A Cherry Tree for Caleigh

     A good friend of mine is having a baby this month and for her baby shower I wanted to give her something that she and baby Caleigh would love and enjoy for a long time. She had told me that she wanted a Vinyl Cherry Tree for Caleigh's room to match her crib set. So, I bought brown and white vinyl from the internet and pink from Michaels. I borrowed a friends Cricut to cut out cherry blossoms and i'd like to say that I got right to work, but I procrastinated for a few months. All the while I was picturing and planning in my head, and on paper what this tree would look like and how it would turn out. I used an idea that Meredith had found on the internet and using that I sketched a tree on newspaper in Violet's room.

   Then I cut piece by piece from this template and put it on the wall with masking tape first to make sure that it turned out as planned.

It is actually flip flopped from the first drawing, but that was the easy part.

 It took about 5 1/2 hours to cut and apply the tree it's self.

 I left Meredith with the flowers to place them where ever she liked.

 And she made the birds herself with scrapbook paper.

I am so happy for Meredith and family and can't wait to meet Baby Caleigh!!

Spring has Sprung

      Wow! I can't believe that my last blog was in February! Time flies when you are busy mom of two. We have had a lot going on, and sometimes we click into survival mode. Doing what we have to do from day to day without anything extra being tacked on. Spring came early this year and that means lots of extra work. We have started some seeds and we will be planting them in the garden next weekend. We are planning to grow corn, peas, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash, Zucchini, jalapenos, and serrano peppers. I spent some time weeding the garden today and I found a volunteer pumpkin growing. The kids had rolled the pumpkin around the yard last fall until it completely turned to mush. I am excited with the prospect of having our very own garden and being more self sufficient. I have always loved the idea of living off of the land and this is as close as I've ever been. In years past we have grown squash and tomatoes, but never have we tried to this extent.

       Volunteer Pumpkin

        In March I was fortunate enough to go to the NC Head Start Conference as WCCA Parent of the Year. I was able to attend some classes, spend time with Emily and enjoy my first 'vacation' without Mike and the kids. It was a great experience and I had a lot of fun, even learned a little, but I missed Mike and the kids terribly!

It was nice to get prettied up for a special occasion. 

       The end of March was the Kindergarten fair and the first week of April was Kindergarten Registration! My baby girl is growing up so fast!! We applied to several area schools, two of which are year round, lottery schools. We received a letter yesterday that Violet got into our first choice school!! And we are excited for her to start in July!

Violet after her first professional haircut

     In April we went to spring break at Myrtle Beach with Mike's Family. We had a great week of fun in the sun. We visited Myrtle Beach State Park, spent a lot of time on the beach, some time in the pool and even made it to Ripley's Believe it or not. We had an awesome time and were glad to come home after an exhausting week of vacation.

The kids enjoying the beach together. 

    Violet and Zeke finished up there Monkey See Monkey do class at the Flat Rock Playhouse- YouTheatre. It was a fun class with music and creative play. Mike, Karen and I all volunteered at the spring festival. YouTheatre is a great program and I am excited that Violet will be going to summer camp there for a week this summer!! We have a short summer, but I assure you that we will make the best of it! I hope you are all well. Much love, Rebeccca

    

Finding my self in the woods

I took a walk today, all alone, in the woods. You see, I was introduced to Meditation at the beginning of the week, where I was taken on a visual journey through the forest. It was very peaceful and calming and ever since then I have wanted to take an actual journey into the forest. Today was like seeing everything for the first time. I have hiked with the kids often for the past two years, but there is something magical about being there alone. I always hear people say, "Don't go hiking woods alone (insert scary scenario here.)" I have been hiking solo for years, I grew up in the woods, they are my home and my spiritual connection. I feel completely safe and serene in the woods. From the moment that I step into the forest, I see God all around me. I feel his presence with the sun on my face, the wind in my hair, the rustling of the leaves, the creaking of the trees, the chirping of the birds. I feel like my whole body relaxes and takes in the beauty around me. Today I walked slow and let it all soak in. I stopped several times to admire the view, to breathe the air, to pray and give thanks for everything good in my life. In this quiet hour alone. I felt more myself than I have in years, I didn't worry about what happened before or what was to come, nothing mattered except for being completely present in that moment. Today was a gift and I accepted it with open arms.

Dreams

Dreams are important in any existence. It is important to work towards personal goals, to be motivated, to find something that you love to do. Dreams are dreams because they are distant from reality. Sometimes dreams can lift you up and pull you away. Your mind wanders at the many possibilities of what could be and what is to come. They make you think in a different way, they make you yearn, they can even change you. Not all dreams are out of reach. A lot of people have the means to make their dreams come true, some people work toward their dreams everyday and never make it to the end game, but they are happy with the journey.

