I made this....I was feeling very uncreative.  This fabric spoke to me it said "I wanna be water" and the outfit put itself together.  The outfit is for Addy's Birthday party this weekend! I think I have a pink version with flowers stuck in my head that needs to get out....

Stage mom

I directed a production of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in December,   I am afraid to actually view it.
One of the teacher's taped it, we ordered a copy.
Three is a moment in the show where Buggy messes up a line and runs off stage.   I ran backstage and sent her back out and she finished the show beautifully.  I wonder if I am doing the right thing letting her be in the show this week.  Does SHE want to or is this something I want her to do?  I wasn't going to do auditions because of the questions but kinda got railroaded.  She is the executive director's daughter, and we all know she loves to perform, but can she handle the pressure?  Should she be asked to? Ugh!

On the lighter side, she is reading with the third grade and doing great.  Improving and growing beautifully.  We did pin curls the other day.  Her very first curls!  She was SO happy and giddy.  Such a girly girl.

picking up the gauntlet

Okay Lor, it is on.  If you can do this, so can I. I dug out my pedometer, water bottles and am going into the fray with ya.  Starting at 186.9 (overweight) and looking to lose 20 of it.  My step one; cut out the soda and up the water intake.  Keep up the spirit Girl!

wordless wednesdays

OHH Tasty!

A fellow NU Alumnus has a baked goods business in CA check it out here. .  She makes lots of really tasty looking treats, the Lollibakes look really tempting, but shipping them from CA might not help the freshness.  So I gave it a shot.  I am not going to to tell you how to do it here, not yet anyway, but I used strawberry cake and frosting coated in chocolate. It is like a chocolate covered strawberry.  They are not nearly as pretty as Diana's and I am pretty sure her from scratch taste way better than my box mixes but we liked them.  They could be fun to make with the kids when they are older but too time consuming for Dimples. They are the perfect snacking size and were a hit at the picnic.  Buggy suggested making them to look like fairy wands for her next birthday....hummmmm.  We have already been asked to bring them to some bake sales for local churches, pretty popular I guess.  I need to play with some ideas to make them Christmas tree ornaments. 

A long...............time between posts...sorry

It has been a very busy summer here with swimming and gymnastics and all our wonderful summer activities.  We are a few weeks into the school year and so far Buggy is having a good time.  She attends Baraboo Community Christian School, a brand new school with a "one room school house" feel to it.  The  kindergarten through third Grade are all in one room, letting Bethy work at her own pace.  Dimples and I are spending most of our time at home together, with rips to the "gym"  for him, and sometimes the library.  It seems to be lot easier to get grocery shopping and such done this way.

Idea!

Wipe off coloring pages....the cheapo way.
Needed:
the kids coloring books with uncolored pages.
card stock
clear contact paper
scissors
dry erase markers(they make these washable now!)
copy machine (find your own or use the one at work, the copy stores probably won't help you, based on copyright laws)

Copy your kids' favorite images or character's onto the card stock. Cover with clear contact paper, cut to size.  Let them color with the dry erase markers.

Here is where you ask WHY? we already have the coloring books...
My answer...1) reuse the pages, it is "green"
2) no more "but he colored that one already!" arguments
And mostly...Because crayons melt in the car, leaving a mess and stain on the seats, gobs in the carpet.

Added bonus you can make recolor-able paper dolls from their favorite characters!  Or mount them on magnet sheets and give each kid a cookie sheet and some markers.  The cookie sheet is hard enough to write on, hols the paper still and keeps the markers from rolling away.