Oh Lazy Day Summer Afternoons

Wow....I have been so busy lately, I haven't had time to get on my blog and update. I hope to get better at it. I can't believe we are starting to wind down summer and think about my FAVORITE SEASON....FaLL!!! I love everything about fall. There is so much I can talk about right now. If you know me, you know my mind goes about 1000mph with thoughts and ideas. Bare with me....

Another birthday party to start planning! My little Noah will be turning ONE! :) We are having a harvest pumpkin party for him. We are going to make him a little birthday cake, but for everyone else....pumpkin pie! We are also thinking of having Chili, cole slaw, and Mulled Spice Cider. I can't wait. 

I am throwing a shower for my cousin in September. She is having a little girl, Anna. I LOVE looking at pink and planning a PINK shower for once. (we are a family full of BOYS BOYS BOYS!) She is doing a ladybug theme, so I plan to carry out the theme into her shower. I can't wait to get creative with this. Pics to come...

Listen up parents out there.....(or grandparents or ANYONE with kids).....
Best invention EVER!

    One side is a popsicle holder and the other side is an ice-cream cone holder. I thought it wouldn't work well at first but....IT DOES! No sticky hands or messy shirts. PLUS....he LOVES it. So if you see them...BUY it. 

Update on my boys: Well....Liam has now learned the art of climbing out of his crib. :) Noah is learning to walk. He is doing well now that Meme and Papa bought him some tennis-shoes. He will be running around before we know it. :) The boys are doing GREAT though. I am so blessed to have them in my life. 

Well...that is it for now. I need to get better at posting regularly. Take care and God Bless!

Abby  

Wreath project....Complete!

Mission "Dress Up The Front Door".....Complete!

This was a fun, easy project that took two days to do (off and on). Now...

that is two days with two kids. So if you are without children....

you will be able to do it in a few hours. :) Here is it!

If you like it and want one, let me know! I had fun making it and would love to make you one too!

Money Money Money......

I have to have a vent session about money. We all wish we had more, but what would you do with more money? I have a story to tell you and it has changed my whole thinking on money and materialism.

This morning I went to breakfast with my parents, which we do every Saturday morning. We always have this same waitress. She is a middle-aged woman that treats my children so well. She is a very hard worker and always provides us with great service. Today she checked on us one last time before leaving to go home. My Dad asked her if she had a busy weekend planned. (excitedly) she told us that she was very excited because she and her husband were going out t dinner. Somewhere where you sit down and get waited on. She explained that she does not go out much because she does not have the money to. It made me so sad. Here this woman is excited to go out with her husband because it rarely happens. How many times do I go out? How many times do I make random Target and Hobby Lobby runs just because it is something to do.....then $40.00 later go home with my random (boredom) purchases. It really makes me feel horrible.

So...this evening Brad and I went to one of my favorite stores.....Pier1. I found SOOO many things on sale that I wanted SOOO bad, but the only thing that popped in my mind was the waitress being out with her husband. I really want to start to prioritize my wants and needs. I feel like this woman has shown me that if I cannot display the same excitement about going out with MY husband to dinner, then we are living too care-free. Am I trying to be cocky by saying "ohhh....I shop a lot and eat out a lot"?? No! I am wanting to reprioritize. It is so easy to get caught up with materialism and money. Eat out...buy buy buy. I want to be excited to go out to eat occasionally. I want to be excited to take a fun shopping adventure every now and then. Bottom-line......time to live with more frugality to be a better, happier person.

Dressin' Up My Door

What a day it has been! I have done a lot of crafting/projects today. My cousin's wedding shower is tomorrow, so I have been busy getting things together for it. I want to allow those projects to be a surprise for her, so I will post pictures and details later. For now.... I will post a work-in-progress. We were happy to get a new front door this summer. It has made a BIG difference to the look of our house. NOW....my project today and for the next FEW days is to get a wreath made for the door. I have gained SO much inspiration from the website www.pinterest.com. There is a wreath on there that I just HAD to make!!! SO...here is the start of my project and how I am doing it. 

This is the start of my project. I first want to tell you the price-breakdown. This is one of the most inexpensive projects I have done. Here is goes:

Grapevine Wreath: $4.99 on sale for $2.50 at Hobby Lobby.

Felt: $.25 a sheet. I bought 4 of each color, but may need more. I spent $3.00

I already had the hot glue gun. 

The only other thing left to by is a wreath hook or Command (or Commando hook as Brad calls it.).

So, I just started cutting thin strips of felt. I was not picky on how straight they were. I take the strips and roll them into the spiral circles you see on the wreath. The colors I chose are Dark Green, Medium Green, and Cream. I hot glue the end of the strip when I am finished with the size I want. Then I hot glue it to the wreath! 

Simple and VERY inexpensive! :) More photos to follow as I make progress.