That Little Shack of a Shed...

I have been salivating over my neighbor's yard that backs up to us.

They are a wonderful couple who's father owned ,the once cow pasture, where our house sits now. I have cows to thank for my rich garden soil rather than red dirt!

When we first bought our lot ,to build on, the only thing that we did not like was this little shack of a shed, about three acres behind us. Little did I know then what treasures awaited me!

By trade he refurnishes, restores and paints furniture. He bids on storage units that have gone unclaimed and uses the furniture he finds in his re dos. The rest of the purchased goods are stored away in that little shack of a shed. And once a year it happens! That his his annual clean the shed out sale.

That shed is full of furniture! And the tents are full with everything that you can imagine!

I watch the two weeks it takes he, and his extended family ,to sort through and set up for this massive sale. Salivating each evening that I watch from may back yard.

It all happens this Thursday and I CAN NOT wait! I have even refrained from my Goodwill stops this week just waiting till Thursday! Hub's just sets back and laughs at it all. I'll let you know just what I come back with this year!

And as for those cow's that once roamed in my back yard, thank you. I am already enjoying some veggies out of may garden.

Remember this a few weeks ago?

Now have a look!

Goodwill Junkie Update...

It's bad, really bad....

I live in a college town so this time of year is Goodwill overload. Students are moving back home and just dropping off their apartment goodies at my local Goodwill. It's been fun creating some new nifty stuff out of my junkie finds.

I do need to slow down , I keep forgetting to take before shots.

Thought I would show you a few things I have come up with this past week. I am working on some really good stuff right now and will keep you posted.

Yes, I chalkboard painted right over Jesus and his flock of sheep. I landed two of these for $.50 each. Did not even have to repaint the frame. Just the picture and added a ribbon to the back and got this.

This one hangs on hub's home office door.

This seventies beauty got a bit of a face lift too. I just loved the shape of it for $.50.

I covered the mirror with some burlap and spray painted the frame black. I plan on displaying my old baby spoon. Just got to remember where I stuck it!

This one I forgot to take a picture of before painting. It's from Pottery Barn and was a tarnished pewter ($1.50). Two coats of cream gloss spray paint and viola!

Burlap is so hot right now and I was looking for a way to add it into our decor. On Memorial Day I stopped by my local Hancock's and picked up three yards of this. I was super excited when I checked out and got all three yards for $2.09, thats with tax! I created a table runner for the coffee table and had enough left for one on the kitchen table.

I love the wood bowl with lemons in it. It was another Goodwill find for $.25! And the wood tray was $1.00. And yes, the runner is hot glued. For the $1.50 it cost to make I can just reuse it for something else when I want another look.

I got this tray for another redo. But after having it at home for a few days it really started to grow on me. I have held off on the spray paint and monogram for now. I am enjoying it just as it is and for the$.50 I paid for it.

The last day of 3rd grade EVER....

Today was it, that is the last day of 3rd grade ever!

Hannah was thrilled and ready for the summer. Her class walked to Skate Land and then headed to the outdoor classroom for a cookout.

It seems that the years go by faster and faster with each passing grade. We welcome a 4th grader to our home now. And along with that a bit of an attitude. I am sure that this next year will be full of a lot of firsts. I hope we slow down and remember to just enjoy it all.

Ever feel like you "own" a letter at a particular store?

That's how I feel about Eskimo Sno

And we all get excited when we see this.

We made our first family trip of the year to celebrate the last day of school. The kiddos LOVE to get a sno cone , open daddy's tailgate and hop in the back of the truck.

This gang sticks to it's normal..Pink Princess, Spiderman and Dragon Heart. I will let you figure out who gets what.

Ahhhhh..... I am looking forward to this a few times a week.

Busy Weekend.

It has been a long Memorial Weekend and we had it packed full !

Big 12 Baseball was going on at The Brick starting Friday night. So Hannah and I packed up and headed to the city to meet the boys for the game that night. The weekend started off good but we didn't make it into Sunday's playoff game. OU did land a regional this weekend, here in Norman, and are ranked 7th in the country.

Boomer Sooner!

