cock-a-doodle-do at four in the afternoon

April 10, 2013April 6, 20203 Comments

Just checkin’ in.

During the winter months I want everything cozy and warm, but it was starting to feel heavy and cluttered.

So, I’ve been rearranging.

Spring cleaning.

Lightening things up a bit.

I’ll share it all with you soon.

For now, a few photos from {m}iphone…

He’s getting used to the empty space in his mouth and alreay has another loose tooth.

She has such a fun personality. Singing, dressing up, making up stories.

Put this back up on the chalkboard in the family room…it is kind of “dog themed”.

A few of my favorite things found a nice spot in a vintage crate on the wall in our kitchen.

Lorelai is writing her name at school.

A jar full of little people in the playroom.

We have ants. The kids are both mesmerized and terrified by them. They will hold snakes, walk up to big dogs, feed goats, but ants…it might have something to do with the ants that were all over me at the refuge over spring break.

The last of the camellia are blooming and falling to the ground. There’s a big mess to clean up. I wish they lasted longer.

She let me put a braid in her hair. I love it when her hair is out of her face.

It was a nice morning to share my coffee with Odyssey. Then it got windy and rainy. Then sunny. Then rainy. Then sunny, again.

Trader Joe’s had bunches of ten daffodils for $1.29. I bought 5 bunches. They brighten up the craft table.

Mail makes me happy. This afternoon we pulled into the garage just as the mail man stopped. I got an unexpected package from an instagram friend. Homemade jam and this beautiful granny square garland. I absolutely LOVE it!

This oldy, but goody dowloaded with my other photos. I decided to share it because everybody else is sharing photos of their newly hatched chicks. I want chickens, but Ryan isn’t so keen on the idea. Maybe next year. For now, I’ll visit other peoples chickens and be happy that our neighbors have a rooster that wakes us up every morning…and all day long.

He’s cock-a-doodle-dooing now…it’s 4pm.

I would like to read up about raising chickens and I know there are a lot of you out there who know about it, so if you have some good recommendations please let me know!

home is…just chicken in on a Wednesday afternoon. {get it?!}

{hello friday} 3.22.2013

March 22, 20132 Comments

As I sat down to write this at my kitchen counter I heard a loud thump and saw something falling out of a tree in my periferal vision out my kitchen window.

It happens all the time, but this was LOUD.

I went to the back door and did not see any large branches, but upon further inspection saw a squirrel hunched down under our table.

He seriously had to drop about 30-40 feet out of the trees.

I opened the door to try to sneak out to get Odyssey, but the squirrel came to and ran over to a tree and over the fence.

Man talk about getting back up after taking a big fall.

Anyway…

We are officially on Spring Break around here.

What does that mean?

Not much, just that the kids are out of school.

We’ll probably be doing a lot of the same things we did this week…

cleaning up messes…

i call her cinderlola now.

two little monkeys…

they listen to skidamarink on repeat and keep jumping.

i would like to LAY around…

but we will probably need to add the P back in PLAY.

boxes are magical…

hf 3.22.13 1

but probably won’t get us through the week.

mom will need to do…

hf 3.22.13 4

some thrifting to keep my sanity.

without kids…

because Nana is coming to visit.

home is…spring break.

beat, but not beaten

March 20, 2013April 6, 20202 Comments

I just ready Kelle’s post.

So thankful to be reminded that it’s ok to have some balls on the floor.

Like blog posts…

While not at the top of my priority list, I do have a bunch of posts written in my head, but by the time I have a moment to sit down with my thoughts I am beat.

And, exercise…

I want to start up my exercise routine and lose the ten extra pounds I am carrying around, but my little girl screams and throws a ten minute tantrum every time I mention the name of our health club.

Yesterday…

I was the mom at kindergarten pick up whose kid hit her in the head three times and told her that he hates her in front of all the other moms, kids, and the teacher.

Yeah, that was awesome.

Today…

We were on time to get out the door to school. You see, my kindergartener does NOT like to be late and have to walk into circle time by himself. So, I try extra hard to get to school ON TIME so he does not feel bad. We left the neighborhood on our usual route and there was a train STOPPED on the tracks. I backed up and took an alternate route which had a blocked intersection due to an accident.

TRAIN.

WRECK.

That’s how I was feeling.

Somehow, we made it to school and the little guy was not late for circle.

I reminded his teacher that I would be picking him up early from school to get to the dentist.

She said she remembered. She also,politely and quietly, said, “I hope you were able to deal with that situation yesterday. If you need me to say something to him I would be happy to. That is never acceptable behavior.”

Oh, how I needed to hear that.

I broke down into tears. We hugged. I asked for her help. She said I could always talk to her…anytime.

I cried the entire way home.

I needed that cry.

I am blessed by the people who are in my life and know exactly what I need and when I need it.

I needed her to see the little guy, who is normally thoughtful and caring at school, act out.

I am thankful for that moment.

I’m still beat, but not beaten.

