5 Bits

1. Two things define you. Your patience when you have nothing, and your attitude when you have everything. - unknown

2. Listen earnestly to anything your children want to tell you, no matter what. If you don't listen eagerly to the little stuff when they are little, they won't tell you the big stuff when they are big, because to them all of it has always been big stuff. - catherine m. wallace

3. Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company. -booker t.washington

4. If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives. - lemony snicket

5. It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. - thoreau

DIY White Growth Chart

I've been eyeing up this Ruler Growth Chart from Dear Lillie for a while now and finally decided to make my own. The original costs $75 and I made mine for about $12, so I was pretty excited! I mainly used things I already had around the house - primer, white paint, brushes and polyurethane. I only really purchased the board and some black craft paint. Here's how I did it (and how you can, too)!

There are tutorials all over Pinterest, but here are a few I found helpful (I took things I liked and/or found helpful from each post below):

Live Life Artfully

Modern Mommy Collective

Love Grows Wild
Cozy Cottage Cute

The quick summary of what I did:
- Purchase board at Home Depot (I made sure to buy a straight smooth board).
- Sand rough edges (this took me no more than 1 minute).
- Paint a coat of primer (let dry), then add coats of white paint until desired finish. Let dry overnight.
- Next, I had Mr. Evans install a little mounting bracket to the back and we hung it in place on the wall (so that the top of the board was as close as possible to the desired height). From here, I added 1 inch tick mark measurements (verrry lightly in pencil) so that it lined up with the height from the floor.
- Then, I gathered my sharpie, ruler, a ball point pen, craft brush and black paint. I also had printed out the numbers to trace per step #4 in the instructions here.
- I used a sharpie for the inch marks. For the numbers I transferred them on with a ball point pen and filled them in with a small craft brush (luckily I have a steady hand, but you could use sharpie as well I suppose).
- Last, I put on one coat of polyurethane to seal in the sharpie, color, etc. Hang it back up and you're all set! It's so easy! :)

Here is the finished product - I quickly snapped a few photos on my iPhone! I realize these are terrible photos, but there are so many great photos on Pinterest that you'll get the idea! Ours hangs between the two girls bedrooms (on the wall outside their bathroom), as both will be measured on this chart!

Christmas Minute to Win It

During the Evans family Christmas at our house, I planned a "Minute to Win It" game for the adults. We played with 4 couples and did 6 events, which lasted about 1 hour. I really enjoyed planning and playing, so I thought this deserved a separate post! :) More details are below, but for now here are a few fun photos!

Events:
Noodling Around
Face the Cookie
Caddy Stack
A Bit Dicey
Don't Tip the Joker
Penny Hose
(Just Google these to learn more, but I queued up the 30 second "blueprint" on YouTube/Apple TV so that everyone knew how to do the event prior to playing)

Rules:
- 5 points per event successfully completed within 1 minute
- Team with most points is the winner
- Team must split events (6 events, so each person in the couple must do at least 3)

Supplies Needed: (these are mostly things you have around your house)
- box of flat cookies (Nilla Wafers, Oreos)
- box each of penne and spaghetti
- 3 golf balls
- 6 dice
- popsicle sticks
- card deck
- empty, clean and dry beer bottle
- pantyhose (buy these new :)
- 2 pennies

I also made a little poster to keep score. :) Have fun!

p.s. If you check Pinterest, there are TONS of ideas for events for couples, families, kids, birthday's, etc.

Christmas and NYE 2013 Recap

Warning - this will be a long post full of photos! :) I figured since I haven't blogged over the holiday weeks, I'm due for some long posts! Here's a recap of our Christmas!

The weekend before Christmas, we hosted the Evans family at our house (Beth and Nick, we missed you)! We had the pleasure of having 13 people hunker down for 2-3 nights of fun, family, yummy food, games, snow and more! Here a few highlights of new things we did this year - make-your-own panini bar, adult Minute to Win It game, carol singing, hot tubbing, playing outside in the snowstorm, hot cocoa bar, calzones and lots of new recipes, and a trip to see the lights and Santa at our local "Enchantment in the Park." I could do an entire post about all of these fun things, but you get the gist! Our annual traditions include appetizer/cocktail hour(s), present exchange, enchiladas, birthday celebrations and cake, games (with totally fabulous prizes), and more! I'm lucky to have entered into such a fun and gracious family!

On Christmas Eve, we spent a bit of time with my Dad's side of the family - including Lauren and Hayden! It's always so great to see them, even if just for a bit! :)

We go to church Christmas Eve and always cook a special meal afterwards. This year it was our favorite Boeuf Bourguignon! We didn't manage to capture many good photos before church, but here they are anyway!

We spent the night at my parents house (even though they only live 10 minutes from us) and Santa came there (Nina left a note for Santa at our house). After opening presents and a special breakfast for Nina (my mom made that Santa pancake/whipped cream concoction), we drove over to my uncle and aunt's for the day. This year was extra special because my cousin Dana (their daughter) had a baby girl, Elly Noella, on Christmas Eve. So, Christmas Day we went to the hospital to see the sweet new baby. Nina loved holding her!

I didn't manage to take many photos the rest of the day... must've been too busy chasing after the kiddos or having too much fun! As always, William, Evelyn, Clara and Nina steal the show!

Hope you had as much fun as we did -- there is nothing better than time with family!

Ok now onto New Year's Eve... we stayed in and celebrated the ball drop with Nina at 4:00 pm! Mr. Evans did a balloon drop and confetti for her, a little appetizer plate, some sparkling grape juice and we watched last year's Times Square drop on the Apple TV. Sweet little girl loved it! Later on for dinner I made ahi tuna (for Mr. Evans, this preggers can't eat it), a grapefruit/jumbo lump crab salad and panna cotta with fresh berries for dessert!

Nina is very into art projects, so on New Year's Day we made a paper ring chain to RING in the New Year (get it?)!! It was a fun activity for all of us - we cut the paper strips, colored both sides, wrote down "goals" that she wants to accomplish in 2014, stapled the rings together, and it proudly now hangs over her bathroom mirror (just as she requested). Happy New Year!

2014

It’s a new year! For me this means saying goodbye to 2013 and hello to 2014 (time for fresh starts, freshening up, a new calendar, and preparing for the awesome things to come).

As for reflection, of course I always think about bad habits to kick, new skills to learn, people I admire, what I have overcome this past year, what I admire in my life, and where my life is headed (sub-out I/me/my for us/we/our/etc).

My answers are always framed with my thoughts on balance, priorities, simplifying, what matters most and making things happen. I hope you (and your spouse) take time to reflect and plan together. :)

I hope you had a wonderful holiday and I wish you nothing but a happy, healthy and successful 2014! :)

p.s. Comparison is the thief of joy. Such a goood reminder as we begin the new year!

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