Big sister's desk before and after:

I got this desk at a huge antique/junk (mostly junk, but obviously some good stuff....still tons of fun to shop) sale that goes along a road for miles.  I think I paid $50 for both the chair and desk.  It is exactly what I was looking for for Big Sister's room.  I got some pink patterned scrapbook paper to use as desk liner.  I sanded and spray painted the chair, and I sanded and brush painted the desk.  Learn from my mistake, if you ever try something like this: spray paint is mucho easier to get to look nice.  I tried my hardest to not get brush lines on the desk, but they happened anyways.  Also, I got some super nice high gloss paint, but I still think it will eventually chip off and look terrible over time. (And knowing my daughter, that probably won't be too long)  I think a small roller probably would have eliminated the brush lines, but I still think the spray paint looks better and is easier.  Oh yes, and I really REALLY wanted some of those vintage looking pink glass handles, but they were close to $4 a pop, and I just didn't have that to spend. Luckily Lowes had some porcelain ones that were the perfect color to match for only .97 each.  Much better, but I think they look kinda 90ish, lol.  Oh well, they will be vintage one of these days, right?

Before:

Ugly 70's mustard color.  Even though I got both of these at different places, they almost looked like the same person got ahold of them with the "antiqueing" stuff....ugh


After:

Didn't take Big Sister long to fill it up with all her papers and other little kid treasures.  :)

The holidays are officially upon us

and I am feeling the rush.  We went to Arkansas to hubby's parents house for Thanksgiving.  It's a looooong and very unpleasant drive to their house, but we did have a great time.  They live 4 miles off of the paved road up in the mountains.  Beautiful, but way out in the boonies.  The dirt road is so bad that unless you are a local, you drive as slow as you possibly can.  Seriously, you start feeling sorry for your car about a half mile in.  And clench your jaw so your teeth don't rattle out.  Hubby's parents are the last one's on their trail road that have running water and electricity.  Like I said though we had a great time.  Thursday night we didn't go to bed, but about 11 we loaded up and drove to Branson and went Black Friday shopping.  It was a blast.  It was about 16* I think and our first stop was the outlet mall.  I had baby boy all wrapped up in his moby wrap and a blanket, and he stayed toasty warm, and helped keep me warm too.  We were going to go to Target, but when we pulled in at 3:55 there was a line wrapped all the way around the building.  Talk about insane.  The cheap Wii Fit wasn't worth it.  So we parked right in front of the building to watch the idiots people when they opened the doors.  It was crazy.  I know some people get a rush out of that kind of thing, but I was tickled to sit in my warm car and watch the maniacs freezing, then push through the doors like a pack of wild animals.  We timed the line and after 10 minutes the people were still running to get through the doors.  Crazy I tell you.  Saving a few bucks is not worth it to me.  We did get some good laughs out of it though.

I am pretty sure I am 100% done with my Christmas shopping.  Yay!  And I actually have some wrapped and under the tree.  Big sister and big brothers main gifts are pretty large, so I need to wait to wrap them until they are either asleep or gone.  I am almost done with my decorating too.  Still have to get my nativity set up, maybe I'll do that today, after my nap of course.  I will take some pics of everything and try to get them posted.  I am still planning to take some pictures of Cara's desk and put them up too.  I just have been so busy.  Tuesday I am having  Scentsy party here at my house, so that is helping keep me motivated to get all the little projects done that I have been putting on the back burner for way too long.  The 18th we are having Christmas/Thanksgiving with my family.  Then on the 24th we are having Christmas with hubby's family.  I think on the 25th we will have just our little family thing, then that afternoon hubby's whole family is coming over to hang out before they head back to the sticks.  Whew, just thinking about all that makes me feel tired.  I won't lie, I will be glad when it's all over.  That sounds horrible, but it's true.

Well hubby is wanting me to play a game of pool with him, so better run.  (We scored a pool table the other day at a garage sale for $25.  It's an old one, but it's got a slate top and it is actually in pretty decent condition.  We've been having a blast with it!)

Bye Bye Baby Fat (hopefully)

I found this really cool blog.  Called InspiredRD.  Cool.  Anyways, she has a workout circuit that I am going to try.  It looks super easy, and it works your whole body.  And you only need some weights and a jump rope.  No reason why I shouldn't do it, I really, REALLY want to lose the remaining 15 or so pounds I have left from my last pregnancy.  I also REALLY, REALLY want to tone up.  I really don't care much about losing weight, but I really don't like having flab.  Ick.  So, who's with me?  :)

http://inspiredrd.com/2010/11/total-body-circuit.html

Check it out.

Ruffled shirt tutorial

I really don't do too many crafts.  My kids always think they have to be right there when I try to sew or do anything remotely crafty.  Also, my extra time is severely limited.  But this week was our week off of school, and we are taking family pictures today (Big Sister is wearing this shirt for the pics), and I saw a really cute shirt in the Boden catalog (and thought "I could make that!"), and Big Sister has several plain tees I found for uber cheap at Old Navy and..... I just kinda felt crafty.  :)  So, here ya go!

Get your fabric and shirt :)

Cut your fabric into strips.  I wasn't picky at all with the width, just kinda made them as close to the same as I could.  I didn't do this obviously, but I would recommend you use pinking shears if you have them.  I had to go back and pink the edges, and it was a pain, and really messy.  I think I cut about 6 strips.  The fabric I used was just a fat quarter from WalMart.

Sew your strips together.

Using the largest stitch size on your machine, sew down the middle of your strip.  This is for the gathering.

Gather your strip up, It should be pretty tight.

Pin the gathered strip on your shirt in whatever shape you want.

This is the secret to sewing on something knit, ball point needles.  They are ama-za-zing!!!

Sew the strip on your shirt, following the stitching you used for the gathers.  (Make sure you put your stitch size back to normal sewing size!!!)

Ta Da!! Beautiful!  And so easy.  :)

Sickies

Yep, we've got the sickies.  Yucky, yucky, yucky.  Of course baby boy had to come down with it.  Poor baby looked so miserable.  I guess it was the flu, but praise the Lord it was relatively short lived for him.  It still seemed like forever though when I was sitting up in bed all night with him last night.....  I on the other hand, still feel rotten.  So thankful for my hubby who stayed home from the first weekend of muzzle loader season.  He was planning to take big brother, but he came stumbling into the bedroom last night wheezing and acting like he could barely breathe.  I don't take chances with him (big brother, that is), since he has asthma and has had pneumonia before.  I really thought there for awhile we were going to have to pull out the nebulizer.  :P  I sure hope I get over this mess....like really soon!

How I encourage a creative and artistic spirit in my children...

Turn the TV off.  Seriously, I have noticed that when we cut down on the amount of time they spend in front of the TV, they are much, MUCH more imaginative and creative with their play.  My children seem to be blessed with great imaginations, and they are very elaborate when it comes to their play.  As an example, the other day they built a nest, and had every pillow in the house piled in the middle of the living room, along with the bean bags, and lots of blankets.  I caught big sister trying to sneak real eggs into the nest, LOL!  We compromised and used balls instead.  I could give you many more examples....and sometimes I don't always catch them before their brilliant ideas (ie: the eggs) turn into a big mess.  But at the end of the day, when all is quiet, I look around and am so thankful for their imaginations and creativity!



This post is brought to you by: www.cottonbabies.com and www.bumgenius.com.  :)  (This post is an entry into a drawing to win 5 new Artist Series bumGenius 4.0 diapers.  Go to http://clothdiapers.blogspot.com/2010/10/bumgenius-artist-series-giveaway.html to enter yourself!  Good luck! :) )

Prayer request:

Please keep this young lady and her family in your prayers!  Such a sad story, but God is able to heal her completely I believe!  Read her blog for more details:

http://www.lesliejoyevans.blogspot.com/

Heartbreaking.

www.reecesrainbow.com

If this site doesn't move you to tears, I don't know what will.  Really pulls at my heartstrings.  Gosh, i just want to love them all like they deserve!

Just in case you thought my life was perfect...

Wow.  Night #2 that I have cleaned up a major BM mess.  Ugh.  And, no, baby boy was not responsible for either this time.  You'd think by the time they were 6 and 4 they would have figured out that we don't poop outside (in a major traffic area), and to make it to the pot on time.  Sigh.

It's almost bedtime.  Not our normal bedtime, the "Mom is REALLY Frustrated, You Are Going to Bed Right Now!" bedtime.  But big sister has at least 3 messes to pick up, including her "house" she decided to make outside, and big brother is running around nekkid after his unplanned shower (see above).  And baby boy just puked in my lap.  And did I mention hubby is working late?  Yep, it's been a fun filled evening.

It's Been a Good Day.

Reasons this day has been awesome:

1.  The weather.  Fall has come to my neck of the woods.  Cooler days and definitely cool nights.  Ahhh, so nice.

2.  I got most of the laundry done.  Just got to finish hanging up the rest of the clothes.

3.  Got a check in the mail for $91 from the big kids consignment sale.  (I am planning to go spend it tomorrow on some fabric to make the kids Christmas presents.  I will do a picture play-by-play on that.  :) )

4.  I took the kids to the park to ride their bikes and feed the ducks.  There are some huge, and I mean HUGE turtles in the creek, and they have amazingly long necks.

5.  Had a good supper, it's all cleaned up and now I'm sitting here blogging, while watching Iron Man 2 with my hubby.  Big sister and big brother are ready for bed and watching their own movie while baby boy is asleep in the couch beside me. :)

Yes, it has definitely been a good day!

Prayer

As a child growing up, my parents did a great job of teaching me the importance of prayer.  I remember lots of times where my parents prayed for me, specifically when I was sick.  It obviously worked great, since I think I only went to the doctor once, for tonsillitis.  :P  Every night I pray with my kids as they are laying in bed, and there are lots of nights I lay awake praying when I can't sleep.  I just can't imagine not praying, it's pretty much the first thing I do when I'm worried or afraid or upset.  I pray that my children will be kept safe, that they will accept Jesus as their savior at an early age, that bad influences/friends will be kept away, and the list goes on and on.  :)  I have found some great books on praying for your kids and also your hubby.  I have a whole other list of things I pray for my hubby, and it's every bit as long as the one for the kids!  This makes me think maybe I should write down what I pray for them instead of just relying on my remembering abilities (which are fast failing me it seems! :P)......  There is a lot of comfort and reassurance in prayer!  I think we all need to do more of it, maybe this world wouldn't be such a scary place if we did.....

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).  


"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Romans 8:26). 

The desk

Okay, put the second coat of paint on the desk and chair.  For some reason, I can't keep from having brush strokes.  Not sure why?  And it looks like I'm going to have to do a third coat on the desk....ugh.  Baby boy was really not happy with me painting today.  I had him in his stroller in the garage, and he ran out of patience about 1/3 of the way through.  :(  Usually he's a happy fellow, but when he gets worked up, it's hard to get him to forget about the terrible injustice he has suffered.....but that's another post!  :)

Been thinking about this for awhile now...

Actually, I've been debating whether or not to do this, but there are a lot of things that come to my mind that I think that I should be writing down somewhere....

I've never been much of a journal writer.....

We shall see how this works.  :)

Welcome to my life.