I finally went through most of what was on my camera! Phew! I take SO
many photos that
sometimes it is just too overwhelming to go through them all. But, I managed to
scan through
them and pick a few to show you! Some of these are from our Baltimore trip, a
couple from home.
I am so excited about this weekend! I have lots of grand plans for Saturday. I
am hoping to finish
a couple projects that have been patiently waiting for my attention. We'll see
how things go! It is
supposed to be pretty chilly unfortunately. Not sure how much painting I'll be
able to get done outside.
Today Oliver cut his second tooth! I forgot to mention yesterday that he cut his
first one last week.
It comes as a surprise since Noah was THIRTEEN months when he got his first. Now
at over
2 years old, he is still short 10! So, it is strange to have such a young baby
with teeth! He looks so
cute though. My little baby. If I can manage to snatch a photo of them, I'll let
you know!
Our first picnic! Noah munchin' on apple fries.
Oliver LOVES Grandma! Swinging for the 1st time.
Noah washing his hair.
Helping mommy clean the gardens.
Hopefully I'll have a new project to show after this weekend!
March 25, 2010
Motivation?? Where are you??
Oh boy. I have just had no drive to work on posts this week! I don't
know why, but I just wasn't
feeling it. Sorry to all my loyal readers! I have noticed you stopping by, but I
couldn't seem to
muster up the energy to do anything. I think because most of the time I do my
site work
in the evening after the boys have turned in for the night. By then, I have so
many things I want
to do that I often times decide to do none of them and just sit on the couch
instead! HA!
We'll see if I can turn a corner and get back to posting more often. I do love
seeing that counter
creeping up and up! So, here is what has been happening in our neck of the
woods!
First things first, the 23rd was my fabulous husband Steve's 27th birthday! We
had such a nice
day celebrating with him!! Noah is STILL saying happy birthday to him several
times a day.
He hasn't quite gotten the concept that it only lasts a day! He also keeps
begging for
"daddy's happy birthday cake". Such a cutie! So, for his birthday we tried to
make his day
extra special. I made his favorite dessert- cheesecake! Then we headed out for a
lovely dinner
date after the boys went to bed. Well, we didn't leave them alone! Grandpa
Ekstrom was so kind
to provide his babysitting services. It is always so nice to "head out on the
town" with each other.
It seems unreal that he is 27! Our 10th year celebrating his birthday together.
WOW. Is it just
me or does time whizz by faster and faster every year? Scary!
Oliver is 6.5 months now and is acting like a 4yr old. Ok, maybe not THAT old,
but he sure is
growing quickly! He sits on his own like a pro, crawls backwards, is starting to
scoot himself
forward, and talks and laughs and smiles and squeals!!! He is also starting to
eat solids a little
more. I think he is up to 1 whole ice cube of baby food a day now. LOL! He does
love Mum-Mums
though. They are sort of like a big rice krispie. Here is a
LINK if you have never heard of them.
He really loves those! Actually Noah does still too. So yeah, Oliver is an
absolute joy and seems
to always be smiling!
Noah. He sure is at an interesting age! He is adorable & says the absolute
cutest things. He
repeats EVERYTHING he hears, and really has quite the vocabulary. He is also
learning
how to make choices. YIKES is all I can say! For instance, I ask him, "Noah
would you like
some more spaghetti?" He says, "YES!". I bring it towards his plate, "NO
spaghetti!". I pull
it away, "SPAGHETTI!!!!". So forth and so on. Oh dear. So, we have resorted to
making him
stick with his first choice and that doesn't seem to go over very well with him.
HAHA! I know
this is all normal 2 year old behavior and we try to take it all in stride
knowing that in a moment
he will be past this age and onto the next. All that said, he really is so
loveable and very happy!
He loves to sing, play guitar, READ READ READ, and play with Oliver. He is
learning how to
say his prayers at night and I swear, your heart breaks in two when he hear him.
I tried to upload
a little sound clip of him the other night, but it is a weird file extension and
I can't seem to
convert it over. If I do, I'll surely post it. Adorrrrrrrrrrrrrable!
I'll leave you today with a couple things. One, some shots of our trip to
Baltimore for our niece's
5th birthday. The kids all had such a great time together!
I have a bunch more to go through still, so watch for those.
And lastly, a little preview into my next project! I have been collecting all
the materials and finally
found the key player. Can you guess what it will be??
