The Week in Photos

Sunday April 25th, 2010

Monday April 26th, 2010

Wednesday April 28th, 2010

Thursday April 29th, 2010

Kid Quotes of the week:

-"I can see mountains that are far off...you know...since I eat carrots" - Ryleigh

-"I have panties!!!" -Isaac

Kids Crafts Thursday - Pot Painting

This week's craft is very easy and doesn't really require much direction. It is a 2-part craft, however. Here is what you will need for Part 1:

-Terracotta plant pots

-Outdoor paint (I bought 'Patio Paint' at Michael's)

-Paint brushes

-Newspaper

-Smocks

*Newspaper and smocks are a MUST for this project...this is not washable paint! I did find that it came off the skin fairly easily. It was a little tougher to get it off the table.

1. Cover your table with newspaper and cover your kids with smocks. Give them some paint and paint brushes and let them go to town!

My kids felt the need to paint the inside of the pot as well. Ryleigh told me she was making it nice and pretty for the plants that she was going to plant in it.

When finished, let your pots dry completely and then you can complete Part 2. We did Part 2 on a different day for a couple reasons: 1. It was raining on the day we did the painting and I didn't want to plant seeds in the house (the paint made enough of a mess as it is!!) and 2. I wanted to give the paint plenty of time to dry. The directions on the paint I have say not to expose it to water for 72 hours. We didn't wait QUITE that long...we waited about 48 hours. Here's to hoping it works out! :)

For Part 2 you will need:

-Potting soil

-Flower seeds

-Garden Shovel

-Water

1. Fill your beautiful pots with potting soil, plant your seeds, water, and wait for them to grow!

Whatcha Crafting Wednesday

I've got lots to report this week! It's been a productive crafting week! YAY!

First of all (and also most importantly), I got my secret sewing project done!!! I'm so happy with how it came out. I really can't believe I pulled it off...with time to spare! And I can't wait to share it all with you...just a couple more weeks!

Secondly, I wanted to give you an update on the pop sleeves. I've made 9 more since I first posted the tutorial over a week ago. Shelly - 5 of these are for you! :)

And I finally got some more freeze-pops so I could post some pics of them in action! Here is the sleeve on a freeze pop. It can slide up and down for proper hand protection as the child eats the entire pop.

And I'll have you know that I ate this freeze-pop on a chilly night just so I could demonstrate this little feature:

If you have a child like both of mine, once they eat a little bit of it, they don't know how to push the ice up and keep it up. It keeps sliding down on them. That's where the little tab in the front comes in handy. Push the pop up for them and then fold the end of the freeze pop up and slide it under the tab. This should keep the ice from sliding back down to the bottom of the package. Cool, huh?

I also made myself a new tunic top. I used New Look pattern 6915 and some satin-y fabric that I got at Wal-Mart. I really like the result! It was quick and easy too! Total cost of this new top:

Pattern: $3.44

Fabric (2yds): $5.94

Thread: Already in stock

Bias Tape: Made my own out of black fabric that I already had

Total: $9.38

Less than $10 for a new shirt! Can't beat that!!!!

I also made a new summer dress for Ryleigh. This one was made from McCall's pattern M5797

I made her a size 5, but it ended up being a bit too big. So, I had to alter it a little...take up the straps a bit and take it in about 2" on each side. Now its too short. LOL...so, my solution: I'm going to add a band of solid white fabric to the bottom with some hand embroidered flowers on it. It should be pretty cute! Stay tuned for pics of the finished product! Guess how much I paid for this one?

Pattern: $.99

Fabric: This fabric has been in my stash for over 2 years. And I know I got it at the end of the season on clearance. The white fabric I'll be adding to the bottom I also already had in my stash.

Thread: Also already in my stash.

Embroidery Thread: Already in my stash

Total: $.99

I'm also still in the process of re-doing the Chloe Cap. I think I definitely figured out my issue because this one isn't nearly as big. I'm about half-way done. Here it is:

Okay now....mom, stop reading this post....

I know you're still reading...

