{Go Ahead, Let The Kids Decorate!}

Happy Wednesday! My kids actually lucked out today, because they are having three friends stay the night. And yes, I do have a couple projects up my sleeve for them to create. ;) You can check out my Girls Sleepover Craft Ideas from previous sleepover projects.  I will also be busy the next couple days, getting ready for our road trip...(you can read a little more about that here.)

So, if you know me, I'm all about making homemade gifts and creating. I am also one of those people that saves gift bags to re-use. I have no shame in re-using, and I don't think I've had to buy a gift bag in YEARS. Anyways, so for this Father's Day this year we decided to 'create' a gift box, filled with homemade cookies, and all sorts of 'daddy' snacks, and then we decorated it.I allowed my kids to use their imagination as much as possible. I had an old cake box we saved that was in good condition. I let the kids pick out different scrapbooking paper that we glued to the box. Then I painted the kids hands and let them make handprints on top. The sides then became covered with drawings and colors (and some Dora stickers!) Believe me, the kids had a lot more fun decorating this than just buying some wrapping paper.

We ended up taping the edges so the paper wouldn't 'accidentally' get ripped up by my two year old ;)

Remember, gifts, or even just what you cover the gifts in, are so much more meaningful if you take the time and thought to make it extra special!

By the way, in case you were wondering, this is what the inside looked like.

And, instead of cards, I interviewed each of the kids and asked them questions about their dad, then let them pick out their own background paper.

Yes, Noah really did answer 'poop'! I had my eldest write all of the answers down.

How much funner is that then an old card? Get creative,you can modify the questions and it doesn't have to just be for a Father's Day!

Mommy Monday & Tasty Tuesday! (Quiche Recipe)

Well, its a little late, but Happy Mommy Monday. I had quite the day here. I got off of work at 7am and drove home, slept for two and a half hours, then drug myself out of bed because I {a} had a work meeting and my first annual eval to go to and {b} had to make the most of my child-free hours by having a much needed pedicure with one of my besties. Sleep can wait, right?

It was worth it. Matching toes. The picture doesn't do it justice. Pretty bubblegum pink tips.

Speaking of pretty things. My 4 year old came in from playing outside yesterday and had this little present for me. A measuring cup filled with fresh strawberries she picked, topped off with a purple flower. It was so sweet!

My annual eval at work went great, and although all in all it has been a great day, I'm tired. Luckily I just happened to have made this little breakfast-for-dinner dish yesterday, and all I had to do was pop it in the oven to reheat. It was delish. :)

Prosciutto Quiche

12 large eggs

1 Roma Tomato

Green Onions (to taste)

4-6 oz Prosciutto

1 cup cheddar cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup milk

Pie Crust (I generally use the Pillsbury ones, all you have to do is unroll them)

Salt

Pepper

Chop green onions and Prosciutto. Dice tomato. Shred Cheese.

Crack eggs into mixing bowl and beat with a whisk until completely mixed. Add milk. Stir in ingredients, but leave out enough cheese to cover the top of the quiche. Add Salt and or pepper if you'd like.

Pour mixture into pie crust and place on cookie sheet. Cover with left over cheese. Bake @ 350 for approx. 1 hour.

Enjoy.

Although it has been said that real men don't eat quiche...on the contrary my husband likes it when I make this, because it is super easy to eat on the run in the morning on his way to work. The best thing about quiches is that you can get creative and use whatever ingredients you have on hand.

~ Off to catch up on my beauty sleep!

~ Melissa

{A Little Bit of This and That}

Well, It has been a busy couple days here again, and I just wanted to share a couple awesome things. First thing, I woke up this morning, and do as I usually do, checked my email, facebook, and blogger on my cell with one eye half open. Well, this morning as I'm glancing through the blogs I follow, I notice something very familiar...one of my posts! Kimberlee at The Peaceful Mom shared my Girls Sleepover Craft Ideas post on her Show and Tell Saturday! Its the first time I've been featured on anything, and it was pretty exciting.

