Friday, December 23, 2011

Keepin' It Real

Hello everyone! I am so happy to blog again! I t has been such a great outlet for me! The girls are finally on Christmas break! I am definitely one of those mom's that likes to have my children home with me. I wish their Christmas break was longer because it seems like we never get everything done that I want to. I have a long list of activities and places to go but I have a feeling it just isn't going to happen. That is why I will embrace what we can get done and try not to worry about the list!
One of the reasons why the break goes so fast is because I am trying to catch up with chores that I have put on hold. One such chore is laundry. This is a never ending battle! It does not help that Dustin changes from work clothes to regular clothes for school, the girls change from school clothes to play clothes, and Asher is just plain old messy! We just have alot of laundry!!


I know this is a shocking picture but this is what I do. And I am not ashamed to show what 4 loads of laundry looks like. The scary part of this picture is I still have to fold it, put it away, and iron some of it! Just a fact of life for this momma!
Emma and Allison have been busy catching up on PLAYING! One day it was Bitty Baby day, the next day was cooking lessons. Life is tough for these girls!


(Sorry for Mellow's scary red eyes!)
Made some yummy granola bars!
Love Allison's face! She was so nervous Emma was going to spill the honey!

My little man has found a new "game" for mommy. He is the only one enjoying this game of hide and seek. He will put his bottle in the strangest places and when I need to find it for nap time, I am searching everywhere for it. I am not kidding when I show you this next picture. He REALLY did do this!

Do you see what I see?
I could not find this bottle for the life of me! So needless to say he slept without his bottle for naptime because I simply couldn't find it! Later in the evening when I was preparing supper,  I had to get something from my lazy susan, there it stood. I just had to take a picture of it. That is just Asher! Another new found love of his are MARKERS!  At first he was really good about sitting down and coloring. Now, he has to eat them! The following picture is when I found him in the bathroom, partaking with Crayola, and took it away.
The evidence is all over your mouth, my son. And the following picture is after I showed him what he bit off.
He thought it was great! So now I have had to put all our markers in a closed bin, and on a high shelf, behind some papers.
Just keepin' it real!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone! 
















Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Winter In A Jar and Kitchen Update

I am back with a super fun craft for the kiddos! I have seen this mason jar craft for a while in blog land and wanted to try it myself. I had all the materials for the craft and was just waiting for an open night with the girls to put it all together. I love the way it turned out and it is so versatile that you can come up with so many ways to decorate with it.
Here is the finished project.




 Sorry for the crooked snowman. Emma just had to shake the jar! And then Asher had to!

This was so simple to assemble. All you need are jars, fake snow and trees, and Styrofoam balls for the snowman. Emma loved putting her little snowman together.


We ended up using toothpicks to hold our snowman together because the glue just wasn't working.


Next came the snow in the jar. We glued the snowman to the lid and then put the lid on.


Turn it over and this is what you get. So much fun and so cheap. We made some more winter jars with our trees. And as we were doing our craft, Allison decided that we needed to hear her rendition of what it is like being a snowman. So this is her singing at the top of her lungs! I might add that Allison had to wear a lovely evening dress for her song :)



Our kitchen is almost complete! We still have to tile the floors and back splash, install the pantry, and paint. We are so close! Dustin just installed the microwave tonight.


I am lovin' it! Feeling so blessed to be able to have an updated kitchen. Thank you Lord!





Friday, December 9, 2011

Love Notes and Pictures

Happy day everyone! Sorry for the absence from blog land. I believe I got food poisoning last Thursday and it took me down! I couldn't eat for 4 days and I was so weak I could only lay down. I would get so dizzy if I stood up, it was terrible. But by God's grace, I am feeling much better. So onto today's post. I don't know if everyone knows but, Dustin has been going to school for the past 5 years. He works full time during the day and his school is in the evenings. His classes start at 6pm and usually finish by 9pm and then he has an hour drive home. He will be finished with all his classes in March. This is a HUGE HALLELUJAH!!!! I can't wait until he is done. I know it is worth it in the end, but it has been a journey. Allison was born the year he started! So needless to say, we (me and the kids) are usually by ourselves, meaning I am by myself. Some days mommy (I am speaking in first person because this is how I explain it to the kids) gets REALLY TIRED! Mommy needs to go to bed. Mommy can't because I have a thousand things I have to do before I go to bed and I still have to get you three in bed! OK. It is usually not that bad but sometimes it is. So after I get the kids in bed and do my thousand things before I can lay down, I will walk in my room and someone has left me a note!


I seriously have no idea when Emma snuck this in my room! She hung it on my lamp shade right beside my bed. I was so surprised. The Lord knew I needed this that evening and he used Emma to give me a pat on my shoulder. It made me feel so good! As a stay at home mommy, and any other stay at home moms out there, I need to be told that I am doing a good job. I am so thankful that the Lord is mindful of me! And I am so thankful he has given me these children to raise! So, I guess Allison saw what Emma did and decided she wanted to try it too. Of course, Allison does her own little thing.




Aaahhh yes, portraits of Dustin and myself. These pictures are still hanging up in our room and I can't take them down. They make me laugh and it is so nice to wake up and see myself through Allison's eyes. Seriously, this is what Dustin looks like in the morning. Just joking....... kinda ;)

I have been doing a little updating in the girls' room and I am so excited about the most recent project. I have been looking for a chandelier for their bedroom to replace the cheap one we bought when we first moved in. I finally found one on Craigslist (love this place!) a month ago and I had to paint it. It was a bronze color and to get it more girly, I painted it white. I love how it turned out.
Here is the before

      And here is the after

So pleased with the way this turned out. I had to hand paint the entire chandelier because their were crystal petals and little beads all over it. So, it took me a while to finish it. I made the cord cover for the chain and bought the canopy to hide the hole in the ceiling. I can now check this off my very long to do list.
Till the next post, Lord Bless You!

   

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Our Extended Family

Hi everyone!! I hope everyone is having a great week and welcoming winter because it is very quickly approaching our neck of the woods! Before I post anymore about our family, I must introduce everyone to a very special family that lives here with us. Drum roll please.............
Dollhouse people (yes, that is their name)

This photo was taken this past summer at their family reunion. They stayed in our back yard and rented a lake. True story.

They (dollhouse people) had a blast! As you can see in the bottom left corner in this photo, the mom is giving piggy back rides in the water! What a fun mommy! They also enjoyed a pool with a working waterfall! 

At the end of the reunion, all the families had pictures taken by Miss photographer Allison. Doesn't Emma look so proud of her family?! And if you look at the licence plate on their van, they are from New York. Emma kept commenting how long the drive was for her family. "Mommy, they came from New York state all the way to Ohio!"

Some of the family live here. I love how even the dogs have their own bedroom! So thoughtful of the girls:) Sometimes I will walk in the bedroom and the adults are in such a deep conversation. I can take these pictures without even bothering them! It is so funny to hear what they talk about. It is usually a conversation that Dustin and I had in the past. And then the girls put their own twist on it. And to think that Dustin and I thought no one was listening......hmmmmm...must be very careful what we say around them. Tune in next time, when I will show you a Dollhouse style church service.

P.S.- Thank you Grandma Dot for the sweet email about the blog. I really appreciated it ;)