July 4th Countdown

Do you have one going in you house too?  The kids (and adults) are so excited this year.  Everyone in our house is finally old enough to celebrate and head to the fireworks.

We have been reading up on our Olivia. This time of year Olivia Forms a Band  by Ian Falconer is Sophia and Maxon's top pick. Olivia's family is celebrating July 4th also. We always enjoy Olivia's spunky personality and wild imagination.

Staying in true fashion, I made Sophia a 4th of July skirt. I found this great vintage looking  navy, red, and white fabric on ebay. I love that it is not your traditional stars and stripes and can be worn more than once.  I did not use a pattern, as skirts are pretty basic. I am however planning on creating a tutorial for it. So stay tuned!

I wish all of you a safe and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Weekend Time

Time to relax and enjoy some family time. 

Well I'm going to try to relax. I've got a hot date with my hubby tonight. We are heading to the comedy club to see Chris Porter from "Last Comic Standing." Then Sunday I've got the baby shower. I can't wait to give Lisa the baby quilt. I'm also going to make a matching bib and burp cloth set.

Enjoy your relaxing weekend too!

SNOWPOCALYPSE 2011

We only got a little bit. On the bright side we got a bonus family day! Stay warm.

Sophia catching some air!

Our Home at the Holiday's

I love the cozy feeling of our home at Christmas. The soft glow of all the lights to the warm smells of something baking.

I like to try to change it up a little bit every year.  Are you like me, you get sick of the same tree and decorations every year? This years color pallet green, brown, ivory and metallic!

Starting with the front door. I went for a simple and natural look.

Come on in!

A few red berries.

We don't have a fireplace to hang our stocking on but, they are hung on the railing with just as much care. I still need to go and get Sophia and Maxon's stockings embroidered with their names. Mommy is a slacker!

Our tree.

Dinning Room. Just don't look in my buffet! Another thing on my list of things to do.

Sophia and I with our first gingerbread house. Ha, I just noticed my teeth are a funny color from the candy we ate while decorating.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Heritage Day at Preschool

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall today in Sophia's class.


Today her class had "Family Heritage Day." Seeing as I am an American mutt and Keith is Italian, we went with Italian. They had to bring an item the represents where they came from so she brought an old photo of her Papa Louie and Great Grand parents.

Yes, if your wondering. I made her shirt just for today. I just could not help myself!

Trick or Treat

Did you have fun with your little ones? We did! It was a lot of fun taking the kids around the neighborhood and watching the excitement on their faces. Even Maxon (18 months) was reaching in grabbing candy and saying thank you!

The real deal (life)!

Sophia, was sweet Princess Jasmine.

Maxon,  little monkey Abu!

Good Behavior Chart

Alright, so I really had some reservations about sharing this post.  I came to the realization that it was healthy and good to share the so called "real" struggles as a parent. Let's face it child rearing is hard! Besides this is a positive post about how we found a solution. Not a negative rant!

Sophia had been acting out and we had been dealing with a lot of negative behavior for the last year. We called it the "I have a new sibling syndrome"  and then some of it is just naturally the age. Think about it, how hard does that have to be on them? They go from being the center of attention to feeling totally displaced. Goodness I would act out too!

We (Keith, husband) did try to spend alone time and do special "date nights" with Sophia but, it still was not helping change the bad behavior. While visiting my sister we were talking with her sister in law Angie about how hard this age frame (3-4) is. Angie is a preschool teacher, so she is used to dealing with this age everyday. She suggested a Behavior chart. Hmm..... I was not so sure at first as I had thought that it was rewarding the bad behavior. I learned it was more about reinforcing the good things and modifying the bad behavior.

When I got home I searched the web for charts and found this one.  It's simple, visual and easy for Sophia to see the goal she is after. After Sophia fills all the lady bugs spots with stickers, she gets to pick one special treat from her "Treasure Box." I filled it with candy, a small coloring book and little things she loves. Each treasure under $3.

I also did some behavior modification of my own.  I stopped venting to Keith about the struggles of the day. I noticed that Sophia started saying "Mom tell daddy about what I did." Meaning the bad things she did that day. Broke my heart realizing a big part of the problem was me. Hey, it's a learning process for parents too! We are making a point to praise her and talk about all the good thing she does during the day every night. You should just see the big smile on that sweet face and how she lights up when when do.

I'm happy to report that Sophia is doing great! She has turned a corner and even my mother-in-law has noticed. She is on her third chart in less then four weeks! She is using her manors all the time, sharing toys with her brother with out being asked, less whining, and I see her tender side again.  Makes me tear up just telling you about it! We are so proud of her and best of all she is so proud of herself too!

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been busy this week from working on Sophia's room, finishing up sewing projects for the 4th, kids concert and bowling with friends, to just all the normal everyday stuff! Phew... Thank goodness it's Friday and a holiday weekend!!

This week my kids and I also got to enjoy a nice visit with (my mom) GRANDMA!!! We spent much of our day outside playing, coloring with sidewalk chalk and riding bikes.

                                                

Sophia with my camera

You need your sunglasses for this one...look at my white chicken legs! LOL

Special Thanks

Have I mentioned that my family LOVES Independence Day!  We take a lot of pride in our country and this particular holiday has significant meaning to us.  This is my hottie husband Keith (middle) with his best buddies Skip (right) and Rob (left).

 

I'm thankful for their many years of service to our country. My husband is now a civilian but as everyone knows "Once a Marine Always a Marine!"

God Bless The USA!

New Digs

So, we have moved and are starting to get settled in to the new house. It's a clean slate and when I say clean slate, I mean clean slate! White walls, doors, trim and tan carpet. BLAH! On the bright side it opens the door for me to stamp my style on everything. Sweet!

Enjoying all the beautiful blooming trees and shrubs in the yard.

Kitchen and stairwell/hall to living room and upstairs. To the Left of the stairs is the dinning room.

Family room and Basement play room/office. I know these are really bad photo's. They are from the MLS Listing but they show the house empty. To the left of the family room is really nice oak railing and the stairs to the front door and basement.

Don't laugh, this is one of my new favorite rooms. I've never had a "laundry room!" The photo to the right is the master bath, again bad pics. but it's a really nice bath. To the left is a LARGE soaking that all four of us fit in and to the right is a great glass surround shower.


I've already started to pick out paint and decorate, so those will be some of my new post to come!

A FRESH START

Life has recently brought a lot of new changes, some exciting and some not so fun. My family will be moving at the end of this month. I'm totally looking forward to (and a bit overwhelmed) the endless decorating options of the new place! I'm already dreaming at night of paint colors, furniture layouts, kids rooms and every other detail that comes along with making a house feel like your home. In my most important aspect of life I'm raising two beautiful children, Sophia age 3 and Maxon 11 mths. They keep me busy and on my toes. In a lot of my post you will see projects I do and make for them. I love creating, sewing, and crafting new thing for them to enjoy and I hope you will enjoy them too! I hope you will enjoy following me in my life's journey.