Game, Music, and Book Mix BOY'S ROOM (part 1)

This is part 1 of a 3 part blog series. Please view part 2 and part 3 for details on the other rooms.

I'm not too "theme-y" with bedrooms because walking into a room with a million supermen staring at me or feeling engulfed in Disney characters doesn't feel too peaceful. However, I do like to follow a style or idea theme to pull everything together and to prevent getting lost in a mismatched mess.




Instead of finding a favorite themed thing of the moment I decided to style each of their rooms according to their personalities.

Cameron is a serious boy who turned 30 on his first birthday! He has an unending passion for reading. Cameron spends a lot of time thinking and thinking and learning and thinking. Because of that, games and strategizing are what he loves! He's a chess club, shirt tucked in kind of kid. {wink}

To promote his game-loving hobby, I keep games out and use them as decor in his room. One of my favorite ideas we did in his room is to use games as decor in place of art. It adds the game style to his room and also saves on storage space!

They each can easily be taken down to play.



More games used as home decor. Game pieces have much visual appeal and work well on display. Marbles and dice are too pretty to stuff in a box.








I found personalized Scrabble Game prints on etsy and FELL IN LOVE!!
His first, middle, and last name:



He sometimes goes by his middle name and wanted it for this vinyl art.

All the boys share the musical instruments but we store them in Cameron's room. Piano like their mama...


Guitar like their dad...



I'm a home school mama. The boys complete their school assignments in their rooms. Because of that, a large part of their rooms are STUDY SPACES.

School books and supplies...


You can view the details of his home school area in this post: Polka Dots and Crayons. I also share a bit about the pegboard message board that Cameron and I made together. I wanted something different than the typical bulletin board.

It's so much more fun to use an alligator to staple pages.




A few things remain from when he was just a BIT younger, because time passes so quickly and I encourage my boys to be kids as long as possible.

Wood castles and overfull bags of stuffed animals...

The trampoline takes over the room but that's OK because the boys all use it to freshen their minds after a long math class!


Cameron's room reflects our 10 year old: studious, over analytical, perfectionist, serious-minded, contemplative, thinker.


Coming up in Part 2: Dakotah's vintage urban room and study space.




This post is linked to: Design Dazzle,  Flamingo Toes, It's a Blog Party, Think Pink Sundays LambAround, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Met Monday, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, Market Yourself Mondays, Lettered Cottage How To, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, A2Z Tips Tuesday, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Blog Hop Thursday, Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, Friday Favorites, VIP Party Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up

May you always walk in sunshine...

Yes, true stuff!
I have found my luck in love.
Which makes me a very happy girl.

source

Lucky Charms for breakfast.

Mini Leprechaun mint bites

Some Irish Blessings
for your green day...

My favorite:
"May you always walk in sunshine.
May you never want for more.
May Irish angels rest their wings right beside your door."

Wisdom:

"May you have the hindsight to know where you've been
the foresight to know where you're going
and the insight to know when you're going too far."

Why I love home sweet home:

May you always have
Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire!

True Words:

source

My lil wish for YOU, the reader.
You all truly mean so much to me:

"May you live a long life
Full of gladness and health,
With a pocket full of gold
As the least of you wealth.
May the dreams you hold dearest,
Be those which come true,
The kindness you spread,
Keep returning to you."

Hocus Pocus MAGIC PARTY peek-a-boo!

Our youngest son, Titus, just turned 7! To celebrate, I am hosting a MAGIC 7 party. Here is a sneak peek from some of the vendors helping with his party! His adorable invitations were designed by Brandy of Pink Pickle Studios. Brandy is so quick to create and she easily captured my ideas and transformed them into party printables. Pink Pickle Studios designs every paper printable you can image to make a party SPECIAL. I will show more of her magic in the upcoming party posts.

The boys dressed up as magicians with their black top hats, white gloves, and magic wands to deliver these invitations. They tucked magic tricks into their pockets and performed a lil magic at each doorstep.


We have some magic prepared for our party guests...



Right now, my party vision for the decor is still in boxes. I have a few short days before the party to create a magical place for sweet little kids to experience some wonder and imagination.
I must be one of the few people to get crazily excited to open a box like this from the mailman! I am stuck on products from Garnish and want to use them for every single party I style. Garnish offers clean, fresh, and simple products. The ideas on how to use their treasures are literally endless. I used a lot of Garnish products for the LEGO party I previously hosted. Check back in a few day to see how these little goods get put to use!

And I am MOST excited about these handmade treasures from my all time favorite online spot: etsy. Taffie Wishes on etsy was absolutely AMAZING to work with! She creates some real magic with her handmade party decor. My vision for Titus' party is a simple, at home, handmade event. Taffie Wishes did a perfect job creating that for me. The banner, cupcake toppers, and garland are made of playful, soft felt. Every stitch makes me smile.

I also wanted the party colors to be a neutral base of white and light tan with accents of black and red to give a classy effect.

Angela, of Taffie Wishes is incredible to work with. Her response time is instant and she patiently worked with me every step of the way, designing 100% customized party decor.



Some party magic on the way....




I have lots of happy anticipation as we plan to turn this party into a lil MAGIC SHOW. I can't wait to share with you all the magic party details after the party . . . so check back lovers. :)

Fun stuff: The government makes me say that this is a sponsored post that I am being compensated for.

watching my little birds shine

As a parent, one thing I've always been in awe of is watching completely different personalities unfold from each little person in our home sweet home. Each boy is so SO very different. They all shine in unique ways. They all pout in their own way. Their glaring flaws are opposite of another, and their talents and qualities are their own.

My heart's wish as a mama has always been to embrace each boy for who he is, never trying to change him or never burdening him with expectations he feels he needs to meet.

