FUN Friday/It's got to be PUMPKIN!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!

We made it through another week!!!!  Don't you just love Friday? 

Even when I worked I was on a sweet natural high all day at work knowing it was Friday!!!!  I always made sure it was a FUN day even if it was stressful...I was in banking.  You know it really is all about attitude.  You can make your day go however YOU decide it will go.

You can either let little things get to you and ruin an awesome day or let them go and move on!!!  And wearing a SMILE always helps me.  Sometimes it hurts to smile all the time, but it reminds me to put on a good attitude.  And I love to smile at people when they are not expecting it. 

So what do you have planned for your Friday?  Your weekend?

We are off from school today.  Only because we did five days of work in four days so we can go to the ZOO today.  I am not real excited about going, BUT I will make the best of it.  I do love the zoo.  And the Fort Worth Zoo is really GREAT!!!

But I have been a zillion times.  And I will go again today.  Who knows maybe I will see something new!

Fridays are always FUN because you know you get two more days to enjoy!

Tomorrow I have a shopping date with little ol me.  There are two special boys who will be turning
seven in a few weeks.  They wanted to a have a party with friends this year so I am in full blown party mode!!  The invitations were sent out yesterday!!!  No turning back now!!!!  Shopping of any kind is always FUN!!!

I'll share more about the boys Old Fashioned Backyard Party in the weeks to come.

And speaking of FUN!!!  Who doesn't get a kick out of watching things grow????? Anyone...........I'm waiting.....Oh maybe that is just me.  Well humor me today.  Remember the plant that started growing near the cucumber garden bed?  Remember we were not sure if it was cucumber or pumpkin?  Well it has to be pumpkin because our cucumbers have never been this big.  These pictures below show how it had grown from February to March.

Now check it out today!

It is HUGE!!!!!  There are big yellow flowers all underneath.  And more plants sprouting up from the ground.

Now this is FUN!!!!  I know I am such a dork, but I am giddy with excitement to have PUMPKINS growing!!!  I had always thought what fun it would be to grow pumpkins.  I remember asking Brant about them and he shrugged it off.  Well look what we have now.  This is so much FUN to watch!

I am done now.....thanks for humoring me today about my pumpkins. 

So what is on your Friday agenda for FUN?  Outdoor plans?  Planting something?  Bikes rides, a park visit, reading a book in the sun?

Whatever it is get OUTSIDE and have some FUN!!!!! 

~You can learn more about the pumpkin and how it all started here and here .~

Baking Soda Air Freshener

Simple, homemade and inexpensive.  Perfect for this frugal gal!!!!

I was searching for natural air fresheners and came across this.  And when I did I knew I had to give it a try.
This is the perfect way to freshen up a room.  And the pretty paper makes it FUN!  Think of all the cute scrapbook paper out there.  You could have a different one for every room!!!!

So here is what I used:
Mason jars(any size will do...I used the wide mouth-half pint jars)
baking soda-1/2 cup
essential oil-use your judgement on the amount of drops
scrapbook paper

I started out by cutting the paper.  I used the lid to get the correct size. I traced it on my scrapbook paper and then cut it out.  I did place it in the jar after and attached the ring just to make sure it was the right size.

Next I needed to make holes in the paper.  I didn't have really big needles and did not want to go spend the money on any so I made do.  Check it out.

I used the biggest needle I had to make the holes.  Then I went back through every hole with the end of my seam ripper.  It worked perfect!

Now it is time to add the baking soda and oil.  I used half a cup of baking soda for each jar.

At first I used a lavender essential oil and added 8 drops. Way too much for me!!

~But remember I get headaches very easily from scents so you may be able to handle that much.~

At that point the lavender smell was way too strong for me so I switch to a citrus oil. 

Ahhhh, grapefruit!  So refreshing.  And just what my nose/head could handle.  I use Aura Cacia essential oils.  Citrus oils are my favorite......grapefruit is amazing!

The second time around I was a little unsure of the amount to use for the drops. So I went easy on them this time...4-5 drops. You can always go back and add more.  After you add the oil place the new paper lid and tighten the Mason jar ring on.  Give the jar a little shake to mix the baking soda and oil.  Shake the jar every once in a while to move those oils around.  And as needed add more oil.

Smaller rooms may need less oil and bigger rooms more.

BUT I used about 10 drops in this one

~LITTLE BOYS' BATHROOM~

It is in the boys' bathroom which is also the bathroom that is for anyone else that might come over.  And it is small.  If you have little boys like mine then you know they are not very neat and tidy when they use the potty.  To just be blunt.....their bathroom stinks.  I am always looking for ways to make it smell better.  SO for this one I added more.  I'll let you know how it truly works.

