First Friday

Today is the first Friday in October!  I can't believe it is already October. Jason got the decorations out of the attic...maybe, three weeks ago.  Three weeks is how long I've been wanting to decorate for fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving.  Why haven't I decorated?  This week I went to a yoga detox class on Monday evening, Tuesday was a family committee meeting for boys school, Jason worked late on Wednesday, and Thursday was a PTA meeting.  So, I've been busy.  I'm hoping I will be able to get several things done between tomorrow and Sunday.  Here is my To-Do List:

-Decorate for Halloween.

-Clean bathrooms and kitchen floor.

-Finish Laundry.

-Finish Chapter Three of the Story (I'll explain the Story in my next post).

-Start Chapter Four of the Story.

-Paint Nails.

-Plan Ty Ty's FOURTH birthday party.

-Plan dinners/lunches.

-Go grocery shopping.

-Drink bottle of wine.  ;)

Oops - I didn't mean that...whelp, yes I did.  Ha ha ha.

Photo after today's laps for learning at Andrew's school!

Picture of Spiderman and Ninja Turtle.

And finally, one of my favorite things... FRESH FLOWERS!!

xoxo,

Jen

Life Changes!

Over the past 8 months or so, my life has changed in so many ways.  First and foremost, my dad passed away in July.  He fought hard, but it still breaks my heart everytime I think of it.  I still can't believe he is really gone.  I feel like he is just away on vacation and he will walk through my front door to play with boys.  I was there when he passed away.  I can still remember what I was feeling and what I saw.  I'm not sure I will ever forget.  I'm glad I was there for him; just wish I could block out the memories of that morning.  Last year, when he was given two weeks, I made a decision on what I wanted to do to keep his memory alive.  I wanted to make a t-shirt quilt from his t-shirts.  I presented the idea to him and he loved it.  We talked about it a lot over the last year.  He was really excited about it.  He was afraid the boys wouldn't remember him and felt the quilt would make them ask questions.  Tyler has talked about my dad a lot over the last couple months.  I think my dad has visited him several times.  It makes me happy to think of him still being here and seeing what is happening.  I only received a few t-shirts which means the quilt probably will never happen.

Andrew started kindergarten.  I really dreaded him starting; however, he has transitioned well.  Actually, he loves it.  He goes to our neighbors house before and after.  I really feel they have helped him to stay focused.  Plus, this has opened several other doors for us.  I've met several nice families in and out of the neighborhood.  Our families seem to mesh well and that gives us another opportunity to be active. I'm excited for our future and to see how the friendships progress.

I decided to start completing items on my bucket list.  At the top of my list was to read the bible.  The minimal experience I had with the bible, I knew I wouldnt' be able to just read and understand.  I wanted to read and actually understand the bible.  One day, I was discussing this item with one of my neighbors.  And it changed my life, literally.  She told me the creative way her church was exploring the bible.  Her church was using the book "the story" to read through the bible.  I decided to go a few weeks ago (even got a close friend to join me whose kids are the same age as my boys) and we haven't stopped.  I look forward to the weekend now, but to explore the next chapter in the book. I NEVER thought I would EVER say that and actually mean it.  But I do.  I love it.  I feel great when I'm there and I never even look at my watch.  Amazing.  Jason doesn't know what to do with me.

Xoxo,
Jen  

Long Break - OvEr! (well hopefully anyway)

WARNING!!  WARNING!!  PIC HEAVY!!  **had a lot to catch up on!

I took a break - a six month break.  I'm not sure what happened, but life.  I want to keep blogging so I have to make it a point to post!!  The last six months have been crazy!  Here is a quick summary:

-June 2012:  my dad was told he had two weeks to live.  I spent as much time as I could with him.  Turns out, he is more stubborn than anyone I know!  Cause he is still alive and going strong!!  I'm so proud of him. He has survived through so many things which should have killed him, I'm not sure I'll ever be prepared to lose my dad.  I'm a daddy's girl - all the way.

-July 2012:  *I hosted my SIL (my husband's sister) baby shower.  It was an airplane themed with the colors blue and brown.  My wonderful neighbors helped me make the tissue balls (can't think of the name - ha ha!),

*My brother and sister-in-law welcomed a handsome healthy little boy to our family, Leland.  I love his name! 
*Colton's 1st Birthday Party!  The theme was "A Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle.  My wonderful neighbors helped me make the invitations and all the wonderful decorations. 

Caterpillar cake made from cupcakes and a small cake!  I placed it on a piece of cardboard wrapped in white tissue paper.  The ears and legs were hand-drawn by my awesome neighbor!  (They also made and decorated the cupcakes and cake!)

Some of the decorations...

 

All decorations made using a cricut!!

