Food on a stick

We celebrated Father's Day for my dad over the weekend.

At my grandma's house, which has been the "place" for all our get together's since I was a little girl.

It's pretty cool to see my boys do the things I remember doing there as a kid. 

Like jumping in the sprinklers, catching lizards, playing hide & go seek...

Her yard was never ending fun, and now as an adult I sit back on the porch in a chair watching them run & play. Having the time of their life!

Ayden told me the other day that he never wants to grow up, he wants to be a kid forever...I told him I really liked that idea.

And then I see my dad surrounded with all his kids & grandkids,

and I get so happy for him. What an awesome feeling to be surrounded by so much love. 

We are lucky to have him!

Which is all the more reason to celebrate.

And that's exactly what we did...

With pulled pork sandwiches and frozen twinkies on a stick (my sister is pregnant & these were her master plan). 

Fox

My sweet niece turned 5 last week and for her birthday I made her a purple fox.

It took me so long I (almost) gave up &

went to the store and bought her something.

But it's cuteness made up for the hair I was pulling out by the time I stitched the last stitch. 

And she's definitely worth it!

Boots & Shadows

Today I crafted all.day.long.

While my sweet pregnant sister sat next to me keeping me company.

I love days where it's just me & her.

(With the sounds of our kids playing together in the background).

She ate nacho fries,

while I sewed and made about a dozen mistakes.

Do you ever just have bad sewing days?

It's like a bad hair day.

Later that day the boys and I went outside to play.

Ayden & Lucas live in their boots,

And they will all skateboard for hours.

While they skated, I practiced taking pictures (and doing cartwheels) in the magic hour, where the shadows are long and the sun is low.

It's my favorite time of day!

Have a great weekend!

 

Something Stinky Hiding in Here

We had a seriously stinky situation in this room.

And it kept us all out for weeks.

Door shut, no entry allowed.

It was B-A-D.

Like eyes watering, holding your breath while pluggin' your nose bad.

And involved a certain critter leaving this earth in the wall of Ayden & Lucas's bedroom.

Which if you've ever dealt with before (which man I hope you haven't), there is nothing you can do about it...except let it take it's natural course. 

Um, that's just disgusting.

But now we are back to sweet, clean smelling goodness.

Ahhh...

I don't think I'll ever take the sweet smell of clean for granted again.

My sister in law is always making something amazing. And her "little" side handmade business is not so little anymore. 
And Ayden got to be a part of her photoshoot, which was seriously so much fun! 
I'm so proud of her!
Not to mention it makes me alil' bummed I don't have a girl to dress in her fine frocks! < but not THAT bummed :) > 

The photo shoot was done by some friends of ours who are AMA-zing photographers!
They have a great eye for the little unseen details and anyone who can entertain 9 kids at once with a smile on their face is a hero in my book.

They are taking our family photos soon and I can't wait!!

Our best daddy

This Father's Day was a really good one.

We thrifted in the morning,

and hung out by the pool the rest of the day.

 It felt good.

And it felt good to celebrate Kyle as a father. He works so hard for our family. Sacrificing SO much.

And sometimes we don't tell him as often as we should how much we appreciate all that he does for us. 

We are so lucky to have him. And I love being by his side watching him grow as father and seeing how in love our boys are with him.

He's our best daddy.

I hope your father's day was great!!

Spooky

Lucas got spooked while playing outside,

By his daddy-who popped up behind the fence,

Looking like this:

Lately it seems...

I just can't get ahead of the laundry...it's piling up on me.


I'm pretty sure I spend the majority of my day cleaning up after Lucas. Yeah, that sounds about right.

Couponing is a lot more work than I have patience for, too much clippin' and sittin'. And why does it seem only BBQ sauce and pop-tarts are ever on sale?

Lucas only ever makes "this face."
They've learned to skateboard down hills...totally safe recreational activities.

