gameday.

a crisp fall day and football, plus an adorable little fan.  doesn't get much better.
go bears!

pink.

Tuesday night the volleyball team hosted a "Volley for the Cure" event to raise money for breast cancer.  Always a great event, but this year even better.  Todd and all of those involved did such a great job organizing for this, and it's amazing to see so many people together of all ages for such a great cause.  The gymnasium was overflowing in a packed pink crowd, pink court lines, pink volleyball, a dj, pom pom's, nervous middle school players getting recognized in their future gym  (including some of my former students totally aging me!), and an exciting match.  Unfortunately, the team lost and is on a bit of a rough streak lately, but there was something more important going on that night....a great opportunity to rise together as a community and help.

Pink attire required...not a problem here.

There was a raffle auction with awesome prizes that evening. Buy raffle tickets and stuff the boxes for the prizes you hope to win. Obviously the more tickets the better your chances. We won a family fun night to dinner and bowling and a salon gift certificate. Even better, all of our ticket purchasing money went straight to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

It was a late night for our peanut, but it was a great night.

Aside from a big fun night out, this little girl is always on the move.
She loves staring out the patio door, playing with the doorstops, and crawling everywhere and anywhere. And she is fast! :) Fortunately, she does not get into anything and her first reaction is not to put things in her mouth.

so much wonder.

This picture cracks me up.  This is my take on what she is thinking as she is even holding up a part of her shirt...
"HEYYY, look at this chunky roll on my thigh.  Mama, I finally got a chunky roll!"

Much love to our peanut, so proud of your new little chunky thighs. :)

a few projects.

With a little more time on my hands at home these days I've been able to enjoy some hobbies and try out some simple crafting skills.  For a while now I've been wanting to de-brown our home a little and add more color.  Pops of color to help brighten our home and add a sense of the fun, joy and happy we feel everyday.  Here are a few projects I have done recently...

a wreath for our front door.

painted these picture frames from browns and blacks to bring in other colors in our home, also making the pictures stand out more too.

some colorful frames to spruce up the hallway. love them.
(painted black frames, pieced fabric over the backing, mounted pictures off the backing with foam adhesive squares, pictures are 5x5 on styrene mount)

before

after

added a beautiful W to our staircase wall collage (painted it black)

our living room needed more color so I painted these frames green, stenciled the mats with a light blue paint and a martha stewart stencil. and incorporated more gorgeous pics of our baby girl (in black and white).

Here is a project I made for a friend.

found these frames in good condition at goodwill...

gave them a fresh coat of white paint, stenciled grey on the mats, and made these prints. You write on the glass with a dry-erase marker on the line. pretty cute huh? :)

I'm still working on Quinn's frame like this.

A fabric covered Q was also made for Quinny's room, however when I usually would have a chance to take a picture, she is sleeping in there. :)

Family on a budget, how do you afford crafting/projects?  A recent birthday with generous gift cards and gifts helps.  Thrift stores often house treasures waiting to transform.  And coupons and great sales are always out there.  I feel like even with a gift card anymore I don't shop till a sale or have my ___% off coupon.  I'm becoming less impulsive.  I recently fell in love with a beadboard frame at Michael's, I didn't jump on buying it full price when I saw it.  When I went back it was on sale, had a coupon, and only paid 25% of the original price (and with that used a gift card) :).

Aside from adding more personal and unique items to our cozy home, I am also enjoying the process and having a hand in the end project.  It's been nice to have a little time for a hobby.

sprinkled with love.

This weekend Quinn and I hosted a baby sprinkle in honor of Quinn's auntie Amy and her baby girl cousin (due to arrive in one month!)  We are so looking forward to a baby girl cousin to play with soon and thrilled that these two girls will be so close in age.  The sprinkle was small, just a few of Amy's good friends, and we had a great time sharing in the joy of this new baby girl. 

In our true sisterly fashion, Amy arrived with half a wardrobe and then didn't wear any of her own things.  So a few digs in my closet and we got her and her beautiful baby belly all dressed for the day.  :)  Unfortunately, the poor girl is going through another kidney stone episode at the moment, her 12th!  Yeah, it definitely runs in the family, but Amy will always be the reigning queen.  12 in about 10 years for her, so not fun, but she is so strong and a huge trooper.  Only Amy could tackle a kidney stone while chasing two little boys around at the same time.  I think the sprinkle was a great distraction. :)

The guest(s) of honor  (mama and baby)

The sweet table

Quinn loved playing with baby Natalie  (just 2 weeks apart in age)

The Hostesses

Much love and luck to a smooth rest of the pregnancy for Amy and the beautiful arrival of our niece and cousin.  So excited!

autumn love and a budding friendship.

It's no secret that the fall season is a favorite around here.  It's here.  It's beautiful.

With Todd away at a tournament, the two of us hopped in the car Friday evening in search of some beautiful fall folliage and an opportunity for some pictures with her new halloween outfit (another great creation of grandma).

First we found this incredible tree.

but down the hill there was a road and distracting cars that just weren't far enough away.

so we hopped back in the car until we found ourselves here. quiet, peaceful, perfect.

and this baby girl got to have her first experience playing in the vibrance and sweet simplicity of autumn.

and a few breaks to take leaves out of her mouth too. :)

I love this one and all the excitement it captures.

My camera and I are becoming closer friends.  I'm looking forward to this budding friendship and all the things to come in the future.

Still lots out there for me to learn and that excites me.  I'm self-taught so far.  A good camera, free tutorials online and a bit of a natural eye for good angles goes a long way.

Love this little girl.  Love this season.  Put the two together and my heart is overwhelming with joy.


Daddy comes home tonight!  So excited.  It's been a long week and this little girl hasn't seen her daddy since Monday.  Long days for him lately, as it goes with volleyball season. 
Quinny can't wait to see him.

Enjoy this gorgeous weekend!

finding the fun.

My little world of couponing has changed.

An assistant has made herself present and likes to help.

"I'll sort these ones for you mom."

"Is it okay if Lucy helps?"

"I found some of those cookies daddy likes!"

"This is fun!"

"Oops. We don't need this one right?"

"I finally got Lucy to help."

Anyone watch the show The New Girl?  This scene last night officially pushed it to the top and it became my favorite of the new fall shows.  It made me think about something that I hope Quinn does and realizes early in life... to find the fun in everything.  Don't be afraid to be silly or look silly in front of others, make life fun.  I had realized it later than I wished I had, but my 30's will definitely have a lot more of this.

Turn up the volume and...
Click Here to see an adorable and fun dance scene
(I had a hard time finding this anywhere.)


A slow motion chicken dance to Phil Collins A Groovy Kind of Love, I so love it.



Taking time to play in coupons.  It's a very good start.

Whether it's playing in coupons, singing karaoke, a spontaneous dance in the middle of the day or shopping cart races at Sam's Club (like we did the other day)...find some fun today. :)