Thursday, May 20, 2010

Rr is for Rooster



I've been doing tons of research looking for fun craft ideas, themes and things for our Alphabet days.  Nathan is getting lots of practice with his letter writing.  And he's having tons of fun making crafts (I am too).
I found this template at dltk-kids.com.  It was in the craft section.  I printed out the black and white version (I usually try to print the b&w version of most of the projects we do, gives him extra to color).  Then, I used the pattern to cut out a more colorful version of the craft.  We took black paper as a backdrop and glued all the pieces of the Rooster to the paper.  It came out great.




We made two crafts today, because neither one took very long.





Letter Writing



And Tracing (found this little gem on kidzone.ws).  So this rooster has some transgender issues and can lay eggs lol - Nathan didn't know the difference to him it was a rooster, I didn't tell him otherwise.





Linking up to Friendly Friday....



Check out Thanks, Mail Carrier, The Frugal Novice, and Healthy Home Blog to join the link up!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Butterfly Day

Bb is for Butterflies, inspired by this book that we found at the library........


Nathan loved the ending....it has a butterfly that pops up in a 3D effect.  Cute!


We made a butterfly craft....








We practiced writing the letter B



And we baked and decorated some butterfly cookies


I thought this pic of Zach was funny ~ LOL!


Found this sweet little blog hop this morning by A Mommy's Adventures called stARt (story plus art).  I thought it was a great idea (especially for more craft ideas), so I linked up.  Go check out all the cute art.



5 Minutes For Mom Interview



My blog is now listed on their site......Love those girls! Thanks Janice and Susan!

Because He's Four










Tuesday, May 18, 2010

My First Giveaway.......CSN Stores $40 Gift Card

Giveaway Is Now Closed -- Thank You!


This is my Very First GIVEAWAY and it's a REALLY good one too!

A $40 gift certificate to any of CSN's 200+stores!

If you haven't checked out CSN stores, you really should. They have almost anything you could ever need for your house, your kids, your yard, your pet and yourself all in one place.   There are so many things to chose from that I've been having a hard time deciding.  Since we are in the process of redecorating our living room, I have been looking at new furniture and sectional sofas.  There are so many options to chose from, like this one or even this one.

Or whether I would like to buy something for my kitchen like this food processor.  Or whether I would like to buy some new bedding for our master bedroom.   The ideas are endless and too numerous to mention!
 
To Enter: First, go to CSN Stores website and tell me what you would spend your $40 gift certificate on.
 
Bonus Entries ~
 
1.  Follow my blog (1 extra entry)

2.  Grab my button and put it on your blog and leave a link so I can check it out.  (3 extra entries - make sure you leave 3 comments)

3.  Follow me on Networked Blogs (1 extra entry)

4.  Blog about this giveaway on your blog linking back to this post (5 extra entries - make sure you leave 5 comments).
 
I will select a winner via random.org on Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. Please make sure that your email address is available in your profile or please leave in your comments below so that I have a way to get in contact with you. Once a winner is selected, I will email the winner and post the winner on this blog. You will have 48 hours to respond to me or I will have to pick another winner.  Giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Thanks for entering and thanks so much to CSN stores for providing the gift certificate for the giveaway!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Isn't She Lovely.....

    Prom Night 2010

My Beautiful Daughter



Her Date - Justin....he used to be our neighbor when the kids were all little.  He's Anthony's best friend.  Amanda and Justin both wanted to go....Amanda's boyfriend Tyler is not only shy, but he's 20 years old and the school wouldn't let him go.  So enter Justin.  That's what friends are for, after all!




This is Amanda's best friend - Whitney




Isn't Whitney a Gorgeous Girl?

(Yes, I'm a proud "adoptive" mom LOL)


Justin.....He looks pretty sharp.  Funny that I still remember a little skinny boy with glasses.



So glad they had a good time.......My babies are growing up - Dammit!

They Like Me......They Really Like Me

It's always nice to be recognized and have other mommy bloggers treat you to an award now and then.  I've been given them before and had them posted on my blog and then took them off, because I thought my blog was too crowded.  But lately I've been thinking about putting them back on, especially now since I've gotten so many in the past month or so. 

This first award was given to me by My Mercurial Nature.   She said she loves my kids' crafts (sooo sweet of her to say).  Thank you for thinking of little ol' me!


The rules: List 10 HONEST ((s)crap?!) things about yourself......Let the fun begin, eh?

1.  I'm not much of a fruit and veggie or meat eater.  I love me some pasta (Carbs, anyone?).  Sometimes, I have to force myself to eat the "good" food, so that my kids get to see a good example of a some what 'healthy' diet.  Otherwise, I'd be living off m&ms and spaghetti.

