Impromtu Playroom

Out of the blue, inspired by the holiday, I decided to finally do something about that damn 3rd bedroom upstairs that was sitting there messy and idle.

Step 1- take clunky desk that was taking up way too much room to the curb- check.

Step 2- empty and clean the room (very quietly as a certain toddler was sleeping in the room next door)- check.

Step 3- bring in the flip chair from MIL- check.

Steps 4-6- fill with books, toys and decorate- check, check and check.

And here it is, my new favorite room.  $0 and 2 hours spent.

Here is a closer look at the art.  I LOVE these modern posters of fairy tales and you can print them out for free from here.  They are great for kids rooms or nurseries.  I printed mine on photo paper.  I had our college diplomas in these frames and just switched them out for these cute prints which are much more fun to look at, although much, much cheaper.

Ran out of frames for prints so I just tacked some to the bulletin board.

 The room looks great, just don't look in the closet!!  A project for another day...

18 months

Dear Sullivan,
Today marks 18 months that you have been alive!  Definitely a day to celebrate!  Just this week you have started to repeat and copy words that we say and it is....AWESOME!!!  New words include "kick", "cacker" (cracker), "stuck" and "no no" (while shaking your finger).

But mostly, you are totally and utterly obsessed with Disney Pixars Cars!

Watching Caaaaaaas...

Playing Caaaaaas...

Just Caaaaas...

(Flo, Lighting McQueen, Sally, Fillmore, um...Sheriff)

You are very tempermental.  Even somewhat bipolar.  You just have a hard time controlling your emotions right now.  Don't worry, you will figure it out.  We all do.  It is one of lifes biggest lessons.

So that is our life, Caaaas, Caaaaas, Caaaaas with a mood swinging toddler...and I love it.  Because it is my life.  Our life.

Happy 18 months, Sully!  I could not love you and your likes anymore!

Love,
Mama

Bratfest

Hello Bratfest.  After a several year hiatus, we once again braved the Madison Bratfest.  It was overcast with a light breeze making it perfect weather.  We also had some perfect company...

I am not a brat eater but Sully and I did demolish a "hot doe" (hot dog).

We found out his favorite condiment is ketchup.

And his favorite toy is an empty beer glass...

And where there is a festival or carnival, there will be plenty of this...

Especially when daddy didn't win the pitching game...

Below you will see father and son getting kicked off the fire truck ride before it even began.  Sully would not sit on the ride properly and was also having a famous toddler meltdown.  Daddy is smiling, looking as normal as possible.

He did really love the super slide so we did that x2 and then left the child area.  That was about all the fun we could handle.

No, thank you Bratfest:)

Locket Love

So I was trolling Etsy the other day and came across a vintage locket.



I seriously could not contain my excitement and then when I saw the price ($25 + shipping) I nearly died!!!  I have wanted a locket for about 10 years now.  I knew I wanted one after I had a child to carry them close to my heart all day.  Ten years ago I did not think I would be getting a vintage one but hey, my style has changed as I have aged.  I also had grand images of my husband buying it for me and surprising me.  But as I age, I live more in reality.  I immediately ordered myself the piece and 3 days later, it arrived!



It is just as beautiful as I imagined it would be.  After putting the boy to bed, I scoured my photos for the perfect sized faces.  Here is the finished product...



My two main men.  Close to my heart, all the times.  Love, love, love.

Practice

I have been more interested in practicing photography today.  I have been looking into some editing programs. I even considered buying one.  Because if I am going to take pics, they need to be perfect, right?

Wrong.

I have to be careful because once I get my mind wrapped around something, I tend to run away with it, elope with it and spend all of my time with it.  It consumes all of my time and I just plain get carried away.

Thankfully, this time, I was able to recognize it and think a bit more logically.  Yes, I enjoy taking beautiful pictures but I do not have the time to be editing every picture to death.  I am not a professional photographer, nor do I someday want to be.  This is a hobby and over time, I will figure it out.  For now, Picassa works just fine for me.  Just a few tweaks here and there and I am done.

Luckily, I have the perfect subject to practice on...

Focus problem.

Have a great weekend!

Mothers' Day

Every Mothers' Day, I remember being a kid and asking my mom, "Why isn't there a Kids' Day?"  I mean, there was a Mothers' Day and a Fathers' Day, I really could not figure out why on Earth there would not be a Kids' Day.

My mom replied, "Everyday is Kids' Day."  At the time, I didn't think much of the answer.  Now, as a mom, I totally agree!

I had a good two hour window to just think today as I drove back to Madison from Mosinee, where we spent the weekend celebrating my nephew, Jack, turning 3 and I spent some time with the moms in my life. Although it is hard to make the trip with all the stuff I have to bring, especially when I need to make the trip alone, I never regret going.  I know that I will never look back on my life and think, "Gee, I wish I didn't make all that effort to see my family."  Nope, it is time and effort well spent.

Which brings me to my thoughts for the day...

I am so very grateful.  Grateful that my mom is here and I can call and see her anytime I want.  Grateful that I got to be a mom because there a time when I did not know that would happen.  And it is the best thing that has ever happened to me.  Grateful that my Grandmothers are still around and still enjoying their lives.  Grateful that I got not one, not two, but three cards from my boy.  Grateful that I know so many amazing, inspiring moms to look up to and try to emulate.

So I am going to bask in this most perfect Mothers' Day.  Because right at this moment, I have it all.  And I could think of lots of great things that would have been a really awesome Mothers' Day gift, like a new camera lens, photography class, mani/pedi, spa day, etc.  But those things would never compare in richness and meaning to what I already have.


And I think of all of those who can't spend the day with or talk to their mom and my heart breaks for them.  I think about all those who want to be moms but struggle with making that dream happen and my heart breaks for them, too.  I truly hope everyone who wants to be a mom gets to be a mom because it is the greatest gift there is.

And now, a few pics from the weekend...

First up, a photo shoot for my friend and her family.

Then it was time to celebrate my nephew Jack's birthday.

 Here is baby Jerry.

 Beer accident...

 Jack did not like the singing.

 But he loved blowing out the candle...

 Gina did an amazing job on the cake!

Status post black frosting attack.

I really hope you all had a wonderful Mothers' Day weekend!