A Blessed Life

January

2012-02-02T15:44:00.000-05:00

Here's a skim through of the month of January.

Early in the month, amazingly enough, we actually had a day that was warm enough to go outside without risking frostbite. The kids enjoyed the play time and fresh air.

Those chubby cheeks and mischievous blue eyes melt this mama's heart every single day.

Little Man was wandering around aimlessly one day while I was cooking dinner and I could tell he was bored so I sat him at the table and taped down a coloring sheet and let him go at it.

It kept him occupied for a good 15 minutes or so.

The little stinker found his old pacifier somewhere and was getting a kick out of making Halie and I giggle.

On days that we're staying home with no plans of going anywhere I let Halie dress herself. She comes up with some very interesting and very colorful outfits! : )

Mid-January found us inviting several of Halie's church friends over for a Snowman Party. They had a great time and Halie loved having friends here to play with. If you'd like to see more details and pictures of that party you can see that here: {Snowman Party}.

This picture captures two of Burl's favorite things right now. He loves that book, and that picture in particular. He carries it around everywhere and just looks and looks at that picture. He's also at the stage of loving to put balls and other sorts of trinkets into bowls and boxes. He goes around the house collecting treasures.

There's just something about overalls that I adore. SO stinkin' cute!!

This is a pair of corduroys that I think came from a friend, can't remember for sure.

She loves her little brother!

I found this pair of Carhartt overalls at Goodwill for $2. Again, SO stinkin' cute! And, of course, Robert loves them.

Halie still enjoys dressing up as Pinkalicious a couple of times a week. In this picture she's showing off her pink heart shaped ring.

Robert received a set of stick-on mustaches in his Christmas stocking when we were in Florida. They ended up in Halie's dress up box and one day she wanted to try them out so we were being silly.

The kids are usually on their own to come up with some kind of entertainment while I'm busy cooking dinner most evenings and one evening I discovered them doing this.

Burl was squealing in delight as she pulled him around the house. (That's the step stool that belongs in the bathroom turned upside down with Gretchen's leash attached to it).

Well, that pretty well sums up January. See ya again soon. : )

2nd Half of December

2012-01-19T14:43:00.000-05:00

Since we were leaving to go to Florida on the 22nd, we had our own little family Christmas the weekend before. So, on "Christmas Eve" we let the kids each open one gift. (Christmas PJ's of course.)

You would have thought I'd given Halie the moon. She was SO excited to have new Christmas jammies!!

Burl loved the tissue paper. : )

Here we are attempting to get pictures by the tree in their new duds.

This one cracks me up. It's like he's saying, "Oh no, Mommy's taking pictures of me in my jammies. How embarrassing!" (He was actually playing peek-a-boo.)

I made Halie (and Emma) an "I Spy" Christmas ornament. I found the idea on a blog and thought it was so cute. It's filled with Epsom Salt and I bought little Christmas themed charms and miniature buttons and put in it for them to find.

Burl munching on a huge marshmallow lollipop he got in his stocking.

One of her gifts was a set of horse stamps. She's just like me, she LOVES horses!

Of course, Gretchen had to get a stocking too. : )

Me and my adorable little Butters.

You know he's serious about opening that gift, he's got his little tongue sticking out.

Again with the tongue sticking out, lol!

A fun play tent with a tunnel. A present for both kids.

Woohoo! Mommy gets the biggest present this year!! For once, I had no idea what it was and was completely surprised.

A set of stainless steel pots and pans! Yay! I've been wanting these for awhile.

After presents were opened, the kids had a blast playing in their new tent. Halie even spent her naptime in there.

We did Christmas on Saturday, then on Sunday afternoon we built a gingerbread house. This is something Robert and I had never done before.

With these two around I'm surprised we even had enough candy and icing left to decorate it!

The finished product.

Halie had accidentally cracked the back wall and we had to "glue" it back together, so to cover it up Robert decided to put a Confederate flag there. : )

The little yellow candy in the lower right corner was supposed to be Gretchen.

We really enjoyed doing this together. It might just have to become a new tradition.

Burl looked so stinkin' cute in these little overalls, I just had to take a picture!

Got her little suitcase packed and ready to head for Florida!

Man was it ever NICE to go from cold, overcast, rainy Ohio to beautiful, sunny, warm, South FL! Here they all are feeding the fish at Meemaw and Papaw's pond.

Having fun with Papaw (and scaring Meemaw).

We were able to go to Dee Dee's house to get together one evening for pizza and playtime for the cousins.

Helping Meemaw make a pie.

Visiting Great Grampy and Grammy at the nursing home.

On the real Christmas Eve, we had Christmas at my mom and dad's house with my family.

Bestie cousins - Emma and Halie

Playtime with Papaw D.

I think our stockings get bigger every year!

Listening to a new recordable book from Nana and Papaw - "Charlie Brown's Christmas."

Then, Christmas morning was spent with Robert's family.

We had enough time before church for them each to open their one big gift.

A little ride on car for Burl.

And a dollhouse for Halie. She was SO very excited!! Thank you Meemaw and Papaw!!!!

Then it was time to get all prettied up for church.

Our little family. Oh how I love them!!

Papaw and Meemaw with their grandbabies.

Both kids absolutely LOVED Uncle Brian!!

We even got to take the jet ski out. Halie enjoyed it SO very much, and so did I, 'til Robert flipped us off and I had to swim for shore! : )

Burl was so cute. He was very intent and focused and spent a long time playing with Halie's dollhouse all on his own. He was so good with it too, he didn't bang things around and destroy them, just played gently. So cute!

Crazy dancing with Uncle Brian.

While we were there, we were also able to get together with Brian's boys, Jaden and Rocco for some great play time at the park.

Papaw and Meemaw SO happy to be with their grandkids!

Robert and Rocco taking a breather for some coloring time.

Jaden loved walking around the park with Burl.

Princess Halie.

So great to be with everybody again!

After we got back home to Ohio, Robert's other brother, Robbie drove over to visit us on New Year's Eve. He even brought presents for the kids.

Halie and Burl both love the new Karaoke machine.

Always being crazy! : )

So that's it! That finishes off December.

Now that we're halfway through January I guess I still have more catching up to do.

Oh well, I'll get there.

First 1/2 of December

2012-01-11T07:24:00.001-05:00

December started out with the making of the kids Advent calendar. This year I made it out of toilet paper tubes wrapped like little gifts with treats inside. If you'd like to see more details on how it was made you can see that here.

The cammo hat was starting to get too small for Burl so I had to snap some shots with him wearing it.

They reminded me so much of the ones I took of Halie and Robert wearing the same hats (she was 8 months old in these pictures).

Halie and I made Christmas cookies for a cookie exchange and some extra to share with our neighbors (and some for us of course).

Santa's Favorite Cookies - yum yum!

She loves to help out in the kitchen.

An incident that made me laugh - I had put together this little centerpiece for our coffee table.

But apparantly Halie thought it needed some revising because later I came in and it looked like this.

She had added her Nativity set to it, lol!

We made reindeer pancakes one morning for breakfast. I found the idea on a blog and thought it was too cute not to try.

