One busy weekend

What started as one project soon turned into a major overhaul. Tell me I'm not alone in this, this happens at your place too, right? You start out working on something, a contained project if you will, and next thing you know, you realize this needs to be done before that can be done and this other thing would make the first thing even better and on and on and on...home improvement/decorating domino style.

We planned to simply finish emptying the guest room and prep it for Grace's big girl room transformation. That led to the hall closet needing to be reorganized, baby gear needing sorting, the kitchen drawers needing cleaning out, the recipe file organized, bins of clothes needing to be separated into sell/donate/keep piles, Grace's toys needing sorting out, dust collectors - I mean stuffed animals - bagged for donation (yeaaaaaay!), and the list goes on...I still haven't tackled my mess of a closet, although that is next on the list.

Amidst all that, we've been working on this:

So far, Grace just likes to sit on the potty with her clothes ON - not to keen on going diaper free just yet.

And here's the little pumpkin excited over the pink paint in her big girl room Do you remember that spinning arts & craft toy (like the ones used in pottery) that you could squirt paint in while it was moving and it would make a little modern art piece tie-dye style? EXACTLY what we feared would happen to the room if Grace was in there "helping", so right after that photo Grace and I left for a couple of hours to do a little shopping for baby brother :) Had to get out of the house...every couple of minutes she would run to the (locked) bedroom door and say, "You in there, Daddy? I know you in there Daddy. Daaaaaady, DAAAAAAAADY!!!!"

You know that quote, "the way to a guy's heart"...well, the way to a pregnant woman's heart is to help her carry out all the projects she comes up with and to do so while at least PRETENDING to be happy to do so. Lance was so great this weekend. Not only did he humor me with my projects, he did all the lifting, moving, and painting AND he let me sleep in this morning, cooked Grace breakfast, and when I emerged from my 2-hour hibernation (Grace has suddenly decided that waking up 3-4-5 times a night is the cool thing to do), had scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with jelly ready for me. Gotta love him! Thanks, hon!

A very productive weekend indeed! Hope you all had a great weekend, whether filled with projects or project free.

Goofiness

This weekend Mimi & Pop came over so that Pop could help Lance move a huge HEAVY tv out of our guest room - the final step to emptying what will soon be Grace's big girl room. Amidst the furniture moving, we took a time out to "play" one of Grace's new favorite games. This one has Lance written all over it, I tell ya!

So what is this game you ask? Well, let's see how to explain it...a picture is worth a 1000 words, right? But first, I must say I found out about this father-daughter Saturday morning ritual a couple of weeks ago when the sweetest fits of laughter were coming from Grace's playroom :) You're still wondering right? Well, you see that is Lance lifting Grace waaaaay up in the air to place plastic Easter egg halfs on the ceiling fan blades. On this day, Pop was there to help steady the fan blades and to help with the lifting after the "Again, again" requests from the little pumpkin. Even Mimi got in on the action You're still thinking, "what is so fun about that" right? Well, the fun part for a two year old comes when you TURN ON the fan and the plastic eggs go flying everywhere! Giggles guaranteed. Although I'm sure this should come with a hazard warning, a "do not try this at home" of some sort - at least make sure the fan is not going very fast...here's to the simple joys of childhood!

Noonie's Little Sidekick

Two weeks ago my mom had a birthday or a "Happy Noonie Day" Party as Grace called it. Grace wasted no time helping Noonie blow out her birthday candle, not once but twice!

Noonie's actual birthday (when you ask Grace to help blow out candles, she does the funniest bunny-teeth expression and then blows through her teeth) Check out the sly smile at the prospect of cake! And later on that weekend during her dinner party Here Noonie, have a little taste test Strawberry pie EVERYWHERE! Happy Birthday Mom/Noonie!!!! We love you!

Hudson's Nursery

S.O.S. HELP!!! 'Been looking for bedding for Hudson's nursery and I can't find any that make me go, "THAT ONE - that's the one". It doesn't usually take me long to decide what I like and once I pick something I usually just run with it, but no such luck on this one.

Here's an example: Grace's crib bedding was a discontinued, no-return Wendy Bellissimo set that I bought from a boutique in California BEFORE we knew she was going to be a girl - I just knew in my heart of hearts that she was a girl and luckily I was right, otherwise I don't think our son would have enjoyed the "Vintage Sophia Leopard" bedding as much as Grace has. So I need ideas from all you creative minds out there. Crib sets you've seen, color suggestions, good online sources, etc. Here's what I don't want: any type of strong theme like puppy dogs, sailboats, or anything like that - one exception, I do like to incorporate vintage elements and images, like vintage planes, football, etc. And although we are big LSU fans, I do not want a purple and gold nursery, though I'm certain we'll throw in some fun LSU items here and there :)

So far, this is what I've come across - I like certain things about each one, just not one that's the whole package.

