When you're little, your world is little. Problems that seem minuscule are huge (I wanted a RED cup!) and real world problems don't exist (If we can't afford it, I'll just get your wallet!). "MOM" isn't a real person to children, she's just a getter of things they can't find, a shoe tier, a high shelf reacher, a snack maker, and of course the maid. She probably says "no" a lot too.
I know my kids can't comprehend that we're on a journey together, stuck in this life together with magical family glue. Sometimes I tell them about what life was like before they were born, and I know they have no freaking clue what I'm talking about. And then I probably yell at them to clean their room or something while I daydream about sleeping in and having more money instead of kids.
Once I was grocery shopping with the boys walking beside me and Amelie in the cart. It's easy to zone out while grocery shopping which is why I like to do it alone. It's basically meditation. Zoned out and shopping, I almost forgot I had kids at all, and when I saw them and my life came back to me I thought "O.M.G. these kids are with me. Who is trusting me with these kids?!?"
But, they don't understand that I'm basically just a child too, figuring this stuff out right along side them. I automatically know how to do everything and they trust me completely. I'm "MOM".
Joe Rogan did a bit about becoming an adult and thinking "If I'm the adult, we're screwed!" Or something like that. That's pretty much how I feel about raising kids. They don't see it though, so we're probably ok. Their teeth are brushed, their clothes match, and the floor is generally clean. I think I'm pulling it off.
I do have dreams and talents that go far beyond reading Dr. Seuss every. freaking. night. It's easy to lose yourself when your children are sucking every last drop of energy and soul you ever had. It's hard to keep your inspiration for life as you change the 3948472920 diaper that day. For now, I will derive my happiness in listening to my five year old read, getting a crayon drawing from my four year old, and finally getting a hug from my one year old. I'll keep sneaking bits of my real self into them, and one of these days, they'll look at me and thing "Oh man, you were cool my whole life and I just didn't realize it! Thanks, mom!". That'll be a good day.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Weekly Chore Sheet
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I am a list maker.
Constantly.
Now, that doesn't mean I'm a list-completer.
I usually lose my lists before I have a chance to cross everything off.
That doesn't stop me from making more.
I'm also busy and easily distracted, so I like to have a plan for everyday. It makes me feel accomplished when every task is complete.
I have a house, three kids, a dog, a business, and a husband who works 14 hour days. Everything goes to hell if I get behind, so I made myself a "chore chart" to keep up. The boys have one too, so it's only fair.
So here it is, fairly simple and takes almost no time if you do it everyday.
Notes:
By swing chores, I mean that one week you do one, and the next you do another. Who needs to dust every week? Ok, I probably do - but I'm not going to!
I am fortunate to have two good little helpers (and one not so good one) that do their own chores. These include making their own beds, picking up their toys, and stuff like wiping down cabinets. My chore sheet is pretty general so you might want to add stuff specific to your house and lifestyle!
Also, I DO NOT CLEAN ANYTHING ON SUNDAYS.
But that might just be me.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Blue and Orange Baby Shower
Doesn't that look fun?!?
For this Baby Shower, I really wanted to do something bright and fun but not tied down to any specific theme.
I chose to do a combination of aqua and orange, with a little gray and silver.
The main decorations were the garlands. I did a circle garland, a strip garland, a bunting flag garland, and streamers I cut into triangles. These garlands were super easy to make! Just cut out or punch your shapes and sew together. Simple, cheap, and cute!
I also added some tissue paper poufs (following Martha Stewart's directions again) and paper lanterns.
Can you tell I loved this look? I only took 239485763829 pictures of it.
And here's the beautiful desert table!
Cookie Lollipops
Cake Pops
Sixlets
Orange Slices
Marshmallow Popcorn
Chocolate Dipped Rice Crispie Treats
Fudge
How perfect are these? And so delicious!
I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of the inside of the cake (WHY???) but it was vanilla cake in ombre orange layers with orange cream filling.
For the outside, I frosted it with cream cheese frosting and used chocolate melting wafers to make the dots.
I made the cake topper the same way I made the garlands and then tied it to two wooden skewers.
I designed all the food labels and water bottle labels.
The holder for my cookie lollipops is just styrofoam that I painted black. This has come in handy so many times!
The Blue Lemonade Punch was amazing! Blue Hawaiian Punch mixed with Lemonade.
We did have non-sweet food too!
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
Meatballs
Chips
Grapes
Veggie Tray
Simple and easy, but everyone was happy and full.
The background for the table was a balloon wall with a paper onesie garland.
I originally wanted to do an ombre balloon wall, but alas, they only had one shade of aqua at Party City!
I loved the way it turned out anyway!