So, how about some pictures from the last 10 days…

Happy Spring!

home is…sometimes even good intentions get wonky.

stop and look around

February 28, 20137 Comments

I’m feeling a little uninspired in my writing lately.

I have started to look back at some old posts for inspiration.

Here one of my favorites from 2 years ago…

{tuesdays with lola} the allison

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– Ferris Bueller

Life is good.

It’s easy to forget that when you are frustrated about migraines, 3-1/2 year olds who don’t go to sleep at bedtime, stomach cramps, teething toddlers, messy houses, death, arguments, and all the other normal stuff that happens in life.

It’s all good.

What makes it tough is if we don’t stop to appreciate all of it. The good, the bad, and the ugly.

I don’t know who is in charge, but “they” have a plan for all of us. We’re just along for the ride.

Speaking of ride, lola and I went for a drive this morning after we dropped the little guy off at school. When I don’t feel like tackling the to do list I often just go for a drive.

This morning the sun was peaking through the clouds, and I thought we would get out and enjoy it before raindrops start falling again.

We drove down to The Allison. One of my favorite places to take the kids for a little bit of an adventure. We walk around the beautiful grounds and soak up a little bit of what the Willamette Valley has to offer. It’s a little different every season.

Here is what we found today…

home is…putting the to do list away for a morning.

{colton+cadence} shop update

February 27, 20131 Comment

I’ve been updating the shop today.

Well, between runs back and forth to school.

It takes a lot of time.

Drop kids off at school.

Take some photos.

Write a listing.

Edit photos.

Publish listing.

Post on Facebook.

Post on Instagram.

Repeat.

Go pick up Lorelai from school.

Make her lunch.

Take some photos.

Write a listing.

Edit photos.

Publish listing.

Post on Facebook.

Post on Instagram.

Repeat.

Go pick up Reece from school.

Make the kids a snack.

Take some photos.

Write a listing.

Edit photos.

Publish listing.

Post on Facebook.

Post on Instagram.

Repeat.

Anyway, I’m still working on some updates, but the light is fading and I will have to stop taking photos.

I have done this all sorts of ways.

Take ALL the photos.

Edit ALL the photos.

Write ALL the listings.

I just get done what I can when I can.

Today was a “work” day for me.

I love my “job”.

home is…love what you do.

{collecting} vintage playroom

February 25, 2013April 6, 202014 Comments

When I started thrifting less than a year ago I also started some new collections.

My collections are of items that I have always had a fondness of, but never knew how to find them…until I started thrifting.

One of my favorite collections is my vintage fisher price collection.

These toys come from the days of my youth. I am not sure I ever had any of them, nor do I recall playing with any of them (although I am sure I did at some point), but they take me back to when I was a little girl.

I say it is my collection, but it is really for all of us…as are most of my collections.

The toys fill the shelves in the playroom (remember the playroom…something I thought we would never have).

The kids, most days, will pull the vintage fisher price off the toy shelves before they choose any of the newer toys.

For me, I love…

…the simplicity…

…the graphics…

…the bright colors…

…it all just makes me happy!

I imagine that these toys will go into the attic (or my creative cottage) to be stored until my own kids have children of their own.

And, just like my kids do when they visit their grandparents in New York, they will play with the same toys that generations before them have been playing with.

When I come across duplicates of what we already have I put them into colton+cadence or post them for sale on instagram.

If you are interested in starting your own collection you can follow @coltoncadence on instagram or visit the vintage playroom section of colton+cadence on etsy!

home is…collecting something that makes you (and your home) happy.

{hello friday} 2.8.2013

February 8, 2013April 6, 20201 Comment

Where did the week go?!

We spent ours…

drawing and writing: the kids love to make books. Reece draws the pictures and then sounds out the words to write what the picture is about. It is amazing to see him learning so much! Lorelai mimics her brother and likes to draw “naughty scribbles”.

cleaning: Inside and out. Ryan cleaned up the yard last Sunday. The kids and I cleaned out their playhouse…the stinkbugs had taken up winter residence in there!

thrifting: Treasure hunting for the shop. Treasure hunting for us. Enjoying a solo morning thrift while the kids were in school.

playing: The kids absolutely LOVE all of the vintage Fisher Price toys I have collected.

creating: New items for the shop and for our home. It fuels my soul to create.

savoring: Moments like these. Holding little hands will only last for so long. I cherish every moment.

trying new things: Sewing a doorway puppet theater. This was my second attempt (the first one was tossed because the striped fabric was going to give me a migraine). The third attempt turned out much better…after we added a second tension rod at the bottom of the “stage”.

building: I bought a bunch of cups at Costco. Reece just started stacking…and stacking…and stacking. They played with these for hours…together…not squabbling (who doesn’t love Charlie and Lola?!).

home is…a weeks worth of activities.

easy christmas card photo books

January 21, 20135 Comments

One of my favorite parts about Christmas is receiving the cards from all of our friends and relatives. I especially like the photos.

