Kids Bedroom Organizing!

So as of late I have realized just how messy the toys in the kids room and play room are.... OK so many people have pointed it out to me and I have recently come out of denial... (Its not just a river in Egypt you know.)

So I was determined to show said people that I could organize the toys and keep the toys off the floor with some help from Delaney!

So off to the Dollar Store I went! Because well, I love a sale, and lets face it they have something to solve every problem at the dollar store... right...

I picked up this dandy little paper towel holder that you mount to the underside of your cupboard for $2 and screwed that baby to the ceiling (into a stud of course...)

Then I hung this toy holder that they already had on there and filled it with toys... 

 VOILA! Problem solved for just $2!

Love a Dollar Store problem solver! What are your favorite Dollar Store problem solvers? Share in the comments you never know your problem solvers might just help me out!

Tell the Truth Thursday! School!

Delaney's has finally had her first day of kinder-start! (that's like pre-school in our area...)

I am so excited for her to FINALLY go to school. I have had a few Momma friends ask why I'm so excited, aren't I a little sad, don't I wish she were still a baby? My answer... not really.

I am a little sad that she is growing up so fast and becoming so independent so quickly but isn't the point of having children to raise them and watch them grow into happy, successful, productive members of society? Isn't part of the joy of being a parent watching your child discover the things that make them happy or sad, the things that are their strengths and their weaknesses.

She started kinderstart back in January and she loves it!

She will be starting regular (french immersion) kindergarten in the fall but for the winter leading up to their first year of school they have one session a month where they go to school with some of the kids that will be in their class and get use to the school atmosphere. (Its only for one hour one day of each month so it is a bit of a pain in the behind for us parents!)

She has already made a few friends little S is in her dance class so she already knew her, it was so lovely for them both to have a familiar face on the first day, and little A is the cutest boy you ever saw (you know besides Max) he is super shy and sticks close to his Momma but I'm sure he will adjust fine in the fall.

Delaney has been so excited for school and she really shines when she is there, sure like all kids she has to be reminded that she has to sit on her bum and that she has to listen to madame, but hey she is only 4!!!

To tell the TRUTH I am not only OK with her going to school I couldn't be happier... I was a little worried about her... she has never gone with anyone other than family by herself, she doesn't go to daycare or a babysitter she is home with me all day and with the exception of her brother and the short period when I was sitting for her friend G she hasn't had much one on one time with other kids her age. But if the last two sessions of "school" are any indication of how she will do I think we are in the clear!

Whats your school truth? Does your local school have a program like this? Give me all the details in the comments!

Photo Friday! Snow Day!

It's another snow day in my neck of the woods!

Hope your warm and safe at home (with power too!)

Tell the Truth Thursday! My kid cracks me up!

If you've been here before you know that my girl Delaney is 4! (Hard to believe but she is....)

Anyway she is one of the lights of my life! She is bright and thoughtful and happy and beyond funny!

Funny to the point that I've considered starting a twitter along the lines of "stuff" my kid says...

The other day she looks at me and says... "Anyways back at the bat cave..." I lost it! I have no idea where it came from why she thought she needed to change the subject but it was just too funny!

She is a complete HAM and brightens my day with her funny faces and sayings as well as her loving heart!

She donates her toys knowing that little boys and girls out there have less than she does without us asking and she lights up at the littlest surprises and screams "it's just what I always wanted!" No matter if she knows what it is or not.

Today while practicing her writing and sending a letter to her Nana she says to me "Momma I'm just sending some love..." Then started singing a made up song that went like this " these are the true hero's of my family! I have great friends who always help me!"

She is one of a handful of people in this world that I'd give up everything for and when I'm unhappy or sad (which seems to be a lot lately) she is there, she makes me laugh when I feel like crying, she makes me smile when I want to yell and she warms my heart when I feel the world is against me!

There is no one I love like I love her!

That's my truth this Thursday!

