Laminate Floor B&A

Next month will mark one year that we began our laminate journey and I have shown some of the before and afters,  but I thought that I would put them all in one post.  I am still in love with the floors! We have had a few nicks and scratches, but nothing a Crayola won't fix! 

Adding laminate has been my favorite change since we moved here and I believe has made the most impact.  I get lots of compliments on the floor and most people are surprised to hear that it is laminate and that it is from Sam's Club.  I hope that when we have some cash to spare that we can add this to the upstairs hallway.  

One Living Room Four Ways

A friend of mine recently bought two new chairs for her empty living room and I love to play "decorator" so I made these to show her a few options.  The room is smaller and I thought two ottomans that doubled as seating was a good compromise.   The two chairs are from Overstock and the rest Target.  

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So which one do you prefer? 

Free Photo Collage {Summer Display}

Walgreens is offering a free photo collage until the 15th for Father's Day {DADCOLLAGE}.  I needed a new print for my frame and loved this one from The Rubber Punkin.  This is the first time that I have taken advantage of the free collage using only one picture.  I did not know that you could get away with only one!  I decided to add a coordinating border to the free print.  This is my quick and easy summer vignette.  Bright metal lanterns, a little chevron paper around the candle,  and I called it a day!

Usually this time of year I am taking pictures of the kids for their yearly Dad's Day picture, but since we are going to the beach later this summer I am saving my photo credits for a beach shoot.

Impromptu Photo Shoot

Before Josh's graduation I snapped a few pictures of Madeline and Luke.  Wyatt was at his first baseball game so he missed it.  He was not disappointed about that!

I know that I am biased, but this girl is beautiful.  I always dreamed that I would have a blue eyed, blond girl, which is crazy because I have brown eyes and hair.  I was going to name her Ocean Raquel...

Luke comes up with these poses and will not take a picture without them!

Again, the posing!

Living Room {Updated Pictures}

Woo Hoo! We installed the quarter round a few weeks ago and I wanted to update my house tour with updated pictures.  You can read more about our living room here.

Here is our living room  pre move in:

New paint and our furnishings:

Rearranged furniture:

And our current look with the laminate floors:

Summer Bucket List & Responsibility Chart

My kids are 8, 6, and 4.  We do not pay allowance throughout the school year, but I usually do something in the summer to cut down on the need {want} pleas.  This summer we are calling it "responsibilities" and the three kids are working together to purchase Minecraft for the computer (what is with this game?!).  I found these super cute FREE editable charts.

SOURCE

I made one for each kid and slipped them into a page protector to use with dry erase markers.  I would rather not print these off every week.  I added a "Mom's Choice" and that gives me a little flexibility (meaning I can throw a needed job in there to suit my needs).  We also have a mandatory one hour rest period because the days are looooong and this mommy needs a break.  They only get to mark this one off if they have a "good" rest time (not bugging mommy or their siblings).  And, yes,  my kids are doing summer school packets. I can't let go of the former teacher in me. As Madeline's teacher would say. "If you don't use it, you will lose it".  

Moving on to the FUN stuff! Our Summer Bucket List!  This year we used the big chalkboard to write our list.  Hopefully we will do most of them, but usually there are a few that we do not.  I am cracking up that Red Lobster and Cracker Barrel made the list.  My kids have the taste buds of seventy year olds.  Have you ever been to Red Lobster on a Wednesday night? I swear it is only cute little old couples!

Class of 2013

Today was my baby brother's high school graduation! He is an amazing young man and he has worked super hard in high school! Josh was awarded 10,000 in scholarships and is planning to use that dough toward an education in journalism at my alma mater IUPUI.  Here are a few pics from today.

The Penney Crew and the Graduate

The proud mom!  Josh was the last one to graduate.
She has had children in school for the past 30 years!

Josh and me.  He was one at my high school graduation...

Olivia acting nutty

Michael and Amanda

Josh and his girlfriend Bre

Chelley and her family are still in Malta and she was the only sibling missing, but we texted her throughout and I was able to send her a video clip of Josh receiving his diploma.  Apparently she had to view it upside down... oops!

Patio Reveal

The patio is finished!  Matt worked super hard to get this project finished so we could enjoy our new space this summer.  The kids and I usually eat lunch every day at the newly painted picnic table and we are really loving the new umbrella!  I picked up the candle centerpiece at Kohls for $2.66 (it was on sale and I used some Kohl's Cash).  We already had a little accident and broke four of the candle holders. Luckily, Hobby Lobby sells similar replacements for .99.  Yes, I spent more on replacements than the whole thing!  These are totally staged pictures! I threw the pink lawn mower, hula hoops, and purple princess bouncy ball out in the yard and the two other stacking chairs that we own. Speaking of chairs,  I love these chairs from Target  We picked up the first two three years ago and they have withstood the Indiana weather unprotected, so when they went on sale I grabbed two more.  I like them because they are easy to stack, take up little space, and do not need replacement cushions that cost a fortune!  I do not have a total cost on the patio yet, but we did save money by buying all the laying materials in bulk, and we borrowed a neighbor's truck.  That was a back saver! Matt was able to drive the truck into the back yard to unload the multiple loads of base and sand.  We made a slight adjustment to the original layout to avoid cutting.  This resulted in a jut out for the fire bowl off centered as opposed to the original centered plan.   This works to our advantage for the picnic table, which is a beast at six feet by five feet. Overall, we are loving the new space and additional square footage! 

And, Matt's new grill!  Happy Father's Day!

And just a reminder with what we started with three years ago: