"Hoppy" Easter...and Other "Stuff"

I was very excited about a long weekend this Easter.  After not working full time for 11 years I am REALLY enjoying being back in the classroom (way more than I thought I would) and I am COMPLETELY enjoying those little kindergartners!  But...the crazy schedule and trying to do my VERY best at school as well as at home was taking their toll on this 40 year old Momma...I needed a break!  Especially since the last 2 weekends were JAMMED with kid activities, chores and have-to-dos...didn't leave Momma any "down time".  I am starting to recognize that I am a girl who desperately NEEDS down time!  So...I was quite please this was a 3 day weekend!

It started off with a bang...both kids were having a friend spend the night.  Not a huge deal but truth be told I am NOT A FAN OF THE SLEEPOVER!  I like just my family, tucked into their beds at night.  End of story.  But...the friends in question are GREAT kids and we had a plan.  Since boy child is getting older and half the fun of a weekend is "staying up late" we decided to let him and his bud take over the basement.  They slept on the couches...had snacks in the fridge and there's a bathroom down there....add the king sized television and a Wii system and they were set...no need for me to stay awake and they could get us if they needed anything.  I had already informed the girl child that she is 8...not 11 and she still has a bedtime with sleepovers...when we go to bed at 10...so do she and her buddy!  End of story.  She was fine with that...so fine that at 10 she was asleep already...I should have known that was too good to be true!!!  With everyone hunkered down for the night...bellies full of pizza and ice cream hubby and I settled in for a good nights' sleep...WRONG!  I was awakened by the girl child at about 1:30am complaining of a tummy ache....then she threw up a little...I took her temp...and she had a fever...here is where I insert apology to other parent!  She showed NO SIGNS of being sick on Thursday but low and behold...when I took her to the doctor on Friday...she has strep throat!  

So...Thursday night's rest was rough...Friday I went back and forth about whether or not to take her to the doctor on Friday or wait until Saturday.  This time my Momma's instinct was 100% correct!  Good thing I didn't wait because by Saturday she'd have been miserable!!!  We started the meds on Friday and she had 2 full doses before bedtime...she woke up on Saturday with a little sore throat but no fever and feeling better...whew!  

Friday was to be "errand day" so I could take it easy on Saturday and maybe have some "me time" but...after a trip to the doctor, McDonald's, CVS and completing a writing assignment that was due the same day...Friday was a BUST!

The good news?  Saturday was better!  The girl spent most of the day working on a cardboard dollhouse with egg carton furniture she found in this month's Family Fun Magazine...with some help from her Dad!

It turned out REALLY cute!  (Forgot to take an "after" photo...I was just enjoying the process!)

Then...in the afternoon...after I finished baking for Easter Brunch (aka...ordering yummies from Panera because I had no intention of spending what was left of my "break" in the kitchen) we decorated Easter Eggs.  Hubby informed me that maybe this would be one of the last years boy child would want to decorate eggs...WRONG!  I informed him that decorating eggs was a REQUIREMENT for this family and even when he is home from college on break, there will be egg decorating before there is partying and girlfriends!  Momma has spoken!  Boy child laughed...maybe he thinks I'm kidding?!

So...here we are...Easter morning.  I've been awake since before 4am (why???) and the boy child has already broken into his basket and hunted down the hidden eggs to have the annoying big brother advantage.  Girl child is all snuggley in her bed getting her beauty rest, hubby is also getting his beauty rest and I am on the bed in my scrapbook/craft room (thank you Patrick!) writing my blog and snuggling my dog.  I plan on picking up the bakery goods around 8am  and then spending some time communing with God outside while exercising and taking in all the beauty spring has to offer.  I may top it off with some Joel...who knows!  Either way I will spend brunch time with my sisters and their families enjoying some yummy treats and then come home and maybe...just maybe... get some of that "down time" I've been craving for weeks!  I wish anyone kind enough to visit Polka Dots and Stripes a very blessed and happy Easter...be sure to count you blessings!  (I know I have too many to count but I certainly try!)