Another very exciting thing around here is the newest edition to my family! I had been fighting and fighting with my piece of crap vacuum for years now, and Thursday was the last straw when it got plugged up AGAIN, and as I was trying to clean it out I somehow managed to get a bobby pin stuck through the hose. We have patched it before, but this was it! The vacuum wasn't suctioning as well as it should, the filters were a pain in the rear to clean, and we have been talking about buying a new one for years. So my husband came home and I told him we had to buy one. Period. So, without further ado, here is Mr. Dyson. I absolutely adore him, love love love the ball concept. It is like the Cadillac of vacuums. I know it is expensive, but totally worth the investment...especially if you are a mom like me and have messy little kids! Even as I was purchasing it at the store a fellow mom walked by and raved on her Dyson -that she has had for 5 years!

So, I've been playing around with my Instagram app on my phone, and I am really liking it. I don't have a fancy camera (yet,...someday...) but I have always loved photographing things around me. Here's a couple shots I think are pretty cool.

 

 

This week will not be as busy as last week, (I think) but should still be fairly busy. I'm working night shift Sunday night, so part of Monday will be wasted sleeping (boo), Tuesday is a Dr. appointment, Wednesday is reading group day and then Anika is having a friend sleepover. Then Thursday and Friday will be spend getting ready for a road trip! Saturday My dad, the kiddos, and me will be driving down to Klamath Falls to the Flying Y resort, for a whole week! My dad has a timeshare and reserved the unit quite a while ago, and then things fell through with who was going with him. So, their loss, my luck! My hubby will be staying here because he can't take that much time off of work....so this will be exciting and a little scary, just me and all three kids! Help! I'm definitely browsing the blogs and pinterest for road trip activities!

Last but not least, I think I'm a little too hard on myself sometimes about keeping the house clean. It is a never ending battle with the kids to even keep it picked up, and sometimes it seems that all I ever do is break up fights and play maid. I walked into the house last night after buying the vacuum, and, I just had to laugh. Look at that pile of clothes that needed folded! Normally I get frustrated, but this time I just chuckled. My husband asked me, "What?", and I just replied. "Look at those clothes. It looks like I have a clothes Christmas Tree!" He didn't really get it. But sometimes, you just gotta laugh. Actually, I think I was quite talented for getting them to pile so high! Oh well, no ones perfect! 

                                                                           Melissa

P.S. I am SO grateful for all the comments lately! I love hearing from other people! I am currently working on a Facebook page to like so you can keep in contact with me that way, and I'll be sure to let you know when its ready. Until then, please feel free to link up with me via Google on my side bar so we can keep in touch! Thanks!

{**UPDATE** There is now a 'Like Me' on Facebook page on the right of my webpage! }

How to Make a Strawberry Lemon Drop!

    Well, Summer is officially in full swing around here. Yesterday we lucked out and had gorgeous weather for the first day of the season. I also had a busy day shuffling the kiddos around in "soccer mom" fashion. I dropped the girls off at Vacation Bible school, then  Noah and I went to run some errands and grocery shopping. Note to self: after working night shift, make sure to take your wallet out of your work bag, and place it back into your purse. Lets just say after everything was rang up at the store I remembered that. So we went to the store. Twice. Then I had to hurry back and get the girls, and then off to lunch at the high school. I think everyone in our small town had the same idea on such a pretty day, because I ran into half of the people I know! After lunch the kids went down to the community center for the reading program. Wednesdays they have performers and crafts. After that we had an impromptu invite to a classmates house for some good ol' pool time fun. 5 o'clock rolled by as I was finally pulling back into our driveway, and all I could think was thank God I have pre-planned dinner for the evening!

