The Big White Farmhouse

intentional living, little by little

{family} A Pirate Birthday Party

This weekend, we celebrated D’s birthday.  Three years old already!  He chose a pirate theme for the big day.  My Memere has trouble with stairs (and my house has many of them!) so we brought the birthday party to her and set up in my parent’s dining room.   

We had a fun day and my heart grew three sizes watching my sweet boy.  He is much like me and doesn’t feel comfortable being the center of attention, so he was a little shy and unsure about the whole experience.  But once the formal festivities were done and the playing began, he was one happy guy.  I mean, who doesn’t love making his big brother walk the plank?  
 
Happy birthday to my big boy, the apple of my eye.  

{home} It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Autumn…

Ever so slowly, I’ve been getting out my Fall decor.  Why is it taking me so long to decorate?  Maybe it has something to do with those three crazy boys of mine!  

Anyway, decorating this time of year is tricky for me.  I tend to be really picky.  I don’t really decorate for Halloween and I don’t like scary things.  Which is humorous in itself, because I’ll be the first to ooh and ahh over the neighbor’s elaborate Halloween Extravaganza display.  But for my own home, I think it boils down to simplicity.  So here are the beginnings of my decorating so far:

Jury is still out whether I’ll keep the plush.  It was mine from my childhood and the boys love it, but I think it borders on cutesy….we’ll see.  I found the print as a free printable.  So cute and a nod to my Texan husband who actually uses the word “y’all”!

 My mantle so far.  I bought the mini pumpkins at the farm where we went pumpkin picking.  I’m kind-of wishing I bought all white, but I also had a little almost-3-year-old helper and he picked his favorites.  So who can complain?  🙂 

Our “carved” pumpkins.  I HIGHLY recommend these things if you have small children or you just don’t like digging your hands in slimy pumpkins.  They poke right into your pumpkin and boom, you’re done.  Instant gratification and double plus: they’re super heroes! (And a Mr. Potato Head pirate just to shake things up a little)

{family} Our Trip to the Pumpkin Patch 2011

The boys have been talking about going to the pumpkin patch for weeks now.  We went on Columbus Day with my mom’s homeshooling group.  The hayride and pumpkins were fun, but I think the highlight of the day was the ginormous dirt pile.  M was covered head to toe by the time we left!

And what a bad Mamma photographer I am…baby J didn’t go on the hayride with us (he stayed with my mom), so I have no “Baby’s First Pumpkin” pictures.  Shucks…such is the life of the third baby, no?  🙂 

{recording life} 27 Goals for my 27th Year

Today marks the beginning of my 27th year!  26 was a great year for me and I really feel like I hit my stride as far as a mother and wife.  I’m looking forward to seeing what 27 has to offer too.  To help me be more intentional with my year, I made a list of 27 Goals for my 27th Year.  (If you know anything about me, you know that there aren’t many things I love more than lists and goals…and the satisfaction of crossing them off too, of course!)

So without further ado, here’s my list for my next year of life:

1. Get in shape. I’m stopping the excuses and getting off my ‘duff.  Healthy is my goal.  I used to be an athlete and I want to get back there again. 
2. Read 15 books.  
3. Travel to two places I’ve never been before.  We have one place in mind for next spring, but the second is yet to be determined.  Fun, family-friendly destination ideas on the East coast are welcome!
4. Make bread from scratch. I’ve gotten half credit for making it with the bread machine, but I still want to learn to do it 100% myself.
5. Write down all of the boys’ birth stories.  I need to do this sooner than later…my mind is going to forget all of those important details!
6. Send 5 “just because” gifts to family and friends.  I may or may not be the most exited about this one. 
7. Re-decorate my bedroom.  Our bedroom has become kids toy central (I still don’t understand how they get in there!) and somewhat of a storage area (Christmas, birthdays, etc etc).  I am ready to make a plan and create the “calm oasis” that everybody says a master bedroom should be!
8. Write more about my feelings about motherhood.
9. Find a way to earn a little extra without compromising my time with my family.
10. Donate my hair to Locks of Love.  I haven’t had really long hair since the 4th grade, so this should be a fun experience and end with a great cause.
11. Read two books from my Classics List.
12. Make pasta from scratch.
13. Have silhouettes made of each of my boys.
14. Win a contest of giveaway.  Blogs always have giveaways and I have yet to win one!  15. Run a race with my Dad.  This is my year, Dad.  It may be a 5K, but we’re running something! 
16. Surprise my husband with an awesome 30th birthday.
17. Plan monthly at-home date nights.
18. Eat only local foods for a month.  Challenge: do not step inside the mega grocery store.  Only eat from local farmers and businesses.  We totally could do this!
19. Start a gratitude journal.
20. See a movie in theaters.  It’s only been oh…5 years since I’ve seen my last movie in theaters!  I think I may finagle a way to surprise my husband with this…he’d be ecstatic!
21. Finally visit of the local “sights” around our hometown.  We have so many interesting sights around us and haven’t explored anything!  Time for a little staycation adventure this summer.
22. Attend a homeschooling conference.
23. Catch up on my previous scrapbooks.
24. Make cake pops.  I’m so behind on this trend, but it is definitely something I would love to learn to do.
25. Pull off special birthday parties for both of my parents.  They both have big birthdays coming up next year and I’ve got some great plans. 
26. Install hardwood floors.  I desperately want to get rid of our old carpet and put in new hardwood floors.  The question is: put it in ourselves or pay the pros?
27. Tell the ones I care about how much I love and appreciate them.  No brainer, but I need the reminder to this more often.

Now the question remains…what do I do first?  🙂

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