A couple of mornings ago I dropped the boys off at school.  The seniors were selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  The boys begged me to buy them, to which I immediately said no.  Then the sweet little girl riding in our carpool said, “But it’s for the seniors to raise money.”  Good point, right?  I mean, we need to help the seniors out after all, right?  So the kids hopped out of the car, and I decided I would surprise the boys with doughnuts after school.

Problem is that Andrew and I ate one when we got home.  Later that afternoon, I had another.  Those doughnuts are equal parts delicious and disgusting.  They are so good going down, but make me feel horrible within about 5 minutes.  I don’t know if it is the overload of sugar and chemicals that I ingested or the fact that I had ZERO self-control.  Speaking of self-control.  I love the fact that at the boys’ school they are required to have the first 10 minutes of lunch in silence in order to teach them self-control.  I obviously need some training as well.

So after school the boys had doughnuts.  It did not go unnoticed that several were missing from the box.  When Steve got home he couldn’t believe I had bought them.  Even he showed self-control by completely abstaining from them!  Well, then Jacob got sick, so we couldn’t eat them in front of him.  And I didn’t want them to go stale.  That would be a waste of $7.  So after the boys went to bed, I couldn’t help myself from a little nibble, which turned into a bigger nibble.  But I controlled myself and left the rest in the box.  I don’t know why I didn’t throw it away.

This morning Jacob was in the pantry when I heard him say, “MOM!  Have you been eating doughnuts through the night!?!”  Well, I was busted.  As I was laughing, while trying to explain myself, he said, “I can’t believe that, Mom!”  He was utterly shocked.

The box is still in our pantry.  It needs to go into the trash!

I purge.   Often.  Clutter and I don’t do well.  Therefore, often I find these projects but I don’t have the items around the house that most people would have.  Except this time!  Just so happened that I have an entire trunk of old picture frames that I planned to give away to Goodwill.  So I refashioned a few of them and put them to good use.

Supplies:

Picture frame-any size, any color, just needs to have the glass

Decorative cardstock

I made 5 Dry Erase Picture Frames using 8×10 frames.  I simply cut my cardstock to size and inserted it like you would a picture.  And that is it!

I use one on our chalkboard organization wall to write our weekly menu.  A written menu is important in a house with 4 hungry boys.

I made one for each of the boys rooms.  I use this for their chore charts.  This has worked better than anything we’ve ever tried.  I don’t nag, I don’t remind.  They know that until everything is checked off, no story.  Same goes for the morning.  They know that before they come down for breakfast, everything must be checked off.  This also allows me to simply wake them up with a good morning kiss and say, “Good morning!  I’ll meet you down for breakfast.”  I’m not needed to prompt them along.  They feel independent and we all start off on a happy note.

The others that I made were for my niece and nephew, Aaron and Ansley.  I had a lot of fun making theirs because we made them to match their rooms.  One was a hunting theme, the other hot pink and zebra print.

And for the super crafty who are wondering why I didn’t make it more embellished and artsy…well, I’m a boy mom.  Perfection and cutesy are not appreciated.  But simple is!

Just imagine how cute you could make these.  Attach a pretty ribbon for hanging.  Use several coordinating prints to make it more interesting.  Use scrapbooking stamps/stickers to create your template directly on the paper.  Or you can just do what I did and have it done in about 2 minutes

So, again, Tiffany (same one who gave me coaster pins), told me about Pinterest this summer.  She knew I would love it.  I knew I would love it.  That is exactly why I didn’t proceed to set up an account.

Too many people were telling me about all the fun stuff they were finding on Pinterest.  But what sold me on it was the organization of it.

So here is how it works, you set up an account with Pinterest. (Ok, this is cheesy, but you have to request an invite, and they invite you….that is my only complaint).  Then you set up virtual pinboards so you can organize all the items that you pin.  I have a pinboard for recipes.  When I find a recipe I like online, I pin it to my recipe pinboard.  If I find a gift I want to give someone, I pin it to my gift pinboard.  If I find a craft to do with the kids, I pin it to my craft pinboard.  If I find items that eventually I plan to buy for the house, I pin it to my house pinboard.  You can set up whatever pinboards you want.  Like to travel?  Pin all the destinations that you come across that you want to remember.

What is addictive is looking at other people’s pinboards.  They are MUCH more interesting than mine.

