UN-Favorite Things Friday.

Today began as a perfectly good day.  Good times with a good friend, lunch and some tuckered-out kids...what more could one ask for. 

...and then the sump pump broke in our basement. 

The water backed up in our bedroom. Four hours later, I got to sit down. 

 

Towels here. Towels there. Towels everywhere.

And...

a huge noisy fan. On loan from Home Depot.

 

Okay. I'll leave you with a few cute pics of Carson. A few favorites, if you will. 

true love.

Happy Friday.

Un-happy wet basement.

Resourcefulness at it's finest

Wowza! Check out these cool ideas for headboards! Super cool.

 

 

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 You can check out the tutorial of how to make them on DIY  here

GREAT Book. GREAT Reminder.

This is our current Book Club book. It's so good. Get it. Read it.

He is so big. We are so small.

HE is "I AM". I am "I am not".

It's Favorite Things Friday!!!

OH, how I love Fall. The decor is so much fun! Even the smells. Speaking of smells...the other day I was buying tulle at Wal-Mart and kept smelling something so delicious that I HAD to find whatever I was smelling. I sniffed around until I realized there was an end cap with a huge bunch of cinnamon. I would have bought some, but something kept me from doing so. 

...where was I?  Oh, yes. Fall. 

I really want to be one of those people who can throw a tablescape together in the blink of an eye. You know the type. They pull random things from their cupboards, linen closets and nick knacks from around the house and create the most amazing place settings. And every holiday their house is decked out like-you-can't-believe. But not in a fussy way. In an "oh, I just threw this together" way. Yeah. I'm not that girl. Yet. I can think it/dream it, but I'm not great with the application. Heather got that gene.

How does one make a zebra pumpkin? I NEED to know.

 

 

There's a lot going on here, but I ♥ it!

 

 Excuse me while I run to Michael's. I HAVE to make this banner!

 

I love the pumpkin ice cooler! Good idea! (Heather, take note for your Halloween Party-- not that 11-year-olds would be as impressed as I am).

 

 Maybe a little on the fussy side, but still fabulous!

A Little Bedtime Reading

Tonight Cade took an especially long time to get ready for bed. The kid can do NOTHING fast. He's going to be a thinker and ponderer...not necessarily a doer. Anyway, tonight was even slower than normal. I wanted to start reading a new book we just got in. One of the amazing moms at Mom's Group talked about it a few weeks ago. It's kind of a Christian Star Wars of sorts called Teknon.

But since he took SO LONG getting ready, and it was already almost 8:30 (his bedtime is 7:30) I knew we couldn't start it tonight. I almost told him absolutely no story tonight...you know...since he wasn't listening. It seemed like the grown- up-responsible-parent-y thing to do. I thought through that scenario, and admittedly wimped-out. I knew that if I told Cade no story tonight, that would break his heart and that I would have to deal with the aftermath {i.e. crying, whining, pouting, etc., etc.}. 

Sooooo....since I knew I was wimping-out, I decided to compromise. Instead of reading a book he would normally choose, like one of the Star Wars books, I decided to read the Bible. Yes. I thought maybe some how by reading the Bible to him, maybe the Holy Spirit would convict this child of his terrible habit of horsing-around when he should be getting ready for bed! We read about Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. We briefly talked about it and then I told him that we would have to talk about it more tomorrow, being that it was so late and all. 

Fast forward to 10 pm.

Chris got hungry for a little snack around that time, goes up stairs and what does he find? Cade sitting on his bed. Reading The Bible. For an hour and a half he had been reading The Bible! 

So, once again he's doing something he shouldn't be. And yet, how can you punish a 6 year old for reading The Bible for an hour and a half?! 

hmmmmm....stumped again.

