Hallway transformation

Have I mentioned how much stinkin' wall space this house has? Seriously! While I love the openness, it became a little too open for my taste.

So, I tried to fill it with some pictures we had on hand and it completely dwarfed them. It looked pathetic.

So, I got inspired by a pin on Pinterest and I painted the hallway (goodbye flat boring white) and then enlisted my hubby's help. While he bought and cut to size some wood boards,

I bought the items I needed, including extra large clips and ordering the vinyl.

After I painted the boards black, he hung them and installed the vinyl (before work because I was super excited to see the finished product- he's awesome like that).

Then I attached the clips, hung up some masterpieces, and voila!!!

It fits the upstairs hallway so, so much better and makes us all smile when we see the kids art ;)

My smart boy

100+ puzzles, Lego designs, bike riding without training wheels, serious skills at Memory games, and now making 'fortresses' with blocks... I kinda think he's amazing :)

Sleeping fakers

These goofballs found every blanket known to man, made a nest about 5 feet tall (thanks to the 20 blankets they piled high), and proceeded to take turns pretending they were sleeping. I heard more variations of fake snoring than I ever want to endure hear again ;)

Even though Lauren and Jakey are obviously more advanced and mature than Meggie, I LOVE that they include her in their fun. It's not every time, that's for sure, but it's enough that Meg asks to 'pway wit bubba an sissy' :)

So sweet. I'm enjoying while it lasts ;)

Rock star concert

Thanks to some wood boards daddy gave them that served as guitars, the beloved capes and masks that Aunt Sarah gave them, and their wild imaginations, Justin, myself and our friend Braian were treated to a concert. And if these sweet outfits weren't enough, they insisted we call them 'Rock star Brittany and Rock star Alex' (after our awesome babysitter and her little brother who our kids adore).

They pulled out seats for us, and seriously rocked out on their guitars (so much so I was concerned about splinters under fingernails- ack!)

We were treated to hits such as "Joy to the World' (yes in January!) and Jesus Loves Me... clearly tunes that bring people near and far for concerts ;)

LOVE this age... yes, I could go without the drama and the occasional 'tude, but this is what it's all about. Concerts from 4 and 5 year olds ;) 

Life does not have to be...

I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist ('bit' may not be the most accurate word if you ask my husband, hehe). But it sometimes can take over if I let it. Hello prayer!

So. I decided to remind myself that life doesn't always have to be perfect. And since I had a bare spot above the staircase, I deemed it the perfect spot to be hung. That way, every time I head downstairs, I get the little reminder :)

it was simply a streched piece of canvas and a Sharpie. THAT'S IT.

PreK and kinder cooking; letters N and V

I try to combine cooking lessons as much as I can so I don't have to plan two 'lessons' for different letters for the kids' classes. It's rare that I'm able to make it work, but I did last week and it made my life much easier for a day :)

So, for the preschoolers, we made a Nature scene:

We made sand (crushed graham crackers) and added some flowers with Sour Candy Straws (stems), Vanilla Wafers (outer layer of the flower), and a strawberry as a tulip.

And this worked great because Mrs. Copper asked if we could make something with Vanilla Wafers, so the kindergartners made Vanilla Wafer flowers :)

And Lauren, silly Lauren, got all creative with her flowers. She's definitely an 'artist' in more ways than one ;)

Making muffins with my Brownies :)

The kids asked to make something yummy a few days ago. And because I was feeling sorta creative, we just added some ingredients together and crossed our fingers that they would turn out okay :) 

And guess what? They did! AND they were healthy! Here's how we made ours (recipe below).  

Directions: Mash 3 ripe bananas, add 3 cups of oats, 1 cup of vanilla Almond milk, 2 eggs, 1 Tbsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. vanilla extract and a couple handful of chocolate chips (or blueberries). Pour into muffin cups and bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through.

Lemme just be real here... baking with three little kiddos wasn't necessarily the most calming activity... nor was it tidy. There was LOTS of oatmeal spilled and bananas smashed outside the bowl. But the sense of  accomplishment I felt from all three of my babies working together? Pretty priceless ;)

Making bookends

With Justin in Bible college, and my love of reading, we have a lot of books. A lot. We are pretty good about keeping them confined to the bookshelves, but a few usually end up in our bedroom, specifically on Justin's nightstand.

And because the pile of books has become unmanageable at times, I decided we needed some bookends. So I went to Target ($15 EACH?!?), Walmart (didn't have any) and Hobby Lobby (they were too rustic for my taste), so I got creative :)

I headed to Staples and got some cheap simple black bookends. Then I went to a local second hand book store, where I scored a couple vintage books for a buck each:

Then I got to work. I hot glued the bookends into the middle of the books. That's it... super simple!

And voila:

I love the sleek look of it! And for $9 total, you can't go wrong.

Renovating a sign

I went to Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago in search of something to hang over our dresser in our bedroom. I searched and searched, and didn't find anything I had to have.

And then, the clearance isle called out my name! Low and behold, I found this beauty there, for a whopping $10! I wanted it, that was a given, but I knew the red would clash with our bedspread and newly painted walls. But for $10, I couldn't turn it down!

So, I 'Shelly-ized it as one of my girlfriends would say :)

I initially thought to paint the letters black but then a thought came to mind... a Sharpie!

So after about 30 minutes of Sharpie 'coloring' if you will, it was ready to go.

I love it... and the price tag ;)

Puffy paint

This craft was FUN. Messy but fun :)

We started with one cup of flour and mixed in 3 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and enough water to make it the consistency of pancake batter. 

Then we divided our mix into four parts and put them into Ziploc baggies along with some food coloring. Part of the fun was squishing it all around to mix up the colors!

We ended up with a nice selection if I do say so myself :)

Then, we painted away! I made a flower painting, the big kids made 'abstract art' and Megan did some watercolors (due to the food coloring):  

When we were finished, we popped them into the microwave for 30-45 seconds and watched the paint puff up and grow - such fun!

I loved that it was completely dry out of the microwave so we didn't have to worry about any extra messes or accidents as our pile of paintings grew.

Nakey monkey girl

What? You don't watch the rain on the kitchen counter tops sans clothes?!?

This girl always keeps me on my toes ;)

Nap time workout... otherwise known as painting.

I feel like this house is one big giant workout. Updating this place has made me very much aware of forgotten muscles... like shoulder and neck muscles for instance.

Because this past week, I painted the kitchen ceiling. And if I wasn't insane enough, I decided to do it on a whim... as in, nap time. I had two hours flat before a certain little lady began yelling 'mama! I up!'

Anyway, the original paint color was an old, dull yellowish color. It's hard to capture it on camera, but her goes:

But you'll be able to see it in the next picture:

Yep, old paint meets new paint called 'Whisper' white.

Brightened up the kitchen and gave me a quick nap time workout ;)

Maybe I'll upgrade to an elliptical cause I'm about to run out of walls to paint!

Just because :)

LOVE these kiddos. Such blessings.