Family Car Window Decals

You know you've all seen them. Those stick figure families on the back of the minivans. Well last night I decided to join that bandwagon. I made my own and cut them out on my vinyl machine. I LOVE them! And what makes it even better is today I caught the lady behind me taking a picture of the back of my van with her phone while I was stopped at a light. She had a big grin on her face. I done good!

I wanted to do something that Dan wouldn't give me a hard time about and I wanted to make them unique. I Googled pictures of family car decals and saw one with characters from Star Wars and knew that was the one! Once Dan found out what I was trying to do he was all for it and even helped decide design, sizes and helped me out with the program issues.

It took me awhile to figure out how to make my image from Adobe Illustrator to transfer correctly to my vinyl software but after watching a couple demo videos I got it! They turned out awesome! The only thing I don't like is that the eyes on the imperial officer (representing mom) were too detailed and the vinyl cutter ripped it up, so they are just shadows now. I'm pretending they are sunglasses. But if I hadn't said anything you probably wouldn't have noticed right?

What do you think?

 Do you like the family decals people put on their vehicles? I love mine, that's for sure!

If you want to get some of these for yourself the place to go is Star Wars Spoofs.  There you can pick from all sorts of characters and even pets (droids). Very fun idea.

A Day of Firsts

Today was a big day of firsts. It was the first time I parked in a non-angled parking spot, the first shopping trip to Walmart, The first time through the drive-thru, the first trip to an awesome park, oh and the first time spending $50 on rubber (mats).

Can you guess what I am talking about? I am now a member of the mini van mom club!!! And I am loving it! Just look and this wonderful creation!

 On Saturday we went out for the day as a family and found ourselves a 2007 Toyota Sienna. It is a beautiful thing! I love love love my van! And I can't wait to add more firsts to the list. I have yet to make a stop at the gas station, or go through the car wash, or even take our first camping trip and be able to fit everything we want! The van and I have a lot of memories to make.

 The car seats don't even touch anymore!!! And it is a wonderful feeling (although I know it won't last) when the kids car seats are dirtier than the rest of the car. And there are enough seats for each child to bring a friend. Or room for 3 more kids of our own. But the jury is still out on that one. I know we'll have more but just not right now. We have a total of 8 seats and who knows how many cup holders!

Isn't she pretty?! And I love the color. In fact she looks perfect against the color of our house! The brown and earthy blue look fabulous together. She was meant to be!


And I really need to come up with a name for her. Any suggestions? Maybe I'll make a contest out of it. Til then...I think I'll go for a drive in the rain today. Another first!

Trying to Kick the Grubby Blah Vibe Today

Today is no special occasion, nor do I plan on leaving the house before 6:30 or 7:00 tonight (other than my usual walk down to the end of the street to pick Kiera up from the bus). But today I was feeling grubby, bored, and just plain blah. I have lots I could be doing, don't get me wrong but I can only take so much cleaning at once, I would love a day to sit and chat and craft but when most of my friends are in the same boat with little ones it gets hard to schedule play days when everyone is feeling healthy. In fact I am sporting a cold of my own right now. Phooey!

So to try and kick the blah vibe I decided to put in a little more effort on hair, make-up, and accessories than I usually do. In fact I was happy I did because I ended up having to sew my belt in another 2 inches! That is 3 inches total since I bought it in early March! WOOT WOOT!

The kids were taking naps while I was doing this so I decided why not take some self portraits while I was at it. I set my camera on the 10 sec timer and went back and forth from where I was to the camera to check on placement and things.  It was kind of fun and I got some cute shots out of it. Here are a few favorites.

 I think I over photoshopped this one but I was so excited about my belt shrinkage that I had to make it look like I was glowing. I'm a dork I know..

What do you do to chase those blahs away?

Emma's First Ponytail!

Yesterday Emma sported her first ever ponytail! I probably could have attempted one way before now but her hair just didn't seem quite long enough. I wish I would have gotten a few more pictures but this girl is always on the move! This was the best I could get.

The ponytail didn't last long though. It was gone as soon as she woke up from her nap. But I think I enjoyed the post nap look even more. What do you think?

 

 

She Walks!

Emma took her first steps last night! I was at Zumba so I wasn't home to see it but lucky for me daddy took the initiative to record it so I wouldn't miss it. 

