Helper

 Lily is truly my daughter. She organized our utensil drawer for me. Forks, spoons, candles, straws, Popsicle sticks, and the ''food claw". So adorable :-) I loved it so much that I left it this way. 

Fractured Toe

This has been the reason why I've slowed down on my home projects AND why I'm catching up on my blogging.

While shopping with my mom at (a place where there's a red target as their symbol) the fitting room door fell on my toe and fractured it. 

Scary but I'm so happy too. Lily was in the fitting room with me when she heard grandma and wanted to go with her. She wanted to crawl under the door but instead I told her I'd open the door for her. And right when she was out of room the door fell off it's hinge onto my foot.

 OUCH!!!

I was crying my eyes out. More for the thought that the door could have gotten Lily than the pain I was experiencing. 

So now I'm walking around with this lovely post-op shoe until my toe heals which the doctor said will take a while. Boo!

But with essential oils, ibuprofen, and prayers I've been feeling so much better alot fast then the doctor thought I would. But hey with God on your side all things are possible. 

House Projects

Since the first of January I have been on "Home self Makeover" mode.
So this had lead me to becoming a somewhat homebody. Which is fine since the snow, smog, and sick kids also forced me to stay home.

 (Hailey taking her 9th absent for this term due to being sick)
But here's a few finished projects I've been working on....

I've seen all over Pinterest those bookshelves turned on their side to make a bench. I loved that idea however when I tried to do this the shelves were way to high for my girls. It makes me wonder how the kids in the Pinterest photos get on top of their benches.
Anyways when Mike had his 1 day off in 2 weeks he helped me by making this bench. He used Mason's bookshelf that he received for Christmas along with some scrap wood pieces from our garage and made this absolutely wonderful storage bench for our girls.
 
 After painting it this peachy pink paint that I got from Lowe's for free it looks amazing.I can't even see that the wood doesn't match. So besides the little wicker bookshelf each colored bin is assigned for something. Blue- Cati's clothes. Purple- shoes/ underclothes, Light Pink- toys, Dark Pink-Lily's clothes. I admit it was hard getting everything down to 2 bins. We all had to make some hard scarifies (instead of 6 barbies they only have 2 now) but it's so worth it.

Next was keeping Christ in our home. I admit that there's times where this momma needs a time out herself. So to help me cut back at my yelling I ordered tons of prints of these Jesus photos. The photo of Mary holding baby Jesus is hanging on the girls bedroom door. And what better word than, "Love" to remind me to show love not frustration towards them. And the "Teach" photo of Joseph teaching Jesus to read is on Mason's door. It helps remind me that even Jesus needed to be taught so for me to not get frustrated when I have to teach Mason....whatever it may be for the day.

 And in the girls room over their bench I have 4 more Jesus pictures that I can see right when I open their door. A great little reminder to love my children as much as Christ does.

 But here's the girls new bunk beds that I wanted for MY birthday. It was such a great price (Target  org. $199 for only $90 with my red card plus free shipping) Lily and Ducati love their new beds! I mean LOVE!!!!

 Lily helped with the decorating of her walls. Between her and Cati they torn down some letters I had on their wall and instead she hung this newspaper ad up. Yes it says,"Contraception Opt-Out Offer", and, " LA Church leaders knew of abuse". Mike and I giggled when we seen this. But Lily says she likes this page because of the beautiful rings. So I'm on the hunt to find some purple rings so she can take down this ad. :-)

All I need to do now is paint the girls room again. This time we found the most amazing washable paint that's $35 for a can of it. So worth it to not have pen marks everywhere. So when I save enough to get 2 cans this room will be looking AMAZING!

Next was Mason's room. Nothing major had to be done. But he did need some bigger furniture. A friend of mine both giggled because she just had to get her son bigger furniture too. It's weird since I never thought about it. The bigger Mason gets the bigger his stuff needs to get.

 So we put the bookshelf that was in our living room in his room along with the dresser that was in our girls room is now in his room. He likes it so much more. Now all his shirts don't have to be smashed into a small bin.

 Oh and another new development with Mason. Being autistic can bring challenges that I never thought to teach. Like time management  Previously he had a list of things he needed to do everyday which was helpful but that lead to me 99% of the time having to remind him. Which I disliked since it's enabling him. So another friend of mine has a family schedule in her house that I've admired. So I took her idea and add that principle to Mason. He now has a schedule that breaks down the day for him in 15 minute time frames. Starts at 7am all the way until 8:30pm. And so far he's loving it. And I'm loving it since I don't have to remind him on thing he needs to do.

Now with my room. My room is a complete mess. At least I'm being honest. Between cleaning ,organizing, and daily tasks this room has be the longest project EVER!! But here's where I am.

Have you ever seen that movie, "How do you know?" with Reese Witherspoon.  There's a part where she goes into her bathroom to brush her teeth and reads all these affirmations. I felt so inspired when she did this that I did that to my mirror.

photo source
My bedroom mirror is now my "Time to Reflect". There's times when I wake up and our kids are already fighting. Or there's times when I'm in a funk and can't remember why I'm suppose to smile. But with words of affirmation- I love them! We have quotes all over our house so why not add them to our mirrors. Small and simple things can cause great changes. And this is one of them.

