Snippets.

Last week, we had a monster snowstorm roll through town (well, two actually). We got 20 inches of snow in under a week and we LOVED it! We've gone through the last few winters with just a dusting here and there, so it was awesome to be able to get out and play in it for several days! 

Kylie with our favorite neighbor-dog, Sadie

Cameron is officially enrolled in Pre-K! As excited as I am for him to start school, I really feel that my time at home with him is slipping away too quickly- and that makes me truly sad. I've made it a goal to really take advantage of my time with him by planning more activities, crafts, going more places, cooking more together- basically just having more fun and using our time together with more purpose.



Kylie has been quite the sassy pants lately. She is the queen of hilariously odd facial expressions- sometimes I look at her and think "She's a real person! A real, live, little person!" like I wonder how there's so much personality in a tiny little body. Any other moms ever think that about their kids?



I cannot believe it's March already. To me in feels like we were just opening presents at Christmas time, but here we are on the verge of Spring (yay!) and longer days (double yay!). As excited as I am about that, spring isn't here right now and I need some fresh green plants in my life already. I've gone to Lowe's a few times in the last week, getting a few potted houseplants and some herb and vegetable seeds to plant now. Several of them are sprouting and it's just enough to hold me over until things sprout outside. Spring come quickly!

Snippets

Almost a month ago, Jon and I were able to sneak in a little vacation, just ourselves, to Las Vegas. It was a much needed relaxing trip for both of us! We both enjoy Las Vegas because we're able to pack in a lot of activity in 3 days. 

We stayed at the Aria this time, and while it was nice, I personally loved The Encore much more. We had such a great time, but it's so nice to come home to our kids. 

Cameron has been a major sweetheart lately. We had a rough couple of weeks dealing with disobedience at the end of summer- and that wasn't fun for anyone. It makes all the difference when he's loving and kind to his sister. They even ask me to take their picture when they are being sweet and affectionate towards each other. 

I am fighting a major, major urge to put up the Christmas tree. Last year, I had it up a few days before Thanksgiving- and I will likely wait at least until then this year too. Partly, because its still pretty warm here- tomorrow is supposed to be almost 80 degrees!

And on that note, I will be royally ticked if we don't get any snow this year. We didn't get any last year, at all. In all my years of living in Kansas, I can't remember a winter where we didn't get any snow. Cameron was pretty sad to get snow boots and not be able to use them. This year, all Im asking for is one, giant snowstorm that brings several feet of snow. 

We are just a couple of weeks away from having our basement completely, totally finished (for real this time!). Last weekend, we had someone come build shelves (something I am completely and totally capable of doing myself, but I digress) in all of the closets and this weekend, we have someone coming to stain all the shelves, the bar top, and all of the trim. The carpet has been ordered and is ready when the stain and finish are done. We already have a movie line-up going for movie nights in the basement! 

I cannot wait for this space- my own little craft closet/office. Plenty of shelves, and a little desk for my sewing machine and laptop. My craft supplies have been taking over the linen closets for far too long! 

Snippets.

I wish I had a few more (uninterrupted) hours in each day to spend time on crafts and projects, like these little wood color matching peg dolls I made for Kylie. As much as I love a more complex, labor intensive project, I almost enjoy something as simple as this even more- especially since I completed it during the course of just two of her naps. How cute are these?
 



Cameron just finished up his first year as a Cubbie at Awana Club! I honestly wasn't so sure we'd make it until the end because he got pretty sad when I left him for the first few weeks (back in August). After the first month, it was smooth sailing and he couldn't wait to see his friends and teachers each Sunday!




My little Kylie has developed the curliest little blonde hair these last few months. It must be the humid weather- but I'm loving her curly tendrils. When I was pregnant with her, I wished for a baby who looked just like Cameron- one with dark eyes, dark features and dark hair. God must have laughed when I said that because she's the complete opposite with her light blue eyes and light golden hair. Really, I think the only similarity between them is their skin tone and nose. But darn it, they are both so stinkin' cute.

