Inspired by...

Lately, I have been challenged by the section of Proverbs 31 that describes The Wife of Noble Character.  I have read it many times in years past and each time something different resonates with me.  Most recently, it has been the parts about how she works with her hands and makes things and works vigorously instead of sitting idle.  By no means have I conquered anything in the passage, but those parts struck me because I have always just had the mindset that I don't have enough time to work on things & should just pay for them (esp if I can get a good deal).  But, I have been trying to seek ways that I can make/do things that I currently pay someone else to do.  Granted, I don't have much time, so they have to be simple... but I have to start somewhere...

This year, I really wanted to get some new decorations for Fall.  I LOVE the fall- the colors, the cool in the air (which is just getting to us today), the pumpkins, the thankful attitudes that start off the holiday season.  It is just my favorite.  This year I did not want to spend much money on adding to my decor, but still wanted to freshen things up a bit... enter Pinterest.

At first, I was hesitant because I thought it would just be another time waster with no point.  However, I was wrong.  Don't get me wrong... it can definitely be that if you let it- no doubt- and I do tend to waste some time looking around.  But, the best part is that I can actually put some of those ideas into reality.  So here are my most recent ventures... 

I found tons of fall wreaths that I loved.  So, I combined several of the ideas I found and this is what I came up with.  The wreath form is a pool noodle that we did not really use... just used some trusty duct tape to keep it together, wrapped it in burlap and hemp twine.  I made the flowers and leaves out of felt and put them all on alligator clips so that I can take them off and change out what goes on the wreath through the year... so we will see what I add to it at Christmas. :) 

This is a combination of 2 banners/buntings that I found.  I loved one I saw with buttons (and I have a ton of those), so I combined it with a more formal idea of using a word or phrase.  A little cutting, sewing and painting later... and voila!  I found tiny clothespins in the office section at Walmart & they are perfect to hold each piece onto the twine.  I did not sew the pieces together because, like the wreath, I figure I could use pieces and change it up for other holidays and seasons.

Ok- so this is not what I imagined for this cute little letter B.  Originally, I found a site that had these letters wrapped in yarn... again I have a ton of yarn, and thought 'How Simple!'  Man, was I wrong.  B has to be the hardest letter ever to wrap, and there is apparently some technique that I have yet to master, so I changed my plan.  Instead I used more burlap & yarn to just cover the letter and make it simple.  It may be one of my favorite projects... figures, since it is nothing like it started. :) 

This one was not on Pinterest, but I thought I would add it anyway.  I saw in the Family Fun magazine a recipe for these 'cookies.'  They are actually whole wheat tortillas cut with cookie cutters, sprayed with cooking spray & sprinkled with decorator sugar.  You bake them for about 5 minutes @ 400 degrees.  They are more like chips, but they pass for cookies with my 3 yr old & they are so fun to make.  He helped with it all & loved it.  Such a great 'baking' project for little ones with short attention spans. :)

This is not really a great picture of Molly's outfit, but it was the only one where you could see both parts that I 'adjusted' and I figured I would use it.  We don't really go all out for Halloween, but I found some fun shirts this year for the kids & we attempted to get fun pictures at a local pumpkin farm.  Anyway... back to the crafty part.  I made the leggings (like babylegs) from a pair of socks I found on sale... just cut off the foot part & turned under the ends and hand-stitched them while we were in the car this past weekend.  I wanted to make a tutu for Molly that was all of the colors of her shirt & Evan's, but ran out of time & a friend told me she found cute pre-made ones at Walmart for her girls & they only cost $5.  I went to the ribbon aisle to see what I could use for embellishment & found this perfect pink trim!!  I just hand stitched it in about 45 minutes (sewing machine was pre-occupied by a friend).  It turned out great & now we have a tutu that is not just for Halloween... so it was a win-win. :)

Lastly, (I don't have a picture...kinda self explanatory) I found a recipe for making your own laundry detergent.  I know that there are other ways I could probably cut things to help our seemingly shrinking budget, but this just struck me as so simple and cost effective that I had to try it.  So far, I have really liked how well it cleans & our clothes smell just as fresh as before.  I spent about $10 on the supplies, and the lady who posted the recipe said she gets about 576 loads from those supplies.  That is huge savings in my mind!  We shall see, but so far I think it is something I will continue to do in the future.

So, I have been busy putting ideas to work and trying to save money doing it.  I will get back to posting family stuff soon, and will keep posting the things I try.

New, In-house Photographer

It's me!!!  Actually, I would love to get a nice camera and take the time to learn how to use it, but that is not in the cards for me at the moment... one day. :)  Instead of me, over the last few days Evan has found an interest in taking pictures.  He has always liked looking at them and watching videos on the computer or on a phone, but this week we let him go behind the camera.  I have to say, I was pretty impressed.  He did very good for his first few shots!  I guess getting a camera for him to use, so he does not break mine could be in our fairly near future... Christmas maybe?  So, here is the work of our little artist... in his words...

