Monday, June 30, 2014

Girl Scouts: FREE Printable - Activity Sheet

Here is an Activity Sheet that would be useful for a new troop or even an existing troop to write down the names of the leaders and other troop members.  They could add phone numbers or any other info as well.  Download the Daisy sheet HERE and Brownie sheet HERE or click the images below.







FREE Printable: Sparkly, Glittery Patriotic Notecards

Enjoy this FREE Printable: Glittery Patriotic Notecards!

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Sunday, June 29, 2014

The Not-So-Fashionable Mom...

I have decided to start a weekly post titled "The Not-So-Fashionable Mom."

How do some moms do it?  I'm referring to the PERFECT moms with the PERFECT homes and the PERFECT job and the PERFECT kids and the PERFECT marriage.  Everything from the junk drawer to the toilet brush is so clean and tidy. The kids are smiling in every beautiful, professional photo hanging on the wall and even the playroom is clean......this one really gets me.  (I have tried taking before and after pictures of our playroom in the basement before a big organizing project, and for some reason I can't seem to get the after picture to look much different than the before picture!!!!)

So, once a week, I'll be taking you into my life.  My not-so-fashionable life as a stay-at-home of a 7 year old girl and 3 year old boy.  This is real...yep, messes, flaws, frustrations....things that will make you feel better about your own self.  We've all been there....haven't we...oh please say yes....haven't we??? ;)

SO WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK?
Let's start with an afternoon at the park.  My plan was to take the kids to the fountains at the mall to play.  Well, the fountains were not turned on that day.  Plan B was to go to the lake and play at the playground.  Nope, it was flooded.  Plan C was to go to another park then grab some ice cream.  We never made it to ice cream because.....


This happened over and over.  Then he sat right in the middle of the puddle.  At least he was wearing a bathing suit!  Boys will be boys:)


Earlier in the week, I dropped my favorite mug (right).  Of course it broke.  I found this nice blue one that was almost identical, and it's been just fine. The world continued on.


Sometimes we just have to take silly pictures.

I was very annoyed at this particular moment with cleaning.  So I thought it would lighten my mood to take of pic of me shooting myself with a Windex bottle!!!!

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about my parents moving out of my childhood home.  Well, the move was over the weekend.  Here I am saying goodbye, wiping my tears.  It was very difficult for me. 35 years of memories.


Jim and me on the front porch of the empty house: 

Mom, Me & Dad 


Oh gosh, what is this mess?  I was trying to clear up some space in the builtins in our office and the kids' school papers, artwork, etc. were most of the mess.  So I finally took an hour to filter through everything.  I was planning on dedicating a blog post to this project, but I'm not sure it would even be helpful to anyone.  I threw out a ton of stuff!  I am excited to share an idea that my Mom had about creating a binder for kids' certificates. That post is coming soon:)


Next week I'll try to capture some pics of my messy kitchen or the disaster area in the basement.  But this was the best I could do for now...hehehe!
Enjoy the remaining hours of the weekend!
:)Jamie

P.S. I only worked out 2 days this week.  And I ate a giant cheeseburger and fried pickles for dinner on Friday and pepperoni pizza on Saturday. It tasted so good that I might just do it again next weekend. 



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FREE Printable: July Calendar

It's almost JULY!!!!!!! Here is a free printable July calendar.  Enjoy!



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Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Goodwill $5.00 Challenge- Home Decor Shopping

I love to visit YouTube when I need inspiration for cleaning, organizing, or home decor.  I discovered there was a tag going around where YouTubers were posting videos of a $5.00 Goodwill Challenge.  They shopped Goodwill or Thrift Stores for summer home decor items and showed how they used them or transformed them into something spectacular for their home.  I was having so much fun going through the videos!  Here are a few of my faves:

AtHomeWithNikkihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t0eoAUCSM8&list=UUyAB2uAJo6nMKjUWVWF8FAQ&feature=share&index=2
HouseOfAquahttp://youtu.be/rppJiocgFVE
DoItOnaDimehttp://youtu.be/fFdGtLybKjQ
Living Luxuriously for Lesshttp://youtu.be/SREwQTWquPA

I decided to take the challenge myself...in the form of this blog post instead of a video. My total came to $8.00 so I guess I cheated....oops;)

So what did I get for $8.00??? 
I used all the items in my kitchen:



1.  Gold Organizer - $1.00
It's a little worn and scratched, but it's exactly what I needed for our phones and chargers on the kitchen counter!  Our countertops have a lot of that golden copper color, so it's really a perfect match.   I love that it clears up all those ugly cords that were laying on the counter in a huge, hideous pile!  I may decide to paint it, but for now, I kinda like the gold look;)


2. Glass Container - $3.00
I couldn't believe my eyes when I found this!  I was actually looking specifically for one of these, so I almost screamed Halleluia when I turned around and saw it on the end of the aisle!!!! I bake a lot, so I've been searching for something pretty that I could put all my cookies and cupcakes in instead of a big ugly tupperware that usually sits on the counter. This is so perfect!

