult for anyone to copy them.

If you want good quality copies of these let me know and I will email them to you.

The Little Bookcase that Could

2012-02-27T06:00:00.019-08:00

This is the story of a bookcase.

I found it at a thrift store for $15. It was solid wood, I'm pretty sure it was hand made.

But it was looking pretty sorry.

It had such potential that I knew I could do something with it.

I decided to use an idea I saw a few weeks ago, since I had an old pallet to spare.

This is theirs at Over the Big Moon

This is mine.

First, I pulled off the yucky warped board that was on the back.

Then, I decided to dress it up a little and I had the hubs add some decorative trim,

as well as a bigger board across the top.

We did this mostly with some left over wood we had here.

I knew that I wanted to go for the scuffed up paint look so

I spray-painted all of the new wood brown.

Then I got out my ASCP (annie sloan chalk paint) in Old White and began painting.

I like this paint, it's kind of expensive,

but it covers really great, it scuffs up fantastically, and it has a certain "look" to it.

It's hard to describe, but once you paint something with this paint it kind of has a soft glow.

Here's some close ups of the paint.

My hubs and I broke down an old pallet we had in the garage.

This is a great workout people.

All you need is a crowbar and a hammer.

Pull off the boards with the crowbar and then pull out the nails with the claw of the hammer.

I cut the pallet boards down to size and because the shelves were

recessed a little bit I decided to fit the pallet boards on the inside of the

bookcase so you wouldn't be able to see them when looking at it from the side.

I really think that it's unique.

It needs a few more decorations, but all in all it's great.

Thanks,

Recipe: Tomato Cucumber Salad

2012-02-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't done a recipe for a little while so I thought I'd share one today.

This is my favorite salad lately.

I can't wait until I can get fresh tomatoes and cucumbers from the garden

because that makes it extra yummy.

The recipe is simple:

Chop 3 tomatoes

Peel and chop 1 cucumber

Chop a handful fo basil

You can also use cilantro and I often do because it's less expensive.

A cup-ish of fresh mozzarella. I get the little balls, but you can buy a log and chop it up.

And a drizzle of seasoned rice vinegar.

It is still super yummy if you omit the mozzarella.

I usually don't put it in if I am just making it for myself, but it sure is good.

And there you go! A simple and healthy salad.

Hope you enjoy,

Look what I found

2012-02-22T12:50:00.000-08:00

I was out thrifting the other day when

I stopped by my friend Lisa's consignment shop.

They had a.....

Wait for it....

Can you feel the suspense?

Vintage turquoise sink!

It needs a little cleaning up but it is fabulous.

It's cast iron, and probably weighs 50-60 pounds.

Once I clean it up it will be perfect.

As you may know we are in the process of finishing our basement.

We are putting a mini kitchen down there in anticipation

of lots of teenage boys hanging out in that space.

This little sink will be perfect.

Speaking of the basement, we are about half-way done with the drywall.

I only wish I had the upper body strength to maneuver sheetrock.

It would get done a lot faster.

Believe me, I've tried to hang drywall by myself... not good.

It's better to leave it to my man and his fantastic biceps.

Buried alive

2012-02-21T07:18:00.000-08:00

Today, I am immersing myself in this.

Scary, I know.

This has gotten out of hand, time to take drastic measures and break out the haz-mat suit.

If I'm not back soon send in reinforcements.

Wish me luck!

Paper Raffia Flowers

2012-02-20T06:00:00.007-08:00

Today to church I was wearing lots of clothes on my body and feet

because there was a snow storm this morning.

I looked over at my friend and she had on really cute wedges and manicured toenails.

Yea, I was seething with jealousy.

I came home and I was in the mood for spring.

So I got out a little project that I started last summer,

and I made a bunch of paper raffia flowers.

These are super easy to make,

it will only take you a few minutes.

I got the hat and purse at Target last summer in their doller bins.

I think they were $2.50

The flower loom I ordered off of amazon, but I have seen them with the knitting stuff at craft stores.

The paper raffia is found in craft stores next to the wrapping paper.

These are so easy to make,

I first saw them on Martha Stewart.

There are great instructions there and a video.

The video is way better then my explanation.

I put a bobby pin in them to hold them on my sun hat, shoes and hair.

I sewed them on the purse.

I may spend the evening putting these on all available surfaces.

Pillows, curtains, flip-flops, my children... Maybe I'll make some for all my neighbors too!

A photo of me looking smashing in my sun hat.

If only I lived in the 1920's I would fit right in with this look.

This is going to be fun!

I was featured at

Wood vs. Carpet

2012-02-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Things of the crafty nature have been slow in coming this week...

Ok thats overstating things, crafts are not happening.

We have too many BIG things and loose ends we are trying to tie up right now.

What did we do today?

Why we picked up 28 boxes of wood flooring for the basement.

One of the perks of having sons is they can carry heavy things.

These two unloaded the truck for me and I didn't even have to ask them to do it, they volunteered.

I have such great kids!

Albeit, son #1 has a vested interested in the basement getting finished,

his room will be down there, but still it was really nice for him to take initiative.

More perks of having sons:

Never having to take out the trash.

When they complain about it I just say "I didn't have four sons so that I could take out the trash."

Or mow the lawn, sweep the garage, take the trash down to the street etc.

Not that I believe that those are "boy" chores.

I have done all of those chores too, and girls are just as capable.

But as a mother I am obligated to teach them to work, am I not?

I know how to do those things, they might as well learn how instead.

Back to the floor.

It's so pretty! * sigh*

One of these days I'll list for you the 101 reasons I hate carpet and why

I would never intentionally install it in my house.

Ok ok, Since you twisted my arm, I'll give you the top 10.

Top 10 reasons Rachael hates carpet:

10. Stains

9. Popcorn kernels get caught in the edges and are really hard to vacuum up.

8. Speaking of edges, you have to get out your hose vacuum attachment to vacuum the edges. Unless you have one of those fancy vacuums that have the little egde brush. I don't have one of those.

7. Stains. Oh, I said that already.... Ok then, spots.

6. Carpet wear in high traffic areas.

5. Have you ever torn out carpet in a room? It's disgusting. All of the dirt, dust and stains you find under it will make you sick. You are unknowingly living with that if you have carpet. For the time being I have to live with it, and not a day goes by where I don't imagine all the grossness hidden underneath my carpet.

4. Not versatile. Carpet you have to only have carpet. Rugs don't really work on top of carpet so you can't change looks very easily.

3. Scrubbing stains out of carpet. I've had to scrub brownie batter out of my carpet before... it's still there.

2. Deep down stains that are in the carpet mat seeping through even after you have paid a couple hundred bucks to get your carpets cleaned.

1. Stains.

As you can see most of my 10, and my 101 reasons are related to how stainable carpet is.

With 4 sons, carpet stains are my worst enemy. They plague my existence.

Real life experience from Rachael - Senario #1:

- Your kid vomits grape juice colored vomit on your carpet. You scrub it for the next hour and still don't get the stain up.

- Your kid vomits grape juice colored vomit on your wood floor. You grab a roll of paper towels and it's clean in 3 minutes.

Real life experience from Rachael - Senario #2 :

- Your poor old dog who only has days to live vomits, pees and deposits an enormous pile of feces on the rug under the table in your kitchen. You roll up the rug and throw it away. Then you wipe the wood floor under under the table with a solution of bleach. You are confident that no remaining particles of grossness remain.

- Your puppy that you have just rescued from the pound is a little afraid and confused and poops on the carpet in the corner of your living room. You scrub it well but for the rest of the time you live there you look at that corner with disgust and eventually tear out the carpet and replace it with wood only to sell the house 2 weeks later (you have had this house up for sale for a year). Apparently potential buyers could sense that the carpet in your house had been contaminated.

So anyway, that is my opinion of carpet.

Hope you're not too grossed out.

I am.

I may begin the process of ripping up my living room carpet this evening.... oh wait.

That lovely wood floor is not for the living room but for the basement. DRAT!

I'll just google wood floors instead.

And fill my head with very expensive ideas, which I will pepper my husband with

upon his arrival home in a few hours. And he will patiently use logic and reason on me and

help me understand that while brazilian walnut and malaccan cherry inlayed flooring is beautiful,

it's way out of our budget, and we really should only take on one project at a time.

Heres to dreaming!

Love is in the air

2012-02-13T20:11:00.000-08:00

*** Update: I totally feel better this morning, cinnamon buns here I come!

Love is in the air today...

isn't it?

Tonight, (the eve before Valentines Day) I am not feeling it.

