Bedrooms Re-Model - Stage One

This summer we are taking on a fairly big house project - remodeling the girls' bedrooms. We decided to put the girls in one room and make the remaining room back into an office/multi-purpose room.

Here is a sneak peak of what the final room will look like...


You would not even believe the ups and downs, the drama, the changing of decisions, back and forth, it took to get to the color scheme above. I never knew shopping for bedding would be so difficult. Between sticking to a budget and finding something we all loved and something the girls would not outgrow in a couple of years - it was tough and I was beginning to stress about it. The plan is for Ed to paint the new shared room next week while the girls and I are at my mom's. Until this past Monday I had no idea what the bedding was going to look like or what colors we were going to use. I had resolved myself to the fact I was going to have to make duvet covers myself (taking on the largest sewing project ever for myself!!) and then was stressing over the price of the fabric I was finding that I liked. I started shopping for sheets I liked to use as the fabric. Upon entering the new Home Goods (this was my first trip ever in a Home Goods store) I found 5 quilts I absolutely loved for great prices. Now I can let out a huge sigh of relief - knowing we have bedding, paint color chosen and I don't have to stress over sewing them myself now!

This week I have spent a LOT of time packing up the girls' toys and belongings. They are not happy about the majority of their toys being inaccessible at the moment but it is just for a few days before we go to my mom's anyway. Yesterday I was able to get the rooms packed up enough to move Samantha's crib into Gabrielle's room. Gabrielle's room will eventually be the multi-purpose room so they will share this room until the other room is complete.



I knew it would be an adjustment but I was not exactly sure what to expect for the first night of the girls sharing a room. It was basically a big pajama party for them. They were both awake past 11:00!!! Now Gabrielle is not the greatest sleeper. She often is up late and up early the next morning but even last night was rough on her. Samantha is an awesome sleeper so she has really been affected by the late night. Hopefully it will get better and they will adjust and maybe a compromise will be made. I just hope it happens sooner rather than later for the sake of all of us!



I have learned a couple of things over the past couple of weeks in this process.

1. I absolutely dread the day we may have to pack up the entire house to move. Just packing up two bedrooms has been quite a task ~ and I haven't even had to pack everything!
2. The girls own way too much stuff! I am determined to get rid of at least a third of their toys and stuff. It is absolutely ridiculous the amount of stuff they have!

So I'm looking forward to coming home from vacation in a week and seeing the new wall color. Soon their new bed should be complete and ready for pickup as well. I cannot wait to see and share the finished room!!

Summer Is Here!

To say it has been a busy, hectic summer so far is an understatement but I have come to the conclusion life with little ones is always going to be hectic and busy. At least it is a fun kind of busy! Our days have been full of trips to the pool, play dates with friends, playing outside, birthday parties, a trip to Meemaw's, and more.









I'm glad we're having fun and spending time with friends but one of the downfalls of staying so busy is the time just seems to fly by. I want to enjoy and savor the the summer, not have it be over in a blur.







This week we're enjoying VBS at our church where the church and kids have been transported to Nazareth when Jesus was a child. The transformation of the church is amazing! And the kids all seem to be having a great time. (We are certainly exhausted already and just halfway through but it is a good exhaustion!) Tonight I WILL remember to take my camera to get some photos. We have several professional photographers from our church taking hundreds of photos but I'd like to get some of my own as well to post later.

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the letter I!

Last week Samantha started going to Parents Morning Out through our church. She goes every Thursday morning for three hours. They do various activities from learning letters, Bible stories, crafts, music and of course playing.



Gabrielle was a little disappointed she did not get to go. I could have signed her up as well but with her going to preschool five days next year I thought it would be nice to have some one on one time this summer. It is tempting to take advantage of those few hours with just one child and run errands and other various tasks but I'm determined to keep all of our activities centered around Gabrielle and what she wants to do.



Last week Gabrielle and I baked some zucchini bread. Then she wanted to play with play doh.



This week I took her to get her hair cut. How cute is she with this style?!?!



After her hair cut, we went to Target and looked at books for a few minutes. Then we purchased a really inexpensive craft kit which had all the supplies and instructions for 7 days worth of crafts. Today Gabrielle used the clay to make an adorable little ladybug.



