Losing Focus

I have a love/ hate relationship with blogging.

I love it because it opens me to a whole new world of ideas and information and creativity and gives me a place to share my thoughts and ideas and projects. Not to mention meet new people like YOU! I LOVE it!!

The hate (lets say dislike- hate is a strong word)part comes in because I sometimes find myself spending WAY too much time on the computer. I have 4 young kids and I can't tell you how many times they have stood next to me asking me a question over and over again, trying to get my attention as I jump from blog to blog.

Anyway, I feel I am losing my focus... gotta take a step back.

My kids will only be this little for a "little" while and I just don't want to regret how I spent this time.

So, thanks for being so good to nannygoat. Your comments make me smile (LOVE that part too)and I will see you in a "little" while... that rhymed

PS This is just a much needed break... I'll be back

You guys rock

Seriously, thanks for all the comments on the Cricut.

You gals LOVE your Cricuts- that is FO SHORE!

And I had my hubby read ALL of your comments (I had to tie him to the chair)



and then I showed him some of the Cricut's magic:

(I haven't scrapbooked for 2 YEARS! It is SO much easier this way.)

("This is stuff I did just over one weekend... imagine the possibilities honey!")

And it WORKED!

He said I should get one. (Squeal!)

Since so many of you mentioned other digital cutters like the Silhouette I am checking into those too....

thank you!!

Now to convince my husband...

because I WANT one...

a Cricut Expressions that is.

My sweet friend Jessica loaned me hers to play with for a few days and I am LOVING it!

I racked my brain for a quick project to test out this magic machine (ps cricut is not paying me for this ;0) and I found an Ikea 10x10 mirror and of course some scrapbook paper.

This tree is on the serenity cartridge... I adore it...

A little Mod Podge.

I CANNOT believe how easy that was.

The hardest part was picking out which font to use!

I hear it can cut fabric and vinyl too! Check out this flower... I am salivating... I need a cricut.

Attention all Cricut owners

Please, I am really considering buying one and I want to know what you think about yours. What do you love? What do you hate? Would you buy it again if you could do it over?

This puppy is not cheap so I would really, really, really appreciate any thoughts on it!
THANK YOU!
(and thanks again Jessica)

Make your own floating shelf... one of my favorite things

Before we leave this house I wanted to share one of my favorite things.

We redecorated the boys room soon after we moved in.

(check out the "before")

I got this idea from a family in Utah who remodeled their home and added crown molding and 1x4 plywood to the top of each of their door frames. I loved how it made a little shelf at the top of each door where they could display little items.

I decided I wanted to use the same idea but make it a floating shelf and use a 1x6 so I could display larger accessories.

This is how we did it:
All you need is

-1x6 plywood

-2x2 plywood

-crown molding (we used 4in but you could do 4-6inch)

Measure how high you want the shelf and mark it. We put the shelf at 74 inches from the floor. I think it is perfect height. It is high enough that the kids can't reach it, you won't hit your head on it, and you can't see the dust... perfect!

I just used painters tape to mark the height on the 2 walls we were putting the shelves on.

If you are using the 4 inch crown molding you will need to shave off one corner of the 2x2 so the molding will touch the wall and the 1x6 as seen in the picture above

(if you use a larger molding you may be able to skip that step).

Hold the 3 pieces against the wall and make sure they fit before you screw anything in. We had to keep shaving more off the 2x2 before it would fit just right.

Now, find the studs and screw the 2x2 plywood into the studs so you know the shelf will hold.

(Sorry, no pictures. I did this before nannygoat.)

.

We trimmed off the corners of the 1x6 where it came to the window so it wasn't this big corner sticking out.

Now, attach the 1x6 by screwing it down from the top into the 2x2.

Finally, attach the crown molding with finishing nails into the wall at the base and the 2x2 piece at the top.

Caulk the corners and edges and you're done!

Beautiful isn't it!

What a difference this little shelf makes.
I love how I can have the cutesy stuff in the room but the kids can't get at it and it doesn't take up any needed space (you can only put so many things on top of a dresser my friends).

I especially love that it draws the eyes up (away from the mess on the floor) and you can't see the dust! Does it get better than that?!

WARNING: This shelf is made for lightweight items. I don't think it would hold anything too heavy. In other words don't blame me if you try to display your bowling balls on it and it comes toppling down... it is not my fault. ;)lol

You will be seeing this again in my next house (btw we are going next month to pick one out... don't you love house hunting!!) but I think I'm going to add a little something to change it up a little. I'm getting my inspiration from my friend Traci this time. Can't wait to do it and show you... you (and me) will have to be patient though... we don't even have a new house yet sillies. ;0


PS I got my Downeast shorts and I LUUUUVVV them. Seriously, I'm going to need a few more to make it through the summer (especially since my fav capris don't fit anymore. I blame it on the baby...er 15-month-old)
PPS or is it PSS I won ANOTHER giveaway here. WAHOO! I haven't gotten it yet but I am excited.

Super easy arm warmers/ baby legs

My daughter wore these "arm warmers" I posted in 2008 the other day and got lots of compliments. I thought I would share how I made them again since they are PERFECT for this time of year. She puts them on in the morning and when it warms up in the afternoon she just pulls them off and throws them in her backpack.

RE-POST

When I saw this tutorial on Little Birdie Secrets (LOVE that blog!) I couldn't wait to try it out, especially since my girls love to wear short sleeve shirts even in the dead of winter.

