Merry Christmas

My sentiments this holiday season. Inspiration found here.

I can not believe that Christmas is tomorrow! We have been so busy! I have wanted to update things, but life has been getting in the way.  I was able to drag the kids out in the freezing cold for a last minute Christmas "photo shoot" and here are the results:

I wish you a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hoop Love

 

Back in 2010 I added fabric filled hoops to my "sewing room" and they remained there during the playroom revamp. We recently repainted the playroom and added functional storage in that space. I would love to reveal the new look, but that would require taking pictures!  It did not take me long to decide where the hoops new home would be when I browsed my pin boards and saw these:

Source

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Madeline had the perfect wall for the hoops!

  I did not even swap out the fabric.  I love how all the red highlights the red in her bedding.  The picture below is a true representation of the paint color.

And another angle, because one is not enough.

Fall Leaves

 

Our trees are now bare, but a few weeks ago Matt and the kids raked what little we had and played "sleeping zombie" for what seemed like hours!  I took this opportunity to play with my camera, which has been collecting dust. I am a little rusty!

Fall Decorating

I love fall and it is my favorite season!  This past weekend I made pumpkin donuts and chocolate chip pumpkin bread,  which reminded me of this pin.  In between baking I dug out my fall decor just in time for October!

My new tiered server for the buffet.  This will be fun to fill for all seasons.

And a new rug! I had been wanting one in the dining room and when I saw this one on sale weeks ago I snagged it and I am so happy!   I love the visual interest and it is an indoor/outdoor which is perfect for this clan.

The fall quote for the week, ok,  let's be honest, the month!

A little mum for the front porch.  I can't wait to enjoy hot drinks on cool evenings here. 

Adjusting

 So I told you that I started working.  I love/loathe working full time. I was a full time stay at home mommy for seven years and now I am working out of the home 180 days a year for 8 hours a day. This has been a big change for the whole family!  

The pros:  I love feeling productive, and have been so active that I lost the stubborn ten pounds gained when I stopped nursing Luke four years ago, and additional funds are always a plus! 

The cons: I feel too busy to really do much other than get ready for the next day,  let alone deep clean, decorate, or blog. Note that I said "feel".  I do have free time, but it does not feel like a large enough chunk to get too much accomplished. Matt has really stepped up with laundry and dishes and that has helped tremendously! I never cook on Friday and that really gets my weekend off to a good start.  We have had time to squeeze in little projects here and there, mostly because my sweetie husband gets them done on his days off while we are at school.  

Here are some shots of the kids and I a couple of weeks ago. These kids are growing up fast and I have noticed that I am not taking as many pictures as I used too.  And yes, I noticed all the new wrinkles on my face.

Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins

Every time we go to Meijer my daughter begs for these muffins that are displayed near the milk.  I do by processed foods, ones that I can not make, such as potato chips, cold cereal, and Velveeta (I know...), but muffins are totally doable.  I found this recipe from Eat at Home via Pinterest and it was a winner!  I used my mixer to cream the butter and sugar, added the wet ingredients, and then the dry.  I used a mini muffin pan for a cute variation of the original.  Quick, easy, yummy, without all of the junk!

Madeline's 7th Birthday

My little girl turned seven last week and it was a low key affair. After school she opened her cards and presents.  She wanted to eat at Golden Corral.  Yes, Golden Corral. She was lured by the chocolate fountain and was giddy when Daddy discovered that there was a cotton candy machine! We ate too much, laughed a lot, and had a great time.  I mentioned to the cashier that we were there to celebrate my daughter's b-day and the servers surprised her with a song and cupcake.  I will say that the service was amazing and now Luke is counting down the days (months) until he can go for his birthday!

I love this app that House of Smith's featured earlier this summer. Kind of like phone scrap-booking.  Makes me feel a little less guilty about the crappy phone pictures.  Just a little...

First Day for Everyone!

The summer flew by! We are on a balanced calendar so summer was only 8 weeks long.  This is a big year for our family! My baby, Luke is in KINDERGARTEN!!! How did that happen? He has been more than eager to begin the school year!

 

And... After seven years working as a SAHM I have traded my pjs for real clothes and I am working as  a special education instructional assistant (a politically correct term for aid).  I love the kids, the hours, and being a part of the education system again.  I am also the PTO treasurer, and the first grade level Girl Scout leader. I have been busier than ever, but it has been a good, productive busy!

Ikea Gray Cabinets

We spent the night in Cincinnati last weekend and had a blast at CoCo Key Water Resort.  Six straight hours of swimming and water slides! We were exhausted, but had a great time!  I love the Lazy River!  Wyatt could not get enough of the "dark" slides.  The funny thing is we have something really similar here in Indianapolis, but this is a great excuse to pop into Ikea and Jungle Jim's.  

While browsing Ikea we admired this show kitchen that was under construction during our trip back in March.  Gray paint, raised panels... slightly familiar!  I am happy to see gray cabinets as an option in big box stores. 

Despicable Me 2

Oh, the anticipation! The kids really enjoyed this movie and we had a great time seeing it!