So I made this for breakfast…..

They don’t look as pretty as these

http://pinterest.com/pin/18366310950121808/

but I can assure you they were just as delicious.

Here is what I love about Pinterest.  It inspires you to try new things.  It fosters creativity.

Though I have heard people say that it is a time suck.  I would argue that at least it is a productive time suck.

Now, if you don’t have a Pinterest account, go ask to be invited   Then go start pinning away.  It is an organizer’s dream!

Jacob does not like having his picture taken.  Knowing that I was taking pictures in a crowd of people, he knew he could get away with the following….

Look closely at this picture.  I looked everywhere for Jacob.  I knew he should have been in this shot.  Then I found him.  Or his head.  Jacob is the one showing the top of his head.  Yes, he was ducking from mama’s camera!

But this one….this one made me laugh out loud.  And yes, he knew exactly what he was doing.  He saw my camera aimed right at him.  I just couldn’t tell from that far back that he was making funny faces.

And, yes, Zachary looks miserable.  He hates to wear “fancy clothes”.  Really, really hates it.  My boys love “exercise clothes” and hate “fancy clothes”.

]]> http://bestill1.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/jacobs-humor/feed/ 0 bestill1 DSC_3776 DSC_3779 http://bestill1.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/another-zachary-story/ http://bestill1.wordpress.com/2012/01/19/another-zachary-story/#comments Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:22:08 +0000 bestill1 http://bestill1.wordpress.com/?p=2422 ]]>

“I have another Zachary story for you,” my friend says to me while we were at a field trip this morning.

“Oh dear.  Should I be worried?”  I’ve had countless experiences hearing “Zachary stories” that caused my face to turn deep shades of red.  Sweet as pie, but no filter on his mouth.  If he feels it or thinks it, well, he simply says it.

“No, this is the best one yet,” my friend replied.  This offered me no reassurance.  But what followed absolutely melted my heart.

She went on to tell me that while she was laying with her daughter last night, her daughter told her this:  “Zachary said that if I ever do anything to be put in prison, he will lie for me so that he will be the one to get in trouble so that I won’t have to.”

Is this how a little 6-year-old mind works?

There has been this connection between Zachary and this little girl right from the beginning of school.  They are so sweet to each other, and Zachary has only sweet things to say about her.  Now, he doesn’t talk about girlfriends or anything of that sort.  Innocently, he simply enjoys playing with her.  My friend and I discussed this unique relationship they seem to have and laughed at ourselves at the thought of them actually getting married someday.

I love these coasters.  They are beautiful, they look great in our family room, but what I love most is that they were handmade.  Every time I look at those coasters, I think about the fact that she spent her time making them for me.

I feel there is something to be said for the sentiment of the gift when someone spends their precious time working on something to give you.  It is easy to run to the store to buy something.  But it takes time, thought, energy, and effort to make something.

I’ve never considered myself a “crafty” person or even a creative person.  Recently, I’ve been learning that you don’t have to be very crafty or creative.  Not in the world we live in.  Resources abound on the internet giving wonderful ideas and even better tutorials to do anything you want.

This post is not to say “Hey, look what I did.”  Rather, it is to say, “Hey, look what you can do…if you want to.”

My friend, Tiffany, told me last week about these coasters she made for Christmas gifts.  When she told me how long it took her and how much she spent on her supplies, I knew it was a task I could handle.  I wish I had the tutorial links to share, but I don’t.  So Tiffany, would you so kindly comment with your links   She had them pinned on Pinterest.  Another topic for another day.

Since I don’t have the tutorial links, or step by step pictures, I will simply tell you how easy this project was.

Supplies needed:

Time Required:  15 minutes, not including drying times.

Project Cost:  $1.42 if you have supplies on hand.  If you don’t, the stuff you buy lasts forever!

Step 1:  Purchase 4×4 tiles at Home Depot, Lowes, etc.  The tiles I bought were .33 cents.  That is right…cents!  I also bought some plain white tiles for a future project for only .16 cents.

Step 2:  Select paper to use.  I used scrapbook cardstock.  You could use wallpaper, wrapping paper, pictures, scraps, whatever.  Cut your paper to size to fit your coaster.  That is up to you.  You can cut it to 4×4 to fit your tile.  Or you can do it slightly smaller to have a tiled border.  Time required – approximately 3 minutes.  I have a paper trimmer that I use all the time.  It is so old that the grid lines are worn and I don’t quite know what I’m measuring to.

