Garden marker spoons

Oh pinterest - you have given me so much inspiration and ideas. Check it out if you want to organize different web sites and fun sites.
I have leftover chalkboard paint and saw a neat idea on pinterest. I bought a few spoons at a thrift store and sprayed chalkboard paint on them. The plant type can be written on the spoon with chalk and placed near the plant to identify the type. I tied a red ribbon around them and this is what I got:



I'm going to give these to my mom, an avid gardener. I hope she enjoys these little creations

File cabinet gone white

We have an ugly fake wood type file cabinet. It has all of our important paperwork in it so we didn't get rid of it when we moved. It was much easier to leave the files in the cabinet.



I know exactly what I want to replace this but haven't found it yet. As I was rearranging and organizing the guest room/office, I decided to make the cabinet tolerable. Andrew took the dogs and kids for a walk and I pulled out the white paint. He was quite surprised when he got home and I was painting!



I thought about picking up some knobs but who knows when I will actually be able to do that or if it's possible, so I painted them too. It's still not a great piece of furniture but it's a lot better. It fits in with the white, yellow, and gray I want in that room
I should probably make sure I didn't paint the doors shut!

Pillowcase dress

I should invest in a sewing machine. It's been on my wish list in the past and at point I made curtains for an apartment we lived in. Andrew offered to but one a few times but I get nervous that the investment will sit in the corner collecting dust.
Pillowcases dresses seem uncomplicated. I recently purchased Lane's second one from Etsy. It was on clearance for $9.



Lane wore black tights because she doesn't have black leggings I put a cute pretty in her hair from last year and there she is - happy Halloween from Lane!

*these dresses can be used as shirts as the girls get older!*

PBK

PBK is Pottery Barn Kids. Lane and I went to story time there this week. The location at the mall was intriguing but it lacked the pizazz my friend Odessa had at her story times in S Sioux City. I also didn't recognize anyone from our playgroup so that was a bummer
We had a nice time shopping together. We found some deals



Lane insisted on carrying the bags through the mall. It was so cute!
Lane picked out this outfit. I was only going to get the purple shirt but she pooped through her pants and got a new outfit out of the deal.



Happy mother-daughter days!

Another project

Lane and I went to a thrift store and picked up a glass plate and glass.



Lane helped me get everything ready. She thought it was fun to shake the can to hear the ball



We sprayed frost glass on the plate and glass. We did two coats.



That was a neat effect I had never seen before.
Then we spray painted it to match the kitchen. Once it was dry, we glued it together. This morning it was done and this is what we made:



Something to hold all of our sink items in one spot! I need a pretty soap holder now!
We are having fun with our little projects lately

If we still lived in Sioux City, Alex would be attending a transitional kindergarden class this year We moved here in July and had to make a difficult decision about his education He has an August birthday and sometimes it's best to hold a younger child back a year.
Alex is emotionally young and he doesn't put forth effort academically. I couldnt find a program that fit Alexs needs here. He would be bored in a regular preschool and we wouldn't get anywhere if I homeschooled him. So we went for it - kindergarden all the way!
His first day of school was met with many tears






Poor guy was scared out of his mind.
His first progress report showed that Alex didn't know his colors, numbers, and shapes. Where did that kid come from?!! We had a long talk about showing teachers what "you do know". Since that time he has raised his tests scores from 0% to 93%. He is doing better at following directions and writing. He also loves school - a vast improvement from preK PreK wasn't his thing, apparently
I picked the boys up at 3:30 and I had a smiling 5 years old to tale home.



He enjoyed the visit from the fire department. Needless to say, I'm proud of his hard work. I can tell he is working hard at school and he cooperates with his homework now which makes life much easier I'm proud.

Green chalkboard!

Lane helped me turn a plain cabinet door into a chalkboard.



This was purchased with the smaller door for $2 from Habitat for Humanity Restore. I picked out a bright green for the border. Lane and I rolled up our sleeves and created something for the playroom



I was nervous about allowing our two year to paint in our living room but it worked out fine. I've
never worked with chalkboard paint and it was easy (as Alex says, easy as pie)

Here is the end result, ready to be hung on the wall. Green in two ways - way to go me!

