Connor's Birthday Shirt...

Today was Connor's 3rd birthday. We had him a little party at his pre-school, and we will have a family party tomorrow night. I'll post about that tomorrow, but for now I wanted to share a cute t-shirt design!

I have started a tradition of sorts by making the boys a t-shirt to wear on their birthdays. For Walker, since he was getting a puppy this year, it was a dog-themed shirt. For Connor, I really didn't have a theme, so I had a little fun with it.

I was gonna just do a big number 3, but decided a cake would be more fun. This was really quite simple. Since he is 3, I gave the cake 3 tiers, and 3 candles on top. I think 3 is probably the limit on this, but a double decker cake with 2 candles would be really cute for a 2 year old.

First off, I free handed my design on the paper side of the Heat-n-Bond.

I then choose my fabrics and ironed the Heat-n-Bond to the fabrics.
Next I cut out my shapes and laid them out on the shirt.

I did the cakes and candles first, then ironed on the "icing" and flames last.

I used a terry cloth material for the "icing" and fleece for the flames, simply because it was what I had on-hand. Those 2 fabrics made the t-shirt so much cuter and gave it a great texture.

I used the no-sew variety of Heat-n-Bond, and it specifically says not to sew it, so I am anxious to see how it holds up. I doubt it will ever be worn again, but Connor sure enjoyed wearing it today!Everyone loved it, especially Connor. I hope you make one! If you do send me a pic. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Weekend in Pictures...

We have had a super busy weekend and I thought I would post some of the pictures to show you what a Saturday is like around here.

We spent some time on the family farm. Walker LOVES his chickens at Nana's house. He takes his chicken raising duties very seriously. This is Yoda. (Where he comes up with these names I will never know. He's never seen Star Wars, but I guess he heard it somewhere.)

He was trying to teach Connor how to hold Yoda properly. Yoda is a full grown Bantam chicken, and surprisingly tame. Walker says they are gonna go on "Pet Star" and bring home the big prize once he teaches her some tricks.

This is Walker's new chicken pen. Inside is his Rhode Island Red. He named it Connor. Oh wait, that's his brother! HA!

Here is another reason they love the farm, all the dirt. I call these "Farm Feet". It takes soaking in the tub a long time to get all the dirt out from under those toenails!
We always end our farm visit with Con's favorite part, a long ride on the 4-wheelers and Gator. There is a dirt road right behind the farm.
And Walker gives you this face when he thinks you aren't going fast enough because you aren't in the front. Connor is only 2, but he thinks he is big enough to ride the big gas powered 4-wheelers. Here he is showing me a trick he's gonna do when he gets big. Oh how I dread those days!

And of course, we all need a long soak in the tub after a day on the farm! Here's proof that Con comes out squeaky clean!

On another note, have you ever heard of "Buzzard's Nose" or Stinkhorn mushrooms? Last week I noticed an odor in the front yard. It got progressively worse. By Saturday, I was just sure something had died in my flower bed. Then I discovered these:

They are the worst smelling thing I have ever encountered. Imagine wrotting meat times 20, ugh! They are evidently a mushroom, and after googling "stinky red mushroom" I found out they are called Stinkhorns. I had to dig a bunch of them out of the front yard, and while I did that, the boys made their own hayride of sorts.

It's amazing how fast this little tractor will go with a wagon behind it. Anyway, back to the stinkhorns, have you ever encountered them and what is the best way to treat them? I read online I could use Round-Up, but I really don't want to kill off all the grass. They are in a large area in the front yard. Any other suggestions?

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. I am working on a few projects that I hope to have done tomorrow. The paint is drying as I type this! Be back soon!

Cute Hat!!

It has been raining cats and dogs here as we get the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida off the coast. While I was getting ready this morning I could hear the rain over the TV, shower, and ceiling fan. Now that's a downpour! In a rain like that, what is a girl to do with her hair? Sport a cute hat! (Truth be told, if I hadn't had to take Connor to Charleston for a doctor appt., this girl would've stayed home!)

I didn't really have a cute hat, so I decided to make one on the fly. Literally, we are talking 10 minutes here. I had 2 baseball caps from the summer. They were 2 for $5 from Wal-Mart.

I took a fabric scrap, ran a piece of thread through it along the bottom, and then gathered it into a flower shape. Sewed a button in the middle, and stitched it right onto the hat. When I get tired of it, I will just cut the thread and have a solid black baseball cap again.

