the little things

hello, teepee

A few weeks back I saw a cute little teepee made with stuff around the house on Pinterest. I filed it in my mind because, hello. How awesome would it be for Grayson and Liam? ;)

A day or so later while thrifting, I picked up two bedsheets that in were in great condition (we use all the extra ones we have + all of ours are brown or cream and I wanted a fun pattern or color for the boys :)), brought them home, washed them...and then life got in the way, so they sat in the closet for a bit.

Until today.

We had some errands to run this morning and I mentioned to Nate that we should stop at Lowe's to grab some dowel rods to make that project finally happen. So, we did! yey!

The boys enjoyed getting out of the cart and hunting for just the right ones. They did a good job! ;)

Nate and I waited until naptime because let's be real here; we really had no clue what we were doing! I mean it's easy, but we tend to overthink everything! ha.

Turns out it really was so easy!

I held the 3 dowel rods while he did a quick tie with some thick twine/jute, then we added the two folded bedsheets and eyeballed the center (I failed, but thankfully it wasn't too bad), then Nate tied the tops again, securing the sheets in place and it was done-zo!

I'm pretty sure Grayson could have made this, it was that easy! ;)

I think he knew there was something cool waiting for him in the living room because he woke from his nap early and ran right to the teepee...and laid back down! he said, "wowwww! ok. I seeep!" 

He likes that he can gently pull the linens in towards him and it closes so he can't really be seen. Well, almost can't be seen! ;)

The cost of this fun little doo-da was approx $12. That was for 3 dowel rods and 2 thrifted bedsheets. I already had the twine on hand. But, it could definitely be done even cheaper if you already have the linens and/or some type of rod like a shower or regular curtain rod.

I placed a blanket, a small pillow and some Little Golden Books inside for them to enjoy as well. 

It was fun and again, beyond easy. And most importantly they love it! Well, Grayson loves it. Liam is still trying to figure out what the heck it is! ;)

project life + planning

I knew it would happen sometime. The moment when the memories keep happening, but I just can't catch up on Project Life, or even come close to catching up.

I slowly gave up on this awesome project right before Grayson's first birthday because I kept falling behind and felt so overwhelmed when trying to catch up that it pretty much stopped being fun for me.

Bummer, right?

Thankfully, I decided to try again January 1st of this year. I missed being creative and I certainly missed recording our memories the way I preferred-paper & glue style.

For weeks I kept up. My printer's ink was always full, the photo paper try was always stocked. Every night I uploaded the day's photos from my iPhone and/or Canon. I jotted every capture/note/story down in my cheapo notebook. On Sunday, I would print all the photos from that week out and cut them and by day's end Monday I would be done or nearly done with the entire spread!

Then, I ran out of ink. And steam. And time.

But, knowing I wanted to keep going and had to keep going (I always love catching Grayson with our albums. He loves looking at all the photos!) I decided my problem wasn't that I was out of ink or time thus ending my memory-keeping. My problem was that I just needed to plan better.

Even if it could only be a couple minutes a day or even every other day, it was something. And even if I didn't get more ink for 2 or 3 weeks and couldn't print my photos as quickly as I liked, I could be planning my pages. And writing down the dates and sketching a general idea of what had happened that week.

I've had fellow Project Lifer's  ask me how I keep up (or don't! ;)) and what I use to help me. I've been doing this for months now and it's honestly the only thing working for me and keeping me motivated to continue.

I do a quick sketch of the design I feel like using (most often times it's Design A) a few weeks in a row. I place the week number and the date span above the sketch.

Under the sketch I keep lots of space to write what I remember or if I have time, what happened that day. Usually, I upload my photos once a week to my computer, sometimes twice, but never more. I use iPhoto so I always group each week's photos in a file with the week number.

It could be a week or two (sometimes longer) before I get back to that week's sketch to fill in each spot for where I want a photo, card, etc. to go. But somehow it gets done. :)

Then, there are times I may have a couple uninterrupted minutes to whip out my current album, flip to an unfinished week and begin placing cards where I want them. No photos. I just go off of my notebook sketch as best I can and fill as I go.

