the family fun weekend has come and gone

...And just like that, the whirlwind of the weekend is over already. It always goes by way too fast! We had a good time visiting with my parents on Friday night before the madness set in on Saturday with everyone there but it was a lot of fun having us all together because it's so rare when it does happen! On Saturday, my mom and I went to a huge baby expo where we got signed up for tons of freebies and each brought home a goody bag full of freebies, coupons, samples, and other fun stuff for Peanut! Then Saturday night we all hung out, had some pizza, and enjoyed playing cards with each other! Of course, it wouldn't be a Cross family weekend without lots of jokes and laughing with each other! Sunday we spent some time packing and moving a lot of our stuff out to the garage and organizing our place since we have to move out at the end of the month. I'm definitely thankful for the help that we had because I'm not able to lift much and Jordan would have been stuck with moving a ton of things out to our garage! I just wish the weekends didn't go by so fast because we don't get enough time spent with each other! Thanks fam for an awesome and entertaining weekend as always - can't wait until we are all together again!

baby registry fun

Yesterday Jordan and I spent the afternoon at Babies R Us registering for Peanut! And wow, it was both excited and overwhelming all at the same time! There's literally SOOOO much to choose from....does there really need to be 100+ different strollers and car seats?! And tons of cribs, bottles, and swaddles to pick from?! We went in with a good idea of what we want to have for Peanut and ourselves but that didn't make it any less overwhelming. We did have a lot of fun though spending the afternoon together doing baby stuff. Jordan was so sweet and cute with a lot of it too...he was more concerned about the colors/style for some of the things than I would have thought. And he was most excited for the ErgoBaby carrier that we registered for and has every intention of wearing it frequently with Peanut so I'm hoping we get that...otherwise, it might have to be a special Dad-to-be gift for him! We picked out an awesome travel system and I'm super excited for it. It's the Graco FastAction Sport travel system and it's in a nice aqua/black color with 3-wheels which made it easy to steer and navigate...perfect for walks with Peanut and Paisley! There were so many gadgets and cool things too for babies and kids so we added those to our list. We spent a couple of hours there and left with only 25ish items on our registry which made us laugh for how long we had spent there! Thankfully, we can add things from on-line so we've already done that and added things on-line to our Target registry. Nothing like researching baby stuff and then adding it right to the registry from the comfort of our own home and couch! It's crazy how fast time is flying and before we know it, Peanut will be here so it's making me anxious to start getting things ready for our special arrival... just how early is too early to start nesting?!!

DIY photo clocks

Now that their bridal shower has come and gone, I am so excited to share my latest project that I made! Earlier this week when I made the two canvas prints, I also made a fabulous photo clock for our friends Ryan and Alyson for a bridal shower gift to celebrate their upcoming wedding in September! I had emailed Ryan asking for a jpeg of some of their engagement pictures and he got them to me in record time - so thanks for being a big help, Ryan! This project was very easy and quick (and affordable!)....with a really awesome final product! I am already thinking of what picture I want to use to make one for myself to have at our place! Anyway, here is what you will need and how to make your own photo clock:

- plywood or MDF board (I used 1/4 Oak pinewood from Lowe's)
- mod podge
- paint brush
- acrylic paint color in whatever color you choose
- numbers (I used scrapbook numbers but you could place them on before printing the picture by using PhotoShop or some other photo editing program)
- clock parts
- battery
- easel/stand
- matte sealant spray 

1. order your picture and make sure it is a true .jpeg or formatted nicely...downloading one from Facebook won't print out nice at all! I ordered mine from Staples in a 16x20 and am very happy with the print quality!

2. get your plywood or MDF board. I knew I wanted the clock to be 16x16 so I had a guy at Lowe's cut the board down to 16x16 so now I have a left over piece...perfect for making a second clock! You can obviously choose whichever size you would like depending on where you plan to put the clock!

3. once you have the board, cut the picture down to match its size.

4. put a layer of mod podge onto the plywood and then starting with one side, align the picture and swipe across it slowly to make sure there aren't any air bubbles and to help keep it aligned on the plywood.