I free-handed the onesie shape, cut it out of dark gray card-stock and added sparkly silver letters to spell "Boys Rock!"
For a table runner, I used orange polka-dot wrapping paper. The centerpiece was a small tissue ball I bought at Walmart with a circle I printed taped to it.
Gotta love a vintage blue mason jar!
Our only game was a Mad-Lib! I wrote a custom Mad-Lib having to do with the mother-to-be, and we read them aloud. This was hilarious!
Custom designed invitation can be ordered from my shop:
Friday, March 1, 2013
Easy Peasy Garlic Bread
My best friend/sister-in-law doesn't really cook. Ok, she makes Asian Hamburger Helper and spaghetti, but unless it's "easy peasy", she's not making it. She also says "easy peasy" more than anybody ever should.
If you are one of those "easy peasy" type of people (and let's face it, we all are some nights), then this recipe is for you! I have to have garlic bread with my spaghetti, HAVE to. It's not right without it, but the boxed kind is too expensive and kind of gross. My mom always made garlic bread out of sandwich bread cut into triangles, smeared with butter, and sprinkled with garlic salt and Parmesan cheese. My recipe is basically the same only kicked up a notch.
First step - gather the ingredients and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
I always use the "day old" bread from the grocery store. Today I happened to see garlic and herb bread for only a dollar. Score! If you don't find any left over bread, french bread makes the perfect garlic bread.
(Side note: Homemade bread is even better! Here is the recipe I use to make mine: http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/150527043/easy-homemade-french-bread/)
Ok, so you will need bread, a stick of butter, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan cheese.
Step two - melt the butter.
Complicated, I know. Be sure to use real butter here people. None of this margarine nonsense, butter is what makes this bread so amazing!
Next, cut the loaf in half and pour the butter on the bread. Try to cover as much as you can, especially the edges. Don't worry about this too much, it will spread as it cooks. The butter might pool in the air pockets of the bread, but that's a good thing!
Then liberally sprinkle garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and Parmesan on top. And I mean liberally. I took it easy on the seasoning today considering the bread was already seasoned on the outside.
Time to bake! Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until you can't take it anymore. I like mine soft so I tend to under bake it. Plus, I'm impatient. If you're really pressed for time you can broil it, but I won't tell you how to do that because I still can't broil anything without scorching it or setting the oven on fire. True story.
Lastly, eat it! If you've waited this long.
Am I the only one who purposely mixes their salad dressing in the sauce and then dips their garlic bread in it? Anyone?
Kid approved!
Don't mind the naked baby, she's eating spaghetti - you know how it is.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Monday, January 28, 2013
Introducing....
http://www.etsy.com/shop/cutiepiejones?ref=si_shop#
Come on over to find sweet vintage items and tons of homemade awesomeness!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Picnic Party
Amelie's First Birthday Party!
For decorations I used hanging paper fans in the party colors (pink and turquoise), fabric flags, and 17 in round balloons
I made the flags by ripping squares of fabric and ironing them to a string of twine with Stitch Witchery.
Most of m fabric was vintage sheets I found at thrift stores.
My favorite decoration was the balloons. I bought them from Balloon Warehouse online and had them inflated at Party City. Ami didn't really like them, but they were so charming!
Ok - let's talk food.
We had a "pack your own picnic" buffet
Including:
Turkey and Muenster Sandwiches
White Cheddar Pasta Salad
Strawberry Almond Salad
Watermelon
Veggie Chips
Strawberry Rice Crispie Treats
For favors we had sugar cookies for the adults and marshmallow cupcakes for the kids.
I bought the marshmallow cupcakes after Easter for 75% off!
The tags for the food I made by downloading a blank printable and adding the words in Photoshop.I found this one on Free Pretty Things For You.
We had water and lemonade for drinks.
The cake!
The cake was store bought at the last minute (we're moving and had in-laws in town, I ran out of time!) but I added crushed turquoise rock candy on top, and my super awesome husband made a rose out of flavored tootsie rolls!
She approved!
For everyone else, we had cupcakes.
The spoons were tied on with ribbon and clipped in the lid of the cup. I bought the cups and lids at GFS. The cupcakes were topped with homemade frosting, sprinkles, and a heart shaped marshmallow. We had ice cream to put on them too!
I bought Amelie's outfit on Etsy from Miss Priss.
I made the lace crown by soaking lace in fabric stiffner and then cliping it in a circle. (I actually wrapped it around a lamp to dry) After it was dry I painted it with gold sparkles. I added the white flower clips to hold it together.
I bought a frame at a thrift store, took the picture and glass out and used the frame for pictures.
Daddy's girl :)
We had an amazing time, thanks to everyone that came!
Happy Birthday Ami!
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