Curtain for the Kitchen

We have finally finished our living room/dinning room flip! Yipppee!! ( I will post those pictures later)  I wanted to make some cute pillows for the couches to match the green and yellow theme in the kitchen. I found some really cute fabric and it just sat in my sewing room for a while. I just haven't had the energy to make pillows (even though pillows are super easy to make, I just haven't felt like it). One thing I was excited to make was a curtain for the window above the sink. We haven't had anything on that window and it sometimes freaks me out at night, you know, peeping toms and all that (would have to be more like a jumping peeping tom, our window is really high)...so I decided to finally make a curtain! This was probably the easiest curtain ever. I just hemmed a piece that I measured to fit the window, stuck a rod through the top and attached green ribbon to tie the curtain up in a cute little drape. Here it is...

New Lens

So excited about my new lens! I just bought the Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 and it is awesome and so sharp!  I had to test it out on my favorite subject and here is an example of why I am in love (with the lens and the kid)...

Don't forget to check out my photography website for more pictures from my latest sessions!
www.heidijoyphotography.com

Crash Pad

Dillon loves his new crash pillow! He is always rolling around on the floor like a crazy person and loves to jump and crash into our pillows on our bed, so I thought I would make him his own. The Cookie Monster fabric is a plus, too! Sometimes I will catch him relaxing on his pillow reading a book. Its a miracle to see him still for that long! And by long, I mean a few minutes.  :)

Easter and Bow Ties

This was last Easter...

Aww, cute.  This year...

He definitely knows he's cute...and he was workin the bow tie. This was so simple and fun to make!  I had all the supplies I needed at home, and just followed this tutorial. I think every toddler boy should own a bow tie!

The cousins last year...

So precious! This year, they had so much fun hunting for eggs and playing together. They even held hands and did some smooching. Okay now, probably not okay later.

Playing at the park...

 

 

I made these Easter egg oreo balls as a appetizer dessert and we could not stop eating them before dinner! I don't think Dillon likes chocolate, isn't that sad?! Even after forcing him to try it, he said no. Oh well, more for us!

So easy to make! Pretty much just oreos, cream cheese, vanilla and white chocolate. You can find the recipe here.  I won't even mention the carrot cake and the leftovers D and I have had each day for lunch this week. Ha!
 Hope everyone had a Happy Easter!!

A video for Mimi

Dillon wanted to show off for Mimi before going night-night  :)

Party Time!

Someone special had her 2nd birthday this weekend!  My niece turned 2 (can't believe she's 2 already!!) and we had so much fun celebrating with her on Saturday. She was looking mighty cute in her red and teal tutu that matched her Olivia themed party! Dillon helped her open some gifts but they mostly wanted to play in the big present...the playhouse!  We had to intervene during fights for the phone and the broom. I think Dillon was a little too excited about the broom. Oh well, nothin wrong with a domestic toddler boy!

Last week, we had a spring party at Oval Park (note to self...no more parks with stairs leading to busy roads) with cookies and Easter eggs filled with snacks for the kids. Dillon shared eggs with Collin, modeled his bunny shirt and ran away any chance he got. This kid is all about going in the opposite of mommy at all times...especially at parks!!  Oh well, his cuteness level is still helping him from getting in trouble, haha!

Easter Bunny Shirt

Time for another holiday appliqued shirt! I haven't made one since Thanksgiving so I am due for another one Easter will be here before I know it so I whipped up an Easter bunny shirt for Dillon. I even managed to take pictures for step by step instructions. This is so easy and fast to make, especially during a long nap time.  :)

*please excuse my crappy pictures, the lighting in my craft room is horrible and I didn't feeling editing

First, gather your supplies- shirt, fabric, erasable marker, scissors and applique pattern. For the pattern, all I did was search for pics of bunny appliques online, enlarged it in Word, printed and cut out on cardstock. You can find an erasable marker at any craft store. The fabric is by Michael Miller. Love his fabric!!

 Next, trace your bunny on the back of your fabric with your marker. Don't worry, the purple will fade :) Cut out carefully with some sharp scissors.

