To Do Lists + Tattoos

It's early. I am sipping on my coffee and watching clips from the Oscars but really only paying attention to the fashion designs and mishaps... The Oscars royally sucked, in my opinion, so we turned them off around 10pm and went to bed! I am highly disappointed, as is much of America from what I have read so far, that American Sniper didn't win more. ... Yet, no one "pulled a Kanye West" on that one... Geesh. The one thing I can say is that watching the clips this morning about the best dresses, best speeches, best of the best and worst of the worsts... I love this quote: "Stay weird, Stay different" by Graham Moore. What a BEAUTIFUL speech! So inspiring to men and women everywhere! I love that he took his moment on stage to speak out about his personal life and shed some light on this to the world watching! Amazing.

Yesterday was to-do list day, cleaning day, laundry, etc. This week I decided that I need to make a to-do list of things that I want done around the house... Even if it takes ten years to do it. I feel like once you're a homeowner you're constantly adding and crossing off, more adding than crossing off usually, things on the never ending to-do list. Luckily we have a home that's 90% finished and the things we are doing are just face lifts and nothing too major. Until summer that is when we need to replace some upstairs windows, basement windows, spruce up the backyard, make a garden space, fix a fence, make my front porch pretty, plant some flowers, build a deck (hopefully), etc. etc. etc. (In a Willy Wonka voice - gosh that's my fav!) I have a LONG "honey-do" list! Yesterday I was so excited to get the entire basement cleaned, organized and actually got WAY MORE done than I expected to! HOORAY! Lennon now has a play area with carpet, toys and her chairs to sit on while I do my crafts at my amazing workbench area! I organized all of my paints and stains, Dan's tools and even bleached EVERYTHING. I love the smell of a clean room! Now I can't wait to start finishing it... make a nice, cozy home theater area with a comfy couch and bar area?... maybe next year, or so!? :) For now I will continue to post photos to my wish list on Pinterest and dream of a wonderfully finished, warm, cozy, spider free basement... or as Lennon would say, "No more Monsters, mama!"

Basement Ideas

I am in love with how cozy this looks and feels (feels in my mind anyway, ya know)!

Work bench/tool storage area. So cute, organized, clean and functional!

It's perfect!

More ideas or a work area...

& storage.

Outside Ideas

My dream deck off from the back door! It looks easy... right?

& of course, I will be adding some Hostas to my front porch come spring! 

TODAY IS INK DAY! 

I finally get to sit through the hell of a needle drilling into my arm for 4 hours. Why do we put ourselves through the pain? Because artwork on your body is amazing, and I am obsessed. I haven't told anyone because everyone just says, "What is that going to look like in 40 years?" or "Are you really sure...?" Yes. I am sure. No, I don't give a SHIT what it looks like in 40 years because the only person seeing me naked when I am 65 is my husband (if that!) haha. So, I am getting inked today and I can't freakin' wait for a new tattoo. :) 

Well, now it's time to play toddler time....

We have lots of new ideas for crafts found here - 5 Genius Ways to...  

so it's time to get busy and have fun! 

XO, K.

My 40 Days

When I think about Lent I think about my childhood being raised in a Catholic home, going to Mass on Sundays and always reading my children's Bible with my mom and dad. I think about what we would "give up" for Lent as a family, mostly chocolate, coffee (that was a huge mistake for my dad) and one time we even gave up the computer. Did we ever really stick through it and sacrifice something for 40 days like Jesus did? Probably not. I remember sneaking onto the computer to play a game when mom wasn't home, I remember eating chocolate when I said I wouldn't, drinking pop, etc. My lenten sacrifices were something unimportant and small, nothing of the importance like Jesus had done. 

Now that I am older and have read more about the Bible and Jesus' sacrifices I am more aware of how important the lenten season is to me, my family and our faith. This 40 days I am determined to make a change. 

My 40 Day Challenge

Focus on Faith!  