Handmade Flower Headbands

                                     

Where do I start?  Ok...it all started last summer.  My sister and I visited the French Hens' Farmers Market in Morris.  Adorable town with adorable shops with a Farmers Market?  We were there!  As we wandered the quaint sidewalk booths we came upon an adorable booth with big paper pom poms and bright colored head wear in familiar patterns.  This was a booth of headbands and barrettes for little girls made from ribbons and Amy Butler fabric (being scrapbookers we'd recognize Amy Butler anywhere!)  Of course we HAD to go in her tent and check out her handmade items.  Here is where it all went wrong.  My sister...the perfectionist...started asking the owner HOW she made these headbands.  The woman was very nice but was honest enough to tell us she glued the ends because she didn't know how to sew.  My sister was asking a LOT of questions but it's not unlike Kiki to be a bit...inquisitive...shall we say...so I didn't pay too close attention.  I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!  Once we were a safe distance away...and $20 poorer...my sister pulled out a headband she'd purchased for my daughter and informed me that although the idea was good...WE COULD MAKE THEM BETTER!!!  Now...at this point it's only fair to share with you that when my sister gets something in her head everyone better watch out.  It means she's on a mission....it means she has a one track mind...it means no one at her house would get dinner for a few nights because she was in project mode.  And this trip to the Farmers Market was no exception.  Although we saw some other really cute booths my sister couldn't stop talking about the headbands and how we could make them better...cuter...much MUCH better!!!  


She did.  She made them better.  She found a way to make them even more darling and even better quality...and WAY CUTER!!!  And she was making them faster than she could embellish them.  So she called in the troops (me).  I instantly became her chief headband decorator.  I glued...I embellished and we created some pretty GREAT head ware.  But I was JEALOUS!  I want cute head-ware.  Why do the little girls get all the fun?  They didn't have princess dresses and play shoes and tiaras when I was little.  I want a "re-do"!  I want sparkles and pretties and fancies.  WAIT...what about head-ware for Mommas?  Something I would wear.  Something cute and sassy but sophisticated.  Not something that looked like I snagged it out of my daughter's dress up bin.  So we started creating some GREAT Momma's head-ware that I will soon be selling on Etsy.  (If you're interested leave a comment with your email and I will be sure to contact you when my Etsy shop is up and running.)

Now...fast forward to this past October when I turned 40 and got an AMAZING sewing machine from my parents.  Who would want a sewing machine for the big 4-0 you wonder???  ME!!!  I've always wanted to learn how to sew!!  My sister's though of EVERYTHING to go with it (including a CUTE sewing box!)  My new machine is amazing....

                                                

and it came with a lesson!  So, I called and went to the FIRST possible lesson time.  All I have to say is HEAVEN!  New hobby!  Anyway, on to the headbands.  Months later my talented sister has abandoned our headband making...but not me!  I have fine tuned our process even more and I am going to show you how to turn a dollar store headband into a cutie, boutique-worthy headband!

Step 1:  Supplies.  You will need:
1.  inexpensive headbands (I get mine from several local dollar stores)


2.  ribbon
3.  matching thread
4.  adorable flowers (the fancier the better!)


5.  embossing gun (if you have it...helps make the headband look more "finished")
6.  E6000 glue (best choice) or hot glue gun works too...

Step 2:  Cut your ribbon into strips that will easily cover the headband with about 3/4-1" extra at each end. This is important because these headbands are COMFORTABLE!  They don't tend to give the headband-wearer (is that a word?) a headache while wearing it...BIG PLUS!

                                           

                                               
                                          

Step 3:  Sew the 2 sides of the ribbon together making a tube.  When you finish trim loose threads.

Step 4:  Insert headband and leave extra ribbon at each end.

                                                    
                                            

Step 5:  Trim the end of each ribbon so they are smooth with no stray threads or frays.

Step 6:  Emboss the edges of the ribbon just slightly so that they are melted and the thread and ribbon won't fray.  Good step to make your headband look more Boutique-worthy!

Step 7:  Fold one edge at a time and machine sew.  I run it through and then back-stitch once to ensure it will stay finished.

                                                      

                                                          
              
Step 8:  Glue your flower in the desired spot.  I like the flower off to the side...looks so CUTE!  I apply glue to the center of the flower at first. Once it's in place I use clothes pins to hold the flower in place as it dries.  I usually let it sit overnight to ensure it's dried.

                                                             

There you have it...a CUTE...handmade flower headband.
                
                                           

                                               

                                                

                                                   


 If you're not up to making these or you don't sew you can order them from my Etsy shop as soon as it's opened (busy covering a maternity leave in kindergarten and shuffling the kids to their activities so free time is limited these days...maybe first thing in June?)  If you're interested in purchasing my headbands please email me with  your email address and information and I will contact you AS SOON as the Etsy shop is up and running!  Either way, thanks for stopping by!!!!

