Show & Tell Tuesday: If Walls Could Talk...

 

Today I'm linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals for Show and Tell Tuesdays.  The topic today?  House tours!  How fun!

Welcome to our home!

We bought our starter home in 2010-- a year after getting married. 

We liked the brick, the large flat lot, and the mature pecan trees. 

 

 

My husband bought two knock-out rose bushes for me for my first birthday as a homeowner.

 

 

Two years after buying our home, we welcomed our first baby here.  This room was already painted in these blue shades since the couple who owned the home previously had also welcomed home a baby boy.  It seemed natural that this room be the nursery, and we have a semi-beach theme going on.  Now our first born is nearly three!

 

In January 2014, our second little boy arrived. He is now 18 months old and sleeps in the Detroit Red Wings room-- this used to be a man cave but, well, things change. :)

This bathroom has housed many a bath night for two little ones. Recently painted white, it is much brighter and more cheery now. Add in a couple new rugs and voila! Cheerful bathroom suitable for bath toy wars and numerous splashes.

The master bathroom, also recently painted white, received new gray rugs because gray & white create a crisp and simple space.

The master bedroom has offered many nights of rest. Many prayers have been lifted up here, and many prayers have been answered. The antique vanity, passed down through many generations, and the bedroom set given to me by an aunt make this room feel extra special. The artwork above the bed is a watercolor print painted my sons and designed by my mother-in-law.

Fresh flowers add an extra dose of cheerfulness!

I love our corner fireplace.  The paint color is Walnut Bark.  The cream-colored walls are "Cozy Cottage" which I think is very fitting for this house.  :)   



 

I don't have a mudroom, so this bench is where we gather our shoes and our bags.

 

I love our gallery wall.  We change out the prints every so often, and add new canvasses when we can.  I have found that my oldest son finds peace in flowers.  I am keeping my eye out on my youngest son to find something that speaks to him, and I'll make canvas prints of that when the time comes. :)

The color in the dining room and kitchen is Wood Smoke.

 



 

 

This signs hangs in my kitchen near the coffee maker.  It's a daily reminder to relax the expectations I hold myself to.  It's a reminder to live in the moment and enjoy things as they come.  (Sign can be found here).

 

 



We added on this porch last fall.  The water table & sand table offer entertainment for two young ones while the porch creates safe shade.

 





The yard is large & flat with mature pecan trees. Two dogs especially love this space!

And that's that!

We love our home and the memories that we've made here. 


What about you?  What features of your home do you love?

Until Next Time,
Much love, Reba



If you give a dog some freedom...

and let her be outside with full access to the screened patio and fenced in back-yard, ...she might chew your door jambs...

In this case, you'll probably confine her to her crate during the daytime when you're gone.

You'll probably attend a birthday party with your sons and husband, and you'll come home and be greeted by this dog who has busted out of her crate.

You'll probably find that she's chewed up your son's dirtbike toy....

....then you'll see what you think is a shredded Game Informer magazine on the doggie bed.  At this point you'll realize that the magazine is still on the table.  Upon closer inspection, you'll realize that your dog has gone into your bedroom and retrieved a book (about cats, no less) from underneath your bed, and has shredded the book on the doggie bed in the living room....

...then your dog will tee-tee as you carry her outside while you figure out where to start on this mess clean-up, and while you're still dumbfounded as to how your dog got out of a crate.

You'll realize that, though massive, this dog is still yet a puppy.  Seven months old, no less.  You hope that the dog might still have a chance at outgrowing this destructive behavior.

After the mess is cleaned up and the house is back in show-order (because, of course, your house is on the market and shredded books, mangled dirt bikes, and chewed door jambs aren't selling points), you have to decide if you're going to grant freedom and risk more chewed door jambs, or if you're going to insist on restriction and try to keep the dog in a crate while you're out of the house.  But, of course, we all know that the real choice lies with this face right here:

And she creates her own freedom even through restriction.

You exhale deeply and think that it all started with just giving  a dog a little bit of freedom.




Until Next Time,
Much love,
Reba

A Few Favorites

I wanted to share a few of my favorite things today. 

Although I wrote this post a few days before this "link-up" event, I still wanted to share it anyway and am linking up with Andrea at Momfessionals to share some favorites!

To start, let's take a look at these two cutie pies.  They bring me such joy and I'm so blessed beyond belief that God chose to put them in my life and let me be their mom.

