Summer Bucket List Final Stats...

Now that we've got a couple weeks of school under our belts, I think we can safely say that Summer is over. Sigh.

I wanted to go back and visit the Summer Bucket List we started way back last May.

We didn't get everything done, but we certainly had FUN! And it was really all about having something to do. A reason to not stay in our jammies all day (although, we had a few of those days, too!).

Here's a little tour of our Summer:

Playing Some Putt Putt

Scavenger Hunts around the Neighborhood

WATER table, guns, balloons...whatever!

Exploring a New Park...Storybook Island in Cedar Rapids, SD

We didn't make Giant Bubbles, but these dollar bin water guns were amazing!

Outside the Omaha Children's Museum

Lots of Swimming at the Pool

The boys made some DIY Moon Sand

Rock Painting...this one is Kat's masterpiece

Planted herbs in mini-pots

Checking out a new Spray Park

These are just some of the things we accomplished! As for the stuff we didn't get to...that's what next Summer is for!!!

Back to School Gift

Our days are starting to fall into our new routine! We've got a week of school under our belts and everyone is ready to start a new one!

A few days back I shared this post with some cute Back to School Ideas. I wanted to share our version of  the beverage cup from lisa storms.

We made two, actually, one for John's preK teacher and one for Louie's 3rd grade teacher. 

Here's a close up of the "flag". I used a regular note card and cut it all fancy (totally being sarcastic!). Then I wrote out the cute & pun-ny saying and had the boys sign their names.

The cups I found at JoAnn's. They come in an array of bright colors! I filled them up with single drink packets...Target Brand. Lemonade, Cherry Limeade and Peach Tea!

Here's the Bright Eyed & Bushy Tailed 3rd Grader ready for his First Day!

Back to School Night

Tonight was Back To School Night for our 3rd grader!

Where has the summer gone? Wasn't it just Memorial Day?

I'm always a little sad when school starts up. As a stay at home mom, during the school year it seems like I let myself get so busy. Summer is great to slow down. We don't have anywhere we have to be. We can wear our jammies all day if we want. Lots of craziness going on around here.

But I'm also a little happy when school starts up. Routine can be a good thing. Especially with an eight year old boy who has run out of constructive things to do with himself. I found myself saying (a LOT) this past week, "Go get a book. No. A chapter book. Now sit down. Read your book. No. Not out loud. No. Don't sit on your brother to read your book." His ability to follow more than one direction at a time went right out the window!

That being said, tomorrow is the big First Day! Tonight the school hosted an open house. Families come up, meet the teachers, drop off their supplies, see some friendly faces...good times! We found Louie's class room and his teacher greeted us. Then he had to find the desk with his name...in CURSIVE! Woo Hoo! Something new!

On each of the student's desk was a banana and a cute little letter. This is what I wanted to share with you all...I think it's so sweet!

Louie's teacher greets them and welcomes them to a new school year. She introduces herself. Gives info about where to meet tomorrow morning. I'll quote the rest...

"This year we will learn, pray, work, and play together as one family in Christ. I am here to help you learn to be a "MONKEY."

               Motivated

              hOnest

   understaNding

                    Knowledgeable

                   rEspectful

friendlY

Isn't that cute??? Louie thought the banana was great. And he cracked up at the idea of a teacher wanting them all to be Monkeys. Cheers to a Good Year!!!

Me Likey Monday!!! Back to School...

I haven't done Monday Features for about a month now. Bit of a Summer Break?

So I thought it would be appropriate to feature some great Back To School Ideas for kids and for their awesome teachers!

I'm leading with this fantastically simple yet cute idea from lisa storms! We did these for John's pre-school teacher and Louie's third grade teacher this year. I adapted the little flag to say, "Cheers to a year of quenching our thirst for knowledge!" and had the boys sign them. Big Hit!

Deck the Halls of Home with JOY has these beautifully clever vases! Nothing says "school-time" better than the yellow of some new Number 2s. This would be great to give a teacher, to to decorate your own home.

These make me smile! We LOVE a good popsicle craft around here. Silly Eagle Books made these adorable magnets. I love the points! Maybe personalize for your kids or their teacher...

How about a scholarly snack? Parties by Hardie shows us how to make snacking more colorful!

Have I mentioned my love of pencils??? The Blackberry Vine shares this smart way to share the Pencil Love. Make up a bunch for your child to share with his class!

I love everything about this idea from it is what it is! Sneak one into a lunch box for a sweet surprise!

I can't even begin to express how my kids are going to flip out when I make these as an after school snack! Inspiration found at Blonde Designs.

Bee in Our Bonnet put together these lovely First Aid for Teacher kits! Stock them with the essentials, paperclips, erasers, hand sanitizer, chocolate...!