A cute sweater dress I found at Goodwill. (I love it, she hates it.)

More Christmas goodies to share, Cookie Dough Truffles this time.

And homemade candy.

She LOVED finding a present on the little tree everyday and seeing what was inside. That's the first place she went as soon as she got up each day.

Our tree all decked out in vintage ornaments and bubble lights. I can remember my Granny having bubble lights on her tree and being so fascinated with them as kid. I really enjoyed them this year.

Halie had a small part in the church Christmas play.

And did pretty well singing songs with the other kids.

Robert also had a part in the play as "The Gentle Man." He did really well, though he doesn't wish to ever do it again. : )

Santa's little helper. He melts my heart just to look at him!

The kids have two Christmas recordable books, one from each set of grandparents and they really enjoyed listening to them.

Halie still loves to dress up as Pinkalicious, though these days she's catching on to this whole "princess" thing more and more, and it's more about being a princess than it is about being Pinkalicious.

She loves to sing, and still loves being silly and crazy.

Okay, so now we're caught up to right before Christmas.

Next chapter coming soon.

Catching up from November

2012-01-03T08:11:00.000-05:00

Whew! Long time no blog. I have some serious catching up to do!

We'll start with November.

I got this cute outfit for Halie at a consignment store, but she did NOT want me taking her picture in it and would NOT smile for anything.

Lazy ol' Gretchen snuggled herself up in the blanket and caught some zzz's.

Halie and I made some cookies to contribute to a bake sale.

We took a few pictures of the kiddos one Sunday before church when, by pure coincidence, we were all dressed in similar colors.

Such a handsome little cutie!

Such a typical expression for him at this age...."Oh!"

I celebrated my 31st birthday. Robert got me some beautiful flowers and a yummy ice cream cake.

We drove down to Lebanon, OH and celebrated Thanksgiving with some of my extended family.

Aunt Sheryll, Mandi, Me, and Uncle David

Uncle Bob (whom I hadn't seen since I was a little kid) and his girlfriend Charlotte

Aunt Kay and Paul

Halie had a blast playing with all her cousins.

Jaxon

The kid's table.

Robert keeping watch over the two little ones, Burl and Lucas.

This was Halie's "thankfulness turkey." I drew it out for her and she did about 98% of the cutting out all by herself! About 10 days before Thanksgiving we put the body up and one feather, and then each day she told me another thing she was thankful for and we added on a new feather.

She was quite proud of it!

I enjoyed some relaxing "me" time in the crisp, cool, Fall weather on the swing while the kids were napping.

Burl learned to crawl up the stairs all by himself.

He was quite pleased with himself.

Late in November he took his first steps!

We had a fun afternoon of playing in the leaves in the backyard.

Can you spot Robert? : )

Halie had so much fun jumping off her picnic table into the big pile.

We had our first snowfall.

My beautiful little snow bunny.

Burl wasn't too impressed with the snow.

And last, but not least, Robert's sister Stacy had their 4th little girl - Karalee.

That pretty well sums up the month of November and pretty soon I'll start getting up the December happenings.

Fall Photo Shoot at the Park

2011-10-31T17:20:00.000-04:00

I decided to take the kids to the park the other day. The weather was supposed to be nice - sunny and in the 60's. I figured it would probably be one of the last days of nice weather and we had better take advantage of it.

So we took Gretchen and the camera along, and had a nice walk and a good time playing. They had fun in the leaves while I took pictures.

Halie was putting leaves in Gretchen's collar

I love the look on her face, like she's saying "Why do you let them do this to me?"

Love those eyes!

Looks like he's saying, "C'mere, I have a secret to tell ya."

See the leaf in the upper right corner? The wind started to blow and kick the leaves
around and he thought it was hilarious.

LOVE his cheezy-ness!!

A Halloween Parade

2011-10-25T11:02:00.000-04:00

Monday evening I took the kiddos to a nearby town's annual Halloween parade.

Waiting for it to start

It was a small parade, but they had lots of firetrucks which the kids enjoyed and TONS of candy!

All the band members were dressed up in costumes.

Both kids really enjoyed the bands and the music. Halie was more interested in watching them than she was in picking up candy.

Burl really liked the fire engines. He was wiggling his booty and clapping away! : )

Halie, on the other hand, didn't like how loud they were.

Friends from church Aaron and Noah

It worked out great because just that morning we had learned about firefighters in her school time, and then after the parade we visited the fire house and she got to see all the things we read about.

And even got to sit in a firetruck!

These two were so stinkin' cute bee-boppin' down the sidewalk together, little balloons trailing behind them, acting silly and laughing like crazy!

SO much candy!!

September/October "Stuff"

2011-10-19T09:47:00.000-04:00

Filling in the end of September and first part of October.

We took a trip to Iowa for Robert's friend Darryl's wedding.

The day of the wedding we did touristy type stuff in the morning and visited an area called the Amana Colonies, where we came across the biggest rocking chair in Iowa.

October

The kids and I took a walk around the neighborhood to see the changing leaves.

Halie had fun painting/making a paper plate Jack O' Lantern

I took some updated pictures of the outside of the house.

Dressed up a bit for Fall.

HUGE beautiful mums for only $4.25 a piece, can you believe that?!?

An impromptu photo session with my lil' buddy.

He is just the sweetest thing ever!!

He loves to give things to me and jabbers until I take it from him.

Now you're all caught up. Hope you enjoyed!

Don't forget to check out The Cozy Old "Farmhouse" to see what I've been up to in the crafty/decorative world.

Burl's 1st Birthday

2011-09-14T12:25:00.000-04:00

Birthday Boy!!

I've pretty much decided that even though I love to plan for and decorate cute themed parties, it will be too much to let each kid have a big, involved party every year. My plan is to rotate each year. So since Halie got the big party this year, we kept Burl's quite simple and easy.

I couldn't go without a tad bit of decor though. : ) So I picked up some plates, napkins, and a mylar balloon in this cute little 1st birthday theme, along with a colorful tablecloth, cups, and utensils.

Someone at church gave me a bunch of boy's clothes and this cute little hat was in with them.

A few of my family members that live about 1.5 hrs away came to join in the fun.

My 2nd cousins Mikayla & Trinity, cousin Mandi, and Aunt Kay

(The balloon bouquet was supposed to be the "centerpiece," but the wind kept blowing them into everyone's face so we had to move them.)

I kept the food really simple - hot dogs, baked mac-n-cheese, and chips. My family brought a few other things to help out and we enjoyed a nice picnic out in the yard.

Halie, Aunt Sheryl, Mikayla, Trinity

After we ate the kids had a little play time.

Then it was time for presents!

Daddy worked on getting them all out of their boxes and functioning.

By now, our food had finally settled enough and we were ready for cake.

Big sister helped him blow out his candle.

We don't normally allow him to grab his food, so when we set a piece of cake in front of him he looked at us like, "Am I gonna get in trouble for this?" He got a little bit on his fingers and held it up for me to wash off. : )

I had to help him out a little and show him it was okay to pick it up and taste it.

Still not quite sure about all of this.

"Ok Mom, I've had enough of this now."