I'll return soon with the last of the MD photos and more!
March 18, 2010
Preview!
I will be working on all the shots from our trip to Baltimore. Stop by
soon!
March 18, 2010
Hello!
So I took a small sabbatical. Sorry! We went to Baltimore for 3 days
and then the boys decided they
had been healthy long enough, and came down with colds. Oh and Little Miss is
back, so I have
3 kids 2 and under again! Enough excuses for you?? I could probably come up with
more if you want.
No? Ok then! Moving on.
Today I'll be featuring our trip to the children's museum that we took last week
with some friends!
The boys and I met my dear friend Janice and her HANDSOME little man Aidan for a
day of fun!
Aidan and Noah are very close in age so they had an absolute blast. We went at a
great time,
during lunch/nap for most people, so we were practically alone! The boys had
full access to the
joint. They really loved the kids size grocery store and pretending to go
shopping and then check
out! It's great to see them using their imaginations. Oliver had a nice time
too. He slept for over
2 hours!! He woke up right at the end, just in time to see the Sesame Street
exhibit.
Take a peek at the action!
We had such a nice time! I am so glad I have such a great friend like her!
More to come (you know, while I play the catch up game)!!
March 10, 2010
A Glimpse of Spring!
This week the weather has been gorgeous! "Warm" and sunny! We tried to
enjoy it as much as possible.
Yesterday we decided it was dry enough for Noah to play outside. It was still
quite muddy but Noah
had such a blast. Actually, I think he had MORE fun because of the mud. Of
course. BOYS! Oliver
enjoyed it too. We bundled him up (in the size 3 months suit! it was snug), and
we swung on our swing
for a few minutes. Until his little cheeks were bright red. He was all smiles! I
am SO looking forward to
being able to do this everyday.
"How much do you love mama??" "THIS MUCH!!!!!"
Pardon all the paleness!
I LOVE LOVE this shot of Steve! He looks so happy!
Ok. I think I am all caught up. PHEW! That was crazy! Thanks for sticking
around.
I'll be back tomorrow with another post!
March 10, 2010
Heirloom Silhouettes
Tonight I am going to tell you how to make your own custom silhouettes!
I always thought they
were so beautiful, so when I had my own babies, I thought it was the perfect
time to make my
own. They are so classic looking, and make wonderful gifts. Actually, I made all
the grandparents
one for this last christmas. They were a hit! Surprisingly, they don't take too
much time to make
either. I think it was just under an hour total to do one. Follow along and
learn with us!
SUPPLIES:
-Profile photo. You can use a face or really any photo with good edges!
Take your profile pic in front of a window. That makes the contrast the best.
You want the edges to be nice and clear.
-Black cardstock. Make sure it is acid free.
-Sheet of scrapbook paper, or any other acid free paper you like, for the
background.
-Super sharp, fine tip scissors.
-White paper (optional)
-Printer & paper. (optional)
HOW TO:
1) Take your profile photo. Either have it printed somewhere (in the size you
want the silhouette
to be), or just print it on your home printer. That is what I did. I was low on
color ink, which
is why it looks green, but it doesn't matter. Black and white is fine. Printer
paper is fine as well.
Here is the photo I used for Noah, before I printed it:
See how I did it in front of a light? That makes the profile a lot easier to cut
out.
2) Once you have it printed the size you want, cut around all the edges, VERY
carefully. Make
sure you add eyelashes and little wisps of hair. You don't need to use all the
hair, just a bit.
Also, if it is a photo of a girl, try a pony or at least make sure her hair is
noticeable in the profile.
You know with curled up ends or something.
Here it is all cut out, with Oliver's too:
While your cutting, it helps to turn it over & look at your work.
You can more easily see the detail that way.
3) Now, using a pencil, trace the photo you just cut out onto the black paper.
Be sure to use a
sharp pencil so you can really get into the grooves.
4) Cut out profile, same way as before.
5) Now that you are all cut out, mount onto your paper using acid free glue.
Glue sticks work
the best. You can either mount it right onto the paper or you can use white
paper as a frame
of sorts, before mounting.
Here is one I did of when I was preggo-mego with Oliver. This is not the final
version, as
you can see, the white oval is not perfect, this was just my rough draft.
