Stair Organizing

Our stairs probably give the impression that we designed our house without closets.

Coats, book bags, toys, art supplies, you name it, it ends up on our stairs.

I had been contemplating for awhile how I could solve our stairs dilemma when I came across these “crap baskets” at Sew Many Ways.

I decided this was the solution to our cluttered stairs.

Now all I needed were baskets. But then I thought? How many baskets?

As I began counting all the baskets I would need, I envisioned baskets halfway up my stairs. Not quite what I had in mind.

Then I stumbled upon this beauty hidden on the bottom shelf at the resale store.

$1.99 – I’ll take it.

A little spray paint and we were in action.

Added a friendly little sign and the basket was open for business.

For some reason my husband and I seem to be the only ones who are enthusiastic about the basket.

 

Days Away from Change

When I saw the “Reflections of Motherhood” video I knew I had to share it.

I loved it and knew you would too.

The premise is the following: We asked moms if they could go back right before they had their first child…what would you tell yourself?

I would say:

*You will be fine no matter what happens

*You will cry.

*You will laugh.

*It’s okay to want a break.

*It’s okay to work.

*It’s okay to stay home.

*You are strong.

*You will soon know a love which is incomparable.

*You are days away from pure love.

What would you tell a woman whose about to become a mom for the first time?

A Look Back at Our Halloween Costumes

As we are narrowing down our costume choices for this year, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane at our past Halloween costumes.

Through the years the kids have come to expect me to make their costumes and believe I can make just about any character. While that may not be true and some of the costumes may be simple, I love making these and seeing their faces as they put them on.

2003
Kermit the Frog
 (green pants, green shirt, felt details, fabirc covered hat with half ping pong balls)
 
 
 
2004
Fireman
(pants, rain boots, raincoat, fire hat)
 
 
 2005
Winnie the Pooh & Roo
 
(Pooh: While shopping in Babies R Us one morning with the boys, Alex decided he wanted to try on the Winnie the Pooh costume. I put the one piece on him, zipped him up, and let him look in the mirror. When I went to get him out of the costume, the zipper stuck. I mean, would. not. budge! I tried and tried to get him out of the costume. I ended up getting scissors from a clerk and cutting him out. I now had to buy the costume and was now the proud of two pieces of a costume with a broken zipper. When I took the costume into Hancock Fabrics to ask if there was anyone I could pay to fix the costume, an employee took pity on me and fixed the costume for free. So that’s how Alex ended up being Winnie the Pooh for Halloween).
(Roo: Since we already had a Pooh I decided we needed a Roo. Andrew’s costume is actually a monkey costume with a blue shirt I wrote on over the costume).
 
 
 
2006
A Pirate and a Parrot
 
(Parrot: green overalls with Kermit the frog shirt from 2003, red hat, felt feathers in front and back connected by pins and elastic at the wrists)
(Pirate: shirt with iron on transfer, hat was bought, the rest of the costume (belt, hook, & pants were inherited from my sister’s college days – the pants were originally a skirt I altered from the original costume)
 
 
2007
A Saints football player & Curious George and the Man with the Yellow Hat
 
(Saints player: costume was given to Alex)
(Curious George: brown track suit, hat covered in brown felt with fabric ears I made, candy bucket was brown fabric covering the bucket with felt bananas attached)
(Man with Yellow Hat: yellow shirt from Goodwill, felt tie, felt covering a hat with rulers underneath to keep it standing up)

2008

Costume Party

Pirate & Captain Rex from Star Wars
(pirate costume with beard, store bought costume for Captain Rex – it killed me to buy this costume but I did it because he wanted it desperately)
 
 
 
Halloween Night
Captain Rex and Peter Pan
 
(Peter Pan was a store bought costume too – I caved in Party City)
 
 
 
 
2009
Night at the Museum Costumes
 
 (Sacagawea: brown material with added fringe & turquoise beads I sewed on)
(Larry Daley: regular clothes with name tag that read “Larry”)
(Fighter Pilot: not technically in the movie – consignment store costume)
(Teddy Roosevelt: brown pants, brown shirt, glasses, and belt from Goodwill, cowboy hat bought)
 
 
 
 
2010
Burger King, Dairy Queen, a Werewolf, Little Red Riding Hood, and a Ninja
 
(King & Queen: bathrobes from Goodwill with added fur trim, hat made from cardboard and silver tape, signs were made from sticky felt)
(Werewolf: regular clothes torn up with fur sewed into the clothes)
(Little Red Riding Hood: red skirt, white shirt, tights, consignment shoes, gingham fabric with red trim)
(Ninja: black pants & shirt, top shirt was fabric with hole cut out over head and tied with black fabric, black fabric wrapped around his head)

2011

??????????

