Good-bye, Dear Summer

Dear Summer,

There is no denying it. You have left us, and I miss you already. Although your stays are always so short, you are good to us. 

We will miss the opportunities to bum around outside, walking the neighborhood and enjoying the park....

 

going places without coats, jackets, and mittens....

wearing tanks and shorts that allows the sun's warmth to kiss our skin, causing a healthy glow.....

walking barefoot, feeling the soft grass between our toes...

taking cool baths in the evenings to get the layers of earth off our feet...

riding our bikes, kicking the ball, building sand castles, playing hopscotch...

swimming at the beach, waving the flag at the parades, "oohing" and "ahhing" at fireworks...

Oh, yes... Summer, you are simply delightful. Don't stay away too long. 

You are always welcome here, so please come back soon!

Eagerly anticipating June,

The Jex Family

Parenting: Things They Never Warn You About

Early yesterday morning, Cassidy crawled in bed with us (something Scott hates, and after you read this post, you'll understand why). Since neither of us had the energy to take her back to bed, she got her wish and snuggled up to her Daddy. Before too long, Scott was re-awakened by Cassidy repeatedly touching his lips. He opened his eyes to tell her to stop, and he discovered that she had picked her nose and was trying to stick her booger in his mouth!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

This cracks me up! .....so glad it wasn't me!!!! :-)

Kitchen Chair Restoration!

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but the fabric on my kitchen chairs was disgusting! We've had these chairs since we got married almost 6 years ago, and we had purchased them used. I guess I just didn't notice it, but as soon as I mentioned that I was thinking about trying to recover them, my friends and family members quickly responded with "That would be an excellent idea!!!" Ouch. I wonder how long people have been coming over for dinner and cringing as they sat down to eat.... 

Scott helped unscrew the cushions

The date on the chair said that it had been upholstered in 1959! And judging by the one set of staple holes, that was the only time it had been done. YUCK!!!! I apologize to anyone who has ever sat in these chairs!

Well, at least that is in the past! For $30, my sister Melissa and I completely recovered the chairs with fun home decor fabric, and even replaced the foam padding! We were only planning on recovering the chairs with new fabric (which cost me $12 after a JoAnn's coupon!), but when we took off the old material we knew the padding had to go!!! The foam was pretty pricy, but it had to be done! After talking to the employee at Joann's, we went with her recommendation to purchase 1 inch thick green foam and a package of quilt batting to help round the edges.

old material and thin padding

We took the old material and used it as a pattern as we cut the new stuff. Isn't it pretty? It matches my kitchen perfectly!

Then, Melissa and I layered the foam and the quilt batting, and tried to staple it onto the wood.... but we couldn't figure out the staple gun. Turns out we were stapling with the wrong end... so that's why the staples were shooting out all over the floor!!! Oops... Well, it made Scott come to the rescue (which was truly our ploy all along!).

And even Aaron got involved! Bet he never thought he'd be crafting!!! :-) Guess it helps when a super-strength staple gun is involved. Seems more manly or something!

And that was it! Easy as pie! I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier. I know that these could easily get stained again with my girls, but I'm making them sit on kitchen towels now at the table! Hopefully that will prevent some damage.

  

And for the record, we made it over a week before a cappuccino was spilled on the chair by Cassidy Reghan! And thankfully, it just pooled on top, so the fabric must be somewhat water resistant. I quickly wiped it up and there was no stain! AMAZING!!!. But even if it does get soiled, I figure I can afford to pay $12 a year to replace the material. The padding should last until 2048 at least! lol

Melissa and I rested after our hard work! It wasn't easy learning how to use a staple gun! The chairs are so cushy, it's like a little surprise for your rear every time you sit down! :-)

Dumb boys making fun of us... Deep down, they thought this project was cool!

So who wants to come over for dinner next?!!

Practice Makes Perfect

Ever since Brooklyn was a toddler, the school bus has always fascinated her. She'd point it out when she'd spot one on the road, and she was very disappointed when she started preschool and found out she was taking Mommy's van to school instead of the coveted school bus. All summer she has anticipated the beginning of this school year because she would FINALLY be able to ride the bus to Willow Springs (the district K4 school). We debated the best mode of transportation for her, and decided I'd take her to school every morning, and then let her take the bus home to my mother's house at noon. Brooklyn was ecstatic! To top it all off, the Thursday before school started, the school offered a "practice riding the bus" evening for the students! Because younger siblings were not allowed to participate, Brooklyn and I went on a date while Scott stayed home with the girls.

Ready to go to school!

