Let's get messy

With all of this health mumbo jumbo behind us, I've been desperate for some mommy daughter time with the girls and as a fam. We took a week break from tv and electronics during any and all family time and replaced it with craft/creative/art/get messy time. Of course the house reflected such creative endeavors and I had to turn off the "Oh dear God the house is a wreck" a million times and turn on the "it doesn't matter" button. Damn. It got stuck. Oh well.

Need some ideas for activities with the kiddos? Here's a good way to start. Lay out a plethora of supplies and let them go to town methodically (and even at times chaotically) coming up with their own crafts. Pipe cleaners, popscile sticks, plastic eye balls, stickers, little pom poms, styrophoam craft balls, markers, paper...it's endless what they can come up with especially with loads of tape and kid friendly glue (is there really such a thing?). The coolest addition to the art supplies have been foam flower blocks. You can find them anywhere but of course I'm an advocate of the dollar store for crafts because it makes it so very easy to stock up. These blocks came in a pkg of four!

A great sensory toddler activity is letting the littles explore and put different things inside the block because it's soft and pliable enough to do themselves. Miss Ruby was entertained by placing popsicle sticks in her flower block one by one until she couldn't find anymore room left and then taking them out and doing it all over again.

Nevaeh was my kind of girl- she has christmas on her mind all year round and not surprisingly made a snowman from the styrofoam balls and then glued her snowman to a flower block (she is at the age that with supervision has learned to use a glue gun for her projects).

Next, was painting the windows using a window marker- you know the ones you use to graffiti on car windows without getting into trouble? Also a dollar store find. 

If you don't have the craft supplies or simply just don't have the time, you can change it up with crafts/toys you already have and rethink ways to use them. For example, our aquadoodle mats & mat to go, the kids already love but I didn't want them to get bored using. So, instead of using the normal pen (which is just filled with water) we switched it out with different paint brushes that they can dip in water to "paint". 

For family meal time, don't be afraid to make a mess together.  We made little pizzas with kitty and dog faces. Even though they didn't turn out the tastiest, your kids will be happier when they are involved in the process AND are more likely to try new things. 

Macaroni for whiskers? What can I say? Use your imagination! Your kids will enjoy it and so will you =)

MIA

This is a picture of a stent. I had 2 of them. One in each kidney after my 18th surgery involving kidney stones that were too large for my body to pass. Or was it the 19th? All I know is most of the procedures I can't pronounce like lithotripsy or  Percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

 source

So you have to forgive me- the blog was the last thing from my mind, especially after getting both stents removed with equipment that looked like this:

 

Be afraid. Be very afraid. It was rather hilarious that John had actually whipped out his cell to take a pic before the dr came in. I think he was in a state of amusement and shock.  I was neither amused nor shocked. I am however stent and stone free (for now) and ready to get back to life, my family, and my ever evolving projects =)

Rockabilly Easter

Nothing like a little belated Easter fun! Being in the woods is so magical and that's why I looove going out to my mother and father in law's house. The girls get a kick out of walking in various paths around their property along with getting muddy and helping in their vegetable garden. It was the perfect place to celebrate easter with our loved ones and more importantly our Risen King.

What can I say? The kisses along the way didn't hurt either!

Drawer Vanity

How do you write about organizing your drawers without it sounding vain? Not going to try. Here is a pic of our girls bathroom that joins in between their rooms that they share. We painted it gray and added cherry blossoms last year. My version of girliness!

Their drawers on the other hand, had become a free for all and were looking more like junk drawers. So I went to the good ol' dollar store and invested in organizers and when I say invest, everything including the drawer liners cost me less then $10 and that was for six drawers!!
                                         

BEFORE 

AFTER:

Nevaeh's Drawer

The stackable square organizers with white lids (came in pkg of 10) and made it easy to sort, label, and give everything it's own spot. The plastic decorative bowls which were in pkgs of 4 were perfect for her "jewelry". Sweet. The square organizers actually attach to one another or can be separated and came in pkgs of 3 and were used for her hair ties and play makeup.



