b3 designs

how do you organize your planner?

2012-01-12T18:13:00.002-05:00

just thought i'd share this in case it helps anyone else. we have three kids. the sports are endless as are trips to the ortho for all three. whenever people see my calendar they laugh and then they realize what a great idea. each of my kids has their own color. i know cole is blue, brock is green and sophie is pink. my husband and i are gray/black. this way when i use color to identify each child, i don't need to also write down their names. sometimes i do out of habit, but most times i just write time, event and location.

i keep all the pens handy in the back, along with important phone numbers. i've had this style of planner for the last 5 years and purchase it from barnes and noble.

leftover candy canes = valentine's day treats

2012-01-10T10:05:00.002-05:00

thanks, crystal, for reminding me what to do with all those leftover candy canes. i had seen the post in prior years but always forget.

think i have enough for 2 classrooms. my 5th grader's last valentine's day party. :(

a big surprise ...

2012-01-09T19:03:00.002-05:00

my husband bought me this for Christmas ..... [love him] very surprised i was. he was tickled i thought it was a crockpot. the stinker even put it in a big box and weighted it down so i would think it was a crockpot. little stinkers were able to keep it a secret from me too, even more amazing.

now i'm a pc girl. learning curve, absolutely. the kids use macs in school. my 8 year old is showing me how to do some things, pretty amazing. so of course i'm hauling this baby to hockey games and lacrosse games so i can play and learn. that absolutely necessitated a bigger purse. thank you marshall's for having the perfect and reasonably priced purse for me and my new buddy.

Just got a little more time on my hands

2011-09-16T22:33:00.002-04:00

So I quit my part-time school year job. Got a little more time on my hands to finish up house projects. With the kids in school, I am enjoying the quiet hours of getting things done without interruption. Okay, well maybe I haven't quit started that list yet as I did just quit three days ago, but I did make a list. Here's what I hope to accomplish by the end of the year.

Clean and rearrange my closet [later post]
Curtains for the family room
Curtains for the lower level
Spray paint Pottery Barn desk [find a chair for said desk ~ refinish?]
Finish mudroom decor [already did board and batten] just need to finalize
Paint walls, touch-up woodwork, trim
Paint stairs and stain landings
Design foyer architectural detail [thinking board and batten]
Wallpaper powder room
Sort and rearrange gift wrapping closet
Sort and rearrange boys' linen closet
Sort and rearrange storage area in lower level

Looking at my list, I feel like I didn't do anything over the summer! Lots of organizing and shuffling around, hopefully not spending too much money since I'm not working and all.

Iced Coffee ~ homemade version

2011-07-27T20:30:00.004-04:00

I don't pay Starbuck prices for drinks. I think it's ridiculous; however, I do love their stuff. Take 1 pound of coffee, any flavor, any brand, and add 1 gallon water, stir and let sit overnight or at least 8-10 hours. You want this to be really strong.

Carefully strain the coffee through a coffee filter or paper towels into a pitcher. I used a collander to make the straining easier.

Fill cup with ice, add Coffeemate to 1/4 of the cup and fill the rest with coffee. YUMM-O [and cheap]. I'm addicted.

pantry makeover

2011-03-31T17:18:00.008-04:00

it all started here. oh, that mrs. smith, she did it to me. made me realize i needed to do this too. just look at her pantry.

so here's mine. blah, blah, blah. the shelves were all silver from cans being slide across them. the shelves had finger and toe prints from my monkey climbing them. it had to be painted.

{before}

i also realized i needed to clean/rearrange/find a better storage solution for one of my cabinets.

old storage containers with white lids, just didn't use my space well. i took measurements, went to walmart and found exactly what I needed, introducing the 3 new containers with red lids. see how nice they fit on my shelf below?

perfect for grab and go. okay, done with that cabinet, onto the pantry.

take everything out and put it on your dining room table and live like that for a week.

oh, lovely new silver/blue paint. i did the shelves in a light color i had leftover.

here's the wall color - yum

in order not to have my pretty shelves get all scratched by the cans again, i lined the shelves with clear contact paper.

i used everything i already had on hand except the flour and sugar jars [walmart]

i've actually had my pantry like this for 2 months. i wanted to live with it for a while to see if we could really keep it look nice and neat. i did add one metal basket from hobby lobby to store my bags of lunch size chips, but other than that, everything has stayed the same.

love, love, love that mrs. smith and her jar labels. you can buy them here at wonderfully wordy. thank you shelley for your inspiration.

the messy mudroom

2011-03-31T17:12:00.001-04:00

home from vacation, the suitcases don't even make it upstairs. 9 loads in one day and still going. does this happen to anyone else?

for the birds ....

2011-01-30T10:14:00.004-05:00

2 packages of gelatine to 2 cups of water; bring to a boil until dissolved

add birdseed, left over cereal, nuts, dried fruit to gelatine mixture

put mixture into tins, sprayed with pam or something similiar. I put a small cup in the middle so I had a ring design as I wanted to hang with a ribbon. I set in the freezer for several hours.

sometimes it's the little changes

2011-01-05T22:26:00.002-05:00

before ....
after ....

doesn't paint on a table do wonders? and a new rug and new curtains and a new lamp from homegoods?

1~1~11

2011-01-01T22:31:00.004-05:00

New Year

Fresh Beginnings

Winter Smells & Sounds

Embrace & Enjoy

Surrounded with Love

talking to your kid about sex

2010-10-02T15:51:00.003-04:00

We have a 10 year son who will soon be 11. He has been asking about sex lately. He is so excited to be starting puberty and cannot wait until the 5th grade film at his school which discusses changes taking place within his own body, but not sex. I love that he wants to ask us all kinds of questions and feels no embarrassment talking to us. I love that he wants to learn from us and not his friends. I want to keep that line of communication open; but I have to be honest, when he first approached me about "the talk", I did panic. I quickly picked up half a dozen books from the library. None of them talked to us like the one below. I ended up buying it from Barnes & Noble.

Is your child ready to begin the talks? I strongly recommend this book. It's easy to read, and is just an all round great guide.

Selling Boys Size 8 Clothes ~ Ebay Gap Kids

2010-09-22T02:35:00.003-04:00

Anyone looking for boy size 8 clothes, mainly from Gap Kids? Go here to buy.

Tons of cute shirts:

Lots of jackets and coats:

Lots of pants:

100% boy outfits [Gymboree]:

tupperware ... by a drag queen

2010-08-25T07:37:00.003-04:00

North America's No. 1 Selling Tupperware Person

4th Year in the Row....

Miss Dee W Ieye

Went to a tupperware party last night like I've never seen. As Dee says: "this isn't your grandmother's tupperware party." Miss Tennessee puts on quite a show. Hey, you never know, she might be coming to an area close to you.... or contact her to see if she'll come to you.

Dee is on facebook too.

I happen to know Dee personally, I graduated from high school with him. He's an actor, by trade, and you can read more about "him" here. He is also pitching a TV reality show based on this character. Good luck Kevin. You are fabulous.

whopping cough

2010-08-22T08:24:00.002-04:00

a friend of mine acquired whopping cough. she got it from her son, who didn't have as severe case as she did. Yes, he got vaccinated. She's battled it for a month now and is still coughing. Did you realize you need to get immunized again for whopping cough as an adult? At one point, whopping cough wasn't even around the USA, but now with all the immigrants coming into our country, most of whom haven't received the Pertussis vaccine, it is a major concern. Watching my otherwise healthy friend battle this disease, calling 911 two times because she couldn't breathe, spending the night in the hospital is very scary. I have asthma and cannot imagine going through what she has just gone through this past month.