I think PMO is going to be a great thing for all of us this summer. Samantha is getting an opportunity to do her own thing, having fun, making new friends and gaining more independence. Gabrielle and I are getting a chance to do some fun stuff that is more difficult to do with a little sister around. However, for the first two weeks at least, Gabrielle has asked about every 20 minutes if it was time to pick up Samantha yet. I know she is having fun but it is sweet that she does miss her sister too.

In the fall when both PMO and preschool start back up I will get three hours a week just to myself!! Whatever in the world am I going to do! (read with strong sarcasm!!) I'm pretty certain I'll have no problem filling the time!!

T-Ball Finale

Monday night was the last t-ball game for Gabrielle. I asked her that morning if she was happy or sad about t-ball coming to an end. Her response?

"But I love the t-ball snacks!!"

I assured her I could buy little bags of chips, fruit snacks and Capri Suns for her to have from time to time this summer.



After the game the team met up at Goodberry's for some delicious ice cream (actually Goodberry's is frozen custard but really does it matter what you call it when it is just so yummy).



Once everyone had finished eating, the trophy presentation began.



Gabrielle was beyond thrilled!



Each player also received a game ball which I thought was really neat (Gabrielle thought it was pretty cool too!)



Coach Jay was awesome. I think we got pretty lucky with our team. Everyone was super nice and all the kids had so much fun. No one seemed to mind too much that Gabrielle spent more time sitting in the dirt than actually paying attention to the game. And every once in a while one of the players would give Gabrielle the ball so she would have a turn actually throwing it in.



I think it is safe to say t-ball is not exactly her "thing" - at least not right now. Gabrielle is more of a ballerina-girl at the moment. But she got to try something new and make some new friends - which is what life should be all about for a 4 year old in my opinion.

It was fun. Now the regular activities are over and we have the summer to enjoy.

My Sweet Mattie-Girl

Once upon a time (about 4-1/2 years ago) I spent my time photographing and pampering and talking about my first "kids" - our dogs Mattie and Bella. I think they each are finally adjusting to not being #1 around here when it comes to attention. Mattie especially has probably had the hardest adjustment since it was just her and Ed for years before I came along. She loves me but if she could speak I'm not sure what her honest opinion would be about me bringing Bella into her life just a few short months after moving in!! Bless her heart, she has tried to be patient with all of us though.



Mattie has been especially sweet and very chill lately. Anyone who has known Mattie for at least as long as Ed and I have been together knows "chill" is never a word that would have been used to describe this energetic cattle dog mix. I know unfortunately the chill factor is a result of her age finally catching up to her. I cannot believe she is 11 years old!



This photo is the inspiration for this post. When I found Mattie on the couch, snuggled with Gabrielle's blanket, it was simply too cute a moment to not photograph.



We love you, Mattie-girl!! And regardless of how much I may gripe about the amount of hair I have to sweep and vacuum, I hope you are with our family for a lot longer still!

A Taste of Summer

While summer may not be here according to the calendar, it is most certainly here according to the weather. The mid and upper 90 temps we've been experiencing has kept us inside for the majority of the week. Last night after dinner the girls and I braved the slightly less severe heat of the evening to enjoy a favorite summer treat - watermelon!!



Although it is still a tad early for the peak of watermelon season, this watermelon could not have been better - sweet and juicy, and of course served in an aluminum pie pan just like my Daddy used to do it!















Another sign of summer, my hydrangeas are now brilliant shades of blue. They have grown so tall since I got them as a Mother's Day gift a couple of years ago and the number of blooms seem to double with each summer.


When Ed first planted these they would not have even been as tall as Samantha is now. Now they are taller than Gabrielle.

I am fascinated with the ever changing colors of these blooms and how it is all determined by the acidity of your soil. When Ed bought the plants the blooms were a light pink. The next year they were a deep blue. This year is really interesting because while the flowers on one plant are a true blue, the other has both white and very pale blue blossoms. Since they are planted side by side I'm not sure how that happened!



Maybe next year I can manage to have a small flower garden and can adorn my table with a variety of fresh flowers from the beginning of spring through the end of summer.