Would You Like to Build a Snowman?

This is South Carolina's version of "Would You Like to Build a Snowman?" 

Mandarin Pumpkins

It's Currier's turn to provide the classroom snack.  Seriously, what would we do without Pinterest and it's adorable ideas? 

Zebra Turkey

I fought her on the zebra body, "Turkeys are brown, Rya." and she insisted this is how she wanted her turkey.  Gotta say I'm pretty impressed at her creativity here.  Happy Thanksgiving. 

Birdhouse Bling

Rya's birdhouse brings all the birds to the yard.  Damn right it's better than yours. 

 

Valentine's Day

Within two weeks of paying an exorbitant amount of money for Paolo’s surgery both of our cars died (and by died I mean beyond repair!) so needless to say money is a little tight.  Instead of gifts this year, I made the kids coupons for Valentine’s Day.  The coupons are for things that are free but appreciated like television on a school night, breakfast in bed, sleepover with mom and dad, etc—and these were a bigger hit than any box of chocolates.

For Rya and Currier's classmates, we made these personalized Valentine's.  Thank you Pintrest for this adorable idea!   

Gingerbread Nightmare

Last Saturday night we hosted a sleepover for a small army of kids and I had the brilliant idea of keeping them busy by building gingerbread houses.  It was an absolute nightmare trying to get six gingerbread houses to keep from collapsing while the icing dried.  And trying to teach patience to six kids all cracked out on sugar was impossible.  Everyone cried at some point in the evening including me!  Merry Christmas. 

Black Friday Crafts

The kids and I went to Michael's craft store on Black Friday and overflowed the cart with lots of Christmas crafts to keep us busy over the next couple of weeks.  Every window in our house is adorned with Christmas cheer.  We love love love this time of the year!

Molten Lava

Uncle P.J. and Eliza gave Currier this cool paper mache volcano kit for his birthday.  We erupted the bad boy over the weekend and it was a huge hit!  Currier loves little projects like this.   

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Snowflakes

I planned on making plain old-fashoined paper snowflakes with paper and scissors but ended up finding these foam snowflakes at Walmart.  The kids and I glued all sorts of cool stuff to them and hung them on our porch windows.  Cheap, simple, fun and festive!  

Jammies, Movies and Crafts

We skipped the gym today (Mama is sore and tired), stayed in our jammies all morning, watched Santa Claus is Coming to Town and decorated paper Christmas trees to adorn our windows.  Perfect!  

23 Days and Counting

This morning the kids and I made this paper chain to help them understand how many days until Santa arrives.  It's hanging over our dining room table and each morning we'll take a link off the chain.  As the chain gets shorter the closer it gets to Christmas! 

Thanksgiving Craft

I had the kids make this little Thanksgiving craft to give Papa on Thanksgiving.  I love doing little projects like this. 

I don't even mind the messy hands.

But I do get a little pissed off when I turn my back for a second and someone decides it's a good idea to dump purple paint all over herself, the chair, the wall and the floor.  Papa better appreciate this masterpiece.  Happy Thanksgiving! 

Spooky Haunted House

I promised Currier a fun Halloween themed activity every day this week.  This morning we made an edible haunted house.  By lunch time the candy had been eaten and the frosting licked.  This afternoon nobody napped.  It was scary!

Gift Bag Art

I had the kids paint plain gift bags with their artwork to jazz them up a bit.  Aren't you dying to receive a present from us now?

Handmade Thank You Cards

Today we made these little cuties as thank you cards. Currier and I really enjoyed doing this project together. I'm thinking we might make some more and use them as place cards for Thanksgiving dinner. I know, I really need to get a job!

Backyard Update

Our rocket ship birdhouse remains vacant despite stuffing it with popcorn and hanging a birdseed bell beside it. I think the birds would rather take up residence in a backyard not occupied by Bruco and Paolo. We do however have a new friend in our backyard. There is a giant banana spider that lives on our fence and we like to watch him spin his web.

Our little garden is coming along. The basil and tomatoes came in fast and furious, the cucumbers are catching up and the flowers never really took off. I'm surprised at Currier's interest in this. He checks his little garden every morning and got so excited to see his first tomato bloom. Stay tuned for fresh Insalata Caprese!

Blast Off

One of our projects this week was painting a rocket ship birdhouse. We hung it on a tree in our yard and have been anxiously waiting for a bird to move in. Nothing. This morning we decided to stuff it with popcorn. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Eggstravaganza

This week has been full of eggstra activities. Our neighbors put on a big Easter egg hunt in their yard for all the neighborhood children.

We dyed and painted Easter eggs.

We decorated foam Easter eggs to adorn our windows.

And we decorated Easter egg cookies. Phew... I'm eggshausted.

Pile of Pipe Cleaners

I had a huge pile of paperwork to go through and bills to pay (not to mention the hundreds of emails in my inbox!) so I gave Currier a big bag of pipe cleaners to keep him busy for an hour so I could get a few things done. This is how I found Rya...

If you look into her eyes, you can actually see her plotting against him!