SUNDAY PROJECT

On Saturday I had this brilliant idea to paint & stain our kitchen table.  It needed a little makeover.  After we got home from church, I asked Jordan if he could help me carry the table to the garage.  And I got that look like here she goes again.  But I actually surprised myself and did it without his help.  I did get a little impatient during the process, but thankfully I'm going for the shabby chic/vintage look so you can't tell, ha!

Here is the process:
1. I sanded the table

 2. Then I painted it

 3. Then I rubbed the stain with the grains of the table

 4. Then I stained the chairs

 5. Then I added a little table jewelry (It's still in my garage because the smell was pretty strong and I didn't want James inhaling it)

The best part was that it was free!  We had the paint & stain already..

You can find more painting & staining tips from home talk.  Here is the website:
http://www.hometalk.com/b/3018692/painting-staining

BATHROOM UPDATES

What I thought would take a couple weeks to update our half bath took a couple months.  I had a $175 gift card to Lowe's from our credit card points & Jordan's painter said he would paint our bathroom at cost since Jordan gives him so much business.  I ordered one faucet from Lowe's & after a couple weeks of not receiving it, I finally called Lowe's to check on the status of it--they have been meaning to call me and tell me they no longer carry that faucet.  So I ordered another one.  I anxiously went & picked it up at the store and guess what?  I accidentally ordered a mini faucet.  Oops.  I got little impatient and just bought a display one at the store.  Jordan installed it.  It looked horrible, to say the least.  Ughhhhh--so frustrating.  Jordan suggested that we order one from his preferred vendors, so that's what we did.  So I used my giftcard toward a tilt mirror and the light fixture.  

I added some flowers to liven the bathroom up a little.

 Cassidy Delta faucet & towel ring:

We used a Sherwin Williams paint called Sea Salt.  It is also in our dining room:

Check it out on Hometalk.com:

http://www.hometalk.com/b/7057844/room-makeover-on-a-budget

DYI HOME IMPROVEMENT

My sister, Rachel, motivated me to pressure wash our house & the cement around it.  So, yesterday I did our front steps.  Notice the mildew on the steps in the left picture and on the right, they are mildew free.  It took me 10 minutes, but it looks so much better.  And the best part is, that it is free :) We don't own a pressure washer, we borrowed it from the Wood family!  This before and after picture got me even more excited, I might go a little pressure washer crazy in the next few days!

OLD LADY HABITS

I've been called an "old soul" before and I used to think "Wow! I'm mature."  Wrong.  I realized it's because I have old lady tendencies.  I am an eighty year old trapped in a twenty six year old's body.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized I have more elderly habits than I realized.

1. I go to bed early.  Clarification: I don't go to bed at 8 PM. I know people like to exaggerate it a little bit, but usually around 9 or 10 PM.  Occasionally I can stay up to 11 and every once in a blue moon I can stay up until midnight, but then I start getting delirious.

2. I have the worst memory.  This is no exaggeration.  True story:  one time I was watching tv with my roommates & this movie preview came on.  I said, "I want to see that!"  They all looked at me with puzzled looks and replied, "You know we saw that in the movie theater recently, right?"  Gosh, I'm an idiot.  I can remember numbers like no bodies business, but cannot remember names, places, movies, music artists, events that occurred, etc.

3. Bad hearing.  I blame my mom for this one.  I think it's genetic.  That lady can't hear for her life.

4. I have an 80 year old bladder.  Long road trips often requires frequent stops for this Wood family.

5.  Aches & pains.  I wish I could blame that on pregnancy & carrying around a huge baby all the time, but I am pretty sure my back and stomach hurt before James ever existed.

6. I drive slow.  I am not sure what it is.  When I lived in Los Angeles I was a speed demon, but since I moved to Georgia, I started driving slow.  I guess that's my way of coping with the slow pace of life here.

7.  I walk slow.  I am not sure where I got this, my whole family walks fast.  Jordan said that when we were dating, I walked so slow and when I would talk while walking, it slowed me down even more.  Yikes!

I wish I could say I talked slow and ate slow, but I talk 100 mph & same with eating.

I just need to face it, by 35 I'll probably be wearing a hearing aid along with a diaper and diagnosed with dementia.  Poor Jordan.

The day I will never forget...

I CANNOT believe our 2 year anniversary is today!  I had put so much thought into our wedding day.  I wanted it to be a blessing to others, and ultimately I wanted it to reflect Christ since that's the end goal in marriage.  I truly enjoyed every second of it.  I could probably go on & on about our wedding day, but I am going to post a ton of pictures instead and let them tell the story! :)

Gosh, I love James Jordan Wood.  Best decision of my life.

James the Gentle Giant 6.24.14

I'm a few days late, but James is 4 months old.  It seems like I just had him yesterday, but then again it seems like he has been a part of our family for a while now.    

We just got back from his 4 month appointment and he's still in the 80th percentile for height (26 inches), and he went from 60th to 80th percentile in weight (16 pounds 14 ounces), and his head got way bigger!  It went from the 30th percentile to the 75th.  

I am somewhat convinced he will be tall like Jordan, yet he seems pretty sensitive.  His little lip quivers a lot when he's scared or doesn't like something.  Not that I remember being a baby, but my mom and dad told me I was such a cry baby!  There's home videos of me crying because I wanted my mom & I vividly remember crying when my brother & sister would wrestle playfully with my dad.  I thought they were hurting each other.  I also remember my dad making me play softball when I was 5ish, and I cried like a baby for a loooong time because I was scared.  My dad could not handle cry babies/whimps, but I'm thankful he pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me a little more tough.  Hopefully James will grow out of it too--having 5 Wood uncles will toughen him up a little, I'm sure!  

Dear sweet James,

I know I have said this a million time, but we love you so much and our love keeps growing for you each day.  It's hard to fathom because we love you a ton already!  You started laughing, finally!! I have been waiting for it to come.  You are still sleeping a lot & eating a ton! 

Love, 
Mommy & Daddy

Here are some pics & a video from this past month:

Help! I'm tacoed out!!

What do I do while James takes his morning nap?  I food prep!  And what am I making?  Jordan's favorite, either enchiladas or burritos and I freeze them for dinner and lunches.  If we aren't having enchiladas, we are usually eating some sort of Mexican dish.  Occasionally I will ask Jordan what he wants for dinner, and his response is alway "tacos".  To say I'm getting tired of tacos is an understatement or any Mexican dish in general!   I have definitely perfected my tacos.  If anyone has any yummy, YET simple dinner recipes they would like to share, I'm all for it!!  I try Pinterest recipes every once in a while, but sometimes they get a little time consuming, and running around the grocery store for 1,000 ingredients isn't ideal with a baby in your cart!

I am also perfecting my salsa recipe.  Here it is if you are interested:

3 cans of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes (16 ounces)-I usually get "no salt added"
1/2 bunch of fresh cilantro
1/2 white onion
2 limes (or I get lime juice, cheaper & laster longer)
10 slices of jalapeno peppers (I use the jar kind-cheaper & last longer)  
2 cloves of garlic
Salsa packet (but I sometimes I don't include this because it has too much sodium, and just do a dash of garlic salt)

Sometimes I do without garlic if I don't have it.  This recipe is pretty good!  The first time I made salsa, one of Jordan's brother's said it tasted like "Oniony ketchup", so I have came a long way :)


I made up another recipe that several people have asked me about.  It's really simple.  Here it is:

1 can of corn (low sodium)
1/2 white onion
1/4 bunch of cilantro

It's kind of like a salsa but with no tomatoes!

Please post any recipes you would like to share, so I don't go crazy with Jordan's taco obsession.