Oh Florida!

We took a trip this winter to the amazing state of Florida.  My brother and sister-in-law live there so we decided to go make a trip out of it.  We went with all of Tyler's family and it was a blast.  

We decided to do the Disneyworld thing since Payton is still free (and she could still fly free).  I was so worried about Payton flying because we didn't buy a seat for her which meant she would have to sit on our lap for 4 and half hours straight.  If you know Payton you know that is pretty much impossible.  So I did my Pinterest research on how to fly with a toddler and got as prepared as I could be.  We bought her a cute little monkey backpack that she could use as a carry on and packed her a new coloring book, some of her favorite little toys, play dough, a puzzle and of course an iPad stocked full of fun apps and her favorite movie.  

I was actually surprised at how entertained she stayed.  I didn't have to pull out the iPad until about an hour and a half into the flight.  I was not expecting that.  The first half hour she spent looking out the window, playing with the food tray and reading those weird product magazines they have in the back seat pocket.  

She was a little sick during the flight which was actually good because she was very snuggly and didn't ask to get up at all. 

My favorite part of our whole time in Florida was when we went to Cocoa Beach.  My sister in law's uncle is part of a company that owns a house right on the bay.  They had a pool and kayaks that we could use on the water.  We were lucky enough to see dolphins right by us on the kayaks.  It was amazing.

Payton LOVED Disneyworld.  Tyler and I are not big theme park people but it is such a different experience to see your daughter love it.  It was so much fun.

This was probably one of my favorite things to see at DisneyWorld.  They put on a huge car race/stunt show and showed us how they film car chase scenes in movies.  It was unreal.

She was a trooper.  The first day at the park we stayed all day.  She even stayed awake for the finale show.

Animal Kingdom was pretty cool.  Payton loved the safari seeing all the animals.

The last day we did Magic Kingdom.  Payton's favorite thing over all 3 days was the Carousel.  She cried hysterically when we took her off.

The best part was being able to spend time with family.

                                                  

Eli and Payton had so much fun together.

Such a fun trip.

Spring/Summer To Do List

So this winter we took a break from all the renovating.  We were a little worn out and not much can be done in the winter anyways.  Now that the snow has melted and the sun is back out I am itching to get more things crossed off our to do list.

Bedroom Hallway

Remove Swamp Cooler from ceiling and wall

Re-drywall where the swamp cooler was removed

Paint trim and walls (the last of the yellow and green paint)

Add some art and a runner rug like this or this

Front Yard

DIY Paver Patio in front of window on the right

Add some landscaping (bushes/flowers/rock)

 Maybe if we are lucky we can talk Tyler's dad into coming up again

Paint the front door a fun blue like this or this

Master Bathroom

I have been making plans for my "DREAM" bathroom, but even being budget conscious it is far away from realistically carrying out.  So this summer we plan on doing a very cheap (under $200) bathroom update.  The plans are to..

 Paint the hideous vomit colored walls
Replace the off centered circle mirror
Paint the cabinets and get hardware
Spray paint the light fixtures black
Repaint the grout like this

Paint the outdated tile in the tub and shower (I found this website to be super helpful)

Refinish the ugly tub with a $30 Tub and Tile Kit from Lowes (found out how here)

I am still contemplating whether or not to paint the tile in the toilet portion of the bathroom like this

I feel like I might hate it

Those are the 3 big projects that we have going on.  I actually started writing this post a few weeks ago and can already cross of painting all the trim in the hallways and master bathroom off my list.  Next on my list this week is the tub.  

The Joys of Motherhood

Any mother out there knows that being a mom is hard work.  It is for me.  This is my first year being a full time stay at home mom.  Don't get me wrong for me and my family I wouldn't have it any other way, but sometimes I just want to run into my bedroom shut the door and just sleep.  Forever.  It is tiring being a mom.  

But despite all of the hardships that come with being a mom, I would never trade it for anything.  Here are some little joys that my little one brings into my life on a daily basis.  I just can't get enough of her.