 

On a sad note, we lost our duck Cinco last week. Now that they are full grown, we've been letting them out during the day to roam as they please. They always stay together, mostly staying around our house with the occasional dip into the lake. We came home one day and Cinco was missing, so we're pretty sure he was taken by a snapping turtle. This was just a few days after an incident where Howard was attacked (again, most likely by a turtle) and got part of his upper bill torn off. It was pretty awful looking at first but he is much better and seems to be thriving as much as the others. I wish we could always protect them!

Weekend snippets & pictures

Sunday morning before church, we headed to a local park so I could take some fall pictures of Cameron before all the leaves fall off the trees. I got quite a few shots that I love- and these will most likely serve as his 2 year pictures since his birthday is just 5 weeks away!
I'm not a fan of pictures of myself these days, but I like this one Jon took of us. It required a bit of doctoring but the lighting is fun.



Can you believe it's November already? It's starting to get pretty chilly at night here, so I'm going to put our Christmas flannel sheets on the bed this week. =)

Cameron got his first pet this weekend- a blue betta fish! His name is Alex (which is also the name of his 5 year old cousin who lives a few houses down). I love this tank, because it's small, but is still filtered and has a night light. I also think the quiet hum of the tank will be soothing when they sleep at night- especially for baby sister.
Cameron was a gorilla for Halloween this year! I found the costume at Kid-to-Kid (a second hand shop) for just $10 bucks. He really didn't care so much about the costume- but he didn't want anyone touching or holding his pumpkin bucket.
This one was taken last week, when he kept the hood on for more than one second. The sprinklers came on, and he decided to test it out in the water.

He was pretty mad that we kept trying to put his hood on and take pictures. This is the best we got last night!
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Why Hello!

Wow, it's been an entire month since I have blogged! I have been keeping up with all my favorite blogs, but I've really left my own on the curb for awhile. Here's whats been happening around our house:

About 3 weeks ago, we were hit with a massive hail storm. Usually when we get hit with hail, it's pea sized, and lasts for about 5 minutes. This time, it lasted nearly an hour straight, and we got hit with softball sized hail. It was pretty insane. At one point I insisted we all go into the basement in case a hail stone came through the ceiling (and they did at a few homes). Everyone in the area is getting an entire roof replacement- even new plywood; we had about 13 holes in our roof.

Since we're going to have a little insurance money left over from all the damage to our home from the storm, we're going to put in a 3rd bathroom (in the basement) in our house. Hopefully we'll have it done in the next few months! I know this will be an attractive extra to potential buyers when we sell our home in the next few years.

I am about a week from my 3rd trimester! I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going. To be honest, I haven't really had time to think about being pregnant up until this point, though I'm starting to get to the uncomfortable stage where breathing becomes a luxury.

I'm really excited for the holidays to get here. I can't wait for Christmas (probably because I'm due a few weeks after!) and I've already got a good start on my Christmas shopping.

As crazy as it seems, we're going to have a 2 year old on our hands VERY soon! I'm already in the planning stages for his birthday which is less than 2 months away.
This weekend I am FINALLY going to finish the bookshelf I started many months ago (yeah, my husband doesn't believe it either). It's been sitting in the garage for so long, and I probably only have a few hours worth of work on it. It's now or never!

Thanks for reading! =)

Snippets.

Yesterday we celebrated Jon's 31st birthday. We went to eat dinner at a Japanese hibatchi- style grill like we did last year, and I made fondue on Sunday evening (his yearly birthday dinner request). I also made a Snickers bar cheesecake which was so delicious. (I really love spoiling him with food!)
My sister is now making pure homemade vanilla and selling it in her Etsy shop. If you bake, you definitely need some- that "pure" vanilla you buy in stores is full of corn syrup and water. If you don't bake, but know someone who does, it would make a fantastic gift. Christmas is just around the corner, you know! =)

Label design by yours truly!

