A Day in Our Life

Kitchen Cabinets Refinished: Part Uno

So, a while back I posted about how we had decided we were beginning to refinish our kitchen cabinets....that was in March. Well, we finally got around to moving forward with the rest of the process on the other cabinets. And when I say process, I mean PROCESS- there was much sanding and/or applying of liquid sand, several coats of paint and lots of use of our dehumidifier because all that paint made it super hot upstairs! I choose to do this reveal in a couple of posts because I hate bombarding one post with a bajillion pictures. So tonight, just the upper cabinets.

Our laminate countertops are this gray/black speckled granite-looking beauties, and I knew I didn't want white on the bottom cabinets because of dirty little hands (I won't name names.....Cailyn), but I did love the idea of contrasting colors on the top and bottom cabinets. So white went on top. We bought this liquid sand stuff that was supposed to take the sheen off the varnished wood of the cabinets- I won't say it didn't work, but I won't say that it did for sure. I think the best way would have been to sand with sandpaper, but I wasn't up for the mess, so I guess we'll have to see how they hold up as time goes by.

Those cabinets in the corner and on the left were the worst because the shelving is built in, which meant nooks and crannies galore!

When all was said and done, we were ECSTATIC with the results of the uppers, it brightened the whole room instantly and just looked so clean. We'll explore the bottom cabinet refinishing in the next post- but let's just say they were a little trickier even though there was less area to be painted. Ugh!

One Year Photoshoot

So I got this UBER cute tank top from Duck Worth Wearing- a consignment store for kids and maternity stuff, and I knew I wanted to photograph her in it, she looks great it whites and greens. So anyway, we had an impromptu photo shoot while Jerod was gone for an away game. I love that we have these huge windows in our living room that let in so much natural light, it is the perfect place to shoot. I just push the chaise lounge back, hang a fuzzy blanket over it and the carpet and try to keep her corralled there and laughing for as long as I can!


We got this one pretty quick at the beginning, I think I was demeaning myself to crazy faces and pretending like every time she touched me it shocked me- whatever works, right?

Lola! Get out of the picture and off of my carpet!

Candid. Love.

A few days later we took a few more photos in a different outfit and using a different background- although I think she tends to look better with more natural colors, you could make the argument that she just always looks cute :)

My absolute favorite photo from all of them- her eyes look so blue and the lighting is perfect, all I had to do was crop out the diaper parts poking out of the top of her bubble shorts.

Early Harvest

We have begun to harvest some more veggies from our garden- the first garden I've had since we moved here! I planted broccoli, romaine lettuce, onions, tomatoes, sweet peppers, jalapenos, and carrots. I think next year we will skip out on the broccoli as it swallows space in the garden. Also, if you don't know, you get one big head of broccoli from each plant and then each one religiously produces small shoots for a long time, you get a lot of produce from it considering 9 plants only cost about two bucks, but you really have to keep up with harvesting it. We used green onions in several dishes in late spring/early summer, and then let the rest grow to become white onions. I love fresh produce and my goal is to be able to have enough to provide some freezer food for over the fall or winter- we'll see about that in the future!


I like to pick some of the tomatoes a little early so that they ripen inside, I find if I pick them too late they are a little too soft for using on sandwiches or for sauteing in recipes.

Notice the carrots on the very top, I dug them up that way all twisted up and hugging each other- so cute!

Our first First Birthday!

This weekend we celebrated Cailyn's first birthday with our families! It was fantastic, even though it was sweltering! We decided since she's so little it was probably okay to just have close family members for this birthday, we didn't want to scare her by having too many people around that she didn't really know. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even some great aunts and a second cousin, were in attendance to help us wish our baby girl a wonderful birthday and a happy second year of life. I became semi-obsessed with making photo pages because I didn't want to have to upload a bajillion photos to the blog for this post, plus I have been creating a mixbook for her first year and love all the photo layouts they have :)

We had a relaxed BBQ before opening gifts, singing "Happy Birthday", and eating cake and ice cream. We also took our fourth family photo- which reminded me we've never had a nice one taken, you know, the kind you put in a frame over your couch or something, I think this is necessary now.

I was up until 1:00am making that cake- it was an adventure for sure- I'm glad "pastry chef" isn't my title. We decorated with penant swag cut from scrapbooking paper, and I saw online an idea for hanging photos from each month of her first year- loved it! I also added a canvas she painted for Daddy to hang in his office at school up on the shelf in the background.

Family photo number 4

She received so many cute dresses and outfits, I think about 5 or 6 books, this fun Dora lawn chair, and that great singing coupe car (thanks Grandma Jacque and Grandpa Mark- just kidding, she loves it and that's all that matters I guess)

She also was given her own baby doll with a car seat from Grandma and Papa Brown, and Aunt Mandy gave her a personalized photo story and a crib/high chair set to go along with her new baby. She is so cute with it, giving the baby kisses and pretending to feed her. Good practice for if there's every a new Baby Brown in the future! (By the way, the baby doll package was the first time we've had to untwist ties or cut straps that hold dolls in- a milestone for us as parents of a girl)


First bite of birthday cake....and last shot before getting cleaned up, I'd say she finished almost half of her jumbo cupcake, the floor got the rest.

Down for the count- partying is hard work!

