YAY! It has finally arrived!!!

HA! I know it's crazy to get so excited about one little gadget
but this little gadget will make my life just a little less stressful. It will make getting the kids loaded each morning MUCH easier, getting my son in the carpool line MUCH less stressful. This little gadget will relieve so much stress every time we get into the truck to go ANYWHERE at ANYTIME! Yes people, I stress when my 5 year old son is whining in the back seat because he cannot buckle himself and because of the carseat in the center I cannot just simply reach over and buckle it myself. I have go get out of the truck and walk around to the passenger side of the vehicle to buckle him. Yes, it sounds easy but it can be stressful when the other two are screaming or fussing and such.



So anyway, I installed it tonight-ha installed-I just buckled it in, LOL. Anyway I cannot wait to see how easy my son will be able to buckle himself. We will see, but I am hopeful.

I finally found it!

This will make my life SO much easier, at least one portion of it. I have two car seats and a booster seat stuffed into an Xterra and my son has such a hard time buckling his seat belt. Can you imagine going thru the carpool line and your child not being able to buckle his seat belt??? And he is on the right side so I cannot reach over the car seat in the middle to .... this . Thanks to Arnold Girls.net.

My next project..

...a coffee filter wreath to add to my list of "projects to do". One day I hope to actually get to that list. Hopefully I can get my "art room" organized so I can get started on that list! This is so cute and simple. I have coffee filters, beautiful ribbon and foam board!! I should be able to do this one quickly!!!! Maybe after I get the laundry done, the house cleaned and my menu planned for Monday night bunco....... we will see.

Date Night @ Easley Amused

I had such a great time at date night painting with my husband and friends, too bad my husband didn't enjoy the evening. I think they came out wonderful. Its the process....right? Not the end result that's important!!! Here are our paintings from the evening...





this is the one I painted of Keith. You can see half of his head is a moon, since he is a night owl and stays up most every night. The right side of his head is a..... computer screen. His ear is a cell phone. He is always either on the computer or on his phone texting. His mouth is just a line since he doesn't talk much. I thought it came our adorable!!!


Here is the one Keith painted of me. He made my ear a 13 since that was my jersey number...very thoughtful! I think it turned out great. Can't wait to get them hung in our master bedroom!!!!

Nature Center Engagement photos

This is one of my favorite places to shoot. I have take LOTS of pictures here (I should make a hefty donation each time I visit-shame on me!!). We didn't even go down into the nature center. These were all taken near the parking area. They also have a beautiful butterfly garden here-just lovely! They have bridges here and there if you can get enough sunlight filtered in under the tree coverage. Here are some of my favorite shots of the day...

My "baby boy" started Kindergarten this week!!

He was so excited to be starting "big school". He was packed and ready to go. I walked him to his class with no tears, his teacher introduced him to some friends and he began to play. I filled out my paperwork and said goodbye, and still no tears. For dropping him off at big school for the first time I think we both did GREAT!! First thing he said to me when he got in the car that afternoon..."momma, I had a great day!". My heart just melted.

His teacher has a website that she updates with pictures and reminders! Its GREAT! I have a picture of him on his first day of Kindergarten!!! Its wonderful!!! All in all it has been great. The trick will be trying to leave work to get him everyday in the carpool line and get back to work-we will see how that goes!!

cellphone updating is a BUST

Apparently my attempts at posting via my cell phone have been a BUST. Oh well guess I will have to continue updating the old fashion way.

Anyway, my oldest starts kindergarten on Monday!! We are very excited and nervous at the same time. Luckily his teacher is an old friend of mine so that makes me feel a bit more comfortable leaving him at a school I know nothing about.

This is a test

I am trying to set up my account for mobile blogging. Will see how it goes.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

A gift for my in laws...

I have recently been to Easley Amused-and LOVED IT!!! Its an instructional course and you paint a canvas. It is so much fun!!! So for my mother in law's birthday and for Father's Day I decided to paint these canvases to represent all the grandchildren. I had so much fun painting them.

OMG!! I am so excited!!

I saw this on a blog and just HAD to try it!! (I will link to the blog next time I come across it-want to give credit where credit is due!!). Anyway, I got a new cartridge for my Cricut today so I figured it was FINALLY time to try this out.

I cut an owl and a bird out of white contact paper. I put the owl on my laptop and the bird in my daughters room. They are SUPER cute!!!! I cannot wait to fill her walls with all kinds of little images-birds, butterflies, owls, flower, etc!! OMG I am about to clear the stores of contact paper!!!!!!

TOT School

I love this site. It's so creative and so simple. I think that is how learning should be, simple and creative. I think there is way too much emphasize on a check list. Yes I think kids need to learn things by a certain age but I think if you keep it creative, fun and laid back they will learn in a timely manner.

I had planned on homeschooling. When my son was 15 months old I quit work to stay at home. Then we had baby number 2 and when she was 11 months old I went back to work at a daycare. I truly love my job and although the thought of sending my son to public kindergarten next year somewhat terrifies me (no offense to the teachers, I am just a control freak)I think our family has become to accustomed to the extra income.

Powerdered Donuts!