• Read one chapter in the Bible every single day. 
• Instead of logging onto Facebook, IG, my Blog and Pinterest in my morning routine while drinking my coffee I will open my Bible reader app and read the Verse of the day and my reading plan. (Even though I may post this Blog to FB, that doesn't count. I didn't say I was giving up FB. HAH!) On that note, every time I am tempted to log onto social media I will open my Bible app and read... It's way more inspirational than the FB status' I read daily.
• Read the Bible to Lennon every night!
• Pray with Lennon every night before bed
• Do all things in kindness and love. Do not yell, do not fight over the dishes being done and no raising my voice for the spilled food on the floor that the dog is now eating. I can do this! 
• Spend more time with my family. Put my phone down, the iPad, turn the TV off earlier at night and put my computer away. Target.com clearance section is not as important as I think it is, Pinterest will always have good ideas that I wish I had money to do later... 
• Use my Love Dare book daily with my hubby and reflect on our love, our faith and focus on our marriage every night instead of watching the latest Netflix movie before bed.
• Thank God daily for what we do have instead of complaining for what I don't have... Like those Hunter boots I have been wanting and the adorable new clothes for Spring that Lennon "must have". We have too much to be thankful for to be wishing for more! 

I am hoping that during the next 39 days we will be able to do this in our daily routine. My hopes through this 40 day challenge is to bring God into our home more, into our lives and into our daily tasks without having to think twice about it. Since I am thinking about 40 days of Lent and realizing it's actually more like 46 days I found this to read - Counting Lent which explains it. Hope that's helpful for anyone else wondering. I really didn't know the reason before I researched it!

Anyway, so you may not be seeing many blogs from me until after Easter Sunday but I assure you that I will have many activities to share on the blog after Lent because, of course, I will be spending more time with Lennon and making some religious focused crafts to learn more about Jesus. Happy Lent! 

XO, K.

Toddler Activities: Letter Crafts & Homemade EDIBLE Paint

We are going to start learning the letters in Lennon's name. 

Today we started with the letter L and every couple of weeks we will begin a new letter! 

We drew the L on a piece of construction paper, colored it in and Lennon traced it. Next we created many other projects that began with the letter L and even ate Lucky Charms cereal for a snack! 

L is for LION

You'll need:

Construction Paper 

Glue Stick

Scissors

Crayons 

After our Lion was done we made an L with playdoh and made everything we could think of that began with an L. Ladybug, Lollipop & Lovebugs. (yes, little heart shaped love bugs count!) :)

After that we (well, mommy) made homemade edible finger paints! 

(Or paint with brush paints because I was not in the washing, bathing, clean everything mood)!

Homemade (Toddler Safe) Edible Finger Paint

You'll need:

2C Flour

2t. Salt 

4.5C Water 

Food Coloring

Stovetop

Pan

Containers for paints (I used a muffin tin!)

Recipe:

Combine water and salt in a medium sized sauce pan. Stir over medium heat.

Slowly add in flour and whisk until thick. Reduce heat when it begins to get thicker. 

(ALMOST like mashed potatoes!)

Add mixture to your desired containers (baby food jars, tupperware, muffin tin, whatever!). 

Add food coloring, stir well and it should be cooled off by the time you're done mixing all of the colors.

[IMPORTANT TIP]

This recipe makes a TON of paint! Like.... A TON! I filled an entire muffin tin and still had about half of a sauce pan full. So, use a half of this recipe if you have 1-2 children. I could have supplied an entire classroom with the amount of paint I had. :)

All of these colors from a 4 pack of food coloring: Red, Yellow, Green, Blue.

Have fun mixing and getting creative! :)

I grabbed anything we could paint... computer paper and coloring book pages were a hit!

The consistency feels just like you think it would... like wet salty flour but you know what? Who cares! It's SAFE, EDIBLE and not nearly as messy and worrisome as regular paints and the best part?

It's CHEAP & EASY!

XO, K&L

Teaching my Toddler about Strangers

A parent, naturally, is always fearful of the worst when it comes to their children's safety. I'll be honest, I am on high alert and parental protective instincts kick in when someone looks at my daughter for longer than a glance and when someone asks her her name and then she blurts it out loud which of course sparks a little conversation, that's seemingly innocent with the 80 year old lady admiring her curls. It's natural for me to worry about the people around, the old man that looked at us for longer than a glance when we walked in, the one standing a bit too closely in the aisle of the grocery store smirking at her to make her giggle, and the one that's parked next to me sitting in their car smoking a cigarette that's staring at us while I buckle her in trying to be as fast as I can. Let's face it, we've all been on high alert at one point or another when it comes to our children and their safety. While I like to think good intentions are the only intentions in the heart of that little 80 year old woman admiring her curls and big eyes, I can't be too sure nor will I ever let my guard down. Those lurking around and listening too closely now know my daughters look, her name, her age, her favorite color and most likely her favorite candy because she's usually snacking on it in the store. They know everything they need to know to lure her in when I am not watching. Often I have thought to myself, am I paranoid or too controlling? Then I researched it...

