No Artificial Sweetener

LOVEly Mantel

2010-01-29T23:24:00.000-05:00

I usually don't go all out decorating for the holidays. I would love to, but it just really isn't my thing. I'm not very good at it and I can't help but think about all the crap I'm going to have to put away in just a little while when the holiday is over.

A couple of weeks ago, I found some cute Valentine's Day scrapbook paper and stickers in Target's dollar spot. I picked them up because I knew my little pre-schooler would love to find a use for them (and they were only $1). As it turns out, this week Macey didn't have school. In an effort to find things to keep her busy, one day I hauled out the paper and stickers and had her cut out hearts and decorate them. This resulted in a LOT of paper hearts that we needed to find a place for. We settled on stringing some of them together to make a banner. I traced the letters to spell out LOVE and Macey cut them out and glued them on four of the hearts. We hung the banner over the fireplace and then realized that it could use a little more festive decor. After a few more crafts, we decided we better stop before our house turned into Cupid's lair!

In addition to the banner, the picture frame was something Macey worked on mostly by herself. It was an unfinished wood frame that we got at Michaels for $1. She painted it pink and then added some stickers. We used some leftover scrapbook paper instead of a picture in the cut-out. I helped her add some glitter glue around the edges to bling it up a bit. I think she did a fantastic job!

The apothecary jar is something I made a while ago with help from the Shanty Sisters. It was really easy and only cost about $10 to make. I bought 2 large, 1 medium and 1 small round unfinished wooden plaques from Hobby Lobby. I also bought an unfinished wooden candle stick and finial. All of the wooden items were on sale when I bought them. I found the glass vase at WalMart for $4. I simply painted all of the wooden items white and glued them together with Gorilla Glue. Since the vase didn't have a top, I used one of the large wooden plaques with the finial glued on top and it just sets on the top of the vase.

The red floral ball was also something I made this week. I admired one at a little gift shop downtown, but I was too cheap to pay what they wanted for it. It was like I was meant to have one because that evening I found a package of 4 - 3" styrofoam balls at Meijer on clearance for $1.24 and some fake red flowers on clearance for $.29 a bunch (yes, the geraniums don't scream Valentine's decor like roses would have, but they were super cheap). I plucked the flowers off the stems and stuck them in the syrofoam ball. I wasn't sure how to space them, so I alternated filling in sides of the styrofoam ball until all of my flowers were gone. I would have liked the flowers to be a little more closely packed, but I only bought 5 stems for some reason. I used a pin to attach the white ribbon and taped it to the back of the mirror for hanging. Not bad for $1.76!

So there it is, our Valentine's Mantel. We even have a couple of more weeks to enjoy it before I have to pack it all away!

The Dentist

2010-01-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

Macey went to the dentist this week. It was just for a cleaning, but the dentist said her teeth look great. That was a relief. At her first dental exam, a little over a year ago, they found a couple of cavities and really lectured us on doing better teeth brushing and allowing less sugar. Given that my little Macey LOVES candy and gum of any kind, avoiding the sugar is quite difficult. We have truely tried to do better at brushing though, which has also been quite difficult since she wants to be so independent, yet isn't really capable of doing a true quality brushing all by herself at less than 5 years of age.

I already mentioned that her first visit to the dentist was a little over a year ago, but at that time I didn't have a blog yet. Below is a picture of her getting ready to have her cavities filled at her first visit to the dentist.

She was only 3 1/2 and I was as nervous as she since I had no idea how she was going to handle it. She did awesome. There were no tears involved, although Lovey seemed to be a requirement. Lovey doesn't usually make too many public appearances, but since this was her first experience at the dentist, I let him come along.

The dentist went on and on about how bad sugar is for kids' teeth. Well, duh... Is this why we pay you so much? He also said Macey has deep ruts in her back teeth, as most children do, so sugar just sits back there and corrodes the teeth. That is why it is so important to brush well and avoid excess sugar. I couldn't help but think that in a few years these teeth are just going to fall out anyway!

Feeling like a horrible mother, I tried to play it off like she doesn't eat that much candy. Macey piped up just in time to make sure he understood just how much sugar she really consumes. She told him all about her favorite candies and how much she loves bubble gum. She told him about the giant roll of pink gum that lets her blow super big bubbles and tastes really good that her grandpa had just gotten for her. At that point he told me that they actually make sugarless bubble gum too. I decided just to keep my mouth shut since I couldn't think of any valid response.

Really, he is a very good dentist and I appreciate how kind, patient and gentle he was and is with my precious little one. Macey loves him for her own reasons...

Check out that loot! Not only did she receive the standard toothbrush, toothpaste and floss, she also got a Barbie! Yeah, that's right, a Barbie. I thought that maybe she just did so well getting her fillings that they hauled out the big prizes for her. But, this week when she went in for her cleaning, she came home with a regular toothbrush, floss, toothpaste, a Crest Spinbrush Pro, a toothbrush and toothpaste for her sister, a colorful bouncy ball and a large jeweled ring. When I went to the dentist as a kid, I got to choose a sugarless sucker when I was all done. Now I really know why we pay him so much!

Bathtime Baptism

2010-01-26T09:48:00.000-05:00

While in the bath, Macey was giving Elyse her usual "baptism". As she carefully sprinkled a little water over Elyse's head from a lobster shaped toy, she spoke softly and seriously as she said "Hallelujah, hallelujah.... go tell it on the mountain"!

Thanksgiving 'til Christmas 2009

2010-01-24T23:55:00.000-05:00

Due to my blogging break, there were a few events over the last couple of months that did not receive the attention they deserve. Here is a little recap.

Elyse became an official "walking" 1-year old on the day before Thanksgiving. Woo-hooo! She had been taking 5-6 unassisted steps for months, but just as we thought she would take off, she'd just drop down and crawl away. I wasn't sure she would EVER walk. And then it happened! Now she's given up walking for running and I spend most of my time between naps (her naps, that is) chasing her!

We had a pretty relaxing Thanksgiving holiday. Most of my family was celebrating in Detroit and hubby's family was mostly up north. We didn't want to do so much traveling this year, so we stayed home and said whoever wanted to come over was welcome. The in-laws were the only ones who came over for the day, but it was perfect. They showed up with most of the side dishes and a turkey to be deep-fried. Talk about easy entertaining! Although I love a big family party, it was VERY nice to have a quiet, relaxing day to ourselves.

