DIY Printed Jeggings

Cabin fever has officially made itself a permanent fixture in our house. With the temperature below zero and the wind constantly blowing we've nestled ourselves in for the long haul. For the time being, I will slowly begin to whittle away at my laundry list of DIY projects. First up, are these cute DIY printed leggings that I managed to whip up yesterday. 

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 FYI^^^Once the fabric paint dries completely (wait at least 24 hours) lay a light cloth over the leggings and iron over both sides. This technique will help the color to set in and not fade. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

Crawling baby

 In a home with little ones, change seems to happen daily--moving, crawling, grabbing and talking. The smallest skill becomes the biggest achievement and is praised for days and days. Just last night little Addy Mae took the plunge and slowly began to crawl. In it's truest form it was more like a morphed army crawl while up on all fours, but she did it! All on her own! Her object of choice (that she just had to possess) was a pile of crayons Brecken had left on the floor. The victory was short lived, as soon as she reached her prize her brother quickly ran to save his beloved crayons before she chewed them to oblivion. Her heart was hurt so he quickly handed her one of her own toys hoping it would serve as a consolation prize. She wasn't impressed. Sensing her disappointment he got down on the floor to demonstrate how to crawl. As he zipped back-and-forth across the living room laughing hysterically her mind quickly forgot about the crayons and she seemed content watching her brother maneuver through the furniture on his hands and knees. It was short lived, however, when she then found his favorite notebook. And the crying began again. 

I have a feeling this may be a foreshadow of their teen years...

By the way, it's -15F here, it's basically warmer in our deep freezer than outside. Here's to happy moments, and temperatures about zero. 

Stay warm, my friends.

Instagram+Three Things

I finally caved to the world of Downton Abbey yesterday morning. I had attempted it in the past and got bored then someone told me to just get through the first three episodes and then I would be hooked. Save me now. So, while I would like to make my three things about Downton Abbey I'll spare you (for today at least):

one//The Bachelor. *If you don't watch The Bachelor you can skip my tirade. Has this season started off with more awkward moments than normal? Fifty Shades of Grey chick? Wedding dress chick? Chick trying to do back handsprings? A chick named Tiara, really? And hands down the most awkward moment was Arie trying to teach Sean how to kiss? Seriously, watching Arie kiss Emily was like watching a dog drink water. His suggestion was little-to-no tongue--Hello! all he used was tongue. Blehk. Anyway here is a funny Tumblr full of awkward quotes from the show.

two//Ordered the littles some cute stuff from this hip store.  I also ordered myself a tee and I was pleasantly surprised with the length, I usually hate buying cotton jersey because of the shrinkage, but this shirt is long enough if it does shrink up a bit it won't turn into a belly shirt.  

three//Sometimes being a parent is challenging and lonely this blog post was beautifully written and made me realize that we are all awesome no matter how little or how much we do.

DIY Tent

Brecken's birthday came and went about two months ago.  This year was hard when it came to deciding what to get him because he's in a phase where toys lose interest in a matter of minutes and the ones that he does enjoy usually involve parent interaction to use them. And as I assume with most kids his age, he has enough toys to entertain a small country but he still feels it necessary to play with everything that isn't a toy. So we halted all toy buying this year and settled on something we could all enjoy. We searched and planned and finally settled on a tent. Our inspiration came from Rubyellen of Cakies. With a few changes we designed a foolproof A-frame that will (hopefully) last through the toddler years. I may be a little too optimistic...

While the original design consisted of using a flat sheet and elastic bands to hold the bottom of the tent in place we knew that a more sturdy structure was needed for Brecken.

Supplies:

3-3/4x48"  wooden dowels

4-48" pine molding pieces (1x2" boards)

60" leather lace

2-36x45" pieces of fabric

2-12x45" pieces of fabric

3/4" spade drill bit

Follow the diagram above for sewing the pieces together*

John used the 3/4 spade drill bit to put holes in the 1x2" wooden molding (1x2" pine boards would also work just as well). He drilled holes approximately 4.5" from the top. The bottom holes are roughly 1.1/4" from the bottom.

Simple as that. 

As Brecken began to play in the tent we noticed that occasionally the wooden molding would pop off the pegs resulting in the tent collapsing. To stop this from happening we tied leather lace to both ends of the top peg to hold the molding in place. 

We've had our tent for a little more then two months now and it has been get-away oasis for Brecken.  Reading time and cuddle sessions have been had by all under it's canopy. Most importantly it is collapsible, making for a neat and clean disappearance to the closet, if only all toys were that easy to put away, you hear me?

Thanks for stopping in and Happy New Year!

Simplify.

I'm a firm believer that New Year's Resolutions are matters of the heart. Each year, intentions are set to lose weight, give more-take less, eat healthier, spend more time with loved ones--each goal focused on the end result of bettering oneself.

Last year I aimed to a create a more focused life. While I fell short in a few areas, others have flourished thus altering my own paradigm. Isn't that what it is really all about anyway? Making a conscious effort to change. For the past month or so I have been tossing around the idea of this year's resolution. Usually I settle on something generic like weight loss or less candy consumption. However, I found that I am content with those areas of my life for the time. Instead I decided to focus (there's that word again) on simplifying my life. Nothing to dramatic, just simple things like a more minimalism lifestyle, i.e. toys that don't require batteries, more books and less television, meals that are fresh and not pre-packaged, buying quality instead of quantity, and ultimately going back to the basics of my marriage. 

Laying in bed a few nights ago John confessed that he's felt as though he's been replaced by the children--that any love that I once had for him was being now channeled in our children's direction. It stung and hurt, but truth be told, I knew that I wasn't finding the proper balance between being a wife and a mother. Since the arrival of Addison it has seemed like such a juggling act where if I look away for one moment all the pieces in my life crumble to the floor. 

With that said, I hope to simplify things in my marriage by setting aside time for one-on-one interaction, letting petty nonsense not develop into full-blown battles, and trying to see the daily good in my husband. Someone once told me that if I would set aside five minutes of my time everyday for my husband when he arrived home from work I would start to see small (yet positive) changes happen in my marriage. It's been hard, but the results have slowly begun to resonate. 

Here's to am amazing (and simplified) 2013. Be safe tonight!