Projects!

I've been keeping myself busy with a few projects lately. First, I found a shelf at a garage sale last summer for $3. It was that ugly 80's golf leaf-looking color, so I painted and distressed it to my liking. Now this little shelf is hanging above our loveseat and has been deemed my "seasonal shelf." My goal is to decorate it according to the holiday/season coming up. Here's what I did for St. Paddy's day. Those four-leaf-clovers in the frame are REAL! Not only that, they're actually from IRELAND! Jim found them when he lived there for two years serving a mission for our church. Besides the frames and clovers, I made everything on the shelf.

Below is my spring look. Most on this stuff is from the dollar store, and then re-painted to my liking, and the plate is from a thrift store. I just cut out the pink vinyl on my silhouette to put on the plate. I painted the frame, and used some scrapbook paper for the mat. Then I cut out "Lil' Chickadees" with some vinyl. The chickadees I'm speaking of are my own two lil' birds. See them there in the pictures looking all sorts of cute? I'm still not sure what to put in the small circular frame. Something spring-ish. Until I figure it out, that cheesy model couple will be there.
So, I felt bad that I haven't done anything for Hunter's room, and I've painted a lot of fun little things for Tralee's. So. . . I went to a favorite craft store, picked up a $10 canvas, and started to paint. I knew I wanted a dinosaur, so this is what I came up with.

Close up:

Not to toot my own horn, but I really like how the "sky" turned out in the triceratops painting. Everything is hand painted, except for the grass and flowers. I cut out the grass and flowers with different scrapbook paper using my trusty silhouette, then modge-podged them down.

Moving right along. . .

I've been thinking an "EAT" sign would look good in the dinning area, so I used some square canvases, paint, paintbrushes stain, sandpaper, soap (yes, I said soap. . .use it between layers of paint, then sand it off, and it causes a cool antique effect), antique crackle, scrapbook paper, and my silhouette and came up with this:
I DID NOT paint the picture below. It was in a frame I bought at a thrift store (used in a different project) but I didn't want to throw away the painting. Someone obviously used their time and talent to paint it, so I proudly hang it in my kitchen next to a funky jar (also found at a thrift store) filled with candy, and a can full of straws. The overripe bananas will be turned into a delish whole-wheat, low-fat, refined sugar-free loaf of banana bread. Seriously, SOOOO good for you and my kids gobble it right up like it's the bee's knees! I also just realized I was talking about a healthy loaf of bread right after showing you a picture of a jar filled with candy. Yeah. . . I'm awesome.
The last two pictures are of my kitchen and living room. I had just cleaned, and we all know how long a clean house lasts around here, so I thought I better capture it.

I recently put the pictures of my lil' chickadees on top of the entertainment center. Not sure if I like them there yet. They might be flying off to a new local soon.

That's all. Hope you enjoyed this little tour of my projects and house.

Until next time. . .

Remember when?

Remember when you were little and piled up all the pillows and blankets to watch a movie? Tralee and her friends, Jovie and Oakley did it the other night. Looks comfy.

They look pretty cute too.

New Tricks

Tralee has really been into hula hooping. She's been trying and trying to figure it out, and this morning it all came together. We're so proud. Check out the video, but don't mind our appearance, we were all still in our jammies.

Hunter also surprised us with a new trick today. He walked up to Jim, pointed at his own nose, and started whimpering. Upon further investigation Jim discovered Hunter shoved a little Russian stacking doll (the tiniest one) all the way up his nose. Lovely. Luckily, Jim was able to maneuver the little doll right back out. Ah. . . so proud of both our children today. :)

I love my little chickadees.

I'll Walk with You

Dirty Little Secret

Here's my secret: My house is usually messy. I'm not talking about call-the-health-department messy. I'm talking like there's usually toys scattered across the floor, beds unmade, some smudgy face or finger prints on the tv left as a reminder that Tralee or Hunter had been there, a sink full of breakfast's (and sometimes last night's dinner) dishes, cracker crumbs on the counter, and various craft/sewing projects taking over my dinning room table. Don't get me wrong, the messes that NEED to be taken care of, like when Hunter's diaper leaked onto the couch yesterday morning, get my immediate attention. It didn't take long for the steam cleaner to suck up and sanitize my couch back to normal. It's the everyday clutter that takes over my life, and I'm okay with it. . . for the most part. Here's the thing, if you were to call me and say, "Is it okay if I stop by in about an hour?" I would calmly answer you, "Yeah! Sure, come on by. I can't wait to see you!" Then as soon as I hung up the phone I would de-clutter, clean, sanitize, dust, vacuum, and cram each toy into the toy box as fast as I could in an hour. When you'd ring the doorbell, I'd answer and then say something like, "Come on in! Sorry the house is SOOOO messy" knowing full well it looks pretty neat compared to its earlier state. What a little liar I am.

I wish I was one of those people who could keep the house neat and tidy 24/7. I'm not. I let it go until I can't ignore it anymore, or until I'm expecting company. Most of the time it's as described above and I live in perpetual fear that someone will stop by unexpectedly and discover my dirty little secret. Either that or I wish I could just be okay that I'm not the best housekeeper, and not worry about what others would think of me if they found out. Today I actually discovered what would happen if someone discovered my messy secret.

