** (Contest is now closed! Check in tomorrow, May 5 for the winner!) **

(This is a sponsored post by Wayfair.  Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are my own.)

After a dark long winter in Cleveland, I feel like a bear that has hibernated far past the snow thaw.  It has been wet, cold, warm, snowy, and wet all over again week after week bringing less and less spring like tendencies to flow through my body.  That is until I received my first collaboration with WayFair.  $100 to spend, adding a “Pop of Color” to any space of my choice in our house.  Well, hello! That’s what I am talking about.  What makes this even better? You to my loves will have a chance at winning a $100 WayFair gift card to purchase your favorite items to add color to your space!

If you follow our blog, you’ll quickly find that I have a thing for particular colors.  Blues for one – I cannot get enough, I’ve got the blues.  Whether it be in the form of navy, aqua, light blue, indigo … it doesn’t matter, I gravitate straight towards it.

Shopping online is the equivalent of a nice long hot shower for me.  There is something so fantastic about “window shopping”, imagining different rooms with full-on decor choices.  Romanticizing the idea of gorgeous drapery, perfectly tossed together pillows and rugs that you want to lay on the entire day.  Call me weird, but really, that is what turns me on.  I love home decor.  WayFair is the answer to all of my window shopping needs.  I spent HOURS, literally scrolling through all different types of decor items trying to dwindle it down to a few to choose from.  This was a little bit more difficult to do, seeing as when I was choosing this product our house was extremely unfinished, and my vision was not 100% clear.

One thing I knew for sure is I wanted something blue, I wanted a staple I could keep year round, and that the whole family could enjoy.

When I started my window shopping I was so pleased with my selection.  $100 stretches so far, for beyond quality products which made shopping with WayFair even better!

Let’s take a look at what I was pondering over, shall we?

Can’t shower without a shower curtain.  Well, you probably could if you could master the art of not splashing.  This Jill Rosenwald shower curtain is bright, airy and would be a nice step in the right direction to our dated bathroom!

This Lands Down-Under cotton/acrylic throw would be a perfect pop of color to add to any couch or bed.  Throws are gorgeous piled high in woven baskets next to a couch for guests or for you and your love bird to cuddle up with.  Can’t go wrong with a good throw!

Runner runner.  How I long for rugs.  Rugs, easily top 5 hardest pieces for me to keep my paws off of.  This Momeni rug with these geometric lines with navy blue would be the perfect fit to add some life to our dull hallway upstairs!

Who can forget the littles? These Sprout Elephant storage bins just ooze cuteness, with an array of color to add to any kids room or play space!

Talk pillow to me.  Will I ever get cured from my pillow fever? I think not.  In fact, if you ever see me in the stores I nearly always have one or two in my cart that I eventually put back on the shelves.  Walking around with them for a bit let’s me get to know them more, which by the end of my shopping trip I will know if my heart-strings can let it go or I must bring it home.  This pillow comes in a set of two, Safavieh-Grant Cotton pillow is a stunner for sure!

Last but not least, my eyes could not turn away from this Tramontina Cast Iron Braiser.  This woman loves to cook, and my family loves to slurp it up, and how pretty would this cookware be sitting on top of my stove? You know it.

Here is the linkage to each piece :

1: Shower Curtain: http://www.wayfair.com/Jill-Rosenwald-Home-Newport-Gate-Cotton-Slate-Shower-Curtain-1C95123-JRHO1004.html?refid=BLGTHOM-nofollow-links/

2: Skylight Blue Throw: http://www.wayfair.com/Lands-Downunder-Assiro-Solid-Cotton-Acrylic-Throw-AS-LAV-LDU1037.html?refid=BLGTHOM-nofollow-links/

3: Baja Navy Rug: http://www.wayfair.com/Momeni-Baja-Navy-Rug-BAJA0BAJ-8NVY-MM8549.html?refid=BLGTHOM-nofollow-links/

4. Sprout Elephant Storage: http://www.wayfair.com/3-Sprouts-Elephant-Storage-Bin-794504675016-OUT1000.html?refid=BLGTHOM-nofollow-links/

5. Cast Iron Braiser: http://www.wayfair.com/Tramontina-Gourmet-Tramontina-Gourmet-Enameled-Cast-Iron-4-Qt-Covered-Braiser-Gradated-TRMO1042.html?refid=BLGTHOM-nofollow-links/

After all of this window shopping I had a difficult time breaking down what I NEEDED to get the most.  The fact of the matter is, it’s a new house, a fixer upper, and I wanted to put necessity first, along with comfort next.

Can you guess which one I chose to add a pop of color to our home?

