happy birthday america!! <3

fourth of july is just around the corner and i am super excited! o has a cute oneise that i picked up at walmart that says "i love chicks with sparklers" && k has a american themed hello kitty sleeveless dress that i got at walmart too! i am super excited! i splurged on the kids easter outfits so i held back on the fourth of july attire! but my aunt bought them super cute matching outfits!! love them!

i am super excited because at work we have wacky wednesday. each wednesday comes with a new fun theme! july 2nd is red white & blue day! and i saw this awesome onesie that i am going to transform into a mommy shirt so that i can wear it to work! 

                                                                                             you can find the onesie tutorial here! 

http://dreambookdesign.com/2013/07/diy-4th-of-july-flag-shirt/

i found these awesome amazing flag glasses on ebay for $5.99! i loved them & just  had to order them! i think they will totally make the outfit!

so getting to the fun stuff! making my shirt!

first - (obviously!) buy a shirt! 

second - get ready! i cover the table in plastic garbage bags to save the table! i elected to keep o out of this fun because he still in the stage where it is hard to pry them open! but I did do his feet on the front trying to make a heart. my placement didn't turn out perfect but at least he was still involved!

& another tip::: keep a brush for each color instead of trying to tell k how to wash and dry after each color! saves a little bit of a headache!

third- figure out your placement - either try it on and make a mark to remind you were you want the handprint to go and where you want your stripes to end!  or you can eyeball it! your choice!

fourth - paint a hand and stick it down! and PRESS!! 

fifth - i let the hand dry before i started the stripes. i was worried i was going to drag my hand through it and mess it all up! then i started on the red stripes! 

i love how it turned out and got to wear it today! it was amazing! and i am one of the few who actually has kids at work so i got to show off a little! :))

it's a great start to an awesome AMERICAN holiday!! 

((especially since we are headed to see my grandmother in tennessee!!))

going to work...

the past three weeks have been a whirlwind that i am sure many of you can relate to... i have finally gone to work full time after having my precious babies... i substituted while k was a baby and did a stint of 3 monthes as a long term sub but this is the first time that i have actually had a job since o was born....

the first two weeks was crazy... i had to leave the house at 8 am and didnt get back until 7:30! it made for a great pay check but it was hard to be away for that LONG!!! there are a couple of things that saved me while i was working and i figured i would share....

                       

the first thing was knowing that my babies were in GREAT hands!! k goes to a great daycare (we call it "school")  she started going right before o was born so i could have a little break a couple of days a week. she started going everyday - j would take her in the mornings on his way to work and my dad would pick her up at 11:30. they take a nap from 11:30 - 2:30 and my parents wanted some time with her! so he picked her up and brought her to o and my mom at our house... so i KNEW my kids were in great hands and i never had to worry about that!

the second helpful thing i found was to have dinners ready for when i got home. i have a great husband who is awesome with the babies but hasn't had all that much time with the two of them on his lonesome - plus fixing dinner and plus working 10 hours in a metal building doing manual labor! so i cut him a break and had crockpot dinners or super easy dinners already planned and prepped or cooked! which was great to come home to!

 

here is a list of most of what we had and where i found the great idea from!

-meatball subs! which was awesome! and super super easy!

-slow cooker baked potatoes - so good and so easy! 

awesome instructions here - 

-crockpot tacos - great flavor - a little liquidy but totally managable and good!

yummy recipe here - 

-chicken fajitas- yummy to me! my hubby is not a fan of chicken so not one of his fav's but my mom and aunt loved the left overs

go here for an awesome recipe - 

-salsibury steak- one of our favorites and go to's!

our fav follow the link for it to become one of yours - 

-corn on the cobb in the oven - so easy and so good! we quit cooking corn any other way! and we eat a lot of corn! its k's fav! 

simple instructions to follow - 

the third thing i found that helped me threw this change was that i love what i am doing. i am teaching kids who have a learning disability or just need some extra help and tips to do their very best in school and in life. some kids have a severe disability and some just need a little push but i know that by doing what i am doing is going to help them get just that much farther in life and that makes me happy and makes the time away from my children worth it!

i also think that planning ahead and willing to get up early or stay up a little late to get everything set for the next day is a great use of time. k and j had to get up at 6:30 to get ready for school and work so i would get up at 6 and prep for dinner or get my lunch made or take my shower. or loading the dishwasher or throwing a load in the wash was a great help! its the little things that help!

i know not everyone will be able to use these couple of tips but if they help a little or if you find another great recipe from thse great sites then awesome! 

i am in the third week of my job and it has calmed down some since i am out of the training phase! 

i hope everyone has an awesome time back to work! 

 :)

AMERICA'S favorite pastime... baseball

we ventured out tonight && went to the gwinnett braves baseball game. it's a fairly local team related to the atlanta braves. my hubby was given two tickets for tonight's game... so we figured we had nothing to loose... && we did GREAT! we took both k & o. it was o's first real major outting. we've been many places but anything big like this we have always left o && took k with us but we took o this time && it went awesome. I was nervous since we only had two seats & four bodies but we actually had the row to ourselves && it was kids eat free night (amazing surprise!). they even gave o a voucher for a hot dog! so we got out of the whole thing for $10! $5 to park && $5 for nachos. I love me some ballpark nachos. 

anyways... i had a blast! the kids has a blast! && i think the hubby had a great time! 

i was really nervous about going & having enough stuff or taking what all we needed... the most important thing was:::

1. the front baby carrier! owen is a stout little boy & it was nice to have some help carrying him. 

2. snacks! didn't actually end up using them since it was kids eat free night. 

3. a blanket! it got kinda chilly and k really wanted to go play on the lawn area but we didn't have a place for o or us to have a comfy seat. 

