Friday Five

1. We ditched our satellite TV subscription when we made the shift to one income, and one of the perks (besides the money we've saved) is that we just don't watch that much TV anymore. When we had satellite the TV was kinda just on. All the time. Don't get me wrong, we still watch TV. I have an unnatural obsession with The Bachelor/ette, and Avery loves her puppets in the 'hood Sesame Street. Matt and I do also enjoy just vegging out on the couch on occasion once Avery's gone to sleep, so we've recently started watching Friday Night Lights on Netflix. If they take it off Watch Instantly before we finish the series, I will be very angry because we're already hooked. I've heard so many great things about this show, and it's so hard to find stuff we both like, so I'm glad we're finally getting around to watching it.

2. I've been compiling resources to revamp our home management binder, and I'm anxious to get it all in order! I put one together about a year ago, but it just wasn't very functional. I'm loving this site for ideas and printables.

3. My sister-in-law posted a link to this article about the calling of motherhood and it was such a reminder/encouragement to me that I wanted to pass it along. Check it out when you get a chance; it's a quick read and definitely worth your time.


4. I've been keeping a running list of blog topics I need to cover. I'm posting my hospital packing recommendations (by request) tomorrow, but I've got some other posts in the works: baby products I love, Avery-isms, hooded towel tutorial, Landon's 2 month update, a few recipes. Any suggestions as to what you'd like to see soon?

5. Some of our best friends, Candie and Ricky, are coming in town today! We just love hanging out with them and their sweet little boy. I should have lots of pictures to post and fun to report on Monday! Oh, and I'm getting together with our class valedictorian to start brainstorming reunion ideas and hopefully get this thing rolling. Class of 2001, feel free to pitch in your ideas :)

Y'all have a great weekend!

The Easiest Bow Holder Tutorial Ever

Avery has a lot of bows.

I thought I had a decent organizational strategy for them, but the baskets-in-drawers system just wasn't cutting it anymore.

I've seen tons of cute bow holders all over the internet, but I couldn't bring myself to fork over the money when I could make one myself. The problem was, I wouldn't actually take the time to do it.

I got my inspired idea while enjoying the quiet of my shower (aka the only time of day I can hear myself think). I decided to take a few things I already had and put them together to make a customized bow holder for Avery's room. So here you have it, the easiest bow holder tutorial ever.

Supplies

• Picture frame (I used 4x6)
• Ribbon (length varies depending on how many bows you'd like the holder to fit)
• Scrapbook paper
• Chipboard for initial (optional; I used a colored self-adhesive letter "a")
• Coordinating embellishments (not pictured)
• Glue gun

Process

1.  Attach two strips of ribbon to the bottom of your picture frame using hot glue. Don't burn yourself because it hurts like crap. I might know that from experience.

2.  Cut your scrapbook paper to fit the frame. Adhere the chipboard initial to the paper wherever you see fit. Insert your new work of art into the frame.

3.  I thought the frame was still a little blah at this point, so I hot glued some flower embellishments to the top of the frame. Perfect!

4.  Hang your super awesome bow holder on the wall. Admire your hard work.

5.  Start clipping those bows and say, "Now why didn't I do this sooner?"

Total cost: $0. Okay, so it cost me something somewhere along the line, but by using the stuff I already had just sitting around the house, I felt like it was free.  And you just can't get any better than free.

Now go make a bow holder for all the cute little girls you know. (And for the not-so-cute ones because they can use some bow love, too.)

Wordless Wednesday: Avery and Allison

Lots of sentences. Zero pictures.

This is my 304th post. It really doesn't seem like that long ago when I was writing my 100th post of 100 Things I Love. How many posts I've written has nothing to do with this particular post. I just have a few things on my mind that need to get out of it.

p.s. I just looked over that list again, and it made me happy just reading it. :)

I really want to redo my blog layout. I gave it a mini-face lift not too long ago, but I want a serious makeover. Oh, did you know you can search my blog for past posts? It's pretty sweet. Check it out in the sidebar.

