a little surgery

for a year now I've been noticing my left big toe joint getting more and more painful and more and more swollen/bruised. 

i've felt like the biggest whiner complaining about it, but man it hurts!

a trip to the podiatrist and a few X-rays later revealed a super large bone spur and a compacted joint; the compacted joint is probably from an old dance or running injury.

so we tried rounds of steroid shots to see if that would help and it really didn't, so ultimately we decided going in and shaving the bone down and having some area cleared out around the joint would be the best option.

so today this little piggy is getting some work done.

obviously it's not big surgery and I'll be in a boot for about 3 weeks. 

i'm not scared of surgery, but man i hate anesthesia. 

it makes me super sick.  

blah. 

so I'm going to take a week off and enjoy lots of jello and movies in bed. :) 

see you in a week!

so much to say, so little time part 4

Conversations with a 3 year old are fantastic.

1. As I try to wash him off in the bath tub: "Mom! Don't touch Batman's tuchas!"

2. "Doggies have claws, because doggies have claws."

3. "Mom, my nose threw-up." (He sneezed.)

4. Me (coming home from the store): "Hi Rhett! Where's Rad?" 

Rhett: "I don't know Mom, it's a big mystery."

5. "Mom, you take a picture of my poop and send it to dad?" (We didn't.)

6. (When I asked him to carry his blanket downstairs.) "Gosh mom, you're driving me crazy."

7. Hearing the garage go up when Jake got home: "Mom, Captain America's home!!!"

Kid's say the darndest things. :)

Numbers 1, 3, and 7 are my favorite. 

Rhett and the awesome dead bug he found on the back porch.

You can read parts 1, 2 and 3 HERE, HERE and HERE.

awesome photo editing apps for bloggers

Who loves blogging?!

You do?

Do you love apps?! 

Yes!

Do you love fun creative stuff?!

Of course you do!

Then these apps are right up your alley, and for the most part they are all free. 

Super sweet.

 As much as I love my Nikon Dslr and Mac, I do a lot of blogging stuff on my phone. 

My phone is always with me and there are some great, easy apps that take basic pictures to a new level, help create buttons and help with social media.

So here we go!

VSCO Cam

Price: Free

VSCO Cam is by far my favorite photo editing app. 

Instagram is great, but Instagram is mostly for putting a filter over a picture. 

But what if you don't like the filters they give you? Or you want just a slight filter? Or you just want to brighten the exposure, use zoom or  enhance focus?

Instagram really can't help with that. 

(I'm not bashing Instagram at all! I love it. I'm talking strictly from a photo editing perspective.)

VSCO allows you to edit pictures like you would in photoshop or Adobe, but in a slightly simpler context.

You can adjust brightness, contrast, zoom, crop and they do have filters, but the strength of the filter is totally adjustable.

via

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From VSCO you can upload to pretty much any social network, including Instagram.

VSCO essentially helps your phone pics look like quality images. 

Rhonna Design

Price: $1.99

Rhonna Design is a great app for making pictures more fun.

The app doesn't change the image so much as it allows you to overlay designs, art, images etc. 

Like this. 

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Fun right?!

I love using this apps to make buttons for tutorial etc. 

(Like the button at the beginning of the post...made by this app. :))

You can also upload your images to most social networks from this app.

Studio

Price: Free

Studio is kind of like the marriage of VSCO and Rhonna. 

Studio has simple tools that allow you to create beautiful layered designs.

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I hope this helps all you social mongols! :)

Now go take some fantastic photos. 

virginia beach

A few weeks ago we hopped on a plane and headed to Virginia Beach for some vacationing with my side of the family. 

First of all, there should be a special place in heaven for those who survive a 5 hour flight with 2 little kids without raising their voice. Or throwing their peanuts. 

I'm going...Jake...not so much.

Kidding. Kind of. :) 

The highlight of the plane ride for Rhett was trying his first piece of gum. 

The poor boy was a little confused at what to do with it.

