Henry Homestead

Revamped Dresser/End Table

2012-01-28T15:37:00.001-05:00

Well hello there!
I've done hardly anything in the creative realm since moving (back) to Indiana. So I guess I can just finish filling you in on the little dresser I refinished for our previous family room.

That simple little dresser wasn't always that way. Here's what it looked like before:

I went to the handy site Centsational Girl, and gleaned from her many hours of refinishing. (Go here to read her tips on painting wood furniture).

Got my tools ready:

Fun stuff.

Scraped till my heart was content. Then sanded. Primed. Painted. You know the routine.

That little spray paint hand-nozzle is SO worth the money. Buy one.

I was too cheap to buy drawer pulls. And I couldn't decide what I wanted. Then I saw these wooden beads I had bought at Joanns for $1 (for 12!). Even though they're a little small, I thought they were cute and liked the natural wood look. I found screws that fit perfectly and secured them through the already-drilled holes.

And my project was complete!

Almost. I painted the sides of the drawers my favorite shade of green, like, "surprise!" when you open it. I also lined the cruddy insides with some old wallpaper I've had sitting around for years.

I love that it was added storage in a room that otherwise had none. We kept our exercise videos and equipment in the top drawer, dvd's in the 2nd, and VHS tapes in the 3rd. Who knows what it will evolve to be in our next home.

Adios!

Happy New Year

2011-12-29T15:20:00.002-05:00

I hope that you do not mind our lack of gusto recently. Few blog posts, no Christmas card or greeting, and updates few and far between. I'll at least make an attempt to say "Happy New Year!"

This is what we've been up to for the last week or so...

Friends from Maryland!

Girl's night out

Potteiger Family Christmas

Henry Family Christmas

And we have a surprise too....
(well, if you really know us, I guess it's not much of a surprise)

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Bebe Numero Cuatro
Due in early/mid June.
(Christian is obviously happy. The girls are too...really...you just can't tell in this picture).

(and just a heads up, we aren't planning on finding out the gender. ...cuz I know you'll ask!). We're old school like that. And the fact that we are having so many munchkins. And we're not even 30 yet. For now I'm happy raising my children and supporting my hubby, and yes, we know we're crazy. :)

But we're happy.

And we're hoping you can find happiness with your own family and be revived in your walk with Christ this new year....2012!!!

Blessings!

Running Man

2011-12-15T00:26:00.000-05:00

Simon has a story to share. Sorry for my own lack of blogging since we've moved in September, things have been... well, changing. Keep reading to get a better understanding. --Rachel

Let me tell you a story. A story ofrunning and being found. I was the one running, and I have now beenfound.

My story starts over 10 years ago, whenI was merely a high school student enjoying life. I had the honor andprivilege of growing up in a fine, Christian home. My parents sent meto a Christian school and provided the needed encouragement to getinvolved in church and other ministries. It was around 16 years oldwhen I first felt my call to ministry. I never experienced a "Damascus Road" type of call, but through consistent prayer and petition of GodI felt this was the direction He was leading me. I then began toexperience what some would call the “firstfruits” of ministry.During my late high school and early college years I was greatlyinvolved in ministry at my church and worked the entire summer at aChristian youth camp. It was these experiences that pushed me tostudy Christian ministry and youth ministry at Indiana WesleyanUniversity.

The summer after my freshman year ofcollege was when I had my first significant leadership role inministry. I was the Activities Director at the camp I had beenworking at for years, and was one of five on the leadership team thatled the rest of the staff. This opportunity at ministerial leadershipwas a great experience that only reaffirmed my passion and callinginto ministry.

The following summer I did aninternship at a church in South-central Pennsylvania. This internshipwas good to show me more of the inner-workings of the every day lifeof a church. It was a great learning experience, and I learned andsaw what it meant to actually lead a church. I was again reaffirmedthat my calling was to become a full-time pastor.

Fast forward. In the following year mygirlfriend and I, who went to high school together and were now atIndiana Wesleyan University together, prayed and talked about ourfuture and decided that it was time to get married even though wewere still in college. As any married person knows, with marriagecomes a barrage of responsibility. I only had 1 semester left ofclasses, but my young wife had at least 3 semesters left if not more.God greatly blessed us and provided a full-time job for me at theuniversity in the admissions office.

Over the next four years many thingstranspired in our lives. I loved my work, spreading the name ofIndiana Wesleyan University. I saw this as my area of ministrybecause of the great impact attending IWU had on my personalspiritual journey. I saw it as my current calling to help prospectivestudents understand how God could work in their lives throughattending IWU. During these years even more amazing things happenedon the family side of life. The Lord blessed my wife and I first witha son, and then just under 2 years later with the gift of twin girls.At four years of marriage my life was drastically different than theday we said “I do,” and I began to feel a yearning I didn't knowwhat do about.

I took this yearning as a sign that Iwas supposed to do something different, something bigger than workingat the university. Over the previous four years I had slowly startedto think less and less about my calling, and thought more and moreabout “providing” for my family. I never really had a desire tobe super-rich, but I wanted to be in a place where my family was (very) comfortable financially. Several other factors contributed to mythoughts, but in the end I decided that I was going to look“corporately.” Not corporate as in a large group of people, butcorporate as in “I need to work for a big company so I can makebetter money.” Don'tget me wrong, I realized that I could be a light for Christ whereverI ended up working. I believe this is completely possible, but in retrospect, Ithink I used it more as a rationalization. I don't think God wasnecessarily calling me towards the corporate missionary lifestyle.

InOctober of 2010 this prompted me to move my family 500+ miles back toMaryland (where my parents live) to start as a Financial Advisor withEdward Jones Investments. I worked very hard over the next 10 monthsto make this job work. I studied and got the needed licenses, Iprospected clients, I made calls, and I was doing well. But somethingseemed missing and out of place. In July of 2011 I got to the pointwhere I was sure that I was not supposed to be an Advisor with EdwardJones. But my wife and I had no clue where God was leading us. Icontinued to work hard, but began to look at other areas for possiblejobs.

Inalmost an instant I received a lead from my in-laws who were nowliving in Mishawaka, Indiana that led to a job. I took a position atKorhorn Financial Group as a Client Services Specialist and was puton the track to become a Certified Financial Planner. The acceptanceof this position called for the need to move my family another 500+miles back to Indiana less than one year after we had moved away.

Itstarted happening a few weeks after I started working for KorhornFinancial. I started hearing a whisper. It wasn't a literal whisperin my ear, but more of a yearning or pulling on my heart. I began tohave feelings that I had not felt for many years. This yearning grewand grew until late one night it hit me, I had forsaken my calling. Ihad turned my back on what God had called me to do with my life. Icame to the startling realization that I would much rather providefor my wife and kids an abundance of love, joy, and peace than anabundance of possessions or wants. It took me over 5 years, but Ifinally realized that God had never stopped calling me into full-timeministry. I had simply turned and started walking and sometimesrunning in the other direction.

Aweek after coming to this realization and talking it throughthoroughly with my wife, I decided to tell the folks at KorhornFianancial that, although I was willing to continue working for now, I would not be there long-term and that God hadcalled me into ministry. While they were very supportive about mycall, they decided that they wanted to get somebody into my positionwho would be there long-term. This decision brought about the realitythat I would only be working there another week. My last day atKorhorn was November 3^rd.

WhileRachel and I were both surprised at this sudden change in thinking,we both felt confident that telling the company the change in ourperspective was the right and ethical thing to do. In the followingdays I came to the realization that I was a young father of 3 withouta job! God certainly works in strange and mysterious ways. Because ofour sudden move to Indiana, we had moved in with Rachel's parents untilwe could find a place of our own. In short, there has been no othertime in our adult lives where it was more feasible for me to lose myfull-time job. God has richly blessed us with an amazing family, andwe are very thankful to Mom and Dad Potteiger for their blessings oflove and a roof over our heads!

In1 week (answer to prayer!) I was able to find a part-time job working at Panera Breadwhile we do our best to discern God's direction for our lives. I havebeen working there for several weeks now, and I truly enjoy it. Thisis my first job where I leave work and I don't really have to thinkabout it until I go back. This aspect is actually quite relaxing.

Idon't know what the future holds for my family. I don't know when,if, or how long it will take me to find a full-time position as apastor. But I do know that God has called me into full-time ministry.I do know that I will not turn my back this time, and I will open myheart to wherever He leads. I'm more excited and scared about thefuture than I have ever been in my adult life. It is this excitementthat encourages me to write this today. Thank you for yourtime and for listening. We simply ask that you walk beside us andhelp us pray through this time of transition and discovery. May theLord bless you and hold you close.

---SimonC. Henry

Tears of a Father

2011-11-09T12:04:00.000-05:00

RonSwanson once said, “Ihave cried twice in my life. Once when I was seven and I was hit by aschool bus. And then again when I heard that Li'l Sebastian hadpassed.”

Infilm as in life, no matter how many times we tell our sons thatcrying is ok, the message still finds it's way to their psyche thatcrying is a sign of weakness. And showing weakness is entrencheddeeper within that psyche as an occurrence that is irreversible. Whendid it become a symbol of manhood to deny the release of tears?

Courageous:

RecentlyRachel and I had the chance to go and see the new Sherwood Picturesfilm Courageous.In going to see this movie I did not expect their to be Oscar worthyacting or Hollywood explosions, but I did expect a very positive andChristian based message. I will say that I definitely got what Iexpected, but that is not the only nugget I took away from thetheater that night. I came to a moving realization as I sat next tomy wife and an older man whom I had never met, in that dark theater.If you have seen the movie you will remember the scenes I am going toreference. If you have not seen it, sorry if I spoil parts of it foryou.

Mymoving realization occurred about halfway through the movie and itwas prompted by the stranger sitting to my right. During a veryemotional scene when the family is dealing with the aftermath oflosing a 9 year old girl in a car accident this realization occurred.During this highly emotional scene I could not hold back my tears. Iwas crying, but it was a controlled, tears slowly rolling down my facetype of cry. This was not a part of my realization. The realizationcame to me as this stranger to my right, who was probably in hisearly 60's, sat next to me and was practically sobbing. It seemed as if hewas doing everything possible to refrain himself from bellowing outan all out wail. This semi-wail began to subside and over a few minutes began to slowly fade intoa gentle whimper. As I sat next to this stranger it came to me what type ofcry I was hearing and what tears I was seeing. These were the criesand tears of a father. A father of many years with many hours anddays invested into the lives of his children and probablygrandchildren. My moving realization is that there is no mistakingthe cry of a father.

Ihave vividly seen this cry in several firsthand situations. The mostmoving experience in which I have encountered the cry of a fathercame a few weeks ago from my own father. In this occurrence Isaw not only the cry of a father, but the cry of a grandfather. Asthose reading this probably already know, my family and had beenliving close to my family for the past year. In the middle of AugustI took a job that would move my family over 500 miles away. Myparents knew that we were following the direction we thought God wasleading, but that doesn't take away the hurt that still encompassesyour grandchildren moving away.

Veryfew times in my life have I seen my dad cry. I have never viewed himas unemotional or distant, there have simply not been many instancesin our lives together where he has felt the need. He has been a greatexample to me through the years, and I highly respect and admire theway he has conducted himself as a father and grandfather.

Onthe morning we were leaving to move back to Indiana was the time inmy life where I have truly seen the cry of a father in the eyes of myfather. As we were gathering up everything to make the drive, I couldsee that he was getting emotional. I expected this from my mom, butwas somewhat taken back when I saw the tears rolling down my dad'scheeks. He kept it pretty controlled until he picked up my son to saygoodbye. Christian gave him a hug and kiss, and at that point Iwasn't sure if my dad was going to let go. The tears broke out instrong streams and my dad did his best to control the shaking thathis body wanted to release. In reaction to this display of emotion, Istarted to tear up myself. But I made sure to quickly distract myselfas I saw that Christian was getting a little scared and confused bythe situation. On the drive to Indiana that day Christian asked me onseveral different occasions, “Why was Pappy crying.” This gave methe opportunity, honor, and privilege to tell him that Pappy wascrying because he loved him so much and was going to miss him.

Iwant to take this time to say 2 things to my dad: 1. I'm sorry that Ihad to make you go through that. I'm sorry that you had a glimpse ofliving close to all of your grandchildren and then we took that away.2. Thank you for showing me your care and love. Thank you for lovingmy children as much as I do. Thank you for desiring to be a lastinginfluence on their lives. I know they love you deeply, and I am sothankful they get to call YOUPappy!**

Learningto be a father:

Overthe past 3+ years of my personal journey into fatherhood I haveslowly realized that as I watch movies, read books, and hear storiesmy own propensity to dispense tears has become much more relaxed. Itno longer takes a story of an extreme, emotional journey of a boyachieving his dream of becoming a professional baseball player tobring tears to my eyes. It simply takes one short scene, paragraph,or moment of a father losing a child for the tears to roll. Here aresome clips or scenes that would notallow me to hold back the tears:

(In Field of Dreams Kevin Costner plays Ray Kinsella, a man who never had closure with his father. He builds a baseball field in his corn field that magically allows past players to appear and play baseball again. Through these events, Ray finally gets to play catch with his dad. This one gets me every time!)

(InThe Pursuit of Happyness, Will Smith is playing Chris Gardner. He's afather that is doing everything he can to provide for his son andgive him a better life than he ever had as a child. In thisparticular scene, they have no place to sleep and must spend thenight in a subway bathroom.)

Our Father in Heaven:

AsI have slowly started to understand these emotions that come frombeing a father and this cry that can only come from a father, it hashelped me understand so much better the love that our heavenly Fatherhas for His children. But it doesn't only help me understand Hislove, it also helps me understand His pain. How many young parentsthink to themselves, “I am so sorry for what I put my parentsthrough. If I had known that they felt for me what I now feel for mychildren, I would have never taken their advice for granted. I wouldhave better understood that they were looking out for me becausethey loved me so much.” How many times has God looked down at thechildren He loves and let out the cry of a father? How many times hasHe yearned for us to crawl back to Him, yet had to let us go and makeour own mistakes as every parent must one day endure? How many timeshas He seen young fathers failing to provide the love and leadershipthat their children need? How many times has He wanted to hold us close and tell us it will be alright, but we turn and run the other direction towards our own indiscretions?

Atthis point in life, there is nothing that makes me more emotionalthan seeing the ineptitude of so many fathers today. With that saidto borrow some of the words of the movie Courageous:

"Whereare you men of courage?" Where are you when you should be playing withyour sons and drawing pictures with your daughters? Why are youfailing in the most important role you will every play? Why are younot leading your families and showing them the example God hascreated you to show?

Maywe as fathers have soft hearts. May we be strong and courageous whenneeded, and may we be calm and tender when called upon. May we be anexample of love and discipline to our children and lead our familiesas God has designed. As we go through the trials and tribulations ofraising children, may we never forget the love that our heavenlyFather feels for us. May we never to be too worn or calloused toallow our children to see one of the most touching displays ofemotion that God has created, the cry of a father.

**Itshould be noted that my mom is an outstanding grandmother! I'm notreferencing her emotions at this time because this article is titled“Tears of a father.” If it was “Tears of a parent” it wouldbe a different story. Mom, thanks for being a great mom/mammaw! I'msure sometime in the near future I will write something aboutmothers.

Welcome Malachi

2011-10-30T15:32:00.000-04:00

I have one sister.
She had her first baby.
His name is Malachi.
He was born on his due date, October 28th.

