LEARNING AS WE GO

I Am Keeping Up With Something

2014-11-04T14:17:00.000-05:00

This poor blog keeps getting the shaft, but I have at least kept to my promise of making photo books (Stinnett Family Yearbook) each year to catalog all of our pictures. It's important to me to have something a little more tangible than a hard drive to access family pictures.

Here are the past two books...


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Birthday Wishes For A Special Boy

2014-07-11T13:29:00.001-04:00

Six years ago almost to the hour, a healthy 9.1 lb baby boy screamed his way into this world. He completely turned our lives upside down, but not once have we wished to be turned back right. This crazy life has brought a deeper love, more respect and a greater appreciation for life.

We love you sweet boy. Thank you for making our world bright and full of love.

Happy Birthday, 'Murica

2014-07-11T10:25:00.000-04:00

We spent the 4th of July in style - redneck and fabulous.

After escaping Hurricane Arthur the day before, we were ready to put on our red, white and blue and celebrate. We themed out the holiday as "White Trash 'Murica" and encouraged everyone to dress the part.

Robert was the clear winner.

His ability to go white trash redneck was pretty amazing. It must come naturally because I remember a certain toddler who pulled this look off and there ain't no way he could do that without some sort of genetic help...

Like father, like son. One proud mama here.

But I can't excuse my ability to be a little trashy either. I mean my custom airbrush t-shirt and acid washed daisy dukes took the trashy to a whole new level. I think Robert and I fell in love all over again.

Without a doubt this was one of the funniest themed parties we've had to date. There's just something undeniably special and liberating about trashin' it up a ~~bit~~ lot.

God Bless 'Murica, Y'all!

A Boy and His Dog

2014-06-24T16:54:00.001-04:00

There is nothing more special than a child's love for their dog. Evan and Stevie are forming that bond - a forever kind of bond.

The DeMarksation Vacation

2014-06-24T15:58:00.000-04:00

Yes, we named our vacation.

Well, we actually named the beach house that we all decided we would buy together in the future (The DeMarksation)...it now has stuck as the official name of our 2nd annual beach trip.

We had beautiful weather all week which pretty much kept us from leaving the house. We beached it or pooled it every.single.day. Did we have any complaints? Absolutely not.

All six of the kids, ages 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, & 7 (we even had age 1 when Amanda and Scott came to visit) did as kids do - played, bickered, tattled, laughed, teased and name called - and we all pretty much just took it in stride because a vacation state of mind can do that for you.

The girls watched Frozen an obscene number of times and after introducing Beetle Juice it came in at a close second. It was later brought to our attention that the language in the movie was probably not appropriate for the kids' age group - somehow though, Eleanor (age 2) was the biggest fan! Not that it mattered really because the entire week each kid was trying to outdo the other kids with how many "potty" words they knew - butt crack, fart and weiner were among the top five. Mattie personally loves poopie and fart - we have proof on video that Evan took early one morning - totally BUSTED (and let me state that we do not condone this behavior at all):

When the kids finally went to bed, the adults played. The week was dedicated to reconnecting, laughing and laughing some more - something I need more of from these people.

Until next year, my dear friends!

It's Summertime

2014-06-13T19:27:00.000-04:00

Finally - the time of year has come when I get to post an annoying number of pictures and write about the most insignificant, ridiculous things (not to me, of course) simply because I have TIME! Yes!!! Something I can never find enough of during the school year.

Today was about collecting bugs - the kids' current obsession. I just happened to walk outside with my camera to snap a few pictures.

We're all in good spirits today...vacation starts tomorrow!!

Easter Time

2014-04-21T10:21:00.002-04:00

Every year, on the Saturday preceding Easter, we eat breakfast with the Easter Bunny. The kids have an opportunity to scream and wave and hug the big Bunny before he delivers all his special treats Easter morning - and of course it's just a photo op for the parents.

It's a rarity when we are all dressed nicely, hair brushed and mouths wiped, so I took advantage of our breakfast outing by setting up my trusty tripod when we got home. I bribed everyone to sit together on our front stoop for a family picture. Believe it or not, the kids did a perfect job. It was us (the parents) that caused a redo with our silliness - case in point...Robert's humor had its way with this one.

After 10 or so takes, we finally got one with which we were satisfied. Never underestimate the power of a tripod and a self timer.

As usual, Easter morning came waaay too early. It came so early that we made Evan patiently wait for Mattie (and us) to get up before he could rummage through his basket. So instead, he just ran back and forth between the living room and our bedroom screaming at the top of his lungs the things he could see in his basket. "Mama! Mama! I got a new monster truck!!" "Daddy!! Daddy!! The Easter Bunny got me a new movie!!!" After the fifth announcement, I finally just got up. Mattie was also up by that point because nobody was gonna sleep through that excitement.

The kids ripped through their baskets in a matter of about 2 minutes and devoured the little bit of candy we the Easter Bunny brought them this year.

After breakfast (and a few cups of coffee), we did our annual egg hunt...inside. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was kicking us in this year. The kids actually really enjoyed it and that just gave us more time to be in our pajamas :) Well, most of us anyway. Mattie Jane chose to hunt eggs in her bathing suit.

Oh - and bless the makers of the school calendar for giving us the Monday after Easter off! Hallelujah!

The Ultimate Catch Up

2014-04-18T17:38:00.003-04:00

It's not even possible to adequately cover the last four months (I'm so disappointed that I let it go this long), but I'm gonna do by very best to highlight some events so that I can catch myself up enough to not feel completely defeated.

JANUARY
Evan joined his first basketball team. He played in Belin Methodist's Church League (K-2) and really enjoyed it. He went from barely being able to dribble at the beginning of the season to scoring a basket in the last and final game!

We also got a new puppy! We were on the fence about getting another dog for awhile and we figured there may never be a perfect time - so we just did it. We originally wanted a goldendoodle, but decided to go for what we knew and that was a boxer. My brother, Todd, had a boxer for 14 years and we all just loved his dog. RIP Marley! So we welcomed Stevie (born Dec. 10th) to the family at just six weeks of age.

We experienced one of the coldest - or should I say wettest - winters so far in SC. We had a total of SEVEN snow days this school year! The first snow/ice we received kept us home for four days.

January was rounded out with a special visit from my niece, Olivia.

FEBRUARY

We must've laid pretty low in February because the only notable event I can think of was celebrating Olivia's 1st birthday. Todd, Barnes and Olivia spent the weekend with us and we all wished Miss O a happy birthday on February 15th.

MARCH

The soccer season began for both Evan and Mattie Jane. This was Evan's second season playing, but Mattie Jane's first. Evan showed BIG improvement from last year - more confidence, tons of hustle and, most importantly, the desire to compete. Mattie, on the other hand, wasn't quite sure what she thought about soccer. She did a lot of somersaults on the field and loved to rub her coach's bald head, but she didn't show much interest in actually playing. This was pretty common among her teammates, so I didn't worry about it too much. It goes with the age, I guess. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Stinnett came to town for a short visit. The kids had a blast swimming at their hotel pool!

APRIL

We started April off with two visits from the Tooth Fairy! Evan lost a tooth the first week in April and just a over a week later, he lost another tooth. The tooth Fairy was very generous and gave Evan $5 for each tooth - waaay more than I ever received.

For Spring Break, we took a few days to visit family members in Tennessee, but also visited Todd, Barnes and Olivia at their new place in the NC mountains. We spent a day in Pigeon Forge and ate dinner with my dad (no picture). We headed to Knoxville where we spent time at the zoo with Grandma Bopp. We also welcomed Grandpa Bopp back from Washington D.C. where he and other veterans of the Korean War were taken to visit the sites together. It was quite an honorable experience. We were able to spend some quality time with Grandpa and Grandma Stinnett too.

Whew...I'm all caught up. Now, to keep it going again. Life sure does get in the way, but documenting the details has always been my goal, so I'm gonna do my very best to get back at it!

A Merry Christmas Indeed

2013-12-26T19:28:00.002-05:00

These faces say it all...

Christmas this year was as exciting as always - but Evan was especially excited. He was Santa's number one fan and told our elf, Jaime, how good he was on a daily basis.
Mattie found herself on the naughty list quite a bit, but she behaved when she knew it really counted.

Still in Gawgia Y'all

2013-11-30T17:14:00.000-05:00

Day 2: We were true tourists on Friday. We reserved seats on Savannah's Historic Carriage Tour. We figured our only chance in getting the kids to sit through an hour of narration from a tour guide, an animal would have to be involved. So we opted out of the trolley experience and signed up for the horses. We learned a lot of interesting facts about the city.

We also spent quite a bit of time in the City Market. We ate lunch at B&D Burgers where I completely devoured a BLT made with fried green tomatoes and pimento cheese - yum! Nobody else raved about their lunch, but I was very pleased with mine. We also visited Savannah's Candy Kitchen. We left with oversized treats that nobody had any business eating - but we did and they were delicious. I had a white chocolate dipped rice krispie treat the size of a brick - I'm still feeling sick from that scary thing.

Overall, the day was great. After touring around for four hours or so, ~~Mattie~~ we had to take a little break. Naps were desperately needed to avoid melt downs and tantrums.

We went out later and had dinner at the Crystal Beer Parlor. We loved the atmosphere. You just can't buy old and charming like this place. The food was ok, but we really enjoyed the local beers on tap.

Carriage Tour

City Market

Day 3: Today has been the most relaxed so far. We slept in and got moving around 11 am. We decided we would just walk around today and find a good spot for lunch. The weather has been beautiful - on the chilly side - but no cloud in the sky. We walked all through downtown and made our way to the Riverwalk. We ate lunch at the Cotton Exchange on River St. I loved my BLT so much yesterday that I decided to order this restaurant's version too. Not nearly as good. The pimento cheese must be the secret and this sandwich did not have that :(

We again explored around taking pictures of everything we saw. Everything in this city is a great backdrop for a picture. The kids were tired of hearing me say, "Evan and Mattie, stand in front of that." I appreciated their willingness to appease me. I had to bribe them with chocolate.

The kids are getting up from their naps now. It's their choice tonight - Savannah's Holiday Boat Parade or seeing "Frozen" at the movie theater. We head home in the morning.

New Thanksgiving Tradition

2013-11-28T20:21:00.001-05:00

We've started a new Thanksgiving tradition - explore a different city or town each year. Our first choice was the NC mountains, but it seems everyone and their brother had that idea this year. We couldn't find a rental under $250 a night. So we turned to the southern, charming city of Savannah instead.

Man, are we pleased so far. Our rental, located at 116 West Liberty St., is tastefully decorated and in walking distance to everything.

Day 1: We explored the city by foot. Walked down Broughton where all the shopping takes place. Most of the shops were closed for the holiday, but we managed to score a Starbucks coffee to warm ourselves (it was even 45 degrees here). We moseyed down Bay St. and all the streets in between to where we're staying admiring all of the beautiful architecture and appreciating the historical significance. We ate dinner at the Chart House which is housed in the oldest masonry building in Georgia. Dinner is always a treat there and visiting our friend, Michael, was a bonus.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Fall Brings Soccer

2013-09-28T17:04:00.000-04:00

We've moved on from baseball to soccer. Not having one second of experience with the sport, we weren't sure how the first game was going to turn out - but amazingly, it went pretty well.

Evan had a bit of performance anxiety at first, but after a a few pep talks he got his head into the game. He loves to run, so soccer seems to be more desirable than baseball so far. He seems genuinely excited to play - and that is a big plus in our book.

Game two was also a success and we got our first win! The pictures that I thought I was taking during the first game some how did not actually take - but I definitely got a few from this one...

First Day of Kindergarten

2013-08-31T09:02:00.001-04:00

I have been so busy with the start of a brand new school year that I haven't even had time to document this GINORMOUS milestone for Evan! He started kindergarten last week.

It's all been quite a blur really. I accepted a new teaching position at the school we wanted Evan to attend - Palmetto Academy. Mattie is also attending the pre school that feeds into the K-8 charter school. We get to all be under the same roof, which is a really comforting feeling.

Evan's classroom is right next door to mine (Ms. Wyskida) and so far he is loving it. We spend lunch and recess together every day. I catch him looking at me from across the room and he smiles and I smile back. It's been somewhat surreal, but we're finally getting used to the change.

Mattie did not transition so well at first, but just in the last two days, she is finally coming around and enjoying her new friends. She is in a class of 10 students - herself and NINE boys. That's right...no other girls. As much as we would like for her to have a little girlfriend, we also know she can totally handle those boys. But she really misses having her toenails painted and playing princess with the girls :(

In other news, the kids have a new pet. This little pet was meant to be a surprise for my new classroom, but when Robert brought it into my room the evening before school was starting, I just stopped and laughed. As thoughtful as his gesture was, I had no desire to come up with a classroom management plan for this pet with the little time I had left before the start of school. I told Robert we would have to take it home until I was ready to introduce it to my class.

"Fuzzy" the guinea pig (Evan named her) is now a part of the family. The kids are obsessed with her!

Now if we can just teach Evan to clean out the cage...

Crazy Face

2013-07-31T21:17:00.000-04:00

It's a make a crazy face kind of night...

Tennessee Road Trip

2013-07-15T16:42:00.000-04:00

I've had a weekend to settle back in from our trip to Tennessee. It already seems like weeks ago that we went. I imagine it's because we crammed a million activities into about 5 days - but that's how we roll. We like it crazy and chaotic. And then we like to complain about it.

Before we even headed west, we actually traveled north to Raleigh to see Amanda, Scott & Bryson. They were in town visiting Amanda's Dad and Judy. With only three hours between us, there was no way we couldn't swing by to see them before they headed back to Florida. It was a quick stay over visit - cooked out with the family, hung out for a few hours and then out the door the next morning.

What a cutie Bryson is and growing by the second. Mattie and Evan couldn't keep their hands off of him. Evan is even more convinced now that he wants a baby at home (keep dreaming, bud).

On to Tennessee we go. Initially, Robert was going to make this trip alone because he was going to Pigeon Forge for business. But I figured since he was gonna be so close to Knoxville, it would be really nice if the kids and I came along and we all visited with Robert's family. I was quite aware it would be a quick visit, but I also knew it was important for the kids to see their grandparents while we had the chance.

We stayed the first two nights in Pigeon Forge while Robert worked. I dragged the kids to the Outlet Mall one day, but repaid them with race car driving and amusement rides later that evening.

We also had a pretty good dinner at the historic Old Mill Pottery House Grille. All of the food was served on plates made at the Pottery House which was a nice touch. The area surrounding the Grille was charming as well.

Our second day was spent at Dolly Parton's Splash Country. This water park puts Garden City's Wild, Water & Wheels to shame. It is a traditional theme park, just like Dollywood, except it's all water rides - not to mention, it is HUGE. The kids loved it. Robert and Evan chose not to wait in the hour long lines for the big water slides, but we had just as much fun hanging out in the kiddie parks. We also randomly ran into Cousin Matt & Heather whom we would be seeing later in the week.

Once we got to Knoxville, we had about 36 hours to visit with everyone. Evan's birthday was only a day away so we thought it would be fun to have a party for him while we were there. He has never had the pleasure of having both sets of grandparents at one of his birthdays - not to mention aunts, uncles and cousins! He had a blast!

Other than the party, we managed to squeeze in a little park time with Grandma Bopp and Kaylin.

And just like that, we were back on the road headed for home. Exhausting - but well worth the trip!

Happy 5th Birthday

2013-07-11T21:43:00.002-04:00

A special little boy turned five today. He blew out a candle and ate cake a day early thanks to our family in Tennessee who helped us celebrate.

I have many more pictures to share, but will recap our trip a little later. It's been a long day of travel and the birthday boy is insisting that he needs to sleep in my bed. Hmmm. Sleeping in a hotel can certainly throw the normal routine off.

Happy 5th Birthday, Evan!

Independence Day

2013-07-05T17:26:00.000-04:00

We celebrated this year with a slab of ribs on the grill, a Corona Light with a lime, two sweaty kids and enough sparklers to serve all of Horry County.

We threw around the idea of fighting the traffic to watch the fireworks over the Marsh Walk in Murrells Inlet, but our back porch won out - again. In past years, we were actually able to see various firework shows going on around us, but this year we were only able to hear them. We weren't overly disappointed. The bottle rockets and sparklers thoroughly entertained the kids and that's all that really mattered.

Evan, for whatever reason, was terrified to hold a sparkler this year - even though he's held one every year since about the age of two. Mattie, on the other hand, was thrilled as she could be. We lit up almost an entire box just for her.

It was a simple celebration - always the best kind in our book.

Happy 4th of July, friends!

Summer Vacation

2013-06-25T15:33:00.000-04:00

What an amazing vacation.

To leisurely hang out with my family and my best friends for an entire week is priceless. But of course, it came and went so quickly that it all seems like a blurr.

We were all so excited to see our kids play together - finally! Too much time passes until we realize that our kids barely even know each other. Well, we took care of that on this vacation. The kids (with the exception of Ellie) all slept in the same room, piled into two bunkbeds almost every night. They whispered and giggled well past their bedtime, but we allowed them the childhood experience.

As for the adults, we stayed up way past our bedtimes too and then had to tend to rowdy children at the crack of dawn every morning. We certainly did not enjoy that part of the vacation.

Every day was beach then pool and finished off with an amazing home cooked meal. We managed to leave our beach house to spend a few hours at the water park one day, but our mutual goal for the week was to relax and hang out - I think we succeeded.

Here's to an annual trip!

Orioles Baseball

2013-06-12T08:45:00.000-04:00

We have finally reached the point that all dads (and many moms like me) have been waiting for the moment they heard those exciting words, "It's a boy!" - SPORTS!

We registered Evan in the Summer Coach Pitch Baseball League and have been so excited to get the games underway. I think it's even possible that we were way more excited than Evan - in fact, I know we were.

I need to preface my gallery of game pics by saying Evan's enthusiasm for baseball is a bit lackluster. We haven't yet determined if he's playing to please us or because he really wants to. I believe he genuinely enjoys the camaraderie of his team, but when it comes to actually hitting the field, he could take it or leave it.

We have definitely seen some improvement from the very beginning. He has yet to hit a ball from the pitcher, but he is hitting off the tee a lot better. His fielding skills are a mystery because he refuses to attack a ball or catch a ball. He leaves that up to his teammates.

All in all, we've decided to just follow his lead. If I learned one thing growing up, it was that you can't force a child to do anything - at least not if you want them to be happy. All we want is for Evan to be happy and to have fun!

Evan's #1 fan

The Graduate

2013-06-01T22:28:00.000-04:00

Evan has officially graduated from preschool and will be entering kindergarten in the fall. What?! Did I really just type that?!

Time has certainly flown by, but we couldn't be more confident that Evan is ready to move forward. He has grown so much over the past year and we are excited to see him take this next big step - not to mention, he gets to be with me! :)

The graduation ceremony was precious and definitely brought tears to my eyes. We beamed with pride as we watched Evan walk across the stage to receive his diploma. It was a bittersweet moment for sure simply because it's sad to see him growing up so fast, but exciting to think about what lies ahead in the future.

Congratulations to our baby boy!

It's Feeling A Lot Like...

2013-05-29T20:35:00.000-04:00

Summa summa summa tiiime...
Time to sit back and unwind!

Don't mind if I do, Will Smith.

This weekend certainly put the summertime buzz in the air. Beach days, pool outings and cooking out for every meal - I'm giddy just thinking about it.

In just 8 days, I will officially be on summer break. Bring it on!

Mother's Day

2013-05-19T14:49:00.000-04:00

Better late than never, I guess.

Mother's Day is by far my favorite celebratory day - not because the day is supposed to be about me or that it's a day to receive gifts - it's simply a day that I get to reflect on how happy I am to be a mom.

Robert always tries to provide opportunities for me to take the day to myself - like go to the beach, go shopping, get a pedicure, etc. But Mother's Day to me is about spending time with my family and counting the two blessings I have in my life (well, three - love you, babe).

So, what did we do for Mother's Day? Hung out at Nascar Speedpark of course! What Mother wouldn't find that dreamy? We all know it's all about the kids - even on Mother's Day.

Evan's first hole-in-one!

In addition to our lovely day spent together, Robert did the grocery shopping for me and I received a very sweet homemade card from Evan and Mattie Jane. Robert also hooked me up with a new pair of TOMS and a gift certificate for a pedicure - he's trying to tell me my dogs are barking! :)

Being a mom is the hardest job I've ever had, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. There is no love like the love I have for my kids. Happy Mother's Day to me! Yay.

School Pictures Again

2013-04-01T10:23:00.000-04:00

I've said it once and I'll say it again - I am NOT a fan of school pictures. I can not bring myself to shell out overpriced dollars for those lame backdrops. BUT...I do love the memories and the laughs so I always make a point to take a picture of the pictures so that we still have them to look back on.

We had the pleasure of pony pictures again this year! A couple of months ago, Evan and Mattie, both decked out in western gear, had pony portraits made that literally brought tears to my eyes from laughter. I do have to admit - I was close to purchasing these just for pure entertainment value.

Spring pictures came around a few weeks ago. We made our best attempt to send the kids to school looking "picture appropriate." They could've been wearing holey jeans and ketchup stained t-shirts and the only thing I would've been staring at was the faux stump and artificial flowers. The "realistic" stream in the background was a nice touch too (not!). Ok - enough sarcasm. You can be the judge.

The solid background pictures weren't hideous, but still, nothing fancy...

But my favorite is the picture the kids had taken together. Once again, Mattie is channeling Chris Farley...

I had the kids sit for a picture at home before we left for school - the results were so much more appealing to me. But these school pictures will forever be the most entertaining.

No More Paci

2013-03-03T15:48:00.002-05:00

Mattie is officially all grown up. Ditching the diapers for panties a couple of weeks ago was a HUGE step in the big girl direction. But the one thing she wanted to desperately hang on on to was her paci.

For the past six months or so, Mattie has only been allowed to have her paci when she goes to bed. She didn't even use it at nap time - well, at school that is (we did allow it at nap time on the weekends - reluctantly). But because she didn't use it during nap, we knew she could go to sleep without it - so why were we continuing to let her have it at home?

Just like every parent, we knew the paci made her happy and was soothing for her when she was upset or tired. It was also leverage at bedtime because if Mattie wanted to play around we would simply take the paci and she knew she better get in the bed.

I made a spontaneous decision last night when Mattie and I were reading in her bed. I took her paci - well, actually all three of her pacis - and asked her if she was ready to be a big girl and give them up. She quickly responded with, "No, Mama!" I then reminded her of how big she was now that she was wearing panties. I told her she wasn't a baby anymore. She said, "Pacis are for babies." I said, "Yes, they are and you're a big girl, aren't you?" She agreed, but was still eying those pacis.

I thought about my friend, Kylie, who bribed her son with a Buzz Lightyear doll to get him to quit his habit. I figured if it worked for him, maybe it would work for Mattie. So I said, "If you can go to bed like a big girl tonight, I will let you pick out a new doll tomorrow." She perked up and said, "A new doll? Ok - I want a new doll." I began to tuck her in when she looked at me and then quickly grabbed a paci and put it in her mouth. I said, so you want your paci instead?" She thought for a second and then handed the paci back. She said, "I'm so excited to get a new doll." I said, "I'm so excited my big girl made such a big girl choice."

We went to the store today and Mattie picked out a Barbie that is dressed in some sort of mermaid get up. She named her Ariel.

I don't want to be too quick to say..."and the rest is history." But I will say it's a great start and I hope everything goes smoothly from here!

P.S. The pacis are GONE - in the trash - so we're really praying!

Big Girl Room

2013-02-19T21:15:00.001-05:00

I've been slowly transitioning Mattie's room from a nursery to a "big girl room" since December. Bringing in a bed was obviously the game changer, but bedding and decor also make a considerable difference in the maturity of a room.

As I've mentioned before, I absolutely loathe themed rooms - princesses, Disney characters, butterflies, ladybugs - you can have it. In my opinion, that is not a room a little girl can grow in or with. I have always preferred something more simplistic and clean - centered more around color.

That is why I went with a red bed. Originally I thought I wanted white, but once I found the style of bed I was looking for, but in red - I was SOLD. I looked on Craigslist for quite awhile trying to find the perfect Jenny Lind spindle bed. I was open to the different variations of spindles that are out there, but I really wanted the thick chunky ones. I finally found a seller in Wilmington who had just what I was looking for...

Once the bed was in the room, finding coordinating pieces came rather easily. I purchased a white parsons desk along with a storage unit. The rest of the furniture was either already in her room (side pedestal table and zigzag bookcase) or was stored in our garage (antique dresser). I painted the antique dresser turquoise and put new hardware on it...and I ADORE it!

The afghan at the end of the bed is a family heirloom. Granny (Robert's grandmother) knitted it more than 20 years ago. It's something that brings meaning to the room, not to mention a fabulous color!

Most of the decorative pieces are Mattie's own work. All kids love to see their own drawings and projects displayed. With all the creative things that Mattie brings home with her from school, I couldn't resist decorating her room with her own art. Most of it is displayed on her cork board, but there are a few pieces hanging in other spaces on her walls.

Along with the rest of the world, I have been digging the colorful pom pom garlands posted all over Pinterest. I looked into buying a few strands, but was shocked at what people were selling them for - I mean it's yarn, for crying out loud. So I decided to pinch my pennies and go the DIY route...

And the bonus? I have enough yarn to make pom poms for days! I'm sure they'll make an appearance at the next few birthday parties.

Here is a full view of Mattie's bedroom...

She's growing up, y'all!