In early December, we attended the Christmas Parade in Grand Haven with the Ross family. It was very cold, but the parade was so fun and we had some really good hot chocolate!

I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to sew a quilt for my best friend's mom, who was diagnosed with cancer in November. It was the biggest sewing project I had ever done and it was completed in just over a week, I think. Being that I am quite a beginner in the sewing department, it isn't perfect, but it turned out really pretty. I love the fabrics that Jenee chose. Her parents live out of state and she and her children are not able to see them too often. Jenee printed black-and-white photos onto fabric to add into the quilt blocks so that when her mom wraps up in the quilt, it will feel like hugs from her loving family. It will surely be a lovely keepsake.

We had fun finding the perfect Christmas tree. Although we weren't able to go cut one down from the woods, we did find a bird nest in our tree to make it seem a little more rustic! Lucas was worried about bird diseases though and wouldn't let me bring it in the house.

Aren't these the cutest little elves ever?! Everyone helped with the decorations!

We also visited 'Holiday Road' in Spring Lake to view the amazing display of Christmas lights. There were 15-20 houses in one subdivision all decked out in lights galore and set to music. It was quite the demonstration of Christmas cheer!

Somehow, this was the best shot I got of both of the girls in their Christmas dresses. Good thing their endless adorability (yeah, I think I made that word up) makes up for the poor picture quality.

Elyse had a really hard time keeping quiet while the program was going. She seemed to be most well-behaved on Grandpa's lap. We have a really precious video of Macey saying her line, "As you listen to each voice", and Elyse talking and calling to Macey in the background. At the end of the video, Macey interrupts the program to wave to Elyse. They are so sweet! Maybe I'll update this post if I ever figure out how to upload that video.

In addition to the church program, Macey was in a program for her pre-school as well.

It was an adorable performance filled with singing and costumes and even a surprise visit from Santa!

Although Macey claimed to be over her fear of Mr. Claus, to say that his visit was a surprise was a bit of an understatement. As all the kids squealed with excitement and flooded to his lap, Macey froze in her seat and cried for her momma! Poor little thing. She totally wasn't prepared for this! After a few hugs and reassurance from me and a lot of encouragement from her wonderful teacher, Macey agreed to sit by Mrs. Monhollan and talk with Santa. It was a big step for her!

It was a long Christmas break, but we were able to find lots of activities to keep Macey busy while Elyse was just her cute little self.

Following their tradition, Macey prepared her cookies and cocoa for Santa on Christmas Eve with Daddy.

Opening one gift on Christmas Eve was a tradition at my house when I was growing up. We chose to keep that tradition going with our children and so the girls opened their matching Christmas PJ's on Christmas Eve. I had them washed and ready so that they could wear them to bed that night! I wonder how long I can continue get them festive matching PJs and select the gift that they open early for them?! I'm thinking not too much longer, I'll have to think about what gifts I place under the tree early next year for sure.

Christmas morning they were all smiles, but I guess there were too many distracting things around to get them both to look at the camera at the same time.

What a great season! Now I'm ready for spring!!

Halloween 2009 Recap

2009-11-19T00:19:00.000-05:00

So, it's almost Thanksgiving and I've been meaning to do a post on my cute girls at Halloween for the last couple of weeks. I figured I'd better get to it or it would be next Halloween already!

Since Elyse is still young enough to not care about her Halloween costume, I like to keep it simple for her. Last year she was only a couple of weeks old for Halloween and Macey wanted to be Snow White (for which we already had the costume thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Smith at Christmas 2007) so we decided Elyse could be Sleepy, the dwarf. It worked out perfectly since she slept through most of the evening anyway!

Ok, back to 2009. Macey has had quite the infactuation with high-heeled shoes in the last couple of months. She decided that she wanted some cowgirl boots because they have high heels. Thanks again to Grandma Smith, she received some real cowgirl boots a couple of weeks prior to Halloween.

These are real pictures taken of her as she opened the box delivered to her via UPS. She was so excited, I thought she was going to sleep with those boots on!
Shortly after the boots arrived, she decided she wanted to be a cowgirl for Halloween. We had almost everything else for her costume already, so it was really easy.

We decided that Elyse could be her pony since she really didn't care what she was and Macey insisted that she would need a pony. I thought a pony costume would be fairly easy to make (I have a hard time spending money on costumes that will be worn for only one night). For Elyse's pony costume, we found a brown sweat suit that could be worn after Halloween was over. I attached some ears, a mane, a tail and some horse shoes from craft felt and yarn using a needle and thread to complete the pony look.

(Ummm, wow! That wall really needs to be washed!!)

I think the cowgirl and her pony are absolutely adorable!

Heading out for trick-or-treating!

It was so stinkin' cold! We really had to bundle up and we only made it to about 5 houses before Macey was asking to go back home. That was fine with me though! Like I said, it was REALLY COLD! It wasn't like she really needed any more candy either. Elyse is too young to eat any of the candy, but every house insisted on giving Macey double so she could share with her sister who was just along for the ride.

Macey has a major sweet tooth. She loves chocolate, just like her momma! Her favorite treat from Halloween though?

Scary, green teeth and some silly glasses!

Some Very Special Visitors

2009-11-09T12:00:00.000-05:00

Due to Miley and Kadence's unexpected visit from CA, this year October was a bit different for us, but every bit as fun and memorable as years past.

It started with a trip to Geers' Farm for picking out pumpkins, hayrides and fresh, hot pumpkin doughnuts and cider.

This year's pumpkin season wasn't very good due to the cool, short summer, so most of the pumpkins in the patch were still small or very green. Note for file: Strollers do NOT travel well down the rows through the pumpkin patch, bring a wagon with BIG wheels!

Cutest little punkin' in the patch ;)

We had to pick most of our pumpkins from boxes that they had to have shipped in.

It was extra special to have both grandmas present for this adventure. Here is a picture of Macey, Elyse and KD with Grandma Smith...Miley wasn't feeling the photo-op, but I stole a picture anyway!

And here is a picture of Macey and Elyse with my mom, Grandma Mortenson.