Cameron's bed is coming along slowly but surely. After he climbed out of his crib last week, we knew we had to find a solution fast, so I put his bookshelf on hold and built his bed in 5 hours Friday night. The stain however, will not dry. The first coat has been drying for about 4 days now, and is still pretty tacky. We're staining it in the basement where it's cooler and dryer, as there is NO way it would ever dry outdoors in this humidity. I will say that, the bed is the cutest thing I've seen in my life and I can't wait to show you guys! In the meantime, we turned his crib around (since the back is higher) and it seems to be working for now.

Summer Snippets.

It's been a hot week here, and we're not even into June yet. Call me crazy, but I'm already over summer and am looking forward to fall (and I'm sure that no one agrees with me on this! =). I'd like to go to the pool a few times, but other than that summer can just be gone already as far as I'm concerned. I'm a real sissy when it comes to heat tolerance.

Speaking of summer, I've been doing so much research when it comes to choosing sunscreen for us (especially for Cameron). I recently ran across the Environmental Working Group 2010 Sunscreen Guide, which basically rates consumer sunscreens and gives a run down of the potentially hazardous chemicals that are found in each one. Some of the chemicals in popular sunscreens make me wonder why the products are even on the shelves. If you know me, you know that I am a sun protection nazi (Jon refers to me as the SPF police), so finding the right blend is very important to me. I think I have decided between two: California Baby sunscreen (found at Target) and Badger sunscreen (found at Whole foods), both which use physical barriers instead of chemicals to protect from the sun.

Has anyone used either of these? What does your sunscreen rate? It's really hard for me to believe (and a little tough to swallow) that last summer I picked sunscreen for us based on how good the product smelled. What I wish I would have known- but better late than never.

Anyway, have a great Memorial Day weekend! Make sure you lather up with plenty of sunscreen (or the SPF police might come get you).

Snippets.

I've decided I'm putting myself on a spending freeze. I have spent SO much money this year- on clothes, make-up, random stuff from Target, etc... it's gotten a little out of hand, so I've decided that I'm absolutely not purchasing anything for myself until July. That's 3 months. I'll decide then if I want to extend it.

I've also decided that I'm starting a hardwood floor fund. My dream is to someday have a home full of beautiful hardwood floors. It's one of the first things I'd like to do once we move into a new home, and I'd love to be able to completely (or mostly) pay with cash. If the home already had them, the money could go toward something else! I love these:

source: houzz

Lately when Cameron gets "hurt" or bonks his big head (which is um, all the time), we have been kissing the spot to "make it feel better" in attempt to avoid a meltdown. Cameron has definitely caught on to the attention and will sometimes bonk his head (lightly) on something on purpose to receive kisses. I LOVE IT! hee!

I have complained for many years now about our washer and dryer set being so small- that I can't wash a king size comforter in it (I always take it to the laundromat) or wash more than 2 pairs of Jon's jeans and a few shirts at one time in it. Though the set is about 15 years old, it still works, so I suppose there wasn't really a need for a newer set. Well, all my complaining really paid off (ha!) because my husband said we could look for a new set if we sold our current set on craigslist. I'm so happy! Soon, I'll be able to get all of our laundry done in about 3 loads as opposed to 6 or 7! This doesn't really count toward my spending freeze, does it?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Snippets

I'm a little scatterbrained right- I've got a million projects going on right now, so snippets seemed like an appropriate post.

We had the best day Sunday (or, funday Sunday as we like to call them) last weekend. We started the day off at church, came home and took naps, and went to a hockey game that evening in our city's brand spanking new arena- it was really awesome and huge.
You may or may not know Jon owns a moving business, and therefore has several box trucks that he uses to move people. Back in November, someone stole the batteries out of 3 of the trucks- and truck batteries are quite expensive. It was a crappy blow, as the holidays are a slow time for business. A police report was filed, this week Jon got a notice to appear in court- looks like they caught the guys who stole the batteries! We're praying that we get the batteries back or get paid for the new ones that had to be purchased.