Whopping cough is severe in California, Michigan and Ohio, and most likely coming to a state close to you. Please get vaccinated, if not for yourself, for your family. And for all those non-believers in vaccines, mercury is not in any vaccines for childhood diseases.

flipping out - season 4

2010-07-14T22:04:00.002-04:00

Do you love FLIPPING OUT as much as i do? I cannot wait, cannot wait for the season to begin on August 10. Check out a video here. Get ready .....

paint swatches

2010-07-08T16:40:00.003-04:00

I found a handy way to keep paint swatches. I paint a wood door hanger [found at any craft store for less than $1]. I like looking through the hole at the fabric to see how I feel it's going to work in a room. I feel having the ability to look at the color all the way around a fabric is really essential for me.

On the back of the door hanger, I write the paint information.

Here's another hanger which is my house's primary color. I have this color memorized, but wrote down which areas of the house were painted with this color.

Yea, it's pretty much everywhere.

I keep all my swatches in one drawer and if I need to look for a match, I can easily grab the swatch [door hanger] and go.

my baby is growing up

2010-07-03T15:12:00.005-04:00

She declares that this is too babyish for her in all of her 7 years oldness. Soft baby pink walls, darling patchwork quilt from Pottery Barn Kids in soft greens, blues, pink. Cute, floaty butterflies. We built our house when Sophie was 1 1/2. This was what I did her room in back then, so I guess it's time for a change.

I still picture her sweet head upon these pillows all of 2 years old with bouncy curls and a whale spout on top of her head. So tiny in this big bed.

And change we did. She should wake up happy every single day with this color on the walls. Turquoise and fuchsia. She actually picked out the paint color. Ah, a decorator at heart.

Quite an impact color, but yet quite feminine and pretty too.

[More to come]
sweet daddy making all her wishes come true

4th of July on the 3rd

2010-07-03T15:07:00.003-04:00

I jumped on the 4th of July red, white and blue cupcake bandwagon. These were super easy, super cute and super fun to make. I made red [white chocolate] stars earlier in the week and just kept them away from the kids hidden in the refrigerator.

One white cake box mix, divided between three bowls, food coloring in each. The red looks pink in the photo but it was really darker in person.

things that make me smile ....

2010-06-30T19:59:00.002-04:00

her first fish

his first fish

is this really fishing?

zoey - 1 year old

WOO-HOO Jackpot at Hobby Lobby

2010-06-16T14:43:00.003-04:00

80% off sales at Hobby Lobby get me crazy excited. I usually find one or two things, but not today. No today I found 8 items. This was better than a garage sale. Roughly $38 for everything? You have got to be kidding me.

Rectangular black/cream box $1.80 [orig. $10] ~ leaving as is - perfect

Square black/pink box $1.60 [orig. $8] ~ painting and decoupaging for Sophie's room

Square fleur de lis plaque $3.20 [orig. $16] - painting cream or black

Tall bird $2.40 [orig. $12] - painting cream

Fleur de lis on left and other tall thing leaving as is - both for $10 [orig. $25 and $30]

Medieval looking plaque $6 [orig. $30] - as is going above husband's office door frame

Look at this mirror below. Isn't that cool [and heavy]. Not sure what I'm doing with it but I think I'll rub cream paint on it and give it an aged look. See the price tag?

No , well here's a closer look ~

And here's what I paid ~

Borders Double-Dog Dare You Reading Challenge for Kids

2010-06-09T10:46:00.003-04:00

Check out this great MSN Video: A Cappella Michael Jackson Medley

2010-05-14T17:47:00.001-04:00

Check out this video: A Cappella Michael Jackson Medley

keeping in mind this is one guy performing all the parts.... amazing

still around?

2010-04-25T18:54:00.003-04:00

Do you ever wonder when someone doesn't blog for a while that something must be going on in their life that just could be bad? Well, my dad has been sick. In/out of hospital, undiagnosed internal bleeding, rehab in nursing home, back home, back to hospital. Just crazy. Trying to pull things back together and have some free time for myself. I need it, my soul needs it, my family needs it. Starting to feel the drain of everything and a bit overwhelmed.

Not to mention my kids' elementary school carnival is this weekend and I, of course, had committed quite a while ago to chair a committee. Everything happening at once and not enough hours in the day. You know, you've been there. It will pass. Just gotta get through this week of carnival, school and sports. Deep breathes my friends, deep breathes.

Starbucks ~ free pastry day ~ March 23

2010-03-22T17:08:00.003-04:00

click on the coupon below to link you to your own coupon and then tomorrow morning, bright and early, go enjoy a free pastry before 10:30 [with a purchase, of course].

just one project .... homework station

2010-02-25T15:22:00.003-05:00

My goal today = get one project done and off my list.

Sounds simple, right?

Well, it's not. I haven't crafted in quite a while and I needed it today.

I found this box at Target.

Filled with these greeting cards, perfect for the kids to give. It was on clearance for $2.50.

I kept the box, knowing it would come in handy for some project.

The kids really need a homework station. They sit at the bar to do their homework and are constantly up/down, up/down getting scissors, tape or an eraser. I need to have items contained so they didn't have to always search and create another mess. However the blue stripes didn't go in my kitchen. A little Basic Grey paper and we're good to go.

Brock even left his homework out from this morning which he needs to complete when he gets home. See how it almost hides under the edge but yet perfect for them to grab from ... and cute. Believe me, they'll think it's cool.

keeping busy with .....

2010-02-17T14:51:00.003-05:00

This sweet thing turned 7. My baby, I just can't believe it.

She requested heart cakes, one chocolate, one vanilla please.
cute and sweaty after playing on jumpies and slides and obstacle course.

And then off to Indianapolis for Brock's hockey tournament this past weekend in Indianapolis. My fantastic defenseman is bottom row all the way over on the right. They made it to the finals. We were very proud [and surprised] for our Stars team. Fun weekend with just me and Brock. BN and the other two kids stayed at home because of basketball games and tournament.

here's the team's plaque

Upcycle ~ Second Hand Stores

2010-02-02T14:52:00.002-05:00

I have a favorite second hand store. I stop by to look about once every couple weeks. I have scored so many Abercrombie shirts for my sons. Can't beat the prices, 7 shirts for $35. Gotta love that, plus I'm helping the environment by upcycling. Gotta love that too!

it's skiing time

2010-01-29T13:39:00.003-05:00

Getting fitted for the skis. Very exciting, she's not quite sure what's going on, hanging close to her daddy.

I couldn't take many pictures outside because it was lightly drizzling.

Off to ski school. There's Sophie in pink and Cole with the red jacket and red hat waiting to go down the bunny hill.

Here she comes -- looking good, big smile on her face.

Here comes Brock, ready for the big hills. This boy has no fear and right after bunny hill went to the big hills and skiied for the next 8 hours. He even, unintentionally, went down a black diamond hill, through the woods, through tunnels. Oh my ...

Mr. Clean's Magic Erase is well .... magic

2010-01-14T19:31:00.004-05:00

We all know the Magic Erase is good for cleaning spots off doors and walls, but did you know what else it can do?

It can clean the white rubber part off shoes. One toe done and the other not.

Look at that terrible scuff on my SUV rear view mirror. Thank you red truck that rubbed against me.

A little Magic Erase and it's gone. I have used this all over my car. People seem to like to hurt our big huge SUV's. I get scuffs all the time on my corner bumpers and rear view mirrors. And I do not park in spots too small for my Sequoia, I think it's just the way it is. This also works on boats and waverunners.

Reusable Shopping Bags ... A must

2010-01-10T17:05:00.002-05:00

Do you use reusable shopping bags? Or have you purchased bags and use them but many times forget them and leave them in the house? I've done that a few times. So I started putting the bags right back in my car as soon as I unload the groceries. I never forget now.

Here, Walmart is starting a new program to reduce pastic bag useage for the environment. It's a wonderful idea. Walmart sells their bags for $.50 but they are small. More for a trip to Walgreens than a grocery store. I use the big bags. My favorite part about using reusable bags, other than helping save oil, is they stack so nicely in the back of my car. Things don't fall out like plastic bags.

