OshKosh Cranes for Kids

I received an email from OshKosh with a way that they are helping the children affected by the Tsunami in Japan and wanted to share this opportunity with everyone that may want to help.  This is a great idea that OshKosh has come up with and I love that you don’t have to live near an OshKosh store to help out.  View this website for all of the information http://www.carters.com/Cranes-For-Kids/cranes-for-kids,default,pg.html?id=oshkosh&cm_mmc=ETOshKosh-_-campaign-_-Crane+Japan+Reactive+2011+03+29-_-Shop+Learn+More&cm_em=jennishields05@gmail.com

RELAX

I am lucky and have a home in AZ along with the one we live in all the time. It is my ‘run away from winter’ home. I have been repainting the main floor and trying to add a few homey touches to it. I want it to be a vacation home and since my favorite vacation place is the beach it is more of a beach house. I painted the dining/kitchen a teal blue and I’m accenting with orange.
Relax is about the cupboards over the oven to remind everyone that if you are here you are suppose to be relaxing and enjoying yourself.

Bleached Dino Shirt

My youngest is obsessed with 3 things, Batman (well super heros in general), Sharks, and Dinosaurs.  Get him one of those things and you can't go wrong.  This makes gift giving very easy, and also apparel, you always know he'll put on something if it has one of those 3 items.

When Cheri from I am Momma, Hear me Roar announced a little boy tops contest, I knew I had to enter, and I already had the perfect plan that had been swimming around in my head.

Chicken Nuggets, Chic-Play style

My kids LOVE Chic-Fil-A.  When she was about 3, my daughter dubbed it Chic-Play.  Now, honestly, they don't really eat a whole lot while there, but at least I get to eat without worrying about my kids as they are happily running around the playground.  When there, we always order their chicken nuggets, in my opinion they are definitely the best as far as fast food goes.

In an attempt at making delicious meals that both the adults and kids could enjoy, I concocted a knock off of our favorite nuggets.  They actually came out better than I expected and my entire family loves them.  They are easy too.

My New Favorite Toy

 

Last Christmas, my Husband and I decided that we would focus on the kids and skip each other when it came to gifts.  After all, we just purchased our first home and that came with some other expenses as well.  So, when we finished our taxes and realized we would be receiving a pretty good refund, we decided to get our Christmas gifts a bit late this year.  My first thoughts when trying to decide what I wanted to do with my portion was to purchase a Silhouette.  I had fallen in love with my mom’s and all that it could do, I just needed to get my own.  So, I did, and I am having so much fun with it!  No tutorials today, just excited to show off some of my newest projects!

Purchased the Jars at Wal-Mart for about $6 each.  Now my baking station looks so much prettier :)

Our old cookie jar (yep, the same jar from Wal-Mart) got a bit of updating as well.

Even the front door needs a bit of love…

Chloe’s been asking for her name on her door for a while now, so this is what I came up with…  She LOVES the fact that she is a ballerina, and Phoebe is the little sister.

I came across this menu plate on a blog and loved it!  The plate came from Wal-Mart, and the easel came from Hobby Lobby (which just opened up 10 miles from my house… I am in trouble now :) ).  Just write your menu with a dry erase marker and it wipes right off.  I’m having a lot of fun, and can’t wait to get some more projects done…

Easy Motto

A few weeks ago I was at a training for scouts and it was mentioned that young adults are quitting at things more so than in the past, and the cause is that we aren't teaching our kids to do hard things.  So, as soon as things get difficult, they give up.

I was continually thinking about this after the training (especially since my hubby made a comment a few days later about how we need to be tougher on our kids and expect more from them), when I came across a sign someone had made that stated "We can do hard things".  I knew I needed this hanging in my home, but that I could also make my own.

I started with a 1x12 scrap I had in my garage and cut it down to size, it ended up being about 16 inches.  I painted this black.  Then I printed out my saying and simply colored on the back of the paper with pencil over all the lines, then put it colored side down and traced over the words transferring an outline to my wood.  Paint inside the lines with white (or whatever color you choose), let dry, and sand.  After it was all sanded, I wiped it off and sprayed it with a clear coat.  Then, simply add a saw toothed hanger on the back.  This will eventually sit on a ladder shelf, but I have to make it first.  It was a super easy project and best of all FREE!  Now it hangs proudly where everyone can see it and be reminded of it daily.