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Staying Home Sawyer

Real Life Living on a Real Life Budget

DIY, Lifestyle

How Amazing is YOUR Dad?

10.07.2014

My dad is amazing. I know you all think your dad is amazing, but really, after you see this project, you’ll see how amazing my dad is. I always knew I got my craftiness from my mother, but after I saw the end result of this project, I started to reconsider my origins.

Usually I welcome any and all family talents. To be honest, I’ve searched high and low for anything that I could claim my family did better than any other family. I came up pretty much empty handed, unless you consider a few unflattering things. My family definitely is louder than most families, they drink more, and they argue more. Seriously. My uncles didn’t speak to my aunts for decades (and vice versa). I have cousins I barely know.

But my family also makes the most amazing candy (my grandma’s toffee recipe is TOP SECRET). They have more fun than most families. They sincerely care about each other (well usually, unless you’re on someone’s bad side). They might not have a lot of wealth, but they’re genuinely good people. I consider myself lucky to come from them, good or bad.

That being said, my parents are both very creative people in their own ways. My mom drew the blue prints for her house that my step-dad built for her. Himself. If you give my mom a few color ideas, she’ll have your house looking like it stepped out of a show on HGTV. My dad is handy. He can pick up a hammer and create anything. And that’s what he did. He picked up a hammer and built the most amazing fire pit I’ve ever seen. I’ve really got to step up my game in the creative department after this.DIY Campfire SwingsNote: My dad did follow instructions. I don’t know which ones exactly, but you can find some similar here.

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Comments

  1. Optimistic Kid says

    10.07.2014 at 3:51 pm

    That’s a sick fire pit for sure.
    btw, My dad is pretty Amazing too 🙂

    • Shauna841505 says

      10.07.2014 at 3:56 pm

      Isn’t it great to have amazing parents!? I feel lucky! 🙂

  2. HugsxHeart says

    10.07.2014 at 4:14 pm

    Wow that looks really awesome 😀

    • Shauna841505 says

      10.08.2014 at 1:17 pm

      Definitely need to get some marshmallows!

  3. catalinasaurus says

    10.08.2014 at 1:14 pm

    That’s so neat! I would also love to see this house! Give us a tour!!

    • Shauna841505 says

      10.08.2014 at 1:17 pm

      Next time I visit there I’ll take photos! 🙂

      • catalinasaurus says

        10.08.2014 at 1:18 pm

        Awesome! =]

  4. funkyfashion007 says

    10.08.2014 at 4:59 pm

    This is so cool! I’ve never seen anything like it, so awesome!!! 🙂

    • Shauna841505 says

      10.09.2014 at 4:35 pm

      Totally unique right?! My dad said people stop by all the time asking how it was built! 🙂

  5. Britney says

    10.08.2014 at 8:30 pm

    SO AMAZING! I want one!!

    • Shauna841505 says

      10.09.2014 at 4:36 pm

      As soon as I get House #2 with a yard big enough, I’m putting in my order! (For now, I’ll settle with moving into House #1 this weekend). 🙂

      • Britney says

        10.09.2014 at 6:58 pm

        That’s right! You are moving into a house too! Let me just tell ya…house number one is SO MUCH BETTER than apt number whatever haha when I get house number two I won’t to put an order in to your dad too! Haha

  6. christinapturley says

    10.09.2014 at 4:33 pm

    Okay, that fire pit is SAweeet! I’m going to need my Dad to build me one! 🙂

    • Shauna841505 says

      10.09.2014 at 4:37 pm

      He said it was a little pricey (almost $1000)!!! But hey, totally worth it in my book. That is, if of course he builds it on his own dime. 😉

About Me

About Me

Hi Mamas! My name is Shauna, a 30-something (big emphasis on the 'something') new mama and wife living in Southern California. I've become a Stay At Home Mom to Sawyer, and I would do it forever if I could! I'm originally from Wisconsin and am a total Cheesehead! I'm here to share DIY's, travel tips, and baby stuff I'm sure!

