Pinterest Challenge Day 10 and 11 (sort of)

Yesterday I ended up overachieving and doing two things from Pinterest.  So I am going to count one of them towards today.

Yesterday I was making lunch for the boys and two of them requested mac and cheese.  I was out of the boxed stuff so I went to the pantry to try to find some easy mac.  Of course, there was only one in there.  Then I remembered that I had pinned something about making easy mac without all of the fake cheese in the Kraft stuff.  Perfect!  I even had everything on hand.  Even more perfect!

So I made one thing of easy mac for Makai and set out to make the "real easy mac" for Tanner.

*Special Note: Yes, I am a professional photographer.  However, I do not specialize in product or food photographs.  I am also a busy, working mom of three and I don't have time or energy to make these pictures look amazing.  You might call it laziness, I like to call it "Keepin it Real".  Some days I feel lucky to even get the challenge done and pictures taken.  So sorry if they are not perfect.  Rest assured I am good at taking pictures of PEOPLE not necessarily things.


So I added the water to the noodles and started to microwave.  They said it should take 4-6 minutes.  Easy mac takes 3 in my microwave, so I started with 3 minutes.  I pulled it out and they were still rock hard.  I added 2 more minutes.  Still hard.  2 more minutes.  Still pretty hard.  Now I am up to 7 minutes.  I decided to add the cheese and milk.  Then I did it for another minute (now up to 8 minutes) as they suggested to warm the mix and have the cheese melt.  I pulled it out and stirred for quite some time to get it to smooth (as they said it would get (and had to add another minute in the microwave making it 9 minutes of cooking time and several more minutes of prep and stirring).  From these first two pictures, it looks pretty good.

 And then you see these......

Despite my vigorous stirring, the cheese never really mixed in.  It formed a gelatinous glob similar to silly putty.  I drained the excess water out and then took the silly putty out, added some salt and gave it to Tanner.  Luckily he is my least picky child and didn't say a word about it tasting funny.  He said it was pretty good.

The verdict:  This was NOT easy mac.  There was nothing "easy" about it.  I would have been better off cooking the noodles on the stove (for 7 minutes) and adding some cheese and milk.  It probably would have turned out better than this strange concoction.

Day 11 (really part two of day 10 but who's counting):

My glue gun is getting a workout....and I love it!

In the midst of the "Easy Mac Incident" (as I like to call it) I was working on this project.

Do any of you have a problem known in my house as "the cups spilleth over"?  My kids use about 3 cups a day.  My poor dishwasher is constantly filled with transformers, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Avenger....and every other boy character known to man.  They get a cup out, take two sips....and leave it abandoned on the kitchen table (or other places throughout the house).  Then an hour later, they are thirsty so they repeat the process.   My kids usually only drink water so luckily there isn't gross milk or juice in cups all over the house, but it is still annoying!

So I found this project on Pinterest and I was super excited to get going on it!

Note this is not the one I pinned (it is a similar picture from the same website) but I can't find it on my boards.  Don't you hate that!  It is from danamadeit.com if you want to check it out.

I went to several different stores looking for plastic cups to use, but I had a hard time finding ones that I liked.  I finally settled on these from the dollar store.  They only came in 3 colors, but luckily, they were in the 3 favorite colors of the boys.

For this project you will also need magnets (From Hobby Lobby) and a glue gun.

All you do it glue the magnets (I used two per cup) to one side of the cup and stick it on the fridge.  Easy peasy!

The boys were pretty excited about this.  But mom was even more excited!  We will see if the dishwasher misses its daily washing of all of his friends, but I will surely not miss loading and unloading those guys from the dishwasher.

Note: Tanner filled his up with water, took a drink and then put it on the fridge.  The magnets are not strong enough to hold the cup and water!  So it fell to its demise.  As always, if anything bad is going to happen....it is to the middle child.  Is there such a thing as the middle child curse?  Do you notice this in your house?  If they all get the same toy, the middle one breaks first....etc.  Poor thing, he always gets the shaft.  It is true in my sister's house too.  Just an observation.

