Question for everyone...

Last night when we were at Menard's getting ideas for our new kitchen and dining room we were looking at new sinks. My hubby points out a black sink and at first I was not so sure I liked it. I guess I was thinking we were just doing stainless steel. But after putting the counter top sample up next to it, I found myself maybe changing my mind.

So my question is do any of you or have any of you ever seen a black kitchen sink in someones house? It is really sleek looking and the counter top we are going with has black in it so I think it would flow really well. Just wanted some other people's opinions on this one before we make that final decision.

Thanks!! :)

So many decisions....

The kitchen/dining room construction is going well and we (my hubby) got a lot done this week. He is currently finishing the drywall that he put up yesterday.

We went to Menard's tonight to try to make some decisions on counter top, a new sink, lighting, paint and a door that will lead to our back yard (with a new deck, hopefully this summer). Thankfully, my parents kept Emily for us since I think we were in the store for over 2 hours! So many decisions, you kind of get a little overwhelmed! Our plan is to order the counter top this week, we need to get some final measurements.

When we got home we did make some final decisions (at least I think we did). We are pretty certain on the color we are going to paint the cupboards. We did a trial run and Kyle painted one tonight. We also finalized the choice for our counter top!

I know that in the end it will look good, but it is so hard to visualize it when the room is a mess and nothing is put together.

I will post some new photos this coming week.

Off to bed, Brayden has a wrestling meet in the morning.

No, you can't go potty there!

We were at Lowe's the other day picking up a few things for the big project we are currently working on in our house. My 2 year old, Emily, is currently in the middle of potty training and it actually doing really well with it.

We had been in the store for awhile so I decided to take Emily to the bathroom to at least try to go. So we head in and she tries but does not go. No big deal, just glad we tried. We are heading back to find her Daddy when she finds the toilets and sinks that are used for display! She gets all excited and tells me that she has to go potty and that she wants to wash her hands! Yikes. I try to explain to her that they are not working and she can't go potty in them. She was not really happy with that answer and continues to insist that she wants to use the display toilet. By now people are smiling and laughing at her, because she is so darn cute! I had to lift up the toilet seat and turn on the sink to show her that they are not "real" in order to finally convince her to head back to the real restroom.

This will be a fun story to tell her boyfriend someday! =)

Everyone likes to win! Enter my current giveaways!

I am hosting several giveaways over on my Money Saving Mama in Michigan blog right now. I would love for you to head over and enter one or all!



I am giving away a coupon for a free box of cereal from General Mills (value up to $6). General Mills has recently reduced the amount of sugar in their cereals! CLICK HERE to read more info and enter. 2 winners will each 1 coupon, contest ends on 2/2!














I am very excited about this giveaway. Carri Ann DESIGNS has offered 2 custom designed Photo Cards for Valentine's Day! 2 lucky winners will each receive either 12 photo cards with envelopes or a high resolution file to print your own cards out! These cards are so adorable! I would love for you to enter this giveaway and show some love to Carri, who is working hard on getting her own Etsy shop going! CLICK HERE to read more and enter! Hurry, contest ends on 2/3!







My last giveaway is for Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce! This is super yummy sauce that can be used on anything. I will be picking 2 winners who will each receive 2 bottles of their own Country Bob's All Purpose Sauce! Contest ends on 2/7. CLICK HERE to read my review and enter!

Emily and her new "big girl" bed!

Tonight we bought Emily a new toddler bed. She has been ready for a "big girl" bed for awhile. She was so excited at the store and when we got it home she wanted Daddy to put it together! We moved her crib and she help get the pieces out of the box. She was such a big helper! We got her pj's on and she was ready for bed. She got in, we covered her up and she fell fast asleep in her new "big girl" bed!









She insisted on having her fish aquarium that was on her crib in bed with her tonight! She has had it on her crib since she was born.

Almost Wordless Wednesday: My house is a mess!

Kyle's friend Jesse came over to help him remove the huge picture window. Of course It was one of the coldest days we have had lately! They worked quickly and built a new wall. We are installing a door and building a new deck this summer.


They got it out without the glass breaking!


The new wall going up.


Some of our cupboards that we are going to clean, sand and repaint. If you look closely you can see the scalloped edge on them. They are in really good shape so we are saving a ton of money "fixing them up" instead of purchasing new ones. This is the area where our kitchen will be. The opening into the hallway will turn into a new wall tomorrow!