How you attach it to your shirt is up to you but I find the easiest way is with fusible interfacing (I recommend Heat and Bond or Wonder Under). Iron on your interfacing and then iron your applique to your shirt. I have also used a spray adhesive, which is very easy. You just spray it on the back of your fabric and then press it on. An easy way if you want to avoid getting the iron out.

Now, sew either a zig zag or straight stitch around the edges of your applique to give it a finished look.

 and......BAM you're done in around 30 minutes with a super cute Easter shirt!  I'm thinking about making some little shorts to match!!

An Easy Dinner

These days, I'm all about easy and fast dinners. I wanted to try something new and found this yummy recipe for Honey Mustard Chicken....

*4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
*salt and pepper to taste
*1/3 cup honey
*1/3 cup prepared mustard (I used half yellow, half Dijon)
*3/4 teaspoon dried basil
*3/4 teaspoon paprika
*1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350.  
Sprinkle chicken breasts with salt and pepper to taste, and place in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the honey, mustard, basil, paprika, and parsley. Mix well. Pour 1/2 of this mixture over the chicken, and brush to cover. 
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn chicken pieces over and brush with the remaining 1/2 of the honey mustard mixture. Bake for an additional 10 -15 minutes or until no longer pink.

I served ours with rice and veggies.  It was a hit and so easy to make!

*photo courtesy of allrecipes.com

Catchin Up

Its been a while since I posted, so here is one loooooooong post about what's been going on...here it goes, don't hold your breath cause we've been busy!!

 I started nannying a little girl back in February and its going so well! Her name is Zoey and she is 6 months old. SUCH a cutie pie with her little rolls and chubby cheeks. Dillon is SO good with her, its just melts my heart. He gives her hugs and kisses and tries to share with her. He even cheers for her when she does something new like eat a puff or sit up on her own. I think this is preparing him for a sibling in the not-so-near future! haha!  These two are so much fun to be with during the week and we enjoy our playdates and park visits! This is Zoey..don't you just want to eat her up?!

Since The end of January, we have been working on flipping our dinning room and living room....this has been a big pain in the tush(mostly in mine) with two babies at home but somehow we managed not to go crazy and we now have a living room right next to the kitchen!! I am soooo happy and so grateful for my wonderful, hard working hubby who ripped out the carpet and put down new floors. He did everything by himself...the only thing I did was pick out the new couches, ha! (Thats a whole other post for another day...I will post before and after pictures on that one)

This is one of Dillon's best buddies and probably his BFF if he could tell me that. Collin and Dillon hang out about 2-3 times a week at playdates and such. They are a month apart and have become a lot more aware of each other and love to play together. They are quite the pair...Dillon is way taller than Collin but Collin is heavier and could take Dillon down any day. haha. I love this cute picture of them beating each other up playing...

Dillon and I took a long awaited trip to Greenville and stayed with his Godmommy and my BFF Jenna. It was nice to get out of town for the weekend and hang out with friends. We met some friends and a buddy of Dillon's for brunch and we caught up on life and had a great time. I have known Beth and Ashley since we were in elementary school and I can't believe how grown up we all are now!

Have you ever been ziplining???  If you haven't then you need to go...like this weekend.  It is so much fun, especially when you go with all women who are all crazy and love to have fun!  We went to Richland Creek Zipline Canopy Tours in Asheboro. Not too far but you still feel like you are getting away.
 They are family owned and super nice. You get your helmet, harness and gloves...then climb up to the first one and off you go!   It takes about 2 hours to complete the tour with a nice stop in the middle to climb the rocks to the river. 

Evan has been coaching lacrosse again for Riverside High School and they are doing pretty good this season...much better than last year!  Dillon went to his first game of the year and once he warmed up to the loud (and I mean LOUD), crazy, overzealous lacrosse moms and dads who also wanted to steal hold him, he was fine and clapped every time he heard the yelling or clapping. It was more a reassurance for himself.  I could see it in his facial expression "Im okay, Im okay, just keep cheering, Im happy, this is okay, everyone is happy."  Poor kid.  He also wanted to go hang out with daddy when he spotted him but that obviously wouldn't work out so well. Sooooo after about 5 minutes, we left. haha. Okay maybe not five but no more than 15 minutes. It was also bedtime so that right there was his ticket out. One day, he will be on that field playing but he just doesn't know it yet.  :)
 *Pictures of Evan back when he played for Riverside-here    Love you, Honey!!!!!  hehe