Miley cheered up just in time for a picture with her best cousin.

They love eachother almost as much as they love to pose!

Before they had to head back to CA, Miley and KD came to our house to play and visit some more. It was a beautiful day, 2 days prior to Halloween, and we enjoyed some time outside in the rare fall 60 degrees. I had hoped these pictures would turn out better, but my camera was not moving nearly as quickly as they were!

After the discovery of a large pile of poo from the neighbors dog, our fun in the leaves was over. Fortunately, the girls were not too traumatized and continued to enjoy their time playing outside until it got dark.

Although we thought it was such a nice, warm fall day, these girls are from California, where it is still 90 degrees! They needed coats and hats and still felt it was a bit chilly!

We miss you Miley and KD! We can't wait to see you again soon!

Quick and Easy Throw Pillows

2009-10-31T00:51:00.000-04:00

On a grocery trip to Meijer a month or two ago, I found some lovely placemats while strolling through the home goods section. Lovely, light-colored fabric, non-washable placemats are not really practical at our house, but at $2.99 each, a couple of them made their way into my cart.

I have seen tutorials all over online for making throw pillows out of placemats. This sounded like a really quick and easy project and it was. I simply cut the threads holding the front and back of the placemat together at one corner. I made a hole in the seam just large enough to get my hand in to separate the 2 layers and fill the middle with stuffing. I used the stuffing from an old pillow that was too flat to sleep on anymore (it was what I already had so it was FREE). After the new pillow was sufficiently stuffed, I quickly stiched up the hole with a needle and thread - you could also use glue or some other kind of adhesive for this. Quick and easy throw pillows for under $3 each, you can't beat that!

Chicken Alouette

2009-10-19T14:08:00.000-04:00

I came across a really yummy recipe while reading one of my favorite blogs, The Stories of A to Z, last week. I read the recipe to hubby as soon as I saw the pictures. He immediately made a short list and ran up to the store. It is a very simple recipe and it was every bit as good as it looked!

Buddy Walk

2009-10-10T15:21:00.001-04:00

“If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time.” – Marian Wright Edelman

In celebration of Down Syndrome Awareness Month, every October the Down Syndrome Association of West Michigan hosts The Buddy Walk. The Buddy Walk was developed by the National Down Syndrome Society in 1995 to bring people together to promote awareness and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. In addition, funds are raised to help support local programs, services, education, advocacy efforts, and national research. 100% of the money raised in West Michigan benefits the West Michigan Down syndrome community. Last year, about 1200 people participated in the one mile walk at Millennium Park, and more than 230,000 individuals participated nationwide, to promote awareness for all people with Down syndrome.

Honoring sweet baby Kaitlyn, and the rest of our dear friends in the Ross family, our family was among the many who participated.

Although it has been cold and rainy here all week, God graciously provided a cool, sunny, beautiful fall day for this event. So many families and friends showed up at Millennilum Park to support the 2009 Buddy Walk.

There were crafts and games for those who arrived early. We started with the one mile stroll through Millennium Park. The sun was shining and leaves are just starting to change, it was gorgeous.

Friends and family members of all shapes and sizes joined in the event.

Thanks to The Corner Bar for generously providing hot dogs, chili, chips and drinks.

It was a perfect end to a wonderful event!

Fun Fall Day with Family and Friends

2009-10-10T14:11:00.001-04:00

Today is a beautiful fall day. It has been raining all week, and although it was still a little chilly for my taste, today the sun is out and the leaves are changing. We spent the later part of the morning and early part of the afternoon at Millennium Park in Grand Rapids as a family and with friends.

We even had coffee, doughnuts and cider to end the afternoon!

Walk for a Cure

2009-09-23T23:08:00.001-04:00

A couple of weekends ago, Macey and I joined Team Z in the Juvenile Diabetes Walk for a Cure. Macey had to wake up a little earlier than her norm, but she was very excited. Lovey even got to come along for this trip!

So many people came out to support this cause and join in the 5 mile walk.

Zoe is our neighbor and one of Macey's best buddies. She was diagnosed with Type I diabetes last year, at just over 2 years of age.

The little ones got a little bored and tired of walking (and the wagon was REALLY heavy to pull) so we didn't make the entire 5 miles, but our team raised just over $1000 to support the reaseach foundation.

It was a beautiful day and a great cause. I was so proud that my little Macey was excited and understood that she was contributing to help her friend and other people with this disease.

I am thankful for the strides that have already been made in making this a managable disease. With the help of willing supporters, I know a cure will be found!

A Love Story ... and Some Football

2009-09-22T23:51:00.001-04:00

Almost 11 years ago, my childhood neighbor, Scott, got married. Seated in a pew of an adorable little church right off of Michigan State University's campus, as the wedding party entered the front of the sanctuary, I whispered to my older brother "Look, there's Lucas and James." Lucas and James are cousins of Scott. Scott and my older brother were pretty close friends growing up and Lucas and James would come in the summers and often on weekends to visit their cousin and grandparents, who lived just a few houses away from my parents. Lucas was my age and James was the same age as my younger brother, so we all played and goofed around together quite often as kids.

Although Lucas and James' family had moved to our community a few years prior to the wedding, we didn't really keep in touch much since we were all attending different high schools and colleges. As I pointed them out to my brother at the wedding, I thought to myself how cute Lucas had become. While chatting outside after the wedding, Lucas came over to say hello. I couldn't help noticing again how cute he was in that tux.

At the reception, my family was seated with Lucas' parents and so Lucas and I got to catch up quite a bit. We discovered that he attended college only 30 minutes from the college I attended and that we shared some mutual friends. Before we left, Lucas made a comment about looking me up at school some time to hang out. I said "Sure.", but didn't really think anything would ever come out of that night.

I went back to college and told all my roommates and friends about the beautiful wedding I had attended and about the really cute guy with whom I had reconnected. Coincidentally, one of my roommates had gone to high school with Lucas, so she drug out all of her old yearbooks and picture albums for us to swoon over.

A week or two later, a mutual friend of Lucas and me called to get some mathematical advice for a class project he was working on and mentioned that he wanted to give Lucas my phone number. I tried to play it cool and just indicated that that would be fine. To my surprise, the next day Lucas called to see if I wanted to go out some time. We went out that weekend and 2 1/2 years later, we were married!

