Jenna's at it again!

This afternoon, Jenna fell against the side of the coffee table and lost a chunk out of her bottom lip. I took her into the doctor and after much trauma for her and for me, they put in one stitch so that it will heal better and cleaner.

She was very upset during the process but after a short nap and a popsicle, was as happy as ever. Jenna is such a mild tempered, cheerful child! She amazes me and is a real blessing to our family.
We were discussing the fact that we have four children and this is only the second time we have had to have stitches and no broken bones! That's pretty amazing. Not that we haven't had accidents, like this one, and this one, and many more that I have yet to write about such as when Christian decided to get out of the tub by himself, stood on the edge and slipped splitting his lip open. Or when Jordan got his pinky slammed in the door at the church and popped the nail right out of the nail bed. Or, or, or....

I guess we better be knocking on wood!!

How we got a Cherry 7-up stained ceiling

Jordan was about 2½ or 3 and in his throwing stage. Whenever he had something he shouldn't have, and we asked him for it, he would grin, throw it, and run. No matter how close we were to him, how we asked him, if we instructed him to put it in our hands, he always threw whatever it was.
One day he found a can of Cherry 7-up in the pantry. I, in my panicked state began to chase him around the house trying to get it from him, until I realized that the room temperature can was thoroughly being shaken. I approached him with my hands in the air, palms out so as not to threaten, and began to beg, plead, cajole, anything I could think of to get him to gently place it in my hand. No such luck! He gave a maniacal smile worthy of the best criminal holding a loaded weapon and then in true 007 style lobbed the can and escaped under the cover of a bomb and the panic it caused.
Over the last few years I have tried to wash the kitchen ceiling at least 3 or 4 times without success. We have finally painted over the splatter stains. As I write this I feel almost a sentimental sadness that they are gone. Almost....

Remodeling Revelations Vol. 1 - Paint

I am learning a lot of great things throughout this process and decided to list them for future reference because my memory is as holey as swiss cheese. Now, these things may be no brainers for you DIY veterans out there but they were revelations for me.

1. Start by prioritizing your projects by $ as well as how much they bug you. In hindsight, there is a large ticket project that really bugged me butI wish we had considered other options and spent the extra $ on some other projects.
2. If your paint doesn't need a color change, try washing the walls first. It's amazing how it will brighten the room. Magic Erasers can be very useful but try to use them sparingly as they will dull your paint sheen. If washing the wall doesn't make enough difference, consider paint matching and touching up as another option.
3. Remember, color matching isn't perfect or fail safe! The difference of "just slightly off" can be as big as the wall you are painting. Old paint is hard to match and needs to be washed (see #2).
4. Paint sheen is more important than you may realize. Don't let anyone, even the Home Depot guy tell you that your ceiling paint is a semi-gloss. It isn't! Instead of painting one section of the ceiling stained by Cherry 7-up, we ended up painting the entire ceiling. Uggg!
5. Contrasting paint colors adds interest and drama. We are very happy we chose a bright white for doors and trim rather than a more mute eggshell or cream color.
6. There are lots of uses for paint that make big changes for little $. We are excited about our new blue front door and the "hammered" metallic paint we used to update the light fixtures in the bathrooms.
7. Buy expensive paint tape and remove it while the paint is still wet to prevent bleeding and flaking. I just learned this yesterday from a professional painter! Wish I had known this long ago! No more DollarTree tape for this house!
8. Removing hardware, switchplates, etc is worth the time and effort. No matter how hard you try, you will get paint on them. It is more difficult to clean the paint off of them later.
9. A higher grade brush can make all the difference when cutting in those edges!

DIY Before and Afters

Well, I imagine that most of my blogs for the next few weeks/months will be about getting this house ready to sell and planning the new house. It has become my obsession!

I have put a few before and after pictures of a couple of projects we have done, info on a fun product I discovered, and a disposable paint tray idea!

