projects!

I know..it's been a long time. Way to long. I have no excuse. But, I am back.

Over winter break I always seem to start lots of projects! I think it's the start of a new year that makes me want change around the house! Small changes with big impact!
This is our dining room! I need to add pictures to the frames and then it will be done!
I decided I wanted something in this space to hide all those papers that pile up on the table and fridge. I know, throwing them in drawers isn't the answer..but it works! And, they aren't just full of junk. I have one for coupons, one for coozies (very important) and the others aren't too full...yet!
This one was all Dylan! He painted 3 pictures for his room. He did a snake, dinosaur, and Angry Birds! I think they will be a perfect addition to his room!

This came from Pinterest! Love this idea and love that I can find these quickly and they are out of a messy drawer! Total cost...$5 for hooks!

Another Pinterest idea! And another $5 project! Just a place to put things I don't want all over the fridge. My dad cuts out comics all the time and sends them to me. Every time I see them I smile and think of him! This is the perfect place for me to keep them! I am planning on putting a grocery list and meal plan on the top one!

2 more projects in the works..I will wait until they are done to reveal what they are!

More projects are in the works...excited to get them done so I can share!

Drumline

In May of 2010 a very strong, handsome, and kind 5th grader was diagnosed with cancer.
When he was in 3rd I had the honor of being his teacher.
He was one of those kids that you just fall in love with.
You wish more kids could be like him.
You hope that your son grows up and carries many of the same qualities of him.

His family had a year of ups and downs.
In and out of the hospital.
Lots of treatments.
Lots of pain and heartache.
Then in May of 2011 he was done with chemo.
The cancer in his leg was gone.
And then a couple months later more bad news.
They had to amputate his leg to save his life.
So a month or so go by.
They feel like they are finally on the path of recovery.
And bam...more bad news.
The cancer is back.
And it's bad.
It's in his back, groin, brain, and bone marrow.
He's given 3 months to live.
He's 11...3 months to live.
Not fair.
Today the local high school's drum line played at his house.
It was the coolest things I've ever seen.
Loud. Happy. Fun.
And then you remember why they're there.
To bring some joy to a family that has so much heartache right now.
But, that little bit of joy is just what they needed.
It was awesome to see the community come together.
Neighbors.
Classmates.
Teachers.
We stood there in awe for 30 minutes.
Cried. Hugged. Prayed.
All for an 11 year old.
An 11 year old that is fighting so hard right now.

I wish he would have been able to come outside to see it.
But, he did wake up and heard them playing.
That makes me smile.

I have seen him 3 times in the past 2 weeks.

I am so happy I was able to see him this last time.

He's gone down hill since and not able to have visitors.

I hope and pray that I am able to see him again next week.

That he gets just a little better and can have a visitor.

Until then I will continue to pray.

I will continue to remember that my small problems could be so much bigger.

And I will continue to hug my babies extra tight each and every day.

My Purse!

I decided that I finally needed to clean out my purse...
the contents took up half of my kitchen table.
In my purse I had...
2 Vera Bradley wallets..one is new, I just haven't switched every thing over yet
1 sunnie case/coin purse from Pretty Posie Creations
2 other random coin purses
2 bracelets, one from my momma and one from Lisa Leonard Designs
$7.67
phone
2 sets of keys
receipts
a wedding invitation to a wedding this weekend...I got the invite yesterday
2 coupons..1 expired
business cards
jewelry box from an amazing ring my sister got me
mail
lists
birthday card
KSU football tickets
spatula
bag of hand sanitizer
bag of graham crackers
wipes hair bows for Saylor Girl
order form for t-shirts for Dylan's school
chapstick
pens
and...I did have my DSLR in there too!!

All of this was in this purse..


yes, a very large purse and one that I love! It was killing my shoulder though!! It was so heavy!

Since I am cleaning it out, I am also switching to a new purse. Well, an old purse but I haven't used it for a while. So new for right now!!

Love the ruffles on this purse!!

Now to challenge myself to not let this happen again.

Billy The Exterminator

Dylan's favorite TV show right now is Billy the Exterminator.

Not sure it is what a 5 year old should watch.

But...there are worse things out there on TV!

A few weeks ago he started playing Billy the Exterminator as well.

It is quite the game.

It all starts with hiding a snake.

You then get your box and start looking for the snake.
Once you find the snake you grab it..be careful so it doesn't bite.
And, if he happens to bite, just get a bandaid.

