I'm Baaaack . . . .

Well, that was a long break I took there!  A whole year!  What happened?  Life, that's what.  A whole lot has changed in the past year.  We took some awesome vacations, celebrated some big birthdays, moved to a new city, new province and a brand new home and started a brand new job - I'm now a stay at home mom, home schooling my preschooler and running a home daycare!  My oldest is in the school system, but because of our situation, my son cannot attend preschool anymore and he misses his old preschool.  So homeschooling it is.  Just minimal, but still lots of fun!  So hang tight, as most of these changes have happened in the past two weeks or are currently happening, but I am excited to get back to sharing all of my Pinterest projects with you!!

Hope you all had a great year while I was gone!

40 Bags in 40 Days - How's It Going?

1 & 2. Storage Room - After a while, our storage room looks a mess because we go in, move stuff to get what we need and don't put things back.  So very successful!
3. Utensil Drawer - I threw out quite a few things (do we really need 6 nut crackers??)
4. Junk Drawer in Kitchen - Not much got thrown out but I organized the pens and markers (my daughter helped by making sure they worked!)
5. Junk Baskets in Kitchen - We have two junk baskets in our kitchen (to keep junk off of the counters) and they usually have fast turnaround, but my job was to go through and get rid of the stuff that had been forgotten about.
6. Kids Craft Cupboard - Again, didn't throw out TOO much (just some finished colouring books and old stickers/paper) but it is organized again so that things don't fall out when you open the cupboard!
7 & 8. Pantry(s) - I think I threw one thing away?  Not a lot to do here, we have pretty fast turnaround.
9. Under Kitchen Sink
10. Fridge - Again, not much here.  Fast turnaround.  We threw out anything that HAD expired (maybe one thing) and combined anything that we had doubles of.
11. Kids Snack Cupboard - This was more about the spice cupboard.  Combine and throw away expired.  Success!
12. Cereal and Cooking Supply Cupboard - I guess I'm more organized than I think, nothing here!
13. Master Closet (My Clothes) - I had two different piles from my closet.  Clothes that were one or two size too big, and the others were 3 or more sizes too big.  I kept the first pile (I hope I don't gain the weight back, but just in case) and I donated/garbaged the other pile.
14. Master Closet (Husband's Clothes) - This is his job.  I can't clean out his clothes.  If it were up to me, there would be a LOT more that would go . . .
15. Desk Drawers and Baskets - I found an Air Wick that we haven't used (got it for free when we used a coupon) so now my bathroom smells nice!
16. Dresser Drawers (master bedroom and kids) - Got rid of the kids summer clothes, got rid of the clothes that don't fit me and added it to the garbage bag.
17. Nighstands (master bedroom and kids)
18. TV Stand Drawers and Cupboards
19. DVD/Game Cupboard
20. Kids Closets
21. Master Closet Shelves - I found some great pictures of our grandparents!  Now I just have to get them out of the box and into some better frames so we can add them to the walls.
22. Jewlery Boxes
23. Bathroom Cupboards
24. Kids Toys
25. Linen Closet
26. 9 Drawer Cube in Hallway
27. Kids Books
28. Mommy's Craft Box
29. Bath Toys
30. Candy Bowl - Well, I DID go through the bowl . . . . . . and then Halloween happened!
31. Bathroom Vanity
32. Laundry Room Storage
33. Vehicles
34. Cookbook Stand
35. Entryway Closet
36. Dresser, Bench and Stairwell Baskets (Entryway)
37. Tupperware Drawer
38. Kids Artwork - This was a long time coming!  The kids LOVE seeing their artwork hanging but it does get cluttered.  I take pictures of the artwork that is the most meangingful so that I can put it in scrapbooks later on.
39. Mommy's Bookshelf
40. Keepsake Box

Slowing Down JUST a Little

Now that the school year is back in full swing, I will not be doing blog posts every day because that takes away too much time from my kids and let's be honest, my life.  I will try at minimum to post 3x a week with new and exciting kids activities, classroom set up/activities and random decorating/cleaning posts.  I will be sharing parts of our classroom this week so if you know a preschool teacher/daycare worker - let them know that we have some great ideas coming . . . of course straight from Pinterest!

Summer Bucket List - Halway Point

Way back in June I came up with the Summer Jar that held our Summer Bucket List!  There were a LOT of things on that list!  How many have we done?  Check it out!  It's halfway through the summer and I think we've done pretty good.  Note - If the item is highlighted in blue, that means that we HAVE done the item but I just have not (due to technical difficulties) got the full length feature on the blog yet.

• Play with sidewalk chalk
• Homemade sprinkler (Pinterest)
• Ice Cube Treasures (Pinterest)
• Night walk with flashlights
• Farmers Market Trip
• Make and Eat Ice Cream Sundaes
• Sidewalk Painting (Pinterest)
• Feed the ducks
• Run through the sprinklers
• Have a picnic
• Blow Bubbles
• Make a pet rock
• Make Your own watering can (Pinterest)
• Jump rope for 20 minutes
• Play Frisbee
• Make and eat a popsicle
• Ice Cube watercolour (Pinterest)
• Plant something in a lemon (Pinterest)
• Bike Painting (Pinterest)
• Go to the park
• Go to a spraypark
• Go on a park scavenger hunt (Pinterest)
• Play hopscotch
• Lay on the grass and look at the clouds
• Take a trip to a Nature Preserve
• Fly a Kite
• Visit the Bird Sanctuary
• Water Balloon fight
• Learn how to play soccer/baseball/basketball
• Learn how to rollerskate

Taking a Hiatus

Sorry about the interruption of posts, I have some AWESOME ideas coming your way . . . if I could just get them on the computer.  I am having some problems with our main computer.  We have been having these problems for about a week now and I need my main computer for all the pictures and reliability - because the computer that I am forced to use just turns off randomly.  So until I get back on the main computer, there will be no more posts.  But take the time to share what I have created!

