Lately...

around our house

lots of reading

block building

pony tail wearing

snuggling

FUN!

Memorial Day Bike Ride

It may have been cold and rainy but we didn't let that get in the way of our Memorial Day fun.

We decided to take our 1st bike ride as a family. We borrowed a friends bike and trailer. We also rented 1 bike. Then we headed to the towpath for some biking fun.

I drove the train (i.e. trailer) for the 1st part of the trip and Kyle rode it back. Lets just say it was much more difficult to ride with 80-100 lbs behind you. The hills were rough. We were going to eat a picnic lunch along the way but as the rain continued to come down we rode back to the van and enjoyed our sandwiches in the dry and warm environment.

A fun experience that will only get more fun as the kids learn to ride their own bikes :)

all buckled in the trailer, it was a tight fit

beautiful scenery

the kids had the best ride around

Summer Dresses

In the past few weeks life has slowed down a bit (thankfully!). With a slower pace I've been able to do a few fun sewing projects. The first project was 2 summer play dresses for Nora.  I LOVE to create dresses for my little girl and these turned out perfectly. They were easy, "free" (I used fabric and old t-shirts I already owned) and turned out super cute. The comfy knit dress tutorial can be found at LBG Studio.

 The navy blue top and the lavender striped bottom were both old t-shirts I was about to send to Goodwill.

This dress was made using leftover jersey fabric in my fabric stash

Both of these dresses have plenty of room so I think it will work next summer too. Gotta love an outfit that will last for 2 seasons!

Writing

I know little minds are like sponges, but it never ceases to amaze me when one of my children learns a new concept. Sawyer has a wild and crazy all boy nature! He is constantly on the move. In fact the other day I noticed that he sometimes wiggles when he walks. I guess walking does not provide enough movement for the little man. But despite all his running and jumping he actually picks up on things very quickly. I remember when he was almost 2 and I was so surprised when he not only could say his full alphabet but he could also identify all the letters. Several months ago we realized he could spell Sawyer and Nora without looking at the letters and could identify the names when he saw them. I can't take credit for this learning as he seems to pick up on it just from life situations and perhaps a little help from Sesame Street :)

The other day we were playing outside with sidewalk chalk and he asked me to help him write his name. He requests this all the time and I usually grab the writing utensil and help him write the letters. But on this day after helping him write the "S" he asked to do the other letters by himself and much to my surprise he did it! The 1st attempt was a little hard to read but you can most definetly see the attempt at drawing letters.

Sawyer a little out of order "E, W, S, R, A, Y

my cheese face posing with his words

Then he decided to write Nora, Momma and Dada. I had to help him with a few letters such as the "N" in Nora and the "D" in dada but once I showed him he was able to do it by himself. I was pretty astounded. No one taught him how he just figured it out! It's crazy how kids can do that!

Mama, Nora, Dada, Sawyer

His 2nd attempt was much more successful and all by himself: backward S, A, upside down W, Y, E, R

So, he is obviously ready to start writing...the only issue is he can't decide which hand to write with. When doing this experiment he literally switched hands after every letter.

After reading this I hope you don't think I'm just trying to brag about my kids (though I do think they are pretty great :) nor do I think Sawyer is advanced beyond his age. I know kids at age 3 who can read so I'm not under the impression he his a genius. I'm writing this for memories sake and also because I think it's incredible how the Lord shapes our mind and the learning process of a little one. If only I could remember and pick up on things as fast as my 3 year old!

Shiner

Nora has her 1st black eye courtesy of Sawyer and his bat.

the day of the accident more swelling than bruising

And this one you can't really see her eye but it's too cute not to post

the next day all ready for church

day 4: dark purple to go with her dark eyes

showing her fierce side

It continues to turn all manner of purple shades.

The day after this incident she whacked her head on a shopping cart and her other eye swelled up and she gave herself a fat lip.

She is much more cautious than Sawyer thus she sustains far less injuries than her elder sibling. But at this rate she may be the 1st kid with a broken bone or stitches, though I'm sure it will be Sawyer that inflicts the injury :)

Master Bath Reveal {the final room}

We are finally done renovating the final room in the house! Now we can breathe a sigh of relief...who am I kidding there is always more work to be done when you own a house. But it does feel great to be done with all the major renovations.