Oh he looks like his mother :)

Welcome to the world, little man.

Seasonal Decorating

2011-10-29T16:23:00.002-04:00

I'm feeling rather blunt today, and wordy.

It seems that the more blogs I read (and there are an endless amount available, and increasing daily), the more perplexed I get about seasonal decorating. Posts usually written by stay-at-home moms who talk about how busy and crazy their lives are, how they do such-and-such to get it all done, and oh yeah, here is a picture of my mantel...in every season, AND Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, July 4th, Columbus Day (really?), Autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Are they really too busy? I'm being a little extreme (just a little), and I do realize that these women are scouring them homes looking for ideas of what to write their next blog post about.

Side Note:
I'm also dying to know where all these crafty ladies store all the items they are constantly making. Do they have 2nd homes where they put it all? Take Centsational Girl, for example. I am in awe of her decorating style, she has some mad skills! But take a look at this (gorgeous) room:

Source

Isn't it amazing!? But look closer, I think the only things that aren't Christmas decorations are the furniture, table, rug, mirror, and obviously the fireplace (she probably also reuses the glass vases on the mantel for other seasons). All that other stuff: where's it go the other 11 months of the year? Then multiply that times the other seasonal decor she switches out in this same spot. I'm sure she has a system, like I said, she has mad skills.

End side note.

Before I go too far, I should define "seasonal decorating" in my terms. Seasonal decorating would include changes to decor in and out of your home at nearly every opportunity. This would include porch redo's, any blow-up yard ornaments, new paper garlands strewn around the home each month, etc. This would not include bringing flowers from outside and putting them in a vase on your table during spring, setting pumpkins or gourds on your front porch in the fall, using pink napkins on Valentine's Day, etc. Neither list is exhaustive by any means, but the blog world also does not need to see every little seasonal change either.

Now, my only exception to seasonal decorating that I like and will do is Christmas, within limits. Things can be tacky. Very tacky...

Source

I'm a fan of simple and timeless Christmas decor. Things from nature. White lights.

Source

Moving on.

This has led me to the conclusion that I am generally not a fan of seasonal decorating. Why?
1- It costs money. You buy things to decorate your house, then you need to buy bins to store them in. In our situation in life (and maybe yours), we are looking for ways to save every last penny and apply it to loans, retirement, kid's college, and vacation. If you are in a similar stage of life, consider cutting back on your seasonal decorating.
2- It takes up space...visually and when you store them. If you remember a while back I shared the blog Becoming Minimalist with you. From my own experience of moving several times and having to get rid of accumulated possessions, I'm a huge fan of clearing out the spaces in our lives, seen and unseen.
3- Your tastes change from one year to the next, and something you spent money on last year may not be your style this year. You'll either throw it back in your storage closet (taking up more space), or donate it.
4- Does it really affect your overall happiness? In trying to think of why people decorate at every season, the only 2 reasons I can come up with are that 1). it may make them happier when they see them, and 2). it allows them to have a creative outlet. For all the crafters out there, it gives us things to make to get our "crafties" out, right? I can understand the 2nd reason and I do think it is valid, although I don't know if it refers to the majority of people out there.
I truly believe your (and my) crafting abilities can be applied to items and areas in our lives that will serve more function. I'm huge on function. But that's another post.

Now recently, my biggest peeve is Halloween. Aaaghh. I don't know who decided that putting cob webs, ghosts, spiders, freaky things, etc. etc. was tasteful. I found one quirky article about decorating for Halloween. I thought something they said was interesting and gave some insight into where these sort of decorations originated,

"It’s really hard to overdo Halloween – one could argue that the more decorations you have, the more protection from evil spirits or tricksters – on All Hallows Eve."

Article and Source

Not to mention, when you have a young child, you are constantly trying to avert their eyes from the scary images while driving down the street or going to Walmart or Lowe's (Christian is now afraid of the "tool store where the scary men are").

I would be happy with the following:

This entire post has ideas for fall decorating that are right up my alley.
(and where can I get GREEN pumpkins??!)

Maybe I've said too much. I definitely don't mean to offend anyone, and many seasonal decorating ideas are very pretty, just not my thing I guess. And I suppose some people may enjoy being full-on tacky! So if you have the time, money, and space, by all means, decorate away! And who knows, maybe I'm just in a phase. (If I change my mind, I'll let you know). But if you feel like the pressure of changing your decor every month (or more!) is wearing on you, it's okay to let it go... one at a time even, and free up some time and money.

I don't even know what is happening here! Source

I'm curious to know some of your thoughts. :)

Happy Decorating!

"Guest" Post: Irrational Fear

2011-10-19T15:09:00.000-04:00

My sweet husband wanted to write a post to share some of his recent spiritual thoughts.

(lest we forget he did get a degree in Christian Ministries)

Theother day, Rachel and I took her parents and our kids out for dinnerto Red Robin. To most of you, Red Robin is famous for greatsandwiches and “bottomless” fries. It used to be famous for thatto me as well, but not anymore. Today Red Robin is famous to mebecause it withdrew a manifestation of irrational fear out of my 3year old son, Christian.

Tobe fair, the little guy has gone through a lot in the past year and ahalf. A year and a half ago he was an only child, now he’s 1 of 3.A year ago he was living in Marion, Indiana. Since then he moved 500miles to Maryland to live for about 11 months, and then moved another500 miles back to Indiana just a few short weeks ago. In the midst ofall this change, he has met new people, made new friends, and now has to start over and make even more new friends. To saythe least, he has been going through many changes that can greatlyaffect the psyche of a young, impressionable boy such as himself.

“TheIncident”

Whilesitting in our oversized booth, some Red Robin associates werepreparing the area adjacent to us for a birthday party abounding withcupcakes and helium-filled balloons. While these associates wereorganizing the area, a balloon became loose and proceeded to “pop”as it hit a warm light in the ceiling. As with any balloon popping,it was initially a little startling. Christian was somewhat concernedthat the balloon had popped and asked me, "But why did it pop?”

Mistake#1, I told Christian what happened. Now this wouldn’t seem like amistake to most, and it didn’t seem like one to me….at the time.Cue the irrational fear: as the meal progressed balloons continued torandomly get loose and float to the ceiling. The moment a balloon hit the ceiling, Christian would letout a shriek. I'mnot talking about a little "I'm scared mommy please hold me"type of cry. This was an uncontrollable "there's no way you cancomfort me right now" type of cry. It was a scream. There’sno other way to put it, he had rapidly become extremely fearful ofballoons popping on the ceiling.Nomatter how much I tried to reason with this 3 year old and take himoutside for moments of calm away from the deathly balloons, the fearwas not subsiding. His brilliant mother finally decided to make him switch sides of thebooth where any balloons were barely visible. I probably should havejust let her handle it from the start.

Inthe ensuing days, I began to notice that Christian, and all childrenI presume, tend to have many irrational fears that can come and go asquickly as beautiful weather in Northwest Indiana. Some days hemight be afraid of the lamp at the top of the stairs. Some days hissisters, Selah and Jadah, might be scaredto death oftheir Pappy Henry with his shirt off. (This has happened on multipleoccasions.) Some days Christian might be bashful to sing at Awana’s,while other days he will belt it out at the top of his lungs.Whatever the fears may be, they are usually somewhat fleeting andmany times totally irrational.

Furtherintrospection brought to light an interesting point. As Christians,we tend to give in to irrational fears much like my son did thatnight at Red Robin. We hang Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13 inour homes, but do we ever stop and realize the meanings of thoseverses in our lives? If we truly believe that “God has plans toprosper and not harm us” and we can “do all things through Christthat strengthens us,” then why do we still have fear?

Whyare we scared when we lose a job or don't like a job? Why are wescared when our house won't sell and we desperately need to sell it?Why are we scared when we don't know God's plan for our entire livesat this moment in time? Why are we scared when our children, youngerand older ones, make mistakes? Why are we scared about anything, thatwhen it comes down to it, is outside of our control?

I'lltell you why, it's because we're human! All of these “adult”fears make perfect sense and should be concerns. But time and again Ihave seen people lose sleep and practically create panic attacks overissues they really have no control over. As the old adage goes, “Youhave to let go and let God.” I know this is MUCH easier said thandone. But imagine what life would be like if you could simply let goof all of your fears and doubts and trust completely that God hasthings under control! There are a vast number of references in theBible of God promising to take care of us. Not even a sparrow fallswithout Him knowing. He knows the number of hairs on your head, don'tyou think He knows your fears and doubts? And better than all ofthat, He knows your hopes and dreams.

Withthat said, may you go with God. May you not worry and not fear thetroubles of this world. May you walk with confidence and assurancethrough the scary streets of your personal memoir. May you see theballoons of life floating toward the hot lights in the ceiling andsay. “I know you might pop, but I'm not going to be scaredanymore.” May you always know that God doeshave a plan for you and you cando all things through Christ who gives you strength.

Ruffled Lampshade

2011-10-09T17:14:00.002-04:00

Time to start sharing the details of the family room I showed you a few weeks (months?) ago. Let's start with the fabric ruffled lampshade that I saw first on Crafty Texas Girl (via Centsational Girl), this is hers:

I had some major lampshade issues in this room. I was planning on using a little yellow lamp from Goodwill, but no shade seemed to look right.

Yikes. It's like a bad day in the dressing room.
I ended up choosing the top left shade for the ruffle project because I thought that once I added the ruffle, it would be the right proportions to the lamp.
I started by tracing my lampshade to create a template, then used the template to cut my fabric to cover the white shade. I really really like the fabric, and wanted to use it even though I figured it wouldn't let much (or any) light through it.

Once I got to the bottom, I didn't like the way you could see the seam of the ruffle, so I glued it to itself to make a cleaner look...

I ended up doing that to the top and bottom to keep the ruffles together. I put it on my lamp, and still didn't like the way it looked. I decided it must be the lamp base, so I used a different lamp I had and liked it 100% better. I don't have a great "after" picture (just like I didn't have "after" pictures of the whole room), but you can get the idea from these pictures...

Ruffle Shmuffle, fun project! And since the edges of the ruffles are unfinished, I occasionally have to give it haircuts to remove the extra threads, but hey, who doesn't need a little haircut every now and then? Give this one a try!--- it adds a nice feminine touch to a room without being girly. I wonder how it would look to use all sorts of different fabric ruffles, varying colors and patterns? Could be very cool! Again, you can get the full directions here.

Hope you're enjoying this Indian Summer as much as I have been. Have a great night!

Fabric-Backed Bookshelf

2011-10-01T06:30:00.000-04:00

Happy October! Let's start out with a nice crafty project...something fun (and overdue!).

Remember back when I make the children's nook at my parent's house? I applied fabric to the back of the bookshelf. It was pretty simple, you could totally do it.

1- buy some spray adhesive at Lowes.

2- measure the size of each panel on the bookshelf. Even if they look the same, each one may be slightly different, so you have to measure each one. Or if you are doing a bookshelf that has adjustable shelves, you can just take them all out and line the entire back (do consider the thickness of your fabric, you want to make sure the shelf will still fit in with the fabric behind it).
3- cut your fabric.
4- after laying your bookshelf on it's back, spray the back of your fabric.

5- carefully line up the fabric and apply it to the panel, smoothing it with your hands (starting at the middle and pressing outwards).

*It might not be perfect, and I'm no perfectionist. My fabric edges were raw and uneven, but that's not the important part. Most of it will be covered up with books and knick-knacks anyway.

6- Stand it up and put it to use!

Let me know if you decide to give it a try, I'd love to see how it turns out!

Dear Selah & Jadah

2011-09-25T22:36:00.000-04:00

You're my girls.

There isn't much point in writing two separate notes to each of you, you practically do everything together. I think I've passed a turning point: I now like having twins, genuinely! I can't decide if I like it enough to want another set, but I am definitely seeing the benefits of raising two babies who do everything at the same time.

Oh where do I begin?
We've just moved to Indiana, the place of your birth, so you're hoosiers at heart. Just like your brother, I loved seeing your excitement grow every time we saw your Pappy and Mammaw Henry. It was very special to live close to them for that part of your lives, even though you won't remember it. And now you get the chance to grow in relationship with Pappaw and Grandma Potteiger, and I can already see your faces light up when they walk in the room. You did great on the drive to Indiana (it was just me and you two for the long drive). You took turns taking naps, looked at books and ate snacks that I tried handing back to you while driving. It was swell.
I love to watch you two play together (especially when your brother isn't around to bug you)(but sometimes he's really sweet and I like to watch that too). You both love to look at books, especially the kind with flaps to lift.

Selah,
You are sweet, and stubborn. You give us these looks where your face is down, but your eyes are looking up at us, and you just stare. You have gorgeous blue eyes and dark eyelashes, and since your hair is longer, you always wear a clip to hold your bangs back. You are more content to play on your own, and you don't seem to cuddle as much as your sister (although you do love a nice long hug). You still have the mole on your right arm that is our final backup in case we ever forget which girl you are.

Both of you still have your leg chubs...

Dirty puddle bottom and leg chubs

Jadah,
My little flirty daredevil, you may someday be my first child to break a bone. You like to try dangerous things. As far as the flirty part, you also have a "look." You act shy and turn your body away, but you look back with your face and flutter your eyelashes. You still have your dimple, and you laugh easily. When meeting new people, you warm up to them pretty quickly. You pooped in the bathtub this morning. I think you will be funny and can't wait for you to start talking.

...where I find Jadah at the park

I love you both dearly, and you love each other dearly. Every night before bed we sing a song, pray, and then I tell you to give each other hugs, kisses, and say "nite nite." You both love it, and it is funny to watch the different variations of hugs you come up with.

Glad I have both of you, can't imagine one of you without the other!
I love you,
Mommy

Dear Christian

2011-09-24T00:06:00.000-04:00

You're my boy.

You are growing fast, and life has changed so much recently.

You were in your first wedding! The rehearsal was rough and you were extremely embarrassed. But on the day of the wedding, you were excited and pulled through (although I couldn't actually see you walking down the aisle, and I heard reports that you were holding the pillow in front of your face!?). You were the cutest boy ever. (I made your bow-tie! It was fun. And for the readers, I followed the tutorial here).

You were fun to watch during this process of moving. You were very excited to "go live at Grandma's house in Indiana." I was sad at the same time. It had been wonderful seeing you grow in relationship with Pappy and Mammaw Henry over the last year, as well as learning what cousins are, of whom you are extremely possessive ("my cousins"). I know you probably won't remember ever living in Maryland, Indiana is going to be your home state.
The morning we moved, daddy promised to give you a new basketball game if you were good for the drive. We decided to let you ride in the moving truck with dad, you were sooo excited. All during breakfast you were talking about "riding in the big truck because we're moving to Indiana to live at grandma's house, and if I'm good, I get my new basketball game." Pappy Henry gave you one of his special toy motorcycles that had been sitting on his windowsill (where you always went to find them), a very special little gift. Dad said you played with it a lot during the drive to Indiana. Seeing you up there in the great big truck made me smile every time I caught a glimpse (and I'm so mad I forgot to take a picture!). Watching kids' movies kept you occupied most of the drive, and yes, you got your new basketball game.

You have now been promoted to a queen size bed, all to yourself. You sleep right in the middle with your little doggy "Fruff Fruff."