It turned out to be a nice little party. Burl wasn't his usual smiley happy self due to all the new people and activity going on. He just wasn't sure what to think. Towards the end of their visit he finally was comfortable around them and his chatterbox and smiles came back.

I can't hardly believe my little Butters is a year old already!

Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Halie's 4th Birthday!

2011-08-25T16:12:00.002-04:00

This post has lots and lots of pictures. So those of you who are missing this little gal will have plenty to look at. : )

A couple of friends that we invited to her party weren't going to be able to come, so we were able to meet them a few days before her birthday at the McDonalds Playland for some fun play time. They even brought her a gift. So sweet!

Kaitlynn, Allison, and Halie

Her 4th birthday started out with a trip to Bob Evans for a free birthday breakfast (I signed her up for it a couple of months ago.) Then we stopped by K-mart to use the Birthday Club email we received. She got a free birthday fun pack with a crown she could color and some crayons. She also got $5 in Birthday Bucks that was good towards any toy $5 or more. She picked out this cute tea set for exactly $5. She was a happy girl. : )

After we got home from that, we made her birthday cake and put it in the oven. I had rented Tangled and once we got the cake in, we sat down and watched a movie together. We spent the afternoon just playing and doing things she likes to do.

Then for dinner we went to "The Peanut Store" (aka Texas Roadhouse). I had another email for a free birthday dinner for her, and she LOVES "The Peanut Store" so it was a win win! When we got home from that she opened a few gifts.

A little gumball machine and new bath toys from Mommy and Daddy.

A camera from Meemaw and Papaw Cantrell. She LOVES it!

A book and a shirt from Great Grandma Staffa.

After gifts, we ended the evening with the Birthday Cake ice cream she picked out at the store.

So, all of that was on Friday, her actual birthday. Then on Saturday, we had her Pinkalicious party.

(If you're not familiar with this book, the short version of it is that Pinkalicious eats too many pink cupcakes and turns entirely pink. The doctor diagnoses her with "Pinkititis" and tells her the only cure is to eat green food to return to normal.)

Pinkalicious

I hung balloons outside the house and put a sign on the door so our guests would start to feel Pinkalicious as soon as they saw our house.

I set up the food table in the living room.

Everything was pink of course! And I made a banner with her name for the front of the table.

Here's the cake Halie and I made. It was strawberry, so it was even pink on the inside, too!

We even had pink popcorn!

On the coffee table, I set up the book, pink M&M's, and one of Halie's Pinkalicious toys with a Happy Birthday note on it. And her Pinkalicious doll had to be in there somewhere too, of course.

The birthday girl in her pink t-shirt she and I made just for this party.

3 little friends joined in the Pinkalicious fun!

Suzanna, Olivia, Halie, and Sallie

They enjoyed playing in Halie's room for a few minutes while I finished up some last minute details (and picture taking).

We started off the party by reading the book so that everyone was familiar with it. The girls munched on the pink M&M's while I read.

I had a little photo-op area set up in the kitchen with all of Halie's Pinkalicious dress up stuff, and we hung a tablecloth for the background.

After the story, each girl had a turn dressing up as Pinkalicious.

Then it was time to sing, blow out candles, and eat all that pink food.

After they finished eating, they each got to decorate their own pink cupcakes. I had lots of things for them to use, sparkly pink icing, all kinds of sprinkles, candy flowers, pink M&M's, and cherries.

They made a huge mess and had TONS of fun!

The finished creations.

Then it was present opening time!

The girls had fun helping her open her big gift from Mommy and Daddy.

A crib and highchair for her baby dolls. (Nana and Papaw DeLamarter ordered her a toy baby monitor to go with it. I know she'll be SO excited when that gets here!)

Then they headed outside for some play time in the yard.

When the party came to an end, I passed out these favors to each of the girls and told them to be sure and eat their green food so they wouldn't turn pink from all that pink food they ate.

The other side of the bag topper said, "Thank you for making my party Pinkalicious!"

(This was not my original idea. I found them on someone else's blog who had also done this kind of a party and she had the toppers available for free download)

So, that pretty well sums up her 4th birthday. There are no pictures with Burl because he napped through most of the party, and only woke up right at the end as everyone was getting ready to leave.

After her party was over and her friends had all gone home, she said, "For my next birthday I wanna do Purpleicious!" I'm kind of hoping she forgets about that come next year. : )

If you'd like to see more detailed pictures and explanation of the decor and food, you can see that on my other blog {HERE}.

Randomness from July

2011-08-17T07:49:00.000-04:00

I realized that I had a lot of pictures from July that weren't anything specific necessarily, so I've just lumped them all together for your viewing enjoyment.

A pretty new dress from Meemaw and Papaw Cantrell (and new
sandals that matched perfectly, found on sale at Payless for $3!!)

His hair never knows if it wants to stick up or lay down. : )

Our church had it's VBS in July, and they did a "Gold Rush" cowboy/western theme. All of the scenery was handpainted by Sherry Mims (and helpers) and it all turned out superbly cute!

Robert let them use his saddle as part of the scenery, and it was also
the prop for the individual photos you'll see later.

Each night they did a segment of the skit, and the kids found it hilariously funny. Ok, so did the adults.

Part of my job was to go around to each activity and take pictures of the kids in action. Then the next night we ran a slide show for them to watch as they were waiting for things to start. Burl tagged along in the stroller while I did my thing.

Halie and her friend Olivia

Robert was able to come one evening and he took care of Burl for me while I took pictures. Here he was having fun with Daddy's hat.

Getting ready for craft time!

A lady in our church is a photographer and she brought her equipment and set up a little studio area and took a picture of each child sitting on Robert's saddle. They put them in cute little frames that matched the theme, and on the last night of VBS they gave them out to each child. Cute idea!

I hadn't even thought about Burl getting his picture done, or I would have dressed him more appropriately. But someone was watching him for me while I ran the power point and they slipped him in for a picture. He wasn't too thrilled with it. : ) I still think it's an adorable picture. You did a great job Wendy!

Halie had a BLAST and I'm sure she'll be excited for VBS again next year!

On another note, we love to play with Burl's hair during bath time. He loves the attention and all the laughs he gets because of it. : )

One Sunday morning none of us were feeling well and we all stayed home from church. Robert watched the kids for me while I went back to bed for some extra healing sleep.

This is what happens when Daddy's given free reign while Mommy sleeps. : )

The two of them had a good time being silly and playing dress up. Apparantly Robert was lookin' quite silly too, but mysteriously there are no pictures to prove it. Imagine that. : )

So there ya go! Now that pretty much fills in the gaps of July. I still need to do a post about our trip to the Columbus Zoo and then July will be finished up.

4th of July

2011-08-07T16:55:00.002-04:00

This year for Independence Day, Robert was sweet enough to help me carry the table outside in the shade of our big tree in the back yard. I decorated it using items I already had in my kitchen. The only "new" thing was the checkered tablecloth that I had bought for $1 at a yard sale a couple of weekends before.

Cantrell and Cochran soda can

I just used a mixed and matched selection of our everyday dishes.

I think it turned out adorably cozy and I, for one, enjoyed the red, white, and blue decor.

