That's Life Kid!

Elle took Elise for a spin in the power wheels jeep today. I flashed forward 13 years and could totally imagine them as teenagers. Elle driving Elise around and Elise in charge of the radio. It was set to classical music and she immediately changed it to a station playing the Low Rider song. Elle had her foot jammed on the gas the whole time. 

Yesterday, I was dreaming of this first day of summer. No packing lunches. No school schedules. No up and at em. Just sleeping in, fun and relaxation. So, when did I lose my mind? We were awakened at 6:30 a.m. by a screeching Elle who woke up cranky. You could hear her like a siren, coming down the stairs and it got louder as she made her way to our bed. Then, she proceeded to climb in between us, lay with her legs at our pillows and, still screeching, kick at our heads. "Why?" you may ask. All because her nose was stopped up and she didn't like it. Brought me back to reality double time. : )

My new sport is poking fun at ridiculous catalog pictures. "How many times have I told you guys no boats in the house?!?" Janell suspected she wasn't paid nearly enough to run a daycare for nursery rhyme characters.

Emma thinks homeschool should be where a fun teacher and all your friends come over to your house every day for school. Elise had a hissy fit because she couldn't fit her body inside the Barbie horse carriage. Glad my girls think outside the box! : )

With Jason gone most of last week and my parents staying with us, I haven't had much time to blog. It was great having my mom and dad here to visit with and Mom helped me make some super cute curtains for Elise's room. Poor girl was the last one to have bedroom curtains! : ) They are NO SEW! My favorite kind of project! You just go to the Hob Lob or a fabric store, pick out your color(s) of tulle in the lengths you need, then buy your curtain rods and you're ready to go. I used black and white for Elise's room. Figure  6 extra inches for your poof at the top and then cut the length depending on where you want to hang them on your window. Gather the poof together 6 inches from the top and tie tight with a strip of tulle. Then take two more strips of tulle and criss cross tie the gathered part under your poof to the curtain rod. Continue until all the tulle is hung. Pull the poofs toward you and fluff. That's it! And my mom suggested hanging a pretty ribbon in betwe...

I made the party trays and I am loving them! However, you know how I love to share the realities of DIY. As usual, my project had to wait until my lovelies were in bed and I am NOT a late night person. And although none of the work was hard per se, it was a bit tedious and time consuming. Since I decided to make 3 of the tiered trays, I had to spray paint NINE trays. Front and back. Four coats each side. Letting each coat dry in between. You get the picture. And that's not even counting the 6 candlesticks. But the colors are soooo stinkin cute! So cute in fact, that I had to hold myself back from spray painting all other things in my house. That will come later. So you have the late night tired/weariness, plus the paint and super glue fumes. Not a great combo. Since having 3 children I don't really have many brain cells to spare. When the trays were done and dry, I was so excited that I brought them in and promptly made a mistake. I glued pink trays to pink candlesticks. The...

My good friend came for a two day visit. Coffee, chatting, shopping, and most importantly brewing some creativity! We spent quite a bit of time perusing some GREAT diy websites. You wouldn't believe the fun and (relatively) easy projects out there. If I had hours upon hours of free time, I know exactly what I would be doing: Hanging out with my diy friends and doing all these projects! Well, actually if I had hours upon hours of free time, I would first sleep, then sleep some more, then read a book. But AFTER that, I would do the projects. : ) Here is my new favorite and I cannot wait to make these for Emma's tea party birthday coming up!!! All you need from Dollar Tree are plastic "silver" trays and glass candlesticks. Then just some spray paint and glue. How fantastic is that?!? It came from  http://www.joyshope.com/2010/06/carnival-of-tiered-trays.html

More from the 7 Habits Book....... Habit #3 Put First Things First If family is really going to be top priority, you have to hunker down and make it happen! Most of us would tell anyone that family is their top priority. Many of us would even die for our family if it came to that. But, when you look at where you're spending your time, attention and focus, family usually falls way down on the list. Work, friends and hobbies take up the majority of our time. In the midst of pressures (work, career, house, etc.) many people become blind to the real priority of family. But, think about it: When you retire, your company will go on. But your role in your family will NEVER end! You will never and can never be replaced! Even after you are gone, your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be left with whatever legacy you created. Wow! That is huge!!! There is no middle ground. If you don't take charge and shape your family, then someone or something else will! It i...

So Emma's little school friend had a birthday party yesterday at 2:00 at a party place called The Little Dollhouse. The problem was, I already had a baby shower to attend at the same time. Jason agreed to take Emma to her party. Perfect! Only they got there and Emma didn't recognize anyone. But they gave the present over and Jason shook hands with some parents and introduced himself and one of the moms suggested Emma go back to get her dress-up clothes on. Emma went back and started crying. When Jason asked her what was wrong she said she didn't recognize any of the kids. It turns out, I had the dates wrong. Her friend's party is actually today at 2:00. It was someone else's party! They had to ask for the gift back and make a hasty retreat. Poor Emma and poor Jason. I may have just ruined my chances for the mother of the year award. : )

I know it's little sad when my posts are all about cartoons, but that's about all I get to watch these days. I don't know the breaking news stories, but I could tell you exactly what kind of trouble Max caused for Ruby today. I find myself wanting to pick on these cartoons more than usual because Nick Jr. insists on telling you all the wonderful benefits your child will get from watching the cartoon. For instance, if Elise watches Diego, according to the Nick Jr. information page flashed across the screen, she will: learn about science, exploring, and how to achieve world peace. Ok, the last one was mine. But, please! Does anyone really choose Diego over Max & Ruby because their 2 year old needs to learn more about science today instead of learning about how to "share and care"? No. We let them watch the show because we need 20 minutes of peace. It's really not that complicated. So, back to Diego. Today, he needed a device from his rescue pack to h...

