Saturday, May 14, 2011
April Photo Shoot-Sarah Esther Photography
Right before Mega Dens took over our lives, we had a professional photo shoot with the kids. Here are some pictures from that. We used a Groupon, and didn't really know what to expect, but we were thrilled with the results--adorable pictures!
Homeowner projects
So, because the show is on the DIY Network, the homeowners do have to participate in a few projects. Mostly, they give you crap you can't eff up too bad.
The kids did 2 projects. For one, they painted canvasses with red paint. The picture above is all of us with the show hostess.
This is how it turned out. Not bad, right?
The kids also helped install flooring the in sun room. Here they are with the show hostess and the 2 main carpenters. The hostess is Anitra, and the kids called her Miss Anitruck. They loved her and Mr. Joey and Mr. Mikey (the carpenters). Will keeps asking when they are all coming back.
One of my projects was these chairs. They were regular black chairs, and I sanded them all down so that they could put a red finish on them. They also bought plaid shirts at a thrift store and covered all the chairs. Such a good idea!
Billy nailed these slats to the roof in the sun room.
I helped frame the kids' play loft, but I totally sucked at using a nail gun. This thing was huge and powerful, and I nearly shot Mr. Joey's crotch the first time I fired it off. Then, the whole cast and crew thought it was going to be exciting to watch me, so they all stopped what they were doing and gathered around. The camera came in for a close up, and I was sweating bullets. I made it through the bit, but I think Joey was really happy when the camera man yelled cut, and he could take back the nail gun. He kept saying, "I trust you," in a way that sounded like he was only trying to convince himself. Apparently, someone had put a nail through his hand in another episode. At least I didn't do that.
The kids did 2 projects. For one, they painted canvasses with red paint. The picture above is all of us with the show hostess. This is how it turned out. Not bad, right?
The kids also helped install flooring the in sun room. Here they are with the show hostess and the 2 main carpenters. The hostess is Anitra, and the kids called her Miss Anitruck. They loved her and Mr. Joey and Mr. Mikey (the carpenters). Will keeps asking when they are all coming back. 
One of my projects was these chairs. They were regular black chairs, and I sanded them all down so that they could put a red finish on them. They also bought plaid shirts at a thrift store and covered all the chairs. Such a good idea! 
Billy nailed these slats to the roof in the sun room. 
I helped frame the kids' play loft, but I totally sucked at using a nail gun. This thing was huge and powerful, and I nearly shot Mr. Joey's crotch the first time I fired it off. Then, the whole cast and crew thought it was going to be exciting to watch me, so they all stopped what they were doing and gathered around. The camera came in for a close up, and I was sweating bullets. I made it through the bit, but I think Joey was really happy when the camera man yelled cut, and he could take back the nail gun. He kept saying, "I trust you," in a way that sounded like he was only trying to convince himself. Apparently, someone had put a nail through his hand in another episode. At least I didn't do that. What it takes to make a Mega Den
Our eat-in area in the kitchen became the headquarters for the production office. Most days, there were 4 or 5 women huddled around this table running logistics. 
Our dining room became the site for camera/filming equipment.
The huge trailer was parked in our driveway all week and a tent was quickly put up when we got a rain shower one day. 
Additional construction tools and supplies were in our garage, along with their snack table. 
When they left, this was all they left behind...a huge pile of trash. Yes, it was all picked up by their trash service Monday, but it was insane how they could transform our rooms from Monday to Friday and this was all that was left of it. Oh yeah, plus about a million toys we didn't bring up from the basement. :)Our MEGA DEN!
For those of you who haven't seen the pictures or seen it with your own eyes yet, meet our new Mega Den! It's so totally amazing. 
Before, when you walked into our house, the first room you saw was the formal living room, which we were using as the kids' playroom. It was basically a toy dumping ground.
Mega Dens saved us from toy hell, and brought us family room heaven. They installed custom built ins, provided a 60 inch 3D HD television with XBOX 360 and Kinect.
Here is the room from another angle. They ripped out the wall between the living room and what used to be our family room to make it a huge space.
This used to be our family room. I didn't realize it sucked so bad until I got a Mega Den!