I also created this Mother's Day card. I love it! It's even prettier in person, too. I had I hard time capturing the colors in the photo. I made this card using the 'Life Delights' paper kit from Close to My Heart and also used a few techniques that I found on Jeanette Lynton's blog. Jeanette Lynton is the founder of CTMH. If you're a scrapbooker and you don't have her blog on your reading list...DO IT! I got the idea for both the ruffles and the roses from her blog. And, yes...those are paper roses that I made myself.

That's it! :) My crafting goals for this week:

1. Finish making Mother's Day cards

2. Finish Ryleigh's Dress

3. Finish the Chloe Cap

Tuesday Reflections - A Tuesday with Ryleigh

I thought I'd take some time to ask my little girl some questions. She's getting so big and has such great thoughts and an amazing imagination. I know it won't be long before she loses some of that for more practical reasonings or before she'll no longer share some of this stuff with me. So, I wanted to try to capture some of it now. Here's my little interview with my daughter. These are exact quotes...

-What's your name?: Ryleigh Isabelle Ward

-How old are you?: 4

-When's your birthday?: I don't know.

-What's your favorite color?: Purple and pink and my favorite, FAVORITE color is red.

-What's your favorite place in the whole wide world?: The fair.

-What do you like so much about the fair?: Merry-Go-Rounds!!!

-Who's your favorite person in the whole world?: Mama..........and Grammie.

-What's your favorite thing to do?: Crafts (that's my girl!) :)

-What do you dream about at night?: For Pooh Bear (her lovey blanket) to be alive.

-What makes you happy?: My Poohy

-What makes you sad?: When I don't have Pooh on my way to school.

-Do you like school?: Uh huh

-What's your favorite part of school?: Story Time

-Are you looking forward to Kindergarten next year?: YES

-What are you most looking forward to about Kindergarten?: Going on the school bus

-Do you think you'll be nervous to go to Kindergarten?: Yes

-What's your favorite holiday?: Christmas and Easter

-Why?: Because the Easter Bunny gives me treats and Santa brings me presents

-What do you want to be when you grow up?: ummmm...an animal doctor

-What's your favorite kind of animal?: A kitty...and a doggy...and an alpaca...and a horse too!

-Why does Daddy have to go to work?: Because he needs to make money.

-Why?: So we can buy stuff like food to eat.

-What does Daddy do for work?: Make money.

-How come Mommy doesn't go to work?: Because you need to take care of the kids.

-Do you like Mommy to stay home and take care of you?: Uh huh

-What would you do if Mommy had to get a job?: Stay home with Nanni...only if she wasn't home then we'd stay home all by ourselves. But, if something was too high we would need Nanni, or Mama, or Dada.

-Why do you think Mama and Dada got married?: I don't know.

-Where do you think we got you and Isaac from?: The hospital.

-How did you get in the hospital?: So I could be a kid.

-Oh, but how did you get there?: Drove a car.

-Do you like your brother?: Sometimes.

-When do you not like him?: Well, today I like him. Tomorrow I won't like him.

-How old do you think Mommy and Daddy are?: 53....OH...30.

-What's your favorite thing to eat?: Spaghetti

-Plain spaghetti?: yes

-Do you think Mama is a good cook? Yeah

-How about Daddy? Uh huh

-What's your favorite thing to do with Daddy?: Play with him.

-What's your favorite thing to do with Mama?: Play with you too.

-Do you think I'm a good Mommy?: Uh huh.

-Why?: Because I love you!

-Why do you think it rains?: So flowers can have some water.

-Why does it snow?: Because it needs to.

-Do you like snow?: Uh huh

-What's your favorite season?: Summer and Spring

That's about all I could get out of her. She lost interest. Love her!

