Time Travel Tuesday

Today we time traveled our way back to Ancient Greece in our spiffy cardboard time machine.  I dressed the kids in togas and we made some little leaf head dresses (still not really sure what those are called...)

When we arrived in ancient Greece we had a little geography and history lesson.  I showed them where Greece is, learned about the people, their cities, etc.  We also learned about the original Olympics, the games and then in the afternoon had our own Olympics.

We also learned a little bit about the Greek Alphabet and made some Greek Alphabet cards.

Today was somewhat of a frustrating day though.  I had this whole ancient Greek thing planned and it seemed like the kids fought me the whole way on it, like they didn't want to have fun.  It was very frustrating.  Combine that with the lack of listening and attitudes that seemed to be contagious today... well it was frustrating.  I just try to remind myself that this happens with kids and tomorrow they will most likely be happiness and sunshine so I should just keep on trucking...

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Math Monday

Today I decided to start something new to keep things interesting with the kids.  I developed a subject for each day of the week and random activities to do on each of those days that the kids can choose from.

We did the counting with food for Math Monday.  We counted and added craisins and cheerios! Lots of fun.  Tomorrow they have chosen their time travel to be to Ancient Greece so we will see how that goes tomorrow!

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Sundays are awesome!

Today was a particularly awesome Sunday because Joel and I went to go see the final installment in the Harry Potter saga.  It was a really great movie, and I'm not just saying that because usually I find every little flaw in those movies that is just the tiniest bit different from the books.  Of course there were inconsistencies but I thought they did a really good job tying everything together and giving it a good ending.  Any who enough of my dorkiness.  :)

I finished off one of the boxes I was working on yesterday and decided to put it on the wall.  And when I put it on the wall I saw how cool it looked, I decided that I must get more and make a little collage of them, I think it would be really cool.  Here are a couple different angles:

I also used some of the rosettes that I made yesterday to decorate a plain canvas bag.  It looks really cute, and I still have more rosettes to use!

I found a recipe for a drink called "Junk Hunter's Juice" in Disney Fun Magazine and it looked really yummy.  It was with an article about going antiquing and thrift store shopping.  It has raspberry tea and limeade concentrate in it.  I made some and it was delicious!

I also made some cinnamon streusel muffins for my employers for being so awesome last week with my car troubles!

And that was my Sunday, not too stressful, not too boring!  Stay tuned for more adventures!

Crazy, Hectic Week!

Sorry for the lack of posting this week, it's been a rough one.  Wednesday morning I came out to find a flat tire, had all sorts of problems with the spare, etc. so it took me until Friday until I was able to drive myself in my truck to work again.  This resulted in me being exhausted, because of late nights getting home and dealing with all the craziness, and a lack of posting.  Had it not been for Joel and my employers being so awesome to me it would have been a lot worse though, so I can't complain too much.  Oh well it's resolved now and hopefully everything is back to normal. 

The week with the kids was pretty good, with everything else going on I didn't have time to plan anything new and exciting.  The kids enjoyed it though when I brought my electric keyboard with me yesterday.  They had so much fun playing different beats, listening to the different instruments, and dancing to the songs.  It was really amazing to see them so engrossed in something for so long.  Hopefully I can be a little more creative this coming week and get some new things out here for everyone to see.

So today I have been enjoying my weekend doing my favorite weekend hobby: crafting!!  First I wanted to share with you an update I made to our bedroom a while ago with some decoupage canvases I did with some pictures of Paris from an old calendar:

So I started off today with making some (and by some I mean a lot) of rosettes.  I saw a tutorial online last weekend and I just love how they looked and made some of my own.

Then I put them on a plain tank top that I had laying around and it looks really cool if I do say so myself.

After my fun little rosette project (which I still have a ton of to use for some other project) I moved on to a decoupage little wooden crate centerpiece for our new bistro set on the balcony:

and another one that I haven't decided what it's purpose is yet:

 Stay tuned for more adventures!

Just another manic Monday, oooh woah!

Today actually wasn't all that manic, it was actually a pretty good Monday.  The bounce house was still there because of some problems they had setting it up on time and missing parts so we started out the day with a couple hours on the bounce house water slide!  It was really fun and Abby seemed to enjoy it much more when there were fewer kids jumping around and rough housing on it- she just got to do her own thing!  Nate found this really small frog that became his best friend.  He watched it swim and he slid down the slide with it several times, he just had a ball.  We spent almost the entire afternoon playing dress up with all of her new princess dresses, dancing, having a good time. 

I don't have any new projects to share but here are some old ones I have been working on for quite a while and need some motivation to finish.  The first is a blanket I'm knitting for my mom.  The thinness of the yarn and the size 5 needles are making it a rather long process, here it is so far:

As you can see, it needs a lot of work!  The other is my t-shirt rug.  I got the idea from this tutorial and decided that instead of using one color t-shirt for it I would use all my old shirts that I've been saving intending to make a t-shirt quilt or something with but this seemed better...

