Foto Frame Fun

We recently took on the task of giving our Master Bedroom an overhaul (more on that later - promise!) which inevitably led to additional projects. Painting the bedroom a cool blue required a new duvet cover, which required new curtains, updating the photo wall, etc. What started out as a painting project ballooned into a much bigger project, that still is not done, over a month later....

While thinking about re-doing the photo arrangement, I spent some quality time researching on Pinterest for ideas. If you have not explored Pinterest yet, I highly recommend you check it out. You do need an invitation to join, but lots of people are willing to share invites - check out Pinterest on Facebook for more info. Here are a few of the pics I found on Pinterest (sorry, I don't have the sources) that were inspiration for the changes to our photo wall -

I really liked the idea of adding our initial to the wall, so I put my hubby to work building/painting an "F" - thankfully he is SUPER handy! After laying out all of my frames on the floor in a new and improved arrangement, I decided that I should cut out magazine frames to tape on the wall to ensure the placement of the frames would be perfect on the first try. Young House Love had great success with this technique, so I had to give it a try.

Here are some pics of the process -

First I made a plan on the floor.

Then I cut the magazine pages to match the frames.

Once the magazine "frames" were on the wall I was able to adjust them until
they were right where I wanted them.

Most of the frames on the wall. Somehow I forgot to take a "final" picture...

All of the pics except the frame in the lower right are really our family, although the pics are all at least a year old. It's definitely time to update to some new photos! Plus, it's time to add some color to these walls - no more B&W photos for now! Doesn't the F look great?!?

Once the frames are all updated, I will be back with an update. We are having family pics taken in September, so I may just put this project on hold until after the new pics are taken. We'll see how impatient I get looking at the faces of some strangers on our walls!

Following the magazine frame idea used by Young House Love was definitely an excellent decision. I can say with confidence that it pays to watch and learn from others!

Time for K.... Already?!?

It seems like it has been an eternity since we began our journey to parenthood. After working with fertility specialists, we decided the best route for us was adoption. Once we made that decision is was like a dark cloud had lifted. Seriously, it was a freeing feeling to know that we would finally be parents, we just would have to work with someone else's timeframe. After completing all of the required paperwork and background checks that are a part of the home study process, we waiting 6 Short long months until our little guy arrived.

This was in the car the day we brought him home. Those eyes say it all!

At 8-months old, Anthony was nearly crawling, and we were clueless parents. We had been preparing for a newborn and suddenly we had an 8-month-old! What do we feed him? When does he sleep? He's almost crawling! We QUICKLY adjusted and fell in love with parenthood. He truly was an amazing little dude.

Now here we are, 4.5 years later and he's 5-years-old and off to Kindergarten!!! He is attending a public school that follows a year-round calendar. School started at the end of July, so here we find ourselves suddenly not just parents, but parents of a Kindergartener! How did this happen so fast?!?

1st Day of Kindergarten, July 2011

For those of you wondering how the year-round schedule works, it's really pretty slick. The year-round schedule is also called a 45/15 calendar. This means that the students have 45 days "on" and then 15 days "off". Basically they start school at the end of July, take a 3-week break in October, another 3 week break over Christmas/New Year's and the last 3-week break is "Spring Break". Summer break is still 6-7 weeks, which is plenty long for children who get bored. For our family, this schedule is going to work perfect. Not only will Anthony not have a super long summer break to forget what he learned, he's also have long breaks during the year which will help keep him ready to learn. Plus, his teacher will be nice and refreshed from her extended breaks during the school year. The extra bonus - we can take family vacations during non-peak travel times.

In addition to having a Kindergartener, we are waiting to adopt again. More about that later. Please send us your positive thoughts that it will be our turn again soon!

Here I Go....

This is the beginning of a journey to document the "doings" of our family. From family vacations and photography to DIY projects for our home, this blog will be an adventure that shares my experiences with living on the edge.

Let the games begin!