Pantry Makeover!

I have really been itching to get this house more organized lately. For some reason I think I got Fall Fever instead of spring! I have found lots of little projects to do that I'll be sharing with you. I hope I can inspire someone else to be as crazy and organized as I am! (Ok, I'm not really all that organized... I'm trying though!)

So, without further ado, the Great Pantry Makeover! Here we go.

Here is a before picture: (I was so excited to get started that emptied the top shelves before I remembered the picture!)

The top half was just like this, but worse if you can believe that.

My helper

First, I scoured Pinterest and all my favorite organizing blogs for some inspiration. Lots of people have done this far better than I did, so if you need ideas check them out too! Some of my favorites are here, here, and here.

After I had an idea of what the end result should be, I set to work clearing everything out. I got rid of anything that was expired of course, and tried to group items together as much as possible. It was quite a mess! But, it always gets worse before it gets better, right?

Wow.

I decided I wanted to paint the inside of the pantry. I'm always better at keeping something neat and organized if I like the way it looks, so I figured this should be no different. This was a big reminder that I'm no painter! But we'll get to that.

This house was built in 1987 and I'm pretty sure no one had ever replaced the cabinets, so the shelves were pretty bowed and saggy. To keep costs down, instead of replacing them we just flipped them over! Free and way easier than having to cut all new shelving, and it worked just fine. Have I mentioned we are not handy people? We don't own power tools. Oh, I take that back, Rob has a drill. And I have a blow dryer... Does that count?

Once everything was emptied out, we wiped it all down and set to painting. I chose a pretty, sunny yellow.

Manual labor! She works for lollipops.

It was at this point that I started to regret the painting idea. Why, you ask? Well.

1. Painting with your head in a cabinet sucks. Really. Even though it was low VOC paint it's still stinky, and I kept bumping my elbows on the walls I'd just painted. Fun times.

2. Painting over bad wood-grain vinyl sucks too. It took no less than three coats to make it look decent. And, as Rob pointed out, it really could have used a fourth. But  refer to item #2 for why I was DONE after three, thankyouverymuch. 

3. The previous owners painted our cabinets a lovely shade of brown. It was to cover the lovely shade of peach which I appreciate (no, not joking! Look at the hinges in that picture.), but still brown. And I chose yellow paint. Now, maybe it's because I have two small kids and bodily functions are a decently large part of my day, but PEE AND POOP, ANYONE? Lol! Also very 70's. Oops.

Yikes.

So. After I got the inside all painted, I put some white textured shelf paper on the shelves. I thought it would hold up better against scuffing and be easier to clean. (Yes I put the green painter's tape on halfway through. Oops again. Not handy people, remember? :) That part was fairly simple, thankfully. 

I found some inexpensive plastic stacking baskets at Target and used my handy-dandy label maker to add a label to the front. I think I might need something bigger though, but those will work for now. 

Getting there...

And here's what I ended up with! I have to admit, the yellow is growing on me. And Lord knows there is NO WAY I'm painting that again anytime soon, so it's there for a while at least.

Tada! (Please ignore the finger prints on the fridge... Ugh.)

Bottom half is breakfast foods and baking, cans, and tall appliances that won't fit anywhere else.

Top half is medicines and things to keep the kids out of, pasta and random boxed food, and snacks. 

Bigger labels? We'll see.

There you have it! Not fancy, but cheap and much better than it was before. I can finally find things without digging and scooting things all around. It's nice! Now if we can just eat all 27 cans of diced tomatoes we have, we'll be all set.

9 Months Old

Natalie Rae, you are 9 months old! In the words of Quincy, "I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT!!" (Little Einsteins, anyone...? Ha.)

9 Months Old!

We haven't been to your 9 month check-up yet but I think you weigh around 18 lbs. You are just starting to grow out of 6 month clothes and into 9 month sizes, and still in a size 3 diaper. A peanut just like your big sissy!

Bigger than the bear now!

You are into everything. And I do mean EVERYTHING! Especially if we tell you it's off limits. Or if sissy has it. Or if I've just washed it and would like it to stay slobber-free for ten seconds.

I can't get enough of that smile.

You are the happiest kid ever! Which is sometimes a little shocking because you don't sleep through the night yet, at all. I'm lucky if you give me a 5 hour stretch most nights! I'm trying to enjoy all the snuggles though, because it's going by so quickly. And you're such a sweet girl, even at 3 am.

Standing every chance she gets!

I hate to admit it, but you are Officially Mobile! You crawl everywhere and LOVE to pull up and stand. Your favorite though, by far, is to hold your daddy's hands and walk around the house with him. You could do that for hours, giggling with every step!

There she goes!

You are stubborn. If you are interested in something and we take it away from you, watch out! You are shaping up to have a temper like your mama. Ahem.

So big.

You are VERY MUCH mama's girl. You love daddy tons but definitely want mama most times, and completely refuse to go to anyone else. You still haven't had a baby sitter that wasn't one of your parents! (Mama and Daddy would like a date night sometime before you're 12, ok? Thanks. :)  )

New seats!

