Image Map
Image Map

Sunday, June 30, 2013

DIY blogger, I am not {Re-covered Storage Cube}.

You guys.  

I did a project yesterday.  Like, finished a project from start to finish.  Credit goes to my hubby who managed to build most of my birthday present (a kitchen table) while the crazies ran around him.  

I wanted to document it so that I can remember what I did.  DIY blogger I am not, but I thought it might be a good idea to snap a few pictures so that I might be able to do something similar with another storage cube we have in the Brothers' room when I find the right fabric they're finished destroying the current fabric.  


I found this storage cube at Target.  It was on clearance for $11, so I bought it because A.) it was cheap, B.) I love storage, and C.) I'm a Target clearance item addict.  I got it home and decided that it would house my shoes near the front door.  But I wasn't digging the brown microsuede-ish fabric.  

Cue clearance-addict idea bells.  

A few months ago I was wandering around Bed Bath & Beyond and stumbled upon a clearanced-out Ikat shower curtain.  For $10.  I'm really digging Ikats lately, so I asked the sales lady to get the display down for me and she marked it down another $1 for being the display.  Woohoo!  I used part of it as a "door" on a little door-less linen closet that's just outside our master bedroom, but only needed a small part of it, so I tucked it away for a later project.  


After laying everything out on the kitchen table to make sure I had enough fabric, I got cutting.  I still didn't need all of the fabric, so I have a little scrap left over for more fun later!  


I was pretty excited about using my new staple gun.  My old one was a super basic (read: cheap) one which actually traveled all the way from FL to Ecuador to DC with my sister-in-law.  Long, funny story.  But it was an excuse to get a new staple gun!  This one was around $20 at the HD.  It's a Powershot and I love it.  Very, very easy to use.  Of course, using 1/4" staples also helped, as I started off using 1/2" and couldn't get the staples to sink all the way in.  Trial and error, friends.  It's the way I live.

First came the lid.  I have to tell you, I just made it up as I went along.  And the inside doesn't look pretty.  But the outside is really all I cared about, so I made sure to keep things tight as I went along, pulling and stapling my way around the lid.  


The corners weren't as tricky as I thought they'd be.  They also aren't as pretty as they could be.  I wrapped them like I wrap presents ... but I'm a horrible present wrapper, so I probably should have Pinterested a better method.  Oh well.


When it came time for the bottom part of the cube, I decided to just wrap it around instead of trying to keep the Ikat pattern going vertical.  That would have been way more work & I kinda liked the little bit of funkiness added by the horizontal pattern.  

I started by stapling part of the fabric on the outside of the cube.  I chose to use the part with the holes for the shower curtain hooks since this part would be covered.  One staple toward the top and one staple toward the bottom secured it enough to start.  then I started wrapping.  I started with the top (the open part), but I don't think it makes much difference if you start from the bottom.  


The top corners were easy to handle.  It just took a bit of trial and error to figure out what would look best from the outside, even if it didn't look all the great inside.  My shoes and I are the only ones who will see the inside and we don't really care what it looks like.  I switched over to 1/2" staples for a minute and gave each corner a staple to be extra secure.  


The bottom corners were a bit trickier.  I wanted to leave the little leg-nub-thingies exposed, even just a little bit, which made for some difficult wrapping.  I snipped a little slit in the corner of the fabric, then wrapped each part around the leg-nub (what are those called?).  Not pretty, but it stands without rocking! 


I didn't plan my method ahead at all, so when it came to finishing it up, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the last part.  I decided to just fold it over on the corner and staple inside the top and on the bottom really tight.  It looks good and if it starts to come undone at some point I plan to grab some heat'n'bond for it.  


I love how it looks in my entryway.  Jazzes up the place a bit.  And it holds my shoes well.  Note to self: clean out the boys' shoe baskets.  


And of course, it's a nice little seat for the boys too!  





Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Mom Mom Mom Mommy Mommy Mommy Mama Mama Mama Mum Mum Mum.

My Mom used to tell us all the time that she was going to change her name.  Not her real name, but the "Mom" title that my sisters and I apparently used too much.  I remember thinking that she was being dramatic.

But now?  I totally get it.  Sorry Mom.

Now that the Brothers' vocabularies are blossoming, I feel like Lois in that episode of Family Guy where Stewie just repeats her name a million times in a row.  You know the one.  In case you aren't the Family Guy type, allow me to enlighten you.  


Yep.  This is my life.  Times 3.

Kiernan has been the worst lately.  For whatever reason he chooses at a particular minute, he repeats my name a million times, wraps his arms around my legs and ducks his head between them so that I cannot move.  It's like some weird sports maneuver or he's trying to climb back up where he came from.  Not happenin' son.

