Life & Happenings

Once again, totally slacking on the blog. Sheesh. I've been busy doing projects and such. And of course, just enjoying the good life.Thank goodness I have an iphone. Crazy how much I use that to document our life. And now the best part, pictures :)

Bubble bath time! Logan doesn't like our whirlpool tub near as much as Austin does. So Austin usually takes bubbly swims by himself.

Enjoying the water table

Random afternoon at home

Playing outside on the rare "cool" evening

I organized my pantry. Took diaper and waffle boxes from Costco and covered them in burlap and then made chalkboards for them. LOVE how it came out. My aunt Stephanie get's credit for the boxes though, because she's the one that actually did most of them when she was visiting.

My aunt came to visit for almost 2 weeks and we took a Saturday and went down to Canton trade days. I got a few really awesome things, and this old steamer trunk was one. Of course, we had to add a personal touch, so we painted a few details on it. LOVE it. I'm using it as an end table in our family room.

Austin likes to give Logan rides on the back of his trike

Enjoying the sunshine waiting for Austin in carpool

Date night with the hubs. This particular night we went to Benihana.

Another project of mine. I got this bench for free from a lady in our ward. It was a DISASTER. But I know a good thing when I see one and I knew I could make it amazing. So I did. It took a lot of hard work, but it came out amazing. Just what I needed for my entryway.

I also cleaned and organized my studio. It was way past time. I still need to buy a cabinet for all of our light stands, but it's fine for now. 

Austin loves watching the cars and buses in the morning while we wait in line for school drop off. 

Another random afternoon. Dad's flip flops, mcdonalds chicken nuggets and an ipad. What a life he leads! haha :)

Another project! Lol. I am outta control. Seriously. This is my pottery barn knock off. I actually like my version better. And my aunt, Stephanie, who ordered the pottery barn one, said she is going to have to give it some character because it's much more plain than she thought it'd be. And mine only cost me around $10. Take that pottery barn! 

And another project! I saw something like this on pinterest, so I decided my boys needed one for their bathroom. LOVE how grungy and worn it turned out.

Here's one from yesterday. Logan turned the big 18 months. He had his first Sunday in nursery last week. He did better than expected. Once we got snacks figured out, which I was nervous about, but the nursery leaders have been great to make sure that he can participate and won't be in risk of an allergic reaction. So yay! It was great to actually listen during Relief Society instead of fighting to try and keep him occupied :) Love this little boy.

In other news:

*Logan gave up his bottle addiction

*Austin has also successfully mastered being potty trained 100% of the time. He previously was sleeping in pullups. And he's only peed the bed once! Totally mastered and happily so!

Yay for both!!

{Umm... it's MARCH!?}

Wow, you stop bloggin' for a couple several weeks, and suddenly it's MARCH. And the MIDDLE of MARCH!! WOWZA. What really blows my mind is that oh, I've picked up my camera, maybe 3 times for personal use. Super sad day. Life has been busy. The daily grind keeps me occupied. My iphone has done my documenting...sort of. Here's a brief re-cap of our lives these last 2.5 months (EEEEEEK!)

I've enjoyed many mid-night (and all day haha) snacks of kale chips. LOVE them beyond words.

 

I framed one of my favorite pictures from our family session back in December, which was done by the fabulous Liz Leighton. That 12x24 frame has been waiting for the perfect picture. Totally makes me smile.

I finally made some serious efforts and organized our master closet. I've attempted before. Failure several times over. Alas, success. All it took was spending a little $$ to get it a way that was functional and practical. Love it now.

Our littles, enjoying a flick together. Yes, Logan, who will be 16 months in a couple weeks, still takes a bottle. But hey, some people breast feed their kids until they are practically graduating high school, so I feel confident in allowing him a bottle before bed. AND he actually has a nutritional need, in my humble mom knows best opinion.

We've had classic good times..



Our fair share of messes...

Sickness... (Still sickness. I'm battling a nasty sinus and upper respiratory infection currently, so fun)

And trips to the ER for said sickness.

We take lots of naps...

And adventures in the car...

Cold days, which make me super HAPPY.

We've watched every single presidental debate. We're pulling for Romney.

I left my house one night around 8pm, determined to find paint for our family room and kitchen. Success! And I painted.

(Our kitchen wasn't painted at this point, but it's now painted the same color as the second picture)

I discovered a brand of food that Logan really enjoys and is safe for him. A little vegan butter and some homemade freezer jam, he gobbles them down like crazy.

