looth tooth

Kira has had two loose teeth for about a week and today, at my brother Nate's farewell (great job Nate), she lost the first one! I can't believe that she is old enough to be loosing teeth already. It seems like just yesterday that we were so excited when her first tooth came in. She has already put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy to come tonight. What fun! (The look on her face here is priceless because she was so scared and excited at the same time and this captures her reaction perfectly:) )

The little tooth is in her hand.

It's Heavenly!

I have wanted a white kitchen for as long as I can remember, but with no budget to do a major kitchen remodel I thought it would never happen. Then I thought, if I hate my kitchen cabinets, what harm could come from trying to paint them myself? They couldn't be worse than they already are. So, with some major hesitation from the hubby, I bought ten cans of Heirloom White spray paint at Home Depot and started to spray...the end result - I LOVE IT!!!

The before...
Priming the inside...
And the doors...

Another before...

And the after!
Before...

Putting on the beadboard - Thanks to Dave for the flattering picture - I was trying to help it stick better. Side note, the liquid nails from Home Depot didn't dry fast enough so, I got out my handy glue gun and that did the trick!

Add some cute knobs...

And voila! The kitchen is done and I am in love. I am so happy right now:)

It's amazing what a can of paint can do!

PS. If you want to see a really cute kitchen redo, go to bethany's blog. She did a really great job.

Mother's Day Books

We were finally able to visit both my mom and Dave's mom and wish them a Happy Mother's Day, so now I can blog about our gift to them because they have now seen it and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. These were so fun to make. They are chipboard books from mayaroad that come with their own box holder. Mayaroad has tons of fun things that you can makeover like board books and other things. (Also, I got this idea from a girl on tipjunkie). I just measured the boards and then digital scraped them with each of our pictures on them. I used a kit called "where the heart is" from GGdigitaldesigns.

Then on the backs of each picture I put some things that each of us loves about each grandma. It was fun to get the kids to think about what they loved about grandma. It was just a fun project to make and give.

Stupid Old Pickup Truck Girl

Last night we went to see Taylor Swift, aka "Stupid Old Pickup Truck Girl" - Kira LOVES that song - and was so excited to go and see Taylor in concert. She put on an amazing show and we had tons of fun - except for Kira's meltdown at the beginning:) Here are Kira and daddy.
Here is Miss Swift and the band

Taylor on the big screen - what a fun setup she had.

Posing in front of her tour buses.

Dance Yourself Silly

The girls had their very first dance concert on Saturday. It turned out so so cute. They had two dances. The first was to the "Cars" song and the second one was "Cruella De Vil". They were so much fun to watch. Kira came out on the first dance and just looked through her hands as binoculars to find us in the audience. Kate just watched Kira and copied every move she made. They were so funny and cute shaking their bums and doing all the dance moves that they could remember! What a fun memory. We love you girls.

A new finish

I love a great makeover, especially when I can makeover a wonderful piece of furniture with my favorite can of black satin spray paint. I found this beauty at my local DI and just thought it had so much potential. Here it is ready for the paint. It was originally gray with white, red, blue and yellow colors. Closeup
With a coat of primer
Painting it black

The finished product. I have been looking for something for the entryway from the garage to the kitchen and when I saw this I knew it was perfect. I think it turned out so pretty. Gotta love that spray paint.

I know that I post a lot about food, but I love it a whole bunch, and I have to rave about the dinner we got from Maddox on Thursday night. We have been trying to go to Maddox since we moved here but with kids is just doesn't ever sound too much fun to go to a fancy restaurant, but then we found out that they have a 4 person takeout meal deal for about 23.00$. We thought we'd give it a try and it was everything I could have imagined and more. I thought it would be one of those skimpy 4 person meals you get sometimes where there is never enough to go around but get this...there were four HUGE baked potatoes, 6 delicious rolls, a pound of yummy roast beef, a big bag of salad and then as if that wasn't enough, they sent us home with all the dressings too, there were bowls of gravy and salad dressing, sourcream and a stick of butter, and even honey for the rolls. I couldn't believe what an awesome deal it was. This is definantly one of my new favorite places to eat from at home. What a meal. If you ever come up this way, first you need to come and see us:), and second, go and eat at Maddox - or better yet, we could get the amazing take out deal and eat it here and enjoy all the good food and fun company at the same time!

ALOHA!

I LOVE MAUI!! Hawaii is one of my favorite vacation spots because it is so beautiful and relaxing, and I swear, every time we go it just gets better. This time we were lucky enough to go with my side of the family (without the kids - yeah!) and celebrate one last hooplah (is that a word?) before my little brother, Nate, goes on his mission in June. There is so much I could show and tell, but I thought I'd just go for a few of my Maui Favorites:

The beautiful view from our balcony on Kaanapalii beach...
Leaving my sandles behind and running around in my barefeet with the sand squishing between my toes... Snorkeling at Black Rock and...
at the nature reserve where I swam with my first turtle:)...
Making sand sculptures with my cute sister...
Hanging out on the beach with my awesome brother...
Whale watching from the beaches. The whales were all supposed to be headed back to Alaska by now, but a few hung around and we saw them slapping the water a lot and we also saw a baby humpback jumping out of the water. If you look really close in the middle back of the water in this picture, you can see a tiny arm sticking out. It looks like a little black line...
Hiking to the Iao Needle and...
to the top of Haleakalea, the volcano...
Shopping in Lahina is always a favorite and here I am hiding in the amazing Banyan tree ...

Drinking Pina Colada smoothies on the beach at the hotel with my brother and sister-in-law...

The DELICIOUS food at the Luau that we went to on our last night...

The beautiful and delicious smelling flowers everywhere you go...

All the fun animals at the Maui Ocean Center Aquariuam...And finally my flower lei from Dave. What an awesome trip!

Aloha and Mahalo Maui! We love you!

We are in Maui and here I am swimming in the ocean! What a beautiful place. I LOVE it here! More to come later:)

Pizza and Movie Night!

Lately I have realized how fast time goes. My baby girl is now 5 and just had her Kindergarten Roundup Evaluation - talk about a reality check on how old your child is getting - I can't believe that she'll be going to Kindergarten this year. My real baby is finally walking at 14 months and we are so excited to see all of his milestones, but sad to see his baby-hood fading away. So, I have decided to start a new tradition at our house so that we can bond as a family and enjoy our time together while we still have it to share. We started Pizza and Movie Fridays. I found this great recipe from a site called simplemom.net and it is delicious homemade pizza and sauce, then you just add your favorite toppings! It is super easy and the kids help me put all the toppings on so it is fun for them too. We have a great time making it and eating it and then watching a movie. So far it has gone so well that I thought I'd share the idea and the recipe. If you have any other fun family traditions let me know! Have fun making pizza!

Pizza Crust:
3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tablespoon yeast

Mix water, butter and sugar in bowl. Add part of the flour and stir. Add the rest of the flour and yeast, stir together. (I usually need to add a little bit more water). Knead for 6-8 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. Set dowgh in bowl and grease the top. Cover with towel and set in warm place to rise for 45 minutes. Knead again until air bubbles are gone (if you don't have time, skip the rising part and just press dough into pizza pan or cookie sheet). Liberally butter a 16 inch round pizza pan and press dough into it. (I use a cookie sheet) Spread with sauce and any additional toppings. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Rotate crust and bake for 5-10 more minutes - until top is browned.

Sauce:
15 oz can tomato sauce
6 oz can tomato paste
1 Tablespoon ground oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons dried, minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground paprika

Mix tomato sauce and paste together until smooth. Mix in spices.