Hodge Podge

Instagram has officially eaten by blog. I want to remember all the little stories that go along with the pictures, but goodness I have become lazy. It is so much easier to snap a picture and write a caption...blogging takes much more effort.

Below is a hodge podge of our recent happenings:

We are officially on summer break around here.  This means Will is home much more!  We are planning on doing a staycation this summer.  We just figured it was more trouble than it is worth to haul our kiddos to the beach....gasp! I feel like I am depriving them, since in these parts everyone heads to the beach during the summer.

Here is some of our staycation/ bucket list ideas:

McWane, Zoo, lots of Y trips, Airwalk,  Strawberry picking, library storytime, lake, backyard camping, frozen yogurt, etc....

Will and I are taking a short trip to Chicago to celebrate our five year anniversary.  The official date was May 17th.  We celebrated that night with Surin and Star Trek.

I am also doing Before Five In a Row with Hudson and two of his friends.  We are meeting one day a week during the month of June.  Today was our first day, and we read the Carrot Seed.  More on that later.

Hudson and Clara have officially become friends.  It took forever for Hudson to warm up to her, but I have witnessed some true bonding moments over the past several weeks.  He loves to bath with her, and always begs me to let her splish splash with him.  He has even started playing little games with her.  One of my favorites is when he hides behind her high chair and then creeps to one side and then the other.  She loves it! I  love when he tells her to watch when he does something.  He screams, "Watch Sissy!"

Will has a routine prayer he prays with Hudson each night, and every couple of weeks, he adds more to it.  He has recently added that Hudson and Clara would become best friends.  We desire that they would value each other and through their relationship, they would better understand the opposite sex.  My prayer for them is that their relationship even helps better equip them for their future marriages.  

Hudson finished Mother's Day Out in May.  I think sending him twice a week was good for him.  I had debated it for awhile, but Hudson really needed consistent interaction with other children.  We have decided to put him back in the same program next year, instead of staring preschool.  We just don't feel like he is quite ready.  I am really not too concerned about what he "learns" in school.  I just want him to learn to play well with other children. 

I had fun crafting his end of the year teacher gifts.  I need a washi tape intervention.

He has also been pooping in the potty without us even telling him to go!  Officially a mom of a preschooler...who else would blog about that?  He is even watching a bit more TV.  We now can add an episode of Barney to his limited list.  Clara, on the other hand, could easily become a TV junkie.

Clara has finally started sleeping through the night more consistently.  I think I used to secretly judge moms who fed big babies during the night.  Clara has really taught me that all babies don't fit neatly into boxes, no matter what you do.  

She is eating more table foods.  She never really liked baby food.  Most days I wheel her on the porch for lunch.  Less cleaning.

She is slowly making her way to crawling.  She is close, and if i held her less, she would be there!

She loves her swing.  It took Huds awhile to not complain about her taking "his" swing.  Now, he loves her in it.

She screams at church nursery. She loves her mommy and daddy.  

Last week, we went to visit some of our friends on a farm.

We have also been trying to swim as much as we can.

Will recently took the job as head coach of the Hoover Girls Soccer team.  We are so excited. It is a huge responsibility, and we will miss him in the spring.  He will have more responsibilities all year and will more than likely sell his lawn care business.  He is such natural coach, and we think this is a wise decision all around.

I am most looking forward to slow days this summer.  Limited agendas.  I love the break from all the hurry.

Clara's Room

I don't like posting pictures of rooms in my house because I am awful picture taker, but I wanted to post pictures of Clara's room.  I am in love with this room, but of course, my pictures don't do it justice.

My mom bought the quilt off Etsy from Fern Leslie.  Then, my talented mother-in-law made the bedding and pillows. We ordered fabric from the quilt patches.  All of the fabric is Heather Bailey and Amy Butler.  My sweet friend Traci made her wreath on the door and the framed Bible verse above her chest of drawers.  The shelf above the bed has a framed Katie Daisy print along with stuff from my childhood bedroom.  The dried flowers are from our grandmother's recent funerals.  Will made the shutter headboard and the shutter changing table beside the bed.  The window treatments are canvas drop cloths from Lowe's.  Her memo board was made by awesome friend Megan.  The blanket on the rocker was made by my Aunt Vickie. The gown on the window was also made by mother-in-law. It is a little wrinkled in this pic.  Hudson used it for his baptism, and so will Clara!  The paper lanterns above the bed are Martha Stewart.

I am going to post some close ups of the bedding in my next post.  My mother-in-law is an awesome seamstress and she needs her own post.

Hudson's Hospital Kit

I have been working on making Hudson a little activity box for the hospital.  I plan on having a time where Clara and Hudson exchange gifts, and this is Clara's gift to him.  I raided the $1 spot at Target when everything was 70% off.  It was a dream come true.

The basket even came from the $1 spot.  I found the Big Brother printout on pinterest.  I laminated it, and it will function as a little pin for him.

His kit includes a coloring book, colors, markers, watercolors, a sketch pad, stickers,a dry erase board, a book, and lacing beads.  Almost everything was 70 % off 1 dollar.  The lacing beads were on clearance for 6 bucks.  This entire gift cost around $12 total.

Noom

He calls it his noom. New + Room = Noom. Makes sense. It still needs work..including a few pictures and a new light fixture.



Our friend Erin got us the map for FREE!






The chicken wire frame came from a consignment sale for 7 bucks. I think it will be a cool way to show his art work, birthday invites, pictures, and memories. We still need to refinish the nightstand...real wood and 12 bucks from same consignment sale.

Comforter-Overstock
Sheets-Target
Bed-in the family
All other stuff-thrift store











We found the lockers in Will's family's basement. The chest of drawers are from Pop's childhood. Will calls them chester drawers. Everything else is from the thrift store!







I copied Ashley Ann Photography on her roller shades and happy tape idea. And the rug. And the colors. I love her ideas.

He is so proud of his new space. He runs in everyday screaming, "Noom, noom, noom." Sweet boy.

Nook

We finally finished our little bedroom nook. Thanks to my talented husband!

Our bedroom had a little dent in the wall with a window. A vent was on the carpet, so it was wasted space.



Will redirected the air vent and made a frame for a bench.



Then, he built the bench. He made it so that it opened for storage. It was a hard job, so he needed Huds to help.







He painted it white. We had leftover paint from a previous project.



Then, it was my turn. Time to make it personal.

First, we needed a pad to sit on. We found a burlap type patio pad at Old Time Pottery for around 12 bucks. I just snipped the tie on ends.




Then, I found a shutter for 4 dollars, which was turned into a shelf. I framed old hymns to go above the shelf.






I clipped our missionaries onto some twine and hung the twine from the shelf. Now, while I am doing my quiet time, I can remember to pray for them!



I covered an old cork board ( 1 dollar thrift store find) with burlap leftover from my table runner. I decorated the burlap with paper doilies. This is where I clip my little reminders.



Then, I covered four pillows in fabric. I had lots of help from my patient mother in law! Two of the pillows were yard sale finds, and two were ones my mom gave me. The fabric cost around 10 dollars.



Here is the finished project:



It has added so much character to our room! It is a little refuge for me!

The initial cost was the most-for wood and redirecting the vent-around 60. We tried to find everything else really cheaply. The total investment was probably 85 or so! Not bad!

I love my little nook.