Quarantining… a new normal.

Well, this year has definitely proved to be completely different then year that came before it. On the Eve of 2020, no one thought they would be told that they had to stay at home for the majority of the year, wearing masks when they leave the house or hunting for toilet paper like it was Carmen San Diego!

Our worlds, as we knew it, where turned upside down in March. We all had hopes that it wouldn’t last until the summer. Then summer came and went. Most playgrounds and pools were off limits for the kiddos due to the risk of contracting COVID-19. We hoped that when the kids started back at school, they would not have to go through the mess that was thrown at them at the end of the last school year.

Thankfully our school district gave the parents three choices for how we wanted our kids to learn this school year. Traditional, Hybrid (2 days in school and 3 days virtual) or full on Virtual. We chose to do Virtual for our TK student and Hybrid for our 3rd and 4th grader. This schedule worked best for our family. The start and stop times of the different schooling options that were chosen have made it possible for me to be able to help my kids if they do need help.

You’re probably wondering why I am allowing my kids go to school… well, we believe that our school has put forth amazing efforts to make sure that our kids are safe. They have smaller classes, desks spread apart with plastic walls put up around every desk, sanitation stations located all around the school. Face masks are required and they gave face shields out to the students as well. That way they can put them on when they are eating since you obviously can’t wear a mask while eating.

My kids are pretty comfortable with wearing face masks since we do take them out into public a couple of time a week. They know to wear masks properly at all times and wash their hands/sanitize whenever they can and they do too! Not on hand sanitizer station is passed without my kids using them.

I did get to take the kids to a playground when our county moved out of the Purple Tier back in September/October. My kids were masked up, and knew to be away from other kids that didn’t have their masks on and still being socially distanced while around other kids with masks. We also hand sanitized throughout the time that we were there. My kids were so excited to be able to play and just be kids again. It was so great to see them smiling with their eyes and giggling up a storm.

I started to do my oldest daughter’s Girl Scout meetings in person once we got the go ahead. The girls really enjoyed seeing each other, even know we still had to keep socially distanced. We have done 3 meetings in person now, but…

Our State Governor has placed use back into the Purple tier which means that a lot of things have to be canceled again. The schools will remain open but I had to switch my Girl Scout meetings back to virtual. I knew this was going to happen due to it being colder, but I was really hoping that it wouldn’t. I wanted the country to prove me wrong. Really crossing my fingers to get back out of this Purple Tier! I’d like to start turning my world back to the “old” way of doing things.

We are now just one month away from 2021…. lets see if we can pull our country together and make everything better. I’m not saying to cross your arms over your chest, nod your head and PooF… everything is better. I would just like to see people take things a little more seriously. Stop fighting against people and just stand together to over come this. My family would like to see their friends and relatives again.

Breaking in the New Year!

Hello everyone! I don’t know about you, but this year has started off pretty good for me so far! We had our 3rd little girl in August so everyday is awesome with her. It’s so fun getting to see her grow, learn new things, meet milestones and just do day to day things. So now we have Miss M, Miss S and another Miss S. But I will be referring to her as Baby S.

I agreed to be an Assistant Admin for Melody’s Makings Facebook Group. I am helping out with her Mystery Create-A-Longs. Her first one of the new year just started this past Tuesday. She has sent out the first segment and will be sending out the second one tomorrow. Everyone’s projects have been coming out very well! I love seeing everyone’s projects and seeing all of their guess as to what it is they are making.

Here is a link to her Facebook page so you can sign up for it and join a long if you want. She offers it in both a knit and crochet version. This months is free to join! She has gotten a lot of new people to sign up for it… and everyone seems to be having fun.

Melody’s Makings Facebook

I have a few projects that I am working on; two blankets, a dress and a pattern test for Sweet Potato 3. I will be sure to share them with you when I have everything finished. What a great start so far!

How has everyone else been doing so far to start?

Big Announcement here at Crafting Mommy of Two!

So, I am sure that you have all noticed that my posting has been rather slow for this past (almost) year. And well, I happen to have a good reason as to why. I have been holding onto this little tidbit of information because I wanted to announce it at the right time.