4. last but not least... a CAMERA! you have to capture your memories. a must. 

this list isn't something super surprising but i couldn't find something like this to reassure me that I would survive!! 

 other great ideas for your bag are... sweater or jacket, a ball & glove

shut the front door

happy weekend!!

i wanted to share a project that i have been working off & on with for the past year. my front door!

it started out all white and normal looking && now it looks like this!!

i made the 'L' out of burlap and order the 'hello' off etsy from:: here! 

the color is the same as our shutters! 

i have been thinking off adding a kick plate {can't decide! what do you think?} && definitely want a new door bell but haven't been able to bring myself to spend that $$$ and we need a new fresh doormat but we were given this one as a wedding gift with our last name so it has some sentimental connection! maybe i can hint for a new one this anniversary! 

{{like the ice scraper accessory?? can't wait til we can put that away for a while!}}

i will post some about the rest of my front porch soon! i decorated the rest to all blend in!

i love the way that it has turned out and hope to give the whole porch a face lift this summer!!

what do y'all think?

vday is here!

happy valentines day!!!

k is going to school today (she normally goes tuesdays & thursdays) but they are having their valentines party today! {{plus she didn't go yesterday because of the lovely snow & ice we had going on}} i made cute little goody bags with bubbles on a card saying 'im bubbling with excitement that you are my friend!' they also had fruit snacks & a sesame street heart shaped sticker!! 

here she is in her dino shirt! she wasn't being SUPER cooperative but still cute for 6:30 in the am...

&& here is my sweet little boy in his onesie!!

my husband is growing a MASSIVE beard so his presents relate to that... random I know but it's his pride & joy!! i got him a cute comb that says 'daddy's whiskers' some beard oil & balm {not sure what it does but he said he wanted some} i got all of that off etsy ... you can follow the links & find them. && then the kids (with my help) made him a love sign with their feet && handprints. they weren't super cooperative so it smeared some but it's still super CUTE!!!

my dad made the wood base {he's a great woodworker so i get him involved a lot!} and got the wood letters at michaels. they were white but i painted them red (of course!) not sure where we will hang it... maybe over the door in our bedroom- not sure yet but i LOVE it!! jealous it's his && not mine!! 

we normally go out to eat with a group of friends every friday but being valentines we decided to skip this week. && my hubby and i decided to stay @ home and i was going to cook our favorite meal 'spicy sausage pasta' but with the lovely ice i hadn't ventured to the store. so we are playing 'catch as catch can' and eat whatever we got on hand. so should be a very romantic night... 

valentine's day DINO shirts

so here goes my 1ST tutorial... this is one of those projects that you see on Pinterest and go... i can do that! so i did! && love them!! i made k & o matching dinosaur valentines day shirts {well o's is a onesie}

i know it doesn't seem very girlie but k loves her some dinosaur train on pbs and figured it would suit o just fine

so... to start you need::

:a printed outline (cut out) of your dino (or any animal or thing for that matter) 

:scrap fabric

:wonder under

:ribbon (if adding a bow)

:heart button (i got a pack at joann's on sale)

:shirt/onesie (whatever your making!)

now what i would & did do was get a square of wonder under roughly the same size as my printed outline and ironed it onto the back of my fabric i was using {there will be a little waste and i hate that but this is the best way i found to do it ((if you know a better way please comment! always willing to learn new tricks!))}
then i traced my outline onto the top of the fabric and cut my little dino out! and that is where we pick up with the pictures - sorry i actually did my dino early january and am just now getting to putting all together!!

::so here are our supplies for k's shirt

::next i peeled the wonder under from the back of my dino and placed it where i wanted it on the shirt

















::next i ironed my dino in place - i left my iron on the dino for about 15 secs
: now this is where you can do one of two things:: i didn't sew around the edges because its a holiday shirt and my kids are only going to wear it once and it won't be washed BUT if you are planning on your child wearing this frequently  and washing it your best bet is to run a line of stitch around your outline to keep it from peeling and/or fraying

::here it is all stuck on
















::i then placed my heart button and bow where i wanted them
::now here is where you can do one of two things and i went the cheaters way again! i just hot glued the bow and heart into place - like i said it won't be washed and will only be worn once but again if you plan on it being worn multiple times then you would want to sew them into place












::and here they are finished!! k && o will be super cute in their shirts!











this was a super quick and easy && possible no sew shirt tutorial that can be adapted for any holiday/occasion/ or just because!!!

HOPE you enjoyed it!! && cut me a break if its not perfect! i promise i will improve as this goes along!!

<3{{alyson}}

the FIRST

OK so here is my FIRST blog post! nothing super exciting - but it is exciting for me to write it!
let me start by introducing MYself::
HI! i'm alyson: i'm 25 and have been married to my best friend and soul mate jay for (3.5) years {together for 8}:: i am the mother to [2] wonderful kids:: kenzie.. 22 months && owen 2 months
&& that is where the name of the blog.. a KO kinda life ..comes from a play on knockout  && my kids initials

we live in a small town in between atlanta && athens GEORGIA::: my husband is a automotive mechanic at a wonderful hometown owned shop in MONROE i am a certified teacher but have never held a full time teaching job... i was pregnant with K when i graduated the university of georgia {{must admit i am a HUGE alabama fan-- ROLL TIDE!!}} & have only substituted here there & yonder to stay in the mix & i love doing it but i <3 being at home with my kids too..

i plan on trying to update frequently on ALL kinds of fun stuff... from my crazy kids, to how i try to save money so i can stay home, && all my fun projects and such i attempt and try to complete!

thanks for stopping by!!