I've got the whole basement primed and ready for paint in the next few days! I've been working on painting during every free second I have, it seems. Having our living room out of commission is such a pain- especially with our curious Cameron who likes to get into everything that's out of order down there.

Not sure if there are any basketball fans (or Kansas basketball fans?) out there, but tonight there's HUGE game on the line for KU. #2 KU is playing #5 Kansas State. The game is at KU, where they have a 59 home game winning streak at stake- the longest running in the Nation. I am a so nervous for them, I'm not even sure I can stomach watching it.

Snippets.

Before Christmas, I bought some awesome flannel snowman & Christmas tree sheets at Target for just $15 bucks. I wasn't thinking they would be that great or soft- especially for the price I paid- and for a King set! I was wrong. And you know what? Those sheets are still on our bed, 8 weeks post Christmas. I can't bear to take them off- they're so warm and soft. I thought that if I had them taken off by mid-spring, I'd be cool, but I think it's finally time. I think I'll be more excited to put them back on for the holidays this year if they aren't on our bed until Memorial day.

I think I'm going to repaint our entire basement. Awhile back, I asked (in this post) for you guys' suggestions for accent colors, accessories and other ways to make the living room feel complete. I got some wonderful ideas, but finding items and artwork that compliment such a dramatic color has proved to be difficult. Plus, all our furniture is dark, and I really feel it's time for a lighter, more neutral color. I'm thinking something like this: the perfect greige.

Source: YHL

Almost every day this past week, I have checked our trees for signs of swelling green buds on their branches. I hate bare trees and shrubs- I am so anxious to see some life on them again!

My sister is going to make me a dress for my friends bachelorette party. We're aiming for a style like this, from Express:Looks like a fun party and summer dress, huh? I stopped in last week to try it on in the store to make sure I liked it and looked good on me. I LOVED it, but didn't love the $69.50 price tag. I am so excited to have it made and wear it!
Friends, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

A snippet, of sorts.

Please accept my apologies in advance- this post has no pictures! =)

Today's sermon at church put me in check. I like those types of sermons- and it's been awhile since I've heard one that really hit me.
This last week, Jon and I looked at a house. We're not actively searching for a home yet- but it's definitely in the near future. This home was 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, beautiful neighborhood. It's owned by Jon's cousin who is moving out of state and is having a tough time selling it. Ever since we looked at it, I have been absolutely consumed by the potential of everything the house has to offer. Consumed with seeing our kids grow up there, retiring there. It was glamorous. I'd have a craft room. Jon would have an office. Storage beyond our wildest dreams. And the price was NICE.
In the back of my mind, I knew that this particular house wasn't for us, but somehow I couldn't stop thinking about it. What was eating me up inside was the fact that thinking about it this week consumed me- leaving me ungrateful for the home, blessings and life I do have. And that this house- an earthly treasure had caused me to lust after it. Not to mention- the conviction I was having for lusting after something like that when people in Haiti don't even have water or diapers for their kids.
Today at church, the pastor (who is also my father in law!) preached on living in the flesh, and being selfish. He was talking about himself- and how he needed to ask God to help him live in the Spirit- and to not be consumed by worldly possessions. Little did he know, he was talking to me, too. He then went on to point out that when we live in the flesh, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Or as we better know it "Lay your treasures not on this earth- but in Heaven where moth and dust don't corrupt. Wherever your treasures are, your heart will be also." (Matthew 6).
That was enough for me to leave the thought of this worldly possession- one that is clearly not what God wants me to have right now- in the rear view mirror. I have been mad at myself for letting myself get consumed until this morning, where I learned an important lesson (one I've definitely heard before, but had forgotten this week).
Good thing God is a loving, and forgiving God. I definitely needed his forgiveness.

Snippets

Call me crazy. I reeeealy want to put up my Christmas tree today. I'm going to wait, but I still want to. I'm so excited about Christmas this year, mostly because Cameron is getting some cool stuff and I want to play with it already!

