All Hands on Deck!

Welcome to my new deck!

OK, so anyone who knows where I live knows this deck wouldn't exactly work, but maybe at my summer home! We are planning a deck off our kitchen and made the family trip to Menards to check out the materials.
Since our house is already a khaki(ish) color we decided to go with the same color for the deck. This is cedar and it is the composite material that never has to be stained. If you also know my husband and I we need low maintenance!

We also have to put in a door and take out the huge picture window. By the way when I say we I mean our good friend Ryan (props to you Amber!). Anyway - I am in love with the doors that have the blinds inside, so I am getting my wish. Yea!! No ugly vertical blinds that the kids are going to tear off and get food all over. You don't know how excited I am about this door!

I missed my episode of "Hoarders" tonight - good thing I have my own episode going on in the basement! Off to talk deck budget with the hubby - what a downer! At least one of us lives in reality. What fun is that?

How did this happen?

So I mentioned earlier that one of my new favorite shows is "Hoarders" on A&E. Well, I discovered yesterday there might be a reason I enjoy watching people who can't throw things away. I discovered I am a recovering hoarder! I have been making a conscience effort for awhile to keep things "minimal" at our house, but prior to that I may have been labeled a hoarder.
Lets start by saying I emptied all these tubs (11 in all) plus a few small boxes yesterday. When I say yesterDAY I mean DAY. I was in the basement sorting for a good 7 hours. I know - ridiculous! I had been saving all the kids' clothes thinking I would use them sometime, but I decided if and when we do have another baby I will probably buy all new things, so I might as well get rid of what I had been keeping.

There was a method to my madness. Each section is labeled by size and each pile is a different article of clothing - short sleeve, pants, sweatshirts, etc. These are all the girl clothes.

Here are the boy clothes. Obviously not as much since Tate is only 2, but still way too much!

Pile of "good" clothes and coats.

My "keep" pile. I am happy to say these fill up only 1 tub! Mostly keepsake outfits and gender neutral for a possible baby #3.
Anybody need some shoes. Come to my garage sale next week. I will give you a heck of a deal.
After all my work here is the end result. All but one contain clothes I am trying to get rid of. These pictures may have put a couple of my friends into a mad panic (Sonya!), but keep in mind at least these were away in tubs to begin with. I just wanted to share with everyone that if you have the same situation as me - don't be ashamed!! It happens to the best of us!
After golfing in a tournament today I got to hang out with Tate while Brad and Teagan went for a bike ride. What a goofball. He is a ton of fun (and a little frustration) right now!
The bikers. Teagan loves riding with Brad. Tonight the borrowed this "rickshaw" from friends.
Tate is ready to go. I could hear him giggling all the way down the street!
Have a great week everyone! See ya!

Fair Day

We did family day at the fair last Friday and had a great time. We debated about getting a room and decided to - ended up being a good choice.

Starting off the day - looking at these 2 I was wondering what the day would bring! They were both troopers.
The kids loved the "Little Hands on the Farm" exhibit. Tate wasn't exactly sure at first and wanted to give back everything they were putting in his basket. After a couple stops he figured it out (with a little help from big sis).
Peddling was a little tough, but with some help from Dad he made it around.

Teagan on the other hand booked around so fast that I didn't get a picture until she was done.
Meeting Clifford. Tate was content saying high from a distance!
Teagan loves rides so we took advantage of short lines that night. She has no fear and wanted to ride everything. Thank goodness she was too short for those (at least for now!)

That was our last "hurrah" for summer and it was a great family day. Now its back to the grindstone - work, dance class, meetings, and all the other stuff. I love fall and everything that comes with it, so here we go!!

1st Day of School

My memory card is being a little touchy so it took some creativity to get Teagan's first day of school pictures loaded. But, here they are.

Pretty sure she is telling Brad how it is in this one. Had to add it - this is the real Teagan!
Tate got in on the action too. He even got to go into school with us to say goodbye. Which, by the way, was very undramatic. Good I guess, but I wanted her to need me at least a little!!

It was off to the Dr. for Tate after that. His 2 year check-up went well. She checked what is left of his goose egg (it should go down, but he might keep the dent it left in his forehead - great!)

He is 90% in height, weight, and head circumference. And she didn't even have to ask if he could put together short phrases - by that time he had told her all about Grandpa, his tractors, and John Deere fruit snacks.

A good day for both Schaefer kiddos. We are all a little more tired than usual - trying to break in the routine. Have a great Friday everyone!

New posts

Hey blog followers!! I started a couple blogs last week and finished them yesterday and today. For some reason they aren't showing up as new blogs. Just wanted to let you know to look for them if you are interested. Love you guys!! Have a great day!

Leave it to a woman!

While shopping at Target yesterday I found this wonderful device (on clearance, of course - $6.98) It opens all that stupid plastic wrap and ties that hold down presents. And it was designed by women, unlike the men who probably decided that all those gifts should be impossible to open!
It has a retractable screwdriver to open battery compartments, a retractable blade for cutting open plastic, and the cutters cut through that ridiculous plastic and ties. Absolute genius!!

