Hubs, Lyla and I have been living without a dining room table for quite some time now because I’m too picky to just settle for a store bought one. Yup, we’ve been eating on the couch or sitting at our coffee table EVERY night and it’s sure to have gotten quite old, real fast. I had my “dream table” in mind and I was not going to settle! I ran across a picture of a dining room table on Pinterest via Creaturecomfortsblog.com and I fell in love with it instantly! It was “THE one”. Ez {writer on creaturecomfortsblog} made this table for her home and made it beautifully I might add! I couldn’t resist how amazing of a job she did… I had to have it! I ran it by hubs and he was all in as well sooo we packed up our little lady and drove right to our favorite place… Menards. Using Ez’s instructions we were able to create this table for our home! So excited to share the process with you! Check it out…

Items Needed:

• Five 2×8 boards cut to 6 ft length
• One 1×4×12 board cut into four {3 ft pieces}
• Sander
• Sand paper
• 2 inch Wood Screws {I would suggest approx. 24 screws}
• Drill
• Paintbrush
• Sealer {Minwax-clear satin}
• Stain color {we used the color “sunbleached oil-based” by Varathane}
• Vika Lerberg Trestle Legs from IKEA 
• You will also need some sort of a sawhorse or raised work surface that can get messy when sanding and staining.

1. Start by cutting each of your boards to the correct length. {FIVE 2×8 boards cut to 6 ft and ONE 1x4x12 board cut into FOUR pieces.}

2. Now it is time to sand away! {Be sure to sand ALL sides of the boards so the stain and sealer will take correctly to the board.}

3. Once the boards are sanded, stain each side of the boards. {We used 2 coats of stain per board.}

4. After the boards have dried, lay out all five of the 2×8 boards side by side and place the four 3 ft pieces on top, spacing approx. 1 ft apart.

5. Attach your wood screws directly through the 3 ft boards to hold them in place. {We used five wood screws per 3 ft board.}

6. Once the top of the table is completely attached, drill two holes through the tops of both of the ikea trestle legs & attach to your table using wood screws.

7. Now set your table upright {you’ll def want to have two people for this} and boom! Admire your finished product!

I’m beyond pleased with the results!! My husband was AMAZING through this project and did the majority on his own. I was more or less his side kick with this.

Also, if you are wondering where we got the chairs, we also purchased those at IKEA. {LOVE that place!} Click HERE to see the price of the chairs.

It was so fun being able to sit at our new table tonight and not having to eat on the couch! Yay!

The post DIY Rustic/Modern Table appeared first on .

I was reading onelittleproject.com when I ran into her adorable idea of adding a heart to her little girls toast! I instantly wanted to try this on something to see how Lyla would like it. She’s such a picky eater and I figured adding playful shapes with food coloring to her meals might be a good way to get her to expand her taste and… it’s fun to look at! This is the first food item I decided to try it out on and Lyla was amazed that her pancakes had a heart on them! She gobbled them down like nobody’s business. SoOo needless to say, I would chalk this one up to success! Check it out..

How To:

• First, make your pancakes as you normally would. {We just made the box kind… quick and easy.}

• Using a cookie cutter, push gently onto your pancake to leave an imprint but not to push it all the way through.

• Then mix together approximately 2 tablespoons of milk with 3-4 drops of red food coloring.

• Apply food coloring mixture to your pancakes using a basting brush and voila!

This would be a great breakfast in bed idea for your loved one for Valentines Day, anniversary or really any occasion! I seriously want to “paint” every meal up now with food coloring. SO STINKIN’ FUN <3

The post Add some love to your pancakes… appeared first on .

Have you tried making a cookie in a mug yet? This is a very similar idea… Within minutes you have delish oatmeal with a bread pudding texture. Yumminess. Hubs and I experimented with this idea last night and made a couple different versions of it until we found just the right amount of each ingredient. It’s super simple, try it out!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of oats
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons flour
• Handful of blueberries {or berries of choice}
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Recipe:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix together ALL ingredients well.
2. Transfer mixture to a mug and microwave for 2 1/2 – 3 minutes.

