Finished!

I finally finished decorating Joshua's bedroom, and I am thrilled with how it turned out! One more project checked off the to-do list before baby boy arrives!

West wall...

Bed..

Notice all the stuffed animals? They ALL have to be tucked into bed with him at night, it's so funny! After I tuck him in and give him kisses, he will say, "Puppy? Blanket? Bear? Monkey? Lion?" until every single animal has been tucked in as well. The kids cracks me up.

North wall...

East wall...I think this is my favorite!

This kid could sit and read books for hours, which makes this teacher-momma's heart so happy!

And our boy just being silly...what a cheezer!

I am completely in denial about the fact that today is the last day of August...how in the world did that happen? And Lil' J turned 20 months old a few days ago, which means we are only 4 months away from his 2nd birthday! Say what?!?! Despite the fact that he is looking more and more grown up every day, I do not feel ready to have a TWO-YEAR-OLD!!!!! Didn't he just turn ONE?!?!

Anyway, we hope you are able to enjoy this beautiful day!

Love and blessings,

M, K & JJ

Family Photos - Summer 2011

When we were in Michigan a couple weeks ago, Mike's cousin, Laura, took some family photos for us on Lake Michigan. Check out her photo blog at: http://alittlesincerity.tumblr.com.

Mike & Me...

Maternity...

The Boy...

Our Family...

Didn't she do an amazing job...there are so many good ones, I am going to have a hard time choosing which ones to frame!

Do-It-Yourself for the Non-Crafty Me

A few weeks ago, my friend Stephanie posted photos of an awesome do-it-yourself project on her blog. We have been looking for fun (and cheap!) decorating ideas for Joshua's big boy room, and these bookshelves Stephanie made seemed perfect! The problem? Mike and I are not really "do-it-yourself" kind of people. I would love to claim that I inherited my mother's craftiness, but I would be lying.

For one thing, DIY projects take time, which is often hard to come by. Secondly, they are usually a lot of work - work that I would rather let someone else do for me, haha!

But, after reading Steph's blog, I decided this was a project I could do...so the boys and I headed off to Lowe's for supplies!

We purchased a 10-foot piece of plastic rain gutter, some navy spray paint, and brackets and screws for the gutter. Our entire bill? About $25. SAH-WEET!

First, I cut the gutter in half.

Then I applied the first coat of spray paint, and left the gutters for about an hour to dry.

While the gutters were drying, I moved on to another project I had been meaning to tackle. Remember this beauty I scored last year at a garage sale for $10? While I love this end table, I have never quite found the right place for it in our home. I decided Joshua's bedroom would be the perfect place!

So I removed all the hardware...

...and started painting!

And, while all my projects were drying, I trimmed these pathetic-looking bushes. I didn't take an "after" picture, but trust me when I say they now look MUCH better!

Mike was at church all morning, so what was Joshy doing while Momma was running around?

Playing hard, of course!

He was SO GOOD and did not stop running and playing for four whole hours!

All that running makes a boy thirsty!

And now, let's get back to our projects...

TA-DA! I absolutely love, love, LOVE how this end table turned out! Perfect for a little boy's room!

Putting up our bookshelves...it took some doing to find the studs in the wall, but we managed!

And the finished product...are they amazing or what?!?! I am thrilled with how they turned out! Now Joshy has his own "reading nook" in his room! This project was SUPER easy...makes me think I could maybe manage some other DIY projects...I did say MAYBE...

After all our work today, Mike and I treated ourselves to these...YUM!

Hope you had a wonderful Saturday...we are pretty pooped around here, so it's off to bed for this fam! Nighty night!