Did I mention how tolerant my dog is?

I did this 'why i love my dog' post awhile back. she is so awesome lol seriously such a good dog. At Samarah's birthday party, my friends daughter Amira was having fun playing with Casey.. then she decided Casey should be a part of 'pin the bow on minnie mouse' but only as far as the blind fold is concerned...

She just sat there!!!! for like MINUTES letting her tie and re-tie this blindfold over her eyes!!!

Still just staying put probably thinking like what treat am i going to get out of this? It better be a good one

I was laughing so hard i couldn't breathe!!!

Then she's like okay... wait a minute i don't really want this.. and i'm not getting a treat for it

She couldn't get it off and she walked over to me.. 'mom. get it off. i'm a good girl' LOL. So then I took it off :) It will be a sad day in my life when i lose her

then a picture i forgot to post on her birthday post.. her cousin Braden reading her a bedtime story.. the book he bought her for her birthday... So cute.. I cracked the door and tried to take the picture without her noticing.. but it never works.. its like she senses when the camera is coming.. 

Not good quality pictures.. but cute for the meaning behind them..

This one is so cute.. I don't know how Braden can read with all that hair in his eyes. haha. 

Casey annoys the living crap out of me some days but man oh man i thank my lucky stars because she fills something inside me that other things/people just can't. Funny how animals have a way of doing that :)

I was scared when Samarah came into our lives.. about how Casey would react. If she would act out in aggression or start being snappy. She did not like Samarah at first she just avoided her. If she we laid her on the floor Casey would lay like 10 feet from her. if she moved her arm or attempted to roll over, Casey bolted. 

She was really jealous.. she acted out just by whining and getting in the garbage but luckily not toward samarah. Now sometimes the only way i can calm samarah down is to say 'we're going to go home to see puppy. want to see puppy?' then she talks about seeing puppy the whole way home. 

Thank you for being Tolerant Casey and letting me enjoy my daughter and my dog!!

My bathroom is finished!

 

I have been a pretty good blogger these last few weeks :)

 

Except for just a few finishing touches.  This project has been interesting and also an eye opener. Even though it's a small bathroom. It was way more expensive than I thought! and that is like getting half the stuff and the labor for free! here is the finished product!!

 

 

Here is what it was before. I thought I had gotten more pictures of the bathroom before but this will have to do.

 

 

So lets go through a quick time line.. above was the laminate floor pieces. they were like pale green. The cabinet was what with like a cream top. The walls were pale green.

 

This is what it looked like after we ripped up the laminate. A LOT OF WORK AND A PAIN IN THE ASS

 

Thank you for Owen doing like all the work for me

                                     
           

 

Tile is done.. before it was grouted. See the hole in the corner.. we replace that whole section with new drywall.. just on the bottom half..

 

Right after grouting

 

Chris working on the drywall.

 

 

Ok so Chris finished up the drywall.. then Owen came over and textured the wall..

So I have a second job.. I nanny for a single dad. He is a carpenter.. so we traded babysitting time for a custom cabinet. He built a NICE real cabinet. I could not believe the cost of cabinets when I got looking at them.. especially for real wood and a good type of wood. BUT he made it bigger than my other one, so we couldn't use the same countertop. Which turned out to be a big pain in my rear and expensive. but its okay cuz the final product is absolutely amazing

 

 

I love it I got 3 drawers and all the space underneath with a shelf. Well once I realized my other top wasn't going to fit.. I went looking. my cabinet was not at all even near a standard size. So I went a few places and got quotes on a countertop.. and because it was so abnormal.. it was around 600 freaking dollars!!!!!!!!!!!!!  For a dinky COUNTERTOP are you joking me?? and that was going with like the stuff that was two steps below granite so not even like high quality!! Holy crap no way!! but I was going to have do get something I needed a sink.. SO...

 

 

I was talking to a new friend about it.. and she was like oh my husband makes and installs granite countertops!! That worked out in my favor he gave me a KILLER deal :) lucked out on it. $300 bucks. And that turned out to be a pain because the carpenter cut off some of the cabinet when he installed it.. and when Granite guy came and measured he built the sink to the original... but carpenter installed it after that and took some off of the cabinet off. So luckily granite guy was able to cut some off of the countertop but it is really close and the tap hardly fits I can't get behind it at all.. but its there... and amazing

 

Well once I got all this nice stuff in.. I started putting my other stuff in and it looked crappy. So wanted a new light fixture (my other was just a piece of silver metal with the lights sticking out. can you imagine how it looked, ugh) oh by the way I painted my walls a tan color.