For many years I have wanted to take the kiddo's to the Cowboy Hall of Fame Chuck Wagon event. And this year, thanks to mom, we got to go and meet up with the cousins. It was great weather and we all had a fabulous time.

Here Gabe is showing off his "branded" forearm.

Gabe road the ponies

Hannah was well over the 65 pound weight limit. So she stood by and watched with a smile.

We made our own cowboy bandannas.

And all the kiddo's got to set up on Oreo. I tried my hardest for someone to hook some horns upside down. But they were scared stiff when they got up on her.

There was so much to learn about. Here some of the gang watch a blacksmith craft out railroad nail rings for everyone. Sure wished I had a picture of all the food that they had for you to taste. I was to busy eating to get my camera out.

I need a padded one of these at home!

Monday we headed to my sisters house for a good old fashion fish fry.

We let the MEN fry the fish in the garage. After all they did catch it all. Ryan missed

all the fun due to practice at the field.


I think I can eat anything fried. Gabe ate his weight in this sand bass.

The kids had a great time playing in the sprinkler. This was another first for Gabe. Boy did he sleep good that night!

Hannah's Favorites!

Just a couple more days to school is out for summer. Hannah has been wanting to take her favorite cookie to share with her 3rd grade class all year. So last night we whipped together a batch for her to take just in time! And thought we would share with you.

I'm not sure were these first came about. Growing up it was always a favorite treat for my sister and me. Then I started making them for my gang. We just call them Gram Cracker Cookies.

Here is what you will need.

2 Cups powder sugar

2 Tablespoons melted butter

2 Tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 box gram crackers

Get yourself a great little bowl, measure out the powdered sugar then beat in remaining ingredients. You are looking for a consistency of honey. Any thinner and the gram crackers will not hold together. Keep your powder sugar handy and add in teaspoon at a time till you reach the desired consistency. Tonight we added a bit of food coloring to make a pretty lavender icing.

I like to break my gram crackers in half before icing. It helps speed up the process. Spoon just about 1 Tablespoon onto a gram cracker and top with another to make a cookie. Place on a wire rack and let set for about an hour. Store in Ziploc bag for up to 5 days.

This is also a great icing for any Angel Food cake. Another one of our family favorites!

Ah...relief!

Remember this from a few days ago?

I sure do!

I am feeling much better today, thank you very much!

And I have this to thank for it.

Ignore that it reads for horses-cattle-small animals-pets. I have used this stuff on my kids bums for years. I can classify them into that small animals category, right?

This stuff works wonders for taking the sting out of sunburns. I do try to avoid sunburns all together, especially on the kids. So I wasn't thrilled when it happened to me this past weekend. But better me than them. Corona is thick, very thick. Once you get over the fact that you are going to have to touch that poor red skin of yours it's all good.

It will not keep you from peeling but it will help you feel TONS better. Be prepared for it to smell funny and be really greasy. This is something that you want to put on and try not to touch anything.

It could also be labeled as a children's repellent. every time I put it on my kids want nothing to do with me. I can set in a chair with no worries of being wollered to death!

It will be to thick to rub into the skin. You will want to apply a thin layer over the irritated area and allow it to "soak in" (several hours). I will lather myself up when I get home and then before going to bed I will throw on an old t-shirt and shorts.

Corona can be purchased at your local farmers co-op for about $8 a jar. I have had this one above for 4 years.

This works wonders on baby's backside!

Can't Buy me Love.....

I was thinking back to when a very young McDreamy was driving a mower just like this. Ah, those where the days when you couldn't get enough of 16 Candles, Karate Kid and Can't Buy me Love.

OK, back to my post.

Hannah finally reached it this summer! That is reaching the pedal without getting off the seat and having the mower stop. She was so excited that she was going to get to mow. Oh how I wish that would never wear off.

Here Ryan tries to tell her what she needs to do

Here she goes off doing what she thinks he said to do. As Gabe and daddy look on. Can't help but notice all the circular patterns in the grass around them.

After taking this picture I got a kick out of the background. Yep, that's Gabe trying to de-pants daddy. Guess daddy will think twice before he does that to any of the kiddos again and thinks it's funny!

Happy Mowing! May your children always want to "help out" free of charge!