Happy Heart Day!!!

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends!!!!
I've never been much of a Valentine's Day fan but that doesn't mean I don't get into the Heart Day spirit.  I'm all about spreading the love today!  I hope everyone takes time out of their busy day to tell the special people in their lives that you love them time!!!
Here's one of my 3 Valentine loves

Em's dr's appointment took ALOT longer than I imagined so I didn't make it back to Noah's school for his Valentine's Day party :(   I hope all the kids like the heart shaped crayons I made.  They were fairly easy to make and would have been so much easier if I had a ton of broken crayons without the wrappers laying around the house.  Oh well. Here's how to make them:

Unwrap the crayons and break them into little pieces.  Noah helped me break all the crayons.  I still have wax under my nails from trying to rip the wrappers off.  {Note to readers....try to pay someone to do this. Not only will it save your nails, you won't look crazy with colored junk under your nails}

Next, put some broken pieces into silicone baking molds.  I forgot to take a pic of this step.
Bake them for 10-15 minutes at 275 degrees. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.  If you don't, your hearts will break (hahaha) when you try to remove it from the mold.

Remove them from the mold and voila!  I packaged them in treat bags and put each Valentine that Noah wrote out in the bag.  Nice, simple, and cheap Valentine's gift for the kiddos!

 Now it's off to a Valentine's fro yo date!!!  Can't wait!
Enjoy your love filled day!!!
 

Where do we (I) go from here?

Man am I not motivated for anything.  I don't want to do the laundry, load the dishwasher, cook dinner, nothing.  This has been a running theme with me for a while now.  Actually I think it's all gone downhill since my hospitalization/surgery.  Or maybe even longer than that.  I'm just exhausted.

But exhaustion is no longer an excuse (I hear you chuckling since I've said that, oh, a million times already).  I'm mentally ready to get back on track.  These are the areas I'm ready to work on:
Marriage
I had posted before how hard things have been for the Hubs and I.  After coming to a realization that I can't blame him for everything that's wrong with us, things have been getting so much better.  We've been spending more time together, even if it's just watching our new favorite TV shows (I have a few good ones but that's for another day).  I feel like things are less stressed between us and we're headed back to the land of actually enjoying each other.  But it's still a work in progress.
Family
My new work schedule is definitely helping in this arena.  I just love being home with the fam on the weekends.  I'm getting to do so much more than when I had to work 2 weekends in a row.  However, this also means that our weekends are jam-packed with stuff to do, people to see.  While this is definitely strengthening us as a family, I really look forward to the weekends where we have nothing to do or when it's just the 4 of us, although I've realized how important it is to spend time with family.  My grandpa taught me that.
Kids
My kids are my world.  I just don't know where I'd be without them.  I truly know that I was put on this Earth to be their Mommy.  But there are so many days where I feel like I'm failing them.  Do they watch too much TV? Yes. Do they play outside enough? No. Do I let them get away with too much? Yes. Am I working with Emmy and her talking enough? No. Should I be more strict with them? Yes. Should I be forcing Noah to ride his bike? Probably.  Am I encouraging their creativity enough? No. I think this is a struggle that every parent (not just Mommies) deal with every day.  I really want to be better, not just because they need me to be but because I need me to be.  Last night we had such a great time making little owls.  It only took 10 minutes but my kids loved it (so did I) and now they are so proud of what they've created.  Why am I not doing this more often?
Food
Sounds really weird to be on the list of things to work on but it is.  We are in a food rut in my house.  Same meals week in, week out.  Granted we're not the most adventurous eaters but it's getting boring.  I'm a pretty picky eater, always have been.  But as I'm getting older, I'm getting better.  Em's a great eater.  She'll eat almost anything.  Noah's hit or miss.  He's very finicky but with him, it's all about getting him to actually eat.  He has to eat on his terms, not ours.  I think we may have encouraged his independent, strong willed side a little too much.  The Hubs is a picky eater no matter what he says.  Our problem is everything he likes, I don't like.  Finding the happy middle is the issue.  My goal is to find new, exciting dishes, that are also healthy, to incorporate into our lives.
Me
This is a HUGE area I need to work on.  I have to get back on track with exercise.  I have to get back on track with weight loss.  More importantly, I have to work on liking the Me that I am right now.  All too often I focus on all the things I want to change about me.  Very rarely do I focus on the things that I like about myself.  This is all about embracing who I am, not who I think I'm supposed to be.  This is also going to be really hard.  But this I have to do in order to succeed at improving any of the other areas in my life that I want to work on.

So here's to hard work, sweat, tears, love, cooking, and crazy looking owls we made together!!!

Noah made the 2 owls on the outside and Em made the owls in the middle with some help (well more help on the brown and yellow one obviously)

What a Great Day!