My New Blog Button

I always see these cute little buttons on other blogs, but I have never really looked into putting on one this blog - until now.  I thought it was going to be really hard and scary, but I found this SUPER HELPFUL TUTORIAL that made it so easy!  I just wanted to share this link/blog with all of you because it was that helpful!

New Collage Site!

So way back when I was making some collages of my kids (12 Month Canvas) I was talking about a website called "Picnik" and that they were closing.  I have now come across a new collage making website thanks to a friend and I wanted to pass it on to you.  If you used "Picnik", then the format will look a little familiar, so easy to use!  I love making collages and they have some really neat layouts to choose from!  After you make the collage, save it your computer and you can print it at whichever photo place you prefer!

It's called IPICCY.  Check it out!!

So did everyone know about this website but me?  Am I a little slow on the ball?

Changing It Up

I've had some personal struggles lately when it comes to this blog.  I want to keep it SO bad, but I am/was finding that some of these projects were taking time away from my kids - time that I can NEVER get back.  I decided to take a look at exactly what I was doing and what I enjoyed the MOST and stick with that.  So here's what I kind of decided.

1) No longer will this be a blog STRICTLY about Pinterest, however, there will be projects that I will be doing (projects that I'm NOT just doing because I have a blog, projects that we need to get done but with ideas from Pinterest).

2) I will continue Holiday and Gifts posts with all the fun ideas that I get from Pinterest, because those are times that I love to spend with my kids!

3) My most favourite posts have been about my kids.  Everything from Busy Bags to Potty Training, Art Projects to "I'm Board Jars".  So I have decided that my blog for all the other times (when I'm not making projects or holiday stuff or gifts), I will put up activities that I do WITH my kids.  It will be more about what WE are interested and less about what PINTEREST has alone.  Don't get me wrong, I will still get a lot of ideas from Pinterest, but I'm not going to FORCE myself to do projects that really aren't necessary.


So tune in tomorrow for our new beginning together!  I can't wait!

Update (April 2012)

Another update!  Wow, it's been another two months, I think I will do a little update every couple of months so I can share with you how these projects are working out.  If you have done any of these projects and your results are different than mine, please share a comment because every outcome will be completely different and I would love to hear from you!

Front Entrance:
This continues to be a favourite of mine, the kids are still putting their stuff where it belongs (my daughter helps with my sons stuff some times) and it is keeping the landing a lot cleaner.  Once the summer hits (come on summer!) I will be able to move the toques and mitts out and the hats and sunscreen in!

Disney Character:
We finally got the postcard back!  The website said it would be a signed 8x10 picture of the princess she wrote to, but all we got was a postcard signed by all the princesses.  Which my daughter loved anyways!  Here's a picture!

Cords and Cables:
I have to just acknowledge this idea because last night and last week I was looking for the cords at the computer (one night for the mouse and one night for the monitor) and this idea REALLY helped that!  I'm so glad I took the time to do this!  SO GLAD!

Chore Charts:
We have been doing really well at keeping up with the allowance thing (except this weekend with Easter), and my daughter has been helping lots.  She now knows exactly what she needs to do and this morning when she was setting the table she said, "Mommy, we're out of small spoons.  I guess I need to empty the dishwasher!"  What a smart girl!

Car Food Tray:
I love this idea!  The kids have been doing really well with holding their tray and not spilling.  It continues to keep the crumbs OFF the floor of the van (although you wouldn't know this by looking in my van), it keeps them quiet on the way to swimming lessons and allows me to focus more on the road than on passing food back to them.

Dress Up Station:
My husbands biggest concern about making this was that it would lead to a big mess every day and he would have to clean it up at the end of the night.  This is NOT the case.  It has taught my daughter how to hang things up with hangers and she actually does REALLY well with keeping it under control.  The other concern was that my son would just pull everything OFF the hangers and this is also NOT the case.  He doesn't really bother with it unless he is playing with his sister, then he asks her to get something for him.  Best project he has made so far (I know, I say that about everything!)

Update (February 2012)

I thought I would do this little update once a month to see how projects I created in the past or recipes or gifts have been working for us so far!  So here are a couple updates that I wanted to share with you!

Dry Erase Queit Books:
We finally got some use out of these when I took the kids on an hour long city bus ride to meet their dad after work.  They LOVED them and my son threw a HUGE fit on the bus when it was time to clean up.  The markers wash off real well from hands and faces (yes, I said faces) but clothes are another story.  Weird I know.  My daughter even continued to use her binder while shopping in Walmart.  It kept her quiet and it's great for her learning!

Bathroom Sign:
Well, we FINALLY got it hung up.  We got some 3M hooks that stick to the door and using a Pinterest idea, we hung the hook upside down and tied on the ribbon.  On the plaque, we glued on a picture hanging piece and strung the ribbon underneath it.

 Write to a Disney Character:

As of today, we still have not recieved back any picture from Disney World.  I'm hoping that it comes soon, but I think my daughter has already forgotten about it.  So if it does show up, she will be REALLY excited and surprised and if it doesn't, oh well.  It was a fun activity.