********************

Recently, Lucas asked if I would go to a Michigan football game with him. He's a big fan and usually, he brings buddies or his dad or at least someone who really likes football. I am not a real football fan, to be honest, so I always feel a little guilty taking the ticket of someone who would REALLY enjoy it. Also, to be honest, I have a whole list of things I could accomplish on a Saturday afternoon, none of which include football. But, since my hubby is so sweet to want to spend time with me and share this joy in his life with me, I happily agreed to go with him. (Also, since they were just playing Eastern, I didn't feel like he was "wasting" a good ticket on me.) We decided to travel to Ann Arbor on Friday night and return on Saturday, after attending the game.  His mother kindly came to spend the night with our girls.

As we made our way to Ann Arbor, we had to pass by Lansing. I was surprised when Lucas turned off the express way. The GPS was going crazy telling us to turn around and trying to recalculate our route. When I asked what he was doing, he said there was a detour and this was the way he went to the previous game. There were construction signs all over so it seemed completely reasonable to me. After travelling a long way off couse and around Michigan Sate's campus (with a few remarks to bash them a little, of course), he finally stated that we needed to turn around. He pulled off into the parking lot of this little church to turn around... all of the sudden this place looked very familiar to me.  "Hey, this looks just like the church Scott got married in." Lucas replied with a smile, "Oh yeah, we better go out and look around then." As we got out of the car, I received a very sweet card about the joys of the last 11 years we have spent together.

Yeah, I'm pretty oblivious to stuff like that, I had no idea that was coming. Lucas is such a thoughtful, sentimental, sweet and caring guy.  He always remembers the little stuff and makes a point to make things special. I only wish those kinds of things even occurred to me to do. Thank God for blessing me with such a great husband!

Although I'm not a true football fan, the game was really fun. There is nothing quite like the experience at The Big House. We arrived early enough to grab a coffee, catch the drumline and tour the atmosphere down town. Let me tell you, that was an experience in itself. I went to college once, but west Michigan colleges don't even compete with the things we saw!

It was a fabulous 24 hours away from home, spending time with the one I love!

A Feature?!

2009-09-17T10:59:00.001-04:00

I am so honored to have my table/desk project featured today by Lindsey at Better After! She is a girl after my own heart. She starts at the beginning and skips right to the end, featuring the before and afters of projects everywhere, without all that work in the middle. She really has a great blog! Thanks so much, Lindsey!

My college roommate and best friend, Jenee, should also have some of the credit since she's the one who originally convinced me to buy the pathetic tables in the first place and she shares most of the same memories with that thing. No worries, Jenee, I would never put any of those memories in writing here! ;)

College Coffee Table Turned Chic Writing Desk

2009-09-09T20:52:00.002-04:00

In college, about 10 years ago, I bought a set of inexpensive end tables and a coffee table. I bought them new, but they have always been poor quality and pretty ugly. They originally had a faux white-washed wood finish in laminate over cheap particle board. With the beating rendered due to college living, it didn't take long for the laminate to bubble and peel and look even worse. In an attempt to "spruce" these tables up, many years ago I painted the legs an awful red color and applied an oak-looking contact paper (yes, I said contact paper) to the tops. As terrible as that sounds, it was actually a step up from the condition they were in and the contact paper was certainly easy to wipe clean.

Anyway, some how I have never parted with these pathetic tables. The coffee table has been in storage down in our basement since we moved into this house nearly 6 years ago. This past spring I tried to get rid of it in a garage sale, but there were no takers. I couldn't even give it away! It got shoved to a corner in our garage and forgotten... until last week!

I discovered this beauty while cleaning up the garage and was inspired by Centsational Girl's post from a couple of weeks ago. I decided my old, nasty, little exuse for a coffee table could possibly be given a new life as a writer's desk/console table.

First, I headed to the Habitat Restore and picked up 4 spindles for $2.50 each. (I rememberd to take a quick picture only after 2 of them had already been installed)

Next, I removed the old, short legs and my wonderful hubby trimmed the new spindles down to size and attached them to the old table top.

I ripped all the contact paper off the table top and sanded the red paint. As mentioned previously, under the lovely contact paper was cheap particle board that was bubbled and in pretty rough shape. So that the final product would have a smooth finish, I applied a couple of light layers of drywall mud over the top, sanding between layers.

After a good coating with primer, I brushed over the entire table with a dark brown paint (to show through for distressing). When the brown paint was dry, I lightly sanded it smooth and covered the entire table with Krylon spray paint in Pebble.

Lastly, I roughed up the edges and the top to let the dark brown paint peek through. This was the most difficult part of the whole process for me. I could not get the distressing to look natural and that terrible particle board kept showing through! I really could have used some glaze, but I didn't have any and was too impatient to wait until I could run to the store. I found that steel wool worked best for rubbing off the right amount of paint and leaving a very smooth finish. After rubbing off and reapplying paint a couple of times, I finally got a look I could live with.

It works perfectly behind our LONG sofa back and as a spot for the laptop to live. For $10 in spindles, $2 in hardware to attach them and about $7 in paint (the rest of the supplies I already had), I LOVE it!

This project has been submitted in Kimba's DIY Day and Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage - there's a ton of great ideas over at both places!

Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Elyse!

2009-09-08T21:19:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it, my little baby is 1 year new! Where did the past year go?! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting her arrival. I know, every mother probably says that for her children and I'm sure I said it for our oldest daughter's first birthday too, but it seriously seems like the past year went by faster than any other year I ever remember. What a little peanut she was just one year ago!

Being the slacker mother that I am, we did not have a formal birthday bash for this precious little girl. It wasn't planned that way, it just kind of happened.

In August we were together with my mom's entire side of the family on vacation so we sang and had cake then.

The Sunday after her birthday, we were together in Manistee for Labor Day with my in-laws and that side of the family, so we sang and enjoyed cake then too.

Her actual birthday fell on a Thursday (right before Labor Day), so we just had Elyse's favorite dinner, spaghetti, as a family and sang and had cake then as well. My mom came down for the day to make it more special since I had to work that day.