Many of my dreams have already come true. I have a great, loving husband, 2 amazing children, and a handful of close friends. These are people I love and cherish. I consider myself fortunate. I don't have much money, and though I feel like things would be easier if I did, I take to account the fact that if I did have a lot of money, I might not have a lot of love. I would choose love over money any day. I am a caring, compassionate person. I'm not incredibly smart, and most things don't come easy for me. My dreams may take a whole lifetime to accomplish, but I look forward to the journey.

Seven Years....

Seven years ago today I met the love of my life. I had no idea at the time how much he would mean to me today. We had crossed paths before, but we had never really spoken. He was a long haired skinny guy that worked at Mr Gatti's and was friends with my best friend. I will spare you all of the awesome details, but when I met him, I was a mess. I didn't know what I wanted, I wasn't sure where I was headed, I was floating from day to day in a fog. He rescued me, more than once, in so many ways, more times and in more ways than I even knew at the time. I like to think that we rescued each other. That we were always meant to be.

Today he is the father of my children, the provider for our family, and the love of my entire life. We don't have a lot of money and we aren't perfect.  He, till this day, refuses to fight with me. He lets me get angry, yell, and then brood until I get over it. I always do. He has a great sense of humor, even though I don't always admit it. He is fun, strong, loving, loyal, and dedicated. He is my everything. I love you Mike. Happy Anniversary!


Seven years ago today the hit song was

Wikipedia's Picture of the day was

A lot has changed about the world in 7 years, but we remain the same, together. 

Things beyond my control...

Most of you who know me, know that I wear my heart on my sleeve. I have a hard time hiding any of my emotions. I hate that feature about myself. Sometimes I wish I could bottle it all up and smile through it. I can't, if i'm having a bad day, people know it. Life is hard and bad days come and go, but I wish I didn't have to talk about it. Because everyone can see how i'm feeling I feel the need to have to explain it, and I don't always know why I am feeling the way I do. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well, or I got cut off on the way to take the kids to school, maybe some one didn't say hello back when I said hello to them, maybe the kids were hard or maybe i'm just in a mood. Those are all simple explanations and shouldn't be cause for a ruined day, but i'm not perfect.
I am an honest person and always say what I think. But there are the instances where 'if you can't say anything nice, you shouldn't say anything at all.' Sometimes someone will say something that upsets me and I try to act like it doesn't bother me, to avoid conflict. It drives me crazy that they can always tell when something bothers me! Even if it is a phone conversation, they can hear every bit of anguish in my voice.... I don't want to be transparent. If I feel the need to shake something off, let me. There are some instances where I don't want to share my opinion, but there it is right on my face, or in my voice or possibly both. I can't control my reaction I've probably lost friends over it and didn't even know it. I don't know how to change this about myself and I don't think I can. But the up side is that it keeps me honest. And honesty is always the best policy.


Writing this blog was a kind of release today. I don't expect that many people will take the time to read it. I am sad to know that one person, in particular, who has been subscribed to my blog since the beginning will not read this :(  Rest in peace Sarah <3<3

Creating an Outer Space Room for Zeke

So I still have a long way to go, but a few of my friends have asked how I made the vinyl wall decals for Zeke's room so here goes. I wanted to do a theme that would grow with him. He really doesn't know much about space, yet, but completely by coincidence he is learning about space this week at his new preschool.

The most frustrating part of the whole thing was finding sheets of vinyl for a reasonable price. Now that I know what I  am looking for it will be much easier in the future. This is what I found http://www.amazon.com/12-Adhesive-Backed-Vinyl-Assorted-Cutters/dp/B00331S0GO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1326310048&sr=8-2. In the future I would buy bigger sheets because there is so much that I would like to do with them and I am already running out of some colors that I would like to have for Violet's room.

These are the colors I had to work with.

 I borrowed these from my mother in law and intended to only use them with paper, but to my surprise the cut vinyl just as easily as card stock. (Don't worry if I had messed any of them up I would have replaced them.

I traced and printed these off of the computer as templates to trace the shapes that I needed onto the back side of the vinyl. And then I cut them out and simply stuck them to the wall!

 I like the contrast in the sizes and colors of the stars

I am still adding to it, in fact I have added more stars since I took this picture. It may not be done till the end of the year, but his walls finally aren't bare.

I plan to make paper mache planets to hang from the ceiling and I have plans for some foam 3D rockets as well as a few framed pictures to go with the one below.

This one is made from scrapbook paper I have been collecting for a few years.

Feel free to leave me a comment to let me know what you think. Thanks!