What's your truth? Do you have a kiddo that is a true ham? One that can make you smile no matter how down you are? Tell me all about them in the comments!

Oops another unplanned vacation...

So it seems that I have taken an unintentional blog vacation... for the last MONTH!

Holy cow I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post... but here I am back at it, well sort of...

I am so sorry that I haven't been posting but if it makes you any happier I have been writing in my journal somewhat regularly... It seems that when I am writing in my journal I have so much less time for my blog... The blog to me is about sharing my projects and getting my Momma self out there, as well as sorting out my thoughts when it comes to being a Momma. So I keep my journal to sort out my not Momma thoughts like things that happen in my everyday crazy not Momma part of my brain... things that happen with Robyn, things that happen with friends and family that I deem too private to share with... well.... the ENTIRE WORLD!

(I know the entire world isn't reading right now but once its out there you never know who is gonna log on and take a peep into my world through my bloggy windows... )

So once I feel a little down or upset I turn to my journal for comfort and to sort out how I feel... and then the blog suffers a hit because I've used all my writing abilities on my journal or I'm just too drained emotionally, physically or mentally to sit here and write out what is happening in my head that pertains to crafting or Momma-hood.

Another big drain on blog content is as I'm sure is the case with many bloggers is Christmas... between the busyness of the season (Christmas parties, parades, sing alongs, and tree lightings) and the gift making and cookie baking its just such a difficult time to blog. I don't want to spoil the surprise of the wonderful gifts I'm giving to my family and friends or the super cute items I am working on for Robyn and while I don't mind showing off what Im making for the kids, because lets face it at 1 and 4 they aren't exactly logging onto the blogosphere and checking out their gifts, but I don't want to show the whole world until they get it so its a little fun for Delaney to show off what she got from Momma and well its nice for her to brag that her Momma Made It! (it is after all how I named the blog!)

Either way I know its my own fault... I am making excuses I know that I am...

So here I go again thinking about the blog and how I have it laid out and how I want it to be and what I need to change to make it more me or more intriguing not only for those of you lovelies that are here reading whatever may happen to fall out of my head but also for me to want to keep posting and for me to have a nice little place for things to fall out of my head!

Happy Weekend Friends!
See you back here tomorrow... I hope!

Photo Friday! First Family Trip in the Boat!

Robyn's Grandfather has a boat its a nice boat but in the almost 10 years we have been together I have flat out refused to get into the boat as well I am afraid... ok not so much afraid of the boat more so afraid of 1) Throwing up in the boat and B) Drowning... both very rational if you ask me...

Either way if you ask any mother can the kids go in the boat and she says yes you better bet your behind that no matter how afraid she is she will be going with you because 1) She will refuse for her children to do something for the first time without her there if she can help it and B) Her children will not drown without her...

So on our last rip out to visit Robyn's family we went for a trip in the boat and it was FABULOUS!

So for this Photo Friday I have just a few of the 170 photos that I did take! Enjoy!

 

Well as you can tell neither of us drowned and even better I didn't throw up either!
Happy Friday Friends!

Happy 4th Birthday Delaney!

My first born, my baby sugar, my sweetie pie was born this day 4 years ago.

It feels like so long ago yet it feels like it was yesterday....

I remember going into labour and the horrible night that went nowhere and resulted in an emergency c-section at 3 am, I remember the pure exhaustion after I was brought back for recovery, I remember shaking all over and the horrible headache from the spinal but most of all I remember being so in love with my beautiful baby girl....

She's not a baby anymore, she's a big girl who will be quite a woman someday!

I'm proud to be her Momma an her friend!

Happy Birthday Sugar!

My First Feature!

You may have noticed a very pretty very colorful FEATURED BUTTON over on the right hand side of the blog...

YEP THIS ONE!!!!

It's from the shared Link It Up Thursday over at These Peas Taste Funny and Seven Alive!