This was genius and super easy.  I would highly recommend it.  It took less time than the "Not so Easy Mac".  Seriously, I did this while the easy mac was cooking and I finished this before the easy mac was done.

This is from my ?????? board.  I couldn't find it (even with the new (it's about time) search method of your own pins).  I am not sure what I labeled it, so I couldn't find it.  It is probably in my Summa Time, Good Ideas, or Chanchos Board.  Kudos to the person who can find it for me!

Pinterest Challenge Day 8 & 9

Day 8:

I am going to combine two days.  I know….slacker.  I have taken on some ordering and shipping work from a photography company that takes pictures at the big bicycle races all over Colorado.  So yesterday was spent in front of a computer screen.  Lame.  It won’t be as lame when I get the paycheck, but for now it was lame.  Now I am trying to play catch up!

Yesterday (in the midst of data entry) I ran out to do a photo shoot.  Ding Ding.  A chance to get my Pinterest Challenge done for the day.

I was taking pictures for a couple that I have known since High School.  I was in youth group with their daughter.  They are an amazing family and she wanted some pictures to document their 40^th anniversary.  Awesome, right?

So I went onto my “Couples” board and bingo…I found a shot that I wanted to get.  I loved this shot of this couple dancing from Brian Powers Photography.

You can find this picture on my "couples" board.

 I thought it would make for a great shot that is very natural looking and produces easy smiles.  It is easy to give directions for also.  Many people, especially men tend to be uncomfortable in front of the camera and you really have to show them what you want.  It is too hard to describe….better to just actually show them how you want them to pose. 

So when we were about halfway through our session I had them to go into the field and then told them to start dancing.  They laughed!  Apparently she doesn’t ever dance (even with his prodding at weddings and such).  I forced them to anyway and I loved how it turned out.  Don’t they look carefree and happy!  I know it is far away, but their kids don’t know they did this shoot, so I was trying to keep it from being too close up.  But stayed tuned….there are some amazing shots of these two to come!

I am kicking myself that I didn't get a little closer to get their facial expressions, but I didn't want to make her even more self conscious (I did get some that were a little closer than this one, but not as close as the one on Pinterest)!  

I will defineatly be trying this again in the future.  It just loosens them up and gets them smiling and laughing.

Day 9:

Today it was finally time to do something with the boys.  In the past, I have shyed away from doing crafting projects with the boys.  For those of you with all girls...I am about to rock your world.  My boys VERY RARELY sit still long enough to do crafty things.   I have TONS of coloring books.  No one ever colors in them.  When I pick up JJ from Sunday school I see all of these beautifully colored sheets.....from the girls.  My son's has one color (usually green because that is his favorite color) and maybe 2-3 scribbles.  Boys just don't sit still long enough to do those kinds of things.  This used to be distrubing to me.  I used to spend HOURS coloring.  I kept buying coloring books to entice them to color, but it NEVER happens.  

Therefore, I am always skeptical of doing crafty projects with them.  I think the tide is turning.  They sat for a good 20 minutes at the table today working on our challenge.  It gave me warm fuzzies.  Especially because the reason I picked this particular project was that it would be quick and easy.  I thought it would be 5 minutes or less.  WRONG.  They loved it and were so much more creative than I gave them credit for!

Here is what we did today.:

I thought that with Tanner still working on reading, this would be a good one.  I also thought it might entice them to do some more reading this summer.

Here is what we started with:

I bought these at Hobby Lobby.

I decided to pull out some other leftover craft items from other projects including more eyes, pom poms and pipe cleaners.

 Then you get this:

Don't you think he looks like Christopher Lloyd as the bad guy in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

JJ decided the monocle look was more for him.

 Here are our finished products.  Don't you think they turned out way more fun than the one on Pinterest?

Stitch is helping to showcase JJ's final product.

Don't you think that Makai looks like the bad guy from Rocky and Bullwinkle?
 