You moved out of the "baby bucket" and into a Big Girl carseat. You love it! And Emmie loves that she can see you better now. You two chatter and sing together in the car now!

Yum.

You are really starting to enjoy food! Fruit is your favorite, especially pears and peaches, but you like pretty much everything we give you now. And you are a pro mess-maker. Must be in the genes...

You are such fun. You love to play and crawl, push things around, and chase your sissy in your walker. Nothing can stop you! Except for naptime... When you are tired, look out. You even beat Emily in the cranky department when you are sleepy! 

You are such a joy and a blessing to our family. Watching you and your big sissy together just melts my mama heart! I love you more than I could ever say, Nattie-Roo. Happy 9 months!

K is for... Costco?

This week we are working on the letter K with Emily. We generally do lots of crafts and worksheets, and listen to some songs and videos on YouTube (we find those by using the Easy-Peasy site. It's great!) for the letter we are working on. We also try and point out things that start with the letter of the week each week in books or on signs or wherever, really. She did very well this time finding kites, kittens, koalas, kangaroos and pointing out the letter K. She's really doing well in school so far! I'm a proud mama.

(Please excuse the jammies she's wearing in some of these pictures. Both girls have been sick all week so we are taking it easy around here. And really, we school at home so we can wear whatever we want, right?!)

Tracing letters. She's getting very good at this!

Karen the Kangaroo, from Easy-Peasy 

K is for King!

More tracing.

(This is from last week but too cute to pass up - she was using a sponge cut into the shape of the letter "J" to make stamps with paint. This is one of her favorites!)

We took a trip to Costco the other day and both girls rode in the cart together for the first time. Nattie is getting so big! And also so grabby! It was all Emmie could do to keep her crackers for herself.

Gimme those!

 As we're going through the store looking at all the shiny toys and treats, Emily says, "Mama, they spelled it wrong." I'm confused. "They spelled what wrong, sweetheart?" "Costco," she says. "They spelled it wrong!" What? They spelled Costco wrong? Um... Ok then. I have no idea what she's talking about, so we just keep going.

A minute later she says it again. "See, Mama! They spelled it wrong!" She's pointing to a big sign that says Costco on it. "Costco starts with K, Mama. K-K-Costco! But they have it with a C, and it should be a K. K is for Costco!"

This proved two things to me: First, all this hard work is paying off and she really is learning in school, and second, we spend far too much time in Costco. I don't think she actually "read" the Costco sign, but she certainly recognized it. Good job, kiddo!

Baby ponytail! 

And then there's Natalie. This kid is going to kill me, I swear. She's getting to be very mobile, very quickly! We had to drop the mattress down in her crib once already and will likely have to do it again, and soon. She pulls up on the edges of her crib and stands there yelling instead of going to sleep. Fun times.

She scoots all around on her tummy and pulls herself forward on her elbows to get where she wants to go. Time to begin the hardcore child-proofing! She also learned how to move herself around in her walker. Now instead of putting her down to play with the toys on the front of it, she follows us around and runs over our toes, giggling like crazy. Yep, we're in trouble.

"Can I play too, sissy?"

Emmie LOVES to push her in her car, and it keeps them both entertained for quite a while most times. Two birds, one stone, yes? :)

I'm not sure I'm ready for another totally mobile baby. But at the rate she's going, I really have no choice! Time flies for sure. I'm doing my best to make the most of all our days while the girls are still small.

Anyone have any duct tape...?

Natalie Rae

On December 6, 2012, God blessed our little family with another precious baby girl. Natalie Rae Shankland was born in Denver, CO, at the Mountain Midwifery birth center weighing 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches long. But lets back up a bit...

This was me, on her due date. Yikes!

December 1st was the original due date I was given for Natalie, but she just wasn't ready to meet us quite yet and made her poor mama wait another week. For the last month or so of the pregnancy I was having regular, time-able contractions and at least a dozen times I said THIS IS IT! LETS GO! but they would always stop. It got a little frustrating! (Our doula was such a great help to me in that time, I really don't know how I would have made it through without her!)

When Natalie did finally decide it was time though, she wasn't messing around. We left for the birth center right at rush hour (of course) and got stuck in evening traffic. That was NOT a fun car ride, let me tell you. She was born about 20 minutes after we arrived at MMC. It was close! Rob said he really thought she would be born in the car, and I can't say that thought didn't cross my mind a few times too.

It was a wonderful birth and went pretty much according to plan. She was born in the water at 6:32 PM. Because it was so fast we didn't even get a chance to bring the "Go Bag" in from the car. We had music, snacks, relaxation stuff, you name it and it was in that bag, and none of it got put to use. I was ok with that though! 3.5 hours of labor was MUCH preferred to the 19+ that it took for Emily to arrive. I'll take it.

Meeting her sissy for the first time.

Sister love from the very beginning.

We were home about 4 hours after she was born (can I say again how much I loved MMC?) and got to settle in right away and sleep in our own bed rather than at a hospital. Rob waited on me hand and foot for the entire first two weeks of Nattie's life and we pretty much just snuggled on the couch and got to know each other. It was wonderful! I couldn't ask for a better husband. He had to leave for work for two weeks just a few days after Emily was born, so it was really great to have him around this time. These girls sure love their daddy!