Keepin' it Real

This morning I came across this article that really made me step back and think. It really struck a cord with me. It started out saying, "There’s this crazy phenomenon going on right now. Good, devoted mothers get on Pinterest . . . and blogs . . . and Facebook . . . and Twitter . . . and then they flip through parenting magazines and TV channels (full of advertisements and media hype) . . . and they’re convinced they’re not enough."

I know I am guilty of this. I get overwhelmed and feel inadequate when I see all the amazing things out there and the pristine, perfect sides of people that I don't even know. I need to remember that there are other sides to those lives I see and they aren't all pretty in pink or flowery all the time.

So today I thought I would come out and show my readers that I am not all that either. I am a real person. I have real kids.  My hair and make-up isn't done on a daily basis. My toenails are in desperate need of new polish. I don't cook perfectly balanced meals for my family every night. In fact on Monday we had two frozen box pizzas and that's it.

My house isn't neat and organized all the time (hardly EVER actually). My pantry isn't orderly and labeled. My laundry baskets aren't neatly hidden away in a cupboard, (instead we have mountains). My linen closet is stuffed full and I sometimes can't even close the door because everything is falling out. But, I am a REAL mom, and I try to concentrate on what matters most in my life.

 So today I went around the main floor of my house and took AS IS pictures of what my everyday house looks like. I am giving no excuses. This is me and I am keeping it real.

Notice the red suitcase on the right. I still haven't unpacked from our weekend trip to Portland.

 The kitchen table is littered with Easter baskets and craft supplies from my singing time visual aids I made on Sunday. We've just pushed everything to the middle to make room for our plates when we're eating. (Mind you this isn't always what it looks like but it is what it is today)

 Want to sit down? Just scoot those books over and move the diaper bag out of the way.

 Oh yeah did I mention my mountains of laundry? I have been tackling them today and the couch is now full of folded clothes that need to be put away. Oh yeah did you notice the dark blue rocking chair? Can't sit there either it has Easter stuff that is waiting to be taken out to the storage shed.

 Here's the kitchen. You actually caught me a a good day. I had cleaned a lot of it before I decided to do this post. Oh but that counter on the left is our catch all spot. I really need to clean that up.

 Here's my laundry space. It is a closet that we took the doors off of at the base of the stairs. What you can't see is the pile of stuff on the floor that is waiting to go to the DI or Goodwill.

  Oh and I don't know how many times a day these shoes look like this. It is one of Emma's favorite places to play.

 So there you have it. Just keepin' it real. Ok I better get off now. Emma just woke up and I have mom duty. That's the best part of all!

Melt My Heart Monday

Today I am going to post a bunch of pictures I took over this weekend. I took a TON but these are a few of my favorites. I will get around to writing up a post about my birthday getaway and the play "Wicked." It was amazing!  But til then here's a glimpse of some of the weekends festivities. I love this time of year!

 

I Will Make Up For it. They Deserve it!

This week has been a slow one here at the Glenn's. With mom sick and kids out of school it has made for one of testing this momma's patience. I have had to cope and get used to the idea that the mess in the house will just have to be ignored. I know I have not given the children the attention they have been craving and my energy has been sub zero. But today is the one week mark since I have come down with this bug and today I am feeling much better. The meds are doing their job and today I felt my energy coming back. I was even able to do a couple loads of laundry and clean the kitchen today! That is huge for me.
Tomorrow we head off to Portland to visit grandma and grandpa Glenn and this mama gets a break for the weekend! I am sooo looking forward to spending some alone time with my husband. We are going to see 'Wicked', and maybe even relive our honeymoon hike near Multnomah Falls. I'm not in the shape I used to be so we'll see how it goes. I can't wait! Better get packing. Happy Birthday to me!

Here are a couple random photos I took of the kids today while trying to be a happier more involved mama.

 I love my babies! I am afraid that this week my words and actions have not showed that to the best of my abilities. Being sick while carrying on as happy and energetic is NOT my strong suit. I will try to make up for it now that I am feeling much better. My family deserves it! Just look at those precious faces.

On The Mend

This past week has been rough! I am happy to say that I think I am on the mend though. I didn't enjoy spending my birthday in the doctors office (waited 2 stinking hours just to get into a room) but am happy the meds that I was prescribed seem to be doing the trick. Ends up I had an ear and sinus infection. No wonder the over the counter stuff wasn't doing anything for me. I have one more day to take it easy and then I pack and head off to Portland to see Wicked with the hubs while grandma and grandpa watch the kids overnight! I can't wait!