Random things from my purse

I was cleaning out my purse to get ready to donate, and I couldn't help but laugh a little at some of the random things I pulled out. 

I hope to think that I'm one of the very few people in the world that would pull out a plastic narwhal from the side zipper of their purse.

Mermaid pins, uncut house key, mockingjay pin, and tiny clothes pins are a little out there too I guess. 😂

What is the most random thing you've pulled out from inside your purse?

Summer by the hour in gifs

5am: When the poking me awake starts. 

me to me: 

6:00 am: me

kids

7:00 am: kids

8:00 am: kids still hungry

9:00 am: kids

10:00 am: kids

11:00 am to 5:00 pm: me

5:00 pm to 7:00 pm(bedtime): kids

  me:

Kids sleeping: me

repeat:

I love my kids, i love my kids, i love my kids, i love my kids, i love me kids....

DIY Wood Feature Wall

We love watching home improvement shows. Chris and I always end up discussing different ideas we like or it give us ideas we would maybe someday (but never will actually happen) to our house.

One wall in particular in our home has bugged me since the day we moved in.  It's been my nemesis and I've constantly changed it up in hopes that I'd find just the right thing for it.  A lot of homes in my neighborhood with the same floor plan have cabinets with like a little desk area, so I've contemplated putting a desk or something there,but didn't want to make the space feel claustrophobic.

Seriously, I've lost sleep thinking about this dang wall.

See ^^^ confusion. I seriously could not figure it out.

One night we were watching property brothers, or maybe it was fixer upper, and we talked about some design element and we both mentioned our ideas of if we ever put wood on the walls it would look a certain way.  

I mentioned that I'd prefer a natural wood finish. None of this paint over good looking wood fad. Apparently, those were the magic words cause the next weekend Chris was at home depot getting something else and came home with 50 of the most beautiful wood boards(which smell amazing too) and was ready to make my dream a reality! 

WHAT WE USED:

1in x 6in x 6ft Better Blue Stain Ponderosa Pine tongue & grooved boards.(< link if for 8ft lenght, they have 6ft boards in store)
Deckmate screws

We measured, cut and then drilled the boards directly into the studs in the wall.
Basic carpentry skills are all you need to do this. It's that easy.
I recommend getting a tongue & grooved boards if your are thinking about doing something like this
1.) it hides gaps between the boards
2.) since the connect you can place your board and not worry about it falling off the wall or needing extra hands to hold it up.

total time around 6 hours
total cost around $210

we all drew funny pictures, wrote words and different things on the walls before we boarded them up. It was a lot of fun and got the kids involved in the project too. 

Now that one thing is done, we're in like ultra planning mode for other things.  Hopefully will happen sooner rather than later, but one thing at a time.

I'm working on the cabinets next. So stay tuned for that.

Are you a better mother for my children?

I was helping a friend at church with one of her boys, I just happened to be right there at the moment, he is the cutest spitfire with a big fun personality, and my friend jokingly said, "I swear he was supposed to be your child, Erica" I laughed and then went about my Sunday.

It got me thinking.

How often do we feel like someone else would be a better mother for our children?

I love my kids, but yes, they can be the worst. But, why do we feel like because our children are not listening, throwing a tantrum, or whatever thing they are doing that drives us nuts, someone else would be a better fit to mother them?

I'm just thinking about loud here, but maybe, its because I get get so burnt out with my kids that the idea of someone else taking care of them is a glorious thing.  Maybe, its that in general kids tend to listen better when someone else is giving them instruction (maybe that's just mine), or helping them do things. Maybe, its that I tend to have a little more patience with other peoples kids than my own.

Do I really want someone else to mother my children? no. Do I believe that there are people placed in my life at certain times to help in my mothering journey and visa versa? yes.

I am glad I have other women around me that I know would be good mothers for my children. I'm glad to have that piece of mind to know that if I need them, I can count on them to mother my children, to protect and love them.

.

One of the many reasons why I love being a member of my church is that I have that built in tribe everyone seems to be seeking. Any connection whether through church, a facebook group, instagram friends, twitter etc. are great places to find women with like minded goals, and values. So many amazing women in the world to connect with!

I hope that in whatever stage in life you are in right now, that you can find those women that help your life be brighter, and happier. It literally can take a village to raise children, a helpful hand, or a listening ear. There is NO better mom for your children then yourself, but there are plenty of helpers

Have you thought someone could be a better mother for your children?? 

They were cones

My dad has a soft serve frozen yogurt machine. I know, all the envy. My dad is also an extremely generous human being and invites the families in his ward & neighbors over to his house two times a month on Monday nights for free frozen yogurt cones.

Chairs are set out in their driveway and people come and go as they please. Its pretty fantastic. On occasion we get to make the trek to my parents house to partake of the yummy goodness.

Little Leonard was given his first cone a couple months back and I was able to capture the moment he realized that frozen yogurt was an amazing thing. 😊

He's a fan of the froyo! I'd be sad if he wasn't, cause froyo is life y'all. 

This last pic didn't focus on the messy, froyo covered sticky mess in the front, it got a great shot of my niece Maddie, Bro-in-law Jon & my mom. 

An afternoon at the park

Parks are great for free entertainment, tiring your kids out, and bringing home buckets of sand in shoes. I'm not much of a park person though, but my kids are super fans. 

In Arizona perfect park season is from about October-April so right now is not the time to spend afternoons at our neighborhood park with the burning hot lava slides and I ain't about to take the kids to the park at 5am for reasonable play temperature. 😉 Thankfully a lot of parks here have water features to keep us cool.

I tend to stay inside as often as possible during the summer, I thrive as a summer hermit, but the kids get a little cabin fever so off to the splash parks we go.

When it comes to going out with the kids I don't like to over complicate things.  Less is more. If I brought everything I could possibly think we might need when we're summer splash park hopping i'd better just throw a dresser in the back of the van and call it good.

What I lug around:
I make sure we have plenty of snacks and water for the never ending summer hunger. Mostly fruits cause vegetables are the worst. Kidding, but some are though. Sunscreen galore, cap stick, hats & sunglasses, anything to keep our skin as white as possible through the summer.

But seriously though, the best part about a trip to a park of any kind in the summer is the drink pit stops. We always end up at either Sodarush, or sonic for a cool drink.

The kids get excited to spend an afternoon out and I get excited for the early bedtimes that usually follow the day. 😉

I'm linking up this post today with Mommy Style Monday. Want to join the Mommy Style Monday link up? 

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Kiana // Glitter&Donuts

Madeline //at CaseyLand

Alexis // Witt Family Happenings

Monica // It's All About