O is for...

Old!

Yes, my little man is getting old.  I can't believe he's not my little baby anymore.  He'll be 21 months on Monday.  That just sounds so old. He's a walking, talking, basketball playing, Goldfish eating, snuggle machine! He truly has become a little "man." So handsome!


And check out my baby girl!

All that wrinkly newborness is gone!  She's all baby now.  Chunky thighs, big blue eyes, sweet smile and even little giggles. Man, they grow too fast! [don't worry, I'm not getting baby fever!]


Speaking of getting old....my main squeeze turns 29 today.  Unfortunately, next to my 3-0, that 2-9 sounds so young! I won't get too sappy on you, but I will say I'm a pretty lucky girl to have him in my life and my kiddos are the luckiest kiddos in the world; they have the world's best daddy!


To show their love for their daddy they put together a very special gift....the gift of quality time. I created a "date kit" for each kiddo to spend some special time with daddy.

Boogie's "Daddy-Son Date" kit is all about a fort building movie night, complete with sheets, string, clothes pins and of course some yummy movie snacks...

C-Monk's "Daddy-Daughter Date" kit is all about spending some time in the sun planting pretty flowers, complete with flower pot, seeds, soil, watering can and, of course, a cute sun hat [for baby, not daddy]...

Can't wait for them to spend their special one-on-one time together, but of course I'll sneak in and take some pictures :)

A is for...

Artwork...
Here's the first day in my Alphabet Photo Challenge...

This is a picture of some "artwork" I made for our bathroom.  I saw an idea of something similar online somewhere, but I didn't like how the original had just been a regular framed picture.  I like the look of this subway poster/canvas idea better :)

If you haven't figured it out yet, those are the very special dates in our lives in the HH....my birth date, J's birth date, our wedding date and both of the kiddo's birth dates. (Now, J has no excuse for ever forgetting my birthday...not that he ever has...)

With this picture challenge post, I will also attempt my first DIY post as well!!

Would you like to make this canvas picture for your family? Don't like the 'special dates' idea?  You can follow this process to make a canvas with any saying you would like.  I made canvases for the in-laws' lake houses that said things like "On Lake Time."  The whole project cost less than $10!

Here is a list of items you will need:

• Blank Canvas: This one is 18in x 24in.  You can get canvases at Hobby Lobby for very inexpensive and if they're not on sale (which they often are) you can always print their 40% coupon online and use that! They have all different shapes and sizes to fit the space you have.
• Acrylic Craft Paint: One bottle for the background color (two bottles for larger canvases), one bottle for each accent color
• Foam paint brushes
• Poster Board
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Tape
• Picture hanging hook

Here is what you do (unfortunately, I didn't take pictures along the way....note to self for next time!):

• Using a foam brush, paint the entire canvas in your background color. Don't forget to paint the outer edges of the canvas.  Apply as many coats as necessary to achieve the color you wish. 
• Applying only one/two light coats with long brush strokes will give you a distressed wood type of affect 
• Cut poster board into the size/shape of your canvas.  You will use this to create one large stencil.
• Using your ruler and pencil, draw your design onto the poster board. Be sure to leave space between letters/numbers/shapes in order to create a stencil
• Cut out your numbers/letters/shapes.  Do NOT cut out through the blank spaces, remember you are creating a stencil. (This step took a lot of concentration for me!)
• Place your large stencil on top of the (now dry) canvas and tape down all edges.  Use "tape balls" to tape down any places that the stencil pops up.
• Carefully paint your design in whatever colors you choose.  Hold down the stencil and paint away from edges slowly.  The paint will bleed under the stencil slightly, but this will give it that rustic look.
• Do not wait for the paint to dry completely to remove the stencil as the poster board will stick to the canvas! Slowly and carefully remove the stencil a few minutes after you finished painting your design.
• Allow to dry completely.  Use background paint to touch up any areas where your design may have bled too much.
• Flip canvas over and attach hanging hook to back of canvas
• You did it!!

25 Days: HH Style, a recap...

I promised many of you that I would create a 'master list' of our 25 Days activities so you could steal some ideas...well, here she is:

Day 1: Color Christmas Pictures
Day 2: Go to Holiday Luminary Walk
Day 3: Make an Ornament
Day 4: Write a Letter to Santa
Day 5: Go to Playgroup Christmas Party
Day 6: Eat Breakfast for Dinner
Day 7: Watch a Christmas Movie
Day 8: Make an Ornament
Day 9: Make Christmas Presents
Day 10: Dress up in Silly Clothes
Day 11: Go to Church Children's Musical
Day 12: Have a Christmas Music Dance Party
Day 13: Make S'mores in the Fireplace
Day 14: Read Christmas Books
Day 15: Bake Cookies
Day 16: Make Holiday Milkshakes
Day 17: Visit Santa
Day 18: Take Family Photos by the Tree
Day 19: Write a Thank You Letter to God
Day 20: Watch a Christmas Movie
Day 21: Drive and Look at Lights
Day 22: Make Reindeer Food
Day 23: Bake Cookies
Day 24: Go to Christmas Eve Service
Day 25: Merry Christmas!


Overall, I think our first annual 25 Days: HH Style was a success! There are some of the above activities that will always be a part of our 25 Days, but as the kids get older, other activities will change.  I look forward to including some service activities for us to do as a family.

We are blessed to have such great family.  Both kiddos were spoiled rotten this Christmas (now Santa needs to bring us a bigger house so we have somewhere to put it all!!)! It was so exciting to see Boogie start to understand a little bit and I can't wait till next year when both kiddos will really be able to participate in the season (C-Monk pretty much slept through her whole first Christmas).

I feel really inspired by our 25 Days blog project.  Before, I struggled to figure out what to write about, but now I feel like there's so much to tell!! I hope that I can stay inspired through the New Year and will be able to update more often.  I'll share recipes and DIY projects we try and, of course, update you on the crazy HH world!

But, first....I must figure out how to clean up this explosion of Christmas that was our living room....

25 Days: HH Style, Day 8 & 9

These last two days have been a little messy!!

Day 8: Make an Ornament
This ornament making session was much more successful than the first!  This was a quick, easy and inexpensive project that will be a great keepsake for years to come. I found the silver ornaments (shatterproof!) at Hobby Lobby for $1 each (a package of 4 was $7.99 and was 50% off!)! We used acrylic craft paint to make their hand/foot prints and a fine tipped foam brush to write the date and their names. The whole thing took about 10 minutes (most of which was spent washing the paint off their hand/foot!). Sure, they're not perfect, but that's my favorite part! Still deciding what to do with the other two ornaments....

Side 1:

Side 2:

 I got a head start on today's activity last night! I hosted "Craft Night" with the moms from our playgroup.  After a stressful night of no sleep the previous night, some girl time with great ladies was exactly what this momma needed!

Day 9: Make Christmas Presents
I really can't share much information about today's activity; it's a secret!! All I can say is these little elves have been busy; making a mess and having fun! Here's a little sneak peek....some of the materials we needed for the presents we're making...