Migonis Home

A Day in the Life

2013-06-19T15:40:00.003-04:00

I love it when blogs do their “Day in the Life” posts… for some reason I love reading about other’s mundane days, especially other moms, and seeing how they do it. I decided to attempt to do this by taking a photo every hour-ish… and if no one else likes this then I can look back in a few years and remember what it was like on this very day… which feels very much like a normal day of ours (except, almost always only one of us is at the rental and the other stays with the kids… yesterday was an exception). This is long. But I wanted to remember every detail. J

5:30am

Elle wakes up and is bright eyed and bushy tailed. She’s my girl getting up at the crack of dawn (although somehow since marrying AJ I’ve learned to sleep in a little more, maybe it’s because we just go go go while being awake. J) We creep downstairs so we won’t wake up AJ and Drew and snuggle on the couch. I read a mini devotional that I keep on the coffee table. I love this little snippet from this morning: “You are my beloved child, I chose you before the creation of the world to walk paths uniquely designed for you.” While snuggling we both fall back asleep.

6:45am

AJ comes downstairs and I hear “Mommy! Mommy!” so I bring Elle upstairs to sleep and jump into bed with Drew to cuddle for a few minutes before he starts begging me to go downstairs where all his cars are. We go downstairs and I cut up some pineapple, cantaloupe and grapes for Drew breakfast and AJ’s lunch.

Drew wants oatmeal for breakfast for I make that and then sit down with my Crunchy Granola Raisin Bran and the laptop. I need to input this week’s offering from church while we eat. It’s a mindless task and Drew and I talk while I do it. I realize that while he asked for oatmeal his indesiveness is coming out and he actually didn’t really want oatmeal. I make this little game to get him to eat five more huge bites. He won’t get a number crossed off unless his bite is big enough. J

Drew gets down after eating and I finish inputting the offering and then quickly check some blog comments while Drew plays with his cars. I clean up breakfast.

8:15am

I need to start getting ready and Drew has a dirty diaper so we make our way upstairs to clean up. Elle wakes up so I nurse her in the big comfy chair in Drew’s room while he plays with his trains and brings me books to read.

After nursing I pop Elle in her vibrating chair (with the broken batteries) and take a super quick shower. I get the kids and myself dressed.

10am

I exchange a few quick emails with AJ about the rental property we are working on and then the kids and I head out to the bank to deposit the offering. Drew decides he wants a purple pop today (which ends up on my shirt as I load him back into the car). The ladies at the bank all know him by name and love him.

We drive back home quickly because I forgot to load the rug I ordered for a transitional home for women. It needs to be there today so I awkwardly lug the 8x10 rug out into the car (the kids are in the car with the air on).

10:35am

We arrive at Home Depot to grab a couple of things for the rental and then go to Target for toiletries, diaper and wipes.

11:15am

We arrive at my parent’s house (it’s a couple of miles from the stores) so that I can change Elle and feed her (I heard those dreaded sounds in Target and I knew I should change her asap). Kim, my sister, happens to be there using their printer to finish up some grading for school (she is already done for the year and AJ still has to go till the 27^th!). Drew brings her all over the house and then runs around the block with her. Kim is sweating when she returns which is a testament to today’s humidity and Drew’s non-stop energy. Kim and I talk for a few minutes and we head out to drop off the rug and meet the Verizon employee who will be to our house around noon.

12:15pm

Drew falls asleep after I drop off the rug and I carry him into the house. Elle is in and out of sleep so I lay her next to me while I eat some yogurt, granola and fruit and catch up on blog reading and emails.

I snuggle with Elle until my phone goes off (darn me for forgetting to put it on vibrate!) and I hear Drew wake up because of the phone. I go up and comfort him and cuddle with him and thankfully he is tired enough that he goes back to sleep.

I used the time with the two of them sleeping to throw a load of laundry in and clean the kitchen and living room. The living room still looks like a disaster because of six giant cabinet boxes for the rental taking up space.

2:15pm

Wake Elle up to nurse because I’m taking her to the rental to clean the kitchen.

3pm

I leave Drew with our friend Olivia after giving him some Annie’s Mac and Cheese because he fell asleep before eating lunch. Even though he’s only met her once before I feel great leaving him because he’s already acting like his funny goofy self and has latched on to her. A sleeping Elle and I drive up to Gloucester and meet AJ at the house. The kitchen I’m cleaning is sort of icky although NOTHING like some of the others I’ve seen and cleaned in other rentals or the house we flipped in Lynn.

AJ finds the largest adult diaper ever. Ever.

4:45pm

I leave Gloucester and come home to shrieks of happiness (possibly one of the best sounds ever). Drew is on the verge of hysterical laughter playing hide and go seek. He hasn’t quite mastered the game as he collapses in the middle of the floor and yells out “hide!”. J

I chat with Olivia and Steven (her bf) for a while and after they leave Drew plays cars on the rug by my feet in the kitchen, and Elle hangs out in the Baby Bjorn (Best. Invention. Ever. Feels like she’s getting held while I have my hands free!). I make turkey meatballs and some pasta (the kind with a serving of veggies in each portion) for dinner.

6:30pm

AJ gets home after finishing up at the rental and dealing with a broken fridge at a single family we just rented (luckily it was only about 10 minutes away from where we were both working). He takes a quick shower and we do dinner.

7pm

The “Clappy” show is on (Wheel of Fortune) so we watch it, like we do most nights, and Drew calls out letters and claps. At 7:30pm we brush his teeth, put some PJs on him and then read stories as a family. I wish I had a photo of all of us cuddled into Drew’s twin bed but I don’t. L AJ and Elle go downstairs and I lay in bed with Drew and talk about his day… we have a routine and he knows I ask him if he’s had a good day and we talk about everything he did that day and then I remind him how much we love him and to call us in the middle of the night if he wakes up scared. We pray and I give him so many kisses he starts pulling away from me. J

8:30pm

AJ and I sit in from of the TV for a little bit (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is playing), Elle is sleeping in AJ’s arms, and I take her and try to do one last nursing in hopes of her sleeping through the night. She doesn’t wake up.

