Workin' on the house

We have been workin', workin', workin' on getting the house makeover completed so we can officially go on the rental market.  It has been fun, but hectic.  I have found some awesome artwork to hang, but came up with a few things I thought might be fun and my friend Shannon at The Preppy Ladybug was able to perfectly execute my ideas.  Check out these awesome images that I'm going to have printed on canvas.

Love them!  Thanks, Shannon. ;)

Getting Ready for Disneyworld

I don't know who is more excited - me or the children.  We leave for Disney in 36 hours.  Well, I leave for Disney in 36 hours because I am driving (with Mom) and Bob and the kiddos are flying out on Saturday morning.  Yes, that's right - I am choosing to drive 15 hours instead of flying for two.  I am a crazy person. 

But on to the fun stuff and not the crazy talk -  I have been in a frenzy this week trying to get ready for the trip.  My poor children rarely get shirts sewn for them anymore.  I'm always too busy sewing for everyone else.  But, I did manage to get cute Personalized Mickey Shirts done for them.  These will be added to the website ASAP!  I love the way they turned out.  Please excuse Sullivan's hair.  What on earth am I going to do with that child's hair??

I also treated myself to a new camera lens for this trip and I am already in love.  I think it is going to work perfectly for the parks.  It's a zoom, but not a super zoom (I have no idea what the technical term is for that - but you probably know what I mean).  It is the 55-200 Nikon Lens.  I got it from Amazon for only $249!    Stay tuned for how it actually does at Disney...but check these out from the backyard today - I was standing halfway across the backyard from the kiddos - not bad!  I really am not a very good photographer, but I desperately want to learn to take decent pictrues.  My children HATE having their picture taken and I have been using this trip as incentive for them to smile for a good 6 months now.  I simply explained that Mama was NOT going to go all the way to Florida and not get a good picture of them with that mouse so if they were not willing to TRY to smile for the camera then we were going to cancel the trip. It has worked marginally well.  No idea what I will do a week from now when the trip is over. *sigh* 

Another thing I am using from the site for this trip are the Orbit labels from Inchbug.  I put our last name and my cell phone number on them and the kiddos are going to wear them as bracelets.  That way if for any reason we are separated then they can go to any Disney employee, show them the bracelet, and I can get a phone call immediately.  Of course, this assumes I have not had a heart attack from losing a child and can actually answer the phone.  I think these will be useful in a lot of situations - I can pop them on whenever we go somewhere crowded.



Products from around my house

Basically Macaroy Kangaroo is a collection of a bunch of things I loved long before I ever thought I would open my own "store".  I really do love and use just about every product that I sell.  So, I thought I'd use this blog to show you how I actually use some of my products.

My first vinyl wall monogram was for above Sullivan's crib.  It was a giant "S" with her name running through it.  I loved it so much that I immediately bought names for over Daniel and Davis' beds.  Vinyl Wall Monograms are the best decoration for over a crib or child's bed, in my opinion.  I loved not having to worry if a picture would fall down into the bed or crib. (Am I the only one that worries about things like this?)  As an added bonus, they really looked painted on so it might appear to guests that I have fabulous artistic skills. (I don't).

Anyhow, back in November it was time to switch Sully to a big girl bed and I was so excited to pick out her new monogram!  It is the Scalloped Edge Fancy Wall Decal from the website.  I think it looks perfect over her new bed and the application really is easy.  Bob was watching golf and I did not want to disturb him (wife of the year), so I did this all by myself.  The decals come with great instructions and a little tool to help make sure you get all the bubbles out.  It is easy...I promise.

I will admit that I am a bit of a neat freak.  I am sad to report that my children did not inherit this quality from me.  I feel like I spend far too long picking up after them.  I have tried a million ways to get them to be a little more responsible with their toys and only two have worked:

1.  Setting the kitchen timer for 10 minutes and whatever is not put away when the timer goes off is headed to the trashcan.

2.  These adorable bins that sit on the back stairs.  They have actually learned to put all their stuff in these bins.  Perhaps it is because solution #1 has been traumatic on more than one occasion.  Are we the only family that uses the stairs as a catch-all for SO much stuff?  If anything is missing, we usually check there first. 

These bins are the Polka Dot Storage Tote from Heartstrings.  You probably noticed that Daniel's "R" is a little cut off.  That is because when the bins are not filled, the children think it is fun to wear them on their heads and race around the house running into things.  *sigh*.  I am certain Heartstrings would replace the vinyl if I asked them to - they have the best customer service ever.  Or I could just recut it myself, but I'm going to be honest, I doubt that is going to happen anytime soon.

And here we go!

Well...this is a new adventure for 2012!  I'm going to try my hand at blogging about the craziness that is my life.  It will be a bit about sewing and embroidery (anyone want to know how I actually get the applique on the shirt?)  It is also going to be a bit about the new beach house we're buying (we close on Friday!) and my plans for redecorating it on a shoestring budget.  Maybe I'll do some in depth product reviews from the website ...and I'm sure I'll throw in some of the fun (and crazy) that our three little ones bring to my life. 

A few warnings:
1. I am not really a great writer -  I hope that won't bother you.
2. I love to put things in parentheses (see above).
3. Most of my posts will likely be written with a glass of wine in hand. I might suggest you read them the same way.
4.  I am not really a very good cook, either.  If I ever post about recipes here, please keep that in mind. I do, however, love to eat. So, the end product will likely taste good, but won't be fancy (for instance, tomorrow's dinner consists of three ingredients that I am putting in the crockpot in the morning).

Thanks for reading!
xoxo
Kristen