Today is a clean up day for me, and catch up on my studying. I've been slacking the past couple months, and I really need to get back into it, so I can finish. For those of you that don't know I've been working on my associates degree in Nursing. Slow but steady. :)

With all of the summer activities that we do for our family I think we all need to take a 30 minute break for ourselves. Yes. Be selfish. I know its hard sometimes, but YOU NEED TO! For your sanity! I have to remind myself that sometimes as well. I just happen to have a little concoction to help you relax and enjoy your 'me' time; here is how to make a strawbery lemon drop:

Strawberry Lemon Drop

1 1/2 oz Vodka

1/2 oz Triple Sec

1 tsp Sugar

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

1 tsp strawberry puree

Ice

Fill cocktail shaker about 1/2 way with Ice. Add Vodka, Triple Sec, Sugar and Lemon Juice. Shake well.

If you'd like you can dip your glass in water and then sugar to create a sugar rim. Pour into glass, then spoon strawberry puree in and mix. .

Enjoy!

Now that's how to make a lemon drop ;)

This is one of my favorite drinks and perfect for summertime. I warn you though- the glass empties very quickly!

Melissa

Girls Sleepover Craft Ideas

So, I don't know about you, but my girls have already been begging for their friends to come over for sleepovers, now that its Summer break and all. When they have friends over I usually try to have at least one thing to keep them occupied. Here are some ideas that I have done in the past that have been a big hit. :)

 1. Pipe Cleaner Jewelry

I bought a bag of sparkly pipe cleaners in all different colors, at walmart for a couple bucks. My daughter Emma and I had tons of fun one night creating crowns and rings, necklaces, bracelets, and whatever else we could think of. She is sporting her Princess crown here, and I have a flower

headband. 

2. DIY Take Home Tote Bags

The girls really loved this project. Again, Walmart has cheap canvas bags that come in sets of two, and then I purchased some iron on transfer paper and printed whatever pictures the girls liked best from their sleepover. We then ironed them onto the bags and then I let the girls go crazy with fabric paint and decorations. One of the my favorite slumber party projects. Ever.

3. Craft Masks



These are so easy and fun. All you need is paper plates, old magazines, some yarn for hair, and I used a paint stick for a handle. But really, just look around your house...most anything will work for decorations. You can read more about my mask project here.

4. Princess Wands

I actually made these for a birthday party one year and the girls

helped me. What you need:

Melting White Chocolate

Food Coloring

Sprinkles

candy decorations

and of course, pretzels.

You also need either some wax paper or foil to line a baking

sheet with.

Simply melt the chocolate per the instructions, mix a couple drops of food coloring in. Set two small pretzels on both sides of the large pretzel stick in foiled cookie sheet and then cover with chocolate, making sure to coat both sides. Let cool, then decorate any way you'd like!

 5. Fondant Fun

Everyone can make sugar cookies, but why not take it a step further and let the kids learn how to make fondant? Its actually simpler than you think. Here is an easy recipe for you. Let them experiment with mixing colors up, and then using cookie cutters to cut the shapes out to fit on the cookies. we used gumdrops here for the flower center.

6. Party Table Cloth

I let them get super artsy on this one.... I had a sleepover before my daughters birthday and I decided to let them in on the decorations. I bought a disposable fabric tablecloth from Walmart for a few dollars, and let them decorate their hearts out, with colors and stickers etc. They all worked very hard on it, and the end result was SO cute. I didn't have the heart to throw it away, so it is now folded up in our memory box. :)

You might also like to check out my latest Sleepover post HERE.

Well, there is a few ideas to help inspire you the next time you have some little princesses over for a sleepover!

Melissa

Organization Inspiration! :)

Monday is here! I had a fabulous Father's Day BBQ with the family, and today the girls started a week of VBS. Never a dull moment around here! So, it was brought to my attention by a couple of wonderful people who stopped by to read my blog, that I didn't have a button for people to click to follow me! Well, I apologize as I am still pretty new at this ;). There is now a follow me button on my side bar so you can keep up with my posts!

