Fun for a Tuesday!!

I know today is Tuesday. But to me, it still feels so much like a Monday. Long holiday weekends, do that to a person! Well, I wanted to show you something. That put a big smile on my face!



This is the Sew It Like You Mean It dress! Isn't it just too fun? I thought so! The fabric is so fun! And the style of the dress, is classic. Now I wouldn't wear this dress. I think I'm a few years, too old. But it made my day a little brighter. It's clothes like this, that make me wish, I had had more money, when I was younger. Or that I was a little younger right now. Do you know what I mean? ~Maggie

Rick Rack Fun!

Many of our friends and family, are welcoming new babies. It's such a wonderful time. And I want to continue, making them each a gift. I think it's so nice, to make something for a new baby. To go with a cute store bought item.

Recently, I came across this pattern. For the Rickrack Rainbow Blanket. I just think it's adorable! And honestly, a precious blanket, for my baby girl. :)



Out of all of our kiddos, Audrey is the most like me. Appreciates things from yesteryear. When I tell her we're going thrifting, my little girl jumps up and down!! Yes, she loves it that much. :)

I'm thinking of making her, her very own "Wic Wac Bankie." Audrey has walked around for days, saying that. I'm thinking, we need to go shopping, together, for the perfect yarn! ~Maggie

Girly Skirt

Lizzie and I were doing some Pinterest searching the other day. And we happened to see this adorable skirt. "Momma can you make me one? Putty peas?" The girl thinks, her momma can make anything.

I followed the pin here. And was pleased, that there was an incredible tutorial!! Score. In my head, I thought, "Well maybe, I can do this."



I haven't gotten too far on this project. But hope, by the end of the month, to have 3 done!! I know, I might have chewed off too much. But it's for my girls. :)

We've made it to the fabric store. I let my girls each pick out a color. And I've gotten 2 of the 3 cut out. Cross your fingers everyone. My girls now run to the sewing machine, every time that they hear it. I just hope, this project goes as well in real life, as it's going in my mind. ~Maggie

Researching...

I guess I should start off with, my hubs and I bought a house. When we were very young! We've dated since we were teens!! Yes, we're one of "those couples." But we were so excited and proud, when we bought our first home. I was actually still a teen...I was 19!! And weeks away from getting married. We had thought about just buying a "first home." But decided to look for a "forever home" instead. That was the best decision, we could have ever made!

My hubs and I, had looked at so many different houses. But we kept getting pulled to one side of town. Our realtor wasn't happy with us. She wanted us to buy a brand new home. On the other side of town. One that was overpriced, in our opinion, for what it was. No yard. Yes, they were gorgeous houses. But it didn't feel like home, to us.

Instead, we bought an older house. On the side of town, that we liked most! :) That sits on an acre of land. It's a HUGE house. I remember thinking, what are we going to do with all this room?? Now I laugh at that! We're a family of 6 now. And it feels like, this house was built just for us!

Over the last, almost 12 years, we've done a lot to our home! A LOT!! In fact, just a few years ago, my hubs surprised us, with a swimming pool. :) How cool is that? These are the things, that an old house can provide for you. And a BIG yard!! The opportunity to grow. To customize our home.

But let it be known, an older house is also tough. There is ALWAYS at "to-do list." ALWAYS!! Weird things are always happening. And we usually have to contact 10 people, before we can make a plan. It takes a ton of money. Which is tight, for us. A family of 6, living on 1 income. Oh ya!!

We are lucky though. My hubs enjoys DIY projects. Honestly, he is so proud of himself, when he can do the job himself. And do it good! We also have lots of help. My parents, my in-laws, friends, some other family.

We've wanted to update our kitchen for years!! Nothing too crazy. Because we really do like the "bones" of the kitchen. I LOVE our old cabinets! They're HUGE!! Definitely not something I want to get rid of. But they are dark. And a little dated. We want to make some updates.

