Farmhouse Bathroom Tour

I feel like the bathroom is the only room in the house that is "done." With the late afternoon sun coming through the window, I thought it was the perfect time to take some pictures. The layout of our house isn't typical, so this bathroom serves as a jack-and-jill between my bedroom and H's bedroom. Therefore, it has to serve an adult and a child, as well as function as a guest bathroom.

As you walk in the main door. I just love the trim on the window.

To the right of the door.

I prefer to keep the decor as minimal as possible.

I framed the mirror a couple of years ago and it's still one of my favorite projects.

Paint Colors:

Valspar Lighthouse Shadows (wall)

Valspar Bistro White (cabinets and trim)

Decorative Pillows on the Cheap

I recently slipcovered our couch and chair in the living room and wanted some new pillows to coordinate. However, I didn't want to pay $30 per pillow! I found this genius idea from Hilary at My So-Called Home on YouTube. I really love watching her channel because her home style is just so awesome. I made a little tutorial on how to make a pillow from a placemat. 

Materials:
placemat (I found mine at Target. Make sure they have a front and back piece of fabric.)
seam ripper
matching thread and needle
stuffing
scissors

Start by choosing where to rip the seam open. Make sure it is on the bottom of the pillow so your stitching will be hidden. Also, I chose to open it on the opposite side as the detail so it would be easier and less noticeable to stitch up.

                         

You'll only need to open a section of a few inches. Basically just wide enough so your hand will fit in there when you stuff it. 

Start stuffing! Add as much as you want to your desired firmness. Then start sewing it back up using a whipstitch.

Sew up the the pillow, adding more stuffing in the corner as needed.

Done! I love it and it cost a fraction of what a store-bought pillow would have. I made 4 pillows for the cost of 1. 

Homeschool Preschool Essentials

Now that we are almost 6 months into homeschooling, I thought it would be fun to share some of the things that have been helpful to have for those who may be considering homeschooling! You certainly don't *have* to have each one of these things to be successful, but they are nice.

1. The Basics
Crayons, markers, glue, scissors, construction paper. All that good stuff. :)

2. Laminator
I bought this one on sale from Amazon for about $17. I also bought a pack of the laminating pouches. They are fairly cheap and I still have a ton left. This is handy for making flashcards and homemade games more durable. 

3. 3 Hole Punch
I like to tear pages out of whatever workbook we are doing so I need a way to put them all back together to save. I label a binder with that year and hole punch the pages to put in the binder.

4. Calendar
We have this one from Amazon and use it every day in our circle time. There are lots of calendar/weather options out there or you could even make your own. 

5. Posters
This will depend on how much free wall space you have, but we have a US map, numbers, letters, days, and months posters in our school room. 

6. Comfy Chair
Reading is so important at the preschool age (and any age!). We love to cuddle up and read our books that we picked out from the library. 

7. Bulletin Board
Again, this will depend on your space, but we have a large bulletin board where I display all of our work from that week. I think it is important for children to feel proud of their work and have it displayed in a special place. It's also a great place for Daddy to see what we've been busy doing! 

8. Color Printer
There are so many great free printables online and I love to add these to our school day.

9. Fun Curriculum
You could very well piece together your own preschool "curriculum" from things you find online, but I personally like to have some sort of guide to go by. I supplement with fun things I find on Pinterest, but the curriculum I purchased is our go-to. We used Horizons Preschool For Three's and completed it in about 4 months. Now we use Horizons Preschool. I'm currently looking for kindergarten curriculum (crazy!). 

10. A Supportive Spouse/Family
We are so fortunate that our families are supportive of our decision to homeschool. Lots of families successfully homeschool even when met with resistance from their family, but I would imagine it would make things a little more stressful. 

Again, you don't NEED every one of these things to be able to successfully homeschool your child, but I just wanted to give other families some ideas. Happy Homeschooling! 

Our Preschool Homeschool Room

I am so excited to share our homeschool room! It is a project that I've been envisioning for several months and I am ready to put it to good use. We are utilizing half of the upstairs bedroom (it's a large room) as our homeschool room and the other half is an office space. As Hadley gets older, I'm sure we will change things around, but I think this space will serve us well in the early years. 

Overview of our homeschool space as you walk in the door.

Bulletin board to display work & dry erase board.

Our calendar/weather/story time area.

Another overview. 

Built in bookshelves hold workbooks, printer & other items.

Music area. 

Hadley's 3rd Birthday Party

I had a couple of different party themes in mind for this year, but I figured Hadley was old enough to give me some input on what she wanted. :) I gave her a couple of different options and she always went back to pink and purple. Well, first she specified cake...then said pink and purple. 

Birthday morning presents! She loves her "lawnmower" that is just like daddy's.

Birthday morning low-protein pancakes! (Epic fail by the way...)

Low protein cupcakes!

These low-protein pretzels were the most popular food at the party. 

