Spring Birdhouse

***Update!! My Birdhouse was featured on One Pretty Thing!! Yeah!

I have been wanting to make this birdhouse for awhile now...I saw one at a boutique with my friend Katrina and they were selling it for $50. I obviously couldn't do that! Now granted, it was covered in glitter...which I WILL be making at Christmas!! But still. I made mine for about $10. I get to save the other $40 and make me some more crafts!! Anyway...here's the scoop on how to make them for your Easter holiday!!
Here are part of the supplies you need...

1. Birds Nest- Hob Lob

2. Moss

3. Wood Glue or Gorilla Glue

4. 2 colors of paint

5. Crackle

6. Glaze

7. Glue Gun

8. Paper Mache eggs-Hob Lob
The rest of the supplies...candlestick, circle base and a birdhouse. They have all sorts of sizes at Hob Lob for the birdhouses, you can make a whole community if you wish:)

First decide what colors you want your birdhouse. I wanted mine cream with the blue on top. So...paint it cream. Then put the crackle on next. I worked in parts. The base first, then the candlestick, then do parts of the house, not all at once. Less stressful that way:) So your going to slap on the crackle and watch to make sure it is STICKY...that is the key word. Then but your top coat on and this is what you get:
Mine needed something still...so I rubbed glaze all over it and then speckled it with the same brown glaze...just get a brush and rub your fingers through the brush and speckle it away...When everything is dry and you love the way it looks...then glue it together! I prefer Gorilla glue, but I ran out at the time and just used wood glue...worked like a charm:)
I added a little birds nest at the bottom of mine. So, take your nest, glue in some moss, paint the paper mache eggs cream and then speckle them with brown paint. Glue the eggs in the nest, glue to the house, add a ribbon to the candlestick and then you have this:

Hope you like it!!

Crafting 'till Midnight

My good friend Jenna has just launched a new blog called Crafting 'till Midnight (love that name, by the way!!). This site is great! She has posted some fabulous tutorials and is also gathering amazing ideas from all you fellow bloggers! Make sure you submit some of your ideas!

So check her out! Crafting 'till Midnight and add her to your list of favorite blogs!

A Day to Complain...

So I woke up this morning and realized that I was onry. I had the feeling I was going to be super sarcastic and unlikable today. That little feeling was correct...I am letting myself be hate-able. So, I get to share that with my readers today some things that are bothering me today. First, I had the thought that maybe I shouldn't post this because then you might find me unlikeable...but then I thought I really dislike fake people, and I was wondering...what if my readers think that about me? I mean...I just post cuteness and fun times our family has. What if I have become a fake person? I refuse to let people think this about me, so here are my grouchy thoughts for today. (By the way I get a stats report every week and it shows that I get about 600 readers a week...I want to know who you are!! I love comments;)

So I have decided that I love when my kids don't listen to me. Its great, I love repeating myself 3-5 times to get your shoes on or what do you want for breakfast...

C-"I want oatmeal"

M- today is not an oatmeal day...no time to make it, pick a cereal.

C- Is oatmeal a cereal

M-no, oatmeal is not a cereal...how about this cereal, (NO), this cereal (NO), this one (NO!)

C- how about oatmeal!

M-NO OATMEAL!!

you get the point...because this conversation goes on for awhile.

Today was a day of rushing and trying to get all 5 people ready at various times (this actually is everyday)...and I didn't get my breakfast. I NEED my breakfast. So, I grab my self a Quaker granola bar (in chocolate of course) and quickly make a Carnation Breakfast Drink and head out the door to take Noah to school and start my errands (which will be my next complaint). I really appreciate the workers at Quaker who failed to find the Granola bar I grabbed was only 1/2 there. I also want to thank Noah for eating half of my half as well as drinking my carnation drink.

Next...what is wrong with retail stores who think that opening up at 10am is ok? I mean really...don't they know that mom's drop off kids at 8am for public schools and 9am for preschool? What am I supposed to do? The reason why Target and Wal-Mart do so well is because that is the only option for SAHM...we kill time there until the other stores open.