Little Munchkie only stuck around long enough for pictures, then he went to take his nap. : )

We call this his Stevie Wonder look. It's quite hilarious.

Robert grilled some DEE-liscious ribeyes, and I made corn on the cob and fried potatoes to go with it. (And of course, Sweet Tea was a must!)

Halie enjoyed some play time on her new swing set, courtesy of Meemaw and Papaw Cantrell.

(Thank you guys!!)

After a yummy lunch and naps all around we headed over to a local park for the festivities being held there. They had free rides, and different kinds of activities, followed up by fireworks.

Halie LOVED this huge slide. Unfortunately the line was SO long she didn't get to do it a 2nd time. Next year we'll try going a little earlier in the day and maybe it won't be quite so busy.

She's just like her Mama, LOVES just about any kind of ride.

Me and my buddy.

Sitting in the back of the truck waiting for the fireworks to start.

I could not even believe this child was still awake and happy at 10:00pm! I thought he'd konk out way before that, but he was still going strong, and as happy as could be.

It took her a couple of minutes to get used to the loudness of the fireworks, but once she adjusted, she LOVED them! This was her first time to see them in real life.

We all had a very fun day, and are looking forward to it again next year, especially Halie. A couple of days later at lunch time she prayed, ".....and Dear Jesus, please help 'Force o' July' to come back soon.

Papaw & Meemaw's Visit

2011-08-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

Okay, so I'm just a smidgen behind in my family blog and I apologize. I'm trying to get caught up though.

Just after Father's Day in June, Robert's parents were able to come up for a visit, and boy did we have fun!

Papaw teaching her a little golf - so cute!

Mom and I were S.P.O.I.L.E.D.!! Massages, manicures, and pedicures!!

Lots of playtime with Papaw, and Meemaw worked a lot trying to get Burl to crawl.

A fun evening at Chuck E. Cheese's

Dressed up for Sunday

3 generations of Robert Burl

Sunday afternoon Dad's sisters were able to come visit for awhile, too.

Aunt Bunny

Aunt Carolyn

A fun time was had by all and we're looking forward to the next visit!

Father's Day {2011}

2011-07-05T15:33:00.002-04:00

This man is the best father these kiddos could ever ask for!

They adore him.

He is amazing.

And I love him more every day. Words cannot begin to express how deeply I love him.

I thank God for creating a man who is so perfect for me, and who is such a wonderfully amazing dad to our kids. We are blessed.

Strawberry Pickin' Day

2011-06-27T15:04:00.000-04:00

One sunny, warm June day, the kids and I joined a couple of ladies from church and went to a U-Pick strawberry patch.

Bubs was just hangin' out, relaxin', while we did all the hard work.

Marea and Kerri Pouzar

Halie had fun. She did pretty well, and with encouragement and prompting picked almost a half a bucket. After that she said she was too tired and hot to do any more. : )

Me and my sweet girl.

After we got our buckets full we drove over to the home of another friend from church, Wendy. She let us use her fabulous kitchen to make jam and jelly out of our berries.

Kerri and Lindsay helping out.

Here's my finished freezer jam...oh so yummy!

The next day I just had to make some homemade bread to accompany the homemade jam. Double yummy!!

Memorial Day Parade

2011-06-07T17:39:00.000-04:00

It was a last minute decision to go to the Memorial Day Parade here in town, but we were glad we went. Halie had SO much fun and it was nice to get out and do something different.

Of course, I got them all dressed up in red, white, and blue. : )

Who could resist that face?!?

My sweet girl.

"Stars and Stripes" hair bows

~~Patiently~~ Impatiently waiting for it to start.

Seriously? Could a kid get any cuter?

My two favorite guys.

Someday she'll learn the significance this particular uniform holds.

Friend from church, Crissie.

It was much longer than I expected and we enjoyed it. Halie came home with a pocket full of candy so that made her day! : )

Papaw & Nana's Visit

2011-06-06T10:34:00.000-04:00

A couple of weeks ago we were so blessed to be able to have my parents come for a visit. Halie was SO very excited she could hardly stand it.

Enjoying some reading time with Papaw

Nana bought her a little tub full of letter tiles and they had fun spelling out words.

One thing Halie asked to do even before they got there was to make pancakes with Nana.

Burl getting in some snuggle time with Nana.

Time to say goodbye. : (

We sure did enjoy their visit and will miss them very much!

Signs of Summer

2011-06-01T19:06:00.000-04:00

I can't take any credit for these roses, the bush was already here when we moved in and I haven't done much to them. But I sure am enjoying them!

Did a little color editing on this one.

And I sure am enjoying have fresh flowers to cheer up my kitchen!

I hope you're having a blessed week!

Cutest Dandelions of the Bunch

2011-05-31T07:21:00.002-04:00

For your viewing enjoyment.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-26T15:05:00.002-04:00

Happy Belated Easter everyone! He is risen, risen indeed!

We started off our Easter weekend by going to a local college baseball game. This was a first for Bubs, so I had him decked out in a baseball hat, shirt, and ..................

...shoes. : )

After we got back from the game, Halie and I decorated our Easter cake. I don't consider myself a cake decorator....at all, but we sure had fun throwin' this together. In case you can't tell, it's bunnies and eggs in grass with ducks on a pond. : )

Later that evening we colored our eggs. Halie had a lot more patience for it this year and seemed to really enjoy it.

Robert and I experimented with using rubber bands to make designs.

This one of mine I called "The Sunset Egg."

This was Halie's last one and she decided to
soak it in every color available, 9 in all. : )

This one wasn't intentional but turned out kinda cool. The little cracks looked like lightning bolts to me.

Easter baskets all ready and waiting for them.

Unfortunately, Easter Sunday was a rainy day and we didn't get to take any pictures outside in nice light with pretty greenery. So, we did the best we could.

Burl was cracking up about something! Notice his pink little cheeks?
He got his first sunburn at the baseball game.

After church and a nice ham dinner Halie got to do her Easter egg hunt. It was still raining so we couldn't do it outside. : ( But....she still had lots of fun and that's what counts.

This picture has nothing to do with Easter, it's just Springy and pretty and I thought I'd share it with you.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter, too, celebrating our risen Savior!

Happy Birthday Robert!

2011-04-16T12:11:00.000-04:00

This year I decided not to get Robert a present for his 28th birthday. Sounds kind of mean and thoughtless doesn't it? Hear me out though. He's the kind of guy that just couldn't care less about gifts. Don't get me wrong, he's grateful if he does get one, but if he doesn't it's truly no big deal. (Whereas with me, I might say it's not a big deal, but really it is and I'll harbor bitterness and anger for years if you don't get me one. Ok, not really, but they do mean more to me than to him.) So, I decided that since there really wasn't anything he wanted for his birthday that I would use that money in a different way. Instead of buying a gift, I used the money to hire a babysitter for the evening and his gift was a date night with me, with no kids. We went out to eat, got ice cream, went bowling, and went to Walmart. Seriously, we went to Walmart on our hot date, lol! We had fun being together and enjoying some time alone. I didn't take the camera though, so no pictures of any of that. That was on Friday evening before his birthday (on Tues).