Well, I finally decide that this was as good time as any to finally tell you all! This Crafting Mommy of Two will transforming into a Crafting Mommy of THREE! Yup, you ready that correctly! I have been baking this little bundle of joy for the past nine months and she is due to arrive on the 15th of this month! Crazy, to think that she is due just a couple of days from now! Crazy! Crazy!! Crazy!!!

I had a super fun and awesome Mommy & Me: Maternity photo shoot with my good friend Courtenay Bickler! I just had to share some of the photos with you!

I just love all three of these pictures! It was so hard to go through and choose which pictures I wanted to keep from the ones that she took. Courtenay really captured the love that my girls and I have for each other as well as for the Tiny Dancer in my belly. We just can’t wait to meet her!

If you want to check out Courtenay’s work please check out her Website and Facebook Fan Page!

Courtenay Bickler Photography
Website / Facebook Fan Page

5 Easy Kid Wall Art Projects – Guest Post by Modernize

5 Easy Kid Wall Art Projects
By Jane Blanchard

Summer is around the corner and that means parents will likely hear the words, “I’m bored,” from their children. Do you want to keep them entertained, but also use their playtime for something practical? You can engage their imagination by letting them create artistic masterpieces and hang these projects on their bedroom walls. This will not only make your child’s room look unique, but also let you decorate on a budget.

Here are 5 easy kid wall art projects that you and your kids will definitely love.

Via Pinterest

 

Glittered Animal Canvases

Do your kids love animals and also like to paint? You can go to your local Michaels or Target and let your kids pick out plastic animal figures that they adore. You will also need glitter, glue, paint, hairspray and small canvases to mount their animals to the wall.

First, let the kids paint the canvases in the color of their choosing. While their canvas is drying, the kids can paint their animals and then shower glitter on their updated figurines. Once they are dry, sprinkle glitter on the animals and add hairspray so that the sparkles will stick. For the last step, glue the plastic figures on the canvas, allow it to dry and then mount them to the wall.

Via Papery and Cakery

 

Use clothes hangers to decorate your kid’s wall

You can use wooden hangers to spruce up your child’s wall. They can paint, draw or color on different pieces of paper – abstract art, butterflies or self-portraits. They can stick with a theme of princesses or racecars or you can offer to print pictures from the computer; this project is whatever you want to make it! Once the kids have decided on what they want to put on their wall, all you need to do is clip it to the hangers and mount it to the wall. They beauty of this wall art is your kids can change out their pictures whenever they please, without very little fuss.

Via Home Designing

 

Use crayons and a sturdy board/canvas to showcase their talents

If you have children, chances are there are crayons in your house. Your kids can reuse these old crayons and glue them together in a shape of their liking. Anything goes – a circle, heart or square. Grab a white board or canvas and have your child trace a their design of choice on the board. Once the tracing is finished, he or she can glue the crayons to form the shape. Afterwards, they can channel their inner Picasso and paint around the edges.

Via Architecture Art Designs

 

Use 3D Wall Art

If you are kids are too young to paint or color, but want to decorate the walls of their room, there are still options that are available. A new decorating trend to accessorize walls focuses on 3D art. You can buy origami birds, butterflies or flowers so the white wall can pop and also provide the right touch for your child’s room.

Via A Slice of Life

 

Personalize walls with letters

By using wooden letters and paint, children can decorate their room with the entire alphabet, use their initials or spell out their first name. These wooden letters and paint are available at craft stores everywhere. The kids can make designs on these letters, use a solid paint or stencil on some polka dots. Once the letters are dry, they are ready to mount on the wall.

Via Architecture Designs

 

For more DIY ideas, head to Modernize.com.

 

Star Wars Celebration – 2015

This one is a little late but I still had to write about it. Because my family and I just love going to all of these nerdy conventions and this one takes the cake!  We got to see a lot of really cool things Star Wars things. There were a lot of awesome cosplays too. But I didn’t have the camera, so I didn’t get to take any photos of them.

This is from the new movie!!

One thing that I loved was seeing all of the Storm Troopers just walking down the street casually like it was an every day occurrence! My kids loved seeing the remote control R2D2s rolling around. Miss S even got excited when she say anyone dressed as Darth Vader.