The Baja-Navy Runner was my top pick! Here are the before/after pictures of our hallway with the runner.  Beyond it looking 100x better and brighter, the comfort of this runner was impressive! Family friendly, just what I was looking for!

What’s even better is that I had change to spare and put it towards the shower curtain, and spent a smidge over $100 to get both items! Happy happy girl.

BEFORE

 Remember that beauty of a hallway?

Here is the progress! Talk about lightening things up a bit.  Removing the carpet, replacing with distressed laminate flooring, painting red trim to white is all we have done thus far and what a difference it has made!

AFTER the Pop of Color!

WAYFAIR $100 GIFTCARD GIVEAWAY!

Want a chance to win $100 to pick out your very own pop of color? It’s simple! To enter, comment on this post, and tell me what room you were looking to add color to! Even better, visit WayFair and tell me what you would spend your $100 on! I would love to see what you’re eyeing! Winner will be chosen via random.org and announced with Monday May 5, 2014 post.  Goodluck everyone!!

No purchase necessary. By leaving a comment you agree to the rules of this sweepstakes. Each comment to this post equals one entry and must include a name and valid email address to be eligible. A comment must link to a product from Wayfair.com to be considered for this sweepstakes. One entry per household. Limited to entrants over 18 in the US and Canada, residents of Florida, New York, and Rhode Island are ineligible to enter. Contest begins as of the time of this post (MAY 2, 2014) and ends on MAY 4, 2014 @ 10:00pm. The winner will receive a Wayfair gift card/promo code, a retail value of $100 US. The number of eligible entries received will determine the odds of winning. All comments will be numbered in the order they are received and the winner will be chosen randomly by BLOGGER using the Random Number Generator at random.org. Winner will be notified by email at the address given in their entry and must respond within 72 hours to receive their prize. If the winner does not respond within that time, a new winner will be chosen. The prize will be provided by Wayfair.com. BLOG is not responsible for any problems with receipt of the prize. This contest is governed by the rules of Massachusetts, void where prohibited. This sweepstakes is sponsored by Wayfair LLC, 177 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA, 02115.

(This is not a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own)

If your computer was a television screen, you would be staring at me, blushing away, grinning ear to ear over what I am about to share with you.  You know that moment when you feel like you’ve made it? I’ve had quite a few of those in my lifetime, in all different aspects of my life.  In a mother’s world, the “I made it” moments seem to be less significant than most others accomplishments.  Changing Owen’s wet diaper while he is standing up with nearly one hand, bravo.  Getting one kid to nap for a few hours once a month – week if I am on a roll, please, please, stop the applause.  My favorite is when I leave the store, with two kids, zero tears, no tantrums, everything on my list, and zero pit stains, I feel like a warrior princess.

Now,  this very “made it moment” is one that I have longed for.

Blogging is a real passion of mine.  Everything I write, every recipe I post, every story I tell has all of my heart behind it, showing the good and the bad.  I love this space I have created – not only for myself, for my boys to look back on one day, and for our family to keep tabs on us.  I have had a lot of people ask why we have not jumped on the bandwagon of advertisements, sponsors etc.  To be perfectly honest, it is quite a handful.  There are guidelines to abide by, technical computer savvy ways that I am just a bit uncomfortable with.  It is a BIG step in the blogging world, and one that I did not want jump into just for the sheer entertainment of it.  The blogging world a big one, huge one in fact.  Trending you may say.  All different kinds of people, for all different types of reasons.  Which is why I love it so.

You know they say, good things come to those who wait?  Well, let me just say I am über excited to tell you that I am officially a WayFair Homemaker!  I was chosen to collaborate with WayFair on posts for our blog, and some that will even be showcased on their website (our stairway post from the other week was featured!) .  I am honored, blown away, and feel like thee tiniest fish in the blogging sea to be taking part in this.  To say I am excited is silly, I am over the moon be a part of the Homemaker’s program and cannot wait to share with you all of our fun collaborations.

If you haven’t heard of/or been on the WayFair website, jump on immediately.  You will be astounded at everything they have to offer for your home.  We spend hours looking at options for our house, and are always shocked to see how much they offer as a company.  My favorite section is the “Ideas” tab – where you can find the “magazine shops” that will show you a particular look, and the pieces to purchase to achieve it.  What more can you ask for?! I. AM. IN. LOVE.

I will have my bio on their Homemaker’s page, along with a picture and links to our site/posts.  Taking a bio picture was hysterical.  Moving, in and out of the house, in between slamming paint on walls and making the kids dinner my darling sister Claire took a few pictures of me that were acceptable enough to send WayFair’s way.  Lucky me, Dan just purchased me a new camera that I just about cried over, that I am looking forward to getting better shots of the entire family for our blog!

