Ll-Ladybugs

It seems some ladybugs have landed on our L page today! You can make these too by dipping your thumb in some red paint and pressing it on the paper. Then, just add details with a black marker:0)

Thanksgiving Thursday

It's been a while since I have participated in Thanksgiving Thursday, but that does not mean I don't have a lot to be thankful for. So here are a few things that I am thankful for this week!

*My hubby! He has been working hard as usual this week, even picking up some extra work so that I can continue to stay home and be with the kids. I love him!

*The gorgeous weather! Although, it is cooler and cloudy today, the past few days have been fantastic! It has given us all a chance to enjoy the outdoors more and there is nothing better than the smell of lilacs in bloom!

*My parents! They have been so great during our remodel, letting us stay there for a while and by putting up with all of my laundry until the laundry room is finished.

*My boys! They are really turning into hard working young men just like their dad:0) Michael has been taking care of all the yard work here, while Brandon mows grass for my parents and grandparents. Aaron, put in a lot of hours doing cement work with his dad this week. He was a big help!

*My girls! They are the comedy relief that we need around here! They are hilarious!

Those are just a few things that I am thankful for this week! What are you thankful for?

Foot Print Butterflies

This is a project that we have been doing since the kids were babies. From tiny foot prints to some big kid feet they are always cute.

1. Dip your child's feet in some colorful paint and print them on a piece of construction paper.

2. Add the body, face and antennae. Then cut them out:0)

Wordless Wednesday-Can You Lick Your Elbow?

For more Wordless Wednesday visit MomDot!

Silly Mady

Madelyn just brought me the dog and the leash and asked me if I could "Plug her in"! Silly Mady...

Eight is Great!

I'm baaaaack! I know that I have not been a very good at blogging lately. The truth is, I just needed a break. The weather has been fabulous and I have been hanging out with my kids a lot. Good times!

Yesterday, I was tagged by Funny In My Mind!

Here are my 8 things!


8 Things I'm Looking Forward To...
1. Getting my house finished! Remodeling is not fun!
2. Going on vacation! We all need to get away and have a nice relaxing break from the craziness!
3. Finally losing weight!
4. A date with my hubby;0)
5. Getting my new laptop!
6. My kids' summer vacation! No more getting up early!
7. Doing laundry at home! I know I'm sick in the head, but I like doing laundry and I actually miss it. Soon my new laundry room will be finished and I will be delighted:0)
8. Michael's baseball game this afternoon! Hopefully it won't rain!

8 Things I Did Yesterday...
1. Played in the sandbox with the girls.
2. Ate a hot fudge sundae! Yum:0) ( not on my diet)
3. Talked to my Mom on the phone.
4. Got yelled at by Madelyn for not using sunblock on myself!
5. Did a Fishful Thinking activity with the kids.
6. Made pizza for lunch!
7. Picked up the toys 2000 times!
8. Put clothes away that I washed at my parent's house all day Sunday!

8 Things I Wish I could Do...
1. Win the lottery!
2. Buy a bigger house far away from anyone else!
3. Go to Disney! (not this year anyway)
4. Fly! It would be fun, you must admit it!
5. Finish my house right now. With my magic wand;0)
6. Cure cancer!
7. Lose all the weight I want to instantly!
8. Have another hot fudge sundae!

8 Shows I Watch...
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. American Idol
3. Hell's Kitchen
4. Dog the Bounty Hunter (hehe)
5. General Hospital ( oh my Vickie, it's gettin' good!)
6. Ellen
7. Little People Big World
8. Jon and Kate plus Eight!

8 People To Tag...
1. Vickie
2. Momma Young
3. Aubrey
4. The Mighty M
5. April
6. Whitney
7. Christina
8. Yaya

Win a $10,000 Scholarship For Your Child!

For a while now I have been telling you all the great things that Fishful Thinking has to offer, parenting advice and activities to help raise more optimistic children. Now, Fishful thinking has introduced something new and fantastic! It's called Storybook Maker. It a place to make a customized storybook about your very own child. The best part, by creating a Storybook, you are entered in a sweepstakes to win a $10,000 college scholarship for your child. Isn't that fabulous?





So go ahead, click the little blue book to get started!

I am an ambassador for Fishful Thinking through RepNation and could earn incentives for my participation.

You Could Win A $10,000 Scholarship For Your Child!

For a while now I have been telling you all the great things that Fishful Thinking has to offer, parenting advice and activities to help raise more optimistic children. Now, Fishful thinking has introduced something new and fantastic! It's called Storybook Maker. It a place to make a customized storybook about your very own child. The best part, by creating a Storybook, you are entered in a sweepstakes to win a $10,000 college scholarship for your child. Isn't that fabulous?





So go ahead, click the little blue book to get started!

I am an ambassador for Fishful Thinking through RepNation and could earn incentives for my participation.

Egg Carton Flowers and Caterpillars

In honor of Earth Day, we made a couple of projects today using some egg cartons. I try to save as much as I can to reuse at craft time. Egg cartons, milk jugs and cartons, cans, paper towel tubes, bottles, etc. are great to make a variety of projects. Here are just two examples of thing you can make with egg cartons.