I did it! B is for blue

I was in the store last week and decided to pick up paint. Just little cans of blue ad white and some brushes.
The boys had this in their rooms with two crates with wheels. It's nice for storage. We bought it years ago from Target.



My rule is only real wood is coming into this house now. (and plastic - can't away from it with kids) I'm positive this is a lot of "fake" wood but it's sturdy. I wasn't sure if it was worth painting but decided to go for it







Have I mentioned that I'm not afraid of color? I haven't painted furniture since we lived in Orlando the first time - 6 years ago and I'm such a beginner it's almost embarrassing. But everyone has to start somewhere. So why not on an inexpensive item?
Andrew wasn't thrilled when be got home which was disappointing. I found out he likes my paint job but wasn't happy I painted in our living room that has off white carpeting. Guess he has a point. I won't do that with my white project - I have to use that white paint!
Here is the end result in the boys red Mario room. It needed another color in there. Gabriel told me that he doesn't like it because it's blue like Thomas and he doesn't like Thomas any more. Well, ok.

Healthy cookie dough dip

I have been hiding fruit and veggies in food for years. Alex is not a great eater still so I like knowing there's added nutrition in his food. Lane and Gabriel, on the other hand, are healthy eaters
When I saw a healthy cookie dough dip recipe on pinterest, I had to try it. It's gluten free and the main ingredient is chick peas. A friend tried it and said - think hummus.
Andrew and I liked it. I especially liked dipping fruit in it The kids gave it mixed reviews though. Alex pulled out the chocolate chips and only chocolate - I'm sure it won't surprise you to learn that he's also that kid who also picks marshmallows out of cereal. Gabriel devoured it and Lane picked at it while munching on an apple. Well, at least some extra vitamins and minerals made it their way

Huge Leaps in Autism

This past week we've noticed that Gabriel is noticing social and emotional cues. This is a HUGE positive development for any child with autism. If one of his siblings are upset or hurt, he tries to help the other child. It's awkward and reminds me of how a toddler would interact with another hurt toddler but he's doing it and we're thrilled. It's amazing to see a huge leap rather than the smaller baby steps we've been dealing with the past year. )We are just as grateful for those baby steps!)
The other noticeable change in Gabriel is his vocabulary. He is using longer sentences with larger words. He still does not speak like a typical 6 year old but his improvement is huge. Gabriel is also initiating conversations appropriately. We have been working on this skill for a long time and it's exciting to see it finally clicking for him.
We know he can lose these skills or they might continue to improve. No matter what happens, we are enjoying the improvements we are seeing in our son. We are very proud of him.

Dora lunch bag

As a nanny, I thought I knew what kind of parent I would be one day. The children wouldn't watch television and would have a day full of creative enrichment. I would create wonderful things with my children.
Well that isn't reality. While my children are creative, it certainly isn't a day long adventure. And I use tv to keep them occupied. I didn't realize how many other things I would need to accomplish or how TIRED I would be every day.
I have been working on creating that magical world for them though. Today I made a Dora lunch bag for Lane. It's important to her to be like her brothers and having a lunch bag and backpack fulfills part of that for her
Today I took the Target dollar lunch bag and ironed appliqués on it for her. It took a matter of minutes to get four Doras on it. The grin on her face has motivated me to do more fun things for and with the kids
(truth be told, I bought the appliqués to put on something for her birthday but didn't make time to do that when we were moving at that time - oh well, only four months later and I saw the smile I hoped to see)

Girl power

Lane pulled the toy tools out and began fixing things. I was slightly horrified when she put the drill up to her head. I explained how to use a drill correctly and she was fixing everything The red step stool needed a lot of help.
I adore the fancy dress with goggles and a drill! She added pink crocs to her outfit when we went to the farmers market.

The Mermaids?

