merry christmas!

It is the best day of the year.  The day we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the World.

Merry Christmas from us to you!

project: photo tile coasters

As a Christmas gift for one of my dear friends, Julie, I made coasters with photos of our kids on them.  Julie was my first "mom" friend.  We had our boys together (10 days apart) and our girls together (both named Olivia Rose, born 2 months apart).  It's been a blessing being her friend, having someone to consult with when our kids are doing weird things and someone who will pray for me and I for her.  We've been getting together for play dates since our boys were still in our tummy's! It's been amazing seeing our children grow up with each other, so to remember our time so far as friends, I made a set of coasters with pictures of our kids on them.  Starting from the time Seth and Goyo were babies, all the way to present.  I loved how they turned out.  Here are two of my favorites:

I originally found a tutorial on Pinterest, but to make them my own I decided to cut the pictures up a bit to make them more interesting.  The only materials you need are $0.16 white tiles, a photo of your choice, Mod Podge and felt (for the bottom of the coasters).  I attached the photos with Mod Podge and coated them with two additional layers of Mod Podge to protect them.  Then I hot glued flannel fabric to the back to avoid scratching table surfaces (I already had soft flannel, but using felt is good too).  So simple and a great, personal gift!

project: their master bedroom

Another room completed at my brother- and sister-in-law's house!  This time it was their master bedroom.  I can't even tell you how much fun I'm having doing this for them.  They have given me what every designer's dream is: money and free-reign.  I honestly and sincerely feel so blessed to be trusted like this and given the opportunity to do this.  What a personal and intimate thing to be doing - decorating the rooms that other people will live their lives out in; Things they will see and use every day. The design of the space you're in really does affect your attitude, whether we notice it or not.  I hope that I'm giving to them something that brings them comfort and joy and peace as they come home to rest in the place that is their getaway from the world.

BEFORE: Entry way

AFTER: Entry way

BEFORE: Hallway

AFTER: Hallway

BEFORE: Windows

AFTER: Windows 

BEFORE: Bed

AFTER: Bed

BEFORE: Desk

AFTER: Desk

BEFORE: Office space

AFTER: Office space

BEFORE: Office space

AFTER: Office space

I love it.

hot vanilla milk

I just found my new favorite hot beverage/dessert (thanks to Pinterest, of course):  Hot Vanilla Milk.  I can't even describe how delicious it is, so just make it for yourself and see what I mean.

Hot Vanilla Milk

1 serving

1 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp sugar

marshmallows to your hearts delight

Warm milk on the stove.  Add vanilla and sugar.  Top with marshmallows.  Enjoy.

projects: the twinkie's room

A dream come true ... my brother- and sister-in-law recently bought a house for their growing family and have asked me to help them decorate their house, room-by-room.  Ahhh!  How much fun!!! I recently finished the first one: their two-year-old twin daughter's room (affectionately called "The Twinkies").  I was given $300 and free reign to beautify the space.  Here are the results:

Before:

 

After:

I absolutely love the way it turned out.  Since the room had been recently painted an off-white color around the time of the home purchase, my sister-in-law didn't want to have to repaint the whole room.  Instead, I decided to paint these bright white, semi-gloss, 12" stripes all around the room to add some interest.   

The bright yellow bookshelves I got off of Craigslist for $10/pair, which I painted the cheery yellow to bring in some color.  (The paint refused to completely cover even after sanding, priming and three coats of paint, so I ended up sanding everything down to give them an aged and antique look.  And heck, after being in a little kid's room for any length of time they would have ended up like this anyway!)

All of the artwork was hand made by me.  I had no room in the budget ($300 may seem like a lot at first, but boy-oh-boy it was gone so fast!) to purchase wall art, so after creative thinking, this was the result!

