Colin's Dick and Jane Nursery - it's finished!

this post is really just for me.  (well, aren't they all) but, i really wanted to chronicle the room my boy had as a baby.  i kind of agonized over it, because as it turns out, i am very girly and the boy thing didn't come easy.  

i finally settled on a palate of primary colors, incorporating my antique pram.  

 back when i had Anna, i really planned on a neutral nursery that would work for a boy or a girl, but my girly instincts took over, and the girls got a nursery fit for a princess.  but i fell in love with this vintage Dick and Jane fabric.  so, i revisited it this time around and rekindled my romance.  

 i bought these postcards on a 1999 summer in Paris.  the girls version has been framed since Anna was born, the boys went missing.  i was thrilled to finally find it during and reorganization of my office!  

 i love these chalkboard labels for the dresser.  especially because now Jason has no excuse not to put the baby's clothes away.  

 i love these pails from the dollar section of Target.  what a steal!

the girls had fun helping me spell out Colin's name with vintage building blocks. 

 it all came together just how i wanted it.  once i found that postcard i felt like it was time to snap some pics!

 i am one happy mamma with this vintage Dick and Jane style nursery.  

i so intended on posting all about our meal planning, and the yummy new recipes i've integrated into our "back to school" lives.  but rather than take step-by-step photos and take time listing all the steps, we dug right in and ate all our food.  

today we had omelets and pizza.  someday maybe i'll fill you in on how easy our meal times have become with my new meal plan.  

school days

 now that it's just the three of us at home on weekdays, Avery and Colin are finding they're rythm as a twosome.   today they just chilled and read some books.  

i love when babies "read" he really methodically looks at each page, saying baby jibberish, and turning slowly to the next.  funny boy!

two more cuties!

this sunday was full of laughs,

 and fresh fruits and veggies from our garden.

i love having a garden.  but really, our melons have failed to produce over the years.  this was our only eatable watermelon and our cantaloupe got borer beetles, gross!  but our squash were delish!

two cuties!

on this beautiful afternoon, i had to grab my camera when i saw these two cuties in action!

Colin is learning to be reverent during prayer:

 Nalu snuggling up to her mini-me.  

weekend projects

 Jason is my weekend warrior.  he does so many awesome projects for us, making our house a home.  recently, he's wanted to chronicle his projects and enlisted me to take more pictures of his hard work.  

these are our kitchen chairs.  they have been great.  i love the classic styling, an i love that they are the chairs i grew up with.  but, they are the chairs i grew up with, so they are almost 35 years old and have been used and abused by 10 children now.  they were originally a set of 8,  i inherited the remaining 4.  needless to say, after all this time, they had to go.  

we set out to find an inexpensive set of chairs to get us through the next decade or so, which as history has shown, will prove to be a highly destructive period for furniture.  after a long and exhaustive search, we found a set of 8 like this: (six in a set and two non-matching)

 first Jason hit the 6 with a few coats of high gloss black spray paint.  

 then i recovered the seats in the same long-lasting chenille we had before.  

voila!  i'm thrilled with the results.  

 additionally i took the remaining two non-matching chairs and gave them a few coats of aqua, and replaced the seats with cute fabric remnants i had in the closet.  i did not have room in the girls' rooms for these, so after using them in a few photoshoots they hit Craigslist.  

so, after selling our old fab-four chairs and the refinished aquas, we got the matching 6 for only $40.  thanks Craigslist!

back to school, Maddie's first day of kindergarten!

 today was a very exciting day for our family.  our second little baby went off to kindergarten!  she was so excited, and so ready to start school.  i on the other hand was a little shocked at how hard it was for me to see her go.  thank goodness for half day kinder!

this big first grader could not wait to spend all day at school, see her friends again, make new friends and eat lunch at school!  

we had grandma and grandpa Beardsley there to take a family picture, and to be with us for flag ceremony.  we love that Benjamin Franklin Charter School puts such a strong emphasis on patriatism!  our kids benefit so much from this school's curriculum. 

(Maddie did look a little nervous here, but her teacher told me she marched in, sat down and got right to work reciting her phonograms and following the rules like a pro!)

Anna reported that she has several friends from her old class, and plenty of new friends to meet.  this is going to be a great year!

a last hurrah in California!

the weekend before school started we packed up the family and headed to California for a last ditch session at the beach! even though we've made a happy home here in AZ, we still miss the beach!

 we were happy to have good friends on vacation too!  the kids had some beach buddies to play with, and Colin was able to take a nap peacefully in Mirium's arms.  

I hope these two enjoyed their vacation, it's off to school when we get back!