Andrew and I both come from football families. Andrew LOVES the Packers and the Broncos. Today, the boys are wearing their Packer jerseys and everyone (except myself) are watching the game. The children cheer (er, yell) along with their father.
To be honest. it used to annoy that Andrew spent so much time on football. It seemed like there are so many other ways to spend time instead of glued to the tv watching a bunch of millionaires play a game. While I stil have little interest in football, I now see value in that time, though in a different way. All three children spend time with their father, giving me a break to accomplish other things. I no longer care if they yell at the tv, cheer, or spend that time staring at the large screen in our living room.
They are watching the game as I write this. I had to share a very cute comment Gabriel made today. He wants to like four teams. I'm unsure why four teams are important to him but I'm sure there is some logic to it. He told us that he likes the Packers and the Mermaids. How cute and funny is that? He meants the Dophins. I have yet to find out who his other favorite teams are but he has mentioned the Eagles in the past.
Those of you who love football, cheer on! Enjoy your season and watch out for those Mermaids!!

Homework haven

The amount of homework the boys complete each week is incredible. Despite an organized art area in their little play room, I was constantly hunting down the "right" scissors and the "correct" pencil each day. I did some reorganizing and filled a pencil case with scissors, glue, erasers, and many sharpened pencils.
I thought we were set but I still had various papers sitting around that the boys needed to work on throughout the week. I saw a cute plastic bin idea on Pinterest (yes, Pinterest again). I looked at target today but didn't find what I wanted.
I found this little wire basket in a clearance aisle and decided it would work. I added a folder with their homework, sight work cards, and the pencil box. Now everyone knows where their work is located which will save us time in the long run. A valuable thing during the week.

Mario

This is one of the first things I put up in our new home. When we moved, Gabriel was promised a Mario bedroom. I followed through on my promise and purchased these decals for the boys.
They picked out red comforters and Mario/Luigi pillow cases. I added red frames for their photos and a framed poster of the Mario characters. I ordered denim colored curtains his week so we should be done decorating
For a Mom who doesn't care for character decorating, this was tough for me. I think I was able to make all of us happy though. It's just enough character and color to make them happy and not so much that I'm annoyed when I look at it
When they move out of the Mario stage it will require little to change to the next thing. I like that too. These decals came from amazon in case anyone has a Mario obsessed child too

Minnie arrives...

The Minnie dress has arrived. Here is yet another reason I adore Etsy. The package arrived and I discreetly opened it. It was in am envelope and Lane ran from across the room, grinning from ear to ear.
I don't know how she knew it was something fun for her but there was no way to put it away for the holidays. She wanted it on immediately and rubbed the Minnie while giggling with delight.
I ordered a resin to make a hair clip to match. I think this will be a fun outfit to wear for our next Disney trip. I'm sure you'll see more of it in another post.

Another man's trash...

I love garage sales. My kids and husband love them too. It's fun to find treasures.
A week ago we spent the morning walking around our neighborhood. Since we donated many of our belongings prior to
moving, garage sales have been an affordable way to get "new things". We found the dresser in the photo for $35!
We also found namebrand clothing, toys, an antique photo, and more. Lane has a new-to-her wooden oven. It has made pretend cooking fun for the kids again. It was only $5!
I'm stashing toys for the kids for the holidays too. They don't care in the least if they receive previously loved toys. If they lose interest in something, it's much easier to pass an unloved toy on because I spent little on it.
There are some things I'm on the hunt for to transform for our home. Cross your fingers for me that I find them. I have big plans.

Minnie mouse, mommy?