I really am a lovie-dovey person who thinks that Valentines day is great.

But at 9:30 the night before I am really tired.

And lonely, because the hubs is working and I would really like to talk to an adult.

My kids have been bouncing off the walls this evening.

They still are, I can hear them giggling upstairs and there was just a loud bang.

But, if I go upstairs, there will be shouting... So it's best that I stay down here.

Welcome to my first mopey post!

I have grand plans for tomorrow.

Hopefully I will sleep good tonight and maybe my motivation will be renewed in the morning.

I am making my boys favorite food for dinner

Hoot-n-Annies - I'll have to post the recipe later.

The Mr. also feels love through food so I am making him a yummy lunch.

(He will be at work tomorrow evening so we will eat lunch together.)

What do I want for Valentines Day?

I am going to make cinnamon rolls. Heart shaped ones.

Because C and I have been abstaining from sugar and I have been CRAVING cinnamon rolls.

So I will have them... and probably, I will need some chocolate.

Like a whole symphony bar to eat all by myself.

Now I'm salivating. Great.

I would really love it if the kitchen was mopped.

And a sappy love note would be nice since I am feeling so melancholy right now.

But let me put my melancholy-ness on hold for a few minutes and talk about the people I love.

My husband. He really is awesome.

My boys. They give me so much joy.

My parents, parents-in-law, grandparents, sisters, brothers and friends.

And, I'd better not forget our dog.

He seems to know that I need company because he is sitting on my feet keeping them warm.

Lots of love to all of you!

I really do love you, even on evenings when I am moping.

See, I feel better already!

I think I can even head upstairs and see about the giggling and banging with out losing my temper.

Happy Valentines Day!

Valentines Boxes

2012-02-13T08:01:00.000-08:00

Over the years we have made quite a few Valentines boxes.

The boys re-use these year after year.

We have a rubik's cube box, A pizza box, and an aquarium made out of an ice cream bucket.

Here they are... with a kid, he loves his box and really wanted to be in the picture.

His box is the pizza one and I will admit it's my favorite too.

Last night we made the tic-tac-toe box for T who didn't have one.

Supplies:

A box or ice cream bucket, what ever you have.

Spray paint

Mod-poge

Construction paper

Spray paint your box. In this cold weather do 3-4 light coats of spray paint.

When you bring it in the house let it sit for a half hour

before you begin, so the paint dries completely.

** If you paint a plastic bucket it will help if you spray a clear coat on over the top to seal it.

Otherwise the paint will chip off.

Cut a hole in the top. The hole I cut is a little wonky... oh well.

Then cut out your construction paper in the shapes you need.

I poured some mod-poge on a paper plate and diluted it with a little water.

Brush on some mod-poge.

Stickput your paper in place and brush over the top, smoothing out any wrinkles.

I really like the finish the mod-poge gives to this, and it makes it all pretty durable,

so you can re-use it each year.

Hope this helps any of you with valentines box dilemmas!

Thanks,

Facial cleansing mask

2012-02-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

Every month or so it seems,

My face breaks out.

You ladies can probably sympathize... I hope.

A friend taught me how this simple mask can help.

It really works.

Two ingredients - 1 egg white, and some ground up oatmeal.

I like to grind the oatmeal up in the blender.

I know you're thinking "Egg whites? Gross!"

But it's really not so bad.

Mix the egg white and about a tablespoon or two of ground oatmeal together.

WARNING: this mask makes you look really scary.

Your husband will think you have a disease.

To further warn you;

this post contains scary pictures of me, with out make up or cute hair.

You have been warned.

Smear the goop all over your face.

After you smear it on wait for it to dry, about 15 -20 minutes.

While your waiting for it to dry watch some TV, check your email,

play a little plants vs. zombies, what ever suits your fancy.

Your face will tighten up, it will feel pretty strange.

Your skin will keep pulling and pulling tighter and tighter

until it feels like it will crack in half.

This is good.

Once it is dry then just wash it off with warm water and a wash cloth.

Your skin will feel so soft and smooth.

You will be touching your face the rest of the evening.

You will thank me I promise, give the egg whites a shot.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,

Will you be mine? #3 - Valentine Bunting

2012-02-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have not been on top of things with decorating my mantel for Valentines Day.

I know, I know "Gasp! Whats wrong Rachael?"

I have been trying to think of something

thats not too over the top, a little understated, but still fun.

I tend to over do it when I get to decorate with pink.

So I came up with this bunting.

It was mostly a happy accident.

It was originally supposed to be a no-sew project.

I had the plain fabric out from a different project.

And I was looking for my fusible interfacing when I found this stuff,

which gave me additional inspiration.

I have been missing my good scissors for awhile now.

Ah, the rewards of clearing out clutter!

I was going to iron the interfacing to the back of the fabric,

cut out triangles and then hot glue everything to a ribbon.

You can still do that, if you want a no sew project. *wink*

But alas, I couldn't find my interfacing, so I had to sew.

Which is good because it turned out much better this way.

Heres how I did it

You will need:

2 kinds of fabric. A couple of fat quarters should be perfect.

Twine, ribbon, rope, etc. to hold it all together.

Paint - fabric paint is not necessary, craft paint is fine.

Freezer paper.

Tutorial for using freezer paper as a stencil HERE.

And thats that!

I think I need to make another one for my sons room.

I'll have to raid my stash of boyish plaids and stripes.

Love printable HERE.

Thanks!

House of Smell? - sponsored post

2012-02-08T01:01:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Triad Retail Media for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I have four sons,

so there are a lot of interesting smells at my house.

Many of those smells are not pleasant.

Lately I have been really noticing the smells wafting from my 12 year olds room.

I don't know what it is about pre-teen boys but they STINK.

I have tried everything, changing the sheets, cleaning out from under his bed...

Nothing is working.

I was at the store the other day thinking about this problem

when I noticed some intriguing products from Glade®

new Glade® Expressions™ oil diffuser

This could solve my problem.

It lasts 30 days and doesn't require electricity so you don't have to plug it in.

It's inconspicuous, put it anywhere and you will hardly notice it.

And the best part....

There is nothing to spill.

That's the problem I have with so many diffusers.

Especially the melted wax ones. My kids love playing with melted wax,

I could never put one in a bedroom or anything because it would become a huge disaster.

new Glade® Expressions™ fragrance mist

The mist also looks great for bathrooms and such, where you just want a quick good smell.

Glade® offers a satisfaction guarantee, so there are no worries if you are unhappy for any reason.

Just go to: http://bit.ly/xMScbO and fill out the form.

There is a coupon available in addition to the already great price at Wal-mart.

Coupon here --> http://nit.ly/zus6f5

So be sure to check it out.

Thanks!

Rachael

While Mom's Away

2012-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday I went out with some girlfriends.

It was fun. We shopped, talked and ate some really yummy chocolate.

While I was having girl time the boys were having boy time.

They have really diligent guardian angles.

I have been grateful for this many times.

My husband is a great father, he's really good at letting that "inner kid" free.

Especially when I'm not around.

On another note:

In the video you can see the gallery wall I've been working on.

It's been that way for a few months now.

But, I picked up some more picture hanging hardware today, and temperatures are pretty

good for spray-paint, so hopefully that will be done soon.

And my girls night?

I got some really cute earrings from hoop-la

So the evening was a success.

I cam home to four... er, I mean... five happy and worn out boys.

(the Mr. is included in that count.)

and I have great earrings.

Hope your weekend was also fun.

Thanks!

It's the Little Things

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Sometimes the little things are really what makes a house a cozy and comfortable home.

I treated our home to a few things this last week.

A new rug in the kitchen.

A little dish by the kitchen sink to hold the soap and sponge.

And a lamp on the little table in the front room.

No big or drastic changes, but they make me happy.

Thanks,

How to make a bag - Rachael's way

2012-02-02T06:00:00.001-08:00

When we went on our trip the fam gave me a bunch of stuff

to take down to Florida to give to my sister.

Since we fly stand-by we almost never check bags.

We have had many days of lost bags because we ended up taking a different flight.

It's really best that we keep all of our belongings with us.

My carry-on was full of my own stuff, and so was everyone else's carry-on.

So, I needed an extra bag.

I had a few gross reusable grocery bags that I could have used, but they aren't cute.

I want cute accessories while at the airport, what if I see someone famous?

If Gwen Stefani happens to walk by me I don't want her to think to herself

"Look at that lady with the gross bag."

I want her to think,

"Look at that cute bag! I wonder where she got it?

