mommypalooza™ ~ a daily dose of mommy mayhem.

Thirst-Quenching Teacher Appreciation Gift

It's Teacher Appreciation Week!  One of the things I love about my kids' school is that the PTO puts together a list every year of each teacher's "favorites" list.  Teachers are asked to indicate what their favorites are in several categories:  soft drink, flowers, candy, team to root for, restaurant, etc.  So, this week the kids and I have been using that list to come up with different treats for their teachers.  

Disney Family Deals is now part of Spoonful.com

    

One of my favorite sources for crafts, fun recipes, and seasonal fun stuff -- Spoonful.com -- will now feature great deals from Diney Family Deals!

If you haven't already checked out Spoonful, you should!  It's Disney's newest site for families looking for activities, crafts, recipes, party ideas, and more.  My 3 year-old loves the coloring sheets offered there, especially this Jake and the Neverland Pirates coloring sheet.

12 fun ways to celebrate 12-12-12 with your kids!

It's something that will happen this Wednesday and then won't again in our lifetime.  12-12-12 {a.k.a., Day of the Dozen}, or December 12, 2012 will be here this week and because I'm a mom who thinks any occasion is a great occasion to have treats and celebrate with the kids, this date will be no different.

I am sure there are countless great ideas out there and I'd love to have yours!  How do you plan on commemorating this once-a-century date with your kids?  Here are a few ideas I came up with:

1. Fill-a-dozen Surprise - Take an egg carton and fill each compartment with a fun treat, note, or surprise!  Kids love little treats like this and think "inexpensive".  Something as simple as a mint or sticker will suffice.  The joy is in discovering what awaits them!
2. Make your own 12-topping pizza - Make it a homemade pizza night and offer up 12 different toppings for kids to choose from.  Include different kinds of cheeses, veggies, sauces, etc.  The possibilities are endless!
3. I love you by the dozens - Write your kiddo a poem or note listing 12 reasons you think they rock!  They'll love the praise and you'll love making them feel special commemorating this special day!
4. A dozen faces - Make a collage {either in print or digital} of 12 fun faces of your kids.  If you have a 12 year-old, what a fun thing to include a pic from each year!
5. Snacks by the dozen - Create a fun snack mix for your kids by taking a small baggie and including 12 different snacky items.  I did something similar to this to celebrate 100 days of school last year.  For example, 12 Cheerios, 12 Chex mix squares, 12 marshmallows, 12 raisins... you get the idea!  Super fun to make AND eat!
6. Books by the dozen - Pick out and make a stack of 12 fun books that you plan to read throughout the day with your kids.  Have fun reading throughout the day and keeping track of each one by number!
7. Bake-a-dozen - Bake a dozen cookies!! This is a no-brainer!  And at this time of year, what's not to love about baking?  You could even bake 2 dozen - keep 12 and give 12 away to a friend or neighbor.
8. Dozens of math facts - Try one of these fun learning activities to celebrate Dozen Day!  Thanks, LaSota's Little Learners!
9. Build by the dozen - Use 12 blocks, LEGOs, or other objects to build a tower or something creative.
10. A dozen moves - Have some indoor excercise or dancing fun by doing 12 somersaults, 12 jumping jacks, or 12 push-ups, etc.  This is a great way to work on gross motor and counting skills with your kids.
11. Insta-dozen - Take 12 photos throughout the day.  And then, of course, share them on Instagram.  'Nuff said!
12. Paint by 12 - Paint, draw, or color a picture with 12 objects.  For example, 12 stars in the sky, 12 fish in the sea, 12 apples on a tree, etc.  You get the idea.

So, what fun ideas do YOU have to celebrate this special day and make it fun?

Halloween Wreath with Orange Pumpkin Lights

I made a wreath for our front door this Halloween season.  I actually used a black, glittery, viney wreath that I've had in my Halloween stash for quite some time. Since it's plain black with no embellishments, I knew that I wanted to add just a little something to it that would make it look festive for passers-by.