Did you know it takes 12 million barrels of oil to produce 30 billion plastic bags?

Did you know other countries have banned the use of plastic bags? Ireland, Ugando, China!

Please buy some reusable bags next time you're at the store.

after Christmas sales

2009-12-30T09:09:00.003-05:00

My favorite shopping day of the year is after Christmas. I love getting all those wonderful goodies at 50% or more off. I have a favorite floral store that I go to every year and add to my Christmas items. The ceramic platter, three birds, three snowmen, trio of whimsical Christmas trees and the "Joy" ceramic items all purchased there at 50%. The red cupcake holder I was eyeballing before Christmas at Target but I wasn't going to pay $15 for it, so I got it at half off. Melamine bowl ($2) and new coat for Zoey ($6)from Old Navy.

Post Christmas Cookie Day .... but they aren't Aunt Barbara's cut-outs

2009-12-28T16:30:00.004-05:00

I'm posting late because my kids wanted this on my blog. Christmas cut-outs for Santa. I cheat. I buy pre-cut cut-outs from GFS. I have made cut-outs before, but they just don't turn out like my Aunt Barbara's cookies. She makes the best, I mean the best. Nothing has compared to her cut-outs ever, and I have tried cut-out after cut-out just to make sure.

Santa doesn't mind though.
Even Bear lasted about 10 minutes with this project.

Sophie wanted her grams to help.

Brock using a "new" technique.

I just realized Brock made a "peace out" sign to me with his fingers. Where do they learn this stuff?

Ore-Ida Easy Fries - a review

2009-12-21T08:03:00.002-05:00

So here we are 4 days before Christmas and I'm writing a review post on french fries. I was in walmart one day close to lunch time and a guy came in and snatched up 4 of these boxes as I was standing there staring into the cooler. I asked him if they were good. He said they were wonderful. Of course, any french fry is a friend of mine. What, microwaveable, get out!

The verdict: Pretty good for a very quick 4 minute addition to your meal. Better than I expected that's for sure. Not mushy like I expected. As good as oven baked, no, but a very good quick passable option. And purchased on sale, not a bad price.

simple, easy Goodwill find hostess gift

2009-12-16T21:46:00.002-05:00

You've all seen them at garage sales. Many times when I got hunting at our goodwill store, I find them. These cute glass dome cheese plates. Sometimes with a wooden plate, sometimes with the pretty marble slab, like the one below. $6. Decorated up with some ribbon, burlap and a bell. Add a block of cream cheese, some hot pepper jelly and voila, a wonderful hostess gift.

If the wooden plate looks bad, keep the glass dome, toss the wooden plate, get a pretty plate from Home Goods and you have instant charm and whimsy.

Almost 10 ...... plus a kit kat cake

2009-12-13T10:43:00.004-05:00

Bear turns 10 on the 20th. We always have to do something a bit early to celebrate because people get busy with Christmas. We said to him, would you rather have a big party and a small gift from us, or would you rather have a big gift from us and just a couple friends for a sleepover. After 2 minutes he chose the big gift. Everything on his wish birthday/Christmas list this year seems to be over $100. So I'm glad he chose wisely.

Fun cake with kit kats on the side [I used 11 candy bars] and the top covered with mini M&M's.

Throw in a brother and couple of your best buddies and you have a fun, nice [relaxed] birthday. His friend on the right really isn't that small, he's just sitting down in his chair while the others are on their leg or standing.

clean your sink & garbage disposal

2009-12-12T21:13:00.002-05:00

Every month I do a thorough cleaning of my disposal. I cannot stand the smell of a dirty sink disposal. I have a special sponge I use just for this purpose because it's so gross. I also use a product called Disposer Care which is fabulous and can be found at Wal-mart.

Put on a clean sponge and dedicate this sponge for garbage disposal cleaning only. Go down into your sink with the disposal and underneath the black rubber part. You will be amazed and grossed out at the same time.
Next, follow directions for the disposer care container.

Put it down into the drain, package and all.

You get this great bubble action and the best smell ever.

Patiently wait while it does it's job and have the kids watch too, it's fun. It will fill up the extra sink too.

when it's all finished, it will look like this [below] and then just rinse clean.
No nasty smells coming from this sink.

holiday parties ... kids style

2009-12-09T21:42:00.002-05:00

my hand gets twisted pretty easily when someone asks for help with a school party. i do love organizing a party, searching for new games, and pulling it all together. i usually have a friend who signed up to do the party and then asks for help and i usually just end up planning the entire thing. and that's okay cause i'm controlling like that.

This year for Brock's 3rd grade holiday party, we're playing a book game called lefty and righty. There are several versions of this story. you can read 4 of the versions here. Each child brings in a new paperback book, age/grade appropriate, gender friendly, and wrapped in paper with no name on it. During the party all the kids sit in a circle and someone reads the story. Whenever they hear the word "lefty" they pass their book to the left, and whenever they hear the word "righty", they pass the book to the right. At the end of the story, all the kids unwrap their new book. Of course, if it's something they don't like, they can switch with another friend.

Every December I hit our local Scholastic Outlet for 50% off books. My kids get a small pile of books under the Christmas tree, and their elves usually bring them a book or two to read. This year I picked up several neat books for just a couple dollars. You should check and see if there is a Scholastic Warehouse Sale near you. Now you never know what you'll find at a sale, but there are paperbacks, hardbacks, stocking stuffers, computer games, gifts and gadgets, cookbooks, plush animals, science experiment kits, Klutz items. you just never know. You sign up on line and you get a coupon for $10 off $75 or more. Believe me, you can rack up $75 pretty easily, even at 50%!!

teacher gifts

2009-12-08T22:38:00.003-05:00

this is hard. thinking of clever things a teacher might like ... 3 teachers, plus 2 enrichment teachers. really i love spreading holiday cheer, but this kind of stresses me out. i could take the easy road and buy gift cards, but Christmas i like to get a bit more personal. Sophie's 1st grade teacher we've had three times, i know her well. Brock's 3rd grade teacher, Cole had last year, i know her well too. i really feel like getting more personal this year and not doing gift cards. something fun and whimsical, i'll save the gift cards for the end of year present. so this is some of what i decided to do.

in supporting the ever wonderful etsy, darling, small ornaments from tracybdesigns

this is completely and totally fun. i'm giving these to all our teachers [5 of them], the secretaries at school and some of my friends. i purchased the cards only so i can print on my own computer. i found the little plexiglass containers at hoblob for $1.77. What a cool and fun gift. from meckmom and on etsy.

got a few simple recipes, tins at hoblob half off this week.

caramel crunch - i'm going to drizzle chocolate over it too.

you can find the recipe here at Good Housekeeping.

an updated, classy version of rice krispy treats with heath bars found at Oprah.

also found neat plastic polka dot Christmas bowls on sale at hoblob this week and some pretty disposable food containers. all items are going inside, along with some handmade by me jumbo paperclips and bookmarks. this make me happy and i didn't break the bank to give everyone a little something.

this is what it is all about ~ sharing

Goodwill Find - Lamp ReVamp

2009-11-10T15:18:00.005-05:00

I am becoming a weekly goodwill hunting addict. I found two lamps there recently for $1.99 each. One had a pathetic ill-fitted lampshade while the other had none.

This lamp was in pretty good shape, just need a fresh coat of Heirloom White spray paint.

I love the shape of this lamp, short and fat. I needed that for a tall cream colored table, so this lamp needed to be painted.

Lamp No. 1 with a fresh coat of spray paint and a new lampshade from Target.