The first thing that we had to stop at for the kids was the Lego booth. Pretty unexplainable, I mean what kid doesn’t love playing with Legos?! While they were playing on the Lego tables, I was able to sneak away to get some photos of the Lego sculptures.

There were a couple more but I wasn’t able to get good pictures of them due to how many people were there.

The next booth area that we had to stop at was the Sideshow booth. We just love looking at their 6th Scale figures. Our favorite one coming out soon has got to be the little Jawas!

And of course I had to take a picture of this awesome Vader since I am pretty close to the guy who sculpted it.

We also had to snag a photo of our friends entry into the R2-Me2 competition.

We are a true Star Wars loving family. I will admit that they have only seen one of the actual Star Wars films. They have mostly watched Star Wars Rebels. But they are still hooked on it. Here are a bunch of my favorite photos from the Celebration.

 

Teacher & Class Christmas Gifts

This is my first year of ever having to do Christmas gifts for teachers and classmates. I didn’t want to just do the blah thing of buying all the teachers an ornament. So, I searched Pinterest and the internet until I found something like I liked. I ended up finding a blog that was written by a teacher and that said that one of the best things to give a teacher was something that they could actually use. So, I figured why not something in a jar or bottle that they could reuse. Hot Chocolate! Isn’t that something that always reminds us of the holidays? I know it does here for sure!

I ended up going to Michael’s to find something to put the hot chocolate in. I ended up finding these super cute Ashland glass bottles with cork tops! They were perfectly sized for some hot chocolate and some mini marshmallows! I grabbed four and away we went (I had Miss S with me since Miss M was in school)!

Click the image to go directly to the listing on Michael’s website!

When I got home I took out four packets of hot chocolate mix from our cabinet. I used Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate since that is all we drink in my house… and who could go wrong with that stuff! It’s the best (in my opinion of course)! Once I poured a packet in each of the glasses (and remember to wash/dry the glasses before adding any food to them), I got out the Kraft Jet-Puffed Mallow Bites and put in a layer of those. MMmmm so good right!? They fit perfectly into the bottles without having to worry about them not coming back out when her teachers went to make their hot cocoa.

I found a cute little poem on the internet for the labels… so I did a quick on up in Photoshop and printed out four of them. I used elastic string to attach them to the bottles. Then added a ribbon to the neck of the bottle.

Teacher gifts… Done!

 

 

For the kids gifts I got cellophane bags and put little treats and goodies in there before I added our special little surprise. My girls love putting out their little bags of Reindeer Food on the lawn on Christmas Eve… so we decided to make some for all of Miss M’s friends. These are super simple and easy to make. All you need is little zip-lock bags (got ours at Michael’s), Oats and big Glitter (color is totally up to you).

 

Once you have all of those things gathered together you can start putting them together. What I like doing is putting a little bit of the oats in the bag first.

Then you add enough glitter to be able to see it mix well in the bag.

After that you fill it up the rest of the way with oats and give it a little shake after you zip it up tight.

Now, you just need to attach the little Reindeer Food poem and you are done!

If anyone makes any of these cute Christmas crafts please feel free to share!

UPDATE – Sharing some love this Christmas Season

So, I had posted earlier this month about a little girl named Addie and her wish of Christmas cards to fill every room in her house. I am sure that everyone remembers that touching story (if you missed it click here). Well, I was contacted by someone at American Greetings and they informed me about their awesome contribution to making little Addie’s last Christmas the best that it could be! On their blog they set up a way that you can sign a card (free of charge) and American Greetings will put your signature on a card for you! This makes it even easier for you to do it, so please please please head to their site by clicking the image below and fill out the five question form!

Of course you are also welcome to send your own personal card instead of using American Greetings form by mailing them to:

Box 162, Fountain Green, UT 84632.

Either way please take a few seconds and spread some Holiday love this year.

Why is your poop blue!? Oh yeah, you ate a blue crayon…. ugh!

