Counting Down the Days...

Only 3 more days of school for my Cakes! I'm so ready for her to be home with me now. It just doesn't feel like summer until she is out of school. 

This last week really is dragging though, let me tell you. Did I mention my roundtrip drive to pick her up every afternoon is 1.5 hours? Yeah, I'm over it. Munch is OVER it. It's been like this since we moved in with my parents six months ago and didn't want to pull her out of the school she is used to and take her away from her friends. 

But I'm over it!!! Done. Three more days!!! Woohoo!

Here's my happy girl in her beautiful school. Oh, we will miss it so much. The foreign language immersion, the gardening and music classes, all of the wonderful art projects, the gorgeous campus, the cultural diversity, the ponies, lamas, chickens, rabbits, peacocks and, most of all, the teachers!  

Yes, we will miss it all.

We are so lucky to have been a part of this wonderful school for the last two and a half years. I know Cakes will take away many treasured memories from her time here!

Linking up to: Frontier Dreams, The Magic Onions

Pet Rock Paperweights

The girls had so much fun making these for their daddy and grandpa this weekend for Father's Day. What are they, you ask? Why, Pet Rocks of course! And because they are nice and heavy they make perfect paperweights for daddy's office! 

I don't think I even need to tell you how to make these....all you need is paint, mod podge {optional} and googly eyes. Oh, and rocks of course! Before you know it you'll have entire extended families of pet rocks! Enjoy!

Aren't they cute???

Happy Monday!

Linking up to: Love Bakes Good Cakes, This Reading Mama, Craft O Maniac, Skip to My Lou, Keepin' It Simple Crafts,

DIY: Beachy Hair Clip Organizer

And the winner is....

If you saw my post yesterday, you know I am talking about my final choice for hair clip organizers that I planned to make for my girls. I showed you guys my top 5 after surfing through pinterest and after a little consideration it was easy to decide...

So the one in the middle is it! I love this picture frame hair clip organizer. It works well, looks pretty and, although its not as original as using a lampshade or a birdcage, I think it is the most practical. It is also a very doable afternoon project and super cheap since all you need is a picture frame, some ribbon and a hot glue gun.

I decided to make ours a little beachy so I also bought some textured scrapbook paper and a starfish. I love starfish ~ you can see another post here where I use them to create simple wall art.

We also chose blue and yellow ribbon ~ these colors just make me smile, they remind me of sunshine and the ocean.






I used the glue gun to glue the ribbons onto the frame. This is what the back looks like...



...and the front.

Ta-da! Doesn't this look cute?
{I was thinking this would be a cute way to make a memory board and just tuck in photos behind the ribbons}

Way better than the messy crazy drawer they were tossed into before. Cakes, Munch and I had fun sitting on the ground and attaching all of the clips, bows, and headbands to it. It made me realize...we just might need a bigger frame!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Linking up to: Tatertots & Jello, Mom on Time Out, Homeschool Creations, Love Bakes Good Cakes, This Reading Mama, Craft O Maniac, Skip to My Lou, Keepin' It Simple Crafts,Today's Creative Blog, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Sugar Bee Crafts, Yesterday on Tuesday

5 Creative Ways to Organize Hair Clips

Today, I'm trying to decide how to organize my girls' hair accessories. They finally have enough hair to start putting little bows and clips and headbands on and they are also starting to have interest in all that fun girly stuff. It's fun for me too! And I must admit I have glanced in the mirror more than once to find a well-placed sparkly clip in my hair! ;)

Right now, they are all just tossed into a messy bathroom drawer but since our collection has been steadily growing, I think its time we graduate to a more organized way of storing them.

Here are the options I'm considering...

Lampshade

Who'd of thought, right? But when I saw this I fell in love! What a great idea; just not sure if I'm up for the project at the moment!

Picture Frame

I have seen this all over the place and I think its one of the best options. An easy DIY and cheap too.

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Ribbons

Looks really easy too! And this, like the picture frame, would be nice as decor in the girls' bathroom.

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Birdcage???

Love it. Leaning towards this one. I think I've seen some bird cages like this at the craft store. Though how would you organize hair bands with this? Hmmm....

Hanging Jars

If this means I get to go to Anthropologie and buy some cute drawer pulls or door knobs, I might just have to go with this option. Although, this looks like a more in depth "project" so I may never get around to it. LOL

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Oh, the choices! It's going to be hard to pick just one! 

Which one would you pick???

House Dreaming

We are in escrow!!! After searching and searching with no luck for over 6 months, we have found the perfect house! Perfect for us, anyway. 

I'm excited. I'm scared. I'm trying not to dream about it too much because I'm so nervous that something will happen and it will all fall through. But its so hard not to dream...just a. little. bit.

Our two-bedroom condo was great for the season of life that we were in when we bought it...it was spacious and beautiful and we were happy there, especially before we had the little ones. But it wasn't big enough for our family of 4 and it didn't have the backyard I so yearned for so that the kids could run and we could have friends over for bbq's and playdates. And well, this new house has all of that and to boot, is only 4 miles away from my parents!!!

Okay, so maybe I will let myself dream a little. These are a few of the spaces I'm dreaming about. I love this color scheme: Blue, blue-gray, tans and creams. So warm and inviting I think! 

Contemporary Living Room by Cambridge Architects & Designers LDa Architecture & Interiors

Traditional Living Room by Austin General Contractors Avenue B Development

Tropical Family Room by Wilmington General Contractors Tongue & Groove

Traditional Living Room by Milford Interior Designers & Decorators Shelter Interiors llc

Eclectic Living Room by Edina General Contractors John Kraemer & Sons

Traditional Living Room by St. John's Photographers Becki Peckham

Ugh, but I need to stop thinking about it. It won't feel real until we have the keys in our hands. I hope I didn't just jinx everything with this post! Please cross your fingers for me!!!

It's My Name! ~ Name Recognition Activities

Recently, my girls and I joined a fun local mommy & me playgroup, and I have had such a blast with these creative ladies and the fun playdates they plan for our children!!! I'm not even kidding ~ they are awesome! All of the events are themed and super creative and the hosting moms put out so much effort to make sure the kiddos have a blast, often while learning too!

A couple of weeks ago, we went to an "It's My Name!" playdate with Munch. She's only three and does not know how to spell her name yet but I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for us to start working on name recognition with her. So we headed to the park for some fun with friends and some fun learning too. 

Crayon Resist Watercolor

Our organizer, Kathy, had 4 stations all set up for the kids, along with strips of paper with each child's name printed on it. At the first station, the children used watercolor painting to discover their names were written in crayon on the strip of paper. My little Munch was in awe over how her name just "appeared" after she covered the paper with paint. Magic! ;)

Playdoh Name

At the second station, the children used playdoh to trace their names that were printed on the paper. Munch did pretty well with the straight lines in her name, and I helped a bit with the rest! :)

Name Collage

Bottles of glue and bowls of crushed cereal awaited us at the next station. So fun!

Sidewalk Chalk Name Tracing

Last but not least, each child was excited to find their name written in chalk on the walkway. Their job was to trace the letters with a wet paint brush in order to wash off the chalk. Seriously, I think that's just genius!!!

Thanks, Kathy, for these great ideas! We had so much fun with them at the playdate, we just might have to do them again at home!!!

Linking up to: Tatertots & Jello, Mom on Time Out, Homeschool Creations