Thursday, November 26, 2015

Thanksgiving Prayer


Thank you, Father, for having created us and given us to each other in the human family.  Thank you for being with us in all our joys and sorrows, for your comfort in our sadness, your companionship in our loneliness.  Thank you for yesterday, today, tomorrow and for the whole of our lives.  Thank you for friends, for health and for grace.  May we live this and every day conscious of all that have been given to us.


The Catholic Prayer Book


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Friday, November 20, 2015

Black Friday Prep

Black Friday is ONE WEEK AWAY!  With #wiggydiggy's first birthday and Christmas following quickly behind, J and I have a shopping plan this year.

1.
The family gift - iPad

I have a Kindle Fire that I use often, but it's slowly losing juice.  It's just time for us to upgrade.

2.
#wiggydiggy's 1st Birthday


3.
#wiggydiggy's Christmas

I'm still debating on personalizing it or not....

4.
The Husband's Gift
A blue ray wireless home surround system.
(He tells me and my non techie brain can't even find a picture)


5.
And of course, a little something for myself






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*some affiliate links used

Thursday, November 19, 2015

The Man's Project

The day our sectional was installed, J was on the hunt for artwork to put up on the wall.

I, on the other hand, was still riding high from post vow renewal photos so I hung three canvas photos on the wall.

J's immediate reaction was disgust.  No wedding photos in the Football Room!  Ha.

One year later (while repainting) those pictures came down for good.  The hunt continued.  Then...THEN!!  J found some artwork on Etsy he wanted to recreate.

This weekend he was able to spend a few hours on his pet project:



There is still some work to be done in the family room but this is a step in the right direction!

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Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Shelving

Again, it's another Pinterest inspired home improvement project.  This time we changed this:
(Focus on the fireplace.  I forgot to take a "real" before picture)

Into this:


Our Inspiration:

J followed the instructions pretty much exactly.  I only painted the wood before we starting building.  I did paint a final coat after they were on the wall and had a light sanding.

We started by moving the oak hutches out and measuring out spacing on the wall.  Honestly, measuring the shelving locations took the longest!  We wanted enough height from the floor to add baskets/totes for blankets and toys underneath, all while making sure the shelves would have enough space between them to display everything we wanted.

I still have some shopping to do (don't we always.....) for specific decor items I'm looking for.  All of the football memorabilia will be moved to the family room once the shelving unit in there is built.  (Yes!  Another project!!  We are SO EXCITED!!!)

But for now?  I could not love the shelves anymore.  They brighten up and widen the room.  The new bright white trim doesn't hurt either ;)


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Wednesday, November 11, 2015

A Place to Sit

When J and I bought our dining room table, I liked the idea of a bench, but wasn't totally sold on it. 

Now, as a mom, I see the genius of a bench.


It took no convincing for J to be on board (considering he'd be the one building it......)


We only modified the plan by adding an extra base for some height.

Getting my stain on.


The final product!  
As always, taken with an iPhone.  I swear we are getting a decent camera.....one day.



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Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Sofa Table

While we were busy making plans for our floating shelves and dining room bench, I found one more project that J was totally on board with.


This one was by far the easiest and fastest to do. - Everything was purchased at Home Depot, except stain and paint.  We had those on hand already.
We bought the tall stair rails to cut to height and J followed the plans exactly after that.







Now all I need is a few hours to shop for some cute decor and we are all set!



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Friday, November 6, 2015

Friday Follow-Up

1.
Last Friday I shared some of my November fitness goals.  How have I been doing?  Well, since you asked ;)

I was slow to start (head cold) but I played catch up and and back on schedule.  I've been doing the current day and then adding in day 1, 2 or 3, if I feel like it wasn't enough of a work out.
Water consumption has been easy.  With a sore throat I've been guzzling bottles of water and mugs of tea like it's my job.  I've also been killing it on the vitamin front.  I think I have this head cold the thank.  Haha!

But I'm failing at breakfast each day.  Pretty sure a granola bar at my desk doesn't count.
As for T-25, since I have been sick all this week, I decided to push it back to December.  I'm starting Pilates next week, so that will be my November trade.

2.
The count down is ON to Thanksgiving!  I am excited to eat turkey and stuffing for DAYS ON END while wearing leggings and baggy sweaters to hid the stuffed belly :)
Loft - Lou and Grey Ponte leggings.  I like my leggings to almost mimic pants - as in not be see through and give me a little support.  These fit the bill.  Mine are two years old and still look brand new. Black Friday Shopping has another pair on my list ;)

3.
I'm on the hunt for some new ankle boots.  Mine are about to eat the dust :(
I think these are cute by Urban Outfitters, but I have no idea about the quality of their shoes.  I like mine to last a few years before needing to be replaced.  


4.
I'm on MyFitnessPal as LFWigen.  Join me?  I would love to have more more awesome motivation to keep my on track over the holidays!

5.
Our three projects will be revealed next week!  I'm on the hunt for some cute decor, but I think Christmas decor is up next ;)



Linking up!!