Step 3:  Glue paper to tile. Use Mod Podge to coat the tile.  Then place the square paper cuts on the tile.  Let sit for about 10-15 minutes.

Step 4:  Use Mod Podge to apply 2 coats to newly papered tile.  Wait about 15 minutes between coats.  Use a foam craft brush to apply the Mod Podge.  Be sure to apply strokes in the same direction.

Step 5:  Apply a waterproof acrylic spray sealer.  This is the easiest step.  Simply take your tiles outside and spray them.  Wait about 15 minutes and spray again.

Step 6:  Let sit for 24 hours.  They will feel dry to touch after 10 minutes, but they will stick together if you stack them.  So make sure to let them sit for 24 hours.

Step 7:  Use either felt squares or something similar for the bottom of the coaster so it won’t scratch the furniture.  I just used what I had around the house.  Those little felt circles that have sticky backs.

Ta-Da!

When they were dry, I stacked them and wrapped them with a bow to give to 3 sets of friends last weekend.  We were able to go to Virginia to visit with friends, and these made for a fun gift to make for them as a thank you for housing our loud family of 5!!  Sadly, I didn’t take a single picture from our entire trip.  As Heather said, maybe it was because we were so in the moment, breaking out a camera would have changed the experience.  The weekend was perfect though, a little too fast, but such a sweet time to catch up with friends.  We were never able to do this with our friends in Atlanta because we have too much family to visit in those short visits as it is.  So it was nice to be able to have this concentrated time.

]]> http://bestill1.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/diy-coasters/feed/ 6 bestill1 photo photo3 photo2 http://bestill1.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/organized-snacks/ http://bestill1.wordpress.com/2012/01/12/organized-snacks/#comments Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:48:23 +0000 bestill1 http://bestill1.wordpress.com/?p=2399 ]]> With 3 boys (all with very healthy appetites), our grocery bill is much higher than I would like.  Add to that purchasing healthier options, and the grocery bill nearly doubles.  The most used room in our house?  The pantry.  The door that needs fingerprints wiped off daily?  The pantry.  The room that I “clean” or “organize” every few days?  The pantry.  It is actually a frustrating space to me because no matter how I try to keep it nice and tidy, when the little boy hands go to work in there, they can undo an hours worth of work in about 2.5 seconds.

To aid my children to become a little more self-sufficient, while maintaining my own sanity, I decided to try a little different approach.

I have an abundance of disposable casserole dishes, which were perfect for the task at hand.  First, I emptied all of our individually wrapped, boxed snacks (think granola bars) onto the counter.  We have more than the average family because it is a favorite around here.  And we like variety.  I filled up an entire tray with just granola bars.  That sounds crazy, but within 2 weeks (or less) it will be completely empty.  And that is only because I practically demand a ration ticket from the kids to get one.

Next, I took other snack favorites that we buy in bulk and filled snack size Ziploc baggies.  So we ended up with a tray of goldfish, animal crackers, pretzels, etc.

Finally, I restocked our trail mix jars.  You might remember from an old post a couple of years ago I wrote about a trail mix station we used for Jacob’s 7th birthday camping party.  It was such a hit with the boys, that it has never gone away.  I filled up mason jars, which I labeled, with almonds, cashews, peanuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, pretzels, and of course chocolate chips and M&Ms.  Now, they too are within reach in the snack area of the pantry.

Hopefully, this will make the snack time dilemma a little easier when they go to the pantry, they need look no further than the snack trays.  Now, let’s see how long it lasts!

I’ve heard of others being a little more extreme to the point of setting up trays in the refrigerator of cut up fruits and veggies.  I’m considering this.  My thought is that if I have everything portioned out, I can make a checklist for the boys to pack their own lunches.  This will give them a little more independence instead of my determining exactly what they eat, they will gain a little more control.  Of course, I won’t keep anything in the house that I would oppose them packing anyway.  Maybe I will set up a chart like this:

Lunch Packing Checklist:

Sandwich (or other main dish item)

Veggie

2 Fruits (1 for snack, 1 for lunch)

Crackers/chips

Snack of choice (granola bar, yogurt, cheese stick, etc)

I’ll let you know if we actually implement this.  But I like the idea of it.