6) Add embellishments and frame! You can do so much with these. You can do
multiple
layers of paper, incorporate their name on it, or even cut out the oval with
funky scissors.
Here are the ones I did of the boys for christmas, see how I added wisps &
lashes?
I also wrote their names and ages in pencil at the base of each profile. Just
for reference.
My next ones will be much cooler. These ones were pretty simple since they were
my first.
I have a bunch of really neat ideas. I have been thinking of maybe opening
an Etsy store and
selling custom ones. We'll see!
March 10, 2010
Oliver's 1st Solid Food!
Oh man. How did we get to this milestone already?? Wasn't he born like,
4 days ago? SIGH.
So, Oliver had his first experience with solid foods this week (um, if you don't
count that teeny-
tiny-so small you could barely see it-don't make me feel bad-size brownie bite).
I whipped up a
batch of organic homegrown squash that we had saved from the summer. It filled
my freezer!
See, look. All this AND 2 ice cube trays full for while he is only eating little
bits.
Unfortunately, by dinner time it wasn't quite ready to be eaten, so I pulled out
a jar of
sweet potatoes I had bought for an occasion such as this. If you haven't
attempted making
your own baby food (and you have an infant! that part is pretty crucial.), you
REALLY should.
It is so fast and easy, and you will save millions. Well. Millions?? Hmm. Maybe
not THAT
much, but, a LOT. For instance, that teeny tiny jar of organic sweet potatoes?
60 cents. If
you figure they will eat 2-3 of the LARGER 80 cent jars a day, that is upwards
of $67 a month!
Before tax! Plus then you are stuck with all those baby food jars that you
couldn't bring yourself
to throw away since they seem so useful. Ha! Now, if you make your own...figure
an organic squash
costs about $3. It makes about, oh geez, maybe 30 of those jars??? SEE? Quite
the savings.
To make your own, just buy whatever produce you are interested in. Squash, sweet
potatoes, peas,
carrots, apples, pears, bananas....the list goes on and on. Wash and prepare
however need be. For the
squash you just cube it. Then, boil/steam chunks. When soft, throw them all into
a blender or food
processor with a bit of the water they were cooked in. PUREE PUREE PUREE! VOILA.
That's it!
I added a teeny bit of cinnamon to the squash, but there is no need to season,
oh and NO salt. I tend
to like to add a little bit of something though. Just so he gets used to flavor.
Once thoroughly blended, store in mason jars, jam jars, Tupperware etc. For
little babes, pour it
into ice cube trays, freeze, and then pop the cubes into freezer bags for single
size portions.
Then all you have to do is pull out the next days food in the evening. Or, if
you forget like I do,
stick the jar or bag in a bowl of hot water!
It really is so easy, I don't see why people pay for the stuff! The squash took
me less than 30 minutes.
TOTAL. Wonderful.
Want a GREAT website for ideas on foods to try, when to try, and how to cook? CLICK HERE!
OK. Now that that (I hate when you use 2 thats in a row!) is out of the way, back to the little bambino.
Here he is, all roarin' to go.
Want to watch his very climactic reaction?? Click below!
I'll be back later tonight with a new project!! Silhouettes!
March 10, 2010
What's Dat?!
This past weekend we headed over to our local children's museum. Oliver
has never been and Noah hasn't
visited since last year. Pretty much most the evening was filled with Noah
repeatedly asking what
everything was! He is at such an inquisitive age, learning so much, soaking
everything around him in.
Oliver really had a great time too! He was so wide-eyed, loving all the bright
colors and people. Grandpa
Ekstrom joined us as well! We really all had a fun time, topping the night off
with dinner at the food court.
(It was super healthy. er, or not.) So, we had a fabulous family night out! Here
are a ton of great shots!
(I'm hoping all these photos show up right, there should
be 3 in each row! Same in the next series.)
I'll return tomorrow afternoon with a couple more posts.
Including a new project.
I told you it was going to be a whirlwind!
March 9, 2010
Are You Thrifty??
Thrift shopping. I love the idea of
it, I just haven't chosen to use my free time that way. Until now.
