DIY Fairy Village...

We have had a busy two weeks that included packing bags for three different overnight trips so I was so excited that the forecast called for some rain. The PERFECT excuse to sit and be lazy, right? Radley is at camp this week so the girls and I had big plans for some "girly girl" time as they call it. Emmy got it in her head that she wanted to build a fairy village so we set off to do just that and I have to admit that this may be one of the cutest projects we've ever done. And y'all.... SO STINKING EASY which is always a win!

We started by gathering some supplies of things that could work for fairy village signs, houses, and decorations and then just went with it. Our supplies included:

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Wooden bird houses, acrylic paint, paint sticks, flower pot, fabric scraps and elastic...and yes, I just had these around the house. (You'll probably have to go purchase some cheap bird houses.)

The girls started by painting the paint sticks and choosing what they wanted each "sign" to say.

Using sharpies was much easier for them than trying to paint words onto the sticks.

This girl's handwriting has improved SO MUCH this summer and I love watching how proud she is of her work.

And Landry does a FANTASTIC job as well...

Once they were finished with their signs, we headed outside and found a flowerpot full of dead flowers because well, #texassummer. We just nailed the sticks to a piece of leftovers from another project but you could also use a tree branch and then I used a mallet to set the sign into the pot. 

We made some small rag garlands to add some fairy flair to the post. To make these just cut left over fabric in strips and tie around a piece of elastic. The girls did this without much help from me. 

We even had enough to string one between the branches for the "penthouse".

Emmy painted a birdhouse bank earlier this summer which made the perfect spot for the Tooth Fairy.

(Note: I have since cut the extra elastic)

and Radley painted these in 2009 y'all....they were just sitting in our garage, so.... 

WELCOME FAIRIES!

Pretty darn cute for a random rainy day activity!

Now we are just waiting for our first house guests!

Happy crafting y'all!

DIY: Upcycled Mantle...

My new friend Kim posted her adorable 4th of July mantle last week and inspired me to get it in gear and redo my own mantle for the season. The only problem was I didn't want to buy anything, and I didn't. I rummaged through my attic, looked around the garage and moved things from other shelves and in about 20 minutes, I had the perfect summer mantle. 

And while I realize not everyone has as much junk as I do laying around (well, except my momma) you'd be surprised by what you do have that you could use!

1. Picture frames - The two frames I used are normally in the master bedroom. And guess what y'all - no one but me and Ryan go into our room. Who cares if a frame or two is missing. And, those pics... I just printed them on cardstock from our printer. This is an inexpensive way to display pics that match your decor/season. 

2. Junk - This is an old pair of binoculars that normally sit on a different shelf. I needed something with height and interest and I thought these worked great. 

3. Wreath - This is a styrofoam wreath wrapped in burlap that was hanging in my attic. I took off the rosettes from last summer and used some left-over fabric scraps from a July 4th project from a few years ago. And the center of that pom is a rosette I made for Emmy for her first July 4th. 

4. Flag - This was my grandfathers - it only has 48 stars. Y'all. That's so cool!

5. Random - I needed a filler so I grabbed some start serving dishes from my "party supply" cabinet. The third one of the set is sitting on my front porch.

6. Random - This is a water pitcher I bought several years ago with a tiny flag - I really need a few more flags but the rest are outside.

7. Old books - Kim also used books on her mantle and I couldn't agree more. You may recall this fall I fell hard for books on a mantle. So hard that I kept them up for Christmas. Well, I pulled them out again and just grabbed shades of red and blue to match the theme. 

8. Rag garland - I made this for a different wreath when Radley was a baby. I still had it hanging in my craft closet and thought it was perfect for the front of the mantle. I'd really like Shelly's wreath or I may try to copy Kim's creation, too. Who knows!

What's your favorite way to celebrate seasons?

Simple Valentine's...

Target is at it again - the dollar spot is my frenemy. For reals. If I walk "in" then I don't leave with less than $5 worth of stuff I questionably "need". But this was a definite win of a purchase. I bought a bag of plastic dinosaurs and a bag of "mystical" ponies for $1 each to give to Emmy and Landry's classmates for Valentines. 

Boys will get dinosaurs: "You are such a DINO-MITE friend."

Girls will get mystical ponies: "When I ROUNDUP my friends you're at the top!"

