Hello!

Hey Guys! I can't believe that it is almost Christmas! Can you believe it?! Where did this year go? I have been so busy trying to get everything done for the Holidays, that I haven't even thought about posting on here. Oops! I am so excited though, I started a new blog that you can find if you click on my profile info. I did it for me, just to keep myself challenged I guess, but I have had a ton of viewers already! I am up over 1000 page views just in the last 3 days! Thats just nuts! The funniest part about it is that they are all looking at my snowman fridge. Not the crafts, but my cute little snowman fridge. Don't get me wrong, I am glad they are there, but it just makes me and Clayton laugh! It is so simple and cost us nothing, but that is what everyone wants to see. So go take a look!

The Boys' room is done (almost)

I have had the paint for this little "project" for a while now, and we finally got it done! Well, as much as its going to be for a while. We plan on getting some new bunkbeds since these beds are falling apart and doing a few small things, but I couldn't wait till who knows when to share! I have to say, I love the outcome! Its seriously amazing what a little paint can do for a space! We painted the whole wall with a grey primer and then did grey on the top and a red on the bottom. I don't have the names near me but I know that the grey was Glidden and the red was from Walmart (it was an oops color one day while I was there so I grabbed it)
I wasn't sure how the space would turn out, Brayden's favorite color is red, but I knew I wanted to tone it down a little since he shares with Bryson. I really love it! We just need to fill the nail holes in the chair rail and I need to figure out the curtain "issues". I know we need something else, but I don't know what. I can't decide what color to go with, but the blue just isn't feeling right. I do have a few more things I plan on doing to the walls (some vinyl for one) and for some reason it wouldn't let me add all the pics, but here is the ones I was allowed to add! Let me know what you think! Clayton told me he gets worried every time I say "I was thinking" because he is just sure that its going to mean more painting. He is usually right, but he does it anyway, thanks Honey!
this is the best before I could find.



the lighting isn't great, but here it is!

Fall Crafts

I have been in such a crafty mood! I think its the time of year, the fall weather is setting in and its time to find things to do inside. Clayton went hunting and for some reason I get a lot done when he is gone! Who would think! Having that extra few hours at night made a huge difference. I am glad he is back, and would NOT want to do that forever. I missed him like crazy, but it was sort of nice to feel so accomplished at the end of the week with all I got done.
Our ward had Super Saturday last week (a day of women crafting). I love going and was bummed I was missing it (due to no sitter), but now I am sort of glad I did! I went and picked up my craft kits and brought them home to work on and I think I liked the way they turned out better then the originals. The originals were good, but these are "mine" and I love them!
These blocks were cute for Halloween and I don't really have very many Halloween decorations. Not a big fan of all the gory stuff. But I am really liking the cutesy decor I've been seeing.

These Thanksgiving blocks were so simple, but I decided to sand and distress a little. That was not a good idea! They are so small and sanding was time consuming. But I love the look of them. I painted them 1st with a mustard yellow shade of craft paint I had on hand and then after sanding I added some stain to give it a little somethin somethin. ;) I love them now. Simple but cute.

I am a Christmas/ Nativity junkie so I knew I had to do these blocks. I am so glad I did! She had them painted in red white and green (I think?) but I am so glad I went with simple black and some sanding because it will go better with what I have and doesn't take away from the Nativity at the top or the saying. That is what Christmas is about and I adore this craft!


I love this little guy! I got the idea for him off a blog that for the life of me I can't find now! If you know where, please let me know and I will fix it. He is so cute and simple, just a paperback book with the cover ripped off and the pages folded. The branch in the top just didn't give it the umph I wanted so I took a piece of Halloween ribbon and gathered it and stuck it in the hole in the top. I think it gave it a little extra pizzaz. Nothing special, but I think he is a cutie.

My cute little kids wanted in on all the crafty madness and I remembered seeing this craft here and thought it was perfect for the kiddos. They aren't perfect but they were so proud of themselves. I think they turned out cute and can't be better than free! (we had all the supplies on hand). So this is a little of my madness, hope you enjoyed!
Linking up at

I love coupons!

Ok, so I have been couponing on and off for a while now. I love it. I love the savings, the free items, I just love it! I don't go all crazy and buy out the store or anything, but when I can get something free it is such a rush!
I dropped the kids off at school today because Brayden is starting a new program where he will be going all week instead of just a few days a week like it was. It was his first day, so I thought it would be nice of me to take him. He was a champ by the way and went like a pro. I was so excited! I adore those kids and to see them grow is so exciting! Anyway, Bryson and I stopped at Albertsons on the way home for some much needed "retail therapy". I am easy, what can I say? I don't need the mall, just give me groceries! :) I think this is the best I have done in a while. I got everything pictured here for $9.13, without coupons it would've been $93.81! That is some good savings! I had to pay $1 for each of the 6 bags of candy, and .20 for the 5 boxes of popcorn, but other than that all I paid was sales tax. So I ended up with 6 bags of Halloween candy(pixie sticks, so I won't be tempted to eat it before Halloween), 6 bottles of milk, 5 bottles of Gain dishsoap, 6 Yakisoba noodles, 4 bags of pasta, 5 boxes of popcorn, 2 lg Miracle Whip, 8 Mentos gum. Not too bad, if I do say so myself!

