When daddy's away, mama will play.....

 So with Andrew being gone, I've been staying up late......a lot. It's my own fault, I start going on a project, and than keep going, usually making it more difficult and time consuming than I really need to. But, in the end I'm glad I finish and usually come up with some pretty fun stuff. Well, Andrew would say "just stuff" lol but to me, and most other girls, it's cute and fun!
My latest is going onto Etsy and looking at their main page for "handpicked" items from some sort of board of people....They pick their favorites they've seen and put them on the front. I usually see something cute, and than go search for more of that so I can get different ideas on how to make it my own. THAN I figure out a way to make it myself instead of buying for triple the price it should be! :) This is such a cute ruffle skirt, and took hardly any time at all! The prep was the worst, and that was because I had to iron all the edges and sew them over so the hem was clean.....(I'm getting a free serger tomorrow from my mom in law so hopefully that will be easy for me to use!) 
Originally it was suppose to be 12 months, I even measured it around henry's waist.....but I havent quite figured out the ratio for stretch....if anyone knows how to figure out how to make the elastic the right size please let me know, as I always guess! :) And now, it is more of a 3T or even 4T I think.....Oh well, I'm giving it away to someone who can use it.



super cute ruffles



Yea, I havent cut the strings,but I wanted to get a pic to my best friend before she fell asleep

Another thing I had to share, was Mr. Devon's new thing he has in common with Grandpa Gibbons......EATING BUTTER.....No joke. I had set out two things of butter to soften so I could make cookies for the neighbors, and didnt think anything about it. Well Devon went into the kitchen while I was playing with Henry and he suddenly got real quiet...(which most moms would agree, is never a good thing lol.  ) I walked around quietly and this is what I walked into.....



doo dee doo dee doo........

Uh oh.....Caught Red handed......

Quick! Hide the evidence!

While I'm sure most kids eat funny stuff, this is mostly funny becuase Grandpa gibbons use to dip cubes of butter into sugar, as a treat or dessert. He wont eat butter to this day, but he sure loved it when he was a kid!!! Apparently, Devon is truly his grandson, and I'm sure this butter bond will only make them closer lol!

An anniversary, more water....And a few crafty things :)

So Devon's favorite game lately is to get into anything he can fit into (which, let's be honest...he's tiny so he fits into everything lol) and wants to be pushed around. NOW, his favorite game is to try and get Henry into something, which he has yet to accomplish so far....he usually tries to pick him up and than whines at me that he can't do it so demands help by pointing at Henry and than pointing at whatever he wants me to put Henry in. Yes. It's quite a game. I of course end up pushing them around the house then, while they sqeal like crazy. Who would have thought a $5 hamper would be so entertaining :)



Happy 5 years to us! It definitely has flown by, and I am so happy at where we are in our life right now. I feel like we've been through everything that we could experience and more, so who knows how the rest of our life will be! At least we have each other by our sides though to face whatever comes our way. I love him so much!




Lounging at Grandma's in the pool. "aahh what the life!" lol





Henry is always so happy. You just look at him and he beams, I absolutely love that about him. I hope he is always this happy and content.




My awesome friend Brad Perry married even a more awesome girl named Shauna Eby. She made these wonderful letters for the boys for their room! I totally love them and am so happy she took the time to do them for us.

                                            

(And yes, that is wood paneling! We live in an antique of a home! :) I like to call it my shabby chic cabin haha. I'm making it very girly indeed, ever so slowly so that Andrew can use to all the frills, fabrics and ruffles :) I can't wait to show you the makeup station and our bedroom! (but it's not done yet)



With all the wood paneling it makes our house feel dark. than you come to the kitchen and it's tark white everywhere! Below, you will see the new fabric I used to recover some seat cushions Andrew's mom gave me....so  I took the yellow from the pattern and used the color for some "pop" in the kitchen with "happy fabric" lol. It brightens things up and is fun for me to look at since I am in the kitchen so much. That general store sign I got at a consignment shop...I saw it 3 different times I went in and finally last time said "okay! I'm just going to buy it! It'sstill here so it MUST be for me lol"



A family I use to nanny for was getting a new table and chairs set and so gave us this table and chairs (yes, there's a 4th chair, its just not in the picture). It was a light oak color, and the chairs were mismatched; one was black and oak, another full purple, and another purple and black, I dont know what she was doing1 haha  It has sat in storage, or the basement for years now, just waiting until I could finally use it! I was so excited and am in love with the light blue and white look (I stole the look from one of my magazines haha!)

The yellow wicker basket underneath holds Henry's bibs and baby washcloths so they are close.

And here's the fabric I picked out for the seat cushions! Got the cushions for free and the fabric was on sale for only $8. a yard!

I am getting use to this little antique place. It's helping by changing up a few things and making it more girly. I have a lot more, so fellow bloggers, you will see many little crafty things I'm planning to do! Thanks for reading :)

Then off to Utah to see Grandma Fletcher

So I did the unthinkable and took both boys on an airplane by myself! It wasnt so bad, probably just more of my own stress than anything haha! both boys did great, and didnt throw fits at all. A really nice guy saw me in line and carried in Devon's car seat and the double stroller onto the plane and hooked Devon up in it before he turned around and went back up the plane to his wonderful business class seat :) lol On the flight back a flight attendent did the same thing, so I didnt have to deal with carrying Henry, the car seat, and packing up the stroller hahaha!

It was a short trip, and Jason flew in from the east to see mom too. First time he'd met Henry so that was cool.



