SWITCH

Switch it, change it, let's rearrange it!

Can you tell I used to be a cheerleader?  Yeah, that was three years of my life that I can't get back but I did make some good friends and learned some great lessons (like don't let you babies grow up to be cheerleaders).  Anyway, one of my favorite spaces in our home is our picture wall.  I love being able to display pics of the girls and while not feeling like I have a shrine. 

Our not so new prints (taken last July just now ordered) arrived and it was time to switch the others out.

Here is the before...

...and the after.

Actually everything except for the wedding pic of the hubs and I has been changed out in the past three weeks but I didn't take a pic of the true before.  As always though I dread taking down the old even if I love the new because then what do I do with them?  I hate to trash them but I also can't have 74 pictures on the walls of our home without being institutionalized.  What do you do?  Any ideas?

ST PATTY'S DAY

Top of the mornin' to ya.' 

We embraced the green theme and had green clover (flower) pancakes for breakfast.

Green bows for our hair and I thought about green milk but they each drink out of colored cups so what would be the point?

This little girl likes to pose...

This little girl just wants to eat!

Only after arriving at school did I realize that Faith's mouth was completely GREEN.  OOPS!

This morning we let our students watch a Veggie Tales clip detailing who St. Patrick was and why he is celebrated.  The video is really cute and you can find it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg5ejLGEnZk

HAPPY ST PATTY'S DAY!!

CREATE

Although this little girl looks nothing like me she acts just like her mother. 

Which at times is fabulous, for instance one day she kept saying "hate" and I informed her that we won't use that word in our house.  As she walked away I thought to myself "Man, if that was me I would so be saying "Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate" under by breath."  And what do you think I happened to see when I looked up?  A little girl rocking her head back and forth going "Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate." 

 See if she wasn't so much like me I would have never known to watch her ;)  

But sometimes our perfectionist personalities clash and our relationship suffers.  It's sounds horrible but I am counting down the days til she moves up and is no longer in my class.  Don't get me wrong I am seriously going to miss the child, I love having her around!  But if it's this hard to be mom and teacher how hard must it be for her to be student and daughter?

So today we just played.  I went and purchased some inexpensive canvases (4.25 for three) and let her loose to CREATE.  I think that the pictures tell more than words ever could. 

Grace's canvas looked this...

And then this after she created a bridge for the leprechauns to go over to reach the rainbow (???) and turned everything brown.  I had to smooth out all of the paint and then just let her go at it again.  She was thrilled.

Her finished canvas.  The girl would have gone on all night but I told her she had to be done when her daddy was done watering.

Painted face...

and hands and feet=

an afternoon that can't be beat!

BREAK IT DOWN

For the past eighteen months my hobby has taken over our home.  Fabric, thread, needles, and scraps could be found in every empty nook and cranny and boy do I mean EVERY.  So when I brought up the possibility of consolidating all of my "wares" and setting up a designated space the hubs got excited and said that he would even help! 

 After the "Behemoth" was sent away I was bummed.  I was on a tight budget for the space and had already invested $75 into something we sent to the dump and I had a "vision."  You know...when you get this perfect picture in your head of the perfect space.  Anyway when the hubs told me they were getting rid of all of the office furniture at the tower and that I could have my pick I wasn't exactly thrilled.  I mean yeah it was free but it wasn't what I had in mind.  Still I went and came away with these...

Yep, three cabinets, 9 foot of counter space, and a whole lot of UGLY.  The man seriously couldn't believe that I wasn't just going to leave them as they were.  Really?  I couldn't create in something so...sterile.  ICK!

And after 3 yards of fabric and 3 cans of fusion spray paint I now have this!  SQUEEE!

I was really thinking turquoise and pink (can't tell I am in love with that color combo right?) but when I was walking out the door to go search for fabric I saw this on my counter

and started envisioning a much sleeker look. 

So let's break it down, because this ENTIRE project, accessories included, cost only 90 dollars!

