DIY Decor

I found this little beauty online and wanted it so badly for our new living room..until I looked at the $800 price tag. So I decided I would try to paint my own version. I haven't painted in 8 years and once I got started, I felt like I bit off more than I could chew. I'm happy with the results though and it will be nice to hang up my own artwork in our new house.
The $800 masterpiece..

My masterpiece...

I painted mine on 3 canvases instead of 4. I hope it looks nice once the canvases are separated and hung on the wall.

Tornadoes in Oklahoma

What a crazy day!! We were hit with some Tornadoes today. Two of which concerned us as they were heading in our direction. The sirens were going off and I had to put the kids in the bath tub. I threw their Diego pull out couch in the tub first (which didn't really fit). I also had a toddler mattress in the bathroom just in case we needed to cover our heads with it. Ronde was just so terrified. I've never seen him so scared before. I had the boys sitting in the bath tub and I would go check the news really fast in the living room. Ronde freaked out every time I left the bathroom. That tornado passed and we had a short break from the bath tub before we had to get right back in for the next tornado. The second one was heading right towards us and the sirens were sounding off again. This time, the winds were strong, it was raining, hailing, and was so dark outside. As I was checking the news, the power went out which scared me even more since I couldn't see where the tornado was going anymore. Thankfully the power turned back on after 5 minutes. AJ was so brave. He held Jamal in his lap and gave him and Ronde a kiss. Aww melts my heart. The Tornado died down right before it got to us. We survived our first and second Tornado!!
Here are some bath tub pictures..


This next picture breaks my heart...

Usually you always see a huge smile on Ronde's face (or his handsome serious looks) but I've never seen this look before. I almost didn't want to post it on my blog because it makes me sad to see how upset he got. I know one day we will look back at these pictures and my boys will probably laugh about it. I also gave them all kisses and just stared at them. I tried to keep a smile on my face so that my kids wouldn't get anymore upset or scared. You never know what your future holds and you are never promised tomorrow. My biggest fear ever is to go through a natural disaster with my children. I can't imagine losing one of them. It's hard not to take it seriously after the devastating tornadoes that hit Alabama and Missouri..all the people who have lost their lives. I can't imagine.

So Blessed

I'm so blessed! My cup most definitely overflows. My heartaches with love for my little boys. They are growing up so fast and I wish I could make time slow down just a tad. I love how randomly my boys will stop whatever they are doing just to tell me they love me or say "Mommy, you are in my heart". I hope they will be just as cuddly in 5 years and won't be shy to give me a kiss when I drop them off at school. I love how sweet Ronde looks when he's taking his naps, how fast Jamal falls asleep when I lay him down for bed without a worry in the world, and AJ's smile that can brighten up my mood every time. I enjoy being a stay at home mom, I want to cherish this time with them as much as I can before it's gone.

Kid's Furniture and Sneak Peek

Since we finally have a move in date, June 10, for base housing, I went ahead and ordered the boys their new bedroom sets and an activity table for our family room. I've had the money saved to buy these items for a long time and I'm so excited to finally order them. Right now, the boys have their mattresses on the floor and do not have a dresser. When we moved to Oklahoma, the movers broke their dresser. So this is definitely not a splurge, it's much needed!(well, the activity table was a splurge!)
In our new house, we have a family room off to the right of our living room. We are making it into a play area for the kids since our house is 2 stories. I thought it would be best to have some toys down stairs so I can keep an eye on them. The black activity table matches our living room furniture so I think it will look great. It also has 2 drawers underneath with a chalkboard label on each drawer. It was a great deal for $119 and free shipping from amazon.com. AJ told me he wants the train set too..haha
I got the boys bunk beds! We do have a 4 bedroom house but we decided that AJ and Ronde will continue to share a room and Jamal will have his own nursery. The 4th bedroom will be turned into the guest room/man cave (whatever that is..ha!) I ordered all the furniture pictured below for the boy's room.


I know they are going to love having all this big boy furniture! I'm going to do a sports theme since I already have the decorations to do so. They've been packed in a box for years and I just never hung any of it up.
And here is a sneak peek into our new house.

Very Zen like =)
Have a great weekend!!

Wonderful Wednesday

Andre got off work at noon today and it was nice and cloudy. Perfect temperature for a middle of the day walk. Andre always likes going for walks when the sun is setting but I refuse to waste such a pretty day. So off to the park we went, stopping at McDonalds first for our usual sugar free vanilla iced coffees, large fries, medium cup of water, and 2 apple pies. (This habit is getting expensive!)
It was the perfect time to go to the park. Everyone was at work or in school so it was very peaceful out there. All the geese lined the creek.
This is before he fell asleep 2 minutes later..

My boys are obsessed with toy guns, they bring them everywhere..
The safest place in the world..in daddy's arms..
AJ's shoe flew off when coming down the slide so fast..

I was trying to teach AJ to swing. "Swing your legs back and forth"..


Peek a Boo...


Andre took this picture of Jamal and I..

A guy sitting in the park carving wood and turning them into these beautiful necklaces, that he hung on the trees to sell.

I must add..Today, AJ was taking pictures of his brother's with my iPhone. He came to show me the pictures and then said "Mommy, I have to send these pictures to all my Grandma's". I thought it was the sweetest thing.

Hanging around the house

Jamal has really been on the move lately. He's still not crawling but he does roll a lot. Jamal is always trying to pull up on me and he loves to stand. If you try to get him to sit, he locks his legs and gets stiff as a board..ha. It's too funny.

I love Ronde's serious face..He could be a model with those looks.

AJ has been wanting to help me cook everything. Yesterday, he wanted to bake croissant rolls. He rolled them up all by himself. Today, he wanted to bake cinnamon rolls. He put extra icing on his..


That's my boy!

T-Ball Practice

It's Monday, which means TBall for the Harris family! Andre had to work late today so I took the boys to TBall and Andre met us out on the field. For the most part, it was just me and the boys. Thankfully, my friend Monica was able to sit in the bleachers with Jamal while I helped the boys practice. Today, they learned how to hit a ball with their bats. AJ catches on so well! It was like he was made for this sport. He even said "I love playing baseball" while we were practicing. Ronde didn't show much interest today. He was full of energy and constantly disappearing on me on the crowded baseball field. As soon as we got home, he crashed in my bed.
After practice, we stopped at a playground while there was still some daylight. Andre chased the kids around the playground pretending he was a zombie. AJ and Ronde ran around screaming with excitement. Jamal took a quick nap but woke up bright eyed as usual.

Jamal's First Time Swinging

Today was the first time Jamal has ever swung in a swing! We go to the park all the time but we never see baby swings or if we do, it's only a half a baby swing with a chain on one side. I never felt like those were safe for Jamal but today we found a real baby swing. He loved it! He laughed and smiled the whole time. I couldn't help but take a lot of pictures. He usually sits in the stroller but I could tell he was happy to be included in the fun. Ronde pushed him really softly as well. I've noticed lately that Ronde is really attached to his little brother.
Ronde found a toy dinosaur on the playground. My boys love dinosaurs and I'm actually going to decorate their new bathroom in a dinosaur theme. I found a really great shower curtain for them already. But that's a whole different post that I will get to soon =)