The U.S. Department of Justice reports: 797,500 children younger than 18 were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day. - National Estimates of Missing Children, Statistics

The statistics are alarming! So am I really too paranoid? No way. While doing my research I found that many parents have blogged about kind of the opposite as my feelings... they've blogged about teaching your child it's okay to talk to strangers fearful that the child won't turn to anyone if they're in trouble. That's where I came across this blog - Stranger Smarts, which is really helpful and insightful on teaching your child the smart way to talk to strangers. While I agree with the blog, I also feel I need to do more while she's young and doesn't know the difference in looks, the way people act or talk. When your child is 2 1/2, talkative, cute and friendly it's hard to teach her to differentiate who to turn to when she's in trouble or know before hand if someone has ill intentions of hurting her or just helping her.

Since she was old enough to talk to me and understand me I have told her that when we go to the store not to talk to anyone unless Mama says it's okay. She does great now! More often than not, it's an older woman or man that will be shopping by us or next to us in the check out line and comment on her adorable hair, or tutu and that leads into asking her what her name is, how old she is, etc. She used to blurt out her name, say she's one or two... then say her favorite color which always changes anyway. What really made me worry about this was recently, we were at the fabric store and a woman started a conversation with her. Of course it started with, "Hey pretty girl, I love your curly hair. What's your name?" L told her her name, then said, "Mama's name is Kaila, my puppy is Lukey". Then when the woman asked what L was doing she said, "shopping with mama because daddy at work". Right then and there I knew something had to change. I could not let her talk to anyone in the store without my approval. Who knew that lady? Not I. Who knows if anyone was listening? Again, asking myself if I am too paranoid but realized, I don't care!

So L and I had a good talk about strangers when we got home. Now she usually smiles and buries her face in her hands, partially because she's shy around other people but mostly because I look at her and shake my head no when she looks to me for approval. It's hard sometimes for even myself to be a good judge of character when we are out in public but that's for me to worry about. I would rather air on the cautious side of things and make sure she's safe and doesn't talk to anyone. We have begun teaching her the importance of staying close to mom & dad at the stores. It's always "grab our hand or you get carried" or being put in a cart in the grocery store that way we know she's never out of sight. Thankfully we have our rights to protect ourselves but that's not always going to be helpful if your child runs off and goes missing. One of the blogs I read was this one below. It's helpful for me teaching my friendly two year old right from wrong and being smart when it comes to strangers!

Hope this helps other moms & dads struggling with this too!

5 Things to Teach Your Kids About Strangers and Personal Safety from Stranger Danger-Teaching Kids

Everyone is a stranger until Mommy says they aren’t.  That includes people who “look nice”.  Kids tend to think that bad people look bad and good people look good so it’s difficult for them to recognize the danger in talking to an old man with a leash and a lollipop in his hand.  Let your children know that every person, old, young, smiling, or not is a stranger unless you let them know otherwise.

Being cautious is not the same thing as being unfriendly.  Kids need to know the difference between having good manners and just being safe.  It’s okay for your child to be leery of new people and you should respect this about them.  When your toddler doesn’t want to be held by the long lost aunt they are meeting for the first time, it’s important that you validate this feeling before forcing them to get their cheeks pinched.  Let them know that you understand they are afraid because this person is a stranger to them, and then let them know that they don’t need to be because you trust Aunt Bertie.

It’s okay to tell someone.  Often children are afraid to share their fearful feelings about someone.  They don’t want to get in trouble or make you angry.  It’s important to let them know that they can tell you anything and you will still love them.  You want them to feel comfortable communicating how they feel to you.  The third cousin with the “scary eyes” may actually be scary for a reason.  Or, he’s just weird.  Either way, your children should be comfortable coming to you with this kind of stuff so that when they really need to they know they can.

Private parts are private.  Kids are pretty free spirit-y when it comes to their bodies when they’re young so parents have to let them know the parts that aren’t to be touched or seen by others.  Who exactly isn’t supposed to be touching and seeing them should be in that training as well.

Full name.  Address.  Phone number too.  And, make sure they know your name isn’t just Mommy.  It helps narrow things down a bit!

Valentine's Day WEEK!

