I’m pretty sure I create this post every few months, but having to post pictures motivates me to get it done….organizing all the craftiness, and there is a lot. I have to get creative (ha!) with my space since I’m tucked away in the extra corner of our master bedroom, but we call it cozy! So after two hours, a large cup of coffee and a Simple Mom podcast, it’s all organized and ready for me to dig in!
Before….
After….
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The newest entertainment on your smart phones are Internet Memes. What is an Internet Meme you ask? According to Squidoo, a Meme is “An internet phenomenon or a meme is an image, video, phrase or simply an idea that spreads from one person to another seemingly for no logical reason at all.”
Well, my hubby has Memed my children using the Meme Factory App….and dang if they aren’t still so cute!
I can see these easily passing from person to person…who wouldn’t want to take in all this cuteness!? 
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Just wanted to share a glorious Pinterest trick I learned and used and will DEFINITELY use again!
My microwave was starting to look like a toddler’s art project and the idea of cleaning it was just not something I wanted to do. Who wants to scrub the inside of a dirty microwave when there is sunshine to be enjoyed! But I’m pretty sure Liam’s chicken nuggets were starting to taste like a strange combination of everything that was stuck to the inside walls of the microwave.
Then I remembered I had re-pinned this microwave cleaning tip from Crafty Little Gnome on my Cleaning & Organization Board.
No better time then now to try it out….Simply heat a bowl of vinegar and water in your nasty microwave and heat for 5 minutes. Then simply wipe off the grime.
Seems too easy right? Well, I’m here to tell you it worked like a champ! I literally just took a paper towel and easily wiped off the grime in my microwave! Pretty darn awesome! Not to mentions a toxic free way to make the inside of my micro sparkle!
Thank you Adrienne for making my life just that much easier!
Happy Mother’s day to all you wonderful mothers out there! Yesterday was a very special mommy day for me because we dedicated our youngest son Cohen (who also turned 3 months) to the Lord. Baby dedication is our commitment in front of our church & family to raise our children to the best of our abilities in the way of God’s word and truth, entrusting them into HIS hands and not relying on ourselves. It was a beautiful moment and a silly moment to when Liam yelled “Woohoo! Yay!” when it was Jerad’s turn with the microphone!
1 Samuel 1:27-28
“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.”
On a little side note, water play in the kitchen isn’t so bad…may even slide him & the towel around the floor and call it mopping! 
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I don’t know about you, but I have a great love for all the adorably colored Baker’s Twine making it’s way through the crafty world! It can be used for fancying up a gift, decorating a card, garland for parties….the list can go on!
The down side to this wonderful crafty embellishment is the fact that sometimes it isn’t cheap. I’ve seen a roll go for quite a pretty penny…come on people, remember, it’s just string!
And then, while strolling through all the wonderful blogs I read, I came across this great tutorial and video on From S+H on how to make your very own Baker’s Twine! Saaaweet!
But, being the impatient person I tend to be, I didn’t watch the video first. I had the basic concept down and just started going for it.
Here’s take #1….
As you can see, it came out pretty sloppy. So, I decided I had better watch the video and see how it’s done right.
Here’s take #2:
The second time around turned out so much better! Weird what reading the directions can do…;)
I also loved the yellow so much better than the dark purple. If I plan on making my own Baker’s Twine a regular thing, (which I most likely will) I will probably invest in some prettier marker colors!
For larger projects needing Baker’s Twine, I will still pay the $$ and order it, but for the smaller projects I will definitely be making my own!
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Ever seen this sign?
Or how about this one?
I now have a new appreciation for them and their marvelous words! I may even paint them in very large letters all over my walls!
I have a beautiful family! I love my amazing husband and my darling, sweet and mischievous boys! But, at times my house can tend to disagree with me.
I used to clean my house in one fell swoop, starting at one end and finishing at the other with a sparkling house behind me! Man, how things have changed! I’m lucky if I get a shower, let alone clean my sticky kitchen floors! I always pictured my life with happy children, folded laundry and yummy healthy meals on the table every night! By the grace of God and the wonderful patience of my husband, I am learning that life looks a little different!
I’m learning that if I only get the dishes done and my teeth brushed, but I have two happy and healthy boys, it was a good day. One day, I will be able to return to my old way of cleaning, but for now I’m letting go and letting my super duper awesome helper lend a hand…even if it means I have to go back and re-fold the laundry during nap time!