Everyone got to celebrate the past year of our darling little one's life with us, but it just felt wrong not to have a formal party for her. I will probably regret that decision for the rest of my life! That would have NEVER happend for my first born and I'm feeling really guilty about that.

Well, it is what it is now and she did get to eat cake 3 different times and I did manage to get some really CUTE pictures of her.

Here she is on the morning of her first birthday, munchin' on some Cheerios and sippin' some juice. What a happy girl!

While Elyse was napping, her big sister helped make a special birthday banner for her! Macey loves her little sister so much!

Birthday dinner was a hit, of course!

Happy birthday, dear Elyyyyyyse... Happy birthday, to youuuuuu!

Bring on the cake!

Escaping after a bath, in her birthday suit!

A long day of being "1" makes for a good night's sleep...

Happy birthday, Ellie Joy! You are such a blessing to our family and we love you so much!

Ultra-Functional Diaper Cake

2009-08-27T19:01:00.001-04:00

I made this diaper cake for my best friend and her new baby, Kaitlyn. It was super simple and quite inexpensive to make.

The bottom 2 layers are round storage/hat boxes, then there is a box of wipes and a small decorative box on top. There were some extra rolled diapers that I put inside the tiny box and that's why the top layer looks a bit tippy.

I bought the 2 round storage boxes for less than $5 each at Tuesday Morning. They were clearanced out because it was June and they had a Christmas scene on them. I used a spray primer and then a couple coats of spray paint in this lovely shade of lavender.

They were a little plain and boring looking at this point, so I used a darker shade of lavender and a small round sponge to make the purple polka-dots.

To personalize them a bit, I added Kaitlyn's name to the front of the large box, using white acrylic craft paint and rubber alphabet stamps in a fun font. I also painted a "K" monogram on the top of the lid to the smaller round box, but didn't get a picture of that.

I used a glue gun to adhere a cute ribbon around the edge of the boxes' lids. I folded the edge of the end over and secured it with a dab of glue to hide the rough edge. All of the ribbon was from Michaels, on sale, of course!

Because the boxes were quite large, about 90 size 2 diapers were required. I bought the diapers and wipes on sale and with coupons to help keep the project more economical. Each of the diapers was rolled and secured with a tiny ribbon. You could also use tiny elastics, but I didn't have any on hand. After all of the diapers were rolled, I lined them up around the boxes and used more ribbon, tied VERY tightly, to hold them in place. You can see the blue ribbon that holds all of the diapers in place on the bottom box in front of Kaitlyn's name. I debated covering the name with more diapers because I didn't like the bare space, but that would have meant I'd of had to roll more diapers and I'm just that lazy!

The tiny box at the top of the cake is a 4X4 inch paper mache box for $.99 at Wal-Mart. I liked the scalloped detail around the edge of the lid and thought it would make a cute cake topper. It was originally brown paper, so I spray painted it white and used acrylic craft paint to add dots to accentuate the scallops. I found some really cute scrapbooking stickers on clearance for $1.50 at Wal-Mart. The butterfly on the top of the lid is 3D and lights up when you push on it. What a score, it is so cute!

Lastly, I purchased some inexpensive little toys that are handy for tossing into a diaper bag and cute enough to dangle from this cake. I also included my all-time FAVORITE diaper cream and some tiny hair bows. The toys and diaper cream were tied onto the cake with ribbon and the hair bows just clipped on.

Hair bow tip: From having 2 of my own little girls, I have learned that these little bow clips need help to stay put in the baby's thin hair. To help make them stay put, I opened the clips and used my glue gun to adhere a small strip of Cushion Grip shelf liner to the inside of the clip. The shelf liner makes the clip not slip out of the baby's hair so easily.

Although it's not pictured, I did use some extra of the wider, striped ribbon to tie the whole cake together from the bottom to the top; just to help secure the pieces a bit.

That's it!

See this post and many other great ideas over at Kimba's DIY Day!

Cement Leaf Bird Bath

2009-08-20T17:24:00.011-04:00

While on vacation last week, my amazing and crafty mother came up with this idea to make bird baths out of cement and sand and large leaves. One of the residents in the small town where we vacation has had one out in her yard for the last couple of years and we've admired it several times. My mom said she saw a tutorial on how to do it somewhere online a while back and we thought we'd give it a try. I'm not sure what tutorial she saw, but I know that there are tutorials all over on this kind of thing...maybe Martha has one. Anyway, this is what we did.

Start with finding large, deep-veined leaves. We used leaves from some kind of weed we found growing along side of the road, I have no idea what it is called and apparently didn't get any pictures of the leaves. We also used some hosta leaves or you could use rhubarb leaves. The bigger the better, in my opinion, but they need to have deep veins on the back side so they imprint well into the cement.

Next, get some sand. We used regular, old sand from the beach. We got the sand a little wet, like what you would to make a sand castle, and piled it up into a mound.

This sand pile is the mold for the bird bath, so make the mound as tall as you want your bath to be deep. Position your leaf right-side down on top of the mound. The mound should be just slightly wider than the leaf when the leaf is draped over top of it.

Put on some rubber gloves and mix the cement. We used equal parts of beach sand, concrete mix and portland cement. Add water and mix it up until the cement is the consistency of a mud patty. It can't be too runny or the cement will just slide off the mold, but you want it to be loose enough to move around on top of your leaf.

Coat the back of the leaf with some non-stick cooking spray. You're going to pile cement on this part of the leaf when it is draped over the mound, so the spray will help it to peel off easier after the cement is dry.
After the leaf is sprayed, scoop the cement out and pat on top of your leaf mound. You'll want to completely cover the leaf about 2 inches thick in the middle and as thin as you want your bird bath to be around the edges. Thinner around the edges looks best, but is also easier to break when it is dried.

Try to get the cement as close to the edge of the leaf as possible without going over the edge too much. In the picture below, my daughter let her cement go too far over the edge of the leaf.

Using what we had on-hand, we attached this scrawny, little metal thingy, that is threaded like a screw, to the bottom of the bird bath. We attached a washer with a nut on either side to the end of the little metal thingy, which is about 2 feet long.

We stuck the 'washered' end in the middle of the leaf, careful not to go through all the way, piled a bit of cement around it and used the red disposable cup to stabilize it as it dried.

