Bubba’s Big Boy Room

Of course we couldn’t forget Wryder’s room!  He’s officially moving upstairs AND into a toddler bed – Lord help us!  Sawyer was in one at 18 months…but he sleeps a little wilder than she does.  We haven’t made the switch just yet but we have a few months.

I mentioned in a previous post that I had bought him some John Deere curtains and I must say, I think they look adorable.  Plus, hearing him yell, “Tractor!” every time he runs into his new room (and then hug them) makes them well worth it.

The famous curtains
The famous curtains
View from the door
View from the door

We kept the big bed in the room so that we can still use this as guest room as needed.  He’s small and flexible enough that he can sleep anywhere else in the house when company comes.

Wryder's side
Wryder’s side

tractor1wd

Guest side
Guest side

WdresserWryderWroom

I didn’t know what I was going to think of this room with all we had to make fit but I think it turned out pretty cute.  The fact that he loves it and that sister is SOOOOOO excited to have him as her “neighbor” is enough for me!  I just don’t know how my little boy got so big…….

Pink is Making a Comeback

So today we worked in the toy room, which is now going to be Sayble’s room when she comes along (hopefully not anytime soon).  We left the toy box and the bookshelves but added a few touches to make it a little more girly.  I still have a little more work to do on the curtains (if my nesting energy prevails) but until then, here’s the {somewhat} finished product.

This changing pad cover was my inspiration for the room.

Cute, yes?
Cute, yes?

Wrex said it was a little gypsy…that made me like it even more!

changing2Changing

Looking in from the door...
Looking in from the door…

fromdoorss2fromdoorBunnyBasket

These hold all the good stuff...
These hold all the good stuff…
BOWS!
BOWS!
SHOES!
SHOES!

chair

Oh the pink that is returning to our lives!

I’m so excited about all of this pink that is returning to our home!  Wryder hasn’t seemed to mind too much either…

DSCF2764

 

My Little Man

Ok, so I’m sure you’re tired of hearing about it by now but that weather yesterday – killer, right?!  I’m not sure how yesterday afternoon could have been any more perfect.  I need to find someplace that’s 75-80 all year round, little wind and low humidity.  Where, oh where, would that be, do ya know??

****************

Daddy had a really short sale yesterday so Sawyer went with him and as soon as Wryder woke up from nap, he and I headed straight back outside.

It’s nice to have one-on-one time with each kid from time to time.  Wryder’s usually going 100 miles an hour and I’m usually attempting to keep him from hurting himself, his sister or just general mischief and outside time is so nice just to let him be a boy!

I'm coming to get you, mom!
I’m coming to get you, mom!
Look!  There's a kitty!
Look! There’s a kitty!
So cute...
So cute…
There's a kitty under here, too!
There’s a kitty under here, too!

He’s a bundle of energy and joy and rough-and-tumble goodness!  We washed about a pound and a half of dirt off of each kid last night come bath time…usually an indication of a good day.

****************

We’ve talked about how Wryder is moving upstairs so as part of that process, I’m getting his room all ready, just for him.  I’m not real big into themey rooms (Mickey Mouse or Disney Princesses, etc.) but I caved the other day at WalMart and bought the boy a John Deere curtain.

I had been online looking and looking and looking for something I liked and hadn’t found a THING.  Bleh.  In the store, I wandered over to the bedding to find him a pillow case that matched his toddler bed comforter and I stumbled upon John Deere, uh, everything.

The curtain was the perfect color combo (with some good ole green thrown in) and I just couldn’t resist it.  He was THRILLED!  He held it in his lap for the rest of the shopping trip and proudly held it up and shouted, “TRACTOR!” to anyone who’d listen.

****************

The dresser upstairs is his new room needed a little face lift to look a little more boyish and a little less like this-used-to-be-mom-and-dad’s.  I kept the frame the same off white color but  made the drawers a little funky!

I had bought some wrapping paper in the dollar section of Michael’s the last time we were in Denver and with the new John Deere curtain *ahem* it was the perfect accent piece to tie everything together.

Wrex cut the strips to size, we mod podged them on and voila – “new” dresser!

To die for, yes?
To die for, yes?