At grandma's house there is a coloring book of Disney princesses, leftover from your aunt Ericka and myself, the little mermaid is on the cover. As we sat at the table, you were just looking at her, and you asked "Where is her bottom? How does she go to the bathroom?" How is it that in all my years, I have never pondered how the little mermaid empties her bladder, and you're only 3 and you think of these things?

You've known what a fire hydrant is for a while, but I tried to explain it further to you on a walk yesterday. After my explanation, you were telling me your version, and I realized you think that fire comes out of the fire hydrant. I guess the term water hydrant would seem more appropriate. Makes much more sense.

You have also started Awana's, a weekly event where you go to play organized games and learn Bible verses. You were quite excited to go to "hawana's" and get your special vest. You did a great job on the first night, and the verses you will be learning are way simpler than the ones you already know (I know you know them, even though you act like you don't most of the time).

Your current favorite songs include Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, Jesus Loves Me (of course, it's a classic), Zaccheus Was a Wee Little Man, and Only A Boy Named David (David and Goliath is your favorite story, you are quite taken with giants).

I wanted to note these few things, because they make me smile, and I want to remember them again later. But don't get a big head: you have your fair share of whiney attitudes and disobedience, I keep doing my part and praying for God to work in your heart.

For the record, you are 3 years old, you are 3 feet all, and you weigh 30 pounds.

Love you so much.

Mommy.

Moving

2011-09-17T14:11:00.003-04:00

We're getting pretty good at it, you know.

This time around involved getting rid of a lot more stuff, some of which we had just moved less than a year ago. I realized I like getting rid of things. I like it a LOT. Some of you inquired about the items, thanks for looking and buying!

I have been a negligent parent/blogger recently, and seem to forget my camera all the time. In one aspect, its nice to not have to carry it around, but then the day is done and I don't have anything to show for it. The following pictures are taken with my cell phone (which doesn't take great pictures), as my meager attempt to share what in the world has been happening.

Our last weekend home included a wedding which Simon and Christian were in. We were simultaneously attending a family weekend at a local campground.

Christian as the "official" ring bearer, he did super!

I couldn't think of a better way to spend our last weekend in Maryland, surrounded by family and friends, watching our kids make memories with cousins, and sending well-wishes to our newlywed friends, Pete and Sara. It was a whirlwind of a weekend, and Monday morning came charging through the door: time to load up!

This was my view for the 10 hour drive.

The move went as well as it could have. Everything fit in the truck (much thanks to Dad Henry and Isaac), the house got cleaned, the last night at Simon's parents was restful, the drive was long but surprisingly peaceful, unloading was quick thanks to the help of my parent's church friends, and the kids have loved every moment of living at their grandparent's house.

Alas, we are settled into my parents cozy basement and the kids have their rooms upstairs. I think it will work just fine. I get to use a lovely little kitchen (which isn't even quite finished yet, will be great when it is!). Simon is enjoying his new job. Over the next few months we will start looking for a home to buy. And life goes on. Thanks to each of you who said a prayer for us in this transition, we feel loved and supported by so many, we don't deserve it, but we are thankful.

Blessings!

Small Bathroom Towel Rod Idea

2011-09-16T09:38:00.000-04:00

Today I am thrilled to have my sister writing a post while I am busy moving my family. Ericka keeps her own family blog called "Life in General and Specific" where she waxes eloquently about life's happenings. I even learned something from this post....never knew where my sister's fear of someone hiding in the shower came from! (Also, forgive the strange formatting with the pictures, the new blogger layout is throwing some curve balls...won't let me move them!). Enjoy!

***

Recently, Rachel, her children, and our mother came out to visit my husband and myself (after much begging on my part). And the whole visit was wonderful (minus me being exhausted from pregnancy hormones and overwhelmed that my house may soon be just as active, loud, and busy as my sister's)! In the last few seconds before they left back to Indiana, Rachel snapped the following pictures of my bathroom and asked me where this stroke of genius came from. She wanted to share with you, her readers. So, here goes.

We currently have three shower rods hanging in our bathroom. While I probably would have never gone out to purchase three shower rods for one shower, we recently moved from an apartment that had two showers to a house with only one. Our new rental also came with a shower rod. This left me with three shower rods. Overkill, I thought. But I also had a problem- our new bathroom had only one towel rack, and it was tiny. There had to be a solution somewhere here. The pictures are rather self explanatory. I wanted to use one of my extra shower rods as a towel rack. But if you hang it outside the curtain, it's ugly in the bathroom. And if you hang it inside the shower curtain, the towels will get wet. Aha! I had TWO extra shower rods. Which meant I could hang the shower liner on one rack, the towels on the next (in the middle), and the pretty shower curtain on the very outside. Close the pretty shower curtain and the extra towel rack disappears! I find it rather difficult to explain clearly and succinctly, so I'm hoping the old adage, "A picture is worth a thousand words," to be true.

To be honest, we rarely close the outside shower curtain. (But that is mostly from my childhood fear that someone is behind the shower curtain- likely due to seeing a clip from the movie Psycho in an IMAX theater when I was on an elementary field trip...). However, if you don't have scars from old thriller movies, have limited towel space and don't want to install a new rod, and like to keep a tidy looking bathroom, this a perfect solution. Either way, writing this post and sharing my childhood fears with you has indeed being fun and freeing. Also, I totally would have folded my towels more nicely if I had known my sister was going to take pictures and post it for all you avid readers. My bad.

Good luck!

Family Room Reveal

2011-08-26T15:00:00.003-04:00

The kids are napping. I am wandering around the house wondering what to pack next. I think I'll write a blog post instead. Yes, that sounds nice.

I'm finally going to show you what happened in our family room. I painted it way back in April, and was trying to get it done all summer. There was still one more fun idea I wanted to do, but it will have to wait for the next house. When we moved in the room looked like this...

Yes, a lovely basket of apple border....oh wait, make that TWO layers of different apple borders on top of each other. But I finally got them off...

And then I started doing something like this...

And then you pour some paint and this happens...

And you thank the Lord OUT LOUD that you remembered to put down plastic drop cloth. Yikes.

All in all, it turned out something like this...

I now realize I don't even have pictures of the entire room because I never took my "final" pictures. These snippets will have to do, as the room is now entirely packed away. You can see more pictures of the tv wall in this post about the family art.

So there isn't anything too special about this room, but a few little things to share with you in the near future, such as the ruffle lampshade, refinished dresser, and how to steam drapes. I moved that little rocking chair to the other side of the room beside the tv (the kids kept rocking it INTO the dresser....a big "no-no" after I just finished painting it). We also installed a ceiling fan, because Simon would apparently burn up during the summer without some moving air to keep him cool. He's so hot (oh yes!).

The best part about this room is when these 3 (apparently I can't count, maybe I think of the girls as one unit?) 4 people are in it with me...

Newborn Sleeper from Tshirt

2011-08-17T22:58:00.000-04:00

Thanks to This Mama Makes Stuff, who shared a great tutorial and pattern here on making a newborn sleeper from a large t-shirt! I used up one naptime to make one for our friends who just had their first baby boy, and who also happen to be IWU grads. I was pretty happy with it, and if you are an IWU grad and you have a baby, you'll probably get one in the mail too.

Yes, I know this picture is sideways, but I don't feel like taking the time to change it. You get the general idea.

"Never Too Young"

Congrats to Jon, Amy, and Carter!

Indiana, again?

2011-08-15T22:25:00.001-04:00

In attempt to help you use your imagination, I'm not putting any pictures on this post. Words. Just words. Take that, blogosphere.

Wow, it's hard to believe that almost a year ago, I wrote this post about moving to Maryland. I'm not gonna lie, parts of this year seemed to take forever (like the winter), but as a whole, it has gone by so fast. I haven't written much about Simon's job in a while because frankly, it wasn't turning out the way we had imagined. What we hoped would be a perfect fit just wasn't fitting. And as time went on, going to work became harder and harder for Simon.
The issues at hand involved the desire to work in an office setting with other people (as opposed to being alone all day except when with clients). If you know Simon, you know he loves to have a good time during the down time, laughing with people and brightening the day. He would also benefit from a set schedule rather than a loosy goosy flex schedule.
After talking with his regional leaders, he was pointed in the direction of looking at the Edward Jones headquarters for a new position. When the job he really wanted fell through (for no apparent reason), we were left with no ideas and were willing to move anywhere.
This is where the story gets crazy. See, my parents go to a financial planning company that they rave about and when they're feeling brave, they joke about Simon working there. When I shared our dead-end job search with them, my mom asked if she could suggest their financial company. Simon went ahead and submitted his resume (on a Friday), and the same day got an email to set up a skype interview on Monday.
I'll spare you the gritty details, but lets sum it up to say that by Friday of the same week, Simon accepted a position with a financial company in South Bend, Indiana!

The company is privately owned, and although they don't advertise themselves as a Christian company, everyone who works there is a believer and faith is integrated into everything they do. They work in an office together and do a lot of things as a team rather than as individuals. I think it will be a perfect fit for Simon.
He'll be continuing to get more licensing and move into more of an advisor role over time.

We know that this job wouldn't have been possible without first moving here and doing what we did and what Simon went through. It's really a God thing. God had been preparing us for several months, and we both felt like a move was coming soon. We would not have guessed it involved going back to Indiana, but we have to admit, we're thrilled about it! Another thing: when I was at my parents a few weeks ago, my mom was telling me that they have felt like there was a reason they needed to get their basement finished... like someone was going to need to live there. She thought it might be a college or exchange student, or maybe my sister and her husband after he finishes chiropractic school. Never in a hundred years would she (or I) have thought it would be us. (If you haven't picked up on it by now, yes, we are going to live in my parent's basement to start).

Simon starts in one week. ONE...as in, August 22nd. I'll be here in Maryland packing and enjoying our last days in Maryland bliss. We'll be moving around the 2nd weekend in September. This entire situation has been surrounded by prayer, and with the timing of this job and how quickly it came about, we trust that God has prepared a place for us.
The downside to moving will be leaving Simon's family. I have really enjoyed getting to know them better (as I had never lived around them since we had been married)... now I feel like they're truly my family too, and leaving comes with sadness. And we'll KEEP making that 8 hour drive!

Indiana, here we come!

Nature Wall Art

2011-08-11T16:09:00.001-04:00

I haven't forgotten to tell you about a few more details!

While in my parent's garage cutting trim, I noticed a bucket of the leftover trim pieces the contractors had left behind. I knew instantly they needed to be used, for what other than wall art?... so I went to work!

I took them outside and used things I found in the backyard as my design.
I started by tracing some leaves, sticks, and rocks, onto some paper, then cutting them out. I taped them onto the blocks and spray painted.
However, I noticed that when I took them off, the spray paint "mist" had gotten underneath the paper, except for where the tape was. So there were very distinct little squares were the tape had been. To help remedy it, I tried applying "mist" to the other white parts without completely spraying the board. It mostly did the trick.

So for another approach, I just laid a branch with nice leaves on the wood and sprayed it. The one with green/white leaves was done this way, and I LOVE how it turned out. For the other green one with "globs" on it (those were the rock shapes), I thought it needed more, so I laid some sticks on it and sprayed over the whole thing.

My favorite is, of course, the center one. I got lucky and found the most lovely piece of driftwood in the stream. I thought I would have to screw it onto the board from behind, but using 2 nails works sufficiently and that baby ain't goin' no where (excuse my grammar).

To finish them off, I attached picture hangers to the back...

Hang them however makes ya happy, and you're done! I'm excited to try this in other capacities and use more varied materials. Get your brain wheels goin'... you can think of anything! Do it do it. :)

gDiapers For Sale

2011-08-08T15:56:00.001-04:00

I used cloth diapers all the time for Christian, but have not been as faithful at using them for the twins. In fact, I haven't used them since March, and I don't even know why, I just got out of the habit. So I have these wonderful cloth diapers sitting around, and I'm offering them to you or someone you know!

All diapers are used, but only for a few months. They are clean too!

gDiapers for sale: originally $15-18. I am selling for $10 each. If you buy 6, I'll give them to you for $9 each. I have 12, 6 of each color.
Size MEDIUM (13-28 pounds).
I'll ship them for a flat rate of $5 (or hand deliver if you're close enough!).

2 colors: orange blossom and creamsicle
(aka: orange and cream)

Just look at these chunky monkeys!

Notes:
-Since they are used, you can expect minor wear and tear. One or two of the liners that have yellowed slightly, and one of the snap "ribbons" is fraying slightly at the end. Neither of these things affect the use, and if you use them, you'll add your own wear and tear.
-These are just the diaper covers. You still need to purchase the cloth insert, found here, or use regular prefolds.

Thanks for considering, and I'd appreciate if you'd pass this information along to someone you know who may be interested in cloth diapers! And also so you know, I have 2 garage sales coming up and I'm planning on trying to sell them there as well. Or to anyone else I might meet on the street. Or the grocery store. You get the point. So if you're interested, act fast!
Thanks so much!

DIY Family Modern Art

2011-08-05T11:31:00.001-04:00

I was so happy for the chance to do a guest post on Lemon Tree Creations! Just in case you didn't get a chance to see it, I'm putting it here too.

If you're a mom (and you probably are) then you know it can be hard to involve your family in your creative endeavors. Sometimes you feel like you're "going it alone" and maybe even feel guilty for ignoring house chores or a screaming baby just to finish that last sewing stitch or paint that last bit of trim. Am I right? This project is a great way to get everyone involved, even your skeptical husband!

What you'll need:
Canvases- any size or shape, as many as you want (we use one per person)
Paint- acrylic craft paint, watercolor, or regular latex house paint
Paint applicator- whatever you want! (brush [duh], sticks, flowers, golf balls!)
Patience- when working with your children (or maybe in your case, husband)

I had 3 canvases I got on sale a long time ago, and wanted to use them in our family room*. My daughters are too young to paint, but my son loves to use watercolors. We decided we'd each paint our own canvas: but what to paint?! To take inspiration from nature, we went with good ol' ROYGBIV. a.k.a: the colors of the rainbow. Each of us were assigned 2 colors, and the end result would put all the colors in the appropriate order.
My son used a brush and watercolors, for simplicity. I had to guide him, like, "paint some more right here." A few times I might have actually moved his arm too. The great thing is, it doesn't matter how messy or crazy it might seem: it ends up looking like high price modern art. If elephants can paint it, so can your toddler.

For my painting I used a tissue pom-pom leftover from my girls' birthday party in March. Using acrylic craft paint, I just blotted paint all over the canvas. The end result wasn't quite as cool as I had hoped, so I went back over it with a paint brush, smacking and spattering white paint to add some more dimension.

My husband was a little bit psyched about his idea. Using a mix of latex and acrylic paint, he dipped golf balls in paint, then putted them across the canvas. He's not normally the crafty/creative type, but you wouldn't know that when it comes to doing these paintings.

Then just hang them on the wall, and you might end up with something like this:

My husband and I did this project a few years ago as well, applying the paint only with objects found in nature. I used a flower, he used a branch. He's really proud of that one too. They turned out like this:

(Also see the 2nd picture in this post to see them hanging in our previous home).

This project is a great way to help each person in your family feel proud of something hanging in your home. And it's not just something they made at school that you framed and hung up, it is REAL art on a REAL canvas. The time spent together making them is also part of the fun memory that you remember each time you see it on your wall.

So get creative! You really can use anything to make these. Maybe have a theme for the whole family: use all sorts of kitchen equipment to apply the paint, or maybe different food items!

