In case you were wondering... Yes, DVDs make excellent mountains for climbing.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
A tisket a tasket...
a green and yellow basket.
Well I didn't buy any green or yellow baskets. I bought blue and brown ones!
I have an obsession with baskets. We moved into a house, and I bought baskets to hold all the little things. Then I bought baskets to hold the clothes. Then I bought more baskets and more baskets. I think there is a basket in nearly every room of our house.
Anyway, today's basket purchase has been a long time coming.
This week Bradley and I had a TON of errands to run, so we made it a fun day out together! We hit all the thrift shops in a 15 mile radius, and then went to lunch at Willamson Bros before his car seat nap. Things went really well till the last 30 seconds of lunch. All I did was calculate the tip and sign, but it was just long enough for Brad to tip his cup upside down and empty it into his lap. (Yes I had lunch by myself with my kiddo, I am crazy)
Now I've learned this lesson a few times - ALWAYS HAVE A BACK UP SET OF CLOTHES AND DIAPERS IN THE CAR. But of course I had nothing in the car, just a diaper in my bag.
So we proceeded to the backside of my Volvo where he was stripped from the waist down and wet-wiped off. Considering we still had a nap, Costco, Joannes, and one last Goodwill to go to, that backup set of clothes could have really come in handy.
Fast forward story to today, the solution to my naked baby = new basket! No really, it is a great idea!! I'm going to keep a basket in my car, that will from hence forth hold a backup set of clothes AND snacks, and maybe a flashlight and first aid kit cuz my car doesn't have those either.
See. Perfect plan.
Well I didn't buy any green or yellow baskets. I bought blue and brown ones!
I have an obsession with baskets. We moved into a house, and I bought baskets to hold all the little things. Then I bought baskets to hold the clothes. Then I bought more baskets and more baskets. I think there is a basket in nearly every room of our house.
Anyway, today's basket purchase has been a long time coming.
This week Bradley and I had a TON of errands to run, so we made it a fun day out together! We hit all the thrift shops in a 15 mile radius, and then went to lunch at Willamson Bros before his car seat nap. Things went really well till the last 30 seconds of lunch. All I did was calculate the tip and sign, but it was just long enough for Brad to tip his cup upside down and empty it into his lap. (Yes I had lunch by myself with my kiddo, I am crazy)
Now I've learned this lesson a few times - ALWAYS HAVE A BACK UP SET OF CLOTHES AND DIAPERS IN THE CAR. But of course I had nothing in the car, just a diaper in my bag.
So we proceeded to the backside of my Volvo where he was stripped from the waist down and wet-wiped off. Considering we still had a nap, Costco, Joannes, and one last Goodwill to go to, that backup set of clothes could have really come in handy.
Fast forward story to today, the solution to my naked baby = new basket! No really, it is a great idea!! I'm going to keep a basket in my car, that will from hence forth hold a backup set of clothes AND snacks, and maybe a flashlight and first aid kit cuz my car doesn't have those either.
See. Perfect plan.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Ikea
Ikea, my dear friend, thank you for making huge, cheap pieces of furniture that are not ugly and are fairly durable.
I don't know how you all have arranged your computer/family/craft rooms. But we have combined all three, and thanks to Ikea, now we can cram all the stuff each of those rooms needs into one huge bookshelf!
Now Brian, my dear hubby, insists that this bookshelf thing is way too big for this room. Aaaaand we may have to disassemble it to remove it from this room, but I think it fits perfectly! And clearly we need the storage.
The computer desk used to be in this little nook, but we converted it to a kid friendly space. It works perfectly! Any kid, including my own, who enters this room is drawn to this corner and all the cool things there are to do. Drawers to explore, dvd/vhs players to shove things in, old game systems to put cds in. Toys, boxes to climb on!
Ikea helped out with the white drawers in this area, I think everything else came from Bed Bath & Beyond while we were in college.
I don't know how you all have arranged your computer/family/craft rooms. But we have combined all three, and thanks to Ikea, now we can cram all the stuff each of those rooms needs into one huge bookshelf!
