Adoption Anniversary!

Friday August 29, 2014 was our 9th and 6th Adoption Anniverary!! Since the kids had school and Brit had ballet right after school we celebrated Saturday! 

We took them to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We were all so stuffed afterwards we all decided to take our cheesecakes home. Ben was so full he was crying in the booth that there was no way he could eat cheesecake. We promised we would package them up for later and it was a fun treat we all enjoyed when we finally weren't dying lol! Brit got an Oreo one, Brady got peanut butter cup, Ben got Hershey's, Riley got peanut butter and I got a chocolate tuxedo. 

Afterwards we headed to Target to let the kids spend their summer allowance money. Then to Babies R Us to look at new convertible car seats for the twins. We didn't like the options and decided to go home and order them. After months of looking we finally decided on the Evenflo Triumph LX in Darby. My SIL's cousins (they are twins. One is a NICU dr and one is a pedi nurse) that I'm friends with suggested Evenflo. We found a great deal on them and we got two for each car. We hate changing out car seats!! 

We ended the day swimming and hanging out!! I can't believe how big my children are getting and I can't wait for the babies to understand how special this day is. 

New Twin Nursery

We are DONE!!! Babies are all moved in and loving their new space! I'm so happy I finally got to do another nursery! The last time I did one we had no idea what age child or gender it would be for (due to adopting through the state). This one turned out just like I wanted it to with a few minor adjustments to the design. Originally, I had planned grey bed skirts (that I spent time ironing) and brown minky bumpers.  Well, since the boys are pulling up we decided to put the mattress at the lowest setting. That meant getting bed-skirts on were nearly impossible so we nixed it. Then since our cribs are super thick on the rails the bumpers wouldn't tie on. These cribs are amazing though! They are by Bonavita and the collection is called Peyton. They have it in the lifetime collection and classic. Very well built and heavy! Even though these are the last babies I didn't want to deal with the issues I had last time!! I've learned that sometimes you get what you pay for and Target $150 dollar cribs don't hold up to a jumper!!! We literally had a cinder block and chains under Ben's because he could move it all over the room even with a rug! He even put a hole in his mattress so we had to buy him another one before we even moved him to a toddler bed. We upgraded that time to a 200 coil and thankfully could pass it down to a twin and only have one mattress to purchase! Riley and I found the cribs at BuyBuyBaby after a date lunch for 30% off plus they gave us a 10% off per crib twin discount and let us use a 20% coupon! We basically got two cribs for the price of one on sale! Score!! That was a huge blessing!! I am all about buying things on sale or a coupon!!

The same day we got the cribs put together I saw a skinny dresser listed on a Facebook resell page and it just so happened to be three blocks from my house!!  I went to go look at it and came back to get Riley to go get it for me (wouldn't fit in my van). My FIL stopped by the house to help with cribs and he went and got it for me!! The drawers are stamped Bassett and it will be perfect to hold extra diapers and wipes plus extra crib sheets. I bought grey chalk paint and mercury glass knobs for it. I'm hoping to paint it this coming week. I had planned to this past week but even with kids at school and rain I had no time (the first week of school was hectic). Plus I need to sand it a little. It's a little ugly now but I think it will be beautiful when I get done with it!! It's my naptime project!

Hobby Lobby had knobs on sale this last week for 50% off! I saw a similar knob in the Pottery Barn catalog/Anthropologie for $7-$9 and I was able to score these for $2.99 a piece! Love them and the price!

I love Hobby Lobby too! I found this large "B" for 40% off  and Rustic frame for 50% off! It took me a while to get it painted just right but I think it turned out great! I used three different shades of aqua and blue plus some metallic gold and black for depth. It got sanded a few different times too.

Found this shadow box at Michaels for 40% off and they let me use a 15% off entire purchase coupon. This is so special because it's the boys coming home outfits, hats, bracelets to tell them apart, hospital bracelets and there is a first sonogram pic in the pocket watch trinket. I had to take a picture of it at an angle because of the glass.

I found a person online who sold reasonable handmade crib quilts. Each one was only $25 with $8 shipping which she combined since I was buying two. Can you believe that?!?!? I couldn't believe how nice they were when I got them in the mail. I love them!! I saw many quilts on Etsy that were over $100 and I just couldn't justify that expense. She is on ebay under seller TNFrogs. She is always listing new quilts. I think later they will love them for when everyone drags their bedding to the den for family movie night!

Barrett's:

Brennen's:

These minky pillow covers were in their First Easter baskets last Easter in preparation for their new beds. The blue chevron sheets were purchased at Target when I was pregnant. 

Brennen checking out his new digs

Barrett sacked out

Brennen sacked out too 

The view from my den

I think these cribs are just beautiful!! They are the espresso stain.

TADA!!! See how cute the custom fox and raccoon prints turned out!! I found the center sign at Hobby Lobby on sale too and it spoke to me!

