VALENTINES

WOW!  Today was quite the day...or should I say that last night was quite the night?  I am running on only 4 hrs of sleep so I guess that either would be accurate.  Even though I had the best laid plans to finish the girls Valentine gifts early I was STILL up until 1am!  They turned out absolutely adorable though and the kids LOVED them so all's well that end's well right?

I had seen these floating around the blog sphere and thought that they were too cute to pass up.  I ordered the shovels off of EBAY and then we stuffed bags with conversation hearts tied on party circle that said "I dig you" and they were ready to go!  You should have heard the Littles when these were passed out!  Crazy cute!

I also wanted to do something special for the staff at the school and Faith's teachers

so I started searching for cute cookies.  After a bit of "digging" I found these at Our Best Bites...

My inexperience with a piping bag sure came into play but I still think that they looked really good when they were bagged up and ready to go.  Even better...they tasted GREAT!

One of my favorite things about Valentine's Day is that I get to be punny!

I also needed something for BIGs (my 8-10th graders) but I was running out of time so I stopped by Wal-Mart and picked up these S'More pops.  I have to admit that I was quite irritated as I was checking out because I was paying a buck a piece for something that would have cost me 25 cents to make.  Oh well...there's always next year!

I made a quick circle, attached it with ribbon, and within minutes had a lovely bouquet.  The eight bucks was way worth it when I saw them all together.

Get it?  I am their teacher so "Let's Learn S'More"...hee hee hee hee

ADVENTUROUS

I don't about anyone else but my hubs is less than adventurous when it comes to culinary excursions.  I mean seriously, the man could exist on chicken fingers and bacon cheeseburgers for THE REST of his life.  I on the other hand am getting quite tired of the same ole same and am ready to branch out.  I stumbled upon Our Best Bites while surfing blogs and loved the easy recipes with step by step pictures!  Since I was flying solo tonight I decided to try the lemon-herb zucchini fettucine.

I should tell you that I despise doing the dishes.  It totally bums me out to spend more time cleaning up than I did cooking so typically I have a two pot rule.  Let's just say that doesn't quite work for this recipe.  My final count was 13...on one meal! 

The recipe is actually VERY easy and one thing that I loved about it is that I could cook the chicken beforehand cutting down my cook down considerably.  I did have to laugh after I burnt my garlic to a lovely crispy brown exactly like the recipe tells you NOT to do!  I turned down the gas and the then started working on something else while waiting for my water to boil.  Five minutes later when the water still wasn't boiling and the garlic was black I realized that I had turned down the wrong burner!!  OOPS!  That's what I get for using more than two pots!

Other than that things went smoothly and the end result was terrific!  Definately a keeper.  Next time I will reduce the amount of oil because it was a bit much for me and add some more zucchini but overall I am sold! 

STILL

When I wake up in the morning and begin getting dressed one of the first things that I do is turn on the TV.  When  I am on my way to work as soon I shut the truck door I reach for the radio. 

When I run I have headphones blaring music.

When we get ready for bed we have music.

 

I am constantly feeding my "need" for noise.  Not because I am actually listening to what is going on.  No, 90% of the time it is just background music in this play we call life and during that 90% of the time I find myself discontent. 

The more I think, the more I realize that we live in a media driven society.  At every turn more "options" are available to us.  TV, radio, Internet, phones, Skype, MP3 players...the list could go on and on yet our society hungers for more.  More what?  Time wasting, money spending, mind numbing...things.  But the life we are called to live is much different, in fact we are specifically instructed to, "Be still and know that He is God" Psalms 46:10. 

I am frequently asked how I am and my consistent response is "Busy" but am I really busy or am I wasting my time and numbing my mind with these things.  If I were to take an honest look at the amount of time that I spent engaged in media driven activities I truly believe I would be amazed.  30 to play wouldn't be so hard if I gave up 10 minutes on the computer, 15 watching TV, 5 setting up my IPOD. 

The wear of daily life is inevitable but I wonder how much less it would be if I could learn to be STILL.

SIX!

My "niece" just turned 6 and her momma entrusted me with all the details.  We decided that a movie theme would  be a blast and less cleanup for all of the grown ups!  Aftering pouring over invites I just couldn't find one that I was right so I made my own...

And from there the whole "vintage" movie theme just fell into place. 

We made all of our own paper goods,  designing them in PSE with digital papers from Tracy Ann of TADA and the printing them at Staples. 

We used deep reds, creams, black, and of course stripes to pull together the decor.

 But the popcorn cupcakes were what really stole the show. 

Although labor intensive they truly made everything scream "MOVIES!"

The posters added the perfect backdrop for the sweets table and we didn't have to do a thing!

My favorite part of the day by far though was when I was walking with the birthday girl to go snap a few shots.  She looked up at me and said "Auntie, this was the best birthday EVER!"

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY!  WE LOVE YOU!

COUSINS

Snow + Cousins = Memories

We had over negative temps and over 6 inches of snowfall  in the last few days leaving many without heat and electricity but with plenty of opportunities for 30 to Play snow days!  I am SO thankful that my brother and I live in the same town.  It is such a blessing to watch our children grow up together.  Cousins are precious, especially when they are cute like ours!

These make me laugh every time!

Hee hee!

 

This was taken right before Faith declared she was THROUGH!

 Oh to be 5!

Sweet C!

Hope you are all staying warm while you marvel in the wonder of His creation!

SNOW

Flakes started to fall yesterday morning and stopped around noon today leaving us with 6-8inches of beautiful SNOW!  The whole town came to a standstill, schools closed, stores opened late, the base ran with only essential personnel, and we just enjoyed the day together. 

Sending warm wishes your way!

ORGANIZED

While 30 to Play has been a welcomed addition to our daily routine it has made us very aware of the "time wasters" in our lives.  The commotion everyday that surrounded clothes was huge and well let's me honest I have always hated laundry so figuring out something that made both of them easier was a must.  Most of you have probably seen the clothing dividers for new moms.  The ones that say Newborn, 0-3, 3-6, etc.  Well I started thinking "What if we made those but for the days of the week?" 

So I got to stepping and came up with these... 

I actually saved them onto a thumbdrive and then had them printed at Staples to save ink.  For two sets it was roughly $4.  I could have easily done it at home but they probably would have ran through half an ink cartridge and those are $35 so I went the cheaper route.

After coming home I cut them down and then used a 2" scalloped hole punch to create the circles.

 TADA!!!  Closet organizers!

 So far so good! 

 It makes the mornings way easier and will be especially helpful when the hubs has to get them dressed.

Each days outfits are "complete" bows, socks, tights, whatever is needed is there.

To make things even easier now we create outfits as we sort laundry so right off the bat there are at least 20 items I don't have to fold!  WOOHOO!

Want to make your own?  Just save these and print!

On a side note I wish that I would have laminated these to make them more sturdy but they are still holding up well.  You could easily "laminate" them with contact paper and they last much longer.