Monday Mommyhood Madness - Time Off

As a mom you don't get time off. Period. There are no sick days, no accuring vacation time, no leaving work at the office. It's a 24/7 job that lasts 18+ years. But I was reminded this weekend about how important it is to get away from it all once in a while. I was able to go out for a girl's night Friday night. Shelly and I went out for drinks and some appetizers (which we got at a GREAT price - BONUS! *wink*). Then we headed to Mandy's for a party. It was so nice to be able to take the time to make myself look nice, go out, have a few drinks, and just get away from it all. It made me feel like ME for a change. I put so much into my kids, my house, and my family that I often forget about me. And while its a sacrifice I make willingly, I think its important to remind myself that there is more to who I am than 'Mommy'. And I need to do it more often! Even though we may spend half of our time away discussing the kids and worrying about them, its still time away and it makes all the difference! I know this is a common problem among moms and we all know its a problem...so why is it that we don't try to fix it? Lack of time? Lack of energy? Guilt? Lack of a babysitter? Lack of money? A little of all of those for me. I've come a long way recently...thanks in large part to my mother-in-law who is able to take the kids for me so I can hit the gym or go out for a run. I feel like after almost 5 years I'm finally starting to put more back into myself and I'm sure its making me a better mom. More girls nights out are definitely needed, though! What do you say, ladies???

The Week in Photos

Yes, I know I'm a day late. But...better late than never, right?!?!?! Without further adieu...

Saturday April 17th, 2010

Sunday April 18th, 2010

Monday April 19th, 2010

Tuesday April 20th, 2010

Wednesday April 21st, 2010

Thursday April 22nd, 2010

Kid Quotes of the Week:

-'Whatever...' -Ryleigh when she disagreed with me that it was too cold out to wear a sleeveless summer dress outside to play.

-'Me can fly' - Isaac when he was caught standing on his window sill hanging from the blinds on his window. OY!!!!

Kids Crafts Thursday - Happy Earth

Happy Earth Day everyone!!!! In order to celebrate Earth Day, we did an Earth craft this week. This is another craft idea that I got from Creations By Sheryl. Thanks for all the great ideas, Sheryl! We will be making a Happy Earth today! Here is what you will need:


-Paper Plate
-Green and Blue Paint
-Paint Brushes
-Construction Paper (your choice of colors - we used blue, green, and red)
-Googly Eyes
-Scissors
-Glue
-Newspaper and Smocks
-A picture of the Earth





-Pre-Project Prep:
-There really isn't much to do for prep work on this one. Just gather all your supplies and line your table with newspaper.





1. Have your child paint the earth on the back of the paper plate using the picture of the Earth for a guide.


Here is Ryleigh's Earth painting:

2. Let the paint dry.

3. Now we are going to add some arms and legs. We used the green and blue construction paper, but you could use whatever color you'd like. Cut out some 1" wide strips of construction paper and have your child fold them acordian style. They may require some help with this.

4. Glue or staple the arms and legs onto the back side of the plate.

5. Using the red (or whatever color you'd like) construction paper, cut out a mouth shape and have the child glue it onto the earth painting.

*Before we did this step, I asked Ryleigh if she thought the Earth was happy or sad. She said 'happy'. I asked her why she thought the Earth was happy and she said 'because all kinds of people live on him'. So, our Earth has a happy smile. But, you could make a sad Earth as well.

6. Glue on some googly eyes. If you don't have googly eyes, you could cut out eyes out of construction paper as well.

7. Ryleigh thought her earth needed a nose as well. She wanted her to have a rectangle nose, so that's what we did. So, here is Ryleigh's Happy Earth! Great job Ry!

Now you may have noticed that there are no pictures of Isaac after the 1st step was completed. That's because Isaac didn't understand the assignment. Apparently he thought I said 'paint the earth on YOURSELF'. And, so...here is Isaac's Happy Earth:

It started with this...

The final product...

I think its safe to say that he's not the crafty type...or maybe he just likes abstract art. I'm sure his pre-school teacher will be impressed with his skills next year. :)

Project Review:

Well, I think this goes without saying that this was a great project for Ryleigh. She enjoyed it and I think she did a great job...I'm really impressed with how well she painted the Earth and with how cute her final product was. Not so great for Isaac...but, I'm starting to wonder if there IS a good project for Isaac?!?!?!?