Here's my little T1D Warrior:

And here's my smiley little man-- this one is always ready for a photo-op and I hope he never grows out of it:

I am SO excited about this season-changing wreath!!! I ordered it from an Etsy shop (Hopscotch and Honey) and it is so cute!  It is a custom-ordered piece that I read about on another blog (her sister makes the wreaths) and I really wanted to order one.  I got to choose what size and color I wanted the wreath to be (I chose an 8" wreath in gray yarn to accent my kitchen walls, and because I thought gray would be a nice neutral base for all of the changing season accoutrements!).  I also got to choose whether I wanted traditional add-ons or whimsical and fun.  Obviously I chose whimsical and fun!  Each month, I will get to put a new set of flowers, or a banner (or both!) onto the wreath and I am so so so excited about it!  The wreath and all of the add-ons came in such a pretty package and that's one of the reasons why I love ordering from Etsy.  I get to give myself a gift that makes me feel so special when I open it.  Everything packaged so neatly and sweetly-- I love it.  Here's the July version of the wreath:

Here's how the wreath came packaged:

Here's the wreath wrapped in tissue paper and baker's twine, and all of the labeled add-ons-- to include a container of straight pins to hang the banners.  I am SO happy with how it turned out and I can't wait to change the add-ons each month!

Here's Michael going through the car-wash.  He got an ear infection last week and told Grandma Chips (my mother-in-law who keeps the boys during the day) that he would feel better if he got to go through the car-wash, so she obliged him!  So sweet.  Noah isn't too much of a fan of the car-wash. He still gets a little nervous when the car goes in this tunnel and soap surrounds all of the windows. I can see how that would be a bit unsettling. Michael, on the other hand, LOVES it. Hey, man, whatever floats your boat. :)  Grandma Chips snapped this picture when they were mid-wash. 

Here's my little bottomless pit.  This kid can eat.  This picture was taken a couple days ago when he was "finished" with his oatmeal.  Did he get any in his mouth?  Hmm.  Not sure.  But we love him anyway.

We discovered a while ago that these children love to play with brooms and dustpans.  Is that normal? I'm not sure-- these are my only kiddos.  I do remember wishing I had a tiny Dirt Devil vacuum as a little girl, but that's only because a friend of mine had one and I didn't realize that vacuuming isn't really that fun.  These boys, however, love a good broom.  Grandma Chips has a kid-size set for them to play with, so I decided to get a set for them to have at our own house.  They were so excited when I took it out of the box!  Noah sweeps and says "abba abba abba" meaning of course "sweepa sweepa sweepa" (an excerpt taken from an episode of Wallykazam when a character sweeps).  I consider this toy set a total Mom-score.  Be sure to play under the table and all around the kitchen, boys.  :)

Snacktime!  These little ones sure love their "coo" (a code-word for Greek yogurt).  Noah is able to tolerate yogurt and cheese, so we just stay away from dairy milk and we allow him to have other dairy products in a moderate amount.  These pictures were taken right after afternoon nap, so I apologize for the tired or grouchy faces.  :)

I hope you've enjoyed this edition of some of my favorites! 
What are some of your favorite things?

Until Next Time!

Much love,
Reba

A Random Collection of Goods

I have all kinds of ideas and posts and stories swirling around in my head today, so I figured I'd try to combine some of them into one random post.

Namely, everyone at work is all a-buzz because several of us who weren't able to do so in the past will now be able to work from home!  Can I get an AMEN?!?!?!  The first wave of people (25 of them) will begin working from home this Thursday and I need them to be completely successful so that the second wave of people (19 people total) can go home!  I'm in the second wave, and we're hoping to be home by mid-August!  Can I tell you how perfect that would be??? Yes, I know that working from home would come with its distractions and disadvantages.  I know I'd probably get tired of looking at the same old wall day after day.  I might get bored without hearing others chit-chat around me all.day.long.  Sure, I could experience any of those feelings.  HOWEVER, I know the good will outweigh the bad.  For our family dynamic, the opportunity for me to work at home will be golden and much needed. Stay in prayer that things go smoothly with the first wave so that I can ride the second wave straight to the house!

Aaron and I are working hard at curbing our Starbucks addiction.  He had the fabulous idea to buy coffee creamer (on sale!) at Publix this weekend so we could make our own flavored-iced-coffees at home instead of shelling out mucho buckaroos for Starbucks.  It's working out great!  They are so delicious!  We use Folger's Classic Roast and brew a cup in the coffee machine.  We pour that over ice into a Tervis Tumbler.  We splash in some almond milk (we don't keep dairy milk anymore, for Noah's sake) and we finish it off with some flavored coffee creamer.  This week we tried International Delight Chocolate Caramel creamer.  Very tasty. 

