When preparing Preston's nursery, I knew I wanted to make it a safe and cozy place for him where he had room to grow, explore and learn. Ensuring all the scary monsters always stayed away was a key goal, so I made him this to hang above his closet...
It was an extremely easy craft that intimidated me at first. I may be a DIYer, but I'm no artist, and paint is a medium I've never excelled with! I started slowly and bought this rectangle piece of wood at Walmart. Next, I painted it ivory {using acrylic paints}. The red dots came next {also acrylic}. I used a circle sponge brush to blot the red ones on randomly. Using a plain old marker top, I added the brown circles you see {with brown acrylic paint}. Knowing my limits, I decided to use a brown Sharpie to write the "No Monsters Allowed" on. Lastly, I just hot glued ribbon on the back and hung it over the closet...
Almost two years later, it's still there and looks like new. The best part is that it's just high enough to get the point across and hide the flaws!
Of course, you could put your own spin on this. Maybe simple paint and Mod Podge is more your speed. Paint the wood and just cut out letters and decoupage them on...
Recently, I came across two vintage bundt pans at a local antique mall. The booth was selling them for $3 each plus 20% off, and I especially loved the patina on one of them. Being the not-so-antique-expert that I am, I came to the conclusion that they were in great shape and worth the price. Besides, I wasn't going to be baking with them anyway...
Next, I went on a mad hunt for a wooden candle holder, or anything, that could support the two pans and allow for storage space between. The original plan was to spray paint it a funky color. Plus, whatever it was had to be just as wide as the bundt pan centers-to ensure it would look right.
After hitting my favorite local hot spots, a light bulb came on! A short vintage wooden spool would do the trick AND give me the look I was after without paint! Third Shift immediately came to mind. It's a wonderful Etsy shop FULL of vintage treasures. Because of their massive stock, I was sure they'd have something that would work, and they did! Two days and $8 later, I had my hands on this beauty...
My plan was already set. I would use my E-6000 glue {available at Michaels or Walmart} to attach the spool to the pans. Starting with the bottom pan {slightly larger of the two}, I glued the spool in place. Next, I glued the second pan on top and let it sit for 24 hours {per glue instructions}.
I am thrilled with the results and the versatility of this piece. I think it will work as a fruit pedestal in my kitchen or dining room or as a craft caddy in my office! I'll probably play with it and move it from room to room though. Who knows where it will end up next...
I don't talk too much about the details of what's really been going on in our lives, because I honestly try to keep things pretty upbeat here. No one likes a Debbie Downer, and no one's going to follow an emotional wreak into the depths of despair. It's just sort of against human nature.
Honestly, most days I AM pretty happy. Most days, I can easily find something to be grateful for, and I cling to those things like no other. Most days, I let go of my fear of the future and try to instead embrace the unknown. Most days, I sing and dance around the house and see traces of the Crystal I was before...
Every day, I pray and ask God to give me the strength to make it through. I ask him to protect Preston and I and to help him {that's what I'll refer to the ex as from now on} to make good choices. I ask God to help me keep our home. I ask him to guide me through work and allow me to do my job to the best of my ability. I ask for enough energy to get through my homework assignments, and I ask him to put angels on our roof at night and wrap their wings around us letting no evil in and pushing all evil far, far away. I ask him to keep all ghosts, spirits, demons, witches, vampires and anything of none human form away from us. I also ask that he keep all intruders, robbers, vandalists, murders, torturers, rapists, kidnappers, child molesters, peeping toms, terrorists, identity thieves and anyone else with evil or ill intent away. Honestly. I want to cover all of my bases, and I can't relax unless I know I asked for all of THAT to be banished from our property. Silly? Yes, but it helps! I'm not so great at sleeping alone at night just yet...
I also ask God to give me the push I need at the grocery store check-out to pull out my Food Stamp card and get the groceries we need. I ask him to protect me every time I'm forced to walk into Social Services and explain my story again. I ask for guidance when I make the trips to the VIEW office and hand in my pay stubs and reach for the $20 gas card they give me every few weeks to make it to work. Forget everything you thought you knew about people on assistance. I am the face of Food Stamps.
Then, just when I'm sure I'm doing alright. Just when I finally get a somewhat decent check from work {if you call $300 decent}, and I am able to proudly pay a few bills and breathe just "a little" bit easier, a day like today happens. Stupid me for not thinking ahead and setting up a "just in case my husband cheats and I'm forced to kick him out to keep my self respect" savings account. Stupid me for being a stay at home mom and taking care of our child and our home while I trusted him to always keep his family in his heart no matter where he was or what he was doing.
We were supposed to go to court Thursday, and I was SO eager to finally get a child and spousal support order and a solid custody plan in place, but I got a call this morning. That won't be happening. His new lawyer cannot make it that day, and he's ever so graciously sent my lawyer an agreement he'd like me to sign. There is no future court date in place, and all I know is that my lawyer does not like the agreement. Go figure! This is the FOURTH court date that has been scheduled only to be canceled. There's a lot I could say about what I'm assuming his "plan" is here, but I won't.
I have a phone meeting with my lawyer tomorrow to go over this "agreement", so I will know more then. In the mean time, I've broken down every thirty seconds today. I'm at the end of my rope, and I don't understand where he gets off continuing to punish me this way. I KNOW divorce can be dirty. I KNOW it's not going to be easy. Hell...it hasn't been yet, but I'm just frustrated. The truth is, he has asked to take Preston THREE times, since August 14th. He has bought ONE pack of diapers, since August 14th, and this is not because I haven't asked for diapers {soap, onesies, etc.}. Since the week of August 14th, he has given me $200. You do the math...