Maybe I should go and give her concert tickets and she will tell me."

Hey.... It could happen.

So here is how I make a bag.

This is a pretty easy project.

I would say you need about medium sewing skills, it should take you less then an hour.

This is pre-quilted fabric that I picked up from Jo-annes, they have a great selection.

You will need about 26 inches of your main fabric.

1/2 yard of contrast fabric. 60" wide. Get more if you get 45" fabric.

Plastic yarn canvas - it's the stuff that grandma's make tissue boxes out of,

I cant explain it better then that. The link goes to hobby lobby but they have it at Jo-annes too.

1. Main fabric:

Cut 2 - 20 inch squares, or cut 1- 20x40 inch rectangle.

I had to cut 2 20 inch squares because of the way the stripes in my fabric ran.

If you cut 2 squares sew them together at this time.

Cut a 6 x 32 inch strip for the pocket. The pocket is optional.

2. Contrasting fabric:

Cut 2 - 3 1/2 inch by 60 inch strips for the handles.

Cut 1 - 5 1/2 x 20 inch strip for the bottom.

Cut 2 - 1 1/2 x 8 inch strips for the contrast on the pocket

3. Sew the thin contrast strip to both ends of the pocket fabric strip. Trim excess.

Or just fold the top over and hem if you don't want the contrast.

4 & 5. Get your iron hot. With the strips for the handles fold each side over about 1/4 of an inch and iron it down. And then fold it in half hiding the raw edges inside. Iron.

6. Pin your pocket and handles in place. Place the pocket in the center if the fabric that will form the body of the bag. The handles will be pinned along the sides of the pocket covering the edges of the pocket about 1/2 inch holding it in place. The handles should meet in the middle, which will become the bottom of the bag. We will cover this up so it wont show.

* I should have taken better pics here sorry, but in picture 6, fold down the top of the bag to allow for hemming and pin the handles in place. You will hem the top of the bag last, but the handles and hem need to be correctly placed at this step. You can see this better in picture 8. Fold it once about 1/2 inch down and then fold it again about and inch down to give you a clean folded edge.

I hope this picture illustrates the placement and where to sew a little better.

Sew the handles on. It should just be one big loop, with the raw edges of the handles meeting in the middle. Sew as close as you can to the inside of the loop and then sew the outside of the loop.

7. Fold the sides of the bottom contrast fabric in 1/2 inch and iron. Place in the center of the

bag and sew down both of the long sides. Do not sew the short sides.

8. Fold the bag in half RSF (right sides facing) so it is inside-out, and sew down one side of the bag.

9. You will be able to see where the bottom strip is and on the inside of bag hem the corner by sewing a line straight across, making a triangle shaped corner, This will form the bottom of the bag.

10. I wanted a nice crisp, steady bottom to the bag so I cut to size the plastic yarn canvas and inserted it in the bottom. Slip it right inside the little pocket you just created with the contrasting fabric. You can skip this step if you want, it does make sewing the other side and creating the other bottom corner a pain. But I like how it turned out and how it gives definition to the bottom.

10 1/2. At this point repeat step 8 and 9 on the other side of the bag. If you inserted the plastic in the bottom you will have to bend and maneuver a little, but it's pretty flexible so just bend and squish it as much as you need to.

11. Clip the corners.

12. I did a zig-zag stitch on all of the raw seams inside the bag, to finish it off, keep it from raveling and give the seams extra strength.

13. Fold, pin, iron and hem the top of the bag. I like to fold it once about 1/2 inch down and then fold it again about and inch down to give you a clean folded edge.

Email me if you have any questions.

rmhouseofnoise@gmail.com

Sometimes I'm not sure if I'm typing in english or not, especially at 11:00 at night.

So I hope this all makes sense.

Thanks!

Vacation - Florida, January 2012

2012-01-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

We spent a few days visiting my sister in Florida.

This is me at the beach.

That's about all the skin I'm willing to show ;-)

We had a great time.

We got out of the cold, stayed up late talking, played,

and ate, because thats what we do.

I should add that my sisters husband is also my husbands brother.

To clarify, my sister and I married brothers.

It is awesome.

We really love getting together.

Can you see the resemblance?

The one on the right is mine.

This means that she and I can commiserate a lot about their quirks,

because they do have similar things that annoy us.

But we also count ourselves very lucky to be married to such great men.

It also means that our children are double cousins.

They have a darling three year old daughter, and twin one year old boys.

Her boys are so much like my boys.

I know their cries, their laughs and their smells.

I could not get enough of kissing and squeezing them.

I contemplated taking one home with me.

She has two!

Surely she wouldn't miss one. *wink*

And her daughter is just like I was when I was a little girl...

a girly girl who changes clothes 5 times a day and wants to marry Peter Pan.

(I always sympathized with Wendy when she gets angry because Peter and

Princess Tiger Lily are dancing together.)

We really have fun together.

*****

We went to Shark Vally in Everglades National Park.

The name is deceiving because there are no sharks.

But there are LOTS of alligators.

And you can walk right up to them, it was kinda scary....

I take that back, it was a lot scary.

I spent quite a bit of time shouting at one particular son who kept standing a little too close.

Next time I'm bringing a rope so I can tie him to me.

I'm pretty sure I grew a few new gray hairs because of it.

As you can see in the above picture, yes, we got close.

The park ranger told us that these gators are much more docile then gators in the wild.

And they haven't bitten anyone in years.

And as long as we stayed on the path we should be fine.

But I didn't want to be the family who broke that record.

This picture below on the right is a nest of baby alligators.

They were very cute... for an alligator.

The boys spent quite a bit of time plotting ways to catch one and take it home.

And when I say "boys" that includes the 30 year old "boys" also.

The alligator on the above left was the biggest one we saw.

Probably 7-8 feet long.

Yikes!!!

And of course we went to the beach.

It was a little overcast but we still had a really nice time.

Although I was a little disappointed that I didn't get a bit of a sunburn.

How am I supposed to come back home to the cold and make all of my friends jealous

if I don't have a sunburn? *sigh*

I love these shots of T chasing the waves.

B got buried in sand.

(Too bad there was no sand near by when we saw the alligators,

that might have been one way to keep him close.)

J and C spent most of their time in the ocean playing with boogie boards.

And I lounged on the beach and soaked it all in.

It was great.

Thanks for having us!

All of my love,

Love is...

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

For all you wonderful people I have created for you my first printable.

To celebrate Valentines Day

I copied 1-Corinthians chapter 13 the New world translation of the Bible.

I usually prefer King James, but this is really worded beautifully.

Just right click to save the image to your computer and print it out.

I like to paste it into my word program so I can resize it to the size I want.

I taped mine to an empty frame and put it next to a picture of my grandparents.

So heres to all of you!

Thanks for all your love, you are awesome!

Vacation

2012-01-25T21:04:00.000-08:00

Source

We are on vacation.

Hope you have a great weekend also!

A peek inside the... House of Noise.

2012-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

I once told someone that either I have learned a lot

and have developed a better sense of humor,

or,

I am slowly going crazy.

Things that would have made me upset a few years ago, now make me laugh.

I think I've developed a little bit of both.

I thought that today I would treat you to a few funnies that happened this year.

So enjoy a peek at my boys.

I know you'll have fun.

An evening with Mr. B (8)

Me - "Go to your room and come back when you can calm down."

B - "Hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm... ok I'm calmed down."

Me - "But you didn't go to your room.

B - "I know, thats the good part."

Conversation with T (5)

T - "Mom, are zombies real?"

Me - "No."

T - "But what if them come into our house and what if they see our wii... What will they do?"

Me - "Eat it."

T - "Oh. I'm glad them are not real."

Question from J (11)

J - "So mom, back in the nineteen hundreds, did you guys have...?"

I didn't hear the rest of the question, I got hung up on the "back in the nineteen hundreds" part.

Deep thoughts from Mr.B (8)

B - "I'm just a simple guy with simple feelings."

Current household joke:

"Knock Knock" - "Whose there?" - "Fart." - "Fart who?" - "Not me, I didn't do it."

How hard is it to take a shower really? With C (10)

Me - "Will you get in the shower NOW!!!"

C - "Uh oh, she's getting mad... TAKE COVER!!!"

I was lecturing Mr.B (8) about good behavior for an event we were going to.

B - "Don't worry mom, I will turn my quiet button all the way to the highest level."

Wait a second... this kid has a button?!?!?

Can't leave out my Hubby

Mr. H.O.N - "Next Friday I'm helping the PTA with something at the school."