The flowers were made by cutting individual sections of the egg carton and painting them. I then added a pipe cleaner for the stem by poking it through the egg carton section. I added buttons to the center to give it more color.



You can make a caterpillar by cutting an egg carton in half and painting it. Add a pipe cleaner for the antennae and some eyes. You could also make an ant by cutting it into a three section piece and painting it black. Happy Earth Day!

It's Official! I'm Saucy!

Wow, can I just say that I am now even more in love with SITS! My big day yesterday was even bigger than I expected and I am still trying to get through all of the fabulous comments left by my SITStas! The support that is given out by all the SITStas is amazing! Thank you for making my SITSday so wonderful!

The SITStahood offers encouragement when you need it, prayers, and just some good old "comment love"! If you are not part of SITS, you really should be:0)

Welcome SITStas!

I am so excited that you all have come for a visit! It's been a bit crazy around here lately and I really needed a break from it all. We are remodeling our house and it has been one problem after another. This is just the distraction I need!

As you can see, I am a mother of five perfect kids;0) We have a very busy life! Baseball, soccer, preschool, football,drive me here or there. It gets crazy sometimes, but it's just the way I like it.

This blog is about some of the things that happen in our lives. The good, the bad, and the ugly!

Look around if you like! You are always welcome to visit:0)

Muffin Tin Monday Goes AWOL!

I know, I know, I don't usually post our Muffin Tin Monday entry on this blog, but today's theme is going AWOL! Our big plan to take our Muffin Tin to the park was doused by a rainy day, so we spread out our blanket and had a picnic in the living room. We also went AWOL from Just For Fun for this week:0)
Here is what we had:

Top row: cheese and a hamburger

Bottom row: goldfish crackers, a deviled egg, and pickles

Here are the girls enjoying their "picnic"!

For more Muffin Tin Monday please visit:

Celebrate Earth!

In honor of Earth day this week, we are planning to do some special activities. Most of those will be crafts made using recycled materials. Today we started our Earth Week off by making the Earth.

For this activity, you will need a paper plate and some green and blue paint.

1. Paint the paper plate with the blue paint.


2. Using your child's hand dipped in green paint, make the "land".


3. There you have it! Our Earth:0)

How Sweet It Is!

I have received this super cool new award from Jen at Creative and Curious Kids! It's awesome! Thank you so much:0)

Here are the rules for this award:
Tape it up on your blog somewhere.
Pass it along to 5 fellow super bloggers, and comment on their blog to let them know how lucky they are today!
When you present your Super Blogger awards, link back to the super blogger who gave it to you.

Here are the five blogs I think are super!

Vickie's Scrapbooking and Tidbits
Crayons, Glue and Scissors
Everything Except The Grill
Book Worms BookNook
Superheroes and Princesses
Casa Camacho

Friday Book Projects-Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

Wow, what a week we have had! Our house is undergoing some major renovations and with Easter, we have been very busy. We had not be staying at home for a week and just got back yesterday. It's great to be home and getting settled back into our normal routines. So of course I had to make sure to do a Friday Book Project! The book we read is Bugs, Bugs, Bugs and in honor of the girls favorite bug, we made ladybugs!

For this project you will need: a paper bowl, red and black paint, black construction paper, glue, and a black pipe cleaner.

1. Paint the bottom of the paper bowl red.

2. Paint a small area on the side of the bowl with black paint for the face.

3. Glue some spots cut from construction paper to the back of the ladybug.

4. Add some eyes and the pipe cleaner antennae.


If you have a book inspired project that you would like to share, add your link to Mr. Linky:0)

The Perfect Bouquet

While walking this morning, my girls picked this beautiful bouquet of dandelions for me. They really brightened my table:0)

Home Sweet Home

We are finally home from our impromptu vacation at my parent's house. Things are slowly moving along with the remodel. I wish it was done already! It is coming together and I am feeling a little more at ease knowing that it is not in danger of collapse.

Easter was great! We had a get together at my parent's house and it was nice to spend the day with family.

It's finally warming up here and I am thrilled to be able to play outside with he kids. Maybe Michael will even get a baseball game in. Many of them have been cancelled because of rain:0(

Do you know how hard it is to live without the computer for a whole week? Torture! I am so glad to be back home in bloggy land:0) I will be very busy catching up on blog reading. But I promise I will be back in the swing of things soon!

Sorry if that was a bit random, but that's how my life is. You never know what tomorrow will bring!

Kk-Kites

Onward and upward to the letter K! We made kites on our K page for the alphabet book we are creating:0)

Hiddy-Ho Neighbors!

With all the chaos of construction going on around me, I'm feeling a bit stressed. As I sat at my desk trying to transport myself to a happy place in blogland, I hear Felicia. As I turned around, she says "hiddy-ho neighbor"! Here she is doing her Wilson impersonation from Home Improvement. She watches way too much Nick at Night!

A Dose Of Random!

