Take A Seat.

Ever since I decided to paint our gently-used-but-new-to-us kitchen table with chalkboard paint, I have been looking for the perfect chairs. Wait, lets back up, if you haven't seen my latest Pinterest Project you can check it out here, where you can actually click on the inspiration and it will give you the quick run down on how I achieved the look myself. But for those of you who prefer pictures over clicks, here is the table...

I really wanted chairs that were just as unique as the table but that wouldn't take away from it at the same time. Complimenting but not distracting. I also wanted something that would be budget friendly but something that didn't look ubber cheap too. I found these on Pinterest and fell in love. 

But certainly not with the price. These bad boys were $135.00 a piece and I couldn't imagine spending that sort of money on just chairs. I mean really, for that price they should have come with a heated seat and then we might be getting close.

So my search continued. I found a really cute green chair from Crate and Barrel for only $199 a piece. Would these not look totally perfect around our table?

But again. The price. What is so special about these chairs? After a few weeks of scouring the internet-Amazon, Home Decorators, Crate and Barrel, Pottery Barn and numerous other sites the hunt finally came to an end today. I found these beauties on Overstock (Thanks to my personal shopper, Sarah, who really found them).

And the best part. Wait for it. Wait for it. They came in a set. A set of 4!! And I got them all for just $204 plus a measly $1 for the shipping! I think I will call that a success. And in just two weeks time we will be spending out last night at 8806 and making the big move the following morning to the new house where we will get to set this all up for the first time!

A Typical Weekend with a TWIST.

This weekend wasn't really much different from any other weekend. I had a couple photo shoots. We got to celebrate one of Kaden's friend's birthday and play at the park. We got to get outside for some much needed fresh air after a weeks worth of rain. We worked on projects for the new house and packed a few more things. We The kids napped. But there was one thing that made this weekend, not our ordinary weekend. Logan. He made this weekend so much BIGGER than any other weekend. He took his first real steps Saturday afternoon. There he was holding onto the ottoman and I held out a toy and he came walking after it. One step. Two steps. Three Steps. Down. We were both pretty surprised. So of course you know what I did next. I plopped him back on his feet and reached my hands back out for him to walk to me. He started off pretty good but once he had that first step done, he got way too excited and fell head first. From then on out we couldn't get him to string two steps together, he was over it. And I was bummed. I didn't even get a chance to get it on video! And if he only did it once, can I actually call it "walking". Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe I was hallucinating. Maybe it will be another month before he tries it again or maybe not…

Maybe we would all be down in the living room. Maybe he would wait for me to get my phone and maybe just maybe he would take more than just three steps. Maybe he would take 5, 6 or 7…

And then maybe he goes BOOM.

The kid is fearless. He popped right up and went back to playing with his trucks and the frog that he was carrying in his mouth. I think it is safe to say, it won't be much longer and we will have a full fledge walker on our hands. Can you say mixed emotions? I may be super proud of my little guy to be walking at 10 1/2 months but it also means that he is that much more independent. 

And here are a few snap shots from our weekend…

Hot Air Balloon?

Do you have a hot air balloon? Cause Kaden does! You see transportation is still the theme and today they covered the all important space shuttle and the hot air balloon. I feel that I am a fairly creative person and thanks to Pinterest I don't really have to come up with the ideas anymore, just put my spin on it. But, with that being said, I never would have thought of constructing a hot air balloon but Ms. Brenda did. She used a plastic cup for the basket and some yarn to tie the basket to the balloon. Kaden easily played with this for two hours straight tonight. Who would have thought, a balloon and a plastic cup. Guess its kind of like moving boxes-the simplest things end up being the most fun. The only thing cuter than watching Kaden playing with the hot air balloon, hearing Kaden say hot air balloon. I might have cupped my ear and asked "what" just to hear it a few more times.

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A few weeks back we have implemented a new nightly routine. We purchased a toddler bible and we have been reading a story each night before bed. Kaden has to be the one that gets the book. He has to turn the pages and when we are done, he has to put it back in its spot. Me do it, mommy. Like most bibles it starts with the old testament and then moves into the new testament. Kaden can point out Adam but has a little trouble with this guy…

The first time we read about Noah's Ark, Kaden instantly yelled "SANTA. Ho, Ho, Ho, Merry Christmas!" I couldn't help but laugh and then I was actually pretty impressed because dear old Noah, does look a lot like Santa and it does look like he's putting toys together on a workbench. A little practice is all we needed and we continued to read about Noah. After a few days, he got it right about half the time. 

