Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Project Life, 2017, Week 3

I finally got around to taking pictures of week 3. I ended up adding a small center page to this week because it was the week my mom and I went to the Women's March on Washington and I just had way more than I could condense into the standard two pages.

Dakota making Popsicles with a kit she got for Christmas. Harper and Meme looking at a book together. Dakota, Harper and Sydney enjoying Dakota's homemade Popsicles. The butterfly Valentine cards Dakota HAD to make the minute she saw them. Dakota painting my mom's nails and her little hands working on her clay tree at Artsy Partsy.


This is the half page insert I included all about the march. Unfortunately some of the ink was smudged because I thought it was dry when it obviously wasn't. 


Here's the backside of that insert:


Zoe, Mom and I hanging out taking selfies. Dakota and I had a lunch date at Panera on a day she didn't have school. The day we took the kids to Frozen Fest at Robinson Nature Center and the kids got to pet some turtles and meet some of the Frozen cast. 


Week 4 coming soon! 





Monday, February 27, 2017

Cold Monday Afternoon...

Harper and Dakota had friends over both days this weekend and I needed a break so today was a "no friends" day. Doing that means it's up to us to keep them occupied (unless they decide to play something together) so today I pulled out a game we got them for Christmas. It kind of got lost in the shuffle of gifts so it was great to find it this afternoon and try it out.


It's for ages 5 and up so it was perfect for both the little kids. I was worried about the game taking a long time because of the original but we were done in less than half an hour. (I was the first one out of money, Dakota was the day's big winner.)


Harper really didn't want to play with us but we kind of forced him and he ended up loving it. I let him be the banker and he relished that responsibility. I was pretty sure Harper would like the game once he got started but I wasn't so sure about Dakota even though she was enthusiastic to try...turns out she loved it too and asked if we could play again tomorrow!


After playing Harper had some "quiet time" (iPad time) and Dakota helped Tony make dinner. 


And then there was some craziness before bath and bedtime...the usual around here.






Sunday, February 26, 2017

Music Moon/ Winter Tree

Harper brought home some art from school this week and I thought they were pretty amazing. His first piece was called "Music Moon". I love the mix of light and dark blues and the shiny glitter on top. It's cool that they used sheet music to create the moon...super cool project!


The other piece he brought home was one I couldn't wait to hang. It's in my foyer now and it's one I'll keep forever. His bird at the top of the tree was done in oil pastel while the rest was paint. I thought he drew an excellent bird and the shape of the tree turned out great as well. The snow was done with a fingertip while the brown and green were done with a brush. It's hard to see the glitter on here but in real life it's very obvious and really makes this a beautiful scene. 


I can't wait to see what other art he's been working on at school! So far he's brought home some really great stuff!

Always Blue and Gold Buff

I've been wanting to change up my wall color in the kitchen/dining room for awhile now and this past week I finally went to Lowe's and grabbed supplies to get started. I'm sticking with my yellow's and blue's but changing the tones. So, I grabbed Always Blue and Gold Buff


The blue/gray is my accent wall and the one I began with. I'll admit that once I started I wasn't too sure (that always seems the case) but it's really grown on me and I really love it!




I did the trim and rolled as far as I could reach and Tony did the top part which meant using a tiny brush to get close to the white ceiling. It turned out great!


I took the picture below the next morning and it definitely looks more gray than blue, but depending on the time of day, it changes.


Here's a picture I took later in the afternoon once I'd rehung my Polish blueware; it's much bluer looking in this picture, in my opinion, and I LOVE how the plates look on that wall! It makes me want to buy a bunch more plate holders to hang more up there! 


I was back at Lowe's yesterday buying more paint and it's all here and ready to go when I am. I pulled the vinyl words off my wall today and next will be spackling and sanding in preparation for some gold buff. I also grabbed another quart of always blue to paint the three doors in my kitchen as well as some white for the trim. I see lots and lots of time painting in my future...






Saturday, February 25, 2017

What Would You Do?

We started our day with all the window's open and birds singing, playing outside and running errands but around 2:45 that all changed when a crazy thunderstorm blew in. We had heavy rain and marble sized hail and the temperature dropped dramatically. Winter is the new spring I guess. 