Monkeys from Pottery Barn Kids - I like the modern colors, the crib skirt, and stripes on the wall (and I do have a little weakness for sock monkeys even with my theme aversion :) Asher Collection by Serena & Lily - this is probably what I like the most thus far, but they don't have this design/color scheme in a crib set . I really, really like that shaggy rug! All-American by Rosenberry Rooms - similar color scheme as the Asher set above but probably more red than I want Denim Patchwork crib and twin sets by Rosenberry Rooms Rex by Serena & Lily - simple, clean lines Skip Hop Mod Dot - color possibilities Alphabet by Dwell Studio for Target - colors and retro feel of the alphabet Pinwheels by MiGi Collection for Target - just because I like that old-fashioned pull toy dog! Any help will be greatly appreciated!!!

Oh, no...Brother Sister sets here we come!

I've crossed to the dark side, yes "dark side" as in star wars. I'm not much of a star wars fan, but a very fitting analogy right about now. One of those things I said I would never do when I was in my 20's child free and care free. Funny how all those comments come back to haunt you, huh? Fast forward ten or so years and BAM! I've purchased boy-girl matching sets for Grace and Hudson. And here comes the kicker, NOT for this year, for NEXT Summer at that, when they're 3 and 1. Couldn't help myself, the force was too strong.

So what did I purchase, you ask? A little brown checked bloomer set for Grace and the coordinating jon jon for Hudson
big sis Grace














little bro Hudson

And as if matchy-matchy wasn't bad enough, they reverse to matching puppy dogs :O




Oh, well, they were on sale so I'm trying to tell myself that 4 outfits for $60 is a pretty good deal!








I have a feeling they'll be wearing them on the puppy side a lot more than the ice cream side since Lance will probably think the ice cream is too girly for Hudson, but maybe I can sneak a little picture of the two of them barefoot and enjoying some ice cream cones during those hot summer days in their matchy-matchy sets :)

Project Time

Every time I tell Grace we're going to do a project her little face lights up and she gets that same sweet grin from when she was itty bitty - I. LOVE. IT. She also runs to grab one of her aprons to wear - hmmm...one too many baking projects?? :)

Deciding where to put valentine heart stickers is serious business :)
The paper punch was definitely a hit. White glue (messiest of all) - her favorite. Little hands busy at work. Thank goodness for re-positionable stickers! Grace had definite ideas as to where she wanted them to go. A little more glue never hurt anything, right? Add a little love note... (and a couple of decorative marker strokes to her chin :) and voila! When I stuck it on the refrigerator Grace told me, "It's SO pretty, Mama" As part of our "love project", I asked Grace who she loved so I could capture it on a little memory sticker for years to come. Here are her five answers in the order she gave them to me:
1. Elmo's world
2. Cookie monster
3. Jaxon (our dog)
4. My family
5. Crayons
Later, to finish off our valentine decorating Grace had fun showing her Daddy exactly where to place the vinyl stick-ons :) ...and yes, she was still wearing her apron ;)

Valentine Party for the Pint Sized Set

Cute, cute, cute dress from HarmonyWear on Etsy!

Since I feel like I'm starting to get a little bit of my energy back (yeaaaaa!) I decided to plan a mini Valentine Party/Play Date for a few of Grace's little girly friends the week of Valentine's Day. Hmmmm...maybe it's just an excuse to set up a sweet table, make some yummy pink treats and come up with creative activities??? Excuse or not I'm excited as is Grace as she keeps telling me "pink hearts pretty"! All in all we'll have three little girls 5 and under, two of their little brothers who are both about 18 mo. and I figured could play together while the girls did girly stuff, and Grace - so 6 kiddos altogether. Now that I think about it, other than our 4th of July party this may be Grace's biggest playdate yet! Hopefully not too many tears or squabbles ***fingers crossed***.

So I think the whole idea started when my friend Michelle told me about these cute owl plates from Target. I love little owls so of course I had to go check them out and they were indeed too cute for words, as were the matching placemats and sparkly cups (Grace's favorite). Next came these little princess wand making kits I spotted on clearance at Michael's for $1.49!! And I also picked up some 99c foam hearts for the girls to decorate with stickers, glitter and what not. And of course we'll make some cute cupcakes and decorate them with not just sprinkle hearts, but "shiny sprinkle hearts" as Grace pointed out to me :) So far the table is looking pretty cute, I think! And yes, it is set even though Valentine's is still a month away (I had to do a trial run since I like to visualize the whole thing :) I got the turtle plates for the two little brothers and their sparkly cups have dinosaurs instead of girly owls and hearts, and I figured all the kiddos could take home their plates, cups, and mats as party favors so clean up should be a breeze! I'm thinking about getting the boys (or even making some) king crowns like these from StoriaHome on Etsy, but I'm not sure if they're too girly or not??? All this boy stuff is new to me, but so far it's pretty fun! So if you have little boys in your life tell me what you think, crowns or not?

And totally unrelated to the party, but I found this sweet little swimsuit the other day at one of our local shoppes and just had to get it for Grace (yes, totally broke my New Year's resolution of "less shopping" BUT I did resist the matching flip flops and terry cover-up :). I know it'll be a while until Summer, but maybe I'll even stick it in her valentine basket since it's pink and red and just so darn cute :) So have fun planning your own Valentine's Day (or hallmark holiday as Lance calls it), whether romantic for the grown-ups or just plain cute for the wee ones :)
XOXO,
Jessica