Ok, so here is our snack shelf now.

He was so excited that he was knocking on the locked door at Snip-Its waving at the employees charming them to open the doors for him.  He was the most excited kid I’ve ever seen to get a hair cut.  After the experience I can see why.  He got to watch a movie, eat a sucker, get more candy.  Who wouldn’t enjoy that??

So here he is before

And here he is after

Doesn’t look much different does it   The lady cutting his hair knew she would have a mama leaving in tears if she cut off all his curls!

So that was Friday….Let’s move to Saturday and Sunday now.

We had friends over, had a great time, kids jumping in the bounce house, playing in the yard, no major tear episodes or injuries.  So we thought.  In the middle of the night, Jacob and Zachary appeared in our room.  I heard sobbing and saw 2 little figures standing over me.  Jacob said, “He is freaking out.”  Zachary, through heavy sobs, said, “I can’t feel my arm.  Or move my arm.  And my leg hurts, and I can’t walk on my foot.”  Can you imagine the panic I felt?

We got Zachary settled back to sleep only to have the same thing happen a few hours later.  Sobbing, almost screaming, and couldn’t move his left arm.  But once we got up and started the day, we didn’t really notice much.  Until Steve noticed that Zachary literally wasn’t using his arm at all.  He hadn’t complained much at all.  He just simply went to not using it.

Emergency Room trip # 2 in NC for Zachary.  The before picture.

As the nurse rolled his bed into the x-ray room, she was explaining to him why he didn’t need to be scared.  Zachary replied, “I’m not scared.  I’ve done this before.  In fact, I was in this same room last time.”  She laughed and asked about his previous visit to which he explained having his leg x-rayed when we thought he broke his foot.  She said, “Just don’t let it be your head.”  I said, “Well, he has had that also when he fell out of a shopping cart when he was 2.  Accident prone he is!

Thankfully, no broken bones, probably sprained shoulder.  They put him in a sling and sent us on our way.  Zachary and I have a tradition (it can be a tradition as long as you’ve done it more than once….this made twice).  We go to Starbucks for a treat.  I love Starbucks.  Seriously, love it.  I only wish it weren’t so expensive so that I could enjoy on more than the rare special treat!  One of the reasons I love it is because they make their kids drinks special and fun…for only $1.25!  I ordered a kids chocolate milk with whipped cream.  They even add syrup and a cherry on top

Here is after

This was Andrew’s boppy exactly a year ago.  I know it doesn’t look in the best shape, but keep in mind that this was Jacob’s prized possession from birth until he lost interest around 4.  However, he kept it in his bed right up until the day Andrew was born when he decided he would pass Boppy to his baby brother.

When Jacob passed Boppy down, Boppy was 5 years old, completely intact with satin edges and all.

In the above picture, Boppy had reached the ripe age of 7 and endured lots of love.  I had to cut the satin edges off because they were ripping off, and I was afraid it would choke Andrew in his sleep.

Little by little, Boppy started to get holes…and more holes…and a few tears….then some shreds were coming off.  Now I’ve resorted to tying the shreds of Boppy into knots to keep it somewhat intact.

Boppy is the love of Andrew’s life.  Rescued from a Costco dumpster after a grueling 2 days of separation.  No amount of persuasion has worked to convince Andrew to let us replace Boppy.  And I understand.  Boppy is truly irreplaceable.  It is unique and one of a kind.

Here is Boppy today.

Above is the before picture.  Cute little table my mom gave to me years ago.  It has been living in the attic since we moved into our new house because we just didn’t have a home for it.

Jacob needed a little bedside table.  So we decided to refurbish our little church table to suit his needs.  His room is sports, so we went to my scrapbook papers and he quickly selected what he wanted.  One thing I absolutely love about Jacob…he is incredibly decisive.  He knows what he wants and wastes no time in making a decision.  Very much like his daddy in that regard.  I, on the other hand, continue to ask if he is sure about his selection to which he is quick to let me know his mind is made up.

Originally, I had planned to spray paint the table red, then we decided we liked the iron color legs the way they were.  This project was complete in 15 minutes.  We measured and cut the paper to fit the top of the table.  Next we used Mod Podge (just love that stuff) to glue it on the table.  Finally, we sealed it by spreading 2 coats of Mod Podge on top of the newly covered table.

Here is the after picture.