Lamp No. 2 with a fresh coat of spray pant and a new lampshade also from Target.

confession ... i don't make pancakes from scratch

2009-11-02T13:48:00.002-05:00

Does everyone make pancakes from scratch? I tried it twice, I didn't like it. Feeding 3 hungry kids at the same time, homemade pancakes just doesn't cut it. Does this make me less of a mom because I don't mix the batter and perfectly pour an exact amount onto a skillet? Does it make me less of a cook because my son can open the freezer, unwrap cellophane, put the frozen 3 stack of pancakes in the microwave, hit the 1 minute button and call it a day? Well, I don't think so, but I keep reading about how certain mothers would NEVER make pancakes from the freezer and from "scratch" is the only way.

I don't like that my skillet can only hold 3 pancakes at a time. I don't want a bigger skillet or a griddle, that means i just have to find somewhere to store it and I'd probably never use it for anything else, which would make me mad.

So shoot me. I make frozen pancakes. And I'm proud of it.

h a l l o w e e n

2009-10-30T10:13:00.004-04:00

Our beggar's night happened last night. Our city doesn't allow trick or treat on a Friday or Saturday night for safety reasons ..... so here they are: A scary skeleton lacrosse player, the cutest, rockin' Hannah Montana I've ever seen, and a frightful, ugly zombie.

I know my organizing skills pay off now and then when my kids come home from trick or treating and immediately spill their candy on the table and declare "let's organize this mess." Don't ya love it!

h1n1, swine flu, pig virus ... whatever we've got it

2009-10-29T21:26:00.003-04:00

Well, at least the medical community is telling us that they are 95% sure we have it. If you test positive for the type A flu, 95% of those patients are suffering from h1n1. It started last weekend with Brock and myself. He was home until today. Then 2 nights ago, Sophie woke up puking in the middle of the night. Tomorrow will be her day 3. From what I've heard [and what we've been through] it lasts 4 days. Fever, chills, headache, sore throat, vomiting, etc. Initially I heard [several months ago] that the symptoms were only a bad headache and fever/chills. Well, now h1n1 is all encompassing and you can easily experience every aspect of yuk possible. We all only threw up one time each, so that wasn't horrible. Honestly, I've had the flu much worse than this.

we've been busy

2009-10-28T13:03:00.005-04:00

Just wrapping up some sporting events here. We've just been busy. Big N was head coach for the boys football team this year ... the Buffaloes. Here they are getting their trophies:

Brock was more interested in playing in all the leaves in the background (lol)

Sophie finishing her fall soccer. To brag a bit, the highest goal scorer on the team and fastest runner.

what an action shot

and we began a new sport this year for Brock ... hockey

talk about an exciting game. We're looking forward to this new [and long season] sport.

Last night Cole began basketball practice with Big N being head coach. He just can't say no.

d e a t h

2009-10-14T10:34:00.003-04:00

it's a rainy, gray day

almost the type of day

you'd expect to get sad news

news of loss

it seems fitting doesn't it

death comes expected

and anticipated

but yet when it actually comes

you're still not ready

it still leaves a void

a hole in your heart

i can imagine nothing worse

than a slow, painful death

that's what cancer brings

it rears its ugly head

over and over

until you are beaten down

faith must be strong

lightly turning rosary beads

around in ones hands

questioning why He has done this

and then

finding solace in

knowing what you will find

at the end

is beautiful and painless

a release, at last

after a very long journey

Thrifty Finds

2009-09-29T17:01:00.005-04:00

Linking up to rhonda's blog at southern hospitality. Goodwill find on the denim valance $1.99, hockey stick [free from a neighbor] and the hanging rings from Wal-mart. The hardest part was trying to figure out how to mount this. BB is playing house hockey this year and is a huge Columbus Blue Jackets fan. So that's what his bedroom is done in. The walls are a blue/gray color, not light blue as the first photo looks - had to use my flash because it's raining and that's a dark corner in his room. Wall color in second photo is much better.

Fall Grog Mix for the Techers

2009-09-27T13:09:00.002-04:00

We decided to sprinkle our teachers with a little fall treat. Fall officially began last week, but we had rain all week and it just was yucky. I bought all the ingredients and this made a ton. I wanted enough to make for 9 teachers [including the principal and secretaries], but ended up using all my mason jars and some treat bags which we'll pass out to some neighbors.

Washed the jars, added a ribbon and tag to the lids, twine for additional fall feel.
Ready to pour - except we took out the blue M&M's because they don't look like fall to us.

This made all 12 jars, plus 6 bags, plus what's left over for us.

martha stewart measuring spoons

2009-09-20T15:29:00.003-04:00

So I like watching The Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network. I think I would like living next to Ina in the Hamptons and just pop over to see what she's up to ... every day. I had seen her use these measuring spoons instead of measuring cups [not the ones photographed below, but similar]. To me it just made sense to use a spoon instead of a cup for measuring. Not only are these spoons easier to hold, but have multi-uses. I grab them all the time for measuring, serving from stovetop to plates, from microwave to thermos, from soup to a bowl. They really are a perfect serving spoon ~ part service spoon/part ladle. Using a ladle has always been awkward for me. The roundness never seems to be the size of the bowl I have, but these spoons have never let me down.

Not easy to find. My mom was on the hunt and found some Martha Stewart ones for me at Kmart, although I only have 3 in my set. These below are now carried at Kmart too.

more bento ....

2009-09-15T18:27:00.004-04:00

I could quite possibly be addicted to bento. Read my post here. Okay, so I'm not going to take this to the degree that some people do as I just don't see myself buying seaweed and forming it into shapes for mouths and eyes and hair. But I do really like the way the below photo looks. Especially that light blue silicone baking cup. Do you see it? Yea, that's what I like. I needed one this morning for Bear's lunch. He wanted salami and provolone rolled [yes, I used toothpicks as he's almost 10 and hoped he didn't jab anyone at the lunch table]. He also wanted a bun and mandarin oranges. Oh those oranges would have been so cute in a silicone cup, but all I had were the pink and red hearts which I'm sure would have embarrassed him to death in front of the other 4th grade boys.

So off to Jo-Ann's today with my 40% and 50% coupons to buy some of these yummy Wilton silicone baking cups. Had to get square ones too because you never know what shape of dish you'll be using.

I already had these from Valentine's Day.

Oh, and while I was there, look at this neat silicone brownie pop tray. You put your brownie mixture in there, bake it and put sticks in them as soon as they come out of the oven. Then after they cool, you dip them in melted chocolate, into some non-perils or sprinkles and enjoy. Perfect, perfect for a school party.

They also have these in this flower shape. How cute? I need some more coupons.

eat this not that

2009-09-13T22:32:00.003-04:00

Have you heard or seen this book? There are actually quite a few different editions of these books, one for restaurants, one for fast food, one for kids, one for people dieting. It is really neat. It tells you what options are better than what you currently might be consuming. The website is neat too. On the website you can see, for instance, the top 125 healthiest snack options at the grocery store.
It rates restaurants. Chick-fil-a for instance scores an A- while Baja Fresh scores a surprising D; PF Chang's scores a D- while Wendy's scored a B+. You read about hidden ingredients, not only fatty things but items with an incredible sugar content.

the smell is in the air

2009-09-12T19:58:00.003-04:00

I love Country Living magazine. Here's a sneak peak of some wonderful pumpkins to get you in the mood. I'm so ready for fall. Boys are playing football, BB is getting ready for hockey league, Soph is in soccer. Although it's still fairly warm during the days, the nights are getting chilly, the grass is very dewy, and it's time to take out all my annuals and put in some mums. My favorite time of year.

do you bento?

2009-09-10T09:47:00.005-04:00

Do you know what bento is? I sure didn't until about a year ago. My daughter, who is 6, got into trading stickers with her friends. Before I knew it I was hitting every Japanese store around here looking for the darling Japanese stickers and the oh so coveted water stickers [that's another story]. At the Japanese stores, I noticed all these cute boxes and holders for chopsticks and little tiny containers. Not being able to read Japanese, I couldn't tell what these little bottles were used for, I was thinking doll house stuff? Boy was I wrong. How could I not know those little bottles and tiny containers were for soy sauce or seaweed flakes.

