A Small Snippet

every now and then, i just need to dump a ton of photos on you, and catch you up on randomness and life around here.  so today’s the day for me to play catch up of the last few months…i hope you don’t mind!  but i think there is enough randomness thrown in for you to not lose interest!

(if you follow on Instagram, “leanak”, then a few of these might be repeats )

Jake turned 40.  yes..four…ohhh.  its still hard to believe (i have a ways to go until hit the big 40 myself).  his birthday unfortunately came when i was still very sick.  so all of the plans that i’ve been dreaming up the last few years for his big 40th just couldn’t happen, and i’m still sad about it.  i feel like he massively got the short end of the stick.  thankfully, he is so laid back, that it doesn’t bother him one bit, but until we have a proper celebration, it will continue to haunt me.  i’m thinking 41 will have to be big year!

we took a much needed vacation for spring break to Destin, Florida with some friends.  here’s our motley crew:

it was freeeeezzzzzing!  no joke…SOO cold.  so it wasn’t really the beach vacay that we thought it was gonna be.

we braved the weather some and the kiddos and dads got in some heated pool time:

and we hit the beach one afternoon:

but other than that, we found other things to do, like travel to Seaside and eat lunch at the most amazing food trucks.  if you are ever there, you’ve got to do yourself a favor and eat the Bacon and Brie Grilled Cheese on Cranberry Walnut Bread at The Meltdown.  my mouth is still watering:

we had no shortage of fun, that’s for sure!  that’s the nice thing about being with friends…you don’t really have to be doing anything all that exciting to have a good time!

we were there over Palm Sunday, so since we were missing church, we had the kiddos act out the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem on Palm Sunday for us.  in the midst of practice, in true fashion, Bella threw a massive temper tantrum and decided that she didn’t want to participate.  after 10 minutes of time-out while she recovered, she stomped out of her room, gave an exasperated sigh, and said, “FINE!  I’ll be Jesus!!”  (we had quite the laugh, but for the record, she did not get to be Jesus!)

it was so good to get away as a family, after having missed regular life for so long.  we definitely needed it!

we arrived home with a few days to spare before Easter, during which we celebrated Passover:  (you can read all about the way our family celebrates Passover here.)

this year we celebrated with dear friends, and its become one of our favorite new traditions as a family.  (don’t ask me what Bella is doing in this pic.  i have no clue…she has a mind of her own.)

sadly, Easter came and went fast, and this was the only family pic we got.

as usual, the Easter Bunny came and delivered clues to help us find the hidden baskets, and now that Bella can read, she was especially excited:

he even left Berkeley a basket:

 we enjoyed a visit from our cousins from Chicago, and i think they enjoyed our warm Florida sun and getting to be in the pool in April:

Bella and I are headed up to visit them in Chicago in less than a month, and we are counting down the days until our first girls’ trip!  we’ll also be doing some other special things while we are there that i’ll be sure to tell you all about.

Bella turned 6:

we did not have a big party for her this year.  momma unfortunately couldn’t handle it this year, but we still had a very fun day of celebrating our girl:

we had our family over for cupcakes later that night.  i let her choose any kind of cupcake she wanted out of these two books (which have become great resources for me!): Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make and What’s New, Cupcake?: Ingeniously Simple Designs for Every Occasion.

she chose these goldfish cupcakes:

they were super simple and i think they turned out pretty darn cute!

shortly after, the Boy turned 9.  to celebrate, we had a few friends over after school:

for swimming and ice cream sundaes:

he had his very first sleepover too.  as a mom, i have to say that i’m not the hugest fan of sleepovers.  i tend to like my kiddos home with me, and i was afraid to open up the door to sleepovers as i’m not quite ready for my own kiddos to be sleeping at friends houses just yet, but we decided that this was a special case.  i really do hope that this is a picture into our future…i love having kids at our house!  i’m hopeful that our house might be the one where all his friends would prefer to be.  i like my kiddos to be home!!

