Home Homey Home

We've checked a few more little projects off the list.. woohoo!  A few weeks ago, I put an all call for help on Facebook... what color to paint our sunroom.  I asked every person who stepped foot into our home as well.  Our home is mostly greys and this green just wasn't cutting it for me.  The furniture would stay so we had to find something that would work. 

The two winning color suggestions were varying shades of yellow and blue.  We eliminated blue right away, since it wouldn't go well with the furniture.  I bought three samples of yellow that we painted up in smaller areas and guess what... I hated them all.  They just didn't work.. too blah, too bold, too bright.

And then I remembered I'm not usually a yellow paint kind of person.  So we nixed that idea.

We tried a gray/blue but it didn't look right with the furniture.

We considered everything from navy blue to white. We ended up going with Weimaraner by Benjamin Moore. The painter who we used to paint our kitchen cabinets suggested that to add an earthy feel to the room.  I wasn't 100% sold but after considering every other color under the sun, we decided to get a sample of it.  And we liked it, so we went for it.

Here's the finished product...

It definitely flows better with the rest of our house and is very soothing!  We are happy with it. I love how it changes with the light throughout the day, sometimes looking more brown and sometimes more grey.

We also finished up some work in the kitchen!  This is the second time in our marriage we have hired someone to do a project in our house for us... we are usually all about the D.I.Y.  But between cabinet doors and drawers, we have 42. And ain't nobody got time for sanding, priming, and painting all of that. So, we sucked it up and hired a painter.  Best money ever spent!  Done in a few days and way better than we could have done.

I saved some pictures of our kitchen from the listing when we bought our house and I'm so glad I did.. the kitchen is hardly recognizable.  I am loving the brighter, less GREEN and oak-ey space.

Before (check out that peek into the dining room too...)

After.. yay!

Making this house a home has been so fun... it feels more like us now that these two projects are done.  Maybe a break for awhile now?  Maybe..

Friday Faves

Here's an ode to all my current faves...

Nalgene sippy cups for my kids

Are you a sippy cup hater like me?  I have tried every.single.cup on the market, looking for one that doesn't leak. This is the only one I've found - the Naglene Grip and Gulp. My kids each have one and really, they don't leak! Plus, it's 12 oz so it holds a lot more than your traditional sippy, which means you don't have to fill it up as often. Holla!

Aldi's Gyro Kit

Aldi's Gyro Kit

If you know anything about me, you know I'm a huge Aldi shopper. I don't care how you justify or do the math, you simply can't beat their prices. The quality is also great and backed by the double guarantee.  If that's not enough, knowing they are owned by the same company as Trader Joes should get you in their doors. And the prices will turn you into a loyal fan. Promise. Anyway, I recently discovered their Gyro Kit. Holy smokes, this is delicious! It takes about 5 minutes to make, costs $6.99, and left our family stuffed. Try it... you won't be disappointed. 

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Just finished this book by Liane Moriarty. It was a page turner! I couldn't put it down. Everything I've tried to read since just hasn't been able to keep me engaged the way this book did. Really, really good.

Benjamin Moore's revere pewter

I painted our family room this color last week. It's such a great neutral. It changes slightly depending on the lighting, sometimes looking more grey and sometimes more tan.  A very warm, soothing color.

Crazy Joy - my friend Katie's  blog

This girl is one of my absolute faves and she's recently revamped her already fabulous blog. She has a gift for writing - she's funny, she's real, has the best tips, and is just generally awesome.  Plus, she loves Jesus.  This post was one of my recent favorites. And this one... it's a few years old but such a great, hilarious story.  You have to read it.. I promise you will laugh. You can read the rest of her stuff here. 

There you have it, folks! A few of my favorites that are too good not to share.  xoxo

What are some things you are currently loving?  

Haircut for Char

Char's first haircut was last weekend. Oh, so cute, but oh so sad to see those curls go. Truth be told, we were starting to see glimpses of mullet so it was time!

Before...

..and after! Such a big boy!

That sucker was the perfect distraction!  He was happy to be sitting on mama's lap and stayed mostly still. He is looking (and acting!) like such a big boy these days.  I can hardly stand it.  

RSV strikes again

I'm desperately trying to stay on top of my blogging... mostly because my memory is horrible and I love being able to look back in the archives and be reminded of the things I should remember. But life with three littles is crazy so I don't get to write as often as I used to. Still, I just can't fly the white flag yet. This blog is not dead! The reality is - most of my life is documented on Instagram these days (annieshoe on Instagram). But I'm just not ready to say goodbye to this sacred space yet. So, I'm going to try to keep it alive.

Anyway, we've had an eventful couple of weeks around these parts. All three kiddos had colds for several days and then last Monday (the 9th), Claire woke up complaining of ear pain.  I decided to take all three kiddos to the doctor because everyone was miserable. Claire was rocking herself back and forth and crying the entire time we were waiting, so I knew she must be in a lot of pain. The doctor said Claire had a terrible ear infection.  She said Claire's eardrum was about as red and swollen as they come and not to be surprised if it bursts.  She prescribed an antibiotic and checked out Emma and Charlie.  She determined they both just had colds and sent us on our way.  Fast forward a few hours and guess what happened?  Claire's ear drum burst!  She woke up from a nap and had blood and puss all over her ear. Poor baby!  Although it actually relieved the pain from the infection.

