happy momma!!

our little Remi had an excellent surgery on Monday!  the doctor was able to perform all of the surgeries, including her tail!!  he said it was the most difficult part, and he hadn't ever seen a tail like that in his career.  they unfortunately did find a mass cell tumor in the tail, but of course removed it.

tuesday, she spent the day at the vet until Jodi picked her up in the evening.  i was told that they spoiled her like crazy.  they put her in a bed up at the front desk, hand fed her, and kept her all snuggled and warm all day long.  one of the ladies even called Jodi to ask if she could adopt her!

we get to pick her up tonight and i can't wait!

Yay!  I get to go home!

worried momma

my sweet Remi will be heading into surgery soon!  she is having double knee and tail surgery.  the doctor felt confident about the knees but wasn't too sure about the tail.  please keep her in your thoughts and prayers today.

Five on Friday- donations

lately i have been seeing that there are a lot of places in need of donations.  these are some of the ones we have supported and why it was important to us to help them.  please help if you can too!

1.  The Women's Center (Waukesha)

our church has Zumba every Tuesday, and they call is Zumba CARES because instead of paying for the class, they pick a charity and ask for participants to donate to instead.  for January and February, they have been collecting donations for The Women's Center.  this is a great cause because it helps support abused women.

2.  Miller for Midwest Boston Terrier Rescue

Miller has a lot of medical expenses.  he needs an x-ray, surgery on his eyes, and dental work done.  it is possible that he might even lose his eye sight if he has to wait too long to have surgery. :(

3.  Kim for St. Baldrick's Foundation

this is a Facebook friend of mine, she was also in one of my college classes with me.  she is planning on shaving her head for her hair to be made into a wig for a cancer patient.  the funds go toward research in field of childhood cancer.  this is such a selfless thing she is doing.  i am so proud of her :)

4. Adams County Humane Society

they had a fire at their facility. they were thinking a dryer started it.  luckily all the animals were saved by some very dedicated people.  but they have to clean up and get the everything back to normal so that they can find forever homes for all of their animals.

 5.  Wisconsin Boston Terrier Rescue

we are always needing help to pay for surgeries.  like our Remi is having her surgery Monday, this is something they pay for in order to keep her alive and get her adopted, we just happen to be the lucky ones fostering and adopting her (aka foster failure).  and we will be helping pay for the surgery.  there are a lot of dogs we get in, and every one is vetted, up to date on shots, and fixed.  sometimes there is even more that they need, like dental, or in Remi's case, knee and tail surgery.  the cost of the surgeries are always much more than their adoption fee, so extra funds are always needed.

hanging around

i finally got my hubby to hang some stuff around the house!  some of it i bought before we even moved in so i had no idea if it would work in the space.  luckily it all looks great (at least i think it does ;) )

these used to be above our bed in our old master, but they are WAY too little for the space now.  they fit really nicely between the master closet and master bathroom.  i love finally having some our wedding pictures up!  now i have to figure out what i want to put above our bed...

this chalkboard was just something fun for us.  we plan on using it for when the kids come to visit and let them decorate it for us or for us to write little notes to each other.  it's right outside our master in the hallway.  we didn't want it in a high traffic area though because in case it says honey do list items, our guests don't need to see it.

i LOVE this sign.  it's perfect for us, since we always have fresh eggs thanks to our girls.  we put it by the patio door.

this is my favorite of everything that got hung.  i really wanted this sign a long time ago, so i just bought it even though i had no idea where it would fit in our kitchen.  my mom had the idea to put it above the cabinets since our ceilings are so tall.  i think it looks amazing!

valentine's day gifts

my hubby sure likes to spoil me.  i loved all of my gifts he got me.

a beautiful and sweet card...he's really good at picking out cards.

beautiful roses

some of my favorite bubbly, Asti

some DaVinci beads to add to my collection

owl, cat, moon and star, blue heart and crown

they are like Pandora beads but at a much more affordable price and super cute too!  i wear mine as a necklace mostly, but they can be worn as a bracelet.


the owl is for Adalai, because she LOVES owls

the cat is for Lily

the star and moon is for stella and luna (that's the actual meanings of their names)

the blue heart is the one he picked out himself...heart because it was valentine's day and blue is my birthstone

the crown is because i am a princess?  haha.  i did say he treats me like a princess.

although Stella really is the most spoiled in the house, so she needs a crown too.

i loved all of my gifts :)

doggy update

yesterday was our typical meetup with our Milwaukee Boston Terrier Group.  it was a great turnout and it looks like it was a pretty successful fundraiser for WBTR.

Cari and Sue

the dogs were super excited to play with their friends.  maybe a little too excited...

Remi trying to make her sister feel better

the poor girls (Stella and Marley) were playing so hard that they didn't realize they had ripped open all of their pads on their paws. :(  we have one really sad doggy over here.

and other news...

Remi will be having her double knee and tail surgery a week from today!

this is both exciting and terrifying.  the tail surgery is a pretty risky surgery and i am so worried about it.  some dogs that have surgery on their tail end up not being able to control their bowels and have to be put down.  i am so scared that something terrible like this could happen.