Thanks again to Lemon Tree for allowing me to be a guest. Have a terrific day, and thanks for reading!

The Figge

2011-07-30T23:21:00.001-04:00

While on my adventures to the midwest, I took the chance to leave the kids with my mom and sister and spend two entire hours by myself at an art museum. I didn't know to what extent I would enjoy this, but I loved it all! I went to The Figge Museum in Davenport, Iowa.
And get this, its pronounced "figgy." No joke!

I really want to sit in this chair! Image via Figge site.

Some of my favorites exhibits included The Art of Seating (chairs during the last 200 years), a small Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit, and a gallery of works my Virginia Myers (A Time of Malfeasance). Myers' works actually ended up being the most amazing and fun to study. From a distance, the pieces looked like scratchy and distorted figures/faces (like, what in the world is going on?). But up close, the detail of fine line and even doodling to create texture and lighting was astounding and I loved it!
This piece was actually the first one that I realized was so detailed. I wish you could get as close as I could to see what this drawing is truly made up of...

Image Source

Anyway, it's been awhile since I had visited a museum. This may have been the first time I could actually stop and read what I wanted to and feel like I was really learning something, and not just looking at a million pieces of art like a drive-by, or worried I was being a drag to whomever else I was with. I think you should try it sometime (besides, sometimes they're free!...or fairly cheap. I paid $7 for 2 awesome hours of enrichment).
I also loved the drawing room (with paper and mediums provided) where I could sit and draw for a few minutes. Sheesh, when was the last time I just sat down to draw something?!

Here's a quote I found by Virginia Myers:

One of the parts

of education and growing up and maturing,

is to find out who you are

and what are the things that you could do

that will help you to give back

the best that you have.

Thanks to my mom and sister for watching the kids--- I needed an educational field trip!
What are some things you do when you get away by yourself?

Children's Nook

2011-07-26T22:46:00.000-04:00

I hope I made you super curious to see what became of the little hole under the stairs...
(and just to add to your concept of the space, an adult has to bend over to get in. It's small and cozy. A nook).

My parents just finished their basement, and I told her to leave this little nook open so we could make a little storage area for her grandkids toys. It obviously needed a more fun paint color, and she happened to have some left over from her orange laundry room (it was already orange when they moved in, and it's the ONLY room in the house that has color. I guess the previous owner loved doing her laundry).

Anyway, South Bend has this awesome store called the ReStore--- a place where people take old doors, cabinets, lighting, any and everything that might've been taken out of an older home. This was the first place I went, just looking for a small bookshelf or other inspiration. And I found it (inspiration, that is)!
Old stair spindles for $1.50 each. I knew instantly I wanted to slice them in half and stick them on the wall with trim to top it off. THEN I found some awesome dentil trim and even though I didn't have enough for the entire space, I got it. I also bought a bedrest pillow that added some fun color.
TJ Maxx came to the rescue with a perfect rug.
After scouring all the thrift and used furniture stores, I stumbled upon a new antique store (if that's not an oxymoron....). Behold, I found the PERFECT small bookshelf. It was already cream, but I added 2 coats of paint to match the trim in my parent's house.
Picked up some spray paint and got to work!
.
.
.
.
.
are you ready to see it?!??!
.
.
.
.
Ta Da!

And when you peek inside...

The actual toy basket sits just outside the nook...

(That basket was a $6 find at a garage sale drive by the day before I left!

And then a few days later, when looking through a Pottery Barn catalog, my mom saw these:

Score!

Now a few details:
Stair Spindles! I requested the help of my parent's builder and had him use a table saw to slice them in half. I then got to expand my own abilities: using an air compressor and nail gun to nail 'em in place. Oh yes. I like nail guns.
When I bought the spindles, they looked awesomely aged and worn, and the more I looked at them, I knew I wanted to keep them that way. I think my parents were slightly grimacing at the thought of dirty old spindles hanging on their walls, but too bad, designer's call. hee hee.

Trim: I used my favorite Krylon green spray paint for the dentil trim, and capped it with basic trim used in the rest of the house.

Circle Wall Art: a woven piece given to my parents when we visited Africa to see where my dad grew up. My grandparents were missionaries in Zimbabwe, and if I have my story straight, the little old woman who made this lived in a village close to where my grandparents served, and she remembered my grandparents fondly. I doubt that it would have ever been hung anywhere else in the house, but in this space, it's actually fun!
See how I made the Nature Wall Art. You can totally make this too. And also see more about lining the Bookshelf with fabric!

I also spray painted the navy blue wicker basket on the bookshelf, and found that great green "tea" tin at Goodwill.
This was one of those projects that just fell into place. I spent a few hours shopping and just happened to find things that were what I had in mind. I loved it. It was also fun to create without the normal limits and distractions. I think getting out of my house and routine was helpful.

I only finished it the day before we left, so the kids didn't get too much time to use it. But from the short time using it, they seemed to love it.

Thanks, Mom, for letting my ideas go wild! If you miss the kids too badly, you can go sit in here and think of them. But for now, it's all put away and tidy!...

What do you think?

Where You Been?

2011-07-25T20:47:00.000-04:00

Why thank you for asking!
I've spent the last 2 weeks galavanting across the midwest, something like this:
Maryland to Marion, Indiana, to South Bend, Indiana, to Davenport, Iowa, to South Bend, Indiana, to Vermillion, Ohio, and back home again.
This amounted to 30 hours of driving time, 11 of which was just myself + 3 kiddos.
I give full credit to God for how well behaved the children were in the car for all of that. Really--- SO good.
I loved seeing (here we go!) Cindy, Amy, Jace & Will, (and Greg too), Cindy (aka Nina), Mike, Nick, Jason, Katie, Ron, Jill, Evan, Tiffany, Rachel & Anna, Betsy & kids, Beth, Wendy, Keith & Brit, IWU Admissions Staff, Integrity Automotive workers, Mom, Dad, Ericka (and baby!), Josh, Joel, Beth Ann, and finally SIMON!
(eek, hope I didn't miss someone).

Our trip included things like a dead van battery, which needed replaced and in the process of trying to jump it Christian locked the doors and the keys got stuck inside. Most of the strange stories present themselves at the end of my trip when I was driving home with the kids... I think that may just be a post all its' own.

Of course I had a super time catching up with friends. I was especially blessed by the wisdom and insight of several mentor-type friendships. Those are priceless.
Christian and Jace were especially buddy-buddy. I don't think either of them listened to their mamas the entire time they were together.

And getting all 5 of them to sit still in a picture was useless...

Thank you so much to Amy Tonagel for letting me bombard her home. And thanks to her mom for helping me make the drive out there!

I enjoyed every moment spent at my parents house. Confession: I didn't help wash a single dish or do any house cleaning while I was there-----sorry Mom! I was a little bit lazy, and also busy working on a fun design project. Check back in a few days to see what I did with this space:

It was great to watch the girls interact with my parents, as this is the first time they've really been old enough to be really playful.

We visited Notre Dame to see the cathedral. It had to be 200 degrees out.

We also trekked out to Iowa to visit my sister and her husband, who are expecting a baby boy in October! We had fun taking some maternity pictures (I'll share those soon too)(oh, okay, just one, not edited). This is Ericka. She's fun. And a great writer too.

Over the next week I want to share with you
- Children's Nook Design (I think you'll like this!)
- The Figge Art Museum
- Ericka's Maternity Pictures
- Journals of a Crazy Traveling Mama

Check back soon!

Over on Lemon Tree

2011-07-14T07:43:00.000-04:00

I am absolutely thrilled to be a guest blogger at lemon tree creations TODAY! Check it out here to see a fun idea for modern family art. Yay!

"Becoming Minimalist"

2011-07-06T16:26:00.001-04:00

Don't worry, the mower is off.

I just recommended the blog Becoming Minimalist to Simon, asking him to start reading it along with me. I don't know why I waited so long. It is probably one of the most thought-provoking blogs I read, and has honestly changed my view on life over the last few months. I am constantly amazed at how much minimalism and the teachings of Jesus seem to coincide. I'd highly recommend it to you as well: Becoming Minimalist.

PS-- what are your thoughts on having an online garage sale?

Knit Bibs

2011-06-30T11:43:00.000-04:00

Every time my daughters wear these bibs, people give them compliments (and ask if I made them). I wish I had!--- but I do not knit. My lovely friend Katie made them as a gift (umm, yes, the same Katie that brought me granola bars, I aspire to be such a kind and thoughtful person like her)!
She said she made a basic washcloth pattern, but added the 2 longer sections to go around the neck. Then make a button hole and add the button. Since I know nothing about knitting, this sounds difficult to me, but she said it's easy. If you knit, give it a try! They're sure to be a big hit and get many "oohs" and "aawwhs."

Thank you Katie!

Do You Love Granola Bars?

2011-06-29T16:16:00.000-04:00

Then you will want to make these. From Smitten Kitchen. LOVE.

This is picture from the Smitten's site, but mine look the same... so why bother taking my own picture?

I made a batch this morning. There are 2-3 cups of "whatever you want" ingredients (you can make them as healthy or junky as you want). This was my combination today:
2/3 cup sliced almonds
2/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 cup each of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds

I also added some honey while mixing it to make sure they were moist enough. And then I accidentally left them in the oven 10-15 minutes longer than I was supposed to.... still turned out perfectly. I always put them in the fridge to finish cooling so that they are easier to cut. Oh one more ingredient note! It calls for "oat flour"... which you can make by blending oats finely. But I still have leftover baby cereal that I use (any kind works, rice cereal, oatmeal, whole wheat, whatever).

Thanks to Katie Rudy for bringing these to me shortly after I had the girls: I thought they were amazing!

Simon really likes it when I have these around so that he can take one for breakfast in the morning. It makes me happy when my husband likes something I make. Sigh.

Give these a try!

Key Fob

2011-06-22T17:04:00.001-04:00

Saw these wrist key chains a few weeks ago on Infarrantly Creative, originally from the Idea Room. Her fabric choice and perfect sewing construction created instant desire to make one for myself. Enter: my so-so fabric choice and far-from-perfect sewing "science" (I guess that's what I'll call it) = a different version that actually turned out quite handy.
I didn't feel like waiting to buy a clip, so I repurposed my current (annoying) key strap. Go Kats!

In hindsight, I should have left more length on the right side of the strap... I didn't leave myself much sewing room. I also chose some really thick fabric, so I didn't add lining. Since my fabric was so thick, I could hardly sew through all of it to attach it to the clip! So I decided to use embroidery thread to secure the attachment. I actually really like it...

Do I just like it because I'm the one who spent all the time sewing it? Who knows. Either way, it is MUCH more functional than that freakishly long IWU string that always tickled my leg while driving. It's also the perfect size to throw around my wrist, or just let it hang out of my purse pocket (easy to grab before getting into the car...ehh, van).
So I highly recommend them. To everyone. And if you don't want to make one, hire me to do it so I can get more practice. Thinner fabric would offer the look of the original one that I linked above.
Well there you have it. Happy Wednesday!

Baseball Party

2011-06-08T23:29:00.000-04:00

Christian turned 3! I was planning on doing a soccer party, but Daddy Henry won out for baseball (and I'm glad he did!).
In addition to adults, we were only going to have 7 kids at the party (and that's including kids under the age of 2), so it was primarily aimed at pleasing the grown up bunch. I am looking forward to parties that involve a whole slew of kids! Anyway, we did the typical baseball invite, ball park food and decor. It was a lot of work and I started way too late, but it turned out to be a lot of fun! Oh yeah, and I realized the Dollar Tree is totally the place to go if you're throwing a party.

Decorations: Yep, good ol' pinata (before and after)! I was pretty happy with how it turned out. A scoreboard just for fun. Streamers and balloons.

Food! Hotdogs and hamburgers, cracker jacks, watermelon, IBC(!), and Emeril's fresh Strawberry Lemonade (I could drink this all summer!).

Cake and presents (thank you everyone!). Great baseball cake from Mammaw Henry.

Oh yeah, and Christian sang the National Anthem into his lovely red horn.

PLAY BALL! We made our own baseball field. Fun for kids and adults!

(and see that wee-little person in the red shirt at the top right? Yep, that's me. And it's the ONLY proof that I was in attendance at my son's 3rd birthday party. At least he'll know I was playing ball).

And the kids loved playing in the pool and sprinkler...

I thought that Christian would love hitting the pinata. To my surprise, he refused to hit it (this may be a first he's ever refused to hit anything!), and he would not let Simon help him hit it. So it was left to his cousins and the help of adult strength. Once the candy came out, everyone was happy again.

And this little Orioles guy was lovin' life...

Pants to Shorts

2011-05-30T14:42:00.000-04:00

It seems like this must be the oldest trick in the book, but regardless, it was something I thought of that was an "aha" moment to me. Once it got hot out, I realized I only had 1 or 2 shorts total for the twins. That just wasn't going to work. I was planning on going thrifting or to consignment shops, but then I was like Wait! I just put a few pairs of pants into storage bins that are too short for them. Perfect!

So from there, I proceeded to chop off the pants and either leave as is, or add the original hem back on, depending on the fabric. It was also nice to choose the length of the shorts (as some are already designed to be so short, for a ONE year old!).
If you think you'd like to do this, but don't have much sewing experience, I still think you could. As seen below, I cut off the pants, added the original hem back on (pin with raw edges at bottom and right sides together), sew, and you're done. The only caution: if you haven't sewn knits before (like t-shirt material), don't stretch it as you sew! (it makes it stretch and ruffle) I made this mistake on one of the legs and had to redo it.

I only did 3 pairs for now, and the purple one I didn't even hem (especially take note of that if you don't want to sew!).

If you're thinking "I don't know about that"... you could always designate them as play shorts, ready for the wear and tear and tear that summer brings to little bottoms! This would also be good for girl or boy. The same day I made these, I saw this post from Dana at MADE (one of my top 5 blogs for sure!).

The way I see it: 3 free pairs of shorts!

Ironic

2011-05-29T15:42:00.000-04:00

I saw this picture today from another blog, this bliss life.

And I was like, "WHOA!".... because it looks like the (much) better (and more expensive) version of what we did to our last kitchen in the rental:

See the resemblance? Or course, we had to work with the current appliances, cabinets, and very limited funds, but it was much better than when we got there and it looked like this:

nice. :)

Did You Notice?

2011-05-25T14:41:00.000-04:00

This is kind of old news, but I still wanted to point it out. When I showed you the dining room pictures, you may not have taken notice of the gold light fixture...

It was too small for the room, especially with the high ceilings. But the living room had a fancy glass chandelier... seemed a little out of place. Can you see it way down there in the other room?

So we did a swap. Well, my father-in-law did a swap... I just cleaned the dust off in between. I'm not sure how much electrical knowledge you'd need to have to do this, but its probably a good idea to have someone do it who's done it before.

Something else I did in the process was remove the grapevine-etched globes that sat around each candle on the glass chandelier. This made it immensely more appealing, in my opinion.

Now I have this lovely guy in my living room... seems like another project for another day.

Little Christian

2011-05-22T23:31:00.000-04:00

The little man got a haircut about 2 weeks ago. It's getting hot, it was time.

He seems much cooler now (temperature wise).

Also, I had the chance to go garage sale-ing a few weekends ago. Last summer I never really went because of that whole twin thing. So I missed it, and had a lovely morning to myself....and fellow bargain hunters.