First of all, I hate to paint doors. I mean I REALLY hate to paint doors. I have spent days painting doors and door frames. The only thing I hate worse than painting doors is cleaning up after painting doors. One night, I was washing out a food tray from our ready-made dinner from Costco (We've been having a lot of those dinners lately). I looked at the ridges in the bottom and on the sides and thought "this would work great for the 3" paint roller I was using to paint the doors." I just put it inside the regular paint tray to keep it on a slope, covered it with plastic wrap between the (count 'em) 3 coats I had to do on the front door, and then threw it away! It Worked for Me! Check out other paint tips (here) we have learned along the way !


Before & After

I don't know if you can see the white front door, but we painted it the blue you saw in the paint tray and it really accents the otherwise monotone colors of the house. The new color and a planter on the front porch should add to the welcoming feel.

We had old brass colored light fixtures in the master bath. The finish was peeling and tarnished. I took them apart and lightly cleaned them with steelwool. I then used a new (to me) paint by Rust-oleum called "hammered" metal. You can spray it right over any metal surface, even if it is rusted! I chose a nickel type finish to match the new shower door Paul installed although I really liked the idea of the antiqued bronze. It is a little hard to see in this photo but the "hammered" finish has a lot of depth and really updated the look. It was an inexpensive alternative to replacing the fixtures!

Before & After

Here is a picture of the new shower door. I don't have a before, but trust me it was scratched and needed replacing. We chose the rain glass which I really like, especially since it is easier to keep looking nice and clean.












Well, I guess I'd better figure out what to feed my family for dinner and plan that Family Home Evening lesson!

Surprise gift game!

Here's a fun blogging game started by my friend Dahlene over at My Happy Family...

Be one of the first three people to leave a comment on this post and you'll receive something handmade from me sometime in the next year. But there is a catch. You have to do the same thing on your blog. And then once you get the item from me you have to comment about it on my blog!! Your entry into this, is your most embarrassing moment.

I have so many stories in my arsenal, but I guess it will be the one at Bear Lake. When I was about 15 we had a ward outing and they had reserved two cabins to let people shower. I was showering, when someone knocked on the door and informed my friend that there was a fire and we had to evacuate immediately! Looong story short, I ended up on the highway with the rest of my ward in a towel with a blanket thrown over me as all the little kids asked me if I had "any clothes on under there" and the semi truck drivers honked!

My first giveaway! A science booklet

Here I am doing my first blogosphere giveaway! We'll see if anyone checks in or if I will just experience the sound of crickets. Enter BEFORE MARCH 7TH!!

Do your kids like science? My son Christian, when he was 6½ years old informed us that he wanted a chemistry set for Christmas. I searched everywhere and found nothing that satisfied me. The kits I found were $20 and basically included experiments with vinegar and baking soda...period! We had been there and done all that. So I started researching on the internet. I found some great websites and some things from my old teaching files and compiled my own book. There are more than 25 activities from the vinegar and baking soda volcanoes, to crystal gardens, to electrical circuits. The experiments use materials you can find at your grocery store and craft store. There is even a supply list on the back so you can gather it all and put it in a box, making a kit to use for a gift.

This booklet is a great to combat the summer doldrums! Making my own science kit worked for me! Check out more on Works for me Wednesday over at We are THAT family.

Leave me a comment to enter to win a copy of this fun booklet.

**Using a highly scientific (or seemingly so to this techno challenged mind) process at http://random.org/sequences/ we have a winner. And the winner is....Fairion. I will contact you by email! Happy experimenting!

Anyone else who may still be interested in the booklet, you can leave me a comment and we can work something out for the cost of copying and postage.

1 street: 2 climates

Photos taken this morning!!!

This is the neighbor's house across the street:

SPRING!

This is our house:

WINTER!

These are not even the most dramatic pictures I could have taken! Most of the winter, driveways across the street are clear and dry while we have a couple inches of ice! Don't get me wrong, we would never trade my house and we are buying another north facing lot (go figure) because we are willing to deal with ice and snow for the house and yard we want on a cul-de-sac. I just wish the climates weren't so drastically different! It is a little discouraging when I am really ready for spring! I want to see my tulips and other bulbs emerge.

