Corn Days? Corn Time?

No...It's the Corn Show Baby!!

The annual Corn Show was this past weekend in my home town. We sent Eli to my parents on Friday night so we could watch the Beef Bowl. It was an amazing game! :) Anyway, we headed over on Saturday morning, and my mom and I did the 5 mile walk. Yes, I'm going to say that we did it...

After we walked we went home and got the boys fed and down for naps because we knew it was going to be a really busy afternoon!

Parade time! Here are Jus and Eli chilling at the parade.



The weather was so strange. It was kind of chilly in the morning, then warmed up. Around 1 o'clock it started to rain a little, and it stayed cloudy for the parade, which was perfect!

The boys enjoyed picking up (and sneaking) the candy!




They did not enjoy taking their picture with me, however...



After the parade we headed downtown (ok, we walked a block) to the carnival. I'm not kidding, the carnival rocks! There are tons of awesome rides for the kids! This mommy tried to ride, but oh, how motion sick I got on the carousel. Ugh...

Well, our friend, Tom and Jus took Leo on the Tilt a Whirl last year, so Leo was certain he was going on it again. So, he did... He's waiting for his turn. :)



Leo, Jaina and Jus went on the "Tilt of the World". Leo looked like he was not enjoying it at all, but when he got off he was all smiles and wanted to do it again. He's crazy!



So as Leo was riding the "Tilt of the World", Eli was freaking out because he wanted to go on too. This momma said no way! So we brought the boys down to the car ride. Eli thought it was so great! Leo had fun too!



Leo liked a "ride" called monkey business. It was an obstacle course thing. He wasted sooo many tickets on that!



Eli went with me on the carousel, but nobody got any pictures of that. :( I have one of Jus and E, and one of me and E on the BIG slide. Yeah, I caught some air on the big slide. Yikes!! Not my favorite feeling in the world.





Last we let the boys each ride on their own vehicle on the car ride. They thought it was so great to be able to drive whatever they wanted. :)






Corn Show was a lot of fun this year. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for all the tickets! The boys had a blast, and can't wait to go next year!

Jumpy?

Well, you may remember how Leo jumped...

And now it's E's turn. Hmmm... I really hope they work on their vertical!

"He's a ----"

Enter my maiden name here... All of my dad's siblings LOVE to eat straight tomatoes. Well, so does E! :)

{Mr. Sassy Pants}

Aka Eli William

Here Come the Lions!!! {2011 Season}

I tried. I honestly did, to get a picture of Leo and E together for the start of football season. They had their Lions gear on, their tattoos, their matching hats (Be still my heart!!), but they don't have matching attitudes! Which is probably a good thing for me! Then I don't have too much sass to put up with.

Leo was all about the game and the pictures, where E was not!

Here is Leo and Jax cheesing out at the game.



Leo and Jax played on the bleachers, ate popcorn, watched the game, ate candy, ran around, ate nachos...

Eli sat for a little bit, then he was off and climbing. Luckily for us, Jen, his favorite from daycare was there, so he sat with her for 2 quarters. :)

It was so fun to beat a team 51-0 again! Brings me back to my high school days. :)

In All Honesty...

Ok, Ok, you got me. In all honesty, I didn't post those last few posts on the correct day. I predated them so they'd pop up while I was busy doing other things. What other things, you might be asking...

Well, I've been busy trying to get this kid to sleep in his bed on time.


He was already put to bed 45 minutes earlier, tucked in, no lights on, no books, but I think he wasn't tired until he read a few books to himself. :)

I've been trying to stay healthy with the two children having sinus infection and pink eye.

I've been trying to work in my classroom (which has proven to be an EPIC fail lately...)

I've been cleaning my house for an engagement party. Which, by the way, was a success. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the party. (Another epic fail.)

I've been busy enjoying the weather, taking trips to the park, bike trail, catching up with friends, stressing about school, taking a mini vaca, stressing about speaking in church (which went well!), and trying to cram all the fun I can into the last few days of my summer vacation.

It's back to school on Tuesday, and I wish I felt a little more prepared. I can't do much because there is a lot to be finished in my room before I can completely move in and call it mine.

I guess I just need to remember "I don't know where I'm going, but I know Who I am following."

