Friday, August 17, 2012

Bigger Boy Room

I started thinking about redoing the twins' bedroom before their third birthday, because like it or not, my babies were no longer babies and their nursery decor wasn't going to get it anymore. Since I don't want to do bunk beds yet and I certainly don't want the boys in separate rooms yet I had to find a way to turn their nursery into a bigger boy room without buying new furniture. I also knew I didn't want to break the bank on this room. Until we decide if we'll buy new beds or just convert these current beds to full size I'm holding off on the Pottery Barn bedding I've fallen in love with. What is a frugal mama who needs a change to do?

Head to Pinterest for ideas, of course! I always find so many neat things on Pinterest and many of them are DIY. I love an easy and cheap DIY project, so I found the perfect projects for wall decor.


Canvas + paint + ribbon + = easy peasy



Metallic letters from Anthropologie for $18 a piece? Chile please! How about cardboard letters from JoAnns and spray paint? I like that price much better! The paint color is Krylon's Satin Nickel and the letters are so light that I hung them with Command strips. The bedding is just as cute (and warm) as it wants to be and it was very reasonably priced. I'm tickled that is has a flat sheet!
The book shelf is another diy Pinterest-inspired project. Wooden crates from JoAnns and a million coats of spray paint were all I used. I zip-tied them together to hold them in place. This way if I want to use them for something else I can cut the ties, repaint, and reuse. It's really sturdy and you can't see the zip ties at all.

I was so tired of all these balls in my family room! I saw this idea in the Land of Nod catalog and almost ordered it. That is until I made a little trip to Home Goods and found this metal hamper for a steal.

I love the boys' new reading nook! We had this bench in our basement that someone gave us awhile ago. Honestly, the seat was ugly and I always planned on recovering it. I had fabric left over from the table runner that I used for the dessert table at the boys' birthday party. I recovered the bench with the fabric and even made curtain tie-backs to match. It's hard to tell from the picture, but the fabric is a fun print with cars, trucks, roads and street signs. The wall shelves are from Land of Nod and hold some of the books that are not approved for Pea handling. I've had to buy two copies of Llama Llama Red Pajama because the tore one and I don't plan on buying a third! 
The Peas are all about things that go vroom-vroom, so I had to get this play rug. They love it! As soon as they came home from school and saw their new room they emptied out their cars and started playing. They also kept saying, "Ooh look, a library!" There are still a million books in other parts of the house, but you can never have too many books!
I found this ABC art idea from Pinterest too.

And finally, this room definitely has Ryan's stamp of approval. He climbed right into his bed and nestled under his new comforter. The boys ask to play in their room all the time now and I'm slowly  but surely reclaiming my family room and purging toys and books.  I love Ryan and Evan's new room! It's fun, colorful and bright, not babyish, but not all the way big boy either. I think it's just right for my most Pea-licious three year olds! I enjoyed myself doing the projects, had fun bargain shopping, and I didn't break the bank. It's a win-win situation for all! 

Daycation Getaway

We recently went on a quick getaway with some friends of ours and their children. There's a hotel with an indoor waterpark not too far from us, so we made a little day trip so the kids could soak up the last drops of summer. Ryan and Evan had the best time at the waterpark! Evan, as usual, had no fear and was all over the place. He even went down two of the water slides~ by himself! I didn't have to worry about Ryan getting too far away from us. He's always underfoot and will not venture off, but that Evan had us going! After a day of fun we headed out to dinner and then back to the hotel for fun in the arcade. It was a great little trip with great friends! 

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Lord, these Scooters!

We bought Ryan and Evan these scooters for their birthday. Unfortunately we couldn't given them to the boys on their birthday because I didn't buy them when I first saw them in the store. When I went back to get them I could only find one. On top of that, these stinkin' things were even sold out online! I had one scooter and two boys; not gonna work. Finally I found a scooter online and ordered it. The boys were so super excited to have a scooter like the big boys on our street. Daddy P assembled them and Evan immediately scooted right away! He is extremely athletic and just picks up on things easily. My poor Ryan, though...he couldn't do it. He just couldn't figure out how to make the thing go. We tried to show him, but he still had a hard time. My sweet boy sat on the steps and cried his little eyes out. It was the saddest thing I've ever seen. That night, Daddy P and I were determined that our boy was going to learn how to ride that scooter so help us God! We worked and worked and he finally got it! We didn't take the scooters out of town with us, but the boys are making up for lost time. Look at Ryan go! He had to work a little harder at it, but he has the hang of it now!

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Happened Earlier

Ryan and Evan were so excited to go to school this morning with their brand new lunch boxes! They picked them out all by themselves too. Actually, Evan picked out the black one with rocket ships and Ryan wanted the blue one. This morning, though, they did a switcheroo on me. I just knew it was gonna be World War III when Ryan declared that the black one was his, but Evan was cool with that so I just went with it. Not pictured but definitely there, big boy undies! These two have made the complete transition to big boys undies full time, day and night, 24/7,  thank you Jesus! 

Adventures of Two 3 Year Olds


The pictures got out order somehow. Just go with me here. ~Thanks :)


What a summer the Peas are having so far! We recently returned from our annual family trip back home to Alabama and this was a summer of a few firsts for my two little loves.

Ryan and Evan went on their first of what I'm sure will be many fishing trips!


Look at that form! Natural anglers these two are.

They used crickets and worms for bait. (Insert a loud gagging sound here!) I HATE creepy crawlies, but not Evan. Did I mention that he kept putting worms on my leg!
All that hard work paid off...keep reading

Switching gears just a tad, this year was the Harrison-Campbell Family Reunion. We spent Friday evening on a dinner cruise aboard the Harriet II. This was Ryan and Evan's first time on a boat. It was my first time running on the deck of a boat. Usually I am somewhere inside with my head between my knees praying to God to please make this thing stop!

See that dapper young man there in the middle? That's my granddaddy! He's 93 years young and is more fit than many people half his age. He raises and trains hunting dogs and quails, and he can keep up with these two! 

See that pretty lady in red? That's my grandma; she's a pretty cool lady! I wanted to get a picture of the boys at the monument on the campus of my Alma mater, Tuskegee University, after our banquet. Too bad grandma was the only one who looked at the camera! Perhaps R & E  were too much in awe to pose for a picture?

So back to the fishing trip, Evan caught his first fish!


Okay, on to something else...that's one of our family's pastures across the street (err road) from Grandma and Granddaddy's house. R & E had a chance to check out horses up close for the first time!


We had a play date with my girlfriend's daughters at Chick-fil-A. Special thanks to Kennedy & Mackenzie for actually looking at the camera! Loretta and I had a blast hanging out and catching up while the kids played. 
And finally, back to fishing...my Ry-Guy caught his very own fish too! 


We had a great time seeing our family and friends once again. It was surreal introducing my own children to family members who I haven't seen since I was a little girl! R & E enjoyed playing with their cousins so much, they love all of their grandparents and aunties, and they love being down South. Good thing too, because we plan on making sure that our children grow up knowing and appreciating their southern roots. These two may  not have been born in Alabama, but we make sure that they  have a little bit of Alabama in them. We're country folks y'all~ and proud of it!


BUT it's great to be home! Ryan and Evan were asking to "Go to Connecticut to our white house." It's beige actually, but close enough~ we knew what they meant! HA! We checked off everything on our to-do list:
  • spend time with both sets of family
  • eat at all of our favorite restaurants
  • drink as much sweet tea as possible (my contribution to the list)
  • eat as much Conecuh sausage as possible 
  • eat at Chick-fil-A fifty 'leven times! 
  • hang out with my girlfriends ( I had three fabulous days of this!)
  • go to our home churches
  • hear and sing some old-time baptist church music. I'm talking the old time stuff y'all! Devotion with the deacons, call and response~ A Charge to Keep I Have, I Stretch my Hand to Thee, you know the old time stuff! 
  • go to my fav hairstylist and let her give me a new 'do. No more relaxer for me anymore; it's all gone! 
  • feel some real heat ~ 100-106 degrees everyday! 
  • watch Good Morning Montgomery everyday ~ me again:)
  • go fishin'
And once we did all of that, we knew it was time to come home. We love our life here and it was time to get back to it. We will always, always cherish the memories we made.

Evan Sings Gospel



What makes a perfect microphone? A plant hanger of course! Let the church say amen!

Ryan Sings Old School


Ryan really got into the music while we were on our dinner cruise...that is until he realized we were filming him. He immediately shut us down!