Archive for February 2013

Thursday, February 28, 2013

To Pin or Not to Pin?

What's your threshold for something like this?



Vaughn taped the first picture onto Vance's door, which was cute, but I just noticed yesterday that it had snowballed to this.

 It made me think about how I used to tape and pin (even nail) things to the walls of my bedroom as a kid. I think I'd go nuts if my kids would do the same! All those little pin holes in the walls that Justin and I painstakingly spackled and painted!

 I guess my parents didn't care or just had a high tolerance for things of that nature. Thinking back just some of my house alterations included burning a hole in the carpeting of the family room with a heat gun (I was crafting!), stain the ceiling of the the two-story foyer by throwing one of those toy slime balls up there and getting it stuck (who knew it would stick! and then leave a stain!), and deciding to paint the kitchen barstools on a whim. I guess little holes in my bedroom walls were the least of their concerns!

 I'll let this little collage grow for a bit longer before requesting it be taken down. As for the pinning, I think we have a little more time before Vance starts to want to pin posters to his walls. How about you? Where do you stand on the issue - do you let your kids pin or not?

 It's Thursday everyone! Have a great one! 

Posted by Labels:
Share This Post >>

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Looking for a way to celebrate Dr. Seuss Day?



Snowed in? This may be the answer to your kid's boredom! 

Happy Wednesday!





Posted by Labels: , ,
Share This Post >>

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Weekend Update: Snow, Hair, and the Oscars.

I spent a couple of hours helping the kids make a snow fort on Friday. We started by using shovels but then resorted to smaller instruments, namely soup ladles. Turns out they were perfect for the job. This was the first phase and sadly I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Vance stood up, looked to me, and said, "My pinky finger feels weird. Wait. I can't even feel it." We hurried in after that. 


Perhaps our biggest excitement over the weekend was Vance's decision of getting his hair cut. His hair has been long for so long - I'm not used to seeing his ears! I have to admit that's it's nice having one less head of hair to deal with in the morning! 


The Oscars are like my Superbowl - the closing of award season. I look forward to them every year and try to get everyone else pumped up for them also. 

Champagne for the adults! Italian sodas for the kids! 


I made chocolate Oscars but they turned out a little wonky - but they were still cute and dressed up bowls of ice cream for dessert. 



Vaughn led the pack on attire. She suggested fancy outfits and we humored her...for about 30 minutes. Then we changed back into comfy clothes.  


Hope everyone had a fun weekend too!




Posted by Labels:
Share This Post >>

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Snow day and No snow. Yet.


Clearly, school has been cancelled because of snow. 

Look at it out there - a winter wonderland.

Actually, Vance's school was cancelled due to the threat of a big storm heading our way. I just checked and it isn't supposed to hit us until around 1:00 which means I could still send Vaughn to school (hers wasn't cancelled). 

Hmmm....

At first I just thought we'd all stay home but the more I think about it she's definitely going. She loves school and I pay for it even if she's not there. Plus, since the storm is supposed to hit late there's a good chance that school will be cancelled for tomorrow too which would make it a 4 day weekend.

Yikes! I think I'll choose sanity for today!

Have a great day! 

UPDATE:
We have snow and ice already! Earlier than what was being called for. Vance and I dropped Vaughn off at school, ran an errand, then went straight back to pick her up. It's slippery out there! They've been home together for 10 minutes and are already bickering! 

Be careful if it's bad where you are too!








Posted by Labels: ,
Share This Post >>

Monday, February 18, 2013

Flight of my Stomach

I'm getting old and a harmless butterfly movie proved it.

We spent the majority of Saturday on the sidelines watching Vance's games so we needed something fun and different to do on Sunday. The kids have never been to the Omnimax (where the movie is projected on an angled dome all around you) and it's been years since Justin and I have been, so that's where we headed.  

Flight of the Butterflies (2012) Poster
Source
Watching a movie like that made me sick. It never used to bother me! As soon as I walked in I was dizzy and spent a good chunk of the movie with my eyes closed. It bothered Vance too, I don't think he enjoyed it at all. He kept covering his face and asking if it was almost over with. I even feel a little off thinking about it now. 

The movie itself was pretty amazing and I definitely recommend it...for those with stronger stomachs or for when it comes to DVD!

Hope you all had a good weekend! Happy President's Day!
((I have no idea what to do with the kids today!))
 

Posted by Labels:
Share This Post >>

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Have A Beautiful Day!

I know this day gets a bad rap from a lot of people, but I'm a fan. I like the colors and frilliness that is associated with it and overall just having a day to pay a little extra attention to those we love. Or things we love. Or just a love of life in general. 

Vaughn has her school party today and her class decided to wear PJ's to celebrate the day. While I'm no fun and do not like PJ wearing days, she was so excited about this new idea. After getting dressed and choosing an enormous pink flowery headband to wear she danced around the house singing "this is such a beautiful day!"

She got it right on the nose - have a beautiful day!