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WARNING: This is a iphone photo heavy post! I didn’t feel the desire, or have the time to edit all the pictures…
The other weekend, my mother and I, accompanied by a very handsome lil’ man in a baby carrier, took part in Modesto’s annual Home and Garden Tour! It was my first time on the tour and was really excited to be able to get some good looks at some of Modesto’s character filled homes and gardens! It had been beautiful weather all week, but of course on the day of the tour it was 90degrees! So we donned our shorts, hats and sunscreen and after a very delicious and calorie filled lunch at Bella Italia, we started our tour!
We were allowed to take as many pictures of the outside gardens as we wanted, but out of respect for the people and their homes, we were not able to take pictures inside.
Tour Program description of Albany Avenue home: “This exuberant garden reflects the exuberant personality of it’s owner. Every nook and cranny has profuse blooms with sumptuous colors and fragrances. The front yard feels like a fairy tale. The back yard is a series of outdoor rooms with conversation areas and seating nestled in the luxuriant blooms.”
This was by far the most whimsical garden on the tour…you wanted to curl up in one of the cozy garden chairs, surrounded by beautiful flowers and just hide away for awhile.
The colors of the flowers were out of this world, and there were so many different kinds! I’m not one to know a lot or even remember when told what a certain flower is, so it was great that I had my own personal “flower fairy” to lead the way! Thanks Mom!
Tour Program description of Stetson Avenue home: “This 1949 house…and garden bring that older bungalow idea of new life with a garden that is water wise. The front garden features informal paths and plants with low water requirements. The house and garden are graced by the colorful and lively paintings of the owner. This charmer is all about joie de vivre- literally, the joy of life…the back garden shows a love of animals and life nurturing plants.”
Although this house and garden were not my style, it was beautiful. To me it had a modern feel with maybe a lil’ Norwegian taste. The little house in the back for her cats was pretty cute; with their own personal cat door and beds, they are treated like feline royalty.
This cottage window was from the Myrtle Avenue home, and was one of our favorite parts of the tour! We both took a picture of it for inspiration for our “future dream home!”
This next home located on Douglas Avenue was MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE! The house screamed elegance with that homey feel and I nearly had a heart attack from kitchen envy! I’m so sad I wasn’t able to take pictures because it was beautiful! The gardens surrounding the home were filled with nothing but white flowers and greenery. I was told that a garden with nothing but white flowers is called a Moon Garden. This is because when there is a full moon, the light reflects off the flowers and makes the garden glow. Almost makes you think twice about buying all that color!
Tour Program Description: “This is ‘Grandma’s garden,’ and there is much to delight both children and adults. A white garden, it is composed of plants that produce white flowers, contrasting sharply with the backdrops of dark green so the flowers stand out.”
The final home on the tour was the Magnolia Avenue “castle” as it has been called, for it truly is a castle. But it was a major let down tour-wise. It was the big ticket item, and everyone was excited to get a glimpse inside its mysterious walls and naturally assumed the gardens would be fantastic. Sadly, we were not allowed inside the home, and the garden seemed dusty and somewhat neglected. Although the tile work in both the pond and pool were a beautiful site to see, we were greatly disappointed. I guess as a little girl growing up in the nearby neighborhood and always riding past the “castle” on my bike, I had created some pretty big expectations for the home. I had pictured a whimsical castle filled with all sorts of beautiful things and a garden to match.
Tour Program description: “This bit of old world charm was built in 1929 for $200,000 by Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Hawke. The couple designed an imposing replica of a Norman castle with a grand arched doorway, a turret with mullioned windows, and a weather vane. The turret is topped by a conical shaped slate roof, and the hipped main roof is also slate and very steep. The back yard tower looks like it was built to defend the property. Listen carefully and you might hear a handsome prince call out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair.”
Overall, From Castles to Cottages tour was amazing! We were able to see such a wide variety of home decor and garden style, with hundreds of different flowers and plants. My mom said it made her want to to go home and garden, lol but I said the tour made me want to go home and MOVE!
One day we will have our dream home, but for now it is just nice to enjoy the creations of others! If you are free next Spring, I would highly suggest taking the tour! You can contact the Modesto Garden Club for more information!
After the tour was over, we fell into Mom’s house, chugged about a gallon of ice water and cooled off in front of the large floor fan. Cohen was a very good baby the entire tour, but was so very happy to be cooled off!