I'm so excited to be featured over at this weeks Link it up Thursday link party its for my Father's Day Hand Print Art! (well its Delaney's hand so I guess its her art...)

Hop on over and check out the Link up! Lots of great projects and great ideas too!

Thanks ladies!

Kid Craft! Father's Day Hand Print Art!

So its almost Father's day... what a great chance to celebrate daddy for all the amazing things he does! (Or in spite of all the things he does or doesn't do that drive you nuts... )

Since we made some hand pint art for Mother's day I thought it would be nice for grand parents to have a matching set of hand prints and well I guess our daddy deserved one too!

So here is our Daddy's day hand print art in 5 easy steps!

Paint your kiddos hand with the colors of your choice in stripes and then place their hand on the paper. (Remember its very important that you use a paint brush to paint their hand so that you get all the ridges and lines in the hand and so you don't end up with a mess!)

Once its dry add your greeting. You can have your older kids write this themselves or for younger ones like ours write it out and get them to trace it over with a crayon or a pencil. (Easy way to sneak in some learning with the fun!)

 Then add your eyes and a smile with a marker, again your older kiddos can do this themselves!

Have the kiddos draw in some seaweed or other fish friends. (You could have them paint this part too.)

And the final step wait till Father's day to show daddy! (This one is a little harder with a three year old!)

Our inspiration for this one came from a google search and I just had Delaney choose from a couple of options. The original idea for this art work (which I thought was brilliant) came from Hand Print and Foot Print Art! Stop by and check out Amanda and her great hand print art!

What are you crafting for Father's Day? I'd love to see all your awesome Daddy inspired art and crafts so post a link in the comments!

Hope you and yours have a wonderful Fathers day!

Tell the Truth Thursday! The Only Thing I Like About Dora!

Ive never kept it a secret... I'm not Dora's biggest fan. It's an ok show and if your kids like it and you do too well that's great but at our house we don't watch Dora and have only one Dora DVD and the only reason we have that is because it was given to Delaney as a gift. Personally I find it to be too repetitive and too to tell the TRUTH annoying... But like I said that's my opinion.

However there is one thing that I am greatful that Delaney has learned from Dora. At the end of each show Dora asks what was your favorite part of the day... And after seeing this on tv and in the one DVD she does have Delaney has been asking us what our favorite part of the day was as we are tucking her into her bed at night...

She always asks us for more than one favorite thing... usually she asks for 5.

As much as I dislike Dora I do love this little snippet we have picked up from her... It gets us to stop and think about what we did during the day and pick out what made us happiest. It gives me a little more insight into Delaney as well... I get to hear straight from her adorable little mouth what sparked her thinking, what put a smile on her face, what made her happiest.

And as much as it is good for us to hear and participate in, I think its so fabulous to hear Delaney appreciate all the little things in her day, for her to be grateful for the things that make her happy and for her to see that its not the things you buy or the money you have its the people and the experiences that make your life rich!

What do you and your kids do to appreciate the little things? Do you have a little Dora watcher? Tell your TRUTH in the comments.

(Please keep in mind that this is just one Momma's opinion and I am in no way paid or compensated to share this opinion nor am I trying to put down the Dora brand or Nickelodeon.) 

Kid Activity! All About ME!

Once a month I set aside a day for just DELANEY! (When Max gets a bit bigger he will have his own day too of course!)

Its called "All About ME" day... easy to remember hey!

On this one day each month Delaney gets to pick out her own clothes, how she wants her hair, what she wants to eat for Breakfast, Lunch and Supper as well as the activities that we do through out the day. What she doesn't realize is that during the day I get her to draw a picture of herself or her family, I take a picture of her, and I ask her the same questions and record them into a note/scrapbook for her.

Its my way of capturing the little changes in her each month and seeing how much she changes so when I am sitting home alone drying my tears and she is at her prom I will still have a little something that shows me that she was just a little girl once...