I tried to take a self-portrait, but pointing the camera at your head while you look away is impossible. This is the best I could do.

Connor thought he was really big stuff because he was sporting some of Walker's old shoes. We are all about some hand me downs. Connor has a bit of shoe fetish, like his Aunt Wewe. These are Nike Shox and Walker barely ever wore them so they are like new. They are a couple sizes too big, but I could not convince thiS HARD HEADED child of that. He says they made him "super fast" so I let him wear them. To my surprise he only tripped once.

So what do you think of my new hat? I think it would work just as well with a pin, but I didn't have any on hand. Cheap, easy, and quick. Just my kind of craft.

Seeking Disney Veterans and Bedtime Routines...

For years now, 4 to be exact, my in-laws have said they wanted to take Walker to Disney World for his 5th birthday. That will be July of 2010. Somehow planning the trip falls to me, but that is sure better than paying for it! Anywho, they really want to do it right and make a week of it (stay at one of the resorts, etc. ). I know nothing about Disney World. With a little research I have come to find that the sky is the limit as far as options are concerned. You can spend a lot or a little and there is SO MUCH TO DO. It is a little overwhelming for a Disney virgin like myself, so I am hoping for help from some of you seasoned Disney veterans.

For those of you who have been there, any advice about where to stay and what is not to be missed? The boys will be 5 and 3 when we go. Like I said, we are gonna make a week of it so we should have plenty of time. Walker LOVES animals and I know Sea World will be on the agenda, but other than that we are wide open. Any advice would be much appreciated so we can make this trip as wonderful as Walker expects it to be.

On another note, I just put Connor to bed, and I have decided that at 2 years old he has mastered the stalling technique. Every night his list of "must haves" before bed gets longer and longer. Typicallye he takes a flashlight, books, and a teddy bear. Tonight's list included: a flashlight, hard hat, books, pliers, screwdriver, monster trucks, safety goggles, and his Bob the Builder blanket.

I used to fight him on taking all this stuff to bed but decided all the tears right before bed were not worth it. I now let him take all the stuff, but tell him I will be back to check on him and if he is not asleep in a few minutes I will take it all away. He is typically asleep within the first 10 mins. so I don't have to follow through. Tonight when I checked on him this is what I found.

He has his flashlight propped up on his lap and he is hard at work on his monster truck.

I asked him what he was doing and he said, "fixing my truck Mom."

At least he is safe and wears goggles while working on machines.

Oh the joys of motherhood.

Busy Bee...

I'm still here. I know, it's been a while! Last week when I posted Weight Watchers Wednesday on Saturday I felt terrible for being so behind. Well, this week is over and I have not posted since Tuesday. I will do better. I promise! So, just in case you are curious about what we have been so busy doing, here is a quick update.

Weight Watchers Wednesday... I lost .5 lb. for a running total of 35.2 lbs. Very happy with the progress and at this rate I should be able to hit 52 lbs. by the end of the year (1 lb. a week).

Lonnie got inducted into his high school's Football Hall of Fame on Friday night, and we had company for the weekend. Here are a couple pics from Friday.

Here we are below his plaque.

I was just as proud as a peacock of my hubby. He is a very humble person, but this honor is saved for a select few and he was so honored they chose him.

I went Saturday morning to a huge community yard sale in Bluffton (right outside Hilton Head) with my mother in law and a couple friends. We had a great time and scored some great deals. I'll share those on Tuesday!

I somehow managed to talk Lonnie into helping me with one of my projects this afternoon. While Connor LOVES tools and helping Mom with her projects...
He looks like such a little monkey with his goggles on pushing down his ears!
Lon is not such a fan. He was a good sport about it though, and we managed to get started on my old door transformation. We are trying to turn it into a corner shelf, but when we started cutting it it started falling apart. I guess there is a reason it was free. We are making some progress and I am not one to give up, so I will post about it later this week when I finish it.

I hope you have had a wonderful week and I hope to be catching up with all my blogging soon, so much to share with you!

The Boss's New Chair...

I have been doing a little "junking" lately, and the boys have become big fans too. Last week we went to the local Habitat for Humanity Restore, and came across this cute little chair for $2. At that price I just couldn't pass it up.
We brought it home, and after a couple coats of paint, it has found a new lease on life.