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Spring is in the air and I am keeping my fingers crossed that these showers come to a screeching halt. We had one week of absolutely beautiful weather and then since Monday it has rained. And not just a little bit here or there, it has rained all day, every day. All that rain has helped a few things bloom earlier than normal. Heres a look at a few things that I will miss about our current yard…

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No babies (especially Logan) were harmed in the making of the video. The video was made out of love and to be able to document that this kid does actually cry. You see, Logan is our happy, go lucky child. And as you can see in the video, he can entertain himself by playing catch with just himself. Over the last month Logan has become very active. He is crawling up stairs faster than I can get off the floor to bring him back down. He is walking along furniture with one hand while carrying his favorite truck in the other. And since becoming so active, we have been using the no word. Not really sure he feels about that word…

I know, its totally wrong for me to find that even remotely amusing but I do. I can't help it. However, to make those of you who are a little upset at me or worried that Logan is scarred for life, here is another video of him just seconds later…

Kaden vs. Logan

When we first learned that Logan was a boy and not the girl that I desperately wanted, I was bummed. I had my girls name picked out and now the naming rights were going to my husband. Plus I had this super cute Little Sister South shirt that would go unused. But like everything else, things happen for a reason and if I only have little boys from here on out, I will be very happy and extremely blessed.


There are so many reasons why I love having two boys but one of the best reasons, I get to reuse Kaden's clothes on Logan. I still buy Logan new clothes -thanks H&M-but for his day to day clothes and other special occasions, I get to dig through the tubs. Today was one of those days. We are working on Logan's birthday party and we needed some new pictures for his invitation. I pulled out one of the shirts that Kaden wore in his 9 month pictures, that also happened to be on his first birthday invitation, and we headed outside to the front yard.

To me, Kaden looks like a little man whereas Logan looks more like a baby. Kaden had enough hair that you actually had to make sure it was lying down right. Logan really only has hair on the back of his head and what hair he does have is shaggy. The one thing they share {besides the shirt and jeans}, they both have big piercing blue eyes. See for yourself…

Kaden Oliver

Logan Beckett

Four.

Today marks Justin and I's 4th anniversary. That is, if you are like me and count both days that we got married. March 17th, St. Patrick's Day and April 22nd, Earth Day. Not that we planned it out so that our anniversaries would always fall on a holiday but now that I think about it, maybe subconsciously and selfishly I did. Maybe I didn't want Justin to forget about our wedding anniversary nor did I want to be the one to remind him about it.

Anyways, I thought I would share a few things that I found as I was packing up the house over the last few nights. On my list of things to do were the closets and the first one I wanted to tackle was the hall closet. It housed all my old pictures, photo albums, wedding cards, birthday cards, etc. {I save EVERYTHING} What I didn't plan on finding was the photo album to our wedding at the courthouse and my wedding planner. The I-couldn't-have-done-this-wedding-without-this-giant-book planner. Inside were two cards. The cards that we wrote to each other on our wedding day (April 22nd). I took a minute and read through each one. I won't lie, I cried. Happy tears, but tears none-the-less.

I talked about how I was the luckiest woman alive, I know-not very original, but then I spoke about how I looked forward to a future and a love like my Grandma and Grandpa Hartley's. {They were the BEST role-models when it comes to a happy and healthy marriage.} How I couldn't wait to spend the next 50+ years with him by my side. He spoke about our future with kids and he also talked about how he looked forward to the next 50 years too. And you know what, everything I wrote, remains true today. I couldn't imagine a better partner in life.

And here we are on our anniversary four years later-two kids, two dogs and we are packing things  up for the big move. Pretty sure I couldn't ask for a better day. Love you honey.

Emotional. Even in a courthouse. 

Just Perfect.

If every evening could be like tonight, the world would be perfect. LIFE would be PERFECT. But then again, if it was an every day thing it wouldn't be as special and as perfect as it was today. We would totally take it for granted. So tonight, I just wanted to sit back and take it all in. And if possible, bottle a little bit of it up and save it for when I am in NYC tomorrow and missing the heck out of my three boys. 

Kaden riding his bike. I mean really riding his bike. We haven't been able to get outside all that much lately and when we have, we haven't went to the park. So it was no surprise that I couldn't believe my eyes when he just went pedaling away. Must have learned that-among other things-from the bigger boys at daycare. And I love the fact that he has hit another milestone, they don't come as frequently as they use to but boy are they BIG when they do. 

