Family

 We have something to share with you:

As many know, this isn’t an easy road for us. This is my 10th pregnancy. We gave up 3+ years ago trying to grow our family.

God's timing is unbelievable. The puzzle pieces that we didn’t even realize were being placed that fit into this to be a successful pregnancy, and continue to be, are truly amazing. (Turns out a global pandemic makes it so much easier to be laid upon your death bed since you have nowhere to go. PS I’m doing so much better.)

We know some may be hurt they are just now finding out about this. Please understand our hearts. This is a difficult road to navigate alone and even more difficult with others. You see, the second loss.. it's sad. The third time, people are worried about you. Four times, they pity you.. beyond...we were just tired of letting people down. And them feeling our pain, too. So we hope you understand.

Brandon was finally able to come to an appt and as soon as the screen lit, he teared up. I laid there and even though it had been 20 weeks, it felt so real for the first time. I felt like I was proving to someone that “hey! There is a real baby..ALIVE.. in my stomach. I’m doing it this time. See! We are doing it” Brandon, has been on this journey mourning right along with me. And my biggest part of healing was the amount of guilt I held that I was not only crushing my dreams of our family, but his too. Because of my body, I have put a lot of sadness on his face. And I can not tell you the feeling in the accurate words, that I had seeing his face in that room. Watching our baby (BOY!!) On that screen (sucking his big toe ) His face I will remember the rest of my life. I swear he actually floated out of that office that day.

As we share this we recognize others that have hurt alongside us on their journey. We know many of you are still waiting, and we pray knowing what we have walked through, you will still rejoice along with us, but we know all to well that can be difficult. We know your pain, we see you, and we hope our news will give you a sort of hope, that there may be more to your story, too.

There has been a hole in our hearts for so so long. A hole, we thought would never be filled, that is now feeling so whole. We can’t wait to hold him in our arms in December!

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 Playroom Reveal | Farmhouse Playroom Decor 

The start of the New Year, actually the day before the actual New Year we decided to finally do the overhaul on the front living room. Years ago, we decided to turn it into a playroom. I had 2 toddlers under 2, & I needed a room without toys. Plus, it was ideal to have it on the main level so I could keep an eye on them. So our main living turned toy free & I had an area to corral toddlers while I got to do things on the main floor. 

However, this room didn' always give a great first impression. It's the first room you see when you walk in. And like the rest of our older home, there is no storage anywhere in sight. So the plan was to put in as much vertical storage as we could. We also had to re-evaluate the room as the girls were getting bigger.

We ditched the toy kitchen & laundry set. We looked at their needs & wanted to turn this room into less of a playroom that screamed playroom as soon as you walk in, but also was a room where they... play.

The room isn't completely finished yet. I need to buy pillows for the couch yet. I am having the worst time finding floor lamps, & the ceiling light still hasn't been installed. But this is where we are!

The whole room was inspired by Laura's Playroom at BlesserHouse.com!

Before we get to the reveal let's take a trip where the room started.

Here is a listing photo from 2009:

Here it is in it's full out playroom glory in the toddler days over 6 years ago

For vertical storage, the plan was to make the built-ins custom like our living room. But, I was able to talk Brandon into buying IKEA Billy Bookcase & beef them up to look like they were custom built-ins.

The middle piece ended up being custom made because they didn't make anything to fit in that area. We didn't take into account that there was a vent on the floor, but Brandon is a genius & rigged the bottom of the shelf to have an airtight airway that we put a vent on the front out of. It works perfectly!

Making storage function and pretty was key. This utility laundry cart was perfect for all their stuff animals & dolls!

I wanted to keep the decor functional, I used the toys they already had to decorate the shelves. I put things like their polly pockets, music instruments, magna-tiles & blocks in jars for storage & they look so cute! We also have a TON of books so I used them as well. On the end cap shelves, I rainbow coordinated the hardbacks for a fun pop of color! Of course, we added some Disney flair as well.

We took out the plastic IKEA kids table as the girls knees were starting to not fit & Brandon made a PBK table look alike, the height will work for them for a long time. 

The use it so much & love having more room & it being more comfortable to sit at!

We wallpapered this back wall for a pop of full, then Brandon also made the girls these half desks on each side. They are amazing for separating for homework!

I know you probably think I am nuts for a while couch in a kids' living room, but I promise it is stupidly easy to take care of! I can throw it in and bleach it & spot treat it with peroxide. 

For the art above, it is lyrics to the song "forever young". I was/am the biggest "Parenthood" fan. Beyond obsessed and grossly attached and in love with every character of the show. I always wanted a big family, so it was my dream world. The theme song has the best lyrics that I truly love & it was the perfect piece for in here!

Sources:

Bookcases: IKEA Billy Bookcases

Rug

Buffalo Check Wallpaper

Industrial Wall Wire Basket Shelf

Rolling Utility Cart

Hocking Jars

Alphabet Scroll

Wall Art {I have the XL}

Dollhouse

Wooden Rainbow Stacker

Gumball Machine

Balloon Dog Figure

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 Questions to ask after school instead of "how was your day"

Do you get the same answer every day when you ask "how was your day" after school to your kiddo? Try these instead! You could even print & put in your glove box to pull out after picking them up!

Don't forget to check my DINNER CONVO STARTERS for more questions to get your kids and family talking more together! CLICK HERE

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Virtual learning School Cart | Homeschooling Supply Cart | Homework Cart 

Virtual Learning Organization Ideas

We don't have a ton of storage for school supplies right now to be out at the ready for the girls. We have  a "craft closet" but I really don't want to mix the two. Especially because our craft closet is always a disaster area. The girl's desk set up is in our front living room/playroom so I wanted something that would be right there. 

