Basketball

I am not an athlete. Never have been, never will be. I was that girl who was always picked last, always was afraid of the ball (usually because I did allow it to hit me). Luckily as a teenager I had a friend who was very athletic and while she never turned me into one she did help me appreciate sports. More than a girl with no brothers would have on her own. I have thought of her on Saturday mornings lately when I am sitting at my boy's basketball games. Because of Sharla I have some understanding of the game and can enjoy it. Or I could until today. Today was a big day for Matthew. It was a playoff game. He was lucky enough to be on an amazing Jr. Jazz team this year with a great coach. They were undefeated. There was a lot of excitement leading up to this game, his best friend Chase, Grandma and Grandpa even came. And it did not look good for the first half. At one point they were down by 17 and they looked discouraged. I thought for sure I was going to have a heart attack or stroke. But amazingly they pulled it off and won. He has had fantastic coach and there are a couple of really talented kids on his team too.

This is a part of raising boys that I was afraid of. Sports. I sort of think my Mom might feel the same way. It was intense, my throat still hurts from screaming.
Matthew may or may not have a future with the NBA, but he sure has enjoyed Jr. Jazz. Now let's just hope I can survive the Championship game next week.

Bring on the Spring!

Happy, happy weekend! The sun came out and stayed! Which means my kids broke out the chalk and went to town.

Meet Lightning McQueen. Alice in Wonderland

And in honor of our new little cousin born in Texas, Perry Comodore, Perry the Platypus! I love that this is still an activity that Brittany and Matthew will do together.

Because the sun is shining and things are not frozen all the time Grandpa took Matthew to the local fish pond and this is what came home. Well, actually there were two, don't know how the other one got cropped out. I love that my dad is so willing to make great memories with my kids. Now here's hoping the sun decides to stay!

The Lamp

This is probably my favorite feature of Josh's new room. The Lamp. I'm not sure how I cooked this idea up. I think it evolved out of a frame I saw on pinterest. It is a thrift store lamp. I covered the shade with the flame fabric I used in his room. Some folding and a lot of hot glue.

But this is the best part. I bought about four boxes of dollar store cars because Josh loves and know each of the ones found in our houses. Plus I kind of liked how they were lighter weight. I used both hot glue and E-6000 to glue them on. I figured the hot glue would hold them in place until the E-6000 dried. I used some nuts and bolts to fill in the gaps. Then I sprayed the whole thing with primer. Then with several coats of red spray paint. It really is one of my very favorite things in his room.

The Last Kid's Room

I had no idea when I redecorated Brittany's room I had no idea what I was started. Remember how I had to do Matthew's for his birthday? Well of course the little guy felt left out and has been asking when I was "remodeling" his room for awhile now. So I have slowly been gathering a few things to change it up in his room a little. This was the before.

This is the after. Forgive the bad photo, I keep forgetting to take a picture until late afternoon when the sun is streaming in. I should be grateful there is sun shining again!

First up was a window treatment. I wish I could convince my husband that this really finishes a room. I have a few more windows that wish they could be treated. Josh wanted a car theme and this is the care fabric that his bed quilt was already made from. I added the checkered flag banner on top. I think I found that on pinterest.

Not sure where I got the name on the wall idea. I painted the chipboard letters. I hot glued them to a board I had made out of cardboard. William had a couple of big pieces they protect the wood he buys with. So the board is three layers of cardboard glued together and then wrapped in the checkered fabric. Josh really likes this part of his room, kids his age love having their names on everything. The round chair in the corner came from walmart it was only $15. The fleece blanket was $3 there too and I appliqued the J on it.
The big car picture was left over from Matthew's room and the monster truck ones came from Hobby Lobby. I used freezer paper on the black pillow on the bed. The lamp on the nightstand is covered in cars I spray painted-more on that later. Yep, that is a happy boy. He like that whiteboard and magnet board behind him too, just like his brother's.

Reading in your new room in your new chair and jammies. Nothing better!

New Fabric Stash

I know this is a little ridiculous, but I just have to document how fabulous my Brittany is and how much she loves me! I really wish I had a before picture because this cabinet full of fabric was so embarrassing. It was total chaos. But Saturday Brittany took everything out, folded it, and put it back by type of fabric. So even though my cute little pre-teen sometimes seems to think I might be the cause of all her problems I have documented proof she loves me!
Thanks Brittany!

