Merry Christmas!

So now is the time of year where I review what we did and set goals for next year. I just-can't-believe-it-is-here! Am I really writing a year review? Seriously, where has the year gone?

I quickly looked through past posts and in January I posted pictures of houses in the bay area that were in this little town called Brentwood. Fast forward four months later and we purchased one of those homes.

April through October Kiel slept on his cousin Amy's couch in L.A. while I spread out on our giant California King at our new home. We missed him terribly and kept very busy. I took the kids camping for their first time, we saw Nana and Papa in Oregon and did a lot of day trips! Kiel would see us once a month and in August he spent six weeks with us and then went back for four more weeks until he came home for good!

2 years

2 and half years

In May we celebrated Bruce's second birthday at our new home. I can't believe how much he has changed. Two is sooo much younger than two and a half. He even looks a lot younger. Where did the baby fat go? Bruce talks so much and is using his imagination. His favorite color is yellow and right now his favorite movie is The Polar Express. That can change monthly though. Bruce is very social and loves having play dates with other kids. The older you are the more he admires you! He continues to bless our lives daily and there isn't a day that goes by that we are so grateful for the opportunity to be his Earthly parents.

In August Rhyan turned one! We had a party for her at our house too! Rhyan started walking at 13 months and hasn't slowed down since! She now runs, especially for food and also for revenge ;) She can now hold her own when brother tries to take a toy and her special defense weapon is her teeth...Eeek! This does not make things fun for me. Rhyan is genuinely a happy girl but when she's not she makes it well known. Ear piercing scream anyone? Rhyan loves to snuggle and is not shy of strangers. She likes to be held, read to, sung to and rocked. Her favorite song is twinkle little star and she can do the hand movements. Her favorite place is OUTSIDE, unfortunately our kids have become very independent lately since they have each other and have no problem opening the front door to play out front. Luckily I have a latch on the top and am thankful for the reminder I got a few weeks ago to ALWAYS have it locked! Rhyan is in the 97th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. We're so grateful that she is a healthy and well adjusted 16 month old. She is so generous with her kisses and her hugs, I could hold this girl all day if Bruce would let me!

Kiel moved back in October and it was like we never lived apart. The kids got back into their original routine and love having their daddy back home. Kiel commutes to work with a few friends that also live in Brentwood. Kiel likes his office in Dublin and enjoys the people he works with. He also likes the people he pulls over a lot better as well. Kiel works really hard for his family and we are so grateful for him. While he's not at work he's been helping me do projects around the house and enjoying family time. Kiel also likes to go shooting and is looking forward to future hunting trips.

In October I also celebrated my 32nd birthday with some girlfriends in Napa. It was a much needed break after mothering the kids without my husband for four weeks. Single motherhood is no joke and I realize I was never technically single during this transition I did and do have an overwhelming appreciation for my husband and even greater appreciation when he is by my side. Simply put, he makes me a better mother or rather allows me to be.

In November we had Kiel's sisters Lisa and Shelley (including her tribe) my mom and of course George down and up for Thanksgiving. Bruce had so much fun playing with his cousins and I had fun hosting thirty people for my very first Thanksgiving dinner. And of course I have no pictures to share. Always.happens.at.every.event.I.host. (Can I get a big boohoo?) Anyway after Thanksgiving dinner was done I got ready for my big black "Friday" shopping. I left the house at 6:30pm and didn't get back until 6am the next day! I went with my mom and Frances. We had a ton of fun, will never do Walmart again and Home Depot, as long as you have $.99 cent poinsettias I will always be a black friday customer! Here I am after two hours at walmart waiting in line for my $99.00 T.V. I was so tired of standing I climbed into my shopping cart and my nice mother pushed me the whole way. Two hours later we were finally out of there! Oh it was Awful! But home depot made it all worth it and we did get our t.v.!

December is going just as fast as it has come this year. We decorated the house the day after Thanksgiving and are excited for Christmas to come. As we reflect this time of year we are grateful for our Savior, Jesus Christ and His sacrifice that we may have eternal life. We are grateful for our children and the blessings they bring to our lives. We are grateful for each other and our commitment to each other. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and many blessings in the new year!

Mantle makeover and the $75 challenge!

Our brand new traditional home is covered with this light honey colored wood that screams 1990!

The rooms that got hit with this tragedy the most was the family/kitchen combo.

I decided to do what any house wife would do, I went to Home Depot with my husband and helped him pick out all the materials he would need for his new project!

We decided on white because its clean and will go nicely with the wall color we are going to choose, but more on that later.

So do you want to know how to redo your mantle? Pictures are posted at the end.

Steps:

1. Wash mantle well with a damp paper towel and let dry.

2. Lightly sand

3. Repeat step 1

3a. Tape off all areas around mantel

4. Prime and let dry and then add a second coat. And then let dry for 24 hours

5. Now paint, do two coats minimum

6. Let dry and then decorate as desired!

Here's pictures! The entertainment unit is next.