The bedding is a mis-match of items from Target, Ikea, and Babis R Us.  I absolutely love the way it came together.  I had a hard time finding reasonably priced toddler bedding (their cribs convert into toddler beds) that is actually cute.  Most of the options I found were covered in characters (i.e. Minnie Mouse and Dora the Explorer), which is not quite my taste.  The stuff I love (eh eh Land of Nod eh eh) is waaay too expensive for this budget.  But I like this result much better.  Once the girls get old enough for twin beds, the black and white throw pillows can be kept too.

I changed out the light fixture from a boring "boob light" to this fabulous thing.  Gorgeous. And it makes the room so more special.  From Urban Outfitters.

They loved it and I had a great time putting it together.  Excited for the next project!

my first autumn

I'd have to say that this was the first year I actually got into autumn.  Usually, as soon as it turns cold I just want it to snow (my Minnesota days), and get to Christmas (seriously the most wonderful time of the year).  But this year, as my kids are getting older and learning about each season and holiday, I decided to get into autumn.  I bought a wreath and some garland on clearance at Target to get the home into season, we made a thankful tree, did a little fall artwork, and played in the leaves.  It was a good first autumn for me.

being good

Yesterday I was having one of "those" moments with Seth.  It started by him disobeying, which ultimately led to a stream of non stop bad decisions and more disobeying.  I have come to learn that Seth is a very sensitive child and yelling or being firm with him often only makes things worse.  But even in that moment, after me trying to correct his behavior, after discipline, Seth was still screaming uncontrollably and would not give up.  I pulled him in, his face to my face, and tried to explain why I am being firm with him and correcting him.  I told him, "Seth I'm doing this to help you stay on the right path!  I want you to be a good boy and make good decisions!"  And Seth, in the midst of tears, says, "But it's too hard to be good!"

I was stunned.

He said what we all learn at his age and deep down carry at the deepest part of our being: It is too hard to be good on our own.  Even if you want to believe that your goodness will bring you to heaven and right-standing with God, you know that you will never, ever, ever be good enough.  

That moment became a gospel teaching lesson between me and Seth.  "Seth, you're right!" I said, "Being good is too hard!  That's why Jesus is here, Seth.  Jesus helps us be good, and Jesus came to be good for us!  The next time you want to make a bad decision, pray and ask Jesus to help you make a good one.  And He will!"  He's a little too young to understand that Jesus, the Perfect One, made it so that even amidst our failures He will make us right before God, but these little baby steps are the foundation for that in his heart and mind.

It was a precious moment.

birthdays!

One month ago was Seth's 3rd birthday and Olivia's 1st birthday.  Since their birthdays are only 11 days apart, we decided to do do a combo party ... well, make that two combo parties:  A playdate party in the morning for their friends and my mommy friends, and a family party in the afternoon for our families.  Seth is at an age now where he has real friends, and I've drawn very closely to a group of ladies that have babies all around Olivia's age.  Our house just isn't big enough for both friends and family, so ... two identical parties with two groups of people we love!  

I decided on a "Bugs & Butterflies" theme party.  Boys love bugs and girls love butterflies.  So I kinda went with an picnic take on the decor: plaid tablecloths, sandwiches and fruit for lunch, sticks as table centerpieces with little plastic bugs crawling everywhere and butterfly nets with butterflies all around.  It was really fun.  We also borrowed a bounce house from Jack's brother and the kids were all over it!  As an activity, I found these cute little bug boxes that I had the kids decorate with stickers to spell their names out and they went to go find bugs (the plastic bugs I had all over the tables).  We had a great time!  And the kids were blessed with so many fantastic gifts.  Olivia downed her cake like nobody's business.  She loves her sweets!  (Well, she loves everything.  She's my great eater!)  

I'm so amazed still at how fast their first year of life goes.  And honestly it goes faster as they get older.  The fact that I can sit down and have a full conversation with Seth blows my mind.  He's in school for goodness sake!  Where did the time go??  So blessed by two healthy, happy, and sweet children. 

The Party

The Playdate Party

The Family Party

New party, new outfit :)

Joel just told Seth that his gift to him was a trip to the SF Zoo.  Seth just walked away.

On Seth's actual birthday ... sprinkle french toast and party hats at breakfast!