Isaiah 53:5- The chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole. (The Amplified Bible) The Hebrew word for peace in this scripture is shalom which means "nothing broken, nothing missing". Wow!!! I love it! How often do we feel like something is broken or missing with us? It simply isn't true. We may "feel" broken or defective, but if Jesus is living inside you, you have a new identity. Your true identity isn't the old broken person. Your true identity is a child of God. He has given us everything we need for life and Godliness. Just sharing the good news today! Here is a link to one of my favorite worship songs in our church. You'll notice the line about nothing broken, nothing missing.  http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/715240

1. Made more onesie cupcakes for neighbor's shower 2. Bought very practical nude no-line granny panties 3. Took down Spider Man birthday banner from Jason's 36th birthday. (Girls picked out the theme) 4. Kissed the curls on the back of Elise's head 5. Cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. Did I say cleaned? 6. Was climbed on, given slobbery kisses, had cheeto hands wiped on me, and was sneezed on. 7. Thanked God for my family for the millionth time.

I never knew how many mom bullies were out there. Sure, I've run into a few in mom clubs and (I hate to say it) at church. But, when I volunteered to be homeroom mom and became exposed to 26 mothers in Emma's class, wowza! It has been challenging!!! It makes me feel even more sorry for the poor teachers who put up with mom bullies year after year. Just yesterday, I had a phone conversation with a mom from Emma's school and she became so belligerent, that I actually looked around me to see if I had slipped into the Twilight Zone. I am considering taking Tae Kwon Do this summer to prepare for next year. Ha!

Surely at some point in life, you can stop having to worry about acne. At 32, I feel like I have already paid my dues. I've done the hormonal teenager thing. I've had 3 babies for crying out loud! So why is my forehead covered in bumps? I am beginning to consider that hair spray shield that Uncle Jessie invented.....

Being a mom has stretched my heart wider than I ever knew it could go and made me more vulnerable than  I would ever have chosen to be. And I LOVE every minute of it! Well, maybe not every minute, but at least 90% of the minutes. Some days 85%, but I digress. As I looked through old pictures to find the ones I wanted to share on this blog, I got teary eyed several times. It is so good to look at the women you come from. The beautiful, strong, loving women. I especially enjoy seeing pictures of them at my age or younger and who they were before they had large families, children and grandchildren. I am so thankful for my mom. She was/is my teacher, protector, intercessor, confidant, comforter and friend. And I am thankful for both of my grandmothers and the sacrifices they made to pass on such a wonderful legacy to all of us. I saw a sign that sums it up: Home Is Where Your Mom Is! I love you Mom! Happy Mother's Day! My Grandma Meeks One of my all time favorite pic...

I'm sorry to point this out, but has anyone else noticed how much Lucky Charms look like cat food? They have almost identical shapes! Cat Food Lucky Charms Notice the X's and the fish shapes? Hmmm. I imagine way-back-when, the good folks at General Mills wanted to create a new cereal. Luckily, the cat food plant next door went under and was selling their cat food machines for a very low price. P.S.: Mom, just so you know, I only bought this cereal as a snack food and not for breakfast. Don't worry! : )

Elle's preschool is celebrating teacher appreciation week, so I found a cute gift idea online. Bunny Brownies (Smores) In a large jar, pour 1 1/2 cups M&M's and approx. 1 cup bunny marshmallows or 16 bunny Peeps. In a plastic bag, crush one sleeve graham crackers and add 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place on top of marshmallows. If using Peeps, line them around edges and use bag in middle to hold them in place.  I glued ribbon around the edge and printed off some cute tags and the instructions. Find tags and instructions here:  http://go.tipjunkie.com/ea/116/www.nofussfabulous.com/?p=10664

I have always loved to paint and do art, even though I'm not great at it. I had a whole series of bad bangs throughout elementary and I'm not sure why. I would like to name these the "I'm closer to Heaven than you" bangs. I loved to bust rocks and try to find the crystals inside them when I was little. This is one of my rock busting costumes. Notice how I sport the lovely blue jacket, ski hat and black ballet flats. My brother is also weird. I once rode a giant ant while dressed like the New Kids On The Block. You got the right stuff, baby! Possibly SEVERAL members of my family are weird and yes, that's me in the background pretending to eat wrapped Hershey's Kisses.

Today, Elle asked for Frito Cherry Pie for lunch. I said, "Elle, don't you mean Frito Chili Pie?" "No Mom! It's CHERRY pie Silly!" Mmmmm. Sounds........yuck. : )

Ever notice God picking and picking at a certain wound? Just when you think you're hardened to that particular thing, suddenly every where you turn, it's there. He picks at it, brings emotions to the surface, and you realize some glass shards are still in there. Ok God. Do your work.

I have been pondering what Jesus meant when he said we must become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Thank goodness He loves children because I definitely throw some tantrums like a little child. : ) Here are some more thoughts about what He meant:

I turned Little Bear on for Elise (1) and left the room. When I returned, she had the remote in her hand, watching Days of Our Lives. I think we're maturing a bit too fast around here.....