9:45pm

AJ and I catch up on the day and I crash in bed knowing I will be up in the middle of the night.

And there you have it...

the glamorous life of the Migonis Family! :)

PS: I stumbled upon this old post that I wrote to Drew right around the time he was Elle's age now (he was three weeks older). He was so little! It's so healing to read how God changes our hearts and prepares us for what He gives to us!

House Tour: The Woodgrain Cottage

2013-06-18T09:10:00.000-04:00

Today I am bringing you a great home tour from Shayna at The Woodgrain Cottage. Shayna has such amazing projects and ideas... I never fail to be inspired by her. She'll want me to let you know her house is a work in progress and it's not done yet... but for not being done it still looks fab. :)

Shayna and her hubby built their house and now are in the process of making it their own... don't you love her stripped entryway?

Here is her mini mudroom:

Shayna's dining room is still a work in progress but I love how it opens up to all the other rooms.

Her kitchen was one of the first dark kitchens that I really liked...

what is it about it that makes it seem so open and light even though the cabinets are dark? What's your opinion?

Here is her breakfast nook with the bench she and her hubby made:

What would I give for a laundry room like this?!?!

This fabulous driftwood mirror is in Shayna's bedroom... isn't it so coastal? It is on top of a whitewashed dresser she revitalized.

Thank you, Shayna, for letting me share your gorgeous home!

If you missed the last home tour I featured click here to see Bre's gorgeous beachy home.

Makeover Monday: A Rental's Quick Changes

2013-06-17T11:47:00.000-04:00

Remember how I showed you the three family we purchased recently? Well, we currently have tenants in two of the units (phew!) and will have the first floor unit rented on July 1 (yippee!). Let me show you the transformation of the living room on the second floor. AJ and I aren't turning this house into a luxury rental. And we acknowledge that's just that... a rental. Not our house. So we've made decisions with this rental and other investment properties that we wouldn't necessarily make with our own home because we know generally renters are more rough with the apartments / houses than they would be if it were their own home.

This looks a little better, right? :)

The walls are done in Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter and the trim was just a five gallon bucket of white AJ got at Home Depot.

These hardwood floors were under that green rug, can you believe it? Why in the world would someone cover them up? We wanted to find a rug to cover the unfinished wood in the center of the room and wanted to keep to a budget of $100 or under. Do you know how hard it is to find a 9 x 12 rug that looks decent for under $100? I ended up finding one at Ocean State Job Lot that was a simple Berber rug for $80 with a runner included.

AJ took a can of spray paint and brought the radiator back to it's original glory (who would put a radiator on that gorgeous mantle is beyond me!).

The bathroom in this unit needed some serious help as well, but it was nothing that a little paint, some cleaning and new flooring couldn't change. Here is the before:

And the after...

We used $1 peel and stick tiles from Home Depot and used more of the Revere Pewter. Even though it's way more fun to pick out various color we've learned the hard way that it's much easier on us to stick to one color (then we don't forget what we used, it's easy to grab one can and touch up the whole apartment, etc). The space isn't perfect but it's a lot better than it was!

I'll be sharing more about the space, including the first floor total kitchen overhaul, within the next month. The cabinets have come in and the granite was ordered on Thursday... we are branching out from anything we've done before and are doing a very dark cabinet with a light (white-ish) granite countertop. Are you excited to see the transformation? I am... especially since that means we won't have an entire kitchen's worth of cabinets in our living room anymore. :)

It's a PAAARty!

2013-06-14T11:55:00.001-04:00

Our Internet hasn't been working the past couple of days so I am at my parents' house quickly putting together these gorgeous photos.... My friend Heather is the most creative party planner I know and she just threw her son Mason's third birthday in typical fabulous Heather fashion. Not only is she a great planner but she's a fabulous photographer as well... I'm sure you'll get some inspiration from this party even if you don't plan on throwing your own pirate party anytime soon...

Could that be any cuter?

We are heading up to Mt. Washington in NH tonight so AJ can run the famous Mt. Washington race tomorrow morning. My BFF called it "the race from hell"... I think that sums up 7.6 miles up a mountain pretty well. :)

Hope you have a wonderful weekend whether you are hosting a party or running a race or just hanging out! I have some fun posts in store for you next week including a makeover and a house tour. :)

Beachy Chic

2013-06-12T15:31:00.001-04:00

What's beachy chic and not so wobbly you fear for your life every time you sit on them?

Here is the story of how having a rental property can help you find some great bar stools...

It's 9:30pm on Sunday night. AJ receives a text from some new tenants that are moving into one of our properties telling him that they have been moving for 14 hours and that the new shower curtain rod AJ left for them won't cut it. It's a drill in the wall kind and after just moving they have no idea where their drill is and they are desperate for a shower (the text we received wasn't quite that gracious). It's far better to get a text like this than to get one telling you a hot water heater has burst and is flooding or something equally hideous. So, I say to AJ that he can take ours up there. I'm not totally selfless because honestly I was noticing a few tiny rust marks on it while showing the other day and it was driving me crazy... so that meant we could get another shower curtain rod and our tenants would be happy and probably not even notice the rust spot that my slightly neurotic self saw.

So the next day I was on a mission to Marshalls with the kids to find a shower curtain rod. Easy, right? No, Marshalls only had black ones. Bummer. ("Oh Bunter" as Drew would say. :)) It's sort of hard to go into Marshalls and not just peek around, right?

