Take a peek at what we've been up to...

There are several things I have thought about posting lately, so I decided to cram them all into one BIG post! Dont't say I didn't warn you...

1. Pinterest. Love it! I have heard complaints lately even on the radio about how pinterest is just a bunch of people collecting pictures of things they will never make or try. I totally disagree! I haven't tried everything I've found, but I have found some good stuff like:

new hair doos for my girls

O.K., I know these didn't turn out perfectly, but with practice I think they will be adorable.

Bird feeder


Maybe this is a no brainer, but my little girlies had a blast decorating (markers washed off in the rain oops) and making this bird feeder. They check it several times a day and we have enjoyed watching birds and chipmunks eat the food.

Hair bows and accessories

The colors didn't turn out so well in this photo. The ribbon isn't near as shiny as it looks but I will probably go for no shine next time. I also made some hair pins for myself a while back that were inspired by a picture on pinterest but hot glue doesn't hold well when gluing to a bobby pin.

Fun birthday cake ideas


Obviously I am a novice cake maker, but my girls loved searching on pinterest for days for their perfect birthday cake. It was very exciting!

I could go on and on about the many recipes I've tried, and yes there are still lots of pins I have left to try but I am very excited about those and have found pinterest to be a HUGE motivator for me.

2. We have all been working very hard on our yard and garden.

Most of our neighbors have IMMACULATE yards so I'm sure they will be pleased with our efforts, even if it is only for a week or so out of the last 4 1/2 years. LOL


We totally revamped our garden this year. Whew was that a lot of work! I'm sure it will be worth it and maybe it will even be cost effective (in 10 years or so :))


We got our seeds planted Saturday and last night we had radishes coming up. I took this picture this morning and they are really going for it! Radishes are a must to boost moral in any garden. 3 1/2 days and they were sprouting!!


I found my lettuce sprouting this morning too! I am a happy girl :)

We have several tomato and pepper plants. We also have okra, beans, peas, cucs, zucs, spinach, carrots, and...


Rhubarb, basil and lastly asparagus, which is in its first year so it won't produce till next year.

3. Samantha is in Kindergarten this year and so we have spent a lot of time with her doing lessons. Ella on the other hand just misses the deadline by having her birthday 9 days too late,so she won't start kindergarten until fall 2014. She loves to do "school" probably because she has had no pressure to perform. I got a new phonics program for her and Samantha do do in the fall at different levels, of coarse. The program is still in the box, though we have looked at it a bit. Yesterday, I got it out to look over and see if there was something that Ella would have fun with now. She totally loved HER new little reading book and proceeded to read 57 pages with very little help. Yes, I said FIFTY-SEVEN!!!!!!!! She is slow but again, she has mostly learned through watching her sister so I was stunned when she picked up the book and started reading. Today she didn't do quite as well but close. This video is about 10 minutes so don't feel pressured to finish, but in these 10 minutes, she read only 13 pages. That tells you how dedicated she was to read 57 pages at one time! Then she picked up the book again last night to read to her daddy. Yesterday she told me,"I am going to read to daddy and he will be so proud of me!"(Sorry, having trouble loading the video)

4. My hubby had a great idea several months back and I am loving it. We searched and searched for something big enough to cover an ugly eye sore on the wall on our landing. It is about 3 1/2 feet tall by 2 1/2 feet wide. We have our breaker box and internet router and modem mess here, but now it is cleverly hidden. He's so smart, I think I'll keep him!



5. We have started another remodel. We started off stacking the washer and dryer and we are getting a smaller freezer to fit in the cubby under the stairs (by where the white step ladder is), all to make the best use of the space. These pictures are not pretty but it will be when we get the laundry room framed in, flooring , down, sheetrock, ect..


Well that about covers it for my recent thoughts. Hopefully I didn't lose you anywhere up there.