to each his own

Sometimes I get caught up in "mom mode" and forget to appreciate the awesomeness of watching these little people do things their way.

On Saturday morning, instead of getting annoyed that Declan decided to separate out the cheerios from his milk, I decided to snap a picture.

I love that he is becoming his own creative, free-thinking little man. I don't want him to follow the crowd or do everything his friends are doing. I want him to be an individual. I love that instead of seeing a table, he sees a stage. Instead of a couch, he sees a bungee jumping platform. Instead of a rolling pin, he sees a sword. I love that when strangers say hi to him in the grocery store, he roars like a dinosaur.

He is a daily reminder not to take life or myself too seriously! LOVE that kid!

inspiration from Nate

Last week I was watching The Nate Berkus Show and at the end, he said something about how moving your couch and switching the placement of your lamps can give your living room a whole new energy. Because of where our TV is hung in relation to our fireplace, our giant sectional can really only face one direction. It was kind of centered in the room, away from the wall so you could walk behind it. The only problem was that it created a lot of dead space that no one really used. Except the kids when they are running laps around the living room. I forgot to take a picture before I went all crazy and starting moving the furniture out of the room. Here's an old picture that kind of shows the couch.


So since the couch can't face any other way, I decided to push it back against the wall. Then, I took the nightstands from our bedroom and put them at either end of the couch. I took the white CB2 lamps from the living room and put them on top. The two ladder bookshelves that were flanking the TV were moved out. I brought one back in and put it on this little wall.

The TV looked really naked on the big giant wall by itself. As soon as Jay saw it, he was online looking at 55" TVs. But all it really needed was some sort of entertainment center/console to hold the components and some books and decorative objects. We liked this one from West Elm:

It was on sale for $279 which was great, but it was only 40" wide and on the 17 foot wall, we decided it might look a little silly. We also liked this one, also West Elm:


It was a bit more expensive ($399) and since the TV is already hung on the wall, we thought it was a little low (only 16" tall). And since I am THE most impatient person on the face of the earth, and I want what I want when I want it, I also didn't want to wait to have something delivered. The nearest West Elm is over and hour away plus nothing would fit in my car with 4 car seats in it. So..... we decided to take a family trip to the IKEA. We figured they were bound to have something that would work and since everything has to be assembled we could probably squeeze the boxes in the car somewhere.

***Sidenote: Jay and I decided if we every think we want a 5th kid, we should have to take everyone to the IKEA first. It is always a nightmare. We usually put Ava and Emerson in the kid playroom and I baby bjorn Finlay and we put Declan in the stroller. Usually about half way through one or both of them is screaming. This time it happened pretty much instantly. Even bribing Declan with Swedish Fish didn't work. And everyone usually rides home cramped in the car with boxes on all around them. It makes for a good day! ***

So we get home and take all of the pieces out of the boxes. Here's what we had:


After about 45 minutes, we had this:



Just like when Jay sees an empty wall he needs a bigger TV, when I see an empty shelf I need to buy more "coffee table" books. Good thing I keep an Amazon wish list for these types of emergencies! So this is how it was looking a couple days later.



It still needs some love, perhaps some actual pictures in those frames. And definitely some more books. We also decided to finally (after 2+ years in this house) to hang something on the walls. I blew up 4 pictures of the kids and put them in 16"x20" frames. Here's how they look!


Here's a better shot of the whole room:


I think with some time, it will all come together. The couch needs some throw pillows. The console/media thingie needs some more "stuff". Maybe a big leafy plant in the corner. Eventually, the orange chair might get moved to the basement and maybe an upholstered print slipper chair in its place. I could go on and on! But, here's what I was thinking for throw pillows:







The 1st and 3rd are from Posh House Originals on etsy. The 2nd and 4th are from milk&cookies Canada on etsy.

Even though the room isn't complete, it does have a whole new energy. I'll post pictures as it progresses!

2 adults, 4 kids, 3 dogs & 4 frogs???

Earlier this week, Ava's teacher sent out an email to all the parents asking if anyone would be willing to take care of their class frogs over Spring Break. I (of course) volunteered! The girls have been asking for one of these mini frog aquariums for months, so I figured this would be a good trial run to see if they could handle the responsibility. So, wish us luck! I really don't want to tell a classroom full of first-graders that I killed their class pets.

just to brighten things up

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It's finally starting to feel and look like Spring around here. Today when I looked at my blog, I thought..."ewww...it's so dark and wintery". So here it is, all brightened up! Enjoy!

p.s. Today my project is going through all the baby clothes in the attic. I was inspired by an episode of Hoarders last night!

trying something new

Last week, Jay came home bearing gifts. The first was a new can opener, because our old one ...well, sucks! There's no nice way to put it. It's just awful. I don't know where we got it, or how long we've had it, or why we have complained about it for years but never replaced it. I mean, how much does a can opener cost? Like 8 bucks?