I almost changed the title to this post because it reminded me so much of The Fresh Beat Band.....a crazy show on Nick Jr that my daughter is OBSESSED with (the songs are really catchy though...don't tell anyone I said that).  But I couldn't change it because that's exactly what today was...a great day!

I knew it was going to be good when I opened my inbox and found an email from Shutterfly for a free photo book.  For those who don't know, I absolutely love Shutterfly.  I love everything about it.  I love their cards.  I love their photo books.  I love their photo share sites.  I should be a poster child for them! (and I am, by no means, getting any compensation for saying this.  I just love Shutterfly this much!)  My creative juices started flowing and I instantly started planning out an NYC photo book! 

The day continued to get better when I got to Noah's school.  The aide in his PreK class is a photographer.  She's actually the photographer we used for our wedding.  She did all the yearbook pictures for the school.  I was talking to Noah's teacher and she yelled over, "Want to see the cutest picture?" I, of course, answered with a sassy reply "Oh you have a picture of me?"  When she showed me Noah's picture, I was in love.  His school picture is absolutely amazing.  He's never smiled as big and bright as he did for this picture.  He looks absolutely perfect.  She was so thrilled when she saw his prints that she knew she had to show me herself.  It's amazing how a great picture of your child can make your entire day that much better!  

I've been working on our photo book all day.  Yes, I said all day.  Not because it's hard but because the program has been a little slow.  But slowness will not tamper with my happiness.  The book is absolutely awesome!  I'm so excited to actually have it!  I think it's going to be a great way to remember and cherish our trip.  And it will look awesome next to the photo book of our honeymoon!

But that's not all!  We took the kids out for a little shopping tonight.  We stopped at Bath and Body Works for the awesome owl Wallflowers I posted yesterday.  While we were there, the Hubs found me a few more owl items to add to my collection and we found a new scent for the fall.  I wanted a pumpkin scent and the Hubs only likes caramel.  What did we find?  Pumpkin Caramel Latte!!!!  OMG it's fabulous.  So we are now Pumpkin Caramel Latte'd out!  Its our hand soap in the bathroom.  It's in our wallflowers in a couple rooms.  It's a great scent and I'm just thankful the Hubs loves it too! 

Oh but the fun doesn't stop there!  Oh no it doesn't!  I am proud to say I finally own a hot glue gun!  I am so excited over this little bad boy.  There will be crafting-o-plenty going on in the Crimella house!  I can't wait!!!

Tomorrow will be a continuation of the fun!  I'm finally getting a new bedset for our bed.  Ours is a hot mess right now.  And I'll be using coupons so its even more exciting!  And my USF Bulls take the field again!  Looking for win #3 tomorrow against FAMU.  Wish I was going to the game so I could watch the halftime show.  FAMU's band is out of this world!!!

But all that excitement makes for one tired girlie.  I hope everyone had as great a day as I did and have an even better weekend!!!

My Craft Wish List

I feel my DIY juices flowing!!!  I have found so many ideas on Pinterest of things I had planned on buying in stores that I can make myself...and save some moolah!!!  I've planned out 2 teacher gifts already, just need reasons to give them (or reasons to tell the Hubs so I can buy the supplies...love you Hubs!!!), I've already picked out potential Christmas gifts to make, and I've found so many tutorials for apothecary jars.  I have been planning a stellar Christmas decoration that I cannot wait to share with all of you for months now and all I needed were the jars.  Now I can make millions of them for half the amount of money I was willing to spend to buy them.  Look how thrifty I've become!!!

So here's just a few things I need to get all of this underway:
1. Hot glue gun.  I don't know how I've survived my adulthood without one.  And come to think of it, I think my mom always had one growing up.  Why didn't I ever get one?
2. E-6000 and Gorilla glue.  Can't glue stuff together without this (obviously when I can't use the above mentioned hot glue gun)
3. Chalkboard paint.  Any ideas about making it yourself?  I've seen a couple DIY recipes but is it better to just buy it?
4. Mason jars.  I just love them in general but I didn't realize they had so many uses!
5. A basic sewing kit.  I don't even own a needle.  Not a one.  I have tons of scrapbooking supplies and tons of ribbon but no needle and thread.  Ultimately I want a sewing machine but we'll have to work up to that. I have huge aspirations of making my own scrub tops and making dresses for Emmy
6. Buttons.  Again, I never realized the unlimited uses buttons had.  I always get rid of the extras on my clothes.  You can use buttons on anything!!!
7. Ribbon.  I have a little stash going but I need more.  Plus Emmy's hair is getting longer so soon I will be putting ribbons around her ponytails.  I also want to make hair clips for her so they are a must.
8. Fabric.  I think I need to start a fabric collection.  Not yards and yards of it but scraps of random fabrics.

