hanging pictures

Do you need to hang a group of pictures anytime soon?  I’ve been slacking on getting Owen’s all hung up.  But here’s a quick solution that involves very little measuring. 

I took each picture frame and cut some paper to be the exact size (you could use computer paper or wrapping paper or whatever you have on hand).  I then rubbed a pen on the back of the frames over where the hook was.  I labeled the paper as to what picture was inside and which way was “up.”  Then I hung these on the wall with tape.  I played around with the layout until I was happy with how it looked.Then  I simply hammered a nail right through the paper where I had marked the hanger was.  Then I ripped off the paper and hung the frame.  No measuring needed!   And ta-da.  His pictures are finally hung!

Pinned It, Did It Monday! {Ellie's flower balls}

Welcome to Pinned It, Did It Monday where each week I try to actually do something I pinned on Pinterest.  I’m trying to go back and use some of the first pins I stumbled across.So I cheated a little on this project.  I pinned this and started it months ago.  I knew the minute I saw it that I wanted these for above Ellie’s crib.  But after doing the first 1.5 balls, I got bored with the project (have I ever blogged about my project ADD?  More on that later).  But seriously, doing 3 of these might have been a bit much.  But knowing I needed something for these Monday posts made me finish these up this week and get them hung while Owen was away.  I love how they turned out.  That reminds me that I need to get you her nursery tour sometime, don’t I?  Ok, onto the actual pin.
Picture I pinned:

 

Source: Tissue Rosette Kissing Balls from The Idea Room
My Pictures:My Review:  I think they’re adorable.  Flower balls made from styrofoam balls, streamers, and hot glue.  She has pretty good directions on how to make these, including a video.  Since I make lots of rolled flowers, they weren’t too hard to make, just a little tedious.  But I’d be happy to give you more in-depth instructions if you need help!  One thing I would suggest is painting your styrofoam balls the color of the streamers you’re using.  That way if there are little spots that aren’t covered by a flower, it won’t matter.  The other thing I’d suggest is buying more steamers that you think you’ll need.  I ran out in the middle of ball #2 and even though I bought them all from Target, the streamers I bought later are a totally different color.  Ok, maybe you wouldn’t notice, but I’m trying not to let it bother the perfectionist in mes.  All in all, these make the perfect little “mobile” for above her crib.
Who doesn’t love another chocolate chip recipe?  I’m always on the lookout for a good one. 
Picture I pinned:

Source: Chocolate Chip Cookies from I Am Baker
My Picture: My Review:  I may have completely missed the part in the directions that the dough was supposed to sit in my fridge for 24 hours.  Ooops.  Didn’t follow that rule.  Maybe that’s why my cookies look nothing like hers.  But they were good!  Very crunchy (again, could be me not the recipe) but I enjoy a good crunchy cookie.  The little surprise in this one is the course salt you add.  Every few bites I’d get a bite of the salt and I loved it.  If you’re not a sweet/salty combo person, I’d leave the salt out.  But overall, good cookies that were gone quickly.  And I only made a half bath and that was plenty!

And a few funnies for the week:

Our Weekend Without Owen

So I’ve been a slacker blogger this past week because we were getting ready for a big weekend!  This past Thursday afternoon, I drove Owen to meet my parents in Bloomington.  And then I drove home. . .without him!  They kept him from Thursday until today for a Big Brother weekend.  We timed it to fall on our anniversary so we could have a little fun (you have dirty minds if that’s where you went first) without our little man.

Our anniversary present to ourselves was getting a little painting done.  Now in the past, we have always done our own painting.  But I’m scared to say that we may never go back.  Haha.  One of my roommates in college’s husband (Mark) does painting on the side and let me tell you, call him if you need something done.  AMAZING work.  Perfect cutting in.  Quick and very competitive price.  Seriously good stuff.

Anywhooo, he came Friday morning so Ellie and spent all morning running errands.  Holy cow that’s easy to do with just one kid.  Isn’t that amazing how time and perspective will change ya.  We got back and here’s a little preview of what was done:I spent the entire afternoon hanging out with Ellie and crafting.  It was some glorious time I tell you.  Friday night, William went to help some friends move, so I just went right on crafting.  Got all kinds of fun stuff done.

