Now that the kids bathroom is done, my eyes have turned back to the kitchen. We had planned to wait to do anything until we were ready for a full kitchen remodel, but...that's a lot of money, and a long time to wait for any improvement. So I've been considering the idea of doing a "phase one" remodel to break up the expense and make the kitchen a little better in the meantime. My idea is to take down the half wall between our dining room and kitchen, rearrange our existing cabinets to fit an open layout, and add an island. That way, all our phase one changes will pay it forward to phase two, where we can make it pretty with new countertops, backsplash, and appliances. An open concept great room is what we've talked about doing since we first saw the house. But now, Ben's not so sure. He's worried that with an open kitchen, all our mess and dirty dishes will be visible from the moment you first walk in the door, and that it will look too busy. Styled pictures of open kitchens always look gorgeous, but in real life, where do people put their toasters and blenders and bags of onions and dish drying racks? We can't be the only ones with all that not-so-pretty stuff on our counters, right? Ben also thinks that open kitchens have been popular for so long, that trends are bound to swing back the other direction, and we might not actually add value to our house by knocking down the wall. Then I found this article "The Case for Rooms" and the author did make some good points about the negatives of open concept living. In fact, it said that a new trend among builders is to create a separate "mess kitchen" apart from your open kitchen. Yeah...that seems wasteful and silly.

This photo is from Chris Loves Julia's great room. Their layout is very similar to what I'm thinking, and they also wrote an interesting article with the pros and cons of open concept living, in their experience. 

But...I still love open kitchens! I love the look of them, I love the way they allow you to be part of the conversation while you're cooking or doing dishes, I love how they allow light to pass through the house, and I love how easy it is to pass food from the kitchen to the dining room. But that's all in theory. I've never actually had an open kitchen myself.

So I thought I'd ask you guys. Do you have an open kitchen? Especially if it's open to the living room, not just the dining room? If so, do you love it or do you wish you could close off your kitchen mess from guests?

It's worth saying, in the end I think we should do what WE like since it's our home, and not worry to much about what's going to be popular in the future or what future buyers will like. But it's also an expensive decision, so I'm definitely open to hearing opinions!

This is a cooperative post. All opinions are my own.

Being a parent is a humbling responsibility. Our kids are looking to us as their teachers--not just for educational things like learning the ABCs, but even more importantly, for behavioral things like how to react when they get frustrated. Seeing them mimic the things I do can sometimes make me proud, and sometimes makes me ashamed when I realize they learned that from me. What an important duty we've been given to be a good example for them, in every aspect of daily life. It makes me want to be more aware and intentional about my habits, and improve the ones I'm not so proud of. One of those things is going green. Our children's quality of life may be directly affected by the choices we make today, so it's important to form greener habits now, and pass those principles on to them, for the sake of their future. Here's how I intend to do that.

1. Connect with nature

I want my kids to grow up with a respect for nature and a love for the world they live in. The more connected they are to the natural world, the more they will want to take care of it. With the weather getting warmer, we plan to go on some easy hikes and nature walks to develop their appreciation of our beautiful earth. One thing we can do while we're out in nature is to pick up litter together, and teach our children about the dangers of plastic pollution.

Another idea is to involve our kids in gardening. Ben just built a garden box and he and Ian planted zucchini, squash, and cherry tomatoes that they grew from seeds. Ian was super interested and had a lot of fun. Not only is this a way to bond together as a family, but it also teaches your children about growing their own food and how this can benefit the planet.

2. Recycle and reuse

It's so easy nowadays to recycle, at least here in Washington state. Most public places have separate garbage cans and recycling bins, so we can dispose of waste properly even when we're out and about. At home, it's our responsibility to provide the appropriate bins, and teach our children what goes where. Instead of just doing it for them, we can teach and encourage them to recycle themselves (then do our part to ensure they got it right). Learn more here: https://www.dirtcheaprubbishremoval.com.au/

Another good lesson to teach our kids is how to reuse household waste, instead of always throwing things away. There are lots of ideas that could double as a fun family activity. The bottoms of plastic bottles could be cut off and painted to become flowers, empty toilet paper tubes can be a pair of binoculars, and all kinds of things could be turned into an arts & crafts session. Let your kids use their imagination and be creative. If you need some fun examples to get you started, there are a bunch here.

3. Form good habits around the home

To teach our children good habits, we need to be good role models. This is the case with eco-friendly choices as much as it is with conflict resolution or any other behavior. We can make an effort to use less water when showering, turn off lights in rooms we aren't using, or walk to close locations instead of driving. Our children will learn from us, and not only will be greener as a family, but we'll save money too!

