One of Those Moments

Sometimes in life you just have those days.

And then, sometimes you just have those moments.

I had one of those moments today as I was grocery shopping.

Instead of getting in and out of the store quickly I was having to coax my three year old along.

“Come on please.”

“Please don’t touch that.”

“Let’s walk a little faster so we can go home.”

Everyone knows the drill.

When we arrived at the milk section I noticed organic milk was on sale for $2.69 a gallon, half the cost it normally is.

Thrilled, I started grabbing gallons of milk and putting them in my cart.

I turned to look at Caroline and saw her grabbing glass plates off of a display.

“Please put those down..”

“Caroline, please put those down.”

My back was holding open the refrigerator door, my right arm was holding some milk, while I tried to reach for another gallon, all the while watching my daughter.

And then the milk dropped.

On. the ground.

All. over. Kroger.

In. front. of. five. people.

Who. acted. as. if.

They. would. never. ever.

Do. that.

“You should really find someone to clean that up.”

“Oooooooooooo.”

“Oh, my.”

Combined with, “Mommy, the milk is all over the floor,” and, “It’s going ev-we-where.”

Yes it is.

It was all over the floor and all over me.

My jeans were soaking from my calf down while my new sandals were swimming in milk.

I found someone to clean up the mess, BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WOULD HELP, and walked across the store to grab the onion I had forgotten, trying to act dignified as I left wet footprints in my path.

And I thought, this is just one of those moments.

 At least it wasn’t one of those days.

Wonder Woman Costume

This year for Halloween Caroline has decided to dress up as Wonder Woman.

I was all for this costume choice and eagerly jumped at the chance to “make” her costume.

First, I researched googled Wonder Woman and came up with Linda Carter.

(As a side note, I was convinced when I was younger that my aunt had played Wonder Woman – she looked exactly like her).

Those costume designers must have really hated Linda since those blue shorts, in my opinion, could not be more unflattering.

With that in mind, we added a bit more fabric for my little WW.

I know.

A-DOR-A-BLE!

Red shirt – consignment store – $2

Blue skort – Goodwill – $1.99 (new with tags on it)

Red boots – consignment store – $6 , then spent $4 on spray paint to make them red

Crown & cuffs – made by me – gold fabric from JoAnn’s – probably $10 – 15.

Gold Lasso which hooks onto her belt- gold string from JoAnn’s – probably $5

Gold Belt – gold material from JoAnn’s- probably $5

Attitude and confidence?

All her own!

Free Museum Day – Saturday Sept. 29th

Saturday is free museum day again!

Each of the 50 states has one or more museums participating. Just in the Dallas area alone there are 10 museums participating.


*The one catch to this program is that you have to have a ticket which was printed out from the website. You cannot show up to the museum empty handed hoping to get in for free*

Each ticket you download is good for two people. Make sure you read through the site in order to download your ticket and to receive your confirmation emails. Remember, no ticket, no free entrance.

Here’s a shot of what the form looks like in order to get your tickets.

For more information concerning free museum day visit the Smithsonian Magazine website here.

For a list of museums participating in free museum day go here.

***You must have a printed ticket that you printed at home in order to get the free admission*****

Hope some of you are able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity!

August Goals Updated

Add 2 items to Etsy ShopCheck! I added the Baby Gender Prediction Test and the Baby Guessing Cards!

Continue Cleaning Out the Game Closet with the KidsCheck! So excited we went through and organized. I put the games and puzzles appropriate for Caroline at a level she could get them while older games went up higher. So far, three weeks later, everything has been put away when taken out – and we’ve played Candy Land every single day since we cleaned.

Take Quick Trip to New OrleansCheck! We had a great  four day trip visiting my parents at the beginning of August. My kids think their Grampa has the best job ever – running a park that includes an amusement park!

Make Lasso for Wonder Woman CostumeFail!

Make 3 Meals for the FreezerCheck! I made mounds of pasta and sauce one day so we have 3 meals of spaghetti bake waiting for us to eat up.

Go Through the Boys Clothes and Take Out What Doesn’t FitCheck! A week before school started I set myself up on the floor next to their dresser and pulled out everything. What followed was a fairly entertaining fashion show of long sleeve shirts which were now way to short and pants which looked like waders. But since it will be hot here for awhile, I didn’t buy anything new for the boys to start school except for one pair of sneakers and some underwear.

