Party Prep

Thanks to nap time for one and Grammy time for another, I was able to finish almost all of the girls' decorations for their party next weekend. Free time to do something like this is few and far between so I figured I better take advantage of it! Love the crown this year as always! Elle had one for her 1st and 2nd, so of course they both needed one for their 3rd and 1st! Sneak peek below! 

Rinse and Repeat

How is it already Thursday? So excited that the weekend starts tomorrow!! I always have grand plans for making pinterest styled memories for the girls when I'm home on the weekends, but truth be told if we're able to play outside a while, find enough food in the house to slap together a semi healthy meal, bathe, and make it to church on Sunday morning I'm going to mark that down as a win. Because lets face it, if you want to raise littles that are silly, honest, and kind, Martha worthy crafts and food isn't going to get you there, so I try not to beat myself up over not being able to make mermaid shaped pancake painted with edible paint ;) I do try and live in the moment with my girls. We sing, color, dance, and pretend like crazy!

The weekend was fleeting but great. Saturday was a milder August day so we decided to load the girls up and head to the zoo. Elle's favorite part of the zoo is always the monkeys. I can't decide what Wren likes the most yet. The highlight for me was staring at a crocodile. I said how much I thought it looked just like a dinosaur. Elle responded "Well, Mama, it's not a dinosaur. It's a crocodile!" I love my little smartie! I hope her love for all animals continues throughout her life.

The rest of the week has been a blur. Wake up, go to work, come home, feed kids, bathe kids, rinse and repeat. 

Today was such a cool day for August, we played outside for a while at my in-laws enjoying the cooler weather!

How do you make the most of your time with your littles?

Backyard Patio Remodel

     I love many things, one of my favorite things to do is look at before and after pictures. Before and after hair, face, weight loss, home remodels- you name it, I'll look. I'm a sucker for before and after pictures! When my husband and I bought our house, it came with the saddest looking patio that you ever did see. Insert patio before.

     Can you believe that? That tiny little patch of concrete is the patio! We decided we had to enlarge it! With the help of my father in-law, we were able to remodel the patio ourselves and save probably $10-$15k! At first we were just going to extend it to the start of the window you see sticking out there, but once we got to thinking about it we decided to extend the concrete the whole length of the house. One idea led to another and next thing we know we're deciding to build a covered patio!

     I enlisted the help of my little brother. Here we are waiting for our instructions on moving concrete around. Let me tell you, that was a workout. We ordered our lumber from the Home Depot and they delivered it to our driveway. It was SO MUCH LUMBER, all I could think was, this has to be carried into the backyard. I couldn't resist a picture on top before we started to haul it to the back.

     We only had my little brother to help for the first day pouring concrete, the rest of the work, my husband and father in-law did by themselves. A few days into the project the weather temperature dropped a good 30 degrees. This was not a fun day, however it was much more enjoyable for me wrapped in a blanket outside watching them work!

     I had also decided I wanted to cover the outside part of our fireplace in stone.

     This took less than a week to accomplish and we are absolutely thrilled with the results. All in all we extended the concrete the length of the house, painted the concrete, covered the fireplace, covered the patio and added three ceiling fans. It completely changed the look of our backyard. Dinners outside are a regular thing around here!

     Are you a before and after junkie like me? I hope you enjoyed these pictures!

Sister Birthday Party Planning

     Before my husband and I decided to have children, I had my heart set on having a baby in October. I would have settled for September, but I was adamant about not wanting babies in August. I love everything about October and thought how wonderful it would be to have another reason to love the month of October! August is HOT, especially in the Lone Star State. It's also the time almost everyone is going back to school, two things that don't make for a fun birthday in my opinion!

     We have two little girls, both of which were due in September, but both decided to make their debut in August! This year my sweet Elle will be turning 3 and baby Wren will be turning 1, 3 days apart! For Elle's first birthday I was so excited, I went all out with a pink ombre theme. Her second birthday, I had literally just gotten home from the hospital the day before with baby Wren. Thanks to my wonderful mother in law, I really am blessed with the best in-laws, we were able to throw together a little Curious George party. I basically moved from my bedroom to the dining room with a baby in tow for the party!

     This year I am SO excited to throw a party for both of my little ladies! We've decided to throw one big party since their birthdays are so close. I'm also not sure my husband could handle two parties so close together! I have been pinning stuff like crazy, it's getting down to the wire! Elle is really into the zoo and I really like sprinkles, so thats what I'm running with. Below are a few things I'm using for inspiration. I can't wait to share pictures of their special day!

Cupcakes

Party Cake

Smash cake

Confetti Balloons

Hi Friend

     Hello! Let me introduce myself before one of my littles decides they are finished with bedtime. I'm Sidney, a wife, mother, pediatric operating room nurse, and now- blogger! I needed a creative outlet from my very structured 9-5. Or more accurately 0630-1500!

     Follow me on my journey raising two girls, with the dream that they will always be silly, honest, and kind.