5. place the numbers onto the picture. I did this by measuring across creating an X and then down the middle and across the middle to essentially create a pie. I placed each number on and then measured to make sure then were all equally spaced. You could also get a clock template and mark on the picture where to place the numbers if you don't want to measure it out yourself.

5. **this is optional** on a few of the edges, just barely, the plywood was sticking out because the edges weren't perfect cuts and I wanted to edges to have more of a paint brush effect/look to match the background of the picture. So all you do for that is, get the paint color you would like, just dab the tip of the brush in the paint and then make quick/short strokes along the edges. There's really no right or wrong way to do this and you can make the strokes as thick/heavy as you would like. **this is optional**

6. once the paint has dried (or if you skipped that), paint a thin layer of mod podge over the picture including the paint and the numbers. Be careful going over the numbers so you don't peel one up but if you do, just stick it back down and make sure it is secure! This is just like painting over the picture with mod podge when making a canvas picture so it will look white/glossy at first, but it dries clear! Make sure to keep it a thin layer and if it bubbles, that means you have too much so spread it out evenly.

7. now it is time to drill the hole for the clock parts! I measured the width of the clock "hole" from the old clock that I took the parts off of so I knew what size of drill bit to use. Then, I measured an X across from each corner and marked the center so I knew the clock parts would be centered. Once you have the correct size, drill the hole .

8. **this is optional** I sprayed the matte sealant spray on top of the picture and along the edges to completely seal it and help protect it from sun damage and fading. I did two coats of this and it gave the clock a nice matte finish! **this is optional**

9. insert the clock parts along with a working battery then set the time and admire your new personalized photo clock! I found a nice picture stand for the clock but you could attach some poster hangers on the back of it if you would prefer to hang it up instead. 

"together until the end of time"
Congrats to the future Mr. & Mrs. Nelson!
We are so excited for your big day!

Friday Funnies - 6.14.13

We are getting ready to hit the road to leave for Milwaukee for the weekend and I can't wait! We are going up to my sister's place for a weekend of fun that will include a lot of laughs, lounging, and we are going to see WICKED!!! Ahhh I'm sooo excited! I love a great weekend spent with my sister but a weekend together with a show?! Perfect! Jordan is the only one out of us who has already seen Wicked but he is just as excited to see it again... I somehow already have the entire soundtrack memorized and I've never even seen the show so I definitely can't wait for some of the songs to make a little more sense! June is really shaping up to be a great month and I'm so lucky to have gotten so much time with my family and our friends. Here's to another amazing weekend - hope you all enjoy the weekend as well!

image via Pinterest
now why didn't I think of this when I gave Paisley her summer buzz?!!

this kid is flying around on a broom like Harry Potter...

whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo whoo!!! 

it seriously gets funnier the more you watch it.....

weekends go too fast. way too fast...

Our girl's weekend officially came to an end when I had to drop my mom off at the airport today around noon. Man, why do the weekends always have to fly by especially the ones that are spent with family?! All of us girls had an awesome weekend though that's for sure! And I know Jordan had a blast in Chicago with all of his guy friends so it was a win-win for the both of us. Us girls did a lot of shopping, pampering ourselves with manis/pedis, and then did some baby stuff for Peanut! And it wouldn't of been a girls weekend without a chick flick movie marathon, popcorn, and plenty of snack food for the night! It was so fun hanging out, relaxing, and enjoying time spent with each other filled with lots of girl talk, plenty of laughs, and tons of love. I wish I could have more weekends like that with my mom, my sister and her girlfriend but I will take the time together that we can get! 

We also spent Sunday at my cousin's baby shower which was a lot of fun and really special. She is 10 weeks ahead of me so it was fun sharing stories of how we have been feeling and seeing what I have to look forward to (or dread!) as my pregnancy progresses with Peanut. She is expecting a little girl so she got lots of cute little girl outfits and fun stuff for the little princess...I can't wait to meet her when she arrives! It was great sitting around with my aunts and cousins talking about life, babies, and anything in between. I'm definitely lucky to have the support system I have no only with my immediate family but also my extended family...there's some awesome women in my life!

