Fall strolling

Today the girl and I took advantage of the rainy weather to show off her awesome purple and pink boots and girly rain jacket.
A quick walk throw a local downtown to grab a coffee for momma and a favorite milk drink for her.
Took time to soak in some extra one on one time with her before preschool drop off.
I love fall!!

IDEAS!!

one thing has become abundantly clear since I had kids...design is not my forte.
i am one who has to live with things
so two years after having our living room gutted and redone (by the way it is beautiful) I am finally deciding on what to put on the walls
we feel like we are done moving rooms and settling in to life
I feel as though each room in our house is lacking a bit of style, a unique touch.
And the one room that keeps jumping out at me is the girl's room!
she is the reason I started this blog honestly
I wanted to share my thoughts on motherhood and everything that comes with it...especially how a tom boy can raise a total, 100% lover of pink!
So now I am ready to put in some of the style I love, a bit country, a bit shabby chic
I needed some good ideas
and what does any cyber loving girl do?? PINTEREST

Ashley over at Lil' Blue Boo that put together a great asortment of girly room ideas


I have two favorites...can you guess which ones they are??
Here's a hint, they have plenty of diy's to satisfy my love for crafty!

Pinterest Friday...Homemade Art

I love love love a good diy project...
Even more when it is something for the kids.
This was so easy that I just couldn't pass it up

My inspiration...

Amy Lou over at Southern Belle Soul, Mountain Bride Heart has such an amazing story that goes along with her adorable heart art. I love the shabby chic look...and of course it's DIY!!!

Here's how I did it!!

Tools...
Paint and brushes
Canvas
Mod Podge
Scrap booking paper
Vinyl letters from target
A favorite saying or verse

Step 1:
Mod Podge your scrap booking paper on to the canvas (next time I will just paint the canvas...the paper was a bit more  noticeable than I wanted). And, let dry.

 

Step 2:
Once you have picked out your verse cut out the vinyl letters and take some time to plan out how you want the saying to look.

And, once you have it the way you like...peel and stick!

Step 3:
Now here is where you can let your creativity fly...paint over the letters!

Step 4:
Let it dry...we have had some great weather here in South Jersey for the last few weeks. Window opening, breeze coming in, sun warming up...so great weather for drying painting!!!!
When the drying is done peel the stickers off....

And the final product...

Our favorite thing to say to each other...from one of my favorite books "Guess How Much I Love You"...something we say everyday to each other.

I am not only in love with the final product...I love the letters that we peeled off...

Don't they look great!!!! I just think it will be great to mod podge them onto a smaller canvas...hmmm

Happy Friday!!!

UGH!!!!

 

 

So I posted the other day about feeling overwhelmed with all of our firsts this month so far...this may just put me over the edge...

Lunch Bunch at the girl's pre-school starts tomorrow.

Yes this is volunteery...I don't have to let her do this

But she wants to be with her bestie...this is the only day their classes over lap so it will be the only time they can have lunch together.

And, I have to let her do this...right?? I have to let her grow...right??

Yes, yes, i do...unfortunately :-(

Luckily I have a yard sale to prepare for...and we are cleaning house!!! I am not looking forward to how  much we will be dragging out of the house Saturday morning, but I will be happy with all the new open space we will have.

oh and the extra cash will be nice too!

Firsts...

I feel like so much of September has been filled with firsts...and I think this momma is a bit overwhelmed!
Jake started first grade which means the first time he is gone all day...ALL DAY!!!!

He loves it...I feel a little bit of me is missing. Jake is the ring leader around here. Lizzy has adapted well to being an only child from 8am to 2:30. But momma is still feeling like something is missing.
This also came with another first for Jake, staying for lunch and recess everyday. And the chance to buy lunch...it still cracks me up that this is something so special to  him. I think it makes him feel like a big kid!

Lizzy started pre-school...

