Easter 2012

We just got back from our third trip in three weeks, and I'm pooped!! I mentioned that we went to Nebraska and Texas, but this past weekend was Easter and we spent it out of town as well in Valparaiso, IN at Cory's aunt and uncle's house. It was a great time, but I dealt all weekend with these horrible allergies. IT. HAS. BEEN. AWFUL!! This year truly is bad allergy-wise - poor Nora is inside more than I care to admit. She has seen the inside of every PlayPlace in the Midwest while all her friends are out enjoying the nice weather at parks. This weekend she finally got in some decent "outside time" with daddy, Nana, her cousins, and some new friends. It was GREAT!

I wish I hadn't forgotten my camera, but I did snap a few pics with Cory's iPhone of the Easter Egg Hunt and some other fun moments. (This was officially Nora's first Egg Hunt!)

Riding verrrrrrrrry slowly on the tiny 4-wheeler with Uncle Mike.


Pre-Egg Hunt CHEESE!


Pretty girl! (This is probably only the fifth time she has ever worn a nice dress like this. Mom fail! lol)


Annnnnd, we're off on the hunt!


Looking . . .


Getting some help from daddy . . .


She got the hang of things quickly.


Nora brought home her body weight in candy and also added a lot of change to her piggy bank. She was so excited to open every egg, even though she is not a fan of jelly beans or chocolate. She did end up randomly eating part of a peanut butter/chocolate egg, much to my surprise! But of course - in true Nora fashion - she swallowed 3/4 of it and then wanted to spit out the rest. What a goofy girl! :)

Until next time . . .

It's Been Awhile . . .

Yes, it has been awhile since I have updated! Sorry. I have been traveling a LOT. We went to Nebraska to visit my dad in March, then Nora and I flew to Texas to visit a friend this past weekend. For Easter we are headed away as well, and there is also one more trip coming up for my mom's 60th birthday! Combine all the traveling with all the nice weather and being outside, and you have very few blog updates. It's a crazy spring around here.

Anyway, here are a few pictures I have been meaning to share with you! I am also behind on the picture-taking, but what can ya do:




Until next time . . .

Nora's Latest "Update"

Things to remember about Nora at this age:

"smarshmellows" instead of marshmellows
She makes up her own songs.
favorite color: "aquamarine" :)
loves her bunny scarf from Grandma Pat
loves snowmen

"My fingers are too little to stick in the toilet. And this finger is too little. And this finger is too little too."
"mommy, I'm thirsty! Tengo hombre!"
"who's crying? the purple?"

Me: Nora, let me play with your hair.
Nora: no.
Me: pleeeeeease?
Nora: no.
Me: I just want to play with it.
Nora: it's not a toy.

Nora just told me her soccer ball has "1, 2, 3, 4 polka dots and 1, 2, 3, 4 octagons." :)

"OH NO! The purple one fell on her bump!" :)

Me: Nora do you know what you want to be when you grow up?
Nora: Ummmm . . .
Me: A doctor?
Nora: Nope.
Me: A teacher?
Nora: Nope:
Me: Well what would you like to be?
Nora: I just gonna be a Nora.

Nora: I want some chocolate.
Me: Really? (She doesn't like chocolate, and will tell you so!)
Nora: Yeah.
Me: You sure?
Nora: YEAH!
Me: OK. (I give her a Hershey Kiss. She licks it, makes a face, and gives it back.)
Nora: It's too chocolate.

Nora just told me she wants to help me at "making flour" (baking). :)

i just asked Nora what she wanted for Christmas. Her response: "a star, and a moon, and a snowman." she aims high! :)

i made toast with Nutella for breakfast this morning. Nora asks me "Mommy, what you eating?" I said "Toast, you want a bite?" She says "No, it's too muddy." :)

Nora sees that daddy is watching football.
Nora: "Baseballllll! I wuv baseball! Yay baseball!"
Cory: "It's football Nora."
Nora: "Football!! Yay footballlllllll!" :)

We went to her first concert: The Fresh Beat Band!

Two New Projects - A Bag and Another Sign

So I was "sick" this weekend. Actually it was kind of strange because I was only really sick for about five lethargic hours, and the rest of the time I felt pretty crappy, but well enough to get up and do some things. Like shop - for not only groceries, but a self-healing cutting mat and a rotary cutter. :)

Cutting mat and rotary cutter - WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE?!?!?!?!! Cutting fabric was so easy, I was actually in shock and had to sit down afterward. I had enough time to not only cut fabric, but sit down afterward. That never happens.

