It's a Christmas Miracle: The Playroom is Finished!

If you remember, we've been working on turning our cold, dirty, wasted space of a basement into a playroom for our Bug. 

Here's what it looked like before. 

Well, it took months of literal blood, sweat and tears, and we didn't go to bed until well after midnight last night, but we managed to finish in time (by the skin of our teeth, mind you). It's finally, FINALLY done! 

We needed all new flooring to make the space comfortable and usable, and we bought a few other items, but mostly we begged, borrowed and recycled things we already had. 

The yellow bookshelf and sailboat are from my parents' house. In fact, my dad built the boat from scratch several years ago, and we offered to store it in the off season if he let us fill it with pillows and use it as a reading nook. Win-win.

The oars also came from my parents' old house, and I painted some cheap craft store letters to hang around the walls. 

As much as I love the way the room turned out, I have to admit it's missing a few finishing touches. It's around 900 square feet (roughly the size of our first apartment), and comes complete with LOADS of empty wall space. It definitely needs a little something more, and someday I might get around to tackling it. Right after I get around to cleaning our guest bathroom and folding the constantly expanding pile of mystery laundry in the middle of our bedroom floor (Is it clean? Is it dirty? Does it even belong to us?). So, basically, never. 

Poor, sad little "PLAY" wall. Womp-womp...

The little art table was once our coffee table in our first apartment, and before that it belonged to Justin's dad and step-mom. Justin added casters, and I painted and waxed it. Now Buggy can use it for art, play-doh, puzzles, plotting new ways to keep his poor, exhausted parents from sleeping ever again, etc. 

It's also  a cast-off hand-me-down, so when he inevitably draws on it with a permanent marker his momma absentmindedly left lying around, there's no harm done. 

At some point I'd also like to decorate the bulletin board and use it to display the Bug's art. Right now it's more sad, empty void than gallery wall, but it'll get there. 

I'm kind of in love with our storage system, though. We've already stashed tons of junk in there, and we've barely touched those little fabric cubes. We debated on getting something smaller, but I definitely think we made the right call. Bring on the plastic crap; we've got a place for it!

We added a fun little creation station with a magnetic chalkboard, felt board, and pegboard for hanging art supplies out of reach of little hands. I still need to get some little baskets to hang up there. 

Well, that's it! It wasn't easy, but it was totally worth it to see Buggy Boy's face when he came downstairs this morning and saw a real live boat sitting in his basement. He loves his new room, and so do we. Best. Project. Ever!

Happy holidays, everyone!

A Last Minute, End of the Year Project

Welcome back!

We've been pretty busy around here the past few days weeks. 

If you remember, this past summer during our annual monsoon season, the Bug and I were camped out in the basement waiting out a storm and playing "alive or dead?" with the myriad spiders and crickets on the basement floor when I realized we were taking on water. 

So this happened.

About a month ago we had a new drain, vapor barrier and sump pump installed. We're currently on the "broke as a joke" home improvement plan, so this involved tearing the wall down ourselves (obviously by "ourselves" I mean Justin and his dad tore the wall down while Buggy and I munched on doughnuts and complained about all the dust), ripping out the weird brick trench my dad swears the original owners used to grow their own marijuana, and completely rebuilding the wall (This time my dad helped while the Bug and I camped out at my parents' house and watched Cars. It was all very trying).

During the "ripping out" stage in the process, we uncovered this little gem. 

What's that? You can't tell exactly how long that gigantic, disgusting, utterly creepy horror show of a snakeskin is?

Allow me to clarify.

It's roughly THREE FEET long. That's right, friends. There's a 3+ foot snake living in the ceiling above our basement. Dis. Gust. Ing. 

But I digress. 

Because we also have jobs and lives outside the four walls of our basement, Justin just started putting the wall back up this past weekend. 

(Here he is, admiring his work. Ah, such a beautiful wall frame!)

Unfortunately, we're on a bit of a time crunch. We've been talking about reclaiming our living room in the name of all things grown-up and turning this space into a playroom for Buggy for some time now, and we've decided to finally pull the trigger and make this our Christmas gift to him. 

So, we have T minus 2 months to turn this...

