Tutu Cute

Just popping in real quick tonight. We had a full weekend outside finishing projects, cleaning the garage, splashing in the kiddie pool and testing out the new fire pit. A friend of mine who is also a very supportive Poplin customer is due to have her first little one in a week or so. I was unable to attend her baby shower but knew I wanted to send something special for her daughter. This is what I came up with...



I wanted something fun to go along with one of my Poplin onesies. So after a quick minute of research I made my first tutu and was happy with the outcome. Can't wait to see my friend's little princess in this outfit!

The Great Outdoors

I have a board on Pinterest labeled "The Great Outdoors" with all kinds of DIY projects for the backyard. We have an awesome backyard in terms of the space, a great ratio between grass and woods, just enough trails through the trees for the boys to feel like it's an adventure and we are far from the road so the boys can roam free. Of course every spring my mind races as I scroll through pictures and ideas for the backyard dreaming about what ours could be. 

Gardening isn't my thing and landscaping isn't really either, I don't know much about these and it seems so expensive to make it everything look nice. When I pin backyard projects to my board I am thinking about how to make our space more kid friendly and better for outdoor entertaining. This year in particular my backyard to-do list has been a bit extensive. Brenner B's honey bee party in a week and a half is probably adding fuel to my planning fire but also the boys are older now and more capable to enjoy the yard.

So without further a do, here are a few projects we have been working on (when I say "we" it usually means me thinking them up and pushing- I mean encouraging- my husband to complete).

The New Sandbox



I am in love with it and find myself starring out the kitchen window at it. My hubby was a little apprehensive which is typical but now we all love it. Our old sandbox was about a third this size and not exciting at all. I know many parents have a love hate relationship or maybe just a hate for sandboxes but I love them as they always entertain kids for a LONG time. I saw one like this on Pinterest and loved the natural look, I pictured the boys driving their monster trucks on the stumps, hopping along the stumps and just being boys in the is area. That is exactly what is happening...

(Pacey Pie in 80 degree weather wearing 2 hats one being a winter one, gotta love him)



One of the other great ideas I found was an outdoor kitchen for kiddos. The boys love to play in water, mix it with dirt and end up with mud. We had this odd space under the play set that was not being used so I decided to turn it into a Mud Pie Kitchen.




For all of these outdoor projects I am trying to do them on a tiny budget re-purposing things when possible.  I wanted a flag banner but outdoor fabric is expensive so instead I cut up a vinyl kids mat that we weren't using. 




The shelves we had in the back of the garage so I spray painted them bright yellow; I did buy the peg board and spray painted that as well. We had the plastic crate to hold dishes and I snagged the blue metal can from my mom to hold dirt (wonder if she will notice:). 



The awesome water dispenser was a $4 goodwill find and the kitchen utensils came from my drawers and a few from the thrift store. 



The boys have been whipping up some serious mud pies. They love the kitchen so far and even skipped dinner tonight to keep playing.



I am so happy with our outdoor progress so far although we all come in at dark each night exhausted (mostly my wonderful hubby). Next on the list is a new fire pit and a major front yard clean up. The goal is to have it all complete by Memorial Day weekend, hopefully the weather will continue to cooperate and we can get all the projects finished, then it is entertaining time all summer long, woohoo!!!

Blasted Beehive

I am thankful to still be in my jammies this morning. I worked four days last week and teach four days this week so I am not taking today for granted. Growing up I dreamed of being a teacher, I thought it would be challenging, fun, rewarding and the schedule seemed appealing. Now as my two year stint as a substitute teacher nears its end I've realized teaching in a public school is not for me. Many of the kids are disrespectful, my day is filled with behavior management and teachers have to put in way too many long hours well beyond their job description. So I am content knowing that profession isn't the best match, I am not patient enough and will keep my eyes open for the right one.

