Weekend in Review

No spray paint was involved and besides organizing them, no glue guns were used either. However, it was a busy weekend! In an effort to give a “holla!” to all the hard-working women out there (can you tell I’ve been listening to a lot of Beyonce this weekend?), I thought I’d share a little picture tour of my accomplishments.

Two kinds of people will appreciate this picture. 1. Anyone who lives in Michigan—no more boots! 2. Anyone who fights the daily war with shoes.

Just pretend this picture’s obvious. I washed rugs this weekend. I hate washing rugs. It’s a little disenchanting because now that means I have to tackle the floor underneath them, but at least that part is done.

I spent no less than three Beyonce songs (told ya) and two Justin Bieber songs (don’t judge) turning this…

into this… More to come on this one.

There was a lot of this over the weekend. Why, exactly, did we think it would be such a great idea to have some land?

When summerizing the deck, my husband found this adorable little bird’s nest.

Well, I guess little is a relative term here. It’s not the first time, though. Remember??

What are the kids doing while we’re slaving away? This. Don’t ask.

Hopefully your weekend was as productive, yet more normal than ours! Orrrr…maybe you’re like us and this is normal.

I Don’t Know What to Title this Post.

For the first time in a while, my husband had the weekend off. So you know what that means, don’t you? I got nothing done. No spray painting, no hot gluing, and no decorating. Sorry.

In an effort to save face, I did do a couple of things. Namely, laundry. See? I’ve got baskets to prove it.

So here’s a dilemma. I washed a couple loads of whites, and these are all the socks I washed for my kids.

And here’s what I washed for myself. If you refer back to exhibit A (otherwise known as the first photo), you’ll notice that there are only three baskets for a 4-basket family. I don’t get a basket. Who needs a basket for a sock?

In addition to some laundry, I did end up decorating for Easter. Yes, that’s it. Don’t hate.

And lest we forget, I’m always cleaning up after this guy. This is how I found him yesterday morning. He finally found a dog bigger than him…and sat on him.

Between parent/teacher conferences, baseball and softball practices, and an out-of-town husband, posts may be harder to come by this week. Anyone have any Calgon?

Art Tray

When kids are little, they are sponges when it comes to art projects. I remember my daughter cutting construction paper into squares for over an hour one day. It doesn’t take much, but they just love it. And then…they get older.

My 8-year old is still on the fringe, but my 11-year old’s artistic creativity has been limited to monsters, sports, and skulls.  There was a time when any one of these rooms would have been a perfect fit for my little ones, but now they’re just…well…for little ones.

I decided something needed to be done. I’m not overly impressed with the art teacher/class at their school, so I took matters into my own hands. I shopped the house to see what I could come up with that would spur some creativity in my kids. And….I came up with this! 

The paint, the paper, the glue, the scissors—that’s a given. I felt like they needed some sort of embellishment tray to jumpstart their artwork.

My local grocery store (Meijer) had this outdoor tray, and I found a circle placemat that fits perfectly inside. I thought it would be good to keep things from sliding around, and it would prevent some major scratches on the surface. Plus, it adds a nice pop of color!

The little glasses were found at Goodwill for $.49 cents a piece. Cute! The larger jars are Mason jars I already had on hand. All the art supplies—already had them.

When I set the tray on the table, my son said, “Wow! You bought a bunch of new art supplies!” Uhhh no. So maybe that’s it? Maybe kids just need things in front of them? Maybe the inspiration comes from accessibility and a colorful display? We’ll see.

I thought I’d be able to show you some picture evidence of its success. You know, pics of my kids frolicking in pom poms and skipping through fields of foam letters. Alas, it decided to be 80 degrees here today, so they opted to watch my husband burn the Christmas tree in the backyard.

That may have been cooler, but my option was MUCH prettier. Just sayin’.

Have You Seen It?

The resolutions are in full effect are JaG’s house, and it looks like blogging material has eluded me.  Yes, everyone, the time has come. I seem to have lost my mojo.

Apparently, filling 2 hours an evening with workouts and going to bed an hour or two early has left me with very little time for blogging material. What am I to do?!

I looked up “juggling mom” on the internet this afternoon, and this is the picture that I found.

I literally laughed out loud thinking about how this mom “represents” me. I thought I’d make a few observations to help bring it more to scale.

So that’s where I am. Juggling--without a smile on my face and a duster in my mouth--all the directions my life is trying to take me and failing miserably at it. That’s where you come in. Do you work full-time? Do you exercise regularly? Do you actually cook meals for your family? What about cleaning the house? Do you actually do that?

It’s not necessarily that I can’t do it all. I’m just wondering when to do it all.  Do you have a system down that you’d like to share? Or are you feeling the same way and want to shout out a big “Holla!” at me?

Convenience for an 8-Year Old

I’m not gonna lie. I saw this idea from Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick, and I sat my computer down, picked up my keys, and drove to the store to copy it. That simple.

Long story short, I was looking for a way to make my cereal a little more accessible for my little one. To give you an example of her despair, I took this picture standing right next to her, so I could show you what it looks like from her point of view.

I ran to Wal-Mart and purchased the larger two. The smallest one was from Target. I went there because Sarah told me to.  I’m pretty sure she was speaking just to me, anyway.

Once again, my Silhouette machine saved the day! I had it cut some fancy frames on black vinyl, and I used some chalkboard pens from Hobby Lobby to write on it. This vinyl isn’t chalkboard vinyl. Does it have to be? It worked perfectly, and it wipes off with a damp cloth.

I just realized I didn’t really get the metal looking scoops in there. I purchased a set of three for a couple dollars at Wal-Mart as well. They work perfectly for scooping out the chocolaty-goodness cereal and leaving the healthy, better-for-you cereal in its dust.

What a great idea indeed, Thrifty Decor Chick!

Beep beep beep. Beep. Beep. Beep beep beep beep.  This just in…

I stepped away from SAS Day for a couple of weeks. Please know that it was unintentional. I have not abandoned it, and it’ll be back this Friday.  I have some SPECTACULAR giveaways planned for them, and I can’t wait to see what everyone’s been working on!  It will be especially appreciated now that I’m back to work. Grr.  I hope to see you then!

Ye Old Homework Box

It’s that time of year. Setting alarm clocks for some ungodly time to get up in the morning, making sure you go grocery shopping more than once a month, and actually dressing your kids in clothes that match.  Back to school is upon us.

Because I put my “teacher” cap back on yesterday, I’m gonna pretend I’m smart for a minute. I completed my Master’s thesis on homework completion (or lack thereof as the case may be). While I despised all the research I had to do, I will say that it gave me plenty of insight on how to foster a better environment for getting homework done!

My kids know that as soon as they come home from school, they have their afternoon snack, and they complete their homework. Nothing else takes place before it gets finished. Believe me, this system spared me from the loony bin.

To make things even easier, I went out and got these homework boxes. Just about everything they need is housed in one box so there’s no scrambling around looking for all the materials they need. You might ask, but I have no idea where I found the one with all the compartments. I’ve looked EVERYWHERE for more, and I can’t find them. If you do, please let me know!

All other tools (protractor, ruler, etc.) are kept in their drawer, but this is the “go to” for their daily work. And yes, I change the pencils by the season. The dollar section in Target has them ALL the time!

Need help with how to keep your kids’ homework tools together? I’m your girl. Need help with how to do their math homework with them? Run as far away from me as you possibly can!