She is obsessed with Monti!  She calls him "bubba" and wants to always take him for a walk, play tug-a-war and constantly snuggle him.  He isn't too excited about it, but he makes do.  She loves taking him for a walk out on our deck.

 She has such sweet nurturing tendencies already.  It is my absolute favorite thing to watch her hold a baby doll and rock her to sleep.

If she could have her way she would be painting all day long.  

Nothing is better then watching my amazing husband be an amazing father.

My little P has SO many facial expressions.  It is so hard to find a picture of her smiling.  I love them all.  Especially her grouchy face.

The hardest thing for me is that Payton hates to snuggle.  This is what she does anytime I try to kiss or hug her.  She pushes me away and says "No Mommy".  It just breaks my heart.  Such an independent little girl.

She has been sick the past week and this is the first EVER she asks me to snuggle and sing to her before her naps and bedtime.  I just soak it in.   

My Dream Bathroom

One of the main reasons we fell in love with this house are the cathedral ceilings.  We have three rooms in the house where the ceilings are high and gorgeous and make the rooms feel huge.  The living room/kitchen, our master bedroom and our master bathroom.  

Although the master bathroom is HUGE and has a ton of potential this is what it looks like at the moment (except now the closet is full and we took down those nasty curtains)

We have put this off because 1-we don't even know where to start and 2- we want to do a massive renovation to it that we wouldn't want to do on our own

So our goal is to save up some money over the next few years and then turn it into our DREAM bathroom (on a budget of course)

I did a ton of research on how to save money on bathroom remodels because next to kitchens they are the most expensive room in the house to remodel.  

A few tips that I am going to use are:

-keeping the bath and sink in the same location 

-we are switching the shower and toilet but they both have water hookups there anyway

-buying all appliances and materials ourselves 

-hiring sub-contractors for each job not a big company that remodels bathrooms

-look at second hand stores for some appliances (toilet, shower heads, etc.)

One thing that we are doing that makes things more complicated is knocking out some walls to expand our bathroom.  I know that sounds stupid especially because it is HUGE already, but to the right of the bathtub and behind the toilet is a second washer dryer hookup that we aren't using because the laundry room is downstairs.  

So we plan to knock out the wall behind this toilet and switch the shower and toilet so we can have a huge shower with two heads.  I have always wanted that.

So here is a layout I set up with the exact measurements on this nice website

So the major changes you can see are switching the shower and toilet and putting up two doors (one for the bathroom and one for the main entrance to replace that curtain).  I'm also super stoked about getting a vanity across from the sink and a nice claw foot soaker tub!

Here are the designs I plan on using with these specific products from various stores.

Paint color: Colorado Gray by Benjamin Moore

Tile: Cork Wood Tile - $3.98 SF from Home Depot

Double Sink Vanity - $499 from Ikea

Four Light Chrome Lighting - $112 from Overstock

Moroccan Wallpaper - $160 from an Etsy shop

Chevron Rug - $30 from Target

Desk - $90 from Ikea

Tall Storage Shelves - $110 each from Ikea

Whicker chair - $80 from Ikea
Art - DIY
Same lighting as the one over the sink

Crystal Chandelier - $157 from Overstock

Soaking Tub - $1163 from Lowes

Art - DIY

Bath rug - $23 at Target

Silver frame around fireplace - custom

Toilet - $150 from Lowes

Art - DIY

Bathroom Storage - $69 from Ikea

Toiletpaper holder - $8 from Ikea

Grey subway tile for shower wall - $2.39 SF at Overstock

Blue circle tile for shower floor - $5.70 SF from Overstock

Rain Shower Heads - $288 each from Lowes

We also plan on opening up the closet so that it is longer and getting custom closet space like this.

So this is what I will be saving for over the next two years.  It will be SO worth it.  I can manage using this bath tub for another 2 years

 knowing that one day my bathroom will be AMAZING.