So flash forward to school time meals. We have a fairly heavy Asian population in our little city, a pull from our Honda factories and The Ohio State University. So naturally, our schools would have a large Asian make-up, not just Japanese, but Chinese, Korean and Indian. I love to go to the school to help out during lunch time, but I really love sneaking a peek at the little Japanese girls lunchboxes or bentos. They are truly works of art. I'm sure they all think I'm some crazy American wanting to study their bento containers.

These pictures are from Adventures in Bentomaking. Aren't they just beautiful? Now has this inspired me to do this for myself or kids? Probably not. Packing three lunches in the morning is daunting enough, let alone taking the extra time to cut everything in perfect symmetry.

If this intrigues you, you can buy products from japan with love on etsy or their website. They have a section dedicted to all things bento.

Owl & Hedgehog Bedding at Target - WOW

2009-09-09T13:39:00.006-04:00

This is from Target, but I feel it's a complete knock-off of the Pottery Barn owl collection from last year, read about it here. That is what Target is all about though, finding what sells and duplicating it. Have you ever felt the kids clothing looks like last year's Mini Boden? This line is very wallet friendly, very, very cute [although PBK is cuter IMO], but only comes in a twin size. I remember seeing an ad in a Sunday flyer last week and it had the wallies with trees and owls and hedgehogs. Read the reviews if you are interested.

It started with this ~

The bedding ~

the valance ~

the lamp [which is much cuter in person] ~

Brady Quinn

2009-09-07T08:37:00.003-04:00

My kids love Brady Quinn. It's probably more the fact that Brady went to my kids' elementary school, and they will go to the same middle and high school that he did too. He is "God" in their eyes. Bear said to me last year at school during all the Brady hype "Brady Quinn might have walked right here where I'm walking." too cute.

So imagine my boys' delight when Brady appeared at our high school game last Friday. He caused quite a stir. We couldn't get close to him, they were keeping people back or it would have been a swarm. I only managed to snap a few photos, from far away.

first day of school

2009-08-26T16:26:00.002-04:00

Ready for their first day - don't they just look thrilled?

waiting with the street gang
bus coming around the corner - look at Sophie's excitement

and, of course, one with zoey

and bear with the lulu and zoey:

King's Island on $22

2009-08-23T13:40:00.005-04:00

We made a quick trip to our favorite theme park, King's Island, outside of Cincinnati. This is such an easy trip for us, we can drive there is less than 1 1/2 hours. We hadn't planned on going, but a neighbor gave us a code to use where we were able to purchase tickets for $22 a person, instead of the usualy $45. That includes the theme park and the water park. If you want the code, post a comment on this post and I'll email you the directions.

If you've never been to King's Island and you have toddlers, this park is great. There is an area called Nickelodeon Universe. It is for young kids. There is Scooby-Doo, Backyardigans, LazyTown, Spongebob, Jimmy Neutron, Fairy Odd Parents, etc. When our kids were younger, we would spend the entire time just in this area alone. A perfect introduction to a theme park. My kids enjoy this park more than Disney World.

unconditional

2009-08-22T14:59:00.006-04:00

they love without question

they trust with all their heart
they have no idea how much they melt our hearts

and how stinkin' cute they can be

she doesn't care we affectionately call her "chicken head"

she doesn't question why her little girl put her in this plastic bin to watch tv

she only sees it as a safe, snuggly place to take a nap

they still love us even when we bring another puppy home

unconditionally and without question

Octomom

2009-08-20T14:11:00.002-04:00

Did anyone else watch the 2 hour special last night on this crazy lady? Is she nuts or what? Admitting that she screwed up big time and screwed up the lives of her initial 6 children. The thing that struck me as odd throughout the entire show was the fact that she never once mentioned how she pays for everything. Other than her mother saying Octomom never gave her a dime while living under her parents' roof with her 6 children. How does she pay for that house and who paid for all those renovations? My blood boiled when she was shown in the neonatal unit at the hospital with her fake acrylic nails. Who paid for those nails? That's right, the government. And for some reason, I cannot watch her and not stare at her botox lips.

under kitchen sink make-over

2009-08-12T17:25:00.003-04:00

My kids start school is 2 weeks and my project list is starting to grow. Oh, I dream of all the things I can get done with three off to school all day long.

Well, one thing that I couldn't stand one minute longer, the nasty, messy, unorganized mess under my kitchen sink. Does it get any more gross than this?

Any more unorganized than this? I don't even know what's in there.
Anything nastier than a dirty waste basket and cabinet floor? This is embarrassing.

Okay, everything out and clean, scour and scrap everything accumulated over the last several years. Oh, my better.

A little pretty contact paper. Presto - instant happy :-)

A quick trip to Target to get a couple new bins that fit perfectly for what I need. Alrighty, DONE.
check that one off my list ~ and this only took me 30 minutes (minus the 1 1/2 hour trip to Target because you know a girl just gets googlied eye in that store).
So much better don't you think? This makes me so happy.

Sophie's size 6 on ebay now Gap Kids Mini Boden

2009-08-04T22:41:00.004-04:00

If you know me, I love my Gap Kids. I have most of Sophie's wardrobe from last fall/winter up on ebay. She was a size 6 last winter. You can check it out here.

This is Gap Kids

More Gap Kids
Mini Boden
A little Gymboree (oh look, pants still have tags on them)

our fairy garden

2009-08-01T09:25:00.002-04:00

My two youngest wanted to create a fairy garden in "their" garden this summer. It is a work in progress. I was hoping to find some neat additions at garage and yard sales this summer instead of buying everything, so we're always on the look-out. Can you spy a boy fairy, a birdbath, a pebble path, a watering can and a wheelbarrow?

She's here - our Chocolate Merle Schnoodle

2009-07-25T17:07:00.005-04:00

Although we picked her up on Wednesday, I haven't taken many photos because it's been so dreary and raining which means a dark house inside. Hopefully I'll get some good sunshine photos soon. She was born June 2 and since that time we've been trying to decide on a name, not an easy task for 5 people to agree. So finally it was decided last night - Zoe, or is that Zoey.

She is super sweet and really such a good girl. She seems to not think anything of all the commotion of three kids and many neighbor kids running throughout the house. She's able to sleep right through it all. Oh, happy baby.

jillibean soup paper

2009-07-16T14:22:00.007-04:00

Introducing ....

I am one lucky girl to personally know the designer and creator behind jillibean soup, a fabulous line of scrapbooking goodness and yummies. Her name is Jill Yegerlehner and she also happens to be one of my daughter's Daisy leaders. See, told ya' I was lucky.

:: coordinating ribbons ~ yum yum ::

:: if you enjoy scrapping with kraft paper, she's your gal ::

:: felt flowers ::

Now go, run to your favorite scrapbooking store and ask for jillibean soup papers.

her website is full of ideas and inspiration, she has many crafters throughout the country

last pre-Schnoodle post

2009-07-15T23:00:00.006-04:00

Big N keeps commenting on why I haven't put up her new pictures yet. We get her next weekend.

name ~ still undecided

blue eyes ~ possibly

we have the best breeder ~ you can visit her website here.

family fun - the foamerator

2009-07-15T18:05:00.005-04:00

I devour my Family Fun magazine when it comes in the mailbox. I stop what I'm doing and read it wherever I happen to be at that moment. When it came yesterday, I knew we'd be making these foamerators this week. You can see the article here at Family Fun. We only had two bottles for recycling as today was garbage pick-up. We had a big 2 litter soda bottle which didn't work very well. The small, sturdier water bottles worked best, the Gatorade bottles worked best. You may have to play around with a few different variations.

enjoying the lazy days of summer

2009-07-15T17:57:00.006-04:00

bubbles and rollerblades

lulu always close by [our first schnoodle]

great hockey practice

2 years ago for Christmas, all he wanted was a "pobo" stick

little sister thinks it's funny blowing bubbles and skating circles around this boy who is concentrating so hard on staying on his "pobo" stick

I can't get enough Schnoodle love with this wee one

2009-06-26T21:38:00.002-04:00

:: check out those baby blue eyes ::

Couldn't ya just eat her up? Chocolate Merle Schnoodle

2009-06-23T15:13:00.003-04:00

We'll visit her this weekend. Hopefully her eyes will be open. She's the biggest of the litter of 6 outweighing even her big brother. No name yet. Any suggestions?