I am soooooo in love how with how it turned out and I have a little bit of dresser envy…

Don't mind the mess on top...
Don’t mind the mess on top…

****************

Little man is down for the count right now.  We got a surprise visit from Aunt Deb (whom he adores) over lunch and now he’s catching some zzzzzs before he’s up and at ’em again.

Twitterpated
Twitterpated
Now I'll cheeeese!
Now I’ll cheeeese!

****************

Love my little man…

Random Ramblings

My word, the weather was B-E-A-UTIFUL today!  71 degrees in January, are you kidding me??!  It was gorgeous!

We went to work with Wrexy today.  Wryder went grocery shopping with me, Sawyer stayed at the barn with daddy and then we all met up again.

Learning from the best...
Learning from the best…

We watched cows sell for a little while and then the kids and I took advantage of the weather and hit the park.  The kiddos had a ball and were covered in sand from head to toe.

Riding a squirrel?  Chipmunk?  What IS that thing??
Riding a squirrel? Chipmunk? What IS that thing??
Wryder loved this yellow horse...
Wryder loved this yellow horse…
Wheeeee!
Wheeeee!
Going down together!
Going down together!
Beauty
Beauty
CHEEEEESE!
CHEEEEESE!

****************

We got home, unloaded groceries and decided we STILL couldn’t drag ourselves indoors so we saddled up sweet Ozark and hit the road.

My evening view...
My evening view…

Old man looks really good these days.  We are so thankful for all of the days we’ve had with him and we’re praying for more…

After supper, they weren’t quite done riding horses so Sawyer volunteered.

Ride a little pony...
Ride a little pony…

It turned out to be more of a bucking bronc fest but it was good watching!

****************

I posted this picture of Sawyer on Facebook a day or so ago…

Fancy nancy
Fancy nancy

I love this girl’s style!  She loves accessories and shoes and fancy dresses; she is all girl and I love it!

She went upstairs to grab some jammies tonight and brought down some beads for me to put on her, too.

:)
🙂

Jewelry with pajamas?!  Of course!

****************

With all of the nesting/cleaning/rearranging going on, Wrex and I decided that our room would officially be downstairs and the kids would each have a room upstairs.  I always feel like our room gets neglected – does that happen to anyone else??  It’s the place we sleep and get dressed and other than that, we don’t spend much time there and I feel like it shows.

We used a little paint, bought a new bedspread, made some paper flowers, rearranged the room and voila – “new” bedroom!  I’m really happy with how it turned out…DSCF2704DSCF2705DSCF2706Hoping to get lots of rest in there tonight.  I feel whooped!

****************

It was just SUCH a good day.  A REAL good day.  And tomorrow…with 75 degrees as a high…I hope is even better.

(Re)Cleaning the Garage

The neighbors gave Sawyer a pair of roller blades last year and here lately she’s been dying to strap them on and go for a skate.  Our garage has a concrete floor, the perfect place for her to do so…but we haven’t seen it in a while.  Anybody else have that problem?

On Thursdays, Wrexy doesn’t have to report to the sale barn until late afternoon/early evening so we’ve spent our morning cleaning out the garage…again.  Is it just us or is that a never ending project for everyone??

The garage is where we store, uh, everything.  Tools?  The garage.  Christmas decor?  The garage.  Tricycles and wagons and scooter and toy cars?  The garage.  Totes of kids’ clothes that we’re saving for the next baby(s)?  The garage.  Rakes and shovels and brooms?  The garage.  Decor and party supplies?  The garage.  Everything you might ever need to do any project ever?  The garage.

It’s nice to have a space to put all of those things but man it gets crowded in there.  Half the time, we’re in a hurry to clean up after a project…or we’re going to need the same equipment for a project in a few days…or we we need more totes to store the clothes the kids have outgrown or the clearance Christmas items we just bought…or the kids got really imaginative with a cardboard box and every little trinket they could find and made a mess a creative little play station.

And none of those are necessarily bad things but it ends up creating a big, jumbled mess that has to be resorted and reorganized and cleaned up again.

