Walking Buddy

This sweet little boy begged to walk with me this evening. He stayed close to me the whole time, and asked a question about everything we saw. We had a great time!

I sure do love my baby boy!

Brothers

Nathaniel and Ethan have been so attached lately. I love how summer has done that for them. I know I have said it before, but Ethan(and me) are going to miss Nathaniel so much when school starts back.

They do still fight over toys occasionally, or maybe a lot depending on the day, but I have noticed them really sticking up for each other. Interestingly enough Ethan has become super protective of Nathaniel.

If another child touches Nathaniel(Thul's) toys, Ethan is sure to remind them that they are Thul's.

If Nathaniel needs juice, then Ethan needs juice too, or cookies, or anything.

They literally do everything together! Today, Nathaniel came and told me he was going to potty, so Ethan came up right behind him and said he needed to potty too. It cracked me up!

I'm sure there are so many examples of things they do together, and I just wanted to document a few during this sweet time of their lives.

A few pictures to illustrate. :)

This one was just cute, and it was past 8am!

New Office Update

Our new, tiny office is almost finished, and I love how it has turned out!

It looks a bit simple right now, but it is functional.  I still need to add some fabric covered cork boards, and something on the left side to hold papers. The computer is not hooked up yet, but we have plans to move an outlet from a wall next to the closet. No worries, we are leaving that the professional aka our friend/neighbor from down the street.

I stole these bins from my sewing room, and they provide tons of storage. I made the labels with my cricut machine, and laminated them. I needed a good excuse to use the cricut!

Here is a close up of the labels.

This artwork was also in my sewing room. It was a free printable that I found on a blog a couple years ago. I had to print it because it was my favorite verse. Sorry, I don't have the link for that blog anymore.

My sister-in-law made this weekly memo board for me. It was meant for my yellow and gray kitchen, but that plan hasn't happened yet. :) I don't think I love it in here yet, but it will definitely be useful.

Our family planner sits easily accessible on the desk along with some art supplies for the boys. Oh, and don't worry about those scissors there. There is a lock on the closet door, so the boys can't just get in by themselves. Just wanted to make sure everyone knows they are safe. Ha!

A final before and after comparison.

Wow! Seeing it side by side amazes me!

This project was so quick. It really just took me a couple days in real time. Now I am inspired to fix up a few more rooms in our house!

New Spaces

I have been working on a little house project this weekend...a soon to be closet-office, or cloffice. I'm not quite ready to share the final reveal yet, but I will share the scary before picture. Don't judge, everybody has one! :)

This closet was pretty much useless. It did store our coats well, but it's position in the house, (by the front door) just meant that we didn't use it much during the winter. We always use our back door, and I have hooks for our coats there. So, I decided to make it much more useful as an office, which we did not have before. It will store all our office supplies and craft supplies for the boys.

Here it is all cleaned out and ready to be made useful.

I can't wait to get it all finished up and ready to use. I have zero budget for this project, so I am having a  good time shopping around the house for baskets and things. There is just something fun about creating a new space with things I already had in the house. Updated pictures coming soon!

I hope everyone has a great week!

Mother of Boys

What does it mean to be a mother of boys?

Today it meant that playing at Chik Fil A involved jumping from the steps. And that Nathaniel tried to run up the stairs and hide when I said it was time to go. No worries, this mama read his mind and caught him before he got up there. Ha!

It also meant that the living room was full of legos and cars. And that those magnets on the door will never stay organized.

It meant that the boys would try to drive their cars on the ground through the Kroger parking lot, and that they would run around wild inside of the store.

And it meant that Ethan would throw this Mater at a moving car, and manage to bounce it off the tire of said car. Yeesh!

It means that life will always be an adventure!

Show Us Your Life - Bathrooms!

Welcome from Kelly's Korner. She has been doing a home tour for the past several weeks. It has been a great way to get some inspiration!


I managed to snap a few photos of our guest bathroom, and the boy's bathroom today. It would be too much work to get the master bath viewable. Ha!

Here is our half bath. I love this bathroom because it is so convenient. It is an awkward space below the stairs, but I'm glad it's a bathroom and not a closet. Since we have two stories, it has been invaluable for me and the boys. lol

It is still a work in progress. We need to add the chair rail, and paint the trim, but it has came a long ways from where it started!

It comes complete with little boy cars. Lately they have been playing in the sink with them. I'm considering it a learning activity. :)

Just for fun, here are a couple of before pictures.

Not quite our style...


Here is the boy's bathroom upstairs. It was a plain beige color, and I painted it this green. I really love it, and think it's a great kids color. It's not overly decorated, but I will continue to update it as they get older.