And it's only Wednesday :) 

My 5 minute face

A few weeks ago on Making it Lovely, Nicole posted about the products she uses for her 5 minute face and it was a great. I love reading about what women use on a day to day basis and you might even find a new product!

So I thought I'd share with you what I use each day, which seems like it might be a lot but it really literally only takes me 5 minutes.


Before I apply I always moisturize. It's a must.

top right: Loreal Studio Secrets Face Primer, I swear by this stuff. It's a great base and covers pores. And it's lightweight. Neutrogena Healthy Skin Liquid Compact, I break out so easily and this has great coverage without feeling heavy and cakey. Mac Pro Longwear Concealor is a miracle worker and a little bit goes a long way. And for cheek color I use Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel, I LOVE this stuff. I use Sun Kissed and you really look like you just left the beach. The gel is a fun transition away from powder blush, and it just feels so much nicer on your skin and lasts a long time.

top right: Mac Eyeshadow in Saddle, I use this for my eyebrows. For me it's the perfect color to compliment red hair. Then I apply Mac Eyeshadow in Vanilla on lid and as a brow highlight. Maybelline Gel Eyeliner is my favorite, it gives you the perfect winged liner look. And Covergirl Lash Blast in Very Black. It gives you seriously full lashes.

And for lips, it really depends on the day. Lately it's been lipstick in Siren by Covergirl, Maybelline's Coral Crush or Boots No. 7 Tangerine Twist lip gloss.

And that's it!

What are some of your go to make up musts?

Where did my chubby baby go?

So much changes in a year.

Vintage Metal Trays

I started picking up vintage trays at the thrift store with no real purpose in mind, except that I just really loved them.

And the other week I decided to hang them on the wall in my kitchen. It was the only wall space downstairs that I was having trouble decorating.

And I really love how its turning out.

Unconditional Parenting

This morning I woke up really tired.

Ayden started sleep walking and was mumbling about bees in his bed. The other night it was spiders... I'm pretty sure he is having night terrors. Scary thing for a 5 year old.

So I laid next to him to sooth him, and he tossed and turned all night.
Leaving me wide awake at 1:30.

But there is something so magical about being awake when the whole house is sleeping.

And it left me some time to think.

I've been reading this great book called Unconditional Parenting,
and it's opened my eyes to a lot of the ways society has programmed parents to discipline and love our kids. Some points are a little to extreme for me, but some ring so true. 

The author bases his research on what he calls, "Conditional Parenting." Which is all based on rewards and contigent on behavior. And how we as parents don't really teach our children what it means when they make a bad decision, instead we punish and we move on, leaving them uncapable of understanding why they did what they did and that you still love them regardless of their behavior. 

It's pretty mindblowing how much our relationship towards our children effects them for the rest of their lives. Which is why I don't take it lightly and am always trying to read different ways to approach being a mom.

We aren't always going to make the right decisions and we will make mistakes but it's our responsibitly to create an enviroment of love, peace and security for them. They deserve it.

I haven't finished the book yet, but I love where it's headed.

What are some of your go to parenting books?

He made it!

Ayden graduated from preschool on Thursday.

It was such a hard step for me, I have to be honest.

I know he is so ready for kindergarten, but his preschool was so great and I really just didn't want this magical moment in his life to end. 

Crafting and creating art all day? Are you kidding? Who wouldn't want that to last forever...

Because his teachers were so great, I wanted to do something special for them, so I decided to make them my friend Carynn's lemon scrub and it turned out perfect. 

I added grapefruit to it, so the color was a little "fleshy" but the scrub was amazing. I really love the smell of citrus and it was so simple to make.

He made some really great friends this year too.
Look at these sweet boys!

  

At the end of the day I told him that I was so sad he wasn't going to be a rainbow anymore,

and he told me, "Ahh, it's okay mom...I'm still a Fisher."

I think he's pretty excited that he gets to go to Brandon's school now and not the baby school. 
He's an official big kid.