That’s it! I’m not claiming this to be the healthiest breakfast I’ve ever had but it sure was tasty! It tasted fabulous with bananas too.

Hope you enjoy

The post Oatmeal in a Mug appeared first on .

I was recently reading one of the newest posts via lemondroplife.com and I saw where she had made over a basic cork board into a fun memo board to store all of her bloggy ideas. I instantly fell in love with how simple yet fun this project was! I was actually so inspired, I went out that same day and purchased my own cork board and got right to work! I hope all of you enjoy making this project as much as I did.

Items Needed:

• Cork Board {any size}
• Painters Tape
• Spray Paint

How To:

1. I started by putting all four pieces of the cork board side by side and taping off the desired design with painters tape. {Find the design lemondroplife.com used HERE.}

2. Then I painted over the tape using the spray paint as seen below. {I used the one to prevent rust because it has a grittier texture that I found works great on the cork board. Regular spray paint is fine though!}

3. Once it was completely dry, I pulled off the tape to find nice crisp, clean lines! Woo-hoo!

4. Now it was time to display it! The cork board actually comes with mounting tape so they make it easy-peasy to pop onto the wall!

I love the pizzazz it adds AND it’s great to post all of my bloggy ideas onto! :-)

Have a good day!

The post MEMO BOARD DIY appeared first on .

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day! Mine was a little all over the place but excellent nonetheless. I wanted to share with you a super fun DIY project that I made for my mother for Mother’s Day that I think all of you will enjoy making too! This year I decided to a little bit different of a gift… I decided to snazzy-up some mason jars! My family and I love drinking from mason jars and what’s better than just slapping on a little chalkboard paint to make it that much more fun. Check it out…

Items Needed:

• Mason Jar{s} {your choice of size}
• Chalkboard Paint
• Small Paintbrush
• Scissors
• Paper
• Permanent Marker
• Drill
• Straw
• Rubber grommet
• Chalk

How To:

1. Start by tracing out onto paper the shape of what you would like your chalkboard paint to look like on your mason jar. {You may also tape off a design directly onto your mason jar using painters tape.}

2. Using your permanent marker, trace around your desired shape directly onto your mason jar.

3. Now using your chalkboard paint, fill in the shape.

4. Now using your permanent marker, mark the spot on the lid where you would like your straw to be. {I found that placing the hole for the straw closer to the edge of the lid is more comfortable for drinking.}

5. Time to get out the big guns and drill through the dot you marked on the lid!

6. Push your rubber grommet through to cover up the rough edges.

7. Now chalk it up with your name, a straw and a refreshing drink!

These are great for parties so everyone doesn’t have to worry about whose cup is whose!

Lots of fun, right?!

Have a fantastic day!

The post Fancy up your mason jar! appeared first on .

Even if your child sounds adorable saying ’Hewwwo” to his/her friends and family that doesn’t mean that WE sound adorable saying it. {wah-wah-wah} The bright side to us not talking in baby talk is that when our child hears things pronounced correctly their brain takes it in and soon enough voila… they are pronouncing words correctly and fluently.
Speech disorders, unlike common “baby talk”, can be more serious than most people take account for.
I met a very sweet little boy one time that was around 3 or 4 years old, cute as can be and clean cut {his parents cared about his appearance quite a bit} only thing was no one {except his mother} could understand a word he said. It was so sad to see him trying to explain things and the words not coming out as they should have. So in turn, no one could respond to him because no one understood him. In my experience, speech disorders can cause all kinds of issues with your child’s social skills. If a child cannot associate with other children, it frustrates them, which sometimes includes lashing out at others. The child may feel embarrassed or rejected because of a speech or language disorder, which can also develop a low self-image and/or depression. If you suspect a problem it is important to take note and act quickly. Early treatment is the key and remember to always be patient with your child.

The post Baby Talk vs. Speech Disorders {by Katie} appeared first on .