My hubs has his plans all mapped out. We actually took a 4 hour drive, not too long ago, to score a GREAT deal on tile!! We got it, for 70% off!! We just couldn't pass up that deal. Did I mention we also got our counter tops? Expensive ones....on a great deal!! We were lucky enough, to have some good friends, who went with us. They brought back the counter tops, and we brought the tile.

When we first moved into our home, we updated the appliances. I remember thinking, we are crazy!! Those other appliances aren't so bad. Why did we just spend all that money?? In the long run, I'm glad we did. That and a fresh coat of paint, were all the updates, that we made at the time. But now, it's time to update the rest!!

We have everything that we need. All our supplies. Paint and everything!! We're putting in wood floors. The tile is for the back splash. We also bought tile for the last bathroom, that we have left, to remodel. In less than 12 years, we've remodeled 3 bathrooms already!

But this is where we're having an issue. I'm almost 100% positive, that my hubs would rather buy some cabinets. New ones. Ready to roll. Me? I want to keep our old ones. But give them a "face lift." That means, lots and lots of research!!



I've talked to my cousin. Who in fact, redid her own cabinets. Because in her words, she's a "poor college student, that can't afford luxuries." At the time that she painted her cabinets, I think she had owned her home, for all of 2 years. And was eating Ramen every night! Ya, this was a necessity. Girl couldn't afford food, much less new cabinets!!

Let me tell you, we've spent a good 8 hours, talking about the process. She's shared all the tips. And tricks!! Then I found this little article. And I'm feeling pretty positive about this process. I bought all the supplies. Including new hardware! For about $100. A lot cheaper, than new cabinets!

I've even convinced my parents, to watch all 4 kiddos for a weekend!! I'm praying. I know my kiddos will be good. But I'm almost positive, this will be the 1st time, they take all 4 kids, at once! For an entire weekend!!

I've even let my hubs know, I'll do the cabinets. All by myself. :) This really did give me a lot of confidence! I'm going to do it all! Sanding and painting. I'm even going to try and install the new hardware. But my hubs has got to do the rest! Because let's be honest, what do I know about tiling and laying floors? If you have any tips or tricks, please let me know! And maybe even, say a few prayers for me. :) ~Maggie

Momma in Red

My hubs and kids, spoiled me this year!! I must have been a good girl. ;) My Mother's Day was so fun!! And relaxing. Filled with lots of love, fun presents, and the people I love. :) First up, are my presents. Because I really didn't expect them!!



Don't you just LOVE this dress? I do!! I like that it's a dress that I can wear casually. Or I can dress her up!! The style of the dress is so fun. So is the name of the dress....Red-y for Inspiration. Late last night, my hubs told me, it sorta reminds him of when I wear his shirts to bed. :)



Oh, and not to be outdone, is this lovely dress!! I just adore the style of the dress. The print is just AMAZING!! Oh, the Red-y for Tea Dress, is my favorite new dress!!

Can you see why I feel so blessed? And spoiled!! On top of all of this, my hubs gave me some beautiful flowers. My kiddos made me the most adorable cards, and a cake. :) My hubs cooked up a yummy breakfast in bed. At church, they showered us Mommas with prayers, little gifts, and tons of love!!

We also had a BBQ at our house. With all our favorite dishes. Cooked by my hubs, my Daddy, and my Daddy-in-Law. :) It was just such a fun day!! And it makes me feel like, I'm doing a good job with my own kiddos. Sometimes, it's just nice to know, that we're not ruining our kids. That we are actually doing a good job in raising them!! ~Maggie

Rain....

We've had some pretty weird weather lately. For over a week now, it's looked like it was going to rain. But it hasn't. :( It's been so muggy. And cloudy. The days are super windy. I just keep thinking, it has to rain. But we never get rain.

It's fooled us more than once. We didn't water our garden for a few days. Thinking, it's going to rain. I just know it! In the end, Jake and my hubs, spent a couple hours soaking everything last night. It was their "guy time." I'm telling you, the 2 of them, like to get away from all of us girls. Not all the time. But you can just tell, when they need a little time together.