Our newest challenge!

I won't keep you in suspense any longer. I know you have been obsessing about it. "What are those Bruderers up to this time?" Well, I mentioned a little while ago that we were considering building a house. Well it is official now, and my obsession. We put a down payment on a lot a couple of weeks ago which has thrown us into a timeline that is carrying us along like white water rapids! We talked to a lender and learned something interesting. Apparently, with the economy the way it is, we have to sell our current house before anyone will give us financing for the new one. In other words, our house will take 4 months to build, they can't get the building permit without financing, to finance, we have to sell. We would like to move before the beginning of the school year so the kids can start fresh in new classes. So.... we have to sell SOON!

If any of you know anyone who wants to buy a beautiful house in the best neighborhood and ward we've ever found, let us know. I will list a few things about the house below.

Now comes the "fun" part! In order to be competitive in a difficult selling market we need to do some renovations. We have refurbished the cabinets and bannisters, we are replacing hardware on the cabinets and putting in new countertops next week, we have someone coming to do some sheetrock patch work tomorrow(the hole made by the wasps in the ceiling must go, a story for another stellar post), and then we will paint. Anyone who would like to join us for a painting party, let me know! To facilitate all of this work, I have got to get some stuff packed and stored in order to have room to work and really showcase the house to buyers.

How do we know how to "showcase" and "stage" the house you ask? There is a great show on A&E that I watch faithfully every morning as I work out stress on my eliptical. It is called "Sell This House". It is perfect, and we have learned a lot. I also found another show yesterday on HGTV that show bigger home improvement projects that are fun to watch, called "Designed to Sell" Paul even watches some of the episodes with me. We just hope all of their tips will work.

I have also found a couple of really great blogs and websites. One of my favorites is Remodeling Guy. He shows such wonderfully inspiring photos and simple good advice for do it yourself projects. The Nesting Place has a blog carnival called 10 minutes to a room you love where people share their decorating ideas. I also like some of the ideas and the beautiful photos on The Inspired Room.

Now I will shamelessly brag about the house just in case you know anyone who is looking to buy!

• New tile and carpet on main floor and 2nd floor last fall
• Bathrooms upstairs have been tiled
• Reshingled roof last Fall
• Furnace replaced 3 or 4 years ago with larger one
• Attic fan for better circulation in Summer
• Garage door and opener replaced 3 years ago
• Newly refurbished cabinets
• Painted outside trim last fall
• New cement front walk*
• New kitchen countertop
• New shower doors in master bath*
• central air
• finished basement
• basement wired for surround sound and wet bar with mini fridge
• 4 bedrooms, 3 baths
• open floor plan with good flow
• great backyard with playset, garden, apple tree, fully fenced
• 1 block from elementary school
• no backyard neighbors
• incredible neighbors and ward, great place to raise children

* Projects we are working on now.

Hey, thanks for making it to the end of this epic post. If you know anyone who is looking for a house, contact us! Thank you for your support!

WFMW - Velcro in the laundry

My tip this week is simple. When we entered into the world of bibs, we began to discover that the Velcro closures would catch on everything. I began to put everything that would pull or catch onto that Velcro, into lingerie bags. You know those mesh zipper bags. Then I realized that if I just put the bibs in the bags it would save a lot of headache. I found a 3 pack at the dollar store and now I use them for my nylons and other delicates, but I use them more for those pesky Velcro bibs.

Those lingerie laundry bags work for me! WFMW has moved ro We Are THAT Family so, Click here for other fun ideas and helpful tips.

San Francisco

It was amazing, beautiful, thought provoking, and altogether wonderful! I cannot express how much I enjoyed this play! The vocals were impressive, so powerful. The story line was expertly written and it's depth surprising. The special effects were fun and amazing.










We rode the trolley to Fisherman's wharf. It was fun to see how the trollies went up and down those hills!









