Kid Stuff
Showing Hospitality Towards Others: Veggie Garden Baskets
This is going to be a different kind of post….. well sort of. As you know, I love to blog about all kinds of things. Decorating, cooking, my “babies”. I don’t usually talk about my faith or mention God a lot, but lately, I have felt a tug on my heart to mention him more in the posts that I share.
Now, that doesn’t mean I’m going to go all “Bible” on y’all. I wouldn’t dream of doing that!……. OR WOULD I? 😉
I mentioned before in a previous post about being Hospitable towards others. We are called to do this and I believe it is truly good for someone’s soul to show hospitality towards others. It is a natural thing to want to show others kindness. Showing hospitality is a kissin cousin of kindness.
Think about it!
Doesn’t it make you happy to see the smile on someone’s face when you give them a gift? It’s a joyous feeling when you truly see the look of excitement from them. The fact that you would take the time to think of them and make them feel special makes their heart so full.
Well, we have been blessed this year with a Crazy Growing…..Wild Looking……. (Like it is on Steroids)……. Garden.
We have veggies coming off left and right. As we sat there admiring the fruits of our labors, we thought to ourselves…..” There is no way we will ever eat all of this ourselves!”
Then, for a second (AND I MEAN SPLIT SECOND), we thought we could.
Then we thought about the MASSIVE 5 day bellyache that may cause.
Then, we had an idea!
Why not bless our friends and family like God has blessed us this Summer?
I thought this would be a great opportunity to show my BABIES how to show that same hospitality towards others…..
So, we grabbed our baskets….
Some ribbon, and cards and got movin.
We stuffed them full of goodies….
Added a quick note….
Plus a little tag secured by the ribbon. “Veggie-Blessed” was the best I could come up with. DONT JUDGE ME! LOL!
Then we took off and made our stops.
I loved the sheer excitement on my babies faces when they got to deliver the baskets to our friends. Some were home and some were not. I don’t know…… There is something fun about leaving goodies for your friends on their doorsteps. Thinking about the look on their faces when they see the gift that was left for them.
*SIDE NOTE: Make sure that you let them know there is something waiting for them on their doorstep just in case they have a garage. If they are like me, they don’t use their front door as much and might not see it waiting there for them! 😉
They couldn’t wait to run up to the next door!
You know, they say it is better to give than to receive.
However,
When you give,
You DO Receive!
You receive the smiles and the thankfulness that goes along with giving of yourself and your time.
Now I ask you…..
What could be better than that?
“Do not forget to show Hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some have shown Hospitality to Angels without knowing it.”
What ways do you show Hospitality towards others?
Why not try something easy to start off with? Why not try writing a note to someone and ask them how they have been and tell them how much you care about them? Put a stamp on it and stick it in the mail! The gesture will go further than you think!
*Will you be the next to be Veggie-Blessed?
Let’s SEE!
xoxo,
Esther
Fun Shared Girls Room (Reveal)
I have been literally obsessed with finishing the girls’ new room, and honestly it isn’t really finished yet. There are a few things to tweak here and there and paint. There are also a few DIY projects that still need to be done, but don’t worry! I will definitely share them once they have been completed.
The girls’ new room is our old bonus/playroom that never got played in! Doesn’t that irritate you? Well, it DID irritate me! LOL!
What to do?
Answer: MOVE THE GIRLS UP THERE!
I need to back track a little though and let you know why I decided to move the girls upstairs. First, like I said, the room never got used even though we had tons of toys to play with up there. Our home’s lay out is to where the downstairs is our main living space and everything upstairs was considered (for us) bonus. One big bonus room, a bathroom, and another bedroom.
The girls shared one of the downstairs bedrooms and a king bed and were still fighting ALLLLLLLL the time! “She touched me! She looked at me! She FARTED on me! ” You know, the usual stuff.
Then, one day, I just looked at my husband with those ” I have an idea” looks. After I chased him down into the other room and made him listen to me, I told him I thought we should move the girls to the bonus room and maybe their own space would make things better.
So far, so good! I am really happy with how it turned out. A friend of mine said that it reminded her of a cool dorm room.
I knew that if I wanted to make this happen, it was going to have to be on a tight budget. Other than the beds, I didn’t want to have to spend much. I kind of had no way around purchasing the beds. I did, however, go to Walmart to buy the twin beds/box springs which I felt would be the cheapest alternative.(*around $300/each bed) The metal frames were universal ones that I picked up at Sam’s Club. ($38 each)
The hilarious thing is that they are happier with smaller beds. They went from sharing a King, down to a twin bed. I think something can definitely be said though for having your own space……. and not being farted on….. right? Sorry!
I wanted to visually divide the room to allow them to have their “own sides”. I already had these toy shelves in the room and decided to arrange them in a way that they both could have their own things stored on each side. It is basically 4 of the units that I picked up at Walmart for $17 each with fabric containers picked up at Target a while back.
