april 28, 2012

I finally got around to finishing up those hoops in the boys' bathroom.  At first I was worried about the eclectic mix of fabrics, but in the end I love the way it turned out.  I spent about $25 for all the supplies and think it makes a big impact in the bathroom.


I also made these prints for the same bathroom.  I had them printed at Costco on glossy paper and they look really good.  You Are My Sunshine is Cannon's very favorite song so I thought it was the perfect choice.


This rug was the starting point for the colors and idea for the hoops.  I liked the circles and thought it was a fun and simple "theme".


I still need to hang the shower curtain and find something to decorate the counter and this room will be complete.  I just love the way our new home is coming together. :)

april 15, 2012

This weekend we......

Made huge playdoh messes.

Swept the kitchen floor 82 times. Okay maybe just 4 times, but isn't that a lot in 2 days?

Played at the park.

Got to World 7 in Super Mario Bros.

Watched grass grow.

Made summer vacation plans.

Did lots of laundry.  There wasn't one dirty sock in this house for at least 6 hours.

Picked out a ceiling fan for our bedroom.

Blew up some peeps in the microwave.

Got some frozen yogurt at the new yogurt shop in town.  Cake batter flavored frozen yogurt is awesome.

It was good weekend indeed.

april 8, 2012

This Easter was totally low-key. Well, until Cannon had an epic meltdown, but I'll get to that later. The boys woke up to the traditional egg trail and Easter baskets.


Then we made a donut run to Krispy Kremes (in our pajamas, of course!)




Next it was time to dye some eggs.  I had seen a few recommendations for the Egg Spinner kit from Dudley so we decided to try that this year.  Overall, it was a hit.  The lid was hard to get on sometimes so the boys did need some help with that.  The eggs would have turned out better if we had taken the time to rinse out the spinner between colors as recommended, but we were too lazy for that!



A certain three-year old was a little heavy-handed with the glitter.


The day ended with a big bummer, aka The Epic Meltdown.  We have really been struggling with Cannon and his control issues lately.    He is insistent on pushing every single boundary that he is given.  He wants to do everything on his own time and in his own way.  I know this stage is part of being three, but he is absolutely taking it to the extreme.  Today, it all started with not wanting to take a nap and then it went downhill from there.  Then it was time to start getting ready to go to Grandpa Rodger and Grandma Anita's house for an egg hunt and Easter dinner and Cannon was being very difficult.  Eric and I were extremely frustrated.  I eventually threw out the "if you don't get dressed NOW, you will not be going to the egg hunt!"  And of course that led to no where and I had to follow through with my threat by Cannon and I staying home.  And of course he was VERY unhappy with that.  The next few hours were tough.  I was questioning my choice and feeling bad that he was missing out on the festivities.  He continued to let me know how upset he was. But in the end I decided it was the best choice to not let Cannon participate.  I wasn't going to let him ruin it for everybody else.  Unfortunately these tests in parenting aren't always going to present themselves at the most opportune times, despite our best efforts.  Sigh.

Luckily, despite all the drama, Charlie went and had a great time.  He egg-hunted, won a game of bocce ball and hung out with the other grandkids.




Although I hope that we don't have to go through another one of these days anytime soon, I do want to remember to keep things simple.  Until the meltdown, we had had a great day just enjoying the holiday and spending time together.  That's what it's all about.

april 2, 2012

I have been admiring all the Project Life pages and inspiration floating around in blogland and on Pinterest for months now.  I love the concept and was planning on jumping on the bandwagon in December, but I just couldn't commit to the weekly format.  It was just too much and I couldn't keep up.  Then I had a light bulb moment....how about doing it monthly?!?  This was exciting for me.  I could still document our lives without a huge time commitment.  I admit, I am not going to get as much everyday stuff in my album as I would with the weekly format.  But with where I am at in my life right now, this is the perfect compromise for me.

I have finished the cover page and my January spread.  I love it.  I had a lot of fun with this and am excited to start on February.  I can work on it whenever I have a few extra minutes and am wanting to do something creative.  I am keeping it simple because I want it to stay fun.  I don't want the guilt of having to "keep up".

I used the family photos that we had taken just before my dad's surgery on the cover page.


And the January spread:

I loved that I was able to get almost all of my journaling from my blog.  Again, this is all very simple.  No complicated techniques or anything to talk about.  Just pictures, text and a few cute embellishments thrown in for good measure. :)







I do have to say that I LOVE those little alpha stickers from Jillibean Soup.  I am definitely going to need every color.