There have been times when I'm adding my photos in where a card gets moved or something, but very rarely.

I have to remind myself this is really supposed to be a simple system. I need simple. Life is too hectic around here to think much, so the less I have to do...the better! Ha! ;)

I remember posting Project Life Tuesdays on here or Instagram. Now, I'm completely okay without the pressure I put on myself to hurry. Because for me-if I hurry, I get grumpy and it all becomes very un-fun.

If you're working on Project Life, tell me how you're coming along! I'd love to hear what you do to stay caught up or if you're like me, what you do to just keep going!

Thanks for stopping by!

Here's to a great rest of the week! 

mug swap

(+image credit+)

 

Thanks to a fun feed on Instagram that I found today, I am inspired to start my own Mug Swap, originally started by acuppakim. It's such a fun idea and I noticed I missed the sign-up cutoff by a few days. Rats!

That's why I've decided to post here to see if there's any interest?  Hope so!

Still wondering what it is?

Let me explain-

Think Secret Santa, but with mugs and not at Christmas time. ;) You sign up, wait a few days to hear back from me with the gal you're sending a mug to and her mailing info, choose any much you'd like (I'll post more about that below) package it up and mail it to your (hopefully!) new friend within 2 weeks time! :)

Here's the nitty gritty.

If you're interested in participating, please email me the following info:

Send to: nichole87220@aol.com with subject: FALL MUG SWAP

Please include: First & last name. Shipping info. And a blog url if you have one.

Sign-up will end August 31st.

I will email you on September 1st with your mug swap pal's name shipping info and her blog info should it be provided so that you may get to know her a bit and see her likes, style, etc!

Please purchase your mug and mail it to your mug pal within 2 weeks (by September 15th).

You may spend as little or as much on your mug as you wish! You may also fill the mug with goodies you think your mug pal would like or enjoy! It's all up to you!

The point is to receive a fun new mug AND hopefully make a new friend or two!

Please comment here or email me at nichole87220@aol.com if you have any questions!

Also, if you instagram and decide to do this, please use hashtag: "fallmugswap"so we can all see! After you receive your new mug, feel free to post about it!

I hope you'll join me in something fun for us this Fall and feel free to post on your blogs, Facebook and Instagram to spread the word!

slow cooker asian whole chicken.

Yesterday, I needed a quick, easy meal and our local grocer had a whole fryer chicken on sale.

WIN.

It's grocery week around here which pretty much means only staple items are what I have.

So, I did a quick search on Pinterest knowing we wanting something with soy sauce (haha) and found a couple things, but nothing really jumped out at me. So, I decided to just wing and go with bits and pieces from each recipe I found. 

It worked! So delicious. So easy!

Here's the lowdown if you're interested:

 

-Slow Cooker Asian Whole Chicken-

1 whole fryer chicken, cavity baggie removed. :)

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. lemon juice

1/4 c. worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. chopped fresh garlic

Remove skin from chicken, rinse off, pat dry. Lightly spray slow cooker with Pam spray. Place whole chicken in slow cooker.

In a medium bowl whisk all other ingredients together. Pour over chicken. 

Cook 4 hours on HIGH, 6 hours on LOW.

Once chicken is cooked, take meat off the bone and toss back into juice in slow cooker. Cook another 10-15 minutes. Spoon over white or brown rice.

We loved this and hope you do too! :)

a day around here

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. Lamentations 3:22-24 (KJV)

 

Up until the wee hours of the night. Awoke to a new day. Waiting on french toast sticks. Groceries. Lunch together as a fam. "Gawage Saywin." (Garage Sale'n ;)) Veggie Tales in the car. Kicking shoes off. Putting groceries away. Chasing after Grayson as he fought naptime. Prolonged naps by one and two hours. Rice krispies made. Nate's lunch packed. Off to work he went. Blogging. Text'ing. Dishes washed and dishes to be washed. Chippy trucks. Sweet feet. Dust. Peeking out. Playing in brother's bed.

Just living (and loving) our life. :)

Be blessed today.

 

29.

Tonight is my last night of year 28.

