Teacher Appreciation Week

We had a super fab mega awesome school year this year! Both of the kids' teachers ROCKED and I appreciate all they have done this year for both our kids. Let's face it some teachers just suck, but we were lucky and got some great ones this go around... I'm hoping our luck continues :)

Teacher appreciation came quick and I had so many ideas, but in true Staci form, I procrastinated. Majorly. I love to do all that crafty stuff, sometime I succeed others I fail, but I really do like to craft even with my many mishaps along the way... I was short on time, but in the final hours, I was able to pull it together and we gave them some little things each day letting them know how thankful we are that they were a part of the minis lives...

So with out further ado and with much thanks to pinterest here is the final products... drum roll please lol... (You can hardly contain yourselves huh? yes that IS sarcasm lol)

Anthony hand wrote a note telling why he was thankful for them :) I was proud of his answers and he did it all by himself :)

this was my least favorite because my sunflowers looked way stupid lol BAD flower choice even though they are my favorites!

For Mad's ballet teacher, Madison LOVES her!

Then as the week was ending I spied this online and almost spit my drink across the room:

HILARIOUS!!! Totally cracked me up! It was a short week for us because of election day, and on the final day I sent in a gift card... just not to the liquor store! Maybe next year hahaha

Drama much?

What a crazy last few weeks its been! Teacher appreciation came and went. The last day of school came and went. The stomach bug from hell came, stayed too long, and is finally GONE! (Poor Ant got sick the last weekend before school was out and he was MISERABLE! Just as he turned the corner, I was hit hard! Thankfully it was only a 24 hour thing for me, but oh I wished for death the entire 24 hours. Never have I dry heaved for so long. Hell would have been a vacay after that nightmare!) And the pup came and wait... he's still here <3

So, we have had this little fellow for about a month now and his crazy self has fit right in with the rest of us nuts. He is so stinkin cute and I could just snuggle him for hours IF the little booger would sit still long enough! Holy cow is he busy! I feel like I have a toddler again. Every time, I turn around I seem to be looking for the pup!

It took us awhile to name the cutie pie. Madison was set on Rosebud. Anthony preferred Train or Nascar. Jason's suggestion? Thumper. No, no, and NO! Finally, we decided to play on irony and name our cute little ball of fluff Diesel.

Diesel is a nut. He races through the house, always exploring, and ALWAYS ready to pounce. Juliet was so totally annoyed at first. I mean she was just too prissy to play with that... that beast. BUT after a few days, she let her curls down and decided to join in the fun! Now I have two kids chasing each other screaming through the house as well as, 2 puppies running through the house barking. Yup. I am officially crazy... though I will admit I enjoy it all.

The house training is going so so, but he's still so little and with time he will improve. (He does scratch at the door 50% of the time... Crate training is going fantastic. No whines or whimpers ever. Score!

He had his first set of puppy shots last week and all was well. We came home, had some lunch, and the kids were off playing when I heard the most horrific puppy "screams". It was horrible! I rushed to see what was wrong, but no one was near him. He acted as though he had to poo but each time he squatted he would wail. I freaked. MAJORLY! I took him outback hoping he would be able to go, but the cries of pain continued. I rushed inside, popped him in his crate, and hightailed it to the vet. Diesel way dying. I just knew it! The kids left a toy out, he ate it, he had a blockage or something and he was gonna die.

Frantically, I drove the 5 miles to the vet... I ran inside crying and all I could say was somethings wrong. The vet tech recognized me from the morning (I mean I was in there with 2 crazy dogs and kids how can one forget that hot mess) and snatched the crate while calling out for help due to a possible vaccine reaction. The receptionist led me back to an examine room to wait. I could still hear him. It was TERRIBLE!

After a few minutes, the vet came in and said they had given him some pain meds and that he was ok, and this is a direct quote; "Diesel is fine. He just happens to be the most dramatic little puppy we have ever seen!" I stared at the man dumbfounded with tears streaming down my cheeks. "What?! I think he has an obstruction or something. I mean he was trying to poop but couldn't. I think he's dying."

The vet kinda laughed and said they could check again, but that he really was fine. He is just being overly dramatic to the shot pain. Of course I insisted they check him again. I mean, the dog was trying to poop people. HE IS DYING! They reexamined him and gave him another clean bill of health along with the diagnosis of dramatic puppy. Seriously? Even my puppy is drama? Mortified, I dried my tears, clarified that Diesel wasn't dying, and took my pooch home with my tail between my legs. The entire 5 mile drive home all I could do was shake my head and repeat over and over: Who's dog does THIS? Seriously? Dramatic? Seriously? Wow!"

So, I would say Mr. Diesel was a great addition to my perfectly crazy family. He truly fits RIGHT IN!

All pics were taken with cell phones so excuse the quality :)

And now back to regularly scheduled programming: Wordless Wednesday

There is a boy.

He stole my heart...

He calls me Mommy!

For more WW: A Beautiful Mess, Look at What Mom found... and Dad too,  Momspective,  Wordless Wednesday ,

The new and improved casa de crazy kitchen!

