DIY Designs: Clock Wall

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I’m not a designer or decorator by any means (trust me on this one, it’s bad).  But I do love all things DIY, cheap & pretty.  That’s just what this one is to me.
We’ll make this quick. So I saw this pin:
Pinterest “Stop the clock when your babies are born. A moment in time, changed forever. Love this idea!”
& I created this:
I looked for a couple of months and couldn’t find 3 coordinating clocks that I loved.  So instead, I bought 3 that matched!  The clocks were $5 each at Shopko.
I cut the names using black vinyl and my Cricut machine.
I hung these little guys with tacks.  It worked.  I’m happy.  And if I later on decided to, I can paint the clocks different colors and move them somewhere else.  Or I can throw them on the garage sale pile, because that’s what I sometimes do.  😉
Total cost of the project: Under $20.

DIY: Diaper Sprayer Shield How-To

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Want to create your own Diaper Sprayer Shield for cloth diapering? Would you prefer it costs less than 4? Me too! Click to learn how!

This post contains affiliate links. You can visit my disclosure tab to learn more.

 

We are a cloth diapering family.  I catch a lot of crap for that.  Get it? Crap.   Yep… Momma’s got jokes for dayyyys!

There is a product on the market similar to this and it is only about $20.  However, I wasn’t able to find one to purchase as they are all out of stock everywhere I looked.  Besides, I’m a DIY kind of gal anyway.

I made a quick run to the dollar store and picked up:

  • 1 Plastic Clipboard
  • 1 Plastic Folder.
  • We already had Duct Tape on hand.  I mean, what sensible person wouldn’t, right?  kidding, kidding!

I attached the folder inside out so when I sprayed the water the.. um… ‘junk’ would not get stuck inside the pocket of the folder.
After I made this I anxiously waited for the baby to give me a poopy diaper to work with.  {Insert your own corny “you know you’re a mom when” joke.}

The verdict:
It works, and works well!  It’s not pretty, but it works amazing, and for under 4 dollars, it was definitely worth it. You could color coordinate this, cut off the pockets (or use another form of plastic), and make it pretty.  I just didn’t and I’m okay with that.

Quick Update {July 2016}: This held up for over 3 years and is being tucked away for ‘someday’ when we hopefully have another little peanut to put adorable fluffy cloth diapers on.

If you’re not a DIY’er, or simply don’t have the time or ambition to make your own, check out the Spray Pal – Cloth Diaper Sprayer Splatter Shield on Amazon.  The reviews look excellent, and it’d be to your door in about 2 days with Amazon Prime.
Dear Momma,
In case no one has told you today, you are doing a GOOD JOB!  Do not let this world make you feel guilty or ashamed for any part of the way you mother.  Love and protect your babies the best you can.  On the hard days I want you to breathe deep, snuggle your babies close, and don’t give up.  You are amazing.
Love,
Quincey B.

Welcome 2013!

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If you remember back to my posts in Dec. of 2010 I said I’m not much for New Years resolutions.  I feel like we should always be trying to be better.  I mean, why wait until a new year starts to make a change?

Well back in Dec. 2010 we did take that time to implement changes.  My husband and I made some big changes that have been great for our family.  Mostly our food choices.
Since being pregnant and having a baby in the house I’ve gotten a little more relaxed and have had to rely on some moderately-convenience type foods more often than I’d like to admit.  We went from being a no pasta family to having pasta every couple of weeks- and guess what- nothing major happened, other than of course we were more tired than usual when we consumed it.  But it did pull us through another day, even if it wasn’t nutritionally the best choice, and I just have to be okay with that.  Over all I feel like we’re doing good when it comes to our food.

So for 2013 I want to focus on spaces.  I fully believe that the spaces you are in have a huge impact on your overall well-being.
Our home was built in 2005.  At the time Mr. Awesome & I were dating/got engaged, we only had the princess, no pets, and I was working.  Now a little over 7 years later we’re married,  I’m a SAHM to our 3 kiddos & we have a cat.  Our space has had to change to accommodate our growing family.  Not only that, we also have changed some of our hobbies, and what we do in our spaces.

In fact the room I’m typing in right now has been:
My bedroom (before we were married).
My home office while I sold Mary Kay & did eBay.
The Princess’s bedroom.
The Princess & Prince’s bedroom for a short time.
The Home school room.
& currently is Blackie’s (closet- since she doesn’t sleep in here, but does store her clothes here!) room/computer room.

