The Kissing Hand

If you have school aged children I'm hoping your familiar with the book The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. If you haven't read it, you should. If your little one's haven't made it to school yet, keep this book in mind. It's a great story about the special love between a mommy and her baby. A wonderful way to remind your children you're with them everywhere they go and visa versa.

Today was my littlest chick's first day of preschool. I was a little nervous how she would do. She has always been home with me and has a strong willed personality. She gets a little feisty with her sisters so I was worried how she may behave with her new classmates. Have you ever felt that way? We're all so proud of our little one's but there are times when you worry, even just a little, that your child might be that child. You know what I'm saying.

In an effort to make day one of preschool practically perfect I woke her up with kisses and tickles. This always gets a smiley face rather than a grumpy one. I scooped her up and brought her downstairs to a cup of chocolate milk and an english muffin (her breakfast of choice.) She was very excited Daddy was home to sit with her at the table and go to school with us. She picked out her first day of school outfit weeks ago so we knew exactly which Tinkerbell top and leggings she was wearing. Her outfit was too cute and she actually let me do her hair AND she didn't pull it out before we got to school. This is HUGE!! Trust me. I took a few pictures this morning to share with you, but unfortunately did not get any of Tall Man and I with her. I'm a little disappointed about that but oh well, that happens.

When I picked her up after school I got a great report. YAY!! Her teacher told me she was a big help in class. She helped wipe down the tables and did her best to cheer up the children who weren't so happy about attending school. I can't say how happy I am she did well! Now if we can get through the next nine months we'll be golden!

I hope back to school is going well for your family. Now go enjoy some quiet time!

Blessings.

I'll Take One of Everything

The other day I was out thrift store shopping with my girls and noticed an antique store I've always wanted to visit was right next door to the Youth Ranch thrift store we were going to. So I drug them across the parking lot and into my version of a candy store. There were SOOO many things I'd love to have one, two or even three of.

Unfortunately I do not have the latest, greatest, top of the line phone so I don't get great quality pictures but who cares. You can see how great this stuff is even with a not so good camera phone.

So here is what I saw from the street that caught my eye. You can't see them very well in this picture but there are little chairs and stools not too far in there.

Here's a blurry look at the adorable little wooden chairs. I would love to take some spray paint to those babies, maybe put a potted plant on the seat and voila, CUTE!!

My oldest daughter loved all the jewelry. It was set up on an absolutely adorable vanity table. Oh my gosh I would have LOVED to load it up in my van and bring it home.
Absolutely LOVING everything on this display.... (Oh yikes! Except my reflection in the mirror to the right. Dang it!! Hate it when that happens!) Now back to all things desirable on this table. The white pitcher. The tall red vase thingies. The antique hand mixer. The big white tray. The fabric.
I'm ready for fall and this is one reason. Fall decor is the ABSOLUTE BEST decor of all.
Those were just a handful of the things I would have brought home in a heartbeat if I could have. They also had some adorable hand painted signs. Antique doors, skeleton keys, salt shakers, windows, galvanized steel tubs, antique ranges. Oh... I'll SO be going back there when school is in session and my little chicks aren't wanting to try on every piece of jewelry and sit in every beautiful chair. I'll share more then.

Blessings.

Sign For Teacher

Earlier this week we attended a "meet your teacher" kind of thing at my littlest chick's future preschool. She starts next week. I have a big mix of emotions about the whole thing. I am definitely excited about her teacher, so we had to show her a little love with a sign.

In my head I had pictured a neutral tone sign with a little elegance. Then I asked my four year old which paper she liked. Oops. She picked the pink paper with pink hearts and little swirlies. So that's what we went with, it is supposed to be from her after all.

Tall Man cut a piece of particle board to 7x9 inches, then I drilled holes in the top for the wire to come through. I cut my pretty paper to size and applied it with Mod Podge. I used my Cricut to cut the letters, using the Zoobaloo cartridge. Again, I used Mod Podge to put the letters on. Twisted some wire and tied on a pink ribbon. There ya go!

It is pretty girlie and the boy students may not like it much but I know my little chick likes it and was super proud to give it to her teacher.

Blessings.

Linking to: Punkin Seed Productions

Back to School Shopping at Home

In just a few short weeks all three of my little chicks will be starting school. As excited as I am to have a few hours to myself each morning I am a little overwhelmed at the thought of buying new clothes for three girls. Money is tight this year and those receipts can really pile up when back to school shopping.

