My Birthday Gift

So you know you are a mom when your hubs surprises you with a high-end stroller for your birthday and you are beyond ecstatic. I probably should have had a diaper on! ha ha ha!

Here she is:

Isn't she pretty? She holds 88 lbs of sweet baby goodness. Which means all three of my kiddos could sit on here. No more fighting with the side by side stroller with tiny wheels that get stuck and hardly turn (what's up with that peg-perego?). I can excersize with two kiddos and we have another jogger a friend gave us for Avery to ride in for family runs/walks. It's called a Phil and Ted and I really wanted the SPORT version, which they are discontinuing, but found one on Posh Baby on CLEARANCE in black. Woohoo! Although it's a Phil and Teds, I think of it more as a girl. Like my nanny. So I need a good nanny name for her. Ideas?

Thanks hubs. Once again, you rock my world.

Bulletin Boards

I found fabric! It's hard to see in this picture because it's from my phone, but it has the red, blue, and orange in it that I have been wanting for the basement redo. So I made these bulletin boards for the school wall. I found some really cute glass knob hangers on etsy that I want to order to hang them on my new blue wall! Tutorial coming as soon as I load all the pictures!I do wish I had the fabric monogrammed. But that would have meant waiting a few days and I was in a get it done now mood. So I may hit up Michaels and see if they have any cute iron on ones. I think a big black letter on each one would be so cute!

This took:

15 minutes!

1/4 yard fabric

3 square cork bulletin boards (found at Walmart)

hot glue and gun

ribbon

one hello kitty band-aid for third degree burn on ring finger right next to my diamond engagement ring (classy, I know)

scissors

frap from Starbucks and piece of chocolate

A little bit of this and a little bit of that

There's nothing fresh bread right out of the oven. So yummy!
I've stopped buying bread for about a month now and have been making it. I have a lot to learn especially on making whole grain breads that my family will eat.
Here is the scale I found in an antique store and a cookbook from WWII. It even has a section in it on how to cook on rations. I've actually been getting some good tips in there.
My reading list right now.I have finished The Secret and I am 2/3 thru The Excellent Wife. I was hoping to finish this stack by the end of the year, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Basement Wall

New closet that will house all the kids toys! woohoo, no more clutter!
T.v. cabinet I bought from my friend for $50! Just need to give it the Megan touch (aka spray paint those handles) and it will be ready!
You can see the blue swatch on the wall of OOPS paint that we bought. It's kind of exciting to go with one color in mind, but come out with something totally different. This is about the 4th time I have done this and haven't regretted it yet! I've been wanting to incorporate blue and orange into the red and white theme with some vintage fabric and I took a risk and went with blue paint instead of khaki. It looks amazing and the white shelving and chalkboard are going to really pop. We're starting school a week from tomorrow and we're getting to close to it being ready!
who would have ever thought that I would think a wall could be so pretty! ha ha ha!
It's coming together. Ready for paint and then shelving!

Gonna make this

http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2009/02/changing-pad-and-wipes-holder-tutorial.html

http://theflannaganfamily.blogspot.com/2010/07/sew-what.html

I just posted these links for myself because I needed to remember where to go for the tutorial. Check them out too cute!

One week is the countdown on the basement renovations. Shane primed the walls today, I am getting paint and painting it tomorrow and then we clean up all the dust and load the room back up and DECORATE..... and ORGANIZE...... I'm getting heart palpitations just thinking about it. I know YA'LL are just dying to see it. Pictures coming I PROMISE!

The itch

No I don't have an infectious disease. But Shane is almost done with the basement wall, which means painting and decorating are in my future. And I am itching to get started. I have about 5 pieces of furniture to spray paint. My sewing machine table, cutting table, new-to-me (bought from a friend) t.v. cabinet, and I am contemplating painting my wrought iron bottomed tables (w/faux mahogony on top). There's a sofa table, two end tables, and a coffee table which Avery dumped nail polish all over hence the itch to paint it all. It's still dark down there and I am going with a beachy modern look. White furniture, graphic prints. I'm even changing the color scheme a little bit. I am still using the red, black, and white, but now I am going to throw in some orange and pale blue. My parents gave us orange plastic school chairs that are at our newly painted white table and I think some pale blue thrown in would be so fun. Now I am on the hunt for a fabric that pulls it all together to go with the red and white ticking stripe that's already down there. Just writing this down and I am getting so excited. I promise pictures to come. Right now everything is completely covered in dry wall mud dust and is yucky.

This is truly becoming the family room of our home. We have couches and a t.v. down there. My craft area, the school room, Shane's workout area, and the kids toys. I have dreams of movie night in our p.j's and big bowls of popcorn, crafting with my girls when they get a little older, and running on my will-get-here-someday-somehow treadmill.

I get really overwhelmed and stressed out when the kids pile their toys in the living room. I don't know how other people deal with it. Maybe I'm just too anal about it. But I just need one area that is cleaned up and I feel like if someone dropped by (remember in the old days when people did that) I wouldn't have to leave them at the front door while I raced around (tripping and breaking my ankles) to clean up.

So right now we are at the brink. And I can't wait to clean up the dust, paint and decorate. Finally, three years after moving in, it's almost ready. I can't wait. For some reason the whole rest of the house will feel so much more settled. And I'll have a place where my whole families' creativity can soar.

