Our first date :)

Hello!

So Bug and I went on our first official date today! I've dreamt about him being old enough for us to go out and do fun stuff by ourselves for what seems like forever. And today we finally had the opportunity to go out together!

So it started out with us going to see The Mad adventures of Mr. Toad at the College of Idaho, put on by DreamWeaver Musical Theatre.

 I was so excited that our first date was at a musical! So we got nice and cleaned up for the event...

Unfortunately that's the best smile that we could get out of him. lol 

So we head over, get our programs, get seated, and wait for the show to start. 

Bug kept covering up his eyes because he knew that eventually the lights would be shutting off.

And he kept checking the front of the program to make sure Mr. Toad was putting his gloves on. 

So the show started with a choir group singing a Disney medley! Which was like a bonus to us Disney-fanatics. There was a brief intermission afterwards, and then the play started. 

He loved it from the get-go. And of course he asked a million questions about what was happening, who was who, if certain characters were coming back any time soon, and when they were going to sing again. I spent majority of the show quietly asking him to whisper if he had a question, lol.

It was an awesome children's theatre production, and we loved it! 

Afterwards we walked around the College of Idaho campus for a bit, and then headed to Dairy Queen to have a treat before we went home. 

All in all, a pretty perfect first date with an amazing little boy :)

DIY Picture Board

Okay.

I cannot describe how thrilled I am about this project! 

Our little girl recently graduated into a toddler bed, which left our crib with no use :(

(Because, knock on wood, we're done having kids).

So! I decided that instead of getting rid of the crib or having it sit in the garage for years and years, I would repurpose it's different parts into different projects!

And this is the first one :)

So firstly, you need the springy thing that goes under the mattress!

And then you need to take these little doohickeys off each corner.

Next, you must acquire a roll of burlap (or any fabric really, I think it would look cute either way)

Then! Begin wrapping the burlap (or fabric) around the edge of the springy thing. You can wrap as loosely or as tightly as you like, I just prefer not to see any of the metal.

So I wrapped and wrapped and wrapped (seriously, I wrapped for probably close to an hour) until I came to the end of my burlap. 

My roll of burlap failed me. By five inches.

FIVE INCHES!!

In a panic, I searched for any type of crafty anything that could fill that five inch void. 

And I just happened to have a couple of black cotton fat quarters on hand!

Let me just clarify really quickly, that I NEVER thought that I would be "that" craft lady who could finish a project with things that she "had on hand". But I guess I've just leveled up from my amateur crafter status ;)

Anyways! I fashioned my two fat quarters into a bow :) which sat nicely on the corner and the black just happens to match my collages of black picture frames and wall decor in the living room! Double bonus!

I mounted that beauty on the wall, and grabbed the finishing touches!

Small clothespins to hang pictures, and of course my pictures.

I think the hardest part of this project was deciding which pictures I wanted to hang! 

And voila! The project is complete :) 

I'm so busy!

Josh and I were watching The Today Show this morning, and they had an interesting short segment. The question was "Is being SO BUSY the new humble brag?" The more they talked about it, the more I realized that not a single day goes by that I haven't talked to someone who confesses how much they have on their plate, how many responsibilities they have, and how they just plain "don't have time". Please don't get me wrong, I also am guilty of this! 

This really made me evaluate myself, and think about how much I actually have to get done during the day compared to how swamped I feel. Let me just tell ya, that those two things were a more than a tad bit out of balance.  

Even though I would love to believe that I have a crazy hectic life because it gives me an excuse to not fold that week old pile of clean laundry in the corner, I actually do have time to take care of it. And even though I would love to keep convincing myself that I have such an long list to complete, it's really not that bad.

Okay, so I wrote ^ that about a week ago. I tried going through this week without making excuses about why I couldn't get accomplished all that I wanted to. Suffice it to say that this goal is a lot easier said than done, lol. I did notice that I "magically" get a few more things done that usually fall by the wayside, and even had time for stay-in double date night with friends! 

I did also notice, that when my feelings of being overwhelmed with too much to do weren't bombarding my every thought, I had more patience with my kids. I felt like I was able to take a breather from the day to day things that needed to get done, and actually play with my kids. Too often I feel like I'm trying to distract them with toys and games so that I can accomplish what I think needs to be done.  Let's just say that the more I thought about that, the more upset I became with myself. As frustrating as children can be (especially when I'm with children all day at work), I definitely know that my kids and the memories we make and the experiences we share are what count. I don't want my kids to look back at me when they're older and only remember that mom was either cleaning or tired.

So whati took away from The Today Show segment from last week, is that when I look at the empty space in my schedule, I want to fill it with my family. (Because really, who wants to fill up their schedule with the laundry, lol)

Remember me?

It has been a LONG time since I've written on this lovely blog of mine! And though I doubt everyone has been patiently waiting for a family update from The Carlton family, I on the other hand have needed it. 

I've recently been reading along with an old friend's blog, and have admired the amazing things that have been going on in their life. It has inspired me to change the way that I look at my life. 

At first I questioned myself, and had the thought that "I'm not on a life changing journey, so what do I possibly have to offer the readers of my blog?" The more I thought on that, I realized that there is an unspoken bond between all moms, regardless of age and years of motherhood under their belts. I thought that maybe I'm sharing similar struggles and moments of triumph as other women in my life, and I at the very least offer the knowledge that they aren't alone in their stage of life. 

So while I dream about that effect that my blog will have on it's few readers, I came to the conclusion that I need to write in this blog for myself. Because even though it sometimes feels like I'm in a very slow, steady, and rarely changing stage of life, I have a huge impact in the people that mean the most to me, my family. And I'll want to look back at this time of my life and see the way my family has grown with each other. So please feel free to join in with my family on our struggles, triumphs, and love that we share. 

(And if I start falling behind on posts, please feel free to verbally kick me in the pants to get me moving again! 😋)