(I know, that last one was a stretch).

I came home and got to work on making the cards with my favorite primate, PicMonkey.

First decide which size card you want to make. I generally stick with a 5x7. 

The cards were going to be simple - a "word bubble" with the saying and "Happy Valentines at the bottom."

I selected the graphics... 

Chose the fonts... 

And check out the CUTE finished product!

I mean how excited would you be for this?

My original plan was to tie them onto the cardstock but I didn't have an extended whole punch and I didn't want to spend the money. I just hot glued an extra onto a piece of paper to see if it would work and it did just fine. Parents will have to peel the paper off the back, which isn't a big deal.

(But if that bothers you, then feel free to tie them to the paper).

Happy Valentine's Day!

A life more ordinary...

Is it just me or does life seem like it's a bit out of control these days? Between waking up and going to sleep there are approximately 2,803 things that happen. And out of those, I'd estimate about 11 of them being things that actually have to happen (school, work, drinking water, eating, etc..)

Life.

It's a giant overwhelming mess. 

I can't keep up. I constantly feel like I am spiraling in the wrong direction. I forget things. I do things half-way. I melt down. And then I yell at my kid for melting down. (Please try not to be impressed with my parenting skills).

I see all these amazing things that other mommas accomplish and then I feel like a big loser because I didn't color coordinate my kid's lunch to match his clothes.

(Yes, that's apparently a thing).

(But if I'm honest, I don't even make my kid's lunch, Ryan does, so I am ultimately the winner).

(Not that it's a competition). 

So, in my obsession over not keeping up with the Stepford moms (as I affectionately call them) Radley and I made a trip to HobLob for one thing, a photo album. And then it happens - the panic attack feeling that comes when you start thinking about all the craft projects that you aren't doing with your kids that clearly every other mom in the Pinterest world is doing. 

All you have to do is search fall crafts for kids on Pinterest and BAM! It's a "you are such a failure mom slap in the face". 

Y'all.

Fifty. 

5-0. 

FIFTY fall crafts for kids. 

Why? 

Can we not all come together in a joint session of motherhood and just not.

I'm sure some of you that are reading this and know me well are rolling your eyes, because, well... I have done a Pinterest project or two and I will again, I am sure.

But y'all... a bird out of pine cones? My kids had trouble with snowmen out of powdered donuts... how are they going to successfully use a hot glue gun and make a bird out of pine cones. I'll stick to the poster board monster.

AND... I almost forgot to get Radley a birthday card - when in the world am I going to have time to gather pine cones, purchase googley eyes and make feet out of pipe cleaners? I'm not.

So, instead... on our little trip to HobLob as my eldest child is begging me for a craft project, I came across $2 ceramic pumpkins and we already had paint at home.

And you know what...

They loved it. 

And I'd bet that they loved this little project way more than some intricate mess like this:

source

Because 1. Where in the world do you find leaves that perfect? 2. A project like that is more parent driven and less child focused. 

And our $6 was well spent... it gave them a way to be creative, it gave them time with us watching them, listening to them and encouraging them and it gave us the cutest entrance on the street. 

So here's to a life more ordinary... 

Radley's Kindergarten Lesson Plan...

The Kindergarten Countdown has officially ended. As of this moment, we are officially the parents of KINDERGARTENER! And as much as we loved giving him presents, taking him shopping, meeting his teachers and celebrating with his friends, our favorite part was getting all of his favorite people involved in the celebration, too!

We emailed Rad's nearest and dearest and asked them to send us a "lesson" that they wanted him to learn this year. More than reading, more than spelling, more than writing and math... what ONE thing did they want him to take away from Kindergarten. And the results brought some major tears to our eyes but more importantly a giant smile to his face!

We read a few to him each night and talked about what the lesson was really about and what the true meaning behind these precious words was. I love gifts like this and if you have a milestone celebration coming up, then take my advice - get others involved and let them help you send the message you've been dying to give. I wrote a little Dr. Seuss inspired intro to the whole thing...

and then the lessons began...

and some of the words, I had heard before...

His eyes just lit up each night we read a lesson... 

he really loved that all these people had all these words... 

just for him.

He loved really loved hearing the story of the first time KK watched him!

He thought Nana's advice was gross.

He thought Karli's advice was great!