Ikea helped out with the white drawers in this area, I think everything else came from Bed Bath & Beyond while we were in college.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Helping Japan Pendants
Since the awful events that happened in Japan, I can't seem to un-glue myself from all the first hand viral videos of the tsunami, viewing how quickly the water rushed in the town, destroying lives. I can't imagine how long this is going to take to fix, but I do know that the humble people of Japan need help.
Stephanie decided to make a special pendant that says "Hope" both in English and Japanese to help show support for our friends in Japan. We will be donating 100% of the proceeds to the relief effort in Japan.
Stephanie decided to make a special pendant that says "Hope" both in English and Japanese to help show support for our friends in Japan. We will be donating 100% of the proceeds to the relief effort in Japan.
So If you are interesting in helping Japan and not sure how, this is a great way plus you will get your own pendant to show your support.Tell your friends and family, and lets try and help Japan as much as we can.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Healthy breakfast CAN taste yummy!
Breakfast is one of my favorite meals. Well, I guess I should say its one of my favorites when you actually get "breakfast food". None of this singular item choices: cereal or oatmeal or toast or eggs... If you are going to do breakfast, then do it right! "Do you want sausage or bacon?" Always BOTH! =)
But sometimes "doing it right", having all the fixin's and such, isn't very conducive to your waist line. So I have a solution! It fits both in the real breakfast food category, and healthy category!
But sometimes "doing it right", having all the fixin's and such, isn't very conducive to your waist line. So I have a solution! It fits both in the real breakfast food category, and healthy category!
Breakfast Burritos
1. Scrambled eggs
2. Cherry/grape tomatoes sliced in half
3. Chopped cilantro
4. Put it all on a wheat tortilla (or regular if you wish)
5. YUM
Super easy right? You could even make it more healthy if you want by using just egg whites. The cool thing about this though is, yes its healthy and its super awesome, but we eat it mostly because it tastes so dang good. I highly recommend it.
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| Can you tell that Deric's is the one on the left? |
Give it a try and see what you think! Happy Breakfast to ya!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Picasso Dogs
Last week we found a Color Wonder Crayola drawing pad and we have been in a drawing/dancing groove ever since! Well, Bradley mostly dances and I mostly draw so Bradley has music to dance to. Occasionally Brad will come over and request a crayon so he can add his artistic flair to the page.
I still need some work on my crayola skills.
Yesterday I happened upon an email Etsy sent me, with a link to a mini drawing workshop. Since I've been in a sketchy mood all week long, I tried it out
Mind you, my artistic skills mainly use the computer. Drawing has never been my strong point- as illustrated by my next few photos. But still! It was so fun!
The two exercises we did were called Picasso Dogs and I think the other was called Picasso Elephant. The photo above are the examples the instructor did/showed. And it looks super complicated but it isn't and I fully encourage you all- or ya'll depending on where you live, to try it out!
This is my dog. My friend said she couldn't see the dog in there, but the instructor said that was okay, so I don't mind. It is just so refreshing to make something silly and have fun with the fact that there is no right way! The instructions are all the same, but every piece will come out different!
Supplies needed are a piece of paper, two sizes pen or shapies, and 4 or 5 colored pencils. The instructions are simple for both exercises. They go something like, draw and eye, turn the page 90 degrees, draw and eye.
Anyways, I thought I would share this fun little exercise to keep your creative minds flowing! You absolutely don't have to be an artist or drawer to try, it is simple and actually designed for children. Bradley and I worked on this last one together, you can do it with your kids and let them have fun being creative!!
If you didn't catch it before, here is the link to the video! http://carlasonheim.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/etsy2.jpg
Bradley is quite talented for his age.
Yesterday I happened upon an email Etsy sent me, with a link to a mini drawing workshop. Since I've been in a sketchy mood all week long, I tried it out
Mind you, my artistic skills mainly use the computer. Drawing has never been my strong point- as illustrated by my next few photos. But still! It was so fun!