Enter my LED pumpkin lights that I picked up at Target on sale for around $8 recently.  They are battery operated and the single strand was just enough to use for the entire circumference of the wreath.  I love that the wreath looks great during the daytime with its cute smiling pumpkin faces greeting you.

But the kids and I especially love the wreath at night!

See?! It's perfectly Halloween-y without being too creepy.  My only complaint is that I wish this pack of LED lights had a timer function because I have been known to leave it on overnight on accident.  Oops.

This project took me just minutes to pull together and I love the result.  So when you are out trick-or-treating, come look for this door - we'll have candy!

{DIY} Make a pen loop for your paper planner

I am SO totally one of those old-school peeps who still uses a paper planner/calendar to keep my family's busy schedule on pace and running smoothly.  I know, I know, I'm a dinosaur!  As much as I love my tech and what a fan of it I am, I just cannot relinquish control of my appointments and schedules over to a non-human device.

As you can see, there is NO spot to store a pen or pencil in this spiral-bound planner.  I used to have the perfect mechanical pencil that fit nicely into the spiral coil part without the eraser sticking straight out of it too much.  But, my son recently lost it - my favorite mechanical pencil - and I haven't been able to find another one just like it anywhere.  So, I recently came up with the idea to make my own pencil loop for the cover and guess what?  It turned out great!

First, I visited my dungeon of a basement to pilfer through my craft supplies to see what I could rig up to use.  I stumbled across one my ribbon tackle boxes and searched for some nice ribbon that would work easily.

Once I found something that would work {like this nice colorful ribbon}, I cut it into about a 3-inch piece.  I knew I wouldn't need too much since it would just be made into a loop anyway.  Then, I took my hot glue gun and glued down one side down onto the inside cover of my planner.  I looped it back around and glued the other end of the ribbon onto itself on the end that was already glued down.

The end result was a cute and functional loop on the inside cover of my planner which could hold either a mechanical pencil or pen so that I don't have to resort to always digging around in my purse for something!  I'm loving it!

So, my question for you is:  Do you still use a paper planner or calendar? Why or why not?  {And please tell me I am not the only one!}

My Sister's Baby Shower: Shades of Gray, Yellow, and White

My mother and I hosted a relaxing and fun (and oh-so-pretty, if I do say so myself) baby shower for my sister this past weekend.

She is due officially on June 16th but I am personally hoping it's any day now!  Knowing that she's not a lover of all things pink, coupled with the fact that she's having a girl, I knew I had my work cut out for me with regard to the theme. 

I decided to put togther some ideas based on other ideas I've seen and read about.  The result was something very stylish, hip, modern, and yet still somewhat girly.

This was what the front door was decorated like to greet all of the arriving guests.  I am just so in love with paper lanterns right now.  The white and yellow ones are from Party City and that cute gray with white polka dots one is from one of my new favorite online stores, Polka Dot Market.  I love their great selection and flat rate $5 shipping!  Yippee for new fun online stores!

And, more fun lanterns in the archway to the right as you enter my mom's house.  I love how festive they are and how easy it is to liven up any space with them.  I'm also super stoked they collapse down flat again so that I can take them back home with me in my suitcase and use them again for entertaining.

I'm not sure where I got the idea for these "bonjour bebe" paper doilies, but I know it was somewhere online.  They came out really cute and it was a nice touch to the room.  My brother-in-law is French and he and my sister moved back to the US from Paris just a little over a year ago, so I knew I wanted to incorporate some fun Parisian theme into the baby shower.  These doily decorations were easy and inexpensive to make and hang.

This is a view of the tablescape.  That fun yellow fringe garland is also from Polka Dot Market.  I ordered it not knowing how I'd use it but love what it adds to the table with the simple tealights.  We served pecan & cranberry chicken salad sandwiches (from Sam's deli) and I made simple cucumber & cream cheese sammies too.  Also, since the fruit in Texas is amazing we had an assortment of pineapple, watermelon, grapes, and strawberries.  You can also never really go wrong with cream puffs, so we included those too!