Well, we found a little book for Drew that shows all kinds of cars and he's always asking me to tell him their "real names"... that's a Hummer, Drew. That's a Ford Escape, etc. After looking at the books we meandered over to the furniture. For months we have been on the search for the perfect bar stools (my parents gave us money towards them for our last anniversary). Something original, sturdy and child friendly. We haven't been ready to commit to anything but on our date night a couple of weekends ago spotted some sea grass bar stools that we loved at Pier One. They were around $140 each. We decided to think some more about them. These ones are the backless version of the Pier One bar stools... for $60 (each!) cheaper. After screaming inside with happiness I raced to the front of the store with children, a new book and potty chair in tow, and grabbed a cart. I had no idea how I was going to get the kids, the potty chair and the bar stools to the front in one piece but I was determined that no one else would get their hands on my stools. I'll admit it, I looked like a crazy woman trying to carry a bar stool and push a cart but whatever. No one will ever recognize my yoga panted self and I beat out every other customer for the bar stools. :)

So... there is the story of how a rental property helped us get bar stools. We are still thinking about them because they will have to be shortened and they are backless. Everything we have seen will have to be shortened for the island...

Beachy chic (as my friend Heather said when she saw them), right? :)

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Everything's Better on the Beach...

2013-06-11T04:00:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Summer Celebration... I'm thrilled you are joining me if you are popping in from another blog!

If you didn't know, I was an event planner pre-Drew. Well, I guess I still am, although I don't get a salary to do it anymore. :) I really wanted to create a fabulous tablescape for a romantic beachy dinner. I'm a sucker for blues, coral, hydrangea and driftwood... hence this tablescape:

I'm in love with the tablecloth fabric... I used it to do my first reupholstering project here.

My mom found the driftwood at this discount store called Reny's in Maine. I'm in love with that store... it's sort of like an Ocean State Job Lot or Christmas Tree Shops...

I made the rope wrapped vases here in anticipation for this tablescape. They were such an easy project that lends coastal feel to any arrangement now. The hydrangeas are from Trader Joe's and still look fabulous a week after shooting this tablescape.

I found this wine for $3.99 at Trader Joe's. It's made from organic grapes and I think, in my humble, non-connoisseur's opinion, is quite good.

I love this little wine plate. Someone gave it to us as a house-warming gift a few years ago. It's from Mariposa and is so beachy (their headquarters are right here in Manchester!).

I tied the silverware into a simple cloth napkin from Target with a small piece of rope to further add to the coastal feel.

You've got to check out House by Hoff's fabulous three tiered planter... and then make sure you pop over to Mom 4 Real tomorrow, I'm sure she'll have something super creative planned!

I would love if you would comment with a link to one of your favorite tablescapes that you have created recently... It's so fun to gain inspiration from all of you!

Linking up to: http://www.cleanandscentsible.com/ | http://tatertotsandjello.com/ | http://betweennapsontheporch.net/ | http://missmustardseed.com/ | http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Dedication Fun

2013-06-09T21:33:00.001-04:00

Today we dedicated Elle at church and then had family come back to our house after the service for a simple lunch. I wanted the decorations to be simple, inexpensive and yet elegant.

When we got married we registered for the Pottery Barn champagne bucket. I adore the shape and how elegant it is. It was the foundation of my $6 arrangement. Yes, that enormous arrangement cost me $6.

Trader Joe's had these amazing white snapdragons for $6 a bunch and I filled the rest of the vase with ivy that I snipped off from our tree out back. I have a bunch of snipped ivy in hopes of generating some roots on them so I can transplant them to window boxes and a couple of other locations.

I set up a buffet on the kitchen table and we ate outside since it was such a gorgeous day. Our meal was simple with grilled chicken (I did two different types of marinades... Lowry's Santa Fe Chili is amazing), a salad my mom made and corn on the cob. Easy breezy.

Here is the star of the day! Elle's dress is Ralph Lauren and it is one piece of clothing I will definitely save of hers. It is so adorable, girly and well made. My mom found it in Lord & Taylor in a bigger size so I just ordered it online... love snagging his stuff of clearance!

This is Gram (my mom's mom). She's basically a dream grandmother.

Doesn't Elle look so peaceful with my mom? Mom and I showed up at church this morning wearing the exact same necklace (Stella and Dot). You aren't seeing any photos of me today because I didn't look so good in any of them... :(

This has to be one of my favorite photos of all time:

Kim (my sister), Gram and Papa

Isn't Gram's necklace dynamite?

This photo is pretty awkward but I thought Drew and AJ were adorable in it. :)

There you have it... our super simple dedication Sunday where we committed to raising Elle in a Christian home and being solid Godly examples to her. It was such a great blessing to be surrounded by family and church friends who will help us do that!

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Today is the first day in the Summer Celebration series. Head on over to Making Home Base to check out Chelsea's great nautical wreath!

Sprayed Baskets

2013-06-07T04:00:00.000-04:00

Introducing the newest addition to the little girl's room...

Here is what I started out with:

I found these baskets at Christmas Tree Shop but hated the Asian Newspaper coloring but loved the shape and size.

Enter in some Rustoleum gray primer and some aluminum foil on the handles and 10 minutes later (plus the obvious drying time) I have baskets that are much better suited for Elle's room.

Much better now, right?

I couldn't resist the irises and snapping a few for her shelf. After all, if I am waking up in the middle of the night for feedings I might as well have something pretty to stare at... in addition to my girl. :)

Although, she did sleep through the night the past two nights. Hallelujah!

I read in House Beautiful once that every room should have a touch of black... I don't agree with that but I do think every room should have something dark to ground it and add interest. These baskets will pull the gray out from the crib skirt and the curtain bottoms.

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My grandparents are up from Florida and we visited a friend this morning so I decked her out in an adorable little outfit from Baby Gap for our visiting today:

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I'm now on Hometalk:

You can follow me here!

Journey into Reupholstering (Part 2)

2013-06-06T06:28:00.000-04:00

It's here! $30 Thursday ... I'm showing off the chair I reupholstered, which means I did something I thought I couldn't do (or at least couldn't do well). And while there are parts that certainly aren't perfect I still love it!

Remember when it looked like this:

Don't you love the new fabric? It's from Joann Fabrics, it was $10 a yard and then I had a couple of coupons I combined to make it around $5 a yard. With a Parsons chair like this one you'll need around three yards of fabric (Joann Fabrics has a handy dandy chart to tell you how much to purchase depending on the type of chair you are reupholstering).