Take note of the beautiful yellow counter top that I have had in my kitchen since we moved in 5 years ago! I have been counting down the days till we could smash it! You can see the outline where our top cupboards were. I think we had one of the smallest kitchens ever! The old kitchen area will be our new dining room with the wall where the cupboards and sink were coming down. We will have a more open floor plan. The living room is on the other side.



We are making a ton of progress in just a few days! It is a mess, but I keep reminding myself that it will be so worth it in the end!

Just back from the Emergency Room....

I was not sure I was actually going to get a post done before midnight tonight (I have been blogging every day since I took the Blog Dare through the Community of Moms). I have been blogging late at night lately.

I just got home from the ER. I decided to go in tonight because I have been having pain in my left leg (knee area) since the 15th. It started out more as an ache but just in the past couple days has really been bothering me. It does not really hurt when I walk or stand, just hurts when I bend it or stretch it. I figured I had pulled a muscle or something and was giving it a few days to heal.

Today it was worse and tonight after searching online about leg/knee pain I came across blood clots in the leg. YIKES! One symptom of a blood clot is a pulled muscle like pain. After talking to my hubby we decided that I should head to the ER just to make sure everything was ok.

I am fine, it turns out to just be a strained/pulled muscle in my leg just under my knee cap. I can feel the balled up muscle. It is very tender when touched. The doctor said to just lay low and not stress it over the next few days (yeah right, we just started demo on our kitchen and I have an active 2 year old) and it should get better. He said since it does not really bother me to walk that I don't need crutches. If it is not better in a week then I will go see my family doctor. I am relieved. I felt kind of silly going in tonight but they did say it was good to get it checked out and that I was right about the symptoms of a blood clot. It's always good to be cautious. Well, off to bed soon.

Let the demo begin...

I am so EXCITED! We are finally starting the big demo of our kitchen and dining room! We have been planning on doing this for a couple years now. Last year our big project was our basement. We finished it with 2 new bedrooms and a family room.

Our kitchen/dining room right now is one big room with the kitchen part being really small (like small apartment size). We are moving our kitchen to the other side of the room, taking out the huge window and replacing it with a door (we will be building a deck off the back hopefully this summer). Where our kitchen is right now will become our dining room and we are opening up the wall between the kitchen/dining room and living room. This will make it more of an open floor plan. We are replacing the current floor and instead of spending thousands on new cupboards we are going to move the ones we have and sand and paint them. I actually really like our cupboards now, they have a nice decorated design to them.

It will be so nice to have a bigger kitchen and to not be so shut off from the rest of the house. I know it will be a mess for awhile but it is so worth it when we are finished!

I will be blogging with photos through out our demo.


Gotta love the "beautiful old flooring that I believe is the original from when it was built in the 70's. Sad thing is I actually like it better right now than the old, dirty carpet that has been in this house for years!



Emily did not want to walk on the dirty floor so she put my shoes on!

Cute photos of the day!

We spend a part of our day in Sturgis at Brayden's Wrestling Meet today. Brayden wrestled hard and won 2 matches and lost 2 matches. Here are 2 photos from the meet that I thought were pretty cute!


Emily surprised Daddy with a hug from behind!

Emily pinning Brayden!!

A few photos of Whitefish Point

On our snowmobile trip last weekend we rode out to Whitefish Point, which is in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on Lake Superior. It was a fun ride and a beautiful warm winter day. We walked out on the beach to take some photos. There was ice everywhere! I am not to pleased with the quality of these photos, but they will have to do. I ended up using the photo option our our new video camera and they are not that crisp. It does take great video. I'm kicking myself for leaving my camera at the hotel. Guess I will just have to make a return trip to get more pictures!

One thing I LIKE about having the stomach flu...

You lose a few pounds! =)

I have been MIA!

I have not been online to much the past couple days due to the lovely stomach flu! Just wanted to let everyone know I am still among the living and will hopefully have a post up later about my weekend away with Kyle. My energy level is pretty low but am starting to feel better. Luckily, Kyle has not had any work this week and has been home to take care of me and the kids. He even did the dishes 2 days in a row!! WOW! =) He is a good man.

Stay tuned...

I'm back...

We got back home this evening. Had a great weekend. I will post pictures tomorrow!

Time for bed. Can't wait to sleep in my own bed. It is always fun to go away but always so nice to be back home.

A special anniversary!

It was a year ago today that my hubby Kyle quit smoking! He has not had a cigarette since. He quit cold turkey and I am so proud of him for not starting again. Happy 1st anniversary! I look forward to many more smoke free years with you.