 

this may be the biggest change for me. For the past 6 years I have not been without a child. I have always had someone to get out of the car when running errands or going to the food store. Now I have two mornings alone :-(
I am learning to be :-) about this
I was expecting that I would be a mess the morning of Lizzy's first day...but surprisingly I was kept it together through the morning and drop off. I even went to the parent meeting our preschool hosts and kept it together. It wasn't until I pulled up to Target, Lizzy's favorite store, I finally lost it. I sat for a solid 10 minutes in the Jeep, sunglasses on, music up, tears flowing....i missed my girl. To be honest, I am having a heard time just typing this...stupid I know, but there you have it. A softy, that's me!

On the lighter side, both Lizzy and Jake have taken up some more outside activities...Jake has taken to gymnastics like nothing else he has done. So he is now attending twice a week. He will also start participating in a chess club this month at his school.
Lizzy is also continuing gymnastics and she is two weeks into her first ballet class.

I have never seen her face light up like it has when talking about ballet, watching ballet, going to ballet class. She has such joy in everything she does!
So this has been a lot for this momma...my babies are getting bigger. They are becoming the people God is molding them to be. I am so thankful for who they are and who they are becoming, but it's still hard to see them grow so fast!

Family movie night

After a long week school and homework (really not much at all), gymnastics and ballet...I was ready to snuggle down with my littles for our favorite movie. WALL-E
We made a special snack and just cuddled...I think the perfect night!
What is your favorite family go to movie??

11 Years Ago...

11 years ago today my husband called and I told him, "No hunny, it was just an explosion at the World Trade Centers. How could a plane fly into one?"
11 years ago today I was driving in my car listening to the radio and trying to figure out why the broadcasters were freaking out.
11 years ago today I got a frantic voice mail from my mom asking where I was and that she needed to see me and my brothers.
11 years ago today started out like any other clear beautiful September morning...one of the most beautiful that I can remember
11 years ago today when those towers came down, everything changed
11 years ago today when the plane crashed in that Pennsylvania field, everything changed
11 years ago today when the pentagon was attacked, everything changed
11 years ago today I have never been so proud to be an American, seeing my brothers running  in to rescue without regard for their own safety.
11 years ago today I have never been so proud to be an American, seeing fellow Americans stop and lend a hand in the search
11 years ago today we were tested and we proved that we will stand with each other, hand in hand
I will never forget what happened 11 years ago today...but more so, I will never forget the men and women who stood up that day and became heroes
I will never forget the World Trade Centers
I will never forget Flight 93
I will never forget the Pentagon
God bless all who were lost that day and all who still live with the scares of that day.

Transition

With my need to clean out and give my kids their own space we are moving rooms.
Since Lizzy girl moved out of the nursery and into her big girl room and the nursery has become a dumping ground for a lot of things!! Mainly my crafting and toys the kids have out grown.
So organizing is in order!
First has come selling and giving away those things we no longer need. The hardest part has been removing the nursery things. Tears were shed...but knowing that I am creating more space for my kids to play makes it all worth it.
Second has been the transition. We are moving our bedroom into the nursery and our room will become a playroom/craft room...
But for now we r in transition
There are remnants of the nursery still
There are boxes everywhere waiting for a place
But soon we will be settled...until then we will play and organize
More pictures to follow as we go

Playing in the Park!

I love nothing more than discovering new places with my kids and our friends. While Smith Memorial Playground isn't new, it was new to me.

Smith house, nestled in the eastern side of Fairmount Park, was built in the last 1800's for the youth of Philadelphia. The idea was for all the children of the city to have somewhere to go and play and be kids! What a beautiful concept and a wonderful donation from the Smith family. Oh and did I say it's free??? Yep, it is!

And boy is it fun even 113 years later!

 And the best part in my opinion...the giant wooden slide!

 

 

As I was attempting to take pictures as the kids came down the slide, sorry about the blur, there was a beautiful grandmother watching her daughter and grandchildren. Me, being me, somehow started a conversation with her. When I told her this was our first time there and that I had never done the slide before she was insistant that I "take my first trip down the slide". Now how could I go against a grandmothers wishes...especially after she told me how she did this as a child on the very same slide.

We didn't get a chance to head inside but I hear it is great too! Honestly, this was a great day. I love Philly but this didn't feel like we were in the city at all. We brought our lunch and made a picnic out of it. Simply a great time!

 Check out all you need to know about Smith here