Day 3-From Drab to Fab

Okay, that was the cheesiest title ever. I've been meaning to blog about this for months and just haven't found the time. Today's post will have more than one picture. You can read below how I completed this project. The lighting in the pictures isn't that great, but I think you can see what a difference this made in the chair.




This faux roman shade is not completed yet, so it looks a little wonky. I still have the folds pinned and plan to finish it as soon as I can find the time.

***I am NOT a professional seamstress as you can tell by the close-ups of this picture. ha!

We've been on a fixed budget for exactly 5 years and 6 months. You can do the math. Staying home is wonderful, but sometimes I just get tired of waiting to save up for a professional to hire and I get a wild hair that I will just have to do it by myself. I have had lots of hits and misses, but this project was a great success (in my humble opinion ;). I inherited several chairs when my parents downsized to a smaller house and while I LOVE antiques, I just felt that this chair could be changed for the better. It wasn't until I found the perfect fabric that I made the decision to tackle this project. I can't say it was EASY, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be either. This chair was OLD. I mean, it still had the original horse hair packed inside that carpenters and upholsterers used many, many years ago. I REALLY WISH I WOULD HAVE TAKEN PICTURES OF THE INSIDE AND THE STEPS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, BUT I WASN'T EVEN THINKING ABOUT BLOGGING ABOUT THIS SO I WILL JUST HAVE TO DESCRIBE THE STEPS.
1. I removed the gimp (which is the decorative ribbonish looking thing surrounding the fabric), the fabric and pulled out at LEAST 100 old, rusty nails.
2. Removed the layers of cloth, horse hair and lastly the burlap covering the wires and vacuumed out the inches of dust it had collected over the years.
3. Cut out the old hemp looking string that had broken down over the years and retied down the wires in the seat area to make them as even as possible.
4. Recovered the wires with new burlap.
5. Added a foam cushion to level out the wires. They were still a little uneven and bumpy.
6. Put a new quilt batting (I think that's what it's called) on top of the foam so it wouldn't look so squared. I did all of this with a staple gun and left the front open to add pillow foam inside to even it out even more. I can't remember the exact name, but it's the huge bag of what looks like cotton and I bought this at Walmart. It came with a wooden stick to push in tight spaces. When I had all of the empty spaces filled, I staple gunned the rest down.
7. I made a pattern using the old fabric and stapled gunned the new fabric around the edge of the wood. This took a few tries to get it pulled tightly and even, but it was easy to pull the staples out.
8. I used a hot glue gun to add the chocolate brown gimp all around the fabric for a finished look. I'm so pleased with the results.
9. I used the remaining fabric to make a "faux roman shade" for my back door, which is still incomplete. I still have it pinned in places because I wanted to look at it awhile to see if I liked the folds.
10. I also made a simple covering for my window over the sink. My mom and I bought a few more yards of the same fabric this weekend so I can make a few pillows for my couch and some ties for my panels to complete the look.
*****Here's a sneak pic of my next chair recovering project that I'm working on now. It is alot easier because I don't have to completely redo the chair. I'm just covering over the old velvet fabric.

Day 2~One of my all time favorites

This was taken when I brought the boys to Calverts in Dickson for Walker's first panel installment. I have about 10 of these pictures and it's so hard to pick out a favorite, but I love the way Will is holding Walker's head. He took the job of big brother very seriously and if I close my eyes, I can still picture that first year of bliss after Walker was born. No fighting, just loving. :) Will is a my nurturer and this picture just says it all. He is very loving and has such a heart for the well-being of others. Now he might aggravate the fire out of Walker, but he is also the first person to make sure Walker is safe and if anyone tried to hurt him, watch out! I can still remember the way Walker watched Will's every move when he was a baby, he would practically get whiplash watching him run back and forth and oh, Will could make him laugh like no one else. Will had the sweetest voice that he would only use for Walker when he would talk to him.

I look at this picture with fondness. I don't remember what it took to get out of the house, how many times I had to run back inside because I forgot something, driving the boys an hour to get their picture made, nursing in the dressing room at Calverts (which I'm sure I had to do), Walker's endless crying because he hated being in the car (which I'm sure he did, because he cried in the car pretty much the first year of his life).