Then on Sunday, while he was taking a nap, Halie and I made his birthday cake. When we were at the store the week before, I let her pick out the cake mix, frosting, and decorations. She chose a chocolate cake, vanilla frosting, sprinkles, and "Happy Birthday" candles.

She helped me with a good bit of the baking part and did all of the sprinkles and candles herself.

We all enjoyed a piece of it when he woke up.

Don't you think she did a great job?

On Tuesday, his actual birthday, the kids and I met him in town after he got off work, and took him out to eat at IHOP. He got an email from them for a free birthday dinner, and kids eat free during April, so we enjoyed a good meal on the cheap.

Halie made him a cute card.

Lil' Man sitting like a big boy in the highchair.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart! I love you with all my heart!

Picture Happy Post

2011-04-11T12:40:00.001-04:00

For some reason I haven't had the camera out much lately for pictures of the kids. But this weekend we took advantage of the warm weather and sunshine and spent some time outside so I got some shots of the kiddos.

These first two are from Sunday morning, this outfit is courtesy of Meemaw and Papaw Cantrell. She looked so country and cute.

Enjoying the sun - Burl (7 months exactly)

A boy and his dog : )

Gretchy is gettin' old, but still just as sweet as ever.

The kids love her and she loves them.

She's always trying to sneak in some licks.

I hadn't had a picture with my lil' man in a long time.

He loves to touch my face, he's so sweet.

Bath time!

So fun to splash!

Burl's Room

2011-04-05T18:19:00.001-04:00

If you'd like to see what Burl's room looks like, I did a post about it on my other blog. You can see it here, Where Lil' Man Hangs His Spurs.

Like Father, Like Son

2011-03-19T12:06:00.001-04:00

Oh my word! I knew that Burl looked like Robert as a baby, but I didn't realize just how much until I got his 6 month baby picture out. I was shocked! I almost thought I was looking at Burl. Check it out!

Can you believe that?!?

Mommy Misses You

2011-03-17T07:16:00.002-04:00

How can you miss someone you've never met? Who's existence you were only aware of for a couple of weeks? How can their absence make your heart ache with soul wrenching grief that soaks your pillow with tears at night? I don't know how, but I know it's possible. I only knew of the existence of my first two babies for a week with the first one, and two weeks with the second one before the Lord decided to take them home with Him, but oh how I miss them. How is that possible? Is it because they were a part of me, and already a part of my heart, and as a mother I ache to know them and to hold them like I do my other children? I'm not sure why or how or what causes it. I just know that I've been thinking of them and missing them today. I know they're in heaven waiting to meet their mommy and I can't wait to meet them someday.

I've Started a 2nd Blog!

2011-03-14T22:18:00.002-04:00

This one will focus on my love of decorating, makeover projects, roadkill rescues (that's furniture, not animals!), and thrifty finds. That way I can keep the original blog focused on the ~~family~~ kids. If you joined me from one of the link parties recently and became a follower, I hope you'll join me at my new place The Cozy Old Farmhouse.

More Kiddo Cuteness

2011-03-11T07:13:00.007-05:00

This is what happens to little brothers who have big sisters!

This is just too much cuteness for one little boy!

I LOVE this one. He always looks so cute suckin' that lil' thumb.

His first tast of real food - rice cereal.

Not really lovin' it. : )

Snuggle time with Daddy before he heads off to school.

First time using a sippy cup. He likes to gnaw on it and bite it more than he does drink from it.

I Entered a Giveaway

2011-03-08T06:59:00.004-05:00

Emily, over at Nest. Nesting. Nested. is having a great giveaway. She has some really cute ideas and does some great stuff and I became a follower of her blog. I'm also hoping to win this prize package as everything in it would look great in my upstairs bathroom. : )

If you're into decorating, you should check out her blog Nest. Nesting. Nested.

My First Shabby Makeover

2011-03-04T07:24:00.011-05:00

Ok, so I actually did this a few months ago and I shared the pictures with my friends on Facebook, but never blogged about it. So for those of you who've already seen this, I apologize for the repetition.

So in my "hunting and gathering" phase of getting ready for Halie's Shabby Chic room makeover, I searched and searched Craigslist and thrift stores for the perfect bed. But it was so hard! Everytime I thought I'd found the perfect one either it was already sold, the seller never responded to my inquiry, or it was too expensive. Then I came across this one that a friend was selling. I almost passed it up without a second glance, but, after reading many inspiring blogs on furniture makeovers, I did give it a 2nd look. And I pictured it white, shabbied up, and with a little extra detailing to make it more feminine. Underneath that dark wood ugliness, it really did have great lines. Perfecto! At last I'd found a bed for her.

I sanded it down a bit, bought a $4 scrolly thing (that's the technical name) and epoxied it on. This was when we still lived on the ranch in Florida, so our nosy horse, Toothpick, had to check it all out, sniff it, bite it, and knock it over while I was trying to prime it.

Here it is all painted, but not distressed yet.

And here it is after some distressing with sandpaper. I had read about glazing furniture to give it an aged look and to bring out all the details, but I decided I didn't necessarily want it to have a "discolored" aged look. I wanted it to be white and just have a shabby/chippy look. But, I still wanted to emphasize the details in the scrolly thing a bit more. So I used a very fine paint brush with some black paint and filled in the lines here and there to make it stand out more.

Again, here's the "before."

And here's the "after," (in our new house), with the bedding added.

Gonna link up to:

Bicycles and Bathrooms?

2011-02-27T16:43:00.011-05:00

While walking through Walmart last evening, in the bicycle aisle no less, I was struck with a decorating inspiration/problem solution for my upstairs bathroom. Once I get a little extra $$$, I shall reveal my ingenuity. : )

Gettin' Big!

2011-02-21T08:33:00.006-05:00

I took these pictures on Sunday morning. It's one thing to see a picture of Burl and think "he's getting so big." But when you put him next to Halie then you can really see just how big he's getting!

Aren't they just the cutest things ever?!?

Here's Burl lookin' all handsome and ready for church. Our friends Darryl and Jodi bought him this outfit.

It's hard to see, but he's finally getting some fuzzy hair on that bald head. : )

(Don't forget that if you want to see a larger version of any of the pictures on my blog, all you have to do is click on the picture to enlarge it. Then click the "back" button to go back to reading.)

Halie's "Kitchen" is Finished!

2011-02-17T19:47:00.015-05:00

So, remember at Christmas when my dad gave Halie this kitchen set he had made her?

I wanted to take it a little further once we moved and actually decorate it and make it into a "real" kitchen for her. It's finally finished now!

I slowly got it all put together, but decided it needed a sign declaring it to be "Halie's Kitchen." Because we spell her name different than most girls with her name, there's never anything "pre-made" with her name on it, such as mugs, keychains, signs, etc. So I knew I'd never find one with her name on it and to have one custom made would be way expensive, so I decided to attempt it on my own for the first time.

I had thought to buy some wood, new, from Lowes or something. But I happened on this great little piece at the Restore for.........wait for it....$1. Can't beat that. I have no idea what it was originally, maybe a skinny cupboard door or part of a shelf. Dunno. But I did know it was exactly what I was looking for.

