Our "new" couch

It is probably no secret that I wanted a new couch...we had a couch given to us in San Antonio - which I was so grateful for - but with Josh's allergies and the previous owners' multiple cats and our previous dogs...we had to get rid of it and needed an inexpensive piece to hold us over.  It was after that we realized we'd be moving...so we'd just wait til we moved.  Well then it was the fact that the house hadn't sold...and then hadn't been rented.  Well then it rented (YEAH!) but of course there were other things and it was working and life was moving on.  Suddenly I was getting impatient though, we have a huge living room (awesome, so nice to have open space) and our furniture of a futon and love seat just didn't fill it.  I was being impatient...and then just honestly was a grouch about it.  I felt we deserved to have a couch - yet we don't want to finance a couch...that seems silly when we have furniture that works.  But did I mention I was a grouch?  Anyway, thankfully Mike is not impatient (I think he has more patience than any one person is allowed to have - it's really such a strong trait of his!) and thankfully he's also a saver and big picture person (I'm getting there, but not as good as him).  He works so hard to take care of our family and I don't want to be  unappreciative of that just because I feel entitled (which is ridiculous because we have been so immensely blessed beyond what we deserve to begin with) and have become a spoiled brat impatient.  After some grumbling/whining from me discussion we decided we'd make it a priority for the end of the year.  We'd go and look and see what options were there and have a real feel for how much to save.  We went to Lazy Boy first - we both fell head over heels for one of their metro couches; but remember we have 3 small children who are loud, rowdy, full of life.  We had lunch and talked about it...definitely a couch we want sometime - but not now.  So then we see a furniture store going out of business close to lunch.  We hopped over there, found one that was comfy, but way too traditional for my taste and it reclined.  Remember those 3 small children?  Can you imagine life every day with reclining ends to the couch?  Yeah, me either!  It was at the high end of what we wanted to pay right now too - for not being in love with it and envisioning the constant annoyance of the recline part we walked out. On the way to the 3rd store of the morning, we saw a home consignment store.  I ran in to see if there were any possibilities.  Mike waited with the kids in the van so they weren't too antsy.  Well I saw this couch...I loved the lines, I liked the color an awful lot, it looked almost new.  I sent Mike a picture, he said they'd come in.
So we were looking at it, looking it over, checking out all the angles, laying down on it, sitting in the middle, against the arm rests (which is what I really, really missed with the futon by the way).  We checked under the cushions.  We were sold, it was less than half what we wanted to spend...but it's a consignment store so we knew we'd have to take it today.  A nice lady walked over to help us, went to check on it - they had just reduced it greatly, so she could only come down another $40.  Yes please, go ahead and take more off we were willing to pay what the tag said.  And the best part?  It's a Lazy Boy too.  (We really liked the way they were constructed, very solid.  We really like that they're made in the USA...we just really didn't love the price for a couch to bring home to 3 small kids and multiple moves to come).  It was a total win-win!
I think we need some throw pillows still - but otherwise I'm loving it.  So here it is, our "new" couch!

Projects

We've been working on a couple dressers since the first part of July (I think we picked up the first one the 7th).  It began when we started thinking about where to put Noah's school stuff that should be here shortly.  We talked about putting in more shelves in our "big" closet...but those are expensive (the shelving system that is) and while they would have worked great for this house, what would happen when we moved - we may not have a place to put it.  So I thought we should repurpose the bookshelf in the boys' room right now for the big closet and school supplies.  Their books could be put in baskets in their room...but that meant we'd need a bit more space for school stuff.  The shelves in the dining room would work great, but are full of their games and such right now.  My solution was to find a dresser for the boys' room - then the big drawer under their bed could house their games and such.  My thought was that the dresser would be more usable longer.  I still wanted Mike to build a library cart - which he did and it looks great right now!  That will be awesome to have our daily stuff on and be able to wheel it into the closet to keep little hands off of it.  He also put a back on it unlike the design we found, that will be covered with cork so we can have our calendar/weather stuff on it. 
Anyway, we found a dresser for $20 - it was long and had 9 drawers.  We were planning to just prime and paint it...but while I was sanding it to rough up the surface I realized it was solid wood.  I was just a tad excited, if we sanded it down and stained it the dresser would definitely grow with the boys more.  Well then while Mike was at work, I found another dresser for $15...it was a chest of drawers, but now I wanted to keep the bigger dresser for Mike and I and put this in the boys' room.  The guy ended up giving it to me for $10 - it needed nobs replaced and a bit of work.  Again, for that price paint would be fine - but again it was solid wood!  SCORE!  So I got busy sanding it down too.  $35 for 2 dressers, $16 in new nobs for them both, and lots of sanding and I think we're going to have some nice dressers!  Mike and I have a really nice dresser right now, but it's a little dresser (3 drawers) and we've been sharing it.  I'm excited for more drawer space!  And I'm excited that the boys' clothes will be a bit more organized in drawers then in their 1 big drawer under the bed (it drives me crazy but I don't think anyone else cares). 
Here's our progress right now for them both, the chest of drawers is ready for staining.  The long dresser is almost there but there were a lot more little details on it.

