Project Life Update:: Weeks 17, 18 and 19

I've been going back and forth between the Kraft and Honey Kits.  I am loving all the bright, fun colors and patterns.

Week 17

Left Side (clearly I didn't do a good job with my clipping masks...you can see the template behind all my photos.  oops.  Good thing they are all printed out and slipped into my album pockets.

Right Side:  Waaaay too many Kenny pics, so I included an 8x10 insert as well.

Front side

Back Side

Week 18:  I used both Kraft and Honey...Stuck with the green/pink color combo.

Left Side

Right Side: Fun weekend with friends and family date day.

Week 19:

 Left Side:

Right Side: This week was mostly about Bryce and his b-day.  Lots of pictures so I made a collage, as well as a cute video slideshow on the journaling card.  

I am still loving this project, and how much easier it is for me to include the things I want using the digital elements.  It's not for everyone, but it is totally working for me!

Project Life Update: Week 16

Nothing super crazy this week.  Just stuck with the Honey Kit again.  We played outside quite a bit, lots of shots of ordinary life this week.

Bottom left pocket will be a flip up page.  The two images on the inside of flap are below.  

I love these little hands, so proud of his creations.  I love his half-worn off tatoos on each arm.  I love that he names each one of his lego creations (yellow journal card).  This kid rocks.

I had lots of photos from our walk downtown last weekend to check out the flooding of the Grand River.  I used Design H (basically half of Design A) to add as an insert. 

Front

Back.

There we go.  Week 16...done.

Thankful Heart Thursday

                                               

Each Thursday, Renee at Mommaste, and writer for the Simple Moms  posts a series called "Thankful Heart Thursday".  I love the idea of slowing down and just being thankful for what I have.  I need {and want} to do more of this everyday, so this is a great way to express what I'm thankful for.

Today, plain and simple, I am so very thankful for the enthusiasm and excitement Bryce has shown  about Jesus.  (As much as a 4 year old can!)  I want to encourage this and help him grow in his relationship with the Lord.

Last year, a friend recommended this children's bible, and we got in the routine of reading one story each night before bed.

I'm not sure how much he is understanding or comprehending, but I feel that we are building a good framework for the future.  Here are some funny little quotes from the past few months (melts my heart!):

Walking outside one night, Sydney looked up and noticed all the stars in the sky and said:

S- "Mama, who made dat?  The airplanes?"

B- "No Sydney, GOD made the stars...God made EVERYTHING!"

Riding in the car the other day, he told me to look down at his shoes and asked me:

B- "Mom, know who has sandals like these?"

Me- "Who?"

B- "Jesus does."

Me (laughing)- "Oh yeah, how do you know that?"

B- "I saw it in my book...you know, my Bible"

Me- "You're right!  He does wear sandals like that!"

B- "You know who else has these?  Jimmy and Stevie. (kids in his class)"

Funny stuff.

If you want to link up your Thankful Heart Thursday post, please visit the Simple moms.

Learning to ride with no training wheels!

A friend was telling me that she puts together slideshows for her family a few times a year since they are currently living out of the country.  She uses Windows Live Movie Maker because it came on her laptop and was fairly easy to work with.  To my surprise, I have the program, so I decided to test it out with some photos and videos took of Bryce riding his bike.

It was pretty easy to use!  I am going to create a QR code for the video so I can use it in my Project Life layout!  I will totally be doing this more often!

...and yes, I know this is not the most appropriate song for a four year old learning to ride a bike, but its one of his favorites!

Last day of school.

It seems like I was just freaking out about whether or not Bryce would be ok in school 2 days a week?  Would he miss me?  Would he have fun?  Would he make friends?  Now I'm counting down the days until September and both kids will be in preschool 3 days a week!  My, my how things change!  :)

Bryce finished his last day at preschool a few weeks ago, and I had to compare his first and last day pictures.  I feel like he has grown so much over these nine months.  He has gotten taller for sure!  I am surprised mostly at how much his vocabulary has increased, and just the way he talks to me now.    He is such a big boy all of a sudden.  Certainly no trace of baby left in that face.  :(

His teachers have told me what a riot he was to have in class.  He loved dancing and singing, and always gave them his signature thumbs up and wink combo.  Such a charmer.  

He is such a cool kid.

He's Four Years Old!

This kid is awesome.  I was lucky enough to get the best (first) mother's day gift four years ago.  My little guy was born on Mother's Day 2008.

 How in the world have four years gone by already?

 With his birthday always falling on or close to mother's day, it's usually a big celebration around here.  This year was no exception.

Thursday was Bryce's Mother's Day tea party at preschool. 

The kids made us pictures showing their favorite thing about mom (that I love playing outside with Bryce...ha , ha, ha!)

We were served some amazing snacks, in addition to iced tea and lemonade.

 He was one lucky boy to get to celebrate his birthday and have a party at school on the same day.

Friday was his actual birthday, so we opened a few presents at breakfast (yup, drinkable yogurt) and went to gymnastics. 

 I think Sydney was a little more excited than Bryce was.

I decorated his room after he went to bed so he could be surprised when he woke up.

 I think it worked????

 Balloons were a big hit.

 Dan took the afternoon off and we went downtown for pizza at Peppino's.  We did this last year and funny enough, he remembered and wanted to go there again! 