Home improvement takes time & money.  It seems like getting the two together is a challenge.  I wish we could do it all at once and be done.  & to be honest, if we took out a loan we could.  But I do NOT want to still be paying on it when I change my mind and want to redo whatever we’ve just done.
So things will be slow going, that’s alright.

For 2013 I’d like to see:

  • The Laundry room turned into a mudroom (But where on earth will you stick the laundry room you ask?  Well, uh, actually…..I don’t know yet!).
  • If it works, maybe pull out the big tub and put the laundry in the master bathroom.
  • Build a swing set for the kids that flock here in the summer.
  • Put blinds on the windows.
  • Make a backyard patio/seating area.
  • Fix the kitchen faucet that has leaked for y.e.a.r.s!
  • Install shelving in the basement bedroom closets.
  • Paint the stairs leading to the basement.
  • Move the TV downstairs.  This means rearranging the living room.  I’m terrified of picking new furniture for that space. Furniture is expensive, and what if:  It doesn’t look good, I don’t like it, or it isn’t as comfortable as our broken-in sectional?
  • Install new flooring in the dining room/living room.  It looks just awful, awful awful!  Next time we will pick a better quality floor and something that can stand up to a lot of traffic.
  • Fix up a room for Baby.
  • Decorate the big kids’ rooms.

There are probably more things I will think of here and there.  And maybe none of these things will happen, maybe some of them will.  If they do, I’ll try to blog about it.
My favorite DIY project of 2012 was when we painted our shutters & then did my FIL’s shutters.  What a transformation!  I wish I would’ve blogged it!  Maybe I will some day, I did take pictures fully intending to post it here.

So what will your 2013 look like?

DIY Table Top S’mores

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Last night we made Table Top Driveway Smores.  I had everything on hand already except the charcoal and the pot.

Driveway S’mores
Being impatient we roasted some while there was still a little flame, this makes deliciously burnt mallows. 😉
The Basics.  I think this bag of charcoal will last us all summer, and then some!
Update: 6 years later, we’re still using the same bag!

What you’ll need:

First I made a ball of tinfoil to put into the pot (about softball sized).  This way the pot wasn’t so deep.  Then I lined the pot with another piece or two of tinfoil.

Next, I added about 5-6 pieces of charcoal along with a little dryer lint to start the fire.  This wasn’t successful, so I resorted to lighter fluid (back up when you squirt this on-  It really works fast! Be so safe with this, please)

The coals will get hot while the flame goes down, then you will have flameless table top s’mores!
Much safer for little people, although it is still crazy hot up close, you won’t have to be quite as paranoid about the flame catching their clothes on fire (maybe that’s just me that worries about that), or burning little hands if the wind comes along.

The heat of the coals is enough to roast your marshmallows, and I’ve read the pot gets hot enough to melt whatever it’s on- that’s why we chose the driveway for this.  You could also put it into a stoneware bowl or something if you wanted it on a table outdoors.

The original pot of 5-6 coals stayed hot enough to roast on for at least 3 hours.  After that we just called it a night, we maybe could have gotten more time out of it, but we were exhausted from being out all day!

Best of all-  Our clothes didn’t stink like smoke when we were done!  Yeah!

Go on, try this out and make some memories with your precious family!

Recipes: Organizing

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I mostly just pull my recipes from the internet these days. Somtimes it’s something great I see on pinterest other times it’s something I’m craving (or saw on TV & had to have) so I Google how to make it and use which ever recipe seems easiest.

There are times that I taste what I’ve made and I JUST TOTALLY LOVE it, occasionally even the little people here love it too (praise the man of the house, he never complains about what I make)! So I have decided that some recipes are so worthy & that I must make them at least one more time while I’m on earth. Those recipes get added to my little index card recipe collection.

I also have a 3 ring binder filled with my grandma’s recipes, I love that binder & all the wonderful recipes inside. I am so honored to be able to make the things she made and hopefully someday my children will be using thoes same recipes in their kitchens.

What do you do with your favorite recipes?

Bathroom Upgrade: Shower Filter

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Last night we installed a shower filter.

