A neat website...

If any of you are looking for a fun website for chores then check out handipoints.com !

It is a neat interactive site that can be customized per child with printable chore charts. Just

something that might make your life a little easier!

The tea party....

was a pretty frugal adventure. It all cost around $35.00. So I was pleased with the end result and the price tag. I think it is something my dear daughter will remember for a long time!

The complete table set for 7 little girls. All the dishes were purchased at Salvation Army at their 1/2 off day!

The place mats were made from scrapbooking paper. Each girl was able to take home her tea cup in place of a goody bag!

I was so excited to find these white plates. I got 2 for $1.00. They have little predrilled holes to accent with ribbon! SO cute!

These individual cupcake holders are my absolute favorite thing about the whole table. They were so easy to make and they turned out so cute. Notice the little eggs underneath the glass! If I had to do it again I would add a little brown raffia to make a nest!

Dear sweet 6 year old!

For the activity portion of the day we had bubble wands and...

bouquet making and...

a 2 year old very proud of herself and...

decoupage wall letters!

All and all a very wonderful day!

fun stuff

This past Christmas I had fun making a lot of our gifts. One gift that I really had fun making was a bag for my nephew! I used my nifty embroidering machine to put his name on top of the bag and then I chose a special picture for the front.

The reason this picture is so special is because my nephew loves Sesame Street and because once upon a time this picture was on the front of a shirt that my sister and I both remember wearing. This past summer my mom dug tons of stuff memorabilia out of her trunks at home and told us to take what we wanted. Well, a couple of things held fond memories for both of us. This shirt was one of them. First off it was made of polyester - definitely a 70's icon and second we both remembered loving the picture on the front of our coolest shirt! Anyway, she ended up with the shirt.

A cute picture of my nephew opening his bag and Toy Story 2 DVD!

When we were on our return trip from visiting with my parents my daughter spotted the shirt in the back and said, "I thought Aunt Rebecca got that shirt!" I was surprised to have it and that she had tucked it in among my things. When I got home I knew I wanted to pass it back someway and thus my nephew's Christmas present was born! It is fun to have a sister to share such fun things with.

Sometimes they need a little idea...

My DD had a friend over to spend the night tonight. So this afternoon they got together and were squealing with delight at being able to spend the WHOLE night together. They started off getting DF settled in and looking at DD's collection of dolls. Then they switched to a game and then an hour or so outside.

Before long, the whole, I'm bored - what can we do now? MOM, what can we do now, started! At first I said, "Now DD, you don't have DF over every day, I'm sure you can think of something to do!" A little bit later I heard a little whining and "Nooooo, I don't want to play that."

So I decided to give them a little structure to play with. I went outside and sat all 4 kids in a circle with 2 year old on my lap. Then I made up a story of a crew of 4 children and a tag along 2 year old who became stranded on a desert island. They needed to create the basics of survival: shelter, food, water, and fire! Now if they were to survive they needed to start! They were off, they used the soccer goal to create the frame of their shelter, they picked lemons from the tree for their food, "the survivor fairy" gave them bottles of water, and they created a fire ring complete with crayon colored flames. They have been at it for about 3 hours now and their is no end in sight. It is starting to get dusky, but they are begging to please eat their dinner in front of their "fire pit". I guess I better go round up some flashlights!

The bonus is that 2 year old DD has been so enthralled with their water bottles. They have been putting them in their shelter and they get a little dirty, so 2 yo DD goes outside and collects a water bottle then brings it inside and washes it off in the sink. She then goes outside and finds another one and the cycle continues, she is a little OCD like that! Putting the step stool in front of the sink has made her life! Not sure if it has enhanced mine or not, but she loves it.

They are having such a fun time, I think they just needed a little jump start! Well I better go round up some grub and flashlights!