Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Today, was such a great birthday! It started with Ryan letting me sleep in until 9! He made me breakfast too! After we all got ready for the day, I dropped Ryan off for classes, went to Jo Ann's for some crafts, and then we found a FANTASTIC library. This might have been one of the BEST birthday gifts, because I have had a REALLY hard time finding things to do with my kiddos here. Woo Hoo! We checked out about 20 books:)

We then decided to splurge on dinner:) We ended up at the Olive Garden (which is one of my faves). Tortellini, peach tea, and CHOCOLATE CAKE. I LOVE CHOCOLATE CAKE.

Of course I didn't take any pics of today... which I fully inteded on doing.

BUT here are some pics of a few of those great deals I got last week:

 (brown jacket- $12)

 (green 3/4 sleeve jacket- $5)

(orange flutter sleeve top $3)

Not my favorite pics of myself, but it was one of those days where I just couldn't get a good pic of myself. Oh well- cute clothes for me!!! (sometimes I don't know if I am more excited about the clothes, or just the awesome deals I find...)

Open for Business

My friend Nikki gave me some inspiration for helping with chores through her blog (which you can find here). We decided to scrap the whole chore chart thing. I honestly hated the chore charts. I love that I can teach my children about earning money and saving for things instead. We had a lot of fun this week passing out paper money and the boys were extra helpful with their chores.

I liked how Nikki doesn't take away money for bad behavior... she's right, that's no fun! Of course I had to motivate them a occassionally to keep trying to earn money (especially since they hadn't been shopping at our fun store yet). Overall, I just LOVE this idea! We will definitely be doing this every week!

This week we had things like silly putty, hot wheels, stickers, glue sticks, and most definitely a treat or two:)

I enjoyed watching them count their money:)

(by the way... that's Ethan's poor busted lip :( .   He slipped in the kitchen a couple days ago and I thought it would be a trip to urgent care, but thankfully it has been healing quickly!)

I found the template for the play money on the stinky kids web page. Check it out!

Cold Weather Cowl

I found this great pattern for a puff stitch scarf, so I thought I'd share my version with you! It is such a simple pattern and took me all of an hour to make it. I wore it all day today... out and in. Let me tell you- COMFY!

I think the flower pin adds a lot to the look.

You can find the original pattern here. I used an extra HUGE crochet needle. Not really sure what size. One of those plastic ones. I also kept the length short and sewed the ends together. I think I will try a longer one next time and see what the double wrap looks like on me:) 

Also... did you notice the new bang? I've worn them like this before, but I am loving my new haircut. So easy to do and it even looks decent when I don't do it!

I got some AMAZING deals this week at my work. They were offering all of the employees an extra 50% off clearance! The paid only $2 for the flower pin and get this... $4 for the cardigan and $5 for the jeans! I couldn't pass up deals like these, so I got quite a few items. I will be posting more outfits later:)

Sawyer's ONE!!!

I sure did plan on posting this A LOT earlier than now, but with a week full of sickies in our home... it just didn't happen. Last Saturday was Ryan's 31st birthday (I know, old guy... right?). Since it was only a few days before Sawyer's first birthday, Ryan said it would be good to share his day with his baby girl:) I planned a small party for her complete with lots of pink! My sister, bro-in-law, and nephew came out for the fun too. One problem... this was the start of the sickness in our home. Ryan woke up sick on his birthday with the stomach bug so he had to miss out completely. Thankfully the boys didn't get it until later and Sawyer and I seemed to escape the worste of it. Whew!

We still managed to salvage a pretty good day for her party and it was nice to see my sis and her fam. I am SO thankful that we live in the same state!

 I think I am going to pounce on it!

 Ok... this is good...

 REALLY GOOD!

 Now I am ready to sleep:)

Tyler and Saywer are only 3 weeks apart! His 1st birthday is just around the corner!

Oh and yes.... Sawyer is finally crawling! She has been pretty "lazy" about getting around to doing this, but now I can't keep up with her! Only a matter of time until all three of my kids are walking!



Tutu torial

For Sawyer's first birthday we decided on a princess fairy theme... of course. I made this fun little tutu for her to wear at her party and thought I'd share! It's super simple and super cute!
                                                   

 NO SEW reversible tutu:

You will need:

  3 different colors of tule, 1 yard each

  1/4" elastic

  scissors

  ribbon if desired or any extra embellishments you want to add

1. You will want to start with 2" or so strips of tulle. (I purchased 3 yards total from 3 different colored bolts and had a bit left over) It is not super important to keep the measurements exact so just lay out your tulle and cut away. For mine, I did two separate lengths. (You may want to just purchase the tulle ribbon rolls which will make for easier cutting. I wanted different colors than what was available.)

2. For the lightest color, I cut one yard worth of strips to about 18" long (keep in mind they will be folded in half, so the length once on the tutu, is about half that).

3. For the darker colors I cut the strips to about 9".

4. Measure your elastic and tie the ends in a knot to form a circle.

5. Start adding your tulle strips to the elastic circle:

Fold 2 strips, (depending on the desired length) leaving a loop at the top.



Place the loop behind the elastic band.

Draw the ends through the loop.

Twist the the tulle downward, making sure not to twist the elastic.

Push the loop to the side and keep adding! I did one color at a time, with each new color being added in between the previous colors. For the green, I did 1 strip at a time and placed them in between every space.

Push your longer strips to the bottom of the tutu, keeping the shorter ones on top. This gives your tutu a layered look.

Just keep adding strips until you run out or until it looks full.

