Summer Schedule

Hello There !

This summer I have been blessed with watching my 5 year old neice and nephew during the week . I wanted to come up with theme weeks to get us through the summer with a little bit of stucture and a whole lot of fun !

So far we have had:
Week 1: Safety Week
Both little ones went to a local Safety Town for a few hours a day.

Activities for the week at home :

Talked about Fire Safety , who to call in case of an emergency, stranger danger  .

Driveway safety town - I drew lines for streets , traffic lights , bus stops , stop signs and a cross walk . We also picked up some little cones from the Target Dollar Spot to add to our town.
The kids rode scooters, bikes and walked through our town.

Library Time - We went to our local library and got books on Firefighters , Police Officers and Safety .

Week 2 : Go Bananas Week !

We only had two days this week .

At Home Activities :

We Made Bananapillars :

Raisins for eyes , a  banana for the body and pretzel sticks for legs.


We also made banana smoothies with frozen strawberries, blueberries , bananas , vanilla yogurt , and fruit punch.

We listened to: Go Bananas by The Fresh Beat Band

We Read: Pete The Cat and The Bad Banana.

Stay Tuned for next weeks theme Insects !

St. Patrick's Day craft

My  nephew and I made a Shamrock sun catcher today. I think it turned out super cute !

Supplies:
 *Green Card-stock
* Green Lighting Gel scraps -( It just so happens that I was a lighting major in college . ) Call your local theatrical lighting company or community theater and see if they have lighting gel scraps you can have for free .
*Scissors
*Green Ribbon
*Clear contact paper 
* Hole Punch 

1.) Cut out a shamrock shape in paper .
2.) Cut down lighting gel ( or you can use tissue paper ) . I just cut it into tiny rectangles , but you could use one big sheet to cover the shamrock if you wanted to.
3.) Cut clear contact paper out to cover the shamrock.
4.) Peel the paper backing of the contact paper off and stick the shamrock on-top of the sticky part.
5.) Place lighting gel ( or tissue paper) in the shamrock on the sticky part of the contact paper.
6.) Cut out another piece of clear contact paper and put it on top of the shamrock to "laminate" it all together .
7.) Use  a hole punch and punch a hole in the top of the shamrock to hang.
8.) Put ribbon through the hole and hang. 

Ready for Fall !!!

 Since July I have been not so patiently watching the calendar .   Checking off the days and planning for Fall. I usually have Fall fever but this year has been the worst ever. We have had a very hot and very sunny summer maybe too hot ! I love summer don't get me wrong but for me Fall is my favorite season.  The crisp smell in the air, leaves crunching under your feet, and most importantly PUMPKIN recipes !    So here is the plan I created : no matter what I was going to decorate our house September 1st for Fall and I did. September 2nd I made the first pumpkin pies of the season !

 I am also starting to learn that you can create a nice style with little to no money . It IS possible. Let me give you a rundown on how I created the looks I did. Mirror thrifted 2 years ago it was $3 I spray painted  it . Candle stick holders and candles are from the Dollar Tree as well as the place mat , pumpkins and leaves . The glass cover is a cheese tray  I thrifted last year for a $1.00 I spray painted the base . Runner I made last year with some fabric I had on hand . Baskets 1 one given to me by a family member and the other one was $2 at a local discount store a few years ago. The little metal basket came for a Christmas gift I was given a few years ago it had bath products in it.

 This is my favorite Fall decoration. I took a cake plate given to me by a family member place the white floral thing around it ( also given to me by a family member ) and added leaves and pumpkins from The Dollar Tree . Placed my favorite Yankee candle in the center ( Cider Web) And called it done !

So there you have it a Pottery Barn inspired Fall on a Dollar Tree budget ! r

Our Little Lady

Our little girl passed away Monday October 10th , 2011. It was very sudden and  unexpected. There will never be another one like you . Love you Ladybug.

This weekend I am getting her ashes. Ryan and I have decided to split them between our home and my parents home . I truly believe those were the two places that made her the  happiest.  To her they were both "home".

So easy iced coffee

For whatever reason I have had a hankering for iced coffee. But instead of paying a ton of money for it at a coffee  shop I decided I would make it at home.  After some online research all I found was how to make a ton at a time. And since I am the only one in the house that drinks it I just can't justify that . So last night I decided that I would try to make it in my french press. Here is what I did:

I added 6 teaspoons of course ground  coffee - this sounds like a lot but you have to remember that you will dilute the coffee with ice so you want a nice strong coffee base.  I used a breakfast blend of coffee.

And then filled up my french press with  cold water if I had to take a guess I would say that's about 2- 2 1/2 cups water.  Then stir the coffee around in the water.

Put the lid on an let it set over night .

This morning I added sugar to my glass then  a little bit of coffee, stired it around and then added my ice .  I  filled the rest of the cup with coffee and then added my creamer. 

I would have to say it rivals any good coffee house's version :)

I might look for some flavored coffee syrup for some added flavor .

And I loved that I didn't have to mess with the coffee pot this morning too :)

My favorite Season !

With my favorite season just around the corner I have become enthralled with Fall, it's all I can think about. I have a list a mile long of projects to work on and home decor to make for the season. I have even started to decorate our home . I  am going to have a million projects to show you this year and I can't wait!

1 year already !

This Past Saturday marked Ryan and I's first year of marriage ! I can't believe a year has already gone by ! 
I love you Ryan here is to many more years together !