Saturday morning, we got on the road early to head to IKEA.  My parents needed a few things for church and their house, so we decided just to get out of  Mark’s way and have a fun little road trip.   We spent a little over 4 hours there, just dreaming of what we'd buy with unlimited budgets, eating lunch, and picking out a few fun things for Owen.   Ellie did awesome and enjoyed her first trip to IKEA.  Today, we drove over for church and to pick up our little man.  We missed him terribly, but as you’ll see by these pictures  my parents sent, he didn’t miss us a bit!  Thanks so much Mom and Dad for a fabulous, toddler free weekend.

he ate this entire container of raspberries

Grandma gives me 2 popsicles!

lining up the cars with Grandpa

really - he was enjoying Grandpa's panckes 

5 Reasons for 5 Years

This past Friday, William and I celebrated our 5th anniversary.  I told him it feels like it was yesterday, but also feels like he’s always been in my life.  So in honor of our 5 years, I thought I’d share 5 reasons why I love him.  (Of course, there’s lots more than five such as he loves God, duh!)#1 – He just “is that into me.”  (Have you read that book or seen the movie?)  Well, I’m lucky because I found a man who just IS that into me!  I am so blessed to have a man that is madly in love with me and all my craziness.  He gets me.  He encourages my dreams and passions.  When asked once if he wanted to be a pastor/speaker, he said “nope, I’m just going to go set up Emily’s chairs.”  It has steadied me much to be married to him.#2 – He is a true gentleman.  They sure know how to raise ‘em in Texas.  Now I know that women don't NEED to have their door opened for them, or their chair pulled out, but it sure makes me feel special when they are done.   He goes the extra mile to treat me like a lady.  And he’s got his ways with the older ladies too. :)  It’s nice to know that chivalry is not dead.#3 - He is a great father.  It's not rare to find him on the floor wrestling with Owen or playing cars and trains.  He handles his share of dirty diapers and getting splashed at bath time.  He's quick to say "I love you", give them kisses, and has amazing patience with them.  I’m lucky to be on this parenting journey with him!
#4 - He helps around the house. Not only does he do the outside work, but he is great about helping inside too.  Dishes, floors, laundry, cleaning up my piles... He does it all willingly.  He is the handy man extraordinaire and can fix most anything.  He has no idea how safe this makes me feel.  It also makes me feel safe that he checks all the doors multiple times before going to bed. :)#5 - He takes AMAZING care of our family.  There have been multiple times in the past when he hated loathed his job.  But I am so thankful to have a husband who is willing to do whatever he has to do to take care of us, and works hard so that I can stay at home with our kids.  I don’t tell him this enough.#6 – He has really good taste. (ok, I know this is one more than five).  But I love this about him.  I mean, he married me right?  Just kidding.  I know this seems shallow, but I love that he has really high end, good taste.  When we go shopping, we always agree on things.  He doesn’t mind making our spaces as nice looking as we can on a budget.  He appreciates when I find cute clothes for the kids.  He always looks nice! :)Ok, I’ll stop.  But really, being married to this man is pretty awesome.  I love him more everyday.  I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us next.  Thank you William for pursing me.  It didn’t take long for me to realize how great of a catch you were.  Happy 5 years!!

What your friends {will} tell you about birth

I have 3 friends (well, one’s a cousin too) that are due in the next month or few with their first babies!  Since friends were VITAL to me in learning what really happens in and after birth, I thought I'd write them a little letter since these thoughts are still pretty fresh in my mind. .  If you don't plan on having children any time soon, you might not want to read this. :)

My dear Audra, Laura, and Lindsey,

I was just thinking about you three and those cute baby bumps today and thought I'd say hello.  I'm so excited for these journeys you're on and am so thrilled to see you all become mommas.  As I think back over the births of Owen and Ellie, I just thought I'd share a few things with you that have been passed down to me from my friends.  It's not the glowing, you're gonna love being a mom stuff.  Which is true.  It's great.  Fabulous.  Hard.  The best thing ever.  But this is the ‘you're gonna pee your pants every time you laugh for a year’ kinda stuff.  Mostly a few details about birth that aren't in the books.  Not all of it will ring true for you. But it's always better to be warned. :)

