Cousins Are For Lovin'

Bran and sweet Katie Bug. Born only six weeks apart and these cousins already love each other. Or maybe they just love chewing on each other. Either way, these pictures make my ovaries go pitter patter.

AT The Style Cure: Holy Embarrassing Batman

Is anyone else doing the Apartment Therapy Style Cure right now? (more info HERE) I desperately need the motivation to FINALLY gut/clean/organize/decorate our office, especially since Gary has all but abandoned it and it's mine (ALL mine). Today's assignment is to take the "before" pictures, and I was thinking that if I share them here, for all the world to see then just maybe I will like, feel accountable. Or something. Crossing my fingers that the shame of what I'm about to show you will propel me into action. The pictures are dimly lit for a reason (I don't want you to see the full extent of this train wreck). Behold:

Rickety card table = CLASS.

One sad plant hanging in the window. Nice.

Very fancy temporary "design wall" for my quilting. I think having batting pinned to the wall really adds something, don't you?

Totally ugly builder grade closet doors that never got painted to match the trim.

The office supply side of the closet storage.

Our "food storage". Half of this is expired I think. Also this side houses paper plates, napkins, party supplies, a few random Halloween costumes and my wrapping paper. This is deluxe. 

You guys, this is bad. Obviously I'm one precariously stacked pile of cardboard shoe boxes that are "too nice to just throw away" from qualifying for an intervention on Hoarders. Enter the Style Cure. I am giving myself one month and pretty much no budget to turn this janky pileup of junk into an organized and FULLY FUNCTIONAL space. Pray for me.

Edit: Looky what I did! I used an app called Room Scan to make a floorplan with measurements! It's 91 square feet of sadness and chaos.

Family, Fireworks, the Fourth of July.

Better (a whole month) late than never, right? I just wanted to do a quick photo dump for family since I don't remember seeing other cameras out all that much. For the 4th of July this year we took a day trip to Payson with Gary's family. We kept things nice and simple: creek side picnic for lunch, ice cream, dinner on the grass and then fireworks. Aside from being warm and muggy during the early afternoon it was pretty perfect, and I wouldn't mind at all if Gary and I took the kids back next year.

In the blink of an eye

You know that saying "the days are long but the years are short"? Truer words have never been spoken. This summer the days have felt especially long. I want to say it is just because we didn't go on vacation, or that it was because we had a new little one at home. Really though, the days dragged by because my sweet girl has transitioned from the generally-not-all-that-bad-twos to the horrific-almost-threes. All of a sudden my sweet, gentle, obedient, sensitive girl has morphed into a wildcat. A wildcat full of defiance, with gnashing teeth and a pair of lungs like you wouldn't believe. I can't lie--it's been a rough ride. But sweet salvation finally came today when I got to pack her up and send her off to preschool. PRESCHOOL. And it is three hours a day, three days a week.

I cannot even tell you how excited I am.

I'm excited to have three mornings a week to snuggle my boy without interruption. I'm excited to have time to clean. I'm excited for all of the chances I will have to quilt. To eat a breakfast without someone begging me to share even though YOU JUST ATE A BIG BOWL OF CEREAL.

But more than all of that (well, just as much as all of that) I am excited for her. Excited for her to take this step towards greater independence.  Excited for the opportunity to foster a greater love of learning. Excited for her to build skills, and confidence. Excited to see her excited.

B's Nursery Tour

In absolutely no particular order, here are the pictures Bran's room in its (mostly) finished glory. Please excuse the terrible phone-quality pictures, but my camera is being used by my mom and so this will have to do for now. Everything in this room came together from what we already had, with the exception of the rug, which I love in general, but kind of hate for this room specifically. It just feels too busy in person, but in the pictures it really doesn't look so bad. At any rate, the price was right and it is a nice plush wool so the kids can roll around on it.This room is really terrifically awkward: it is the smallest room in the house, has two weird angled walls, a window squished in another corner (WHY do builders do this?!!), and there is basically only one layout I could work with. It is more or less exactly the same room that Cora came home to: same crib, same dresser, both in the same place. 

                                    

I love the hex shelves Gary built. Plans are from A Beautiful Mess, found HERE.

Curtains over the closet. We removed the doors when Cora was a baby and I love that I can put away baby clothes without waking sleeping babes.

I bought one extra belt for this shelf and used a second belt and scrap wood we already had on hand. I don't know how I feel about the lamp, but I need a light source and this is honestly the least awkward place I could put this. Still, I love this little shelf. It feels so rustic and manly.

Thrift store painting that I found years ago for $7. I love it. Like, so so much. Felt triangle garland made by me.

I made Bran this dreamcatcher using a couple of tutorials from Pinterest. It was stupid easy. Anyone want to come make more dreamcatchers with me?

Bye Bye Baby

My girl is a babe no longer. Yesterday she officially turned two years old, and while it makes my heart break just a little, I'm so in love (most of the time) with this age that I don't miss the days of nursing and bottles and swaddling too much.

 

*More photos and a sampling of who this feisty girl is at 2 years old to come, but in the meantime I wanted to share this funny picture. We told her it was her birthday when we she woke up, but since we had already celebrated earlier in the month we didn't have anything planned for yesterday. All day she was sad and weepy because there were no "happy birday cake" and no"happy birday pressens". Poor funny girl.

Days 1 & 2

Day 1: peace

Day 2: skyline