I can hardly believe it, but my baby is ONE! This year has gone by sooo fast. I feel like I didn't savor Emmett's babyhood enough...but at the same time, this stage right now is so fun, I'm enjoying him immensely. He has been such a happy, content baby from the start. Always full of smiles, hugs, and loving cuddles. He plays independently really well, but he also loves interacting with other kids and adores his big brother. He's very active and brave, climbing up stairs and stepladders without hesitation, and getting onto the trampoline to "jump" (adorable--and a little scary). He loves to eat and is very unpicky. He's tackled every milestone with determination and has grown so fast. Honestly, he has been a very easy and joyful baby, and that's probably part of what made this year go by so fast! He even smiles through the things I expected to be rough, like teething, plane rides, and getting sick...such a sweet and sunny boy. We love you Emmett! Here's to another beautiful year with you!

These photos are from our very simple family birthday party yesterday. If you had asked me three years ago, I would've thought I'd be throwing elaborately decorated parties for my kids. I love all that in theory. But in actuality, I have other things I'd rather do with my time, and my kids don't really care anyways (at least, at this age). I've also gotten simpler and cheaper myself. So birthdays mean balloons from the grocery store, a candle in a homemade cake, some dollar store party horns from grandma, and of course lots of cuddles and hugs. It's an attainable standard that I think I can keep up with every kid, so I don't feel obligated to go "all out" in the name of fairness. Of course, if a Pinterest-perfect party brings you joy then have fun!!! But if it just adds stress and more items on your to-do list, then feel free to let that fancy party go. Trust me, your one year old will not notice and he'll still have a GREAT day. The point is that he feels special and loved, right?

Ben made an Italian cream cake (a family recipe that his dad also made for our wedding...it's sooo good). We all loved it, Emmett especially...although he was hesitant at first.

Here's the recipe in case you'd like it! Straight from my father-in-law, who is the master baker in Ben's family.

Italian Cream Cake

1 C buttermilk
2 C sugar
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs separated
2 sticks of butter
2 C unbleached flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 C chopped pecans (roast in oven 10 mins at 350 deg prior to chopping)
1-1/2  C of coconut

Combine soda and buttermilk in bowl and set aside

Cream sugar and butter together well  and then add egg yolks one at a time.  Beat well after each egg yolk is added. Beat egg whites together in separate bowl and set aside.  Add buttermilk alternately with flour to creamed mixture.  Stir in vanilla.  Add pecans and coconut.  Fold in egg whites to cake batter.  Do not use beater.  Fold by hand til whites are combined.  Bake in three 9" round pans at 325 deg for 25-30 mins. If you use the large pan, it will need to bake longer, around 40 mins.

Cool on rack and wrap and freeze cake.  Make sure layers are flat when freezing.  Cake can stay frozen for several days prior to icing.  Be sure and ice frozen as this will trap in moisture and flavor in the cake while it thaws iced.  I usually ice the night before serving.

Cream cheese frosting recipe:

1 8-oz cream cheese
1 stick butter
1 one pound carton of powdered sugar.
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese.  Cream well.  Add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat well.  Ice cake frozen.  You can make extra frosting if you like to have extra.  Most people like this with lots of frosting.

Happy first birthday, Emmett!!!

This post is written in partnership with Comfort & Relax and Honeymoon Home Fashions. All opinions are my own.

After we got the new twin bed for Emmett's room, I started looking around for an affordable, comfy mattress. Since we planned to put guests in this bed, we needed a quality mattress that would be comfortable for adults as well, so we decided to rule out all the thinner mattresses, even though they can be really affordable and perfectly fine for kids. I set myself a pretty tight budget of under $200, which made the task more challenging. As part of my frugal goals for 2019, I've been trying to buy things used whenever I can...but a mattress seemed like the exception. You just never know what was on a used mattress before! So I was determined to find a good NEW mattress that fit my budget. Finally, I decided to get this one from Amazon...and I'm so glad I did! It's a great mix of value and comfort: supportive yet soft, and with a top bamboo layer that keeps the temperature cool.

This is one of those mattress-in-a-box deals, where the mattress gets delivered straight to your door in a relatively small box. The kids loved watching it "grow" from its compressed, rolled up form to a fully expanded mattress (it takes about a day, but there's a lot of expanding that happens in the first few minutes). They were so entertained by the process, plus then they had a box to play with afterward. They thought it was the best! Haha.

The next step after getting the right mattress was sheets. Again, I wanted something quality, but inexpensive. I found these ones and ordered them in navy. They are silky soft and so comfortable. I love that they are made with 3M Scotchgard, which wicks away moisture, helps release stains, and keeps the fabric soft and breathable. They were also surprisingly unwrinkly when I took them out of the wash, despite the fact that I always forget to unload the dryer for a looong time.

If I zoom out a bit, this is what Emmett's room looks like right now. It's a little tight with the crib and glider, as I've essentially combined a nursery and a kids room into one space so we can maximize the bed count. But it works!

This mattress and these sheets are both perfect for Airbnb, where you don't want to spend a ton, but you still want to give your guests a good nights sleep.

One more thing! Comfort & Relax offered to sent us a memory foam toddler pillow. I had never even heard of these, but I figured why not? Well, Ian loves it! It's just his size and helps improve sleep quality, with soft Air Cell Technology Memory Foam in an ergonomic contour design that supports the natural curve of a toddler's head, neck, and shoulders.