Remi is FINALLY starting to come out of her shell.  she is finally finding her own place in our family.  i just don't want anything bad to happen to her.

not only that, but i'm also worried about the recovery from such a major surgery.  i'm worried about how she will even be able to go potty if she can't put weight on her back legs.

i just keep trying to remind myself that she needs the surgery and that it's in God's hands, and He will take care of her.  and i will be praying.

another thing...

we are getting a new foster (dog, that is)!  his name is Owen and he is 7.  he will probably be coming to us this weekend.

i'm so excited to have another foster, and excited for the day he gets to go to his forever home.  i'm sure he will be a fun addition to our family for the short time he will be here. :)

and lastly...

Bitsy got adopted yesterday.  this is another mixed emotion, because i'm happy she found a forever home, but i'm sad it wasn't with us.

we had considered adopting her because we are pretty sure she is Luna's relative.  she look exactly like her and came from a puppy mill.  there are only a few puppy mill's we work with, so it's possible.  either way, there was something about her that instantly grabbed my attention, and made me want her.

anyways, her foster mom said that the nuns that adopted him, one was really excited but the other wasn't.  that's super sad to me because both of us would have LOVED to have had her.  she deserves a family that loves her and wants her and is excited about her.

if it doesn't work out with her adopters, and she goes back into care, we will probably take her.  she is a senior and she has already had a rough life.  she deserves to have a forever home that will love her completely.

valentine's day

to celebrate, we went to the mall last night to look around and got some Jamba Juice.

tonight we will be staying in and playing games.

Happy Valentine's Day!

spring

all i can think about lately is spring...

i just so desperately want it to be spring already.  even though i'm obsessed with our house and love being in here, i just want to go outside!

the dogs are so bored.  they play and fight all day long, but you can tell, they want to do that outside.  stella has been trying to stay out as long as possible, but her poor paws freeze.  Boston's were not built for the cold.

i want to asphalt our driveway, and get rid of the huge mounds of dirt surrounding our house.  i want to plant grass, and start a garden.

i want to go for a walk. every. single. day.  and maybe even start running (haha let's not get ahead of ourselves)

running to the store should not be a chore.  i shouldn't freeze my butt off every time i get in the car.  i shouldn't have to put off going to the store for a few days because it is below zero and i can't even stand the thought of taking a step outside.

walking to the mailbox shouldn't be the only outdoor activity we have.

please let it be warm soon.  pretty please.  even 30 degrees would be some sort of relief...

my love/hate relationship with soda

i have a completely unhealthy obsession with soda.

it's so ridiculous, and it just needs to stop.

we've always had soda around since i was little.  we had a refrigerator in the garage that was only for holding soda.  it was pure heaven.  i have been drinking it since i was little and can't seem to get over this crazy addiction.

i know it's terrible, but nothing seems to help.

i used to drink 3 or more cans a day.  as i've gotten older and realized how bad it is for me, i cut back. i started at 3, then 2, then 1.  and now i'm stuck.  stuck at just 1 soda a day and can't seem to kick it.

i used to always drink pepsi, then sprite, then mountain dew, then diet mountain dew, then caffeine free diet mountain dew, now zero mellow yellow.

during the summer, i went ONE WHOLE MONTH without drinking even ONE soda.  but with the stress of the house building, and the fact that i hated our rental, it has always been my crutch and so i went back on it.

i always justify it with...i don't drink alcohol, i don't smoke, i don't do drugs.  it's the one thing i love.

but it's getting ridiculous and it needs to stop.

i eat mostly unprocessed foods.  organic food.  healthy overall.  i have worked so hard to eat super healthy, and this is the one thing that is SUPER unhealthy that i do every single day.

i am going to quit.  i'm going to give it up cold turkey.  wish me luck!

organizing my nail polish obsession

i have been wearing nail polish for as long as i can remember.  i love it and wear it every day.

over the past couple of years, my collection has grown a lot and i was running out of room in the previous storage solution i had...

it couldn't even contain it all!

i went on a hunt at Target to find the perfect storage solution.  i had Starla helping out and she found this container...

typically it looks like it is used for crafts, but this was perfect!

on the bottom, i put my cotton balls, nail polish remover, and tools.

on the top, i put all my nail polish and arranged it by color and types, and my files.

after using this a few times, i realized that it was easier to arrange it with the nail polish on the bottom and my remover and such on the top.  this is because i can leave the nail polish part of the container on the shelf in my bathroom cabinet, and just remove the top to carry with me.

the reason i chose this solution is because i wanted a container i could move around.  i always do my nails while i'm watching TV, sometimes in the kitchen, the living room, or our bedroom.  i saw a million different great ideas on pinterest, but none of them worked for me.

eventually i would like to add some dividers, so things stay separated.  i already have the nail polish separated by color, but would love them all divided out.

five on friday (home tour: laundry room/mudroom)

the laundry room and the mudroom were the most important rooms in the house in designing the house. 