Campmeeting is in two weeks! That's so soon! I already made our packing list and everything. Hello, I'm a freak.

I smell like spit up right now. And I've already taken a shower tonight, so I'm pretty much screwed.

The days need more hours. There is just not enough time to snuggle and play with my kids, do the Sunday paper crossword, read my Kindle, sew fun things, work out, keep up the blog, obsess over Pinterest, play board games, and sleep (aka all the fun things I want to do) and still be able to keep the house clean, finish thank you notes, cook dinner, go grocery shopping, balance our budget, and run errands (all the bleh things I need to do).

We're going organic. Okay, so not really. I wish, but we can't afford to do it all. We used to do organic milk before I couldn't bring myself to fork over the money for it. But we're going back to it. That and cage-free eggs. Gotta start somewhere, right?

Some of my very favorite people in the entire world are coming in town to visit this weekend!! Candie and Ricky and Jacob are coming from Austin to meet Landon and I can't wait to see them!

My phenomenal photographer of a sister updated her blog look this week. I still miss her cutesy logo, but it's nice this way, too! Plus, you can find things by category. Go check it out. You know you want to.

Why am I still awake? Landon's sleeping (probably for the night; yes, I'm spoiled), Avery's been down for a couple hours, Matt's not home, and I have no reason not to be in bed right now.

It's so. stinking. hot. I hate Texas right now. Okay, fine, I never hate Texas.

GO RANGERS. Had to throw that in there. The boys are definitely on an 11 game winning streak. No big deal.

My daughter is hilarious. I'm about to write a post of all the funny things she's been saying lately. And by "about to" I mean "will try to get to sometime in the next couple of weeks." They probably won't translate as well to the blog, but her comedic timing is spot-on in person. :)

She did see her first movie theater movie today! My mom took her (and my [adult] brother and sister) to see Winnie the Pooh. Apparently she loved it (and the popcorn; she is her mother's daughter after all). I'm still a little sad I didn't get to go with her (Matt and I took the preteens to church camp). We did have a date night last night though and saw Horrible Bosses at the drive in. I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty darn hilarious. It's also pretty darn adult if you know what I mean, so don't say I didn't warn you.

Um, I think that's it. I'm going to bed. Right after I eat some cereal. I told you that wasn't just a pregnancy craving. Gosh, I'm so glad I'm not pregnant anymore.

Okay for real now. Goodnight.

Friday Five

1. One of my favorite childhood memories was "playing" guitar and singing with my dad. He would change chords and we would strum while we sang our Wee Sing song of choice. I may have teared up a little the other night when I found Matt and Avery doing the same thing.

2. I started planning our back-to-school children's ministry event today, and I'm so excited about it! We're doing a family night at the Mercy Me concert/Ranger game; what a great way to end the summer! (Even if it is with every other church group in North Texas. Seriously, it'll be packed.)

3. I read the first Harry Potter book for my adolescent lit class in college, and I enjoyed it, really I did. However, I've never been a fan of anything of the sci-fi or fantasy genre, so I had no desire to read the rest of the series. I tried to watch the movies (less time commitment and all), but I fell asleep during the first one and gave up. So I cannot for the life of me understand the big deal about seeing HP7.2 (or whatever it's called) at midnight and spending so much emotional energy obsessing over it. I mean, I get the attachment to an extent, but it seems to me that some people need to engage more real life rather than living their lives through a fictional character. Call me crazy or flame me all you want, but I just don't. get it.

4. I know it's a little early to be looking forward to it, but Matt and I are getting a much-needed date night on Monday (yay for summer break)! Avery's getting a sleepover at Grandma and Granddaddy's, so we're going to the drive in! My mom is taking Avery to the new Winnie the Pooh movie on Tuesday (while we take a carload of preteens to camp!), so the timing works out pretty perfectly. Now we just have to decide on which two movies to see (guess which one we won't be seeing, haha)...

