...Playgroup...

Every Thursday our ward does a playgroup. It has been so much fun that Tatum looks forward to it every week. So far Tatum's favorite playgroups have been trips to the fire-station and animal hospital. 

{The Fire-station}

It was a bit of a cold day but that didn't stop the kids from going out to spray the hose and check out the fire engine.  Tatum wouldn't go near the hose, I think he was scared he would get wet!

They gave all of the kids a goodie bag equipt with a hat, badge and coloring book. They were able to see the whole station and they even got to play on the pole.

{The Animal Hospital}

This was a fun trip. They took us in and showed us all around the Hospital. We saw how they weigh the animals, where they give baths and then we got to see the doggie daycare.  

They brought this St. Bernard inside for us all to pet. Such a beautiful dog!

Little Alayna loved him and had no fear.

 Trey just went along for the ride. 

Always content to be doing what Tatum is doing.

Its so nice to have these playgroups to get us out during these long winter months.

..Loving Your Space...

Alright, I am  starting something new!

Its called loving your space...my new decor blog.

I love showing the latest projects that we have done around the house and getting feedback, 

but I was getting tired of them "cluttering" up my blog. 

So the solution was to start my own blog where I could showcase all of the fun things that I do around here. I doubt it will turn into anything big, but I am still so excited. 

So you can click on the link above or on the button to the side of my blog to get there!

Enjoy!!

...Tatum's Birthday...

On the 27th my sweet boy turned 4!!
We celebrated the big day with a Harry Potter themed party.

{the invites}


Each invite had an official letter from Hogwarts and a ticket for the Hogwarts Express.
Then they were enclosed with a wax seal.

{the party}


The morning of the party, Tatum got a delivery at the door.
Every year my Mom sends Tatum balloons and chocolate.
This year the balloons were the colors of Griffindor, all except for the one pink one.
They misunderstood and thought it was for a girl!

{the sorting hat}


After all of the kids arrived we started with the house sorting.
This was so cool.
We put Trey's baby monitor inside of the sorting hat with Eric upstairs talking into it. Each kid got their turn wearing the sorting hat and then each got a badge to match the appropriate house.


Our TV hooks up to the internet, so before we started the sorting we pulled up a clip of it from the movie.
They all sat so patiently and watched in awe!


{ollivanders wand shop}


After everyone was sorted, we headed downstairs to Ollivanders where each kid got to make their own wand.


We had paint, glitter, feathers and pipe cleaners that they all could use to personalize their wands.


{the lessons}


Once the wands were made it was time to head to their lessons were they learned the spells to become a Wizard. Eric has a Harry Potter spell app on his phone and he hooked it up to the surround sound for the lessons. Dustin and Eric would teach them a spell and then through the speakers it would say "excellent" or "outstanding". They made a feather float, a snake appear, opened doors, turned on the lights, and changed the color of water. They ALL thought they had just done real magic!


In between lessons we had them all search for the golden snitch.
We hid a bunch of these around the house and they each had to find one before we could proceed.


Once they all became Wizards it was time to put their hard work to the test: they would have to use their spells to change the color of their potion. While the kids were searching for the snitchs, we put a few drops of food coloring at the bottom of their cups and covered it with ice. We then put Sprite in a cauldron with dry ice to act as their "potion".


When they did the right spell Eric poured the potion into the cup and it would magically change colors.
They loved it!

After the potions we finished up with cake and presents and the kids went home with a bag full of candy from Honeydukes Sweet Shop.


I think the party was a success :)

...Valentines Day...

Valentines morning I woke up early and made everyone delicious pancakes with some homemade strawberry peach syrup topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. Yum!


I showed this sing-a-ma-jig to Trey in the store and he went crazy, so I had to get it for him for Valentines Day. He loves it!


He also got some pancakes. Man can this kid eat! He is only 7 months old and wants nothing to do with the bottle. He doesn't take after his brother at all!


Tatum made some Valentines this year for all of his little friends. I know this idea was all over the internet but I couldn't resist!


Valentines Day is a special day for Eric and I. This year it marked 6 years since we were engaged. We try to do something special every year and this year we went to Midway for a night. We took our best friends Josh and Brooke and Mike and Jessica with us and had so much fun. We packed in a lot so the only picture I took was of these 3.

Pretty typical pic, Tatum playing on the I phone, Brinley playing with Woody and Trey just loving sitting with the big kids.

For our Valentines dinner the guys made all the girls a delicious meal. They did an Olive Garden night with Steak Gorgonzola, salad, bread and asparagus.

We had a wonderful Valentines spent with the ones we love and care for.

...7 Months Old...

Its been a while since I updated about this little man.
Today Trey is 7 months old!


Originally this post was going to be all about how fun Trey is becoming and the milestones he has passed. But due to recent events I think a little "vent" session is better suited.
I am not a big complainer. I have a positive outlo0k on life and I am a glass half full type of girl, always have been. That being said it shows what kind of a week Ive had that I am willing to complain on this blog. This week has been a 2-kid week. My friend used this phrase on her blog and it seemed to describe my week perfectly. A 2 kid week , meaning, after this week I don't want to even think about having any more kids!

Lets start at the beginning...

Saturday night I developed a sore throat. By Sunday morning I could hardly talk. Eric played He-man and took the kids all day so that I could rest. Monday morning Trey got sick. He wouldn't let me put him down all day. He wouldn't eat and never slept for more than 30 min at a time. That night the only way he would sleep is laying on me. So I spent the night on the couch with Trey and hardly slept. We figured this all was a sign of teething. Trey had gotten his first tooth at 6 months and I thought his 2nd was coming in. I just told myself "by morning this tooth would have broken the skin and all will be better". Not!
The rest of the week continued on in the same way, sleepless nights and long days. The laundry needs folding, toilets need scrubbing and I can't handle my messy house. Last night I was so burned out that I checked out at 8:00pm, got into bed fully clothed and crashed!
Today is Thursday and still no sign of the tooth.
This morning was the first time I have left the house since Saturday night. We went to playgroup and then to the store. Tatum had multiple breakdowns and ended in the walk of shame kicking and screaming out of Walmart.
Kill me now!
On top of this we have had to deal with Eric dislocating his finger and possibly needing surgery, a friend of a friend wanting to file a claim on our insurance for breaking his hand in our car, and a few other smaller problems.
So now you see what I mean about my 2-kid week!


On the other hand these kids really are so sweet! I am so blessed to have them and if this is the worst thing to deal with than bring it on!

...Pattern...

I have had a few people ask me about the flower pillows I made below. I got the pattern from Amy Butler and its free to download. On the site there is also the stockings that I made and a few other freebies :) Here is the link...

Amy Butler Design

...Mini Face-lift...

When we moved into our home, we had very little furniture.
We came from a townhouse and the only furniture we brought with us fit perfectly in our tiny front room.


In our townhouse I loved these couches because they looked great with my green accent wall. Here our walls are tan and I wasn't diggin the tan on tan on tan in this room.
Every time I walked into our home this room would depress me.

So I decided to make a few minor changes to brighten up this room.
Here is the room now...


Not a lot changed, but enough to make me happy.
First I put up some beautiful silk drapes.

Next I made some pillow cases to cover the ugly brown and green ones from before.

The flower ones are my favorite.
They took a bit of effort to make, but I think they add so much character.


I love how the pillows tie in with my peonies.

And the whole reason behind this blog is to have this book...

Now the only thing this room needs is an updated family pic...sorry Trey!