Teacher Gift

I saw a cute idea the other day for a teacher gift here and I thought I would give it a shot. I made a template on my computer using fonts I liked and then printed it a took it over to the local copy center where they turned it into a transparency for $1. The sanitizer was $2.40. I am giving her two bottles so the entire gift is under $6. I was really happy how it turned out. I will be making more in the next few weeks for my other children's teachers so if you want to join me I would love the company! I thought they would make cute visiting teaching gifts and I love it so much I think I am going to make a few for my own house. You can get 4 cut-outs from one transparency so each one is actually only $.25.

Time Out For 8 Great Women!

This past weekend I had the awesome opportunity to attend a time out for women with some of my closest friends. We took a 6 hour drive to Kentucky and began an amazing weekend filled with laughter, tears, and much learning.

The trip was so fantastic it is hard to really sum it all up in a few words. I came home feeling spiritually fed and refreshed. Well... as refreshed as you can be on only 2 1/2 hours of sleep.
We got to eat 4 meals that were not cooked or cleaned up by us...that was a huge perk! We listened to some amazing speakers and even more amazing musical talents.

For me the best part was sharing it all with these women. Each one is unique and special and I can honestly say that I learned something from each one of them and feel even closer to them all. It was such a special experience to share together. One I hope we don't soon forget.

So thank you dear women for coming along and thank you dear husbands for watching all of our children while we were away filling our cups!

Lamp Project

So it is 10:30 and Morgan and I are still in our pajamas and the 8 loads of laundry I did yesterday still need to be put away but instead of doing any of the things I "should" be doing I decided to throw myself into a project this morning.

Samuel's room is still in transition mode and seeing as it is almost his first birthday I am feeling the push to get it done. I purchased this lamp a few days ago and knew I wanted to jazz it up with some ribbon but I was not quite sure how.

So this morning I dove in head first and just went for it.

I put some painters tape on and started marking some spots that I thought looked like the right spacing. No measuring I just eyeballed it.

I then took out my handy hole puncher and started punching away.

Here is the lamp minus the tape once the holes were punched.

Here is the finished project! It was super simple and super quick and I think it looks really cute.

Now here is the question. I love it with the black base but all of the furniture in his room is stained wood. It is hard to decide from this picture because if it was just a lamp I think it looks best with the black but imagine a room with a wood crib, wood side table, and wood chair. Which one do you think would look better?

Keep in mind as well that there is black trim on his bedding and I am trying to add several black accents throughout the room so the lamp would not be the only black thing in the room.

Suggestions????

Recital Night

Last night was Abby's recital. She looked beautiful and did a great job. We were so proud of all of her hard work.

Here are the cute girls together. They had so much fun.

After the recital we took out all the kids for ice cream.
There is something special about being a mom and taking your girls to their first dance recitals. The last few weeks have been filled with great memories!

Here is a small portion of Abby's dance. The quality is not great but hopefully you will get a look into her fun night!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Ross!

By 9 A.M.

It's happened! You know that stage when if it is not glued down or locked up your child will find a way to get to it and destroy it in 3 seconds flat. Well by 9 A.M. this morning these were the 3 messes I have already discovered. Don't let his innocent little face fool you.....he knows just when to strike.

So dear husband, when you come home at night and the house is a mess and I have not showered in days and dinner is not made and I am a bit on edge...now you know why. And the only way I am able to blog about this right now with the peace of mind that nothing else is being destroyed is because I just laid my little one down for a nap. I have exactly one hour now to run around as fast as humanly possible to get as much cleaned up and taken care of as I can. Wish me luck!