Playing catch up

Wow, the summer is just getting away from me! I meant to be so much better at blogging, but it seems when I'm out of routine I don't remember to do all my usual stuff. So I guess I"ll just share a couple photos from what we've been up to, which is baseball and nothin', and leave it at that.

When she's not trying to escape onto the field during the game, she loves to shake the fence and "cheer" for the boys. Go Trojans!

Cailyn with Twin 1: Blake (she hasn't gotten her hands on him yet, she's usually a little too generous with her affections- she comes on a little strong)

And Twin 2: Bowen, she loves to be around these guys, I'm sure they'll have more fun playing together as they get older

While my parents and siblings were on vacation to D.C. we dog-sat for them. This is Lola, and Cailyn was always afraid of her, but after having her around for over a week, she became quite comfortable with her and this past week, since Lola and the kids are with us, she was even giving her hugs :)

This is a sneak peek of her one year photos, I took them a couple weeks early so that I would have time to get prints made for family members coming for her birthday party this weekend. She make it so easy because she's incredibly photogenic, thank goodness she got her Daddy's dimples, too. They make you melt every time!

Rose Festival 2012

This past weekend was the 54th (I think) annual Rose Festival in State Center, our 3rd since moving here, and Cailyn's first! It was also the first time, and likely the only time for a long while, that we were able to enjoy some of the events that took place uptown because of the baseball tournament being cancelled. So after running the 5K Fun Run with my mother-in-law, Deb, we showered up and watched our first Rose Festival Parade. I had Jerod take some pictures of me and Deb after our run, but I thought I would save you all the horror of seeing me so disgusting and sweaty. We were really proud of ourselves, we ran almost the entire thing, Deb was such a great motivator- I was happy to have run it with her!

We have learned that in order to find a good place to watch the parade, you need to get there early. Lucky for us some veteran parents and all-around-good-people, let us squeeze in next to them.

This was a favorite spot, especially when the trains went by, she's like mommy in that she doesn't like loud noises.

While the other kids were running out to pick up candy, our baby was content playing with brochures from the local state representative candidates. I hope this doesn't mean a career in politics.....

After the parade we went home to grill some pork burgers because we were starved! We set out for Main Street again though, when we were done eating, and hit up the petting zoo. It was a free thing, and I realized the reason they can afford to offer it for free is because they charge you an entire dollar for a Dixie cup of feed!

They had several goats there, from kids to adults, and they sniffed out that feed in a snap. One little guy even tried to shove his whole snout in the cup, greedy bugger! Cailyn was not so fond of the goats because they kind of got right up in your face- no personal boundaries or respect for your bubble.

Moose vs. Chicken

The only animal she pet on her own was this huge rabbit. She watched him for a long time until she realized he would not move at all, and then went ahead and pet him, so cute!

Of course, we couldn't leave without seeing the calf and getting a picture for Grandpa Bret, since he works with cattle.

We went for a walk down to the Midway, where they were having an auto show and there were rides, by the time we got home Cailyn was zonked out in the stroller. The rest of the day was spent enjoying the company of friends we've known or made since moving here, grilling, fowling, talking, and watching fireworks to end our evening. She watched in quiet wonder and clapped occasionally for the fireworks, a girl after my own heart....and she gets it every time. Another Rose Festival in the books.

Summer Break Week 1

Summer vacation has officially begun (actually if we want to get technical the first day was last Saturday, although you could also make the argument that since we always have weekends off the first day was really Monday.....) but anyhow, I was hoping to have a little extra blogging time on my hands.

Turns out I was wrong. Between baseball, trips into Marshalltown or Ames for supplies, working on projects (and I use the term working loosely), and the computer not being able to charge from the AC adapter it just hasn't worked out like I planned. But here's what we've got so far:

Chickie at the first home game of the season, which we didn't actually get to watch thanks to the much needed rain that teased a cancellation a couple of times and then finally threw in some lightning to make things official. Grandma and Grandpa Brown came out for that game and brought her a little gift- the pink bat and ball. I swear this kid's going to know how to swing by the time she's 2, she's already nudging the ball with the bat.

One of our summer projects is refinishing our kitchen cabinets. I. HATE. THEM. They are old and dated, but sturdy, and we just don't have the money for a whole kitchen renovation, so new paint and new cupboard doors and drawer fronts are the best we can do. The whole deal wouldn't be so bad except that when you have a big kitchen that also means you have lots of cupboards. Lots of cupboards = lots of cha-ching needed to do anything with the cupboards.

We were removing the hinges and doors manually when Jerod realized, "We have at least 3 power drills in this house." Smart boy.

Playing by herself while mom and dad work- such a good girl.....most of the time ;)

Thank goodness I organized my kitchen cupboards when I nested during my pregnancy with Cailyn, otherwise the door-less frames would be even sorrier to look at.

Somebody we know is SO MOBILE and learning to climb up onto the furniture. The glider is the first thing she figured out and she is now able to climb up onto the upstairs sofa with some persistence. Augh!

Cailyn loves to play in water, whether it be watering the garden, in the tub, or just holding the hose while it drips so we got her a sprinkler beach ball and though she doesn't fully know how to enjoy it yet, she liked being sprayed by the water. I predict there will be many more good times had with the beach ball sprinkler!