Ahh {Relax Here}

When we looked at this house, THIS room was one of the main reasons I wanted to buy it. I loved the fireplace. Our old house had two, but they were wood burning, and Leo has a form of asthma, so we couldn't have fires, so they did us no good. This new gas or electric or whatever it is is perfect! I just turn up the thermometer and it lights. Love it! The people who owned the house before us had their TV on a different wall and the focus wasn't on the fireplace at all. In my book, not cool! So we put our TV beside it. (Justin was adamant that we did!) I got the black TV stand at a craft show and added Simply Said decals to the doors. On the mantel is a family picture. We take a picture in the same spot every year to see how much everyone has grown. It's fun to compare. :) The G, like the E and L, are from Flower Village. There is a little metal G and number 4 by the G. Melia bought those for me when she was in San Fransisco. Do you know what they stand for? I just realized that the thing with matches (for decoration only) is up on the shelf. Eli was playing with them one day and I set it up there. Not where it belongs, oh well, nothing can be perfect.



This is a shot of our love seat and BIG pictures. The furniture we got at a store in a nearby town that was going out of business. We got it on Sabrina's birthday, and there was tornado sirens going off. Crazy how I remember dumb things, but to remember an appointment is too hard... Anyway, the pictures are of Leo and Eli when they are a few days old. They are size 20 x 30, and I just love them. One perk of having a really good friend take pictures for you, is that she also orders them at a reduced rate (ok, at cost...). I love that Melia! I got them framed and matted at Hobby Lobby when they were having their sale or it never would have happened.



This picture shows the couch and the ledge we have with pictures of the boys. It's kind of like a snapshot of their lives, different ages and stages of each boy. Melia took all the pictures, and if you can see the metal frames on the end table, she gave those to me for my birthday. She must love me too! Speaking of the table, my Uncle Leo made it for me. He made the entire thing! It's so so cool! It has a marble top and a mission look to it. I bet you are thinking wait, Uncle Leo? Leo Beo? Yep, my Leo is named for my Uncle Leo. I wasn't able to know either of my grandfathers, but Uncle Leo has a very special place in my heart, and is the perfect name for my Leo. My nieces and nephews call them "Big Leo" and "Little Leo" or "Leo with the Glasses" and "Beo Beo." Big Leo is kind of funny because he is nearly 7 feet tall. Maybe "Little Leo" will catch up with the way that he is growing!



Welcome to the toy area. This is where my computer desk used to be, but it was way too cluttered, so it got the boot. Now I'm looking for a cool thing to put along the one wall where the desk was. I want to have bins that pull out and a chalkboard and a cork board. I want the one in Pottery Barn Kids, but that's NOT in my budget. I wonder if my dad could make it...hint, hint. Or, I guess I can look at Tattered Treasures, because I saw something pretty stinking cool in the window yesterday when I drove by!



Lastly, this picture is kind of boring. It is a shot down the hall. The door to the right is the bathroom and the door straight ahead is the bedroom.



So, there you go! There is our house. What did you think? Any pointers, decorating tips, things you like, love, hate?

School is starting soon. I'll try to keep up better this year. I can't promise, but I'll try! We are going to sneak in a little vaca before we start school. Lots of shopping and swimming are on the agenda.

Help!!

This room needs direction. I only have 2 pictures of it because I just don't like the space right now. I plan on having the boys go down there or at least one of them in a few years and then the room can have an identity. Now it's identity is "If someone is sick they must go to the basement room" room.

This picture is a shot of the full sized bed with mismatched bedding. Long story. Comforter is from Target. Bed is from my parent's house. Bed skirt is from my room growing up. You can see the walls are boring, and everything doesn't really go together. Oh well. :)



This picture is just of a book shelf and a TV stand (minus the TV). It is facing into the largest (and messiest) closet of the house.



So, what would you do? Would you leave it until the boys are ready to move down there or would you do something in the mean time? It isn't like we have visitors very often (or ever, for that matter), but still, I just don't know.

Tomorrow check back for the family room. :) (One of my favorite rooms!)

Bathroom: Take 2

This is not the first shower curtain I bought for this bathroom. I had a different one, and bought green paint. I had every intention of painting it during the school year, but then I went to our friend Kayla's house and fell in love with her shower curtain. I couldn't get the dumb thing out of my mind. So I used my birthday money to buy a new one.



