Been Too Busy and Sick to Blog

Liam came down with the stomach flu on Tuesday, and it lasted for several days.  During that time, Brent and I also became infected, and the whole family was out of commission.  At the end of the week things were looking up, but then Liam had an ear infection, and it appears the stomach bug has been passed on to my dad. (Sorry Dad.)

Liam felt miserable, so we spent the day on the floor.  He was also in my arms most of the time. 

Brent soon became sick too, so he came home from work.  Both boys napped on the floor while I grabbed some lunch for myself.

This weekend we ventured out of the house in search of end tables.  For the past 5 years, we've been using TV trays as end tables.  These were practical and worked fine, but Liam has developed a knack for knocking them over.  Therefore, I had the challenge of finding two sturdy and inexpensive end tables to match our furniture.  So far we had looked at IKEA, Home Goods, Fred Meyer, and Craigs List, and hadn't found what we were looking for.  As a last resort we headed to Target.  There the end tables were still too expensive, and it was a last quick check of some floor models that brought about our final purchases.

(These images were lost in the Google+ incident)

(These images were lost in the Google+ incident)

The table above was amongst other tables priced around $50 and $60.  However, there was no price tag on this one, it was the final model, and had a chip on the removable tray.  I thought maybe I could negotiate $30-$35 for it.  At check out, the clerk called over a supervisor, who in turn offered the price of $15 for the table!  I quickly agreed to the price, and was overjoyed at my savings.

(These images were lost in the Google+ incident)

The second table isn't a match, but the wood color is the same.  We paid full price for this one, as it didn't have any damage.  In the end, we got two end tables for a total of $75.  Not bad when others were $80-$100 each.

Our final task of the weekend was focused on the kitchen.  Home and Garden Television (HGTV) is holding a video/photo contest for room makeovers.  We desperately want a new kitchen, but don't have the money for it.  Therefore, thought we'd give the contest a try.  To enter we needed a creative video and photos.  Brent filmed while I performed a short sketch showing the need for a new kitchen, and today I downloaded everything onto our contest page.  Feel free to check it out.  The more views and ratings our video and pictures get, the better our chances are at winning.  Our contest page is called "Design to Keep!"

-Anna