do it now.

Like our newest house accessory?
Aaron does not. But I don't care.

Sadly for me it took a nearly tragic event for me to finally
install a permanent gate at the base of our stairs.

A couple of days ago a dear friends little girl fell down some stairs...had a seizure, stopped breathing and had a brain bleed. You might remember seeing the photos I took of her.

Praise the Lord that she is ok...doing well and expected to recover fully.

But the ease at which things could have gone the other way does not escape me.
Almost immediately I was sick to my stomach at the thought that the only thing that had kept me from installing a gate at the base of our stairs was money.
I did not want to pay $65 for a gate.
Shame on me. Shame on me for putting my kids in danger like that over a few bucks.
Moses has already fallen down the same stairs twice...me once.
That should have been enough for me to get my butt in gear.
Sadly it was not.
It took a near tragic experience of a close friend to shake me awake.

And here I am to shake you.

Do it NOW. Right now.
Put it at the top of your to-do list TODAY.
Whatever safety project you have been putting off...DO IT.

Let me be your warning.

Also in the world of "I have nothing to complain about because my kids are healthy"...
my three year old will yet be the death of me.

Seriously.
Let me preface this by saying that I LOVE and ADORE him.
Truly...he is a bright spot in my life.
He is cute and smart and funny and sweet.

But he will be the death of me.
Last night he got up at 2am...the first time.
Then again at 2:45 and 3:30 and 4:30 and 5 and 6:15 and 7:00.
He gets up and comes out.
This has become a nightly occurrence.
And most times he wakes his brother.
He gets up to play...with the loudest toys in his room.
He gets up and turns on every light he can find.

I thought I was going to lose my mind.
At 7am I had a long talk with him and I think he understood that I was very upset with him.
He didn't make a peep but stayed in his room until I got him at 8:30am.

I left him there until I could calm down and figure out what to do with him.
It was best for us both, believe me.
I would never harm him...understand that...but I know when I need to calm down and think.

So when I finally went to get him...I explained some things to him.
I removed everything from his room but his bed, dresser and a chair.

I will be putting up a gate at his door until he learns to stay in there at night.
I will unscrew his light bulbs so he can't turn them onto play at 2am.

I am hoping these things will get through to him.

What really kills me...last night I stayed up reading It's a Boy...(my absolute favorite book about raising boys)...and went to bed very optimistic about our three year old boy...he IS normal. He IS a boy. And then this.

I am deflated and exhausted.
Please pray for me...please pray that these things WILL work.

Any other ideas from someone who has been in this situation?
I would LOVE to hear from you. LOVE.

exhausted in VA.

monarch butterfly cupcakes.

I'm so excited to show you these.

I made them for a friends baby shower.

And you know what?

They were easy.

Time consuming, but easy.

I had the perfect stand for displaying them, too.

You can find the how to in Hello, Cupcake.

Don't be intimidated.

You can do these.

I have never worked with food stuff in this way but was happily surprised at the ease of it all.

My only tip...be sure your kids are asleep for the night. Not just in bed.
Just saying. You are working with melted chocolate here.
No time for going up and down the stairs to get your 3 year old back in bed.
Again.

You should have a baby...and buy me a plane ticket...and I will come make some for you.

I'm thinking if I make enough...maybe spring will come sooner?

Happy Friday, peeps.
What are you up to?

happy eye candy.

So...some time ago I found this sweet little necklace on Etsy at Happy Find.
When I got it in the mail I could not believe how unbelievably SWEET this necklace was.
The photo above does not do it justice...not that the photo isn't great but the workmanship is just phenomenal...the kind of work that you hope goes into every purchase you make.
But if you think this necklace is darling...

Would you just look at this stinking sweet pin cushion?
Crazy cute. Right?

I mean just look at these...don't you just want one or all of them?
Or want to GIVE it to your favorite crafter?
And believe me...the price is right, Bob.
.
.
.
But wait.
I gets better...

HELLO!
Can you say "eye candy"?
Even if you don't sew...doesn't it make you want to start?
Or at least buy a pack of pins so you have a good reason to buy one...
And guess what else?
The ones in the photo above are just $8. EIGHT dollars!
Go get them...all of them...hoard them or share them with friends.