1. There will come a time in your pregnancy when you are DONE.  Even those women who adore being pregnant reach this stage.  And you will start searching Google for things like "how to get this baby out."  And you'll start taking long walks, and eating pineapple, shrimp, and spicy food and you may even resort to doing the thing that got you in this mess in the first place. :)  But I'm a firm believer in the fact that your body will do it when it's time.  I think these things work in hindsight because you're doing them at a time when your body was already ready to give birth.  But you'll still do them (all).  And don't worry.  The baby will come out one way or another.  The last few weeks of pregnancy drag by slowly and then you blink and your baby will be a month old.
2. Losing your mucus plug does not mean that labor is close.  You can lose it up to a month before you actually meet your babe.  I did lose mine in labor with Owen but have NO idea when I lost it with Ellie.
3. When you do start labor, sometimes you'll have vomiting and diarrhea.  Really, it just adds insult to injury at this point, but sometimes your body cleans itself out before the more intense part of labor comes which can be a good thing (see #5).
4. You will NOT get through childbirth with your modestly intact.  There's just no way about it.  From the minute you get there, someone will be looking and checking and sticking their hand up your vajayjay.  During your birth there will be a number of people in your delivery depending on the setting and circumstances of how you deliver. After birth, and during your stay in the hospital the nurses will have to evaluate your perineum and bleeding; even more strangers looking at your "private parts". Not so private anymore... and there goes your modesty.
5. And speaking of modesty, in all honesty you will likely poop when you push. The muscles you're using are the same ones you do on the toilet.  So if you're pushing correctly, you will poop.  Yes, it was slightly embarrassing, but trust me you'll get over it.  And the nurses/doctors/midwives don't bat an eye (well, your photographer might).  They've seen it all.
6. Babies aren't always pretty when they're born.  They're usually pale blue or gray and sometimes have misshapen heads from their exit.  Poor Owen was so purple.  Sometimes their sweet little faces are swollen or bruised.  They're covered in blood, amniotic fluid, and vernix.  But don't worry.  You'll think they are the most beautiful thing you've ever seen.
7. You will use about 1/10th of what you pack for the hospital.  There are tons of lists out there, but all I really used were my boppy pillow, a comfy outfit to go home in, 2 outfits for the baby, my toiletries and my camera.  Oh and chapstick for your dry lips and lanolin for the sore nipples.  If you have a baby book, pack it for them to put their little foot prints in!  But really, you don't even need to pack underwear because you'll be wearing these fabulous mesh granny pants.  Speaking of those, steal everything you can from your room.  It's already on your bill, trust me.  Every diaper, paci, huge pads, and those great underwear.  Take it all. 
8. Unfortunately, once your sweet baby is born, the poking, prodding, and pain is not quite done.  You still have to push out the placenta, which while annoying, is nothing compared to what you just pushed out. Once the placenta comes out, any tears that you may have will need to be repaired. After the delivery of the placenta, the nurse will need to evaluate your bleeding closely. Every so often a "fundal massage" will be performed to push out any blood clots that remain in your uterus and prevent excessive bleeding. I put this term in quotations because the word massage implies that this is a comfortable thing. In fact, a fundal massage is when the nurse, midwife or doctor basically jump on your uterus to get it to contract. Ouch!  And that first week of nursing will also cause some painful uterus contractions.  But just remember it’s helping everything tighten up.  Bwhahaha, tighten up.  I mean yes, it’s all going to go back the way it was.  Hahahahaha.  Sorry, let’s move on.
9. May God bless you to be one of the ladies that doesn't get hemorrhoids.  I wasn't so lucky in this department.  I actually had them through most of my pregnancy and for about a month after birth.  Stool softeners, tucks pads, preparation H, and the good stuff they give you at the hospital will be your friend.  Even peeing can be a bit 'stingy' after birth!
10. Speaking of pee, expect to do it for months following birth after you laugh or cough.  Those muscles just aren't the same any more!
11. And while we're talking pee/poop, just in general it will take a good ten minutes to use the restroom.  You'll have to go ever so slow, change those monster pads, hold yourself up while praying you don't poop, apply your various creams, and then spraying yourself down with your little squirt bottle.  It will feel like you're in there for an hour. :)
12. Nursing is hard.  I’m sure if you’ve done any reading, you know this.  But really, it hurts and it’s not just second nature.  You have to work at it.   Your boobs will become about the size of footballs around a couple days after birth (different for everyone).  Warm showers and cool washcloths are a big help.  Don’t worry, the crazy porn star boobs will settle down in a couple days.  Just keep nursing.   Tickle their upper lip with your nipple and then when they open, shove your boob in.  Yes, it seems like your suffocating your baby, but that’s how you do it.  Keep at it.  Ask for help.  It gets easier.  And while not everyone likes it, there are those of us who really LOVE breastfeeding.  It’s one of my favorite things ever! 
13. Ok other mommies, what I am forgetting to tell them? Share away in the comments!