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Since Liam spent the last seven weeks in his cast eating all his meals on our living room, and since he also decided to puke on the same carpet two days ago, I thought it was a GREAT time to get our carpets cleaned! So my brother-in-law who works for a cleaning company came over and moved our furniture out of the living room and kitchen and set to work, starting in the hallway! But that meant that for a couple hours, since we were still under the weather, we couldn’t leave…my master bedroom. So we cozied up with a picnic of snacks, toys and Finding Nemo.
Mommy started playing with her camera….I got tons of Cohen, but sadly Liam was just to much of a busy body to sit still!
Showing Mommy his muscles! What a stud muffin!
Liam is at that awesome age where anything Mommy makes with Legos is TOTALLY AWESOME! Also good for my self confidence!
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I have been pinning so many things and activities to do with my big boy Liam, but hadn’t taken the time (and it doesn’t take a lot) to do any of them. So, I sat down, picked a couple that I could put together between dirty dishes and diapers and here’s how it went….
When we were not covering baby brother with stickers….
We were filling the bathtub with glowsticks! Mommy and Daddy found a bunch in the Target dollar section (SCORE!!) and the rest is super fun history! Liam was a little nervous when I turned out the lights, but when daddy walked in with a handfull of neon glowing sticks, excitement filled his face! Lol, and actually, it was hard for me not to climb in there with him!
Another fun, educational and inexpensive activity was simply handing them a noodle strainer and a handfull of pipe cleaners! Liam had a blast poking them through the holes of the strainer and creating quite the web of fuzzy sticks! It saved me while I was trying to make dinner and it also helped him practice his hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills! Thank you Breanna from No One Has More Fun Than The Adams!
Another Hill boy favorite is simply a cup of bubbles and a whole bunch of bubble blowing tools…still working on not licking the bubble solution off the wand, but we are getting there, and his bubble blowing skills are getting really good! I may actually get to retire….probably not
On a rainy day last week, we were all pretty stir crazy, but with dinner needing to be made and babies to be fed, going anywhere wasn’t an option. Liam needed something to do, and Toy Story wasn’t going to cut it. So I grabbed our watercoloring set, a bunch of brushes, paper and LOTS of paper towels, and set him free to paint on our kitchen floor (easy to clean!) I ended up with a happy “war paint” covered child, a tie-dyed kitchen floor, and some beautiful paintings that we used as cards to send to some love ones!
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To celebrate the appearance of Cohen and the disappearance of Liam’s cast, my mom and I threw a Woodland Forest themed party with lots of friends and family there to celebrate with us!
It was an open house party with delicious appetizers (Thanks Grandma!), yummy drinks and lots of laughs! Sadly at 2pm, when the guests were just beginning to arrive, we found Liam in front of his crib crying “Ni-Ni mama!” Lil’ man was already tired and wanting a nap before the party even started! So we let him take a power nap and then after handed him a snack cup full of M&M’s….awesome parenting right? But After some sleep and sugar, he was ready to party, and was super excited about his new “Melmo” doll that a dear friend got him!
Cohen was the perfect party host, letting everyone pass him around for cuddles like a little football and sleeping most of the party! He looked particularly cute in his sweater vest!
Here are a few pictures of our happy day!
I made all the little wood mushrooms by simply hot gluing together two different wood pieces I found at Hobby Lobby and then painting them! Simple enough and Liam has had fun playing with them to!
The adorable felt owls I found of course on Pinterest, and actually sparked the idea to have a woodland themed party! By following the nice tutorial from Not Just a Mommy we were able to make a few! Not only were they party decorations, they also became “Hoot-Hoot” balls for Liam, which he loved throwing around! Good thing they’re durable! I loved the way they turned out, though a couple of our owls did turn out a lil’ grumpy looking!
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I think it started sometime during Cohen’s 4am feeding, as I was very confused on which room to feed him in…so while holding my apparently famished vampire baby who had latched onto my neck, I did a few stumbling circles around the hallway and remembered finally I had a very cozy rocking chair in his room. Strange.
Then today was all a blur. I got us up and out the door to MOPS, ON TIME, and after enjoyed lunch with a dear friend and her kids. But if it wasn’t for my awesome double Joovy stroller, which became homebase of sorts, and my friend Brittany, I’m pretty sure I would have forgotten a kid somewhere.
Ever have those days? All day I have felt completely awkward, incompetent, and as if I was in one of those dreams where you can never quite open your eyes all the way!
Coffee didn’t help, and even after a short nap, I still feel out of it! Hopefully tomorrow will be a much clearer day! At least Liam had a great time playing with his buds!
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Love spending time with my family, reading creative blogs and tackling a good project!