I can't get enough.
Sometimes I like to go to her shop and just look.
I actually just sent her a couple of items to make into pin cushions for me...
...you better believe that I will show them off when I get them back.

She also makes a variety of other cute things as well.
So...if you need a cute gift...GO HERE.
You will be 100% thrilled with whatever you get.

Want to see what else she is up to?
Go visit her blog Happy Find.

P.S. I was not asked or paid to write this...I just LOVE her shop and all her sweet creations and hate when I find such an awesome shop that is not getting the traffic it deserves...the workmanship is awesome, shipping prices are right on and the shop owner is SUPER sweet. Win. Win. Win.

how to make a photo ledge.

Ok, you guys.

Are you ready for my ghetto fabulous "how to make a photo ledge"?
I am far from a carpenter...but I love how they turned out.
And it sure beats paying $40 for ONE of these bad boys.
Ready? Go.

Here is the lumber.
1- 1in by 4in by 8ft.
2- 1in by 2in by 8ft.
3- 8ft piece of crown molding that I liked the look of.
You can get simple or ornate...stick to around 3-4in in width.
4- piece of molding the is 1/4in by 1in by 8ft.
This piece will go on the edge of photo ledge to keep the photos from sliding off...so you can get other variations if you see something you like.

You CAN get it cut at Lowe's...I think the first cut is even free.
I bought all of them the same length for less cutting and less work.

I took each 8ft piece and cut it down to 4ft pieces...because I wanted two 4ft shelves.
You could buy 10ft pieces too...or cut them down to whatever size you would like to have.

You will also need:
wood screws 1 1/2in long
drill
brads (tiny nails)
hammer
paint

I started by pre-drilling my holes...
make an L out of the 4in and 2in piece of wood...like above.
I drilled holes on each corner...then every foot or so.
Screw together.

Then...I nailed on the crown molding...nailing near the edges.
You could also add in some wood glue if you wanted.

Then I nailed on the 1/4in piece.
Then painted.
Attach heavy duty photo hangers on the back.
I would do one on each end and on in the middle.
And hang.
I bought all my supplies at Lowe's.

The whole process took very little time.
I plan on making more. :)

Enjoy free range photo arranging...without all the holes in your wall.

Have a question?
Please start a discussion over at the blog frog community on the right. :)

peeks and promises.

Here's a peek at something I am working on...I'll share later in the week...

Here is pouty McPouts-A-Lot...
...during THIS meal...he told me to be quiet. Twice.
(he DOES have good days).

Here was my sick baby...falling asleep on his daddy's lap.
Doug has the magic touch...

And here he is all better...happy and sweet. :)

Here is a peek at a fun new blog feature...
I'm working on something NEW, FUN, FAST and CRAFTY for YOU!

AND

YOU are the winner of the calendar! :)
Contact me! :)

Come back tomorrow for the photo ledge how-to!

xo

done and done.

this weekend:
i did not cook.
i let my family graze like cattle...
...they ate what they wanted,
when they wanted.
Moses stuck to cheese, yogurt,
frosted mini-wheats, milk and applesauce.
It was NICE.

We stayed home.
We LOVE to stay home.
Especially now that it is frigid outside.
I miss spring.

I recovered my lampshade.
Took about twenty minutes and hot glue.
We played Wii.

We (I, with Doug on childcare) repainted
the dining room.
The color makes me feel like spring IS here.
I cut Doug's hair.
I built TWO photo shelves...for about $15 total!
(as opposed to paying around $40 for ONE)
(want a tutorial?)
We vacuumed under the couch.
And after finding a grape sized ball in Aaron's mouth...
we removed every tiny item from the downstairs
and banished them to Moses' room or put them away.
Aaron got a fever...and slept in my lap on Sunday afternoon.

We had our first "There is something up my nose!" moment with Moses.
Above is the washer that he must have had to work hard to shove up his nose.
Luckily, it came out easily with tweezers.

He also had a few tantrums.
He is getting quite good at them.
When will three be over?

I'm a little jealous that Doug get's to go to work.
But also not.

And get to wake up to the call of Moses..
"Moooooommmm....I'm all doneeee".

sigh.

teaser.

anyone?