Isn’t that how life can be?  There are so many good things we can dip our fingers into, things we can fill our time with and some of them can be life giving, but after a while it’s just…a lot.  Just like we are constantly going back to the garage to declutter again, we have to do that with our time and priorities. What brings the most life to our family?  What is helping us grow in our relationships with the Lord?  What is benefiting us and what is stealing joy?  What are the things that we can lay down in order to have a little more peace or restoration?

Just like re-cleaning the garage, it’s not always a simple task (it took us a few hours and a lot of physical labor) and not everyone will agree with what works best for you, but YOU do.  Pray about it with your spouse and ask the Lord to show you what in your schedule needs weeded out, then make those changes.  I promise that what you give up in obedience will be replaced ten-fold with peace and joy and life!

Just be careful not to let all of that busyness sneak in again. It’s really good at that, ya know?  You’ll be back on your hands and knees scrubbing your calendar again before you know it…

We finished up a little after noon today and Sawyer got to strap on her skates and fly like the wind (read – have a death grip on my hand as I led her around in circles, ahem).  Regardless, she was a joyful little ball of energy!

We’re quite glad to have the cleaning part behind us.  Here’s to hoping it stays that way…

Pinterest Picks

Nesting has hit an all time high around here.  We’re rearranging rooms and making plans and cleaning things out and organizing nooks and crannies and and and and…

I’ve been on Pinterest a bit more than usual lately.  One, because the nesting just puts me in that creative mode and two, because at the end of the day, after all the nesting, I can’t move anything but my fingers.  Kidding.  Sorta.

Here are my latest and greatest Pinterest Picks!

Appropriate.
Appropriate.
How incredible is this cake?  Swoon.
How incredible is this cake? Swoon.
I can see this happening to pink teddy in a few years...
I can see this happening to pink teddy in a few years…
YES.  Holy, not happy.
YES. Holy, not happy.
I need this quilt for our room STAT.  Isn't that divine??
I need this quilt for our room STAT. Isn’t that divine??
EVERYTHING about this room is great but I love the little nook in the corner...
EVERYTHING about this room is great but I love the little nook in the corner…
What a FAB bag...
What a FAB bag…
How cute is this??
How cute is this??
Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.
Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Who doesn't need a gold metallic cow hide?
Who doesn’t need a gold metallic cow hide?

60 Years Together

This year, the Phipps’ celebrated 60 years of wedded bliss!  60 years, people! 

They made the choice in 1954 to love each other for better or for worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, never to divorce…and they’ve succeeded!  I’m sure they’ve had hard times and disagreements and stressful months/days/years…but they made the choice to love each other regardless and stick it out for the long haul!  We are so proud to be from this long line of love…

Wrex and I have actually attended two other 60th anniversary celebrations, one of which was Grandad Phipps’ brother.  The Lord has put some incredible people in our path, it’s true…

We had the honor of decorating for the grand occasion and I regret to inform you that I didn’t get too many pictures.  I left my good camera at home, my iPhone was full and in my nauseous state, we just tried to survive.

With that being said, I’ll share what few I do have!

We went with a neutral theme…lots of white, off-white, gold and a buttery yellow.

The happy couple - matching, no less!
The happy couple – matching, no less!

My favorite part of the party was a display of Doug and Alice’s wedding ensembles.  How incredible is that going away outfit?!  Grandma was so tiny when she got married we barely got that thing on the mannequin!

Alice's going away outfit, Doug's suit, Alice's wedding dress
Alice’s going away outfit, Doug’s suit, Alice’s wedding dress

We had pictures from their biggest anniversary milestones…

Through the years...
Through the years…

We had this little pretty at the entrance of the banquet room…

Really, they do...
Really, they do…

and this right above the welcome table.  That really puts it in perspective, doesn’t it?

By the numbers...
By the numbers…

About a month before the party, I put together a list of questions to ask the Phipps’ and then called them up on several occasions to interview them.  It was, honestly, one of the coolest things I’ve ever gotten to do.  There is sooooo much rich history there…stories we need to know!  We laughed so much, it was almost unbearable!

Did you know Grandma left her wedding and went straight to the dentist to get a tooth pulled before their two week honeymoon??  The dentist did the work for free as a wedding gift, but Grandma told him he didn’t need to do that because she’d been waiting to marry a rich rancher so she could get her teeth fixed and she just had!  HA!