While my boys were enjoy outside time together, I decided to work on a project with my girls. I'd seen this picture a while back. For the life of me, I can't remember where. If you know, please leave a comment. I'd love to give someone the credit!!

Anyway, I saw this picture. And thought, it would be a fun project. We enjoy us some rain around here. :) I showed Bri how to cut the raindrops. I already had a nice stack. But knew we'd need about 10 more. We used some felt. Lizzie would hand them to me. And Audrey sat on my lap, and helped me "sew" up some garlands.



In the end, we had 9 long garlands. That we hung on the windows. Around our breakfast nook. When my hubs came in, Audrey rain to him. "Daddy it waining!! It waining inside!!" She just loves our little rain drops. :) ~Maggie

They're So Excited!!

My hubs and I, have been saving our pennies. For years! Since before we got married. For a few years, those pennies, and well the rest of our pocket change, went into these large jars. They sat at the bottom of our closet. Then, when I was pregnant of Jake, we opened a bank account. Just for our change.

Little by little, this account has grown. We always knew, that we wanted to take our kids to Disney World!! ALWAYS!! When I was pregnant with Audrey, 2 thoughts crept into my head. 1. We're NEVER going to have enough money!! We're about to be a family of 6. How are we going to afford Disney World now? 2. If we managed to get enough money together, when would be the best time to go? Being that Jake and Audrey, are 6 years apart.

Well, my hubs and I, finally decided. This was going to be the year!! Nearly 2, should be a fun age to experience Disney World. And nearly 8, the magic should still be there. Last Summer, we started hunting for good deals. Around Christmas, we managed to book an incredible deal! One that made me feel a lot better, about the money we'd saved.

We let our parents know about our plans. And they gave our kiddos some "secret money" at Christmas. Actually, they gave it to us, in envelopes with their names on them. And my sister, and SIL both recently gave us some money for the kids. We've convinced our kiddos, to save most of their "birthday money" too!

Slowly, we've been buying some things we think we'll need. In the Fall, I stocked up on lots of clearance Summer clothes and shoes. With the help of my cousin, and Auntie, we've added touches of Disney to them. Making a plain t-shirt, something fun. With a little Disney fabric, some ribbon, whatever we thought would work.



And this weekend, we finally broke the news to our kiddos!! They were in shock at first. Didn't believe a word, that my hubs and I were saying. Then, they were over the moon!! Jumping around. So excited!!

My hubs had this great idea. To get them each a little notebook. And some Disney stickers. We spent Sunday, decorating their books. And writing down, what they wanted to do, while we're at Disney World. We showed them lots of brochures, got online, talked about all the things that are out there. Then we took to writing down our "must haves."

I wasn't surprised when Jake wanted to ride the cars. Or Bri wanted to visit Epcot. I thought it was super sweet, that Lizzie wants to go eat breakfast with the characters. And I was definitely not shocked, when Audrey said she had to ride the tea cups. And Dumbo!! :)

It's a good thing, that when we booked our trip, we booked all sorts of fun meals. Reservations at lots of these places, are tough to make. And have to be done, months and months in advance!!

Shay's blog, was also another good resource. Recently Shay and her family went to Disney World. Reading her blog, helped me to get a better picture, of what we are going to be doing. It's also helped me to plan some of my own, "must haves." I can't wait, to have fun with my family, in Disney World!! June can't come fast enough. ~Maggie

Getting Ready

We're taking the kiddos on a fun vacation this summer! :) My hubs and I, are so excited!! We haven't told our kiddos yet. But we've been saving for a very long time! Since Jake was born. We had a special savings account. And anytime we had extra money, we'd put it there.



For the last year, we've been planning this trip. Making reservations, saving my hubs' vacation time, and slowly buying things that we'll need. Now I'm not sure, if this is a "need" or a "want." But I bought it. I figured all those pockets, will be perfect, for everything we'll need! Oh, and after the trip, I'll still have an amazing bag!! ~Maggie