It's a seating area, but it can be used for the kids to do crafts, as they get older for homework, play board games, etc. We will probably eventually convert this to our dining area, and we'll get rid of our dining room and make it either a home office space or knock out the wall leading to the kitchen and make a Mega Kitchen to match our Mega Den! 
This was our sunroom, which was yet another dumping ground for toys.
This is our new sun room, which is now the playroom. They installed window seats with storage underneath for toys, a window AC/heating unit so we can use the space year-round, new floors (made from recycled Nikes), painted, put in new light fixtures and window shades. It's so much more functional now.
Look at this adorable play loft they built for the kids. It's chalkboard walls inside and everything. They love it! We love it all! It was an incredible experience.
Before, when you walked into our house, the first room you saw was the formal living room, which we were using as the kids' playroom. It was basically a toy dumping ground.
Mega Dens saved us from toy hell, and brought us family room heaven. They installed custom built ins, provided a 60 inch 3D HD television with XBOX 360 and Kinect.
Here is the room from another angle. They ripped out the wall between the living room and what used to be our family room to make it a huge space.
This used to be our family room. I didn't realize it sucked so bad until I got a Mega Den!It's a seating area, but it can be used for the kids to do crafts, as they get older for homework, play board games, etc. We will probably eventually convert this to our dining area, and we'll get rid of our dining room and make it either a home office space or knock out the wall leading to the kitchen and make a Mega Kitchen to match our Mega Den! This was our sunroom, which was yet another dumping ground for toys. 
This is our new sun room, which is now the playroom. They installed window seats with storage underneath for toys, a window AC/heating unit so we can use the space year-round, new floors (made from recycled Nikes), painted, put in new light fixtures and window shades. It's so much more functional now. 
Look at this adorable play loft they built for the kids. It's chalkboard walls inside and everything. They love it! We love it all! It was an incredible experience. Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Big News out of the Zeigler House!
No, I'm not pregnant! Our exciting news is that we are going to be on TV! Really, we are. I applied to be on a show called Mega Dens on the DIY Network. Billy and I are a little obsessed with DIY Network, HGTV, etc. Well, I noticed on their website that the show Mega Dens was casting in Atlanta so I sent in an e-mail. I thought nothing of it, until one of the producers contacted me. Then, she came to our house, and she brought the show's hostess and carpenters. It was crazy. Then, she asked a bunch of questions about us. She pitched us to the network, and they liked us. Really, what's not to like? So, starting May 2nd, our house will becoming an official construction site. It's insane!
They will only take 1 week to convert half of our lower level (living room/playroom, family room, and sun room) into a Mega Den!!! It's going to be a crazy week, but at least it will be a quick renovation. They said to be prepared to have 15 cars up and down our street, tents set up in the yard, and tons of people working from early in the morning until dinnertime every day.
I'll post pictures throughout the process so you can follow along. Our episode will air in October. We'll be the first show of season 2! Make sure your DVRs are working.
They will only take 1 week to convert half of our lower level (living room/playroom, family room, and sun room) into a Mega Den!!! It's going to be a crazy week, but at least it will be a quick renovation. They said to be prepared to have 15 cars up and down our street, tents set up in the yard, and tons of people working from early in the morning until dinnertime every day.
I'll post pictures throughout the process so you can follow along. Our episode will air in October. We'll be the first show of season 2! Make sure your DVRs are working.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Pigtails
Having a bad hair day? Can't decide how to tame your mane? Well, pigtails are always an option. Girls always look good in pigtails.
Marie's pigtails remind me of those Papillon dogs with the big ears. Her hair is super thick and straight and long.
Don't worry, even boys can pull off the pigtails look. Will is a classic example of how to look manly with pigtails in your hair.
All 3 together. I can never get a good one, but this is as close as possible. Is Will's finger in his nose? If not, he's about to put it there. For some reason, when I say picture time, he thinks that means, pick your nose time. Nice. Friday, April 8, 2011
So fresh and so clean clean
After baths a couple of weeks ago, Billy picked them all up wrapped up in their towels and deposited them in bed. They looked so cute all bundled up and lined up next to each other that I couldn't resist getting a couple of pictures. I wish I could make the pictures scratch and sniff because they smell so good when they are fresh out of the tub. There's nothing like clean baby smell!
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