Wordless Wednesday ~ Outdoor Life

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For more Wordless Wednesday fun, head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Miller Racing Family

Updates amidst the chaos

I'm not going to lie, it's a little bit chaotic around here. {Fingers crossed} tomorrow we start the framing on our house. It's so hard for me to believe that in a few short weeks our house is going to actually look like . . . a house! And that means, whether you like it or not, there will be more building pictures to come :) Stay tuned for those. Or don't. The choice is yours ;)

We are officially done with our school year! Sierra will be in 3rd grade next year {um, how did this happen?}, and Makenna will start Kindergarten. Oh my my. I am going to have my hands full. I am so proud of all that Sierra has accomplished this year. She tested at a 6th grade reading level, and is solving 4 digit borrowing/carrying, and has {almost} all of her multiplication facts down pat. Third grade, here we come!

Amid the constant errands, {trying to keep up on} the housework, and chasing after the littles, I've tried to get back into a craft groove. Saturday is the end of the year dance recital, and my little tap class has been working so hard. I wanted to do something special for them. I found the cutest little ballet slipper pendants {yeah, I know, I teach tap, not ballet, but tap shoe pendants were nowhere to be found, I tell ya}, and I can't wait to show you what I made for my little tappers. The challenge? We have a little boy in our class. No problem, I made him a unique gift all his own. I will try to snap some pics to show y'all soon.

This end of the year stuff is insane! This week, alone, we have Sierra's last jazz class, my last tap class, shopping for last minute odds and ends for the recital {plus I have got to start thinking about Father's Day!!}, a dr. appointment for moi, and finally, Saturday's recital. Whew! How are y'all keeping busy?

P.S. Did ya notice my new header? It was about time, don'tcha think?

Confession Time

I have a confession to make . . . {though some of you may already know}.

Wait for it . . .

Wait for it . . .

I don't exercise.

{GASP!}

I know. I know. I should. I just . . . don't. {Colleen? Are you there? Can we still be friends?}

I haven't always been this way. Obviously when I was doing the Miss USA thing I exercised. Like crazy, really. And even after Sierra was born. I exercised every day. Every.single.day.without.fail. But then I got pregnant with Kenners. I was put on bedrest at 13 weeks, and my exercise habit came to a screeching halt. Once Makenna was born I was out of the habit and I had a newborn. And a two year old. Exercise just wasn't at the top of the ol' priority list. And ever since, {I am so embarassed to say}, I haven't had a regular exercise routine. Or even a semi-regular exercise routine. Sure, I'd start back up before, like, our trip to Hawaii. And I might throw in a little aerobic activity before bathing suit season. But that's it, folks.

So, here's the deal. I'm actually pretty happy with my weight, but I really need to get in shape. I thought if I came here to confess, maybe I'd be held accountable. And maybe I'd even get a little support? Encouragement? Opionions on what has worked for others? If you love to exercise {or even if you don't, but you do it anyway}, please share. I'd love to hear about your experiences. What works for you {what doesn't work for you}, and if you're an aerobics girl, like myself, which dvds you enjoy {and which you hate, so I can stay away from those}.

Whew! It feels so much better to get that off my chest ;)

Wordful Wednesday ~ My Outdoor Girl

Kam ♥ LOVES ♥ to be outside.

She takes my hand and pulls me to the door as if to say "C'mon Mama, let's go outside, already!"

We've had so much rain lately that it's been difficult to find much time to play outside. As soon as there is a break in the weather, we sprint outdoors for a little fresh air.

And I have to drag a little girl inside, kicking and screaming, once the rain starts up again.

Yep, she's my outdoor girl.

~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~ ♥ ~

For more Wordless and Wordful Wednesday posts, jump on over to Miller Racing Family

Seven Clown Circus and 5 Minutes for Mom

Jumbled Thoughts of a busy Mama

Um, yikes. I have been abandoning blog land lately. Though I assure you, it's for good reason. Turns out, building a house is a pretty big {and slightly stressful} project. Who knew? I will have more house updates shortly as {squeal!} we are nearing time for framing!!! Yay!