Me - "Are you helping with the 'Mom's and Muffins' breakfast?"

Mr. H.O.N - "Yep.... I'm going to be one of the muffins."

And my favorite, with T (5)

T - "I love you the most."

Me - "Nope. I love you the most"

T - "I love you more then a fousand universes, and there is nothing more then that."

Me - "Wow, a thousand universes is pretty big, but there is something that is even bigger."

T - "What is it?"

Me - "How much I love you."

T - "Moooooom."

Who would guess they are such little rascals?

I sure love em.

Thanks!

Pantry Door - remix

2012-01-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Well, it took some doin, but we got-er-done.

Here is how things started.

So I don't need to repeat myself and bore you check out THIS post

if you want to know how this came to be.

I decided that I needed to do something drastic.

Sometimes when you mess up, fixing that mistake

turns out better then you thought it would.

Tada!

It was a big project, it took a few days to complete.

Heres how we did it.

Cut through the silicone caulk sealing the old trim against the wall.

It will need to be cut on all sides.

Be super careful if you do this, always cut away from yourself and don't go too fast.

I don't want anyone having to make a trip to the ER to get a million stitches.

With a screwdriver, hammer, crowbar, what ever suits your fancy pry off the old trim.

I only used a flat-head screwdriver and a lot of muscles.

Yes, I do have decent muscles when needed.

Pull any remaning nails if you can.

They were really hard to pull out, I just ended up twisting them off.

I had a few strapping young lads help me here, it kept them busy for a little while. ;-)

Hammer in any little broken off nails that are poking out.

Sand smooth any rough spots.

The new trim we used is just strips of pre-primed mdf that comes in a variety of sizes and lengths.

We found ours at Lowe's.

HERE is a reference for you.

This wood-product is easy to work with and inexpensive.

We also picked up a piece of crown molding for the top.

The new trim was a bit wider then the old trim, which was good because

it covered up some dents I made.

But we had to cut the floor trim back. I taped off where I wanted it cut and

Mr. H.O.N (house of noise) scored it a bunch with a utility knife and it popped right off.

Time to cut and hang the trim!

My favorite part.

The side pieces were about 3" wide.

Then we put a little 1 1/2" wide piece on the top turned on its back to

cap it off and make a little ledge.

Another 3"wide piece on top of that to make it extra fancy.

I'm going to pause for a minute and praise Mr. H.O.N who was a good sport through all of this.

Look at those forearms! *swoon*

I love it when he gets out his tools.

A tool belt and a faded pair of jeans are magic...

Ummm, where was I?

Crown molding, right.

Very, very boring crown molding....

Actually I love crown molding, but I also love a man with an air-compressor.

*sigh*

Heres a tip ladies.

If you want your man to be happy about helping with these crazy DIY projects you

come up with, you have to encourage him by acting like everything he does is sexy.

It's easy to do because your man with his tools out IS sexy.

Just give his arms a squeeze, slap his butt a few times

and your new door trim will be hung in no time.

Sorry got sidetracked again.

Crown molding.

Crown molding, crown molding, crown molding.

Here is Mr. H.O.N thinking really hard about how to hang the crown molding.

Crown molding is complicated and I am not going to even begin to try and explain it

so for tips and directions click HERE.

Once the trim is all up its time for the finish work.

First: caulk.

I love this part because it is so great to cover up all of the gaps and mistakes.

Caulk all sides.

*Be sure to buy paintable silicone caulk. Paintable. That is very important.*

Spackle and sand all of the nail holes.

Once the caulk is dry touch up paint around the trim.

I wanted the same paint color that we used on our cabinets to show

through when I distressed the top layer of paint.

So I painted the edges of the trim and the door.

Now you can see just how ghastly the aqua door and the cabinet paint looked together.

It really did not look good.

One problem: I wanted a cool old gate handle on the door instead of a door knob.

But, the door-knob hole needed to be covered.

So I had a thin sheet of aluminum cut to size for me to cover it up.

You can get this done at a home improvement store,

or you could have a friend hook you up, which is what I did.

I spray-painted the sheet-metal as well as the hinges and hooks

that I was going to re-use and put back on the door black.

I painted the door with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite.

This is not chalkboard paint. It's just really great paint.

There is a lot of controversy in blogland if ASCP is worth it.

My opinion:

Yes, it is worth it.

• You can apply it to any surface with out priming or sanding.

I will go to great lengths to avoid prep-sanding.

• It covers really well.

• And really it is just so pretty.

• The paint kind of has a soft glow about it, especially once you apply the finishing wax.

Pictures can't really capture just how great the texture and finish is.

The paint is kind of pricey.

But I really do like how nice it turned out.

So to paint:

Paint, sand to distress, apply wax to give it great tone and texture.

Here's a shot of the beautiful trim.

I made the little wreath out of a 10" grapevine wreath-form,

some green leafy things, a yard of burlap ribbon and a hot glue gun.

Here's a close up of the handle.

It really turned out great.

Thanks for staying with me through all of that. Whew!

Thanks!

A work in progress

2012-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am trying to rectify the pantry door disaster that happened a few weeks ago.

Where I learned that aqua doors are not for every situation.

I threatened to do something drastic...

And I did.

Yes, that is the trim that used to surround my pantry.

Key word "used".

I gotta go spackle.

Check back Monday to see the finished work.

I'm excited, so far it's great.

Thanks,

Will you be mine? #2

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

On Monday I took the kids to the dollar store to kill some time.

I told them to choose anything they wanted, and I would buy it for them.

It worked better when they were little they were in awe at such selection,

But now the older ones look at me like "Seriously mom? It's a dollar."

However, there was a pretty nice selection of valentines craft-ables

that I decorated my chandelier with.

Super easy and fun.

Flower pompoms.

You will need lots of bunches of flowers for these.

Hearts.

Pull stick off, poke a pin tied to a string from the top.

Paint the the spot where the stick was with nail-polish to cover it up.

Tissue paper pompoms.

Tutorial here.

You know I will take any opportunity to decorate with pink.

It's great to celebrate love.

Thanks!

Linking to:

Michelle Paige Valentines Day Link Party

One Artsy Mama

French Country Cottage

At the Picket Fence

What? Twelve Years Old!

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last week my oldest son turned 12 years old.

How did that happen?

I mean, I'm only 22, how could I have a..... Oh, wait that was 10 years ago.

I surprised him for lunch at school with balloons and doughnuts for him and his friends.

Its amazing how many friends show up when your mom brings doughnuts.

He's a great kid.

I can prove it because even though he's a big, cool, 12 year old,

he still lets his mom kiss him in public.

He looks grossed out but he's a pretty good sport.

We had to pose for that picture 3 times because the random kid

taking it for me couldn't figure out which button to push on my camera.

So I know that under all of the preteen orneriness he is still my sweet boy.

Here are some questions I asked him.

Look out world! Here he comes!

Thanks,

Faux old window - for those who can't find one

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

It seems like everyone has a cute old window to decorate with.

Not me, I have not been lucky in finding them.

What do I do when I want something and I can't find it or it is too expensive?

Why, I make it of course.

This used to frame a picture of sailboats.

I found it for $6 at a thrift shop.

Heres what I did:

I got the wood to divide the frame into sections at Lowes.

It was just some thin, flat trim. It cost $2.

(forgot to take pics of this sorry)

I measured and cut it to size.

Two pieces for the front, and two for the back.

Measure twice cut once.

The back pieces were slightly longer then the ones for the front.

Happy accident here, while the white spray paint was drying the temperature dropped.

The paint dried unevenly and crackled.

Normally this would frustrate me, I like a nice smooth spray paint finish.

But in faux old window making it worked out perfectly.

I glued and then taped the dividers on to hold them in place while they dried.

Total cost? $11 including the spray-paint.

Now would you ever guess that it's not a real old window?

Maybe only upon close examination.

Thanks!

What? It's already Thursday!?!?!

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

*** This post was actually written Wednesday night ***

Today has been a little crazy.

This evening I was helping out at a church function so I got home late.

I decided to listen to Justin Bieber while I did the dishes.

I just barely saw "Never Say Never".

I was once a twelve-year-old-boy-crazy-girl so this movie made perfect sense to me.

Although, the pre-teen heart throbs back in my day were New Kids on the Block.

Source

Now you know how old I am.

Anyway, listening to Justin Bieber resulted in my kids stacking every pillow

in the house on top of themselves to block out the sound.

Then it was bedtime.

This was utter chaos because trying to block out the vocal stylings

of the earlier mentioned teen idol made my children rather hyper.

