Who loves the park?

These kids do!

Sun Room Mini-Makeover

I don't have too many before pictures, but our sunroom needed a little TLC.  It wasn't in horrible shape, but the walls had a lot of chipping/peeling paint, and overall, it just needed a few decorating touches.  Here is the before:

Brian tackled getting the walls back into shape with some scraping, priming, and painting.  When we were planning Liam's nursery, I was originally going to go with a nautical theme, but ultimately decided against that.  So I figured I would use those few accessories to jazz up the sun room a bit, so those decorations were already in there.

This year, I felt like there needed to be more color and more function to the room.  I grabbed these two pillows from Target, and the life preserver thing with the mirror in it (what's the real word for those?) was leftover from Liam's original nursery idea.  The shells I found at TJ Maxx.  I also have a new area rug for the middle (the blue one was left by the previous owners) but I haven't put it out yet.

ahhh...color!!

ahhh....fresh coat of paint!

ahh...makes me want to go to the beach now!

I always struggled with the other half of the room; we come in and out of the sunroom a lot (it leads out to our patio and backyard) so we are always kicking off shoes, and I have to have a place to store citronella candles, sunscreen, bug spray, etc...  Of course, without a designated place to put those things, they just end up all over the room.

Solution??  Garbage picking!  A few weeks ago, I was driving home after getting the kids from daycare and I spotted 2 wooden fruit crates out with our neighbor's trash pile.  At the time, I had no idea what I would do with them, but thanks to things like HGTV and Pinterest, I seem to have a compulsive need to upcycle various items (including trash).  I had both of the kids in the car, and each crate had a huge roll of carpeting stuck in it, so I called Brian and we had this conversation:

Me: Hey, what's your comfort level with stopping on your way home to pick something out of our neighbor's trash?
Brian: *silence*  Oh, this is a serious question?  I'm going to go with a zero.
Me: What? Why? There are these awesome wooden crates, they're in great shape! (of course, I had no idea if this was true, but I went out on a limb to make a better argument)
Brian: So let me get this straight...you want me to stop on my way home from work while in my suit and go garbage picking at our neighbor's house in broad daylight?
Me: Well, if that makes you uncomfortable, you could always change clothes and go back out in the dark.
Brian: So I should creep around our neighbor's house in the dark?  Even creepier.  I'll make you a deal, you walk down there, introduce yourself and ask if it's ok, then I'll stop and get them for you.

*HAPPY DANCE!*

So, I did just that.  What better way to meet new people than by asking them if your husband can pick up their garbage?  Turns out, it was a very sweet older lady, who was "ticked to death" (her exact words!) that I was going to take them.  She was putting her house on the market and had to clean out and get rid of a lot of stuff.  I was able to call Brian back and sell the whole task as a good deed.

So, back to the sunroom.  I decided they could live there AND be functional!

The 2 baskets were awesome bargains from Gabriel Brothers last summer.  The one on the left has sunscreen, bug spray, hats, Gracie's leash and towel to wipe her feet.  The one on the left has citronella candles.  Our shoes now have a home on the bottom shelf, and the upper shelf is for the blanket that I keep in that room to spread out on the lawn when Liam plays out there. I already had the sailboat, and the sign says "All You Need is Love and Sunshine", which was a pinterest find.

On the window sill are 2 glass bottles with cork tops.  I went to a nautical themed shower a few weeks ago and those were the favors, so my mom gave me hers to use in the room...I filled them up with sand from the kids sand table and viola!  (Thanks Aunt Jodie & Kristin, for the favors---I'm putting them to good use!)  The picture on the wall is one of Jake at the beach the last time we went, and I picked up the frame from Gabriel Brothers.

So, there you have it!  A fresh coat of paint and a few new accessories, and the room is now inviting and provides some storage solutions.

These two really don't like each other.

Nope, not at all.  Not even a little bit.

On a related note, the other night, my heart melted right into the floor when I overheard Jake say (completely unprompted, out of nowhere): I love you so much, baby Liam.  

Liam's 1st Year Slideshow

Confession: I made it the entire party day without shedding a tear, until the very end of this video.

The video is below, or if that doesn't work, here is the direct link:

http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=1079d7e7e10b640dbb82aa2&skin_id=701&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Liam's Wild Rumpus

 
Back story to the "Where the Wild Things Are" theme: since he was probably 5 or 6  months old, Liam has had this thing where he would take my face in his hands and "eat" my jaw.  He's also very ticklish right under his chin, and would giggle like crazy if you would pretend to take a bite of him right in that spot.  Whenever one of those things was happening, I would always say to him, "I'll eat you up, I love you so!", which of course, is a quote from the book.  And since I always love a good theme, I had decided months ago that Liam's first birthday party would be a Wild Rumpus.  (this is going to be long and picture-heavy...you've been warned.)

 The theme details (info about various items at the bottom of the post):

All signs and favor tags were FREE printables from here:  http://blog.hwtm.com/2011/03/bright-modern-wild-rumpus-birthday-party/

Cake, crown, and cookie favor table

cookie favors with tags that say, "Thanks for coming"

close up of favor tag

"Wild Thing" crowns for the kids (and some adults...and the dog...see below)

Paper lanterns above food table

Food table, complete with the inspiration quote :)

drink table

 

Gracie, embracing her inner Wild Thing:

And now, I present to you...the birthday boy!!!

Please note he was not actually consuming anything from this bottle, but the look on his face cracks me up, I had to post this pic (also, please note that the main color on the beer bottle is yellow....while Brian might have questioned my sanity at various points of planning this party, he obviously fully embraced the theme, since he came home with a case of that beer and proudly declared, "Look!  I even got some beer to match the party colors!"  It was a proud moment for me.)

Liam did so well that day, I wasn't sure how it would go over, between the heat and the fact that there would be so much going on, and so many people...but he was great!  He helped open some of his presents (with a little help from his big bro, of course!):

"Oh snap...I get presents??"

And of course, the highlight of any birthday party is always the CAKE!  Cake and smash cake made by Creative Cakes Pittsburgh.

He wasn't happy initially, because we made him put a crown on his head...

But, as soon as everyone started to sing, he immediately stopped crying and became mesmerized by the singing.  Here's a video:

Once he figured out how delicious the cake was, there was no stopping him. We literally had to put a stop to him, by taking the cake away.

I LOVE MY BIRTHDAY!

trying to share with Jake

He got him!

overeat? who, me??

The aftermath: just a naked baby, his crown, and a giant mess.

A huge thank you to the friends and family who joined us for Liam's special day...he is lucky to have such great, loving people in his life, thanks for celebrating with us!!

Party detail information:

Signs and favor tags: Featured on the Hostess with the Mostess blog
http://blog.hwtm.com/2011/03/bright-modern-wild-rumpus-birthday-party/
Crowns: PaperMart Party Supplies
Cookie favors: Giant Eagle bakery
Paper Lanterns: Dollar bins at Target (once again, this is why it's so important to always stalk the dollar bins!!)
Cake and smash cake: Creative Cakes Pittsburgh
Cup labels and drink signs: I made them, using the images from this invitation (featured on the blog linked above)
Liam's bib, birthday banner and catch mat for highchair: Dollar Tree

The menu:
Tastefully Simple Fiesta Dip
Tastefully Simple Spinach and Herb Dip
Fruit Salad
Hamburgers
Hot Dogs
Baked Beans
Halushki
Pasta Salad

Pop
Water
Lemonade
Juice Boxes
Vodka Lemonade
Sangria
Beer