Alterations

Addison enjoying our drink while we were shopping Friday

So probably not terribly exciting to post - but I'm pretty happy with the results so you get to read about it, sorry!  Addy is our skinny-minnie, which is fine but it has made finding clothes a bit hard.  Not impossible since I figured out how to add my own adjustable waist to skirts & pants & shorts (well I discovered a tutorial online really!)  Well her 12 month pants still fit in the waist but were too short.  I had most of them in a bag to take to MOPS to donate...I just hadn't gotten them there yet.  Then I came across a tutorial on one of my favorite blogs (http://www.makeit-loveit.com) that turned pants into shorts.  Brilliant, and idea that I had even thought of but hadn't figured out how to do it without having the hems be all wonky.  A simple slit and it made it much easier.  She also shared some ideas for making skirts out of pants that were too short.  So Addy had 6 pairs of pants that tonight went from being pants to 3 skirts & 5 pairs of shorts.  The best part was that some of her jeans had adorable embroidery on them and now we can enjoy the girly patterns a little longer and just in time for spring (which seems to have sprung in the desert) and into the hot months of summer!  I think she'll be pretty set for summer now after some alterations and our little shopping trip on Friday where we found lots of good deals on cute little tops in 24 months. 

Addy in her "new" shorts (they're a tad long but that's okay)

The finished products...definitely better than just getting rid of them

Itty Bitty Backpack

So what happens when you have a little peanut with 2 big brothers who she adores?  She of course thinks she can do anything they can do...she wants to be a big girl.  Addison likes to do things like her brother, I am pretty sure it was simply a matter of time before she wanted a bag like her brothers.  And then the fact that when we go to church or MOPS really all we need take for Addy is a few diapers, wipes and a change of pants.  So I love our big backpack when we are all out for the day (it can be loaded with snacks, cups, toys, etc. along with the essentials) and I like the stroller bag for day trips out when we'll be using the stroller.  But I kind of wanted a little bag just for Addy's essentials.  We had 3 backpacks...2 of which are very worn...all of which are very boyish.  I found a tutorial online, then kind of winged it - ah it's wonky, it's uneven, it's got straps that will need lengthened before terribly long...but I think she likes it! 

As Kristin pointed out...she doesn't care if it's crooked, uneven or a little wonky - she's pretty happy with it

I have the Building Bug...

Guess it isn't too shocking, but definitely have the building bug!  Thankfully Mike is encouraging in my ideas and projects and doesn't say too much when the screws start going in a bit crooked (yes major problem I have, working it!)  I found a website, actually found it months and months ago, called Knock-off Wood that is awesome!  Loads and loads of inspiration, tips, and plans.  This weekend we spent some time at Lowe's getting a pocket hole drill kit and some wood for the step for Kristin (finally done!) and I had eyes on these stacking chairs (ours for the kids' table have started to show their unsturdiness...but at only $4 for the 4 of them not too disappointed, they've lasted months).  My other plan was to build a dress up container of sorts for the kids, we've tried so many different systems that haven't quite worked well.  There is a peg board in Addy's room currently but it doesn't fit everything and is really hard for the kids to use.  This idea seemed perfect, they could hang stuff and there was an area on the bottom for small stuff (shields, masks, etc.)  I think we'll add hooks to the sides for the multiple capes we have, too and the shelf up top may be home to the puppets.  Still a work in progress, but shaping up okay I think. 

(the picture isn't the best, just from the phone)  We will add better ones when it's all done!  The chairs, they will hold children...I think I'm leaving those for Mike =) he still is much better at this than I am!