Leslie's Little Smittles

Disney World 2016 Update

2016-05-12T14:55:00.001-05:00

Been a gazillion years since I blogged, but I've had so many people text, message, or call me about Disney that I've felt overwhelmed about getting back to reach of them individually. I figured dusting off the old blog and making a post would be the easiest way to get the word out.
First of all, if you haven't already click above on the Disney Tips tab. There are so many things I've written before about Disney that are still great ideas. From where to eat to what to do as far as safety goes. Be sure you start there, because I'm trying to only post new stuff here. Also, know that I am NO expert when it comes to Disney. I'm just sharing what we've done and how it worked for us. I'm not getting paid to tell you about Disney(although I wouldn't mind that job.)
So, we just finished our fifth trip to Disney. This was our second trip in May. This brings me to my first thought. Go off season! The best time, in our opinion, is September! The crowds are so much easier to manage, and wait times will be better for rides. Early May is also considered off season, but we found this last time that lots of other people also thought early May was the time to go. It was CROWDED! Going off season is also cheaper. Which brings me to my next thought-NEVER pay full-price for Disney!
There are almost always discounts available. We've gone with several different types of discounts from kids stay and play free to free dining. Go here to see current discounts. The great thing about discounts is that if a better one comes up before you go you can almost always get them to switch it over as long as it's not within 30 days of your vacation(your vacation is paid in full). Know that going to Disney is NOT cheap. For a week long trip we usually spend about $1000 per person with everything included. I'm sure there are ways to make it more affordable, but we have a motto that in Disney why say no when you could say YES! We give each of the kids a gift card when we get there that has their spending money on it. They can use their card to buy ANYTHING they want as long as it's within their limit. The great thing about Disney is that you can make your reservation with a $200 deposit, then make payments at your own pace as long as it's paid for within 30 days of your trip. We also MAJORLY save by using our Disney Chase card throughout the year. Each dollar we spend earns us Disney points that can later be used on ANYTHING Disney. This year we used our points to pay for our deposit, 1/3 of the cost of the trip, then ALL the spending money! If you haven't heard of this sweet deal from Chase you might want to look into it. We just use ours like cash on groceries and gas, then pay it off at the end of the month!

Have I mentioned I've already written a TON about Disney Dos and Don'ts? Here is a great post with info we still mostly follow.
The last two times we've gotten 5-DAY park hopper tickets and we've pretty much worked out a perfect system to see all the attractions we are interested in within the five days. We generally spend 2 full days in Magic Kingdom(the park with the most rides and best attractions for smaller children) a full day in Hollywood Studios(although due to several closures in that park you could probably spend only a half day and still do everything that is until the new areas open next summer!), and a half day in both Animal Kindgom(which is also about to have a lot of new attractions) and Epcot. We've also gone with 7 day passes and taken things a lot slower, but really, 5 days is enough in our opinion.
Those with older kids(or smaller families) may also like adding the waterpark feature onto their tickets. We plan to do this the next time we go in 2018. We've never been before, but they look like a lot of fun. If you're planning to add this feature to your tickets I'd say adding a day to your trip is a smart idea and go ahead and do 6 or 7 day passes instead of the 5 day passes.
Fast Passes(FP+) are a MUST in the park now. They are basically you saying THIS is when I plan to be at this ride. They are a 1 hour window, and are used to make lines MUCH shorter. For instance, The Dwarf's Mine Train never had a line shorter than about a 60 minute wait and was more often 95 minutes. With our fast passes we were able to skip the line altogether and ride in about 5 minutes. There are differing theories about how to use FP+ and when, but the bottom line is you get THREE choices. Until you've used those up you don't get any more. Once all three are used you can keep adding one at a time. We used them for our three most desired rides each day and reserved them AT MIDNIGHT on the night we were able to reserve them. If you don't, you'll likely not get all the reservations you want, but know that they will at times become available due to people changing their plans around. If you have a large group going, or you are going at peak season though, I HIGHLY suggest you making those reservations ASAP!
Dining reservations are also a must! Here are some tips I wrote about that. Most of them are still great EXCEPT!! Pizza Planet(one of my kids FAVORITE things to do in Disney World closed it's doors as one of the MANY closures at Hollywood Studio! BOO!) It's tough to get in to restaurants last minute especially when you have a large group, so plan ahead and reserve meals ahead of time. We also ALWAYS use a dining plan. If you do your research you'll find that you can stretch your plan even more by using your snack as a meal in several places around the resort. Our favorite-the GIANT cinnamon rolls in Gaston's tavern. ALSO, Be our Guest is AMAZING and for sure worth the quick service reservation you can get for breakfast now. We got ours for 8am, then were able to be in the park ready for rides when they opened at 9.
Not sure when to be at each park? Check out Undercover Tourist. They have a GREAT crowd calendar that has been accurate for each trip we've ever taken! They also have touring plans that will save you TONS of time trying to plan each day. Take them and make them yours and you'll be sure to get to each attraction you want most! We love Undercover Tourist!
OK, our new must do list has to include some fun things we've recently learned about.

Pirate Adventure Cruises If you've got a young pirate you'll want to check this out!
Jedi Training Academy Brubbs did this on his trip last year! So fun! Be sure to get to the park early to sign up because spots go FAST!
Winter Summerland Miniature Golf This is a great activity to do on your arrival or departure day. Doesn't take long, and if you plan and book your trip through Disney you get free tickets.
Lots of new and changing Firework activity in Hollywood Studio and Animal Kingdom.
Characters in Flight None of us had ever been in a hot air balloon. This isn't actually a Hot air balloon, but basically the same. Only runs when the weather is nice and there isn't much wind, so we've only been able to do it once, but there's lots of other great things to do in Disney Springs(where it's located).

People always ask me what the best time to go is. I always joke and say-NOW! It's true! But, seriously, 4-10 seems to be the best age as far as being able to do the most and it still be magical. OK, that's all I can think of for now. PLEASE read my post on Disney safety if you are planning to take young children. Now that they have magic bands there is a lot less worry because Disney can pinpoint their location or your location, but there is still a lot you can do to keep your littles safe at the most magical place on earth!

Smittles Overhaul the Hizzy:Kitchen Update and Dining Room

2015-03-28T14:09:00.003-05:00

So, because we are crazy and had NO idea what a chore it would be, we completed the kitchen FIRST. I mean, we took cream cabinets and painted those suckers GRAY. It took forever to keep the kids off of them long enough that they could dry!! I posted the pics of the kitchen here, but we've updated it quite a bit as I've gotten things here and there, so I wanted to give you a brief update, then share my most favorite room of all, the DINING ROOM!!

So, over Christmas break we went to visit Manly's family. I mentioned that I loved a few of the things they had around their house, and that's when it happened. Manly's granddad invited me to come into the BASEMENT! I had only been one time before in all the time I've known Manly and his family, but I remembered one thing: there was a LOT of stuff down there!! We slowly walked the stairs down to what can only be described as pure mid-century bliss. Imagine a space filled with every artifact from the 50s-80s. Everywhere. Then he turns to me and says, "Well, what do you want?" ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!?!?! I WANT IT ALL! I nearly cried, ya'll. I went straight to the back and worked my way forward. We're talking vintage clothes, vintage game systems, antiques, precious clothing worn by my Man and his cousins and Aunt Steph. I was in heaven. I collected several things I'd had my eye on while shopping flea markets. I kept saying, "This is amazing!" over and over again. I pack our suburban down as much as we could and vowed I'd be back! Most of the items we got(aside from some KILLER outfits for Lulu and me) were cleaned and placed in the kitchen. I was wanting a modern version of a 50s kitchen in here. I don't really know what it is about that style that lures me in, but I'm hooked!

All of those colored cups came from the Grands. I LOVE them for the kids. The yellow coffee cups are plastic, and PERFECT for hot cocoa! The black thing on the top shelf is a coffee pot that's all tarnished. I was going to clean it up, but it has so much charm! We got TONS of tiny mason jars with little stars on them that are so cute, a whole set of punch cups, and some vintage coffee cups that Manly can remember different members of his family using. The teapot is from MY grandma.

I used a tension rod to add this curtain to my spice cabinet. I got some extra fabric that matched the barstools I recovered at the beginning of our makeover journey. This keeps the "ugly" from showing. It also reminds me of Friends! Ha! Sometimes I even pretend I'm Monica.

I also decided to follow something we did at my mom's house and hang a few signs IN the cabinets. I like how it makes even the cabinets seem like artwork.

Ya'll are you kidding me with all these cuties?! I love the little hen! The bowl set is reDONKulously beautiful!! I actually bought the hippos for Manly for Christmas. He had always said he wanted to have a salt and pepper shaker collection! Now he does. Ha!

A view of the other side of the kitchen. We will eventually change out the fridge and the oven. We've just been updating them as needed. See the cute little clips on the fridge? Those are for all the kids important papers from school or church that we need to have close daily. Each child has their own color to keep things simple. Works out great for us!

Family calendar.