Christian needed some dressier clothes for church and such, and I found a lady selling her sons clothes that were just right...and name brand. Her prices weren't awesome, but good enough. I paid $4 for this outfit: (not including shoes):

Oh and did I mention that this kid has a huge personality?

While we were outside the other day after it had rained, he goes, "mommy look, it's a fish!"

I tried to make a "Jonah-in-the-belly" comparison. Not sure if he got it.

Simon left for work a few days ago and called a minute later... there was a turtle on the road. Time for a quick walk! His words were "OH it's so CUTE!"

Fun times with my boy. It's good to see these pictures and be reminded that in the midst of all the hard and trying times, frustration and worry about how he'll turn out, there are many moments of joy that I'd never trade.

Ben & Kirsten Love

2011-05-15T23:39:00.000-04:00

One great part of moving to Maryland is that Simon has been able to refresh his longtime friendship with Ben, and both of us have been able to get to know Kirsten, his fiancee: who today became his WIFE! Congratulations Ben & Kirsten!
Back in October, they asked me to take their engagement pictures, and we had a lovely chilly day out in the park...

Kirsten had a lot of beautiful DIY ideas for the wedding and she enlisted the help of myself and several friends during our Sunday night get-togethers. Several are shown in these pictures:

~ Printed and corner-punched her own programs

~ Ribbon-wand send-offs

~ Lovely Gerbera Flowers!

~ Ribbon tied chairs with, you guessed it, Martha's good ol' tissue pom-poms!

~A cupcake cake (really yummy!)

~ Name cards stuck in cork, which she and our friends cut ourselves, as shown here:

(*note: if you are getting married soon and want to buy her corks, I think she has about 100 corks cut and ready to hold name cards, see them standing in next top-right picture)

~ Matted picture as guestbook

~ Again, cork name card holders

~ "Trial-size" coffee favors

If you have any questions about something, let me know and we can tell you where she got her ideas. It was a beautiful wedding and she was a beautiful bride! Oh yeah, and her mom made all the jewelry for the bride and maids, I loved it.

Simon was a groomsmen, and I was the guest"book" attendant. We stepped out for some pictures after the reception, look, I'm a fairy! Hee hee...

And a little chuckle to end with... this picture was during the maid-of-honor's toast. Do you see Simon at the left side? It looks like he's getting his hair done at a salon. Can you guess what that thing is?

Also, the guy next to Simon is the boyfriend of the girl talking: doesn't he look enthralled? Heh heh.

Look at Simon just one more time. BAH-ha!

Yay for weddings. Blessings!

And one more thing!

2011-05-10T22:47:00.000-04:00

I have to add this, today was just full of funny little things!

I'm so glad Simon was home to witness this also... we were all in the kitchen eating lunch. I was just setting down some yogurt for the girls when I looked at Jadah and noticed her eyes rolling around. Then it happened: the NOD! Again and again, her eyes would do that fade-roll thing, nod, and repeat. Even when we eyes were open, she wasn't responding to any of my movements. I decided to let her fall asleep, because come on, it's just so stinkin' cute when your kid falls asleep while eating!

Selah ate her yogurt, Christian yelled and laughed, Simon went to work, I cleaned up lunch.

And still she slept.

I looked closer, and saw that she still had a piece of fruit in her lips...

(dried apricots in case you were curious)

And 20 minutes later...

...still sleeping.

Sigh.

Yes, I finally woke her up because I didn't want to ruin her nap.

I wish I knew her thoughts as she woke up, but if I had to guess based on her facial expressions, it would be

"I'm so confused, why am I sleeping at the table? Where am I? Mom, what have you done?"

I don't know when the next time will be I get to take pictures of her asleep. Sweet little baby!

Lollipop Lollipop

2011-05-10T22:27:00.000-04:00

Something made me smile today. A quick stop at the bank resulting in 3 lollipops. The sound of 3 happy children smackin' lips over dum-dums. It was enough to bring a chuckle, how cute is a one year old eating a lollipop... times 2? (2 one year olds, not 2 lollipops)(that would be a disaster).

Sometimes you just don't care about the sticky mess spreading over face, clothes, and carseats. And I think that was the happiest drive home we've had in a while.

Christian has discovered lying.

Maybe I should restart my 21 days of prayer for him (which has been over for a while now, sorry I never updated... it was very good to pray for him about things that will matter for eternity).

My kids really like apples.

(and also sitting on tables)

The also like being pushed in a box by Daddy.

Oh...well, maybe not so much?

Here's my two little lollipops...

Makes me smile every time. :)

Blows My Mind

2011-05-05T16:00:00.000-04:00

Did you happen to visit Design Mom today?
She had this UH-MAZING little video she shared. Go check it out here.
Honestly, I am taken back by people's genius and creativity, not to forget, patience! Beautiful.
(Although, I thought the ending was a little anticlimactic).

Kid's Hoodie Fix Up

2011-05-04T08:01:00.000-04:00

One of Christian's most-used zip up hoodies mysteriously got a stain across the front. I was bummed, but just ignored it and he wore it anyway (don't know if you can see the stain in this picture, but that's what it looked like before).

Then I came across this blog post about making a boy's shirt into a hoodie. The idea I liked was sewing the graphic part of an old tshirt across the front. And I was like: YES! THAT'S WHAT I'LL DO!
So I found some tshirts in boy-appropriate colors with cool graphics, cut the part out that I liked, and sewed them on right over the stain. First I zipped up the hoodie, pinned the scraps in place, cut up the middle where the zipper opens, then sewed in place (and no need to worry about hemming the edges, they won't fray or unravel, as long as you use a tshirt). Ta Da!

But the colors on the front seemed a little out of place, so I also added more of the blue inside his hood. I copied the hood shape, sewed a seam in the middle, then sewed it in place. The bottom edge (by the neck), was left raw, but again, that is okay with tshirt fabric.

Yes, I like that added touch. And he loved the "updated jacket"...he thought he was soooo cool.
I was also planning on adding some embroidery stitching around the sleeve cuffs (also suggested from this post and also here), but I never got to it, and now summer is practically here. Guess I'll save it for another project.
So if your kiddo gets a stain right on the front of a shirt or jacket: THERE IS HOPE! If you can pin, cut, and sew a straight line, you can re-make a favorite shirt into an even "more-favoriter" shirt. YESSS!

Summer-Do

2011-05-01T14:58:00.000-04:00

I guess I was feeling spontaneous the other day. And I guess my husband's opinion matters a lot (but no surprise there). He mentioned that my hair was getting long, and reminisced about how cute it was when it was short, when I was pregnant with Christian, like this:

My mom and grandma, and me choking Christian. Oops. :)

So the next day, I locked myself in the bathroom, and this is what went down:

Click to see larger

It will definitely take some getting used to. I was just ready for something different. In honesty, I will always like having long hair better. I love what I can do with it and the way it looks. But in my current life, I wasn't taking the time to do it so that it actually looked good. Short will do for now. (And yes, the plan is to send that skinny little braid to Locks of Love).

And the bangs? Well, Simon informed me he doesn't like them. So I may be clipping them back most of the time. What do you think...will you obey me if I say BE HONEST?!
Now the process starts of growing it long again! But for now, change is nice. Chao!

(sorry for the bewildered background: current room renovation! Details to come soon).

Twins' First Birthday!

2011-04-22T23:07:00.000-04:00

We waited to have a party for the girls until my parents were in town, which was the end of March. And now its the end of April...hmm, don't know where the time went.

I had quite a bit of fun planning for the party, and I did more for this one party then I ever did for Christian's party, sorry buddy, maybe this year (and I think you're counting on it)!

I had been wanting to make these tissue-paper pompoms from Martha Stewart for quite a while, so this gave me the excuse. I was making them a full 2 weeks before the party... Simon kept reminding me that I still had a while, to which I sweetly replied with a grin, "I know."

This next picture was taken the next morning... but wanted to show you the hanging pom-poms. Confession: they are STILL hanging there now. I took them down once, and it looked so bare. I am now on the lookout for something I could hang in that corner permanently.

Another project I had bookmarked was making fabric party hats from this post on Momtastic. I'll be able to keep them for years (hopefully!). And just the other day saw a different post of it here too! In the middle of making them, however, I realized I had not actually bought party hats, but paper cones, as in, snow cones, except bigger and pretty, maybe for popcorn? I know, you're wondering how I could confuse the two. Just trust me, it was possible. Besides, I got them on clearance for a buck. And they are big enough for childrens heads, so it was perfect!

Getting the kids to keep them on was another thing entirely...

Cousins!...

Anyway, party time! We had chili (an easy crowd pleaser), my Mother-in-Law made the cutie-pie cupcakes (spice cake!), and my mom brought the ice cream. A true party.

And so we gave the girls their cupcakes with a candle in each, I was busy telling Simon to watch Jadah so that she would't touch the flame... and as I looked back down, Selah reached up and snuffed her candle out with her fingers. Oh poor baby! She started to scream, and it took a while before the icing calmed her sniffles. I felt awful. :(

Everyone is happy...

And then she starts to cry...

It all ended up okay. Her fingers were a little red, but no permanent harm done.

Friends and family are so generous. I am always awed when people give gifts to our children, so kind to shower them with sweet things.

Part of the gifts included new carseats for Christian so that the girls could start using his current seats. I'm so glad they are finally facing forward.

Thanks again everyone, and happy belated birthday to my baby girls!

Here's a "parting" shot for you...

Cherry Blossom Mobile

2011-04-17T16:01:00.001-04:00

Martha is on my good side lately. Martha Stewart that is.
I saw this cute bird mobile with cherry blossoms and immediately thought of my friend, who at that time was about to have a baby. They decorated their nursery in cherry blossoms, even painting a tree in the corner, how lovely! This was the perfect little gift for baby Jocelyn.
So I enlisted the help of several of my "crafting buddies" (I had opted to cut out all the shapes instead of buying Martha's flower and leaf craft punches, which also meant a more labor-intensive project).

I was SO glad we could make this together instead of on my own: it would've taken forever to cut all that out!
We had a fun time and loved the result. Crafting with friends is fun.
You could also make this for a boy... with blue birds and branches with leaves only. Aren't mobiles fun? There are endless ideas, have you made a mobile you'd like to share?
Welcome baby Jocelyn Joy, hope you like your birdies!

Friday Prayers

2011-04-08T16:35:00.000-04:00

It has been 8 days of praying for Christian. Every morning I write all ten verses on note cards so that I can carry them with me throughout the day. He sees me carrying them and is always asking if they are my verse prayers. The first few days, he wanted to sleep with them for his nap after I had prayed one over him. I was okay with this until I found a few of them balled up in the trash.

I've simply been choosing times throughout the day to say the verse aloud with him, and that is the sum of the prayer. But I was challenged by my mom (who is also doing the 21 day prayer) to take special times to really pray for him (not that one verse prayers don't count, but to take full advantage of these 21 days, I could push more of myself and my time into it).
I'm curious about the act of praying in my knees rather than another position (like say, while I do dishes!). I think I'm more of an "out in an big open field with my arms wide" kind of person. But I don't get to go walking in fields alone very often. Did people in the Bible pray on their knees? I wonder where the knee-thing started. Maybe I'll give it a try.
Even if you're not doing these "official" 21 days, I'd challenge you to take some special time to pray for your son, or daughter, today. You can pray for things like a servant's heart, obedience, honor, humility, purity, and pride. You can't pray too much for your children.
Blessings!

Project:Simplify Porch Cleanup

2011-04-08T16:18:00.000-04:00

This week's hotspot was whatever you wanted to clean up. I wasn't sure what I'd do, but as soon as I walked through my porch, the answer was obvious. This is actually our back porch, but its the way everyone comes into our house, so it's the first thing everyone sees. It's also become a storage room for those things we like to have nearby, but not in our living space (tools, bulk foods, shoes, winter gear, etc).
It took one morning of moving stuff out to the appropriate places and cleaning up. Each "collage" below is before/after. MUCH BETTER!

Now I just have to keep it this way. Hmmmm.

Hair Ideas

2011-04-03T22:55:00.001-04:00

If you're anything like me, you are always on the lookout for a new way to do your hair. We get in ruts, right? Last week I came across a few hairdo tutorials, and I tried 2 of them over the weekend, loved both!

The first is a messy side ponytail found here. This was a nice look, and can be dressy or casual. I've hardly ever teased my hair into a poof, so this was new for me. I still have some work to do. Picture from her tutorial:

Second is my new favorite....a messy bun, and it really works! Not only does it work every time, but it stays in place so well--- even through sleeping, a workout, whatev. (the trick is using bobby pins instead of hair bands). I've done it up high on my head, or even combined the "poofy" look on top with a lower messy bun. Classy. See the pictures of the how-to here. (this picture is from the tutorial...I'm still working on getting mine this "messy").

This last one I haven't actually tried yet, I just don't think I have the face or grace to pull it off. But maybe you do, and more power to you. Check out this braided bun here.

Let me know if you try these or even if you have your own ideas you do to your hair. I'd love to try them out!

Project:Simplify Pantry and Fridge

2011-04-02T11:23:00.001-04:00

Confession: I didn't do last week's hotspot! It was children's rooms, clothes, and toys. It simply wasn't an area that I felt was necessary at this time, also because it is an area that I am regularly clearing out and updating.
I almost skipped this week too, but my fridge was in need of a wipe-down. After only living in a place for six months (yes, we've lived here six months now!), you don't accumulate too much excess in the pantry department. So I declared to Simon that he was going to help me clean out the fridge, and he was like "okay." What, that's all he says?!? Why don't I do stuff like this more often?! :)
The before and after pics are pretty much the same, but that's because you can't tell that the shelves and walls were thoroughly wiped clean. I also don't have before pictures of the pantry stuff, but it looks pretty much the same. I used water+baking soda+vinegar to wipe it all down.
Here's to a cleaner kitchen.
Before: After:

Pantry:

There ya go.

You should clean your refrigerator too. :)

Not Too Late to Sign Up

2011-03-29T14:43:00.000-04:00

April 1st is soon arriving, and I'm trying to mentally prepare for the 21 days of praying for Christian. If you're a mom of boys, it's not to late to sign up here. The commitment is to pray for your son(s) 10 times each day!... I'm still trying to figure out specific times I can pray each day: as soon as I get up, breakfast, snack time, lunch, etc etc.

I'll be giving an update each Friday during that time, and if you're a family member, I'd welcome your prayers for my little guy as well, that he would have a heart sensitive to God's leading (and his parent's instruction) and for his character in general.

Thanks everyone!

Crayon Wrap

2011-03-21T07:54:00.000-04:00

I made a little project the other day for my niece's birthday. I had wanted to make a crayon wrap (carrying case) for a long time, but never had a good enough reason. But I thought it was a cute gift for a 5 year old girl (who will probably actually care enough to keep her crayons nicely organized, obviously not something Christian is ready for yet!). It turned out to be pretty simple.

You could make a double layered one for up to 64 crayons like the one here.

Or an apron like this one. (cute to wear, but not very practical if you want to sit or lay down while you color).

I have seen these occasionally in the DIY blogging world, but I can't remember seeing a tutorial for one (although I'm sure there are probably dozens). Would anyone be interested in a tutorial?

Home Contentment

2011-03-20T08:06:00.003-04:00

When I read THIS ENTRY about being content with our homes for seasons so that we can focus on other things, like raising children, I was challenged. She talks about your home being "good enough." What if you had to stop changing it and DIY-ing, would you be content with the way it is? The point is to realize that there are things (people) more important than how your home looks, and that at times, you just have to say "It's Good Enough!"