I really like it and the way it goes with the family room downstairs. I now need to find a new color of paint for the bathroom and paint it a brown. So, does anyone need a gallon of green paint? :)

This is a shot of the bathroom. I got the brown rugs (which are the same as the boys bathroom) at Target. It is really plain and boring in there. :( I need to paint it and find some things to hang up, and make it "ours". I kind of feel like it is a hotel. Some day we will take out the carpet and put tile, but that's a different project. :)



Last picture is of a large space by the door. I don't know what to put here. I think a cool shelf "thing" would be fun. I could put towels or something on it. Anyone have any great ideas or want to go shopping?



Check back tomorrow for the "Hodge-podge" guest room. (My least favorite room in the house because of the way it looks...)

The "Scary" Basement

I had a neurotic fear of my parent's basement when I was growing up. Seriously, I wouldn't go down there alone. I had have someone "talk" to me when I was down there. My brother still won't let me live it down (Give it up, Eric!). And secretly, I would sing a song I learned in Sunday School the entire time I was down there...

"I'm not alone, for my Father is with me,
With me wherever I go.
Speaking words of faith,
of courage and of love.
He's with me. He loves me. Wherever I go."

Yeah, so you could say I had a problem. :) Happy to say, I have none of those fears in my basement!

Welcome to the "work in progress" basement!

This is the store room. My mom and I spent an entire day organizing and trying to make it more functional. Then last week I decided to move our old computer desk in there. Yeah, doesn't really look so great now. Sorry, mom!



What do you think of the multi-colored walls? The people who lived here before us, used it as their home schooling room. That is on my list of things to be painted. :)



This picture is of all of my scrapbook stuff, that has been sitting there for about 4 years. Well, the stuff sat in boxes at my other house. I don't have time to do it, and honestly, I'm not that creative.



Now I'm going to let you into the "scary" part of my basement. This is the furnace room, and the tote room and the shove everything in here when people are coming room. It is a disaster.



I do want to organize the clothes and get them all nice and ready to sell. It will be one heck of a garage sale when that happens!



Check back tomorrow for a peek into the "work in progress" bathroom!

If a 1 Year Old is Quiet...

You better be checking on him!

Drop Your Drawers Here...

Welcome to the laundry room! It is the smallest room in the house. In fact, the closet in the basement is bigger than this room! Oh well, who wants to waste space in a room you are never in! The color of this room is the same as the boys bathroom. I got the two signs out of a catalog that my friend, Janel, orders from. We moved the washer and dryer out of our old house to this one. And "we" in this case means Nate. He seriously carried them up the steps of the old house, to the moving truck and into place in the new house. Yeah, Bearcat football players are hard core! The door leads out to the garage.



My favorite item in the room is the rug by the back door. It matches well, and of course, from Target. :)

Behind the door leading back to the dining room is a bunch of shelves that we hang our coats on. There is a closet that normal people would keep their shoes and boots and things in. Well, I'm not tidy enough, and so it's really just where I hide things when my mom comes to visit so it looks clean. (Oops, the secret is out...)



Hope you enjoyed the main level of my house. I'll work on getting the rest of it cleaned up and pictures for you to see. The basement is still a work in progress.

The {Great} Room

Welcome back to the tour. Hope you've enjoyed the back part of the house, now for the big room...

First is our dining room. The table is from the 1950s and has flowers with a vine painted on the top of the table and back of the chairs. It was my great uncles, and I got it when he passed away. The buffet is from Tattered Treasures...but you've already read that story. :) The artwork are originals by brilliant artists, Leo and Eli. Off to the right are sliding glass doors that lead out to our deck. On the left is a door which leads to the laundry room, and the garage.



This picture is right at the edge of the living room and dining room. The collage of Gs were Amy's idea (shocker, right...). I really like letters and monograms, so I thought it was a cool idea. Amy gave me the gold G for, um, honestly, I can't remember! I got the other 2 at Hobby Lobby. The Lego table is the only toy that gets to be out in the living room...I'm keeping it there to try to get Leo to work on his fine motor skills. What teacher has a kid who hates anything to do with coloring or writing? Yeah, this one.