This is my dog. My friend said she couldn't see the dog in there, but the instructor said that was okay, so I don't mind. It is just so refreshing to make something silly and have fun with the fact that there is no right way! The instructions are all the same, but every piece will come out different!
Supplies needed are a piece of paper, two sizes pen or shapies, and 4 or 5 colored pencils. The instructions are simple for both exercises. They go something like, draw and eye, turn the page 90 degrees, draw and eye.
Anyways, I thought I would share this fun little exercise to keep your creative minds flowing! You absolutely don't have to be an artist or drawer to try, it is simple and actually designed for children. Bradley and I worked on this last one together, you can do it with your kids and let them have fun being creative!!
If you didn't catch it before, here is the link to the video! http://carlasonheim.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/etsy2.jpg
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sale Sale Sale
For two years now I have wanted to go to the infamous GA consignment sales. My friends have told me they are THE place to get good deals on 2nd round kid stuff. Last year my little guy was too little for me handle alone, so I missed out. The year before I just missed them alltogether.
As far as 2nd time stuff goes I'm always on the fence. I don't like giving my kid dirty, germy things, but I also don't like spending money. So consignment sales are a good halfway point for both my dislikes. Most of the big GA sales are jurried - so crappy broken toys and nasty soiled clothes don't make it to the sale. But most things are priced about half the original or less depending on quality and age. As far as the germs go I just lyscol the crap out of everything when I get home!!!
In heindsight I'm not sure I would have bought much with an infant, I'm less germ-a-phobic now.
I made a short list of "wants" that I thought were reasonable items to buy second hand. Then I went on amazon to find the brands that I liked and to get a current price range. Slides for example range from $50 to $200, I am not willing to spend that much yet, so a second hand slide is a good idea. Then I printed the list and brought it with me.
We arrived at opening, the first day. What a mad house! People had tied ropes to a laundry baskets and were dragging them across the floor shoving clothes and toys in left and right.
I went straight for the strollers. I found some okay ones, but not for the money and condition. So I began looking for the other items on my list. After 30 minutes or so I was done. As I said, I'm not too tolerant of 2nd hand stuff, it has to be good for me to buy it. So I didn't have much in my bag. Just a few Baby Einstein dvds for $5 each- good price. And a clean non smelly diaper pail for $4.
As far as 2nd time stuff goes I'm always on the fence. I don't like giving my kid dirty, germy things, but I also don't like spending money. So consignment sales are a good halfway point for both my dislikes. Most of the big GA sales are jurried - so crappy broken toys and nasty soiled clothes don't make it to the sale. But most things are priced about half the original or less depending on quality and age. As far as the germs go I just lyscol the crap out of everything when I get home!!!
In heindsight I'm not sure I would have bought much with an infant, I'm less germ-a-phobic now.
I made a short list of "wants" that I thought were reasonable items to buy second hand. Then I went on amazon to find the brands that I liked and to get a current price range. Slides for example range from $50 to $200, I am not willing to spend that much yet, so a second hand slide is a good idea. Then I printed the list and brought it with me.
We arrived at opening, the first day. What a mad house! People had tied ropes to a laundry baskets and were dragging them across the floor shoving clothes and toys in left and right.
I went straight for the strollers. I found some okay ones, but not for the money and condition. So I began looking for the other items on my list. After 30 minutes or so I was done. As I said, I'm not too tolerant of 2nd hand stuff, it has to be good for me to buy it. So I didn't have much in my bag. Just a few Baby Einstein dvds for $5 each- good price. And a clean non smelly diaper pail for $4.
I found my buddy with a huuuuge armfull of girl clothes. We went to the back and **ooooh** sorted everything. They had lined the floor with paper so that peole could lay out their things. That's why the crazies were shoving everything in their baskets!! SO my buddy went onto the boy clothes, and I went back to the toys.
In the end I think I did well. Space puzzel, mickey mouse puzzel, crayola color writer, four dvds, diaper pail, and two summer outfits that still had the tags on for .... $45. The dvds were the big bucks, but everything else was $4 or less!
All in all, I'm super excited for this weeks consignment sale! Hopefully I'll find a slide!
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