WOW. I ran out the other day and found a bunch of great things! I scribbled a
little list of things I was
looking for, and I found them all! Plus a few things, of course. You can find
antiques for GOBZILLIONS
less than you would pay on Ebay or Etsy. Case in point, vintage linens. I
have been on the lookout for some
pretty flowery vintage bed sheets. I love how soft they are and how the colors
are muted with age. If you search
online for them, you will pay at least $16 for a flat sheet. Well, over at my
local thrift shop, I bought SIX sheets
for $15! Being a bit of a germaphobe, I extensively cleaned them. Overnight soak
in hot water & Oxiclean, 2 regular
hot washes, 1 hot vinegar wash, 1 hot baking soda wash, and two perm press dry
cycles! SUPER clean.
Now, you ask, what could I possibly want vintage sheets for??! Oh boy, all sorts
of pretty things!
It makes the least expensive fabric you can find, in the most shabby chic
patterns. I have piles of plans for these
babies. You'll just have to stick around and see how I use them!
Gorgeous huh?
I still have a lot more to post, so stop by soon!
March 9, 2010
Back from AZ!!
My beloved grandma (Noah & Oliver's very Great!), was in sunny AZ for
the month of February, and we really
missed her! She finally decided to join us back here in the land of snow, ice,
and dreary. Haha! Hey, I shouldn't
say that. This week it has been SUNNY and in the 40's, even 50's! So, I can't
complain. We did have over a foot
of snow just last week though. Ok. Back to grandma. She returned home and we
headed over to spend the day with
her! The boys were THRILLED to see her for sure. She surprised us with an
absolutely gorgeous, heirloom quality,
hand knit blanket! It took her most the time she was gone and (I'm sure) a boat
load of yarn (Thanks Aunt Candy &
Uncle Jim!). It is so unbelievably beautiful. She also knit them matching hats
as well as a scarf for Noah. She is so
talented!! She has been such a wonderful encouragement and positive influence in
my life. Especially since having my
boys. She always has wise words to offer, an ear to listen, yummy food to fill
us, and a loving heart to open. I am so
thankful to have her in my life! We love spending time with her. She even drives
over goodies when we are sick! She
would give you her last dollar if you needed it. She is so giving and always
puts others first. How did I get so lucky to
have her as my grandma?? I love you Grandma!! (Oh, and I am JEALOUS of your
tan.)
Be back later today!
March 9, 2010
This is gonna be a whirlwind!
So, I haven't had time to post in the last few days. Steve was working this
weekend, so I had my
hands full. BUT, I have a LOT to post! I will start with this project, and in
the next 2 days I will
catch up on everything else. So expect several posts today and tomorrow.
I'll begin with the next furniture project. I had a few requests for another
one, so here you go!
BEFORE (Solid but ugly, well, not my style)
AFTER
(Sorry the photos aren't great, I had my 50mm lens on and was too lazy to switch
it!)
So. As you can see, it is much more my flavor! White. Of course. We found the
hutch on Craigslist for a great
price. It is Ethan Allen and was in wonderful condition, very solid.
For the transformation, we did a few things. First, Steve removed the top
scallop and the rail. I like straight lines
for my furniture. This one wasn't exactly right since the edges of the shelves
have curves, but that's alright.
The price was right, so I compromised there!
Then, we sanded, primed, and painted it (with Steve's sprayer). We removed the
back piece and painted that New England
blue. I originally wanted to line the back with this beautiful wallpaper, but it
was $50, so I figured I'd save the
money and just go with plain blue. We painted the main part a lovely bright
white. We used ProClassic Interior
Acrylic Latex paint in Satin so that it would withstand all our use.
Finally, we replaced the knobs! Steve found these pretty white ones at ReHouse
(the local salvage place). I would
love to buy knobs like
THESE (or any of their glass ones for that matter), but at $8 a piece, I'll
wait!
After everything was finished, I arranged all my favorite white and pink antique
plates until I was happy with them.
LOVE the way it came out! The hydrangeas just topped it off.
I'll be posting more later today!!
March 4, 2010
Noah the photographer.
We spent the morning Tuesday at one of my oldest friend's house with
her 3 beautiful babies-
Tori (Victoria), Jack (Jackson), & Addison. Our youngest 2 are just about the
same ages, so it works great
for play dates. Noah had so much fun playing with them! We have been friends
since we were babies ourselves,
so it is so neat to see all our kids together. Old (but YOUNG!) friends are such
a blessing (love you Julie!).
Aren't her little ones adorable??
You just have to love the boys faces, not too pleased about our little shoot!