While he sometimes makes me want to scratch out my eyeballs, I have to admit that he can be pretty entertaining.  Like the conversation we had today:

Kiernan: MOOOOMMMMYYY!
Me: Yes Kiernan? Are you all done with your melon?
Kiernan: Yes. All done. Come.
Me: Alright let me get a washcloth.
Kiernan: Mom. COOOOOOOMMMMMME.
Me: I'm right here. You don't need to yell.
Kiernan: Good boy.
Me: ::sigh::

Oh this boy.  He also tried to put me in a timeout today because I wouldn't let him have a cookie.  True story.  


Boy: (n) a noise with dirt on it {Wordless Wednesday 6.19.13}.










 




Monday, June 17, 2013

If anyone needs me, I'm the one curled up and crying in the corner.


Brennan - August 2011 - 22 months old

Kiernan - April 2013 - 19 months old

Brennan - September 2011 - 23 months old

Beckett - May 2013 - 20 months old





Thursday, June 6, 2013

I'll see you in the morning.

When I was pregnant with Brennan, Brian's Grandma gifted us a book.  It's a little board book called I'll See You in the Morning.  Sweet and simple, it's a comforting little way to say goodnight to a child.

I started reading it to Brennan before bedtime at a very young age, and it kind of just morphed into a song.  It's nothing fancy, and my family can attest to the fact that I don't carry a tune very well, but every night I sing it to my boys before bed.  It's "Mommy's song" and they love it.  Brennan has grown out of it a bit, but the Brothers love it, especially Beckett.

At bedtime, we read a few books and then I turn off the lights and it's time to snuggle and rock.  Sometimes Kiernan gets down and goes to snuggle up in his bed and wait for me to rub his back, but Mr Beckett never leaves.  He turns to face me and puts his head on my shoulder and I begin to sing.  And as I sing each verse, he echoes me.  Sometimes he jumps the gun and says the last word of the line before I get to it.  Other times he says the wrong word and when I sing the right one he just looks up at me with his scrunched up hammy smile and giggles before burying his face in my shoulder.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Three is going to kill me.


No, not having 3 kids.  Although, I did read this article the other day which made me feel a smidge better about life.  Raising 3 kids = Hard as shit.  Solidarity, sisters.

What's really killing me is raising a 3 year old.  Dear God, I love him with all my heart and soul.  I really really really do.  And when he throws his arms around me and tells me that he loves me and covers my face with kisses, I melt into a giant puddle.

But holy rage, can he ever spit some fire.  The temper tantrums these days are EPIC.  They're louder, longer, and more dramatic than ever before.  Most days, I find it best to be very matter of fact with him and just ignore the meltdowns when the occur.  But there are some days when I feel like he's punching me in the face with his snippy little 'tude all day long and it makes Mommy wanna reach for the sangria.

I remember telling people when he was 2 that he was "very much 2" with his opinions and frustrations and tantrums.  Were they frustrating?  Of course.  Especially because I had 2 infants to take care of on top of the crazy toddler.  But I think the difference was that I gave him the benefit of the doubt.  I mean, it had to be frustrating to not be able to understand why you can't have certain things or can't do certain things yourself.  And really, the tantrums weren't all that often.  Maybe once or twice a day.

The problem with 3 is that now he can understand those things.  He knows that he isn't allowed to do certain things because he could get hurt.  He'll yell "YOU pick up my cup!!" when I ask him to pick up his cup that he tossed on the ground because he didn't feel like getting up.  He'll look me straight in the eye and lie to me when I ask him if he wrote on the couch with chalk, even though we both know that I know he did it.  And the tantrums are more frequent and the whining is constant.  Constant.  He woke up at 5:30 this morning and every.single.thing he said to me for the entire day was a whine.

I think that part of the problem is that I hold him to a high standard.  And as an oldest child who felt like my parents held me to a higher standard for my entire life, I always swore that I wouldn't do it to my kids.  I try really hard to remind myself frequently that he is only 3.  I try to keep my expectations of him age appropriate.  I also try not to eat a half of a bag of chips when I'm stressed out, but that doesn't always happen.

We'll get through it.  At night, we always snuggle up for stories and kisses and I say a prayer of thanks that God provides these little moments.  They're a reminder that he's my sweet boy and we're just going through some growing pains.  I've heard that 4 is blissful compared to 3, so we're powering through to October.

Jesus help me when the Brothers turn 3.  Someone send wine.

Sunday, June 2, 2013

April 2013.

Ahhhhh.  April.  It feels good to be catching up a little.  

Brian turned 30 on the 4th.  His birthday present to himself was knee surgery.  Poor guy.  My parents just so happened to have already planned to come to Florida for his birthday, so we were lucky to have them around during the process.  The surgery went beautifully.  The surgeon was able to remove the extra piece of bone in his kneecap and fix the tear in his tendon.  We were in and out of the hospital in no time, of course the process may or may not have been sped up because of Brian's sarcasm with the nurses.  


That evening we celebrated Brian's birthday with a delicious German chocolate cake that Brennan & Grammy made for him.  They also decorated the house while we were at the hospital.  (And did a million loads of laundry as you can see in the pictures.  Aren't Moms the best?!)