Here we are we are standing on the wharf with the bridge in the background. We ate some incredible clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and some even better fried shrimp for lunch. Yummm!

We went to the aquarium and enjoyed walking through the underwater tubes to see all the marine life that can be found in the bay and further our in the deeper ocean. Then we were able to go to the touch tanks and touch small sharks, sea urchins, sting rays, starfish, and sea cucumbers.






Paul trying to be mates with the pirates!




After a fun filled day at Fisherman's Wharf, we went to a Chinese restaurant on Polk Street called Tai Chi's. It was a hole in the wall! I'm not kidding, there were literally holes in the walls! As we entered, we saw that they were sorting green beans on one of the tables out front. Paul pointed out that at least we knew they used fresh, good produce. Then came the food! We started with Spring Rolls and they were amazing! Then for a main dish we had beef with asparagus in black bean sauce. If you don't know how I feel about black beans, then you don't know me very well! The beef was so tender, the asparagus fresh and yummy, and the sauce to die for! I also loved that they gave the option of brown rice as well as white. It was enough to share, relatively inexpensive, and probably the best Chinese food I have had! We will be going back!!


We came home from San Francisco feeling ready to tackle our next challenge (more on that later) and very grateful for where we live. Once again, we have been proven Suburbians. Neither of us enjoy the fast city life. We enjoy our yard, friendly neighbors, clean streets, and driving our own cars. Let's just say we do NOT enjoy public transportation in a large city. I could go into detail but I won't. I want to savor the memories of a wonderful vacation with the man by which I am still smitten after more than 12 years.


I am a big believer in the need to get away as a couple for two reasons. The first and foremost being to keep your friendship alive and make sure that you still know the person you are married to. You know, behind the parent, job, calling, etc. The second reason being that I need to miss my kids every once in a while! Whenever I come home from being away from our kids, I find more patience, perspective and joy in the people they are becoming. Sometimes it is easy to get bogged down in the day to day problem solving and rush to keep my head above water. It is easy to miss my kids growing up before my eyes.

So, go plan a get away time. It can be as simple as a cheap motel down the street and a Redbox video. Just reconnect every once in a while! I do recommend getting away from the house with it's endless list of chores whispering in your ear while you sleep, and the "just gotta get this dones".

WFMW - preparing to leave the kids

I am posting my Works for Me Wednesday tip today because Paul and I are leaving on vacation tomorrow. It is so true that when leaving the kids, it requires 48 hours of preparation for every 24 hours you will be gone.
What works for me today is the way I get things together to leave the kids home. The best thing I have done is to write up the kids' schedules, meals, routines, allergies and other various and sundry instructions on the computer. That way, I can go into the document and just tweak it each time we leave.
Now, I don't have to write down our bedtime routine every time. Nor do I have to rewrite the warnings. For example, the last time we left, Paul's nephew babysat for us and found it hilarious that they would try everything on my list, including the slumber party in the family room on a school night!
I also have menu ideas and a virtual shopping list as I list options for meal preparation. I leave a list of things they can make that are in the house rather than dictate specific meals. That way, the wonderful people who agree to care for our 4 monkeys can choose meals as simple or complicated as they feel comfortable with and food that they like.
Finally, I print up a separate emergency sheet that has phone numbers, a signed note from me giving the holder permission to seek medical care for the children in case we cannot be reached, and insurance cards photocopied on the back, just in case!
This may be a simple thing that everyone else has already figured out but it works for me. I would love to hear any other ideas that work for you to simplify leaving your kids.
Be sure to check out what works for others here!

BTW, I have to say how excited I am! We did not celebrate our anniversary in Dec. or Valentine's Day, so we are going to San Francisco to see Wicked! We haven't seen it and I am positively giddy! Time to do laundry, tweak my list, grocery shop, pick up the lizard, shovel the snow......

We have a Jonas brother look alike!

Meagan, one of the girls in Emma's primary class was watching the Grammy's with her family. The Jonas brothers were performing and she said, "He looks like Emma's daddy!" He is pretty handsome!