Our Sons and Lights

Let me start off by saying this, in our family, we LOVE the holidays! All of them. We try to make every holiday so special. But the one thing, that Patrick and I have never been really good at, is putting up lights outside. I just don't know where to start. And Patrick is always working.

We never decorated outside our home, small apartment, or house, until Ethan was born. Then we bought some lights. When we lived in the SW, and had 2 small children, we paid the interns to hang our lights. And usually, we had them over for dinner too. It was great! And then, after the holidays, they'd come back, take them down, and put them all away. Bless them!

When we moved out here, we had a little more money, and a lot more home. We invested in some new lights. Previously, we'd been using Christmas lights, that had been my in-laws. We loved them! But couldn't find enough to cover our new home. Because those lights were from the 1960s. Patrick and I decided on clear lights. And we bought so many!

Nowadays, we pay a group of guys to come put them up. Yes, I still have no clue where to begin. And Patrick is still working over 100 hours a week! So our wonderful gardening buddies come help us out. Over the last few years, we've added some cute Christmas signs. And a few fun characters. Including a Santa. But nothing too crazy. No music. No blinking lights.

But recently, the "Halloween House," has been all over the news! My sons are so into it. Every time it comes on the TV, they have to watch it. The other night, Patrick looked up the video on YouTube. And my sons were in heaven! Then they noticed, there were other songs. For over 2 hours, Patrick and the boys watched these videos. This is their favorite!



Now our sons are begging Patrick, to decorate our house. To add some music. Get lots of fun lights. Oh, I think we're in trouble! I found some papers this morning, for "plans." For this Christmas. And next Halloween. I think Patrick needs to start studying holiday lights...

Wickedly Cute Pillows!

I think I've mentioned on here, a time or two, that I really enjoy the Etsy shop, Little Miss Momma. Have you checked out Ashley's blog? It's also a must see! But I recently came across some of her Halloween pillows, and I'm struggling not to go and buy them all! They'd definitely add some fun to our house.

How about a little trick or treat fun? I think these would be perfect in a chair. Looking outside. Something fun to greet visitors.

Or these cuties! I'd love to put a dozen of these, on our couch. In the family room. Because they're so fun and playful!

Maybe you're feeling a little wicked. This would be a fun pillow to add into the mix. Definitely a conversation starter!

But my favorites are these "Wicked Witch" pillows. Perfect! And do you notice how cute, all these pillows look together?

Yes, I've been dreaming about adding these beauties, to our house. And our Halloween decor. What do you think? Something you like too? Do you have any other fun, and festive ideas for me? I'd love to hear about them. I'd also love to find some new Etsy shops, to fall in love with. :)

Halloween Wreath

I was just searching, for a fun Halloween wreath idea. I want something really fun, for our side door. The one that our family uses, to come in and go out through. As a family, we rarely use the front doors. Those doors, are used for company. And they already have gorgeous wreaths on them.

I've been searching and searching. I seen some black wreaths at Target. But they're pretty pricey, for what they are. Nothing fancy. And honestly, nothing too fun. Basically, they're wreaths made out of black flowers. And they were $40 a piece. Not too fun. Now you know why, I was so excited, when I saw this picture.

Let me start out by saying, I'm not a "crafty person." Not at all! I want to be. I'm just not there. Yet. I'm trying to be more and more crafty. This might just be the project, that turns me into a "Crafty Maven." :) This wreath looks like it's made out of a wire ring, some tulle, and some ribbon. Possibly, the tulle is just tied on? I can handle this!

Looks like Daniella and I have to take a shopping trip. I want to make a big wreath like this. I'm pretty sure, we'll all enjoy it. Just something fun. To make the whole family smile.

Oh So Pretty!

Again, I took to google for some inspiration. Patrick and I have been talking. We want to actually decorate our bedroom. And that means, we both have to do a little research. You know, make a plan. I don't want my hubby to feel uncomfortable in our bedroom. And I still want it to have feminine touches.

So I've googled, and googled, and googled some more! Then I found this collage. What beautiful pictures! There's something magical about them. I love the light. And these colors. There's just something magical and romantic about them.

I wanted to jump for joy, when Patrick agreed. We're thinking about the middle color, as the wall color. And white and green for the bedding. The 1st 2 colors would be great accent colors. Yes, I'm loving these colors. And I realized something yesterday. The light shines into our room, like that last picture. Great news!

