present in each moment

“When we are

present in each moment

the past gently

rolls up behind us

and the future slowly

unravels before us.”

-Richard Levy

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the big 6

Paxon had an incredible 6th birthday today!

The pics are slim because our schedule, and my hands, were full!

There were lots of Legos, presents, cards,

treats at school, friends, singing,

bowling, cake, and family!

Happy Birthday Pax!

AB & J

Our staple sandwich for school lunches, AB & J’s

Sandwich thins, homemade blackberry jam, & almond butter

De-Lish!

 

mason jars

Mason jars,  not just for pickles and fireflies anymore.

Here are a few of my favorite ideas, just in time for this weekend’s cookout festivities!

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Enjoy the holiday weekend friends.

Eat.

Drink.

Wear those white shoes one last time!

5.5.5. invites

 All this back to school business, activities, birthday parties, it can all get really pricey quick.  I needed some invitations for Paxon’s birthday, didn’t want to spend much, and had put them off way too long. So yesterday, we got to work.

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Birthday invitations, so very simple, my 5 year old (well, almost 6) made them, in literally 5 minutes, and hit my wallet for a mear 5 bucks.

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-We took plain white cardstock

-Paxon’s favorite toys, the theme of the party, Legos

-Situated the toys on one side of the paper to leave a clean space for text

-Took a picture

-Uploaded the picture to the computer

-Added the party details with a text box

(Mom Disclaimer: Yes, I do realize these mini figs look like they are casualities of some sort of cruel Lego war. Do you see those smurks and aweful looks on their faces? I tried to situate them in a merry, happy way with different happy, merry heads on, but the little man insisted this is what he wanted. It’s not my party. I’ll zip it up if I have to.)

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Back to the invites, we then:

-Uploaded the picture to Walmart.com

-Picked them up in one hour, 5 dollars for 25 invitations

 

No show stopper, but it gets the job done. Most importantly, the little man got a taste of making things himself and he can’t wait to send them out to all his friends!

5 bucks, 5 minutes, 5 year old happy. That’ll work for me.

look up

“Sons are a heritage

from the LORD,

children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man

whose quiver

is full of them.”

{Psalm 127:3-5a}

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Today,

LOOK UP.

Count the blessings.

Give thanks.

the real deal

This parody couldn’t be more spot on!

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And just for good measure, a little something for Patrick.

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Happy Tuesday.

simply special

No matter the chapter in this real life story of ours,

we seem to always settle into a family routine.

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It’s easy for us to grace the day in our usual song and dance, with little forethought or meaning to the simple motions.

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As much as I’d like to be inspired each and every day, we do have to keep the wheel turning and I’m certain that’s quite alright.

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Filling our home with family heirlooms and small pieces from the past, as simple as they may be (we are no Rockefeller’s), seems to blanket our space with a priceless comfort.

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The chore of  cleaning out the guest(udio), became so personal when I came across 4 generations of sewing treasures.

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Planning our weekly grocery list, I love using recipes from my grandmother’s recipe books. Thumbing through those old recipe cards, just as they did the same way before me, makes the chore so very meaningful.

These lovely reminders, truly make our simple moments, simply special.

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Now, if I could somehow make doing laundry more meaningful?

(And head over to Blessed Little Nest to check out how other’s take life and make it lovely)

recycled crayons

Paxon’s 6th birthday party is all the buzz around our abode these days.

The theme is Lego, and to say he likes Lego’s, is a complete understatement! Growing up an only child, playing with dolls, and minding my girly business, I haven’t the slightest idea what to do for a Lego party. While perusing the web I came across this savvy idea:

Make unique crayon shapes using ice cube trays!

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(I found this idea and these pictures over at makezine)

I’ve seen the recycled crayon idea and had always wanted to try it out, but I don’t remember the use of an ice cube mold.  That opens up a world of options for shapes and sizes!

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You could make these letters

My boys would love to explore with a crayon fossil like this

There are plenty of tutorials online, including this one at Whimsy Love

Crayons, made using old crayon nubbins and an ice cube tray.

Genius.

It’s likely these little recycled crayons will find their way into the party favor bags?

I just ordered up a tray from Lego and I’m certain my little Lego guru will approve.

chrome heart

My heart belongs to this chrome spray paint.

I’ve tried many-a metallic spray paint in my days, but this one takes the taco.

It’s found behind glass, pad locked doors at Hobby Lobby. Good stuff.

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I’ve purchased this fella here from Wal-Mart, the paint looks nothing like that shiny hat of his. Make sure not to use this one, unless speckled gray, duck tape-ish is what you are going for.

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I’m not good at before pictures, because I’m a sporadic spray painter. I look over at something, grab a can, shake it up, and usually drag it inside while it’s still sticky.

Picture the full view of this old, rusty, outdoor side table. It was in the garage ready to be hauled to the curb.

Now it’s a super chic, super shiny, silver table.

No need to purchase a bedside table for the guest room.

I also used it on the mirror I rescued from the neighbor’s trash.

It’s the little things like a good spray paint that make my day.

Even Scout is considering a rockin’ awesome chrome rocking chair?

It’s an easy, thrifty fix for outdated light fixtures, dingy hardware, or a cool chrome spin on the unexpected.

Try it out.