The second was this cookbook from Giada De Laurentiis.

Jay said I'm always saying I could eat Italian food every night (which is true!). I think he's just trying to get me to cook. But regardless of whether it was meant as a sweet gesture or a big hint, I decided to make something out of it for dinner tonight. I decided on Chicken Cacciatore.

So I headed to the grocery store with Emerson, Declan, and Finlay. First stop once inside, Starbucks. Armed with a venti latte (for me), a piece of coffee cake (for Emerson) and a rocky road brownie pop (for Declan), we start shopping. I do not even make it to the produce section (which is the first section, by the way) when Declan had Houdinied (yes, that's a word!) himself out of the cart and is now running through the store grabbing a banana, an apple, a box of Fruity Pebbles, an apple corer, and a bag of rice noodles. Seriously? I can't make this stuff up! I grab him and try to put him back in the cart. He starts hysterically crying/screaming/snotting all over himself. Several grandmas come over and try to help. The first one offers him a grape lollipop which he smacks out of her hand. The next says, "oh, we've all been THERE!" The third offers to block the aisle he is running down with her cart. Finally, I decide that he is not going back in the cart. Well, actually, he kind of decided that. I just went along with it, out of desperation. So we do the rest of our shopping with him walking/running behind the cart with an open box of sour cream & onion bunny crackers. At least he picked something organic, right?

When we get home and I'm unpacking the groceries, I notice that the chicken breasts that I thought I grabbed at the grocery store are actually chicken wings. So instead of the traditional chicken thighs and breasts usually found in Chicken Cacciatore, ours has thighs and wings. Oh well! Here's a look at my chicken browning:


Next I added my chopped onion and red pepper:


Here's my new can opener in action, opening the diced tomatoes:

I put the final product in the crock pot to keep it warm until dinner time. Here's how it was looking:


And here's a look at Declan entertaining Finlay while I was cooking:


Hard to believe this is the same kid from the grocery store!

times they are a changing

This has been Finlay's bed for the last (almost) eight months. When I found this bassinet on Gilt for $269 last summer (instead of its usual $399 price tag), I was immediately sold! I knew it would spend a good deal of time in our bedroom, so I wanted something pretty to look at and not plastic or covered with pastel teddy bears. Jay said it was a waste of money and she'd only use it for a few weeks. Ha! I really only thought she'd spend four of five months in it, but Declan seemed content in his crib. So we decided not to mess with a good thing. But as she inches closer and closer to Cariboo's recommended twenty two pound weight restriction, we decided to bite the bullet and move her to a big crib. So Saturday night was the big night! She looks so small in a normal size crib. It's hard to imagine that the other kids were in one from the time they came home from the hospital. The crib was the last thing to go in Finlay's room, so here's the room all put together:










Here's the happy girl in her new bed:

you know how i love a good collaboration

Before I update you on all the happenings at the Sprinkel household, I had to blog about the newest Target collaboration. Calypso St. Barts is introducing a line of women's clothes, accessories, home decor, even girls and baby clothes at Target on May 1st. Prices range from $1.99 to $74.99. I have my eye on the gold metallic poufs seen below for $59.99. Here's the ad from this month's issue of Lucky Magazine.


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Here's a couple of the other items from the line:


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So cute and just in time for summer!

a note from mom

I'm a big stationary person. Not like a big person who sits around all day, but a person who loves stationary. I love pretty note cards, invitations, and thank you notes. All the kids have personalized stationary. I always order fun birthday party invitations, even when the bouncy house/little gym/pottery studio provided their own. So, why until last week was I scribbling notes to Ava's teacher on sheets of computer paper torn in half? I don't know either. So, I ordered myself some personalized notepads from sarah + abraham. My name is printed at the top and my phone number and email address are printed at the bottom. Simple and cute! Plus, even if the note is about why Ava forgot her homework or why she's wearing two different shoes, it makes me appear organized and together.

new soup for you!