Now doesn't that look nicer than some air-freshener you might buy?  And I just love the jar with the paper.  Who am I kidding I LOVE all jars!

I have a thing for Mason jars, but that is for another post.

Now to make one for the boys' bedrooms, our bathroom, our bedroom, the kitchen, living room, one for the hall as people come in, etc. 

The pretty blue one is sitting on my desk.  And there it will stay. 


Source: Smashed Peas and Carrots

SPRING-things we enjoy during this season

We headed to the park yesterday.  It is right up the road from our house. It has a nature trail where we love to look for beauty along our walk.  Since last week was wet on the first day of SPRING and I had a busy week and weekend we are just now finding time to get outdoors and enjoy this weather.

Here are some of the things we enjoy doing during the nice SPRING months here in Texas.


Stand back and look UP at the beauty.

Bird watch!

Always look for flowers!

 Stop to take a picture so you can remember the day.

Climb a mountain....OK a hill.

Look for turtles basking in the sun.

And pause for more pictures for Mom.

Play ball with Daddy!!!

Climb a tree!

And let everyone know we were here. 

And when you get home sit down and document what you observed in nature.  OH HAPPY SPRING!
Happy Wednesday!  Enjoy your day!

Art Niche Redo....AGAIN!

We have lived in our home for twelve years now. And this art niche(which is wasted space!)has gone through so many changes I can't even begin to count them.  Colors and the decorations.

Colors: it's gone from white, to a greyish purple, to a country terracotta, to it's most recent neutral color you'll see below and finally to my new favorite!!!

A blue and greyish brown glaze with a faux finish.

I absolutely love the new look!  It has an old look feel that goes well with all my other decor.  It has the depth the "hole" needed and a nice contrast to the lighter walls around it.

I started out by mixing 4 parts glaze to 1 part paint.  I just used what I had on hand.  I painted it on and then used a rag to blot over the entire surface.  Super easy!  I was fine with it, but something was missing.  Leave it to my super talented, creative and oh so handsome husband to suggest adding just the glaze.

This was before the greyish brown glaze

So I did just that and we LOVED it!!!  I didn't even bother going back over this application with the rag.  The grey glaze filled in where there were lighter areas.....all the places I had used the rag.  And it added the depth we were looking for.  I decided to leave it alone.

 I'll add some dried flowers to my basket and call it done! Do you recognize the old antique window?  That was from my shopping day a few weeks ago!  I love it in the niche!

Anyway I am finally happy with my art niche.  And I love the way the blue peeks through the brownish grey color.  And you can still see a little of the neutral color it was painted before.

 The glaze-rag faux finish is nothing special, but I love the look!  There might be rules for doing this faux finish, but I never have been good at following all the rules.  

Painting is so much fun when you want to change something up in your home. 

You know me I am always looking to have FUN!!!

Happy Tuesday!!!

Must Haves for Spring!

And it is here!!!! SPRING 2012!  I love this time of year....have I said that lately?  I do think so!!

I wish I could say I have enjoyed my little break from blogging, but being super busy and having migraine headaches with allergies tossed in for kicks is NOT fun!!!  Not at all!!

I am home today from church trying to get this under control.  And writing/blogging does give me relief.  It calms me and allows me to share what is on my mind.  So.........
Today I am going to share some things I have discovered I must have for this 2012 spring season.  Some things I did share last spring so I guess you could say, good things never change.


Some of you know I have been letting my hair grow.  But I have this funky side where the layers just will not seem to grow.  The day I wash my hair it looks fine.  But day 2 and yes sometimes 3 when I DON'T wash my hair that side looks awful.

WHAT?!  You wash your hair everyday?

Anyway the only thing I could come up with to get that funky side out of sight is headbands.  And man have head bands come a long way.  They do not hurt my head anymore.  I have been known lately to wear one from morning until bedtime.  Now that is a good headband!!!

I keep with basic black and brown, but throw in a little color for kicks every once in a while.  Here are my favorites right now.  Make sure you notice the inside of the black and brown headbands. 

See the "L" and "R"?  Those tell you which side of your head to wear it on.  And I do believe the bottoms of the headbands now days are made a little different then years ago......or at least since I wore a headband.  And this is what makes it much more comfortable for me!

Going from head to feet.........

When spring comes my toes and legs are seen much more than during the fall and winter months.  Cute capris and skirts, flip flips, sandals and wedges......oh how I love them all.   But my legs lack color and my feet need help.....my heels mainly. 

There is nothing pretty about looking at heels that are in desperate need of some Gold Bond Foot Cream!!!!

Oh it makes me cringe when I see heels like this!  But just weeks ago before I started my intensive treatment my heels did look just like this! 

During the spring and summer when I am wearing nothing but flip flops I have to be very careful to take care of my feet.  If not they will go right back to looking like the picture above.  

HELP!!!!

Well first up is my DAILY shower treatment for my heels. So fast and easy!

Every single day my heels get a good scrub in the shower with just plain old soap and a pumice stone.  This is perfect to get that nasty dead/dry skin off your heels.  And then as soon as I am out of the shower and my sweet little feet are dry I rub on Gold Bond Foot Cream.  It is amazing!  I promise! Try this daily for a week and you too will have heels like mine....as soft as a baby's bottom.  Well kinda.

Once you have your feet looking soft it is time to add some color.  At least I think so.  I rarely paint my finger nails because I love the natural look.  But for me personally I think my toes look better painted.  And I LOVE all the bright colors out right now. 

Sinful Colors are some of my favorite for the price.  I buy these are Walgreens for $1.99.  They have every color you can imagine.  And yes, they stay on pretty well. 

Colors from left to right:  Courtney Orange, Savage and Daredevil(this is much brighter in person and in the natural light....it POPS!)

And for my legs.......I love Xen-Tan!!!!  I have been using it for years on my legs.   

I use the Transform Luxe.  Self tanners have come a long way and I truly believe Xen-tan is THE best one out there.  Most leave you with a nasty orange look and the smell is awful!!  Not Xen-Tan!  It gives you more of an olive color that looks natural.  And the smell is not bad at all......an almond scent.  And if this does not give me a headache you know it is good!!!! 

When applying around my knees, ankles and toes I have found adding a tiny bit of lotion helps even it out and not leave streaks.  Their website offers tips for applying as well.

 So if you are looking for a good self-tanner I highly recommend it!!!! 

Check out Xen-Tan today! 

(I do not work for Xen-Tan and they did not pay me for all the wonderful things I said about them, but I am happy to take any samples or be a tester.)

So those are my SPRING must haves at this time.  I'll make sure to let you know if I find anything else that I know you will not be able to live without!

What are your MUST haves for this SPRING season?

See you next week!!!

You can say I have over committed myself for the remaining part of this week and weekend. 

I feel like this.............

I did it and am not stopping now.  I don't like the feeling of being buried with so many obligations, but I will move forward and do it with a SMILE!!!!! 

Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts so there may be plenty of that going on. 

I had so much to blog about......my Spring Must Haves, the boys super cool art class tomorrow at a well known art museum, my antique window's new home and outdoor SPRING fun!  Maybe next week.

To keep me sane I am saying........


See you next week!!!!  Unless I find blogging over the weekend good to calm my nerves while eating dark chocolate.

Until then get outside and have some FUN!!!!  Hope you have a GREAT Friday!!!

Wordless Wednesday-Homemade Vanilla Extract

2 to go!

Happy SPRING!!!!!!

HAPPY SPRING to everyone!!!!!!!  I hope where you are it is sunny and bright today.  And DRY!!!

We are postponing our outdoor SPRING activities until later in the week. 
We have received  4 inches of rain since last night  And maybe more tomorrow!!!!  Everything is extremely soggy.

So all my outdoor plans have been put on hold!!!!!!

BUT we are trying to have spring indoors.

Today in school we had all kinds of SPRING FUN!  After we a few lessons with SPRING type words we moved on to a cute craft for children.

This was super easy and the boys got a little crazy with it.  Especially Ryan!!!  Check out all his bugs.

That is full leaf of bugs!!!!

All I did is use green construction paper to cut out a big leaf.  We saved white bottle caps and they colored them with Sharpies.  I cut pipe cleaners for the antennae and glued on some wiggly eyes. 

Matthew's is less confusing although I would not have added any stickers, but you know little boys and bugs!

After our craft they each picked a book that had to do with nature for us to read together.

I hope by week's end things will be dry and we will be able to make a trip to our park and the nature trail. 

I hope you are having a great FIRST DAY OF SPRING!!!!!!

No Bake Energy Bites

Oh boy.....these could be dangerous!!!!!  But wait!  They really are not that bad. 

I do better eating 5-6 small meals a day.  When I saw this recipe I knew a couple(maybe 3)would be prefect with an apple as a small meal.

Well now I am not sure it was a good idea to make them in the first place.  These are my kinda snack!!!!

But don't take my word for it....make some yourself!!!