JJ had to get in on the mustaches

And...so did Tanner

This was so much fun!  Thank you Pinterest for making a boring Tuesday afternoon tons of fun.  And making me realize that my kids might not sit for hours and color, but they can still be creative and have fun doing crafty things.

This was from my "Good Ideas" board.  And it delivered.  It was a good idea!

Finally!

I finally broke down and joined pinterest.  I have been denying myself for awhile because I thought it would be so amazing that I would spend all day looking at things on it.  It is amazing, however, I find that it is easy to get on and spend a few minutes looking at recent pins and then be done for the day.  I have already tried a few things that I have pinned to my boards, and it has been really fun!  My best find thus far.....

Finally, a sewing project for boys!  I really like to craft and sew, however, boys don't really like things that are crafted or sewn.  Little girls love purses, doll clothes, little dresses......etc.  Little boys like dirt, bugs, rocks, Legos......etc.  But I found something!  We are getting ready to go on a road trip for Spring Break and I found these ingenious pillowcase/bags.  I showed the boys and they were actually excited about it. 

So, we took a trip to their favorite place.....the fabric store.  When I say "favorite place" I really mean a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (usually on my part because my children are running wild and hiding under the turn stiles of fabric).  I think it is punishment for the way that I used to act as a child.  My mom LOVES the fabric store.  It is her therapy.  When she is feeling down or needs a pick-me-up she goes to "feel fabric".  I love it when she calls me and says "I am going to the fabric store to feel some fabric, do you want to come?"  NOW I do, but when I was a child it was a place of torture.  Pretty sure I have passed that on to my children.  This trip was a LITTLE better because we were actually picking out fabric for them.   

I know they are excited about it because I keep hearing "are you done with my pillowcase yet?", multiple times a day.  Well children, now I am done!  They turned out SO cute manly and awesome!

I love the strap so they can carry it in and out of the car/hotel

The pocket is perfect for books, DS games and earphones

I love how they are personalized!

Had to make some for the fellow road-trippers McKenzie and Ashlynn

This project was pretty easy and really fun! I would highly recommend it.  You can find the easy to follow directions here, even a rookie could do this!  You only have to know how to sew a straight line!  The only thing I changed was to put some velcro on the opening where you slide in the pillow.  It kept coming open and showing the pillow, so I just sewed on some velcro and VOILA! it says shut perfectly.  I hope these make the trip more comfortable and help the kids keep track of all of their things during the trip.  I will let you know how they work out!

Saving money....yes please!

Hello Fellow Budgeters,

It seems like everywhere you turn, people are trying to save money.  I am no exception.  I love being a stay at home mom, but it requires us to be a little creative with our finances.  I bet there are some of you in the same boat.  I just thought I would share a few of my money saving tips.  Please feel free to comment and let me know of your favorite deals.

Kids' lunches.  My son NEVER eats hot lunch.  I guess that is okay.  It saves us money and I get to see what he doesn't eat for lunch (as he brings it home again, not smart enough yet to throw it all away so mom doesn't see that you didn't eat your sandwich).  Here is my money saving tip for packing a lunch.  My kids love Sunny D (who doesn't?).  But the individual Sunny D's are $2.50 for 6 of them.  So I bought a six pack and then I wash them in the dishwasher and buy the BIG Sunny D (for $2.50) and then refill!  Voila!  Money saved. Buying juice boxes or little chocolate milks are expensive, but not refillable Sunny D!

 
Next way to save money this time of year...make your own gifts.  This can be hard if you are not crafty, but I think that there are lots of good ideas out there for all craft levels!  You can make ornaments for family members (salt dough), make calendars or photo books on Snapfish or Shutterfly (they always have great sales if you are on their email list), make Santa hats for your kids (so easy), or for the most advance crafters, you can make advent calendars.  Check out this one my awesome sister made for me last year.  (note: this is not for the beginner crafter.  There was much weeping and gnashing of teeth over this project.  Of course, she made 25 of them, so that didn't help the problem).  But it is AWESOME!  The picture doesn't really do it justice.