It's a little empty....I think I need to do some baking today;) 


3.  Flower in Vase - $2.00 and Yellow Plate - $1.00
As I continue to decorate our newly updated kitchen, I've been on the lookout for flowers, plates, and vases that will add color and happiness.  The yellow plate first caught my attention.  I was thinking of using it on our island with a square vase of flowers.  But then I found these fake flowers with a cute vase (which I may end up painting later on) and thought it might work. I'm still deciding whether to put this display on the island or keep it by the fridge on our phone/notepad counter. Hmmmm????




5.  Yellow and White Vase/Holder - $1.00
This had a sticker that read "Edible Arrangements" on the bottom and it made sense to me that is  how it was used.  It's a sturdy little vase and I loved the shape of it.  Not to mention, it coordinates with the yellow that I'm using in the kitchen now.  I use it to store all those single-serving tea and punch mixes.  Perfect fit! :)


I had so much fun with this challenge!!!! I knew I would find some fabulous items, as I always do at our Goodwill.  I also found two other items that I'll include in tomorrow's post.  They are decor for the family room and were just what I needed to help freshen up the room!

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Monday, June 23, 2014

Pantry Open & Closed Sign Project with FREE Printable

It's officially summer!  The kids are home all day every day and I had to crack down on limiting the pantry snacks (I need to do the same for the popsicles, actually!)!!!  A few years ago, I made a Pantry Open/Pantry Closed sign using a little princess sign that Mya had and just stuck a label on each side. But Mason can't read yet, so I decided it was time to make one that a 3 year old could understand.





SUPPLIES:
1. Pantry Open/Pantry Closed Printable - Download HERE
2. Two foam sheets (4x6) - My pack was from the Dollar Tree
3.  Scissors or Paper Cutter
4. 12" piece of ribbon
5. Glue Tape Runner (or a glue stick would probably work OK) - I found this pack of 4 for $4.99 from TJ Maxx


1.  Cut out the images


2. On the long side of the foam, mark 1" from the left and 1" from the right.  This is where you'll put glue for the ribbon.


3.  Use the tape runner to glue a strip for the ribbon


4. Glue the foam around the edge and in the middle to adhere the two pieces together


5.  Firmly press the two pieces of foam together


6.  Glue the images to the each side of the foam and....there you have it!





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Thursday, June 19, 2014

FREE Printable Workout Tracking Sheet

I've really been a slacker with my workouts lately.  So what better way to get my rear in gear than to create a tracking sheet?!  Of course I had to share!

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Tuesday, June 17, 2014

FREE Printable Notecards: Inspired by my Outfit

I love creating little notecards!  When I have a birthday party or shower to attend, I usually just print a little notecard to match the gift bag or gift wrap....keeping it simple!  My design for today is inspired by my outfit!!!



Click HERE to download or on the image below.


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Monday, June 16, 2014

Saying Goodbye to my Childhood Home

About a year ago, we left our home of 10 years to move into the house we're in now.  I remember standing in the empty house just bawling my eyes out just minutes before we were turning over the keys to the new owners.  I cried and cried for probably 20 minutes or more. I was so happy to be moving into a different home, but the 10 years of memories came flooding back and I was so terribly sad to leave it.

....And now my parents are moving out of the house where they've lived for 35 years (since I was one year old!!!)!


Here is the house in the mid 1980s before the addition


The home is a lovely raised ranch with 4 bedrooms on about half an acre with a beautiful creek in the back yard that backs up to the woods.  It's a humble home where our family of six made many memories playing in the creek, playing wiffle ball in the backyard, hiking in the woods, building a tree house, and riding our bikes.  My dad and grandfather labored many hours to build a deck on the back and an addition on the side with a new bedroom and family room.  In the later years, my dad had to build a large levy around the driveway to stop the flood waters from entering the house.  Yep, the FLOOD WATERS!  In 1997, we had the worst flash flood ever.  The creek rose in a rainfall that dropped about 7 inches of rain into that little creek, and eventually flooded the house with 4 feet of water.  A mobile home with a family still inside was floating down our backyard like a river boat.  The years of fretting over another possible flood like that was getting to be too much for my parents, mostly Dad.  They did all they could to the home both inside and out to basically prevent a tragedy like that from happening again, but the risk was too much for a couple in their 60s.  They have sold the house and purchased a cute little home just a couple miles away....up on a big hill!!!!

I was so sad that a part of my childhood was slipping away.  I even thought that we should buy the house to rent out just so we'd still have access to it.  But after months of tears and coming to grips with letting go, I finally have realized that it's not about me and what I want.  This is best for my parents. The memories are still in my mind, the home videos are all on DVDs now, and Mom has thousands of pictures all organized in bins by the year for us to look through and reminisce.  Now another young family with 3 kids will be moving in and making their own memories there.  And Dad can sleep better at night when it's raining out knowing that there won't be another flood in the basement...because their new house doesn't have a basement;)

Here it is with addition:

And Now:
(the pine trees in the front are too tall that I can take a picture from across the road like the one above!)


Mason playing in the creek for the last time:

My Mom with Mason and Mya: 




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