Baby Steps

What an amazing weekend we had!! 

Silver Lake was wonderful! 

The weather was perfect and everybody enjoyed every minute of being outside!!!

The dunes were beautiful as usual!  However, around lunch on Saturday it was getting pretty busy and with little ones it was a bit hectic but overall it was wonderful!


I enjoyed using all of my thirty-one bags and will post pictures of them in use Tuesday or Friday!!  My phone is charging now and I'm too tired and lazy to walk upstairs to get it.  I took only a handful of pictures with my camera and enjoyed every minute of unplugging!!!


Enjoy every moment to the fullest and when you are scared to make a new step toward something, what I do is pray about it then take baby steps toward a direction.  It may be the wrong direction, but at least you're trying!

 

 

A New Opportunity

Have you heard of thirty-one?  If you have not, you should definitely check out their products!!


I have been to 1 open house party, 1 real party and hosted my own party.

It would be an understatement to say I'm addicted!!!

Because, I am COMPLETELY addicted!!


A few of my favorite items are:
Organizing Utility Tote
Large Utility Tote
XXL Utility Tote Set (this is a hostess only item)


There are so many more items I cannot wait to buy!!!  And there's a new catalog coming out in September!!  EEK!!!!


You choose the pattern and you also can add embroidery to the items - initials, name, sayings, etc!!!


So, the reason for me posting you wonder?!  Well, I've been considering becoming a consultant.  I know, right - it's not like we're busy enough already!  I'm thinking more of when I'm not busy with pictures and being a Mom/Wife and working full time, I'd use that time.  Hmmm...okay, now it doesn't sound too feasible since I wrote that sentence...


If I do decide to take this challenge opportunity, I'll let you all know!!!


I'll post pictures Monday of my favorite items in action!!!

 

 

Fabric Wall Circles

It is Positively Splendid week for me.  I absolutely love her blog and her amazing talent.  Another craft hosted by her in Maddie's Room again!  You can follow her tutorial here while I show you mine today.

This craft is super cute, easy, cheap and requires easy clean up.

Things needed:

Fabric
Good shears
Circle templates {I used the tops to my Pyrex glass bowl tops}
Starch spray



I didn't take very good pictures on the instructions, but it's very easy.  Take your fabric and trace on the wrong side with a pencil different shapes of circles {or whatever shape you like}.  Putting one circle in some sort of bin {like a big Ziploc container} and drench it using this starch.  I bought it for $1.27 at Meijer. 

I didn't use a template on the wall like she suggest so you get a pattern.  I just got creative and put them everywhere.  Make sure you have a wet paper towel to catch any drippings.  And when you are bored with them and want to take them down, all you do is peel them off the wall and wash it.....no wear and tear!

This fabric also matches her headboard.

Here is a glimpse of one of her walls completed.
 
 

DIY Tote Boxes

Maddie's Room is almost done.  I can't wait to share the final projects with everyone!  I am a huge pack rat when it comes to boxes.  I save them because I think I will re-use them.  I order a lot from Amazon, and sometimes you get a HUGE box for a little item.  Well, all those boxes finally came in handy.  Instead of spending a bunch of money for cute totes or bins for Maddie's room to hold toys, I ended up covering boxes with fabric.  Thanks to the lovely blog, Positively Splendid, I'm going to share her tutorial here

I ended up using just regular fabric instead of canvas, and I didn't bother putting a liner in mine either since it will be chucked full of stuff all the time, and besides that involves sewing and I still don't know how :-(.  Some day though I will learn!


Things Needed:
Boxes
Fabric
Spray Adhesive
Elmer's Glue

This was my first tote I made, so I put it in Maddie's closet to hold her books.  I have bigger ones to share with you that actually has matching fabric from her headboard

 
 

Reason for the Season

As I was making breakfast for the boys yesterday morning, I looked up and was reminded of just how wonderful our God is!

In His time, everything is beautiful!

Ry and the boys bought me this for Mother's Day and there were so many times I had forgotten to water it and it looked like there was no hope for it.  However, with some extra watering and a little love, I now have 1 rose!!!

That's exactly how God is with us!  We are this rose!  With preparing your foundation and reading your bible, going to church and learning what all God has planned for you, in the end you will rise up and be beautiful!!!

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, 

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven" (NKJV).

 

 

Running Towards My Goal

  I don't think I have shared with all of you yet that I am going to run a half marathon the end of October.  I have trained for one before 6 years ago, but a few weeks before the race I blew out my knee.  I just finished my third week of training and it has been difficult especially last week as I had a bad cold, which cut into my running.  People keep asking me why I signed up to do this and the funny thing is that I actually do not enjoy running, but since I just turned 30 and my body has lost firmness I decided that I need to prove to myself that I can do this with also having hopes of getting in really good shape!  I bought a really good pair of running shoes and it has made a huge difference in the way my feet feel; for anyone taking up running I highly suggest investing in a really good pair of shoes.  I also bought a new ipod that has a Nike running program that syncs with my shoes and it tracks all my running statistics, which is awesome!  I will try to keep you all updated with my progress on my running, but I also hope to be able to share some additional weight loss.  I am still part of Evolv and continue to have success with the program and am incorporating this running into my overall fitness success. 

