Wordless Wednesday: Missing the Family!

Time to Start Thinking of Holiday Pajamas!

We've had cooler weather over the 4th of July weekend and it got us thinking of fall and even Christmas!  It is July after all, Christmas in July anyone?  Over at our Double Trouble Embroidery and Gifts FB page we are offering a pre-order for holiday PJ's for your little ones (and matching ones for you).

 

 I just love the colors and patterns! Childrens Sizes: Infant Gown (0-3months), 6M, 12M, 18M, 2T, 3T, 4T, 5T, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14
Plain: $22
Monogram Only: $26
Applique/Name: $30
*Let me know if you'd like adult pj pricing. Shipping additional

  This is an idea of what a name looks like embroidered on the PJ's.    These will ship to you the end of October/beginning of November. Payment is needed upfront (will be invoiced via paypal). Pre-order is over July 17th! Don't wait on these. They will be available after July 17th, but the price will go up.  Below are some cute applique ideas for designs for the PJ's.  Let me know if you're interested!

*Sizing chart from last year.  The infant/6 Month sizes aren't listed, but they are very true to size.

4th of July Festivities

We had a very fun 4th of July weekend with family in town.  My brother and Marla came in late Wednesday night and my sister's family came in about 3am Thursday.  It was very wet and rainy here, but we tried to enjoy ourselves anyway.  Everyone got decked out in their Independence day gear including the kiddos.  Max and Hadley were playing peek-a-boo.

Max was trying to teach Hadley how to crawl.

Cousin love! So sweet. Love them.

Pretty princess!  She is just a little doll.  She's so playful and happy.

Here are some out takes.  Max thought he would like to grab Hadley's bow out.

They were giving kisses (both mouths open).

Hadley with Auntie Marla.  Maddie kept stealing all the little popper balls from the kids.

Family photos for the 4th!

Max and Auntie Shelly

Michelle and her family.  Little Maddie fits perfect up there on the fireplace.

Pre-dinner group shot (we're missing Gina and family).  Max and Hadley are down playing with the car walker (you can kinda see their heads).

Told ya it was raining!  David set up a tarp outside so we could hang out a little and he grilled up some YUMMY ribs.

We all ate a feast that is for sure!

David's sister, Gina came over and brought a TON of toys that Ian used to play with that he's outgrown.  Check out all the fun toys!

Max loved playing with them and exploring all the new gadgets and buttons.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!  I am excited that Hadley and Michelle will be with us for a few weeks so I can squeeze this little bundle of joy all the time!

Finishing A Few Projects

We headed to Porter Paints where David's nephew, Josh works to see what he would recommend for a good paint for our helper stand.  If you missed the post where David built Max a helper stand you can find it here.  I read up and was going to get an oil based paint to eliminate brush strokes and provide durability.

Josh recommended this new paint that is called Break-Through. It is an ulta-durable water-based acrylic.  One of the top selling features is that it's formulated to bond to some of the most difficult substrates including fiberglass, ceramic tile, laminate, and many plastics. It also dries to the touch in 15-20 minutes. 

David's been wanting to try out this HVLP paint sprayer for some reason because we are avid painters (not). 

I wish we would have sanded it a little better, but I got to work painting.  I learned that David is not a perfectionist at all and has no patience for details.  He kept saying "I'm a big picture kind of guy."  He tried to turn the pressure up double the recommended value to get it done faster.  Let's just say he isn't allowed to use the paint gun, he doesn't do nice even strokes.  I don't have the best form on my posture, but I did a good job. 

We picked a color similar to the blue in the chair covers we have in the kitchen.  I just love that blue color.

Finished product (for now-I'd like to go back and sand a few areas).

Remember when we got this outdoor couch at a garage sale for $30?  Well we've been wanting to cover the cushions in a nicer fabric since the current cushions are pretty gross and worn (hard to see from photo). Well, recovering takes a lot of time and money that I didn't want to spend now.  So guess what we're doing.

Painting them!  We tested one and it worked pretty good (it is an indoor/outdoor paint).  The bottom cushions are splotchier because they are so worn, but we'll see how it turns out.  If it looks horrible we can always recover them later.  I used the same paint that we used for the helper stand so didn't cost us any additional money.