I still have some sewing to do (fox fabric) but I'm in love with everything!!! I'll post pics once I get the dresser painted! 

School

Today was the first day of school!!! This is the first year we haven't all gone as a family to take kids on the first day. :( Riley took the boys and he had to hustle because he had an important meeting with an international partner that started at 8am. I stayed back because the babies were sound asleep IN THEIR NEW ROOM (pics coming as soon as I hang up pictures). Brit goes from 9:20 to 4:20 so Granny came over to sit with the twins so I could focus on Britney. It was crazy at her school but we got her schedule, settled and then headed home. Granny and I decided a Hobby Lobby trip plus StarBucks was absolutely necessary! I think other moms had the same idea because I saw lots at both places (lots of babies in strollers, lol). Another summer down (and survived!!) and a toast to a wonderful new year! I honestly have spent the rest of the day relaxing because I needed a much deserved break!! Tomorrow I have plans with my sister in law for lunch! Then hopefully I'll get some painting done later this week or next. 

First day pictures!! 

The tale end of summer

Summer is almost coming to an end. It went by so fast! This year is a little different and new because our baby girl is starting middle school.  She will be embarking on a new journey because not only is she starting middle school but she will be attending a new school with no previous friends. Riley and I went back and forth but we feel really good with our decision. We opted to put her in a school that would be easy for me to get to her with babies in tow and let me be more envolved. The boys will still go to the same elementary school they've been attending. This new school will also allow us to spend more time together as she doesn't have to be at school until after 9am. As well as she will be able to finish out the next 7 years in one place! She was apart of all the decisions and she is super excited. I took her last week to register and she is all set! She will be in choir and is looking forward to that! As well as she will continue with her ballet company. 

How did she go from this (we had her 6 days here and she is holding Brady)

To this beauty....

Did you notice her hair got cut? She got a horrible knot in the back of her hair. We tried everything to comb it out but it was a big mess!! She was tired of sleeping with braids to keep it from knotting and tired how long it took to comb/wash and dry. So we chopped it! I'm curious to see how ballet buns work but she loves it and that's all that matters. In 6 months she will be 13. Time is flying to fast! I bought her a middle school gift and she is all set with her own translucent powder, brushes, blush, mascara (clear) and lip gloss. She is all set!!

On Saturday Riley and I put the tools down to have some fun with the older B's. We had invitation to Alley Cats in Arlington. Britney's second grade teacher came over (she is a great friend) and watched the twins for us! I was so glad we got a sitter because that place was so loud. There was no way I could have had fun with the kids and kept babies happy. We got to bowl, do laser tag, rock climb and play arcade games. 

The boys riding one of the games. They are already planning our next trip! 

In 11 days we get to celebrate a very special anniversary!! 9 years ago we adopted Britney and Brady and 6 years ago we adopted Ben! We are taking the kids to go eat at the Cheesecake Factory!! Can't wait! 

I better get off and get ready for bed. I'll leave you with some twin pics! 

Almost there

We are almost there! On the home stretch! I'm so ready to get the pretty new rug all laid down, the pictures on the walls and beautiful cribs up. 

Here's our progress.... 

Flooring laid down!

We got all the crown, floor molding and quarter round down. The walls are painted Mt. Rainer Grey by Benjamin Moore. It's got the perfect amount of blue. 

New casing were the door used to be!

The new light fixture we ordered from Lightingdirect.com We used ebates for a $5 off coupon, 6% cash back plus free shipping! Oh and it was on sale!! We even bought the old fashioned incandescent lights for it on 1000bulbs.com They are super cool!! 

Hopefully the next time I update on the room it will be finished! Riley is doing some caulking now and he has a few touch up spots left!! 

Curtains

We got all the sheetrock hung and Riley started the mudd last night. He's there right now putting on a second coat over the seams. 

This was a picture from this morning. 

Today during the babies naps and the kids iPad time I started sewing!! 

Didn't take to long and I had all the parts pieced together! 

I had to take a break and come back to it later. The only part that was tricky was adding black out fabric. I had never use it before and I think I made it harder than it should have been, lol! 

TADA..... The finished curtains!! Ignore the clips at the top. I had these in the closet but they aren't the right size but they helped me hem the curtain for the door. The door/window we are putting it on is metal so I used a magnetic curtain rod. In the mean time I stuck it on my deep freeze so I could admire it lol! 

I'll be back with more progress in the coming days! :)

Sneak Peak

We are trucking along on our room project! We were able get electric done, insulation and start the drywall! We were also able to pick out paint this weekend!

You can see we have made some progress! We are hoping to get the sheet rock done over the next couple of days (hard when you only have evenings or weekends) so we can move to taping and texture. We still need to pick out flooring and get a new light fixture. We decided on a theme too! I'll leave you with a sneak peak of the nursery art I made (clip art purchased on Etsy from ClementineDigitals). I was able to snag a canvas deal on Groupon and I can't wait to hang them in the room!!

You can also follow along on my pinterest board HERE