Of course, what's more French than croissants and Nutella?  Yep, surprise, surprise that a party I hosted had Nutella!  So divine!

A close up of the sweet and juicy fruit assortment!  The pineapple was to die for!  Just sayin'.

Along with sweet tea (of course!) we served a fruity, zesty party punch.  It was delicious and refreshing!

Our "Guess the Poop" game was loads of fun!  I picked up these cute little diapers at Party City for $6.99 and bought 5 candy bars.  Then, my mom and I labeled each of the diapers on the back with a unique sticker and literally smeared part of a different candy bar in each one of them.  The guests then had to write down their guesses of which candy bar was in each of the diapers.  It was pretty friggin' funny watching them open each diaper and try and guess.

Yes, some did resort to tasting and smelling!  Ewww!

Hmmm.....even my sister was having trouble with this game.  Thankfully breast milk poop is a lot more tolerable than crushed up candy bars!

 

And then it was time for the real belly laughs.  The ol' toilet-paper-square-measuring game.  Clearly my mom overestimated how big my sister's belly really is!  But it made for good laughs.

For the record, she was 11 squares of toilet paper.

In keeping with the French theme, I opted to have petit four cakes made instead of a big sheet cake.  I am SO excited at how they turned out!

They were not only beautiful but delicious too!  I'd found this bakery online and given the owner my color scheme and theme idea and she came up with the perfect sweet treat!  I couldn't have been happier.

My sister received so many cute things for the baby!  For starters, I loooove this cute little onesie that reads "Hola"! So Texas!

This baby is going to also have a great little library of books to choose from!  These books she received even came with coordinating stuffed animals!  Too cute!

These were the favors given to each guest. Cute little frosted mini takeout containers filled with animal crackers.  I used the Martha Stewart elephant craft punch on some Bazzill gray cardstock and used a foam square to adhere it to a piece of white cardstock punched with a round scallop punch tool.  Then I tied the cutest yellow with white polka dots ribbon around the entire thing. 

I'd hoped to write a cute message on each of them but didn't have enough time!  I am still pleased with how they turned out.  I just love this color combination together, especially for a refreshing take on a girl baby shower.

My sis and me. Isn't she a ravishing prego gal?   I love that I was able to celebrate this special day with her and am BEYOND excited she is making me an aunt with her little blessing! 

{DIY Video}: Craft a Robot from Recyclable Materials

I have the most amazingly imaginative 8 1/2 year-old son.  So proud of a fun announcement he has coming soon, but in the meantime, check out the crafty creation he wanted to share with the world!

This is a great idea to add to your Summer Fun List as well! Enjoy!

 

 

Crafty robot-maker also suggests you can personalize your robot any way you like! Think: pom-poms secured with glue dots, pipe cleaner antennae, foamies or even the top of the water bottle that you cut off and use that as a hat! The possibilities are endless!

 

video and photo shot in HD with my Sony NEX-5

Wacky hats to celebrate Dr. Seuss!

The kids' school is celebrating Dr. Seuss this week by having the kids wear wacky and fun hats & socks on Friday.  After going through our dress up bins down in our playroom to see what they could come up with, my oldest suggested making them out of a paper grocery bag, as we've done in previous years at the arts & crafts tent at our favorite family festival.

So, I went out to the garage where I store all of our paper grocery bags and grabbed a couple.  I busted out the craft bin we have stored in our basement.  It holds foamies, feathers, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom-poms and more good kiddie craft fun!  I spread it all out on our dining room table and let them go to work!  Half an hour later, they had these:

And of course my little one had to get in there with his cute Tigger hat!  Monkey see, monkey do. The kids even decorated the backs of the wacky bag hats like this:

 And since they're also encouraged to wear wacky socks to celebrate Dr. Seuss, here's what they finally walked out the door looking like:

I think their creations will certainly fit the bill and be festive enough to celebrate the great Dr. Seuss!  These are really easy and fun to make with the kids and you probably already have everything you need right now.  Have fun with them!