Can I go too?

Look Mom, your helmet fits! Can I go snowmobiling with you, please?

Add one more candle to the cake!

So another year has flown by and I am now a year older! I am really ok with that. I am enjoying my 30's. For every candle I add to my cake, just means that I lived another year (and that's a great thing)!

I am really excited because my Hubby asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year and I told him a weekend away! (with him, not by myself, although that might be nice too) So, this morning I am finishing packing for our little trip to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We are headed to the the Kewadin Casino/hotel in St. Ignace for 3 nights! We are planning on doing some snowmobiling while we are up north. This is something we love to do as a couple. I am also planning on sleeping in and napping! (and winning a million dollars! Hey a girl can dream)

Look for pictures next week of our little getaway! Have a great weekend everyone! I have a post scheduled for every day I am gone since I am participating in the Community of Mom's Blog Dare!

Over or Under?

So the question is, do you like your toilet paper to be over or under? I had to stop and think about this but I tend to be an over kind of girl myself! I just asked my hubby what he preferred and he said "as long as there is a roll of toilet paper on the holder he is happy!" Such a guy answer.

Cottenelle is doing a Roll Poll asking America if they prefer their toilet paper to be over or under! I am entering a contest for a month's worth of Cottonelle toilet paper as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club. You can have a chance to win 1 of 10 Cottonelle gift baskets randomly chosen on January 29, 2010 from all entries (comments) on blogs that are running this contest! You have to leave your "over" or "under" comment on my Money Saving Mama in Michigan blog in order to be eligible for this contest.

CLICK HERE to head on over to my other blog, Money Saving Mama in Michigan to get the rest of the details and learn how you can cast your vote in the Cottenelle Roll Poll!

Wordless Wednesdays - The Upper Penisula in Winter

In honor of my upcoming trip to the UP this weekend to snowmobile! (and getaway with my hubby alone)This is an almost Wordless Wednesday!

These are some of my favorite photos I took while Snowmobiling in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in January of 2007! The UP is beautiful any time of the year, but I love exploring it on a snowmobile!

Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior


Miner's Castle at Pictured Rocks


Pictured Rocks


A partially frozen river near Lake Superior


This is a frozen waterfall that we had to hike to see. It was about a mile round trip in the snow with all of our snowmobile gear on! What a work out!


Cold Lake Superior

Let Potty Training begin....

Now that the busyness of the Holidays is over, I have decided that it is time to begin potty training Emily! (lucky me)

She just turned 26 months old and I know that she is and has been ready now for a couple months. I just needed to commit to doing it and stick to it! I will admit it is probably one of my most hated stages in child rearing (so far). The potty training part at home is not that bad, but leaving the house with only underwear on those first few times is not fun! It seems like just as you get them in their car seats and your driving down the road they inform you they need to go potty!

You would think I would not dread this process so much. I have lots of experience in potty training. I have 2 older children and I ran a daycare out of my home for about 5 years. My older 2 kids were both close to 2 1/2 when they were potty trained and it was fairly easy. I would guess that I have helped potty train at least 10 kids!

Emily did really well today. I put her in big girl Dora panties around noon today and she only had one accident! I would say that one accident in about 9 hours is great! She even went potty right before bed tonight.

The funniest thing about her using the big girl potty is when she is trying so hard to go potty and makes herself toot! She will laugh so hard and say "I tooted"! She is very amused with herself and I of course can't help but laugh along with her. She is so cute!

My plan for tomorrow is to put her in panties or a pull up after we get up and only use a diaper when we leave the house or she is sleeping. I think she will figure this (dreaded)potty training thing out fairly quick.

Anyone have any great potty training tips that have worked for them?

Wish me luck!! :)

Community of Moms Blog Dare!

I joined the Community of Moms site back in December. It is a great place to meet other moms who also blog. I have enjoyed reading some new blogs and getting to know some great moms from across the United States and Canada! They have several groups you can join within the community.

I decided to take part in the Community of Moms Blog Dare that started January 1, 2010. The dare is to blog every day this year! I am up for the challenge and enjoying it so far.

I decided to use this blog for the dare, since I blog almost daily on my other blog, Money Saving Mama in Michigan! A Day in our Life is my personal blog.

Kyle and I are headed up North this weekend for my birthday and I am already in the process of scheduling some posts for the days I will be gone! I am very committed to having a post up on my blog every day!

CLICK HERE to check out Community of Moms! Why not join in, it's not to late!

