Girl's Room, Revisited

 I finally got a couple of things done in the girls' room!

Okay, by "finally" I mean that ever since Olivia was born, I've wanted to get her name print up. So, "finally" as in, "not even four months".

I'll get to the print a little later, though.

The one big thing I haven't been satisfied with are the curtains.

What was in there was a simple white liner from the old purple curtains, and I sort of tacked on a pink ruffly thingamabob.

 

 

 Can we all agree they were sort of blah?

Okay, maybe it's just me and my brain. 

I really have a hard time leaving things one way for too long.

(My husband has learned this very thoroughly.)

So, I started looking at curtain ideas and came across these from Pottery Barn Kids:

But OOF-DAH! $90 for a curtain panel?

My brain kicked into gear.

I had two goals:

1: Make ruffly curtains on the cheap.

2: Make one curtain fit perfectly on the single odd-sized window.

All started well. It was cheap because my white fabric was in a bundle, given to me for free.

(Love free stuff.)

I measured very carefully so I had perfectly sized, perfectly customized window coverings.

Then I cut strips for ruffles, and started working from the bottom up.

I pinned the edges first, then eyeballed my way toward center.

Yes, I did repin this at least once.

I also probably called it stupid more than once. (Don't tell my kids.)

 Once I had it fairly well pinned I stitched it down and sort of shoved the loose fabric into bunches as I went.

It worked pretty well, and I got two lovely rows on 3 curtain panels.

Then a few things happened:

1: I ran out of fabric for more uniform ruffles.

2: I have 3 small children that make it...um...complicated...to get projects done.

3: I actually really liked just 2 ruffles.

So, here is how they look now:

 Can you imagine those slathered in ruffles?

It might still happen, but I have so many options!

Finish in white ruffles, do an ombre of pink shades, or just put some lovely pink trim along the existing ruffles and call it lovely. 

(Whatever I do, I got a whole lot of "wow", "pretty" and "OOOH" from my girls over them!)

So anyway, here is what they look like:

 And here's the updated wall:

So, between butterflies and ruffly curtains, I'm keeping it totally girlie.

 In case you're wondering, that teal paint for the frames is my own cocktail of colors.

I typically get inexpensive frames from someplace like Walmart, so then if anything gets knocked down and broken I'm not out a chunk of change. (and yes, I have hung things as securely as possible because I also take the safety of my children into consideration. Thank you.)

Fifteen Ways Mr. Wonderful and I are Different

Pioneer Woman did a post like this today. I enjoyed hers a lot, and thought it would be fun to do the same here. Enjoy!

1: He likes math.
I like English

2: He prefers games played on computers.
I prefer board games.
for the record, we both enjoy many of the same games.

3: He prefers mayonaisse.
I prefer Miracle Whip.
we buy mayonaisse

4: He takes care of the rodents,
I take care of the bugs.

5: He sleeps best cool.
I sleep best with 42 blankets and flannel pants.
even in the summer, i need a sheet or something!

6: He talks things through in a concise manner, reaching a conclusion in a reasonable amount of time.
I talk things through in many random directions, with much gesturing of hands and varied vocal tones.

7: His love language is acts of service,
My love language is physical touch.
for the record, he frequently comes home and eagerly cooks supper, and plays with the girls, and mows the lawn, and keeps up with house maintenance...and still gives me back rubs. what a guy!

8: He likes to wake up bright and early and greet the day.
I somewhat grudgingly wake up bright and early, and stagger around until I've had a lot of coffee.

9: He likes ranch dressing on many different foods.
I think ranch dressing is highly overrated.
we both really love bleu cheese.

10: He will pass on dessert and eat a little more meat.
I'll pass on the food and eat 4 pieces of that delicious cheesecake, thanks!
we both really do love cheesecake, and frozen brownies. his favorite is vanilla ice cream with homemade chocolate shell.

11: He likes things in one place, all the time, so he knows where everything is.
I rearrange, and organize, and redecorate, and am always convinced things can look better and better.

12: He keeps things that might be useful one day, or that he really can't part with.
I'll toss unused anything (qualified as junk) faster than you can say, "please don't part with my beloved belongings".

13: He watches documentaries and plays Minecraft.
I watch cooking shows and play Pinterest.
we both really enjoy watching Top Gear (U.K.)

14: He enjoys Applebees.
I sincerely enjoy Panera Bread and iHop.
we both like Red Lobster, Perkins, and Noodle Zoo.

15: He retains 98% of all information and rarely writes things down.
I write everything down and retain 5% of all information given.

How are you and your spouse different? How are you similar? What is it in your relationship that colors and flavors it?  

Celebrate and enjoy the differences!

Things We Do

Flashback

May went in such a blur! We were quite busy for most of it. Here are some highlights from the past month:

Olivia at 8 weeks:

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Scott and I again coordinated the NICHE (Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators) Conference Children's Program.

This year's theme was set during WW2, so the costumes were all for that time period. 

It was a wonderful conference, and we came away both tired and refreshed. :-)

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Memorial Day Weekend was the annual Vessels of Honor conference in Kansas City.

Ava and Lucy stayed with my family, and had a great time while Scott & I took just Olivia and enjoyed the conference!

The conference theme was prayer, and as we traveled home we discussed how, as a family, we could clean up, de-clutter, and spend more time on things that matter. 

This is what we came home to:

 

God definitely had us prepared for 8 inches of water in our basement, and gave us hearts of joy as we cleaned up the mess.

It was a great opportunity to get rid of things just lying around. Things that were now ruined and even more useless to us.

This was a blessing--no disguise on it. For all the hassle and sweat and work put in, I never felt frustrated or angry. Scott said the same. It was absolutely incredible how we never were upset about this.

 There are things we would like to replace. Things it would be nice for insurance to cover, since that's kind of their job, right? But still...so thankful. So blessed by the Living God!

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 Miss Olivia is now practically 3 months old.

She wiggles and scoots around on her back, on the floor.

She talks to her toys and coos with delight over just about anything.

When she is mad or scared, she really gets dramatic about it.

Even her mad, crying face is so cute.

Her smile lights up the room when she sees someone she knows!

Olivia is still very even-tempered. And clearly a 3rd child. Just today as I was running the vacuum Ava and Lucy were running around shrieking and Olivia just calmly played in her bouncy seat. Pretty impressive stuff, I have to say.

 All the girls love each other! Olivia adores her big sisters, and they dote on her. 

Can you tell??

 Strong baby, growing up so quickly!

Lucy and Ava--the "very bestest big sisters EVER!!!"

Highlight of the day, captured:

The exact reaction as Daddy walked in the door!

Because my Husband loves God, because my Husband has given his life to Jesus Christ, our home is blessed. I can only say that the loveliness in our home, in our marriage, in our children, is only because of the Living God working in our lives. Can I get an AMEN?!