Last my closet. This is my prize joy. It took me a full day to go through this place. I wish I had a before photo but then again I don't. I would be too embarrassed to show how it looked.

Our poorly abused walk-in closet was home for clothes, gifts, wrapping paper, sewing stuff, toys, purses,  etc. But now .....

Everything that wasn't clothes was kicked out and everything that stood now has a place. Seasonal items are boxes up and put up top. Shoes are organized.  Belts are hung so nicely on our "(last name)" belt hook holder. And I even color coordinated our clothes. Alittle OCD but so pretty. All I have to do is sand and paint the dresser that I got from DI for $5 and I'll be able to sit in my closet and feel inner peace :-)

 I've enjoyed working on our home. It's the most amazing feeling when I was able to take down all the baby proofing stuff. No more locks on the cabinets. No more electric plug covers. Everything is all gone. It's so wonderful ♥  Some people might say I'll miss it but for Mike and I...haha- NOPE!

Hula Hoop

When Lily first kissed me.... I squealed.
When Lily first walked.... I squealed.
When Lily first spoke.... I squealed.
When Lily first did the robot.... I squealed....again!

But when Lily first swung her hula hoop..... I squealed :-) and grabbed my camera.

 I took a few pictures.

 Recorded a couple of minutes of her. She was so proud of herself for this accomplishment. She practiced all day then finally after about 8 hours (on and off) she finally got it and I was the first to witness it. I love it!

But I love more is how she holds her chest with one hand and then raises the other into the air. It's so adorable. And I'm done squealing...for now :-)

Preschool Science Project

As a kid I HATED science. I hated science projects, chemistry, labs, etc. If it smelled like anything close to science I was out of there.Then I grew up and realized how AWESOME science really is. Thanks Bill Nye!

Anyways with holidays over and my birthday behind me I've been able to get back into the groove of homeschooling Lily and Ducati. And for today we had a blast outside coloring snow. 

I seen this fun project floating around Pinterest but I wanted to add alittle more education to it. And since this lesson was for a 3 and 4 year old they gave it 2 thumbs up.

 To get their little minds working I had 3 bottles, some food coloring, and hot water. Pretty easy to assemble. Hot water into bottle, Add food coloring. Mix and have fun. But I wanted our girls to learn about primary colors and how they can make secondary colors.

 So each girl made their own bottle of snow paint with the color combo they wanted. Lily loved that she found a way to make lavender (<--- she learned this word from a Fancy Nancy book)

 Ducati made a "poopy diaper" color which lead to Lily making a poopy diaper pile on our driveway. Hey, at least they're learning about colors.

After Hailey was done with her homework she wanted to join in on this science project. :-)
Everyone had so much fun outside learning about colors that I'm going to have to search around to find another snow lesson before everything melts.

Mom note: I absolutely love it when I can see with my own eyes my kids minds growing with knowledge that I was able to give them. Absolutely amazing feeling :-)

A Moment

While we were getting ready for church I walked by to get to our bedroom and stopped in my tracks when seen this. It's such a tender moment that I couldn't pass up capturing it.  This lead to me reflecting for a moment. Hey....I couldn't help it. :)

When I first met Mike he was a full on Thug who was entering the Air Force who's first language as Ebonics :-)  But beneath that thick skinned surface I seen the most softest and kindest teddy bear ever. So there's no doubt why I fell for him so quickly♥ 

And to see him brushing Hailey's hair made my heart halfway melt. He's still that soft teddy bear even after 5 years together. I love it and I love him. :-)

29 years old

I was telling Mike that I don't feel older this birthday but I feel wiser. He smiled which lead me to laugh. :-) Perhaps not super wise but more grateful this year.

Mason and Hailey didn't have school today so I had planned to go out with them. Somewhere super awesome to have a super awesome good time. But after a weekend of home projects and my new sleep schedule I was so exhausted to do anything. 

Mike was nervous this year since he didn't purchase me 1 gift for me to open on my birthday. I reassured him that I didn't want anything. Just the week before he gave me the OK to splurge and buy some things that I've been wanting for a while. A cell phone, curtains, new dishes, the girls their bunk beds, etc. So my heart was content :-)

But he did do something very sweet for me. When I woke up I found 29 notes all around our house expressing to me how amazing I am. This for sure was a nice way to wake up. :-)

This year I was just so happy to have spent my birthday with my family. We had a great evening together. We had a family movie night, enjoyed some gluten free pizza, bowls of popcorn, and a yummy cake-alternative. (I've been trying to cut back on sugar so I made a chocolate dipped fruit platter instead. Mike put a candle on it so I can make my birthday wish)

But what more could I really ask for. I feel very blessed for the people in my life. The experiences I've lived. The knowledge I've gained over the years. I'm just one lucky gal. I'm very happy to see what this year has in store for me.

Maybe more chocolate dipped fruit....YUMMO! haha :-)