It all started yesterday, Sunday, when went to Home Depot for a few pieces of lumber we forgot to order from the local lumber yard on Saturday (when they were open and we ordered the rest of the lumber we needed).

I was browsing and decided to look for a new shower head & hose for the kids’ bathroom.  Theirs has been broke for quite some time, so they’ve only been using the bath in there.
After MUCH comparison (mostly on the gallons per minute, and the “looks”), I decided the $12 shower head was just as good as the $74 one.

So it was settled, until….. I saw a shower filter!  This is something I’ve been meaning to look into.  So there I was again, now comparing shower filters for our grown up bathroom (the one that doesn’t have rubber ducks everywhere).  I decided on the Sprite Slim Line.
This brand claims to do quite a bit, you can read about that HERE.

Total cost of upgrade, about $20 and 20 minutes

Oh, and the lumber there didn’t work out for us… So I’ll be ordering that from the local lumber yard today 😉

YES! I did it! Pancakes!

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My sweetheart and I had a nice morning making breakfast together.  Here’s what we tried today.
FROM THIS:
 TO THIS:
 THE RESULTS, THESE BEAUTIFUL HOT CAKES!
I used a pancake recipe I found online.  I added cinnamon because I’ve read/heard that it’s healthy.  There are some statistics on it from the health diaries .  Cinnamon can help with cholesterol, blood sugar, yeast infections, reduction in cancer cells, anti-clotting effect in blood.  It’s also a natural food preservative.
 Although, we sure didn’t need that last benefit, there was only one pancake left when the breakfast dishes were cleared.
What I love about this, even more than the fact that it’s healthier, is that it’s less clutter!  No need to stock an extra box on a shelf, the recipe uses ingredients I already keep on hand.

I dedicate this post to my dad.  The grandkids always beg for his pancakes when they have sleep overs there.  He uses a boxed mix, but he makes them into the cutest teddy bear shapes.
 Maybe he’ll ditch the box & give this simple recipe a try next time.

Meal Time Makeover- Day 3.. Perfect?

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It’s day 3 and things are going well!  Just a quick update, Chad’s breakfast was homemade granola bars.  I made a batch yesterday so he will be able to take those all week if he chooses to.  Simple and so much better for him than the store bought, although I’m sure I can find an even healthier recipe, this is what we’re doing for now.
He made his lunch.  We had a nice chat over the phone while he ate.
For supper we struggled, do we order pizza, make taco’s (yes, we also have a taco Tuesday night)… or eat frozen chicken patties again.  We went with the frozen chicken patties, I think their simplicity and flavor are both addicting.
During supper my sweetheart and I both were teasing the princess with “LOOK! A baby mongoose” and dipping our sandwiches her ranch when she wasn’t looking.
She’s caught on pretty quick.  Without a word, she smiled, got up and grabbed the ranch bottle.  She strutted her stuff over to the table and before I could say a word or get my hand up to stop her she was pouring half the bottle of ranch onto my plate (you ever have those bottles that just POUR out when you only want a dab, this is one of those).  OH MY! We haven’t laughed that hard in a long time!  I mean I laughed so hard  I cried!!
Then my Mr. Awesome got up and announced he would be having a salad.  LOL!  Of course using the dressing that was left on my plate.

Highlights of my day:

  • The one on one time I had with each family member, even if I didn’t get any time to myself.
  • The awesome playdate this morning.
  • Grocery shopping.
  • Turning in old video games for store credit at Gamers.
  • Good phone conversations with my daddy.
  • Lunch with my mom.
  • A family walk.
  • A hilarious family dinner.
  • And now blogging.  I think I might actually like blogging!

 Today was a success, a true success!

More from Proverbs 31:

“Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.”
My notes:
Our phone conversation at lunch my husband expressed a worry he had.  It was a ridiculous worry, to me anyway.  But rather than tear him down about it, I was there for him, comforting him and letting him know he could trust in me.  I do not want to give him reason to regret that trust, so although I wont share with you what we were discussing, just know we have problems, just like you do.  We all do.  It’s okay, no person or relationship is perfect.
A note on perfection:
 
We are all blemished, I can’t even draw a PERFECT circle, perfect reproduction, don’t even get me started.  Perfect happiness, manners and specimen, a perfect day.. hmmmm sounds too good to be true, because it is!  We aren’t meant to be perfect.

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