If you're a little bird, then be a bird!
How sad to watch a little bird flutter its life away
trying to be something else than what God created it as,
a BIRD.

I want my boys to know that they are GOOD ENOUGH as they are. They don't need to earn my approval, respect, or love. They already have it. guaranteed. always. I want them to be who they are and to always be trying to grow into a better "them" not someone I want them to be. However, I do support a spirit of excellence, and together as a family we continually try to improve ourselves as individuals.

too many pictures mama!

Our decade of parenting has been full of celebrating each boy for who he is! We all talk together about the super cool qualities each brother has. They all recognize that they shine in different ways and they don't have to compete with one another. They each own their individual little handful of talents. We cheer each other on as a team and we all know that there are no expectations to be something we are not.

They are free to be.
And that's really cool.

Chris and I often refer to our family as a team. Unity and a celebration of differences is the perfect mix!


I squeeze them, laugh with them, and bust some crazy moves when I'm excited over the amazing qualities they demonstrate. And I quietly hide away to cry, act like a bear, or have serious discussions with each one when their character weaknesses causes hurt. Every characteristic and attribute is noticed and experienced. This helps each boy to have a strong identity and to know who he is.

Meet Cameron Skyler,
our oldest...

He's 10.

analytical
serious
bookish
intense
prudent & reasonable
academic
perfectionist
follower of the rules
thinker
ambitious
studious
practical

Meet Dakotah,
the middle one...

He's 8.
compassionate
cool
passionate
hard worker
inquisitive
sweet
strong willed
creative
edgy
athletic
independent
curious

Kotah's all about the attention. I'm pretty sure that's why he gets an extra photo or two. {wink}

Meet Titus,
our youngest...

He's 7.

chill
pleasant
mellow
quietly competitive
positive
cute
entertaining
happy
funny
artistic
amicable
fresh

I am smitten with these three!

I'm crazy about their talents, traits, and even their faults and weaknesses too. If you have little feet in your home sweet home, celebrate their attributes and you will see them shine.





This post is linked to: LambAround, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, Market Yourself Mondays, TipMe Tuesday, Lettered Cottage How To, Tips and Tutorials Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Buzz on Thursday, Transformation Thursday, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, VIP Party, Friday Favorites, Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, I'm Lovin It, Funky Junk Interiors, Fabulous Friday Finds, Tickled Pink*, Be Different Act Normal, Weekend Wrap Up

THREE types of homemade PROTEIN bars

My husband who does crazy things **AND STUFF** is always working toward a healthier him.
On any given weekend night you can find Chris doing strange things like this...ummm, just for fun.



I love watching him, even if maybe I slightly bothered him by asking him to repeat the jump 15 times (literally) so I can get pictures. That's what it is like being married to a blogger!




For Valentine's Day I made him homemade protein bars and then I made some more and some more and some more. I'm having fun experimenting with them.

When you buy energy bars that are pre-packaged, it's just like eating a sugar-filled candy bar with protein and twice the cost. It is much more cost effective to make (and much healthier). Plus, they are faster to make than a batch of chocolate chip cookies.

PROTEIN BARS I

This first set is Almond Peanut Butter Crunch Protein Bars from an all time favorite health resource of mine, Precision Nutrition.

Mix it up like cookie dough:

Press it into the bottom of a plastic-wrapped lined dish:

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, no baking needed!

Slice and serve up ALL PRETTY (because we like it that way):

PROTEIN BARS II

This second batch is a BAKED lemon protein bar from the adorable and super cool fitness star, Jamie Eason. My inspiring friend Sarah shared the recipe and I jumped on it.


Just a few ingredients mixed and baked! I added lemon juice to mine and omitted the Crystal Lite. I also used sugar free applesauce instead of the baby food because my husband was sort of close-minded about the baby food in his bars.


Simple, simple lovies. ;)

PROTEIN BARS III

This last featured batch is a bit more indulgent.


I made them up, so I don't have an "exact recipe". However, once you practice with the typical ingredients in a protein bar, it's easy to make changes and add some variety. I call these Cranberry Kashi Protein Bars.


Basically I added the following to a mixing bowl:

- dried cranberries (can be omitted if you're concerned about sugar)
- old fashion oats
- ground almonds and peanuts
- vanilla protein powder
- Kashi cereal of your choice (find cereal with less sugar if desired)

Mix it up, then add a couple tablespoons of Agave nectar. If they're too dry, add a bit of water but don't make them super sticky because the consistency won't turn out well.
If you don't like using sweeteners, try nonfat, plain greek yogurt as a substitute.  


Then press into the bottom of a plastic-wrapped lined pan and refrigerate for several hours before slicing and eating.

Some extra little tips when making protein bars!

- change up your bars by dipping in dark chocolate for a treat

- use almond butter instead of peanut butter for a change

- make your own oat flour by putting your oats in a food processor.

- add any additions that you can think of! Be creative, it's hard to go wrong.

- add flax seed to your mix for an extra health boost.

- if you're baking the bars in the oven,
a little salt is necessary. Sorry, you can't omit it!

Enjoy your healthy treats and please share any protein bar recipes and secrets because I'm on a roll and I'm always wanting to LEARN anything I can!



This post is linked to: LambAround, DIY Showoff, DIY Living, Seasonal Sundays, It's so Very Cheri, Strut Your Stuff at Saturday Mornings, Making the World Cuter, Motivate Me Mondays, Market Yourself Mondays, Lettered Cottage How To, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tuesdays at the Table, Topsy Turvy Tuesday, Tuesdays Unwrapped, Get Your Craft On, We're Organized Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Show and Tell, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Transformation Thursday, Buzz on Thursday Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, Friday Favorites, Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, I'm Lovin It, Funky Junk Interiors, Fabulous Friday Finds, Tickled Pink*, Be Different Act Normal, Weekend Wrap Up