I've been living in the "good enough" stage for a few months, but confession: it's starting to bug me and I'm getting the itch to finish our family room. I struggle a bit with the quote above, can I be content but want to make things better at the same time? Can I be content with my home and want to make improvements also? I think the answer is yes, but maybe it is more about your attitude towards your home and how much it consumes you.
Another reason it has to be "good enough" sometimes is because of the kid-factor. That just throws all plans of perfection out the window.

And what do you think of this saying?

The Nester

Can you read it? It says: "A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life."
Mmmm hmmm. Us Momma's like this one!

Anyway, just some good reminders for myself. Hoping that you are feeling content with your blessed abode this week!

Project:Simplify Paper Clutter

2011-03-19T10:38:00.000-04:00

This week's HOTSPOT was paper clutter.
I had three spots to clean up, my counter "mail" area, my desk, and some books that had been sitting on the floor for months. BEFORE:

And AFTER:

It didn't even take very long, but it makes everything feel so much better. I confess, I didn't do the in-depth purge the website was suggesting, but I did what was necessary to have a fresh start. I even snagged a basket out of the girls' room to put unread magazines in.
Anyone else do some paper purging recently? Visit Simple Mom to see their results. It does feel so good to get extra papers out of the house!
Have a great weekend!

Reader Update: Early Mornings

2011-03-16T09:21:00.000-04:00

I had the realization today that I have been posting "Reader Opinions" for your insights and suggestions in areas of my life....AND I have never let you know what I ended up deciding.
So we'll start at the beginning and work through the previous Reader Opinion Posts.

My first inquiry was about how to get my kids to sleep in later in the mornings. You gave great ideas about possibly taking away a nap, pushing bedtime a little later, etc.
To tell you the truth, I don't really remember what happened to get them sleeping later. But as of the time change this past weekend, I really like the way our schedule falls. They wake up at 7:30 or 8 with the current time. (Of course last week, this would have been 6:30 or 7. Strange).
Christian goes to the bathroom by himself then comes into our room for help getting his shorts back on. He is then told to go back to his room until his music alarm comes on, at which point he can go downstairs and turn the tv on (we have it set to PBS). I then bring the girls down about 15 minutes later and the day begins!

Thanks for your opinions!

Reader Opinion: Mexican Shirt

2011-03-14T08:26:00.007-04:00

See this beauty? Ha--- or maybe you don't think so?

I got it when Simon and I were in Tijuana a few years ago and I've worn it maybe 2 times (a realization I had to face after cleaning out my closet a few days ago). I love the embroidery on the sleeves and edges, but I'm not such a fan of the giant flowers that land on my stomach. I also really like the general "peasanty" look and style.

Here's the back (I've been tempted to wear it backwards with a button up sweater to hide the flowers on my back).

But since I don't wear it much, I was trying to think of another use for it. Any ideas?

Or maybe you think I should just wear it more often? I have several ideas in my head, but want to see what the reader's opinions are.

Surprise me!

Project:Simplify Closet Complete

2011-03-12T22:24:00.000-05:00

We have been quite blessed to have enormous closets in each of our 3 bedrooms, including two separate walk-ins in the master bedroom. I have my very own closet that is bigger than most bathrooms. Crazy! For the first time ever, I don't have to swap out clothes for changing seasons.

I took the challenge(from Simple Mom's Project Simplify) to declutter my closet, but realized that I do wear most of my clothes. I guess that is what happens when you move three times in a year... you get rid of the unneeded items. But I did find a few things to clear out.

This also means that my before and after pictures aren't extremely different. Before:

And after: shirts:

Pants, skirts, dresses, etc.

(see, not that different)

The biggest change is that I hung my belts and jewelry (along with a mirror so I can decide which one I want to wear):

I used Simon's old tie rack for my jewelry: wonderful---highly recommend!

And you can see the reflection in the mirror of my belts, hung on one of those kitchen utensil holders (at least I think thats what it is?)...

There we go. A nice little box of things to clear out:

I am looking forward to the next "hotspot!" Anyone else clear out their closet?

Talking in Circles

2011-03-11T16:18:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered something new to me: Almond Butter. Basically, peanut butter made with almonds instead of peanuts. I had a recipe for granola bars that called for it, so I bought it. I was too impatient to wait for it to go on sale, so don't gag on your coffee when I tell you it cost me ten bucks. Yikes! I could have gotten one for $4-5, but it didn't have the dark flecks, and the flecks mean that it was made with the skins on, which adds extra flavor and antioxidants (whatever that means). So I went for the good (and organic) stuff. Apparently you can also get cashew and hazelnut butters. Intriguing! Anyway, I really like it! And when I read the ingredients, my jaw dropped:

Seriously? Almonds. And that's it. Crazy. I really like it with cranberries on toast...

Have I talked about Christian in a while? He's my buddy. He thinks old-school headphones are the bomb...

He is to the age now that he can handle doing small art projects with me, like watercolor painting or using small kid scissors to cut a paper into a million pieces (this gives me a good 10 minutes to get something done!). He's also been dying to get outside...

Don't laugh at his boots: he thinks they're awesome (and so will his sisters!). Christian appeared ready for the outdoors yesterday (including keys in his pocket to drive) so I let him go out while I gave the girls lunch (with a watchful eye of course). But he wandered too far after being warned to come closer, so I had to go retrieve him. He informed me that he couldn't find the creek. The CREEK! Umm no, it's a RIVER and it is a 7 minute walk through the woods behind our house. I took him there one time in the fall: and he remembers. I promptly told him that there are big animals in the trees that might bite him if he goes in without mommy or daddy. No more outside time that day, but he did have fun jumping in some puddles...

A few weeks ago, it was warm enough to go out in shorts, but there was still snow on the ground...

Can you tell that this kid has a ton of personality? He's so much like Simon it's rediculous.

Selah and Jadah really like going up the steps. I only allow them the chance when it is time to go upstairs. Selah usually wins.

I also noticed the other day that they both had their ankles crossed while they were in their highchairs. Christian did this all the time when he was little... I love it!

Simon's been busy at work but is doing a terrific job sticking it out in this tough season. He was sweet on my birthday and sent me flowers and a card with coupons for a "night-off" for me, dinner out, and a trip to Hobby Lobby to get whatever I need to redo our family room. Lovely! He's been excellent about spending time with us when he can and helping me with the kids.

I am also so thankful for my friend Trudy. We just sorta hit it off and have had some fun playdates with our kids. But she was so sweet to take me out to dinner to celebrate my birthday! I don't know the last time I went on a girl-date?!?!...definitely years ago. We went to a German place to eat: wow so good! She also made me cake and homemade ice cream. Look who feels super special now!? Me me me! Splendid, I couldn't ask for a better friend, she's an answer to prayer (and for more reasons than her cake and ice cream)! Also, she keeps a cute little blog! (or you can go to her old blog to read about her and her husband living in Scotland for the past few years! How cool would it be to live abroad for a while!?)

I was eating more of her cake a few minutes ago (it has chocolate icing), and I had the brilliant idea to spread some almond butter on top. Delicious!... I wonder how it would taste in other recipes that call for peanut butter?
Well, we're back at almond butter. What'd I tell ya? Full circle!

Come back tomorrow to see how my closet-decluttering-event went down!

Project: Simplify

2011-03-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

See my new little "button" on the side of my blog?

Simple Mom is hosting a five week decluttering "event" and I figured, what'll it hurt?
So I'm in on it too.
This week's goal is your closet. Find full details at this week's HOTSPOT!

So what do you think? Are you up for the challenge too? Let me know if you decide to weed through your own closet! I'll plan to post my own pictures this weekend.

Until then, enjoy a picture of Christian's self-made drum set (I was so proud of him!)(and be glad you can look at it without hearing the accompanying racket ---thank you Michael Pattengale):

Twins are One!

2011-03-01T21:19:00.000-05:00

I just finished putting the girlsies (that's what we call them sometimes) in bed. What little dears. After they drink their bottles, they crawl around for a while while I tidy up their room and get their pj's ready. Tonight Selah pulled one of their blankets out of their cribs and cuddled up with it on the floor. Jadah wanted in on the action and followed suit. So Selah squealed and crawled away, Jadah followed, laughing. And then it was a mess of giggles, squeals, and more laughing for the next few minutes. I sat there watching, laughing too. I thought about where we were a year ago. And then out of the blue, I pulled a classic move. I started crying. Yep, sappy. I am just.so.glad to be done with that first year. I know that each year will have challenges all their own, but from talking to other moms of twins, they say their first year was the hardest. Am I qualified to cast my vote yet? So far, I'd agree.
And of course I have to post pictures to remind us how far we've come...
Then...

And now...

Can you tell who's who? Selah has more hair (always has). I am still looking forward to when they both have hair long enough to do something with.
I've also taken monthly pictures. I started a little late, so all the pictures are taken at the half month. I intended to take each one in their crib with a paper saying what month it was. I didn't quite meet my goal, but close enough. I think you can click on it to see it bigger. (look how HUGE that bear looks the first time... and then how much smaller near the end!).

Love these girls.

While I was looking through pictures, I got a glimpse of what I was looking like a year ago too. (this isn't a great picture, but it was 2 days before they were born, and it has good contrast with the wall).

OOOO. Okay. Now I understand why my tummy looks the way it does now.

Speaking of yucky tummies. Last summer, Simon and I started the Insanity workout. It is similar to P90X, but a different plan and only 60 days, you've probably seen an info-mercial about it! We got through the first month and then realized we were moving, so packing took priority over exercising. Looking back now, finishing one month made a HUGE difference in how I felt AND looked.
However, ever since moving, Simon and I have both found it very hard to work out, and I am especially inactive staying home with the kids. It doesn't help that our eating habits have been slightly worse too (now that we are in the chip-making region of the country). We've tried to start a routine several times, but they only last a week before we find ourselves eating yes, chips, while watching tv instead of working out. Ugh. So this week we are starting again: and I am writing it here in hopes that it will keep me accountable to the blogosphere....aka you, reader.

Why am I talking about myself in this birthday post? C'mon Rach.

My darling girls: I LOVE 'EM SO MUCH! And I am excited for what the next year holds. I am so glad God blessed us with both of them. And I still can't believe we have twins. How does that even happen!? UHHHHH-mazing.
Happy Birthday, Selah and Jadah!

Kitchen Shades: DIY

2011-02-22T14:58:00.001-05:00

Okay, I lied. I didn't write this over the weekend. No excuses. Sorry to make you wait.
A long while back, I read this a post from Jenni at Little Green Notebook about making no-sew roman shades out of mini-blinds. Awwwwwesome! I saved the post knowing I would need it someday.
First, let's review. My kitchen window:

I took those curtains down when I repainted and thought a long time about what I wanted there.
During the time that my window was "naked", I realized two things. One, I LOOOOVED how much natural light came in (and during the winter, the sun shines in all afternoon: perfect remedy for the winter-blues). Second, as soon as the sun sets, these (old) windows were (and still are) like an open refrigerator. All I had to do was walk by and cold air was practically blowing into my kitchen. I knew I needed something that could open ALL the way during the day, and close ALL the way during the night.
Since it's right above the sink, I really wanted to avoid something flowy, so a shade is the obvious choice. I also wanted to avoid cords, so my top choice would have been fabric roller shades. But to make them with the fabric I already had, it would have been very expensive for the mechanism kit thing. So I sacrificed on the cords and opted for LGN's mini-blind option.

The time that this method would be MOST cost effective is if you have a window already covered with an ugly mini-blind that you want to get rid of. If you CURRENTLY have mini-blinds in your house: DO THIS! But I was starting from scratch, so I actually purchased blinds from Lowe's, for a whopping $3.50 each. Then I followed LGN's tutorial and I had myself some new shades!
A few things I wanted to point out that she doesn't have pictures of...

She talked about removing the plastic plugs at the bottom: this is what they look like:

Also, this is a close up of the "ladder/tilting strings" that you are supposed to cut.

I spray painted the back of the slats I was going to use. I already had the spray paint and it just took one coat. If I hadn't painted them, each of those slats would be white. Ick. Here is what it looks like from the outside (and really the only time I put them down is when it's getting dark, so no one really sees it like this anyway).

And here they are all the way down from the inside.

Now there are a few more things about them. I am not a perfectionist, so I am okay with the things about these that are not perfect. For example, I measured everything, but somehow the left shade is longer than the right one (by almost an inch...eek!). Also, when they are pulled up all the way, the left one hangs nicer whereas the right own bunches together a little more.
But lucky for me, you can't tell in the pictures.

If you are seriously consider making these, I'd highly recommend not only reading the tutorial, but ALSO taking the time to read the comments. A lot of people have made these and you can get good ideas from them (such as what to do if you want to put white lining on the back side.. .you have to attach it to your fabric first before you glue the slats to it).
Again, here is the Shades from Mini-Blinds Link!
I'd love to know if you ever decide to try this! Let me know if you have questions!

Happy Shade-Making!

Mothers of Boys

2011-02-17T11:06:00.000-05:00

How did the last week and a half fly by so quickly! I know I promised a post about the roman shades, and somehow life has been slightly busy since we've returned from our trip. Did you know we were on a trip? Oh yes! The only reason I was able to write the last few posts was because I was staying at my parent's house and had help with the kids. I promise I'll write about the shades this weekend!

On a different note, my children have been weighing heavily on me the last few days. The girls have all of a sudden developed strong wills that are demonstrated through screaming and crying fits, even if they've just been fed, diapered, whatever. And we're talking super high pitched piercing screams. Jadah likes to scream when its the middle of her nap. Selah likes to scream when she's supposed to be playing. SCREAMING BABIES AHHHHHH. Time to pray and pull out Babywise II for some parent-touch-up, and then set these gals straight.

And then there's Christian. He's the sweetest, smartest, most goofy kid I know, but let me tell ya, that kid needs Jesus. Yet another aggressive incident between him and another boy (in which Christian was the aggressor), has me at a low point of parenting: have I failed miserably with this boy?!?! And in the midst of my dilemma, I read a blog called the MOB society, and they highlighted another blog mom who just wrote an e-book about praying for our sons. They are having a 21 day commitment to pray for our sons 10 times each day (but doesn't start until April 1st, I think I may start NOW). Needless to say, I clicked "BUY NOW" right away and even printed the book on some scrap paper. So even if you are having a good spell with your own boy(s), I think it is totally worth taking the time and commitment to pray for our sons. I'm sure at some point, you'll be throwing up the white flags of surrender saying "God, there's only so much I can do, YOU have to save this child!," because that is exactly what I have been experiencing this week.

As always, your words of advice and wisdom are always welcomed. But if your a mom of boys, head over to Brooke's site to read about the 21 days of prayer.
Thanks for reading.

Kitchen Reveal

2011-02-02T22:37:00.000-05:00

Our dining room and kitchen are connected (makes sense, huh?). So naturally, I continued the color scheme through both spaces, but with a few tweaks. I LOOVE the color of baby food peas. So let's just say I kid-proofed the kitchen by putting that color on our walls so you won't see the pea-smears from little fingers (eww, gross!). And again, sorry for the messy before shots...

Kitchen, before:

:and after:

Before:

After:

Before (hi little kiddos!):

After (mmm, kiddos are sleeping):

It is like a breath of fresh air! Ready for details?

