the stove

{the long version}

The other morning I was the only one up, so I decided to cook some breakfast (something besides the usual cereal.) I sliced up some potatoes and put them on to cook. Meanwhile, I was tidying up the kitchen and only giving the potatoes an occasional stir. Suddenly I heard a LOUD popping sound, looked over my shoulder and jumped. The burner was on FIRE! Yikes! I quickly removed the skillet and turned off the burner (all in one movement.) Then I ran for Jonathan and ran back to the kitchen...and couldn't think what to do next. I knew water was not an option, but also thought flour or baking soda might be bad too. Good thing Jonathan had the right instincts...he blew it out.  Thankfully that worked and it stayed out.  We only lost the one burner/wiring. I knew it could  have been worse....much much worse. 

{the short version}

The other morning we had a scary, but thankfully, minor fire in the kitchen. One of the burners caught fire while cooking. 

{the rest of the story}

So, we figured out that the fire was started by an electrical short where the wires connect to the burner. All we had to replace was the burner (which is much better than an entire stove...or more.)

Anyway, Jonathan was able fix it, with some help, of course! 

Jonathan had to make a quick run to the store to change out some parts. 

First Jonah said "but, he didn't take the stove with him" 

then it was, "I wish Daddy could stay home all night!" 

and finally, there was a melt down. 

This is my new favorite picture of our little guy. 

Fruit Snacks

Yesterday I ventured out on my own with both kids. We made one stop (well, two if you count Sonic drive-thru at happy hour time). 

We hit Michael's for some candy molds. 

I found THIS recipe for fruit snacks and wanted to try it out. I looked at Walmart, but couldn't find candy molds. I thought the regular jello molds would be too big. The candy molds are still a bit bigger than I'd hoped to find, but they work. 

Today we tried it out. 

They were very very easy. 

I'm not sure if I cooked it long enough. They turned out ok, but are very sticky. I've let them cool/dry for about an hour now..same consistency now that they were @ 30 minutes. Maybe I could coat them in something...

Project Day. (aka, the day I got the dishes done)

Today is a big day around here, but I'm going to post more about that later in the week, as I forgot to take a picture of the man of the house before he left this morning. 

In other news, Jonah has been a busy guy today. 

He has been really wanting to make play dough lately. I have resisted play dough for a long while. In fact, he never new it existed until his babysitter brought some over a couple of months ago.  (funny how she hasn't been asked back lately...just kidding, we love her lots)

So, we made play dough. We made it green, per the little guy's request. And it is already put away. And by that I mean it will not be used again anytime soon. Gosh, I dislike that stuff.(rather, I dislike what it does to my rugs)

But, I sure do like making it with my favorite little man. 

Neon Green play dough (with glitter sparkles). 

 Ingredients: 

1 C Flour 

1 C Water 

1/4 C Salt 

1 TBSP Vegetable Oil 

2 tsp Cream of Tarter 

Food Coloring 

Sparkles (optional) 

Sauce Pan and Wooden Spoon 

Little helping hands.
Mix everything (stirring constantly) over medium heat until it balls up in a huge clump. 

Then, since one big project a day is not enough, we tried this new idea. 

We put baking soda in the bottom of a pie pan. Then Jonah used the dropper to drop food-colored vinegar into the pan. FUN! He loved it. I wish I could say it kept him busy for hours, but we ran out of baking soda. (at least we ran out of what I'd allotted for this project).

And THAT is how, on this beautiful sunny day, I got my dishes done. That and a little method we like to call "let the baby cry it out."

A Guitar

One day Jonah was asking to play on the guitar. Jonathan has one that he rarely plays and Jonah thinks it is great. Well, one day when I was on my own with the kids he wanted to play the guitar. I didn't have the ability to supervise him so I suggested we MAKE a guitar. He thought it sounded exciting. 

We created this:

Nice, huh. I was proud of our 15 minute effort. Jonah liked it!

(it looked a little nicer the first day)

Well, then, my amazing husband had another idea.

Did I mention the word AMAZING?!

it's solid wood.

 I came up with the strap for this one...other than that, this is completely an original Jonathan Atkins creation. He sketched it free-hand & everything. 

 While the boys were working on the guitar I was trying to get myself ready to go somewhere. Elizabeth was screaming, so I took her outside (to give myself a break). When I came back out Jonah was singing to her!!!

When I came back home later the guitar was finished and Jonah was giving a concert.

worth 1,000 words

i am loving this photo. it really captures the moment!

i'd love to know what it says to you. 

leave a comment with the caption you would give this picture.

