Upcycled/Updated Project of my Week

I have a new addition to my wall.

I started with an oak frame that I haven't used for a while.

Look at my adorable little girls. My sweet little three year old Zoe with my chubby little pre-one year old Audrey :) Did I forget to comb her hair??? No, her hair always looked like that. Oh, how I wish I would have put a headband with a big bow on her head. (like little Ella)

And then got a 24 x 24 inch board from Menard's. It cost me under $3.00 (that's all I spent on this project, I had everything else)

Since opening a Pinterest account, I can no longer just hang a picture frame on the wall. It just doesn't seem right. There are so many great ideas, that I decided to try one out. Since we are renting and I can't paint my walls, I might as well paint my frames : )

So I got out my paints.

And I went into my house painting bin to look for blue tape, but I found something so much better.

A drywall tape. Created a fun texture. I white washed the board first.

Then, I used brown to create depth, texture and tonal differences to the board.

Then I did the same thing, only using colors.

Then came the fun part. And yes, the girls looked at me like I was crazy. It was fun . . . "tilt your head more, nice smile please, I see only ears, keep your eyes open, look sweet, sweeter please, heads together". It was a fun little photo shoot.

I wanted to recreate the old photo . . . the girls are getting SO big, so fast.

This one is probably the closest recreation. Cheesy, closed mouth smile. But Audrey couldn't seem to open her eyes and close her mouth at the same time . . . it was pretty funny. She teased that she should put tight socks on her feet for a while so she would have the ankle marks, LOL.

They both are looking so big! Where did my baby girls go?

I love how they are gazing off into space. In the original photo, I know that's exactly where I was standing, trying to get them to smile for the photographer.

And I didn't take a picture of my spray paint experiment, but I "made my own spray paint", again, Pinterest inspired. It worked. 2 parts water to 1 part paint in a spray bottle and shake. It took longer to dry, and I don't think it would be very durable, but worked for this project.

That's how I turned the oak frame blue.

With a couple of tweaks to the photo, enlarged and turned into a sepia. I'm pretty happy with my final result. I don't really like the texture framing of the photo, so I might reprint it without.

So this was my recycled project, that also became my painting project for the week : )

Now I'm going to have to make a few more!!!

(Please ignore the sponge-painted walls, it wasn't me and I haven't gotten permission to change them yet. Maybe a nice taupe, brown or even a creamy off white . . . imagine a different background.)

Olympic Parents

I have always enjoyed watching the Olympics.

I am amazed at how emotionally involved I can get about the American athletes that I know little about and sometimes little about the sport they are playing.

I love hearing the background stories of their lives, seeing the clips of them growing up doing their sport, and the shots of their parents looking on in the stands.

The parents have got to be my favorite.

I watched as the parents of a woman gymnast lived their little girl's routine from their seats. And the priceless joy and relief in their faces when she nailed it.

And then there is the devastation in the faces of the parents when their child doesn't quite reach their goal. When they don't get the chance to have the medal hung around their neck. The knowing that there are four more years until their next chance. My heart sinks for them.

It made me realize that they had invested years of their lives to help their children's dreams come true. 

And I'm sure that their dreams are coming true watching the happiness of the children. Watching their Olympian children fight for the gold. What an amazing feeling that has got to be for a parent.

Silly maybe, but I find myself tearing up over and over watching the parents.

I hope that I get to help in making my children's dreams come true. I hope to watch them succeed and grow and live the life that will make them the person they want to be. It doesn't matter what they become as long as I get to see that smile of pride flash across their face. To know that they are happy.

I don't know if I'd be strong enough to be a parent of an Olympian . . . but if that is a path they choose, I'd definitely be there to cheer them on for all the years it would take.

Honestly, I'd be just as happy with teachers and chefs and fashion designers and garbage men and scientists and firefighters and anything their hearts are drawn to. (I know that there are MANY other jobs in the world, those are the ones I hear coming out of my children's mouths)

Congratulations to all the Olympians and their parents. Even if no medal is won, you have achieved more then many have ever dreamt of doing! I look forward to watching more dreams come true in Great Britain :)

GO USA!!!

Mommy's Master Template

I'm the kind of person who wants to do a thousand things at once.

It's sometimes frustrating being a mommy of five. To know that I'm capable of so much when I have time for so little.

I think that is why summer is so hard on me at times. It changes up my routine. And just as I feel like I finally have a new rhythm, summer is almost over. Then I feel like I have a million things I want to do in the remaining 3 weeks.

I decided to set up a 4-week rotating outline for my life. It covers the hobbies that I want to keep up with, the meal plan so I won't have to figure out what to put in my family's mouths daily, areas of the home to clean so I don't feel like I have to do everything daily, activities for the kids so they don't get bored, fitness plan so I will get off my butt and a routing schedule of what to write about in my blog.

If I have a plan, I don't have to think daily of what I'm going to do with my day. Saving me precious moments so I may be able to do more.

And, of course, I won't always stick to the plan. Real life cancels out a written plan all the time around here. It's just nice to have a template sometimes. To make life a little less monotonous.

Looks a little crazy, I know.

But this is the kind of thing that works for me. Have a plan. I don't feel as scatter brained that way.

I do have to be honest. We've had a great summer, the kids have been awesome and most days have been very happy around here. I don't mind the change in routine.

I'll miss them when school starts again.

Busy Kids are Happy Kids

It's been a long summer . . . but then again, it's going by so fast!

Keeping five kids happy for 3 months isn't always the easiest thing.

I believe that the busier I keep them, the happier they are.

It makes for a tired mommy, but a tired mommy is better

then a crabby mommy. And five kids bouncing off the walls

can turn me crabby fast.

So today we went for a walk. I had a "Nature Scavenger Hunt" list

(from Pinterest) for the kids, which kept them looking around.

The girls checked out the trail maps and we choose a 2 mile loop, because it took us around the water.

Audrey spotted a couple of turtles sitting on a log. And then we realized that there were a bunch of little turtles swimming around. Zoe spotted big frog too.

I loved how patient the girls were. They made sure the boys saw everything they could see. I love watching the boys faces, you can tell the moment they see what their little eyes are searching for.

This is near the end. Cameron was still running, but Audrey was starting to complain.

Emmitt refused to get out the stroller at this point. But trust me, he did his share of running and playing in the gravel. Castiel was the one who rode the majority of the way.

I was happy that we made the loop with no fighting or crying! I tend to believe that my kids do both more when they are bored.

And best part, the boys happily went down for a nap as soon as they were done with lunch.

Now mommy gets a nice quiet afternoon.

Best kids quote of the day:

"Mom look! A hop grasser!"

(thanks Cameron for always making us laugh.)