Last night, I made dinner. A real dinner, that didn't involve the microwave. I found this yummy tortilla soup recipe on momfilter. I made a few minor adjustments, like shredding a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store instead of cooking the chicken myself. I used 1/2 of the amount of chipotle they called for. I also used oregano instead of epazote and monterey jack instead of chihuahua cheese. Considering that I rarely (ok, never) attempt recipes that require charring a pepper over a gas burner or breaking out the blender, I found it to be surprisingly easy. There was a point in the recipe where most of the ingredients go into the blender, and it made me question exactly what size blender the person who wrote the recipe has in their kitchen. Because I had to blend it in batches. But in the end, it turned out really well! Like, not only did the kids eat it but they asked for seconds. In fact, my husband is eating it right now for breakfast. It's that good! Emerson even called it world famous.

fun find

There isn't a week that goes by that I don't wish that Cookie Magazine still existed. It was like a bible for cool moms. It had awesome clothes, gear, toys, and decor for kids. It also had recipes, family travel ideas, and stylish un-frumpy mom clothes. It also usually had an effortless-looking celebrity mom and her kids on the cover and a fun article inside with all her favorite kid picks.
As my husband and I toss out ideas about where to take our family this summer on vacation, I found myself missing those issues of Cookie and digging up the ones I have saved. Today, while trying to find an old article online, I stumbled upon momfilter, a blog written by Pilar Guzman and Yolanda Edwards, the founding editors of Cookie. Besides themselves, they also have a lot of awesome contributors, most of whom, in addition to being writers or photographers or editors, are also moms themselves. While it won't fill the void left by the former magazine, it will make it into my rotation of regularly-visited blogs. Definitely check it out!

extreme room makeover...again

I am almost finished with the girls' room. It needs a few finishing touches to make it a bit more cohesive, but it's definitely getting there. The whole reason for their room updates was because awhile back, Jay and I contemplated moving. We found this big old (like 1850 old) house and decided we were going to up and move and completely redo it. Well, after much debate, we decided to stay put... for now. During the "we're totally moving" phase, I had completely designed Ava and Emerson's room in my head. So, although content with the non-moving, I was slightly bummed about not getting to decorate a whole new space for the girls. So, after breaking it gently to Jay, while throwing out key phrases such as "I'll do all the painting", and "I won't spend a lot, I promise", I got started a couple weeks back.

First, I removed all of the toys, books, crap kids hold onto, etc. Then, I took out the bookcase (which was falling apart), the dresser (which was going in Finlay's room), and the desk (which was a huge eyesore thanks to years of crayons, markers, and stickers). The only thing that stayed put is the bunkbeds. And not because I love them (because I actually think they'd be much more at home in Declan's room). But I did promise to not spend a lot. I patched the holes, dings, and dents and then painted the room Benjamin Moore Pigeon Gray (it's a smoky lavender gray). Here it is:



I bought a white Malm dresser and a dark charcoal flip out loveseat (Solsta) from Ikea. Then I bought a basic white 3 shelf bookcase from the Target. I put all 3 together with a little help from Emerson. She collected the boxes and turned them into a small village for her stuffed animals.



Here's a look at the new sofa:



Next up I decided to tackle the wall above the couch. I bought a bunch of white frames and laid them out on the floor until I came up with a pattern I liked. I got the lime silhouette print from A Vintage Poster. The fabric letters are from Anthropologie. The vintage pink pink photograph is from Gabrielle Kai on etsy. The top middle square frame is actually wrapping paper from Paper Source. The print of the little girl drawing is from Sarah Jane Studios on etsy. The two 5 x 7 prints side by side are from DUDADAZE on etsy. The one on the left says, "She believed that the world looked better upside down" and the one on the right says, "She believed in spontaneous dancing". Finlay has the 3rd one in her room and it says, "She believed in make believe". The center bottom frame is a card that Ava made for Emerson one day that says "You uer my fred". The b&w photos I took of the girls outside last week. Here's how it turned out:


The bedding is the Waterfall Ruffle Duvet Cover & Shams in pink from Urban Outfitters (although it's a bit more peach in real life). The lighting is a little off in this picture, but here it is:


Here are some other pictures from around the room. First, the bookcase, with baskets (one to hold hair stuff and the other for miscellaneous trinkets) and magazine organizers (to hold coloring books and such) from The Land of Nod.

Here's the dresser I put together. I got a jewelry organizer from Marshalls and two cloth jewelry boxes from The Land of Nod. The clock radio/CD player is from Target and the lamp and shade are both from IKEA a couple years ago.



Here's a shot of how it all looks together. The curtains are from Z Gallerie and the giant magnetic heart is from Urban Outfitters. The lamp and shade came from Target and the pink toy buckets that were in their room before are from The Land of Nod. The pillow is from CB2.


