Unfinished Business

Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:4

Maybe my focus has been off lately and especially not my Lord and Savior. With, that I pray for forgiveness and focus.

Other things around here just seem to go in cycles with projects started and not completed. I feel that I have so many ideas that I have to get them going before I forget. Last week, I marked many things off my list of to dos only to realize this week that maybe my quiet time with God should be a daily project.

At IT Again

To be successful, is to have one little boy stay dry and clean for several days...(by the way, he is only two, but goodness he looks four in that picture and I think one of his brothers must have combed his hair). His brothers did great. Elliott trained in a couple of weeks while Ethan trained while we were on vacation at the beach. This little guy is just doing it his way and I'll be honest and say that I haven't really disciplined myself to train him...Well, Ms. Nice Mommy is over changing dirty pants and has taken charge of the potty stuff around here.

If I had a quarter for every time that I have said, "Evan, remember to stay dry and clean," or "Evan, lets go potty," well, I would hire a housekeeper to pick those toys up in that picture. The boxers are working and have helped to remind him as well as me to stay on top of the game. Basically, we have stayed close to home so that trips wouldn't distract us from our progress. So we will see how it goes and maybe, just maybe he will be trained before his third birthday. I would love to only buy pullups for bedtime.

Vacation

Our family traveled to New Smyrna Beach, FL for the first time this year. We were supposed to stay in Gulf Shores, AL, but the oil ran us off. Since we have stayed in Daytona for vacations and race weeks before, we knew a lot about the area, but nothing about the small quiet town just down the road. We fell in love with the quiet beaches and the closeness of Daytona. While on vacation, we spent our days riding boogie boards and building sandcastles. At night, we ate some yummy food, played putt putt, and even went to watch Toy Story 3 on Father's Day. Jarrett agreed that Father's Day spent at the beach with his family was the best.

So, now that I am back home, I am working on a few orders waiting on my answering machine and maybe tackling a few sewing projects that have been stuck on my sewing table for awhile.

By the way, a package from CocoJ was waiting at my door. Thank you Corrie and the boys say thank you for the yummies.

Hot GLue eQuals a big ol' BliSter

For Teacher Appreciation Week, I whipped up these two cuties. I think I like the thicker wooden letters from Mike's craft store rather than these skinny ones at the Lobby of HObby.

This post must include the following warnings:

1. Hot glue will leave blisters and require children's boo boo bags to help alleviate the pain 2. This may be a go to gift in a pinch and a great way to clean out ribbon and fabric scraps

3. You may also acquire an addiction to cute trims

Ribbon and Burlap Tassel

After making lots of Keychains and a few ribbon topiaries, I have accumulated many, many ribbons. A trip to the mart of wal furnished the burlap and another trip to various local craft stores yielded the trims and wooden letter. Basically, I googled "fancy tassels" and found several tutorials, but this may have been my favorite one to follow: http://betasseled.blogspot.com/.

So what do you think? Should I take this to the shop that sells my keychains? What do you think of the monogram?

Shhh, don't tell my son's teachers. I have one for each of them to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week.

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

One of these little fireman turns five today. Can you guess which one?

Life with Boys

Sooo, this has been winter break and why oh why do we have one (yes, I know teachers need a break to recoup), but it just doesn't make sense when we could have an extra week at the pool in the summer. What else do you do when it is too cold to go outside and everything else costs an arm and a leg to go and do.

Life with Boys, why the title. I'll tell you why. I have heard nothing but, burp noises, butt noises (yes, butt is a bad word at our house), toilet funnies, laughs at the word underwear...well, you get the point. And by the way, I have reached my limit. I am blogging to vent my frustration. I am considering drastic forms of punishment at this point to stop this malay (punishment being no wii or tv and maybe soap).

I haven't decided what may be the best course of action. Oh by the way, did I mention we are taking the course, "Growing Kids God's Way," by the Ezzos (the Babywise saints). Maybe I should consult the manual to see if they have a chapter on this stuff. That would be good and bad all at the same time.

So, please Dear Lord, my prayer to you would be for some patience and maybe a little creativity dealing with this situation and maybe a way for me to have some quiet girly time that doesn't involve body functions, except maybe a manicure and pedicure.

Valentine's Day Cutie

I love the idea of decorations that can be displayed and then easily stored after the season. I bought myself a Christmas Ribbon Topiary for my kitchen and decided that I would make one myself for Valentine's Day. So after some shopping at the local craft store for cute ribbons and an evening standing at the kitchen island with scissors and pins, I like how my first attempt turned out. It was only after I finished that I found several tutorials online. Here is my quick and easy recipe for a great way to celebrationt the season.

Here are the basic supplies: Styrofoam ball, floral foam, moss, proportional sized pot or container, straight pins, dowel rod or stick, and ribbon (lots of ribbon in different textures and widths)

To begin: Wedge floral foam in container, insert stick, and cover the ugly foam with moss, shredded paper, glass beads, sand (you get the picture)...Set this aside until later

Next: Cut ribbons in about four inch pieces. Make loops and insert ribbons (using the pins on the inside of the loops) into the styrofoam ball in random patterns being sure to hide the foam and pins as you go. I suggest doing half of the ball with ribbons and then inserting this onto your waiting stick. Now you may finish the rest of your ribbon loops to complete your project.

Hints:

1. 
   
   Wider ribbon covers the ball quicker while the skinnier pieces can be used to fill in the gaps.


2. 
   
   I randomly placed my ribbon and found that the bottom is tricky to fill and push the pins in therefore I suggest doing one half of the foam at a time.


3. 
   
   If you don't want a topiary, you can always add a wide looped ribbon and hang from a door or even a seasonal tree.

The possibilities are endless. I may even do a couple of pastel ribbon topiaries my Easter decorations.....I wonder if I could use those plastic eggs.

Now I think I'll use the leftover ribbon to make a cute little wreath to hang in my kitchen.

Coming Soon?

I currently have a project on my island that is about 65% finished....I will show pictures as soon as I finish. The above picture is a hint. Any guesses?

PS: Did you know that ITunes has crafting podcasts for scrappers, knitters, and quilters..... I didn't download these, but I did download a podcast for Yoga.

Another Project from Guilt, I Mean Love

So my oldest leans over while I am knitting and asks, "Mom, are you EVER (insert drama) going to make me a quilt." My smooth reply, "Sure as soon as you decide what colors you want." After various characters, not colors, we come around to GREEN. OH MY.....I have to find green boyish fabric for his snuggle quilt. .....
Sooo, let the games begin.

Little Red Wagon Designs is now ONLINE!

I am proud to announce that Little Red Wagon Designs has made it to the Internet. My key chains can now be purchased at www.initialgrace.com. The bonus of this is that I already have an order. Let's hope this continues.

Little Red Wagon Designs is now ONLINE!