This is one of the projects that still needs tweaking. My idea is to attach them with screws and put molding around the creases with maybe a top to match their desk tops. This way, the piece will look more like one piece, instead of 4.
Next off, the DESKS! I am extremely proud of these desks and I’ll tell you why. They cost me a total of $ 4 . 00 !!!! No, that wasn’t a typo!
Let me explain:
I actually took an old dining table that I had on my back porch (that I wanted to move) and cut it down (since it was a pub table), along with the chairs and attached it to the wall to make their desks. The only thing I had to pay for were the roller casters on the back legs, which I scored at Ollies for $ 4.00.
I had looked and looked on Pinterest for all sorts of ideas. I found some great ones, but they all were going to cost around $300 to $400 to complete, which definitely would have had to wait a while. *Remember the tight budget?
If you look closely, you can see that one end looks like it is coming out of the wall and only has 2 legs.
That is because of this:
I thought I was going to have to buy wood from the store to do this, but instead, we were able to reuse pieces from the original table! SCORE!
To let the girls personalize their own space, I generously gave up a few of my bulletin boards from my office I bought at Homegoods a while back.
This is my youngest daughter’s side.
This is her older sister’s side. I think you can guess which one has “HOARDING” tendencies……. LOL!
Here is a view of the chairs. When we initially cut them down, we didn’t allow for the fact that they all naturally leaned back, so we added the roller casters to the back to level it off. We didn’t want to have to cut two more of the four chairs that were left, in case I come up with more projects…… for my husband to do……. 😉 * He would have preferred to cut them all up and use them for a bonfire, I’m sure. Love you honey!
By now, you have probably noticed in a previous photo that the girls have LOCKERS in their room! This is all because of their cool daddy! While doing a painting project for the local Sheraton hotel in our city, they were getting rid of them!!!!!! There were 6 in total!!!! So, you know what that means…………. they were FREEEEEEE , aside from the paint that we purchased to paint them. They were originally a stale tan color like most lockers are.
You may not be able to tell so well in the pic, but the one in the picture above is a light blue since that is my youngest daughter’s favorite color.
The one in the previous photo further above is a light purple for, you guessed it, our oldest’s favorite color.
The girls and I did a really cool Pinterest DIY project for them. I bought one sheet of mosaic tile backsplash. Then, we pulled individual tiles off and attached peel n stick magnets to them.
Now, the girls can stick things on the lockers since they are magnetic! Lots of fun! They love it!
I love how they are able to express their own style and keep it on their own sides of the room.
There are so many things I love about this room, but one of my favorite things are their headboards.
I was really nervous that what I had envisioned would not come out right, but I am SOOOO happy with it!
Again, I had looked and looked on Pinterest for all kinds of ideas. I found so many great ideas. However, they all involved using a thick plywood for the base, which would have been fine, except I was determined to not have to ask for my husband’s help on this one. He was projected out by this time and I was wanting to do this one on my own.
I would have had to have him cut it and that just wasn’t going to work for me.
I decided instead to buy a very large canvas at AC Moore, which was on sale and went from there. Mom and Dad were visiting the weekend I decided to do it, so I sweet talked Mom into helping me. She was a trooper! I asked her because while I might have wanted to go it alone, it is definitely easier when you have two people tugging and stapling. Thanks MOM!
I will be posting a DIY post on it later.
The one above is my youngest’s. The stripes were actually a result of things not going exactly like I had planned, but then again, they say that some of the best things come from that and I think this turned out better because of it. It also allowed their headboards to be slightly different.
Here is a closer view of it.
Here is a close view of my oldest’s. I kept hers plain without stripes so that she could have, what I considered an older look. By the way, that is a painter’s drop cloth that is on the headboard. 😉 More on that in the DIY post.
AND this is the BEAST that I will be taking on next. The plan is to paint it a dark gray and add a long mirror above it. For this, I will definitely be needing my “painter husband” ‘s help. Once it is done, I will add a tutorial! *Maybe my first video tutorial? What do you think? 😉
Well, there you have it. This is the girl’s room ……… for now.
Anytime I add anything, I will make sure to let you know!
Until next time……
XOXO,
Esther
Sidebar: The bedding was bought at Target.
Turquoise comforter : $27.99 (comforter/sham),
Purple Comforter: $ 24.99 (comforter/sham)
Both Sheet sets: $ 17.99 (flat/fitted/pillow case)
Quilt on purple bedding: Gift from Nana for birthday
Tissue Paper Pom Pom
When I was in Catholic school, I was a Cheerleader.
It was actually pretty fun. Except for the fact that it was a CATHOLIC school! I really loved my school. However, instead of having sassy short skirts, we had knee length ones.
Instead of having really cool sleeveless tank style tops, we had sweaters. Have you ever seen a hot sweaty girl who’s cheeks get really flushed on a regular basis without even having to move…………. try to cheer in a hot itchy sweater? Let me just tell you………… It ain’t pretty!
