iphone update~

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, this post will be a snoozer~ sorry. I am sad to admit that the only photos I have as of late, are the ones found on my phone... oops! So here is a little sampling of what we've been up to via my iphone pics~ in no particular order;)

V-day the hubs and i had a hot date, and the kiddos had a blast at Gramy's house.

check and check!Came across this nifty little desk, and knew I had to have it for the Ry-bug. She has been obsessed with playing school lately, and was so excited at the prospect of having her very own desk!

A little tlc, and he was good as new~

Parker has a new nasty habit of coloring on the walls. Not.Good. The weather has been fabulous, lots of time out and about the neighborhood. And darn those girl scout cookies!

Koda got his pins out, and is healing like a champ. Oh, happy days...

Ski days with cousins are always a good time~

I may, or may not have let my kids sluff school to go skiing...

What? It was just a short day;)

Parke really enjoys pb&j's right now... it's almost the only thing he will eat!

This picture is precious to me~

Kade's basketball games, Parke's "pond & reptile" preschool treats, homemade chicken noodle soup and rolls for a stormy night, and Rylie and her jello-playdough~ huge hit! recipe here.

Nutella fruit dip~ recipe here. Tasty!

These two... melt a momma's heart.

No idea where my week went, but always happy to welcome another weekend;)

Looking forward to some spiritual enlightenment, and good eats with conference.

Hope you all enjoy!

~xo

Fireman Parke

Hey there!

Yep, still kickin'

We've had a busy few weeks around here, a couple of weekend getaways {I'm still catching up on laundry~yuck!} and lots of fun in between. I will get to all of that good stuff later, but for now I must report on this littlest of mine. Parke had a field trip to the fire station with his preschool class. This little spunkster is wild and crazy... until you get him out of his comfort zone. This was no different~ as the rest of his class ran around answering questions and fully participating in the fire safety extravaganza, this one stayed mum!

It was all I could do to get him to stand near his classmates for a group picture... and forget about wearing that fireman hat! But isn't he adorable? I think I'll keep him;)Me and my troops~

When we left, I asked Parker why he was being so shy and his reply was, "Because I didn't know dat fireman guy." Silly stink. The fireman hat has since become a fan favorite and adopted into his repertoire of hero clothing;)
A few things that melt my heart lately...

~ Parker dressing like a super hero every.single.day. If we get him ready in the morning, you can guarantee if you turn your head for two seconds he is out of those clothes and into full hero gear. I don't know how he works so quick??

~ The way Kaden dotes on his baby brother, to which Parker usually tries to squirm away from his hugs and kisses but is secretly loving every second of it.

~ Rylie being the biggest 'daddy's girl'~ she sure does love that daddy one, and is always hanging on him... to which, he does not complain;)

~ The fact that my boys make me lay in their bed with them every night until they fall asleep. Sometimes I lay there thinking of all the things I could be getting done, but I quickly dismiss that crazy thinking and remember they will be grown boys before I even know it, and the last thing they will need is their momma snuggling them to sleep. I will take it!!

~ Any time I am in the kitchen, there is always someone jumping in and wanting to help with whatever is on the menu. Sometimes a little too much help, a few egg shells in the batter, but again... I'll take it!!

~ Rylie learning to read, and taking such pride in her school work. Oh! and cartwheels, the girl never stops cartwheeling around the house. A few injuries have been induced due to this new trick, but she has got them down~ even the one-hander! Go Ry!

~ My sweet hubby working so hard to provide for his growing family. Sometimes I wish we could all just be home all day every day together, playing and making memories. But alas, that is not reality, and I am so appreciative of all Nic does to make our world go round. He is most definitely my better half, and the best daddy to our kiddos.

And that is going to be all for now. I will get crack-a-lackin on these vacay photos and hope it's not another month before I get them posted~ sheesh!

Have a happy day!

~xo

laundry gone cheerful

I'm not even sure how this latest laundry room re-do came to pass...

I think it all started when I got the itch to paint those cabinets white. It is a pretty beensie room, and it was feeling sort of dark and dreary. I mean, who wants a dark and dreary laundry room? Laundry is daunting enough as it is, may as well do it in a cheery room, eh? So I disassembled those cabinets{a little nervously, i must admit} and got to town refinishing them in a shiny coat of white~

Next, I decided to brighten up those walls! After a first coat of pale yellow I was not sold, and went with this pale blue instead...

cabinets before~

cabinets after~ ah, happy:)

This chalkboard/coat hook wall we actually put up a couple years ago, so the kiddos would have a place to doodle, and hang their school garb. It has been a fun addition~

a preview of what this room uuuusually looks like, unfortunately. Although, I have to say it has been much more intising to keep it clean now;)

and after~

While we're speaking laundry, I have to send a shout out to the homemade detergent recipe I found on pinterest. I have been using it for several months now, and am quite enjoying it!

Recipe found here. I've altered it a bit, to 1 1/2 c. of the washing soda, and borax, to one bar of Fels Naptha. Super easy, huge money saver, and just makes me feel better knowing what's in it!

And a little bit, goes a long way! You only need between one and two tablespoons per batch, depending on what it is you are washing.

Another favorite is this lavender water~ instruction here.

So many different ways to use this, it has changed my world.

So there you have it folks, a bit of laundry goodness.

Happy Monday.

~xo