There is an amazing giveaway happening on Friday this week, so stay in touch! Give me your feedback lovely readers, the more the better.  The Thome Home will be growing in many ways and we would love to hear what you have to say.

We’ll guys, thethomehome blog has had TONS to share with you and zero time to show it all. That has got to change ! We are officially moving into our new home tomorrow, which is stuffed with boxes and unfinished painting and a list of projects a mile long. But after unloading our pod today and setting up our couches, for the first time in weeks we were able to sit down and really let the reality of our hard work sink in.
It hasn’t not been that long since we closed on our house. The weekend following Brody got sick and we ended up spending much of that week and the following in and out of hospitals. It was a whirlwind trying to balance renovating with taking care of the boys , to be honest these past few weeks have been a complete blur. I have bags under my eyes, dan is a complete champ but at night you can tell he’s had enough. We have been driving back and forth each day it will be so rewarding to go there tomorrow and stay without dragging the kids to each city.
They have been such troopers though. Hanging with mom and dad daily as we were attempting to get things done quickly! They made their own fun in their backyard and once they found the painters tape they were entertained for hours!
I have SO many pictures to share, stories to tell and even a GIVEAWAY coming at the end of the week that you must keep checking in for ! Make sure your subscribed to our blog (top left of the page) type in your email and you will receive notices as to when I post new things.
Our main computer will be up and running tomorrow, for now I am posting from my phone – which is a pain. Get ready Thome home readers – it’s going to be an exciting summer! More home renovations, room transformations, outdoor projects, and recipes to share!
Thanks for always checking back in only to find I haven’t posted anything new, I can’t wait to show you the house updates this week and get back into the groove.
Happy Monday everyone ! Don’t forget to subscribe via email!

We hope that everyone had a lovely Easter this past weekend!

The aftermath of opening the Easter baskets was the cutest yet.  The conversations we had about how and what the Easter bunny had brought had Dan and I rolling.  We were told that “he” has a giant magical key to target, to get all of the stuff (my kids are so smart).  Brody also looked at his new sunglasses and pointed out in sheer shock “the Easter bunny shops at the GAP too!”

To top off a great morning, we were so fortunate to of have perfect (literally – perfect) weather.

The sun was shining, the cold streak was broken, and our boys had no problem achieving full grass stain potential on their new pants by lunch time.   We enjoyed every minute of the day.

I grew up much like Dan, with TONS of cousins, who get together frequently. When our family is together we are loud + the laughter is pouring from every corner. I cherish get-together’s like these, and cannot wait to host as many parties as we can in our new home.

We were the first ones there (anxious to take a break from the house) and snagged the opportunity to get some pictures of us via Iphone.  Might I add that my kids are huge now? Owen will be 3 next week and Brody is 5 and nearly my size.  These boys are a constant reminder that life goes by way to fast –

The egg hunt was a hit, how could it not be in a kids eyes? My aunt was extra sweet and made special eggs for Owen that had all the candy he could eat.  “Allergy eggs” for the little tike.  He was so excited to open an egg and not have to look up at me to hand it over.  It was the sweetest.

Last but not least a complete family shot.  Brody cracked me up when he put his little hand on my hip, cutest ever.  And sweet Owen – can’t hold that kids attention unless you have cotton candy, or the Tom and Jerry, so his profile will have to do! EGG-tra grateful for this man by my side.  Ladies, he is handsome that I know, but he has been by my side for over 10 years now. I am ever so grateful for him…  He knows just how to calm me down when he sees me getting overwhelmed.  I adore him. He makes my face hurt from smiling so much.  Don’t get me wrong, this stud muffin has his moments, but I’m 100% certain I’m the handful most of the time.

How many 5 gallon buckets of paint does it take to cover this house? Well, a lot, and if you want an exact answer I’ll pull out all of our receipts that I’ve hidden to try to forget how much money we’ve spent in paint thus far.  All we have been doing the past weeks has been painting.  We’ve managed to complete the four bedrooms upstairs, upstairs closets, hallway, front living room and well, that’s it.  My gosh it feels like we should have a ton more done, but covering this red trim took all the time in the world.  Rooms that are 1/2 way there … the foyer, dining room and laundry room.  All to be completed by this weekend.  We are leaving the kitchen and great room to be the final tasks prior to moving in.  One room at a time this time around, unlike our last house where we bounced back and forth.  We are tackling in a strict manner, and actually getting much better results in time management.

