Are you sick of this remodel yet? Cuz I am!

Okay, so a few more updates. No, we are not done yet. Slow but sure though.


Let's talk towel bars.



I went to Home Depot originally and bought 2 towel bars, toilet roll holder and a towel ring. Seriously, the cost was RIDICULOUS. 27.99 for just an average towel bar..just to give you a feel for it. Well, I was NOT going for it... I returned it all after one trip to Ross.

I got this towel rack for 11.99. I have more fun decor stuff, but it's not up yet. I'll show you as we get closer to completion. I loved this unique towel bar though, and at more than 1/2 off what Home Depot wanted. LAME, Home Depot, LAME.

Here are the towels I got for the bath, but I still have to make the tie backs out of some cording I had from curtains I'd made.



Ok...moving along. Tile is set, not grouted yet though. It's not the NICEST stuff I could have bought, but it works. Let's face it, anything was better than the CARPET and 1980s 12" tiles.




This stuff was 16x16 and only .99c a square foot.

Last update for today is the shower curtain.



I originally went to Target and found a cute Brown one for 30 bucks. HOWEVER, you guessed it, went to Ross. Found this one that works just as well and about the same look for $6.00.

I hate paying full price for anything, in case you weren't sure.

More updates as we make more progress...

Remodel Update

Still plugging away. I can't complain TOO much since the labor and some materials are FREE! LOL

At any rate... Here is a quick update on what things are turning out to be.



Mirror: 50$
Paint: 5$ Oops
Faucet: 90$
Countertop/Cabinets - Free
New Light: 70$



Sink was $40.00

Got some new decor, but I won't put that up/in, until the final cabinet is installed. (Tall linen closet in the back corner).

Also bought some new tile. Carpet has been torn out, but still have some work to do before we set the new tile.

Hopefully by MONDAY evening, there will be more progress. My part you ask? Painting. That is about all the skill I have...and even that is sketchy.

A Day at the Philadelphia Zoo

So, in case you weren't sure, Philly was the FIRST ZOO in America. I'm sure you cared to know that. At any rate, Ash, Nat and I all took our kiddies for a day of fun. If not for Chase's FiTs ALL.DAY.LONG, the day may have been perfect. We were close though!

Since I'm a member of the PHX Zoo, we got 50% off admission, which was nice. They still got us for 12 bucks a pop on parking though. Definitely made me appreciate the PHX Zoo that much more!

We had a great day though. Beautiful weather and saw some animals we don't get to see at our zoo here. (Think Hippos and Polar Bears, etc.)

From left to right: Chase, Wyatt, Miaya, Alexis, Camdon, Hunter


Kind of a dark picture, but the girls definitely stick together!



One of the many fits Chase threw was over NOT wanting to be photographed. The rest of the kids humored us. :)



One of the sweetest things we saw was this mother and her 8 ducklings. They couldn't find their way into this area with a pond..so they were wandering for a while. The actually let the kids get up real close to them though. (At least these ducks aren't contending with the coyotes here in AZ. One day, there are 8, the next day down to 4, the next day down to 1. Poor little ducks...)

Bathroom Remodel

OK. A few pictures and updates. The house I moved into last year was built in 1989. A little older, but I got a fantastic deal, and it really is the perfect size for me and my kiddos. 2354 sq. feet of 1980's decor though.. BLAH. At any rate..I've been slowly making my way through the house.

Pre-move in, we scraped popcorn ceilings, did some painting, upgraded all the light fixtures, painted some cabinets, tore out carpet in the masterbath and did some porcelain tile...the list truly goes on and on. (I've loved every minute of the upgrades though!)

Anyway...finally decided to tackle the guest bath which was in DESPERATE need of a Makeover.


(Yes, Lindsay stained the carpet with hair dye.)


(Not only are we talking 1980's lighting, but the bulbs are toast too!)

A few before shots, including the cheesey cabinets, crappy lighting and countertops and HIDEOUS CARPET flooring. Seriously. Carpet for flooring. HUGE FAIL in my book. :)


(No, you are not seeing things. That is MORE of the AWFUL tile we ripped out of the other area. What were they thinking with this tile?!)

I got the cabinets and countertops virtually free - a few building materials here and there were needed, but most were given to me by Matt. He built the cabinets out of scrap wood from my parents remodel underway.