Now my $75 challenge! This whole project cost me $75 bucks but I'm willing to see how far this $75 will take me. So the mantle is finished I'm hoping I can also paint the entertainment unit, crown molding, trim, and my stairway.

I'll let you know how far I get!

Emergency preparedness- stuff they don't have on the list!

My friend Sunni just got power back on today after hurricane Sandy hit last week. She was out of power for eight days and though she was prepared I asked her about the things she wished she had and here is what she said:

Well you should get a generator since you have a house. The very first thing they sold out of was that-on the fri before the storm even hit.

The next things that sold out were extra gas cans - needed for the generator as well as to fill your cars. She also added later to make sure you have a full tank of gas and a full gas can. She used her car a lot to charge her cell phone. Which reminded me to get a car charger for my phone since I don't have one.

Next is D batteries and big flashlights-you never realize how truly dark it is until it happens.

Next would be a kerosene heater-you can burn kerosene indoors but not propane due to CO2.

Wet wipes can be used in lieu of baths - so a big big box. Wet wipes are now made with antimicrobial for hands only - perfect for kitchen and bathrooms.

And I can't say enough about water: Once the power goes-you can't count on the safety of any water but bottled after the lights go. And u need water to brush teeth, wash off apples, make milk with dry powdered milk...To rinse out pans from cooking-all need clean water.

Oh-and bed bath and beyond sells the cheapest box of battery powered candles. I would get those, much safer than the flame ones.

Once the hurricane hit it was impossible to go anywhere. So be prepared to be stuck where you are. Nothing worked except my gas, so if you have a gas stove that's great!

Basically camping supplies are really helpful. Waterproof matches incase you flood and need to start your stove for heat or to cook.

Of course this is not a complete list of what you need during an emergency, this is just the stuff I don't really see on lists. But I might have just missed it. This is my goal for the year 2013, have an emergency preparedness plan and a special place in my house for all of our emergency supplies! I hope you to are encouraged if you don't already have something.

Thanks Sunni so much for our thoughts! We are so happy you are safe!

Love,

Kiel, Mel, Bruce and rhyan!

Future projects!

I'm totally stoked on a few design elements I want to add to our house! First we are going to paint our stairway black and white. The main beams and banister will be black and the spindles plus the bottom base will be white! Sounds odd? Don't worry, it will look amazing!

Next, a kitchen make over! Check out my inspiration photos below! I better get to sanding!

Mini make over on a budget

The loft has been an empty space for awhile. I couldn't decide what I wanted. I liked the idea of a relaxing place to read and the kids to do artwork. But artwork is messy so I thought a mini library for all would be great instead.

I need to add book shelves and I would like two tiny chairs for the kids but for right now this is what I have to work with.

This make over cost me $40

Round rug, - $30 (a gift from my sister)
Couch w/ottoman - $15 (garage sale)
Tree - $9.99 (sale at michaels)
Soda tray - $14.99 (world market also on sale)

I love reading books here while Bruce is supposed to be going to bed. It keeps him in his room and gives me relaxing time!

Rhyan's Walking!

I can't believe I haven't posted this but Rhyan took her first steps the day before Kiel left to go back to L.A. After staying with us for 6 weeks. I think it was on September 17th. Since then she has really improved and chooses to walk instead of crawl 95% of the time.

I wish I could post videos from my phone on here;( so here's a cute picture of the day she walked to grandpa. And a funny on of Bruce who decided to put his nighttime underwear on his head.

Conference weekend!

I thoroughly enjoyed conference weekend! Conference is my absolute favorite and I loved all of the talks! Most seemed to be themed around having a stronger relationship the Christ and our Father in Heaven, something I could always work on.

Friday I packed up the kids and stayed in San Francisco at Beth's Mansion! She lives in a beautiful neighborhood in an absolutely gorgeous house. We ate dinner, put the kids to bed and then talked until two in the morning. It was great! The kids slept in till 7 and we had breakfast and the went on a walk in her neighborhood. I didn't realize how much I missed San Francisco until that moment. This was the first time I had been since Kiel and I moved back to the Bay Area and the first time the kids had ever been. After we watched the morning session of conference while Bruce watched The Lorax by Dr. Seuss and Rhyan took a nap. After conference we went to the best sandwich place ever downtown, Ike's, and we found free parking as well. Then we drove to twin peaks and climbed up a giant hill so we could watch the blue angels during fleet week. Afterwards I drove to Clayton and met up with my sister Michelle and took the kids to the Clayton Octoberfest. Bruce and rhyan both love rides. After a busy, fun packed and exhausting day the kids passed out on the ride home and slept until Sunday morning.

We headed to my aunts in the morning to watch conference, eat a ton of food and let the kids play with all of their cousins. They had a blast. After an awesome dinner we went home and Bruce and rhyan fell asleep again, waking up in the a.m. for another busy day. I think tomorrow I'm going to stay home!