We currently have contractors at our house prepping our floors for the flooring to be put in later this week.  Which, obviously, we are over the moon about. For one, we’re not doing the work, which is a great feeling every once in a while to let your DIY bones take a rest.  And two, we will slowly be able to start moving things in after the floors are complete, so our house can officially become our home.

Our stairs had a ton of potential from the very beginning.  Even when they were covered in carpet, and surrounded by that barn red trim, we knew it was just waiting to be polished.

 Tearing off the carpet, priming the red trim 3x was the first step.  The first 5 stairs have real wood tops, so instead of covering them with the laminate flooring that were putting in upstairs, we opted to stain them to match as close as possible.  Why cover up the real-deal?

The walls received a fresh coat of our Revere Pewter color (at 50%) and the trim has been painted in an Ultra Pure White semi gloss.  We have started to paint the backs of the stairs white (still have to finish) and took the railing off to add more dimension with different stains to be decided.

See the difference already?! Ah – I LOVE these stairs now and it isn’t even a complete job yet.

To give you an idea of the importance of trim finish, for us we made a BIG whoops.  We originally primed, and then painted the trim in eggshell.  Because we wanted to be able to roll the ceilings and bust out the trim simultaneously.  Not a good idea – eggshell has a rougher finish, little shine, and would have been a mother to clean off with the kids.  So I, took the extra few days to go over ALL, yes ALL the trim with a semi gloss.  SO glad I did though, the trim now pops and will be far easier to wipe clean when my little men mess it up.

(RIGHT – semi gloss, brighter, shinier.  LEFT – eggshell)

It is no longer that hard to envision the finish product of this home.  The wall color we are big fans of.  It is a perfect balance of grey/beige, and will look fantastic with all of our new/old decor.  The kitchen and great room will be a different color, to lighten things up even more (right? or should we keep it uniform throughout) – Still stumped on that one!

I knew these stairs could look 1000x better.  We were well aware that it was going to take a lot of our time, and that we still have to check staining the first 5 stairs, and painting the risers and completing the railing off of our list… BUT. It will get done my dear, no fear.

Some may say a that the love a parent has for their children is indescribable.

 To me though, there are hundreds of words that remind me of the love that I have for my kids.

Brody the other day told me that he loved me more than chocolate chip cookies, I think that’s about sums it up.

My love for these kids make being a mother terrifying, exciting, fulfilling, humbling, challenging and euphoric.

Since the day Brody was born, he had my whole heart.  He made Dan and I fall head over heels for him, he truly had us at hello.  He is so bright, self-sufficient, calmer in nature, super funny, passionate, and the sweetest kid you could ever come across.

Owen came into the picture and he brought this deep, passionate way of life into our world.  From the minute he was born I knew my love for him would never compete with Brody.  I felt complete.  He, to this day, never fails to surprise us.  He is hyper, hilarious, moody, and loveable all squished into one wild little man.

Some days are longer than others.  Those days I am aching for the clock to strike 7pm so we can put the boys in bed and unwind from a day full of temper tantrums, tears and messes.

Other days I want to go in slow motion.  Stare into their deep blue eyes, giggling at one another, engage in one hundred more conversations and take each delicious moment in.

Brody is the ying to Owen’s yang for sure.  They balance each other out just enough, and bring out the best in one another.  We are ever so grateful for these two little men in our lives.  I always dreamed of having a family with Dan.  Since we were 17 I knew that this road we are on now was in our future.  I feel really lucky, extremely blessed to call these boys our own.

What’s your favorite part of your day with your kids? Or for those with kids that are grown, the moments you miss the most? We’re big fans of bath time (hit or miss on the crabby meter, usually a hit, and quite a riot).  Time in the kitchen, whether it be cooking or eating, there are always good conversations rolling around and smiles across the board.   And no matter how hectic of a day we had, when we lay the boys to bed, and Brody asks for his “giant hug” and kisses us 10x over on the cheek, and Owen says “I need you -” Just to pull us in for a hug and latches on to our ears with his hands (that kid) It’s heart warming way to end our day on that perfect sweet note.

It’s 9:30 on a Saturday night.  The kids are finally sound asleep in their beds as I wait for Dan to come home from a 14 hour day of painting at our new house.  Balancing this “quick demo” with everything else in life is quiet the juggling act.  We have the bags underneath our eyes to prove it!