Once I finish this race my goal is to continue running so that next spring I am ready to do the Fifth Third Riverbank Run.
 

Are you Ready for This??...

 So I know you have all been waiting for my surprise  ...well...I have been taking cooking lessons..ha jk I had to say it because today my post is about my 2 hours of cooking.  Yes you read that right- 2 hours of cooking.  Those that know me understand that 2 hours of cooking is very rare for me.  Tonight I started homemade chicken enchiladas for tomorrow's dinner and baked my grandma's famous texas sheet cake.  The cake had 12 ingredients and took over 1 hour to make, but I am soo excited to take a bite tomorrow. Ok really did you think I could wait??..nope I already had a bite! 

               Here is the homemade icing before I iced the cake.

  
           
             Here is the finished product before I took a bite :)

~Favorites~

Am I the only one that is loving this weather?!?!?

I was so excited for a session last Saturday for several reasons!  One, I was so excited to be capturing a good friend of mine's son's first birthday!!! 

 Isn't he a cutie?!?!?!

 Love this one!!!!!

 And I loved my outfit!!!  :)

Don't mind the terrible picture, I don't love the camera on my phone!!  

We're actually thinking about switching to Verizon from AT&T.  

Quick question...Do any of you have any suggestions for a phone or if you've liked Verizon?  I am hinting for a iPhone to my hubs!!  :)

If you have not invested in one of these yet...it's a must have for your kitchen!!!!  I bought this one at our local ACE Hardware and loooooooooooove it!  

I believe it was only $7 too!! 

 This is my favorite cookbook right now, it's a cheesecake cookbook and I bought it for $.50 at a garage sale!!!

 Our little 16 month old...ha, who am I kidding, he's not little!  He loves to play with his big brother's toys and he even knows what to do with this computer!!!

The boys having snacks this morning!!!  So cute!!!

Have a blessed weekend!!!!

 

Frankenmuth

Have you ever been to Frankenmuth?  Well believe it or not, I haven't.  I've been to Birch Run to outlet mall but never to Frankenmuth.  Yes, Fall is approaching us fast, which means harvest is going to be here as well.  We've spent most of our summer to the lake.  We figured we take a mini vacation {without our camper} to Frankenmuth before the hubby is MIA for a couple months. 

Reasons why?

Of course, the Birch Run Outlet Mall:  Our whole family needs new clothes.  I haven't bought Maddie any clothes or shoes for this winter or fall {I think all I have is what Heidi gave Maddie....thanks girly}  I have all my coupons printed for all the stores too.  Plus we are going to get those super great deals still from summer clothes so we can take with us on our Grand Cayman trip in November. 

Bronner's Christmas Store:  Yes, I have NEVER been to this store, and I'm way excited!  I thought I would go earlier in the year to beat the crowd this fall.  I hope they also have some great Halloween/Fall decor too! 

Wildreness Trails Zoo, Birch Run:  Obviously never been here either but we figured we take Maddie to check it out!

Zehnder's Splish Splash:  An indoor water park we think Maddie will enjoy for a half day.  Can't wait to check out the new one this January at the Soaring Eagle Casino!

Zehnder's Famous Chicken Dinner:  I can't wait to eat here!  I've heard so many people talk good things about this place.  I also heard they have a awesome bakery and candy store!

Frankenmuth Old Time Photo:  The 3 times we've been to Gatlinburg, TN we never got this done, but with Maddie here now and a place like this around here, we are going to have some fun! 

Of course, I can't wait to walk downtown the old historic Frankenmuth and go into all the cute stores too.

So friends, I'm asking all of you who have been, what are we missing??????  Would love to know.

 
 

At it Again.....

I haven't posted about my amazing deals lately......because......I've been slacking.  Plus, I've had such a great stock pile, I haven't had to buy almost anything between laundry detergent, to bathroom products, and paper products, or any cleaners, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorants, paper towel, toilet paper.....oh the list could go on..................but ya I haven't had to buy for SIX months or so.  NOT kidding.  I love it, when all I go to the grocery store to buy is food!  Fall is approaching on us sooner then ya think {I'm secretly excited}, and I'm getting low on paper towel.  Oh, I have (2) 8 roll packages left.  So, I thought I should start up again on stocking items, especially when winter is right around the corner, {ha ha}.