I wasn't too sure about this step with the scrawny metal thingy, but my mother assured me it was necessary so later, when I figure out what kind of stand this baby is going to have (a 4x4, pipe, log, ???...), I can stabilize the base with what I choose. I thought the bird bath would look cute just sitting on a large rock or piece of drift wood or on the ground in the garden, without a real stand, but I could always cut the metal thingy off later if I don't want a stand. Maybe research online would provide other options for this part.

We let it sit over night. After the cement was set and hard, we carefully turned over the bird bath and peeled the leaf away from the cement. Any bits of the leaf veins that don't come right out of the grooves will dry up over time and can easily be removed later.

Finally, the leaf-cast bird baths are revealed.

The cement has to cure for about a week, but I plan to paint it with a couple shades of mossy greens and use a brownish wash to accent the veins. At this point, I'm not sure what the best type of paint would be to use since it is going to be applied to a cement basin that will hold water. I'll update this post when it is complete.

This post was linked in participation for Kimba's DIY Day at A Soft Place To Land!

Welcome, Baby Kaitlyn!!

2009-08-19T16:22:00.004-04:00

Baby Kaitlyn is here! Born August 4th, she weighed a healthy 7lbs 15oz and was 19.5 inches long.

Isn't she precious?! I took the above picture of her all snuggled up in her little bed in the NICU. She was so peaceful and looked so comfy, I hated to disturb her with any more pictures. Due to the Complete AVSD, she was taken to the NICU right after she was born until she had established an appropriate feeding level. She was born on August 4, but I'm just posting about it because we left for vacation right after she was born and I just got back! She was already able to go home on August 10 and is doing so well. She is eating like a champ!

FREE Vases

2009-08-19T15:38:00.006-04:00

I found these vases when I was packing up remnants from our annual garage sale to drop off at one of the local thrift stores. I have tried to sell these things for like the past 3 years, I couldn't believe they weren't even worth a quarter a piece to anyone! Then I remembered that the last time I was in the thrift store, there was an entire shelf of cheap floral shop vases and apparently not many people who want them.

As I pulled them out of the box, I thought I should find a use for them. I'm always on the look out for inexpensive accessories, this was a good way to use what I already had. I needed to make them look less ordinary so I could keep them!

I removed the worn out ribbons, washed them up and took out my old, trusty can of spray paint. Since they are just going to sit on top of the armoire, I wasn't too concerned with durability.

I used a cheap white spray paint from Wal-Mart to apply the first couple coats. Then I used Valspar Hi-Gloss Lacquer in White for the top coat to give them a nice sheen and because it was what I had on hand.

If you look closely, you can see that the paint on the small one rippled a bit. I'm completely over it... kind of... not really. This happened when I applied the lacquer. Maybe it was from the 2 different types of paint or maybe it was just too many coats or maybe it was because the vases are glass and I put ordinary spray paint on them? I'm not sure, but since I was using what I had, they do their job!

Interior Design Style

2009-08-06T11:22:00.006-04:00

I've never been quite happy with the look of our living room. I just can't seem to make the furniture arrangement, style and accessories work in there. I like all of the pieces in there, but I can't make them look appealing together. It's cluttered and boring, both at the same time...

I took a fun little quiz at Sproost and it says my interior design style is:

50% Nantucket Style
I love the large wooden coffee table, textured rug and white slip covers on comfy looking chairs and the sofa. There's no clutter. The plants add color and life (too bad I can't keep plants alive, they'd be brown and stick-ish in my living room) without being distracting. It's really quite simple and plain, but it looks relaxing rather than boring.

25% Cottage Chic
I like the darkness of the coffee table and it's clean, straight lines and the size and shape. The woven baskets on the shelf below the table add a casualness (is that a word?) and practicality, keeping the style of the table from being too formal. I like the light color on the chair, sofa and rug in contrast with the dark table and floor. The style of the sofa looks somewhat formal, but still comfy. The wing-back chair is not my taste, nor is the artwork above the sofa or the stark white walls. I do like the light, airy feel in this room though.

25% Classic
I really love that little dresser in the back corner. It is so perfect for storage. I love that it kind of looks old and modern at the same time. I also love the little round table between the chairs. And speaking of chairs, that dark and light combo is fabulous and I love those legs and arms. I also like that there is a bold color on the walls, but it isn't screaming at me, I could still relax in this space.

So, I'm not sure that helped me figure out what to do with my living room, but I have some ideas to try. I know I have to keep my furniture (it was nearly free and I can't afford new right now) and I really don't want to have to repaint it all. I guess that leaves accessories. I think I need to find a way to lighten and liven it up... hmmm...

Thrill Seeking

2009-07-16T10:22:00.009-04:00

Last weekend we took another camping trip the the river in Falmouth. It was a little last minute, but some dear friends of ours graciously offered the use of their 4-wheeler and Polaris Ranger RZR so the husband REALLY wanted to take advantage of their offer. I enjoyed some 4-wheeling back in the day, but I had NO IDEA how much fun this Polaris thingy was going to be.

I should have realized I was in for a real trip when I had to strap myself in as if I was preparing for the Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point! There is even a special handle on the dash for the passenger because the ride gets THAT wild. This thing goes over 60 mph, in like 2 seconds! We made all sorts of trails through the woods and Christmas trees on those 11 acres. We put over 70 miles on that thing in 2 days. Needless to say, it was AWESOME!

Macey could not get enough of it. She went for a brief ride on Friday night, because we got up there late, and the first thing she said when she woke up Saturday morning was, "Can I ride on that razor now?!". We had to practically pry her out of it for a lunch break! She didn't settle for anything less than pedal-to-the-metal, flying over jumps and getting it up on two wheels either. This girl loves a thrill!

No Butts About It

2009-07-14T23:41:00.008-04:00

What I would give to know what goes through this little mind sometimes. When she's deep in thought, the things she contemplates must be astonishing! I see the wheels turning and I have to brace myself. I can never guess what is going to come out of her mouth next. It's always random and usually something astoundingly cute and completely uninhibited!