This picture gives me HOPE! Hopefully, I will look back on what my life is like today with fondness too. Hopefully I won't remember the tears (mine and theirs), the long days that I don't think I can possibly get through, the feeling that I'm living out the movie Groundhog Day, or the constant messes. Hopefully I will remember their precious voices when they sing, our bedtime routines, hearing their belly laughter when something is really, really funny, searching for treasures outside and watching them grow and learn something new everyday.

Project 365~ Day 1-I might try this

We had a beautiful snow day yesterday. It wasn't to cold, the snow was just the perfect consistency and we had fun riding the gator down the street to our neighbors. The boys loved sledding on our make-shift sleds (tops of plastic storage containers).

My sister is participating in this picture a day thing and I thought I might give it a try, better late than never. I can't promise I'll keep it up. I'm known for starting lots of things and they sound like a great idea at the time, but then I have lots of unfinished projects. ADD anyone? The reason it sounds enticing is that I don't have to put tons of pictures up and try to go back and document what happened 3 months ago. That's why I dread blogging. So, here goes...

"Brotherly Love" on Christmas Eve

I was trying to get a shot of the boys in front of the Christmas tree before they went to bed and here is a "keeping it real" collage of what really transpired. I just kept snapping away while my "boys will be boys." Len and I got a good laugh out of these photos. In all honesty, they really do love each other and for the most part, are really sweet to each other, but we also have our fair share of fighting these days.

I hope everyone had a wonderful day celebrating Christmas. It really is so much fun to continue our traditions with our boys and start new ones. **You don't have to keep reading, this is mainly so I can document our Christmas this year and look back on this post next year. This is the first year that Will actually woke up and remembered that Santa was supposed to come. I didn't take very many pictures this morning because I decided that I just wanted to enjoy watching their faces instead of having my face behind the camera and trying to get the "perfect picture." We had the best morning opening presents, having a good "Christmas" breakfast of my mom's sausage balls, cinnamon rolls and fruit salad. We also enjoyed the beauty of a White Christmas. The Lord has been so good to us this year and we are most thankful for the health of our boys.

We let the boys play for awhile and then I went upstairs to pack for Alabama. We hit the road a little before noon and as we drove down I-65 in the beautiful snow covered trees, I had a moment of nostalgia, sadness as we passed the exit to my sweet Nene and Papa Jack's house. It just feels so strange that they are gone now, that a huge part of my life is now in the past. I started thinking of all the times we spent Christmas in Tuscumbia and all of the memories I have of being at their house during the holidays. It gives me the warmest feeling, but I also felt sad for my mom and aunts, that this is their first Christmas without their parents, but I am comforted and feel at peace, knowing that they are celebrating with Jesus in Heaven. They lived such a wonderful, long life. They were simple people who loved the Lord. Money wasn't their focus in life. Material possessions were not important to them. Their relationship with the Lord, their marriage and family, and serving others is what meant the most to them and I think of that often and strive to be content like they were.

When we got to my parent's house ( in a record time of under 4 hours!) we had a wonderful time opening presents, which was can only be described as mass chaos of everyone talking at once, paper flying, and all the kids running around with their presents. I wouldn't have it any.other.way! We enjoyed a fabulous meal that my mom prepared. Ham, beans of some sort, sweet potatoes, creamed corn, biscuits and broccoli salad was on the menu and to top it off, we had my Nene's delicious caramel pie for desert. I'm still stuffed 4 hours later!

Last night, we had Christmas Eve dinner with just the 4 of us, by candle light which was a huge hit with the boys. We had great conversations and the highlight of the dinner for the boys was getting to blow out the candles when we were finished eating. I told them a story about my childhood memories of Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with my siblings and Walker made us laugh when he said, "well, when I was a little boy, I"and then he mumbled something and got embarrassed when we started to laugh, because I had started the story with, "when I was a little girl, I..." The boys put on their Christmas pj's, got to open an early gift (pillow pets), got the cookies and milk ready for Santa, put out reindeer food, tracked Santa online and then we headed upstairs to read the story of Jesus' birth. Then we watched "Twas the Night Before Christmas" on utube and the boys were asleep at 7:48!! Len and I love playing Santa, getting the gifts set up, stockings stuffed and just spending some Christmas Eve time together. Thank you Lord, for sending your son, Jesus Christ to this earth to become like us. Thank you for my precious boys and the memories we are creating.

