Colton's Room

First things first, here is our little guy.  He could not be more perfect.

My friend Rachel came out and got some beautiful pictures of him when he was just a few days old.  Such a precious gift. (http://photographybyrachelelaine.com)

Colton now 2 1/2 months old, and his room is finally 'done'.  Second Child.  I really don't have a lot of pictures of the process (painting etc.).  I did at one point, but who knows where they are now.  Just like with Linc's room there were many DIY projects.  Between Tim & I... and several of our friends, we finally got it done.  Here is a Pano.

We actually painted Colt's wall several months before Linc's room, but just got around to getting it finished.  He doesn't know right? The stripes were Tim's excuse to purchase a laser level.  Boy Toys.  Our friend Michele made Colt's name sign.  She made one for her nephew Reed and we copied.  I love it!
(https://www.facebook.com/thecheapdecorator)

I fell in love with these Alligator sheets and everything else just kind of fell together after that.

I knew I wanted a bible verse or something for this wall.  Tim had a friend from college (Betsy) who paints signs. He called her and she did this.  Jesus Loves Me.  I sing it to both boys every night, and absolutely love that we now have the lyrics hanging.

The dresser was mine from college and just sat in the garage for several years.  It was beautiful, but it was also yellow.  Kim Jackson found the perfect paint and re-did it for Colton.
I don't have a websites for Betsy or Kim, but I am happy to pass on their numbers.

My mom is probably the most talented person I know.  There is literally nothing she can't do.  After searching Pinterest and SEVERAL stores I was stuck on mounted animal heads, but couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  After several hours in Jo-Ann fabric (my contribution) and several hours on the sewing machine (hers) I got exactly what I was looking for.  

Colt loves starring up at them while he is on his changing pad.  They are probably his favorite things to look at. 

Last, but not least, Windows.  I LOVE natural light, and these are amazing.  They make this one of my favorite rooms in the house. 

It is funny to me how different this room is from Lincoln's nursery.  I loved Linc's first room and am not sure how much I would have changed had we stayed in the old house, but I love this one too.  I was in a chevron phase for Lincoln.  I guess I am in a navy phase right now.  I wonder what will be next.  Pink???  (But not for a few years!)

Cinnamon Rolls!

I am so bad about typing up and giving out recipes!  Most of the things I make I just kind of know how they are supposed to look and throw things together until they look right.  Coming up with a recipe is a whole different ball game, but here is my best try.  I took pictures :)

Time: Overnight Dough Thawing

Prep: 30 min (or less)

Cook: 30-45min

Cinnamon Roll Ingredients:

1 1/2 loaves of frozen "ready dough"

1 stick of butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. white sugar

4T cinnamon

some flour

Icing:

8oz package of cream cheese

1 stick of butter

2 c. powdered sugar

1T milk

1t. vanilla

pinch of salt

Cinnamon Rolls were probably one of the first things I learned to make outside of my mom's kitchen.  They were our Christmas Project for "Food Science" in high school.  Back then I would make the dough from scratch.  Several years later I learned about this great little product from my Mother in Law, and there is no going back.  (This is what she uses for peperoni rolls, for those of you who have wondered the secret to that recipe.  Make a ball with cheddar cheese and peperoni & cook in a muffin tin.  Best.Snack.Ever.  Seriously.) 

You can find this dough in the freezer section next to other frozen rolls.  Tom Thumb always carries it, but I have had trouble finding it at other stores a couple times.

 

If you are making the Cinnamon Rolls in the morning, take the tray of dough out of the plastic bag and set it on the counter overnight.  The dough will thaw and rise.  If you are making them later in the day, put the dough in the fridge over night, then on the counter for at least 4 hours before you start baking.  The dough should double in size.  This picture is after it has been handled a little bit.  It should be pretty big.





Take 1/2 the package, or a loaf and a half of dough and roll it out into a rectangle.  For some reason I still do not own a rolling pin, so I wash a wine bottle (I always have one of those).  I am also super fancy, and just wash my counters with soap and water and through some flour down.  Excess flour on the counter and rolling pin do not affect the taste, so use as much as you need :)





Once you get the dough rolled into a rectangle cover it in butter.  You want the butter to be soft and easy to spread, but not melted.  Once it is covered in butter layer the Brown Sugar, White Sugar and Cinnamon.  The order does not matter, and the amount does not need to be specific either.  I just use a large spoon and sprinkle all three until it looks about like this:

Once you are happy with how it looks start rolling the dough into a long tube.

Using a bread knife (or whatever you have) slice 1in pieces and place them in a greased baking tin.  This size works great for a 1 1/2 loaf batch.  It feeds 4-6.  If you are cooking for a large group, repeat the process with the remaining dough and fill a larger tray.  The rolls expand in the oven, so leave them a little space.

Once your pan is filled bake for 30 min at 350.  I often add 10-20 min.  Start checking them after 30 min and once the center rolls are done pull them out.

Now for the icing.  This is what makes them!

Beat together Cream Cheese and Butter.  Add Vanilla & Salt.  Then, slowly add in powdered sugar.  Once the sugar is added, throw in a tablespoon of milk, and you should be done.  More sugar makes it thicker, more milk thins it out.  Find a consistency you like, then spread it on the Rolls while they are hot & enjoy! 

