candle sleeves

I’ve been saving this corrugated cardboard for months… maybe longer, much to the dismay of my hubby. (the piece shown here is only a part of my stash)  I had this project in mind when I saved it – it came as packing material in the box of a piece of furniture we ordered. (And yes, my desk is messy.  I clean it off several times a week, but it doesn’t matter…)

Remember the spice jar labels?  Well… never use a design for just one thing!

I made these for the 12 (girl) students that hubby has in his program.  Didn’t think the 12 guys would appreciate them as much.  :-)

So easy to make…
• Cut cardboard to size & hot glue around candle
• Cut twine and wrap around 2-3 times. Hot glue around the cardboard, making ends meet in the same place.
• Print fun labels with a word or initial or just a design. I printed mine on some old watercolor paper I had. Cut out & hot glue on top of twine.

Voila!

rocks

We’re trying to do a craft between lunch and nap time each day to fill our time with creativity and try to hold off on watching a video until later in the day.  (Someday I’ll post our new daily schedule – I made it about a week ago and I love it so far.  Keeps us on track and I don’t feel behind in thinking of things to do.)

Craft today: Painting rocks.
I don’t know what we’ll do with them… maybe put them in a vase with fake flowers.
We did it two days in a row.
She loves to paint.

Happy colors. 

The progression.  I’d recommend a bib/smock and having a wet washcloth handy when using acrylic paints. 

I just love watching those little fingers work. Can’t wait til little brother can join in the fun!

 

sunday

Special thanks to dad for the idea for this craft.  I was running short on ideas today after lunch when we got home.

Turned out to be a good one.  For little kids, just put glue where you want it, then they can drop the stuff on.  Use whatever you have!

packing

So, in the spirit of the Grocery List from the last post, and as I find myself planning ahead to pack up 2 kids to head out of town for the second time in a few weeks, I’ve created a Packing List.

Taking kids along makes it so much harder to try and remember everything, especially with babies.  Adapting the adult-human world to small people requires a lot of equipment: smaller beds, smaller chairs, smaller tubs, smaller spoons, smaller vehicles (aka – strollers), etc…

Before I make one more list on a small scrap of random paper with a crayon, I thought I’d just adapt the grocery list to be a packing list.  Now I can print it off and mark it off!  And I won’t have to wrack my brain thinking of all the things we need because they’re already listed.  Let me know if you have some big items I’m missing and I’ll update the list.  Happy Packing!

Get the high-quality digital file here… PackingList

grocery shopping

I like going grocery shopping… if I’m by myself.
And I have all the time I want.
And I know what I’m getting.
And I’ve planned ahead.

Enter: My Grocery List.  

I love this thing.  I used to print them on paper and make my own notepad of them. (stapled and magnet on the back)  Now I’m trying something new – I covered it with contact paper and I’m using dry-erase markers to mark on it.  So far, they erase pretty well with a finger/paper towel/a little dab of water.

I love it because I always have it handy on the fridge.  If I run out of an item, I immediately mark it on there so I don’t have to remember it 4 days later when I’m on my way out the door.  And I grab my list, marker, grocery circulars and cookbooks and sit down to plan meals, so I can mark right on my list as I plan.

I think I’ll tweak it some more, but for now, I’m just doing a trial on the dry-erase thing.  The main issue: make sure to not rub off the marked items on the way to the store!  Here’s the list if you want to try it:

Grocery List

What about you?  How do you like to plan for grocery trips?  And, what is your fridge door like – are you a “clean & simple” person, or do you like having photos/kid art collages on the door of your fridge?

austin

We went to Austin this weekend.  Hubby was speaking at a retreat for college students, so we decided to go along and stay at the camp with him. *Remember, Darcie, it’s 100+ degrees outside and you have a 3-month old who doesn’t sleep through the night yet.*

I didn’t get a lot of pictures of the activities from weekend because I was busy wrangling the kiddos, but I got pictures in between, when they were doing this:  

That also meant doing a lot of this:
(Shhh, your brother is sleeping… in the same room with us.) 

One afternoon we did leave camp to meet a friend.  There was a splash pad there (didn’t know that ahead of time)  Luckily, Becca had a beach towel and we had to make do with the clothes (or lack thereof) that we had.

Then we had ice cream.  Mexican Vanilla on her recommendation.  Oh, yum. 

And we are glad to be home.  Next time I’ll go to my parents’ house while hubby is out of town… or I’ll just stay home.

 

give me 5

I stole this term from another mom.  I’m not exactly sure what the “5″ are for her kids, but they’re the basic things you want your kids do before they go to bed.  It’s great for kids that are old enough to do them themselves too.  She can just say “Give me 5,” and they’ll go do it all!

Here’s what they are for us with a 3-year old. We did one for morning and one for night.  I can tell on days we stick to the chart and use it as a guide, we are more successful in getting them all done without a fuss.  (“Let’s see what’s next on the chart!”)

Notice that on the night chart, #2 is “Get Clean.”  I thought about putting “Take a Bath”, but let’s be real… we don’t do that every night. Some nights it’s a baby wipe on the hands and face.  Some nights, nothing.

What would be on your chart?  Would you add anything for your kids?

laundry

Anyone else’s life look like this sometimes?
8:03pm – laundry everywhere
(this is after I’ve already folded and put away a load or two)

8:14pm – luckily, when I’m in the mood, it doesn’t take long

8:15pm – I realize I don’t have enough room for all my t-shirts. (see small pile above)
I have a lot of them. 

Justified because my husband works at a camp.
But maybe they don’t fit in my closet because I have t-shirts like this one… 

From a youth retreat.
Customized back with a nickname and number.
I chose 23 cause that’s how old I was when I made it.
I’m not 23 anymore.
I’m not IN my 20′s anymore.
So maybe I should get rid of a few tees.

8:35pm – make a blog post.
Followed by this (finally!).  Any other moms find it hard to find time for this? 

Then followed by this… ahhh.

If you don’t live in Texas, we feel sorry for you.  Come visit sometime.  The Blue Bell alone is worth it.

spicy decorating

I have this spice rack.  I got it for a wedding gift 9 years ago (thanks, Danielle!).

I love it, except for the fact that I never had a good way to label them.  I love that they are not pre-labeled with spices that I never use: arrowroot, celery seed, tarragon. (nothing against these, I just don’t use them.)

My first labeling “system” was handwritten with a Sharpie. (see “Mustard”)
Next I went with a labeling machine.  Great, but they start to peel off after a while. (see “Cinnamon”)  It’s great that I can customize mine, but I was sick of looking at this… 

Birthday!

Little Lady’s 3rd birthday was this weekend.  I was going to try and convince her to do something girly – princesses, Cinderella, dolls, whatever, but there was no steering her away from her favorite movie.  Last year, Finding Nemo… this year, Cars.

A few snapshots from the party.  Year 3, we do the same thing every year.  Lunch, cake and swimming.  What else can you do in July in Texas when it’s 100 degrees outside? Maybe when the kids are old enough to understand the difference, we’ll change it up.

My second attempt at fondant icing.

Not adventurous enough to try the slip ‘n’ slide the “right” way, but she loves to run down to the end, splash in the puddle at the end, and say “I did it!”

She also has an obsession with carrying her “guys” around with her… everywhere. (“Can I take my guys?”)  Water toys, McDonald’s toys, figurines…  Still working on sharing.  :-)

Two of her best buds are just her age… little guy is 2 weeks older and little girly is 4 weeks older.
The 3 Amigos.
This is a momentous event… all three sitting still together long enough for a picture.

She’s growing into such a little lady, and we couldn’t ask for more in a daughter!
Happy 3rd Birthday sweetie!