Charlotte's Quilt

I finally finished a quilt I have been working on for months.  It was a super easy project that didn't take too much time.  I just took long breaks in between steps.  Anyway, my little friend Charlotte turned 5 this spring and since I made her younger sister and brother baby quilts I decided to complete the set and make a kid quilt for her.  Unfortunately I'm about two months late for her birthday.  Hopefully she will like it!

Office/School Room

Over the last several months we've been moving our office downstairs and creating a multipurpose space in the room that many would call the formal living room.  Right now the space can be used as school room, piano room, office, sewing room, and is even used for wrestling.  I still want to do a lot to the wall that the table is on but I think I have settled on a layout and am excited to use the room even more now that the kids have a table to sit and "work" at. And the reason they have a table is because we're getting a new bigger kitchen table tomorrow.

It's fun to see how this room has evolved from a completely empty space when we first moved in to a useable space that I love now.  I'm tempted to put in the laminate wood flooring like the dining room but we shall see.

School table on wall that I want to spruce up and piano wall

Piano wall and sewing machine. I'm loving looking out the window while sewing.

Sewing machine and docking station.  We both have laptops so we just dock them at this desk if we want to  use a desk, mouse, keyboard and monitor.  I'm currently blogging at this desk.

Random Thoughts

• I'm really loving my Photo Grid app lately.  It's a fun and EASY way to make collages out of pictures I've taken. That's why you're seeing/will see so many in my posts:)  
• I'm also trying to get into Instagram.  My sis-in-law, Rachel, was giving me a tutorial on how it works and explaining it to me.  I think it's pretty cool.  But my favorite place to post pictures is still my blog.
• Some good friends of ours bought a house in our neighborhood.  It definitely makes the pain of the H family moving away a couple months ago way less painful.  We do still miss them being so close though.
• Remember my coffee drinking post?  Well I got a Keurig for my birthday and I'm worried that I'm on a downhill slide.  I'm still trying not to drink coffee everyday.
• We are loving being outside lately.  With swimming, picnics, parks, frequent walks, bike rides, and a backyard we love everyone seems to be really enjoying the outside time.  I'm also happy it hasn't been too hot yet.
• After a 5 month wait Season 3 of Modern Family is on the hold shelf at the library waiting for me.  I can't believe I didn't give in and buy it.  That show is awesome.
• Since Google Reader will be no longer soon I've switched my reader to Feedly.  I'm really liking it.  I also tried Netvibes and it was fine but I didn't like it as much.

Enjoy some of my random Photo Grid pics below:)

Friends' soon to be new house

All in a day...from black socks to princess shoes

Eating lunch on the deck

Princess World

A sampling of today's art work by Grace which she named Princess World.  From left to right and top to bottom...Tiana, Sleeping Beauty, Beaty and the Beast (pink window is Belle's room, blue is the Beast's room), Rapunzel, Snow White, and Jasmine.

1st Born vs. 2nd Born?

When Grace was just over 2 years old we transitioned her into her big girl bed.  She did great.  She never got out of bed and we had zero issues.  It was over one year after the transition she got out of bed but stayed in her room.  When I found her sitting on the floor she was so upset and started crying for doing something she thought was wrong (and I didn't even reprimand her).

Today Caleb asked to take a nap in the twin bed in his room that we're hoping to transition him to soon.      I told him he could but that he needed to stay in bed.  He was very tired and said he would.  He's actually a pretty compliant kid so I thought he might.  Three minutes later we heard a door close and went upstairs to find Caleb running all over from room to room.  Back to the crib* he went and we'll tackle this problem in the near future.

*In regards to the crib we are just waiting for the day that Caleb climbs out.  He already climbs in himself so we know he can climb out.  We think he actually has a healthy fear of the floor since it far away.

Curls!

Last night I put Grace's hair in curlers and the result was awesome (in my humble opinion).  For ages Grace has been asking to have curly hair like her friend Charlotte's.  Isn't it so interesting to see how we start comparing and wanting what others have so young?  I have tried to take those moments as teaching opportunities to explain how God created us all differently.  I also wanted to have some fun showing her that there are lots of tools that can change the way our hair looks:)  Enter in curlers.  My friend loaned me some curlers she had used on her daughter and I'm thinking I want to buy my own set.  The adorable results are pictured below...

The Swagger Wagon

Do you remember those commercials for Sienna a few years ago where the super cool looking family got a minivan, rapped about it and called it the swagger wagon?  That is when the Toyota Sienna became my dream car van.  And that is when I realized I was old.

I never actually thought I would get a Sienna because who actually gets their dream car?  But whose dream car is actually a minivan:)  But I did know that we were planning on buying a minivan in the summer is 2013.  I just figured a car that cool would be way too expensive and we'd get something else.  But a few weeks, many test drives, many internet searches, 3 dealers, lots of discussion and time to think later Matt and I actually bought a Toyota Sienna.

I'm not going to go into the specifics of why we got what we got because it would be really boring.  But I'm going to tell you I love it.  I know it's only a car but I'll enjoy driving it while it's in my life.

Finally, as part of this purchase we traded in the 12 year old Grand Am I bought 10 years ago.  That car has been through a lot of growing up and life changes with me so it was sad to say goodbye.  Since it's been the car Matt's been driving to work for the last 4 years and he has no emotional attachment to it he was happy to say goodbye.  Now he gets to drive the Escape to work:)

Hugs and kisses for the Grand Am

Sienna from behind

Sienna from the front

A little closer for the color

Look at all that extra room!!!