It was really easy covering the buttons. There is a simple button covering kit from Joann's that is fantastic... I pretty much covered all of them during one episode of The Big Bang Theory (that show is hysterical). But what was tricky stitching the top corners. This is what I have so far, but I'm going to redo it with blue thread. The hard part was making it as unnoticeable as possible so my next step is to ask my mom what to do (that's my solution for many life issues. :)).

I used tack strips for the sides of the back...

... and then used a rubber mallet (from Joanns) to pound down the tack strips.

These sides were the hardest part... the tutorial I was using was for a Parson's chair and if this chair didn't have the small rounded edges it would have been a thousand times easier! There are a lot of hidden staples holding those pieces of fabric in place.

The front corners and right around the legs were also tricky. This is another spot I am going to come back and sew a few stitches with some blue thread. This spot exemplifies a lot of what reupholstering the chair was like: tucking, stapling and adjusting. I will tighten up the bottom around the legs once I sew the seams together.

Once the chair was done I still had a bunch of loose ends from the fabric that were stapled under the chair. I used some navy fabric I had on hand and stapled it under the chair so that I have no loose ends showing anywhere.

Here it is in the house! Don't you think it looks a lot better than the mildew-y pink one that was sitting there pre-reupholstering? :)

The view looking into the living room... and the view looking at my next project (the farmhouse table):

Since it's $30 Thursday I'll do a project cost breakdown:

I actually spent more for the initial materials for this

Chair: $1

Fabric: $5.40 per yard x 3 yards = $16.20

Upholstery Tacks = $10 (but I still have some leftover)

Batting: About $8 (but have half leftover)

Buttons: $5

So it looks like the total cost is $40ish but since I have extra materials leftover I'm going to call it a $30 Thursday project. :)

I am not counting the cost of the upholstery needles and or rubber mallet because I'll use them on (hopefully) a bunch of other projects! They came to about $15.

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Time to check out the other fabulous projects from $30 Thursday...

I am officially obsessed with Shayna's driftwood mirror... read all about it at The Woodgrain Cottage.

Isn't April's new bathroom towel rack fabulous? I love it!

Check it out at House by Hoff!

Have a wonderful day! We have Elle's two month check-up this morning and are visiting a friend before heading over to my parents' house... My grandparents are up from Florida and I'm just dying to get over there and see them! :)

After our walk yesterday... Baby Bjorns are amazing... If you didn't know me how old would you guess I was?

Oh, and I forgot to share with you this amazing sea glass I picked up at Christmas Tree Shop, it was $1.29 per bag and this is only two bags... I'm going back for more, aren't the colors amazing?

Linking up to: http://www.cleanandscentsible.com/ | http://tatertotsandjello.com/ | http://betweennapsontheporch.net/ | http://missmustardseed.com/ | http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/

Irises are Blooming!

2013-06-05T13:34:00.000-04:00

I could look at these all day.

Wouldn't it be nice if they would just last forever? It would also be nice if I could find a day to photograph them when I can capture how truly beautiful they are... but so far no luck. :(

Come back tomorrow and see what project I've been working all week on! I'll give you three hints: ... it's in the kitchen. ... coral is involved. ... I've had to recover buttons for it. What are your guesses?

Elle's Bed Skirt

2013-06-04T13:57:00.000-04:00

You know how I mentioned that Elle's dedication is this coming weekend at church? Well, I have a little list of things I've been trying to get done before that happens and family joins us for lunch back at our house. One of those things was to have the bed skirt on the crib so my Gram could see what Elle's room will look like. Remember how I asked your opinion on the fabric? Here is what we chose for the bedskirt... and my fabulous mother made it!

I found a Pottery Barn crib sheet and was almost identical to the purple in the fabric of the bed skirt and bumper (my mom is still working on that... it's more involved than the skirt).

I love this photo, it captures so much of what it's really like around here (although usually there are about a thousand toys everywhere). Drew is so curious about Elle and wants to watch her and I am always in the background just making sure he doesn't have a toy dangerously close to her face (I'm praying he'll understand soon that toys and eyes don't mix).

Rarely when I shoot photos do I show you how all the rooms connect so I thought I'd show you that I just love how the bathroom and Elle's room work so well together. I love how there are purples and grays in each of the rooms... and then our bedroom works with the bathroom because we've got the pinks and gray theme going on...

Got to scoot, Elle is waking up!

Rope Vases

2013-06-03T14:45:00.000-04:00

I did a simple project yesterday with some old juice glasses that were sort of icky looking... you know when you leave water in a glass too long with flowers and it leaves this residue that you just can't get off the glass? That was the problem with these glasses. I was inspired by the Seagrass Hurricane vases from Ballard Designs and wanted to put these old glasses to good use. I am part of a blog summer celebration series next week and am doing a summer tablescape on the beach so you are getting a mini preview today of one of the elements on my table:

It was incredibly easy to do. I used some rope I had left over from Drew's trash bucket and just used the same technique I did with that to wrap a few rows of rope around the bottom of the glasses. The whole project probably took me around 10 minutes. Here are the supplies you need:

Glue Gun, Rope, Old Juice Glasses.

The Baby is an optional, and cute, addition for any project prep. :)

I got these gorgeous hydrangeas at Trader Joe's this morning as Elle and I ran a zillion errands (every Monday morning Drew goes to his friend's house).

The rope came from Home Depot and you'll see it in action again next Wednesday during the summer series I'm a part of... start getting excited for some great summer ideas from some really inspiring bloggers!

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On a different note, I wanted to share this link to a super short article that I read yesterday... for any mother or father sitting in church with a child(ren) who won't be quiet read this... It brought tears to my eyes because that is us every Sunday (like a few weeks ago when Drew yelled out "no!" in the middle of the sermon at a 'perfectly timed' spot...).

AJ's 35th Birthday is today we are celebrating in style tonight with lobster and friends which means I need to step away from the computer and start cleaning like a crazy woman... The house needs a little lovin' (but what house with a toddler doesn't need constant cleaning?).

