Happy Birthday, Wade!

My oldest turned 4... FOUR?!?! on October 25.  I can't even begin to know where all that time went.  He was such a good baby, is an awesome big brother, and just down right cool.  :)

We had his birthday party with family the same night we didn't Henry's birthday party... but here are some pics of his birthday morning:

 I want to start the tradition of a doughnut cake for birthday mornings.  cute, right?

I love you Wade.  You are the twinkle in my eye!  Always know that mommy loves you... to the moon and back!!!!  (Wade's knew thing is to say "love yous" with an "s" and he insists I say "love yous"  One time I just said "love you" and he said, "No!  love youSSSS"  Happy birthday big guy :)

Homemade Rosary

So, I've found a new hobby of mine:  making homemade rose petal rosaries.  Ok, so it's not a full blown hobby- I don't make them ALL the time- but I do enjoy making them.  Here's how to do it:

Gather your rosebuds, and pull the petals off.

Fresh...

or dried... either work fine.

Put them in a large non-stick pot.  Pour water over them.

Just enough water to touch your fingers when you press the flowers down.  (The petals will float...)

Boil the 1st day for 30 minutes.  Watch carefully- they shouldn't scorch, but don't let them boil the whole 30 minutes without stirring every now and again.  At the end of the first day, while they are still hot, pour the entire contents of the pot into a blender.  Turn on and walk away- I let mine blend for about 3 minutes straight- they need to be pureed really good!!!  I think that all red roses would turn out beautiful- dark deep red/purple rose clay.  These were orange/yellow, so it turned a brownish.

Simmer for the following 4 days on low for 30 minutes each day.  Again, they shouldn't scorch, but don't let them sit the whole 30 minutes without stirring occasionally.

Now, the rest of the process I don't have in pictures- I'm mad that I don't, and I apologize!  But here's how you do the rest.

At the end of the 5th day, put contents of the pot (cooled) into a Ziploc bag.  Cut the tip of the Ziploc and pipe the rose petal "clay" into little piles.  

(Remember: the beads will shrink to about 1/2 their original size...)

Let them sit overnight to dry just a tad.  Then, roll them into beads with your hands and set them on 

"T-pins" to dry.  This will keep a hole open for the string to go through when you are ready to string them.  You will have to spin the beads each day for about a week to make sure they don't stick.

After thoroughly dried, take them off the t-pins and string them in to a rosary!  I used decorative beads as the Our Father beads.

I'd say about 9 roses would make a rosary.

You could also just use the beads you make to create a necklace or bracelet.

The research I did says that they are water soluble though, so do not get them wet! :)

What a great way to remember a loved one by making a rosary or piece of jewelry out of their funeral flowers.  Or to celebrate a special day by making something out of wedding flowers or birthday flowers!

Part 9: before/after

I'm happy to say... the inside of my house is  COMPLETE!!!  ..well almost... we ran out of stain for the bathroom and the business we bought it from will not order more until she gets a full order ready to place, so we are STILL waiting on that one... grrrr...

anyway... here's the pics:

Before:

After:  you can see where the outside wall stood- we kept it, and added a vaulted ceiling for family pictures.

Before:

After:  

(Henry is playing with cars and Ben is watching Two and a Half Men... if you were wondering)

Before:

After:  (Still working on a better idea than the white curtains)

Before:

After:  one of my favorite things Ben put into this addition are the inset picture shelves!!!  He even rigged them with electricity and rope lighting so they are lit up!

And some other random pics I didn't get before shots of:

Master Bedroom

Funny story- I come home from Vegas for my birthday and this TV is hanging in our bedroom.  Ben asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I told him hanging flower pots of the porch.  Hmm... hanging flower pots sound anything like wall mounted TV to anyone?!?!  haha, I love him anyhow :)  So, for HIS birthday, I bought him some hanging flower pots.  :-P

Standing in the new part of the house facing the old.  The dining room was our living room with nasty hunter green carpet.  This is much more current, and I absolutely LOVE it.  My cousin found the table at an antique store for me.  It was one of my summer projects.  Turned out just perfect.

The wall was cut out 1/2 way to make for a breakfast bar.

View from the kitchen.

View down the hall and of the stairwell.

The quilt hanging on the stairs wall is a quilt Ben's great-grandma made.  I love family heirlooms.  I love it when decorations actually mean something :)

This was a vinyl wall-cling I bought from UpperCase Living

Next post:  The porch

Happy Birthday, Henry!

It was my baby's 2nd birthday on October 1, 2011.  I can't believe how time flies (when you are having fun!)  Henry is a blanket tote-ing, daddy tackling, toe tickle-ish, belly giggling, brother imitating bowl of fun and love.  Here are  few glimpses into his birthday morning:

Both my boys love sock monkeys.  They call them "Herkelmur"  (My great-aunt Velm thought of that name from who knows where...)

My boys also love nesting dolls.  Their mamaw Becky has all sorts of them - russian dolls, santas, etc.  And, the boys love playing with them...

So, when I found this set and it combined their love of both- I knew I just had to get it :)

And he was stoked to unwrap a nesting set of Herkelmurs!!!

We had a birthday party for him, and those pics will be to come.  I just wanted to share this little bit of family together-ness first :)

Happy Birthday Henry!  

Mommy loves you to the moon and back!