The next gift has brought my family SO much joy (and a little pain when there is fighting over it) over the last few years.  This is something that Santa brought a few years ago.  It cost Santa a pretty penny, but it was worth it.  It is our kid's favorite thing about Christmas!  They play with it every day.  So, this is something that will be used for many Christmases to come.  So this money saving tip is, find a family heirloom or tradition to invest in!

2006- The Inaugural Year (Makai age 3)

2008- Makai 5, JJ 6 months, Tanner 3

2011- Tanner 6, Makai 8, JJ 3

I have saved the best for last.  Who loves coffee?  Who loves ridiculously overpriced coffee?  Who loves ridiculously overpriced coffee with all of the fixings?  Me, me, me!  I love Starbucks.  I do not, however, love the price of Starbucks.  Two years ago, a good friend changed my life.  She introduced me to (drum roll please)....the Misto.  Yep.  This is the best kept secret at Starbucks.  Not only does it cost less, it has a LOT less calories!  It is a win/win!  A misto uses regular drip coffee and then adds all of your fancy fixings after that!  So instead of using (really expensive) espresso and then adding a ton of milk and then your highly caloric fixings, they use more coffee and then less milk and then the highly caloric fixings.  So for example let's take my favorite holiday drink: the cinnamon dolce latte.  Regular price for a grande cinnamon dolce latte $4.55+ and 210 calories (if you have non fat milk).  Regular price for a grande cinnamon dolce MISTO......$3.25 and 70 calories (plus the syrup, they didn't have the calories for that).  So, it saves you over $1 per drink and 100 calories.  To that I say......who wants some Starbucks?  So, next time you go to Starbucks, try a misto (with your favorite flavoring) and pick one up for me too!

My favorite ornament

Merry Christmas, and happy bargain hunting!

 

A Few of My Favorite Things

Just a question.  Why is the song "A few of my favorite things" always played at Christmas time?  Sorry.  Just thought of that as I wrote the title.  I realize that it has been awhile since I have done a regular post.  Things have been a little crazy around here with Halloween, Chris' birthday and me working three jobs.  But this week things have been a little less crazy.  Until I think about all of the things I still have to do and that I am subbing both Thursday and Friday.  Oh well.....don't get ahead of yourself, right?

So, now for my favorite things.  I wanted to document my favorite Fall decoration.  It was given to me a few years ago for Christmas by my best girl and sister, Julie.  We have a fall party every year and she thought this would make a nice addition to my fall decor.  I think it is awesome!

I am sure she will make one for you, for a small fee of course.

Here is another one she made for little J.J. after he was born.  It hangs proudly in his room.

She even came over and stole the wall paint so she could paint the puzzle pieces so they would match exactly.  So cute right?  This is a favorite gift for a baby shower (I have done it in the past too.  Big hit and pretty easy).

My favorite year round decor?  This one.

Fits will all seasons, holidays, everything.  Best purchase at a craft fair...ever!  Wish I would have bought 10 so I could give them away as gifts.

Here is another of my newest favorite things.  I used to covet one of these.  One of my best friends had a purse like this and every time I saw it, I fell more in love.  Finally this summer, I got the meet the aunt that made it for her.  Now I have the pattern and I made one for myself that I LOVE!!!!!

Here is another one that I made that has yet to find a home.  Anyone want dibs on it?  The price would be about $50. 

Here are two more that are going to be made soon.  One is slated for a family member, the other for a friend.  You like?  I love!

I am willing to take orders if anyone wants one for themselves or for a friend.  They are time consuming and do take a considerable about of fabric, so they aren't cheap.  Sorry!  Let me know if you want one and we can work something out.  I also make mini ones.  I made a super cute one for a one year old birthday gift, but in the craziness of getting it done in time for the party, I didn't take a picture.  If you are interested in the little ones, they are only $30.  I will put up some pictures of some cute mini ones that my sister has made recently.  I can also embroider them with your name or initials.  (end of advertisement).

I love the fall.  It makes me want to craft and sew and drink hot cider.  Looking forward to a few more fall days before the snow starts falling.