Living in your truth...Down the rabbit hole...

I just read a very inspiring blog post from Madebygirl.  It got me to thinking about my past and my current life.  I've never been a person to be shy or  fake.  I'm an open book if you just talk to me. But there are things in my past that I do regret. I've traveled down the rabbit hole and made bad choices, met wrong people, and set out on destructive adventures. This kinda was the running theme of my life for a 3 year span.  Crashed, burned and picked up the pieces. 

Suze Orman  talks about living in your truth.  I totally get that financially, but it also applies spiritually and emotionally.  We all have insecurities and past transgressions we are not proud of.  People we have scorned, words spoken in anger and simply bad choices made.  But all those things have made us who we are today. With every mistake and wrong path, we soon find the right one and move forward.  Life is a beautiful day anew with each morning.  This concept applies to people who have wronged you as well.  Holding onto anger gets you no-where fast.  So set yourself free and move on.  Life is an awesome place when you have a free heart : )

Have a great day guys!

Happenings

I stumbled onto our Day Out With Thomas photos and had to share one of my favorites : ) 

Here are a few photos from last week...

More photos to come of Ceddy and his preschool : )

A really blurry photo of mom trying to be stealth like and snap a photo while Spen entered his class.  All while trying to keep Ceddy out of Spen's class. 

Spen was excited and so was Cedric.  Cedric thought he was going to school too.

(Tis that time of year again...pop corn selling time.  I HATE this time) Any cub scout parent knows the loathe this time of year.

I felt bad for the boys.  No one wanted to answer their door.  I personally do not blame them ; )

We were a caravan of fun...or a hot mess. 

  

I love how involved my hubby is with the kids.  No hands off parenting for him : ) Even if it means walking door to door in the heat.

Cedric kept wanting to sell with the boys. 

So we let him. One problem though...Cedric would yell buy popcorn and try to run into their houses...yeah...not the best strategy.

All in all the boys managed to sell some.  The moms of pack and along with some of my friends are all planning on getting together and making survival bracelets for the boys to sell too.  This pop corn stuff is for the birds!

- Wishing all my followers a great week!  I promise more blog entries to come : )

It's exciting to have people from my blog and twitter accounts actually contacting me through email!  If you ever have a question feel free to write!!! I'm a nerd and love any form of socializing.  The lovely life of a a SAHM.  Have a great week!

School House Rock...

UPDATES:

School is about to start. Spen is half heartedly excited. Only half. We met with his teacher last week. She seemed super sweet and I have heard really good things about her.  I have a feeling this will be a great year for him. It is amazing how fast my sweet little guy has grown into a tall lanky boy.  He's too cool for all the excitement for school. Its funny though, no matter how big he gets he still crawls up on my lap and cuddles. Sure he'd love to see that typed out. But I'm proud my little guy cuddles still, gives hugs and kisses.  He tells me he loves me all the time. I love it! My family are huge huggers and love tellers.  We all aren't too cool for that...hopefully my boys will stay that way.

Cedric received his letter from his teacher this weekend. It was super cute! He is beyond excited. He talks about school all the time.  It will kill me leaving him on the first day of preschool, but it will be good for him. That's the hard part about parenting, knowing what is good for your child and putting on your game face. Putting aside your emotions and letting your child discover the world. No tears during drop off, now on the ride home...a different story. Although, this is not my first time at the rodeo and I have personally seen how much my oldest learned from preschool. Its hard driving off. He loved it though and learned so much.  It is amazing how different kids are when parents are not around. It is funny to see how they play and listen. They learn to socialize and interact with others on a different level. A level this AP mom can't let him do. Hehehehee, I'm a helicopter mom, guilty. Fears: I'm not worried about the teachers there. My friend is good friends with his teacher and I know another teacher at the school. Most of the teachers or aids are friends of friends.  Where I live is a small town atmosphere.  My main concern is what every rational mom fears, him being scared.  It would break my heart knowing he was freaked out. Here is another parent call. Knowing what your child needs. Each child is different, and has different needs. Cedric is a social butterfly.  He loves kids and people. He needs the interaction. Honestly, he probably will flash me the peace sign and dart off to play. Ha. This is an exciting chapter in his life. I treat this like he is going away to college. Nope, three hours, one day a week....hehehehehe.  but he is my baby... I know this is silly, but my goal as a parent is to instill in my children the courage and confidence I lack sometimes.  I want my boys to be confident kind men.  I think sometimes parents put their own personal fears onto their children. Kids are little sponges that soak up the good and bad attitudes we carry. So come the first day of school for both boys smiles will be had for all. Mom and Dad included. No tears, but only smiles and high fives!

Class for mom too. I start my first design class next month. I decided to take the Illustrator class instead of InDesign. I am excited and nervous...aka a ball of energy. I need to figure out a schedule and stick with it. I also need to start back at the gym. Not happy with the weight I've gained. Going to make life changes...what better time than now.

We went to Otter Creek this weekend.  The older boys shot guns and bows while Cedric and I explored.  They have remodeled and have a nice range there.  I did attempt to shoot a bow and arrow. Ha...let's just say I'd have a better chance hitting a target if I closed my eyes. I royally sucked.

Fingers crossed, my braces might come off this month!!! I will know next week 😁


Ok...off to sleep. Have a great week!!! Ps typing this on a tablet and at 1am, so sorry for any craziness among the lines.

Quote love

I read this quote from an offbeat mama post and fell in love!  I had to share it!!!

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow…

Pushing on moving forward...

