Back Up Picture Day

So, over the last couple of years, I bit the bullet and transferred pictures over to an external hard drive. Well, unfortunately for me, something happened and apparently the hard drive died! So, for the first time EVER, I transferred pictures over and (gasp) deleted them from my computer, and now a whole year, 2011, are gone forever! Except for what is on my blog... thank you for that! So I finished Violet's 1 year photo book last night. So, today is back-up my photos day! Everybody do it too! I just got this laptop in September, so only have a few months to go through. Back-up, back-up, back-up! I am using Snapfish because 1) it's for free and 2) I can create my future photo books from there!

Awesome pics of Timothy

 

 

I can't claim originality of these shots. I found similar pictures out on the internet world, on some blog I'm sure. Most likely a photography link on... yes again... Pinterest! But I am reaping the benefits of some original shots to me! I love these pictures!

Just a matter of time

Ashton took a pair of scissors to Violet's hair. A chunk of her cute little baby curls are gone. Thankfully it's not too noticeable. I'm still debating on whether I need to take her to get her hair cut... or not!

Awesome Art Project

Say it with me... Thank you Pinterest for such wonderful ideas! I can be crafty but I'm not always original. I'm fine with that as I am gaining tons of personalized, adorable items that make a house a home! I love this one!

In the projects I found, most used tape to create the child's name/initial. Well, how am I supposed to make an "S" out of masking tape?! So, I used contact paper that has been sitting in one of our cabinets, traced out the letters, and stuck them to the canvas board. We have accumulated quite the array of paints and paint brushes already, so for less than $15, I have two very personalized pieces of child art! The kids went to town painting away. Well, Ashton did and Violet needed some encouragement as she kept telling me to "wash hands" every time paint got on her! I finally convinced her to just spread the paint around with her hands but that lead to her wanting a bath! Sheesh!

Painter Ashton dives into painting quickly

Violet was a little more ginger

Step 2 - let the paint dry (Ashton if you look closely)

And Violet's ... I had to help her finish the top part. 

Pull the contact paper off and let it finish drying

I can't wait to hang these up in their rooms! Poor Tim doesn't have one though.

Pinterest menu board project

I love it! Totally unnecessary but super cute and will help me organize and plan our meals better. I have about 4 weeks of meals and will rotate them once they are used. Have I said that I like pinterest yet?!

Love

My photo session started with trying to take Timothy's 7 month picture but that always ends up with the big kids trying to get into the shot. Of course! So this is what I caught!

I love this picture of the boys! 

This is pure luck - catching brotherly love

As good as it gets with the little ones

My future photographer?

The story of my life this winter... snotty noses! Ick!

Watch Timothy Grow

Wow! 7 months have flown by but yet gone by so slow! Does that make sense? Tim is growing so quickly but the time has gone by slow as in... I haven't had an entire night's sleep in 7 months! Ugh! Tim has yet to crawl, or even get up on all fours but I'm sure it will happen soon. He has started rolling over quite a bit which is funny because neither Ashton nor Violet did that. We continue to introduce new foods but he prefers his sweet potatoes still! He loves the Gerber puffs and has a great pincer grab! While he does not sleep through the night yet, he does take predictable naps twice a day! Let's see... what else can he do? He can sit up but isn't quite reliable. Like if you walk away, he's likely to fall backwards and bang his head on the ground. He loves to smile and laugh. You can easily get him to laugh by laughing at him or doing anything funny. He loves his baths and can stay in there until all wrinkly. We have a doctor's appointment next week, so let's hope he's gained some weight!

Cabinet Transformations!

Wow! For the bargain price of $74.99 plus a 10% military discount at Home Depot, we have transformed our master bathroom and downstairs half bathroom into a much more updated look! Good-bye 1990s basic builder cabinets... hello modern updated look! What is their motto... no stripping, no sanding, no priming! I simply applied a "deglosser," waited a couple of hours, then applied the "bond coat" which I compare to paint, waited overnight and applied the "protective coat." Love love love the results! I was a little freaked out about the protective coat leaving a white layer but it dried beautifully!

Before master bathroom cabinets...

After...

Amazing "transformation" for only $75!

And now the downstairs half bath before...

Boring and blah cheap white paint

Awesome and modern!

Even though I got the small kit, I still have plenty of materials to complete the kid's bathroom, laundry room, and hallway cabinets!

