Thoughts for Thursday

 

I've thought about this a lot.  Failing isn't always a negative thing.  I've heard the questions asked, "What would you do if you knew you would not fail?"  It certainly gives you something to think about.  Embrace those things you have always been afraid of, if you fail, get back up and try again. 

A 'well duh!' tip for your day!

At church, we have been challenged to read OUT LOUD "The Living Christ" 30 times before girls camp. (Learn more here...The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) 

I don't have many chances to read something out loud--especially something rather longish like "The Living Christ."  But, on a good day, I do get to take a shower.  And since I don't have my brand new baby here yet, on a really good day I even get to take a shower for longer than 45 seconds.  

So I put my copy of "The Living Christ" in a ziplock back and stuck it in my shower.  I read the first page while I shampoo, the second page while I condition.  And since I normally sing in the shower anyway, nobody thinks I'm any more strange than usual to be talking to myself!  It's working out FABULOUSLY and I may even get the thing memorized!  (Supposing, of course, that I'll get 30 showers before girls camp~! ;)

Try it with something you need to learn. It's great!

Product of the week:

Today's product of the week is brought to you by Retro.  I will be honest I don't love all of their products and frankly I think their shampoo and hairspray smells like burnt tootsie rolls.  I do however love, love, love their shine drops!  You can't go wrong adding a little extra shine into your hair but when it helps maintain those flighty little split ends, it's a double bonus!  So here you have it; Retro shine drops.  Don't take my word for it, try it out yourself! Email me to order! :)

~Photos of the week~

Of course I am partial to my own child's picture being the best of the week ;) 

Photo Tip: open the windows, place object facing the light but not directly in it... enjoy the natural light!

Alphabet Roads

Alphabet Letter Roads

Looking for something to entertain those little boys (or girls) of yours?  I have just the thing!

Now that Preschool is in full swing again, I am always looking for new ideas to share with the children for each center (writing, art, science...).  I came upon THESE a while ago, made them for my nephew for Christmas and never got around to making my own.  Well today I finally did it.  They are so perfect!  Coming from a preschool side of things, out of all of the centers in a preschool classroom Language and Literacy are by far the least favorite.  On a good day, maybe 2 children will show up there and actually try what you have put out.  That's what makes this activity perfect for boys AND girls.  Grab a few toy cars and spread out the letters and let them "drive" the cars in the shape of the letters.  Don't think this is very educational?  Guess again.  Trust me your child is not going to learn how to read before they can recognize letters and this is perfect for that!  Even if they are not getting it at first, at least they are trying something new and learning in the process.  They are so easy also.  Click HERE to print them off.  You can print them on white or black paper, there are uppercase and lower case, numbers, and shapes.  All for FREE! :)  Try them out, let me know what you think! 

Lessons Learned

...The amazing moment when you realize how much you appreciate your 4 year old...

 If you're a mom, you will spend your day reminding your children; let's be nice, we need to talk nice, no hitting, eat all your food, no treats till after lunch, pick that up, pick this up, stay out of there, please share, what not to say, how to act in certain places, seat belts, get down from there, keep your feet on the floor, go get dressed, how to be soft, let your brother play, NO, calm down, eat in the kitchen, Good job, try again, don't give up, say please and thank you, YES, you did it, give me loves, its ok,

I love you!

Although this is only some of the things we teach our kids everyday- the one I want to focus on is

 "we need to talk nice"

Everyday we may become overwhelmed with the tasks that come with raising our kids and I will  have to sadly admit- ...I sometimes yell at my kids... Sometimes I feel like it's the only way to get their attention. They seem to ignore me until I raise my voice a little more- 

Well, it's that special moment in life when your children teach you a thing or two! 

When my little boy climbed out of his bed 15+ plus times last night and I had to keep going in there to put him back in (because he shares a room with my 4 year old and keeps him up when this happens) and each time he would laugh at me like it was a game I can honestly say my blood was boiling... when I started to get upset my sweet little 4 year old said "Mom, remember we need to talk nice!"