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stayinghomesawyer

Don’t spend today wishing for tomorrow. Find five Don’t spend today wishing for tomorrow. Find five things every night that you’re thankful for, and BE thankful for them. So much of our lives are spent waiting for the next best thing when in reality, it’s sitting right in front of us.
If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’ If there’s anything I’ve learned in this life, it’s to SLOW DOWN.

So much of life is spent going, going, going. Waiting for the next stage. Telling ourselves, “Once we get through this, things will be easier.” Once the kids are older. Once life settles down. Once we have more time. But what if we’re missing the whole point? Because the moments we’re so eager to get through ARE the moments.

Today is the important stuff. The ordinary days. The messy days. The little conversations, the giggles, the routines, the chaos, the moments that don’t feel significant while we’re living them. We spend so much time wishing for the next chapter that we forget we’re already living one we’ll someday wish we could go back to.

So slow down.

Be here.
Pay attention.
Let the moment take as long as it needs to.

Because someday, these will be the days we miss.

**And if you know us personally, you know why I had to jump on this social media trend**
This is your permission slip to let the crafts be This is your permission slip to let the crafts be messy. 

They don’t need to match your house. They don’t need to be Pinterest-worthy. They don’t need to be made with a neutral color palette and a Cricut. They just need to be theirs.

Because someday I’m probably going to miss the paper scraps, the glue everywhere, the questionable color combinations, and the little masterpieces I had no idea what to do with. Let them make the ugly craft. Let them make a mess. Let them create something that looks nothing like what you had in mind.

Childhood doesn’t have to be aesthetically pleasing to be beautiful.
When you stop to think about the fact that one day When you stop to think about the fact that one day all of her toys will be someone else’s toys, she’ll be heading off to college, and all I’ll be left with are these videos…
This is NOT a post to bash moms that are happy the This is NOT a post to bash moms that are happy their kids are going back to school. My neighbors and I commiserate all summer long about how long the days are, how frustrating the kids can be, how much they’re fighting, etc. 

But my days are always like that, and even though it’s exhausting and overwhelming at times, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Even if I only have ONE moment like this a day, it’s one moment a day I could miss out on if they were in a traditional school. 

So here’s to whatever choice you are making in regards to your kids education. What’s best for YOU is most important. And what’s best for us is this.
I honestly never thought I’d be the mom saying yes I honestly never thought I’d be the mom saying yes
 to slime... but here we are.

The difference? This isn’t just a container of slime
 to squish around. The Slime Prank Lab by @CrunchLabs
turns it into an activity. We spent the afternoon mixing the slime, experimenting with different textures, and (of course) testing out the ridiculously funny booger and fart pranks. 🤣

My girls were completely entertained, and I loved watching them create, experiment, and laugh together. It feels like pure fun for the kids, but there’s actually some pretty cool science and engineering behind it all, plus Mark Rober walks you through even more with the QR code inside the kit.

Who in your family would be the first prank target? 
#sponsored #crunchlabs @moosetoys_
I’m about as outdoorsy as an overwater bungalow in I’m about as outdoorsy as an overwater bungalow in Tahiti can be.

#tahiti
A core memory I didn’t know I’d be making… This w A core memory I didn’t know I’d be making…

This weekend at church, my daughter got to light the candles for the first time. At the end of the service, when she went up on her own to extinguish them, proud tears dropped from my eyes. And as I looked around at others, I noticed I wasn’t the only one. 

If you had asked me in my early to mid twenties, I wouldn’t have imagined how much this community, this faith, and these little traditions would come to mean to our family. There was a season of my life, long before I became a mom, where I drifted away from actively going to church. Now, getting to watch my girls grow up surrounded by faith, love, and a church family who knows them and celebrates them feels like such a gift.
Hot take: We’ve convinced ourselves kids need bigg Hot take: We’ve convinced ourselves kids need bigger backyards, when what they really need is neighborhood kids.

I used to think about more square footage, more land, more privacy. Now? I’d rather my girls have friends they can run to than an acre they have to play on alone.

A bigger house isn’t always a better childhood. For us, built-in community has been worth more than an extra bedroom ever could be.

I know this won’t be everyone’s opinion, but I think for elementary-aged kids, having friends next door is more valuable than having a huge yard. Anyone else change their mind about what “dream home” actually means?
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