 

 

(above) So I found this light fixture at Lowes and totally fell in love with it. I found a few others and they were all inbetween 50-100 dollars. so this was 85 bucks.  GASP. luckily I had leftover rent money to pay for it with...

 

The shelf that is over the toilet was 40. the new shower curtain rod was 40. the faucet was 80.  plus the light fixture and all the little things. the baskets on the shelf together were 30.  it adds up FAST.

 

Oh and the plumber came and installed a new toilet too cuz my other one was not working very well.

 

So anyway I explained all that to you so that you were all on the same page as me. I couldn't have done it by myself and even though it was expensive and a hassle.. its so beautiful and i'm so grateful to everyone who helped me accomplish this project. its the first inside project that was completely redone.

 

It makes me want to redo more stuff but I can't afford it!!

 

So now you are up to date :)

 

 

 

Samarah's first haircut!!!

Even though Samarah doesn't have that much hair.. she needed a haircut! It was kind of mullet-like. Really long in the back.. short on the top and sides. The sides were kinda long.. and the sides and back were like super curly but the top is like stick straight.. Haha.

 

I tried to get some pictures in the tub to show how long it is in the back but I didn't get a good shot. These are cute anyway.

 

 

 

I haven't been taking near enough pictures or videos and she is changing so much. So I decided i'd document the drive over there as well. lol

 

Sitting at a stop light taking these. lol.

 

She was not cooperating very well.

 

So one of my best friends, Amanda, is a hair stylist! So I took her to see Amanda.. and can I just tell you, Samarah did AMAZING!! look out how long the sides of her hair are. and their curly! and the top is so straight!

 

Of course. This is like the best shot, and I didn't have the flash on.

 

She will not smile without her hand in her mouth or her tongue sticking out lately! hopefully just a phase.

 

Oh Amanda is like 9 months pregnant and so cute can I just say

 

Samarah just sat on the chair being so good watching herself in the mirror

 

FIRST SNIP!!!

 

She cut some off the back and just skimmed the sides. Amanda said that most kids scream and cry and fight to get out of the chair. Samarah sat there the whole time just good as gold. I'm so proud of you baby!!

 

Look how curly!! it looks so much better without these crazy long pieces in the back!! yay!!

She would only eat the BIG burrito

Haha so we made dinner one night we had like fajita stuff and she usually likes most anything in a tortilla shell. I made her her own little tortilla and cut up the meat and she would not eat it. But she wanted mine. So I tried to give her a bite and she was asking for the whole thing... and these are the burrito size tortillas and mine was stuffed full. But I handed it to her.. and she ate it! but she looked so funny with this huge burrito in her hand

 

 

 

I just let her have mine that way she ate because for whatever reason she wouldn't eat her own. Lol

 

So cute haha

A pic for you mother in law..

My mother in law got Samarah a super cute onsie that said birthday girl on it.. so since the day of her party wasn't really her birthday.. I put it on her the next day on her actual birthday..

I had to get a pic for my mother in law to see :)

Too bad the one with the best smile was blurry!

I don't know what face she is making in this lol.. wish you could have been here with us Momma!

Samarah's party!

Okay here is your picture overload! one month later! sorry. I can't believe how much life just gets crazy. electronics is the last thing I think about.

Ok so table with the cakes and decorate your own sugar cookies!! Which didn't really get used :(

 

Oh she loved this plastic tools! she can help mommy when she is out doing yardwork now!

 

Sorry for the boob shots I bent over too much in this dress didn't even think about it until after the fact.. putting her blindfold on..

 

 

I don't think she really understood the concept but she had fun anyway lol..

 

The adults had a round of pin the bow on Minnie mouse too!!

 

Daddy was a sport and even did it!!! Yay for daddy!!!!!!

 

Her cake/cakes turned out SOOOO cute!!

 

Okay so.. like I was really stressed about  this whole thing but it was a beautiful night.. and everything turned out so good and was so fun. I think these are just as much for the adults as they are for the kids. getting together to celebrate my child but also strenghtning friendships in the process..

 

 

She just thought this was the coolest thing ever

 

Take a deep breath samarah... and

 

blow!! look at the smile on her face!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Then she gets to enjoy her cake..

 

for a minute anyway...

 

Look at how she is looking at me... haha I laughed out loud for real.. she is like mom. really?

 

some of the decorations  you can see in the trees

 

I forgot to get a picture of the front! we had balloons all along the fence and Minnie mouse stuff all over the fence and all over the deck I was too stressed to remember

 

 

Am I mean mommy? I let him do this

 

She did NOT know what to think. I don't think she liked it very much. lol.

 

Daddy making sure she is okay.. I dunno dad...

 

Ok she's fine :)