 After dinner we went to six one six (right on the river) and had some ice cream.  It was a fun and gorgeous day!

Saturday we went to Dad's to celebrate Andrea's 50th.  Of course we snuck in a little celebration for Bryce too.  

Sunday was yet another party, this time at our house.  Dan's family came over and we celebrated all the moms, as well as B's birthday.

It was a long weekend or parties and celebrations and I loved every minute of it.  I am so blessed to have such an awesome little guy.  He is smart, funny, always the life of the party, sweet, thoughtful and just plain cool.  Happy Birthday Bryce!  We love you so much!

Why I don't "blog" anymore

It's been a while...

I can't seem to find the time to shower most days, let alone sit down at the computer and actually upload photos and write about them.  Any free time I have (which isn't really free...because I'm most likely neglecting something or someone else), I'm usually trying to catch up on my Project Life album, or a project I've promised someone.  (I've recently finished two sets of wedding invitations/reception cards/rsvp/programs for friends)  Add a needy 2.5 year old to the mix, in addition to a very rambunctious 4 year old who no longer naps, and every second of the day is spoken for.  Not a pitty party for Sara...just a little rant.  Anyone else seem to have this problem?   So...Anywho... things have been busy.

Oh...and I joined a gym.  More on that later.

Not to mention the darn chore chart that I decided to tackle. ????????????  This may have been a little aggresive.

I'm constantly overwhelmed with the idea of housework (mostly with the amount of it), so when I saw this on Pinterest, I thought I would give it a shot.  I spent nearly every day cleaning last week.  I managed to whip this place into shape, but I think this will be short lived. :)

After my most recent emotional meltdown, Dan and I decided to go ahead and join a local gym. (And when I say "we" I mean the kids and I...and when I say "Dan and I decided", I mean I freaked him out enough that he strongly encouraged I do SOMETHING to get away from my kids)

  The big selling point for me, besides the outdoor pool, was the amazing children's programs they offer.  The kids are enrolled in a 6 week gymnastics program and love it!  It hasn't even been three weeks and I already feel so much better.  The break from them is so refreshing.  An added bonus is the exercise. I've tried Zumba, Yoga, Pilates, a step class, and a crazy intense barbell weight class so far.   So fun!  I'm not gonna lie though...one day last week I did just plug my headphones in to watch Live with Kelly while I pretended to ride the bike.  It was pure bliss.  AND I GET TO TAKE A SHOWER...ALONE!  Worth every penny I tell ya.

So cleaning, exercising, what else...? Oh!   I managed to sneak a little craft real quick.

Put together this cute little potted flower plant for one of the grandma's mother's day gifts.  Oh how I love Pinterest!

I think Dan is just about finished with his Dock Season (seasonal business he runs to install and remove boat hoists, shore stations, and dock).  This spring weather has been very cooperative and they are actually finished before Memorial day.  Woo-Hoo!  We get him back on the weekends again.

We had a Mother's Day Tea Party at Pre-school on Thursday,

 Bryce turned four last Friday, we drove over to Detroit to celebrate Andrea's 50th on Saturday,

 then we had Dan's family over for B's birthday and celebrated Mother's day on Sunday.

We're exhausted!

Thank goodness I leave a week from Wednesday for the Bahamas to visit my boyfriend Kenny!

Bryce's Big Boy Room!

We have been busy with a special little boy's new big boy room makeover!  It was waaaaaay over-due, but we decided, spur of the moment, to just go for it!  

 I found lots of cool ideas on pinterest and just pulled a bunch of stuff together.  

  

First we started with a new paint color.  

 I went with (what I thought was) a basic light gray.  However, after it was primed and painted, it dried much blue-er than I thought it would be.

Grrrrrrr.....this still irks me.  Oh well, it's up there now, and its not getting re-painted anytime soon.

To cut back on costs, I decided not to get him a new bed, but instead, we were going to use an old Queen size set that we aren't using, and just gave the headboard a little face-lift.

Dan thought I was crazy for taking on this project, but I convinced him it would turn out fine.  How is it the man has no problem taking rediculous investmentl risks, but can't handle a little spray paint???
 
After some sanding, a few coats of Kilz, and MANY coats of blue spray paint, the headboard was finished.  (So are my remaining brain cells...but that is a different story)
 
 After the paint was dry, we started to tape off one wall to add some stripes.

 We were just doing a darker gray color on top of the base color, so the taping went pretty smooth.

Watching paint dry...
We still have several things to hang up on the walls, but it is coming along!

I've been waiting to take more pics, so this is the only one I have of his room so far.  I hope to get the rest of the shelves and signs up before the weekend.  More photos soon!

Bryce is loving his new room.  He looks so small in this giant bed.  He's been sleeping in it for a week now and I laugh when I get him up in the morning because he is in a different position every single time!  Must be nice to have so much wiggle room!

There's a few more projects I would like to incorporate, like this:

Source: sunshineontheinside.blogspot.com via Sara on Pinterest

or This:

Source: pennycarnival.typepad.com via Sara on Pinterest

And maybe something like this?  I bought some chalkboard paint, so I may paint a big area and frame it with some trim???  We'll see???

Source: mysisterssuitcase.blogspot.com via Sara on Pinterest