It took a little while to get to the park but once we did, Kaden was scaling up the rock wall and sliding down the slides. Up the rock wall, down the slides. Rinse and Repeat. And Repeat. And Repeat. A few times he had to stop and make sure that Daddy and I were still watching. He didn't want us to miss anything. 

Logan got to join in on the fun. We decided to pop a squat in the cool grass and he got to explore all the leaves, sticks, acorns and bugs but only with one hand because he had a death grip on that purple truck. A little Justin Beiber singing from Mommy "Baby, Baby, Baby, Oh." and the kid starts bobbing his head. He grins and shows those four big teeth of his and I melt. Melt into a complete puddle. 

We aren't event halfway through March and I am already feeling so spoiled by this weather. I am so excited that we have another 6-7 months of this sort of weather. It will inevitably get hotter but thats what neighborhood pools are for! 

Happy Spring! (Almost)

Another Pinterest Project.

Thankfully, Saturday was nice enough that once we had the kids down for their nap my mom and I were able to start on a few projects for the new house. With her help, I was able to prime both the wrought iron bed for Kaden and a table that Justin picked up for our breakfast nook in the new house. Both Craigslist items. Both pretty cheap. And both were inspired by none other than Miss Pinterest herself.

Unfortunately it rained all day on Sunday so I wasn't able to get the bed back out and work on it but the table was a different story. I had already painted the pedestal so all that was left to do was paint the top with chalkboard paint. It took only two coats of paint and we are ready to put it to work.

I forgot to snap a before picture of the table but it looked a little like this….

The inspiration:

My Pinterest Version:

And although it is currently sitting in our basement, not being used, I can't wait for our first morning in the new house and to have breakfast around the table. Kaden scribbling away, drawing Mater and McQueen and Daddy cooking pancakes. I hope this table will be the center of many, many family meals where we share our roses and thorns from each day.

You'll have to come back and check out what we decide to go with for chairs. Not sure if I want something simple and plain, sleek and modern, a bright color or a neutral color. So many choices and only a few weeks to decide.

The Brookside Parade

Last year we decided to check out the Brookside Parade with the Johnsons and this year we decided to make it a tradition. But first, a few things we learned from last year that would be very important for this years' trip:

1. You can drink. In the streets. And whats a parade without a few drinks.

2. It is packed. Be ready to park and walk and be ready to fight a few of the bigger kids for the candy. It's cool, I'm okay with shoving a few kids out of the way to ensure my little guy gets a sucker!

3. Its loud. There are sirens from firetrucks. There are motorcycles, hot rods, and bands. If your kid doesn't like any of those things, this parade isn't for you. Actually, parades aren't for you.

So back to this year's parade. We had a special visitor join us for the parade. Grandma Sara decided to come up and enjoy the wonderful weather and take in some kilt wearing men too. We also decided it would be best if we left a little earlier than last year and our fingers crossed that the Johnsons would be able to meet us there. (Korie had 19 babies to get through which makes for a very long day. I guess what they say about full moons is right cause she had 22 today…)

Kaden seemed pretty excited about the parade. We had been talking about it all week long and every time we asked him if he was ready for the parade he would give us a big, loud, shrieking, YES! We had no trouble finding a parking spot, it was a little walk but it would make for an easy exit. We loaded Logan in the Baby Bjorn, Kaden and the snacks in the wagon and we headed down to find a spot. We didn't have to go too far and we found a break in the crowd and front row seats for the show.

With such gorgeous weather, a parade and Grandma Sara, one would think we had the perfect recipe for  a great afternoon but here is where it all started to go wrong…

Yup, the start of the parade. Remember the 3rd lesson we learned from last year? Well, we should have known that Kaden wouldn't like the noise. He gets excited when he hears an ambulance or firetruck, but only when he can't see them and thus they aren't all that loud. When they are right in front of him, he pretty much runs for the closest pair of arms and buries his head into your chest. Daddy happened to be the lucky recipient and he and Kaden decided to go off on a walk while we watched...

This picture is for my TIGER boys! MIZ-ZOU!

We stuck around for just awhile longer before we decided to hunt down Justin and Kaden. We finally found them sitting about 100 yards away from the parade. Justin said he tried multiple times to move a little closer but Kaden just wouldn't have it. We decided that we had put him through enough and started our walk back to the car. The kid couldn't get away fast enough…

If you asked Kaden if he liked the parade and wanted to go back, he'd say yes without a blink of the eye.  He was all smiles once we got far enough away so we will be back to try it again next year. And you know, we did get to enjoy a very nice walk, Sonic drinks and all. 