We didn't go out for our typical Friday night dinner last night because Tony had to be on a work call at 7 pm so we went out to Kodo tonight. Mema, Zoe and Brandon met us there and as usual, we had a nice time. Harper and Dakota are both a little afraid of the fire still but there was no crying so they've improved.


After dinner we couldn't help but stop by Krispy Kreme because it was just across the street. We aren't over that way too often so it's a nice treat every once in awhile. We got 1 raspberry filled for Tony, 2 chocolate with sprinkles for Harper and Dakota, an apple fritter for Brandon and the rest were plain old sugar air. Delicious!


On the drive home Dakota wanted to play I Spy but no one was in the mood so I made up some scenario's for them to see what their answers would be. Turns out Harper is pretty darn hilarious!

Scenario 1: They each have $5 for a gift for their sister, Zoe. They find her the perfect $5 gift, get to the register only to find an AMAZING toy they've been wanting for a long time which is also only $5. What do they do?

Dakota: "I'm gonna buy the gift for my sister because I love her."
Harper: "I'm thinking I'll get myself the toy because Dakota already got Zoe something." 

Scenario 2: We are on our way into a movie theater when a homeless man asks them if they have any money they could spare. They each have enough money for popcorn and a soda. What do they do?

Dakota: "I give him my money and just watch the show."
Harper: "I don't even like popcorn and I'm not really allowed to drink soda, so I'll give him my money too."

At this point I tell them that they have such kind hearts for giving the homeless man the money etc. and Harper says "Well, Kota has a double kind heart and mine's just a single cuz' I didn't get Zoe the gift." Haha! I was laughing so hard I almost had to pull over. 

Scenario 3: You're at a new playground with a cool ride that you've never seen before. You get in a long line of people waiting and just as it's about to be your turn you notice a baby that has fallen and hurt their knee. The baby's parents aren't around and no one else is helping...what do you do?

Dakota: "I'll go and help the baby and help her find her mama."
Harper: "I'll help the baby and then just go play on something else because I hate waiting in line."

I love their answers and Harper had me laughing all the way home. They wanted me to ask them another one but I couldn't think of anymore. Harper thought of one though and had Dakota and I answer.

Harper's Scenario: We are at the pool in the summer and it's his birthday. He has snacks, but only two kinds, Twix and Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream. Which do we choose? Before either of us could answer though he says "I guess this is really only hard for mom because I know you'll choose the Twix Dakota (she isn't a fan of strawberry anything) but mom, I don't know how you'll choose." I laughed and said I'd probably have to have the ice cream since there are only two and Dakota got the Twix already. Then he said "well, what if it's melted"? Oh my word, I couldn't stop laughing! He was just killing me with his little kid thoughts tonight! 




Friday, February 24, 2017

Project Life, 2017, Week 2

Week 2 is done! 

My first picture is of a very messy room in my house. Every Barbie, Polly Pocket, Shopkin and My Little Pony Dakota owns was out and strewn throughout the room. It was a huge mess, but she and her friend Sydney were having so much fun! There is also a picture of an adorable snowman Dakota drew and then a love letter that Harper wrote to his girlfriend Emmy. The bottom right photo is one of Landon working on homework. 


The right page begins with Dakota and her friend from school building a bed for a sick bear in their classroom. The next photo is one of Dakota working on art at Artsy Partsy. Then we have Lady (from Lady and the Tramp) in the little bed she built at school. A photo of the playbill from the show Tony and I went to see, Mamma Mia. The soap on my car at the car wash looked cool so I took a photo of that and added it on the bottom left. The final photo is my packed trunk when I was heading out for a weekend of scrap booking. 


I finished week 3 today but it's a post for another day. 


Milk Carton Bird Feeder

Just as I was about to toss out an empty milk carton, Dakota grabbed it and asked me if she could keep it. I asked her what she wanted it for and she had no idea, she just did. Well, anyone who knows Dakota knows that she doesn't simply accept a "no" so I said if we were going to keep it we might as well make a bird feeder out of it. So we did.

While she filled the milk carton up with water to rinse it out I grabbed a few supplies I thought we could use to dress up our little project.


We watered the plants with the water in the jug and then I let her dry it out with a towel so that we could get started decorating. She decided to use the largest gems in my box to begin so I'd put a dot of hot glue on the carton and then she'd decide which color to put on. 



It still seemed awfully plain even after she'd added those huge gems so I grabbed some acrylic paint and she set to work.