Well, talk about crazy! The major renovation of our house has been very trying. The more we "uncover" the worse it gets. They say it always gets worse before it gets better, so I hope I am seeing the "better" end of that soon. This is a current picture of my laundry room:

Notice, the studs at the bottom have rotted away. Oh joy! The men are currently at Home Depot buying supplies so it's a bit quieter here now. I should be seeing some progress in the positive direction soon. (I hope)

Today was Felicia's preschool Easter Brunch. The food was delicious and it was fun hanging out with my former co-workers. Madelyn went along too and cried all the way home. She really would move in there if I let her.

Michael's baseball game from yesterday was cancelled again due to rain. I was really bummed. I live for that kind of stuff and every single day he has a game it rains:0(

Sunday afternoon the girls had cooking class again. They made candy for the Easter Egg hunt that our church is having on Saturday. What a blast! I think they may be master chocolatiers when they grow up;0)



How about this crazy weather? What the heck happened to Spring? It was flurrying here today! Geesh! Can somebody wake Mother Nature up?

I'm having a giveaway on Just For Fun! It's for Fishful Thinking, so go check it out please:0)

Well, I guess that's all I have for now. Hopefully I can have some pictures of "good" progress soon:0)

Tissue Paper Easter Eggs

Wow, Easter is less than a week away and we are so behind on our decorating! We are in the midst of a major renovation and it's kind of getting in the way of crafting. But, today we found a somewhat quiet corner of the room to work and we made some brightly colored Easter eggs. The girls love anything involving glue and tissue paper so this was perfect.

1. Cut out an egg shape from a piece of construction paper.


2. Cut some tissue paper into small pieces and glue them to the egg.


3. These eggs will brighten any room! Even in midst of a construction nightmare!

I'm Having a Giveaway!

I am giving away a $25 Macy's Gift Card on Just For Fun! Go check it out!

Fishful Thinking Giveaway!

Several weeks ago, I was introduced to the Fishful Thinking website by a couple of other bloggers. I checked it out and immediately realized how wonderful it is. Soon after, I became an ambassador for Fishful Thinking! Fishful Thinking is a great initiative, sponsored by Pepperidge Farm, that helps parents gain the skills needed to instill optimism in their children. The site is full of activities that are designed to incorporate into every day life.

Fishful Thinking is comprised of five ingredients:
Optimism
Emotional Awareness
Goal Setting/Hope
Resilience
Empowerment

I am very excited to announce that I am having my very first giveaway on Just For Fun! But it's not just any old giveaway, it's a chance for me to share the fabulous things that can be learned by visiting the Fishful Thinking website.

The prize for this giveaway is a $25 Macy's Gift card!

Here is what you need to do to be eligible for the drawing:

First entry: Show me what you have learned about Fishful Thinking! Go visit the Fishful Thinking website. Take some time to explore the site, then come back here and leave a comment about what you have learned. You must visit the site to qualify!

*Update- Due to an amazing response to the Fishful Thinking ambassador program, they are no longer accepting new ambassadors. Those of you who earned the extra entries for becoming an ambassador will still receive those entries.


This contest will end Sunday, April 12 at 11:59PM(EST). I will announce the winner sometime on Monday, April 13.

Good Luck!

Let The Construction Begin!

Oh my! I have taken a bit of a break around here. Not that I planned too, but I just could not seem to get caught up on things around the house. Just as things started to slow down a bit here, we are now embarking on a new adventure. We live in a house that is 100+ years old. It has always been our plan to completely remodel it, however, money and time were always an issue. We have done a few things here and there, but nothing major. Lately, we have been noticing some settling and sagging in some of the upstairs rooms. Today, we took the first step to find out what is causing this. This is a current photo of my kitchen floor.



It's not a pretty sight down there. There is no basement under this particular part of the house. We have discovered a lot of rotting wood. It looks like a long and messy project and I am praying for the patience to deal with this. It will not be easy. I am not sure where we will come up with the money to complete this whole project, but I do know that it is necessary. Please pray that I don't lose my mind during this craziness!

Handprint Bunnies

What says spring like a cute, little bunny? Today we made an adorable bunny with our hand prints.

1. Paint the palm of your child's hand and the index and ring fingers.

2. Using a thumb dipped in pink paint, make a nose in the center of the palm.

3. Add some eyes, mouth, and whiskers to your bunny:0)

After my post about the ducks made with feet, I received a comment asking where I get all my hand and foot print ideas. Occasionally, I find some online, but most of these ideas I used when I worked in the baby room at a daycare center. We always tried to have art from children of all ages hanging on the walls and the babies did a lot of hand print things because it was easy. Hands and feet can be turned into many things, just use your imagination:0)

My Life. In Pictures. The View From My Front Door

Today's challenge for My Life. In Pictures., hosted by Amber at Everything Except the Grill, is to take a photo of the view from your front door. You would know that today has been such a rainy, yucky day that I could not really get a decent picture. So instead, I am entering a picture that I took this past fall. This is a tree that is in my front yard. We only planted it a few years ago, so it is still very small. However, it has quickly become my favorite tree around. The color show that it puts on in the fall is glorious. I love to sit on my front porch so I can just stare at it. It's lovely:0)

Go check out the other entries here: