365 Days Outside > 20-24

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Day 20
Today we drew on our driveway wall with sidewalk chalk and ate a yummy orange. (Juniper insisted we bring the orange with us.)

Day 21
Bubbles! The perfect way to spend a little time outside on a chilly day.

Day 22
It was a beautiful day today. We played in the front yard for a while and I climbed a tree. (Juniper took that photo!) Then we checked the mail and there were stickers!

Day 23
Bubbles are the big hit this week. Especially since Juniper is only allowed to play with them outside. Flynn watched from inside, he really wanted to join in on the fun.

Day 24
We almost didn’t go outside today, but then at bedtime it started snowing so of course we HAD to go outside instead! (I couldn’t find any better shoes haha)

{The Collectorials} Coins

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Lately I have been slightly obsessed with the idea of collections. I thought I’d start a mini blog series about collections, which my husband has decided to call “The Collectorials”. I have a few collections that I’ll be sharing, and I’ve got a few collections that I wish I had! (Does any one else dream of collecting certain things??)

The first collection that I will be sharing is probably my oldest. My coins! I keep them on my dresser in my favorite little jar.


I started collecting coins when I was in 6th grade. I was walking down the hallway at school and I found a neat coin on the ground. I was fascinated, I felt like I had found a treasure! I got a lot of my collection from friends who went on cooler vacations than I did, and I bought some of them at the mall.

I love coins with holes in them, and ones with really different writing. (You know, like symbols instead of letters. I wish I could read them!) The “coin inside a coin” style is neat too. The Aruba coin is the one that started it all.

It’s been a long time since I’ve added to my collection. In fact, it’s gotten smaller over the years as I’ve moved across the country multiple times… I used to have some really great ones! I wouldn’t mind expanding this collection someday. When I have some extra money to buy money! (It seems so silly when you put it that way.)

Cupcakes

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Every time I make cupcakes, my brother’s girlfriend tells me she wants one. The only thing is, she lives 1000 miles away! So I decided to make a special batch just for her and I include them in the Christmas package I sent home. (Last week… yes I am a huge slacker! At least it’s not June!)


I think they turned out super cute. Juniper helped with the sprinkles, of course. She’s my official sprinkle sprinkler. Kim was kind enough to send me this BEAUTIFUL photo of what the cupcakes looked like when she got them. Pretty much exactly what I was expecting!! Oh man, this photo makes me laugh so hard.. Sorry Kim, it’s the thought that counts right?

Ten Months

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The difference between nine months and ten months is pretty incredible. This little mister has FOUR teeth now, can stand up on his own and loves chasing his sister around the house with his walker toy. It’s been a busy month! My favorite thing right now is how excited he is to see me when I get home from work. His little face just lights up. Of course, if I don’t start feeding him within 30 seconds that smile quickly turns into crying. He’s still nursing like a champ (The teeth have made that interesting) and he loves eating solids. His favorite food is noodles, but he IS a kid of course. He also likes rice and beans, and strawberries.

Only two more months until he is a year old… {sigh} I’ve already started thinking about a miniature birthday celebration for my miniature man. I love him.

{Drawings} Sosa

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When I do drawing commissions, my favorite parts to work on are the eyes and the hair. And dogs are fun to draw because they are mostly hair! This 5×7 drawing will be heading to Washington DC.

I decided recently that I need to draw more often. So I bought myself a nice big sketch pad and every night while Shaun and I are sitting around talking, I ask him to give me a random idea for a quick sketch. So far he’s had me draw a spaceship and a salmon car… (“Salmon like a fish??” “What other kind of salmon is there!?” hahaha I love my husband.) Maybe I’ll share my doodles someday.

365 Days Outside > 14-19

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Day 14
Today we made a surprise for Daddy in our back yard. When he looks outside in the morning he will know how much we love him.

Day 15
Our snowman is officially the only snow left in our yard. Well, accept the tiny spots of snow here and there that Juniper insisted we take pictures of.

Day 16
Oh my goodness was it beautiful outside today! It got up to 70! We took a nice long walk around the neighborhood.

Day 17
Another cold, cold day. Today we stayed inside and made a bird feeder with sticks, peanut butter, and bird seeds.

Day 18
We hung up our bird feeder today. Then we sprinkled the rest of the bird seed in the back yard and played on the porch for a while with Juniper’s beloved ponies.

Day 19
It was so so cold and windy today that instead of going outside, we sat in front of the back door and ate a snack while we counted the trees and played I Spy.

Doll Heads

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I met an elderly woman at church recently named Laura. She is AMAZING. She is the regional coordinator for the church’s humanitarian efforts, and her house is FULL of crafts. Last week I helped her sew some bucket hats for cancer patients, and this week she asked me to help out with these little “burrito dolls” as she called them.

She gave me a box of doll heads, and I got to draw cute little faces on them. (All 82 of them!) The bodies, which are simple little pillows with blankets attached to them, are already finished and waiting for their heads. These dolls will be put in toy packages delivered to orphanages. Aren’t they cute?

I’m glad I met Laura, I really enjoy crafting for a good cause. One of my birthday goals this year was to do one act of service each month, and Laura will definitely help me reach that goal! Speaking of good causes, who wants to get together for craft night SOON and make Valentine’s Day cards for Etsy’s Share Your Love 2012??

{DIY} Bird Feeder

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We made this super cute bird feeder last night. I thought I’d share it as a mini-DIY. Like there aren’t enough bird feeder tutorials out there! Oh well, I think its cute.

I was sick last week, and so I’ve spend the past 2 days cleaning my house back up. Fun, I know. Tonight I am going to start reorganizing my craft room. I need to figure out a better way to organize my fabric!

{Recipe} Corn and Potato Chowder

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“Mmmm! Mom, this is good soup!”
“It’s not soup, it’s chowder.”
“Eww, I hate chowder…”

Hahaha! Sorry, I can’t think of chowder without laughing at my silly brother. And yes, I know he has LOTS of ammo on me when it comes to “stupid things we’ve said” battles. (I hold my ground, that car did NOT look like a taco. At all.)

ANYWAY.

This is possibly my favorite thing ever to cook. It’s easy and sooooooooo good. Like, I want to go eat the whole pan full right now. I found the recipe on Mama Loves Food.

I cut up all of the ingredients last night and let it cook in the crock pot while I was at work today. I even planned ahead (I know, amazing) and cut up a bunch of extra ingredients and threw them in a freezer bag so I can make the chowder again! Ok, I am probably way too excited about this recipe, so I’m going to stop talking now to prevent myself from looking even crazier than usual. (SO GOOD!)

Hmm… one more bowl couldn’t hurt. Yum!

365 Days Outside > 7-13

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Day 7
Walks are a big hit around here. Juniper loves to push Flynn in the stroller, and he loves driving around! We went all around today and collected lots of sticks and rocks to paint.

Day 8
We were visiting Oma so we took Trevor for a walk after lunch. Juniper even got some mail!

Day 9
Today was another nice day, but it is starting to get colder again, so Juniper helped Dad collect fire wood.

Day 10
While I was at work Dad took the kids out for a walk, which turned into a “Garbage Finding Expedition”. Juniper told me ALL about it when I got home.

Day 11
It was getting dark when I got home from work, so we just sat on the deck for a quick picnic snack.

Day 12
Snow day!! We had fun as a family outside today, playing in the new snow. It was SO COLD!!! And super windy!

Day 13
Juniper and I built a “snowmoundman” on the back deck today.