Singing In The Rain - Tap Dance

2009-06-13T13:31:00.006-04:00

Between all the flowers and "stage make-up" this little girl is hooked on dancing again. Although she wants to take jazz next year so she can dance like High School Musical kids.

Garage Sale Wrap-Up

2009-06-12T20:22:00.003-04:00

Didn't find what I was really looking for, which is an old full of character wood piece that I can paint for our foyer. But I did find a few things I'm happy about. Milk glass compote and plate ($4); vintage tablecloth ($4); old Jack & Jill book which I'm going to reuse in gift tags and cards; some Brighton jewelery which was a big score ($9 for all three pieces); a gorgeous Crate & Barrel square cake stand; and the biggest score - see that bag "Justice", see it - that is full, I mean stuffed to the top, of shirts and pants all from Justice or Limited Too, things were either $1 or $2. Not quite the size sweet girl is in yet, but good enough to put away in a bin for another year or so. Too good of a deal to pass up. One shirt from either of those stores costs about $25. Oh and a bag of shell for BB to put in his rock collection jar.

puppy love = schnoodle

2009-06-07T09:36:00.005-04:00

We have one schnoodle, Lulu, and after losing our golden retriever to cancer in March, my husband couldn't wait to get his hands on another sweet dog. Since I'm not allergic to this breed, we thought we might as well get another one. This little gal was born on June 2. She's another schnoodle [that's poodle and schnauzer] and chocolate merle this time [our Lulu is cream colored]. Cute as can be. We had to take a trip to the breeder, Windy Hill Kennel, yesterday just to get our hands on her. We probaly won't drive out again for a couple weeks then hopefully she'll have her eyes open.

No name yet for this sweetie. Here she is in my husband's hands.

Newborn

4 days old here

Here's the entire litter - what great coloring. Ours is No. 4. The three other spotted ones are called blue merle, and then there are two color chocolates.

My school year TO DO list is not DONE = my poem

2009-06-03T19:52:00.004-04:00

It was the night before the last day of school.
I was panicking, I didn't know what to do.
The entire school year, done in a flash,
Oh my, didn't I realize that it wouldn't last.

I have things to get done when my kids are not here.
Now I won't get them done, as planned, I fear.
Project to complete and things to paint,
the studio needs organized
Oh gosh, I might faint.

What have I done with my time, I just don't know.
It seemed I had months, where did it all go?
I sit here in wonder, when will it all get done.
In time, my dear friend, let's just have fun.

The Flag

2009-06-02T15:08:00.004-04:00

There is a huge rock near a gravel pit on Hwy. 25 in rural Iowa. For generations, kids have painted slogans, names, and obscenities on this rock, changing its character many times. A few months back, the rock received its latest paint job [by the teenager photographed above, Ray "Bubba" Sorensen], and since then it has been left completely undisturbed.It's quite an impressive sight.

need a laugh?

2009-06-02T13:30:00.002-04:00

Go visit this blog ~ cake wrecks. It is so absolutely hysterical. I visit it about once a week to catch up on my dose of cakes that are .... well, a wreck. You will laugh. You may laugh so hard you cry. There are also some very neat cakes shown, but the fun ones are the bad ones.

Planning a Family Reunion or need a family website?

2009-05-27T10:46:00.002-04:00

I was helping plan our recent family reunion. We talked about creating a website where our families could go to post things about the reunion, add photographs and have discussions. After some searching, I found the perfect website .... myfamily.com. You can create a family website for free. On our personal family site we have uploaded documents, photographs and videos. You can schedule out birthdays, events and milestones. When a family member post something new, every family member who has joined the site will receive an email. It's really a great way to stay connected especially when family is spread throughout the United States.

Gift Wrapping vs. Gift Bag

2009-05-16T16:39:00.004-04:00

My kids are getting ready to go to a birthday party. Now I could just stick the present in a gift bag, which is becoming the norm and very unoriginal, or I could take the extra 4 minutes and actually wrap the present in gift wrap. Do kids really like opening gift bags, I mean how boring. You get to pull out tissue paper and voila, the present. Or do kids prefer digging in and actually ripping the paper of a fun package?

I love buying plain colored wrapping paper and using ribbons and bows to make a statement ~ tulle is my favorite wrappings for a girl's present. Happily my kids tell me that their presents usually get opened first.

Which would you prefer?

I think, once again, our busy lives had made giving a gift in a bag completely acceptable. Well, not in my home. Even if I give a gift card, we put it in a huge box and wrap it, sometimes we even double box it and wrap both boxes just for fun.

I can secretly tell you I have an absolutely enormous amount of gift bags saved in my wrapping closet [from gifts my kids have received]. The bags have sat there for years and years. I'm not throwing them away, but I'm not using them either.

All Edge Brownie Pan - A Review

2009-05-13T18:29:00.005-04:00

All I can say is W - O - W !!

This pan is the best. I've actually purchased it here and I've had it for about a year now. Honestly I have only used it for brownies. If you are anything like my husband and myself, you like your brownies to be edges and your brownies to be done, not gooey. well, here is the pan for you. This makes all edges. There are actually a bunch of recipes here. Lasagna, cobbler, bar cookies, cheesecake and, of course, all kinds of layered brownie goodness. I always use a box brownie in the 9x13 size. I would think the 9x9 size would be too skimpy.

Lacrosse - A new favorite sport

2009-05-12T16:45:00.002-04:00

I admit I didn't know much about Lacrosse when Bear decided he wanted to play this year.

After their first game, I was hooked. I really, really like this sport. We're down to our last two games and Bear is having a blast. He especially likes playing goalie and here he is all padded up. Those little balls are hard as golly gee. He's received many bruises on this legs. Here, as goalie, he is wearing a padded chest protector plus his normal shoulder pads, padded pants, padded socks, elbow pads and gloves, plus an extra neck protector hanging down from his mask. Wow.

Here he is, as goalie, where he caught a shot from the opposition and is throwing it far far away from our goal.

Here he is playing defenseman. I'm sure these two are working out their plans of the perfect play. He "only" has on shoulder/chest pad, elbow pads and gloves. They had a game on Mother's Day and all the boys, at half time, ran across the field to present their mothers with a flower. Too sweet.

How many cups can 3 kids go through in 1 afternoon?

2009-05-06T15:26:00.003-04:00

Is it just me or does anyone else's counter look like this. Most of these cups are half full of water too, which, at times, get knocked over and ends up a mess. I can just about guarantee that the purple and pink are little girl's doings and the blues are the boys. This is crazy, isn't it?

do you know what tomorrow is?

2009-04-30T22:04:00.004-04:00

Well, of course, I know it's May 1st. But around here, garage sale time is officially beginning. Our neighborhood is having a multi-family garage sale. 14 homes participating and I'm excited for tomorrow morning to come, get those boys on the bus, and sweet girl and I will walk the neighborhood searching for treasures. She is so excited. I think the boys are a bit disappointed they have to go to school. We actually shopped a bit already at a friend's house .. those darn early bird shoppers. So for $34 we got a 17' flat screen LCD monitor [for Bear], a brand new baseball mitt [for me], several almost new kitchen utensils [for me again], a leather and khaki catch-all [I don't know where but I'll find somewhere], some neat glass dishes which I can picture small banana splits filling up, a new in the box power strip [Big N], a new fiskar paper cutter [me, again cause the kids keep stealing mine] and a few other things. I took a photo and will post it tomorrow ... hopefully along with my other finds. Yippee.

do you CRAIGSLIST?