No Bake Energy Bites

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup chopped walnuts(only because that is all I had)

1 cup coconut flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

Mix everything in a bowl and mix well.  Chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or so. Once chilled, roll into ball.  Store in an airtight container and watch them disappear!!!!

You could substitute just about anything for what I used. Including the peanut butter for sun butter.  Maybe you don't like chocolate(what is wrong with you?!?)?  Trade the chocolate chips for raisins if that makes you feel better.  I would stick with the mini chocolate chips, but hey, that is just me!

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots

Easter Food Crafts-from the archives

This is SUPER early, but if you are anything like me you like to plan things.  So I thought I would share these two food crafts that are prefect for Easter. 

We can't wait to make them in a few weeks!!!  Do you have any Easter food crafts you make every year?  We love the cupcakes with green coconut and jellybeans.  And yes I considered that a craft because the boys get really messy and have so much fun with it.

I have a few more to share as we get closer. 

Enjoy these for now.

He Has Risen! Rolls

Chocolate Bird's Nest

Playing with pictures

Do you edit your pictures?

I use Picasa to edit my pictures for my blog.  They recently did an upgrade and I had some FUN with their changes!!!
Check out these cool effects I added to some recent pictures of the boys.  But first......

FYI-you will notice Matthew has a busted lip.  Well actually top and bottom, but only bottom shows in these pictures.  Thursday night Ryan smashed him in the face with a hard plastic crate. Busted his top lip.  Please don't ask.....I still don't understand.
Friday afternoon he did a faceplant off his scooter and ate concrete and lost part of a tooth.

A PERMANENT tooth!!! 

This picture below is with his new tooth.....the one on your right.  You would never know it if I had not told you.  And then today he slid down the tree(you will see him hanging in it)and got a pretty little tree burn on his tummy.  This little boy is full of life and giving me major stress with all the accidents.  Life happens for little boys and you sure can't keep them down.
Believe me I have tried!!!

This first one is my favorite effect.  It is called the 1960's

Cross Process effect and the tree that burns.

 Cinemascope for my rock star! 

Kinda cool....this is called pencil sketch. And this is one rough and tough little boy!!!!

Love this picture of Ryan and his buddy.  This is also cross process

And one more cross process with a vignette border.  And this just happens to be Ryan's first bass!! He said it was about a pound. 

I am loving the update to Picasa!!!  It is free if you are interested in checking it out!!!!  Go ahead play with your pictures.

Cucumber or Pumpkin-Part 2

Of course I am hoping(and praying!)it is pumpkin, but I suppose it could be cucumber. 
You can read part 1 here .

Have you ever grown pumpkins?  What do you think?

SPRING-learning with children

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!  Have big plans for the weekend?  Do they involve being outdoors?  It has been nice weather around here lately.  And you know it is almost time.

It is just a few days away!!!  The first official day of SPRING is Tuesday, March 21st!!!! 

We have been seeing signs of SPRING for a while now.  It is my very favorite time of year.

 

Fresh, new life emerges all around us.  And this time of year is when we start spending a ton of time outdoors.  Playing and learning.

Yesterday we found a family of lizards.  The boys were quick to point out how we are seeing lizards more because it is getting warmer.  And it was a lovely warm day.

Ryan had to try to catch one........they were too quick.

Will you do anything special on Tuesday with your children?  Do you take the opportunity to teach them about the changing season?  Here are a few things we have done in the past and I am sure will do again this SPRING!!!!

We love to pack a basket full of goodies and a blanket and head down to the park.  Our park of course has a playground, but it also has a nature trail with little ponds all along the way.

Not only does our basket contain snacks and water I also include books.  All about nature!!! I can't tell you how many times we have sat outdoors reading a book about bugs and then come across them.  It makes the boys so excited to KNOW what they are seeing.

I sometimes take our Nature Journal with us.  Sometime it is easier to leave it at home and journal when we are back and rested.  Here is my very simple Nature Journal I put together for the boys last spring.

 Because our weather in Texas is nicer during the spring months, we use our nature journals more often at this time.  Much more than any other season. 

And you can't start SPRING without planting something!!!  You just can't!  A garden, flowers, a tree.  Just plant something and watch it grow!!!!!  These are flowers the boys planted during our Dr. Seuss week.  They are sprouting up everywhere.  I am sure we will plant something else next Tuesday to celebrate the arrival of SPRING!!!!!!

So what do you have planned for the first officially day of SPRING? 

Plan something that has to do with NATURE!!!!! 

Enjoy your weekend and get OUTSIDE and have some FUN!!!!

WARNING: take allergy medicine prior to being outdoors in the SPRING!