Hello Again!

Hello friends! I cannot believe it’s been almost two years since I’ve written a blog post.

I’m not sure exactly why, but my interest and energy for blogging just fell to the wayside for awhile. A couple of times I even debated deleting my blog when the domain renewal came up, but I could never do it with the expectation that maybe someday I’d want to dive back into it again. And today is that day!

Where to begin?

I feel like we’ve grown and accomplished and experienced so much over the last two years! And I’m happy to say that we are doing really well. Here’s a few highlights:

• THE BOYS! They are growing so fast. Miles is now 9, Leo 7, and Graham 5! They are happy and healthy and funny and amazing!

• We finished our deck (cannot wait to share this!)

• I designed and installed a fireplace in our family room.

• I’ve done lots of little projects too - Mudroom built-ins, gallery wall in the stairs, painting the boy’s rooms and the downstairs half bath, refinishing my kitchen table, LOTS of landscaping (Can’t believe we’ve been in this house for 4.5 years now!)

• My long-going battle over custody is FINALLY over. Finally. It’s taken so many years to get here, but we ended up exactly where we wanted/needed, and I truly believe it is good for everyone involved. I feel like I have a new lease on life and that I can breathe knowing it is finalized and we have all the protections in place that we need. Such a weight of worry is lifted. I am so thankful. (Maybe that’s also partially why I have the energy to blog again!).

• We rescued a kitten, Blueberry! He is loveable and absolutely huge, haha

• We’ve taken some amazing vacations to Florida, to Family Camp in Michigan (twice!), Wisconsin to visit family and our family farm, and a number of weekend getaways! The boys are at such awesome ages and I love traveling and having adventures with them!

• I’ve gotten really into taking Barre 3 classes at our local studio! Best, most fun workout! (along with Paddleboarding, which I have taken up in the summers!)

• My sister moved from California to Cincinnati and is SO close! I’m so excited to have her 2-hours away!

• We started going to a new church (Crossroads) and I’ve continued to grow so much in my faith <3

• I got to go to Carolina Point Young Life Camp as an adult guest this past summer - it was an AWESOME experience!

• My firm was acquired in November 2021.. that was a big, kind of scary change but it’s gone really well!

• And overall we’ve had more awesome moments and memories with family and friends than I can count <3

The years weren’t without the hard parts though. Our sweet dog Tucker passed away last summer. Soo many legal expenses and court dates and delays that knocked me off my feet. Walking with dear friends through some really hard heartaches. A car accident that totaled my car (thankfully everyone was completely fine!). An awful battle with Covid and long-covid. And my sweet, amazing, beloved aunt Chris passed after a battle a super brave battle with pancreatic cancer. Anxiety. Agh.

But the good outweighed the bad, and the hard things brought some good lessons and blessings too. If anything the last few years, I’ve learned that the good and the hard coexist. The hard things can make the good things even sweeter, the hard things can make friendships and bonds even stronger, and that God can get you through anything if you keep the faith.

Anyway! I’m excited to share more about house projects, life, things I’m learning, and things that are inspiring me! Any special requests?

Welcome back! :)

Miles' Room Reveal!

This post is LONG overdue! I think I delayed because I wasn’t thrilled about the quality of the pictures I had, but still, I am thrilled with the result of this room so I’m sharing it anyway! :)

That being said, here’s the full transformation of the walls of Miles’ room that I did last summer. What a difference! Definitely took the space from being builder basic to one that is cozy, special, and perfect for a growing boy.

The first thing I did was paint the walls. I chose my FAVORITE color navy - Benjamin Moore’s Polo Blue. It is dark and rich, and I love it! Personally, I’m a fan of dark walls in kids rooms because I swear it helps them sleep better! (At least for my kids, none of whom seem to have ever been great sleepers!)

Also, if using a dark color, I always recommend using a flat finish. Even with brand new walls, there are imperfections and the flat paint is way more forgiving with a dark color that could otherwise show every flaw or stroke.

Even just painting the walls had a huge impact!

Next, I decided that I wanted to do some board and batten detail against the back wall to add a little interest. There’s lots of different ways to do board and batten, and I knew that I wanted one that was semi-wide, but also VERY thin so it could rest on the current baseboards, as I did not want to have to rip those out and replace them. That being said, I went to Home Depot and got the wood below - a 1/4 x 2 1/2 inch General Purpose Pine lattice. It worked PERFECTLY and wasn’t super expensive!

I did a rough cut at the store to get it close to 8 ft (the height of the ceiling), and then laid them out against the wall where I wanted them to finalize my vision.

I then took all the boards down to the garage and put a couple coats of paint on them!

Then, they were ready to install! I started with a long board against the top of the ceiling and two along the very edges of the wall at the corners. Framed the room so nicely! From there, I finalized the spacing of the boards by taping them to the wall, and making any minor cuts I needed to make to get each board to fit just right in it’s particular spot. (Even with a new house, once again, they were not all 100% exact, so I highly recommend measuring board by board!)

I then went to town with my nail gun and got the boards mounted!

The navy board and batten against the navy wall is subtle, but I love the dimension it adds to the room! Just makes it feel so special.

SO! There you have it! :) Miles’ room is complete! He loves it now and I see it growing with him and him loving it for years to come. (Which is good, because these boys grow SO FAST!)

BTW - beds, dresser, bedding, and artwork is all from RH baby and child. Rug is from PB outlet.

Hope you love it as much as we do!

2021 Word of the Year = HOPE

My 2021 Word of the Year is HOPE.