All About Hadley

I can't believe my baby is 3 years old! Every year that passes goes by that much quicker. She keeps me busy all day every day and I love watching her learn and grow. Here are some fun facts about Hadley on her 3rd birthday. 

• She is a tomboy. Give that child a stick and a mud puddle and she'll be happy for hours. Just don't ask her to play with a baby doll. 
• Despite being a tomboy at heart, she loves to pretend to be a ballerina and she absolutely loves dance class!
• She's very sensitive to my emotions. I try not to cry in front of her, but one day I did and she rubbed my back and said "don't be crying mama." I also got frustrated one day and she said "what is it?" If she ever bumps into me she says "oh I sorry mama." 
• She will read the same book over and over every night at bedtime for a good 2-3 weeks before she moves on to another favorite. 
• She loves animals and isn't scared of them at all. Except turtles. Terrified of turtles. 
• She loves to be a helper. Sweeping, taking the trash out, helping with laundry. She wants to help do it all. 
• She forgets nothing. She talks about things that happened months ago!
• She is a good eater and loves her formula! I am so thankful for that. 
• If she doesn't know what something is called, she makes up a name for it. For example, she couldn't think of the word dentist, so she called it the "toothpaste doctor." If she doesn't know somebody's name she calls him "mister person." 

These are just a few of the things about Hadley that make me smile. I am blessed to be her mommy. 

How We Potty Trained

Most parents can't wait for the day when they are done with changing diapers. I personally never minded it. I felt like it actually gave us more freedom because I didn't have to worry about finding a potty whenever we went anywhere. Hadley was never one to mind a wet or even dirty diaper anyway so I didn't *have* to change her right away which to me meant more flexibility. Since Hadley doesn't go to daycare or preschool, I also didn't have the "your child must be potty trained by this age" looming over me. So I basically just waited until I knew she was ready. 

For several months prior to "official" potty training, I would always put her on the potty right before bath time. This served two purposes. One, she got used to sitting on the potty so she wasn't scared. Two, she wouldn't pee in the tub. :) If she didn't go, no big deal. If she did, we praised her and told her what a big girl she was. She totally understood the concept of what was supposed to happen when she was on the potty. 

I also did my research prior to starting potty training. Most people who know me know that I am a big fan of the Babywise book series, and potty training is no exception. I read (twice, actually) Pottywise and also other Babywise-friendly blogs about potty training. I also pulled information from my previous work experience. There are so many methods for potty training out there, it can be overwhelming. I didn't feel the pressure to do any one method exactly as stated, so I pretty much picked the parts that I liked and went with that. I also relied on my knowledge of MY child. Every child is different! 

So basically, here's how we did it. I picked a day (Monday, April 7 to be exact) that we would wake up in the morning, go potty, and put on big girl undies. Just plain undies. No pull-up, no thick training pants. The week before, Hadley actually came to me more than once and told me she needed to go potty so I KNEW she was ready for this! So that first day, I took her to the potty every 15-30 minutes. If she didn't go, no big deal. If she did, great! Huge praise--which she responds very well to. As the week went on, I increased the time between potty breaks longer and longer. She can now go 2-3 hours between potty breaks and it is just over a month later. It's just a matter of building up the bladder muscle and gaining more control over it. 

If she had an accident I just said "uh oh you had an accident" and remind her that pee goes in the potty. After only a couple of days, if she started to have an accident she would tell me and then finish in the potty. She caught on very quickly to the concept of having an accident. They weren't that common though because by taking her potty every so often, I was setting her up for success. 

Here's what I didn't do. I didn't give her any more drinks or salty snacks (that would increase thirst) than I normally would. I basically wanted potty training to fit into an already existing routine. I also didn't use tangible rewards because first of all, Hadley responds so well to praise, and second of all, I didn't want to have to figure out how to wean her off of any sort of reward like toy or food. I also didn't use a doll like Pottywise recommends because Hadley pretty much already understood what was supposed to happen without having to have an example. 

Most kids catch on to one "process" quicker than the other. This was true in Hadley's case. She always liked to go to her room or the corner of my bedroom when she needed to poop. She likes her privacy! So it took a little while to get her to do that in the potty. She's still not 100% there yet but she's gotten a lot better! I can usually guess when she will need to go #2 and watch her for signs and then remind her to go to the potty.

My biggest piece of advice is to wait until they are truly ready! Hadley was 2 years 7 months when we potty trained and that may seem late to some people, but for us it was just right. You can't make it happen before they are ready. She is still not nap or night trained yet but again, that's a matter of waiting for the bladder and brain to mature. 

My other piece of advice is to do your research but don't feel like you have to do everything exactly the way someone else did it. You know your child and what he or she responds best to. I hope this is helpful! 

A Month of Milestones

April was a big month for Hadley! 

We started it out with a bang by going to UAB for her 6-month checkup. She is doing fantastic and growing and developing wonderfully.

Hadley had her first soccer class on the first Saturday morning in April. She is a total space cadet and is way more interested in watching the big kids play, but she enjoys it so that's all that really matters at this age I suppose.