Plus, I’m pretty sure I was still rockin my “waved” bangs and sides. (*Don’t even try to lie and act like you didn’t ! You know you were right there with me……… PLEASE say you were right there with me.)
*SIDEBAR: They got the cool uniforms the year AFTER I cheered. I still harbor resentment.
*Well, fast forward to 2013 and I am not talking about the pom poms that come with a skirt…….. or a sweater for that matter.
I’m talking about the fun, cute ones you make for parties. They take about 5 minutes TOPS and would be adorable at the next little birthday party you throw for a loved one. They also double as cute room decorations. Just group them with a few others at different lengths hanging from the ceiling and instant CHEAP accessory!
Here is what you need to do:
You will need a pack of tissue paper, one pipe cleaner (or something sturdy to fasten the middle of the pom pom, and some ribbon to hang it with).
I get the packs that have 8 sheets, but you can always buy one with more. It would just be fuller. This pack only cost $ .99 at Walmart. I already had the pipe cleaner and ribbon, so it only cost me the amount of the tissue paper.
Unfold the tissue paper and leave all the sheets still stacked on top of each other.
Start to fold the tissue paper in an accordion style. Fold one way, then the opposite way. Do this until you have folded the entire stack.
Since the paper comes folded already, you will have somewhat of a template to follow. However, I fold mine slightly smaller than the width they have.
Like so…..
When gathered in the middle, this is what it should look like.
Now, gather in the middle and secure a pipe cleaner to the middle of the folded tissue paper.
Either cut off the excess pipe cleaner or wrap the extra around like I did.
Now, one by one, starting pulling back the individual sheets on each side. Be careful not to rip the sheets. They are fragile.
I like to pull one on each side, working my way towards the middle until all of them have been done.
This is what it should look like when you have completed one side. Now, just repeat the same steps on the other side.
Looking straight through to the middle, this is what it will look like.
Now, take your ribbon and cut the desired length.
Attach around the pipe cleaner in the middle.
Make sure you fluff around where the center is in order to hide the opening.
AND VOILA!
Mix colors and have fun! We did this for the 4 Year Anniversary at my Church a few months back and hung them everywhere. At the end of service, we let all the little kiddies take one home.
Here is a picture of some from the 4 Year Anniversary Party:
Happy Partying and Happy Decorating!
XOXO,
Esther
Why, it’s GREASE lightning!
One of my favorite movies of all time is GREASE!
I remember when I first saw it. How, right before my cousin let me watch it, she had asked me if I had ever seen it. I remember I kept thinking how dumb a movie would be that was called Grease? I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.
Now, I know the entire movie, word for word, song for song, and dance move for dance move!
Now, let me just say that I have this incredibly crafty friend. She always does these themed Family Nights with the coolest ideas and I am just so jealous of how she pulls these things together.
I have been wanting to do something like that for the longest time but just couldn’t get it together and come up with anything……. UNTIL a light bulb finally went off. “DRIVE-IN MOVIE THEATER NIGHT”!!!! This “theater” would be showing Grease!
So, I got to work!
I went to Lowe’s and bought 3 Large sized moving boxes that we would later turn into their “cars”. I let the kids pick their colors, so I left with 2 cans of spray paint and then just used some left over paint we had around the house for the 3rd one.
Here is the one for my Purple Girl.
Little man had to have black.
And there would be no other color for Em than blue…… light blue. 😉
I ran by the grocery store and picked up some white paper plates that I spray painted black. These would be the wheels.
Next, we cut little white circles from drawing paper for the center of the wheels.
We found this great post from Parenting.com that shows you step by step how to cut a card board box into a car! What are the odds?
You can check the same post out here.
I hot glued red plastic plates to the front for head lights and hot glued the wheels on as well. You can’t see it, but I also cut out rectangles from the red plastic plates and hot glued them onto the back for brake lights.
(At the Drive In, waiting for the food they “ordered”.)
(Hot dogs, French Fries, and the one and only Glass Bottled Cokes.)
I was really surprised at how spacious the boxes were. They were able to sit their food down in front of them and still be comfortable.
Which proved to be VERY disappointing for Buster, who was hoping someone would drop something…… anything!
We even had room for pillows. 🙂
The BEST thing about this “Drive-In” was
that it only cost me $25 !!!!
The Breakdown:
Cars: $10.00
Movie: $5.00
Food: $10.00
I can’t remember ever having a fun family night that only cost me $25. That was the cost for our entire family.
Granted, we stayed at home. However, being able to do this and have something the kids could play with even after Family Night was worth it for me. It took me the afternoon to make the cars, but the longest part was allowing time for things to dry.
Plus, this “Drive-In” was extremely FUN!……….. Rain or Shine!
XOXO,
Esther
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