SOMEthing's Drawn

Do you play Draw Something? Well, you should if you don't. Here are some of my fabulous drawings from the week:

Pretty good, aye? 

Tell me something... 

Would you get this one? I wrote it and then I thought of a much better way I could've actually drawn something to get my point across. Ahh, well- I'm a cheater- what can I say?

I'd love to see your drawings if you've got some. Just grab the button and link up below.

Happy Wednesday!

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so close

I almost, so close, borderline surprised J for Father's Day. I am NEVER able to get him a present that he likes that he doesn't find out about before hand. I either a) get him something he doesn't want/thinks is dumb or b) he guesses what I got him. It's infuriating. Father's Day snuck up on me which is why I still haven't slipped our other fathers' presents in the mail yet. Oops. Anyway, his package containing his t-shirt from a hole-in-the-wall bar in Alaska that he always regretted not buying arrived just in time on Saturday and I was pleased as peaches until he grabbed the package from the mail box and said, "What did you get me, a t-shirt?" YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. Ugh. Anyway, when he opened it on Sunday, he was still surprised that I remembered so it's sort of a half win.

Did you have a good weekend? Mine was pretty good. Captain J has been home to help out with the kid so I've been able to relax a little and read a lot. It has been so nice to have him home and see him interact and help out with Baby K so much over the past few days.

Well, I've got too much to do to sit around and blog today. I've got to clean the house and pack for our beach trip we're leaving on in the next few days. Not to mention, we're getting some professional photos done of sweet baby K later on, too. Yay! Speaking of sweet, cute little babies...

There's a little poll over on the right hand side of the page under all the followers boxes where you can vote on whether you think Baby #2 is a girl or a boy. Y'all were right last time! I'm counting on you.

Now, if anyone would like to guest post while I'm gone, do let me know and I'll pencil ya in. I'd love to have you.

Happy Monday!

DIY Toys for Your Tot

No doubt I saw this project idea on Pinterest, but I didn't pin it because I knew I could remember it- and, well, now I can't find it! So, it goes. Anyway, I thought I'd share the ideas with all of you (read: so I could show you pictures of how gosh darn cute my kid is) in case you have a 3-18ish month old who might like these activities, too. I spent less than $8 making two toys--thanks dollar store!

1. Visual Mat: (Wish I had thought of this for "tummy time"!)

I added the entire bottle of hair gel to the storage bag first. You might want to buy more than pictured here. Also, you could buy colored gel to spruce it up or add food coloring, but we didn't have any so I just went with it. It's pretty self explanatory- just toss the toys in randomly and use the duct tape to reinforce the edges of the mat.

*Obviously, your child should be supervised when playing with this toy because you wouldn't want your little one to bite into it! Baby K loves this one, though! To prevent chewing on it, you could tape it to a door or window during play time.

2. Maraca: (Hours of entertainment)

Just fill 'er up with colorful toys that create visual interest and make noise.

*Obviously if your child is capable of unscrewing the lid then you'd better tape it up, too. We wouldn't want the little one choking on loose beads. There's your warning. You're welcome ;)

Enjoy creating new and cheap toys with your little one!

Over and out,

When The Rain Comes

I don't know why I don't remember the rain.

Alaska is gorgeous 98.9999% of the time, not the weather per se, but the views. Waking up to God's awesome creation every day was a spiritual experience for me. To be able to take the dogs on a walk and see mountains peaks in the distance was a daily blessing.

I recently read a blog from a girl stationed in Fairbanks who complained that it rained all day in the summer and the sun shone at night and she found it some cruel joke...Yes! Yes, it DID rain a lot. Why don't I remember that when I think back on our time there?

The dogs would track mud in constantly.

Cabin fever was ever-present when the rain hit.

I didn't have a car and my only reprieve from two crazy Alaskan huskies was to leash them up and have them drag me across the slick rocks around our house while I felt icy rain hit my face.

After the rain, it usually meant the Northern Lights would not be making an appearance that night.

There was little to look forward to.

It got old- quick.

Not remembering the rain is odd to me. Why do Captain J and I hold our time in Alaska on some pedestal as if it were Heaven on Earth? Perhaps it was because it was just us- our first year of marriage apart from everyone and everything. We had an extended honeymoon that year complete with mountain hiking, starlight camping, halibut fishing, trips to "the big city", and road trips all over the Last Frontier.

All this got me thinking of the figurative rain I sometimes feel in my own life. Some days I'm drenched in moisture from the storms of that day. Baby K was teething. I was sick. J was gone. I felt alone. Miles away from anyone that could help. It certainly feels like a long week of rain has struck me from time to time.

But I wonder how quickly I'll forget all about this rain? I'm sure I'll yearn for the days when Baby K would still crawl into my arms and let me hold him and stroke every last hair on his head. I'll want his infectious baby laugh drifting through our house and soaking into every fiber of my being. I'll think back to those early weeks with him and remember all the dreams I have for my sweet first born.

I'm positive the rain will all be washed away and our time in Louisiana will be full of sun beams warming me.