So I took my new sander (my 30th birthday present from the Hubster - yes, I specifically asked for it, he almost had a heart attack) and sanded off the shiny finish.

Coated it with a couple of coats of white paint as a primer base.

I put a coat of Krylon Candy Pink on the back, then dusted off my left brain and did the measuring to put in the hanging hardware evenly and correctly.

Then I finished off the front.

I used my Cricut to cut a stencil.....

Painted it....

And voila! My first sign. Not bad for $1, huh? She was SO excited to have a PINK sign with HER name on it!

So here is her kitchen, all decked out in pink.

My sister, Dee Dee, gave me 3 of these pink flowered, handpainted frames she found at a yard sale. This larger one was missing the glass and the backing was kind of falling apart. So I painted the cardboard backing with black craft paint and then used white paint to make it look like a chalkboard. No glass needed. I used "Chicken & Fries" because every single time we go out to eat, it doesn't matter where it is, Halie always wants chicken and fries. : )

My dad bought her this A-dorable apron set! And see that little pink trash can in the corner? From the dollar store.

It originally looked like this.

I have to admit, I saw this idea in a magazine used as a pen/pencil holder, and I ate it up in a heartbeat! It was perfect for all her cooking utensils.

Also at the dollar store, I got her these white plastic baskets to serve as her vegetable and fruit bins in her fridge. Sickeningly cute right? : ) And no, she does NOT keep it that organized. That was a little staging on my part. That orange pitcher was mine when I was little and loved to play house.

One more look for ya. Oh yeah, see that little salt and pepper shaker set on the counter to the right of the sink? My mom sent her those, they were originally a bright red and yellow. Spray paint works wonders. Meemaw Cantrell sent her the pink microwave, and the pink mixer was from my sister's husband's parents, who were here visiting from England at Christmas and were sweet enough to buy her a gift. It was perfect!

Halie LOVES it, so what do you think?

Linking up to Funky Junk Saturday Nite Special

My Favorite Lil' Chunker

2011-02-16T10:23:00.007-05:00

Here are two little video clips of Burl for those of my friends and family who either are missing him dearly or have yet to meet him.

In this first one he's doing his little attention-getting-I'm-being-funny cough and farting noises he likes to make.

After the 3rd attempt, I finally got some video of the lil' booger rolling over.

Hope you enjoy!!

Another Thrifty Redo

2011-02-06T22:16:00.008-05:00

I'm cookin' right along and got another little project for Halie's room completed this weekend. She had these great, shabby, white picture frames in her nursery when she was a baby. Of course, I didn't bother to take any before pictures of them so I had to go hunting for one that showed them.

Sorry about the blurriness, I tried cropping the picture so you could see them better. Anyways, they had red mattes and black and white pictures that Robert and I had taken. They were super cute, but alas, red no longer matches and she's no longer a baby, so I wanted to update the babyish pictures.

So one night while Robert was at school (the same night I painted her lamp) I got them out and painted (yes painted) the mattes pink. I figured, why go buy new ones when I could just paint them? I already had the paint mixed up for the lamp so I just used what was left and did these too. Then they sat next to my messy (creatively disorganized) scrapbooking armoire for about a week waiting on me to be struck with inspiration. I searched through my stash of paper, but had nothing that was calling out to me. I knew in my head what I wanted to do, but my paper stash wasn't cuttin' it. So, on my trip to Hobby Lobby to buy the trim for her lamp, I perused (walked up and down about 50 times) the scrapbook paper aisle until I found the combo I wanted.

Then the paper sat on top of the frames (next to my creatively disorganized armoire) for another few days. Finally, this weekend I'd had enough of walking past them and decided to "git r dun!" So I dusted off my Cricut and set to work.

This is what I came up with.

It doesn't show up well in the pictures, but the pink paper on the words is actually polka dotted paper. It looks kinda plain in the photos, but looks cuter in person.

Robert hung them up for me, but then I decided the top of the toy organizer looked too bare and needed some height.

So I stole the newly revamped lamp from her dresser and moved it over here. I think I like it there.

Now that means I have to restyle the top of the dresser. Sigh......one project at a time.

Linking this up to Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special.

Some Randomness as of Late

2011-02-05T14:42:00.009-05:00

I haven't posted very many pictures of the kids lately so I figured I'd throw in some random ones from the past month or so.

Isn't this lil' guy just the squeeziest thing you've ever seen?!? His overalls were 3-6 month size and were too small for him. They went in the "pack away" pile after this. The lil' chunk is only 4 months old!

One morning Halie requested that we make doughnuts so we tried it out for the first time ever.

I scrounged up all kinds of things to use as toppings and we had fun making them. And they were quite yummy, too!

Can you tell?

Dressed up in his baseball outfit from Meemaw and Papaw, gettin' ready to go to Chuck E. Cheese for big sister to have some play time.

Don't those fat lil' cheeks just make you want to reach out and squeeze them right through your screen?!?

These are just some crazy "self-portraits" we did one wintery day of cabin fever induced boredness.

Dressed in their jammies and ready for bed. They were playing together, all covered up staying warm, and they were just so cute. Poor Halie's bangs are in her eyes now. They were getting too thick and I want to grow the majority of them out.

We have been having SO much snow! Last week we already had a few inches of snow, and then that got covered by a thick layer of ice, and now it's putting down inches upon inches of more snow on top of that!

Can't really tell what this is, can you? That's because I can't either just about. I was standing on our back step looking down. There should be a big drop down to the ground and then the area beyond that is the flower bed. Completely covered!

This snowman we built a couple of weeks ago? The whole bottom layer......now buried in snow. (She's also minus a head because Halie knocked it off)

Well, there you go. A little glimpse into our life recently.

A Fun Lamp Makeover

2011-01-30T15:07:00.015-05:00

So most of you know that I'm in the process of redoing Halie's "big girl"room in Shabby Chic style and that I'm also revamping mine and the Hubster's room as well. We've had a pair of these lamps on either side of our bed for a few years and they're beautiful and I've really liked them. (Please excuse the water stain on the shade on this one. I forgot to take the "before" picture of the other lamp and had to settle for this less than perfect one after the fact.) But since the style of the room is changing they no longer matched my vision of what I want for the room. So I had them in the collection of yard sale stuff waiting for Spring.

But then I realized, wait a minute, the style is perfect for Halie's room, it just needs a little help. So I whipped out my white and red craft paint and mixed up some pink and went to work. Then I went to Hobby Lobby and found THE most perfect little trim to dress it up and give it that extra little touch of purdiness. I think I probably did it backwards, I should have picked out the trim first and matched the paint to the trim, but I was too excited to wait until I could get to the store. And in the end it all worked out perfectly anyways. Yay me! : )

So here she is.....

*

*

*

*

Ain't that just the sweetest lil' Shabby Chic lamp you've ever seen?!? I have to say, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

While I was at Hobby Lobby, out of curiosity, I checked out the lamp aisle. I found something that was somewhat similar for..........$50!! This one only cost me the $7 for the trim. It could have been even cheaper than that, but I didn't have a 40% off coupon. (Waaaaaa!) But again, I was too excited to wait until I got one. Oh well.