Son #2 decided to do water experiments in the bathroom instead of brushing his teeth.

And, son #1 ate son #3's gummy worms which were being saved

to give to daddy for his coming birthday.

Son #4 couldn't find his pillow pet.

Chaos ensued.

That will teach me to listen to Justin Bieber
with my four boys around.

Since I can barely form a coherent thought,

I will not post the little project that I was planning on posting.

Project tutorials would require my brain,

and my brain is MIA.

But....

I am glad to report that there has been exciting sounds coming from the basement lately.

Sounds of various saws and drills,

and a few other strange noises that I know you would prefer me to not describe.

I think I will leave you with a blast from the past.

The late 80's was truly a magical time.

Thanks,

Will you be mine? #1

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

I love celebrating love.

Gotta decorate!

Super easy little heart garland.

Enjoy!

Featured at:

Sassafras Salvation

The "word" of 2012

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

The popular thing this year is coming up with a "word" that describes what you want to improve.

My word is "deliberate"

I kind of fly by the seat of my pants a lot, I need to be more calculated and purposeful.

Personal:

1. Be a more deliberate friend.

I tend to let my own little world consume me and I don't always give my friends the attention they deserve. I really have some awesome friends, mom's and sisters (mil's and sil's included in that list) who I need to improve my relationships with. I can't forget my best friend. I need to be sure to give my man the best of me too!

2. Spiritual, do at least one thing a day to bring the "spirit" into my home/life.

I'm pretty good at family prayer, scripture and family night, but taking personal spiritual time is laking. Wether it's to read an article, scripture, book, watch a video, or listen to music, I would like to make an extra effort every day to deliberately improve my spiritual wellbeing.

3. Improve my talents.

Not just the talents that I like and come the most easy (*cough* crafting *cough*). But the ones I have to work a little harder at, music, exercise and gardening. Thoroughness and deliberation apply here.

Family:

1. Be a more deliberate mother.

I love my kids, have fun with them, and enjoy motherhood. But sometimes I am not "in the moment". I let other things distract me or try to hurry along family time in order to get to something else. Slow down, pause and stay in the moment, for these moments are fleeting.

2. Patience, patience patience.

Especially during the hardest times.
Homework. mr. B's brain is wired completely different from my own and it's hard to get him to understand where I'm coming from and for me to understand what he's getting at. Deep breaths Rachael. You can do this together.
Bedtime. By this time at night I am exhausted. My brain is tired from out-thinking four children, and my husband is usually gone at work. But once again, slow down, give each boy love and attention and a kiss goodnight. The days are fast approaching where I will be having to practically tackle them to get a kiss. Scripture, prayer and a 3 to 5 minute conversation with each of them goes a long way. I can't let my own exhaustion seep through. The dishes and blog will wait.

Physical:

1. Eat healthier.

This will take deliberation, but I have a partner, mr. C (10 year old son) asked if I would pay him $100 if he would go with out eating sweets for a year (he got the idea from a friend whose family did this). I thought it was great idea and said I would do it with him. My husband has yet to decide if my efforts will warrant $100 also. He said "If you ever want $100, you just take it." This is true. I need better motivation, like smaller jeans or something.
We are abstaining from sweets and treats, and most sugar. If there is a small amount in my breakfast oatmeal or something we wont stress, but no cookies, sweets, ice cream, chocolate (gah!) etc. The exception is on family birthdays and holidays we can indulge. (I have already bought a decadent little chocolate morsel that I plan on enjoying on my husbands birthday next week.) So far it's going very well. He and I are a great team.

Home:

1. Budget.

Cash envelopes. Stick to it Rachael!

2. Finish projects you start.

This goes for myself and Mr. HON too. Deliberately plan, set goals and happily finish what you start.

Look at how much fun we will have!

2012 will be a great year.

Thanks,

Fail: Pantry Door

2012-01-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend I decided to shake my kitchen up even more

by painting my boring white pantry door.

Boy did I ever.

It is not good. I thought that the aqua of the door and the taupe of my cabinets

were different enough to compliment each other.

No, it really is not pleasing to the eye.

In the pictures, it doesn't look as bad as it really is.

It's bad.

I probably need to do something drastic now.

What do you think of a charcoal gray/black color.

With different trim around the sides and a fancy piece on the top painted charcoal too?

With a new knob and hinges?

Or maybe I should search for a vintage door that we can fit there instead....

Something has to happen, and soon.

I may loose sleep tonight obsessing over it.

If I do sleep I will probably have nightmares.

I have learned that aqua doors are not for every situation.

Thanks,

Recipe: Green Smoothie

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

A lot of us have made it a new years goal to eat healthier.

A great way to get extra fruits and vegetables in your diet is to drink smoothies.

I like the green ones.

This smoothie is sweet and yummy.

This was introduced to me by my friend Desiree at

Unconventional Kitchen.

She has really great ideas about easy things you can do to eat healthier.

Green Smoothies are one of my favorites.

Desiree's recipe is different then mine.

Here is how I do it.

In case you can't read that the recipe is:

1/3 c. vanilla yogurt (if you use organic there is no added sugar)

1/2 frozen banana

1 handful frozen fruit.

Whatever you like, I bought bag with a blend of

strawberries, mangoes, peaches and pineapple.

A little bit of kale.

Kale is really good for you but I don't use a whole lot because

it kind of tastes like you threw some leaves from your backyard in your smoothie.

In fact make it without the kale the first few times to warm yourself up to it.

A handful of spinach.

A drizzle of water (about 1/2-ish cup)

Blend for about 2 minutes until it's smooth.

This is about enough for 1 adult, and maybe a little child.

When I make it for the whole family I fill the blender all the way to the top.

This recipe is not exact, I usually just throw things in without measuring.

It will also help if you have a good blender.

My kids really love this stuff too.

They drink it right up and ask for seconds.

I have proof, see.

I do have one stubborn son who acts like they are poisonous.

The other three really like them.

So here's to healthier eating!

Thanks,

Toilet Target

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, this really is a picture of the inside of my toilet, posted here on my blog....

I'd better hurry and type this before I begin thinking clearly again.

*****

One thing I would like to have in the new year is cleaner bathrooms.

I have four sons.

The target I put on the inside of our toilets shouldn't need any more explaining then that.

The targets are made from vinyl I cut out using my silhouette.

Here's how I did it.

Since I just showed you the inside of my toilet,

I should also tell you my toilet really isn't as white as it looks in the first picture.

I used the teeth whitening feature on my photo editing software to whiten the toilet.

I'm going to bed now.

This will be posted before I wake up and think better of it.

There has been interest in this so they are available to buy on my etsy shop.

Find the link HERE.

Desperately seeking clean bathrooms. Yours truly,

Featured at:

Little Red Table

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

I actually did this project over a year ago, but it is still one of my favorites.

Little red table.

I was walking through the woods on my way to take

dinner to my dear sweet grandmother.

Oh grandmother, what big eyes you have...

Just kidding.

Sometimes I like to check and see if anyone is really reading this or if

they just look at the pictures.

This table started out as a find from a yard sale.

Ten dollars and it was the size and shape that I wanted.

But, it had a hole the size of a nickel drilled in the top,

and, the top was laminate wood.

Painting laminate never turns out well.

I decided to buy it anyway, and I was sure that I would come up with a plan.

I spray painted it red, sanded the edges a little.

Then I rubbed it with wood stain to give it depth and age.

But what to do with the top?

Mod-poge to the rescue! And a nice assortment of scrapbook paper.

• I cut the paper in various sizes and arranged them on the top.

• I took each one off and used mod-podge to glue them back on.

• I trimmed up the edges with a razor blade to get them straight and flush.

• I painted a top coat of mod-poge over it to seal the edges of the paper.

• Then, once it was dry I rubbed some wood stain over the top, to give it a little age.

• I applied one last coat of mod-poge to seal it all in.

It has held up really nicely.

The paper and mod-poge did a great job of covering the laminate and the hole.

So there is the story of how my little red table came to be.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Thanks,

Thirteen Years Ago....

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thirteen years ago.

Look at those kids!

They have no idea what they're getting themselves into.

If I could go back in time and tell that nineteen year old girl a thing or two I would tell her...

"Go right ahead with your plans. You two are a match made in heaven."

I wouldn't change anything we've experienced together.

The good has been great, the bad has taught us and given us strength.

I would do it all again, but only with you.

Happy anniversary babe.

I love you more all the time.

Another Bird Project

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I gave you a tour of my bedroom.

And I promised to show you how I made this bird artwork.