we were all seriously exhausted the next day, to the point where Bella even fell asleep poolside in Daddy’s arms…which NEVER happens anymore!

we celebrated later that night with our family, and Canaan requested a swirled Strawberry Cheesecake in lieu of cupcakes:

i used this recipe and it was seriously delicious.  i will definitely be making it again:

you might remember from my May Sponsor Post where i mentioned that one of my sponsors, Grace Is Truth, would be offering kid’s t-shirts mid-month.  i told you i would let you know when they arrive.  well…they are officially listed in the shop!

i think they are down right adorable, and Bella wanted to wear her’s to school today with a pink skirt, and i must say, she looked darn cute!  so make sure to head over to the website (where you just might spy some familiar looking peeps!) and order some for your kiddos:  www.graceistruth.com.

lately, when we wake up on a Saturday morning, we come out to find the kiddos cuddled up, watching their new favorite show, The Brady Bunch, and it makes my heart feel so happy.  i can so remembering watching every episode with my brothers, and i love that my kids think its awesome too!

Bella has been waiting years to lose a tooth so the Tooth Fairy can come, and she literally cried tears of joy when she discovered her first loose tooth!

it hung in there a long time, until Daddy finally convinced her to let him have his hand at it:

from total panic to pure joy!

she’s got another one about to come out any day.

i baked my regular loaf of bread the other day like i always do, but for some reason, this happened:

the kiddos and i laughed a long time over our flat loaves!  not sure what i did (maybe let it rise too long?) but it was worth the giggles i got over it!

i gave a our formal living room a face lift with some new pillows.  (why do houses even have a formal living room?)  but i’m completely determined to use this room often, so have been making the effort to make it super comfy and inviting.

i’ll tell you all the details of this room before too long, so just know that a post is coming and just might include a tutorial for some inexpensive ruffled drop cloth curtains

i was listening to a Tim Keller sermon not long ago and heard this quote, and thought that it was seriously mind-blowing:

 Baby Berkeley continues to grow by the second.  here she is at 20 weeks:

23 weeks:

and currently at 26 weeks.  its getting frightening!

we are all ready for her to get here, especially the Big Sister.  she gave me this treasure the other day:

i purchased my first items for the nursery…from the dollar section of Target.

 other than that, i haven’t done a thing for the nursery!  its my next project.  we are thinking a gray and white striped wall, a gold crib, white bedding, and coral accents.  my vision is one of those where i’m not totally sure i’m gonna love it until i just jump in and start putting it all together.  i’m sure i’ll give many updates along the way.

thanks for letting me catch you up!  i seriously feel nauseous from being on here for so long, so i’m hoping to not look at a computer screen for the rest of the weekend!

happy weekend to you!

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i’ve gotten so many requests regarding the Teacher Book that i mentioned last year in this post that I made for each of my kiddos teachers last year, so i figured i’d devote an entire post to it today in case some of you are interested.

i’ve been room mom each year for my kiddos, and i have to say…i’m kinda happy to be passing the buck come next fall with a newborn in my arms!  i’ve loved my time as room mom, but it really is work, and i just don’t think i can handle it while adjusting to life with a newborn again.

however, each year, as apart of their end of the year gift from the class, i’ve compiled a little book for each teacher, and so far its been a hit!  i am working on them for Bella’s class again this year, and thought i’d give you the details.

the idea is to have each child complete a fill in the blank worksheet, attach a picture of themselves, and draw a portrait of their teacher, and then compile them all into a book as a way for the teacher to remember each individual personality.  this is an example of Bella’s from last year:

we give the books, along with a gift card, to the teachers as an end of the year gift to thank them for all that they’ve done throughout the year:

i think if i were a teacher, i would get a kick out of reading each of the kiddos answers, and seeing their drawings of me, and then i would cherish the memory of each of my students for years to come.

