Organizing Kids' Artwork

I bet you've been wondering what I accomplished on my day to myself, ha?! Are you ready? Absolutely nothing that was on my list. My little man needed a lot of attention in the morning, and my teeth needed a lot of attention in the afternoon! (Deep cleaning, but no cavities!)

But, the day wasn't a total loss. I was able to organize the girls' artwork while holding Malachi. First, I took pictures of all of Natalie's 4-yr-old art and put it into a collage. In case you didn't know, Picnik is offering their premium services free until April. That's the good news. The bad news is, they are closing after that. Anyway, I was able to make this collage of Natalie's 4 year old art:

Next, I organized Allison and Natalie's art from their art class. I bought 11 frames from Ikea for less than $30. (Their Nytjia frames are so cheap!)



I love the fun colors of their artwork, and I love having it displayed. Now onto the next project!

Ritz Sandwiches

We had our Keepers of the Home meeting this week, and it was Allison's turn to bring the snack. Still in recovery mode, I went for something super easy. (Thankfully, they were super tasty, too!) I saw this recipe on Pinterest, but didn't actually pin it myself; so I winged it! We just mixed a little powdered sugar with some peanut butter, made sandwiches with the Ritz, then dipped them in melted chocolate chips. We decided to add sprinkles as well.

Just look at my "helpers." Ha!

What?

Absolutely Nothing

Where do I begin? I wish I could say my lack of blogging was due to exercising... but my doctor told me I had to wait 8 weeks. So, I'm continuing to feast on junk, totally unmotivated to eat healthy until I begin jogging again.

I wish I could say I've been working on my next craft project... but I haven't.

I have been home schooling... but nothing too exciting there.

The reason I haven't been blogging is simply that I've had zero energy. I had a nasty cold/ sinus infection that is finally starting to lift. I've been taking some pictures and "blogging" in my head; but my brain has felt too tired to actually sit down and blog.

Thankfully, I turned a corner today. You know how you don't realize how yucky you felt until you finally start to feel better? Yeah. That's me today.

Tomorrow my husband is taking the girls to Knott's Berry Farm... again! I have a dentist appointment, but other than that I am praying my little man will cooperate and allow me to get some things accomplished. Do I...

• organize my mess of a closet?
• work on the upstairs bookshelves?
• work on the downstairs built-ins?
• sew some pillows from the fabric I just bought?
• work on a painting I've had in my head?
• catch-up on blogging?
  

So many possibilities. I'll let you know! (Just keep me off of Pinterest!) :)

One good thing about the Santa Ana winds...

1. Tie a bag to a string.

2. Send kids outside with said bag.

3. Relax inside while the kids play "kite" for an hour.

Did you know...

• 2-year-olds look even cuter on bad hair days? (Yes, I'm jealous!)

• there is such a thing as rainbow roses? My parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary on January 3rd, and my dad sent my mom this lovely bouquet with rainbow roses. How do they do that?

• 

• everything tastes better with a toothpick? It's true... my dear friend Kelly introduced me to this concept, and I think it is so fun!

• there are a lot of words that start with "b?" The last few afternoons while I painted, the girls came up with a letter, drew pictures of things that started with that letter, and then painted them. They started with the letter "b."
  

• homemade pizzas are one of my favorite dinners, but I can never seem to get the crusts quite right?

• even Grandmas get worn-out?

My "New" Dresser

Nine days into 2012 and I have my second goal accomplished: I finished painting our old mini-dresser. It is the first piece of furniture I've ever attempted to paint, and I am so happy with it. First I lightly sanded it, (with a little help). Then I did as follows:

The girls were always so eager to help. Other than allowing them to sand a bit, I let them stir the paint... and that was it. I'm such a mean mommy! But, I had a brilliant idea:

I had the kids actually paint their own stir sticks. What for? I have no idea! But, it worked! They were happy doing their thing...


...which left me happily doing mine.

And, here it is:


I gathered and painted items in my house to put in this new shelf unit above the dresser. I'm proud to say I did not spend a penny on anything in this project; everything I had on hand!


And, today marks the 6 week post-op from my c-section which means I'm cleared to exercise. No more excuses; it's time to move on to my health goals and resolutions for 2012!

New Year's Eve 2011

As usual we kept a pretty low-key New Year's Eve. Daniel had to work, so it was just us girls and Malachi! I explained to the girls that people often associate glitter with the new year, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather, headed outside, and glittered away!