Boys and Cars

We have new next door neighbors. We already love them so much! Among the long list of reasons why (yummy banana bread, fun dinners out and just general niceness) is that Jesse let William take the boys for a ride in this awesome car. Here they are hopping in. It is blurry because it was raining and I didn't want to run out there and get wet.

I think Matt thought it was the coolest part of his Sunday last week. Of course they had to take it over to Grandpa's house to show him. I guess the rain was a good thing, it washed the drool off. Thank heaven for lovely neighbors!

Kids on the Loose!

Apparently Brittany has a little too much time on her hands. I came home the other day to giggling kids on the couch. No one would fess up to what was so funny. Finally I discovered our family picture wall had been hit by an epidemic of moustaches. Oh, and word bubbles expressing our thoughts.

Funny, but I actually think that family picture in the middle there is vastly improved.

Yesterday she called to ask if she could do something she saw in Family Fun magazine. I said sure. You can't quite tell but the kids used a bar of soap like chalk.

Creative minds can change the world right? Hope so, cause man these kids have their creative moments!

Our Funny Little Man

The kids are growing up so fast it takes my breath away some days. Josh is so funny right now, I know someday soon he will be more interested in being "cool" like his brother so I need to pay attention before this funny age is over. Josh being a sheep. We have a sheepskin we sometimes lay on the floor in the family room in the Winter. Josh loves the thing and here he decided to see what he would look like if he was on the inside of the skin.

Two guys and their computers. One night Dad had a lot of work still to do so he pulled out his laptop to get some done. Before you know it Josh had his Lightning McQueen computer out so he could work too!

Bringing Back the Fun Mom

A week or so ago I realized that I used to do a lot more crafts with Matthew and Brittany when they were Josh's age and next year he will be in school all day. I figured I should try and do more crafts with him while I still can. So I looked at my pinterest boards and found this one. Marbleizing paper with shaving cream. Spray the shaving cream into cookie sheet. Then drop food coloring and stir it around with a popsicle stick. Then I let him take it over by the sink and "shave" it with a small spatula.

Look how cool they turned out! As he was shaving it I had him put the colored shaving cream in a bowl and then he took it into the bathtub.

And painted the walls. What a blast! I do admit I had a moment of panic when I thought "what if that doesn't come off the marble?" But it did. It was so much fun we had to do the whole thing over again the next day with Brittany an Matthew!

A Couple of Good Ones

It is not often I have a week where I find two movies I really liked. But William was out of town last week so I watch quite a few and then because he had been out of town I went to the movies with my mom and sister.
My mom, sister and I went to The Artist. I don't know that I would have made it to this one without them. They were the perfect companions for this movie. Children or husband would have ruined this one. Literally. I kept thinking, " I would not even take a sleeping child to this movie". I knew it was a silent movie, I just didn't get how silent. There are places where there isn't even music. That said I loved it because I felt transported to another time. I have always been fascinated by eras of the past and this movie allowed me to trick myself into believing I was in the early 1930's. It is a similar plot line to Singing in the Rain; sound comes to the movies and some actors were not excited about it. In fact the main character really, really reminded me of Gene Kelly. No singing, it is a silent film remember? But there is a fun soft shoe number. That is a reason to see it right there. It was really a beautiful movie and a unique experience.

Then I rented Midnight in Paris. I am not a huge Woody Allen fan and Owen Wilson did not seem a natural partner for him but after the Golden Globes I decided to give it a shot. I am glad I did. Even if I had only watched the first five minutes of shots around Paris in super saturated color it would have been worth it. But then throw in more costuming from the 20' s in Paris and you have a really beautiful film. This one was sort of light on plot but it was fun to watch Owen Wilson's character meet famous people in Paris from the past.

I have thought a lot about both of these movies in the days after I enjoyed them. That is one of the measures of a good movie to me. Recommend them both!

Valentine Crafts

Another craft from pinterest that I worked on while William was out of town. This one was actually for my sister. It is really fun to touch. Doesn't it look like brains?

Here it is on the front door. Last year this time of year I was making pillows like crazy. This year it seems to be wreaths.

I also found these on clearance at Target after Christmas. Let's just say I went a little crazy buying them. But they were so cute and so cheap! And now they are a Valentine's Day garland. For pretty much everyone I know!

My cutest craft ever!