From my goofballs to yours, have a wonderful

Valentine's Day!

 



Posted by Labels:
Share This Post >>

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Mermaid Bulletin Board (without the push pins!)

In an effort to finally finish the kids rooms I have been slowly tackling the little projects. Vaughn wanted a bulletin board for her room and I was hesitant to provide a 4 year old with push pins so here's what I came up with. 

First, this was my bulletin board as a kid and has been cluttering the basement for years. I spray painted the boarder blue and covered it with fabric. ('Covered' being a fancy word for 'cramming the edges of the fabric in with a butter knife and using a few flat pushpins to really hold it up'.) The fabric I was really looking for was a bold print with clean lines but I came across these lovely ladies and I couldn't resist. Vaughn still loves mermaids so I figured I can always change it when she gets older and tires of undersea princesses. 


I then tied bakers twine to clear pushpins and strung 3 lines across the board.  


I found pink glittered clothes pins at a craft store and simply clipped them to the twine. Now she can hang anything she wants and I don't have to worry about stepping on a rogue pushpin. 


Vaughn loves being able to hang up her drawings in her room and I love that she's not asking to tape them to the kitchen walls anymore. A win win! 

Happy Wednesday everyone! Have a great day! 




Posted by Labels: ,
Share This Post >>

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Minecraft Valentine's!



Minecraft has taken over our house so it was no surprise that my son asked for Minecraft Valentine's to give out at school.

I know nothing about this game so he gave me a quick lesson and here's what we came up with. Hope his friends at school like it!

I used a brick pattern from Photoshop...


and printed it out on card stock. 


I found a printable box template online, printed, and cut it out to use as my pattern. Remember to trace it and score the lines on the backside!


Here it is cut out and scored. 


Fold it and use glue to stick it together. 


Make sure your treat fits inside!


I downloaded a Minecraft inspired font and shovel icon and used them to make a little tag. I printed them onto white paper, cut them out, and stuck it on with glue. 


I am happy with the prototype, now it's on to production! Vance and I have lots of work to do!


I'm linking up with the following parties this week!












Becolorful








Sumo's Sweet Stuff











Todays Creative BlogTip Junkie handmade projects








Photobucket

















apinchofjoy.com
button  


Photobucket 
Thirty Handmade Days

Posted by Labels:
Share This Post >>

Friday, February 08, 2013

Simple Decorating for Valentine's Day

 Confession: All free time this week has been spent catching up on Downton Abbey and not writing posts. Both the husband and I are hooked. Total DA junkies.

On a whim we tuned in for the first episode of season 3 and loved it. Last weekend I realized that since we're Amazon Prime members we can watch every episode from seasons 1 and 2 for free. It's been downhill ever since then. Productivity is at an all time low around here and I'm starting to feel a bit lazy...So here's a quickie glimpse on how we decorated for Valentine's day. 

It's very simple, cheap, and geared to the juvenile crowd but that's what works for us now. 


The felt hearts are from a sculpture I made forever ago, I punched circles out of paper, found red heart beads in the junk drawer, and the runner is from a roll of wrapping paper from the $1 Spot at Target. Mix in a few plates, doilies, and candles and bam! you've got yourself a 30 minute centerpiece that will excite the 7 and under crowd.


Vaughn helped me with garland for the fireplace. I typed the word Love in different fonts, printed it, then cut them to shape. Vaughn wrote the letters on to cut out hearts and then glued them onto the flags. She helped me attach the flags to red and white twine then we taped both ends to the either side of the mantle. Viola! Garland!  



The kids love it all and I simply love that. I just want it to be fun for them.

"Isn't fun the best thing to have?" Arthur Bach

Hope everyone has a fun weekend! 
Any other Downton fans out there? 


Posted by Labels:
Share This Post >>

Saturday, February 02, 2013

Football Brownies


Happy Super Bowl Sunday! 

I can't keep this act up. I'm not a football fan. My excitement for the Super Bowl is driven by the half time show and the fact that it means last football game until the start-up of next season. I try to be a good sport though and get into it at least from a food standpoint.  

So let's talk brownies. These are quick! They're not fussy! And, best of all, they're self serve! 

I just happen to have an oval shaped baking dish. If you don't I'm sure you can alter this idea to work for your rectangular pan.

1. Bake your brownies. 

2. Cut a template out of paper:


3. Lay it on top of cooled brownies.


4. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.


5. Carefully remove the template as to not spill the excess sugar.

Viola! A football!


I'm always surprised how excited the kids get with these simple ideas. (Honestly, I've used this technique multiple times for different occasions. You think they'd be used to my tricks!) I've learned that my kids excitement is the same whether I spend 20 minutes on something or two hours. I say save your time and go with simplicity. As long as brownies are involved everyone wins!

Good luck to all the teams!


Posted by Labels:
Share This Post >>
PREVIOUS POSTS →
← NEWER POSTS
 

Copyright © Charisa Darling | Premade Blog Design by Lilipop Designs