Daddy listening to 'ear hings' and doing school

Beast

'Puppy' sitting by Molly's bottle

That's me!

My foot

Molly's bouncer

Mommy and Molly getting Molly's bottle

Molly's toys

Molly's paci

Magnet on the fridge

The fan

The couch

Molly drinking her 'milk'

Mommy's and Molly's and Evan's feet

the TV

Looking out the window

Long Time Coming...

I have to admit that I have honestly been overwhelmed by the idea of the blog lately.  I just cannot bring myself to catch up on almost a year of posts that are in the works, but still waiting in the wings.  So, instead of catching up I am just going to start here.  I will try to go back and catch up- there is so much great stuff to share- but for now, I am going to try to take the pressure off of myself and just share this moment. :)


I cannot believe it is already September!!  This year has seemed to fly by.  This week has been great- we got a small break from the insane heat that has plagued our summer.  We have missed out on 2 heat records, which I am a little peeved about after suffering for 3 full months.  But, life has been good, albeit indoors. :)  

Daily life is fairly routine... the kids and I get out each week to see friends-sometimes a few times a week, I have started trying to get myself healthy after 2 kiddos and hit the gym 4-5 times a week, Page is working diligently at his job and going to school, Evan goes nonstop all day & is quite the character & Molly is into EVERYTHING.  So, there is not much down time in life, but that seems to be our norm for the time being.  We do pretty well at handling it... most of the time. :)


Family update (in random thought mode):
Page is always on the move.  I have to say that he amazes me.  He puts in long hours at work (not including the crazy drive he has most days) and usually still has a good attitude when he gets home.  He is doing 9+ hour semesters in grad school trying to get his degree finished next August, and somehow has the ability to do class & study effectively because he has been blessed with good grades.  Then if all of that were not enough, he is the best husband and father that our family could ask for.  He helps me with the kids and around the house & makes time to spend with me when we can.  I know he is not Superman, but in my eyes (and the eyes of our kids) he is pretty darn close. :)


I have been trying to care for the home-front.  There are lots of things that go undone, but I have the blessing of having special time with my kids each day, which makes the piled dishes in the sink more bearable.  I have found some group exercise classes that I love... that phrase has never been true of me before (exercise and love don't really go together in my head).  A friend and I have been taking care of the Sunday School ministry at our church for a little over a year now, and we just revamped quite a bit, so that was exhausting, but very beneficial.  I really and truly enjoy being a Mom and though it is not always easy, have been trying to recognize that God has given me these children to raise & I want to be there for as much of it when they are young as I can.  


Some pictures of times that make the tough moments totally worth it...

Evan is now about 3 1/2 years old.  He loves to run, and be outside & squirt anything with a water bottle.  He is more testy now than he was at 2, and his favorite question is 'Why?'  He is extremely curious about how things work and what is inside of everything.  He loves to draw & has lately started drawing people (you know, the limbed face kind).  He will help with anything and does not want help with much.. he is a big boy, after-all.  Evan loves his sister and he loves Page and I.  If we have not said it that day, he will turn to me and say, "Mommy, I love you... I haven't gotten to say 'I love you' today."  He has a soft side that likes to dance & paint his toenails dark blue, but is balanced by his desire to yell, jump, crash cars & run... all boy!  He loves hearing stories and has memorized several that are on a CD some of his Sunday School teachers gave him.  Pretty much every day I can see him learning and processing a new concept.  Lately, he wants to understand God... how is he in Heaven with Grandma, but also in the car with us... why can't we see him or hear him talking, but we have his words in the Bible.  Granted, these are hard concepts, but putting them into toddler-speak adds a whole new dimension to difficult.

I got a pedicure and Evan thought he needed to have painted toes also... the results.

As a reward at the end of a sticker chart, Evan could pick a toy at the store... his choice- Angry Birds! :)

Making avocado 'Smooves' while wearing his 'chef hat' aka a coffee filter.

Molly will be 10 months old tomorrow.  She got her second tooth today & is chewing on everything!!  Of course, she is my oral child.  Evan rarely put things in his mouth & she is the opposite.  She loves her pacifier and her thumb will do the job if it is not around.  She hated baby food and we had to go straight to solids.  We are able to give some mushy foods now, but they are still not her favorites.  Molly took longer to get started moving than Evan, but when she started, she took off!! She went from barely reaching toward pulling up to full cruising in about 4 days.  Now, she will either crawl or army crawl where she wants to go and then stand and cruise if there is something to hold onto. She is much more daring than her brother and much more of a screamer. :)  She makes her wishes known.  She also does so through signing.  She signs 'more' and 'all done' and will point toward what she wants.  Her faces are very animated and she babbles a ton.  She has about 8-10 sounds that she makes regularly and loves to laugh at herself when she is 'talking'.  Molly is so adorable, it just makes me smile thinking about it.  I know I am biased but she is pretty amazing. :)

Who me?  I wasn't bothering the cat!

