Colors of the Rainbow

After an very exhausting, restless sleep last night (I think Ethan's having separation anxiety), the kids were ramped and ready to go. Wait. That doesn't sound right, does it? Poor Mama is EXHAUSTED!! And they want to play, play, play! Well, what's a gal to do?

Jump on board!

Ava kept asking "what can I do?" And honestly, she'd been "doing" stuff all morning but I decided to check out my new FAVORITE site, Pinterest and look for a good activity for the kids. (Seriously, check out this site! It's AMAZING! Something for absolutely everyone!)

We found this great outdoor painting project that looked like lots of fun, so off we went to get creative!

Homemade outdoor paint recipe:

1 part cornstarch

1 part water

food coloring

 You can make as many colors as you want! Lots of options!

 Having a good time!

 Then the fun began...painting on themselves. Oh well, comes off pretty well. Who cares if they have slightly blueish hands and feet for a few days?

Of course, Monkey See, Monkey Do! Ethan has to paint HIS hands, too!

 Oh, in case you're wondering. That's my belly shot. Only 7 more weeks til baby girl is here!

And the final project! Cute and different! Gonna have to try this again sometime!

Projects

This past month and a half I've been feeling very "nest-y". Lots of projects have been on our plates due to some other fantastic blogs I follow. (Sorry, hunny!)

We've recently made the decision NOT to  move. DON'T WORRY! We weren't planning on going far. Doesn't matter now, though. Looks like we may be here a little while longer. So with that comes ch ch ch changes! If we're staying, then we're re-decorating! My mind has been spinning with all the great ideas! I've got lots of plans so be sure to stay tuned as new projects come about. In the meantime, check out what we've been up to recently!

Project #1: Homemade Chalkboard. SO fun and simple to make. We just got a piece of plywood, cut it to the size we wanted and 2 coats of Chalkboard paint later, voila! A Chalkboard!  PS: YES! There is chalkboard paint! Don't let the store workers tell you otherwise! We tethered some rope to the top and made a cup holder for the chalk. So fun and a great way to keep the kids busy outside...when it's not so steamy!

Project #2: New front door wreath. I love things that have initials. Adds a personal touch to different items. Again, a very easy project. Got the wreath, flowers and letter all from Michaels. Painted the "R" green and hot glued it to the wreath. The flowers are just woven around the side. Love. It!

Project #3: Bookshelf Re-do. This project was fun!! I got the bookshelf (wood colored but forgot to take a before picture) off Craigslist for $20. Took it home, primered it and painted it blue to match Ethan's room. Then I found a font on the computer I liked, printed out "books" and stenciled it onto the top. 

My painting helpers

Project #4: Building the attached wall book holders. I love the way this project displays books! So cute and adds great decor to the room. Here are pictures of them and the finished bookshelf in Ethan's room.

I don't know if you can read it, but I wrote a quote on the hanging wall book holders. "The more that you read, the more that you know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."  -Dr. Seuss

Happy 4th of July....little late

Happy 4th Everyone! Or maybe I should just say, Happy July!! Seems like every time I go to write a post I've lost track of time and my short window of opportunity has past.

Here goes nothing!

June has come and gone! We are FULLY into July now, which can't make me any happier. That means it's closer to my due date! And even though it's supremely H.O.T. outside, I keep talking myself into understanding we're ALMOST there! So close! I can't wait to meet baby Reagan! We've been busy getting stuff ready for her, too! (More on that later, though.)

4th of July weekend was a blast...pun intended, ha. ha....
We celebrated the 3rd with Danny and Steph by having them over for a quick dip in the neighborhood pool and bbq-ing after. Then we went to see the big firework display in town. (Pictures will come of those soon!)

On the 4th of July, we loaded the group up and headed to our local parade viewing spot. Unfortunately, we were slightly disappointed with the parade this year. Someone changed the routes and routines and we were jipped on a large portion of the parade. Oh well! Live and Learn. Here're some pictures to share though.

That evening we did the fireworks in the front yard. The entire cul-du-sac came out and we all watched the local show from our driveways. SOOOOO nice since it's super crowded at the site location and we got to see the same show without all the traffic. Even better, when it was over, someone in the neighborhood did their own show. It truly was amazing! We all thought the person must HAVE to work for a fireworks store. Everyone had an awesome night!

Ava kept calling the fireworks

"Fizzling Fire Feathers!"

That's it for now! I'll share pictures of our day trip to the splash park later this week! Stay tuned!

Flutterby's

Spontaneity isn't really my strong suit, but as the kids and I were running errands around town, an idea came to me! How much fun would it be to visit the Butterfly Garden today?? While we were in the area AND there was a lot of cloud coverage, today WOULD be the perfect day! So, off we went!

This is the coolest little place! The $5 fee threw me for a little loop, but the lady only charged me. That's a deal, huh? Last time we went, I was pregnant with Ethan, so it's been awhile! It's at a giant plant nursery so after your done checking out the butterflies, you can walk the gardens. So beautiful!

 Look closely and you'll see one of the MANY butterflies!

 My sweet boy gave me a smile! He's so serious most of the time.

 More butterflies!

 They had a little finch room too. Aren't these the cutest little guys?

 Here's one napping in the nest.

We found little birdie eggs, too!

 Princess pose! 

(Can't believe she let me take so many pictures today!)

 Checking out the water fountain over the bridge.

 This was really cool! They had a seperate area where you could hold the butterflies. Did you know they drink with their feet? I didn't! You had to dip your finger into Gatorade and the butterflies would "drink" from your finger! So cool!

 Oh so brave!

"You're right Mom! They didn't even tickle!"

Not bad for a day out running errands! And while we were there I was able to pick up something for my vege garden. Here's what THAT'S looking like these days!

 Baby tomatoes growing from the Topsy Turvy!

 Our ever-gowing cucumber plant...

Finally! Baby cucumbers!!