We generally try to use words for the tush, other than "butt". Biscuits, bum, butt-skies, bottom, fanny, behind, buns, ... all acceptable terminology, but not "butt". It just sounds crass coming from her little mouth. The other night, she was laying next to me in bed, watching TV and waiting for Daddy to get home from a late Tigers game. I can't remember what brought it up, but she used the forbidden "BUTT". When I corrected her with an "acceptable" term, she replied, "Cause we're not supposed to say 'BUTT'!" and giggled cautiously. In response to my "look", came an endless series of "butt, mom; butt, um; butt, mom, seriously; butt..."! I'm ashamed to admit that it actually took me a minute to figure out what she was doing. I couldn't help but laugh!

I LOVE this kid!!!

Go Baby, Go

2009-07-14T15:28:00.004-04:00

So it took about a month from when she first got up on all fours, but forward movement is official now: Elyse is crawling! Talk about trouble!!! It only took about 30 seconds for me to realize just how un-babyproofed our entire house is.

She started in her bedroom. I had just gotten her out of the tub on Sunday night. I layed (I never know the proper gramar for that one?) her down on the floor on her towel to dry her off and get her diaper and jammies on her. As soon as I turned and reached for the diapers, she rolled over and was off! Up until this moment she had only scooted backwards and rolled to places she wanted to go, but that was only occasionally probably since it would be a lot of work and not always accurate. I was so excited and surprised that I didn't realize she was headed straight for the cord to the lamp in her room. After I pried the cord from her hands, just short of her teeth, and was tucking it far behind the dresser, she was off to the cord for her monitor on the other side of the room! What is it with electrical cords and this child?! I swear she'll be the child zapped from biting through it! I was able to get to the monitor cord before she did and I moved it safely out of her reach, along with any other cords I could see in that room. After chasing her around her bedroom, I finally was able to secure a diaper and put on some PJs.

Then it was off to the living room. First over to the laptop that was sitting in the chair, with the cord dangling over the arm, of course. Then to Macey's crayons for some colorful wax chewing. It went on and on until I finally had everthing but HER toys off of the floor and out of her reach!

This week has been all about baby gates, new rules and decluttering!

Happy 4th of July

2009-07-13T19:22:00.021-04:00

I realize it's a little late, but hey, it took me a week to get to this post! Better late than never, right?!

Over the holiday weekend, we camped at the river in Falmouth. It's sure beautiful, but I'd love some running water and electricity out there. I can only "rough it" for so long!

It was a little cold and rainy on Friday, but it warmed up throughout the day and the kids didn't mind a bit. They were HAPPY CAMPERS!

Uncle Dude and Aunt Ren-na-nae met us at Duane's for the best EVER breakfast buffet and then took us on a tour of the Buning Farm. The pigs were really smelly, but the baby cows were a hit! They were so CUTE! Macey loved petting them, but she was not interested in letting them suck on her finger!

This little cutie was so sweet. She was all white with dark brown markings. She desperately wanted to lick Elyse!

Back at the campsite, it was time for some target practice. Daddy likes to teach them young!

We headed into Lake City to enjoy the parade for the "Greatest 4th in the North".

Back in Falmouth, around the camp fire for s'mores and fireworks!

Camping, cows, parade, s'mores, fireworks, family and friends... what a GREAT weekend!

Gulf Coast Mission Trip

2009-07-02T13:19:00.003-04:00

Lucas and I returned last weekend from our mission trip to the Gulf Coast. There is still so much devistation there from hurricane Katrina. I heard that more than 30% of the population there is still homeless. That is so difficult for me to understand. Many of these people had homes, nice homes, with insurance prior to the hurricane. This is America. How can this be, 4 years later? We have already started planning for another trip out there, maybe this coming fall.

I can't express what a touching and wonderful experience this was. I went into the trip with a little reservation. I had to pray ALOT about peace in leaving my girls and for God to really open my heart to receive whatever he had in store for me. It didn't take too long for God to start pouring out the blessings.

It happened to be our 7th wedding anniversary on the day before we left. My mom volunteered to drive the complete 2 hours from her house to our house to pick up the kids that afternoon which would enable the hubby and I to enjoy a free babysitter date night. Usually, I would be VERY anxious about leaving my girls and would go to great lengths to keep them with me as long as possible. However, God blessed me with the peace needed to let them go a day early and enjoy a much needed night out with my husband. That peace continued through out the whole trip. I've never had that before! It was amazing!

God also provided the right families to accept our help in the Gulf Coast. Safety and staying busy was a little concern of mine since we had 90+ high school students to chaperone. We had plenty of work to do and were very safe in the area he provided. In setting out to be a blessing to these families in need, we were blessed beyond belief. I saw God work in many hearts last week, including my own.

In addition to working during the day, we had devotions with a special praise and worship time each evening. These times were an awesome ending to the day! The students were so cautionless and open. Nothing touched my heart more than watching students that I know and love surrender their lives to Jesus. I believe there were 39 students who publicly committed or recommitted their lives to our wonderful Lord and Savior!

All in all, it was amazing! I heard someone say that there is no better way to become close to God than to become the hands and feet of Jesus. So true.

Getting Sooooo Close!

2009-06-11T13:27:00.001-04:00

Our sweet, sweet, little Elyse might be crawling soon! Last weekend, she finally got herself up on her hands and knees without falling over, for more than like 3 seconds. She even rocked back and forth a little bit while giggling with pure glee before she plopped back down on her belly. She's done it countless times since then, each time for a little longer than the last. We keep coaxing her to come to us, but she just giggles with her blessed spacey-toothed grin.

She is so good-natured and laid back that, although she is already 9 months old, she has been perfectly content to just sit with some toys and play, up until now. If the toys happened to fall out of her reach, she might stretch slightly to get it back, but never too far. This could be partly due to the amount of mass she retains in her midsection! She is just so cute and round and full of rolls! Seriously, from her armpits down to her wrists and from her hips down to her ankles... roll after roll after roll! I LOVE it!

My hubby and I are leaving in less than 2 weeks for 6 days on a mission trip. The girls are staying with my parents and I just KNOW that Elyse will probably wait to start crawling until we are gone! I already have major angst about leaving them (I know they'll be fine, I just hate being apart), but now this?!

The Roar of the Dandelion

2009-05-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Have you ever tried to get rid of dandelions? They are certainly stubborn little buggers! I'm not much of a green-thumb so I'm sure if I tried to grow them, I couldn't! They come up wherever and whenever they want. People go to great lengths to try to keep them away.