Home Depot had this Blue paint in the 'oops' for 5$ a gallon for some great exterior paint which will SURELY hold up in a bathroom. We are going to do some striping (chocolate brown, beige, white, blue).


I bought a new light fixture and mirror. We are putting in a tall linen closet that will match the cabinets. New decor, flooring and rugs will complete it. I'll post more as we get through it! But this is just a little sneak peek for ya!


Cherry looking cabinet (minus the doors and the tall linen closet that will go on the left side of it)

I love Love the color of this counter, and seriously, FREE!


Hopefully Much progress will be made tomorrow and I'll have more to report! I still have to finish blogging about my trip to NJ too! Not enough hours in my day...

Taking One For The Team

Aunt Natalie is SOOO good to sacrafice her May 6th Birthday and let Uncle Mike take us all Fishing. We first met up with Mike's parents (the sweetest people on the planet) for Nat's birthday lunch. Then we all headed to a trout farm. Perfect for the kids because the hook had not been in the water more than 30 seconds when we got our first bite! It got to the point where Mike had to stop putting bait on the line because at 5.50 a pound, we were NOT needing to catch any more than 7! All in all, it was a great day.


Chasey's first fish:


Uncle Mike Helping Him


Natalie even joined in to assist.


My boys are expert fisherman, as you can see.


Alexis even joined in the fun!

I assure you, it's coming!

Well, the boys and I survived a 6 day journey/vacation to visit Aunt Natalie in New Jersey. Aunt Ashley and her brood joined us there mid trip.

I REALLLLY need to blog...because we experienced it all!

Including:



Yes.... Wyatt got a tick in his back after camping his butt by the campfire for hours! We didn't notice until the next day, and it was already good and burrowed! Fortunately the one on Chase's ear hadn't set up shop yet..so we flicked him away!

We also enjoyed:



We drove to Mt. Laurel to this Indoor Waterpark and I actually paid Wyatt a BUCK to go down the big slide. He was being a wuss and I don't put up with wussy-ness. Anyway, he made his buck...

We also made a stop at:



Parking was a joke at 12 bucks a car...but we used my PHX Zoo membership and got 50% off the admission for our whole crew! That was nice!

It was the first time that allll 6 of these little cousins had been together.



Very cute to witness..until they all started fighting over stupid stuff like whose turn it was to ride the scooter, or who got the next turn on the Wii. All in all though... Good times.

Although, let's not forget the MANY MANY meltdowns Chase had.



We ALL were tired of hearing his excuse "I'm Too Tired". This was used anytime he didn't want to hug someone, eat something, share something, go do something, nap, etc. He was a little poop. He is 2 though, so I think we all pretty well expected it.

Uncle Mike also took us to a Trout Farm for fishing. I kid you not..the hook was in the water for less than 30 seconds and we got our first bite.



Wyatt caught the only Palomino and REFUSED to let Uncle Mike do anything to it! The other kids caught about 6 more fish..in a matter of minutes. We even stopped putting bait on the line and they were STILL biting! Definitely the perfect fishing spot for impatient children.

We had a BLAST! However.... my REAL pictures are at home on my camera... One of these days, you'll see the real deal... Till then... WAIT LONGER!

Top 10 lines that really make a girl feel special...

OK. NOT.

Again folks, you just can't make this stuff up. These are a few of the lines I got JUST TODAY! If I shared the past months worth, you'd think I was lying...

1. Why are you divorced, anyway? what happened? spit me some bitterness... i wanna taste
2. Come on, time to fess up... i'm hot. say it!
3. WOW, You're the One
4. Your profile puts you out as kinda snobby but I am pretty sure you are not.
5. Actually, there is just no way that you wouldn’t end up finding me amazing. ….
6. That photo of you is a little less-than-flattering on you, but you are a very cute girl!
7. SO...WHAT IF I PROMISE TO MAKE YOU SMILE
8. I KNOW YOU SAID NOT INTRESTED, BUT WOULD LOVE TO CHAT W/U AS A FREIND
9. I see a lady that needs to have all her needs meet physically, emotionally, and that's what I do.
10. I could be just running game but I see something I want I go for it.

Seriously, every day, I get a little closer to just swearing off men forever. If they aren’t insulting you, they are acting like complete idiots. Are there NO MORE NORMAL ONES LEFT?! Blah.

I need a vacation. Good thing I’m off to Natalie’s for a week!