Friday, October 6, 2017

Five Things Friday

one.
I love Encouraging Wednesdays by French Press Mornings. Each Wednesday, Jenny Stewart shares a beautiful print file that she has created with an encouraging verse from the Bible. She makes the file available for download as a 4x6 for one week. You can also purchase these prints in her shop. I love her work! This weeks verse spoke to my heart, I have already printed it out and am going to set it in my kitchen, a place that I spend a lot of time. Head on over and get your free download.

two.
Apple cider donuts from Louisburg Cider Mill. Yum. Jack and Judson loved these and their Apple Cider Slushes. They tried to talk me into getting a slush refill for the ride home. I was tempted to buy the bag of apple cider donut mix from the general store, but I don't have a deep fryer, so I didn't. But, what could be better than yummy donuts year round? I'm hoping to get one more trip in before the season is over. 


three.
Christmas Pajamas. I just bought the boys Christmas Pajamas online from Carter's yesterday. I know that it is only October 6, but I discovered that last year they sell out of the larger sizes fast. When you have five kids, and need a wide range of sizes, you have to jump quickly and get them before they are gone. I had success! They had a great Columbus Day Sale (50% off and then an additional 10-20% off depending on your cart total). My boys love pajamas, and often live in them. Four out of the five will all be matching and I cannot wait. Here's to hoping I can hide them from them until Christmas!

four.
I am a huge fan of Emily Ley and her Simplified Planner. I have been loving her Facebook live video chats and for the next seven Tuesdays she will be discussing simplifying your home, simple style and beauty routines, simple meal planning, simplifying your finances, simple motherhood + hospitality, simple self care, and simplifying the holidays. I am so excited to tune in each week. She shares little things that have worked for her, to help simplify life, so that we can spend more time on the things that truly matter most. Each time I sit down to listen to what she has to say, she is speaking my language. I am excited to find simple tips to help me manage the stuff that needs to be done, to give me more margin in my life to enjoy precious time with Chris and the boys! 

five.
Lincoln's First Fall. I can't get enough of the way my boys love their little brother. They are so sweet with him. They look out for him, always want to know where he is and what he is doing. They love, love, love him. I'm hoping this bond only grows stronger with time.




Wednesday, September 27, 2017

What's Up Wednesday


I've blogged twice in one week, and two days in a row! What is going on? Yay, it's been awhile. I'm teaming up with the ladies of Mix and Match Family, The Larson Lingo, and Pinterest Told Me To for What's Up Wednesday. 

What I'm Reminiscing About...
Judson turned 3! He was so excited to have his family Mickey Mouse Party. We bought little Mickey Mouse and friends figures to put on top of his cake and he could not wait to put them on top. The cake was in the oven and he kept asking if it was time to put them on. It was fun to see him so excited about his balloons, cake, and presents (which he may or may not have ripped into before it was time).

What I'm Loving...
I'm loving that it finally feels like fall here in Missouri. Up until two days ago, it had still been in the upper 90's and it was hard to get into the fall excitement when I was out sweating everywhere I went.

What We've Been Up To...
Bikes, Bikes, Bikes. Jack went straight from his strider bike to a regular bike (no training wheels). I highly recommend strider bikes. It took our oldest two longer to learn to ride a bike. The strider allows you to learn balance early on and Jack never needed training wheels on his big bike! 


What I'm Dreading...
Teething. Lincoln is five months old so I know teething is right around the corner. He is such a happy baby, I'm sure he'll handle it like a champ, but I hate knowing that my sweet babies are in pain.

What I'm Working On...
I'm working on getting ready for the Christmas rush in my Etsy shop. The end of October through December is my busy season for Kate W Designs. If you are looking for a fun gift or stocking stuffer come visit my shop at www.katewdesigns.etsy.com.



What I'm Excited About...

I'm excited that I finished Lincoln's nursery! I talked about that HERE.



What I'm watching...

Chesapeake Shores...I love this show. I would love to visit the area where this show is filmed, it is so picturesque and beautiful. I believe it is filmed in Canada. Another reason I love this show is there are five grown children in the storyline. It fun to watch and see the dynamics of this big family. I cannot believe there is only two episodes left until this season is over.


The Roosevelt's. I've been missing the Crown so my mom suggested I check out the Roosevelt's. I must say I have learned a lot about this family. This series is on Netflix with 8, 1.5 hour episodes. I'm only on episode 3, so there is a lot left to learn about this family.


What I've Been Reading...

This is the Bible Study I've been doing on Wednesday nights! It's been great, check it out! She also has a book out on this topic.

What I've Been Listening To...

Broken Things by Matthew West. This song has been in my head all week. It came on while I was running the other day and I have been singing it over and over.



I love these two verses below.

Now I'm just a beggar in the presence of a King
I wish I could bring You so much more
But if it's true You use broken things
Then here I am Lord, I am all Yours 

The pages of history they tell me it's true 
That it's never the perfect; it's always the ones with the scars that You use
It's the rebels and the prodigals; it's the humble and the weak 
The misfit heroes You chose 
Tell me there's hope for sinners like me 

What I'm doing this weekend...
I will be at the ball field to watch Max play a double header on Saturday. I'm not going to lie...it's hard having double headers with a five month old baby.

What I'm looking forward to next month...
I'm looking forward to all things FALL. The pumpkin patch, pumpkin donuts, the beautiful colors, fall Hallmark movies, and the boys in their costumes. This is them two years ago. Lincoln will get to make his debut as a pumpkin!














What TV show are you most looking forward to...

The Crown on Netflix and Designated Survivor on ABC.