1st day of school...I had to do it twice!

Well the school year is finishing up its 2nd week today. Wow, it goes fast! Courtni started 2nd grade and loves it so far. She is so smart and always seems to love to learn. I am so glad that is the case and that she really enjoys it. In fact, she is always wanting to play school when she isn't actually at school. Silly girl! She went just fine, she always does. I can tell she is nervous, but she doesn't cry or anything. That should make it easier on me but I think I cried harder this year than the last 2 combined! Maybe that had something to do with Clayton not being there and me having to do it alone. He really is my rock and I lean on him a lot.

Brayden actually started school the day after Courtni. That really was nice because this way I was able to go to the class with each one of them and spend a few minutes together. When we walked out to the kindergarten playground, Courtni got really clingy and wouldn't go over to the "big kid" side. She just started bawling. Where was this coming from?! I was in shock. She said she had held it in for the first day but just needed to cry now. I couldn't argue with that, since I felt like doing the same thing. Luckily Brayden didn't really notice and acutally played on the toys a little bit. I have to say I was so nervous to leave him. He is so stubborn and can be a real turd when he wants to be. I can't get him to do anything that resembles learning for me so I honestly didnt think it was going to go too well. When the bell rang and they all lined up he wouldn't let me go. The principal had to carry him into the classroom by his armpits because he tried to throw himself on the floor and she caught him. I felt like a horrible mom! Here is my super shy guy and I am just leaving him in a building full of strangers. I didn't want to leave! I know he plays it up for me, I am not dumb, but it was still so hard!
When I went to pick them up that afternoon his wonderful teacher told me that he did so good. He even participated!!! That is HUGE for Brayden. She thought I was kidding when I told her that I never ever volunteered an answer in school but I wasn't. Maybe I did in grade school, but once I was old enough to remember very well I didn't. I was so scared. To know that he was participating made me so very happy! What a big boy he is!
I know I say this a lot, but my kids are my life and to know that they are having a good time while they are at school is such a relief! I am one proud Momma!

more craftiness

I have still been in the mood to craft and decorate like crazy! I don't get near as much done as I would like to, but have gotten a few things done recently.
First up is this cute little family sign. I don't think my crappy pic does it justice. It is metal and was painted brown when I bought it at my new fav store Hobby Lobby. It was cute, but I thought it would be even better black with some white distressing. So, I primed it with white primer, and then painted it black. I sanded around each letter and the decorative edging so that some of the white would show through and hung it in my stairway where I am working on a photo wall that is all black and white. Looks great there, I think.
Then I had a gift card to TJ Maxx (that I got free for doing surveys through Lightspeed consumer panel) and found this finial there. It was hideous and gold, but I liked the shape. I put it back down and kicked myself the whole way home. Fast forward over a month, I was in Boise again, so I stopped in to see what I could waste my money on(hehe!) and it was still there. Not only was it there, but it was marked down to $2!!!! Poor ugly little thing. I didn't put it back this time! I was so excited when I got it home. I am pretty sure Clayton thought I was nuts! I taped off the pretty red glass section on the bottom and gave it a good couple coats of primer and spray paint. I wish I had gotten an antique white, but I goofed and got regular. I still think it turned out pretty though. It is broken on top, but it went up on top of my cupboards, so you can't see that part anyway. Not bad for $2!

What do you think? Was it worth a couple bucks? I wish I had gotten a before pic, cause this baby was bad I am linking up to a couple parties again. At Thrifty Decor Chick And tatertots and jello

Drumroll please...

We have a yard! (Please ignore the sad excuse for a garden that didn't work in the background) Finally, there is grass in our backyard! I am so excited...the only bummer is that they told not to walk on it for 3 weeks, just in time for the kiddos to go back to school. Oh well, it will still get plenty of use! It is gorgeous! Who would've thought that grass could be so stinkin pretty?
Clayton told me that he checked out our blog the other day and that I don't have any pictures of our shed finished. Oops. I took them, honest! Life gets busy! So here is for you Clayton, our purdy new shed :)

And here is one with the nice new grass
(ignore Courtni's little booty in the corner, the kids were enjoying the sprinklers from the patio since we can't go in the grass!)
Oh, I almost forgot! We have a nice new patio too! Our friend Matt came and poured it a couple weeks ago along with adding to our front step so noone would fall off and sue us!
It has since cured all the way and is the same color as the existing section.
We have been so busy since we got back from our little vacay. To top it all off, Brayden just turned 5! That is so hard for me to believe! He is going to be a kindergartener in a couple of weeks! He had so much fun! His party (which he decided to have this year after opting out of having one last year) is tomorrow, and I will have to post some pics. He is way into legos this year. Especially Indiana Jones Lego video game so he got some Indy legos as well as just some regular legos. He loves them! He is growing up too fast, I love getting to celebrate bdays with my babies, but sometimes I just want to freeze time and not let them get any bigger!