We had a bit of a whirlwind weekend. I was finally able to run 12 miles in preparation for the half marathon in two weeks, Jeff traveled to Barneveld turkey hunting, the boys and I met up with him and his whole family there Saturday and then yesterday it was work around the house day. It was a good Mother's Day but I have deemed those holidays as stressful and slightly annoying. I mean which mother are we celebrating? For weeks Jeff and I were trying to figure out how to celebrate his mom who was going to be in Barneveld, my mom and then me as a mother. Then all I could think about was how I would love a few hours alone for mother's day which really seemed like an oxymoron. The whole reason I get to celebrate the day as a mom is because of my sweet children yet I would really love a little time away. In the end I wasn't feeling well thanks to this terrible mastitis,  Jeff decided to cut down four trees and the boys bounced inside and out all day playing.

In addition to catching up on household chores I spent a good amount of yesterday working on a beehive pinata, that blasted pinata. This thing is going to be the death of me I swear. This is the second attempt, it is caving in and not looking like the pinterest picture.



At one point yesterday Trexen even said, "mom you are still working on that?". YES! Now I feel like I am in a war with the pinata and I must win. I am in the middle of several projects around here with Brenner's birthday party planning in full swing...



My job with Deforest Rec Department is also in full swing and Day Camp starts in a few weeks. I have to lead a staff orientation, a meet the counselors night with 75+ kids and parents and attend a leadership conference these next few weeks. A friend of mine also has hired me to make 150 eye masks, that is not a typo, yes 150 masks. 



They are all cut out but that is the easy part, now have to start sewing them! Outside I am finishing up a mud pie kitchen for the boys and Jeff decided to tear up our front area, cut down trees and plant grass...all in two weeks before the Bee Day party.

We are busy bees here but it is all fun and enjoyable projects so I will keep buzzing about checking this off my list. Happy Monday!

Not Again

I had a busy yet fun filled weekend starting with book club discussing "Bread & Wine" by Shauna Niequist, I highly recommend, then the Carrie Underwood/Hunter Hayes concert which was amazing followed by a Doggie Dash, baseball birthday party and a campfire with friends. The kids were up really late several nights in a row, the laundry was piling up yet we had a great balance between fun and work this weekend. As we crawled into bed late Saturday night exhausted from all the fresh air I try my hardest to pretend I didn't feel it but I knew what was coming...mastitis. As I opened my eyes Sunday morning I cried "not again", it was bad, very bad. Not only did I feel a sinus infection invading my head but I was shivering with a fever and couldn't move. This is has been my sixth severe case of mastitis since Brenner's birth.

Ugh. Off to urgent care I went, the doctor was very nice and applauded me for nursing my baby this long but all I cared about was feeling better. I got a prescription and do feel better but have decided to call it quits on nursing, the freezer is still full of milk and our little B is going to be one in two weeks so the time has come. However I am now on the couch typing this with my hot calming cozy shoved down my shirt. I make calming cozy rice packs as one of my Poplin products and I seriously couldn't live without it. This is painful, very very painful. Needless to say not many pictures have been taken lately and although our new sandbox project is finished and I have a bee hive pinata half done on the patio I have no energy to capture those with pictures right now.

So today you can see the last of my inside projects finally finished.



I wanted a cute yet functional way to store some of the boys frequently used craft supplies. We have a craft drawer but it was always a mess with pencils and crayons scattered about. A friend picked these rods and hooks up at Ikea for me and my hubby hung them saying the whole time "Brenner is just going to dump them out". Of course he was right but we are working on "no touch" and the big boys love being able to grab a pencil or scissors when needed and now all of our flashcards have a home.



The wall opposite of this used to be painted with chalkboard paint filled with notes, drawings and Bible verses. I love chalkboard and loved this wall but one day a few months ago decided it  needed a change. So I painted it turquoise to match the dinning room and pondered what to put on it. The wall is small, kind of odd and has light switches right in the middle. Once again Ikea to the rescue. Two of their wire art hangers and a wall sticker from Etsy and I am pleased.