This is a good jumping off point for us. We've lived here for 4 1/2 years. And haven't really done much to our bedroom. It's time. It's time that Patrick and I have a space of our own. The craziest part, is we have the perfect white chair. With that green, in the simplest print.Oh, and that light fixture, would be absolutely perfect! All we have to do now, is to really start looking for the bedding and curtains. Always a great place to start. The rest is about collecting the perfect accessories. Oh, I can't wait!

Makes Me Smile

Some days, you just stumble on something, that makes you smile. It makes you completely giddy. From the inside out. Heck, you feel like you could be a kid again. That's how happy it makes you. That's the feeling I get, when I see these pillows!

I want a bunch of them. With a big white couch. The kind that is so comfy, you sink right in. With a bunch of these pillows. I can imagine long afternoons of reading there. Or hours of cuddling with my kiddos. I think it could be so fun. This might just give me some inspiration. For that one room, that I have no idea what to do with. Yes, these pillows make me smile. And I want a room that will do that too!

Cute Summer Sign

I happened to be searching for some cute summer signs and wreaths lately. All over Etsy. Then I started googling. That's when, I came across this cute set of Summer Blocks.

Jamielyn makes the most adorable crafts! I'd love to make this cute set. But let's be honest, I'm not very crafty. And by the time I get going on it, summer will be over. Maybe I should just buy a set from Jamielyn. I know that this blog post is from over a year ago, I hope Jamielyn is still selling them. Because this would look so cute on our mantel.

Sweet Peonies

I have a little confession here. I'm not a great gardener. Usually, I go out and buy flats of flowers.You know, already blooming. Plant them, and pray that they last longer than 2 months. My husband, he's in charge of our garden. Which always has yummy veggies, berries, melons, and herbs. Patrick always tells me, the flowers are my responsibility. And with his work schedule, I know they have to be. I'm still amazed at how he keeps our garden going.

I will admit this, I've always dreamt of a beautiful, lush flower garden. I've wanted our backyard to feel yummy. And so full! Well, we have a gardener that comes in. He keeps the grass looking gorgeous, and the trees trimmed nicely. But the flowers, I've never asked him to go there.

I can't lie. I dream of roses, peonies, lilies, and hydrangeas. All the flowers just like that. I'd also love a few fruit trees. I dream of these things. Of sitting outside, surrounded by this beauty. But I have no clue how to start. I know what I like. Actually, I've had a list going for a few years. Of things I absolutely love. My list is quickly growing. Right on top of my list, is lots of beautiful peonies. Just like these...

I finally asked our gardener where to begin. I'm going to start getting some lessons. Learning lots of tips and tricks. Because I want gorgeous flowers. We're going to start, with just a few things this year. 3 peony plants, and a peach tree. Yum! I can't wait to begin! All I can think about, is beautiful pink peonies.

A Need to Clean

All of a sudden, I have this need to clean. More like a passion to clean. But you get my point. And no, I'm not pregnant. I just want our house to be squeaky clean. With 4 kids, and 2 dogs, it's tough to keep this house spotless. But I do try.

Something about today, had me in a panic. An honest to God, panic! I don't know why. But it lead to a trip to Target. Where I bought $80 worth of cleaning supplies. Logan, Daniella, and I went out to lunch. And I about cried tears of joy, when the both fell asleep, on the ride home.

I managed to get them into their beds. Without waking them up. And I spent 2 uninterrupted hours, scrubbing away. Cinderella style, I was scrubbing the floor in the kitchen. I completely cleaned out the cabinets. Worked my way into the bathrooms. And finished today with tackling "Mud Room." I've got to finish that tomorrow.

I didn't stop there. While waiting for Ethan and Madelyn to get out of school, I called to make some appointments. I called to have someone come clean our windows, shampoo our carpet, and power wash our driveway and patio. There are just some things I can't do.

Part of my "frenzied cleaning," might be, because my kids are almost out of school. In a few weeks, I will have 4 kids at home. All day long! We'll probably add in some friends too. You know, because I want my kids to enjoy their summer. 

I know when this happens, I'm going to get little done. My house is going to be turned upside down. Maybe this is just in preparation to that. To ready myself for the chaos that is, life with 4 kids. Patrick got home tonight, and was surprised. I'm serious, our house is in the middle of a complete "shake down." I'm not going to leave anything undone. Does anyone ever do this? Or am I just strange?