i created this template:  Teacher Book Template.  i, really really really hope, think that if you click that blue text that you should be able to download the document to edit for your own personal use.  if not, i unfortunately cannot individually email the document, as there is not enough time in the day to respond to those types of requests, but i would be more than happy to accept recommendations on how to upload it a different way.  however, i’m really hopeful that this works, as i just spent the last hour trying to figure out the best way to share an editable document with you.  i seriously at times cannot believe i even have a blog, considering how technologically illiterate i feel!

anyways, here’s the how-to:

i place one worksheet and a blank piece of card stock into a manilla folder.

i then send the bunch of folders to school to be sent home with each individual child.

i send an email to all of the parents with the specifics on the project, asking them to help their child complete the worksheet:

attach a picture of their child in the space provided on the worksheet (the dotted square), and then to have their child draw a portrait of their teacher on the card stock.

i then ask the parents to put the completed worksheet and portrait back into the manilla envelope, and send it back into school for the teacher to put in my child’s backpack.  (i make the teacher aware that they can’t peek into the folders.)

once i have received back all of the envelopes, i organize the worksheets and portraits together from each child, in alphabetical order.  i then attach a class picture to the book cover.  i’ve created a book cover template for you as well, that i hope, i think you can download here: Teacher Book Cover :)

i then bring the stack to my local Fed-Ex (by now, y’all already know about my love of my local Fed-Ex.  they are so handy for projects like this!  i get zero compensation for mentioning them so often…i just love how they come through for me with projects!)  for a few bucks, they bind the book for me right then and there.  there are different options for binding, but i just go with the least expensive, which is a spiral bind, with a clear plastic cover over the front and a sturdy plastic back page.

i’m sure that if you know the world of graphic design, then you could make this super cute!  i unfortunately, do not, so this is the best its gonna get.

that’s it!  we usually present the book to the teacher during the end of the year class party.

hope you are able to download all the files and edit them for your personal use, and that your teachers love their books as much as our’s have!

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i recently realized that i’ve never given you an official tour of our new house.  our move was such a whirlwind for me.  we moved back in January, when i was smack dab in the middle of hardcore HG…so it was all completely a blur!  i’m pretty sure i didn’t pack a single box myself, but had the most amazing friends and family do it all for me…and i mean ALL!

anyway, we are slowly making our way through our new house, finishing up projects.  there is still lots more to do (including a nursery!), and there aren’t many rooms that are 100% complete, but i’m pretty happy with the progress we’ve made in the Boy’s room, and since some of you requested more info on his monogram above his bed from my last post, i figured i’d go ahead and lump it all together and give you a tour of his room while giving you details of the monogram.

you might remember from our old place that our kiddos used to share a room.  so moving to our new house, it’s quite a treat that all of our kiddos are gonna have their own individual spaces.  long before we moved, i had envisioned how i would like to decorate Canaan’s room.  i wanted it to be boyish, but not too little-boyish, and wanted something that could also grow with him.  i knew i wanted to have thick navy and white striped bedding, so once that came together, everything else kinda fell into place.  i had planned to make his bedding from some fabric that i saw at IKEA, but saw this bedding at Target and it just happened to be exactly what i wanted!  so i was thrilled to not have to make it…or go get fabric from IKEA, which unfortunately is not close to where i live.

i wanted to throw in some touches of orange, so i found the orange fabric at Joann’s and made the pillow.  his lamp was from Target a few years back, and i used hot glue to attach some navy grosgrain ribbon as a trim to the top and the bottom of the lampshade.

his Ugly Doll monster was a gift when he was a baby, (we named him UD, because at the time i didn’t want to teach him the word “ugly”…that feels like an eternity ago!).  i still think its adorable, so he lets me put it on his bed every now and then

his one request for his new room was a desk.  my brother and sister in law were getting rid of theirs, and it fit in perfectly with the rest of his bedroom furniture (which, btw, was from KMart about 6 years ago.)  i found the desk lamp at a garage sale for a few bucks, and the map was one of his birthday gifts (i’ll give more details on the map in a minute.)

i picked up his desk chair at a garage sale a few years back, and threw on a coat of Annie Sloan “Old White” Chalk Paint (obsessed would not even begin to describe how i feel about ASCP!)  i recovered the seat with some funky, colorful chevron that i picked up at Joann’s as well.