Want to do it yourself but wondering what to ask your own kids.... well here is a list of questions I ask delaney some of them might change depending on how old your child is or what their interests are....

What is your name?
How old are you?
Where do you live?
Who is in your family?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your best friend?
What is your favorite show or movie?
What is your favorite thing about Momma or your favorite thing to do with Momma?
What is your favorite thing about Daddy or your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
What is your favorite thing about your sibling(s)?
Where is your favorite place to go?
What is your favorite toy?
What is your favorite food?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Are you excited to go to school? and Why?

Some of her answers crack me up.... and some leave me with more questions. Either way I get to hear straight from her what she is thinking and what she likes...

For example the last time I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up this was her response. "Momma could you tell me what I want to be?" I said no... "I'd like to be, I'd like to be CINDERELLA!"

When I asked if she was excited for school " Yeah when I'm 4 years old" Why? "because school is my favorite time of year" Why? "Because I really like my favorite time of year!" pretty sure when she is 12 or 15 this will not be her answer about school... that is if she is anything like me.

She loves her All About Me days and I love being able to give her the attention she deserves. Do you set aside time for each of your kids individually? and what do you do with them during their one on one time?

Learning Colors!

As you know (or maybe you don't) my girl Delaney is heading for Kinder-start next year and while she is unbelievably smart ( I'm not at all bias...) I want to be sure that she has a firm grasp on her colors so I made this little game and we have had lots of fun with it!

It was super simple to make and here is how I did it!

I took a regular file folder

and cut the top into a rainbow shape, then I cut the rest of the colors and glued them to the folder.

I wrote the names of the colors so that Delaney would be able to see what they are called and hopefully learn how to identify them eventually.

Once you are done with that the sky is the limit!
You can have the kiddos find toys and objects that are one color or all the colors.
You can take a number of toys or objects that are each of the colors and hide them around the house for the kids to find.
You can find things that start with the same letter as your color.
You can work with just one color a day.

Have fun with your colors and your kiddos!

Tell the Truth Thursday! Registration for School!

In the next few weeks I have to register Delaney for School!

They call it kinder-start as they only go once a month to help the child adjust to going to school the following year but to Delaney it is SCHOOL!

She has been packing up her bags and suitcase and walking to the door to go to school for I don't know how long. Delaney has been ready for school for as long as she has known what school is!

She is so excited and I am too! Sure part of me wants to wrap her up in her blankalie and rock her to sleep like I did when she was a baby, protect her from the world she wants to explore and keep her all to myself. Sure part of me wants to cry and morn the loss of her toddler-hood not to mention her baby-hood... BUT a very large part of me is so happy that she is growing up. She is a happy, polite, smart and beautiful child and I am so glad that she is going to school!

Maybe I am adjusting well now because I know I have another baby still here in my arms wanting to cuddle and snuggle and who is just learning about the world around him, maybe its because I am deluding myself and the day will come when it hits me HARD that my first baby is going to school, but maybe just maybe I am doing ok because I am confident that she is ready for school and that learning is something that I feel she will excel at. I honestly feel like she is at a point now where there isn't much more I can teach her without getting into the kindergarden curriculum so school is really the best place for her because lets face it I am NO teacher.

We have decided that we are going to try (and yes I say try) to get her into french immersion because we feel she can handle the challenge and that she will excel with the program. However the demand for French means I have to line up at least an hour and a half before the doors open for registration, that I am not looking forward to!

Now don't get me wrong I'm fearful, I am scared that she wont fit in, I'm scared that she will have trouble with the work, and most of all I'm scared that we wont be able to keep up with her once she starts learning french and using it regularly. I'm fearful but I know that my very resilient little girl is ready for this next step and I am so ready for her to experience learning the way you do in school!



Are your little ones in school yet? Am I kidding myself? Should I bring tissues for myself on the first day of school? Did you feel fine about your kiddos going to school? Please leave a comment and let me know how your experience with kindergarden was!

Make It Monday! S'mores Squares!

