Pillow Talk

So, a while back I bought some fabric on sale that I really liked and planned to make pillows out of them. Eight months later I am four pillows happier! Take a look! It took me a few hours because Avalyn kept running away with my fabric pens… crayons… chalk… anything she could get her hands on. 

My new pillows!

I also made another poncho. I’m so ready to sell these things. Everyone asks where I get them, but no one wants to buy them. Sad face! Guess it’s not in the cards. Oh well! At least I'm having fun! That's what matters, right? 

Side view!

Front view

Avalyn was distracted by the flag.

"Look Mommy! Flag!"

Tonight Matt and Keith worked outside again, I'll post pictures tomorrow of our yet-to-be-tilled garden, as well as what I did to the kitchen to make it look less bare. Poor naked kitchen!

Anyone else being crafty lately? Making gardens? Dressing up a naked kitchen?

Name that Craft!

So, today I made a foam name for Nicolas. Now I just need to hang it under Avalyn’s name on her door. I’ve got Keith’s name all cut out, I just need to glue it. Unfortunately I ran out of time before Avalyn woke up from her nap. She’s a foam name destroyer, so I had to put my supplies away before it was too late!

Anyone else make little crafts for their little ones? I know I'm not alone here. What have you guys made recently?

Weekend Fun!

This weekend we had some much needed fun. We went out to one of Matt’s co-workers house and had a good time hanging out. 

Unfortunately, Avalyn was not very nice to their dog or 4-month-old… she’s a bit too rough. We had an amazing spaghetti dinner and talked a lot. We even got to go on a walk to a farm down the road and the kids got to feed the horses. We didn’t leave until almost 11:00PM, but it was totally worth getting home at midnight! So good to be able to make friends closer to home!

Getting the kiddos ready for their walk

Even Buddy the dog had a place in the stroller

The horses

Daddy was putting a carrot in Avalyn's hand while Keith tried to figure out what horse to feed

"Come here horsie!"

The brown horse was ready to eat!

Avalyn says, "All right, the horses ate, so I need to have some fishies." Meanwhile Teegan watched the action quietly from the sidelines.

Matt petting the horse.

Keith petting the horse.

What did you do this weekend?

Then and Now + a Mulletectomy

Okay, here’s a picture of me at 2 side by side with Avalyn at 22 months. Isn’t that neat? I did a comparision of baby book stats as well (how awesome is it that since we share a birthday I can compare things without using math?)… She’s taller than I was at 2, she weighs about eight pounds more than me (big girl!), but she has less hair than I did.

Me circa 1986, Avalyn 2012

Speaking of less hair… We had a mulletectomy today. Avalyn’s hair was just out of control so I chopped it. Matt is not happy with me, and I do miss her curls, but she looks taken care of now. Before it looked like I didn’t bath her or comb her hair and believe me I do both. Frequently!

Here’s the before and after.

The mullet - back view

The mullet - side view

After! Still pretty stinkin' cute!

Anyone else have a kid born on or near their b-day? Am I the only one that likes to compare stats? Anyone else have to de-mullet their child? I hope I'm not alone.

Baby Sprinkle

Danielle threw me a baby sprinkle this weekend, it was nice to get together with everyone and celebrate little Nicolas. Penny and Danielle gave me a bunch of little boy clothes left over from their own little ones, which was amazing. My mom got the cake and made mud pie (yum!), and Danielle of course found a bunch of recipes to make from Pinterest.

The kids also had a great time. The proof is in the pictures!

This is the look on Penny's face when I told asked her to take pictures.

Note the food in the background. Fruit kabobs!

What are you doing, Aunt Penny?

The hostess.

Yes, I'm weird.

Alyssa was snagging toys. Isn't her dress adorable?

Alyssa the blanket thief! 

Romeo was trying to figure out what the camera was.

The gifts!

Avalyn and Grandma playing with balloons.

Nicolas' cake!

Anyone else have a good weekend with friends and family?

30 Weeks

Excuse the bad photoshop. I couldn't use my usual location and my computer is being super choppy and crappy so cutting and pasting isn't my friend right now. :(

Easter

We had our own private Easter Weekend here. Since Matt switched his on call with another tech (ah kidney stones, making things difficult), we couldn’t go down state and have some family time. But that’s okay. I organized a very small egg hunt, and the kids found their hidden Easter Baskets. They also got their picture taken with the Easter Bunny (which went just as well as last year – Avalyn loves the Easter Bunny… she still hates Santa though).

Avalyn and Keith with the Easter Bunny. Avalyn was so excited!

Avalyn's first Easter and second Easter. She loves that bunny!

It was quiet but nice. I couldn’t ask for more than to be with my wonderful husband and kids. 

Easter egg hunt!

Keith was mad at himself for getting ahead of Avalyn and finding one of her pink eggs. Notice how it's sitting away from the rest of the eggs?

Going through their loot.

Avalyn's basket. I put it together, but forgot to take the tag off from buying the basket last year. D'oh!

Keith's basket - it has a bit more wear and tear!

Side by side!

Mailboxes from Grandma and Grandpa

Happy kids!

Coloring eggs

Isn't our pink counter pretty?

Avalyn was super excited.

Keith was acting angry and freaked out so I don't know what his deal was.

So pretty...

Lights!

I totally dropped the ball here… we bought new light fixtures for our main floor. The tiffany style stained glass wasn’t doing it for me – or Matt. In fact, Matt was more adamant about changing them than I was.

Foyer before.

Dining room before

Here are the many boxes!

Kitchen before... not Tiffany style, but still ugly. 

Kitchen after!

Dining room after!

Foyer after!

Oh and here's the living room fan with new globes (ha!), I plan to spray paint the brass oil rubbed bronze. Probably during nap time after Nicolas is born... if I have energy then. We'll see.

The two light fixtures in the basement also got a makeover. I’m not a big fan of boob lights, but they brighten the downstairs a lot, and they were only $9.98 for TWO on sale. So, if one breaks, I’m not going to be broken hearted. I should probably say when, not if. It’s a playroom after all. It’s inevitable that a toy of some kind will be thrown and a light will be broken.

Excuse the weird color, I forgot to correct the white balance. 

 I also went with a boob light for the back room, the little nothing area by the garage door and half bath.

Isn't it pretty?

I went with an oil rubbed bronze finish for everything. Mostly because I like it, and because or door hardware and fireplace door are the same color. Speaking of fireplaces… I want to do built in cabinets on both sides and lower the mantle and center the TV on the mantle. As it stands right now, it’s way too high to watch TV on it without getting a neck ache, and I’m tired on only being able to watch the TV from the couch (it’s tucked in the corner right now). However, I don’t know how to lower the darn mantle! Any ideas? Anyone know how to walk me through it? Is there a good tutorial online somewhere that I’m missing? Any help would be fantastic!