Journey into Reupholstering (Part 1)

2013-05-31T06:42:00.001-04:00

Remember when I told you AJ brought this chair home for me over Mother's Day Weekend?

He picked it up at White Elephant Outlet for $1. Score! I love the lines but hated the mildew and the disgusting amount of dirt I pulled out of the inside of the chair while removing the upholstery. Here is what I've learned while going... I'm attempting to remember how it was put together so I can recreate it. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves!

My goal is to have it done for Elle's dedication on June 9... things are slow going because for some reason D and E have decided not to nap at the same time lately... don't they know I am itching to get this chair done? :) Speaking of the little rascals... here they are in their coordinating outfits that my mom got for them!

And, here's a tip for any of you who are having trouble getting your kids to eat their meal... have a car feed it to them. It usually works at our house. :)

What are your plans for the weekend?

Baby Band

2013-05-29T14:14:00.000-04:00

Elle's dedication is on June 9 and I wanted to make her something special to wear with her dedication dress (I'll give you a hint on the dress... Ralph Lauren... need I say more to give you an indication that it is fabulous? :)). Her dress is pink so I wanted to bring in some gray (you know how much I love the pink and gray color combo... just take a look at our master bedroom).

Here's how to make your own Baby Band:

Gather these supplies, minus the ribbon (I learned the hard way that gluing the ribbon to the elastic will make the elastic not move, hence, defeating the purpose of the elastic (you're probably thinking "well, obviously"). All supplies were from Michaels: a piece of felt, flowers and elastic. The total cost came to about $5 with the 40% off coupon I used for the flowers but I have tons of extra elastic and an extra flower. Maybe I'll make myself a matching headband. :)

Measure your child's head and make the elastic a smidge longer than that to allow for overlap when you glue. Use a hot glue gun to glue the ends together on the back of the flower.

Cut a circular piece of felt to cover the ends of the elastic and lightly glue into place.

There you have it, an adorable little baby band!

Here's my model.

She wasn't working it for the camera.

I kept trying to get her to smile. :)

A Quick Kitchen Reno

2013-05-28T06:47:00.002-04:00

We all love a good makeover right? Well, AJ and I decided to try something new with our makeover in the kitchen at the three family we purchased in Gloucester. We decided to go dark. You all know I'm a fan of bright white kitchens but I wanted to expand my horizons. But, here's the thing with planning this kitchen. Everything needs to be done fast. It's going to be a rental which means if we don't get it done by our set date of July 1 we are losing rental income. Here are some ways we planned out a complete kitchen renovation to be done in a month time period.

TIP #1

We ordered these cabinets from Home Depot. It's their "in stock" cabinets that aren't really in stock, they are able to be shipped to the store in one to two weeks (to give you a frame of reference, the cabinets we ordered through the Thomasville line at Home Depot took about two months to arrive).

The wood material of these cabinets is so much nicer, and feels so much more quality, than the fake coating that is put over their white in stock cabinets. We got the look of higher end cabinets without spending much more money... and, as an added bonus, we didn't have to put them together like we did with IKEA's cabinets when we used them in a past rental kitchen.

TIP #2

The next thing we did to save time was order appliances from Lowe's that were already in stock at the store (you can have that be one of your search requirements on their website). I've found Lowe's to be cheaper than Home Depot for the appliances we are looking for and typically you can get stainless appliances that aren't that much much their white ones.

We purchased this fridge, dishwasher and range.

TIP #3

Typically it takes a long time to get counters through a place like Home Depot or Lowe's. We have had great experience with a granite place near us. The turn around can be as quick as two weeks from when they do the template. I am going to call around to a few granite places and find out what light colored granite remnants they have in stock. This will save us some money if we can find a great remnant!

The Kashmir White granite I'm hoping for...

We figure that if you spend a little more on the granite, verses a countertop you have to wait a little longer for, you will make up for it in rental income if you can get a person into the unit more quickly.

TIP #4

Because the kitchen will be in just a rental, not anyone's forever home, we are putting a vinyl floor in that is in stock at Home Depot. It's has been our experience that tenants are typically rough on surfaces and we may need to replace it so we don't want to put anything too precious on the floors and AJ isn't up for tiling the entire kitchen floor. Armstrong's vinyl floor was made for easy installation which will save a bunch of time over tiling or laying hardwood.

Bayside Slate from Home Depot

HAVE YOU EVER DONE A SPEEDY KITCHEN RENO? WHAT ARE YOUR TIPS?

And for those of you wondering how we are doing it with a new baby and Drew... it's simple... we take turns going up there after AJ finishes work for the day... getting out at 2:30 is one of the benefits of being a teacher. :) And I'm able to carve out a good chunk of time to be up there by feeding Elle before leaving and then leaving from milk in the freezer (I pump in the middle of the night) and then feeding right when I get home. It's really nice to have the peace and quiet to just paint... :)

What to Bring...

2013-05-24T16:09:00.001-04:00

Have you ever signed up to bring a meal to someone who just had a baby or who is sick? And then do you regret signing up because you feel completely clueless about how to proceed after you foolishly signed up to bring dinner?

Yeah, that's been me too. I always feel stumped. And then enter in Dave and Linda Carlson, two fabulously generous folks at our church. They know how to do a meal right. It's like their spiritual gift. When we had company almost every weekend when Meredith was in the hospital for the heart transplant we were the fortunate recipients of two meals from the Carlsons. Here is what I've learned (and how we reciprocated tonight after Linda had knee surgery):

Bring a healthy meal and find out what the recipient wants if you meal sign up system doesn't have guidelines (we used Take Them A Meal, it's amazing and allows the giver write in what they are bringing so the recipient doesn't get lasagna every night).

I made a BBQ Chicken Salad, which was incredibly easy, and made enough for AJ and I to have for dinner. The meal is simple and healthy. I kept the dressing and tortilla chips on the side for sogginess reasons (is sogginess a word??)

The photo above shows two of the best tips I've learned for bringing a meal:

1. Include breakfast or something for the next morning. Is it necessary? Nope. But it makes the meal feel that much more special and it made us feel well cared for when our friend Tess did that for us after Elle was born.