Although these are such humbling experiences- and at first I feel a bit stupid for being a bad example, I am happy to say that this is actually a great thing! Although I am the one that had to falter in his eyes, I am also the one that taught him that we do in fact need to talk nice and he has actually learned something- But I have learned something bigger! 

Take a moment to notice the lessons learned from your children and know these are great things! 

While you are working your buns off to teach your children, this is proof- they ARE listening! ;) 

Even when day to day life makes you think otherwise!

 

(notice the precious moments)

Hairbow Holder

 Do you have a ton of bows that you don't know what to do with?  Don't have a lot of money to buy some type of organizing system?  Well today is your lucky day, check this out! Oh and did I mention they are seriously sooo easy? Here is how:

Things you will need:
1. Picture frame                 5. Drill w/ drill bits, ruler (optional)
2. Ribbon                           6. Picture hanging hook
3. Spray paint                    7. Scissors
4. Hot glue                         8.  Cup hooks

Directions:

1. Find a frame, doesn't matter the size it really just depends on what you want.  I found mine at DI for $3, what a deal!
2. Pick out some ribbon.  Thick, skinny, stripped, dotted, plain- doesn't matter!  I just did yellow and grey because I already had those colors.
3. Spray paint the frame any color you want, unless you have a pretty frame that you don't want to paint over, once again your choice.  Make sure the frame is dry before you proceed to the next steps...Easy so far right?
4. Break out your hot glue gun and ruler.  Measure the ribbon from one side of the frame to the other, with enough space that you can glue it still.  Then just glue both ends of the ribbon to the frame-Yes it's that simple.
5.  This step is optional but it makes it even easier.  Drill small holes into the bottom of your frame (for hooks) Measure it out so they are even, mine are 2 in. apart.

 6. Start screwing in your hooks (where you drilled the holes...)  If your hands start to hurt you can always use a wrench or something to help you.
7. Nail in your picture hanging hook thing (what is the name for these?)
8. Hang on wall.

 9. Decorate with all of your bows and head bands! Enjoy!
10. If you don't have any bows you can always make some, they are actually pretty easy once you get started.  Maybe I can teach you some of my tricks in another tutorial. ;) 

Product of the Week

E.L.F Facial Shimmering Whip.

 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this product.  I know you have seen all the tutorials on Pinterest about contouring, and highlighting- even more of a reason to love this product.  I always use it under my eyes and I just love the glow it gives.  It can be used as eye shadow as well, I haven't had amazing success with this as it tends to crease.  It comes in several different colors so you can really play around with it and see what you think.  The best part about this product you ask??? It's only $1,  who can't afford that?  You can find it at Target, I promise you won't regret it. 

Vase Lift

Have any old vases lying around that you wanna spruce up a bit? Well now is your chance with this easy how to.

1. Find a vase that you want to work with (smooth ones work best).

2. Find some yarn, any color will really work (I just did this color because it looks sort of like twine (which also works!) but you don't have to)

3. Start wrapping your yarn around your vase (top to bottom, bottom to top- doesn't matter) stop every once in a while and use mod podge to make it stick (don't worry it will dry clear). You could also just use a dab of hot glue on it as well, whichever is easier for you!

4. Let dry, place flowers or anything else in it for a easy decoration!

Different types of bottles also work well. These are some of my favorite (click HERE).

Obviously these are not the same vases but I wanted you to see different kinds! :)

Triple Chocolate Decadent Delight

This cake is a favorite at our house.  So incredibly yummy!  The original recipe is HERE--and I make it just like they say, with no changes (although we have renamed it!).

 Mine never turns out so pretty as in the magazine, but it's sure tasty!

Make sure you plan to share--it's too rich to eat by yourself!

Thursday Thoughts

What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Nails.

I absolutely love doing my nails... a little bit obsessed in fact. Enjoy some recent designs!

Way Back When: Foam curlers

Remember when:

Saturday nights consisted of sitting on the floor as mom rolled our hair in foam curlers.  I honestly don't know how we slept at night with those awful tight things all over our head!  Boy were we beauties though.  Oh and lets not forget the doily cloth dresses.