Anyway, having fabric cut almost to exact right angles gave me the courage to try a harder sewing project. I am sure most of you on Pinterest have seen this pin. I was actually thinking of doing this in my bathroom with fabric storage baskets I saw that you could purchase online, but I decided recently to just try to sew some instead:

I made the bag in just an hour with a drawstring bag tutorial I found online (so that way if I ever want to, I can take it off the hoop, and just thread a ribbon through the holes to use it as a drawstring bag.) I think it turned out pretty cute! I am going to get an embroidery hoop for it this week and hang it from the towel bar in our bathroom to catch Nora's hair stuff.

I also made this sign because baseball season is right around the corner, plus I like the quote:

I haven't gotten out my spring decor yet, but when I do this stays! Baseballllllllllllllll . . . :)

I swear - I really was sick this weekend!

Until next time . . .

New Spice Jars and a Door Sign

Hello! I apologize for not writing in awhile, my brain has been on overload - especially this past week. To make a long story short: I realized (with the help of my small group) I had not given a very specific area of my life over to God, and I have been wrestling with that. Also this past week a huge team from our church left for El Salvador, where I was last year at this time. Since I could not go this year I was so upset about it for weeks up until they left. I cried and cried about it. However, as the trip went on and we received many amazing and heartbreaking updates, I was able to be happy for all the wonderful things that were happening and accept that this year I just was not meant to go and help. (But next year! . . . )

Anyway, when I get sad I tend to pray, write, and make things. :) So here's some of the stuff I made:

New Spice Jars


Last year I made some spice jars out of large upcycled baby food jars. I. LOVED. Them! I still do. They were nice and big, and I could very easily get a measuring spoon inside. However, I did have one of my spices start to smell bad, and I wanted to use the shelves for something else. So I bought a few new jars, and got these baskets on clearance. Then I labeled the jars with vinyl cut with my Silhouette. These new ones are about as close to perfect as you can get! They are great to cook with, and I am diggin' the way they look.

New Door Sign
My doorbell is broken. More than likely I just need to replace the batteries, but I really HATE having a doorbell anyway, and I don't really want to replace them! So it remains "broken" for now. :)

Anyway, I saw this pin on Pinterest and it made me laugh because I can seriously identify. Our home may be cozy inside, but it needs a LOT of work done to the outside. Like, we haven't done a THING to the landscaping or to the outside of the house since moving in, with the exception of minor yard clean-up and upkeep. So I made my own version of it:

I did the lettering with my Silhouette, and used a board that I got not too long ago from Pick Your Plum (LOVE THAT SITE). Since it would be hanging outside, I Modge-Podged it to protect it. Then I hung it on my (dirty, needs TLC) exterior - right on the "broken" doorbell. :)

Until next time . . .

Nora Pics

Here are some pics of Nora from the past month or so. Enjoy!

This is her favorite thing right now: her bunny scarf. When woke up and found out it snowed, she went right to get her scarf and gloves. :)


Playing inside with snow. She ate most of that bowl.


Playing with her umbrella and rain boots, sitting in a lawn chair. Don't tell her it's the middle of January . . . or that she's inside. :)


She likes to pretend she's in a band. She's got the right attitude. :)


Playing outside in the snow "for a few minutes". Ha!


. . . but then it was also warm enough to play outside this month too! :)

. . . As A Result of Pinterest, Part 3

I have been doing a series this week on the inspiration I have gotten from Pinterest. Check out Part 1 and Part 2!

Snowman Garland, pinned here.

I have a board on my Pinterest page dedicated to "Kid Crafts". I have this board because the kids in this house and I also have a countdown calendar to spring!! Winter around here seems to go very, VERY slowly. Maybe all stay-at-home-moms feel this way, maybe it's just me! My "Kid Crafts" Board helps me think of things for us to do that don't involve watching TV, doing the same puzzles 35 times in a row, or reading the same books over and over again.

The above pin is one we made just a few days ago. I used my Silhouette Cameo and cut out triangles from orange paper, and circles of all shapes and sizes from black paper. My daughter was THRILLED. Her favorite craft is "making a snowman". This craft helped me out in more than one way as well - I have this big blank space on my wall right now that is temporarily empty until I put my next idea into action. This garland was the perfect little "filler art" for the winter:



Until next time . . .