Photo courtesy of Ask Miss A

5. I've thought it was Saturday all day, so now I feel like I have a bonus weekend! Tomorrow I'm going to my friend Kati's Shaklee party and then we have a Sunday School pool party that evening, and on Sunday we're having a little get together with our small group. Who knows what we'll do tonight, but happy weekend everybody!

On Our Own

I'm pretty spoiled.

Both of my babies have been born when school was out, so Matt's been off work for the entire summer (so has my mom actually). This meant that I've had help and lots of it. (I'm sure I could handle it on my own, but I'm definitely not complaining about the extra assistance.)

But this week Matt had AP training at TCU from Monday through Thursday, which meant that I was on my own with two kids. All by myself. Eek!

I had unfortunately scheduled two appointments for myself this week before I knew about his training, so I had some help from my mom on Monday and Tuesday (thanks, Mom!).

On Monday I had to go in for my 6-week Ob-Gyn checkup (has it been six weeks already?!?), so Mom came over to play with Avery for a couple hours and Landon went with me. (p.s. It's a good thing I love my doctor because it's SO annoying to have to wait forever in the exam room, especially when you're half naked and have a screaming baby who just wants your boob. Sheesh.)

I had a dentist appointment on Tuesday, and Mom went with me so she could keep the kids in the waiting room. She even treated us to Chick-fil-a afterwards because she's awesome like that. And I nursed Landon in public again (covered, duh), which is getting a little easier but no less awkward. Oh well, the boy's gotta eat and it's too craptastically hot outside to attempt nursing in the car. After we got home I got Avery and Landon down for naps and then my mom stayed at the house while I went to the church for a funeral and to finalize some stuff for preteen camp (which is next week, yay!). 

Yesterday and today? We were on our own.

I decided yesterday that we weren't going anywhere because just the thought of taking both kids out on my own was enough to make me pee on myself. I also decided that I wanted to be more in the moment with Avery instead of constantly checking my email and Facebook, so I turned off the computer and spent the morning working around the house (Avery was my assistant) and playing with my little girl. It was so much fun (and productive)! We did all the laundry, vacuumed the whole house, and emptied the dishwasher with plenty of time to play with her new dollhouse and kitchen set. We even had time to color. And this was all before lunch! I'll definitely be turning off the electronics more often. The afternoon was pretty much a nightmare, but after Matt got home we went to hang out with my parents and Nick and Brittany, so the evening made up for it.

Today was the moment of truth. We had to go to the grocery store (I'd been putting it off since Monday, after all). Avery woke up super early, which meant that I did, too. (Oh, but Landon slept for 8 hours last night!!!) We were in the car on our way to Kroger at 9:00. I'm pretty sure that's a record for us. Landon slept the whole time, and Avery was practically an angel. We all made it out alive, so I would consider our first outing with just the three of us a success. My friend Megan came over to visit this afternoon, so it was nice to catch up (and to have some daytime adult interaction!) while the kids "napped." Avery only slept for like 45 minutes (which does not count as a nap in my book), so we moved up bedtime, and now I'm using the rest of the evening to hang out with my awesome husband and write some more thank you notes (Yes, I know, I'm way late! Trust me, my tardiness is bothering me more than it bothers you.)

And I'm so thankful that Matt's home again tomorrow. I will soak up the rest of my summer spoiling. That sounds weird. You know what I mean.

Therapy

So I don't really think I'm in need of real therapy. My parents didn't scar me too bad and I'm married to a pretty swell guy.

But sometimes life with a toddler is stressful.

Imagine my delight when I rediscovered the simple joy of the coloring book. Hours upon hours of mindless, therapeutic bliss. Needless to say, I'm down with Avery's new obsession (mostly because it's also become mine).

Now I just need to work on her attention span so I can finish a whole page.

But even if it's just in 15 minutes increments, I'm thankful for an activity that encourages uninterrupted conversations with my little girl. No computer, no TV, just the glorious scent of cerulean Crayolas.

Who needs therapy when you can color?