Then, put him in the box before he escapes.

Close the lid and smile at your momma!

Job well done Dylan Man!

The only problems...

he now wants to be Billy for Halloween

and he wants to be an exterminator when he grows up

"I'm riding with no trainging wheels!!!"

Monday night we gave the no training wheel bike riding a 3rd try. I told Dylan that he hasn't tried since turning 5, and that convinced him to get on and try again.
When we had tried in the past he wasn't quite brave enough to keep pedaling when daddy let go.
This time it was completely different.
We started in the grass (thank goodness for WONDERFUL neighbors who don't mind bike riding in their grass!!). He kept pedaling the first time!!
After a few minutes in the grass we convinced him to just try it in the street. Sadly we don't have sidewalks, but we don't have a bust street so it works fine. I can't tell you how many times Dylan and Seth went up and down our street all night long.
The longer we were out the there the better he was doing.

After a while they were going down the entire street. With Seth just running along and Dylan doing it all by himself!

I am pretty sure as he passed me this time he said, "How do you like them apples mommy!!"

This still happened, but he got back up every single time!

I was so proud of my little man.

We are now on night 3 and he doesn't need help at all. He gets on his bike and starts on his own. He is getting better at turning around too.

This is just another reminder that my baby boy is no longer a baby. He is really growing up and becoming such a big boy. Makes me sad and so proud at the same time!

Some local outings

We have been enjoying the last couple weeks of summer at some local places!! We have had some fun outings right here close to home.
Last week we packed up and headed to Kansas City. We stopped by and picked up our cousin Courtney so she could join us for all the fun.
We headed down to Crown Center and went to lunch at Fritz's. I have always wanted to take Dylan to this restaurant and I am so glad we went! It is a train themed restaurant so you start off with these fun engineer hats.

Courtney and Saylor decided to make a funny face for their picture!

You even get to order your food from a phone. Saylor thought it was fun to pretend to talk on it.

The coolest part...your lunch comes to your table by train!

Once your lunch comes the tray lowers and you grab your food.

Dylan loved being able to get our food from the tray.

After lunch at Fritz's we walked over to Kaleidoscope at Crown Center. I can remember going here when I was younger and was excited to take my art loving boy. He had a good time creating some masterpieces with Courtney. So happy she was there to be with Dylan so I could watch Saylor. It would have been hard by myself! The coolest part was the puzzle. He drew on a piece or card board and then sent it though this machine and it cut it into puzzle pieces.

Courtney also helped Saylor color on a card. Last week we went ride down the road to Washburn University and visited the Mulvane Art Museum. I can't believe I have never taken Dylan there. It was a lot of fun and had all of his favorite things..art and craft supplies!

Outside of the museum they had some...well some of these. I have no idea what they are called but Dylan and Saylor loved running through them! Inside they had an awesome Lego exhibit. Tons of statues and figures made out of Legos. It was very cool!

Then we headed to the basement. They have an art lab for kids. This was the cave area. Saylor's favorite for sure!
building blocks
they had a lot more for the kids to do, but I put my camera away after getting a few shots so I could create with Dylan and Saylor!

Outside they had more art. It was a VERY hot Kansas afternoon, so they ran around for a couple minutes then we headed home!

And the last one..a road trip with my bestie and her 2 kids!

We planned on going to Deanna Rose but it was raining.

We went to Fritz's again, but at a different location!
All the kids (except Saylor) grabbing the lunch!

After lunch we went to Little Monkey Bizness

SO.MUCH.FUN

It was a fun day and a great way to spend one of our last days of summer!

Being Crafty

I love being crafty.
I am not always a good crafter.
My things sometimes look like mess and they go right in the trash.
Other times I am IN LOVE with them.
I am also a short-cut crafter.
There are often steps I leave out because I don't have time or I think it's a useless step.
Sometimes it works...and sometimes it is a big fail!
This next one..it could be better, but it will do..
I was inspired buy a canvas I saw that was covered in fabric with the words "Be You" sewn on it.
I knew right away I wanted to make one with love or family. But before making one for our living or dining room that everyone would see I thought I would try one for Saylor Girl's room. I had a frame that I wasn't using and some fabric that goes perfectly with her room. So, this was FREE!!!! I like how it turned out and I will be making another one for sure. Next time I will...
1. use a canvas, it will give it more depth. This was a thin piece of wood.
2. Make sure the background material doesn't show through the words.Monogram P
This was a random thought I had while I was trying to sleep one night.
The next day I was in Walmart and picked up a cheap black frame.
Then while in Hobby Lobby I picked out 2 pieces of scrap book paper.
Came home, cut out a P and put it all together.
Easy.
Cheap.
And nice addition to my mantle that I am reworking!