You may be wondering why this is bothering me today. Well, thank you for thinking it because here is why: I had to lower my standards tremendously today. I sat outside of GOODWILL for 45 minutes because today was 50% off day. Meaning everything is HALF OFF. That is according to their flyer. I just wanted to find something ugly and transform it into something blog worthy (all for you...my readers and to release my inner craftiness for somewhat cheaply). So I knew what it was I wanted...I wait like an idiot at the door (imagine the Mervyns commercials peeking through the glass saying, open, open....) with the other 100 people...no lie. So, I charge over to get what I want and its still there, I go to buy it and the lady says, "You do know that this isn't 50% off right...it has a purple sticker." You have got to be FREAKING KIDDING me!! I donate and I donate to goodwill and they can't even put EVERYTHING on sale? I probably got the only purple ticket thing out there. COME ON its GOODWILL! Everything has been used. However, purple sticker means it is new...so I spent $7 on my purchase, which will be for a later post. And yes, it is still worth it, but not for $7.

I would also love to know why people leave their blinkers on? How does that little "blink, blink, blink" noise not bother you? Well let me tell you people something...seeing the annoying flash is extremely annoying to people. I was actually being nice today {shock} to a big huge 18-wheeler and let him in...why? Because his blinker was on and I thought..."Self, he may need to turn right and he won't have time to get over unless you let him in." So, I leave the big gap...he doesn't get over, I wait a bit longer...still nothing and because of my being nice I had to stop at the light and watch him go through it with his blinker blinking away. SO RUDE!!! If you happen to be one of those people who likes the sound it makes, at least be considerate of the people in the car who keep staring at you hoping that you turn it off because they are too nice to say something to you. Because believe me, they are not listening to a word you are saying they are thinking, "Turn the blinker off, turn the blinker off, why won't he turn it off?"

You know...I actually feel a little better letting off all this steam! People now know what has bugged me today and hopefully you don't think I am fake...because we all know how I feel about fake-ness (in case you forgot...I don't like it when people come off as being a Mary Poppins...perfect in every way, when we all know they are not and they are actually just annoying). Let's hope that when I leave to get the boys and finish my other errands I don't get bugged by other things...otherwise there might be "A Day to Complain...Part 2" later on today. Here's to a better day!!

P.S...I am not going to reread this and correct my mistakes, I am going to leave that to my sweet hubby who does all my spell checks and will call me and tell me what I need to change:) Thanks Babes!

Valentine's Day

Me and the boys V-day morning...don't I look hot!!??

We LOVE Valentine's Day around here! We start it off a week before and cupid drops by a gift to the boys everyday for a week...simple things:) Caden thought this was something that happened to everyone and when he asked the kids at school what Cupid brought them...they had no clue what he was talking about. I had to break it to him that I was Cupid and this was something that my Mom did when I was a little girl and that I wanted to do it for him. Either way, he was just excited to get treats everyday!

Since Valentines was on a Sunday this year, we did to go orders from TGIFridays this year and ate at home...no crowds, no baby-sitter:)

Then on V-Day my sweet boys surprised me with breakfast in bed: eggs and toast...YUM!! and they put it on a very clever tray with hearts all over it...

Then I got to start my treasure hunt that Ben thought up for me...it took me from around 8am until about 11 am to find the 4 clues. I'm either that lame or they were tricky...we will go with tricky. But that is what the post was before this one...just in case you were wondering:)

Hope you all had a fabulous Valentines Day!!

Rice Krispie Hearts

For my Sunday School class I made them some fun little Rice Krispie Treats. You know how to do these...

1. Make Rice Krispies Treats

2. Use your favorite cookie cutter and cut them out

3. Dip them in various chocolates

4. Sprinkle some love on top...sprinkles:)

Everything looks better with cute packaging...you can get 20 of these toppers at Hobby Lobby for $3!! Can't beat that!

Snow Storm...Day 2

Well, it snowed all during the night last night and gave us about 11" of snow all together! I guess it is the most snow DFW has seen in 111years since they started documenting this stuff! So...since we are making history, I may have overdone the pictures...there are alot:) But hey...my kids don't really get to see snow, EVER!! So, enjoy the pics...I had a blast taking them!

The front yard...I just couldn't believe all the snow! It was so beautiful!
The tree and some birdies.
Our front yard, you can't even see the plants and sidewalk!
Caden thought it would be fun to jump up and hit the tree...all the snow fell on him...he wasn't really expecting that one;)
Noah eating the snow
Yeah...had to post this because this is the street!!
The snow went up to Noah's knee!
You can kinda see a little sun and a little blue sky.
The boys racing down the street...they kept falling all over the place!
Caden face panted it...
Our backyard...my poor tree is a little weighed down.