(The leaning tower of junk)

...into something remotely usable and child-friendly. 

Hopefully we can get rid of the snake before then. Otherwise, I guess we can always add a new pet to the list of Christmas gifts...

I'll keep you posted as things get rolling. Wish us luck!

My Youth is Dead... And a Fun Announcement!

Well, it finally happened. 

I got married. 

I had a kid. 

And my cool, carefree, fun-loving youth got run over by a minivan. Hard.

Here she is, friends, in all her spacious, dvd player-having, power-sliding doored glory. She's not fancy. She's used, she's 12 years old, and she's rockin' some pretty hard core Saved By the Bell striped cloth seats. 

(Zack Morris, eat your heart out.)

But, if I'm being completely honest here, I'm totally in love.

I know what you're thinking, but friends? Power. Sliding. Doors. I mean seriously! We've only had her five days, and I already can't live without them. I feel like James Bond every single time I press that little van shaped button next to my steering wheel and the back door magically glides open. Granted, James Bond would probably die a slow painful death before being caught dead in a used minivan, but whatev. 

Also, I'm pretty sure Buggy Boy has forgotten how to ride in a lame regular car that doesn't magically have Cars 2 playing on repeat while he cruises in blissful silence absolutely anywhere I want him to go. This kid would probably be cool with a trip to the doctor's office for a lifetime supply of vaccinations as long as Lightning McQueen was narrating. 

And the best part about all of this? We paid cash. We've been trying to take control of our finances via the Dave Ramsey plan, and we decided that if we're going to buy anything new (to us), we're going to  save and pay cash. And because I decided (after repeatedly bumping the Bug's head on the roof of my matchbook-sized hatchback) that we needed something bigger, my sweet, sweet husband worked his butt off picking up weekend shifts for months to be able to buy it. 

Yep, he's a keeper.

Finally, one of my favorite things about it is that it has tons of storage, and I can haul all kinds of fun finds in it... Which brings me to my announcement:

I'm starting an Etsy shop! 

It's predominately fun vintage home decor items and small furniture, but I do plan to make a few custom pieces, as well. I'm still in the process of photographing and adding all of my items, but I thought I'd share a few things with you while I finish getting it set up. 

Without further ado, here are my first few pieces up for sale:

Vintage metal dentist's table

Set of three solid brass nesting bowls

Antique safe deposit box

Vintage French chocolate tin

Antique farmhouse stool with chippy gray-blue paint

I have a lot more pieces to clean up, fix up/paint, photograph and list, but this is a start. I'll let you know when the shop is up and running, and you can check out the other items!

Wish me luck!

Hens Don't Crow

I'm always amazed how often I turn out to be wrong about something.

I mean, I know we're all wrong from time to time. It happens to the best of us. But I typically take wrong to the extreme. 

Let me give you a for instance. See this bird?

It's name is Miss Janet. 

See? Next level wrong. But I digress. 

The other day, Justin, Buggy Boy and I went out to the coop to visit the chickens and bring them some leftover watermelon. As we looked at them, we began saying out loud what we've been thinking for a couple of weeks now.

Those hens look an awful lot like roosters. 

BUT, we assured ourselves, roosters crow. And these chickens don't crow. Never. Not once. (I know you can already tell where this is going.)

Cut to literally five minutes later when we were heading back from the garden and we heard it. The crow to end all crows. 

Aaaand now we have roosters. 

Two of them. 

Unfortunately, we want nothing to do with roosters. We're only in it for the eggs, and we happen to have a toddler whose grabbiness rivals that of a drunken frat boy. The last thing I need to worry about is him coming eye to eye with a potentially aggressive rooster to practice using his "gentle hands." 

Full disclosure: they're never gentle.  

Luckily for us (and for the roosters), a friend of a friend has a farm a few miles down the road and takes in orphaned hens-turned-roosters. Apparently this happens a lot. Go figure.

So now Miss Janet and his friend Dion are living out the remainder of their non-egg producing lives running around happily on a big farm with lots of other unwanted animals. 

At least that's where Justin told me he took them. 

That's probably true, right?