2. Give some flowers. Also not necessary but in the craziness of sickness or a new baby it's nice to have the simple pleasure of some fresh flowers.

Tell me you don't look forward to dessert during dinner. And tell me that there isn't part of you that isn't remembering that you should be part of the clean plate club before eating dessert... (One of the benefits of being an adult... not needing to finish you dinner before breaking into the ice-cream... :))

What are your go-to meals for pampering someone?

I can't wait to share with you our kitchen renovation plans for our new makeover next week... come back next week and see some of our progress! (If you missed yesterday's post you can see the house in all of it's glorious BEFORE-NESS here.)

It's A Doozy

2013-05-23T21:43:00.002-04:00

You know what we love?

Seeing a house like this and dreaming about the possibilities.

We bought this three family in Gloucester last week.

It's a doozy.

Green shag carpets with sunflower yellow walls and trim.

The ugliest linoleum you ever saw and fake wood paneling.

Pile tile in the second floor kitchen and first floor bathroom.

Enough said.

Stylish drapes in almost every room.

Here's the first floor kitchen.

It's a piece of work. Literally.

I painted in the kitchen and in the back bedroom for about three hours today...

in the midst of AJ's starter dying in the driveway and having his truck towed.

I can't wait to show you the progress as we move along...

I've been using Ben Moore's Revere Pewter so much that it is coating my body right now.

So tell me, does this house make you scared or excited? :)

Trimmed and Bleached

2013-05-21T05:00:00.000-04:00

Did you think I meant my hair when you saw the title? Did you think I'd have a bleach blonde bob? Nope, nothing quite that exciting.

Although, looking at these before photos of our crab apple tree and the horrible algae on the front of our house and now seeing that it is so much cleaner that may be better than a haircut! I removed the algae with some bleach and water and a scrubby sponge... it was that simple!

So glad you popped in for the second day of One Picture Week!

It's like Ice-Cream...

2013-05-20T05:00:00.000-04:00

Today marks the start of... drum roll, please...

I've decided to do short, manageable blog posts this week to encourage myself not to spend as much time in front of the computer and more time tackling the projects I want to do. 90% of the projects I blog about are done during nap time or when AJ give me a project break so I need manageable little little projects especially now that nap time doesn't mean I necessarily have 2-3 hours to myself anymore...

Drew started our family on a Greek yogurt kick and I started brainstorming delicious ways to improve the bland (and somewhat icky) taste of the plain Greek yogurt. Do you know the sugar content of plain versus the vanilla flavor is about 5g vs. 26g (depending on the brand)? It's ridiculous. Here is what I came up with... and yes, I do realize there is sugar in the chocolate chips but I don't put tons in. :)

We use either whole or low-fat Cabot Greek yogurt, Sunbelt All-Natural Granola and semi-sweet chocolate chips. Try it, trust me, you won't be disappointed.

We are Insulated!

2013-05-17T15:02:00.003-04:00

AJ found out about a program called MassSave where you can get an energy assessment done to your home and then recommendations will be made to make your home more efficient. Half of our house was obviously very inefficient with windows where you can literally feel the breeze on cold nights and no insulation. After having nearly every light bulb in the house replaced by energy efficient ones, for free, we got an estimate for the cost to insulate the living room, Drew and Elle's room and the attic. It wasn't bad considering we only needed to pay for 25% of the cost of the job... the rest was covered by the MassSave program.

We decided to get the insulation blown in before replacing the drywall because we didn't know when we would have the time to completely redo the rooms and we didn't want to face another winter without insulation. So, for $600 all of those spaces are now insulated and we will drywall over the existing walls and make it even more insulated!

I make it sound like it's an easy process that went off without a hitch... no... we had a little glitch:

See the tear in the wallpaper?

The kids had just fallen asleep so I let myself sit down on the couch and I was going to see if Friends was on when all of a sudden I hear this loud burst above my head and gray insulation started coming into the living room like a fire hose was spraying it. You know those moments when you are just in shock and you have no idea what to do? That was me. I ran towards the kitchen to try to find some cardboard in the recycling to plug the hole. Then I doubted myself and ran back into the living room (I have no idea why) and then I ran back to the kitchen and found an old piece of cardboard from a pizza friends brought us a few nights previously. So I put that grease stained piece of cardboard over where the insulation was fiercly coming through the wall and then instantly the insulation was diverted down below so no matter where I moved the box insulation got around it. I probably should have been more serious about the situation but I couldn't stop laughing. Gray insulation was probably two inches thick on the back of the couch and it was quickly covering the rest of the room. Once I realized I couldn't do anything about the situation I sprinted out the side yard and screamed at the crew leader "the insulation is coming in the house!!!" and immediately the hose was turned off and he came in to see the damage.

I wish I had a picture for you and I debated many times taking one but the crew leader was pretty upset and I didn't want him to fear that I was going to report him. AJ was out for a run and he didn't even get to see the mess before the crew tackled the living room with their shop vac. It was one of the funniest moments of my life to see that insulation flying in and trying to stop it with the pizza box and having the gray matter just flying everywhere around me... it was like a scene out of a movie.

All that to say... our house is insulated and check out programs in your area for energy efficiency studies! :)

Starting on Monday join me for:

more details then. :)

...

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Drew, Elle and I went to Endicott Park in Danvers with my mom yesterday because Drew wanted to see a pig... I captured a couple fun shots.

looking at the sheep and horses

giving my Mom and me a "toe wave"

taken on the grounds of Glen Magna Farms

at dinner last night at the Lobster Pool in Rockport...

what would you do?

2013-05-16T08:25:00.001-04:00

AJ came home from some errands on Saturday and walked in the door with this chair and said "Happy Mother's Day!". He knows the way to my heart is though chairs... even if they are stained and mildewed. :)

While riding home from a house showing in Essex he passed the White Elephant outlet, one of our favorite haunts, and got their chair in the Buck Hut for, you guessed it, a buck.