I love this wall in the house. Aside from a few prints I got from IKEA these are all original Little Smittle originals. I plan to keep going around the room with them, but I'm filling in this wall first. I plan to add in other little prints as we go. It adds such a pop of color!

My cutie table and stools. I found this table at Salvation Army for $8, took off the top, and built a new one. I used sand paper to clean the rust off the metal. I love this tiny place for the girls to do homework, or to use if we are having snack in the kitchen(to go along with the barstools at the bar.)

Another view that also includes the cubbies and my public market print. If you know me, you know I love Grey's Anatomy. I love this print they have at the hospital, so I looked it up and found a print! Love it! You can also see the kids colors again in this pic.

Another pic of the cubbies. Manly saved these cubbies from the dumpster, brought them home, painted them, and added hooks.

My tiniest Littles eating their lunch and being cute!

And now, moving on to the Dining Room. My favorite room in the house!

Such a cool print from IKEA. I liked it for the character and simplicity. It really stands out against the darker grey(Benjamin Moore-Kendall Charcoal HC166)

Dresser from when Manly and I first got married. Manly's prized possession(record player), and a cool accordion I picked up from Goodwill. You will also notice Manly has a nice record collection.

See this BEAUTIFUL table!? My good sweet Manly made it for me!! Isn't it perfect?! It's to beautiful. We did everything on our own from making a plan to staining/painting. I love it. We pared it with these wonderful clear acrylic chairs from IKEA. They are a little bouncy, so that's fun with six kids. Ha! They are easy to keep clean, and punch up the modern factor. That awesome wall? That was hours of hand painting. Probably the job that took the longest aside from the kitchen, but I'd do it again in a second! It was hard, but it TOTALLY paid off and we all love it! The background color is the same shade as the kitchen(Benjamin Moore-Revere Pewter HC172). I chose to use all the accent colors we already had in the house. It turned out really really cool.

A closer look of the stencil wall, and a pic of my wood shim mirror! I made this beast of a mirror with three packs of wood shims from Lowe's and three shades of stain.

LOVE this serving cart I got from my dear Aunt Teresa. I left it completely as is. You can raise the sides to make it a larger table.

A view of the other side of the room. You can also see my other cornice board. Such an easy way to style up the otherwise UGLY sliding glass door!

My beautiful beautiful chandelier One of my favorite IKEA finds. It casts such a lovely glow on the room.

Look how pretty it is in front of my wall!! The mirror! It's just too much!!!

Manly found this vintage tray on the side of the road. Love the mid century style. The art behind?! Oh EM GEEE!!! I totally totally love it!! I found them at a Flea Market for $5 for a set of FOUR!!! Two birds and two cats. I should have taken a pic of the other side. Sorry!

Table top. Manly did such a great job! Also, the chandelier is so pretty!!

View from the living room. Love this place we call home!

Furniture Painting

2015-03-19T13:08:00.001-05:00

So, I promised a quick run through of how I painted the chair, what I think of it now, and if I recommend it to others. Here's the scoop.

The chair started out looking like this:

Well, without the bags and painters tape. It was a sweet little chair that my BFFs grandma had bought at a garage sale years ago. It had been recovered several times. So I removed all the covering until it was down to the original. I had originally intended to recover it myself, but then I started seeing all of these posts about painting the fabric of furniture. One day I was having spray paint withdrawals(this happens from time to time when I haven't painted anything in a while. I blame the instant gratification...and the fumes), so I decided to wrap up the wood(which is the reason I loved this little chair in the first place), and go to town on it with the black paint. I had several cans of black paint, and I thought it might make a good accent piece if it was black.

Here it is midway through. This is my painting tarp(can you tell?), it's covered in just about every color paint under the sun. I always do spray paint outside because it gets on everything and smells TERRIBLE! Make sure you're working on a nice sunny day so you can leave it out to dry a bit.

Here is the point in the conversation that I must mention I used CHEAP black flat paint. I have since learned that there is spray paint that is specifically for fabric(haven't seen it for myself), but this is NOT that paint. Ha! This is the $.99 cans my husband picked up that one time I asked for black paint. I generally use Valspar only because I think it's the best at covering, still reasonably priced, and comes in TONS of trendy colors. You can usually match it to the regular paint as well, which is cool if you are needing to paint the wall to match.

Here it is finished. Don't you just love the contrast of the cherry colored wood and the black. I also like how the black pops against the gray wall. Now, I should mention that for the most part this chair isn't sat in. If someone sits in it its usually one of the kids. I wasn't too worried about the paint rubbing off on anyone because of it's lack of use. I also wasn't worried about if the fabric would become stiff. I honestly just wanted it to LOOK cute. I don't recommend using cheap paint on a piece that you want to use regularly, as this paint DID made the fabric a little stiff, but more importantly it DOES rub off if you rub on it too much. It may also have to do with the particular fabric on this chair as well, but like I said, since it's rarely used we aren't too worried about it.

Here she is all dressed up. I love that we were able to bring new life to this chair without spending a dime! It looks just right for the space, and I love it! This is a picture I took right after I finished it.

Here it is this week. You can see that it still looks fine, but the color does show through a tiny bit, and it doesn't look as crisp as it did before. I'm still OK with it though. It serves it's purpose, and fits in just fine. SO, in the end, it's fine for this particular purpose, but I can't say that I recommend it for you unless you're OK with needing to recover it in the end(which we still may do some day), or scrapping it all together. Try doing some research on it(it's ALL over the internet these days) before taking the plunge like I did.

Smittles Overhaul the Hizzy:Entryway, Living Room, and Guest Bath

2015-03-18T22:04:00.003-05:00

So, now that we've covered my safe haven bedroom we can move on to the FUN parts of the house!! SO, welcome to the Smittle Family Home!!

This is the first thing you'll see when you walk in to our home. It's probably in the top five of my favorite things in our home. I bought it from IKEA, and it was well worth every penny! It makes fun polka dots all over the walls when it's on. So fun! The large tree print is also from IKEA. I loved the colors in it and the simple design. I found the smaller paintings in a folder I had kept from a nature art walk we did several years back. Each of the girls painted one of these. I love that they go so nicely with the larger print. A little tip: group like things together and suddenly it appears you have a little collection. This can be anything from vases to framed t-shirts(although the style factor may vary, the statement won't)

Another look at this corner. I'd love to find a big old retro floor lamp or a tiny table and a table lamp for this corner. No one ever sits in this chair, really, but I thought it made a nice statement. It's an old chair that I decided to spray paint. More on that tomorrow... The color on all of the main walls in the house is Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore. I again pared it with White Dove for all the trim work. We had an off-white color on all the trim originally and we felt like the jump to white really punched up the feel of the house. Because everything had been off white before we had beige outlets and switch plates, so Scotty learned a little electrical work and changed out ALL of them in the entire house for fresh white ones. It made a HUGE difference!! We also painted all the doors and spray painted all the knobs in a matching color.

Found this entry rug on clearance at Target for around $10. I love that it's funky but still pretty and has nice coloring.

The accent wall across from the front door. I totally snagged this paint from a girlfriend who had an extra gallon from painting her daughters room. The color before was really cool, and there is a really cool texture on the wall that we decided to leave that I'm pretty sure was created by applying tissue paper. I love the BOLD pop of color it provides to the foyer, and how it pulls a smile out of just about everyone who comes to my door. Even the mail lady complemented the color.

I got these mirrors from a friend who was finished with them. I'd like to add a long skinny table to this wall, and eventually I'll make one, but for now it's just fine.

This is a look at the foyer from the living room. I made the cornice board from some extra wood and burlap. Manly helped me think of a safe way to hang the giant thing. This window space is over 100" so we needed to be sure it wouldn't fall on the kids if they were to mess with it. I'll do a tutorial on that some day...maybe.

This is also a good visual for our new flooring. We got vinyl wood plank flooring over all the others for two simple reasons: price and durability. Here is a description of what exactly it is. I originally wanted bamboo which would have been great(and someday I might have it), but I would have always been nervous about the kids ruining it. With this flooring I literally have wiped it with a wet rag after someone puked on it and it was fine. We've also removed gum, paint, and marker very easily. We have LOVED it so far. It's a breeze to clean, and SO SO durable with the kids. We(mostly Manly) installed it ourselves and if I do say so myself, it looks GREAT. Manly did an awesome job trimming it out afterwards and it looks so pretty and fresh.

Several of you have commented on my cross wall before, never fear, it made it into the remodel. We just moved it into the foyer. It looks really nice here, and again, brings in some pops of color.

This little half wall has been my enemy since we moved in. Our living room is very large, so it's nothing to do with space, it's just been hard knowing how to USE this little space. We decided to knock the thing down, but once we had hacked into it we discovered there was a PIPE in the middle of it!! SO, we learned to drywall, and put it back. I decided to just leave the barstools there as they were before, add a lamp, and a giant elephant(that my BFF gave me from her giveaway pile in her garage). It's a great space when we have a lot of guests over, because it adds extra seats, but also is its own little chatting space. Ideas on what to do???

I wish I was a better photographer so that you could get a better idea of how giant our sectional is, and how AWESOME this room is!! This is the sectional that started it all! I don't know WHY Manly and I decided to buy a GREEN couch, but we loved it. I'm so glad we did. It is SO cool and seats SO many people!! I'd love to add more pillows, but they are so darn expensive that I've just been getting them little by little. The painting? Why? No reason. I just fell in love with it, it went on sale, I bought it. I'd do it again. It's REALLY huge and sort of odd, but it's us. Ha!

Once I decided on the color for the walls, the next step was to make my burlap curtains! I knew from the beginning I wanted gray and burlap, and that's just what I did. They add a rustic charm to my otherwise totally funky style. I LOVE them. Bonus: they were NO SEW, and took me less than an hour to make!! The hanging lamps are IKEA, the piano(which I'd secretly LOVE to paint a mustard yellow color) is a family heirloom, and the fireplace is still not my favorite.

I just can't decide what to do with it. For now it's fine, but I'm just not in love with it.

Oh, that chaise lounge? Manly FOUND IT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AS TRASH, picked it up, totally rebuilt it, and we put a vintage pillow from his grandparents house on it and BAM, one of the best spots for napping in the house! Print from IKEA.

I'll post on the dining room later, but this is the view from the living room. It's by far my favorite room of the house. (Swoon.)

Our family photo wall. These pics of our family are so special to us as they mark 10 years of marriage! They were taken by the very talented LindseyFaith Photography. We highly recommend her! I changed out the shades on the lamps, spray painted them teal, and painted the frames a fresh coat of white. I love the personal touch family photos give a room. Side note: I'd love to add tin to the top of that side table. Probably will soon...

I got this cool painting from The Not So Blank Canvas. Her work is so cool! Check her out! This is a tiny shot of the kitchen too. I'll post an update on that soon.

SO, last but not least, the guest bath. I mentioned in my Master suite post that we had TERRIBLE issues with PRE-WALLPAPERED sheetrock. Seriously, this was some back aching work! There were also SEVERAL layers of paper. By the time we got to the actual wall it was pretty damaged. We decided to do a really thick texture on the walls with joint compound. I love it! The color is Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore. It's one shade darker than my Chelsea Gray walls. I used it for all the smaller spaces. Don't be afraid to do a dark color on small spaces. We found that it actually made it feel a little larger.

I will be adding tile to the counter top OR just getting a new countertop(butcher block) all together soon, but for now it's fine. I got this SUPER cool retro medicine cabinet at Re-Store for $5!! Manly rewired it, we painted it a fun purple, and added Edison bulbs. I LOVE it!! It's really funky, but a great fit for a fun guest bath.

The vase was given to me as a house warming gift when we first moved in by my Aunt. It's always been one of my favorite pieces. It's HUGE, and looks GREAT in this space to add some white.

The painting on the left was a cool water color weaving that Lulu did.

Those AMAZING hand towels are from World Market. They are SO soft AND reversible. Ha!

An upclose look at the textured wall. It looks really cool and was REALLY easy. Joint compound, hands, and lots of time waiting for it to dry.

The toilet side. Ha!

That's all for now. Up next: Kitchen and Dining Room! Yay!

Smittles Overhaul the Hizzy: The Love Nest

2015-03-10T20:59:00.001-05:00

It's been what? Like, a million and two years since I posted on my blog. Life, from time to time, catches up with me, and my time to write is exchanged for other things. In the last several months it's been working on our home. Over the next several days I'll be sharing pictures, how-to posts, and my tips on how to successfully overhaul an entire house on a tight budget.
Today I'll start our home tour by sharing our master suite. I knew when we made over our master suite that I wanted a space that would be a safe haven away from the rest of the house. I wanted a space where I could go in, close the door, and immediately feel at peace/restful.
First of all, I wanted a color that would coordinate well with the rest of the house, but also be very different. I had already chosen the colors for the rest of the house from the same paint card, so I just chose the lightest shade on the card for our room. It's Benjamin Moore Boothbay Gray [HC165]. It's a nice blue gray color. We decided to pair it with White Dove[OC17], also by Ben Moore.
I wanted to accent with different shades of green and aqua. In my original idea I knew I wanted the room to have a 50s botanical feel. I've really grown to love midcentury, and I had several pieces we received from our grandparents I wanted to incorporate. That and my signature green velvet chair. Ha! I love how it turned out. I'd like to eventually add white built-in bookshelves on the window wall, but for now things are great. The only things we still need to add in these rooms are the beadboard ceiling, and a sliding door between the bathroom and bedroom. Oh, and a big rug for the bathroom "entry."

This is the light fixture we put in the master closet. I'm not posting any other pictures of that room because...it's the closet. It's painted the same color.

This is right outside the closet in the bathroom "entry." In this space we removed several layers of wallpaper which left the drywall looking rough. We decided to texture the wall by using joint compound. We simply gunked it up there and swirled it around. I love how it turned out. We also added a frame to the mirror to punch it up a little. I didn't want to lose the size of the mirror by putting in a more modern smaller one. This lamp was owned by Scotty's grandparents, the sweet picture was my grandma's, and there are lots of trinkets on the counter that belonged to our grandparents too. I love that we were able to use so many things that used to belong to them. It makes our room mean so much more to us.

Love these ombre towels I got from World Market. I tried mixing a few more expensive pieces(like these) with cheaper things for a well rounded look. Shower curtain from Target.

I can't decide if I want to strip the rest of my hope chest or leave it like this. It looks pretty cool in person like this, but it would also look GREAT stripped and stained a tiny bit darker. All bed linens and curtains came from IKEA except the sheets which came from Target.

Cool burlap print from TJ Maxx.

The sweet print on this wall was a gift from Aunt Steph. It had a lot to do with the inspiration for my idea. The tray on the hope chest was a gift from Scotty's grandparents. Of course, you see my green chair. There is a vintage mother of the bride dress hanging over it that my grandmother wore in a wedding. I bought the octagon table at a thrift store for $5 and painted it white. The AMAZING lamps came from Target. I LOVE the tall floor lamp. It matches the ones on the bedside tables.

These sweet bird prints were my grandma's.

The "utility" side of the room. Ha!

OK, so there you have it! Up next: foyer, living room, and guest bath.

Farm Livin'

2014-07-21T21:38:00.002-05:00

Well, because the one and only Aunt Steph was one of the leads in an opera in NWA we decided to make a little overnight trip with the fam. Manly's grandparents VERY generously met us and took the kids for the evening while Manly and I went to the opera. It was WONDERFUL, and Aunt Steph ROCKED the stage.

The next morning, after a yummy breakfast made especially by Great Pa we all threw on our play clothes and headed out on the farm. Manly's grandparents own a beautiful little farm in NWA. The kids were in heaven! The first order of business was to say hello to the horses.

Next up was picking corn. They have corn. Lots and lots of corn. The kids, especially KK thought picking real live corn from a real live stalk was the coolest thing ever!

After that it was time to explore a bit. There are lots of things for them to discover and explore. They quickly found apple trees and blackberry bushes. Also spotted, a playset, more horses, and the tractor Manly rode when he was a child.

Mia learned to feed the horses, but she was still a little too scared to actually do it! This was before she decided to put her mud boots on and get in there with them.

Great Pa tried to help KK feed the horses corn husks. This girl kept saying, "BEST DAY EVER!"

Manly showed Mia how to show the horsies that you were nice and that they weren't actually out to get her.

THEN, something lovely happened for my littles. Uncle Mark brought out a horse and a saddle and let them ride! Everyone, even Mia and Eli, rode. Well, not me! Ehh, I haven't done horses since I was a little girl. Anyway, it was a huge hit and they all loved it very much.

KK picked lots of pretty flowers then Great Gran and Great Pa told her what kinds they were. She was fascinated with every part of the farm. She even tried a cucumber fresh out of the garden which is WAY outside her comfort zone as far as food goes.

Last on the list was the boys driving a REAL tractor. They LOVED it! Brubbs was in HEAVEN!

When we got ready to leave all the kids wanted to come back as soon as possible. Lulu asked if she could stay for a week some time. We were really glad to have time with family, and happy to watch them get to enjoy our family! While I'm a city girl through and through, it seems like these littles have country roots!

Smittlez Overhaul the Hizzy-Kitchen, Pantry, and Laundry Room

2014-07-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

I've been gone for so so long from the blog world. I keep starting a post, then deleting it. I actually almost deleted the entire blog the other day, but I decided just to sign off and come back today. Wanna see the progress in my house? Oh alllllright!
Here is a before picture of our kitchen and another of the dining area.

Sorry these pics are from Christmas, this is actually photos my mom took at our housewarming party right after we moved in. It didn't change much from that time though. Just a few more chairs at the table.

And here are the after pics!! I like to call my style eclectic. These pictures are pre-decorating for the most part, so keep that in mind.

We have plans to upgrade the fridge and oven soon, but they are still in great condition, so for now we'll just have them there. The upper cabinets are KC168 Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore. This is the color you'll see in the main living areas of our home. The lower half is HC 166 Kendall Charcoal. This is the color you'll see in my smaller rooms(pantry, dining room, etc.)

