One good deed deserves another!

As most of you know, living in NY is EXPENSIVE! From fast food to utilities we seem to pay more...and that goes double for babysitters. On average for 3 kids its $10/hr, but it isn't unheard of to pay $15. Because of Dan's work schedule I have to get a babysitter for just about everything. Dr. appointments, back-to-school night, and of course on the rare event he might be off work--date night. Well, for the first 2 1/2 years we were here we forked it over, but as Erika grew older we gradually shifted the workload from paid sitter to sister-sitter. This past year she has literally saved us hundreds of dollars in babysitting. It was hard enough to afford "date night," but to add a $40-$60 babysitting tab used to be too much. Because of her we have had a few nights out and I have been able to go grocery shopping or to the Dr. without toting three kids. In short she is a miracle! The best part? She almost NEVER complains about having to watch "the boys" for us. I still get a sitter sometimes to give her a break, but she has saved us in so many ways this past year.

For months she had been asking to redo her bedroom. Her room was just too "little girl" for her preteen taste. We kept putting her off, but in secret we were plotting an entire room makeover. I was careful to take note of all the bedding and accessories she liked and started slowly purchasing the pieces. It took me a few months to purchase and make all the things we needed. I waited until I had a whole day to pull it off and so on February 6 I finally had a day with all 3 kids gone for almost the entire day! We madly prepped, painted, drilled, mounted, ironed and cleaned. (Dan made it home for the evening to help out.) The result was amazing...she was THRILLED!!!! We were so happy to surprise her with this little thank you... We left some holes for her to fill in pictures and accessories. She has already purchased a lamp to put on her nightstand. The before and after....NOTE: I forgot to snap pics of her room "before" until after I had started moving things around. Her room is TINY and we haven't gotten around to refinishing the doors to her closet or bedroom either - project for another day)





AFTER:





The picture frame wasn't/isn't empty...I ordered this Japanese vintage travel poster (as a nod to her 3 years going to living in Japan) for her but it hadn't arrived on the "reveal" day.




We are so lucky to have such an amazing young lady and we were so excited that we could do something a little special to show her how much we love and appreciate her!

Nor'Easter

I was just starting to think spring might be on its way when we were hit with another "little" storm. I loved it and so did the kids...they were out of school for a day and a half of fun in the snow! Carson built himself a "snowbuddy" and Cal just wanted to eat as much snow as possible!