It's so easy. All you need is a pair of socks (knee-high for baby legs or kids arms and thigh high for adult arms) matching thread and scissors. Just cut the feet off of both socks then turn the sock inside out and fold the raw edge over and whip stitch it. THAT"S IT!!

So cute and comfy. I have to make more 'cause my girls are fighting over them!

Now I can't wait to make some "baby legs" for the new babes. (The tricky part is finding boyish colors/patterns in a knee-high sock.)

On the home front

Wow, the last few weeks have been crazy around here!

Our house was officially "listed" on the MLS last Wednesday and the craziness began. We received phone calls just hours after the listing for showings and I became a crazy cleaning machine. I cleaned and cleaned (while my boys made messes on the other side of the house where I wasn't looking) then we spent hours in the car, at the park, at the store, at McDonald's etc. waiting for the people to look at our house and then leave (please).

I was a little stressed.

Cleaning all day and then dreaming about cleaning (and people breaking into my home pretending to be Realtors) all night... It could take months to sell our house.... How am I NOT going to lose it?!?!

So when we got an offer on Saturday I was thrilled and when we got an even better offer yesterday I was ecstatic!

We took the offer.

Yep, 7 days of showings and it is official, we have a contract.

What a blessing.

So happy for us...

So happy for them.

I hope they make as many happy memories in this house as we have.

It will be hard to say good-bye...

it is our "home" after all.

I WON! I WON!!

There are so many great giveaways these days all over the blogging world but honestly I rarely enter any of them. Why you ask... because I look down and see there are 279 comments and I think -There is NO WAY I would win.

Well, the other day I was reading one of my fav craft blogs, 30Days, and saw she was giving away an item from Downeast to TWO lucky readers and hello, I LOVE downeast and well to make a long story short I took the risk (539 comments people!) and...

I WON! I WON!!!! I WON!!!!!!

Yep, so I am gettin' me some of these cuties:

Can't wait till spring to slip them on.

And yeah, I'm pretty much entering every giveaway from here on out! ;)

Thanks again Mique!!

Courage Jar

I got this idea from my friend Kristine... who got it from our friend Amy. :)

I love to find great mothers and then pester them with questions about their parenting ideas and of course copy them!

I ain't no dummy.

I've been trying to encourage my kids to do things that challenge them and might even be a little scary. I feel like it is getting harder and harder for our kids to do what is right and often they stand out because of it and sometimes even get teased for it.

So this is our "courage jar".

When any of us (including Trevor and I) do anything courageous we get to decide how many fuzzies we think we deserve to put in the jar (up to 5 for each act).

It can be anything and is different for each of us.

For example Megan gave herself 3 fuzzies for talking to her friends about not gossiping about another girl.

Hallie gave herself 3 fuzzies for asking a boy to stop saying a bad word.

We all added some fuzzies for attending a county meeting to support a friend and express some of our concerns to the elected board.

Campbell got some fuzzies for working on some of his potty training goals (I'll leave it at that).

and so on...

When the jar is full (150 fuzzies) we are going either here or here for an over-nighter and a little family fun.

Anyway, it has been working great so I thought I'd pass the idea along.

Thanks Kristine and Amy.

Birthday Banner Redo

I know I am not the only one with piles of scrapbook paper in a closet somewhere gathering dust.

And so I loved this idea from Kami at No Biggie to take this cheap birthday banner:

(which I already had... who doesn't have one of these?!)

And simply cover it in scrapbook paper:

Kami cut her letters apart but I wanted to keep it all connected so I just traced the letters, cut them out, inked the edges, and glued them with mod podge.
So easy and what a difference!

Not as fancy as my other Birthday Banner: but I can't be all fancy all the time. ;)

(go here for the fancy banner tutorial)

Bandanna Dress and a belated Valentines

I bought bandannas ages ago for this project and finally got around to it.

Can't believe it took me so long because it really is as easy as she says it is!

I do have a few recommendations though: I added a little stitch over the ribbon right in the middle as to prevent my daughter from continually pulling the ribbon out of the pocket.

I also used a thinner ribbon (she used 1 1/2in my is 5/8 and 7/8), I found it much easier to keep tied.

Same pattern + $2.50 towels from Target + a little more ribbon=

Valentines Dress

too bad we were both too sick to make it to church for her to show it off:(

30 Meals Review

Well, according to my Google Analytics (and all the emails!)

you are still working on your 30 meals. Good for you!

Want the 30 meals binder cover? Download it here.

If you are new to nannygoat then you are probably wondering what we are talking about!

30 meal plan... huh?!

Well, if you want to make dinnertime a breeze, grocery shopping more efficient, save money, AND have your kids love EVERYTHING you make for dinner... then you need to check out the 30 meal plan.

It is ALL about simplifying and making life (specifically dinnertime) pleasant... is that possible?!

Now, if you LIKE dinnertime chaos including you searching through cupboards and flipping through endless recipes TRYING to come up with SoMEThiNg to eat all while your children are screaming at each other (due to low blood sugar of coarse) and begging for treats then you DO NOT want to do the 30 meal plan... enjoy your anarchy.

But, if you like peace and happiness and yummy food then JoIn In!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Recipes

recipe box tutorial

Make your own Valentine Cards

Here is last years Valentine card.

Simple and sweet.

Did you see this Valentine card at 24-7-365?

Brilliant!

Yep, I had to make my own.

My kids school doesn't allow candy so my kids will be

holding glow sticks instead of suckers for their friends.

Love it!

(whoops, I forgot the apostraphe on Valentine's ... already printed it... oh well)