School supplies are a must so we bought those first. I was able to cross of everything on our lists for all three girls for about $60. I think that's pretty darn good. Thank goodness Wal-Marche has such good prices.

As a kid I was pretty spoiled when it came to back to school shopping. My parents were divorced so I had two different households buying my clothes. It was great for me at the time but has set the standard high in my mind. Then I think "Wait, they had a total of four incomes between the two households, and I was one child!" In our house we have one real income and three chicks to dress.

So here is what we did Sunday afternoon. I put in the Hannah Montana Season 3 cd, turned it up loud and had my girls model every. single. thing. in their dressers and closets. All three girls pulled out clothes they had completely forgotten about. They were so excited to find these old favorites it was just like getting something new. I also kept track of everything they tried on. I tallied up jeans, comfy pants, leggings, t-shirts, long sleeve shirts, sweaters, skirts, dresses, everything! So now I know what we absolutely NEED for the first day of school and what can wait until late September or October.

I feel SO much better after going through this process. I'm not overwhelmed by the thought of filling three dressers and closest with whole new wardrobes. What a relief!!

I hope maybe this has helped you relieve some of the back to school pressure!

Blessings.

Catch of the Day

Almost two weeks ago my Tall Man had knee surgery so my favorite in-laws came to visit and help out around the house. It turns out that having 80-90% of the meniscus removed in your knee is much easier to recover from than when you have the meniscus repaired. The Tall Man seriously walked from the hospital to the car, from the car to the house with out any assistance!! Craziness! Especially since his last knee surgery (two years ago) required about 8 weeks with crutches, then another 8 weeks of physical therapy.

Because recovery wasn't so bad we were able to squeeze in some fun while the in-laws were here. We went boating on one of our many near by lakes. I of course left my camera at home, so no pictures of that trip. We also took the girls and my favorite father-in-law fishing. Where my six year old had the first catch of the evening. Then my husband caught a little something. The rest of us just stood around and watched these little fish circle my oldest daughters bait. Darn things never took a nibble though.

Here are a few pictures of our evening excursion...

Blessings.

Organized Junk

I realize it's been a few days but I did organize the junk drawer in my kitchen. It's amazing to me how this drawer always gets messy, messy to the point I can barely close the darn thing. There are usually scissors poking out wrong or one of our many Hannah Montana pencils sticking up in the way. I think I've shared that I love office supplies. Pens. Pencils. White out tape. Paper clips. Everything office supply-ee (yes that is a word...well, it is now.)

Between my love for these things and the fact that everyone gives away writing utensils, we have A LOT! Apparently we've been given or pocketed pens from the following places: Custom Truck Accessories (mind you, we don't own a truck,) Rio Hotel & Casino, The Mirage Las Vegas (Tall Man goes to Sin City every year for work, luckily he doesn't really gamble & is not a fan of the lifestyle there) Total Home in Ronan, Montana (not sure I've been there) and Maple Valley Dental (we don't live near Maple Valley.) Our pencils are mostly from our little chicks. We have Hannah Montana, Care Bears, Tinkerbell and a variety of Smencils (recycled pencils that smell like a variety of fruit.) We also have one special pencil that belongs to Tall Man, it's the World's Best Boss pencil, from The Office.

So are you ready to see the awful mess we had going? I can't believe I'm showing people this. Here you go.

Look at that mess!!

This is everything spread out on the counter that was in the drawer. Yikes!

And here we are all organized. I realize it is still a lot of stuff but it is organized. Pencils, pens and markers each have their own compartment. Scissors are not poking out crazy like. I have a little compartment for batteries, glue sticks and super glue, paper clips and one for glasses wipes and lip balm.

You can see there is nothing in the way of closing the drawer now,

even with all that stuff still in there.

I want to say I picked up this drawer organizer at Wal-Mart of Target a couple years ago. I like it because you can rearrange them the way you like. Every time I clean out this drawer I come up with a "newer, better" placement. Because they're white they do get a little dingy with pencil marks and such. Next time I think I'll give them a coat of spray paint to brighten them up. Not sure what color yet but I'll let you know.

Now I should move on to my next organization project. Under the bathroom sinks. Yikes!

Blessings.