I love Summer and all things outside in Summer... but I especially love a camp fire and s'mores!

I love them so much.. I made these cookies last year and while I loved them they just weren't the s'mores flavor or texture I was looking for so I made these...

Now I'm sure that you can find something similar if you google search but I was in a baking/cooking mood when inspiration hit me and I just kept going...

This recipe is super simple and follows a similar recipe that you have no doubt used before when making rice crispy cookies!

S'mores Squares!
1 Tbsp Butter
2 1/2 Cups Marshmallows
2 Cups Golden Grams Cereal (I use the Sally brand from Walmart...)
About 1/2 to 1 Cup Chocolate Chunks (or 1/2 of a Chocolate Easter Bunny... not that I sacrificed one of Delaney's bunnies for this recipe.)

Melt the marshmallows with the butter over medium heat, then remove from heat and add in the cereal and then the chocolate, mix well and press into a small square dish that is greased. Allow to cool and cut into squares!

These are crispy and chewy and are full of chocolate all in one bite and they got the stamp of approval from Robyn's work buddies so they must be good!

If you like S'mores give these a try they are sure to bring you back to last years camp fire with family and friends... or at the very least get you ready for the real thing in the next few months!

 
PS linking up with It's Just Called Spicy and Rock and Share at the Shady Porch! Stop by and check them out!

Weekend Kid Craft! Crayon Resist Water Color!

A few weeks ago we tried a new project...
Crayon Resist Water Color!

It's super fun and its actually what we turned into our Easter Cards!

If you are not familiar with the method here is how you do it!

Step One: Write or draw on the paper with crayon. You can use white crayon or colors... (try telling a three year old not to use color...)

Step Two: Paint over the crayon with watercolor paints in a thin even coat. Or in a mess of colors and thickness...

Step Three: Sit back and admire your art!

So this is what Delaney and I did for Easter, and then I turned them into cards which you could do for any event or holiday really...

I just folded a piece of paper in half, had Delaney trace her name on the inside with the greeting and on the other half I traced an egg shape, cut it out, and glued her painting along the edges to the front of the card but if you were doing it for a birthday or even just a thinking about you card for a family member you could cut out a flower shape hole or even just a rectangle.... either way your showing off your child's art and when looking at that what family member is going to care about the shape on the front???

Total this project took up maybe 2 hours of our time (including waiting for paint to dry and me cutting out the hole in the cards but if you have older kids they could do that themselves too!) We of course had the paper and crayons on hand (not sure there is a toddler house out there without crayons in it...) and while we did have the kids water colors on hand you can usually get them for fairly cheap at the dollar store or the craft store! (note: It has to be Water Color Paint regular craft paint is too thick and will just cover your crayon drawing.)

Give it a try and let me know how yours turned out! Id love to hear about your adventures in Water Color Painting with your kids!

TIME OUT!

I've had issues with time out lately...

Mostly because I used to send Delaney to her room for time out but now that Max naps in his crib and they share a room it doesn't really make any sense to send a screaming crying girl to Time Out next to a baby who is enjoying a quiet restful nap.

So for months I have been scouring every Thrift Store and Sally Ann I can find looking for a nice sturdy three legged wooden stool to paint and make pretty for Time Out....

AND

No such luck!

So I lowered my standards and went with just a plain white stool I picked up at the dollar store for 2 bucks (you know I love a deal!!!)

And I went about painting it up and making it a proper Time Out spot!

My sister says "only you can make punishment pretty!" but if it has to sit out in plain view all the time why not have a pretty spot to sit!

Once I was happy with how "pretty" it was I put it in our new time out spot!

Our only worry now is disturbing the cat...

How do you deal with Time Out?

Tell The Truth Thursday! Giving Away Memories?

Do you ever feel like you are giving away your memories with your stuff? I always feel bad about giving things away or selling some of the kids things that they don't use anymore...