Valentines candle holder

 I saw these on pintrest and got really excited to try them.  I think they are pretty cute.  What do you think? Wanna give it a try? Here's how:

1. Find a glass (I just went to DI and found these for .50) 

2. Get colored tissue paper (I used pink and red for Valentines) and cut them into different sized hearts.

3. Mod Podge the tissue paper hearts onto your glass.

4. Let dry.

5. Find a candle to go inside (mine were candles from Halloween...)

6. Light and enjoy!  

 

Voila!  Perfect for your candle light dinner.   And cheap too ;)

Placemat turned organizer.

I made some of these super cute organizers for my girls at church.  We have a new curriculum for Sunday meetings this year and as I have prepared my lessons I have thought about how helpful it would be if the girls had a notebook each Sunday so they could write their thoughts during the lesson.  Also, how great it would be to have a spot to put all the handouts and booklets the church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) supplies us with.

I think they turned out so cute--and were so easy to make! By the end I could complete one in 10 minutes!  Can't beat that!

Find a placemat.  I actually had a tough time locating some of these--went to three different stores with no luck!  I'm sure if I had had more patience and time I could have tracked some down (Shopko, Ross, Tuesday Mornings would have all been good places to check), but luckily for me my mom had some laying around that I bought off her. Whew--no more carting children in and out of stores!

These are just regular sized, cotton, quilted placemats.  Nothing fancy--but cute!

First off, I measured how tall I wanted my organizer to be by placing my book on top. Fold over the bottom and sew up each side to make it stay folded.

I then found the middle by folding the placemat in half. Sew.

Then I just made pockets the same way.  I measured against my notebook and made two large spots and two smaller ones. Easy.

Lastly, I flipped the whole thing over and sewed on my ribbon--down the middle and on two of the sides.

Fold up and tie together! Wha-la!  Easy--peasy!

Good luck!!

Dust it

Product of the week:

I have been so excited to introduce this.  I feel like this is a must in your "getting ready" supplies. Granted, I may be biased... ya know living in Utah and all and being a big supporter of the "Utah bump," as I'm sure you all know what I mean!  Anyway I love this product for my fine and next to nothing thin hair.  This does wonders to help my hair look and feel fuller.  I've used other teasing products before but I have found this to be my very favorite.  It doesn't leave any residue, it doesn't feel gritty in my hair, and even in the winter it doesn't add obnoxious static to my hair!  So without further ado; Dust it by, Schwarzkopf

This little bottle will change your life! Okay maybe not your whole life, but you can certainly say goodbye to flat hair days!

I'd love to order you some... Leave a comment below!

Potato Bacon Soup (with steamed veggies!)

Friday Food Frenzie:
My mother n law makes TO DIE FOR potato bacon soup, and Matt has officially mastered it as well!  So lucky for me I get to enjoy it whenever  I would like.  

This recipe is all pretty much based on how much you would like to make.  We made a whole bunch because we had extra half and half and potatoes that we didn't want to go bad, so we are freezing the rest to enjoy later.  If you are just dying to try it here's the recipe:

Potato Bacon Soup:

1. Peel and cut up your potatoes (bite size) and place them into a pot filled with water.  

2. Boil the potatoes until soft.

3. Steam your vegetables. This step is optional of course but we really enjoy some carrots, broccoli, and celery in our,  doesn't matter how much!

4. Gather butter, half and half (or milk works fine too), and flour.  Make a simple white sauce with this (you know butter and flour, then add the milk...)

5. Wait for the white sauce to thicken up, stirring occasionally.

6. This is my favorite step... cook the bacon!  You can never have to much of this, crunchy is best! 

7. Place the cooked potatoes (drained) and steamed vegetables into your bowl. 

8. Important! Save some of the potato water to mix in with the white sauce later-this is one of the secrets for making it taste so good! 

9. Pour the white sauce into your bowl of potatoes.

10. Add your potato water, doesn't have to be a lot this just helps it make a little more and a little runnier (don't worry it will still be thick!) 

11. Add the bacon!  If you have to taste a little before hand that's okay... we wont judge you ;) 

12. Stir it all together at salt and pepper to taste and ENJOY! 

Yup it's seriously that easy, and I bet you have everything already in your fridge.  Go go ahead try it, you will be glad you did! Let us know how it turned out.