Here is a close up of the details. Originally, I painted it green and blue but Connor kept pulling out the red so I finally caved and painted some red dots and it got a little more busy than I intended. He loves it though, and that is what matters.
I am probably gonna add his name, but I am gonna do vinyl letters instead of painting it myself. so there you have it, Con's $2 chair.

Here's "The Boss" trying it out. We will be going back tomorrow to pick up the another one for Walker since little man doesn't want to share it.

Walker has "oral surgery" in the morning. He has to be sedated to get 2 cavities fixed. I am a little nervous about it because the dentist appointment was such a disaster last month, but I am trying to put my mind at ease, afterall Matthew 6:27 says "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?"

Cornbread Goowrotten...

I am quickly coming to the realization that my boys are growing up TOO FAST and there is nothing I can do to slow the process. SO, I have been trying to enjoy lots of quality time with them these last few weeks before they both start pre-school. In case you've missed me in the blogosphere, that's where I have been, elbow deep in playdough as opposed to decorating or crafting.

Today we took our first trip to the library for the sole purpose of getting books. We usually only go for storytime. The boys loved picking out their different books, but were disappointed that I limited them to six. We had read them all within an hour of getting home and they are already asking about going back tomorrow to get different ones.

We've also been spending time at the river.

Making sticker collages. And more sunglasses...

But mostly I have just been enjoying these two wrotten little things.
By the way, Connor is no longer Connor Brett. He is now going by Cornbread Goowrotten. Cornbread is what his Uncle Paul says his name sounds like (Connor Brett), and Connor loves it. I told him he is "wrotten" and Nonnie says he's a "good wrotten", so he now says his name is Cornbread Goowrotten. That should make for an interesting first day of preschool. He definitely looks like Cornbread in Poppy's camo hat and his black underwear.

The boys start "school" September 9, and we have a lot we hope to do between now and then, but I promise to get back to posting about some of my projects once we get settled into a routine. Until then, forgive me if the posts are a little sparse. Hope you are enjoying the last little bit of summer as much as we are!

A Little Paint...

A little paint makes a big difference! I have been doing some work in Connor's room and thought I would share my progress. I'll start at the beginning so you understand all the details. We moved to this house about 10 months ago. At the time Con was still in his crib, so I made his room a nursery. Since I did not know exactly what I was gonna do for his "big boy" room,which was just around the corner, I basically took down the wallpaper and painted the room the same color as the rest of the house, Sherwin Williams M0nroe Bisque. I loved the color, but in hindsight felt it needed something more fun for a little boy's room.

Here is how it looked before we started: Can I just tell you that the wallpaper in this room came off inch.by.painful.inch. I was so sick of taking down wallpaper that I had nightmares about it.

On Tuesday I decided to paint one of the walls blue and add him a blue monogram. I got my paint at Wal-Mart for $3 on the clearance aisle. I guess someone else didn't like it after it was mixed, but it was perfect for me.
Now that we have transitioned him into his big boy bed, I am still putting the room together. I think the colors in here are fantastic and I love the Pottery Barn A to Z bedding, but I have to keep the bed (a full size) all the way against the wall for safety reasons, and the shelves are not quite right for the space. They were great at our other house, but everything about this room's layout is different.

Here is his rocking chair. This was from the farm and my mother in law and I refinished it a few years ago. It was actually stuffed with straw in the seat.
This is his armoire and some pictures I got from several different places. Nonnie got him that monkey clock from Home Interiors because she calls him her little monkey.

This is where I put the monogram I did for him the other day. I think it pulls in the blue from the accent wall. That Raggedy Andy doll was my Mom's as a kid and I played with him too.

This wall is my trouble spot. I need something bigger or to move around things, but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet. Any suggestions? This whole room is layed out completely different from the original nursery in our other house, so I am not as pleased with some of his decor.

I had oodles of these paper lanterns from my mother in law's wedding, so I decided to put some of them up for another punch of color. I just hung them with fishing wire and a thumb tack.

Walker wants to hang all the pink ones in his room. I just don't know if pink paper lanterns will go with his Western room. I'll probably end up letting him hang a couple until he gets tired of them. He can be so persuasive.

I still have to make a bedskirt for the bed, and have a couple other projects I am working on, but I will keep you posted. What do you think of the progress so far?