My mom and dad treated us to a night of free babysitting last night and let us go out on a date!  Can I just brag on them a minute?  Both sets of grandparents that live near our boys are always so willing to help out and give us reprieve when we need it.  Mom sent a text on Saturday night saying that she and dad wanted to watch the boys for us.  We were so thrilled!  We've been aching to go on a date for a little while now, but we wanted to get Michael fully settled with his insulin pump before we did so.  Last night was the perfect opportunity. 

Mom and Dad arrived right when the boys were done eating supper.  Aaron and I scooted out the door to hit up our favorite sushi restaurant. We beat the dinner crowds and didn't have a wait at all. It had been SUCH a long time since we've eaten sushi that we knew we wouldn't be able to choose just a couple rolls.  Sooooo, we split 5 sushi rolls.  :)  We chose our favorites and made a challenge to eat every single bite.  We did it and we were so full, but so happy.  Hmmm mmm mmm.  Our sushi quota has been met for a while. :) 

We then headed to Kohl's because, let's face it, they are ALWAYS having a sale.  Now that Aaron works in an office, he has to wear fancy clothes.  And to be honest, I was getting tired of seeing the same 5 shirts come through our laundry machines.  So we added 4 new shirts to his rotation and we also picked up some fun and funky dress socks (think blue & teal argyle, and of course, a Ninja Turtle sock set which he wore today!) :)  I sure love him. 
We also snagged a pair of black dress shoes for Michael to wear in Andrew's wedding this fall.  Michael will be the ring bearer.  :)  I've been piecing together an outfit for him to coordinate with the groomsmen tuxes because I refuse to rent a tux for him from Men's Wearhouse for the same price as Aaron's Best Man tux rental.  Hello!  Michael will be using a fraction of the fabric that Aaron's tux will be made from.  And they cost the same price?!? Ridiculous.  So I've been finding pieces here and there to add to our repertoire until we get a full outfit. :)  The shoes we found at Kohl's were cuter and the same price as a pair I had in my amazon cart.  So we grabbed the pair at Kohl's.  One item checked off the ring-bearer outfit list. 
We also found a cute set of tennis shoes on sale for Noah.  I've recently decided to sell all of their "used" shoes that I've acquired in past consignment sales.  I had my reservations about used shoes, but couldn't beat the price, so I ignored my inner feelings.  However, with Michael's type one diabetes, the last thing I need is for him to get a foot fungus from a used shoe.  And sure, Noah would probably be okay, but I can't make one child wear used shoes while the other child only gets new shoes.  So I decided that I am going to sell all of their used shoes at the upcoming consignment sales, and I will replace their shoes as I find pairs on sale in stores.
We saved more than we spent at Kohl's (which is always a plus in my book!) and we even got some Kohl's cash to use this upcoming weekend.  I might like something too, you know! :)  Just kidding.  It's way more fun to shop for others!

After Kohl's we headed to Target.  We needed to stock up on prize-bag items for Michael's CGM insertion change.  We also grabbed a couple of movies to watch together on future evenings at home after our work-outs.  We picked up a couple of sturdy plastic bowls on sale for 79 cents for the boys to use with their oatmeal, etc.  We got a swimmie-floatie for Michael to use this fall when we will be staying at a hotel with an indoor pool for two nights (more on that in a second).  They did not have a size small enough for Noah, so we'll be on the lookout throughout the summer.  We got an item off of Andrew's wedding registry and headed to the check-out. 

After the dinner, the trip to Kohl's and the trip to Target, we spend a good deal of money, but it's all right.  We don't get to do date nights very much, and we checked off a number of things on our "Should Buy Eventually" list (like wedding shoes for Michael, a swim floatie, prize bag items, etc).
A date with my hubby is always worth it.  Now we feel refreshed and rejuvenated and better able to tackle the whirlwinds that being parents of two little ones can bring-- especially with Type One Diabetes thrown in the mix!