The time to enjoy life is now. It's just so short and should be treasured in the sunshine as well as the rain.

"Be joyful always; Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

10 Months

Dear Baby K,

You're in the double digits now! Happy 10 Months, my boy. I can hardly believe you've been on the earth almost a full year. You're growing up so fast and it makes my mama heart swell with pride and fear. I don't want you to leave me, after all. Pretty soon, you'll have other friends and won't want to hang out with me anymore.

This month, I've held on to you a little bit tighter. I've cherished those times at night when you'll allow me to rock you awhile before I put you to sleep. As my belly grows with your little brother or sister inside, I find myself a little sad that my lap is running out of room for you to stretch out and sleep. You are getting so big, my dear.

You have begun to pull yourself up to a standing position sometimes. If I place you in a spot where you have something to hold on to, you'll stand there forever relishing in the fact that you're doing it by yourself. It's so fun to watch. Bath time continues to be a favorite time of the day as you love to explore and splash! When we get you out, you giggle at your reflection in the mirror and wave like a madman at yourself. We're still working on waving to strangers, though. 

You say "hi", "dada" and "mama" now, but I'm under no impression that you really know what it means quite yet. Once you signed "milk", but perhaps it was a coincidence. I'm still plugging away trying to teach you signs, but I'm afraid your dad confuses you when he tries to make them up as he goes along!

It's rare, but sometimes you crawl backwards. Sometimes you walk backwards in your walker. But if you need to get around, rolling is still your primary transportation preference. You'll get there, kid.

You've got two teeth on the bottom and you're as cute as ever.

Look how far you've come:

Love you to the moon and back,

Mama

SOMEthing's Drawn

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Welcome to another week of your favorite (ahem!) link-up! I've got some dandies for you today. If you're new to this, it's a place where you can link up your drawings (both awesome and awful) from the popular app, Draw Something. Just grab the button and add the post URL below.

The drawings I have to present you with today are donated--my favorite kind. As always, if you don't have a blog and want me to include one or two you think are funny--well, send them my way!

The first drawings are pretty terrible. Haha! Sorry to whoever drew them (they were submitted anonymously to protect the guilty)! But I mean, really:

The next group is pretty darn good. I can't take credit for these either. My sister drew them! Many people in my family are pretty creative/artistic drawers, but that gene must have skipped over me. Ahh, well- such is life.

She's good, huh?

What have y'all been drawing this week? I'm dyin' to know!

Patriotic Decor

I'm typically a sucker for holidays. I use any chance I get to be creative and switch up what we're staring at around the house on a day to day basis. I rarely ever buy anything- I like to use what's around the house and today's post is no different. I didn't buy a single thing!

I had this brilliant idea that I wanted to pay tribute to the men in my family who have sacrificed their time to serve this great country of ours. I wanted to celebrate them in some way...but how? I began asking around for photos of great grandparents, grandparents, my step-dad, and others who served in our nation's armed forces. Of course I would include Captain J, too! After gathering a few pictures of them in uniform,  I began to get some inspiration. I chose to use the deeper colors of the red, white, and blue because that's what I had around the house.

The Bunting Banner:

You Will Need:

• red cloth
• 1 cereal box
• white paint + paint brush
• twine/rope
• scissors
• glue gun

Step One: Cut the large sides off of the cereal box so that both are flat on the ground. Then draw a star shape on one (Use a stencil or print-off if you want them to be perfect). Cut out the star and then use it as a guide to cut out the second one on the other piece of cereal box. This ensures that the two will be roughly the same size.

Step Two: Time to paint! Place the stars on a surface you don't mind getting dirty, but beware of slopping too much paint on the edges of the stars as this will cause it to stick to the surface making it really difficult to get off in one piece (not that I did that or anything). You'll probably want a couple coats on there.

Step Three: While those are drying, get out your fabric and eyeball those nifty little triangles. I used a fabric cutting board and a rotary cutter (from all that sewing I do- ha, yeah right) which made it so much easier, but scissors will work fine, too. Again, use the first cut out you make as your guide for the other two.

Step Four: Measure the area you want your bunting banner to cover then cut your twine or rope accordingly. I used a sharpie to mark the places my stars and triangles would look nicely. But you can eyeball this, too- just find a large area to spread out the entire length of your rope.

 Step Five: Glue time! Use your hot glue gun to attach the pieces to your twine or rope. Just to make certain it would hold, I placed text books on top of each piece while it dried.

Voila! A patriotic banner for your July, Memorial Day, or Veteran's Day. 

Free Printable:

It reads, "Home of the free because of the brave" and you can download it free of charge here.

 Here are some other aspects of my patriotic mantel:

Top: (Step)Grandfather- "POP" in Saudi Arabia

Left: Great Grandfather KIA 1945

Right: (Step) Great Grandfather in Japan WWII and

Captain J in Iraq 2009

That's all you can see right now. It's not quite done! I still have a few more pictures I need and some finishing touches that I'll purchase from Hobby Lobby, no doubt. I've just got to make the trip there. Thanks for viewing!