At Meijer, I picked up some great deals this week on this and that......All for about $5.00 :-)

Tampax Pearls, $4.18.  Used $2.00/1 from P&G, exp 8/31 and MPerks $2.00/1
Final Price:  $.18

Pampers Wipes, $1.99.  Used $1.00/2 from P&G, exp 8/31 and Mperks $.50/1
Final Price:  $1.24 each

Ivory bar soap, $1.29.  Used $.20/1 {doubles to $.40} from P&G, exp 8/31 and Mperks $.30/1
Final Price:  $.59

Cascade, $2.99.  Used $1.00/1 from P&G, exp 8/31 and Mperks $1.00/1
Final Price:  $.99

Glade Expression Kit {LOVE}, $5.99.  Used $5.00/1 from coupons.com.  I got two!!
Final Price:  $.99 each

Oral B Stages Toothpaste, $1.88.  Used $1.00/1 from P&G, exp 8/31
Final Price:  $.88



Then I went on over to my good O' CVS store too.  The only thing that intrigued me was the razors on sale.  Razors can get expensive but thankfully when I get these kind of deals you can't go wrong!!  Even though my stockpile still consist of 10 razors with about 10 boxes of cartridges :-).  But hey, I got these two for a total of less then $5.00. 

Venus, $9.99.  Used $4.00/1 from the paper on 8/12.  Receive $4.00 extra bucks
Final Price:  $1.99

Intuition, $8.99.  Used $2.00/1 from the paper on 8/12.  Receive $4.00 extra bucks
Final Price:  $2.99

Happy Shopping!!
 

This and That...

With our house for sale, I'm finding new ways to improve our space!  

*If you need to find motivation to keep your house organized and easy to keep clean, put it up for sale!  I am amazed with the projects I'm doing that are making my life easier!!

  

The most recent project has been our pantry!  It's pretty much a closet, but with some shelves and now storage containers, it looks more like a pantry!!  

 These containers are amazing!!!  You can fit pretty much anything in them and it makes the shelf look so much nicer!!!  Plus the boys can see what they want and I know how much is left! 

  And because they are just so adorable!!! 

 

 I also have been having fun with my own version of some braids from Pinterest!  This I'll take pictures of step by step next time...this was my first attempt!!  Pretty cute!!!

 

Trust God

It's been a fabulous week!!!! 

We had my two younger nieces stay with us all week and it was wonderful!  I know Del enjoyed every minute and I'm sure they were happy to have some alone time when they got home!  It was cute watching the girls be so patient with Del!  They were a huge help with Abe also and I was able to get some work done on my week off but I did enjoy every minute of not working also!  :)


We had VBS at our church Monday thru Thursday and it was AMAZING!!!!  I helped with one of the preschool/kindergarten groups and enjoyed every minute!  I just love they way they think!!!  I am so excited for next year!!!


The last day was by far my favorite!!!  God is so good and to know that more of our friends and family will be in Heaven with us is a wonderful feeling!

God is so good and I will try to remember NO MATTER WHAT - TRUST GOD!!!

DIY Fabric Headboard

Yah, we are home this week, so I'm tackling Maddie's room hard while we are here.  So most of you who have read my past posts, she sleeps on a big girl bed {a.k.a. queen size..........yes already}.  Instead of going "backwards" in size like toddler or twin, we are just going to keep the queen.  It does take up a bunch of room, but our plan is to start finishing our basement this winter and have a big play room for her so most of her toys will be there.  I also planned on going to Ikea for a bed frame, but after much thinking it's not a good idea to raise the bed up yet at her age.  So instead, I got a new comforter and to spice it up I thought I would make a headboard for it so it looks somewhat cute on the floor.  And the best part of it all---- it only cost about $35!

Things needed:

1/4" - 1/2" plywood {I used 1/2"}
2 x 4 board {size of your choice}
Staple gun & staples
Nails & nail gun
Foam fabric {optional.....I wanted it to be thicker so I used 1"}
Batting
Fabric

First cut the  plywood to size needed.  Since our mattress is on the floor, I only went 36" high to the top of the headboard.  That means I cut (2) 2 x 4's at 36" each, and my plywood was cut 60" wide x 23-1/2" tall.  Nail boards to the plywood.

Next, wrap and nail the foam and batting around it really tight.  This is actually a two man job, so thanks honey for helping!  Make sure you cut your foam, batting and fabric 2" longer to wrap around the back.  I actually didn't get enough foam, so the legs only got the batting.  Remember no one will see the back, so don't make it pretty!

Lastly, do the same with the fabric. Wait to cut your fabric until this part because with the foam and batting, it will take up a lot more space.  I ended up using a 80" x 36" pc of fabric just to be safe.

Finally, the bed is done {many more projects to come, especially for the walls}.  More to come soon!