2009-04-29T15:52:00.005-04:00

We love Craigslist. Have you ever used it? When we were finishing our basement last fall and had to move everything from our basement up into our garage for storage, we realized we just didn't want to haul everything back down. We posted several things on craigslist and made some nice pocket money. We sold everything from a toilet to a desk to a sandbox. I sold my kids' kettler tricycle, a jogger stroller, a trampoline and a box of rescue heroes. The best part of craigslist is it is local and free. yes, free. You have to be smart about it though. I never had anyone come by our house when my husband wasn't home.

You can find a job on craiglist. You can list your upcoming garage sale too.

Got some things to sell, well then check it out. There is usually at least one person out there who will want it.

Apple Enchiladas - YUMMY !!

2009-04-22T16:19:00.003-04:00

I am always asked to bring this dessert to a Mexican themed party. It is so very easy to make and always a hit.

1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray Pam in 9x13 dish. Spoon about one heaping quarter cup [or I use a soup spoon full] of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla. Place seam down in dish. I usually cut off a little bit of each side of the tortillas just so it fits better in the dish. After you have the dish packed full of rolled tortillas, sprinkle with cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 30 minutes.
Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden.

Before baking, I actually cut my tortillas in half with kitchen scissors. It's easier to cut when it's still cold. Cutting it after it has baked is a bit tricky.

Fantastic Mexican Dip

2009-04-22T16:07:00.002-04:00

We went to a cook-out last Friday and it was a Mexican theme and I wanted to bring an appetizer and dessert. I liked refried beans in mexican dips, but I also like ground beef, so I combine them together and it makes for a nice blend.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 can refried beans
1 (16 ounce) jar taco sauce
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (1 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (16 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded lettuce
1 tomato, cubed (or canned diced tomatoes, drained)
2 green onions, sliced
1 (2 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained (optional)

Crumble ground beef in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, mix in the refried beans and taco sauce, stir together and set aside.
In a large bowl, mix the sour cream, cream cheese and taco seasoning mix. Spread the mixture into a medium serving dish.
Layer the sour cream mixture with beef mixture, Cheddar cheese and lettuce. Top with tomato, green onions and black olives (if desired).

Be still my heart .... organization .... little girl style

2009-04-21T13:49:00.000-04:00

So the other day I was sitting in the den and I kept hearing these strange little noises. I had left sweet girl coloring in the kitchen, I knew the sound was coming from her, but I just couldn't figure out what she was doing. All at once I hear her hop down off the stool and comes to show me this box below. She said: "Look Mama, I took everything out and put everything back in it's right place. See I organize just like you." Ah, how sweet is she?

And then she said, "Are you going to put this on the blog?" How could I say no.

Decorators' Show House

2009-04-15T23:14:00.003-04:00

I once again have the honor of participating in the Columbus Museum of Art's Decorators' Show House. This is an event which occurs every other year. I participated in this event in 2007 and they asked me again. If you're in town .....

Organization :-: The Pantry

2009-04-08T14:26:00.003-04:00

This makes me smile, makes me giddy with delight. I actually have left the door open just to admire it. Am I a goof or what? I love organization. My pantry is usually fairly organized, but once in a while it needs spruced up. I wrote about it last week here. This is where it all started. I had to go through and throw out old or expired items, make sure all my cans were aligned right and the labels facing forward. I never knew how to store my onions and potatoes, so I got a basket and put in a pretty cloth napkin. I liked the look so much I did one for our bread too.

I try to keep things off the floor. I think it makes it look cluttered. I didn't know what to do with my jell-o/pudding boxes, so in my basement I found an old wire napkin holder. The jell-o boxes fit perfectly. I didn't want to take up precious space with the holder laying flat, so I put it up on its side. Now I can easily read the labels and it takes up a third of the room. Think outside the box when organizing your pantry or cabinets.

the B E S T stain remover by far

2009-04-06T16:16:00.003-04:00

One thing I love about blogs is passing along tidbits of information to other moms. So today I share with you the BEST stain remover I have ever found. As some of you know, I have three kids ages 6, 8 and 9. That's a lot of laundry over the years and you can imagine, how many types of stains I've encountered. I've tried everything, I mean everything. You name it, I've tried it. Nothing works like the product below * Dawn Direct Foam * and a hard nail brush.

I threw away all those other bottles of stain removers and this is all I use. It takes out grease and oil stains, ketchup, chocolate, grass stains, everything. And I like the foaming action because you can use just one or two squirts on the fabric and it stays there, it doesn't run. Sometimes I use my fingernail and just scratch the stain back and forth, other times bigger stains call for a hard bristle nail brush. I swear, it's the best. Now, I haven't tried it on baby stains, formula and baby foods, because I remember nothing stains like carrots and bananas. Really though when you think about it, food stains our hands and we use soap to get it off, shouldn't that work for our clothes too?

I just keep going in circles

2009-04-03T12:11:00.005-04:00

I'm on a roll, but yet I feel like I keep walking in circles in my house. I have about five things going at one time, but yet here I am basically starting another project, blogging. I started cleaning out the pantry (project 1) while my boys were eating breakfast before catching the bus for school. I got sidetracked, knowing I wanted to put all the boxes of jell-o in a small bin which is in the basement. Meanwhile, walk the boys out the garage door, I grabbed all the snow boots to take downstairs to storage bins (project 2), I realize I must sweep that area where the boots were stored (project 3). While sweeping I think I might as well wash all the snowpants, hats, gloves, etc. and get them all put away with the boots (project 4 and now two loads of laundry later). Take a small break to take sweet girl to a playdate. The snowpants freed up a shelf in my mudroom which created a new project for me (project 5) which was to organize three cupboards above my washer/dryer/utility sink and I decided to put all the school supplies and crafts in those cupboards, which freed up an entire big cupboard in my kitchen. ..... which I'm getting ready to sweep out and start filling with big platters and party bowls, things which have been stored in my pantry. So really project 6 is coming full circle for me. It all started in the pantry. And it's only noon!!

We're back - Florida was F A B U L O U S

2009-03-30T19:09:00.006-04:00

Our first day at Universal Studios and this is the first ride the kids (and hubby) went on ... twice. Look, hardly any people.

Our next park on Wednesday was Universal Island of Adventure and boy oh boy, what fun. We met up with our fun neighbors and the kids had a blast going on rides together. Whoville is wonderful, simply wonderful, not a straight line in the entire place, everything is curved.

The Cat in the Hat

And The Grinch - no way!!!

Here's the gang coming off the Popeye and Bluto river ride and look, they're soaked down to the underwear. I don't even remember how many times they rode this water ride, maybe 12.

On our way out of the park, soaking wet, we paused for an elephant ear and sat down on a ledge. Right beside us in the bush was a husband/wife duck team begging us for our elephant ear. they ate it right out of my hand. Amazing.

Guess where we were on Thursday?

The Happiest Place on Earth, but right now, at 11:00 pm, these kiddos are exhausted.

No vacation down south would be complete without a little minature golf.

And at last Downtown Disney

Where we visited Legoland [ and purchased two really cool Star Wars ships]

guess where we're going .....?

2009-03-20T09:37:00.004-04:00

~ two days here ~

~ one day here ~

i'm excited about this ~

and this .... haunted mansion

Etsy custom order ~ Monogrammed Hair Bow Holder

2009-03-20T09:35:00.002-04:00

I really love special orders, I guess because I can chitchat with my customer and it feels more personal. Below is an Etsy special order. Just thought I'd share.