SNOWBALL FIGHT!!

Lookin good!!

This is how I found the boys...banging on the door ready to come in! They were a bit cold. We don't really have a whole lot of winter gear...their gloves were saturated and then we moved to socks...oh well. Like I said, we probably only have to worry about this every 111 years:)

Winter Snow Storm....Day 1

Today we had a wonderful surprise...SNOW!! It started snowing at about 4:30 am and didn't stop most of the day! Caden still had to go to school, they closed it down just 1 hour early.

As Ben was driving to work his windshield wipers decided to stop working...so getting to work was interesting for him. He had to stop at every gas station to clear his windshield. When he got to work Volvo towed it for him and that got taken care of. However, I had to go pick up Caden from school and head on over to Southlake to get Ben. Kinda scary! I don't mind driving in the snow...due to so much practice while in college...I just don't trust Texas drivers in the snow! Luckily it was just a little slushy and wet. Thankfully we made it there and back with no accident!

Here are a few (ok, a lot) pictures of our fun! Did I mention that we got 6-7" of snow??

The boys...just discovering the snow. Noah thinks that the appropriate dress for the snow is cowboy boots, pj shorts and a hoodie. He quickly changed:)
Our backyard
When we got home from picking up Ben from work our car could not get in the garage:) We had to use a shovel. I must say...it has been pretty funny to see people trying to get in their garage. People were using regular shovels, brooms...whatever they could find! I have a feeling I won't see Ben doing this for a very long time!
The first thing the boys had to do was build a snowman!
Noah helping in the cause...
Connor wasn't feeling so good today, so we just got one quick picture with him to document his first snow:)
The finished snowman...Carrot nose and pom pom eyes and mouth, paint stir sticks as the arms.
Wrestling in the snow.
Ben and I went outside later that night and it was still snowing! It hasn't stopped all day! Everything was so pretty I had to take these last few shots! Here is our tree in the front yard.
Snowman...see the snow??

Overall...you just can't beat watching your kids playing in the snow and having a blast! Seeing their faces was just priceless! They have never seen so much snow before! Its always best to come inside for some hot chocolate and popcorn to warm up.

Cupid Corn

I have been busy doing all sorts of Valentines crafts for school parties and gifts for teachers and what not...I just wanted to share Cupid Corn with you!! This stuff is soo good!!

I happened to have a tons of popcorn boxes that I got from JoAnn's and hole punched a hole at every scallop. Then weaved the ribbon through. On the front, I had some cute stickers I stuck on the front and BAM!! Quick and easy teacher gift!
Here is the back so you can see the weaving.
All put together. Just get some cellophane, wrap it up and tie with cute ribbon!

Cupid Corn

1 bag of popcorn...no butter or light butter

Almond bark...5-6 squares

M&M's

pink chocolate disks

sprinkles

Pop the popcorn. Melt down the white chocolate. Mix the popcorn and chocolate together and slowly add the M&M's and sprinkles. Lay out mixture on Parchment paper. I added some more sprinkles just for good measure;) Melt about 10 disks in a plastic baggie, snip the end, drizzle all over the popcorn. Let it dry and break into pieces and put in your cute popcorn box.

Red Velvet Cake

I made this cake for my friend, Ambyr, for her birthday...She called and asked for Red Velvet Cake...This is what I came up with. Hopefully she liked it:) Recipe came from the Cake Mix Dr. I did a few changes: 1st, I made it into a cake...3 layers. Gobbed lots of frosting in the middle. Put shredded chocolate on top and put those Pirutte (sp?) cookies around.

Red Velvet Cake
1 pkg. Pillsbury German Chocolate cake mix with 1 cup pudding in the mix
*if you don't buy Pillsbury with pudding in the mix add 1(3.4 oz vanilla instant pudding)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 (1 oz. bottle red food coloring)
3 large eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Place cake mix, sour cream, water, oil, food coloring and eggs in mixing bowl. Blend for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides and beat 2 minutes on medium speed. Fold in the choc. chips. Fill cupcake liners with 1/3 cup batter (makes 24 cupcakes). Bake at 350 for 18-20 min. Remove and let cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Brown sugar cream cheese frosting

1 1/2 cups softened butter (3 sticks)
8 oz. cream cheese softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
4-6 cups powdered sugar
cream butter and cream cheese together. Add brown sugar, vanilla and salt. Add 2 cups powdered sugar at a time.