Cabinets and Tops: FREE

3 Cans of Black Fusion Spray Paint: $15

2 Yards of Home Decor Fabric: $12

1 Yard of Coordinating Fabric: $8

6'x3' sheet of plexiglass: $50

Mason Jars: $1 a piece so $5

Sundae Cup: FREE (Stole it from the kitchen)

Hutch: FREE (Repurposed from Faith's room)

Slatted Board: FREE (this is actually the front railing of our old crib)

Frames: FREE (found them in a closet while cleaning. SCORE!)

Isn't God amazing?  Even in the seemingly small things He provides beyond our wildest imaginations.  Sewing had become something I despised because of the massive effort it was and now everything is in one FABULOUS place.  See for yourself...

Even the insides of the drawers are pretty.  The hubs thinks I am crazy because no one will ever see it. 

But I know its there and that's all that matters!  Plus now all of you have too!

It took me five hours to find and sort through all of the fabric in the house.  YOWZAH!

My name is Bethany and I have a problem.  I am addicted to FABRIC!

Cheap but still WAY cute!

Framing fabric is a very inexpensive way to add pop to any room!

Plus I can change it out whenever I want to.

Amy was right, painting mason jars is addicting. 

And they worked perfectly to house all of the odds and ends that come with the hobby.

 

And a sundae cup was the perfect vessel to hold all of the "littles."

I have tons of odd colors that I will never need a whole spool of and now I can see them all!

LOVE!

PROJECT LIFE

So its week 10 of Project Life and although it's hard to remember to snap a shot everyday the rewards are worth the effort.  It's funny how sometimes the smallest moments are the ones that end up meaning the most.

Sunday we ended up home again due to Faith's weird rash (we later found out it was simply eczema) and Grace's coughing.  The morning ended up being a huge blessing.  We slept late, snuggled on the couch, and made heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.  The girls were THRILLED!

Monday we officially gave up on the "Behemoth" and sent it on it's merry way.  I was very disappointed but refinisher extraordinaire I am not so at least this way I don't have to stare my failure in the shelf every day.

And with that it was officially decided that Faith's big girl room will be robin's egg blue. 

What else am I going to do with the paint?

Tuesday Grace showed off her mad bridge skills and Faith quickly tried to imitate. 

Hee hee don't you love littles?

Impromptu playdates are a fav around here.

The girls are hysterical and we burned a good hour and a half before the screaming commenced.

Even though we had given up on "Behemoth" I had NOT given up on my desire for a dedicated sewing space.  Enter "Trudy" who was in definite need of some sprucing up to say the least.  But the price of FREE is always a plus so I decided to her a shot.

And I am so glad I did because after a two long nights she became...

Saturday we cleaned house and prepared to celebrate my mom's birthday.  Grace helped make Salted German Chocolate cupcakes (check out the post below if you want the details) and they were AMAZING!

And that's coming from someone who doesn't even really like german chocolate cake.

4 days and counting until SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PARTY

We celebrated my mom's birthday this weekend and we did it up right! 

We had all of her favorites, lasgagna, green chile enchiladas, and german chocolate cake. 

Not just regular 'ole german chocolate cake, we had german chocolate cupcakes!

 Of course Grace served as the kitchen help.  I actually had a video of her introducing her own cooking show but as always my camera has decided to hold it hostage.  Nice huh?

Anyway, I couldn't find a recipe that I found appealing for german chocolate cupcakes so we just winged it and ended up with these. 

After baking the cupcakes we cored them

and filled them with pecan, coconut icing and then dipped them in a bittersweet ganache.  A sprinkle of sea salt finished them off and they were AMAZING!  Oh yeah, side note, my pan is not dirty it's just ancient.  It was my grandma's and seeing as it was my mom's birthday I thought it was the perfect time to pull it out.

Somehow the night went by without any pictures of my mom and the girls. 

 I am going to have to work on that!  So I went back and found an oldie but goodie! 

 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!