My goal in life is to never stay stagnant. To be a constant realm of movement with creativity.  I fall short of this goal all too often, but most days I escape away at least in creative thought ; )  I may not be painting a masterpiece physically, but mentally, I have already painted five ; )  Being a mom of two active boys, working and being a wife makes it hard to find the time to be creative.  I have been interrupted three times just writing this blog entry and I'm only a paragraph in.

Staying creative...I'm a free spirit, so that helps.  I try to surround myself with art, creative people, and things that inspire me.  I'm taking a new step in the creative field.  I'm moving away from photography and moving more towards graphic design.  I love photography, but wedding photography has become a thorn in my side.  I honestly, no longer enjoy it.  It has lost it's luster and has been replaced with anxiety.  Long story here, but it's just not the same anymore.  I will continue to take portraits, but my heart has been yanked into another direction.

I'm going to start taking some graphic design classes online at Bellarmine. I'm super excited for this!  I absolutely LOVE learning.  This will be a new journey for me and I can't wait to start it!  I absolutely love the excitement of splendid ambiguity.  I love that I never will say never.  I have met so many wonderful people in the jobs, and adventures I have taken on in my life, I look forward to the many more that shall come with this journey!

Have a great day and follow your bliss!

Random update...

Nothing says summer like the local spray park! I took the boys and a friends son last week and just now got the photos off my phone : )  Lazy mom here...

The older boys were too cool for me.  They kept dodging me.

Cedric LOVED the car wash as he lovely called it.

Frames hand built by me and my hubby for my gallery wraps.

The gallery wraps waiting to be hung : ) I loved how they turned out!

 A sneak peek of shower decorations for the weekend's big event ; )

 Tomorrow I need to buy spray paint and paint horseshoes.  I shall do this while Eric is at work ; )

I whipped this up in photoshop and plan on tying it to the horseshoes with ribbon..somehow...have not fully figured that out ; )

Lastly, I will leave you with a fun image....this is how I cut the grass. Yup...I'm allergic to the outdoors. I'm pretty sure I should be living in a bubble somewhere with John Travolta in the 70's...

Have a great week guys!!!

Happy Happy Walls!!!

Ok...I have been wanting something fun to stare at while I work daily in my office. Blank walls kill a creative spirit and honestly, bore me.  So with the help of my lovely husband I created his and hers gallery ledges.  Filled them with fun inspiring photos and quotes.  Yes, Boba Fett inspires my hubby.  He is a die hard Star Wars fan.  So over each of our computers we have a little inspiration for the day : )

Below is a quick DIY of how we made these cheap bad boys : ) 

My inspiration was this:

This is from Pottery Barn and for the price tag of $79..not something I was feeling.  Especially, since I needed FOUR of them.  Ouch on my crafty budget!!!  I live by the philosophy: while the kids are still young, I will not buy anything that I will cry over if it gets broken; because with two crazy boys in the house...EVERYTHING runs the chance of getting broken.

Ok...let's make those ledges!

Step One: 

Get excited on the drive to Lowes. As you can see my excitement has spread throughout the car and my son in the back can barely withhold his excitement. Yeah...I'm a nerd and no one gets pumped for home projects but me; )

 Step Two:

 Finding straight wood! Lowes had a pretty good selection.  Also, it's imperative that you pick up two paint sticks for your kids...let them sword fight while you aimlessly stroll down the aisles looking like a crazy person searching for said straight wood.

Step Three:

Find someone who is not terrified of things that can cut their fingers off and have them cut the wood to size for you.  Props to my husband and his lack of fear ; ) FYI: this step can be modified if you do not have irrational fears of power tools and can cut the wood yourself...then props to you!!

Step Four:

Sand Baby sand.  It helps if you have a fabulous mani to do so ; ) Be sure everything is smooth and dust free for painting.

Step Five:

Use wood glue to adhere the pieces together.

Step Six:

Clamp the pieces together and wipe up any glue that appears.

Step Seven:

Nail the pieces together. This will add strength and again...it helps if you have someone who is not afraid of things that can shoot their eyes out.  Gotta love irrational fears and a husband willing to help you ; )

Step Eight:

Put this lovely ledges in the sun to dry!

Step Nine:

While letting your ledges dry, find a crazy kid who loves to try your patience by pretending to fall off his swing set when you ask for a simple smile for the camera. Gotta love toddlers!

Step Ten:

Prime, and paint. And paint some more.  Here is a family secret...I'm not allowed to spray paint.  I have a lead hand on a trigger and somehow EVERYTHING I paint will have a drip.  My husband has spray paint OCD.  He stalks his projects. As you will see...

Me stalking my husband, stalking the ledges.

 Step Eleven:

I do not have a photo of this; but give up on using spray paint because it disappears between coats.  The wood insanely sucks it up.  So I broke out the good ole' white paint, brush and foam roller.  Worked like a charm.  I also forgot to mention to fill in and sand your nail holes.  Smooth finishes is the goal.

Step Twelve:

Hang your ledge. We used a stud finder and simply screwed them in.  I then went over the screws with caulk and white paint for a seamless finish. 

  (Sorry for the crappy photo) 

I searched high and low for white frames and actually found some modern ones at Walmart. Happy with a good deal and I love their shape! 

I then put together some fun and funky graphics I found on pinterest and google. Played around in photoshop with them and tada...our Happy Happy walls : )

 It was a labor of love and really was a pretty cheap project!  Many thanks to my husband on this project!!!