What an awesome weekend but unfortunately it ended too soon, like always. Thankfully the weekends are family time so it's always nice to spend uninterupted quality time together because during the week it never happens with hubs busy work schedule and L's sleep schedule. Saturday morning at 11AM, where has the time gone? I was sitting down relaxing while hubs was at work for a few hours and Lennon was cuddling with me. Friday nights I am so exhausted that I usually fall asleep by 9:30PM with L and then wake up early Saturdays to clean, blog & shower before Dan gets home from work. It was great having the entire house cleaned and smelling fresh before our day really started!

Here's another house project I accomplished last week - stripes down the hallway! It wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I looked up a Pinterest blog about tackling DIY stripe walls and found an awesome tutorial to follow closely. I measured the wall which was 88" in height (thankfully it was an even number!) so my stripes were easy to calculate at 11" a piece. I used a level, a pencil and then the Blue painters tape and voila! The blue brand (whatever it is) came out with a new tape that has edge seal on it! It ROCKS. I didn't have any bleeding through the tape except for one spot on a corner. I am so happy with the clean, crisp lines. I think I am done with DIY projects at home for a long time. Running out of walls to paint anyway!

This picture is really dark thanks to the crap lighting at night in the house but it shows you the wall at least. 

YAY STRIPES! 

Friday night was movie night. We rented Box Trolls - which was really not that great - and had popcorn with m&ms in it. It's always the best combo of salty and sweet! YUM!

L's favorite toy is her beloved pink monkey. This Monkey has been through it all, let me tell you. It came in a Happy Meal a long time ago and she developed such a strong love for such a small thing. She takes him everywhere with her, to bed, the bathroom, the store. Well, one day at the store somewhere between the late night shopping trip, the screaming, kicking and crying and being carried to the car we lost "Mr. Monkey". We were all devastated. Mostly because she wouldn't stop crying without him and because she was so heartbroken that he got lost. Well, genius parents over here... we searched Amazon, Ebay, etc to find this one of a kind Happy Meal toy. Literally prices online were upwards of $15.00, luckily Dan shopped around and found a new one for $5.00! Monkey came in the mail a few long - very long - days later. The look on her face was priceless. Something similar to this...

Since the grocery store experience we have only lost Monkey one other time. We lost him at home after nap time while we were playing. Lennon said he was in a really good hiding spot, and that he was. We tore apart the ENTIRE house... you name a place a toddler could stick a little one inch sized toy... we looked there! The freezer, the kitchen drawers, the trash, the toy room, the bedroom, under the bed, under the mattress, in the bathroom... even in the basement. We looked EVERYWHERE. That night we stayed up until about 10:30PM because L would NOT go to sleep without finding Monkey. Well, we woke up the next morning and I suddenly remember where she was playing the day before. Well, get this... the little Monkey was in the stupid little barbie car, shoved all the way to the bottom. Why I thought to look there I don't know... but I am sure as heck glad I did. Damn Monkey...

Lately you cannot get Lennon out of a tutu! She is always a ballerina and always singing and dancing. It really is the cutest thing ever. She likes to make up the lyrics to songs that we sing every day just to be funny. "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star... How I know my nameeeeeeeeee." and "ABCDEFG... Now sing with me and my dancing flowers.", and "I am a beautiful dancing flower, won't you sing with me, I love you so beary much and I like to dance like a froggie." It's the cutest. The fireplace is her stage and her tutu is her special dress costume. Oh, and you can't forget the shoes that she changes about 100 times a day... then when she runs out of her own shoes she gets mine. Such a girl!

Since being home I really enjoy my mornings. Even though I have never been much of a morning person I love waking up, making hot coffee and sitting on my computer to read, blog and write in Ls diary about the previous day. I am obsessed with my gourmet roast hazelnut coffee and of course my Beatles cup, it makes it feel extra special. :) 

Ever since L was born I have had a little journal that I use to write to her about the most important things that happen in her life, silly moments, pointless stories that I hope someday she will laugh at, or just plain ole' every day stuff. I love it. I only hope that one day she will look back and thank me for all the random writings to her and memories of our lives at this moment.

My favorite journals - Leuchtturm1917 (medium size). Go check them out - They're at Barnes & Noble, too!

Oh yeah, about that shoe changing...
When we run out of combinations of L's and Mama's we make mismatch combo's like this.

To kick off Valentine's Day week we pulled out this oldie. This onesie I got from H&M when she was about 6 months old. I ordered a 1.5-2.5yr. size and it fits now! YAY! I think I got this shirt for $3.00 so naturally I bought it - you know how sales take over you. :)

She looks so grown up!