My find of the week - I saw these lamps at Lowes while getting last minute house stuff for the birthday party. I have been looking for some and really like these. The deal you might ask? $3 a piece! I know - awesome. There were actually some other styles that were $1 and $2. Didn't like them as much though. Now I need to find some shades and a home for them. I love a deal!

Teacher gift

I have had this project on my list for awhile now and finally got it finished last week. It is for Teagan's Kindergarten teacher. It just so happens that her last name starts with a W, which works well for Williamsburg too.

Here are the supplies. I got everything at Hobby Lobby.

Glass Block - $7.99 A little more than I wanted to spend, but it already has a hole drilled for the filler and it is made for crafting

Vinyl letters - $15 (originally $30, but 1/2 off on sale) Yes I only used one letter, but I have lots of plans for the others

Crinkly paper - $2 I could have used 1/2 as much which I saw for $1 at Star Drug.

So I figure the whole project was about $9. If you can get the block cheaper it would be even better.

Rubbed on the "w" - almost did it upside down, but caught myself.
Stuffed the paper in and was done. Seriously took about 3 minutes and I like that she can change the inside to whatever material she wants.
Here is what Teagan was doing while I was making the gift. She got a Hannah Montana design studio for Christmas. Honestly, I think she has some potential.

Here is Tate's new addiction. Look familiar? Anyone who has had Teagan look at their albums knows what I am talking about!

Well, its officially back to work for me starting tomorrow. I can't believe how fast time goes, but I got a lot of projects done and got to spend some quality time with the kids. Having my job (which I really do enjoy) makes me appreciate the time I do have at home with my family. Enjoy your week!!

Butterfly cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for Teagan's birthday last week. Bless her heart - she said she would like cupcakes instead of a cake. One less for me to make. Plus, I was really excited to do these and I really like the way they turned out. Super simple too!

I made chocolate cupcakes, but obviously you can use any kind. While they were baking I did the most time consuming part, but still simple. I melted almond bark in the microwave according to the directions and then a little more till I got the consistancy I wanted. I added a little food coloring - light purple for us. *Hint - put your container in a bowl of warm water. That will keep the almond bark from hardening.

Then dip the preztels in about 1/2 and lay them on wax paper to dry. I didn't take any extra pictures decorating, but it is up to you what you want to do. I used pink frosting and some extra pink sprinkles. I lined up different types of Skittles. Then I stuck in the un-dipped part of the pretzels for the wings. Then I used some "writing" frosting to make the antenna. I am really happy with the way they turned out. And they were super good too!!

Ok, so this next part is SO unrelated to happy, cute butterfly cupcakes, but I have found a couple new shows that I can't get enough of. Ironically the are called "Obsessed" and "Hoarding" and are on A&E.

I have only seen episodes about OCD and hoarding, but it is amazing that people live this way. I highly recommend checking it out. I think "Hoarding" is on after "Intervention" on Monday nights. Great TV people!!

Happy Birthday - Times Two!

Once again we celebrate the kids' birthdays together. We ended up with a pretty good day, a little warm, but it could have been worse! Thanks to the friends and family that joined us - everyone had a great time!Happy Birthday! How do I have kids this big?
Sorry this is blurring, but I couldn't get a picture where the kids weren't running. Gpa and Gma Schaefer purchased this for the grandkids to use both at their house and for birthdays. The kids all loved it!

I think Teagan went down more than anyone. By the way - it is 9:15 right now and she is still sleeping! Completely wiped out!

You get a good idea of how big it is. Pretty sure that is Madox trying to scale the side!

Believe it or not this is the best picture we could get of all the kids. I think it is hilarious! Tate trying to escape, Cole crying, Griff is like "this is a little scary", Gavin posing, Jenna is like "what is that kid doing?"! Teagan and Bryce are the only 2 really taking a picture - What a group!

Some of the "big" kids. At Teagan's first birthday they were all in carseats or strollers.

Tate finally got in the water. After that we had to drag him out!

Dads doing what they do best!

Eating supper.

My creations! I will blog about the cupcakes later, but I also did Tate's cake. I really enjoy it. Also - ignore the pictures in the back. I don't display them for guests - I was trying to get rid of extras!!

Present time!

What a ham! Don't let her fool you - see loves the attention!

Loving the tractor cake!

Grandpa getting in on the action (and Jack too). These two are the reason Tate is so in love with John Deere! We wouldn't have it any other way. Farm boy living in the city!

The grandmas are always such great help. Dishing out ice cream and cake - later the dishes! Love them!!

Beth enjoying the homemade ice cream! Had to put this one in!

The great-grandparents. It is so special that they get to celebrate with us and they really enjoy all the kids. We are blessed to have this time with them and the kids will always remember that.

It was really a good day. We got everything in before the storm and took the rest of the night to review gifts. Today is going to be a lazy day - now its 9:30 and Teagan is still in bed. Ah, summer!! Have a great week everyone!