What a difference a comfy chair makes.

When we moved into our house 2 years ago I decided that we should keep a few toys for Kase in our room, the living room, his bedroom and his playroom. That way he had toys at his disposal in all areas of the house. Boy was I wrong! What I didn't realize was that toys in all areas meant toys ALL over the house ALL the time. When I consolidated all of the toys (and by consolidated I mean threw out) I made their one and only home his playroom. I can not believe how much easier it is to keep my house picked up. However, I do need to post a WARNING ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK sign on the door of the playroom. I have boys what can I say?

There are several things that mean alot to me in his playroom. My grandparents play a very important part in our lives and we love having their little touches in each room of the house. The bookshelf on the playroom wall is made out of old barn wood and was built by my Grandaddy Joe (the handiest man I know.)

I wanted a table for this room but could not find what I had envisioned in my head (this is often the case.) Again he came to the rescue and built exactly what I wanted.

I found 2 white chairs with pink flowers on them at a yard sale. Of course this would not have gone over well with my boys so I my Grandmother used the leftover green paint from the ceiling and made them "boyish". She also sewed the curtains out of the fabric I picked out to bring more color into the room.

My Grandaddy Ben is a great at staining and is very particular,which comes in handy when refinishing furniture. I bought the dresser and the night stand at a yard sale for a total of $25. I then took it to him and he re stained it and made it look new. All I had to do was add the blue drawer handles to add color and fun to the dresser.

I use the drawers in the dresser to sort their holiday books. I love books and I love holidays and I sort his books by holiday and only pull them out for those holidays. It is like he gets new books each holidays and those are the books we feature in his reading basket each night. The bottom 2 drawers I use for un-opened toys. After holidays, or birthdays I keep some of their toys in these drawers and do not let them open them. On a rainy day we go into the drawer and he gets to pick out a "new" toy to play with. I have found he enjoys his toys and appreciates them more this way.

One wall was painted with magnetic paint. I love displaying the boys crafts and work, but a messy fridge drives Scotty crazy. We found a way that we can do both. We get to display their work and keep our fridge clutter less. On a side note you have to use really strong magnets even if you put several coats of the magnetic paint.

Even after all of these sentimental things that I enjoyed having in the playroom I still felt like it was not complete.
In one of the blogs I follow A mom was talking about the importance of a comfy chair in her kids playroom. Why in the world have I not thought of that? Kase will not play in his playroom by himself he is like my dad and always wants someone around. Knox is content in being alone and will venture in their and enjoys playing in solitude. When I am in there playing with them I end up in the floor or on a rocky horse or in a little chair. All of which are not the most comfortable. A comfy chair seemed like the solution I had been looking for. I was on my way to paducah and saw the cutest little red stools on the side of the road at a yard sale. I kicked it in reverse and pulled in

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I was just stopping for the stools and then I saw what I had been looking for. There sat a leather chair and a half that was big enough to hold the boys and I. The leather is worn which means extra comfy just like I like. I got a steal!! I could not wait to put it in the playroom. I had to rearrange and Scotty wasn't convinced that it was to big but we made it work. As excited as I have been over the chair I think Kase and Knox are even more excited. Kase says it is a great climbing chair. It is a place for them to read as well as me to read, or blog, or just watch the kids play, in comfort. I can now say that the playroom has become one of my favorite rooms in my house. What a difference a comfy chair makes.

Can Easter get blown away?

My moms cousin and great friend Suzette decorated Wedding Cakes a while before I was even born. She was killed in a car wreck when my mom was younger and mom inherited a lot of her Wilton icing tips and decorating paraphernalia and her wedding cake icing recipe. Even though I never knew her she was special to my mom and it is neat to be able to use her things especially during the holidays and family events.

As mom and I were decorating the Easter Bunny cake a storm blew up very quickly. Mom and I stood at the kitchen window and watched outdoor furniture and trees completely blow away. As it got worse I begin to panic because Scotty and the boys were at our house. After the storm I rushed home to check on them and found a mess. We had just had our porch screened in and it had blown the screens out. The wind picked up Kase and Knox's playhouse and threw it into the swing set. Dad will most likely be finding pieces of their swing sets in the surrounding fields for a while. Five of our tress are laid over, some of our gutters are off our house as well as a back window being shattered. I was relieved to find the boys OK and Kase in pretty good spirits after just watching his favorite outdoor things shatter into pieces and get tossed around like small dollhouse pieces.
We lost electricity for several hours but still had to contin
ue to get ready for Easter. Mom and I finished the cake by the window and my Grandmother cooked Easter supper with a generator.
What a great reminder here at a very important holiday of God's grace and protection and plan for our life. In a matter of minutes a storm ripped through and damaged things all over the county. We are beyond blessed that no one was hurt. This was a reminder to me and my family how quick tragedy could have hit and what to value in life. The storm that blew did not stop the traditions we make in our families or our family sitting around a table eating dinner celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ.

