Guest bathroom - phase 2

If you're ever going to paint cabinets then learn from my mistake and use a roller and not a brush. I started painting the cabinets on Wednesday and just finished today. It was taking forever and the paint didn't seem to be covering the yellow wood color and I could see brush strokes. So today I decided I was going to just roll some paint onto the back of the cabinet door and wouldn't you know it was so fast and covered so well! I was a little bummed that I had not discovered that earlier. But now I have a strong desire to paint the cabinets in the boys' bathroom now that I know how to make it go a little faster.
I still have some little touch-ups to do, my mom is in the process of whipping up some curtains and I have some ideas for easy wall hangings that I want to do to add some little pops of yellow. It's looking pretty white and bland. But I do love it. I love how clean and fresh it looks! Hopefully in a week my bathroom will be complete. Phase 3 this week will be adding accessories. Who knew home improvement could be so much fun?

Guest bathroom - phase 1

A while ago I decided I want to change the guest bathroom. I was not a huge fan of the paint when we moved in and after looking at lots of DIY bathrooms on Pinterest I wanted to do one of my own. Yesterday Dave took me to get the paint. I asked his opinion but he said he didn't care since he liked the bathroom the way it was. I had Logan help me choose between two colors I liked and started painting yesterday. I still have a lot of work to do. I want to paint the cabinets (that will be phase 2) and I need to get a new rug, towels, a new towel bar. I'd like to eventually get a new light fixture and maybe frame the mirror. It will take time, but for now I'm loving the new color. I can't wait to start decorating and to see what it all looks like when it's finished. This sure makes me want to do other projects around the house like paint the kitchen, refinish the cabinets in the boys' bathroom, paint my room, wood floors, new kitchen counter tops.....someday.
Here are the Before and After pictures

9

Yesterday was Trevor's birthday. He turned 9. He wanted to know what time he was born so he would know the exact moment he turned 9. It was at 3:29 p.m. and unfortunately I was taking my Sunday nap at that time and forgot to announce he was 9. Oh well. Maybe next year.
For his birthday he wanted to go to Flip N Out with some friends, then come home and have stuffed crust pizza and play video games. He did all of that with a sinus headache (darn allergies!). Sunday they did a Spotlight on him in Primary. I wish I had my camera because he had the biggest freaking smile on his face during his Spotlight. Then he sat in Primary the rest of the time while his sweet teacher rubbed his head and his back for him. He had another sinus headache. We had Cheese Soup for dinner, Trevor's favorite, and my parents and sister came over to eat and have another round of singing and cake and candles. Today I'm taking treats into his classroom. What a birthday weekend!
I like when my kids have birthdays because it makes me remember when they were born and what cute babies they were. And Trevor was such a cute baby. I can't believe he's 9.
Here are 9 things about Trevor:
1. He enjoys reading books with interesting facts
2. He thinks 3rd grade is so hard because all they do is work, work, work
3. He is now a Bear Cub Scout! He enjoyed being a wolf and is looking forward to the Pine Wood Derby this month
4. He wants to make a TV show when he grows up and he is always telling us scenes from his show
5. He is the first of his brothers to want to go to bed at night (just like his mother!)
6. His favorite thing to do after school or on weekends is to relax in front of the television
7. He no longer lets me kiss him good-bye at school
8. His favorite dinners are cheese soup and taco salad
9. He has a big heart and is always wanting to do nice things for others

Homemade fruit snacks

One of my New Year's resolutions was to spend less money at the grocery store. In January I didn't do very well, but February was a good month and I managed to be about $80 under my budget even including a trip to Target where I bought myself a pair of jeans. We got a Sam's Club card back in December so I have been trying to shop 2 stores each week to get the best deals on the things I buy. On one particular shopping trip, I made my dinner menu for the week and then made my grocery list and only wrote down the things I NEEDED. And I stuck to my list. I came away from that trip noticing that I buy a lot of things that we really don't need and wasting money on things they weren't even that good to eat. One of the things I think I spend too much money on is fruit snacks. I always have several boxes of them in the pantry and my kids eat them all of the time. But then I didn't buy them one week, the boxes we had ran out and the kids could have cared less. But they still need little snacks, especially Logan so I decided to make my own. When I was rearranging my food storage I came across a #10 can of dried apple slices. The kids really liked them. Lately Logan has been munching away on the Craisins I have so I put two and two together and came up with my fruit snack solution. I got a big bag of Craisins at Sam's Club, bought some little snack bags and made some up so the kids have a ready made, healthy snack. I filled some of the bags with peanuts and Craisins since Dave loves that to take to work. I made up about 15 snack bags and I still have a TON of the stuff left over to make more. And with the money I save this month at the grocery store....I'm buying stuff to make over my guest bathroom. Happy shopping to me!

Mall food

One of my favorite things to get when I go to the mall (not that I go anymore...the last time I was there was YEARS ago!) is soft pretzels. My mom got me hooked, getting them for me when we would go shopping together and then, when I was older and working at Hallmark I would get them on my break. I love the soft dough all warm and salty, a little crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. My favorite is to dip them in cheese sauce (which you never get enough of at the mall). In January there was a recipe for soft pretzels in the Friend magazine (a church magazine for kids) and the boys wanted me to make them. I made them one day when there was no school and they turned out great! Not the best shapes, but dang tasty. I didn't have cheese sauce that day but we ate them sprinkled with salt and garlic powder (what Trevor and I liked the best) or cinnamon and sugar (Colin and Logan's choice). I wanted them again today and decided to make them. And I made cheese sauce. A lot of cheese sauce. Here is the easy-peasy recipe:
Mix together 1 teaspoon salt, 2 1/2-3 cups flour, 1 tablespoon yeast (one package), 1 cup warm water and 1 tablespoon sugar. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover and let rise about an hour. Shape dough and bake on a greased cookie sheet at 450 for 8-10 minutes. Brush with melted butter and top with salt or cinnamon and sugar.
I may never have to go to the mall again.