I'm still looking for a couple elements to pull the room together. Maybe another set of shams on the bed. I'm thinking of a gray and white ikat pattern maybe. Also, would love to replace the toy buckets at some point and maybe get some prettier under-the-bed storage, since you can see it. I love these from Restoration Hardware baby & child, but they cost more than the couch.

Please forgive me!

It's been 46 days since my last confession blog post. Sorry! Here's what you missed:

12 swim lessons
4 basketball games
2 gymnastics classes
3 field trips
1 overnight Girl Scout trip
1 parent/teacher conference
1 trip to Mexico (us)
1 trip to see the grandparents (the kids)
1 baptism
1 new baby ("Osbert" was born on March 5th, but he prefers to be called Bryson now!)
1 birthday party
2 date nights
3 playdates
2 new teeth for Finlay
2 lost teeth for Ava
3 doctors' appointments
1 room painted

and...

46 trips to the Starbucks (just kidding! I was in Mexico for 4 days--so it was really more like 42)

So, now that all of that is out of the way...my upcoming projects are:

finishing decorating the kids' rooms
switching Declan from a crib to a twin bed
painting the laundry room
making our backyard more functional and less of an eyesore

I could add a million other things to that list, but I'm trying to simplify and just work on stuff I have an actual shot at crossing off. First, up the girls' room. I'll post details and pictures soon!

Declan's Dino Party

Today we celebrated my little man's birthday. I have been planning his birthday party for what seems like months, so I am thankful that it was a success...and that it's over! I have realized that I am not one of those moms that can take the easy way out. When it's time to sign up for who brings what to the class parties, I physically cannot bring myself to sign up for the plates and napkins or the jug of juice. No, I am the mom who volunteers to make the cupcakes or the goodie bags. I love a good party, but what's more, I love all the details that make a party really special. I obsess over the menu, the decorations, the favors, the dessert, the outfits...every inch of it.

So here is the breakdown of Declan's party, inch by inch.




Menu:




For the menu, I wanted it to be really kid-friendly foods. So we decided on the following:

-Spinach & Artichoke dip (ready made from the grocery store)
-Homemade salsa & mexican dip with tortilla chips (by my mama)
-Chicken nuggets (from Chick fil-a)
-Mini hamburgers (frozen section at Sam's club)
-Mini bagel dogs (also frozen section at Sam's club)
-Turkey pinwheel sandwiches (courtesy of my mother-in-law)
-Mac-n-cheese (frozen from Sam's club)
-Fresh fruit salad
-Veggie cups
-Pasta salad
-Pretzels
-Goldfish
-Chips
-Cake pops
-Vanilla cupcakes (made from Sprinkles mix) with the Sprinkles buttercream icing recipe

The nice thing about the menu that we chose, was that there wasn't a ton of advanced preparation. We made the pasta salad and sangria Thursday night. We made the cupcakes and cake pops Friday night.
So I've been wanting to make cake pops ever since I stumbled upon Bakerella's blog a couple years back. I decided to take a very simplified variation of her amazing creations. Basically you bake a store-bought cake mix according to the directions, let cool, crumble with your hands, add 1/2 container of icing, form 1 inch balls, and then dip into melted chocolate and then decorate to your liking. We used a devils food cake mix, chocolate icing and then blue candy melts (from the baking section of the Michael's) to coat the cake pops, and assorted colored sprinkles.

They weren't as neat and pretty as I had imagined in my head, but for our first time, they turned out pretty good. Plus, they were sooooooooooo delicious! Here's a closeup:



I think one of my favorite parts of the menu were the little veggie cups I made. I got little orange plastic cups (the size one might have used to make jello shooters in college) and filled the bottom with ranch dressing and then stuck two celery sticks and two carrot sticks in each one. They were great for the kids: super portable and not messy! See:


Decorations:

This banner by Sassy Photo Creations that I found on Etsy hung in the morning room. She also made the cupcake toppers, food tags, and the favor bag stickers.


I also made a photo montage of Declan using my favorite pictures of him throughout the past year. Isn't it cute??

Favors:

I decided to set up a candy buffet of blue, green, and orange candy that the kids could scoop into little treat bags to take home with them.

I also made each kid an initial tote bag filled with dinosaur coloring books, a mini crayon rollup made out of Michael Miller's dino dude fabric (made by My Sunshine Designs on Etsy) and a package of dinosaur-shaped magic grow capsules. The two babies in attendance went home with these mini ribbon loveys in the same fabric (made by The Posh Tots on Etsy).

Everyone seemed to have a reaaly good time. And, like any good party, by the end of the evening, Declan had stripped off his cute T-Rex shirt (available here), slapped on a tie and looked a little something like this: