Patience, Prayer, & Persistence

Working & being a stay-at-home mom is a non-stop job. I get paid money from one and love from the other...along with poop. Joy. ;) I would love to have the stay at home mom job as my only job, but our life isn't to that point yet. I work from home so that makes life a lot easier. I was blessed with this job before I found out I was pregnant with my Raleigh. The night I left my previous job at a dealership was the night that I saw 2 little pink lines for the first time. Oh was I shocked! That's an entirely different story though.

So with this job, I have breaks & a 30 for lunch. Well that would be okay if I was working a normal job, but since I'm in the back room at my house it makes it AWESOME. I can open my door and see my beautiful daughter or loving hubby. The only bad thing when I started my job was that I have to work nights & I don't get weekends off. Two things a lot of people get automatically with a normal job. I took it knowing this would be a sacrifice I had to make so I could be at home. So for over a year I worked 2nd shift with no weekends off except when I got lucky with PTO days. I spent my mornings with my baby girl, dirty dishes & stain removers. Then go work til 10:00 then more cleaning after I get off a long shift. Oh the joys of a full time mommy & full time employee. I only got to see my hubby on my breaks & lunch. :(

Finally after a long wait, I am rewarded with a chance to go to day shift. I am so thrilled that I have been given a chance to spend more time with my hubby & sweet girl. I want to be a family. I want to be able to go to the park, see a movie, have a homemade meal, enjoy the holidays...all as a family. God has blessed us with more than I could have ever hoped for & His blessings keep flowing. When I look at Raleigh, I see the best blessing I could have ever imagined. Any mother would agree with me about their children too.

Life is all about looking for the good & praying through the bad. I thank the Lord everyday for family, friends, my job, and my life. I wanted to write this today because I am excited for this change & to show how patience, prayer, and persistence pays off. The 3 P's. ;)

DIY Painted Mason Jars

Hey ladies, I know I've been gone awhile. We've been extra busy with my mom in town & my hubby getting hurt at work & Ms. Raleigh cutting another tooth. My munchkin has been going crazy in her walker lately. She's everywhere & loves trapping me on the couch with her walker...like right now. I hacve escaped so I come back with a fun project to make up for me being M.I.A.

I have had a box of mason jars sitting in a corner for months now & keep looking for something pretty to use them for besides alcohol like most people do. Finally I decided on flowers but paint them first with pastel colors so they arent plain & something you see everyday. It was so easy & fun picking out the colors. I'm in love with these jars! Now, I just have to go pick flowers from the yard.

Supplies:

• Foam Brush
• Paint
• Sandpaper
• Newspaper
• Mason Jars

First, clean the jars and lay down newspaper where you are going to do everything. Make sure the jars are dry then start painting the jars. I held the inside & lip so I could turn it while I paint. I painted the bottoms too, but that isn't necessary. Let dry, mine only took about an hour each & that was being safe. I liked the look and coverage after 2 coats. 

Next was my favorite part. Sanding! I chose a sanding bar instead of sandpaper, but sandpaper works great too. I barely grazed the words with the sandpaper to make it look worn & used.  Finally!!!

I love them! So bright & pretty. They are perfect for spring & summer. I just need flowers now. They are going on my floating shelves. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do. :)

Next post will be some Christmas tins redone for any room anytime of the year. 

Holiday Pancakes

If anyone knows my husband then they know he loves pancakes. He could eat them anytime of the day. When he eats them it's best to take him to a breakfast buffet or have a lot of pancake mix at home because he can put some away, as long as I make them like his granny. I had a spur of the moment thought to color them for Easter. My hubby came in & looked like at me like a just killed a puppy or something. He thought I was ruining them because they were colored. After reassuring it wouldn't change the taste, he let me finish making them. In the end he was happy with the result & so was I.

Just add a little food coloring to the mix until it's the color you want. I did mine for Easter with pink, greens, & blues. Its definitely fun for kids to create the color & see what it turns out to be. I loved making these. Hope you and your kiddos or hubby do too.

DIY fan

Spring is here...somewhat. Here it is still a little flip-floppy on the weather, but wait 5 minutes and we might catch a glimpse of warmth. Springtime is a time for growth & revival. Easter has come & gone with rain & cloudiness attached. My little family went to church, had lunch, saw more family, then had to go to work. Work was a bummer that day, but I am happy I got to spend time with my baby girl & hubby.

It's April so it's time to spring clean. YAY! Spring cleaning is for me is pulling out new clothes from storage & updating old dusty stuff. I have to do a lot of both this year, lucky me.  I wanted to do a fun new project before I clean. I've been itching to do a DIY lately, but I'm a procrastinator so it took me awhile to get all my supplies. I had a terribly dusty, old, ugly fan in my room that needed a lot of TLC. I use a fan when I sleep, always have since I was a kid, just for the humming noise. When I saw this I kept wanting to updat it but had no inspiration how or initative to do so. Now with spring being here I have more pep in my step.

Before:

Gross! Blah! Took me several minutes to clean all this dust off it. I unscrewed the face and cleaned all the nook & crannies. 

Then I spray painted the fan with a flat white. I did 2 coats to cover anything trying to shine through.

                               

I lined the inside with newspaper so the color spray paint wouldn't ruin the white back. I left 1 blade uncovered then sprayed with the color i wanted. Each blade got a different color. I stuck with basic colors, so they would blend well. Make sure you do this on a warm day so they paint wont crackle & it'll dry quickly. Put the face back on and there you go :)

After:

I was very happy with the end result. It gives a nice spring color to our room & I don't have to look at that dirty thing again. I love spring & summer. Everything is warm & sunny. Plus the outdoors are much more fun when I can feel my fingers & toes. 

Cracked Easter Eggs

                              

Egg dying is a tradition to so many families. A fun way for kiddos to be creative & get messy. My little Raleigh is still too young to participate but my big kid (aka Hubby) had fun. He did this one with his friend, but wanted me to share his creations. It's great to be a kid every once in awhile. It's nice to enjoy the things you did when you were a kid. They tried to keep everything clean but of course...they are men. We only got a few done, but I have some more saved for crafts later. So here are the simple steps to this fun design.

Things you need:

• Hard-boiled Eggs
• Food coloring
• Spoon
• Vinegar
• Bowls
• 
  

First boil the eggs so they are solid all the way to the middle & won't crack all over your counter. Take them out of the water & tap with a spoon on the places where you want the cracked design.

Place in small bowl. Drop food coloring on the places where you want it to show up on the eggs (on the cracks is best). Pour a small amount of vinegar over the egg. It should have a light coat over the whole egg. 

Wait a few minutes then PEEL!

                                       

They are great for kids to see how something you do that might seem small can change something in a big way. That could be taken in so many ways but it makes me think of treating others nicely because they might be a little fragile one day (like a cracked egg) & something you say or do could change their day or week completely. It's great for kids to have a meaning behind crafts, but not every craft has a meaning of course. This one just made me think about others a little more. 

Easter is about more than eggs & candy & bunnies though. The bigger meaning is ignored by so many, but I feel so comforted when I have someone say "He is Risen""The tomb is empty""Our Lord has saved us". Strangers say it to me on the phone & it just makes me smile. I love searching the parking lot at church for a space then end up parking forever away & lugging a baby that far. Easter is a great time for family & I was lucky enough to have some close. God Bless.