On what was supposed to be a quick trip to Goodwill the other day to return some shoes, I came home with this......

...... and turned it into this.

I'm not sure I'm completely satisfied with the arrangement yet, and obviously I still need to fill that picture frame (I'm so terrible about that) but it's coming along nicely. Still on my "to do" list for her room is to redo the 80's style, honey oak and brass dresser.

So what do you think? And what about you, have you upcycled or restyled something fabulous lately? I'd love to hear about it.

I'm new at this, but I'm going to attempt to link up to Donna's Saturday Nite Special over at Funky Junk Interiors. (LOVE that blog!)

Whew! Long Time, No See

2011-01-17T15:01:00.005-05:00

So here I am, back to the land of blogging! Did you miss me? Life has been so crazy and busy lately, sorry there have been no new posts.

In December we left the life we've known and loved......

we packed up our house....

loaded up the moving truck......

...and moved to the chilly north....Ohio!

We've been busy unpacking and settling in to our new home....

celebrating Christmas...

(Isn't he the cutest thing ever?!?)

...and enjoying lots of play time in the snow!

Now that things are slowing down a bit, I hope to get back to regular entries!

Sledding on Christmas Day - Robert

2010-12-25T23:23:00.003-05:00

Robert had never been sledding and he said he loved it. We definitely need to get him a better rig though.

Sledding on Christmas Day - Halie

2010-12-25T23:19:00.002-05:00

Halie going down the little hill all by herself. She LOVED it and I think she would have tried the big hill alone if we'd have let her!

Sledding on Christmas Day - Me

2010-12-25T23:09:00.004-05:00

Here I am, at least 16 years since the last time I went sledding.

Old Faithful Soon to be Retired

2010-10-28T13:50:00.008-04:00

So this is the comforter set that Robert and I have had for our entire marriage. The throw pillow collection has changed over the years, but the comforter has been a constant. It was the only one we could agree on back then and I have loved it. It has lasted and served us well for 8.5 years. But alas.......I believe it's time has come.

It works out well that it's becoming full of snags, holes, and worn areas because I was ready for something new anyways (and no, I didn't put those holes there on purpose just so I could redecorate, lol!).

I've come across a few pictures in the past year or so that are along the lines of what I'd like to do. I like a few of the elements in all of these pictures, and they are the inspiration for a bedroom makeover. I'm going for a sort of simple cottage type feel with lots of white and touches of red, with a mixture of patterns to soften it up.

(I love the curtains in this one!)

I'm excited because the other day at Home Goods I found my first two pieces to help me get started.

I'll let ya know how it all turns out. : )

What's My Style?

2010-10-27T14:57:00.015-04:00

For a long time now I have wondered how exactly to classify my decorating style. I love love love to decorate, rearrange, pull together some theme or another, etc. But over the years my style has changed from Americana, to colonial/primitive, to.....???...some kind of eclectic hodgepodge I haven't been able to put a finger on. I've always had a love for antiques and no matter what my current style was it always included antiques of some sort or another. I love the idea that something so old has to have a story behind it. I love to imagine who might have owned it and what kinds of things happened to it along the way. But I wouldn't classify "antiques" alone as my decorating style, as there is such a wide range of styles of antiques. I love things that are used, but not necessarily old, too. I love laid back and comfy, chipped, worn furniture, and I love the idea of repurposing something in a new and unexpected way.

About a year ago I found a book at Michaels or JoAnns, can't remember which, called Junk Beautiful, and immediately fell in love with it. I perused those pages over and over again, and even visited their website. I felt inspired by what I saw, but still I didn't have a label for myself. The book has been in my magazine rack ever since.

Then a few weeks ago I found a magazine called Flea Market Style. I quickly flipped through it and knew right away I would love it. After scouring every page multiple times and spending hours, literally...many hours, visiting blogs listed in the magazine I have come to realize that........drumroll...........wait for it.........I am a Junker! Ta Da! A label! The idea of taking what is essentially "junk" to someone else and finding a new purpose for it that looks beautiful and creative in my home is SO me! I can't say that I have very many things, (I do have a few though) in my house at this moment that fit in this category (I'm more of a Junker at heart), but I feel so inspired to do more with that idea. I love the things I've come across in these blogs and I can't wait to try some of my own projects.

There are still different styles of decorating within the "Junker" category, and I've yet to exactly identify what mine is. I know it's not the French Provential style that's so popular, although I think it's pretty, it's just not me. My style leans more towards Comfy Casual Farmhouse I guess.

Now maybe you're thinking, "Junk? Junker? What in the world?" But let me enlighten you. I've included just a few pictures of many inspiring Junker style projects I've found. Let me know what you think, and share with me what you think your personal decorating style is.

(LOVE this as a desk area!)

(I've seen many uses for old window frames, but this was a new one.)

(A greenhouse made with old windows, cool right? Or should I say "hot?")

The following three pictures are the progression of a project. Picture #1, a $1 lamp from a garage sale......

Taken apart, spray painted, rewired.......

And made into a beautiful new light fixture. I've seen very similar ones sold for $150 in country style decorating magazines!

Now do you understand? : )

A Lovely Fall Evening

2010-10-23T13:43:00.005-04:00

Where we live, out in the country, we don't have much for paved areas around our house for Halie to ride her bike. There's only the dirt/rock driveway, which she can do but it's a little difficult and frustrating for her, and about 10 feet of concrete at the front of our house. So, she has never had a good opportunity to really ride her bike for any length of time or significant distance. So Friday evening, instead of going to a restaurant to eat like we usually do, we picked up a pizza and drinks and went to a picnic area up on the dike around the lake. After a yummy supper we took a leisurely walk while she happily rode alongside on her bike. I think she was amazed at the freedom she felt of being able to just ride and ride. She had so much fun!

It was such a beautiful evening, sitting by the water, feeling the cool breeze, and just enjoying being together as a family. By the time we left the moon had risen, there was a chill in the air, and we left as a contented little family.

Added Blessing

2010-10-11T09:04:00.003-04:00

I already felt like I had a blessed life, but as of September 10th I feel doubly blessed! Our sweet baby boy, Robert Burl Cantrell, III came into this world. Everything went smoothly with the delivery and we are praising and thanking the Lord for a healthy lil' man! I am so grateful that the Lord saw fit to answer our prayers for a boy. I'm not worthy of anything, but for some reason He blessed me anyways.

(Almost 4 weeks old)

Big sister, Halie, loves her new little brother so much and is a great helper. Sometimes too much of a helper. : ) Burl loves her back and listens intently when she talks or sings. I can't wait to hear his giggles when he watches her silliness.

He has been such a smiley baby right from day 1 basically. I love to see his face fill up with his huge grins. Now at 1 month old they're getting more frequent, and happen more in response to something rather than just randomly. This morning he was laying on his play gym checking out a dangling toy bug. He reached out and hit it, it jingled, and he lit up with a big ol' smile.