Merry Christmas!

**Photo credits** My super talented sister of Allison Hilyer Photography!

Thanksgiving in AL

We had a wonderful time visiting family in Montgomery for Thanksgiving. My sister's sister-in-law always hosts and she makes us feel so welcomed. They live in the country with lots of land and my brother in law's parents live behind them. It is a little boy's dream~fully stocked pond, golf cart, 4-wheelers, horses and dogs. We had a fabulous meal and then set out to go fishing. Len caught 7 or 8 fish and the boys had a blast. I left Missy's house dreaming of living in the country with land for my boys to run free. We stayed very busy the whole time we were there. I felt like we were on the go the whole time. We missed my brother (who missed his flight on Thanksgiving morning), and we weren't ready to go home when the time came. We stayed in a hotel near my parents home and Walker loved his hotel. The boys got to go swimming with their cousins one night and I think Will could have swam all night long. Here are some pics from our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Feast

Here are a few pictures from our Thanksgiving Feast at our preschool. It's only for the 3's, 4's and 5's so it was nice to get some one on one time with Will from mommy and daddy.

Will and sweet Maisy.

Will and his buddies from class. I wish we would have gotten Carter in the pictures. Hutson, Miles and Will.

Me and my BIG baby! He's not a baby anymore, but he will always be my baby :( Love this boy so much. He is really growing into such a sweet hearted boy and has matured so much this year. He is getting easier and easier and is such a joy to be around. I can't believe he sat on my lap in front of his friends for this picture.

And no post would be complete without my little turkey and he is indeed a little turkey! ;)

Catch Up-Papa, SueSue & AW's Visit

A few weeks ago, my mom and dad came to visit. I convinced my sister to let Ann Welch tag along. The boys were thrilled and could.not.wait. for her to get here. We had a great weekend. They were able to stay until Monday, which was nice because they usually have to rush home after church on Sundays. We had a very low-key weekend and we hardly even noticed the kids were even there. They played so hard. They built forts and houses and played mommy & daddy and just generally enjoyed each other so much. Walker thinks Ann Welch exists just for him and just adores her. He is finally old enough to hang/hold his own with the big kids. We went to Will's soccer game on Saturday morning and then my mom and I took the kids to the pumpkin patch, while dad and Len stayed home to watch football. I know they were just dying to brave the pumpkin patch with us. ha! We didn't make them go and they were happy to say the least. It was SO crowded and we only stayed about an hour. We came home and watched football, took naps and just enjoyed being lazy. We went to church on Sunday and then had a little early birthday party for AW. She turned 5 on November 2nd and we never get to see her on her birthday. I made yummy pink/glitter, strawberry cupcakes which was so fun for me because I never get to do anything pink. Her only request was some animal/rubberband bracelets so at $1.99 she was a happy girl. She loved blowing out her candles and we had so much fun. Ann Welch introduced us to Club Penguin awhile back and it is addictive. Even Len and I like to play it. It is a fun online game on the Disney website. So willadnash and purple-ela (their screen names) were taking over our computers and loved playing side by side. Ann Welch taught Will all of the secrets of Club Penguin. She is just like an adult in a tiny petite little body. It was a great weekend!

Happy Halloween!

from my little Titans!




Len and I were talking about past Halloweens and started counting up and it seems impossible that this is Will's 6th Halloween and Walker's 3rd so I got a little nostalgic and went back to find old costume pictures. Here is a collage of Halloweens past and present. I could beat myself up for not dressing Will up for his first Halloween. I was staying at home and we didn't have any extra money and we weren't even going to be home to give out candy for the trick or treaters so I just opted for the pumpkin pj's. I love seeing how my boys have grown through the years. I look forward to many more Halloweens to come.