Coupon Organization 101

2009-03-18T18:58:00.010-04:00

I am, by no means, a coupon queen. I strive to be one, but alas, it does bore me. I cannot make myself go to three different markets to save $.35 on one item or buy the stuff at CVS or Walgreens only to have it sit in my bathroom for months on end. I don't like to have an unlimited amount of tooth paste on hand. It makes me nuts. I like to buy ahead a little bit, but not too much. I just don't like the clutter. Seriously, makes me kookoo. But .....

I do love saving at the market, you know maybe $20 to $30 in coupons [when they are doubled], I can do that. I have tried several coupon organization systems and I haven't been crazy about any of them. Then I stumbled upon a system that just might be crazy enough to work for me. I call it crazy, because when I explained it to my husband, he looked at me like I was crazy.

So I found a left over 3-ring notebook from my son's end of year junk last year. I think it is a 1/2" notebook. I got my other son's notebook full of Pokemon cards in baseball card sleeves and took all the cards out [much to his disappointment - side note: he hasn't looked at his cards for probably 6 months so the guilt didn't last very long]. Then, the fun part, organizing.

I sorted my coupons by how my market is laid out and what works for me. I got tabbed dividers [also happened to have on hand from my working days] and labeled each section. Then I started putting my coupons into the baseball card slots. There are 9 slots per page, you can even use the back side if you want, but I have a ton of baseball card sleeves so I'm just using the front. I did double up coupons, say for toilet paper, they all went into one slot, with the closest expiration date first.

Okay, ready for my first shopping trip. Pulled out coupons for items I wanted to purchase, I put them in the first sleeve. And off I went, shopping list in hand, coupon binder in cart. WOW, super duper easy. And best of all, if you see something on sale you just know you have a coupon for, you just flip through your pages and find your coupon. No more standing there in the aisle sorting through your stack of coupons hoping they don't all fall out of your hands. As I used my coupons, I pulled them out of the slot and put them in the clear pocket on the left so I had one pile to hand to the lady at check-out.

So if the old coupon organizer isn't working for you, think outside the box [or bag].

When a family dog dies

2009-03-12T14:42:00.005-04:00

We had to put our sweet dog, Pockets, to sleep last night. It was so hard. It's hard explaining this to children. It's so hard seeing the tears in their eyes and trying to make them understand that it is for the best. It's impossible to explain to a 6 year old that we won't visit her in a cemetary and that cremation doesn't hurt.

It's hard watching your dog suffer, yet not being able to make that final decision, the inevitable and the necessary. She was in so much pain and it was evident in her walk, her personality and mostly, her beautiful big brown eyes. I'm at peace with it now, but it's tough. Tears still come, and I imagine they will for a while. Our little dog, Lulu, is confused. She keeps looking around. Where has her buddy gone, she wonders. She, I'm sure, senses our sadness as we all hug her a little more tightly.

I think I have a crush on a gay man .... Eddie Ross

2009-03-03T19:25:00.009-05:00

Yes, me. A suburban housewife with 3 kids, 2 dogs and an SUV have a crush on Eddie Ross. I'm pretty sure my husband will be okay with it, don't worry. How can I not love a man who decorates so beautifully!!

And, creates stunning tablescapes ......

And beautiful food :::::

And, WHAT ... he does flowers too .... be still my heart peonies and rananuculus

Please, oh, please, how I'd love to go flea marketing with you ~ :)

I have followed his career since being on one of my favorite Bravo TV shows Top Design. Loved him on that show. He started this blog and I just love his look, his designs, his fun take on life, in general.

Oh, what a great 8th birthday.

2009-03-01T17:15:00.004-05:00

:: Magic Mountain ::

Another Birthday - BB is 8

2009-02-28T18:58:00.005-05:00

Happy 8th Birthday BB ..... my little blonde one.

February sure is a busy month for us. Winter, in general, is busy, all three of my kids are winter babies, December and February. BB and Bear are only 14 months apart. BB, my second, was by far my easiest delivery, but maybe that's because Bear paved the way only 14 months prior. I don't know but Big N almost delivered BB because I progressed so quickly and was literally holding my legs together waiting for my OB to come in and catch him.

Dogs and Cancer

2009-02-27T09:07:00.004-05:00

It's been a sad week in our house. Our almost 13 year old Golden Retriever, Pockets, was diagnosed with lymphoma. We've been blessed to have this wonderful dog in our lives for so long. To see her decline, so rapidly, is heartbreaking. She had 7 puppies of her own and was such a good mother, it only came naturally for her to be the ever watchful eye when our own three human "puppies" came along and she was their protector. When they cried in the middle of the night, she'd be right there with me tending to their needs. Every now and then she would get a big lick in like she was cleaning them. And it was funny. Goldens are such a wonderful breed, so tolerant and laid back. She let all the kids climb all over her and snuggle up against her. Her looks to us said it all "I'll tolerate them only because I love them, but they are driving me crazy." At times, we knew exactly how she felt.

Because of her advanced age, we are not putting her through chemo. Trying to keep her comfortable and as happy as possible. Next week will be tough.

Sweet Girl's 6th Birthday -- CUPCAKES

2009-02-20T10:05:00.001-05:00

We had sweet girl's 6th birthday party last Sunday. 7 little girls for nail painting, hair coloring and pinata fun. Guess the theme ... right CUPCAKES. My mom found this cupcake mold last summer. Isn't it great? I photographed it beside a regular size cupcake so you can see the size difference. It was fine for 7 little girls, but not enough for some hungry adults. I put it on a plate from Hallmark which reads "it's your special day" and whoever has a birthday or special day in our house gets to use this cool plate.

How do you do your laundry?

2009-02-14T18:13:00.001-05:00

As a household of five, we have a bunch of laundry. With three kids in sports, it only adds to the piles. Lately it seems I've had several moms ask me how I keep on top of my laundry. When I explain my system, the realize it makes sense. And, I line dry most clothes [except pj's, undies and socks]. So I'll share my laundry tips with you. Maybe something will work for you.

I find that it is easier to separate my kids' clothes from our adult clothes. The kids' clothes get sorted into four piles: dark pants, dark shirts, lights [including pants & shirts] and then one pile for pj's, underwear and socks. I find it more efficient if I do all the pants at once because them I know I have the pant hangers out and that's all I'm doing. Ditto with doing dark shirts, I know i need all my regular hangers at that time. I also hang all of our clothes in the closet, I'm not big on putting stuff in the dressers, except, again, pj's, undies and socks and sometimes extra uniform stuff.

Now in the summer sometimes my dark piles are smaller and my light colored piles are bigger, it's usually either/or not both. This system works well for me. I do four loads of kids' clothes about every 4-5 days. I usually don't have to do 'adult' loads but every 7-9 days. In between days are bedding, towels, blankets and such.

I find this way very organized and productive. I don't feel I'm doing laundry every day. I've heard of people doing at least 2 loads a day and every day. I just can't imagine. If you get organized and a system in place, it will take less time doing laundry and you don't dread it as much. Keep in mind, I do have an front load, extra capacity washer. That may help too :)

She's 6

2009-02-12T09:35:00.001-05:00

No one could ever, ever top this Valentine's Day present. My sweet baby is 6 today.

Going to her first father/daughter dance last weekend with the Girl Scouts. She's a daisy.
Her prince awaits.

Such a big occasion calls for Grams and Papa to stop by

It's pretty cool when you meet your heros .... The Columbus Blue Jackets

2009-02-12T09:14:00.001-05:00

Jared Boll from the Columbus Blue Jackets signing Bear's hockey jersey and puck. WOW - how exciting.

Jared Boll with the kids.
Rick Nash [the King of the Jackets]

Bear was a little upset because his favorite goalie, Steve Mason, was out sick with mono. But he was excited to see all these players. So why are they called the Columbus Blue Jackets? Well, Ohio had more soldiers in the Civil War than any other state and those soldiers were at times called "blue jackets" because of their uniform. There was a small factory here in Columbus that made the blue jackets for the men. Hence, the name and history [and this is the canon that "goes off" when a goal is scored - see his Civil War uniform?].