Big Brother/Baby Sister

While we were at the hospital Jonah spent the day with the Sparks family. They helped him make some pink lemonade cupcakes to celebrate Elizabeth's birth. When he came to meet her they put a candle in one of the cupcakes and he "gave" it to her. 

 This was Jonah's first little moment as a big brother!

And here he is wearing the gift Elizabeth "gave" him...

a shirt that reads "Big Brothers Rule."

 Our sweet little family of four!!!

 A few days later, when we were all home together, Jonah helped me give his sister her first bath. He presented her with a pink duck he and I had picked out for her a few months ago!

 They are my sweet babies!

I sure do love these little blessings. I pray that they become friends and truly love & appreciate one another someday. 

Hillbilly Spa

As you know, I spend my days with our sweet two-year-old. And we haven't hit the jackpot (kinda hard to hit it when you don't play it). So, Jonah and I treated ourselves to a little foot scrubbing the other day. I set him up in his beach chair in the shower! 

Fancy, no? You like?

 our feet together

And finally, a little follow-up lotion. 

I didn't take a final picture of my own feet, but I promise they are polished now. I had to wait until Jonah was napping. He likes to paint his toenails if he sees me doing it. And I planned on using Siren Red. Since Siren Red wasn't something I wanted on his toes, I just avoided that whole battle. 

Flooring Makeover: Part 1

As I mentioned the other day, we recently tackled the living/dining room with laminate wood flooring. Jonathan's parents came up on a Thursday and helped out. I don't have the final "after" pictures taken yet. I was going to wait to take those after we got all the last bits of trim installed. Those bits of trim haven't come in yet, so I might just go for the pictures without. Anyway. Today I'd like to share pictures of Jonah helping out! 

Playing with some toy cars. He had to keep changing locations because of our  moving things around.

Daddy's little helper. I just love this photo!!

We Jonathan had to scrape up the backer board from where the linoleum was in the foyer. It was a rough yucky mess.  

Here we see our faithful helper lounging on the oddly arranged furniture.

All of the above are pictures that involve removing the nasty carpet. It took 2 1/2 days to get it all out. Then we got to move on to the exciting part. There was a LOT of measuring and RE-measuring. (that's the part they don't show you on those home improvement shows).  This last photo shows a bit of the finished product. Jonah was helping hammer the baseboard back in place.

And....the best little video....Jonah "measuring and marking" like his Daddy!

February Hodgepodge.

I realized today it's been a while since I posted anything. I've still been taking pictures, I just haven't taken time to share much lately. 

So, here are some pictures I took last month:

Jonah modeling his awesome coat and hat that Grammy Pammy made for him.
The picture was taken on a Sunday; when it was actually cold!

Jonah with his favorite color of lollipop.
(more about lollipops later. hint: they are a reward for a very specific thing)

This was one of those moments that Jonah got into mischief and I took a picture. He dumped out all 10lbs of potatoes I had just purchased. He did put them all back in the bag after the two of us struggled through a minor disagreement on the matter.

Today we began the process of tearing out carpet and installing laminate wood in the living/dining room. I've documented quite a bit in photos already. There will be some good footage for a post or two soon!

some days are like that

Some days there is only one way for me to get anything done around the house. Now, don't let that fool you. There are many many days that very little is even attempted. However, there is the rare occasion that I MUST get a bit of housework done and my little sweetie just can't comply. SO, I work around it.

Do you see his pitiful runny-nosed face? I want to reach into the picture and wipe his nose. 

As you can see, Jonah wasn't feeling the best yesterday. So, I strapped him on and went about my work. He soon grew tired of the sling and decided he didn't need to be held anymore. 

He and I are both getting bigger (yes, I think I'm finally growing a baby belly). So, I know the day I can no longer lift/hold him is coming quickly. Until that day, I will work in all the holding I can. 

our FAVORITE Christmas gift!

I don't usually label things as favorite. Especially when there is risk of hurting someone's feelings. BUT, I think we can all agree that this is the best Christmas gift a mom can receive!

In case you can't tell, it's a canvas.

(I didn't capture the brown ribbon by which it hangs, but you can imagine)

My mom had a secret photo shoot with the little guy...in a borrowed suit. I loved all of the pictures, but this one is just takes the cake! We love it!

We had a lovely Christmas. We have now celebrated with both the Varnell and Atkins families. We love this time of year and really enjoyed the nice weather. Now we are glad to be home and are going to try to force ourselves back into that elusive regular routine! 