I'm sure I messed something up or left something out, so if you have questions just call me :) After you make these once you will be able to do it in your sleep!

Big Boy Room!

I guess since I haven't blogged in, ohhh, 2 years, I can't really consider myself a blogger anymore, but this is a project I want to remember, so here we go.

I love looking back at all of the blog posts getting ready for Lincoln.  Belly photos (none this time). Pregnancy Thoughts, Emotions and Cravings (none this time).  All of the wonderful feelings a first time parent experiences and has time to jot down.  With this little Crazy that kind of time just does not exist anymore.

I do, however, want to remember all of the love and effort that went into transforming his big boy room, so here I am finding time to jot it down.

We moved in July.  Linc spent the first month or so in his crib (in Colt's room).  Then, while Tim was conveniently out of town, he decided the crib wasn't working for him, so the transition began. Tim's single guy furniture just happened to match Cril's old bed.  We threw those together with some new PBK sheets and we were set for a while.  Linc spent his first few nap times naming all of the Trucks on his sheets... "Blue Truck, Red Fire Truck, Yellow Tractor..."  I am pretty sure it was the highlight of his day.

A few weeks later I got daring and hung his planes.

When Tim got home we hung some old nursery DIY projects. 
(those letters took forever)

I am pretty amazed the Glass sign Uncle Billy made is still alive and well.  I guess keeping it out of reach is key.  And...Creepy Lincoln even made the cut.

Then we moved on to some new décor.  My Mom's Dad (and now my uncles) owned a Texaco distributorship.  If you go to my Mom's house it is full of the red and green.  Linc's favorite 'Toys' (that we were never allowed to touch as kids) are all of the old Texaco Trucks and Planes.  He thinks they are pretty cool, so we thought we would include a little of it at our house too.  The gas pump opens and is the perfect hiding place for all of his favorite things.

Now on to the stuff we made!  (or had made) Our friend Michelle made both of the boys name signs. They are super cool.  Hopefully I'll get to post Colt's room soon.  Check out The Cheap Decorator.  https://www.facebook.com/thecheapdecorator  She is awesome.

Linc has a weird shaped window, so when it came time for curtains I could not find anything.  I originally ordered fabric for my mom to make them, but I am inpatient and it was on back order forever.  Then I found a shower curtain in the same pattern and figured I could handle cutting and hemming.  With some help from the talented Kim Jackson (and her sewing machine), I made these!  I'm not going to lie.  I am pretty proud of myself.  This may just be the inspiration I needed to go out and get my sewing machine fixed!

Then the BIG DIY project started.  Thank you Pinterest.  Tim officially thinks I'm crazy, and hates you. 

I found a picture of a toddlers room where the parents used metallic paint and made a race track.  Then, cars were attached with magnets.  Genius.  I immediately ran out, grabbed the paint, and informed Tim of the my great idea when he got home.  I was ready to get started.

Being the planner and thinker Tim is, he suggested I start with reading some online reviews.  I'll be honest, they were not great.  From the stirring, to dripping, and several coats required we were not off to a very good start.  I informed him of the reviews and we decided this was a project for a night Linc was at Captain and Nana's.  (My rendition of the reviews may or may not have stuck to the three coats the manufacture claimed to require instead of the 7 one friendly reviewer mentioned.  This also may or may not have lead to some choice words last night.)

Once equipped with the knowledge of the kind of project we were taking on, we conveniently put it off for several weeks.  Last night, when Linc was at Captain and Nana's, and all of our friends were flying to Mexico without us (Happy Wedding day Brian & Emily), we had no more excuses.  It was time.

Check out all of the planning, measuring, laser leveling going on in this picture.  Tina projects do not go down like this.  The whole room would probably be black if I were in charge. 

Slowly but surely.... things were coming along.

I'm not going to lie, this went down like most projects at our house.  I got my heart set on a crazy idea.  I convinced Tim it was happening, helped for a few hours, then properly pulled the tired, prego, paint exposed card and went to bed at 9. 

After about 12 hours of stirring, dripping, black paint on the carpet, 3 coats of metallic paint, 2 coats of outline, sandwiches, World Series dry times, Tina's bed time, and Tim's push to the finish, we have a race track!  Thanks babe for waking me up to admire your work.

Tim pulled the weight on the track, so I was assigned the cars.  He had a great idea to use foam cars instead of metal so they would be lighter.  I also found some great (light) wooden cars at Hobby Lobby.

Theirs are cute and perfect

And mine look a little more homemade :)

The grandparents also decided to join the party

And don't worry!  I have plenty of foam left over.  Bring a picture next time you come over and we will add you to the wall :)

Here is my best try at a Pano of the whole room.  Linc is in Love!

Thanks babe for making my crazy ideas come to life.  You put big smiles on Linc & my faces last night.  We love you.  Now its time for Colt's room... Where are you???

Day 17

Hanging with Mayo, loving the free samples at Costco!

Day 22

Best way to eat fruit!

Day 21

Dare devil... He might need a helmet.

Day 23

Lexi's things are so much more fun!