Metaphorically speaking

I am right in the middle of re-upholstering a couch and I have learned a few lessons I would like to share. I have decided that re-upholstery is like motherhood, it sounds like a great idea, you know you will be so glad you did it in the end...but the first fifteen minutes you realize just how much work you have created for yourself. I should have known this when Mark was hauling said couch into our bedroom and turned and looked me straight in the eye and said "I want no part of this". (what? the couch or the kids?) I shrugged it off and decided he was exaggerating...it wouldn't be that bad! Well, he was right, it is that bad. But, ever the supportive husband, when I told him I wanted to throw in the towel and take my $10 couch to the dump he said "oh no you don't, you are going to learn a lesson here, you are finishing that couch!" Apparently, he is getting a little tired of running to goodwill for me to pick up a desk, a chair, a couch, a...... you get the idea. So I am going to get through this the way I get through everything.....with a bag of liccorice!

"Nice Will"

A few weeks ago I made a quick decision to run into Goodwill on my way to the grocery store and I hit the jackpot! I found the above deskwith hutch for $15!! Of course when I bought it was a light oak color, but not for long! I painted it white to match my bedroom because as you know my bedroom/office/workout room/craft room was getting a little cluttered and needed a makeover! I also got two uphostered chairs, a few vases that I also painted (you cannot bring furniture or accesories into my home without it being attacked by a can or two of primer and spray paint. It is a fact of life my husband has come to deal with and accept...in that order!). Anyway, I was so excited! I had been looking for a desk with a hutch and 2 chairs I could reupholster for months and the price tage made it "the One" for me! You can't beat $6 a chair! So the next day madi asked: Mom, will we be going to "Nicewill" again today?
I chuckeled and said, yes...."will" has been very nice to us lately hasn't he?

Here is a before of the chair

And the after. Not quite done in this picture but you get the idea. I had to paint the legs (I had to paint someting on this chair!!) but the whole thing came together easier than I had expected.

Found this old fram for $1 and used some scrap fabric I had to make a bow holder. This picture was taken before I glazed it to make some of the details stand out.

This is a rocking chair I inherited from Mark's aunt and uncle. It was a light oak. I got a new rocker/recliner when hali was born and wanted to play around with this chair so I painted it green, glazed it to make the details stand out and then recovered the cushions with black and white tualle (sp?). I donated it to our church's mother's lounge becasue we have way more mother's than chairs in their!

Like I said before, I gave my room a little makeover and painted these black sidetables and dresser white to match my bedding. I love how it turned out, it looks so clean and fresh! Note* this picture was not staged, excuse the clutter!

So...if you were wondering what I have been doing at naptimes and in the evening......there you go. And thanks again "Will" we think you are super nice!!

Fair!

I have a guilty confession to make .........I am a total fair junkie!! I love the fair! Luckily Mark likes it as much as I do so we go every year. It has been fun to take the kids as they get older and can more fully appreciate the wonders that exist in this magical place. The rides, the food, the animals. every time I think of the fair I mentally sing Templeton's S'morgasbored song from Charlottes Web. you know the one. Anyway, here is a picture of the kids in Carnie Heaven!

They were smiling here but they hadn't even had an elephant ear yet!

Hali's Birthday Bash!

It is so funny when you get a one year old in a front facing carseat..they look so little!! Hali loves to face forward now!

Some of theses pictures are so blury I don't know what happened! This was hali's party. We had a "MILK and COOKIES" theme to celebrate the introduction of the previously prohibited milk category in her limited diet. That was a mouthful! I had different kinds of milk and cookies and then I made a big cookie cake. She loved it!

I made these for each of the kids, they were little chocolate milk's with tags that said "I heart Milk"

It was a fun party. First birthdays are my favorite! I will say I was cookied out afterwards. I think we all were!

Hali is 1!!

I can't believe my baby is one today!! With each child it seems to go faster and faster and I enjoy it more and more. This is Hali today when we were getting ready to go swimming. She loves the water, so I thought it might be something she would have fun doing today. We are celebrating on Sunday with family so I will post pictures then of the party. Hali has been such a wonderful addition to our family. She is so happy and fun-loving you can't help but smile when she is around. She loves to swim, drink, eat and play with madi and tyce. She is standing up and has taken a step or two on her own but prefers to crawl to what she wants. She can say mama and dada, and moo like a cow! But mostly she grunts or screams to get our attention! She is just such a blessing, we are so glad to have her! We love you Hali!!

Madi had this swimsuit and we compared pictures of the two of them and they look so much alike! In fact, I was telling Mark what a horrible job I have done of taking pictures of Hali and he suggested we duplicate some of madi's pictures for Hali's baby book! Nice. I can see that one backfiring.

This is a picture from the 4th of July, I made madi and hali skirts to wear but madi didn't want to cooperate for the camera so here is Hali in her "ruffle freedom skirt "as I call it! Frankly I am just glad it turned out because I didn't have a pattern and I was finishing them up late the night before because that's what crazy, sleep deprived mothers do......in case you were wondering.

Summer Fun!

Madi loves her little sister! Her new favorite thing to play with Hali is dress-up ( suprise, suprise!). This is Hali, I mean tinkerbell, in her first photo shoot.

Even tyce got in on the fun. I sent this text to Mark while he was at work in an attempt to get him home early and save his only son. It worked!!

Such a pretty little fairy!

Now you all have a mental picture of Hali in her swimsuit. This is why summer is my favorite season, baby girls in swimsuits are a tourist attraction for sure! (Never mind her huge diaper, I forgot to get a swim diaper before we went swimming and poor Hali had to deal with the consequences!). We love summer!

Pre-School Graduation

Madi had pre-school graduation the end of June and I am finally posting pictures! She really isn't graduating, she still has one more year, but she was excited about it anyway. She loved pre-school! It was fun to watch her learn and grow so much in one year. She can write most of the alphabet and her name. In fact, she has even tagged some of our furniture...how fun for me!

This is her class. She loved all the new friends she made.