Archive for October, 2008

What makes a “good day?”
For me it is a day that is playful AND productive!
Playful:
You know those days when you can’t help but think “I am such a good mom right now!” You got out the craft supplies, you read 100s of books, you had your kids help with lunch, you went to the park, you danced and sang and colored and…
Productive:
You think “I got SO much done today!” You super glued that broken toy, you paid the bills, you wrote thank you notes, you exercised, you vacuumed and cleaned the kitchen, scrapbooked a few pages, planned dinner AND made an extra casserole for the new mom down the street…

“Playful only” days my dishes are still in the sink, play clothes on the bathroom floor and paper piles are everywhere (why the hay do I have so many!?!?!?), but my kids can’t wipe the smiles off their faces.

“Productive only” days errands are completed, my chores are checked off, and my kiddos watch a lot of shows (educational, of course!).

Fortunately for my kids (unfortunately for my house) we seem to have more playful days.
But today…. aaaaaaa…. today…. was a perfect balance.
We danced and had a family sing along (they shake/pound instruments, I sing loud and off key), we played dough (though we did loose the green somewhere), we did bubbles, we slid slides, we snuggled (a lot!), we played baseball, we built with blocks…
AND
I paid our car registration, squared away the taxes, laundry, blogged, send out Eli’s Lids orders, called my grandmom, made 5 pounds of carrots into baby food, filed paper piles, finished a birthday gift, vacuumed…
Best of all the day is young! I still have time to play and do a lot more. And my Hubby will be home soon and well get to do some playing of our own!

Halloween is upon us… time to scramble for a costume!! Homemade Halloween’s are the best and not just because you are saving $25 per person! You are also saving the trip to the costume/party store, the 2 hour wait in line and the practically pornographic costumes displayed EVERYWHERE!!!
Here is what we did this year…

Cora was a Prima Ballerina. My mom found this onsie at Big Lots and we all have tights galore already. Done!

I have been (obsessively) checking my giveaway on Blessed Nest. The comments are great and it sure will be fun to see the winner!! The best part is I am able to click on some of your blogs (if you leave your url). I have really enjoyed reading!!! Thanks for your comments back. Isn’t it fun to get comments! I read a lot of blogs and don’t always leave a comment… but I’m really going to try to make the effort now because it is just so fun.
Thank you. And I’ll be posting some REALLY easy do it yourself Halloween costumes later today.

I love paper crafts. I love decorating. I love family traditions.
Lets combine them all for an awesome craft! Grab photos of your kiddos from past Halloween nights. Scrap one page (I did 8.5″ X 8.5″) for each year. Use chip board so the page is super sturdy. Hot glue a ribbon on the back to hang as a part of your Halloween decor.
I’m going to do each of my little ones individually. By the time they are old enough to care about Halloween I’ll have loads of “memory frames” to decorate my walls. And because the chip board is so thin it won’t take up too much space in storage for next year! I thought of doing this at the beginning of the month and I have been so excited to actually do it… I’m thinking I’ll do a family shot also and do something similar with our Christmas card photos! Geeze, I could do a family shot of every holiday and never have to buy new decorations again.
I would love to see how you do this so send me a link!!