Good MORNING!! (Well, afternoon since it was nap time.)

Again... pretty darn cute!!

Just because I thought it is funny, I took pictures of both of my kids the other night.  This was the same night, at the same time.  I was surprised to see that they were sleeping in basically the same position.  You can't tell that Evan's legs are bent, but they are under the blanket.  My sweet kids seem to be alike in random ways that I don't usually notice. :)

So, I hope to make this blogging thing a more regular occurance... maybe I will put it on the calendar to at least do once a month. :)  We shall see! :)

December- Quick, fast & in a hurry!

So the month of December... it seems like it flew by in a whirlwind. Part of that was to blame for the lack of sleep we were experiencing- Molly did not sleep too well at this point & we spent a ton of time (mainly @ night) watching random shows on our Netflix instant play account. :) Despite the sleep deprivation, it was still a wonderful month & we were able to spend lots of time with friends and family.

Evan has reached a place where he is quite independent when it comes to most things, but still wants/needs help pretty often as well. He also loves to do whatever Page and I are doing. One day when we were getting ready to go somewhere, I went into the bathroom to find Evan covered in shaving cream-just like Daddy. He was loving it!Molly has become much more interactive lately & she is starting to smile. There is not much that can make you feel ok about staying up all night, but getting a smile in the morning from our adorable little gal is definitely a good motivator.

She is also to the point where she LOVES bath time... she can be screaming and if we put her in the bath, she calms down & soaks up the warmth. It is also a great way to keep her awake in effort to help her sleep at night. (not that it works yet!)

One of the best things about having a girl are the clothes!!! I love to put Molly in cute outfits. So FUN! Here is one outfit that my Mom got her for Christmas- one of my favorites. :)

Sleeping kiddos crack me up. Sometimes it is the sweet faces they make when they are dreaming and sometimes it is the positions they can get themselves into. I would be hurting if I woke up the way Evan does most days! Here are both kids in great moments of sleep- I probably should have slept too instead of taking pictures, but oh well!!

Could not go without the train set for even a night, apparently.

Don't know why this ended up upside down... but it is still cute. :) Molly loves having her hands near her face!

Sometimes it is not just the kids that sleep in crazy ways... my poor husband is doing an amazing job of keeping his head above water & making it look easy. This is how he feels most days, I am sure. Both kids love seeing Daddy. Thankfully he is great about letting me have little times where I get a break from the craziness of the day. This was a great moment when all were happy and Page was spending good Daddy time with our kiddos. This month we got the all clear for Evan's hand. It healed perfectly and we had our last appointment at Children's. Mom was able to come help me take both kids to the appointment (since during our last 2 appts we were there for 2+ hours). Thankfully, we were in and out in about 30 minutes. Evan got to see the HUGE Christmas tree out front- it had real toys under it & he was impressed. He and Mom walked around it and checked it out while Molly and I stayed out of the wind.
Here is our Christmas tree this year. It pretty much looks the same as the last few years- we just add a few ornaments each Christmas. This year, in effort to keep Evan from wanting to 'help' with our tree, we got him his own small tree to decorate. We got ornaments that he could take off and play with if he wanted and it would not be a problem. He loved it!! We went to Target and he picked the tree, the ornaments- all of it. His favorite colors are blue and purple, so that was the theme for his tree this year- blue tree with blue & purple ornaments. It was great, each time he wanted to touch/play with ornaments from my tree- I just reminded him that the big tree is Mommy's tree and he had his own. He even took it around the house to play with and decorate over and over. So, anyone looking for a way to keep a toddler away from your tree next year- there is an idea for you- definitely worth the $13. :)

We are blessed to have friends that are great at photography & better at getting Evan to smile (bribery by candy cane helped). For our Christmas card/family pictures this year, they took some wonderful shots that are definitely some of our favorites ever. :)

Thanksgiving fun

This year we had much to be thankful for. We have 2 healthy children, a great marriage, wonderful family & the best friends! There is definitely nothing to complain about. We praise God for all that he does for us and all that he gives us- it is all so much more than we deserve & we hope to always be grateful.

Thanksgiving morning we watched the Macy's parade. It was the first time that Evan has really paid much attention & he loved it. He also loves to make silly faces.

Since Molly was only about 3 weeks old, we chose to stay in town instead of travel. We missed our family, but we were grateful for our second family, the Rasmussens, for having us over to celebrate the holiday. Evan enjoyed playing football with Ben, Peter & Wyatt. He may need to work on catching. :)

The boys had fun running around the yard.

A little tackling was involved... until Evan was a little too rough & Wyatt started crying anyway.

Page took some time to spend with Molly & to visit with the others. :)