One of my favorite teaching pastors, Alli Patterson at Crossroads church, shared this great definition of the word hope at last year:

“Hope: The belief that a good ending is possible”

As you know, the last few years have not been the easiest. I feel like I’ve climbed a dozen mountains and lived a dozen years since the beginning of 2018. Life has thrown things at me that I never imagined were in the cards for me and my family, but we’re making it through. That being said, as the tail end of the pandemic and my grueling legal battles are hopefully in sight somewhere in the distance, I’m looking forward to the future and what’s ahead more than ever. I’m ready for some good endings and new beginnings!

God has made me so strong through this journey, and my faith has grown so much bigger and deeper during this time. So far, that faith has helped me survive the heartbreak and incredible challenges of the last few years, but now, I’m excited to see what God can do when some of these major challenges are behind us and there’s more free space to work in, so to speak. It feels like anything is possible! And I believe in my heart that it will be good. So much HOPE for what is ahead.

Cleaning Routine

I’ve always been a person that likes thing clean, picked up, organized, cozy, and decorated.

And then I had kids and a lot of that went OUT the window! (I’m sure many of you can relate haha!)

But one thing I do NOT like to mess around with is germs and illness. When the boys started daycare in 2018, we were all constantly getting sick and I seriously upped my deep cleaning game again. It’s always been a balance for me of wanting to the most natural, safe home cleaning products for my family and also ones that REALLY kill the germs. This is even more true now in the time of the Coronavirus.

SO, all of that being said… what do I do and what products do I use?

Every Day Surface Cleaning

For my every day surface cleaning, I have typically used a cleaning concentrate. My go-to counter top, table top, flooring, dusting, glass cleaning spray has been using Thieves or Doterra cleaning concentrate and the stuff works SUPER well. I love that it is derived of natural ingredients and essential oils. It’s not going to kill viruses, but it does get things clean and shiny! My only complaint with these products is that I just do not love the smell. I can make it a little better if I add a few more drops of lemon or eucalyptus essential oils, but it still just isn’t my favorite. I still use it every day though!

Recently a friend introduced me to Dr.Bonner’s, so I’m excited to try this in addition to the essential oils for every day cleaning. I love that the brand promotes organic, sustainable, fair trade practices.

I got these Cleaning Essentials bottles and glass jar/wipes set that I LOVE. I have a bunch of the brown ones and have them labeled with my different mixes/concentrates. Then I got a blue one for water that Graham can use when I’m cleaning because he loves to “help” :) They also have great formulas ON THE BOTTLE for what proportions to use to make your own cleaner at home. Super helpful! Also love the canister with the wipes. Such an environmentally and budget friendly way to have reusable wipes. I love using paper towels and baby-wipes, but I’ve been using this more and more lately as those items have been in short supply and the more I use them the more I like it.

the heavy stuff for the highly-touched surfaces

Right now, I’m using Lysol spray and wipes on our highly touched surfaces and area I want to be SURE viruses have no chance at spreading. Every day or so (depending on the item), I clean the following with the Lysol: door handles, the kitchen faucet, bathroom sinks and toilets, constantly used light switches, the boys ipads, my phone, tv remotes, kitchen appliance handles, the mailbox handle, my car door handles and steering wheel, certain mail/groceries/products that come through the door that it would be safe/beneficial to use it on, and the occasional general wipe down of my kitchen counter where we eat most of our meals. Thankfully I had been pretty stocked up on these products from the winter, but I’m definitely starting to run low and can’t find them ANYWHERE! So I need to start researching alternatives that actually sanitize and kill germs for those higher risk areas.

Wash your HANDS!

Obviously keeping our hands clean right now is defense #1 against viruses. I make the boys wash their hands constantly and I am doing the same. I love the Everspring Free and Clear soaps from Target for the boys and my go-to happy soap is the Williams-Sonoma Meyer Lemon Handsoap. It’s always been my favorite and probably always will!

I’ve also found some great hand sanitizers to have on hand in my purse/car/office when I can’t get to a sink right away. For years I’ve used the Babyganics Hand Sanitizing wipes for the boys, and thankfully I’d just stocked up on a case of these before our Florida trip because they are impossible to find now :( My favorite go-to company for candles Method Quality Goods also released some awesome hand sanitizers and I loaded up on those as well! (And even bought some as Mother’s Day gifts!)

Everyday Household Cleaning

For everyday cleaning, I try to use products that are fragrance free. I’m a huge fan of the Honest Company cleaning, household, and bath products! I have a subscription and get a box delivered to my house every 6-weeks. I especially love their Free & Clear Dish Soap and wipes.

Also a huge van of Viva Signature cloth paper towels… nothing else compares!

Floor Cleaning Tools

I will admit, I’m kind of obsessed with having clean floors. It is a chore, but when my floors are clean I instantly feel like my whole house is 1000x cleaner!

Hands down my favorite tool for floor cleaning is my Shark Steam Mop for our floors. It makes mopping so easy and gets more floors shiny, squeaky clean! I typically will spray my essential oil combination or diluted Mr. Clean floor cleaner on the floor ahead of where I’m mopping, let it sit for a few seconds, and then go over with the steamer on the lowest setting. Works wonders!

I also use a Dyson vacuum cleaner. Lightweight and bagless - it’s essential. for every day use

I also have a full size and mini carpet/upholstery cleaner on hand.. Love the small Bissell pet Stain Eraser for cleaning my Ikea couch in a pinch if the kids spill something. The large one is also nice for getting the carpets super clean every few months. It is amazing the dirt that thing sucks up that a regular vacuum doesn’t!!

But we still get dirty

I want to keep my kids healthy, but I also want to let them LIVE and enjoy life and get all the dirt on their hands (and feet… and hair!) These pictures are from last summer, but they capture my balanced sentiment of approaching dirty and clean pretty well! haha :)

Hope you all are staying healthy and safe out there!