Baby boy had powdered donuts for the first time this week and he LOVED them!! He is just now starting to pick up his own food and feed himself so we are trying all kinds of table food. His favorite is still the puffs or crackers.

My project for the weekend

I found this today while browsing some wonderfully creative blogs. So this is what I will hopefully be working on this weekend!!!

I planted herbs at our old house and I just loved seeing them grow, harvesting them and using them in the kitchen. My kids love helping in the yard and watering our flowers so that will give them something to watch grow and help nurture as well!!

REPOST: Keep the spark HOT

I just loved this blog about keeping the spark HOT in your marriage. Most of these things we all know is needed to keep our marriages HOT and enjoyable, however at times we just need a reminder...

So take a few minutes to visit the "How Does She" blog and read the blog post on "Keep the Spark HOT"

Dumpster Diving!!

Well not actually. On the way to work one morning I found these great two items down the street. They are in perfect shape! Why would anyone put this stuff out with the garbage??

chipboard album

This was my first completed chipboard album. It was a LOT of fun to make and was for a very special person-my son's 4 year old preschool teacher. I modge podged the paper on ten pages, then inked the edges with some sliver paint. Then picked my pictures and embellishments.

Happy Early Mother's Day to Me

I think I am going to make
this for myself for Mother's Day. I tend to need a good time out from time to time. Sometimes I just go in my room, lock the door and eat an ice cream pop. Sometimes a mommy just needs a five minute time out. Of course according to the health department we should get one minute for every year of age, doubt I could get away for that long.

Happy Early Mother's Day!!

soap & lotion dispenser makeover

I saw this on another post and decided to take it a little further. In the example she sprayed the soap bottle and modge podged a monogram on the front. I did several different dispensers: soap, lotion and sanitizer. I sprayed them, modge podged some paper on them, tied a little ribbon on one and then placed them on a candle holder. I then placed candles and rocks around them. I think it turned out cute. Will see how the hubby likes it once h uses it-hopefully he won't knock the entire thing over.

BEFORE

AFTER

Monday Weigh In

Well for the first time in a month I finally lost a pound! I should be happy I guess but after walking 3 days last week I was a little disappointed. However considering what I had for lunch Sunday I am sure that didn't help in my weight loss journey. Sunday's are just killing my weight loss efforts!! I have got to do better in that area and increase my walking/running. I would love to get up to running a mile by May. We will see if that happens....

Walking/Running

So I have been limiting my carb intake since January 4th-ever since we started our Biggest Loser contest at work. I lost some weight but it just wasn't coming off fast enough to keep me motivated. So about mid February I decided to go strictly on Atkins. I had done this after my second child and lost 25 pounds in 3 months. Again the weight came off quickly at first but I started cheating too much and started gaining a few pounds back each week. I had lost 16 pounds but now have gained 4 lbs back.

So last week I started running during my son's speech class and this week I have started walking/running after the kids go to bed. I have really enjoyed my walking/running although the running is a little slow and short right now, I know it will come with time. I've never been a fast runner but I have always enjoyed it.

So I am looking forward to Monday's weigh in, hopefully I will be able to record my first loss in almost a month.

just for fun

I bought this cute little skirt for baby girl and just had to take a few shots of her in it. She absolutely loved it and she is just too adorable!!

My Grandfather

This was a posat I started a long time ago. Not sure why I never published it...

One small step....to organizing my craft room

A couple of weeks ago...ok maybe a month ago I found this cute little find at the thrift shop for $10. I have been wanting to find some old printing press drawers but haven't been able to stumble upon ANY! So here is my little find as purchased.

I simply spray painted it black and hung in on the wall....simple, easy, cheap and functional. I needed a better way to store my wood stamps. I had them lined up on a shelf but every time I would reach for one about three others would fall over. So this lets me view what stamps I have and grab one without disturbing the peace.

baby boy photo shoot

Weigh In #7?!

Well I cheated A LOT last week, but still managed to lose 1 pound (per the scale at work anyway, at home I gained a pound). This keeping up with two different scales is getting a bit confusing!!! So per my home scale I have lost a total of 15 pounds and per the scale at work I have lost 14 pounds. I have cheated a little this week too, just need to get back on track and add some exercise to my routine.

OMG!! If only I could sew!!!

This woman just amazes me!! Now only does she make the cutest clothes out of the clothing her daughter outgrows, stains or otherwise just can no longer wear, but she puts together the CUTEST little outfits that she AMAZINGLY gets her daughter to model!! Each and every outfit is modeled by her cute little girl1!! Just amazing!!!

Recap: She can sew, coordinate outfits, get the daughter to wear them, get her to pose for pics, AND she's a great photographer!!! And that's just from ONE post!!!

I just LOVE, LOVE these ideas. I am going to have to find a place to stash a box of damaged/outgrown clothes just so I can attempt some of these ideas. Of course someone is going to have to teach me how to sEW!!!! please!?

Weigh In #6

OK so after a not so great weekend, I thought I had actually gained 2 pounds-according to my scale at home. However according to the scale at work I had lost 3 pounds! Could it be I was just totally off last week when I weighed at home?? Or is the work scale finally catching up with my home scale?? Who knows-its all getting a bit confusing to keep up with!!! All in all at work I have lost 13 pounds. According to my scale at home I have lost 15 pounds-not that big of a difference between the two. Still not were I want to be two months into this program.