We're church going folk, haha, as if you didn't know! Austin LOVES primary. And Logan is looking forward to getting to run around in nursery, I'm sure, although we'll have to figure out what to do about snack time.

I got a new-do courtesy of my fabulously talented BFF, Holly. The lighting is weird....My hair isn't dark like it shows....but anyway...

I got accepted to TWU and I'm sure looking forward to finishing my bachelor's.

I bought a 24"x32" gallery canvas of one of our favorites from our family pictures. LOVE it.

My parents came to visit. Holy cow was Austin excited. He felt special getting to go to the airport with me to pick them up at 11pm...

We sat in bumper to bumper traffic for about 45 minutes while we took a detour around the airport and then back again. Grrrrrr. Traffic is one thing that I seriously get major stress from.

V-day came; I got gorgeous flowers from my hubs.

My dad and I did several projects while he was here...

Chunk-ifying (very technical term, btw) my mantel (what an adventure. for reals)...

Hardware installation for my kitchen cabinets...

"Custom" laundry storage. LOVE this. It remains on my project list to be "beautified" lol. Oh and I finally after 4 years decided I needed pedistals for my duo. BEST $600 I have ever spent....well, maybe a tie with my awesome diaper bag...hmmmm... well anyway, it makes a world of a difference and I can't believe I ever lived without them. Seriously.

Austin is seriously so cute. He just has such a fun personality. Of course, he can be such a little stinker, but really overall a well behaved kid. He still just loves school and has progressed by leaps and bounds in his speech, abc's/numbers/social skills etc.

The other day, per the advice of my aunt and my mom, I painted my mantel black....



A few hours later, after it had dried.... I primed it so I could repaint it BACK white. Haha. Now I still don't know which I like better...

My parents took my kids to build a bear and let them each pick an animal. Logan chose a monkey. Calls him "monk monk" If you press his hand, my dad's voice comes on and says a cute little saying to Logan. Logan carrys that monkey around saying "Bampa! Bampa!" Adorable.

I bought Ben and I new bedding and added my own touches. LOVE doesn't even describe it. Can't wait to finish decorating our room with paint and window treatments.

I've struggled with insomnia lately, which is saying a lot, cause I'm totally a night owl.

I did a happy dance in the middle of walmart the other day when I discovered these. They remind me of when I was growing up. Then they stopped making them, and now I guess they are back. Still amazing as ever.

I've gotten my craft on several times, with a long list still waiting to be tackled...

After I made this sign, I decided I didn't love the colors; it was just too matchy matchy with my walls... so Holly scored it. FYI these type of signs are selling for like $60+ (I've seen them for as much as $125) but my amazing skills allowed me to recreate it. Good thing I bought a shillouette machine last year. Money well spent for sure.

So then I decided to make another one... MUCH better.

"Scrabble" tiles for Logan. Super cute, I must say.

I didn't technically make this, but I did design it in photoshop and have it printed through one of my labs. It's 3/4" solid, beveled, wooden board with the picture fused to it....the words aren't covering our faces totally, you just have to get up close to see.

I also scored this bench for free from a lady in our ward. It's got great bones and I'm actually in the process of refinishing it. It's going to look so cute once it's done.

We've been up to other things too...

*things like spa time...to relax and rejuvinate. Facials, mani/pedi's, full body messages. Ben really lets me go as often as I like, which I really appreciate.

*shooting our guns... we recently bought an AR-15 rifle and a Glock 23 hand gun. Nice to know that we are able to protect our home and family if we ever needed. Ben and I both would like to get conceal and carry licenses....and more guns.

*Ben's been blessed greatly with numerous contracts. He works really really hard often not getting home until 10pm or later. I often hear women "complain, vent etc." that it's busy season for their hubs. But this is our life. Ben is seriously always working late or fullfilling church calling duties etc. The time he isn't working/busy with duties is rare and truly something we cherish.

* Ben and I got into a car accident. We were rear ended. Luckily our kids were at home with a sitter and we weren't in our car. It was a dealer loaner because my car was getting fixed. Bummer for them, because it was a brand new, like 1800 miles, 2012 Cadillac SRX. Eeek. We weren't really hurt, just some back and neck pain, as to be expected when you're hit from behind at a fast rate of speed. We got a settlement from the other guy's insurance. Poor guy, kid really, he was scared to death. He was super nice and appologetic and his parents were as well when they showed up on the scene.

So, ya..... I suppose that's it! Haha. What a way to catch up. I know I'm missing stuff, but that's the gist I suppose!