I know I've totally slacked off on the whole blog thing this fall and winter, but I figured I'd better get one more post in before the year ends.
2012 has been a year of changes and same ol, same ol. Brian got a new job and started commuting to superior, but we are also in the same house since it hasn't sold yet. I quit doing daycare, but I'm still hanging out at home with my boys. We still have our same routine of playgroups, story times, and shopping.
My boys have grown leaps and bounds. I cannot believe that Everett is four years old. He is a little smarty pants who loves to help with everything, take care of us, and is beginning to tell jokes. It is awesome.
Callum is hitting the terrible twos and letting some new sides of his personality out. He's also the sweetest, snuggliest little guy ever.
I've had a sort of rough fall with this whole medical mystery thing that I can find no explanation for besides that it seems to be my body cannot handle any kind of stress without severely impacting my digestive system. It sucks and I can't figure out how to fix it but there are definitely worse things in life.
We're looking forward to a 2013 of happiness. Maybe we'll be able to sell our house, move closer to Brian's work. Maybe we'll be living in a new city, going to new playgroups. Who knows. :)
I hope you all a safe and happy 2013 and I will hopefully be a bit more consistent about my posting.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Monday, December 10, 2012
Pirate Party Invitation Tutorial
I know I said I would do this post a while ago, but.......oh well! Here it is now!
E has been into pirates lately and I thought it would make a great birthday party theme, so I asked him and he agreed. I looked up several ideas for making invitations, but ended up just doing my own thing. Here are the steps I did.
First, print off half sheet sized invitations. I made the invitations in microsoft publisher and created the little map on the bottom with a dotted line, clip art, and a letter X. Simple!
Then we used a jolly roger stamp from walmart and some ink (couldn't find my black until we were completely done....so blue it is!) You could also just print a jolly roger on the invitation, but isn't this more fun?
Then, crumple up all the invitations. Nearly four year olds think this is pretty awesome. :)
Next you need to warm up a bowl of water and get out some regular tea bags. E also had a lot of fun with this next step. Take a tea bag, dip it in the water for a few seconds (maybe 10?), squeeze out a little bit of the water and then rub the tea bag (gently!!!) along the top of every invitation.
I liked crumpling the invitations first because then there were definitely areas that received darker tea stains than others.
Let them air dry and voila!
We also rolled up our invitations and tied them off with ribbon. If you're really ambitious, you could put each invitation in a glass bottle or something, but really? Four year olds and glass bottles? No.
E has been into pirates lately and I thought it would make a great birthday party theme, so I asked him and he agreed. I looked up several ideas for making invitations, but ended up just doing my own thing. Here are the steps I did.
First, print off half sheet sized invitations. I made the invitations in microsoft publisher and created the little map on the bottom with a dotted line, clip art, and a letter X. Simple!
Then we used a jolly roger stamp from walmart and some ink (couldn't find my black until we were completely done....so blue it is!) You could also just print a jolly roger on the invitation, but isn't this more fun?
Then, crumple up all the invitations. Nearly four year olds think this is pretty awesome. :)
Next you need to warm up a bowl of water and get out some regular tea bags. E also had a lot of fun with this next step. Take a tea bag, dip it in the water for a few seconds (maybe 10?), squeeze out a little bit of the water and then rub the tea bag (gently!!!) along the top of every invitation.
I liked crumpling the invitations first because then there were definitely areas that received darker tea stains than others.
Let them air dry and voila!
We also rolled up our invitations and tied them off with ribbon. If you're really ambitious, you could put each invitation in a glass bottle or something, but really? Four year olds and glass bottles? No.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
I'm Back
I apologize to my loyal fans (aka sisters in law) that I have been absent for nearly the entire month of November. It's because I hate giving thanks. Kidding. It's really because I was kind of depressed about my health recently and just didn't see blogging as a priority. I was still present on facebook so everyone knew I was alive, but blogging just seemed like too much effort.
This whole health thing is just a mystery. At the end of September I started getting a general feeling of illness, stomach aches, etc. and it went in cycles of a few days. Well, around the 12th, I felt horrible and it lasted for a full week. I have had all kinds of medical tests done, all come out fine. I have been to a chiropractor twice (who was a friend in high school. Awkward? A little.) with no real obvious reason for my malaise there either. But. I have been feeling fine for the past week so I'm holding out hope that I'm done feeling bad. I've cut caffeine from my diet and had cut out a bit more for the two weeks after I started feeling bad too. I'm also taking probiotics and drinking lots of herbal tea. Interestingly enough, the thing that has obviously helped me the most? Drinking lemon water before breakfast. Don't ask me why. ANYWAY. Since I know no one reads to hear about me, that's that!
We had a nice thanksgiving, splitting the day between my parents and Brian's. The boys loved spending time with Auntie Christy for a few days. We also celebrated Everett's birthday with Brian's side of the family since Christy was visiting. He got some awesome presents, including a giant rc construction site and a Tag reader, complete with books and carrying case. We'll be having a friend party for him this Saturday and hopefully I'll get a little tutorial up on how we did the invitations before then.
Callum just transitioned to a toddler bed this week. He's done great! We tried it once this summer and he wasn't ready, so we went back to the crib. This time, he was fine. The first night, he woke up and needed some snuggling, but since then it's been smooth sailing. Even for naps, he's stayed put. He doesn't flop down and go right to sleep like he did in the crib. He's generally sitting up as I shut the door now, but maybe that's somewhat just the newness of the bed. We'll see.