Last but not least, another wonderful girls night with my Mother in Law, and Sister in Laws. We drove to Raleigh to see Idina Menzel, who you may know from Broadway shows like Wicked, Rent and she guest starred on Glee as Rachel's mom. Oh and she's married to Taye Diggs...just sayin. 
Her website-here
  She is pretty awesome, not only a phenomenal singer but she is hilarious! She gave a great concert and I loved the songs/lullabies she wrote to her baby boy.  :)    There was a really sweet thing that happened while we were there...she said while on the plane from Chicago to Raleigh, she met a man who was in the military and she really connected with him. He gave her a special coin that had a lot of meaning. She invited him to the show and she didn't know he was there. All of a sudden, he stood up and walked up to the stage and gave her another coin. Awesome moment!

Okay, thats all. Im done for another couple months, haha. Just kidding...Easter will probably be next!

Dillon {15 months}

Seriously...where did my baby go?!  I just turned around one day and he was gone. Now, in walks this toddler who thinks he is Mr Independent and Mr Comedian.  These days are probably some of the most enjoyable though, since I am home with him now. He is learning so fast and picks up on so much. I love being able to do fun things with him during the week like go to the Museum of Life and Science or to the park to run around!  Dillon is definitely all boy and wants to be outside 24/7 if we let him. We have to bribe him with food to come back inside, haha. You wouldn't think that's the case though because he is still our little string bean!

Dilly boo, here is what you have been up to lately:

You just went to your 15 month check up. You have been so calm and "whatever" at the doc up until today(your stranger anxiety has kicked in for the first time). Blood draws, shots or doctors never use to scare you. But today, you did not want him to poke you or listen to your ears. You were clingy to Mommy and told him "Bye" and blew kisses like "get the you-know-what away from me!" in the nicest way possible.  :)

You gave Mommy a little scare because Dr Clark and I noticed little tiny spots all over your body that we never noticed at home. They look like little freckles but are reddish toned. I can't remember everything the doctor said but he said something about probably nothing but could be low platelet levels, sometimes can be an indicator of things like leukemia.  Mommy didn't freak out too much, said a little prayer and we got your blood drawn for a quick check.  Everything came back normal, thank God.

You are 22 1/2 pounds and 34 1/2 inches long.  I would give anything to have your gnat-like metabolism. NO FAIR.  As much as you eat, its amazing how skinny you still are!  You are still in cloth diapers all the time and seem to be over your eczema. You have some dry patches on your legs but they don't itch. Your red hair is still red and its not going anywhere! It is getting curlier by the day and mommy doesn't want to cut it for a long time! You wear size 12-24 month clothes and even some 2T pants!  Thank goodness for adjustable waistbands!

From 12 months on, you have taken off on your walking!  It is so fun to see you walking around everywhere. I still can't get over how cute it is!  Your favorite thing to do is run around outside at the park! Sometimes you try to jump and its so cute.

Some words you are saying (or approximating) are- Mama, Dada, doggie, book, baby, hi, bye, hot, light, please, help, done, rock, ball, shoes, sock, bubble, diaper and hurt. You still use your signs to communicate a lot and it is very helpful to let mommy know what you want!

You are such a sweet, loving child. Yes, you have your moments just like a normal toddler, but you have such a loving spirit and we enjoy your hugs, kisses and cuddles. You know how to be sweet to the dog and to baby Zoey, you new friend. Your first two word phrase was "Hi baby" to Zoey. You love being out looking for kids to say hi to and older ladies to flirt with. My favorite thing you do when we are out is your fake sarcastic laugh. You might hear a group of people laugh and you will laugh at them as loud as you can (almost like mocking them) and it cracks mommy up!

Sometimes mommy and daddy talk about something you did or said after you have gone to bed and it makes us laugh so hard. We have so much fun with you and couldn't imagine our lives without our little ray of sunshine!!!  We love you so much!!!