2.  Sometimes when I make big dinners for my family (cabbage rolls, or roasted chicken and stuffing, etc.), I don't feel like eating it.  I guess after all the work that's involved in the prep and cooking kind of makes me not want it anymore.  I don't know how to explain it - I'm just weird, I guess

3.  I love saving money using coupons, but I absolutely hate cutting and sorting them.  I make the kids help me do it, so it doesn't seem like such a chore.

4.  I hate laundry.  With a family this size it's such a pain in the butt to do.  Right now, my laundry room has clothes All Over the Floor....I'm not kidding (I would take a pic, but it's too embarrasing).  And I have four baskets of clothes sitting on the floor in the living room waiting to be folded (and the bad part is, those baskets have been there for two plus weeks).

5.  I am the most unorganized person you will ever meet, I swear!  You would think being a mother of six, I would be super organized...but I'm not.  It makes Rich crazy (he has OCD - I call him Monk).  It must be love on his part to put up with my messiness all these years).

6.  I am late for EVERYTHING! I was even late on my wedding day - 'nuff said! Do you know that song by Brad Paisley - Waiting on a Woman.......That's Rich! He is always waiting on me, Always! 

7.  Even though I'm messy and unorganized, I get annoyed with the kids when they don't put the dishes in the right cupboards or when they just throw stuff in there.  Weird, huh? Maybe it just has to do with the fact that I don't like having stuff fall out and hit me in the head......and since I'm only 5'2" and can barely see in the cupboards anyway - it's annoying not knowing what's going to come crashing down on me.  LOL!

8.  I hate when my girls "borrow" my stuff....purses, bags, make up, shoes....Oh My God, how I hate when they borrow my shoes (their feet are bigger than mine, so why do they do that?!?).  But, I guess I should consider it a form of flattery that my teenage daughters think my stuff is Cool enough to steal, huh?

9.  I think it's cute how Amanda's best friend calls me "Mom".  And it makes me feel good that she thinks of me as another mother figure for her.

10. I sometimes feel like the "old grandma mom" when I'm at activites for Nathan.  Since most of the moms with kids his age are much younger than me.

There you have it.....All my honest (s)crap!

I'm passing this award to the following mommas :

Melissa....Completey Eclipsed
Kristy....Learning As They Grow
Kyrstin...See What We Did Today

The next two awards are from Jackie (My Perfect Little World).  She has the cutest little three year old!

I have gotten the Sunshine Award before, but it's such a cute, sunny, fun one that I'll accept it again and gladly pass on......
The Versatile Blogger Award is one that I haven't seen before.....The rules to accept this one are:

1. Thank the person who gave you this award.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award along to other bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!
4. Contact the bloggers you've picked and let them know about the award
 
Hmmmm, 7 things about myself.....
 
1.  I have freckles - Lots of them!
2.  I'm addicted to Diet Coke
3.  I have a serious crush on Harrison Ford and Sean Connery (it's okay, my husband knows....)
4.  I love to watch crime shows....like Law and Order, Criminal Minds, Cold Case, etc.  But they scare the crap out of me - I hope no one in my family ever has to go through some of the crazy things that they show.
5.  Again, I love watching Paranormal State and Ghost Hunters, but then I'm afraid to go downstairs by myself when they're over.
6.  I hate scary movies....cause I'm a big chicken!
7.  I love the fact that my husband is so handy.  I come up with some hair brained idea and he makes it happen.  He's cool like that!
 
I'm passing these two awards onto:
 
My Mercurial Nature
Angelica
Julie
Aimee
Emmy

And anyone else that wants to grab them........Just make sure you follow the rules, link back to me and pass them on.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Ssssss - Snake!


I'm kind of proud of this one (to tell the truth lol!), it came out great and Nathan is LOVING it.  He's been playing with it ever since I told him the glue was dry!!

This craft is super cute, but it be honest it is a little time consuming and requires adult help with some of it.   You will need empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls, green and black paint, red ribbon or scrap of red paper (for the tongue), 2 wiggly eyes, glue, paper clips and string.


Start by cutting the empty toilet paper or paper towel rolls into sections.  We made six. 


Then paint the sections green (you can paint the insides too - we didn't). 




Next, using black paint, paint a design or stripe on the green paint. 


When the paint is dry, using a hole punch, make holes on both ends of the tube.  Take the paper clips and clip the tubes together on both sides (leaving some slack for the snake to wiggle around).




Glue on the wiggly eyes and tongue


Attach a string to the inside to make a cute pull toy. 



We used the time while the paint dried to practice writing the letter S.



And yes, my table is now free of green paint Hahaha! That poor table has taken so much abuse from my kids!