There she is in all of her stained glory in our kitchen!

Now, here is my question for you, because it's been so fun to hear your opinions on what you would do with our bathroom valance and various painting projects... What kind of fabric would you choose? (None of the ones below are in the running, I think they are all discontinued but I was looking at the colors and designs.) What color would you choose for our kitchen space? A pink, a blue, a yellow, a gray? And would you choose a solid or a pattern?

While I was taking one of these photos Drew crawled under the table and told me he was napping... and wanted Sissy (Elle) and me to nap with him. :) It was a little hard for me to grab a photo while under the table with them. :)

Hope you have a great day whether you are playing under a table with your kids or going to see a pig at a park (we are just about to leave to go do this :)) or spending time at the office!

Zucchini Bread

2013-05-14T20:53:00.001-04:00

I've had a few people ask me for the zucchini bread recipe that I declared as fabulous and detrimental to weight loss yesterday. It was an easy recipe... unless you are trying to make it while your son is sleeping and you need to use the food processor. And then you may need to grate your zucchini in the basement on the dryer far away from sleeping children. :)

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups white sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

Directions

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Recipe from here.

Enjoy! :)

Magnolias Blooming tablescape

2013-05-13T10:55:00.000-04:00

We invited my family over for a Mother's Day dinner yesterday. Let me show you the tablescape I didn't spend a dime on (except some new white cloth napkins from Target that we'll use on a regular basis). What do you think of the magnolia blooms?

There is a spot that I drive by every day where three houses used to sit and recently were either torn down or moved thanks to some soil contamination... but on one of those lots sits this incredible magnolia tree. It's huge and majestic and the kind I would love to have on my property.

Every time I drove by it I thought about how I wanted those magnolia blooms on my table... and then I realized I had the perfect opportunity to dress up a table with them: Mother's Day!

I went on Saturday and snipped a bunch off and by Sunday morning I had petals all over my set table.

Try two... I went out again an hour before my family came over and the flowers are still holding up beautifully this morning!

I made these little tags for everyone with a quote about a mother on them, only it was far easier to read them on the computer screen than when they were printed out. It was funny to watch everyone squinting to read their quotes. :)

I made this dynamite new recipe for zucchini bread. It's horrible to have around the house when you are trying to lose baby weight.

Here is the buffet filled with our feast...

Mango Curry Chicken (with an Archer Farms marinade I got at Target... yum)

Corn on the Cob

Salad that Kim made

Zucchini Bread

and then flowers for my mom at the end of the buffet.

This is also terrible to have when trying to lose weight. It's my favorite cake ever. EVER. Here is the super easy recipe. My dad made a German Chocolate frosting (my mom's fave) to top it with.

I didn't want the temptation of eating it so I sent the rest of the cake to school with AJ this morning to put in the teacher's room. By 10am I had an email that said the cake was gone. :)

Here is my mom and Elle (who is making the weirdest face but I couldn't get a good one of both her and my mom).

Elle in her outfit to match the invitation.

Yep, ridiculous, I know. :)

When my family arrived I had Elle in her little party dress and then promptly changed her after doing a mini photo session.

Drew knows a good playmate when he sees one. :)

The window sill probably had 20 cars lined up on it.

Speaking of lined up, this boy likes his cars precise.

Did anyone else do something fun or relaxing this weekend?

How do you do it?

2013-05-10T08:31:00.003-04:00

Warning: This post is long. Good thing you have all weekend to read it. :)

I realize parenting strategies differ for each family but I think that many of these tips could be useful for almost any family, or at least could be adapted for your family. Hope this helps!

One of the best things I did (at the encouragement of AJ) was to have a set time every single day that Drew went down for a nap; around the time Drew was around six - eight months we implemented this. I wasn't doing it before because I thought it would tie us down too much. But, having the regularly scheduled nap has been so good for him and me. He knows what to expect every day and I know he regularly needs between an hour and half to three hours of sleep a day.

I also know that, like his mother, he will be whiny and crazy and horrible to be around if he hasn't eaten regularly. Remember this Pinterest pin, it's real life around the Migonis household and my mom can tell you that it was like that raising me as well. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with Drew. If we want a successful day I need to plan on snacks around 10am and right after he wakes up from his nap. I have literally had to put the food in his mouth if he was too worked up to do it himself.

via

I am antsy if I don't have a plan for the day, adult conversation or a project I'm working on. I was just telling AJ yesterday that since having two my to-do list has been reduced to one item. He looked at me with shocked eyes and I self corrected... if I get one item, the highest priority, done on my to-do list that day it'll feel successful. Why? Because right away at the beginning of the day I have decided not to work on projects while the kids are awake, unless I am able to do it while still interacting with them (like putting clothes away in Drew's room) or while Elle is sleeping / Drew is playing games on the iPad.

Wednesdays are the day in town when the compost / dump is open. I wanted to clean out an area of the yard that I knew was stressing AJ out and that he felt like he couldn't tackle with the million other things he was trying to do. So, while Elle was sleeping in her swing right inside the door Drew played in the backyard and "helped" me while I loaded up the truck. That was the only item I "needed" done that day so once that was done I could relax.

You all know AJ is a big runner. And I know, having been married to him that he needs to run daily. It's his stress relief. It's when he processes. It is in every one's best interest if AJ runs. He'll be a better husband and father because he's happier and more relaxed. And he'll let me do the same to have some time to decompress.

We went out to dinner the other night, just the two of us, and talked about how it's hard to get things done with two kids. I think the key is to find out, especially on weekends, what your spouse deems as important to get done while you can count on each other to help out with the kids... then try to help each other meet those goals.

Baby needs to eat every 2-3 hours. Plan on it. I feed Elle right before leaving the house, if at all possible, to give us the maximum errand running time. Generally this will make her sleepy and make errand running a little easier as well. Sometimes I forget and plan poorly and it makes all three of our lives miserable.