I don't really get into Halloween much and I wasn't going to spend money on a costume for Cameron, but our neighbors had a little Tigger costume that their son wore when he was Cam's age, and they let us borrow it. We dressed him up and went trick or treating with a few kiddos in our 'hood and Cameron LOVED it. He just sat in his stroller the entire time, kicking his little feet and chewing on candy wrappers!



I am itching to re-do Cameron's nursery. I want to repaint, and make it into a big boy room! I don't want to make it overly "themey"- as I'm sure I'll have to endure years of trucks/Transformers/whatever movie Disney puts out theme in the very near future. Maybe just some new DIY wall hangings, new sheets, and some cool blue paint. Surely I could do this for under $100! Maybe after the new year when things quiet down.

My mom has been in Africa for a few weeks and gets back on Friday. She was born there and lived a lot of her childhood there (my grandparents were missionary doctors). When she gets back I'll definitely share a few pictures here!

Time changes certainly aren't what they used to be. Back in college it meant a real, whole extra hour of sleep and an extra hour at the bar. Now it means Cameron's sleep schedule is completely out of wack and he's ready to play at 5:30am. ARG! I hope this doesn't last long.

Snippets.

-I feel sick today. I've got a sore throat, and drippy nose. I don't know about you, but with all this swine flu hoopla, every time I sneeze or cough, or get a headache, I think about the possibility of having the flu. I've become pretty anal about washing my hands as well as Cameron's, especially after we've been around other people. I hope this is just a small cold and everything will pass!

-Our jogging stroller is on the fritz. I've always bragged about how great our jogging stroller is, but the bearings in the front have gone bad after just 10 months of use. I contacted Baby Trend and they are sending replacement parts; hopefully it will be an easy fix and won't happen again.

-Also out of commission is my beloved Mac. It won't turn on. After doing a bit of research, I found that VERY rarely does a mac need to be sent to a professional for service, and that most problems can be fixed with just a few steps. I hope that I don't lose all my files in the process- but I suppose it would be a small price to pay to have my sidekick back in business.

-Lastly, I am so glad I now have Adobe CS4 (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator...) on our PC! Since my Mac is down right now, it's nice to have the program on our other computer so that I can still work on all the invitations I'm doing.I had CS2 on my Mac, and the upgrades on the Adobe's newest version are awesome. Quite the jump from CS2 to CS4.

Snippets.

We leave in less than a week for Washington! Initially when we booked the trip I wanted it to be here NOW. Well, it's "now" and I'm not ready to go. I have so much to do in so little time- I've been putting in some good hours at work this week (leaving zero time for tidying up the house), and I'd like to sneak in a trip to the state fair before we go.

I've mentioned over and over that I'm so glad fall is here; part of what makes it feel like fall in Kansas (besides the weather and gorgeous colors) are huge sunflowers EVERYWHERE. I mentioned to Jon how pretty they were and how much I wanted to pick some. Later that evening he disappeared on his dirt bike and returned with a bouquet of sunflowers. Wow- He does listen!
Very pretty even though they're dropping yellow dust all over the kitchen table, huh?

Cameron had his 9 month appointment this morning. Dad took him because I was working, but he told me that they "provided the entertainment" while they were at the office. That seems about right on- they are always being obnoxiously loud and doing some type of acrobatic trick testing my patience. Thankfully Cameron didn't have to get any shots, but he managed to come home with stickers all over his clothes! I wonder who was responsible for that?

I haven't really taken many pictures of Cam this month- but I hope to do a 9 month shoot in Washington.

This has been a fun month! It's awesome to see him learning, and making connections to sights and sounds. He can always hear airplanes, dogs, and ducks before I do. He loves to be chased around the house. He loves grilled cheese sandwiches and blueberry waffles. He also loves to sit on top of daddy's shoulders while he pulls weeds. We love him and can't get enough!

Snippets since the last time I blogged.