I was totally bummed to have to drop my mom off at the airport today and was avoiding having to say good-bye...good-byes are the worst and they never get easy. But knowing I will see my mom and dad in a few weeks when they drive back up to Iowa in July made it a little better that's for sure! I can't wait to see them already and am counting down the days until we're all reunited for another fun weekend! 

cousins and 2nd generation cousins on the way!

the mamas-to-be!

mom and her girls all in purple...
unplanned but pretty funny once we realized we all coordinated!

Aunt Mary and her girls

A Memorial Day Weekend To Remember

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Jordan and I are back home from our weekend long adventure in Lansing at the Red Barn Resort! And like always, it didn't disappoint. Even though it was rainy for the majority of the weekend, we still got one perfect night for a bon fire and playing bags! Then we spent a lot of time playing cards, chatting, and just soaking up each other's company and loving every minute of it! It's rare that my Dad ever gets a weekend away with just us kids so while it would have been fun to have my mom there too, it was great to have some bonding time with just him.....and I'm sure he loved being harassed by his kids all weekend too! Even Paisley got to enjoy the fresh outdoors and spend some time off leash just running around, rolling in God knows what, and just enjoying being a dog. Good thing she was treated for ticks/fleas before we left because otherwise I'm sure she would be infested with them now! Ah and I can't forget about all of the good home cooking that we were all spoiled with all weekend from my grandma! I don't know how she does it, but she makes THE BEST bacon and eggs. Seriously, they are so sooo good and to die for (probably because of all the grease, ha!) but they are delicious and worth waking up for because no one wants to miss breakfast when Grandma is doing the cooking! We finished off the weekend with the annual trip up to the top of Mount Hosmer to show the kids the view and get some pics of it all. It's hard to believe that I have been going to good ol' Lansing and the Red Barn Resort since I was in diapers....such a special place for our family and it has so many memories! I hope we get the chance to return next summer with our own little Peanut to keep the tradition going! Now it's back to reality but at least it is only a 4-day work week! Hope you all had a fun and special Memorial day weekend!

it was a tad rainy and foggy at the top of Mount Hosmer

Dad and the trifecta of the Cross kids

3 generations....love my Dad and Grandma!
(4 generations if you count Peanut!)

and as always, these two in matching sweatshirts...

Off to the Pumpkin Patch we go!

fun fall day together!

Charlie Brown and his Great Pumpkin

best seat in the patch

Today we did one of my favorite fall activities....we went to the local apple orchard and pumpkin patch!! Because of the nasty spring weather and frost that we had combined with the brutal heat in the summer, I was bummed to find out that they had lost a lot of their apple crop. So we were unable to pick our own apples from the trees but we still got to enjoy some freshly made and still warm apple turnovers and some piping hot apple cider! Umm YUM! I would have been happy and satisfied right then and there! But Jordan was bound and determined to walk down the giant hill, across the field and to the pumpkin patch to search for THE PERFECT CARVING PUMPKIN (his words not mine and in all caps to really get across his enthusiasm for the perfect pumpkin...) So we made the walk and got to the pumpkin patch and started the search. And searched. And searched. We even set a few pumpkins out and carried them around to compare with other pumpkins because you know, we had to have the two most PERFECT pumpkins. And I think I devastated Jordan a little when finally I said, "well I think I just want to decorate mine and maybe not carve it..." Man, with the look I got after that comment, I'm surprised I'm still alive! Apparently pumpkins of this caliber are strictly for carving and showing off then making roasted pumpkin seeds with all the guts! Anyway, after freezing our buns off, tripping over one too many pumpkin stems and debating between some solid choices, we found the perfect pumpkins! But this didn't happen before I started calling him Charlie Brown and saying that he was searching for the Great Pumpkin....fall festivities at its finest! Now the search is on the find the PERFECT carving template and design! 

safety first! let's not mention we were driving with
the gas light on but hey, the PERFECT PUMPKINS
were good to go!

the only logical way to carry a heavy pumpkin
with hot apple cider...boom box it!