Close ups of the artwork. We bought these pieces at Mardels in Arkansas for Nathaniel's nursery. I thought it would look nice in here now that he is older.

The vanity area is separate from the shower area. Perfect for when they get a little older. Shower curtain is from Target.

They have a good sized closet that adds tons of storage.

And finally, more cars. They are drying from the previous night's bath. And yes, we have way too many cars!

Hope you enjoyed a little peek into our home!

Mommy Guilt

It’s time to be honest, transparent, and real on this blog. So here goes. I spend too much time overthinking/ worrying about whether I’m doing my best as a mother or not. I mean, I think I’m a pretty good mother. My boys are well cared for, loved on, and they are pretty happy boys. BUT, I’m always going back and forth on whether I spend enough time with them, or if I am teaching them enough, do I read and sing to them enough...all that good stuff. I guess it boils down to mommy guilt, and there is just no time for that in this house! 

Here is where my biggest dilemma lies, is it ok to do anything around the house besides play with the boys? I’m not talking about watching the tv or surfing the net, honestly that is not where I struggle. I do struggle with my time spent cleaning. There is always something to be picked up, or vacuumed, or dusted. So then I begin to worry, do I put cleaning the house ahead of them? If I really think about it, I don’t think I do. Especially since summer has started, I have been able to keep things pretty clean with a short amount of time spent in the mornings. Then the rest of the day we play outside, go out for different activities, meet friends, or even watch an occasional movie. 

Where should the line be drawn though? Is it wrong to do anything besides entertain the  boys the entire time they are awake? I really don’t think so. It is just not sustainable for me to do all of my cleaning after they are in bed. If I chose that route, then I would be neglecting my husband, and that would be wrong too. He wants me to be available to relax and watch tv with him at night, and I enjoy that too. I know life is about finding the balance, and I think part of that balance may just include cleaning some while the boys play. 

The boys have been really good this summer! I mean, they drive me crazy, they throw fits, they whine when they don’t get their way, but I have seen their relationship grow so much these past few weeks. They are fighting less, and playing better together. They really love each other, and are truly attached at the hip. Ethan literally does everything he sees Nathaniel do. 

So, why do I feel guilty for quickly cleaning the kitchen during these times when they are playing perfectly together. I feel crazy for even thinking it, but this is how the cycle goes. I feel like I’m neglecting them if I do anything else around the house, even though they couldn't care less if I’m with them right then or not. Then sometimes when I’m trying to get us all out of the house for something fun, they don’t care to go, but I’m forcing it because when we are out I’m certainly not neglecting them. It’s tiring! Trying to do the best for your children is tiring all the time! 

I will admit that some days I struggle with this more than others. And I’m a million times better with it than I used to be. It’s just so easy to slip back into those bad thinking habits some times. Here are the solutions that have helped me:

1. Stop "stinkin thinkin"! Yep, I said it! If everyone is happy, then I don’t need to worry about it. I need to trust myself, and my own conscience. I need to trust myself to know that if I need to change something, God will certainly let me know, and I will change. I have a close relationship with Him, and he convicts me of other things, and He will on this issue too. 
2. Stay away from things that will make me feel like less of a mother. We all know there is so much out there to bombard us as mothers. There is plenty to tell us how many activities we need to do, and that our children should be reading at age 1, and I could go on and on. The truth is that each family is different, and what each child needs is different. I don’t need to feel bad about having a different type of schedule and doing different things than everybody else. 

My favorite go-to verse to help me keep my thoughts in order.

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and God of peace will be with you.”

 Philippians 4:8-9

Anyways, I may have rambled way too much. I just felt the need for some honesty here, and to let others know that it's ok to relax and do what is best for your family. Has anyone else struggled with this? What did you find helped you?

Simple 4th

We chose to keep things pretty low key this year. I guess we tend to do that every year. With the 4th falling on a Wednesday, we couldn’t justify driving to see our families for just one day. So we just enjoyed a day with daddy being home. 

The boys played so great together all day. I was seriously amazed! They both love to play cars and legos. Nathaniel spent most of the day building monster trucks, and Ethan followed right behind. There have been some rough times this summer with them fighting, but I know Ethan is going to miss Nathaniel so much once school starts back. They really have been joined at the hip!

After having Mexican for dinner (real American, huh?), we took the boys out for ice cream. They thoroughly enjoyed it. :)

Ethan eats ice cream like no little boy I have seen before. He takes the tiniest licks, and it takes him forever to finish. This is why I never let him get a cone. Bad mommy, I know. Ha!

He actually requested this picture. Lately his favorite thing is to find different poses for pictures.

Ethan is definitely our comedian. He is always doing something to make us laugh!


Hope you had a great 4th of July too!