What are some of your favorite Halloween costumes you remember?

Making Todays Creative Blog Weekend Bloggy Reading Tuesday To Do Party

Horoscopes

My 2 year old’s horoscope yesterday:

 You’re in the middle of a busy phase. Take new responsibilities. Put more energy into your projects.

My horoscope on the same day.

Surround yourself by the creative spirit of the youngest generation. You can’t bottle youth, but it’s communicable.

 Take a look at our house.

I’m choosing to embrace this as the creative spirit of the youngest generation.

 

 

Driver

Dear Young Female Driver,

I would like to express my sincerest appreciation to you for teaching my children about white trash behavior today. It is with the utmost most respect that I retell this story so that others will bask in your glory.

I was leisurely driving my kids to piano lessons when I noticed the navy Honda Accord I was following gradually slow to a virtual stop in the middle lane. I slowed and waited until the Honda started moving again. I remember thinking at the time how odd it was to stop in the middle of the road. But silly me, you were just preparing for your lesson.

About one minute later, the slowing down occurred again. I was confused since there was not a light in sight. I see now that this was just your introduction.

I honked my horn to make you aware that you were holding up traffic and I was concerned about this potentially dangerous situation. You though were concerned with the lesson. Immediately after I honked, you gave me the finger. A beautiful up sweep of your left arm shooting upwards while pointing your middle finger to the sky. My nine year old was certainly paying attention now.

I took this as a teaching moment when all I really wanted to do was show you how graceful my arm movements can be.

“You see, Alex, this is what we call white trash behavior.”

In his entire nine years I had never broached the subject with him before but I see that you were right and I needed to widen his horizons.

After your initial teaching you swerved into the right lane.  I stayed back a bit but notice the light ahead had turned red. I pulled up beside you.

It is here where my six year old is also included in this life lesson since his view of you was now not obstructed.

You turn, just as I do, and scream “F**k you bitch.”

Such precious words for my children.

Normally I would have told my children you screamed, “Firetruck in the ditch!.” But you made sure there was no mistaking your sentiments with your rolled down window.

I could have continued on with your insightful teachings but I decided that our cup overfloweth with white trash knowledge for now. Best to leave some things for another day.

I took an unnecessary turn and left you to spread your wisdom to others.

What a wonderful teaching moment for my family.

In between being kind to others and telling the truth, I had neglected to share in the teachings of the middle finger and foul language.

Well done, young one.

And they say the youth of America doesn’t appreciate education…from where I’m sitting I’d have to disagree.

Drop Off Dance

I just dropped my daughter off at preschool for her first day of school this year.

Excitedly I jumped into the car, turned off Mary Poppins, and switched the radio on.

I started dancing in my car immediately when this song came on.

While I may not have a girl friend who recently cheated on me and I don’t have a Zach Galifianakis tattoo, I think you can still understand that I was excited. And so were a lot of other mommies based on their smiles and the extra skip in their step.

Five whole hours to myself today. That hasn’t happened since mid May.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my kids but the freedom is fabulous. Just imagine taking a shower without someone talking to you constantly, going to the bathroom without an audience, or running an errand without having to stop at the toy section.

Of the 168 hours in a week, I’m with my daughter for 158. So I was ready for a little break.

I danced all the way to the library return box, the post office, and then home.

Don’t tell me I don’t know how to party. NO LATE FEES BRO! That is awesome.

How will I spend my five hours?

Maybe a little Bravo TV, read another chapter in my book, cruise the internet…whatever it is I will be singing this song.

Update: Fifteen minutes after I got home the pest control guy called and said he was coming in two hours. So what did I do? I cleaned for two hours. But I made sure to clean with a little skip in my step too.


******* Make sure you entered my giveaway – it ends at 10 pm tonight (Sept 15) *******************

A Thought…

 

Have you ever stopped to ponder the following?


It was easier to get sleep while sharing a twin bed with your boyfriend in college than it is to share a king bed with your toddler?

I’m tired…be back tomorrow.

 

 

3D

Most people enjoy 3D movies.

They might describe going to the movies as delightful, desirable, and divine.

After the end of my most recent 3D movie experience, I would not.

I would define my experience as distracted, disruptive, and a deterrent to ever returning.

Let me explain.

Last week my mom and I brought my kids to see Kung Fu Panda 2 at the dollar show.

Besides just being happy about going to the movies, my boys were thrilled it was going to be a 3D experience.

“We get to wear those glasses!”

Once we had settled into our seats and the lights went out I distributed the snacks. I passed out the theater bought ICEES and the smuggled in microwave popcorn (much to the chagrin of my mother).

Discarding her 3D glasses during the opening credits, my daughter was content to watch the movie without them while eating her animal crackers. Once the crackers were gone though she was ready to move.