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to pop in for a moment and reveal the Mother’s Day winner for the Origami Owl $30 gift certificate to design your own necklace!

Aaaaand the winner is…….

BETHANY CLAY!!!!!

Congrats and thanks everyone for entering the contest giveaway!
Have a wonderful Mother’s Day!

The post MOTHER’S DAY WINNER REVEAL! appeared first on .

{PHOTO VIA: dkidiscussion.blogspot.com]

Let’s face it, kiddos ages 2-4 love what is theirs and do not like to share. And more so, girls just sometimes don’t want everyone else to even LIKE what they like. For example Alice could say, “My favorite color is pink!”, and June replies loudly, “No! MY favorite color is pink!” and the argument can go on for minutes at a time! {and nobody likes to hear two kids arguing…} Here is a possible solution for helping kids to share and compromise!

• If you notice your child is taking things from other children often, then try having him/her play something with another child, such as a puzzle. Something that they both have to work on together AND share or else it will be put up.
• In a situation where a child has taken a toy from another, simply get on his/her level, make eye contact and ask if that was nice or if that was a good choice. Children even at such young ages DO know right from wrong but sometimes we have to remind them. Sharing is something that takes LOTS of practice and is time consuming and repetitive for the parent! They will not learn to share over night {wouldn’t it be wonderful if they did!} but once they reach the point where you see them give a toy to another child, PRAISE them!!! If we praise them when they DO share, then most often, they will begin to share more!
• Also another EXTREMELY important tip… No matter how awful of an act your child might commit do NOT tell your child that they are BAD. In studies at the Applebaum conferences I learned that telling your child that he/she IS bad will inevitably make them think that they are bad. If they think they are bad then in time they will choose to make bad choices. Shouting out, “BAD!” or “BAD, JIMMY!” can make your child define themselves as a bad person. We are constantly telling children “use your words”, well now, mom and dad, WE have to! Choose your words carefully, as in, “was that very nice?” or “no jack! That was NOT a good choice!” Never tell any child that they are bad, because how can something so wonderful, be defined as something so, “BAD”?

Stay strong and keep in mind everything we say and teach them does influence in some way!

{Note: The children’’s names and places of these events are fictional due to the privacy of the child and family that I have used these methods with. All scenarios are ones I have personally been involved in and all the suggestions are also ones I have personally used.}

The post “THAT’S MINE!!” Solutions {by Katie} appeared first on .

{I know, I know.. that pic is horrendous but I’m just keepin’ it real folks.} I have finally broke down and realized that I can NO longer avoid my tiny dungeon called a laundry room. If any of you are like me, I’m very visual and if a room seems drab and dreary then I find myself avoiding it. I have been going room by room since we moved into our home and sprucing it up {ya know, making it homey} but this room I’ve done NOTHING with since we’ve moved here. So… for starters, I want to paint this baby up and make it a little lively aaaand that’s where you all come in! I have chosen four paint colors and I would like for all of you to comment on the bottom of this post with which paint color you vote on! I’m excited to have you all help me out with this project so let’s get started.

Here’s the four options from Valspar:

Once a color is picked then all the fun will begin! I’m insanely pumped about this project and I really appreciate all of your input! You guys are awesome

Have a wonderful day,

The post My laundry room is screaming for…. appeared first on .

Ok ladies and gents, we all have to admit that our children ARE perfect, right!? Of course!  Well, even perfect children can throw tantrums, and lets go out on a limb here and say we don’t always know how to handle them! {wah-wah-wah}
Here are some tips that typically work for kids that I have PERSONALLY practiced!

“LUNCH TIME TANTRUMS”
Situation scenario: Ever have an issue with your little ones favorite snack breaking in half? Has your little one ever been mad that you cut the grapes in half because they want to be a “big kid” and eat them like mommy does? Did you end up with grapes, hot dogs, or pickles on your ceiling? I have! He was so upset that his favorite snack was broken in half but my solution was quick and easy!

The post Lunch Time Tantrums {by Katie} appeared first on .