I sure love these two boys--Devon is in love with Henry! He is always so concerned about Henry and is sure to tell me when Henry is crying or upset (and will not stop telling me until I go and get Henry.....no.....matter.....what......I......am.....doing! hahaha)





Grandma and Henry




Great Grandma Smith, Grandma Fletcher and Bree with the boys




Dev with his favorite auntie Jennie



pictures!!! :)

 So this summer has been fun! Devon discovered the sprinkler, and drinking from the hose....and has yet to leave it alone ! haha But, oh the simpler times in life are the greatest right? I figure he's a boy, he's suppose to be soaking wet the whole entire summer, right? :) Here's a few photos that were super fun!



It hit devon right in the face! He didnt move though at all and just screamed with delight! I love that little boy!




My sweet little Henry-Who!




Discovering the hose ! :)



I am alive :)

I havent blogged in ages. But, whenever I get bored, and go onto my blog, I realize I really love to read what I've written before, it brings up good and yummy memories! So, I think I will try and blog more. I realize that no one really reads this, but that's okay...maybe that'll make it a more honest blog haha.

Devon is just over 2 now, and henry is 9 months. Boy do those boys drive me bonkers sometimes! But, they are the sweetest ever and definitely make me forget everything whenever Henry smiles up at me or Dev comes over to give me a kiss and a "devon back rub" lol. 
Devon and Henry get along great. Henry is a growing weed, and will probably soon be in the same size as Devon lol. He is almost crawling, well I guess you could say he is crawling but it's either more of an army crawl, or a bunny hop...whichever he deems fit to get to where he wants to go. Devon is copying and trying to talk more. Since his surgery he has made small, m inor improvements each day. As long as they keep coming, I dont care how small they are! :)

Andrew is in Japan for work right now. It's his first trip overseas, and he is already to come home! He will only be gone a total of 24 days (we hope!) but it seems like a long time to us since we've never had him be gone this long.  Devon grabs his phone and pretends to talk...when I ask who he's talking to he ALWAYS says "dada!!" and continues on with his little conversation. I've been taking full advantage of alone time after the boys go to sleep (they go to bed at 7:30 ad 8:00 I am SO lucky!) and getting a lot done, the little things I never get done when Andrew is home. I'm redecorating my "make up station", pics to follow when I'm done! I changed out the curtains in half the house, more curtains to come soon. I sanded and repainted our chairs so they match better with the new seat cushions that I've recovered. And I even finally sanded down and refinished our giant mirror that goes above my dresser in our room. I am so crafty, and it's so fun to see it in my home! :) But even with all these, I'd rather he be home.   I seem to forget the little things he does when he's around that I now have to do.....like take out the trash. (yuck) clean the toilet (double yuck, that's always his job), mow the lawn, (okay, so I dont do that, we are having some guy come and do it lol) and helping me in the garden...okay so he mostly just eats stuff instead of weeding, but it's nice to have the company lol!
Or neighbors check in on me, and we've mostly been spending a lot of time at grandma and grandpa's house in the pool. I'll be sure to try and post some pictures tonight of our things lately we've been doing.

I will really try and write more on this, it's fun once you actually get on and start writing.....now I just have to remember that :)

My little speedy

So..................we went grocery shopping today. Devon was such a good little boy the whole time, eating his crackers, and drinking his water, with only throwing his water down once the whole time we were in the store! :) Very impressive! When we got home I took him out of the car, put a new diaper on him, made sure everything was blocked off (stairs, doors, his favorite electronics, etc etc) and went outside to get the groceries....of course I hurried, but to no avail....in the kitchen there is ONE cupboard where the child proof latch doesnt quite latch correctly.......and he seems to always get in it! :) Well, in the short time that I brought in the groceries, he took off his pants, one sock, his jacket, and got into the old marshmellows, which I dont even know HOW long they have been in there!!! He thought it was hilarious and was giggling while shoving them in his mouth by the time I got inside.....he even snorted and let a bunch of them fall OUT of his mouth because he was such a clown! He then picked up the gummy, slobbery ones that fell out, and brought them proudly to me. Who couldnt love this little man? :)


p.s. you should really click on the 4th one down, you'll see his little mischevious grin.

And, the best sale on the planet!

So i went to my first semi-annual "bag sale" on Saturday at "Once upon a child" this great consignment shop in Tacoma where they only sell childrens clothing, it's GREAT! :) We got there about 15 minutes early only due to traffic, not due to planning, and was suprised to see the line wrapping around the building of this small shop. Got Devon strapped into his stroller and stood outside in the sun waiting for them to open. They handed us plastic bags, and the rules were you can stuff everything you can into the bag, as long as the handles can touch, and you get it all for $10.00!!! You can get as many bags as you want, and you can even take off the hangers so that you can get more clothes in there!!! I got stocked up on clothes for the new one (not that we needed much, the hand-me-downs will begin at birth haha) and was able to get my girlfriend a ton of stuff for her first little girl. Over 50 items later for her, and I was pooped, sweaty, and ready to get out of there!!! But, SO worth it. My savings was $274.00, and that was even at consignment pricing, imagine what it would have been if I had bought any of that at a regular store!!! i was very luckily, and got about 40 items for Devon and the new baby, and about 1/3 of all items were brand new with store tags on them still. But this all was not without a fight. It's a tiny store first of all, and it's packed to the gills with clothing, toys and accessories. Try pushing a stroller around in there, and it gets worse. Add in vicsious moms and yes, I mean viscious moms to the picture, and you will start to form that scary scene from movies where moms are fighting for the last pair of great jimmy choos at the last minute sample sale the day after thanksgiving. As an afterthought, bringing Devon to something like that was probably horrifying for him, and I will definitely not be bringing him to it this Jan when I go back again for the next one. I wont be pregnant, I wont have either boys with me, and I will come prepared for a fight to get the best dang clothes I can get for them! :)

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Oh yeah, and my new haircut!! I had over 20 inches cut off of it. It's cute, fun, but I definitely am ready to be able to pull it back!