One of my best friends, Circe, is having a baby soon. So my friends and I had a little shower. I had made a quilt, my usual go-to baby gift but I had seen so many cute little girl skirts and I had fabric left over so I couldn't resist trying to make a skirt. A teeny-tiny skirt. With a matching onesie. I think it is just about the cutest thing I have made ever! There is something even more adorable about its tininess. It almost makes me wish I was having a baby girl. Almost.

This the quilt that started it all. Pretty happy with it too.

Because I having a crafting problem and sometimes I just can't stop I finished off with a skirt made from the adorable ruffled fabric I can't get enough of. Now to meet the little one they are intended for!

Still Finishing Christmas Projects

William has been out of town so that means I craft. I am still trying to finish up crafts I had intended to finish for Christmas. Oh well, it is only January right? This afghan was started on our family trip to Disneyland. I have to have something to work on in the car or I go crazy. It took longer to join all the squares together than I thought of course. I do love granny squares.

I found this method of joining them on my beloved pinterest. I like how it looks seamless. Brittany is always cold so this adds a bit more warmth to her bed.

Lampshade

I love the ruffle fabric they have at Hobby Lobby. They have it other places but I can use their coupon. I had a piece left over from other projects and decided it might make this lamp even more appealing. I think I was right. I just used my hot glue gun and stretched it as I went and there you are!

Bed Buddy

Another project that was supposed to be for Christmas was this little bed buddy. I saw this idea in a shop and figured I could make my own. Brittany likes to warm up a rice bag and put it in her bed to warm it up Little House on the Prairie style. I thought this guy might be more fun. So I found a stuffed animal at the thrift store. I made sure he didn't have button eyes or any metal parts. Then I made an opening and took out the stuffing. Then I replaced it with rice and stitched him back up. I admit it does seem a bit odd to put him in the microwave but he is going to have to get used to it because he is a lot more fun than some old rice bag!

Crafting again!

Now that the holidays are over I am working on finishing the projects I started during the holidays and didn't finish. I don't know why I must bite off too much every year but I do. I guess it gives me something to work on after the big day passes! They will be showing up here for the next few posts. For some reason I decided that I should make myself a yarn wreath for the Winter. Oddly enough I didn't finish it. But Saturday William took the boys out for a boys day and after Brittany and I hit the yogurt shop and the library I had the afternoon to myself. This has been pinned on my pinterest for awhile. Pretty happy with the end product.

Course, it looks even cuter with that little guy next to it!

Finally a Snow Day!

Finally, Winter came to our town! I was starting to think it would never show. The kids had a great time making the first snowman of the year.

Our version of graffiti involves a spray bottle full of water dyed with food coloring.

Josh was really good at snow painting.

Matthew in his snow easy chair.

The making of Mr. Snowman. I love a good snow day(they were all really tired when they came back in!)

Christmas Break

So it is over. The kids go back to school in the morning. I am actually quite sad (usually I am counting hours). It has been a lot of fun around here. Or maybe I just love the lack of homework stress.
Once the big day was over and we played with all the toys we broke out a few craft projects courtesy of pinterest. I cannot express how much I love pinterest.

I have been dying to try the melted crayon art that was big on pinterest. Brittany saw one on there that had the girl with umbrella silhouette so she wanted to try that. Aren't they great?

Tie dying with permanent markers and rubbing alcohol. The site I looked at advised using sharpies but I am too cheap and didn't want to hand over my sharpies to the kids so we used cheap permanent markers I bought for $3 for the set. They worked just as well. Such a fun project. Found it here. It is my new favorite way to tie dye. No need to buy any Rit dye or worry about spilling vats of dye.

Slime. Not a pinterest original. We have made this before but Matthew requested it. Look, Josh made a cute snowman.

Then he turned it into a fierce fist!

Finally, we had a family party on New Year's Eve Day. Once we found a church we could get into (we planned to have it at ours but when we showed up we had been bumped by a funeral!) it was great, laid back fun. We ate, the kids drove their remote control stuff around the gym and played with Nerf guns, we exchanged gifts and visited. Pretty much perfect except that we missed three of the families and Oma and Opa. I love this picture because even though I said "Hey everyone, look at me!" they all ignored me except Matthew who hid from me.

I put away all the Christmas decorations today but ran out of energy before I could put all the regular decorations back so it looks like we just moved in. I have to admit after the wonderful chaos of the holidays I am kind of enjoying the simple clean effect. But I know I will have it all back the way it was before a couple of days have passed. Just like we will be resuming our regular some-what crazy life tomorrow.