We met at the district elementary school, loaded up on the buses and drove to Willow Springs. Then we had a meeting about bus safety before getting back on the bus to return to the elementary school. Both times we were on the bus, Brooklyn wanted to sit in the very first seat! That's my girl!!! :)

A dream fulfilled!

The teachers made the bus safety meeting really fun and memorable by acting out a play. The principal acted as the bus driver, and the teachers pretended to be children waiting at a bus stop. Each teacher brought something that is not allowed on the bus (chapstick/lipgloss, toys, video games, food, water bottles, books, etc), and the principal talked them through why they had to return the item to their home. Then they all sang "The Wheels on the Bus" with special words about bus safety. Brooklyn listened intently!

We had a lot of fun on the ride back, practicing putting on our pretend seatbelts and talking quietly.

And because we had missed dinner for the meeting, we decided to continue our mother-daughter date night at Culver's! Our evening was a success! And I think the bus lived up to Brooklyn's expectations.

I'm hoping and praying the bus will be a positive experience for Brooklyn this coming year! Seems like we're off to a good start. :)

Random Assortment of August Memories

Here are a few random pictures of fun moments in our lives during the month of August. None of them warranted their own blog post, but they were too special not to be recorded!

Swimming with Daddy at Fox Brook Park. Nothing posed about those smiles!!!

A friend from work gave my girls a play cottage and a little jungle gym for our yard that her own kids had outgrown. Brooklyn and Cassidy (and the little neighbor boys) are loving the new stuff in the yard, and Daddy doesn't even mind that the grass is dying under the play equipment! Mommy just thinks that it makes our yard look like a daycare... but that's ok since these toys are providing hours of free entertainment!

Some sleeping pictures, since kids are never cuter than when they are sleeping!

Sleeping with her "whip whops" on

Lovin' her "mimi" blanket

Brooklyn fell asleep coming home from her "Meet and Greet the Teacher" session. Such a big/little girl!

Chubby Bunny

Brooklyn sleeping with her head hanging off the bed. Can't be comfortable!!!

Selah often sleeps with one hand behind her head, holding on to her hair. Weird kid!

The biggest and the littlest girls. Brooklyn loves her baby sister, and is an awesome helper!

We all enjoyed the Wisconsin State Fair -- once we got there, that is! How many trips did we have to take back to the car for forgotten items?!!

Selah's first smile we were able to catch on camera:

Doesn't this picture look cool? The dollhouse is such a pop of color in our newly remodeled gray room. (More pictures of the room to come in a future post!)

My sister Jackie is a LiFe SaVeR!!! I owe her a million bucks... or at least a really cool headband! We were completely out of food, and I HAD to do a grocery shopping run. I was going to attempt shopping ALONE with all three girls since Scott had to work late, but my dearest sister came along and kept my kids entertained. We were tempted to abandoned both carts in the frozen food aisle and pretend we didn't know who those unruly children belonged to, but we didn't. (Though I had fun jumping at the opportunity to loudly say when other shoppers were near by, "Jackie, control your children!!!") 

And look who's acting all grown up and trying to hold her own bottle?!!

Isn't my hubby handsome?!! ;o)

And my favorite for last... This picture cracks me up! This is how my girls left the house one day... all dolled up and prepared for whatever might come their way. 

Now without further ado, thus begins September!

Birthday Blessings

This post is way overdue since my birthday was in the beginning of August, but I want to make sure I document the occasion because so many friends and family members did sweet things to make me not feel so badly about turning another year older. :) My parents took me to Jazz in the Park the evening of my actual birthday, my sister Melissa used her newly acquired "craft hobby" to make me an up-cycled necklace, my hubby purchased a rotary cutter and mat to help save my wrists as I sew, my friend Sarah gave me a container of a variety of colorful thread I don't even want to use because it is so beautiful, my parents-in-law sent me a lovely card that warmed my heart (and money that I'm hoping to use for a new pair of shoes!!!), my growth group friends sacrificed by going out with me to The Cheesecake Factory for an evening of laughter and dessert, and my work friends celebrated with a yummy hot sub lunch and a gift card to go towards my bedroom remodel project. Wow! Am I blessed or what?!! God is abundantly gracious to me.

Cassidy "helped' me open Aunt Mimi's gift ;)

Look at us both say "Oooooh!!!" lol

Love this girl!

My dad used a blow torch(!!!!) to light the candles on the yummy heath ice cream sandwich cake my mother made!

Jazz in the Park concert

So pretty!

Dad & Mom enjoying the show

Me and Melissa, my crafting partner

My Mommy and I

My sweet hubby

Thank so much to everyone who made my birthday so wonderful. It was such a blast, I don't want to wait another year to do it again! At least don't make me wait another whole year to have that scrumptious ice cream cake again.... Ok, Mom? ;o)