Noah had a lot of fun with their toy camera & goggles! I think he is going to
take after his mama...
Jack & Noah being silly.
Be back soon with a new project and photos!
March 2, 2010 HAPPY 1/2 BIRTHDAY OLIVER!!!!!!!!!
My sweet baby boy is 6 months old already!
Half a year!! How is that even possible? He is growing up all
too quickly. He is sitting really well now and gets on all fours to try and
crawl. He loves to play with toys and
grabs at ones he wants, and then promptly shoves them into his little mouth! He
enjoys trying to drink Noah's
water/milk and has actually managed a few sips on his own. This week he will get
his first solid food. As soon
as I manage to cook the squash and puree it up! He has very little interest in
solids so far, so I am in no rush.
Although, today he rather enjoyed his teeny tiny crumb of a bite, of 1/2
birthday brownie cake! Yep. I am a
poor mother. Letting my son's first taste of food be GASP, CHOCOLATE! Yikes.
What has happened to me?
Ha. Actually, to be fair, his first bite of food was homemade organic banana
bread that I made the other day.
SO, I guess I am not all THAT bad. Umm yeah, back to Oliver. He has the best
temperament of any baby I have
known. He is ALWAYS happy. Well, at least 95% of the time. He loves to snuggle
and be tickled, and laugh.
He loves to say "dada" and loves his mommy (or so I like to think!). He is such
a blessing to our family. I don't
know why God chose ME to be Noah & Oliver's mama, but I am so glad he did!
(the rare photos that include me!)
Look at those frosting covered fingers!
There is that little teeny crumb of brownie!
I love my little man. Happy 1/2 birthday Oliver!
February 28, 2010
Toss Me a Pillow!
Ahhh, another home project! I had these throw pillows that were SO
drabby. Oh man, they were just depressing.
If a pillow can affect your mood, these ones did! Take a look at them before:
YUCK. See what I mean? Just not at all pleasing to look at.
So, I decided I would make them over! Before I show you how I did it, here is
the end result:
Boy oh boy, do I LOVE them! Aren't they so cheerful? They really add a punch of
color to the room.
If you remember, our living room is chocolate brown (which I adore) with lots of
white. So I wanted to
add a bit of fun where I can. Here is how I did it:
First, I'll preface this with my famous term- EASY. haha! But really, I don't
really attempt projects
that take longer than a couple hours (max). I don't like to leave things on the
dining room table for days,
and although we have an office/craft room, it is challenging to hole myself in
there with 2-3 kids running
amuck! To say the least. Therefore, I do easy, quick projects! Hmmm...unless you
don't have a sewing
machine. Then maybe they aren't the quickest. Sorry!
OK ok, back to the pillows!
Supplies:
- An old throw pillow
- An old sham/cover for said pillow (or see below)
- 1 fat quarter of fabric for the front. 2 fat quarters if you don't
have an old cover, or if you don't like it at all. I bought my fabric from: The Fabric Shoppe (I LOVE
Michael Miller fabrics!)
- Zipper if you are making a totally new pillow cover (optional)
-Thread
How to:
1) Remove pillow cover.
2) Turn inside out and cut apart the 2 pieces. I cut as close to the edge as
possible and also left the zipper.
So, I used my seam ripper to remove one side of the fabric.
3) Using the old pillow cover as a pattern, cut a new front from your fabric.
4) Pin the right sides together (inside out).
5) Sew along the zipper first (while zipped), and then unzip.
6) Sew all the remaining edges.
7) Inside out and stuff pillow form inside!
Now, I used the old pillow covers for the back, since I used designer fabric
that I ordered & only had 1 fat
quarter of each. Really though, it would be a lot easier just to start from
scratch. Then you can either use a
zipper on one end, or just sew up the opening by hand once you stuff the pillow
in. I like to use a zipper so
that you can toss them in the wash when you need to. Plus zippers are really
easy and pretty cheap, so why not?
Look at how great they are now!
Here is another quick idea for you. When I made the jumper
& horse for Charlotte, I thought I would
make a quick card for her. This was so quick, I did it in the 5 minutes before
she got picked up!
All you need is a card, scrap of fabric, button, and your machine! I did it
super quick and liked the
not-so-perfect look. Oh, and remember all that lace fabric I have? I used a
little square to wrap her
gifts in! A totally 100% homemade gift. Sweet!
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