Now we have a place to put the boys artwork, postcards, etc. and I think it gives this wall a purpose...for now.



Hopefully by the end of the week I will be feeling better and a more inspiring post will appear. 

A Blank Canvas

I am not much of a patient thinker. My mind races all day long, skipping from thought to thought, making mental notes, lists and storing ideas in different compartments of my brain. However I don't let these thoughts sit for long, there isn't much mulling around or back and forth self talk. Rather it is more like get an idea, plan when, where and how, then do.

Many times this quality of mine or personality trait is nice, I get a lot done all the time. Sometimes though I drive people crazy, mostly my family because I am always roping them in to help, watch the kids or scrounging through their garages for hidden treasure I can use. I'm sure I drive my friends crazy at times too, always bouncing ideas off them, dreaming up another party for them to attend and getting frustrated if they don't want to participate.

Our dining room wall has been a different project though, for some reason I've let my creative, Pinterest found ideas just sit, rest if you will, in my mind. This wall is the focal point in the dining room, the only full wall and has sat empty for almost 2 years. It was turquoise for a while, then plain white with a small tree wall sticker then just plain and then back to turquoise (my husband loves that...not). For many months I've been telling everyone my plans, getting three big canvas pictures of the boys and placing them in the center, simple yet familiar. Then I moved to shelves, maybe with smaller pictures and books. Then I moved to long wire holding pieces of the kid's artwork. None of the ideas seemed just right though.

Finally my Poplin party last weekend pushed me to do something. The same people who have been coming over for two years would be back and I wanted to have the wall finished.



I decided on a collage.



One of my close friends and fellow Pinterest lover made me the hanging heart for Valentine's day which helped inspire the collage. The boys have a wooden kitchen filled with Melissa and Doug wood food, all the food came in plain wood boxes. I kept the boxes and am so glad. Using some stain my husband had in the garage I stained the box, printed an 8x10 picture and taped it inside the box. My husband drilled a hole in the back and set it on a screw. Trexen helped me attach chicken wire to a cheap Ikea frame and I pinned on a print from one of my favorite Etsy shops.



I spray painted a wooden plaque with chalkboard spray and using stencils and chalk wrote "Thankful". Joann Fabrics had the yellow embroidery hoops so I followed a simple tutorial and framed some of my favorite fabric. The rest of the frames I spray painted and filled with pictures and prints. The fruit loop print was free off of Pinterest and the Love & Gratitude one is from The Wheat Field. The small box was another Melissa and Doug Food box I stained and the white bird I snatched from my mom's kitchen.



I am in love with the wall. I stop and stare at it a few times each day and am so relieved to finally have it finished! And did you notice there isn't even a canvas picture of shelf, I abandoned my original ideas but in the end am so much happier. 

Young Builders

Happy Tuesday! The windows are open, my big boys are running through the sprinkler and I have a bowl of strawberries chilling. I have lots to post about, projects completed, Poplin Open House wrap-up and more but no time now. We are awaiting friends to arrive and have an afternoon on the patio with pizza and spinach salad for dinner on the agenda.

However I did want to let you know about an upcoming program I will be teaching, Builders. We will make all kinds of cool projects like airplanes, bird houses and more. Sign your kiddos up now!

Sneak Peak 2

The Poplin Spring Open House is getting closer and I have another sneak peak for you. Nise's Niche (my mom's sewing shop) will have several bags, purses and clutches here Sunday afternoon.



I love all of her clutches and have several but of course have my eye on a few more, if no one else snags them first!



There will also be a variety of purses and bags all with cute fabric flowers in irresistible prints. This simple striped purse is one of my favorites, I love the color and size. 



The weather is supposed to be beautiful out this weekend so the patio will be open and ready for relaxing. We recently got some new patio furniture and I need some friends to test it out. Come and shop, sip some punch or wine and enjoy the spring weather, finally!

Open House is at W6919 King Road, Poynette, we have a shared driveway and are on the right.