AFTER:

Ruby's Drawer

I decided to give each girl their own drawer to make it easier to find and put away their own clips and hair ties.

Due to Ruby's super dry skin, all of the travel size lotion and band-aides were placed in a container for when needed or on the go.

Did I tell you how much I LOVE these bowls? Yes. Yes I did. One was used for flower clips and the other for sunglasses.

After the photo I even added a stash of her binkies so we have spares in one spot until she's ready to give them up. Let me rephrase that...Until WE are ready for her not to be a baby.

Then there were our drawers. Although I didn't get any before pictures, trust me when I say it was pretty overwhelming to go through everything and purge the drawers of clutter. Here is the end result.

AFTER:
My let's pretend I'm a grown-up drawer 

The coolest find was the plastic trays that I picked up that are really intended for serving food/snacks (I found it near the food section in the dollar store). I used the clear one for my cosmetics which will be so very practical and I love how it looks.

The other tray I spray painted silver for my jewelry. One compartment for earrings, one for short necklaces, and one for bangles. The longer necklaces were organized in a separate rectangle organizer.

Now all of my jewelry is in one spot!

AFTER:
My husband is a rockstar drawer

John took part in the organizing action and did his own two drawers. Quite an impressive job! If your'e wondering the clear rectangle organizers came in pkgs of  2 and the white baskets in pkgs of 3 and the mini square containers were the same I used in the girls bathroom just without the white lids.

He used the mini ones for his guitar pics, change and misc. screws and nails. Just what every boy needs.

Lastly, his pocket bandanas were rolled up and put in smaller containers in the bottom drawer- that's the only credit I can take for that suggestion. Sorry hun I didn't put stripes in your drawers. It's manlier to have them plain though....right?

MANLY                   Vs.                      GIRLY

As far as the liners, I got rolls of white adhesive liner that I then cut into four pieces (1 roll for 4 drawers). Painting the surface was not easy and the gray bled through the painting tape so I recommend free-handing it instead.

It was time consuming and I asked myself more then a few times why in the world I was taking the time to paint something others will rarely see (unlike our striped art wall )!?!

 BUT it made such a difference and I would do it all over again! 

Or you could go to a real store and buy a liner with a pattern. Smart. Very smart.

Toddler rave

Couldn't help myself. Over the weekend we had so much fun doing a rainbow Yo gabba gabba toddler dancey dance party for Ruby's 2nd bday party! It looked more like a toddler rave with all of the lights and glow sticks but that's besides the point. The point is it was rainbow and it was fun.

Pinwheels, DJ glasses, jello, lollipops, and goldfish crackers were among the festivities.

The "DJ Lance" glasses were 3-D glasses from the theatre that we pushed the lenses out of. Admittedly, I had fun sporting them. Maybe too much fun. Yeah I was the kid that WANTED glasses and braces and had neither. Wow. Glad I got that one off my chest.

The cake was a collection of cupcakes and no we didn't make it. Seriously genius as there was nothing to cut and it was so easy to hand out. As far as her gabba toys that I added, Ruby knew they belonged to HER and NOT her cake and removed them as fast as she could oblivious of the lit candles. Good to know.

Ruby sported her love of rainbow with her leggings that I made from a pair of my socks. Come on, don't you have rainbow knee high toe socks?

For added decoration, I used these plastic rainbow easter eggs

and had the hubby drill a hole through them 

(I tied thread and a bead on the inside of the drilled opening for stability).

and hung them from the chandelier for bling. Egg bling.

We had a coloring station and used the fabric covered cans from Ruby's room. 

The coloring pictures were made using different images that I collaged together and added a tummy on brobee, a rainbow, and then the words "there's a party in my tummy". The little ones then could use the stickers to put in brobbee's tummy (or arm or face or wherever they saw fit). Afterwards, we put on temporary tattoos (of course yo gabba gabba).

Then there was the Dancey Dance with lights John rented from a party store for the weekend ( $30 bucks for all of them). We covered each window underneath the blinds with black fabric to make the room even darker so the glow sticks would make even more of a statement.

It was a hit. Who doesn't love glow sticks and lights?