I still need to add in a daily workout-which has been delayed by a mysterious injury to my knee. Apparently I was playing soccer in my sleep one night and sprained my knee. I mean how else can one go to bed one night with no injuries and wake up the next morning with a sprained knee!! Went to the doctor to have it checked after 9 days of pain and some swelling. Called on day 8 to make the appointment. Woke up the day of the appointment with very little pain and no swelling. That is one AWESOME doctor to be able to heal an injury with just an appointment-I hadn't even seen him yet!! So he says its just strained/sprained and should heal in a few days to two weeks tops. We shall see!!!

I am still sticking to the Atkins diet-although I have been straying a bit, which could be why the weight loss and slowed a bit. Gotta get on track and stay on track if I want to get the baby weight off before summer!!!

to do list....

wants to try THIS

Weigh in #5

Well per the scale at work I lost 1 pound-at home I lost 2. Guess that's not too bad considering I ate tons of gummy bears this weekend and some cereal. I am trying to stick to Atkins as it seems to get the weight off faster. I have stayed with low fat meats and cheeses and tried to incorporate more salads. I haven't felt hungry at all but just can't resist those gummy bears-especially when I am giving them to my 2 year old as a reward for potty training. I did the Wii Active once last week-kinda week there in the exercise department-really need to work on that!!!

So far today I have done well-even with a sleepless weekend and a stressful Monday. Hopefully I can stop by Kroger on the way home and pick up some CarbPops. Walmart doesn't have them-so I have to make a special trip to Kroger-and they sure are expensive!!!! But I just have to have a chocolate treat at night!!!

The crafting front is on hold right now until I get a bit more sleep-my 5 month old seems to have an ear infection. Will get him to the dr tomorrow. He hasn't slept well all weekend. Sunday night he was up every hour-screaming for 30-45 minutes before he would finally fall asleep. Then he would wake up after about 20 minutes and start all over. He took his bottles just fine but wouldn't nurse. Looks like another round of antibiotics for him.

Finally-initials-after two years

I bought these initials for baby girl's wall two years ago. I finally got them out this weekend to cover them with fabric to match her bow organizer-and realized the "M" is actually a "W". I should still be able to make it work-but I cannot believe I didn't notice this when I bought it. Anywho-I covered the "P" with the same fabric I did her bow organizer and the other two initials in complementary colors. I then heat embossed flowers and an owl on the the solid colors. Not sure I like them-might go back and cut out some of the flowers from the patterned fabric and modge podge them on the solid letters.

Being Crafty while the kids are away

Well I met my mom Wednesday night and sent the two older kids home with her for five days!!! I will meet her again Sunday night to pick them up. Its been 3 weeks since we have seen her so her and the kids are having withdrawals.

So tonight I actually got some crafty things done!! I still have big plans for the next day and a half-but here is what I have done so far....

First off a bow holder for baby girl. I have finally learned how to make them and she loves wearing them, so I had to come up with something to hold them. I had this photo board in the garage that we haven't used since we moved. So I recovered it and whala!!! It is so cute! I also have wooden initials I hope to decorate this weekend and get hung before she comes home!!! This will be great since her walls are absolutely bare at the moment!!
BEFORE


AFTER


Second thing I did was very simple. I found these candle holders at the Dollar Tree and glued them together. I saw this on another website and wanted to try it myself. They turned out cute. Here I just filled them with Valentine foam hearts just for the picture.

BEFORE


AFTER


Next thing I will work on is probably baby girl's initials. Hopefully tomorrow I will get busy on organizing my craft room-right now I am having to work on the kitchen counter-because my craft table is full of STUFF!!!

Biggest Loser Weigh In #2

Today was our second weigh in at work for the Biggest Loser contest. I lost 7 pounds according to the scale at work-which this week was only 1 lb heavier than my scale at home. However it is usually 3 lbs heavier. Oh well. So according to my scale at home I lost 4 lbs this last week, according to the one at work I lost 7!! So that is a total of 8 lbs according to my scale at home-which is the one I will be going by.

This past week I stuck to a low carb diet-only eating carbs for breakfast. Mostly just eating cereal for breakfast-as it is so easy to grab and go. Still need to add exercise-but that will come...eventually I suppose.

Newspaper flowers

I want to try these with my kids. Looks cute and very kid friendly. Something they could make for Mother's Day for the grandmothers and great grandmother. Will post some pictures if we get a chance to make them.

Bows, bows and more bows

About a month ago I finally learned how to make little bows for my little girl. I've only made a few and although they aren't extravagant they are cute and get the job done. So tonight I made a few more and tried a little something different. A ribbon flower. After two attempts-yes I am sewing challenged, even with a needle and thread-I finally got it done. I actually sewed the ends of the ribbon together first and then did a running stitch down the ribbon-it seems to work easier for me. So here is my finished flower. I hot glued it to a alligator clip-not sure if it will match any of baby girl's outfits-but she will have to wear it at least once!!!