Obviously Virginia is very different then Arizona, landscape wise, so everywhere we drove Rhett was convinced we were in the jungle. 

I'm sure it's not a surprise that we spent a lot of the time at the beach. 

I promise Rad was with us on this trip. After taking him to the beach one morning and having it be a disaster, (pushing a stroller through the sand...SO HARD!) he usually spent time with his grandparents back at the beach house.

And of course I felt the need to get an awesome jump shot in front of the waves.

Fail. 

Does this count?

This 3 year old loved the beach so much that he got a little perturbed if we didn't get ready fast enough.

And please promise me if you are ever in Virginia Beach you will go here. 

And order this. 

A huge, gooey cinnamon roll with ice cream and hot fudge sauce. 

Calories don't count on vacation.

The best part was spending time with my siblings.

Oh vacation...why do you have to end?

the easiet DIY: the $40 floating industrial desk

what's better than finding the perfect idea on pinterest?

coming up with your own perfect idea!

well at least one you haven't seen yet...you never know what's floating around out there.

rhett loves lining up his toys when he plays and he is a coloring fool so I really wanted a desk in the room. 

the problem with traditional desks was that they were too deep; I wanted to make sure there was plenty of floor space to play.

I found this desk on Ikea, but the $269 price tag was a big no-no for my budget. 

so I thought and thought about it and then it came to me. a pine board and some closet brackets.

jackpot.

a quick trip to Home Depot and then back home with a 2 X 12 X 8 pine board and 4, 12in Richelieu Hardware White Heavy Duty Shelf Brackets, 8 3in screws, 8 1.5in screws, and a can of Rust-Oleum Universal Hammered Silver spray paint.  

this is really the EASIEST DIY. 

Step 1: sand your pine board smooth and finish it.

We used minwax gel stain in oak.

Step 2: paint the brackets.

the easiest way to spray paint them is to place them, back side down, on an elevated surface. 

I used cinder blocks.

Step 3: find the studs in your wall and mark them off. 

Step 4: using a level as you go, drill 2  3in screws per bracket. one on top, one on the bottom.

the guy who helped us at home depot assured us that 2 screws would be sufficient to secure it to the wall and he was right. 

the desk is completely sturdy.

Step 4: lay the board on the brackets, double check it's level and then drill 2 1.5in screw per bracket from the bottom, up.

2 screws is enough to keep the board from sliding or shifting. 

and you are now done!

we kept our desk pretty simple with how we finished it, but the possibilities are limitless: stained, painted, lacquered, white washed and limed. or I think it could be awesome to use some paint pens on the top to create a graphic/tribal design. 

we love the desk and the price tag. :) 

click HERE for the playroom reveal.

click HERE for the floating fort/reading nook tutorial.

click HERE for the wood shim chevron art tutorial. 

6 months of Mr. Rad

As cliche as it sounds to say "where the heck as the time gone!" that's exactly how I feel.

Mr. Rad is 6 months old and if there was a hash tag for the past 6 months it would be #ohgeez, #gushing and #kickinglikecrazy.

Little Mr. Rad there a few babies that are as happy as you. 

You love Rhett. 

Oh how you absolutely adore him. 

Big dopy smile kind of adore him. 

In fact you have the best big dopy smiles for everyone. And everything. 

You see us getting your food ready and about jump out of your high chair with excitement. 

Which is probably why you weigh over 19lbs...chunky monkey.

You love to sit in your Bumbo in the shower and squeal and shriek as the water comes down.

You still love tooth brushes and your stuffed duck. 

You are a jumping machine, be it in your Exersaucer, Johnny Jump-Up, or on our laps.

It's exhausting to watch, but man your legs are freakishly strong

You are a sitting pro, till you start waving your arms and then you face plant it.  

Rhett has called you Radie since we brought you home and it's our favorite nickname for you. 

Your hair has come in and you have the best little curls up front. 

Oh and I love your stinky neck. 

It's probably a smell only a mother could love, but to me it epitomizes your baby smell.

Don't lose it too soon little man.

Mr. Rad we love you!