Snowman Toddler Craft

The last handful of weeks we've finally experienced some real winter weather. As a teacher, this means snow days! I savor this extra time with my babes, especially since I pay dearly for the days we are out when we return. My oldest is coping with a nasty cold and despite her begging, I've kept her inside. To keep her from getting cabin fever, we've been building with play dough, coloring, enjoying a Disney movie from time to time, baking and getting in extra cuddles. 

To mix it up, I decided to pull out a toddler friendly craft. G loves snowmen. Perfect! 

Here is what you'll need:

Construction paper

Glue

Cotton balls

Crayons or markers

Sidewalk chalk

I began by drawing the outline of a snowman on her paper.  She then took her glue and began smudging large dots on her paper. 

(pardon the packing boxes in the background...we're slowly but surely getting this house packed up)

On top of each dot, she placed a cotton ball. This continued until she could no longer see the outline.

She then drew (with some assistance) the eyes, nose and buttons.

She used the chalk to add "snowflakes" and snow to her paper. I love the look of chalk. It has a snowy soft texture.

Afterwards,  we hung her masterpiece on the refrigerator. She couldn't have been more proud.

Big Sister's Hospital Gift Bag

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The time of our little boy's arrival is drawing closer and I have a fun filled day ahead concerning him. We'll begin with maternity pictures done by my dear and talented friend from Shay White Photography. She captured our maternity pictures with G and it only seemed fitting that she do these as well.

Just a couple of my favorites...





2013

 

2013

Afterwards I'll head to my OB for this week's appointment. I'm still having occasional contractions and he's setting very low. We're all getting super excited about his arrival...

This is going to be a big change for our two year old daughter and I want to make it as positive of an experience as possible. We've been trying to prepare her and we have most of the details taken care of for when it's head to the hospital to deliver.

We want her time at the hospital with us to be just as special. Meeting her brother for the first time will be a big deal, at least for me. I want her to know that she is still loved and thought of despite all the newness. With that in mind, I put together a Big Sister bag for her for when she visits us at the hospital.

Here are the items that she'll discover upon opening her bag...

-Bubbles
-That's When I Knew by Claire Alexander
-A coloring book
-Crayons
-This Big Sister shirt
-Dessert Flavored Skittles
-A puzzle

I picked up the cute bag from the Dollar Tree of all places!

I had fun piecing the gift together and I look forward to her opening it. I also stuck a picture of all of us and a note inside her bedtime book that she'll take with her to spend the night at her sitter's house. I don't know who this will be harder on, me or her...but either way, we're all in good hands.



 

Linking up for Thoughts for Thursday

A Room made for Two

Our dreams of having our forever home built before baby #2 were short lived. While they can still be found in our 5 year plan, we knew we'd have to work with what we have to make our space work for our soon to be little one while also accommodating his sister.

This was a bit of a challlenge. I wanted something gender neutral since they'd be sharing a room for a bit but I also wanted it to be soft and sweet. Thus, after what was probably hours scanning the Web for ideas, we finally decided on a simple woodland theme for the room.

We began by repainting. While I still occasionally miss the Spring Green that was on the walls, the khaki color is much more subtle.  This color was perfect for the material that I chose to make the curtains from.

Thanks to Happily Ever After and her adorable woodland animal cllipart, I was able to create some simple wall art and drawer labels for the room. I love the adorable sweetness they add to the room. The wall art was created on my computer and then framed in some inexpensive white frames.

One of my favorite parts was setting up the second crib. Once the walls were painted, my hubby put up the crib and I was able to add a few finishing touches...one of which was the beautiful woodland themed quilt that my wonderful friend from Creating Our Family Tree made for us.

G appears to have gotten used to the changes in her room. The real test will be how she responds when her little brother is also in it. Not much longer now!

Linking up with While I'm Waiting

A Little Red Riding Hood Birthday Party

Somebody has turned 2!!!

Our gorgeous little redhead has hit yet another milestone. I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. She has changed so much!

2015

2014

We celebrated with a fairly simple party. I chose a Little Red Riding Hood theme, and with the help of family, it all came together wonderfully.

Here’s a little recap…

The attire:

My mom has always been an amazing seamstress and once again, she did not disappoint. She sewed this adorable dress and cape based off of this idea. She nailed it!

The food:

Black Forest and Triple Berry (raspberry, blueberry and blackberry) Cupcakes

 

//Twigs and Dip//Fruit Tray//Acorns//Labels//

The décor:

I kept it simple. I went with a turquoise and red color theme. I bought some simple galvanized flower buckets from Target and then some coordinating flowers from our local Amish market. I had a box of crayons and these Woodland coloring sheets for the kids to work on at the tables. We also scattered some colorful balloons around the room for the kids to play with.

I also started a tradition for our little girl last year. We request that everyone sign a book with a sweet note to commemorate her birthday.

 

Overall, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The kids appeared to have a good time and we were left with a lot of sweet memories.