So are you ready to see the result? Well, first I thought it might be nice to refresh your memory about where the room began. It was untouched from the day we bought it to nearly 3 years ago.

Yellow wallpaper, no storage, and bad tile job oh how I miss you...or not.

And finally here is a before and after shot with many more after shots to follow.

Taking out the huge green L-shaped countertop really opened up the room. Now Kyle and I can both comfortably stand at the vanity.

A new toilet and a little art from Etsy really brightened up this corner 

My favorite part hands down is the marble subway tile backsplash. I'm in LOVE with it! I love how the white marble with the gray veins ties in perfectly and the subway tile pattern is so classic and modern at the same time.

 The yellow tile shower remains...work with what you've got. It did receive an upgrade with a new shower door.

The curtain is also one of my faves. I was searching for a gray/yellow fabric to incorporate more of the yellow tile into the room. I found this home decor fabric but it was $54 per yard. Alas I determined that was far to expensive for a bathroom curtain. So the search continued while I pined over the fabric I loved. Then one day I was at the fabric store and there was a piece of my favorite fabric in the remanent pile which means it is 50% off and as luck would have it the fabric was already on sale for 50% off so I pounced on that fabric and got it for $7. And it was the perfect amount of fabric for this cute valence.

The mirror in this bathroom is actually the same mirror that was leaning against the wall in the previous bathroom. I bought it at a garage sale for $5 when we first moved into the house (the house had zero mirrors when we moved in). We (as in Kyle) upgraded the mirror by using liquid nails to adhere white trim as a frame. The trim was about $10, so for a $15 investment we have an upgraded bathroom mirror (anything is better than a freestanding mirror that is precariously leaned against the wall :)

And now for a breakdown of what we did:

Flooring $50
Shower door $125
Mirror $15 (mirror purchased at a garage sale)
Vanity $100 (purchased from Craigslist)
Sink $25 (former display sink that was drastically reduced)
Faucet $20 (bought on Black Friday for a great deal)
Toilet $150
Medicine cabinet $10 (used the existing cabinet just switched out doors)
Curtain $7 (fabric remanent)
Organizational items $4 (from Dollar Tree and Target $1 section)
Light $40
Marble backsplash $20
Paint: $30

Total: $596

After reflecting on this room makeover I am reminded of how important it is to shop around and be patient when you are on a budget. You will eventually find the deal you are searching for.

Like Father Like Son

The other night Kyle was watching Wipe Out clips online and Sawyer joined him. The hilarious nature of some person getting hit in the head or crashing into a wall is not lost on a 3 year old boy. It must be part of the male nature just like the need to laugh hysterically at bodily function noises.

Oh boy, I love my boys especially when they laugh hysterically with each other!

Rite of Passage...

Drinking out of the water hose.

The kids were helping us clean off wood pallets. They became parched so Kyle demonstrated how they could quench their thirst with the water hose.

It's all fun and games until someone gets drenched :)

Craft Show

I recently participated in my first craft show. I wanted to do a craft show for 2 reasons: 1) a trial run to see how it all works and if it's a good idea for Fresh Regard 2) to rid myself of some of the OSU inventory I had left from the retail store. The end result was less than stellar. I made enough to cover my entrance fee and that's it :(

I think due to very poor advertising and signage nobody knew about the event. The last 2 hours there were maybe 5 people who came to the show.

Lesson learned! On the bright side I have lots of completed items in stock so I won't have to make many products in the coming weeks.

It was also good from a business standpoint to think about my products and displaying them in front of people, since I typically only sell online through pictures. Thanks to my husband for putting together the pallet display.

Here's what my table and displays looked like:

For my displays I utilized pallets, crates, a wooden chair, a wire magazine rack, baskets, and a 3 tier plate stand. I wanted to ensure my display had height and texture to create visual interest. Not pictured was an iPad I propped on the table that displayed a presentation of all my items.

I did learn a few lessons from my experience, if I ever decide to do another craft show I will do more research on the event and the coordinators to see if they have had success in the past and to determine if this is an established event with dedicated followers.  I will also look into the customer demographic to ensure the people coming to the event fit my target market.