we used to go through a basketball hoop every few months, until Santa brought this Basketball Hoop at Christmas, and its been amazing!!  super durable, and makes for hours of room basketball fun.  i’m contemplating making some cool shelves to hang above his dresser to display his trophies, but am still trying to figure out just how to do that, so for now, its kinda empty on that side of the room.  (any ideas??)  and do you notice all the missing knobs on the dresser?  i have no earthly idea how they get lost, or where they could be.  i’m gonna have to replace them, but i’m not sure with what yet, so for now, they just sit empty.  i thought about photoshopping them in, but opted instead to just keep it real.  (the globe was a GoodWill find, and i’m currently on the hunt for as many globes as i can find.  i love a shelf full of fun globes!)

the monogram was not planned, but just happened to come together, and i really like the way it turned out.  i bought the frame at a garage sale last fall, not knowing exactly what i would do with it, but knowing that i loved it and was sure that i could find a billion uses for it:

as i was unpacking boxes, i found the “C” that i used in Canaan’s old room long ago, and thought it would look great above his bed.  but when i put it up, it was just too small on its own.  so i covered the back of the frame in burlap, spray painted the “C” orange (it used to be red), and hot glued it to the burlap.  i then used some of the leftover navy grosgrain ribbon that i used as trim on his lamp shade, and hot glued it as a border to the burlap.

i did this all in about 10 minutes, as a clutch-time decision (which is why the ribbon is exactly straight!), as a houseful of guests were on their way over for a dinner party.  it is a super easy project to attempt.  all you need to find is a hefty frame (you can paint whatever color you desire…mine was already this distressed blue when i bought it, but it wouldn’t be hard to replicate), cover the back in burlap, and use whatever wooden letter you want.  the one i have is a 13 inch wooden letter from Pottery Barn years ago, that i don’t think they sell anymore, but this one is a very similar size:  14 Inch Wood Letter.  you can spray paint it easily in whatever color you need.  then just create your border with ribbon.  a customized, monogrammed piece for barely any $$$ or time:

as for the curtains:

i’m always looking for ways to save money, but still want to achieve the look i have in mind, so for the curtains, i started with just simple, inexpensive white panels from Target:

then i bought navy grosgrain ribbon to match the ribbon i used for the lampshade and the monogram, just in a wider size, and hot glued a border onto the curtain panels.  a super inexpensive way to make cheap curtains look custom:

Canaan has always expressed an interest in wanting a wall map, and put it on his birthday list.  so we found this dry erase wall map at Urban Outfitters:

and then my father in law built the frame for it.  he adhered the map to a piece of foam board from Hobby Lobby, and i picked out this simple but slightly detailed molding from Home Depot.

he mitered the edges and nailed it all together to create a custom frame for far cheaper than it would’ve cost us to find a frame that size.

and as a little tip…i have learned the hard way to never let any kind of marker, crayon, etc in my house that is not washable.  so i picked up these Washable Dry Erase Markers for the map, and i don’t have to worry about unwanted marker marks  they have been working great on the map, and come off very easily.

(if i am remembering correctly, i think i got the buckets at a garage sale a while back.  they used to be red, and i spray painted them orange.)

and last but not least, the wall color is Benjamin Moore “Gray Owl.”  we needed to paint both kids’ rooms and our master bath before moving in, and i was too sick at the time to look at paint swatches and try to figure it all out, so i used Gray Owl on all three.  i love it in this room and in our bathroom, but anticipate that i will repaint Bella’s room before too long!

Canaan’s pretty happy to have his own space, and momma’s pretty happy too!

Happy Mother’s Day to all you momma’s out there.  this is the first Mother’s Day that i’ve spent with my kiddos in 2 years.  Jake and I are usually in Haiti this week, but Baby Berkeley has prevented that trip from happening this year.  i’m pretty thankful to be spending the day with my family!

i’ll be back with more house projects soon,

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