This post has been sitting as a draft for 6 days. The title has changed from "snippets from the week" to "snippets from the weekend" to "snippets since the last time I blogged". It's one of those posts where I think I was waiting for something funny or interesting to tell you all about. Sorry, peeps. I'm here to tell you that that didn't happen.

I finished the monkey artwork for Amy's nursery last week:

I sent them to her and she just informed me that she got them and loved them! I received so many sweet comments on them, and there were several that were even interested in ordering them. I've made prints and and they're available to be ordered! Also, now that I've got them digital, I have the ability to change the background color to work for a different nursery. I've debated opening up a little Etsy shop, but I think I'm going to hold off for the time being. However, if anyone is interested, I'd be more than happy to create some custom artwork- just ask!

I've been in the mood to do some major landscaping and tree planting around the house lately, but since we plan on moving in the next year or so, we've agreed that we really don't want to put much more into the house (inside and out) that we won't see a return on. We've already got great curb appeal, we'd just be adding more because we're tree loving freaks. (Not to be confused with those tree hugger-type freaks.) Anywho, I'm loving the look of potted trees these days, so I went out in search of a cute little tree that I could spruce up the back porch with. The nice thing is, we can take it right along with us when we get a new address, and it will go into the ground when it outgrows the pot.


In related news and to further prove that we're tree nerds, we've started growing these little cottonwood beauties indoors. We have 2 large cotton wood trees growing in our yard, and are apparently spreading some babies all over the rest of the yard. These little things never have the chance to grow, because they get hacked by the mower every week. We uprooted a few of them out of the ground to see if we can get them to survive over the winter, and then we'll replant them into something bigger if they do.
update: in the six days that this post has been sitting as a draft, these little trees are alive and well and have grown a little over an inch!

Snippets.

By now you know I've always got a slew of projects going on at any given time around my house. Here's a little sneak at one I'm currently working on:
Nursery artwork for a girl from The Nest who requested monkeys. I am absolutely loving how these are coming along! After I complete these and ship them off to her, I have baby shower invites to do for my sister in law, and also wedding invites for my friend, both of which I want to have completed before we leave for Washington next month. It's shaping up to be a busy month for me!

A few days ago we went to a wildlife park where you can feed and pet almost all the animals. We all loved it! It was such a treat away from a regular zoo; at every station there were knowledgeable staff who knew everything about each of the animals. It was really neat! Among my favorites were the lemurs, zebras (couldn't pet these!), kangaroos, and all the tiny baby leopards that they had in the nurseries.




I'm so glad summer is almost over. I'm ready for Sunday football, apple spice cookie bars, crisp, cool weather, and the return of Desperate Housewives. A trip to the pumpkin patch. Hair that doesn't resemble an afro. Our first family trip! Starbucks seasonal billion-calorie drinks. I love fall!

Saturday we snuck out for a date and saw The Perfect Getaway. We wanted to see it mainly because it took place on the island of Kauai, where we went on our honeymoon.
It's a thriller movie and is shot along Kauai's arduous 11 mile Kalaulau trail to the NaPali coastline. I thought the movie was good, and definitely had an unexpected ending. Despite the murders that take place, that 22 mile (round trip) hike is still on my Bucket List (my to-do list before I kick the bucket).
Anyone have a bucket list? What's on it?

Snippets.

Cam's PB Hybrid Chair Slipcover came in! It really is adorable and I can't wait for his birthday to give it to him. I'm so glad I ordered it!

I've got a few projects going on around the house. Here's a peek at one currently working on:

I'm in the process of getting our basement looking really nice (I'm hosting 2 showers this winter!). We finished it about a year ago, got some furniture to make it liveable, but the walls are a blank canvas. I'm trying to create a "faux" mantle from a ledge in our basement, a place where I can display pictures and a few other little objects. I still need to get some prints in 2 of the frames, but here's a sneak peek:
I got Jon the picture frame on the right for Father's Day. He absolutely loved it!
Stay tuned for the map project reveal! =)