My Loves

Nattie 1 month, Emily almost 3

3 months old

Her first 4 month photos

Trying food for the first time, 6 months old. Who needs the avocado when you can eat the bowl?

Happy 4th of July!

Enjoying the sun

8 months old

My girls!

She's getting so big!

At 8 months old Nattie is sitting up all on her own, rolling all over the place, scooting and spinning on her tummy and trying to army-crawl. I'm thinking before the end of the month she'll be crawling! Yikes. She makes lots of different sounds but doesn't babble much yet, and I'm thinking that's because she's a thumb sucker and always has her hand in her mouth. At this point though that's fine with me! Emmie talks more than enough for both of them, haha.

Natalie had a few reactions to food when we first started to introduce it so we are going slow with the table food for now. But she loves pretty much anything we've given her (even if it doesn't love her) and is eager to try more. She eats anything we put in front of her! It's a nice change from Miss Picky Pants Emily. :)

I don't know where the last 8 months have gone, but I have to say that I'm really happy with where we are now. Our days have been full of laughter, tears, frustration, sleepless nights, more sleepless nights, more laughter, and lots of love. Nattie is such a sweet girl. She loves her mama and adores her daddy, but her big sissy is really her favorite. All it takes is for Emily to come into the room and she has Natalie's complete attention. It's so amazing to see them play together and love each other. We really are blessed to have these two beautiful girls in our family! Even if neither one of them would ever take a bottle or sleep through the night. Have I mentioned we've had some sleepless nights? Perhaps if she starts to sleep more I'll be able to post more. Well, one can hope anyway, right? 

Here's to more fun, more laughs, more smiles and giggles, and of course more love. God has blessed us richly and I am so thankful to Him for it! I couldn't imagine our family with out this sweet baby; she brings us so much joy. We love you Nattie Roo! I can't wait to see the girl you become. 

Preschool Time

Quite a few things have changed for us over the last few years. We moved to the Denver area, had a second beautiful daughter, Rob changed careers. It takes a lot to keep going some days, but we're doing it! I love our little family and wouldn't change it a bit!

With Emily quickly growing up and Nattie now deciding she needs to follow suit (darn babies that don't stay babies!), we've started to look more at the future for our girls and what we want that future to look like for them. In that vein, something I have become passionate about is homeschooling. Rob and I have decided that homeschooling our girls is the best option for them. I have some teacher friends (whom I love) and I know there are lots and lots of really great teachers out there, but the public school system in this country is failing. With the introduction of the Common Core State Standards, it has become even more apparent to me that homeschooling is the right choice for our family. I have always felt God leading me in that direction, and I'm going to teach both girls at home as long as that remains possible. I am so grateful to have this opportunity; watching my kids learn and discover new things is amazing! What a blessing to be able to be around for those moments.

So far, it's been great! We did a little informal learning with Emmie last year, but being pregnant (and huge) it was pretty hard to keep up a good schedule with her. I found a great curriculum that we love called My Father's World, and by supplementing with a few extra things I think she's going to learn a lot this year. We've completed one week so far and Emmie loves it! She is so eager to learn and soaks things up like crazy. I may be a bit biased, but I think she's the best preschooler ever! :)

First Day!

Counting days on the calendar

We had been doing a little school here and there over the summer so we started this year in the middle of the alphabet. This week was "I" for Inchworm.

She LOVES to do the dots!

This is part of the My Father's World set we got. It's fantastic!

Matching capital and lower case letter "I"

Painting is another big favorite!

Violet the puppy came to class today. :)

I am SO proud of my big girl. She loves to learn and works very hard, even when she gets frustrated. She's always got a smile on her face and a giggle to share and it's a joy to be her teacher, and her mama! She's our little monkey and we love her so much! I can't believe she's already three and in preschool. Sheesh.

And I can't end without sharing the love. Little sister Natalie is our other joy! 

She's 8 months old now and growing like crazy. She love her mama and daddy, but truly adores her sissy. The best thing in the world is watching them play together! Emmie is great with her and they can laugh and play for quite a while together. I am one blessed mama!

Absent. . . Again!

Yes, it's been over a year since I last posted. Life gets busy, you know?

So. Things that have happened in that time:

We had a baby! 

 

On December 6, 2012, our second daughter, Natalie Rae Shankland joined our family

(Much more about her later!)

We celebrated a great Christmas!

Emily turned THREE! (Funny how they just keep on growing up...)

Rob joined Shankland and Associates and is now a part of his parent's family business. He is doing great and I couldn't be prouder.

We took a couple of mini-vacations! Once to Spokane and Seattle, and then later to Texas. Fun stuff!

Emily started a new ballet class, and started preschool! She loves both, of course!

I love looking back at the posts here and all the memories of Emily's first year and our family. Hopefully I'll be able to start this up again now that all the dust has settled! Well, is settling at least. :) Our family is a little bigger, a little busier, and a lot better these days. Here's to enjoying the adventure!!