Mom Inspired TOMS and Robeez= mOMeez

If you know my family, you know that we are all very creative in our own ways. Everyone plays an instrument or two, Christopher is a remarkable painter, mom is a true crafster at heart and I love to sew, scrapbook, create and spend hours in a craft store.
Recently I was searching the internet because I wanted to buy Mason some shoes for the Winter to keep his feet warm. I looked at Robeez which are very popular baby shoes because they mimic bare feet and are very durable. On the other hand I wanted a pair of TOMS because they are more like my style, very down to earth and fun colors.
Due to the fact that Mason is growing like a weed, I can't justify spending $30+ dollars on a pair of shoes that he may not get to wear the whole Winter.

Have No Fear

With a little research I found the perfect pattern to make Mason some pretty sweet kicks and that is just what I did. I Googled "DIY Baby Shoes" and this tutorial popped up. So, down to my basement I went to see what fabric I had laying around. I actually had just enough leather left over from another project to get started. You can use any fabric you want for the tops of the shoes so I just used blue and khaki for the first pair. After some trial and error and sewing one shoe inside out, I made my prototype.

If fit Mason and was super cute. The next pair that I made, I added a little flare to and embroidered on the tops and used elastic on the heel and hid it instead of a string. Here are a few pictures of what I made. Once I make a few more pairs and iron out all of the details, I will try and post a tutorial of how I made them.

These are the Robeez

These are the TOMS

INTRODUCING......... mOMeez

"Fashionable footwear created by a loving mom for her sweet baby boy"

Still lots of tweaking to do but I think they are pretty cute.

The Johnny Jumper

Introducing the best kept "keep your baby in one spot" secret! Andrew's mom gave Mason this Johnny Jumper and he seems to really enjoy it. He is still a little small for it so we have to prop him up with blankets, however, once he is snug he loves it. Let's be serious now, If you are like me, you just want to eat his little fat legs that are sticking out. After this video we learned that socks are not the best for keeping feet on the ground so in the future, they will be off :)

15 Weeks Old

Mi Casa Su Casa

All of our family from a far always asks for pictures of our home and I keep forgetting to post them. Due to the fact that Andrew and I both have full time jobs and baby Mason and everything else in life going on, I have not made time to clean the house enough to make it "my version of clean." Therefore, if you know me, I will not take pictures of an unclean house.

Have no fear, I have come up with a solution! Here are a few pictures from when we bought the house when it was listed online. Squeaky clean.

We have started a list of things that we want to do to the house so it is still a work in progress. Check back for updates.

If you are ever in town and want to stop by, just give us a ring, we have plenty of space!

Schutzhund and Andrew's Job

Everytime you meet someone, the likelihood of them asking, "What you do for a living," is about 100%. I always try and explain Andrew's job and his recreational activities to the best of my abilities but I am going to try and give a better explanation with some pictures.

First of all, Andrew works for a local company here in Southern Pines. They are a multipurpose company that specializes in various solutions to protect America and Americans against threats. Here are just a few of the things the company as a whole does:

Weapons and Tactics
Logistics
IED/Canine Procurment
Explosive Training

Andrew training the Marine handlers and trying on some night vision goggles

Andrew works with the K9 side and trains Labrador Retrievers to detect explosive devices. Once the dogs have completed their training, they are paired up with a Marine handler to go overseas and put their skills to use.

Andrew's recreational dog training is called Schutzhund and is mainly with our German Shepherd, Warden. Warden is our 3 year old GSD. Schutzhund is German for "Protection Dog." It is a sport that develops and evaluates certain traits and characteristics of a dog. There are three concentrations for the sport. These include tracking, obedience, and the most misunderstood phase is the protection portion.

Baby Warden Vs. Big Boy Warden

Warden's Courage Test for his Schutzhund 1 Title

Per United Schutzhund Clubs of America: Schutzhund is intended to demonstrate the dog's intelligence and utility. As a working trial, Schutzhund measures the dog's mental stability, endurance, structural efficiencies, ability to scent, willingness to work, courage, and trainability

During the tracking phase, Andrew has taught Warden to track the scent of crushed vegetation via walking through fields. Over the length of the track, Andrew lays "articles" for Warden to find. When Warden finds/recognizes the item, he signals to Andrew from a distance by laying down on the item.

Through out the obedience element, the dog is taught an active routine including heeling, stopping, standing, down, recalls and serveral other basic commands. Another portion of the obedience is to retreive dumbells over a one meter jump and a 6 foot wall.

Last is the protection portion which some people do not understand. The easiest way to begin to describe this part is think about police dogs or personal protection dogs. When Andrew is working Warden, he is considered the handler. The person that is working the dog is called the helper. The helper performs certain actions to get Warden to bite a sleeve or suite to prove his suitablility to the breed. This is not a real aggression and the bite is realeased on command. This is a relationship between the handler and the dog.

I always try to explain our dog situation to others, however, I think at times, people misunderstand our dogs :) Most dogs for this sport are true to the breed. German Shepherds are very loyal to their owners and at the same time fairly high drive and can be aggressive towards other dogs. Warden is just that. He is very protective over our household but just wants to lick Mason, be rubbed behind his ears and lounge on the living room floor.

New Bathroom Ideas

On March 3, 2011, Andrew and I purchased our first home in Southern Pines, NC. It is about 2800 sq ft and has some very unique features. We love the pool and the large yard, the basement and the garage are so wonderful for storage and Andrew's workout area/my sewing room. Obviously when you buy a house, there are things that you won't like and the colors of the rooms upstairs were hideous. Our bedroom and bathroom were electric blue....Now a soothing green. Mason's room was yellow and now a light baby boy blue. Well my next project is the guest bathroom which happens to be fushia pink with a huge ugly brown vanity and cabinet behind the door. I have been brainstorming on Pinterest and I think I have decided on colors and a theme. I want it to be boyish and kid friendly for Mason but I also want it to be modern/vintage for my style and to be soothing for guests. Here are the ideas and styles I have come up with :)

 The Blues and whites are my favorite. They are so soothing and go great with brown, which is my favorite color. I am a huge fan of burlap, twine and wicker baskets so I think the blue will be a great medium.

I would like to paint the vainty and cabinetry to be distressed like this dresser. I love the idea of chalkboard paint somewhere in the house, so I think I will paint the backsplash of the cabinets with it. I like the pendant lights because they are clean but not too modern.

I am also going to tile the floor probably with the help of my step dad. I visisted my local Habit for Humanity store and they have all kinds of great tiles, fixtures and so many great and cheap items for updating your home.




Stay tuned for the final project!

Pumpkin Patch

We recently visited Gross Farms in Sanford, NC for a little pumpkin patch, Fall fun. There were pumpkins of every size, shape and color....who knew that pumpkins really do grow white! We pulled Mason around in the wagon and picked out three pumpkins and they now have a resting spot on our steps at the front door. Here are just a few of the wonderful pictures we took.