 Today I want to show you something simple I did a couple months ago that has really helped with organizing. We have a small house. Our laundry room, which really isn't a room...it's more like a closet that fits our appliances in it with cupboards above...well, long story short, after Noah was born, I lost whatever little area I had for my computer and crafts. I needed somewhere that I could access some of my office/paper supplies easily. I also had been eyeballing inside the laundry room. There was one wall that would work. I went to Home Depot and bought a small wire rack, and then another one that holds mops and brooms...and with a little help from the hubby ( I hadn't installed anything before!) I managed to put it up... and filled it with all of my crafty stuff. I also claimed the cupboard next to it, to hold all of my office paper and envelopes etc. Now, its not perfect that's for sure, but at least I have a little section that I know where to put things, and more importantly where to find things!



Messy Laundry Room!



Hard at work, or hardly working? :)

The final results!



As you can see from this picture, I still had some extra room on the rack. Not so the case now ;). The pencil holders on the left...those are old green bean cans that were cleaned and covered in decorative paper. It's crazy how something so simple can help so much, isn't it?

I am a creative person, and not naturally the most organized. Having three children makes organization more difficult, but even more necessary. If you have kids, you know what I mean. Everyone needs a little organization in their lives, it helps save us lots of time, and makes us feel more accomplished. Up next, my kitchen cabinets, and my garage (EEK!) which is on my Summer To-Do list.
 

Until next time,

Melissa

~Pretty Painted Flower Pots~

Happy Friday! Its sunny here and I am catching up on my huge to-do list around the house. Well, I was, until I came inside and got sucked into my pinterest/blog/inspiring online world. Our fence is nearly complete, all we have left to do is build the gate. You can read more about that here .Then comes the fun part, building a play structure for the kids, and redesigning the back yard!

 Anyways. I was looking through my photos and this one stuck out today. Its SO bright and cheery, don't you think? These are my Mother's day flowers from last year, and my kiddos painted the pots just for me! Their babysitter helped them. Aren't they adorable? And of course I still have them and look at them daily. So much prettier than a plain old pot with a flower, and an easy/fun summer project!

Melissa

Kids Summer Schedule

Well, school has officially been out for..... well not even a week. And I am going slightly crazy here! Not that I don't love my children, but all at home all day, well, lets just say that its never quiet and I've had my fair share of fights to break up. Unfortunately here the weather hasn't been told its summer yet. So I know all kids can benefit somewhat from a schedule, but mine, especially my eldest, really Need a schedule. Without one, the chaos sets in. Oh how I wish the lazy days of summer were just that. And they might be at some point. Someday. So, I threw together a little reference calendar for the kids, again, mainly my eldest. Its nothing fancy and not set in stone, but I think it will help ad some element of routine in the day. I'm thinking about adding clean-up time at 4pm....

So I put things in colors, but its just for fun, no meaning behind the colors or anything like that.

On certain days it says Lisa, and that is their daycare provider they go to when I am working or studying. Wednesdays' are pretty well planned out because there is a local reading program going on for a couple months. And then I there are free breakfasts and lunches at school we can also hit up. I'll show you next month's schedule when it gets a little closer, so you can see what I've come up with. But here was my quick idea to keep the kids under semi control. :)

Melissa

 

{ My Friends, My Family }

Friends. I don't have many, I have a few. I take a long time to open up to people, and I don't take friendships lightly. I am a good friend. Anyone that knows me, knows that my friends are my family. Period. I have come to learn that you really need only a few good friends. They will pick you up when you are down, and visa versa. Many of your fondest memories will be with your friends. Family. The word family to me is not synonymous with DNA.Family is a circle that I myself create. I have created a family that I love. No matter what happens, one of us is always there for each other. People will fall in and out of friendships as people change and evolve. Because we all know change is inevitable. Once we acknowledge that people will change, and we will change, we can accept them more. Not 100% of friends will stick around, that is for sure. But ones that you love that care just as much for you will to some degree or another. You can't change people. Accepting them is the best way.

 What silly things have you done with your friends? I was on a kick one year to stop and take pictures with all of the silly rings we saw when we were shopping or at a trade show. It made for some laughs and memories. Remember. It's the little things in life you will remember. And Love.

                                                                          Melissa