I'm thinking I took these pictures after the party cause the Colton cupcake is missing a "wiggly" eye!  :)

A book for everyone to sign! And the favors were adorable!! My neighbors helped me make thank you bags. The main sheet says "happy 1st birthday Colton! -thank you!" and there were M&Ms inside! Tied with a bow!

 

-August 2012: *Andrew's fifth birthday party was batman themed.  AMAZING!

Homemade banner with lots of bats everywhere!





The kids had capes made out of trash bags and masks.  The trash bag capes were the biggest hit.  I took big black (or maybe they are a dark green) trash bags.  Cut down the seam on each side and the bottom.  I ended up cutting about 12 inches off the bottom as they were too long for 4-5 year olds.  The tie part of the trash bags were used to tie the cape around!  It was awesome!  The kids decorated their masks and capes.

-November 2012:  Tyler's 3rd Birthday party! It was safari themed.  I'm not sure why I don't have more pictures.  The kids had some safari crafts all with stickers. 

Dirt Cake

 

-December 2012:  My wonderful hubby was put to the test and built two AMAZING things for our house.  Check it out!!

*First Project

This was the first thing he we made!  It's a shelf hanging in our hallway.  It reads:  Children hold our hands for a while, our hearts forever.  I did the vinyl work.  Turned out awesome!

*Our next project was a new shelving unit in our family room.  We needed something to mainly hold the box for cable. 

On New Years Day, we went searching for items to place on our shelf.  Turns out, we found an awesome antique gone crazy shop.  It's the kind of shop you have to know what you want and ask for it.  If not, it's too packed with stuff to just look through.  We ended up getting two coke cases (bottom left and upper middle right), the lantern (upper middle left) and the jug (upper center) all for less than $50. 

-January 2013:

*We moved to our current house October 2011.  Jason and company painted the whole house from ceiling to floor within a week of us moving in.  The only room not touched was the powder room.  It was covered in wallpaper.  I didn't mind the wallpaper, so he touched it up for me and we left it alone.  We finally figured out what we wanted to do with it.  We wanted a"pallet wall" behind the toilet.  I'm not sure how I found the blog post, but as soon as I showed it Jason, we made up our mind.  Here is the after:  (I'm sorry - I failed to take the before, but imagine wallpaper from floor to ceiling in a maroon color with flowers)

I'm pretty sure that sums it up until this past weekend.  My next post will be all about V-Day!

Roo's Graduation!!

Andrew graduated!!  well okay, he graduated from room 5 at his school, but still, he graduated.  I think he'll actually move up to room 6 at the end of summer. 
He wore a cap.  And walked the "blue line" between the crowds.

I have a ton of pictures of the ceremony.  The kids did two numbers:  a rhyming song and peanut butter & jelly song.  It was so cute!!  Yours truly cried - the whole entire time.

He looked so cute on stage with his friends laughing and dancing.  I couldn't help crying.  I wish I would have thought to get pictures before the ceremony. 

My boys gravitate towards the prettiest teachers.  Mo-Mo is a family favorite.  ALL of my boys love her.

Amber is holding Colton.  She is another favorite.  Who am I kidding?  All of the teachers are our favorites!!  :)

This picture just makes me smile.  Two of three Goode boys and School Staff.  The other Goode boy was probably harassing another staff member. 

Happy Mother's Day!!

Happy Mother's Day!!  I love celebrating mothers.  I have a few great mothers in my life.  I love hosting parties and holidays.  I love having company.  Luckily, so does Jason. 

Take One:

Take Two:

Take Three:

Anyway, mother's day is a holiday I can dress up.  I can make it my own, but I can't this year.  This year, I have to leave for travel.  I didn't realize when I booked my training for work I would be leaving on mother's day.  Darn it.  Oh well...I was dreading it until...

THIS BECAME THE BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER!!  I consider myself a pretty creative person.  And I love getting home-made gifts.  Handprints/footprints are my favorite.  I always bug Jason to do something crafty with the boys instead of buying or getting me something.  He always tries - things just never go his way it seems.  He got in luck this year - the school helped him!!!  Each boy did something different.  I love each of their gifts so much!!

Colton:
Colton's teacher painted a flower pot pink and put his thumb print all over the base.  She then made the thumb prints into little lady bugs!  It says:  Colton Mother's Day 2012.  I love it!!

Tyler:
Tyler picked out a color and painted a vase.  He picked out one of my favorite colors!!  I love pink!!  He did such a great job!  It says:  Happy Mother's Day 2012 Love, Tyler.  I love it!!

Andrew:
Andrew made a jewelry box with ladybug fingerprints!  I love it!!  He is so proud of it!  I can't wait to start using it!