Around Christmas break, we decided to redo our kitchen... We both hated the oak cabinets, white appliances, and our counter tops BUT we did not want to spend a fortune on new cabinets, appliances, AND counter tops!

After researching and finding TONS of pictures, I finally convinced my husband to paint our existing cabinets black... He was hesitant, like he always is with my color choices, ideas, fabrics, etc, but he knew I would be relentless so he FINALLY agreed!

*The next 3 pics were quickly snapped with my cell phone AT NIGHT, so excuse the poor quality please!

our assembly line :)

WOW! Our counters were messy... I plead that everything was piled everywhere so Jason could work and I am SO sticking with that!

I knew I wanted him to add crown molding to the tops of our builder grade cabinets and that alone made a HUGE impact and was inexpensive and according to him pretty easy! I also wanted bead board added to the sides of the cabinets and I love it! It really gave a nice finished look.

I also wanted stainless appliances. I know a lot of people hate them, but I don't mind them and I like the look... They really aren't to hard to clean and since the minis are getting bigger we don't have the whole "finger print issue".

We bought a new faucet at our local ReStore and it was a fantastic find and an even better deal... I LOVE it!

I made simple valences out of panels from Target... I had the hardest time finding fabric I liked...

you can see the bead board in this pic

love this baby! So worth every cent!
 Note: I had visions of kids making the ice crumble to the floor and water pouring out daily, so we got one with the ice maker and water INSIDE. LOVE!

Kids desk area... The dry erase board is my DAILY life saver as is the file holders... One for each kids many school and sport papers!

My chairs were dingy and yucky, thank you little people... So I recovered them with a fun fabric that has all the colors of my downstairs in it... I like them SO MUCH MORE now!

before

better after :)

You may have noticed, I have no microwave... We used to have a cheapy white one on the counter and I hated it there... I am not too keen on the ones mounter under a cabinet either even thought they are 100 times better. I had a lightbulb moment and did a little jig when I knew my idea would totally work. Since our cooktop is in the island, our island cabinets have plugs for the exhaust fan. Well, I totally bought a hot pink hello kitty microwave from taget and put that baby under my island... Some people may  not like having to bend down to use it, but it works great for us. The minis can nuke their own french toast sticks, and for as often as I use it (remember I hardly ever cook) it works out great. Plus every time I see the HOT pink I smile!

The whole thing took about a month because Jason worked, my parents came to town, and well life happened... I really feel like it was worth the wait though! I LOVE my new kitchen... I feel like it suits me and my personality, looks more modern, and I feel like it doesn't look so "standard"... Even though we have started saving for our counter tops and an amazing aquaish tile for the backsplash, I no longer feel as though I'm going to vomit when I look at them... Somehow the black makes them a bit more tolerable...

So there you have it, my semi kitchen make over without spending a FORTUNE! What do ya think?

I must be nuts!

I am crazy, everyone knows this... But its official. I must be certifiable! As of Saturday, we are adding on to my already spaz-tabulous family...

Saturday morning, after soccer, we are piling into the car to pick up our new little, as of yet unnamed, bichon. I mean one is just not enough :)

4 weeks old and 2 pounds :) How can you resist THAT face!

As of Saturday I will be cleaning up pee and poo from my floors, paying for double the grooming, picking up double the poo,  but oh my I just can't resist another little poochie...

6 weeks

Juliet is a sweet pup (she needs to get a bit better about jumping up on peeps, but we're working on that)... She is a love bug, super cuddly, and we all just adore her... Why not have double the fun? See I told ya I'm crazy...

According to the breeder, our pup is the most social out of the litter and quite the escape artist.. So basically another spaz lol  He is joining the right family! hahaha

In my defense this was JASON'S idea. NOT mine! I just jumped on board really fast! So Saturday my new about 4 pound little fluff ball will be coming home to be loved, spoiled, and adored! I just hope Miss Juliet doesn't go all diva on me!

wild child <3

So cannot wait to get my hands on this little guy! If you have any awesome name suggestions, please DO SHARE! We are STUMPED!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Madison's dance recital was this past weekend and she did fabulous :) All the girls did! She was so very excited and for the last week or so all I have heard about is her "beautiful leaps".

"Wait til you see them mommy!" "Mommy I cannot wait for you to see my leaps!" "mommy, are you excited to watch my pretty leaps?" These sentences and others like it have been on repeat! She was so proud of herself!

Well, her big night came and she danced her heart out! Daddy snapped picture after picture and once my tuckered out ballerina was tucked snug in her bed, I eagerly downloaded the pics... Most were blurry and grainy since it was dark, but I did find this little gem... I wish it was in better quality, but I am just thrilled he captured it! Let's just say Mad's eyes were as big as the moon when she saw this and was beaming with pride, as was I! I mean, that's pretty darn high for a five year old!

For more WW: A Beautiful Mess, Look at What Mom found... and Dad too,  Momspective,  Wordless Wednesday ,