What are your favorite crafty ways to celebrate him? 

>> For more great Dr. Seuss inspired fun, check out my Celebrating Dr. Seuss Pinterest board.

Valentine fun: LEGO inspired Valentines, Heart Shaped Lunch, iPad Valentine's Day Card Box for Kids.

With my birthday this past weekend, we did not have time to get started on the kids' valentines for school.  So, I dedicated my entire day yesterday (Monday) to cranking these babies out and the kids helped me after school.  Overall they were super easy to do and the kids loved how they turned out (so did I!). 

{Nathan's (my 2nd grader) personalized class valentines}

I used this fun LEGO candy mold for the big blocks and the LEGO minifigure ice cube tray for the choco-LEGO-dudes.  Scrumptious AND fun!  These are the best buys I've made in the baking accessories category.  We will use these for endless food-and-LEGO fun with my boys! 

 

{William's (my Kindergartener) class valentines}

Here's what the actual card on top reads: 

 Yes, Nathan came up with that greeting with just a little help from me.  He was cool with so I was too.

**UPDATE:  Due to a reader's request, you can now download the printable for this LEGO Valentine card topper right from here!  Simply print, cut, and fold over in half then have your kiddo sign their name!

I did find that to crank out 48 of the LEGO building blocks, you need about 2 standard bags of candy melts and the choco-LEGO dudes only required one bag which made about the same amount.  Both of the molds were easy to use and work with and each piece popped out clean after I put them in the freezer for just a few minutes.  I highly recommend the little squeeze bottles to use to get the melted candy into the mold.  This just simplifies everything for about a buck!  That's not too much to ask!

And in keeping with our usual tradition, I packed them a fun Valentine lunch:

 

But what I'm most excited to hear about is how William ended up liking his Valentine's Day box to collect his cards from his friends.  This is what we finally settled on: 

And yes, peeps, while I *may* occasionally be awesome (at least that's what my kids tell me), I did NOT come up with this idea myself.  I snagged it from Living Locurto (one of my fave blogs)!

Happy heart day everyone!  XOXO!!

DIY: Camo bandana 2nd birthday t-shirt

Pin It

Today my baby Jacob is TWO!  Seriously?  Nu-uh?  Really?  Yep, he sure is.  Sigh.  Where's my little baby gone?  Even my older two kids are a bit disturbed that he's growing up so fast.  Last night as I was putting them to bed, they both started crying because they were suddenly realizing that Jacob's growing up before their very eyes.  Serioulsy, it was a weird experience for me to have been consoling them for something that they're guilty of doing themselves! 

They went on and on about how "cute he is" right now and how they "don't want him to get bigger because he's so cute right now."   They were crying their little eyes out and I had to remind them that that's exactly how I felt about them growing up, too.

Ok, but that's a whole other blog post.

I'd had this idea a while back, of taking an old bandana and using it to cut out a number (in this case "2") that I would then sew onto a plain t-shirt.  The problem is that I didn't have an old bandana.  Well, I do, but not one that I wanted to use for the t-shirt that ultimately Jacob would wear on his birthday. 

So, I took my craft store coupons and went to work.  I took this:

and made it into this:

And I am SO not a crafter or a seamstress so for me, this project was HUGE!

I simply took the camo bandana and sketched out the number "2" with chalk.  Yeah, I ended up messing up a few times but the chalk came off pretty easily with a damp washcloth and I was able to start over until I got just the look I wanted.

Then I cut it out, stitched it up with needle and thread, and voila!  It came out just perfect for that special someone:

I'm pretty stoked about this project because it came out so dern cute, yet was a steal to make!

$.35 - embroidery floss (you could just as easily use thread)

$.1.29 (after 40% off Michael's coupon) - packages of 8 embroidery needles (I needed these but if you use regular thread, a regular sewing needle is sufficient)

$1.79 - camo bandana

$1.97 - plain black toddler tee (after 40% off Hobby Lobby coupon)

Total including tax:  $5.87 = not too shabby!

Pin It