Reece's First Trip to the Movies

He picked out NERDS to eat. I didn't know what to put them in because he kept spilling them out of the box, so we emptied the wipes container. I'm a genius.
A nice big lemonade and popcorn too.
TOY STORY 3
He was so excited.

Movie on the Lawn

For our MOPS activity this month Shane and I hosted "Movie On The Lawn" at our house. It was the first, hopefully, annual activity and a lot of fun! The weather was perfect, the lawn dried out after days of constant rain, and the technology worked.

We watched the movie Babe. A little boring for most of the kids, but the animals were so adorable! It makes me want sheep in my yard.
One advantage to living here is that there are rarely flat yards. Which positioned our yard perfectly for stadium seating. Seriously we should set this up every week and start charging admission!

I even let the kids eat candy from "movie theater" boxes that we got at Target. I hate letting them eat this stuff, but it was special occasion. However, all three kids were in bed before the movie ended! Which was kind of nice because then Shane and I cuddled up on the swing and had a date (with thirty other people in the yard) ha ha ha!

6 Months Old

Caden

My friend Heidi from high school just found out that her little boy Caden has three brains tumors and has had two surgeries in four days. Please pray for this little guy. Their hospital update page is here: www.carepages.com/carepages/MyBubbysPage

Jesus Calling

Jesus Calling

This little book is awesome. My favorite MIL ( my only MIL, but still my favorite) gave this to me on our way out the door from visiting them this summer in Tennessee. It's a daily devotional that is written as if Jesus is talking to you. Next to the bible and Crazy Love I think every body should have this book.

I tend to focus each day on what needs to get done (or what isn't getting done, or what's getting destroyed, you get the idea). When all Jesus probably wants to say to me is, "Megan, for crying out loud, just sit down and be with me."

Yes, Lord, you're right. It doesn't matter that there are new dust bunnies under the table, the laundry is half done, or dinner isn't cooked yet. I haven't spent even 5 minutes with you yet today and it's no wonder I am stressed out and running around in circles.

Sweet blessed peace. Refocused. Refreshed.

An excerpt:

"Relax and let me lead you through this day. I have everything under control: My control. You tend to peer anxiously into the day that is before you, trying to figure out what to do, and when. Meanwhile, the phone or the doorbell rings, and you have to reshuffle your plans. All that planning ties you up in knots and distracts you from Me. Attentiveness to Me is not only for your quiet time, but for all your time. As you look to Me, I show you what to do now and next.

Vast quantities of time and energy are wasted in obsessive planning. When you let Me direct your steps, you are set free to enjoy Me and to find what I have prepared for you this day."

-July 26, page 217

May God keep me focused on Him.

Thank you Judy.

I hate washing dishes...

So last night when I was doing the dishes I started thinking about how much time I spend hating it. Seriously, it is ridiculous how much of my day is thinking about the dirty dishes. Every time I cook, make a meal or snack, go in the kitchen, see a cooking show on t.v., I could go on and on.

Then I got to thinking about how I could get a second dishwasher in my kitchen. Just transfer the dishes back n forth between them and save cabinet space, genius!

Then I got convicted. (Awww man.)

For as much as I pray about NOT having a bad attitude, I could have solved the world hunger problem, filled the hole in the ozone, and solved the problems in Afganistan. I mean really. It's pretty pathetic that I have to PRAY about not having a bad attitude regarding "that area" of the kitchen.

So I forced myself to wash ***gasp*** some of the dishes instead of leaving them in the sink. And I loved the result, hated the dish hands), but loved the clean sink. Unfortunately it only stayed that way for about an hour. But I am going to start changing my attitude and spend my time praying for people instead of my grumpy attitude.

So I was wondering....

Am I crazy....

Does anyone else feel this way about a household chore or anything in life in general?

Maybe I need reassured that I'm not the only ridiculous person or maybe I just need confirmation that I am crazy. Leave your thoughts.

I've added a Mcklinky so you can link your blog to mine and we can all blog hop along. Great way to get new traffic on your site and learn more about each other or feel like your not the only person in the world with issues...ha!

Now...guess what's waiting for me? Yep, dish hands here I come...

P.S. If you don't know what a linky is here is a simple direction. (This is written for my mom to understand. Most likely she'll be calling me anyway, but this gets her started.) You type your blog address on my linky that links to your blog. Then when we click on your name it sends us to the article that you have written on your blog about this topic.

P.S.S. My mom and sisters better participate or I am going to have serious insecurity issues if no one links up!

Summer Do...Can only mean...

Reece's annual MOHAWK. Nuff said.

Hannah's Baby Shower

All the ladies greeting each other and touching Hannah's TINY belly. (She had baby Norah three weeks later!)
Do you see how yummy those cream puffs look and that tasty cake? We ate really well.
We had a table full of food so this was apparently taken before everyone got there.
Notice the drink tags? I made those and kept them for future parties. I could have done a million other things like that, but ran out of time.
Up close look at the dessert table. There didn't need to be any other table. Also, those little round white plates... I got all of them at Goodwill for three dollars. Now I just need to find one of those little iron plate stands to put them on. And those flowers turned that water pink. Never seen that happen before.
Looking back I wish I would have filled the clothesline with more baby clothes, but it looked a lot better in person. We gave her the onesies and socks to take home.
Left to Right: Tina, Hani, Hannah, Marjie

Back row: Tina, Carolyn, Marjie, Hannah, Laura, Kimberly

Front row: Hani, Cynthia, Me

Three posts in one day... no more complain grannies!