This is STUNNING! via minieco I NEED one for myself...

With school back in full swing...the papers will be stacking up! Artwork, homework, A+ tests...you'll want to display it all! And Ana White has a great organizing solution. Go check it out!

Check them ALL out...and Happy Back To School!

Crochet Clippy Cuteness!

Say that 10 times fast!

I wanted to do a quick post on some of the Hair Cuteness I crocheted for Kat. The Little Lady is very into looking her best and within a matter of minutes of waking up she'll pat her hair and say, "Mine kippies at, Mama?" Which loosely translates to, "Put Something Cute In My Hair Right Now Or ELSE!"

I'm a little nervous about her teenage years...

Anyway! Here we go!

This cute flower was originally part of a headband pattern that I found at Ambassador Crochet. Kat's not a big fan of headbands, but I really liked the flower. I hot glued the giant yellow button in the center and then hot glued the whole flower to a clip.

Next I found these cute crochet bows at Crochet Spot. I whipped up lots of different colors, they're kind of addictive!!!

And...last but not least...another flower!

How cute is that??? I LOVE the wooden button! Very Sunflowery!

I made this flower using the pattern HERE at The Handmade Dress. Too cute!

I love short little projects like these. They don't take a lot of time and the end result is so very satisfying!!!

Mom's Of All Trades Project!

Hi There Everyone!

Are your kids back in school yet? I've got one down and one to go! John started pre-school last Thursday. Louie doesn't start until Wednesday. I'm not sure if Kat will love or hate her brothers being gone. Probably a bit of both...just like Mom!

So I'm still having trouble getting back into my bloggy groove! Today I'm taking it easy, though, and re-visiting a guest post I did for Mom's Of All Trades back in June.

Head HERE to the original post to find out how I made this cute little Hair Clip holder.

Easy Peasy!

I LOVE to join these Linky Parties!!!

Easiest Dress You'll Ever Sew!

When I was a little girl I loved summertime, because I could wear my stash of Sun Dresses!

So comfy! So girly!

Now I've got my own daughter to dress like a little mini me doll...er...to pass on the Sun Dress Love!

We were shopping at Wal-Mart back at the beginning of summer mainly to check out the crafty section. There are only two Wal-Marts left in town that carry fabric and the whole caboodle and so I drove my family 20 minutes out of the way to hit one!

I'm so glad I did, because they had this super cute Tinkerbell fabric. ALREADY shirred and hemmed! YaHoo! I didn't have my Little Ladies measurements on hand, so I stood her up in the cart and wrapped the fabric directly around her. Very professional.

This is so easy, I didn't even take photos. When we got home I re-wrapped her and pinned it to fit. You basically make an inside-out tube of the fabric by stitching up a side (or I did a back) seam. Then I measured the length she would need for straps and cut some ribbon I already had on hand. I stitched both straps into place. Turn it all pretty-side-out. Then I finished it up by stitching a button on the front of each strap.

Wanna See???

Easy Sun Dress Perfection. It makes her look ridiculously tall and grown up!

Oh. As I was doing this "photo shoot" our Middle One got into a huff about me not EVER taking HIS picture or blogging about HIM. So here is Mister-In-The-Middle...posing in his hand-me-down jammies.

First stop...Living Room Sofa Runway. Next stop...Cover of Fashion Magazine.

Ummmm...Enter Lame No-Blogging Excuse!

Any excuse I could give for a three week absence would be totally lame.

But I'd like to point a big finger at Pinterest!

Do you all Pin? 

If you do, come follow me. I'll follow you back! If you don't and want to jump on the band wagon, I'll hook you up with an invite! 

Whoa, Baby!

I heart it will all my big puffy heart! A billion Greater Than 3's!

However. My adorable hubs said to me last night, "Oh. You're on Pinterest again. When was your last blog post?" In his cute and innocently helpful tone. Grrrrr. I hate when he's right!

So I hope you all aren't mad at me! Maybe a 'been there done that' sort of thing? To make it up...I've got a project to share that I found (drum roll) on Pinterest!!!

Milk Glass on a Dollar Store Budget!

Love, Love, LOVE it!!! I found the idea and pinned it HERE on my board. The original link is from the awesome blog, Keep It Simple, Sister . I'm not sure about Pin / Blog / Link protocol...so I thought I'd include both! (any thoughts or ideas on this would be greatly appreciated!).

The vase is plastic...from the Dollar Tree. Yep. A whole dollar. Then I spray painted the inside white. Yep. That's it! Spray painting the inside keeps the shiny glassy look on the outside. And, you're done!

Here's a close up of the detail on the vase! I'm pretty excited with the end result!

It was so inexpensive and quick to do...now I have extra time to waste on Pinterest!!!