20 Minute, $0 Party Decorations

You guys, my sweet boy turned two this week. I can't even believe it!

He is constantly growing and learning, and I can't believe how much he's changed in the last year... And he's not the only thing.

Fellow parents can attest, there's a pretty huge difference between the first birthday party and literally every single birthday thereafter. 

For Buggy's first birthday, we invited over 40 people, and I decorated the entire first floor of our house. Every room was resplendent with all things Buggy. 

Every. Single. Room. 

I decorated an entire wall sized chalkboard as an homage to Buggy's first year, hand drawing 12 chalk picture frames, one for each of his monthly pictures. Because yes, I also took the obligatory cutesy monthly pictures during his first year. 

I had matching plates, napkins, cups, and silverware. Paper fans and a chalkboard garland spelling out Happy 1st Birthday graced my mantel. 

We made a brunch buffet that took up our entire kitchen and spilled over onto the hutch in the eat-in. It came complete with caprese salad and fruit skewers jabbed into styrofoam filled vintage soda crates, three kinds of mini quiche, and enough hand crafted mini-doughnuts and cupcakes to feed a small army. (As you can image, we waaaay over-ordered and the vast majority of those doughnuts died a slow death in the lounge at work.)

But, because I certainly wouldn't feed my perfectly un-sugared one year old just any old cupcake, my dad made him his own mini carrot cake from scratch. 

Poor Buggy was a trooper as he sat there in his highchair and watched 40+ strangers stare, sing and clap at him while he poked at his cake a couple times and then asked to get down. It was just as magical and memorable as I'd always hoped it would be for him. 

Cut to two weeks later when the house was still a mess and generally Buggy themed, and I was feeding my now very well sugared one year and two week old bites of my frozen buttercream cupcake frosting stash every time he caught me standing with my face hidden in the freezer. 

For his second birthday, however, I did things a little differently.  

Rather than throw a huge expensive party for our friends and family, we decided to do something the Bug might actually enjoy. So we packed it up and headed to the transportation museum for the day. The kid had the time of his life. 

Afterward, we had my parents over for a casual dinner of all Buggy's favorite foods. 

And I slapped some decorations together in the 20 minutes between when we got home and they came over. 

The one thing I did want was for Buggy to have fun. So I figured what's more fun (and cheap) than decorating with his favorite things: toy trucks and tractors. 

I pulled out the cheap black tablecloth I only use at Halloween, some black chargers and my everyday white dishes. 

I used strips of white correction tape to create a road down the middle of the table, and lined it with Buggy's collection of small Tonka trucks. 

I topped each place setting off with a wooden truck. I had some leftover photo paper, so I printed a picture of each guest with Buggy and tucked them into the wheels. 

        

Apparently at our house no party is complete without chalkboard art, so I thew this one together quickly, and then set up the gifts underneath with every construction truck I could find. 

I placed a few other random trucks throughout the room and called it a day. 

Buggy Boy loved playing with his trucks through dinner. And the best part about these decorations is I could pretty much take my arm and sweep them all back onto the floor and the house looks exactly as it did before I started. Win!

The only thing missing from this party is two week old frozen buttercream. C'est la vie!

Bacon, Lettuce and Fried Green Tomato Sandwiches. Because of Course.

Today I'm sharing a very simple recipe for what has quickly become my favorite summertime meal: Bacon, lettuce and fried green tomato sandwiches.



Did I just blow your mind? Because apparently I blew the mind of the girl at the farmer's market who sold me my green tomatoes (after a gang of rogue chickens attacked my garden and ate the SIX perfectly ripe ones I had planned for this meal. They are dead to me now.) when I told her what I was making. 

She actually gasped, "Oh my word!" and then stared wistfully off into space for the remainder of our encounter, a little bead of drool trickling down her chin. And that's a perfectly natural reaction.

Seriously. They're THAT good.

I'm assuming you know how to make a basic BLT, so I'm just sharing a simple recipe we use for fried green tomatoes. BUT, this comes with the stipulation that these taste best made with good crusty bread, thick cut bacon and fresh vegetables. Bonus points if you can grow them yourself (without any vindictive chickens interfering).