A lady in the neighborhood dropped by with her four-year-old so we could chit-chat and let the kids play for a bit. She had come over before when my house had just had the One Hour Once Over by Leslie. I probably opened the door when she came by last time and did my usual, I'm-gonna-say-sorry-it's-messy-even-though-it's-clean-so-you-think-I'm-an-awesome-housekeeper-bit. Well, today my house was anything but tidy, and to be honest I had a bit of a panic attack when I opened the door and realized it wasn't just the UPS guy dropping off a package. It killed me to say, "Come in, sorry about the mess" and know I was telling the truth. I inwardly kicked myself for not cleaning earlier, and invited my visitor and her son in. Once the shame of being outed as my messy self wore off, I sat on the couch and visited with this woman as the REAL (messy house and all) Leslie. And guess what DIDN'T happen? She didn't point at me and shout, "YOU DISGUST ME WITH THIS MESS!" No one died due to the box of kleenex Hunter pulled off the counter and pulled each tissue out of earlier. And most importantly, my face didn't implode with all the shame and humiliation going on inside. Instead, she and I had a great conversation while our kids played together. She informed me that her house looks about the same as mine, and she felt right at home. The Atari games (yes we own an Atari thanks to Jim's big sister) stayed strewn across the floor, the crumbs on the kitchen counter sat patiently waiting to be wiped up, and the blankets my kids had made a fort out of last night stayed sprawled across the couch while this lady and I talked about our children, weight management, and the appropriate age to teach said children about S-E-X. It was a lovely hour-or-so, and I realized I wouldn't have minded if it continued longer, even with the mess. I also realized this woman had pretty much seen my house as bad as it gets, so anytime she comes over after this will probably be a step-up.

So what did I learn from this experience? My mom would probably answer, "I hope you learned to keep you house clean all the time so this doesn't happen again." Yeah, I wish that's what I learned, but I don't think I'll ever be a Hillary Housekeeper. Don't get me wrong, I like my house clean, I feel better when it's neat and tidy, and I'm a lot less stressed about unexpected company when the floor is freshly vacuumed. It's just that my house never stays clean for very long and I don't want to spend the better part of my life worrying about crumbs, smudges, and a carpet of toys (this raising kids thing goes by way too fast and as people often say, "you'll miss the mess when it's gone"). So I ask once again, what did I learn today? I learned that I shouldn't think the state of my house defines me as a good or a bad person. I am STILL a good wife, mother, crafter, baker, cook, and friend even if I'm lousy at the housekeeping thing. So stop on by (if you dare). Or if you prefer the freshly cleaned look, give me a call about an hour before.

Deep breath

Hello, my name is Leslie and my house is (more often than not) a mess. Pleased to meet you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some tidying up to do. . . or maybe I'll just go jump on the tramp with the kids instead.

St. Paddy's Day Clothes

We take the pinching tradition very seriously around here on St. Patrick's Day, so I wanted to make sure my kids were safe with some green outfits. Yesterday it was my mission to come up with some cute green clothes for the babes. Not wanting to spend any money on this little project, I raided Jim's t-shirt drawer and made this St. Paddy's Day dress for Tralee out of some of his older (filled with holes) t-shirts (didn't use the holy parts for the dress mind you). I used this tutorial as my guideline, then cut out some shapes/words using freezer paper with my silhouette, used some fabric paint on various t-shirt strips, then sewed it all together. I think it turned out pretty cute. I made it a little big so she can (hopefully) wear it again next year.

As for Hunty, I cut out a four-leaf clover using some leftover t-shirt material, sewed it onto one of his t-shirts, and cut out some iron-on transfer letters using my silhouette. You can't tell in the picture, but his shirt says, "Lucky Charmer." Cute, and it gets the job done as far as wearing something green is concerned.

Now no one will pinch my kids today (but feel free to load on the kisses).

Hooray!

In other St. Patrick's Day news, we ate green eggs and ham for breakfast (it's tradition) and made a green smoothie (that turned purple) to go with it (still delish). Tralee and I might tackle Irish Soda Bread later on as well. I found a whole wheat recipe that sounds pretty scrumptious. Since Jim's not in town no need to do the big Irish dinner. Maybe when he comes home.

Also, Happy Anniversary of our first kiss to Jim, and Happy Anniversary to my brother Jimmy and his wife Amy as well. To everyone else. . .

Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig!

Grammy Char Char's Visit

My mom came to town for a few days while Jim was gone. It was lovely and we miss her already. Here are a few things that happened during Grammy Char Char's visit:

1. Shopping (a lot)

2. She brought a big bag (think Mary Poppins) full of books, clothes, and games for the kids

3. We went to the movies (Tangled was the movie of choice this visit)

4. Grammy Char Char treated us to delicious meals at nice restaurants

5. Mommy (meaning me, Leslie) got to sleep in while G-Char Char woke up with the kids and took care of their morning routine

6. Things were magically a lot cleaner while Char Char was around

7. We stayed up late watching cheesy chick flicks

8. The kids always had someone willing and ready to read, cuddle, cook, and play at their beck and call.

9. Tears were shed when we dropped her off at the airport.

And now. . .

. . . A few pics from Grammy's camera

A little reading time with Grammy Char Char

In the two pictures below (taken on my phone) one of them Tralee looks goofy, and in the other pic Hunter does. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

Thanks for visiting Mom, we can't wait for you to come again.