Cow Poke Shower Curtain...

I have been gradually working on several little projects here and there, and I am finally finishing a few of them. The boys' shower curtain is one of them.

Here is how this came together. I started out with a plain shower curtain from Wal-Mart. I then took some white fabric and had it embroidered with the boys' initials. I sewed the white fabric onto the shower curtain, and added some buttons and yo-yo's to make it a little more fun.

Finally, I added a ruffle at the bottom because it was shorter than I wanted. I picked out this adorable cowboy print at Hobby Lobby because it had red-head and blonde haired cowboys, and that reminded me of my 2 boys. Since it is in their bathroom, it seemed like a good choice.

I am happy with it and think it is so cute. It was relatively inexpensive. I probably have $20 and a couple hours of my time. The boutique shower curtains I looked at were $80 and up. What do you think of my take on it?

Recovered Ottoman, Take 3...

I have this ottoman that I got at Target dirt cheap a couple of years ago. I made it over in May (if you missed that post, go here). Here is how it looked as a fake leather storage cube:

Then I did this:

Finally I did this:
But since I still wasn't crazy about it, Connor and I did this last week:

I got the newest fabric on the top in the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby for a couple dollars.

I like it so much better now. What do you think?

Crazy Chickens...

Walker and his Nana have become obsessed over their chickens. While I must admit I love my never-ending supply of organic eggs, every time I turn around it is chicken this and chicken that. What started out as "a small chicken coop" at the riverhouse, has now grown into building an additional big new chicken coop at the farm. They have a book and have picked out all sorts of different chicken breeds they have.to.have. Their newest scheme has been to order eggs off the internet and put them under one of their hens so they can get the breeds they want but can't find around here. Who knew this was even possible? Hilarious I tell you, hilarious. Anyway, Nana and her hubby have been working non-stop on thier new coop at the farm. Now that it is finished, it was time to start getting some chickens for it.


This week's adventure was going to visit a little 80 year old man that Lon's Papa heard about who breeds chickens. He lives about 20 mins. away and we had not been to his place yet. It is always interesting going on the hunt for chickens. Typically they are not kept in the cleanest of environments. Well this time we were pleasantly surprised. "Duckman" as he is called was the sweetest thing. His biggest concern was whether we were Baptist or not. (Thank goodness that we are. We may not have gotten chickens otherwise! ) Here is Duckman giving Nana a rundown on what makes a good healthy chick.

We went there specifically to get Pearl Guineas,but were surprised to find he had lots of other things like swans, ducks, pigeons, and a ton of chickens. While it was fairly well kept, all those ducks smelled pretty bad, and Connor didn't hide his feelings about it.

Here is the dominant male swan that kept following us around. He was HUGE, and rather scary. Con-man was still recovering on the way home. Granted the new chickens were right behind him in a cage.

When we got back to the farm, Walker and Nana got the feed ready for the new guineas and chickens.
And then Walker's favorite part about having chickens, CHASING THEM! He catches one occasionally.

Here some small guineas are on the new perch Jerry made them.

We went for a ride on the Gator to check on the sheep and cows.

Connor thought he was gonna drive, but lucky for Mama he figured out otherwise.

The boys chased poor Bobby all over the place.

This is what Walker's dirty farm feet look like before they hit the tub.

And after a bath and supper with Nana and Jerry, this is my 2 sweet boys on the way home. I am so glad that Lon's family has a farm. I never appreciated the amount of work that it took to keep up a place like theirs. It is a constant job, and while I always considered myself a city gal, I have come to love the farm. I am so thankful the boys have a place they can run wild,learn about animals, and just enjoy nature, but you have never seen two dirtier boys than after a trip to the farm!

Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 32

It is Weight Watchers Wednesday, Week 32 and this week I lost 0 lbs. for a running total of 34.5 lbs. Why am I doing the happy dance over no loss you ask? Well if you saw how I ate on the trip to TN you would understand exactly why. My Mom's cooking is incredible, plus we ate out quite a bit. I just knew I was gonna have gained this week, but I WAS WRONG! I guess the exercising is still paying off!

While I didn't eat properly, I did still exercise. I crave the movement if I don't atleast walk. That's an amazing change for me! Squeezing it in has been more difficult now that the boys have started school. Connor goes from 8:45- 11:45, and Walker goes from 11:45-2:30, so I am trying to learn to juggle all these schedules. I'll get used to it, but thus far I feel like we haven't stopped.
I have intended on sharing a new picture for a while now, but just haven't taken one, well I finally got one yesterday with the boys before school.
When I was home this past weekend, I got to spend some time with one of my dearest childhood friends. She had been to a great blueberry patch right before I came over so I helped her bag some of her berries up for the freezer. She sent me home with 3 bags, LUCKY ME! Mom helped Walker make a homemade pie with one bag, and Mom kept one bag, so I have one bag left for smoothies. Here is one of my favorite blueberry smoothie recipes.

Blueberry Smoothie, 2 pts.
1 C frozen blueberries
1/4 C light vanilla yogurt
1/2 C skim milk
1 Tbsp ff/sf vanilla pudding powder
Ice as needed.

Blend, enjoy! At 2 points this is a great option for a treat or dessert. I hope all my WW buddies had a great week! I look forward to hearing from you!

School Days...

Walker and Connor both started school yesterday. Walker started in the 4k preschool, and Connor started in a 2 year old pre-school offered by our church. This experience with them has just re-affirmed how different 2 kids can be. Connor loves it and walks in like he owns the place, Walker on the other hand has cried for hours on end about how he doesn't want to go. I have put a few pics in this smilebox if you are interested and want to see them.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's the Simple Things...

We have been in TN visiting with Nonnie and Pop ( my parents) since Wednesday night, and it has been so relaxing. We have done a lot of fun stuff, but it's always the simple things that the boys enjoy the most. Here they are visiting with my great grandparents (their great-great grandparents, that's 5 generations!). We are super blessed that Mamaw and Papaw are still so healthy. They still live in the house that my Papaw built and they still drive and keep up thier own yard, etc. The boys love to go over there because they have a lot of land and lots of cats and dogs.

Here they are having a grass fight where Papaw mowed...

And playing in the tall field that he hasn't mowed yet.

And of course they have to try on Papaw's hat. Here it is on Papaw...

and Walker...

and finally on Connor...
As you can see, I have been taking pictures like crazy with Mom's camera. I have lots more of some of our other adventures, but I was just thinking this evening about how it really is the simple things that build the lasting memories I treasure with my children. I hope you are having a wonderful Labor Day weekend and enjoying lots of family time!

I'm Still Here...

I just wanted to drop in and let you know I'm still here. I lost my camera battery charger and my battery ran down, so my camera is dead. I have a new one ordered, but it won't be here for a few more days. I have been doing a lot of crafting lately and look forward to sharing it with you very soon! With no camera I have not been blogging. I know how much we all love our pictures!

We are also taking our last Hoorah before the boys start pre-school next week. We are visiting my parents in TN. We got here last night, and are gonna do lots of fun stuff this week and through Labor Day, so I will have Mom's camera to get some pics.

On the Weight Watchers Wednesday update, I am staying steady at 34.5 lbs. this week. I'm fine with it. I'll change up a thing or two and get back to losing.

I hope you are having a wonderful week and and I will be back very soon, maybe even tonight!