 

Tuesday Weigh In

Zero. 0. Nada. None. No weight loss this week. Thank you, Cheesecake Factory. Thank you, Culver's. Thank you Famous Dave's. (Yeah. We eat out a lot when the in-laws come to town).

about love and stuff

So, there's this guy I married 10 years ago. Let's call him "Chris". This guy woo-ed me to the cafeteria everyday with his shenanegans and hilarious jokes. {I must have been really bored back then, because the cafeteria was more than a dining experience for me. It was my entertainment as well. FREE entertainment}.  This guy was different from the others. He was attentive-- not just in an 18-year-old-please-date-me-creepy-way, but he made people feel special around him. Not just me. He was beyond silly-- seriously, it was like dinner theater everyday. He was genuine and knew what he wanted out of life. It was a breath of fresh air after some of the boys I knew. I called him my Rennaissance Man, because he's good at so many different things. He knows a little bit about EVERYTHING. Seriously. Ask him sometime about building the Taj Mahal...or grooming bull mastives. Okay...maybe not those specific topics...but you know what I mean. The boy knows a lot of stuff. 

Anyway, after 10 years sometimes a girl can forget all of those things. Sometimes when you have kids and you have to pay all of the bills and you don't get nearly as much sleep as you used to, a girl might forget all of the things she loves.

Today I remembered.

It's Favorite Things Friday, BABY!

Mmmmm....it's a good one, Girls!  Have you ever heard of Clothes Mentor?

We're getting one here (if you live in MPLS it's in Burnsville close to Plato's Closet and DaVanni's). They buy your used clothes and resell them. The GREAT thing about the one here in MN is that they're building up their inventory (they won't be opening their doors until late November) so they're in great need of pretty much everything. They take shoes, bags, clothes, maternity. 

It's a good thing. 

2.4 pounds down.

I started a weight loss challenge class-- kind of like The Biggest Loser, if you will. Today was my first weigh in. I lost 2.4 pounds. Yeah, Baby! I love the motivation the class gives me to stick with healthy eating habits...but I REALLY love the idea of winning the grand prize! =) 

Tiegan will be a year old next month. My goal is to be down 10 pounds by then.

I think I can. I think I can. 

Embroidery Hoop Art

What comes to mind when I say embroidery hoop? 

THIS? 

Well, it's a NEW DAY, kids. A new day indeed. 

Introducing, Embroidery Hoop Art:

 

 

This is working for me...

There are so many things right about this picture. First of all, I love the frames, textures and colors. Secondly, the random layout of the collage-- just. works. 

I'm digging the pillows. And the flowers. 


BUT...what I really love is the wallpaper in the background. Mmmmm. Yummy. 

Favorite Things Friday

I've always said I'm going to make an upholstered headboard.

 Maybe someday I actually WILL.

I love the one on Tori and Dean:

Love this one too:

 

Have any of you made one? It really isn't that big of a project. However, my bedroom has an "architectural" detail  

{if you can call it that}

that would complicate any kind of headboard...especially the ornate rounded edge type like the first pic. You see, we have an ugly ledge all around our room, much like this one:

This isn't my house...just a pic I found (I could never live in a house without proper window treatments!) ha!

So, there ya have it. My favorite thing for the day. And just because I forgot about Favorite Things Friday last week, and therefore had to move it to Favorite Things Monday, I'm going to throw in an extra favorite this week.

It's a modge podge-ed dresser. Probably a garage sale find that wasn't so pretty. Anything can be fixed with a little paint and some modge podge.

You're welcome. 

My New Obsession...

So, this is my new thing:

There's something about tutus that just makes me smile! If I could, I would wear a tutu myself everyday! This is a picture I found-- it's not one I made. Seeing as how I have three boys, I'm going to have to steal one of my friend's daughters to use as a model. I DID use Cade the other day to measure his waist. He didn't appreciate it! hehe! 


I think this is going to be my next project:

 I don't know where this could be worn...but EVERY little girl should own one! 

=)

 

If you don't stop growing by the time I count to THREE, you're going to be in big trouble, Mister!

In one month my baby boy will be a year old. It's so hard to believe. Thankfully he's showing no signs of walking. So for now I'll carry him around on my hip and and just pretend that he's still 4 months old. 

It probably won't prevent the inevitable, but it might keep me from prescription medication!

It's Favorite Things Friday!!!

For Pete's SAKE!  Is this the CUTEST thing you've ever seen, or WHAT? God certainly knew what he was doing when he gave me all boys! We would have been homeless ages ago if I had 3 girls to dress!

So, I walked outside...

to find that Carson has found my gardening gloves and shears. He successfully got the "safety" off   
 *safety my big toe*.

Check out how he put the gloves on. He may be naughty, but he sure is cute! 

I guess the flowers needed a haircut.