Picture collage frames
I have had these pictures hanging in the playroom for a long time.
As you can see he is very young in these photos.
I didn't want to reorder large prints so I decided to change it up a bit.


I bought some material that goes with the wall color in our playroom and added it to the back of the frames.
I then picked out some photos and arranged them until it was just right.
Taped them down.
Put the glass back on.
And I was done!
Cost...about $5!!


I love how they turned out and I can't wait to hang them back up. Now Saylor won't feel so left out when she goes in the playroom!

Lemonade Stand {fundraiser for cancer}

A little over a year ago a young man I had as a 3rd grader was diagnosed with cancer.
He was the type of kid in class that everyone loved.
I always said, the girls loved him and the boys wanted to be him.
He was funny.
Smart.
Kind.
And as sarcastic as they come at that age.
I don't have favorites.
But..if I did he would be my favorite from that class.
One of my all time favorites.
When I got the email that the achiness in his leg was actually cancer, I sat and cried.
No one deserves to go through cancer.
Especially not a 10 year old.
So sad and such a helpless feeling.
Throughout the entire school year he was in an out of the hospital.
He went through chemo.
He lost weight.
Lost hair.
But didn't lose his spunkiness and sarcasm.
I loved that about him whenever he would wheel through the hallways at school.
I am lucky and my classroom overlooks the playground.
Whenever I happened to glance out my window during recess times I always noticed that if he was out there in his wheelchair, there was also a big group of girls around him.
Even during the hardest year of his life, he still found ways to charm the girls!
A couple weeks ago as I was reading his mom's online journal, I read that the cancer was back.
He just got the news it was gone and he was in remission and bam..it's back.
After much consideration and talks with doctors and family, they decided that the best choice would be to amputate his leg.
Wow, what a life changer.
But, in his normal ways he came through it all with his great character in tact.

And through all of this I would mention it to Dylan here and there. Hard thing to explain to a 5 year old.
At the same time Dylan had been begging me to have a lemonade stand.
So, a lemonade stand we had.
And to my surprise Dylan decided to give all the money to the "boy from my school that is sick and in a wheelchair".
Wow, really Dylan...that's awesome!

Getting our lemonade mixed and ready to serve.
Making our signs to advertise our sale.

Bringing in all the customers.

Loving every moment of his lemonade stand.

Not only did my little guy raise over $100 for this young man, but he also learned such a valuable lesson.

It was one of the most enjoyable afternoons we have had this summer.

Just the 2 of us.

Outside and enjoying each others company.

I loved every minute of our 3 hours together.

So proud of you Dylan Man!

Disney World: Day 1

Oh Disney World, how we love you!
We took Dylan to Disney World 2 years ago.
He was almost 3 years old.
We always told him we would go back when Saylor was 3 also.
Well, we couldn't wait!
Actually, Seth and I were planning a trip to Vegas and then a small trip with the kids.
We decided not to do Vegas and do Disney instead.
So happy we made that decision.
I love Vegas, but Disney World is so much better.
And since Saylor is only 1, she flew free and got in all the parks free.
She also isn't old enough to beg for toys and things, so that was nice!

We left bright and early Monday morning. The kids had fun hanging out in the airport.
We had a couple hours to kill and luckily these huge windows and airplanes kept them busy.
They are such sweet siblings, always hugging and giving kisses...we don't even have to ask them to do it, they just do it on there own!
Daddy and his babies! I am so lucky to have Seth. He did almost all of the diaper changes while at Disney World (the ladies line always had a long wait and no line on the mens side!!), held a sweaty baby in line for rides, and carried the stroller on and off the busses about 100 times!

Oh my Saylor Girl...you make me HAPPY! That is all I have to say!

Dylan was so into making funny faces on the trip. He did a real picture then a funny face picture. Such a funny kid!

Playing their games while waiting. What a nice big brother to let Saylor play his game.

And on the airplane..they did AWESOME!! Played, slept, and looked out the window.

Our hotel! We stayed at the Disney All Star Movie Resort, it was wonderful. We requested the Toy Story rooms and I am so happy we did. Every morning we walked out to a huge Toy Story play area. So fun for our kiddos!





Next up..Magic Kingdom!