I kinda like birds.

I get on little kicks where I go crazy for something.

You haven't noticed have you? I've tried to branch out a little.

But right now, birds are the flavor of the month.

I found these pictures at the Graphics Fairy.

I always find such nice things on her site.

Here's how I did it.

- I had previously spray-painted the picture frames white and rubbed

them with some wood stain in order to antique them up a bit.

- I printed the graphic out from my computer onto vellum, which is basically translucent paper.

I printed out an extra one of each in case I made any mistakes.... It's a good thing I did.

- I cut them out, and I also cut out some clear contact paper 1/2 inch bigger then the vellum.

- I lined them up as straight as I could and I squeegeed

them down onto the glass of the picture frame.

It really is not perfect, they are a little bit crooked and the contact paper isn't even on all the sides,

but it turned out great. So don't over stress, it's supposed to look old.

- I ran a little hot glue around the glass to secure it to the frame.

And here is where they live.

And here is what quite often happens in this corner of my room.

Who knew that this cozy bedroom corner saw so much war-strategy planning?

And while I made these cute little frames my husband changed the alternator in our car.

My work is prettier.

But, his job was the most useful, practical, needed, took the most skill...

Yea.... He totally outshone me there.

So I made him some cookies and that evens us up a little bit right?

I can make pretty things and bake and he can

perform difficult mechanical labor.

We totally balance each other out...

You're right, not even close. *sigh*

I'd better go and give him a big kiss before he decides to

find a woman who has more useful hobbies.

But she probably can't bake a decent batch of cookies.

I guess I have a better shot at hanging onto him then I thought.

Still, he deserves a big kiss.

Can you tell I'm typing this late at night again? I'm rambling.

Thanks for stopping by!

Decorating: Master Bedroom

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

A little while ago I showed you the ottoman that I made a slipcover for.

Now I thought that I would show you where it lives.

Here in the corner of my bedroom. Along with a comfy white chair.

Very cosy and the perfect spot to snuggle up with a good book.

Maybe I need a laptop so I can write my blog posts here too.

This is just an old closet door I found at a thrift shop.

It was just like that when I found it, all I did was clean it up and hang the wreath.

I will show you how I made the bird artwork later on this week. Super easy.

Since I'm showing you that corner I might as well show you the rest of the room.

This is our bed, and I must brag a little here.

You see that beautiful headboard?

My husband built it for me.

Yes, he should be in an Oldspice commercial.

I found the inspiration for the headboard from a Pottery Barn catalog.

He also made the bedside tables.

I should add that our bed is really tall, it's on 6 inch risers, so we can store junk under it.

I had to custom make the bedskirt to go to the floor.

I would like to lower the bed because, if I was shorter I would need a stool to help me climb in it.

I'll have to make room in the storage room for all the junk underneath it.

I found the quilt and pillow shams on amazon.

We have a beautiful big window that looks out onto the whole valley.

The cedar chest under the window is one I've had since high school.

But back then it wasn't white, it had pansies painted on the front.

A little can of antique white paint goes a long way.

My dad found this armoir for free in the classifieds.

It was an ugly brown color so we painted it antique white to match the rest of the furniture.

I'm still working on decorations for the top.

And, I'm really regretting not moving that cardboard box of frames

to the left of the armoir for the picture. I thought I would crop it out,

but I liked the rest of the picture too much.

But daylight is gone and I want this post up tomorrow, so pretend that box isn't there.

This armoir contains our old computer.

Perfect for netflix watching while I fold laundry on our bed.

And here is the real life version of our room.

Elliptical machine in the corner (which I do use btw).

Another old computer in front of the window. My husband and boys like to link

a few computers together and play games on weekends.

Laundry basket on the chair....

But even in RL I love my bedroom.

Thanks!

Christmas 2011

2011-12-27T08:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the late post, but last night I stayed up till 12:30 playing Beatles Rock Band.

And then this morning I laid in bed until 8:30 snuggling with my man,

occasionally interrupted by a sweet son coming in to talk and snuggle too.

I love Christmas break!

And we really did have a great Christmas.

We were surrounded by family and friends and lots of food.

I have discovered that I have a great weakness for smelly european cheeses.

Get that stuff away from me! Wait... I don't mean that, bring it back!

Santa stopped by and we have all been pretty good this year.

This is how the living room looked after he left.

Ans this was left in the kitchen.

I think that I was more excited then the kids. I woke up five or six times that night and

I had to force myself to stay in bed until 6:30 before waking everyone up to open presents.

Here are the kids trooping down the stairs.

"Hurry and take the picture mom! Let us open our presents already!"

The boys have been keeping themselves busy.

Installing batteries. Learning engineering skills.

(I really am in awe, that thing is complicated, and he put it together all by himself).

And training to become the next George Harrison. (He's my favorite Beatle).

Later on, we went to church in order to help us remember why we have this special day.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas too.

Best wishes for the new year.

Thanks!

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T09:54:00.000-08:00

Wishing you all....

A very Merry Christmas.

This a beautifully done little video that your children will enjoy

that demonstrates Christlike giving.

Recipe: Chocolate Mint Truffle

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Or another good title could be:

"Wickedness Can Sometimes be Happiness"

Warning:

This recipe is wicked

Thats right, W.I.C.K.E.D

But it's a great recipe to take to your family Christmas party to impress all your in-laws.

It looks like fudge but it's not.

It is smooth and creamy and melt in your mouth goodness...

Or wickedness if you have a tendency to eat more then 10 of them.

So, for me they are wicked.

Here is what you need. Three ingredients.

Here is what you do:

I scald the cream in the microwave for about 2 minutes in a microwave safe bowl.

Get a bowl big enough to mix the chocolate in too.

I melt the chocolate in my very fancy double boiler.

(A big pot on top of a little pot that has about an inch of boiling water in it).

Then you melt, mix and such.

Here are the written instructions on what to do:

Chocolate Mint Truffle

1 c. Whipping cream scalded and set in fridge to cool.

(Scald means to heat the milk to just below boiling point when little

bubbles rise and a thin skin begins to form.)

I cook it about 2 minutes in the microwave.

4 milk chocolate symphony bars (a little more then 1lb.) melted in a double boiler

1/2 tsp mint oil

*Mix Together*

Refrigerate 15 minutes
Mix again 1 more minute beat well
Pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan
Chill in fridge until set
Cut into 1/2 inch squares.

I would actually like to experiment and dip them in melted

symphony bar again after they have cooled.

So they have a nice chocolate coating on the outside.

I'll let you know how it goes.

And this is a recipe card that you can drag to your desktop and print out.

So go ahead and fall of the wagon with me

and enjoy these for Christmas.

Dried Oranges

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Oranges. Very traditional and very festive.

I saw how to dry them on TV and I thought I would try it.

Quite lovely.

Here's what I did.

You can also tie them on a ribbon to hang,

but I just hooked straightened out paper clips on them and inserted them in the

garland strung on my stair railing.

They add just the right touch.

Orange you glad I made these?

(I had to insert some sort of lame joke in here.)

Now you run off and pull out your oranges and glitter.

I'm off to help the elves wrap some presents.

Thanks!

A Full House

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

We've had some family drive in to spend a few days with us.

My husbands brother and his family.

They have 5 boys.

So that equals 9 boys in the house aging from 13 to 7 months.

And I thought my house was noisy before.

But I have always said there is nothing as much fun as a bunch of little boys.

And we are having fun.

They have a baby so I got to love on a baby.

A darling, dimpled, chubby, squish-able, kissable baby.

A baby!

I squeezed, tickled, nuzzled and rocked.

I can't get enough of him.

No one else could get enough of those soft cheeks either.

The boys did lots of this. ^

We all did lots of this. ^

And there was a whole lot of this. ^

Here is all 9 of them. All smiling their most handsome smiles.

Our house is full, and so are our beds, our bellies and our smiles.

Love you guys! Next time we come and visit you!

Chalk it up!

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've been enjoying my newly painted cabinets.

So much that I had to paint them again... Well, only part of them.

I painted a chalkboard on one of the doors.

In order to get a clean edge I taped and then painted some of the background paint color over the edge of the tape. That way when you peel it off you have a nice clean line.

Follow the instructions on your paint can.

First, I primed the door.

Second, I brushed all the paint on in the same direction.

Third, I brushed it on in the opposite direction.

Peel off the tape while the paint is still wet. If you wait until it's dry it will peel unevenly.

Then go to town coloring!

That's the fun part.