Linking up for Thoughts for Thursday

You're My Main Squeeze

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I can’t believe that Valentine’s Day is almost here! Doesn’t it seem like New Year’s was just the other day?! Time is flying and as hard as I try, I can’t slow it down. With the holiday quickly approaching, I decided to get a jump start on Valentine goodies for both G’s daycare and my students. I currently have all of my supplies for my students’ gifts at school so I’ll have to post about them later.

Check out Valentine's Day 2014 here

Fortunately, I now have everything I need to make the simple treats for G’s daycare buddies. I don’t know about you, but my daughter is in love with the squeezable apple sauces. In fact, she doesn’t really care what is inside (or so it seems) because she will eat whatever pouch we give her. Her favorite however is the flavored applesauce. Most of the kids at her daycare are at an age where they can eat these pouches independently. I thought they would make a cute Valentine goody. So with the help from some cute (free)clipart and a little creativity, I put together a little Valentine’s Day message and attached them to the applesauce pouches.

I think they turned out really cute and I know G will love sharing them with her friends.

What are you sending with your kids this Valentine’s?

Linking up for Mommy Moments

New Territory

This week has been challenging for various reasons. Open House has come and gone and the first day of school is just around the corner. I'm exhausted and school hasn't even begun! I've also been on an emotional roller coaster this week...I'm not sure if it's the hormone surge from the fertility meds or a change in the weather but it has been tough and after reading Elena's blog (baby Ridley bump) this week it appears I'm not the only one trying to push through these last few days. It was as if she and I had been living with parallel emotions this week. In order to keep face I've been trying to focus on the great things we've had going lately.

Over the last couple months we've been working towards one of our goals. My husband and I have been praying to move for quite some time. I would personally be fine with moving into another house but my husband (who up until the last few months did not want to even consider moving) compromised with the "I'll move if we can build." Okay. That settles it. The search for land began. We've been eyeing properties for quite some time and either the price wasn't right or the amount of property wasn't to my husband's liking.

Then a gift fell from Heaven. Pardon the theatrics but the way we came to learn about this particular piece of property, the way the loan and funding came together and the land itself were truly gifts from God.

I now present to you (now that I can officially do so) the piece of land that we'll eventually build our dream home upon.

You're looking at a beautiful view that backs our 28.4 acre track. I will have a deck that allows me to enjoy the scenery.

Since making the deal official we've been scoping out floor plans. It's a bit overwhelming but super fun at the same time! We've also been looking at various decorating and paint pallet options. Here are a few ideas we're quite partial to...

[Living Room]

Neutral Living Room

We have dark brown living room furniture but I love the color pallet and we could make it work with our current furniture.

Twig Curtains

 

[Kitchen]
Should we decide to build a home that allows for an informal and formal eating area, this is an idea that I adore. I love the big windows and the comfy seating.

Informal eating area

Kitchen with Island (and Double Ovens of course)


 

[Master Bedroom]

Paint Pallet

[G's Big Girl Room]

I've been eyeing lots of mermaid related themes for G's big girl room. This is just one of the ideas that I really like...I do think I'd probably opt for a slightly softer color scheme though. You can see more mermaid theme ideas here.

Mermaid

[Laundry Room]
I've never had a "laundry room". In college our washer/dryer sat in the kitchen. Currently our machines are housed in our basement...not the most convenient of situations...so when I saw this laundry room design I instantly fell in love.

Laundry Room

These are just a few of the ideas I've pinned to my various New House boards. While this girl dreams of many things, I can focus on the tasks at hand and maybe, just maybe, even more wonderful things will follow.

Any insight or advice about building a home would be greatly appreciated!

Linking up with The Farmer's Wife and September Farm for this week's Oh Hey Friday.

50 Shades of Gray...Paint

The other day my husband and I were enjoying a rare quiet moment while G napped across the hall. We were discussing some of the "half done" and "need to do" projects in the house. To my surprise, he suggested that we repaint our bedroom. Our bedroom is currently painted in Dutch Boy's Coal Blue. He picked out the color and I've enjoyed it over the last 6 years.

 

We discussed different colors for both the walls and trim. We both really liked the idea of gray walls with white trim. Easy enough right? Wrong. There are oodles of shades to choose from! Some grays have a green or brown undertone while some seem to have a hint of blue. While I was out this week I picked up a few samples. I've starred some of my favorites...now to see what the hubby chooses. I'm sure we'll find a nice compromise.

 

 

I've also been scoping out Pinterest and I have pinned a few ideas to my Fixer Upper board. We've settled on a gray and navy color combo. I love the idea of a plain navy comforter.

 

 

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I'm still sifting through fabrics for curtains. I look forward to making our room into a sanctuary. It will be nice to have things fresh and new. For so long it has been a catch all and with limited storage space we've not had any true organization. It's time for change.

 

I know we're crazy for adding yet another project to our never ending list of home improvements and renovations, but we look at it this way...everything we do now will only increase our home's value and make it that much more pleasant to live in while we're here.

 

Any renovations or improvements on your to-do list?