Back inside, I had the girls fill out a 2011 Interview that I found on this site. I was so excited to find this, and I want to add it to our New Year traditions. I found out things, such as Allison wants to be a housekeeper when she grows up!


Allison made a paper chain to count down until midnight! The girls took turns tearing the chains off.
We also finished our night with our traditional puzzle, though Allison was frustrated, Malachi and Sierra were needy, and Natalie was overly tired and begging to go to bed... It was only 7:45pm. I went to bed shortly after the girls, and awoke only to hear the neighbors light off fireworks, blow horns, and yell "Happy New Year." And, a happy new year it has been so far!

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas morning started out as it always does with little ones... full of magic and excitement as they run to their stockings to find what Santa Claus brought. Allison and Natalie were thrilled with their new scented gel pens and journals; they got right to "work." Sierra was equally excited about her watercolors. It didn't seem to bother her that the other girls got a lot more "stuffers" in their stockings. (Not sure that will be the case next year when she's three!)

Daniel came home from work, and we enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve breakfast a day late. Its one of Daniel's favorites, so we had to wait for him! The casserole is basically sourdough, sausage, eggs, milk, and a truckload of cheese. It might as well be called heart attack casserole. There is a reason we only make it once a year!



After breakfast, Daniel's parents came to visit bearing gifts. They didn't stay too long, but long enough for sweet cuddles from Malachi and sweet kisses from Sierra!


Just look at all these presents. Where are we going to put them all?

The big girls got to work passing out gifts...

Who gave SIERRA a hairbrush???


Natalie and Allison gave each other a very special gift they had been wanting for a long time: best friend lockets.

Another special gift had a lot of love and time poured out into it. Look at this amazing vanity my mom hand-painted for the girls:

Isn't that amazing? And, the special gifts didn't stop there. My sweet husband got me something that totally shocked me and I will treasure forever. He designed and had his firefighter partner hand build the most amazing jewelry box. Check it out:

I know, I know... I need some better pictures of it. I also need some pictures of the gorgeous necklace he gave me. I figure you will see me wearing it in most of my pictures from now on!


Sierra is SO into rocking horses, we just had to get her one. This particular one Daniel picked out, and it sings. Be glad you can't hear "I'm a pretty pony... clippity clop, clippity clop." You can't get it out of your head!




We ended the day with a lovely dinner of beef tenderloin. Unfortunately, Allison wasn't able to enjoy it as she came down with the flu in the afternoon. Natalie followed her footsteps and was throwing-up by 10:00pm. It was a violent, nasty flu, but was short-lived. Poor Uncle Nate got it 2 days later. The rest of us were spared! Overall, it was a very fun and special Christmas with our newest little addition.
See! I told you I would blog Christmas. :)

Blah, blah, blah...

Confession: I still don't want to go back and blog Christmas. Bah humbug! But, I will... it is a resolution!

I wanted to come-up with some awesome resolutions. I have a few, but nothing written down. Instead, I read my friend Melissa's awesome list and decided I would go back to it if I needed inspiration!

One goal for the New Year was to move Sierra to a big girl bed. You may remember we failed miserably once. Today is January 2, and we are well on our way. I couldn't be more proud! Next it's on to potty training. Joy. ** read sarcastically! **



My mom is still here... which is such a blessing! Today we began school again, and it went incredibly well. I am blessed with the 2 smartest, sweetest students in the world. (Excuse the bragging, but that is my heart today!) And since Malachi chose to sleep and Sierra played happily upstairs with Grandma, it was an awesome day! Oh, if only every day were such...

Because school went well and the kids slept well, I was actually able to work on a project once dinner was prepped! Before:


Well, I didn't get too far. Look who decided to help:


Still, I started. Now I have to finish, right?

I am still madly in love with my other man. He slept all day today. I was so happy watching him sleep in my arms, it took me over an hour to put him in his crib! Praying he sleeps tonight... I am also madly in love with his sisters!!



I have no idea how to decorate the built-ins in my family room. I love them. They are beautiful. But right now they are empty. I don't like clutter... yet they are bare shelves calling for something. I need help. Perhaps I need to just be patient.

It's 2012. How did that happen? I am just thrilled at the prospect of a new year and a fresh start. Here I am just rambling... but I plan to write some things down, too. I really will. God is tugging at my heart, and I am ready to listen. I need Him!

If you made it this far, congratulations and thanks for listening to me ramble. I am beat. I need to find my blogging groove, again!