Make Desk for the Boys Room – Check! My husband used a piece of wood we had in the garage and I found four desk legs at IKEA for $3.95 each so the new desk cost us just over $16.00! Now I’m planning on getting containers for art supplies, a lamp, and some shelves above the desk to finish out the space. My vote was to paint their room but it was vetoed so the builder beige stays.

Make Pillow for Guest RoomFail!

Enjoy the Last Weeks of Summer Check!

Hope you accomplished what you wanted to in August!

Old Wives’ Tale Gender Prediction Test on Etsy!

Do you remember the gender prediction test from my sister’s shower?

Well, I’ve finally listed it up on etsy so it’s available for everyone.

If you are hosting a gender neutral shower this is the perfect party game to play.

This test includes 14 Old Wives’ Tale questions with their boy/girl responses,

sample photos of the finished product,

and the gender circles,

 

This test is guaranteed to provide laughter and a good time at your next shower!

It’s listed for the bargain price of $1.95 right now.

The price listed will be the price for only 72 hours – Monday morning the price will be higher

So go ahead and pick up your Old Wives’ Tale Gender Prediction Test!

(This test is to be considered as a fun baby shower game – The results are not 100% accurate.)

*Next week the Baby Measurement Guessing Cards will be on sale*

A Car Organizing Failure

The problem with being crafty is that you think, “I can make that,” no matter what item you may be looking at.

A Halloween wreath? I can make that.

A wall clock? I can make that.

A rebuilt car engine? I can make that.

The problem is, at least with me, I cannot make half the things I think I can.

 Way back in February I had a goal of organizing my car.

The main issue seems to be toys, books, and snack containers everywhere.

(This is what was recently cleaned out of the car. It fills an entire IKEA bag and that’s huge)

Because my kids seem to be in intense training to be on the show “Hoarders,” our car is constantly a mess.

Apparently it is just not possible to get into the car without having 2 stuffed animals, 3 books, and 6 random objects.

And what goes in our car, never comes out.

 So I thought, I’ll make a car organizer with material I already have.

Here’s the sad and final product.

Don’t you just love how it sags, how the velcro won’t stay closed, and how it’s too flimsy to old anything over 8 ounces?

Yes, this was my car organizing failure.

But I have found another solution to help me with keeping my car clean…and no, it doesn’t involve threatening my kids with spankings…although let’s not rule out anything just yet.

Come back tomorrow so I can show you how I fixed this problem

Hint – It involves a giveaway for you!

A Mary Poppins Carousel Cake

Several months ago Caroline had a Mary Poppins birthday party.

So for a Mary Poppins party we had to have the proper hat...

play a bean bag M.P. toss game

ride wooden “carousel” horses…

play pin the bow tie on the penguin

play in the cardboard chimneys…

and have a Mary Poppins cake.

I started out this cake as I do all cakes – from a box mix.

Frost the cake and set aside.

To create the carousel, I used cake dividers (not sure of their official name but they are placed in between cakes with multiple layers) and ribbon.

First, I attached the bottom of a piece of ribbon with hot glue.

I continued to do this until I had gone completely around the circle.

I then glued another cake divider onto the bottom in order to cover up with glued bottoms.

I then glued a piece of ribbon along the side in order to cover up the opening between the circles.

Next, I glued a candy stick wrapped in ribbon to the center of the top circle.

I then took each ribbon individually and glued it to the center post (candy stick).

I topped the whole thing off with a little white pom pom.

I then attached the “legs” to the structure.

The legs are candy sticks wrapped in ribbon.

For the horses I found a picture online that I liked and printed it out on card stock.

I then cut out the horse and glued it to yet another candy stick.

Three horses late and the cake was done.

Caroline seemed to like it although it’s honestly not one of my better cakes.

Now that she is about to be three and half I’ve finally shared everything from her party.

And if you had any doubt about next years party, Caroline started talking about it roughly 10 seconds after her last guest left.

 

HookingupwithHoH The 36th AVENUE

Some Heavy Summer Reading

Summer reading choices are often light in subject matter which can make for an easy, pleasant read.

While the following books fall into the heavy, deep, serious, dark, thoughtful category, I feel they are still worth reading this summer.

Ellis Island by Kate Kerrigan

I give Ellis Island 3.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon says:  Sweethearts since childhood, Ellie Hogan and her husband, John, are content on their farm in Ireland—until John, a soldier for the Irish Republican Army, receives an injury that leaves him unable to work. Forced to take drastic measures in order to survive, Ellie does what so many Irish women in the 1920s have done and sails across a vast ocean to New York City to work as a maid for a wealthy socialite.

