Fun With Daddy

James is becoming so much more alert! It is such a joy to watch his personality emerge. He is 5 1/2 months old now, he loves oatmeal, avocado, his jumperoo, he loves to whine (its SUPER fun!) and he loves to pull on Jimmy's beard. James hates getting his pajamas on, it takes both Jimmy and I some nights to wrestle his little arms into the sleeves. He can't quite sit up yet, but if I sit on the floor with him and gently support him when he starts to topple, he loves to try! He has started sleeping better again! Thats a score, seeing as Jimmy and I have work and school. He adores his daddy, and watching the two of them together just fills my heart with joy!

                           

Dollar Tree Declutter

I never had a linen closet until we moved into our current apartment and I love it! It holds all the junk that used to clutter up our bathroom and gives a home to all those "things". The best part about it- it is always perfectly organized and never ends up in a jumble.... HA! It is ALWAYS messy. 

I decided to challenge myself to a cheap makeover. I could easily spend hundreds of dollars at The Container Store. But seeing as we don't have hundreds of dollars to SPEND on organizing materials.... off the the trusty Dollar Tree ( LOVE THAT PLACE!!) I spent $7.00 and got two red buckets, three red baskets, a wicker basket and one shoe box sized plastic tub (I already had a bunch of these, too!).

Here is what our closet looked like before:

Seriously, who puts hunting packs, throw pillows and twin size sheets (we don't own a twin sized bed...) in the bathroom storage?? Me apparently. 

Here is the after shots!...

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TADAAAAA!!! 

I am in LOVE with this beauty once again! 

The top shelf houses towels, first aid, medications & Jimmy's Miscellaneous bin.

The second shelf down has these tubs for hand towels and washrags. I hid them because they NEVER stay neatly folded in their stacks... now they can be messy and no one would know...

Shelf three holds all our travel sized products, my extra feminine products, my miscellanious bin and in the back is lint rollers and my big conditioner with the pump! And last but not least, shelf four has our trusty cold medicine, my nail polish, hair cutting stuff and James' bath things! 

This closet is wonderful and I hope that this system allows it to stay nice and neat! :)

-Paige

Rolls

I just love these legs!

Does anyone else wish rolls were this cute on adults?? :) Happy Wednesday!! 

-Paige

A Resolution

I have an amazing, supportive and helpful (not to mention very good looking!) husband. He is such a good sport about changing diapers, giving baths and getting up in the middle of the night. Even though I have so much help I can't help but notice how I've put his and James' needs above mine for the last 5 months. Not that taking care of my family is a bad thing, I thoroughly enjoy grocery shopping, as I think of the meals I am planning that he will love. I love making our bed; creating an oasis for us to collapse into at the end of each long day. I enjoy folding his laundry because I know how much he appreciates the little things. But what do I do for myself? Is my ten minute shower in a rush to shave my legs and scrape the spit up out of my hair enough? Am I taking enough time for myself, to have enough to GIVE to my family? I have a new goal. A resolution, if you will. 

Once a day: I will take 15 minutes for me. To do a mini pedicure, to take a bath, to paint my nails, to read a magazine. The dishes can wait. Glorious naptime might be the only time I have, but instead of stressing about what I "SHOULD" be doing, I will take a few moments to revive myself.

Once a week: I will take a day to enjoy my family for who they are. We will go for a walk, go to church, go to get ice cream, go for a drive. Whatever we decide to do, I will jump on the opportunity to enjoy my family while I can!

Once a month: I will date my husband. We will be adults. We will remember why we love each other by spending sometime without children. This may be after James is in bed and we stay in, it may require a babysitter as we go out. As long as I can spend some quality time with the man I love, I will be thrilled!

I am not trying to be selfish by doing these things, and if I miss one during a particularly busy week, so be it! 

Just like in our walk with Christ, we need to be poured into regularly before we can effectively pour ourselves out to those we serve! I feel that I will be a better mom and wife if I make a few changes in my schedule. 

I challenge you, moms, wives, grandmas, employees, aunts. I challenge EACH of you to take a few moments for yourself and decide what will make you a better and more effective person. What will help you reach your fullest potential? What will enable you to better serve the ones you love? 

Especially on days like this: 

(Mother's Day 2013)

Love that little boy! Tears and all! :) 

Happy Sunday!

-Paige

Something Blue

I was recently honored to attend one of my best friend's bridal shower! There were so many details put into the event and it was obvious how loved my dear friend is! The theme was something blue. We drank blue berry lemonade, ate blue berry pancakes and filled our blue chevron goodie bags with treats from the blue candy buffet!

These mason jars adorned with blank name tags allowed each of us to write our name and how we knew the bride.

We were in Montana, so we of course had something huckleberry flavored :) mmm!

...each banner read a different hue of the color blue!

 

The tables were lined with white carnations and dried baby's breath! It was gorgeous!

So thankful for grandmas who watch the babes! :)

Congratulations to my beautiful friend! I will post about their ceremony, which I was honored to photograph, in a later post! Till then...

Happy Friday!

-Paige

The Perfect Nursery

James has had 4 different nurseries since I found out I was pregnant. He had one at our old house, but then we moved out. He had one here at our apartment, but then we were in Minnesota all summer. He had one in Minnesota, but I ended up wanting him closer, so he slept in our room. Now we are back home and I got bored, so we redid his old one = number 4! I don't have any pictures of his first nursery or the one in Minnesota, but I thought I would share what we've done in his current room!

Then:

Now:

I have kept most everything, just added some new items! The wall hangings are just old canvases wrapped in fabric! We bought the great shelf with the bins at Shopko on sale last fall (WOOT!) The white shelf  and lamps I have had since I was a kid. I scored the tan & red rug at a yard sale last fall! The glider rocker was given to me by my parents and my awesome husband painted it red for me AND recovered the old, hideous pads! Thanks, babe!

Then:                                                                    Now:

I had the blue curtains in my dorm room and I love them... our little man just needed something that blacked out his room! Nap time was not happening when he could see everything. I bought the new ones at WalMart!

I made the animal silhouettes and still adore them! One of my friends that moved away gave us the changing table (it was previously on his dresser). We painted that red to match the chair and it looks AWESOME! I love the old crate underneath; it holds James' diapers, lotions &jammies! The blue tubs on the bottom shelf are from the Dollar Tree, love that store! They hold pants & shorts! The tiny little laundry basket on the left is also from the Dollar Tree (did I mention I love that place??)

These KILLER burp rags were made by a gal from my hometown! They are super absorbent and stay perfectly in place over my shoulder. I LOVE them!! If you want some shoot me a note and I will get you in touch with her!

Then:                                                                     Now:

This is what I would like to call the reality of parenthood. This shelf now holds things we actually USE! :) ... and his shoes, which he rarely wears, but they are just too cute!!

Did anyone else have this Bible growing up? I sure did!!

As I was taking photos for this post, Jimmy was busy working on homework, so I had this cute helper :)

I think we might have teeth soon :)

-Paige