First, lets talk about the paint. Originally, we painted the lower half blue, and I was going to use green as an accent on top, but it was WAAAY too much blue and I felt like I was in a nursing home. Repainting it green was a 110% improvement. On top, I had planned on just painting very thin stripes, but once I drew it out on paper, it wasn't going to be enough. I started doodling some swirls on the stripes and really liked it, so decided to go for it on the walls. I hand-drew the design with a blue colored pencil, then used watered down paint and a teensy-weensy brush. This took HOURS, but it was worth every minute!

I have several (well, more than several) favorite spots:

The wall behind the refrigerator was painted green, and I did a swirl 'wallpaper' also in blue:

Next, the coat hooks and bench area. We come into our house through the kitchen door, so we knew we needed a place to put coats and a few shoes, as well as a place to set the munchkins to put their shoes on. We use this space to the max! These hooks have traveled with us through 4 houses now, but before this, they were white!

See how I did that? Painters tape + seran wrap + black spray paint + spray lacquer. I think I actually would have preferred them white, but that would've required repainting the mirror and bench, which was out of the question. We also hung the 2nd coat hook low on purpose so that the kids can hang up their own coats (well, just Christian for now--- and he does hang it up!).

My only dilemma now is possibly hanging anything on the walls. If I do, do I center it to the wall or to the stripes? At this point, it seems like adding anything would look silly, but in time I might find something that would work.

Well I love how all this looks in the pictures. I did a major clean up before taking these, and it makes me giggle to think of the things you can't see just outside the frame of the pictures (like the bottle-drying rack, toy basket, stack of library books, etc). So I may have to look at these from time to time and do my best to keep clutter at bay. I'm also kind of excited about the idea of painting patterns, designs, or anything on walls.... my next room makeover will probably fall prey to my obsession.

Don't know if you took notice from the pictures above, but the window got a face-lift as well. I made my own roman shades, but not in the traditional manner. Next post: how to make roman shades out of mini-blinds, no sewing required!

Drapery Details

2011-02-02T12:03:00.002-05:00

Are you ready for a lot of pictures? Once again, this was what I was starting with:

I had made floor length drapes before, but they were with a basic rod-pocket, like the next picture (see the white drapes to the right? The top is just a "pocket" and the rod slides through):

But I wanted a more sophisticated look that had lovely folds, either like grommet-top drapes or like pleated drapes that are hung with rings.

Thrifty Decor Chick

The problem with those is that I either had to put in my own grommets or buy rings and hooks and sew pleats, both of which cost money and take more time. So I did my own thing. I am nearly certain that I have seen this somewhere on a blog before, but after looking through them, I can't seem to find it. So if you can tell me the source, please help me out.

For the skeleton of the drape, I hemmed all 4 sides, then doubled over the top hem to make a pocket for a rod. (If I was making a rod-pocket drape, I could have stopped here).

The day of sewing (and loving an open floor space to lay this out on):

I made the top pocket about 4" deep to make sure I had enough room for my rod. For my "trick" I then measured (on the BACK of the drape) 2" sections with 4" in between each section. Le me show you what I mean:

Measuring:

Then I used my seam-ripper to cut each slit and create a slot for the rod to pass through:

Keep reading, this will all make sense soon...

I now had lots of little openings in the top of my drape (NOTE: only cute through the BACK layer of fabric, not through the entire drape).

Then I tested the rod to make sure I had cut the slits long enough. The rod goes into the 2" sections of fabric, not the 4" section:

And we were good to go!

It was time to see them on the real rods:

I put 'em on and hung 'em up:

Pretty nice, except for the fact that they puffed out as they hung and looked rather unkempt! What to do??!!

More tricks.... time to train your drapes. (I first saw this idea here). I wanted to make uniform folds that went from top to bottom. It was time for these drapes to learn who was boss:

I used clothespins and followed the top fold all the way down the length of the drape (it REALLY helped that my fabric had a pattern that was geometric and I could follow the same line of squares all the way down).

After I got the folds pinned, I used ribbons to pull in the entire drape and train it to stay together.

I wasn't really sure if the clothespins were a good idea or not, I thought they might leave a permanent crease. So after one night, I took the clothespins off but left the ribbons around them:

Yes, there were some creases from the clothespins, but they have pretty much disappeared by now.
I only left the ribbons on for 2 days. In afterthought, I probably should have left them on for a few more days to have the most impact, but we had company coming and I got antsy. Here's what they looked like after I took them off:

(see those clothespin marks? eek! but they are gone now)

Isn't that so much better?!?!

Okay, this next picture is really good at showing the end result of cutting all those slots in the back of the drape. You get the nice folds without having any grommets or rings! But beware, if you ever plan to do this, make sure its a drape you won't be sliding back and forth. It won't slide! (unless maybe you used super-high-gloss spray paint and some slippery light-weight fabric?).

I was so happy with how these turned out. The most amazing part was how much bigger the entire room felt after they were up! That wall seemed to expand and visually widened the room. I will be curious to see if my trained folds slowly expand. If so, a retraining may be required.

Also of note: the roman shades were purchased from a bargain store called Ollie's. They were originally from Home Depot. I got the wide one for $20, the small ones for $14. Can't find them cheaper than that!

If you have any other questions that I need to clarify, send them my way, I'd love to help you get the perfect drapes for your windows too!

DIY Drapery Rods

2011-02-01T19:51:00.000-05:00

You've seen the finished room, now lets talk about how it got there. I am always a sucker for full-length drapes... no exceptions here. I like to hang them much wider than the window (just like everyone else does), and this helps to make the window look larger. They actually end up being more decorative than functional. Here's what I was working with:

I was going to use PVC pipe (like this), across the entire length of the window and extending to the outer walls. BUT, the PVC didn't come in 12' lengths, and I didn't want a joint in the middle. I headed to the lumber department and looked at wood rods, but again, only up to 10' long.

My backup plan was to do short rods on each side of the window. I'd seen this other places, like this or Beth's living room. I decided to sacrifice the look of the rod across the top, and in the end, I really liked it! I had the Lowe's guy cut a 6' wooden rod into 2, 30" pieces. I bought unfinished wood brackets and some bun furniture feet (all available on an isle-end in the very back of Lowe's). People, we are talking CHEAP! One set of finials from the drapery department cost about $10 per pair. I got a pair for $6-8 (can't find the receipt). "Real" brackets cost about $10-20 a pair. I got these unfinished ones for $3/pair. My rod cost $6. Spray paint: maybe $3 (and I only used a fraction of it). Total cost: $27-31. Folks, this is CONSIDERABLY cheaper than ready-made rods. And this project was so easy, I may just buy them this way from here on out! (and just imagine the fun you could have: ANY color rod you want!!! Oh this makes me excited!).

After I brought them home, I applied 2-3 coats of brown spray paint so they looked like this:

Then I drilled a small hole in each end. I had to use the largest drill bit we had (1/4") and it was a perfect fit. If you're thinking "I don't know how to drill a hole," you are not alone. I was actually planning on having Simon do this part, but then I thought "Self, you know how to change the drill bits, you know how to work a drill, you know how to hold the rod steady, you can DO THIS!" And I did. (and I secretly enjoyed every moment of drilling bliss). I just sat at my dining table and let the wood dust fall wherever (it wasn't much, and had very easy cleanup).

**NOTE: for those of you who get a little ambitious, make sure you put your curtain (or rings) on BEFORE you put both of your finials on!

And here it is all together!

If you like 'em big 'n chunky, you should totally make your own curtain rods. :)

Up next: how I made the drape...

Dining Room Reveal

2011-01-31T22:55:00.000-05:00

I've been so excited for the day I finally got to write this...it has arrived! Remember way back at Thanksgiving when I mentioned doing a lot of painting? Well, the rest of the details are finished and I get to show you our dining room (and kitchen next). When we moved in a few months ago, the dining room looked like this:

WOW!!! Is it oh-so-obvious we had just moved in and things were a WRECK?! (or maybe I'm just trying to make a more dramatic before/after scenario?!?!?! Hmmm...sneaky!) One good thing is that the flooring had just been redone before we moved in. It is laminate wood flooring and I love how durable it is. It is the kind that has some texture and grain to look more real (even though we all know its not...come on, who are we trying to kid?). Fake as it is, it is much more kid- and moving-big-furniture- friendly (like a piano, per se).

My inspiration for this room and the kitchen came from a hand towel I got a few months back from Meijer (I miss that place). It looks like this:

I then decided to use this fabric for my drapes:

This was left over from a design job I did way back... see the Roman shades I made with it HERE.

So using these 2 fabrics, I took a trip to Sherwin Williams and chose these paints(I only used the blue in this room, the other 2 were saved for the kitchen):