It's been a good day. Crazy and frustrating at times. But good.

Two accidents on the couch (really, dude?) by Grayson.

Caught the boys twice after they sneaked (honestly, I would have said 'snuck' right there, but my crazy husband's constance obsession with the "correct" way to say it is always in the back of my mind! ;)) upstairs and threw a fit both times when I went to bring them back down.

The big was caught eating PlayDoh that he randomly found in the living room, while the young one was busted trying to BITE the stone around around our fireplace! (yes, I got chills.)

I am tired. I've had two cups of my Mocha Coconut coffee today. But, I am happy. And blessed.

This has been a good year. One filled with lots of laughter, lots of growing, lots of thinking, lots of trying and lots of praying.

I'm excited for year 29! Ready to fill myself more with the Lord. Ready to be a better wife. Ready to be a more patient mother. Ready to be a better, more encouraging friend. Just ready.

So, tonight after having a pretty usual day, I am grateful to start a new year, the last in my twenties. Whoa. ;) Grateful to see what 29 holds for myself and for my litte family.

Bring it on!

 

there's awesomness here.

 

Someone please tell me I'm not the only one who reads blogs and browses Pinterest wondering, "how the fruit do they DO ALL of this?" or "how do they seem so put together?"

!!!

Life isn't perfect. We all know that. But, ever get a sense that yours is the only one kind of messy?!  That has been me this week. I admit it. I have compared and compared all week long.

Tip: that's not a genius thing to do. ;)

It left me feeling a little bit (okay, maybe a lot bit) inadequate. Like, I was the only one who's house was a mess even minutes after sweeping the floors and straightening up. Or that I'm not making enough homemade dinners, or setting the table (or heck, even eating at the table, most times!). Or I was the only one who can't be chipper after only 6 hours of sleep the night before. Or that I'm not sending enough handmade cards or packages out to friends or donating enough time and money. Or spending a fortune on my children's birthday parties, or that I'm the only one with a 15 month old still not sleeping through the night...I could go on and on and on.

But, then I noticed I was starting to take all that out on my little family. The piece of me that matters most in this world. Uh, hello. Lame. And totally unacceptable.

No matter how much my awesome Jesus Calling devotional tugged at my heartstrings that morning, I would still find myself snapping and griping and even yelling sometimes about the mess, the tasks, the list of to-do's that didn't have a single thing marked off of it.

So, I stopped and I said a quick prayer. I'm ashamed to say I wasn't very patient or "INTO" my prayer as I should have been. I was rushed and honestly, snooty. It went something like, "Lord, please calm me down. I'm annoyed and bothered and if you could please let there be peace here, I'd appreciate it. Thanks. Amen"

Sheesh.

I couldn't even be "bothered" to devote just one minute of my time to the Lord. Not even thank Him for the day. For my precious children and helpful husband. All because in that moment it was about me and I needed His help stat. Ugh. 

It only took a few more minutes and me paying closer attention to my heart before I felt Him nudge me to draw closer to Him. God was calling me to talk to Him. Really talk with Him. No distractions. No rushing. Just Him and I.

Boy, did I feel silly for my behavior moments before. All these incredible things to be grateful for. Things that only HE has provided for me and I couldn't give Him but a moment of a grumpy selfish prayer?

So, I stood there in the boys' room and really reached out to Him. Thanking and praising Him. No asking for anything. Just thanking Him.

It only took a moment or two and I started seeing things a smidge differently again. For the better.

God opened my eyes to see the awesomeness here in our home. Our life!

My husband who works so hard. My boys who make me smile all day long. Our home. The food we have in our cupboards.

And yes, even that tv stand that has all the marks along the front of it from when Grayson was Liam's current age and thought it was fun to climb on the front of it!

And yes, the towel that is often somewhere in our living room from a mess that was cleaned up or for Grayson to sit on so he doesn't have an accident on the couch while potty training.

I will always struggle at times, but how thankful I am to have a heavenly Father who loves me and draws me closer to Him!

Life is good, even when I feel mine isn't sometimes.

Because, hello. I mean, look at this face!  I'm a blessed girl! ;)