So.... back to talking about the wedding this fall.  My brother-in-law (Aaron's older brother) is getting married to a sweet lady this September.  They will have an outdoor wedding at a rural location in South Georgia.  Michael will be the ring-bearer and Aaron will be the Best Man.  Family is coming in from all Washington state and it will be a super fun time!  Since we have to be at the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, and since the wedding is not until the late afternoon on that Saturday, we will be spending that Friday night and Saturday night in a hotel!  This will be our first attempt at taking the boys to a hotel, but I am super pumped!  When we were researching rooms in the hotel that Andrew has reserved rooms for the family, we were trying to find a room with a fridge.  We know that we'll be bringing soy milk or almond milk for Noah (read why here), and we know that we'll be bringing more diabetes supplies than we need, and some of the supplies will need refrigeration.  I didn't see that the standard double queen rooms came with fridges, so we tried to book a queen suite (still has two beds, but also had a living area and a fridge).  However, there were no queen suites available, so they told us we could get a King Executive Suite.  We chose to do so simply for the fact that it came with a fridge.  The day after the room was booked, I checked the hotel site again and this time I saw that the standard rooms came with fridges too!  I asked Aaron if we should cancel the suite and just get a regular room, and he said that we should keep the suite.  We've never stayed in a hotel suite before, and it might be nice to have that extra space since it'll be our first time as a family of four to stay in a hotel. The King Executive Suite has a living area, a main bed area and then a separate bedroom off of that with another king bed.  It will be nice to let the boys share the spare room, especially since they go to bed before we do!  I'm really excited about our upcoming hotel stay!  The hotel has an indoor pool and the boys will get to swim in a pool for the first time!  (Yes, Michael will be 3 and Noah will be nearing 2, but what can I say?  We don't have friends with pools around here).
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to all of the family time we will get, and the excitement that comes from a wedding!

This post is pretty long already, so I'll stop here for now.

I have a bunch more random ideas and stories in my head and pictures to go along with that.  Check back soon for a picture post!

Until Next Time,
Much love,
Reba

The Smiling Mirror

I'm really excited to be linking up with Andrea today to share Beauty Routines!

I keep it pretty simple. I don't wear a whole lot of make-up, which is probably why people assume I'm 16 rather than 27.

I start with a daily moisturizer and I follow that up with a tinted moisturizer. I like Covergirl BB cream. I use a cosmetic wedge to apply the moisturizer to my forehead and T-zone, and then I add the tinted moisturizer all over my face. I find that the tinted moisturizer helps conceal the post-pregnancy patchy skin on my cheeks.

I use Loreal liquid eyeliner on my top lid-- I don't use eyeliner on my bottom lid since it makes my eyes appear much smaller. I use Maybeline Million Lashes mascara on my top lid only for the same reasons as the eye liner.

I use Covergirl oil control powder to "set" the tinted moisturizer. I add some Covergirl peach blush and I apply e.l.f. lip stain in a neutral shade. I'm really impressed with the lip stains since they add a pop of color and stay in place without transferring to coffee cups like most lip sticks do.

Other products I like include Dove deodorant (it provides a nice light scent), a great summery Essie nailpolish shade (I like Cute as a Button), and my Chi hair straightener (which even keeps my surf-wavy hair tame & straight even in this Alabama muggy summer heat!).

And the best beauty tip of all is remembering to drink water throughout the day!  I love my Brita water filter bottle, and I take it with me everywhere I go.

I give the mirror a great big smile and I'm on my way!

Be sure to check out the Link-Up Party found here at Momfessionals to see the beauty routines, tips, and tricks that others are sharing today!


Until Next Time,

Much Love,
Reba

A Frugal Fourth

I'm trying my very first "Link-Up" today through the Frugal Crafty Blog Hop (found at Making it in the Mountains)! 

I love decorating for holidays, but strangely haven't really decorated much for the Fourth of July before.  I figured this year was the perfect year to start!

I kept it simple and frugal.  Here's a peek at some of the decor:

I made this wreath myself from items I bought at Hobby Lobby.  I intend to leave it hanging for a while longer-- after all, nothing quite says summer like red, white, and blue.  For the wreath, I used a styrofoam wreath and I covered it in navy chevron burlap ribbon (on sale!).  I meandered through the scrapbooking section of the store to find the dark red burlap flower.  I tied some white thread to it and that was it!  Super easy and I'm really happy with how it turned out!