I love you ladies and cannot wait to meet Baby W, Baby P, and Ellery!  You are all going to make awesome moms and these babies are so lucky!

fruit roll up success!

 

I have a quick follow up from my Pinned It, Did It Monday.  On advice of my friend and cook extraordinaire, Sara, I tried the fruit roll ups again.  I also used this new PIN from Pinterest to help. I simply pureed my strawberries in my Magic Bullet and then lined my pans with saran wrap (didn't do this the first time).  Nope, it didn't melt in my oven because of the super low heat. I also poured my puree a little thicker this time. I "baked" it for about 6.5 hours at 170 degrees. It peeled right off the saran wrap and then we just cut it apart and ate it. The whole pan. Right then. We didn't even save any for dad. Owen gave this 2 big thumbs up.

source: How to make homemade fruit roll ups from Our Best Bites

Pinned It, Did It Monday!

Welcome to Pinned It, Did It Monday, where every week I try to actually do something I’ve pinned from Pinterest.  But this week could titled Pinned It, FAILED it! Can't win them all I guess.

I love fruit roll ups!  I would eat a whole box in a day or two if I bought them.  So when I saw this picture and read that the only ingredients were only strawberries and cinnamon, I was game!

Picture I pinned:

Source: Fruit Rollups from The Copycat Cook
My picture: My review:  Well, I don’t have a food dehydrator. But no problem right, because the directions said I could just use my oven on the lowest heat setting for about 5-6 hours.  And all you had to do was puree a few cups of strawberries and add a dash of cinnamon!  Well, I'm not sure what happened.  I think I probably just poured it a little too thin.  So it got crispy and stuck the pan.  The parts I could peel off tasted great, but it looks nothing like the original.  Going to keep hunting around for a recipe for these or try this again and pour it thicker (I had divided it up into 2 small pans).  And I probably should have used parchment paper too come to think of it.  Ok, onto my next fail of the week.
We were running super low on our Cascade Power Packs for the dishwasher when I saw someone pin this.  The before and after pictures of her glasses without the hard water marks were great so I had hopes of saving us a little money and using this stuff!  I still have some marks on some of my glassware from when we lived in Lafayette.  Their water was terrible!
Picture I pinned:

Source: Hard Water Stains?  Dishwasher detergent that works! from Simply Designing
My picture: My Review:  So disappointed!  It got my stuff clean.  There's no food left on the plates or anything.  But I saw more water spots on all my dishes than ever before.  And everything felt like it had a little film on it, if you know what I mean.  I won't even show you the before and after pictures of my glasses, because they look exactly the same.  So now I'm torn.  I spent the money on making this stuff, so I may just use it until it's gone.  But after this, I'm sad to say I think I'll be buying my Cascade again.

And I leave you with this:

I was framed

Well, Sophie was ‘framed.’  I was trying to get some pictures hung up in Owen’s room (finally) and Owen, and William were having a little fun.  Guess she didn’t mind too much.

randoms

Here’s just a few random pictures from our week. :)

Her new favorites: this doll and pulling up her shirt/dress

sweet and sassy

dinner at the park

park time!

he loves being able to play by himself now

loving the "cooler" weather

awww

mmmm, popsicles