Playtime with little man.

We love to play. Sometimes we get bored with toys and books all day and we have to think up some fun new things. Thanks to pinterest and some creative thinking, we can usually come up with something fun to do :)

For example, shaving cream fun :)

He wasn't totally sure about this one, but he ended up loving it. Although he was constantly nervous about slipping in the tub...so maybe we will do this outside on the concrete next time.


Or, sidewalk chalk paint.

He LOVED this. Of course, he loves to draw and paint as much as possible, so I was banking on this being a hit. I found this recipe and it was incredibly easy...as in took about 30 seconds total. This will be at least a weekly happening during the summer :)


Or, water play.

We don't have a kiddo pool (yet), but the weather has been absolutely gorgeous! So, we got all suited up (except he was really excited about his nemo swim diaper, so we skipped the trunks!) and pulled out the tubberware and hose. He was in heaven. Except when the wind started blowing and the sun went away...then it was kind of chilly. I'm excited for the pool and ocean this summer :)

I love Spring!

Curtains and lampshades!

FINALLY! After about 3 months of having lamps without lamp shades, I've finally finished my repurposed lamps. Do you want to know the best part? It cost me a total of $8.

So, here's the scoop. The lamps came from my Dad's old living room, which my sister had been using. When she moved out she left them for us. At that time they were a lovely hunter green and brass. So, I pulled out my chrome spray paint and some vinegar and did my best at faking mercury glass. (There are lots of tutorials out there but the basic steps are: Tape of all cords and switches, spray with chrome or Krylon's looking glass, spray with vinegar and water mixture, wipe away, repeat).

Then they sat there. For a long time. I looked EVERY WHERE for lamp shades. I made the huge mistake of throwing away the previous shades (although they were cracking and had turned a funny shade of yellow) instead of stripping the material and repurposing the metal frame. I know, there are lamp shades out there for as low as $12 (the cheapest I could find), but $24 for something repurposed? Maybe I'm super cheap, but I wasn't all about that.

Fortunately, when we were visiting my mom over Spring Break she gave us some old drum style lamp shades that she had removed from previous lamps and had in storage! WOO HOO! They were perfect. So, I stripped off the green stripes on the top and bottom and recovered them with some fabric that Kathy had left over from an upholstery project!

Lastly, we bought lamp harps in order for the shades to fit onto the lamps (which is where the $8 was spent).

So now are lamps are complete! YAY :)

Also, I finished "making" the curtains for our french doors that lead to our craft-study-guest-home for random things-art room. This project was also an incredibly frugal one. Mainly because, hey, curtains are expensive. So, why not use bedsheets instead? I bought two queen size bedsheets at Walmart for $10 each. And then found this awesome tutorial on making a curtain rod ('cause hey, those are pretty darn expensive, too!). I got a piece of electrical conduit for $2 and then bought some finials that closely matched the ones over our other windows on ebay for $10. Lastly, I got curtain hardware at Walmart for $1. Pretty awesome. So, total cost for two curtain panels and an 8ft curtain rod = $33. Not too shabby.

Don't mind that random shadow behind the door. It's just my dad's cornhole set. Oh the joys of having a completely unorganized guest room that doubles as a craft room.

Yay for completing two projects on my list! Only 168 more to go :)

Easter!

We had an absolutely fabulous Easter holiday. We got to spend the weekend with family and friends and stole a few moments to truly reflect on the resurrection of Christ.

Mom was able to come into town so we had a little gathering on Friday evening for Easter dinner. It was SO wonderful to spend time with the Mary and Bill, Meacy and Charles, and Mom and Leah! It was my first attempt at cooking (i.e. warming) a ham and it actually turned out all right! Plus, we had tons of help with salads and corn pudding from the guests. It was a blast.

Jackson had his cheese face going and was distracting everyone :)

On Saturday, we went to an Easter Egg Hunt at the church (but unfortunately I didn't get a single photo). Jackson had a BLAST, especially once he figured out there was candy inside the eggs. Although, I'm pretty sure his favorite part was playing at the creek at the end of the easter egg hunt.

Later that day we decorated eggs! We had initially planned on dying them, but I was a little too scared, so we just colored them with markers and put stickers on instead. Thanks to Aunt Tammy and the whole Adams crew, we had some fun Easter activities to do (like stickers, bunny masks and a little Easter book to read)!

Just as a side note: We now have this piece of paper with all the stickers on it hanging on our fridge. Every time Jack sees it he giggles and points and claps his hands. He was and is pretty proud of himself for that project :)

Not a big fan of the mask.

So Dad put it on and made a "bunny?" impression. So glad I caught this.

And Jackson's reaction.

Jackson's Easter basket!

Jackson's Easter basket from Grandma!

A little confused in the morning.

Cool new shades!

Candy for breakfast.

Jackson had a blast discovering his easter baskets. Why on earth we even put more than 10 pieces of candy in them is beyond me. Church on a sugar high is quite an interesting experience. Next time we will open Easter baskets on Saturday :)

Our handsome little man all ready for church :)

 Easter Sunday was also Matt's birthday! So we got to have an Easter/Matt's birthday celebration that afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa Krebs' home. It was so much fun to play and visit!

Aliya enjoying a little whipped cream!

Happy Birthday, Matt!

We attempted to get a few Easter photos (Thanks, Corinda!). Jackson was pretty distraught that we were making him stand there with us when all the other kiddos were playing on the trampoline.

"I wanna play on the trampoline, Mom!"

"Did you guys hear me? I want to play on the trampoline!"

These kiddos had a BLAST. This is Jackson's new favorite thing to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Such a CUTE little smile!

Cheese!

Having a ball!!

Hahaha, I love this picture. 

All in all, we had a fabulous weekend. I'm so grateful for my knowledge of the Savior. I know that He lived a perfect life, atoned for our sins, was crucified and was resurrected. I know that He did all of that so that we could live with Him and our Father in Heaven again. This gospel truly is good news and makes life so much happier :)

Happy Easter!