Thanks,

Snowflakes keep falling on my head part 3

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

When I did the first "Snowflake" post I had no idea that I would have so many

snowflake themed projects to share with you.

But here we are at part 3 with snowflake curtains.

I love the yellow curtains that are usually in my kitchen but they did not go

with all of my red christmas things.

So on a whim I made some curtains out of painters drop-cloth and

white fabric that I had laying around.

But they were a little plain... enter snowflakes.

- I measured my old curtains then cut and sewed some painters drop cloth to the same size.

Best part... two of the edges were already hemmed.

- I sewed a strip of white fabric onto it with frayed edges.

- Then since it looked a little plain I got some red fabric and ironed

double sided fabric interfacing onto it.

- I cut snowflakes out with my silhouette and then ironed them on.

* I love the fabric snowflakes but it would have been just as easy to use a

stencil and paint... probably easier actually. My cutting blade was dull so they

were a pain to pop out.

Christmas curtains in an hour.

Thanks,

In the market for a phone?

2011-12-14T01:01:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sprint for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

In the market for a phone?

I am. We are switching cell phone providers and I am intrigued by this offer from Sprint.

Android™ powered EVO 4G devices

I like a phone that has all the bells and whistles.

Texting, camera, internet, music, movies... You get the idea.

And lets not forget that it also must have the

ever important features of email and facebook so I can keep up with all of you.

My husband insists that he just wants something basic.

But there are some angry birds that demand his attention every once in awhile.

And he also has huge playlists of music.

How convenient would that be to have it all on his phone?

But most importantly we need a provider that has plans that will be able to grow with our family.

We have a few children who will very soon be entering the teen years,

and we will need to add lines in order to accommodate them.

I am kind of looking forward to sending them messages.

And I must admit it will be nice that they won't be able to use the excuse I gave my parents...

"I was going to call and tell you I was running late but there was no phone...."

Please tell me I'm not the only kid who did that... So sorry mom and dad.

So is this what we've been looking for?

It just might be.

Check it out and see what you think.

Great holiday deals from Sprint:

Android™ powered EVO 4G devices

Plus get waived activation for new lines of service and free shipping from Sprint:

Android™ powered EVO 4G devices

Not so Silent Night

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

On Friday evening we went to downtown to see the christmas lights.

Please excuse my crappy ipod pics.

I really need an intermediate camera that's not a monstrosity to lug

around so I can take better pics of family outings.

The kids had heard a really annoying song about gummy bears

earlier and kept regaling us and everyone downtown with it.

Hense the "Not so Silent Night" post title.

But we had a great time, it was beautiful.

We had Pizza... yum

Saw the Temple, and some beautiful lights.

We were reminded that Christ is the center of Christmas.

On the train ride home two of the kids couldn't keep their eyes open.

Two were fascinated by the train control room and kept us updated on how fast the train was going.

And my almost 12 year old son sat down next to me and held my hand.

Wonderful evening.

Gifts from Grandma

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

Last week my grandma dropped by with a surprise for me.

I was excited just looking at the box.

She brought me her vintage christmas ornaments from the 1940's and 1950's

LOVE!

I almost bought some on ebay a few weeks ago but I had already spent my

allotted holiday decoration budget... and then some. So with a sigh I decided to wait.

And I'm glad that I did.

Hooray for Grandmas! Who can keep fragile glass baubles intact while raising four children.

Some of whom I know were quite a handful... Uncle Dave I'm talking to you...

But you probably don't read my blog.

And the grandchildren too! It's amazing any are left.

I considered hanging them on our tree for about 10 seconds.

Then I thought....

4 boys + vintage glass = not good

One of the boys said "But mom don't you trust us?"

To which I replied "Of course I trust you my dear. I just don't trust the things you throw down the stairs. And the wrestling matches, and the running, and summersaulting and jumping...

Need I go on?"

And he said "Good point."

So I put some of them in a big glass jar and set them on my piano.

I would like to get another jar (different shape), to put the rest of them in, but I already

mentioned the state of my holiday decorating budget... Next year. *sigh*

Thank you Grandma!

(Who I know does read my blog *wink*)

Naughty or nice?

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

Each year Santa sends an email to our kids

from the Portable North Pole

It's a video email personalized with their name, pictures, a map,

what they want for christmas and everything.

You should give it a try, your kids will love it.

You can even make one for adults too.

Heres the one my husband made for me.

I'm on the naughty list for being late all the time.

I should also mention the cost.... FREE!

Give it a try!

The Stockings Were Hung...

2011-12-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

You know how I love decorating my mantel.

Heres a few close ups.

I went with mainly red, white, silver and natural colors this year.

It turned out really nice.

But I'm sure you noticed a slight problem....

"Ummm, Rachael? Don't you have four children?"

Yes I do have four children.

When they were babies I needlepointed all of these stockings for them, it took

a lot of time and work, but my kids LOVE them.

But... T's stocking is much HARDER then the other ones were.

Look at all those colors!

Blast computer imaging on needlepoint patterns!

*sigh* I chose this one because when T was a baby he had

a little bear that he carried around everywhere.

So the bears on this stocking are perfect, but couldn't they have just made them all the same color?

Really?

For the last 5 years he has been using the stocking my mom made for me.

But T is starting to figure out that is not his name.

When we were hanging the stockings the older boys were all talking about how

I made their stockings and how special that is to them.

And my sweet darling baby piped up and asked where the stocking I made for him was.

Yes, I almost cried.

I showed him the unfinished work and promised

that it would be done by Christmas Eve for Santa to put things in.

Until then this is how things are.

Now I need ideas for a movie marathon to watch

so I can while away my evenings finishing this stocking.

A cute boy with dimples just came home from school and I think I will grab my

needle and embroidery floss and watch a movie with him while I work on keeping my promise.

Dirty kitchen floor, you are going to have to wait.

Big brown eyes and dimples will win over you any day.

The Christmas Tree Adventure

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

We are real Christmas tree people.

We've tried fake trees in years past and had bad luck.

Also, I hate pulling them out, straightening all the branches and putting them together.

Plus real trees smell so nice.

So this is our 2011

Christmas Tree Adventure

2 adults

4 boys

1 dog

and an unsuspecting tree.

J- insisted that it was warm outside and would not wear a jacket. (30 degrees. Stubborn a little?)

T - fell asleep during the 7 minute car ride to the tree lot.

CM and I held hands and sang Christmas songs along with the radio.

The dog sang too...

Finding the perfect tree.

Good thing I have all these strong guys to carry it out to the car while I take pictures.

We brought the tree inside and.... Whoops! It's a little big... it fills up the whole living room.

I can take care of that, snip snip.

The tree lost about 5 pounds! I wish it were that easy for me.

The boys hung the ornaments.

I gently encouraged them to hang the darling ones they made at school in years past

on the sides and back. I love them really, just not right out in front.

They each found their special ornament.

I hung the one for our angel baby.

I think it was a success! And so pretty.

I love my family!

Wishing you your own happy tree adventure,

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

I've been busy decorating for my favorite time of year.

Kitchen table

A wire basket that I got at a flea market years ago filled with stuff

is easy to put on and take off the table as we need.

I love decorating chandeliers.

This one is above the dining table.

Heres the one in the foyer.

Looking up.

Close up.

Looking down.

This is how I decorated the railings.

I wrapped lights, garland and berries onto them.

And I hung lots of baubles from pretty much every curtain rod in the house.

And don't forget this... which has been out because of all the green things I need to

vacuum up all the time.... At least it's red.

May your days be merry and bright,

Soap making, it's easy.

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Thursday is my easy craft day and this seriously was, extremely easy.

It's also a great gift idea.

Soap, homemade soap.

We use a lot of soap in our house and I don't always like the soap pumps because I have one little son who thinks he needs about 10 pumps each time he washes his hands so we run out really fast.

Soap bars last longer.

Supplies

Glycerin soap base - you can buy it at any craft store.

I used two kinds, plain and goats milk. I used about 1/4 of each box for this project.

You can also use dove soap bars, just cut them in to a few chunks.

Fragrance - (optional) also available at the craft store.

Add-ins: Use a few tablespoons of each.

I used oatmeal that I ground in a blender and lavender.

But you can use pretty much whatever you want,

honey, coffee, cinnamon etc.

How to make - this will take you 10 minutes or less to prepare.

1. Gather supplies

2. Cut up your soap base into chunks and put in in a microwave safe bowl.

Microwave it for about 2 minutes and then check it every 30 seconds or so until it is all melted.

3. Mix in your add-ins

4. Pour into a dish, loaf pan etc. and let cool for a few hours.

You can buy a soap mold if you want to get fancy.

