I have had several comments asking about the status of my painted countertops.  You can read all about them HERE.  It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since I painted them!  

 I have really good news for anyone who is considering doing this.  They are GREAT!  I have had no problems with them and I still LOVE them.  They clean up really well with any kitchen cleaning spray.  I haven't noticed any stains at all. (To be fair, though, they are painted in a way that wouldn't show most small stains.)  The only small issue I have is one edge that takes a beating is getting worn down.  I periodically touch it up with a paint pen and clear fingernail polish and no one would ever know.  If I were to do it all over again, I would have made sure those edges were covered really well with the clear finish.

Several companies now have counter painting kits that you can buy.  I think the thing I like best about mine are the shiny finish.  I'm not certain that those kits will give you that finish.  

I would highly recommend taking this on if you are a DIYer and you want to save major $ on a countertops!  GOOD LUCK!!!

Art Assistance Required

I am the room mom for my 5th graders class. Whew….that’s a lot of pressure!  I am a room parent veteran, but 5th grade is a tough crowd.  They think they are much older and cooler than they actually are so no dumb games or craft projects (my kid’s words).  I am a BIG fan of having all the kids make something special for the teacher as a gift.  This year, inspiration came in the form of this painting that I found on Etsy.  (I can’t find it anymore to give credit where credit is due!)

I got permission to come in and have 15 minutes of time with the kids so we could work on our little project.  I gave each student a 3x3 piece of green cardstock and a black ball point pen.  I asked them to write their name in a circle over and over and over…..  As you can imagine, some kids LOVED this and others whined.  (Mine whined.)  I did not tell them exactly what I was going to do with the paper so they wouldn’t be tempted to blow the surprise for their teacher.

I cut the papers into circles.  I did this freehand because I wanted it to be abstract and not perfectly perfect. 

I painted an 11x14 canvas red and added some swirls.  I also painted a very imperfect green triangle in the middle just in case any of the background would show through my circles.  I Mod Podged the circles onto the canvas, added a star and some ornaments and then put several coats of Mod Podge over the whole thing.

And I think the finished product turned out great!  Mrs. Bollinger loved it and the kids were so proud!  Total cost….hmmm……about $3.00 for the canvas.  (Two pack at Hobby Lobby is $7.99 but I used a 40% off coupon.) 

I am lucky to have super generous parents in my class so just in case of them wonder where all the $ they donated went, we also got her gift cards to Steak and Shake (her request). 

Easter 2012

Every year the Easter bunny hides eggs in clever places all over the yard and every year, the eggs the boys have the most trouble finding are the ones that are just lying in the grass.  They walk by them 5 times before they see them.  Pretty funny stuff.

My cousin has the BEST yard for hiding/finding eggs.  There are just so many little gardens and nooks and crannies.  There are hundreds of eggs for all the kids and they FILL their buckets.  Then they all sit down and open eggs and trade candy and treasures.  I know we are getting to the end of the egg hunting years and it makes me pretty sad.

Buddy and Parker.  Two of a kind.

My sweet Jack.

Jack’s Angry Bird Bird-day

It took a little convincing, but Jack agreed to have an Angry Bird birthday party.  (He wants to be like his big brother and have no theme.) I poured through Pinterest and pinned a ton of awesome ideas.  I have always used blogs as a source of ideas, but Pinterest has made it so much easier!

(I pinned this idea and it looks like it  was originally on Etsy, but the link is not available anymore.)

I saw these cupcakes on Pinterest, which inspired me to make cookies and cupcakes.

We used the sling shot and big pompoms to knock down the cans. (I haven’t been able to locate the original source for the can idea.)

Our PE classes actually use these pigs!  The teacher sets up stations and the kids have to do different things to knock the pigs down.  I borrowed them for the weekend!  We used foam balls and a sling shot to knock them down.

I have had those yellow take-out boxes for many years and never used them.  I bought them on clearance for 20 cents each and I’ve been dying to use them.  FINALLY!!!  I used these templates from Pinterest, printed them small, and Mod Podged them onto the boxes.  They just had 4 different kinds of Angry Bird fruit snacks, a golden egg with glitter putty and a gummy fried egg in them.