Top 5 Tuesday: Organizing

I haven't decided if I'm late on spring cleaning 2010 or early for spring cleaning 2011 but I'm on a mission for my house to be clean and ORGANIZED! I don't know about you but we've had a very busy summer and when you're busy things don't always get put away. That's our house this summer.

So I did a little looking for different ideas on organizing your home. Here are five of my favorites.

This isn't very practical for my home but I love the old barn look of it.

Better Home's and Gardens

Step ladder night stand. I love it!!

Everything has it's place and it doesn't take up a lot of room.

Martha Stewart

Clear containers! If you've been checking out the recent pantry & kitchen updates, you'll know clear containers are everywhere right now!! They are sleek, stylish and practical. If only Ikea wasn't five hours away I'd be snagging some for my pantry.

Martha Stewart

Under the bathroom sink. I never thought of putting hooks on the inside of my bathroom cupboard doors. I think it's a brilliant idea to hold a blow dryer, curling iron or straightener.

Martha Stewart

House of Grace just organized her junk drawers. This happens to be on my to do list for today so I appreciate her inspiration.

House of Grace

Well I suppose now that I've picked a few favorites I should go ahead and get to work. Happy Tuesday!

Blessings.

In Need of Some Inspiration

We're just a couple weeks into August and it has already been busy. Returning to reality after vacation, had my ten year high school reunion. Cat's out of the bag, now you all can figure out how old I am... or should I say young. ;-) Our littlest chick turned four, Tall Man had knee surgery and now we have family coming in to town. Whew! Did I mention we start preschool in three weeks and 1st and 4th grade in four weeks? Aaaaccckk!!

Just because I haven't had time to do anything creative doesn't mean I haven't been getting a little inspiration from some other very talented ladies in blog world. Here are a few blog posts that get me itchin' to do some DIY...

Centsational Girl's new dresser for her son.

I love these signs from The Creative Crate.

Shelley at House of Smith's did an incredible job on her pantry. I have pantry envy.

Those are just a few of the projects I've seen in blog land that I am LoVinG! Aren't you inspired just checking them out?

Blessings.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Today at our house we are celebrating our littlest chick's fourth birthday. She is special for so many reasons, her laughter is one of my favorite sounds on Earth, it is truly awesome! She may be the youngest but she definitely runs the show around here. There are too many things to list, so let's just say there is definitely something special about being the baby (and she knows it!)

Happy birthday to you my little Papaya!!

Blessings.

Home From Vacation

We made it! Tall Man and I survived five days, just the two of us. A weekend in the Seattle area, the drive to Lake Shasta, California, four nights there with the whole family and an extremely SLOW drive home. Two lane highways in Oregon are not fun!! Luckily every other part of our trip was fantastic!

Let me start by saying I've been blessed with some pretty amazing in-laws. My mother and father-in-law are incredible people, I love them! And I always enjoy seeing my husband and his brother together. They are so fun to watch.

In our four days at Lake Shasta we went water skiing, tubing, fishing, kayaking, jumped off a bridge, rode the SeaDoos and had an amazing time with all our family. I was also blessed by a visit from my best friend of 14 years and her 4 and a half month old baby.

I know, I know, show you the pictures already... You might regret this, there are A LOT of pictures. Here we go...

Whew... the van is packed!

The boat trailer blew a tire. Luckily the guys had it fixed in no time!

We're almost there!!

We were jumping off the lower bridge. My 9 year old jumped from higher than I did.

Brave little girl!

Getting ready to jump.

Two of my chicks with their cousins.

My brother-in-law getting the grill ready.

Tall Man had the first catch of the day!

There were so many birds off the back deck.

In the evening the deer would come out to play.

The cousins!

Kiana and Daddy on the SeaDoo.

Beautiful baby girl cooling off in the pool.

Tall Man, up on one ski! Even with torn cartilage in his knee.

Me and my bestie!

My little one and I floating.

Tubing with my sister-in-laws girls.

Have to squeeze in at least one self taken picture of the Tall Man and I.

Heading out on a SeaDoo.

My brother-in-law caught a monster catfish. We're guessing at least 8 pounds!

Did you make it through all those pictures? I know, it's a lot and just think this is just a few of what I have saved on my laptop.

The cat fish was my last picture of the week. I'm waiting for my sister-in-law to upload her pictures so I can share one of the whole group. There were fifteen family members plus my friend and her baby. Pretty crazy but SO much fun. We're all looking forward to meeting up again next summer!

Blessings.