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Lincoln's Light and Bright Nursery

Lincoln's nursery is one of my favorite rooms in our home. I spend so much time in there, I guess it should be. I love how light and bright and airy this room feels. It is warm and inviting, and as I sit and rock Lincoln in the comfortable glider, I love to take in all the fun, bright details of his room. The contents of this room are the perfect blend of old and new bringing back wonderful memories of time gone by. I have rocked all five of my baby boys in the glider, spending many sleepless nights holding, feeding, and dreaming about what was to come. We've put each one to bed in the crib, quietly tip toeing out of the room in hopes of a peaceful nights sleep. I love that this furniture has stood the test of time and made it through five boys.

To make the nursery extra special, I added many DIY projects. As I worked on each one, I excitedly anticipated the arrival of the new baby boy who would complete our family. I painted the walls Light French Gray by Sherwin Williams and painted the trim white. I sewed the quilt with organic cotton that I selected from Birch Fabrics. A wonderful friend embroidered Lincoln's initials on a solid white square that perfectly completed his quilt. I borrowed my Dad's scroll saw and hand cut each letter out of birch wood for Lincoln's round name sign. I added chicken wire to the back of an open frame, creating a fun place to hang pictures and memories of our sweet boy. I made the colorful mobile out of paint chip samples from a local paint shop. I enlisted an etsy shop owner to create the "There is No BUDDY like a Brother" print. The perfect addition to the room of a baby boy with four older brothers. I made the curtains and crib skirt from fabric I purchased at Carousel Designs, for Jack's nursery four years ago. I am so happy with how Lincoln's nursery turned out, and I hope my son will enjoy it as much as I do.










I love floating book shelves filled with board books, they add so much color to the room.










 



This night light from Target has been a must have item for the nursery. It puts off the perfect amount of light to see to feed and change Lincoln during the night, without waking him too much. 

The button "L" art was made by my Mom, Lincoln's Grandma.

Friday, August 4, 2017

Five Things Friday

It's Friday! Friday comes around a lot faster during the summer, and there is only one Friday left before my boys go back to school. We have some fun things left to do before summer is over, so we better get a move on.

{one} 
No More Diapers! I am so proud of Judson. A little determination and hard work paid off and our #4 son is out of diapers. The look on his face says it all. He cracks me up when taking pictures. Four out of five kids are potty trained. It has gone so fast and I cannot believe I only have to do this process one more time.


{two} 
The Magic of Motherhood. The Good Stuff, the Hard Stuff and Everything In Between. This book is hard to put down. I have loved reading it. My sweet friend, Sheena, gave me this book when Lincoln was born and I have loved pouring over its pages. 


{three}
Christmas Stockings. I know, the words August and Christmas don't go together, but I need your help. I bought Lincoln's stocking last year on sale after we found out we were having a boy last December. I need to drop off Lincoln's and a stocking for Chris and myself to be monogrammed. My question is do I put Mom and Dad on our stockings? Or Chris and Kate? The boys want me to put Mommy/Daddy, but I'm thinking maybe the more formal Mom/Dad would be better (in a few years they probably won't be calling us Mommy/Daddy...which I don't even want to think about). I go back and forth and need to decide so I can beat the Christmas rush!


{four}
Sleep Regression. My sweet Lincoln was the best little sleeper but in the past two weeks, he has decided that he needs to get up four times a night. We have entered the 3/4 month sleep regression stage. This momma is TIRED. I decided to do some research...thank you google. What I discovered was that he is most likely overtired. I am trying some tips I found in the article and I'm hoping things will be back to normal in no time. I will keep you posted.


{five}
Twelve years. Sunday, August 6th, Chris and I will celebrate twelve years of marriage. I remember our wedding day like it was yesterday. I remember the carefree days of traveling the country with my new hubby and now we are here, at year twelve, with FIVE little boys. There is no one I would rather have by my side and to do life with than this man. I love you Chris. Here's to the next twelve, I pray they be just as fun and exciting!


Happy Friday, and please let me know what you have put on your stocking, Mom/Dad or your names? Also, any tips you have on beating sleep regression, please send them my way. I appreciate your help!

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Strawberry Picking

Last Wednesday we headed out to pick strawberries at Benny's Berries in Kansas City, MO. It was only a short 12 minute drive from Lee's Summit. This was my first trip out to Benny's Berries and we will definitely be going back.

I made the trip with my friends Michaela, Libby and our 8 kids (my two oldest were in school). One of the first things that we commented that we loved is the parking is very close to the patch. Not a lot of walking! For moms with little ones, this is a big win! The kind guy at the front explained which strawberries to pick and which to leave alone. We learned new things about strawberries that we did not know. Did you know that if you pick the strawberry with the stem attached, it will stay good for twice as long? Also, you want a strawberry that is red all over (no white tips), as berries do not continue to ripen after being picked!

Jack loved this unique strawberry that he found.

The second thing that we loved about Benny's Berries was the patch was a manageable size. You could still see your kids even if they ran down the patch from where you were picking!


 It was fun to get these guys outdoors and exploring the beautiful berry patch!



A young gentleman even has time to pause from berry picking to help a young lady put her headband back on ;-)!

 They told us that Lincoln was the youngest "picker" to visit the patch!



 The berries were gorgeous and we could have picked and picked all day! It did not take long to fill up our cartons!




I made some fresh strawberry lemonade after getting home from the patch. Libby sent me this recipe from Deliciously Sprinkled. It only took 10 minutest to make and was so refreshing. The lemonade tasted even better the next day after it really had time to set and chill.

I also made one of our favorite desserts at our house, Strawberry Shortcake! I froze the remaining berries, perfect to throw in smoothies.
You still have time to make it out to Benny's Berries before the season is done. Check out their Facebook page for picking days and times. I think I will try to make it out there with all the boys one more time. You can't beat fresh, delicious strawberries!

Do you have a favorite dish or dessert that uses strawberries? I would love to find new things to try with my next set of fresh strawberries!