Cute pictures of the kids

Well, it started with Ashton wanting to match Timothy's shirt. Thanks to a great sale at Crazy 8, and Timothy outgrowing Ashton's old clothes quickly, I was able to snag some cute matching clothes for the boys. Put Violet in a plain shirt and bam... they all match! So, what's a matching outfit day without some quick pictures!

I got 3 shots off with all 3 kids before one or more abandoned ship... this is the best one that isn't fuzzy.

Do you like Violet's "cheese," Tim's concerned look, and Ashton is Mr. Poser!

Then of course, I tried to get the brothers together... this is what I got! Most of the pictures were blurry. So much for me trying to use my camera off of auto mode! I need to learn how to do the face swap method and maybe I can get one awesome picture!

Big hugs from big bro Ashton

Cute smile from Tim and Ashton must have been saying something

I did get some really cute pictures of Ashton and Violet

Super cute

Big hugs

Ashton gives Violet a kiss

Eric Carle's Art Project

Thanks to another Pinterest idea! I recreated Eric Carle's Hungry Caterpillar using Violet's hands the The Busy Spider using Ashton's! Super cute idea worthy of framing and displaying in their rooms! I did have to help out with adding the eyes, nose, mouth and ears after everything dried. Super impressed!

The Busy Spider by Ashton

The Hungry Caterpillar - ignore the tail - but it's still cute!

Bubble Fun

Of course Ashton had to get a bubble gun!

I love this time of year... well this type of weather time of year. It's still very weird to me that it's the middle of February and we are going outside to play without jackets. I love that the kids are fascinated with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and outside paint! Today, it was all about the bubbles!

I love how bubbles photograph

I love how you can see the joy in his smile

And how excited Violet's face is over bubbles!

What's more fun than stomping the bubbles down?

She is one sweet little girl!

Learning how to blow her own bubbles!

What is sweeter than a sleeping baby? I love that she still tucks herself up with her bottom up in the air all snuggled up to her blanket. 

Happy Valentine's Day

We had a pretty lazy Valentine's Day. I wanted to make heart shaped pancakes... didn't happen. The kids wanted oatmeal instead. I had a fun and mess-free paint project I found on yes, Pinterest. Stick paint in a plastic baggy, tape down onto the table and let the kids "paint" away. They were less than thrilled and this project lasted about 5 minutes.

Violet and her mess-free painting

Buzz Lightyear lasted a whole 5 minutes before trying to rip the bag!

Instead of heart shaped pancakes, we had heart shaped grilled cheese sandwiches with chips and Clementine oranges... and an indoor picnic of course!

Lunch!

Violet liked the orange instead.

MOMs Group Art Class

My MOMs group had a fun art class. It was crazy busy with tons of kids running around a house the size of mine. There were at least 30 kids plus parents vying for table space for arts & crafts projects. I had Ashton who was semi-interested in the projects, Violet who was hanging onto my leg, and Timothy in the Baby Bjorn. So we walked out with less than half of the projects but Ashton was proud of one in particular.

Ashton's owl made out of felt. 

The arms open to reveal a surprise... a heart!

365 day project

Well, the reason I have so many pictures lately is because I want to try to do the 365 day project. Basically, you take pictures everyday to enhance your photography. Photography is something I've always been interested in and now I have (sort of) the time to learn a little more about it. So, hopefully in the next year you will notice an improvement in my pictures. Although, today is the 1st day I have not taken a photo since starting!

The start of organizing!

So, I keep on mentioning Pinterest because it is my new thing! But it has helped with so many cool new ideas! I have always loved to be organized but always have a hard time keeping it up. My kitchen cabinets are/were a mess but slowly but surely I am taking cabinets on one by one! Right before I discovered Pinterest, I asked if we could install pull-out drawers in our cabinets for easier access. Well, I was told it is quite expensive so I found an alternative! I wish I had a before and after picture!

My version of pull-out cabinets. Plastic bins that fit perfectly to pull out in our cabinet. Best part was that we already had them so... no money spent, organization, and it only took about 15 minutes!

My newly organized pots and pans cabinet. This used to be were all the small kitchen appliances were squished in! My pots and pans were squished in the corner cabinet were the plastic bins now reside! The lid organizer is an old dish drying rack! What a genius idea! Thanks Pinterest!