Here are the finished looks:

Please feel free to comment or ask any questions!

Sole Sister

I had been looking EVERYWHERE for a good pattern for baby shoes. My little girl will ALWAYS take her socks off... unless she has shoes on to stop her! I found a fantastic pattern from this wonderful lady's etsy shop. I'm not quite sure if she is still offering the pattern, but her items are too adorable:)

Here is the finished product:

They are made out of jean material and one of my FAVORITE fabrics (that I can no longer find in stores).

I most definitely will be making more. Anyone interested?

New Beginnings

Looking ahead to the new year is so exciting! I always like to think ahead to things that I would love to see myself accomplish for the next year. 

- I absolutely LOVE our church here in Virginia, but I do struggle quite a bit with it being an hours drive away. I so desire to help serve in ministry there, but am unsure of what commitments I can realistically make. I pray for wisdom and clear direction.

-Ok... I know, I know. Almost EVERYONE you know has resoluted to be more healthy, lose some weight, etc, etc, etc.  I think this is a fantastic plan, but I once heard it said that it's not about being motivated to be healthy, it's about the commitment to be healthy. Simply put, do it even when it's hard! I lost quite a bit of weight before my I became prego with my baby girl, and let me tell you... IT FELT GREAT! I want that again. Once I got on a routine, big changes happened. I loved the energy I had, the way my clothes fit, and most of all knowing that what I was putting into my body was good for me.

So... I need LOTS of good recipes!

- I started school this last year at Liberty University working towards my Psych degree. I love the school and the classes I am taking. My goal is to continue with school and ENJOY it! Oh what I can learn in a year!

- To teach Andrew how to read! I love teaching my children things. Andrew just turned 5 and I can not wait until he can read!

Here's to New Beginnings!

Christmas Eve will find me...

This year, we are spending Christmas with our little family and loving it! I spent most of the afternoon baking with help from my boys. First, we made a birthday cake for Jesus. I let the boys decorate, if you were wondering:)



Last year I found this great recipe for the BEST fudge EVER. Well this year I made the same recipe but did walnuts instead of the candy canes. YUM! You can find the EASY recipe HERE.

And since I didn't do the peppermint fudge, Ryan requested some white peppermint bark.

I am a sucker for Chex mix. And popcorn. And caramel. I found this AMAZING recipe for Carmel Chex Popcorn HERE. I did however change up the baking process a bit. I think that baking it in the oven gives it a MUCH BETTER taste! So... Heat up your caramel ingredients on the stove until melted. Drizzle over popcorn, chex mix, and peanuts. Shake in covered container. Bake for 20 min @ 250 degrees, turning mixture every 5 or so minutes. Viola! So good!

Our card wall is FULL of cards! I just love walking by looking at all of the pictures and cards that our friends and family have sent us! It reminds me of all of the wonderful people in my life and how I am thankful for the wonderful gift of great people!

And... Our tree is up and finished. We decided against lights this year. Don't ask me why I only bought lights for our two bushes outside (one of which burned out already) and didn't get an extra strand for our tree. Oh Well. Today, I finished it off by adding the matryoshka doll handmade by my friend Nikki. She is SO talented and amazing might I add. She does ornaments every year and I am very happy to see mine on my tree again this year! Cute, huh?

 (I just can't seem to get a good picture of the tree, but we found these really pretty brown ornaments at Hobby Lobby. LOVE!)

I think I will call her Patty

Grandma Kathy sent cards and gifts. This is my most favorite card of all time. And it made my baby girl smile:)

WHEW! Well, there you have it.

Merry CHRISTmas to all and to all a good night!

Braided Updo

Thought I'd share a quick, simple updo of mine with you! Rosa is getting married in September of next year so of course she is looking for the perfect wedding "do". Thought we'd have some fun. This is more of an everyday up-do, but good for getting some other ideas!



(maybe soon I will start doing some tutorials!)

Hairspray

            Have I EVER posted about hair? Hmmmm... I think I need to do something about that! I have been finding some awesome hair blogs recently that have inspired me in the hair department. Since I have been inspired lately, my hair has been looking a bit better:) I have been accustomed to doing my own hair since I am usually so busy with the kids. I must say, I WANT to get my hair done by someone else. Recently, I had a friend from work trim up my horribly uneven layers. THANK YOU Rosa! Much better:)

Here is what I came up with today:

don't mind the visible bobby pin:)



Products I used: Big Sexy Hair- Blow Dry Volumizing Gel, Root Pump foam, Spray and Play hairspray

Sexy Hair

(Round Brushed)

The Lotion and Williamsburg

This past weekend I was able to take the kiddos on a trip with my sister's family. She lives a couple of hours away, but we thought it would be fun to do a "mini" vacation to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. Ryan has finals this week, so he was able to get a quiet house all to himself!!! (And by the way... he has earned A's on two of the six finals so far! YAY Babe!)

On our way to Williamsburg we decided to keep on driving to Virginia Beach. Why Not? It was SO cold! But SO AMAZING! We ate lunch at a great little pizza place a block away from the beach and then walked over to take some pics. My brother-in-law is a great amateur photographer, and it's hard to choose just a few, but here ya go!

 This is my cutie pie nephew!


(And by the way... My boys call the Ocean the Lotion:))

Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

This week we are putting the final touches on our home Christmas decorating. We set up a couple of light strands to the front of our town home and I also made a simple rope hanger for all of our Christmas cards. The card hanger is filling up with more cards everyday and it is nice to walk by and see pictures of our friends and family:)

Here is a sneak peak of what I started... More to come!