The Big Announcement!

We are saying Bye-Bye, Sayonara, See-Ya, So Long, Ta Ta, Toodle-oo, Adios, Hasta La Vista to 8806 W. 72nd Ter.

That's right we sold it. And by we, I mean our agent, who happens to be pretty awesome and I would totally recommend her to anyone looking for an agent. She is part of a great team that provides a lot of marketing support, we couldn't do what they did on our own. We tried but it just didn't have the same effect. And in a matter of 15 days, our agent had it sold! Like I said, Awesome agent.

But let's back up for a second. It wasn't long ago that I was blogging about being disappointed on a house that we had found, fell in love with, put an offer on and had it all pulled out from underneath us in a matter of days. We were bummed and really didn't think that anything would measure up to it. At the time that we found this house, we hadn't sold ours, heck we still had it up FSBO. As soon as we found this house, we turned our house over to Stephanie and told her to sell it so we could move into our NEW home. Not too fast, Kayla. The IRS got involved, that house is now in foreclosure and won't be available until the middle of July at the earliest and then we might have a chance at getting it. MIGHT. I wasn't really digging the might part of that or the waiting part but we decided to keep it on our list and start looking elsewhere. We still had our house to sell and we had no idea how long that might take. Everything happens for a reason, right? I was sure hoping so.

Fifteen days later and we got the call from our agent. We had an offer. It was a decent offer, a place to start and we weren't going to let it go. We countered. They accepted. We were thrilled and now worried. What were we going to do? How long did we have? April 25th. Just under 60 days to find a new home and get a contract on it, close and move. We could do this. We would do this. But we didn't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, we still had inspections and appraisals on our current home to get through and we were holding our breaths. We didn't know what to expect and we knew that even though we wanted to do anything and everything to sell our house, there were some things that we just wouldn't be able to do. New roof, New driveway.

It was a nervous couple of weeks but finally the date was set for the inspection. All was good. A few things here and there but nothing that was too costly. Now the appraisal, this was nail biting. We really didn't have a clue where things would come in at. We knew we had made a number of improvements with a new kitchen, carpet, windows, deck, etc but the market also hasn't been helping any sellers out lately. We were told no news was good news and today was the 3rd day of no news. I decided to text my agent and receiving that text message back was probably one of the best sounds of late. The appraisal came back and it was over the selling price. Thus, I am blogging about our exciting news. I have been dying to blog and document everything that is going on but we just didn't want to jinx anything and decided that until the appraisal and inspection came back okay, we wouldn't say anything. Correction. I wouldn't BLOG about anything, which turned out to be harder than I had expected but I did it. There was absolutely no way I was going to get the blame for something falling through.

So where are we going? Did we find something else?

We did. Three outings later and we have a house under contract. We knew there would be a few things on our wish list that we would have to give up. Does anyone ever get EVERYTHING they were looking for? I don't believe so and in our case we gave up land. We were okay with this though. I got my open floor plan, master bathroom, master closet and we don't back up to ANY neighbors, nope we have green space. Justin, well, he got his outdoor living space, sprinkler system, and a "man cave". The boys, they got a neighborhood pool, a pond/lake and a level driveway that will make one bada$$ basketball court in a few years.

I haven't forgot about the house we first fell in love with and I am not sure if any house will live up to the curb appeal that it had-it was something special. But this house, well it offers sooo much more than what the other did. So yes, everything happens for a reason. This is the house we are suppose to call home. Where the boys will spend their summers at the pool, riding their bikes on the trails and bringing home snakes from the woods. And in a matter of 30 days, it will be our new home.

So pictures? In time. The pictures that are online just don't do it justice and we hope to make it back out there this weekend to check on a couple things and I'll take some pictures then. And if you are in the market for a new house in a neat subdivision with some of the coolest neighbors (us!) let me know, we would love to have friends across the cul-de-sac!

Oh and if you are wanting to sell your home and would like to reach out to our AWESOME agent, just let me know and I would be more than happy to pass along Stephanie's contact information.

Happy Birthday Grandpa.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Earl! You're 88 today and I hope you are spending your day in Heaven doing all the things that you love.