On Thursday, I swung into the local grocery store really quickly to pick up some fresh flowers to scatter throughout my home.  Our house is on the market and my mother-in-law told me that fresh flowers sell houses more than the smell of fresh baked cookies.  I took that tip and ran with it.  Fortunately, the patriotic bouquets were on sale for $5.00 a piece.  I picked up two of them and divided them up.  I didn't want to have one or two huge arrangements, so I decided to split the two bouquets four ways.  I started with a small collection of the tri-colored flowers and stuck them in a re-purposed Starbucks coffee drink bottle.  This bouquet I set on the kitchen counter.

Next, I tucked some of the white daisies in another re-purposed Starbucks coffee drink bottle, and I placed this vase in the master bath.  The bath is white & gray themed, and the white daisies fit in perfectly.

Next, I made a bouquet of just blue daisies to put in my oldest son's beach-themed bedroom.  I cut the stems pretty short and stuck them in a re-purposed pickle jar.

Finally, I gathered some of the red-hued flowers and put them in my youngest son's Detroit Red Wings themed bedroom.  This smaller bouquet fit perfectly in a re-purposed jelly jar.

We had family over for dinner on Friday night in celebration of Independence Day since most of us would be busy on Saturday.  For dessert, I chose to go with a patriotic theme.  Angel food bundt cake, cool whip, strawberries, and freshly picked blueberries.  Red, white, and blue? Don't mind if I do. 

I hope you've enjoyed this peek at our Fourth of July decorations!

Links to other frugal crafty finds can be found here at Making it in the Mountains.

Thanks for stopping by!

Until Next Time,
Much love,
Reba

Merry the Boxer

In February, we added a delightful creature to our family: Merry the Boxer.  She is a brindle-colored boxer and has a very sweet, and playful temperament.  She was the runt of the litter and was so itty-bitty when we brought her home at 9 weeks old.

Aaron has worked really hard to train her to sit, lay down, get back up, go to her bed, go to her crate, etc.  She can obey voice commands and hand signals. 

She is very smart. She can be very sneaky. She's very excitable. She's wonderful with the boys and very gentle.

She thinks Akuna, our miniature Australian shepherd, is her personal dog-toy. She bites his fur relentlessly, and sometimes she appears that she has a beard but it's really just Akuna-fur hanging around her mouth. 

She also LOVES to snuggle Akuna.  She will purposely sit on him when we tell her to get in her bed.  Sometimes, though, these two can get in sync and share a dog-bed and snuggle.

She's very messy when she drinks water, and instead of coming up to us to lick our hands, she will run her jowls on our hands or our pant legs. She earned the nickname "Jowly" through this behavior.

Her other nicknames include "Merry Jerry" and "Merry Derryberry."  Her official name is Merry Grace. 

On Monday of this week, we took Merry to have her fixed.  This is something we planned to do anyway, but it was important to have it done since she was the runt of the litter and might not have been able to support a litter of puppies on her own. 

We took her to the local Animal Alliance Spay/Neuter Clinic, where all they do are spay and neuter surgeries.  This seemed like a good option to us because they are skilled at what they do, they are able to provide the surgery for a lower cost than our normal veterinarian, and we had a personal recommendation by a family friend who has a female Boxer who went there to be fixed.

Before surgery, probably after starting anesthesia, Merry had a seizure.  It lasted less than a minute, but she did lose consciousness and urinate on herself.  Once she was stable, they moved her out of the operating room and gave me a call.  My mom and I went to pick Merry up to bring her home. 

I spoke at length with the Animal Alliance Clinic, as well as with our veterinarian office, and to Aaron. If we were to reschedule the surgery for a later date, the Animal Alliance Clinic does not have medicine for which they could administer to Merry via IV if she happened to have a seizure during the surgery.  If I took her to our normal veterinarian for blood work, they would confirm the diagnosis that the Animal Alliance gave us which simply states that she has seizures.  There is no cure for seizures, and medication might not always help.  So, instead of paying for the blood work (which is more expensive than the cost to get her fixed at our vet's office), we are going to give her some time off from this added stress.   In the future, if we get her fixed, we will take her to our veterinarian for the procedure, where they would be able to administer seizure meds via an IV during surgery, if needed.

For now, we are letting her just be.  We're keeping things low key and letting her self-regulate.  She was pretty droopy on the car ride home as you can somewhat tell from the picture above.  However, once we got her inside our home and she saw Akuna, she instantly started prancing around and jumping on him-- like a normal little sister. :)

Merry, we love you and the spunk you bring to this family.  We wouldn't trade you for anything in the world.  You're now our puppy with seizures, but we love you still.  And you're here to stay!


Until Next Time,

Much Love,
Reba