For all that follow us on Instagram, you’ve gotten a look at a little bit more of what has been going on in our lives lately.  Brody spent a few days in the hospital after undergoing some procedures to figure out some tummy troubles he was having on and off.  This was the first time either of our boys had to be put under anesthesia.  I tried SO hard to keep my cool, and when it was time to kiss him before they wheeled him back, I cried like a baby, as did he, which broke our hearts even more.  We always talk about how big is he getting, and in that moment, he was still our baby.  It took me a while to gather my tears and sit in the waiting room.  Turns out, after his procedures that the results were far more severe than his doctors has anticipated.  Hence the last-minute admittance to the hospital, and overall worry that came from mom and dad.

We went back into the recovery room as soon as he was out of his procedure.  The nurse tried to talk, to explain how he was (still asleep) and I couldn’t help but start crying all over again seeing sweet B with all of his IV’s and the breathing tubes in his nose.  I had to tell myself to knock it off, so that I wasn’t full of tears when he woke up.  (My word mom’s and dad’s – not fun, let me tell ya).  He woke up sweeter and sleepy-eyed as ever, and we just slowly chit chatted our way through the morning, waiting to be moved to our room.  We eventually were given a room to settle into later that night, and Brody was coming to the understanding that we would be sleeping over a few nights.

The menu was a saving grace.  Ordering in “room service” made Brody feel like king tut.  The kid was just googly-eyed over the thought of picking what ever he wanted out to eat.  He was, and still is taking steroids to heal everything, and they make him hungrier than a hippo! To top it off – having a game room right down the hall, with a giant air hockey table made being at the hospital a little more desirable in between treatments.

Thankfully, after a few days, biopsy results, blood work and plenty of medication through IV’s later, they have discovered that Brody has either Crohns or Colitis.  It’s really heartbreaking to know that he is so little, experiencing a disease that most do not encounter until way beyond adolescence.  At the same time, it is a huge relief that we caught the disease at the earliest of stages, which resulted in a quick recovery from his flare up, and hopefully an easier path (if there is one) to managing this.

Labeling whether he has Crohns or Colitis will not happen until he is a bit older, and his symptoms start to stand out more.  He understands most of what is going on. Although, from a parenting perspective we try to keep everything as upbeat and explain as little as we need to, so he is not to worry.  Our big guy has been such a trooper.  Braver than mom and dad combined.  He has been tossed into a world of scary things for youngin’ and has handled it so well.  Dan and I feel exceptionally lucky that although this is a chronic disease, and not curable, it is manageable.  We will do everything in our power to keep him feeling his best day in and day out.

With both our little guys have their own medical issues now it is surely a new way of balancing everyone.  We want nothing more than for our kids to feel their best, all day every day.  As parents, you never want to see your child in pain, to be frightened, or simply not themselves.  Between medicines, breathing treatments, eating for allergies, and just maintaining everyone’s health can some days just feel a bit overwhelming.  Not that I cannot handle it, just overwhelming in the sense of “how did we get here?” we did not see any of this coming, Brody had never complained of any type of pain.   Life has thrown us yet another curveball – and yet, we are home, we are healthy, we are truly blessed that everyone is doing good!

Brody and Owen – Sorry our gene’s have landed us in a pool of yuck sometimes.  But, as your mom and dad, and your biggest cheer leaders, we promise to always be right by your side, kissing away each boo boo and celebrating each and every moment.

Crohns, Colitis, Allergies, Chronic Asthma… Medicines, Breathing Treatments, Doctors Appointments – You can’t hold us back! Our boys were built Thome Tough!

What a great weekend we just had! Brody turned 5!! (gasp) (tear) (headspin) and we spent the entire weekend spoiling every last drop of toddler left in him.  His first trip to the movie theatre happened, why we never took him before, not sure? More than likely because it’s a giant rip off, and we’d rather watch it at home.  But, I must say, both Brody and Owen were diggin’ the Lego Movie, and made mom and dad proud to see that they actually behaved in a public setting which is extremely rare when these two dynamite sticks are together.

We followed the movie with a surprise Bday dinner at my parents (Gigi + Grandpa), only to be followed by an entire day of surprise fun yet again on Sunday with Dan’s parents (Nana + Papa).  It was definitely a switch up this year, we usually have a giant party at our house for friends and family to all gather in one spot, but it actually was still fantastic, and Brody loved every moment of it.

My darling B, you are completely infectious.  You bring so much happiness into our lives.  You rock as a big brother.  You are an extremely bright child, understanding more than a now 5 year old should at his age.  Your love for golf is sure to explode this summer, when mom and dad set up your backyard for practicing more.  We are a million times more in love with you and your handsome fish bowl blue eyes than we were when we first held you in our arms.  Keep it up Bmac! You are sure to accomplish much more than we can imagine! WE LOVE YOU!