I took the interview and turned it into 60 facts about 60 years.  We printed them out and then (painstakingly) put them on a huge board to display at the party.  We loved how it turned out and people really seemed to enjoy reading little tidbits about their life together.

60 Facts About 60 Years
60 Facts About 60 Years

There was cake and punch and a popcorn bar…boisterous conversations and laughter.   They had such a great turnout; there were well over 100 people that came to hug them and bless them and celebrate with them!

Before we left, Grandad told us thank you for all we did and he said, “I hope you guys have 60 years, too.”  And he didn’t say it in a “I hope you actually make it!” way…he said it like 60 years is worth it.  We’ll make ya proud, Grandad…we promise!

****If I gather up more photos from the rest of the fam, I’ll be sure and share them as an update!****

Super Sawyer

Sawyer has been asking for a superhero birthday party for quite some time and while we didn’t make plans for a big, invite-the-entire-population-of-the-eastern-plains party, she wanted to hang out with the “Kruegers and they” so that’s exactly what we did!

A friend of mine had bought this CUTE cape-included shirt for her daughter and when I saw it, I knew Sawyer had to have it for her party; it served as the inspiration for everything else we did.

Super Sawyer!
Super Sawyer!

We made her wrist bands out of felt and foam and attached them with velcro…

IMG_5291IMG_5287We made a little mask, but she mainly wore it as a headband (which I thought looked cuter anyways).

DSCF2340As I was taking pics of her, a special guest was getting ready in the mudroom…

DSCF2329She had NO idea and her face was priceless!

DSCF2330She loves her super daddy!

IMG_5294DSCF2337For the background of the party, we made a foam city scape, sprayed it black and then glued on foam squares to act as windows.

IMG_5268IMG_5281DSCF2363We had the big ‘S’ from a previous project so we added a cape and called it cute!

IMG_5282IMG_5283I hung some star adorned poms from the light fixture and did my best 5 minute free hand of the logo from her shirt…

IMG_5279threw some cute bunting and balloons on the stairs…

IMG_5285and added super Sawyer to the backdoor and called it good!

IMG_5284Sawyer doesn’t really get into cake I made an ice cream sandwich cake…which she also ate none of.  She did think it looked cute – that’s half the battle right?!

We made some picks out of paper and foam and stuck them to the whipped cream topping on the cake and I must say I really, really like how it turned out!

DSCF2343DSCF2342We made a few cake pops, adorned with capes, obviously…

DSCF2354and had her favorite pink punch!DSCF2359DSCF2361I was really happy with how everything turned out for as quickly and cheaply as we put it all together.  Most importantly, the birthday girl was stoked!

DSCF2369I love her to pieces!

DSCF2332

Pinterest Picks (Well, Sorta)

So, I started out by browsing through my latest pins so I could link them here.  I found some cute stuff…like this:

Perfection!
Perfection!

Is that room not divine?!?  The light…the wallpaper…the tire swing for pete’s sake – perfection!

Or this:

Oh, Wrrrrreeeeeexxxx!
Oh, Wrrrrreeeeeexxxx!

I’m thinking I need a wood beam divider…and a bigger house.  *ahem*

And then I came across these cute little guys:

Easy and cute!
Easy and cute!

I’m so ready for football season I can hardly stand it!  From there, my love of all things football and Texas Tech took over my brain.  Enjoy!

THIS needs to be in my closet!
THIS needs to be in my closet!
Indeed!
Indeed!
Would Sawyer look cute in this or what?!
Would Sawyer look cute in this or what?!
Well!  It's true!
Well! It’s true!
I think I could make this happen...
I think I could make this happen…
Our gloves are the coolest!
Our gloves are the coolest!
Hysterical!
Hysterical!
Yes we do!
Yes we do!
Gorgeous!!!
Gorgeous!!!
Cute!
Cute!
I'm thinking our flower boxes could use this...
I’m thinking our flower boxes could use this…

15 days!  I think I can make it.  😉  Get your guns up!

*ahem*
*ahem*