Girly Nursery Decor

Where the baby girl lays her head to sleep.

Our nursing corner.

This banner was crafted with Amy Butler fabric left over from the bumper.

Signs were painted black then pieces of scrapbook paper was Mod Podged on.

Mobile made from ribbon.

Every girl needs a girly chandelier.

More use of the left over fabric. I stapled fabric to pieces of canvas and then hot glued flowers made from scrap fabric.

The dresser and shutters are both painted with "Retro Green" by Easy Care, which is an interior Semi-Gloss finish.

Where bottoms get cleaned.

This is a repurposed banner from sisters first Birthday Party.

Cars themed Birthday

I am a little late posting Ryden's third Birthday Party but better late than never right.  We went with a cars themed party this year considering it's his favorite movie at the moment. The day of the party was a little disappointing as I had to call all of his friends and let them know that Violet woke up with a rash which appeared to be chicken pox. This resulted in a birthday with only adults and a few cousins but it was still a ton of fun.  The funny part to this story is when I took Violet to the doctor the next day he informed me her rash was from something she ate and would clear up within a day or two. Can you say FALSE ALARM...... oh well.  The cars in the pictures where homemade by the hubby and I. I got the idea from http://howdoesshe.com  with a DYI tutorial.  I LoVe homemade party decor, hope you enjoy some of the ideas.

Ready to race.

The winner gets the PISTON CUP.

RACING....

Little Miss Violet enjoying herself.

Cake Pops. Thanks to two of my lovely friends;)

Car/Ryden banner now repurposed to his room.

Generous Remote control McQueen present.

Homemade Play-dough favors. Chalkboard paint for name labels on recycled jars and leftover fabric from the banner. Can you say CRAFTY AND CHEAP!

Sneak peek at my yard sale score.

 I scored big time on these little treasures. .......1.00$ for the two frames and FREE for the mirror

Add a little primer and....... to be continued:)

More on cloth diapers

Recently I have had a couple people ask me which cloth diapers I use and how they work. Now days there are so many to choose from it can be a little overwhelming. Below are a few basics on the diaper system we use.

Bum genius is the brand we use and currently have 24 diapers. I wash diapers 2-3 times per week.

These particular diapers have the snap system which makes it possible to adjust them bigger as your baby grows.

There are no inserts with this diaper, it is all one piece. The whole diaper goes into the washing machine and dryer. The only down fall I have found with these is they take a little longer to dry.

We have the diaper sprayer mounted on the side of our toilet. This makes it possible to just spray the dirty diaper  straight into the toilet so no poop goes into the washing machine.  It is super easy to mount and worth the 40$.

This next thing is a definite necessity, THE WET BAG. This bag is what I store my dirty diapers in when we are out and about it is also useful for wet clothes if you have  a toddler potty training.  

I found my wet bag on etsy from http://www.snuggybaby.com her pricing is very reasonable and the quality is great.

If you are wondering what I mean by wet bag this is a better example. The inside of the bag is lined to keep wet things from getting your diaper bag soaked and helps keep smelly diapers contained.

Just wanted to add one more. They come in fun colors too. A lot cuter than your plain plastic diaper:)

Blessings to the Bum.......

Swim Lesson Basics

Today was the first day of Summer and boy was it hot. We were blessed enough the spend the day with friends at a local lake and then finish it up with some swim lessons. The past five days or so my kiddos and I have been pool hoping while Grammie works with them on their swimming skills. Ryden has made awesome progress; so much progress that I caught him saying " one, two, three, get a breath" as he pushed Violets dolly along the floor on her tummy.  It made my night to say the least. I will post  a few tips on how to work with your kiddos in the pool while swimming. These simple steps will train your kids to be a little more safe around pools or lakes. 

First start with something fun such as motorboat....

Have the child jump in to you but don't let them go under the first few times until they get comfortable.

Get the child's face in the water while holding your hands under his arm pits.  Say "ready go" Only put  their head in to about their ears.

As your are putting their face in count " one, two, three get a breath" and then bring them up.

Have the child practice wall crawling.

The wall crawl will teach them to get themselves out of DEEP situations if they are not strong enough to swim on their own yet or get too tired.

Practice floating on their back. Sing the ABCs.  Hold their backs and have them keep their chin up.  

Violets turn to put her face in. "Ready...go"

"One, two, three, get a breath." She is only one  but it is good to introduce them to getting their face wet young so they are not afraid. The bath is a good place to practice even if it's just gently pouring water over their heads.

These are just a few of the first basic Steps on swim lessons. I will post most more soon. It is important to keep working with our little ones whenever we are swimming:) HAPPY SUMMER

" Tie a boy to the right man and he almost never goes wrong."

Currently I am reading Bringing up BOYS by Dr. James Dobson. This book has been a pleasure to read and opened my eyes to things I overlooked before. I am only half way through and can't wait to finish it.  Dobson discusses  how important the role of a Father is to his children and how our children are " the bridges to the future." Although most fathers are at work for the better part of the day the time they are home are valuable to both sexes. In order for a son to learn to be masculine he spends time with his Father often mocking the things his Dad does, especially between the age of 3 and 5. I have noticed this from a young age with our son whether its working, dirt-bikes, music, or wanting to pray at dinner time because these are the things he sees his Dad doing. Boys of all ages watch their Father's every action and will most likely pick up on his behavior. Thank you for being a positive influence in our son's life babe.

Washing their bikes together.

Working on the tractor.

A little game of soccer.

Encouragement.

Finally a glimpse of spring.

The sun blessed us with its  presence  today so we spent the afternoon having fun, playing, eating, laughing, riding the train, and exploring. Thank You Lord for this day!

Little treasures

Thank You Jesus for this Sunny Day