But I have been working on it now for 5 months and I haven't even managed to cut all the t-shirts into strips yet... I think it will look really cool when it's done but I have no idea when that will be.  Need MOTIVATION!!!

That's all for now, stay tuned for more adventures!

Lazy Sunday Kanoodling

So not too much to say about today.  I just finished my little weekend project, my new throw pillows.  They turned out really well:

And here they are arranged on the guest room bed- the bed was missing something and it looks much better now!

For dinner tonight I made a recipe I found in the Disney Fun Magazine- fajita chop chop salad.  I know that sounds weird but the kids I nanny for had the magazine laying around and I was reading it one day at nap time and found this and other recipes that I want to try.  It was delicious, Joel liked it and he doesn't even like salads! It looked so good I had to take a picture!

I know I'm short on the word part of my blog today but like I said, feeling lazy this Sunday... So enjoy the pics and stay tuned for more adventures!

Time's fun when you're having flies!

Time kind of slipped away from me these last few days! So pardon my tardiness in posting (and the rather long post that will follow). 

Thursday: Pretty much the same routine, usual stuff.  The maids were coming to clean the house for the party on Saturday so the kids and I had to vamoose for a couple hours.  They were lucky because their mom said they could watch a movie.  They chose The Wizard of Oz which was great with me because I love that movie!  They love it too apparently and proceeded to sing the songs from it for the rest of the day.  (Nate kept on singing "if I only had a brain" which I couldn't help but laugh at....)

Friday: We were pretty busy trying to pick up the kids' stuff and put away their clothes making everything look nice for the party.  We did our usual outside time although that was interrupted by a swarm of angry wasps that swarmed out from under the kids' play fort... Luckily none of us got stung and Nate didn't get hurt when he took a flying leap from the top of the play fort to run away.  In the afternoon I gave the kids a bath which they thought was the coolest thing ever because I let them play with these tub numbers and letters that they can stick to the sides of the tub.  And it was hilarious when Abby was brushing her hair afterward she just sang to herself in the mirror for like 15 minutes, I was cracking up!  After all that excitement we made some pasta necklaces with our leftover pasta from the snakes-

Friday night was lots of fun because Sarah and I got to hang out which we don't do enough of anymore!! We got some chinese food for dinner and then spent at least an hour walking around and goofing off in Target.  It was pretty awesome.  Then we went back to her place and made yummy cupcakes, watched a chick flick and played with her spastic kitten, Lorelai!

cup cakes before and....

cup cakes after!! So yummy!  Sarah and I should be baking geniuses together more often, the result is delicious!!


Saturday: Today was Abby's party.  I added one last addition to her present- some headbands to match her t shirt with the flowers on it!

She was so excited about opening presents that by the time she got to mine she was throwing all the tissue paper behind her and tosses these out with it.  She then proceeded to put them around her neck like a necklace and around her waist like a belt... not what I had intended but hey, whatever works!  This was her bag that I decorated for her:

Her mom said it was really cute and they would keep it, which I think is pretty cool.  It's not like I spent forever on it but I think it is a cute keepsake!  The kids seemed to have a lot of fun at the party.  They had a bounce house that had a water slide that you slid down into the pool.  As Joel put it he was getting tired just watching them!  Even though Abby was a bit apprehensive about it at first, she got into it and was having a blast in no time, so all in all I would say it was a success. 

Also today I started working on some throw pillows that I've been meaning to make since we moved in her about 3 months ago now.  And I was inspired by my friend Katie's blog where she made a zebra print and floral pillow case a few days ago that was uber cute!  They're not done yet, this is the first of 3 and I think I want to add some rosebud appliques to them as well but here is my first almost done pillow:

That's all for now! Stay tuned for more adventures!!

Sssssssupper ssssaid the ssssssnake....

So that is one of the kids' favorite books (Snake Supper) that we read just about every other day.  Since the kids love the snake books so much I thought today we would make pasta snakes!  It's pretty simple- I painted some penne with acrylic paints, let them dry.  Then I gave them each a length of yarn on one end I tied a knot, so the pasta wouldn't fall off, then they strung their pasta on.  I used a glue gun to glue a couple pieces together to make the snake's head, put on some googly eyes and a tongue, and voila! Fun new snake toy!

I also got some bandanas for the kids to decorate with some fabric paint... probably not the best idea in retrospect.  Fabric paint and a 3 year old don't really mix.  But Nate did really well with it and I helped Abby out and we did it together.

So speaking of 3 year olds, how do you get one to stop drawing all over everything except paper?? I'd really love to figure that one out...

Anywho, for her birthday party on Saturday though, I posted earlier the t shirts I made her but in light of my recent flower making trend I thought I would add some to her tye-dyed shirt.  I think it turned out pretty well, a good addition. 

Stay tuned for more adventures!!

Just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down...

Yes, I do fancy myself a modern day Mary Poppins especially when Nate asks me if I brought my Nanny purse with the fun stamps in it today! Haha, kids are adorable, and I am Netflixing Mary Poppins next because I have not seen that movie in too long!!