Swimming Fun

I took all 4 kids to the Open Swim at our local Middle School on Saturday afternoon. We were going to go sledding but it was pretty cold out so we grabbed our suits and went swimming!

It was funny when I asked the kids if they wanted to go swimming and they looked at me with a puzzled look on their faces and said "where"? (We do live in Michigan and it is January!) I said next door at Kyle's Aunt and Uncle's house (they have an in ground pool and it was about 14 degrees out). Of course, the boys said sure! Hannah not so sure!

It was a pretty inexpensive activity. It cost me $8 for all 5 of us for 2 hours. This was the first time we took advantage of this fun and inexpensive activity. We will definitely be going back soon.

I won a free night's stay at the Bavarian Inn Lodge!

Today I got a message on Facebook that I won a free night's stay at the Bavarian Inn Lodge in Frankenmuth, Michigan! I am shocked I won, since I rarely win contests. CLICK HERE to see where we get to stay.

This one was very easy and I encourage you all to enter as well! All you have to do is become a fan of the Bavarian Inn Lodge or Bavarian Inn Restaurant on Facebook or follow them on Twitter!

CLICK HERE for all the details. They are picking one winner a week during the months of January and February!

CLICK HERE to become a fan of the Inn on Facebook.

CLICK HERE to become a fan of the Restaurant on Facebook.

CLICK HERE to become a follower on Twitter.

Obviously doing all three will up your chances of winning.

Can't wait to head back to Frankenmuth. It has been a long time since I have visited. For all of you that are not familiar with Frankenmuth, it is a quaint Bavarian town in Michigan. CLICK HERE to learn more about this great city.

A question I might never know the answer to!

Why do men/boys yell at the TV during sporting events?


So last night was the BCS National Championship Football game between Alabama and Texas (listen to me sounding like I know what I am talking about). Kyle and Brayden had been planning on watching it all week, so I planned on getting some things done online and around the house while it was on. We ended up letting Brayden stay up to watch it since we had a snowstorm and we were pretty sure we would have a snowday on Friday. (which we did)

Brayden has become a HUGE football fan! When I say HUGE I mean HUGE! Me? I can take it or leave it, usually I want to leave it!

Here is the scenario in my house last evening. Brayden and Kyle on the couch watching the football game, me at the computer and Emily in bed. Shortly after the game has started, Brayden starts yelling at the TV! I look at him and ask him if the players can hear him? I mean is your yelling really helping them out in any way? He looks at me like I am a huge dork! (which I promise I am not)

I start thinking about how almost every man/boy I know that is watching sports usually ends up yelling/talking/swearing (better not be swearing in my house) at the TV! I really don't get it since the players obviously can not hear you and it really is not doing the team any good.

So I said to Brayden and Kyle "ya know I don't really get it, I mean I don't sit on the couch and yell at Duff on Ace of Cakes (which is one of my fav shows) while he is making a cake! I don't say oh no, don't use that color icing, etc..." They both laughed at me and said that would be pretty funny if I did!

So I did not get anywhere, because the yelling did not stop and I don't think it ever will. It's not just football either. It is NASCAR, baseball, hockey, basketball, etc.

I guess I won't ever fully understand why they do it, but next time Ace of Cakes is on I might just yell at the TV! :)

Let in Snow! 10 reasons why I love Snow!

Let it snow, let it snow, LET IT SNOW!

10 Reasons why I love the white stuff!

1. It is just plain beautiful!

2. I love playing in it! I love to Snowmobile with my hubby and sled with my kids.

3. It makes winter more pretty. I hate staring out my window at ugly dead grass and mud.

4. It's cold when it snows, therefore, great cuddling time with hubby and kids.

5. Building a snowman, making a snow angle and ice skating!


6. Playing outside in the snow, then coming in to warm up with a cup of hot chocolate or warm cider.

7. Snow covered trees are just so beautiful.

8. Snow days! Days off from school for the kiddos!

9. When your lucky enough to have a snow day, you can spend it at home with the kids in your pj's and playing board games!

10. Did I mention playing in it! I love to snowmobile and the more snow the better!

Wordless Wednesdays - Why go sledding when you can play on the playground?

She saw the playground and was on a mission!









Note: The quality of these photos are not that great! I am using an old camera until we get our new one! Can't wait!

What does a 2 year old do with stickers?

Well in my house she sticks them everywhere! On the table, on her toys and all over her body! The other day she had about 50 little Dora stickers stuck to her belly! She is so fascinated by stickers right now. I think I am going to use them as an incentive for going potty!