Teacher Appreciation Week Finale!

For our big Teacher Appreciation Week finale, my friend Angie and I painted 12x12 picture frames for 65 teachers and staff. One of the big things that makes a project like this doable is that we have plenty of room to spread out and we don't have to clean up each day!

A pile of frames just waiting for some love.


As always, some colors are so much easier than others. The worst....orange. Followed closely by yellow and red! Easiest...any blue.

Base coats almost done. Not looking all that cute at this point!

Now they have some dotty love!

C'mon!? How cute are these polka dotties!? We use a round sponge to make the circles.

Now they are getting their identities. We try to use colors that we think fit the person they are being given to.

Once the painting was complete, they got a coat of glossy Mod Podge. It is AMAZING how much better they look with that shiny coat on top!

This ended up being one of our favorites.

And now they have all been accessorized.

This project was sooooo much fun to do. It took us about 3 weeks of work but we enjoyed every minute of it! And I think it is very safe to say that the teachers loved them too which makes it all worth it!

Easter 2010

Some Easter fun. According to Stella, "I just wanted that yellow egg." She was determined!

This was our first Easter without Great Grandma. On the way home, Jack said, "I think Gwate Gwandma pwobabwy had a Easter party in heaven with Jesus." I am SURE he is right!

Our Visit With Honest Abe

On Casimir Pulaski Day (it's an Illinois thing which most Illinoisans don't know anything about--including me) the boys didn't have school so we FINALLY made it to the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield. Jack shares a birthday with Abe, so he feels a special bond. Seriously. He loves Abraham Lincoln.
In Mrs. Lincoln's Attic, the boys played forever with old fashioned toys (some of which we had as kids!)

Parker and Buddy with some crazy wooden contraption.

Jack as Abe Lincoln.

Me and the boys with Abe, Mary and their boys. I sure hope my boys lead longer lives than 3 out of 4 of theirs did! Those poor people suffered greatly!

Anyway, it was the perfect day to go as it was not crowded. We LOVED it. I learned things I didn't know (which I did not think was possible regarding Lincoln) and the boys had fun and got educated in the process. Parker was mesmerized by all the war stuff and Jack liked one of the virtual plays that had a ghost in it. If you ever have a chance to go, I highly recommend it!

Rescue Hero

Buddy's keys got locked in his truck (most likely by Jack) so he needed Jack to come to the rescue. Jack was only too happy to oblige. He climbed in the back window.

Rolled over the seat.

Hmmmm.....horsed around for a little while.

And unlocked the door.

He got a big hug from Buddy and was off and running.

We called him a Rescue Hero and he was pretty proud. Love that kid!

Black Cabinet update!

I'm answering a question for Annie here. My black cabinets are holding up GREAT! (So are the countertops!) I scrub the cabinets (not as often as I probably should) but the paint is doing great--no chips or cracking. There are a few spots that got dinged by who-knows-what, but otherwise, all is well.

Hang Tight!

Ugh. I feel like I open most posts anymore by saying what a bad blogger I am. Honestly, my attention is just elsewhere. I hate that because I really enjoy having the blog to chronicle my kids lives. Hopefully I will get back in the groove.
A reader asked about the paint I used on the Nativity set. It's Krylon Silver Foil Metallic. I got it at Hobby Lobby (with a 40% off coupon, of course!)
I still need to do lots and lots of projects around the house so if I actually follow through, I will definitely document them on here.
Hang in there with me!

Snow....and a lot of it.

After 3 days back at school after Christmas break, we had 2 snow days. Actually, it wasn't too bad. Even though it is FREEZING (in the single digits and teens) the boys can't possibly resist playing in this much snow. Thank goodness for kind neighbors with four-wheelers and plows! That pile just keeps getting bigger and bigger!
The pile turned into a really great fort.

Our neighbor, Donnie O. having a blast and doing all of us a very BIG favor by plowing our driveways and our cul-de-sac.

The boys keep asking when the snow is going to melt. Hmmm.....maybe April.

Night and Day

This was our Christmas card picture. Jack's head has been photoshopped onto this picture from another one taken the same day. (Thanks Michelle!) I ordered a bunch of cards and then only sent out about half of them. I just couldn't get into it this year. I really love this picture though. Honestly, could they be any different!? And it's not just appearance. They are different in every conceivable way. In fact, I don't think you design two kids who are more different. That's fine with me. It keeps things interesting around here.

Primitive Christmas

Parker's teacher like primitive country, so I made a special one-of-a-kind Advent calendar for her. I love how it turned out. (Sorry the pics are sideways.) I ended up selling about 15 calendars this year which gave me a nice little bit of spending $. If I do it for next year, I MUST plan ahead so I don't get swamped in November!

So.....whew....Christmas is over. This year, I didn't scramble around much at the last minute which, oddly enough, made it feel LESS Chistmasy to me. I guess the stress of the last minute details has become my normal!

Shiny

I wanted a new Nativity scene, but wanted to keep it on the cheap--or I should say, I was pretty sure I could find one cheap. However, I wasn't really finding what I wanted.

Then I found these at Dollar Tree. There is nothing terribly wrong with them, but it isn't the look I'm going for. They were actually marked down to 50 cents each.


So I gave them a coat of silver spray paint (my new best friend) and now they match my decor. I love them--especially their price! (And, of course, for many other reasons!)

I'm not going to "officially" join Nester's Tour of Christmas Decor, but I will try to put my stuff on here. 'Tis the season to be crazy busy!

More Chicago

On the Michigan Ave. bridge over the Chicago River.
Ginormous American Gothic. Parker told Jack that they needed to get a picture of this to give to Jack's art teacher because she has a poster of it in her classroom. Who knew he noticed such things!?

The happiest place on earth....Lego Store.

Sitting with a Lego man.

Playing in the water room at the Chicago Children's Museum. The attendant said, "They will get soaked." She was not kidding.

LOVE Jack's face in this one.

They had a really big firefighting exhibit that all the kids loved. You shot a laser beam at the flames until they went out.

All six of our pack.

I think this looks like a catalogue picture. Isn't Ashlyn gorgous!? I think Parker might have noticed that too. They are a riot together!

Me and the boys and Chicago. Does it look like we are standing in front of a fake backdrop? It does to me. Travis said, "What do you have on your head!?" Thanks. I think it's cute!