He doesn't call to check on Preston. We don't hear a word for WEEKS from him. In fact, he went 28 days in October between even seeing him. He thinks he's going to "give" me the awesome gift of the house, and with that I get all the bills. Fantastic. I probably did deserve that {insert sarcasm}. Gosh, if only I would have put up with a husband who was never faithful to me. Then, I could have continued to live a perfect little life with all of the bills paid and silently suffered. Yeah, that would have been fair...
I have been the bigger person. I did call and invite him over to carve pumpkins and go trick-or-treating. I did that for our son, and he came. He was over the moon nice...something he hasn't been able to muster up for months. He even gave me $1.25 in quarters so I could get a pop at work on Sunday {when he dropped Preston off}. Hummm...
Now, just to be very clear, I am not a greedy person. I do not expect a handout from him. All that I am asking for is that he be held accountable for his adult responsibilities. I expect my son's father to be held partially financially responsible for him for the next eighteen years, and I expect my husband to help financially support me until this divorce is final. Period.
Please, wrap your arms around us today. Preston and I need your prayers and your support. I am extremely nervous for tomorrow's phone meeting, but I am able to smile. We are very lucky to have such a wonderful family who supports us in all we do, and I am also grateful for YOU. You bring in outside perspectives. You encourage me and push me forward. It is your loyalty and friendship that also helps build me up on days like this, and mama said there'll be days like this...
I'm still plugging away at Preston's Toddler Room, but I'm ready to reveal a bit more of it...
Of course, I didn't like the diagonal way I first hung the "GROW" {third picture}, but it was an easy fix! I just included that picture to show you an up close shot of my handiwork. Yep, I painted that Very Hungry Caterpillar on some unfinished Walmart wooden letters. Total cost? $8
This is what that corner looked like BEFORE...
I've also gotten the new crib wall basically done. I might tweek it a bit, but I've stretched the budget as much as I can, and this is what I ended up with...
The only "new" things here are the three vintage books above. They were $1 each, and I love that they all have "boy" in the title. I also got the two white frames at Target for $12 each and put a "happy" and a "sad" picture from his first birthday photo shoot inside them. Each frame is 11x14, but they sort of get dwarfed by the tall ceilings and empty, brown wall. I'll probably play with it some and add a few new things eventually...
I do play with his sheets and swap them out often. He has two sock monkey ones in the same print as the pillow, lamp shade and light switch plate. Although we've had to lower the crib, he does have a red gingham crib skirt that's hard to see! The red blanket gets switched out often too. I also swap out the brown changing pad cover to the same monkey fabric as the lamp shade. That brown changing pad cover matches the brown bumper though. To originally save money, I never bought a crib set. I just got individual pieces from various places to build the look I got.
Here's what that wall looked like before...
As you can see, I've kept all of the basics and obtained a new look with a few new accessories and by simply rearranging the furniture!
Well, I entered a contest on Country Living Magazine'sFacebook page, and we were chosen as a finalist! All I need YOU to do is vote! Please, click here and like my photo.
Last Christmas, I had a custom growth chart made for Preston. I sent the artist pictures of his room, and she did a great job with it! Sadly, he's sleeping right now, and I don't have a good picture of it, so I'll reveal it along with the rest of his toddler room transformation.
However, I did want to add another special detail with it on the wall, because the ceilings minimized the chart too much. I bought cheap, wooden letters for the word "grow" from Walmart, and I just painted them a pale ivory. Alone, they weren't enough of a punch for me, so I got out one of Preston's favorite books! I was immediately inspired by The Very Hungry Caterpillar, because it lends homage to the vintage vibe I enjoy about his room.
Now, I'm no artist, and I'm the least talented with paint, but I took a stab at it anyway. I propped the book up and got to work, and I think the end result is pretty similar to the classic character...
We've been busy this Halloween season, and I wanted to share some of the festive activities we've done. Keep in mind that my camera broke at the beginning of the month, so all of these pictures were taken with my cell phone. Some are better than others, but a new camera isn't in the current budget, so I'm making due.
First, we went to the pumpkin patch! It's one of the things I look forward to all year long, and it's one of those things that I couldn't wait to share with a child of my own. Being a mommy, and having an excuse to live through his eyes again, is such a wonderful stage to be in...
Next, Preston painted a pumpkin {on the front porch of course} and added some glitter {my expensive Martha Stewart glitter}. Remind me not to make that same mistake again. He went glitter CRAZY {most of which just flew around the porch}! It's dollar store craft supplies for Mr. Glitz from now on...
Then, we carved our pumpkins...
and Preston ended up with his "tractor" pumpkin...
Lastly, we went TRICK-OR-TREATING tonight!
My little farmer had so much fun, and I had a blast watching him strut his stuff. He was pretty proud of himself {and his "tractor" gear}, and he caught on to the whole "I get candy" thing by the second house. Although we practiced "trick-or-treat", and he could say it, he must of gotten too excited in the heat of the moment. He walked right up to each person {scary or not}, held out his pail and said "More! More!" That was followed by a "tank you" and then a "bye-bye" and he was off to the next house!
The idea of "Farmer Preston" came naturally, because this child says "tractor" more than 100 times a day. Literally. As soon as he opens his eyes, he's pointing to his tractor blanket, and asking to put on his tractor boots, and carrying his tractor book {a John Deere children's product catalog} around all day, and playing with his toy tractors...you get the idea. The kid lives, breathes and drinks it. Yep. He even has two tractor sippie cups...
The idea was the perfect economical costume for us this year too. Everything can be reworn as every day gear, and we already had some of the pieces. I bought the "milk pail" candy bucket at a tractor supply store for $3.49 and just used my Cricut to cut out the letters. Lastly, I Mod Podged them on! Easy peasy, and he must have loved it too, because he refused to let that thing go! The finishing touches were the red hankie that I stuffed in his back pocket and the brown makeup that a smudged on his face {dirt}.