I decided to keep the upper cabinets open. I love the look and how much it opens up the room. Sorry the pics are blurry, my phone camera is terrible!

I recovered the barstools with a simple red/oat chevron and clear vinyl to make them easy to wipe clean. I got the fabric for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I wanted something fun, but simple.

I LOVE how they turned out, and this was a quick and cheap project!

My sweet sweet Manly found this beauty in the garbage and painted it and added hooks. We use it to put "getting ready to go items." Each of the kids also has a given color to make things easier on their momma. Those little file boxes hold their school/church work that we'd like to keep.

For now I have a serving cart in the room as a table, but I'm on the lookout for a CHEAP small round pedestal table. We don't eat in this room anymore, but the kids snack in here, so I'd still like to have some seating in here. I have four wooden chairs I'm planning to paint to go with the table. I also have my eye on this rug to go underneath. I just have to talk Manly into another IKEA trip!

The wall color is HC172 Revere Pewter. At first I HATED IT, but once we got everything else finished I've fallen in love with it. I needed something that would blend well with the gray, but still be a tanish color that would work with the existing tile and silestone countertop. I think this shade does that job perfectly! You'll see it again in the dining room once I finish that up(waiting on a stencil).

I don't have ANY pictures of the pantry before we started it. I racked my brain trying to think of if I'd ever taken a picture in there, but came up empty. SO, here is the after. The before was about the same, only really dark brown. I'm amazed at how the gray still brightens up the room so much. Also, this is a small space and I'm basically the worst phone photographer EVER...

Walls are HC 166 Kendall Charcoal. The shelves are OC17 Dove White.

Nothing spectacular, just a pantry. Yes, it looks like a grocery store. That's how I like it. After I took this picture and noticed the flour and powder sugar were lopsided I fixed it. Don't judge! Ha!

Love this adjustable shelving unit. It was already in the house when we bought it, but it's SO easy to use.

The VERY cheap($5 cheap) light fixture we bought to go in there. I chose this because it mostly matches the one that was already in the laundry room and because it's REALLY bright, but in a clear easy to see way...

AND, last but not least, the LAUNDRY ROOM! I have a love hate relationship with this sweet little room. I love it because it's adequate and quiet, but I hate it because it's tiny and will never hold two sets of washers and dryers. I've made it work, and NOW it has a tiny bit of design! Ha!

It all started with this little pack of tape and this idea.

I decided AFTER I was done that this looks a LOT like a candy cane, but I don't even care!!

I needed a little help from my sweet Addi Fae. She's so artistic and accurate with design things. Freakishly for her age, really. She helped me cut all the tape strips.

We also needed to do a little construction. We decided to build a shelf to help with tricky storage of all of our bajillion laundry baskets.

Addi got to use a power tool with the help of Daddy.

Here is the shelf. It's PERFECT for what we needed. I was proud of Manly to putting it together for us quickly! HEY, here is the dark brown color of the rooms before.

And now, the finished product!

Love my fancy washing machine! These walls are Kendall Charcoal too. The trim, cabinets, and shelf are all dove white.

Have you ever seen anything cuter?! LOVE this idea. It took me less than an hour and $3 in tape!

Our new shelf in use.

Another shot of the room. Again, small area bad photographer. Sorry.

With all the rolling laundry baskets in the room.

And, because it's the cutest little appliance in my house, one more of my confetti dryer!

And now, I need to go paint something else. Later.

Moment of Truth

2014-06-16T00:16:00.002-05:00

If you've ever had a baby you know about that moment. The one where you hold your baby for the very first time. You look into their face and think, "Whoa. I've been waiting for you. Here you are. I love you!"

Here is that moment times six.

Olivia made you a dad.

Emma Claire made you glad.

Your faith grew stronger with Addison.

Isaiah gave you son number one.

Mia showed you a true strong will.

Eli gave you no time to chill.

We love you our big strong Manly Man.

I couldn't ask for a better mate and more perfect father for our kids.

You are wise yet humble, strong yet tender, and kind and handsome to boot.

Thank you for choosing me, loving me, and giving me our children.

You'll always be my frog prince first, but you rock the roll of daddy.

Happy Father's Day!

Pigtails and Crewcuts!

2014-06-13T14:08:00.000-05:00

It's the simple things you don't think of that become nearly impossible when you have six kids. Things like "running to the post office," painting nails, and getting haircuts. Trying to get everyone together and all needing a haircut at the same time is key. If I didn't do it this way I'd basically live at the salon. Today was the day. It needed to be last week, but the big girls were gone to camp.
The boys needed cuts a few weeks back, but I was trying to wait until school was out so we could all go at the same time. After about an hour, nearly $100, and a few dumdum suckers the littles were all sporting new hairdos.
All the kids have pretty hair, but my Addi has had really long hair for the last several years. Today she donated it to locks of love. We decided to do it once a year at the beginning of summer that way she can grow it out longer, then be cooler in the summer after the donation. They cut off 10+ inches, and she still has quite a lot of hair. This will be so much easier on her being able to take a shower on her own, fixing it every day, and just being cooler. She was really nervous about it, but in the end she really likes the new cut, so she's really happy she did it.
Before we went in I had Addison pose for me. That girl LOVES taking pictures! She said, "OH YES! I for SURE want to remember how I looked before I got my hair donated!" Here are a few of the pictures she liked best.

I mean, we're talking waste length even over the shoulder! SO long!

Wanting to be sure I could see her face and her hair she fluffed it up and said, "OK. How's this??!"

Finally, a shot of just her pretty pretty hair that was still in great health and so pretty even in the wind and after a 45 minute drive.

A group before shot RIGHT IN THE SUN. Isaiah said, "I'm smiling Momma, but I can't open my EYES!!!"

First up was my two babies. Mia's hair grows REALLY slowly and is REALLY thin. The poor girl wants long hair so badly! We're still working on the sides growing in as much as the back so she doesn't have a mullet and we're ALMOST there. Today she just got a trim. Little Brother just needed a good short summer cut. They both look so much older with short hair!!

Obviously they both don't mind haircuts as long as it's in a cool chair like these, eating a sucker, and watching movies.

Next up was Addi. She was feeling nervous, but was still OK with getting it cut. She just wanted to be sure she'd still have SOME hair left. After the first cut she was fine. She saw that she would still have normal hair, and now she LOVES how it looks. She says she looks MUCH older. I won't tell her I think it actually makes he look younger.

Here she is getting it all brushed out and ready for ponytails. You can see they had to put several boosters in because otherwise it was too long to cut while she sat down.

Getting the ponytails in. They did four since she had so much hair.

Measuring each ponytail. It has to be at least 10in for locks of love.

Once all the ponytails were in the stylist took a picture for their facebook page.

Making the first cut!

Cutting the last ponytail!

All of her pretty hair will bless someone SO much!!

While she was going I also had Isaiah in the other chair getting his summer cut! That boy has TERRIBLE cowlicks. Notice I said cowlick(S). His poor hair stands on end most of the time. This time he got a great cut from one of my favorite kid stylists. He looks so stinking cute!

That's Brubbs with his back to me in this picture.

He LOVES getting his hair cut! He'll tell me(in his little country voice, "Mauh-ma, I need a haircut SOON!" It may have something to do with the Thomas trains and fire engine chairs, but I think he also likes a nice clean haircut.

Once they were done with Isaiah they started Lulu who wanted a short bob. Here she is with Addison just finishing up. I just realized I never got a picture of her by herself because I was watching Eli while she was getting hers cut. It's really cute though and will be great for hot summer days.

Addison with her hair and new hairdo. She was actually looking at the stylist who was taking her picture when I snapped this one.

Looking all cute for summer!

Last but not least was KK. This crazy girl has gone from waste length hair she wouldn't brush to ultra short hair that wouldn't stay down. Right now she's decided to try and grow it out enough for a good ponytail. She had to have the back trimmed up today because it was stacked a lot the last time she got a haircut. Here she is with her cape and sucker.

This girl is a mess but so beautiful and funny!

AND, the AFTER picture! So thankful for a great place to go for all the kids at the same time.

Now it's momma's turn!!!

Ain't No Lie. Bye Bye Bye.

2014-06-11T13:02:00.000-05:00

I know many of you are wondering about the current state of my health. That statement is somewhat sarcastic, but there have been many of you who have asked, so I wanted to keep you sweet little dears in the loop...
Today I met with the surgeon for my pre-op appointment. He did some last minute question answering, checked everything out, then sent me on my way with a surgery date set for next Tuesday morning bright and early. By bright and early I actually mean dark and while everyone else is still sleeping. Ha!
I'll be having a partial hysterectomy(they'll leave my sweet little ovaries) as well as several ligament repairs. If all goes well I should be able to come home by late that afternoon. The recovery time is about the same as having a baby. He told me today I'll probably be up and around pretty quickly, but shouldn't return to everyday regular life for about 6 weeks.
Many have asked how I'm feeling about all of this. The answer is numb. It doesn't really seem true yet. I'm sure when I wake up and there are parts of me missing it'll start to feel real, but right now I'm still in shock that it's happening. Like, for real, happening.
I'm mostly worried about how my life will look for the next few weeks. My right-hand-lady, Aunt Steph, is currently living out of town working on an opera. She's ultra mega talented, and for some reason wants to be successful at something OTHER than being the worlds greatest aunt! We are so excited for HER, but that means she'll not be able to help at all with the kids while she's away. I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we have six kids. That makes finding a sitter we can afford that actually WANTS to watch all six of them together(which is how we like to keep them) a pretty big task. At this point I have no way of knowing what I'll need help with. Because Manly is basically self employed he only gets paid when he works. That means there's no sick leave/pay. So, we are on the hunt for all the help we can get. If you'd like, you can pray that this will all work out great for us. That our children would be taken care of, and that I'd be able to rest in the thought of them not needing me while I heal.
I'm also mulling over the fact that this is, indeed, the end of my childbearing days. Oh, believe me, I know that most of you are rolling your eyes at the thought of this being a tough thing for me while my house is running wild with six children. Bottom line, it IS. I know our baby days were over when Manly had his surgery a while back, but now they are REALLY over. And that's fine. It's just tough.
My heart is so thankful that God allowed my body to hold out and carry all of the kids. I'm so thankful that He prompted Manly to make the decision for Eli to be our last baby. I KNOW that He(The Lord) knew what needed to happen. I KNOW that this is in His plan. You have NO idea how grateful I am that our family felt completed when our little red caboose joined our family. My heart has not yearned for another baby. I know that some day, in years to come, I may feel a sadness about no more babies, but I'm thankful that our home and our hearts are filled with the joy our six kids bring us each day.
So, it's with hope for good health in the very near future that I bid adieu to my poor overworked uterus. It's been good to me all these(ahem) 33 years, but I'll not be needing it anymore.

IIIIIIIIIIIIII Keeep On Falling

2014-06-06T20:03:00.002-05:00

Our Mia has had several accidents in the last few days. The latest ending us up in the ER this afternoon. I was telling one of the nurses that I think it's a combination of her being extremely strong willed and the littlest of four girls. She wants to do EVERYTHING they do, and is too strong willed to be told she's too little.
She's now sporting a huge knot on her head complete with nice big cut, two swollen busted lips, damaged gums(and likely damaged front two teeth), and a broken nose(which is swollen and bruised). She'll probably have black eyes tomorrow, because they were already starting to look dark tonight when I put her down for the night. I'll spare her the future embarrassment and not post a picture of the poor little thing, but she's looking rough. She's tough, brave, and still just as stubborn and sweet as ever. Love that tiny Moose.

In other news we made it through our second day of #oursmittlesummer14. Want to see more of our adventures? Follow me on Instagram.

BWAHAHAhahahaha!

2014-06-05T23:31:00.000-05:00

Have you ever just needed a laugh? No, I mean a rolling around, tears running down your face, can't breathe laugh? Sometimes it'll hit me all the sudden. Usually when I'm a little past exhausted. Tonight it was around 10:15. I sat down to browse Facebook and clicked a link(beware there are some parts with yucky language.) I just about wet my pajama pants!
After that there was no turning back! It felt so good just to laugh and laugh and laugh. I read some autocorrect mistakes which are always funny. Then I just joked with Manly(who, it should be known, is hysterical). Afterwards I though. Whoa! It's been a long time since my cheeks hurt like this! That was a GOOD laugh!
Don't take things too seriously ALL the time. Be sure to take the time to gut laugh every once in while. Since it's throw back Thursday I've provided some pictures to aid in your assignment!

Manly's aviator sunglasses broke while were at Sam's yesterday. He jokingly picked them up and put them back on. That's when we realized aviators are really just old man glasses with tinted lenses. HA! I told him he looked like his Grandpa, but in truth, he still looks cute!

I wanted to try them on too, but when I did I was just reminded of what I looked like in 7th grade. Don't believe me???

Me in 7th(ish) grade. My two childhood bff's Crystal and Emily. We liked doing pics at JC Penny...

Nice. There's a reason I didn't go on many dates. Ha!!!

Seriously? This is...sad. Look! We had three way bff necklaces!!

See??? Hey, look! I got contacts! Praise the Lord!!!

The last time I needed a laugh! Ha!!

I've got my EYE on you! Hahaha!

Lulu getting her crazy face on. Cracks me up every time.

Last, but not least, Eli at about 6 weeks looking hysterical. Love this pic of my sweet babycakes.

It's SUUUUUMMMMMMERRRRRRR!!!!

2014-06-05T15:28:00.002-05:00

So, it was a TOUGH school year, but it looks like we've made it to the end! It ended up being a GREAT decision to put the girls in public school. They did great both academically and socially. It was by no means perfect, and there are LOTS of things I would like to change, but I did get myself on the PTO board, so maybe I'll have a hand in making a few changes myself. Ha!
Here's a look back at the first day of school.

They've grown up SO much!

Here are a few pictures from the last few days

My Lulu after her awards ceremony. It did her heart some good to win awards for her efforts.

These are Olivia's awards. To say that we were proud of her academic achievements is an understatement. She won awards in all subjects, and even got a perfect attendance award! The award we are most proud of is her character award. We knew our kids were smart, and would be well behaved in school, but the fact that others see the good character they have is an answer to prayer. We've always wanted our kids to be little lights in a world of darkness. We're so so glad that they are, indeed.

Olivia had three teachers this year as they begin changing classes to prepare them for(GULP!) middle school. This is her reading teacher. Olivia was one of only five fourth graders to test at a 6th grade plus reading level. She was so proud of Olivia. Thanks, Mrs. Walter for encouraging Olivia to read!

This is probably Olivia's favorite teacher, Mrs. Young. She teaches writing, which Olivia LOVES to do. Liv said that Mrs. Young is such a calm peaceful teacher that it makes her feel calm and peaceful when she's in her class. I'm secretly hoping that all the rest of the kids will get to have her as a teacher. You can tell that she really loves her job as a teacher.

This is Olivia's homeroom/math teacher, Ms. Abram. She was sent from heaven to transition our Lulu from being homeschooled to her first time in public school. She's down to earth and straight forward. A great combination for Olivia. I'll always remember the first day we met her and she took Olivia by the hand and led her right into the cafeteria and introduced her to the class. She's been the perfect teacher for Olivia.

Olivia getting a presidential academic excellence award.

Sweet KK with her teacher, Ms. Heathscott. I had NO idea how KK would do in public school, but she has blossomed into such an amazing little learner. She's made SO much improvement! She LOVES her teacher! I think she may cry on the last day of school because she'll miss her so much. Mrs. Heathscoot saw the potential in KK, and really worked hard on pushing her to succeed. We're so thankful to her, and have nothing but great things to say about her!

KK also won good character awards. Two of them, actually. The helping hands award, and the yearly all-around good character award. We're so glad God put our kooky KK in our life, and we have really loved watching her really grow into an amazing big girl this school year.

KK getting one of her awards. She gets SO excited to win things!

Addison with her teacher Ms. Dowdy(who obviously loves each and every one of her students.) and her student teacher Ms. Christina. Both were great, and Addi had a nice time. I should be honest and say that she also felt pretty lonely throughout the year and mentioned missing her brothers and sisters quite a few times, but I think that's probably pretty normal for a middle child in K5.

Addi's group of kindergarteners gave a sweet little program instead of an awards ceremony. They were so CUTE! Here they are singing Hip Hop Bunny.

They did have a short award ceremony where they gave each child an award in the room afterwards. Here's Addi getting one of her awards.

I tried to do some fun things to celebrate the final day of school. We walked home one day, had ice cream, and on the last day, went out for donuts before school. Here's everybody with their loot.

Last day of school! Lulu and KK cried when we pulled out of the parking lot. Addi said, "SUMMER!!!"

SUMMER, HERE WE COME!!!!!!

Little Brother on attack with the garden hose.

KK loving sprinkler trampoline.

Mia and Eli playing at the park.

Brubbs and KK at the park.

The first fort of the summer using Addi's nap mat.

Livi got inked! Just kidding. She just got a sheet of press-on tattoos from her teacher.

The kids attire while helping dad set up the pool! Just waiting on a filter and it will be READY!

grief.

2014-06-03T11:55:00.000-05:00

Grief. It's all around us, isn't it?
Sometimes it's almost unbearable.
Your chest gets heavy.
Suddenly tears spring forth and seem to never end.
There is so much to grieve these days.
A country in need of a Savior.
A mother with no child to hold.
A godly man with a killing disease.
The list goes on and on.
It's can be sad, this life.
Sometimes it seems lonely.
Like you're the only one there...grieving.
Oh there are good things too.
It's those things that ease the pain.
Those things make life seem normal again.
It's those things that make us thankful.
I was reminded in the last few days of a verse.
A verse two wonderful friends of mine who are in the trenches of grief recently shared.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
Truth.
He's got a plan.
We don't understand, but He does.