Also, you're going to want to fry the bacon rather than microwave or bake it. If you're going to eat fried green tomatoes, you might as well eat them fried in bacon grease, amiright?

(Disclaimer: Justin made these while I flounced around taking pictures and sipping wine, so I can't take any credit for the work or the absolutely delicious product.)

Ingredients:

• 3 or 4 large green tomatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper to taste
• vegetable oil for frying

Step 1: Slice the tomatoes. Ours are pretty thick (about 3/4 inch), but you may like them a little thinner. Usually the thinner you cut them, the crispier they'll be.

Step 2: Mix the eggs and milk together in a large, shallow bowl, spread the flour out on a plate, and combine the cornmeal, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper on another plate. Line them all up assembly line style starting with the flour, then the egg mixture, and finally the cornmeal mixture. Then go down the line dipping and coating your tomato slices in each one. Make sure they are completely coated on all sides.

Step 3: Use the same pan you used to fry the bacon (including the grease) and pour in enough vegetable oil so that there is about 1/2 inch of oil/bacon grease combo in the pan. Heat the pan to medium and, when the grease is nice and hot, add the tomatoes and cook until golden brown (about two minutes). You may need to do this in batches; you don't want them touching while they fry. Flip 'em over and fry the other side. Set them on a paper towel to drain. 

Assemble the sandwiches however you like them. I prefer mine with three pieces of thick cut bacon, fresh butter lettuce or spring greens, and a VERY healthy smear of mayonnaise (on both sides...). 

Unfortunately, these don't keep very well, so you'll need to eat any and all leftovers standing over the kitchen sink when no one is looking and you're supposed to be doing dishes. It's part of the recipe. You have to. 

That's it! Give 'em a try and let me know what you think!

It's Gettin' Real in Herre (To the Tune of Hot in Herre. Obviously.)

There is something we've been working with in our home for a while now, and I thought I'd share a little bit about it with you all because, you know, you're awesome and you'll just get it. You may have even been there yourself.

Earlier this year, we were told that our sweet Buggy Boy likely has Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD. This, they think, is what is causing his delays in gross motor, fine motor, and speech development.

To us, this just made sense. When we started researching SPD, there were some aspects that didn't fit our Bug at all. But then there were parts that fit him to a T.

SPD has absolutely nothing to do with a child's intelligence, but rather how he processes the world around him. And, like many other disorders, it comes with a wide range of effects on the child.

So, I thought I'd share what SPD looks like in our house.

In our house, there is A LOT of falling down. And bumping into things. And tripping over things. And stumbling for no reason at all.

There are messy mealtimes. Forks and spoons have evaded our sweet Bug for some time now, and we're just now figuring out the concept. But fear not, he's a good eater and when all else fails, his hands make quick work of any rogue peas (or salmon, or brussels sprouts, or cherries, or potato chips, or literally anything. I've had to explain more than once why he can't eat rocks. Seriously, this kid's a garbage disposal).

(Exhibit A.)

There are rarely squeals of joy or laughter at a new toy. Usually there are several minutes of staring and flipping over trying to figure out exactly how it works (and often how he can break it). Then, if he really loves it, there are smiles. Followed quickly by obsessive play sessions, usually ending with said toy thrown sideways on the floor, a "sleeping" sign, and a jagged toddle away.



There are thousands and thousands of stories read, songs sung and games played.

There is more signing than speaking.

There are occupational therapists. Physical therapists. Speech therapists.

There is a lot of explaining, preparing and practicing.

There are comparisons made that shouldn't be.

There is frustration.

There are tears.

There are reassurances.

Because he is still a typical toddler, there are battles and bribes. There are tail pulls and reminders to be gentle. There is hiding and seeking. There is snot. And mud. And poop (Dear God, the poop!).

There are very few smiley pictures. And every one is a small victory to catch on camera what we see everyday and don't often get to share with everyone else.

Because there are lots of smiles. And laughter. And cuddles. And hugs. And kisses. 



In our house, there is fun. And silliness. And joy.

And so much love.

You may not see it. It takes him hours to warm up to new people. And new experiences take a while to understand and adjust to. But for us lucky few, it's all there, and it is so, so worth it.