to market to market...

We went to the local farmers market last Saturday,

and spent the whole time in this fabulous tree....

 Then we walked to a community garden,

 and spent the whole time playing with the flowers, 

and swinging!!! (all by himself!!! :))

xoxoxo

cate

its that new new

Here are some new jewels I just added to my SHOP!

Never been to my jewelry shop? Just click HERE

(trust me, you won't be disappointed :))

xoxoxo

cate

paint date

Today, my lil finn and I sat on the front porch and had a paint date. It was so nice to spend time with him, without the distractions of the baby or friends. He is definitely a budding little artist, and I love being able to share this with him.  I am so happy that my love for art and creating has rubbed off on him. I hope he keeps this special love and continues to grow and inspire me.

 The weather was perfect. A bit overcast with a nice steady breeze to keep the mosquitos away (they have been so bad this summer!) The conversation was full, mostly about school. It was a nice change to have him freely tell me all about his day. Usually, I have to drag it out of him and he gets all flustered with my 20 questions and, just walks away (seriously, he is only 5 and this is already happening?!) 

 For me, this time is less about what beautiful things we can create and more about just spending time together doing something we both enjoy. I am trying hard to cherish these moments I have alone with him, trying to live in each moment and to truly appreciate the person he is right now. Trying to store in my memory bank, his love for adventure, his sweet innocence, and all of his curious little thoughts. Being appreciative of the little things we are given each day. This is such a hard thing for me to do, but I am getting better. Having this lil blog has helped me to get my camera out, and capture these moments, to have for the rest of my life. I am thankful for both my boys (and my man) and this beautiful life we have been given to spend with each other. 

Sure, it's not always sunshine and daisies. There are plenty of times I wish for alone time on a tropical beach with a big ole margarita in my hand. But, the reality is, at least for me, my life is a lot more fun when I have the people I love there, to share it with me. :)  

Happy Monday!

xoxoxo

vine ripe

The only way to eat a 'mater... straight off the vine :)

xoxoxo

the first day

 

Well, it's here. The day I have been dreading for quite some time now, has come. A day that, not too long ago, seemed so far off in the distant future. 

The first day of kindergarten. 

Gosh, I can't believe it is here, already. It was a hard day for me. I tried to not think about the long term, not think about how most of my daily activities, things we would always do to together, I will be doing with out him now,  forever. I kept trying to think about it in a day by day point of view. To think about all the things I will be able to get done, that I otherwise won't be able to do with him around (well, as much as I can get done with a 1 yr old, thank goodness I still have him with me :)). That helped and I did get a lot of things done, but I still missed him. I tried to remember all the thousands of times he would drive me crazy, when I would wish him to be at school all day everyday, but all I could think about was how, that morning, he asked me if he could marry me because he never wants to leave me. Ah man, that little heart is mine and I will cherish it forever. I could just cry thinking about the sweet and pure innocent of childhood. Untouched by all the evil that surrounds us. I just want to keep him in a tiny bubble so he can keep that beautiful innocent forever. Yeah right, in comes reality, and the reality is that I just gotta have hope.  

I am excited for him and so full of hope. Hope for his future. Hope for all the wonderful things he is going to learn, things I could never teach him. Hope for friends that will last a lifetime. Hope for teachers that can see the potential and give him the tools to exceed his dreams.

Oh, my sweet lil Finn, I love you so much and will only and always want the very best for you. 

Go knock 'em  dead, kid!!

 xoxoxo
mama

skate and splash

         Summer is winding down for us and I am trying to squeeze every last ray of sunshine out of our days. We got a chance to go to a really cool new skate park in the city that also has a splash pad and play ground all in the same area. Hello, full day of fun in the sun!!

hope everyone has a lovely weekend

xoxoxo

Cate

Tin-Can Wind Chime

You and your littles can make one of these!

This is a fun craft project to do with little ones. It's awesome because most of you will have all the supplies around your house, already. This is a great way to show your little ones how to reuse and recycle things that would otherwise be trash!!

You will need:

~ 4 or 5 Tin Cans (paper off and cleaned)
~ Hammer
~ Scissors
~ Yarn or string
~ Embroidery hoop or 2 wooden dowels or sticks (be creative!!)
~ Hot glue gun (optional, we didn't use it but you can)
~ Beads (optional, too)

~ A large keychain ring or S hook

~ A nail
~ Paint (we used acrylic)
~ Paint brushes

****************************************************************

Directions: After you have cleaned and taken off the label of your cans....

While you are letting the paint dry, you can get the hanger ready. We used two plastic rods we had laying around the house. You can use just about anything, two small sticks, embroidery hoop, 2 wooden dowels etc. Get creative and try to reuse something you have around the house.

(if you want to use glue instead of knots, go for it!)

Once you have the middle secure, you can start wrapping the rod with string. We started from the inside, wrapped the string around once and tied a knot. Then we continued wrapping the string all the way down the rod, and finished with a knot. Do this for all four rods...

(if you are using an embroidery hoop, or something round, you can just tie a knot or glue at a spot on the circle,wrap all the way around till you get back to the spot you started. Then, glue or knot the string to secure it)

Once the paint is dried on your cans,

Then cut some string at your desired length. Tie a knot near the end of the string, with the opposite end, string it through the hole you just made in the can.

*This next part is totally optional, but if your feeling fancy...

Now, all thats left to do is tie all of your strings, with your cans and beads attached, to your hanger. I also used an old key chain ring to use as a hook to hang it. You could use wire or an S ring, whatever you have that can hang things would work!

*It is good to tie your strings at different lengths and to adjust as needed so that it hangs balanced*

The finished product......

Like I said before, this a great project to get your kids involved with. My son is 5 and he did almost everything (I did most of the knots). I didn't worry about it looking perfect. For me its about the process and letting my lil one have fun, get creative and seeing how much he can do without my help. It really is amazing what kids can do if you just give them the space to try. They will amaze you!!

I got the idea from this website HERE, if you want to check it out for reference.

Hope you try it out and since this is one of my first DIY's, let me know how I did with explaining it. Feedback would be very helpful!

xoxoxo

Cate