A trip to Judy's (Heaven has a Judy's right?). Listening to some friendly town gossip and jumping in just once in awhile to share your thoughts, but mostly you're just soaking it up. Then it is off to comb the fields with Ben Hur, the best hunting dog in the world. You'll get the call over the radio that the dogs have trapped the biggest pack of coyotes known to man and you and your buddies will go down in history as the best coyote hunters alive. After a very successful day of hunting, you'll come back to your favorite chair for a little nap only to wake to a meal fit for a King. You will be surrounded by those that went before you and who have waited for the day they could celebrate again with you. You will end the day with a little game of pool all while watching us on TV. Because you can do that in Heaven, it's pretty sweet or so I've been told.

Make it a great day Grandpa. Love you dearly and miss you lots.



I love this picture of Kaden and Grandpa Earl. They both are in their overalls and Kaden has a firm grip on Grandpa!



The Boys & Me.

Tonight was Family Fun Night. It was kind of spur of the moment but like it like that. Justin and Jake had purchased tickets to the Big 12 Tournament awhile back and silly me thought it was just for one game and not the entire tournament. It really wasn't until this week that I got the whole picture of what was going on and I'll admit, I was kind of bummed that I didn't get the invite too. I mean, who do you think watches every MU game with my husband. I'll give you a hint. Starts with a M and ends with an EEEEEEEEE. 

I get it though. I would much rather go shopping with the girls than with my husband….

Fortunately for me though, Jake had a prior engagement. You see, he is expecting his first child and there just happens to be this thing called Child Birthing Class that he is required to attend and that was tonight. Since he couldn't be in two places at once, Justin thought it would be fun to take the boys. We proudly wore our Gold and Black -fully knowing that we don't play until tomorrow night-and loaded up in the car and headed down to the Sprint Center. 



Could have been such a great picture if it wasn't for my horrible shaky hand on my iPhone!



We didn't have first level tickets and the stairs to our seats were pretty steep but the seats couldn't have been better for the boys. We were row 1. No one in front of them and they could just lean forward and watch some basketball, pretty POOR A$$ basketball but basketball none-the-less. We still managed to have a great time. The boys were really good but since the game was boring and there wasn't much of a crowd to get it going, we decided to sneak out at halftime. Perfect timing on our part cause we made it before the rain came down.

Tomorrow night when the Tigers take the court, the boys and I will be at home (looking a little something like the picture below) and cheering loudly. Hopefully Daddy and Jake have as great as a time tomorrow night that we did tonight! 

Whoops...

I. Forgot. One. Very. Important. Monthly. Picture. 

I was going through some old blog posts and I noticed that I never posted Logan in his 9 month picture. So here are just a few…

Love those rolls.

Where Have You Been

All My LIFE?!?! Today was a big day for me. I purchased a REAL pair of sunglasses and they came in! Some of you might be thinking-Really, Kayla, Sunglasses? Whoop dee doo! You see, I wear glasses. I have contacts but for some reason I prefer glasses. I am not sure why, I just do and I wear them all day long-except at night of course. And it never fails, every summer and on sunny fall/winter days I am jealous of any girl prancing around in her avaiter sunglasses, shielding her eyes from the blaring sun, looking all cute and trending. Well not any more! Not after I found out I could buy a pair of prescription sunglasses. And now you're thinking-Kayla, where have you been? This isn't something new! And my answer-I have NO clue but I am sure glad my co-worker, Sarah, told me about this place she found.

I decided I should check it out. What did I have to lose? And you know what-I hit the jackpot. Thanks to my flex plan and my eagerness to put WAY too much money towards it this year (was hoping for Lasik but I'm just not the greatest fit) I was able to splurge on not only a new pair of eye glasses but a SWEEEEEEEET pair of sunglasses too. Check these babies out!

It started off cloudy and snowy today but in typical KC weather it cleared up and was sunny and 50 by the end of the day and I got try these babies out. LIFE CHANGING! 

A Special Treat for Me

Tonight I got a special treat. I got to watch one of my fav gals buy her dream wedding dress.

She looked amazing, absolutely stunning and will make such a beautiful bride come September. Nolan, I hope you know how lucky you are to have landed this girl. She may have started out as friend of the groom but she is now friend of the bride all the way. I couldn't have asked for a friend that cares more about our family than she does. She has been by our side from the very beginning. She has held my hair and I have held hers. She was there when I took my very first pregnancy test and saw that double line pop up. She was there when both boys were born and at every major milestone in their life. She just isn't my friend, she is a friend of the family and we are so very lucky to have her in our life. I couldn't be more thrilled or more honored to share in her and Nolan's special day in September. She will make a beautiful bride and I am so excited for her to start this next journey in her life. Thank you Ms. Dawn, you have been an amazingly loyal and dear friend. I am blessed to have you in my life.