That would be a great start.  I have a real desire for a Cricut machine or a Silhouette.  I love the idea of being able to cut your own diecuts and wording for scrapbooks but I really want to be able to cut vinyl.  I have so many ideas for vinyl. 

I can't wait to get crafty and of course, share it all with you! 

In non-crafting news, we took Noah to Disney on Ice last night and had a blast!  It was an awesome show and Noah (and Mommy) loved it.  Here's a pic of me and my lil man.  This is also the first time I've worn real pants in 2 weeks.  Let me tell you...after about an hour of having the button rub my incision, I was ready for my sweats.  I may or may not have had them unbuttoned during the entire performance!

I can't believe how grown up he is now!

Hope everyone is having a good football Saturday!  The Hubs's Gators won and my USF Bulls won!!!  GO BULLS!!!

    

We appreciate Teachers in our house!

Happy Teachers Appreciation week to all the teachers out there. Noah's school had a very special teachers week this week that we participated in. I might have gone a little overboard but why not? These special people are shaping my 4 year old (and dealing with his tantrums). I was really bad about taking pics of each day's gifts so I'll recap as best as possible.

Day 1: How You Help Us Grow
This day Noah was supposed to bring in flowers, a plant or something for the garden. I had seen these great seed packet wrap-arounds over at Hello, Good Gravy! and knew I had to use them. Well, when it came time for it, I never printed them out. (we don't have a printer at our house....shocking I know...how do I survive?) I forgot to send them to the Hubs so he could print them out for me. So I improvised. I made my own with the same little saying...not as cute but works all the same. I placed the seed packet in a clay flower pot and there you go....2 flower gifts.

Day 2: Take A Moment to Relax
This day was all about the teacher's favorite hobby. Noah's teacher loves the beach and playing sports outside. The aide in his class loves reading and cross stiching. I found a cute straw tote in Target's Dollar Section (for $2.50 but she's worth it), tossed in a cute beach towel, a pair of flip flops and some tanning oil. Perfect little beach pack! I actually wanted to keep it but I didn't. For his aide, I found a really cute cross stich kit that said "Laughter is an instant vacation" How true that is!!! I also put in a really nice bookmark. I forget the quote on it but again, I thought about keeping it.

Day 3: Teachers are especially SWEET
You guessed it....candy day! I knew what Noah's teachers' favorite candies were but I thought I'd make something fun for all the faculty and staff of the school. I made mocha truffles for Christmas gifts 2 years ago and they were a big hit. So I decided to make them for the teachers. How could the combination of chocolate and coffee be a bad idea?  They are super rich though...like diabetic coma rich.  But they are yummy!  I was making them late at night and got tired so they ended up being HUGE truffles but I hear they are the talk of the school, even 3 days later!  The recipe is super easy.  I haven't figured out how to appropriately chocolate coat anything so mine didn't look as pretty as the picture with the recipe.  But really, you should make them.  They're awesome!!!

These are NOT mine.  These are from the recipe and are what mine were supposed to look like if I could correctly dip things in chocolate

Day 4: We Flip over our Teachers
This is the day I am most proud of myself!  For this day,  we were supposed to bring in a pair of flip flops or anything that has to do with flip flops. Now PreK has 16 kids.  There was a potential for them to receive 16 pairs of flip flops.  Granted Noah's teacher LOVES flip flops, I wanted to be a little different.  The Hubs and I found the greatest gift on the entire planet (and this one wins the best flip flop gift in the entire school)



Flip Flop Wine

 I about fell over!  How perfect is flipflop wine for flip flop day?!?!?!  And I just learned today (when I was looking for this pic) that flipflop wines partners with Soles4Souls.  It's an organization that provides shoes (new or gently worn) to people who are in need all over the world. I also learned that flipflop wines will donate 1 pair of shoes for every bottle of wine sold in the first year.  So I donated 2 pairs of shoes to a person in need.  How awesome is that!?!?

Day 5: Our Teachers are Special
This is the wrap up of Teachers Week.  We were to bring in something in her favorite color or something that every teacher can use.  His teacher's favorite colors are pink and black and the aide's favorite color is blue.  I had seen this amazing idea over at eighteen25 a long time ago and I just had to make them for this week!  I found office supplies in pink and blue (and purple) and ran with it.  I actually took pictures of this project so here is the final result!!!

The finished products

A view of the inside.  They are exactly the same except everything that's pink in this one is blue in the other one

They loved their boxes and loved their teacher week.  I credit them for how much Noah's grown over the past year.  He's adjusting to routines, learning to follow the rules, he can write his entire alphabet and is already spelling words on his own, and he's learning about God, Jesus, and his Catholic faith. 

Thank you so much to the teachers at his school for being wonderful angels in our lives!!!