 

Shout out to Mom who finished covering the coffee table with batting, padding (like in fireplace covers for kids) and fabric.  The original plan was to make it safer for the kids who kept bumping in to the sharp edges.  We all love the cover so much that now we're afraid of them dirtying it up!  She did scotch guard it, but we're thinking of putting clear plastic on it lol.  Hope you enjoyed our little projects we've been finishing.  I guess we've been busy!

The Weekend in Iphone Photos: Pirate Edition

 

It was a great, eventful weekend at our house.  I brought Max home a big cardboard sheet to color on.  He really loved it and kept the crayons for the most part on the sheet. We had a great time hanging with our neighbor on Friday night for a Moms Night In dinner and wine party.

 

Saturday Max got in his pirate gear for Madelines 3rd birthday party.  We couldn't keep the bandana on his head of course for the actual party. 

We did get him an eye patch, but again you can imagine how that didn't stay on.  He was trying to look at it with his uncovered eye lol.  I just realized I caught Miss. Brooke all cute and pregnant in the background.  She is due in less than 3 weeks with a baby boy for Madeline to play with!

 

David and I went out for our anniversary on Saturday night to Dockside grill at Aqualand marina.  We usually go to Fishtales for excellent food on lake lanier, but I heard about this place and the views so we thought we'd check it out.  You can't beat the views, you are in the middle of the lake at this location.

The food is more geared towards sandwiches and burgers, but was really good.  I got the grouper sandwich which was just about the most expensive thing on the menu at $13.50 so really not a bad dinner price.  It was excellent (lightly blackened).  They lacked fun drinks, but they had beer, wine and margaritas.  Unfortunately the margaritas came in the form of a premixed malt beverage, but I added fresh lime and it tasted pretty good.

 

We are bringing my family to one of these locations for dinner while they're here this weekend so it'll be a toss up. 

 

Gigi bought Max this special Aquadoodle activity mat while she was babysitting Saturday night.  You use water filled markers and paint brushes to color.  He really likes it and we have fun drawing together.  And no crayon mess although I did find a few crayon marks, so he must have found some crayons and tried to color on it (oops).

 

 We ended the weekend with a yummy popsicle after church and can't wait for this first part of the week to go by fast.

Love my boys.  Hope you all had a great weekend.

Friday Letters & Baked Ziti with Sausage & Spinach

Dear weekend, It's going to be a busy, but fun one.  I have a get together tonight, Max has a birthday party tomorrow, we're going out to celebrate our anniversary Saturday night and it's our volunteer night at church Sunday.  Dear House, I think you got the point by our busy schedule that you should just clean yourself.  Thanks, much appreciated.  Dear 4th of July, yay for Family coming into town Wednesday night.  We are excited to see Chris, Marla, James, Shell, Maddie and Hadley!  We are also excited Michelle and Hadley are staying for almost 2 weeks! Dear Max, I am glad you are finally feeling like your self this week. You are just such a doll.  You really are understanding everything we say to you. You've even been plugging your nose when you are about to go poo poo in your diaper.  Gigi always says "pooopy stinky" when she changes your dirty diaper, so now you associate it with your poopy and you tell us right before (sometimes after) that you've gone.

I wanted to post this recipe for Baked Ziti with Sausage and Spinach because it is SO YUMMY.  I love most everything that has pasta in it, especially when you mix a little red (tomatoes) and green (spinach/kale). It feels healthy and just tastes so good! This recipe comes from Recipe Shoebox.

The ingredients:
3 cups uncooked ziti or penne pasta (about 10-oz) We used whole grain.
2 Tbs. olive oil
3/4 lb. spicy Italian sausage, sliced (we used chicken sausage)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (14.5-oz each) diced tomatos
1/4 cup pesto   
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 cups fresh spinach, chopped (about 8-oz)
1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

Directions:
Cook pasta as directed on package.  Drain and set aside.  Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Saute onion and garlic just until soft  (about 5 minutes).  Add sausage slices and cook until browned (about 5 minutes).  Add tomatoes with juices to pan. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Stir in pesto.  Add salt and pepper.  Lightly oil 9x13-inch baking dish.  Combine cooked pasta, chopped spinach, mozzarella cheese, and 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese. Pour into baking dish.

 Pour pasta sauce over top and stir together.  Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese over the top.  Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.