5. Run it under hot water to release it from the mold.

6. Cut it into bars, you can smooth out the edges at this time, but I like it looking rough and homemade.

7. Wrap up cute and give away to friends

They smell great and I love washing my face with this

because the oatmeal makes it really great at exfoliating.

Thanks!

Kitchen Makeover

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hello, I would like to introduce you to...

My kitchen.

This is what my kitchen looked like a week and a half ago.

I took this picture right before I started taking off cabinet doors...

You can even see the can of paint on the counter.

As you can see, I am not one of those people who can't go to bed without a clean kitchen...

But maybe now I will become one :-)

This makeover has made me so happy.

And it almost didn't happen.

But I was inspired by my sister in law who just painted hers.

I was going to wait to do this until I could afford, new countertops, sink, floor and appliances.

I would have been waiting a very long time... I know this now... I had delusions of grandeur.

I thought that our small fix-up budget would somehow grow

into the thousands we would need....

Anyway, my sis-in-law's kitchen was in even worse shape then mine was.

She had 1970's yellowish countertops and linoleum... With her oak cabinets, it was pretty dated.

But she painted them and now you hardly notice the yellowish floor and countertops,

your eye is drawn to the very beautiful cabinets instead.

I was inspired.

Hello Rachael! Isn't that kind of your motto? "Work with what you have"?

So I did. The paint was $35 for each color and the knobs were $48 (bought on ebay).

I had all of the other supplies on hand.

So for around $120 my kitchen is transformed.

My grey-blue countertops that don't even come close to matching the

granite island don't bother me as much.

(So glad I can blame these bad design decisions on whoever built the house.)

My ugly dingy tile floor no longer looks quite so ugly and dingy.

Everything is so much brighter.

And it feels much cleaner.

Don't ask me WHY I all of the sudden needed to paint the kitchen a few days before

a major holiday where I was hosting a party but there ya go...

I got it done in three days.

Steps -

1. Remove doors and drawers

2. Stand back and wonder what you have gotten yourself into.
Make sure you have enough peanut butter and jelly and paper plates to last for the next few days.

My dog was very uninterested in this whole project. Right there under the table is where he stayed the whole time... Next time I paint cabinets he can help, he's got to know everything it takes by now.

3. Sand. You don't need to sand very hard, just lightly rough up all the surfaces. 2 or 3 passes with the sandpaper is fine.

4 & 5. Wipe and clean - *wear gloves* TSP is a really tough cleaner.

You can get it at Lowes or Home Depot in the paint section.

Add the powdered concentrate to water following the directions and wipe down all the wood. This will also etch the finish on the cabinets so the paint will stick better. Scrape off any grime with a butter knife and wipe again.

This cleaner works really good... I found myself wiping down other hard to clean surfaces while I was at it... the top of the fridge, and this grimy stuff on my microwave vents.

6. Paint.

I used Bher semi-gloss paint and primer in one. The paint person at Home Depot assured me that it would work just fine... I LOVE IT! It has such a smooth finish. And the paint covered really well.

So far it has held up great, no chipping. Pomegranate juice got splattered all over the cabinets the other day and I will confess that the juice splatters sat there overnight... But they wiped right up with no stains.

Roller - I used a basic angled brush as well as a small foam roller made for painting cabinets. Ask the paint people they will show you appropriate tools.

Paint choices:

Bher paint and primer in one - semi gloss finish - available at Home Depot.

Once again by using this paint I did not have to prime and the paint finish is smooth and durable.

The color for the upper cabinets Alabaster by Sherwin Williams - color matched by the fab paint people at Home Depot.

The lower cabinet color is Mourning Dove by Martha Stewart - also color matched by the fab paint people at Home Depot.

My kitchen inspiration came from The Lettered Cottage. One of my very favorite blogs. I am blog stalking them. I love everything they do. And they are so cute and fun. You will love them too.

I have my christmas decorations up now, but the yellow curtains you see in the "before" picture look great in here and will be going back up in January. I'll post more pics then.

Tip - If you know that you are going to be using the same paint in the next week, or month... or two... or six... (I have seriously waited sixish months) Don't wash out your brush or roller, wrap them up in a grocery bag and put it in your fridge. It will be good to go for next time.

Yours truly - tired and happy,

Family Photo's

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

A few months ago we had a family photo session.

Here are some of my favs.

Thank you Steve Speckman for these beautiful photos of my family!

Snowflakes keep falling on my head - Part 2

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Why do I like pillows so much?

Maybe it's because I like to take little naps, and I always need a pillow handy.

Sometimes to lay my tired head on and sometimes to put over my head to block out noise.

Pillow fights? Maybe.

Cozy comfy feeling they bring to a home? Yes.

They are an inexpensive and easy project? Definitely.

I made this one from some cloth napkins and a felt snowflake I got from the dollar store.

You could absolutely use red fabric, but I didn't have any. I did however, have a few red cloth napkins laying around that I bought for something else and never used.

Thats how us crafters are... open to improvisation.

Just sew the snowflake on.

Throw on your couch and it's ready and waiting for you to nap on it.

Looking festive and pretty all the while.

Merry Christmas and happy napping.

Featured at:

The Craft Barn

"I'm thank-you-ful for..."

2011-11-24T08:41:00.000-08:00

Almost ready!

The house smells amazing.

Simple but pretty.

The ribbons are carefully arranged so they won't catch on fire :-)

The jars look placed closer together then they really are.

My Dad and a few of my siblings and their families are coming over.

I am thankful for so much, there is no way to list it all.

Most of all I am thankful for my husband and children, and my God from whom all blessings flow.

And yes the blessings do flow unceasingly.

I am thankful for a little son who when asked what he's thankful for says...

"I am thank-you-ful for..."

So precious.

And I am thankful for all of you!

God bless.

Sneak Peak - Kitchen

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I told you we have been using lots of paint around here.

Here is some proof. But there is more to come. Not just in the kitchen either.

I know what your thinking

"What?!?! That's it? Kind of anticlimactic."

But let me tell you... it is FABULOUS!

But you will just have to wait.

Blame it on the ebay seller that hasn't sent my knobs yet.

Thanks for being patient with me.

Happy Birthday! To my boy.

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

C - has just turned ten years old.

Oh how the time has flown.

I swear I was just here.

This was the easiest birth of all my boys.

We had moved to Georgia nine months before and one day in late
November at nearly midnight, my water broke.

3 1/2 hours later the world had changed for the better, forever.

Because my son was born.

The words to a popular folk song apply to this day.

"In Dixie land where I was born early on one frosty morning,

look away, look away, look away Dixie land."

This picture was taken with out first digital camera.

But now that sweet baby has grown into a pretty terrific kid.

And I know that one-day, he will become a really good man.

We had a sleepover party for him and 5 friends.

They ate a lot - played games - ate - watched movies - ate

And went outside at 10:00 at night in the middle of a snowstorm...

Wearing t-shirts.

To jump on the trampoline and have a snowball fight.

I know that all of our neighbors just love us.

Isn't there supposed to be an adult supervising?

Obviously it's not me... the one with the camera taking pictures.

But they all survived the night.

Without getting pneumonia, as far as I could tell.

In the morning I asked if they wanted left over pizza, cereal or pancakes for breakfast.

They wanted all three. So that's what we had.

And we all recovered... even my living room carpet.

Happy Birthday Baby!

Love you

Snowflakes keep falling on my head

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been gone lately. I have been super busy.

The things I have been busy with involve lots of paint... lots of it... gallons seriously.

Soooo posts for the next few weeks may not be super regular.

I promise that I will make it up to you.

But for now here is a quickie to get us excited.

It's getting to be that time!

When my house gets transformed into a winter wonderland.

I LOVE Christmas decorating.

I really wish it could stay up longer then a month.

I thought that a cute simple wreath to show off my aqua front door was in order.

Tada!

Saw one on pinterest and had to make one for me.

Supplies:
Embroidery hoop
White felt
Wide ribbon
Hot glue & glue gun
Snowflakes (mine came from wal-mart)

Cost? Less then $5

Directions:
• Cut your felt into 1 inch strips and hot glue them around the embroidery hoop.
• Glue on the wide ribbon covering up the hoop clasp.
• Arrange your snowflakes so you know spacing, then glue them in place.
• Go and paint your front door aqua... What? A little much for you? *wink*

I know I know. It really is too cold to paint front doors right now.

But I know that you would secretly love to :-)

All of my love,

The Girl with the Aqua Front Door

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