While the paint dried a little we went searching for more supplies. We ended up with some stickers and buttons which she added to her little hearts content.


She was really digging the Christmas buttons so we added those plus a scarecrow she found and a heart. She was making sure the birds knew this little eatery was open for every season! I had a wooden dowel left over from some other project so we added a little perch for the birds to land on should they want to. Dakota kept saying "We are being so nice to the birds! They're gonna just love us!"




She and I picked up some bird seed at Lowe's and I made a (crappy) hanger out of a wire clothes hanger but I forgot to get a picture of it hanging outside. Maybe tomorrow...hopefully with a bird in it! 

Thursday, February 23, 2017

Project Life, 2017, Week 1

I wasn't sure I was even going to try to do Project Life this year but just this week I've decided to give it a go. Again. I still want to go back and finish the past two years but ahhhhh! I'm already behind this year...I don't know why I bother!

Alas, my decision is made and I've gathered my supplies. I ordered this album and some of these page protectors. I have tons of these page protectors so I'm going to try to use them up for now.

Week 1, left page: Landon doing his thing, texting. Using the smoker for the first time. Harper and Dakota in the car waiting for the bus since it was VERY cold out. Harper playing with the Storymation Studio. H and D playing with toys (this and this) they'd gotten for Christmas. A photo with their friends at the skating rink.


Week 1, right page: Celebrating Lea's 7th birthday. New lunch boxes for the kids. Dakota begins Artsy Partsy. A menu from lunch when Zoe and I drove to Frederick so that she could try on a wedding gown. Ginger hanging out with us while we play with toys.



Artsy Partsy, Session 2, Class 1

After a week break Artsy Partsy was back in session this week. Dakota was excited to go back and that these classes were going to focus on animals and their habitats. 

After giving a brief introduction the teacher taught them that habitat was a fancy word for home. They were then told that the days lesson was going to be on penguins and igloos. Now, penguins don't live in igloos but those two seem to go hand in hand so we went with it.

First up, what color do you get when you mix black paint into white paint? The teacher gave each child a paint brush and some white paint with specks of black on top and had them stir it around until is was all mixed into a lovely gray. She wanted to show the kids this because she wanted them to understand that when they painted their penguins they'd have to keep the black and white separated so they didn't have gray animals. But, since we now had a bowl of gray paint she gave them a sheet of paper and permission to paint anything they'd like on it. 

Dakota, of course, painted a girl. An all gray girl with long hair and a bow. 


When everyone was done painting they were given pre cut shapes in order to make a penguin scene. First they built their penguins and then they added some fish because penguins get hungry too.




Before the kids began their penguin painting they were given a little penguin drawing lesson on scrap paper. Turns out drawing penguins isn't all that difficult... 😀🐧



Once the kids had finished practicing they were given a big sheet of white paper for the real thing. A few more gentle reminders were given about not mixing the black and white and they were off.

In the center of the page paint a white oval. 


Then, using the black paint, make a larger oval around the white oval. Not close to the white paint but an inch or two away.


Next, paint the arms on.


Very carefully paint the rest of the body in. Be sure not to mix the black and white!



Add some black circle eyes as well as an orange beak and feet. 


Now you have an incredible penguin! I just love how her's turned out!


The last thing the class did was put together an igloo. The pieces were cut so they just had to figure out how to put it together, like a puzzle. Once the igloo was sorted they painted some snow on the ground. 


Looking forward to seeing what kind of animal and habitat she creates next week!

Harper's Art

Harper hasn't been drawing as much as he used to but this weekend I guess he was feeling it because he ended up with stacks of papers he'd drawn. He has a few learn to draw books (this one and this one are two favorites) that he pulls out from time to time while other days he'll try to recreate a character from a book or show.

This weekend he did a little of both.

This first sheet is super adorable. From top left we have a hippo, a cheetah (i think), a zebra, a camel (LOVE this one! look at that hump!) and a giraffe.


Next up we have a large assortment of bugs and animals. I think his goat is outstanding! I also kinda love that frog and ladybug. So cute.


The next drawing is from a book he likes. You can see the book here.


A cute albeit sad looking puppy.


A zebra he drew just for me. He knows they're my favorite so from time to time he'll whip one up for me. 💚 This one just had a large dinner followed by dessert.


And, this is the cutest whale ever. Right? 









April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...