I know how it is to be the second child

My Dad is the youngest of 3 boys. I have heard over and over how the youngest has no pictures, no videos and they just join the group with no real excitement. Well, if you know my dad, you would know that he does not suffer at all from being the 3rd child. But he still reminds of the neglect of the second and third children often with Knox. I am the youngest but my mom was a picture person so I can not say that the youngest rule applies to my life in that way.
As I have been working on my blog tonight I realize that most of them revolve around Kase. I think it is because he talks and we know more of his personality and he demands more attention than Knox does. But we would never forget our one of a kind Knox. Wendy tries to steal him from us often as do some of our other friends (mainly the Bruers). Our life would not be complete without Knox and I love that he is completely different than Kase. Kase is OCD (which he gets from his father) and Knox is one of the messiest kids I know (well Myles might give him a run for it.) He eats anything and everything and is pretty laid back. But if you ever mess with is food, or his mom :) he can show his true colors. He is learning so much more everyday and growing to fast. Every time I look at his sweet little round face I am reminded of the blessings God has given me and my family. I pray that I do not take my children or the things in my life for granted.

Raising Boys

I love having boys. Yes, it is all I know but I would not change one thing about it. My observant child Kase watches every move I make and lets me know when I make the wrong moves. When he was a baby I would sit him up on the counter and let him play with the water in the sick while I got ready. If you know me you know this does not take long because I do not have the patience of putting on make up or fixing my hair. I love hats for that reason :). The other day when I walked in the bathroom I found Kase sitting in his chair with a mirror using an eye lash curler trying to curl the front of his hair. I thought to myself of course he is using the curler wrong he has never seen me use that thing.Honestly the only reason I have it is becuase Meg talked me into it the last time we were in Sephora. Then I realized I need to send him with his Dad more to observe some guy things for a while. I know he will not love these pictures when he is older and they will always be my favorites. It also made me realize how much he sees me do and I hope he learns more from me than how to curl his eye lashes. I pray that God will allow me to be a Godly mother to my boys and set good examples for them to observe for many days to come.

SUPERHEROS

Scotty loved superheros when he was a boy and he might not admit it but he still does. I catch him recording shows for "Kase" and then watching them when Kase is no where around. It has become one of the many things they share together.

On vacation Kase decided we should play a new game called Superheros. He decided that Scotty was Wolverine, I was Catwomen, Knox was Superman and he would be Spiderman. All week he did not break character and would call us by our superhero names and was very quick to remind us to do the same. It was cute at first but we began to get some stares from other people at the beach and pool when he would scream, "Wolverine, Catwomen I need to go the bathroom."

As we were getting ready to go to a superhero birthday he had to wear his batman shirt and insisted on the Spiderman mask. As we were walking up to the party he turned and asked me, "What do you think the kids will say when they see Spiderman coming to the party?" I I know that God has something very special in store for him with his creative and imaginative mind. I love Spiderman!

Like Mother Like Daughter

My mom loves holidays. She loves decorating and cooking for any and every holiday. I definitely inherited this trait. I am always thinking of how to decorate or thinking new things we can do to get ready for the next Holiday. Kase is 3 and if you ask him what holiday is next and he always knows because we have either been shopping, decorating or talking about it. This year I wanted to do something different than just dyeing eggs like we have in the past. Some of our friends had just had their second child and we decided to have them over for dinner. They have a little girl that is Kase's age and they get along great. I decided this would be a fun night to try out some of the new ideas that I had found. Each of them made scuba eggs. They were adorable. They required a lot of help from us but the kids really liked them. Thanks to the dads they also made edible carrot gardens. Hannah did not like her carrots but Kase had not problem adding them to his garden, he loves gummies.

I found both of these fun ideas out of my familly fun magazine that I subscribe to.

We also hosted our Sunday School classes Easter picnic. Each family came packing their picnic basket and blanket. We enjoyed sitting with our families on our blankets on a beautiful day surrounded by friends that we love and are seeking the Lord together. The kids ran and hunted all of their eggs then stepped aside for the adult hunt. I love celebrating the holidays with my family and friends.Thanks mom for instilling these family values into us, I hope to do the same to my children. As much fun as the Easter bunny, dying eggs, and carrot gardens are I am most proud of Kase for knowing the real reason that we celebrate Easter. He has been learning about the death and resurrection of Jesus and loves to share it with others.

A Mom of 2

A mom of 2 is so much more than a mom of 1. Who would have ever thought that one more little person could make such a difference. Scotty and I use the divide and conquer method with the boys most days. Lately I have been with the boys alone more and our plan won't work when you can't divide. Today as I was trying to finish up some birthday shirts I realized I had created a huge play pen in my upstairs (craft area) for me and the boys. I shoved the couch in front of the steps so they could not escape. What I thought was going to be a hard task actually turned out to be productive and fun. They loved being trapped and found some old toys upstairs they hadn't seen in a while. I love when the little tasks in life are still doable and so much more fun when you hear little squeals at your feet. I love being a mom of 2!