We are making lots of Valentine's Day crafts this week starting with our very own tee shirts to wear on our family date day Saturday! I can't wait! Last week we made Valentine's Day cards with the princess cards L picked out. We are mailing out Valentine's to our family & Lennon's BFF that Lennon made just for YOU and the drawings on the envelopes were all her F.Y.I. She rocks at coloring. So that means watch the mailboxes, family! :)


XO, K.

Funk-Ish

Days like today are tough to make it through. Battling with severe depression and anxiety for a few years have made it hard to cope with the days that I am feeling emotional. I feel overly exhausted today... mental exhaustion is way worse than just plain ol' being tired because let's face it, it really makes you tired too. Sometimes I just feel myself getting into a funk of sorts and once that funk hits it's rather hard to get out of it. 

Today I felt extra funk-ish. After having a crap day yesterday I slept like a baby but that didn't seem to help. I slept in with L until 8:30, which was amazing, but after I woke up I felt sluggish. I drank my normal two cups of coffee, no sugar, and relaxed until play time after breakfast. We played, cleaned, painted, had lunch, pretty much had the normal routine. I was waiting for the motivation to kick in but instead I put on my headphones and painted the walls in the house. Not quite the motivation I was searching for but it worked. L only took a one hour nap which was really upsetting because I was hoping to have more than one hour of me time, selfish I know. But, I really wanted to do some reading, resting or just be lazy and blog. I finished up my painting, cleaned the kitchen and then began to make dinner. Again, following the daily routine.

Maybe the routine is part of this funk. Maybe I need to get out of the house more, have some mommy play dates or something more exciting than Kelly & Michael in the mornings with coffee and cuddles. I try to make things interesting at home for L and I and most days we have fun with random crafts but man oh man, today was rough. I called my husband at work at 7PM and begged for him to come home. Almost crying on the phone I felt my insides wanting to scream out. I don't know what will make this funk better. Mexico has been on my mind lately, gosh I wish we could go back. 

Feeling like you're in a funk is always an unsettling feeling. I feel like going for a run, going to Ulta to buy new makeup or writing... I guess writing is the least expensive and laziest thing I can do. I'll stick to my pajama's, hot tea and blogging. I am just wondering when this will end.

DIY Ruler Growth Chart

DIY Ruler Growth Chart

(This photo is at such a weird angle, I swear my measurements are right!)

Items Needed:

Common Board - 1" x 6" x 8' 

Tape Measure 

Pencil

Paint - (I love using Patio Paint on my wood projects because it's made to last, it's weather proof and it looks great with 1 coat!)

Stain - (I use Minwax Wood Finish Stain)

Number stencils or vinyl - (I prefer stencils so they're painted on instead of vinyl!)

Tape (any kind works!)

Americana Decor's Creme Wax

First I took a 1" x 6" common board cut down to 4 ft. because I want to hang it on my wall 2ft. off the ground. I sanded it to make it look a little more rustic and weathered then stained with Minwax Classic Gray Wood Stain and let dry overnight.

Once the board is completely dry you can take your tape measure and make your tick marks up the entire board. 

I did 1" ticks for the inches, 2.5" ticks for every 6" mark and then 4" ticks for every foot mark. 

Make sense? Look at the photos below...

I then traced over my tick marks with my black paint. I use the Patio Paint in Black to get a good matte finish with the tick marks and numbers. The reason I used Patio Paint Outdoor is because it's thicker, only needed one coat, and it's going to last! Oh, and it covers the pencil marks so you don't have to erase them!! 

I used thin paint brush and tape! Tape is a huge necessity, makes those lines clean and crisp!

See where that tape comes in handy?

It was a perfect straight line and clean so there weren't any squiggles. Peel that tape off right away and then let the lines dry completely.

After all of my tick marks were painted I traced my numbers with a pencil and painted them.

Once the entire board was dry I went over it with Americana Decor's Creme Wax for a smooth and sealed finish!

Ta'da! 

This entire project was so easy, and very cost friendly... literally under $5.00! If you already have all of your painting supplies at home like I did you'll just need to run to your local Home Depot and buy some common board. The 1" x 6" by 8' is the most recommended. They'll cut it to the length you desire - even better! 

I can't wait to watch L grow so I can write on this as she gets older. Let's get growin'!

Happy crafting! 

XO, K.