Nora's New Do {1st Haircut}

Nora's hair is growing really quickly now, but she is still rocking the mullet. While there is not much I can do about the mullet I decided it was time for a trim to help the hair grow and I needed to straighten out her hair in the front (she had lots of long stragglers that were constantly in her face).

I was nervous that a trim would mean the end of her curly hair but I am happy to report she still has curls in the back (for now). And I'm no cosmetologist so I kind of botched her hair in the front but it will grow...oops. This may be the 1st and last haircut from mommy :)

The Tale of a Toybox {DIY Vintage Storage Crate}

One cold January morn I reached my limit. The toy limit that is. We had toys all over the basement spread between numerous Ikea baskets and Dollar Tree bins. The toys were everywhere! They were literally suffocating me. We had to take action.

After some Pinterest perusing I decided the best solution would be a large crate with casters to put under the kids table. This is the Serena & Lily inspiration piece that was way out of our price range.

We searched high and low for weeks to no avail. We decided to take a different route and Kyle got busy making plans for building 2 crates. It seemed ludicrous to spend time making new wood look old but what other option did we have?

Then Kyle remembered the salvage yard. It's a place of nightmares for me (think lots and lots of cats running wild through the mounds of merchandise), but it never disappoints. Kyle found old worn pallets and some privacy fence pieces that would do the job. Then he asked if they had any wooden crates. And lo and behold they had 1 wooden box. And we literally hit the jackpot. It was the perfect size and it had wonderful character! Kyle hid his excitement as he bartered for the crate. And he took it home for $12!

Before:

When he got it home it was pretty rough and dirty. We contemplated sanding and staining it, painting the inside a fun color, removing the handles, etc. But when Kyle brought it inside to check the fit we loved how it looked as is. So in the end it was our goal to make it safe with as little effort as possible (to retain all it's character). Kyle sanded the rough spots and removed the exposed nails. Then he applied a couple coats of poly to ensure protection from any splinters. Finally he added casters. Then it was ready to be filled with toys!

After:

I adore the finished product. It completes our little kids activity area. All their toys, books, and activity table all in one convenient space. I heart the functionality and the kids love having all their toys in a central location.

FFA

Future Farmer of America

If you ask Sawyer what he wants to be when he grows up he will typically say he wants to be a farmer. Well the other day he decided to practice by building his own farm.  We may need to work on his technique...it's less free range and more standing on top of each other. Larry the Cucumber also got to join in on the farm fun so maybe Sawyer is leaning more toward crop farming.

And before the farmer grandpa's get too excited there is 1 small technicality that he will have to resolve before his dream of being a farmer can be reality...his EXTREME fear of all live animals.

Goody Two Shoes

I think I can officially declare Nora is a shoe lover! She is kind of obsessed with them.

Multiple times a day I catch her putting on shoes and they are not necessarily her own. They could be Sawyer's green Crocs, Daddy's dress shoes, Mama's ballet flats, dress up high heels, or her own pink boots. She is especially attracted to shoes with bright colors.

Just wanna jump, jump

We've been working on finding ways to entertain the kids during the long winter months. Several weeks ago there was a Groupon for an inflatable jump facility. I jumped on it (no pun intended) and the other day I took Sawyer and Gracie out for some fun.

jumping, climbing 

 sliding

throwing 

tackling...what more could a boy ask for? 

jumping away

 The kids ran from activity to activity for solid 2 hours. I would call that an energy busting success! The favored activity was the inflatable slide. They climbed up and went down over and over and over.

Crafting away...

After the hustle and bustle of holiday crafting and a busy etsy shop this new year I was ready to do some just-for-fun crafting. Several of these projects have been in the works for months but just needed a few finishing touches. The other projects I saw and immediately had to try. And you know me I'm all about nap time projects and all of these can easily be accomplished during a napping session.

This was a project I saw last year online and quickly tried my hand at it. It's a repurposed t-shirt bib. I actually sewed it a year ago but never got around to adding the velcro until now.

This was also a project I did a year ago. It's a Super Sawyer cape otherwise known as a repurposed superman t-shirt. It's just been sitting around waiting for a velcro closure. I finally got on that! And now it will probably be a surprise in someone's Easter basket.

This is a taggie crinkle toy I made several months ago. It was made in an effort to use up fabric scraps. It just took me forever to hand sew it closed. It might make a fun car seat toy for someone.

And of course I couldn't forget the little miss. I saw this fabric in Hobby Lobby and couldn't pass it up. I just made a simple summer skirt. I still have gobs of the fabric so I may try making something else fun with it.

And this is a jersey racerback dress that I made using the tutorial from Crafterhours. I made it for Nora to wear this summer. I can't wait until she can fit in it! So simple and cute!

My Valentine's

Soaking in the love of my 3 Valentine's.

We had a little fun in the morning celebrating love day. I adore the $1 section at Target for these little holidays. I bought them a few things for each kiddo and the grandparents sent a few goodies.

 of course the candy was the biggest hit

Nora hoarding her candy

My sweeties loving on each other

holding hands 

giving kisses 

and hugs of course 

and because I can't get enough of this cutie in her Valentine's shirt!

Swimming in the Snow

It's February in Ohio. It's been snowing all week. And what would any family looking for fun do...go swimming! Our friends little boy, Caleb, recently celebrated his 1st birthday and he loves water so they held his party at the pool. This pool was perfect for families with small children. There was a gated kiddy pool with zero entry and lots of fun activities.

Strangely enough it was the opposite of last summer...this time Sawyer jumped right into the fun while Nora was very tentative. But we all had fun and it was a great way to burn off some of that cabin fever.

walking to the pool, they now love to hold hands when we are walking somewhere, makes my heart happy

 splashing and sliding

having fun with daddy

 a little tentative

Nolan LOVED it

even when he splashed himself or fell over he was still smiling

on a ride in the lazy river

 see the terror in her face :) she mostly wanted to cling to mommy

Candace, Nolan and Gracie

Caleb and Emily