Sunday, February 22, 2015

Valentines Day

This year for Valentines Day we were able to find a sitter and go out on a nice little last minute date. 
We ate dinner at Red Robin, which included the works-- appetizers, dinner and dessert. It was pretty busy, but we didn't mind the short wait. After we headed over to Ross where my sweet husband let me get some new socks that I was badly in need of and I helped him pick out a new belt for work. After we walked over to Joann's where I looked at fabric for an upcoming project I have. 
We held hands and laughed and kissed. 

The night reminded me that Valentines Day is about the little things and I feel like I couldn't be any luckier than to have this guy by my side through the thick and thin of things... 

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Happy Birthday Braxton!

It's sometimes hard to believe how quickly my boys are growing up. By the end of this year I'll have two kiddos in school. All day school, (since Kindergarten will be full day fall of 2015). That's crazy talk people! Only having one kid at home with me? I've dreamed about that day for a long time of changing diapers, wiping messy faces, washing dirty clothes, feeding countless meals, and breaking up multiple sibling fights on a regular basis. But you want to know the truth of the matter? The truth is the older my children get the more special I feel like my time with them is... because one day they will be full grown adults--- most likely taller than me, with deeper voices, more body hair.... and someday (clearly a LONG LONG ways away) they will have a woman in their lives probably more special to them than me. So for now? I'm just trying to cherish them being little, even in their messy, chaotic, loud, busy state of life and focus on preparing them to be those future amazing adult men. 

My Braxton Kaleb transitioned into our family with ease. As a baby he was SO happy. He hardly cried, unless he needed something and was an eager eater when it came to breastfeeding. He was an excellent sleeper, and still is to this day. Watching Braxton grow has been a pleasure. He's developed a funny sense of humor and can frequently be found "spoiling" our family photos with his goofy faces. He also likes to do silly things to make people laugh. Braxton is all boy-- the full package, which includes all things sports, superheroes, balls, dirt, and downing LOTS of food (seriously, I can't imagine our grocery bills when he finally becomes a teenager-- help!). But for being a rough and tough, busy, wrestling, tackling, running-at-all-times boy, he's also my most sensitive child. He is the only one of our kids who frequents nightmares from his vivid imagination. He's prone to cry if someone says something mean to him. He's great at giving compliments when no one expects them, and is a wonderful comforter to those who are sad. He can frequently be found expressing the words, 'I love you' and gives the best hugs and kisses. He's very affectionate.

Braxton has found his own little place in our family, which he does with as much ease as he did when he was a baby. I can't imagine being the middle boy is an easy task, but he's eager to learn from his older brother and mostly does a great job at being a big brother to Zayden-- though the two have their moments, I know they will develop a strong friendship over the years. 

As a five year old he's ready to go to school and is currently working on those skills at home with me. He's a good reader, though not as enthusiastic as Quincy was (usually food is a motivator for him to do more in this area). His confidence lacks a little, but he's gaining more each day that we practice and it's wonderful when he comes up to me to announce 'Mom, I know all the words on the front of this book!' He likes math and can be found at each dinner meal quizzing family members on math problems he doesn't know the answers to. He is anxious to go to school to make new friends and excited to invite those friends to future birthday parties, like Quincy can (we made a family rule that they could have friend parties when they are in school). 

I feel so fortunate and blessed to have Braxton as a part of our family. 
Happy 5th Birthday buddy! 
This year because his party was on a Tuesday so we decided to have his party the Saturday prior, which also happened to be my dad's birthday. It was fun for them to have a party together with a loose "The Flash/ superhero" theme. (Good thing Grandpa Loren didn't care. :) Braxton requested a Flash Birthday cake, which I didn't feel up to making and compromised on Flash cupcake toppers. My dad's usual request is German chocolate cupcakes, and the family requested I make an ice cream cake. Braxton picked milky way as the candy for it. Almost the majority of my family were able to come and I'm pretty sure my boys had fun hitting/ popping balloons with my nieces downstairs in Grammie's basement. We had lots of pizza and not enough salad, drinks and chips. It was pretty simple and as a result I feel like I definitely enjoyed the party all the more. 











Braxton got all kinds of things from family and friends. New Legos sets, tattoos, lots of birthday money, a movie, a watch, new boxers, new superhero shirts, Oreo's, new shoes, a tool set and more.... he loves it all and felt very special. :) 





Tyler even took him on a father-son date to the Blazers game Thursday before his party. He Loved riding the max downtown and getting pizza, cotton candy and pop. He even got a picture with Blaze the mascot and was so happy that the Blazers won. 








I'd say all in all that turning five has been pretty awesome for Braxton. 

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Everyday life.

January is usually the month that drags for me, it's post holidays and the weather's usually blah, but we wrapped up the last of month by going on two dates. Our first date night was to the LDS Portland Temple... always a good place to feel loved. 
And our second date night was to Outback Steakhouse. 
We just so happened to eat some amazingly delicious food and then forgot our leftovers because we were so engrossed in our conversation with each other. That's a good sign that the date was a success in my humble opinion. 
And interlaced in between all the fun stuff we did together on date nights we had A LOT of craziness with kids. This little guy has developed quite the attitude as of late.... 
And just when I'm beginning to dread another day with a pack of crazy rough housing boys 
I witness such a special moment like this one: 
And it restores my faith in my purpose as a mother and the job I'm doing here at home. 

One morning I woke up to a morning poker game... never a dull moment over here...
And some days nap times result in a tornado of destruction.... 
...But I seriously love all my boys so much that I feel lucky to be a stay at home mom and be a part of their craziness full time. ;)

DIY Projects

Over the course of the last several weeks I have acquired a DIY-project bug. I get this itch for a creative outlet once in a while and this time I decided to not only tackle one or TWO or THREE projects, but many more! Below I've posted the latest three that I've finished. I still have three more to go. It makes me happy knowing that these items (minus the ottoman- which we owned) were all free items that people were giving away and I was able to give them new life. 

I love how all of them turned out! Although there were a few problems to solve along the way with each of them -- I usually don't follow "directions" and just have ideas in my head that I try to best translate into real life. Sometimes it's trial and error... Or sometimes I have an idea that after being played out on a real canvas doesn't look as good as I would have liked, resulting in me painting over what I just spent an hour trying to make work. It's all good, it's part of the journey. 

Here is a little craigslist desk I rescued for free. It wasn't too much to look at, but was sturdy solid wood and just the right scale for our bedroom to house my sewing machine and possibly our laptop when needed. 
Before: 

Me painting in our bedroom.... risky! 
(But it was too cold outside in our garage and too much moisture in the air.) 
After: 





Before:
(this is from the Target website, ours was sagging down on the top) 

After: 
Annnnnddd like 200 thumb tacks later my thumb hated me, but I like the detail it adds to it, looks more finished (and it was heck of a lot cheaper than buying nail head trim!) 
This was a little free craigslist dresser that needed some love too. 
It was missing hardware, had warping on top, a chipped bottom drawer front and lots of sticker love from some well meaning (I'm sure) kids. 
Before: 
And After: 
My biggest and most challenging project thus far. I had to add new bead board to the top and bottom for trim, I added new molding around each drawer and I had a HECK of a time trying to acquire vintage hardware to replace the missing pull since it was a 5 1/2" distance for screw holes (which in case you were wondering is NOT a common measurement). Thus I had to just result in improvising and buying new hardware and spraying everything to match. Ultimately it came out very close to what was in my head. This will be for sale next week and go towards a new media stand fund that I'm starting. 






That's all the projects I've completed so far... stay tuned for more. :)