Have a Happy Beginning-of-2012. 

Soon I'll tell you about our overwhelming exciting New Year's saga adventure. 

Growth Chart

I recently created another craft idea I saw on Pinterest. I actually "made it my own" using a few different ideas. 

I didn't take any "before" pictures, but just imagine a very plain straight-from-the-lumber-yard piece of plywood and you can imagine it for yourself.

Here is the after.

After I decided on a layout.

After I painted and sharpied.

After I kept Jonah out of the middle of all of it!

I used foam letters to spell out that quote I found. 

I used a fancy metal yard stick, fancy ink pen/marker, and a plain sharpie for the lines. 

I hung it so that the bottom was 18 inches from the floor, to ensure that the "2ft" mark was in the correct place. 

I plan to always use that orange marker for Jonah. Then, if we have any other children I'll choose a different color for each of them. In 20 years we will have a very colorfully filled  height chart that can move to any house in which we might live. 

Sweeping me off of my Feet!

The other day I gave Jonah some graham crackers for his snack. I don't remember if I gave him the package, or if he snuck it while I wasn't looking. Somehow he ended up with the package. And made a mess. 

But, then he did the cutest thing.....

all on his own, without me even asking him to!

Makes me so proud! 

Football.

I've never really been a big football fan. I guess my philosophy on football is this: the younger the players the more enjoyable it is to watch. I don't care for professional football AT ALL. I can cheer for the Razorbacks, Missouri Tigers, or for Auburn just fine, but I don't live to watch. 

If the footballs all looked like this I might be more interested:

maybe.

Now, High School football, well, that's something I can get behind. I love sitting in the bleachers in the crisp cool air on Friday nights!!

Do you know why?

I love to watch the band at halftime. 

Why?

Because I was in the band when I was in H.S.!!

Christmas parade...1998

(do you see the smile on my face? i was trying not to laugh in embarrassment because my mother made me POSE for a picture right there in the street...and now, well,  i'm glad to have the photo.)

ok, back to present day...


My son apparently likes the game more than I. Go figure!


He learned a new word tonight. Well, maybe not new to him, but new for him to SAY!!

He is so cute. I'll definitely watch him play if he so chooses someday! 

I found it on Pinterest.

Have you heard of Pinterest? It's the newest social network that I'm aware of. I am really quite addicted to discovering new things there each day.

For example, just look at all these photography ideas!

Or how about all of these nuggets of wisdom?!

Maybe you're looking for some activities to do with your child.

There are also ideas for home decor and simple crafts that are lots of fun.

I'd like to feature a few of my very favorite things that I'd never have seen otherwise.

Pencil Art by Dalton Ghetti. (seriously...you should google him)

Simple but beautiful Toilet Paper holder. (I actually made one of these and I love it)

And last but not least, these CUPCAKES definitely take the cake. 

(just looking at them makes my mouth water and my tummy hurt all at the same time)

(oh, and if you are on Pinterest and don't already follow my boards...feel free to click the "follow me" button in the right hand column of this blog)

Big(er) Boy Bed

We have reached a new milestone in the Atkins' house. A few weeks ago we were visiting Jonathan's parents and while there Jonah learned (taught himself out of pure frustration) to climb out of the crib. 

Uh-Oh. What now?

Well, my parents had given us these head & foot boards for a twin size bed.

And Jonathan is pretty handy.

So, we he made it into something that would fit a "toddler" (aka: crib) mattress. 

he cut in the width and added shelves

  

  

Then, we decided to paint it. Before paint, you need primer. And if you are using primer, you need a helper (can you see where this is going?).

primed bed (above) and primed happy boy (below)

And, well, we didn't want it white. Can you see the hint of color on the above picture? No? Well, don't worry...you can see the full thing now!

it's what I like to call "seuss" blue

(we aren't done with the step...we just ran out of paint)

The idea is that we take away the steps when it's time to STAY in the bed. Then, we put them back when it's ok to get in and out. 

And just in case you were wondering...Jonah liked it. (well, at least until the lights went out)

He loved the bed. He loved helping us set it up. He loved deconstructing the crib. Then, we turned out the lights for bed time. EEEEEEK. It was awful. He cried, screamed, got OUT of bed which resulted in some punishment. rinse. repeat. and repeat again.

We are on day three. It may be a tiny bit easier. I'm just gonna keep reminding myself that he won't be screaming at bedtime forever. He won't be screaming at bedtime forever, right?