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Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Natural Cleaning


A few months ago Justin and I watched a documentary on Netflix:




I had already started moving towards natural cleaning and eating, but this documentary really set the wheels in motion.



I went out to Amazon that week and bought a 6 pack of glass bottles with BPA free sprayers:


I follow an adorable blogger Jen at The Coffeehouse and she has an amazing Oils page that has great recipes for cleaning naturally.  I followed her homemade multi surface cleaner recipe and haven't looked back:

From Jen:
Multi-Surface Cleaner

16 ounce glass spray bottle
Fill half full with distilled white vinegar
Add 10 drops Lemon essential oil
Fill the rest of the bottle with distilled water
Shake and spray and dance and clean!

In our kitchen I use Lemon Essential Oil, in the living areas (our dining room, bar area, living room) I use Lavender, and in the bathrooms I use Peppermint.  The essential oil is really *necessary* but the smell helps cover up the vinegar.

Our fantastic neighbor uses Young Living Oils and when she saw my Instagram post about #wiggydiggy home with his first tummy bug, she brought over DiGize.  That Oil ended up helping me when I came down with the same bug 48 hours later.  


If you are interested in Oils, I would recommend buying a starter kit (the diffuser ALONE is worth it!).  Use code 3328786 if you feel like it ;)  I'll be sending out a small spray bottle with instructions to make a homemade hand sanitizer to anyone who uses my code.  

Since we've turned our whole home into a "chemical free zone", I feel better about cleaning.  I can spray the cleaner on the bathroom counters and toilet while lil man is taking his bath.  There are no fumes to irritate his tiny nose!

Keep in touch!  More recipes to follow :)

*affiliate links used* 

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

#wiggydiggy 11 Months

#wiggydiggy | 11 MONTHS



nicknames | bug, lil man, buggy, magoo

weight |  Our 'at home method' isn't the best.  We know you grew (because some pants are now highwaters), but our measurements are the same.  So.....about 20 pounds and 30 inches!  We'll see what they really are at your drs appt next month.

size | Mostly 18 month, you still have a few 12 month pieces that fit. Size 3 diapers (which I think you'll be in for a few more months) 




sleep |  Still a fantastic sleeper!  You sleep through the night and take 1-2 naps totaling 3 hours a day.

eats | Everything.  You want what we are eating, so I'm having fun making dinner for the whole family now.  When we go out to eat you love to graze off our plates.  Still 100% breast milk.  We nurse at least 4 times a day and now you get an extra bottle of breast milk after we nurse before bed.  

loves | Exploring!  You want to crawl/stand/cruise everywhere and see everything.  You love your paci and sometimes want in the hand and one in the mouth!  You LOVE books. We read everyday and you love turning the pages and discovering them all on your own.  


dislikes | Getting out of the bath, loud power tools (especially the drill)

firsts |  5 TEETH!!  Standing without assistance!  First Halloween :)

Momma | Lil man - you hold my heart in your hand.  There is nothing better than seeing you get so excited to see me first thing in the morning.  You are so independent now!  You want to crawl everywhere and see everything.  You steal everyone's heart after you meet them.  You haven't found someone who hasn't loved you.  You are growing and flourishing and I love seeing the your personality shining.

Daddy | Little Man: You are growing leaps and bounds, your little personality is really coming out, you are doing everything in your power to stand and walk, constantly pulling yourself up on things to stand.  You are still a really good eater.  It's awesome hearing your little voice when you talk.  I'm sorry that I scared you with the power tools, but i'm hoping one day, you will come around to liking them. :)  I love you very much son.

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Monday, November 2, 2015

Halloween Memories

On Friday, #wiggydiggy had a Halloween party at 'school'.  I was able to pick him up early to bring him around to Trick or Treat at my work and Daddy's work.

Though, the lil man DID NOT like seeing Daddy dressed up like Santa Claus.  Maybe next year kid ;)

I was spending so much time enjoying the day with my family, I only snagged a few pictures!

Our lil Charlie Brown
(And the only photo where you could see his costume......)

We started the morning off at the Country Club.  They host a child friendly Halloween Event that lil man is just a bit too small for.  We had fun visiting with friends and watching the kiddos run around on sugar highs.

Then we headed downtown to the Helena Walking Mall Little Tikes Trick or Treat.
(Say that 10 times fast!)

We met up with some awesome gals and had a blast people watching in the extremely crowded downtown.


It was important to me to keep #wiggydiggy on his schedule, so we headed home for a nap before our neighborhood filled up with kids.
We live in a part of town where parents drop off van loads of kids and we have to be prepared for at least 300-400 trick or treaters.  Unfortunately, lil man did NOT like having people at the door while he was eating dinner.  I had to pull some mom magic out and a little finagling with his radio to keep his tears at bay.  Our nieces stopped by to show off their adorable costumes and play with lil man before he headed to bed.

After a busy day, J and I were happy to sit down to a steak dinner and a quiet house.  Charlie Brown was a bit confused by the festivities this year, but I cannot wait to see him Trick or Treating next year!


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