Aqua-Sphere: SW 7613

Escapade Gold: SW 6403

Wool Skein: SW 6148

I took a bold step and painted my dining room BLUE. Ahh! I still love the color on the paint swatch, but when it is all over my walls, its a little less "calming" and a little more "baby." Thankfully, I was able to tone it down a bit with a large picture, big ol' piano, and full-length drapes.

~~~

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So are you ready??? Here it is!

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Ta da!

Now I can breathe a sigh of relief that it is all done AND blogged about. Ahhhh. The best part is that I didn't have to spend any money out of pocket--- a combination of gift cards, pre-owned items, and taking a few things off our rent payment made this possible. (and the only thing I used gift cards for was drapery rods, which I will tell you all about in my next post!).

My piano got a nice cleaning, but has yet to be tuned. We (meaning three children and myself) play it almost daily, so the day it gets tuned will be a one of great joy.

And that pretty much does it! I will share a few more things about this room in the next few posts (drapery rods, drapery tricks, table runner, and lighting fixture), so don't stay away too long. I also am not 100% in love with what I have sitting on that console table... but that can change over time and with seasons.

I am now ready to have people for dinner!

What do you think? Is the blue too bold or are you thinking about making some new color choices for your house too? Talk to you all soon.

Favorite Things

2011-01-25T21:31:00.006-05:00

I said a while ago that I wanted to enlighten you with a few of our favorite things around the house recently.

First of all, ruffles!

These lovely little shirts were a Christmas gift (Thanks Mammaw!) and these ruffles thrill me!...oh wow, I am officially a mom of girls.

Next, our favorite baby pj's. The girls practically live in pajamas (no exaggeration), and they needed new ones desperately. They got 2 sets for Christmas, but I knew we needed one more, so we found some on clearance at Target, our fave!...

And look at that cute little waving raccoon on her tushie:

This next thing was a Christmas gift from my mom to Christian, a way for him to learn his Bible verses! We can switch out the cards with new ones or pictures, and take them off to carry around the house if needed. The amazing part: my mom made this herself! Who knew!?

And from my mother-in-law for the girls, a super adorable wall hanging, err, in this case, a door hanging!

Okay, here's some more pretties! Simon and I stopped at a flea market before Christmas, and I got 2 little goodies.

When I saw this, I knew it would be something I will probably never.ever get rid of. (The birds were already owned. Do you like them there?). It is hanging in the girls' room.

And secondly, check out this address book:

Yep, the good old fashioned paper kind, even leather bound. And I adore it.

My Bundled Gang

2011-01-23T15:23:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year for hats and warm jackets. Somehow it just seems picturesque (thus this post).

Father and Son (could you tell?):

(thankfully you can't see Christian's pink and orange snow boots in that picture, yay for thrifting!)

Selah (yeah, her coat is still a little big):

Jadah:

These lovely family posts are biding me time, but be ready, I have some fun projects and "reveals" coming up soon!

Just to Make You Laugh...

2011-01-21T15:16:00.001-05:00

This is from before Christmas, but it still makes me giggle...

Poor Jadah had such a bad head cold she could barely keep her eyes open.

I was taking a few pictures to get the best look...and, well, isn't this next one just AWFUL?!...

Poor sweet baby, I sure am glad you are better now!

The Boy Is Trained

2011-01-18T23:18:00.001-05:00

We'd been working on potty training Christian since before we moved, but we never made the leap to being completely trained. Of course, moving and all the new things set him back a bit. We used underwear at home, but were still using diapers for naps, night, and going out. After Christmas, I was done with it, and we went cold turkey... no more diapers, EVER! For about a week, he continued to wake up wet or not make it all the way to the bathroom. So Simon took Christian to the dollar store and they picked out a toy! We hung it above the toilet and said he had to go two whole days without ANY accidents. At first, he was really upset that he didn't get his toy right away, but he finally caught on, and two days later, that toy was his!

He's had one or two accidents since then, but we now consider him trained. He goes by himself most of the time too. In our downstairs bathroom, which has no windows, he goes in, closes the door, climbs onto the toilet, turns on the light, climbs down and lifts the lid, then climbs onto the toilet (facing backwards), does his business, then repeats his sequence of closing lid, turning light off, and exiting. Finally, at this point, he needs help putting his clothes back on, but we're working on that too.

Also, this kid lives in shorts and no socks (yes, even when there is snow outside)(no, I don't let him go outside like this!). He must be warm blooded. He loves music (especially drums and guitars). And he likes to brush his teeth, but probably because he wants to eat his toothpaste. Soccer and basketball are daily activities, along with reading a few books and a Bible story before bed. He will do just about anything for a sweet treat, so we bribe him with cookies and candy to make him sing or say Bible verses in front of friends. These things bring smiles and laughs time and time again.

He also talks nonstop. Today while I was waiting for him to do something (and I was rather annoyed at him because he had not been obeying), he was jabbering about something, then stopped, and looked up at me and said "Mommy, I have a question for you..." I don't think he ever actually asked a question, but it made me smile anyway. I smile at the times he says "THAAAANK you Mommy", or, "I love you SOOOO much."

Sigh.

I love you too, Buddy.

Could I?

2011-01-18T21:47:00.002-05:00

Saw this online... it is made of burlap. Couldn't I totally make this at home for oh-so-much cheaper?!?! Burlap+stencil+paint? Totally.
Check out this pillow!

For My Sister

2011-01-14T22:05:00.003-05:00

I had been planning on making a bag/purse for my sister for Christmas. She chose the fabric out over our family vacation this past summer and I was hoping she forgot about the idea. :) She also got a HP Mini a few days before Christmas, so I decided to make a quick computer case too. I mailed them and we skyped while she opened her package. According to her, she likes them (breathe out!).

The purse was made from a $1 pattern sale, yippee. The whole thing went smoothly until the last step around the top: for some reason it all bunched up and looks puckery. Thankfully, it puckered the entire way around so it looks like it was supposed to be that way. Ah well, task completed.
And I want you all to know, if there is anything at all that you would like made, I would be more than happy to make something for you too. I can do work at competitive prices and am willing to try just about anything, I can ship anywhere. Keep me in mind!

"Oh You Have YOUR Hands Full..."

2010-12-28T23:25:00.001-05:00

Ninety-eight percent of the time, this is what people say to me when they see me with twins and a two year old. I just smile and nod..."yep, they keep me busy."

It's been a while since I've written about twin-life, they will be 10 months old in a few days. Life is immeasurably better than it was 7 months ago, and 10 months ago for that matter. I keep them on the same schedule for eating, sleeping, and playtime. We've started to notice differences in their personalities and the "Nature vs. Nurture" issues are quite obvious. Jadah is content to play by herself and is overall more playful. She loves being tossed and standing on Simon's hand (like we did with Christian). Selah is clingy and follows me from room to room whining. She tenses up and starts to cry when lifted in the air, and refuses to stand on Simon's hand. So even though we do everything the same with them, they are obviously not the same.

It amuses us that Jadah loves to crawl on top of Selah. And Selah hates it. Maybe they're trying to recreate the womb... Jadah was on top. Either way, it is cute:

And look what Jadah can do:

I can't believe it!...it seems like yesterday she couldn't sit up, and now she stands there all on her own (not for very long though). She is also crawling "normal" now... both the girls have been army crawling for a few months. Jadah has four teeth, Selah is working on her third. And I keep thinking that I'll stop carrying them two-at-a-time soon, but somehow I just keep doing it. It is nice now that they can stand in their cribs and reach for me, it makes the picking up process MUCH simpler. Scoop #1. Scoop #2. Down the stairs we go... (unfortunately, the setting down process isn't always as smooth, we've had a few mild flops along the way).

Sometimes we sit here and wonder how we ended up with two babies at one time. It is a new adventure raising two at a time instead of one. We are filled with joy when we look at our three little ones, something you understand perfectly if you have your own children. It is a blast to watch them grow and learn new things each day, literally.

One thing I know for sure, we are one happy blessed family!

New Look for the New Year

2010-12-26T22:17:00.000-05:00

I know, I know, an expected title. But something new is always nice.

Soon I'll share some of the nice things that are new to our home since Christmas!

A Belated Merry Christmas!

Something fun to make for next year...

2010-12-23T21:00:00.001-05:00

Just saw this on a blog I read (thingsorganizedneatly.com), and will need to remember it for next year...

Sent to you by Rachel via Google Reader:

Photo

via Things Organized Neatly on 12/21/10

Things you can do from here:

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Road Trip with Mama

2010-12-22T15:15:00.000-05:00

Simon had a week-long trip for work, so instead of staying home with the three little ones, I decided to load them up and take them with me to visit some friends in the vicinity of Lancaster, PA. It had been a while since I took a trip like this by myself (went a few times to my parent's over the summer), but I needed some time with other adults, especially familiar faces and old friends.

My trip was delayed when Christian ended up getting a fever the night before we were to leave. We were up a few times during the night, and he moped around and laid on the couch the next day (SOOO unlike him, I sort of enjoyed it!).

But I still wanted to leave that day, so that night, after getting all the kids ready for bed and giving the girls their last bottle, I loaded them up and made the 2 hour drive to my cousin Judith's house. Judith is married to Joel, and they have two daughers, Kaelyn and Janessa. Get this: Judith and I are one month apart, and our kids are each one month apart (in case that confused you, Christian and Kaelyn are a month apart, and my girls and Janessa are a month apart).

Christian still wasn't feeling great that night and greeted Kaelyn with a soft punch in the face. Yeah. That pretty much set his tone for the entire trip: how is it that he chooses to be the most defiant and selfish child the week that I'm visiting people?! Honestly, it was such a challenge with him. He probably got more whallops on this trip than all his previous ones combined. But I didn't want to give up and let him have his own way, he will not beat me, I am in charge. My hosts were all gracious and understanding enough, even through decapitated snowmen, unshared toys, and uneaten food. Many thanks to each of you.

I stayed at Judith's the whole time, and each day visited a different friend. I thought they all lived closer to each other, but after getting directions, it turned out that they each lived about an hour from my starting point. What little troopers my children are... 2 hours each day in the car, for 4 days straight. Surprisingly though, car-time was when they were the best and I was just hauling three sleeping bodies around Pennsylvania.

First I got to visit the lovely Rachel (Carr) McGlynn, whom I had not seen since 2007! How refreshing to catch up! You also served up some awesome Cheeseburger Soup (which I made a few days ago!). Unfortunately, I have yet to meet your husband. Someday...

Second, I visited Melissa (Davis) Koonce, a friend from church during high school, and I got to meet her husband, Mike. You guys were so sweet to let me barge in on your work (and sleep)(Melissa is a nurse)! You get the award for creative children's food: cookie cutters to cut Christians sandwich into fun shapes! [Not even his mom does that]. So good to see you!

Finally, I stopped in Harrisburg on my way home and had a super sweet visit with Annie (Miller) Phillips, also a friend from high school and college. Her new little dog Flynn must've had enough after five minutes, because he departed to his crate and slept for the remainder of our visit. I was so glad you had off work and could let us come to see you, you were such a laid back and joyous host!

Judith and I (and our kids) got to spend a lot of fun time together doing the "mom thing." It's always good to see other mommy tricks and have playmates for your kids. Christian finally got a little nicer the last day we were there, and wasn't bad the entire time. I'm glad he had the interaction (he obviously needs to learn more about it!). In addition to rearranging their sleeping conditions, Judith also made us some yummy meatballs and fed us, well, me in particular, some delicious peppermint cookies and brownies. Thanks so much for your hospitality! It was crazy fun!

Oh yeah, and even with all the challenges of traveling with 3 children, one of whom is a 2 year old that is probably making your hair gray, I would totally do it all again. Don't you want me to come visit YOU?

Reader Opinion: Dish-Washing Hands

2010-12-11T22:14:00.000-05:00

I'm happy, my dishes are getting washed every day! But I'm feeling the repercussions all day long in my hands: they are so dry! This is the first time in my life that I've had hands this dry (I thought only my mom and sister dealt with it!...maybe they were busy washing the dishes all the time?).

So here's my inquiry: what are your best ways to keep your hands soft and moisturized in these blustery winter months?

Thanks for your help!
PS- this post and the one preceding it are dedicated to my Father-in-Law, who proclaimed while seeing me load my dishwasher, "I could have had all the dishes washed in that time." You got me thinking! Thanks!

Oh the Dishes

2010-12-11T21:49:00.000-05:00

I haven't used my dishwasher ever since I read this post about washing dishes by hand. If you have been contemplating the "dishwasher vs. hand-washing" issue as I had been, then this is a must read.

{source unknown}

My game plan consists of washing the dishes each night as soon as the kids are in bed. It isn't realistic for me to wash them after each meal since I have 3 little ones ready to move on to the next thing. But once a day is a good place to start. I had been spending so much time rinsing all the dishes, loading the washer, running the washer, unloading the washer, blah blah blah.

The hardest part for me was keeping it unloaded. I would have a whole new loads-worth sitting on my counter, but the washer had yet to be emptied. I still have to put the dishes away now, but it is so much easier since they are already sitting in the drying rack (no, I do not towel-dry my dishes...I let air work for me on this one). Sometimes I put a few away throughout the day, or all at once when I get a chance.

Another thing I am loving is that I get to wipe down my counters and table each night. No more grimy food getting stuck overnight. This also forces me to put away other clutter that may have gathered on my counters.

I am not totally anti-dishwasher though... either when guests eat over, or if our family continues to grow, a dishwasher may cut down on the time (and hopefully there would be more people to help load/unload!).

So for now, I'll be hand-washing our dishes. But I have one dilemma... check out my next post.

Bulletin Board Makeover

2010-12-05T14:37:00.001-05:00

I saw a fun idea over at Budget Wise Home (a great starting point for DIY home crafts/decor) a few weeks ago and decided to get crafty.

My bulletin board was looking a little outdated, so it got spruced up.

Before:

And after!...

Much better. I used some leftover fabric from the diaper bag I made a year ago, and also had the ribbon and spray paint from other projects. It only took a few minutes spread throughout one morning, Christian even "helped' with the whole thing.

For the details, go to the instructions here.

Recently, I have been using every spare moment to finish painting in my kitchen. I can't wait to share the pictures with you! I tried something new, and it's turning out pretty swell.

Blessings!

3 in a Tub

2010-11-28T21:21:00.001-05:00

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I've been a busy little bee for the last week and a half. My parents came to visit and I had a to-do list a mile long. The primary task was to paint my kitchen and dining room... so I was highly focused on that for a few days (yes, days, these things take a while when you can only work while your children sleep). I still have a little bit to do, but my parents are gone now, no more live-in babysitters, it will take some planning. Thanks for your help, mom and dad!

We have a new nightly ritual. Now that the girls can sit up, bath time has become much easier... and I can do 2 at a time.

Oh wait, make that 3:

They seem to really enjoy it and it makes things easier (for now). Sorry for the naked pictures.

Here's a picture of our house:

And here's one thankful happy mama:

A quick update on Simon's job. He has passed the Series 7 (yay!), and has another test this week. He has been busy studying and preparing for the work ahead (going door to door to find clients). He will be working out of an office in Hagerstown during this time, and will open his own office within a year or two. He's about to enter the toughest part of the job (building a client base), but we have to remember that it is only for a time and God is in control. Your prayers for his success and my sanity (being alone a lot with the kids) are always appreciated.

In closing, Selah discovered the act of clapping this morning. Once we got to church, she was clapping when the music started. Totally made my day.

Blessings!

Prep for the Holidays!

2010-11-17T23:34:00.001-05:00

My parents arrive tomorrow from Indiana. Got me thinking about cleaning up around the house... here is a helpful read from Simple Mom if you plan to have guests this holiday season!

Preparing for Guests

What about you? Planning on visitors anytime soon?

Look What I Won!

2010-11-14T21:43:00.001-05:00

I'm subscribed to almost 50 blogs on Google Reader...keeps me busy for a few evenings of the week. They are blogs of friends, interior design, sewing, and mom stuff. Anyway, those "professional" bloggers have pretty good giveaways, and like, a million people comment to win. But guess what, I finally won a giveaway!!! I couldn't believe it when I saw my name! Looky what I won...

This super wonderful pillow from Alice Lane Home. And the best part: the price tag. My jaw literally fell open when I saw it. I won't tell you how much the $123 tag was for.(!) I think this pillow just became a family heirloom. Anyway, hope you get to win a giveaway sometime too!

Reader Opinion: Drinking Glasses

2010-11-13T21:18:00.002-05:00

Here's the situation: I was given these glasses (someone just getting rid of them), and I'm not sure if I should keep them or not. I definitely don't need them, and don't necessarily know when I would use them, but if you all think they are FABULOUS, then I might rethink that. :) Let me know what you would do with them!

Reader Opinion: Early Mornings

2010-11-11T21:17:00.002-05:00

I've decided to add a new genre of blog posts entitled "Reader Opinion." I'll use these whenever I want your advice or thoughts on something.

My first plea: any ideas on how to get kids to sleep in later in the morning? Before the time change, they all got up at 7, but obviously now that is 6. Christian wakes up because he has to go to the bathroom and the girls each mess their diapers. I don't know if there is a way to get those "bodily cycles" to delay? It seems like they still wake up at the same time even when we put them to bed a little later at night. Thoughts?

Ordering Online

2010-11-09T14:43:00.002-05:00

I just sent an email to someone about ordering items online, and thought I'd share it with you all too! If you have young kids (or if you have internet), check these out!

These are websites where I've purchased household items and diapers. I'll try to fill you in on what I've learned, and you can go from there!
But first, just a few general tips:
-I ALWAYS buy the biggest box of diapers available... and I use them all up, even if they start to get small. You get a better price per diaper this way. Also, the bigger the diaper, the more you pay per diaper. So right now, my twins could probably fit in size 4, but I am going to keep buying size 3 as long as possible because I get about 20 more diapers in a box with the smaller size.
-Always buy wipes in bulk, and use them to refill your plastic containers.
-I like buying big things online, like toilet paper, bulk paper towels, and detergent. These things take up a lot of room in a cart at the store, so why not have it brought right to your door? :)
Anyway---

The first place I started ordering diapers is diapers.com. The nice thing here is that if you use this code: SIMX7667 ... you will save 15% on your first order (and I will get $10 off my next order! yay!). With this site, you have to spend $49 to get free shipping. So I'd usually buy 1 or 2 boxes of diapers, or a box of diapers and some wipes or a sippy cup, etc (something random that I might need). Diapers.com now has a sister site called Soap.com! I have only ordered from them once, but it works the same way but it has household items. Nifty!--- you can get everything at one site!

Second, I have used Alice.com for a few things. They have free shipping as long as you have 6 items in your cart. Nothing extremely special about their prices, but they do have online coupons for certain items. I haven't used alice as much recently. When I do use it, it's usually for toilet paper, paper towels, or kitchen stuff (foil, seran wrap, etc). Now that there is Soap.com, I don't know if I'll use alice.

Lastly, and most recently, I've been using Amazon.com/diapers. I don't know if it is still going on, but they had a special deal that if I signed up to have diapers sent automatically (I choose 1 box every 2months), then I got like, 40% off every order of diapers! Amazing! So take a look at their site and see if you can find a similar deal. It is called "Subscribe and Save". So the box of diapers that normally costs me $37 has been costing me $29. That's a good deal. :) It also has free 2 day shipping on diapers.

Well I hope that helps you out! I love getting these items dropped off at my house. Especially when I realize I'm going to run out of diapers soon, but I cant' get to the store!--- order on a Wednesday, and you usually get diapers on Friday!

Time In!

2010-10-28T23:07:00.001-04:00

I guess once you take a break from blogging, you sort of get out of the habit. It's been 3 weeks since we loaded the truck in Indiana. I don't know whether if feels like 2 days or 2 years ago, but either way, time is passing. The move went very well and we have some terrific people to thank for all their help! The kids did pretty well on the drive (it made a huge difference since the girls are now old enough to play with toys!). A big thanks to Simon's parents for flying out to help us pack and make the drive!

We really love our new house! God answered our prayers and provided a place bigger than we had before and for an affordable price. And He must know I need a creative outlet: we have the same situation with our landlord as we did in our last house: we can update all we want! My mind has been busy.

Simon started his new "job" 2 days after we moved in. His "job" for the next 2 months is to study like crazy to pass the certification test to be a financial advisor. He showed me some of the stuff he is learning: the words appear to be in English, but I gotta tell ya, the words make no sense. More power to him.

Another blessing was the my parents happened to be coming to PA the same weekend we were moving in. So my mom stayed for a week and helped me unpack. God knows she needed that time with me her grandchildren.
I haven't had much of a social life lately, but I'm hoping to try a MOPS group next week. The fact that I pretty much have no friends here will probably start to surface soon. Right now it still feels like a long vacation and I get to see all my "Marion Mommies" again soon. Bummer...not so soon. Regardless, I am getting a lot lot lot of time with my three little munchkins, whom I seem to love more all the time.
CHRISTIAN: is pretty much a little grown up now. Still working on potty-training. His smile has changed: it is a lovely thing.
GIRLS: they both got their first teeth within 1 day of each other. Jadah got the bottom left, Selah the bottom right. They sit up on their own. They are never in the same spot if I leave the room and come back. Folks, we have mobile babies here. We're adjusting to having a house with 2 stories. At this point, I'm still carrying both of them up and down, but they're probably about 20 pounds each... might have to come up with a new plan soon. They're eating pretty well and sleeping just fine.

Okay, it is late. I need to get some sleep. I posted a lot of pictures on facebook (easier than choosing a few to put here). But soon I'll add some pictures of our house so that you can picture us in our new abode.

Blessings!

Time Out

2010-10-07T10:09:00.001-04:00

A beautiful day for moving!!!

This will be my last post for a little while. Next time, from Maryland!

Hopefully we start feeling healthy again. Poor Christian is the worst. Threw up for the first time in his bed 2 nights ago. When we went in, he kept saying "I spit." And then another 2 times after that. And then in the car on the way to Indy to pick up Simon's parents. And then diarrhea blowouts too. Oh fun. TMI? Sorry.

The truck is being loaded as I write, and I have a lot to do. BYE!