Before & After: Carolyn's Dresser

Before: Cheap, ugly Wal-Mart dresser that we bought as newlyweds.



After: Same cheap dresser with added trim, paint, and new hardware.


I would have liked to use bigger trim but it would've cost twice as much and I didn't think this dresser was worth that much of an investment. I ordered the hardware on eBay. If you ever need drawer or cabinet hardware, check eBay first! It cost probably a third of what I would've paid at Home Depot. Plus I got free shipping. Overall, I think it turned out pretty nice. It definitely gives her room a different feel. Now I need to paint her walls and get some color behind it.

The First Day of School

Is it just me, or was this the shortest summer ever? I can't believe school started today. I always have mixed feelings on the first day of school. Part of me is jumping for joy, well, most of me is jumping for joy, but I have a little sadness and worry about sending my kids off into the cold, cruel world.

Carolyn and Molly were dressed and ready, shoes and all, before I even got out of bed this morning. I always make sure my kids have a brand new pair of shoes to wear on the first day of school. When I took Carolyn to her first day of kindergarten, she wore the sandals that she wore all summer since the weather was still hot. Then I saw that she was the only kid that was not wearing new shoes and I felt like the worst mom ever. Now I know better.

I have high hopes for this school year. We have a new principal that I have a really good feeling about. The girls' teachers seem nice. I have a lot of projects around the house that I think I might be able to accomplish with only half of my kids around.

For the Love of L.L.Bean Backpacks

I have been going crazy lately buying school supplies. It's an annual obsession. I can't wait to get the Sunday paper each week and see what kind of ridiculous sales the stores are having. Some of them really are ridiculous. Like a penny for a spiral notebooks. Plus a 20% off coupon. No joke. I have a giant box full of supplies because even though they're only asking for 4 glue sticks now, you know that before Christmas they're going to send home a note saying they need more. And then for teacher appreciation week they'll be asking for more supplies. And then again towards the end of the year. So I make sure I am stocked and ready.

When Carolyn and Molly each started kindergarten, I bought them an L.L.Bean backpack. Carolyn can be pretty rough on things. Her preschool backpack was shot. It's not like they're even toting around heavy books. Anyway, I knew that the Bean backpack was pretty durable since I had the same one through all of middle and high school. She has used hers the past four years and it is still in great condition. Molly has used hers for two years and it still has that new crispness. Even though Audrey doesn't start kindergarten for another year, I already ordered her L.L.Bean backpack (pictured at the top of this post). Why so early? Because they're on sale, of course. Right now all of their backpacks are 20% off plus they have free shipping with no minimum purchase. Gotta love a great deal on a great product.

Roughin' It

Every year we take a day trip to the beach with friends and every year I think, "Maybe next year we'll camp out the night before." Well, we finally did it this year! We had a few hiccups along the way, like realizing when we got there that wood fires weren't allowed. Whoops. And the weather was hot, hot, hot! I was starting to think, "Why are we doing this?" But after the dads returned from a Wal-Mart run with some disposable charcoal grills and the weather was cooling off, thanks to a gorgeous sunset, we really started enjoying ourselves. I made foil dinners with tilapia and mushrooms and a side of potatoes and carrots. We also had bannock, which is basically a biscuit dough that you wrap around a stick and cook over the fire. For dessert we had banana boats.


After playing some musical tents, Carolyn and Molly ended up sleeping in our 2-man tent and Audrey and Emma slept in our 4-man with Greg and me.

The next morning, after eating breakfast and packing up, we headed for the beach. It was so nice to be there so early and not have a long drive. We got a great parking spot, right by the bath house and beach entrance, plus a prime spot on the beach, right on the water's edge. We even saw lots of dolphins jumping out of the water. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand and in the waves. I love, love, love being at the beach. I don't think there's anything that relaxes me more than sitting on the beach. It was so nice.

After the beach, we cleaned up and headed for the boardwalk. We let the kids ride the rides at Fun Land, which they loved. We also were sure to get a big bucket of Fischer's caramel popcorn. Mmmmm... All in all it was a super fun mini-vacation. I'll admit that I'm not the camping type of girl (I only have a one-night camping tolerance) but I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to do it again.

Vegetable Philanthropy

Since now's about the time that backyard gardens really start producing, I thought I'd let you know about something that I got really excited about when I heard about it. There is a Grow It Give It website, which is a part of Maryland's Grow It Eat It campaign. On it are several links to find local soup kitchens and food pantries that will accept your homegrown donations. If you don't live in Maryland (or even if you do), there's a website, AmpleHarvest.org. It is a national website where you can enter your zip code and a mile radius and it will search for food pantries near you. I love the idea of donating fresh vegetables instead of the less nutritious canned and dry food that we usually donate. Thanks to the deer invasion I had a little while ago, I don't think I'll have any excess to give this year, but I'm already thinking about where I can add a second garden bed next year so that I'll have plenty to share.

Summer Adventures #5 & 6

Alright, this is going to be a boring post because there are no pictures but I felt the need to document these as part of our summer adventure series.

5. Hammerman Beach. Our friends invited us to go with them to a small, man made beach on the bay. While it wasn't the ocean, it was still a lot of fun and the kids had a great time swimming and playing in the sand. It's near where Greg works so he left work early that day and joined us, which gave me a chance to actually sit on the beach and relax. Woohoo!

6. Free Movies at Regal. While Carolyn was at soccer camp, I took the rest of the girls to see Planet 51. It wasn't crowded like I thought it would be and the girls enjoyed it. Emma did get pretty restless, though, and she sat on my lap the whole time instead of in her seat. But I think we'll do it again since we pretty much never go to the theater to watch movies and the kids get such a thrill out of it.

Audrey's First Glasses

We had suspicions about Audrey's eyesight. She'd turn her head when she watched t.v., that was our biggest clue. So our pediatrician gave me the name of a pediatric opthamologist and I took her in for an eye exam. It turns out that she's near sighted and has a lot of astigmatism. We've been pumping her up for them, saying things like, "Aren't you excited that that you get to wear glasses!" so she hasn't been worried or scared about them at all. We picked them up today and she's kept them on all day and hasn't complained at all. And she looks super cute in them!