I am carrying a mammoth diaper bag now with extra outfits, diapers for both of them, wipes, toys and snacks. The other day I didn't plan well and just had my little bag that I carry for one errand... big mistake and Elle had to leave a friend's house in a shirt that was size 3T after I was changing her diaper and she went while I was in the middle of changing her... soaking my friend's changing table and Elle's whole outfit. Or, I'm thinking of church two Sunday's ago when she dirtied her new diaper before we even left the bathroom... and we left the bathroom with a diaper that was dirtier than the one we'd come in to take off of her. Plan for the worst, hope for the best.

Who wants to be at the grocery store during prime shopping time? Now, who wants to be at the grocery store with two kids under 2.5 during that time? Not me and I'm pretty sure no one else around me wants us there either. We aim to be at Market Basket before 9am on Tuesday morning. Does it sound strange to have it scheduled like this? It is far easier to shop in a somewhat empty store, and get out quickly, this way.

We even have a system for getting out of the car. I usually park next to the shopping cart corral and then get Elle out in her car seat and then go around to Drew. If he's walking next to me I don't want him running around the parking lot while I get Elle loaded into the cart.

Lastly, don't try to fit too many errands into one period of time. I've learned this the hard way. Hungry, exhausted kids and a frustrated parent aren't a good combo.

I'm trying to make sure both Drew and Elle have time to simply be held or played with or read to... when I'm not focused on preparing dinner or unloading the dishwasher or grocery shopping. Both of them are so much happier with my undivided attention and when I need to have a divided focus it makes it a lot easier because I've given undivided time already (generally Drew and I eat breakfast together before Elle is up so we start the day on a good note).

I worried nursing would be horrible with Drew because he loves my undivided attention and he really doesn't watch TV.... so we've made it a time where we'll read books or he'll play with his cars right on the coffee table while I'm sitting on the couch.

Is it strange that I was so worried about how things would be when AJ went back to work but it was the day he returned to work when things got better? I should have known... my son thrives on routine. I think he likes the schedule and security. He likes knowing what to expect. After two weeks of fun and visitors things returned to as normal as Drew had known them (with the addition of a baby girl in the house!). He is like me and change, with large life events, isn't his strong suit. We did breakfast together with just the two of us that day and showered and got ready before she woke up (I had done a 5 am feeding that day). Once Elle was awake I fed her and decided to tackle my fear of running an errand with two kids. We went to Target for one thing and then went home for lunch and a nap.... A morning very similar to pre- Elle mornings. I needed to show Drew that some things have stayed the same... and I may have kept a routine for my own sanity as well. :)

The chance to begin again. If your day starts rough, as mine did yesterday, picture yourself starting it over. I took a second yesterday and prayed that God would give me grace with Drew (nothing i was doing was making him happy it seemed). Somehow this gives me a fresh outlook and I'm able to just realize some days we all wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
Remember when I mentioned AJ called that one morning and I burst into tears? I needed to "begin again" on that day and try to forget the rest of the morning happened and then start fresh.

...

Yesterday and today's posts are not to say that its been a breeze, it hasn't... I just wanted to give people hope that it could be okay... And maybe better than you expected. :) What are your tips for succeeding with two plus kids?

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!

Thoughts on Two Kids: How You Doin'?

2013-05-09T13:55:00.002-04:00

So many people have asked me how I'm doing with two kids. I was incredibly nervous thinking about what it would be like once AJ returned to school after paternity leave was over (he had a week leave and then school vacation was conveniently the next week).

Maybe this sounds terrible, but I like this stage better than having Drew by himself. And it's not because there was anything wrong with Drew, not at all. I love the way the dynamics have changed (although I would gladly take a few less kicks and hits from Drew acting out because of all the recent changes). I like the multi-tasking part of having two kids. I like it that it's more challenging and I have to figure out how to divide myself between the two while trying to still make the other child feel wanted and important. And maybe, even, I feel more like I'm back in my event planning days where things have to be scheduled and really planned out in advance; for the planner in me this is fun and challenging to figure out how to make the days work for our family and to have the three of us not only come out alive but feel good at the end of the day. (And honestly, some days we do just end the day barely alive. :))

I feel like I don't have much time to just sit and think (other than nursing in the middle of the night and oddly enough, I don't think my best thinking is done after only three hours of sleep. :)). Monday was gorgeous out. It was the kind of day dreams are made of (aka: the kind of day California has 360 days a year) and I decided to sit outside in the sun with Elle wrapped in a blanket. And that's all I did for 20 or so minutes. I didn't bring a book or the iPad. AJ wasn't home from school yet and Drew was napping. It was quiet and I was just struck by how fortunate I am to be right where I am now. My friend Val (she set AJ and me up on that fateful blind date) starts off one of her classes each year at Gordon asking her students if they could be anywhere at that moment where would they choose to be. If it's an 8am class frequently they will say back in bed. :) But at that moment in time, as I was sitting outside with my little nine pounder I was struck by how I didn't want to be anywhere else. I don't think I'd ever say "I was created to be a mother." or at least not solely to be a mother... but I do know that I was created to raise these two kids and that I'm thrilled to be doing it. ... and that's saying a lot because I felt like I was going through the quarter-life crisis (as John Mayer aptly described it) when I had Drew. I feel more at peace and full of joy than I have probably any other time in my adult life right now.

\
I had two years to get to know Drew and to figure out how he operated before being given another child that I had to completely demystify. There are definitely days that are challenging (like last week when AJ called in the middle of the morning to find out how I was doing and I burst into tears and basically couldn't stop) but for the most part we've figured out what works for us. I'll elaborate tomorrow on specifics and how we "get so much done" (I've had a bunch of people ask me about that!). Below is a hint on how we keep moving forward. :)

Please don't be hard on yourself if this is completely the opposite experience you have had or are having with the transition to having a child. This is only my experience. If there is anything having children has taught me it's that I judged parents far too much before experiencing it myself. Trust me, I know no two parents experience things the same way. If you are having a hard time, I get it. That's how I felt with Drew. The learning curve was so incredibly high and I felt clueless pretty much 90% of the time. :)