Lane asked for this Minnie mouse balloon at the grocery store. I could not resist her squeals of delight when she looked at it. The thing is almost as big as Lane
She likes Minnie a lot now so I bought a Minnie dress from Etsy for her. I also ordered a resin to make a hair pretty to match it. I want to give it to her as a holiday gift but I don't know if I can wait that long to see her open it!
Sadly, the helium didn't last through the day

Oktoberfest in Celebration (add photos)

We went to Oktoberfest in our little town. The kids loved it. They got to eat lots of treats, jump in the bounce houses, dance, and more. They also painted pumpkins - it was fun to watch them each create something unique.
They went on a train ride that lasted 7 minutes, without any adults. We were a tad bit nervous but they came back all smiles! And wanted to go again!
On the way to Oktoberfest, the boys saw a beautiful young woman walking the other direction. They both started shouting, "I love girls.. you're beautiful... will you marry me?" We need to work on our manners and pick up lines. The poor girl didn't know how to react to their comments.
Alex and Lane put on their dancing shoes when the German band played. Gabriel did a polka with an older German woman which was ADORABLE. She later came up to us and said that it made her day because she raised six boys who looked a lot like him.
The rest of the weekend was rainy. We took the kids to the largest indoor play area in a McDonald's. Even though they had a great time, I doubt we will take them back. It was sensory overload! The place is full of games and entertainment for the kids. It is so crowded that it takes 40 minutes to get food, hardly fast food in my mind.
To feel healthier, we made a trip to Whole Foods afterward. For some reason, Gabriel is a nutball in Whole Foods. This time he ran out of the building but thankfully I was following him closely. I think we'll divide and conquer the next time we need a Whole Foods trip rather than take all of the children.
The rainy weekend allowed us to do some things in our home. We set up a new media center, hung Halloween decorations, made neckalces, and baked. It was nice to get some things accomplished on top of having fun this weekend.

More organizational madness

Yep you guessed it, another pinterest idea has come to life. I could organize all day. It's something I love to do and when I see a new idea, I have a tough time waiting to use it. That probably has more to do with delaying gratification, another issue of mine but I digress..
I found these candy type jars at Walmart and picked two of them up. I was hoping to find them at a thrift store but I have yet to find my thrift stores here. One jar has crayons and the other markers. I'm a little nervous about the glass factor but I really like hearing the top come off when the kids are creating pieces of art.
The pails are from the dollar section of Target. They contain stickers, glue, and colored pencils. I love that my kids have access to their art supplies at all times.
The only disadvantage was when Andrew and I didn't catch Lane cooling a masterpiece on the wall Oh well - one less art work to decide if it makes it to the scrapbook Always look at the positives, my friend!

Rub-a-dub-dub...

...three kids in a tub.
For the first time we have a huge bath tub. The kids still take a bath together occasionally I took this photo of them. I'm considering framing it and putting in the bathroom I wonder if it would embarrass them too much in the coming years?
We also have a gigantic shower. This thing could shower all five of us without a problem. It has two shower heads but what's odd is the water doesn't hit from the two heads. I didn't know which one to stand under when we first moved in here.
The boys will still play in the shower for a long time if given the chance. Slippery boys sliding in the shower makes me nervous but they enjoy it.

October teacher "treat"

Another fun pinterest idea came to life at our house. The boys made these post-it holders for their teachers. I hope they enjoyed this little token of appreciation They were easy and inexpensive to put together They are pretty darn cute too.

$2

I bought two cupboard doors from Habitat for $2 each a couple weeks ago. This past week Lane and I bought paint to transform the boring cupboard doors into something fabulous.
I had never worked with magnetic or chalk paint before but the ideas I've seen and imagined are endless. While I could buy a magnetic board and chalkboard at the store, this had more meaning to me. (and hopefully my kids one day)
I pulled out the smaller door and turned it into magnetic magic for the kids. It will be hanging in their playroom soon. I also like that our $4 went to a great cause.

Laney's stylish necklace

Lane has reflux. In fact it effected her so much that she turned blue several times. I had to call an ambulance when she was younger because she wasn't breathing and I thought she had a seizure
When she was a baby, I was given medication to put in her bottle but since she had feeding issues, she would only breastfeed. Medication wasn't a realistic solution for her so I sought something else.
A good friend told me about teething necklaces used to reduce pain for babies when they teeth. I looked into it and decided to get a necklace with hazelwood for reflux. The necklaces are cute and it can't hurt her so why not?
The necklaces last 4-6 months and Lane has her third one. Her newest one has pearl type beads with the wood. I really like it on her.