Then came potty training! I knew I needed to have a clear calendar for about a week to really devote to the task. She picked it up SO quickly and has done amazingly well with it. She was truly ready for it. 

The next big step was transitioning to a big girl bed! She never once tried to get out of her crib (child LOVES her bed) so I really wasn't in a hurry to move her to a big girl bed. However, I checked the owner's manual and she was about 2 inches too tall to be in the crib. Ha...oops! We're doing a slower transition by putting up a bed rail that goes along the whole front of the crib. Then we will move to the guard rail that is meant to go on the front of the crib eventually. She transitioned with no problem and was super excited about it. 

Finally, we got her car seat turned around! She still had a while to go before she reached the weight limit for rear facing but her poor legs were squished. She never complained about it though, so I could have left her rear facing for a while longer, but we made it 2 years and 8 months rear facing so I'm pretty happy about that. 

Hadley has come so far in such a short amount of time. Her language is really coming along and she is speaking in longer and longer sentences. She also learned over half the letters in the alphabet in about 2 weeks! I am so thankful for her growth and development and I know it is possible only because of keeping her on a strict diet. It's hard but so worth it! 

Mantle Update and Small DIY Project

I wanted to add some more color to our mantle, especially with spring officially here (finally!). I found this box at an antique store and knew it would be the perfect size for what I had in mind. 

I'm patriotic and all, but this picture had to go!

The picture peeled off pretty easily and then I just sanded it down, stained it, and painted with chalk paint over that. I got the flowers at Hobby Lobby and put them in a styrofoam block inside the box. It turned out exactly how I had envisioned it and added a fun spring touch to the mantle. 

It's not perfect, but that's kind of the point! 

A Happy Low-Pro Easter!

The "candy-heavy" holidays can be difficult for those on special diets, including PKU. Thankfully I have found a few things that are low-pro that Hadley can enjoy. 

Delicious and very low in phe!

Also, here's a peek at her Easter basket! Bubbles, trains, Peeps, her very own flashlight, and a couple of other fun things.

We enjoyed doing some Easter crafts also. Hadley loves to paint!

She got some fun cards from friends and family!

We are blessed to have friends who take Hadley's PKU into consideration when planning events. We went to an Easter egg hunt and one of the moms wanted to make sure she had bought candy that was low-pro and put it in special Easter eggs that were kept in a special place so Hadley could find them. It truly means so much to me that other people care and want Hadley to be included. 

I hope everyone had a fun Easter!

Feeding Feathered Friends

Hadley LOVES looking out the windows and watching the birds. She also tries to chase them when we're outside and can't quite figure out why they always fly away. I decided to make our little friends a special treat. Don't worry, I did my research and made sure the food ingredients were safe for birds. I wasn't able to get a picture of any eating their treat, but they seemed to enjoy it! 

You'll need a couple of bowls, a spoon or spatula, peanut butter, oatmeal, and a pinecone.

Spread the peanut butter onto the pinecone.

Roll the pinecone in oatmeal. 

Ready to go outside!

You could hang it with string but I just decided to place it by our bird feeder. That way Hadley can look out the back window and see birds eating it.

Making a Looooove Cake...Yeah

Fellow watchers of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood will understand the title of this post. It's one of Hadley's favorites to sing. Here's a recap of our Valentine's Day fun. 

Fun painting craft

My pretty chalkboard

More painting fun

Yummy Valentine's cookies (low-pro of course)

Hadley's valentine from us

What Hadley Ate This Week: Dinner

Dinner is the one meal that I feel lacks as much variety, but Hadley doesn't seem to mind. I would like to mix it up a bit though, so hopefully she will like the new things I plan to try. Here is a look at the typical things she eats for dinner. She typically gets some sort of "dessert" after dinner but I forgot to take pictures of those. 

Low-protein pasta with spaghetti sauce, 1/2 slice of LP cheese, peas, peaces, 1/2 of a Gerber fruit and veggie pouch & metabolic formula

LP spaghetti, veggies, mangoes, cheese, fruit and veggie pouch & "milk"

Grilled cheese on LP bread, veggies, apples, fruit and veggie pouch & "milk"

LP hot dog, cheese, veggies, apples, some blueberries left over from lunch, fruit and veggie pouch & milk

Hadley's favorite! LP scrambled eggs, cheese, fruit & milk

January Favorites

I thought it might be fun to do a  "favorites" post. I like seeing other posts like this because I usually find a couple of new products I'd like to try. Plus it will be fun to look back on these posts and see some highlights from the month.

My "no special occasion" flowers from my husband. 

Blackberry pomegranate green tea. I'm not a huge tea fan but it has been so cold here lately and it's nice to have a warm drink. This is very fruity so I enjoy it.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. It's told from the perspective of a man with Asperger's Syndrome (who doesn't realize he has AS). Very interesting and funny read.

This is technically one of Hadley's favorites, but I like that she enjoys it so much. The Endless Alphabet app is 99 cents and it teaches letters and vocabulary.