This is the living room. We bought the white, yes, white furniture for the "purple" room in our old house. Yeah, we also bought it before we had children! What were we thinking, but good news for me...it is microfiber so it washes up really nice! One thing I'd really like to change about our house is the carpet. Throughout the whole house is a "dirty" looking Berber. I don't like how it feels, but with two very active boys, it's holding up nicely. I will wait until they are older (or until it looks too horrible)to replace it.



This shot is of the east wall of our living room, opposite of the dining room. The pictures that are hanging up are, of course, taken by Melia. They are from last fall and were used as our Christmas cards. :) The entertainment center is from my parents, they gave it to us for a Christmas gift. We went with two colored walls. I love how they look together. "We" painted them too...Actually, I honestly did help with this room. I also got brown paint on my hardwood floors because I stepped on it.



This is a shot from our living room looking back over the dining room.



The last picture is a shot of our open kitchen. Right now the island is just high enough for Eli to run under the ledge. In a few weeks, however, I think he'll have to borrow Leo's bike helmet to remind him to duck! I always like refrigerators that are clean and you can see more white than "stuff", but with my children, they love their ABC thing, so I can take the clutter for a little while. (Who am I kidding, my whole house is usually cluttered because it doesn't bother me!)



Tomorrow will be the last room on the main level: The laundry room!

Eli {The Nursery}

In the old house, the boys had to share a room. I honestly, don't think that I have a picture of that room. Very bad momma moment.

The inspiration from this room came from a quilt that my mom and I designed. It's brown and two shades of blue. It has all of these different textures, and I love it. (I'm starting to notice I love everything...) We got the crib at Baby Town when we were expecting Leo, and it was still in good shape, so E gets it now. :) The brown and blue polka dots are an idea I stole from my sister-in-law. (Thanks Erica!) In the middle is a prince charming frog. When E was in the castle for 7 days, we called him "Prince Charming" a perfect nickname.



His book bin is from Target as well. The E is from Flower Village, the piggy bank from Painted Prairie. I have the book, "Let Me Hold You Longer" by Karen Kingsbury on the top. It is such a sweet book. I think all mommies should read it, and cry like I did.



Eli also got his name from Amy when we moved into our house. His changing table/dresser is from Baby Town, which we got when we were expecting Leo. The frames are from Target and the pictures are from Melia. You may have noticed I like "dark" wood. I am a big fan of cherry and ebony colored pieces. Not sure why, just love the "darkness" of them.



Tomorrow I'll take you into the Living/Dining/Kitchen area.

Leo {His New Room}

We gave Leo a queen sized bed for part of his birthday present. Ok, ok, in all honesty, we wanted a new mattress and though we'd give Leo the old one in case we have another bad winter. I bought the striped blanket with Amy and Ivy the day after I found out I was pregnant with Eli. I didn't know how I was going to use it, but love what I did. :) I got it at Amy's Mecca~ TJ Max. I got the comforter at Target. It is a great color of chocolate brown. The wall hangings are also from Target. There are 4 sports balls.



This is his "new" dresser. It is from Tattered Treasures. I love how the red matches the red in his striped blanket. Amy talked me into this purchase as well. Hmm, I wonder if I'm noticing a trend here. I got the L at Flower Village, the chalkboard at Tattered Treasures, and the lamp at Shopko. Amy gave Leo his name for his wall when we moved into our house. I did have a black shelf hanging above the dresser, but it was poorly made (or hung up...yes, I hung it up...). I want to find another shelf, but I just can't seem to find one that I love...even at Target.



Last is a picture of the book bins I got at Target. One thing my boys don't need is books. As a teacher, I have a ton, literally, of books. The frames are from Target, and pictures from Leo's 3 year old shoot. Taken, of course, by Miss Melia. :) The brown basket I got at a party I went to a few years back. The pillows are from the Target dollar bin :).



Check back tomorrow for a trip to Eli's room. :)

Boy's Bathroom

This is one of my favorite rooms in my house. I know, strange, but oh, I love it! The color is so pretty and unique. I color matched it from my first purchase for this house...a shower curtain. :)

I fell in love with this curtain at, where else, Target. I had to have it! The clock is again from Target. :) As are the rugs. (Yes, I should own stock...)



This picture shows the vanity and the picture of the boys in the tub. I took the picture at one of their first baths together. I made their hair stand up with the shampoo. It is a sweet memory.