So today was a good day even though we had our ups and downs which is pretty typical for any day.  I have never met two children that are so touchy about having sunscreen put on.  I can be putting it on their ears and they say "no no Miss Lindsay!! you're going to get it in my eyes!!"  But that is a daily struggle with us.  Some days they love doing work book type lessons and ask me when they can do them and others they completely object to it.  Today was a good day though when they wanted to.  They both worked on these matching cards to help them learn letters and numbers and simple math.  It was really cool that Nate actually wanted me to show him some simple addition and subtraction.  We also made some cool mobiles:

 So today was a fun day! And everyone said that the brownies we made yesterday were great!

So today I made a bracelet from some of the scraps from my other trials of t shirt things.  The braided t shirt scarf didn't look quite the way I wanted it to so I'm taking it apart and trying to go somewhere else with that... We'll see how it goes.  Here's the bracelet though I'm going to try to make another one with the flowers a little bit smaller.

That's all for today! Stay tuned for more adventures!

So I finished this necklace thing before bed and wanted to add some pictures!! It's way past my bedtime but I just had to get this out there lol....

Ta da!! Let me know what you think!

It's the birthday day: 7-11

Apparently everyone's birthday is today! One of my close friends from high school Katie, a good from college, Kelly and the little girl that I nanny for!  Happy Birthday to all the seven eleven girls!

So in celebration of the little girl that I nanny for turning 3 today we made brownies.  The kids helped me make them and they decorated them with sprinkles and everything so it was fun! Her party is on Saturday and she is super excited because they are having a bounce house and a water slide at the party. Playing outside all morning then brownie making this afternoon pretty much consumed the day.  That and room cleaning... we went through and did some serious cleaning today but their rooms look really great!

Tonight for dinner Joel and I made some really awesome chilli, best I've ever had I think.  It was really good with the green peppers, carrots, and black beans that I added along with my normal stuff.  I wanted to eat so much more than just my one bowl but I knew I shouldn't because I'm doing really well with my counting calories and exercising.  I've pretty consistently lost 2 lbs a week over the last 3 weeks and I plan on keeping up with that!

So yesterday I found a tutorial on stumbleupon for making a t shirt necklace/scarf thing.  (this is the tutorial) And I made one myself!!

It turned out pretty cool, I really like it and it was fairly simple to make.  From that idea I developed my own for making a braided one using t-shirt loops, well I think it was my idea, I may have inadvertently borrowed it from somewhere else but I don't have a tutorial to link to.  So here's the starting of my project:

I'm making braids using the different colors and then I'm going to attach them like they did in the other tutorial.  I think it will be pretty cool- pictures when I'm done!!

Stay tuned for more adventures!

Weekend on the Lake!

The end of last week just flew by me and I did not get a chance to post our Thursday or Friday adventures in the nanny world.  We played with stamps on Thursday and since we had the ink pads out we made thumb-print trees that turned out really cool.  We also made our own Hollywood walk of fame!  We traced our hands and cut them out then decorated them and put our signatures and everything on there.  On Friday we did our usual routine and in the afternoon I let the kids play in the water with their usual toys and they had lots of fun.  It was super hot so it was the perfect afternoon activity that day. 

This weekend was tons of fun!  We went to Joel's family reunion at his Aunt's lakehouse on Cedar Creek Lake.  We got there on Friday night, got to hang out for a little bit and then went to get rested for Saturday.  We got an early start Saturday morning, went to walmart and got some peppers and stuff for dessert (I made my faux strawberry shortcake) which was a big hit.  One of Joel's family friends took us out on her boat for a tour of that lake that morning/afternoon and it was really fun!  We got to jump into the lake for a little while, look at all the really pretty, really expensive houses and it was nice.  When we got back Joel's cousins took us out on a tube they had tied to the back of one of the jet skis.  It was fun but very difficult!  Joel got thrown off once but I managed to hold on the whole time, my arms were just a little sore this morning.  I also got to drive the jet ski and got a little crazy out there on the lake- I was going side to side kind of swerving and Joel said I almost threw him off.. woops!  He still loves me- see:

Just ignore the lovely mark on my lip, I swear I'm fine, it was not a lake injury like the many other injuries we had this weekend- a cut foot on a rock in the lake, and a black eye from falling off the tube.  But everyone is still alive and recovering. 

Here is the Mama Duck that is apparently hatching her eggs on the boat dock.  She was very protective and got very upset when anyone was up there with her making any kind of commotion.

And there's Joel filling up the jet ski for our little ride this morning.  It wasn't as calm on the lake this morning as it was yesterday so when Joel was driving and we got out in the middle of the lake a little we were hitting some serious waves, it was fun.  When I was driving I got going really fast down the middle of his Aunt's little cove- it was sweet, felt like we were flying.

One more shot of Joel and I for the road! Love this guy and his awesome family!! We had a great time this weekend and his family is so warm and welcoming, I love going and hanging out with them!  Now it's time for me to rest up for this next week- seems like it might be a long one after two 4 day weeks... But I'm sure it will be fun. 

Stay tuned for more adventures!!