Foam Stickers

I was once told that the key to entertaining kids is foam stickers.

I can honestly say, I didn't believe it could be so simple, but I did pick up a couple packages of different stickers along with some visors and door hangers to decorate and packed them away for the day I needed something to entertain the boys.

We were having a boring day a couple of days ago and the boys could not be entertained for more then 5 seconds doing anything. So I consulted my crafting stash and came across the foam stickers and visors. I pulled them out, dumped them all over the kitchen table and sat all three of my guys down to go to town.

They had a ball!!

It was the best investment I could have made and really it cost less then $10 and I still have enough left over for at least 3 more sittings.

If you don't already have some in your entertainment stash, I would hurry out and get some now!!!

What is your rainy day activity?

Embrace the camera: My Mister!

This is my mister.

I love him a lot.

Because of him I was able to have this wonderful little boy.

And then 17 short months later this sweet little thing!

Ah yes, my mister... he's a great guy!

Tool Belts for the Boys

We've slowly been working on some home renovations and every time hubby reaches for his tools both boys go a little crazy and run and get their play tools in an effort to help out.

Zac loves the idea of a tool belt and can often be found shoving tools into the elastic band of his pants and/or underware. I decided that because of this, he needed his own tool belt. Shockingly enough, those suckers are hard to come by in a size small enough for his little waist! So I made him one.

In the future, I plan on using fabric instead of felt, just to make it a bit sturdier, so I'll give instructions for using both felt and fabric, because I'm nice like that!

To start you'll need:

Scissors (I also used my rotary tool)

felt or fabric

a ruler

velcro

sewing machine or hand sewing supplies

Cut a strip 24" long x 3" wide for the waist band, and cut 3 rectangle pieces 10" long x 5" wide, or you can measure the size of the tools and change the measurement according to what will best fit.

Fold the waist band in half, long sides together, and stitch from one end to the other, closing off one end. Fold your rectangles in half, short sides together, and stitch up the sides. Turn everything right side out and close off the end of the waist band that you had left open.

Add velcro to the ends of the waist band (will need to be place on opposite sides in order to match up without needing to twist the band.). If you use felt to make the tool belt, you will want to pull all your hair out trying to turn the waist band, I only turned 1 and left the other with the stitching showing... You may also want to throw in a top stitch to each pocket to give it a bit more finish.

Take your pockets and cut 2 slits in the back (works best if it's close to the middle, not quite as high as I have in the picture), roughly 2" long, or however long you need to in order to thread the waist band through without bunching. Thread the waist band through, and do the same thing with the remaining 2 pockets. If using fabric, make 2 button holes in the back of each pocket using the same measurements.

To make it a bit cuter, I cut 3 tool shapes out of sticky back felt and stuck one on each pocket.

Voila! I think it's so cute!

I couldn't get a nice picture of Zac, no matter how hard I tried!

Eli was just up from his nap and couldn't even allow himself time to come to completely before he was off and stuffing things into each pocket!

They both LOVE them!!!

Zac's Birthday Party

Zac's birthday party was over a full month ago and I'm just now getting around to sharing details!

How horrible am I!!

Zac loves pirates, he always has, so we decided to go with a pirate theme this year. I'm not too wild with themes though because, quite frankly, I'm too cheap to go all out. But I was able to find super deals at the dollar store that I was really excited about.

Way back in the spring I was in Michaels and found a little cupcake liner package that included pirate liners and little pirate flag tooth picks. I scooped them up and tucked them away for the party.

Zac was floored when he saw them!

All other decorating was from the dollar store though, which I am so proud to say!!

The center piece for the table was a little wooden chest filled with chocolate dollar candies and a few jewelry necklaces.

Goody bags for all the kids were also wooden chests, just slightly smaller then the one in the middle of the table, filled with candy necklaces, chocolate dollars and candy rings for the older kids, and playdough for the younger ones. So each kiddo was able to take home some buried treasure!

I was pretty impressed with some of the detail work on the wooden boxes I picked up for the kids, especially since I only paid $1.50 for them!

(I'm hoping you can see the detailing in the picture)

It was a busy day though and Zac ended up falling asleep about an hour into the activities and slept the rest of the party.

Now to start thinking up plans for next year!!

Musical Monday: JJ Heller - Your Hands

I've been a little low this last week or so; just in a bit of a funk that I'm having troubles getting out of.

I've shared JJ Heller before but I really like her. I find the lyrics for all of her songs so powerful and comforting...and real...

I've been clinging to a couple of her songs this past week and thought I'd share one!

Socks in a Box

Look what I got this week!

And looks what's in it!!!

(socks)

Bet you can't guess what I'm going to do with them...

Well you can guess all you want actually, but I'm not telling until closer to May... hmmm...

I'm very excited though, thought I'd share!!

Journalling Pt 2

This week I've been working on my journalling for my "New Year, New You" class and once again, it's been great fun.

I feel like I was moving in slow motion most of the week, so I didn't get as much accomplished as I had hoped, but I'm almost up to date on my entries!

Thought I'd share my progress.

I had to write about accomplishing my goals at one point and I was really excited to have the extra push to start getting things done!

My journal is becoming my accountability partner!

What does "A New Season" mean to you?

My one word mantra for 2011 is "Create"!!

I think this quote is great!

Have you ever made a list of all the things you were thankful for? I love doing it whenever I get down, it seems to always help lift my spirits.

Whew! Seeing all the pages listed like that I feel like a star in my progress this week!!

Missed Part 1? Click here if you're interested.