Once there, Ellie is introduced to a world of opulence and sophistication, tempted by the allure of grand parties and fine clothes, money and mansions . . . and by the attentions of a charming suitor who can give her everything. Yet her heart remains with her husband back home. And now she faces the most difficult choice she will ever have to make: a new life in a new country full of hope and promise, or return to a life of cruel poverty . . . and love.

I say: I enjoyed this book but was often distracted by the errors in the book. Many times it seemed as if the timeline was off and characters didn’t age as they should have. For example, John’s parents are sixty years old when they take him in but thirty years later their behavior is described as a person much younger. I have always been fascinated by the 1920’s time period and the description of daily life at that time. I enjoyed this historical fiction book but certainly enjoyed the next two books more.

 

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz

I give Drowning Ruth 5 out of 5 stars.

According to Publisher’s Weekly: “Ruth remembered drowning.” The first sentence of this brilliantly understated psychological thriller leaps off the page and captures the reader’s imagination. In Schwarz’s debut novel, brutal Wisconsin weather and WWI drama color a tale of family rivalry, madness, secrets and obsessive love. By March 1919,

Nurse Amanda Starkey has come undone. She convinces herself that her daily exposure to the wounded soldiers in the Milwaukee hospital where she works is the cause of her hallucinations, fainting spells and accidents. Amanda journeys home to the family farm in Nagawaukee, where her sister, Mathilda (Mattie), lives with her three-year-old daughter Ruth, awaiting the return of her war-injured husband, Carl Neumann. Mattie’s ebullient welcome convinces Amanda she can mend there. But then Mattie drowns in the lake that surrounds the sisters’ island house and, in a rush of confusion and anguish, Amanda assumes care of Ruth.

After Carl comes home, Amanda and he manage to work together on the farm and parent Ruth, but their arrangement is strained: Amanda has a breakdown and recuperates at a sanatorium. As time passes, Ruth grows into an odd, guarded child who clings to perplexing memories of the night her mother drowned. Why does Amanda have that little circle of scars on her hand? What is Amanda’s connection to Ruth’s friend Imogene and why does she fear Imogene’s marriage to Clement Owen’s son?

I say: I could not put this book down. There were several mornings this momma woke up grumpy because I had stayed up too late reading. There are many twists and turns in this book which kept me guessing. Typically in a good book , you love the main characters. This book was different for me since I didn’t really like Amanda from the beginning. Regardless, I loved the story and wanted to find out how everything turned out.  Definitely a dark read.

The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra King

I give The Books of Bright Ideas 5 our of 5 stars.

Amazon says: Wisconsin, 1961. Evelyn “Button” Peters is nine the summer Winnalee and her fiery-spirited older sister, Freeda, blow into her small town–and from the moment she sees them, Button knows this will be a summer unlike any other.

Much to her mother’s dismay, Button is fascinated by the Malone sisters, especially Winnalee, a feisty scrap of a thing who carries around a shiny silver urn containing her mother’s ashes and a tome she calls “The Book of Bright Ideas.” It is here, Winnalee tells Button, that she records everything she learns: her answers to the mysteries of life. But sometimes those mysteries conceal a truth better left buried. And when a devastating secret is suddenly revealed, dividing loyalties and uprooting lives, no one–from Winnalee and her sister to Button and her family–will ever be the same.

I say: I enjoyed this book immensely and believe it was due to the fact that it was about a relationship between two very unlikely friends. Button and Winnalee are complete opposites but only because of circumstance. Their lives become intwined and follow an unlikely path. Freeda, Winnalee’s sister, spices up the Wisconsin town and Button’s family much to the dismay of Buttons’ uptight mom. Bright Ideas centers around the lives of five females all trying to find their place in life.

Have you read any good books this summer?

*If you live close, let me know if you want to borrow any of them*

Lots of Shoe Storage

Here’s my latest find at the Habitat store. Bought it for $30.

(And yes, those are Caroline’s Wonder Woman red boots below)

When I opened up the trunk of my car my husband was a little less than thrilled.

Maybe that’s because I had brought home a night table (which will require a paint job) for him the day before.

I told him, no worries, all we have to do is clean it up a bit and it’s ready to go – no work on our part.

Although I might have fibbed a little bit.

I was thinking about adding a little something to it with paint – roman numerals, shoe sizes, etc.

What do you think I should do with this piece?

Leave it as is or add a little something?