Books for Kiddos: Jump, Frog, Jump!

Jump, Frog, Jump! by Robert Kalan is one of Ash's favorite potty reads. I've spent a lot of time reading this book this week. We're working on dialing in #2 so I have a little guy running around my house with no pants on. While it's been rather stressful for me, it seems to be helping him be more aware of his body. So far I haven't had to clean any floors so that's a good thing, but I'm always ready just incase.

Little Slice of Heaven

Ever have those moments of pure joy, happiness, calm, fulfillment? I live for those moments, they are such a blessing in my busy crazy life here on earth. My boys have started having sleepovers in Ash's room every Friday & Saturday night. It's so funny to me that they crowd into his twin bed and actually sleep the whole night together. Tonight, I walked by Ash's room to see the two of them snuggled up together looking so sweet and peaceful. My heart filled with joy, happiness, calm, and fulfillment. Sigh...thank you Lord for this and other moments like it!!!

*Ash isn't being aggressive in this picture this is just his new picture pose. He loves the way it looks in photos. Don't ask me why. I guess this will be one of those odd little things we will tell him stories about when he's older. Gray went through a stage where he though if he tilted to the side that he would be upside down in the picture. Needless to say we have dozens of pictures of him tilting, which he now finds wildly funny. I have rather odd children, don't I!?!

These pics are from earlier today where we met our small group to make Reserection Rolls (Thank you Dana for the fabulous idea!) and have an egg hunt. It was such a wonderful sunny day (we haven't seen the sun around here for quite a while so it was a wonderful gift!) to spend time with friends and talk about the true meaning of Easter with our kiddos.
Happy Easter to all of you! I am praying for a "moment" for you!

Graphic Dishtowels

Oh my goodness! I am in l-o-v-e, love with these graphic dishtowels! I really want to make some maybe with a vintage typewriter or bicycle in addition to the ones that the girls at Lemon Tree Creations came up with. We go through dish towels like crazy around here so I can never have too many. Plus these are so cool!

Carrot Name

Remember those paper carrots I made? Well, I ended up with this weird sized scraps so I decided to get crafty with Ash while we worked on the letters in his name. I cut the orange paper into carrot shapes and wrote a letter on each one spelling his name. He cut the small green strips of paper into smaller pieces to create the greenery on top. (I gave him an example on the "r" and he did the rest himself.) Once the carrots were done he was so please with himself. In fact he told me to say to him, "Good job, Asher!" So I did to which he replied, "I know." Ahhh....my little pistol! He then told me that carrots grow in the dirt and we needed dirt. So out came the brown crayons and we both colored in some dirt. He loves his carrot name and it was a fun time for the two of us.

Bunny Money

I've seen these paper carrots all over the blogosphere lately and I love them! I knew they would look so cute in the boys cansekts so I decided that I need to make a couple for my boys. But what to put in them!?! I didn't want to go the candy route because let's face it there will be plenty of candy. I didn't think I t-shirt would really fit or even a pair of socks....oooh but money would fit! A little bunny money, now that would be fun! I think I've started a new tradition. If your kiddos are anything like mine they love having their own money to spend on all of those little things that mom and dad say no to. I can't wait for the boys to see these!

Oh and if you're wondering what a cansket is....this was one of my first crafty projects after Asher was born. I wanted something fun and a little different for the boys for Easter baskets. I saw a lot of craftiness with paint cans and so I thought cansket! It's been about 4 years and you can see the paper has started to bubble. The colors really don't say Asher 9or even me anymore) to me anyways. Funny how much style changes in 4 short years! I think I'll peal these off and go vinyl, but not this year. This year we'll use these because Easter is Sunday and I know that I really don't have time for another project.

Mossy Egg Nest Domes

I have these dome thingys on my mantel and they needed to be Easter-ized. I made a nest out of these mossy rock things from Dollar Tree and placed an egg (from Pier 1) in the nest. Simple and sweet.

Resurrection Eggs

My friend, Carrie, introduced me to The Resurrection Eggs from Family Life to help my kids understand the Easter Story. I ordered them last year and they are amazing! My boys loved being able to see and touch things that represented each pivotal part of the story. If you have small kiddos these are an Easter must!

*I'd love to hear about any other ideas (crafts/art projects, books, etc) on this topic so please share if you have anything!

Metal Surprise!

*image from qualifiedremodeler.com

Guess who got the metal for the deck handrail this weekend!?! I'm so excited! It's just going to be a super simple black powder coated handrail with straight pickets about 4 inches apart. I wanted something clean and classic that would go with any style, much like the photo above. It makes good resale sense. I thought this was going to be at least a month away but it looks like the Mr. has moved it up the list. Such a wonderful surprise!
The funny thing is that while he was surprising me, I bought him some garden lights to hang around the deck for his Easter present. He has a light obsession and I knew he'd love these! Here's what they will look like only in a way less dramatic setting.

Shaving Cream Easter Egg Paintings

On one of my blog hops from Our Nifty Notebook to Little Wonders' Days I found these super cool Shaving Cream Easter Egg paintings. Love this!

What I'm Watching

This afternoon while I was folding my mountain of clean laundry, (Not the same one I posted about, I get a new mountain every week...lucky me!) I started watching The Kennedys miniseries and while I have only seen episode 1&2 I am hooked!
The most exciting part for me....The Mr. walked through and said he wanted to watch it with me. I love it when we find something we both want to watch. He's usually Mr. Top Gear or some other guy show and I'm known for my trashy shows on Bravo. While we will occasionally watch the other's shows it is nice to have things that we both want to watch. Date night tonight on the cheap...Skinny Girl Margaritas (l-o-v-e, love them!), pizza, and The Kennedys!

Silverware Jars

I saw these Silverware Jars over at eighteen25 a while ago and wanted to make my own.

My jars were shorter and wider so I went with just the utensil and not the oval, but I added some black & white polkadot ribbon around the top. I want to find a cute tray to have them out when we BBQ. Hmmm....my next find!

Modern Art

I found this modern kid art on Frugal Family Fun Blog . This looks really easy and fun! Your kiddo can change up the color palate to go with the season or the decor of their bedroom. Very cool, I think I see a painting in Gray's future!

Gray's Latest Cartoon....Mr. Me!

Gray is really excited about his latest cartoon characters, Mr. Me with his trusty sidekick/ pet, Tim the frog. We're on Spring Break this week and since we've been sick this week (feeling better yay!!) he's had a lot of time to work on this funny little guy. He asked me if I would post his cartoons so with out any further a do here is Mr. Me!

I love his creativity! I can't wait to see what Mr. Me is up to next!

Family Calendar

So while I was over at Brown Paper Packages (I love that name!) I found this awesome family calendar! I totally need one of these!!!

Vinyl Easter Pails

So Kari at Ucreate posted these fabulous vinyl Easter pails from Brown Paper Packages. How great would these be for storage after Easter or even to store your Easter stuff in!?! Love them! Thanks ladies!!

Free Easter Printables for Operation Shower

If you're thinking about hosting an Easter Party you must check out these {free} printables for Operation Shower from Shindig Parties to Go! Operation Shower provides military families who are expecting a new baby and are currently or have recently been deployed with baby showers-in-a-box. What an amazing way to show love for these families who have sacrificed so much at such an important time in their lives. I can't imagine having my husband away while I expecting! Please click here to find out how you can help!

 

Letter Rocks

*Photo from Pinterest

How fun would these be in a tray or bucket out on the back deck to keep kiddos (and adults) occupied while waiting for their dinner!?! We're going on a rock hunt!

Goldfish Carrots

How adorable are these "carrots"!?! I've seen them done with jelly beans before but I'm loving the gold fish!

*Photo from Pinterest

Vamp Up Back Deck Stage 1

This year we're going to vamp up our back deck, right now its an unfinished blank canvas. The house came with a covered deck which is really nice especially since we get so much rain! Micah prettied it up by installing lights and this trim detail. We painted the ceiling the same color as our house trim. He also installed a speaker that he wired up so we can enjoy our music or even Pandora station while dining. I love his handiness!

The smoke from the BBQ can get trapped under the cover so Micah built a little bump out for the BBQ.

Next we need railings, which are on Micah's list but I think we're still another month out before it makes it to the top of the to dos.

As for the rest....We've been discussing ideas and we have some loose ideas formulated in our brains. *Fingers crossed that they match as well as we think they do.* Micah did find an amazing piece of furniture for the deck that I'm SO excited about! I haven't seen it yet, but I trust him when he says it's cool. I'll share as soon as I know more!
I found these rod iron chairs at Costco this weekend for (GASP!) $19.99. I got four of them.

Plus 4 blue *they really didn't have much of a selection on the chair pads but I figured this blue was kind of denim-ish so it's like jeans any top goes well with them right!?!* and then I grabbed the two pillows because the blues match. And all of the fabric is outdoor fabric so it's water and mildew resistant kind of gross to think about but let's be realistic.

I feel like this is a good neutral palate the I can add some dazzle to just as soon as this ridiculous rain stops! Grr...clouds! Anyways, I got everything for $168.00! I know it doesn't look like much but it's all part of my vision and the Mr. is on board with it! He's a tough sell sometimes! I can't wait to show you when we go from blah to ta da!
But for now we have lots of work to do....and I mean a lot.