I just can't get enough of this lil' Chubby Bubby!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

2010-08-26T11:54:00.013-04:00

Halie's 3rd birthday week started off with taking cupcakes to share with her friends at the library story time. Instead of the usual cupcakes, we made Rice Krispie Treat cupcakes. I had seen the idea in a magazine and thought they were really cute. We used the Cupcake Pebbles cereal that has little sparklies in it and topped it with pink frosting and sprinkles.

The kids really seemed to like them, although that doesn't really show up in this not-so-great picture, lol!

Mmmmmmm!!!

On her actual birthday, which was Thursday, she requested pancakes and eggs. We made chocolate chip and birthday sprinkle pancakes.

It was her day so I didnt' do much housework, I just let her choose what she wanted to do and I tagged along. : ) She watched a video, went outside and played with Mimi and played on her slide and swing, we played games and read books. A fun day!

For dinner, we took her into town to McDonald's (or as she calls it Old MacDonald's).

Before we got there we stopped at Winn-Dixie and let her go in and pick out a birthday balloon.

She got a happy meal and when she was done eating she ran off to the playground. She had been SO excited about that part all day long!

After some play time we let her open her gift. We kept it small and just got her two little things since she had an actual birthday party coming up and also, we'll be getting her a new bed and bedding set for her room soon. She LOVES to sing so I thought this microphone would be perfect.

We ended the evening with an ice cream cone! Her daddy helped her out a little, but she ate most of that all by herself!

Saturday of that week we had her actual birthday party. She really loves the pool and August in Florida is just too hot to do much else, so we had a pool party. My goal was to keep it low key since I'm 8.5 months pregnant, but still make it cute, colorful, and fun. We used Great Grandma Staffa's pool and kept it really small with just a few family members.

I decorated with a pool party theme and used lots of bright colors that coordinated around beach balls. The banners were from the dollar store and I also got several punch balloons from the dollar store and clusterd them together as part of the decorations. I thought it turned out kinda cute. When the party was over, the balloons doubled as a party favor the kids could take home with them.

I bought bright colored, big, lollipops and put them in a bucket of sand and surrounded that with oversized sunglasses as the centerpiece. Again, both of those items doubled as party favors for the kids.

I found this cute pool party set online.

Gift table.

To keep everyone comfortable, we arranged it so that the ladies and kids used the pool first, then all the men came and joined us for a pizza lunch, cupcakes, and gift opening. After that was all completed, the mommies took the kids home for naps and the daddies and grandpas stayed and swam for awhile. It worked out good that way.

Emma and Halie, FINALLY getting brave and using the floaties all by themselves!

She LOVES to jump in!

Isaiah, Emma, Halie, and Josiah

Instead of spending extra money on ordering a cake done by someone else, I decided to do the cupcakes myself this year. The little sun toppers were actually rings and also doubled as party favors. : )

I saw the idea for these flip flop cookies on a "beach towel" in a magazine. I was only planning on doing the cupcakes just to keep things simplified, but these were just too cute to pass up!

Cousins having fun together.

Birthday girl!!!

I have always chosen the theme for her parties, but I think next year she'll be ready to choose for herself! : )

I'm No Seamstress, but........

2010-08-26T10:38:00.004-04:00

I don't claim to be any sort of a seamstress at all. I know my way around a sewing machine just enough to do a straight, basic stitch. I've been known to tinker here and there and make basic valances and such, but nothing more than that.

With a new baby coming along I was looking at nursing covers (something I didn't use last time around, but wish that I had made use of) and came across a pretty basic looking one that was selling for $10 plus shipping. I didn't like any of the fabrics they had, and I thought to myself, "I think I could make that for about the same price and then I'd have a cute one that I actually like." So I perused JoAnn's one day and came across this cute boy fabric with dump trucks. I liked it because it's fairly neutral, not too "It's a boy!" looking (pastel blue with footprints), but not so theme specific that I would come to hate it after a few months.

I was so upset with myself because I walked off and forgot my 40% off coupon. I could have spent several dollars less, but oh well. In the end it came to be about $10. I bought a yard of fabric and a yard of coordinating ribbon.

I had Robert haul out my ancient Singer sewing machine that Grandma Cantrell gave me, and I set to work. It's not perfect by any means, and I think I should have made it a little wider, but all in all I think it will be functional. And if it's not wide enough, maybe just maybe, I'll attempt another one.

I do have a bit of fabric leftover and I think I may try to make a couple of burp cloths out of it. I'm feeling ambitious. : )

Daydreamin' of Shabby Chic

2010-08-09T20:18:00.005-04:00

Inspiration! I've been wanting to redo Halie's room for awhile now. She still has the same bedding set from when she was a baby and now that she's basically 3 years old, I think it's time for an upgrade. She doesn't have any favorite character or theme other than that she LOVES pink. But all of the kids bedding sets that are "pink" are fairies, princesses, or butterflies. I knew I wanted something a little more generalized and something that could grow with her for the next few years. I couldn't find what I wanted until I came across this magazine picture that really inspired me. I love the idea of the shabby chic look for a little girl's room. It's feminine (and pink!) without being overly foofy and frilly, and not Disney princesses! I think this look could easily last a few years until she's ready for something new.

Now I can't wait to start the hunt of collecting, buying, dreaming, and pulling it off at some point.

Happy Father's Day

2010-07-27T15:48:00.003-04:00

My two favorite people on Father's Day, June 2010 (despite what the date on the picture says) God most certainly blessed me beyond what I deserve when he allowed me to have a man like Robert as my husband and as a father to my children. He is the best and I couldn't ask for him to be any better. He is the perfect combination of fun loving and funny, yet consistenly strict and fair with discipline. He's actively involved in all aspects of Halie's life and there hasn't ever been anything that intimidated him (not even when poop was oozing up her back and into her hair as a little baby, lol!) Thank you Sweetheart for being such a wonderful father and for being just as wonderful of a husband to me. I love you and appreciate you more than words can say, and I thank God always for you.

Mother's Day

2010-06-13T07:34:00.005-04:00

I've gotten a little behind in my blogging, so here's a bit way back from Mother's Day.

My mom had to work so we didn't do the big combined family get together we typically do. Instead, we drove up to Okeechobee Sunday morning to Robert's parents house there and went to church with them and had dinner together afterwards. When we walked up to the house they had this banner hanging on the porch. : )

Then they had this waiting on the table.

Robert grilled chicken and corn on the cob, I made oven fried potatoes, and Gina made the cake for dessert. It was yummy! After dinner, while Halie napped, we played a couple of rounds of Monopoly Deal. (Such a fun game!) When Halie woke up we all headed upstairs to the big TV and watched Horton Hears a Who. All in all, it was a very fun day and so good to spend it with family.

(This was the last time we were ever at this house. It is now sold.)

A View of Life to Come

2010-05-14T07:01:00.002-04:00

Sun Tea

2010-05-13T06:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday I got the urge to make Sun Tea. I haven't made it that way in 4 or 5 years! To me there's just something "pioneer" feeling about making it that way. It's right up there with growing your own garden. : ) For some reason I got a lot of enjoyment from looking out the window at my jar of tea steeping in the hot Florida sun. Turned out mmm-mmm good!