Last weekend, we were at my in-law's land on the river in Falmouth. It is beautiful up there, with countless farms and miles and miles of open land. We drove past this one field that was particularly beautiful. It was full of bright yellow dandelions! My mother-in-law and I had this idea that we could get some really great pictures of my four year old daughter, Macey, running through the field, picking bouquets, blowing wishes and frolicking about. When we stopped the car to let her loose, she was excited to take off. The second she realized I had my camera out to capture her merry play, the merriness vanished. She was such a little stinker! She wouldn't look at the camera, she wouldn't move and her beautiful little face was all drawn into a scowl! I tried and tried to get her to engage in the poses I had envisioned, but I knew that it wasn't going to happen. That's Macey for you! She is really such a cute, sweet, fun-loving girl... as long as things are on HER terms. As her parent, I can make her do anything, but if she didn't want to do it, she will NOT be happy about it. You can try all you want, but when she digs in her heels, it's over!

Even though my stubborn little dandelion didn't cooperate, we still got some pretty good pictures of her. Not what I thought they would be, but they certainly capture the experience!

Mommy Guilt

2009-05-15T16:15:00.000-04:00

Does anyone else suffer from Mommy Guilt? As previously mentioned, I am a mother to two amazing little girls. My oldest, Macey, just turned 4 at the end of March and my youngest, Elyse, is 8 months. I've always known and felt my parents love for me, but I never knew that it was possible to be so in LOVE with your children until I had my own.

Before I had children, I wasn't even sure if motherhood was for me. I worked hard through college and scored a great job that I loved (and still do love). My only complaint about working full time was that I didn't think I had enough time to do anything else that I love (i.e., shopping, crafts, beach, travel, sleeping in, ...). Please note that I said I didn't think I had enough time. After adding two children to the mix, I see that I used to have all the time in the world for those things!

Anyway, until my first child was born, I didn't think that I would even want to stay at home with my children all day. Boy, was I wrong! I had a 12 week maternity leave and then my sister stayed with us for 3 months to watch Macey while I went back to work part-time. I thought it was difficult to leave my baby with my sister while I went off to work. I fully trusted my sister and she loved my little Macey nearly as much as I, but it broke my heart to know that I wasn't able to cuddle and comfort my little bundle of joy all day long. When Macey was 6 months old, my sister left for a 6 month long mission trip and we had to enroll Macey in daycare. It was a great place that even had webcams so I could check in on her all day long, if I wanted. Even still, I cried the whole way to work that first week I had to leave her there and I was so anxious to get her at the end of every day! I really am not a very emotional person typically, but that kid just gets right to my heart!

Although Macey truely enjoyed attending daycare, for 3 years I dreaded each day that I had to drop her off and leave her there. I was always fine once I said goodbye and while I was at work I also enjoyed my time away, but I hated leaving her. I even felt sad most times that my husband and I got a sitter for us to go out together in the evenings. We also had to leave her for a week a couple of times for us to have adult vacations and that was just torture. Again, I was fine and had a great time once we said goodbye and it was just us, but the anticipation was dreadful. And after about 6 days, we both missed her terribly.

By the time our second daughter was born, my work was pretty short on space and allowed me to start working part-time from my home office. I still had to hire a sitter to be at my home and look after and entertain the girls while I concentrate on my work, but at least I get to be here with them. I don't have to worry about ALL of the needs, but I can peek out the window and watch them giggling outside in the sun, riding bikes and swinging the day away. I can hear pieces of their priceless chatter. I can give hugs and kisses before naps and if they are sad or hurt. It really is wonderful.

So why then do I feel guilty about having to work? Why do I feel like I miss so much of their lives and they just grow too quickly? I swear, I know that I am being rediculous because a lot of mothers would love to be in my shoes, but I think that just adds to the guiltiness I feel. I can't explain it! I guess it just takes having children of your own to fully feel the depths of a mother's love!!

Just because...

2009-05-14T15:34:00.000-04:00

The most difficult assignment I ever had to complete in college was a 12-page paper on what it is like to be me. That probably seems like a piece of cake to most people, but it was absolutely terrible for me. I majored in statistics, which most people cringe at when they hear, so some of those assignments were tough, but at least there was a right and wrong answer. I find it very difficult to get all of my thoughts on paper in some order that is readable for others. Journaling has never been something I thought I'd enjoy doing myself, so I admit it seems strange that I, of all people, would start a blog. However, I love to read about the journeys through other people's lives.

In the last couple of months, I've realized that my life now is completely different from where I used to be. I work from home full-time now and, most of the time, my car stays parked in the same spot all week long. As a mother to two amazing daughters (ages 4 and 8 months), I know that I am very fortunate to be able to earn a living and, at the same time, watch my children grow and change every day. It really is the best of both worlds. However, staying home full-time is quite an adjustment too and sometimes I just feel like I need a connection to the outside world again. That is one of the reasons I'm starting this blog.

Another reason for starting this blog is, despite my desire and best attempts, I just cannot commit time to creating scrapbooks for my children. I'm such a slacker-mom! I bought tons of supplies when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, because scrapbooking was something that seemed really enjoyable to me and I thought I'd have all this time for these types of things now that I only had to work part-time. I was totally wrong! I've only completed one page in almost 5 years. I'm sure my kids will be the only ones in their classes that don't have a special, hand-made baby book! Maybe some day, when my kids are older and I have hours and hours to myself each day (wishful thinking, I know), I will finally use up some of the hundreds of dollars in scrapbooking supplies I have stored away and catch up on those baby books. Anyway, this blog is as close as I can come to scrapbooking. In fact, I was going to name it "Lazy Mom's Scrapbook", but that name was already taken. At least I know I'm not alone!

Which brings me to my last reason for this blog. I've come to realize that there is a whole community in the blog world that I have been missing out on. From the blogosphere, I have received abundant advice on almost every topic, insiration for all aspects of life and countless laughs. If anyone should ever read my blog, I only hope my contribution can enrich your life in at least one of these areas.

I can not promise that this blog will be full of deep topics for contemplation, but more likely, just random things that take place in this life that I love... the life of an everyday, working wife and mother.