Goodbye Perfectionism

2014-05-30T13:24:00.001-05:00

Hello, Friends!
It's been a while because I've been doing a LOT of work on my home. We are in the midst of a complete remodel. I made the mistake of buying an AMAZING new sectional at IKEA back in April.

That, in turn, got me in the mood to pull up the "we've had six kids in 10 years" carpet. After a weekend of tack strips and the most disgusting dust you've ever seen, we were carpet free!

My nasty finds under the carpet on the stairs.

Manly doing his "we just pulled up the carpet" dance. Yeah, be jealous!

Then I decided to paint. Turns out they were having a buy one get one free sale on paint at Ace(who in my opinion is the best place to buy paint in our little town). We went back SEVERAL times over the weekend to get all the paint we needed. 22 paint cans later we were SET.

Manly finishing up the scary high wall on the stairs. When I tried to lean over and paint it made me dizzy.

Next comes the sanding, removal of wall paper, and taking down cabinets and drawers. Needless to say, every waking moment that isn't spent loving on the kids, changing diapers, or cooking meals is spent trying to keep this project in motion.

A barricade I made to keep tiny tot out of the kitchen while the paint was drying. I finished this up at naptime, and didn't want him to get in there. Again. It worked for about 2 seconds.

Here is proof of the little turkey being present in the kitchen. Don't worry, it's dust from sanding, not paint spots.

Manly does all the tight spot painting. I come behind him with a roller and brush.

One of our first after pictures. I love how they look. They'll be open cabinets and look so nice once they're loaded with pretty dishes.

The boys LOVE to help their dad. I walked into the bathroom where Manly was working only to find this sweet little hammer amidst Dad's tools.

This is my crazy paint face. Only see this one after 10pm.

Of course the end of the school year has brought with it lots of activities for the big girls. We've been to award assemblies, a talent show, taken part of a fund raiser, toured the (GASP!) Middle School, and gone on several field trips. Due to the crazy cold winter we had with lots of snow, our kids still have a few days left of school, but they are SO ready for SUMMER!!

KK with her three awards. The other two girls have their award assemblies next week

The crazy poses I got when they told me they wanted to take a picture with an Indian...I have NO idea!

At the Memphis Zoo. They LOVE that place. It's WAY better than our local zoo.

Silly KK walking like an Egyptian.

Jonesy and Momma. He loves his momma. Poor boy doesn't get to leave the house much thanks to his immunity issues. We're hoping after a few more months of good health he'll be stronger and able to fight off more sicknesses.

The "big kids."

Addi with her friend from school having a playdate.

Livi and her friend from school after they sang together in the talent show.

The girls went to see Snow White the ballet at the Children's Theatre with Aunt Em.

Lulu did a presentation on volcanos for Addi's class. The little kids and I came to watch. Here she is with her volcano.

Here she is right before her presentation.

Our "we're crazy for remodeling our entire house with six kids under ten" pose.

With all that's been going on I'm learning to let go of a LOT of things that I used to really work hard to keep. It feels good to not be so worried about if the kids have on matching clothes, the house is in perfect order, or the dinner is ready right on time. I'm learning to say goodbye to perfection. I say learning, because I'm not fully there yet. There are still things I like to have done. For instance, it still makes me glitchy if the bed isn't made. Ha! There are a few things that I still try to keep up with because it's the way I like them, but it's been pretty freeing to be able to loosen up a little more in the last few weeks and let my house be covered in dust from the remodel without going nuts.

Stay with me, things are about to get fun around here!

I Need You.

2014-05-13T20:25:00.001-05:00

Sitting here listening to music for Sunday, and it hit me. I. Need. You. Yeah, I've posted about this song before. It's probably my favorite for the last year, which is saying a LOT because I have a lot of "favorite songs." BUT, the truth of the matter is, friends, we need Him.
Parenting is tough stuff. Not for the faint of heart for sure. There are days that by 7:30AM I'm beat. I feel like throwing in the towel, going back to bed, pulling the covers over my head and crying myself back to sleep.
There are lunches to fix, towels to wash, beds to make, booboos to heal, tears to dry, porches to sweep, husbands to respect, hearts to mold, minds to teach, lessons to learn...the list goes on and on. It's so easy to get "all up in your head" as a friend of mine says, about parenting. You start thinking too much about yourself and what YOU are doing. You can have a good day and think to yourself, "Heh! I did it! We had a good day!" only to be followed by the worst day of your life and think, "What did I do wrong?!" Why? Because this little life isn't in our hands. Good thing too, because I'd be dropin it like it's hawt! Ha!
It's the days where I feel weak and cry out to the Lord that I look back on and think, "How in the world did I make it through this wild crazy day?" that really make me feel courage to get up and do it again tomorrow.
Read this, friend. There is NO WAY to parent in these current times without leaning on the Lord. There is too much badness. Too much sadness. Too much tolerance or intolerance-depending on the issue. Our sweet tiny littles are surrounded by "the world." Our MOST IMPORTANT job is to turn them toward Jesus. Teach them to rest in Him. Teach them to love Him. Teach them to rely on Him. Teach them that they NEED Him. Oh, and that goes for us too.

A Few Tidbits on Mothering

2014-05-12T13:58:00.003-05:00

What a lovely Mother's Day we had yesterday. It was very different than those in the past, but as I was lounging on the couch after the kids were in bed, eating Chili's takeout I thought to myself, "I've had a really nice day." That's a god feeling. It's easy to get dreams in your head of what the day will be like, only to have those dreams be blown to smithereens when reality sets in say, oh, around 5AM Sunday morning. While I was thinking last night a few things came to me that I've learned in the last ten years. These things are in no way intended to make you wiser, but you might just get a kick out of them. I'm listing six things. Not because I don't have more, but because that's the number of children we've been blessed with, and it seems like a perfectly good number to me!

Never leave an unattended beverage. Never. I don't care if you put it on the counter and think there's no way little Timmy is going to climb up and get it. Know this. He will. Little Timmy has climbing powers that are likened to those of Spider Man. He will get on that counter, drink your beverage, and as sure is I am living, Timmy will THROW your beverage container(generally glass) on the floor just to see what happens.
Don't assume because you close the door it'll stay that way. This goes for bathroom AND bedroom doors. This is a behavior that must be trained. Doors will be opened, and resting mothers(be it on the bed or on the "throne") will be spotted.
Know that if it's not nap time, and it's quiet, there's something going DOWN in your house. No, seriously, get up and FIND THOSE KIDS. First place to check if you have kids under three-THE BATHROOM, next place-the pantry. If in doubt, seek them OUT! Mine are generally stuffing something in the commode, unrolling paper towels, or squeezing out toothpaste. These are only examples though, don't be thrown off if you've got your own battles.
If you are ready to go, someone is going to have an accident. This may be an actual "I needed to go potty and waited too long" accident, or they could fall and scrape their knee on the sidewalk, spill milk all down their dress, be wrestling with dad and loose a hair clip, or in my recent case, be "trying to fix a stapler" and staple their own dag blasted HAND! Oh there will be blood, sweat, tears, feces, you name it. If you're ready to walk out the door it's GONNA happen. Mark my words.
Don't use open ended words like "maybe," "we'll see," "we might," or "in a minute." These only allow your children to question you again, and again, and again. I promise. Try words like, "NO," and "Are you out of your mind," or my favorite, "Not on your life!" But seriously, leaving things up in the air can really get a momma nutso in a heartbeat. Try to be decisive. If you can't, know that you're going to need some distractions...QUICK!
Go with your gut. I mean, the Lord gave it to you. He wants you to use it! Well, for more than digestion and all. This is one of the most important pieces of advice my dear granny ever gave me. You may have been told there's nothing wrong with Susie, but if you feel in your gut that Dr. is wrong, you go with it. Mother Gothel is right, Mother really does know best. If you've got a feeling, don't ignore it. Go with it!

So there you have it, folks. Don't say I never taught you anything. Ha! Now, you didn't think I was going to leave you without pictures from our day did you!?! Well, here you go!

To say my cup runneth over would be understating it to say the least. I'm so blessed by these littles who call me momma. Each day they make me smile. I'm gushing with pride that they are mine!

People always ask me how we get them all to smile so nicely for pictures. THIS is how! I promise them that if they'll smile for me I'll let them take silly pictures. All of these were taken with the camera timer and tripod. Hysterical.

Oh this little boy of mine is a MESS, but OH SO SWEET!

My big girls being...themselves.

Sweet Mia Jane.

Face of an angel, I tell you, but she's got the will of an OX!

These two are probably the closest of all my kids to one another. They miss each other so much when Addi goes to school. They are buddies, and friends, and I love that they are so close to one another.

Here's another set of buddies with Livi's new bunny, Ms...something or another. I can't remember.

Here's my big boy playing with his truck. This boy LOVES to play.

And here is my sweet boy just sitting next to his momma taking a break. He loves his momma...and Sprite.

When we got home I took off Eli's clothes because he was dirty, and I put my Mother's Day shirt on him to take his picture. He WOULD NOT be still for me, so you'll just have to deal with these instead. He's such a HAM!

He was saying, "Go! GO! GO!" And throwing himself backward trying to make the chair rock! Ha!

International Midwifery Day

2014-05-05T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today is International Midwifery Day! You all know that two of our littles were born at home using a midwife team. These ladies are like a part of the family now, so I wanted to dedicate a special post to them. I'm so thankful for the support they give to families. If you are interested in having a midwife I HIGHLY suggest you get their information from me. Choosing to use a midwife was a big step of faith for me, but it was one of the best decisions we ever made! There care was spectacular, and they put our entire family at ease. Thanks to my "dream team!" Love you SO much!!

Holly, Kim, and Mary on Eli's birthday.

Here they are doing their thing and walking me through delivery.

Inspecting Eli. Can you tell they love their job?

Love this picture of Kim, and I love how she cherishes every moment of doing what she does!

This lady is a rock star! One of the most amazing people I know.

If you ever get to be under her care you'll agree!

Mary has so much experience and wisdom in child birthing.

Thank you, ladies for being AMAZING at what you do.

Here's to many more babies born into the world under your care!

Love you!

(Thanks to Paula Bean Photography for these wonderful pictures from Eli's birth.)

Happy Birthday, Moose!

2014-05-04T15:05:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrate three years of Amelia Joy Smittle!

My Mia has proven herself to be one of the sweetest children on the planet. She's quick to give compliments, tender hearted, and such a little mother with her baby brother(who she called HER baby up until about 3 months ago.). She's feisty, sassy, and opinionated-all traits she got from her mother, I'm sure.

She's got the most precious smile, and bright eyes that sparkle with excitement. When she smiles her whole face smiles with her. She has some of the cutest expressions. She reminds me so much of Olivia as a toddler.

She's silly, and loves to make us laugh. Although she was PAINFULLY shy this time last year, she's started to come out of that a lot since the big girls went to school.

She's a really fast runner, and gets away with being sneaky with her brothers and sisters because she can make a quick getaway. She loves being the baby girl, but is quick to add she's also a big girl.

Mia also has several nicknames: Moose is the most common name I call her, but I also started calling her Mia Jane or Janie or Jane Jane when she was a baby, and that has also stuck. Other names she'll answer to are Moo, Moo Moo, and Mooskie.

She loves her momma through and through. She's probably the one child out of the six that would be pick me over Manly. That's not to say she doesn't also love to wrestle with her daddy and brothers too though.

She loves her big sister, Olivia. They have a very special bond because since birth she's been Olivia's buddy. Olivia has helped to care for Mia, and in turn, Mia loves her fiercely.

She still hums or moans or whatever you want to call it when she eats. It's weird, but we've gotten mostly used to it. We still have to quiet her down sometimes when she starts getting loud at the table.

We are so glad the Lord decided to bless our family with our Mia Jane. She's brought so much JOY to us these last three years. We can't wait to see what God has ahead for her.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Sweet Mia!

Her favorite things right now are Frozen, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, All things princess, and...FROZEN. Did I mention FROZEN!? Seriously, Mia, LET IT GO ALREADY! It was only fitting that we had a "Frozen party." I say that loosely because if you know me, you know I LOVE to throw huge parties. I just wasn't able to do that this year because of some health related issues, but that was all well and good by Mia. Big crowds of people giving her undivided attention aren't exactly her thing anyway! We had my parents meet us at her favorite place, Larry's, and we had pizza and cake and lots of Frozen themed gifts! It was perfect for her and she didn't even cry when we sang, which was a huge step forward from last year.

Eating her birthday breakfast. She asked for chocolate syrup and biscuits. YUM!

The cake ~~I slaved over~~ picked up at Kroger! It looked great until Mia tried to pick it up to look at it right before we ate. It was still perfect and SO much easier than making our own!

Birthday Girl! Isaiah said, "Mom! I don't really think she turned THREE!!! She still looks TWO!"

SO happy to get her beads from KK, and her Elsa dress and crown from mom and dad.

Checking out the gift Addison gave her.

Nana and Pop got her the Anna dress and doll! I couldn't get her to lay down for a nap without promising she could wear the dress the rest of the afternoon after she woke up. She's SO excited!

Listening to us sing to her she just looked down at her cake and half smiled.

After cake blue smile with Nana.

This little MESS after eating his cake. He's still laying up in his bed trembling and talking after all this sugar!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIA JOY!!!!!!

Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

2014-04-27T10:33:00.000-05:00

This weekend we began our sports journey with Isaiah! Who's to say that he'll enjoy sports in the long run, but he really wanted to play this year, so we signed him up. It's our first time to ever do organized team sports. It's been a lot of fun so far, and it's really low key, so I don't worry about scary baseball parents...YET. Anyway, Manly helped steer the kids around the bases, and really enjoyed that new hat. Isaiah got a good hit from the coach pitch his first time up to bat, and stayed turned around the right direction MOST of the second half of the game. Ha! Fun was had by all, which is our goal for the year. Enjoy these pictures from our weekend.

My baby boy at his first tee ball practice.

It was so fun to watch this tiny people on the field. They flocked together toward the ball like birds!

Brubbs up to bat for the first time!

Team huddle! So sweet!

My sweet boy on game day! He was SO excited!

Last night we went to the Travelers game with some of the people from Manly's office. Manly's boss sprung for a suite, which was so nice for the kids. They had a GREAT time. Lots of baseball food, fun with other kids, and baseball too! We even got to meet the strange mascots. It's always fun to go to Tavs games, but this was an especially fun night!

The littles out in front of the stadium! This picture makes me feel so blessed! Look how SWEET!

My silly Mia looking like her sister Lulu.

The mascots came to visit. They were a little terrifying to me, but the kids liked them!

I mean, WHY is the mascot a opossum?!

My Lulu loving on her baby brother.

Sweet little kids.

Loving the game!

Smittles!

His Plans...

2014-04-24T13:49:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Manly and I loaded up and headed over to the hospital for my ablation. Check in went great, and I was happy to hear that they were going to bump the surgery up a hour early. They got me ready, and I went in for the procedure.
When I started to wake up I was having TERRIBLE tremors, so the nurse gave me more meds to help with that which made me really groggy. While I was in and out of it she said, "Leslie, everything went great. You did great!" She asked if I was ready for Manly. He came in and asked if they had told me anything. I said the nurse said everything went great. He looked up at the nurse, then back and me. "They weren't able to do the procedure, babe." He says to me. He must be wrong, I think.
I look over at the nurse who is chatting with a friend on the other side of the curtain. I say, "Maybe you can help me because I'm a little confused. You said everything went great, but my husband just came in and said they weren't able to even do the procedure." She looked about as confused as I did, looked at my chart, then apologized. Uhh, okay. Thanks nurse.
So, I went home and slept it off. Disappointed, confused, frustrated, and really sad that I wasn't going to be feeling better any time soon. I had myself a good cry, and talked with Manly about my feelings.
Today, at breakfast Manly led our family in morning worship time. He explained to the kids that the plan that the doctor had made with us didn't work out yesterday. He talked about how smart the doctor is and that even his well thought out plan didn't work out, but that God's plans were always good. My sweet Addi said, "Momma! That means that God has even better plans for you!" That's the outlook I'm going to try to have in all of this. I had my plans, but God has better plans for me.
I'll spare you the details, but afterspeaking to the doctor today I found out that there are other things going on inside of me that will need to be repaired. There were complications that kept him from completing the ablation, but they were able to do the d&c. The "plan" is to go back to the doctor next Thursday to see how things are going. From there my doctor will turn me over to another doctor who deals more with the kind of surgery that I'll need. I trust that my end result will be the same, GOOD HEALTH!
I appreciate your prayers, thoughts, calls, facebook posts, messages, meals, and giftcards so much. God has blessed me with the most amazing friends! You have no idea how much easier it is to have a good outlook when I have all of you standing behind me. Thanks from the bottom of my heart!

Happy Easter!

2014-04-20T21:07:00.000-05:00

Pics from our day.

My beautiful girls.

Mia looks WAY too old. Olivia is grown. Addi's hair is BEAUTIFUL, and my sweet sweet KK is so pretty!

Eli is really sick, bless his heart. He's also ALWAYS on the move, so trying to capture a GOOD picture of him is next to impossible. I was also having a TERRIBLE time trying to get Isaiah away from KK's face so that I could see BOTH of them.

LOVE Eli's face in this one. That boy is a MESS!

The best of the self timer tripod pictures.

L.O.V.E. these silly ones. I try to remember to let the kids do a few of these at the end to reward them for good behavior. These are CLASSIC!

Mia is trying to hold Eli in place. Ha!

Waiting to hunt eggs at Nana and Pop's house after church. My mom had TONS of eggs for them!

Notice Mia's Kool-Aid mouth! HA!

This boy loves his momma!

The egg hunt begins!

KK was all business. I kept chasing her around trying to get a picture of her. This is the closest I got.

Addi with her sack full.

Bubba searching eggs.

Olivia with her loot.

Mia finding eggs.

She said, "I FOUND THEM!!!"

My Lulu found the prize egg!!

She also got to get a bunny to keep at Nana and Pop's. This is Peter(I think. Maybe the other one. She got TWO!) This girl LOVES animals so so much! Love this picture of her!

My Mia, My Mia, My Darlin'

2014-04-17T13:27:00.000-05:00

My sweet darlin' Mia is a HAM for the camera these days. She's always asking me to take her picture. I know that soon she'll be dodging the camera for greater things like everyone else, so I thought I'd share some of my recent favorites today.

She said, "Momma, take my picture with a pretty smile."

She has a current cape fascination. She wears them pretty much all the time. She decided to wear this small one(in comparison to the floor length one she usually wears) to a birthday party where she made this crown.

She LOVES this time of the year with all the pretty flowers.

With her long awaited piggy tails.

Dressed as Princess Merida. All the arrows are broken, so she decided to use a drumstick instead.

Buzz Lightyear and his Pilgrim Girl in their row boat in search of land. Ha!

More capes. Three to be exact.

Today she asked me to put her usual cape on as a hood. She said, "This is the booty-fuller way to do it."

I could eat her up!

I mean, come on! SO cute!

Sorry, I couldn't pick just one of these.

All You Need is LOVE...and a Few Other Things

2014-04-16T13:48:00.000-05:00

Ahh, the first time momma. You find out you're going to have a baby! Great! Figure out a way to tell the fam, buy your first pair of elastic waist jeans, and take a deep breath. Next it's time to step into Babies R Us for the first time. You walk in and immediately want to cry yourself to sleep. Maybe it's the hormone induced exhaustion, or maybe it's the endless aisles of baby products screaming out to be swiped by your scanner deal for baby registries. You don't know where to start, or what you REALLY need for baby's first year.
You try to turn and run, but you can't because it's an entrance only door. You stand there looking lost and panicked until some teenage dude who has NO idea what he's talking about comes and thrusts a list in your hand with "MUST HAVES FOR BABY." You look at the list and feel that you might need to run out and buy a lottery ticket in order to try and pay for all the new items you MUST buy. Isn't there another way?! Oh but there is, dear first time momma!
We have become so commercialized that we've forgotten it really doesn't take a whole lot to have a baby. I'm here to tell you, aside from a whole lot of love, there's really only a FEW things you'll NEED.

Diapers-It doesn't matter what kind of diapering you plan to use. You're going to need some! Start with newborn sizes, but know those little suckers will grow out of that size in a hot minute! Wanna use cloth? More power to you, sister. Don't ask me about that though because I have NO experience! Ha! We always used Pampers Swaddlers until around size three where we switch to Target brand.
Burp Rags-My favorite are the really thinish cloth diapers. They work the best. There's also some by Gerber that I like that are a little thinner than a washcloth. They come in a package of about 8 and are always great to have for the diaper bag. No matter what you plan to feed the little dear, you can bet at one time or another it's going to come back up. They also make a great nose wiper for cold season. So much softer than tissue.
Diaper Bag-Get one that can double as a purse. Put two changes of clothes for baby, 4 diapers, wipes, and at least 2 burp rags. I also include nursing pads for me and any other feminine products I might need. I've used all brands of bags, and don't really have a favorite. I do like materials that will wipe clean instead of it being machine washable just because it seems easier to keep clean in the long run.
Carrier Carseat-Again, I don't have a favorite brand when it comes to these, but I have a LOT of friends who are hard core over one brand or another. My priority has always been that it's something that is safe, that I can carry without killing myself, and that is comfortable enough that the baby will sit in it without fussing the entire time. Again, if you have a baby and a vehicle, you'll HAVE to have a carseat.

So, that's IT as far as what you HAVE to have, but assuming you don't want baby sleeping in your bed and basically being connected to you for an entire year(plus the nine months he's cooking)here are some other options that have made life a LOT easier...

Carrier-Do yourself and your baby a favor and go get yourself a baby carrier. It doesn't matter what brand you chose. What matters is how you feel wearing it. I love the Moby, but there are some who hate it! The key is going into the store and trying them on so that you find one that you love.
Stroller-I rarely used a stroller in the first year just because I mostly wore our babies, but you might want one especially if you do a lot of shopping. Be sure to get one that matches up with your carrier so you can pull the carrier right out of the car and into the stroller without much fuss.
Pack-and play(AKA Playpen)-They make these things in several varieties. My favorite is the kind with the bassinet(bed for tiny babies) insert. You can use it right after baby is born, then take it out and still have a safe place for baby to sleep for however long you need it. Our two youngest spent several months in these because we have a two story house with bedrooms FULL of siblings. You can also use it later when you need a good place for baby to play. I've used mine up to two years or so with toys when I need to do something and can't keep a constant watch.
Bouncy seat/swing-they make a LOT of different combos, but I like a bouncy seat and a small travel size swing. Know that these are NOT a MUST MUST have, but you'll probably be glad you have one or the other. I used my bouncy seat on the counter while I was making dinner. Only for non-mobile babies. The mobile ones will figure out how to break free and be jumping of the counter! Ha!
Swaddle blanket-I like the kind with Velcro, but Manly is good at the foldable kind. Get at lease two because you'll want to be able to wash them every now and then. My favorite are Aden and Anais. They're a little pricey, but look for them secondhand.

SO, in my opinion, aside from milk, these are the must haves for baby in the first year. I'm happy to chat more about brands if you're interested. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be glad to answer! Happy shopping!!

Cat Soup

2014-04-09T14:55:00.002-05:00

If you know me, you know I'm not a fan of cats. They not only creep me out, but make my nose itch to no end, and I hate them clawing my legs and arms for fun. SO, this post is NOT about cats...Manly recently told the kids a wacky story. He had us all laughing hysterically about these silly cats that really loved this tomato based soup their owner made one evening. Because the man loved his cats he decided to start making it for them every day. He decided to call it cat soup because it was soup the cats loved. One day some friends came over to visit and saw his cats eating their "cat soup" and asked about it. The man told them it was their cat soup, and they took some home to feed their cats. Long story short. All the friends started wanting the cat soup, but they mispronounced the words cat soup. Suddenly everyone was asking for catsup. The next thing you know they were putting it on their dogs... All of that to say, this post was supposed to be a "CATCH up" post. Ha! Eh...

So, Manly and I recently celebrated ten years of wedded bliss by leaving the kids with Aunt Steph and loading up and heading to Dallas. We had an amazing time and I was able to shop until I dropped. Then we'd eat and shop some more. I got to visit IKEA for the first time, and needless to say, I'm hooked! We bought SO much stuff! Including this couch and light fixtures...

This one is in my dining room. It will soon hang over the farm table my man is making me! YaY!

This one hangs in our entryway. I know it looks wild, but I love it and the polkadots it makes on the walls around it!!!

This is big green. I have since bough new pillows and a BEAUTIFUL Pottery Barn rug.

This is how STUFFED the car was on the way back! Ha! I was still trying to stuff things in the NEXT DAY!!

Yes, we drove FIVE hours with this giant box on the top of the car!

Dorky photo booth at the rest stop. Manly MADE me stop and take a picture! SO embarrassing!

After seven straight months of Eli being sick, we were finally given some answers when we found out Monday that he has low levels of IgA. Basically this just means that his little immune system can't fight off illnesses as well as the child with normal levels of IgA. We will soon meet with an immunologist to discuss if there is anything we can do to help him or if he needs further testing. For now, we'll try to keep him as healthy as possible by avoiding places high in germs(like EVERWHERE! HA!) If you'd like, you can pray with us that, like normal cases, this is something he outgrows and won't suffer with forever.

The girls are completing their first ever standardized testing. KK actually finished hers last week, and Olivia will complete hers tomorrow. They seem to think they've done well, and were only nervous of the unknown. After the first day they were both really thinking it was easier than everyone was making it out to be.

Manly continues to be really nice and busy at work. Thanks so much for liking his clinic facebook page and telling your friends! We know you are, because we're getting a lot of word of mouth clients lately. That means so much to both of us! If you are looking for a great therapist feel free to let him know! If he can't help you he has other therapists he can get you connected with. He's thriving in his job, and I'm SO proud!

I found out yesterday that I need to choose between doing an ablation or a hysterectomy. We knew we were close to this decision, but it's still hard to make. I've decided to go with the ablation. It's going to be coming very soon. Bye-bye baby having days. Hello feeling better soon!! I would LOVE your prayers in this area. I've felt REALLY really really bad the last year now, and I've tried EVERYHING else there is to do. We feel confident with our doctor, and our decision. I look forward to healthier days. I'm happy to talk with any of you in more detail privately, but for the sake of my 2 poor male readers I'll leave it at that! Ha! (You're Welcome!)

Our house is really coming together. This is the biggest reason I've been MIA! I've had so many projects and tasks to do! I'll post pictures soon. We're close to that stage, but for now, I'll just tell you it's looking Bohofabulous!