unfortunately, not everyone felt the same way, so there were a lot of problems with this area as we were building.  mainly, it was made much smaller than the plans originally said.  not enough space was not ok for this space, but luckily my mom came through and figured out how to fit everything in.

although not all of the problems were resolved, it is still one of my favorite rooms in the house!

welcome

look at that beautiful blue.  still love it every time i see it.

the mudroom/laundry room is right next to the master bedroom

this area was the most important, because it had to have enough room for:

• dog's kennels
• place to hang jackets, and for shoes
• countertop for folding/cat food
• hampers
• washer/dryer
• sink
• broom closet

1. behind the door to the mudroom is the dogs kennels, nicely tucked away under a countertop

there is a door so that if people come over, all i have to say is 'kennel' and they will run in there and i just have to shut the door to keep them from jumping all over our guests.  this is nice so they don't always have to be in their kennels.  so far, they don't scratch at the door.

the Boston Terrier sign, says 'a house is not a home without a Boston'

i also insisted on having the cabinets above them, because that's where all their goodies are kept. (this will be in a later post)

if we end up getting a fourth dog (which is something we are considering), or when we have a foster (and if both happen, that means space for 5 dogs!), i'm not sure where she/they will go, but i'm sure we will figure it out.

2.  ok, i know this looks pathetic, but until we find a solution, it is working for us.  we have a place for jackets and shoes, it's just not the prettiest space in the house.

eventually, i would like to get a bench with baskets underneath for shoes, some nice hooks, and some storage above.  it's not a priority for right now, but it'll happen eventually.

3.  in the laundry area of this space is my must have sink.  i honestly only wanted this sink to be able to fill up the dog's water bowl.  which isn't the best reason to spend a lot of $, but it ended up that i use this CONSTANTLY.

i LOVE this sink!  best idea ever.  

and the cabinets house my cleaning supplies.  all in one area.  not the most ideal, but for fostering it had to all be kept out of reach from the littles.  so this is where it goes, and it's been working for me.

4.  obsessed with my washer and dryer.  

we didn't have one in the rental and it was pure torture.  ok, maybe it wasn't that bad because i got to visit Grams every week, but still.  it sucked having to haul all that laundry back and forth.  

i truly appreciate and love these.  they are LG just like all of the appliances in our house.  and i love the steam feature.  especially with the dogs.  and a dog that has a tail infection.  just ew.

5.  my little shelf above the washer and dryer.

it houses my laundry detergent, and similar items.  a little garbage can for lint.  and a wash bucket.

originally, i was going to add more cabinets, but i wouldn't have been able to reach any of the shelves anyways.  this worked out perfectly and i love it.

ignore the plugs and plumbing...apparently the plumber, electrician and HVAC guy all don't know how to use a tape measure.  my husband, ahem the electrician, is trying to think of a solution to hide it.

Things that still need to be done in this space:

• paint trim
• paint doors
• install end on laminate
• lockers or storage for jackets/shoes
• rug
• touch up garage door
• install garage door knob

Lily loves to sit in the laundry basket on top of the washer.  it's one of her favorite places in the house too ;)

really easy laundry room project

i needed a way to get my bleach into the washer without making a huge mess.  dumping it in with the huge bottle wasn't working.

i had just finished using up my Method softener and since i LOVE their bottles, i figured it would be PERFECT for my bleach.

all i did was:

1. remove the method label
2. clean out the bottle
3. fill bottle with bleach
4. add some washi tape to add a little color
5. and add a label on it

easy as that!  and super cute too :)

bathroom pantry cabinet

A bathroom pantry cabinet?  Well, really in a kitchen it would be a pantry cabinet, but it's in our bathroom.  It really is our linen cabinet, but I still call it the pantry.  Not sure why, but it confuses my husband.  Haha!

Isn't it a beauty?!

Anyways, I LOVE how spacious it is, and I haven't even used all of the space in it, but thought I would show how I keep it organized.

top of cabinet

Top shelf:  First bin holds my blow dryer, hair spray, and straightener.  Second bin has "Misc."  Things like cotton balls, Qtips, or anything that doesn't really have another place to go.

Middle shelf: Kleenex and toilet paper.

Bottom shelf: The shoe box containers hold stomach and cold meds, each in their own containers.  All the other meds are in the bin.  My favorite part is that I can keep my toothbrush plugged in, in the cabinet, so that it's not sitting out on the counter.

bottom of cabinet

 Top shelf: Towels.

Middle shelf: Nailpolish container (which you can see is overflowing).  Wash clothes and coconut oil.

Bottom shelf: Scale.  Bin full of "Extras."  Things like contact solution, toothpaste, body wash, deodorant.  I like to keep an extra on hand so we don't ever run out.

I used the bins in our previous house in the linen closet, and they are super helpful at keeping this organized.  I try to keep things that we both use in the linen cabinet, and then we keep our stuff in our separate vanities.  I was shocked to see that I had so much leftover space in the cabinet, but that's how I like it.  I hate clutter so this has been helpful for keeping everything away and in it's place.

Check out the full bathroom here