Easter 2012

Easter turned out to be really nice.  We managed to get all the family traditions in, and we managed to actually get pictures of it :)  It was Luke's first time dying Easter eggs, and once he caught on, he had a blast.  He also loved the egg-hunt.  Trace did a great job at hiding the eggs.  He found some really creative places.  Hannah thoroughly enjoyed the festivities, and Aleana and Trent were great at making it exciting for the younger two. I love having family time and sharing with my kids the importance of our Savior and the sacrifice he made for us.

(smile says it all...)

(I just love the "easter basket" that Trent used.  He must have thought he was gonna get a lot of eggs.  Silly boy.)

(Never too old for the egg-hunt)

Luke Turns 2! (Feb 2012)

(Feb 2012) - I can't believe my baby boy is two.  Time has certainly flown by.  He is such a sweet kid.  He makes us all smile with those dimples and cheeks of his.

(how cool is this shirt?  My friend Natalie made it for his special day...)

Luke's birthday was low-key this year.  In fact, we celebrated it the same day as Hannah's party...which happened to be on his and my actual birthday.  Gotta love February in our house :)


He got a horse for his birthday.  I always wanted to have one of these horses for my kids.  But I just couldn't swallow the $250.00 price-tag.  I had one growing up, and loved it.  Well, I didn't love it so much when the springs would "horse-bite" my skin - but they solved that problem since then with spring covers.  Anyway, one of the neighbors across the street had been in the process of moving.  We never got to know them real well.

This lovely horse had been sitting on their porch for at least a month.  I asked if they were willing to sell it.  Sure, they would sell it to me...for $100 bucks.  (Are you kidding me?!?)  So I passed up that "deal".  A few weeks later, they asked if I would buy it for $50 bucks.  Still too much for my budget (we only budgeted $30 for Luke's bday presents).  So I told them all I had was $30.  I expected them to turn my counter-offer down.  But they didn't.  Sweet!!!  They made a little boy very happy.  And just to let you know, he rides that horse everyday...its his favorite thing.  Best $30 I have spent in a long-time.


We had store-bought cupcakes to top off the evening...like I said, a very low-key birthday.  I don't he minded one bit.

Happy Birthday Hannah (Feb 2012)

(Feb 2012) - Hannah turns 4!  In our house, the kids get to have a "big party" every four years.  A "big party" means they get to invite friends and pick a theme. (Yes, we are that cheap.  I justify it, if I don't have to spend so much money on the party - then they get better presents)  Hannah kept changing her mind as to which theme she wanted (varied from Super Mario Brothers to Ariel).  She finally settled on Tangled.  She was excited to dress the part, and invited her friends to do the same.

We played "Pin the frying-pan on Flynn" (hey, it's the first thing that I could come up with).  It was a hit.  Literally :)

She wanted rice krispy treats for her cake.  I tried to explain to her the difference between rice krispy treats and cake, to no avail.  So I just went with it.  By far, the easiest cake I have ever made.  Put it my heart pan, and yes, I used frosting in a can.  Don't judge me.  The "cake" was devoured.  There were no left-overs.  I am thinking we will make this kind of cake for future birthdays.  I personally don't like cake.  This was a much yummier alternative :)

We sang Happy Birthday to our special birthday girl...

And opened the much-anticipated presents...

Then topped the party off with a bang...or smack.  Gotta love pinatas!

No luck in my cereal...

This is what happens when Mom sleeps in on a Saturday morning. This WAS a brand new bag of Lucky Charms...

Little is Good Project: Easter

I love the holidays. I love traditions. I even like the Easter Bunny. But what I love about any holiday is the excuse to give someone a gift. I love to shop for other people. Myself, not so much. I love giving presents...it's a natural high for me. (Not so much of a high for my budget though). This year, one of my goals is to scale back...not just to save money, but also to teach my kids that little is good. It'll help them appreciate the smaller things in life, right?!? :). With that being said, I decided instead of giving the guaranteed chocolate bunny and cheapie toys in their baskets, that I would make them each a little something special. I told them that I put in a request to the Easter Bunny. He is to only bring candy this year. They are not sure what to think about that one. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good one.

This is what I made for the kids:

Aleana will be getting a framed jewelry holder, red - a smaller version of the one I made for the pinterest party.

I made Trent an angry birds ball. I got the pattern from here. There's a pattern for all of the angry birds - and I plan to make him more as he earns them (chore chart). I hope this will inspire him to work more efficiently.

I made Hannah and Luke a "Wee Mouse Tin House". I got the idea from here. It is the cutest little thing. But, I wasn't too in love with the mouse. Then I saw that she was charging $8 for the pattern - which is a little much for something, well...so little. So (sew) I took matters into my own hands...which is where this comes in:

Printable fabric...like the kind that you can stick in your printer and print images on, and it permanently stays on the fabric. Genius!!! Clip art here I come!

I did have to buy the Altoids tins though. I am not a fan of the curiously strong mint. My dog likes it though. I actually don't mind petting him now either :)

Then I modge podged the tops:

Made the bedding and pillows out of felt and fleece. I added a little stuffing in the pillows for fluff.

For Luke, I picked out a familiar mouse, Jerry.

And for Hannah, Hello Kitty says it all :)

A little something for the kids on Easter...and I had a blast making all of it, with them in mind. So, I still get my high :)

Pinterest Party

During conference weekend, I try to have a girls-night-in (since we have to drag along our kids) when the men go to their priesthood session. This year, I decided to get my craft on...and invite some friends to do the same. Basically, I invited a few friends (there were five of us total). We each had to pick something from pinterest and make it five times. Then we all exchanged our craft goods, visited and grubbed on some pinterest inspired goodies. It was fun, so much in fact, that I feel a tradition in the making :)

For my pinterest pick, I decided to make an earring holder, inspired by this:

Found here: http://blog.bitsofeverything.com/2012/03/framed-jewelry-holder.html

The measurements that she used were for a frame size 12x24. That's a little big for me...so I tweaked her idea and added some of my own. I liked this (below pic) radiator grate better (I did find it at Lowe's - although I asked three men, and they said they didn't carry anything like it in the store. Finally an employee that just transferred to the store overheard me asking the third time - and she, yes a woman, knew exactly where to find it - go figure). The grate is a decent size, and will make 8 frames (8x10 size) and it was priced at about $25. I also added fabric flowers (great way to use those scraps). While the grate holds hook-type earrings well, it isn't really designed for post-back earrings. The fabric flowers are purposed to hold the post-back earrings. I got the frames at DI for about $0.75 a piece and painted them with left-over paint I had from other projects. Total cost is about $5 per finished framed jewelry holder.

The red one is mine. I love anything red and turquoise...

And here's what I got in exchange...

I love it all! And I am already planning on what I want to make for the next time :)

General Conference...

So we play general conference bingo every year to help keep the kids calm and attentive. We eat good food and listen to good words. I just have to say, that I am proud of Aleana. This year, I didn't have time to get everything gathered and ready for conference. Aleana took it upon herself to make sure everything was all set. She printed up the bingo cards and even made paper boxes to hold the bingo candy. Then, during conference, she helped Luke and Hannah. She did all of this without me asking. I really appreciate all of her help and her kind sweet spirit. What a great kid!