Noonan Syndrome Conference - Part 1: The Resort

Ok - we have a lot of ground to cover here.  We went to the Noonan Syndrome Conference in Orlando, Florida.  WHAT is Noonan Syndrome you may ask (NS)?  It is "The most common genetic disorder you have never heard of".  We learned so much about the disorder, and met so many families with NS.  It was an amazing experience.  The Foundation did a great job of putting together the Dr.s with our families and tons of information.  The Lionheart medical company provided all the members with medical notebooks. They are a non-profit organization that helps parents manage their kids' medical information into an easy to transport notebook - BRILLIANT!  Oh and the founder happens to be a parent of a special needs child so she knows what it takes to get organized!

More info here

We stayed at the LOVELY Renaissance at Seaworld Resort.  This place was beautiful and I found the staff to be so very friendly.  They really seemed to understand that they were catering to a group of Special Needs and Disabled people.

This the view from our 10th story balcony.  Glass elevators take us way up to the top floor.  What a sight!

Check out the gorgeous fountain to the left, next to their friendly bar.  The front desk staff was so helpful and answered all the crazy questions I had to ask.  They have a Navigator desk, who helped us get tickets to Universal Studios and helped helped us schedule transportation.

....And look at this super cute Shamu waiting for us in our bathtub!

Did I mention that the resort is across the street from Seaworld?  We walked right over (even though they do offer a shuttle).  It's so convenient to just go home in the afternoon and take a little break from the Orlando heat.  I will share about Seaworld in my next Blog.....

In case you are wondering... my daughter Jackie has Noonan Syndrome.  She worked very hard running Lemonade stands and garage sales to help pay for her trip to the parks while in Orlando.

Slumber Party Food!

Since Sydney's party was a SLUMBER party too, we had to serve all those party animals breakfast in the morning....

Cereal and milk

We did a mini pancake bar, with lots of yummy toppings, and did individual cereal boxes with milk.  The kids had a blast creating their own pancake masterpieces.  What a yummy way to start the day.  What is your favorite breakfast food to serve at a slumber party?  

Party Time! - Spa Birthday Party

What could be more fun than an 11 year old girl's birthday party?  I mean really!  So we put together a super cute Spa Birthday Party for one special little 11 year old girl!  One who is very special to us!  My own daughter Sydney.  She is truly a DIVA and this party was right up her ally -

 We started with favor boxes and flip flops.  We found these really cute boxes and most of the stuff we stuffed into them at the Dollar Spot at Target.  Of course our special girl got some special fuzzy slippers to pamper her little feet!

Next we had to dress a pretty and yummy spa table filled with fruit, smoothies, and of course pink cup cakes!  We even got a single serve cup cake holder just for her!

Now down to the real business of this shin dig!  We had a nail station, a facial station and a hair and make up station.  We did facials first so they could do them as a group.  Then we moved to nails, where they soaked in bubbly foot bathes with aroma crystals.  Then each girl got to pick her favorite color(s) and pretty bling to make them special!  Finally, we curled hair and applied make up.  It got crazy at this station.  Some girls went outside the box and made themselves up like rock stars! [I'll spare you that picture]

My little DIVA had a great time - best party of her life she said.  Her friends seemed like they all had a great time too.  We rocked this party until 1 in the morning.  I needed a make over after this was over (I still can't get the blue off my nails).  What was your favorite birthday party?

Let there be light

So I am still working on some remodeling projects at Mrs. J's house.  She needs lighting so badly and for some reason has chosen dark, bulky style lighting in the past.  Much like this guy.  That 70's lamp! Yikes!

So I am thinking about a make over of what she already has, or I might choose a new lamp.  I could paint her current lamps and give them some new shades.  Or I could just invest in some new lighting all together.  Here are some lamp inspirations....

1. One of my personal favorites

2.

3.

4.

SO.. to paint or not to paint....or go new.  Which do you like best?  So many decisions to make. What would you do?

Road Trip!

It's summer time....and of course that means Road Trips!  At least for my family.  So traveling in one vehicle with 5 kids - crazy right? The only way to manage that is to stay ORGANIZED.  You can bring beautiful organization to your car too.  Car needs some love too - right!?

Some tips for have an organized vehicle - 

First - storage bins - they're for the car too.....

 Cute Car Organizer

 So now you have a place for all those stray things roaming around the car - what about the kids?

Shoe organizer - turned toy organizer What a cute way to corral lots of loose kiddie items right?, but wait..."I'm really on a budget, after all I have 5 kids and we are taking ALL FIVE on a road trip"  you say?

Try using some of your tote bags - what an awesome idea this is!

And for those busy every days, when you don't have the kids on some insane road trip but maybe just a boring but necessary trip to the grocery store.  Here is a handy way to keep things nice and neat even on the everyday day.  

Seriously!  I really think I need to get some of these hooks up in my life!!!! 

Who is taking a road trip this year?  Love to hear your tips for organizing your car for the trip!

Memorial Make Over

Happy Memorial Day to all - A special Thank You to all those who have selflessly served our Country, including my Daddy and many of my Uncles......

So like many Americans, when we have a day off of work, it's a great time to do a little organizing.

Today the craft room got a little re-arranging and re-organizing.  Not a major make over, just a little re-org.  A more significant make over is in the works.

Here is what I started with.

So I re-arranged a few things to make it work better for me.

Added some boxes, tins, and jars to make storage a little prettier too.......

Finally, I rounded up all the misc. pictures and art from around the room (that just wasn't working) and I put them together in a collage.  I'm not the biggest fan of collages, but in this case it worked well in this room.  Not sure if this is the final look or if I will tweak it, we'll have to see!

Retro Kitchen ......... on a budget

My client, Mrs. J., had a pretty awful kitchen..... BUT she was on a seriously tight budget.  Mrs. J. is disabled and she has a really hard time seeing very well.  Her house was built in the mid-50's and had not had very skilled kitchen updates since then...

It was dingy, dirty, dark, with stick down tiles, and faux wood laminate counter tops.  

There was this terribly inefficient pantry that had very little storage....YUCK!

And whatever that is over the stove... Seriously, what was that?  It was a mess is what it was when we tore it out!

Mrs. J. couldn't afford new cabinets so we bought some new cabinets from Home Depot and scabbed them in with the old ones.  We also re-used some cabinets from a previous renovation in another kitchen.  We tore out the old useless pantry and scabbed in a 1 piece from Home Depot.  It worked perfectly. 

Then we laid some really nice ceramic tile, we bought on a clearance blow out.  She got a FANTASTIC price on this tile.  Of course my guy from 5M Construction installed it perfectly and it looked fantastic too.  It really is WHO you know. 

 Finally, that crazy mess over the stove was replaced with a functional overhead microwave and the new cabinets.  We tiled the entire wall behind the stove with 6x8 tiles laid in a subway style pattern.  We installed under counter lighting so Mrs. J. could see better in her kitchen. *Much Needed*  Did you notice the crown molding at the top, to dress up those old cabinets a little bit?

New counter-tops, bead-board paneling, new floors, painted the existing cabinets and installed fasteners in the cabinets to keep the doors nice and closed, pretty paint job, new curtains and a few finishing touches to make the kitchen cozy, pretty and functional.  

Everyone deserves a kitchen that is pretty and functional.  Design on any budget.  Mrs. J. spent less that 2k to give her very old kitchen a face lift.  My favorite part was the backsplash, Mrs. J.'s favorite part was the much needed lighting.  What is YOUR favorite part?