Yup, you read it right. Little Miss S eats crayons. She is four months away from turning 3… and yet she still eats crayons. It doesn’t happen while you are watching her or when her sister is sitting down coloring with her. Instead she takes a crayon and sneaks away to eat it. Then she comes over to me yelling “Mommy, Mommy, Look!” while sticking out her tongue. Then I tell her how she can get really sick eating crayons and put her in time out. You can then go ahead an repeat this process in a couple of days.

Lately, she been picking blue crayons which have in turn made her poop some very interesting colors. Today she decided to switch it up a bit and ate an orange crayon. Fantastic! Can’t wait to see if this one effects her bowl movements in any way, shape or form.

I am sure that there are other people out there that are having this problem… or at least I hope. I definitely don’t want to think that she has some weird kind of crayon eating fetish. Miss S doesn’t really eat the WHOLE crayon… just chews on the end of it enough to get a good amount of little itty bitty crayon pieces all over her tongue, teeth, face, neck, hands and whatever else she decides to rub them on.

I really hope that she figures out that crayons are made for coloring on paper and not on the inside of her tummy. I’m really not a big fan of trying to scrape all the little bits out of her mouth. I’m sure Miss M would like it too, since she has really taken a liking to drawing and writing.

Beach Sand Capsules

Living in Southern California, we go to a lot of beaches. I thought that it would be a cute idea to come up with a way to show which beaches that our family has played at. It took awhile to find the right kind of glass containers that I wanted to use to hold the sand. I didn’t want them to be too big but at the same time I wanted the to be big enough to hold shells that we find at the beach as well. That way the containers will be different and have their own personality to them.

When I was out with some friends we checked out The World Market. It was my first time in there… let me just tell you it’s a dangerous place! So many nice things in that store! Any who… while I was in there I just happen to come across these cute little glass spice containers. As you can see they fit everything perfectly! You can find them here: Stainless Steel Lidded Spice Jars

I just happen to have some sand from a new beach that we visited recently so, I will show you all how I put it all together!

The first thing I did was get some clear labels, from any store that has an office section, and wrote the name of the beach on it. I wanted to do this first so that I didn’t have to worry about left over sand getting stuck to the sticky side of the label.

Next you will want to take the lid off the container (mind had a plastic shaker top that I also had to remove, yours might not have them depending on what you decide to use).

Now you are ready to pour in your beach sand that you collected. I would suggest letting the sand dry because it’s easier to work with that way. You could try to add it in when it’s wet but I can’t guarantee that the sand will stay wet.

When you have the amount of sand that you want in your container (I’ll be getting more sand to add to mine when I go to that beach again… I’m not really happy with the amount of sand in it right now) you can add any shells, sea glass or anything else that you found on the beach and want to save).

The only thing that is left is to put the lid on and slap the label on!

Now I just have to collect some sand from the other beaches that we have gone to so we have the full set!

Daylight Savings Time = 1hr of Extra Sleep…. Not if your a parent of young kids!

Every year around the same time I start hearing people talk about that extra hour of sleep that they were going to get. At one time in my life I used to look forward to that hour of sleep also… But then comes the time when you have kids. They don’t seem to understand the concept of changing the clocks back an hour. So, for me… I dread it. Putting the clocks back for me, does not mean getting an extra hour of sleep. It’s losing an hour of sleep for at least a week while my kids adjust slowly to the idea that the time is not the time that they think it is. (Which reminds me, I have to teach them how to read a clock!)

You can try what ever you want to get them to stay in their beds longer then they usually do. But no matter what it never seems to make a difference. This year I put the kids to bed 1.5 hours later the night of. In the morning they woke up at 7 (according to the turned back clock). I was like awesome! I am triumphant (this year at least)!

Then comes the next day… I put them to bed at their regular time of 8pm since Miss M has school this morning. I set my alarm clock for 6:30am hoping to get a nice shower in before having to wake the kids up for school. Wonderful plan it was… until the girls woke me up at 6:15am. They didn’t understand that it was 6:15am in the morning… to their little personal alarm clocks in their little bodies it was 7:15am! Ugh… Guess it didn’t matter if I was triumphant yesterday…

I lost a nice hot shower to wake me up this chilly morning, all because of that dreaded Daylight Savings Time! I know that I am not alone either.

What are your tricks/tips on getting your kids used to the time changes?