Aquarium Makeover

the finished product!

We opted to stay at home for the weekend and decided to get some new fish for the aquarium. Our little project of just adding fish and cleaning the tank became a bigger project and kept us busy last Sunday. We finally purchased an aquarium stand, heater, different set of rocks and more fish! This time we got tetra fish and a beta fish. The day before that we bought three different types of goldfish, I chose a Black Moor, really weird looking and not pretty at all.

Anyway, the kids had fun hopping from one pet store to another looking for the perfect fish. They were rather impatient but the cleaning process took awhile plus hubby had to build the stand as well. We also transferred the aquarium in the living room now that it had a proper stand.

my ugly Black Moor w/ Lance's goldfish

The three goldfishes however were split into two improvised fish bowls (originally vases) since they might eat the small tetra fishes.

I loved the outcome of hubby's project everybody was happy and it's really pretty. I loved how we spent our lazy weekend, I'm glad we did something productive for a change :D

Making Room for More

my 'office'

We had to make some changes here at home, I just had to have a computer desk which can accommodate all my coupon related stuff in other words, my MESS. So I got one for my birthday thanks to hubby. We also had to get a pantry cabinet for all the extra stuff as well and yes there goes my coupon savings. It's nice to see them all in one place, some are in the kitchen cupboards and in our storage cabinet.

cereals were free and some I bought for 47 cents, rice krispies squares, tuna, triscuits all free, the rest are below a dollar- $4 max/item (laundry detergent but the other 2 were free as well)

ziploc $4.97/4 boxes, 40 bottles of hairspray and mousse for free and boxed tissues for 79 cents each

I'm pretty sure I'll be needing more room to put my future hauls. I'm hoping I would be able to fill up a box to send to our relatives in the Philippines. I am not getting these for myself and I can't wait to share the goodies. Knowing it's going to bring joy to others especially to our families motivates me to coupon, coupon and coupon. We won't be able to afford to buy all these without sacrificing our own budget at home and couponing has made it all possible :D

proud of his mommy's stockpile

Change of Color

Our washroom had a little makeover a few weeks ago. We finally changed the shower curtain, found one that we liked especially the material and that has a decent price. It was dark brown in color. Our old one was color blue including the bath mats. We thought of changing the bath mats to brown as well to match everything but held on to the blue ones for a couple of days before finally deciding to purchase brown ones.

Our small space looked gorgeous afterwards, clean and tidy (special thanks to me) and love the new color. I can't wait to change the shower curtain again and try another color. Green or yellow perhaps? Such a cute space to decorate without any heavy furniture lifting or dusting involved :D

Old Place, New Look

new look

fell in love with the whole flower arrangement and the wooden vase

Weeks after our summer vacation, we gave our living room a new look. It took a lot of cleaning and quite a bit of hard work to achieve a new look. It was addicting, we want new this and that and yeah, it takes a whole lot of self control and reality check to make us stop. It was just about time to get rid of the old stuff that were mostly given to us when we first got here and our house really needed a major cleanup so might as well redecorate a bit.

same vase, flowers arranged by hubby

We just wanted to create more space, minimize clutter and start the kids to sleep in their room. All were achieved thank goodness! We're still getting used to the new look, new sleeping arrangements and maintaining the cleanliness. The last part proves to be the hardest when you have two kids and lots of toys.

centerpiece

looove our carpet!

used to be all white

Between my hubby and I, he is more involved and  has the eye for decorating and coordinating. All I wanted was something red. A red couch won't be relaxing according to my hubby. A red accent chair for the bedroom could be negotiable though :D

Post Vacation Viral Illness and Separation Anxiety

ready for school!

While our summer vacation was a blast, days after we came back I got sick. I don't usually get sick or even if I do get a cold, it's over in a day or two. What I had though lingered for more than a week, what's worse is that I have kids to attend to plus my hubby of course.

empty living room, so much space and clutter free

Before I was fully recovered, my son also got sick he had to miss school for a couple of days due to on and off fever which the doctor diagnosed as something viral. In between recuperating myself, taking care of my son and my youngest child's first day in Pre-K, we also managed to rearrange the whole house. It was a grueling process but the end result is priceless.

afternoon nap in their own room yeyyy!

The kids, for the first time are now sleeping in their bedroom/playroom. This I guess was the best outcome of our home makeover/end of summer cleaning. We finally got rid of all the stuff we needed to get rid a long time ago. Toys were sorted out even the furnitures and everything or should I say mostly are in place. Finally the house was de littered!

finally!

And yes, the icing on the cake is that the kids no longer sleep on mom and dad's bed. We now can sleep comfortably in our queen size bed. We actually thought of buying a king size one to accommodate the four of us fortunately and surprisingly, the kids agreed to sleep in their room. There's still a bit of resistance but hopefully in due time, they'll get used to it. I do miss them though. I just couldn't wait to see them the next day. Mornings are just sweeter except that I now have to wake up early to prepare them for school. Curling up with mom will just have to be reserved during weekend mornings :D

Cleaner and Cozier

After a night of hard work, as if that wasn't enough, we rearranged and cleaned the whole living room the next day. It looked nice afterwards but the rest of the house was a huge mess. I still have to clean the bedrooms, dining room and kitchen before I could say that our house is clean enough. Since we had to go somewhere, the cleaning was limited to the living room only.

When I got home in the evening, the coziness of the living room inspired me to continue cleaning. It was really late when I finished the bedroom, hoping tomorrow I'd still be in the mood to do some more cleaning and rearranging.

Getting Ready for Christmas

a real Christmas tree in front of our house

Days go by so fast I didn't want to wait for December before we start decorating the house. I have fond memories of Christmas as a child. Aside from my Mom's great cooking abilities, she also has a good eye and good taste when it comes to decorating the house, unfortunately, I didn't get that decorating talent, on the brighter side though, my husband is kinda artistic and I want my kids to have a fun experience.

During our first Christmas here last year, we just put up a Christmas tree and that was it. This year, we wanted to create a more 'Christmasy' feeling around the house by decorating more and really getting on with the Christmas spirit. Maybe next year we'll get the big inflatable ones! I really want those.

Lance posing by the tree

Our tree after we added a few more decorations

Navity scene set

my favorite, 1st time I got this part of the house organized, love the figurines and pictures

Christmas candles and center pieces

changed the welcome sign and placed a wreath on the door

Keeping It Clean

There are days when I'm super lazy. Last year, I would vacuum the house almost everyday, put everything back in order and keep the house as tidy as possible. I could still be a neat freak, in fact I'm the type of person who gets stressed with the mess around me but with two kids, sometimes it's impossible to keep track of everything. I could fill out the house with drawers and plastic boxes and designate a place for each and every toy, documents and other stuff but then again, with my two kiddos running around and messing up the place, I just had to condition myself and get used to the mess around me. Well, at least Lance now picks up his toys and arrange them in a neat manner especially his Lego Star Wars. It's my youngest who's like a tornado around the house much like her Dad.

I don't know what I ate the other day but I felt the need to not only clean but also rearrange our bedroom. If only my kids would sleep on their own beds/bedroom, I'd be happy to clean it for them EVERYDAY! Even if it would mean no more lazy days for Mommy.