Walking in the Rain

Shelby and River think it is so fun to go outside in the rain. Usually I don't allow them to play outside while it is raining, mostly because they get sick so often, but today it was not too cold out so we went for a walk. They thought it was so much fun carrying their own umbrellas and skipping down the street in the rain. I forget sometimes that the simple things, like playing in the rain, brings them so much joy. Just one more thing for me to learn from my kids. I thought I was supposed to be teaching them but they prove over and over I have so much to learn. I love having kids, they make me such a better person, most days anyway.

Project #2

I love January. I always feel inspired to organize my house and make things better than before. I get extra "crafty" this time of year because I have no projects I have to get done for the holidays and usually I don't have much I have to do for others. I know how selfish of me to love the time of year I only do things for myself! Anyway I have been making a list of things I have wanted to re due around my house and I'm doing them, finally! So project #2 was to make my plain curtains that hang in my family room look better. I started with plain tan curtains I got at Ikea some time ago. I would have really liked to just buy new ones that I liked (Target has a ton of really cute ones for a okay price) the problem is I need them 96" long and most places have 84", or something like that. I know the longer ones are out there but I am also, what I like to call "thrifty", others may call cheap and I don't want to spend 80-some dollars on each panel. So here is what I did: I started with these...

Then I got some cute material and sewed it right to the right side of the panel. I also added some brown pipping to make it look not so "homemade."

I also added the same color brown bias tape at the bottom to finish it instead of a seam.

And here is the end result... cute "custom" curtains for really cheap! I also like that they are not all print, I think having only the bottom 1/4 of them printed makes them not to busy. I also want to state that I'm not posting my project for the "look how great I am" result. I am posting them in case you want to do it yourself and posting them makes me not only finish what I started but it gets me excited for what to do next.

River's long over due hair cut

It has been a long time since I gave River a hair cut so the other day I got to it. Everything went well until at the end I combed it the wrong way according to him and then it was sudden tears and crying. I quickly combed it back and then he was fine with it. He is very picky about his hair and clothes, if it is not what he wants he lets you know.

My reason for not blogging lately

I get this kick every January, you know to clean and reorganize everything. So my first project was my "mud" room. This is the room you enter when you walk thru the garage door, all the shoes go there, back packs, and any other junk I am bring in from the car. There is a built in desk that I have always hated because it was the place I threw everything. My goal was to bring this desk area to life, and give it a purpose in my house, plus it is the first thing I see every time I walk through the door so I was going for a fun welcoming feel. I forgot to take a before picture so use your imagination... this picture is taken from my living room, behind the shutters is the desk.

The color of the desk and the walls are the same as my kitchen, I like the dark cabinets but it gets boring have it all thru my house.

This is my after. I painted this little room and I am amazed how refreshing it feels. I have my charging dock in the middle, and everything has a place. I had a ton of fun with my label maker and now everyone knows were everything goes. I also painted the desk, I do plan to put knobs on the drawers too.

Add a skirt to your desk and look at all the fun junk you can hide!

This is my "M" I made awhile ago. It used to stand for mail, now it is for Manville. I cut up scrap book paper, glued it on, and then covered it all with Elmers glue. To the right is a cork board, I just painted it the same color as the wall for fun.

Love the label maker! And yes that is my piggy bank, I do plan to put money in it too. I think it is cute and if you want one it is at Target now ($9.99)

My camera did not have a place so I made one for it. I like it out so I can use it often. This is a curtain tie back I bought like 2 years ago, put a wood frame around it and now my camera has a home!

I noticed that in every magazine I see the books left out never looked cluttered, then I noticed it was because they always were covered and matched. I bought a role of brown paper and covered all the books that were ugly but I use often.

Christmas morning

I know Christmas is long gone but I am just now finding the time to post our Christmas morning. We had such a fun time and the kids were so fun to watch. Santa was very good to us this year, the kids got a art desk, razors, and lots of fun toys! River was so unpredictable, he did not want to open any presents. The night befor he opened one present at his Grandmas house and did not want to open any more the rest of the night. He really liked his first present and that was all he needed. So on Christmas morning he liked looking at all the presents under the tree but after opening his first present he did not want to open any more. He was playing with his first present and when I handed him another to open he threw it back at the tree! He was opening presents until that afternoon!


June had tons of fun eating the wrapping paper and playing with her new toys.

Binoculars... my dad would be proud! He always said no one could own too many pairs of them.


Shelby whispered to Santa when we saw him that she wanted a pair of swim goggles for Christmas. It was funny because she totally told him in secret, good thing Santa is magic and can hear really well... and she got her swim goggles!