By now, I think people all over the world know that I was planning to have knee surgery. It was my first surgery {that I can remember} so I was pretty focused on making sure I was ready for the surgery and the recovery. The recovery means lots of down time and not a lot ability to do fun things with my kids. So, I decided to take the afternoon before my surgery and make it a fun afternoon filled with a monster drink, treats and crafts.
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Food for July 4th: Red, White and Blue Firecrackers
Food for July 4th parties can be so fun to make! Get the kids involved and make these Red, White and Blue Firecrackers using only marshmallows and candy! These Red, White and Blue chocolate dipped marshmallow pops are so festive and fun to make, everyone will have a blast!
I love entertaining! Holidays for me mean a time to get family and friends together and share a meal. Of course, for most holidays, I like to coordinate the food with the occasion. When thinking about food for July 4th, I wanted something fun that the kids could also help with.
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Photo Glimpse: Mother’s Day!
Well, I hope all the moms out there had a great Mother’s Day! I was truly spoiled {as usual} by my family. As part of May’s photo glimpse, I thought I would share a little bit of my mother’s day with you!
My Mother’s Day really started on Friday when I was surprised with these beauties
And yes that is a potted plant in my cup holder. You don’t keep one there too?
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Organizing with Fabric Wrapped Binders
Back when school started {eons ago right?!}, our house was flooded with paperwork and I created artwork binders for each of our kids. Well, plain binders are pretty ugly and boring sitting on our a bookcases in the family room. So, I decided to turn them into fabric wrapped binders to blend in a little better while still offering the organizing I was looking for.
Kindly ignore the label still on one of them. H insisted that I leave it in there and it wasn’t a battle I was willing to fight.
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Travel Preparations: Tips for Leaving the Family
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By now you know that last month I headed off to Salt Lake City for my first ever blog conference.
It was the first time I’d been away for more than a night since my second child had been born {and maybe only the third time ever since having kids} so I was a little nervous at how things were going to run at the house while I was gone.
Mathlete is an extremely involved parent and does a lot BUT there are things that he just isn’t use to thinking about when it comes to the kids and our house. I wanted to make things as easy for him as possible so I did a few things as part of my travel preparations that I thought would help things run a little smoother while I was gone. I wanted to share them with you in case you are thinking of taking trip soon but wondering how your family will function without you is giving you a little pause.
First: Make a schedule.
This may seem silly but it will be appreciated. For each day, put who needs to be where and when along with important things to remember like “sally needs to wear red for spirit day.”
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Big Girl Rooms: Two Mood Boards
Have you ever tried to get a 5 {almost 6} year old to make design decisions? Take it from me…you’d have an easier time ripping a princess dress from her hands.
Um, how did she grow up so fast?
For H’s sixth birthday, we decided we would completely redecorate her room as part of her birthday present. When we moved in, it was pretty hastily thrown together since
a) I was pregnant and also trying to do a nursery
b) she wasn’t really at an age where a big transition made sense.
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$3 Embellished Mirror
Last Valentine’s Day, I saw this mirror on The Thirty Sixth Avenue.
I loved the mirror and knew I wanted to make something similar for H. I found a mirror and ribbon at Michaels right after Christmas for less than $3!
{Hint: Check the Christmas bargain bin for ribbon! There are lots of pinks and other colors that are 70% off because they have snowflakes on the front.}
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Gift Ideas for the Littles
I’m sure all you prepared parents have your gifts purchased, wrapped and under the tree. So, this post isn’t for you. It is for the parents {like me} who are still out walking the aisles and clicking on the web looking for great gifts for their kids.
Or maybe the aunt or uncle who just has no clue what to get…or the grandparent who isn’t exactly “hip” when it comes to kids’ toys.
I’ll go ahead and caveat this and say, if the kids you are shopping for aren’t {or near} 5 and 2, I’m not going to be of much help. But, if they are, read on for some great gift ideas that are readily available right now!
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Graphic Christmas Lists
Making Christmas lists is one of the most fun parts of prepping for Christmas. My kids are a little young to write out their Christmas list in full so, this year, I decided to take a different approach.
I started with a large piece of cork board and a piece of red fabric I found in the bargain scrap bin at Walmart.
Typically, I would have used my staple gun to attach the fabric but it was missing. So, I used little thumbtacks instead.
On the front, I attached letters I had cut out to made the categories of the list: Want, Need, Read
Then, we pinned pictures of the items H had started with for her list into the right categories.
The board is much fuller now that H has picked out more items. She has so much fun cutting out the pictures and putting them on the board.
She has also been putting items she thinks E wants onto his matching board.
How do you do Christmas lists in your house?
© 2012 Just Us Four. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Kid’s Chore Charts
Our house just got a whole lot crazier with the start of school. Combine that with realizing H was probably old enough to start having some small responsibilities around the house and the idea for a set of kid’s chore charts was born.
I knew that I wanted to eventually integrate these into the chalkboard wall in our kitchen so I picked out these super cute magnetic boards with that in mind.
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