A few more things that have been keeping me occupied:

♥ So, I have had a toddler before {two, in fact}, but boy, oh boy, Kam keeps me on my toes. I do not remember Sierra or Makenna being quite so . . . busy. Miss Kameryn Faith can destroy a room faster than you can say "Holy Tornado!"

♥ We are finishing up our homeschool year. There is a lot to do. Evaluations and planning for next year have taken up a lot of time. I'll have a 3rd grader and a Kingergardener in the Fall. Wow!

♥ We have two weeks left of dance classes, and preparations for the recital have kept us hoppin' {and tappin', ha!}

♥ And finally, day to day odds and ends, {including a lot of illness this Spring} have continued to keep us busy. Kam is feeling much better {thank you so much for all of your sweet comments and emails of concern}. No more fever {hallelujah!}, but she continues to be kept up at night with a cough. We are so looking forward to some nice weather so that all of these germs can just dry up and GO AWAY! :)

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That pretty much sums it up. Have y'all felt a little overwhelmed with the busyness as Summer nears? {Tell me I'm not alone! Please?} I'm ready for a little R & R ;)

Nature Walk

On Thursday we actually had a few hours with no rain {insert a hallelujah}, so we headed outside. Some of us with cameras ;) The girls love going on "nature walks". The goal was to find a butterfly, a ladybug, and a caterpillar on our walk. Funny enough, I don't think we came across any of them. That's a first!

But we did find Mr. Bug.

And some daisies. Sierra loves daisies.

And these dainty little buttercups

Gramps came along.

Kam learned the proper way to throw rocks in the creek.

Thank you, Grampa.

She found that the bigger they are, the bigger they splash!

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It's been another quiet day inside due to a very sleepy, very feverish little sugarplum. Oh how I hate it when the kiddos are sick.

Poor Baby

This little sugarplum . . .

She isn't feeling so well today :(

There wasn't a lot of sleep happening last night, so we went in to the doctor today. I suspected an ear infection as she was running a 104 degree temp at 2am. But nope. It seems that the germs from the virus we've all been fighting for, oh, a month have made their way back to Kameryn. Poor baby. So we're just snuggling today. And that suits us just fine.

What are y'all doing? Any fun plans for this weekend?

Wordful Wednesday ~ House Update

Three things about this photo that make me happy:

1. Sunshine! Do you see it?? This was taken on the 17th. I'm pretty sure that was the last day we've seen even a ray of sun. Have I mentioned my irritation with the weather? {Oh, I have, haven't I? Well, I'm going to mention it again}. This is the coldest May we've had in over ten years, and the wettest in five. And, oh yeah, one day last week was the coldest "high" they've ever recorded. That's nice.

2. Because of the cooperative weather, we were able to pour our stem walls. Yay! The foundation is done!! Now we are waiting {not so patiently, I'm afraid} for a little break from the rain so that we can weatherproof the basement and pour the basement floor. Then, we can move on to framing!

3. That's my hubby up there on that ladder. Isn't he handsome?? ;) That's the guy who goes to work for 24 hours straight at the fire station, and then comes home {often with very little sleep} to see his girls, and then put in another two full days of work on the house before going back to the fire station. Yeah, I'm blessed.

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For more Wordful Wednesday fun, head on over to Seven Clown Circus! Too wordy? Stop by 5 minutes for Mom and Miller Racing Family! :)

Monday {Night} Ramblings

Does life ever move so fast that you don't even have time to blog about it? Yeah, same here. As usual, the days are flying by, leaving very little time to even crack open the laptop.

♥ Last weekend we attended my cousin's baby shower, and we had such a lovely time. It was great to see family, and celebrate a new baby on the way. Am I the only one who gets practically giddy at the thought of a new baby? Oh those tiny little hands. The way they just snuggle right in to your chest. And sleep wherever and whenever they choose. Sigh.

Anyway.

As I was saying.

We were at my cousin's shower . . .

Frolicking and having a good ol' time . . .

Playing peek-a-boo, and the like.