From all the boys:
Jason got a necklace with each boy initial.  Their birthday is on each initial.  I didn't get a close up of it, but I'm wearing it in all the pictures.

Zoya Nail Polish: Special Edition

I introduced you to Birchbox the other day.  Birchbox has the best points program.  For every product I review, I receive 10 points.  For every 100 points earned, I receive $10.  The points expire one year from earned date.  The money can be used towards products AND SHIPPING!!!!!  I had $20 in credits and wanted to get something.  Believe it or not, there are tons of products under $20.  BUT the item I had my eye on was a Zoya Nail Polish: Special Blogger Edition.  The colors in the pack are orange, pink, and pinky-reddish.  Pink and reds are my favorite.  I wasn't too fond of the orange.  I had the credit, so I decided what the heck.  I spent $2 for the collection since the polishs were free shipping this month. 

I received the collection later part of last week.  I tried out a Sally Hanson nail art thingy, so I didn't want to change it up yet.  I finally let Andrew pick out the color I try first.  I should have known what he would choose - the ORANGE!!  I love the way the nail polish went on my nails, but did not like how many coats I needed for it to be noticable.  However, it is considered to be a jelly nail polish.  Anyway, I'm excited to try out the other colors within the next week!

Did I mention the day I painted my nails orange happens to be the day the Baltimore Orioles won?  :)

Team Pictures

Andrew had team pictures last Saturday and his second game.  It. was. freezing.  I thought it was spring?!  Today was not spring weather at all.  I want warmer weather, please.
At first, we couldn't find where the team photos were taking place.  Lack of communication...The pictures were probably ruined though.  Their team mom was in the picture (YUCK!!).  I'm hoping I didn't completely ruin the pictures.  

I posted our banner behind home plate.  It looked awesome!!  I'm still proud of it!  What am I going to do if all three of my boys wants to do sports?  I was thinking maybe two of them will be on the same team every year (with my middle rotating years between Andrew and Colton).  I wonder how other parents handle multiple teams.  I still have two years before Tyler can join, but I like to plan ahead.  AND I probably wouldn't be able to do more than one team mom at a time.  I guess - we'll see.

Opening Day!

Opening Day 2012!!  What a blast!!

Andrew is currently participating in T-Ball through the local rec council.  He LOVES it!  I love how fast boys make friends.  We were not even at the first practice for more than 5 minutes and he meets his "best friend".  I volunteered to be the team mom even though I wasn't sure what the role entailed.  I asked around and got the following similar answers:
-make drink/snack schedule for practice and games.
-take pictures.
-help coach with any paperwork (picture papers, fundraiser)
-help organize kids.
-make t-ball banner.
-organize end-of-season party.
I did the schedule right away - that was easy.  I love taking pictures and Jason got me a fancy camera for Christmas, so that was good.  I'm detailed-oriented and don't mind paperwork (as long as I have it under control!).  I think I'm fairly good with kids and I love planning parties.  I was only worried about the stinkin' banner.  What the heck am I going to do??  I did what any other mom would do - I googled and pinterest'd it.  I only got ONE good hit.  Disappointing to say the least...but the banner was good and it gave me a starting point.  I couldn't believe there were no other blogs discussing banners for baseball which I could find!  I thought opening day was the most important part of baseball!?!?! 
So I wanted to do a paper banner for the 4, 5, and 6 year olds to display.  I had a couple of great decorating ideas in mind.  But the paper banner was quickly nixed by a teacher at boys school.  She said "do you think the paper banner would hold up with a bunch of 4, 5, and 6 year olds all trying to hold it?".  Good Point, Mrs. Laura!  I went to Joann's and gathered my materials.
I grabbed a yard of red felt, a couple sheets of black, grey, and white felt (the stiffer felt), a package of dimensional fabric paint, and 3 yards of baseball ribbon.  I followed the directions for cutting and sewing the banner from my ONE good hit.  Then I used my cricut and cut out the team name:  Muckdogs.  I chose to cut the name twice - once in black and once in grey to match the logo.  The cricut also cut the bat and baseballs.  I drew "laces" on the baseballs.  My advice - don't worry about the laces matching.  No one will notice.  Don't use a pencil to draw it first - just do it!  It took the longest to figure out the positioning of everything.  It just had to be perfect!  I used spray adhesive to glue everything down just to find everything coming off the next day.  I ended up using hot glue and it worked good.  Their names are around the outside of the banner with their number on the inside.  The kids were very proud carrying their homemade banner on opening day!!

Opening Day was a blast!  The Rec Council did an amazing job.  There were games, food/drinks, music, and even bouncy houses!

Maybe I'll start documenting step-by-step instructions in future crafts...

I leave you with some brotherly love...