Warning...you cannot stop eating these!! There...you have been warned:) Seriously, these are so yummy. I had to send them with Ben to work because I kept eating them! I made them small so I kept justifying...oh, they are so small, I can eat another one;) Try these, you won't be sad! My Sisters' Cucina posted this recipe. Thanks!!

Frosted Banana Cookies
WorldWide Ward Cookbook / Minda Kjar

Cookies:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup butter-flavored shortening
1 cup sugar
1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (about 3)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk or 1/2 cup milk + 1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/4 cups flour

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Cream the butter and shortening. Add sugar, then bananas. Mix well. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Blend in buttermilk. Add the dry ingredients until just combined. Do not over-beat. It will be a sticky batter. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-12 minutes. Cool completely.

Cream the butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until fluffy. Spread on cookies.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies.

Diapers

Hello All!!

I just wanted to post this deal on diapers! If you want to spend $3.70 for a pack of Luvs Diapers, then just follow what Frugal Coupon Living tells us to do (I am just copying and pasting them)! I just bough mine and wanted to share the love:)

Kathy found a great deal on Diapers.com for Luvs diapers. This is for NEW customers so if you have been a customer before, ask the parents/grandparents if they are interested in helping you out (bascially ordering and shipping to their house – this will work as well if they watch your child from time to time – diapers are already there!) If you don’t have kids, imagine how nice it would be to gift this at a shower – you would make some mama happy! These are also good for diaper cakes!

The deal below is for size 2 diapers. I have priced them below, however, per diaper size – just don’t done the scenario for you.

Deal Idea:

1.) Place 7 packs Luvs Jumbo Diapers $6.99 each in your cart for a total of $48.93

2.) Your total needs to be $49 (for FREE Shipping and the code), so get a filler item as well – Pampers travel wipes are $1.99. Your new total will be $50.92

3.) Time to check out - Use code DIAPERSV (this diaper save) to get $10 off. You will pay $40.92. Shipping is free for oders over $49 and they arrive in 1 – 2 days!

4.) In addition, first time customers also get a $14.97 rebate or a FREE subscription to Parenting Magazine. (This rebate takes ages to come but it will come, I promise – get the form and more details HERE.) If you have questions about the rebate at ANYTIME, call Diapers.com. This company is actually the sweetest company I have ever dealt with. They are so curtious and helpful when it comes to questions and price matching!

Your Final Cost after MIR: $25.95 for 7 packs of diapers and travel wipes!

This equates to $3.70 per pack and $.06 for a size 2 diaper!!!

Below is the breakdown on cost per diaper:

Size 2 = $.06 each

Size 3 = $.07 each

Size 4 = $.08 each

Get started on Diapers.com.

Thanks, $30 Weekly Grocery Challenge

Carseat Canopy

Hello All! So I am attempting my first tutorial...we will see if I can do this:) Considering I am a newby at the whole sewing thing, hopefully I can use the right terms!! My sweet Aunt made one of these for me when Connor was born and I LOVE it! I never ever take it off! It's so nice when it is windy or rainy or if you have a new born and you don't want people breathing on baby when you are at the grocery store...solution...carseat canopy!!

First...I bought 1 1/2 yards of 2 different fabrics. This is what it looks like cut out...the top fabric measures 39" x 43 1/2". The bottom is 41" x 45 1/2". So the bottom fabric is 2" bigger all around. The angels are 13" long.

What I did was cut rectangles and then fold it in half and in half again and then cut the corners so they were all equal.
Pin the whole thing together. Make sure wrong sides are together.
Get your iron out and get it hot!! You are going to iron the whole thing. So fold the bottom fabric in half, iron, then go back and fold it in half again...You will end up with a 1/2" binding for the front. Iron it really well. When its all ironed, sew it together! Easy peasy.
Next up...the handles. They measure out to be 7" x 4". You can always go bigger depending on your carseat. I did 3 sets of the velcro so that way you can make sure it will fit. Fold the blanket part in half and attach them right in the middle. From the outside to the first handle is 13", then 6 1/2" space, then the next handle, then 13" to the other end...does that make sense?
The final product! This is great...instead of a blanket falling on your baby, this will never fall on them!

This is how it looks when you don't need baby covered. I made this for a friend...hence the girl cover on the boy car seat:) Let me know if you have any questions!