The week went on and Claire got better, Emma stayed about the same, and Charlie continued to get worse.  Three days later, on Thursday, I decided to take Charlie in for a recheck.  He was on day #4 of a fever, wasn't eating or playing, and had been sleeping more than I felt comfortable with.  He took a 5 1/2 hour nap on Thursday and that just didn't seem right.  I took him in, thinking they would tell me he had an ear infection.  Instead, the doctor said he was wheezing and his oxygen stats were low (93).  They gave him breathing treatment and rechecked the oxygen.  This time it was at 87. The doctor told me I would need to take him to the ER. It was a little unsettling to have your doctor say they couldn't help him and he would need to go to the emergency room! My neighbor met me at the ER and picked up Claire and Emma.

We were met at the entrance to the ER by a team of people who whisked us into a room right away.  They immediately started working on Charlie - hooked him up to the oxygen, put in an iv, started breathing treatments, gave him fluids, and did a chest x-ray. I couldn't believe how quickly they got to work!

It wasn't long before they determined he had RSV and pneumonia and would need to be admitted.  Although the ER experience was much better this time around, I instantly had flashbacks to when Emma had the same thing!

Charlie ended up needing to stay 4 nights in the hospital. They had a hard time weaning him off of the oxygen but by day #4, he was back to his old self and ready to go home!

Justin and I took turns staying the night at the hospital and the girls got to come and visit!  We were there from the 12th to the 16th.  I think Charlie's thing for hospitals on holidays should stop now. ;)

Valentine's Day visit from the big sisters!

Family and friends stepped up to help with the girls. People brought food. People had food delivered from states away. Flowers and gifts were sent. We are so thankful! It's so awesome to see how God uses people to fill in the gaps and serve in different ways when we are in need.

Finally ready to go home!

Here's to hoping spring is right around the corner and we all stay healthy for awhile!

Valentine Fun

Although we spent Valentine's Day in the hospital with a sick little Char Char, we still managed to have some fun celebrating.  The weekend before Valentine's Day, Justin took the girls to a local Daddy/Daughter dance.  They met some neighbors for dinner beforehand and then hit the big par-tay.

Justin is always so thoughtful, even in the midst of craziness.  This was welcoming me home from the hospital on one of my breaks from staying with Charlie.

I took the girls to get donuts on Saturday morning and had a few little gifts for them, too.

Thankful we get to love these sweet kiddos...Valentine's Day or not!

Girls' Weekend!

Some friends and I took a quick getaway trip to Naples, Florida last week.  Despite the fact that we returned to crazy blizzard conditions and I had the scariest drive home of my life, the trip was super relaxing and fun!  Thankful for a free place to stay (thank you, Anne's parents!) and lots of hours to catch up with my bestie!  Hoping for more trips in our future with these ladies.

Bridge and I may have done a little dancing with some folks.  ;)  If you would have seen how cute this older man was, you would have danced with him too.  ;)

 Seriously gorgeous sunsets!

Super fun, warm, and refreshing break!  Thankful for hubbies and grandparents who were willing to help make this happen for these mamas.  

A day in the life

We were overdue for a day in the life post.  So fun looking back on previous posts and thinking about my days in different seasons of parenting. Here's one from 2011 and here's one from 2012.

Here goes... a day in the life 20-15.

My day started bright and early! 5:00 - up to meet my friend Colleen for a morning run.  I always thought she was so crazy going running so early and in such cold weather.  But I gave it a try and now I'm hooked.  Love starting my day this way!

6:15 am - run and shower done.  Time for coffee + Bible before the kids are up!

7:00 - Girls are up and eating breakfast.  Charlie was up about 15 mins later.

Daddy had to shovel some snow... at least the kids were entertained!

7:45 - Goodbye to Justin and Claire!  He took Claire to school on his way to work. 

8:45 - We stopped over at a friend's house for a little while.  Charlie loves their dog!

10:00 - Dropping Emma and her buddy Leo off at school!

11:00 - Charlie took an usually early nap today.  I put him down and began tackling all that is involved in The Running of the Household... paying bills, scheduling appointments, filling out preschool registration for next year... all while drinking another cup of coffee.  Because caffeine.  

                    

12:00- I ate a quick lunch and read a few pages of my book.  

    

1:00 - Prepping food for dinner!  A few minutes later, Charlie was up from his nap and Emma was home from school!

                        

 

2:00 - Rocking the carpool.  Today was my turn to pick up!

3:00 - It was warm enough to play outside today, so the girls couldn't get out there fast enough!

Charlie banged on the window and watched longingly.

4:00 - Mommy gave in to Charlie's grunts and pleas and we headed out to join the fun!

5:00 - Dinner time!  Tonight we had Paprika Chicken, roasted potatoes, and kale and spinach salad.

6:00 - Bathtime and bed shortly after for this kiddo!

7:00 - Reading with the girls... bedtime was soon after.

After the kids were in bed and the kitchen was cleaned up, Justin and I collapsed on the couch after a long day.  

Our life is busy and full and sometimes feels monotonous, but there are so many precious moments packed into these sacred hours.  Thankful for each one.