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Spring Break!

We are so lucky to have a BEAUTIFUL place to visit each and every spring.  Seriously, we never venture to new places because we LOVE LOVE LOVE Marco Island, Florida!  My parents visited for years before they built a house here...and then a BIGGER house so they'd have room for their family to visit.  My parents have been retired for a few years and now every year they leave right after Christmas and spend the cold winter months here...in paradise.   I can't blame them.  Don't get me wrong, I miss them and sometimes wish they were home but we are so lucky to have such a LOVELY vacation spot!

They live on a canal so they can have a boat and here is a little factoid about me...I boating!  It's the BEST!  Someday the hubby and I want to live on a boat for a year...just for the experience!  So we boat, swim, go to the beach, eat fresh fish and get our necessary dose of vitamin D.  My kids are always in heaven.  My parents also got a puppy a few years ago and we get to spend a few days loving on Miss Lily...oh she's so CUTE!  She's like a stuffed animal come to life!  Here is a peek at our vacation fun...

Happy Spring Break from Marco Island...Island in the sun!!!

Girls Only Day!

Although I am not in the habit of letting my children frequently miss school, I did offer a "treat" to the girl to help ease the pain of Mom going back to work full time (really?  Forty nine days=Full Time?)  Anyway, I told her we could have a special Mom and Sissy day...ya know...play games...ride bikes...make cookies...the whole day just doing fun things...TOGETHER!  So last Wednesday was our day.  We started by playing some "Guess Who"  (a classic & a favorite!)

                                               

We then moved on to cookie making...I let her do EVERYTHING by herself!  That little genius has even mastered my Kitchen Aid!

                                          

                                               

                                               

It was a glorious pre-spring day so we took advantage by making a few trips around the block with Miss Honey.  Em rode her bike, I walked/ran.  Nice!

After showering and gussying up we proceeded to do a few errands and met Chris at Panera for lunch.  Her favorite place!

Finally, we topped off the day with Mom and Daughter pedicures.  When you have a gift card and an up coming Florida trip you simply HAVE to have nice toes!  (She held my hand while we sat in the chairs...I really love this little girl!)

It started out being a day for her...to help her get through the rest of the school year with a little less Mom but I think it ended up being a gift to me.  She's such a little happy ray of sunshine and I am SO LUCKY TO HAVE HER!   I think in the coming weeks when I'm tired or frazzled or frustrated I am going to will myself to think about our Girls Only Day and remember how lucky I really am!

Happy Green Day!

Here is my beautiful boy before school...I ironed the underneath shirt...he added the flannel...puzzling since it was in the high 50's today??  But he's SO cute and SO good and SO wonderful...who cares!  He could wear a paper bag and be adorable!  He's so busy these days with the middle school play...Cinderella.  He's also working on his second degree black belt in TaeKwonDo and in a number of other school activities so I miss him...A LOT!  

This is my cute girl after a long day of school and hip hop dancing...I made her model headbands so I could post my activities on facebook!  She did wear a headband similar to this today for green day...she also wore a shamrock shirt and rainbow socks...she looked ADORABLE!  Yesterday we had a girl day and I let her play hooky.  I will post about that later...(here's a hint...it was FUN!)

Anyway...happy St. Patrick's Day to you...we celebrated with surprise shamrock shakes Chris brought home...yum!

Spring Cleaning...and other Stuff!

It's March.  Just a few more days until it's "officially" Spring.  To many this means birds chirping, trees budding, flowers breaking their beautiful green stems through the dirt preparing to dazzle us all with their  beauty...a relief after a L..O..N..G  winter.  To me it means it's TIME TO CLEAN!  

A few of my favorite blogs are challenging readers to purge while cleaning.  I love this idea!  Of course this idea is presented days before I start teaching kindergarten full time until the end of the school year so I have to vastly scale down such an ambitious plan.  I started with our Master Bath with hopes to just wipe away all the baby powder and throw out some expired toiletries...well...4 garbage bags later (and 2 hours) I was done and it felt GREAT!  I didn't take "before" pictures on purpose...too gross!  But here are some snazzy "after" shots for you to admire!