After attempting to distract her several times and watching her run up and down the aisles, I took her out to explore the lobby.

Thankfully, the movie ended soon afterwards and we were able to scoot back to our seats to collect the rest of the family. As a group we walked to the back of the theater where the glasses recycling container was located.

While holding Caroline, I reached into my bag in order to retrieve our two pairs of 3D glasses. I pulled out 2 pairs of glasses and tossed them into the container.

Within moments I realized my mistake.

I had thrown my sunglasses into the recycle bin.

I ripped off the top of the receptacle and leaned into it but was only able to graze the top layer of glasses with my hand. Due to the dim lighting in the theater I couldn’t determine if any of the pairs I managed to grab were my sunglasses.

However, it was not dark enough to miss the strange stares I was receiving from audience members waiting to turn in their glasses.

Ignoring their stares I decided to drag the container into the hallway.

Once in the hallway, I pushed over the bin causing all the 3D glasses to spill on the floor.

There was a noticeable look of concern from the teenage ushers suddenly walking our way. Avoiding their stares I searched for my sunglasses until my nine year old declared, “I found them.”

I could swear I heard music. It was like the holy grail. Light shone from the heavens onto my son’s extended arm.

Perhaps not. But it sure felt like it.

Much to the delight of the ushers I turned the bin right side up and placed all of the glasses back in. I was going to drag the beast of a container back into the theater but was quickly told, “Thank you Ma’m. We’ve got it from here.”

I’m pretty sure they had already walkie talkied back to the front office about the crazy lady by theater four.

Delightful, desirable, and divine? No.

Difficult, disruptive, and distressing? Yes.

Library Porn

Every two weeks our family visits the library to pick up books.

Little did I know the library was supplying my nine year old with porn.

My son typically chooses five chapter books and two comic books.

I usually read the summaries of the novels but just assumed the comic books were fine.

Never having read a comic book in life I thought they were like the Sunday comics.

Harmless.Boy was I a dumb mommy.

One day my daughter and I were reading a pile of books on my bed when she grabbed the Batman comic book. I opened the book and gasped. I closed the book, jumped off the bed, and immediately confiscated the comic books.

This is what I saw.

Look it’s Vicki Vale getting ready for a date with Bruce Wayne

 I’m pretty sure I’m going to jail for endangering a minor.

Just take a look at this.

 Yes…wear something subtle on your dateMy 9 year old has been ready this!

Now, before you judge (don’t worry I would have judged you long before the pictures) remember, I have never looked in a comic book before.

This was just a small part of the book. The rest of the book was what I suspected a comic would contain.

Nevertheless, my son will never look at them again.

I might make an exception when he turns eighteen.

What’s the worst part of this library debacle?

I had to pay $1.25 in late fees for this book.

 

 

Weekend Bloggy Reading

Elmo Inspires

On a whim, I threw My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud by Kevin Clash into my library bag at the same time as I picked up these wonderful books.

While this book may not be in the same literary category as the others, it was a worthwhile read. It was quite inspiring to read how Kevin Clash’s parents nurtured his creativity and encouraged his passion. Very easily they could have chosen a different route when their son expressed the desire to become a professional puppeteer.

The quote below was a good reminder for me to get off the computer and create something with my kids.

“There’s a certain sweet magic you feel when you sit down and create something with a child, whether it’s a masterpiece in watercolors or pasta shapes glued to a paper plate. And remember, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t held a crayon in decades or if you don’t remember how to fold a paper airplane or if you can’t draw hands or horses or rocket ships. In the eyes of a child, your artistic talents are supreme. It’s not what you create – it is simply the fact that you are helping that child celebrate the joy of creativity.”

Inspired by this quote, the four of us sat down and made paper bag puppets.

Though a simple craft, it was a tremendous amount of fun.

We spent an hour laughing, sharing stories, and enjoying one another. The boys eagerly filled me in on all the intricacies of the Batman series while making their superhero puppets.

 Here are the final products.

Alex created Robin and Two Face while Caroline enjoyed using tons of glue.

When Andrew announced he was going to make a half Batman and half Joker puppet my 37 year old brain automatically thought he would draw each half of the characters vertically. I was fascinated to watch him create his half and half character horizontally.

Supermom was my creation and I’d have to say I’m quite proud of her. I wouldn’t be surprised if Angelina Jolie’s people wrote to my people thanking me for the likeness.

My boys were less than impressed with Supermoms’ weapon which indicates they must not be familiar with the powers of my purse. McGuyver and I could go head to head in any episode requiring us to keep a two year old entertained during a license renewal at the DMV.

What’s the last creative thing you did with your kids?

Making Todays Creative Blog