Amber Waves of Grain

Sometimes little things can make a big difference. I suppose that's why I have entire day's blog dedicated to my new placemats from Old World Market. I didn't realize the old ones looked so bad. We received them as a wedding gift in 2001. They've seen a lot of spaghetti sauce over the years. Here's the BEFORE : And, AFTER : Sometimes it's the little things that matter......

Keegan 'graduated' preschool this week. Here is was on his FIRST day of Pre-K last August. Here is was last week on his LAST day of Pre-K. He looks older and wiser, right? I've started an official tradition where I cry like a baby on Keegan's first and last day of the school year. It's so bittersweet . It was hard to say good-bye to his classroom, even when it was empty. It represented another year gone by too quickly in my precious boy's life. I cried when the kids came out of the school to be picked up on their very last day of preschool. (Keegan is in the light blue shirt, 2nd kid from the right). I met Keegan at the car with some special balloons to celebrate. I cried when I took a picture of his little Gap backpack, knowing he will outgrow it much too soon. I asked myself, "Did I embrace this year.... or did I simply endure it?". Some days I'm just enduring it, and those are days I'll never get back. How beautiful it would be for m...

Savannah turns 3 months old this week! She's a sweet, sweet baby. She loves to smile and coo. She has big blue eyes. I'm not sure how much she weighs now but at her last check-up (3+ weeks ago), she was 10 lbs, 3 oz. She loves tummy time. She's a pretty good sleeper, sleeping from 9:30pm until 7am... and getting up for only one feeding (occasionally 2 but not often). She eats well. She's alert and loves attention and playtime. She loves Kennedy and is often entertained by her. And, that's our sweet baby girl at 3 months!

The flooring guys finished up early today. Again, here is the before picture: And, after: We can't walk on it for 24 more hours. Who wants to come over and put everything back in my closet tomorrow!?!

In our young naivety, we had white (or almost white...) carpet put through our entire house just over 10 years ago. Three kids, 2 pets, mold from a faucet leak, and a few meatball-related incidents have taught us new wisdom in the area of flooring. No more white carpet . So, this week we are getting our master bathroom flooring replaced. This includes our bathroom, toilet room, and my walk-in closet. Here's the before: That's my closet on the right: And, the mold from where our tub leaked: Today the flooring guys started on the project. One worker left for the hospital because his wife was in labor so the other 2 guys had a long day of work being down one man. Here's what's done tonight. The tile isn't really that dark; it's just poor lighting and night. And, the toilet is now in the tub. Guess we won't be using that tonight: And, here are the contents of my closet now laying on my bedroom floor. I sure wish I had pulled out clothes to wear because n...

Awhile back, I blogged about my antique mantel that's hanging in my living room. ( link ) I couldn't find anything to hang in the center (and I appreciated everyone's brainstorming ideas!!). So, here is take 2. I took down the photos that were hanging and tried to start a collection of H's ( for our last name for those of you who don't know us ). I think it's better, but still not ideal. So, here's to another temporary solution until I find a better fit! Thanks for all the ideas!

I stopped by a garage sale today and picked up this little rocker for $5. It's a sturdy little chair but needed some love and attention. It was lonely and cried out my name, " Amber, buy me! " I've never reupholstered anything but I've always wanted to try. I thought this was a good starter project and if I failed miserably then I wasn't out much. Plus, what else do I have to do with 3 small children? Lots of spare time, right? So, I took it home and cleaned it up. This may have involved me smashing a spider with my bare hand, but we won't talk about that. I took off the seat with a screwdriver and wrapped some of my leftover curtain fabric around it, stapling it into place. And, in only 10 minutes.... I had this 'new' chair that now matches my front room curtains: Here's one happy customer... Voila!

In preparing Keegan to eat lunch at school starting in August, I just ordered his first lunch box. Mealtime is a big deal for Keegan with his feeding issues, so we'll practice at home with it this summer. I have something against licensed characters, so I found some cute non-character ones at Land of Nod ( link ). I let Keegan pick, and he wanted this one with dinosaurs. We found it on Amazon for $13.58: I really wanted him to pick this one for only $13 at Land of Nod. Love this monkey. Kennedy has the matching owl one: Or, one of these ($17 Land of Nod) - dinosaurs or solar system: I also use 'picks' or little plastic sticks for the kids to poke food with. Anything to make eating fun. We have some Scooby Doo ones that my friend, Mariah, gave us. We also use those appetizer toothpicks that look like pirate swords, or wooden appetizer toothpicks as well. So, I was excited to find these on amazon too: Sticks are great for eating bite-size food or for 'catchi...

I'm going to my Grandpa's 94th birthday party tomorrow so I decided to make this yummy pasta salad to take along. It's a favorite of mine for summer when asparagus is in season. This is from Real Simple Magazine. It's real. It's simple. It's Real Simple! Pasta Salad With Asparagus & Lemon 8 oz (1/2 box) penne pasta 1 lb fresh asparagus (ends trimmed), cut into 1" pieces 1/4 cup shredded parmesan or parmesan pieces 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 1 tsp fresh lemon zest 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Cook the penne according to the box directions. Add the asparagus during the last 3 1/2 minutes of cooking. Drain & rinse under cold water to cool. Transfer the penne/asparagus to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients. Toss to combine. Store in the fridge. Can be made 1 day ahead. Easy to double for large potlucks. There you have it!

In honor of Mother's Day , I want to reflect on being a mom. Here are the top 10 things I've learned since becoming a mom in 2005 . 1. If you go to your baby shower and come back home to find that the garage has been cleaned out in just one corner, beware . Your husband may have gone out & bought a motorcycle to counteract the new stroller and crib you're coming home with. 2. If you keep an emergency outfit in the car for your child, make sure it fits and is not absolutely hideous . The child may have to actually wear it and you might just be embarrassed. 3. McDonald's orange drink + rolling hills road trip = toddler throwing up in the car . (hence, the need for #2). 4. Raisins aren't always raisins and chocolate isn't always chocolate. If you find something on the floor, do a quick check before picking it up with your hands. 5. If you go to the bathroom by yourself for 3 minutes and cannot find your child when you return, look in the garage ...

I noticed my vintage Coke crates today and they sparked an idea. I'm convinced that you can take almost anything and stuff a baby in it for photos. Same photo, but I sort of like it in black & white. I learn something new every time I try out a new prop idea. In some of the photos I took, she looks like she's hanging on for dear life (trust me, she was fine). But, I think they definitely have potential. I'll give these another try when I take her 3 month photos later this month! Cute or just creepy, you decide!

In honor of Cinco De Mayo, I thought I'd share some old pictures of me in Mexico! I spent much of two summers there back in 1998-1999. I was a missionary who helped build houses, worked with children, ran VBS programs, visited prisons, visited orphanages, drove vans full of youth group kids around, and even helped a dentist who was there to pull teeth and do dental work. The hours were long, there was no monetary pay, but the blessings were tremendous. And, I loved every minute of it. My first trip there was just for spring break during college. My group built a house for a woman living near a landfill. Her old house is that cardboard shack on the left. Here's her new blue house that we built for her & her son: This is a church I worked with in a very poor neighborhood built along a sewage canal: Here are some of the girls from the church: Here I am at a government-run orphanage. The kids don't get much attention there so they loved visitors: I drove youth gro...