They make me smile from the day I receive my first card until the day I finally take them down from their display…which is usually one of the last things to come down.

Over the years I have been saving the photos in a drawer in my desk. You see, my aunt had albums full of christmas card photos and every year I loved to sit down on Christmas day and look through them. Although I didn’t know all the people, I learned to recognize the familiar faces year after year and enjoyed seeing how families had grown, adult children had gotten married, etc. My plan was to eventually start some albums of my own.

Last year I found this photo on Pinterest…

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Maddy on Pinterest

I figured this would be easier and less expensive than photo albums, but I never got around to doing it.

As I was trying to find space in the drawer in my desk for our cards from Christmas 2012 I finally decided to just put the darn books together. I mean, for goodness sake, all I needed was a hole punch (I used a 3 hole punch and a single hole punch), some chipboard, some rings, and a glue stick!

All of my cards were organized by year, so I started punching holes.

{That’s my mom and dad in Italy}

I used two holes of a three hole punch so that I would eventually be able to line up the cards that were differing sizes and shapes.

Then I cut some chipboard that I had from the back of some thrifted frames that I won’t be using. I cut the chipboard a little larger than the largest card…three of the books ended up being 9″ x 6″ and one is 8″ x 6″.

I punched holes in the chipboard and glued our christmas card to the front.

I also made back covers for the books so the cards are protected on both sides of the book.

This year our card was a post card and I wanted to include the back of the card, so I put it on the inside of the back cover.

In less than an hour (it actually took 2 days, but I had to start and stop multiple times for various reasons…kids, dogs, cats, husbands, etc.) I had books from the last 4 years put together!

For now, they are in our basket of photo books in the family room. I think, eventually, I will put them in the attic with the rest of the Christmas decor so they will be a fun tradition to pull out of the bins each year.

Notice a change to the bookshelves? I’ll fill you in on that quick project this week!

Stay tuned…

spring fever

January 19, 2013April 6, 20201 Comment

I’ve got a bit of Spring Fever in the middle of winter.

I posted this photo in my Instagram feed yesterday and a few people asked how I made it.

I originally wrote a post about it here…May 2011.

{when i looked at the post i couldn’t believe that there were Instagram photos on it…i guess i was an early adopter}

I used a tutorial for a ruffle wreath from Jones Design Company.

Her tutorial for rolled paper flowers is basically the same technique for how I made the felt roses.

Anyway, that wreath has been around for a while and has held up pretty well.

I may even make a few more…maybe even put a couple in the shop.

routine

Otherwise, I’m just trying to figure out a routine around here with the kids back in school.

For the last 3+ years I have had housecleaners come every other week. While it was a sanity saver when the kids were babies, I decided it was time to give up that luxury this year. I have found a great sense of accomplishment, and even joy, in keeping my house clean. I want it clean ALL THE TIME now, instead of just one day. In fact, I think I’m becoming a bit obsessed with cleaning…that’s not a bad thing, though. I am even making my own natural cleaning products to use and I will eventually share what’s working with you here.

That being said, I am trying to find time for all of the things I enjoy…creating, running, thrifting, blogging, learning.

As you all know it’s a juggling act, but it’s fun to learn how to keep all the balls in the air.

“snow” days

In the last week the kids have had two “snow” days due to ice on the roads. They really weren’t snow days as the ice was caused by freezing fog, but we took advantage of them by making morning fires in the fireplace and doing some crafting and Valentine’s Day decorating.

I used Emily’s rolled paper flower tutorial to make these Valentine’s Day roses last year.

This paper garland was another Valentine’s Day craft from last year (similar to the Christmas paper garland from Christmas 2011)…I did make some more this year with patterned paper and larger hearts that I will share on another post.

sunshine

Some recent sunshine and longer days has us dreaming about spending more time in the yard.

Odyssey misses sharing coffee with me every morning.

light at the end of the tunnel

I always manage to fit in a bit of thrifting…this week we found some vintage fisher price.

home is…sunny days ahead.

secret tunnel

January 10, 20134 Comments

There is a tunnel that the kids like to walk through to get to school.

This morning it was snowing on the other side…

home is…a “secret tunnel”.

stephany taddeo

home is what you make it

Category: being a perpetual student of life

cock-a-doodle-do at four in the afternoon

{hello friday} 3.22.2013

Anyway…

cleaning up messes…

two little monkeys…

i would like to LAY around…

boxes are magical…

mom will need to do…

beat, but not beaten

Like blog posts…

And, exercise…

Yesterday…

Today…

So, how about some pictures from the last 10 days…

stop and look around

{tuesdays with lola} the allison

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

– Ferris Bueller

{colton+cadence} shop update

Drop kids off at school.

Go pick up Lorelai from school.

Go pick up Reece from school.

I have done this all sorts of ways.

{collecting} vintage playroom

{hello friday} 2.8.2013

easy christmas card photo books

spring fever

routine

“snow” days

sunshine

light at the end of the tunnel

secret tunnel