Sunday, February 27, 2011

Most simple dress EVA...


Tell me this dress isn't cute (and the model of course)!!??

It took me about an hour TOTAL to make.

Go down to your basement/attic/garage and pull out an old bin of clothes (preferably last years). Find the stain shirts and one without a stained top.

Cut them in stripes...and sew them together...

SO EASY.

By the way. I made this one into a shirt for Kylie because she is into leggings and such right now!

Here is the tutorial in case you really want step by step instructions.

Like a said...great way to reuse old stained clothes AND it is just super cute.

Now on to making Addy's!


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

6 already??

It's hard to believe I have a 6 year old! I don't feel like I should be the mommy of a 6 year old...but I am!

Anyways..she had a fantastic "winter" party this past weekend. It is so much fun to watch 8 Kindergartners interact! They were little, silly grown ups. So cute!


Saturday, February 5, 2011

Entertaining the troops

I don't know about you, but some days I find it difficult to keep everyone happy. This snow and cold has kept us indoors for a while now and the kids are getting antsy.

So this mama has had to be creative....

A few ideas for those days when entertainment is NECESSARY!

Painting with pudding. Although I wish this was my idea, I can take no credit for it. I did it with Kylie back in the day but kinda forgot about this nifty craft idea. Recently, I read about it in a magazine and knew I had to let Addy get her turn with the pudding. Just give you kiddo some chocolate pudding, a silicone baster and some paper and watch what happens! It took her a while to figure out it was pudding (the other kids were painting with real paint) but once she did, she was entertained for a whole 30 minutes!


I picked up these really neat cookie cutters a while back on a free table at church and I have to say, they have been the best free thing I have every received! They came with the whole alphabet and number!! Since Cooper is learning how to spell his name, we had a playdough date with the letters. It was so much fun for the kids. Addy loved it just as much...even though she had NO idea what she was spelling.

Cooper was VERY proud of himself!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Are you a fighter?

It's 5:00 and your husband calls to say he is stuck at work for a little bit longer, the baby starts crying for NO reason, your other children start running around the house, playfully at first, but soon start ripping each others heads off, and dinner...yeah, dinner! AND to top things off, sleep hasn't necessarily been productive for a few days...weeks...months....YEARS! So what do you do? YOU SCREAM and beg and plea for someone to come and save you. But you don't, because you can't. You are MOM...your a fighter!

Lately, I have heard of and seen many people just give up. When I say give up, they throw in the towel and say, "It's easier to give up than to try". I feel this is especially true with mom's. As I know all too well, we have those days where N-O-T-H-I-N-G goes right. After picking up the same toy for the millionth time, breaking up a fourth fight in one hour, and cleaning up after that potty training toddler, it can be pretty easy to start waving the white flag. I have had those days...many of those days. To top things off, our society says it is okay to be a burned out person. If your not burned out, than you aren't "normal". How many times do you hear, "it's okay, life just stinks"! Where did the optimism go??

My question is how do we start fighting and stop giving into the insanity?

As a kid, my parents would always say, "Kara, you are going to be a lawyer when you grow up". At the time I was insulted. How could they say that to me? How could they tell me I am being argumentative? But I now value that strong willed nature within me. It has gotten me far....and through more than I could even write on this blog. Of course, God is the main reason but the strong willed nature sure helped!! Why don't we encourage this in our children? There are so many books out there dealing with "the strong willed child". People look at strong willed-ness as a negative thing, not a positive thing.

Not everyone has that strong willed streak within them. I know that! BUT we all have God. I am so sick of people saying, "I CANNOT do it". Yes, I am guilty of it too and there have been times when I certainly feel this way as well. Even so, YOU CAN DO IT! You can be a good mom, you can loose that weight, you can seek help for you problems, you can be a good housekeeper, you can be a great friend, neighbor, wife, etc. You know why? Because YOU are a fighter. The Bible says, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31. God designed us to be fighters. To not give into the temptations of the world. When our society says, "it's okay to give up" we need to take a stand and so, "NO! I WILL do it!". You know why....yup...because God is on our side!

So don't be lazy. Encourage one another to be strong women. The woman that God designed you to be...a fighter!