Spring has sprung!

I think the Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons - not too hot, not too cold. With the Spring comes new vibrant colors in which I'm easily embracing. Turquoise, hot pink, mustard, coral - I want them all! Keeping this in mind, I'm ready for new front door decor. This is what mine looks like now:

My February Instagram photo

It was something simple and pretty (and on clearance at Target) between Christmas decorations and Spring but now it's completely B-O-R-I-N-G!!! I have some ideas floating around in my head but decided to do what every other female in the world would do - consult Pinterest! Holy smokes Batman, there are TONS of ideas out there. 

This yellow speaks to me and speaks LOUDLY! Something about the yellow and white against the red door makes me smile! Definitely would make for nice curb appeal.

http://www.sasinteriors.net/2011/04/whimsical-spring-wreath/

 http://www.etsy.com/listing/76363655/luscious-lemon-yellow-berry-wreath?ref=sr_gallery_4&sref=&ga_search_submit=&ga_search_query=summer+wreaths&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_ship_to=US&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade

I love the look of the burlap although I'm not a fan of how it sheds. The pops of color really draw your eye in and I love the yellow ribbon it's hung from. The burlap would provide for many seasons with only having to change out the embellishments appropriately. Very cost efficient!

http://allinadayblog.com/2012/03/burlap-spring-wreath.html

When I came across this one, I was mesmerized by the gorgeous color and the chevron ribbon. I thought it would look awesome against the red door also. Make sure you click the link to the site to see how she made this. You'll never believe how easy, although time consuming, it was to make but she does a great job showing you in the step by step process. 

 http://fitcraftystylishandhappy.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-wreath-for-easter-and-spring.html

All of these have made me super excited to make a new wreath this weekend. I feel very inspired by all of these so you never know what I'll actually come up with. I hope you are able be inspired by this gorgeous weather and create something that makes you happy!

The making of a karate kid!

For many months, my mom suggested we enroll Hayden in karate for the many benefits including self control and self discipline. As many of you with boys know, they have an abundance of energy that needs to be let out as well as taught how to control and karate was the answer.

In December 2010, he started at Baize Martial Arts in the 4 & 5 year old class. He fit in very well and is such a quick learner. This is his first gi and obi. Isn't he the cutest!!!

 

In February 2011, he tested for his first stripe towards his yellow belt and passed with flying colors!

 

April 2011 tested for his 2nd yellow stripe (the blue strips on this belt are for good grades) and also moved into the Children's Beginner class:

 

 June 2011 tested for 3rd yellow stripe (the blue strips on this belt are for good grades):

August 2011 tested and received his yellow belt. He officially became a member of the black belt club and got his new black gi. August also brought him a broken arm (story for another day) so he was out of karate for 5 weeks.

 

October 2011 he tested and received his 1st blue stripe (pic is MIA) and December he received his 2nd blue stripe (white stripes are for good grades):

 

January 2012 tested and received his 3rd blue stripe (pic is MIA) and in February he received his blue belt (red stripe is for good grades). He also moved into the Children's Intermediate class. This class starts at blue belts and many of the kids are bigger and older. He seems to do better in these instances, almost like it forces him to participate better. When he gets bored, it's time to move classes.

It has been amazing to watch him progress. He counts in Japanese to 10 and knows a good amount of the Japanese words for different kicks, punches and combinations. Hayden has even broken their test board a few times and thrown a "ninja" star. He is such a smart child and has thrived well in these classes (my mom was right, of course). I love looking back at these photos to see how much he has grown and matured from the first class where standing still for 30 seconds was serious stuff, to where he is now and has to stand still for 90 seconds. You wouldn't think standing still was very hard but for a little boy with a lot of energy, it's serious business!

Let's try this again

I've gone back and forth for the past year on whether to revive the blog or just let it be. I am a lover of blogs and read them daily. I mostly enjoy reading about other moms that make it work and share all the mis-haps in between. I also enjoy crafting blogs. Saying that, I'm attempting to blend them both into my own. I feel like I've neglected this blog since facebook is such an easy way to share ideas, thoughts and photos with family and friends.

In an effort to bring you up to speed, I'm going to do so in photos so I'm apologizing in advance for the massive amount of pictures. Hold on and I promise it will get better. :)

December 2010 - Started Karate




April 2011 - Went to the Chattanooga Aquarium with Toot Toot (and not yet born baby E), Noona and Poppa



May 2011 - Went to the Nashville Sounds game for Connor's birthday

Celebrated mine and Hayden's birthdays

June 2011 - My niece, Elyza, was born (isn't she beautiful?!?!)
 

August 2011 - Hayden's first broken arm. Fell off the monkey bars and broke the radius and the ulna. Not a night I'm excited to relive. Although you can't tell by looking at the picture with his cast. By this time, it had been a few days and he was pain free. Praise Jesus!!

October 2011 - Beth and Michael had their annual Fall Festival/Beth's birthday bash. We made a photo back drop this year and it was a huge hit! I set my camera on the tri-pod and snapped pics as people walked by. They are hilarious! The first one here is of me, Beth, mom, dad and my grandmother. The second picture is of Beth's mother-in-law and her boys. We kidd that Nick looked like Yosimite Sam. :)

December 2011 - Christmas Day. All Hayden talked about was this Air Swimmer Shark so you know Santa had to bring it. He had so much fun making it "swim" in the air. Needless to say, it now sits in the bottom of his closet. Fun for the day I guess.

January 2012 - Hayden shot his first deer (doe). We were so proud of him and he was definitely proud of himself!

February 2012 - As part of Hayden's Christmas, we went to the Monster Jam in Nashville. He had an awesome time! As soon as we walked in, he spotted this hat with a bag of cotton candy. Score!!!

March 2012 - Dr. Seuss week. For story book day, he wanted to be Captain America

Starting in February, I've been participating in "photo a day" challenges. Yesterday's photo challenge was "funny". I decided to dig out the mustaches that Hayden got for Christmas. We had a blast playing with the different shapes and colors. I think he looks like a mini-Poppa. Too fun!

I'm sure I've missed a lot but most of my readers (all 2 of you) are my friend on facebook so you're probably up to date a bit more. I'm excited to add a few new things to the blog and hopefully can expand to new readers. Thanks for sticking around (if you're still there) and "Welcome" to any new readers. Happy reading!