It was just lovely.

♥ Kenners played her last soccer game of the season on Saturday. In the rain. It's been doing a lot of raining around here. We were all ready for the season to end. Now we start the countdown to the end of dance ~ three more weeks!

♥ Apparently Kam doesn't need much sleep anymore. She is almost 16 months, after all. And naps are for babies, don'tchaknow. Ugh.

♥ We started another bible study, and I L.O.V.E. it already! Anointed Transformed Redeemed ~ A Study of David with Beth Moore, Priscilla Shirer, and Kay Arthur. Any of you done this one? This is my 4th study of Beth's, and so far it's definitely a favorite. If you are looking for a shorter study {we chose it specifically so that we would be done before we got too far into Summer}, that is big on forming a closer relationship with God, you will not be disappointed with this.

♥ I'll post house pictures soon. Honestly, there isn't much new to report. We finished the foundation and have some "basement work" to do before the framing starts. We're sort of waiting on a little nice weather, and there is rain in the forecast for the next week. Care to say a prayer? :)

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So, what have y'all been up to? Anyone enjoying Summer Vacay yet?

I'll just make it myself then

I was just "talking" to my blog friend, Heather, about a disease we both have. The I can make that myself for less disease. The kicker: we really can't make it ourselves, but we think we can. Either that, or we just don't have time to make it ourselves.

Anyway.

Sometimes, sometimes, we really can make it ourselves . . .

Take this adorable t-shirt, for example. A couple of months ago, when all of our cutesie Spring catalogs arrived, we found this among all the other sweetness that is the Mini Boden catalog. My girls love this tee. They each wanted one for our annual family reunion camp-out. Oh alright, so Kam didn't actually tell me she wanted one, but I know for a fact that Sierra and Makenna did. The problem: the price. This child's top is $28. If you do the math that comes to a total of $84 PLUS shipping for my three girls.

That's when I heard that voice: Hey, you can make that yourself.

I found some tees at Old Navy for less than $5 each. Even better, find a tee that you already own. Shirts with a small {or even large} stain work great to applique!

I didn't care for the pocket on Kam's tee, so I used a seam ripper to take it off.

I got out my fabric scraps, and liked the polka dots on this sage green oil cloth. {Bonus: oil cloth wipes down easily. Score for my little messy Bessie!} A little bit of wool felt came in handy for the hitch and tire/wheel.

I used Steam-A-Seam 2 Fusible webbing to apply the applique. I love this stuff!

Remove backing . . .

adhere to "camper" . . .

Add more details ~ a window, a door . . .

Find the perfect spot on your tee . . .

Permanently adhere with an iron. I turned my tee inside out and used a high heat setting. Press down for 20 seconds or so all over the applique to ensure a good "stick".

And voila! Your very own tee {for like, 1/6th the cost!}

Now I just gotta find the time to make the other two :)

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Check out lots of crafty goodness at Jen's!

Letters of Intent

Dear Mother Nature,

Hi. Um, it's May. Coming up on June, actually. The constant drizzle of rain every day is driving us NUTS. We are trapped inside day after day, and the never-ending rain drops make running errands with three kiddos less than spectacular. Please get your act together before Makenna's last soccer game tomorrow morning. PLEASE.

Signed,

The cooped up Mama who wasn't sure if you got the Memo that it's MAY!

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Kenners,

Hello Sweet Pea. Could I ask a teensy favor of you? Could you please stop grinding your teeth at night? You are grinding them so loudly that it is waking up your sisters and Mama. It really is the most excruciating noise ever. And . . . I'm a little scared that you won't have any teeth left in the morning.

Thanks sweetie.

Signed,

Your Mama who loves you but does need her sleep

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Have somethin' to say? Head on over to Julie's and link up!

Babies Everywhere

Remember these little cuties? Ohhhh baby bunnies are the cutest, aren't they? Well, guess what, they're not the only babies around the Fraijo farm.

Take a look at these little darlings.

The girls found the nest behind Grandpa's shop.

Babies everywhere.

I ♥ LOVE ♥ Spring!