He got serious with Aunt Jenni's because she is a kindergarten teacher. :)

He wanted to know more about Mr. Emerson...

and loved that "his" Miss Shanon sent him something, too.

Tia gave him a special lesson - she translated her verse to spanish for his backpack.

And he thought he was super cool that Uncle Josh told him the same thing that he tells his runners.

And of course we had a little something to say, too.

Wouldn't it be nice if life gave us lesson plans wrapped in a pretty package all the time? I know that this whole parenting gig could use a plan sometimes. Hopefully, Radley would give us an "A" because in our book, that amazing, kind, larger-than-life kindergarten boy is total aces!!

There is no adequate title for this random mess...

So our Saturday was **slightly** busy... and since I know that you are absolutely dying to hear and see all about it, I am treating you to 28 semi-decent pictures as well as a short{ish} summation of the events:

First up...Baby Boy Bailey Shower

My sweet friend Krista is having a baby! She is the momma to Kayla who was born 26 hours before Radley. We were next door neighbors in the hospital and have since grown to become great friends. We are THRILLED to welcome Baby Bailey in December. 

Since they haven't picked a name and I am obsessed with my cricut I made this for the entry table and each guest received a card labeled 1-12 to write a note for Krista to open each month. 

Baby Bailey has been very prayed for so the plaque my mom bought her for his nursery was just perfect!

I had to take a picture of the set up before the shower since I was headed to Radley's last soccer game of the fall. I would like to point out my favorite new item - the crown bowl ...isn't it just lovely!? 

I did take pictures of the actual shower but on my mom's camera since my camera was at the soccer game. I rushed to the game to see him play for 8 minutes then headed back home for the shower, but not before capturing a **few** more soccer pics.

(Because we are clearly lacking)

She LOVES these games. She sits and "cheers" and tries to eat grass. It's wonderful!

 He once again didn't disappoint and was extra aggressive for this game. I haven't yet decided if that's good or bad! ;)

I'm just so proud of my little man!

Ashtyn, Mia, Radley, Neil, Joshua, Cameron

The Super Six!

They all enjoyed cupcakes and got these goofy fantastic trophies for playing. I actually can't wait for spring soccer!! 

Ryan then took the two bigs to a birthday party for one of Radley's classmates while Landry and I were enjoying celebrating Baby Bailey. 

They hosted the party at a local park and the kids had tons of fun!

They rented a giant bounce house and what five year old doesn't love bouncing?

(or is that Tigger - I can't remember)

Carlos also had a pinata and judging by these pictures Radley was determined to break it!

SUCCESS!!!

(please note that Jaden's dad is literally holding him back - probably a good idea since pinata candy isn't worth head injuries)

Then it was home for super quick baths and we loaded up the car and headed to Robinson for my hometown's annual coronation. 

(I can and should do an entire post on the car ride down there listening to the Aggie/Alabama game and then leaving with 7 minutes left on this clock to watch my 2 best-friends' girls walk down the stage and miss seeing the greatest victory of recent Aggie history, but I won't. Instead read this

(And it was worth it - I have DVR and my texts with Cindy are instant classics)

Anyway.

We went to Robinson for Coronation - a PTA fundraiser for scholarships. Each individual class K-4 nominates a duke and duchess and then the 5th - 12th grade classes nominate 1/grade. The HS students compete by seeing who can raise the most money and the winning class' representative is crowned Queen. 

And as soon as I walked into that cafetorium I was immediately back into 1997. 

It was crazy. I may have cried a little.

But that could have been due to the Aggies. 

And this is really why it was worth it.

How stinking adorable is Karli?!?!?

And Gracee??

And this cute 2 year old that was busted trying to get onto stage!

(I kind of felt like we needed to hold Radley back - he loves attention and wanted to know when his turn was)

I'd like to think he would be as cool as this dude in the hat.

Whom I don't know.

But think is adorable. 

I was surprised to get to see other friend's kids like Miss Dylan. 

And basically my entire hometown. 

The entire day was CRAZY but a fantastic reminder that you are never too old for the following:

1.  Arts and crafts

2. Hiding things in your bathroom when you have people coming over and you didn't have time to put stuff away in your attic

3. More than one cupcake a day

4. Road trips

5. Coming home

6. Crying over a football game

Hope you had a fun Saturday, too!