We have snow!!!! The boys love the snow (except falling in it with bare hands and having a mean tree dump it on your head.). We played outside a bit today and they had a great time. I'll try to get pictures up soon!
This whole health thing is just a mystery. At the end of September I started getting a general feeling of illness, stomach aches, etc. and it went in cycles of a few days. Well, around the 12th, I felt horrible and it lasted for a full week. I have had all kinds of medical tests done, all come out fine. I have been to a chiropractor twice (who was a friend in high school. Awkward? A little.) with no real obvious reason for my malaise there either. But. I have been feeling fine for the past week so I'm holding out hope that I'm done feeling bad. I've cut caffeine from my diet and had cut out a bit more for the two weeks after I started feeling bad too. I'm also taking probiotics and drinking lots of herbal tea. Interestingly enough, the thing that has obviously helped me the most? Drinking lemon water before breakfast. Don't ask me why. ANYWAY. Since I know no one reads to hear about me, that's that!
We had a nice thanksgiving, splitting the day between my parents and Brian's. The boys loved spending time with Auntie Christy for a few days. We also celebrated Everett's birthday with Brian's side of the family since Christy was visiting. He got some awesome presents, including a giant rc construction site and a Tag reader, complete with books and carrying case. We'll be having a friend party for him this Saturday and hopefully I'll get a little tutorial up on how we did the invitations before then.
Callum just transitioned to a toddler bed this week. He's done great! We tried it once this summer and he wasn't ready, so we went back to the crib. This time, he was fine. The first night, he woke up and needed some snuggling, but since then it's been smooth sailing. Even for naps, he's stayed put. He doesn't flop down and go right to sleep like he did in the crib. He's generally sitting up as I shut the door now, but maybe that's somewhat just the newness of the bed. We'll see.
We have snow!!!! The boys love the snow (except falling in it with bare hands and having a mean tree dump it on your head.). We played outside a bit today and they had a great time. I'll try to get pictures up soon!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
TAT: Christmas Wish List
This time of year/Christmas shopping lists are nearly IMPOSSIBLE for me since we all have our birthdays around this time of year too. So I just shop and then I have to figure out how to distribute presents among the right dates. I've accumulated some shirts for Everett's birthday and a stuffed owl for Callum's, and then I've gathered combo gifts for Christmas. We're not going to go crazy this year since we're trying to save more money and really, we have too much stuff. I plan to get Everett one new "toy" for his birthday; likely some more Trios or spelling games and I might get/make Callum a Jakey (from Jake and the Neverland Pirates) for his birthday.
1. Crayola Kid's Art Club and Tunnel Play Tent
: around $43 on amazon. I got it on sale on kids.woot for $25 with shipping and it includes dry erase crayons!
2. Thomas Wooden Railway Emily with Coal Tender
: around $15 on amazon. I got it for $10 on woot.
7. I've been debating getting this OK to Wake! Children's Alarm Clock and Nightlight
for a long time, but I just can't bring myself to spend $30 on an alarm clock.
8. My boys would flip for this Jake and the Neverland Pirates 7 Pc Figurine Set
for around $20 on amazon.
9. I'm almost done with these socks for Callum and I'll probably knit/crochet up some more things for them so they get to open more.
And me? I just want this:
1. Crayola Kid's Art Club and Tunnel Play Tent
: around $43 on amazon. I got it on sale on kids.woot for $25 with shipping and it includes dry erase crayons!2. Thomas Wooden Railway Emily with Coal Tender
: around $15 on amazon. I got it for $10 on woot.
3. Thomas Wooden Railway Straight And Curved Expansion Pack
: around $24 on amazon. I got it for $12 on woot.
4. I got these Sugarbooger Silverware Sets
for stocking stuffers for the boys at a local store for under $7 each. Amazon has them for $8.50. They come in a plastic case that will be awesome for picnic lunches!
5. I'm considering this Melissa & Doug See & Spell
for Everett's birthday, but we might get the Trios for the birthday and do this for Christmas so he has his own present to open. It's $14.00 on amazon.
6. We won't be buying this LeapFrog Tag Learn And Love To Read Set
for Everett since it's over $80, but I think he'd like it.
: around $24 on amazon. I got it for $12 on woot.4. I got these Sugarbooger Silverware Sets
for stocking stuffers for the boys at a local store for under $7 each. Amazon has them for $8.50. They come in a plastic case that will be awesome for picnic lunches!5. I'm considering this Melissa & Doug See & Spell
for Everett's birthday, but we might get the Trios for the birthday and do this for Christmas so he has his own present to open. It's $14.00 on amazon.6. We won't be buying this LeapFrog Tag Learn And Love To Read Set
for Everett since it's over $80, but I think he'd like it.7. I've been debating getting this OK to Wake! Children's Alarm Clock and Nightlight
for a long time, but I just can't bring myself to spend $30 on an alarm clock.8. My boys would flip for this Jake and the Neverland Pirates 7 Pc Figurine Set
for around $20 on amazon.9. I'm almost done with these socks for Callum and I'll probably knit/crochet up some more things for them so they get to open more.
And me? I just want this:
Lodge Dutch Oven
and this:
and this:
Weelicious cookbook
Halloween!
We had a fantastic Halloween! The boys went trick-or-treating until we couldn't move our frozen fingers anymore and I promptly stole all good chocolates from their buckets.
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| Thomas the tank-o-lantern |
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| Nemo and Everett's version of Jake and the Neverland Pirates |
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| One woman ran to her kitchen to get our little monkey a banana! |
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| Monkey butt |
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| Me and my monkey |
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| My zoo animals |
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| Happy Halloweeeeeen! |
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