                                               

Most of the bags came from this closet.  I downsized many of the bins from medium to shoe box size!   I threw out all those OLD little shampoo and lotion bottles from hotels we visited YEARS ago (yuck!)  I also unearthed a First Aid kit given to us before we married...almost 18 years ago!  We've NEVER used it...good bye!   Now our closet is home to necessary supplies.  Everything is labeled and the bottom shelves house my cleaning supplies.  Nice!

                                                    

This drawer is home to all my hair-doing supplies and it was a tangled MESS!  Now it's clean and organized.  I will no longer spend time in the morning untangling cords so I can dry my hair or plug in my flat iron...AHHHH!

                                                  

On a regular day I would NEVER show ANYONE my bathroom cabinet but I am so proud of my newly organized...clean...space!  I am hoping this will shave 5-10 minutes off my morning routine!

                                                    

Here is the view under Chris' sink...he's so pretty he doesn't need all the beauty supplies I need!  (Isn't that the truth...guys just get better with age...ugh!)

Although I only cleaned and purged one room in my house I am hopeful I can hit a few more spaces before summer officially starts...I'll keep you posted.  Until then check our this and this...these girls are getting it done!!!

Terrariums...BEAUTIFUL!

     Well...if you've gotten the latest Pottery Barn catalog you know that terrariums are all the rage this spring.  I actually made a few this past weekend and I am REALLY impressed with the results!  Terrariums are easy to make...and FUN!  (This is a good spring project for those anxious to get outside and start digging in the dirt!)

I've been on the prowl for information about terrariums...looking for cool little factoids and what to include in a children's piece I am working on...but there are also tons of great YouTube videos as well!   Pretty much everything I've read led me to make the following supply list...

1.  potting soil
2.  ground charcoal (I'll explain this in a bit.)
3.  gravel or small rocks
4.  clear glass containers with or without lids
5.  plants with the same growing requirements
6.  decorative elements (optional)

(Total side note...looking at these photos just solidifies my decision to repaint my laundry room this summer...a soft cool blue maybe?  I don't like the red anymore...AT ALL!)

I have these FABU glass containers I bought a few years ago at the local Home Goods.  They've traveled all over my house and been home to glass ornaments, pine cones, and fake lemons.  They are so versatile... I had to have them...and...they make PERFECT terrariums!!   I decided to make terrariums in all 3 so I could spread them out around the house and add a bit of green in anticipation of spring!

I headed to Home Depot thinking I'd be able to purchase everything on my list.  Here is where it got tricky.  I found potting soil (obviously) and some great succulents but I couldn't find the charcoal (and I knew I could find stones cheaper!)   While doing research I found out that charcoal is an important ingredient because it helps keep your terrarium mold-free.  I know I can use all the help I can get when it comes to growing anything so I brought my succulents home and checked online as to where I would find charcoal.  (Here is where I give BIG kudos to my WONDERFUL husband because he told me I should go to the pet store.)  I headed to Pet Co and purchased the last 2 items on my list...charcoal ($10.99)  and gravel ($3.99 a bag)  which I found in the aquarium section.

The first step for me was to rinse out my jars and dry them well.  I made sure not to use any chemicals to clean out the jars for fear this may hurt the plants.  Next, I put about one inch of gravel in the bottom of each jar for drainage.

                                               

Then sprinkle about 1/2 an inch of charcoal over the gravel...

                                                 

                                                     

After the charcoal goes the potting soil.  These three items should take up about 1/3 of your glass container.

Finally...the FUN part...the plants!  When selecting my plants I tried to pick a variety of color and again, pick plants with similar growing requirements.  Before you place each plant in your terrarium you want to gently shake off excess soil and loosen the root ball a bit.

Finally...I chose to use a squirt bottle to water my plants.  You never want to over water a terrarium.  A spritz with a bit of water should do the trick...and then the cover...and I was DONE!

These beauties now live in my family room ...and I LOVE how they turned out.  I made another one with a skinny, taller glass container but I had to add one more plant to that one so back to Home Depot for another plant.  The third terrarium is on a table at the top of my stairs and it looks so cute!  

As far as my research about children's terrariums I learned that kids can make them in glass jars that can be recycled like pasta jars.  I also read that some terrariums can house small pets.   This was a fun project and one that I intend to repeat with my kids.  I think the kids will most likely want to add decorative elements like favorite stones or mini figures.  

One last bit of important info...when your terrarium plants start to grow bigger, they can be split and replanted.  You don't want the plants to completely take over all the space in the container...it should look like a tiny habitat!  

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