One of our activities was making clay Angry Birds.  Some of the kids loved, it and some of them didn’t.  Lol!

If the volume level is any indication of a good party, the kids had an absolutely FABULOUS time! 

Christmas Wrap Up

I got quite a few Christmas orders for paintings, so that kept me pretty busy this year.  Next year, I will know not to wait ‘til the last minute to get down to work!

As usual, despite my best intentions, the boys get way too many presents.  I’m pretty sure the days of Santa Claus at our house are numbered, so I’m going to enjoy it while I can.  I’ve told them that if they don’t believe in Santa, the number of presents is greatly reduced, so they may believe until they are 35!

Santa lost is sense and got Parker an air soft gun.  However, I’m fairly certain that Parker likes the fact that he actually owns an air soft gun more than he likes the gun itself.  Jack was very happy to add to his nutcracker collection with a vampire and a skeleton.

We are ready to move on to 2012 now.  The boys and I are going to get healthy!  (They are not aware of that I have made this resolution for them.)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Pictures

Tracy and I took the kids to get pictures taken.  It was quite an undertaking—first to find coordinating outfits that didn’t look too overly matchy-matchy and second, to get five kids to cooperate.

I took some photos before we left for the session.  I actually got some Christmas card worthy shots!  These are not the ones that will go on the card, but you get the idea.

Gotta love the self-timer!  I am so sad that this one is grainy!  Why does that always happen!?  My favorite picture always ends up being the lowest quality one!

I can’t wait to see how the professional photos turn out!

My Christmas Binder

I am not an organized person by most standards.  However, in some areas of my life, I HAVE to be organized and Christmas is one of them.  I used to be the person who was shopping on Christmas Eve and staying up until 2:00 am wrapping gifts, then getting up at the crack of dawn to clean and rush around before guests came over.  I would spend the last two weeks before Christmas in panic mode and not enjoy the holiday at all. 

I already knew about FlyLady and I tried it, but I couldn’t keep up with her system, but a few years ago I started using her Holiday guide and it literally changed my Christmas from a panic-fest to a joyful holiday!  It’s a pretty simple concept.  Just keep your Christmas craziness in a binder!  I’ve tweaked mine to work best for me.  This is not rocket science and I’m sure there are lots of much more organized people than me that have a better system, but I’m thinking the key for me is SIMPLE.

I made a Christmas binder.  I just used an ugly old binder that I had laying around.  The front pocket has a notepad where I write down lists or things to do.

Next I have my calendars.  I start with November.  I’m showing you this year’s and last year’s.  This year I actually printed a calendar—last year I drew it! I put EVERYTHING onto the calendar even if it isn’t Christmas related. 

I have a page for cinnamon rolls and cookies.  I bake Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls for friends so I figure out who the lucky souls are that year.  It helps me keep straight how many pans I need to buy, etc.  Our school does a cookie walk for the teachers, so I figure out what cookies I’m going to make too.  Then I make a shopping list on that little notepad in the front pocket.  When I go shopping, I just grab the list.  I shop throughout November and December so I don’t get baking shopping shock syndrome!  I also make a menu for Christmas dinner.  I just write down what I’m making—not what everyone else is bringing, but that would be helpful info too.  Same deal, I make a shopping list for this too.  After Christmas, I  make a few notes about what worked or what I need to change.

I’m usually a room mom, so I keep all my Christmas party info in here too. 

Of course I keep a Christmas gift list.  If I were smart,  I would write out a budget and keep track of what I actually spent.  I also have a “Don’t Forget” page.  This is this year’s and it will be added to as things pop into my head.  I put all my little “ideas” that I want to do or those extra little things that sometimes get forgotten during this busy time.

Finally, I printed off FlyLady’s Control Journal and put it in the binder.  I re-read it a lot.  It keeps my thought process straight and keeps me motivated. 

I really swear by this method.  All it really does is force me to think about what needs to be done in advance which is a huge for me.  I know that for the last two Christmas’, I have been in bed by 10:00 on Christmas Eve with everything ready to go the next morning and that is a gift in itself!