These carts I love so much. We also have one for our lunch stuff! {Ill link that here if you want to check it out} So I thought it would be great to keep all of their school stuff on one, too. That way they can move it in between their desks & put it away when needed. 

I also did not want to mix school supplies with their normal crafting supplies. These children will use 50 glue sticks on one "project" and all the crayons somehow come up missing 😜 So our rule is, anything on the cart is used for school and school only. If you need glue sticks or pencils or crayons, it's gotta come from the craft closet. This way I can also visibly see the inventory of everything, as well.

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At the top of the cart, I used these to hold all of their notebooks, school curriculum books & clipboards. We use clipboards for so much. {I get them at the dollar tree}  Having everything on top and easy to grab has been so easy.

The second shelf, I used non-slip shelf liner so everything doesn't move when they move cart & keeps everything in place. I just used simple Ball glass jars to hold everything & small pails for scissors & crayons. The pail makes it super easy for them to grab & put on the table/desk & put back.

On the last shelf, I used these containers for extras. I bought this box full of like 250 pencils that were super cheap, to keep on hand to restock their pencils. I also keep this timer in there. A huge portion of their work is timed & timer is huge to see how much time is left. I originally got it as their clean up timer so they could see, but it works great for school too. It has magnets on the back.

Lastly, used this pencil sharper to mount right on the side. It works out so great & is sturdy on there. I used 3m hooks to hold this paper organizer to holder their folders as well as loose notebook paper, construction paper & copy paper for easy grabbing.

There you have it. This cart could be used for really anything. Just for crafting, a homework cart, the option are endless.

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Backyard Season: Backyard Patio Fire Pit

Thank you so much to Wayfair for sponsoring this post & making our backyard patio a paradise. This space has become everything I wanted & more. As always, all thoughts & opinions are my own.

Last year I told you all about our quest to make our backyard more utilized & beautiful as we are in this "backyard season" of life. Like I explained before, with our girls ages we have hit this time in our lives where a huge chunk of our spring, summer & fall is in the backyard. The one thing I love about our home is we have a huge backyard, but we weren't using it to its potential at all. So we started with the playset makeover & we have moved into the patio section!

I will have a few other blog posts on the whole area, because we have & still have so much to do in this area to make it what we want. But today's post is about teaming up with Wayfair on making our firepit area perfect for our family!

If you are a new here, we are huge smore lovers. If you follow me over on Instagram you will often see us eating marshmallows & smores proballyyyy a little more than what we should. So, after we made this privacy fence wall, a firepit area was vital. Before we had an old portable firepit thing that was passed down from my parents. Then last fall, we made our own. But, it had it's faults. We had to worry about having wood, & then the wood being dry. Brandon had me move out the pit because he was worried it was too close to the house, & then it wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as decor heart wanted.

So, I found THIS propane concrete firepit. It is beautiful by itself. I mean honestly, we could just not hook it up & I would be happy its so pretty! The outer edge doesn't get hot at all so I don't have to worry about little fingers getting burned or anything. The hose I can easily hide under the rock & stick the tank behind the sectional. It also came with a great cover.

I also got THIS gorgeous white iron end table for next to sectional too! It's a statement piece & super functional. It's metal & withstand the weather fabulously! It adds some light to this color too as the firepit & wood are all very dark!

My striped pillows are also from Wayfair! They are sunbella, so I know the quality is amazing. I got these last year & they look brand new still!

I am so thrilled with how the firepit area came together. It is exactly what I wanted, it feels so cozy & a plate where we can relax &....snack. It honestly feels like an extension of the house. We had built the sectional last year & I am in awe of what just the new fireplace did to space alone, then adding in end table & decor elements really took it to the next level! I see so many summer & fall nights out here cuddled up with blankets around the fire. I can't wait!

As you can see, Wayfair has something to make everyone's patio a paradise. From a quick refresh with some pillows to completely pulling together a space with a firepit! Thank you again to Wayfair for sponsoring this post!

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Easter Bunny Chow - Easter Snack Mix

Easter Bunny Chow - Easter Snack Mix

Quick Easter/Spring snack mix to munch on while watching Peter Cottontail, use as a class snack or give to others. It's fast, easy & so yummy! 

This is a great one to include the kiddos to help! Nothing with a stove, knives or anything really too messy. I had my girls measure out everything into bowls, then they added it all together. They only thing they really needed my help with was melting the bark! They had such a blast!

INGREDIENTS:

- 6 CUPS RICE CHEX OR CORN CHEX {I PREFER RICE, BUT ONLY HAD CORN ON HAND}

- 2 CUP MINIATURE MARSHMALLOWS

- 1 CUP MINI TWIST PRETZELS

- 9 CUBES ALMOND BARK

- 1 CUP ANNIE'S BUNNIE GRAHAMS {I DIDN'T HAVE THESE ON HAND FOR THIS BATCH}

- HOLIDAY- COLORED SPRINKLES

- 1/4 CUP POWDERED SUGAR

- 1 CUP EASTER M&MS OR ANY CHOCOLATE CANDY OF YOUR CHOICE

DIRECTIONS:

1. Layout a cookie sheet & line with wax paper.

2. Mix cereal Chex, marshmallow, pretzels & bunnies together.

3. Melt the almond bark in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Stirring about every 45 seconds. 

4. Pour melted bark into the cereal mixture & mix all together.

5. Spread the mixture onto the wax papered, cookie sheet & top with sprinkles.

6. Let cool for about 15 minutes.

7. Break into bite-sized pieces & place it into gallon-sized ziplock with the powdered sugar. Shake to coat the mixture.

8. In a large bowl mix cereal mixture with the M&Ms.

9. Enjoy! 

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