Thursday, September 30, 2010

Bumpa and GiGi Come for a Visit

We were blessed to be able to spend the majority of the day with my grandparents Ron and Bonnie today. They currently reside in Arkansas so we don't see them save for a few times a year. They came to Michigan to celebrate my Aunt's 50th birthday along with their 25th anniversary. Emma and I were able to enjoy their company for the afternoon. We decided to take advantage of the beautiful fall weather and headed to Crane's first.


Grandma had never gone apple picking before.


This was Emma's first time as well- she did a great job picking apples.


Emma and Bumpa having fun in the swing.

I had to work really hard for this picture- she really didn't want to sit still and say "Cheese"!


She is definitely daddy's girl- she was obsessed with this little tractor :)

When we finished up at Crane's we headed to Zeeland to check out the Pumpkin Fest. Emma's favorite activity had to be the bounce house. She seemed a bit uncoordinated and spent most of the time landing flat on her face, but it didn't faze her a bit.

Emma and Bumpa trying out the obstacle course. I was teasing them that they'll be in the next edition of the local paper as the youngest and oldest competitors.

We headed home after an hour or so. A certain two year old can only last in public so long when she's had a twenty minute nap for the day. Emma and Bumpa were able to play a little longer before they had to pack up and head home.

Emma giving Bumpa a piggy back ride.

Riding the rocking horse together. And yes, the balloon is tied to his ear- don't ask!


We had a lot of fun and really cherished Bumpa and GiGi's company. Watching Emma and her Bumpa play reminded me that, in some ways, you don't ever have to grow up. Emma is so lucky to have not only grandparents, but many great grandparents as well. Thank you so much for coming and visiting with us- we can't wait to do it again!

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Potties, Training and Cloth Diapers, Oh My!

I've been talking about it for a while now and I finally took the plunge. Now that I've done it I'm kicking myself that I didn't start sooner! It may be expensive to begin with, but it's much cheaper in the long run. Next time around we'll be doing it much more.

I'm referring to cloth diapering. Many people told me not to do it. They didn't think I'd be happy with it, that it's too much work. So I have to do a few extra loads of laundry... for me laundry isn't an issue. It's the 'folding things and putting it away' part that I dislike. That's not a problem when it comes to the diapers.

When I first considered it, the thought intrigued me. It appealed to me in several aspects. First, it's better for Emmabuns which is always high on my list. Second, as I mentioned before, I will save money on diapers. Not only for Emma but her future sibling as well (no one read too much into that statement!). What can I say, I'm cheap- I like to save money where ever I can. And last, I'm not throwing so many diapers away every week. I can't saw that I'm "green", but I like to be when I can.

Next came the issue of picking what would work best for us. There are many options out there. So I headed over to EcoBuns and talked to the owner Kellie. She is super helpful and she knows her stuff! We started out with the GroVia diapers which are an all in two. They are a one size diaper, so baby can wear them from birth to potty training. Huge seller for me! The inserts simply snap in. When baby needs to be changed you pull the insert out and snap in a fresh one (did I mention this is super easy?).

Emma started to use the potty around her second birthday. It was her choice and I'm not pushing the matter yet. She goes every night before bed and that's about all she's interested in right now. I started out with one diaper and two extra inserts and have been using them at night only. I now have four diapers along with the two inserts which equates to six changes. I hope to do all cloth in the future.

Emma's pretty happy with her "big girl" diapers too!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Time for an Update

Not a blog update, one of the home variety. I know that we are going to live in our current residence for a few more years, so I've decided that it's time to make some changes. There are things around our house that I'm not in love with, never have been, but I've lived with. We bought our house four years ago and at the time we were simply adjusting to home ownership and being newly weds. Home decor was not a top priority. Then we had Emma and things shifted again. Suddenly, I am in the mood to make some changes.

First to go were the kitchen curtains. We had some homemade Tulip valances over three windows and the door, along with under the kitchen sink in place of cupboard doors. Before Emma started crawling we had a local handy man make cupboard doors for under our sink and we replaced the valances with some fun bright striped ones I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

Next on my list was our window seats. The dog had all but obliterated the center cushion. Plus, I was never in love with the flower print that adorned them. Yet I couldn't find something I liked to replace it. I was trying to find something that fit in with our old farmhouse without stripes (I found lots of cute patters with stripes, but I felt like we already had lots of stripes and I was afraid it would be hard to get the stripes straight). I also didn't want to have to paint the wall or buy new table linens.

Of course I didn't take a before picture, but I did find this one of Harley taken not long after we moved in.

I finally found some fabric I liked, only to go back two days later and find out it was gone. I picked another one out and took it home to my hubby to find out he thought it was "old ladyish". I settled with this print, even though the cream background makes me a bit nervous. I also had to buy foam for the center cushion- the old one was disintegrating. It took me a few days to complete, mostly because once I would finish one cushion I would need a break before taking on another one. I struggle a bit with projects like this since I can be a perfectionist at times!


Here's the completed project. Don't mind my Halloween decor :) I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The middle cushion is a bit stiff, but I'm hoping that it will get better with time and use. Overall it cost a little under $70 which I didn't think was too bad (foam is expensive!). Next on my list is painting the stairwell and upstairs hallway. That has been on my list since we've moved in, but I haven't been able to decide on a color. I think this project has given me the motivation I need!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Happy Birthday Ol' Man!

Today we celebrate Jason's big 27! He feels like he's getting old even after many around him advise him that 27 is nothing. He is not into birthdays, especially his own. I know he didn't want me to make a big deal out of it. He came home from work, we met with one of our small groups from church and then he went back to work again.

I tried to explain to him why his birthday is an important day to me. It's a day to celebrate him. To remind us how lucky we are to have in in our life and be thankful for him- all that he is and all that he does. A day to honor him. Things that need to be done everyday in our household. I'll admit I am not always good at doing all of these things, so his birthday is one of those little reminders.

My family's tradition is to celebrate not only an individual's birth day, but the entire week. So I hope that Jason has an awesome birthday week filled with love, joy and laughter and he understands just how wonderful he is to his family. We love you babe!