I have recently been selling/giving away some of the kids stuff... Well to tell the TRUTH I have been doing it since Delaney grew out of 0-3 month clothes... but at that time I just gave away what I didn't want to keep, any of her nicer dresses and outfits I kept, lots of toys and blankies and such all with the hope that we might have another daughter. When we found out we were having a boy this time around I got rid of a lot of the girl stuff but still kept just as much as I gave away...

Right after Max was born while still in the hospital looking down at his little face I said to Robyn... "I'm done" and as much as I would have a million babies and I would still love to have lots and lots more I am sooooo done!

(I didn't realize how different the two C-sections would be I guess but after Max I knew I couldn't do it anymore but that is a different post!)

So lately I have been giving away like crazy!!!!

I had to take this pic not even thinking of posting it but because even though it was just a material item and it was way to big to keep clunking around it was where my babies laid their heads at night for the first months of their lives... I wanted to remember that. I wanted to be able to say... this was where you were safest... mind you there are pictures of them both in the flipping thing so I am sure they will figure it out but I had to take the picture for me!

I know that while things cary a memory they are not the memory and I know that you can't keep everything... well you can but thats how you end up on one of those hoarders shows and my image can't take that...

So I gave the bassinet to a not for profit run by a friend of my Mom. (If your in our area it's call Hand Me Ups! and I can give you the info if you want to donate!) It broke my heart and it still hurts a little, but I know that the memory of waking up each morning (to the whimpers and cries of a hungry newborn) lying in the green bassinet next to my side of the bed, walking past a sleepy looking one month old as she drifted off to sleep in the living room, the memory of stripping all the linens off the bassinet and washing the works of it when we switched Delaney from Breast to Formula, and doing it all over again with Max when he had the stomach bug he caught from Delaney... those memories, those late night moments we shared just me and my babies I can never give those away and to tell the TRUTH... which is what Thursday is all about... I don't need the bassinet, I don't need the picture... I have those two kiddos and when I look at them no matter how big they get I still see that bassinet and I still hear the whimpers and fussing of Max as he pulled the blanket up over his face or the cries of Delaney because that kid was NEVER full...

So give it all away... sell it all... doesn't matter you can't take the memories away with the item...

Where do you stand on giving things away?? Does it hurt your heart a little each time like it does me or is just an item from start to finish with you? Tell your TRUTH in the comments!

Photo Friday! Playing Pretend!

We get easily distracted around here...
It's easy for us to forget what day it is and what we should be doing...
I kinda forgot what day it was yesterday and so I kinda forgot to post a Tell the Truth Thursday...

oops!

But it was for good reason, we were at the Library for story time and we were busy playing...

Not sure what she is supposed to be but she sure is cute doing it!

Happy Friday!

Photo Friday!

So it's been a while since I have posted a Photo Friday so I thought I'd share a new Photo I took and start getting myself back on track! 

So here you have it a Photo Friday Post for the New Year!

My cuties cuddles up watching a movie!

Gotta love these days!

Happy Friday!

Photo Friday! Halloween Take 2!

As I have posted earlier this week, Delaney had the stomach flu on Halloween. It was so heartbreaking to have to take her to the hospital rather than trick or treating... so we persuaded our friends to hang on to a few treats or if they had a special treat bag done for her to hold onto it until last night when we went out for Halloween Take 2!

They were all so sad that Delaney was sick and that they couldn't see her and Max in their costumes that it wasn't hard to get them to wait it out a few more days... and save some left over candies!

So we made the rounds to all of our friends houses' (and even went to one of their parents houses)

So for Photo Friday I wanted to share Delaney on her Halloween Trick or Treating Take 2!

Plus all her loot...

Max got a few treats too...

Plus My photog friend Seamus (of This is My Perfect Crime) snapped a few pictures of her too...

Hope that you all had a great Halloween and that you haven't eaten all of your kids candy... yet.

Happy Friday!

Don't forget to enter my first giveaway!