So this post may not be aptly named since it is 10:50 on a Monday night and by the time you folks are reading it, it will be Tuesday (or close to it).

Things have been a bit slow going around here. It is a do puzzles, hang around in the backyard kind of summer so far.

With lunch–aka our pizza factory–as the highlight.

I have/had grand plans of fitting so much into the summer, but this guy is holding us back.

I mean it in the most loving way possible of course. Hudson is like, hey mom! I’m hungry! FEED ME! all.the.time. He is too young for sunscreen, keeping him in the shade is hard and he gets all hot and sweaty in that car seat carrier. And who am I kidding–getting us out the door is not a walk in the park. I am working on it though.

In other equally exciting news we decided to cut down 5 bushes in our yard. I don’t know what got in to me, but all of the sudden shrubbery was my enemy.

Yes, we are the people with a flower box and no flowers. I know. I really want to replace the flower box, hence it never getting filled. I also really want to replace my front door and get a new walk way and get rid of the wrought iron and…. oh man the list goes on. Are you seeing dollar signs. Yeah, me too! The pile of shrubbery looked something like this.

All that nonsense, especially by the porch was cramping my style. We also decided we had enough of the garage disaster.

My kids have too much stuff. No joke. I cannot even begin to tell you how crazy stuffed our garage was. This picture is like 1/100th of that garage disaster.

But seriously, you aren’t reading this post to see me take out my anger on bushes or to look at piles of my kids’ junk. You are here because I promised–or at least the title suggested–a cure for the cases of the Mondays.

I hope this video brings you as much joy as it does his father, because I have caught Ross watching this and laughing.

In Quinn’s defense, he made the jump several times before asking dad to tape it. In my defense, they were ahead of me on the hike because I would have never allowed this. Broken ankle? Arm? Anyone? Also, in my defense–Quinn finds this video funny and is okay with me sharing it so laugh freely.

So tell me–What kind of summer are you having? Jam-packed? Lazy? Anyone else go to town on their shrubs? Anyone attack the garage? And more importantly, what have you caught your kids doing on camera?

When I hit my Facebook page looking for blogging ideas one of my readers asked for camping recipes. I thought that was a fabulous idea for a post, but seeing as though I haven’t been camping in years and am just now gearing up for our first big family camping trip this summer–I wasn’t sure how much help I could be.

So I hit up my blogger friends and man did they deliver. These folks eat better camping then I do at home! No joke.

Vivienne from the V Spot has a great chili recipe and a an even more genius idea for packing it up for a camping trip.

Vivienne also has some great tips for grilling steaks.

And while hot dogs are camping staple, who says they have to be boring? Vivienne has three fun ways to top off your hot dogs.

Vivienne also shared this simple dessert idea, banana boats.

Jenn from Rookie No. 17 is showing off a Camping Cuisine book. Looks pretty tasty to me.

If simple, and kid friendly is what you are looking for– you have to try out these Pie Iron Pizzas from Kelsey at Poofy Cheeks.

If the idea of doing all this planning overwhelms you, you have to check out Jesseca from One Sweet Appetite’s 7 Days of Camping Recipes.

Sarah at Craft Quickies is having a S’mores Saturday all summer. To start things off she rounded up 75 S’mores Inspired Recipes. You cannot do camping without s’mores.

The folks over at Real Family Camping are definitely worth checking out. I think their banana tacos look simple and yummy and I am completely enthralled by their paper bag eggs.

Lastly, the girls over Six Sisters Stuff rounded up 25 Delicious Camping Recipes.

With so much tastiness at your finger tips, you are bound to find something yummy for your camping trip.

We are headed to Michigan for our camping trip. My mom is originally from there, so all her aunts, uncles, cousins still live there. So our side (my grandparents had 12 children so we are well represented) meet up with the Michigan side just over the border in South Haven. We stay at a State Park. The campfires get pretty big too…we are talking over a hundred folks. We have missed this trip the last few years, but now that we have a minivan we are 100% in.

So tell me, where will you be camping this summer? And I think it goes without saying: If you have a camping recipe, feel free to share it in the comments.

After living with the Yo Gabba Gabba Mantle for almost a month it was time to up my game. I was lucky enough to be picked for an American Crafts glitter campaign and tons of glittery goodness arrived at my doorstep.

This is what I did with that glittery goodness.

The paper bunting was so simple to make. The glitter paper came in 12×12 sheets, like your typical scrapbook paper. I cut it in half (two 6×12 inch strips). I then cut each strip into three parts (each 4 inches). This left me with a plethora of 4×6 inch rectangles.

My next step was to create a pattern. I flipped over one square and measured halfway (2 inches in) and then 4 inches down. I then connected that point to the corners.

I cut on the line and I had my pattern. I simply lined the pattern up with the back of the rectangle and made my cutting marks.

I attached the pennants to ribbon I had on hand using the double sided tape American crafts sent.

I didn’t measure my ribbon before I started. I was just going along pulling it off the spool and then all of the sudden it was gone.

Whoops!

So I decided to get creative with my left over pennants I had cut. I busted out the glitter tape that American Crafts sent and taped the pennants down on the frame.

Accidental awesomeness. You cannot beat that. I also busted out some of that blue glitter tape for my balloon topiary. I made these balloon topiaries way back when for Quinn’s 3rd birthday. I have since used them for his pirate birthday, Valentine’s day, Eleanor’s Elmo Birthday and now the Fourth of July. That is a whole lot of use. My color choices definitely made these balloon topiaries super flexible.

The clipboard I made from a frame my husband broke holds a piece of glitter paper that says America. I dressed up the paper with some glitter stickers American Crafts sent.

Ironic that the clipboard was made from a frame my husband broke, because while I was working on this mantle–he broke another. While I was in the process of switching the art out he forgot it was on the floor and stepped on it. He has quite a high picture frame breaking percentage. He is lucky I love him so much .

Having festive Fourth of July decorations up definitely makes it feel like summer. Today was also the last day of school for our local school district (I don’t have school aged kids) so I guess it really is the kick off to summer around these parts. Oddly enough, every year when we hit the Fourth I get this panicked feeling that summer is almost over. Anyone else?

This is a sponsored post on behalf of American Crafts. All opinions and ideas are 100% mine.

Yesterday, after meeting up with the in-laws for some Noodles we decided to stop at Target. I mean, can stopping at Target ever be wrong? Apparently it can.

I usually like to linger in Target. Check out all the cuteness, cruise the endcaps looking for clearanced necessities stuff. The kids wanted to look at toys and I needed breast pads. That is after all, why we stopped. Nothing but fun stuff for new, nursing moms. Well the rest of you are shopping Target  for adorable accessories and outfits, I’m squeezing into yoga pants and picking up breast pads.

From the other end of Target I hear my children. I try to brush it off. Ross has this.

brush it off.

brush it off.

Maybe I should head over to toys and see what all the crying is about.

Hudson is crying because he is 7 weeks old and that is what babies do. Hungry, maybe? Poopy, maybe? Overtired, could be? All I know is whatever it is, it isn’t going to be handled in the toy section of Target.

Eleanor is having a royal meltdown because some idiot left a skateboard out in the middle of the aisle. Ever since Yo Gabba Gabba Ride episode Eleanor is obsessed with skateboards. She stands on a block at home and pretends it is a skateboard every.single.day. She even has a song she sings. This block skateboard entertains her for a solid 30 minutes. Imagine her joy when a real skateboard lay before her. One with wheels and rolling goodness. Now imagine her devastation when daddy wont let her stand on it without holding his hand. Didn’t you know? Toddlers don’t need help–EVER!

Then mom comes and she has the same rule.

game over. she has lost it.

So I scoop her up and she cries and yells, “skateboard! By myself” from the very back of Target all the way up to the front. By the time we get to check out Quinn is asking for something, Hudson is crying and Eleanor is in a full blown tantrum. Umm…yeah, Ross why don’t you take them to the car.

The young man checks me out. I get in the car and Ross says, “You’re leaking”. I look down at my GRAY shirt to find a nice wet spot on my left boob. Awesome.

On Mother’s day Eleanor turned 2. Let that sink in for a second. I started this blog just months after she was born and she is 2. We celebrated Yo Gabba Gabba Dance Party style the Friday before.

Since Eleanor’s birthday fell less than 4 weeks after the delivery of her little brother via c/s, I was hardly on my A-game. No matter what, I knew I wanted her to have a party. I didn’t want to make it a habit of forgetting the middle child only 4 precious weeks in. Plus, I love throwing my kids parties. I do it for them. I decorate for them. The festiveness makes them feel special. Seeing something they love/doing something they love makes them feel special. That expression on their face when they first see it all is totally worth it for me.

I like to limit cooking. I want to enjoy my kid, not slave away in the kitchen. I try to pick their favorite foods. We ordered mostaccoli and meatballs for pick up. Someone asked about the cupcakes and I was like, “Let me be clear-I cooked nothing. Everything is store bought”. For decorations we kept it pretty simple. A few Gabba decorations for real cheap and some balloons, but mostly everything was homemade. The big splurge was the Yo Gabba Gabba Dance track and disco ball. Yeah-I said disco ball. The framed pieces were printables from the Nick Jr. website that we glued on to wrapping paper. The banner was made using construction paper.

Yeah, that is her bass. She rocks out on it regularly. She has a guitar, but she prefers the shovel bass. Reason 9 million that I love this girl. As a mother, I wish more than anything I could convey my love for my children, but I cannot. Not in words, not in actions….nothing will ever quite express how I much I love my babies. Eleanor blows my mind daily. She is so smart. Her vocabulary is huge, she can count to 20–heck she can count 20 objects, she knows her shapes, her colors and she can identify all the letters in the alphabet (upper case and lower case). She has been able to do that for months now. The crazy part is–we didn’t teach her.

On her actual birthday she woke up to our present. A bike, well tricycle, and a Bubble Guppies book.

This little lady is just plain cool. Hanging out with her is a blast. She marches to the beat of her own drum and makes no apologies for who she is.

She has such a big heart and gives so much love to her brothers.

Okay, to be fair, it isn’t all hugs and kisses and rainbows and kittens. This girl is a bada**. She definitely will have no problem looking out for herself. Daddy can sleep at night . Miss personality brings so much joy to our lives. She is adventurous and smiley. She is the girl running around with the big boys and holding her own.

I love everything about this little firecracker. Seeing her grow and learn and looking at the world through her eyes is a privilege. I feel so lucky to have this job–mom.

What birthday themes have been at your house? Any other Gabba fans? We have done dogs, football, Badgers, Pirates, Elmo and now Gabba. Cannot believe I now have to squeeze in three kid parties in a year. breathe.

Be sure to find more inspiration in our project gallery.

I am sharing this project at: I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop, Home Stories A to Z: Tutorials & Tips Link Party

After leading you on for months I finally have my act together. Here is the final reveal of Eleanor’s big girl room.

We had so much fun making this special room for Eleanor. It was tough saying goodbye to her nursery.

With baby #3 on the way, it was time. I was so nervous about her being upstairs and being in a big girl bed. It turns out all my worrying was for nothing. Isn’t that how it goes for us moms? She loves her big girl room, spends hours destroying playing in it. We made the move well before baby came. We didn’t want her to have any hard feelings about her room or her crib being taken over. Baby #3 has been here 7 weeks and I am finally getting around to sharing Eleanor’s big girl room. We have been a bit busy around here.

I have kept you in the loop on the whole process, from the planning to the prep and every project along the way. Check it all out: the prepping, the reading nook, the low down on the reading nook, everything you need to know about carpet tiles, how the room was inspired, the hardware,  the bedding, and the DIY magnet board.

I don’t know about you, but I love seeing a space transform. The best part is, this space represents my daughter in so many ways. Her obsession with letters (DIY magnet board), and books and hiding away in small spaces (reading nook) and coloring (chalkboard door). The fruit are a play off of the art that hung in her nursery. Every morning we would wake up to her sweet voice saying, “apple, pear, apple”.  At nap time when I tuck her in, the light streams through the curtains and she points at them and says, “look mom, beautiful flowers”. In case you couldn’t tell, I am head over heels for this little girl. She turned two on mother’s day and is a little sponge. She is soaking up everything and every.single.day she blows me away with her brilliance. It was an honor to make this space for her.

Any of you transforming a space? Have a space you are itching to get your hands on? I’m dying to makeover our front porch, just waiting for money to show up. Isn’t that always the case?

Be sure to check out my project gallery for more inspiration and you can check out the rest of my house here.

You are welcome to follow the links to learn more about each step. I thought I would simplify things the best I could with a source list.

Paint: Benjamin Moore Wild Aster, Light Fixtures & hardware: Home Depot, Carpet Squares: Home Depot, Gutters: Home Depot, Closet Curtain: Urban Outfitters, Herringbone Stencil: Cutting Edge Stencils, Throw Pillows: World Market, Window Panels: World Market, Letter E: World Market, Paper on Read Letters: World Market, Dollhouse Bookshelf: Target, Ottoman: Target, Magnet board: DIY, Fruit Art: DIY, Startburst Mirror: DIY, Long Mirror: TJ Maxx, Magnet Letters: Crunch Farm Baby, Sheets and Fleece Blanket: Target, Ruffled Quilt: Walmart

I am sharing this project at: I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop, Home Stories A to Z: Tutorials & Tips Link Party

Is tomorrow really June? Man time is flying by. You know what June means? Father’s Day! Did you happen to catch the Father’s Day printables?

Holiday Gift Baskets is giving away a basket valued at up to $75 to 2 lucky winners! There are a bunch of different basket options so there is sure to be something for every dad. Check out all the options here. Gourmet grilling, coffee, movies, beer–there seems to be a basket for everything.

Enter the giveaway by using the Rafflecopter widget below. Entries will be reviewed and duplicate or incomplete entries will be removed.

NOTE – You must complete the specified entry task in order to be eligible to win the giveaway. If you click the green entry button without completing the chosen task, your entry will be thrown out (disqualified from winning the prize).

If you have problems using Rafflecopter, be sure you are running the latest version of your web browser and have JavaScript updated.

Contest is open to all residents of the 48 Contiguous States. You must be 18 or older to enter.

Two winners will be chosen randomly and will receive their choice of a Father’s Day Basket valued at up to $75 from this Father’s Day page.

Winners will be notified via e-mail. Winners must respond within three days of being contacted or another winner will be chosen.

The full list of rules can be found here .

This giveaway ends at midnight EST on June 9th, 2013. The giveaway winners will be announced by June 16, 2013.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck! I hope one of my readers is the lucky winner!

Yes, Father’s day is just around the corner. How did that happen so quickly? This Father’s Day Questionnaire printable is available on the blog now. I cannot wait to see what Quinn has to say. Any guesses as to what Quinn said he would give me if he could give me any present in the world? A fan. Yup, a fan. I don’t know where kids get these things. He had some really touching answers and it sure made me feel loved to hear them. (click here to find the mother’s day questionnaire printable)

If we take a blast to the past we can see some other Father’s Day fun from the blog of father’s day passed.

1. Printable Father’s Day Card

2. Father’s Day Photo Cube

3. Father’s Day Questionnaire

Affordable, meaningful–you just cannot beat it. How do you celebrate all the special dads in your life?

Sharing this printable at: Tatertots & Jello: Weekend Wrap-Up, I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop, Home Stories A to Z: Tutorials & Tips Link Party

We finally wrapped up Eleanor’s room. Since starting her room our living room got a bit of a makeover, we renovated our bathroom, worked on an nursery and welcomed a brand new baby boy. Needless to say, I have left you all hanging. I have been sharing with you the process of Eleanor’s room makeover starting with the prepping, the reading nook, the low down on the reading nook, everything you need to know about carpet tiles, how the room was inspired, the hardware, and the bedding . Before the final reveal, there is one thing left to share–the doors.

Eleanor has an attic access door in her room along with the door to go in and out of her room. There is no closet door, since that was replaced with an adorable ruffle curtain when her closet became a reading nook. Turns out two year olds with eight giant drawers don’t really need that much closet space.

We created this fun magnetic board with some scrap wood, a chalkboard ledge from Target and a sheet of metal from the vent/duct work aisle at Home Depot. We used some command strips to place the sheet of metal where we wanted it and then screwed the tray in at the bottom. For the frame we painted some left over trim and cut it to size and then attached it using a pin gun. The letters are from this cute little Etsy shop called, Crunch Farm Baby. It is my first ever Etsy order. The owner is kindly passing on a 20% discount to my readers (good for 30 days) so stop by and check it out. Just use code: BALANCINGHOME.

The letters are super cute and she offers tons of other fabric options. Letters just seemed like a no brainer, since Eleanor is obsessed with them. I love that the magnets are sewn in so I don’t have to worry about her swallowing them or anything crazy like that.

I also wanted to give her bedroom door some love so we painted it with chalkboard paint. Confession: I love the color of chalkboard paint. Even if I wasn’t going to use a surface as chalkboard I would use the paint, because it is the perfect black.

How about them before and afters? Let me give you a little wider angle so you can take it all in.

Without adding a whole lot of clutter and stuff we made her room interactive and child-friendly. She has a chalkboard door for coloring, a reading nook for looking at books and a magnet board for exploring letters. Kinda perfect for my sweet 2 year old. Cannot believe she is two (more on that later).

Don’t forget Crunch Farm Baby (where I found those super cute magnetic letters) is offering 20% off to my readers with the code: BALANCINGHOME (good for 30 days).

Any of you taking on a room renovation? How have you added special touches to your kiddo’s room?

If you like what you see, be sure to check out my project gallery and my house tour.

Sharing this project at: I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop Link Party, Home Stories A to Z: Tutorials & Tips Link Party, Tatertots & Jello: Weekend Wrap-Up

We have accumulated quite a few printables around here that are handy for the end of the year–as thank you to teachers, graduation gifts, scrapbooking or memory keeping or to be used as ways to commemorate the end of the year

1. Subway School Art

2. A Teacher Takes a Hand

3. Dr. Seuss Quote- Think left, Think right

4. Cheers to a Great Teacher- Teacher Gift Tag

5. Dr. Seuss Quote- You have brains in your head

6. Classroom Fingerprint Tree

I know some readers have framed quotes and had the matting signed by classmates, graduation party attendees, etc. Others have used them in scrapbooking layouts, to make cards, etc. Hope this helps you wrap up your school year. Hard to believe it is almost summer! How are you commemorating the end of the school year? What are you most looking forward to now that the school year is over?

Sharing this project at: I Heart Naptime: Sundae Scoop Link Party, Home Stories A to Z: Tutorials & Tips Link Party,Tatertots & Jello: Weekend Wrap-Up